InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Cross of Blades ❯ Pick-Up Sticks ( Chapter 17 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Striking Falcon 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.06.2006 | Pages: 9 | Words: 10.0K | Visits: 658 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.06.2006 | Pages: 9 | Words: 10.0K | Visits: 658 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Nope, I don’t own it. If I did then I wouldn’t have been away for so long. So sorry you guys.
Chapter Sixteen: Pick-Up Sticks
The horizon stretched out endlessly, the white fluffs of clouds lazily drifting along their merry way as the Black Dragon flew along among them. The rising sun shimmered along the airship’s onyx metallic side and into its windows brightly, and Sesshoumaru scowled in spite of himself.
‘Blast this infernal sunlight,’ he griped unhappily as he held his hand to his eyes for a makeshift shield. ‘How is one supposed to see if the sun gets in the way? What a bother.’ He growled slightly and sighed, his indignation leaving as quickly as it came. He checked the navigation controls and sighed again, then entered a conformation command before the screen winked off.
They would report to the emergency station at Fisherman’s Horizon in twenty-four hours, leaving another day before he and Kagome were bombarded with questions and inquires about the time they were gone. Sesshoumaru was not looking forward to it needless to say, but there was more to it than having to give the same report time and time again. The closer they came to FH the more he wanted to turn the ship around and go someplace else, any place else, that didn’t involve the rest of the world. Now that he looked back on his time spent inside the shelter, he realized that there he was actually more free than he had ever been in his life. Free from all responsibility (save one) and almost all accountability, the Sesshoumaru that resided inside the underground sanctuary could be whomever he wanted to be without question or concern about whether others would approve.
‘Not that I concerned myself with the thoughts of others in the first place,’ Sesshoumaru hm’ed slightly. His ears shifted back, then he turned as the lift’s gears groaned into action. The face of his smiling companion appeared moments later, the steam from the Styrofoam cup in her hand clouding around her hands as she stepped off the platform and walked toward him with a happy bounce.
“Good morning Sesshoumaru,” Kagome sang out as she set the cup inside a cupholder inside the armrest of Sesshoumaru’s chair. “How are you?”
“As well as can be expected,” he mumbled and swirled a finger inside the steaming cup. Kagome winced as the digit came in contact with the hot liquid inside.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked when he remained silent. Sesshoumaru shook his head, then dried his hand and returned to the cockpit controls.
“So-“
“We will arrive at FH in 24 hours,” he said before she could finish. “Hopefully the emergency station is still operational.”
“Yeah,” Kagome sighed as she sank down in front of the gunner’s control panel. “We’ve been gone for a long time huh?” She expected not to get an answer, so she wasn’t surprised when she didn’t. “Man, I wonder how everyone is. I bet Shippou’s grown up some.” She giggled softly, her hand covering her mouth to muffle the sound. “I wonder if Miroku and Sango still fight.”
“What of Inuyasha?”
“Huh?” Kagome sat up, the wistfulness gone from her tone as she stared at the back of his head. “What about him?”
“Surely you miss him.”
“Well yeah, of course,” Kagome agreed. “Just like I miss Kikyou, Sango, Miroku and Shippou. We’re all friends. But…”
“But?”
“I miss Souta most.”
“Who is this Souta?” Sesshoumaru asked as Kagome lost herself in thought. “Kagome?”
“Hm? Oh, Souta’s my little brother.”
“You have a little brother?”
“Yeah,” Kagome replied then smirked. “You didn’t think you were the only person in the world who knew the pains of having a younger brother did you?” She laughed when he ‘hm’ed in irritation and waited for him to turn around before continuing. “To be honest, Souta’s not that bad. We don’t see a lot of each other –“
“Lucky you.”
“Oh stop that,” Kagome chided softly. “I bet you miss Inuyasha too. I know he misses you.”
“Highly doubtful,” Sesshoumaru remarked dryly before turning back to the console. Kagome huffed in frustration, knowing better than to go any further on the subject before deciding to change it altogether. “Are you looking forward to going back to the Garden?”
“As much as any person I suppose,” Sesshoumaru quipped as he exited out of a command screen. “Why, aren’t you?”
“…Well…not really.”
“Really?” He turned to Kagome in surprise. “Why not?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to see my friends,” Kagome said while she reclined back in her seat. “But I can’t help but feel like I’m forgetting something, like I’m leaving something behind.” She laughed suddenly and smiled at him, her happiness shining in her eyes. “But I definitely can’t wait to climb a tree again.”
“What is so important about a tree?” Sesshoumaru wondered in confusion. “They are everywhere so what is so fascinating about them?”
“I’m from Esthar remember?” Kagome reminded him. “So I guess I’m still not too used to trees and stuff. Shippou, Miroku and Inuyasha taught me how to climb and that’s where I used to go to think. I’m pretty sure my old oak tree is still standing near Balamb.”
“Then perhaps we should go there first,” Sesshoumaru lightly proposed. “That way you may have your human time before we return.”
“Ha ha, real funny,” Kagome grumbled. “What, don’t tell me you never played in trees as a kid.”
“Actually, no, I did not. I did not ‘play’ as you call it. I was busy performing other tasks.”
“What other tasks?” Kagome wondered curiously. “I mean, if you don’t mind telling me.”
“What is there to tell?” Sesshoumaru replied, then turned around again when the pilot’s console beeped. “I am the firstborn of my family, so there were responsibilities to learn.”
“Like what?” Kagome asked. She was always interested in the inu brothers’ past, and since Inuyasha never talked about it she decided to use this opportunity to learn more about them.
“Such as…well…there are the royal duties I am to take care of after Father retires, then the ambass-“
“Royal duties?!” Kagome interrupted aloud. “What royal duties are you talking about?”
“My father is the Taiyoukai of the West.” He glanced over his shoulder, then turned around once more at the shock on her face. “Surely Inuyasha explained this to you.”
“Uh-uh,” Kagome replied with a shake of her head. “Whenever I would ask about you guys he would change the subject. So you guys are, like, princes or something right?”
“Something of that nature, yes,” Sesshoumaru answered. “And Inuyasha never told you? I can’t imagine why not,” he said when she shook her head again. “Though his studies are not as numerous as mine, I am sure they are quite tedious for him.”
“But what kind of studies?” Kagome wondered aloud. “And it’s not like you have to study all the time, right? I mean, Inuyasha hates books, so I can’t see him studying during our breaks.”
“Inuyasha has no real need of our studies,” Sesshoumaru explained sardonically before resetting a mistyped command. “Only I am required to maintain the ways of our species and the laws that govern us.”
“So you’ll be like a judge or something, right?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded. “Something like that I suppose.”
“And Inuyasha doesn’t have to learn it because he’s not…um…what’s the word now…”
“He’s not the firstborn heir,” Kagome heard Sesshoumaru reply. “Though he could at least try to be more responsible.”
“Yeah, I guess he could,” Kagome agreed absently. She was instantly lost in thought, mentally replaying all of her memories of the two brothers as they grew up in the Garden. Nothing about either of them suggested royalty; though she had noticed the special way some of the Garden officials would treat them when they would fight. Things that would get a regular Garden student expelled would be overlooked in their case, and now Kagome could see why. Ambassador Endo was well known, respected and powerful, so it was no real surprise that his sons would be pardoned for any trespasses.
“But why did you come to the Garden?” Kagome couldn’t help but ask. “Was that part of your training too?”
“No,” he answered with a slight shake of his head. “I wanted to become a SeeD. It was…one of the few studies our father approved of.”
‘He WANTED to be a SeeD?!’ Kagome thought in shock. ‘No way. Who else but Inuyasha becomes a SeeD because they want to?!’ She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to come to the Garden as a child. Inuyasha, Shippou, even Sango; who’s father attended the Garden, didn’t exactly want to be at the Garden. Home (well, everyone’s home but hers) was so much better than being inside the Garden’s sterile white walls. No one wanted to stay inside the small dorms or with the irritable Garden staff. As a matter of fact, the only sensible reason anyone would want to be at the Garden was if….
‘If home were worse,’ Kagome realized, her puzzlement melting into sympathy and heartfelt understanding. During the Christmas and spring breaks, Inuyasha would go to Winhill to stay with Miroku, or ride to Dollet with Kikyou once they started dating. Inuyasha always stayed with a friend, but Sesshoumaru boarded the train to Timber every break, supposedly taking the next train from there to Deling City. Kagome realized that breaks weren’t breaks for him, not when more lessons and studies awaited him once he came home.
‘He never got to be a kid.’ Kagome thought as she stood from her seat and walked toward the back of his chair. ‘He never got to run, or jump, or play. No wonder he wanted to be a SeeD.
‘He wanted an escape and a chance to be his own person.’
It never occurred to Kagome that she might have been exaggerating Sesshoumaru’s suffering. To her, it was the saddest thing she’d ever heard, an atrocity against everything decent and humane, and it explained everything about Sesshoumaru’s behavior, including his frigid attitude.
Sesshoumaru stiffened instantly, his senses on alert the moment she touched him. His hand reached up to clasp hers and held them steady at the center of his chest. Kagome stayed in this awkward position with her arms around his shoulders in a clumsy, but well meant, hug and rested her head on his right shoulder when he finally relaxed.
“Is there something I can help you with,” he growled crossly. “There is more to be done than-“
“Sesshoumaru, will you still be my friend when we get back to everyone?”
Sesshoumaru paused a moment, taking the time to think over her question before asking, “Do you consider us…’friends’ now?”
Kagome nodded enthusiastically. “Of course I do!” she laughed softly. “You’re still an evil snot, but you’re my friend.” She frowned suddenly, the sparkle in her eyes fading to worry. “But you might not want anyone to see you with me. I am just a human and everything so-“
“You are not just a human,” Sesshoumaru found himself saying before he could stop himself. He quickly erased the surprise on his face before it could match hers and mentally shook himself before continuing. “You’re…unique, in your own aggravating way. You’re actually clever, which is something the rest of your kind cannot say for itself.”
“Gee, thanks Sesshoumaru,” Kagome griped good-naturedly. “You’re a real ladykiller.”
“Do not speak such nonsense,” Sesshoumaru jokingly reprimanded. “And do not make fun of me. I am…not used to giving praise.”
“I know it. It’s all right. I’m just kidding. You still haven’t answered my question though.”
“Will we be friends….yes, I suppose we will be,” Sesshoumaru nodded after a moment’s thought. “I do not see why we cannot be. So long as it’s what you wish-“
“It is!” Kagome chirped excitedly.
“Then it is what it will be,” Sesshoumaru determined; then growled in agitation. “Unless Inuyasha disagrees.”
“Well I hate it for him,” Kagome replied in determination. She stepped back and twirled around with her arms stretched out. Sesshoumaru shook her head and watched her, his eye missing the tiny yellow blinking light as she danced in front of him. Her hair, which had long since grown down past her waist, was pulled back in a low braid that swirled around her hips like leaves in a gust of wind. Her pink cotton hood flopped about behind her and the tiny black strings laced up the front of her white tank top freely swung from their places at her collar. A pair of calf high boots, with a swatch of powdery blue swishing from her right side and dark blue denim shorts showed off her legs and before Sesshoumaru could fully appreciate the view she was in front of him, her blue green eyes sparkling like the ocean in the afternoon sun.
