InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed ❯ Breaking Point ( Chapter 39 )

AN: heheheh, someone called me a butthead! Boy that brings back memories of when my brother and I were kids. We used to call each other that all of the time. In a review for Taming Blood, someone dropped the f bomb. I love that I insight such strong feelings in my readers! Keep it up guys. Hehe I bet you didn't expect a post so quickly eh? I love to keep you on your toes. Happy reading!

 

 

Chapter Thirty Nine - Breaking Point

 

Yuti sat in the kitchen enjoying this morning easy conversation about this and that but continually found herself distracted with other thoughts. She enjoyed it despite the fact that today was the first day that she wished she were a general once again. It was not as though she lamented her current duty or anything but she missed the anxious excitement of preparing for the unexpected. As stressful as her brother's absence had been not too long ago, each day had been filled with something new and difficult to solve. She'd loved it. Now it was happening all over again and she could only be mildly involved. She yearned to go through the ranks and check them for readiness. She thought wistfully of battle practice and weapons training. She ached to feel the rush of combat. Each time one of these thoughts persisted in her mind, she did her best to push them aside. Right now, she was doing the job that her brother had entrusted to her. She was protecting what she had come to assume was the most valuable part of his life. Though she'd never heard him proclaim it and doubted if even Takana had heard the specific words, she knew that Sesshoumaru loved the woman that giggled over a bowl of rice with the cook. Not since before their mother had died had she seen him so at ease with life. Two years ago she would not have recognized him as the Lord of the Western Lands. It was because of all of this that she pushed away her own desires and carefully protected her while he and her mate went off to prepare for what was probably going to be war.

 

So Yuti sat back and enjoyed the simple female companionship that would just have to be enough for now. After all, if most of her female counterparts around the land could do it, then so would she.

 

Takana laughed when Sura finished a rather ridiculous tale about her and her brothers when she had been young. She had a hard time believing that this tiny little thing, whose stature was even smaller than that of her own, could have beat three older brother in a wrestling match. But as Sura said, anything that got between her and what she wanted had better watch out and that day it had been candy.

 

Their easy banter came to a halt when Yuti suddenly pushed away from the table and stood, her hand immediately falling to the dagger at her hip. Sura had felt it so and soon joined her, her hand gripping a carving knife on a nearby table.

 

“What's wrong?” Takana immediately asked, completely unaware of why the room had suddenly become so tense.

 

“You feel it too?” Yuti momentarily ignored Takana's question in favor of confirming her senses.

 

“Yeah.” Sura answered back quickly.

 

A moment later Takana felt it too.

 

 

The moment Sesshoumaru felt the change in the air; he sprinted off, along with Tomo, in the direction the pulse had come from. It was a surprise attack. Suddenly the ground shook with such violent force that even the great dog general had to concentrate on his footing. The sound of the blast immediately followed, its wake through the air palpable and its sound deafening. An entire section of the southern wall to the fortress now lay in ruin and in its place were two immense snake youkai. As the two generals and the entire eighth division that was still stationed within the city walls rushed to meet the unexpected guests, they watched as one of the great youkai opened its mouth and began to emit an impossibly large amount of demonic energy. The second serpent followed its partners lead and did the same. When the two heads could no longer be seen due to the buildup of blinding light, the two heads converged and released their terrible energies at the same time. It had been the build up of the energies the first time that every youkai in the city had been able to sense. The bold shot from the twin beasts, this time aimed at the multitude of warriors that were running to dispatch them. The faster ones were able to dodge out of its deadly path but those that couldn't were immediately vaporized, along with a good portion of that section of the city.

 

Sesshoumaru moved without anger or fear toward the beasts, a sense of calm surrounding him. This was his home and his life and battle was what he was supremely suited for. He knew that the creatures before him were no match for him even without Tokijin. He just needed to dispatch them quickly before they did anymore damage. He doubted they were they only combatants here today. These types of youkai were meant mainly to be used as battering rams and little more. They did the job of effectively breaching walls to allow the more durable fighters access to the inner parts of the city and as such, they'd be easy to kill. But not before they spat out a third destructive blast, this one directed much closer to the inner city and much to Sesshoumaru's dismay, in the direction of Takana. He could only pray that Yuti had done as he'd instructed her soon after he'd returned home.

 

“May she stay safe so that I see her safe once more.” He spoke quietly as he lunged into the thick of battle.

 

 

The three females ran down the long corridor to a hidden passageway that only two creatures in all the Western Lands knew of. Sess had told her of it shortly after bringing Takana to the fortress as a precautionary measure and it had been a major reason as to why a general in his army had been chosen to watch over her. That and he trusted her above no other.

 

Sura kept glancing over her shoulder in nervous little jerks of her head. “Where are we going?” She asked breathlessly as they ran.

 

Yuti didn't answer as she carried her precious cargo. She did pick up the pace however. It was only a minute later before they arrived at a large tapestry of Sesshoumaru's father that stretched from the ceiling all the way to the floor. Takana roughly pushed the ancient article aside and pushed at what looked like an ordinary wall. Sura's eyes widened when it easily moved to the side to allow them to pass. Yuti held it open for her before grasping a vial of liquid that was stashed on the hidden side of the wall and throwing it to the floor. She watched for a moment as the glass dissolved but nothing around it. A vapor quickly flooded the area and just as rapidly began to dissipate. Only then did Yuti close the wall behind them, not even leaving their scent behind, thanks the potion she'd just released and sealing them in impenetrable darkness.

