A/N: Yes, me alive. Me suffered a bit of writer's block and laziness. But now me on spring break so me can write more. :-D
Tada! After much toiling...my 300th reviewer is... *insert drum roll here* PuppiesAreAdorable! PAPPY!!!!!!! :-D The title is well-earned! And, well, you know the drill! And I still have to review your story so keep on waiting for me! WOOT! PARTY TIME!
I could've made this chapter shorter...but I was nice and didn't leave too many cliffhangers! Nah, I'm lying!
Enjoy the chappie!
Oh My Gods! 25
He couldn't live like this.
Dammit, what the hell was wrong with him? If Rima saw him now, she would die of jealousy and he would probably kill himself in shame. Hmph...longing for another woman who wasn't her...who belonged to a bastard he hated... What kind of dog demon was he? His kind was supposed to be known for loyalty to one's mate above all else!
Yet...here he was...lying despondently on his bed...wishing Kagura lied beside him.
I can't believe this, Meimori sighed in his mind, groaning miserably as he curled his body into a ball weary of the world. I centered my life, my second shot at life on Rima. Everything I've done was for her! Reviving Naraku, plotting to kill Sesshoumaru, betraying my father, desiring Rin...everything! But...gods, what have I done?
He unleashed an evil onto the entire universe... His efforts in the name of love were rendered useless! How could he say he loved Rima when he truthfully yearned for Kagura's touch? And why the hell did he only realize it once she was taken away from him?!
No...the dog demon knew why. It was because he assumed Kagura would always stand beside him, support any decision he made. He wrongfully assumed he could have Rima as his mate and still have his best friend close by. Heh, as if. Rima hated the wind sorceress and vice versa.
He just neglected their loathing of each other...perfected the visage of an arrogant prince.
Yet...he initiated these plans for Rima and he was determined to finish them for her. Yes, he was going to revive his deceased love—no matter what. Meimori smiled for the first time in two days at the thought of having his dark-haired beauty in his arms again, gazing at him with those piercing sapphire blue eyes he adored.
Kagura was his best friend—that was why her betrayal hurt him so much. But Rima was the love of his life; she couldn't be replaced by anyone. Ever. And he would come to accept it...one day he would accept the fact that he lost his best friend but gained a companion for the rest of his immortal life.
"If our master sees you now, he'd beat the shit out of your pitiful self."
Meimori growled low in his throat and snapped his head up to glare at his twin, who was standing at the edge of the king-sized bed smiling down at him. He rolled his Arctic silver eyes before muttering, "And to what do I owe this wonderful visit?"
Well, he didn't really need to ask. He and Kizurei were bonded since they were twins; they came from the same womb at nearly the same time. They grew up together and shared similar looks—of course they'd be able to sense the other's inner turmoil, as well.
I don't need to be consoled, though, the sable-haired demon god mentally growled. Not even by my own brother.
Kizurei shook his head, sensing his brother's resentment of being pitied. It came naturally to arrogant and proud dog demons, he supposed. "Just wanted to see my evil big brother. I have a gala to attend in an hour."
"Gala?" Meimori finally sat up and observed the younger demon's regal appearance. Damn, he definitely looks better than me right now. Then again, he was wearing a white silk tunic and plain black pants.
True to his words, his little brother was dressed in black trousers and a silver embroidered sable doublet adorned with a matching silver medallion marking him as royalty from the Western Lands. An obsidian furred, hoodless cloak hung over his shoulders, attached on a silver chain at his collarbone.
All in all, he looked quite handsome, sophisticated, and most important of all, wealthy.
"What gala?"
"Sesshoumaru's ascension to the throne, of course! Geez, are you slow or what?" By the annoyed look he received, Kizurei deduced that his brother had been too busy moping to pay attention to his native kingdom's affairs. "Our cousin is back from the mortal realm and will initiate the ascension ceremony tonight. There's a ball celebrating his return."
"Was I not invited?" Meimori scoffed. He was a prince, too, dammit! How insulting!
The younger demon god shrugged nonchalantly. "Father assumed you wouldn't want to go. You're welcome to come if you wish."
"No thanks. I'd rather puke."
"No, you'd just rather lay around thinking about Kagura all day."
"Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"You know damn well what it means!" Kizurei scolded harshly, and amazingly, his usually light-hearted lavender eyes bled crimson. He growled and controlled his rage, but rendered his brother confounded at his brief loss of temper.
Meimori blinked, stupefied. He didn't dare utter a word with the way his brother was now pacing around his room, settling his inherited temperament. What in the... Shock was an understatement of what he was currently feeling... It made him wonder just what position Kizurei claimed in the mess called his life.
Now that he thought about it... Kizurei's life must be hard to live. For instance, his—well, their—mother died when he was just a young pup; she sacrificed her life to save her mate, Seiryuu, during a 'mysterious' war. To this day, their father refused to converse about it. Then, many years down the road, the young demon's older brother lost his mind and betrayed their master.
Needless to say, their strife with Naraku ensued.
Where were Kizurei's loyalties supposed to lie? With the creator of his life, his father? Or with his twin brother, the one he was actually bonded to...? Seiryuu was crazed by avenging Kurayami's death—their uncle killed by InuTaishou. He desired to revive Kurayami back to his full potential, and it meant sacrificing the sons of his younger brother, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.
