InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 3: Forever ❯ Pact with the Devil ( Chapter 40 )

~~Chapter 40~~

~Pact with the Devil~

 

“There's something wrong. I can feel it.”

 

InuYasha glanced up at Kagome as the miko dried her hands on a towel. Slowly turning to face her mate, she dropped the towel and shook her head. The deep brown eyes he knew so well were full of unvoiced suspicion, clouded with a fear that was very real to her. He knew these feelings she had. Though he always told her that she was imagining things, she rarely ever was, and if she was worried enough to voice her concerns, InuYasha couldn't ignore it. “Any ideas what it is?”

 

Kagome scowled at the floor as she pondered InuYasha's question. “It's Ryomaru. InuYasha . . . I feel like it was a mistake, leaving the clinic . . .”

 

InuYasha didn't respond to that as he strode over and grabbed the phone. He dialed the clinic first but wasn't surprised when he got no answer. They'd left almost three hours ago after Kichiro had assured them that Nezumi was fine and that Ryomaru was going to take her home. There was no answer at their house, though, and InuYasha felt the first real stirrings of apprehension explode into something far more dreadful.

 

Hanging up the phone and dialing Ryomaru's cell instead, InuYasha drummed his claws on the counter and tried not to let Kagome see how irritated he was. He'd learned long ago that he couldn't really hide his emotions from the overly-perceptive miko, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't try, especially when it involved their pups.

 

“He's not answering,” Kagome concluded with a shake of her head as she paced the kitchen floor. “InuYasha . . .”

 

Dropping the phone into the charging stand, InuYasha slowly turned to face Kagome. “I'll go over to their house. Maybe they're sleeping or something.”

 

Kagome nodded and tried to smile. The worry in her gaze intensified, and InuYasha hurried over to give his mate a quick hug. “I'll kick his ass for not answering his phone.”

 

He let go and turned away, wasting no time as he headed for the foyer.

 

Kagome's voice stopped him, and when he glanced over his shoulder at her, he grimaced. Staring at the floor with her hands clasped before her, she wouldn't meet his gaze as the scent of salty tears hit him hard. “InuYasha . . .”

 

He started back toward her as her emotions fed his own. Beyond fear, he could feel the rise of abject terror, and if he didn't do something fast, she would be a complete mess. “I'm sure he's fine,” InuYasha mumbled, inflicting enough antagonism into his tone to snap Kagome out of her worry, at least for the moment. “You're always worried about nothing.”

 

“It isn't `nothing',” she argued, her anger pushing aside her worry. “Even if it was, you have to listen to me! Ryomaru's in trouble!”

 

“I hear you, wench,” he grumbled. “Let me go find him so I can prove you're worrying about nothing, all right?”

 

“InuYasha,” she called after him, stopping him once more. “Take Tetsusaiga. Don't ask me why. Just . . . Just do it.”

 

An unmistakable chill ran up InuYasha's spine. He couldn't remember the last time she'd asked him to carry his sword, not in this world. In Sengoku Jidai so long ago, Tetsusaiga had become an extension of him. He had used his father's sword to protect Kagome and their friends. Tetsusaiga had become as close as a brother, a part of himself that he cherished. In this world, so far removed from the threats and the hostility that had surrounded them in the past, InuYasha had adapted and adjusted to a place where he finally fit in, where he wasn't a freak or an abomination. He'd come to rely less on his brawn and had finally understood that strength wasn't in killing but in things harder to define. When he used Tetsusaiga now, it was in practice, with his pups, teaching them skills he hoped they'd never have to use.

 

Kagome knew and understood this, and if she was asking him to take Tetsusaiga with him, then maybe the fear in her mind was larger, more ominous than even Naraku. The fear of one of their children in trouble . . .

 

InuYasha nodded curtly, stalking over to yank the ancient sword from its place of honor above the mantle.

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

Nezumi shifted her gaze around the circle of faces, absently questioning why she wasn't panicking. She ought to be panicking. She ought to be terrified. She ought to be scared out of her wits. She was none of those things. It was curious, really. The dingy interior of the dilapidated building was rife with the stench of decay, of death. If she could discern this with her dulled human senses, how could they stand it?

 

She wasn't sure why she could tell they weren't human. Maybe it was a curious side effect of the marking ritual. She could see their youkai traits plainly. As they shot her glances, ranging from passing curiosity to absolute animosity, Nezumi hoped that she'd made the right choice.

