InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Confrontation II: Trials and Tribulations ❯ And The Heavens Shall Open ( Chapter 26 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness. Much faster update, eh? I hope you guys like it and I want to apologize now for the deaths that this chapter is going to bring.

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Joudama, Kanomaru, Rinji, Reinto, Mana, Teela, and Susamajii. All others belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi!!

Chapter 26

And The Heavens Shall Open

`Where are they taking me?'

Her head bounced up and down as the bones of a man's shoulder dug into the soft flesh of her belly.

She wanted to move, she wanted to tell them, to yell at them to leave her alone, but she couldn't; she didn't have the energy…the will to move just yet.

From the moment Inuyasha had burst into her room babbling about things she couldn't rightfully and wouldn't understand, she'd wanted to yell at him to leave her and her son alone, but she couldn't find the strength within her to say anything.

She was tired of the lies and the liars! She knew Inuyasha knew what was going on! She knew that he and his mate Kagome, who pretended to be her friend…her family, knew that Sesshomaru was planning to have her replaced all along and both of them…both of them lied to her! They deceived her!

`How could they do this? How could they go along with his plan? I've been nothing but kind to them,' she thought, not truly wanting to believe the words her own mind was telling her. But how could she not when they were here, doing his, Sesshomaru's, dirty work.

She blinked and stared at the ground as it passed swiftly below her; the numbness, the feeling of regret and despair weighed heavy on her shoulders, holding her down, keeping her from functioning as she knew she should have been.

`Last night, I asked him… I asked if he loved me, but instead of answering, he belittled me! He left me… He left me weeping on the floor with only our-' she shook her head and corrected herself, `…with only my son there to console me!'

Despair and regret began to twist into something venomous and blinding, something that she was not accustomed to feeling. It dug at her heart and ravaged her soul in a way that she couldn't understand, but it was giving her strength; it was giving strength to move to…to stop them from removing her from her home…from his life as if she never existed! It was giving her…a human woman in love with a demon, strength to stop them from doing his dirty work!

`Where are they taking me? Is this how he plans on getting rid of me?' She blinked, sighed heavily, and tried to fight off those feelings. `This isn't me! I'm not like this, but…' She didn't want to let those feelings of hatred and anger consumed her in such away, but how could she stop it?

`Surely, this was his request! Surely, this is what he told them to do, it has to be! If it wasn't, he would be here stopping them!'

It was ugly, frightening, hateful, and soul consuming. Still, it was something. She could feel it in her arms, her hands, and her heart, and she was regrettably thankful.

`This stops now!'

Her teeth clenched and her fist balled up tightly as anger unlike anything that she'd felt before curled it's way slowly up her spine, caressing her, embracing her like a lover, and slowly pushing her to the brink of insanity.

“Put…me…down,” she hissed quietly.

There was no response as the man continued quickly down the dark, tight corridor of what looked like an underground tunnel of some type.

“Put…me…down!” she demanded again, this time a little louder.

He didn't stop, but he did at least reply, “Not now, Rin. I'll put you down as soon as we're out of this tunnel!”

Wiggling fitfully, she snapped angrily as she began to pound on his back, “Put me down, damn it! Put me down!”

“Ow! Okay, okay, just calm down,” he said, letting her down quickly.

Staggering back, Rin clutched the folds of her yukata close, as she eyed Miroku, the ex-monk that was married to Sango, Kagome's friend.

`He's in on it too! They all know! I'm a fool! I'm a fool,' she thought heatedly as she stared over at the two women, who had stopped and turned back to check on the commotion.

Staring from Miroku to Sango, and then to Kagome, she thought quickly, `My son! Kanomaru, my baby,' as she stepped forward quickly and pulled him roughly out of Kagome's arms.

“Rin, what's wrong with you? What are you doing?” the miko queried, staring at her as if she thought she had lost her mind.

“You, all of you, leave us alone! You're not going to take me out of my home! I'm not…we're not leaving,” she ground out, her eyes narrowed distrustfully. Clutching Kanomaru to her chest, she finished as she took a step back away from them, “If he wants to get rid of me then he'll have to do it himself!”

They were all staring at her as if she was speaking a different language at this point, but she didn't care; she wouldn't fall for their treachery. Not this time!!

Something buried deep down inside told her that she was acting irrationally, but she ignored it. All she knew was now, what was happening in this moment. They were trying to take her out of her home! They were…they were doing his dirty work!

