Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Angelus
By : TwilightAlien
Category: InuYasha > General
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Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Chapter 16
The sun was setting on the horizon, outlining
Sesshomaru, Ah-Un and Kitana�s forms against the red sky. They had stopped
every two hours since their departure so that Kitana could track down the kids.
Their abductors were still on the move, changing directions very often as if
they knew they were under pursuit. Because of that, they kept increasing the
distance between them and their pursuers, who were always too late at changing
direction despite Kitana�s repeated attempts at tracking them. A cold fury,
promise of a terrible fate for the rats who dared take what was his, radiated
from the taiyoukai. A similar feeling appeared on Kitana�s face, but as the day
advanced, weariness slowly replaced the anger. She was having more difficulties
to detect the kids� energies and needed more time to do so. The golden hue of
her eyes while she searched for them was gradually dimming. Now, as she was sited
upon Ah-Un large saddle, she fought against the tiredness and hunger that were
slowly replacing her conscious thoughts.
Sesshomaru was keeping a close eye on his
companion. He noticed how hard it had become for her to find the kids, and it
angered him to no end. How many times he would have to tell her that she had to
be strong to survive in face of all the dangers that waited for her here on
this land, he wondered. However, as they were advancing in the now desolated
landscapes of the northern mountainous plateau, he started to understand where
the rats were heading and a small, evil smirk appeared on his lips. He looked
at Ah-Un, who now carried a very asleep burden, and started descending toward a
valley where a small group of desiccated trees tried their best to survive in
this desert, alongside a small river of brown, muddy water that descended from
the mountain.
Kitana came to her senses when Ah-Un landed
smoothly on the ground. She opened her eyes to find Sesshomaru looking at her
intently from the center of a circle of decaying trees.
�Sorry, I think I fell asleep� she said while
getting off of her mount. �I will see where they are heading so we can
continue.�
Sesshomaru said nothing, his eyes never
faltering from her form. She knelt on the ground, planting her hands in the
earth, and focused. It took a long time before her eyes changed color, and the
light was much paler than usually. She was very concentrated and all her
muscles seemed to accompany her mind in this exercise as they were tense and
hard. While she was searching for Shippo and Rin, Jaken gathered wood for a
campfire. Three words spoken from his master when they landed had set him
frantically on motion and when Kitana opened her eyes, the fire had been
burning hot and bright for a moment already. A calm and stern Sesshomaru sat
beside it, studying her impassively. When she understood the meaning of the fire
and the fact that Ah-Un was unsaddled and asleep already, the ebony creature
found her anger flaring, renewed.
�Why? Why did you make a fire? I�ve located
them, right to the North-East, they stopped moving. If we go now we could be
there way before sunrise!� she exclaimed with more vigor than her body seemed
to harbor.
�Sit.�
This small word was said in such an implacable
tone that she obeyed, leaving her kneeling position to sit beside him, aghast.
The confusion upon her face was evident.
�You will sleep. We will leave at daybreak.
Until then, you need your rest.�
The calm and confident demeanor of the
taiyoukai left her speechless. Where was the intense wrath that she felt from
him, and shared, only a few hours ago? How could he sit idly there with a look
of content on his face when Rin was yet to be retrieved and saved from her
captors?
Sesshomaru was glad to see that she was calming
down, but he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn�t rest until she
understood exactly what was going on.
�This Sesshomaru knows where his ward is being
kept. At sunrise, we will go to her. If you want to join me, then sleep. You
need to be ready for the task ahead.�
Kitana only stayed there, flabbergasted. She
closed her eyes and counted up to ten, determined not to lash at him out of
temper. After all, they were the only hope for the child under his care and she
would not jeopardize that by picking a quarrel with Sesshomaru. When she felt
calm come to her, she looked up at him with an intense anger in her eyes.
�How could you expect me to simply lay here and
sleep while Rin is suffering who knows what atrocities at the hands of those
creatures? We have to find her, and we have to do it now! Don�t you understand?
Don�t you care for her?�
�You arrogant fool! Who do you think you are, to
imply that the great Lord Sesshomaru would stoop so low as to care for a puny
human insect! Of course he doesn�t care you dim-witted creature! He is merely
on a chase to punish the one who thought he could control His Greatness with
threats and menaces!�
Jaken�s burst of temper was stopped by a cold,
hard look from the taiyoukai. The diminutive kappa gulped audibly, before
crouching down behind his staff, bowing his head in terror. However, the wrath
of his master did not fell upon him, but was rather redirected upon Kitana. As
golden eyes reduced to slits met with black and yellow ones in a contest of
wills, the darkest eyes soon flickered and met the ground.
