Inuyasha: Sealed Fates Unleashed
By: Lady JenDragon
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha and the characters we all know and love. Sadness envelops the world. POP! I'm over it.
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long. I hate letting the updates go so long. Life got in my writing way. However, the interruption was unavoidable and so required attention. If only I could do this full-time! On to fun now!
Chapter Fourteen
Dreams
Asaia's eyes widened as the Snake demons began to charge at them. Kagome slid her bow off her shoulder, reaching back for an arrow. Miroku held his staff in both hands, ready to deflect. Sango held Hairaikotsu with one hand.
"The demons from the North Valley!" Asaia pointed. "They've followed me!"
The demons were coming fast, seemingly floating above the ground. Asaia took up position behind Kagome, clenching both hands onto Kagome's strangely short green skirt. Not afraid for personal well being, she wondered why the demons followed her from the North Valley. Was Tir sent after her?
"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" Came the growling voice overhead.
Kagome felt her heart give a lurch as Inuyasha landed in front of her, taking a large swipe at the seven snake demons. His red Fire-Rat kimono drowned out the view of the snake demons. She took a side step and aimed. A fiery cat with two tails landed in front of her, blocking her aim. Kagome took another side step and fired.
Inuyasha sliced four demons in half with his fingers. Their remains fell to the ground, twitching until they stilled. Kagome's arrow snared two demons, turning them into dust. The final demon turned and retreated back to safety of the forest.
"KiRaRa!" Sango exclaimed.
She ran and immediately wrapped her arms around the demon cat's neck and nuzzled her. KiRaRa returned the affection, laying her head on Sango's shoulder.
Inuyasha straightened his back, turning towards Kagome. Just seeing her again gave him butterflies. Why was this happening to him? He did not feel like this before. Miroku walked past them on his way to Sango, nodding him a 'welcome back'.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome smiled at him. "You found us!"
Inuyasha took a step back. What was it about Kagome that changed? He had been unable to find any evidence of the demons that attacked her. Kagome became different since the attack. It pained him to think that had he not been there from the start to protect her. He would never be able to live with himself if he failed to keep his promise to her. If only his memory would return to confirm his heroics.
"Look who I found along the way." Inuyasha pointed at KiRaRa. "She was waiting at the village when I passed through. She followed me."
"So, did you find the demons responsible for attacking Kagome?" Miroku inquired of Inuyasha's mission.
"No." Inuyasha folded his arms. "Not even a stray hair."
Miroku figured. He shook his head, smiling. Inuyasha clearly did not think where Kagome was concerned. If only the half-demon would figure that out. It would save him a lot time in the end.
"Kaede told me you were headed to the North Valley." Inuyasha growled at Miroku.
"Took you long enough to get here." Sango told Inuyasha, pushing her weapon back onto her shoulder. "Did you scavenge the entire forest along the way?"
"Left no stone unturned." Inuyasha said proudly. "Any more ideas about who stole the Seal?"
"We were going to find out the fate of the Fourth Seal in the North Valley." Miroku informed Inuyasha. "Kaede hasn't gotten word back from the messenger she sent two weeks back."
Apparently, he neglected to wait around to get all of the necessary information from Kaede. Just like Inuyasha, Miroku thought. Patience was not a character trait for this particular half-demon. Neither was thinking for that matter, he concluded.
"The North Valley has been completely destroyed." Asaia lamented.
All eyes shifted to small girl, Asaia.
"Destroyed?" Kagome's eyes widened.
That meant the person who stole the Fourth and Fifth Seals most likely had all the rest, Kagome surmised. They were strong, getting through all those spells protecting the cave. There were so many protecting the Fifth Seal alone. Were they stronger than Sesshomaru or Naraku? Her instincts thought so.
"When?" Miroku inquired.
"More than a week back. I was on my way here to find a priestess strong enough to fight the demon that ravaged the valley. But, no one could prove it was a demon." Asaia touched her fingertips together. "We never saw it."
"So it must've been a demon!" Inuyasha jumped over to Kagome.
Kagome could not help the warmth she felt with Inuyasha standing next to her. Why could she not get over these feelings? She had to focus on getting to the North Valley and their journey. Asaia and her plight were also disconcerting due to her link to the missing Fourth Seal.
"Inuyasha, calm down." Miroku warned. "Asaia, tell us what happened."