“Do you promise?” she breathed excitedly, a wide grin breaking across her face. “Promise that we’ll stay friends no matter what?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded and watched as her smile only grew. “I give you my wor-urk!” He struggled to keep them from tipping backward when she vaulted into the pilot’s seat with him, her arms once again around his neck as she entrapped him in a fierce hug.
“That’s so good to hear!” she laughed against his shoulder. “I was so worried! I thought you would ignore me once we got back! I-I…um…what’s that?”
“What’s what?” Sesshoumaru wondered lazily, his mind more focused on the warm happy bundle in his lap than their surroundings. He spun the chair around and glanced at the pilot’s console, then nearly dropped his precious cargo as the yellow light at the top of the screen blinked at him. Kagome jumped up so he could access the signal and put it over the P. A. system.
“What is it?” Kagome asked again as he turned up the volume. “Is it something bad?”
“I do not know,” Sesshoumaru replied before kicking the bottom of the console. “I’m having trouble with the-ah, there it is,” he said as static sounded over the speakers. He turned a knob underneath the keyboard until the signal cleared and a voice rang out into the cabin.
“This is an SOS calling for anyone in the area. We have an emergency situation. Please respond!”
“That’s Kouga!” Kagome exclaimed, unaware of Sesshoumaru’s grimace once he recognized the voice. “Hey, I wonder what’s going on!”
“This is Captain Kouga Bravaldi in Esthar! We have an emergency situation! New Galbadian troops have stormed the city! My team’s being overrun here and we can’t do a hell of a lot to stop it! This is an SOS to anyone that can hear me! Respond!”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Kagome asked as Sesshoumaru picked up the ship’s com link microphone. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I cannot,” he replied irritably. “The com link isn’t operational. It is…one of the things I forgot to fix.”
“Ok then,” Kagome readily accepted. “What do we do? We’re too far away for anyone to help him.”
“We’re not,” Sesshoumaru corrected. “It would not take us but a few minutes to reach Esthar Airstation. From there we can find our way to Kouga and his team.”
“Then let’s do it!” Kagome exclaimed. “We’ve got to help Kouga!”
‘Awww! Do we have to?!’ Sesshoumaru’s inner youkai whined in exasperation. Sesshoumaru ignored it to reset their flight plan, erasing Fisherman’s Horizon from his coordinates and his thoughts before turning to Kagome. “Suit up,” he called to her as she jumped onto the elevator platform. “We do not know what’s ahead of us, so be ready for anything. And Kagome?”
“Yeah,” she said as she pressed the elevator control button.”
“Why do you wish to help the wolf?”
“Because he’s my friend,” she said with a smile. “You have too many friends,” Sesshoumaru remarked as he began to descend.
(-)
‘My God…what on earth happened here?’
Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder, his descent from the Black Dragon’s cargo bay ramp momentarily deterred once Kagome’s stray thought touched his psyche. She stood frozen, her eyes wide in horror and her hand brushing against her open mouth. She stared at one corner of the Airstation, then another as she soaked in the bloodshed that remained of a previous battle. Bodies, both of SeeD members and Airstation personnel alike, littered the once polished pale blue tile of the front lobby. A vicious roar then a scream from outside startled her and she glanced up at Sesshoumaru, the first sprinkling of tears clinging desperately to the corners of her eyes.
“What was that?” she choked out as she made her way toward him. “Is it inside the Airstation?”
“No.” Sesshoumaru shook his head. “That is outside, some distance away from us.”
“Oh.” She glanced around again and kneeled down beside the nearest body. Lifeless brown eyes stared into hers and Kagome quickly closed them before she could study the damage done to the rest of the face and body. “What could have done this?” she asked as Sesshoumaru led the way to the front entrance.
“It smells of a fiend, some sort of tiger-like creature,” he replied. He glanced through the pristine glass doors to the plexi glass streets and walkways outside, and frowned. It was no surprise that the doors themselves were spotless and free of blood. He guessed that the attack started here and spread into the city itself.
‘Which would explain the other airships we landed near,’ Sesshoumaru thought as he pressed his fingertips to the glass. A mental image of the past few hours replayed in his head, with the New Galbadian army quickly overrunning the unloading and receiving areas of the Airstation. The staff and SeeD held the lobby area firm until the release of the torama, three in all and infinitely more powerful than the tiny squadron of SeeD. The tiger creatures worked quickly, first picking off the SeeD before taking their time with the Airstation staff. Their valiant efforts were left splattered in dark crimson tears that dripped thickly down the Airstation’s walls
They never had a chance.
‘Deling has become more of a nuisance during our absence,’ Sesshoumaru determined with a displeased sigh. He released the door when his image appeared in front of him, the last one before then being of the army’s quiet impregnation of the city. ‘He’s gained the use of fiends as well. This does not bode well for the city.’ He unsheathed Shikyo from his side, Junsei’s answering song from it’s leather bindings the only sound in the room before he opened the door and took the first cautious step outside.
The air around them was eerily quiet, yet the scent of blood and death was strong on the early afternoon wind. His ears picked up a tiny cry in the distance and he turned toward the sound. It was too far away for Kagome to hear; yet she shook as if it had torn through her like a brisk arctic wind. The walkways and streets, normally so pristine in their pale shades of pastel blues, yellows and whites, were stained with bright splotches of dark red. A small bear sat in a pool of it in front of them, its owner and friend no doubt lost over the other side of the ledge.
“How can they do this?” Kagome whispered brokenly, her hands trembling along Junsei’s handle. “Don’t they care about the people they’re hurting? About the things they’re destroying? Don’t they care?”
“War is not about caring,” Sesshoumaru replied coldly. “War is about winning at all costs. The people and things that get in the way are inconsequential.”
“You wouldn’t say that if it were Deling City being ruined.”
“Perhaps not,” Sesshoumaru agreed after a moment’s thought. “But this is not Deling City.”
“No it’s not,” Kagome growled, her grip reinforcing itself on her weapon’s handle. “This is my city. I won’t stand by and let them do this.” He watched as her shoulders straightened and her eyes steeled in determination, all traces of grief and despair burning away to righteous fury. The blue swatch of cloth fluttered at her side as she turned to the left of the city, her profile more the avenging goddess than of the happy go lucky young woman he’d come to know and trust.
“We will separate here,” Sesshoumaru told her as he glanced toward the left as well. “What is the layout of the city?”
“It’s split in half,” Kagome replied with her back still turned to him. “The left and the right. They’re connected by one highway and two sets of lift tubes. I doubt they’re working though, not in anything like this. Places like the old Odine lab and the Presidential Palace are on our right. The shopping center and the main entrance gate to the city are on our left.”
“Then you go left. I shall take the right.”
“And we meet in the middle?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded absently. “We meet in the middle, on the highway you informed me of. Kagome,” he called out just as she began to make her way. “What is in the center of the city?”
“Um…homes and stuff. Why?”
“For tactical reasons.”
“Oh. Ok then. And Sesshoumaru? Be careful.” He glanced back, no doubt to give her a remark about how only humans needed to be careful, and found her gone. He watched her as she ran down one of the lift tubes with her gunblade to the side and behind her as the heavy thudding of her boots bounced against the fiberglass walls. His head tilted to the side, golden eyes thoughtful slits before he turned and walked toward the right side of the city.
)(
Nimble cinnamon paws dashed among the debris littering the city streets, their pursuer no less nimble as the roars and the grinding of gears thickened the air around them. The child on his back trembled and tightened his grip on Shippou’s neck as the massive broadsword of the fiend behind them barely missed the toddler’s head. A light brown strand of Shippou’s fur fluttered to the ground and Shippou snarled in frustration before bounding down a dimly lit alleyway. The mutated, overgrown version of the Tin Woodsman roared furiously as it tripped over objects Shippou darted over or underneath and Shippou soon found himself a good distance ahead of the iron giant.
He blamed Kagome for this, though how he thought it was justified when she wasn’t even there was something he wasn’t willing to explore at the moment. He himself was running for his life after being separated from Kouga and the others and found the little boy wailing in his doorway, his hands tightly clutching the strands of his dead father’s hair. He stopped almost immediately, his inner beast cursing him for not leaving the child behind as he stooped down and comforted the boy. No sooner had he calmed the child did the Iron Giant crash into the house beside them. It completely obliterated the structure before catching sight of them and at once the chase was on, with Shippou transforming and tossing the terrified tot onto his back without a second thought.
Shippou leapt over the shattered chunks of roadway and darted to the right, only to double back as an enormous steel boot crashed down in front of them. He jumped to the side, ran to the left and was blocked by the purple gargantuan’s colossal weapon. Shippou backed away from it slowly, his forest green eyes remaining focused on it until his back touched the last thing he expected: a solid, impassible wall. He groaned in annoyance, lowered his haunches and turned back to the fiend. The little boy slid off of his back and stood behind him as Shippou returned to his humanoid form.
“Get back kid,” Shippou whispered softly as he glared at the monster in front of them. “This isn’t gonna be pretty.” The little boy grasped his leg instead and Shippou sighed before reaching for a pouch of potions and grenades strapped to his left side. The Iron Giant snarled in warning and Shippou groaned again.
“Great,” Shippou muttered to himself. “I would get the smart one. Man, what do I do now?” The fiend answered for him as he roared and raised his sword. Routes of escape were nonexistent so Shippou did the only thing he could; he grabbed the child and shielded him with his body, his tail encircling the ground around them in a feeble attempt at a shield. The giant charged toward them, the golden sunlight glimmering off of the fiend’s shoulder horns the last image Shippou saw before he shut his eyes.
He opened them again when the giant grunted, Shippou’s eyes impossibly wide as a pink electric field held the broadsword suspended in the air between them. Despite the fiend’s best efforts, no amount of pulling, pushing or yanking could free the sword from the energy’s pure grip. Shippou glanced up from the fiend to a lift tube above them, the figure inside barely visible as it exited the nearest lift entrance and jumped from the ledge toward them. The figure landed on the fiend’s right side before it disappeared in a quick burst of speed. The iron giant remained distracted until the very end when the long blue steel of a gunblade sank deep into its chestplate. Electricity crackled and popped along the weapon’s surface and before the explosion and the stench of gunpowder and grease came the unexpected scent of lilies and lavender.
The explosion rocked Shippou off his feet yet he managed to keep his hold on his charge as the wind shrieked past them. He waited until the smoke cleared and the wind died down before looking up again, this time at the wall behind him and the large black smudge it now sported. He coughed, the black soot sticking to his lungs, and fanned the air clear so he could breathe. The figure had jumped clear of the blast and now stood in front of him, her back turned to him as a cool breeze blew the rest of the soot and ash away.
She turned and with a smile as bright and beautiful as he remembered, laughed and said, “Hi!”
“Kagome!” he cried out and dashed toward her, his companion forgotten as he swooped up the lost SeeD in his arms and twirled her around in excitement. Her laugh filed his ears and lightened his heart, something he desperately needed and missed as Kagome hugged him back.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Shippou told her once he finally calmed down. “It’s been hell here without you! Sango and Miroku don’t fight anymore, Inuyasha and Kouga are always fighting and-“
“Wait a sec,” Kagome interrupted. “Did you say Kouga? What about Kouga?”
