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The Forest That Bore His Name	By : Raithea Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 17700 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
~~Chapter Seven~~
Flight
“Inuyasha, you need to get some sleep.” Kagome tried once again to get him to lie back down, at the same time fluffing the pillow under his chest.
“Like Hell! You said you’d let me go if I came here. And now he knows I’m here.”
Kagome gave up on the pillows, crossing her arms, she drawled. “No, what I said was you can go once you get a few days rest.”
“Yeah, well, you’re breakin' that promise too!” he barked back as he rested for a moment, propped up on the pillows. His back was bitching about his efforts to remain at least partially upright and he was panting from fighting the damn miko.
Kagome put her hands on her hips, exasperated, “You haven’t exactly been up front with me. You wouldn’t even tell me your name.”
He looked down awkwardly for a moment, before he glared back up at her. “You’ve been hiding shit from me. Why the hell is okay for you but not me?” he retorted.
Kagome’s brows furrowed, “What did I hide from you?”
“That you’re the guardian of the Shikon.” It did occur to him that maybe she simply didn’t trust a transient stranger like him; something which he could understand and yet coming from her, and he had no friggin' clue why, such mistrust hurt.
“Oh,” she said, feeling a might uncomfortable. “Well...yes I didn’t’ tell you about that,” Kagome fidgeted, “but that is very dangerous information to have.” It did have to come up at some point, she knew that, but she wished they could have had a bit more time to get to know each other better before they did.
“Keh, I could’ve handled it,” Inuyasha said, pushing himself up a little straighter, even while paying for it with a pinching pain in his back. He didn’t need to be coddled like a kid, he was hurt, not helpless! Or maybe she thought he was, now that she knew about the branding. His ears drooped a little at that thought. Gods, when he thought about it, his chest burned in humiliation and much darker things. Was she just doing this out of pity? Inuyasha really hoped not, but could see her as the type of person to do such a thing. That was the last thing he wanted, damn it.
Kagome smiled at him, “I don’t doubt you could. I was planning to tell you later,” she told him, “but right now I want you concentrating on getting some rest.” Inuyasha ignored the blatant hint even while her words helped derail his spiraling thoughts and bolster his lagging ego; leaving him slightly more convinced that it had been standard protocol and not pity that had gotten him here. A small difference, true, but an important one in Inuyasha’s opinion.
The miko tilted her head to the side, regarding him as his thoughts swam, before speaking up again, “Inuyasha, how did you even know about the Shikon no Tama?”
“I know someone who wants it,” he said, his expression darkening. The number of times Inuyasha had heard him go on about it, and the number of attacks he’d suffered when the jewel had evaded him...
“Who?” she asked. Inuyasha just looked at her, “Ah… yes, it would be him wouldn’t it.”
They both lapsed into silence, as Kagome sunk down on the bed next to him, placing her hands over one of his. Inuyasha startled, jerking at the small touch. It had been such a long time since he’d had any sort of friendly touch; he hadn’t realized how much he had missed it. No ulterior motives, just a quiet sign of kindness. At the same time touching made him nervous, not calm, and he had to steal himself when Kagome slowly reached for him again. This time he managed not to draw back.
“Would you like to see it?” Kagome asked quietly.
Inuyasha’s head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise, “Th…the Shikon no Tama?” he asked.
Kagome nodded.
He hesitated. After all the things he’d heard about the jewel he was both curious and nervous, but he wasn’t weak and he had said he could handle it. His hands clenched beneath Kagome’s before giving a quick nod.
She withdrew her hands in order to pull a simple necklace out of her shirt. The miko turned away and reached behind her head, fumbling with the clasp before it opened with a snap and the chain slithered off her neck to pool in her hand. Despite himself, Inuyasha leaned forward in interest as Kagome turned and held it out to him. He frowned in confusion when he finally got a good look at it.
“I thought the Shikon no Tama was supposed to be shaped like a marble,” the young hanyou said, pointing at the jewel. “This looks like it’s been cracked in half,” he said, his tone slightly accusatory, wondering if this was some sort of trick.
