Chapter 75 - Saved

"InuYasha!" Kagome cried with delight. Sesshomaru stepped forward from the shadows, claws still raised in the air. He could see Kagome's eyes widen, as she realized it was not the hanyo who had saved her. "Huh?!" Kagome gaped up at him, their eyes meeting for the first time, since he had first seen her with InuYasha, quite some time ago. A moment that he now reflected on with some distaste toward his former actions. Sesshomaru had tried to kill this very girl, and in fact, he'd believed he had killed her. All in pursuit of getting the Tetsusaiga from InuYasha. Kagome lay, half prone on the floor, clearly affected by the poisonous atmosphere.

Beyond where she lay, InuYasha's other companions lay out as well. Fully paralyzed and unconscious from the airborne toxins. They will not survive in this room for much longer, unless they get fresh air and treatment. Closer, right at Sesshomaru's feet, the little ugly man who had been choking Kagome stared up at him with a mixture of horror and scrutiny. The silence was unbearable. How can I possibly explain coming to the rescue of InuYasha's human companions? He took a breath, ensuring his face was completely expressionless when he finally spoke.

"Tell me. Is InuYasha here?" Redirection, was always the best verbal offense. Humans, usually tended to take spoken word, over visible truth.

"And who are you?" Demanded the man at his feet indignantly.

Casually, Sesshomaru looked down on the tiny man, eyeing the human as he might a bug under his shoe. "I was about to ask you that."

"You—" he'd clearly angered the creepy man. "—tried to kill me and you don't even know me?!" The man reached for a straw backpack filled with bamboo canisters. With it tightly in his clutches, the man fled out the door, tearing the bamboo mat and allowing sunlight and fresh air to waft inside.

How is he still functional? "You felt the pain of my toxic claws, and yet you're still able to run?" Sesshomaru moved to follow him through the doorway. This evil man will not be permitted to escape. Outside, the man was prepared for him, holding two of the canisters, one under each arm.

"Hahaha! Take this!" He cried, as the canisters exploded open, filling the air with black smoke. It hit Sesshomaru directly in the face, entirely blocking his vision for a moment. Distantly, he heard the man laughing. "Taste my poison!"

Fool. When the air cleared a moment later, Sesshomaru stood, waiting patiently for his turn. The sight of the demon still standing, shocked and terrified the little man before him.

"W-wait!" The pudgy man cried, as Sesshomaru advanced again. He fell backwards, crawling away. "Please wait! I'm sorry! I was too hasty! Please spare me! Don't kill meee!" His voice took on a whiny quality the more he begged. The man hunched over, turning away, as Sesshomaru came to a stop a couple of feet away. "Don't kill meee!" The yokai did not speak. "T-to show my sincerity, here's a little present!" The man whirled to face Sesshomaru again, blasting him with yet another canister of poison. There was more devious laughter, beyond the smoke that filled his vision. "Hahaha… goodbye my friend. This poison even kills demons like you!" The smoke cleared, revealing Sesshomaru who calmly stood in the same place, waiting. "Huh? It's not working?! Yet it's my very finest poison."

With his right hand, Sesshomaru grasped the hilt of Tokijin and swept the creepy little man with a single blow of energy. Blue light flared, cutting the man in multiple pieces and casting his body backward with force, into the bushes behind. His skin melted away, revealing the bones which had been resurrected. The blast also blew off the front wall of the building which contained Kagome and InuYasha's friends, almost instantaneously clearing the air within.

"Your primitive concoctions are no match for my superior powers." Sesshomaru said as he replaced Tokijin into its place by Tenseiga in his obi.

It was at that moment, that InuYasha finally decided to show up. The hanyo ran forward, with the little fox demon on his shoulder. "Kagome!" He paused, seeing his brother standing in the clearing. "Sesshomaru?" Then, recovering from his surprise, he raced into the destroyed building, where all his friends lay prone on the floor. "Kagome!" Growling, he whirled to face Sesshomaru, hands balled into fists. "What did you do to them, Sesshomaru?!"

The yokai neither answered or turned to face his brother. What an idiot you can be InuYasha. It's fortunate for you, that I came along, or they really would be dead. It was Kagome who spoke up, to Sesshomaru's surprise, and defended him.

"No…" she was clearly weak, and struggling to speak. "It's not what it looks like. Sesshomaru saved us."

The very sound of the statement sent a thrill of terror down Sesshomaru's spine. Despite the action he had taken, Sesshomaru did not want public opinion to change, regarding the type of person he was. It would not only increase his own number of enemies, but it would place Rin directly in the crosshairs, as a potential victim for those who intended the yokai harm. I cannot be seen as gentle toward humans.

"No, I didn't save you. He couldn't answer my question, so I got rid of him. Simple as that." Sesshomaru refused to look at either Kagome or InuYasha, lies were most easily detectable in the eyes.

"What questions?" InuYasha demanded, apparently unwilling to let it go so easily.

Sesshomaru glanced at InuYasha over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. Prepared for yet another redirection of topic. "I caught the boy, Kohaku's scent." He saw the slight widening of InuYasha's gold eyes with clear surprise, eyes so similar to his own, yet the shape was distinctly human.

"Huh?"

"Does that mean Naraku is near?" Now that he had dominance of the conversation, Sesshomaru decided to shift it completely. Demanding questions from his brother, would set him back on his heels. "Answer me InuYasha. Where is Naraku?"

The defeat in the hanyo's stance was clear. He had no idea where Naraku was. "We haven't been able to find him yet either." InuYasha said finally, his hands uncurling and falling to his sides. "But now… we've got these phantoms possessing sacred jewel shards, coming after us." The hanyo, shifted his gaze from the ground, and met Sesshomaru's eyes. "I'm sure Naraku is close by."

"That's all I need to know." Sesshomaru's suspicions were confirmed. These specters are working to keep InuYasha, and everyone else who hunt him, busy. Likely to buy Naraku more time to prepare for battle. The yokai turned to leave.

"Sesshomaru!" InuYasha called after him, but the yokai didn't turn or deviate from his path. The woods swallowed his imposing figure a moment later.