Hey there everyone! Here is chapter 28- I hope I haven't made you gone too crazy from the long wait! I have been incredibly busy with midterms for college, and was grateful when I finally received some time to myself to type this baby out! Hope the wait was worth it for you!
Chapter 28-An Imposter's Icy Cruelty
Kagome tried to calm her shaking hands as she held the bow in a slippery grasp. She could literally hear her heart thumping in her chest. The room was eerily quiet. Kagome's eyes swept over every inch of the room, her miko powers extending out, trying to catch a sliver of demonic aura. She could sense it, lurking just beyond the light, the malicious impression that plagued the room, overwhelming her senses. She felt suffocated.
Kagome's head whipped around at the sudden crash that broke the unnatural silence. She saw Inuyasha spring from the ground in an acrobatic display, flipping through the air, his arms flung out, claws slashing in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
The half demon landed by her side and straightened out. A small trickle of blood snaked from the cut on the corner of his mouth. He lifted a hand and wiped it away quickly. His nose and ears were now on full alert as they scoured the place for any hints that would give the demons hiding place away.
In exactly the same spot where Inuyasha had been standing, the concrete looked like it had been torn away from the very foundation of the building. A large crater had dented the cement, cracks littered the whole, scattering with an explosion of hundreds of miniscule lines fixed within the floor as the solid material crumbled. Kagome grimaced. Whoever they were dealing with knew what they were doing.
Inuyasha let out a ferocious growl. "Whoever the hell you are, you can stop playing games with me! Why don't you come out and show yourself, instead of hiding in the shadows?"
Inuyasha's bellow apparently fell on deaf ears, because the room remained silent. Kagome took in a shallow breath, her chest rattling. It seemed as if they would remain in the dreadful silence for ever, when out of the darkness echoed a deep chuckle. The sinister laughter bounced off the bare walls of the gutted building. It filled Kagome's ears, and pounded in her head.
"I was wondering when you would make your journey back to my humble establishment, Inuyasha." The voice was deep and rough, and very human sounding, which was odd.
Inuyasha's head snapped to the opposite of the room. That voice… it sounded so familiar, where had he heard it? Kagome's spiritual powers were spiraling; trying to sense the exact location of where the enemy lay in hiding.
The sound of expensive shoes clicking upon the concrete floor filled the room. Inuyasha and Kagome stared up at the north corner of the room, where darkness cloaked like a heavy blanket, giving no view of what lay just beneath the shaft of black.
A figure slowly emerged from the gloomy shadows. Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock and utter disbelieve. It was the shop keeper, the one he had handed his tetsaiga over to in exchange for the ring, the one who had seemed so helpful and kind. The half demon's head was spinning at this newly discovered thought.
The man continued to walk forward, almost at a casual stroll. He was dressed in a formal suite, a black jacket accompanied by a white under shirt and a silk tie. A jacket was buttoned over the shirt He wore dress pants and his shoes were buffed and polished to a gleaming shine. The man had a black mustache which he continually twirled into a bushy knot with his large hands. A small patch of thinning black hair littered the man's head, leaving the rest of it shiny and bare. His face held an odd expression, somewhere between a smile and a smirk. It was if he had no idea that he created the powerful crater by which Inuyasha had so nearly dodged. He stopped a few feet away from where they stood.
"And to think, I was beginning to believe that you would not show up, but alas my worries have been squandered, because there you stand. And, you have brought your lovely fiancée I assume." He gestured towards Kagome with a grand sweep of his arm, as if she was a fine piece of jewelry he was showing to a greedy millionaire customer.
"Let's cut the small talk shall we?" Inuyasha said I fairly even town, though Kagome could tell he was struggling to maintain his temper.
"Now, now no need to be rude. I was merely including your fiancée in the matter; after all it would be quite impolite of me not to address her. What kind of salesman would I be?" He asked aloud. And all the while his voice radiated a warm pleasantness, to which Kagome found to be very unnerving.
