InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love's Smirking Revenge ❯ The Hornet's Nest ( Chapter 36 )

Love's Smirking Revenge

- Chapter Thirty-Seven -

The Hornet's Nest

The air inside the club was heavy, filled with hushed tones and the fragrant scent of cigar smoke. A solemn game of cards was unfolding at one of the corner tables, gamblers doing what they do best. Behind him, a group of three newly minted members of Inagawa-kai were sizing him up. He listened to the anxious energy of their whispered conversation as they weighed their options, daring each other to approach him first. He dismissed them without another thought and turned his attention to the glass of whiskey in his hands.

Tonight he'd walked into the centre of the hornet's nest in search of answers. He'd found them, or something close to them. It was in their eyes, in the way they'd coolly followed him as he'd walked through the door and to the bar. The power he'd once held over them was gone. Some still feared him, rumours of his callousness making them shake in their pointed-toed leather boots at the thought of approaching him, but the rest… In their eyes he was already defeated.

He'd spent the last quarter of an hour contemplating exactly how he felt about that particular revelation. A year ago he would have done whatever was necessary to restore his hold over them. He'd never shied away from killing before, particularly when it was apt to make a point. But things had changed since then.

There was a saying he'd heard once before - “The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.” They echoed through his thoughts as he twirled his glass of whiskey between his palms. It was because of her that he understood the truth behind them. This bar, its patrons, Inagawa-kai, and the politics of it all, were no longer of any consequence to him. Even the woman slinking towards him, smiling like the cat that ate the canary, could evoke little more than passing interest. Tonight, he felt nothing.

“Hello Sesshomaru,” Kagura purred, sliding onto the stool next to him. She crossed one leg over the other and rested her cheek against her hand. “What brings you into the lion's den? A death wish perhaps?”

There was a teasing lilt to her tone, but he knew a threat when he heard one. Kagura had never learned to master the art of subtlety. Tonight, her arrogance had worked to his advantage and led him here. It hadn't taken long to put the pieces together.

When she realized that he was ignoring her, she exhaled an impatient sigh and leaned back against the bar. “And I was going to tell you a secret, too,” she lamented with a sly glance in his direction.

“I'm not interested in your games, Kagura.”

She studied him in silence for a long moment before her lips twisted into a cruel smile. “That girl, what is she to you?”

He finished what remained of his drink and pushed the empty glass towards the end of the bar. He had no reason to stay. With a single look he'd found his answer. Kagura would be dealt with in due time. Beyond that, he had little interest in hearing anything else she had to say.

He stood to leave and her eyes followed him as he slipped his jacket over his shoulders. Her hand retrieved a small GPS unit from her purse and she laid it conspicuously atop the bar. He glanced at it briefly, lifted a bemused brow, and turned for the door.

“If you hurry, Sesshomaru, you might just make it in time.”

When his steps paused, she added darkly, “She really is such a stupid creature, that girl of yours. It took no effort at all to lure her out. I thought you of all people would have chosen better.”

He glanced back over his shoulder in time to catch her smug look as she held out the GPS device to him. He made no move to take it and watched with satisfaction as the expectation fell from her features.

“ You've wasted your time,” he stated without feeling.

“Liar,” she challenged with a scowl.

He let the insult slide and departed without turning back. Beyond the door, the cool night air enveloped him and he welcomed its chilled embrace.

xXx

Kagome was five blocks from VOSS and headed for her second subway transfer when she finally felt safe enough to pull out her phone. She looked up Inuyasha's new cell phone number in her directory and called it.

It had taken weeks of subtle hints and then finally her showing up with the box and forcing it on him before he accepted that cell phones were a useful and practical way to get through life.

“I don't like people being able to find me whenever they damn well feel like it,” he'd groused, eyeing the box like it was full of tax returns.

“What if I need to find you?” she'd pouted, nudging it closer. She could see him waver before finally accepting that he would prefer a way to get in touch with her in the event that an emergency arose.

“I hate talking on the phone,” he'd muttered, prying open the lid.

She'd smiled at him sympathetically and programmed her number into his directory.

“Don't worry. I'll only use it for emergencies.”

That seemed to appease him somewhat and he tucked the phone into his back pocket before pulling her onto his lap for a quick kiss.

The phone rang twice before he picked it up. She could hear him fumble with it, muttering curses under his breath before putting it up to his ear.

