The Time of Tolling Bells
(A/N: Yeah. I'm evil. And very bad. (Very, very bad). I haven't updated in months… well... A year really. Hehehe… I'm really terrible. Okay, I got three reasons though! Firstly, I was lazy. I'll admit it. Secondly, my motivation went down as I got piled with work. Napping was never so easy before. And thirdly, I actually DID finish this chapter, and I had finished it too. Then for whatever reason, NONE, and I mean NONE of 3,000 words had saved. NONE OF THEM. I was really upset about that, considering that was a few hours of work and a little planning too. (Yes, I write down a basic plan on what happens in the chapter before I actually type it up. It makes getting everything that I wanted to happen in the chapter easier, and since I do it on paper, I can just scrawl the information down and edit it whenever, as I'm not on an electronic 24/7.) So I had literally wrote this LAST YEAR, and decided to come back to it this year. I really did want to continue my story, you know? I have an active imagination, so I did somewhat constantly think about this story. Um… so… forgive me? Maybe? ANYWAYS! The song (I don't know the name of it, nobody seems to...) is from who-knows where (lol) but I loosely translated its meaning. (It seems to be a different version of Edo Komoriuta, but I honestly don't know much about it. You can listen to it on YouTube if you copy the first line in Romaji and put it into your search engine. The YouTube video title is "My favourite Lullaby(japanese)" by Advice2go.
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It was dark, the moon the only thing lighting the room. A figure holds a moving bundle close to her chest, gently rocking the child in her arms. Her soft voice seems to echo as she sings to the child…
nennen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai
It's time to sleep, sleep peacefully, goodnight
nennen yo okororiyo yasashi hito ni sodachimasu you ni
It's time to sleep, may this child grow into a nice person
kamisama arigatou, enjeru mo arigatou
Thank you Kamisama for this Angel
nennen yo okororiyo mama no mune de oyasuminasai
It's time to sleep, on your mother's breast, sleep well, goodnight
The child's eyes are barely open as it hears the woman's soft, melodic voice washing over its pointed ears.
So warm…
nennen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai
It's time to sleep, sleep peacefully, goodnight
nennen yo okororiyo uruseru hito ni sodachimasu youni
It's time to sleep, may this child grow into a forgiving person
kamisama arigatou derai wo arigatou
Thank you Kamisama, thank you for this chance
nennen yo okororiyo mama no mune de oyasuminasai
It's time to sleep, on your mother's breast, sleep well, goodnight
By the time the woman had finished singing the lullaby, the child in her arms had drifted off to sleep.
I love you, Mommy…
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Eyes shot open in the dark. The person was now used to it, that and the screams and the scent of blood from nearby.
I love you.
Green eyes glowed brightly with determination.
That's why I'll escape this place.
Arms and legs struggled at the bonds keeping the person chained to the wall.
Once I escape… I will protect you.
It paused and panted for a moment, trying to catch its breath. The being balled its fists in its determination to escape.
…Even if you don't remember me.
Gathering up a massive amount of strength, the being bust through the cuff that had enclosed their left hand. Then their right hand. And finally, their feet. The person fell to the ground with a resounding thud, their chest heaving with effort. A feminine scream came from a nearby room, and the person closed their eyes tightly and covered their ears, the earsplitting sound too much for the being's young, innocent mind. It grit its teeth as a few tears fell from tightly shut eyes, the female's pain hurting the person emotionally.
Setsuna… I WILL get you outta here..!
Her screams off terror and pain lasted for about an hour, and only the screams from far, far above remained, (which was a normal occurrence, in the Hell-like place the person was trapped in). Slowly, the being rose to their feet and easily bashed though a black, solid metal door. The being, who appeared to be a young man, looked around for any incoming attacks. Seeing nothing but a corridor that stretched in both directions (left and right) and a sandy, stone floor, the male relaxed, but only ever so slightly. His pointed nose twitched and his pupils became animalistic slits.
He jerked his head to the left.
That way!
He started running as fast as his exhausted, wounded body could take him. His clothes, which were at once a deep blue pair of hakama and a teal haori with a pattern of light blue leaves, were in tatters. His haori was nothing but a small piece of shredded cloth tucked into his waist, and his hakama were only slightly better with his right pant leg nearly completely missing and his left pant leg only reaching his knee. He was barefoot, and his feet were nearly solid black. He winced at each step he took, but he paid it no heed. Rescuing Setsuna was too important for him to even think about slowing down. And then he had to figure out how to escape once he had her…
Shit.