 

Ryomaru wasn't moving with his normal candor. Shuffling his feet along the sidewalk as Nezumi cast him surreptitious glances, he appeared to be a little dazed. She could tell that he wasn't exactly himself but couldn't rightfully say how she knew this to be true. To the normal person on the sidewalk, he probably looked normal enough. The marked alertness normally present in his gaze was dulled. His skin was pale, almost sallow. The marking really had been harder on him than it was on her, and Nezumi bit her lip, stuffing her hands into the deep pockets of her coat. She wanted to reach out, to offer Ryomaru the support he seemed to need. If she thought that he would accept it, she would have . . .

 

`So this is why he didn't want to ride the Harley or drive,' she thought as she spared him yet another worried glance. Ryomaru teetered just a little. Nezumi slipped her hand under his arm, resting her fingers in the bend of his elbow. He shot her an indiscernible look and staggered. “Ryo? You all right?” she asked, unable to keep her concern to herself any longer.

 

Ryomaru managed a weak smile and snorted. The sound was forced, empty, and Nezumi winced. “Feh! I'm fine. It's nothing. Don't worry.”

 

He hadn't been fine. He hadn't been okay. There was a good chance that he was furious with her now, if he was conscious.

 

She shivered, wrapping her arms around her stomach in the chill air. `It happened too fast, didn't it? I didn't have time to think things through. I didn't have time to do anything. As long as Ryomaru is safe . . .'

 

“Where is he?” one of the youkai demanded as he shot Nezumi a scathing glance. “You said that he'd come, if we took her. You said that he wouldn't risk his new mate.”

 

“Patience, Shiro,” the one who appeared to be the leader intoned. “They left him unconscious. He may not even realize that we've taken her . . . yet.”

 

“What do you want with him?” Nezumi asked, voice small in the voluminous cavern of the hulking structure. “Why are you doing this?”

 

Shiro rounded on her, yellow eyes flashing with maniacal light. Nezumi recoiled. His hatred was palpable, his rage encompassing. “Simple, bitch . . . I'm going to kill him.”

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

InuYasha vaulted from building to building as he closed in on his son's scent. Ryomaru was close. InuYasha could feel him near.

 

It hadn't taken him long to figure out that neither Nezumi nor Ryomaru were home. He'd known that before he'd slammed his shoulder into the door, forcing his way inside. Yukitora had stared at him with a worried frown. Her plaintive mewling had gone ignored as InuYasha strode through the house with one goal in mind. Kagome's fear had become his own, and it hadn't taken him long to locate Ryoteishuseishu. Grasping the sword in one hand, he clasped Tetsusaiga's hilt in the other. The welcoming pulse of the sword's aura lent him a calm that he desperately needed.

 

“Be not a fool, Ryomaru. You're the one in the most danger of misplaced vengeance. You're the one who has hunted their kin, exterminated their own. Do you think they will just let it slide despite the fact that you've `retired'?”

 

“They're not just teaming up to come after Ryomaru, are they?”

 

“No, they're not.”

 

“But Ryo's the obvious target . . . they'll go after him because he's hunted their kin,” Kichiro stated flatly.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded.

 

“Then they'll come after the rest of us,” Shippou added.

 

“Feh! You're figuring they will get past my son?”

 

`Damn it, that bastard was right,' InuYasha growled as he breathed deep and altered his course. `They're coming after Ryomaru . . . but how did they know to attack him today?'

 

That wasn't really the important thing. InuYasha dropped to the ground in the shadows of an alley. There'd be time enough to figure all that out later. For now, he had to find Ryomaru . . . and he had to figure out why Nezumi wasn't with him.

 

A low moan nearby drew InuYasha's attention. The alley was as dark as the night of the new moon. Even the starlight above didn't infiltrate the shadows. Veiled in blackness, he squinted as he followed his nose. Another groan, a rustle of movement, and InuYasha squatted beside the slow-moving figure. “Oi, pup . . . where's your mate?”

 

Ryomaru moaned and sat up, leaning heavily against the wall for support as he rubbed his head and frowned at his father. “Nez? Damn it . . .”

 

“Do you know where they took her?” InuYasha demanded, all pretenses aside. There wasn't time to gild the lily.

 

Ryomaru braced himself against the wall as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. “Fuck! I didn't know . . . I couldn't smell them, and when they attacked, I wasn't ready . . .”

 

“It's okay,” InuYasha growled, thrusting the sword out to his son. “It don't matter now. We gotta find her. Beat yourself up about it later, all right?”

