InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Into the East ❯ Coming to Terms ( Chapter 15 )

A/N: Mediaminer! You've redeemed yourselves! I love your reviews, and I love that you took the time to write them. I'll even take some time and respond at the end of this chapter. I've been a little remiss in my responding lately. I just missed hearing from you all. Thank you!!

 

Sorry for the wait, folks - I know I told some of you that I'd be getting this out by last Thursday, but… obviously that didn't happen. I was out of town for another week and frankly, I just had to put this thing down and not think about it for a few days… not that that really worked. It was pretty much all that kept me awake at times as I drove myself all over the Midwest. Then all of a sudden Wednesday came around last week and I hadn't packed a thing for Germany. I didn't get a wink of sleep that night, which made for a very odd feeling knowing that, once on board, I slept straight through take-off. My last excuse is that once I got to my apartment in Mannheim on Friday, I had to wait until tonight (Tuesday) to get my Internet hooked up and they don't have convenient little coffee shops and cafes with free wi-fi. Well… coffee shops/cafes - yes, free wi-fi - no. Makes me sad. Complete and utter torture, let me tell you… 6 days (airports don't even give away their wireless) without so much as an email, and at several Euro per call at the payphone, contact with home was very limited too. ::sigh:: But I'm back!! Read on, loyal readers!

 

 

Into the East

Chapter fifteen: Coming to Terms

Posted: 19 September 2006

Characters/Plot originally appearing in the anime/manga Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Everything else © me

 

 

 

Vanessa woke to find that Sesshoumaru's clawed fingers had lightly curled around her own while she slept. It was by no means a tight grip, but his fingers weren't quite as limp in her hand as they were the night before. It was a small thing, but she couldn't help but think it was a good sign. Reluctantly, she let go as the need to empty her bladder forced itself to the forefront of her mind. “I'll be right back,” she whispered. Vanessa thought she saw his hand twitch when she broke contact, but reasoned that it had to have been a trick of the light when he made no other movement.

 

As she rose and stretched, something heavy fell from her shoulders to pool at her feet. She looked down. A blanket? She couldn't remember bringing a blanket with her last night. Glancing up again, her eyes caught a plate of bread and fruit on the nightstand and the towel she had used the night before had been cleared away. She looked around the room quickly and finally noticed the small slumped form of Jaken leaning against the wall. “Jaken?” she called softly. Large yellow eyes opened and fixed on her. “Did you bring the blanket? And the food?”

 

Jaken sputtered and tried to look anywhere but at Vanessa. “Aw,” she cooed. “You do care about the worthless humans.” She had to squash down a grin as Jaken turned his nose up and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

 

“I don't understand why Sesshoumaru-sama keeps you and that impudent girl around, but when he awakes I will not be the one to have to tell him that you starved yourself in your pointless worry over him. He would be most displeased to find that you weak humans were not cared for.”

 

Vanessa gave him a small smile. He wouldn't admit that he too was concerned about his master. “Arigatou, Jaken. Will you be here for a while?” she asked, turning her gaze back to Sesshoumaru. “I'd like to go have a bath, but I don't want to leave him alone - just in case anything happens.” He nodded and Vanessa smiled her thanks before dashing to the outhouse to take care of business.

 

After a quick bath, Vanessa got dressed and returned to her suite, mentally preparing herself to break the news to Rin that the lord she so idolized wasn't well. She opened her door, just a crack, and saw that the girl was beginning to stir so she quietly slipped into the room and sat beside her on the futon. Rin wore a little smile in her sleep and Vanessa could only imagine what she might be dreaming of.

 

She leaned over her a bit to watch her sleep for a moment and ran her fingers lightly through the girl's soft dark hair - anything to delay the inevitable. How could she possibly tell Rin that something had happened to her Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin was probably the most mature seven year-old she had ever met, but she was still a child, and no matter how detached he may seem at times, besides Jaken, Sesshoumaru was the only `family' she had. This was not going to be easy for her. Finally, chocolate brown eyes opened and peered up at her. “Ohayou, Nessa-neesan,” Rin said with a yawn.

 

She smiled at her briefly. “Rin, sweetie, I need to talk to you. It's important.”

 

“What is it?” the girl asked, toying with one of the damp curls that had fallen over Vanessa's shoulder.

 

The older girl gently took the strands of hair back and held Rin's hand instead. “Sesshoumaru-sama was hurt last night. He is very sick.” She thought it best not to beat around the bush. Knowing Sesshoumaru, Rin was probably more accustomed to the direct approach anyway.

