InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dominating the Indomitable ❯ Warpath ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

“He’s been gone how long?!” Kouga shouted at Ginta.

“I’m sorry, boss, but we looked everywhere!  His trail just vanished.  I mean, it was weird,” Ginta responded, holding his hands out, palms up.

“Damn it!  What the hell?  Who did you ask about his disappearance?”

“Everyone!  I mean, Hakkaku helped and we got others to search, but we just couldn’t find him,” Ginta sighed.

“Right, if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself,” Kouga huffed.  “Get me the commanders--yesterday!”

“Yes, boss!  Right away, boss!”  Ginta made a run for it.  Kouga sure was pissed and there wouldn’t be any messing around.  Despite Kouga’s agitation, Ginta was glad he was back.  If anyone could find Inuyasha, it was Kouga.

Kouga sniffed around Inuyasha’s room.  The mutt’s scent was stale, but out in the hallway, just around the corner, the smell of harsh cleaning chemicals lingered in the air.  Could someone have been attempting to cover their tracks?  The scent was old, but to his sensitive nose, it obviously appeared around the same time that Inuyasha had disappeared, and there was just the slightest hint of Inuyasha.  Odd.  The scent led him straight to Kamylla’s office, where it was the strongest.  Kouga frowned in consternation when he opened the door.  Beyond the doorway, there was no scent, yet the worst of it was in front of the door, quickly tapering off to either side.  Once again, he followed his nose, straight to his own office.  

‘What the hell?’

The office was trashed.  In particular, there were maps left scattered across his desk, some having fallen to the floor.  Quickly, he locked the door to prevent unwanted intrusions.  There were old scents that belonged there.  Inuyasha, the bitch’s, and various commanders, including Hakkaku and Ginta.  Leaning down, he sniffed at the documents on the floor while he crossed to his desk.  It seemed that the maps were particularly interesting to the intruder, but he wasn’t going to miss a clue.

‘Why is Inuyasha’s scent all over the floor?  The mutt always sat in a chair.  And that ammonia from Kamylla’s office is in here.  Granted, anyone walking through that hall would have traces of it, but no one belongs in here while I’m away, except Inuyasha, Ginta and Hakkaku.’

Kouga frowned in consternation.  Did Inuyasha have an episode?  No, he hadn’t smelled any blood, and despite the slight trace of ammonia, he would have.  Then he saw it; a small pocket notebook under one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk.  Tucking his hands behind his back so as preventing touching anything, he sniffed his way to his desk, stopping at the chairs in front of it.

“Hm…I know that scent, but whose is it?”  Kouga couldn’t remember, but he knew it was one of his own.  He reached beneath the chair closest to the door and gently snagged the small notebook between his claws and held it close to his nose.  “Definitely Inuyasha,” he murmured and proceeded to open it.  ‘So, Kamylla and Yoshimoto were in on altering the maps…and who’s Ling?’  Kouga thought long and hard about that name.  “I knew it!  That’s the same name as one of ours who disappeared in the supposed massacre of Kamylla’s scouting party.  So, they aren’t dead after all, not all of them anyway.  Traitors, even back then.”

“Good job, Inuyasha.  Just hope my double agent has managed to get a list of her cohorts…” he muttered quietly.  “What kind of trouble are you into now.  Maybe I’ll get to return at least one of those favors for you, if you’re still alive.  Damn you.”

Inuyasha was too stubborn to let some measly spies take him out.  Besides, the mutt had managed to survive a direct hit from one of those treacherous weapons.  Sure, he wasn’t as strong now, but he was strong enough.  He was still alive, even without a mate.  Nope, Inuyasha wasn’t dead.  Not possible, right?

Kouga refused to think that Inuyasha’s death was even a remote possibility.  He’d have known to his very core of such an occurrence.  Inuyasha had been too much of a protector for his death to go unnoticed by the earth, and it would have mourned his passing.  That kind of thing would have been obvious to anyone who had any kind of connection to the brat.  Sesshoumaru would have felt it too and the ground would be trembling with his rage.  No, Inuyasha was alive and he’d make damn sure that whoever had taken the mutt would pay.

Making his way to the back of his desk, he leaned over the maps to see what all had been left.  Most of them were details of human encampments with side notes on weapons recovered.  ‘If maps were altered, Kamylla’s scouting parties may have failed to report more infestations.  That would explain the number of humans I encountered on the road.  They had leaders, but not very good ones.’

Taking a closer look, he leaned down and noticed Inuyasha’s scent, though stale, was haphazardly smeared all over the maps.  There was no way that Inuyasha would be so careless.  Kouga lifted one and smelled around the edges and corners.

