INUYASHA: SEALED FATES UNLEASHED
By: Lady JenDragon
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha and characters, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Except for the ones I came up with. Nothin' wrong with a little credit!
Author's Notes: Hey readers, sorry I've been gone for a while. I know, I know, a very long time. However, I've kept changing my mind how I wanted to reach the end these last few months. Also, had some things for school that needed my full attention. I did not expect to be gone this long. But I'm back now. Had a bit of writer's block back in March and I waited until I had some ideas before altering a few other ideas prior to updating. Enjoy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Offensive
Atokiyada leaned against the cushion of her bed, disappointment on her face. Barely clad in a silk white kimono, thin against the warmth of her skin, she took a deep breath of the cool breeze entering through the small window of the castle across the room. It felt good, momentarily distracting her from the day's events.
Sesshomaru lay on the floor in the throne, collared like some common dog. His future was sealed. And in time she would reveal his purpose. Though pure demon, his lineage meant nothing to her or her plans. Her target. Inuyasha. The half-breed turned out to be the more defiant opponent. He survived Tir's attack and his brother on more than one occasion if the stories were true. Not even the mighty Sesshomaru evaded the dragon demon. Atokiyada smiled almost genuinely.
One matter remained.
The miko. She would need to be disposed of quite soon. Her power alone could unravel all that took years of planning to create. But, her presence was required to lure the half-breed Inuyasha to the castle. Tir mentioned a child with the group on his last encounter. Perhaps Asaia joined the humans and the half-breed. How unlike her sister to seek out companionship.
'Ah, no matter.' Atokiyada thought. 'All would end shortly.'
The trap had been set after all.
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The silver haze thickened like fog before her. Only the distinct shapes of trees were discernible in the distance. Yet, she felt safe here. But there was unrest…and discontentment here. Arguing among the residents seemed to poison the peace. It hung in the air like water threatening to choke all who breathed its ugliness in.
Suddenly, the world changed. She had never been here before. It was a physical place. Like a large house complete with pond and garden at its back. Tall red pillars led from the house to the garden with a wide entrance inside. The wood plank floor was smooth and shiny, reflecting the glowing colors of white, silver and a tint of electric blue.
The small child in silver/blue kimono ran through the misty corridor out into the bright sunshine where a man with golden hair in bright white and silver kimono sat on a stone bench next to the small oval pond. He merely turned his head to look at the small child. The water glistened as her reflection touched the waters edge. A habit the water took every time Asaia was nearby. The dancing lights in the rippling water shimmered over the shore and the surrounding vegetation.
"You half-breed!" Atokiyada spat out loudly as her teenager form arrived several seconds after the younger Asaia. "Look at you, running to Father to settle a petty disagreement!"
Her back immediately stiffened at seeing her father present, his eyes resting on her solemnly. She shifted her eyes from Asaia to the water then back to her Father. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her slender hands at her sides then poised herself.
"You're a half-breed too!" Asaia shouted back, putting Father between them.
She often hid behind others to keep Atokiyada from killing her. The demon side of her sister often times ruled the celestial powers she possessed. Asaia was still too young for her powers to duel Atokiyada's in a face-off. And her older sister knew that, preferring the advantage always.
"Children." The man frowned slightly, the shimmer of his golden hair barely moved in the strong breeze. "You cannot continue to claw at one another like this. Show restraint and kindness towards one another."
His voice resonated through the air rather than as a voice in conversation. This meant it was a warning towards both of them. Atokiyada refused to glance at Asaia, her eyes on her Father. He was not one to play favorites between his daughters.
"Father, Asaia seems to believe she has the right to eat with me." Atokiyada held her chin high, a habit she developed.
"You are sisters." The man rose from his bench, his voice gentle and soothing. "Act like it."
Their Father walked off and disappeared into the shimmering mist from the direction where the two sisters had arrived. Both waited until he was out of sight to continue. Asaia stared at Atokiyada, both eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"You'll never be worth the Celestial half." Atokiyada breathed.
"Oh, and you're making good with it demon?" Asaia shot back. "You're worse than I am!"
"Come here you little…" Atokiyada lunged.
Asaia connected both hands then opened them revealing a bow and three red arrows. She lined one up and pulled back all within a matter of two nanoseconds. Atokiyada's eyes widened as she tried to stop dead in her tracks, losing her balance. Asaia evaded the body of her falling sister, stepping away as Atokiyada fell into the lake. Satisfied with her success, Asaia ran in the direction where her father had disappeared listening to Atokiyada's splashing and cursing about behind her. The bow and arrows were kept clutched tightly in her fists at the ready in case her sister gave chase.