��Sorry.
I know you care. I just� need to understand your strategy. What is it you are
planning, Sesshomaru-sama?�
His eyes widened a little when he heard her
words, his brows rising underneath his bangs. Did he hear it well? He would
have sworn that she apologized and used a mark of respect toward him.
Shrugging, he dismissed the idea as a result of her extreme tiredness; she was
probably delirious from the expense of her energy. Obviously he couldn�t force
her to sleep, but maybe he could lure her into it by speaking with her. He
often witnessed Rin falling asleep when she was listening at Jaken�s
explanations on a subject or another. If Jaken was able to have this effect on
an energetic child, then he could probably do the same to a very tired woman.
Or he hoped.
�You will rest, so that tomorrow you will be
strong enough to pinpoint Rin�s exact location. I remember there was a small
rat nest further away in the mountains, in a volcanic area. We are heading in
this direction. Rats smell bad, but it is nothing compared to the stench of
their nests. My sense of smell will be incapacitated by this toxic air and your
tracking ability will come in handy. However, in your present state, you are
too weak to be of any help. If it takes you too much time to locate her
tomorrow, we will face� complications.�
To his disappointment, his words appeared to
have shaken Kitana out of her slumber for good. Maybe it was not the words, but
rather something in Jaken�s tone of speech that triggered the sleepy state in
the child. All the taiyoukai succeeded to do was to add a deep worried frown on
her face now, and he started to consider knocking her out of consciousness so
she would get the rest she needed. He was surprised when, instead of continuing
the conversation, she simply curled her body up closer to the fire, bringing
her skeletal tail around her knees and arms, and closed her eyes.
�We better find her intact, Sesshomaru.�
�Indeed we will.� She did not answer.
As she slowly let sleep overtake her, doubts
were infesting her thoughts. Earth manipulation had always been her weakness,
and it ate at her meager energies like an oni eagerly feasting on infants.
Earth was an element with which the energy flow of the planet was very tightly
woven, much more than with water, air or fire. Those three elements were the
same everywhere in the universe, but the minerals that composed the earth
varied infinitely from a place to another, giving this element a unique energy
that was completely different in amplitude and frequency from a world to
another. She would have to be in contact with the energy of that particular
planet much longer before attaining some level of fluency in earth
manipulations. Furthermore, earth was a passive element that was inherently
hard to manipulate, as its purpose was to support life and nourish it, not to
kill. Earthquakes killed, but they were hard to produce and even harder to
control, so Kitana never really focused on improving her mastery of this
element. She exhausted herself that day, trying to coax and convince the
energies to work for her, bend to her will without sucking up all her reserves,
and she failed miserably. So she crept a little closer to the fire, trying her
best to accumulate some energy from its heat when what she needed in reality
was a meal. It was on those thoughts that her mind drifted away to sleep, and
disturbing images of a terrorized, desperate and lost Rin accompanied her into
slumber.
�Jaken.� The kappa jumped out of his pouting and
came quickly to his master, bowing once again.
�Yes my Lord?� Sesshomaru kept looking at
Kitana, who was now sleeping.
�Cover her.�
�Wha- co, cover her, my Lord?�
Sesshomaru�s eyes turned to the side, meeting
with Jaken�s own eyes without moving his head.
�With a blanket, Jaken. Cover her up.�
�Yes, of course my Lord!� he said before urging
himself toward Ah-Un. They did not carry much, as nature was providing for
their every need, but a wool blanket had found its way inside the saddle pouch
when Rin had joined them. He unrolled it and clumsily spread it over Kitana�s
body, who unconsciously grabbed it and brought it tightly under her chin. She
would need whatever heat was available.
It was only moments later that a group of very
tired travellers caught up with them. Having smelled their approach earlier
when Kitana was searching for his ward, Sesshomaru decided to simply ignore
them. After all, his companion needed not to be awakened by the sounds of
battle and rat nests were known for holding lots of rats; his half-brother and
his friends could take care of them better than Jaken and Ah-Un alone.
--
When they reached the valley and the small
campfire that lit the night, Inuyasha and his friends headed directly toward
it. They quickly noticed how silent the camp was and made themselves
comfortable for the night a short distance away. They clearly saw that Sesshomaru,
although hostile, would not attack them and as Inuyasha surprisingly didn�t
seem to mind the presence of his brother, they quickly decided to stop there
for the remainder of the night. None of them had been able to localize the fox
kid and they were uncertain about their decision to follow Sesshomaru anymore.