And on the other side there was Meimori...who was blinded by 'love' and acted foolishly by siding with Naraku after Rima was 'murdered' since they both desired the deaths of Sesshoumaru and Rin. But the two were his cousins—why would Kizurei want to kill his cousins? They never brawled or hurt each other...
If he sided with Seiryuu, then he would be condemning the souls of his cousins to an early death.
If he sided with Meimori, then he would be doing the same thing under the watchful eye of pure evil.
So...Meimori couldn't blame Kizurei for creating his own position in the situation, and instead of accepting neutrality as in their past lives, he was actively aiding his cousins. But he always wondered if his brother was ever frustrated with the stupid mistakes he had to watch others make, especially his twin...
Pointless fights, pointless arguments, pointless suffering...
Wow...I can't believe I never thought about this before. My mind is definitely one-tracked. Meimori shook his head and stood from his bed, taking the chance to stretch his cramped muscles before yawning. He was unable to remember the last time he sat down to think about a situation while playing devil's advocate.
"Mei..." The silver-eyed demon god glanced up when his nickname was called in a tortured tone of voice, and he furrowed his brows at the sight of his brother seeming an inch away from clawing his brain out. "Please...stop this nonsense. Don't do this to yourself!"
"Do what? You mean the Kagura thing?" He scoffed and smirked like the overbearing prince he was. "I'm almost over it. After I revive Rima I'll—"
"NO!" Kizurei shouted, powerless over his boiling rage, and his cheeks flushed from the anger he suppressed. His twin brother gulped and wished he hadn't climbed out of bed when the younger demon came close to strangling him. "I've never met someone more idiotic in my entire life!"
"Hey, are you calling me—"
"YES! YOU'RE A BIG FAT IDIOT!!!" Kizurei truthfully never screamed at the top of his lungs since he was laid back and more reserved than his brother, but he didn't mind. All that registered in front of his feral lavender eyes was red...blood red... "Damn you to fucking hell, Mei! I love you and all, but gods! Open your fucking eyes! That bitch Rima never loved you! NEVER!"
"Not this shit again..." Meimori scowled and crossed his arms stubbornly. Everyone always made it a point to tell him how much of a bitch Rima was, but no one ever told him the good points about her! Geez! So much negativity in one's life was enough to kill! "Look, I don't need a lecture. I love her and—"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" The younger demon's hand covered his face as he attempted in vain to quell his fury, and he sighed. After a few seconds ticked by, he finally unveiled his eyes, and to Meimori's surprise, they were glistening with tears. Tears! "How can you say you love her when you're ignorant of the things she did in your absence?"
"What are you talking about?" He wasn't about to believe just about anything that his brother uttered, twin or not. Sometimes it was better to trust one's own judgment of a predicament, even if it was wrong. Being with Rima at least made him happy, right?
"Where the hell should I start?!" His brother cackled, smiling sardonically. "Oh, I know! Like when she told me in my face that she was just manipulating my brother in order to get back at Rin! Or when she ordered you to get a nazupede egg only to feed it to Rin and consequently kill her family, herself, and the heir to Makai—our unborn nephew! Or when she fucking poisoned me, yes, poisoned me and put me in a fucking coma because she didn't want me to tell Sesshoumaru she deliberately messed with Rin's contraceptive brew! Need I say more?!"
Who would go so far in order to ascertain a mere plan? Meimori couldn't believe...was he supposed to believe Rima would do those awful things? His brother wouldn't lie to him...and the tears slowly trailing down the demon's flushed cheeks—tears of frustration, hatred, and sorrow—were real.
B-But...but his love...she would...she would never...
He shook his head and sat back down on his large bed covered in midnight blue silk sheets. Not even his cool hand could assuage the fire flustering his forehead, coming from within in reeling mind. Heh, his hands couldn't aid to maintain his self-control when they were shaking, deprived of sanity.
What should I do? Someone...please tell me what to do. Adequate words to say to his obviously pained younger brother escaped his grasp, and Meimori growled deep in his chest. It wasn't the first time he was told Rima was a witch in disguise...but Kizurei never cried while notifying him.
He never screamed...he never showed his tears...he never lost his temper...
Therefore...his allegation was true. It was all true.
Because of Rima, Sesshoumaru and Rin lost something dear to them in their past lives. His silver-haired cousin, once he discovered the happenings while he was away tending to matters in his lands, lost his regal demeanor. He dragged him into a killing field, transformed into his natural dog demon form, and ripped him apart with his powerful jaws. And all this time...it was because Meimori had inadvertently killed Sesshoumaru's unborn pup.
Dammit...
Because of Rima, Rin conceived a child when she wasn't supposed to—it hadn't been her fault at all! She faced the pain of making a tough decision: choosing to abort the pup or allow her uncle-in-law to rid it from her womb forcibly. What kind of mother would be able to choose? And all this time...it wasn't even Rin's fault.
Dammit...
Because of Rima, Kizurei fell into a coma for weeks! The cause had been deciphered as a powerful poison only found in the Southern Lands, and so everyone assumed Naraku was the perpetrator. Hmph, coincidentally, Kizurei woke up right after Rin suffered a miscarriage. And all this time, the culprit laid safely in the background, watching from afar as Meimori agonized over his ill brother...pretending she was merely an innocent human...
DAMMIT!
