A/N: HEY!
Oh My Gods! 33
...Recap...
"Onigumo sold his soul to a band of demons since he was dying and desired to live. Naraku was more evil than Kurayami was and wanted to kill Midoriko, perhaps because she was a threat to him. She had no choice but to fight him for seven days and seven nights. On the last night, she knew she was going to perish, and bound herself to Naraku, creating the Shikon no Tama."
"That blasted Naraku!" Jaken yelled. He was very emotional today... "Midoriko was only able to bind his dark human soul to hers in the damn jewel! In that manner, Naraku became a full demon! What a foolish human!"
"So both Midoriko and Kurayami tragically died." Sesshoumaru was the opposite of Jaken, however; he was cold and calculating. "Continue." Apparently, this 'brief' history lesson was either affecting him...or becoming very boring.
"This story is getting long..." Rin groaned and leaned back against the couch. "Do I come in yet?"
"Actually...you do!" Myouga said. "The Shikon no Tama was bequeathed to someone—to this day, I still don't know whom—to protect it, but it was one day handed to is true keeper: Lady Kagome."
...End Recap...
Rin sat upright again. "Kagome? Our Kagome?" Who would've thought? Lady Kagome—I should start calling her that! Knowing the miko, she'd become flustered.
Myouga merely nodded. "It seemed that Midoriko's soul lived in both Lady Kagome, a very powerful miko, and you, Lady Rin, a very compassionate human. Kurayami, as promised, lived in Lord Sesshoumaru, who developed feelings for a human, and in Lord Inuyasha, whose rejection from the world allowed bitterness to dwell in his heart."
Sesshoumaru developing feelings for a human?! The couple on the couch shared a look. They weren't talking about it...ever. Nope. It was as though Myouga had never said it.
"Poor Mama Yasha..." Rin sighed. It was true she was compassionate—already she wanted to find him and hug the life out of him! Instead, she hugged her fiancé's arm, rubbing her cheek against it comfortingly.
Sesshoumaru just pretended she wasn't there...
"Ok, I'm getting tired of this so here's the condensed version. You all meet as destined and become mates, Naraku returns, blah blah blah, he wants to kill everyone and destroy the Shikon no Tama, more blah, the four of you join powers—the combined powers of Kurayami and Midoriko—and seal Naraku, but the loss of energy killed you. The end."
"That was a great way to end it, toadman..."
"Be quiet, human!"
Rin stuck her tongue out at the foolish imp, yet then became solemn. "So...we died. Then how are we alive now?"
Myouga took out a mini handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his eyes with it. "Lord InuTaishou and Lady Izayoi could not allow your triumph over Naraku to pass with so many grievances, since your lives weren't the only ones lost. Therefore, they combined their strength and changed time to five years in the past, erasing only the memories of you four. But in doing so, they sacrificed their lives."
"Are you saying my father didn't die when I was nine? He wasn't killed by Takemaru of Setsuna?" Sesshoumaru inquired, recalling the dream he had about five months ago involving a long lecture with his father. In all of his memories—or what he had of them—his father was absent except for the first nine years of his life.
What in the world did that mean?
He swore his father battled a man, who was obsessed with Izayoi, to the death! And prior to that altercation, his father fought a dragon named Ryuukotsusei and sustained grave injuries!
"No, he wasn't killed—Takemaru of Setsuna never possessed a dimension blade, either. You actually died before he did, m'lord," Jaken answered, and upon seeing his master quirk his thin dark brow, he elaborated. "Some of your memories, along with the other jewel keepers, were fabricated to keep you safe."
Rin sharply inhaled. So...my memories can all be fake... Meaning...perhaps at some point she had been adopted...and Rima could've existed and... Too much information. She could've lived happily without discovering any of this. Well, at least now I know why I can't remember Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome.
"It would explain many things, then." The 'awakening', their loss of memory, the loveable coincidences... Sesshoumaru was no longer forced to blow up this academy searching for the answers he desired. "At some point we will remember our past lives, correct?"
