InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Daughter of the West ❯ A Tangled Web ( Chapter 16 )

[A/N: Yeah, Rabid-Inu-Girl. Very good point. There were probably just too many things on his mind. To name one…how about how horny he was! Hello! I wouldn't know, I'm not a guy, but don't you think it would be a little hard to kill someone when you're…hard? I'm sorry; I just had to get that out of my system. And, thank you for the compliment, Sirus. I really appreciate the support, from all of you! Please enjoy, and don't forget to read and review!]

Daughter of the West

Chapter 16: A Tangled Web

They had been traveling along for quite a few hours, Aikina walking as far away form her mother and Sesshomaru, although trying to hold her anger in due to the fact that Rin was walking right beside her. Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippô were all minding their own business, mostly reacting to Sesshomaru's and Kimi's embarrassed looks, and especially how they were at least a few feet away from each other at all times, and for husband and wife, even for that odd couple, it was pretty strange. Finally, Kagome decided to ask Inu-Yasha if he knew what was going on.

The silver-haired hanyou smirked a little. "I don't know if I should say anything…ah, hell, why not. Aikina kinda walked in on them…ah…how can I say this…getting' it on," he whispered. Kagome immediately started to crack up, but then she turned serious again. "That is not good," she whispered solemnly. Inu-Yasha gaped. "How can you sympathize with him? It takes two hands for me to count all the times he's tried too kill me! Not even including last night!" he whispered harshly. A moment later, he realized that his older brother was walking right beside him.

"Hey, little brother. How are you doing on this lovely morning?" he asked sarcastically. Inu-Yasha chuckled innocently. "Oh, speak of the devil," he said. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "So, I see you enjoy making little jokes about my…situation?" he asked. Inu-Yasha nodded feverishly. "Yes I do actually," he replied sarcastically. Sesshomaru scowled down at Inu-Yasha. "I'm really not sure what keeping me from lobbing off your head, little brother," he hissed. Just as Inu-Yasha was getting ready to reply, Kimi walked up behind her husband and grabbed a large chunk of his silvery hair and yanked him backwards.

Sesshomaru yelped in pain and looked back at Kimi. "What was that for?" he demanded. "Oh, nothing, I was just hoping to keep the bloodshed down to a minimal," she said. Inu-Yasha started cracking up, and then made the sound of a cracking whip. Sesshomaru growled fiercely at his half-brother, and Kagome leaned over so she and Kimi were making eye contact. Kagome mouthed the words 'watch this', and then yelled out the one word incantation that Inu-Yasha dreaded so:

"SIT BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Inu-Yasha was flung to the ground, giving Kimi and Kagome a good laugh. Sesshomaru even smirked a little. Kimi, of course, then released her husband's hair. "Now, I trust you two will be good boys and play nicely together?" Kimi asked sarcastically. Sesshomaru flashed her a loving glance, and although it lasted only for a moment, Kagome noticed it thoroughly. "What the fuck was that for?!" Inu-Yasha demanded as he jumped up.

Of course, Kagome was paying absolutely no attention. That was like…a glimpse at true love or something, she thought. The time-traveling teenager immediately snapped back into her own universe, looking back at Inu-Yasha, who was looking at her, glaring quite angrily. "I hate it when you do that!" he shrieked. Kagome smiled sarcastically. "Not even in my wildest dreams," she thought, "Did I ever expect to think this, but, it's too bad you can't be more like you're brother."

Kimi sighed a little, and after finally getting up enough courage, went back up to Aikina to try and talk to her again. "Aikina?" she asked gently. Aikna looked back at her, although it was more like a glare. "What do you want?" she demanded coldly. "I really want to talk to you, Aikina," she said. "What? I already got the sex talk. So I walked in on my 'parents' fucking. Big deal," she hissed. Kimi sighed again. "You really need to understand, sweetheart," she said. Aikina simply walked forward, not even bothering to answer her mother. Then, she stopped.

Kimi knew exactly what it was. There was a demon nearby. She stopped as well, and felt Sesshomaru's hand rest on her arm. It wasn't something impulsive, but it was more like a protective feeling. "You smell the demon as well, hm?" she asked. He nodded simply. "I'll let Aikina take care of it. I want to see what my daughter can do," he said.

Aikina smirked a little as she took a few steps forward. "Why don't you come out of your little hiding place and fight me like a real beast!" she yelled. Her claws, like those of a lion, extended threateningly, and she leapt into the air, drawing a large, serpentine demon with a skinless skull. It hastily lunged out at her, and through its stupid actions, was easily decapitated by Aikina. But instead of just falling to the ground in little bits and pieces, in disintegrated, the only remains being a pile of ashes and a small, gleaming, jewel shard.

Aikina bent over and picked up the tiny piece of crystal between her index finger and thumb. "So, this is one of those jewel shards that you spoke of, Kagome?" Aikina asked, holding it up into the light.