Asaia never looked back.
Kagome watched the scene with her mouth gaping open. The red arrows? This woman was afraid of red arrows. What were they for? Suddenly her vision shifted then streaked in a flurry of white, silver and blues.
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Kagome lifted her head, realizing she had been dreaming. To her surprise, Sesshomaru lay on the floor a hundred feet from her on his back both eyes open lying very still. She could tell his eyes were open, even in this dim light from the moon.
'Did that evil woman kill Sesshomaru?'
Sesshomaru dead? Kagome did not think so. Odd to see him not on his feet, lying like some ragdoll dismissed after playtime. Atokiyada certainly seemed to want to play out her torture of him before becoming bored. 'Why is it that all these people with such power feel they need to play with the rest of us?' Naraku, most demons, even Sesshomaru when it served his purpose dealt out some kind of show of might to those weaker than themselves. Pretty much anyone who had power abused it in some manner. It bothered her that some believed they could do whatever they wished with the powerless. That was going to have to change.
'Absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Kagome reasoned.
It certainly does, she agreed silently. And Sesshomaru certainly was one of these people with power. But, he did not always reign down on the defenseless. Possibly there was some motive for his decisions. After all, Rin did travel along with him and he supposedly hated Humans. Perhaps he was learning to care for others? Kagome shook the shivers off, her wrists and ankles tightly bound. Her eyes followed the gold-like ribbon from an eye-loop on the floor to the silver collar around his neck.
'She placed a collar on Sesshomaru?'
In other times she would have found this amusing. But now, she realized Sesshomaru had been neutralized. He would not come to aid anyone, even if he wanted to. That meant she needed to wait for Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango to arrive. Without a doubt, a trap had been laid out for their 'expected' arrival.
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Asaia sat by the water's edge, staring into its depths. Hopefully her little bug made it through Atokiyada's detectors. The aura would be small enough to be missed by most of Atokiyada's minions. Hopefully Kagome was beginning to have dreams of their un-sisterly past.
"Come on!" Inuyasha yelled. "I think I've got something!"
Asaia perked her head.
'So, it starts.' She spoke softly, getting to her feet.
Sango and Miroku immediately left Shippo by the fire, sitting on the log until he understood that they were leaving…now. Inuyasha and Miroku, followed by Sango and KiRaRa began to assemble at the far end of the field to begin their rescue mission of Kagome kidnapped by the celestial-demon woman.
No one mentioned Sesshomaru, content with the knowledge that he would be freed during the mission since Jaken insisted on accompanying the group. Rin shook Jaken anxiously from a peaceful afternoon slumber against the tree near where Shippo stood dowsing the fire with water. The green Imp demon ignored the human girl's dire attempt to waken him urgently. He waved a leathery hand, returning to his peaceful slumber.
"Come on, Master Jaken!" Rin pleaded, shaking the Imp by the shoulders once more. "We are leaving very soon!"
"What is it, you irritating girl?!" Jaken swiped at her hands pushing on him, eyes still closed.
"Inuyasha's leaving!" Rin got to her feet and retrieved the Staff of Two Heads. "He must've detected something. Come on, Master Jaken!"
Jaken opened his eyes, jumping onto his feet instantly. He grabbed the Staff from Rin and began to run after the group already moving out of the field where they set up camp. Rin tried to keep up with her small legs, running as fast as she could behind him.
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KiRaRa, in full demon form, carried Miroku, Sango, Shippo, with Rin and Jaken towards the back. Surprisingly, the demon cat did not complain under the combined weight of the rescuers. Inuyasha bounced along the ground with Asaia on his back, his hands holding her up beneath her bottom. Her arms were loosely wrapped around his neck, Asaia found the whole experience enjoyable, a smile on her face as her hair bounced in the wind with every leap Inuyasha made. He wanted to keep his nose closer to the ground to maintain the scent of the stinkbug attached to their attacker after the last assault on the group.
Oddly, the scent did not grow stronger as they followed the bug's distinctive odor. Inuyasha frowned, believing that the stinkbug.
"I don't like this!" Sango called out to Inuyasha on the ground.
Inuyasha stopped momentarily.
"What?!" Inuyasha growled. "Why you say that?"
"I agree, it's too easy." Miroku agreed. "We should've met some kind of defensive already."