Myouga and Jaken shared a knowing glance prior to the flea demon responding, "It is a gradual process, however. You'll mostly remember through dreams."
Oh my gods... Rin was seconds away from fainting again. My dream could've been a memory! She had an ugly feeling it truly was a memory... Time to change the topic! "So, this Naraku guy...is he still alive?"
Jaken rolled his eyes. "Meimori recently unsealed him...that stupid dimwit..."
"I knew I should've killed him..." It was one of the mistakes the dog demon had to live with, unfortunately. "And I'm assuming the powers of Kurayami and Midoriko must combine again in order to destroy Naraku?" His life was so predictable lately!
Since when was Sesshoumaru a goddamn superhero? Inuyasha was the one with the superhero complex! He'd rather be a neutral person or at least a villain, dammit! This is what happens when I let Rin hang around me too often... Hmph.
"Wait—how do you guys know we won't die again?" It was the whole reason why they were back in time, right? Or that was what Rin supposed. The past—or future, whatever—repeats itself, you dumb butts.
Heheh...dumb butts... Wow, she was really sick.
"It's virtually uncertain, human. We're hoping—"
"Hope will not guarantee our lives." Sesshoumaru murderously glowered at his retainer, who shrunk away from him, already feeling bruises forming on his green skin. His master was so powerful; a mere glare efficiently punished his servant.
Myouga seemed to ponder it...but not for long. "Hmm...perhaps not. Oh well! I sense that you've all awakened—one last battle against Naraku will take place in the near future."
"What does 'awakened' entail, in the first place?" Rin asked, cocking her head. It was a question on Sesshoumaru's mind, as well, so he paid close attention.
"Your future selves were—I mean are powerful...extremely powerful. However, there is no time to wait for five years to pass so that you may all reach that potential. So, what InuTaishou and Izayoi did was keep your abilities dormant until the time was right. Now you can all access the powers of Midoriko and Kurayami. We should celebrate!"
Myouga could run off and celebrate for what Rin and Sesshoumaru cared...
"Geez, I hate all of these explanations," Rin sighed, gripping her throbbing head, "Inuyasha and Kagome are going to have fun listening to this."
"Hmph. Inuyasha might kill Myouga for keeping it from him..." Just as the dog demon might kill Jaken for lying to him...grr, he was still angry about it! Hey, for some odd reason, Jaken was being really quiet...
He knew something else that he was hiding!
At long last, an invisible light bulb flashed above a certain flea demon's head as he remembered this little something. "Oh! I almost forgot the reason we came here!"
Sesshoumaru flexed his claws. He was getting pissed off again... "So it wasn't to tell me you both lied about my and Inuyasha's amnesia?" Uh oh...those cold, perfectly round golden honey eyes narrowed into dangerous slits...
Bring out the microwaves!
"Nope! Seiryuu is coming to visit his nephews! I believe he is already in this realm, too..."
What?! His uncle was visiting him?! NO! Why hadn't these damn retainers told him sooner?! "If you have any last words, flea...say them now."
"Lady Rin! Protect me!"
Sesshoumaru's hand shot forward to squeeze the life out of the damn insect demon, but Myouga evaded his capture by jumping inside Rin's...well...err...
"He is just asking for death..." Jaken tsked while shaking his head, glad Myouga was being beaten for once and not him. "Thank gods for that."
"MYOUGA!!!" Rin shrieked and shot off the couch faster than a bullet. All the while, Sesshoumaru followed after her, growling like a savage beast of course, and Jaken made sure to hide in the kitchen where it was momentarily safe. "GET OUT OF MY SHIIIRT!"
A perverted flea demon was practically molesting her! EWW!!!
"Cowardice vermin bastard!" A certain dog demon wasn't having the best of days...
And then came a muffled reply along with a content chuckle... "It's actually kind of warm in here...what soft brea—"
"GRRR!!!" THUD!
"WHAT THE HELL?!?!"
"I'm scared, m'lady!"