"All I ask, Mei," Kizurei began in a low, monotonous voice, now having successfully achieved equilibrium of his emotions, "is that you open your eyes. If you still wish to revive Rima...then I won't stop you. Only keep this in mind: the more you are blinded by Rima, the more Naraku will use Kagura to hurt you."
With all said and done, Kizurei spared his confused brother a brief parting smile and disappeared from sight in an instant. Meimori stared at the spot the demon had stood in, pondering his last words. It seemed as though Kizurei knew more than he allowed others to perceive about Kagura's dealings with Naraku...
Is Naraku just using Kagura to get under my skin? Make me insanely angry and wish for something I thought I had, but lost? The wheels were turning in his head, and as every moment past by, Meimori became increasingly furious.
He was so furious, his hands clenched into trembling fists yearning to pound into flesh as the veins in his eyes burst to infiltrate hungry crimson blood. I'll kill him...
However...why was the wind sorceress working with him...willingly, might he add? Why was she so...so evil lately, why did she constantly desire to bathe her hands in blood, her alleged favorite color? Why would she betray him, for fuck's sake?!
Meimori couldn't find the answers, but he sure as hell yearned to rip out Naraku's heart through his throat, tear it into his gut, claw his skull open, and shove his brain in his deceiving little mouth. He was homicidal right now, ruthlessly homicidal...
He barely heard the door to his room creak open...his ears failed to register the sound of soft footsteps slowly walking towards him... It was only when a silhouette settled before his hazy eyes that Meimori focused on the present and willed his senses to discern between his blood-crazed fantasies and reality.
Yet...he didn't expect to see her of all people in his bedroom at this time of night.
"Kanna?" The dark-haired demon, pushing aside his previous anger for the moment, tilted his head curiously. The young girl no older than ten gazed back at him with unblinking charcoal eyes, holding a round silver mirror in her pale white hands. "What's up? If you're looking for Kagura, I don't know where she is."
"I hold the answers you desire, Meimori," Kanna whispered in her normal, emotionless tone of voice, momentarily scaring her listener out of his wits. The mirror in her hands suddenly radiated a warm glow that had the demon god transfixed, however... "I can show you whatever you wish to see."
This all seems too good to be true... Meimori was skeptical of the young girl he hardly deemed a demon. "Why are you here? Who sent you?" I hope this isn't a freakin' trap. She serves Naraku now a days and the bastard hates me.
"Kagura told me to show you the answers of your questions if she was ever incapacitated because you saved my life."
Right, he brought her back from Nirria. He never assumed she would care, however; Kanna was indifferent about life altogether. And wow, she said more words in one sentence than she ever did the past year... Miracles did happen! "Wait—incapacitated? Huh?"
"Yes...my sister Kagura has lost her heart and you must return it. But first, you need proof—you need to see the answers." The glow of her mirror only intensified, but Kanna remained expressionless and unperturbed. Meimori mused if the damn object was going to blind him...
"Stop speaking in riddles, whelp!" His head already hurt—there was no point in making him suffer any longer! He wasn't good at solving riddles, anyway. "I don't understand what you're telling me."
Could he trust the ten-year-old sister of his best friend when she was a faithful servant of Naraku's? Meimori was uncertain and substantially confused, to say the least.
"Your understanding isn't necessary. You must only see what Kagura wanted you to see..." And before he could object, the vibrant glow of Kanna's mirror completely engulfed Meimori. Afterwards, he fell back onto his bed, unconscious, while Kanna left the room as quietly as she had entered.
Gods, what was wrong with him? Why the hell did his...argh! It hurt so much! His fucking head was going to split open if the pain persisted!
Damn, and his present physical condition only served to make things worse. One thing he despised the most about travelling through dimensions was each world's different lunar cycles. He was constantly forced to update his knowledge on each dimension's moon patterns and prepare for the loss of his demonic energy. And guess what?
In his current location, it was the night of the fucking new moon! Hurray! He was currently human—mortal because he was freakin' half-immortal! Hmph, he wondered how in the world he had managed to survive prior to realizing he was only half of what he thought he was...
So yeah...he was human right when he and his fiancée were stuck in a remote realm along with an obnoxious teenager to boot. Not very good, right?
No, not at all.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth as the pain settling into his cranium intensified, and he bit back a whimper, holding his aching head between his clammy hands. He was situated on a tree's tall branch, away from the camp Kagome set up with Yuka, the bitch-faced bane of his existence. Hopefully neither of them heard him nearly whining in agony...
I can't take this anymore... He cried in his mind as he placed his forefingers on his temples and applied pressure, yet it failed to relieve his pain. What the hell is wrong with me?! I was fine a few hours ago! His eyes felt like a pair of burning coal while his skin acted as a humid swamp, to put add to his stress.
It reminded him of the sickness he suffered in Portugal...but this time around, the urge to heave the contents of his stomach was absent. The hanyou-turned-human gasped as the core of his brain hatched knives that attacked every other part of his cerebrum, and his vision blurred for a total of five seconds.
Five seconds to him was an eternity!
Something isn't right. Inuyasha gulped back a pained shout and preferred to dig his short nails into the bark beside and underneath him, even though it was pretty much impossible. But I think I'm having a... Suddenly, however, his reality slipped from him...and he felt light-headed.
