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A Fool's Redemption	By : Grumblebear Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 23728 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
Chapter
19 – Fall to Pieces

Suddenly,
there were guns pointing in every direction. Sango's at Naraku, her
guard's at the larger assistant, the larger assistant's at Sango, and
Naraku's at Solomon. The one at Kagome's head stayed in place. There
was a brief moment of complete stillness where no one moved, no one
spoke. They simply stared down their weapons at each other, bodies
tense and poised for violence.

It was a dangerous
situation. Kagome knew it was a dangerous situation. But for
some reason, she just didn't care. She was having a hard time
remembering why they'd come up here in the first place.

"Checkmate,"
Naraku finally said with a cool smile.

"Put
the guns down," Sango demanded.

"You
first, my dear."

"I
will shoot you if I have to."

"Not
a wise idea. Ezra's got a jumpy trigger finger. You shoot, he shoots.
You willing to take the chance I won't get off a shot too? We might
all die. Including the old man. Maybe even Kagome. Worth the chance?"

Why
would someone shoot me? Kagome wondered. Did I do something
wrong? Her mind was working so slowly. It felt like being drunk.
Someone slipped something in my drink. But...wasn't that a long
time ago? She gave her head a little shake, trying to clear it.
The sun was too bright. It was hurting her eyes. "Take me back
inside," she mumbled, but the words didn't sound right in her
ears. It didn't seem that anyone had heard, anyway.

"Nothing
will get solved in your country if you're dead, Naraku," Sango
was saying.

"Nothing
will if I do things your way, either."

"At
least you'll get to keep your life."

"Until
you deport me back to Linos and I'm hanged for conspiracy to commit
treason."

"Not
necessarily. We can work something out, without violence. But you
have to put the gun down first."

"I've
already given you my answer to that, and I'm loosing patience now,"
Naraku replied, a hint of anger in the last few words.

"Stop,
both of you," Solomon scolded. "There's no reason for
this." He leveled his eyes at Naraku. "I'll come with you,
if that's what you want. No bloodshed, and you leave Kagome here, but
I'll come with you."

"Tell
them to drop their weapons first, then we'll negotiate."

Solomon
sighed. "Sango, do as he says."

Sango
didn't move, appearing completely at odds with the order.

He
half-turned to her. "Do it, please."

Frustration
clear on her face, Sango nodded to her companion and together they
crouched and placed their guns on the ground.

"Kick
them this way," Naraku instructed. When they did, he tossed his
head at the large assistant. On cue, Ezra stepped forward to collect
the weapons, keeping his own still pointed in Sango's direction.

"That's
a bit more comfortable," Naraku said once his assistant was back
in place. He flexed his shoulders as if releasing some tension and
turned his attention back to Solomon. "There's a helicopter
coming. Both you and your niece will get in when it lands."

Don't
wanna go, Kagome silently protested. The sun was bleeding into
everything, turning the world a harsh shade of yellow.

"I
said Kagome stays here!" her uncle argued.

"You're
in no position to bargain, old man. You two will get in that
helicopter, and if I see so much as a twitch of resistance from
either of you, Sango and her guard die. Understand?"

"So
much for negotiations, then."

"No
need to when I hold the winning hand. Unless you've got a trump card
hidden in your ass."

"Aces
up," a new voice called out, and Kagome's heart thrilled at the
sound. All eyes turned to the door as another figure stepped out from
the shadows, his white hair and golden eyes shining in the sunlight.

"We're
all in," Inuyasha said, giving Naraku a smile charged with
challenge and hostility.

*****

He'd
thought that elevator would never reach the top floor. The stairs
leading up to the roof had seemed to stretch for an eternity before
him as he'd charged them, three at a time, loosing the security guard
accompanying him after the first flight. It hadn't mattered. He
didn't need a wingman, didn't need the gun he'd been offered either.
The only things he needed were the weapons he'd been born with and
that damn woman back, safe at his side. He had one of those things,
now he needed to get the other. As he stepped through the door and
into the sun, he felt like a hero back from the dead, like the
cavalry riding into battle just as his allies were reaching their
limits.