“All of you! All of you are a bunch of liars! You knew! And no one told me! Not one of you cared enough about me to tell me!“

“We knew what?” Miroku asked out of curiosity. Shaking his head, he thought better of his question and finished as he took a step towards her, “Never mind that; we have to get out of here before they catch up to us.”

`He lies,' she thought as she eyed him skeptically. Shaking her head, she stepped back again. “I'm not going anywhere with any of you! Leave my house! Leave my house now!”

“Mo…mommy?” Kano queried after sensing a disturbing change in her scent and aura.

“Hush, baby, mommy has you now. You're safe, sweetie, you're safe,” she replied, her tone motherly as she rubbed his black mane soothingly while sneering very uncharacteristically at the three adults.

“What's wrong with you, Rin? Why are you-” Kagome asked, stepping towards her sister-in-law.

“You… You're the worst of them all,” Rin spat angrily, cutting her off. “You were supposed to be my friend…my…my sister, but you… You lied to me! I know you knew what was going on! You knew and you lied to me!” she shouted, her face set in a deep scowl.

Shaking her head negatively as she watched the livid woman spew things she knew nothing about, Kagome stepped around Miroku and closer towards her. “Rin, stop this. I don't know what you're talking about and now is not the right time to discuss it! You-”

“When would be a better time then, sister-in-law?” Rin queried sarcastically while clutching Kano tightly to her chest, almost smothering him. “Perhaps, I should wait and talk to you all about it after I have been replaced?” She shook her head and took another step back as she finished, “I won't let him get off that easily! He'll see my blood first! He'll see it!”

“We don't have time for this,” Sango interjected impatiently as she stared after the obviously infuriated and disturbed young woman.

Glaring quickly from one adult to the other, Rin took another step back away from them, then turned and started running back down the tunnel from which they had come.

Staring at the fleeing woman, Miroku asked in bewilderment, “What is she doing? What's wrong with her?”

“I don't know, but she's definitely not acting like the Rin I know,” Kagome offered as a foreboding feeling began to creep slowly up her spine. `This makes absolutely no sense! What is she talking about “We knew?” We knew what?' she thought as she watched the fleeing woman round the corner and disappear from her sight.

Staring from the back of her best friend's head to the back of her husband's head, Sango interjected, “Are you two just going to stand there and let her run back to her death, or is one of you going to try to stop her?”

`After the night I had with my wife, this is not how I expected to spend my morning,' the ex-monk thought as he dragged his hand down his face in an exasperated manner.

Turning to face Sango, he stepped quickly towards her and pulled her to him, so that they were standing in a half hug. Leaning in, he quickly kissed her lightly on her temple and then directed his attention away from his wife and towards his daughter, who had been quietly watching the entire scene. He smiled down at her as he reached over and softly tweaked her nose.

Stepping away from the two, he inhaled deeply and said, “Right, you three get out of here. I'll go after her.” Sparing one last minute to stare at his family, he then turned and started in a slow trot down the corridor behind Rin.

Simonkal of Inuy

The elegant yellow and blue kimono that she'd slipped into after sneaking back into castle flowed out behind her as she made her way slowly down the tunnel following the scents of the humans who thought they were escaping Susamajii's wrath.

She had to admit, that the Southern Lord's impromptu attack, at first, left a bad taste in her mouth. But once she found out that Sesshomaru was not on the premises, she figured this could work out even better than she hoped.

Susamajii would handle the half-breed brother of Sesshomaru; Reinto would eventually show up and attack Susamajii because of what he supposedly did to his parents. She would hunt down and kill the human wench that thought she had claim to the Western Lord, and then Sesshomaru would fly in on the wings of a beautiful dove, kill Reinto, and thank her for saving his half-breed son.

Teela twirled around merrily; impressed by the way her plan was coming to fruition. If she had tried, she realized, she wouldn't have been able to plan it any better. By the end of the day, Susamajii, Reinto, and Rin would be dead and she and Sesshomaru would be happily starting their new lives together.

`All the years I've waited for him…my mate… All those years are going to be well worth it,' she thought as she rounded a corner and continued on down the dark passageway.

`Because of this plan…my plan, Sesshomaru will take over the Southern Territory. Then I'll talk him into branching out and unseating the Lords of the East and the North! We'll rule everything…every corner of Japan-together-he and I, we'll rule over everything, and it's all because of me,' she thought with a dazzling and slightly insane smile.

Clapping her hands together, she twirled around once more unable to staunch the giddy feeling that being this close to the culmination of her plan was giving her.

