InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In Death, Trust Me, as You Didn't in Life ❯ Interference ( Chapter 5 )

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

Chapter 5: Interference

Why did you do it, Kagome? Don't you know I would never have left you? How could you think that living without you around would make me happy?

Inuyasha sat, covered in damp, before the grave of the one person in the world he'd never wanted to have to let go of, reeking of depression and melancholy.

It had been four days now... four days of grief, and pain - confusion and fear. Nothing that anyone said could get through to him... not even about his new responsibilities as Lord of the West. Not that he felt up to a title like that anyway, he'd never coveted that, never wanted that.

Even Kikyou couldn't get a response out of him, in fact, he could barely stand to look at her now... knowing that in the moment he was wishing for her life back, and feeling happy that she was alive again, Kagome was dying.

He'd never even gotten to say goodbye, because by the time he got there, she'd already passed.

He'd thought that Kikyou's death had hurt... but nothing could have prepared him for the absolute emptiness he'd felt when he'd seen Kagome, and known that her light was forever erased from the world. Everything in that moment had echoed of emptiness to him.

Lifting his head to stare at the stone he'd placed at the head of her grave, his thoughts whirled through his mind wildly - all of them focused on disbelief. He just couldn't accept that she was gone. He was unable to do so.

You promised you'd never leave me, Kagome. But you did. You left... and I can't find you. Will you be waiting for me if I decide to follow you? I don't think I'm strong enough to live without you by my side, wench.

What can I do? There has to be some way to bring you back to me.

There has to be. And I won't stop thinking about it and trying until I find a way...

With a clarity of thought he hadn't had in four days, Inuyasha's mind lit on one possible source of information... Bokuseno. The old tree demon was the oldest living thing still in this world, and knew much information on everything within its confines. So the first place to start, would be to find Myouga, and then head to Bokuseno.

Suddenly, Inuyasha had a purpose again.

He stood, then, and stared down at her grave.

"Don't you worry, wench. I'll find a way to bring you back - because I can't live without you - and because you have a promise to fulfill to me. I'm not letting you out of it this easy, Kagome. You said you'd stay with me... and you will."

With that, the half-demon turned on his heel and walked away, pulsing his aura out in a desperate call across the lands for his little flea vassal.

Myouga might be useless in battle, but he was priceless when it came to finding information.

If there was a way to bring her back, Myouga and Bokuseno would help him find it...

Or else.

---wWw---

Kagome glanced at Sesshoumaru, curiosity rampant in her gaze. This whole trip was strange. Why was he so adamant about wanting her to trust him? Was this some kind of afterlife thing - you had to gain the trust of one person who didn't trust you in life to move on or something? She just didn't get it, and he certainly wasn't forthcoming about it, saying only that she'd find out when the time came.

And how do we know when that time comes, huh? That's what I'd like to know.

She had to admit, however, that his assertion that after the second time meeting her, he'd been unable to kill her was intriguing. Why was that? She knew he'd been highly curious about her - so maybe that was it. Maybe he'd decided that he wanted to know her origins instead of killing her... why she was so different.

It could be. He was definitely curious, that's for sure.

So she was merely an itch he had wanted to scratch. That at least made sense.

Sesshoumaru flicked a quick glance down at the raven head so near - and yet, still so far. He wondered how long it would take before she would begin to place her trust in him, and not his words. He hoped it would not be long - despite the fact that they now had, well, forever, he was finding it difficult to be overly patient in this endeavor.

Before he could wander of into his thoughts too far, however, something on the path ahead caught his attention, and once he realized what, or rather, who it was, he stiffened.

What is she doing here? She has no business with either I, or Kagome. Or she shouldn't.

Kagome woke from her thoughts when the arm hers was wrapped around stiffened, and looking up, she was startled to see a figure ahead of them slowly being revealed by the wisps of fog and mist in this somewhere-in-between place.

With an uneasy frown, she tightened her grip on Sesshoumaru's arm, and he squeezed back lightly in comfort as he moved forward another few steps, then halted.

Silence reigned supreme for several seconds, Sesshoumaru simply watching, and Kagome blinked, unsure whether she should believe what her eyes were telling her, or not.

The spell was broken when Sesshoumaru finally spoke.

"Lady Izayoi."

He stopped, then, content to wait and see what she was after.