What if the rat was waiting for them miles away with Shippo and Rin in his
care? It was on these troubled thoughts that sleep caught them.
Inuyasha himself was not as tired as the humans
of his group of course, and he stayed awake all night long, but he was somehow
grateful for his brother not to force them to go elsewhere. He knew the humans
didn�t have enough strength left and while sleeping on the cold, bare ground
didn�t matter to him, it could make them sick in no time. It was a good thing
for them to have a fire nearby.
--
The next morning, Kitana was forcefully and
unpleasantly awakened by being thrown into cold, murky water.
�What the fuck! Sesshomaru! Why you-� she
screamed angrily, totally awake now but with a smelly mud covering her up from
head to toes. The offender, calmly standing beside her, was looking at a point
of high interest at the horizon when he answered her.
�You did not wake up.�
Kitana was fuming.
�Well, then you could have shaken me, you
idiot! Not throw me in this disgusting water! Hell, I wonder if it is even
water, it smells like� pheww!�
While he slowly turned his head to look at her,
seriously thinking about retaliating for being called an idiot, she realized
that they had an audience. About twenty feet from them were Inuyasha, Kagome,
Sango and Miroku, looking at them with either pleasure or concern. The most
anxious ones were Kagome and strangely, Sesshomaru himself. She couldn�t figure
out why they would be so worried while looking at her. Miroku and Inuyasha were
clearly having a good time, and while she couldn�t know it for sure, Kitana
figured out the objects of their thoughts by following their gaze. Miroku was
obviously detailing her muddy body, while Inuyasha was having fun at the
expense of his brother, who was now glaring openly at the hanyou. Really, those
two would never grow up, she thought.
Then, just as she saw that Inuyasha�s group was
coming closer, she heard Sesshomaru speaking to her in a low voice tinted with
worried notes.
�This Sesshomaru couldn�t wake you up. At all.
You were� not breathing anymore.�
Having said that, he turned away from her to
look at the North-East, trying to drown his concern about her previous
unresponsiveness by preparing himself for the task to come. Naraku would
probably have set a trap somewhere, somehow, but Sesshomaru was confident in
his abilities to face that trap head-on and leave unscathed; with Rin and
Kitana at his side. He was starting to think about the different ways he could
face that troublesome chore of retrieving once again his young human ward. As
he finally decided to start by refusing the negotiations and defying the queen
of the rats in battle, making her think that Rin was not as valuable as Naraku
probably told her, an irritating sound reached his sensitive ears, reminding of
where he was. And with whom.
�Kitana, we were so worried! It was just as if
you were dead, completely dead! I am so glad you are fine! What happened?�
screamed a very emotive Kagome.
�You shouldn�t worry like that Kagome; I was
very tired, that�s all. When did you caught up with us?�
�Last night, a short while after nightfall. You
were already asleep and we were so worn out we just fell on the ground and
awoke with the sun.�
�Fine. We just need to travel for a few hours,
we are almost there. Shippo and Rin will be safe after that.�
While she spoke to Kagome, Sango�s uneasiness suddenly
appeared to her senses. She eyed the usually wary youkai hunter, and she was met
with a worried expression.
�Kitana, your eyes. What is happening to them?�
A chill travelled down Kitana�s spine as she
heard the commentary.
�What�s wrong with my eyes, Sango?� she
murmured.
The young slayer was looking intently at
Kitana�s face now, with Kagome and Miroku not far behind. Sesshomaru heard the
comment and became very attentive to what was said, despite his aloof manners
and his eyes fixed upon the horizon.
�They are� Not totally black but your irises
are fading. There is not much gold left, they are really paler than usually.
It�kind of gives me the creeps.�
There was a few seconds when time seemed to
have suspended its course before Kitana managed to answer something coherent,
in a very unmoved tone.
�Oh that, you mean yes, I know what you mean.
It�s nothing; they do that depending on the weather and sunlight. Please do not
concern yourself with that. Now, we should really get going, we have already
lost too much time� she said, looking at Sesshomaru with a frown on her face.
