InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Fool's Redemption ❯ Scatter the Shadows ( Chapter 18 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Grumblebear 
06/18 re-edit: just fixed a couple typos and added a small addendum
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Post-apocalyptic / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.18.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 906 | Status: Work In Progress
06/18 re-edit: just fixed a couple typos and added a small addendum
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Post-apocalyptic / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.18.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 906 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N - Gee, look at that. MediaMiner at least partially fixed some of their formatting issues (even though I did have to resort to using a workaround to get the chapter to format correctly). Hopefully they don't screw it up again. Though please feel free to continue using the other two sites I listed at the beginning of the last chapter for reading and reviewing. Knowing this site, it will probably be broken again by the time the next chapter comes out. Sorry for any multiple update notices!
Chapter 18 – Scatter the Shadows
It was odd, Kagome thought, how familiar the ceiling above her seemed. If not for her current situation, she might have been able to imagine she was back in the safety of Inuyasha's loft, laying on the soft white cushions of the sofa in his sitting area. But the cushions at her back now were a dark suede, and even the emerging morning sun couldn't chase away the shadows that crept in the corners of this place. It was Naraku's loft, not Inuyasha's, and it felt like purgatory. No amount of wishful thinking or imagining would change that.
Her limbs were still heavy and mostly useless. She couldn't even lift her head to see where Naraku had wandered off to. Whatever it was he'd dosed her with, there was still plenty of it in her system. There was nothing she could do, so she waited, keeping herself calm by taking slow, measured breaths. She needed to keep a tight hold on what lucidity she still had. Panic would only worsen the situation.
There was the sound of footsteps coming back from the window, and then he appeared in her vision again, leaning over her with a pleased smile.
“He's gone,” Naraku said.
She didn't satisfy him by trying to form a verbal response. A simple, hateful glare made her thoughts very clear.
“You should be glad I didn't have Ezra accompany him out there with a gun,” he continued, sitting beside her. Brushing the backs of his fingers across her cheek, he added, “But he's worth far too much for that.”
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, using them to ask the meaning behind those last words.
“My secret,” he whispered.
The door opened behind him and Ezra stepped inside, nodding to Naraku.
“Good,” Naraku said, looking back down at her. “Now we can continue.”
*****
Inuyasha had kept his promise, so far. He'd kept running and hadn't stopped, across the runway tarmac and through the thin scrub and fields of waste beyond, the decaying remnants of the old city of Norcross passing in a blur. When he finally reached the foothills leading into the mountain pass, he stopped and collapsed to his knees, his legs unable to carry him any further, lungs burning from the exertion in the freezing morning air.
As his breath escaped in bursts of clouds from his mouth, he turned his head to look back toward the city, and was surprised at how far he'd managed to get before having to stop. Even for him, the distance was impressive. Desperation and fear were funny like that. They could push a body to do things never thought possible otherwise.
He'd had every intention of throwing a temper tantrum once he stopped. Maybe finish off a few of the old buildings. Now he realized he didn't need to. The run had been all the outlet he'd needed. All of his fury had already been spent by the pounding his feet had given the ground. He was still angry, but not the kind of angry that would cause him to snap Naraku's neck at first sight. His head was clear and calm now, just like during his first few months as a free man, when the King would take him out to the quarry and let him exhaust his frustrations on the rocks.
"After rain, the ground hardens," the older man would say afterward, as Inuyasha sat catching his breath, fists broken and bleeding. He still remembered the first time he'd heard the King say that. He'd stared up at the man like he was crazy, and received a wise smile in return. "It means," the King had said, leaning down and offering a hand, "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Inuyasha had stared at the hand for a long moment, extended to him despite the gore on his own. Those reassuring words hadn't been the first he'd ever been given, but they'd made the most impact. It was those words and that gesture which had started the crumbling of his doubts and fears, had allowed him to stop living in the darkness of his past and open up to the new world around him.
"Clever old man," he grumbled with a smile. Some of the cold was beginning to seep in through his coat, and he knew he'd have to keep moving in order to stay warm, at least until the sun cleared the mountains. It was a long time before he was able to stand again, and when he did, he wished he hadn't been so generous with his break. His entire body seemed to groan as he tried to get it moving again. Thankfully, the terrain ahead was still mostly flat. He'd hiked through the pass before, and knew the journey would get harder when he reached it.
Once he was past the mountains he'd be okay, at least in terms of travel. But where exactly could he go? Alduray had been the only true home he'd ever known. He had no experience living anywhere else. Not as a free man. He had little money, only a small amount of food and water, and, most troublesome of all, ears that were distinctly unhuman. A quick search of the pack yielded only the items Naraku had said would be there, but no hat. His eyes and hair he could pass off on being a former citizen of Alduray. Lots of people there had unnatural enhancements. But not his ears. Those would be a problem.
But these were all concerns for later. Right now he had enough to deal with. He began making his way up into the foothills, breath still steaming around him as he picked his way around what few fragments of buildings remained this far out, little more than scattered piles of brick and rusted iron. Everything was covered in a thin layer of ice, so much so that his jeans had become soaked to the knees in just the first few minutes of running through the brush. Normally it wouldn't have mattered, but with his stamina so depleted, the extra weight on his legs only slowed him further.
He took his time crossing the foothills, finding a steady but forgiving pace that he hoped he could keep up, at least until the sun was overhead and he could stop to eat and rest for a bit. Too soon the climb steepened and he began having to wind around boulders and slosh his way through icy mud patches, fresh from the rains. He was careful to keep his shoes from getting ruined. They were the only pair he had and they'd have to last for a while. Finally, he cleared the first outcrop of rocks, and found himself at the entrance to the pass.
