InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Loss of Self, Discovery of Truth ❯ Good News, Bad News ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

 

Byakuya reclined on his giant origami paper crane and casually looked over the sides for any evidence of the treacherous wind witch. This was so annoying. He'd much prefer to serve as target practice for that Kohaku boy. He might get a bit of a hair cut, but it would certainly be more entertaining!

 

He respected Naraku. Idolized him, really. However, sometimes being a henchman was a real bother.

 

His search didn't last much longer. A few miles away he saw Kagura on the horizon floating on her trademark feather. He tried not to over-think things too much. If he carried out Naraku's order he'd be in essence killing his sister.

 

With a careless shrug Byakuya directed his paper crane in her direction. She seemed to notice him and increased her speed, but she couldn't outrun him forever.

 

“Ah, come on, Kagura. You're just making this more troublesome than it has to be!” he called out gaining on her.

 

Kagura looked over her shoulder at him, crimson eyes narrowed in hate before she tried to speed up even more. With an annoyed sigh Byakuya continued his pursuit closing the distance bit by bit.

 

“You can't out run me! Why don't you just stay still so I can kill you and we'll be done with all this sordid business?”

 

“Ha!” Kagura glared at him again. “I won't give you the pleasure!”

 

Byakuya sighed. He didn't want to have to do it this way, but really she left him no choice. Naraku had given him a gift before he set off on his mission. It felt like cheating, but it would save him a lot of time. He reached into the inner pocket of his shirt and pulled out an object wrapped in thick cloth. He began to unwind the lining.

 

Within the soft material lay an object that beat with erratic pulsations. Even though Kagura's heart wasn't inside her chest it still beat with the adrenaline charged blood flow she was utilizing in her plight to escape. Byakuya squeezed the heart within his hand and Kagura clutched at her breast.

 

“You bastard!” She redirected her feather and started charging toward him with her fans at the ready. She cut the winds with a ferocious sweep of her hands and the resulting force almost knocked Byakuya off his paper crane.

 

He tightened his fist around her heart into a crushing grip. Kagura's feather plummeted toward the earth and Byakuya guided his paper crane after her falling figure. She crashed to the ground and he remained hovering above her holding her heart.

 

“You had no chance, Kagura. Be one with the wind. I release you.” He then clenched his hand tightly and destroyed the organ. Kagura's face was stricken in an expression of pain before it relaxed to one of peace before she wavered and disappeared.

 

A breeze brushed past Byakuya.

 

“Easier than I thought,” he mused wiping the bloody mess of his hands on his pants' leg.

 

#

 

“So, I have good news and I have bad news.”

 

Kagome looked up from her position on the floor. Her arms were wrapped around her knees as she rocked back and forth slightly. The action provided her little comfort.

 

Mitsurugi frowned down at her. “Where's that demon? Kouga?”

 

“He thought you were taking too long so he went out to hunt for clues himself.”

 

He rubbed his forehead tiredly. “And you didn't stop him?”

 

Kagome laughed. “You think I could?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She put her hands on the ground palms flat and stretched out her legs. “That's true. But he was starting to drive me crazy with his pacing. So, what's the good news, Mitsurugi-san?”

 

“I know where Sesshoumaru is.”

 

“Really?” Her eyes lit up and she quickly pushed herself up to her feet and rushed toward Mitsurugi for an overjoyed hug. “That's great!” She took hold of his hands before he could get any ideas. “Where is he?”

 

“That's the bad news. I was right to follow Jakotsu. Sesshoumaru is being detained in a cellar in the base that the seven-men team's members took over a few weeks ago.”

 

“Why didn't we look there first then?”

 

“Because they have about twenty bases.”

 

“Good reason.”

 

The door to Mitsurugi's underground shelter was lifted up and dim light spilled in along with a familiar silhouette. “Found that Renkotsu. I really hate him.”

 

“Only because he tried to set you on fire,” Kagome said.

 

Kouga joined them inside. “As I recall, he wasn't trying to spare you of any flames either.”

 

“So you saw Sesshoumaru?” Mitsurugi asked.

 

“No. Should I have?”

 

“He's being held captive by him and at least three other members of the seven-men team.”

 

“Wouldn't that make them the four-men team?” Kagome asked.

 

“Don't be bogged down by the details,” Mitsurugi advised. “We need to come up with a rescue plan.”

 

“You've done enough, Mitsurugi. I can't ask you to do any more,” Kagome said worried.

 

“What's going to happen? I'm going to die?” Mitsurugi burst out laughing. “Can't kill someone that's all ready dead. Besides, my annoying conscious won't let me sit back while the Lord of the Western Lands is being sacrificed to some glutinous hellhound.” He looked down at his bead-enshrouded hand. “Maybe after this little good deed I can finally move on from this place.”

 

#

 

He didn't believe his hearing. His stupid human senses were proving an even greater detriment as the hallucinations began to set in. Did dehydration really work this strongly? The sulfuric atmosphere wasn't pleasant and his skin and eyeballs did feel extremely dry, but he didn't think he was dehydrated so much that he'd be hallucinating.

 

And if he was going to hallucinate he'd like to have a choice in picking that hallucination. He'd choose to be hosting a large banquet—in his natural demon lord form of course—where all the lords and ladies he'd met over the centuries bowed down before him and offered tribute to him for all the wonders he'd performed during his tenure as Lord of the West.

 

But his hallucination was no where near his fantasy one. It sounded like the door to his underground prison was being opened. He had limited vision with the only source of light being a torch on the far side of the room from him.

 

“Sesshoumaru?” his name was whispered.

