InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blackout ❯ The Prince of Thieves ( Chapter 38 )

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.


The Prince of Thieves


Hakago gazed up into the night sky, his customary smirk fading only slightly as he prepared himself for what was to come. The moon had been full a few nights ago and was in the early stages of waning. A smaller moon would have suited his purposes better, since his prey relied on the light and he could see perfectly well even on the darkest of nights. But if he executed his plan properly, and got a little luck, then it wouldn’t matter. He would still accomplish his goal even if things went awry, but it would be…messier.

It had taken the bandits a full week to ride back to the castle they’d previously decided against attacking. That had clearly been a wise decision; the defenses were fairly impressive. Even an army would take heavy casualties trying to storm the walls. But there were apparently no enemy armies in the area, so the defenders had let their guard down. Sentries walked the battlements, but they seemed bored and disinterested, even from afar. And there were too few of them. If a force of humans tried to cross the expanse of cleared land surrounding the castle on all sides, they would surely be spotted. The alarm would go up, and the garrison would rouse to repulse the assault. What they did not expect, however, was for one man to attempt to sneak into their midst, especially not a man with supernatural powers and the ability to run faster than any horse. If he could just make it into the castle without being seen, then the conflict would be over in a matter of minutes, and in a fashion which would impress his new allies. But then, that was where the luck came in. No matter how he made his approach, there was a chance that he would be spotted. But he would do what he could to limit that possibility, and hoped that his budding skill at the hunt would prove decisive.

He bided his time until a few clouds drifted in front of the moon, dimming the light. Two sentries walked the section of wall directly across from him, and the instant they turned their attention to each other instead of their duty, Hakago launched into a moderate sprint which balanced speed against stealth. He made it halfway to the wall before a sudden wind dispersed the clouds, and one of the sentries turned to gaze in his direction. Cursing, he threw himself to the ground and lay perfectly still. Fortunately, the sentry had not given the area more than a cursory glance. Hakago could hear the conversation now, which both men obviously found far more interesting than their jobs. When they threw their heads back in laughter, he crept closer still, like a feline stalking a potential meal, only moving when the prey is not looking. Then the sentries went their separate ways, resuming their long, tedious task. As soon as he felt comfortable in doing so, Hakago sprinted the rest of the way to the wall.

With a leap he propelled himself up to the top of the structure, grabbing hold of the parapet and levering himself up with his arms. After making sure the coast was clear, he climbed over the parapet and landed in a crouch on the wall itself. Then he looked over the other side and, upon finding that the courtyard below was also clear, vaulted over into the interior of the castle. Creeping silently along the wall, he swiftly located the main barracks where most of the soldiers slept, blissfully unaware of their impending doom. He drew Tetsusaiga, then fished the Shikon no Tama from his robes. He pressed the jewel to the sword’s hilt exactly as he’d done before, grinning in satisfaction as the corruption took hold. Tetsusaiga exploded violently to life as soon as its resistance yielded to the dark power of the jewel, and Inuyasha’s full-youkai essence once more clamored for release. But this time Hakago was prepared, and had an easier time containing the raging beast within. He would eventually be overwhelmed if he remained in this form for too long, but his grace period had certainly increased. Not that it really mattered for his current purposes.

The surge of energy alerted the sentries to the danger. Shouts went up, and one of them blew his horn to sound the alarm. But it was far too late. Even as the men inside the barracks began to roll out of bed and grab their weapons, Hakago slammed Tetsusaiga’s blade into the ground. The resulting Kaze no Kizu utterly consumed the building, drowning out cries of pain and terror. If anyone managed to survive the carnage, they now lay buried under a mountain of debris, and would not be alive for long.

Hakago cackled gleefully, once again savoring the incomparable rush of living on the edge. He had counted on the influence of Inuyasha’s full-youkai side to make it easier to overcome the hanyou’s resistance to killing, and the gamble had succeeded. And while he doubted that such a strategy would work against individuals which Inuyasha actually knew and cared for, it was only a matter of time before that would cease to be the case. The hanyou’s resistance weakened by the day. Soon he, Hakago, would be the sole and true master of this body. In the meantime, he still had a task to complete.

