Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha nor any of the familiar characters. Nassi and Kenichi belong to me, and Kilik belongs to the Soul Caliber franchise. I know this story is overdue to be updated but writer's block has been a witch. I will try to finish this story this year, then we can see what happens to the rest of them as time goes by. Thanks for waiting for so long.
Chapter Fourteen: An Orphan on the Roadside! (First Sequence)
The snake exploded in a mass of light that ripped through the calmness of the lake. The mountain shook with the shockwave and wet ashes rained down onto the unsuspecting village. Kagome was rocketed back, her face one of shocked amazement before the back of her head connected with the tree roots behind her. She lost consciousness immediately, normal orbs secreted away as the roots of the tree untangled themselves and the tiny woman within slipped between them toward the young hime.
"Little hime, thank you so much," the little woman whispered as she touched Kagome's shoulder. She reached out and watched as the wooden rod the snake was holding propelled itself through the water, it's journey coming to a stop in the woman's hand. "Imagine, a miko so strong in ability in this day and age...what a surprise." The little woman laughed, then waved her rod through the water. A bubble formed around Kagome and the air she sorely needed quickly filled her lungs.
"Allow me this one gift since you risked your life so valiantly for mine." She closed her eyes and whispered the words for an incantation, then gently tapped the bubble. It rose toward the surface slowly, the little woman's mischievous smile reflecting in the bubble's smooth surface as she waved and swam away.
(1)
The telepathic link between Kagome and the others went down the moment Kagome went unconscious, causing varying degrees of panic for those that were linked with her. Keni'Chi accidentally spraying an unaware Kilik, InuTaishou's minor lapse in conversation, and Inuyasha's face meeting Sesshoumaru's fist were inconsequential to the horror that slapped Nassi. She reeled, stupefied, as the villagers stood in awed silence. Glittering flakes of ashen purity still fluttered on the breeze between the vendors, patrons, and dancers frozen in the small village. The ashes were soon gone, replaced by a spark that lit from the depths of the lake. The spark widened as it reached the lake's surface until a small branch and the hand of a tiny woman broke the water's surface.
"My people," the tiny woman sang out with a ringing voice. "The terror is dead!"
Cheers and shouts of celebration immediately sang out from the people of village as those that had suffered under the false Water God's rule embraced and congratulated each other. The tiny woman glanced over the celebrating crowd, her eyes sparkling as her watched her people celebrate. Those same orbs soon settled on Nassi as she stared into the water's murky surface.
"Poor kencho," the god whispered as she floated toward Nassi's silent form. "Do not be upset. Your charge comes to you directly." The water parted as she spoke and Nassi watched as a giant bubble floated toward Nassi. It popped on the edge of the pier and the force pushed Kagome's damp form to Nassi's lightning-quick hands. She quickly plucked the unconscious hime from the water and took to the skies with a powerful thrust of her legs. The small god watched her go, her people cheering over her release as the pair disappeared over the horizon.
(II)
What do you do when your roof caves in?
Miroku found out first hand as the sounds of splintering wood, displaced stones, and panicked onlookers suddenly interrupted the peaceful atmosphere that was his small clinic. Dust clouds billowed, debris rolled, and potential customers scampered out of the doorway as Miroku dove for his life underneath a nearby table. He peered out cautiously, his reiki expanding to sense the being who made such a dramatic entrance through the clouds of dust that were formerly the roof of his home.
Miroku sensed Nassi immediately and struggled to reach her through the rubble. The kencho youkai's aura was an erratic mess of panic, guilt, and fear, but it was Kagome's barely wavering flicker of life that stirred the Western Houshi to action.
"Bring her this way!" Miroku cried over the approaching tide of youkai swarming to investigate the disturbance. Nassi followed quickly, Kagome's still form still damp as Nassi placed her on the only cot not affected by her abrupt landing. Miroku scrambled for supplies while Nassi stripped Kagome of her soaked aoi dai. She snatched a nearby blanket from a dusty shelf and quickly covered Kagome's body from the male in the room. She glanced up as Inuyasha burst into the room, the rant dying on his lips as he took in Kagome's soaked, shaking form.
"What happened?"
