InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sight Unseen ❯ The Element of Surprise ( Chapter 31 )

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

Sorry for the long hiatus from writing! My creativity has been sapped as of late by work and school work, and I hardly turn my computer on. My brother hogs the internet the nights I can get on as well. But I have been working hard in the past few weeks to crank out the next bit of my story! Most of the beginning bit was written over the past couple of weeks, as I finally had an idea of where to go with it. The Kagome stuff seems to come out so much easier, though I do have to think it through quite a bit, to make sure I don't make it sound too easy for her, with her blindness.

Grad school has long since started-- another big reason I've not had much time/motivation to write. Graduation and moving home are way over. Plus, I've been officially a year older since May! How exciting. I'm currently getting beaten up by cardboard boxes, box knives, dinnerware sets, and cast-iron cookware at work. I found a job, though not in the computer field unfortunately, but it's money, for now. Hopefully in the next week or two, where I actually have an interview, I may get a new job!

Anyway, I'm sorry if my characters and storyline are so forgettable that re-reading the entire story is necessary when it takes me longer to update, but I've had other priorities. I'm hoping to be able to update sooner now that things are more settled. I'm sure you all would appreciate a better story, as well, and not something that's just thrown together so that the loose ends are tied up and the saga is finished.

Now, on with the story!

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Sight Unseen

Chapter 31: The Element of Surprise


Kagome's scent was getting stronger. Inuyasha unconsciously picked up his pace, wanting only to find her as soon as possible. He had to make sure she was safe before he could concentrate on defeating Ataru.

Only Maruku had some idea of what they were up against, and Inuyasha had learned the hard way that it was unwise to underestimate an opponent. Although giving up on a fight just because it appeared he had no chance of winning had never been one of his strong points.

His nose twitched as it caught another fairly strong trace of the scent that meant 'Kagome.' He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to draw in as much as he could. He didn't smell fresh blood, and was clinging to the hope that thought gave him-- that Kagome was unharmed. He didn't dare let the idea cross his mind that he might not reach her soon enough.

Determinedly, he opened his eyes and redoubled his pace. He would find her, then he'd make her kidnapper pay.

"Inuyasha! Wait up!"

The hanyou's ears flicked back slightly, though he deliberately ignored Shippo's request. The fox child would just have to try and keep up.

"Inu... yasha!"

Miroku sounded slightly winded.

"Inuyasha! Please slow down!"

So did Sango, but neither of the two humans could run as fast as he could. And he wanted to reach Kagome as soon as possible. All he had to do was follow what his nose told him...

And right at that second, something rather foul was blocking the trail of Kagome's scent.

His brow furrowed in confusion and anger as he slowed slightly, glancing first left, then right. What the hell was making that awful--?

"Inu-!"

~Don't you earth-walkers ever care where your feet are going?~

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the closeness of the irritated voice. He whirled around seconds before something barreled into him from the side. He was knocked to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop on his back.

"What the-- Mmph!" he started to growl, only to be cut off by a strong hand covering his mouth.

~Do be quiet, will you? Unless you want to-- Damn, that hurts!~

The hanyou's assailant quickly jumped away, cradling his newly-bitten hand in the non-injured one and glaring at Inuyasha from a safe distance away.

~This is the thanks I get for keeping you away from traps? Next time I'll just let you get caught in the net!~

Inuyasha jumped to his feet, stepping menacingly towards the newcomer. "What?! Who the hell are--"

"Lord Inuyasha, I suggest you keep your voice down," Maruku murmured angrily from the half dog demon's right side before directing his next words to the light-winged youkai still nursing his sore hand. "If I am not mistaken, just through this last group of trees is our destination."

"As promised, you've arrived with hardly a scratch, but I make no guarantees about what lies ahead," the demon replied, giving a slight mocking bow to match his crooked grin.

"What the hell is this?" Inuyasha snarled, just barely able to restrain himself from yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Who's he?" Shippo's voice piped up in the silence that followed.

Miroku and Sango stood behind Inuyasha and Maruku, still trying to catch their breath and avidly watching the confrontation.

"I, my dear child, am merely a servant of--"

"Cut the theatrics, Raisuke. A mercenary has no master but his own greed."

Raisuke clapped a hand to his chest, over his heart. "You offend me, Maruku! After all I've done for you, you think I have no other motives than adding to my own wealth?"

"In one word? Yes."

The light-winged demon's grin widened. "Money is everything, you know."

"What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha growled, louder this time. "What did he mean by 'we've arrived without a scratch, as promised'?"

"Oh, were you scratched in that tiny fight earlier?" Raisuke asked with fake sympathy. "Would you like me to kiss it, and--"

"Why you--!"