 

“Damn it, I can't smell! I can't track her!”

 

InuYasha grabbed Ryomaru's arm before the younger hanyou could stumble away. “You ain't going alone, Ryo. Calm down, will you? We'll find her, but losing your grip ain't going to help. Do you hear me?”

 

Ryomaru looked like he wanted to argue but in the end, he nodded grudgingly as he strapped Ryoteishuseishu around his hips. “Some mate I am,” he growled with a wince. “If they hurt her . . .”

 

“Let's go. They won't hurt her. They need her. She's your mate now. If she was hurt, you'd know.”

 

Ryomaru didn't believe InuYasha. It was obvious in his gaze. InuYasha shook his head. “Can you run?”

 

Shaking his head to dispel the lingering fog, Ryomaru grimaced. “I can do it.”

 

“All right,” InuYasha finally agreed, brushing aside the remnants of doubt. Ordinarily there would be no question. Ryomaru was fully trained. The pup knew how to handle himself. He was still weak from the marking ritual, and in that weakness was definite vulnerability. Add the perceived threat to his mate to that, and InuYasha had to worry that maybe Ryomaru couldn't handle the situation at all. Still he had to allow that it really was Ryomaru's battle. Damned if he'd let his son walk in alone. The youkai were treacherous enough to attack when Ryomaru was least expecting it. It leveled the playing field, as far as InuYasha was concerned. If Ryomaru couldn't handle it, InuYasha had a few choice things to say . . . “Come on, pup,” InuYasha grumbled as he crouched to spring onto the building. “You can tell me what happened on the way.”

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

“Mama?”

 

Kagome glanced up as Kichiro closed the door. She was rising from the table as the younger twin strode over to her, locked his arms around her in a comforting hug. “Has the old man called?” he asked gently as Kagome pulled away.

 

“No,” she said with a sigh. “I haven't heard anything.”

 

Kagura slipped a cup of tea into Kagome's shaking hands. Sesshoumaru caught Kichiro's gaze and jerked his head toward the living room.

 

“Keep Mama calm,” Kichiro muttered in Gin's ear. Gin's gaze was solemn, serious, and she nodded once in answer. Kichiro slipped out of the kitchen as Toga stepped through the side door from the converted garage. He held his halberd in one hand, Kichiro's sword in the other, and for once there wasn't a hint of a smile in his stony stare. “That bad, is it?” Kichiro asked.

 

Toga nodded slowly as Sesshoumaru stepped out of the kitchen.

 

“The problem isn't that Ryomaru was attacked. We knew that was coming,” Sesshoumaru said quietly. “The troubling thing is that they knew. They knew that Ryomaru and Deirdre would be at the clinic, and they knew why.”

 

“What are we waiting for?” Kichiro demanded, cracking his knuckles as Toga held out the sword.

 

“We were waiting for you,” Sesshoumaru remarked dryly. “Now that you're here . . . Let's hope we can find your father before he loses his temper.”

 

“How many of them are there?” Kichiro asked as he strapped the sword around his waist and headed for the doors.

 

“There's no way to know,” Toga remarked. “No less than ten, maybe fifteen . . . there could be more. We won't know till we get there.”

 

Sesshoumaru closed the door behind them and nodded toward the forest. “The miko claims that InuYasha headed to Ryomaru's house first. We can bypass that if we can locate his stench.”

 

“Any idea how they knew that Ryomaru and Nez would be at the clinic?” Kichiro cut in as the three sprinted into the forest.

 

“No,” Toga answered, eyes flashing as he glanced around, glowing in the soft moonlight. “But I, for one, fully intend to find out.”

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

The youkai prowled around, ignoring Nezumi for the most part though every now and again, she intercepted hostile glares, grudging interest. She wasn't sure how long she'd been held here. They hadn't bothered to bind her arms or legs. Maybe they thought that she wouldn't try to escape. She figured that would be a stupid thing to do. Ryomaru was stronger, faster than a human. These youkai very likely were, too.

 

Eerie shadows flickered on the walls. They had lit a few fires in discarded metal drums. The glow was ghastly, macabre. The youkai all seemed completely unreal like monsters from old fashioned fairy tales, like ogres in the dark.

 

Two of the youkai had come to blows shortly after they'd brought her here, and frightening didn't even begin to describe that. They'd tossed each other around like they were rag dolls, and Nezumi was surprised that the building was still standing. She could see the crater in the plaster wall in front of her. The one called Kenichi had shoved Shiro into the edifice.