He hadn't thought of a "real" plan.
He turned several times, going down different corridors as he thought of his escape plan, following the scent of Setsuna's blood, his auburn hair looking like the fire that burned in the torches in the corridors.
He suddenly stopped, feeling a malignant force nearby.
Have I been noticed?!
His head swiveled around while his eyes wildly searched the room.
Then again, there weren't any guards, and I haven't sensed any as I followed Setsuna's scent… Can the enemy hide their presence?
He cautiously peeked his head out and looked around the corridor. It was different that all the other ones he had run through. He'd noticed that it had started to become chilly, and there was a distinct lack of torches. Despite the lack of light they'd given off, it was almost as if they were unnecessary in the place (which had turned out to be something like an enclosed jail cell for on person each, the cells were so small), as it gave off its own pale green, eerie glow.
The young male cautiously stepped out, shivering slightly as his dirtied, bruised, and blackened feet touch slimy, foul-smelling stone floors. He nearly retched, an impulse he barely managed to force down when he inhaled, the powerful scent of blood (namely Setsuna's) reaching his delicate nose. He put his guard up on extra-high, slowly making his way through the large room, before stopping at a black door, similar to the one he had busted through when he'd managed to escape from his own cell, the only difference being the bars that allowed a little bit of the eerie light to flow into.
He quickly stepped back, the scent of blood too powerful, and vomited while leaning against the opposite wall. His eyes stung as his lithe, slightly toned frame shook violently as bile shot out from his mouth. After a couple of minutes, he had stopped vomiting, and began to choke almost before he managed to calm his body down. He collapsed away from the mess he made, and began to shake intensely as his body felt as if all its previous strength had been drained and was being crushed by the oppressive force that the room seemed to hold.
He weakly looked to his side at the door which Setsuna resided. His eyes wandered to the bottom of the door, where a pool of deep red blood lay. He squeezed his eyes shut and barely forced himself to his feet and managed to stumble to the door.
If the enemy showed up now, I wouldn't be able to fight back… I need to get out of this place with Setsuna and fast..!
He gulped and rubbed the sheen of sweat that had formed on his face. He was on high alert, his head of hair raised up like the hackles on an animal as he slowly pushed the door open, and gagged at what lay within, tears gathering in his eyes.
All the way in the back, lay Setsuna. Her hands were chained up behind her, leaving her sitting on her knees, her head to the side. She was without clothes, blood pooling from between her legs, and her hair was disheveled, some strands soaking in her own blood.
He slowly stepped into her cell, taking notice of her stomach, which appeared to have been gouged out, then her legs, which were resting at odd angles beneath her, and finally, at all the scratches and bruises that littered her frame. He couldn't see her face, as it was covered by her hair, but the dark, hand-like prints wrapped around her neck gave him the impression that it didn't look pretty.
Instinctually, he shivered at the sight of the naked female before him, before walking up to her. It was faint, but as he drew closer, he could see the shuttering rise and fall of her chest. His eyes narrowed in rage, his clawed fists balling at his sides, small streams of blood flowing down his hands.
They were gonna pay. Big time.
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Kagome gasped as her head broke above the water of the onsen, taking in a needed, gasping breath of air. She sputtered slightly, having inhaled a little bit of water, but calmed down after a few seconds of coughing. Slowly, she made way to the side of the onsen, and somewhat abruptly sat on one of the large, gray, smooth weathered rocks that resided next to the onsen. Her eyes drooped to the murky gray water, her deep blue pools a stormy gray. She sighed as the events from last night replayed itself in her head again, something that she'd been doing since she woke up.
She raised her head to look upon him. His amber eyes were a warm golden hue. She felt heat rush to her cheeks.
He looks so serene...
She blinked slowly, taking him in. There it was again, that weird moment where she was entirely captivated by him. Completely awestruck.
Unconsciously, the two leaned closer to each other.
Are we going to kiss...?
They leaned closer still, their eyes slowly closing. Their noses were almost touching, and still, they leaned closer.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. The two both jumped and quickly separated.
"I expect that you'll be better tomorrow, miko." And with that, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Kagome sighed again. Feeling like this wasn't good for her mental health. Or something. But despite how much she tried not to think about it, her mind couldn't help but seem to drift back to last night's events…
Well… shit!