 

Rin's eyes grew wide and she sat up abruptly. She stared out the doorway for a moment before shooting Vanessa a look so full of hurt and betrayal that she thought her heart might break at the sight of it. Without a word, she shot out of bed and took off down the hall. “That went well,” Vanessa muttered and then followed Rin to Sesshoumaru's bedroom. She found Rin peering around the doorframe at her sleeping lord.

 

Taking a deep breath, Vanessa approached and put an arm around her tiny shoulders. “Come on,” she said gently, “Do you want to see him? It's okay to go in.” Rin continued to stare at Sesshoumaru with impossibly wide eyes, but nodded and allowed herself to be guided into the room to his bedside.

 

Rin knelt neatly on the floor beside the bed, but never took her eyes off of Sesshoumaru's still face. Vanessa wondered what must have been going through the poor girl's mind right then. Sesshoumaru's presence alone was larger than life. To see him like this…

 

“Are you hungry, Rin? Jaken brought some food.” Vanessa offered her the plate of food, but Rin silently shook her head, never once tearing her gaze away.

 

It was strange to see the normally happy and bubbly girl so mellow… and silent. Gone were the questions that colored so many of their conversations, but it was understandable. Rin was probably in shock. After a while, Vanessa sat back on a cushion and pulled Rin into her lap. The girl resisted at first, but when she saw that her view remained unobstructed, she relaxed into Vanessa's embrace, wrapping her small arms around Vanessa's and holding onto her as though she were a lifeline.

 

They sat in silence like that for a long time, well into the afternoon, until Rin surprised Vanessa by breaking the silence. “He won't wake up,” she whispered so softly that Vanessa almost missed it.

 

“What? Sure he will. He's just resting right now.” She tried to convey absolute confidence in that statement to try and ease Rin's fears.

 

Rin shook her head. “No he won't,” she said, never raising her voice above that soft whisper.

 

“What makes you think that?” Vanessa asked gently.

 

“Mama and Daddy didn't wake up.”

 

“Oh, Rin.” Vanessa turned the girl in her lap and pulled her into a comforting hug, but that seemed to be the breaking point. Rin began to sob softly into her shoulder and all she could do was gently rock her and rub soothing circles on her back. “Rin, Sweetie, don't cry. Everything will turn out just fine.”

 

“B-but they came in the night and hurt my mama and daddy,” Rin whispered through her sobs. “They never woke up again, and Sesshoumaru-sama…” she trailed off and Vanessa hugged her tight, now fighting tears of her own. No child should have so much pain in her life. She wanted to make all of that go away, but she couldn't. She could only hold her until she calmed down.

 

When Rin finally quieted again, she pulled away from Vanessa and knelt again with her back to her and facing Sesshoumaru. “I'm sorry, Nessa-neesan. It is childish to cry.” Now Vanessa was downright shocked to hear that come out of the girl's mouth. She glanced at Sesshoumaru and frowned.

 

“Does Sesshoumaru say that?”

 

Rin shook her head. “No, but Master Jaken has.”

 

Vanessa fumed silently as she pulled Rin back again. She would have words with that imp later. She cradled the girl in her lap so that she could still watch her Sesshoumaru-sama and said, “Rin, it's okay to cry. Don't listen to Jaken. I cry sometimes and I'm a grown-up.”

 

Rin tore her eyes away from Sesshoumaru for a moment and looked up at Vanessa. “You do?”

 

“Sure. Sometimes I cry when I'm happy or sad or when I'm really angry, and sometimes when I'm just plain frustrated. I think I cried when I first met Sesshoumaru.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Absolutely. It was right after I found out that we didn't speak the same language. I was lost and afraid. That youkai was chasing me and then to top it all off, no one could tell me how to get home, but Sesshoumaru helped me.”

 

That seemed to bring a small smile to Rin's face. “I'm sorry you're hurting, Rin,” Vanessa said, hugging her again. “A little girl like you shouldn't have to go through so much pain.”

 

Rin returned the embrace and then pulled away a little to look up at her. “It goes away,” she said. “Sesshoumaru-sama made it go away for a long time, but…” she turned her head to look at Sesshoumaru. “But what if he doesn't wake up too?”

 

A sudden idea struck Vanessa and she nudged Rin off of her lap then took her hand and sat on the edge of the bed. “Come here,” she said, patting the futon beside her. Rin was hesitant, but finally climbed up and sat next to her.

 

Vanessa guided the hand she held to the side of Sesshoumaru's neck, just under his jaw. “Do you feel that?” she asked the girl when she found his pulse. Rin nodded. “Do you know what that is?”

 

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

 

“That pulsing that you feel means that Sesshoumaru's heart is beating.”

 

Rin stared at her with a very puzzled expression on her face. “Do you mean… that Sesshoumaru-sama's heart is in his neck?”