Releasing the Shikon no Tama reverted him to hanyou form once more, and he sheathed the now dormant Tetsusaiga as he stooped to pick up the jewel. An arrow from one of the sentries lodged in his lower back as he straightened up, causing him to stagger briefly. But it would take far more than a single projectile to bring him down, and he rounded on the sentry with sudden fury burning in his gaze. Faced with such an enemy, the man fumbled the next arrow he had been trying to nock. Not that it would have made any difference anyway.

Hakago quickly discovered that he was still unable to kill humans in his hanyou form, but this did not deter him. A man with a broken arm could no longer draw a bow or wield a sword, and one with a fractured skull couldn’t do much of anything at all. As the sentries on the opposite side of the wall tried to regroup, he tore open the main gate with his claws and Inuyasha’s formidable youki. That was the prearranged signal which would send the lurking bandits charging in on horseback. With that objective completed, Hakago fell upon the surviving soldiers, laughing as he repulsed their futile attempts and struck back with closed fists, pulverizing flesh and shattering bone. Most of the incapacitated soldiers would live, at least until the bandits arrived to finish them off, but those who had fallen off of the wall might mercifully meet their ends sooner than that. A couple of the more cowardly but undoubtedly smarter soldiers managed to pull horses from the stable and escape the castle before Hakago’s reinforcements arrived to seal the entrance. He thought about pursuing them, but decided against it. The coming weeks would be far more entertaining if word of their exploits spread.

When the bandits finally arrived, hollering fiercely and ready for battle, they found laid out before them a castle where there was not much to do aside from plunder, a task which they took to with gusto. Store rooms were broken into, officers’ chambers were looted, and not a single item of value lay unclaimed. By the time all of the plunder was gathered in the center of the castle, the atmosphere had changed to one of celebration. An ample supply of sake had been discovered in one of the officers’ rooms, and was being shared by all. Between the alcohol, fine weapons and currency, this had been a wonderful haul. Most of the men had probably never seen so much wealth gathered in one place before; this had been a military installation, but it possessed funds to pay the soldiers and carry out the business of its liege lord. Funds which now belonged to a gang of drunken criminals, and was soon likely to find its way into the purses of shady tavern keepers and cheap prostitutes. Hakago could only shake his head in amusement at the thought.

The only person who did not share in the celebratory mood was Masato, and for good reason–the ‘Manslayer’ was no longer as appealing as a youkai who could take out a hundred fifty heavily armed men by himself. Eventually a cry went up among the bandits, calling for ‘Hakago-sama’ to be their new leader. Masato tried to argue against it, but his voice was promptly drowned out and he stormed off to pout by himself. At that point, Hakago, who had been sitting off to the side observing the merriment, stepped forward and graciously accepted the position. He promised to make them the richest bandits in history, and they erupted in their loudest cheer yet. Kukuku…what a bunch of fools.

“Whoa, Boss-sama!” one of the fools exclaimed. “You have an arrow in your back!”

“Hm?” Hakago muttered, feigning surprise as he glanced over his shoulder. He hadn’t honestly forgotten about the arrow lodged somewhere near his kidney, but the pain had been bearable so he’d left it there to use as something of a propaganda tool.

“So I do,” he observed casually, reaching back and removing the projectile with a single sharp tug. Some of the men gasped in sympathy, but he shrugged and tossed the arrow to the side, playing it off as the flesh wound it was to this hanyou body. Then he snatched a mug of sake from the nearest man and downed it in one huge gulp. Another cheer went up, the men thrilled to follow such a badass. Fools! The whole lot of you.

The story of the bandits and their youkai leader would spread like wildfire through the region. The populace would cower in fear, and feudal lords would wonder if even their armies were sufficient to protect them. Perhaps some members of the youkai world would hear of his exploits and come to investigate as well.

Either way, things were about to get much more interesting.