“Rubber…surgical gloves?  Great.  At least, I know it was a setup.  Inuyasha was jumped, probably knocked out, and whoever did it smeared his hand all over these maps.  I didn’t notice his scent on anything else.  Definitely a setup.”

Kouga sniffed his chair and found nothing new, so he plopped down and sighed.  “How can I use this?”  He had to hurry.  Ginta would be showing up with almost everyone involved.  ‘Okay, they’ll be expecting me to label Inuyasha a traitor.  I could out them and have them thrown into cells, or…I could pretend to go along with them and maybe find out what happened to Inuyasha.  Yeah, that could work.  Sure might speed up finding him!”

Decision made, Kouga unlocked his door and began stacking the papers that had been left on the floor.  ‘They sure weren’t picky about what they pulled out of my desk and file cabinet.  Stupid shit--ages old.’

He’d managed to pick up only a quarter of the mess from the floor before a knock came on his door.  Before opening it, he took a sniff.  ‘Why is Kamylla alone?  Ah, to set up her story.  Well, let’s see what she has to say for herself.’

Opening the door, he invited her in.  “Ignore the mess and have a seat,” he mildly offered then kicked papers out of his way as he returned to sit in behind his desk.

“Lord Kouga, may I speak freely?” she asked politely.  He waved a hand for her to continue.  “I didn’t want to alarm the others, so I decided to wait until your return to speak with you privately.”  She took a deep breath.  “You aren’t going to like this.  I caught Inuyasha going through your office and managed to subdue him, but he managed to get away and crash through the window.  I left your office as it was so that you could sift through what he left behind.  I am sorry that your friend has turned on you.”

Her speech was sincere and apologetic.  A wonderful job if Kouga would say so himself.  He looked back over his shoulder.  Sure enough, his window had been replaced.  He’d have to check the outside for glass shards and traces of Inuyasha’s scent.

“Well, I pretty much came to the same conclusion.  His scent is all over these maps and I can tell that there has been some tampering.  Seems like his human half has gotten the better of him and he has sided with the humans.”  He sighed sadly.  “He’ll have to go to the camps.”

Kamylla nodded.  “I’m very sorry, my lord.”

‘Sure you are,’ Kouga sarcastically thought to himself, but didn’t betray his act.  “We’ll have to hunt him down and find out what he knows.  Ginta tells me that search parties were sent out.  I’m sure you did your best.”

“We did, but couldn’t find a trace!”

“Did you climb the trees and check for trails there?  He does seem to prefer that mode of travel.”

“Oh…we didn’t know about that.”

“Alright.  I’ll take out a party.  Did you happen to see which direction he went?” Kouga questioned, keeping up the ruse.

Kamylla nodded.  “He took off toward the west.  I was wondering if maybe his brother is in on this or if he plans to seek refuge there.”

‘Good one.  You seem to have thought of just about everything.’

“One thing does baffle me.  There’s a slight scent of ammonia on my floor.”

“Oh, Yoshimoto knocked over a bucket of cleaning fluids and I tracked through it while following Inuyasha.”

“You were following him?”

“Oh, yes, my lord.  I didn’t trust him from the beginning.  He was always following people around and searching our buildings.  I found it strange, and when I discovered him outside of your office, I waited until he was in your office for awhile before deciding to confront him.  I really am sorry, sir.”

‘Hm, she takes credit for ferreting out a traitor.  I’m not surprised.  I wonder what she has told her cronies.’

“Can you tell me who he was following?  I want to make sure that he hasn’t compromised security.”  That seemed a good reason for asking the question.

Kamylla gave him a list of names which he dutifully wrote down.  “Anything else?”

“He searched through their rooms and any other place that they may have worked or wandered.”

‘She seems eager to give information.  Wonder what she has done this time.’  Kouga took a moment to appear studious.  “I would like to speak with these men.”

“Oh, yes, my lord.  I’m not sure they can help.  I will send them right away!”

‘Helpful much?’ Kouga could barely stand her presence any longer.  “Good.  Go round them up and send them to the conference room.”

Kamylla stood and promptly saluted.  “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Dismissed,” he said while appearing to study the notes he’d made.  Thankfully, she had made a speedy exit.

Kouga took a deep breath and went over the list of names while waiting for Ginta and Hakkaku, attempting to remember each one that was closely affiliated with Kamylla, or who were under her direct command.  Most were on the list, with a few notable exceptions.  A knock sounded at his door and he could here quite a few feet shuffling.  First, he needed to speak with his two most trusted men.  He opened the door and motioned Ginta and Hakkaku inside.

