InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delusions ❯ Chapter Twenty-Two ( Chapter 22 )

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

Author’s Notes:

 

 

 

 

Delusions

 

Chapter Twenty Two

 

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

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

 

 

 

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.

 

Sōrin looked up and finally met Sango’s gaze. His eyes were hard and his lips pressed tight. ‘Finally a show of emotion,’ Amaya thought. Sōrin stood abruptly and stalked off into the woods.

 

Before he broke the clearing, Sango called after him, “Sōrin, where are you going?”

 

Without looking back he replied, “Wood.”

 

Sango made no move to follow him and Miroku only sighed, shaking his head slightly.

 

Amaya looked over to the pair, “You are not going to try and stop him?”

 

She received no reply, just a pained look and another shake of the head. “Fine,” she said, “I will go.”

 

“Please do not stray far, I would prefer my end to the wind tunnel than that of Inuyasha...or worse...Kagome,” Miroku said.

 

At a different time, Amaya would have laughed, but she only nodded and followed in the direction that Sōrin had left.

 

It did not take her long to find Sōrin. He was, in fact, gathering wood. He glanced up at her as she approached, but did nothing else to acknowledge her presence.

 

“Are you, OK?” Amaya asked.

 

She knew he had heard her, yet he ignored her question, continuing to look for kindling and picking up stray pieces that lay upon the ground.

 

“You don’t have to ignore me. I am just making sure you are all right,” she asserted.

 

Sōrin stopped and finally looked in her direction. “Why do you care?” he asked snidely.

 

‘What?!’ she thought. She could feel herself getting red with anger. “Why wouldn’t I?” she retorted.

 

“Because you have no reason to,” he said simply and returned to his gathering.

 

“Will you stop? People are capable of caring about others, myself included,” she said. She could not believe him.

 

He did not turn to look at her again as he spoke, but he did give a dry chuckle, “Is that so?”

 

But before she could respond, he continued, “Not in my experience. So, don’t work yourself up about me. I can handle myself....and I don’t need your pity”

 

“You don't have to be so defensive about it. No one was implying that you're incapable of handling things,” she said. He was so infuriating. She let out a pent up sigh and turned to leave. Hesitating, she quickly spun around and called out to him.

 

“You know...not everyone thinks that you're dangerous. If-”

 

Before she could say another word he was upon her, grabbing her by the shoulders, and pushing her back against a nearby tree. He didn't let go as he looked down into her eyes.

 

“But I am dangerous,” he said quietly, almost whispering into her ear. He was trying too hard to be menacing, which he was succeeding at, but Amaya could see through the ploy.

 

‘I will not be cowed by him. He's just trying to get a rise out of me and see if I'm like the others,’ she thought to herself. His gaze was cold and piercing but she steeled herself, “Am I supposed to be afraid of you?” she asked defiantly. Her chin lifting a bit in a show of confidence.

 

He did not lessen his grip on her, and she remained pinned to the tree. His face pulled back a bit and he regarded her for a moment before releasing her and turning away. “No,” he said simply, sounding a little unsure.

 

“Caring and pity do not go hand in hand. I do not pity you. There is nothing to pity. You are strong and sure. You have people in your corner, confident in your abilities, which is more than I can say about myself,” she told him.

 

He still had his back turned to her but he replied, “How can you understand?” he asked softly. “Inuyasha told me about your world. You grew up in luxury...without a doubt in your mind about who you were or where you came from.”

 

“And what does that do for me now?” she asked dryly, gesturing to herself.

 

He turned his head slightly, stealing a glance at her and gave another low chuckle.

 

‘Good to know that I amuse him,’ she thought, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. Her hair gently blew in the wind, a subtle reminder that she was now more similar to him than she was anyone else she knew.

 

Rather than say anything else, Amaya took to collecting the sticks that Sōrin had dropped. Sōrin watched her for a minute before bending down to help. It took only a moment and Amaya began to head back in the direction of camp. She could hear Sōrin following and she gave a small, hidden smile.