* * *

Kagome patted Sango’s shoulder sympathetically, wishing there was more she could do. But unfortunately, the burden of raising the taijiya’s downtrodden spirits rested solely upon her fiancé’s shoulders. The same fiancé who was currently sitting in the home of one of his past ‘acquaintances,’ hopefully turning down a marriage proposal. For once Kagome was glad that Inuyasha wasn’t here, as he would likely say something completely insensitive. ‘Shame on a man who does not accept a woman’s proposition,’ or something like that. Baka. At least the only other male present was either too young or too intelligent to say anything to make Sango feel worse. Shippou had asked a few innocent questions, but Kagome was happy to answer those.

“Don’t worry, Sango-chan,” she tried, her tone artificially bright. “I’m sure Miroku-sama is setting them straight right now. This sort of thing…is just part of his past.”

Sango snorted. “Yeah, the ‘past is in the past,’ right?” she muttered sarcastically. “Until it rears its pretty little head.”

Kagome grimaced and gave up her attempts to lighten her friend’s mood. She could understand why Sango was upset, but she also thought the taijiya was making a bigger deal of this than it actually was. Especially considering how close she and Miroku had grown recently. The monk wasn’t about to cheat on Sango just because some old ‘acquaintance’ batted her eyelashes at him. Likely the only reason they were still here at all was because Shima had complained that a youkai was coming to take her as his bride tonight. Miroku had too much of a soft spot for damsels in distress to ignore that.

Still, the delay was rather annoying and Kagome hoped the matter would be resolved soon. They had already been laid up for three days while she got over her illness, her friends having convinced her that she would recover more quickly if she rested. They’d undoubtedly been right, but Sango had almost been forced to tie her in the sleeping bag on that last day. Luckily, she’d felt well enough the following morning to renew their journey. The unfortunate part was that they still had no destination in mind, no concrete leads. It was just dumb luck–or bad luck, depending on your perspective–that they’d stumbled upon Shima and her family in their hour of need. That Sango was both angry and jealous came as no surprise to Kagome, but that she took it this far was a bit disconcerting. Hopefully Miroku would resolve this quickly before any serious damage was done.

As it turned out, the meeting with ‘Nushi-sama of the Lake’ was one of the most anticlimactic confrontations in the history of the Inu-gang…at least at first. The round little imp looked more like a toadstool than the fierce youkai Shima had made him out to be, but he did have a semi-reasonable claim on the girl’s hand. Upon learning of this, Shima stated that she had no right to be Nushi-sama’s bride because she had already given herself to Miroku when they met two years ago. At this point, Kagome wasn’t sure who was scarier: Nushi-sama who transformed into a vengeful giant catfish, or Sango who coldly refused to help Miroku deal with the situation. Seeing that they would get no assistance from the quarreling lovers, Kagome and Shippou leapt into action. The young fox distracted Nushi-sama momentarily with his kitsune-bi while Kagome fired an arrow. She had not aimed to kill, but the residual purity from the passing projectile was enough to burn the large but wimpy youkai, causing him to reverse his transformation. After a few firm but sympathetic words from Kagome, Nushi-sama slunk off back to the lake.

Or so she thought. He returned moments after the climax of the lover’s quarrel, when Sango had stormed off telling Miroku not to follow. Shima’s sudden scream alerted them to the danger, but by then it was too late to prevent Nushi-sama from flying off with her. Evidently not having a ‘pure girl’ for a bride wasn’t a deal-breaker for him. It did, however, earn him a proper clobbering from Miroku a few minutes later. Sango’s attempt to rescue Shima had resulted in her being dragged into the lake, with Nushi-sama promising to make her his mistress. The instant Kagome saw and heard an irate Miroku practically strangling the poor youkai for ‘taking his woman,’ she knew that he and his fiancée were going to be all right. After hearing the truth from Shima, that her claim to have slept with Miroku was only a lie to save her own skin, Kagome took Shippou inside and went to bed, leaving the quarreling lovers to resolve their issues in peace.

* * *

Sango sighed miserably as she gazed up at the stars, seated on a hillside not far from Shima’s home. She was glad that Miroku was here with her, sitting closely by her side but not touching, and equally grateful that he wasn’t saying anything. She was too ashamed of herself to speak at the moment.