“Well, when you and Sesshoumaru disappeared, Kouga became our captain,” Shippou explained. He frowned worriedly at Kagome’s concern, her hand instantly returning to her sheathed weapon as she glanced toward the right side of the city. “What going on Kagome?” he asked as the little boy came up and grasped his pantsleg again. “What’s wrong?”
“We heard Kouga’s SOS call,” Kagome said. “We came here to help and-where is he? And where are the others?”
“I don’t know,” Shippou shrugged. “We were heading toward that highway in the center of the city when we were ambushed. We were forced to separate and well…I haven’t heard anything from them for at least a couple of hours. That doesn’t mean a lot thought,” Shippou grimaced angrily. “Somehow the Galbadians figured out how to jam our communications systems. Sucks.”
“You guys were going to the highway?” Kagome asked, then laughed, pointed a finger behind him and shook her head. “Shippou you emptyhead! You’re practically there!”
“Huh?” Shippou glanced behind him at the wall and found that behind it and the black smudge mark was small steel catwalk leading toward a highway in the distance. “Well what are we standing around here for?” he shouted as he picked up the little boy and began to make his way across the narrow passage. “Let’s go already! I can’t wait for everyone to see you!”
Together they made the perilous journey to the other side, both unaware of the dizzying height they had to cross until they were well on their way. For Shippou it was for worse because of his need to glance back at her, to assure himself that what his eyes were seeing and what his ears were hearing was true. Here she was, back with him, and all of his old feelings for her resurfaced. He couldn’t help but notice how much she had changed, not only on the inside but the outside as well. She was showing a lot more skin, she was more confidant and…well, she was showing a lot more skin.
‘Not that I’m complaining,’ Shippou mused with a mischievous smirk. ‘But I wonder how the others are going to react.’ They met up with a family hiding inside a house beside the catwalk and, to their surprise, they turned out to be the boy’s mother, aunt and cousins who had managed to hide when the attack first started. The boy’s mother was grateful to the point of tears at seeing her son alive and promised the SeeDs that she would take him and the rest of her remaining family to the nearest shelter as soon as it was safe to. Shippou and Kagome continued the rest of the way in silence, the thousands of questions simmering underneath the surface quieted at the differences in their friends.
To Kagome, Shippou not only looked older but he acted older, his actions more cautious than the carefree kitsune she left behind so many months before. ‘Could he really have changed so much in so little time?’ Kagome wondered while she tightened her grasp on the catwalk’s railing. ‘He’s so somber, so serious. Is this what’s happened to everyone else? Will I even recognize anyone else?’
Shippou glanced over his shoulder and frowned slightly at the worried look on Kagome’s face. ‘She’s probably confused,’ he concluded as kicked a small pebble off of the rampway. ‘Everything’s changed since she’s been gone but not her…well, not exactly. She smells different, more…I don’t know. I can’t put it into words but there’s a part of me that fears her now that didn’t before. My inner youkai recognizes her as a danger but it’s Kagome. She’s never hurt me…but there’s something about her, something I can’t put my finger on…’
“Hey Shippou?”
“Yeah Kagome?” he answered before daring to look back at her. “What is it?”
“What’s that sound? It sounds like people.”
‘People? Out in the open during something like this? Not likely but…’ Shippou took a few whiffs and grinned, relief relaxing his shoulders as he reached back for Kagome’s hand and ran the rest of the way across. Kagome gasped in surprise but held on and somehow managed to keep up. They burst into the open moments later, both temporarily blinded by the intense sunlight as it bounced off of the few clean surfaces on the roadway. Shippou pulled Kagome up the highway, his tail twitching in excitement as a group of people stood arguing in the middle of the road.
“Hey Kagome, I’ve got an idea,” Shippou said with an impish grin. “You stay right here ok?”
“Why?” Kagome asked, her smile growing as Shippou bounced from one foot to the other. “What for?”
“They haven’t seen you yet,” he explained. “So I want to tell them that you’re here. If you stand right here they can see you and it’ll be a big surprise.”
“Won’t they be surprised anyway?”
“Well yeah but where’s the fun in you just walking up and saying, ‘Hi!’?”
“Worked with you didn’t it?” Kagome huffed, then crossed her arms over her chest and looked away as if annoyed. She quickly turned back and winked, a clear sign that she would go along with his plan.
“Thanks Kagome,” Shippou chirped quickly, then kissed her cheek and dashed off toward the others. Kagome giggled softly and realized that he was still every bit the small cub that she remembered. ‘Maybe it’s not so bad that he’s grown up,’ she said to herself. ‘Maybe he has a girlfriend now. Aw, how cute would that be!’
“Not very cute at all, if you ask me.”
“Well I’m not asking you,” Kagome answered as Sesshoumaru landed beside her. “And how many times do I have to tell you about sneaking around my head?”
“This Sesshoumaru does not ‘sneak’,” Sesshoumaru quipped dryly. “I merely caught your stray thought as I arrived. The fact that you cannot keep control of it is not my fault.”
“Gah, you’re so frustrating!” Kagome growled out between gritted teeth. Her hands balled at her sides, but her anger and Sesshoumaru’s arrogance was quickly forgotten as soon as she heard someone shriek her name. She froze instantly, nervousness and anxiety wiped away everything else as the others ran toward them. ‘Oh boy,’ she said to herself as soon as she could see Sango’s overjoyed face. ‘Here goes nothing. What are they going to say?’ She jumped when something enclosed her wrist, the soft downy fur familiar but unexpected. She gave Sesshoumaru a questioning look, which he answered with a blank one of his own. She smiled and nodded, understanding without words that, though he wished to give her some support, he didn’t want it known to the world. She gave his tail a covert pat and relaxed, straightened her back and smiled as everyone finally arrived.
Shippou balked in surprise from his place behind the others, his mouth gaping in shock before it snapped closed again. He figured Sesshoumaru survived and made it back (after all, Kagome told him so) but he hadn’t actually expected to see the older inu brother until later, much later in the day. To see him standing there, and dressed as funny as Kagome, was more of a shock than his mind could keep up with. After all, it wasn’t everyday one saw Sesshoumaru dressed in the forest greens, creamy whites and pastel yellows of ancient holy men.
‘That’s got to be a sacrilege,’ Shippou quipped to himself, then winced in sympathy when Sango got over her surprise and engulfed Kagome in a bone-crushing hug. Kagome hugged her back as best she could with her breath taken aback and her right hand still restricted by Sesshoumaru’s tail. She assured Sango of her well-being while the others chattered around her.
“How’s my girl doin’?” Kouga called out as he pushed his way through the crowd toward her. “Woah, don’t you look hot?!” he whistled in approval as he drank in the sight of her. “I always knew you’d look good in shorts, but I didn’t think you’d look that good!”
“That’s not funny Kouga!” Souten and Sango reprimanded with a stern rap to the back of his head. “What’s Ami going to say when she finds out?!”
“Ami’s not going to find out,” Kouga griped in his defense. “Besides, Kagome was always my girl in the first place.”
“You’re so full of it Kouga,” Souten shot back in disapproval. Kouga frowned when everyone else agreed and walked away, his hands in his pockets and his tail swishing coolly from side to side. Souten and Sango shook their heads; then introduced Souten to Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Kagome noticed the secretive, almost shy glances between her kitsune brother and the thunder elemental and grinned.
‘See,’ she sent to Sesshoumaru with a happy smirk. ‘He does have a girlfriend, and it is cute.’
‘Please, refrain from pretending that I care,’ he sent back in the same dry monotone he was using as he spoke with Miroku. She sent a mental picture of her sticking her tongue out at him and dismissed it while Inuyasha walked up to her, his hands fidgeting with the handle of his gunblade and the ammo pack strapped to his left leg.
“Hey, um,” he began with a nervous scratch behind his ears. “How ya doin’?”
“I’m doing great Inuyasha,” Kagome replied, her voice soft and just as nervous. Everyone moved closer to them and stopped to watch their exchange; everyone but Sesshoumaru who remained where he was behind Kagome. “Sesshoumaru took really great care of me. He was super cool.”
“Oh, that’s good then” Inuyasha growled lightly. “If he hadn’t I’d have had to kick the bastard’s ass.”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome gasped in disbelief as an answering growl came from Sesshoumaru. “Are you serious?! We just got here and already you guys want to fight?! Can’t it wait?!”
“Feh,” Inuyasha replied with a brush of his hand. “I don’t care either way. Jeez, don’t get your panties in a bunch. Hey, um…about that fight we had…”
“What fight?” Kagome asked, her brows knit together in confusion while Sango and Miroku smirked beside her. “I don’t remember a fight.”
“Yeah well uh, I said some stuff and…well I’m sorry! There, I said it.”
“Well OK,” Kagome replied back as he stormed away, then turned back and glanced at the others. “What was that about?” she asked. Miroku shrugged in answer, but Sango ran off to catch up with Inuyasha. Shippou and Souten excused themselves then quickly pulled out the remains of one of their walkie-talkies and attempted to fix it.
“Well, that went well,” Kagome breathed as Sesshoumaru’s tail slowly unwound from her arm. “Don’t you think?”
“As well as can be expected,” Sesshoumaru answered, then turned as a whirling sound approached them. “Someone is coming.”
Kagome looked up at him, then turned and watched as a small blue car drove toward them. Shippou and the others noticed it as well and soon the entire team, including Kouga and Sango, were standing ready to greet whatever awaited them inside the car. They breathed collective sighs of relief when Headmaster Leonheart stepped out, his dark steel eyes critical and searching before he caught sight of Kagome and Sesshoumaru. “Where’d you find the praetor and the summoner? Are they warriors of Galbadia?”
“No, of course not,” Kagome said before anyone else could speak up. “It’s us Headmaster. Kagome and Sesshoumaru.”
“Oh. OHHhhhhh,” the headmaster sighed when he finally understood. “What an interesting place to find you two. How long have you been here?”
“Only a few hours,” Sesshoumaru answered while he unbuttoned the top button of his jacket. “Things must be going well, right sir?”
“Um, yes of course,” Headmaster Leonheart replied once he remembered himself. “As of right now, the red alert on Esthar has been expired.”
“What?!” shouted the others while Sesshoumaru and Kagome exchanged looks of confusion. “What do you mean expired headmaster?” Shippou demanded. “That’s not possible-unless-“
“That’s right,” Headmaster Leonheart nodded. “All of New Galbadia’s troops retreated thirty minutes ago.”
“Why?” Sango wondered aloud. “Don’t tell me they did all this just for the heck of it?”
“I know,” Souten agreed. “This just isn’t like them. What do you guys think is going on?”
“I don’t know but I don’t like it,” Miroku replied and the others agreed. Headmaster Leonheart sighed heavily, the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders, and shrugged. “Well there’s nothing we can do about it now,” he said as an armored truck parked on the other side of his car. “New Galbadia’s gone, so I’ve issued the switch from search and protect to cleanup and first aid. Anyone with any medical expertise should report to the Presidential Palace. Everyone else should go to the central gate for new assignments.” The group agreed to follow the headmaster’s instructions and waved when he drove away.
