InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delusions ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author’s Notes: N/A

 

 

 

 

Delusions

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha let go of Kagome once their feet were upon the ground in the Feudal Era. They had only arrived a second after Amaya but she was not alone. Someone had been waiting on their return, or rather, Inuyasha’s.

 

The young man that she had briefly met before their departure, Sōrin, looked upon them with concern and impatience. His indigo eyes flashed once they took in both Kagome and Amaya, but he had no time for them. Shouldering his way past Amaya, he stepped in front of Inuyasha.

 

“I’ve been waiting,” he started.

 

Inuyasha glared hard at the boy, “So?” Inuyasha did not like to be dictated to and rarely even tolerated it from Kagome so long ago.

 

Sōrin’s eyebrows were knit together in concern and he had no time for Inuyasha’s show of dominance. “Inuyasha, it’s Miroku…”

 

Kagome looked from Sōrin to Inuyasha and saw the glare fade and replaced with a troubled look of his own. He did not need to hear anymore to know that he had to get there fast. “Climb on,” he growled not looking at Kagome but fully expecting her to follow his command and she climbed onto his back like she had done many years ago.

 

Inuyasha did spare a glance for Amaya. “Keep up,” he instructed. He did not seem to be the coddling type and Kagome was glad that Amaya was not the type to need constant reassurance. He expected her to learn fast and that is, indeed, what she would do.

 

He then leapt towards the village with Amaya bringing up the rear. Sōrin, from what Kagome could see, was heading back on foot.

 

Inuyasha landed outside of the house and even before they had landed, Kagome could see that part of the building had been destroyed. It looked like it had been ripped apart from the inside. They dashed into the house to check on the occupants.

 

Sango, her daughters, and son all appeared worried and fussed over Miroku who was sitting down and waving them away. Looking around at the destruction, Kagome could only guess what had done the damage, but the extent and direction of the blow looked familiar. That’s when she noticed that Miroku’s right hand was clenching his nenju. “Miroku?” Kagome probed.

 

“What happened, Miroku?” Inuyasha demanded.

 

Sango had tears in her eyes and her voice broke as she spoke, “It’s the Kazaana…”

 

Miroku sighed and stood up, “Yes, it would seem my old friend has returned. Most likely because our old foe has returned as well.” He clenched his fist tighter around the nenju and stared sullenly at it. He then brightened visibly and turned his attention to his guests. “In any case, welcome back.”

 

“Miroku,” Kagome began, approaching her old friend, “Don’t downplay the seriousness of the situation.”

 

Sango’s features had hardened and she stood next to her husband, placing her hands protectively on his shoulders. “It would seem that the Wind Tunnel has increased in size. I…” she looked down and then back up as if reassuring herself, “...I don’t think we have much time left.”

 

Kagome saw the pain on each of the family member’s faces when Sango uttered those words. The twins were both knelt down in prayer and the boy, Kichiro, whom Kagome had not officially met, sat and stared at the hole in the wall with an angry countenance. The boy looked just like his father but wore a demon slayer outfit similar to his mother’s except with blue plating and a yellow sash. He must be training to be a taijiya like Sango. Kagome was mildly surprised that the boy was not following in his father’s footsteps as Miroku was a very powerful monk.

 

Her gaze settled upon the boy and her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed that the boy also clenched a nenju. She raised a hand to her mouth, “Oh, Sango.” Sango’s followed Kagome’s gaze and landed upon the young boy. “It’s what makes this entire thing so damned worse!” she said angrily.

 

Inuyasha, not being the type to sit idly by, put a foot forward, “Let’s not waste any more time sitting around then. The longer we sit here dicking around, the more likely you are going to get swallowed up by that damn thing so let's go put it to some use, eh?!”

“Wait...where the hell is Shippō?” Inuyasha asked, just now noticing the kitsunes absence.

 

One of the twins stopped their prayers and looked up to answer, “He went to send word to Lord Sesshomaru of Naraku’s reappearance. Rin asked him to do so.” The other girl nodded along with her sister’s words.

 

Inuyasha grumbled underneath his breath something that sounded like curses. It seems that time had not mended that relationship, but Kagome had not expected it to. Animosity still ran strong, but they must have tolerated one another to some extent if they were sending envoys. Sesshomaru would most likely want to know of Naraku’s return. The taiyokai also harbored deep resentment for the bastard that plagued them and united them as allies. If her instincts were any good she figured it wouldn’t be long before Sesshomaru came to “collect” Rin. Naraku had used the girl as a hostage before and she wouldn’t put it past him to try to do so again if the opportunity arose.

 

“Figures when I need him the little shit takes off,” Inuyasha uttered. “Whatever, I don’t need him. Kagome, do your location thing and make it snappy!”

 

“Seriously? I haven’t even been back one day...You know, there are some things you can’t rush, Inuyasha, and I’m one of them!” Kagome countered.

 

Nevertheless, she sat down and made herself comfortable to try and locate the yokai at the other end of her mark. ‘Focus, focus’. She felt herself pulled along the invisible line again and saw a rush of scenery. As she floated along the line she began to see the images that Byakuya saw. Even thinking his name put bile in her mouth, but she soldiered on. She felt a surge of urgency through the line. She saw the pretentious little shit that had attacked her and her daughter just the other day. So, he was one of Naraku’s expellations. She should have guessed.