In retrospect, she had completely overreacted to this entire situation. She had always suspected that Miroku had been with other women before; he was too much of a womanizer to still be a virgin, right? He had even met several women willing to lie with him during their quest, though some of those involved possession by youkai, which was surely a large portion of the reason why he’d never followed through. At any rate, her suspicion about his prior sexual encounters should have prepared her to deal with Shima and her family in a rational manner. But seeing a pretty girl so excited at the prospect of marrying her fiancé had caused her emotions to boil over, controlling her. The fact that Miroku hadn’t immediately rejected the proposal and informed Shima and her parents of his engagement hurt, a lot. Of course, the reasons for not doing so were obvious now; Miroku was caught off guard by the proposal and had wanted to let the girl and her family down easy. But at the time, Sango hadn’t been thinking clearly enough to realize his true motives. And when Shima confessed that she and Miroku had slept together…something inside Sango snapped. She’d been so absurdly furious that she refused to help save the lives and home of innocent people, forcing a kitsune child and a pregnant human to put themselves in harm’s way.

That was what shamed her the most. Yes, she’d unjustly suspected Miroku of wrongdoing. Yes, she’d fought too recklessly and gotten herself dragged into the lake by an overgrown catfish. But all of that paled in comparison to forcing Kagome and Shippou to fight Nushi-sama on their own. Thoughts of what might have happened to them would likely bother her for some time.

She suddenly felt gentle warmth and pressure against her knuckles, and glanced down to find Miroku’s hand covering her own. He smiled reassuringly, as if to say ‘it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?’ Sango’s conscience was not about to be soothed so easily, but she did accept her fiancé’s comfort. Scooting closer, she leaned her head against his shoulder, turning her hand over to grasp his own. They remained that way for some time, sitting together in silence. Finally, Miroku cleared his throat and spoke.

“Sango, I wish to apologize.”

“N-No, Houshi-sama. It is I who should apologize to you.”

He smiled sadly. “You are kind, Sango. Too much so for someone like me. I took advantage of your kindness and assumed that you would understand the situation without me having to say anything. Given my…history, that was unreasonable of me. For that, I am truly sorry.”

“B-But I should have understood the situation! Instead, I assumed the worst. I should have trusted you.”

“I have given you little reason to trust me,” Miroku declared, the bitterness of his tone causing Sango to swallow her reply. He gazed at her, his eyes reflecting determination and fear, as though he knew what he had to say but dreaded the consequences. Sango squeezed his hand, in part to comfort him and in part to anchor her in suddenly stormy waters. Now intensely nervous, she held her breath and waited. Finally, Miroku broke his gaze away and began to speak.

“Sango, I am not a pure man. I have…lain with other women before. It is not something that I am proud of,” he added quickly, as if fearing that she would stand and storm off. Sango doubted her legs would support her if she tried. Oddly, hearing his confession was not as painful as she feared. Perhaps it was the shame in his voice, or the way he was unable to look at her. Without any doubt, she believed his assertion that he took no pride in his past behavior. And to her, that was more important than whatever did or did not happen before they met.

“I will not make excuses for my behavior,” Miroku continued. “These bad habits of mine have caused me more trouble than I can remember. They almost…caused me to lose you.”

Sango gasped at those words, at the remorse in his eyes as he finally raised his gaze to meet hers. She knew what he was referring to–the incident with the village of youkai-possessed women in particular, and any number of other occasions where his behavior had either put her in danger or hampered the growth of their relationship, or both. Sango pulled his hand up and clasped it between both of her own, silently conveying a message from deep within her heart. You have not lost me, Houshi-sama. Be true to me, and you never will. Miroku smiled briefly, but then his expression became serious once more, and Sango realized that his confession was not yet complete.

“I wish with all my heart that I could take back what I have done, that when we join as man and wife it would be my first time as well as yours. But I cannot. I…I never expected to meet someone like you, Sango. If I had known, then I would have waited happily, just as I am waiting happily now. Just as I would wait happily for all eternity if I had to. Sango…please forgive me. Please tell me that you are still waiting with me.”