“So I guess the truck’s for us,” Inuyasha determined as he opened the driver’s side door. The cab was empty, suggesting that it had been programmed to find them and drive to the center of the city.”
“Ah, technology,” Shippou said as he opened the back passenger door and jumped inside. “There’s nothing like it-“
“Hey, don’t start that,” Sango laughed as she followed behind him. “I don’t want to hear about how technology will soon make everything obsolete and all that crap. Let you tell it, we won’t need mothers and fathers either.”
Kagome stopped, her eyes widened and her fingertips flying to her lips in horror. “I totally forgot,” she whispered, then turned on her heels and ran back toward the innards of the city. The others turned around in shock and she disappeared despite the cries of the others.
“Now what the hell was that about,” Inuyasha snarled angrily. “And where the hell did Sesshoumaru go?!”
(-)
‘I can’t believe it,’ Kagome scolded herself as she jumped the few inches from the steel catwalk to the fiberglass walkway. ‘What’s wrong with me? I can’t believe I forgot to check on Souta! He’s got to be scared out of his mind in the middle of all of this.’ She ran past the shopping center toward another lesser pathway, this one leading deeper into the far end of the residential sector of the city. Kagome turned onto her family’s street and gaped in horror at the destruction around her.
The enormous brick building (the only building made of a natural element in the entire city) protruded defiantly among the twisted mass of metal, glass and plastic that once was the other buildings around it. The other buildings weren’t designed to handle the destruction and mayhem of a full scale Galbadian assault so they crumbled and fell with the first wave of attack. All eighteen floors of the brownstone stood tall and strong in the middle of the havoc, with the only outer visible damage being a massive hole where the front entrance and a beautiful carved mahogany door once stood.
Kagome ventured inside cautiously, her gaze heavenward as she stepped over steel beams and loose bricks. “Hello,” she called up to the rafters and blue sky above her. “Is anyone there? Hello?” She strained her ears to hear the faintest cry, the smallest whimper, and sighed in disappointment when no one answered her. She walked through the shattered front lobby, her childhood memories of the area leading her toward an elevator hallway. She found the elevator to be blocked off by a large chunk of collapsed roof and groaned. She braced herself underneath the heavy slab and pushed, her face turning red from the exertion. She stopped, wiped the sweat from her brow and pushed again, then finally stopped and gave up.
“Great,” she groaned as she stepped back and gazed up at the eighteen flights of stairs that awaited her. “No way am I going to be able to get up there quickly. Even a Float spell would be useless. Oh well. Can’t help it though. May as well get started.” She grasped the polished brass pole and started her ascent, blue-green eyes determined and grave. Kagome gasped at a sudden tingling at the back of her neck, her back going ramrod straight as she turned around. A single pinpoint of light came fluttering into the ruined entrance. The light wavered from one side, then the other before zipping toward her. It hovered above her face with the innocence of a curious firefly, then drifted to stand on the stairs landing above her before changing form. The golden light finally dimmed and died out, leaving Sesshoumaru to stand in its place.
“What are you doing here?” Kagome asked as he descended the stairs toward her.
“I could ask you the same,” he answered dryly, his quirked eyebrow the only sign of his annoyance at her behavior. “Then again, maybe it is human nature to suddenly disappear without a word.”
“Look, I don’t have time for this,” Kagome said when he finally stood in front of her. “I’ve got something I have to check on, so-“
“Your family, is it not?”
“Wha?”
A quiet sigh escaped her normally frigid companion before he spoke again. “You are trying to reach your family, are you not? They live in one of the apartments, correct?”
“Uh-huh,” Kagome nodded. “I’m almost there now.”
“Really.” He glanced above them and mentally counted the floors. “Which floor?”
“The seventeenth.”
“The seventeenth?” he repeated, his gaze turning from the stairway to her when Kagome began biting her bottom lip. “And just how do you expect to reach it? It seems as if a large chunk is missing from the stairway leading from the eight to the ninth floor.”
“Oh boy are you serious?!” Kagome exclaimed, then moaned and sat down on the step. “How am I going to get up there now?”
Sesshoumaru stood by and watched her wallow in self-pity and grief for a few minutes, then frowned when she made no further attempts to move. He stepped down in front of her and waited until she looked up at him to frown again. Kagome shuddered involuntarily, the frost and cold arctic wind oozing from his stare enough to chill her to the core. “Um, what’s u-“
“You are exasperating,” Sesshoumaru growled before reaching down and grabbing her by the upper arm. Kagome yelped in surprise when he jerked her to her feet and was preparing to berate him for nearly pulling her arm out of joint. He placed an arm around her knees, another around her shoulders and picked her up, then rocketed toward the upper floors before she could take a breath. Kagome held on to the front of his jacket and watched as the floors below her practically disappeared before he landed on the seventeenth floor.
He set down softly, his landing little more than a quiet whisper on the hardwood floor. Kagome stared at him long after he put her down, her eyes somehow riveted to him as Sesshoumaru took a casual glance around the hallway.
“Which one?”
“Say huh?” Kagome asked when she finally came out of her stupor.
“Which. One?”
“Oh, which door? Yeah.” Kagome giggled nervously and glanced around, then pointed toward a door on the opposite side of the railway. “Over there. Number 7-D.” Sesshoumaru started off without a word, leaving Kagome to trail behind him in confusion. She couldn’t understand him sometimes, that she admitted readily, but this time she was truly, truly baffled. Of all the times he ever carried her, this was the one and only time she’d ever been close to him. Every time before had always been in his tail and always with her as far away from him as possible. She remembered the seriousness in his eyes as he flew past the floors below them and how, without her asking, he simply volunteered to help her.
She hated to admit it, even more so since she hated the ‘damsel in distress’ stereotype, that it felt...good to have help, especially his and especially now.
They stopped in front of her parents’ apartment, both noting with no small amount of relief the lack of damage done to the entrance door. “Um, Sesshoumaru,” Kagome said as the youkai studied the door. “I just want to um...er...what I want to say is-“
“I assume you do not have a key,” Sesshoumaru interrupted suddenly. He ‘hm’ softly at her nod, then used his poison to melt the door hinges. He pulled the door free of the threshold and set it aside with one hand, then glanced around the inside of the dark apartment before stepping to the side. “Go ahead.”
Kagome unsheathed her gunblade and walked inside. She stopped momentarily so her eyes could adjust to the lack of light, then made her way through the house with Sesshoumaru not far behind her. She peered into the kitchen first, then the living room before moving further down the hallway toward the rest of the apartment. They entered the bathroom and found it empty too. Kagome was beginning to feel as if the apartment were empty when Sesshoumaru turned and stepped back into the hallway.
“What is it?” Kagome whispered as Sesshoumaru began to move down the hall toward the bedrooms. “What did you hear?” He silenced her with a finger to his lips, then gestured toward a closed bedroom door. She nodded in understanding then stepped back when he kicked in the door.
The first thing she noticed was the room, her old room, still in the condition she left it in when she left for the Garden all those many years ago. The room was still decorated in white frills and lace with her various stuffed animals piled high on the foot of the bed. Kagome smiled as she remembered clamoring underneath the blankets and sheets but not before grabbing one of her favorite toys. She reached out to touch the fur-trimmed ear of a nearby giraffe but stopped when Sesshoumaru placed a hand on her shoulder. Turquoise eyes were misty and cloudy when she finally looked up at him, her gaze confused and lost and the warmth she received from him was just as unexpected and equally as confusing.
“I understand your nostalgia,” he murmured gently. “I...cannot blame you for it, but I need for you to be with me right now.” He glanced toward the nearby closet, then back at here to make sure she understood. Kagome nodded, shook the fog from her mind and stepped away from the bear towards the closet. She glanced over her shoulder at Sesshoumaru, who silently counted to three before throwing the door open.
Kagome gasped, tears welling in her eyes as Junsei slipped from her hands to the plush carpet. “Mom, Dad? Souta?”
The closet’s occupants were huddled together, Kagome’s father shielding Souta and her mom from whatever danger had thrown open the closet. Mr. Higurashi opened his eyes at Kagome’s voice, his disbelief narrowing his eyes before they connected with his beloved daughter. “K-kagome?” The others glanced up in shock as Mr. Higurashi stood, his hands reaching out to touch her before pulling away. “Kagome, is it really you?”
Kagome couldn’t speak past the sudden lump in her throat. All the years of denying her parents, of ignoring them and refusing to speak to them crashed down on her. All of the hurt she’d scurried away when they sent her to the Garden all those years ago disappeared the moment he reached out for her. She nodded enthusiastically and launched herself into his open and waiting arms.
Sesshoumaru stepped back and away from the reunion to give Kagome and her family some much needed catch-up time. He stood with his back against the wall with Junsei held loosely in his hand. He weighed the blade, his ears twitching slightly at the sniffs and quiet conversation, and wondered to himself how his own father was faring. He never fully understood Kagome’s reasons for ignoring her parents but figured it to be none of his business. As far as he was aware, humans were like inu and ookami youkai in the sense of the need for contact from others. Inu and ookami youkai tended to reconnect with their pack whenever they could, but humans always seemed to have the ability to ignore that instinct to the point of pain. ‘Perhaps next time she will not be as fooli-‘
“Sesshoumaru?”
“ ;Yes?” he answered as he glanced down at her. Kagome fiddled with her hands, her head down and embarrassment radiating from her petite frame as he waited for her to finish.
“Do-I mean should we evacuate them? To another place I mean. Someplace safer than here?”
“No.” Sesshoumaru shook his head and stood away from the wall. “Here is safer as there is still electricity. The shelters will be full to overflowing.”
“But Sesshoumaru, you did kind of rip the door down.”
Sesshoumaru sighed in mild annoyance, having forgotten that little bit of information. “Then I will see to it that someone comes to stand guard.”
Kagome shook her head. “No way would the Headmaster approve of th-“
“He does not have to. There are a few of my father’s people that will come.”
“You-“ Kagome stammered weakly, her eyes raising to meet his for the first time since the conversation began. “You would do that...for me?”
“I do not see what the ‘big deal’ is,” Sesshoumaru told her before reaching for a nearby phone. “Father keeps a few youkai stationed in almost every country. I’m sure the ones here would not mind, not that it would matter if they did. Anyone in need of medical assistance?”
“Um, no,” Kagome replied. “Dad had a scratch on his neck but I managed to heal it. Sesshoumaru?”
He peered over his shoulder at her, his fingers stopping mid-dial. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“Hm,” was his reply before he turned around. Kagome stood dumbfounded at his suddenly cold behavior then shrugged and returned to her family, completely unaware of the tiny bit of fondness in Sesshoumaru’s eyes before he looked away.
(End Chapter)
SF: See, when I come back I try to come back with some style.
Inu-chan: hey, at least you are back! People are tired of waiting you know!
SF: I know. I’m so sorry for being away for so long. I’ve had a LOT of things to get over this past year. It’s been...interesting. Um, what do I normally do you guys? I totally forget.
Kagome: Well, you normally introduce the next chapter.
SF: Oh yeah! That is right! And its...Shippou’s turn! Get to work kit!
Shippou: (sigh) Kagome’s back at everything’s better than ever! She’s so different, but still the same at the same time. It’s hard to believe that she’s ever been away. Still, not everything’s going so great. Things change before they stay the same and Deling’s up to his old tricks again. This time he strikes at the heart of our group and before we know it, someone we really love it taken away from us.