 

Vanessa couldn't help but to giggle. “No, no, of course not. Put your fingers in the same place on your neck.” She complied and her eyes widened a bit when she felt the evidence of her own heartbeat. “Blood flows in our bodies through veins and arteries. They're like little tubes that take the blood from the heart to everything that needs it. What you feel under your fingers is an artery and every time your heart beats, it pushes clean blood through that artery and others like it all over your body. Then, when your body is finished with it, that blood returns to your heart through veins to be cleaned and pumped back out again. Touching a place like that on the neck is a much easier way to find out if a person's heart is beating than to try and listen to their chest.”

 

“Oh.” With a tentative touch, Rin placed her fingers again on Sesshoumaru's neck.

 

“As long as you can feel that, you know that he's alive. Now it's only a matter of time before he wakes up.”

 

“Do you really think so?”

 

“I do. I'll tell you what. It'll still be light out for a few hours and I haven't seen Shizu in a while. Would you like to come with me? When we come back maybe something will have changed with Sesshoumaru.” Vanessa could see the girl's eyes light up at the prospect of finally meeting Shizu, but just as quickly the shadows descended again and she looked anxiously at Sesshoumaru.

 

“I don't know… Will he be okay?” she asked.

 

“I'm sure he will.” Vanessa glanced up as someone slid the door open. “Oh look. Here come the healers now. We should let them work and come back to see him when they're done.”

 

Rin switched her gaze from Sesshoumaru to the healers and back again. “Well… If we'll only be gone a little while… I'll come.”

 

“That's great. Shizu would love to meet you. It'll give us both something to do while we wait for the healers to finish and we'll be back in no time.”

 

Vanessa and Rin both changed, since Rin was still in her bedclothes and Vanessa had grown accustomed to wearing the wide-legged hakama whenever she visited Shizu, and made their way out to the field behind the garden. When they finally reached the edge of the trees, Shizu's voice entered Vanessa's mind, though she still remained hidden.

 

“Nessa-chan, is that Rin with you? Sesshoumaru-sama's human ward?”

 

“Yes Shizu, and we're coming in. It's alright.” Rin looked up at her quizzically, and the older girl had to laugh. “Shizu talks with her mind,” she explained, tapping her head with a finger as they walked through the trees.

 

“Oooh… Oh!” Suddenly Rin darted behind Vanessa and peeked from around the billowing folds of her hakama, staring at the large black horse stepping toward them through a screen of bushes.

 

Vanessa laughed again. “It's okay, Rin. This is Shizu. Shizu, this is Rin, the other little sister I told you about.” Rin grabbed her hand and stared up at her with wide eyes.

 

“Nessa-neesan… You think I'm your sister?”

 

Vanessa knelt in front of Rin and placed her hands on her shoulder. “Sure I do. You call me `big sister.' Is it alright for me to call you `little sister'?” Rin just grinned and threw her arms around Vanessa's neck. That was all the answer she needed.

 

“I feel left out,” Shizu said with a mental pout for both of the humans to `hear' and nudged them with her nose. Vanessa smiled and scratched her chin, while Rin jumped a little and turned her gaze up to the horse.

 

“I heard you! I heard you inside my head!”

 

Shizu bobbed her head in what looked like a human nod. “This is how my kind communicates, little human,” she said.

 

“Wow… so you don't even have to make a sound if you don't want to?”

 

This time she blew air through her nostrils like a snort, causing Rin to giggle. “Only if we don't want to. There are other ways of communicating.”

 

“Shizu, would you mind showing Rin your wings? I don't think she's seen anyone like you before.” Vanessa wanted to distract Rin for a moment. There was something she wanted to try, but she didn't want Rin to get her hopes up. Also, since it seemed that Shizu's mind-reading ability was a rare gift, she didn't want more people to know than absolutely had to. So, as Shizu spread her wings and allowed Rin to gently touch her feathers, Vanessa caught her eye and discreetly touched her own temple in hopes that the youkai would understand it to mean that she could read her thoughts. She wasn't sure if it would work, but she tried to organize her thoughts into what she wanted Shizu to see.

 

“What would you like me to see that the young one shouldn't hear?”

 

From Rin's lack of reaction, Vanessa guessed that Shizu spoke into her mind alone, so she thought to herself what she wanted to ask her. It felt strange just thinking to herself, but since Shizu had read her thoughts so clearly when they first met, she figured it was worth a try. Sesshoumaru-sama has been hurt and I want to ask if you would be willing to read him and see if there is anything more that we can do for him. Shizu didn't answer her right away. I'm not asking you to dig farther than the surface. Something in the poison in his blood is keeping him from waking, but I won't ask you to do something you're not comfortable with.

