InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Angel ❯ Vial of Mystery ( Chapter 60 )

Chapter Sixty:

Vial of Mystery

The wind blew softly about him, the dark night sky cloaking the grassy lawn in darkness and only the bright moon and twinkling stars above brightened the dark night.

InuYasha sat on the grass a few feet away from the noisy ballroom behind him. The dull sound of music and laughter caressed his ears as he took another sip of the dark red liquid in his cup. His head swam as the liquid burned a trail down his throat. The jealousy that had tightened his gut was rapidly fading, and in its place left anger. He was damn angry.

This female, this psycho female was turning him inside out and he didn't like it one damn bit.

He wanted her. Badly.

He had felt desire before, had consummated that desire with more than a few women before, but it had never been like this before.

This desire was like a burning in his blood. It tightened his body, stiffened his muscles with tension. Unlike the desire he had felt before, this one did not seem like one that could be ignored. And to be truthful with himself, he was not sure he even wanted to ignore it.

With an angry growl, he tipped his cup once more, only to discover that it was empty. Growling again, he tossed the cup.

Damn wench, this was all her fault. If she wasn't so beautiful, so damn sexy he wouldn't be having this problem. He didn't want her. She was too damn violent, too damn perfect, and because of her status as the Southern Lord's little sister, she was damn sure out of his league. Even though, legally, his status was almost equal to hers, possibly a little above her own due to the fact that he was third in line for the title of the Western Lord, he knew his hanyou blood brought his station far below her own, socially speaking.

A relationship between them was next to impossible. It just wouldn't work, and he damn sure had no intention of making a fool of himself for anyone.

Besides, she was his friend's little sister. It would be too weird and awkward to date her. Despite what Yamiko had said to him the day she arrived, he was damn sure Yamiko would not allow him to date his sister. Hell, if he himself had a little sister like Jolicia, he sure wouldn't want any male sniffing around her skirts.

His head swam again.

Damn.

He knew how strong Demon Blood was, and he had how many goblets of it? He couldn't remember, but he knew he had more than two cups and that was two too many. On the other hand, the alcohol was helping him relax a bit, and his muscles were no longer wound tight with tension. That was an improvement from earlier he guessed, so being a bit inebriated was not so bad.

Lying back on the grass, his sighed as a nice little alcohol buzz settled over him and closed his eyes. The sound of the guests inside the ballroom drifted away as his body began to relax.

"Must you sit here and sulk?" asked a familiar voice.

His eyes opened.

Standing above him, her yellow eyes glowing from behind her mask, was the object of his frustration. For a moment, he basked in her beauty, not at all dimmed by the mask covering her face. Her soft skirts brushed the top of his head, and he had the strangest urge to lift her skirt and take a peek under.

Fighting back the urge, he scowled hard and long.

"What the hell do you want?" InuYasha growled.

Jolicia's brows drew down in a glare at his harsh tone. He was always so damn touchy around her. She didn't understand him at all. She had been the object of a male's desire before, so she wasn't completely ignorant to his feelings, but his reaction was what was puzzling her.

Most men that desired her went out of their way to be nice and seductive. InuYasha seemed angry and embarrassed by his desire for her.

It was most confusing and refreshing.

Jolicia had to admit that it was exciting to find a male that clearly wanted her, but seemed hell bent on rejecting that desire. For what reason, she had no clue. But she wasn't really repelled by his feigned lack of interest and animosity, if anything; she was more drawn to it than ever, like a moth to a flame. She found his behavior absolutely fascinating, and different.

He was different and she liked that about him.

Ignoring his tone and scathing glare, she took a seat next to him. Looking at him through her lashes, giving him a sultry look, she watched in satisfaction as he blushed and looked away.

Jolicia giggled.

InuYasha growled, and once more skewed her with a fierce glower, the blush still high on his cheeks.

"What the hell is so damn funny?" he demanded.

With a bright smile, Jolicia shrugged her slim shoulders, fighting back another giggle at the look on his face. Half anger, half embarrassment.

An amusing combination.

