Inuyasha

Gangsters Paradise

Chapter 18

Forest

April 15, 2023

Kagome and Sesshomaru had been running in the forest for nearly half an hour already. "Let's pause here for a moment. Drink some water and we can clean up your wounds." Kagome said once they reached a creek.

"We need to keep moving." Sesshomaru said with a shake of his head as he looked behind them for any signs that they were being followed.

"Sesshomaru we'll die of dehydration and exhaustion if we don't take chances to drink water and rest." Kagome said as she watched across the creek to make sure no one had snuck around them to corner them in a pincer movement.

"You're right I know but my gut tells me we have to keep moving. We are nowhere near far enough from them to rest." Sesshomaru said as he turned to look at Kagome worried for her safety; he had sworn she would never be hurt again but here they were escaped prisoners of the Gumo Gang.

"We need to at least drink some water and choose a direction." Kagome said motioning around them at the surrounding forest. They knew their trail to this point was an absolutely a no go, they couldn't go back the way they had come.

Sesshomaru looked around at the forest around them with a small sigh. "It's going to be dark soon." He said as he looked up at the sky. He kneeled down on the creek bank, took a couple of hand fulls of water and washed his face with it. He did want to get the blood off his face if nothing else, he dried his face with the sleeve of his jacket then looked over at Kagome to see her cupping water and drinking. "I think we need to go down the creek." He said then began taking drinks of water like she had done.

"I think up stream." Kagome said pointing up the creek and looking at the rougher terrain.

"That'll take way too long, downstream will be easier and take less time." Sesshomaru said looking over at her like she had lost her mind.

"Think about it Sesshomaru. Going into the water will cover our tracks, if you were tracking us which way would you assume, we would go?" Kagome asked curiously wondering if he would listen to her idea or not. They had never been put in a life-or-death situation where their decisions meant one or both of their deaths.

Sesshomaru thought for a moment looking around at the terrain. "Downstream." He concluded with a small nod over to Kagome. "Very well upstream it is." Sesshomaru said then stood up suddenly looking back the way they had come.

"We need to move and now." Kagome said startled as she looked back towards the cabin too. Two distinct gunshots had been heard as it echoed through the forest.

"It's a good bet that those two guards are now dead, and they know we are gone." Sesshomaru said looking down at Kagome worried again. "Let's go." He said walking into the middle of the creek.

Kagome ripped a part of her shirt off then ran downstream a short distance placing it on a sharp bush branch that had little thorns that would have grabbed on and ripped her shirt. Then she moved into the stream and ran up to Sesshomaru. "Just in case they need a little persuasion that we went that way." She said with a wink and a smile.

Upstream was steeper and rocky with several changes in direction for the creek. "Come on there is a waterfall up ahead." Sesshomaru said as he helped Kagome up a particularly slippery section of the creek, they had been trudging up the creek for about two hours now.

"What's so great about that?" Kagome asked slightly out of breath, tiered, sweaty, wet, cold, and miserable.

"There is a cave behind it. I found it when I was a kid doing survival training one summer. Father still has no idea how I faired so well." Sesshomaru said with a grin at his own accomplishment.

"Great it's been dark for half an hour already, I'm tired." Kagome said as she glanced around at their surroundings hoping they were already there. Walking in water was difficult but in moving water it was damn near impossible to stay up on her feet, a feat in which she had failed at twice already.

"Yes dear, not much farther." Sesshomaru said with a small chuckle, to be honest he was tired too and wanted to rest in a safe place for the night. They hadn't heard anything since those two gunshots earlier in the day, so they assumed they had lost their pursuers if they had been pursued.

After another ten minutes Sesshomaru pushed through the waterfall to find his cave followed quickly by Kagome. "Take off your clothes." he said as he began taking off his suit jacket.

"Excuse me?" Kagome asked as she looked over at him like he had lost his mind.

"We don't need to track water through the cave. There is a place to hide in the back out of sight of the opening here, but it won't do us any good if we leave a trail of water to us." Sesshomaru said as he began ringing out his jacket along the entrance making it look like the waterfall was splashing just inside the cave.

"Oh, sounds reasonable." Kagome said with a shrug and pink cheeks as she took off her over shirt then her undershirt and began ringing them both out. "It's really dark back there." She said glancing around the cave curiously.

"Yes, and without our cell phones it's going to get darker." Sesshomaru said as he laid his jacket down on a rock by the entrance so he could unbutton his shirt to take it off.

Kagome looked over at Sesshomaru just as he pulled his undershirt off putting his two shirts together to ring them out like she had done just moments before. The uncertain moonlight coming through the waterfall did look magnificent as it shimmered on him as his muscles worked on his shirts.