"My village rests at the base of the Twin Mountains, longed believed to be the home of the gods. There was a cave protected by the local priestesses and monks. There was a large forest fire one night about a month ago. It was discovered that the cave was broken into. I've been trying to find someone to help."
"What was in the cave?" Miroku inquired.
"I do not know." Asaia looked up at Miroku.
"The fire was a diversion." Sango said out loud. "You said the village was destroyed a week back?"
Sounds just like two nights ago, she thought. Of course it was a diversion. Nothing like that would ever happen unless someone was trying to hide a crime. Sango knew demons, and demons didn't like to wait for someone to give them something important as a seal.
"Whoever started the fire must've come back to finish the job." Asaia looked to each person. "At least the elders believed this to be true."
"Sounds familiar doesn't it?" Kagome looked to Inuyasha.
Sango glanced over at Inuyasha as well. Inuyasha shrugged, unsure what Miroku was getting at. If the monk was referring to the night he could not remember, then he had to agree. Someone was collecting Seals. To unleash something imprisoned in one of the realms? His reasoning made a lot of sense to him.
"Come on kid." Inuyasha picked Asaia up, holding her with both hands to his back. "We'll help you out. And find out who's done this."
Sango, KiRaRa, Miroku, Kagome and Shippo stared after Inuyasha bounding off down the road towards the North Valley. Kagome smiled, exchanging an amused glance with Sango. 'Yep, their Inuyasha was back.'
"For someone who can't remember attacking demons." Sango began. "He sure is willing to get into another battle."
"Must be all that pent up energy after failing to find all those demons from two nights ago." Kagome responded absentmindedly. "He just wants to kill something and those snake demons didn't really put up much of a fight."
Kagome looked at Miroku and Sango, both with shocked expressions on their faces. She took a step back, feeling naked under their stares. Her cheeks turned pink with slight embarrassment. There was nothing wrong with her response. With that, Kagome began walking after Inuyasha and Asaia.
Shippo looked up at Sango and Miroku then over at Kagome. Inuyasha was barely visible down the road. Apparently, he wanted to get to the North Valley quickly. Several moments passed before their shock was overcome and they followed at a faster pace.
xxxxxxxxxx
Kagome lay in her bed, covered in a white lace blanket up over her naked bosom. She woke and sat up dazed, clutching the covers over her with one arm. Inuyasha came to sit beside her on the right, bare-chested. He kissed her deeply. She smiled, kissing him back. He pulled her against him, pushing the blanket aside.
Inuyasha laid her down, sliding his lips down her neck. Kagome turned to find Sesshomaru on her other side, lying beside them. Inuyasha looked up at his brother and nodded. Sesshomaru lowered his lips to Kagome's.
She reached her hand up, cupping Sesshomaru's face, guiding him to her. Kagome accepted his kiss greedily. Inuyasha bent to kiss her again, cutting in. Kagome was lost between the brothers, sharing her together. Suddenly, a sharp pain made her cry out. She leaned her head back to bite the pain back. Inuyasha bit her, blood oozing from the wound on her right shoulder.
xxxxxxxxxx
Kagome sat straight up, sweating. Wiping a hand over her face, she noticed that no one had awoken. The memory haunted her every night now. She winced, pressing a hand over the shoulder where Inuyasha bit her. The bandage she changed every day did not stop the pain every time she touched it. The wound was healing too slowly. She needed fresh air. Getting to her feet slowly, she exited the hut.
Miroku opened one eye as Kagome left. He was positive, she touched her shoulder before leaving Kaede's village. 'So, she did sustain an injury during the battle then.' Perhaps, Inuyasha did not get there in time to save Kagome just as she described. Kagome was not in any frame of mind to tell him the whole story. If he had to guess, she tried to forget that night all together. Which meant, the details were far more involved than she let on.
Sango kept her eyes closed, knowing Kagome suffered. She did not realize that her friend was having nightmares over it. Whatever scared Kagome out of her sleep, Sango did not envy those memories. Memories, not dreams, Sango corrected. Her heart poured out to Kagome, unsure how to go about offering her friend a shoulder to cry on.
Shippo, KiRaRa nor Asaia stirred from sleep. Inuyasha lifted his head, eyeing each person in the hut from where he rested against the wall of the hut. Where was Kagome? Was that the sound he heard in his dreams? Had she dreamt of something? Was it the attacks that haunted her?