He reacted to her unspoken accusations by slitting his eyes at her, and both of
them then took to the air, one very gracefully on a powerful cloud of youki,
the other caked in brown mud on the back of Ah-Un. Jaken squawks resounded as
he barely managed to grab onto Ah-Un�s scaly tail before the large beast took
off, then crawled all the way to the saddle while mumbling and groaning. Sango
and Miroku quickly followed on Kirara and Kagome climbed atop Inuyasha�s broad
back in their traditional piggyback way. A fierce and determined look was
engraved on everyone�s faces and the pace at which they travelled was even faster
than the day before. The lives of two young creatures were at stake and no one
wanted to risk them further by being too late. However, two of them had
additional reasons to worry on their mind.
The taiyoukai had seen those eyes before. When
he surprised her feeding on the tiger youkai in the clearing, Kitana had looked
at him with black, void eyes which slowly regained their golden irises. Her
eyes that day, when they were changing back to normal, were absolutely similar
to what they looked like today, and he was wondering about the meaning of this
transformation. Would she enter a bloodlust and endanger his mission further?
He wanted to believe that she would contain herself, or feed on some rats or
even on his tiresome brother before the need became too overwhelming, but he
had no way to be sure and it irritated him to no end.
Kitana herself did not take the events of the
matinee lightly. She was afraid of what could happen now that she was clearly
aware of her level of weakness. She should have sensed Kagome and her friends
before they entered their camp the previous night and yet, she didn�t even
realized their presence when she was quarrelling with Sesshomaru. More,
Sesshomaru should never have been able to carry her to the river fully asleep,
for she was extremely sensible to attacks in her sleep and reacted even before
she consciously registered there was a threat. Maybe her subconscious did not
saw Sesshomaru as an enemy, but even then she should have reacted to his first
attempts at waking her. And was Sesshomaru right, had she stopped breathing?
She could live on without breathing for a very long time, but when she could
take up the oxygen in the air she did, it was easier to burn up energy with
oxygen around� And finally her eyes�
Sighing, she straightened her posture and took
a good look at the ground below them. They have been travelling for a couple of
hours, going toward the source of the dirty river that watered the dying trees
in the valley they had left. The river though, had grown bigger and was now
imprisoned in a deep canyon that separated two high, rocky hills. The mountains
themselves were still far, but the ground was no longer a plain desert.
Multiple hills were dispersed around them, and a distinct sulphuric smell was
carried by the wind. They had entered an active volcanic area, which was
confirmed a moment later when she felt a subtle rise in the temperature of the
air. Then, her eyes returned to the brown, muddy river, which was coming out of
a hole on the side of a small hill seated in the middle of a valley. Many
larger hills were surrounding it, and she could see that the river was in fact
coming from a pass between two high hills, entering the smallest one on the south-eastern
side and coming out of it from the south-western side. Funnily, the eastern
water was as clear as the western one was dirty. Multiple holes were visible
around this hill, which ended abruptly on the Northern side on deep canyon from
which came a reddish hue. A river of boiling lava.
Then, Miroku�s voice reached her ears.
�Everyone, down! Take cover, now!�
His imperious voice reached every traveller and
even though they did not understand why the monk asked for it, they all came to
a stop and shielded themselves between a nearby cliff and a very large boulder.
Even Sesshomaru obeyed, although he really questioned his sanity.
When they all regrouped, Miroku started
speaking.
�There is a huge demonic aura coming from this
hill, the one in front of us. A terrible aura.�
�And I can sense jewel shards, they seem to be
deep below the ground, under the hill� Three, no wait, four of them,� added
Kagome.
�It all makes sense, the hill there seems to be
an ideal site for a rat nest. Look at all the holes poked everywhere; this hill
is full of caves and tunnels. Ideal breeding ground for a colony of rat
demons,� concluded Sango.
�Feh! Then what are we waiting for?! I say we
blast that nest open, grab the brats and give the rats the spanking they
deserve!� exclaimed Inuyasha, his hand on the hilt of his Tetsusaiga.
Sesshomaru did not pay any attention to the humans;
his intense gaze and his growing irritation were aimed directly at Kitana. The
woman was focused entirely on the nest now, looking at the hill with a frown on
her face.
�Wait everyone.� Kitana was standing between
them and the way to the hill, her arms extended to her sides. Her features were
calm and imposing, but she was holding her breath. When the attention of every
member of the group was fully set upon her, when Inuyasha put his hand back to
his haunches and Sesshomaru stopped frowning, she exhaled and relaxed her
stance. Her eyes and senses were scrutinizing every human, demon and half-demon
in presence, looking for signs of impatience.