Steep cliff walls rose on either side, overlooking a dense growth of trees that had sprung up through the ravine. It was here, at the foot of the mountains, on the very edge of the old city, that the only naturally thriving vegetation could be found. The land behind him, still damaged from the wars, couldn't sustain anything beyond scrub and weeds. But this place had been nurtured by rainfall that came down from the mountains, along with the untainted soil the runoff brought with it. The trees were sparse and would be easy enough to travel through, their foliage having been thinned by the winter months, but they stood like a thick, thorny curtain before him. Once he passed through, there would be no more chance to look back and see the city in the distance.
He turned and stood for a while staring back at the place that had sheltered him, had helped him learn what it meant to live and laugh. He'd discovered joy in those bright towers. He'd known peace, safety, friendship, and now even love. When he'd ever experience any of those things again, he didn't know. All he knew was that at the moment, he needed to get out of Naraku's reach and then find a way back to Kagome. The only thing he could do was keep moving. After a long, last look, he turned again and began making his way through the trees.
Even in the depth of winter, there was still life moving all around him. Tiny birds darted through the sleeping forest, chirping out warnings to their companions about this strange intruder wandering through their home. There was no wind to rustle what few leaves remained clinging to the limbs above. The only sounds were his own footfalls across the ground and the occasional scolding of birds. It was the kind of near-silence that he'd cherished only days earlier, returning again as if to offer him some comfort.
Eventually, the trees gave way to a large meadow, the thigh-high grasses brown and frosted in sparkling ice. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Under different, less harrowing circumstances, he would have stood for a while, enjoying the sight. Instead, he said goodbye to another few inches of dry pants and waded in, running the palms of his hands along the icy tips of the tallest shoots, savoring for a brief moment the tickling sensation across his skin. He was almost halfway through when he stopped suddenly, holding his breath. A new sound had caught his ear. A low, steady thumping, completely unnatural and completely human made.
A helicopter, and it was coming closer.
Shit. He needed to find cover. If someone had come out after him to drag him back to the city, it might put Kagome in even more danger. Glancing around quickly, the only place he could see was a large tumble of boulders on the right side of the pass, resting on a ridge overlooking the trees he'd just passed through. He'd have to backtrack and then climb to get to them, but it was the only option in sight, so he took off in their direction.
The helicopter was getting closer every second, as if coming straight for him. He pushed out a little more speed and made a leap for the closest, largest boulder, praying it held steady when he landed. It did, and he used it to vault up to the next, looking for a crevasse large enough to squeeze into. Spotting one, he headed toward it, even as the thrumming of the blades began to vibrate the stones beneath him. He considered briefly what a bad idea this hiding spot could become if the rocks vibrated too much and collapsed, but then the helicopter was coming up over the outcrop, and knowing he might already be too late, he flattened himself into the small crawlspace and held his breath.
The helicopter cleared the outcrop and slowed, hovering just above the trees. Even in his hiding place, the wind from the blades tore at his hair and clothing. He realized they weren't moving, and he bit back a curse. Had they seen him?
“Inuyasha!”
A voice, tiny in the gale but amplified somehow. He recognized it immediately. It belonged to just about the last person he'd expected to hear.
“What the hell?” he barely heard himself say aloud as he peeked out.
The helicopter was hovering a few yards away, its side door thrown wide open. And there, harnessed but leaning out with a bullhorn to his mouth, crouched Emory.
The young man turned his head for a moment, as if the pilot was speaking to him, and then looked back out in Inuyasha's direction, extending a hand and waving it toward the meadow. As he did, the helicopter began moving again. Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, torn between whether to follow or run away. But they'd already found him so easily. They would probably be able to do it again even if he did run.
The hell with it, he thought angrily. They couldn't force him to go back. He could at least see what they wanted. He jumped down from the rocks and took off through the trees, keeping the craft in sight above him as he followed it.
He broke through the tree line just as the helicopter set down in the middle of the meadow, sending up a sudden windstorm of ice. He was instantly soaked and he didn't care. As Emory jumped out and came running toward him, Inuyasha yelled, “What the hell are you doing?”
“It's okay!” Emory shouted, running up to him.
“It's not okay!” he yelled back. “Why the fuck did you—” But he was cut short as Emory thrust a phone at him. It was open, as if there was someone waiting for him to take it and answer.
“She said I was the only one you would trust,” the young man said, out of breath and looking relieved. “That's why she sent me.”
“Who?” Inuyasha asked, taking the phone, but Emory just pointed at it. Putting it up to his ear, Inuyasha shouted, “Who is this?”
“Inuyasha! Get in the bird and get back here!” It was Sango. “Now!”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she didn't give him the chance.
“I know everything that's going on,” she continued in a rush. “Kagome is safe! But I need you back here to make sure she stays that way!”
“What's going on?”
“I'll explain everything as soon as you're in the air.”
He hesitated, then asked, “Are you sure she's safe?”
“Yes, I promise! Now get in the damn helicopter!”
He glanced down at Emory, still standing by his side, looking up at him anxiously.
“We're on our way,” Inuyasha said, grabbing the younger man's arm and rushing toward the helicopter. Together they climbed in, and as the door slid closed behind them, the machine lifted and turned, heading back toward the city.
*****
What a nice day. Hardly a cloud in the sky, Kagome thought. The sun had climbed higher now; it was probably already mid-morning. Of course, her sense of time was a bit off at the moment, along with most of her other senses. She swore she could smell popcorn. And her neck still stung from where they'd injected her with whatever it was that had got her limbs semi-working again. But at least they were working, enough to walk, albeit unsteadily. That was an improvement.
She shook her head. The drugs were causing her to be easily distracted and flippant. She needed to stay focused. If she'd been wearing warmer clothes she would have breathed in deep to fill her lungs with the sharply cold air, but she was already shivering. The moment she'd stepped out onto the roof of the tower, the air had punched it's way past her shirt, jeans and shoes almost instantly.
Ahh, that's right, she thought. That was why she'd let her mind wander, to distract herself from the cold. Damned either way, I guess. Focused and frozen or distracted and not as frozen. Lousy options.
