InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Part Two: For Whom the Bell Tolls ❯ Numb ( Chapter 4 )

Hey guys! I stayed home from school sick today so I figured I would type out another chapter for ya'll. Besides I said I'd try to get out another chapter soon because I had made ya'll wait so long. Thank you to all of my reviewers, I love you so much. You really encourage me to continue when I get discouraged. Really you do.

Chapter 4: Numb

Her name was Satyr. Her parents having been well traveled, and her father, like her brother, having the ability to see into the future, knew she would be a lust driven creature of pleasure. The term originated in Greece, but that was all she ever really cared to know. History and words were never really her thing. Her mother on the other hand, had a love for language and words, so that is who probably came up with such a ridiculous name. But the name was her own, so she never bothered to change it.

Her father, of course, was right, too. Her lust and greed were unparalleled, as was her temper. In her homeland she was known as Aiyoku the seductress, and she had many other names along similar lines all over the world. She was a mere myth, a legend to some, but to those who knew her, she was a curse. She held a power over men that allowed her to have any one she wanted. No man could resist her power… that is until him.

The young Western Lord had denied her. For the first time in her life, she had been denied. Angrily she stormed out of the citadel. She stalked through the lands around the house trying to regroup, and come up with another plan. This was not something she was used to doing. Then she came across a field where a young girl was playing, picking flowers, and a small green imp was watching over her. A cruel smile crossed her features as she recognized the young girl. She was the Western Lord's ward. Swiftly she crept up to the girl's guardian, flexing her talons as she went. The imp, sensing something was wrong turned in time to see death coming. The two halves of his small body fell to the ground in a bloody heap. A shimmering dome formed around the field preventing any sound from escaping as she pounced on the child.

~X~

//Bleeding now I'm
Crying out I'm//

Sesshoumaru had been meditating for several hours when the smell of burning flesh and screams reached his sensitive nose and ears. One word came to mind as he hastily stood. `Rin.' Red seeped into the corners of his eyes as he sped from his study. About halfway to where he knew the child to be and the screams were silenced. And with that newfound silence, Sesshoumaru felt something akin to panic clutch his chest as his speed increased exponentially. When he reached the meadow, the sight that greeted him made his blood boil and his stomach churn.

//Falling down and I'm
Feeling nothing like//

Tied to a stake in the middle of the clearing was the charred remains of what was once a child. Sesshoumaru scented the air, trying to catch the trail of the culprit, already knowing who it was, but the stench of blood and scorched flesh overpowered all else. Silently he approached what was left of the young girl and kneeled before her. Tentatively he reached out, as if to touch her, but drew back at the last moment. His hands were shaking. He quickly attributed that to his anger, but knew this was not the case. That was twice in two days he failed someone he cared for. To make matters worse, this last one was under his protection, was his responsibility. He had failed.

//Laughing now I'm
Stopping now I'm//

With his claws, he sliced through the chains that held her in place and gently set her on the ground. Hastily he removed the top half of his outer garment and dressed the child. The charred remains of her clothing doing little to cover her frail body. If he would have allowed it, tears of grief would have formed and fallen, but they did not. He would not let them, if only for the sake of his pride.

//Reaching out and I'm
Feeling nothing//

Rising to his feet, he drew his sword. With one swipe, all of her wounds healed. Her skin once again a healthy peach color, no longer blackened. But she did not awaken. The small angel lay motionless, in her oversized white garment.

Panic and frustration began to take hold and he sliced her again and again with the unresponsive sword. Still she did not awaken. He soon grew tired and sheathed his sword once more before dropping to his knees next to her. Gently he gathered her into his arm and cradled her still form to his chest. Moisture attempted to gather in his eyes, but he angrily blinked it away. Slowly he rose to his feet, his precious cargo still cradled to him. Wearily he headed back towards his home. After several paces, he froze, struck by some thought and turned. Like lightening he sped through the forest.

//Yeah, you have created a rift within me
Now there have been several complications
that have left me feeling nothing//

After what seemed an eternity, he caught up to that woman. She was sitting at a primitive camp, once again passing as a human as she ate. At his approach, she looked up from her meal, startled.

"Heal her," he said without preamble, thrusting the child at her.

"What?!" she cried, shocked beyond words that he would come to her for that.

"Heal her," he growled again.

//I might say, you were wrong to take it from me
Left me feeling nothing//

Hastily, Kagome snatched the child from him, protectively clutching her to her bosom. "What did you do to her?" she hissed, her anger quickly rising.

"I did nothing," he scoffed.

"Then. What. Happened. To. Her?" Kagome growled, biting out each word, after not further answer was forthcoming from the lord.

//Crawling now I'm
Beaten down I'm//

He watched her for a moment, before he decided it would be in the child's best interest if he answered her. "Some wench, similar in appearance to you did it for sport."

Kagome paled. "She's here. She's here much earlier than I expected," she murmured.

"What is your delay? Heal her!"

