Chapter 21 Paste tense

How many have tried to control their future? How many have failed? Tomorrow is inescapable and that single truth was as clear to Kagome as her own impending death.

She stared into dark burning eyes. Eyes so filled with unquenchable hate and the promise of searing agony that they couldn't be human.

The eyes of Wei.

Eyes that had been reflected in a ghost of the future past.

Eyes now made real and boring into hers.

Just like unwitting actors on an invisible stage, Wei and Kagome played out their respective parts for the audience of the fates; that of a remorseless killer and the chosen victim.

"I would love to spend the time raping you endlessly," Wei intoned harshly, just as Kagome knew he would, "and savoring the taste of your tears on my tongue, but you strike me as one of those who would prove to be surprisingly dangerous to let live any longer than is necessary."

Kagome once again felt claws of agony rend her stomach as his blade bit into her abdomen and burst out of her back. Wei withdrew the blade slowly, relishing the heavy panting and barely suppressed screams Kagome made as he twisted it to heighten her pain.

"Die slowly."

Wei then turned his back on her leapt free of the well and into the feudal era, leaving Kagome to bleed to death in the belly of the well. Alone in the darkness for the last moments of her life.

Sesshoumaru was consumed with rage. He was drowning in despair. He was shaking in pain. He was sobbing in grief. His precious Kagome had been torn from him and from life and was trapped in another time. The bitter taste of failure and guilt despoiled his tongue. Unable to contain his agony, Sesshoumaru flung back his head and a howl out of hell was ripped from his throat.

Souta ran a hand through his tangled brown hair in agitation as Kohaku frayed his sanity. In trying to politely restrain him, Souta could not ignore the fact that he was dealing with a trained killer whose lean muscled body and accompanying feudal era weaponry made him more than just a touch nervous. Rin and the fox child Shippou were easy to deal with since they had naturally sunny dispositions and Souta could distract them with food, crayons, transformer toys and magazines. Kohaku on the other hand was far more interested in the television which he thought was some sort of living tapestry.

The miniaturized people on its screen caused Kohaku's eyes to bug out when he first saw them and Souta had to tell Kohaku to stop trying to reach his hands through the screen of the television to touch the people on the other side. Kohaku was turning away in grudging compliance when breaking news interrupted the programming and both Kohaku and Souta became glued to the television set.

Although the news reports were sketchy at best and confusing at worst, it was clear that some sort of monumental explosion had taken out chunk of the nearby commercial district. Souta and Kohaku exchanged meaningful glances.

Glances which held one word in them: Kagome

Their attentions turned back to the screen as the newsman interviewed a police chief who, while more or less admitting complete ignorance, tried to put the best spin on things by saying that police and fire fighting reinforcements were being rushed to the scene and would ascertain the truth as soon as humanly possible.

Shippou's high-pitched voice startled Souta from behind. "What's this all about?" Shippou asked, while pointing at the helicopter view of the smoking crater. "Is Kagome involved?"

Souta visibly winced at the fox child's question. Rin who was behind him, looked at him expectantly as though to say 'You're from this world. You know more about it. Now give us the answer.' "I hope not. But then again, she is my sister."

Shippou jumped onto a chair so he wouldn't have to look at everyone's knees and continued. "Kohaku, you're a youkai hunter-"

Before Shippou could say anything more the house reverberated and shuddered to a nearby explosion that resembled nothing so much as a monstrous thunderclap. They all stared at each other stupidly for a moment before rushing to the kitchen windows at the back of the house.

Souta, Kohaku, Rin, and Shippou had heard the sound of Wei's last attack, but had only come to the windows in time to see the feared Lord Sesshoumaru howl at the empty sky as though his soul had been ripped out of him. In the kitchen, there was a silence as complete as the stillness. There was an unspoken agreement that disturbing the blackened and ragged Lord would be anything but healthy right now. Even Rin was afraid of her lord right now and dared not go outside. They only watched in a stunned silence as he slowly entered the darkness of the well house.