"If we're even going in the right direction." Shippo chided lowly. "Inuyasha's been wrong before, you know."
"Shut up if you know what's good for you!" Inuyasha growled.
Shippo cringed and cowered behind Miroku. Not that Inuyasha could reach him this far from the ground. Still, he did not wish to risk it. Rin placed a hand on his shoulder for support.
"Shippo may have a point." Sango added in the Fox demon's defense. "If she knows we're coming, she might have led us on a pointless chase away from the castle."
"I know we are following the right path." Asaia spoke from behind Inuyasha. "I would know if my bug has been detected immediately."
"How so?" Inuyasha asked.
"It would reappear on my shoulder." Asaia blushed. "A spell I placed on my little friend that should it be discovered, no physical harm would come to it. Not even Atokiyada knows about it."
Sango threw a glance over her shoulder at Miroku. Both shrugged unable to deny the girl's claim. If Atokiyada did indeed find the stinkbug, Inuyasha would have changed direction by now. The two half-celestials were sisters so it was not a too far-fetched plan. Still, both had their doubts about the true motive.
"No, this Atokiyada wants us to find her!" Inuyasha fisted his hand, keeping the other under Asaia. "If she thinks we're a bunch of push-overs, she's got another thing comin'!"
"LOOK!" Shippo's excited voice called out.
All looked ahead at the mountains in the distance covered by beige cloak…of sand. Here the desolate reaches of the heat and lack of rain kept the terrain barren during the summer and fall. The winter and spring saw little to no rain at all as well. Thus, little vegetation survived this part of the world. But that was not what caught their attention.
Movement in the soil caused them to worry. Everywhere, bubbles of sand and dirt toiled and grew larger. As they covered the distance, the group realized that something was forming beneath the ground surface. As the bubbles grew larger and larger, each bubble elongated and seemingly took the shape on an oval egg.
With each egg, the shape pulsated with grotesque breaths until a head, legs, and legs formed. The large head lifted and opened its mouth but no sound came out. The creatures' necks grew longer as the grainy skin formed scales of armor. Each arm and leg formed and extended where thick, razor sharp claws crystallized. Suddenly, large bulbous eyes blinked open, glowing a deep yellowish-orange color. The wings were the last to form, expanding out to the side in a exhibition of power.
"Sand Dragons!" Sango and Asaia called out together.
Inuyasha skidded to a halt below where KiRaRa hung in the air. Asaia dropped to the ground softly, walking around the half-demon to take a closer look for herself. She felt sadness overwhelm her, both eyes glistening with the threat of tears.
"What do we do now?!" Rin asked hopefully.
"They are Tir's creations." Asaia said softly. "He has been sent to keep us from advancing further. She's not ready for us yet."
"You mean this is just a way to waste our time?" Miroku asked slightly annoyed. "Keep us busy?"
"Wasting our time?" Inuyasha repeated Miroku's question, anger in his voice.
Asaia nodded. "Yes, my sister does this when she doesn't want to face someone right away. She may try to separate us."
"We'll have to stick together on this one." Sango said as KiRaRa landed.
"Oh Sango…" Miroku closed his eyes. "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to be…"
SLAP! Sango whacked the monk over the head with her Herykotes, causing a large bump to form. Shippo frowned in response, his eyes darting to where the monk's hand rested against Sango's rear end. The demonslayer did nothing more than lift her chin, sliding off a wide eyed KiRaRa.
"That's really getting annoying, monk." Sango ground out, replacing her weapon back onto her shoulder.
Miroku continued to sit on KiRaRa rubbing his bump as if it were treasured, a devilish smile on his lips. 'Ah, my Sango!' Rin stared at the monk from behind, curious and innocent as to why the demonslayer chose to hit the monk at that moment. Jaken did not bother to pay attention.
"So how do we fight them all at once?" Shippo wanted to know urgently, regaining his composure.
Inuyasha was not sure if Tetsusaiga would keep them permanently dead, pulling his only inheritance from his father from its sheath. He faced other demons in the past formed from dirt and soil that separated when cut with a blade. No matter, his sword could take them all out at once. They could deal with any stragglers later.
Asaia rolled her eyes. "Why, with water of course."
Miroku and Sango glanced from the Sand Dragons now taking to the air in flight heading straight for them in numbers measuring thousands. Suddenly her idea made a lot of sense. One problem: Where to get the water from? There was no source within ten miles of this place!