 

Once again, they began their quick descent through the narrow passageway. After what seemed like an eternity to a very worried and very blind Takana, Yuti set her down. A few grunts and a few loud creaks later, the sky opened up to them as the heavy door to the outside world was moved aside.

 

“Amazing.” Sura announced. “We're outside the walls of the fortress, aren't we?”

 

“Yes.” Yuti answered quickly but she wasn't paying attention to the cook, she was facing Takana and grasping her shoulders firmly.

 

“He's going to be fine. You have no idea just how good he is at this sort of thing. Even without his swords, he's still his father's son and when it comes to combat, there's no one to match him.”

 

Takana looked into her eyes and saw truth there. She nodded.

 

Yuti straightened and looked past Takana to the east. “I'm going to take you somewhere safe...” But she didn't finish her statement. She suddenly looked very pale and very, very shocked but she didn't say a word. After a few tense moments, Takana couldn't take it any longer.

 

“Yuti, what's wrong? Yuti? Answer me!” But Yuti's eyes just glazed over, unseeing as she fell to her knees. Takana actually let out a yelp of terrified surprise as Yuti then nearly fell on top of her. When Takana looked down she saw what had caused it. There in the center of Yuti's back was a growing blood stain and in the center was the hilt of a dagger.

 

Takana looked up in terror as Sura bent down to wipe the blood on her hands onto the leggings of the fallen Yuti. She stood up and looked Takana right in the eye.

 

“That was very nice of Yuti to get us out of the fortress like that. I mean, I already had a plan in place but this...” said, pointing at the exit of the passage, “was so much better and one hell of a lot easier.” Sura looked at the stunned and terrified expression on the human's face. She laughed. “Well, I'd love to stay and chat about this but we need to get going so...”

 

Before Takana could make a move to escape, the tiny youkai was on her, with a vial pressed to her lips with its contents pouring into her mouth, Takana hadn't even registered what was going on until Sura was firmly behind her and demonstrating a strength Takana would never have thought her capable. The traitor tilted the human's neck back and pressed her hand firmly over her captive's nose and mouth, forcing her to swallow down the vial substance. Only moments later, Takana's body became limp as the potion took effect. She would sleep for an entire day.

 

With that accomplished, Sura slung the limp body over her little shoulder and rushed off to the north.

 

 

Sesshoumaru along with Tomo easily pushed the invading youkai back. Too easily in fact. Both inu noticed. It was as though the soldiers were only there to keep them moving away from the fortress. If they were going to fall back so rapidly, why didn't the damn creatures retreat? Instead, a wave would attack and then fall back, only to have a second refreshed wave attack in the same manner. What should have been over quickly was taking hours to accomplish. If Sesshoumaru wasn't sure that Yuti had taken Takana safely out of the castle walls, he might have grown nervous over moving so far away from the stronghold but as it was, by now both his sister and his love would be safe in a small outpost to the east.

 

It was nearing dawn before the enemy finally relented and what was left of them finally scattered into the surrounding forest.

 

“Track them down and kill them. Spare no one.” Sesshoumaru commanded to those around him.

 

“Shouldn't we take some prisoners for questioning My Lord?” One of his more inexperience officers asked.

 

Tomo answered the question as Sesshoumaru took his leave. “These were just drones. They no more know why they were sent here than we do. Just kill them so they can't attack us on another day.” He explained before rushing off to catch up with Sesshoumaru.

 

“That didn't feel right to me the entire time.” Tomo said as soon as he reached his lord's side.

 

“Nor to me.” Was his reply. It was then, out of visual range of his troops that Sesshoumaru dashed off to the east. Tomo followed. He knew full well that Yuti would have been instructed to take Takana away from the fortress if it were attacked. You didn't become head of the guard without being able to predict a few things. And when Sesshoumaru showed no signs that he didn't want to be followed, he took it as a go ahead. They traveled for about an hour before coming to a dead halt outside of a small long abandoned outpost.

 

“Is this were they are?” Tomo asked, a little concerned. He didn't smell his mate or Takana anywhere.

 

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything. They should have been here hours ago. For the first time in a while, Sesshoumaru felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Without a word to his companion, Sesshoumaru took off toward the fortress.

 

He traveled so quickly that even Tomo had trouble following. His lord's silence on the matter had only made the general grow more and more anxious as time when on. It wasn't like Yuti to disobey an order, not one as important as this. He pushed these thoughts from his head and concentrated on keeping up with his lord whom he suspected was just as concerned about what was going on as he was.

 

 

 

angelsfalltearfully: Yes, I know, I am a cruel god to my little minions of my story world but hey, that makes it fun, ne? I'm sure your dread was well placed and now what will I do... who know?

Cricket42: Too lazy to sign in but not too lazy to be the first reviewer ever to call me a butthead eh? Hehe. I've never been a big fan of too much sappiness in a row and for me I guess that means for longer than two chapters. Wickedness is as wickedness does! Tata