 

 

Inuyasha had swallowed his pride and followed his brother's demonic trail. He was not surprised, though, to find that it was heading towards his village. He knew he would find Sesshomaru there, most likely trying to convince Rin to come to the safety of his side.

 

His brother liked to pretend that humans were beneath him and if asked, Sesshomaru would play this display of affection off as a mark of ownership and that he was merely protecting his property.

 

Inuyasha knew it was only a matter of time before either Rin or his brother caved in and expressed their feelings. Knowing Sesshomaru, it would be Rin.

 

He reached the village and sought out Shippo. Rather, Shippo sensed him coming and was waiting.

 

“Oi, Shippo. Is he still where I think he Is?” Inuyasha asked.

 

Shippo nodded and followed Inuyasha towards Rin’s hut, which was located towards the center of the village so that Rin could be more accessible to the villagers needs, much to Sesshomaru’s chagrin.

 

Inuyasha slowed as he reached the entrance and steeled himself. Shippo cut him off and said in a low voice, “Maybe I should go first and warm him up to the idea?”

 

Inuyasha glared at the kitsune and pushed around him, entering the hut.

 

Both Rin and Sesshomaru knelt around a kettle of tea. Rin looked as if she were digesting more than a brew of tea, with a cup in her hands that she gripped a little tighter than necessary. She barely looked up to acknowledge Inuyasha and Shippo's presence.

 

“Oh, Inuyasha?” she questioned. She seemed a little relieved to have the attention taken of if her for the moment. Sesshomaru calmly places his own cup down and stood to regard his brother.

 

“Inuyasha…” he said.

 

Inuyasha was not going to let Sesshomaru start this off with veiled insults and threats and it was probably easier to get his groveling over with while he still had some pride intact, “I need your help,” he paused…”They have Kagome.”

 

“Kagome-sama?” Rin gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

 

Sesshomaru regarded his brother for only a second, “Pity you cannot hold onto your woman. I expect no less from a halfling, though I expected more from you.”  I will deal with Naraku presently.”

 

“Look, Sesshomaru, there's too many of them to deal with on your own. You need my help just as much as I need yours.”

 

Sesshomaru silently considered his brother's words. Inuyasha figured that he could use a little more incentive. “How much longer before they come for Rin?

 

It was a low blow, using Rin like that. If it affected Sesshomaru at all, he did not show it, but Inuyasha could feel the demonic power in the room rise a few degrees.

 

“Please, Lord Sesshomaru,” Rin said, “I will do whatever you ask if you help Lady Kagome.”

 

Sesshomaru barely glanced in the girl's direction. Inuyasha figured the taiyokai was putting on a show of indifference in front of him but her plea seemed to hit home.

 

“Sesshomaru will take care of the nuisance that is Naraku,” he said simply and turned to leave. He reached the entrance of the hut and looked at Rin. She quickly put her cup away and moved to join Sesshomaru.

 

Satisfied that Rin was coming, Sesshomaru left the hut.

 

Shipp+o scratched his head, “Was that a yes or a no, or what?”

 

Rin paused at the door, “That's his way of agreeing to help you.”

 

Inuyasha growled, “Let's go before he changes his mind or decides to rub my nose in it.”

 

Shippo laughed, “Ha!”

 

“What's so funny?” Inuyasha questioned.

 

“That was a pun, right?” Shippo asked.

 

“A pun?” Inuyasha looked puzzled.

 

 

 

Amaya hoped that Inuyasha would return soon. There was no telling how long he would be gone, but Miroku said he should return within a day or two since he had left them so abruptly. So, in order to pass the time, Amaya chatted with Miroku and Sango; they discussed demon hunting and techniques to fighting demons. Amaya even learned a bit about what she was, or as much as she could since there were not many known cases of quarter-demons. Miroku warned Amaya that she may be more powerful than a typical quarter-demon (if there were any) if she had also inherited her mother’s miko abilities. She didn’t feel any miko-like abilities, so she had doubts regarding that.

