InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Living The Promise ❯ Rescue ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9: Rescue

 

****************

 

Inuyasha was shocked at the amount of damage the area before him had sustained. He tried to control the sinking feeling in his stomach as he parked the car and hopped out. Looking around, he finally managed to catch sight of Sesshomaru. Inuyasha was almost as shocked to see his brother doing physical labor as he was upon seeing the level of devastation. He swallowed hard and tried to push aside his fear as he approached Sesshomaru where he worked removing fallen debris.

 

Sesshomaru tossed aside the chunk he was carrying and stood aside, allowing the other workers and volunteers to continue their efforts without him being in their way. He looked up and saw Inuyasha approaching. Unconsciously dusting his hands on his already dirty clothing, Sesshomaru stepped forward to meet him.

 

“Inuyasha.”

 

“What is going on Sesshomaru? Where is Kagome?” asked a very concerned Inuyasha.

 

Sesshomaru gestured towards the workers struggling to clear enough rubble away to reach the two trapped people. “As you can see, we have people moving the debris. It has been slow going as the building and surrounding area is too unstable to allow for large machinery; requiring us to dig to them out by hand.” He led Inuyasha over to the side where blueprints of the building were laid out.

 

“Hojo believes that Kagome and Rin are most likely here,” he pointed to the basement. “We are getting closer and Rin has told us that Kagome has groaned a couple of times, but has not awoken.” Inuyasha felt a chill run down his spine.

 

“Mr. Taisho!” Sesshomaru and Inuyasha turned to see Hojo and one of the team of workers running up. Sesshomaru saw Shippo following a little behind them. “Mr. Taisho, we have almost broken through to them.” Hojo was excited as he nodded to Inuyasha. “We will be able to get to them within moments!”

 

The worker nervously shifted side to side. “Sir, it is true that we will be able to reach them momentarily, however, due to the instability of the area, we are only able to open a small gap to their location. To make a larger one would require several days.”

 

Inuyasha glared that the man, “What do you mean, exactly? Are you, or are you not going to get my wife and the child out from there?”

 

The worker gulped, his eyes flickering between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. “Umm, the gap will allow one person to be lowered through.”

 

Shippo, who had been standing in the background, stepped forward. Inuyasha, catching sight of him for the first time, snarled. Shippo ignored him and spoke to Sesshomaru. “I am volunteering to be the one to go in after Rin and Kagome…”

 

“Like hell you are!” Inuyasha snarled. “You aren't supposed to be anywhere near Kagome! I ought to have your ass hauled off for violation of the restraining order!” He made a leap for the young man, but was intercepted by Sesshomaru's arm.

 

“Inuyasha, cease this at once!” Sesshomaru tightened the hold on his angry brother. “This doesn't help get Rin and Kagome out from beneath the building. Shippo has been a great asset to the work here.”

 

“Are you aware of who this asshole is?” snarled Inuyasha as he continued to glare at the red-haired young man.

 

“Yes, Inuyasha. Shippo informed me as soon as he realized who it was that was trapped.”

 

Inuyasha shrugged from Sesshomaru's hold. “Then you know why I don't want him anywhere near Kagome. If anyone is to go down there, it will be me.” He glared at his brother, daring him to argue the point.

 

Sesshomaru hesitated. He didn't like the idea of sending Inuyasha into a potentially dangerous situation. An unreadable look flashed across Shippo's face before he spoke again. “Inuyasha is right, sir. He is the one who should go after Kagome. I will stay and help without violating my order.” Sesshomaru studied the two men for a moment before nodding.

 

“Very well, Inuyasha. When they have broken through, you will be the one to go down after Rin and Kagome.” Nodding his agreement, Inuyasha followed Sesshomaru back to the worksite, the others followed close behind.

 

Moments later, a shout of triumph was heard. They had finally broken through. Inuyasha was quickly strapped into a harness, given a hard hat, flashlight, first aid kit and a walkie-talkie.

 

“Take care, Inuyasha. When you get down, assess the situation as quickly as possible. I will have paramedics standing by.” Inuyasha nodded and clipped the proffered rope to the harness before dropping down into the hole.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rin gasped as she saw a beam of light appear from the ceiling (A/N: it is nighttime now - the quake occurred late in the afternoon). She had heard the workers getting closer, but grew frightened when the noise seemed to stop. Had they given up and left her and Kagome behind? When the beam of light appeared, Rin stood and picked her way her way over. She watched in fascination as a man was carefully lowered to the floor.

 

Inuyasha unhooked the harness and took a closer look at the child in front of him. “Rin?” The dirt-smudged girl nodded. “I am Inuyasha. Kagome is my wife.” Rin smiled and rushed to hug him, wrapping her arms around his leg. He patted her gently on the head. Rin grabbed one of his hands and led him over towards one end of the room; scrambling over several large sections of fallen ceiling.

 

Inuyasha felt his breath catch in his throat when he caught sight of Kagome's still form trapped beneath a large chunk of concrete. Rushing to her side, he relaxed slightly as he found her pulse to be strong and regular. Pulling out the walkie-talkie, Inuyasha called up to his waiting brother.

 

“Sesshomaru, I have found Rin and Kagome. Rin seems to be okay, but Kagome is trapped by a large piece of concrete. Her pulse is strong, but I don't know what other injuries she may have.”

 

`Understood. Are you going to be able to get her free?' Inuyasha studied the scene for a moment.

 

“I believe so, but I will need another person to help pull her out.”

 

`I understand. Send the child up and someone will be down to help.'

 

“Okay, just give us a moment.” Inuyasha stripped out of the harness he still wore. Dropping to one knee, he looked at Rin, who was watching him cautiously.

