InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blackout ❯ Reunions ( Chapter 29 )

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.


Reunions


Inuyasha snorted quietly as he and his unlikely group of companions passed through the gateway, back into the world of the living. The damn thing had remained closed despite everything he and Tetsusaiga had thrown at it, but had spread open for Sesshoumaru like a cheap whore. The arrogant bastard didn’t even have to pull his sword out.

His amusement at his own sexually-related puns notwithstanding, Inuyasha was fairly annoyed by this turn of events. He was nevertheless extremely relieved to return to this plane of existence, where the odds of encountering any deadly creatures from hell were slim. His stomach rumbled with renewed intensity, perhaps sensing that digestion of something other than air was in its future. Best of all, he was now once again in the same world as Kagome, and possessed the Shikon fragment which would hopefully prove the key to her release. How that would actually work was up to Naraku. Inuyasha wasn’t a fool; he didn’t expect the deceitful prick to make a fair exchange without some attempt at trickery. But one thing was for certain–Naraku wasn’t getting his grubby hands on this shard until Kagome was free, or Inuyasha himself was dead.

He went cross-eyed for a moment, staring down at the source of the familiar tingling sensation on his nose. He smacked himself in the face out of reflex, already knowing what, or who, he would find in his palm.

“Inuyasha-sama!” shouted his diminutive vassal, recovering quickly from his flattened state and hopping up and down. “I’m so glad you made it back safely!”

“Yeah, yeah,” the hanyou replied dismissively. “What’s the big idea, Myouga-jijii?”

“The big…I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Oh, really? What about telling my bastard brother about the jewel shard?” Inuyasha demanded, jerking his chin in said bastard’s direction.

“B-but I was concerned! And Sesshoumaru-sama was the only person I knew who might be able to make it through the gate!”

“I would’ve found my own way out. Who said I needed any help?”

Kagura snorted from her place in front of him on the feather, and Inuyasha glared at the back of her head. Truthfully, the hanyou wasn’t too upset with Myouga; he just wanted to see the flea sweat a bit. If the situation in the other world hadn’t been so dire, he probably would be downright pissed at his vassal’s choice to involve his pompous ass of a half-brother in matters which didn’t concern him. But the fact was that he would be dead or dying without Sesshoumaru’s intervention, and he wasn’t so cruel as to ignore Myouga’s part in his continued survival and successful return. And while it was quite satisfying to watch the flea twitch nervously in his hand, he knew he couldn’t keep up the charade for too much longer.

“I-I…you, I mean…”

“Keh. Relax, Jijii. I ain’t mad…well, not really.” Myouga did relax visibly at those words, but tensed up again as Inuyasha gripped him between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing hard enough to get his message across. “Just don’t ever involve him in my shit again. Got it?”

“Y-yes, Inuyasha-sama.”

Deciding that his vassal had been suitably chastised, Inuyasha figured that he should probably reward the little bloodsucker for saving his life. He pulled aside the collar of his robes in silent invitation, and Myouga literally dove in with an excited exclamation.

“Just don’t take too much,” Inuyasha ordered, not wishing to suffer the indignity of keeling over in front of either Sesshoumaru or Kagura. Fortunately, Myouga seemed to sense the shape he was in and didn’t take as much blood as he could have. He was still fairly distended by the time he was finished, and sighed in bliss while rolling around happily in his master’s lap.

“Oi, Myouga,” the hanyou stated after a moment, remembering something important. “Is Miroku okay?”

“I cannot say for sure,” the flea replied solemnly. “I removed as much poison as I could, and he was still breathing when I left him. Beyond that…”

“Thanks,” Inuyasha muttered, sincerely grateful. Even if Miroku hadn’t been able to pull through, Myouga had at least given him a fighting chance. And with this knowledge, the hanyou was cautiously optimistic that his friend had indeed survived his brush with death. The monk had always shown a willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends, but he also possessed a strong will to live, which must be even stronger now that Sango had accepted his proposal. Still, Inuyasha would obviously not stop worrying until he was able to greet Miroku in person, and thank him for what he’d done.