�Wait. This hill, as you pointed out Sango, is
home to countless demons. I would say many thousands. Many of them have high
energy levels, and a few are as strong as you, Sesshomaru.� On these words, the
frown returned to Sesshomaru�s face and his already upright posture
straightened even more. Hidden behind his master�s legs, Jaken was growing more
and more nervous, not wanting to be caught in an epic battle where thousands of
rats, all of them larger and stronger than him, would try to kill him. The provocative
words Kitana just emitted toward Sesshomaru increased his stress, and he was
about to faint when the more controlled monk spoke his mind.
�Kitana, what do you mean by energy level? Are
you speaking about their auras?� asked the monk, who was stroking his chin in a
concentrated way.
Kitana tilted her head slightly to the side.
�Aura? I do not know, Miroku. All I can tell is
that I sense the energetic signature of living beings, and I can tell how much
energy a being is holding. It can be compared to strength, if you like.
Spiritual strength, that is.�
Miroku slowly acknowledged her words with a
nod, allowing her to continue speaking.
�I have� been in such places before. I never
met rat demons, but species that dwell in huge numbers in underground hives or
nests all act the same. They have powerful senses that allow them to navigate
effortlessly in total darkness and a strong community sense, sometimes even a
common consciousness that merges the individuals into a sole creature.�
�What the fuck are you talking about? I don�t
care about their community or their conscious-thingy, because soon they will be
dead rats! Why don�t we stop talking and start fighting?� yelled a very irate
hanyou. Just before a �sit� could remind him that the rules of society did not
accept breaking off a conversation as good etiquette, a cold, bone-chilling
voice sent shivers down his spine.
�Enough!�
If Inuyasha�s eyes could have sent daggers,
Sesshomaru would surely have died on the spot. However, Kitana placed herself
right between the siblings and looked straight at Inuyasha.
�Soon the kids will be dead if we don�t stop
arguing or just rush in with no strategy! What I am trying to put in your big
hard head Inuyasha is that the rats can probably act as a sole enemy. Attacking
one of them is like attacking the whole nest. The message will be sent to the
heart of the colony in the blink of an eye and before we know it they will have
murdered both Rin and Shippo. Is that what you want, Inuyasha?�
Pressured by her aggressive gaze, Inuyasha
couldn�t help but feel threatened and he did not like it one bit. However, the
pleading eyes of Kagome brought him back to reason and with a serious
expression, he sighed and leaned against the rocky cliff behind him. A faint
�Feh!� was the only comment he dared to make.
Turning half-way to look at the taiyoukai
standing behind her, Kitana talked to him.
�Sesshomaru?�
He did not know what to answer. From what he
could tell, his own plan had not been very different from his half-brother�s
idea, probably more organized and less chaotic, but similar nonetheless. He did
not like to have his nose rubbed in his own errors, especially in front of
lowly humans and a disgusting hanyou, but in the other hand no one knew what he
had in mind before Kitana spoke her analysis of the situation. Whatever he
would do, it was true that he couldn�t barge in and claim his ward, killing any
demon that dared cross his path. That was his usual way of doing things, but in
this particular case it would only warrant terror and death for Rin. Death he
could deal with later on. Terror, he would rather not. The weeks spent with a
mute human child were frustrating enough for making him think twice before
repeating the experience. With a very subtle nod, not letting anything of his
inner fight appear on the surface, he allowed Kitana to continue.
�If I understand, we cannot enter the nest and
fight our way to the kids� That leaves us with only one option: go out with a
white flag and trade our jewel shards for their return,� concluded Kagome.
�Kagome, I don�t like that idea at all. We have
no guarantee that they will give Shippo and Rin back when they get the shards.
And we have nothing threatening to them, no leverage at all to push them to
comply with our wishes. Those demons are sly creatures,� added Miroku. Turning
to Sango, he added �what can you tell us about rat demons, Sango?�
The demon slayer appeared pensive for a few
moments before answering.
