Trap of Darkness
A/N: Welcome back to Trap of Darkness. I'm your host, WhiteAngelAnime, otherwise known as Kitty. I'd like to thank those who have remained loyal to the story and put up with my lengthy updates. I thank LADY SILVERFOX charita rai for all your ideas. This story is jointly owned by LADY SILVERFOX charita rai and myself. We have all claims over our OCs, but the Inuyasha cast solely belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I thank you for your time and patience. Now, onto chapter thirteen of Trap of Darkness. Enjoy reading and don't forget to leave a review. Thanks!
For a little head's up:
'Japanese'
'English'
Thoughts
Thirteen
Tōga-ō wanted to sigh but restrained himself. His head pounded with all the information on djinn that he was almost stuck at a loss. But that wasn't the worst of it. Because this was the first time he was dealing with djinn, he was incapable of helping Jasmine to control her powers. But the djinn did not trust easily. Finding someone who knew not only how to deal with them, but also help them when it concerns their powers running amok, was going to be exceptionally difficult. But finding one of the djinn was going to be that much harder. How was he going to stabilise her powers?
'And you know no one that can teach you?' he asked.
'No,' she answered.
He gritted his teeth in frustration.
Out of all the dilemmas he could have faced, it had to be an inexperienced djinn with control issues.
'What about Akemi?' Jasmine asked, her fingers picking at the edge of her top.
Tōga-ō snapped his gaze to hers the moment that name left her lips. His eyes slightly furrowed.
'Akemi? I don't doubt her power, but what could she do?' he leaned his cheek on his fist that was rested on the arm of the chair by his elbow.
Jasmine bit her bottom lip for a second, frustrated that he would look down on Akemi.
'Have you forgotten that she has a few djinn in her House?' she asked, her voice turning harsh.
'I have not forgotten,' he answered.
'Then it's simple enough for her to contact them and to explain the situation,' she said, brown-green eyes narrowing. 'It's the only option that we have.'
He leaned back in his chair, his expression troubled with the decision.
It appeared to be their only option. But was it? While it was clear that it was the only one available to them, Tōga-ō couldn't help but think there might be an option they hadn't yet established. But was he getting ahead of himself? Or was he simply being too stubborn to accept help from a third party? Many would say he was merely being stubborn, but there might be a few who would believe there was an option that hadn't yet been discovered. But if he didn't make a decision now, the possibility of Jasmine's powers going completely out of control grows higher. If he didn't deal with that lack of restraint over her powers as soon as possible, nothing short of a disaster would come about. As much as he hated having to rely upon another, he had no choice but to ask Akemi to contact the djinn of her House.
'Very well,' he said, finally backing down.
But Jasmine still looked angry.
'What's wrong?' he asked.
Her eyes narrowed.
'Do you enjoy looking down on others, Inu no Taishō-sama?' she asked, her voice dropping.
'Eh?' he said confused. 'Jasmine, what are you talking about? Of course I don't!'
It was strange how her eyes, in that moment, looked more green than brown. It was almost as if a fire had been ignited inside of her.
'I really don't know whether to believe that,' she said, her voice hard and almost devoid of emotion. 'If Akemi's power was the only thing to combat death for the yōkai race, would you believe in her?'
Tōga-ō frowned. 'I don't know why you're talking like this, but there's no way that Akemi's strong enough, or has the power, to keep the yōkai race from perishing. There are many yōkai out there far stronger than she could ever hope to be, and they can protect much more than she ever could. I understand she's strong, but that's due to the bloodline in which she was born. That has nothing to do with actual strength.'
Before he had the chance to register what happened, his head had been forced to turn with the intensity of the slap, the sound echoing in the silence.
Golden eyes widened at the assault, he placed a hand where she had slapped him and stared up at her incredulously. She looked every bit an angry djinn in that moment, regardless that he had never seen one of her species before. There was something primal, wild, untameable, spirited and fierce about her, almost akin to fire itself. The intensity in which she looked down at him unnerved him, something he hadn't felt in centuries.