 

“Rin, I am going to put this on you and then hook you onto the rope so my brother, Sesshomaru, and the others can pull you up.” Rin looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded. Inuyasha quickly strapped her into the harness, struggling on getting it adjusted to fit her small size. Once she was securely strapped in, he led her to the rope dangling from the hole. Inuyasha attached the rope and looked at Rin, who was looking around in concern.

 

“Are you ready, Rin?”

 

Rin shook her head. “Kirara?” Inuyasha was confused.

 

“Who is Kirara?”

 

“Kirara!” Rin pointed back towards Kagome, where Inuyasha had left the flashlight glowing. His eyes finally saw a small, dirty kitten snuggled against Kagome's leg, sound asleep.

 

Inuyasha picked his way over to Kagome's side and scooped up the bedraggled kitten, which opened its golden eyes and blinked at him sleepily. Carrying it back to the young girl, he handed Rin the kitten. Rin smiled at Inuyasha and clutched the kitten close.

 

“Kirara,” she said with a smile. Inuyasha couldn't help but to smile back.

 

“Hold on to her carefully, okay?” Rin nodded. Inuyasha called and let those on the surface know that Rin was ready to be brought up.

 

Within moments, Rin was starting her ascent back to the outside world. Inuyasha watched until she disappeared before turning back to Kagome.

 

He quickly gathered the material he planned to use as a lever, setting everything in place. Inuyasha knelt down beside Kagome and brushed the hair from her face. “You're okay, Kagome. We're going to get you out in just a few minutes.” He gently stroked his thumb along her cheek, noticing the dried blood that matted her hair in one spot. Kagome groaned and her eyes fluttered open. Inuyasha noticed it and smiled.

 

“Kagome?” Inuyasha watched with growing concern as her eyes refused to focus before they fluttered closed once more. “Come on Kagome, you have to stay with me now!” He brushed his fingers across her pulse. Was it his imagination, or did it seem fainter than it had been earlier?

 

Inuyasha was so focused on Kagome, that he hadn't noticed the arrival of the second person. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that Inuyasha realized that he was no longer alone.

 

“Come on little brother. Let's get her out of here.” Inuyasha gasped and looked up into Sesshomaru's golden gaze. Inuyasha never imagined he would see the day where his fastidious brother would voluntarily get himself dirty, much less climb into a hole in the ground. Inuyasha saw a small, sad smile flicker briefly across Sesshomaru's face as he gazed at Kagome.

 

“Let's do this then.” Inuyasha stood and set the lever into place. “On the count of three, I will lift the stone. You pull Kagome out from underneath as quickly as you can.”

 

Sesshomaru paced around the stone and studied it for a moment. “I think I have a better idea, Inuyasha. If we both apply pressure here,” he indicated a spot a little ways away from where Inuyasha had set the lever, “we should be able to move the stone off of Kagome's body and drop it to the side. That way, we would be able to assess her for any possible spinal injury before moving her.”

 

Inuyasha paled. `I didn't even think about that,' he thought to himself. He nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.” Quickly, the brothers reset the lever and grabbed hold.

 

“On the count of three. One, Two, Threeeeee.” With a groan from both men, the stone laying upon Kagome's back began to lift. Moving slowly, the muscles in their arms burning with the strain and sweat dripping down their faces, they were able to rotate the piece of concrete off to the side before allowing it to crash to the floor. Dropping the now useless lever, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru quickly moved to the unconscious woman's side.

 

With deft fingers, Sesshomaru examined Kagome's back. “It does not appear that there is any thing broken, although she may have several cracked ribs.” He trailed off as he ran his hands down her legs. Inuyasha was about to snap at him when Sesshomaru sat back. “She has good muscle tone in her legs. Nothing indicates spinal damage at this time.”

 

Inuyasha sighed in relief. “That is good to know. She probably has a concussion though.” He explained his reasoning to his brother, who nodded in agreement.

 

“I would be surprised if she didn't have some internal injuries as well.” Sesshomaru stood to his feet and called to the surface with the walkie-talkie. He relayed Kagome's condition to the waiting paramedics.

 

Inuyasha gently gathered Kagome in his arms and stood. He picked his way over to the hole where he saw a rescue basket lying on the floor (one of those flat things with short rails they strap people onto and lift them out of tight areas with). He carefully laid her in the basket and began to strap her in. Sesshomaru quickly helped. Once Kagome was strapped securely into the basket, Sesshomaru called up to the surface, telling them to carefully pull her up.

 

Just as the slack on the rope was taken up, Inuyasha felt the start of another tremor. `Shit! Aftershocks!' No sooner had the thought flashed through his mind when the tremors hit full force.

 

Everything seemed to happen at the same time: the rope went slack; Inuyasha threw his body atop of Kagome; Sesshomaru covered Inuyasha with his body. More rocks and debris fell to the floor, smashing the flashlight. The basement once again fell to darkness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Up on the surface, Shippo and Hojo picked themselves up once the aftershocks had passed and rushed back to the hole. The two men looked in horror at one another. The hole to the basement had disappeared; not only that, but it appeared that the aftershocks caused the rubble to settle. The entire area had sunk several feet, indicating that the space where Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru were located was now filled with rubble from the building.

 

*****************

 

TBC

 

A/N: Yes, I know. I am evil for leaving you with such a cliff hanger! You know what you need to do to get me to update - REVIEW!

 

Thank-you to all who are faithfully following the story and have reviewed. I really appreciate you, my readers. To answer the question as to whether Rin will be adopted by Inuyasha or Sesshomaru, the answer is…Yes. You will have to keep reading to understand.

 

As always, READ, ENJOY, and REVIEW!