"Your pants too." Sesshomaru said which dragged her attention back to reality, noticing that he had already put his undershirt down with his jacket and put the button-down shirt back on, which was left unbuttoned, rippling with his movements. He was now in the process of kicking off his pants to wring them out as well, they had spent the most amount of time in the water and were absolutely soaked from the knees down.

"Uhm…right…" Kagome said turning bright red as she began taking her pants off to wring them out as well. She was shorter than Sesshomaru, so her pants were wet above the knees, but not quite halfway up to her hips.

"Come along." Sesshomaru said as he picked up his other clothes, held his shoes in his hands, and began making his way farther back into the cave. "Stay close." He cautioned her as they reached the back of the cave and went around a corner she couldn't even tell was there.

Kagome followed close to Sesshomaru for several more feet before he stopped and got down on his hands and knees. "You've got to be kidding." She said as she squinted at the dark shadow before her disappearing into a dark wall.

"Keep up Kagome." Sesshomaru said back to her before he continued on his way.

Kagome rolled her eyes, huffed, then got down on her hands and knees and began following him. After what felt like hours, which was only a matter of minutes, they emerged on the other side in a gigantic cave. There was a gap in the roof just a few inches wide, just enough to let some moonlight into the cave. She was surprised to see a few things here in the cave like a rustic floor mat for sleeping, a clothesline, a fire pit, a small table, and a chair all which looked to have been built a long time ago woven together by branches and vines.

"I told you I faired very well on my survival training." Sesshomaru said with a grin on his face again.

"I see that." Kagome said amazed as she looked around the room. Over to one side was a very worn and weak looking bow with small tree branches sharpened into arrows, larger tree branches sharpened into spears. "What were you training for the Roman colosseum?" she asked curiously looking back at him.

"No, just proving a point." Sesshomaru said as he tested out the clothesline curiously wondering if it would still hold or if it would break.

"What point?" Kagome asked confused as she walked over to him.

"That I was better than my father, that I didn't need him or that annoying pest Inuyasha. I was brash and angry at the age of ten." Sesshomaru said with a shrug as he decided to put his clothes on the line to dry.

"Just at the age of ten huh?" Kagome said with a small giggle as she tossed her clothes down on the chair since it was too small for either of them to sit in.

"Alright so most of my youth." Sesshomaru said as he glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow. He picked up her clothes and hung them up as well to dry.

"Now that I'll buy." Kagome said as she sat down against the wall, leaned her head back against it, and yawned.

"Get some rest Kagome, tomorrow will be another long day." Sesshomaru said as he looked back at her fighting against sleep.

"You're tired too, and I don't want to hear any different." Kagome said as she looked over at him patting the ground beside her.

"One of us should stand watch." Sesshomaru cautioned as he looked up at the gap in the ceiling. It seemed to be, at his best guess, around 8 or 9pm judging by the light filtering into the cave.

"And just who is going to search and find this little haven?" Kagome asked curiously as her eyes were getting heavier and she yawned again.

"I will sit with you, but I will keep watch for a few hours." Sesshomaru said with a sigh then walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"Good enough." Kagome said with a small smile just before she drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~ The Next Morning ~*~*~*~

A dim light began to seep through the crack in the roof of the cave as the morning sun filtered through the forest above them. Sesshomaru was fast asleep still leaned against the cave wall with Kagome pressed up against him with his right arm draped around her to keep her close. The rustling of small animals above them began to draw Sesshomaru out of his dreams and his eyes began to flutter open. He rolled his head from side to side trying to stretch his neck muscles. He looked over at Kagome as best he could since her head was laid on his shoulder and all he could see was the top of her head. He wanted so badly to stretch his shoulders and legs, but he didn't want to wake her.

Kagome feeling the increase in Sesshomaur's breathing and movement began to open her eyes as well. "Good morning." she mumbled as she leaned up and rubbed her eyes. "Did you sleep well?" she asked almost robotically like her mind hadn't processed where they were at this very moment yet.

"About as good as anyone sleeping against a cave wall." Sesshomaru said as he stretched his arms over his head groaning at the movement. Then he stood up and dusted himself off and shook some blood back into his legs awkwardly moving around the cave to look up trying to gage the time of day.

"Right, sorry." Kagome said as she stood up and walked over to their clothes to see how dry they were. To her surprise everything seemed to be dry except for the bottom of their pants from the night before and she began to dress after making sure to dust herself off first.

"Nothing to be sorry about, any day we wake up together is a good morning." Sesshomaru said chancing a quick glance at Kagome.

