InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Fool's Redemption ❯ Fall to Pieces ( Chapter 19 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

(Note - No promises on the formatting with this chapter. Mediaminer is still not behaving. I'm not going to fight with it, so if the formatting doesn't cooperate, read this at either FanFiction.net or AdultFanFiction.net.)
Chapter 19 – Fall to Pieces
Suddenly, there were guns pointing in every direction. Sango's at Naraku, her guard's at the larger assistant, the larger assistant's at Sango, and Naraku's at Solomon. The one at Kagome's head stayed in place. There was a brief moment of complete stillness where no one moved, no one spoke. They simply stared down their weapons at each other, bodies tense and poised for violence.
It was a dangerous situation. Kagome knew it was a dangerous situation. But for some reason, she just didn't care. She was having a hard time remembering why they'd come up here in the first place.
"Checkmate," Naraku finally said with a cool smile.
"Put the guns down," Sango demanded.
"You first, my dear."
"I will shoot you if I have to."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"So much for negotiations, then."

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

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

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

He'd thought that elevator would never reach the top floor. The stairs leading up to the roof had seemed to stretch for an eternity before him as he'd charged them, three at a time, loosing the security guard accompanying him after the first flight. It hadn't mattered. He didn't need a wingman, didn't need the gun he'd been offered either. The only things he needed were the weapons he'd been born with and that damn woman back, safe at his side. He had one of those things, now he needed to get the other. As he stepped through the door and into the sun, he felt like a hero back from the dead, like the cavalry riding into battle just as his allies were reaching their limits.
It was obvious Naraku didn't feel the same way. The man looked so violently angry at the sight of Inuyasha that he was having a hard time forming words. It was a small reward to see him loosing his composure for once.
"I told you\" Naraku yelled, then stopped, seeming to regroup his emotions, and started again in a slightly calmer but no less furious voice. "I told you what would happen if you came back."
"Yeah, you did," Inuyasha agreed, wiping some of the smugness from his face. He still needed to play his part.

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

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

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

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

"No," he replied.

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

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

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

"That's me," Miroku responded.

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

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

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

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

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

"Only one way to find out."

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

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

Solomon had fallen.

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

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

"Take her," he said as Inuyasha approached.

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

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

"Yeah," Inuyasha said, removing his jacket.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The older man nodded and headed toward the door.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Hurry," Inuyasha said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"By all means," Miroku said.

"I'm gonna rush him."

"The hell you are."

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

"Not if he hits your head."

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

"At least take a gun."

"Don't need it. Go."

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

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

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

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

"Stop" Naraku ordered.

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

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

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

"That wound in your side says otherwise."

"Lucky shot." He took a step forward.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed angrily. There was no way he was going to allow this man to haunt him or the people he loved for the rest of their lives. One way or another, he had to end this. Now.
There was movement at the other side of the dome as a figure rose up over the edge. It was Miroku. "Naraku!" he yelled, raising his gun.

It was the distraction Inuyasha had been waiting for.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continued in chapter 20 – Legacy of Lies

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

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

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

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

Influential music for this chapter

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

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

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

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