Nassi shook her head, tears blurring her vision as she hung her head. "I don't know Inuyahsa-dono. We were on our field trip-"
"The lake village in the middle of the dormant volcano?" InuTaishou asked as he and Sesshoumaru stepped into the ruined dwelling. He gazed up at the hole in the roof, unaware of the sudden red that clouded Sesshoumaru's golden gaze as he finally spotted his unconscious ward.
"Hai, InuTaishou-sama," Nassi nodded. "She fell into the lake and disappeared. One of the fishermen stated something about a water kami that devoured young maidens-"
"KAGOME WAS ALMOST EATEN?" Inuyasha snarled furiously. "What hell's wrong with you Nassi? Why didn't you stop it?"
"I didn't have a chance to stop it!" Nassi shrieked, the bird-like call piercing the sensitive ears in the room. Kilik and Kenichi, on their way inside the hut as well, clamped their hands over their ears in pain.
"Wet ash erupted from the lake, then this little tiny woman came out-I'm guessing the real water kami from the way the villagers reacted-then Kagome floated to me. I brought her back here as fast as I could! I DIDN'T LET HER GET EATEN, INUYASHA!"
"Ow!" Kenichi hissed, then stepped aside so Miroku could reach an ointment jar resting by his foot. The houshi quickly went back to Kagome's bedside and parted her hair before gingerly rubbing some of the cold cream along a gash on the back of her head. Nassi apologized quickly and turned back to the sleeping miko.
Sesshoumaru watched the occupants in the room scramble about before resting his eyes on Kagome's small, shivering form. She was so small, weak, and the first time she had been hurt in his presence. She looked odd without her blushing cheeks and brilliant smile, and the longer she lay still the stormier his thoughts became. To him Kagome's injury was a mark against his honor and Nassi's stammering seemed to mock his promise to protect the little hime against injury.
"Her prognosis, Houshi-san," InuTaishou inquired as the others settled into the room. Kenichi had managed to light a fire in the nearby stove, Kilik had left to inquire about repairing the roof, and Inuyasha was seated on the floor beside Kagome's cot, her small hand in his clawed one as he gently rubbed warmth back into her fingers.
"I believe she has merely been stunned, my lord," Miroku replied as he set a pot filled with water onto the stove. "The water, plus whatever it was that connected with her head, merely 'rustled her leaves' so to speak." Miroku lifted the pot from the stove and poured the hot water into a waiting ceramic bowl, the stirred the contents of a linen package into the water. The scents of raspberry, mint, and lemon bloomed in the dusty air. He waited a few moments for it to cool, then approached the cot with the steaming contents. Inuyasha sat on the cot and pulled Kagome into his lap, then motioned for Miroku to proceed before turning to Nassi.
"Now what happened today?" he asked, ignoring Sesshoumaru's displeasure over his familiarity with his ward. "Last I heard is that you were taking her on some sort of 'field trip'?"
Nassi nodded and began her tale, starting at Kagome's reaction to the floating village when they first arrived, to her enthusiastic attempts to mimic the street performers, and ended with the words the water god left her with and her flight to the fortress. Many of the others sympathized with Nassi, some in the room remembering when Kagome managed to venture down the side of the cliff to the port below the citadel while others remembered the trouble her and Miroku got into with a pair of centipede youkai. Sesshoumaru felt no sympathy, however, and regarded the incident and Kagome's still form as evidence that the general had failed in taking care of her charge.
"I am disappointed."
The room fell silent, each turning toward Sesshoumaru as he crossed the room toward Nassi. She stood up and lowered her gaze as waves of his forbidding aura crashed down on her. "You were given charge of this Sesshoumaru's ward. Did you forget that she is the only heir to her people?"
"Iie Sesshoumaru-dono," Nassi replied. "I did not. I just-"
"You were negligent in your duties, Nassirudden, and must accept punishment."
Nassi sighed, her steel grey eyes dull as the others in the room erupted in her defense. InuTaishou waited until everyone else had their say before voicing his opinion. "What gives you the right to punish my general, Sesshoumaru? She is a guard of the West and as such issues of punishment are mine to decide, if there is to be any punishment at all." Inutaishou turned to Nassi and gave her a forgiving smile. "I am aware that Kagome's harm was not intentional-"
"Be that as it may," Sesshoumaru rumbled from his place in the doorway. "The young hime is my ward, essentially a ward of the Great Dai. Your general placed my ward in harm's way with her negligence. It is my right to demand retribution."