She still hadn't been told why they were up here either. Only a few minutes earlier, after being led up a stairwell, through a large service door, and into the sunshine, she'd found herself standing on the roof of the city. As her eyes had adjusted to the bright light, she'd noticed the helipad a few feet ahead; a raised circular platform perched on the edge of the roof, half of it floating out over open air. Most of what she could see of the rest of the area was crowded by various machinery, electric boxes, air conditioning units and looming transmission towers. She'd been ushered to a spot just a few yards to the left of the door, where she now stood, flanked on either side by Naraku's assistants, the smaller one's arm hooked around her to help keep her upright. To her other side stood the bigger one, hands clasped in front of him, as if patiently waiting for something. Naraku had wandered onto the helipad, casually smoking a cigarette as he looked out over the railing, also seeming to wait.
Countless minutes passed, and her shivering was quickly transitioning into a full body shake. The least these bastards could do was offer her one of their coats. Her face, toes and hands were going numb. That was concerning. At this rate, if something didn't happen soon, she might have to start worrying about frost bite. Just as the thought occurred to her, the door opened and a male figure stepped out, his salt and pepper hair shining in the sunlight. It was her uncle.
“Ah,” Naraku said, flicking his cigarette over the side and greeting the older man with a cool smile. “There you are, Solomon. I was starting to think you weren't going to join us.”
Beneath the hand he was using to shield his eyes from the light, her uncle's gaze shifted from Naraku to where Kagome was standing between the two men. “Why is she here?” he asked carefully.
“Leverage,” Naraku answered. “To ensure I have your complete attention and cooperation. I trust you came unarmed, as I asked.”
The older man's eyes narrowed angrily. “I did. But let her go. Whatever this is about, she doesn't need to be a part of it."
"I'm afraid she already is, and has been for a while now. But you have my word that I won't harm her, so long as you remain cooperative. Agreed?"
Solomon's eyes rested on Kagome for a long moment, then turned back to Naraku. "Agreed. Now what's this about?”
A slow, cunning grin spread across Naraku's face as he stepped down from the platform and said, “Again. Leverage.”
“I'm listening.”
“First, I want you to understand the position you're in. Inuyasha is gone. He's left the city, and he won't be coming back. Sango and most of the security team are being kept busy in the third tower with fire drills. There are no cameras up here, no way for others to see what's going on. You're on your own. No one will be coming to the rescue. You're significantly outnumbered, so no hero bullshit.”
“Understood,” Solomon said tightly. “Now tell me what you want.”
Naraku leaned back against the railing and slipped his hands into his coat pockets. He studied the other man for a long moment, as if enjoying the increased tension he was creating by doing so. Finally, he said, “I want the final piece of the Askr Project.”
Silence stretched out between them, until the older man finally replied, “I don't know what that is.”
“No games, Professor Solomon Higurashi. I know all about who you are, what you possess, and how you came to possess it. So we can skip the ignorance act.”
"You're mistaken. My brother was the professor, not I."
"Ah, but that's what you want the world to think," Naraku said. "I know better."
“Who are you?” Kagome's uncle asked, visibly shaken now.
“A man trying to save his country. Tell me. Are you aware of the socioeconomic crisis in Linos?”
“Linos? You're Linocian?”
“Are you aware of it?” Naraku snapped, loosing some of his composure. “Or does your world view stop at the borders of your own country?”
“I'm aware of it.”
“Then you know why I want the Askr Project. I came here to acquire the dome technology for myself, and return home to Linos with it. My people are starving, professor. More and more die every day. I want you to help me put an end to it.”
“Your people are starving because your government has continuously rejected any treaties brought before it," Solomon said sternly. "They refuse humanitarian aid and, instead of providing for the people, continue to pump all their money into arms production and the military. Besides, despite whatever you think you may know, there is no final piece to Askr. It's only purpose is for the domes. It creates and accelerates life. That's it."
"You're telling lies again, Solomon," Naraku said with a cunning smile, and nodded to his larger assistant. The big man stepped forward and offered Kagome's uncle a folder.
"Open it," Naraku instructed.
Slowly, the older man took the folder and opened it, staring down at the papers within for a moment. He leafed through a few pages, then closed the folder and handed it back. As the large man returned to his spot next to Kagome, Naraku asked, "Recognize those?"
Solomon took a deep breath, let it out, then leveled his eyes at Naraku. "If you truly know everything that Askr is," he said slowly, "then you know I can't give it to you. I can't risk it falling into the hands of the Linocian government.”
“My government doesn't know I'm here. They have no part in this. And besides, they won't be in power much longer. There is a coup in the works." He looked very proud of himself.
"Why would you need the final piece if all you intend to do with it is feed your people?"
"Because Askr can be so much more than what it is now," Naraku said forcefully, his red eyes shining. "I could use it to liberate my country, and then save it. You can help me do that.”
“Askr is only allowed to be used for the domes, Naraku. I won't let it be used as a weapon. And even if I agreed with your cause and wanted to help, I can't because of the embargoes. You know that.”
“You're its guardian. You can do whatever you want with it. You've been building domes just like the ones here all over the world, and yet you refuse my country.”
“I refused no one. Linos has never asked."
"I am asking now, on behalf of my people."
"To use as a weapon, Naraku!" Solomon said, frustration beginning to show in his voice. "Even if all you were asking for was the technology to create domes, would you trust your government with something that could potentially be turned into a mass-killing weapon?”
“As I told you, my government has no part in this. Give it to me, and I will keep it safe, use it for good.”
"The problem is that your idea of 'good' involves bloodshed."
"Can't make an omlete without breaking a few eggs, to borrow the cliché."
The older man stared down Naraku for a moment, anger growing in his expression. “I want to know how you found out about the project,” he said, abruptly changing the conversation's direction.
Naraku sighed. “I don't see how it matters now.”