 

`This wasn't one of your better ideas, Nez . . .'

 

She grimaced at the wry tone of her conscience. She hadn't had a choice, had she?

 

Ryomaru had been so pale, and she knew that he desperately needed to rest. They'd reached the part of town where there weren't any restaurants, and all the small boutiques were closing for the night. In the end, Nezumi had tugged Ryomaru into the opening of an alley, meaning only to let him rest for a moment while she called a taxi. Her cell phone was out of range, and Ryomaru scoffed at her when she said that she was tired. She knew him too well, didn't she? He wouldn't ever admit that he was too tired to go on. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. He really was exhausted, and what frightened her most was that she couldn't remember him ever being that way before.

 

She hadn't sensed the menacing presence above them. She hadn't realized there was any real danger near. Ryomaru didn't seem to, either, and when the five youkai dropped to the ground surrounding them, she hadn't had time to scream. One of them latched onto her arm while another one---Kenichi, she recognized now---slammed Ryomaru back against the brick wall. He'd crumpled to the ground as she struggled to escape.

 

“You'll come with us,” Kenichi said, eyes raking over her as he shot her a nasty grin. Bright red hair standing on end, the angles of his face and body as harsh and sharp as flames, his crimson eyes glowed, and he laughed at the horror she couldn't hide.

 

“Don't worry. We won't hurt you . . . We need you, you see?”

 

“Let me go!” Nezumi insisted, the hands wrapped around her arms tightening as she struggled.

 

Kenichi laughed, his tone brittle, bored. “Don't you want to come with us? Akinoka wants to meet you, mate of the mighty hunter, indeed.”

 

“Ryomaru,” she whispered, feeling the blood leech from her skin. Her gaze fell unwittingly on his unmoving body. She squelched a sob that rose in her throat. “Leave him alone!”

 

“Then come with us. Scream and call out, and I promise you, Shiro and Renzo will be more than happy to make sure your mate never, ever comes for you. Do you understand?”

 

Nezumi tamped down the desire to scream. If she didn't go willingly, they'd kill Ryomaru, and meeting the youkai's gazes, she knew it was true. She'd never seen so much animosity, so much absolute hatred. `He's the devil,' she thought wildly as her eyes flicked back to Kenichi's face. Contorted in a cynical smile, he knew he had won. Nezumi nodded once, gasping when the youkai that held her leapt off the ground. She tried to turn around, tried to look back.

 

The last thing she remembered was the youkai's arms tightening around her chest, constricting her breathing as the world grew dark.

 

She woke up here, in this place, with her ribcage aching and her mind pounding to the cadence of a savage headache. She'd recognized the harsh, grating laughter before she had opened her eyes. Now she was waiting, wondering just how long it would take for Ryomaru or someone else to come . . . unless the youkai had reneged on their word that was.

 

`Stop that, Nez! Ryo will come for you. You know he will. Just . . . just hope he has enough sense not to come alone.'

 

There were more youkai lurking around now. Nezumi counted twenty before she forced herself to look away. Ryomaru might be a trained hunter. He had always been at the top of their martial arts classes. She knew he was tough, knew that people didn't normally tangle with him by choice. She also knew that he was still weakened, senses still dulled . . .

 

Surely someone would notice that they were missing, wouldn't they? Someone would have to go looking for them. Maybe Kichiro would stop by to make sure that everyone was all right . . . Trouble was, even if they did, would anyone be able to find her? She had no idea where she was. Her cell phone had been gone when she came around. Ryomaru had been left in that alley, hadn't he? What if he couldn't find her, after all?

 

A low rumble rocked through the building groaning, louder and louder like the roll of thunder. Nezumi gasped and covered her face as the rickety old doors blasted apart, the shockwave of yellow light blinding, stunning.

 

Nezumi's heart lurched as the light dulled and dimmed, revealing the lone figure standing in the doorway. Brandishing his sword in the dancing firelight, Ryomaru's eyes lit on Nezumi and didn't move on.

 

“Ryo,” she whispered.

 

Ominous laughter rumbled through the stillness, splitting the lull with a nastier haze. “Well, well, so you came after all. Stupid puppy. Now you'll die.”

 

 

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A/N:

Thanks for bearing with me this week. My Grammar Beta, the Awesome Diana, has been off on a much-needed vacation. I'll get the edits posted as soon as I get them back from her for both this fic as well as for Purity 4.

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MMorg

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Final Thought fromNezumi:

Ryomaru!

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Forever): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~