“Help me check for bugs,” he murmured then they all scanned walls and furniture with their ears.  All electronic devices put out high pitched waves.  They didn’t carry over a long distance, but the objects could be found.  Fortunately, the two didn’t ask any questions, keeping their silence as they went about their task.  They met back at the desk and all three shook their heads.  “Guess it would be too obvious that there are traitors in our midst,” Kouga whispered, not wanting his voice to be heard beyond the door.

“Kamylla has set things up to appear that Inuyasha is a traitor, putting his scent over all of these maps and declaring him missing.  Anyone who isn’t taking a close look at things would think he did use us for information.”  He handed them the maps.  “Do you smell the surgical gloves along the edges?”

Both men ran their noses along the corners and edges then nodded.  

“There was a struggle on the floor.  Inuyasha’s scent is there.  There is also the scent of ammonia.  It was carried in here from Kamylla’s room.  This pocket notepad was under that chair.”  He pointed to the one to his left.  “It has Inuyasha’s scent all over it.  Here, take a look.  I figure it was thrown in the struggle.”

Ginta and Hakkaku read the notes, sniffed it then nodded their heads.

“She says he busted out my window and had to have it replaced.  Did you two notice anything?”

Hakkaku spoke up first.  “She said that there was a crack in it, but I didn’t here any crashes.”

“Yeah, I got the same story, but I wondered how she would know and how she would get in your office, so I didn’t say anything.  Figured I’d tell you when you got back,” Ginta added.

“Good boys,” Kouga chuckled.  “We’ve gotten too complacent and too much has been going on right under our noses.  Did Yukio give you any helpful information?”

“Oh yeah,” Ginta said with a grim nod.  “Some of her men have been seen entering and leaving the weapons facility, and they have been talking up people outside of her group, making nice nice.  She seemed to have set a couple of them to trailing Inuyasha, from a distance though.  He gave them the slip a few times, but not always.  Here’s a list.”  He pulled a piece of folded paper from a chest pocket.  “From what you say, I think she was trying to convince the new guys in her group that Inuyasha was a suspicious character.  It would make sense.”

Kouga nodded and compared the two lists of names.  There were new ones that Kamylla hadn’t mentioned.  “Is Yukio still having trouble getting close to her?”

“Let me tell, Ginta!”

“Quiet!” Kouga whispered.

“Fine, you tell,” Ginta murmured, scowling.

“She set him to help find new people whose allegiance was questionable.  Her excuse was that she suspected Inuyasha of having spies in the camp.  So, guess what Yukio did!?”

Kouga rolled his eyes, but Hakkaku didn’t give him time to ask.

“Yukio got two that are loyal to you and they have been accepted into her group!”  Hakkaku pumped his fist in the air and Kouga pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Do you have any reports from them?”

“No, but Yukio has to be very careful.  If you question him like you do the others, he can give you the information without your meeting looking suspicious.”

“I’m really proud of you guys,” Kouga said with a haughty grin.

Ginta’s and Hakkaku’s chest swelled with pride.

“Don’t get big heads,” Kouga responded with a scowl.  “This never should have gone this far in the first place.”

Both men deflated and tears gathered in their eyes.  Kouga sighed.  The two were still much too emotional for their positions, but they were his most faithful followers.

“I should have kept better tabs on things and setup better security controls,” he added, hoping to take some of the blame and cheer up his companions.

“Oh, it’s not your fault, Kouga!” Ginta interrupted.  “We should have done better.”

“Yeah, Kouga,” Hakkaku added with a nod.

What Kouga had said was the truth and he was glad that it had taken away the affects of his harsh words toward his men.

“Um, Kouga?” Hakkaku asked in a very serious tone of voice, very unlike his usual demeanor.

“Yeah?”  Kouga looked at him in question.

“I think I know what Kamylla is up to…”

Kouga’s brows drew down in a frown.  “Everyone wants power.”

“But I think she wants to take over the pack, so she’s telling everyone lies about you, trying to convince them that your leadership is somehow flawed.”

Well, that was the most intelligent thing Kouga had ever heard come out of Hakkaku’s mouth.  That was a shocker.

“I’m sure she’s been talkin’ shit about me, but what makes you think she’d want to take over the whole pack?  Most of the time, females just want in my pants to get better standing.”

