InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love, Interrupted ❯ Chapter 33 ( Chapter 33 )

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

"Inuyasha ..." a soft, feminine voice said.
Inuyasha's ears twitched and he slowly opened his eyes,
"Inuyasha ..."
"Ma ... mother?" Inuyasha replied, weakly, trying to sit up.
"Yes, my son. It is me." she said, as her body came into view.
Inuyasha tried to get up only to find his legs wouldn't support him,
"Easy, my son." his mother said, as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Mother. Where am I?" he asked.
"In the Netherworld. Where you do not belong." she replied.
"That's right. I used Tessaiga to kill myself." he said, softly.
"Oh, my son." was all his mother could say.
------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
"My son, why do you linger here? Your mother is attempting to revive you with the Meidou stone. Only your resistance to leave this plane of existance causes her to fail." asked the great dog general.
"Father, I do not feel you have answered my questions to my satisfaction."
"Sesshoumaru, I have asked you this before and I will ask it of you again. Do you have someone to protect?"
"And I will answer you as I have in the past. This Sesshoumaru has no one to protect."
"Then you truly do not deserve the power you desire. Until you discover your heart, power is meaningless. It is an empty shell."
"FATHER! You died for the sake of a mortal woman and her disgusting offspring. I was supposed to battle you ... defeat you ... and take my place as ruler of the Western Lands. I should have had ultimate power but, because of Inuyasha and his mortal mother, I must claw my way up from the dirt to achieve what should have been my birthright. And you want me to share my lands with Inuyasha! How can you even ask such a thing of me!"
The dog general shook his head, "Sesshoumaru. I died because of wounds I received at the claws of Ryokoutsei. I would have died either way ... but I had someone to protect ... Izayoi needed me. And I needed her. In all the things I did in my life, protecting her stands at the forefront of my memories. When you discover that within your heart ... when you feel the need to protect someone ... and you admit that need to yourself ... then, and only then, will you realize your true power hidden deep within yourself. Maybe it is because of his very human mother, but Inuyasha has realized this very thing. He has someone to protect and when he does, his powers grow by leaps and bounds. Maybe you should take a page out of Inuyasha's book and learn from it."
"HMPH! Learn something from a pathetic half-breed? How ridiculous."
"Then you will never achieve the power you desire, my son. Away with you now." the dog general said, with a wave of his hand, "Allow your mother to revive you and continue on your journey to achieve power. There is nothing more I can tell you."
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as his father walked away and disappeared into the mist. Feeling a tug on his heart, he closed his eyes as he felt his spirit descend.
-------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
The small group that had gathered gasped as the female dog demon attempted again to place the Meidou stone over Sesshoumaru's head. This time it worked, as she was able to lay the stone upon his forehead. The giant dog took a breath and opened his eyes. Seeing the woman in front of him, Sesshoumaru transformed back into his human self,
"Mother." he said, simply.
"Sesshoumaru. Why did you resist for so long? It is not like you to give up like that. Why did you have the dragon destroy you?" she asked.
"HMPH! No reason." he said, as he turned and walked away from the gathered group.
His mother stood up and yelled to him, "You could at least have offered a moment of gratitude to your mother!" then she sat down again, "The wretch." she said quietly.
-------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------
Anzu caught up with Chang in the forest,
"Chang. I thought Ryouya wanted those people dead."
"They are as good as dead. No one else knows the antidote. People will assume them dead and bury them or burn them. Then they will be totally gone." the young imp said proudly.
"Yea, well think again. That strange looking priestess in the weird clothes is impervious to your poison. So is that dragon thing of Sesshoumaru's. She took her three brats and flew off to find some antidote."
"WHAT? That's impossible. I used extra poison on the tips."
"Well, I saw her fly away. What are you gonna do, you little imp?"
"I have a plan. Follow me." he said.
"What? Why should I follow you?" asked Anzu.
"Because I am too small to carry it out by myself. Now hurry. Ryouya is due back tonight."
"Oh alright." Anzu replied grudgingly.
----------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Ryouya arrived in the forest with his beautiful new wife by his side,
"Ahhh, Midori. Welcome to your new home." he said, sweetly.
The young maiden looked around the forest. Her long bluish tresses blew softly into her face,
"Where will we live, my lord?" she asked sweetly.
A creature appeared out of the forest,
"Ah, Xin Yun. Is our home ready?" asked Ryouya.
"Yes, master. Just follow me." the imp urged.
Ryouya took his beloved's hand and the two followed Xin Yun deep into the forest. As they came upon a clearing, they were greeted by a wonderous sight. A huge mansion, fit for an emperor and empress,
"Ryouya." his bride gasped in awe, "It's beautiful."
"Xin Yun, I have to say, you outdid yourself this time."
The imp bowed to his master, "Many thanks master."
After Ryouya and Midori toured the fabulous house, they retired to the main bedroom. Taking his bride in his arms, he hugged her tight and said to her,
"Midori. You have a big house to fill. On our wedding night, you were very fertile. I expect you to bear me many sons, starting with the one you are carrying now. I have no use for daughters ... they only cause problems."
