InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Splitting Heirs ( Chapter 25 )

~~Chapter 25~~

~Splitting Heirs~

 

“I don't think this is going to work.”

 

Gunnar shot Bas a perturbed glance and slowly shook his head. “It'll work,” he argued. “I think it's a damn good plan.”

 

Striding the length of the hotel room, Bas raked his hands through his hair and sighed. “No,” he growled.

 

“It's only for a little while, Bas. We'll double back, but it'll give you time to see if you can't figure out how many we're up against.”

 

“Think of something else, Gunnar. This one isn't happening.”

 

“It'll be all right, Sebastian,” Sydnie said quietly, staring at the little silver locket in her hands and refusing to meet his gaze.

 

Bas snorted. “I said no, Sydnie.”

 

“Contrary to popular belief I'm not so inept that I would let something happen to her,” Gunnar pointed out.

 

“It's not about what you may or may not be capable of,” Bas grouched. “She's my responsibility, damn it, and I won't sit back and let you take her anywhere.”

 

Sydnie shrugged and let her shoulders slump. “Gunnar's right,” she added. “It's a good plan.”

 

Bas draped his hands on his hips as he whipped around to glare at the cat-youkai. “The hell it is! You're the one they're after, and—”

 

“And you changed that when you killed the first bounty hunter,” Gunnar cut in. “Face it, baka: they want you as badly as they want her.”

 

Bas glowered at his cousin out of the corner or his eye but didn't turn to face him. The spike in Sydnie's youki bespoke her anxiety over the idea that he was in danger more than mere words could have conveyed, and Bas had to squelch the urge to knock Gunnar upside the head for stating things so bluntly. “Shut up, Gunnar.”

 

Gunnar slowly rose to his feet as he glared at Bas, all trace of his more playful nature gone. “I won't, damn it! Need I remind you that you have other responsibilities: ones that require that you live in order to fulfill them?”

 

“If you think I'm stupid enough to forget—”

 

“You want to protect her? Then this is the best chance we've got! You have no idea how many hunters were sent out this time, and neither do I! Stop trying to be the hero and think about what you're doing!”

 

Bas heaved a sigh and stifled a growl. He really wished that he could think of another plan; something that wouldn't involve letting Sydnie out of his sight, even for a moment. Unfortunately, Sydnie and Gunnar were right: this was the best plan. Of course, it didn't mean he had to like it, and the stubborn set of his features said that quite clearly as he glowered at his cousin . . . “If anything happens to her . . .”

 

Gunnar relaxed slightly, sensing that Bas was finally ready to admit defeat. “Yeah, yeah . . . if anything happens to her, you'll kill me. I got that.”

 

He leveled a no-nonsense look at Gunnar but nodded before shifting his gaze to Sydnie. “You're sure about this?”

 

Slowly lifting her chin, she met Bas' concerned scowl and tried to smile. “It's a good plan.”

 

He snorted.

 

Gunnar grabbed his sword and strapped it around his hips before reaching for the knee-length gray wool trench coat he wore to conceal the weapon. Sydnie closed her hand around the little silver locket she'd dug out of her purse just before Bas had taken it out to the waiting SUV. She squared her shoulders and shot Bas an almost nervous glance. He tried to smile, wanted to reassure her. She winced at the expression, and he heaved a sigh.

 

He caught her wrist as she followed after Gunnar. “You'll be fine, Sydnie.”

 

“I know,” she replied.

 

“Be careful.”

 

She nodded. “You, too, puppy.”

 

He could feel the erratic flutter of her pulse under his fingertips, could sense the anxiety that she tried to hide from him. With a wince, he pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her as he buried his nose in her hair. “Okay, kitty . . . it'll be okay, I . . . I promise.”

 

She accepted the gesture, slipping her arms around him, her body relaxing against him, and she nodded.

 

Gunnar cleared his throat and sighed. “Come on. Might as well get moving, don't you think?”

 

Sydnie swallowed hard as she forced herself to step away from Bas, and with one last, lingering stare, she slowly backed away from him to follow Gunnar out the door.

 

Bas waited until they were gone before grabbing the black leather duster and striding after them. He heard the soft hiss of the elevator doors closing behind Sydnie and Gunnar as he strode toward the door that led to the stairwell and ran up the steps, taking them two at a time.