A metallic jangle warned Inuyasha before Miroku's staff was thrust in front of him to stop his forward motion. "Inuyasha! We do not have time for this! I believe Lord Maruku owes us a shortened version of his explanation before we continue our search."

Maruku nodded at the monk in thanks. "My apologies for not mentioning it to you, but Raisuke informed me he would make sure we arrived at Ataru's compound with little trouble from his minions. He staged some sort of unrest among them to keep as many of them as possible occupied until we could arrive here."

"That would explain why so few of them attacked us earlier," Sango commented with a slight puzzled frown. "But why didn't you tell us, Lord Maruku?"

"I felt it wise to keep you on your guard, in case this mercenary did not keep his end of the bargain."

Raisuke pouted in Maruku's direction. "Why would I not keep my promise to you?"

The dark-winged windwalker merely glared in response.

Though Inuyasha's voice was quiet, his tone was fiercely threatening as he growled, "What about Kagome? Was she part of your deal as well?"

Maruku held up a stalling hand. "I assure you, Lord Inuyasha, I was as surprised by Lady Kagome's disappearance as you were. She was not mentioned in our original negotiations. None of you were, merely that I would be traveling with some odd companions."

Raisuke raised an eyebrow as two pairs of glittering eyes were turned on him.

"Surely you agree that allowing one of my party's members to be kidnapped nullifies the deal?" Maruku asked the light-winged youkai.

"Ah, but the specific terms were 'with hardly a scratch until you reach Ataru's hideout.' I know for a fact that she was to remain unharmed until she reached it herself."

"What have you done with Kagome?!"

It was Shippo's turn to yell, startling Inuyasha into aborting his attempt to tackle Raisuke.

"Dear fox child, I have done nothing with her. She has merely arrived here ahead of the rest of you."

Raisuke had no time to duck away as he was suddenly yanked off his feet by the front of his robe, his eyesight full of sharp teeth.

"What the hell have you done with her?" Inuyasha rasped, tightening his grip on the demon's clothing.

Raisuke merely shrugged. "As I said, I did nothing. I had no idea what Shiori--"

"You know the laws, Raisuke. Shiori was an outcast," Maruku's angry voice cut through Inuyasha's warning growl.

"You know I've never been much for the rules, Maruku. Many of those here are outcasts, or will be soon. After all, money talks louder than the laws."

"And apparently Shiori could pay you more than your freedom is worth?"

Raisuke pulled lightly at the collar of his robes, attempting to loosen Inuyasha's hold. "Actually, she didn't pay me a thing. I play for the side who's winning. Ataru's going to soon be on the losing side, or so Shiori promised me. It was a simple matter of wanting to come out on top of the game."

"Where is Lady Kagome now?" Miroku asked, stepping closer to Inuyasha and his captive.

"You humans surely are daft. Did I not say earlier that she's here?" the winged demon muttered, shaking his head. "Shiori brought her here and caused a big ruckus to hide what she was doing. After all, I promised you an uprising, didn't I Maruku? There's nothing like allowing someone else to do your dirty work for you."

Inuyasha lifted Raisuke higher off the ground, ready to throw him into the nearest tree.

"Inuyasha," Miroku murmured, shaking his head. "He is not worth the energy. Save it for whatever fight we may still have left to encounter."

"Keh," the hanyou snorted, abruptly dropping the demon unceremoniously to the ground. He set his jaw and turned to glare at Maruku. "You will explain all of this later. After we find Kagome."

The windwalker nodded in response, watching Raisuke prop himself up on his elbows in the dirt.

"Good luck!" the light-winged youkai grinned. "I look forward to seeing who truly comes out the winner."

Inuyasha managed to get within a foot of the mocking demon before Raisuke leapt to his feet and launched easily into the air. The hanyou bared his teeth and made a quick swipe for the nearest ankle, but was a second too late.

Miroku laid a restraining hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, murmuring, "Ignore him. We must find Lady Kagome. And Lord Morihiko, in case you forgot our original mission."

Inuyasha snorted, yanking his arm away and turning to stride on through the last of the trees.

"Shiori! I can't believe I didn't make the connection earlier!" Sango muttered as she followed Maruku towards the edge of the forest.

"I suspected she was the kidnapper," the winged youkai replied.

Sango continued to shake her head in self reproach. "I should've thought of her sooner. All the clues added up to it being her! Especially the fact that the trail followed along the ground for such a long time. Shiori can't fly!"

"Not unless she would manage to convince Morihiko to heal her. He is the only healer capable of such a highly involved effort, and as he is currently in captivity, I highly doubt he would have the chance."

"True." Sango was silent for a moment. "Lord Maruku, do you think Lord Morihiko could--"

"Later, Lady Sango. We will worry about such things after we find both Lady Kagome and my brother, and get them out of here safely."