�There are two types of rat demons. There are
small, animalistic rats that run over the land in a stampede of destruction; we
already met with these. And there is a rarer species, larger, more humanoid
rats. Those are the ones who live a conscious life, regrouped in nests just as
this one. They eat anything, and even though most are not very good fighters,
the sheer number of them would deter any attack. They are intelligent and
cunning, it�s true, and they do have some very skilled soldiers in the nests,
usually to protect the breeding females. That�s about all I know. Rat nests
were a though nut to crack for the slayers and we would rather avoid
confronting them��
�Feh, as if I care about their numbers! As soon
as the kids are out of there, the Wind Scar will annihilate all of them. I�m
not afraid of puny little rats!� spouted Inuyasha, decided not to appear weak
in front of Sesshomaru. His right hand twitched with the need of getting rid of
him with a well-placed swing from the Tetsusaiga. His aborted attempt of the
previous morning at ending his brother�s life frustrated him, but the prick
just wouldn�t commit to their fight. It was as if Sesshomaru was toying with
him or worse, had decided of a unilateral truce, but he couldn�t understand the
reasons behind this attitude. Nonetheless, even if he couldn�t kill him now, he
would never let Sesshomaru see him powerless in face of any situation, and it
was exactly what was happening.
A faint buzzing sound reached their ears and
stopped the conversation. Turning their heads, they all saw a single Saimyoshou
patrolling along the riverbed.
�Kagome! Shoot this thing! Naraku is trying to
locate us and if he succeeds, we are doomed,� asked Sango.
Surprisingly, it was Kitana�s turn to prevent
them from acting.
�No. Everyone hide behind the boulder. Do not
allow the bee to see you!�
�Hey, what the fuck do you think you are doing?
Are you on Naraku�s side or what? This thing has to go down!� shouted Inuyasha,
unsheathing in Tetsusaiga with the clear intention to attack the hell bee. He
was not ready though for Kitana�s reaction to his attitude, as he found himself
deprived of his ability to breathe when her right hand seized him by the throat
and backed him up against the cliff, her left hand removing the Tetsusaiga from
his grasp effortlessly.
�Never say things like that again� she said
with a snarl. �After what he has done to Rin, Naraku is my own enemy as well as
yours. Think, Inuyasha. This bee is probably a trap, sent to lure us out of
hiding. Others are probably hiding nearby, waiting for us to attack this one,
to fall prey to the strategy of their master. The only thing to do is lay low
and wait for it to leave! Is it clear?�
Inuyasha was released from his humiliating
position as soon as he nodded his consent. He had no idea Kitana was this
strong, and this fast! Had he known� His instincts came back in force against
her, urging him to get away or destroy the creature, but all he could do was
retreat with the other at the back of the boulder, out of sight from the little
insect. It was definitively not his day. Looking around behind his bangs, he
rejoiced a little when he noticed that even his half-brother was listening to
the woman, when usually he cared about no one�s opinion and only did what he
wanted to.
�Listen, everyone,� Kitana started when the bee
was not audible anymore. Six pairs of eyes were set upon her, human, demon and
hanyou alike, and a sixth one was looking away, leaving the task of paying
attention to the set of pointed ears that adorned his face. Satisfied, she
continued.
"There is another solution. Let me go in
the nest. I will retrieve Shippo and Rin and when I'm done, you can blast the
damned thing in millions of pieces if you want."
She was interrupted by a clamor of indignation
from the four companions. Jaken�s beak almost fell off of his face, accompanied
by his bulging eyes, at the sheer stupidity of what Kitana suggested.
�No way, we aren�t letting you go in there! Did
you forget what you said earlier, you will be detected and they will kill the
brats!� shouted Inuyasha.
�He is right, Lady Kitana,� added a more
self-contained Miroku. �The consequences of one of us attacking the nest would
be deadly on the kids, as you demonstrated yourself. Or� maybe you have
something else on your mind?�
There was a moment of silence following his
words, when the companions looked at the monk, a puzzled look marring their
faces.
�You are right. I am not thinking about
attacking them. I am talking about sneaking in, finding Rin and Shippo and
bringing them out of the nest. When that is done, the rats can become minced
meat I don�t care. The children will be safe.�
Her voice was soft and confident, a confidence
that few of them could claim to share with her.
�And what makes you think you can do that any
better than us? You aren�t invisible from what I can tell! The rats will detect
you as soon as you set foot on that hill!� voiced Inuyasha, feeling much more
in control of himself than moments ago.
Kitana smiled and nodded, �of course they could
see me. But I suspect that these creatures, at least those dwelling further
underground, don�t use their eyesight very much. They probably rely more on
their senses of smell and touch to navigate their nest. Maybe heat receptors. They
won�t be able to smell me, as I carry almost no odor except for the� aroma from
my earlier� bath, which comes directly from their nest. And believe me I won�t
let them touch me. Better yet, I see clearly in complete darkness, my clothes
can block any heat emitted by my body and I can sense precisely where the kids
are kept. If you let me do it, I guarantee I will succeed.�
She gave them a moment to think about it, but
her speech already convinced them. Something had to be done, and she seemed to
love Rin enough not to jeopardize her rescue. However, it was not going to
happen this way, as a voice broke the deliberations.