“I'd like to know."
Kagome was shivering violently now. Her feet had gone numb, and her legs were threatening to give out. The arm supporting her tightened just a bit, pulling her closer against the smaller assistant's side.
"Just a little bit longer," he said with a wicked smile. It was the first words she'd ever heard the man speak.
Out of nowhere, her temper flared. "Go to hell," she shot back, surprising herself, and suddenly realized their brief exchange had caught Naraku's attention.
"Everything alright over there?" Naraku asked quietly.
The assistant tightened his grip further, almost to the point of causing pain, and hoisted her up a few inches. "She's fine. Just being a brat about the cold."
"I can't help it," Kagome argued, trying to get her deadened feet planted firmly on the ground. She noticed with dismay that her speech was beginning to slur a bit. Hypothermia had set in.
"Naraku," her uncle said, turning pleading eyes on the man. "At least give her a coat or something. She's freezing."
Naraku waved dismissively and continued. “Evidently, the information was stolen from your old laboratory in Alta, the one you and your brother shared. It's widely known in certain underground circles that your little green project has a dark side. But the information only stated the end results of the second part, and not the science behind it. It would be easy enough to steal a germination pad or two from one of the domes scattered across the planet, but without that final piece of the puzzle, all we can do with them is grow pretty flowers. Quite annoying, I assure you. Now can we get back to the matter at hand? You have the missing piece I need."
Solomon opened his mouth to protest, but Naraku must have anticipated what he was going to say, because he raised a silencing hand.
"Don't bother trying to lie. I know you do," Naraku said. "You and your brother worked on it together. You may have given him all of the credit, but you had a hand in its creation and development as well. You know just as much about it as he did. Maybe more, since you were the one who survived.”
“I haven't given the second part of Askr to anyone, Naraku. Not one person, not one country. Not even this one. The risk to the world is too great. No one can be trusted with something like that.”
“Except you.”
“I haven't used it to kill anyone yet, nor do I have plans to. My brother created Askr for the benefit of mankind. The discovery of the second part was an accident. No one else was ever supposed to know about it. He would never have let it be used as a weapon, and neither will I.”
“Ah, yes. Your dead brother. Do you think he would have held those lofty ideals in the face of his daughter's current situation? Do you think he would have wanted her uncle to?”
The older man's eyes turned again to Kagome, then back to Naraku. “You're asking me to trade potentially thousands of innocent lives for one.”
“'Innocent' is debatable. But, essentially, yes, that's what I'm asking you to do.”
“You know I can't.”
Naraku let out another sigh, showing his growing frustration. “I'm getting tired of this, old man.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and pushed a few buttons. “If you won't cooperate here and now, we'll have to move this conversation to a more permanent locat—” He looked up for a moment and suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his expression darkening as he stared toward the older man. But when Kagome followed his gaze, she found it wasn't her uncle who'd interrupted him.
Sango and one of her guards stood just outside the door to the stairwell, guns in hand but pointed toward the ground. "That's enough," she said, her eyes quickly shifting from person to person, assessing the situation. The man beside her appeared to be doing the same. "Put the phone down, Naraku."
"Sango," Naraku greeted unhappily through his teeth. He punched a final button and then lowered the phone. "Evidently not as preoccupied as I thought."
"Sorry to disappoint."
Naraku looked at Solomon. "I told you to come alone," he growled.
"He didn't know we were following him," Sango said. "We've been listening from inside the door, and I've heard enough. I've known you've been up to something for a while, and now that I know what it is, I'm putting a stop to it. Let Kagome go."
"This doesn't concern you. You can see we're unarmed, so put your weapons away," Naraku said.
"Let Kagome go first."
Naraku made a face as if they were spoiling all his fun. "Incidentals," he muttered. "I'd hoped to do this cleanly." He turned to the smaller of his two assistants.
"Miroku," he said. "Show them just how serious I am."
Without hesitation, the man holding Kagome pulled her body in front of his, slipped a gun from beneath his coat, and pressed it to her temple.
Continued in chapter 19 – Fall to Pieces
Author's note – Well lookie there! He's been with us the entire time! *innocent face* What?
Dialog heavy chapter is dialog heavy, aaaagain. I'm glad to see so many of you enjoyed the last chapter, and are still around. Thanks for all of the reviews letting me know you're still reading! I wish I could address each one individually here, but there were so many that it would make this A/N waaay too long. A few of them had me laughing my ass off too (ex: "My mom was lookin at me like o.0 nd I was all :3!", "chocolate can wait", etc.). And thank you all so much for the well wishes (and condolences. Lol, furbaby. That's cute!). Things have indeed calmed down, at least as much as they're probably going to. My new android phone and the Evernote app have made a world of difference when it comes to my writing productivity. So much easier now to just pull up the file whenever I want, do whatever I need to with it, sync it, and it's instantly available on my PC.
I struggled a bit with this chapter, mostly because it dealt so much with setting up parts of the story which have yet to be revealed. I still hadn't managed to nail down some of the smaller, and a few larger, details of the plot line (I know, I know, bad author, starting a story without a solid ending), so I had to physically sit myself down and noodle out connections for all the loose strings I'd already created. Long story short, I had all the 'hows', just not enough 'whys'. But I think I've got it all worked out now so that it makes sense. I hope I do, anyways.
Addendum: To all of the consistently silent readers out there – Kindly let me know what you think. I like to hear from all of my readers. (Better now?)
That's all for now. Get well soon, Dani! And thank you, Momo!! ;)
A couple quick notes on the music: The third selection was more or less the inspiration for the meadow scene. It's a beautiful short little piece. And I HIGHLY recommend the 4th selection, Worthy of Survival. In my opinion, one of the best pieces in the entire BSG soundtrack. And it fit SO well with the helicopter scene!