Next chapter: Chapter Eighteen-She Weeps!
Chapter Sixteen: Pick-Up Sticks
The horizon stretched out endlessly, the white fluffs of clouds lazily drifting along their merry way as the Black Dragon flew along among them. The rising sun shimmered along the airship’s onyx metallic side and into its windows brightly, and Sesshoumaru scowled in spite of himself.
‘Blast this infernal sunlight,’ he griped unhappily as he held his hand to his eyes for a makeshift shield. ‘How is one supposed to see if the sun gets in the way? What a bother.’ He growled slightly and sighed, his indignation leaving as quickly as it came. He checked the navigation controls and sighed again, then entered a conformation command before the screen winked off.
They would report to the emergency station at Fisherman’s Horizon in twenty-four hours, leaving another day before he and Kagome were bombarded with questions and inquires about the time they were gone. Sesshoumaru was not looking forward to it needless to say, but there was more to it than having to give the same report time and time again. The closer they came to FH the more he wanted to turn the ship around and go someplace else, any place else, that didn’t involve the rest of the world. Now that he looked back on his time spent inside the shelter, he realized that there he was actually more free than he had ever been in his life. Free from all responsibility (save one) and almost all accountability, the Sesshoumaru that resided inside the underground sanctuary could be whomever he wanted to be without question or concern about whether others would approve.
‘Not that I concerned myself with the thoughts of others in the first place,’ Sesshoumaru hm’ed slightly. His ears shifted back, then he turned as the lift’s gears groaned into action. The face of his smiling companion appeared moments later, the steam from the Styrofoam cup in her hand clouding around her hands as she stepped off the platform and walked toward him with a happy bounce.
“Good morning Sesshoumaru,” Kagome sang out as she set the cup inside a cupholder inside the armrest of Sesshoumaru’s chair. “How are you?”
“As well as can be expected,” he mumbled and swirled a finger inside the steaming cup. Kagome winced as the digit came in contact with the hot liquid inside.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked when he remained silent. Sesshoumaru shook his head, then dried his hand and returned to the cockpit controls.
“So-“
“We will arrive at FH in 24 hours,” he said before she could finish. “Hopefully the emergency station is still operational.”
“Yeah,” Kagome sighed as she sank down in front of the gunner’s control panel. “We’ve been gone for a long time huh?” She expected not to get an answer, so she wasn’t surprised when she didn’t. “Man, I wonder how everyone is. I bet Shippou’s grown up some.” She giggled softly, her hand covering her mouth to muffle the sound. “I wonder if Miroku and Sango still fight.”
“What of Inuyasha?”
“Huh?” Kagome sat up, the wistfulness gone from her tone as she stared at the back of his head. “What about him?”
“Surely you miss him.”
“Well yeah, of course,” Kagome agreed. “Just like I miss Kikyou, Sango, Miroku and Shippou. We’re all friends. But…”
“But?”
“I miss Souta most.”
“Who is this Souta?” Sesshoumaru asked as Kagome lost herself in thought. “Kagome?”
“Hm? Oh, Souta’s my little brother.”
“You have a little brother?”
“Yeah,” Kagome replied then smirked. “You didn’t think you were the only person in the world who knew the pains of having a younger brother did you?” She laughed when he ‘hm’ed in irritation and waited for him to turn around before continuing. “To be honest, Souta’s not that bad. We don’t see a lot of each other –“
“Lucky you.”
“Oh stop that,” Kagome chided softly. “I bet you miss Inuyasha too. I know he misses you.”
“Highly doubtful,” Sesshoumaru remarked dryly before turning back to the console. Kagome huffed in frustration, knowing better than to go any further on the subject before deciding to change it altogether. “Are you looking forward to going back to the Garden?”
“As much as any person I suppose,” Sesshoumaru quipped as he exited out of a command screen. “Why, aren’t you?”
“…Well…not really.”
“Really?” He turned to Kagome in surprise. “Why not?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to see my friends,” Kagome said while she reclined back in her seat. “But I can’t help but feel like I’m forgetting something, like I’m leaving something behind.” She laughed suddenly and smiled at him, her happiness shining in her eyes. “But I definitely can’t wait to climb a tree again.”
“What is so important about a tree?” Sesshoumaru wondered in confusion. “They are everywhere so what is so fascinating about them?”
“I’m from Esthar remember?” Kagome reminded him. “So I guess I’m still not too used to trees and stuff. Shippou, Miroku and Inuyasha taught me how to climb and that’s where I used to go to think. I’m pretty sure my old oak tree is still standing near Balamb.”
“Then perhaps we should go there first,” Sesshoumaru lightly proposed. “That way you may have your human time before we return.”
“Ha ha, real funny,” Kagome grumbled. “What, don’t tell me you never played in trees as a kid.”
“Actually, no, I did not. I did not ‘play’ as you call it. I was busy performing other tasks.”
“What other tasks?” Kagome wondered curiously. “I mean, if you don’t mind telling me.”
“What is there to tell?” Sesshoumaru replied, then turned around again when the pilot’s console beeped. “I am the firstborn of my family, so there were responsibilities to learn.”
“Like what?” Kagome asked. She was always interested in the inu brothers’ past, and since Inuyasha never talked about it she decided to use this opportunity to learn more about them.
“Such as…well…there are the royal duties I am to take care of after Father retires, then the ambass-“
“Royal duties?!” Kagome interrupted aloud. “What royal duties are you talking about?”
“My father is the Taiyoukai of the West.” He glanced over his shoulder, then turned around once more at the shock on her face. “Surely Inuyasha explained this to you.”
“Uh-uh,” Kagome replied with a shake of her head. “Whenever I would ask about you guys he would change the subject. So you guys are, like, princes or something right?”
“Something of that nature, yes,” Sesshoumaru answered. “And Inuyasha never told you? I can’t imagine why not,” he said when she shook her head again. “Though his studies are not as numerous as mine, I am sure they are quite tedious for him.”
“But what kind of studies?” Kagome wondered aloud. “And it’s not like you have to study all the time, right? I mean, Inuyasha hates books, so I can’t see him studying during our breaks.”
“Inuyasha has no real need of our studies,” Sesshoumaru explained sardonically before resetting a mistyped command. “Only I am required to maintain the ways of our species and the laws that govern us.”
“So you’ll be like a judge or something, right?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded. “Something like that I suppose.”
“And Inuyasha doesn’t have to learn it because he’s not…um…what’s the word now…”
“He’s not the firstborn heir,” Kagome heard Sesshoumaru reply. “Though he could at least try to be more responsible.”
“Yeah, I guess he could,” Kagome agreed absently. She was instantly lost in thought, mentally replaying all of her memories of the two brothers as they grew up in the Garden. Nothing about either of them suggested royalty; though she had noticed the special way some of the Garden officials would treat them when they would fight. Things that would get a regular Garden student expelled would be overlooked in their case, and now Kagome could see why. Ambassador Endo was well known, respected and powerful, so it was no real surprise that his sons would be pardoned for any trespasses.
“But why did you come to the Garden?” Kagome couldn’t help but ask. “Was that part of your training too?”
“No,” he answered with a slight shake of his head. “I wanted to become a SeeD. It was…one of the few studies our father approved of.”
‘He WANTED to be a SeeD?!’ Kagome thought in shock. ‘No way. Who else but Inuyasha becomes a SeeD because they want to?!’ She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to come to the Garden as a child. Inuyasha, Shippou, even Sango; who’s father attended the Garden, didn’t exactly want to be at the Garden. Home (well, everyone’s home but hers) was so much better than being inside the Garden’s sterile white walls. No one wanted to stay inside the small dorms or with the irritable Garden staff. As a matter of fact, the only sensible reason anyone would want to be at the Garden was if….
‘If home were worse,’ Kagome realized, her puzzlement melting into sympathy and heartfelt understanding. During the Christmas and spring breaks, Inuyasha would go to Winhill to stay with Miroku, or ride to Dollet with Kikyou once they started dating. Inuyasha always stayed with a friend, but Sesshoumaru boarded the train to Timber every break, supposedly taking the next train from there to Deling City. Kagome realized that breaks weren’t breaks for him, not when more lessons and studies awaited him once he came home.
‘He never got to be a kid.’ Kagome thought as she stood from her seat and walked toward the back of his chair. ‘He never got to run, or jump, or play. No wonder he wanted to be a SeeD.
‘He wanted an escape and a chance to be his own person.’
It never occurred to Kagome that she might have been exaggerating Sesshoumaru’s suffering. To her, it was the saddest thing she’d ever heard, an atrocity against everything decent and humane, and it explained everything about Sesshoumaru’s behavior, including his frigid attitude.
Sesshoumaru stiffened instantly, his senses on alert the moment she touched him. His hand reached up to clasp hers and held them steady at the center of his chest. Kagome stayed in this awkward position with her arms around his shoulders in a clumsy, but well meant, hug and rested her head on his right shoulder when he finally relaxed.
“Is there something I can help you with,” he growled crossly. “There is more to be done than-“
“Sesshoumaru, will you still be my friend when we get back to everyone?”
Sesshoumaru paused a moment, taking the time to think over her question before asking, “Do you consider us…’friends’ now?”
Kagome nodded enthusiastically. “Of course I do!” she laughed softly. “You’re still an evil snot, but you’re my friend.” She frowned suddenly, the sparkle in her eyes fading to worry. “But you might not want anyone to see you with me. I am just a human and everything so-“
“You are not just a human,” Sesshoumaru found himself saying before he could stop himself. He quickly erased the surprise on his face before it could match hers and mentally shook himself before continuing. “You’re…unique, in your own aggravating way. You’re actually clever, which is something the rest of your kind cannot say for itself.”
“Gee, thanks Sesshoumaru,” Kagome griped good-naturedly. “You’re a real ladykiller.”
“Do not speak such nonsense,” Sesshoumaru jokingly reprimanded. “And do not make fun of me. I am…not used to giving praise.”
“I know it. It’s all right. I’m just kidding. You still haven’t answered my question though.”
“Will we be friends….yes, I suppose we will be,” Sesshoumaru nodded after a moment’s thought. “I do not see why we cannot be. So long as it’s what you wish-“
“It is!” Kagome chirped excitedly.
“Then it is what it will be,” Sesshoumaru determined; then growled in agitation. “Unless Inuyasha disagrees.”
“Well I hate it for him,” Kagome replied in determination. She stepped back and twirled around with her arms stretched out. Sesshoumaru shook her head and watched her, his eye missing the tiny yellow blinking light as she danced in front of him. Her hair, which had long since grown down past her waist, was pulled back in a low braid that swirled around her hips like leaves in a gust of wind. Her pink cotton hood flopped about behind her and the tiny black strings laced up the front of her white tank top freely swung from their places at her collar. A pair of calf high boots, with a swatch of powdery blue swishing from her right side and dark blue denim shorts showed off her legs and before Sesshoumaru could fully appreciate the view she was in front of him, her blue green eyes sparkling like the ocean in the afternoon sun.