The jewel was not that big, maybe the size of a large jawbreaker, with the jaw somehow threaded through it. The Jewel itself seemed to hold its own glow and at the same time made everything around it look a bit darker. The half sphere looked completely smooth and when Kagome took his hand and placed the jewel within it, he felt the rough edge of the unfinished half.
“It did, once,” Kagome told him.
Inuyasha looked up at her from staring at the jewel, “Did what?”
“Look like a marble,” she elaborated, “then the jewel was split and this half found its way to me.” She smiled at him, but Inuyasha just looked at her incredulously.
Questions burst inside his head, 'Where was the other half? Who was the other guardian?' but he kept them to himself. It didn’t really matter, he wasn’t interested in the jewel and he wasn’t planning on staying long anyway.
“I know I’ll meet the other guardian someday,” Kagome said suddenly. Inuyasha looked up at her.
“Do you think you’ll like them?” he asked
Kagome looked at little surprised at the question, giving pause for a moment. “I think… they could become very important to me,” she said finally.
Inuyasha nodded, more to himself than anything else. He imagined that Kagome felt as isolated as a guardian as he did as a hanyou; probably even more so.
They shared silence once more before Inuyasha asked, “Are you really planning on keeping me here?”
Kagome sighed, “I don't plan to, but I can't say what Sesshomaru intends,” she admitted.
Inuyasha looked down at the jewel again, but didn’t really see it. He just didn’t want Kagome to see the fear on his face. He couldn’t stay here, he just couldn’t. Sesshomaru didn’t want him here and he had no wish to be in Sesshomaru’s territory.
This wasn’t his home anymore.
The lamplight caught the jewel and he focused on it once more before holding out his hand toward Kagome.
She looked down at the jewel then up at him again, a thoughtful look on her face, “Why don’t you hold on to it for a while,” she suggested, her voice nonchalant as though offering him a comforting stuffed toy and not a powerful relic.
He gaped at her, stunned, before regaining enough of his senses to stammer, “D-Don’t be stupid,” shoving the hand holding the Shikon towards her.
She simply smiled at him, before reaching out and closing his hand around the jewel with her own, “I am sure you will do an admirable job,” she said, and gently pushed their clasped hands back towards Inuyasha.
He stared at her before slowly retracting his hand. She smiled back at him, “Here, let me help you put it on.” Kagome scooped the necklace out of his hand and reached around him, as she easily fitted the chain on his neck.
Inuyasha looked down at the jewel, feeling its small weight settle on his neck, the jewel itself dangling within his grasp. “Where’s Sesshomaru now?” he asked, when Kagome was again facing him
“He's gone back to the main estate, but he said he’ll be back tomorrow morning.” Inuyasha looked out the window unable to see the set of buildings that sat on the other side of the valley.
Kagome stood up, “Why don’t you try and get some more rest and I’ll check on you again later.” She gathered up the medicines and salves from when they had redressed his back, and set them in a cabinet, before heading towards the door. “If you need anything just call,” and without waiting for his reply she quietly slipped out the door, closing it behind her.
~~~~~
Inuyasha awoke to a darkened room; glancing at the illuminated clock and saw that it was just after midnight. He lay there for a few minutes, not wanting to leave the comfort of the soft bed and straining his ears for any out of place noises. Nothing but the light snores of someone down the hall reached his ears.
Time to go.
Slowly he rose, as mindful as he could be of his injuries, until he could ease himself out and stood listening again. Still nothing.
Inuyasha sighed. No more excuses, he needed to leave.
Inuyasha looked around the room for his clothes. Not spotting them he moved around the room, rummaging through the wooden furnishing before finally finding them, cleaned and pressed, in the wardrobe.