"That's true enough I suppose." Kagome said with a bright smile on her lips though she didn't think he would be able to see it. "How long until we get home?" she asked curiously as she walked over to him to give him his pants.

"We're a good couple of hours away still. But if all goes well, we could have the Gumo destroyed by dinner tonight." Sesshomaru said as he put his pants back on noticing with a slight frown that the ends were still wet, no time to dwell on that now they were going to get wet anyway getting out through the waterfall.

"Now that's a plan." Kagome said. She was eager to get rid of this gang, this Naraku was a total jerk who needed to be taught a lesson and quickly.

"Let's get going, they've probably figured out that we didn't head down stream by now. We've got to stay ahead of them. There is no telling how close or far they are from us." Sesshomaru said as he put on his shirt then put the over shirt back on and headed for the crawl space to get out of this homey cave.

"Right! You're familiar with the land I'll follow your lead." Kagome said as she followed him through the crawl space. Once she popped out to the other side, they made their way to the waterfall where Sesshomaru went through first on the far side of the cave. He reached into the cave to help steady Kagome on her way out. She followed him quickly holding her breath through the water. Once out of the cave they scrambled up the hill taking a few moments before popping out into the open to check for their enemy.

In the early morning hours, everything was sparkling with dew in the sunlight. If it were a different situation Kagome thought, it could be a magical time of day with the way the world seemed to glow around them. But as the morning went on the dew evaporated and the temperature began to rise as the sun rose into the sky.

"Stop." Sesshomaru said quietly as he stopped and looked around worriedly. There was a lot of noise heading towards them, the crunching of leaves and twigs and a lot of that. "Run." he said urgently grabbing Kagome's hand to make sure she took off with him and he didn't out pace her with his longer strides.

"Sesshomaru how much farther?" Kagome asked as she tried to keep pace with him.

"Not much farther, just keep going no matter what." Sesshomaru said glancing over his shoulder to see Naraku's men rushing out of the undergrowth towards them, but to his dismay it wasn't just a couple it was a whole line that had them cut off on three sides. He pulled Kagome forward, so she was level with him. "Run and don't look back." He said letting go of her hand and shoving her forward.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome yelled as she looked back at him since he stopped.

"Go damn it! Get help!" Sesshomaru yelled back looking over his shoulder at her to make sure she was going.

Kagome nodded and kept running. She glanced back several times to see Sesshomaru fighting the fastest of the bunch chasing them. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about what could happen to him as he defended her escape. She broke through the tree line onto the road and instantly she knew where she was, she turned and started up the road quickly tripping on a rock she fell to the ground. Sesshomaru was right they were really close to the house.

A car skidded to a stop just short of hitting Kagome, she rolled over in fear then recognized the car as the driver rushed to get out of his car. "Inuyasha! Help him!" Kagome blurted out as she rushed Inuyasha pointing back into the woods where she had just come from.

"Here call father!" Inuyasha said tossing her his phone and then drawing his weapon. He darted into the woods heading in the direction she pointed but soon just began following sounds. He got closer to the sounds of fighting when a gun shot went off and he ducked behind a tree. He closed his eyes steeling himself for the worst but continued skirting around the talking as quietly as he could.

"Kagome's already got help!" Sesshomaru said angrily as he fought against the man holding his hands crossed on top of his head. There were ten men strown out on the ground around Sesshomaru unconscious, but he was on his knees bloodied with another ten men standing there ready.

"Oh, I'm sure she has. But I've got you. What can your old man do to me?" Naraku said with an evil smirk on his face.

"You think having me will save you? You're wrong it just insures your death." Sesshomaru said angrily as he tried again to get his hands free.

"Dear boy, all I have to do is slit your throat and let you bleed out here and slip away into the shadows. Keep tempting me and I'll do it." Naraku said putting a blade to Sesshomaru's throat the edge just barely cutting the skin. "The things I will do to her will make your head explode once I get her again, and I will catch her again." he said with a wicked grin on his face.

"Bastard!" Sesshomaru said angrily as he glared at Naraku but was unmoving due to the knife at his throat.

Naraku leaned up pulling the knife from Sesshomaru's neck with a sneer on his lips. "You have no idea how much of a bastard I can be boy." he said just before punching Sesshomaru across the face. The impact forced Sesshomaru's face to the right and he spit out blood before bringing his face back to Naraku with a look that said he wanted to kill this man. "Take care of him." Naraku said as he turned and walked away.