The demon exterminator nodded as she moved alongside the windwalker beneath the last of the trees.

Inuyasha's ears perked up at the few sounds that reached him from inside the wooden fence blocking his view of whatever lay inside the clearing before them. Yelling, rustling, something slamming to the ground. "Sounds like a fight," he told the others, lifting his nose to catch the scents wafting towards him.

"Indeed," Maruku agreed. "Raisuke told us he, no, Shiori, caused some sort of uprising among Ataru's followers. It must be quieting down."

"Then we should stir it up again," Inuyasha growled, not bothering to wait for any of the others, or for any possible plan of attack, as he ran towards the fence.

"Inuyasha!" Sango yelled in surprise, before following the others, who had set off after the hanyou.

"At least we have the element of surprise on our side," Miroku called over his shoulder.

"But how are we all going to-- Nevermind." The youkai exterminator's unfinished question was easily answered as Inuyasha took one swipe at the wooden fence, making a hole large enough that each of them could duck under what was left of the structure.

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Kagome drummed her fingers on the dirt floor. She knew not more than five minutes had passed while she remained seated, though it felt like hours since Shiori had left her to rescue Morihiko on her own. She was still no closer to finding a way to escape with the windwalker, who'd yet to give further indication that he was waking.

Twice, her ears had caught sounds of movement outside the room. She had noted earlier that she could barely hear the sounds of fighting outside, especially when straining to listen over her own heartbeat. Any sounds she made were most likely muffled by the noise of the fray, but anyone close to her hiding place would hear her. She feared being discovered by Ataru's guards, and failing to help her friends in their mission to defeat him and rescue Lady Tamaeri's mate. When no one approached, she relaxed slightly, and thought maybe she'd imagined the noise in the absence of any sound other than the ones she, and occasionally the unconscious windwalker in the room with her, was making.

Kagome sighed. It appeared her only option was attempting to carry Morihiko out. It would be very difficult, but she had no other choice.

Taking a deep breath, she shifted to her knees and felt on the floor in front of her. The winged youkai hadn't moved-- not that she really expected him to.

She edged her fingers along the wing until she encountered the tattered cloth covering his back. Since she'd been feeling along the bottom of the feathers, his head lay in the opposite direction. It would take too much time to trace back around the wing she'd encountered, and possibly the other if they happened to be lying separately. She dared not climb over his wings, for fear that she'd damage them irreparably by stepping in the wrong place, or even tripping and falling. The same could be said for attempting to step over his body, but that would be the safest of her choices, other than walking all the way around him. If she was careful, she could step over him with little trouble, or so she hoped.

Kagome pushed herself up slowly, keeping one hand on the windwalker's side. Once she was on her feet, though bent awkwardly at the waist, she searched for the youkai's arms, so she wouldn't step on them, or his hands.

Upon finding her path clear, she carefully braced herself with both hands. She eased one foot over the windwalker's body, pausing for a moment to steady her balance before continuing with the other foot.

'Well, that was the easy part,' she thought wryly. She didn't know how she was going to avoid damaging his wings by dragging them along the floor, but perhaps it would help at least some if she grabbed hold of him under the arms and held his head and part of the feathered appendages off the ground.

Returning to her earlier crouching position, Kagome guided herself around Morihiko's arms and head. She avoided touching his face, afraid of sticking her fingers someplace they didn't belong.

The windwalker's long hair was greasy and full of dirt. Maybe once they returned him to his village, she could loan him some of her shampoo to help him get it clean, she mused idly.

She knelt on the floor behind his head, biting her lip as she debated the easiest way to hold onto him. She couldn't get a good grip with him on his side. Turning him over into his back would damage his wings. She'd have to roll him onto his stomach, and hope she could manage not to drag his hands along the ground, or step on them.

Kagome knelt for a moment and took a deep breath, gathering her strength. She'd have to carry him as quickly as she could, and make as few stops as possible. It wouldn't be easy, but she hoped, for both their sakes, she'd make it.

"Here goes nothing," she murmured, placing her hands on the windwalker's shoulders.

It wasn't until she was attempting to pull him up from the floor that she realized how heavy he was, and what an embarrassing situation she was going to be in if he woke up.

Face flaming, she bit her lip. Maybe she should carry him on his back after all. She started to ease him back to the floor before it occurred to her that maybe she could steady him over her shoulder. It would be much less embarrassing than having his face in her chest, and would be easier to move, hopefully, by using the wall on one side to guide herself with. She could also lean on it to rest when necessary, without putting the windwalker down. Having to do so would only take more time, and make her more tired in the end.

Now all she had to do was get Morihiko up onto her shoulder.