Hakkaku shifted from foot to foot.  “I dunno.  It’s just…there are too many people involved now, and I don’t think it’s so simple.  No female has gone this far to get better standing.  They’ve done the same small stuff, like blaming things on other people, setting others up to get lowered in rank, but this is so much bigger.  I mean, she’s accusing Inuyasha of being a traitor and now he’s missing.  I just…I can’t imagine why something like that would be necessary.  Inuyasha wasn’t a threat to anyone here!”

Kouga sighed.  “Maybe, maybe not.  She has always been driven and intense.”

Both Hakkaku and Ginta shook their heads.  Kouga was just as blind with this one as he was with Kagome.  Oh, he didn’t want Kamylla, but he seemed to focus on her as being the only number in the equation.

“Seriously, Kouga.  She has to have bigger goals and with what happened to her team, I think there’s someone even more dangerous that’s leading her around by the nose.  You remember how Naraku was?  He never got his hands dirty.  She tries, but she just ain’t good enough.  There’s someone else, someone more powerful and she’s just a puppet head,” Hakkaku insisted, trying to get it through Kouga’s thick skull.

“Fine, fine, whatever…”

Ginta and Hakkaku both rolled their eyes.  Sometimes, Kouga could be so hard-headed.

“Okay.  I have a couple of tasks for you two.  I want you to find that window that was supposedly cracked, or what’s left of it.  If all you find glass shards, make sure they match what was in here before.  See if there are any signs that it was covered with a cloth before being smashed.  If anyone had jumped through that window, someone should have heard it.  Kamylla said that Inuyasha headed east, but that they hadn’t checked the tree limbs.  She’s probably lying, so check everywhere.  And…look for tunnels.  You might need some help doing it.  Hakkaku, get started right away.  Ginta, you stay with me so that we can take counsel after each interrogation.  Then you can start helping out Hakkaku.”

“Yes, boss!” they both simultaneously saluted.

“I’ll start with the tress to see if we can get a lead on Inuyasha.  If I don’t find anything, I’ll look for underground access,” Hakkaku said smartly and ran off.

Kouga just shook his head.  He could count on his men, but sometimes, they were plain irritating.

Crimson splattered against the wall.  A hiss of green fog and sweet-scented poison cleaned the claws that had just been withdrawn from a spindly neck.  Well, the current count was five out of eleven, and there wasn’t anyone else that had had any connection to Inuyasha.  Now, the problem was finding the facility which had been using Inuyasha’s blood.  Angry couldn’t describe Sesshoumaru’s current mood.  People had died, but it wasn’t enough—not near enough.  His hands were itching to pull out the throats of those responsible, and no one was going to get in his way.  Anyone who tried would find themselves lying in a pile of naked entrails.

It appeared that the so-called medical center using Inuyasha’s blood lay near Kouga’s territory.  Damn bastard should have caught that before it ever became an issue.  That infestation had found a thin route into his domain.  The wolf was in for a world of hurt when he managed to get his claws around the moron’s throat.  Providence was a wonderful thing.  While there, he would have the opportunity to check up on Inuyasha.  And gods help Kouga if he found that Inuyasha hadn’t had proper care.  Actually, the gods could stay the hell out of it.  Kouga didn’t deserve their help—much like humans.

He, the most vicious and powerful of all intelligent youkai, had managed to bring forth a small amount of mercy for humans, and had worked to cultivate it to a degree that wouldn’t wear on his nerves.  That completely unnecessary ‘Cataclysm’, as everyone called it, had thrown him back to square one.  For Inuyasha’s sake, he’d withheld much of his wrath.  The boy had been fragile and he’d somewhat come to care for him.  The Moura mine disaster, and the consequences, had tested his patience with mankind.  The humans had managed to make it personal.  No one attacked what was his without paying the price, especially humans.  Inuyasha had tirelessly worked to save their unworthy skins, only to sacrifice himself to one of their weapons in order to save a slew of them.  Pathetic.  However, by that time, he had constructed laws that prevented even him from hunting down and destroying each and every worthless bag of flesh.  

Sesshoumaru cracked his knuckles.  Many had asserted that there was always a thin line between love and hate.  They had been correct.  Time had worn him down.  Everything and everyone of import he had ever protected had eventually died and crumbled to dust.  

Everyone, except Inuyasha.  

No one else had ever held his attention with such intensity.  Hate, anger, rage, jealousy, envy, pain.  Those emotions had given his life meaning.  Inuyasha gave his life meaning.  It had taken him centuries to connect the two.  And, once he had?  Inuyasha became his in more ways than simply inheriting the right to kill him.  Inuyasha became the centerpiece of restraining his desire to destroy much of the corrupted human civilization.  At this point, he was undecided concerning the worthiness of that particular service.  Regardless, whether or not Inuyasha realized it, he had become a guide.  Short of destroying things, Sesshoumaru’s desires were quite simple; keep and protect those he cared about.  That number had dwindled to one.  

