InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ By The River of Shadowed Moments ❯ Stalling Time ( Chapter 9 )

AN: Don't kill me! My Inuyasha muse ran away, and only recently have I caught her back. ::ducks objects::
Thank you to Risa for the beta job!

---

By the River of Shadowed Moments

 

“Shine down, don't take it away from me, no
And I know you know how, yeah
Shine down, just give me a chance to feel it
It's taken forever to get me off the ground”

 

“Shine Down” by Godsmack

 

Chapter Nine: Stalling Time

When he smelled the air, Inuyasha knew immediately that Kagome was taken away. She had been gone an awfully long time for one of her baths, and when he went over to the stream to investigate, he sensed her fear lingering in the air.

He also smelled something else - Naraku.

But it wasn't wholly Naraku's stench, just a form of it, which meant that Naraku had used one of his incarnations to attack Kagome and kidnap her.

Dashing back to camp, Inuyasha informed the others of their group with great haste that they move quickly to rescue Kagome.

“Kidnapped?” Miroku exclaimed, and Inuyasha nodded grimly. Gathering their things, the monk and the demon slayer quickly set out behind Inuyasha toward the trail at the point of Kagome's disappearance.

“Yeah, and I smelled Naraku's stench around that area too - but I don't think he did it himself,” Inuyasha added.

Sango pursed her lips. “So he got someone else to do it as usual?”

“Yes, and the smell is similar to what we've dealt with before,” Inuyasha informed them, and Miroku and Sango listened on with great interest. Inuyasha continued, “I smell the undead. Naraku probably revived someone.”

“Like those seven warriors?” Shippo inquired, and Inuyasha nodded again, still frowning.

“We haven't any time to lose. We should get going right away,” Sango said, and Miroku nodded in agreement with her.

“Wait,” Inuyasha said pausing. He sniffed the air again and got a scowl on his face. “Bastard! What is he doing here at a time like this?”

Confused, Miroku and Sango looked around, clearly aware that Inuyasha had smelled someone else approaching their campsite. Looking up in the sky, Shippo spotted a whirling cloud accompanied by a two-headed dragon.

“Look up there!” Shippo called out, and immediately they noticed Sesshoumaru's group heading their way.

“Kohaku!” Sango screamed, and her brother sat behind Rin looking anguished as his sister recognized him. She was sure he wasn't happy to see her, so why did Lord Sesshoumaru come to their group if they'd been trying to stay away?

“What do you want, you bastard?” Inuyasha seethed at him. “We don't have time for your antics and bullshit.”

Sesshoumaru scowled at him with his usual look of indifference. Finally, after a moment or two of a silent stare-down, Sesshoumaru let out a forced smirk and said, “Well, it's good to see you too, dear brother.”

Inuyasha knew by the sting in his brother's voice that he wasn't here because he wanted to be.

--

Kagome whimpered, rousing to constraints around her hands and legs. She had one massive headache too, and she realized that she had no sense of time. What happened? How long had she been out?

Raising her heavy head, Kagome looked around her surroundings and realized she was in a dark, dank cave, barely lit by waning candlelight.

`Where the hell am I?' she asked herself, and then her blood ran cold as she heard some familiar cackling to her side. She jerked her head around to the source, and came face to face with the hideous witch that had captured her.

“Ah… my dear little miko. I am impressed by your vigor,” the witch said. Kagome was trying to break loose from her restraints, but the vines that were wrapped around her wrists and ankles seemed enchanted, and the more she struggled, the more of her spiritual power was drained. The witch continued to cackle. “A normal human would probably be dead by now given the potency of the dark magic in those vines, but you are special. I can see why the Inu no Taisho's sons are so enamored by you.”

Her face looked gaunt and worn, but she continued to smirk maliciously at Kagome with intense fire burning in her eyes. It was obvious that this woman knew the great dog demon, as well as his sons. But what did she have to do with it?

“What do you want with me?” Kagome asked bitterly, ceasing her struggling and trying to conserve what little spiritual and physical energy she had left.

“Oh, my little one, isn't it obvious? You're special to his dreadful spawn, and any moment they will burst in to rescue you.”

“You're using me as bait? You lowlife creep!” Kagome bellowed, spitting on her. The witch didn't seem too amused by Kagome's insolence.