The woman that Kagome now knew was who she'd thought, stared at Sesshoumaru for a long moment, expression blank, then nodded slightly.

"Lord Sesshoumaru."

"Tell me, mate of my father, is there a reason you are... here?"

"I wish to speak with her," the hime gestured gracefully towards Kagome.

Kagome started, then sent a confused look towards the woman. "Why me? Pardon my question, Lady, but we've never met, so..." she trailed off questioningly.

"There are things you need to be told, and questions I have for you. Were you not a companion of my only son for several years?" Izayoi's expression was still blank, and that fact was beginning to creep Kagome out.

"I see... did you want to hear of him, and how his life is?"

"I know much about his life - I watch. I think that I have more answers for you than questions. Nonetheless," she said, noting the girl's confused expression, and Sesshoumaru's stoic but not happy one, "will you speak with me?"

Kagome glanced up at Sesshoumaru, a silent question in her eyes. He didn't look down, but nodded at her. "I will wait for you. We will speak of things later."

She understood that to mean that he would have questions about the discussion with Izayoi, and nodded. "Okay. I'll be back as soon as we're done."

Letting go his arm, somewhat reluctantly, she was surprised to find, she walked forward towards Inuyasha's mother, and when she drew even with the woman, she turned and walked at Kagome's side.

As they drew away from the demon Lord, Kagome shot a glance at the older woman. "Inuyasha misses you a lot, you know."

"I know. But that is not why I am here. I want to know why you broke your promise to my son and let yourself die. It was not your time to do so - in fact, it wasn't Sesshoumaru's time, either. But that is neither here nor there," she said to the astounded woman at her side. "My son still needs you... without you, he is going slowly insane."

Kagome's eyes widened, and she didn't know whether to be angry that she was questioning her about her death, or dismayed that Inuyasha wasn't handling things well.

"What do you mean, broke my promise? And how is he going insane?"

"You promised to always stay by his side - and yet, here you are, and I find you instead by the side of Sesshoumaru... that arrogant demon has no need of you. But my son does. His mind is being overbalanced by his grief over you."

"Inuyasha needs to let go. His path is no longer destined to be by my side, Lady Izayoi - he chose to walk by Kikyou's side. I daresay most of his anguish right now is over misplaced guilt." Kagome sighed. "He has a habit of mistaking guilt for love. At any rate, he chose Kikyou - leaving me free to find my own destiny as best I could. And I did."

She held up a hand as the older woman tried to speak. "No. I made my choice. I was more than willing to give up my life there to make sure that my loved ones would have the chance to live theirs - I have no regrets about that. If I had lived, I'd be alone right now, anyway, as your son would be with Kikyou. Why then should I have stayed?"

Izayoi stared at her for a moment, then shrugged gracefully. "Because you gave your word. Nonetheless, no matter how you view things, the fact remains that Inuyasha is not about to give up on you. He is even now searching for a way to bring you back... and so I give you fair warning. Do not get too comfortable here - because as I said before, it was not your time to die, nor was it Sesshoumaru's. If Inuyasha finds the way, neither one of you may have a choice - you will be returned to that life, willing or no."

Kagome stopped and stared ahead of herself for a good long minute, then glanced at the woman beside her. "Is that all you needed to speak to me about?"

Izayoi nodded, folding her hands into her ornate kimono sleeves, and placidly meeting Kagome's eyes. "Yes. That is all."

Kagome nodded shortly, then turned and began walking away. She paused for a moment, and glancing back over her shoulder, said, "I thank you for the warning, Lady Izayoi. And... I'm glad that you watch over your son... he needs that, I think." With that, she turned her head and continued walking away from the enigmatic presence behind her, towards the enigmatic aura ahead of her.

Sheesh, what is it with dead people? Do they all have to act mysterious and crap? Oh... wait. Sesshoumaru was like that while he was alive. Guess with him, dead, living, it really doesn't matter.

At that thought, she giggled, then as the words Izayoi had spoken drifted through her mind again, she sighed.

Inuyasha, will you ever learn to let go of anything? First Kikyou, and now me. You'd think you'd have figured out by now that you can't have us both.

It wasn't meant for both of us to live at the same time.

---wWw---

The moment Kagome rejoined Sesshoumaru he continued walking, guiding her towards another area where the mists thinned around them, finally blowing away, leaving them standing on a small plain that a dusty road cut through.

