AN: Hey everyone, sorry that the April chapter came out in...well...in May. I'll still try to get the next chapter out this month as well. Thanks for reading. And, don't forget to review! The good, the bad and the ugly - I want hear whatever you have to say! Thanks!
Timeline:
The Slayers takes place two years after Try. Lina is 19.
Inuyasha takes place while Kagome is 17. She is still dividing her life between her present and the past. The group is still after Naraku.
Disclaimer:
I do not own Inuyasha or The Slayers.
The Lesser Kindred
Chapter 12: Alone
Pain.
Lina saw nothing but black. Whether her eyelids were open or close seemed irrelevant. It was dark, and that was the only sense of sight that her brain could register. Her eyes could have been fully functional for all that she knew, but her mind couldn't register anything but the most basic, primal of feelings. As if she was reverting back to a being that only felt fear and hate.
Pain.
Her veins burned.
Her lungs were on fire. Just breathing was torture. Her breath came out in spastic gasps intermingled with violent coughs. From somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she recognized that bits of blood and other various flesh were being hacked up from her throat and lungs.
Every nerve in her body cried in agony. From the tips of her toes to the hair follicles on her head she could feel her synapses misfiring. It wasn't a slight tingle but rather like electricity racing through her flesh. Every breeze that caressed her body felt like razors scraping across her skin. It was pain, plain and simple.
Lina wasn't even able to focus her mind enough to realize what was happening. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to her skull. All thought process was stopped in lieu of the torment that coursed through her body. It was a torture beyond understanding. If Lina was asked to describe it later on, she wouldn't be able to. All she would be able to say was that it hurt, a lot.
Her soul screamed. It felt as if she was being split into two. As if something foreign was invading her body. Ripping and tearing away at parts that she never realized existed. But worst of all she felt the darkness swarming all over her. It seeped into her pours and crawled over her skin. It made her feel sick and tainted. She felt alone and worthless. Violating her body and mind. Lina felt like the darkness would sweep her up and she would forever be lost in its currents. Swimming for her life in a sea of pain and hate. Forever alone.
Rational thought escaped her. Time escaped her. She was stuck in a limbo of torment without an end in sight.
Lina was dying, she was sure of it.
The sickly caress of her soul finally ended, but the after effects did not. She still felt dirty, tainted. Her body convulsed and her head pounded. She grasped at coherent thought while trying to control her seizing muscles. But even that simple function escaped her.
Time continued to pass as if it was in eons instead of minutes. It was immeasurable, consisting of only pain. All awareness of her surroundings was gone. There was only darkness and the cold abyss that encompassed her. Complete isolation.
Throughout the fog of her mind, rational thought fought to return.
She tried to sit up but found that she couldn't control her limbs. They seemed to jerk around uncontrollably and then collided with something hard. Her attempt at movement caused her pain to double, a slight jolt that went through her arm as the collision traveled through her body. Every bone ached with the spastic actions. The nerve endings of her skin screamed with pain. She was aware of every piece of clothing that scratched across her skin. It burned. She moved again, but this time she tore at her chest, trying to loosen the yellow sash that she wore. Wanting to be free of the constricting material.
Someone grabbed her arms and the pain only intensified. She could vaguely hear a voice but couldn't make out the words. Were they speaking to her? Her ears were ringing and it sounded like someone nearby was screaming.
She felt a pressure on her forehead and then all went black.
Unfortunately, the blissful unconsciousness did not last for long. Lina woke as a slight breeze ruffled her hair across her face sending sparks shooting through her body. Her body reacted without a moments thought. Opening her eyes, she tried to find the cause of her pain. Objects swirled in her vision and made her stomach churn. She quickly closed her eyes but she wasn't fast enough. Bile rose up her throat. Lina rolled on to her side as best as she could despite the aches that engulfed her. Hopefully, she had turned over enough that by the time she vomited it wasn't all over her.
Her entire body felt dirty. Lina's skin itched and felt heavy. And oh shit her head hurt. When she had opened her eyes she had made it worse. The slow thudding had turned into a fast throbbing.
She rolled onto her back with a painful thump.
Lina realized that even this hell was an improvement from before. At least this time she had thoughts that consisted of more then just emotions.
More voices assaulted her senses. Their identities remained illusive to her and there was no way that she would risk opening her eyes again. Not when she felt this horrible.
She was jostled again but this time the movement was too much. Pain overcame her and much to her relief, she passed out for a second time.