Deep in the forest, Kagura and Kanna stood idle, waiting for their chance to accomplish the mission Naraku had sent them. Kagura was snapping her fan open and closed, an extremely expression on her face. The she started closing on eyes at a time, which refocused the small, white-haired child in front of her.

"In front of the tree, behind the tree. In front of the tree, behind the tree. In front of the tree--oh, wait!" she said, smirking a little, "It seems that our prey has fallen into our trap." Kagura snapped her fan shut one last time, and her and her older sister [A/N: I can't really remember if she's her older or younger sister. If you know, please tell me.] set off. They each had a horde of demons at their disposal, which given their mission, would be much more than enough.

Kimi felt Sesshomaru's grip on her arm tighten. Everyone was on edge now as Aikina handed the jewel shard over to Kagome, saying that she "Had no use for it." Of course, Kagome added it to the small jar where she held the few jewel shards that they had. Aikina sniffed the air again and spun around, completely ignoring the sight of Sesshomaru clinging to her mother so desperately. She arrogantly walked passed them and called out: "What? Are you afraid? Come on out and fight me!"

"Stay close to me, Kimi," Sesshomaru whispered into her ear. Kimi glanced up at him. "What's wrong?" she asked innocently. He scowled a little. "Kagura," he thought.

As soon as he finished his thought, many blades of wind rushed down the middle of the group. Everyone leapt out of the way, ending up unscathed. Aikina shot a glare back at her mother when she saw that Sesshomaru had gotten her out of the line of fire, but quickly looked back forward. When the dust cleared, there Kagura stood, her fan open.

"Well, Lord Sesshomaru, I never thought I'd see you clinging to a woman," she said mockingly. Aikina growled at her. "When I am the one before you, you speak to me, not the person behind me." Kagura laughed a little. "Oh, my mistake. Perhaps this will be good enough to atone for my error," she said, quickly shutting her fan. As she did so, hundreds of demons rose from the forest. Aikina darted forward, and tried to attack Kagura, but was blasted back by one of her blades of wind. Immediately, Kimi darted from Sesshomaru's grasp and for Aikina.

"Aikina!" she yelled pleadingly, "Wake up!" Kimi shook her daughter a little, waking the girl up. Kimi looked up at the demons swirling around them. When Aikina awoke, she wiped a smudge of blood off of her face and pushed her mother away. By Kagura's command, the demons all darted down to attack, not expecting such a countering force.

Inu-Yasha drew the Tetsusaiga, instantly transforming into the great fang. Sesshomaru drew his sword, Tokijin, as well, and attacked the first demon that came after him. Kagome, Miroku, and Sango were all holding their, own, even though Kagome was running low on arrows.

Kagura sighed. "Oh, great. A testosterone fest, how great. Whoever has the shiniest, sharpest, and biggest sword wins," she groaned. Inu-Yasha attacked even more demons with his sword, and even more surrounded him in their place, just as Kagome ran out of arrows, surrounded by just as many demons as Inu-Yasha.

Aikina stood up, limping on a sore leg. "Hey, you! Numb nuts!" she yelled. The largest demon that was closing in on Kagome turned and hissed at her. Aikina put a hand out and called the demon over. The large ogre completely forgot about Kagome and darted for Aikina, and when the rest of its demon companions saw it chase after her, they followed. Aikina started running, giving Inu-Yasha the chance to get to Kagome. But when Kimi saw her being chased by so many demons, her maternal instincts kicked in, and she chased after her, leaving Sesshomaru with a helpless expression on his face.

Aikina ran for about a mile at her top speed, so it only took a few moments. She stopped and caught her breath, but before she could attack, her mother was slashed in the face by one of the demons. Kimi fell backward, grasping her face, and Aikina could already see the blood dripping down her hand. Even though she was incredibly angry with her mother, she attacked the demons in retribution, destroying them all in a single strike.

Sesshomaru struck another demon with the Tokijin, and as soon as he did, he picked up the scent of Kimi's blood. He felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He hacked through the demons that were currently in front of him, but even more took their place.

Aikina gave her mother a fleeting glance, and then turned, detecting the scent of Kagura. When she saw whom the scent belonged to, she was puzzled. "Who are you?" she demanded of the white-haired child before her, who was know as Kanna. The girl gave no reply. "Well, perhaps you're smarter than your friend back there," she hissed. Once again, the white-haired child was silent. But behind her, more demons came into view.

"Oh, shit!" she growled. In a last-ditch effort, Aikina lunged for Kanna, her claws drawn and ready to slice the demon up into little bits. As she drew nearer, Kanna turned her mirror, and it began to glow. Aikina stopped and gripped her chest, crying out in pain. Her chest began to glow, and a few seconds later, her eyes went blank, and a large glow transferred from her body to the mirror. Kimi let out a cry of distress, but was blinded by blood and pain and could do nothing to save her daughter.

Many of the serpentine demons wove themselves around Aikina's limp body and lifted her up. Kanna went in a different direction, but she was still going to Kagura, and so the demons and their cargo followed. Most of them were left behind to finish off Kimi, and she was not doing too well in her battle against the horde. Just as she fell to her knees, blind-sided by her pain and wondering what was happening to Aikina, a large demon darted at her. She winced, thinking she was done for, but the attack never came. Sesshomaru had stopped them.

