InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Finding Happiness ❯ Chapter 9: A Confused Betrayal And The Pity Of The Dead ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9: A Confused Betrayal And The Pity Of The Dead

She had already narrowly avoided being decapitated by Inuyasha, after which she shot her arrow and missed by mere inches. Afterwards, a battle had begun between the two, both evenly matched. Whereas Inuyasha was fighting as he usually did, Kagome was fight with an unusual amount of skill Not that Kagome had thought on this fact at all, busy attempting to avoid Inuyasha's claws. She also decided to shot first, ask questions later. She had already strung her next arrow and shot it at Inuyasha. Again, it missed by inches. This time, she got a good look at his face, and was internally surprised. It looked blank, void of all the usual emotions, not even a scowl. And the mysterious aura she had noticed earlier was now in full sight, a dark energy concentrated around his head. It was now that she realized that Inuyasha was under the influence of someone. "It'll have to wait until after he's subdued. Wait…why didn't think of this earlier?" Kagome thought. "Inuyasha, SIT!"

She watched with a slight smirk to her face as the necklace he wore took its effect, pulling him towards the ground. What she wasn't expecting was for him to land on his feet, and actually resist the spell. "Okay, now I'm in trouble." She thought, reaching back to garb another arrow from her quiver… only to find she didn't have any more arrows. She was surprised only momentarily as she dodged another attack from Inuyasha. As she continued to barley manage to dodge attacks, from Inuyasha, Kagome was desperately thinking of some way to at least escape from him. "Miroku and Sango are still at the hut with Kaede, along with Shippo. Who knows if they'd even be able to help against him. The only one in the area who could really be a match for Inuyasha is Sesshoumaru, and probably isn't even aware of our fighting." Her thoughts were cut short as Inuyasha's claws grazed her shoulder, leaving scratches in her skin. The pain caused her to momentarily lose her step, causing her to stumble over. As she began to scramble to her feet, she felt Inuyasha going straight at her from behind, and odds were she wouldn't be able to move in time. "Sesshoumaru…I'm sorry." She thought, knowing that Sesshoumaru would be heartbroken, a tear welling up in her eye. Just as she thought she was going to die, she felt the air suddenly fly around here around her, as something warm picked her up. Already exhausted, she simply allowed unconsciousness to take her.

He had recovered from his surprise quickly when he realized that Inuyasha very much intended to kill Kagome. This thought in itself set his blood afire with rage, but the fact that the very one who already betrayed her several times already added a feeling of disgust. He speed towards the battle, intending to make the Hanyou regret his foolish decision, confident that Kagome could hold him off till then. That is, until she stumbled over. As Inuyasha moved to finish her off, he, Sesshoumaru, for the first time in his life, felt total and complete rage. He speed up far beyond anything he had every reached before, whipping Kagome right from under Inuyasha, pulling her against his chest, any intentions of letting her go nowhere in sight. A growl was rumbling in his chest, and his eyes were tinged with red. The only thing keeping him from annihilating his brother right then and there with the Tetsusaiga was Inuyasha's eyes. They looked normal at first glance, but when one watched, it was if they were unfocused, or dazed. It was then he noticed the slight darkness about his aura, and the smell of one he had come to despise. Clearly, Naraku had performed some act upon Inuyasha, and Kagome had likely noticed this as well. And despite what the idiot had done to her, Kagome still held affection for Inuyasha, and would not be happy if he was destroyed while possessed.

He wrapped his tail about Kagome and held her against his back, not willing to place her on the ground when Naraku may be nearby. With her safely out of harm's way, he preceded to attack Inuyasha. Without the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha was supposed to be weaker, yet he was moving faster and hitting harder than he ever had before. Either he had grown stronger, or Naraku's spell was enhancing his power. But despite his boost in power, Inuyasha was still not a match for Sesshoumaru. It only took a good ten minutes before Inuyasha was out cold on the ground. Turning around, Sesshoumaru faced the baboon-skin wearing man who had appeared on the edge of the battlefield. "Did you truly think the half-breed was a match for me, half-breed?" Sesshoumaru said to the man. Naraku merely chuckled darkly before tilting his head slightly. Sensing a sudden change in the wind, Sesshoumaru jumped, narrowly avoiding blades of wind. Kagura flew by quickly, pulling Inuyasha's limp form on her giant feather before flying off. Sesshoumaru began to give chase, but Naraku quickly began to fill the air with his poisonous Miasma. Backing away from the cloud of black vapors, Sesshoumaru cursed under his breath. He turned and began to head towards the village, sighting Kagome's allies coming from the village, having noticed the Baboon-man's aura. Silently, Sesshoumaru vowed to get Inuyasha away from Naraku. Despite his disliking of his half-brother, even he, Sesshoumaru, would not wish Naraku's cruelty upon him.