Influential music for this chapter
Yochou – Eureka Seven OST 1, Sato Naoki
Kioku no Naka no Umi – Eureka Seven OST 1, Sato Naoki
Umi Sakai (Unasaka) Yori – Mushishi OST 1, Masuda Toshio
Worthy of Survival – Battlestar Galactica OST Season 2, Bear McCreary
Precipice – Battlestar Galactica OST Season 3, Bear McCreary
Converting /tmp/php45wMr7 to /dev/stdout
Chapter 18 – Scatter the Shadows
It was odd, Kagome thought, how familiar the ceiling above her seemed. If not for her current situation, she might have been able to imagine she was back in the safety of Inuyasha's loft, laying on the soft white cushions of the sofa in his sitting area. But the cushions at her back now were a dark suede, and even the emerging morning sun couldn't chase away the shadows that crept in the corners of this place. It was Naraku's loft, not Inuyasha's, and it felt like purgatory. No amount of wishful thinking or imagining would change that.
Her limbs were still heavy and mostly useless. She couldn't even lift her head to see where Naraku had wandered off to. Whatever it was he'd dosed her with, there was still plenty of it in her system. There was nothing she could do, so she waited, keeping herself calm by taking slow, measured breaths. She needed to keep a tight hold on what lucidity she still had. Panic would only worsen the situation.
There was the sound of footsteps coming back from the window, and then he appeared in her vision again, leaning over her with a pleased smile.
“He's gone,” Naraku said.
She didn't satisfy him by trying to form a verbal response. A simple, hateful glare made her thoughts very clear.
“You should be glad I didn't have Ezra accompany him out there with a gun,” he continued, sitting beside her. Brushing the backs of his fingers across her cheek, he added, “But he's worth far too much for that.”
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, using them to ask the meaning behind those last words.
“My secret,” he whispered.
The door opened behind him and Ezra stepped inside, nodding to Naraku.
“Good,” Naraku said, looking back down at her. “Now we can continue.”
*****
Inuyasha had kept his promise, so far. He'd kept running and hadn't stopped, across the runway tarmac and through the thin scrub and fields of waste beyond, the decaying remnants of the old city of Norcross passing in a blur. When he finally reached the foothills leading into the mountain pass, he stopped and collapsed to his knees, his legs unable to carry him any further, lungs burning from the exertion in the freezing morning air.
As his breath escaped in bursts of clouds from his mouth, he turned his head to look back toward the city, and was surprised at how far he'd managed to get before having to stop. Even for him, the distance was impressive. Desperation and fear were funny like that. They could push a body to do things never thought possible otherwise.
He'd had every intention of throwing a temper tantrum once he stopped. Maybe finish off a few of the old buildings. Now he realized he didn't need to. The run had been all the outlet he'd needed. All of his fury had already been spent by the pounding his feet had given the ground. He was still angry, but not the kind of angry that would cause him to snap Naraku's neck at first sight. His head was clear and calm now, just like during his first few months as a free man, when the King would take him out to the quarry and let him exhaust his frustrations on the rocks.
"After rain, the ground hardens," the older man would say afterward, as Inuyasha sat catching his breath, fists broken and bleeding. He still remembered the first time he'd heard the King say that. He'd stared up at the man like he was crazy, and received a wise smile in return. "It means," the King had said, leaning down and offering a hand, "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Inuyasha had stared at the hand for a long moment, extended to him despite the gore on his own. Those reassuring words hadn't been the first he'd ever been given, but they'd made the most impact. It was those words and that gesture which had started the crumbling of his doubts and fears, had allowed him to stop living in the darkness of his past and open up to the new world around him.
"Clever old man," he grumbled with a smile. Some of the cold was beginning to seep in through his coat, and he knew he'd have to keep moving in order to stay warm, at least until the sun cleared the mountains. It was a long time before he was able to stand again, and when he did, he wished he hadn't been so generous with his break. His entire body seemed to groan as he tried to get it moving again. Thankfully, the terrain ahead was still mostly flat. He'd hiked through the pass before, and knew the journey would get harder when he reached it.
Once he was past the mountains he'd be okay, at least in terms of travel. But where exactly could he go? Alduray had been the only true home he'd ever known. He had no experience living anywhere else. Not as a free man. He had little money, only a small amount of food and water, and, most troublesome of all, ears that were distinctly unhuman. A quick search of the pack yielded only the items Naraku had said would be there, but no hat. His eyes and hair he could pass off on being a former citizen of Alduray. Lots of people there had unnatural enhancements. But not his ears. Those would be a problem.
But these were all concerns for later. Right now he had enough to deal with. He began making his way up into the foothills, breath still steaming around him as he picked his way around what few fragments of buildings remained this far out, little more than scattered piles of brick and rusted iron. Everything was covered in a thin layer of ice, so much so that his jeans had become soaked to the knees in just the first few minutes of running through the brush. Normally it wouldn't have mattered, but with his stamina so depleted, the extra weight on his legs only slowed him further.
He took his time crossing the foothills, finding a steady but forgiving pace that he hoped he could keep up, at least until the sun was overhead and he could stop to eat and rest for a bit. Too soon the climb steepened and he began having to wind around boulders and slosh his way through icy mud patches, fresh from the rains. He was careful to keep his shoes from getting ruined. They were the only pair he had and they'd have to last for a while. Finally, he cleared the first outcrop of rocks, and found himself at the entrance to the pass.
Steep cliff walls rose on either side, overlooking a dense growth of trees that had sprung up through the ravine. It was here, at the foot of the mountains, on the very edge of the old city, that the only naturally thriving vegetation could be found. The land behind him, still damaged from the wars, couldn't sustain anything beyond scrub and weeds. But this place had been nurtured by rainfall that came down from the mountains, along with the untainted soil the runoff brought with it. The trees were sparse and would be easy enough to travel through, their foliage having been thinned by the winter months, but they stood like a thick, thorny curtain before him. Once he passed through, there would be no more chance to look back and see the city in the distance.
