InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heartless ❯ The Breaking Point ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters from the anime/manga. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I suppose life would be easier if I made money by writing these stories, but unfortunately, I do not.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Special thanks to my wonderful betas Ai Kisugi and Hedanicree for picking this story to pieces and making it a much more bearable read!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

`Thinking'

“Talking”

Dream or memories

 

 

 

Chapter 11: The Breaking Point

 

 

 

Panting, Kagome sat under a tree in the garden that looked to the southern side of the main building. It had been rather easy getting out of the building because most of the demons were still partying either in the great hall or in the front gardens. It seemed that most of the guards joined the festivities after midnight, and those who did not were too busy with restraining their drunken comrades from hurting others to notice the unusualness of her presence in the halls at that time of night.

 

At first, she thought she was lucky for the chaotic state of the castle. However, that soon changed when she stepped outside the building. The front garden that led to the only gate she knew of that would take her out of this place was full of demons, who were drinking, dancing and making fools of themselves. Besides, there was the abundance of guards that were still completely sober and on duty at the front gates. It was impossible for her to make her way out of the castle using that exit. True, now that she was able to use her powers, she would have a chance if there were only one or two guards around, but this many? No way. Not wanting to give up yet, she searched the grounds for an opening, where she could make her escape. That search had led her to where she was now. She looked around the castle walls for hours only to find that the front gates were the only exit she could use, considering that she didn't have wings. She sighed, feeling crestfallen now that she knew she wouldn't be able to escape from this place or escape from him.

 

Her eyes landed on the necklace that dangled from the confines of her obi. She still felt bad for taking it off of his neck, for betraying him like that. However, the pain of his betrayal stung much more than her guilt. Besides, she had to do it if she wanted to go back home. That was what Keiko said. The priestess with the veil was the only one Kagome knew of that would make the well work for her, and she wanted the necklace to do it.

 

Now that it was in her possession, it seemed so insignificant. This bunch of beads and fangs was what had protected him for years, and she took it from him. `Oh, Inuyasha.' A sob escaped her lips, followed by a tear falling down her cheek at the thought of him. She still couldn't digest what she heard hours ago. He really did want to bring his mate back at the cost of her life. He even had the spell cast on her, for God's sake! How far did they go with the spell? Would she really be safe if she went back home or would the spell take effect no matter where she was? That was another reason for her need to see Keiko. The priestess would know the answer to those questions, wouldn't she? And maybe, maybe she could even reverse the spell.

 

At the thought of Keiko, Kagome felt ashamed of her doubts about the priestess' words. Everything had been so obvious, if only she hadn't been so blind. She could see everything clearly now.

 

Keiko had said that he was merciless, hadn't she? Kagome hadn't believed it until she saw it for herself from the way he treated her last night. Now that she thought about it, he would have killed his comrade in front of her eyes if she hadn't interrupted. And then, there was the issue of those women in the great hall. Keiko had said that they had made whores out of the priestesses that had been captured. Kagome didn't need evidence to know that those women at the feast were the kidnapped priestesses. She just had never realized it before. No. Somehow, she had always known. It was just that she had never wanted to know the truth. She had been so ready to believe that he was good ... `Stupid, stupid me.'

 

Did she really have the right to blame herself for being so stupid, though? After all, she couldn't help it if she fell in love with the guy and if she still loved him with the same intensity. `Oh, God, please help me.'

 

By the time she realized that the sun was rising, the tears that had flowed down her cheeks had dampened the front of her kimono. `It's almost morning. What shall I do now?'

 

Kagome recoiled as she heard a rustle coming from the bushes behind the tree she sat leaning against. She felt relieved when she saw Kirara come out of the bushes. The small cat demon jumped on her lap and started purring softly.

 

“Hello, little one, what are you doing here?”

 

She chuckled in spite of her tears as the cat sent her a look that said `Me? What are you doing here?'

 

“I need to get out of this place. I need to go now.” After another sob made its way out of her lips, she added, “I will die if I don't.”

 

As she watched, clueless to what the cat was doing, Kirara mewed and jumped to the ground before transforming to a giant cat that would rival a lion in size. She realized the demon's intentions when she turned her head to look at the surprised woman expectantly.

 

“What? You'll help me?” she asked.

 

Receiving a nod in response, Kagome got up and climbed onto Kirara's back.

 

 

~*~

 

 

As the first rays of the sun peeked from the window, one could make out a lone figure lying in the middle of the room. His silver hair stood in sharp contrast with the dark wooden floor that it was sprawled upon. Hasty footsteps could be heard from the hall behind the closed door. One ear twitched at first and then the other joined its friend as the footsteps came closer.