Inuyasha had first distracted him from taking out his wrath on the humans.  Then, he’d convinced him that humans were a necessary part of the world.  How the boy had managed that one, Sesshoumaru had yet to determine.  It was obvious, now, that Inuyasha had been thoroughly blinded.  Oh, yes.  Inuyasha was half human, and if Sesshoumaru could care for him, then humans couldn’t be so bad.  That had been the first argument of many.  Perhaps Inuyasha’s logic had been false, but he went on about half-breeds being unfairly discriminated against.  The arguments had been ferocious and tiring.  Sesshoumaru was now convinced that Inuyasha had simply worn him down and that the logic had been false.  If there were no humans, there wouldn’t even be half-breeds.  Excellent logic and simple answer.  Most likely, Inuyasha had become a weakness because it hadn’t stopped there.  Inuyasha had continued to convince him to make room for humans.

Inuyasha’s eyes had shown him where to put his efforts to use, where to expend his energy in a world that he’d rather destroy than save.  Otherwise, he would have been bored out of his skull and killing randomly for some kind of entertainment in order to break the monotony.  Growing too powerful to ever find a worthy opponent, even that amusement would have eventually become redundant…unless he could have accomplished killing everyone.  That put a morbid grin on his face.  Inuyasha would simply have to accept that humans should be obliterated.

How long had it been since he’d gone hunting for prey?  How long had it been since the blood of many had stained his claws?  Too long, much too long.  It was long past time that the humans paid the price for his mercy.  

A wicked grin gruesomely painted Sesshoumaru’s face.

Kamylla punched the stone wall of the makeshift tunnel then licked her bloody knuckles.

‘That fucker is insane if he thinks I’ll just hand him the wolves.  They’re mine, and soon enough, he won’t have enough people to do shit.  Then…I’ll have him executed.  Who’d have that asshole for a leader?  He keeps a dead body in his chambers!  Well, she isn’t really dead, but she isn’t exactly alive.’

Kamylla shuddered at the images.  That woman…a knife through her chest and stuck on the edge of the nether world because of some disgusting spell?  Sick.  That female should have just agreed to become the guy’s mate.  Now, she was being tortured.  Her master was well and truly insane.

‘He won’t be my master for long—no one’s master.’

She grinned at the thought of the half-breed slaughtering every single one of her master’s little cronies.  There were only one or two people that could stop Inuyasha; Sesshoumaru or Kouga, and they would be forced to put him down like the filthy dog he was.  That little shot she’d given him would insure he couldn’t be brought out of his rampage.

The tunnel split and she chose to avoid the one leading to the armory, instead taking the tunnel leading toward the barracks.  She smiled when she passed the locked, black box that was attached to the wall at another split.  Inside laid a switch.  If her master ever thought to attack, she’d be ready.  He’d never know what hit him.  There’d be no weapons left for him to confiscate after the armory blew.  The asshole was a moron if he thought she was stupid enough to be blind to his use of her.  She would be no one’s puppet.  

The wolves would become the reigning youkai and she would be their leader.  Kouga had no ambition.  He was weak and had weakened the tribe.  She wouldn’t tolerate it.  He had to go.

Screams were quickly silenced as blood sprayed the sterile walls.  Glass shattered, wood splintered, and metal crashed.

Revenge was sweet.

Inuyasha breathed heavily.  None of the dead were innocent.  They were all going to die.  Fuck any laws he was breaking.  He was beginning to think he understood Sesshoumaru’s desire to destroy everything.  He wasn’t sure what had brought him out of his sleep induced stupor, but he was ecstatic about it.

Golden eyes scanned the destruction and body parts.  The blood painting the walls put a wicked grin on his face.  He’d never felt like this without having transformed.  The desire to simply erase out of existence everyone who had tortured him was overwhelming.  This time…what did he have to lose?  They were all walking corpses now—just like him.  They were dead, they just didn’t know it yet.  Maybe he could hide the bodies under the rubble.  Well, he didn’t really care.  Anyone who didn’t like it could go  fuck themselves.

Leaping through the torn metal door, he couldn’t help but grin at the work he’d made of the metal.  ‘I love these claws.’

With that thought, he raced down the hall, both arms outstretched, claws gouging grooves through the concrete, while roaring the coming of death and destruction.

Inuyasha’s blood was much stronger than Kamylla could have ever realized.



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