The pain was still present, but he barely recognized it. It was as though he was descrying an area—an act involving an out-of-body experience in the borderline of reality and his consciousness. He blinked and noted the flurry of images rushing before his eyes, flickering between his normal view of leaves and distinct blurs arranged in a nonsensical juxtaposition.
Huh...? His mind was numb; it was difficult to even think coherently. Inuyasha swallowed after a long while of sitting immobile on the thick tree branch and concentrated on the distorted images hastily sweeping in and out of eyeshot.
And just as quickly as they had appeared, they conquered his vision completely and immersed him in their own stories... He couldn't clearly depict them...but he heard voices, familiar voices...and that was enough.
"It's time to work your magic, my pet. Here—put this in my cousin's drink without his notice and let me do the rest."
"What is it? It's...slimy and disgusting looking! Ew!"
"Heh...it's called a nazupede egg, found in rainforests in my homeland."
"Oh...well, what's it gonna do? Kill Inu-bastard?"
"No. It will awaken him and my mission will be complete."
"Awaken him? No wonder you're related to Inu-bastard—you're both freaks."
"Don't overstep your boundaries, Yuka, or I'll kill you on the spot."
"I'd like to see you try, Meimori."
Inuyasha gasped back into the present and panted heavily, attempting to control his erratic breathing as he swept his ebony bangs away from his violet eyes. His headache settled into a mere dull throb and his fever was no longer at its prime; who had known those were the side effects of a vision? Hmph!
Speaking of his vision...
A nazupede egg? The hanyou-turned-human's line of sight was fixed on his shaking and sweaty palms, yet his eyes didn't process the actual creases and silhouette of his appendage. His mind was instead focused on the past...to when he was sick in Portugal, nearly gut-wrenchingly ill... Fuck...
He understood now. It was plain and simple—he had been fed a nazupede egg. Yes, it made perfect sense.
Yuka fed him a nazupede egg.
The truth, however, did nothing to appease Inuyasha; it only served to distress him even further as he clenched his hands and barely refrained from screaming his rage. Dammit, because of that bitch, he suffered unmentionable pain! He fucking destroyed an entire city, killed hundreds of people, almost hurt Kagome, was nearly abducted by Meimori—dammit!
She...how could she...Yuka really hated him, didn't she?
But it was no excuse! No one could be so cruel!
This wasn't about a random bitch slipping drugs into his drink—it was about Kagome's best friend betraying her trust in order to dispose of her fiancé! The only reason why Yuka would band with Meimori, or why the dog demon would even choose the human teen as his faithful servant, was because her resolve was weakened by her loathing of a half-immortal who did nothing to her!
NOTHING!!!
Rage bubbled inside of Inuyasha, melding together with hatred to create a thick magma that constricted his throat and greedily wished to erupt. Yuka...she was lucky he was only human at the moment and couldn't summon the energy to decimate every single atom composing her body. Only scum could stoop so low...she could have killed him...
...she could have inadvertently killed Kagome!
He would never forgive her...she was no friend of Kagome's as long as she harbored such despicable notions of disposing of her fiancé... In his eyes, she was better off dead. Hmph...dead...no, death was a luxury for the bitch. She deserved a torture much more lasting...and more painful.
Angry thoughts only fueled his fury, so he tried to reign over them. He still wasn't feeling his best, and solely peace could wipe away his pain. Yet...then he remembered that Yuka was sleeping in a camp a few meters away from the tree he sat on, close enough to contaminate his air...to turn on him again...
Why was she here? How in the world did she get here?
Inuyasha saw the answers as plain as day. Meimori helped her follow him and Kagome beyond the mortal realm, but because transportation devices ceased to work correctly, she was stuck in a random dimension. Coincidentally, it was the same one they were trapped in.
ARGH! Why the hell did she follow him around like a fucking insect?! He wanted to be left ALONE! He ignored her so she should freakin' ignore him, too! And as a side note, the only thing he ever did to her was be rude and crass when they first met—so what, she was one of those nagging old crones who despised cussing teenagers?!
She could shove it up her fucking fake cunt for all he cared! Hell, she enjoyed shoving random things in there, especially Meimori's big fat—okay, he needed to calm down...
I don't know what to do now. Inuyasha sighed away the tension from his body and leaned against the tree branch, gazing up despondently at its other thick and leafy branches. His violet eyes swam with the burden of what was to come after the revelation he saw through his recent vision. I can't tell Kagome...I don't want to hurt her.
It was obvious that Kagome cared for Yuka, despite the latter teen's many faults. The miko was forgiving; she allowed her best friend to join her little group of immortal friends and trusted her enough to behave in front of them. But there laid the problem: Yuka broke her trust.
Furthermore, Yuka used Kagome in order to...to...
Inuyasha bit his lip and suppressed the urge to whine like a depressed and hapless child. He should have seen the danger in allowing Yuka near him, even if it had been for his fiancée's sake! He should have...he could have prevented it!
Had he told Kagome of all the things Yuka said to him, how she constantly made him feel less than what he was, how she always glared and sneered at him, she wouldn't have remained friends with her! She wouldn't have allowed the bitch to get near him!
But...Yuka only hates me—not Kagome. Even though she's hurting me, she's only doing it for Kagome's sake. The wench will see that and love her all the more. Either way, he lost. Hmph...challenging Yuka was the hugest mistake of his life...she proved to be the more clever and ruthless contender.
