InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of a Thief ❯ Frozen ( Chapter 9 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I own nothing InuYasha-related and make no profit from this fic.

Chapter 9: Frozen

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Sometime during the night, Kuromu's fever broke. Shikaeru refused to leave his side nonetheless, adamant on being there in case anything else went wrong. Danuko was spending most of his time trying to keep the rest of the clan from coming together in force to get to Kuromu and rip him apart. The rumors of Kuromu having demon blood ran rampant through the caves and most were all but convinced that the rumors were true. Kuromu's dreams of the dark soldier came and went throughout his sleep and, much to Shikaeru's dismay, caused him to heat to a fever with each dream. He would cool when the dream ended, but there was never more than a half hour between dreams.

Shikaeru stayed up until the sun was close to rising. She had had to keep on going out to get cold water so she could help counteract the fevers, but his body retained the heat as if he had been running in a dead sprint for as long as he could possibly keep it up. Little did she know that he was.

Kuromu's muscles screamed in pain as he forced himself to start into a swift run again. He skirted around the edges of the soldier's reach, jumping back as the warrior advanced upon him, and dashing around for a new position as he began to lose options in his pervious position. He was gasping for air and his lungs were on fire, but he refused to let the soldier win. The world slanted and began to spin, and he tried to reach out to regain his balance, but the ground tilted up and hit him in the shoulder. He had not the breath to voice his reaction to the new pain, and he watched through blurring eyes as the soldier approached him.

A heavy, booted foot pushed him onto his back and he looked up as the dark warrior stood above him, sword drawn. Is this what Kouhai saw in the last few moments? “I told you not to challenge me, brat,” the soldier said almost victoriously. “Now you can join your brother.”

The sword was raised up. Kuromu was too weak and sore to move, and so much of the pain was beyond simply a physical extent. He had been pitted against the soldier in a fight that seemed to be lasting for a lifetime. And he couldn't go on any longer. It had been too much, for too long. The world of the thieves, of Shikaeru and Genkotsu, seemed so far away and almost forgotten. All he knew were the mists, the soldier, and the desperate need to survive. But he had nothing left within him that could fight. Maybe I should just let it come…

The sword was thrust downwards.

And the world froze.

A heavy weight seemed to settle on his body as his eyes opened and he looked up to see Shikaeru kneeling by his side, a mix of anger and fear in her eyes. “It happened again,” she said in a low voice that was almost a whisper. “You stopped breathing again.”

You don't know how much you were saving me from. “Thank you,” he said weakly as he set his hand on top of one of hers that was clenched into a fist around a moist cloth.

“Am I interrupting something?” came Danuko's voice from the doorway.

Shikaeru blushed for the both of them, as Kuromu's face was already so flushed that no one could have told the difference. The man held back a chuckle at the expressions of the pair and walked to the table to set down a bag he had been carrying over his shoulder. He began sorting through its contents, taking out an eclectic collection of items before he was done. He pocketed a few of the smaller items before picking up one and turning to Shikaeru and Kuromu. “What is that?” Shikaeru asked as she scrutinized the small, nondescript silken pouch.

“This,” Danuko said as he kneeled beside the two and opened the pouch to reveal the contents, “is something from the mainland that is used for making explosions. Just be sure you keep it from getting wet, or else it won't be any good.”

“You're giving this to us?” Kuromu asked, sitting up.

“I have a feeling you'll need something like this in the future,” the man replied cryptically in a manner that seemed all too casual as he handed the pouch to Shikaeru. “But I have some matters to attend to so I'll have to leave you both for now. I will be back soon.”

Kuromu watched as Danuko left with a puzzled expression on his face. Lucidity had just barely returned to him only for Danuko to go and left them with that foreboding oddity packaged so innocently in unadorned silk. The thoughts in his mind began to grow heavy as he felt another burden of responsibility being placed on his shoulders. “You think he's finally lost it?” he asked Shikaeru after a moment.

“I don't think he's gone crazy, at least not completely…” she trailed off, giving the silk pouch an exasperated frown.

Another moment passed in silence before Kuromu gave into the urge to ask another question. “What's going to happen now?”

“I don't know,” Shikaeru replied, looking back to him. “Things won't be easy, that's for sure. Genkotsu isn't the type to simply live and let live. If anyone would hold a grudge, it'd be him. And he'd probably stop at nothing to get revenge.”

“I feel so much better now,” he mumbled sarcastically as he stared up to the roof of the cave, as if hoping he might find some sort of answer on the uneven rock surface.

They let silence once again fall as each became absorbed in their own thoughts, the air holding an almost palpable tension of uncertainty and frustration. Minutes passed and a feeling of unease began to mix with the tension. “It's been too long,” Shikaeru noted.

“Hmmm?” Kuromu questioned, pulled from his thoughts.

“Danuko said he'd be back soon, but `soon' has come and gone. You don't think…?”

They exchanged glances. “We should check, just to make sure,” Kuromu answered.

“You stay here, I'll go,” she said, standing up.

“Alright,” he said as he began to feel a little more helpless than he would have liked to be.