Lina slowly opened her eyes. Her body fought out of unconsciousness. She struggled, forcing herself back to her senses. It was not a pleasant awakening. Her mind was sluggish and rational thought lurked in the far recesses of her mind.
Images blurred around her as she tried to focus on her surroundings. Shit, it felt like she had just gone ten rounds with Shabranigdu and lost. What the fuck had she been doing yesterday? There was movement to her right. She let her head fall to the side to see who else was in the room. All she saw though was a pale grayish blue blob that permeated through the fuzzy darkness.
The blob of color noticed her movement and came to her side. As it came closer she could see yellow amongst the blue. It must be Gourry with her. Lina tried to move but couldn't seem to get her body to obey.
"Here," Gourry said as he helped Lina sit up and took a place next to her. The blankets that she had been so carefully tucked into pooled at her waist. Cold air assaulted her skin almost instantly triggering goosebumps on her flesh. Lina couldn't seem to stay up though and leaned against his shoulder. "Would you like some water?"
For the first time Lina noticed that he had a glass in his hands. She was grateful for it too, water sounded like paradise.
Lina reached for the cup but her arm seemed heavy. Gourry took pity on her and brought the cup to her lips. Normally she would protest at being treated like toddler but she really didn't have the energy. Instead, she was thankful that he was willing to help without her having to ask for it. He only let her take a few sips before pulling the glass away. She felt a little better with some water in her, but it was only marginally.
"Thank you," she managed to get out now that her throat was moister. It still burned though, like she had spent hours screaming at the top of her lungs. "More."
Lina weakly reached for the glass again only to have Gourry help her for a second time. This time she drank more and was able to move her hand up to the glass to at least control the tilt of the cup.
As water filled her stomach, her vision began to stabilize. Images stopped swirling around and final stilled. Gourry came into sharp focus next to her. He was staring quite intently at her face, concern marring his features.
It felt so good to be able to concentrate again.
Relief filled her as she took in her surroundings.
She was in a small bedroom that she had never seen before. Even in the darkness she noticed that there was barely enough room for the mat that she was laying on and the small rack of weapons that sat against the wall. An open closet was across from her contained a lot of red and white clothing. The moon hung high in the sky visible through the window confirming that it was night.
As she scanned the room trying to figure out where exactly she was, her eyes rested on a very familiar outfit folded at the foot of the bed.
"Gourry!" she attempted to scream but only rasped out. Lina made a reach for the sheet that had settled on her waist in order to pull it up over her bare chest. Unfortunately, the sudden movement was too much and pain shot through her body. Lina stiffened and curled, the lack of clothing no longer seemed like a problem.
Gourry grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and draped it around her shoulders. It fell around her and into her lap as she tried to control her burning nerves.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths.
She pulled the blanket closer around her as the pain finally ebbed out of existence.
Sparing a glance at Gourry from the corner of her eye, she could see him staring sheepishly at his hands, a slight blush marring his cheeks.
Lina opened her mouth to yell at him for getting an impromptu peep show before changing her mind. The poor guy hadn't even seemed to notice that she was hanging out for the world to see until she did. He had seemed genuinely worried about her. Because of that, she supposed that she could forgive him for just this one time.
Lina's mind returned to the task at hand, trying to figure where exactly they were. Not to mention, how exactly had she woken up naked and feeling like she had just gotten the shit beaten out of her multiple times.
Gourry must have seen the confusion on her face.
"We're in Kaede's second bedroom," he awkwardly said.
Lina nodded as it came back to her. That's right, they were on a mission to recover Phil's book and had met Kagome and Inuyasha in the process. But that still didn't explain why she felt like shit.
"But then why…." she trailed off as she was trying to remember what had happened.
"Remember Lina," Gourry coached. "The deal with Xelloss?"
Lina stilled as she involuntarily shivered again.
Oh yeah, Lina remembered all right. Her body tensed as she remembered the pain. As she remembered the dark and the fear that had coursed had through her veins. She didn't realize that she was still shaking until she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her.
Lina buried her head in Gourry's chest. She was not going to cry damn it! Tears threatened to well up in her eyes so she just pressed against him tighter. He didn't whisper any of those stupid reassurances that always made her want to hurl. No, he just held her and remained quiet. They had been together for a long time. And thankfully, he seemed to know just what she needed.
If it was Amelia right now, the girl would insist on talking about feelings. Insisting that it would be alright - meaning well, but never actually grasping the situation.
Zelgadis would pat her on the back awkwardly. Actually, he would just be awkward about this entire situation. He was never one to deal with emotional issues very well.
