I do not own Inuyasha. Not mine. Never will be.
Then Darkness Again and a Silence
(From "The Old Clock on the Stairs")
… … … … …
By day its voice is low and light;
But in the silent dead of night,
Distinct as a passing footstep's fall,
It echoes along the vacant hall,
Along the ceiling, along the floor,
And seems to say, at each chamber-door,-
"Forever-never!
Never-forever!"
Through days of sorrow and of mirth,
Through days of death and days of birth,
Through every swift vicissitude
Of changeful time, unchanged it has stood,
And as if, like God, it all things saw,
It calmly repeats those words of awe,-
"Forever-never!
Never-forever!"
… … … … …
Never here, forever there,
Where all parting, pain, and care,
And death, and time shall disappear,-
Forever there, but never here!
The horologe of Eternity
Sayeth this incessantly,-
"Forever-never!
Never-forever!"
Longfellow
She tried to breathe in slow, steady breaths. She tried to count her heartbeats as they thrummed in her ears with every pulse. She tried to focus and see through the blackness at least some form that her surroundings had. She tried to listen to the gentle gurgling song of the water as it flowed and the splash as it fell from some source in the ceiling. She tried to remember how Sesshomaru's hand felt as it caressed along her naked skin and how the warmth and softness of mokomokosama wrapped in ownership around her with such tenderness. She tried to think of a moment other than the one she was living currently. She tried, but she knew he was there. She could smell his scent and it made her almost wretch in disgust. She fought to bring back the scents in her mind of the ones who made her feel safe and loved. Inuyasha, whose scent always carried the clean, life of grass and new leaves blended with the wind and sweat. It wasn't the rank odor of a day of hard work. It was simply the salty musk of exertion on clean skin. Sango, whose scent was dusted with jasmine from her perfume and the leather of her armor that hung to her skin and hair as if it had been woven into her aura. Miroku, whose scent was so thick with incense that it hung to every part of him from the folds of his robes to his hair. Shippo, whose scent was a blending of childhood reverie in the forest and the musk only Kitsune possessed. Sesshomaru… His scent was so new in her memory but it was there more strongly than anyone else's. His clean, yet heady scent that blended many scents into one that was unique to him. In his hair was the faint scent of oil used to condition it that vaguely reminded her of clove. His skin smelled clean and distinctly masculine and predatory which he shared with mokomokosama. His hand carried the soft scent of leather wrapped around the hilt of his swords and his clothing carried the scent of the polish he used to maintain his armor. No scent was greater than the softest whisper and all wove together into something that was distinctly him. She focused on the memory of his touch and his scent with a violent resolve that she would not feel as Naraku's tentacles wrapped around her and drew her out of the chilly waters of the underground stream. That she would not smell his disgusting scent that blended rotting roses and muddied puddles collected from the gutters of rooftops. That she would not hear his voice as he spoke to her, revealing his intent. She tried so hard to hold onto the memory of Sesshomaru. How his voice was like the finest silk wrapping around her in safety when he spoke her name. She had to hold on.
"You will come to enjoy what I am going to do to you, Kagome. You will see. All you need to do is give in." The words were sickening in her ears. She tried to block them from her thoughts. She tried to remember every word Sesshomaru had spoken to her in the last few days. She tried to focus on the inflection in his voice and the beautiful, transfixing sparkle in his eyes that said what he had never said.
He loves me… He'll come and he'll save me.
She was thrown to the ground harshly with a low sound of disgust from her captor. The sharp gravel cut into her skin painfully, but she didn't cry out. He hadn't begun his assault yet. If he did, she would allow herself to scream, but until then she would fight back her fear and focus on those who were coming. She would focus on Sesshomaru.
"You think he will love you after I am finished with you? Your innocence stripped away. Marked and claimed by one he so despises? Oh, yes, pretty Kagome, I will mark you and claim you. I will ensure that you are mine and he will turn from you in as much disgust as you turn from me now."
"No." Her voice was strong even though her heart was breaking. "He loves me. He knows you would have to force me and he will forgive me."