He turned and stood for a while staring back at the place that had sheltered him, had helped him learn what it meant to live and laugh. He'd discovered joy in those bright towers. He'd known peace, safety, friendship, and now even love. When he'd ever experience any of those things again, he didn't know. All he knew was that at the moment, he needed to get out of Naraku's reach and then find a way back to Kagome. The only thing he could do was keep moving. After a long, last look, he turned again and began making his way through the trees.
Even in the depth of winter, there was still life moving all around him. Tiny birds darted through the sleeping forest, chirping out warnings to their companions about this strange intruder wandering through their home. There was no wind to rustle what few leaves remained clinging to the limbs above. The only sounds were his own footfalls across the ground and the occasional scolding of birds. It was the kind of near-silence that he'd cherished only days earlier, returning again as if to offer him some comfort.
Eventually, the trees gave way to a large meadow, the thigh-high grasses brown and frosted in sparkling ice. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Under different, less harrowing circumstances, he would have stood for a while, enjoying the sight. Instead, he said goodbye to another few inches of dry pants and waded in, running the palms of his hands along the icy tips of the tallest shoots, savoring for a brief moment the tickling sensation across his skin. He was almost halfway through when he stopped suddenly, holding his breath. A new sound had caught his ear. A low, steady thumping, completely unnatural and completely human made.
A helicopter, and it was coming closer.
Shit. He needed to find cover. If someone had come out after him to drag him back to the city, it might put Kagome in even more danger. Glancing around quickly, the only place he could see was a large tumble of boulders on the right side of the pass, resting on a ridge overlooking the trees he'd just passed through. He'd have to backtrack and then climb to get to them, but it was the only option in sight, so he took off in their direction.
The helicopter was getting closer every second, as if coming straight for him. He pushed out a little more speed and made a leap for the closest, largest boulder, praying it held steady when he landed. It did, and he used it to vault up to the next, looking for a crevasse large enough to squeeze into. Spotting one, he headed toward it, even as the thrumming of the blades began to vibrate the stones beneath him. He considered briefly what a bad idea this hiding spot could become if the rocks vibrated too much and collapsed, but then the helicopter was coming up over the outcrop, and knowing he might already be too late, he flattened himself into the small crawlspace and held his breath.
The helicopter cleared the outcrop and slowed, hovering just above the trees. Even in his hiding place, the wind from the blades tore at his hair and clothing. He realized they weren't moving, and he bit back a curse. Had they seen him?
“Inuyasha!”
A voice, tiny in the gale but amplified somehow. He recognized it immediately. It belonged to just about the last person he'd expected to hear.
“What the hell?” he barely heard himself say aloud as he peeked out.
The helicopter was hovering a few yards away, its side door thrown wide open. And there, harnessed but leaning out with a bullhorn to his mouth, crouched Emory.
The young man turned his head for a moment, as if the pilot was speaking to him, and then looked back out in Inuyasha's direction, extending a hand and waving it toward the meadow. As he did, the helicopter began moving again. Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, torn between whether to follow or run away. But they'd already found him so easily. They would probably be able to do it again even if he did run.
The hell with it, he thought angrily. They couldn't force him to go back. He could at least see what they wanted. He jumped down from the rocks and took off through the trees, keeping the craft in sight above him as he followed it.
He broke through the tree line just as the helicopter set down in the middle of the meadow, sending up a sudden windstorm of ice. He was instantly soaked and he didn't care. As Emory jumped out and came running toward him, Inuyasha yelled, “What the hell are you doing?”
“It's okay!” Emory shouted, running up to him.
“It's not okay!” he yelled back. “Why the fuck did you—” But he was cut short as Emory thrust a phone at him. It was open, as if there was someone waiting for him to take it and answer.
“She said I was the only one you would trust,” the young man said, out of breath and looking relieved. “That's why she sent me.”
“Who?” Inuyasha asked, taking the phone, but Emory just pointed at it. Putting it up to his ear, Inuyasha shouted, “Who is this?”
“Inuyasha! Get in the bird and get back here!” It was Sango. “Now!”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she didn't give him the chance.
“I know everything that's going on,” she continued in a rush. “Kagome is safe! But I need you back here to make sure she stays that way!”
“What's going on?”
“I'll explain everything as soon as you're in the air.”
He hesitated, then asked, “Are you sure she's safe?”
“Yes, I promise! Now get in the damn helicopter!”
He glanced down at Emory, still standing by his side, looking up at him anxiously.
“We're on our way,” Inuyasha said, grabbing the younger man's arm and rushing toward the helicopter. Together they climbed in, and as the door slid closed behind them, the machine lifted and turned, heading back toward the city.
*****
What a nice day. Hardly a cloud in the sky, Kagome thought. The sun had climbed higher now; it was probably already mid-morning. Of course, her sense of time was a bit off at the moment, along with most of her other senses. She swore she could smell popcorn. And her neck still stung from where they'd injected her with whatever it was that had got her limbs semi-working again. But at least they were working, enough to walk, albeit unsteadily. That was an improvement.
She shook her head. The drugs were causing her to be easily distracted and flippant. She needed to stay focused. If she'd been wearing warmer clothes she would have breathed in deep to fill her lungs with the sharply cold air, but she was already shivering. The moment she'd stepped out onto the roof of the tower, the air had punched it's way past her shirt, jeans and shoes almost instantly.
Ahh, that's right, she thought. That was why she'd let her mind wander, to distract herself from the cold. Damned either way, I guess. Focused and frozen or distracted and not as frozen. Lousy options.
