Wavering Faith
Nine
The air in the dim, overcrowded building hung thick with fear and anxiety, the people gathered in it starting to feel the growing claustrophobic feeling. Golden eyes darted over the many panicked people gathered in what Inuyasha affectionately called the 'Safe house'. For the first time in years, the demon felt his insides twist together. Something was wrong. Kagome was the main target of this raid, and if she was in danger, Inuyasha wouldn't be far behind. Sesshomaru hated it when his brother was in danger. Ever since he'd seen that frail, slight little frame for the first time, first felt how light and easily broken he was, he felt compelled to keep a watchful eye on him. He recalled vividly the days he'd watch a child Inuyasha go about the palace he resided in the first four years of his life – the times he'd snuck into Izayoi's room to check that Inuyasha was still safe in his cradle. Even when the half-demon and his mother were brought here, he still watched him closely – and as brothers now, they were never usually very far apart. But now…
I couldn't help him with Kagome…and just now, I let him run off like that…if something happens to him I'll…
"Sesshomaru!" The said demon spun on his heel, looking over the masses to see his father standing in the archway – the only entrance or exit to the hidden room, (save for the lower exit, that lead out into the mountains – used only in case the castle was fully over thrown. Never in his forefathers' reign had it need to be used, and hopefully, it never would). Darting over to his father's side, the demon grabbed him by his shoulders. He could read the anxiety in his father's eyes, and it made his own heart skip a beat. Something was wrong.
"Father. What's-"
"-Where's Inuyasha? And Izayoi and Kagome? Did you find them?" Sesshomaru shook his head slightly.
"No. Inuyasha headed off by himself to find them." His father looked at him oddly. "I'm sorry, Father. I should have gone with him, but I thought it was my duty to come here and protect-"
"-No, Sesshomaru, you did well. We have to protect these people too…" Sesshomaru followed his father's eyes as they wandered over the faces of the terrified people gathered here, relying solely on them.
"How did the patrol go?" Sesshomaru asked, finally breaking the silence between them. "Was it the-"
"-The Revolutionaries? Yes. And guess who was leading the little battalion?" The demon lord growled angrily, fist clenching at his side.
"It was Katsura, wasn't it Father?" Inu-no-Taishou nodded.
"That…Bastard…I entrusted him with my family…with our servants…he deserves the slowest form of deaths. Playing alongside me like some lap-dog, when all along he was the one spitting our secrets to the enemy…when all along he was the one who was trying to kill Inuyasha and Izayoi…"
Sesshomaru watched his father with furrowed brows, placing a reassuring hand on his father's shoulder.
"Father, we'll right this wrong… No one is without mistakes; don't lay the blame entirely on yourself. Nobody else saw what he was-"
"-Izayoi did…"
"She what?" Inu-no-Taishou sighed, grating his fangs together in annoyance at his stupidity.
"Izayoi, she told me…when Kagome first came under Inuyasha's care… She told me that she thought maybe Katsura was a threat to Kagome… But I…I didn't listen to her, and now with this business with Satoru and Eisuke, I just…she thinks I've lost my faith in her…but in all truthfulness I…" The demon trailed off, rousing a foreign, worried emotion inside Sesshomaru.
"Father, in all my years of watching you, in hopes of one day surpassing you…I've never seen you waver or lose faith in yourself… What's wrong?"
"I've lost faith in nearly everything, Sesshomaru…"
The younger demon's eyes widened slightly. "All these years, I never realised how futile my efforts have been…and in my blind hopes of making this fanciful better world for my sons I've been ignorant to the youngest's pain…I…I should have taken more notice of him, I should have been able to see he was lying when he said he was alright…" The demon's claws punctured his palms as his fists clenched in his self-loathing. "Izayoi was right…I've been an 'Honourable ruler' but I…I haven't been a father to him…at least, not like I was to you, all those years ago." Sesshomaru took a long breath, opening his mouth to speak, only to have his voice cut across.
"My lords! My lords!" The two demons turned in response to the voice, a warrior of theirs stopping before them, gasping for breath. "My lords! Come quick! It's Lord Inuyasha!"
***
Inuyasha was frozen. He hadn't spoken, nor moved, nor scarcely drew breath. It'd be safe to say, he was stunned to say the least. "So I…she…we…" Izayoi smiled, taking her sons hands in hers and rubbing them gently.
"Yes, Inuyasha. I'm sure, there's no doubt about it. It's only been a day but…you'll see, within two your father and Sesshomaru will be able to smell the change, and then I suspect it won't be much longer until you can as well." Inuyasha swallowed hard.
"Y-Yeah...I guess…" His mother's brow creased into a small frown.
"Inuyasha, are you not happy?" The half-demon shook, as if startling from a dream, looking at her in disbelief.
