InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Peace Treaty ❯ Survivor ( Chapter 14 )

Author Note. This chapter contains a description of violence. 

 

Sesshoumaru exited the prison and crossed the courtyard toward the manor, hoping Kagome was easy to find.  The scene at the prison was disturbing, and he wished to put it behind him and walk with her.  He wanted to shake himself for feeling like such a moonstruck pup, but truth be told it didn't matter.  What mattered was the intensity of her eyes, the softness of her lips.  They would walk and talk, dine together, then continue what had begun earlier, but this time between the sheets.  He neared their rooms and, catching scent of her, quickened his pace in spite of himself.  She was in his study, looking at books.  “Have you found anything of interest?”

 

She closed the book.  “Perhaps.”  She rose and went to him.  “Did you learn much from the spy?”

 

“He's a servant here, working in the kitchens.  He was discovered trying to smuggle a variety of intelligence reports, all of a sensitive nature, out of the stronghold.  We think he has at least one accomplice inside, and, given the amount he was attempting to carry, it is assumed he was meeting someone nearby to deliver them.  My father just left with his troops to comb the countryside in hopes of finding something.  I think the servant himself was just following orders, but I'm not sure yet if it was for payment or loyalty to someone else. We had to stop the interrogation when he lost consciousness.  We'll continue in the morning.   Just a moment.”  Sesshoumaru turned toward the door.  “Jaken.”

 

The strange, little Youkai appeared quickly.  “Lord Sesshoumaru.”

 

“Inform Lady Gina her skills will be needed tomorrow in the prison.  And tell her she doesn't have a choice.”

 

“Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru.”

 

“Why do you need Gina tomorrow?”  Kagome asked.

 

“The prisoner will be tortured, and I will require her to monitor and revive him if needed.”

 

“Tortured?”  Kagome's brow creased.

 

“It can't be avoided.  We need his information.”

 

“I suppose.  But how will you know he's telling the truth?  I've always thought information obtained through duress was considered suspect.”

 

“I can sense duplicity.  With luck, a night anticipating poisoning will be all it takes to make him confess.”

 

“Poison?”

 

“I can emit poison from my claws.  I can control it, ranging from excruciating pain to immediate death.”

 

Kagome looked at his hands unhappily.  “So you have to do it?”

 

“Kagome, it's necessary.  I don't revel in cruelty, but he's a criminal and I'm responsible for protecting the stronghold.”

 

“What will happen to him after?”

 

“He will be killed.”

 

Kagome was sad the brutal realities of life intruded on them.  Sesshoumaru regretted the change of mood.  “Would you still like to walk with me?”

 

“Yes, I think some fresh air would do me good.”

 

They went to the grounds, walking nowhere in particular.  “We shouldn't go too far. It looks like rain is imminent,” Kagome observed.

 

“If it starts, I can get us back quickly.”

 

His confidence, which a day ago she would have named arrogance, made her smile. 

 

“I heard you sparred with some of my father's troops this morning.  You fought three at once and managed to disarm all of them.”

 

“Yes,” she said, trying to keep her voice neutral and hide her satisfaction.  “They were good sports about it.”

 

“My father's quite impressed.  It takes a lot to earn his regard.  You should be proud.”

 

Kagome blushed.  “And what of you?  Are you ready to fight me yet?” she asked hopefully.  She wanted to test herself against him.

 

“No, I refuse to hurt you.”

 

“Why are you so sure you'll hurt me?  I may surprise you.”

 

“Miko, you've already surprised me.  And no, I won't fight you.”

 

Kagome reluctantly let it go.  “I checked on Kouga today.”

 

“How does he fare?”

 

“He's healing.  Their baby, er…pup is sweet.  I had never seen an infant demon before.  It's strange, I spent half my life training to kill Youkai, and now I'm healing their injured and cuddling their young.”  And kissing…she added to herself.  “It doesn't feel as foreign as it should.”

 

“It appears as though you're fitting in well.  I suppose I have Gina to thank for it,” he said a tad bitterly.