 

Shizu nuzzled Rin's shoulder before answering. “I have only ever probed Sesshoumaru-sama's mind once - the first time I met him. I was young and knew no better, and he shields his mind to such an extent that I couldn't see anything of what he was thinking. Even so, he looked at me afterward in a way that made me think that he guessed that there was something different about me. I felt as though I had been warned without a word passing between us, and I never tried again. However, if his condition does not change after two more days, or if he changes for the worse, come to me again and I will see what I can see. If you need me to, I will come under the cover of darkness two nights from now.”

 

“Thank you, Shizu,” Vanessa said and left it up to the other two to decide exactly what she was thanking her for. After that, Vanessa, Rin and Shizu held a more conventional conversation - as conventional as two humans and a telepathic flying horse can have anyway. Several hours passed before Rin's tummy rumbled and Vanessa decided that they should return to the palace. She was anxious to check on Sesshoumaru anyway. So Shizu let Rin ride on her back to the edge of the forest where they said their good-byes and the humans continued into Sesshoumaru's mansion.

 

Back on their floor, Vanessa saw several healers leaving Sesshoumaru's room with their heads bent together, talking in hushed whispers. Not knowing what they would find when they entered, she turned to Rin and suggested that she go change for bed while Vanessa ordered something up for dinner. She knew that Rin would want to sit with Sesshoumaru and would probably fall asleep waiting. This also gave Vanessa a chance to go in and find out what the healers might have been talking about. So Rin cast one long glance at the door leading to Sesshoumaru's rooms and then nodded, hurrying to her own room to change.

 

Vanessa followed Rin through their door and then crossed through the divider into Sesshoumaru's chambers. As she entered his bedroom, Jaken jumped when he noticed her presence. “Oh, it's you,” he said.

 

“What happened?” she asked him. Sesshoumaru's brow was damp and his fist was clenched on the blanket at his side.

 

Jaken gave her a shrewd look, but seemed to deem her worthy of the knowledge and said, “Nearly two hours ago he began to perspire and breathe heavily. I called the healers, but they found no cause for either. He doesn't have a fever so their only conclusion was that he must have been having some sort of dream. It finally ended not long before you returned. Wait a minute! Where is Rin?”

 

Before the imp could fly into a panic, Vanessa grabbed the back of his little haori and lifted him off the floor. “Rin is fine. I sent her to her room to change. I was going to have some dinner brought up, but I saw the healers in the hall and wanted to check on Sesshoumaru first.”

 

“Oh,” he said, slumping in her grasp.

 

She set him down and suggested that he take a break. She would watch over Sesshoumaru for a while. Reluctantly, he left on the excuse that he had `important matters' to attend to in Sesshoumaru's stead elsewhere, but then surprised her by offering to go to the kitchen for her on his way. Vanessa thanked him and sat on the edge of Sesshoumaru's bed, shaking her head as he walked out the door. She touched the back of her hand to his face, but just as the healers had said, he didn't feel feverish. Jaken had left the water pitcher and a stack of towels on the nightstand and from this position she could more easily bathe the taiyoukai's face. What's happening to you? she wondered as she dipped the cloth into the cool water and dabbed his face, smoothing hair away from his forehead.

 

Vanessa shifted down to the cushion beside his bed and gently pried his claws away from the bedding before he tore it to shreds and took his hand in hers, just as she had the night before. His hand lay limply in hers for a while, but then she felt his long fingers curl around her own. Shocked, her eyes snapped up to his face, but there was still no change - he just slept on, motionless as ever.

 

Just then, Rin came in. She still seemed a little hesitant in approaching Sesshoumaru while he slept, but Vanessa motioned her in. “You're holding Sesshoumaru-sama's hand,” she observed.

 

“I am,” Vanessa said, smiling a bit sheepishly. “I just thought he should know that he's not alone.”

 

Rin looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then smiled and climbed onto her lap to await their dinner. “I think he knows,” she said finally.

 

VvVvVvVvV

 

Nanashi and Tenshi walked for what must have been hours, though there was no way of telling the passage of time in the dark corridors. It amazed Nanashi to no end that the child with him so confidently navigated the twists and turns of the labyrinth. A right turn here, a left there, straight through other intersections, and never did Tenshi falter or have to think about where she was going. It was as though she truly did know her way `home,' not that he had any real reason to doubt her. Finally Nanashi called a halt. He was certain that the child would need to rest at some point, and it might have been a bit selfish of him, but he didn't want his only companion to grow too exhausted to go on. He was determined to keep her as healthy as one could be in a dark, dank tunnel. When they came to a bend in the path, they stopped and he sat with his back to the corner so that he could see anything coming at them from either direction - though they had yet to encounter any other life form on their journey.