It
was obvious Naraku didn't feel the same way. The man looked so
violently angry at the sight of Inuyasha that he was having a hard
time forming words. It was a small reward to see him loosing his
composure for once.

"I
told you—" Naraku yelled, then stopped, seeming to regroup
his emotions, and started again in a slightly calmer but no less
furious voice. "I told you what would happen if you came back."

"Yeah,
you did," Inuyasha agreed, wiping some of the smugness from his
face. He still needed to play his part.

"I
see," Naraku hissed. "You think I'm bluffing. You think I
won't actually kill any of you. You have no idea how many people I've
killed. How many people that man," he pointed at his assistant
holding the gun to Kagome's head, "has killed for me. I don't
need her." He stormed toward Solomon, gun still raised, and
stopped just short of the older man's reach. "I have everything
I need right here."

Inuyasha
stilled and held his breath, praying Sango was right about this.

"Miroku,"
Naraku said. "Kill her."

Again,
Miroku didn't hesitate. In one flawlessly swift motion, he spun,
keeping Kagome in a firm hold, swinging her away from Ezra. As he
snapped to a stop, his back now to the group and his body a shield
between her and the other weapons, he jammed his gun against the
larger assistant's cheek.

"No,"
he replied.

That
single word hung alone in the air for a long moment.

Naraku
looked as if he was choking on something. "What the fuck are you
doing?" he finally grated out.

"Someone
slipped a Joker in the deck," Sango said.

"That's
me," Miroku responded.

Naraku's
face tightened with hatred, all semblance of composure melting away.
"You killed for me," he snarled.

Miroku
didn't take his eyes from Ezra's face as he said, "I killed for
my cause, not you, just as you killed for your cause, not your
government."

"Do
you want this man to die?" Naraku shrieked, waving his
gun at Solomon. "I'll kill him right here!"

"The
bullets in your gun are show blanks," Miroku replied. "Same
goes for Ezra's gun. Drop them now."

Naraku
was silent a moment, as if weighing his options, then said, "You
wouldn't still be holding that to his head if that was true."

"Only
one way to find out."

Inuyasha
didn't think Naraku's expression could hold any more venom, but then
the man seethed as he bared his teeth and turned his eyes to Solomon.
"This isn't the end of it, old man," he said, backing away
slowly. "I'll have that secret in your head, one way or the
other. If not now, someday. I won't stop until I do."

He
pulled the trigger and the gun exploded, but Naraku didn't stay to
see if his bullets were real or not. In the shock of the moment, he
turned and ran headlong into the maze of electrical boxes and pipes,
disappearing from sight.

Solomon
had fallen.

But
even as the others rushed to his side, Inuyasha could see there was
no blood, and the older man was moving, brushing off their concerned
hands as they tried to help him sit up. Satisfied that there didn't
appear to be any serious injuries, Inuyasha headed toward Miroku. Off
in the distance, still too faint for normal human ears to hear, he
caught the sound of a helicopter. Naraku's escape plan. It was racing
like hell in their direction.

Miroku
hadn't moved an inch, his eyes and gun still aimed at Ezra's now
sheet-white face, Kagome still slumped against him.

"Take
her," he said as Inuyasha approached.

"Gladly,"
Inuyasha said, pulling her into his arms. She was almost dead weight
against him. Her lips were blue, and her skin was pale and
frighteningly cold. "Shit," he muttered, lowering her to
the ground. "You're frozen."

Kagome
gave him a weak smile. "You came back." Her words sounded
like mush. It was hard to understand what she was trying to say. His
already heightened level of fear for her condition ticked up a notch.

"Yeah,"
Inuyasha said, removing his jacket.

"Happy,"
she mumbled as he wrapped it around her.

He
hugged her tightly, placing a warm kiss against her forehead. "Me
too."