“Do you promise?” she breathed excitedly, a wide grin breaking across her face. “Promise that we’ll stay friends no matter what?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded and watched as her smile only grew. “I give you my wor-urk!” He struggled to keep them from tipping backward when she vaulted into the pilot’s seat with him, her arms once again around his neck as she entrapped him in a fierce hug.
“That’s so good to hear!” she laughed against his shoulder. “I was so worried! I thought you would ignore me once we got back! I-I…um…what’s that?”
“What’s what?” Sesshoumaru wondered lazily, his mind more focused on the warm happy bundle in his lap than their surroundings. He spun the chair around and glanced at the pilot’s console, then nearly dropped his precious cargo as the yellow light at the top of the screen blinked at him. Kagome jumped up so he could access the signal and put it over the P. A. system.
“What is it?” Kagome asked again as he turned up the volume. “Is it something bad?”
“I do not know,” Sesshoumaru replied before kicking the bottom of the console. “I’m having trouble with the-ah, there it is,” he said as static sounded over the speakers. He turned a knob underneath the keyboard until the signal cleared and a voice rang out into the cabin.
“This is an SOS calling for anyone in the area. We have an emergency situation. Please respond!”
“That’s Kouga!” Kagome exclaimed, unaware of Sesshoumaru’s grimace once he recognized the voice. “Hey, I wonder what’s going on!”
“This is Captain Kouga Bravaldi in Esthar! We have an emergency situation! New Galbadian troops have stormed the city! My team’s being overrun here and we can’t do a hell of a lot to stop it! This is an SOS to anyone that can hear me! Respond!”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Kagome asked as Sesshoumaru picked up the ship’s com link microphone. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I cannot,” he replied irritably. “The com link isn’t operational. It is…one of the things I forgot to fix.”
“Ok then,” Kagome readily accepted. “What do we do? We’re too far away for anyone to help him.”
“We’re not,” Sesshoumaru corrected. “It would not take us but a few minutes to reach Esthar Airstation. From there we can find our way to Kouga and his team.”
“Then let’s do it!” Kagome exclaimed. “We’ve got to help Kouga!”
‘Awww! Do we have to?!’ Sesshoumaru’s inner youkai whined in exasperation. Sesshoumaru ignored it to reset their flight plan, erasing Fisherman’s Horizon from his coordinates and his thoughts before turning to Kagome. “Suit up,” he called to her as she jumped onto the elevator platform. “We do not know what’s ahead of us, so be ready for anything. And Kagome?”
“Yeah,” she said as she pressed the elevator control button.”
“Why do you wish to help the wolf?”
“Because he’s my friend,” she said with a smile. “You have too many friends,” Sesshoumaru remarked as he began to descend.
(-)
‘My God…what on earth happened here?’
Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder, his descent from the Black Dragon’s cargo bay ramp momentarily deterred once Kagome’s stray thought touched his psyche. She stood frozen, her eyes wide in horror and her hand brushing against her open mouth. She stared at one corner of the Airstation, then another as she soaked in the bloodshed that remained of a previous battle. Bodies, both of SeeD members and Airstation personnel alike, littered the once polished pale blue tile of the front lobby. A vicious roar then a scream from outside startled her and she glanced up at Sesshoumaru, the first sprinkling of tears clinging desperately to the corners of her eyes.
“What was that?” she choked out as she made her way toward him. “Is it inside the Airstation?”
“No.” Sesshoumaru shook his head. “That is outside, some distance away from us.”
“Oh.” She glanced around again and kneeled down beside the nearest body. Lifeless brown eyes stared into hers and Kagome quickly closed them before she could study the damage done to the rest of the face and body. “What could have done this?” she asked as Sesshoumaru led the way to the front entrance.
“It smells of a fiend, some sort of tiger-like creature,” he replied. He glanced through the pristine glass doors to the plexi glass streets and walkways outside, and frowned. It was no surprise that the doors themselves were spotless and free of blood. He guessed that the attack started here and spread into the city itself.
‘Which would explain the other airships we landed near,’ Sesshoumaru thought as he pressed his fingertips to the glass. A mental image of the past few hours replayed in his head, with the New Galbadian army quickly overrunning the unloading and receiving areas of the Airstation. The staff and SeeD held the lobby area firm until the release of the torama, three in all and infinitely more powerful than the tiny squadron of SeeD. The tiger creatures worked quickly, first picking off the SeeD before taking their time with the Airstation staff. Their valiant efforts were left splattered in dark crimson tears that dripped thickly down the Airstation’s walls
They never had a chance.
‘Deling has become more of a nuisance during our absence,’ Sesshoumaru determined with a displeased sigh. He released the door when his image appeared in front of him, the last one before then being of the army’s quiet impregnation of the city. ‘He’s gained the use of fiends as well. This does not bode well for the city.’ He unsheathed Shikyo from his side, Junsei’s answering song from it’s leather bindings the only sound in the room before he opened the door and took the first cautious step outside.
The air around them was eerily quiet, yet the scent of blood and death was strong on the early afternoon wind. His ears picked up a tiny cry in the distance and he turned toward the sound. It was too far away for Kagome to hear; yet she shook as if it had torn through her like a brisk arctic wind. The walkways and streets, normally so pristine in their pale shades of pastel blues, yellows and whites, were stained with bright splotches of dark red. A small bear sat in a pool of it in front of them, its owner and friend no doubt lost over the other side of the ledge.
“How can they do this?” Kagome whispered brokenly, her hands trembling along Junsei’s handle. “Don’t they care about the people they’re hurting? About the things they’re destroying? Don’t they care?”
“War is not about caring,” Sesshoumaru replied coldly. “War is about winning at all costs. The people and things that get in the way are inconsequential.”
“You wouldn’t say that if it were Deling City being ruined.”
“Perhaps not,” Sesshoumaru agreed after a moment’s thought. “But this is not Deling City.”
“No it’s not,” Kagome growled, her grip reinforcing itself on her weapon’s handle. “This is my city. I won’t stand by and let them do this.” He watched as her shoulders straightened and her eyes steeled in determination, all traces of grief and despair burning away to righteous fury. The blue swatch of cloth fluttered at her side as she turned to the left of the city, her profile more the avenging goddess than of the happy go lucky young woman he’d come to know and trust.
“We will separate here,” Sesshoumaru told her as he glanced toward the left as well. “What is the layout of the city?”
“It’s split in half,” Kagome replied with her back still turned to him. “The left and the right. They’re connected by one highway and two sets of lift tubes. I doubt they’re working though, not in anything like this. Places like the old Odine lab and the Presidential Palace are on our right. The shopping center and the main entrance gate to the city are on our left.”
“Then you go left. I shall take the right.”
“And we meet in the middle?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded absently. “We meet in the middle, on the highway you informed me of. Kagome,” he called out just as she began to make her way. “What is in the center of the city?”
“Um…homes and stuff. Why?”
“For tactical reasons.”
“Oh. Ok then. And Sesshoumaru? Be careful.” He glanced back, no doubt to give her a remark about how only humans needed to be careful, and found her gone. He watched her as she ran down one of the lift tubes with her gunblade to the side and behind her as the heavy thudding of her boots bounced against the fiberglass walls. His head tilted to the side, golden eyes thoughtful slits before he turned and walked toward the right side of the city.
)(
Nimble cinnamon paws dashed among the debris littering the city streets, their pursuer no less nimble as the roars and the grinding of gears thickened the air around them. The child on his back trembled and tightened his grip on Shippou’s neck as the massive broadsword of the fiend behind them barely missed the toddler’s head. A light brown strand of Shippou’s fur fluttered to the ground and Shippou snarled in frustration before bounding down a dimly lit alleyway. The mutated, overgrown version of the Tin Woodsman roared furiously as it tripped over objects Shippou darted over or underneath and Shippou soon found himself a good distance ahead of the iron giant.
He blamed Kagome for this, though how he thought it was justified when she wasn’t even there was something he wasn’t willing to explore at the moment. He himself was running for his life after being separated from Kouga and the others and found the little boy wailing in his doorway, his hands tightly clutching the strands of his dead father’s hair. He stopped almost immediately, his inner beast cursing him for not leaving the child behind as he stooped down and comforted the boy. No sooner had he calmed the child did the Iron Giant crash into the house beside them. It completely obliterated the structure before catching sight of them and at once the chase was on, with Shippou transforming and tossing the terrified tot onto his back without a second thought.
Shippou leapt over the shattered chunks of roadway and darted to the right, only to double back as an enormous steel boot crashed down in front of them. He jumped to the side, ran to the left and was blocked by the purple gargantuan’s colossal weapon. Shippou backed away from it slowly, his forest green eyes remaining focused on it until his back touched the last thing he expected: a solid, impassible wall. He groaned in annoyance, lowered his haunches and turned back to the fiend. The little boy slid off of his back and stood behind him as Shippou returned to his humanoid form.
“Get back kid,” Shippou whispered softly as he glared at the monster in front of them. “This isn’t gonna be pretty.” The little boy grasped his leg instead and Shippou sighed before reaching for a pouch of potions and grenades strapped to his left side. The Iron Giant snarled in warning and Shippou groaned again.
“Great,” Shippou muttered to himself. “I would get the smart one. Man, what do I do now?” The fiend answered for him as he roared and raised his sword. Routes of escape were nonexistent so Shippou did the only thing he could; he grabbed the child and shielded him with his body, his tail encircling the ground around them in a feeble attempt at a shield. The giant charged toward them, the golden sunlight glimmering off of the fiend’s shoulder horns the last image Shippou saw before he shut his eyes.
He opened them again when the giant grunted, Shippou’s eyes impossibly wide as a pink electric field held the broadsword suspended in the air between them. Despite the fiend’s best efforts, no amount of pulling, pushing or yanking could free the sword from the energy’s pure grip. Shippou glanced up from the fiend to a lift tube above them, the figure inside barely visible as it exited the nearest lift entrance and jumped from the ledge toward them. The figure landed on the fiend’s right side before it disappeared in a quick burst of speed. The iron giant remained distracted until the very end when the long blue steel of a gunblade sank deep into its chestplate. Electricity crackled and popped along the weapon’s surface and before the explosion and the stench of gunpowder and grease came the unexpected scent of lilies and lavender.
The explosion rocked Shippou off his feet yet he managed to keep his hold on his charge as the wind shrieked past them. He waited until the smoke cleared and the wind died down before looking up again, this time at the wall behind him and the large black smudge it now sported. He coughed, the black soot sticking to his lungs, and fanned the air clear so he could breathe. The figure had jumped clear of the blast and now stood in front of him, her back turned to him as a cool breeze blew the rest of the soot and ash away.
She turned and with a smile as bright and beautiful as he remembered, laughed and said, “Hi!”
“Kagome!” he cried out and dashed toward her, his companion forgotten as he swooped up the lost SeeD in his arms and twirled her around in excitement. Her laugh filed his ears and lightened his heart, something he desperately needed and missed as Kagome hugged him back.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Shippou told her once he finally calmed down. “It’s been hell here without you! Sango and Miroku don’t fight anymore, Inuyasha and Kouga are always fighting and-“
“Wait a sec,” Kagome interrupted. “Did you say Kouga? What about Kouga?”