InuTaishou snarled angrily, stuck between a rock and his son's proverbial hard head. Of course he knew about the laws and regulations of their people, including the issuances on grievances against a Great Dai. It was within Sesshoumaru's right to punish a transgressor in any way short of death and any hope of sparing Nassirudden from his son's bullheadedness evaporated in the flicker of triumph that sparked in Sesshoumaru's amber eyes.
"You will remain in your quarters for one week's time," Sesshoumaru voice echoed in the silent room. "At that point I will decide what your punishment shall be and execute it. Is that understood?"
"Hai Sesshoumaru-dono," Nassi replied with a deep bow. "I will do so at once." She left the room quickly and spared no glance to the slumbering girl on the cot behind her. Inuyasha waited until Sesshoumaru left to snarl in disgust.
"Fucking prick," he snapped angrily with his arms still wrapped tightly around Kagome. "Pops what the hell? You just stood there and let it happen!"
"I had no choice boy!" The room cringed away from the massive youki that suddenly swept the room, the power only receding when Kagome whimpered in fright. "I am sorry," Inutaishou said as he stood up and began to make his way back to the main castle. "I will do what I can for Nassi but Sesshoumaru is right. I can only hope he does not damage her too badly."
(III)
For a week Nassirudden stayed in her room, her despair over her failure surpassed by her regret over attempting to show something so special to a mere human. . .
For a week Kagome slept, unaware, while Miroku monitored her vitals and the strange rumblings in her reki. The holy energy trying to infuse itself with Kagome's own was powerful and swatted at her spiritual energy like a battering ram.
The rest of the keep held their breath and waited, both for the sleeping princess and for Nassi's judgment to be decided. Sesshoumaru seethed, his anger over Kagome's injury compounding for every day she remained in Miroku's clinic.
'It is only because of my promise to protect her,' he assured himself as the rest of the court waited for his decision. 'Nassirudden's failure reflects poorly on myself. She was told that the hime was fragile, yet she insists on surrendering her to certain peril.' Elite members of the court begged for clemency on Nassi's behalf and each were ignored. Inuyasha's snarled threats, InuTaishou's requests that he see reason, and the other generals assurances that they would handle the princess fell to the wayside the longer Kagome remained asleep.
Sesshoumaru's decision cemented Nassi's disregard for humankind.
{^}
"Can't you do something?" Inuyasha demanded heatedly. "Nassi hasn't done a damned thing to deserve the punishment Sesshoumaru handed down!"
"I won't stand by for this," KeniChi growled from his side of the conference table. "My cousin and I will take leave of this place and your service if this continues."
"I thought as much," InuTaishou replied despondently. "I made Sesshoumaru aware of this but he does not care. He will do what he thinks he must to save his so-called honor."
"To Sesshoumaru-dono Nassi failed in her duty to protect Kagome. Kagome never would have fallen into that lake and encountered whatever it was that harmed her if Nassi had been more aware of what was going on with the village."
"Oh, so its Nassi's fault that Kagome's clumsy as fuck!" Inuyasha thundered into Kilik's face. "This is bullshit and we know it! Somebody's gotta step in and stop this shit!"
"No."
Inuyasha and the others turned, guilty looks darkening their faces as Nassi somberly entered the room. "I will not run from this," she began, her steel grey eyes determined as she caught Keni-chi's sullen blues. "I will not abandon my service to InuTaishou-sama. We knew when we arrived here that there would be risks. I accept this punishment."
". . . but Nassi-"
"Thank you Inuyasha-dono for defending me," Nassi interrupted. "But Sesshoumaru-dono and Kilik-san are right. I could've hurt many people with my actions that week. Sesshoumaru-dono's lesson will forever be with me."
The room fell silent, unsure what to say in the face of her decision. KeniChi finally reached for her hand and asked, "Are you sure? He will be humiliate you if you allow it."
Nassi nodded. "I am sure. I can only hope I have let no one else down."
(IV)
The courtyard outside the castle square was packed, soldiers, servants, and family all surging before a large platform built in the center of the practice field. Where tents full of healing soldiers once stood now held a stage with a six foot tall wooden x. The X was made of heavy wood, enchanted to prevent it from breaking under the onslaught it would receive. There were metal bands embedded in the x, hand and footholds enchanted with youki to prevent an easy escape. The massive doors to the castle fell open and the crowd reacted, booing as a small entourage made their way through the crowd toward the stage. Sesshoumaru and InuTaishou led a small group of armed guards toward the stage, the guards surrounding a figure shrouded in a white hooded cloak. The figure made no move to escape but kept their head down as the crowd booed around them. Sesshoumaru and InuTaishou stepped onto the platform first, then two of the guards before the cloaked figure was helped onto the stage.