"Is
he alright?" Miroku called to the group still huddled around
Solomon. They were finally pulling the older man to his feet.

"Hell
of a punch to those blanks," Solomon growled as he stood.

Sango
worriedly eyed his face. "You've got some burns from the gas
explosion," she said.

"Sango,
we have to hurry. That helicopter could get here any minute,"
Miroku said, then ordered Ezra to his knees.

She
nodded. "You two, help Miroku secure Ezra," she instructed
her security guards. "Everyone except Miroku and Inuyasha off
this roof. Paolo, take Ezra down to holding, then come back up here.
Claire's at the other service door. Back her up until I give everyone
the all-clear. Adem, I want you to escort Solomon and Kagome down to
the infirmary. You'll have to carry her. Solomon, can you walk?"

The
older man nodded and headed toward the door.

"What
do you want them to do?" she asked him.

Solomon
paused and stood silently for a moment, as if regretting the words he
was about to say. "I gave Naraku his chance. Do whatever you
have to in order to stop him," he said over his shoulder and
then headed inside. "Let me know the moment it's done."

As
the guns were removed from Ezra's possession and cuffs were quickly
fastened around his wrists, Inuyasha gathered Kagome in his arms and
stood, ready to pass her off.

"Inuyasha,"
Miroku said, finally lowering his weapon. "We have to keep
Naraku from getting to a place that helicopter can reach him."

Inuyasha
nodded, hesitating as Adem approached and held out his arms for
Kagome, hating that he had to let her go again. "I'll come to
you when this is over," he promised softly, and allowed the
other man to take her.

"Tell
the meds she's hypothermic," Miroku instructed the guard. "And
that she's got Tendorix and Inolia in her system. They'll need to
detox her."

"Hurry,"
Inuyasha said.

"Fast
as my feet can carry me," Adem replied reassuringly, then he was
through the door and gone.

"I'll
stay here in case Naraku makes it back this way," Sango said,
taking her gun from the other security guard as he led Ezra inside.
"Be careful."

Inuyasha
was shocked by the uncharacteristically playful smile Miroku flashed
at her. He'd never seen any other expression on the man's face
other than the cold, apathetic one he always wore.

"No
promises," Miroku said, then turned and headed toward the spot
where Naraku had disappeared. "Let's go, Inuyasha."

Together
they forged their way into the mechanical maze that sat atop the
tower, finding themselves surrounded on every side by all manner of
machinery: massive air conditioning units, ventilation pipes,
transmission towers, electrical rooms and boxes, forklifts and other
heavy lifting equipment, various pipes snaking off in every
direction. It was like a jungle made of metal.

"Shit,"
Inuyasha said in a hushed voice as they carefully wound their way
through the mess. "He could be anywhere up here."

"He's
going to try to get someplace open, where the helicopter can pick him
up," Miroku answered.

"The
only place it can land is the helipad."

"He
may not need it to land if they drop something down for him to climb
up on."

"There
isn't any place up here that's clear enough, though."

They
rounded a bend of piping and suddenly a gun shot exploded from
somewhere off to their right, the sound amplified by the metal around
them. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through Inuyasha's shoulder as
they jumped back behind the shelter of the pipes.

"Fuckin'
hell," Inuyasha spat out, falling to his knees and gripping his
shoulder.

"Shit.
He's got another gun," Miroku said, pushing back Inuyasha's hand
to see the wound.

Inuyasha
gave him a dry look. "Really," he said, his tone flat. He'd
been shot before, during his escape from the lab, but at that time
his mind had been swallowed whole by a red haze of rage. He'd been so
out of control that he hadn't been able to feel the pain, even after
being shot multiple times. But now, without that rage, it felt as if
every nerve in his shoulder had just been shredded.

"He
must have hid it while I wasn't looking."

"Wonderful,"
Inuyasha gritted out. "You'd better hope once I get to know you
better I like you enough to not bury my fist in your face."