Inuyasha quickly stripped out of the borrowed pajamas, slipping back into the clothes he’d come here in. The Shikon jewel bumped lightly against his chest as he reached for his haori. Truth be told, he had completely forgotten about it with trying to get ready to sneak out of this place. He couldn’t take it with him. As far as he could tell, from the stories he had heard, this thing just attracted trouble and he knew there was still a good chance that at some point Naraku would catch up to him, which could very well spell his end. The last thing he wanted was for Naraku to then get his hands on the jewel. His hands gripped the chain and pulled it over his head.
Or at least he tried to.
The jewel glowed fiercely as he tried to force it over his head, tugging repeatedly, until he finally had to stop, panting and slightly dizzy from the pain in his back. His hands dropped from the chain and braced his hands onto his knees; the jewel giving one final, stubborn glow before going quiet once again.
What in the fucking hells was going on?! Why couldn’t he get this thing off? Kagome had no problems pulling it off, was it because she was the guardian of the Shikon?
Or...or because this wasn’t the Shikon jewel at all.
The thought stopped him and he felt like howling at the betrayal. He barely knew the miko and yet it still fucking hurt. Dammit, when was he gonna learn? He couldn't trust anyone. That fact had been pounded into him time and time again, and yet he still made these stupid freakin' mistakes. He growled, he didn’t have time to dwell on this crap. He’d just have to get over it and get out of here.
But the question was, if this wasn’t the legendary jewel than what was it? Was it some sort of tracking spell, or worse, something that could prevent him from leaving altogether? It didn’t matter. If he didn’t try to get out he wasn’t going to make it anywhere, and hell, at this point he didn’t have anything to lose.
He grabbed for his haori and pulled it on; the pain in his back making him want to claw off his own skin from his movements as he pulled it on, but soon enough he was ready to go.
Luckily he had seen that the room across the hall was empty, and it led directly to the outside. Quiet as he could, he slipped through the shoji, trying to keep to the outside of the frames, where the floorboards were less likely to creak. Heh, being a trouble making brat paid off after all. Finally, he was through the last door and out into the night.
He crept into the main garden, finding the old path that led to the back wall, where he had just enough strength to grab the top and pull himself over. He sat straddling the wall for a second, looking at the temple grounds below; the shadow of the Goshinboku, easily distinguishable near the main entrance.
They had said that Kaede had gone to look for him. So she had tried to find him, she had really cared for him.
Apparently she was the last one who ever had.
~~~~~
It was an hour past dawn before movement began to stir within the household. Kagome quickly got herself ready, she hoped that Inuyasha had been able to get some sleep last night. After Sesshomaru had visited, he hadn’t looked much like resting at all. She felt like cursing, why couldn’t just one thing go smoothly?
Ah well, at least Inuyasha had been able to escape Naraku on his own. Kagome knew that Inuyasha’s confidence, despite how little she knew of him and how loudly he would protest, had to be at an all time low. Maybe, the little spur he had gained from that escape could be something they could build on.
She gathered up her medicines and some fresh dressings for his wounds. They were still not fully healed over and despite all Kagome could do for him, she couldn’t remove the mark. She bit her lip, sooner or later Naraku would return and discover Inuyasha gone. The real question was, would the magic of the temple be enough to hide Inuyasha from him or would Naraku be on their doorstep the moment he returned.
And what then?
Since Sesshomaru had already given up his legal claim to Inuyasha, Naraku had every right to assert his ‘guardianship’ over him, and no court would listen to claims of abuse for a hanyou.
Later. They would talk about this later. Sesshomaru would return this afternoon to discuss the options available to them, and then they could move on from there. Kagome just hoped there was some spell, or something, to remove that damn brand.
She stopped in front of Inuyasha’s room, manoeuvring her tray full of supplies so that she could slide the door open. When she finally got the door open, she was met with a completely empty room. The tray slipped from suddenly numb fingers. Oh god. Had Naraku returned already and taken him back? How could this have happened, she should have sensed something. She ran from the room, sprinting down the hallways before she nearly ran into Asagi. Without a word she grabbed her hand and pulled her back in the direction she had just come, until they were back at Inuyasha’s room
“I need to know what happened,” Kagome said, before Asagi could even make a sound. Asagi had a moment of stunned disbelief, before she went to work. She could still smell Inuyasha, his scent leading out of the room. She followed it to the opposite room and out into the gardens where it seemed to dissolve with the morning mist. She sighed. While the miasmic smell was still there with Inuyasha’s scent, Asagi couldn’t detect another’s scent. The idiot had left on his own.