 

Sōrin even showed her some of the fighting techniques that Miroku and Sango described, with their supervision of course. She wanted to be as prepared as possible for anything that may come to pass and from the stories she has heard, she thought that a battle of some sort was inevitable. Even if she couldn’t be an integral part to a fight she wanted to, at least, be able to hold her own if it came down to it.

 

Even though Sōrin was kind enough to help Amaya with fighting techniques, he was still quiet and withdrawn. At least he had opened up enough to help her and not mock her.

“No, that’s wrong,” he said. He moved to adjust her form. He had lent her his blade and was now running her through drills against him, though any time he disliked something she did, he would stop like he was doing now. “Keep that arm up,” he commanded and slapped her arm with his staff for emphasis, “unless it’s your objective to lose it in battle.”

 

Amaya silently complied and raised her arm a fraction until Sōrin came at her suddenly. Their blades flourished in the sunlight and Amaya struggled to keep up with the blows. Sango had only given her a quick intro lesson into swordplay before Sōrin took over with the real one on one practice. Sōrin was quick and unforgiving with his training, so much to the point where Amaya felt as though she was not even making an impact. It became obvious very quickly that Sōrin had thrown their first encounter. He was much too good to have been bested by her newfound brute strength. His training method seemed to be, learn fast or fail, but that was all well for Amaya and she let her determination drive her to match his weapon, blow for blow. Of course, even for a human, he had years of experience and training under his belt which allowed him to keep Amaya on her toes. If it was not for her increased strength and senses she imagined she would have been defeated at the beginning of the session.

 

She relied on her speed and strength to keep her from breaking a limb, but it was Sōrin’s skill that always resulted in him smacking her with the butt of his staff, leaving her with aches that she knew would become bruises. He certainly did not believe in taking it easy on her, but she figured this from their first go around.

 

Seeing an opening she thrust her sword, only for Sōrin to spin and sweep her legs out from underneath her. She landed with an oof as the air was knocked out of her. Groaning, she looked up and found Sōrin standing over her with a small smirk on his face.

 

“That’s enough for today,” Sango announced. Amaya and Sōrin both looked over to where she sat with Miroku. “Unfortunately, we do not have the time or luxury to continue such intense training.” Sōrin looked back down at Amaya and extended his hand out to her. She grabbed his hand and he helped her up.

 

“That wasn’t half bad,” Sōrin said retrieving the blade from her.

 

Amaya eyed him, “I suppose I will take that as a compliment...coming from you.” She thought she saw a small smile on his face before he turned away.

 

Miroku stood up and grabbed his staff. “That was very entertaining to watch, thank you.” Sōrin had busied himself with caring for the blade Amaya had borrowed for training, but at Miroku’s comment he turned his head for a quick glare. Amaya watched the exchange, but she noticed that the glare faded from Sōrin’s face and he looked up. Miroku looked up as well and Amaya could almost feel something coming towards them. She remembered feeling this sensation before, right at the moment that strange yokai had appeared. The one she that she assumed to be a relation of some sort to her father, Inuyasha.

It was that same yokai. She couldn’t quite remember his name. He was followed by a two-headed dragon-like horse creature that carried a young woman. They both landed a short distance away and stood waiting. ‘Waiting for what?’ she wondered. Miroku answered her thoughts, “Inuyasha must be returning.”

 

As if summoned by speaking his name, Inuyasha sailed over the tree-line and landed in front of them. Shippo appeared simultaneously, in the form of a kite gliding down before transforming back into his usual form with a puff of white smoke.

 

“That was remarkably fast, given the circumstances,” Miroku commented.

 

“Can it monk,” Inuyasha growled. He crossed his arms against his chest, and without wasting anymore time he laid out his plan.

 

 

 

 

Next time on Delusions……

 

….Kagome woke the next morning to find the futon next to her empty. Anxiety crept into her chest until her eyes caught sight of a slight movement in the pre-dawn light.

 

“I trust you slept well,” Naraku said. He had his back turned to her, seated towards the center of the room and presumably deep in thought while she still slumbered. He glanced at her and turned back to fall back into his meticulous thought process….