InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Meant To Be ❯ A Woman's Work Is Never Done ( Chapter 25 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: Okay I don't usually like saying to much at the beginning of the chapter but all of you know about my inability to do actions so of course it. This chapter might be a little anticlimactic but on the plus side I got really happy in the middle of writing it so, in my opinion, the chapter flows better as it goes along.

However there are a few things said in this chapter than may me want to up the rating on it but I know for a fact that all teens have heard worse so I am letting it stay as it is. But if someone thinks I need to up it then feel free to say so.

I still might come back and make a few changes to this chapter. So if I make any extreme changes I will tell you to read it over in the next chapter.

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Chapter 24

Sesshomaru held in a sigh as InuYasha ran back into the safe room for the third time. Once they stopped fighting long enough to realize that the girls were gone InuYasha had launched into varied stages of panic. Not only had he ran from the room yelling out to them but he rushed back in to demand that Sesshomaru sniff them out.

The younger brother was wearily reminded by his sibling that the passages were designed to stifle most smells and the fainter the scent that less chance there was to catch it. Things got worst when Naraku felt the need to add his own remarks between his gasping breaths.

“If Kanna finds them first…the most sensible thing for her to do is clear.” He took a shallow breath. “Torture them to get the information she wants then kill them both. Although she MAY keep Sango alive…for a little bit longer.”

This had set the InuYasha off worst than before. Since the King had made it very clear that he could not finish off the traitor he used the rage to go out looking for them again. Not much good came from his efforts since he was still human and therefore was limited to the amount of searching he could do.

“Sess why are you still standing there! We have to find them.”

“InuYasha…”

“Who knows where they are! Why did they run off anyway?”

“InuYasha-”

“We need to make a plan now! I can't wait until morning!”

He had hoped that the fruitless searches that he allowed his brother to conduct would do something to calm him down. However the futile endeavors seemed to only worsen things. Not only was InuYasha giving him a head ache but he had made him repeat himself.

Sesshomaru grabbed the hanyou.

“Little brother.”

“What!”

“See you at sunrise.”

InuYasha frowned. The sentence was just starting to sink in as he realized the room was going black.

After his brother sank to the floor he released the pressure point he had been holding. Now that the annoying frantic yelling's had ceased he could think properly. The most ideal place that the princess had run off to was to get medical supplies for Miroku. But since she did not know how to navigate the pathways she would have to venture out into the castle to get to the healing room. Which is probably why she took that girl with her. The lady in waiting had been in that room as much as, and possibly more than, she was in InuYasha's room.

Yes, that was the most logical place to start. Maybe he could get go there and be able to track them down.

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She could do this. She could do this. Sango was giving herself one last pep talk.

The plan was simple enough. Kagome would talk to Kanna while she fought off Kikyo long enough so that she would be unable to aid her mistress. They had already distracted most of the guards by setting off an explosion. She was going to make Kagome give her full details on how exactly she came upon that knowledge. She had just mumbled something about InuYasha and Miroku being hellions in their younger days. It had taken her friend three tries but in the end the blast, in her opinion, had seemed to rock the entire palace. Sesshomaru would be more than pissed when he realized he was going to have to redo the entire kitchen.

She just knew they were going to get caught. But as it turned out some Kami had been watching over them, graciously guiding their footsteps to avoid danger and make it back to the corridor leading to the throne room that was now empty except for the “queen” and “bodyguard”.

They both approached the throne as if they were they were invited to a ball rather than staging an attack. Sango continued walking up to the pair long after Kagome stopped. She had to make them focus of her otherwise Kagome didn't stand a chance of getting close.

“How odd. I had assumed that the inu demon would strike himself or wait until he had the assistance of the hanyou. Instead the both of you have come. Perhaps he was more desperate that I anticipated.”

The princess held her head high. Well as high as one could while wearing indecent rags. She and Kagome had switched clothes again. Sango was not willing to shred the dress that once belonged to her mother to make it battle ready. Not only was Kagome's dress easier to cut up but there were less modifications to be made.

The sleeves had been ripped off so that her hair could be properly tied back. Slits had been torn in the dress so that she could freely move but the long strips still got in the way so they were cut to a scandalous height on her thighs. The corset and undressing had been ditched but a discarded strip was used to bind her chest in place. The last of the cloth was wrapped around her arms and legs to act as shin and arm guards. Her feet remained bare except the parts around the ankle and the inseam of her foot that served to help anchor the “shin guards”. For the conditions, it was workable battle attire that allowed her maximum movement.