 

“Why don't you like her?”

 

“It isn't so much dislike as remembered childhood terror.  One can only take so many threats of emasculation, before permanent resentment begins.”

 

Kagome laughed softly.  “She couldn't have been that bad.”

 

“Maybe not all the time.  My sister derived peculiar enjoyment from locking me inside cabinets; it was usually Gina who came to my rescue.”

 

Kagome laughed again, loudly.  “I'm sorry.  It's difficult to imagine you small and vulnerable enough to be locked inside anything.”

 

“We were all young once.”  They sat on a bench near a koi pond.  “What was your childhood like?  Your family?”  Sesshoumaru realized he knew nearly nothing about her.

 

“They're all dead.  Oh wait, I have a sister… but we're not close.  Actually I haven't seen her since she was just under a year old.”

 

Sesshoumaru was silent, waiting to see if she would continue. 

 

“I had just turned five.  It was when my mother died.”

 

“How did she die?”

 

“My mother, brother, baby sister, and I were traveling with my mother's twin and her infant.  Twins are common on my mother's side of the family,” she said as an aside.  “We were on our way home from my aunt's lake house.”  She smiled wanly.  “I learned to swim that year.”  She paused, remembering.  “That year there was a bit of a lull in the fighting, so we didn't have a large or heavily-armed escort.  While on the road I had a sudden, powerful feeling of danger.  I didn't know what it was at the time; it was the first I'd ever shown potential.”

 

“What does that mean?  To show potential?”

 

“Potential is the ability to absorb and use moon energy.  It is also the ability to sense Youkai.  It is normally not expressed in one so young, but had it not in me that day I'd be dead.”  Kagome suddenly paled and seemed to shrink.  “All I knew was that hiding was imperative.  We had just enough time to conceal ourselves within a rhododendron thicket near the roadside before our meager guard was attacked.”  She closed her eyes tightly.  “Bear Youkai.  I'd never seen anything so frightening.”  She opened her eyes, but Sesshoumaru knew the koi pond was not what she saw.

 

“Kagome…” he faltered, unsure of what to say.

 

“My brother, Daijiro, who was eight, rushed out to join the fight.  He had a wooden play sword, and, apparently, too much of my father's heroism.  He was set upon instantly.  My mother thrust my sister into my arms and ran out.  She begged mercy.”  She stopped and sighed heavily, then continued, but her voice sounded hollowed out.  “They grabbed her and made her watch as they pulled my brother's heart from his chest.  Then…they ripped her arms off.  I don't know if the smell of the bloodbath prevented them from discovering my aunt and me or perhaps they had simply slaked their thirst to kill, but they left.  My aunt…”  Kagome shook her head.  “My little cousin had been sick and was fussy.  My aunt covered his mouth to keep him quiet.”  She paused again, looking exhausted and faraway.  “She accidentally smothered him.  My sister, who slept through the whole thing, awoke hungry.  My aunt had breasts full of milk and a dead baby.  I was amazed…how easily she switched mothers.  My mother and her sister were not identical twins, but they looked very much alike.  I always wondered if she even knew.  We were discovered a short while later by passing merchants.  They took me home to my father.  It seemed reasonable that my sister go with my aunt.  I…”

 

Kagome suddenly stood, eyes fearful and breath shaky.  “I need to go.  I need to be alone,” she said quickly, with an edge of panic.  She started to hurry away, but Sesshoumaru caught her arm.

 

“Kagome, what happened was a tragedy, but you don't need to be alone.  Let me—”

 

“No!” she said harshly.  “Don't follow me.”  She wrenched her arm from him and ran.

 

Sesshoumaru exhaled sharply.  The late afternoon walk did not go at all as planned.  More than that though, he was worried.  She was visibly upset, and the rain would start in the next few minutes.  He wanted badly to follow and keep an eye on her, but knew she would never trust him if he did.  He felt powerless.  He didn't like it.