Neglecting the threat behind him, Sesshomaru turned to Kimi and scooped her up into his arm. "Kimi? Speak to me," he said. Kimi groaned a little, still gripping a bloody hand over her left eye.

"Sesshomaru…behind you…"

Sesshomaru turned, but it was too late. The spine at the end of the demon's tail made contact with his back. He quickly destroyed the rest of the demons by using his whip of light, and quickly turned back to Kimi. "Are you alright?" he asked. Kimi let out a groan. Sesshomaru tried to stand, but was n too much pain. "Aikina…" Kimi said softly. Sesshomaru looked up. He had to get to Kagura and get Aikina back.

Inu-Yasha killed many more demons with his sword, and then sniffed the air. He growled a little, and Kagome, who was now near him, asked him what was wrong. "It's Sesshomaru and Kimi's blood," he said. Kagome's eyes widened. "Do you think they're okay?" she asked. Inu-Yasha shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't give a damn," he growled.

Just he said that, Kanna appeared with her entourage of demons behind her, which of course had Aikina in tow. All of the demons that they had been fighting were either dead or dying, so they were no longer a threat. "Inu-Yasha, isn't that…?" Kagome asked. The hanyou gave a solemn nod. It was apparent that her soul had been stolen, so any action would be hasty.

Kagura smiled a little. "Well, it seems that we got what we came for. I guess we can leave now. Farewell, Inu-Yasha," she cooed. She pulled one of the feathers from her hair, and as it transformed, her sister and her boarded. They soared into the sky, followed by the small group of demons. As soon as they were out of sight, they all had one mutual feeling: urgency.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippô all ran over to where Inu-Yasha and Kagome stood. "We have to go and find Kimi and Sesshomaru," Miroku said directly. Inu-Yasha scowled a little. "Why do you give a damn about him all of a sudden?" Inu-Yasha asked. Kagome glared at him slightly. "didn't you just say you smelled their blood?" she demanded angrily. Inu-Yasha gave no reply, but without even thinking, his human friends ran off to find his hated half-brother and sister-in-law. And of course, Inu-Yasha followed, just to make sure that if there were any demons left, they would have some real protection.

About ten minutes later, they all reached the site where Sesshomaru and Kimi both bled. Kagome, of course, was the first one to run over to them. The dirt below them was soaked with blood, but her 'bleeding heart' as Inu-Yasha had called it, didn't have time to care about things that would gross her out.

"Sesshomaru, you're hurt!" she said, a concerned expression on her face. Sesshomaru glared up at her. "Do you think I don't know that, human?" he growled sarcastically. "Well, you look to me like you can't even get up," she replied, almost sounding sassy. Kimi groaned a little. "Honey, you know she's right. Now let her help," she said, although it was almost inaudible. Sesshomaru sighed and handed Kimi to Kagome, trying to cause the both of them as little pain as possible. As Kagome grabbed Kimi in her arms, her hand brushed from her gash above her eye. "Oww," Kagome commented, "That's gonna need stitches."

As Kagome started to stand up, she was amazed at how light Kimi was. She had never realized how baggy her yukata was. "Whoa, she must weigh less than me," she thought, giving Sesshomaru a hand to stand up. A few moments later, Kagome noticed that Kimi was unconscious. Sesshomaru took a few steps, and after a few steps, he was alright. "Thank you," he said gently. Kagome looked down at Kii for a second. He really does lover her, she thought.

"Oh, shut up, Sesshomaru! And don't offer him any help, you bleeding heart!" Inu-Yasha yelled sarcastically. "Up yours, Inu-Yasha! At least he helped Kimi unlike you leaving me for dead!" she yelled back. Sesshomaru shot him a fierce look, and a few moments later, they began to walk back to the inn, where they were sure they could find treatment and shelter.

A few hours later, the sun had set and they were back in the inn. Sesshomaru sat next to the futon where Kimi was lying, gently stroking her face. The wound on his back had been bandaged by Kagome, which only occurred after much protest, but looking back at it, he was almost thankful. But what really worried him was Kimi's condition. Her wounds had been treated as well, the gash above her eye stitched, and her other small cuts wrapped, but she was still unconscious. He knew it wasn't from her wounds, since she had lost little blood. It was losing Aikina. He Hadn't known his own daughter for more than a few days, but he was still worried. And Kimi had known her for her entire life. What would happen to her? Sesshomaru sighed and leaned over, planting a gentle kiss on Kimi's still lips. He stood up, his back still aching, and walked out of the room, watching her until he was outside.

He walked down the hallway, about three rooms, where Rin and a very grumpy Jaken were. "Sesshomaru-sama, will Kimi-mama be okay?" Rin asked curiously. Sesshomaru sat down and leaned his head against the wall. "I don't know, Rin. I don't know."