Then again...was Inuyasha supposed to keep quiet of how it was Yuka's fault he destroyed Kagome's home? If Rin didn't have the power to heal through her voice, Tokyo would still be in ruins and he wouldn't even dream of showing his face to any of his friends, especially his fiancée.
All that pain, all that suffering...gods...it could've been prevented.
Besides, it was also Yuka's fault for planting the loathing he felt for Houjo in the depths of his soul. Even now the dark-haired human could hardly think about the wimpy bastard who 'cared' about Kagome... Hmph, he wouldn't have known about the fool if the bitch hadn't mentioned him during there instant messaging session on his first day of school.
She's working with Meimori, too... She could be spying for him or something...and the asshole would do anything to get information on Sesshoumaru and Rin. Inuyasha gritted his teeth twice in the same night and shut his eyes, hoping to block the painful thoughts from his mind's eye. It was futile. What should I do? What would Kagome do?
Heck, he was unable to predict her course of action.
If he hadn't arrived in Kagome's life, she and Yuka would still be happy. Therefore, he was just as much to blame. Heh, this mess is one cause and effect after another. Life was all about cause and effect, right? At least his was.
"Inuyasha?"
The violet-eyed human cursed under his breath and craned his neck to see Kagome standing directly below the branch he settled on. She was supposed to be asleep, for goodness sake! Why couldn't she ever leave him alone?! Well, for the most part, she was unable to sense his inward struggle, so...
"What'd ya want, wench?" Inuyasha responded once his voice decided to work, and he crossed his arms defensively. He didn't feel like talking to her, not when his mind was weighted by the deeds of her selfish best friend who threatened his very existence...
What else is Yuka capable of doing with Meimori's aid? A chill travelled up his spine.
"Are you lonely?" Apparently, the miko ignored the fact that he was grumpy and in no mood to converse.
"No."
"Are you tired?"
"No."
"Do you want me to come up?"
"No."
"Okay, then."
Finally, Inuyasha was left in peace. That was easier than I thought it would be... He blinked and shrugged. He wasn't going to argue with his luck.
But, just when he believed he was alone...nearly inaudible grunts and something scratching against tree bark reached his ears, as though someone was trying to climb a... Dammit—it was Kagome! He leaned over the tree branch in shock and watched the raven-haired teen ascend to his spot, though with extreme difficulty.
Heck...she only managed to climb two feet up the tree.
"You're fucking insane, wench! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Inuyasha shouted, but made no move to help her. Hmph, he sat back and waited for her to fall on her ass. That's what she gets for being so stubborn.
"Since you're apparently blind, I'm climbing this tree." Kagome climbed another foot up, but heaved a breath when she saw she had far more to go. This is why I should climb trees more often. "It'd be nice if you helped..."
"I'm not nice—too bad."
"Right...you're a meanie."
Inuyasha stuck his tongue out at the miko. "And I'm damn proud of it!"
At long last, however, much to the hanyou-turned-human's disgruntlement, Kagome climbed all the way to his claimed tree branch and took a seat beside him. She swung her arms in circles to relieve the ache in her muscles, but then faced him with an inquisitive look.
Erase inquisitive—she was reading his mind!
"You don't look so good..." Kagome reached over to place her hand on her fiancé's forehead, ignoring his protests he shot at her. She soon retracted her appendage and gasped. "You have a fever and didn't say anything?!" Coupled with the fact that he was pale, Inuyasha was definitely sick!
"Keh! I only have a fever because I just had a vision." Shit, I wasn't supposed to say that. He visibly cringed, and it spiked the miko's curiosity.
"Was it about the Shikon no Tama? Kikyou will be happy if it was."
"No..."
"Hm...what a shame. Anyway, what was it about?"
He was a horrible liar; therefore, he wasn't going to lie outright. Heck, he wasn't going to say anything at all and hope she lost interest. Though, he was wishing for the impossible, he supposed, since his wonderful fiancée grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his gaze to her.
Kagome searched his face for a few seconds before her expression turned grim. "Did I die in your vision again?"
"W-What?!" Inuyasha spluttered, widening his eyes in shock. "When the hell did I ever say you died?!"
"Well, the last time you had a vision, you freaked out and hugged the life out of me. I assumed I died."
"Yeah, as if I'd freak out if you died." Hopefully his gruff tone of voice masked the fact that he would probably go insane if the wench died...especially if it were by his hands... A chill ran up his spine at the thought of her blood staining his hands as her corpse laid near his feet, her dull and unseeing chocolate eyes staring at—okay, why was he thinking about killing her again?
Well, either way, the miko decided to drop the tense subject since she didn't further interrogate her fiancé—much to his surprise—and merely yawned tiredly. It was only now that Inuyasha took the chance to wonder why she was awake in the middle of the night if she was so tired; the way her eyelids constantly drooped revealed as much. He smirked, however, at his own stupidity since he already knew the answer.
Kagome was worried about him.
No matter how much he desired for her to concentrate on herself, it was useless—the miko had the uncanny ability to depict his moods and hidden feelings without even looking at him! Hell, with or without the Bond of Mates, she was still able to perfectly discern if he was troubled or not! So, the violet-eyed human was led to believe his fiancée caught on as to why he chose to avoid her.
Hmph, more like avoid Yuka.