 

He snapped out of his daze. He wasn't hallucinating—which was a relief because Sesshoumaru Lord of the Western Lands no matter his current incarnation did not hallucinate—he only had the occasional fantasy. It didn't make sense for it to not be a figment of his imagination because there was no logical reason for her to be in the world of the dead and it didn't make any sense at all for her to be present.

 

“Kagome,” he said, his voice a dry whisper against his parched throat.

 

She stepped into the light and her shoulders sagged with relief as she gripped the door tightly. Her eyes raked over him no doubt taking in the chains restraining him. Then she ran to him heedless of any possible trip-wires or traps. Thankfully, there weren't any. Foolish human.

 

Kagome took hold of both his shoulders and buried her face against his chest. “How could you let yourself be taken captive? Isn't that a bit insulting, Sesshoumaru?”

 

“To whom would I be insulting?”

 

“Yourself!” she said pulling back to look him in the eyes.

 

Insulting to himself? That was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

 

Her hands moved from his shoulders to hold either side of his jaw gently. She kissed him softly on the lips. “You're alive.”

 

Maybe it was a hallucination after all. “No, I'm not.”

 

“Yes, you are.”

 

“Only temporarily. Let us look at the facts. We are in hell. There's no way out. I'm about to be sacrificed to a hellhound. I might as well be counted among the dead here and now.”

 

“First of all, this is the Meidou. And there is a way out. We're working on it. And I will not allow you to be puppy chow!”

 

“We?”

 

The door to the cellar prison burst open and Kouga stood there gasping. “We have to go!”

 

Sesshoumaru growled. “We.” Kouga? Why Kouga? “I am not leaving. Your effort is appreciated, though wasted.”

 

“Talk some sense into him, Kagome! I didn't travel to hell just to go back empty handed.” Kouga looked over his shoulder and a man that looked similar to the perverted monk in Inuyasha's gang stood behind him. “We have to leave now!”

 

“I can not leave. I am honor bound to stay. I forfeited my freedom to save the life of Izayoi.” He gave her a sad smile. “This is what has become of the great Lord Sesshoumaru. Fodder for a hellhound to increase the powers of those whom I helped banish from our world.”

 

“Don't say that!” Kagome pleaded shaking him and trying to release the chains. “Kouga-kun, you've got to rip off these chains!”

 

Kouga rushed into the room, eyes wide. “We have to go! I didn't buy us much time and they'll be back here to check on things.” He reached for the chains but Sesshoumaru pushed the chair back out of reach. “What are you doing?” he asked Sesshoumaru with a frown.

 

“Leave me.”

 

“I can't leave you!” Kagome said through gritted teeth taking hold of his shoulders again and shaking him. Kouga took a step back and looked over his shoulder toward the door where the other man was waving frantically.

 

He glared at her. “Why can't you?”

 

She sniffled. “Because I care about you, you jerk!”

 

He dipped his head so that his forehead rested against hers. “I cannot go back on my word.”

 

“But I love you,” she whispered.

 

“How can you love me? This waste of a partial human that I've turned into? What's to love? Why would you have such foolish feelings?”

 

Kagome's eyes began to swim with tears. “Sesshoumaru, please.”

 

“Crap. Kagome, you have to hide. I'll buy you an hour to convince this mangy mutt that he'd best leave with us.” Kouga looked around the dingy room and grabbed the tattered ruins of a blanket in the far corner and tossed it to her. “It will have to do. If he's not ready to go when I return we will have to leave him.”

 

“Go with him, Kagome.” Sesshoumaru averted his eyes and refused to look at her. He didn't want to see her walk away from him. The door closed and he was once again alone with his fate.

 

“I care for you too much to ask you to stay,” he said quietly to himself.

 

“Obviously,” Kagome said with a snort. He looked up abruptly to see her shaking out the dirty blanket. “This thing should be burned.” She brought it back to the corner Kouga had gathered it from and hid under it.

 

Renkotsu opened the door and peered into Sesshoumaru's prison. “Why'd they stop here? Stupid wolf. I'll hunt him down and use him for a floor mat.” He then turned away and continued back down the hall without stepping foot into the room.

 

After the sound of his footsteps faded Kagome tossed aside the blanket. “You really won't come? No matter what I say?”

 

Sesshoumaru looked at her sadly but didn't answer.

 

“Then, I have something I want to ask of you.”

 

“The life of this Sesshoumaru is not enough?”

 

“I want to be with you, even if it's just for this next hour.”

 

He narrowed his eyes. “Be with meaning to be in my presence? You're already doing this without my permission.”

 

“No. As in being with you as a part of you. As in the two of us forming one.” She looked down at her feet. “Like that Othello play—the two-backed beast,” she mumbled.

 

“Oh.” He puzzled over who Othello might be and the two-backed beast reference. And then his eyes grew wide as he realized what she was referring to. Could she be serious? Looking back up at her and taking in her flaming red checks he knew she was serious. He was already damned, but he'd be double damned if he did something that might cause her to suffer. “Won't that negate your priestess powers?”

 

She looked up with an annoyed expression. “No. Why would you think such a ridiculous thing?”

 

“Because priestesses don't marry.”

 

“I may have the reincarnated soul of a priestess, but I'm Kagome Higurashi a regular time-traveling high school student who happens to be in love with the former demon lord of the Western Lands and a current self-sacrificing noble fool.”

 

Sesshoumaru looked down at his chains and rattled his legs a bit to show how well confined he was to the chair. “I suppose if you're in to bondage we might be able to figure something out.” His eyes met hers and he was pleasantly surprised to see a small smile dance across her lips.

 

She moved close to him. “I'm sure we can figure something out.”