"Listen here you conniving bastard! Inuyasha ground out through gashing teeth. His patient was already wearing very thin, and this man was putting a strain on it with his indifferent tone and eccentric behavior.
Inuyasha bit back a gasp as he realized that the man no longer was standing where he once had been. The spot was vacant, where he had been only seconds before. Instead there was only dark, must, stank nothingness.
Dam he is fast! Inuyasha admitted to himself.
"Well that was very inappropriate, I must say." The voice rang out, in a reprimanding tone, as if to scold them. Inuyasha whirled his head about wildly, trying to decipher where he had vanished to.
Kagome's heart skipped a beat as she searched for the man's unusual aura. How had he disappeared so quickly!
A subtle breath of air tickled the back of her neck, making the hairs stand on end. Kagome's heart nearly stopped. "Here I am." A voice hushed against her clammy neck. And before Kagome could even think of screaming, before she could muster the energy to use her powers, she felt him snatch her. And then a loud roaring filled her ears, blocking out all other sound. She felt cold wind bombard her face as if she were in a raging storm. The room blurred, and Kagome felt her eyes water uncomfortably at the freezing wind that seemed to slam against her.
Inuyasha felt his stomach clench in unruly knots. His head snapped to the spot Kagome had been, but she was not there. Instead all that remained was a quivering patch of air, floating in the atmosphere. It almost looked like it was a physical material that Inuyasha could touch. But when he swiped a claw through it, it fell right through. The air floating there was extremely frigid.
What the hell was that! Inuyasha screamed in his head.
"My, aren't we the slowpoke?" The velvety voice echoed throughout the room. The sound was magnified as it bounced off the concrete walls, and boomed in Inuyasha's ears.
He swiveled the furry white tips on his head, trying to get a frequency of where they might be. There it was! Craning his head around him angled it at an angle in the upper corner of the building. Jagged pieces of concrete and debris where piled up into a massive mound, several feet high. There perched on the tip, he was, Kagome grasped in front of him.
"Let her go, you insolate swine!" Inuyasha spat, his eyes blazing. This man was taunting him, and using his mate to do his bidding. That did not sit well with Inuyasha at all.
"Now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself properly." He said serenely. He gave a short bow, bending Kagome uncomfortably with him. She clenched her jaw, but otherwise she was silent. He spoke as if he scarcely noticed her discomfort. "I am Yamashi."
Inuyasha's jaw twitched, showing his displeasure with the man. "I have no time for formal introductions. Release my mate and perhaps this won't turn ugly."
It was if Yamashi was unfazed by Inuyasha's threat. He continued to stare down the half demon, his dark eyes never wavering.
"Now Inuyasha you know that that's not how this works. After all, if I let your mate go, I wouldn't have any leverage over you now would I?" Yamashi spoke to him in a patient tone as if explaining it to a small child.
Inuyasha clenched his fist tightly, suppressing the urge to send the man to hell for touching Kagome. But she was held in front of him, and attacking now would risk her being hurt and that was unacceptable.
"Let's talk business shall we?" Yamashi's smooth voice crooned.
"Keh, you want me to talk business with you?" Inuyasha asked scornfully. He stepped forward a few paces. "You crossed the line when you took my mate. Forget business, you will be lucky to be alive by the time I'm finished."
Yamashi's face remained perfectly passive. "Oh I wouldn't be so worried about something as insignificant as fighting Inuyasha, especially when you lack your precious tetsaiga."
This seemed to strike a nerve in Inuyasha, and he let out a deep growl, his golden eyes darkening.
"My my, I hope I haven't offended you. But after all it was you who gave me your sword in the first place. So pardon me if I seem to be a little reluctant to engage in battle."
"At the time I had no other options and I gave up my sword as a last resort!" Inuyasha barked at Yamashi.