"Oh, nothing," Jolicia said.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed.

"Why are you here in the first place?" he asked, his eyes narrowing even more in pure amusement, "You weren't following me were ya?"

Now it was her turn to blush.

Though she had always been a very blunt person, not one to play games or beat around the bush, she hesitated. She couldn't very well tell him that she had followed him to be alone with him or that she had suffered the attention of those boring males from the masquerade ball just to make him jealous and had come to see if her ploy had worked.

He knew why she was here, the big jerk. He wasn't the smartest apple in the bunch; but she knew he was smart enough to figure out why she was here.

Seeing her blush, InuYasha leaned forward, his head buzzing from the alcohol. Jolicia gasped at the close proximity.

"So…." He breathed, "Why are you here Jolicia?"

Jolicia turned away, the red on her cheeks spreading to her neck.

"That is no concern of yours," she said haughtily.

"It is if you're out here following me around,"

At that, Jolicia turned back to him, her yellow eyes alive with anger, the flecks of gold in her beautiful eyes glittering. In that moment, InuYasha had the strangest urge to kiss her lush lips. It had to be the alcohol.

"I was not following you around!" she thundered.

And that quickly, the urge left him, replaced with the urge to throw her into the nearest river, just to hear her outraged squeak.

"Why don't you go back to your boyfriends and leave me the hell alone," he said angrily, "You seemed to enjoy their company,"

"At least they know how to treat a Lady!"

"Fat good that does you! You ain't no Lady!"

Jolicia growled low in her throat and for a moment, InuYasha believed she would strike him. Lord knows she had struck down her own brother for saying less than he said.

But a moment passed, and no fist connected with his jaw. Instead she crossed her arms with a huff and turned away from him, giving him her back to view. And what a lovely back it was. With the tight fit of her kimono, every lushes curve and crevice was plainly visible.

Damn.

Every part of her was so damn beautiful.

He shook his head at that thought. What the hell was he thinking? She wasn't beautiful, she was damn crazy is what she was. A goddamn psycho in a drop dead gorgeous body. That was all, nothing more nothing less.

With a loud scuffing noise, he turned away as well.

The two sat in silence for a while, unbeknownst to them, three pairs of eyes watched them from a large bush a few feet away.

"You're stepping on my dress, Yui," Yuki whispered fiercely, pulling on her dress to free it from beneath Yui's slipper clad foot.

"Well move over," Yui whispered back, "Your dress is too long. I can't help it if it gets stepped on,"

"Shush," Yuko said, "I can't hear what their saying,"

"That's because they're not saying anything, they're just sitting there blushing," Yui said as Yuki tugged her dress free.

Yuko leaned closer, straining to hear if anything was being whispered between the two, but heard nothing. She sighed.

"Well this was a waste of time," Yuko said on a huff of disappointment, "What's the point of hiding out here if they're not even doing anything?"

"Oh do stop pouting, Yuko," Yui said, "They need a little help is all,"

Hearing the sly tone in her voice, Yuko and Yuki turned to Yui. Yui was known for stirring up drama wherever she went and when she decided to stir that drama up, the result was always catastrophic.

"A little help?" Yuko asked gleefully.

"Do tell," Yuki urged.

"Well, seeing as Lady Jolicia has so many suitors and therefore a way to stir Lord InuYasha's jealous behavior, why not give her a taste of her own medicine?" Yui said with a flip of her long green hair, "We are women are we not? Do not you see? We all know the effect jealousy can have on a woman, driving her to do the unthinkable, to act out in a way that she normally would not. Lady Jolicia's temper is even shorter than Lord InuYasha's, who knows what sort of reactions we can draw from her,"

"You are quite right, Yui!" Yuki said with growing excitement, clasping her hands to her bosom," What an excellent idea!"

"Shush," both Yui and Yuko said in unison before throwing a worried glace over at the still silent couple.

"Sorry," Yuki said with a sheepish smile.

"Which one of us will pretend to pursue Lord InuYasha?" Yuko asked.