Her rational mind whispered that it was nothing, just some random occurrence, and try as she might to believe that was the case, her heart would not let her. It ached, thinking that it was nothing, and it insistently kept telling her that it was something more, something special, something that only she would ever get to see. It kept trying to coax her into the idea of….
She furiously shook her head.
She refused to acknowledge the lies her heart told her.
They were lies, right…?
She made an aggravated groan in her frustration.
"It was nothing, Kagome. Get it into your thick skull already." She spoke to herself, her voice low.
And it will never be anything, ever.
She refused to admit the things she had buried deep down in her heart.
She got up from her spot on the rock and waded into the middle of the onsen, looking at her shaking image reflected on the water.
I will never love Sesshomaru. I won't allow myself that feeling, as it will only cause my own sorrow.
She didn't acknowledge the lone tear that fell as she slowly walked out of the onsen.
Loving Sesshomaru will only cause myself pain.
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Sesshomaru grit his teeth in frustration as his mind had once again drifted to the miko as he wastrying to work.
This Sesshomaru is being driven insane will your constant reminder of last night!
Hehehe, I know.
Sesshomaru mentally growled.
You will stop at once.
Make me! His beast replied in an all-too-jovial manner.
Sesshomaru's eyes flashed briefly red before settling down into a bright, aggravated gold.
So, when do we make her ours?
Sesshomaru let out an angry roar and slammed his laptop shut (not that he'd really done much work on it). His youki expanded in his violent fit of (somewhat) contained rage as he stormed out of his office, making all the employees in the building shiver in fear.
Today was definitely not the day to upset their boss.
Everybody knew that, well, except for one certain young man. A young 23-year old human man, to be exact, who goes by the name Akitoki Hojo. A/N: (Hojo is a surname, apparently, and I didn't want to have him first name-less, so I called him "Akitoki Hojo", which was the name of his ancestor that Kagome and Inuyasha had met in the feudal era during the second movie and in episode 137 of the anime )
Hojo worked on the seventeenth floor, one level below Miroku with Sango as his supervisor in the Department of Communications. He was good at his job (with him being Sango's receptionist/assistant), mostly because of his cheery, airheaded disposition. And today was going to be the day that Sesshomaru shattered that.
Said taiyokai male was fast approaching the seventeenth floor, choosing the stairs instead of the elevator.
Ahahaha! What, is the Big Bad Puppy mad? His beast jibed.
SILENCE!
*sniff sniff* Aw, you hurt my feelings, Sir Stick-Up-Your-Ass!
Unbeknownst to Hojo, he was set in a collision course, destined to be the one to hold a large stack of papers and get in Sesshomaru's way.
Hmm, I wonder if I can take Kagome on a date tomorrow. She was busy last time, and I have these movie tickets…
…It's settled, I'll ask her when I see her! Hojo continued walking, lost in thought, and smiling to himself. Hojo slowly made his way inside Taisho Inc.'s lobby, having come from its sister branch on the other side of Tokyo, which was run by Inuyasha, carrying a stack of papers that reached just beyond the top of his head. He already had trouble with just keeping them together as it was breezy outside and the papers wanted to fly away with the wind.
Seriously, why couldn't Inuyasha's branch sent these documents either by fax or by email like they were supposed to? What was their excuse again? Hojo knit his eyebrows in thought, but he couldn't remember.
Sesshomaru turned sharply around the corner, giving an innocent woman a death glare that caused her to wet herself in terror of her boss's anger. Hn, he was going to have to fire the female later for ruining company property.
Oh… I can't wait to see Kagome and ask her to the movies… Oh, what movie should we watch? Oh, something romantic! But what…? I'll search what movies are out when I get home… Oh kami! What if Kagome kisses me during a romantic part of the movie!? What if she kisses me period?! Hojo's face grew hot and his heart started to race at the thought of that. In the distance, he vaguely heard a ding from the elevator he needed to go on to deliver the papers. People poured out the elevator, escaping their boss' current rage and eager to go on their lunch break.
"W-whoa!" Hojo stuttered as people rushed past him. Before he could take a forward, people behind him rushed past him, cramming themselves into the elevator, apparently having just come back from their lunch. They knew better than to clock back in a minute late. They knew that well.
"Ah… excuse me." Hojo said.