Inuyasha watched Naraku walk away from his brother and the men standing near Sesshomaru begin to hit and kick him relentlessly. 'Sorry Sesshomaru...' Inuyasha thought as he followed Naraku.

~*~*~*~ With Kagome ~*~*~*~

Two cars pulled up in front of Inuyasha's car with Kagome pacing back and forth watching the forest. "Kagome, I'm glad you are all right. Where are they?" Taisho asked as he walked up to her with a couple of his guards and Shinta who was her guard.

"In there... Inuyasha went after him... Why haven't they come back yet?" Kagome said frantically waving her right hand at the forest without taking her eyes away from it, her left hand was clutching Inuyasha's phone.

"How many were following you?" Shinta asked softly reaching out to catch Kagome to keep her from pacing and talk to them.

"20...Iidon't' know..." Kagome said frantically searching for her friends with her eyes since Shinta was holding her still.

"How long has Inuyasha been in there?" Taisho asked looking down at his phone, his men should be here any second, it had only been a couple of minutes since receiving Kagome's call.

"As soon as I called you Inuyasha went in to help Sesshomaru." Kagome said glancing over at Taisho then back to the forest. A gun shot went off in the woods. "NOOOOOOO!" she screamed and tried to run into the forest, but Shinta had a hold of her.

"There's nothing we can do except hope that was Inuyasha. My men will be here in a moment." Taishi said clutching his phone so hard the screen cracked but his eyes never left the forest.

"I have to get to him!" Kagome said as she tried to pry Shinta off of her, she felt his gun and she stilled. A plan began forming in her mind and she quickly put it into action. She leaned against Shinta crying but the tears never came. She spotted his gun and when he let his guard down to comfort her, she grabbed it and shoved him as hard as she could. "Sorry need to borrow this!" she said as she darted into the woods.

"These kids are going to kill us all. Let's go." Taisho said as he too headed into the woods with his two guards leaving Shinta there to instruct the rest of his men where to go.

Kagome made sure the safety was off and the gun was chambered as she made her way back through the trees. After a few moments she could hear talking and she slunk down behind a bush and began quietly making her way towards them. By the time she got to the area where all the commotions were Sesshomaru was being beaten by several men while Naraku laughed watching. 'Where in the hell is Inuyasha? Was that the shot, did I miss him on my way in? I've got to stop this.' she thought to herself.

'Now's my chance!' Inuyasha thought as he sprang up out of his hiding place just behind Naraku placing his gun in his back. "Call them off!" He growled out then noticed another gun pointed at Naraku's head and glanced over surprised to find Kagome.

"Do it you son of a bitch!" Kagome said angrily, shoving her gun into the side of his head hard. "Move the wrong way and I'll splatter your brain all over this forest!" she warned when he moved his arms.

"Well, that was a nice visual." Inuyasha said softly before bringing his attention back to Naraku. "Get on with it." he said shoving his gun into the man's back.

"Fine... Stand down..." Naraku growled out angrily. Had it just been the one he might have had a chance to escape but with two it would be impossible.

"Well done, my men will take over." Taisho said motioning his guards to take over guarding Naraku.

Kagome and Inuyasha let the guards take over their places dealing with Naraku. "Sesshomaru!" Kagome said worriedly as she made sure the Gumo gang members backed away from her boyfriend.

"You were supposed to run and never look back." Sesshomaru said as he pushed himself up off the ground. His right eye was bruised already and swollen shut, he had blood streaming down his face from above his right eye, from his nose and the corner of his mouth. He was cradling his left arm with his right hand once he got into a seated position.

"We're in this together." Kagome said softly as she brushed some of his hair out of the blood before it dried and matted to his face.

"Alright father's men are here collecting these assholes. Let's get you back to the house." Inuyasha said as he kneeled down beside his brother while putting his gun back in its holster.

"Inuyasha..." Sesshomaru said switching his gaze over to his younger brother.

"Yeah?" Inuyasha asked curiously as he got ready to help Sesshomaru up.

"Thank you." Sesshomaru said softly.

"You're...you're welcome." Inuyasha said unsure of what else he could say. "Here we go." he said taking most of Sesshomaru's weight getting him into a standing position.

Sesshomaru cried out in pain then gritted his teeth. "Pretty sure my arm's broken." he said then hissed. "And maybe a few ribs." he said leaning over on Inuyasha more than he would have ever liked.

"Here." Kagome said picking up some thick sticks off the ground and ripping off the bottom of her shirt. She placed the two sticks on either side of Sesshomaru's arm then tied the shirt around it as best she could. "It won't help your ribs, but it'll stabilize your arm at least." she said then began helping Inuyasha lead Sesshomaru back to the road.