Inuyasha sighed and glanced at the pensive—and silent for once—teen sitting beside him; he couldn't help but smile when she began to swing her legs childishly in the air. With another exhale and a comforting statement to his ego, he leaned over and welcomed the miko onto his lap, enveloping his arms around her waist protectively. She sighed in bliss while his eye twitched...
...he was human for the night...he was bombarded by human emotions...he felt the sudden urge to hug her...
So what! The half-immortal snorted in his mind, battling his lamenting pride. At this point in time, he was faced with a lot of hard decisions to make that ultimately deteriorated his sanity and perception of the world. I can allow myself this one moment of weakness. Keh! It's either have the wench close to me or go drown myself in a creek.
Obviously he opted for the former—he didn't enjoy getting wet not unlike most dogs.
But, on a serious note, he did have many responsibilities awaiting him after this 'training session'. Inuyasha was to be king in a little under a month; he had to deal with a deceiving bitch who was collaborating with his deadly cousin; he was forced to find some kind of powerful jewel or endure the wrath of an uptight Kikyou... And, of course, he was possibly possessed by his long since dead uncle.
Add the fact that he died once before and a concoction called stress was created.
Just by having his fiancée, his mate close to him, however, just by knowing she was there for him no matter what he decided or what he said relieved his worries, at least slightly. Inuyasha leaned his cheek on her head and gazed at the moonless midnight blue sky shrouded by leaves; the night was silent, yet not foreshadowing. It was peaceful, serene...all was good.
Yuka was not presently an issue—it was only Inuyasha and Kagome.
And he couldn't deny that he goddamn loved it that way.
"She says she doesn't know how she ended up here."
A low, mumbling voice disrupted Inuyasha from his thoughts, and he scowled once he processed the words. Yet, his companion was unable to depict the change of his expression since her head laid against his chest, facing the hardly visible night sky that his violet eyes intently watched.
"Uh huh, and my ass is on fire." Nope, his ass was not burning a hole through the wooden tree branch; therefore, Yuka was indeed a lying bitch. "Well, what happened? She was walking down the yellow brick road and found out she wasn't in Tokyo anymore?"
"Geez, this is what happens when you actually do your literature homework," Kagome muttered in annoyance. She fleetingly wondered why her teacher tortured his students by forcing them to watch the Japanese animated film of the Wizard of Oz, an adaptation of the American classic. Heh, Inuyasha ridiculed it from day one.
He and Sesshoumaru were true film critics...
"Wench, think about this logically: you don't just end up in a remote dimension by accident." It wasn't a difficult concept to understand! If that were impossible, then two-thirds of the world's population would be missing all across the universe! Pure chaos would ensue and nuclear war would be imminent!
"Look, Yuka said she walking to the city through the forest and saw some kind of bright glow coming from ahead of her. She followed it to the point where it was blinding, and there was this big flash, and boom! Suddenly she's here with us." Truthfully, Kagome wasn't going to deny the possibility of such a thing occurring.
When she met Inuyasha, she followed the glow of his immortal energy and landed herself in front of a freakin' god. Who knew if another immortal travelled to the mortal realm, was bored by it, opened a portal to return home, and Yuka just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
But the hanyou-turned-human thought much differently, though didn't care to prove the fact that Yuka was deceiving her best friend. In the end, it would only stress Kagome even more to the point of her turning away from him, and although it cost a huge price on his behalf, he was preventing a rift in their relationship again despite this dilemma.
Ack...when the hell did his life revolve around Kagome so much? Even when he first met her all he thought about was marrying her to appease his mother...
Inuyasha deflected the blows to his ego before they scarred him and cleared his throat. "Fine, believe what you want." He hated keeping the miko in the dark; should she become aware of his deliberate course of action, she'd never forgive him.
Gods, either way he lost in everything!
"What do you believe happened, huh?" Kagome asked in turn, yet still refrained from lifting her head off his chest to look at his expression. She was too comfortable to move, and each seconding flitting by only allowed exhaustion to creep onto her body to the point of engulfing her in its comforting darkness.
Staying awake to talk with her fiancé while he was expressive was crucial, however! It only happened about once a month! Ugh...but she was so tired...
The ebony-haired human resisted the urge to exclaim ten reasons why Yuka was lying, number one being that she was working with Meimori of all people, and merely shrugged. He didn't care. Griping about this matter wasn't about to solve other pressing problems.
"We're in deep shit, wench, did you know that?" Inuyasha instead stated, his solemn voice resonating in Kagome's ears. "Because now Yuka at least knows there's some kind of higher power above mortal demons and humans in the universe. Humans are naturally curious creatures—it's dangerous to involve one of them in immortal affairs."
"If that happens, the next thing you know everyone in Japan will be at your doorstep bowing at your feet." Kagome chuckled at the image of Inuyasha with crossed arms scowling at a group of people praying to him for good fortune. He was a god, a demon god to be exact, but he wasn't an entity to be worshipped... "You can at least pose as a fallen angel since you have the wings for it."
Oh crap...she forgot about the little incident two days ago!
Now the former serene ambience surrounding the couple became tense and strained, and Kagome gulped, unable to summon the courage to face her fiancé after her little slip. It was a mistake, she swore it! Just that...these past few days...he acted as though it never happened!
Inuyasha walked around as though he wasn't in pain or he wasn't bothered by his mutilation or...or...