Kagome glanced around with a frown, and then noted the group walking up the road behind them. At this point Sango had also joined them, so the group was finally complete. She watched herself pushing her bike, and sighed. Why did I ever bother with that, anyway?

As the group approached their position, she began to overhear the discussion, and she rapidly realized what this confrontation entailed. I remember this... this was when Kikyou had taken my fragments, and Inuyasha was covering for her, making nice with me so I wouldn't get mad. And then Totosai showed up because he was trying to hide from Sesshoumaru.

She thought back to that time, and growled suddenly, causing Sesshoumaru to look down at her in poorly hidden surprise.

She caught his gaze on her and scowled. "I remember this time... Totosai set you two up for a fight under the guise of teaching Inuyasha how to master Tessaiga if he beat you. Sometimes I'd still like to get my hands on him for that trick."

He nodded. "I am not surprised. Totosai always feared me, and rightfully so. I had no patience with his 'foolish old man' persona."

"Yeah, that whole 'did I say that' thing used to get real old sometimes." She moved off the side of the road and sat down. "Oh well, may as well get comfortable. If I remember rightly, this one got stupid fast."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow at her words. Stupid? "Hn." He joined her and sat down, watching with half a mind as the group began speaking to Totosai.

"Tell me, Kagome. What purpose did Izayoi have for coming to you?"

Kagome flicked a quick glance at him, then went back to looking at the goings on in front of them. With a sigh, she said, "Izayoi took me to task for breaking a vow to Inuyasha."

"Explain." Sesshoumaru's brows both raised into his bangs at this. What does the woman gain by interfering here?

"I promised Inuyasha to always stay by his side. Unfortunately, I'm kinda busy being dead, and since he's not, well... anyway, she seemed bothered by the fact that I'm here, and with you." She shook her head as he grunted. "According to her, neither of us are supposed to be dead."

At that, Sesshoumaru actually looked a bit startled. "It would be interesting to know how she came to that knowledge."

"Yeah." She sighed then, again, and looked over at him, then down at her hands, which were twisting around each other in her lap. "She also came to give me a warning. Apparently, Inuyasha is being his usual stubborn self and not letting things lie as they are. He's on a quest to find a way to force me back to life - back to his side." At Sesshoumaru's narrowed eyes, she continued.

"She didn't quite come out and say it, but she intimated that it was possible, and that if he found the way, neither of us would have a choice - we would both be forced back there."

Sesshoumaru sat back, mind whirling. This was entirely unexpected. He ignored the confrontation beginning to take shape around them, and lost himself in his thoughts, knowing that Kagome could listen in on this one on her own.

Kagome turned her attention then to the past, watching as Sesshoumaru came flying in on Ah-Uhn. Just before the dragon could land, he leapt off, landing gracefully before the startled group.

Funny enough, his gaze encompassed everyone all at once, and even though he immediately addressed Inuyasha and ignored everyone else, his thoughts were, once again, all on her.

'So, she is still with the fool. It is curious to this Sesshoumaru why she has stayed, when he can do nothing but endanger her.'

Kagome snorted in irritation as she watched Totosai set the brothers against each other, and in a burst of anger, without thinking it through, she picked up a pebble and tossed it at the back of the old mans head... and was startled when it actually beaned him dead center. She watched as he raised a hand to his head and rubbed, glaring around himself, looking for the culprit.

She put her hands to her mouth, eyes wide, and giggled. I didn't think it would hit him! But how funny, anyway.

Shaking her head, she focused in on the fight again, rolling her eyes as the two did everything they could to gut and/or disembowel each other. When Sesshoumaru punched Inuyasha between the eyes, temporarily blinding him, she flinched, just as the rest of the group watching did. She remembered that... she'd worried for a few minutes that the blinding would be permanent.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha? Aren't you going to punish your brother, as Totosai requested, huh?"

Another attempted blow, knocking Inuyasha backwards again, and Kagome sighed.

"Same basic moves as ever."

Kagome chuckled, then, as she remembered her thoughts that day. She'd been so sure Inuyasha would win, even though things looked bad, and she'd said so, too, ignoring Totosai's disbelief.

Apparently, Sesshoumaru had heard her words... and he wasn't too happy with them, as he stopped and looked over, staring at her.