 

`Relax, Bas. Gunnar can handle things on their end.'

 

Scowling at the overly-reasonable tone of his youkai, Bas snorted. `Sure, he can.'

 

`He was trained, just like you . . . and you know the plan is sound enough.'

 

`Right.'

 

He sighed, smacking open the door and quickly casting his gaze around the dimly lit corridor. It looked like the floor below, but this one had another doorway at the end with a sign glowing above it: `exit'.

 

Simple reasoning, he supposed. Gunnar had surmised that the best idea would be to separate the two targets: Bas and Sydnie, forcing the bounty hunters to make a choice as to who they would follow. Thing was, Bas wasn't so sure that it was that great of an idea. Sydnie was the ultimate target. She was the one they were hired to dispose of. Bas was secondary. Whether he'd managed to piss someone off or not, the fact of the matter was that the danger to Sydnie was more important than the inconvenience of the bounty hunters to him.

 

`She has to be safe,' he told himself as he pushed the metal bar on the fire escape door. It opened with a whisper, and he strode through it, running up the metal stairs and slipping out the door on the roof.

 

From his vantage point, he could see all the area surrounding the hotel. Four stories off the ground, he crouched and scooted toward the low stone lip that ran around the perimeter of the roof just in time to see Gunnar close the passenger side door on the SUV before striding around the vehicle to get into the driver's side. The car was still parked in the row behind the rental, and when Gunnar started the engine, Bas wasn't surprised to see the car's headlights flicker to life.

 

`Damn, I knew it,' Bas thought with a grimace. Contrary to what they'd thought, Bas had believed that the bounty hunters wouldn't waste their time coming after him. If Sydnie left with Gunnar, they'd follow them. Gunnar had been sure that they'd split up with some coming after Bas while the rest of them—however many there were—followed Gunnar and Sydnie.

 

Bas started to stand up, ready to vault the side of the roof, but stopped. Two shadowy figures in the parking lot caught his attention. He could sense their youki, and he frowned. Malignant, dark, almost stagnant, it wrapped around Bas with an unwelcome grip. Dangerous, certainly, and older than the last two bounty hunters he'd faced, the pair skirted around the parked cars, blending into the shadows as they made their way toward the hotel, Bas grimaced and shook his head. He'd been certain that the hunters wouldn't dare try to stir up trouble where there were bound to be witnesses.

 

`Unless they're desperate.'

 

`Desperate . . .'

 

`Face it, Bas. You've already made a fool out of their organization. If you think that they're just playing around, you're a fool . . .'

 

`A fool, huh?' Bas' scowl darkened as he backed away from the edge of the roof and ran to the far end of the building. Dropping over the edge onto the ground and hidden in the shadows, Bas clenched his hands in tight fists as he sprinted toward the trees on the outskirts of Natchez, thankful that they'd chosen a hotel that wasn't in the center of town. Brushing aside the nagging feeling that he was running from the conflict, he concentrated instead on the plan . . .

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

Gunnar glanced in the rearview mirror and sighed. “Let's hope this works,” he muttered, more to himself than to Sydnie.

 

She nodded—more of an afterthought than a show of agreement—and fingered the locket in her hand.

 

`It . . . it has to work,' she told herself, squeezing the trinket as the solid metal bit into her palm. `If Bas can just get away . . .'

 

If he could get away from the hotel . . .

 

Sydnie had nearly screamed when she'd seen the two skulking figures in the darkness of the parking lot as they'd pulled out into the winding driveway heading toward the main road. She'd hoped that the hunters would just follow her. She was the one they wanted, wasn't she?

 

It had seemed simple enough: drive back to the hotel, gather their things, pack up the SUV, and check out . . . From there, Sydnie and Gunnar would leave in the vehicle, as though she were being removed from Bas' custody. Gunnar had thought that the bounty hunters would split up so that they could follow Bas and Sydnie, both. She'd hoped he was wrong. She'd hoped that they'd all follow her.

 

Bas would exit the hotel via the roof, cutting through the woods behind the hotel where he'd wait for them, giving them the advantage when Gunnar stopped the car—unless Bas ended up having to fight the lingering bounty hunters, that was . . .

 

Closing her eyes, Sydnie pressed the locket against her heart and swallowed hard. `Be safe, Sebastian . . . you promised you'd be all right . . .'