By this time, Sesshoumaru had led them out of the cave and was soaring across the sky, with Kagura following at a respectful distance. Inuyasha didn’t know where they were going, but he had an inkling about why they were going there. He must be heading back to where he left that little girl who travels with him. Curious now, Inuyasha wondered if he might actually get some answers to the questions which had arisen that evening at Naraku’s castle. First among them was why on earth would a cold daiyoukai like Sesshoumaru keep a young human girl at his side? It hadn’t seemed like a master-servant relationship, since she’d been so happy to see him. Rather, she had acted like a loyal ‘pet,’ for lack of a better term. Naraku called her ‘Rin.’ She must be special to Sesshoumaru for some reason. Perhaps his half-brother was more like their father than he cared to admit.

Inuyasha chuckled quietly to himself at that, but wisely kept the observation to himself. He would, however, make sure to surreptitiously check up on Rin while he was there. He doubted that Sesshoumaru was mistreating her in any way, and she was probably cared for well enough, but he wanted to be sure. A little girl’s life was at stake, and Inuyasha for one was not about to take such a thing lightly. He just hoped it didn’t come to a confrontation with Sesshoumaru, because that would not be pretty. But again, he didn’t expect that would be necessary. He was honestly more concerned with how Rin would react to Kagura; it wasn’t so long ago that she had been kidnapped by the wind sorceress, after all. Sesshoumaru clearly bore no ill will toward Kagura for the incident, but if Rin was afraid of her, then at the very least the daiyoukai would demand that she leave. At worst, he would kill her, which would be fully justified from his point of view because of their history and the fact that she was Naraku’s incarnation.

In the end, he needn’t have worried. Rin didn’t even notice him or Kagura until she had greeted Sesshoumaru warmly. Her initial reaction was surprise and a little fear, but she glanced back and forth between them and her guardian a couple times, then relaxed. She was clearly still somewhat leery of them, especially the wind sorceress, but she wasn’t afraid because Sesshoumaru was nearby. Jaken, on the other hand, was beside himself with righteous indignation. The little toad spent a good couple minutes railing against the ‘hanyou’ and the ‘bitch,’ until finally Sesshoumaru kicked him in the head to shut him up. After that, Jaken stewed in silence by himself, refusing to acknowledge any of them. The whole thing tickled Inuyasha greatly, as he had never liked Jaken. The toad shared his master’s disdain for humans and hanyou, but possessed neither Sesshoumaru’s power nor his regal bearing. Inuyasha could at least respect his half-brother’s strength, but Jaken was like a prejudiced child running around insulting people who were bigger than him. Hell, even Kagome and Miroku had beaten the snot out of him at one time or another. Someone like that should learn to hold his tongue; if you were going to have a big mouth, you should be able to back it up.

Rin was babbling to Sesshoumaru about what she had been up to while he was gone when Inuyasha’s stomach growled loudly enough to be audible even to her human ears. She put her hands to her mouth and giggled, and Inuyasha blushed lightly despite himself.

“Inuyasha-sama is hungry,” she declared, though her mirth died suddenly as her own stomach rumbled in response. “Rin is hungry too,” she murmured, gazing hopefully up at her guardian. If Sesshoumaru wasn’t so stoic, Inuyasha had a feeling that he would have rolled his eyes. Without a word he turned and stalked into the nearby forest. Rin clapped her hands together excitedly and ran over to play with Jaken. Her attempts to cheer him up weren’t very effective, but did provide more amusement for Inuyasha and Kagura.

“Do you think your brother will get enough food for all of us, or just for the girl?” she pondered.

“Keh. Who the hell knows?” Inuyasha replied, lying down on the grass with his hands behind his head. As hungry as he was, he was content to wait and see if Sesshoumaru was feeling generous this evening. Because he really didn’t feel like hunting right now.