'Preposterous! The simple-minded wench thinks the half-breed could ever overcome me? Where does her faith in him come from? Can she not see how overmatched he is? She seemed to be not quite as stupid as most humans, so how could she be so blinded?

Damn, Sesshoumaru, enough questions there?

Kagome had to laugh. Everytime they ran across each other, it seemed, he ended up with more questions... and no answers. That had to infuriate him... he hates not getting what he wants.

Looking at her, he spoke to Totosai, baiting Inuyasha even more.

"Well, Totosai, don't you think it's a pity for Tessaiga? All Inuyasha can do is wave about a sword with all his strength... it's the same whether it's a famous sword, or a log."

Kagome watched ruefully as Totosai actually agreed with Sesshoumaru - and Kagome had to say, looking back... in the beginning, he'd been right. Inuyasha had used the sword more like a battering ram than a sword... unlike Sesshoumaru, who had a deadly grace when using a sword.

Sesshoumaru soon cornered Inuyasha, and looked over at Totosai.

"Well, then, Totosai. Do you still not feel like making a sword for this Sesshoumaru?"

That question triggered Totosai's interference in the fight, startling both brother's, and Kagome glared at the past representation of the old demon. What a pain he was at that time...

But apparently, all of that was because he was pissed at Sesshoumaru for overlooking his sword, Tensaiga. She listened as he began ranting and cussing at the demon Lord, and she had to snigger as he actually called Sesshoumaru a 'shit'. The look on his face...

"Oh, lord..." she broke down into giggles, drawing present Sesshoumaru out of his thoughts, as he looked over at her with a frown.

"What do you find so amusing, miko?"

"I just..." more giggles, "forgot that Totosai had," she put her hands over her mouth, trying to stop laughing, "called you a... a sh-shit! Oh, the look on your face!" She fell over, unable to stop her laughter, which was soon joined by tears as his present day face suddenly had a sour expression on it.

"Hn. This Sesshoumaru remembers that. When Totosai joins us on this side, I believe I will have a small discussion with him about that."

"Oh! Oh... no... poor Totosai!" She just couldn't stop laughing, not even noticing as past Sesshoumaru kept glancing towards past Kagome.

"Pay attention, woman, and stop that infernal laughing. It is most inappropriate." He was at his most stoic, face expressionless, and all she could do was shake her head as she sat up, and wipe the tears from her face.

"Fuck you, Totosai. This blunt blade is not in any way suitable for this Sesshoumaru."

Kagome clapped her hands over her mouth, trying desperately to hold in the laughter. When she'd gotten control again, she said, "For shame, Lord Sesshoumaru. Surely such words are beneath one of your stature."

He gave her a dry look. "Even one with such 'stature' as I, miko, has a temper. And control will only go so far. Now watch, and listen."

Kagome looked back at the group, and heard Totosai suddenly lose courage, striking the ground with his mallet, and then dragging the whole group off. The funny thing was, Sesshoumaru's last thoughts weren't of the sword, or of Totosai or Inuyasha - they were of her.

'What is it about her that is so intriguing to this Sesshoumaru? So much so that I find it difficult to concentrate on fighting my brother when she is there. She is human... and yet... it is funny. I am positive that she would find Tensaiga just as worthy as Tessaiga. Weakness. A sword that cannot cut. Still...

Kagome glanced at him, then, remembering further what had happened after they'd gotten away. Totosai had told them of Tensaiga, and what it could do... and his thoughts were right. She did find it as worthy as Tessaiga. And had thought that he would not ever even want to use the sword.

She'd obviously been wrong, however. Or there would have been no Rin.

She looked down at her hands for a moment, then up into the demon Lord's eyes searchingly. He made no attempt to hide from her, and for that she was grateful.

"Do you still see Tensaiga as worthless, Sesshoumaru?"

He held her gaze solemnly. "No."

And in his eyes, then, she could see that which she'd never thought to see.

Compassion.

Lowering her eyes, she thought about how he'd been then, and how he was now.

So that was what Rin taught him. She taught him that it was okay to care.

How well did he learn that lesson, I wonder?

---wWw---

A/N: So... now we start to see some of what's going to be going on... on one side of the veil, and on the other. Poor Inuyasha - he just can't let go of anything... or anyone.

Amber