First a flea decided to escape a beating and jump inside her shirt, then her fiancé tackled her in a fit of rage—what next?! Rin glared up at her fiancé, who was searching for the object of his fury in her shirt—oh hell no! He is not going under my shirt!
"Sesshoumaru, you have three seconds to get off of me!" He wasn't budging one bit until Myouga jumped out of her shirt, though.
"One..." Myouga was wriggling around her bra and it tickled the crap out of her...ew...
"Two..." Sesshoumaru's eyes bled crimson for a moment...
"Thre—"
Rin's countdown was interrupted by a muffled voice. "I'm getting pretty hungry in here... You wouldn't mind if I have a quick breakfast, would you, Lady Rin?"
"You're more than dead, flea!"
And Sesshoumaru just had to forget who he was dealing with as jammed his hand under his fiancée's pajama shirt. However...Myouga was a step ahead of him since he already bounced off towards the kitchen to hide around Jaken. He left a pissed off Rin and Sesshoumaru behind in the living room.
It took a while for the silver-haired immortal to realize what he was doing, and he glanced down at his fiancée, whose cinnamon eyes burned like the fires of hell. His gaze then lowered to the hand under her shirt...specifically over a certain area on her chest...
He blinked. She twitched.
"Are you getting off any time soon?" Rin's voice was absolutely deadly...yet calm. It was a bad omen if she was smooth and collected instead of berserk. Very bad.
Sesshoumaru knew she'd beat the crap out of him the moment he complied. So he stayed where he was for as long as he could. Their position wasn't all that bad, actually...
That was...until his sixth sense—the one which sensed immortal energy levels and auras—picked up on a strange occurrence near by. He slowly retracted his hand, but stopped his fiancée from standing, if only to have a moment of peace before she pounded him.
Because he completed his necklace, Sesshoumaru was able to descry an area in a short amount of time, unlike Inuyasha, who was of lower rank. Descrying meant reaching into his subconscious mind and ascending out of his body to look over a place or being from a whole new level. With this ability, he could discern the presence of various immortals in this realm, as well as potential dangers and enemies.
Well...there was definitely a large concentration of energy coming from the forest close by...an explosion of harmful energy only known to those controlled by nazu—oh no...
Shit! It's coming from Inuyasha! Gods, and Kagome had gone after him! She was in danger—his brother was currently a freakin' bomb of explosive energy, especially with what occurred last night! Shit!!!
His eyes widened and he stood up without another word. Even Rin noticed something was wrong when he immediately bounded out the door, not bothering to close it. She blinked rapidly in confusion, and sat up while fixing her shirt.
Kagome runs off in search of Inuyasha and now Sesshoumaru runs off in search of... It suddenly clicked. The wheels in her head were turning. Something bad is happening—it involves Kagome and Inuyasha...Sessh sensed it.
Rin then dashed after him without a second thought.
Victory. He loved victory so much he should marry it.
He felt like humming as he walked down the hall in his palace—yes, his palace and no one else's. The corridor was dimly lit and was more of a path to one's demise in a prison, but he hardly minded. Heck, he preferred darkness in the hall ways; his demonic night vision allowed him to.
Oh well—he was still victorious. Why?
Hmph. He just captured the untamable Wind.
Naraku smirked to himself as he pulled open a door to a secluded room in an empty wing in his palace, one in which servants—or slaves—weren't bustling about. Who needed servants? Of course, Meimori was incapable of living without people catering to his every whim...
Either way, he stepped into the dark room and ventured into the darkness until he approached a section lit by the moonlight filtering in through a small window stationed high on a stone wall. A figure was standing in the middle of the rays of moonlight...
No, the figure was chained to the wall and was forced to stand.
The demon god halted his leisure stroll in front of the figure, and his lips curved into a wide grin. He was proud of himself for not using Kanna to achieve his goals this time around.
"Kagura..." She asked for this torture by daring to fall for Meimori and seeking to protect him. If he permitted her feelings to grow stronger, then ere long, she'd expose his manipulation of the dog demon and ruin everything he strove for.