Inuyasha, Kilik, and KeniChi watched from the trampled earth outside of Miroku's clinic. "You should go get her," Inuyasha rumbled to Kenichi. "I will hold Sesshoumaru off for as long as I could, at least long enough for you to get to the continent."
"Sure, so Sesshoumaru-dono can shred you into chicken bits," Kenichi replied, then roughly patted Inuyasha's shoulder. "I thank you my prince but Nassi has decided. I wouldn't go against her wishes." They watched as Nassi pulled the hood off of her head and approached the x in the middle of the stage.
"Forgive us Nassirudden-sempai," one of the guards said as he stepped in front of her and reached for her hair. The stress of the day had her struggling to cling to her humanoid figure, the effort only adding to her rebellious beauty as black feathers suddenly intertwined themselves in her dark tresses. The guard said nothing about her appearance, making sure to smooth her hair over the front of her before stripping her of her cloak. Her hands were cuffed together, her talons clicking against the weighted chain that hung from the cuffs. She wore a flimsy loincloth and nothing else, her hair shielding her breasts from view as she kneeled before Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru gestured toward the guards again and they lifted Nassi to her feet. They released her hands from the cuffs then placed her hands inside the cuffs on the high ends of the x. Her feet were clasped inside the lower bands before the guards marched down from the stage and lined up in front of the stage.
InuTaishou glanced toward Sesshoumaru again, his gaze condemning before turning towards the restless crowd. "My subjects, I regret what you must see today. I am aware of your love for Nassirudden of the Roaring West. She has committed a transgression against our Great Daiyoukai and it must be rectified-"
"All of this over some human onna!" someone in the crowd shouted angrily. "Why must one of ours be punished because of their frailty!" The crowd roared in agreement and surged toward the stage. InuTaishou considered allowing their anger to defy Sesshoumaru's order but Sesshoumaru released the chains that held back his youki. Golden eyes turned crimson in a matter of seconds, the beautiful magneta lines along his cheeks became jagged as he unleashed the power behind the youngest Great Daiyoukai in Japan's history. The crowd panicked, the sudden surge toward the stage now scrambling to put as much distance between themselves and the massive youki pouring from the youkai like water from a stream. It washed over them, crashed into them, and surged around them in waves of power that left the most seasoned warrior nearly senseless in their panic.
"Sesshoumaru stop this!" InuTaishou hissed viciously. "Stop it now or so help me I'll-"
The power clamped down on itself and Sesshoumaru returned to normal, the wicked glimmer the only remnant of his demonstration as InuTaishou returned to the crowd.
There were no protests now.
"I will stand here no longer," InuTaishou told Sesshoumaru before he approached Nassi. "My dear girl," he whispered as he brushed a stray feather away from her pale face. "I am so sorry."
"Don't be InuTaishou-sama. This is what was meant to be. I nearly failed my grandfather. I have failed in my duty," Nassi woodenly replied. "It is only right that I suffer."
InuTaishou drew a long breath, his eyes closing as if to block out the ridiculousness of it all, and walked away from his eldest and off the stage. Sesshoumaru mentally counted out paces away from Nassi's naked back, ensuring that he was at least thirty paces away before he turned around and wrapped his youki around the fingertips of his left hand. The energy melded into the poison in his hand and the crowd gasped as it expanded, then thinned into a thin stream of light.
"It comes," Nassi prepared herself and closed her eyes. A lone tear slipped from her sooty lashes. "Grandfather, help me to be strong."
The panicked fluttering of a frightened bird. . .
She felt it in her outstretched hand, its heartbeat wild against its chest . It chirped then screeched before flying away.
Miroku bolted, startled, when Kagome sat straight up. "Hime-sama?" he said as he slowly approached her. Sapphires opened instantly but awareness was far behind, if there at all. "Kagome-sama, how are yo-"
Kagome flung back the covers and placed her feet on the floor, unaware or uncaring of the cold stone beneath her feet as she stood up. She wobbled, fawn-like, and grasped a nearby table for support.