 

Some lost almost-memory led him to expect Tenshi to simply curl up beside him, but instead, she happily climbed onto his lap. Nanashi was stunned. He stared down at her as she made herself comfortable. Something about the whole situation felt… odd, but he shrugged it off and held her to him when she laid her head on his chest, appreciating the comfort of another living being with him in the dark and desolate labyrinth. Tenshi fell asleep almost instantly, tiny arms snaking around his middle in a tight embrace.

 

Nanashi, on the other hand, remained wakeful for a long time. He wondered what had brought him to this place. There was no sign of life, no food, no water… He glanced down at Tenshi. How long had she been in the tunnels without food or water? How much longer would she survive? He knew that he would be fine for some time yet, but Tenshi… she was so young. There was nothing he could do at the moment, he reasoned. The girl seemed to know the tunnels so perhaps her home was nearby. He would ask her when she woke up.

 

At some point during their brief rest, Nanashi must have drifted off to sleep as well, but when he awoke, the little girl was nowhere in sight. “Tenshi?” he called as he rose to his feet, wondering how she had untangled herself from him without waking him. He looked down both sides of the tunnel. He was about to call out to her again when she materialized out of the darkness.

 

“I'm here, Nanashi,” she said, skipping up to him and he felt a faint flicker of relief. Who knew how long she had been in the dark tunnels? Surely she could take care of herself to an extent. Still… Nanashi felt better knowing where she was and that she was safe.

 

“Tenshi,” he said, remembering his concerns for her. “Where do you find food or water in here?”

 

“Oh… I don't eat a lot. Come on! This way.”

 

Nanashi frowned. What did she mean that she `didn't eat a lot'? Was there nothing for her to eat? Or did she only mean what she said, that whatever amount of food she found was enough? He let her lead him down the dark halls with nothing but dirty stone for scenery. Tenshi walked several paces ahead of him, occasionally glancing back and smiling at him or trotting back to his side to take his hand for a while. They didn't talk much, both being content to simply share the same space, but Nanashi was curious about the girl. Where had she come from? Whenever he asked her about herself, she gave vague, indirect answers.

 

After wandering through endless stretches of tunnel, Tenshi scampered ahead and around a corner into the darkness. Nanashi quickened his pace - she didn't seem have a convenient circle of mysterious light to brighten her path, like he did, but when he too turned the corner, the little girl was gone. He took a few steps more, thinking she might be just ahead, but she still made no appearance.

 

“Tenshi,” he called into the blackness. No response. “Little one, where are you?” Again, there was no answer and it was at about that moment that he noticed her scent dissipating. It wasn't fading in a way that suggested that she had run off down the hall, but was disappearing altogether. It was as though every trace of her presence was being wiped from the area. Had he imagined his little guide? Had he actually gone mad in the dark tunnels? Nanashi wouldn't believe it. Tenshi was there somewhere; he just had to find her.

 

Nanashi fought down a moment of panic, not for his own safety, but for that of the little girl. People don't just disappear. He waited for a long time, thinking that she might come back as she had earlier, but she didn't and other than traces of it on his own clothing, he could no longer detect the sweet lilac and rain of her scent. She was gone. Finally, he sighed and marked the wall to his right with his claws. He had given up marking his path after he'd come across Tenshi, but it was no use getting lost now, after he'd traveled so far already. He turned back in the direction Tenshi had gone and was shocked to find another presence with him. There had been no one else for so long, it was a little disconcerting to meet someone new.

 

The newcomer stood just outside the circle of light, far enough in the shadows to keep his identity hidden, but Nanashi sensed nothing but cruelty and malice from him. He was wary, but he also felt that he should know this stranger, that there was something important that he was forgetting. “Who are you? What do you want?” he demanded, and was slightly taken aback when the vague outline of the stranger's shoulders began to shake and cruel laugher filled his ears, echoing off the walls of the tunnel to sound like a hundred voices.

 

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen - what is it you call yourself now? Nanashi? Quite fitting for one as renowned as yourself, don't you think?”

 

At once, Nanashi knew that he didn't like this stranger. This person knew something about him and, no matter what it took he would learn what he wanted to know. “Who are you?” he repeated.

 

“You mean you don't remember?” the stranger sneered.

 

“Show yourself, or are you that much of a coward?” Nanashi snarled in return. He was more than a little frustrated that he knew nothing of himself, but this taunting was striking a chord deep within him. The stranger laughed again.