What was it that he desired? It couldn't be power; he had enough of it. Wealth...what could he do with money?
No.
He desired vengeance...he desired to taste the blood of the fools who sealed him.
Naraku knew about InuTaishou and Izayoi's meddling. He also knew that the four souls of the jewels finally awakened and planned to put an end to him. But he'd strike before them. It was a promise.
First...he'd use Meimori to defeat Sesshoumaru, or at least weaken him, for the damn dog was the strongest of the four keepers. Perhaps Meimori would also weaken Inuyasha for him...wasn't he supposed to bring the hanyou to this realm and remove Kurayami's soul?
His father, Seiryuu, wished to revive Kurayami using Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. He definitely needed to be careful with him...
In that case, Inuyasha and Kagome would be taken care of personally—they were the only ones who had the information of the Shikon no Tama's location. If the jewel was destroyed...then Midoriko's soul would also banish. As a result, Kagome and Rin would be rendered powerless.
Kagome was a threat since she was a priestess...
Rin possessed the ability to heal...hm...
...but to what extent?
"I have a use for you, Kagura..." There was no response from the figure chained to the wall; her body barely twitched. Not that Naraku expected her to respond, anyway.
She appeared to be dangling from the wall, since she wasn't even trying to remain standing with her chains. Her head had lolled forward, leaning above her chest, hiding her expression from view. His crimson eyes analyzed her face as he reached to lift her chin up.
Blank.
It was literally blank.
The wind sorceress would have glared at him murderously for imprisoning her, but she merely gazed back with dull ruby eyes. She actually had pupils, albeit scarlet ones that melded with the ruby, though they were currently absent, leaving her irises bare. Her pale lips were slightly parted due to her slack muscles.
All in all, she looked like a zombie.
Naraku tsked and sighed in dismay. "You shouldn't have thought of betraying me, my traitorous Kagura. Hm...you almost warned Sesshoumaru about what Meimori had in store for Rin... Preposterous."
Since she had a feeble heart...
...he removed it.
Kagura was currently heartless, soulless...she felt nothing, she heard nothing...she loved nothing...
She was now no better than Kanna emotion-wise.
"Well, now you're the perfect servant..." Naraku whispered, running his clawed fingers over the demoness's pale cheeks; colorless...without a hint of red. He was transfixed by his power of completely erasing the essence of a free-spirited person. "My faithful servant. And you have an assignment..."
Yes...in his plans of dominating the immortal realm, of seeking vengeance, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome were all taken care of—they will simply die. Especially Kagome, since she could purify him in an instant while the brothers could put up a good fight.
But...where did Rin fit into all of this?
If she could truly heal with her voice from what he could remember of their past lives...then wouldn't she be a great asset to him? There was no other person in the immortal realm who knew the songs of healing like she did—how the girl was able to accomplish it probably dated back to Midoriko's time roaming the realms.
And it would just be so heartbreaking to use Rin against her own mate...
Naraku smiled as his crimson eyes glittered at the thought. Poor Sesshoumaru. "So, Kagura, you will test Rin's limits...see what else she can do with her voice. And as for Meimori...I'll let him bring Rin to the dark side..."
But not as Rima...because Meimori's dreams of reviving her were impossible.
He was beautiful...
She fell onto her knees, out of breath. Her fingers dug into the brown soil beneath her as a method of providing stability, and she barely noticed her tears creating a small pool in the indentations her knuckles left behind. She struggled to fill her lungs with air, but as the moments passed, it became easier.
Yet...she could care less about all this.
He was just so beautiful...
...and she would be damned before she lost him.
"Ka...Kagome..."
Her chocolate eyes smiled at him, since her lips were too numb. They took in the way the rays of the rising sun bathed him in an ethereal light, making his lightly tanned skin glow like the god he was. His eyes...his eyes glistened, round in surprise, pupils dilated in shock.
Gods, they were clear windows to his soul, to his heart...
She saw his inner battle, how he desired to flee without ever looking back yet couldn't stand the thought of leaving her. But he was powerful...enchanting...there was still so much she had yet to learn about him.