`Yes, this is all coming together beautifully, isn't it?'

Stopping as she heard the pitter patter of feet moving swiftly in her direction, she sniffed the air lightly and smiled guilefully. `Yes, this plan is coming together beautifully,' she thought as the woman that was trying to take what was hers came into sight, clutching the dark-haired, golden-eyed spawn of her love interest.

Teela chuckled softly, her head tilting slightly to the side. “What do we have here?”

Rin stopped, backed away, and stared at the woman that had brought her world crumbling down around her.

“Mommy?” Kano whispered, twisting around in his mother's arms to stare at the woman that had touched his father and upset his mother the day before. “Why is she here?”

Taking a step closer to the mother and son, Teela stated softly as she reached out to touch the little boy's head, “I thought you and the rest of the humans would've have been long gone by now. Why did you come back?”

Ignoring her question all together, Rin slapped her hand away from her son and shouted, “Don't you touch him! Don't ever touch him!”

The female demon looked almost hurt for a moment there, but quickly recovered. “You're not going to make this easy are you?” she asked rhetorically. “Why didn't you just heed my warning? Why did you have to turn back?”

Gritting her teeth, Rin allowed Kanomaru to slide from her arms to stand at her side. “This is my home! It's not yours! I want you to leave this moment!” she demanded while pushing her son so that he was standing behind her.

Giggling playfully, Teela retorted testing her, “Make me.”

Staring at the woman, Rin wanted nothing more than to rip her throat open like she had seen Sesshomaru do on a few occasions to lowly demons that thought they were strong enough to test him.

She wished for one moment that the gods would grant her the strength to eviscerate this demon for all of the heartache and pain she had brought to her home! She wished…she hoped with all her might that this once they would grant her the strength to kill! And this was saying a lot because she, Rin, had never been a violent person, no matter what was done to her.

Laughing, Teela decided that she would push the visibly shaken woman a little further over the edge.

“Why didn't you go with them, Rin? You know don't you? You know that I was telling you the truth, don't you?”

Rin didn't need to answer because her face told Teela everything her mouth couldn't find the words to say.

Giggling softly, the she demon continued, “Did you try talking to him? Did he shut you down? He made you feel foolish didn't he?”

Rin didn't answer, so Teela took that as her cue to trudge on, “You know, if you were his true mate and not a pathetic temporary stand in, he wouldn't have treated you like that.”

`How does she know what he did? Did he go to her? Is she… Is she the one?” Rin thought as she took a half step back away from the woman that she had grown to hate more than death itself.

“I'll let you in on a little secret, Rin,” Teela started slowly, her claws running gently down the side of her neck. “Since it's not much of a secret anymore, I'll tell you what no one else wanted you to know.” One eyebrow raised elegantly higher than other, her golden mane glistening in the wane light that filtered into the tunnel, she finished, “I…am his true mate. He sent for me, because you have out lived your worth to-”

Rin reached up quickly and angrily slapped her hard across the face while holding her son behind her with the other hand. She didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't need to hear anymore!

“Shut up! Just…just shut your mouth! You…you…bitch!”

Teela glared down at the woman, her eyes narrowed dangerously. “How dare you?”

Rin wasn't quite sure what came over her, but she instantly forgot that she was human, and that this demon could kill her with little to no trouble or remorse. Stepping towards her, she growled low as if she was a dog herself, “How dare you! You…you can't… You can't… I won't let…”

She didn't see it coming! She couldn't fathom how it happened, but the next thing she was aware of, a hand was closing tightly around throat, pressing her firmly against the wall, and doing an excellent job of choking the life out of her! She clawed at the hand, tried biting down, but nothing worked!

Kanomaru's head bounced against the wall as his mother was shoved back, causing him to scream out in pain. `She's hurting my mommy! She's trying to kill her, but…but why?' he thought while shaking his head in order to chase away the stars that were dancing before him.

He'd been listening intently as they talked, but none of what they were saying was making any sense to him. All he understood was that whatever it was that they were talking about was making the demon woman sinfully happy and making his mother angry, sad, and miserable.

“Mommy,” he whined as he looked up slowly and watched with fearful eyes as his mother clawed at the demon's arm fitfully with her human fingernails, gasping for what little air she could find.

The look of fear and pain on his mother's face was something he'd never seen before and something he was sure he could go the rest of his lifetime without ever seeing again.

`I have to be brave, I have to help…I have to protect my mommy!' he thought as he stared around for something that he could hit the woman with, but found nothing.