Midori looked at her husband, "But, my lord ..." she started to say.
He looked into her eyes, his eyes filled with wrath, "And heed this warning, woman. Should you bear a daughter this time, I will not hesitate to lop off your head with my sword. My first child will be my heir. Do you understand?"
Midori trembled as she answered, "Yes, my lord."
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Kagome landed in a field of poppies. Gathering up as many as she could carry, she hopped back on Ah-Un and raced back to the house. Landing in the yard, she gasped,
"Where are they?" she wondered out loud.
Sure enough, the land was empty. No sign of her friends existed. She rushed through the house and still saw no sign of them. Heading back outside, she came face to face with a woman,
"Anzu! Why are you here? Where are my friends? Where are Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha?"
"Hmmm ... your friends are dead ... as are Sesshoumaru and your precious Inuyasha." Anzu smirked.
"HUH?" Kagome gasped, "You killed them?"
"HMPH! My brother killed Sesshoumaru. I had no problem creating a very real illusion for Inuyasha. He thought he killed you and the others. He couldn't live with the thought so he killed himself. As for your friends, without that precious antidote, they'll be dead also."
"You're pure evil!" Kagome shouted.
"HMPH! Enough chatter! TIME TO DIE, PRIESTESS!" yelled Anzu, as she touched her wrist and pulled her arm back, forming a bow and arrow. Kagome ran towards Ah-Un as fast as she could,
"NO USE RUNNING, PRIESTESS." shouted Anzu, as she released her light arrow. The arrow flew right by Kagome's ear, barely missing her.
"DAMN!" said Anzu, as she formed another arrow.
Kagome managed to hop onto Ah-Un's back and clung to the dragon as he took to the sky. She felt the breeze as another arrow barely missed her. Ah-Un. sensing the urgency, sped away, leaving an angry dog demoness behind.
--------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------
Kagome readily allowed the tears to fall as Ah-Un flew through the sky. She looked down at her unconcious children,
"I have to at least make an antidote for them." she said to herself, "Miroku. Sango. Shippou. Kaede. What did they do to you?" she wondered aloud.
Then her mind drifted to what Anzu had told her,
'Did Inuyasha really commit Seppoku?' she wondered to herself.
Sitting up straight on the dragon, she wrapped her arm around the harness holding her children. As Ah-Un flew through the sky, she suddenly picked up a scent,
"Huh?" she said, "That's Inuyasha's scent. His blood. Why am I picking it up all the way up here?" she wondered, as she looked down on the ground.
Below her she saw the bright red of the fire rat robe,
"INUYASHA!" she cried out, "Ah-Un, down please."
Ah-Un landed on the ground and Kagome raced up to Inuyasha's body. True to Anzu's words, Tessaiga protruded out of his chest and his blood soaked the ground. She pulled the sword from his body as she began to cry out,
"NO! INUYASHA! IT CAN'T BE! WHY DID YOU DO THIS? STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! YOU'RE SO STUPID! HOW COULD YOU BELIEVE YOU KILLED US!" Kagome cried out at the top of her lungs.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
"Inuyasha. You do not belong here in the land of the dead." his mother said to him, as she pulled him close.
"Yes, I do. I murdered them. I murdered my friends. I murdered my pups. And I murdered Kagome. I deserve to rot in hell for what I did."
"Inuyasha ... Kagome is not here. Neither are the babies. Or your friends."
"What?" Inuyasha gasped.
"You did not harm anybody. What you saw was an illusion of the mind created to try and destroy you. And, apparantly, they succeeded, my son."
Inuyasha backed away, "Who? Who did this to me, mother?"
"I'm afraid I've told you all that I am allowed to tell you. But, look into this ball." his mother said, as she held up a pink glowing sphere.
Inuyasha peered inside the ball. What he saw sent shivers through him. He saw Kagome bent over his body, crying her eyes out, begging the gods to return him to her,
"Damn! What do I do? How can I return to her? I've made the biggest mistake of my life. I fell for an obvious trick and now Kagome's suffering for it."
------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
Kagome wept bitterly. As her tears fell on Inuyasha's body, she felt a quivering at her hip. Looking down, she saw Tenseiga glowing and shaking,
"Tenseiga?" she queried.
Pulling the sword off her hip and holding it in front of her, she was surprised to see creatures crawling over Inuyasha's body,
"YOU BEASTS!" she screamed, "GET OFF OF HIM!" she cried out, as she swung the sword at the creatures. Her surprise grew when the creatures dissolved in front of her and then ...
"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, as he took a breath and opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around,
"Ka ... Kagome?" he said.
She cried harder as he spoke, "You managed to use the Tenseiga?" he asked, shocked.
She nodded, "I don't know how ... but I guess I did." she said through her tears.
"Kagome." he whispered, "I'm so sorry." he said, as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her.