She still hadn't been told why they were up here either. Only a few minutes earlier, after being led up a stairwell, through a large service door, and into the sunshine, she'd found herself standing on the roof of the city. As her eyes had adjusted to the bright light, she'd noticed the helipad a few feet ahead; a raised circular platform perched on the edge of the roof, half of it floating out over open air. Most of what she could see of the rest of the area was crowded by various machinery, electric boxes, air conditioning units and looming transmission towers. She'd been ushered to a spot just a few yards to the left of the door, where she now stood, flanked on either side by Naraku's assistants, the smaller one's arm hooked around her to help keep her upright. To her other side stood the bigger one, hands clasped in front of him, as if patiently waiting for something. Naraku had wandered onto the helipad, casually smoking a cigarette as he looked out over the railing, also seeming to wait.
Countless minutes passed, and her shivering was quickly transitioning into a full body shake. The least these bastards could do was offer her one of their coats. Her face, toes and hands were going numb. That was concerning. At this rate, if something didn't happen soon, she might have to start worrying about frost bite. Just as the thought occurred to her, the door opened and a male figure stepped out, his salt and pepper hair shining in the sunlight. It was her uncle.
“Ah,” Naraku said, flicking his cigarette over the side and greeting the older man with a cool smile. “There you are, Solomon. I was starting to think you weren't going to join us.”
Beneath the hand he was using to shield his eyes from the light, her uncle's gaze shifted from Naraku to where Kagome was standing between the two men. “Why is she here?” he asked carefully.
“Leverage,” Naraku answered. “To ensure I have your complete attention and cooperation. I trust you came unarmed, as I asked.”
The older man's eyes narrowed angrily. “I did. But let her go. Whatever this is about, she doesn't need to be a part of it."
"I'm afraid she already is, and has been for a while now. But you have my word that I won't harm her, so long as you remain cooperative. Agreed?"
Solomon's eyes rested on Kagome for a long moment, then turned back to Naraku. "Agreed. Now what's this about?”
A slow, cunning grin spread across Naraku's face as he stepped down from the platform and said, “Again. Leverage.”
“I'm listening.”
“First, I want you to understand the position you're in. Inuyasha is gone. He's left the city, and he won't be coming back. Sango and most of the security team are being kept busy in the third tower with fire drills. There are no cameras up here, no way for others to see what's going on. You're on your own. No one will be coming to the rescue. You're significantly outnumbered, so no hero bullshit.”
“Understood,” Solomon said tightly. “Now tell me what you want.”
Naraku leaned back against the railing and slipped his hands into his coat pockets. He studied the other man for a long moment, as if enjoying the increased tension he was creating by doing so. Finally, he said, “I want the final piece of the Askr Project.”
Silence stretched out between them, until the older man finally replied, “I don't know what that is.”
“No games, Professor Solomon Higurashi. I know all about who you are, what you possess, and how you came to possess it. So we can skip the ignorance act.”
"You're mistaken. My brother was the professor, not I."
"Ah, but that's what you want the world to think," Naraku said. "I know better."
“Who are you?” Kagome's uncle asked, visibly shaken now.
“A man trying to save his country. Tell me. Are you aware of the socioeconomic crisis in Linos?”
“Linos? You're Linocian?”
“Are you aware of it?” Naraku snapped, loosing some of his composure. “Or does your world view stop at the borders of your own country?”
“I'm aware of it.”
“Then you know why I want the Askr Project. I came here to acquire the dome technology for myself, and return home to Linos with it. My people are starving, professor. More and more die every day. I want you to help me put an end to it.”
“Your people are starving because your government has continuously rejected any treaties brought before it," Solomon said sternly. "They refuse humanitarian aid and, instead of providing for the people, continue to pump all their money into arms production and the military. Besides, despite whatever you think you may know, there is no final piece to Askr. It's only purpose is for the domes. It creates and accelerates life. That's it."
"You're telling lies again, Solomon," Naraku said with a cunning smile, and nodded to his larger assistant. The big man stepped forward and offered Kagome's uncle a folder.
"Open it," Naraku instructed.
Slowly, the older man took the folder and opened it, staring down at the papers within for a moment. He leafed through a few pages, then closed the folder and handed it back. As the large man returned to his spot next to Kagome, Naraku asked, "Recognize those?"
Solomon took a deep breath, let it out, then leveled his eyes at Naraku. "If you truly know everything that Askr is," he said slowly, "then you know I can't give it to you. I can't risk it falling into the hands of the Linocian government.”
“My government doesn't know I'm here. They have no part in this. And besides, they won't be in power much longer. There is a coup in the works." He looked very proud of himself.
"Why would you need the final piece if all you intend to do with it is feed your people?"
"Because Askr can be so much more than what it is now," Naraku said forcefully, his red eyes shining. "I could use it to liberate my country, and then save it. You can help me do that.”
“Askr is only allowed to be used for the domes, Naraku. I won't let it be used as a weapon. And even if I agreed with your cause and wanted to help, I can't because of the embargoes. You know that.”
“You're its guardian. You can do whatever you want with it. You've been building domes just like the ones here all over the world, and yet you refuse my country.”
“I refused no one. Linos has never asked."
"I am asking now, on behalf of my people."
"To use as a weapon, Naraku!" Solomon said, frustration beginning to show in his voice. "Even if all you were asking for was the technology to create domes, would you trust your government with something that could potentially be turned into a mass-killing weapon?”
“As I told you, my government has no part in this. Give it to me, and I will keep it safe, use it for good.”
"The problem is that your idea of 'good' involves bloodshed."
"Can't make an omlete without breaking a few eggs, to borrow the cliché."
The older man stared down Naraku for a moment, anger growing in his expression. “I want to know how you found out about the project,” he said, abruptly changing the conversation's direction.
Naraku sighed. “I don't see how it matters now.”
“I'd like to know."
Kagome was shivering violently now. Her feet had gone numb, and her legs were threatening to give out. The arm supporting her tightened just a bit, pulling her closer against the smaller assistant's side.
"Just a little bit longer," he said with a wicked smile. It was the first words she'd ever heard the man speak.