Looking quickly once more up at the youkai and then over at his mother, whose body seemed to becoming too heavy for her to continue her fight, Kano jumped to his feet and forced himself between the woman and his mother. Pushing with all his might against the demon's thighs, he shouted as tears began to slowly drain from his golden eyes, “Stop it! Please, leave my mother alone!”

Sparing the little pup the attention one would pay to a mosquito, Teela held Rin in place with one hand. Squeezing the woman's neck even tighter while she reached down with her other hand, she back-handed the little boy hard across his bare chest, sending him barreling into the wall behind and to the side of his mother once more.

“Wait your turn, half-breed,” Teela hissed, then quickly turned her attention back to the woman before her.

Groaning, the little hanyou slowly pushed himself up so that he was on his hands and knees. His head was pounding furiously, but he didn't have time to pay that the attention it probably deserved because his mother-she needed him.

Crawling away from the wall and around his mother's legs, which were dangling in mid air, the frightened little boy made his way quickly towards the pink flesh of the demon's leg that was poking out from beneath the kimono she wore. Moving with quickness that he wasn't aware he possessed just yet, Kanomaru sunk his small canines into the tender meat of her Achilles heel while simultaneously sinking his small claws into the flesh covering her calf.

Teela cried out angrily in pain as she glanced down at the back of the mutt that was inflicting this pain on her. Growling dangerously, she turned her attention back to Rin, whose eyes were closed and body was steadily growing limp.

Grimacing, she threw the human against the opposite wall causing her to land head first in a heap at its base. She then reached down and grabbed the pup by his hair in an attempt to yank him up so that he was eye level with her, but he wouldn't let go! The more she pulled, the harder he sunk his claws and canines into her flesh!

“You little bastard!” she hissed agitatedly.

Letting go of his hair, she began to pound with both of her fists furiously on the back of his head and bare back. “Let…go…you…animal!” she growled as she raised her hand to hit him a few more times, but was stopped when something barreled into her side, knocking her to the ground and loose from the child's vicious vice-lock grip.

Tears streaming down his face, Kanomaru crawled quickly away from her and towards his mother while he tried to wipe away the taste of her blood that was in his mouth. He couldn't say that it was a bad taste, but it was definitely something that would take a little getting used to.

Shaking his mother roughly, he stared back at his uncle Miroku, who was staring the woman down with a look of fury written on his usually passive face. He couldn't hear a thing that they were saying because of the severe beating he'd just taken, but he knew if he was to get his mother to safety it would have to be now.

“Mommy, mommy, get up! We have to go!” the little boy whined fretfully.

Rin didn't budge.

“Mommy, please!” he cried pitifully.

Still, there was no movement from her.

Digging his hand into her hair in order to turn her head to face him, he quickly pulled his hands away and stared down at the slippery wet substance that was coating them.

Bringing his hands up to his nose he sniffed lightly, hoping that it was the blood of the youkai woman, but it wasn't.

`Mom…mommy?'

The smell overwhelmed his senses clogging his mind and sending him into a state of shock. His head began to twist slowly from right to left as a soft whine that he wasn't aware that he'd let out, slipped from his throat.

“Mother… Mommy…get up, please,” he begged hopelessly as he pushed gently against her shoulder once more.

“Run!” Miroku screamed, but the child didn't appear to hear him because he didn't move an inch in either direction.

Kanomaru was lost in his own mind, his tiny heart heavy and weighed down by dread and an ominous feeling that told him that his mother was never going to get up on her own again. His breathing came out in short bursts as he tried to register exactly what had just happened.

He stared down at his blood soaked hands as he tried to will himself to…to do something, anything. He knew he wasn't strong enough to carry her, but if he left her here, if he left and tried to get help, would she…?

He shook his head fitfully as tears sprang to his eyes. `I'm too little! I'm too weak! Daddy…daddy where are you?' he whined as his head dropped to chest and the flood gates opened, letting loose a downpour of hot, salty tears.

Miroku watched the sad scene from the corner of his eye as he tried to maneuver his position so that he was standing between the youngster and his fallen mother.

His heart had broken the moment he'd seen Rin's limp body clutched within the demon woman's horrid hand and the manner in which Kano was trying to help his mother. The pup had laid there taking the hits from a full grown demon in order to save his mother and from the looks of it, as hard as it was to admit, it appeared that somehow he had failed.

Finally making his way around to the boy under Teela's watchful eye, the ex-monk quickly pulled out an ofuda and threw it at her while bending down so that he was kneeling beside the crying boy.