Tears pinpricked her eyes at the gruesome memory of his wounds, but she blinked them back. Granted, the images sweeping before her mind's eye were horrid and filled with blood, her hanyou's blood... They ranged from when he gasped and cried in agony...from when he clawed at the ground for mercy...from when she washed his back caked in blood and severed ligaments...
"Are they...are your wings ever going to grow back...?" Kagome whispered hesitantly, yet required at least a yes or no answer. She couldn't move on with her life knowing that her fiancé suffered internally at the loss of a part of himself, no matter how small it was.
Wings enabled him to soar in the sky, allowed him to jump as high as he wanted and remain suspended in the air for as long as he wished... They granted his freedom and helped him defy gravity countless of times. To lose them for eternity was to lose his free spirit, his reckless nature—perhaps not to a greatly noticeable degree, but enough to spike the miko's concern.
For a long time, the half-immortal didn't speak. Kagome at once knew she hit a nerve and hoped beyond belief that her current presumptions were incorrect...that....that...
"In all actuality," Inuyasha finally spoke, though his voice was somewhat hoarse and forced, "wings aren't an immortal trait—it's just my royal family's trait. It's something we're born with that marks us as sovereigns in a dimension where most people have the potential to become rulers."
From his words, Kagome proved her theory that her fiancé truly lost an important part of himself, a part he probably took for granted most times. What hurt the most, she supposed, was the underlying doubt in both of their questions: would his golden wings grow back? She didn't know...and Inuyasha knew even less.
"They'll grow back," the miko sighed, snuggling closer to her fiancé's warmth. "I know they will—just be patient. Well, in the meantime, are you ever going to tell me where we are?"
"..."
"Come on, it can't be that bad!"
Inuyasha sighed. "We're in the immortal realm."
"Really?!" Kagome pulled away from his embrace to stare into his face in complete shock. But he was serious! "I thought we were stranded in—"
"We are stranded in a remote area, a rainforest to be exact." Of course, she never realized they were stuck in a very perilous rainforest...one that all immortals made sure to evade at any cost. Heh, he wasn't about to explain their dangerous situation in such great detail. "It's difficult for me to transport us out of here—it's damn near impossible for a demon god who's not rank ten."
Keh, and Inuyasha still had two more ranks to ascend before he was a complete demon god with ultimate power... Dammit all. If I had the strength of a complete demon god, I wouldn't be stuck in a fucking rainforest, now would I? Nope, and what bothered him was that neither Sesshou-bastard nor Kouga the Wolf Shit would have any difficulty.
How the hell did everyone become more powerful than him?! Even Ayame was currently stronger!
Kagome blinked, but nodded in understanding. Basically, they were definitely trapped in a remote area with no way of teleporting out. Ah, and she almost forgot that Yuka increased their group from two to three… She would take up shelter space and food. "Oh... So, how are we going to get back to where Kikyou and the others are?"
Err...Inuyasha never actually thought about it...
"I have no idea, wench."
Matters in the Western Lands were worse than he had initially assumed. It was no wonder that his uncle resorted to personally seeing his detested nephew rising to take what was rightfully his: the king's throne. Heh, an amused smirk grew on his face carved from ice, indifferent to the trials waiting to prey on him in a few hours. Despite all the chaos that erupted while he was gone, his uncle's resentment of his future kingship pleased him.
Of course, he loved being in control and in command. It made life interesting.
His golden honey eyes, betraying any and all emotion, flickered over the somber faces of his companions, who each sat in a gilded chair situated in his palace's grand court room. Miroku and Sango, envoys from the Eastern Lands, talked quietly amongst themselves to his immediate right, while Kizurei and Ayame were taciturn to his left.
He then shifted his gaze to the recently crowned Kouga, who paced furiously in front of the oval ebony wooden table in the center of the lavish room. The restless wolf was unappeasable—even his wife failed to control his raging temper. But no one could blame him since he was bearing a great burden upon his shoulders, one presented to him by Naraku.
Hmph, or rather Kagura.
Sesshoumaru shifted slightly on his seat at the head of the oval table and regarded his older cousin with a nod of his head. Upon noticing his cryptic signal, the dark-haired demon dressed in expensive silk cleared his throat and pushed a tightly rolled parchment towards him. The future Lord of the Western Lands read the contents of the letter and smiled.
"It's true then," he began in his smooth, baritone voice that raised the hairs on the necks of his companions. "Naraku declared war on the Western-Eastern Empire. How foolish..."
"He commands a vast army of demon puppets, however," Sango interrupted, but took the chance to glare at her 'boyfriend' once his arm crept a little too close to her chair for comfort. It didn't help that she was wearing a deep magenta dress that clung to her upper body, outlined her bust, and flared at her hips.
She was a temptress, or so Miroku justified his inability to withhold his urges... "Reports from soldiers all hold one unanimous fact: these puppets are practically indestructible. They regenerate quickly, morph their limbs into dimension blades, and can kill even the strongest immortals in a second flat."
"What is the current death toll in Makai and Seijou?" Sesshoumaru asked, yet he was no where near apprehensive or sweating. Hell, he was still smiling rather cruelly, delighted in the challenge presented to him.