He found himself incapable of speech as he sat there, golden eyes wide as he looked up at a being that he barely understood.
'I don't know what the hell it is with the male species, but I'm sick of hearing "what you can do, I can do better" shit.' Her now wholly green eyes glowed like a living flame. 'Well, Mr High and Mighty, if you think you're all that and then some, why don't you prove it? I bet you can't, can you? You don't have the power to do it yourself, ya puta. King of Japan my ass. You're nothing without that title.'
Tōga-ō got to his feet, golden eyes tinged red with anger. 'Now wait just a minute. I don't know why you're so angry, but you can't just-'
Jasmine slammed a hand on his desk, a green and blue fire erupting from the touch.
Startled, Tōga-ō quickly stepped away, but Jasmine only advanced on him. Her eyes burned with rage, a rage that rivalled his son's. The only difference was that Sesshōmaru held his temper in. Jasmine was all about expressing it, and the intensity was overwhelming, even for someone like Tōga-ō.
'Listen here you come burping gutter slut, you're just a whiny ass bitch because you want it your way. Sorry, asshole, but the world doesn't work that way. The world doesn't revolve around your bitch ass. And even if it did, you'd be the last person I'd rely on,' she shouted venomously, and settled with a searing glare before storming out of the office before Tōga-ō could even open his mouth.
What the hell just happened? Was the only thought in Tōga-ō's head as he stared incredulously at the door.
Karan had just finished talking to one of the biggest gossipers in the school when she found herself in the quiet hallways of the school that a rare few were allowed. Wearing a big smile at the self-assured victory over the Taishō family, Karan began humming softly as she practically skipped through the abandoned hallways, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. It wasn't until she could hear someone's raised voice that she paid attention to where she was. At first startled, Karan's surprise morphed into a gleeful grin.
She silently ran over to the double doors and pressed her ear against the wood.
'Listen here you come burping gutter slut, you're just a whiny ass bitch because you want it your way. Sorry, asshole, but the world doesn't work that way. The world doesn't revolve around your bitch ass. And even if it did, you'd be the last person I'd rely on.'
Karan couldn't believe what she heard. The voice clearly belonged to Jasmine, the new girl that she had seen with Tōga-ō.
'No way,' she whispered.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Karan quickly assessed where she could hide, but found nowhere. Cursing under her breath, Karan quickly jumped and dug claws into the wall near the ceiling, clinging for dear life just as the doors burst open and slammed shut behind a very aggravated human. Karan stared wide eyed as she stormed down the hallway, muttering and cursing under her breath, too low for even Karan's sensitive hearing to detect.
Jumping down on silent feet, Karan laid a hand on her hip and watched Jasmine's retreating back with a sly grin.
'Eh? A lover's quarrel already?' her grin turned more sadistic. She licked her lips. 'You really don't know how you're just adding to these rumours.'
Karan headed back, taking her mobile out of her pocket and dialling a certain number, all the while her grin only grew.
Thanks for making this so easy, she thought as the person on the other end picked up.
'Get your hands off me!' Akemi snapped, twisting out of Sesshōmaru's grip.
He pushed the door closed and stood in front of it with arms crossed over his chest, golden eyes staring down at the foot shorter woman.
'Don't look at me like that!' she said angrily, green eyes glaring at him.
'Like what?' he asked uncaringly.
She growled instead of answering.
'Need I remind you why you're in isolation in the first place?'
'Need I remind you why you're such an asshole?' she bit back.
His eyes narrowed.
'Control yourself, Akemi. Or do you wish a repeat of earlier?'
'The part where I kicked your ass?' she growled, a smirk forming on her face.
He growled at the reminder. 'If we were to really fight, it would not go in your favour.'
'That confidence will be your downfall, Sesshōmaru.'
'Not against you.'