 

XXXXX

 

Kagome fled, but the thing from which she sought escape was in her head, and no matter how far and how fast she ran, its pursuit was guaranteed.  She stopped when her lungs burned.  A giant ginkgo, its fallen, yellow leaves making a pale, golden carpet of the ground, called a silent invitation of succor.  She slumped against it and slid down, feeling the bark along her back, until her forehead rested on her bent knees.  It was years since she had thought about the events which had so thoroughly changed the path of her life.  They repeatedly played in her mind, torturously without variation.  She felt dizzy and weak, as if she'd been physically struck. 

 

Her mother and brother.  She remembered the horror she had felt on her eighth birthday, when she had realized she could no longer clearly recall their faces.  She had known her mother had hair like hers.  Brown, happy eyes.  A wide, friendly mouth.  But she had been unable to put the separate features together simultaneously.  She had felt like she was betraying them by forgetting how they looked.  She had begun to poke herself with a pin, hoping the pain would trigger a vision of the past.  But it never worked.  So she stuck herself as punishment.  A servant had caught her at mutilating her hand and told her father.  Kagome, breathing hard under the ginkgo, saw her melancholy father as though he were standing in front of her.  The guilt that poured on was a deluge, leaving a lake of self-loathing in which she wanted to drown. Rain began to fall, though the tree's bare branches only sheltered her for a few moments.  She looked up and let the water wash over her, rain tracing a course down her face in place of the tears she refused to shed.  

 

XXXXX

 

Looking out the window at the darkening sky, Sesshoumaru heard the steady rain turn torrential.  He would have to find her if she didn't return soon.  Hopefully she went up to see Gina, he thought.  But he had seen the pain chiseled on her face, and knew she was out in the storm.  He told Jaken to stoke the brazier and get some towels and walked down the corridor to an entrance to the grounds.  Then he smelled her.  Her scent was diluted with water and sorrow, but she was close.  He reached the door as she opened it.  She was soaked to the skin and shivering. 

 

“Kagome, you little fool.”  She allowed herself to be led to their rooms.  He stripped off the drenched clothing and put a dry robe on her, then toweled her hair.  The chattering of her teeth became quieter.  “There, drier.  Are you alright?”

 

“I'm alive,” she said simply.  But the absence of vitality in her voice made the statement seem a lie.  “I'm tired.”

 

Sesshoumaru put her in bed, then undressed and got in himself.  He gathered her, unresisting, in his arms.   She fell asleep quickly, but was fitful.  The mumbled names sounded like strangled cries, and soon her brow was damp with sweat.  His instinct to protect his mate was deep and strong, but he didn't know of a way to shelter someone from the events of the past or from her own tormenting dreams.

 

XXXXX

 

When Kagome woke, it was still dark, and Sesshoumaru was next to her, arm around her like a shield.  She slipped out and dressed in a hurry.  All night, her dreams consisted of the dead, accusing her of forgetting them, of daring to be happy.  The heaviness dragged on her, but how to free herself?  Normally hard work was a refuge.  However it was too early to go to the infirmary, and she couldn't concentrate enough to be effective in physical training.  She wandered. 

 

As she crossed the courtyard, she saw Shippou carrying two large containers.  She quickly walked to him.  “Shippou, do you need help?”

 

“Lady Kagome!  Please, I'm taking rice to the prison, but I tried to take too much at one time.  I'm gonna drop it.”

 

Kagome took one of the containers of cold rice and walked with Shippou to the prison.  The building was set off a distance from the residences and was heavily fortified.  The inside appeared clean, but it was dark and damp, the words torture and execution echoing in her brain, tiring her. She had had her fill of pain and death.  The guards were changing shifts, and Kagome's presence added to the confusion.  “What are you doing here Shippou?” she asked.

 

“I work in the kitchens, and I bring morning meal to the prisoners.  The bowls are already here.  I just put the rice in and hand it out.”

 

“Do you need any help?”