 

“Frustrated, are you? Well… if you insist.” Slowly, he stepped into the light and turned his gaze to meet Nanashi's eye. His skin was porcelain white, framed by long, wavy black hair, but what caused Nanashi's breath to hitch - not out of fear but with loathing of some just out of reach memory - were his blood-red eyes, so filled with evil that it was difficult to maintain eye contact, but he did. He had to. He would not back down to this… creature. “Is this better?” the stranger asked. “I am called Naraku,” he said with a chuckle. “Trigger any… memories?”

 

Nanashi growled. How had this stranger come so close to guessing his thoughts?

 

“Oh, I don't guess… Nanashi,” he said with a chuckle, “I can see quite clearly into your mind, though unfortunately for me, this time all I see of your memory is fog, just as you do. Pity that it was an inevitable side effect. I would have liked to know what you kept hidden from me in the past.”

 

“So it is your doing that I am here.”

 

“I orchestrated your fall, yes,” Naraku responded, carelessly examining his claws.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Naturally, I want you out of my way. I've failed to kill you on several occasions, but this time it will be different.”

 

A cruel smile played on Naraku's lips and Nanashi's right hand moved to his left hip, seemingly of its own accord, but what he had expected to find there, he wasn't sure. He had no weapons, nor could he recall any that he might have had. Naraku laughed again.

 

“Fighting will do you no good. This time I will not fail. You are in my world now.”

 

Suddenly, the tunnels flashed wildly in a myriad of sceneries and landscapes, until finally it came to a stop. They stood in a clearing next to a small stream. “I control what you see,” Naraaku told him. Nanashi knew it had to be an illusion, but he was glad to see greenery, glad to feel the sun on his skin.

 

“I control what you hear,” he said as an unnatural silence fell over the clearing. “And I control what you feel.”

 

The very same moment a breeze teased Nanashi's long silver hair, an intense, white-hot pain lit up behind his eyes. It brought him to his knees clutching his head and sucking in ragged breaths in a desperate attempt to quell the pain. What… is happening to me? It felt as though his head would be split in two by the sheer force of the pain alone. Then, just as suddenly as it started, the pain disappeared. Nanashi took a breath and stood slowly, calmly and once again met Naraku's gaze with one of cool indifference. He was determined not to show such weakness to his enemy again, and he glared at the evil grin that split his opponent's face as the scenery changed once again to return to stone tunnels from before.

 

“Yes,” Naraku drawled. “This could be interesting. You see I created this place. True, it all resides within your own mind,” he said with a smirk, “but here… you are mine. I alone know what has become of you. To the Outside, you live, and yet you sleep as though dead. You are useless to them, just as I said you would be.”

 

They stared at each other, neither blinking. All within my… mind? It didn't make any sense. “Enough of this,” Nanashi snarled. His hand clenched at his side, itching to feel the weight of a sword once more. At least my body retains memories that my mind does not, he thought ruefully. “It is true that I have no memory of who or what I am, but of one thing I am certain: you must die.” He advanced a few steps on Naraku, who only chuckled.

 

“You think you can defeat me with nothing but your bare claws and a few fragmented memories? Fine then. Show me. I'll even give you a fair fight.” Nanashi knew by the way this Naraku said `fair' that it would be anything but. Still, he had to try.

 

Nanashi wasn't sure what he'd hoped to accomplish, but he felt that his body would know what to do. If he couldn't remember what he was capable of, then he had to trust in his instincts. He halted several paces from the stranger with his right arm outstretched, first and second fingers pointed together. Instinct prompted him to make such a pose, and instinct caused him to focus on a strange pooling of energy in his fingertips. He slid his eyes to the side and noticed the faint green glow, and he smirked. Now this could be interesting.

 

Moving his hand quickly in a smooth, wide arc, Nanashi masked his own surprise when a long ribbon of energy flowed from his fingertips. He snapped his hand and the ribbon followed its movement and cracked like a whip. Now to try it on his new enemy - he whirled the whip around him and finally aimed for Naraku, hoping to remove his head or at least a limb, but he was too nimble and dodged at the last moment.

 

“I see that I could not keep your body from remembering. Well, if it's a fight you want…” With that Naraku darted forward, not with claws outstretched as Nanashi had expected, but with thick, brown tentacles streaming from his back. Nanashi was quick, dodging each attack as it came and slicing through the tentacles as they darted for him. However, with each appendage cut, a vile mist spewed from the wound and began fill the hall. It didn't have much of an effect on him, but it did make it more difficult to see.