Again, he needn’t have worried. Sesshoumaru brought back a medium-sized boar, though whether he had intentionally sought out a larger animal or simply caught the first creature he came across, no one could say. Either way, Inuyasha appreciated it. He did not appreciate having the carcass dumped at his feet or being told to ‘prepare it’ like some servant. But his hunger outweighed his annoyance and he bit his tongue. Just the smell of this pig was making his mouth water. Kagura was equally transfixed, but she tore herself away to begin cooking preparations. Rin already had a small fire, but the wind sorceress made it bigger and set up makeshift spits to roast the meat on. Meanwhile, Inuyasha carved up the boar, resisting the urge to shove bloody pieces in his mouth. He could eat raw meat–he had done so many times as a child–but he preferred it hot, and Rin definitely needed it properly cooked. She apparently liked boar meat but not its preparation, for she squealed in fright and hid her face against Sesshoumaru’s leg as he cut into the carcass. The great daiyoukai accepted it passively, tolerating her childish behavior without complaint. Inuyasha could only shake his head in wonder and amusement. The girl clearly wasn’t right in the head, wanting to be around his half-brother, but there was nothing wrong with the two of them traveling together. While Sesshoumaru wasn’t behaving as a loving father, he was truly acting as her guardian, the person responsible for her health and safety. And he clearly took those responsibilities seriously, whether that meant providing food for her or allowing Naraku to escape so he could rescue her from Kohaku. Honestly, Rin could do a lot worse; many children would love to have it as good as she did. Yeah, I used to be one of them.

Inuyasha buried those thoughts, not wishing to dwell on the past. There were plenty of more pleasant things to think about, like how good this pig was going to taste when it was moderately cooked, yet still dripping with juices. The wait was excruciating, but completely worthwhile. Later, as he lay on the grass, so sated that he didn’t mind giving Myouga an evening snack, Inuyasha reflected that it had been a very good day, despite nearly losing his life to some monsters from hell. But alas, all good things must come to an end. And unfortunately, it was likely time for a partnership to dissolve.

“Oi, Kagura?”

“Hm?” she grunted from her place on the grass beside him.

“What will you do now?”

She sighed and sat up at that, as though she’d been dreading this moment. “No choice. I have to go back.”

Inuyasha nodded, not surprised. “You staying the night?”

She sighed again. “I’d better not. I’m sure Naraku’s pissed at me already. Staying any longer will just make it worse.” Acting on those words, she rose to her feet and Inuyasha followed suit.

“Well, take care of yourself,” he said, holding out his hand in the same manner as he’d done during the battle against the Yomotsu-shikome. Kagura grinned, and this time clasped his hand firmly. Then she departed, disappearing rapidly into the night. Inuyasha watched her go, wondering if he would ever see her again. Fatigue hit him in a rush, and he settled himself against a convenient tree trunk. Rin and Jaken were already snoozing by the fire, and Sesshoumaru was mirroring his position across the clearing. Inuyasha felt his eyes drooping, but he resisted the seductive lure of slumber for a time. It was just so odd to be sitting peacefully with Sesshoumaru, let alone sleeping within sniffing distance of him. But his half-brother could have killed him at any point today, and probably still could without too much trouble, even though his body had somewhat recovered over the course of the evening. So there was no reason to stay awake, and in fact doing so was counterproductive to the healing process. Now, if he could just convince his nervous subconscious of that…

Eventually, fatigue won out and Inuyasha surrendered to exhaustion. He woke the following morning to the sound of Rin talking Jaken’s ear off about something or other. She was keeping her voice down pretty well, but his ears were more sensitive than she realized. Not that he minded being woken up, since it was well past dawn. He cooked up a few more pieces of boar for himself and Rin, then stood and stretched, testing the strength and health of his muscles. His body wasn’t fully healed, but it had recovered enough for physical exertion. Good thing, because they had a lot of ground to cover today, and no one was going to carry him.

