InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delusions ❯ Chapter Twenty-One ( Chapter 21 )

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

Author’s Notes:

 

 

 

 

Delusions

 

Chapter Twenty One

 

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

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

 

 

 

 

Sōrin, Miroku, and Sango had reached Inuyasha’s camp before morning. They had travelled through the night, it seemed, following the trail that Inuyasha said would lead to them. Amaya had woken shortly before they entered camp, her senses alerting her to the approach of others.

 

She saw Sōrin leading them, his staff strapped to his back and his hand near the hilt of his wakizashi in anticipation of danger. Miroku and Sango were paired together as always, though Sango’s brow was knit with concern as her eyes shifted repeatedly back and forth to Miroku’s wrapped hand and Sōrin’s back.

 

Even Amaya had noted the distance between Sōrin and everyone else besides Inuyasha. She wondered what reason they might have to mistrust him. Though, it did not surprise her too much with the recent interactions she had with him. Still, it was cause for concern since your team was only as good as the weakest member. Not to say that Sōrin was weak, by any means, but trust is what glued a team together and Sōrin was greatly lacking in that department.

 

Inuyasha stood up and waited for the trio to get closer, nodding at their arrival. Miroku nodded in return, “Inuyasha, I see you lost the trail. Not for lack of trying, of course.”

 

Inuyasha let it slide, “I figured it would be easier to regroup. Plus, I have an idea. It involves Sōrin, though.”

 

All eyes fell to Sōrin who had made himself comfortable by the stoked fire. Sango spoke first, “Do you find that wise, Inuyasha?”

 

“It’s all I’ve got, but I’m sure it will work,” he said, confidently.

 

Sōrin gave a wry smile, “Do I get a choice?”

 

“No,” Inuyasha said quite simply.

 

Miroku looked to his wife’s worried face and gripped his staff harder, “How can you be so certain that this will work? We don’t know what the consequences are for enacting this plan of yours.”

 

Inuyasha crossed his arms and began to retort before Amaya stood up and walked between them, “Whoa. Hang on. I’m sorry for not knowing what the “plan” is,” she said using air quotations, “but can I please be filled in?”

 

“Yeah, sure. Maybe after I tell you my idea these guys will feel a little bit better about it,” Inuyasha said.

 

“They’ll never feel better about it,” Sōrin interjected. He still sat next to the fire which he fed back to life with nearby kindling.

 

All eyes fell on Sōrin again, but Amaya took the chance to gauge everyone’s facial expressions. Inuyasha looked unconcerned, Miroku tried to keep a neutral expression, but Sango’s fear was clear.

 

“They will never trust me and I don’t blame them,” he said gesturing widely. His eyes were narrowed and tinted with scorn. “Who knows when I will snap?” he asked in a rhetorical fashion.

 

Sango’s expression turned from fear to guilt, “It’s not that, Sōrin…”

 

“Really, Sango? Then what is it? I see the way everyone looks at me. You especially. Am I supposed to ignore it?” Sōrin demanded, his voice dripping with ice.

 

This was the first time that Amaya had heard Sōrin address anyone other than Inuyasha and she could feel the tension rise. She almost felt as if she were intruding on a personal moment but she stayed put, hoping to hear him out.

 

Sango let out an exasperated sigh and paused before she spoke, “It is such a burden you carry, I only fear for our safety.”

 

“But not about mine,” he said flatly.

 

“That’s not true!” she said defensively.

 

He scoffed, “Oh please, don’t try to fool yourself. You’ve been watching me ever since you found out...as if I were going to stab you in the back while you slept.”

 

A hurt expression crossed Sango’s face but she did not say anything more. Miroku put his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

 

Inuyasha growled, “We really don’t have time for all of this. Look, I know why you have your reservations Sango, but if you trust me at all, you will trust the faith I have in Sōrin.”

 

She looked down, ashamed, and remained silent. Miroku, also silent, looked at Inuyasha and nodded. “Good, then sit down and I can lay this out for you all,” Inuyasha said.

 

Those who were standing sat around the fire, now alive but still low. Inuyasha glanced around it at his peers. “Ok, so we know that our friend,” he emphasized the word, “Sōrin, comes from Naraku.”

 

Amaya interrupted, “Wait, you mean the guy who is responsible for my mother being taken?”

 

“Yes, and quit interrupting,” Inuyasha chidded. “Ok, so Sōrin essentially is Onigumo, cleansed and reborn, which is what everyone has such a hard time swallowing. Even though he is NOT Naraku, he has a connection to him. I’m going to exploit that connection so that we can find Naraku and destroy him once and for all.”