 

Besides the snake-like tentacles, Nanashi couldn't seem to make any significant contact with his opponent. The one strike he was certain would end it only passed harmlessly through Naraku as though he struck at nothing but air. As he stood there frowning down at his claws, Naraku took the opportunity to press an attack of his own. Nanashi looked up again just in time to see the attack coming, but without time to dodge effectively. Although his last ditch maneuver kept him from being impaled, Naraku still hit him with enough force to send him slamming into the opposite wall, the tip of the tentacle cutting a ragged gash across his midsection.

 

As Nanashi shook himself out of a daze, berating himself for foolishly letting his guard down, Naraku stood over him, staring at him with a look of smug satisfaction. “You know,” the stranger said, standing there casually, as if he hadn't a care in the world. “You might have been the one to defeat me. I guess now we'll never know.” Another grin spread across his pale face, “I am actually a little insulted that it took so little to bring you down - and all for one. Insignificant. Human.”

 

Nanashi ignored his words. At about that moment a tendril of lilac and rain teased his nose and he knew that Naraku could not know of his little Tenshi. He let Naraku think he was beat for the moment, if only to give himself a chance to force him from his mind. Naraku frowned. “What are you hiding?” he asked, but Nanashi only continued to focus on the stone of the walls surrounding him. If only he could wall up his mind, just as stone surrounded him. He knew he could do it; after all, hadn't Naraku mentioned that he had blocked his mind from him before…?

 

Nanashi stood, ignoring the pain in his abdomen and stared evenly at Naraku. He knew he had succeeded in blocking him when his frown deepened. “I don't think I will kill you yet,” Naraku said. “It would be better for you to wander in here for a while more. Try all you want. You will not escape.” Just then lilac and spring rain returned on a breeze, blowing away the miasma, and dissolving a shocked Naraku into wisps of smoke. This is not the last I have seen of that one, Nanashi thought.

 

Suddenly, Tenshi barreled through the remnants of the stranger's presence and threw her arms around his knees. “Nanashi!” she cried happily. Had she seen them fighting? Or worse, had Naraku seen her? He knelt before the small child, wanting to know that she was unhurt, but then a sudden thought caused him to cautiously back away from her.

 

…You are in my world ... I control what you see… what you feel… I created this place… Could it be that Tenshi really was nothing more than a figment of his imagination? Had Naraku created her to lull him into complacency? Could he trust anything that he saw in this place? “Nanashi?” Tenshi said, the confusion evident in her small face. He had accepted her presence readily from the moment he met her, but now… Now he was uncertain. She reached out to him, but he shied away again, backing up straight to the wall. She was a child. What could he possibly stand to fear from a child? But if that Naraku had created her, there was no telling what might happen. “N-Nanashi? What's wrong?” she said again with a small quaver in her voice. It was her eyes that convinced him - so innocent and… frightened? Of what? Did she fear that he would leave her? He turned away from her, but didn't take another step. None of this made any sense.

 

Nanashi was jolted out of his thoughts by small fingers clutching those of his much larger hand and he looked down to find Tenshi staring up at him with pleading eyes. No, Naraku's mind couldn't possibly comprehend the innocence that this child embodied. She was real. She had to be, but if what Naraku said was true… then what was she doing here? And what did he mean that this was all in his mind? It was too much to try to decipher at the moment so he shook his head slightly and dropped to one knee before her, involuntarily wincing as he laid his hands on her shoulders.

 

“Nanashi? Are you hurt?” There was an edge of panic in her voice that only convinced him more that she was real. He shook his head.

 

“It is nothing,” he could already feel the tingle of his flesh knitting itself back together, “but what about you? Where did you go? Are you hurt?”

 

She shrugged and hugged him around the neck, burying her face in his shoulder as he lifted her from the ground. “I'm not hurt,” she said, leaning away again to look at him. “Sometimes I have to leave, but if I do, wait for me, okay? I'll always come back. I still want you to come home with me,” she said and planted a butterfly kiss on his cheek.

 

Nanashi froze, his eyes widening in surprise. He remembered… something… mere fragments. What stood out among all the rest were soul-filled violet eyes and pale spun-gold curls, but not Tenshi's. These were older. He looked down and stared at the child in his arms, wondering who she was that she should look so much like the one in his broken memories. “Tenshi…” he began, “Do you know who I am?”

 

She grinned at him. “Of course I do, silly!” she exclaimed, and for a moment, his hopes lifted. “You're Nanashi.” And then came crashing down again.

 

“Indeed.” He tried not to let his disappointment show. Perhaps he had asked the wrong question. She knew him as `Nanashi' only because that was how he introduced himself, but he was someone… else. He had a name and life outside these walls. He had to. Why couldn't he remember? “Why do you want so badly for me to go with you?”