Still didn't mean she FELT comfortable.

“Does is matter whom was sent? Just know that I intend to make you feel the internal pain your schemes have thrust on me.”

That was all she said before rushing head on at the pale girl.

“How bothersome. Kikyo deal with this.”

The soulless archer used her bow to brace herself against staff. Then willed the rest of the woman's momentum to push her off to the side. Sango let go of her staff so that she could curl enough to land unharmed against the floor.

By the time she looked up Kikyo had notched her arrow and was aiming for Kagome. Going with her first instinct she ran forward to body slam Kikyo into the ground. The arrow was prematurely release and missed its target. Thankfully the quiver became empty as both girls tussled on the floor.

When the puppet dislodged her she was certain she heard a voice screaming in her head.

“What the hell are you doing! Get your weapon!”

By the time she secured the staff Kikyo had also secured her bow.

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Kanna blinked at Kagome from her perch. “Why are you even here? I do not see the purpose of your presence.”

“I can't harm you so why are you trying to figure out something that is an obvious was of energy? I have no fighting skills at all, you said so yourself.”

“True this is a waste of my efforts but I would like to know the angle that is being played here.”

“Angle?” Kagome tried to keep her voice innocently stun. “There is no angle. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask me something?”

“Yes. Naraku told us about you. I know saying that I feel sorry for you will have no meaning to you but I would like to know if it is true.”

“If what is true?”

“You know about what happened to your mom and then the stuff you went through with your dad.”

Her whispery tone was even as she uttered the response. “Yes. He knows fairly what happened. Why?”

Kagome walked closer until she was a few feet away. “My parents were killed when I was younger but I wouldn't be able to imagine what that must have been like. Having people ransack your village. Seeing them streak from house to house knowing your turn would be soon. You were lucky your mom made you hide. Though I suppose she would have been a shoddy mother if she had let you stay with her. Just think of the things that she would have let them do to her just to save you.”

She paused a moment to see if anything she was say had cracked her stony mask. Nothing. `Okay time to probe deeper.'

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Sango dug in her heels as Kikyo attempted to push her off balance. She didn't want to hurt the servant. True her mind was being controlled but knowing that she was not doing this of her own will was more than enough to not make her fight at full strength.

The pair broke apart and began circling each other once again.

“Come on Sango, I know you can do better than that.”

There was that voice in her head again. Was it normal to hear things like this when in a real battle? It almost sounded like…

“You aren't even trying to disguise your moves! Didn't you learn anything?”

Her heart constricted as she placed the voice. Why was she hearing Miroku in her head? Was it her imagination? Or was he…dead? Did his soul come to help her as its last farewell? Guilt flooded her being, as well as the righteous fury she had bottled up at the beginning of this master plan. She had failed to save him. All that time she had wasted with her indecision, he had left this world not knowing how she really felt.

“Guilt later, anger now!”

Anger?

“You always had more fire to your fist when you were mad.”

That was true. Or at least that was what he always told her. She never liked the idea but right now it seemed to be her only option. As of right now Kikyo was giving her a rather good thrashing. More than a few places on her body were shifting between screaming pain and loud throbbing. She had to stop seeing her as a person she knew. This was an opponent.

There was no pretending this time. She had actual abhorrence to project. Memories surfaced of him being skewered before her. Remembering how his liquid life felt on her fingers as she applied pressure to his wound. Then the memories that hurt the most hit her. The ones that tore at her heart. When she believed that she was being used as Yura had, the hateful words he had said about her in the kitchen, or worse when she heard the whispering of Koharu and Miroku as they entered his room.

Without her permission, her throat erupted with a sound she presumed was a war cry as her body began moving of it's own accord. There were no second thoughts of not hurting the woman across from her. There was only unbridled hate.

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She watched as the girl's vice-like grip on the mirror caused her hands to shift from pale white to a dull dead ash. Kanna's head was bowed so she could not see the look in her eyes.

She needed more. What else could she say? She had pulled out all the stops when she chatted away about how it must have felt to have her father's body against hers.