“Well, when you and Sesshoumaru disappeared, Kouga became our captain,” Shippou explained. He frowned worriedly at Kagome’s concern, her hand instantly returning to her sheathed weapon as she glanced toward the right side of the city. “What going on Kagome?” he asked as the little boy came up and grasped his pantsleg again. “What’s wrong?”
“We heard Kouga’s SOS call,” Kagome said. “We came here to help and-where is he? And where are the others?”
“I don’t know,” Shippou shrugged. “We were heading toward that highway in the center of the city when we were ambushed. We were forced to separate and well…I haven’t heard anything from them for at least a couple of hours. That doesn’t mean a lot thought,” Shippou grimaced angrily. “Somehow the Galbadians figured out how to jam our communications systems. Sucks.”
“You guys were going to the highway?” Kagome asked, then laughed, pointed a finger behind him and shook her head. “Shippou you emptyhead! You’re practically there!”
“Huh?” Shippou glanced behind him at the wall and found that behind it and the black smudge mark was small steel catwalk leading toward a highway in the distance. “Well what are we standing around here for?” he shouted as he picked up the little boy and began to make his way across the narrow passage. “Let’s go already! I can’t wait for everyone to see you!”
Together they made the perilous journey to the other side, both unaware of the dizzying height they had to cross until they were well on their way. For Shippou it was for worse because of his need to glance back at her, to assure himself that what his eyes were seeing and what his ears were hearing was true. Here she was, back with him, and all of his old feelings for her resurfaced. He couldn’t help but notice how much she had changed, not only on the inside but the outside as well. She was showing a lot more skin, she was more confidant and…well, she was showing a lot more skin.
‘Not that I’m complaining,’ Shippou mused with a mischievous smirk. ‘But I wonder how the others are going to react.’ They met up with a family hiding inside a house beside the catwalk and, to their surprise, they turned out to be the boy’s mother, aunt and cousins who had managed to hide when the attack first started. The boy’s mother was grateful to the point of tears at seeing her son alive and promised the SeeDs that she would take him and the rest of her remaining family to the nearest shelter as soon as it was safe to. Shippou and Kagome continued the rest of the way in silence, the thousands of questions simmering underneath the surface quieted at the differences in their friends.
To Kagome, Shippou not only looked older but he acted older, his actions more cautious than the carefree kitsune she left behind so many months before. ‘Could he really have changed so much in so little time?’ Kagome wondered while she tightened her grasp on the catwalk’s railing. ‘He’s so somber, so serious. Is this what’s happened to everyone else? Will I even recognize anyone else?’
Shippou glanced over his shoulder and frowned slightly at the worried look on Kagome’s face. ‘She’s probably confused,’ he concluded as kicked a small pebble off of the rampway. ‘Everything’s changed since she’s been gone but not her…well, not exactly. She smells different, more…I don’t know. I can’t put it into words but there’s a part of me that fears her now that didn’t before. My inner youkai recognizes her as a danger but it’s Kagome. She’s never hurt me…but there’s something about her, something I can’t put my finger on…’
“Hey Shippou?”
“Yeah Kagome?” he answered before daring to look back at her. “What is it?”
“What’s that sound? It sounds like people.”
‘People? Out in the open during something like this? Not likely but…’ Shippou took a few whiffs and grinned, relief relaxing his shoulders as he reached back for Kagome’s hand and ran the rest of the way across. Kagome gasped in surprise but held on and somehow managed to keep up. They burst into the open moments later, both temporarily blinded by the intense sunlight as it bounced off of the few clean surfaces on the roadway. Shippou pulled Kagome up the highway, his tail twitching in excitement as a group of people stood arguing in the middle of the road.
“Hey Kagome, I’ve got an idea,” Shippou said with an impish grin. “You stay right here ok?”
“Why?” Kagome asked, her smile growing as Shippou bounced from one foot to the other. “What for?”
“They haven’t seen you yet,” he explained. “So I want to tell them that you’re here. If you stand right here they can see you and it’ll be a big surprise.”
“Won’t they be surprised anyway?”
“Well yeah but where’s the fun in you just walking up and saying, ‘Hi!’?”
“Worked with you didn’t it?” Kagome huffed, then crossed her arms over her chest and looked away as if annoyed. She quickly turned back and winked, a clear sign that she would go along with his plan.
“Thanks Kagome,” Shippou chirped quickly, then kissed her cheek and dashed off toward the others. Kagome giggled softly and realized that he was still every bit the small cub that she remembered. ‘Maybe it’s not so bad that he’s grown up,’ she said to herself. ‘Maybe he has a girlfriend now. Aw, how cute would that be!’
“Not very cute at all, if you ask me.”
“Well I’m not asking you,” Kagome answered as Sesshoumaru landed beside her. “And how many times do I have to tell you about sneaking around my head?”
“This Sesshoumaru does not ‘sneak’,” Sesshoumaru quipped dryly. “I merely caught your stray thought as I arrived. The fact that you cannot keep control of it is not my fault.”
“Gah, you’re so frustrating!” Kagome growled out between gritted teeth. Her hands balled at her sides, but her anger and Sesshoumaru’s arrogance was quickly forgotten as soon as she heard someone shriek her name. She froze instantly, nervousness and anxiety wiped away everything else as the others ran toward them. ‘Oh boy,’ she said to herself as soon as she could see Sango’s overjoyed face. ‘Here goes nothing. What are they going to say?’ She jumped when something enclosed her wrist, the soft downy fur familiar but unexpected. She gave Sesshoumaru a questioning look, which he answered with a blank one of his own. She smiled and nodded, understanding without words that, though he wished to give her some support, he didn’t want it known to the world. She gave his tail a covert pat and relaxed, straightened her back and smiled as everyone finally arrived.
Shippou balked in surprise from his place behind the others, his mouth gaping in shock before it snapped closed again. He figured Sesshoumaru survived and made it back (after all, Kagome told him so) but he hadn’t actually expected to see the older inu brother until later, much later in the day. To see him standing there, and dressed as funny as Kagome, was more of a shock than his mind could keep up with. After all, it wasn’t everyday one saw Sesshoumaru dressed in the forest greens, creamy whites and pastel yellows of ancient holy men.
‘That’s got to be a sacrilege,’ Shippou quipped to himself, then winced in sympathy when Sango got over her surprise and engulfed Kagome in a bone-crushing hug. Kagome hugged her back as best she could with her breath taken aback and her right hand still restricted by Sesshoumaru’s tail. She assured Sango of her well-being while the others chattered around her.
“How’s my girl doin’?” Kouga called out as he pushed his way through the crowd toward her. “Woah, don’t you look hot?!” he whistled in approval as he drank in the sight of her. “I always knew you’d look good in shorts, but I didn’t think you’d look that good!”
“That’s not funny Kouga!” Souten and Sango reprimanded with a stern rap to the back of his head. “What’s Ami going to say when she finds out?!”
“Ami’s not going to find out,” Kouga griped in his defense. “Besides, Kagome was always my girl in the first place.”
“You’re so full of it Kouga,” Souten shot back in disapproval. Kouga frowned when everyone else agreed and walked away, his hands in his pockets and his tail swishing coolly from side to side. Souten and Sango shook their heads; then introduced Souten to Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Kagome noticed the secretive, almost shy glances between her kitsune brother and the thunder elemental and grinned.
‘See,’ she sent to Sesshoumaru with a happy smirk. ‘He does have a girlfriend, and it is cute.’
‘Please, refrain from pretending that I care,’ he sent back in the same dry monotone he was using as he spoke with Miroku. She sent a mental picture of her sticking her tongue out at him and dismissed it while Inuyasha walked up to her, his hands fidgeting with the handle of his gunblade and the ammo pack strapped to his left leg.
“Hey, um,” he began with a nervous scratch behind his ears. “How ya doin’?”
“I’m doing great Inuyasha,” Kagome replied, her voice soft and just as nervous. Everyone moved closer to them and stopped to watch their exchange; everyone but Sesshoumaru who remained where he was behind Kagome. “Sesshoumaru took really great care of me. He was super cool.”
“Oh, that’s good then” Inuyasha growled lightly. “If he hadn’t I’d have had to kick the bastard’s ass.”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome gasped in disbelief as an answering growl came from Sesshoumaru. “Are you serious?! We just got here and already you guys want to fight?! Can’t it wait?!”
“Feh,” Inuyasha replied with a brush of his hand. “I don’t care either way. Jeez, don’t get your panties in a bunch. Hey, um…about that fight we had…”
“What fight?” Kagome asked, her brows knit together in confusion while Sango and Miroku smirked beside her. “I don’t remember a fight.”
“Yeah well uh, I said some stuff and…well I’m sorry! There, I said it.”
“Well OK,” Kagome replied back as he stormed away, then turned back and glanced at the others. “What was that about?” she asked. Miroku shrugged in answer, but Sango ran off to catch up with Inuyasha. Shippou and Souten excused themselves then quickly pulled out the remains of one of their walkie-talkies and attempted to fix it.
“Well, that went well,” Kagome breathed as Sesshoumaru’s tail slowly unwound from her arm. “Don’t you think?”
“As well as can be expected,” Sesshoumaru answered, then turned as a whirling sound approached them. “Someone is coming.”
Kagome looked up at him, then turned and watched as a small blue car drove toward them. Shippou and the others noticed it as well and soon the entire team, including Kouga and Sango, were standing ready to greet whatever awaited them inside the car. They breathed collective sighs of relief when Headmaster Leonheart stepped out, his dark steel eyes critical and searching before he caught sight of Kagome and Sesshoumaru. “Where’d you find the praetor and the summoner? Are they warriors of Galbadia?”
“No, of course not,” Kagome said before anyone else could speak up. “It’s us Headmaster. Kagome and Sesshoumaru.”
“Oh. OHHhhhhh,” the headmaster sighed when he finally understood. “What an interesting place to find you two. How long have you been here?”
“Only a few hours,” Sesshoumaru answered while he unbuttoned the top button of his jacket. “Things must be going well, right sir?”
“Um, yes of course,” Headmaster Leonheart replied once he remembered himself. “As of right now, the red alert on Esthar has been expired.”
“What?!” shouted the others while Sesshoumaru and Kagome exchanged looks of confusion. “What do you mean expired headmaster?” Shippou demanded. “That’s not possible-unless-“
“That’s right,” Headmaster Leonheart nodded. “All of New Galbadia’s troops retreated thirty minutes ago.”
“Why?” Sango wondered aloud. “Don’t tell me they did all this just for the heck of it?”
“I know,” Souten agreed. “This just isn’t like them. What do you guys think is going on?”
“I don’t know but I don’t like it,” Miroku replied and the others agreed. Headmaster Leonheart sighed heavily, the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders, and shrugged. “Well there’s nothing we can do about it now,” he said as an armored truck parked on the other side of his car. “New Galbadia’s gone, so I’ve issued the switch from search and protect to cleanup and first aid. Anyone with any medical expertise should report to the Presidential Palace. Everyone else should go to the central gate for new assignments.” The group agreed to follow the headmaster’s instructions and waved when he drove away.
“So I guess the truck’s for us,” Inuyasha determined as he opened the driver’s side door. The cab was empty, suggesting that it had been programmed to find them and drive to the center of the city.”