"Could you move over a little so that I could get on?" He asked nicely. Annoyed glares was his answer.
"Ah…! The elevator! Wait!" It was no use, Hojo's hands were occupied, and no one was willing to hold the elevator for him, risking their clock in times, and ultimately their jobs, for the young man.
Hojo let out a sigh.
"Well, taking the stairs couldn't possibly be too bad? I mean, no one goes on them and 17 flights isn't terrible. I could take my time too!" Hojo smiled triumphantly at his brilliant (or so he thought) idea.
Slowly, he made his way to the stairwell that was within a set of closed, (and well hidden, as nobody wanted to see a set of double doors in the grand lobby of Taisho Inc.) doors. As he made his trip, he didn't notice the raging aura of Sesshomaru getting closer and closer to him at an alarming rate. Finally, he had reached the handle of one of the doors.
"Oh… my hands are full." He muttered to himself. Carefully, he tried to shift the large stack of papers into one hand, nearly dropping the entire stack in the process. Finding the weight too heavy for a single hand, Hojo crouched slightly so that his hand rested against his thigh to help support the weight of the papers. Shakily, he tried to reach the door handle with his other hand when it slammed open.
"Ah!" Hojo let out a startled shout, his entire being having jumped at the suddenness and ferocity the door swung open.
Oh no, the papers!
And up in the air they went.
A pair of menacing golden eyes met quaking brown eyes. Hojo was to terrified to speak.
"Human…" a growl sounded.
And all Hojo could do was gulp and stare up in fear of his raging boss.
I'm going to die, aren't I?
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ELSEWHERE
"Hmm… So the Taisho Corporation is having their fundraiser tomorrow for… cancer? Or is this year for children in need?" A lone male mutters to himself. He appears to be in a large office, beautifully decorated, except he has all the lights off except for a lamp on his large desk. His bright green and warm yellow eyes looked grimly outside of a window behind his desk. The scent of blood danced around what appeared to be a large mansion.
"I wonder what party they were having back then… a ball, was it?" He continued. The scent of blood grew sharper, and he closed his eyes.
"I told them to escape… I told them they'd die… Protect me? You all should have protected yourselves." He reopened his eyes, twinges of pain and sadness dancing in his gaze. He turned around and looked at two great mahogany doors. Footsteps raced closer to him.
"My Lord!" A young woman burst through wearing a bloodied maid uniform. Her left eye was swollen shut.
"Yui." He greeted.
"Your guest has arrived safely… and those who swore they'd protect you…" she trailed off, long gray bangs speckled with blood covered her eyes.
"….I see.." He trailed off.
She raised her eyes, a bright lavender. "It's not your fault, Lord. They wanted to—"
"I'm aware."
The young female gave no reply. Instead, a man with long black hair and blood red eyes entered.
"You wanted to see me?" A chilling voice asked.
"Hmpf. Indeed, it's about that." The first male nodded.
"I see." The second male blinked. "The Fund is today, correct?" He already knew the answer, and a nod only confirmed it even more.
"Well, Taito-sama, I believe it be best if we left your manor before it becomes overrun with it." The second male said, his eyes trailing to the side where a stench of blood and death emanated closer and closer towards the three.
"Indeed. Let us go, Naraku. Yui, follow."
"Yes milord."
With that, the three left quietly left the room. In the distance, a clock tower tolled, the sound of its bell echoing the surrounding landscape. A bloodied young woman being carried princess style by a young kitsune couldn't help but feel that the tolls from the bells were some ominous premonition, telling stories of danger later to come.
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A/N: YES! NARAKU! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Lol, yes, it's a little bit of a cliffy, considering I've brought Naraku into the picture XD. So, for the second chapter, I'm warning you now, it's going to be a filler in the beginning, BUT only because I need to introduce 2 characters into the story who will be around more a bit later… or is it 3? I can't remember the exact number right now, but it's either 2 or 3. Thank my current headache. Don't worry though, in the next chapter, we'll see a bit more fluff from our main characters ;) Who knows what will happen at the Fund… (insert devious laughter) Although heads up right now, I might make the filler part its own chapter and the Fund another chapter rather than as one whole chapter to make life a bit easier for me… and lazier lol. ANYWAYS! R&R! FEED THE WRITER YOUR COMMENTS! I LOVE FEEDBACK! AND IT'S MOTIVATING! So long! :D