Even Kagome had to push back the sick feeling when she had insisted that the rest of the village must have been jealous of the way her father had caused her to scream out. She inquired if the other women asked her for tips. She had also stooped to comparing how vocal she would have been in contrast to her mother when she was taken by the bandits.

Kami forgive her for what she was about to say next…

“I wonder which one of you was more excited. Your mom would have had to be pretty wet to take all of them right after the other like that so it was probably her. But I'm sure your dad taught you all the tricks your mom knew. I mean how loving was that? He made sure that you would be a prize for any man. Can you give me a few pointers? Come on you can tell me. I just know all the guys were fighting for your hand when they found out your dad was training you.” Kagome took a few steps closer and put her hand to her mouth as is sharing a secret. “Just between us girls, did you wish those thieves had taken you too? I mean your mom would have been able to coach you! She would have been able to show you how to really please those men. Probably told you to hide so she could have them all to herself.”

When Kagome looked up at the ceiling to tap her chin thoughtfully she missed the tear that ran down the child's face.

“Now that I think about it might have been better this way. Having a guy teach you I mean. There is no real guess work. Guys tend to like the same things. They are all-”

“Monsters!”

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The sudden shout divided the archer's attention. The fight with this royal was no longer top priority. She attempted to scamper to her master's aid but was stopped when the blow to her back caused her to stumble.

Sango placed herself between Kikyo and the throne. How dare her prey think it could escape her wrath!

“You and I have unfinished business. The only reason either of us goes over there is if the other isn't moving.”

Rage ripped through newly born warrior princess as she launched herself once again but this time when the two clashed a loud crack splintered the air.

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The lady in waiting was slightly startled. She was looking for tears or a break down. After the outburst she had erupted into a ranting speech. Maybe she had learned this from Naraku?

The voice was once again mono-tone but that seemed to be the only effect the mirror still had on the girl. Her actions were anything but calm. The way she kept pacing back and forth while wildly waving the mirror with one hand was worrying the dark haired servant.

“All men are monsters. They care for no one but themselves. Those “people” as you kept calling them were worse than scum. And the one person that should have protected and comforted me forsake me to be nothing more than a live in whore. Then who should come to my rescue, another man. Except this one pretended to be nice. But like all men he wanted something too. Well it has shown me that I need to help purge the world of these kinds of men. I will make sure that in the utopia that I create no one has to worry about the hells that I went through. I was nothing more than a tool to be used again and again.” She paused for air.

This was her chance. Kagome reached out and grabbed the mirror. Slightly startled, Kanna tightened her grasp on the mirror. A brief tug-of-war took place until Kagome used her foot to ruthlessly kick the girl causing her to lose her hold. In the back of her mind the Mayan maiden wondered why she was having this feeling of déjà vu as she began to stagger backwards.

With both parties dislodged the silvery object popped into the air and made a grand arc before its downward descent.

Like in all disasters, the mirror fell in slow motion. If there was ever a moment in Kagome's life that she wish to have a non-clumsy moment this was it. She dived at what she estimated to be the landing point. She felt success as the mirror hit her fingers. However that was instantly crushed and replaced with horror as it bounced off her fingers and along the floor.

Good reflexes were the only thing that kept her from seeing what she heard. The innocent clinking followed by the musical twinkle of the crystal showering the floor, when the sounds stopped tear laced eyes surveyed the damage. Of all the times to screw up this was not it. How were they going to get everyone back to normal?

A stream of ghostly globes poured out of the shattered remains.

`What are those?'

Countless floating balls filled the air then the translucent sea disburse, each seeming to follow their own secret path. When one of the balls streaked into Kikyo, Kagome had a pretty good idea what they were. Unfortunately, Sango was still switch in battle mode and did not notice the change.

She had her foot pressed on Kikyo's chest with piece of the broken bow in her hands. Kagome felt her heart lurch as her friend readied what appeared to be a killing blow.

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InuYasha groaned as he stretched. While popping a few joints he tried to remember why exactly he had taken a nap in the middle of a crisis. At least everything sounded and smelt like it was supposed to. Why in the world was he just now waking up? He must have been out for a few hours because it was obviously the next day.

Naraku chuckled.

`Looks like someone healed enough to feel better.' He thought grimly.