The suited man smiled, while still keeping a firm grasp on Kagome. "Well that was a bad decision on your part then. It is not my fault that you chose to give up your fabled sword for a pretty rock." Yamashi gestured at Kagome's hand, where the glittering ring lay on her elegant finger.
A shadow passed over Inuyasha's eyes as he stared at Yamashi. All the while the man observed the half demon in his stewing rage, an almost childlike gaze on his face. Inuyasha had absolutely no idea as to why this man who gave off the aura of demon was looking so passively at him. All he knew was that he had crossed the very thin line that held Inuyasha's patients in check. There was no going back now.
Why in the seven hells is he so dam calm! Its unnerving how completely at ease he is. And what is Kagome's purpose! If he so much as lays a hand on her, I will not control myself.
A battle raged on inside Inuyasha's mind, his conscious almost pushing him to the breaking point. There, deep within his being, it stirred. The beast. His inner monster, clawing at his insides, desperate for a release from its fleshy bound prison. Fire burned in Inuyasha's chest, making him clench his eyes shut to wait out the struggle. He could not keep up this calm demeanor much longer.
Yamashi's cool gaze scoured Inuyasha, watching his inner battle with an indifferent iciness.
"What appears to be the matter? You seem tense Inuyasha." Yamashi called out, stating the obvious to the seething dog man.
Inuyasha sunk his fangs into his bottom lip, trying to keep his inner demon at bay. Without the tetsaiga, he was more prone to transforming. And with no means of reversing the transformation,
he would become a carnivorous beast, intent on killing every living thing in his way. Including Kagome.
NO! That is unacceptable! I WILL NOT stoop to that kind of means! If it ever comes to that situation I would rather be killed than kill my mate. No. She will remain safe.
Inuyasha kept reassuring his mind that nothing would happen, but anxiety still left nagging traces in his head, nibbling, biting, dragging its imaginary nails along the inner walls of his very soul, taunting him, and making him weak.
It has to be now. He decided. Or else, he might lose himself in his own madness. He tensed his body, physically preparing himself. On the outside he looked like a strong built, merciless opponent. On the inside his walls were crumbling down much like the desolate room they now stood in.
He locked eyes with Kagome for a split second; he hoped that he could make her comprehend what he wanted in that short glance. And then he launched himself, propelling from the rock hard gravel, bits of rock cascading from his assault. A small cloud of dust rose up from the friction at which he had jumped. He flew like a fiery bird towards Yamashi and Kagome, all the while praying that she would know what to do.
Seconds before Inuyasha was upon them, Kagome landed a swift elbow into Yamashi's broad chest, catching him off guard and causing him to momentarily release her. The miko ducked just as Inuyasha collided in a blur of red and silver against Yamashi, sending him skidding back a few feet due to the momentum. The sound of crunching gravel could be heard as something heavy slammed into the concrete wall. An enormous dust cloud erupted as falling rocks broke off from the gray barrier and plummeted towards the ground, breaking into rubble upon impact.
Holding his sleeve over his face so though as to protect his windpipe from the chocking haze that had enveloped the area, Inuyasha peered through the dust, squinting at the spot where Yamashi would be once his vision returned.
The dust finally settled, and Inuyasha stared fixated on the dent that had appeared on the wall. Yamashi was not there.
Swearing under his breath, Inuyasha scanned the room, trying to detect movement, or a flaring aura, anything that would give Yamashi away.
Kagome's senses where tingling as she fanned out, her powers searching for Yamashi's specific aura that plagued the room.
"Kagome! Are you all right?" Inuyasha's anxious voice sounded in her ears.
"I'm uninjured." She reassured him, her senses still scanning wildly for aura. They locked eyes once more.