"I will of course," Yui said, "I am pretty keen on seeing them get together and besides, it was my idea after all,"

The two girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"And what better time to start than now?" Yui asked as she slipped from the bush before either girl could think to protest.

As she walked gracefully across the perfectly manicured lawn, her two best friends huddled down into a comfortable position behind the bush to watch.

Yui approached the couple quietly, straightening the wrinkles from her gown as she approached. Despite her bravado before, her stomach tightened and her filled with butterflies. She was nervous, why, she did not know. It was not as if she had never done this before.

Quite the contrary actually, she had done this numerous times before. Maybe it was because both of these individuals had a temper as hot as the blazing sun.

Despite her taste for drama, Yui was quite fearful of volatile confrontations that involved herself.

Sure it was fun to watch when it did not involve her but when it did, she clammed up, completely and utterly froze. Usually, she was able to play her little games and avoid any such unpleasantness, however, on the few times she was not so lucky, she always had Yuki and Yuko to shelter her from even the worst of tempers.

This time, she was going in virtually alone.

It was a daunting thought.

Yui reached the couple and stopped a few feet away from Lord InuYasha. As she observed his flushed face, she had to admit he was extremely handsome. He wasn't beautiful like his older brother, but he had a rugged handsomeness that she found very appealing.

Standing straighter and taller, she braced herself. Only once did she glance back at her friends hidden behind the bush. Seeing her looking their way, both women poked their heads from behind the green structure to send her smiles and gestures of approval and encouragement.

Taking a small breath, Yui turned to the couple.

"My Lord?" she called softly to him.

At the sound of her voice, both male and female turned their attention to her. Yui tried not to bow under the extreme pressure of their piercing eyes. Judging from the way Lord InuYasha looked at her, she knew he probably did not understand that when she had called out "My Lord" that she was referring to him. Yui nearly smiled at that. She found the notion strangely endearing.

However, the look in Jolicia's yellow eyes told her she was certainly not welcome. Though the woman's eyes were not cruel and unfriendly, they were sharp and assessing, looking over her as though sizing up a rival.

Which, technically, was true.

"Lord InuYasha?" she asked softly to specify that she was indeed addressing him.

A silver brow rose over a slightly glazed amber eye. Yui nearly giggled at the look in his eyes. He was clearly border line drunk.

"Yeah, what do ya want?" he asked impatiently.

Ignoring his impatient demeanor, Yui smiled openly at him.

"I am Lady Yui. My father is an Overseer employed in the Eastern lands. I have looked forward to meeting you," she began, "I know that this is slightly out of protocol, but seeing as you have not asked, I thought I would ask instead. I wish to dance with you, if you will honor me with a twirl around the dance floor,"

Yui was just as shocked by the words coming from her mouth as she was sure everyone listening to the conversation was. She had never been so bold before. The silence grew deafening and stifling and as hard as she tried to fight it, twin blossoms of color heated her cheeks as multiple eyes stared at her in shock.

"My Lord?" she questioned, "Have I shocked you?"

InuYasha shook his head, though he still stared at her as if she had grown two heads. Lady Jolicia, however, no longer looked to be in shock. Instead she looked as though she wanted to scratch her eyes out.

Yui pretended not to notice.

"Then you will dance with me?" she asked.

"Uh…yeah…sure," he said standing.

"Wonderful," Yui said hooking her arm through his own arm and dragged him towards the ballroom door.

She could feel the burn of intense yellow eyes at her back as she and InuYasha disappeared through the glass double doors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a castle that rivaled the Western castle, a dark being sat upon a dark throne. The room in which he sat was expensively decorated in black and different shades and hues of crimson. Dim candles burned, casting a soft glow over the dark interior. A large, almost ceiling length hearth sat opposite of the throne, a warm fire blazing, chasing away the chill of the room.

A few dozen naked women littered the floor in various emotional states.

The prisoners and now slaves he had taken from one village or another huddle together in different dark corners of the room, while other, worldlier women hung around at the feet of the evil male seated on the throne in hopes of pleasing him and being spared death and abuse.