"You think Sesshomaru, the Taiyoukai of the West could forgive you? When has he ever forgiven anyone? He is only infatuated with you. You shared his memories and it has given him a moment's pause. But that is all it is. When I send you back, he'll turn from you. They all will."
"You don't know." She breathed and hugged her abdomen. "You don't understand. They love me. You can't understand what that means, you can't hope to. You are worse than evil. You are so void of anything other than your hatred and desire for power that you are incapable of love."
"Oh, sweet miko! It is true that I do not love. I was obsessed with Kikyo, I admit it. I am obsessed with you. But you are foolish to believe that simply because I cannot love that I am evil."
"No. You aren't hearing me. You aren't evil, Naraku, because even evil can love. You are worse than evil. You are the void itself, swallowing up everything because you have nothing within yourself."
She fell forward. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. She tried to drag in breath but it would not come. Something was jutting through her chest. She could not see, but she could feel as the piercing pain spread from its origin through her whole body. A solitary tear slipped down her face as the rattle of her final breath escaped and she went limp, impaled upon the steel of a blade.
Naraku pulled the katana from the girl's body and let her fall dead onto the gravel shore. "Pity that your friends arrived before I could finish with you, or even begin for that matter. They are at the gate now, intent on saving you. Intent on killing me. But I will not be here when they arrive. If they're lucky, they will find you in time for the blasted Taiyoukai to save you with his Tesseiga, but I have forged this barrier so that not even Tessaiga can break through it. You see, Kagome, while I would have loved to have broken you and sent you back to them, I had a feeling they would find a way to discover our location and that they would attempt a rescue. Either way, they have lost you and I will be able to take advantage of their pain. Rest well, beautiful Kagome. I hope to come across your next incarnation so we can finish our little game properly."
Naraku turned from the slowly cooling corpse of Kagome and walked toward the small waterfall and ascended through the ceiling to the secret exit on the other side of the mountain. He could sense the soldiers at the gates failing to repel the little band of heroes, intent on a rescue that was already lost.
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
Longfellow
They had reached the palace gates and, with one stroke of the red Tessaiga, had rushed into battle without pause. The soldiers were golems made of youkai, humans and clay that were animated with the souls of the dead. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, in tandem, raised their blades and cut through the soldiers with ease as Kouga and Sango cut down the soldiers that were flanking the Inuyoukai and hanyou. Miroku focused his energies and searched for Kagome's life force along the thread of light that connected them.
Where are you, Kagome? How do we get to you? He thought as something akin to desperation throbbed through his heart.
He had almost located an entrance to the cave that was encircled with Naraku's barrier when a sharp pulse passed through him. He gasped and doubled over in agony as he felt a sword pass through his back, impaling him. He looked down to find no offending steel of a katana. Nothing. No blood to stain his hand crimson. Only the pain. His focus was ripped away from the phantom wound to the thin thread of light as it began to stagger and fade all together. "NO!" He yelled and rushed to the front of the fighting, opening his hand and freeing his Kazana and drew in the throng of demons without warning. When he closed his hand and wrapped the beads around his palm, he felt the piercing gaze of a very angry Taiyoukai.
Miroku turned and matched his piercing gaze. "We need to hurry and I didn't have the time to warn you. She's more important than posturing."
Sango knew the tone of Miroku's voice. Something had happened to make him panic and take an almost suicidal risk. "Miroku, what's happened."
The monk turned and started running toward the entry to the cave. "He killed her." He replied to his beloved's inquiry and instantly heard the footfalls of the others as they raced to catch up with him. Sesshomaru was at his side before the rest. "There wasn't time…"
"Do not explain yourself. This Sesshomaru realizes your actions." He responded with a tone of begrudging respect. The monk had acted fearlessly for Kagome's sake and, though he might never say the words, he was grateful for the action even if it had begrudged the Taiyoukai of the West his bloodlust.
The mouth of the cave came into view. Naraku, or the previous inhabitant of the palace, had commissioned a heavy set of wooden doors to keep access to the cave restricted. The dark energy of Naraku's barrier throbbed from behind the doors and sent an ominous wave of anticipation through the group that approached.