 

The child seemed to be speaking with Byakuya. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but she suddenly felt a probe along the line. She felt dread course through her as she feared that Byakuya was also trying to fixate on her. She let go and snapped back into herself, which was still jarring.

 

She rubbed her head as she came to and Inuyasha helped her up. Everyone was staring at her again, except they weren’t. Kagome realized that everyone was staring at Amaya who stood near the doorway. She had been so open before and now, looking more like her father, she seemed a little insecure.

 

“I suppose I should mention the elephant in the room,” she gestured to the girl. Apparently no one really knew what an elephant was or why one would be in the room. They all looked at Kagome with puzzled expressions. She waved a hand and tried to clear it up, “It’s an expression that means that there is an obvious truth that has gone unaddressed.”

 

“Oh,” they said intermingedly. “What’s an elephant?” Kichirio asked. His sisters shrugged and looked back to Kagome.

 

Miroku stepped over to where Amaya was standing and escorted her further into the dwelling. “If you are trying to tell us that your daughter is also that of Inuyasha, well, we already figured that bit out.”

 

“Okay. That makes things easy,” she said with relief. They did all see her in this form prior to them leaving and it was not particularly hard to put one and two together.

 

Inuyasha seemed fairly perturbed that things were taking longer than to his liking, “Well?”

 

Sango was already dressed and instructed her children to go to stay with Rin while they were gone. The twins obliged respectfully and embraced their parents before waiting on their brother. Kichiro seemed quite sullen due to his newly acquired Kazaana and he did not know how to handle it. It was unprecedented for two living members to have it at one time and the boy was at odds with his predicament. Miroku grabbed his son by the shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. “Kichiro, you’ll need to watch over your sisters. Make sure that they don’t get into any trouble. Just...don’t remove the nenju unless you have no other choice”

 

Kichiro looked quite surly but glanced over at his sisters at his father’s mention of protecting them. The idea of him keeping an eye on them seemed to perk the boy up. Kagome figured that Maeko and Maemi did not need anyone to look after them; they both seemed rather mature for their age, but she figured that Miroku was doing his son a favor by giving him a duty to take his mind off of his own dire circumstances.

 

“I will,” the boy replied tersely. He stood up and walked in front of his sisters, “C’mon,” he instructed and the girls looked to one another and then followed their younger brother out of the dwelling towards Rin’s home.

 

“Shippō will return and keep an eye on them,” Sango added. “I’m sure he will be disappointed that he was left behind but they need someone experienced to make sure things stay quiet while we are gone.”

 

Miroku grabbed his staff and a small pack, “What about Kirara? Or are we making this journey on foot?”

 

Sango grabbed Hiraikotsu, making walking and talking the priority. “She’s still with Kohaku and I don’t know when they are to return again.” Miroku nodded solemnly and they departed the partially destroyed home.

 

Kagome noticed that Sōrin was waiting outside, leaning aside the building with a long wooden staff in hand. Kagome wondered if he was unfriendly towards Miroku and Sango since the teenager didn’t bother to come inside. She made a mental note to inquire about him since he was still quite a mystery to her. She felt a bit awkward asking Inuyasha about him but she figured it was only fair.

 

They all set off down through the village following a general direction that Kagome had pointed out. The direction that she could feel Byakuya was at the end of. She felt apprehension at coming face-to-face with the demon who had tormented her and caused her so much grief but found solace in knowing that she wasn’t going to do this alone.

 

Inuyasha seemed to be trying to make up for lost time as he monopolized Amaya on the journey. Amaya seemed to be quite happy getting to know him, and he her. She would giggle at something he would say and he even laughed loudly at some of her tales. The back and forth between them was not stressed and that made Kagome feel a little less horrible for depriving them of the relationship that they deserved. She hoped that Inuyasha’s ward was not angry for being largely ignored. He walked alone, but he didn’t look angry or annoyed at Inuyasha for not including him. She couldn’t say that the boy was being completely ignored, though. She couldn’t help but notice that Amaya would sneak glances back at the boy.

 

Even with observing those walking in front of her she was able to speak freely with Miroku and Sango in the interim. She spoke to them of her life back in the present and they took turns regaling their lives as well. It was a pleasant exchange for once. She almost felt bad for turning the subject to the teen who walked in front of them, on his own and seemingly oblivious to the chatter that surrounded him and discluded him.

 

“Um, Miroku, I hate to ask but no one has offered any comments on Sōrin and I was wondering if I could be brought up to speed.”

 

Miroku eyed Sango before continuing, as if this were all some big secret. “Sōrin was brought to Inuyasha as an infant and he decided to raise him. Actually, he relied on us to help him out quite a bit since he had little knowledge or tolerance for the boy.”

 

“So if you’ve helped so much in raising him, then why does he ignore you?” Kagome asked, perplexed.

 

“It’s by his own choosing to remain segregated from us and he asked that we respect his choice to do so,” Sango answered.

 

 

 

 

Next time on Delusions……

 

….“That makes absolutely no sense. Why would he want to do that?” Kagome looked from Miroku to Sango and they both seemed to prefer to speak on other things but she prodded them for more information, “Guys?”

 

Sango sighed. “It’s very sad. Sōrin has recently been told of his origins and he is coming to terms with it in his own fashion.”

 

“His origins being?” Kagome pressed. ‘Really it’s like pulling teeth! It’s not like he’s Inuyasha’s bastard child. I’ve already got that bit covered.’ she mused.

 

“Essentially he is the cast off human heart of Onigumo,” Sango finished….