"I
think you'll have to fight Sango for that honor. There's
no exit wound. Bullet's still in there. Stay here. I'll take care of
Naraku."

"Like
hell. I can hear the helicopter. I'm coming with you," Inuyasha
said, getting back on his feet and sidling up to the corner, inching
his face around just enough to survey the area they'd been about to
enter when Naraku had taken his shot.

He
held his breath, waiting for another explosion to ring out as he
glanced around quickly, but none came. In front of him was a ramp
leading up to a metal walkway, free from clutter but narrow and edged
on both sides by more piping. Soaring to the left was a transmission
tower. Had he somehow climbed up it? No, they were open to a shot
from there. Naraku would have taken them out by now. Besides, there
was no place to hide up there. He wouldn't risk exposing himself like
that.

Someplace
he can hide but near an open area where the helicopter can get him,
Inuyasha thought, and then his gaze drifted to the far end of the
walkway, where it ended and a new structure began; a massive dome
constructed of metal griding and huge panels of glass. His eyes
widened. "Fuck me," he said, leaning back behind the pipes.
"He's on top of the observatory."

Miroku
groaned. "Damn it. Perfect spot. He can see us coming and pick
us off."

"Yeah,"
Inuyasha replied, turning something over in his head. "I have an
idea."

"By
all means," Miroku said.

"I'm
gonna rush him."

"The
hell you are."

Inuyasha
leveled his eyes at him. "Look. I'm fast. I can get over there
and jump up to the top of the observatory without him hitting me.
Even if he does, I've been shot before this. A lot. A few bullets
won't slow me down."

"Not
if he hits your head."

"He
won't. You go around the other way while I've got his attention and
find some way to come up behind him."

"At
least take a gun."

"Don't
need it. Go."

Making
a frustrated sound, Miroku turned and headed back the way they'd
come. Inuyasha stood there for a few moments, giving him a head
start, then took a deep breath, shoving all the pain in his shoulder
out of his mind. There would be time enough to deal with injuries
later, so long as he did this right. He gathered as much energy into
his legs as he could, then shot out from his hiding place and raced
up the ramp.

There
was another explosion of gunfire, and he dodged out of the way just
in time, springing up onto the pipes then back to the walkway,
hurtling his body toward the base of the dome. Thankfully the wall at
the end was solid. If it had been glass like the rest of the
structure, he'd have smashed his way right through. Instead, he
slammed into the wall, bounced backward a couple feet, then scrambled
back against it, breathing heavily.

He
was out of Naraku's line of sight here. Taking a few seconds to catch
his breath, he made a cursory check of his body, making sure he
hadn't been hit, then gathered his legs beneath him once again and
looked up. The angle was bad. Standing flush against the wall, Naraku
couldn't see him, but all Inuyasha could do was jump straight up.
Cursing, he rushed out a few feet, turned and then launched himself
into the air and up the side of the dome.

Glass
and metal flashed by, and as Naraku came into view, Inuyasha saw he
was already waiting with his gun raised. Another shot buried itself
in his side, and then he landed in a crouch, the glass shaking
beneath him. He'd judged his jump well, managing to land only a few
yards from Naraku. He stood, preparing to lunge, but then the gun
exploded again, and he felt the wind of the bullet as it shot past
the right side of his head, grazing his cheek in a near-miss.

"Stop"
Naraku ordered.

Inuyasha
had, frozen to the spot by the shock of coming so close to having his
head blown off.

"Don't
think I missed, Inuyasha. I'm an excellent shot. That was a warning."

"Cocky
til the end," Inuyasha said, Naraku's words clearing away some
of his stupor. "Your aim wasn't so good when I was moving."

"That
wound in your side says otherwise."

"Lucky
shot." He took a step forward.

Naraku's
gun fired again, and another bullet ripped past Inuyasha's head, this
time on the left.

"You're
wasting bullets," Inuyasha said through his teeth, abandoning
the idea of a head-on approach. Naraku wasn't lying. His aim was
that good.