 

Inuyasha groaned in agony as the first wave of awareness came in the form of a headache. `Dammit! What the hell happened to me?' He tried to open his eyes, only to find out that it intensified the pain. `Fuck! I shouldn't have drank that much.'

 

He sat up slowly as the door was banged rather loudly, sending shockwaves from his ears to his throbbing head. `Who the fuck is this?'

 

“Stop it, you fucking moron!”

 

`Wait a minute, why am I lying on the floor?' He heard Jaken, the annoying toad demon who made it his life's sole purpose to serve his bastard of a brother, squeak behind the door. “My Lord Sesshoumaru requires your presence immediately, you insolent half-breed.”

 

The little toad demon abruptly stopped insulting him the moment the said `half-breed' let out a menacing growl in spite of his headache.

 

“I-I m-meant L-lord Inuyasha!”

 

“Keh!” He couldn't stop the smirk that formed on his lips. `Ever the coward.'

 

“Tell the bastard I'm coming,” he mumbled irritably.

 

“B-but he wants to see you now,” insisted Jaken. “He said it was urgent.”

 

“I said I'm coming, dammit!”

 

Inuyasha snorted in disdain as he heard the toad walk away, all the while grumbling under his breath. He cursed in his head for his bad luck. The one time he had a hangover, there had to be something `urgent.' He sighed, thinking that whatever it was that was stuck up Sesshoumaru's ass this time, he better get it over with.

 

He ran his hand through his ears and face and then he smelt it — the metallic scent of blood. To his horror, it wasn't just anyone's blood that coated the tips of his claws, it was hers. `What the ... Just what the hell did I do?!' He checked his claws only to realize that he must have only scratched her skin. `True. I was holding her arms, shaking her …' As the memories of last night bombarded his mind, he groaned at the realization of how far he had gone. He ran his hands through his hair. When he let his hands fall onto his lap, he noticed it — the absence of her scent. He sniffed the air carefully. She wasn't in the room. Where was she?

 

Despite the remorse he felt for hurting her physically, he couldn't blame himself for what he had done to her. No, Not anymore. He meant it when he said he had no patience left. He knew he was about to reach the breaking point, and what he had done last night was the obvious sign of that. He wanted his mate back. He needed his mate back and he wasn't going to wait even a second longer. But now, he had to find her first.

 

`What about the asshole?' He sighed in exasperation when he remembered his brother's call. He could always ignore it, but no. He knew that the bastard would not leave him alone if he did that. It wouldn't probably take much time; it never took much time when it came to Sesshoumaru. He was a man of few words, after all. And if his guess was right, the bastard would probably admonish him for his behavior last night and would let him go after shouting a few carefully chosen words of brotherly love. Only then would he be able to search for the wench to his heart's content and deal with her as he wished without interruptions. Besides, the stupid wench could not have gotten outside the castle walls without purifying anyone, which he didn't think she could. But if she did, it was impossible for a mere human to get off the hill the castle was built on. He snickered at that thought. `If the stupid wench thinks she can run away from me, she is in for a nice surprise.'

 

It was settled then; he was going to deal with his brother before looking for the girl. “Keh!”

 

His headache now almost completely gone thanks to his demonic heritage. He stood up and splashed some water on his face before leaving the room. As he walked through the halls that led to his oh-so-mighty lord brother's study, his nose caught a familiar scent, causing him to change his route.

 

Just as he predicted, he found the old priestess patiently knocking on her young apprentice's door, calling out to the lazy girl to wake up. Chuckling at the couple's antics that had been their morning ritual for years now, he called out to the priestess.

 

“Hey, old hag!”

 

Hearing the unwelcome nickname the half-demon lord insisted on calling her for some unknown reason, she turned to face him, a soft sigh escaping her lips in the process.

 

“Lord Inuyasha! I must say I'm surprised to see you awake after last night.” To his credit, he blushed as she mentioned his drunkenness. Chuckling at his shyness, which became rare to witness as the years passed, she continued, “What brings you here at this time of day?”

 

“Have you seen the wench?” he asked.

 

“Wench? Oh! You must mean Lady Kagome. No, I haven't. Why?”

 

“Well, she's not in the room.”

 

Her eyes hardened when she saw the guilt that passed his features as he said that. “What did you do, my lord?”

 

“What the hell does that mean, old hag? I did nothing!” Seeing the disbelieving look she was giving him, he decided a little more honesty would help him get her do what needed to be done. “I might have scared her, a little.”

 

Sighing, she ran her hand over her face. “Why am I not surprised? Am I wrong to guess that you want me to find her?”

 

“Yeah, you do that. I have to meet my brother now. So, you know where to find me if you see her.”

