Trap of Darkness

A/N: Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. A big thank you to all the loyal followers and reviewers. Another super big thank you to LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for all your interesting ideas that have made this story possible. This story is jointly owned by LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and me. The Inuyasha cast, or anything belonging to the Inuyasha story, belongs rightly to Rumiko Takahashi. Our OCs belong to us. Enjoy the story and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!

For a little head's up:

'Japanese'

'English'

Thoughts

Eleven

Sesshōmaru, alongside his father, Inuyasha and Miroku stepped out of the cover of the trees and into the small clearing.

Akemi immediately jumped to her feet, green eyes hard as she glared at Sesshōmaru, readying herself for a fight. She didn't notice how the others fanned out in a circle, trapping the five. All her eyes took in was Sesshōmaru's angered form. As angry as he dared let others know. Golden eyes were narrowed and arms crossed over his chest. What truly belied his otherwise emotionless outlook was his jaki that rolled off him in angry waves.

Tōga-ō walked until he was at the back, golden eyes focused entirely on Jasmine. She peered up at him through her long dark lashes, a remorseful but anxious look. He saw how Miroku crowded close to Sango and Rin, ensuring that they wouldn't be able to escape. Although Sango was the bigger threat out of the two. Inuyasha, on the other hand, crossed his arms as he stood close to Kagome. His youngest son's expression was hard, ensuring that Kagome knew he wasn't playing around. The middle sister decided to hang her head rather than go toe to toe with the hanyō.

'I'm disappointed, Akemi,' Tōga-ō said.

The slightest twitch of her fingers let him know she had heard.

'Why did you try to hide your species, Jasmine?' Japan's King asked the brunette.

'And risk the chance of another to trap and enslave me?' Jasmine said, a hint of boldness appearing in her tone. 'I may not know much about my species, but I do know some things. If I can prevent myself from being used like a tool for another's amusement, then I'll take whatever precautions necessary. You must understand that I do not wish to be used.'

'You needn't worry, your secret is safe with us,' he said.

At his words, Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief.

'As for you, Akemi.' The seriousness of Tōga-ō's voice had the other girls swallow nervously in Akemi's stead. 'Why did you not tell us that there was a crisis?'

'Were you not listening?' Akemi said, an edge to her voice. 'We hadn't even considered the severity of the emergency.'

'That does not excuse you from hiding it from us,' Sesshōmaru said angrily.

'You're angry? You're angry?' she bit angrily, her voice rose with her anger until she was snapping. 'You're not the one who's lost your entire family! You don't know what it's like to lose a single member of your family, let alone all of them! You have no right to be angry!'

'As much as it hurts you, Akemi, your father was my best friend,' Tōga-ō said to her.

'Don't,' she warned, her voice hoarse and almost at the point of breaking.

'You're not the only one affected by their deaths,' he continued.

'Don't,' she warned again, anger and pain making the word come out as a growl.

'Kaen was more than just my general, he was my best friend and someone I treated as a brother. I trusted him to watch my back, and he trusted me. You were too young to understand seven hundred years ago, but you're an adult now. The tragic deaths of your parents and your House does not rest on your shoulders alone. I should have known that something was wrong. I had the signs on the day you left.'

'I said don't!' Akemi snapped, her yōki blasting forth from the restraints and knocking all but Tōga-ō and Sesshōmaru off their feet.

Tōga-ō caught Jasmine as soon as her feet lifted off the ground. He had to dig his feet into the earth as her yōki buffeted against him, stronger than he had ever felt before. He felt his own yōki pushing against his restraints, his beast pounding against its mental cage wanting to force the yōkai into submission. He held it back, something he struggled with since his beast was adamant and persistent. If he was struggling this much, he wondered how Sesshōmaru was coping with his.

Miroku had managed to wrap his arms around Sango and Rin just as the three of them were swept off their feet. Miroku's back slammed into a tree, knocking the wind from his lungs. His head throbbed from where it banged against the tree trunk. With a pulsing head, Miroku looked up, wincing in pain at the movement. His blue eyes connected on Akemi's form. Her fists were clenched, droplets of blood dripping onto the grass. He couldn't believe the sheer force of her yōki. He hadn't expected it would be able to physically blow them off their feet. If this was just touching the iceberg of her powers, he seriously didn't want to go up against her when she was actually fighting, let alone fighting seriously.

Inuyasha wrapped Kagome in his arms, his back smacking against a tree. Winded, Inuyasha glared up at Akemi but his frown turned into shock when the sunlight glinted off teardrops as they fell. Akemi hung her head, hair shadowing her eyes, but Inuyasha could not only see the tears winking in the light but he could smell them. First he had been shocked that she was the girl he had played with as a child, and then finding out she was actually over seven hundred years old with the ability to shapeshift and that she grew up with his asshole off a brother. Had that not been enough of a shocker, discovering that she belonged to a prestigious royal House like Sesshōmaru, and that she had been the only survivor of the massacre, took it over the top. But after seven hundred years, she was still plagued by the death of her House. Inuyasha had never met a yōkai who actually cared. He knew his childhood friend was different, but he had believed it was because she was a child like him.