Sesshoumaru didn’t mind traveling with Inuyasha to reunite with the hanyou’s companions, nor did he comment on his slower-than-normal pace. With Myouga directing them, they still made fairly good time, arriving at their destination late in the afternoon. As soon as he caught Miroku’s scent, Inuyasha heaved a sigh of relief. The monk still smelled somewhat ill, but he would be fine.

“Inuyasha! You’re back!” cried the young kitsune who came bounding out of the hut, having obviously caught his scent. Shippou froze as he noticed the other members of the hanyou’s odd entourage, who had landed by themselves about a dozen meters away. Inuyasha was actually glad that Sesshoumaru was keeping his distance; it would be more comfortable for everyone that way.

“It’s fine,” he told Shippou, who was understandably nervous. “I’ll explain later.”

Miroku was already sitting up as Inuyasha ducked inside the hut, watching Sango prepare the evening meal at the fire pit.

“Well, well,” the monk observed with a grin. “Back from the next world, I see.”

“Keh, and I see that you ain’t dropped dead yet,” the hanyou answered with a grin of his own.

“No, not yet. My dear Sango has been taking excellent care of me,” he replied sagely, to which the taijiya ducked her head in embarrassment. Was it Inuyasha’s imagination, or did the monk seem ridiculously pleased with himself for some reason? A subtle sniff in his direction revealed the reason–he smelled significantly more like Sango than usual. They clearly hadn’t really done anything, but the scent did speak of an unprecedented level of physical intimacy. At least that explains why the bouzu is so happy.

“So, how did it go?” Miroku asked.

“Dunno. You tell me,” Inuyasha said smugly, pulling the Shikon fragment from his robes and holding it up to the light. A miniature celebration erupted inside the hut at the news, tempered only by the fact that their mission was not yet completed. But to be one huge step closer to winning their lost friend back was cause for real optimism.

“That is wonderful, Inuyasha,” Miroku declared. “I do, however, have one question. Am I imagining things…or do I sense your brother’s aura outside?”

An explanation was clearly in order, and Inuyasha was happy to provide it. He left out some of the gorier details, and didn’t reveal just how close he’d come to a horrible death. Instead, he merely indicated that Sesshoumaru had ‘helped’ him dispatch the Yomotsu-shikome. He couldn’t tell if his friends bought that, but they certainly agreed with his decision to offer the daiyoukai exclusive ‘rights’ to Naraku rather than fighting with him over the jewel shard. What they couldn’t figure out was why Sesshoumaru had agreed to the proposal in the first place.

“He probably figured that we could take care of the ‘small fry’ for him,” Sango theorized. “Kagura…and Kohaku.”

“Which works out perfectly for us,” Miroku interjected, placing a comforting hand on his fiancé’s shoulder. “We’ll free Kohaku, Sango. I promise.”

“Keh, but Naraku won’t fight all of us at once.”

“Indeed. I am certain he will try to trick us. We must be ready.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. The ball was in Naraku’s court now, since none of them had any way to locate the dark hanyou. They would just have to defeat whatever plot he set upon them.

After dinner, Inuyasha pulled Miroku aside and formally thanked him for what he’d done for Kagome. The monk brushed him off, stating with no hint of lechery that Kagome was special to him as well. He also took the opportunity to express his gratitude to Inuyasha’s vassal, who shrewdly hinted that he was hungry again. When Miroku bared his collarbone, however, the flea wondered aloud whether the monk or a ‘beautiful lady’ would taste better. Fortunately, said lady was willing if not overly excited about the prospect, though Myouga was put on notice by her fiancé that there would be consequences if he gorged himself. The flea still ate his fill, and went to sleep that evening with the thought that he should play the hero more often. So long as he didn’t put his life in serious danger, of course.

The group decided to head out the following morning, though they had no destination in mind. Miroku felt well enough to walk a fair distance–under Sango’s watchful eye, that is. The taijiya would make certain that her fiancé didn’t overdo it; if she demanded a halt so he could rest, the group would stop. Even Sesshoumaru would be wise not to question her on that. Then again, as far as the Inu-gang was concerned, the daiyoukai was free to leave any time he wanted, provided that he wasn’t still intent on taking the jewel shard with him. In the morning they would discuss with him any possible leads on Naraku, but that would likely be the extent of their interactions. They were reluctant allies, nothing more.