“Ah, technology,” Shippou said as he opened the back passenger door and jumped inside. “There’s nothing like it-“
“Hey, don’t start that,” Sango laughed as she followed behind him. “I don’t want to hear about how technology will soon make everything obsolete and all that crap. Let you tell it, we won’t need mothers and fathers either.”
Kagome stopped, her eyes widened and her fingertips flying to her lips in horror. “I totally forgot,” she whispered, then turned on her heels and ran back toward the innards of the city. The others turned around in shock and she disappeared despite the cries of the others.
“Now what the hell was that about,” Inuyasha snarled angrily. “And where the hell did Sesshoumaru go?!”
(-)
‘I can’t believe it,’ Kagome scolded herself as she jumped the few inches from the steel catwalk to the fiberglass walkway. ‘What’s wrong with me? I can’t believe I forgot to check on Souta! He’s got to be scared out of his mind in the middle of all of this.’ She ran past the shopping center toward another lesser pathway, this one leading deeper into the far end of the residential sector of the city. Kagome turned onto her family’s street and gaped in horror at the destruction around her.
The enormous brick building (the only building made of a natural element in the entire city) protruded defiantly among the twisted mass of metal, glass and plastic that once was the other buildings around it. The other buildings weren’t designed to handle the destruction and mayhem of a full scale Galbadian assault so they crumbled and fell with the first wave of attack. All eighteen floors of the brownstone stood tall and strong in the middle of the havoc, with the only outer visible damage being a massive hole where the front entrance and a beautiful carved mahogany door once stood.
Kagome ventured inside cautiously, her gaze heavenward as she stepped over steel beams and loose bricks. “Hello,” she called up to the rafters and blue sky above her. “Is anyone there? Hello?” She strained her ears to hear the faintest cry, the smallest whimper, and sighed in disappointment when no one answered her. She walked through the shattered front lobby, her childhood memories of the area leading her toward an elevator hallway. She found the elevator to be blocked off by a large chunk of collapsed roof and groaned. She braced herself underneath the heavy slab and pushed, her face turning red from the exertion. She stopped, wiped the sweat from her brow and pushed again, then finally stopped and gave up.
“Great,” she groaned as she stepped back and gazed up at the eighteen flights of stairs that awaited her. “No way am I going to be able to get up there quickly. Even a Float spell would be useless. Oh well. Can’t help it though. May as well get started.” She grasped the polished brass pole and started her ascent, blue-green eyes determined and grave. Kagome gasped at a sudden tingling at the back of her neck, her back going ramrod straight as she turned around. A single pinpoint of light came fluttering into the ruined entrance. The light wavered from one side, then the other before zipping toward her. It hovered above her face with the innocence of a curious firefly, then drifted to stand on the stairs landing above her before changing form. The golden light finally dimmed and died out, leaving Sesshoumaru to stand in its place.
“What are you doing here?” Kagome asked as he descended the stairs toward her.
“I could ask you the same,” he answered dryly, his quirked eyebrow the only sign of his annoyance at her behavior. “Then again, maybe it is human nature to suddenly disappear without a word.”
“Look, I don’t have time for this,” Kagome said when he finally stood in front of her. “I’ve got something I have to check on, so-“
“Your family, is it not?”
“Wha?”
A quiet sigh escaped her normally frigid companion before he spoke again. “You are trying to reach your family, are you not? They live in one of the apartments, correct?”
“Uh-huh,” Kagome nodded. “I’m almost there now.”
“Really.” He glanced above them and mentally counted the floors. “Which floor?”
“The seventeenth.”
“The seventeenth?” he repeated, his gaze turning from the stairway to her when Kagome began biting her bottom lip. “And just how do you expect to reach it? It seems as if a large chunk is missing from the stairway leading from the eight to the ninth floor.”
“Oh boy are you serious?!” Kagome exclaimed, then moaned and sat down on the step. “How am I going to get up there now?”
Sesshoumaru stood by and watched her wallow in self-pity and grief for a few minutes, then frowned when she made no further attempts to move. He stepped down in front of her and waited until she looked up at him to frown again. Kagome shuddered involuntarily, the frost and cold arctic wind oozing from his stare enough to chill her to the core. “Um, what’s u-“
“You are exasperating,” Sesshoumaru growled before reaching down and grabbing her by the upper arm. Kagome yelped in surprise when he jerked her to her feet and was preparing to berate him for nearly pulling her arm out of joint. He placed an arm around her knees, another around her shoulders and picked her up, then rocketed toward the upper floors before she could take a breath. Kagome held on to the front of his jacket and watched as the floors below her practically disappeared before he landed on the seventeenth floor.
He set down softly, his landing little more than a quiet whisper on the hardwood floor. Kagome stared at him long after he put her down, her eyes somehow riveted to him as Sesshoumaru took a casual glance around the hallway.
“Which one?”
“Say huh?” Kagome asked when she finally came out of her stupor.
“Which. One?”
“Oh, which door? Yeah.” Kagome giggled nervously and glanced around, then pointed toward a door on the opposite side of the railway. “Over there. Number 7-D.” Sesshoumaru started off without a word, leaving Kagome to trail behind him in confusion. She couldn’t understand him sometimes, that she admitted readily, but this time she was truly, truly baffled. Of all the times he ever carried her, this was the one and only time she’d ever been close to him. Every time before had always been in his tail and always with her as far away from him as possible. She remembered the seriousness in his eyes as he flew past the floors below them and how, without her asking, he simply volunteered to help her.
She hated to admit it, even more so since she hated the ‘damsel in distress’ stereotype, that it felt...good to have help, especially his and especially now.
They stopped in front of her parents’ apartment, both noting with no small amount of relief the lack of damage done to the entrance door. “Um, Sesshoumaru,” Kagome said as the youkai studied the door. “I just want to um...er...what I want to say is-“
“I assume you do not have a key,” Sesshoumaru interrupted suddenly. He ‘hm’ softly at her nod, then used his poison to melt the door hinges. He pulled the door free of the threshold and set it aside with one hand, then glanced around the inside of the dark apartment before stepping to the side. “Go ahead.”
Kagome unsheathed her gunblade and walked inside. She stopped momentarily so her eyes could adjust to the lack of light, then made her way through the house with Sesshoumaru not far behind her. She peered into the kitchen first, then the living room before moving further down the hallway toward the rest of the apartment. They entered the bathroom and found it empty too. Kagome was beginning to feel as if the apartment were empty when Sesshoumaru turned and stepped back into the hallway.
“What is it?” Kagome whispered as Sesshoumaru began to move down the hall toward the bedrooms. “What did you hear?” He silenced her with a finger to his lips, then gestured toward a closed bedroom door. She nodded in understanding then stepped back when he kicked in the door.
The first thing she noticed was the room, her old room, still in the condition she left it in when she left for the Garden all those many years ago. The room was still decorated in white frills and lace with her various stuffed animals piled high on the foot of the bed. Kagome smiled as she remembered clamoring underneath the blankets and sheets but not before grabbing one of her favorite toys. She reached out to touch the fur-trimmed ear of a nearby giraffe but stopped when Sesshoumaru placed a hand on her shoulder. Turquoise eyes were misty and cloudy when she finally looked up at him, her gaze confused and lost and the warmth she received from him was just as unexpected and equally as confusing.
“I understand your nostalgia,” he murmured gently. “I...cannot blame you for it, but I need for you to be with me right now.” He glanced toward the nearby closet, then back at here to make sure she understood. Kagome nodded, shook the fog from her mind and stepped away from the bear towards the closet. She glanced over her shoulder at Sesshoumaru, who silently counted to three before throwing the door open.
Kagome gasped, tears welling in her eyes as Junsei slipped from her hands to the plush carpet. “Mom, Dad? Souta?”
The closet’s occupants were huddled together, Kagome’s father shielding Souta and her mom from whatever danger had thrown open the closet. Mr. Higurashi opened his eyes at Kagome’s voice, his disbelief narrowing his eyes before they connected with his beloved daughter. “K-kagome?” The others glanced up in shock as Mr. Higurashi stood, his hands reaching out to touch her before pulling away. “Kagome, is it really you?”
Kagome couldn’t speak past the sudden lump in her throat. All the years of denying her parents, of ignoring them and refusing to speak to them crashed down on her. All of the hurt she’d scurried away when they sent her to the Garden all those years ago disappeared the moment he reached out for her. She nodded enthusiastically and launched herself into his open and waiting arms.
Sesshoumaru stepped back and away from the reunion to give Kagome and her family some much needed catch-up time. He stood with his back against the wall with Junsei held loosely in his hand. He weighed the blade, his ears twitching slightly at the sniffs and quiet conversation, and wondered to himself how his own father was faring. He never fully understood Kagome’s reasons for ignoring her parents but figured it to be none of his business. As far as he was aware, humans were like inu and ookami youkai in the sense of the need for contact from others. Inu and ookami youkai tended to reconnect with their pack whenever they could, but humans always seemed to have the ability to ignore that instinct to the point of pain. ‘Perhaps next time she will not be as fooli-‘
“Sesshoumaru?”
“ ;Yes?” he answered as he glanced down at her. Kagome fiddled with her hands, her head down and embarrassment radiating from her petite frame as he waited for her to finish.
“Do-I mean should we evacuate them? To another place I mean. Someplace safer than here?”
“No.” Sesshoumaru shook his head and stood away from the wall. “Here is safer as there is still electricity. The shelters will be full to overflowing.”
“But Sesshoumaru, you did kind of rip the door down.”
Sesshoumaru sighed in mild annoyance, having forgotten that little bit of information. “Then I will see to it that someone comes to stand guard.”
Kagome shook her head. “No way would the Headmaster approve of th-“
“He does not have to. There are a few of my father’s people that will come.”
“You-“ Kagome stammered weakly, her eyes raising to meet his for the first time since the conversation began. “You would do that...for me?”
“I do not see what the ‘big deal’ is,” Sesshoumaru told her before reaching for a nearby phone. “Father keeps a few youkai stationed in almost every country. I’m sure the ones here would not mind, not that it would matter if they did. Anyone in need of medical assistance?”
“Um, no,” Kagome replied. “Dad had a scratch on his neck but I managed to heal it. Sesshoumaru?”
He peered over his shoulder at her, his fingers stopping mid-dial. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“Hm,” was his reply before he turned around. Kagome stood dumbfounded at his suddenly cold behavior then shrugged and returned to her family, completely unaware of the tiny bit of fondness in Sesshoumaru’s eyes before he looked away.
(End Chapter)
SF: See, when I come back I try to come back with some style.
Inu-chan: hey, at least you are back! People are tired of waiting you know!
SF: I know. I’m so sorry for being away for so long. I’ve had a LOT of things to get over this past year. It’s been...interesting. Um, what do I normally do you guys? I totally forget.
Kagome: Well, you normally introduce the next chapter.
SF: Oh yeah! That is right! And its...Shippou’s turn! Get to work kit!
Shippou: (sigh) Kagome’s back at everything’s better than ever! She’s so different, but still the same at the same time. It’s hard to believe that she’s ever been away. Still, not everything’s going so great. Things change before they stay the same and Deling’s up to his old tricks again. This time he strikes at the heart of our group and before we know it, someone we really love it taken away from us.
Next chapter: Chapter Eighteen-She Weeps!