He couldn't believe that she had been an adult all along!

Sesshōmaru had always known Akemi to be equal to him in power, something he despised. But this was the first time in over seven hundred years he felt her power buffet against him, and he hated to admit to himself that she was nothing like how she used to be. But she wasn't the only one that had grown in power. Sesshōmaru was nothing like how he used to be. But there was one thing that had never changed. His beast clawed, roared and pushed against its cage, wanting nothing more than to dominate her. As always, it reacted whenever she was near, wanting her submissive and obedient. But Akemi wasn't the type of yōkai to willingly submit. She'd fight him the entire way. And so the game continued. Sesshōmaru would dominate her.

'Sesshōmaru,' Tōga-ō's voice dragged him out of his thoughts of domination.

Sesshōmaru's cold eyes locked with his father's.

'Take Akemi somewhere quiet.'

'Wait! No!' Jasmine protested, trying to remove Tōga-ō's arms from around her. He didn't budge. 'Let go of me!'

'What can you do for her right now?' Tōga-ō asked her, successfully halting her struggles.

'I'm her friend,' Jasmine said as if it explained everything and she renewed her struggles.

'There's nothing you can do,' Sesshōmaru said indifferently.

Jasmine glowered at him. 'I don't care what you say! Just leave her alone! She doesn't need the likes of you making matters worse!'

'She doesn't need pity either,' Tōga-ō said to Jasmine, nodding at Sesshōmaru to continue.

Sesshōmaru stepped forward, uncrossing his arms as he stood an inch away from Akemi. He looked down at her five-foot-two frame. Being a foot taller, he thought it would be easy to overcome her. But while she barely came to his shoulders, he knew she was a lot stronger than she looked. His past struggles to prove his superiority over her weren't his imagination, nor was her power. She was the real deal. But she was distraught, something only the weak suffered with. These emotions were nothing but a hassle. That's why he pushed them aside. Emotions only made you weak. So why was she so strong? Why was Inuyasha? Did they actually make you stronger?

No. Emotions only made you weak. And weakness would be used against you.

'Stay away from her!' Jasmine was yelling from Tōga-ō's arms, trying with all her strength to get loose.

Sesshōmaru placed a hand on Akemi's lower back, the touch light, barely there, but it was enough to lead Akemi away from the area. He frowned at how easily he was able to manipulate her in this state. While it was one way to dominate her, he did not want to force her into submission while she was at her weakest. He wanted to face her true strength and show her that he was the dominate one. The alpha that she was supposed to bow too.

'Akemi!' Jasmine cried out.

The cry of a pack member had the beast within Akemi snap out of its pain and into red-hot rage. Teeth bared and claws pushing against Akemi's control, she whirled on Sesshōmaru so fast he didn't know what hit him until his back slammed into a tree. The bark cracked under the force, almost breaking it in half.

Sesshōmaru stared wide eyed at Akemi, who's incisor had lengthened into fangs and green eyes turned blue surrounded by red sclera. She was so close to transforming. The rage in her eyes was genuine. She had either given herself to her beast, or she was just that angry. Either way, she was far too dangerous. Only he and his father were capable of dealing with her in this state. His father was too busy holding Jasmine back, so it left it down to him to calm her down. In the past, he had only instigated the fights between them. How could he calm her down?

'Are you really willing to risk your pack, Akemi?' Sesshōmaru said in the same indifferent voice.

She growled dangerously, becoming more animal by the second.

That did not go as planned.

Her agility surprised him again, and by the time he remembered he needed to move, she had knocked him to the ground and straddled his chest. She raised a clawed hand into the air and slashed at his face. He blocked it with his arm, her claws cutting deep. The sight and smell of his blood only sent her further into a frenzy. She slashed at him over and over again with both hands. Sesshōmaru became incapable of doing anything other than protecting his face from the onslaught. Her attacks were too close together, too quick, and they were cutting deeper and deeper into his skin. If he didn't get her off him, he was going to lose an arm, or two.

'What's wrong with her?' Kagome exclaimed, becoming scared.

Jasmine gasped at the violence her friend was displaying, brown-green eyes wide with worry for her.

'She's succumbing to her basic instincts,' Inuyasha explained as he and Kagome joined the others.

'Why aren't you stopping her?' Sango demanded from the hanyō. 'Are you just going to let her kill Sesshōmaru-sama?'

'But why is she attacking him?' Rin asked, brown eyes worried and fearful.

'It's because she's answering a distress call from her pack,' Tōga-ō explained.

'But no one called out-' Sango began and stopped.

They all looked at Jasmine just as she gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

'It's because of me,' she said stepping back and bumped into Tōga-ō's chest.

'Yes,' Tōga-ō agreed, making Jasmine's stomach drop further. 'She's protecting you. And once she's dealt with Sesshōmaru, she'll most likely come after me, and then the others.'

'How do I stop her?' Jasmine pleaded, turning in his arms to look up at him.

'You can't,' he confirmed. 'Not until either we or she is dead.'