The room was deathly still once more. Where had Yamashi disappeared too so quickly? Kagome had no doubts that this man was a demon, but what was his purpose for being here- owning a jewelry store? The miko's brow crumpled in confusion. She picked her way cautiously about the room, her senses on high alert for anything suspicious. Her ring caught the rays of limited light that poured through the broken window and into the darkness. Kagome admired her ring momentarily, mentally noting that it was what caused them to return here in order to retrieve the tetsaiga. Shaking her head trying to banish those thoughts, she forced herself to focus on the here and now.
Kagome stopped dead as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. The room had taken on a sudden icy chill. Kagome watched as a puff of white spoke escaped her mouth, and faded into the rapidly chilling atmosphere. She shivered, and was glad she still was clothed in her kimono its long material covered nearly all of her skin, protecting it from the cold better then modern clothing would have.
It's spring, why the sudden abrupt change in weather. How odd. Kagome inquired. And it was then that she noticed. And her blood ran as cold as the air surrounding her. Ice was forming on every structure and surface in the room. It formed on every boulder, collected on the broken counters, frosted over the glittering glass pieces and created icicles on the jutting rocks. Taking a quick glance towards the window, Kagome noted that the shadow the sun's rays had cast were slowly being eaten away by the unforgiving ice. The outside remained the same, the warm sunshine shining brightly down on Tokyo. Only the inside was beginning to look like winter.
The obvious solution came to Kagome like a smack in the face. It was Yamashi. He was causing this frosty weather. Kagome flinched as she felt something small and cold penetrate her skin. She tilted a head back, staring up at flurries of snowflakes that fluttered down from the ceiling, where dark, angry storm clouds had formed.
Kagome closed her eyes, trying to ignore the cold that had evaded her kimono and seeped into her skin. She focused on the source of energy that was creating this blizzard. After several minutes, Kagome opened her eyes, a triumphed look glazed in them. She had found Yamashi once again.
"Inuyasha! He's over there!" She called out to her mate, pointing at a huge pile of over jutting rocks and debris.
This time the half demon had no hesitation. He sprung from his spot and leapt through the frigid wind, whipping snowflakes out of his line of vision. He was once again met with the cold emptiness of thin air, as Yamashi dodged his attack. As quick as lighting, the weather wielding demon streaked away in a burst of cold air.
Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat as she felt his familiar, foreboding aura surround her in a glacial wind. The snowflakes stung her cheeks as they where propelled by the vicious wind. Her dark hair whipped wildly about as the wind tugged and pulled at it.
Kagome did her best to put up a front; this was Yamashi's way of toying with her. By manipulating the elements. And then she felt it, his hold on her. The cold grew stronger as his arms encircled her and lifted her effortlessly from the ground. Kagome thrashed and flailed about in his icy grasp, but it was no use, his grip only tightened, letting the cruel ice seep into her skin, chilling her bones. Kagome felt her muscles begin to grow heavy. Her lids began to droop uncontrollably.
She managed to keep her eyes open in order to see Inuyasha leap towards them with a furious snarl. And then he disappeared from her sight as a massive ball of ice and snow was launched at him, encasing him in a frozen prison.
No matter how hard she tried Kagome could not fight off Yamashi. The cold began to ebb away as her body started to grow unusually but pleasantly warm. A tingling numbness took over Kagome's being, clouding her in a sleepy binding. And then she went slack against Yamashi.
"There now, that wasn't too bad now was it?" Yamashi asked the unconscious miko. And you got to sleep too! How pleasant for you!" He chirped quietly to her.
"Now we must be heading off my dear. Can't be too much later or else the ice will start to melt." Yamashi gingerly picked up Kagome and swept over to the opposite side of the room in a gust of wind.
After staring at a specific spot on the wall, his eyes focused intently, Yamashi held his palm out towards it. After a few moments white energy began to gather at his fingertips. After gathering a sufficient amount he propelled the energy at the wall. The white crackling mass slammed into the sturdy wall, and upon contact it began to eat away at the concrete.
Soon a decent size hole had appeared in the almost impenetrable wall. Yamashi walked briskly through it and into the bleak looking abyss that lay beyond.