 

She nodded her understanding before he turned to leave.

 

`Now that that's settled, it's the bastard's turn. Let's get this over with.'

 

 

~*~

 

 

Sesshoumaru paced the room back and forth in anger, which was normally so unlike him. However, he couldn't stop himself for his brother's stupidity was driving him insane. It was times like this that he regretted ever accepting the half-breed's relation to himself. It was true that he wasn't a fan of his brother, but normally, ever since that cursed day when he was almost subdued, he had a decent relationship with him. If he had to be honest, which he luckily did not — at least not to those around him — he would admit that often times he felt something akin to pride when it came to his brother. It was strange, indeed, that he would consider his half-breed brother a source of pride. The pup turned out to be an excellent strategist and a great leader, though — Just like their father had been, and just like Sesshoumaru was. It had been Inuyasha who thought of using mind-readers to control the priestesses' minds to make them free the captured demons, for instance. If it wasn't for that tactic, there wouldn't be many demons around today to fight back against the humans. And that was only one of his brilliant ideas that helped them survive this long. If only he could keep his calm when it came to his mate …

 

As the door slid open, he turned to see his brother entering his study. Inuyasha seemed tired, no doubt because of his adventures from last night.

 

“What the hell do you think you're doing?!” bellowed Sesshoumaru immediately.

 

The said brother's ears flattened against his head before he retaliated back with equal force, the insolent whelp. “What the hell are you talking about?!”

 

“Don't play the fool; you know what I'm talking about!”

 

“How the hell am I supposed to know what the fuck pissed you off every damn time, huh?!” countered the half-demon.

 

“The stunt you pulled back in there in front of half of our nobles!” snapped Sesshoumaru.

 

That remark stopped Inuyasha's tirade. Good. His silence only meant that he knew what he was guilty of. Satisfied, now that he made his point, the mighty dog demon asked in a calmer tone, “Why did you do it, Inuyasha?”

 

Folding his arms in front of his chest, the half-demon looked away from his brother, obviously trying to avoid the subject. “None of your damn business, asshole,” he muttered.

 

“Do not test my patience, half-breed.” Sesshoumaru's threat could be felt more from the coldness of his voice than from his words.

 

Sighing, Inuyasha let his arms fall to his sides and started pacing the room as he explained, “I was just trying to get a rise out of her, okay? It wasn't supposed to go this far. She was supposed to get mad and make me stop, but she didn't and I just couldn't stop myself after some point …”

 

Inuyasha was trying to get her angry? If Sesshoumaru didn't know better, he could swear that his brother was the most stupid moron on his lands. `He was trying to get a rise out of her, that baka.' “Do you even realize what you've done, you baka?! You treated her like a common whore!”

 

The moment the word fell from his brother's lips, Inuyasha's hand was on his sword, ready to use it against him after all these years. “Don't you dare call her that!”

 

“I don't, moron! You did!” countered the dog demon. ”Because of your ignorance, others followed your example and treated her in the same way!”

 

“No one would dare do such a stupid thing again,” the general growled out.

 

“And why not?”

 

“Because they would be dead before they could even touch her! I made sure they learned that after last night!”

 

“And that's the problem, baka! You risked such unnecessary confrontations, and I don't like it the least bit. You'll either kill one of your comrades or get killed yourself. Why would you risk doing something like that?!”

 

The half-demon looked at him in the eyes for a few more seconds, his own eyes burning with barely suppressed anger, before turning his gaze away. “You wouldn't understand.”

 

“Try me.”

 

“It's just that …” Inuyasha sighed before trying again. “It's because …” Giving up, he growled in frustration and stomped toward the door. Half-way to the door, he stopped and took a few deep breaths before turning back to face his older brother. Sesshoumaru almost gasped when he saw the tired expression on his face and the resolution in his eyes. At this moment in time, his younger brother looked much older than his years.

 

“Because I would do anything …” As Inuyasha's voice quivered, Sesshoumaru knew he was pushing his brother too far. But the half-demon composed himself before shouting in his brother's face. “I would give my life to hear her say it once again!”

 

Not understanding what he indicated at first, the dog demon could not help but ask, “Say what?”

 

“Osuwari, dammit! Osuwari!”

 

Turning back, Inuyasha stormed out of the room, never once looking back at his brother, and thus, he missed the expression on his older brother's face. It was an expression nobody had ever seen on the stoic demon's face before and probably nobody would never see again …

 

… pity.

 

 

End of Chapter 11

 

 

End notes: If there are those among you that do not know the meaning of `osuwari,' which I believe to be unlikely, it is the word Kagome uses to subdue Inuyasha in the manga, which is translated in the anime as `sit' or `sit boy.'