The task was easier said than done. By the time she managed to get him into as best a position as she could manage, her arm wrapped around his upper chest and his own draped across her shoulders, she was ready to put him back down. She knew she wasn't far from the wall, but she wasn't close enough to merely lean against it.

If she remembered correctly, she was now facing away from the door, and towards the first wall she'd encountered. If she moved left, she'd find the wall the windwalker had been chained to, and if she moved back, she'd either find the door, or at least the wall the door was on, hopefully.

Or, she ruefully thought a second later, if she turned around, she could move to the right, and not have to push the windwalker's legs along.

Something tickled the backs of her legs as she shifted him on her shoulder. Awkwardly, she swatted one hand behind her, encountering nothing but feathers. At least she wouldn't be dragging his wings along the floor, she thought wryly.

Kagome took a deep breath, resettling her grip on the unconscious demon. She took a small step forward, turning her body as she did so. Morihiko's feet dragged, nothing but dead weight. If she moved a little more quickly, she might be able to turn around and make it to the wall before she needed to rest.

Her movements were more confident as she continued to reorient herself. It took only another three steps to finish turning herself around, and seven to reach the wall. She mentally apologized to the windwalker for any damage she might be causing his feet and ankles as she pulled his weight along.

Once she reached the wooden wall, she turned to lean her back, and the winged demon's, against it. "So far, so good," she murmured to the otherwise unoccupied room. She dared take no more than a moment to rest, and so moved on when she felt she could handle Morihiko's weight once again without the wall's help. She turned from the wall, and stepped forward.

'One... two... three...' she silently counted. Each step grew a bit slower as she tested the space in front of her for any obstacles.

Upon reaching the number eight, her foot found something hard and unmovable. Slowly, she eased the hand that held the windwalker's arm over her shoulder forward. The object reached high enough that her fingers encountered it as well. Finally, the other wall! She was getting somewhere, and on her way to rescuing Morihiko from his prison. Although it was awfully tiring work, and going to take her forever...

With a sigh, she turned to follow the new wall. Belatedly, she realized she should've counted the steps she'd taken earlier, when she'd begun her search for Morihiko. If she had, she would've known about how many it would take her to reach the exit now. 'No use dwelling on that now.'

She shuffled forward carefully, testing the wood beside her as she continued on, hoping the doorway would not be very far ahead.

Luck was on her side, it seemed. She'd taken only a handful of steps before her foot found empty space to her right.

Now was the time to rest again, before venturing outside of the chamber. She would need to move faster, and hope that no one discovered her wandering the hallways.

What were the directions Shiori had given her, again? Two rights and two lefts? Two rights and a left? Two lefts and a right? Frowning, Kagome tried to remember what the demon had told her. She needed to make up her mind quickly. 'Wait, was it two lefts and--'

"Mew?"

Kagome squeaked and jumped at the noise that interrupted her musings. She nearly dropped the winged demon hanging off her shoulder as she relaxed her grip. As it was, he fell forward and she strained to pull him back up.

"Mew?" the sound came again, this time slightly closer.

Heart racing, Kagome stayed still, hoping whatever it was would leave her alone.

Something soft brushed her legs, went away, then returned to repeat the action.

It felt almost like Buyo rubbing against her, though there was no way it was her cat.

Wait... cat? And the sound it made... it was familiar as well. Not quite a meow, but...

"Kirara?" she called uncertainly, as the pieces fit together in her mind.

"Mew!" the firecat responded, rubbing against Kagome's legs once more.

The girl sighed in relief, her head falling back against the wall with a soft thump.

Well, great, she thought a moment later. Kirara was here, but nobody else was. How was she...

"Agh! No!" Of course, the unconscious winged demon chose that moment to shift his own weight, throwing both of them off balance. Kagome tottered slightly forward as she was dragged nearly to the floor. "Why is it that he seems to be getting heavier?" she muttered, straining to keep on her knees. If she had to put Morihiko down now, she wasn't sure she could pick him back up.

Something large and soft moved into place in front of her, supporting both her and the windwalker. Kagome sighed in relief as she realized Kirara had transformed. She slipped out from under Morihiko's arm, still keeping her own arm around his waist to stop him from sliding to the ground.

The girl rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the ache in her back. After a moment, she'd have to pick him back up, but she was going to enjoy the break while she could. Kirara would be able to defend them if any enemies found them. And if they needed to get away quickly, they might be able to climb onto her back fast enough. If not...

'I can't think that way!' Kagome scolded herself. She needed to stay positive, and think clearly about how to get them out of... wherever they were. 'Just a few more seconds, then I'll--'

~How is it... that the priestess able to purify the Shikon no Tama... cannot purify herself?~