 

“We are familiar with young Sōrin’s beginnings, Inuyasha, I just fail to see how you plan to...as you say...exploit the connection. Or even how there can be a connection,” Miroku said.

 

Sango finally spoke up, “And even once you have opened up that connection, I am afraid it will work both ways, Inuyasha. Sōrin may, once again, be a pawn for Naraku to use.”

 

“I know the risks and so does Sōrin,” Inuyasha stated.

 

“Yet, you think of no one else…” Sango began before she was interrupted.

 

“Look, I know what you are afraid of, but I am me and Naraku can’t take that away,” Sōrin said. “I know how to open the connection that Inuyasha is talking about. It’s always been there, but I’ve never once tried to access it. I can sense it,” he paused...“Just know...I have no desire to be one of Naraku’s pawns. I just want to be...me.”

 

Sango frowned at the boy and looked back at her husband. Miroku lowered his eyes in quiet contemplation.

 

Inuyasha could tell that his friends were not really buying into this plan so he had to try and sell it to them, “You know, Kikyo had the foresight to take the crucial piece away from Naraku so that he could not complete the jewel. She gave her life to give us this edge.” He looked to Sōrin as he spoke.

 

Before either Miroku or Sango could respond, Amaya shifted.

 

She could hold her tongue no longer, “Hang on, so let me get this straight. Sōrin here is like an incarnation of Naraku?”

 

“Before he became Naraku, when he was the human bandit named Onigumo,” Miroku answered.

 

“Right…” Amaya continued, “so basically he is just this Onigumo fellow reborn with a new name and stuff?”

 

“I guess you could put it that way,” Inuyasha offered.

 

Amaya looked at Sōrin who eyed her warily. He seemed afraid of her judgement of him and it showed on his face. She could kind of relate. So many people in the present were afraid of being judged for what they were rather than who they were; her included.

 

“Well then, I don’t see why we shouldn’t trust Sōrin to make this connection or whatever it is to find my mother,” she said. “Even though he can be a jerk, he seems like an OK guy,” she concluded, absently brushing invisible dirt from her clothes.

 

Inuyasha chortled and Sōrin threw a dirty glance in her direction. Her declaration seemed to lighten the atmosphere a bit. It was clear that Sango was the party member who needed the most persuasion. If what Amaya thought was right, Sango feared that Sōrin’s intimate knowledge of her and her family would come back to haunt her if he truly was controlled by Naraku, the demon who got his jollies off by hurting people through emotional means rather than physical.

 

“Before we go off on this scheme of yours, Inuyasha, perhaps we should try to actually come up with a plan,” Miroku said.

 

“That was my plan,” Inuyasha replied.

 

“And what did you plan to do once Sōrin had found Naraku’s location?” Sango asked.

 

Inuyasha scratched at his head, “I figured we would just go to wherever Sōrin said, kill Naraku, grab Kagome, and then go home.”

 

The monk rolled his eyes, “First off, while that is a grand plan, it is lacking….technical details.”

 

“Why do we need to detail how I rip Naraku into shreds?” Inuyasha asked.

 

Sango groaned and even Sōrin sighed. “Really, Inuyasha?!” Sango asked.

 

“Calm down, I am just messing with ya!” Inuyasha exclaimed. “I’m not that dense.”

 

Sōrin dryly commented, “You could have fooled me,” to which Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

 

“We can’t do anything until you all get rest anyways. I don’t want you all fainting on me.” Inuyasha stood up and stretched.

 

Amaya stood up, hurriedly, “Where are you going?!”

 

“I'm gonna go get some help,” he said with a smirk.

 

“You go get help, Inuyasha?” Miroku asked, an eyebrow piqued in interest.

 

“Hey, I'm not above asking for help,” Inuyasha replied, feigning hurt. “You guys relax and I'll be back before nightfall. We can work out the details once I return,” he said. He cast a glance at Amaya, hesitating for a second before he jumped off into the distance.

 

Amaya watched as he became a tiny speck in the distance and then disappeared. ‘I wonder where he is going?’ she thought. Looking back at her companions she suddenly felt a bit awkward. She'd only just met them and now she was being left alone with them. Still, she had to focus on finding her mother.

 

“Perhaps we could discuss more on this Naraku person? I'm not as versed on him as you all are and I would like to know what I am getting into.