Her glare turned deadlier. 'Why do you always insist on looking down on me? I'm not a ridiculously vulnerable female incapable of fighting! I'm nothing like how I used to be! If you don't stop treating me as a useless female, you're going to regret it. I am no longer the Taiyō Akemi you remember. I'm Taiyō Akemi, Head and Lady of the House of the Sun.'
'So you have changed,' he commented, his tone never changing.
But that didn't stop him from being surprised at her words. He had always known that she would one day inherit the throne of the House of the Sun from her parents, but he had not suspected it to be before he claimed the throne from his father. Despite having lost her entire family, and every member of the House of the Sun, Sesshōmaru had still retained the belief that she was still just the heir. How had she managed to take over the throne? Surely being the last did not automatically hand over the positon to her. Had her power really increased that much?
When they were children, Akemi had been his biggest challenge, but she had never won against him. Not once.
So where had this power of hers come from?
Did he really think that she'd still be the same after seven hundred years apart?
No, did he really think that she'd forever remain incomparable to him?
He always believed that she'd remain subservient to him, but he was proven wrong. Akemi was definitely not the same person he knew. She was no longer the female who tried everything in order to beat him. She was no longer the same person who challenged him and kept him on his toes. She had changed, irrevocably. If he intended to take her on as she was now, he was going to have to do so with caution. She would not easily react to the same methods he applied when they were younger, in fact, she'd be warier of them now compared to back then. She had grown in many ways.
It was time he ceased underestimating her.
He could feel it. Her power. She would be more than he could handle with his current power.
She had left him behind, and he hated it. He hated how he was no longer able to force her into admiration over his prowess and supremacy.
Her green eyes appeared to glow. 'You really think I'd sit back and do nothing? You're more foolish than I ever believed you to be, Sesshōmaru. Rather, I'm disappointed that you would think that way of me.' She unconsciously clenched her fists. 'Just acknowledge the fact that we're now equals and things will go a lot smoother.'
Oh, he'd admit she's stronger than before, but he was never going to accept that they'll be on equal footing. Not ever. The thought was ridiculous.
Sesshōmaru raised his head, and proceeded to look down his nose at her. 'You on equal footing with this Sesshōmaru? Don't be absurd. You call that power? You're the one who's foolish, Akemi.'
He was still looking down on her. The bastard was still looking down on her!
Clenching her fists, blood escaped and trickled down to her knuckles and then dripped onto the floor. She bit her lip, trying to reframe from losing control again. He was already poking at her defences due to losing control beforehand. She couldn't allow him to do so again. She was the leader of the House of the Sun, even if it was only because she was the only survivor. Even if that was the only reason she had obtained her newfound title, as Head and Lady of the House of the Sun, she needed to be careful of her words and actions. They would surely travel faster than any accomplishment she'd set out to do.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself by counting down from ten.
She looked at him, her eyes devoid of emotions and the inner fire she had showed not so long ago.
'You'll come to regret looking down upon me, Sesshōmaru of the House of the Moon.'
He slightly frowned at the sight of a clearly calm and serious Akemi.
She had always charged at him with her fists ready.
Where had that Akemi gone? Had she really changed that much? But why? How?
'Humph, I have no reason to take you seriously.'
Her fingers twitched but that was it.
That part of her was still there, but she was suppressing it, a feat that shocked him inwardly.
She had never been like this before. She had truly changed, much more than he could ever guess. This was a different Akemi. He could no longer deny it. But her power? Yes, she had certainly grown stronger, but strong enough to actually be on par with him? He doubted that. Was he going to have to push all of her buttons to find the extent of her powers? Was he going to have to make an enemy of her in order to find out? He didn't know, but he did not want to make an enemy of the House of the Sun, especially if she was its current leader and Lady. They'd do anything to protect her, as would anyone else in their position.
'You'll have to excuse me, but I must get in touch with my people,' she said taking 'no' for an answer and withdrew her mobile phone and took a seat, opting to ignore him from then on.
Word meanings
Puta – bitch in Spanish