Hopelessness settled deep in Jasmine's stomach. Tears sprung to her eyes at how useless she was, how she had failed her friend. She sought the comfort of the nearest person, who happened to be Tōga-ō who held her, and buried her face in his chest. Understanding without words, Tōga-ō held her close, letting her tears soak into his kosode, as he watched the helpless Sesshōmaru trying to protect himself from Akemi's ruthless attacks.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth at standing uselessly on the side-lines. He vaguely remembered a time when this had happened before when he was a child. Like then, he hoped that it would work now. And so, before anyone could object, he charged forward and took one of the attacks aimed at Sesshōmaru.

His sleeve tore open under her sharp claws, helpless against those lethal weapons, cutting deep into his arm. He stood over Sesshōmaru, like a dog or wolf intent on defending their pack, clutching his arm just beneath the wound. His blood coated his hand and dripped down onto Sesshōmaru's chest, who stared incredulously up at his little half-brother who had stood in the way of the attack intended for him.

'Inu-ya-sha,' Akemi's voice trembled.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth at the pain and chuckled. 'Finally came back to ya senses, Mi-chan?'

Everyone stared in surprise as Akemi's body trembled. She took multiple steps back, staring at her right hand that was coated in blood, both Sesshōmaru's and Inuyasha's. Her iris returned to their normal gem green, while the red sclera slowly receded until they were white. Her beast whined, ashamed of how it had attacked a pack member. She looked ready to collapse where she stood.

'Akemi, I'm sorry,' Jasmine's voice called out. 'I'm so sorry.'

Akemi looked over at her, shocked at her friend's tearful face. 'W-what happened?'

'You let your basic instincts take control and attacked Sesshōmaru with the intent of killing him,' Tōga-ō explained, his voice a little harsher than one would expect.

'Inu no Taishō-sama!' Sango protested. 'You said she was protecting Jasmine! You can't exactly blame her for this.'

'Yes I can,' he said, golden eyes hard as they locked with Akemi's. 'If she has such little control over her beast, then I will have to isolate her. She's far too dangerous to be allowed free roam around the other students.'

'Oyaji!' Inuyasha protested.

Sesshōmaru pushed himself to his feet, his wounds healing, but his fingers twitched at the pain.

'Not only was she incapable of controlling a beast that sought to protect its pack brought on by the mere memory of the mass genocide of her previous pack, she hasn't yet faced her past but rather let it fester. Today was the result of her incapability of facing it.' Tōga-ō sighed. 'I had a feeling you had a problem, but I had no idea it was this bad. I have no choice but to isolate you from the others.'

'You do remember what happened last time you isolated her?' Sesshōmaru said, dusting down his ballooned hakama.

'I remember perfectly well. That's why I'll leave you in charge of her.'

'What?' everyone but Tōga-ō, Sesshōmaru and Akemi exclaimed.

'Did you not just see what happened? What if it happens again?' Jasmine semi-yelled at him.

Tōga-ō smiled down at her and patted her head. 'It was Sesshōmaru who had taught Akemi how to transform for the very first time.'

Everyone, but the three who knew, stared with gaping mouths at what he just said.

'I'll be fine,' Akemi's voice was quiet, but clear. Her troubled green eyes looked at Jasmine. She forced a smile on her face. 'Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself.'

'Are you sure?' Jasmine asked, wanting to reach out, to touch her, hug her, anything to give her some comfort. Jasmine hated how she looked so defeated, so lost.

The blonde yōkai nodded. 'I hate how I had lost myself to my beast. I shouldn't have harmed Inuyasha, let alone Sesshōmaru. Regardless of my opinion on him, he didn't deserve to be mauled without justification. I don't want it happening again, not if I come back to myself and find that I've harmed any one of you. Pack does not harm one another. And yet, I harmed Inuyasha. I need to be punished, even if the isolation will damage me.'

'That's why you're stuck with me, idiot,' Sesshōmaru said, a hint of something in his tone.

Akemi looked up at him surprised.

He grimaced. 'Stop looking at me like that! I don't need your pity!'

'I don't pity you,' Akemi said, a teasing smirk finding its way on her face. 'I'm just surprised at how defenceless you were against a female, an out of control female no less. It appears you haven't grown quite as strong as I thought you had.'

'You're going to eat those words,' he warned.

'I seriously doubt that.'

He suddenly grabbed her arm and began pulling her with him. 'Let's go. The sooner we deal with your lack of control the better.'

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Akemi began exhibiting signs of normalcy. The only one who remained worried was Jasmine. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something else that was going to go wrong for her friend. Spending close quarters with a man she viewed as a rival was either going to make her worse or actually help her. It remained to be seen. Jasmine just hoped that Sesshōmaru didn't treat Akemi wrongly. If so, he'll realise that you should never make a djinn angry.

'Now then,' Tōga-ō said bringing the attention around to him. He was looking down at Jasmine, who peered up at him curiously. 'To deal with you.'

She gulped nervously, especially with the way he stared at her so intensely.

Word meanings

Jaki – evil energy. It is commonly referred to as the malicious energy around a yōkai, like a demonic aura.

Yōki – demonic energy. It's the energy and power utilised by yōkai.

Kosode – basic Japanese robe for men and women.

Hakama – traditional Japanese clothing-like trousers.

Oyaji - father