"No. No, it's not that I – I am, really I just…I'm not sure about… Does Kagome know?" Izayoi's eyes glanced over to the girl who was lying nearby, shaking her head slowly.
"I was going to. That's why I asked her to come with me but then the revolutionaries-" Inuyasha's ears flicked up as his mother suddenly stopped.
"Mother, what's-"
"-Can't you hear that noise?" Silver ears pricked, straining to hear whatever she was talking about. And they did, he heard it. It was distant, and yet still it was too close by to comfort.
"Oh, gods…" Izayoi gasped with eyes wide as Inuyasha shot to his feet, shaking Kagome gently by her shoulders.
"Kagome, Kagome, quick wake up!" he whispered desperately. Her eyelashes fluttered, eyes opening, looking at him in sleepy confusion.
"Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, we gotta go. Come on, on your feet," Inuyasha ushered her to her feet, pulling his kimono back on as he did so.
"Inuyasha?" The half-demon turned, facing his mother in the dimness. "What is it?" He shook his head. He didn't want to answer that, right now they just needed to get to his father – and fast! His hands found Kagome's arms in the dark, steadying her still very swaying body as he led her and Izayoi back the way they'd got in. If Katsura is with them, he'll lead them straight to this place! Father and Sesshomaru should've let me kill him when I had the chance…
Kagome winced, pulling herself aside slightly, leaning against the rocky wall, waiting for Inuyasha to open up the entrance back into the nursery. "Kagome," he growled softly, "stand aside a little." She frowned, only understanding when Izayoi tugged her arm gently, moving her away from the wall just in time for the stone to slide away, revealing a long narrow passageway – this wasn't the way they'd come in.
"This is…its leading somewhere else?" Inuyasha nodded, a movement she could only just make out in the dimness. The shallow sound of Izayoi's breath extinguishing the flames of the candles was heard, as the half-demon took hold of Kagome's arm once more, progressing swiftly into the foreboding darkness ahead, his mother close behind as the entrance closed behind the three of them.
It was a maze, a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways that, in the dark must've been indecipherable, the girl thought as she felt the dizzying twist and turns of the corners they rounded. But Inuyasha knew the way. He remembered. From the feel of the smooth stone beneath his feet to the strangely comforting smell of damp, he remembered everything. He knew where this tunnel lead, and he knew which ways to turn without becoming totally lost, few knew the way, and even if they did, he doubted they'd remember. Upon smelling the rising panic in Kagome's scent he squeezed her arm reassuringly.
"Don't worry, I used to hide here as a kid all the time. It's meant for secret escape of me and mother out of the castle if we're attacked – we've never had to go further than the hideaway we were just in, but…" she sensed the smile in his voice, which was suddenly so laden with reminiscence. "When I was little I used to hide from my parents here, to avoid being scolded or…even just sulking when I couldn't force Sesshomaru to play with me. Katsura knows that hidden room was back there, but he doesn't know about this…" At least...I hope he doesn't…
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound echoed around them, making them all leap out of their skin. Kagome fell back against the wall in the disorientating dark, barely able to see Inuyasha's head swivel in all directions, trying to pick up the direction the sound originated from. Deafening reverberations of smashing objects and enraged screaming and cursing; they'd found the room empty, and by the sound of it, they were coming – and fast!
"SHIT!"
"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha spun round to face his mother as her voice echoed round the walls. "They're coming! Run!" Kagome flinched as Inuyasha suddenly bent down, his back to her, and she blinked at him in confusion.
"Come on, on my back, we gotta go!" The girl nodded resolutely, wrapping her arms round his neck tightly, her legs hugging his back as he stood up, darting down the passage, ears perked to make sure his mother didn't fall too far behind. "Mother? You okay back there?" Kagome flinched as Inuyasha's almost whisper ricocheted off the walls, not helping her racing heart.
"I'm fine! Right behind you, keep-" Her voice cut off with the piercing snarl that filled the tunnel.
"Dogs…" Inuyasha muttered, barely audible over the approaching noise. "Shit…They must have Katsura with them! The dogs are the only ones he'll listen to!" He called back to his mother. "They don't know the way but they can find us and tear us to shreds!"
"Go, Inuyasha!"
"Go in front so I can make sure you're-"
"-I can't, you're the only one who knows the way out. Just keep going! Sesshomaru will meet us the other side." Inuyasha nodded, not that his mother could see.
"It's all my fault," Kagome muttered, her face hugging into the back of Inuyasha's neck, tightening around his throat unconsciously, her words only reaching his ears.
"Don't berate yourself like that, it's not your fault they came after you. If anything, it's mine…" Her head jolted up.