Slouched lazily in his chair, Vishious watched the festive little soiree taking place at the Western castle, hosted by none other than his future mate, Kagome. Before him, a mirror held up by a grotesque creature, brought forth from the Underworld only a week earlier. With such a large castle under Vishious' ownership, he had decided that servants were needed.

And so, a week ago, he had summoned the hideous beasts to serve his every want and whim. Tall and malformed, they were bony, their skin leathery and discolored, their faces sunken in, their eye sockets empty. All in all, they looked like skeletons with leathery skin. The creatures had no name, and were as intelligent as they were hideous and loyal to a fault, even though that loyalty was forced.

Upon their summoning, he had made sure that a piece of him was tied into their soul, eliminating their will to deny him or his commands.

The creature before him was stooped over from the weight of the large, almost full-length mirror made of pure and solid gold and silver, grunting now and then from the strain of holding it up.

Vishious could care less.

His focus was solely on the goings of the festival. Or more so, Kagura and her little wolf man. She had not yet made a move to rid his woman of those mutts resting in her womb and he was not very happy about it. He did not like for his dictates to be ignore as she seemed to be hell bent on doing. She knew what her mission was and yet had not made one attempt to follow through with it.

That was unacceptable.

She would pay for her disobedience, as would everyone else. He would show Kagura the folly of showing disobedience towards her creator. He would punish many for the crime of one. He would show her who was master. Kicking away the women at his feet, he stood and paced over to the hearth at the end of the hall, not sparing a glance at the creature he passed who awkwardly moved to avoid his master or risk Vishious knocking him and the mirror to the ground.

Again, Vishious could care less, and took only momentary satisfaction of the women scrambling to get out of his way as he walked.

His mind was busy turning over new possibilities, new plans to crash the little May Day festival.

There were so many ways to go about it, so many avenues to explore. He could do it stealthily, but where would the satisfaction be in that?

Nay.

He wanted the May Day festival guests to know who dared to destroy their good cheer. He wanted them to know who he was, what he was, what he was capable of. He wanted to bring them all suffering and misery, to douse their good spirit.

The sound of a female screaming brought him from his thoughts. He turned slightly to look over his shoulder in time to see Tourcher bearing a woman down to the ground, shedding his hakamas and entering her in one hard thrust, his hips picking up a hard, punishing tempo. He turned back, tuning out the sound of Tourcher's grunts and moans of pleasure and the woman's screams of pain.

Tourcher had developed his affliction only three days ago.

Lust.

He was mad with lust for each and every female he came by. It mattered not what the woman looked like, her age, her weight, nothing mattered but what was in between her thighs. That was all that interested him.

Vishious shrugged, for now, he would let Tourcher's affliction go unchecked.

When the time came, he would turn his affliction against him. But not now, now was not the time. Right now, he had bigger and better matters to attend.

Leaving the hearth, he strode towards the double doors leading outside. Two creatures pushed the heavy double doors open, and Vishious stepped through them, heading straight for the rooms used as his private quarters. Through a maze of dimly lit corridors and halls, he reached a large door leading to his rooms.

He opened the door to his bedchamber and stepped inside. Immediately, his eyes sharpened onto the two women in his bed. Both were young, dark haired and badly bruised and misused, their honey eyes watching him with no small amount of fear, trepidation and weariness.

"Out, now." he barked sharply.

The women tripped over themselves in their haste to escape his presence.

Vishious watched as they skittishly walked around him to get to the door, their naked bodies discolored with bruises and lacerations. He smirked with satisfaction as the two women paled under his regard before scrambling to get out the door.

He dismissed them from his mind as the door closed behind him. His bedroom was decorated much like the rest of his castle in rich dark crimsons and black, the candles dimly lit. A large four poster, canopy bed took up a good portion of the room, a small chair and desk sat against the far wall on the right, a tall window above it. A trunk sat next to the nightstand located next to his bed.

Walking over to the trunk, he knelt down and opened the lid. Shuffling around inside, he searched through the contents until he found what he was looking for. Next to a wicked looking blade, a medium sized vial sat. Made of the glass, the liquid inside was a bright, forest green.