Sesshomaru paused a few feet in front of the doors. A deep frown creased his brow and when his brother and Kouga approached hastily, he barked out in a sharp voice. "Stop where you stand."
"Kagome's in there! We have to get to her!" Inuyasha growled and furrowed his dark brows as he looked to his brother.
"If you think I am unaware of who is behind these doors and the urgency with which we are pressed to reach her, you are more of a fool than I've taken you for, Inuyasha." He snarled back in an uneven and dangerous tone. He kept his eyes trained on the long plank that was holding the doors shut. All of his instincts were asserting that he did not have much time. Tesseiga pulsed in its sheath in anticipation and Sesshomaru knew that what he would find beyond the barrier was not the breathing, warm and beautiful angel he'd held so close the night before. It would be a corpse. If he did not reach her soon, he would miss the chance to resurrect her, but everything else aside from his base emotions and instinctual knowledge was the ever present tactician and strategist who said, most assuredly, that there was more than simply a barrier waiting beyond the doors. "There are guardians waiting behind these doors in anticipation of our arrival. Naraku is not a fool and those soldiers we fought were not his elite guards. With the ease that we reached this place, no doubt both Naraku and his incarnations have fled this place and the most powerful of his minions are waiting between us and Kagome's body."
"Tesseiga is responding?" Miroku asked, readying his Kazana.
Sesshomaru nodded and moved behind the monk. Though his frown did not fall from his features, Sesshomaru felt mildly glad that he and this cursed human were so close in their deductions and in knowing what must be done. "We should prepare for battle. Kouga, Inuyasha, move behind Miroku. I will break the door."
Kouga and Inuyasha did as was asked of them, though both warriors did so begrudgingly. This was no time for them to argue Sesshomaru's sudden self-promotion to leader of their rescue. Kagome was by far more important than any dispute.
Sesshomaru raised Tokijin and smiled faintly as it hummed with power and malevolence. He raised it and sliced easily through the door at a distance. The wood splintered and broke in a flurry of power and evil until there was nothing left of the doors but great chunks of timbers propelled into the waiting contingent of elite youkai soldiers and a vast swarm of Saimyosho.
Miroku surveyed the peril and instantly knew they could not reach Kagome in enough time if they had to fight through the force that waited for them. Naraku had anticipated their every move and had left the monk with only one two choices. Live and know that the girl who he thought of as his sister and the only one who could end the evil of Naraku or risk his own death and save Kagome. Miroku hadn't even contemplated his choices before he acted. He opened his palm and freed the black depths of Kazana onto the contingent they faced. He could hear Sango's cry and plea for him to stop. I am sorry, my Love. I would stay with you if I could, but without Kagome I would lose you when I lost myself to the curse that is slowly consuming me. Kagome is more than simply someone we see as our sister. She is the reason we are still fighting.
After the last of the elite youkai and the Saimyosho had been drug into his palm, the monk closed his hand around his prayer beads and collapsed into the arms of the beautiful woman who had pressed herself to his back shortly before to help support him until his task was done.
"You stupid, stupid man…" She sobbed and held him tightly. Her tears wet his face, but he did not feel them. Blackness had claimed him and, soon, death. He had absorbed too much poison and had no chance, even with Kagome's cures, to survive.
"Inuyasha, break the barrier." Sesshomaru said as he looked down on the dying monk. Once his brother and Kouga had rushed to the barrier, he lowered to one knee. "You love him."
The words were said softly and with a kind of care foreign to the Taiyoukai's voice. Only Kagome had heard those fervent tones and now, as Sango raised her head in confusion, she saw the warm and sincere gaze of Sesshomaru. "I… Yes. He is my whole heart." She replied as the shock of seeing such care and warmth in Sesshomaru even if none of his emotions touched his features. Her attention was torn away from him as the death rattle of Miroku's breath filled her ears. "No… Please, no…"
Tesseiga pulsed. Sesshomaru did not hesitate. He drew the sword. He saw the imps collecting the soul of Miroku. He slew them and then stood. He kept Tesseiga drawn. He would need it soon enough for the girl who was fast becoming his whole heart as well.