“What is it? What's wrong?”

“Everything's fine,” she promised to the sound of his audible sigh of relief. “I have some information that might interest you.”

He grunted in response and she could hear the audible rush of cars passing by his at rapid speeds.

“The man who took Rin, his name is Sesshomaru Kobayashi. Ring any bells?”

There was a drawn out moment of silence on the other end of the line, long enough that she called his name just to be certain the line hadn't gone dead.

“You're sure?” he said finally, sounding eerily calm.

“I'm sure. What is it? Who is this guy?”

“Stay out of trouble `til I get back.”

“Wait, what-“

Her protest was cut off by the intermittent dial tone and she pulled the phone away from her ear with a frustrated `tch'.

It wasn't like him to be so calm. Dread slowly filled her stomach as she slipped her phone back into her purse. The terror in Furukawa-san's eyes when he'd finally confessed the name of Rin's benefactor had been unmistakable. She'd seen that look before. It was in the hushed tones of those who spoke of Oniguomo when they thought she wasn't listening. At the time she'd allowed herself to be wilfully ignorant, imagining that the adoration showered upon him was well earned and genuine.

She hadn't understood at first that what she saw as adoration was truly fear. They all knew what he was capable of. The hard truth about Oniguiomo had been a difficult lesson for her, and one she almost hadn't learned until it was too late. Was it too late for Rin?

Fear curled tight in her chest and she braced her hand against the tiled subway wall for support. Inuyasha was heading out alone to confront Kobayashi-san. He was putting his life in danger to find out what'd happened to Rin, simply because she'd asked him to.

“What've I done?” she breathed, her voice shaking.

Pulling her phone back out of her purse, she hurriedly re-dialled Inuyasha's number. The operator promptly announced that the user she was calling was unavailable. Struggling to breathe, she closed the phone and felt her knees go weak. When the subway pulled in to the station, she managed to stumble aboard. The doors closed behind her with a hiss and the train jerked into motion, propelling her forward through the darkness.

Her hand held tight to the rail to keep her from falling while every other fibre of her being concentrated on the man she'd sent out to war with nothing but a kiss and a loaded gun.

Please… Please…

xXx

Rin opened her eyes with the touch of the soft, cool earth against her cheek. She blinked and listened to the sound of soft scraping, somewhere not too far off. It was difficult to concentrate on much of anything beyond the throbbing ache inside her skull. She tried to stretch her limbs but they had been bound tight - her feet at the ankles and her hands behind her back. She'd been gagged as well, she noticed, and fought down a wave of panic.

Shuffling her body along the dirt, she managed to get enough leverage to push herself into a sitting position. Behind her was the car and she leaned her throbbing head against its cool metal bumper. She'd gotten herself into one hell of a mess. Her gut had told her not to trust them, but she'd gone and done exactly that - blindly, foolishly, following along because she was so desperate to see her brother again that nothing else mattered. Not logic, nor reason, nor the fact that she'd just destroyed whatever trust Sesshomaru had in her. It didn't get much worse than that.

When the scraping stopped, Rin turned her head and searched the darkness around her. Wherever they were, it was quiet. There was no one else around and but for the odd cricket in the grass she heard nothing that could tell where he'd taken her.

The scrape of his boots against the rough earth drew closer and suddenly he was standing in front of her, shovel in hand. She glanced between the tool and the man, trying to piece it all together. Realization hit as he slammed the blade into the earth to keep it upright.

She could see it now, just beyond the edge of the road - a deep depression in the dirt. Her eyes fixed on it as the blood rushed in her ears. He'd been digging a hole - a grave, to be more precise. It was by sheer force of will and the knowledge that she would suffocate that she didn't vomit right then.

Perhaps taking some pity on her, the man untied the gag around her mouth and she pulled in several shaky breaths of cool air.

“Why?”

It was the first question that slipped from her lips and it seemed the most important at the moment. There were so many `why's running through her head, and she didn't have a single answer to any of them.

Sighing heavily, her captor took a seat next to her in the dirt and rested an arm casually across his knee.

“Can't say for sure,” he replied with a shrug. “It's nothing personal. Well it is personal, but it's got nothing to do with me.”

“Then why-?”

His features softened with a touch of humour as he glanced over at her. “Why am I doing this? Why are you here? You know, I was just asking myself those same questions.”