Pulling it out, he held it up to the light and closed the lid of the trunk.

Vishious tilted the vial and watched the thick liquid move sluggishly towards the top, before tilting it once more and watching it move slowly towards the bottom once more.

He smiled.

This would do quite nicely. With this, the little party would come to a crashing halt. He had not used this since his early days as a renegade, back when he had been no more than thirty-four. An old witch had given it to him, or rather; he had taken it from her after snapping her scrawny little neck.

Ahhh, how he remembered that day fondly.

The old bitch had refused to give him shelter. He had been running from one of the many bounty hunters looking to take his head. A well placed arrow dipped in poison had found its mark, wounded and near dying, he had come across the old woman's little hovel and had demanded entrance.

The old bag had tried to turn him away.

With the last ounce of his strength he had choked the old hag to death with his bare hands as she turned to go back inside the house and no doubt slam the door in his face.

The frail bones of her neck had given way with little effort, and she had fallen into an undignified heap.

After hiding the body and waiting until his pursuers had moved on, he had searched her little hovel and discovered many books of spell, many vials of potions, poisons and concoctions. He of course took all that was valuable before moving on.

He was very pleased to find that Ehvil had been able to salvage quite a bit of those items.

Standing, he left the room, heading for his throne room once more. When he returned to the room, Tourcher was still rutting with the woman from before, however, the woman had either lost consciousness or was in shock for she was no longer screaming.

He didn't even spare the couple a glance as he brushed by the creature holding up his mirror. Throwing himself into his chair, he turned his focus to the mirror.

His eyes began to glow a deep red as he stared at his reflection in the mirror until the mirror itself began to glow red. His reflection in the mirror changed to that of an elegant, brightly lit room within the Western castle. The room was a good distance away from the main ballroom. It seemed to be more like a room where one would receive and entertain guests. The walls were painted a pale blue, the floors shinned, and a small table where tea and other treats could be served sat in the middle of the room.

A couple spoke in hush tones in the corner, leaning close to each other, the male nuzzling the woman's neck, and bringing a pretty little flush to her face.

His lips twisted in disdain.

Kagura seemed to be completely entranced by the wolf, Ensei.

She acted as though she had not a care in the world, as though she belonged in a world of peace and contentment.

She had sorely forgotten her role in life, she was his pawn, his tool to use and abuse as he saw fit. Lately, he had taken to reading her most intimate thoughts and he had been surprised and delighted by the deep dark hatred she harbored for him.

He knew that if she ever had the chance, she would take his life without a second thought.

Him, her creator, her father.

The thought made him smile. She was more like him than she realized. Deep down, she had that evilness, he himself had. Deep down in her very heart, she was capable of committing heinous crimes to get her way.

Inside of her, there was the capability of her causing some unimaginable pain.

Inside of her great evil lurked.

He wanted to bring that evil out; he wanted her to see herself for what she really was, for what he had created her for.

And he would, with the help of that little flee bag she was so damn enamored of.

He was the key to bringing forth her true character.

With an evil smirk on his face and malicious intent on his mind, he reached out for her mind, gently at first, alerting her to his presence, allowing her to squirm for a moment before overwhelming her with his aura.

The woman in the mirror jerked slightly, her eyes going wide with panic. The male reached out for her as she backed away from him.

"Are you alright, Kagura?" he asked, concern apparent on his face.

"Are you alright, Kagura?" Vishious asked aloud in a mocking voice, knowing his voice echoed inside her head.

Kagura forced a smile to her face.

"Of course," she said to the male, "I'm fine, I have to….um…..take care of something. It is of a very personal….manner…."

"Personal manner?" Ensei asked.

A deep flush started at her neck and jumped up into her cheeks.

"I've drank too much punch,"

Vishious threw back his head and laughed out loud.

"Ah," Ensei said with a smile, "I quite understand. I will await you here,"

Kagura made a hasty retreat, her face aflame. Vishious chuckled again as his eyes began to glow once more.