“Brat!” she slapped her hard, and Kagome felt an intense sting on her right cheek. She glared even harder at her captor. “Besides your miko powers, I don't see what's so special about you - why two proud demons of a great ruler would want in a pathetic girl like you. What spells did you entrance them with, little one?”

“Shut up! There are no spells!” Kagome countered, lashing out at her. “You're the bad one here, and why do you care about Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, anyway? What's your business with them?”

The witch was silent for a moment, piercing into Kagome's eyes with a steely gaze. She chuckled lightly again. “I told you; you're the bait. And once your dogs come to save you, I will have my revenge on Sesshoumaru, as well as the entire house of the dogs.” She paused as Kagome gawked at her, terrified. The witch stroked her chin pensively and added, “And when I'm done with them, the one who revived me can have what's left.”

“The one who revived you?”

“Why yes. I'm not sure of his plans, but I'm sure he wants something to do with Sesshoumaru. He mentioned to me about a boy who travels with him that has something of his.”

“Naraku!” Kagome gasped, and the witch merely cackled some more.

“Ah, I see you're acquainted with this Naraku. This makes things more interesting,” the witch said. “I suppose an enemy of my ally is my enemy also.”

“You deluded cow. Naraku is an ally with no one. You are nothing to him, merely a pawn. You'll find out once he has what he wants, he'll dispose of you like he does all his minions!” Kagome lashed at her.

“Silence, twit!” the witch bellowed, pointing a gnarly digit at her. She narrowed her eyes at Kagome and said in a raspy growl, “I am a minion to no one. Naraku does not rule me! I care not what he does after the deed is done.”

“You're wrong,” Kagome replied in a low voice. “You'll see soon enough.”

The witch folded her arms and lifted her chin. She looked at Kagome with misguided confidence. “Yes, we will see soon enough. We will see the looks on your lovers' faces when I slash you open right in front of them!”

Kagome felt dread creep into her bones, and she knew by the look on the witch's face that she wasn't messing around. The other monsters she had dealt with in the past had been murdering and conniving, just as much as this one. However, this witch seemed to have history with the family of the dogs. And with or without Naraku's help, Kagome felt great trepidation at the conflict to come.

`Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, please…' she thought to herself, the fear still rising in her blood. `Please don't come. It's a trap.' And then, as the witch watched her with satisfaction and looked out the cave for her heroes to come, Kagome began to weep in silence.

--

“You know damn well I ain't happy to see you, fuckface!” Inuyasha snarled at him, pointing an offensive finger at him. “Now get out of our way so we can find Kagome.”

Sesshoumaru said nothing at first, and he gave his brother a bored look. He sighed inwardly, realizing that one of his sacrifices that his uncle mentioned must have been his sanity for teaming up with his loud-mouthed brother. Pride, dignity, and peace and quiet were fading away as his brother approached him, cursing at him and flailing his arms around like a petulant whelp.

When Inuyasha was finally inches from his face, Sesshoumaru felt his personal space violated, and his tolerance was at its limit. So as Inuyasha glared at him, daring him to leave, Sesshoumaru drew back his fist and gave him a quick punch.

“Fool,” Sesshoumaru shot at him through a clenched jaw. Taunting him, Sesshoumaru snapped at him. “You really are an ignorant whelp. You know nothing? Are you so dense?”

“What the hell are you blabbering about?” Inuyasha seemed offended.

“I am here because I have to be,” Sesshoumaru responded. The disgusted look on his face mirrored his words, and Inuyasha knew he wasn't lying. He looked at his brother with wide eyes. Sesshoumaru reluctantly continued, “I am here for Kagome as well.”

There was a pregnant pause, and Inuyasha's group watched Sesshoumaru with shock and confusion.

Inuyasha started to growl. “You… you've been still seeing her, haven't you?” There was desperation in his voice, a shaky tone that resonated with his breaking heart. Inuyasha shook his head, not willing to believe it. He let out a defeated laugh. “I can't believe it. She's still sneaking away to see you, isn't she?”

Sesshoumaru looked down at his brother, and he noticed the broken expression on his face. His eyes clouded with anger, and Sesshoumaru knew that Inuyasha wasn't willing to believe it - that he wanted something, anything that would indicate the Kagome was still his.