�No. You are staying here.�
On these words, Sesshomaru left the protection
of the boulder and started walking toward the nest, in plain sight of whatever
might be spying on them. If she could have paled, Kitana�s face would have
become ten shades of grey paler than her usual onyx black the instant she saw
him leave. Then she moved. The arrogant taiyoukai would have to pass over her
dead body if he wanted to do it his way.
In two jumps she caught up with him and stood
inches before him, daring him to continue. Sesshomaru frowned and tried to
side-step her, to no avail, as she was determined to hinder his progress and to
talk some sense into him. The monk, demon slayer, cat demon, priestess and
hanyou quickly joined them and together, they encircled Sesshomaru whose temper
was dangerously rising. Jaken, valuing his own life too much to place himself
directly between his master and Kitana, stayed behind with Ah-Un.
�Stop this, Sesshomaru, I beg you. You know
perfectly well that I can do this task better than anyone. In fact I am the
only one who can succeed. If you go forward� you�ll have Rin�s blood on your
hands.� Kitana was intently looking at Sesshomaru and the others were immobile
and silent, as a battle of will was unfolding before them.
Sesshomaru deigned to lower his gaze to meet
her fiery, almost black eyes. He did not want to alienate her, but at the same
time his decision was final, he would not bend to her. He moved forward,
pushing her to the side. Kitana saw the determination in his face, and she saw
red. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again to look at the back of
the departing taiyoukai, they were shining a fierce golden color.
�Everyone, go away from here. Find someplace
with clean water and maybe food, Shippo and Rin will need it when I come back.�
They did not move, so she turned her face to them and added �Go! Now!� Startled
by her unusual appearance and aggressive tone of voice, they nodded and left,
heading for the top of the cliff from where they could search for a hot spring
or something similar. Even Inuyasha, the fierce warrior, did not think about
retaliating or refusing her demand. He led the others out of harms way.
Kitana returned her attention to Sesshomaru.
With her feet firmly gripping the dirt soil below them, she concentrated on the
energies around her. She called forth the formidably strong nature of the wind
and a wall of impenetrable air formed all around her adversary. Stopped in his
movements, Sesshomaru eyes widened as he tried to move and he discovered that
he was completely restrained by an invisible cloak, impeding any movement he
tried to make, paralysing him on the spot. He felt his anger rising even more
under the abuse he was receiving, his eyes started to turn to a deep crimson
color; but remembering who was doing that to him, he did his best to calm down
and not let his deeper, vicious nature take the best of him. Soon the cause of
his torments appeared before him, a stern, serious look upon her face.
�You will stop your sorcery immediately, woman.
This Sesshomaru won�t allow you to go in there no matter what you say or do.�
�Sesshomaru, don�t be silly.� Kitana�s voice
was kept low and was deepened by her anger and her concern for the little Rin.
�Why are you acting like that? I am sure that you realize that my idea is the
best one.�
He planted his eyes in her own.
�You let yourself become weak. Again. You are
in need of rest and nourishment. This Sesshomaru cannot put the responsibility
of Rin�s well-being on your shoulders at this moment. Your needs could
overwhelm you and you could -�
A strong feeling of rage invaded Kitana�s mind
and in response, the wall of wind that immobilized Sesshomaru started to close
on him, crushing him slowly under an increasing pressure. He stayed still,
never leaving Kitana�s gaze.
�Never imply I might do something as horrible
and dishonorable as feeding upon Rin, Sesshomaru. Never. I do not want to hear
that again, for I might not respond of my acts. Listen well. I may not be at my
peak, I may be a poor opponent at hand-to-hand fighting, but I am strong enough
for this mission. I have been born, raised and trained to accomplish exactly
what needs to be accomplished today. Entering a hive without being detected,
retrieving something and going out unscathed, is what I do best. I might not be
very brilliant at fighting regenerating cat demons or iron-skinned water
dragons, but in stealth I have no equal.�
�This Sesshomaru ��
She took a step forward, reducing the distance
between them to about a foot. The tension in the air was immense, and Inuyasha�s
group atop the cliff couldn�t help but wait and stare at what was happening
below.