But not Gourry. He was her rock. One of the few things that remained constant in her life. Zel would often run off on his own quests, coming and going as he pleased. Amelia often spent time with her father, training to rule the country one day. But Gourry was always with her, content on roaming the country side and taking whatever jobs that pleased them. In fact, it was hard to imagine the past years without him by her side.
Lina pulled away, not liking the direction that her thoughts were taking. Especially not liking the direction considering she was wearing nothing but a blanket around her shoulders. She rubbed her eyes, getting rid of the tears that threatened to fall.
Gourry just watched her.
"I'm not crying," she said causing him to smile.
"I never said that you were."
Lina gave him the best glare that she could in her current condition, before laying back down. Even that brief movement caused pain to shot through her body once again. A groan escaped from her lips as she settled into the mat. The blanket was still wrapped around her shoulders. It stayed over her breasts but she could feel the cool air on her stomach. Before Lina could move to pull the blankets at her waist back up, Gourry had beaten her to it.
"Thanks," she mumbled closing her eyes. Even though she had just woken up, all she wanted to do was go back to sleep.
"I'll just leave you then," Gourry said. She felt him shift to get back onto his feet. Lina reached out her arm and placed it on what she could only assume was his leg.
"Don't," she whispered, turning her head towards him and opening her eyes. Lina would have never considered herself a people person, but right now, she couldn't think of anything more horrible then being alone. The darkness that she remembered crawling along her skin threatened to come back. Just the thought of it made her cold. Whatever Xelloss had done to her, she still wasn't recovered. "Please stay."
Gourry watched her for a moment before settling back down next to her. He leaned his back against the wall and stretched his legs out.
Relief road over her in waves now that the threat of being alone vanished. Lina closed her eyes and let sleep wash over her. It didn't even occur to her that as she drifted off, her hand was still resting on him.
"Succhii has yet to return," Malachi's voice permeated the air.
The words rang through Kagura's ears. Although she stood out in the hall, practically pressed against the wall and out of Naraku's eye sight, she could still feel his eyes burning into her. Malachi's back was all that she could see as he faced Naraku. To say that Malachi stood still was an understatement. His head barely tilted towards Naraku almost daring him to respond. The Mazoku's arm moved as he tossed something into the room. It glittered making Kagura assume that it was the jewel shards that they had captured earlier. Her ears barely picked out movement of fabric as Naraku caught the pieces.
Kagura could practical picture what was running through his mind. If it was any other one of his minions that had gone missing or even died today, then he would have considered this mission a complete success. Hell, even the loss of her would have appeased him more. But this was one of his Mazoku. Unlike Kagura, Succhii had fit perfectly into his plans. He was a loyal follower right after Malachi. Malachi was the one who had searched Naraku out, and Succhii had been brought to him soon after.
"He was to be part of my cabinet after my ascension," Naraku almost growled out.
"There are others who are willing to take his place," Malachi said stepping further into the room and out of her sight. "Others who will do anything to serve you when you come to power."
"There had better be," Naraku responded. "What happened? I was under the assumption that this would only be a simple errand for you two and Kagura. Speaking of the witch, where is she?"
Aw fuck.
"Here my Lord," Kagura tried to smile as she stepped out into the doorway and around Malachi. Naraku echoed her smile, but there was no mirth in it. She fought the urge to take a step back which would be an admittance of failure. No, she would stand tall and proud. There would be no escaping the pain that would soon be upon her. She knew that she was in trouble; knew that she was going to be punished for the failure. But she would keep her head held high and proud, not giving Naraku the satisfaction of seeing her fall.
"How nice of you to join us," he drawled.
"Pleasure's all mine," she responded.
"Now, tell me what happened," he demanded turning back to Malachi. "I'm very curious how one of the Upper Kindred was defeated by Inuyasha and him merry band of misfits."
Malachi did most of the talking. He explained that they had destroyed the wolf's clan and delivered the message to Kagome. They had left Succhii there for a little fun. He never came back. Kagura didn't have much of anything important to add. All she spoke of was being chased by Kagome and the girl named Amelia.
"Did Lina kill him?" Naraku asked. Considering everything that was said about the girl, it was a likely conclusion.
"I doubt it," Malachi responded. "Lina Inverse is good, but Succhii was also good. If he was dead, I would have found his body by now."
"So he deserted?" Kagura asked.
Malachi gave her an blank look out of the corner of his eye. It was a look that definitely made her feel stupid for asking the question.
"Hardly," he sneered out. "It's more likely that he was captured by someone who was powerful enough to hold him."