Hardly a moment passed before he heard a surprised scream. He pulled himself up from the floor as fear caught hold of him and he went to investigate what had caused the person, who he was almost certain was Shikaeru, to scream. He had just barely left the room when a few people spotted him and rant towards him. He found himself cornered and attempted to push past the people who seemed to have anything but friendly intentions. He got past the first, but was seized before clearing the group. He was dragged towards the entrance of the caves, pushed in amongst a gathering crowd that was migrating towards the outside. Some carried torches, and he noticed weapons on some that they didn't normally carry.

The cold instantly slammed against him as he left the caves, his dress anything but suited for being out in the winter night. He shivered as he was moved towards the outside of the crowd and his wrists were bound. He finally was able to catch sight of Shikaeru as she, too, was brought to the outskirts of the clan that had gathered like a group of swarming wasps. He heard shouting coming from the caves and he looked past the crowd to see what was going on. A familiar voice amongst the shouts caused his stomach to knot as he watched a struggle emerging from the caves, Danuko fighting against several men who had once been his loyal followers.

The torchlight cast an orange glow to the snow, the whispers of darkness waiting just out of the light's range like wolves stalking an injured animal. The silhouettes of the men created an eerie dance of shadows within the light, the chill of death penetrating deeper than the chill of the night. Kuromu could only watch as Danuko was overpowered by the others and held as a tall man approached. The glint of steel met Kuromu's eyes for a brief instant. He struggled against the men who held him, hoping in vain that he could fight back the grip of fate.

He froze as it finally happened. Crimson fell on the snow like tears as the knife was drawn away. Kuromu watched as the light faded from Danuko's eyes and he fell limp in the arms of his captors. Blood still dripped from the slash in his neck as they threw him out into the snow. The cold began to bite at Kuromu's cheeks with a new fervor as the chill air met the moist trails of tears that silently fell. His world was falling apart and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

A yelp of pain drew his attention to his left and he noted that evidently, Shikaeru had bitten one of the people restraining her. I hope she drew blood, he thought bitterly as they bound her wrists. One of the men came forward and began a speech to rally the followers of the revolution movement. He seemed to be taking the place as the new leader, though Kuromu wasn't sure how long that would last considering how bloodthirsty Genkotsu was. He looked over to Shikaeru and caught her gaze. An unspoken understanding crossed between them.

As the new leader continued to boost the moral, Shikaeru carefully began to open the silk pouch that she had tied at her waist. She pinched what she could between two fingers before closing the pouch. Her captors seemed not to have noticed, thanks in part to both their focus on the new leader and Shikaeru's experience as a thief. Kuromu glanced in her direction out of the corner of his eye. She gave a barely noticeable nod. Thinking quickly, he began to scream as if in pain. The attention of the crowd shifted to him as he put on a show as if he were dieing. It was all Shikaeru needed.

She freed a hand from her bindings, just as she had practiced in private many times, while simultaneously breaking free from her surprised captors. She sprinted towards Kuromu, managed to stay just out of reach of her angered pursuers. As she neared him, she tossed the powder she had manage to get into the flame of the torch held by one of the people who had been restraining Kuromu. The person was caught short as they tried to grab her by the resulting flash of the powder as it reached the flame. Kuromu pulled himself free of the person who had been holding onto his arm and, following Shikaeru's lead, pushed past the bewildered few on the outskirts of the crowd. The two of them raced down the hill, despite the heavy layer of snow, as they made for the frozen river.

He followed as she began to follow the river upstream, fear spiking as he realized that they might not hesitate to bring out the other archers to stop them. Shikaeru shifted to run out over the top of the river, sliding a bit on the ice. Kuromu helped keep her from falling as he glanced back to the group that was running after them. They were much too close for comfort, and he knew if wouldn't be long before they would be able to catch up with them. His attention was yanked back to the river as he heard a loud cracking sound. Shikaeru kept on running as if she hadn't even noticed the sound, but their pursuers paused a little in their chase. “Shikaeru?”

“Just keep going,” she answered as another crack was heard.

A cry came from behind them as suddenly the ice gave way and someone slipped into the frigid waters beneath. A series of cracks echoed around them and Shikaeru pushed him off the ice and towards the riverbank as a second cry was heard. Kuromu glanced behind them and noticed that the group had been forced to stop to help the two that had fallen through the ice. He followed Shikaeru as she began to take a seemingly invisible path up the side of the valley, heading towards the west. His feet were growing numb and his shivering had escalated greatly by the time they reached the top. “I-I gotta stop,” he said, out of breath.

“Just a little further,” she urged, taking his hand to pull him along.

They had just started down the other side of the ridge when Kuromu tripped, taking Shikaeru with him as he slid down the hill face. A series of surprised yelps, groans of pain, and curses accompanied them until they came to a stop about half way down, a few young trees halting their progression. “Son of a…” Shikaeru grumbled as she felt a large bruise already forming on her arm.

“Hmmm you two are the cause for all that trouble in the valley over there, aren't you?” came a smooth voice to their right.