Deep within Naraku's castle, far away from the village, Inuyasha had already been chained up in the dungeon. Naraku was nearby constantly feeding his dark essence into Inuyasha's body, corrupting his body and soul. "You may not have been strong enough before, but after I'm through, you will be more than powerful enough." Naraku thought. He chuckled, images of the heartbreak and betrayal he would create. "This will be even better then when I tricked you two." Naraku spoke to one hiding in the shadows. The figure stepped forward as she replied, " I care little for your petty joys. Remember that Inuyasha is mine when he is done with your 'plan'." "But of course, Kikyo. And did you visit the dark-smith? I do hope he plans on finishing my special present to Inuyasha." Naraku said, a viscous grin beginning to spread on his face. "It will be delivered by the end of the week." Kikyo responded. Naraku's grin simply widened, glancing once more at the Hanyou chained to the wall before leaving, likely to plan the next attack. After he left, Kikyo walked up to Inuyasha limp form. She looked him over before placing her hand to the side of his head, a brief spark of energy flowing into the hanyou's head. Despite her hatred for him, even Kikyo was disgusted by the plan Naraku had, if simply because how similar it was to the one he used upon her and Inuyasha. And while her hate-filled body would always demand Inuyasha's death, she knew who was truly responsible, and he would be dead before she ever returned to hell with Inuyasha. Done with this part of her own plan, she too left Inuyasha alone in the darkness.

Later that day, in a familiar village, Kagome began to come out of unconsciousness. "Where am I?" she wondered as her sleep fogged mind cleared away the cobwebs of tiredness. Her eyes snapped open as she remembered what had happened. She started to raise herself up only to feel nauseous. She would have flopped back down if it weren't for a warm hand under her back, gently lowering her to the bed again. "You shouldn't move so quickly, Kagome" spoke a familiar voice. Kagome turned her head to see Miroku and Kaede by the fire. Yet neither of the two were close enough to reach her. So she looked the other way to find that Sesshoumaru was lying with his back against the wall, Rin asleep in his lap. She caught his eye, and noticing the worry in them, started to ask what was the matter, only to be cut off as he said, "There is poison in your blood." Kagome became confused at the comment, and responded, "But Inuyasha doesn't have poison in his claws." She said out loud. "We believe Naraku's aura was so heavy about Inuyasha, that it served as the equivalent of poison on a blade. All it took was a cut to place the poison in your blood." Mirouku spoke, Kaede picking up after him. "We have been attempting to clean it from your body for most of the day, child."

Kagome began to chew on this information, when she realized that someone was missing. "Where's Inuyasha?" There was silence for a few moments, before Sesshoumaru responded, "Naraku took him." Kagome's breath caught in her chest as she thought of the many things that could happen to Inuyasha in Naraku's hands. "We have to rescue him," she said, as she began to rise again, ignoring the protest of her body. She would've sat up straight if it weren't for the infuriatingly strong hand that forced her back down. "We will take you to the Healer first, then we will search for Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru spoke calmly. "Tonight, you will rest, for we are leaving in the morning." About to ask him the time, she noticed that it was dark outside. Her confusion mounting once again, she asked, "How long have I been asleep?" "Since the fight, Kagome. The poison slowed the closing of the wound, so you lost much blood." Miroku said. Kagome simply nodded her head to acknowledge she had heard. She closed her eyes as she felt exhausted suddenly. As sleep began to take her into the land of dreams, she thought sadly, "Inuyasha…. "

Morning came slowly for those who watched over Kagome. What they had not told her is that she had not stopped bleeding since the battle. All they had been able to do is slow the bleeding with herbs, and tightly cover the wound with bandages. Sesshoumaru actually moved to sleep outside the door of the hut about midnight, the smell of blood becoming overwhelming for one with such a strong sense of smell. But when one considered how much blood he had likely spilled in his lifetime, one might suspect it had to do more with whose blood it was he smelled. When morning did come, those within the hut decided that Sesshoumaru would take Kagome as quickly as possible to the Healer, while Miroku, Sango, and Rin would follow, riding Kiara. As Sesshoumaru had been about to take off, Shippou had leaped on his shoulder, wanting to go with Kagome. Sesshoumaru, impatient to leave, simply nodded and took off into the air, the rest of the group following behind.