 

 

 

Kagome felt vindication in knowing that soon those who had betrayed her would be faced with retribution far worse than anything she could imagine. Perhaps she should have felt remorse for those people but that part of herself had died, leaving a colder version of what she once was in her place.

 

Byakuya had opened her eyes and she was happy that she could now remember. It seemed strange at first, as if she were reliving foreign moments gleaned from another person’s life. She also felt emotions that she was not entirely sure how to process. As the hours passed, however, she began to feel more comfortable with the memories. They no longer felt foreign, they felt like hers. There was still a small feeling of uncertainty that she could not shake, something that seemed to be missing. A part of her that was separate. She shook her head as if to shake the feeling away. Perhaps the sense of loss was her waiting for his return. According to Byakuya...and her memories...they had never been apart long in all of these years. ‘Yes, that must be it,’ she consoled herself.

 

She sat in a room, by herself, sipping tea that had been left out for her pleasure. She had been left to her own devices for a small amount of time, which she took to collect herself. Byakuya had assured her that Naraku would return shortly.

 

“It will not take him more than a day to deal with the nuisance. I expect him to return before nightfall,” Byakuya had told her.

 

The sun had begun its descent and there were only a couple of hours of daylight left. Kagome knew that he would be here soon and she tingled with anticipation. ‘He must have been worried to leave me unconscious here,’ she thought. She stood up and smoothed out her clothes, hoping to ease any fear he may have that she was still injured by looking presentable.

 

With the sun setting, she could see the shadow of Byakuya as he walked past her room. ‘He must be going to greet his master.’

 

She stepped quietly to the door, preparing to open it, before she stopped. She could hear their voices low and heated. They were discussing something, but she could not make it out. Quickly, she stepped away from the door and knelt down to await him.

 

 

 

 

Byakuya approached Naraku with some apprehension. “Lord, I have kept her contained, as you’ve asked. However, I must tell you that I have come up with an idea that I feel you may be pleased with.”

 

Naraku glared at his creation in silence for a moment, “You presume to tell me that you have done something without instruction?”

 

“My humble apologies, my Lord, but I believe that this may play into your hand,” Byakuya pleaded smoothly.

 

As he briefly explained his actions, Naraku’s glare slowly faded into a look of annoyance. “Byakuya...I would have been infinitely more pleased had you taken it upon yourself to kill her rather than this charade. But perhaps I can salvage this situation…” he turned his gaze to the door where the girl waited and his features settled into his usual cold countenance.

 

Slowly, he walked to the door and slid it open to reveal her waiting for him….the resemblance to her was remarkable and he was taken aback on how he had never allowed himself to notice it.

 

 

 

 

Kagome’s breath caught as she looked upon his face. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time. She knew that was ridiculous, though. He did not look pleased to see her and she began to feel uncertain again. He looked at her as if really noticing her for the first time as well.

 

“My Lord?” she said hesitantly. She stood up and took a step towards him, her arms clasped to her chest. “Are you not pleased to see me unharmed?”

 

Naraku looked her up and down before stepping closer to her. He reached out and pulled her to his chest, stroking her hair.

 

Kagome still felt apprehension at the newness of this feeling, but she craved contact to ease the loneliness of her heart. ‘I will get used to this,’ she told herself.

 

“I am glad you are well, Ki-Kagome, I have learned from Byakuya that you had lost your memory of our time together,” Naraku said quietly.

 

“Thank you, but he was kind enough to help restore some of what I lost...but…” She paused. “It feels unreal.”

 

She could feel Naraku stop stroking her hair, though he still held her close.

 

“Mmm,” she heard from his chest.

 

He seemed to be contemplating as there was a moment of cold silence and all was still. Finally, he said, “Perhaps I can make this work.”

 

 

 

 

Next time on Delusions……

 

….Amaya listened intently as Sango and Miroku laid out Naraku’s exploits. Sōrin sat quietly, listening to his predecessor’s history. He made no move to add or embellish the stories. Amaya quickly stole glances here and there to see if there was any change in his expression during the particularly nasty pieces. She had thought he may be ashamed of his origins, but it was evident that Sōrin held himself apart from his creator.

 

Sango seemed to be trying her best to make eye contact with Sōrin, as if to prove that she was not heartless. Sōrin, however, was not interested in helping her to ease her conscience. Amaya felt pity for them in their situation. She could not imagine herself in his place and did not want to.

 

Miroku absently looked at his hand, covered as it was. Sango noted the look and sighed. “I really hope that InuYasha’s plan works...whatever it is…” she said, trailing off at the end….