"I'm
making a point, that being the next one goes in your head. But you're
not worth anything to me dead, so I'd rather not kill you. If you'd
kindly stop moving, we might both be able to get out of here with our
lives."

There
was a black spot on the horizon, just over Naraku's shoulder. The
helicopter. It was getting bigger every second. Running out of
time, Inuyasha thought. "I won't let you leave," he
said.

"I'll
kill you if you try to stop me."

"Then
killing me will be the last thing you do."

Naraku
laughed. "I've already lost my spot in paradise. What's the harm
in dragging another soul down to Hell with me?"

"None,
I guess, seeing as how I'm headed there myself," Inuyasha said,
glancing around, searching for some way out of Naraku's crosshairs.
It was no good. There was nothing up here to dive behind. Thin air
around him, metal and glass at his feet.

And
that was when he noticed it. They were standing on the same panel of
glass.

He
carefully lowered his gaze. Far below, nearly five stories down, lay
the stone floor of the observatory. A fall that far might not kill,
but it would certainly stop Naraku from getting away.

Use
the weapons you were born with. Inuyasha's mind started racing,
trying to mentally gauge the clear material beneath his feet without
giving his thoughts away. The pane was about four by four yards,
three inches thick at the most. He'd have to be careful not to do it
to hard or too fast. No good if he just punched straight through. Now
he just needed a distraction. Where the hell was Miroku?

"Yes,
I've heard you were quite the killing machine at one time,"
Naraku was saying. "It's a shame I wasn't able to get my hands
on you back then. You might have proven useful. More so than your
brother, at least."

All
the thoughts moving in Inuyasha's mind suddenly slammed to a halt.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he asked, eying the
other man as if he'd sprouted a second head.

Naraku
let loose a vindictive smile. "You had no idea, did you?"

"You're
lying. I don't have a brother." It was a ridiculous, impossible
suggestion. Bait to throw his mind off balance. It had to be.

"If
you want to know more, come find me in Linos. I'll tell you all about
him. Maybe I'll even help you find him," Naraku said.

The
helicopter was almost overhead now, turning and approaching slowly,
its side door open. A man stood inside, a rope ladder coiled in his
hands.

"But don't
worry, Inuyasha," Naraku added, having to shout over the roar of
the blades to be heard. "Even if you decide not to come after
me, this won't be the last time we meet. I have no intention of
giving up my plans for you or the old man. You'll see me again,
whether you want to or not." With
an air of triumph, he raised a hand, signaling that he was ready for
his rescue. His aim and gaze on Inuyasha stayed firm, refusing to
give his target any chance of making a move.

The
ladder was dropped, and it spun down through the air, bouncing to a
stop a few yards above them. Slowly, the helicopter moved, lowering
the ladder, and Inuyasha knew he was out of time. The threat Naraku
had made was very real. If this didn't end here, he would come after
them again, and Inuyasha had no doubt that the next time he did, he
would be much more careful with how he went about things, and
therefore harder to stop. As long as Naraku was free, none of them
would be safe, not even Kagome.

Inuyasha's
eyes narrowed angrily. There was no way he was going to allow this
man to haunt him or the people he loved for the rest of their lives.
One way or another, he had to end this. Now.

There
was movement at the other side of the dome as a figure rose up over
the edge. It was Miroku. "Naraku!" he yelled, raising his
gun.

It
was the distraction Inuyasha had been waiting for.

Naraku
didn't turn, but his attention shifted. Inuyasha saw it flash across
his face, and the moment it did, he pushed the man's vague allusions
to some long lost brother out of his mind and reacted without
hesitation. With all the speed his bloody body could give, he raised
a fist and then shot it down toward his feet. Not too fast, not
too slow. Please let this work!