Out of nowhere, her temper flared. "Go to hell," she shot back, surprising herself, and suddenly realized their brief exchange had caught Naraku's attention.
"Everything alright over there?" Naraku asked quietly.
The assistant tightened his grip further, almost to the point of causing pain, and hoisted her up a few inches. "She's fine. Just being a brat about the cold."
"I can't help it," Kagome argued, trying to get her deadened feet planted firmly on the ground. She noticed with dismay that her speech was beginning to slur a bit. Hypothermia had set in.
"Naraku," her uncle said, turning pleading eyes on the man. "At least give her a coat or something. She's freezing."
Naraku waved dismissively and continued. “Evidently, the information was stolen from your old laboratory in Alta, the one you and your brother shared. It's widely known in certain underground circles that your little green project has a dark side. But the information only stated the end results of the second part, and not the science behind it. It would be easy enough to steal a germination pad or two from one of the domes scattered across the planet, but without that final piece of the puzzle, all we can do with them is grow pretty flowers. Quite annoying, I assure you. Now can we get back to the matter at hand? You have the missing piece I need."
Solomon opened his mouth to protest, but Naraku must have anticipated what he was going to say, because he raised a silencing hand.
"Don't bother trying to lie. I know you do," Naraku said. "You and your brother worked on it together. You may have given him all of the credit, but you had a hand in its creation and development as well. You know just as much about it as he did. Maybe more, since you were the one who survived.”
“I haven't given the second part of Askr to anyone, Naraku. Not one person, not one country. Not even this one. The risk to the world is too great. No one can be trusted with something like that.”
“Except you.”
“I haven't used it to kill anyone yet, nor do I have plans to. My brother created Askr for the benefit of mankind. The discovery of the second part was an accident. No one else was ever supposed to know about it. He would never have let it be used as a weapon, and neither will I.”
“Ah, yes. Your dead brother. Do you think he would have held those lofty ideals in the face of his daughter's current situation? Do you think he would have wanted her uncle to?”
The older man's eyes turned again to Kagome, then back to Naraku. “You're asking me to trade potentially thousands of innocent lives for one.”
“'Innocent' is debatable. But, essentially, yes, that's what I'm asking you to do.”
“You know I can't.”
Naraku let out another sigh, showing his growing frustration. “I'm getting tired of this, old man.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and pushed a few buttons. “If you won't cooperate here and now, we'll have to move this conversation to a more permanent locat—” He looked up for a moment and suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his expression darkening as he stared toward the older man. But when Kagome followed his gaze, she found it wasn't her uncle who'd interrupted him.
Sango and one of her guards stood just outside the door to the stairwell, guns in hand but pointed toward the ground. "That's enough," she said, her eyes quickly shifting from person to person, assessing the situation. The man beside her appeared to be doing the same. "Put the phone down, Naraku."
"Sango," Naraku greeted unhappily through his teeth. He punched a final button and then lowered the phone. "Evidently not as preoccupied as I thought."
"Sorry to disappoint."
Naraku looked at Solomon. "I told you to come alone," he growled.
"He didn't know we were following him," Sango said. "We've been listening from inside the door, and I've heard enough. I've known you've been up to something for a while, and now that I know what it is, I'm putting a stop to it. Let Kagome go."
"This doesn't concern you. You can see we're unarmed, so put your weapons away," Naraku said.
"Let Kagome go first."
Naraku made a face as if they were spoiling all his fun. "Incidentals," he muttered. "I'd hoped to do this cleanly." He turned to the smaller of his two assistants.
"Miroku," he said. "Show them just how serious I am."
Without hesitation, the man holding Kagome pulled her body in front of his, slipped a gun from beneath his coat, and pressed it to her temple.
Continued in chapter 19 – Fall to Pieces
Author's note – Well lookie there! He's been with us the entire time! *innocent face* What?
Dialog heavy chapter is dialog heavy, aaaagain. I'm glad to see so many of you enjoyed the last chapter, and are still around. Thanks for all of the reviews letting me know you're still reading! I wish I could address each one individually here, but there were so many that it would make this A/N waaay too long. A few of them had me laughing my ass off too (ex: "My mom was lookin at me like o.0 nd I was all :3!", "chocolate can wait", etc.). And thank you all so much for the well wishes (and condolences. Lol, furbaby. That's cute!). Things have indeed calmed down, at least as much as they're probably going to. My new android phone and the Evernote app have made a world of difference when it comes to my writing productivity. So much easier now to just pull up the file whenever I want, do whatever I need to with it, sync it, and it's instantly available on my PC.
I struggled a bit with this chapter, mostly because it dealt so much with setting up parts of the story which have yet to be revealed. I still hadn't managed to nail down some of the smaller, and a few larger, details of the plot line (I know, I know, bad author, starting a story without a solid ending), so I had to physically sit myself down and noodle out connections for all the loose strings I'd already created. Long story short, I had all the 'hows', just not enough 'whys'. But I think I've got it all worked out now so that it makes sense. I hope I do, anyways.
Addendum: To all of the consistently silent readers out there – Kindly let me know what you think. I like to hear from all of my readers. (Better now?)
That's all for now. Get well soon, Dani! And thank you, Momo!! ;)
A couple quick notes on the music: The third selection was more or less the inspiration for the meadow scene. It's a beautiful short little piece. And I HIGHLY recommend the 4th selection, Worthy of Survival. In my opinion, one of the best pieces in the entire BSG soundtrack. And it fit SO well with the helicopter scene!
Influential music for this chapter
Yochou – Eureka Seven OST 1, Sato Naoki
Kioku no Naka no Umi – Eureka Seven OST 1, Sato Naoki
Umi Sakai (Unasaka) Yori – Mushishi OST 1, Masuda Toshio
Worthy of Survival – Battlestar Galactica OST Season 2, Bear McCreary
Precipice – Battlestar Galactica OST Season 3, Bear McCreary
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