�Right now, I don�t care about what This
Sesshomaru thinks! I care about the girl who is probably crying her eyes out in
a dirty, cold underground prison, and I will rescue her no matter what you
decide. The only thing I ask of you is simply to give me your trust,
Sesshomaru. Show me that after all the time spent together, all these things
that you are the only one to know about me, that you can trust me. That you can
truly forgive, accept and trust my nature, my very being. Show me. Do it for
Rin, if you cannot do it for me.�
That being said, she held her breath and released
her control over the winds, letting go of the walls that kept Sesshomaru
captive. To her surprise, he did not try to overcome her once again. Instead,
the taiyoukai simply took one step forward, reducing the distance between them
to about six meager inches. She now had to raise her head to keep her contact
with his eyes, and he facilitated it by looking down at her. A whisper left his
lips and she did not interrupt it.
�This Sesshomaru� is not certain that you could
be brought back, were you to die. Tenseiga� creatures like you� did not exist
when it was forged.�
Frowning, she answered, not sure if she
understood what he meant. Brought back? From death?
�I won�t die, you big idiot. I go in, grab her,
and go out. Then you can annihilate them completely.�
She raised her hands and grabbed two of the
spikes that adorned his frontal armor.
�Let me do it, Sesshomaru.�
Scrutinizing her face, Sesshomaru then raised
his own right hand and delicately cupped her chin, letting a finger caress the
curve of her jaw. He took a decision.
�Are you in need of assistance?�
A soft smile appeared on her lips when she understood
that she had won.
�No, not down there. I just need time, as much
time as possible, and I fear it won�t be granted to me if your half-brother has
his word to say. Kagome, Sango and Miroku are very anxious about the fox too,
and the fire cat Kirara is having a hard time not rushing in the nest to
retrieve him. Even Jaken, as cowardly as he is, can�t stand the inaction
anymore and is likely to show you his devotion by taking on the nest all by
himself. It would help me immensely if you could find a way to stop them from
interfering.�
A subtle nod from him and that was it. He
flicked a tousled strand of silvery hair behind his left shoulder, turned to
face the cliff, and was gone in a flash.
Below the cliff, Kitana knew that what happened
was extremely unusual and rare for Sesshomaru. She sensed his inner conflict
and was not sure to understand perfectly what happened. He was torn inside, for
feelings of love, loyalty and protectiveness were battling against his fierce,
indomitable and unsubmissive nature. She had no time to decipher what it could
mean, as obviously the battle had turned in her favor and she could not fail
the task ahead. She could not fail him, or Rin. So she took a short instant to
modify her clothes, her flowing pants morphing into her usual slinky outfit,
her golden ornaments upon her forehead, waist, wrists and ankles turning black
and fusing with the surrounding dull black material. She then faced the high
hill that sheltered her enemies, and dived in the muddy, warm waters of the
river exiting the nest.
Atop the cliff, Sesshomaru found the little
group of spies and was not pleased by their presence, to say the least.
Frowning, he cast a look down at the rat nest, for he would have loved to let
go of some frustration by teaching them exactly what he thought of their
disobedience, but wreaking havoc a few hundred meters from the nest was not a
good thing to do.
�You let her go, you bastard? I can�t believe
that! So she has the right to tell us what to do, and then you let her do
exactly what she forbid us! There�s no ways I�ll let that happen!� shouted an
irate Inuyasha.
�You won�t do anything, hanyou. Kitana and the
kids will be in need of care when they come out from there, you were supposed
to look for a shelter. Then the rats and maybe Naraku himself will come to meet
us.� Lowering his gaze, he gave a hard look to Jaken, who was more obedient
than that usually. The small kappa shivered, and then bowed down to his master.
�Yes, my Lord, yes, please allow this lowly
servant to help!� With that he turned around and climbed upon Ah-Un, leaving
the scene in search of a suitable camp site.
�Inuyasha, he is right, we need to prepare
ourselves for their arrival and for the battle to come. Come, let�s go,�
pleaded a nervous and sad Kagome. Everyone in their group felt helpless in the
face of a danger they did not really understand and they hated to let their
fate fall into the hands of others, but it had to be done that way. Miroku
grabbed Inuyasha by an arm and pulled him away from his brother, who simply
stood there atop the cliff. Sesshomaru did not wait for them to leave before
choosing his waiting spot. He sat in-between two large rocks and concealed by
their shadows, he begun his surveillance of the nest. If anything seemed to go
wrong, he could intervene in an instant.
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Angelus	By : TwilightAlien Category: InuYasha > General Views: 3232 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Angelus