Teela's screams told him that what little power was left in the ofuda was working, but it wouldn't last forever. Therefore, he had to get the child out of here now, but he couldn't rightfully leave Rin, especially without being certain of her condition.

“Kano, you have to run, now!! I'll protect your mommy!! I'll keep her safe, I promise, but you, you have to run and get help!!”

Kano stared up at his human uncle, not sure of what he should do. Could he trust a human to protect his mother? Was there anything else left in her to be protected?

“I need you to run now!” Miroku shouted, standing the boy to his feet and pushing him off in a direction, which one it was he didn't care as long as he was away from this bitch!

The little hanyou staggered back, but didn't fall, his eyes still trained on his non responsive mother. “I'll…I'll go get Mana or my daddy, they'll know what to do,” he whispered as he took one last look at his mother's body and took off as fast as his little feet could take him.

“You son of bitch,” Teela hissed as the power from the ofuda finally wore off, leaving her pissing mad! “How dare you intercede? This has nothing to do with you!”

Stepping back so that his body was standing protectively over Rin's, Miroku offered in his most flirtatious tone, “Now, now is that anyway for such a beautiful woman to be speaking?”

Truthfully, he was scared out of his mind! He didn't have anymore ofudas, he didn't really have any weapons on him, and he couldn't run because he'd made a promise to the pup to protect his mother and to Inuyasha to protect the women and the children.

Basically, he was stuck between a brick wall and violent female dog, literally. He had nowhere to go and there was nothing that he could really do.

Teela growled viciously, her patience gone the moment he'd interrupted her. She knew that the human woman was barely alive at the moment, but she had to finish the job, she had to make sure, otherwise all of this…everything that she'd set into motion would have been for naught. But before she could do that, she had to get rid of this pest of a Monk!

Smiling at the woman, Miroku avowed sincerely, “I have always hated hitting women, but you leave me no choice,” as he swung at the demon's face with all his might but missed.

Moving with speed that she knew he couldn't see or comprehend, Teela rammed into him. Clutching his throat tightly closed with one hand, she dug the claws of her other hand into his abdomen, disemboweling him.

Staring at him as his violet eyes bulged and he made a gurgling sound, she stated sinisterly, “This is the last time that you ever interfere with any plan of mine, monk with little power!”

Miroku gasped as he stared down at the blood pouring from the open wound that she had inflicted on him. The shock and the pain that accompanied it were a hard to bear, but he fought it away if only momentarily.

Closing his eyes, he prayed to the gods above to give a few minutes more before they called him home. He knew the chances of him surviving were nonexistent at this point, but if possible, if they blessed him with his last request, he would make sure that he was the last person that this monster ever killed.

Struggling to breath, he reached slowly into the folds of his robes and clutched the dagger that Sango had given to him as a gift a year or so ago. Grasping it's pearl hilt tightly in his hand, he hissed as dark red blood drained slowly out of the side of his mouth, “You are an abomination!” He brought the blade of the knife quickly across Teela's throat and then with his final breath and as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he plunged the tip into the side of her neck, slicing through her jugular vein where he left it.

Crying out in shock and pain, she tossed him away from her as she reached up and tried to still the blood that was flowing from her neck. She staggered back as her eyes and head lolled back weakly from the loss of blood. Falling feebly to her knees, her only thought was, `This can't…this can't be happening.' But the blood pouring from her neck and covering her once beautiful kimono told her the answer to what she found so hard to believe.

Gasping for air fruitlessly, she fell forward so that she was barely holding herself up with one hand. This couldn't be happening, her plan…her plan… This was not a part… This human was not a part of her plan!

The gurgling sound of her lungs filling up with blood escaped her throat as she swayed back clumsily up onto her knees. Reaching up, she gripped the hilt of the dagger that was still embedded in her neck. Yanking it out as blood splattered the walls and two bodies laying about her, she fell flat on her belly and began to crawl lethargically towards the fallen woman. She could hear Rin's heart beginning to slow, but she had to make sure.

“If I can't…have him, neither…neither…will you,” she hissed possessively as she closed her eyes, drew back the knife with what little strength she had left and brought it down, embedding it into tender, succulent flesh.

As the last breaths of life left her body, the youkai woman collapsed on top of her prey, a sadistic smile playing across her face as the winds picked up around her body, intent on carrying her into the afterworld.

Until Next Time… (Your .02 cents are greatly appreciated.)

Next Chapter: Acrid Rain