//Tortured now and I'm
Feeling nothing like//

At the sound of his voice, Kagome snapped back to reality. "What happened to her?" Kagome whispered to herself, already knowing the answer. It was a reality she did not want to face. Tears formed in Kagome's eyes at the thought of her sister undergoing such horrors. "I supposed, you tried to use the Tenseiga on her, but she did not awaken," she whispered softly as a solitary tear fell from her eye and landed in Rin's hair. Several seconds passed, but nothing happened. The seconds quickly melted into minutes and still nothing happened. More tears fell.

Sesshoumaru began to growl in a threatening manner. His eyes bled an angry crimson, but he did not let his transformation go farther than that.

//Hunting now I'm
Stalking now I'm//

Kagome gently kissed Rin's forehead and set her on the ground. Her eyes stared off at nothing when a familiar voice rang clear in her mind. `Mayoke! Mayoke! You must hit her with your fire attack to revive her. She must be reborn. Do it now before her soul is lost forever!" her mother cried.

Sesshoumaru's growls increased in volume, but then went ignored. Angrily he charged, lifting Kagome by her neck and slamming her into a nearby tree as he slowly choked the life out of her.

//Reaching out and I'm
Killing nothing//

"Do it now, Mayoke!" her mother urged.

Kagome's eyes glowed a fiery red. Her wings burst forth from her back, incinerating the tree behind her. Flames danced along her fingertips and at the corners of her eyes. Slowly, painfully, she lifted her left arm and rested it on his shoulder. There she held her hand out, and attempted to gather power.

Sesshoumaru's grip was slowly tightening, compressing her throat. Her power was slowly fading with her oxygen supply. As she began to struggle desperately in vain, he pulled her closer to him, so that they were nose to nose.

//I can feel you ripping and tearing
Feeding and growing inside of me//

"Now, you die," he whispered, as his claws began to glow an angry green.

Panicking, Kagome did the only thing she could think to do. Shock the pants off of him. Roughly she closed the few centimeters separating their lips. Sesshoumaru stiffened in shock at first, but then slowly melted into the kiss, hungrily responding with a fervor that astonished Kagome. His grip on her neck loosened considerably, and the poison receded back from whence it came. Gently, he pried her lips open, gaining access to her sweet mouth. As the kiss continued to deepen and take on a new meaning that bonded their souls together, Kagome remembered her mission, having nearly lost sight of it. Her left hand curled to tangle itself in his silken hair while she lifted the other and rested it gently over his other shoulder.

//I want this, more than you know
I need this, give it back to me//

From there she quickly gathered her power, forming a ball of flame and released it. Though she did not see it, she knew it had hit its mark when he pushed her away. For the moment, he ignored her, choosing to see to the child. He turned in time to see the child's body turn to ash. He roared his anger as he turned back to bear down on a shocked Kagome. She merely sat on the ground wide eyed, as her fingers slowly came up to her swollen lips. The body of ash behind Sesshoumaru exploded upward as he approached Kagome. As his hand closed around her throat, a young bird of prey rose from the ashes with a piercing shriek. It went unheard over the roaring of blood in Sesshoumaru's ears, and the beating of Kagome's heart in her ears. The bird landed on the ground and quickly began to take a humanoid shape of a young girl in a yellow kimono.

"Stop!" the child shrieked once her transformation was complete. Her plea also went unheard. Rin could clearly see that time was running out for her sister, so she did the only thing she knew she could do. In an act of desperation, she attacked her father figure to save her sister.

When the ball of flame hit his back, Sesshoumaru tensed before dropping the treacherous woman and rounding on his next victim. When he saw his attacker, he froze, his eyes wide in an uncharacteristic display of shock.

"Rin," he breathed. Tears welled in the young girl's eyes as she launched herself at him. She hit his waist with a force that sent him to his knees, but he did not care.

"Please for give me!" she cried. "But I had to do it. You were killing her! I couldn't let my sister die!" the rest of her words were lost in her sobbing. Tentatively, Sesshoumaru began to stroke her hair in a soothing manner, not sure how to calm her.

The child suddenly froze, her forms stiff as she slowly pulled away and looked around. When her eyes lighted on her sister's still form, her breath became choked. Quickly she rushed to her sister's lifeless body and kneeled beside her. Kagome's lips were blue, her skin was a ghastly white, and no blood rushed through her veins.

"Mayoke!" Rin cried, roughly shaking Kagome's shoulder. "Wake up, Mayoke!"

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow in confusion. He knew not who this Mayoke was, but he knew that this creature was not she. This woman was his brother's wench.

Desperately, Rin tried to call her back, but words alone would not cause her to stir. As her sobs grew in intensity, her body began to glow an eerie yellow color, her eyes being taken over by it. The intensity of the light emanating from her was enough to rival the sun and Sesshoumaru was forced to turn away or be blinded.

When the light receded, Rin was breathing heavily. But she smiled happily as she looked down at her sister. Color had returned to Kagome's skin, her lips were once again a rosy pink, and she breathed lightly as in sleep. Rin sighed happily and tried to stand. She stayed shakily on her feet for only a few seconds before her eyes rolled back into her head.

Seshoumaru rushed forward and gently caught her. Sighing he set her on the ground next to the other creature and began to set up camp. He would watch over them this night, but in the morning he wanted answers.

~X~

You should all know the drill by now. Read, enjoy, review if you want me to update… I mean if you feel the need. ^_~