 

“No,” Shippou answered quickly.  “You should go.  This ain't a place for a Lady.  But you can come see me later.  After mid-day meal.  I won't be too busy.”

 

“Okay, Shippou.  I may do that.”  Kagome was glad he didn't need assistance; she couldn't leave the place fast enough.  Shippou did help in lightening her mood somewhat and, for that, she was glad.  The guards acknowledged her as she left, unable to account for her presence in the prison, but, based on the stories they'd heard of her already, she was not a typical Lady.  Kagome nearly bumped into a Youkai pushing a large cart.  She muttered an apology and heard him say laundry to the guards as he passed through the door. 

 

As she wandered further, watching the signs of the stronghold coming to life, Kagome tried to distract herself.  But the unanswered, unanswerable questions kept haunting her.  Why me?  Why did I survive?  Certainly not to live and be happy with my family's killers, she thought.  Her contentment with her new life suddenly felt like she was betraying them again.  The sky was brightening with the hints of a beautiful day.  The storm clouds had long moved on, and the sun rising above the wall of the stronghold was lit against a vivid blue.  Kagome wished she shared the lightness. 

 

She watched from a distance as Sesshoumaru and Gina and several guards entered the prison.  A minute later there was a clamor coming from inside.  Yelling and shouts, accusing and defensive.  Sesshoumaru, looking angrier than she had ever seen him, strode out and went in the direction of the barracks.  His aura was unmasked, and she had never sensed Youki so powerful or dangerous.  Gina left a minute later, walking toward the courtyard. 

 

Kagome intercepted her.  “What happened?”

 

“The prisoner has escaped.  Right from under the guards noses.  This is bad Kagome. It probably means there are more spies on the inside and they are far better organized than we previously thought.  Sesshoumaru is out for blood.”

 

“What will happen if they are found?”  Kagome thought of Shippou, who had been inside the prison that morning.

 

“It depends on the level of culpability.  At the very least, a lashing.  I need to tell Seiobo, quickly.  Hopefully she can calm Sessh down enough to prevent his killing every guard and servant who went in there between last night and now.  I'll see you later.”

 

Kagome hurried to the kitchens.  Inside it was the very model of controlled chaos.  It was loud, everyone running about, but it seemed they all were diligently doing their jobs.  She spotted Shippou, standing on a tall chair, washing dishes.  As she went to him, many Youkai noticed her and slowed their work, whispering.  Shippou turned and saw her.  “Lady Kagome…”

 

“Shippou, I know you're busy.  I'll try not to keep you.  Did you see anything out of the ordinary this morning at the prison?  I mean, besides me.”

 

The Kitsune Youkai's expression changed from confusion to fright, but before he could muster a response, a pair of guards entered noisily, stopping all work and chatter. 

 

“Where's that fox who serves the prison?”  All eyes turned toward Shippou, who looked like he wanted to disappear.  “Come with us.”  Shippou jumped down from his perch and followed shakily, nearly in tears.  Kagome went with them. 

 

Once in the courtyard, they joined a group of guards, all large and angry looking, armed with spears or swords and led by a Youkai whom Kagome recognized from the previous morning as one of General Inutaisho's higher ranking officers.  “Fox, what'd you do this morning at the prison?” he asked gruffly.  Shippou cowered.  Kagome made her decision without much thought.  She stepped in front of Shippou, reaching down and giving him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.  

 

“I did it.  I let him out.”

 

XXXXX

 

A soldier ran into the guard house where Sesshoumaru was receiving reports on the success of the search for the escapee.  His Lord's cold, murderous gaze made the Youkai quail. 

 

“Well, what is it that is deserving of my interruption?”

 

“Pardon, Lord Sesshoumaru.  I have been told to inform you that they have someone who confessed.”

 

“Where?”

 

“The courtyard.”

 

Sesshoumaru walked quickly to the courtyard.  He noticed the guards and soldiers were wearing odd expressions.  They were all distinctly uncomfortable and baffled.  He caught her scent just as the crowd parted, revealing Kagome, hands bound, in their midst.