And then Kagome realized she actually never took a good look at him. She did so now.
Her eyes followed his unruly silver bangs and his thick, long tresses framing his silhouette. They raked across his tense brow, his flushed cheeks... The curve of his throat; smooth and strong...her lips longed to test the smoothness of his neck.
Would he shrink from her due to its sensitivity?
His heavy intakes of air caused his chest to expand, and she envisioned the mass of toned muscle concentrated there from years of training. He had no extra ounce of fat on his body—he was lean, and in some aspects, slender.
Then her eyed drifted to his arms, which beheld his hidden strength. It was amazing to feel them wrapped around her...always protective... She would return his embrace by encircling his narrow waist, drawing him to her, allowing his warmth to enclose her. Alas, his long, nimble legs allowed him to stand at least a foot taller than her.
Gods, he was the most beautiful specimen in the world—a god. A hanyou god. A half-immortal hanyou god who meant the world to her.
And she wouldn't lose him.
"Inuyasha..." His name sounded like a sigh of bliss. Perhaps they shared their number of differences, perhaps there existed times when she couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, but she was a fool to take him for granted.
Kagome only saw her sacrifices before her eyes: how she abandoned dreams of marrying for love, forsook her friends, relinquished a life familiar to her...
Yet...Inuyasha sacrificed the most of all: his home.
He had to travel all the way here to the immortal realm, only to be thrust into a world of change upon change. He was forced to learn new concepts and expected to live among mortals with strange inventions and lifestyles. He tolerated this new experience that was far from familiar and barely fought against his mother's dying wishes.
Surely he missed his homeland, where he wasn't restricted by rules of society and such. Surely he missed it where abundant lands weren't tarnished by buildings and the air wasn't polluted. Surely he missed the life he used to live, in control of himself, free to do as he pleased.
Did he ever complain about it? Sure he did. He just never made it known.
It was so easy to disregard his feelings on the matter when he restrained from reacting the way she did. Hmph, from their first day together, Kagome rejected the notion of marrying him.
In contrary, he accepted it.
And all he did from thereon was adhere to what she wanted him to do.
Her tears clustered to form rivers trailing down her cheeks. They blurred her eyesight and caught her breath in a sob. Soon enough, her body convulsed along with her weeping, but she deserved all the sorrow in the world.
Even so...strong arms enveloped her.
Kagome gasped when she found herself flush against her hanyou's chest, her head tucked underneath his chin as he held her. The fact that Inuyasha hadn't turned from her instantly finished dissolving the dam barricading her emotions; her tears resumed while her sobs lengthened.
Time passed...it was unknown how long they grasped each other like a thread tying them to their lives. It hardly mattered. Not now.
Once she grabbed a hold of herself, the miko pulled back and stared into Inuyasha's eyes, which were pained to see her so desolate...pained because he incited her agony. She wished to erase his pain, but didn't know what to say.
What was she supposed to say after what just occurred? What did just occur?
Nothing, really.
He lost control of his raging energy, unleashed it in a dangerous explosion, and she purified it all in one large backlash of miko power. Basically, her unconscious attack cancelled his like positives and negatives.
So...he hadn't hurt her. She hadn't hurt him.
Everything should be okay...but it wasn't. Not since yesterday.
Somehow, Kagome needed to let him know that she realized how childish she was. Yet, words died on her tongue. Perhaps this was why most eighteen-year olds didn't marry—they just weren't ready to wholly accept partners into their lives and be willing to sacrifice a bit of themselves as well as embrace change.
Hmph. She'd be lying if she said she miraculously transformed into an 'Inuyasha-centered, wife-material, non-selfish' eighteen year-old. No, she was only recently enlightened.
Merely time could tell how much she would change starting from this day.
But he needed to know she wouldn't fail him again....no, she wasn't losing him again and vice versa.
Never.