Kagura tried to hide her surprise at Malachi's words. This was the first that she had heard this. Why the hell wouldn't hell tell her that little tidbit instead of leaving her out and making her look like a fool?
"Who?" Naraku asked. Kagura tensed up, she knew that Naraku appreciated being left in the dark about as much as she did. He was often more violent about it too.
"Xelloss, the Beastmaster," Malachi frowned. Kagura hadn't heard the name before. She shot a quick glance at Naraku but his face revealed nothing. "He has a habit of showing up when Lina is involved. Not to mention that he is exactly the type the Demon Lords would send to take care of you."
"Will he be a problem?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Malachi replied. "He has the habit of sticking his nose into other people's business."
"Why wouldn't we have seen him with that bird of yours - Iris?" Kagura asked smirking with what she felt was an obvious flaw in Malachi's thinking.
"Because he has either not made contact with them yet, or has found a way to get around being observed by that bird," Malachi replied sounding very sure of himself.
Kagura fidgeted in the silence that was left by Malachi's statement. She didn't dare say anything to contradict what the Mazoku was saying. Especially not when Naraku looked like he was taking what Malachi was saying into consideration. It was obvious that the two were in deep thought as to how to counter-act this new development. Interrupting would only cause her more pain then that which was already promised.
"If you allow me to do some creative bargaining," Malachi finally said. "Then I can find just the one to take care of Xelloss."
"And what type of bargaining would that be?" Naraku asked.
"Either the book or the jewel after both have served their purposes. No Mazoku of enough power will take on Xelloss without either being offered in payment. They are sought after prizes in our world. Keeping both would be preferable, however we can part with one if we must."
Naraku went silent, considering what Malachi had said. Kagura crossed her arms and tried not to frown. It was so irritating that he would take that stupid monster's word for everything! Hell she was even made from a part of him and he still considered her to low to ever take her opinion into account. How the hell had that Mazoku wormed his way in? Kagura didn't understand and it was pissing her off. All of the years that she had served the man's every whim, groveled at his feet and took his torture had counted for nothing!
She had always been at the bottom. But back then, there really hadn't been anybody who would dare say that they held Naraku's ear. It was one solid matter in her life. If Naraku hated everyone, treated everyone like unworthy scum, then there was no one who she could compare her failure to. Which was what it was, failure. She had failed to impress him the first time and he'd cast her aside. Kagura wouldn't say that she was fine with it, but everyone was worthless in his eyes.
But not Malachi.
Oh no. He could do no wrong. He showed up out of the blue promising to help Naraku achieve what he sought after for so long and everything changed. Just showed up with that stupid lute on his back and practically charmed Naraku off of his feet. Malachi was useful. And her, well now she was an even bigger letdown then before. Kagura was barely even a means to an end. Her entire life she had lived in servitude to the man and it wasn't good enough. She was never good enough. She hated him, both of them, for writing her off so easily.
"Leave us Kagura," her head snapped up and out of thought. "Malachi and I have plans to discuss and you are not needed here."
Kagura growled out a 'yes my Lord' before walking out of the room. She tried to leave gracefully and with pride but knew that she failed before she even took her first step. There was no direction to her barely controlled stomping. She just walked until she reached one of the various doors that lead outside of the castle and stepped through. The night was clear and slightly chilled against her skin. Sighing she leaned against the one of the walls and looked out into the starry night sky.
Kagura was not useless.
Hell, she had managed to stay alive despite Inuyasha and his stupid friends; many others had not been so lucky. And yet, he still treated her like dirt. On top of that, she knew that it was not going to change anytime soon either. No, he would rise into one of the Upper Kindred and then she would stay right where she was.
If Kagura was lucky, she might even be able to clean Naraku's castle.
More than likely she wouldn't even live through Naraku's ascension.
Her days were numbered. There was no place for her in Naraku's new kingdom. There wasn't even a place for her in the one now. She only stayed out of fear. Fear that he could end her life at anytime he felt with barely a twitch of his hand. Fear that one day he would want back that little piece of his soul that gave her life and take it away from her. It was fear, plain and simple that kept her here.
But now she could see her end. Apparently her life consisted of a very short tunnel and the end light was in sight.
As Kagura stared up at the night sky, she realized she didn't want to go. She did not want to die when she had never really lived in the first place. Perhaps it was the desperation, the fact that she knew that once Naraku ascended he would not need her anymore. Kagura truly felt alone. But it was that night that she came to the conclusion that she was ready to do anything to continue on living.
Anything.