Sesshoumaru inhaled a draught of breath and answered him truthfully. “Yes.”

Inuyasha's body was shaking with rage. His hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, and he looked at his brother with a bloodthirsty fury.

“You… you BASTARD! You knew she was mine,” Inuyasha seethed.

“Idiot,” Sesshoumaru spat at him. “She was never yours. She wanted you, but you could never decide, could you? There was always the undead wench that you couldn't let go of. Kagome was too good a woman to be your second whore.” Sesshoumaru maintained his still disposition, holding back his own possessive rage from his brother. Inuyasha, however, was ready to lash at him. Before he could move, the monk held him back, and Inuyasha turned back to glare at him.

“Please, the more you fight, the more time is wasted in saving Kagome,” the monk said logically. Sango nodded behind him, watching the scene with unease while stealing glances at her silent brother.

“The monk is right, brother. I did not come here to claim possession of Kagome. I came to your group so we could save her.” Sesshoumaru lifted his chin and looked down on his brother, still seething but holding his cool at the mention of saving Kagome. Sesshoumaru then added, “I know the person who kidnapped Kagome, and I believe she may be tied in with Naraku.”

“She?” Sango asked, realizing the one who kidnapped Kagome was a woman.

“Yes,” Sesshoumaru confirmed. He looked away from his brother's angry gaze, and focused on the monk and slayer, obviously they were thinking more logically than Inuyasha. “She is the witch that had kidnapped Rin in the past and placed a curse on me. She was once in love with my father, and he rejected her for the love of her sister.”

Her turned to his brother who seemed frozen to the information. “For the Lady Izayoi.”

Inuyasha's mouth gaped, and the monk walked up to his side. “So the woman we are looking for is Inuyasha's blood-related aunt?” Miroku cocked his head as Sesshoumaru nodded. “That would make her extremely old for a human. That can't be possible.”

“Naraku has made it possible. He had sent his hornets to my castle to show me that Kagome had been taken. Clearly, Naraku has revived this old witch to use her to get to Kagome and to us.”

“But what could Naraku really gain from using a witch to take Kagome?” the fox demon asked him, confused and having trouble following the nature of Naraku's plan.

“He knows of my relationship with Kagome. He's probably been spying on me, and he probably knows that the witch gave me my curse. He is using this information so he can get to something I have,” Sesshoumaru answered. Inuyasha's group looked at him with confusion.

Finally, a much more rational and cooled down Inuyasha spoke up. “What does he want that you have? The only things he's after are the Shikon shards.”

Sesshoumaru turned around and looked at Kohaku, who seemed to frown as if he knew all along. “Precisely.”

Sango put her hands over her mouth and gasped. She said in a croaked voice, “Oh, no… He wants Kohaku's shards.”

“That's why it's imperative I bring him back. We are stronger in large numbers, and the slayer can defend her brother,” Sesshoumaru answered, seemingly unaffected by Sango's obvious heartfelt emotion.

“Wait a minute, jack ass,” Inuyasha piped in as Sesshoumaru began to turn around toward the witch's scent, leading the way. Sesshoumaru stopped with his back turned as Inuyasha addressed him. “You know full well it's a trap. We have to be prepared. I know you have a new power on Tenseiga, so I'm wondering, are you able to use it well enough yet?”

Sesshoumaru turned around slowly and met Inuyasha's challenging gaze. He briefly glanced at the Tessaiga at his brother's hip. He met Inuyasha's gaze again and said with a small frown, “Are you?”

Inuyasha growled at him, ready to lash out a fresh set of insults, but Miroku walked up and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. He turned again to the monk with a vicious glare. Miroku returned his gaze with a serious expression.

“Stop this fighting now. There's no point to it. We know what we have to do,” Miroku said.

Sesshoumaru nodded and continued to walk forward again. “The monk is right. We must go.” Sesshoumaru walked ahead on the trail toward Kagome scent where the witch was keeping her. The members of his group and Inuyasha's group followed closely and diligently behind him, while Inuyasha grumbled in the back.

Inuyasha clutched his sword tightly at his side and said to himself, `Just you wait, bastard. I'll save Kagome, destroy that witch and Naraku, and she won't want anything to do with you ever again.'

He threw another glare at Sesshoumaru's back, and then added to his thoughts, `Kagome is mine. Always.'