Sango felt tears pool in the corners of her eyes, but blinked them back. Her lips curled up without her permission, but her facial muscles were unable to form words. But then, she had never been a woman of many words, and still she had found a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. A man whose roguish exterior could no longer conceal the unfathomably deep love he held for her. Moments like this reminded Sango of why she had agreed to become his wife in the first place. But she had no words to tell him any of this, and he was still waiting for an answer, so she leaned forward to show him. Miroku’s surprise meant that he didn’t quite meet her halfway.

Sango broke off the kiss before it became too heated, leaning against him once more. He heaved a blissful sigh and put his arm around her, suddenly the picture of contentment. Sango grinned and shook her head. In all honesty, she would need some time to fully accept what Miroku had told her tonight. But she would get there, and sooner rather than later. As Kagome had tried to tell her, the past was in the past. Only the future mattered.

Eventually, however, Sango’s reflections on the past turned contemplative. She became intensely curious about a certain aspect of Miroku’s story, and debated with herself whether she should ask. Her fiancé must have noticed the change in her mood, but his concerned query of what was wrong only caused Sango to firm her countenance and embrace her curiosity.

“So…how many women have you slept with, anyway?”

Miroku stiffened. He clearly hadn’t anticipated that particular question, which perhaps explained why he attempted to dodge it.

“Wh-Why do you ask?”

Sango rolled her eyes. Because I want to know how much of a womanizer my future husband is–was, she corrected in her head. But that rationale seemed overly jealous, so she went with a more pragmatic reason.

“Because I’d like to know what the chances are of some woman showing up on my doorstep with a kid, claiming it to be yours.”

“Ah,” Miroku replied, his palpable relief confusing Sango until he spoke again. “There is no possibility of that happening.”

“What? H-how can you be so sure?”

“Because whenever I was with a woman, I would always return a few moons later to see if she was carrying my child. I was irresponsible, true, but not completely without honor. And I genuinely did wish for an heir to carry on my legacy.”

Sango’s shoulders slumped in relief. Her concern over his lovers and potential offspring appearing had initially been just a convenient fib, but as soon as it passed her lips she started to actually worry. It was nice to know that the concern was unfounded, though her relief did not dissuade her from pursuing her previous inquiry.

“I’m glad. Now answer the question.”

“What question, my dear Sango?” Miroku asked innocently, the twinkle in his eye indicating his playfulness.

“You know what question.”

“I’m afraid I can’t recall. Would you kindly refresh my memory?”

Sango barely resisted the urge to bop him upside the head. Ugh, I can’t believe he’s going to make me say it again!

“How many women have you slept with?!”

“No more than a hundred.”

“A hundred?!”

Sango’s screech caused several nearby nighttime critters to flee for their lives and might even have woken the inhabitants of Shima’s home. No doubt the slap of hand on cheek or the sharp impact of bone on skull would have been just as loud, if Miroku had not thrown up his hands in a placating gesture.

“A joke! A joke!”

Sango was too irritated to speak, and simply glowered at him, her entire face aflame. Seeing this, Miroku put his finger to his chin as if actively pondering something.

“Hmmm…the actual figure is probably closer to a dozen...or two…or three…”

“Houshi-sama…” The grinding of Sango’s teeth was audible with every syllable.

“I can count the number on one hand,” he stated, wiggling the fingers of his ‘wandering’ right hand for effect. Finally Sango relaxed somewhat. It wasn’t as bad as she feared, and the jerk was apparently done teasing her.

“Or perhaps I would need the thumb from my other hand as well…”

Sango groaned and smacked herself in the forehead. “Is there a reason why you can’t come up with an exact figure?”

Miroku laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, let us simply say that Inuyasha and Kagome-sama are not the only ones who have experienced the cruel effects of sake on memory.”

“Ah…you should have said something at the time. It might have made the two of them feel better.”

“I believe that would have done more harm than good.”