The ex-general glared at him. “You would wake up before I get enough energy to break out of here. And to think I called Sesshomaru a fool to leave me alone with three puny humans, two of them on their backs.”

InuYasha frowned. Leave? Oh yes, his asshole brother had put the pinch on him. The only thing that would save Sess from an immediate ass kicking was if he brought Kagome back so he could punish her for running off to Kami knows where. That girl going to get herself killed one of these days. How many times had she put herself in the mist of danger that wasn't even directed at her? It was always to save someone else! And now she was off some where without his protection.

He went to check on Miroku while making sure he never turned his back on Naraku. He grimaced. The bleeding was no longer life threatening but his breathing was still shallow. The hanyou tossed the bloody cloth that was sloppily wrapped last night. He ripped a few strips from his own robes to dress the injury. There was nothing anyone could do to help him now. His recovery would solely depend on his own will to live.

After a few hours InuYasha just knew he would go insane. He couldn't do anything to help his best friend, leaving Naraku unguarded was not an option, and the Bitch's little servant thing had to be two steps away from a mute because all his efforts to engage in some kind of conversation were no good.

When he first caught the sound of soft foot steps he just knew it was his imagination.

“Nice to see you have calmed down, little brother.”

The bastard of blue bloods walked in the room only to breeze past the said brother to the traitor that became his main focus.

“Sess I'm gonna-”

The rest of the sentence left him as well as the air in his lungs when Kagome hit him full force, entrapping him in a suffocating hug.

Sango nervously walked in. Half scared of what she would find but unwilling to be left not knowing. Kneeling beside her prince she could easily see that he was still in the land of the living. True he wasn't awake yet but the ecstasy she felt knowing that the voice in her head had just been his teachings rather than his actual spirit could not be expressed no matter what words were used.

She lay down next to Miroku placing her head on his good shoulder. He was alive. Which was really good for another reason. It was his stupidity that had caused her to almost kill someone. Her first real fight and she lost herself in blood lust. She knew getting angry was a bad idea. If something inside her had not reminded her that she wasn't supposed to kill her friend then there would have been two dead bodies for Sesshomaru to find.

Kagome had thrown her body across Kikyo's and yelled to her not to kill the poor woman. That she was back to normal, no longer being controlled. It was the only thing that had saved both their lives.

Thankfully Sesshomaru had shown up shortly after that. He had taken command of the situation. Kanna had been taken to the dungeon. Kikyo was resting in her room. He sent a small group of soldiers to clear out the debris in the kitchen. Then he briskly told the both of them to follow so that he could tie up a few loose ends. Sango had over heard him saying something to Kagome about keeping InuYasha busy so he didn't give him a head ache.

“Sango,” She opened her eyes to acknowledge the speaker who turned out to be Kagome. “Come on. You need to clean up and Miroku needs proper care before we can put him in his room.”

She wanted to stay with Miroku but a hot bath for her aching muscles did sound heavenly.

“Okay. But I'm not sure I can get back up.”

The couple helped her get on her feet. A small moment of humor was had when the inu poked his friend.

Pretending to whisper, “Hey, Miroku wake up. Your woman is right next to you wearing practically nothing.” Of course he did not respond. He shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

They all laughed. It would have been something if he had sprung awake. Both girls dragged out of the room after InuYasha, who was carrying the unconscious prince.

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A/N: Okay I'll admit yes the girls do have weak moments but they saved they day. So that means everyone can stop going on about how "fragile" I make them act right?

*reframes from jumping in excitement* Okay now that all that hard stuff is out of way I can get to the two chapters I have been itching to write for over a year now. Sadly they will be the last two chapters of this story but I'm sure you guys are ready for it to end anyway.

*pats stack of papers beside her* Though I have mostly written these scenes I still have to put them on the computer. *sighs* I suck at typing and when it's not straight from my head…well let's just say I am a slow copier. And while I'm thinking about it, I was going to post all the scenes I had cut and the alternate scenes because I had them saved. However since they were on the jump drive that was lost some where at the hotel *mutters many vile curses* I don't have them. But if people ask me to I can recreate most, if not all, of them. I only hesitate because that “chapter” would basically be a “director's segment” like on the DVDs and people tend to skip the why's and how's of the story because it can be…well boring to some. So IF you guys want it then I'll do it but if you don't then they shall stay the secret segments of the fan fiction editing files.