InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shocking New Love ❯ Sesshomaru's Decision ( Chapter 16 )

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

Far to the northeast, Naraku was in the basement of his castle, smirking evilly. He had taken Kagome's corpse to his residence for a reason. Kagome's body was lying in the middle of the floor, her clothes stained with blood. Naraku walked over to Kagome and knelt down beside her, taking a firm hold of the arrow. The spiritual energy surrounding it burned his hand, but he paid no heed to it and ripped the arrow out of Kagome's chest. He threw it aside and looked up at Kagura who was now standing beside him.

“Kagura.”

“What?” Naraku smirked and stood up, closing his eyes and walking towards the door.

“I want you to take control of the girl's body. Once she is awake, chain her up in the main hall where anyone who walks into the castle can see her,” he instructed calmly. Kagura's eyes widened a bit.

“What?”

“Just do it,” ordered Naraku coldly, walking out of the room. Kagura watched him leave then looked down at the dead priestess. She smirked and held her fan out in front of her.

“Dance of the dead,” she said calmly, opening her fan towards Kagome. For a few moments nothing happened. After a minute or so, Kagome's eyes opened. They didn't have the spark of life in them; they were cold and empty looking. She sat up. Kagura smirked.

“Hear my words, priestess. Whatever Naraku does or tells you to do, obey or react in some way. Understand?” asked Kagura, holding her opened fan up towards Kagome. Kagome nodded. Kagura turned towards the door, looking at Kagome over her shoulder.

“Come, follow me,” she said, walking towards the door. Kagome picked up her bow and quiver of arrows. She silently followed Kagura out to the main hall of the castle.

Sesshomaru stopped running when he reached a small river. He sniffed the air, trying to locate Naraku's scent again. When he found it, he started off again, hair streaming out behind him. He wasn't only filled with anger for Naraku and his incarnations; he was filled with a large amount of grief for Kagome. He remembered what he had said to her after he had rescued her from Kagura and Naraku's demon spirits in the clearing: `I will never let anything happen to you… I promise…' Then he remembered when Kagome had bandaged the wound he had gotten from Kagura. He had promised to protect her in the past and he had broken that promise.

“She helped me… And how do I repay her? I fail in my duties to protect her and allowed her to get killed by that bastard Naraku… Dammit!” cursed Sesshomaru softly. He believed that it was his fault that Kagome perished, and with each step he took, he felt as though his heart was going to break. He stopped running for a moment, looking at the ground, his hands clenched into fists.

“How could I have been so foolish…? I should've never let her go into that forest alone… If I had gone with her, I would've been there to stop this whole thing from happening…” he whispered to himself. He growled and punched a nearby tree with so much force that it caused most of the leaves to fall off of its many branches. Then Sesshomaru heard a voice that he wasn't expecting to hear.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” cried a voice he recognized to be Rin's.

Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at the girl and the imp on Ah-Un's back.

Rin and Jaken saw the anger in Sesshomaru's eyes and frowned. Rin hopped off of Ah-Un's back and walked over to Sesshomaru, looking up at him.

“Lord Sesshomaru, what's wrong? Why do you look so angry?” she asked softly. Sesshomaru sighed, looking at the ground.

“Kagome… She's dead…” he said quietly. Rin gasped, putting her hand over her mouth in shock. Sesshomaru could smell the little girl's tears and sighed, looking up through the leaves of the forest.

A miserable expression appeared on Jaken's face. He hadn't seen Sesshomaru this upset before. And when Sesshomaru was miserable, he was miserable.

“Who or what killed her, m'lord?” he asked. A low growl escaped Sesshomaru's throat, his hands clenched so tightly that his claws bit into his palms, making them bleed.

“Naraku and his incarnations killed her. Kanna sent Kagome's arrow right back at her. It killed her almost instantly…” he said angrily, eyes narrowing.

“Naraku…” croaked Jaken angrily, gripping the Staff of Two Heads tightly. Sesshomaru looked down at Rin and saw her crying nonstop. Tears streamed down the little girl's cheeks, making little wet spots on the dirt as they fell.