"Kagome-sama please," Miroku implored as Kagome struggled toward the open doorway. "You must stay in bed. It will do you no good to run about in just your yukata." He reached out for her, intending on returning her to bed, when her body began to glow with a golden light. He backed off, recognizing the golden light from the holy reki that had finally merged within her, and stood by as Kagome regained her footing and ran from the clinic.
She ran past Inuyasha and the others, her bare feet swift against the dirt as he and Kenichi gaped in surprise. Kilik grasped his staff and followed her, careful to stay behind her as she ran across the courtyard toward the edge of the crowd surrounding the platform.
Sesshoumaru raised his hand, the whip dancing at his feet like a cobra. He drew his hand back, then forward and watched as the whip surged forward. It was then that Kagome made it to the stage. She scrambled towards Nassi, her eyes only for her friend and the whip as she clung to Nassi's back and refused to let go. A quick jerk saved her from certain death and Sesshoumaru snarled as Kagome cried against Nassi's back.
"Please don't hate me," she begged her kencho friend as Nassi's eyes opened in surprise. "I didn't mean for this to happen. Please don't hate me Nassi-chan."
'She woke up for me,' Nassi realized as Sesshoumaru began demanding Kagome move out of the way. 'Is she-could she-?'
The beast within him rumbled with joy as soon as it saw Kagome, uncaring of Sesshoumaru's outrage or his foolish plan to place unnecessary blame on the kencho guardian. It wanted to touch her, sniff her, revel in her as only his overly affectionate half could and it was an act of Sesshoumar's unfathomable will that prevented him from doing such.
InuTaishou watched Kagome with satisfied pride, grateful that she caught Nassi's feelings on the thread he sent her and that it was enough for her to rise. This now left her in the path of Sesshoumaru's great anger and he paused, readying himself to intercede on her behalf.
"You are my charge and I demand you to move," Sesshoumaru growled at Kagome. His anger leaped when she reached up and released Nassi's right hand. "You will listen and release her Damascus!"
"NO!"
That one word sang out against the afternoon wind, and Kagome turned to face her benefactor. Her hair was wild, her yukata thin and her feet dirty, yet to the youkai around her she seemed to shimmer under Sesshoumaru's dark gaze. Here was the small human that unknowingly struggled toward her Youkai Trials. . .
who once saved the houshi-san from certain death.
Who once cared for wounded youkai without fear.
and who singlehandedly rescued a water kami.
She glowed like a star and her place in the hearts of the West were sealed.
"Nassi hasn't done anything wrong!" Kagome cried out as she desperately struggled with the cuff holding Nassi's other hand. "She tried to warn me Sesshoumaru-sama, but I didn't listen. I fell into the lake because of my own carelessness. I won't stand by and watch another punished for my foolishness."
"Onna I care not for your excuses," Sesshoumaru informed her and snapped his whip at her feet. "Judgment has been decided. It will come to pass!"
"Fine!" Kagome snapped as the last of Nassi's cuffs came free. She placed her own feet into the cuffs, then shrugged out of her yukata and handed it to Nassi's stiff form. Kagome put her hands in the cuffs above her, glanced over her shoulder and cried, "Then punish me!"
"Kagome no! You don't know what you're doing!" Inuyasha hollered as he and Kenichi broke through the crowd. "Sesshoumaru! Don't do it you fucker!"
Sesshoumaru ignored them all, his frigid gaze settling onto Kagome's exposed back and refusing to leave. She dared to defy him, this little human hime who would have remained sleeping if it had not been for him. His beast rallied against its restraints, its demands for the girl's release falling on deaf ears. "If you so wish it, my dear," he growled as he raised his hand.
His hand was grasped before the whip could deploy. Sesshoumaru glared into his father's calm features and sneered. "Release me and move."
"I think not boy," InuTaishou refused. "I will not stand here and watch you beat her. To strike her would be to violate your vow to protect her. Do so and she becomes a ward of the west, as she should be."
Sesshoumaru saw the truth in his father's words and, with a last growl towards the young woman in question, vanished from the field.
(End)
I'm sorry people, but I had to separate it into two parts. This first part was becoming too long, especially with catching everyone up with what's happened so far (including myself), making everything else make sense, and figuring out where exactly the story itself is progressing. I had notes but those notes have disappeared on me. I will figure out something though.