"Damn, why do I always show up during a romantic moment? My first time, Sesshoumaru was about to make-out with Rin, and now you two are like crying in each other's arms! 'Oh, Inuyasha! I'm so sorry! Don't leave me! Of course I'll have your twenty pups!' It's disgusting! Bleh!"
Meimori...what a bastard!
Inuyasha and Kagome glared at the ranting dog demon once he jumped down from a tree branch he had lounged on. How long had he been watching them?! Neither of them sensed his presence; not a whiff of his scent, energy level, aura, youki—nothing!
The inuyoukai tsked in pity, circling them like prey. His apathetic silver eyes narrowed with his cocky smirk. "Not that I mind ruining a tender moment. But I was hoping to catch you alone, cousin."
Inuyasha was pissed. He stood up from the ground in rage and snarled at his damn cousin like a rabid dog; hell, his eyes were slowly bleeding crimson. If there was a moment he wished to lose control of his fucking energy, it would be now dammit! GAH!
No wonder Sesshoumaru despised Meimori!
"I'm not in the fucking mood for your shit, Mei-bitch, so why don't you go hide under your bastard father's skirt and leave me in fucking peace?" The hanyou bared his fangs at the older demon, daring him to test his patience.
Kagome stood up right behind him, warily eyeing the rather amused dark-haired demon god. "Why are you here, Meimori?" She tried to make her voice steady and calm, yet it was impossible to mask her apprehension.
"Thank you for asking so politely, Kagome! You're not rude like my dear cousin over here." Meimori glowered at the aforementioned hanyou, who snarled in warning. "Wow, I guess you're really not in the mood to play."
"Shut the fuck UP!!!"
"Listen, cousin, I'd love to stay and chat but I need to hurry up. Sooo..."
In one swift movement, like fluid water dancing along a surface, Meimori unsheathed his Aotoki sword and impaled Inuyasha in the abdomen before either he or his miko could move a muscle. His expression was deadpan instead of amused as he withdrew his blade, allowing his cousin's weakened form to crumple to the ground.
"Hmm...seems like the paralysis spell is working. Listening to Kizurei's three-hour rants finally has its use," the immortal muttered, gazing down at his immobile cousin. "Poor puppy, you can't move a muscle."
Kagome was having a hard time processing recent events. It required no description, no exaggeration, no drama; it was as though Meimori merely lifted his arm to point at a thief. Except in reality he impaled his cousin and rendered him immobile.
And that was it. The end. Now she was going to lose him after she vowed not to.
Losing him...she was losing him again...oh gods no...
She was in so much shock that she couldn't stop the demon god from slinging his injured cousin onto his shoulder.
"Well, cousin Kagome, if you need anything...that's just too bad. See ya later!" He turned around to disappear where he came from...
...but a silver handgun pressed firmly against his forehead halted his departure.
Meimori's silver eyes widened. "Kikyou..." Damn his luck! Of all the times she—argh!
The mahogany-eyed woman sustained unveiled an expression promising a swift death; of course, she had the ability to purify him with only one spirit bullet. "Unlike Kagome, I'm not letting you take off with Inuyasha. Now that's just too bad."
A/N: OMG! I don't know what to say so...um...ow. My damn tooth hurts!
Next chappie: We learn about Kikyou and the Gunslingers and what they have to do with everything! Miroku and Sango finally show up along with Kouga and Ayame! Seiryuu visits Sesshoumaru!
Sooo...how is Meimori going to react when he finds out about Kagura? Why is Kikyou so bitchy? Will Inu and Kags ever get to talk about their feelings? Will Rin truly be useful to Naraku? What will Seiryuu say to Sesshoumaru? How is he going to revive Kurayami? Why didn't Jaken explode? What's Yuka doing right now? Why does Naraku like to manipulate people to make life easier for himself?
Don't forget Seiryuu collected blood from the group of four five months ago...he still needs to use it...
Thanks to all those who reviewed! I love you!
NOW REVIEW TO MAKE MY TOOTH STOP HURTING! OWWW!!!! I'M NOT GOING TO NO FREAKIN' DENTIST!