Sango thought about it, then nodded in agreement. It certainly would not have been good for you and me, Houshi-sama. She could only imagine how she would have reacted to that little revelation back then. In the worst case, it would have prevented them from being here together tonight on this peaceful hillside, which was something she intended to enjoy for a little longer. She leaned against him once more, and he wrapped his arm around her. The pair lapsed into companionable silence until moments later, Miroku’s soft chuckling caused Sango’s brow to furrow.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked, both curious and nervous about the answer.

“The future,” he replied simply, but there was something in his tone which caused Sango’s cheeks to darken. If she looked at him, she was sure she’d see a mischievous glint in his eye. That he was thinking about sex did not surprise her. She did too, though she would never admit it out loud. But he was not thinking only about sex, and in fact it probably did not dominate his thoughts when he reflected upon their future together. Sex was just one aspect of what they intended to share with each other, after all.

So yes, Miroku was still a letcher, and would likely always be. As long as he was her lecher, Sango didn’t really mind.

* * *

“Hakago.”

Kagome gasped, the sound of that name passing through a stranger’s lips simultaneously filling her with anticipation and dread. It was two days after their stopover at Shima’s home. Ten minutes ago, the Inu-gang had reached a fairly sizeable town and decided to find lodging for the night. As per usual, they asked the innkeeper if he had heard any strange rumors. Most of the time the answer was ‘no,’ as people from smaller villages tended to mind their own business. But travelers came through the larger towns, leaving behind tales from faraway places in the minds of the inhabitants. The innkeeper was probably as good a person to ask as any in that regard. In this case, that theory was proven absolutely true.

A traveler from the north had recently spoken of a group of bandits raiding settlements in the countryside. That was nothing unusual, but the fact that they were also hitting military installations was odd. Even more remarkable was the rumor that this group was apparently led by a youkai, though the innkeeper supposed that it was probably just a man with above-average strength. But the traveler had been certain, and had even provided the supposed youkai’s name, which he said he’d heard from the friend of a soldier who’d escaped one of the attacks. A name which made this real for Kagome. Rumors were unreliable, stories were changed and exaggerated as they passed from person to person, but that name could be no coincidence. At long last, they had a lead on Inuyasha’s whereabouts.

The Inu-gang retired for the evening, the atmosphere solemn despite the good news. For all understood how daunting the task laid out before them remained. The ‘north’ was a huge country, a vast area of land to search. Their target was small and highly mobile, and probably not interested in being found. But if secrecy was Hakago’s priority, then wouldn’t laying low make more sense? No one could understand why he was leading these bandits to attack villages and castles. The innkeeper had heard that already the local daimyo were meeting to discuss a joint venture to destroy the bandits. Why on Earth was Hakago making himself a target? Finally, Shippou spoke.

“Hakago is a kid, right?”

The others nodded, and Shippou swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. As a child himself, what he was about to say gave him the creeps.

“Well…kids like to play with toys, don’t they?”

Immediately, Kagome knew Shippou was right. She picked up the distraught kit and hugged him as he shivered. She couldn’t blame Shippou for being thoroughly creeped out. But Hakago was that kind of person. Even from her limited interaction with him, she saw him for who he really was. Not the mature, calculating adult he professed to be, but a bored child seeking stimulation. And what could be more stimulating for the offspring of one such as Naraku than playing with human lives?

Kagome did not sleep well that evening. Inuyasha was trapped inside his own body, which was apparently doing terrible things. Even if the hanyou still resisted, he was powerless to prevent Hakago’s bandits from murdering and raping as they pleased. How much innocent life would be snuffed out before Inuyasha’s eyes before he finally lost the will to resist? She could only hope that he would remember that he had a reason to live, a reason to fight.

It was the steady presence of that reason, their child’s aura, which finally allowed Kagome to slip into slumber. Please, Inuyasha…hang on.


A/N – Chapters 343 to 345 is one of my favorite sections of the manga, so I just had to include it in this story where I’m recapping canon events with new twists. This part of the story isn’t very enjoyable to write, but light scenes like that help me get through it.