"Inuyasha, no-"
"-If I weren't born my father never would've done all this equality shit, the revolutionaries wouldn't have rebelled and your village would never have been destroyed – it's my fault, but you don't see me crying over it, so shut up and let me take care of you, okay?" The girl almost flinched at his harsh voice, but she didn't, not when she understood the implications of the words. "And don't squeeze so hard, I'm not gonna drop ya." She blushed, loosening her grip slightly.
Casting a quick glance back to check his mother was still behind them, Inuyasha took a light sniff. Fresh air – They were reaching the exit. "SESSHOMARU!!!" Kagome and Izayoi flinched at Inuyasha bellowing voice that now filled the air. "SESSHOMARU, YOU DICKHEAD HOW'S ABOUT SOME HELP HERE?!"
Suddenly, Inuyasha ducked down quickly, and Kagome squealed in shock at the sudden movement. "Mind your head, Mother!" The practically blinding light of the sun struck her eyes as Inuyasha darted through the low-levelled turn. They were outside? Turning so quick it made Kagome's world spin, Inuyasha watched his mother stumble out of the exit behind him, the intricate stonework sliding back into place behind her, not leaving as much as a seam to show it up for what it was.
"Are you three alright?" They looked towards the voice, meeting none-other than Sesshomaru's complacent gaze – his voice betraying his secret worry. The half-demon nodded, gasping for breath. "I heard your dulcet tones, Little brother, thought you might need my assistance." Inuyasha smirked at his brother.
"Feh, whatever, took ya long enough. Where's-"
"-Sesshomaru! Have you found them?" All four sets of eyes swivelled to the person who practically shot out of the concealment of the trees that surrounded the clearing they all now stood in. Inu-no-Taishou stopped on sight of his family standing together, some of them looking a little worse-for-wear.
Sesshomaru and Inuyasha practically leapt back in shock as the demon lord flew past them, pulling his mate into a tight embrace, both his sons looking away awkwardly. "I apologise for earlier – you were right, of course you were right, I-"
"-Not now," she said softly, taking his clawed hands gently in hers and breaking their embrace slowly. "The Revolutionaries are in the tunnels, if you go now you'll be able to catch them." He nodded, "But be careful, Katsura is there, he's got some control of the dogs, and it's-"
"-It's fine, Izayoi, I'll take a small legion, Inuyasha will come with me, he knows the tunnels better than anyone." This is where everyone met Inu-no-Taishou's eyes once more.
"Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked. "But Inuyasha is one of their main-"
"-Yes, Inuyasha, he's the only one who can get in and out quickly without getting lost." He met his mate's eyes as he sensed her argument approaching. "He is coming."
Kagome's fingers clutched the back of Inuyasha's kimono momentarily – she didn't want him to leave her, not for a minute, for some reason, she felt so shaky, and vulnerable, she felt like she needed him to be as close as possible. Inuyasha dropped her onto her feet gently, turning to face her.
"I have to go," he muttered, taking her hands in his as if in an attempt to reassure her, "I'll be back a quickly as possible, and Sesshomaru and my mother will look after you, okay?" She was tempted to argue, to tell him to stay, but as she felt the weight of his eyes fighting to capture her gaze, she remained silent, nodding half-heartedly. "Good girl," he growled teasingly, planting a swift, embarrassed kiss atop her head, following his father into the trees.
"Kagome?" Said girl startled from her hazy daydream as Izayoi touched her shoulder gently. "We have to go to the safe-house. Sesshomaru has to protect the people there as well." Sesshomaru sniffed lightly, catching the two females' attention.
"Indeed, and there are some rogue Revolutionaries wandering nearby, so we had best get moving." He paused, meeting Kagome's anxious eyes. "It wouldn't be prudent to allow ourselves to be attacked out here in the open, especially in your condition." Her thin brows narrowed n confusion. What is he talking about?
"Come again? What are you-"
"-Your condition, Lady Kagome," Sesshomaru repeated, motioning an arm for them to walk on. Izayoi took a deep breath, gently manoeuvring Kagome forward alongside her, Sesshomaru following.
"Kagome, I'll tell you, but…you have to keep…calm about it, and not…panic, understand?"
***
Inuyasha licked his lips unconsciously as he heard the practically silent breathing of his father and the warriors sticking close by. Inu-no-Taishou handed a flaming torch to a few of the followers as the entrance to the tunnels stood open before them. "Go in fours, keep track of each other, take one of the four tunnels each, bring prisoners alive, understand?" Inu-no-Taishou commanded, the demons nodded. "You know the call if you require back up, and the scent to follow to lead you back. Any questions?" Silence ensued. And Inuyasha watched the demons closely. He'd never been allowed to take part in or even witness something like this before, taught to fight (his father and Sesshomaru had seen to that) but always hidden or ushered away from danger. His heart thumped in his chest of apprehension – excitement. To him, this was some twisted sort of privilege. "Right, I go with Inuyasha. Go." Within seconds of the words the four separate groups and their accompanying torches disappeared down each tunnel, leaving the centre one for Inuyasha and his father to explore. "This is the one that leads straight outside, correct? Inuyasha nodded, eager to be of any kind of use, ignoring the fact that Inu-no-Taishou had elected to stay with him undoubtedly to make sure he didn't get hurt. "Good, if any went the correct way we'll flush them straight out." He motioned for Inuyasha to go ahead, following suite as the half-demon moved forwards.