Every member of the Inu-gang did, however, hope that Sesshoumaru got exactly what he wanted. A one-on-one confrontation against Naraku, to the death. And while he was satisfying the demands of his stubborn pride, they would take care of what was truly important.

* * *

Kagura grumbled under her breath, pausing briefly to admire the pre-dawn light shining over the horizon. She’d spent all night searching for her master, and was tired of it. The problem was that she didn’t know where to look; Naraku’s previous lair had been abandoned, which wasn’t all that surprising given recent events. She was glad she hadn’t been foolish enough to let Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha follow her, because Naraku had definitely covered himself against that possibility.

A familiar buzzing alerted her to the approaching saimyoushou, and Kagura sighed in relief even as her stomach twisted with nervousness. She was glad her search was over, but dreaded Naraku’s wrath. Hopefully he had cooled off from his defeat against Inuyasha, and was willing to listen to reason. Because this time she really hadn’t done anything to betray him. Well, not much, anyway.

She followed the saimyoushou for at least a half dozen kilometers, as they flew purposefully to the northeast. Finally, they descended and hovered around a small wooden building nestled between two high peaks. The evil aura surrounding the place left no doubt as to its principal occupant. Kagura gulped, but firmed her countenance and drifted down to meet her fate.

“Kagura,” Naraku greeted in a sickly sweet tone as she entered his chambers. “Did you have a nice time with Inuyasha?”

“I didn’t have much choice,” the wind sorceress replied evenly, trying to keep her temper in check. “You left me in that place with no way out.”

“That did not give you an excuse to dine with my enemies last night.”

“I was hungry!” she snarled. “There’s no food or water in that entire fucking world, you know! And I didn’t tell them anything. Even if I wanted to, I don’t know anything about your plans.”

“Yes, I am aware,” Naraku answered icily. “It is the sole reason you still breathe.” Kagura didn’t respond to that, having already known it to be the case. There was nothing else to say, really; Naraku was going to kill her, or he wasn’t.

“I have a task for you, Kagura,” he declared. She listened as he explained her part of his latest plan, frowning in confusion which was in no way forced. But her facial expression was also crafted to conceal her displeasure with the task Naraku had assigned to her. Shit…and just when I thought I might be getting in good with him…

“This is unlike you, Naraku,” she observed, her tone sincere rather than mocking. “Normally your plans are much more…complex.”

“Sometimes the simplest strategies are the best,” he replied, which only caused Kagura’s anxiety to increase. Since when had Naraku espoused that philosophy? Something else was going on here. Seeing her unease, he adopted a smile which was probably supposed to be reassuring, but actually sent shivers down her spine.

“Do not concern yourself with the rest of my plan, Kagura. Just do your part. Then my enemies will be destroyed, and the Shikon no Tama will be made whole once more.”

“And…when the jewel is completed…what then?”

Naraku’s grin widened, and Kagura immediately regretted her inquiry. She knew damn well what would happen to her if Naraku achieved his imagined victory, but like a fool she felt driven to pose the question anyway. His venomous smile told her all she needed to know, but he also spoke with words which seemingly tightened the grip of his fingers around her captive heart.

“Why, then you shall have your well-deserved reward.”

Naraku dismissed her then, and she left him to his plotting. She was grateful for the opportunity to do some plotting of her own. She couldn’t let Naraku win; if there had been any doubt that he would kill her once his enemies were dead, he had dispelled it with his last comment. Her ‘well-deserved reward’ was death; of that she was sure. So when the time came for her to act on her master’s orders, she had to find a way to turn the tables on him. Because Naraku’s plan would completely upset the strategy which Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had agreed to. And if somebody didn’t do something to alter the outcome…all would be lost.


A/N – This was a short chapter, I know, but I needed a break from all of the action sequences. You know the lull won’t last for long…