She pointed to the garden, “His scent leads this way. He probably leapt over one of the garden walls. I don’t think anyone was with him, but there’s no telling where he’s gotten to now.” She turned back to Kagome, seeing her breath a sigh of relief.
“Right, Asagi get everyone to the central room in ten minutes. We need to send everyone out to help with the search.” Kagome then disappeared back into the house.
She dashed to the nearest phone, calling Kirara as she did. Kagome dialled the number for the main estate and was answered with the scratchy voice of Jaken. She didn’t bother asking to speak directly to Sesshomaru, he always refused to come to the phone at any rate. Instead she relayed a quick message that Inuyasha had left and that she must speak with Sesshomaru immediately, impressing on the little youkai that Sesshomaru had been waiting for this message and that he wouldn’t be pleased if he never got it.
“Of course I will deliver it to him. Stupid human, I am Sesshomaru’s most faithful servant.” And with that the line went dead.
Well at least he sounded insulted enough to actually deliver the message. She turned to Kirara who had appeared next to her during the call. She wanted Kirara to start searching from the air immediately, but as she opened her mouth to give instructions, the phone suddenly rang. Gah, she didn’t have time to deal with clients today. She snatched up the phone.
“Hello,” she said, as rudely as possible to try and get the person off the phone. However, the person on the other side was not to be out done.
“How in all the hells could Inuyasha be GONE?!” Sesshomaru roared through the phone.
Kagome was stunned. “Se-Sesshomaru? What are you doing on a phone?”
“I am trying to discover,” he spat, his teeth grinding so hard in anger Kagome could actually hear the enamel scraping, “how you let a crippled hanyou escape from your custody, when he can barely walk!”
“I didn’t let him escape, Sesshomaru. And I have no idea how he managed it in his condition.”
“The same way he escaped from Naraku’s, you idiotic miko!” Sesshomaru immediately shot back. “Did it not occur to you from my orders that he might be less than pleased with staying at the shrine.”
“Yes it did,” she snapped, clearly affronted by Sesshomaru’s tone, “but I didn’t think he would be so eager to get out of here that he would leave with his wounds barely taken care of. Now you can either calm down right now or I am hanging up this phone.”
There was a long pause on the other side of the line. After a few moments Kagome heard a deep breath from the other end. Good, now maybe they could get something useful done. “Do you know of any paths or caves that Inuyasha might use to get out of the area? I doubt he will head any closer to Naraku’s territory if he can manage it.”
Again more silence from the other line and then, “I believe I know of a few trails that Inuyasha may try to take. I will send Aiko and Haku to you. They will attempt to track Inuyasha from the temple; while I shall search the trails surrounding the main house.”
Kagome nodded in understanding, though Sesshomaru couldn’t see, “Alright, I’ll send the others out searching as well.”
“Hmm,” was her answer, before the line simply went dead as Sesshomaru hung up. She huffed at his rudeness and slammed the phone back down on the hook.
Honestly, how impolite could a person be? She looked down at Kirara, who stared back with calm, level eyes. Right, this was no time to be worrying about the manners of a daiyoukai.
Kagome ran from the room, hearing Asagi yelling at the others to get up, and the inevitable grumbling from the disturbed sleepers. She headed to her office to grab a map of the area, her thoughts already on who would be best to send where.
Bouncing around in her disturbed synapses was the confusion about why she couldn’t sense where Inuyasha was, and the hope that Naraku hadn’t found the wayward lost boy already.
~~~~~
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and the little man in my finger says I never will.
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The Forest That Bore His Name