The demon lord's golden gaze flickered over his son continuously, taking several deep breaths prior to opening his mouth to speak, only to have it shut again uselessly silent.
"Dad?" Inu-no-Taishou's eyes darted to his son once more, awaiting his speech patiently.
"Yes?"
"Do you…do you really think I'm…worth all this? I mean I…I'm the cause of all this trouble…it would have been better…if I'd never been-"
"-That's not true." The half-demon stopped, turning to face his father. "You're my son, you must...Inuyasha…understand I…" he bit his lower lip, striving to find the right words. Inu-no-Taishou never was known for displaying his emotions openly, he always found himself coming up short, or finding it too awkward. "You and Sesshomaru are both my sons and – I care for you both the same but…you…you're my little boy, and I…I've been able to treasure and protect you in ways Sesshomaru and I never got to…" he growled with impatience at his lack for words, nails biting into his palm in aggravation. "There is no way anything would be better if you weren't here, so – so don't blame this on yourself. I'm the one that's at fault here…" Inuyasha frowned.
"You? Why? What've you done?"
"I've taken care of you, the way any decent father should but I have…taken a back seat when it comes to actually caring for you."
"Dad, that's not-"
"-No I…When you were a baby your mother was the one that always held you, that fed you, fussed over you, even when you were little Sesshomaru was the one to entertain you with your games and play with you. I loved you all the same but I never…I was so wrapped up in trying to make a better world for you that I didn't even take the time to be in your world…So I…I am sorry…All this time I have been practically absent from your life and it hasn't even done anything. It's all for nothing! I've wasted 200 plus years for nothing!"
Inuyasha blinked back the troublesome salty tears that caused his eyes to glass over, sniffing slightly, breaking the sudden silence. Inu-no-Taishou's own eyes widened in surprise as his son virtually leapt at him wrapping his arms round him in an awkward hug.
"I've never resented it! I promise! I never have! You've always taken care of me – I've never wanted for anything! Sure sometimes I wanted some more of your time but that never stopped me from knowing why you weren't always there. I appreciate it, really. It might not seem like it's getting anywhere but I…I can't stand you giving up. You've always been this pinnacle of hope…whenever I face something I realise how strong you've been to be fighting for a seemingly hopeless world…if you give up now, what am I supposed to do?" Inu-no-Taishou smiled slightly, ruffling Inuyasha's hair affectionately.
"You haven't hugged me since you were a little boy," he said absently, and Inuyasha blushed slightly, pulling back.
"So is this my cynical little Inuyasha telling me to have hope?" Inuyasha smirked at his father's words.
"Feh, well I guess I get the stubbornness from you." Inu-no-Taishou mimicked his grin, continuing on in the dimness beside Inuyasha, holding the torch ahead of them.
"No, I think you get that from your mother…" The half-demon rolled his eyes.
"Whatever…in either case, I suppose I understand more than ever where this need to fight for something better comes from…I don't want my kid growing up in this world as it is."
"No, I suppose not," the demon lord said absently. But suddenly, he stopped. "'Kid'? I'm sorry?" Inuyasha gave his father a broad grin.
"Oh, yeah, that's right; I suppose you don't know do you – Grandfather." Just as Inu-no-Taishou was about to question him further, his golden eyes widened so much Inuyasha feared they might shoot straight out his head, the tunnel around them hummed with a dull, indecipherable echo. "What was-" Inu-no-Taishou raised a hand to his own lips, and Inuyasha silenced at the signal.
"That dull murmur…" The half-demon looked to his father inquisitively. "You say that Katsura had the dogs with him?" Inuyasha nodded.
"Why?"
"Can't you smell it?" Inuyasha shook his head, his half-demon abilities paling in comparison to his father's. "They're coming…"
TBC
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
A/N: KK, not lots of IYxKag like I promised, I'll try for the next chappie though. Phew! WICKED hard to write this chapter, I actually got distracted from it three times. Anyways, it's done now, hope you liked it. SUPER sorry for the cliffie, I wasn't actually intending to here, it originally ended with Inuyasha telling Inu-no-Taishou about Kagome's condition, but that seemed too cheesy and wierd there to me, so I wrote a little more, but then I honestly was way too tired to write anymore, so that's why it ended here. Please review!
Shigure-san
x chuu x