"Makai's casualties are two-thousand and thirty-three while Seijou's is eleven-hundred and four." Miroku at last became serious and ceased to try to cope a feel of Sango's backside, bare to his caress due to her halter-top dress. It didn't stop his midnight blue eyes from wandering over her cleavage, though... "The total is three-thousand, three hundred and thirty-four."
Too many numbers...
"For the Northern Lands, the toll is ten-thousand and eight," Ayame said once Sesshoumaru glanced at her in question, and she sighed when Kouga uttered a vehement curse. "An entire village was obliterated by an army led by Kagura. There were no survivors."
It saddened her... It truly, truly saddened her that her own people were mercilessly killed by a wind witch. They had no means of defending themselves against indestructible demon puppets equipped with dimension blades...no means of surviving such a brutal battle. Blood still stained the barren soil remaining from the slaughter.
But war was cruel—its aftermath was always destruction.
"I want that bitch dead," Kouga growled in the midst of his lengthy pace from across the room. "I'm not resting until I fucking bleed her veins dry!"
"I told you this before, King Kouga," Kizurei intervened before the wolf demon actually bounded out of the room and hunted the wind sorceress. "Kagura is not in her right mind; Naraku is using her as though she was his puppet. Trust me, she loves bloodshed but she'd never attack innocent—"
"And like I said before, I don't fucking care!" The frustrated roar silenced any protests coming from the dog demon, and Kouga placed a hand over his eyes prior to taking a deep breath. A true king didn't lose his temper so easily, or so he tried to console himself. "Conscious nor not, she killed ten-thousand of both my soldiers and people. For the sake of all those in Enma, I cannot allow her to roam unpunished."
Kizurei sighed. This is what happens when my brother doesn't realize he's an idiot. "I understand perfectly, your Highness. But she has not merited death for only being controlled by a bastard we all want dead."
"Then why don't you preach to all those who lost loved ones during Kagura's raid, hm?" Ayame faced the demon beside her with grave emerald eyes. She was speaking like a queen concerned for her subjects; their appeasement came first in her mind. "Try telling them that their King and Queen are sparing the murderer of ten-thousand fellow youkai merely because 'she wasn't in her right mind'."
"But you can't just have her executed!" Meimori might go insane!
"If she's not dead by the end of this war, then I'll kill her myself. And that's a fucking promise." The matter was declared closed by Kouga after he spoke vehemently, but Kizurei was overwrought by apprehension. He dropped the subject, however, and turned towards his cousin.
"Where's Rin?" Surely he assumed the dog demon would bring his fiancée to the immortal realm along with him, yet the lively eighteen-year-old was nowhere in sight. "I hope you didn't forget you need a wife during these times of war."
It was the golden rule of kings—get married, bear an heir, fight in a war, and leave behind an able ruler to control affairs in the domain. Or...just fight alongside his queen. Then everyone would be happy, correct? At least that was how Kizurei saw it.
Sesshoumaru remained quiet, though, and refrained from responding. His gleaming honey eyes gazed at the wall decorated with an intricate mural across of him, and his lips once again curved into a wicked smile. The others in the room couldn't fathom what he was thinking, or what he had done with his fiancée... Perhaps he finally went berserk and murdered her?
No, Rin was the psychotic one in the relationship.
So then...what happened?
"She'll be here shortly," the future king of Makai at last said with great confidence, his smile still intact. Sesshoumaru moved to stand from the table and walked towards a floor-to-ceiling window nearby. "Rin and I shall be married by midnight. Everything is already prepared." And afterwards, he was going to initiate the ascension ceremony and become a king.
All was good...
Miroku and Sango—heck, even Kouga and Ayame—shared a knowing look. They now understood what the demon god had done in order to ensure a wife...a capable, strong-willed wife...
"When Rin finds out, she's going to be pissed..." Sango whispered to the dark-haired human next to her, and he nodded, his expression grim. "Well, I'll arrange the funeral."
Kizurei looked up at the ceiling and wondered why he was part of a family of idiots. Could the gods please send him a sign letting him know he was perfectly sane? Alas, the sign never came. My brother is a big fat idiot and my cousin is a suicidal moron. All I need now is for Inuyasha to duel Yuka in a battle of Pokémon. Mortals and their strange cartoons...
Why would he, an immortal, know about Pokémon? It was a question Meimori had once tried to answer, but grew impatient and chose to abduct his hanyou cousin instead. Normal enough.
Either way, the fate of the universe was in the hands of a moron, who was about to be killed by his fiancée, and his kidnapped brother, whom Yuka probably made voodoo dolls of.
Yup, they were all doomed.
A/N: END! WEEEE!!!! I got a crown for my root canal on Saturday and it kinda bothers me... Geez, I still have to go get a final one in three weeks! More shorts in my gums! GRR!
Next chapter: Inu, Kags, and Yuka commence a very long journey back home... We find out how and why Yuka was able to travel to the immortal realm... Sessh and Rin face some issues when she finally arrives...
Sooo...what will happen when Rin finally comes equipped with the Skillet of Doom? Are Sessh and Rin really getting married (at long last)? What is Yuka's motive for going after Inu? Will Kags ever know the truth about her? Where is my dog? What is Meimori planning now that he was englightened? Is Kanna a goddess? Will Kouga really kill Kagura? When are Jaken and Myouga going to die?
Dunno. Jaken's already dead by my standards...I killed him last night. *evil smile*
MAKE ME HAPPY AND REVIEW! :-D