 

Tenshi tilted her head and looked him solidly in the eye. “Because you have to. I feel it right here,” she said, pointing to where her heart beat within her chest. “Don't you feel it?” Then she frowned and plucked at a lock of silver hair that had fallen over his shoulder. “Don't you want to come with me?”

 

Nanashi held the child a little closer. I do feel it. “Of course I do, little one. Forgive me, I was troubled.” He began walking again, still carrying Tenshi, but she didn't complain or squirm to be put down. In fact she seemed perfectly content in her perch and laid her head on his shoulder. That feeling of strangeness returned, that maybe he wasn't accustomed to such contact, but he also felt as if letting her go would take away some part of his sanity. To the best of his judgment, it hadn't been more than two days since he awoke in darkness, and yet he could feel his mind slipping away. Tenshi seemed to bring it back to him.

 

Down the winding tunnels they went. Tenshi muttered directions until Nanashi reached an intersection and Tenshi was oddly silent. When he took a moment to listen, he could hear her deep and even breathing. She had fallen asleep. He shook his head.

 

Despite that he had been battling earlier, Nanashi wasn't at all tired. Even so, he settled himself on the ground for a short rest, cradling Tenshi in his lap. It did give him a moment to think on his encounter with Naraku.

 

… all for one insignificant human …

 

Human… What did it matter that this person he supposedly saved was human? Youkai, his brain supplied suddenly. Nanashi frowned as he continued to puzzle it out. I am youkai, he realized with a start. He was youkai just as Naraku was, but there was something different about the stranger. He seemed incomplete, somehow impure. Half-blood?

 

So Nanashi was youkai. The more he thought about it, the more Naraku's words perplexed him. What did he care whether one human lived or died? But as that question entered his mind, he glanced down at the sleeping Tenshi and ran the back of one clawed finger along her cheek. She sighed in her sleep and nuzzled her face into his haori and Nanashi couldn't help but to offer her a small smile. So like a pup.

 

So young. So fragile. So human… He realized then that though he had known her only a short time, he would protect her with everything he had. Was that human Outside like Tenshi? Had he found himself unable to allow her to come to harm? But what happened to her after he came to this place? Who was she?

 

 

 

 

 

A/N:

Okay… I thought long and hard about this and I decided to split this “chapter” into two parts. It's shorter than normal, but I couldn't continue after this point without it feeling forced. I really had two good stopping points and this was the first one. The next chapter will be short as well, but I felt like it would be better separated. I was torn on the issue and that's part of why it took so long to get this bit out. Part of me wants to wrap this part up and get on with the story because there's still a lot that I want to tell, but the rest of me was more concerned with the flow. So… flow won. I'm hoping it won't take too long to get the next part out.

 

Furthermore, before you say anything, just one quick thing - Nanashi/Sesshoumaru might seem (very) OOC in this chapter to many of you, but I can explain. He has no memory of himself or his past, and also since he's in his mind, he has both arms. (It's my story. I can do what I want.) Anyway, this the way I think he would be if his past hadn't shaped him into who he is: quiet and reserved, but not cold and detached. If/when he comes back to the real world, he will be back to his old self. So never fear! I haven't decided yet how much he'll remember when that happens.

 

Now, to my lovely reviewers:

 

Cochrann: I want to know what happens too! I have a general outline of what has to happen, but the details and the fleshing it out part… that's more of a write as I go thing.

 

Ina Sama: I'm not quite sure what to make of your comment, but… welcome back!

 

blackrosevampire15: The girl could be Vanessa or she could be nothing more than a guide that his mind concocts while Vanessa is near. I'm also a fan of the Inu-papa… I wish he had a name, but I don't want to just give him one, you know?

 

Crystaru-chan: hehe, no, I suppose you don't need to put tens across the board EVERY time… but please feel free to let me know when there's something you don't like. Also, my muse seems to have returned to me. I wonder what I did to tick her off?

 

Sess's Girl:I understand not having time. I've had little time for much of anything this past month. Also, that last post wasn't actually a “post” I made some corrections that I found while working on this chapter, and it was only one chapter past. Sorry for the confusion. Also, I'm not sure what you meant by your character “is more like Sesshoumaru's.” Which character is that?

 

Jibril-kadamon: Nanashi = Sesshoumaru, but locked away in his mind. He doesn't know who he is or why he's there, just that something is wrong. And yes, I think Vanessa will be going back to the future at some point. I'm still working on the how and when and just what Sesshoumaru will think of it.

 

Laa-girl: thanks :) I've missed your comments.

 

Shikiori: I don't recognize your name, maybe you've commented before under a different one? Either way, thank you! :)

 

DarkTigress: That's what I like to hear! It's nice to know that you want more of what I write ^_^ thanks for the comment.