Inuyasha sniffed the air, finding a very different scent lurking on the gentle breeze. Kagome's scent had changed, it was very definitive. It was not a bad change. That it changed surprised him. What did this mean? There was another scent mixed in with hers. It was the medicine crème that Kagome used on all of their injuries. She never mentioned that she suffered an injury.
With that in mind, he got to his feet and crossed the hut. He pushed through the door of the hut, disappearing after Kagome.
xxxxxxxxxx
Kagome sat next to the tree near the hut, her arms around her bent knees. The moon was a small crescent tonight, hanging like an ornament in the sky.
Inuyasha's reddened eyes came back to haunt her. His fingers knew just where to touch her. The passion between them was difficult to get out of her mind. This was more difficult than she originally assumed. She was alone and her heart was slowly breaking. The memory was hers alone. But, that was not all that interrupted her sleep.
There was Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's brother. He told her, 'Let me show what a demon can do to a woman'. That was the part that bothered her. His words still gave her shivers but they were no longer cold shivers. Not that she was anyone special to him. In fact, Inuyasha's brother did not seem to care about women in general.
"Don't go there." Kagome ordered herself out loud.
Her eyes veered to the night sky, clear of clouds. The storm finally passed, dumping rain for three hours on the landscape. Kagome wrapped her arms around herself in the slight chill of the night. She needed to figure out how to get through this. If only she could go home and lock herself in her room for the rest of her life. Then she would never have to come back and face Inuyasha, she reasoned. Why should she? Kagome frowned, scolding herself for being stupid. Was she going to run because it suddenly got complicated?
"Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice was husky and soft.
Kagome froze at the sound of Inuyasha's voice behind her. He was not supposed to be awake. Were the others awake too? Did they hear her wake from her dream? Kagome silenced the panic in her head.
Inuyasha sensed Kagome's inner turmoil. She was not sleeping well since that night. Kaede informed him about Kagome's changed habits after Kagome and the others left for the North Valley. He constantly berated himself for not remembering how he saved Kagome. Part of him felt the story did not seem right. His thoughts changed subject. The scent of Kagome certainly became distracting, even becoming difficult to ignore the longer he stayed near her.
"Y…yes, Inuyasha?" Kagome stammered.
"I…are you okay?" Inuyasha knew the answer already. "You seem bothered recently."
"Just a bad dream." Kagome held her breath.
Inuyasha searched his memory before speaking.
"My mother always used to ask me about my bad dreams. She…she said it helped to discuss it with someone. It used to make me feel better when I did. Maybe you…maybe you would feel better talking about it."
How could she talk her way through this one? Inuyasha was giving her sound advice. And, she wasn't able to bring herself to discuss it with him.
"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome got to her feet. "But, this isn't the kind of dream you share."
She hugged Inuyasha then walked back to the hut, disappearing inside. Inuyasha stood immobilized. Her felt warm, no, hot all over. Placing a hand on his cheek, even his face felt hot. 'What is this feeling?'
xxxxxxxxxx
Atokiyada watched the shimmering water bowl, her brow furrowed in disappointment. Her blue and silver kimono was replaced with a white and silver kimono. Her dark hair was pulled into a pile twisted on her head.
"How sad for you, Inuyasha." She smiled. "Kagome doesn't want you to know that you've claimed her. As well as your brother."
An interesting turn of events, she decided. The relationship between the miko and the half-demon proved to be more complex than she initially concluded. Her ever-approaching end of imprisonment was only a short time away. Perhaps, she could give the half-breed something to keep him busy until then. Make him keep Kagome in his sights until her release.
"Oh, what chaos can we cause with my knowledge of their liaison?"
She waved a hand over the bowl. But, the water did not change.
"Show me the hut's interior."
Nothing happened.
"I see." She lost her smile. "You're being protected. I believe you've met Asaia earlier."
She got to her feet in a huff, folding her arms. The white/silver material covered her arms. Atokiyada tensed her shoulders then relaxed them. Taking a deep breath, she turned back towards the water bowl.
"I should have killed Asaia when I had the chance!"
Still, there was one card she could use. And that card had been very efficient and almost undetectable by all. Atokiyada smiled evilly, touching her fingers together.