The conversation dissipated into a thoughtful silence as the night crept in on them. Had the circumstances been different, she might have been able to appreciate the beauty of it. Above their heads the moon was full and bright in the sky, making flashlights unnecessary. And this far away from the city the silence was calming, or rather, it would have been were she not facing imminent demise.

The image of her body slowly decomposing in that hole, forever alone and forgotten, sent a chill shivering across her skin.

“You know…” she began haltingly, “We could both just go home and forget this ever happened…No one would ever have to know.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“See? That's your problem. You keep hoping things will be different and that people are really good on the inside. Where has it gotten you?”

His gaze met hers and he held it until she looked away.

“I'd rather live with hope than walk around thinking everyone is like you,” she answered bitterly.

He seemed to agree with her assessment and sat in silence for a while until she asked, “Who asked you to do this?”

“Someone you've never met,” he promised. “To them, you're nothing more than collateral. This is about punishing him.”

“Him?”

“Come now, we both know you're smarter than that,” he chastised with a sidelong glance.

Even now, knowing where it'd gotten her, she didn't regret meeting him. She could never regret it. What she regretted was being foolish enough to believe she was invincible, and for being naïve enough to think that she knew better when the truth was she knew nothing about how his world operated. She was learning fast though, practically at light speed, but it was too little too late.

“So what's it going to be? Strangulation? Gun shot? A good old fashioned beating?”

She was trying to make light of her predicament, but listing off all the ways she could possibly die suddenly brought the reality home for her. Swallowing down the bile that rose in her throat, she couldn't help but glance once more over her shoulder at the grave.

“Well, I think it's only fair that you get to pick. Though if I could offer a recommendation? Go for the gun. It's instant, painless and a whole lot less personal.”

“Thanks for the tip,” she muttered under her breath. “So what's in it for you? Do get off on killing innocent people?”

He laughed out loud and sat back against the trunk of his car.

“The people I kill are rarely innocent. You're a special case.”

“I'm honoured,” she replied sarcastically.

She went quiet after that, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of all the things she would never have the chance to do. She still had so many dreams. After high school she'd thought to herself that there would be time to do it all and now here she was, facing death and realizing that in the end she'd accomplished nothing. It felt like such a waste.

“Time to go,” her captor announced, suddenly hoisting her up with his hands beneath her arms. Once she was on her feet, he cut the ties that bound her legs and retrieved a gun from the waistband of his pants.

Her eyes came to rest on the glock and the rest of the world faded away. She no longer felt the cold of the night or the whisper of the wind against her cheek. Even the pain in her bound arms subsided. In her world all that existed was that gun and it left her paralyzed, unable to move or breathe.

Eventually a rough hand slipped around her arm and pushed her forward. Her feet stumbled, unwilling to cooperate and the grip around her arm tightened to keep her upright. Tears blurred her vision until the ground disappeared and she was walking blindly forward to her final destination.

The journey seemed to take forever, but it couldn't have been more than 20 or 30 paces before he stopped and forced her to her knees. She was thankful for the tears that prevented her from seeing the dark pit in front of her. She couldn't bear to see it and know that she would forever be inside of it.

Each breath she took echoed through her, its rise and fall making her aware that it could be her last. She didn't want it to be. She'd never imagined it would come to this. What she wouldn't give to have her old, boring life back; to have one more chance at normalcy. She'd forget about her brother and this world she'd been shown a glimpse of. She'd even forget about him…

“Enough.”

Her breath faltered at the sharp command and she went completely still. There was no mistaking that voice. Behind her, her captor took a step backwards, his boots scuffing the dirt. She dared to look up and through her tears she watched Sesshomaru calmly emerge from the shadows. He came to a stop a dozen paces away, with one hand resting casually in his pocket. His sharp, golden eyes took in the scene before him, flicking coolly from her, to her captor, and finally to the hole she was kneeling next to.

“I was wondering when you'd show up,” said the voice behind her, sounding smug. Sesshomaru's gaze reluctantly pulled away and lifted to meet her captor's.

“Now we can finally get started.”

Author's Note: I hadn't intended to end this chapter on a cliffhanger, especially after such a lengthy break, but it was really just way too long to keep all in one piece. I hope you don't mind waiting for the second part of the climax. All will be revealed next chapter so please hold tight! This is really a pivotal part of the story so I wanted to do it right. You guys don't deserve any less.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so wonderfully through this writing process. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Until next time,

Langus