The
glass fractured beneath his hand, the entire panel shattering in an
instant. Through the pounding heartbeat in his ears, he heard the
sound of more gunfire, felt another bullet tear into his body. Naraku
was falling, and so was he. At the last second, as he felt the solid
ground disintegrate beneath him, he spun and reached for the metal
grid, hooking his fingers around it just in time. Pain shot through
his wrists as a few shards of glass still stuck in the frame sliced
at his skin. His injured shoulder screamed in agony. But he held on
as the sound of Naraku's furious shrieking echoed up at him and then
abruptly ended.

The
helicopter was pulling away. Inuyasha tried to glance down to the
observatory floor, but the pain in his shoulder wouldn't allow it. He
tried to pull himself up, but he couldn't do that either.

"Shit
shit shit!" he hissed. He wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
He could survive the fall, but his legs might be useless for a while.
Superficial wounds were one thing. Broken bones were something else
entirely; hard for him to get and about as hard for him to heal as a
normal human.

He
let his bad arm fall, and was finally able to look down. Naraku's
body lay crumpled on the ground below, one leg bent at an unsettling
angle, dark liquid pooling around his head. Inuyasha resisted the
urge to spit. His fingers were beginning to go numb, and blood poured
down his arms. He groaned, resigning himself to letting go.

"Inuyasha!"
Miroku called out, appearing above him. "Hang on," he said,
and began to kick the remaining glass out of the frame.

Inuyasha
turned his face away as the shards rained down around him, and then
Miroku's hand fastened around his wrist.

"Other
hand," Miroku ordered, and it was raised to him. Slowly, Miroku
pulled him up, and once he was high enough, Inuyasha hooked a leg up
over the edge and rolled himself out. He laid there for a minute,
steadying his breathing.

"You're
fucking crazy, you know that?" Miroku said, staring down at him,
a look of perplexed wonder on his face.

Inuyasha
coughed out a little laugh. "Shut up and help me get off this
damn roof."

Continued
in chapter 20 – Legacy of Lies

A/N:
And there you have it. Yes, I've decided to continue the story. But
it will be in the form of a sequel, because I always intended for AFR
to have a solid ending. I'll begin writing that one, as of yet
unnamed, once I finish AFR, though my attention may be split between
that and my other IY fic, Lady of the Midnight House, which I posted
the prologue for a while back on FanFiction.net.

Also,
in case some people didn't catch it on my author page, I decided in
July to go back through the story and do a complete reedit, which
ended up turning into a rather large rewrite project. The new version
features some significant changes from the original that I began
posting in 2007, though the story line remains the same. Most changes
were to things that needed rewriting in order to improve the story
flow, and to make it a bit less wordy overall. I clarified some
things and simplified others, took out a lot of filler and replaced
with more substance, added some dialogue, made the conversations in
the second and third chapters a bit more conversational, removed many
unnecessary adjectives, fixed a number of grammar and spelling
errors, etc. It definitely reads easier now. The edited chapters will
be rolled out and uploaded in batches of five at a time, with the
date that each chapter was reposted in a note at the top. At the time
of this chapter's release, only the reedited versions of chapters 1-5
have been released, but I'm slowly going through each one and then
reposting them, adding an update to my author page when each batch
has been uploaded. I'm currently on chapter 8, so 6-10 should be out
sometime in the next month or two.

As
for this chapter, it was an absolute blast to write. I haven't
written many action scenes before, so this was new for me, and quite
an enjoyable experience. It didn't end up being as long as I would
have liked, but I didn't want to slow down the action with a bunch of
needless filler.

THANK
YOU to those of you who have reviewed so far, especially those first
responders. I always get so nervous after a chapter release, and
those first few always help to calm my nerves, lol. So please leave a
review, because not only do they help me get better at writing, they
encourage me to keep going, as well. Til next time!

Influential
music for this chapter

Baltar's
Dream - Bear McCreary, Battlestar Galactica Season 2 OST

All
Along the Watchtower - Bear McCreary, Battlestar Galactica Season 3
OST

Saya's
Victory - Mark Mancina, Blood+ OST 1
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A Fool's Redemption