A small smog of black fog wound its way through the window, swirling before his face. The black smoke began to take shape, taking on the form of a large dark crow. Vishious' eyes gleamed as the crow screeched loudly, stretching its large dark wings.

The crow flapped its massive wings and flew to the ceiling, flying in tight circles between the candle lit chandeliers.

Lifting the vial, Vishious waited as the crow swooped down, feet first towards him. Its clawed feet clamped down on the vial before taking off once more, exiting through one of the many windows of the room.

As the crow sprang into the night air, it evaporated, disappearing in the wind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagura burst through the double doors leading outside to the western gardens, her heart pounding so hard she was sure at any moment it would burst from her chest. Her hands shook, her legs felt weak, and once she was sure no one was following her, she took off at top speed towards the woods bordering the gardens.

What could he possibly want right now?

She had been enjoying her time with Ensei before he contacted her and made her leave Ensei with the ridiculous excuse of having to tinkle.

Her cheeks heated even more.

She did not even have those needs. She had never had to use the chamber pot underneath her bed. She had never even thought about it until now, actually.

What would Ensei say if he knew, if he ever found out? Would he cringe from her, knowing she was not a normal woman? Even though he did not seem like the type to be so cruel, she could not be completely sure he would not. She couldn't bear it if he did.

Heinous laughter filled her head.

Kagura stopped.

'You seem to be getting close to the wolf, are you not Kagura?'

Kagura stayed silent, trying her hardest to keep her emotion and her thoughts from reaching him. His question worried her. He was up to something. She could feel it, and that terrified her.

'Will you not answer your father's question, dear Kagura?' Vishious asked mockingly.

Kagura clenched her fists. He was no father of hers and he damn well knew it. He was her creator. Her torturer.

More laughter filled her head. Kagura gritted her teeth.

'Do you love him Kagura?'

Again, Kagura refused to answer.

'Maybe I shall find out for myself if you do or not…'

Kagura felt her gut tighten in dread and yet she still held her silence.

'Perhaps I shall kill him and gauge your reaction…'

"No!" Kagura cried out, unable to keep silent anymore.

Gods, if anything happened to him she had no idea what she would do. She couldn't even think of it. Just the thought made her heart constrict painfully in her chest.

'I grow tired of your hesitance to carry out your orders, Kagura,' he said, 'Your continued disobedience is unacceptable. For your disobedience, others shall suffer.'

Kagura felt as though the air in her lungs was stuck. She couldn't breath, couldn't think.

'You have a choice, however. To appease me, who will you choose to suffer? The guests of this distasteful celebration or will it be that equally distasteful wolf?'

Before she could even react to his words, the sound of screeching filled her ears. Kagura took a step back as black smoke materialized before her. It swirled for but a moment before it took the form of a large dark crow. In one of its clawed feet it clutched a vial tightly.

'What is your choice, Kagura?'

The sound of her pounding heart drowned out his voice. Choose between allowing Ensei to suffer and the guests of the festival? How could she?

She took a breath to calm her nerves.

She knew in her heart what her choice was. She hardened her heart. There was no damned way she was allowing Vishious to harm Ensei.

Laughter echoed once more.

'Open your hand, Kagura.'

Without hesitation, Kagura opened her hand. The crow fluttered closer to her, its clawed feet holding the vial opened and dropped it into her open hand. Kagura looked down at the glass vial and a chill slid up her spine.

The vial was cold and ominous.

'This liquid is to be put inside the food for tonight's banquet. Do not ask what effect it will have, that is no concern of yours. Do as you are bid, or the wolf shall know true suffering and pain.'

Kagura looked down at the liquid as another chill crept down her spine.

Gods help her.

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I was going to add a bit of Sesshomaru/Kagome interaction, but I decided not to because, first, I have to get the green liquid inside the vial consumed by the guests. But don't worry guys, there will be up coming chapters with them in it, but I have to make sure you all understand why things are going to happen the way they will. Patience is a virtue.

To those who have not reviewed, please do so. It is a quick and painless process, I promise!

Laters

~Sessakag