“Kagome is… dead?” she squeaked tearfully. Sesshomaru's expression softened a bit and he nodded slightly. Rin grabbed hold of the fabric of Sesshomaru's kimono and buried her face in the silky fabric, sobbing uncontrollably. Sesshomaru felt really guilty now. He looked at the ground and closed his eyes, his grief overcoming him.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha and company found Sesshomaru, Jaken, Rin, and Ah-Un standing on the bank of a rapidly flowing river. Inuyasha stopped running, a little surprised that Sesshomaru wasn't running to Kagome's rescue. This also angered him a bit. He crossed his arms, glaring at his brother.

“So, you don't care if Kagome stays dead, huh Sesshomaru?” he mocked. Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at Inuyasha. Shippo gasped softly when he saw no anger in the demon's eyes. Instead, he saw sadness. Apparently, Sango and Miroku noticed too. Sesshomaru turned his attention back to the river, looking deep into its depths.

“Inuyasha.”

“What?” snapped Inuyasha.

“Do not say I don't care for Kagome's life,” stated Sesshomaru.

“Well if you care for her as much as I think you do, go bring her back!” Sesshomaru turned slightly, staring at Inuyasha.

“What are you talking about, Inuyasha?” Sango got off of Kirara's back, gazing pleadingly at Sesshomaru.

“Sesshomaru, you can use the Tenseiga to revive Kagome,” she said. Sesshomaru turned his gaze to the demon slayer, his eyes widening a bit.

“I-“

“Please, Sesshomaru! Please bring Kagome back! You have the power to do so, so please use it!” begged Sango, her eyes watery with tears. Sesshomaru and Sango gazed at each other for a few moments, then he smiled slightly, nodding his head once.

“Very well, demon slayer. But there is one thing you should know first,” he said.

“And what would that be?” asked Sango. Inuyasha growled.

“We don't have time for this! We have to go find Kagome!” he snarled. Miroku held up his hand, silencing the half demon.

“Well, after I rescued Kagome from Kagura and Naraku's demon spirits that first time in that clearing, I promised Kagome that I would never let anything happen to her,” explained Sesshomaru. This made Inuyasha's blood boil.

“YOU PROMISED TO KEEP HER SAFE AND THEN YOU LET NARAKU KILL HER?” he shouted. Sesshomaru glared at him.

“Silence, Inuyasha! Let me finish,” he demanded. Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. “As I was saying, I promised to protect her, no matter what the cost. But then, after Kagome bandaged up the wound that Kagura inflicted on me, she said she wanted to go for a walk. I offered to come with her, but she refused to let me accompany her. So I let her go alone…” finished Sesshomaru. Miroku's eyes narrowed a bit.

“So, what you're saying is that-“

“Yes. I suppose that it is my fault that Kagome perished. If I had remembered my solid promise to her and followed her against her wishes, she may still be alive and well,” said Sesshomaru. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed dangerously. He cracked his knuckles glaring at Sesshomaru.

“So YOU'RE the one to be blaming here!” he alleged furiously. He lunged at Sesshomaru with his claws, ready to fight. Sesshomaru leapt into the air out of the way and landed behind Inuyasha. Inuyasha whipped around and pulled out the Tetsusaiga, pointing its blade at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru didn't move, but merely stood still, looking at Inuyasha angrily. Miroku rolled his eyes and stepped toward the two brothers. Sango held out her hand, looking at Miroku worriedly. He's gonna end up getting himself killed if they lunge at each other and he gets in the way, she thought worriedly. Miroku stood between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha holding his hands out in front of both of them. Inuyasha growled at Miroku.

“Outta the way, Miroku! I'm gonna slice him to pieces whether you like it or not!” he snarled. Miroku glanced warningly at Inuyasha.

“Inuyasha, don't be rash. It wasn't Sesshomaru who killed her, was it?”

“Well, no, but-“

“No buts Inuyasha. Put your sword away,” demanded Miroku. Inuyasha nodded and hesistantly put the Tetsusaiga back into its sheath.

“Fine. Well then lets go.” With that, Inuyasha leapt over the river and kept following Naraku's foul scent. Sesshomaru and the others followed. Rin and Jaken got onto Ah-Un's back and the dragon took to the air, following its demonic master.