 

Gunnar pulled onto the street, checking the LCD monitor from time to time to make sure that they were on the right path. The access road where they'd meet up with Bas only had one entrance nearby, and for reasons that eluded Sydnie, that one was nearly five miles away.

 

She glanced in the passenger side mirror and bit her lip. The car was still following them.

 

Gunnar sighed softly, understanding her unvoiced upset. He managed a weak smile and squeezed her icy hand. “He'll be fine, you know. Don't worry about Bas . . . he's trained with the best, or so I've been assured.”

 

“And who would that be?” she demanded, unable to keep the sharp edge out of her voice. `Whoever thought of the phrase, `Out of sight, out of mind',' she mused with a grimace, `ought to be strung up and left for the vultures . . .'

 

“His grandfather,” Gunnar went on, oblivious to the mutinous train of her thoughts. “One of the best, if not the absolute master . . . Bas will be just fine; you'll see . . .”

 

Sydnie nodded, unsure why she felt like he was trying to convince himself of the same thing, too. She stole a glance at him. Eyes narrowed on the road ahead, his jaw ticked menacingly, knuckles white with the force behind his grip on the steering wheel, Gunnar's ears twitched, turning almost backward as he pushed the button to crack the window and drew a deep breath.

 

Gunnar chuckled softly when their pursuers were unceremoniously cut off by a truck that pulled off a side road. Taking the opportunity to buy them a little more time, he sped up, mumbling under his breath about being thankful for the oncoming traffic that would keep the hunters at bay and just might buy them a little time that they desperately needed.

 

Gunnar turned off onto the access road as Sydnie slipped the locket back into her purse. Scanning the forest that lined the path, she knew that looking for Bas wouldn't do any good, and yet she couldn't help herself, either.

 

“You sure you want a mutt like Bas?” Gunnar asked, his teasing tone oddly strained.

 

Sydnie couldn't muster the bravado to rise to the bait. “Even good fighters can be outnumbered,” she whispered. “What if there were more than two left behind?”

 

Gunnar winced and sighed. “Then Bas can deal with that, too.”

 

She didn't reply to that.

 

“You ready to run, Sydnie?”

 

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I'm ready.”

 

“All right,” Gunnar agreed. “This looks like as good a spot as any. Remember: no matter what, you cannot let them touch you.”

 

“I won't.”

 

“Good, because Bas will kill me if anything happens to you.”

 

“You're scared of him?” she couldn't help but ask.

 

“When it comes to you? Hell, yes,” he quipped. The smile he shot her was a little closer to what a smile ought to be. It faded quickly, though, and he sighed as he pulled off the road in a small shoulder area that was partially obscured by trees that lined the road and stopped the vehicle. “You know what to do.”

 

Sydnie nodded absently, scanning the trees for any sign of Bas. Gunnar got out and loped around the SUV. The wind had picked up, and with a deep breath, she threw her door open. Gunnar grabbed her hand and sprinted into the forest.

 

`Where is he?'

 

Unable to catch his scent in the escalating gale, Sydnie had to narrow her eyes to keep flying debris from blinding her. Gunnar growled low in his throat and stopped for a moment, dropping to his knees as he tried to catch Bas' scent. Sydnie choked back the anxiety that rose inside her as she scanned the trees. “He has to—”

 

“He's close,” Gunnar said as he got to his feet. “Come on.”

 

Sydnie followed Gunnar further into the forest, shielding her face with her hands. The wind had a bitter bite that whipped through her with a vicious abandon, and she had to turn her head to the side a few times so that she could breathe.

 

Glancing over her shoulder, she scanned the area for any sign of Bas or the bounty hunters she knew weren't far behind. `He has to be close,' she told herself stubbornly. `Bas . . . where are you?'

 

Gunnar grasped her hand and tugged her forward. Sydnie followed, eyes trained on the darkness: the shadows that thwarted her. A sudden thump, a quiet growl, and suddenly Sydnie felt herself jerked away from Gunnar's grip and pulled back against a very solid, very welcome body. “Bas!”

 

“Keep your damn hands off her,” he growled, glaring over her head at his cousin.

 

Gunnar shrugged, but his grin was obviously relieved. “About time you joined us,” he drawled.

 

Sydnie shook her head. “Where . . . where were you?”

 

Bas jerked his head heavenward. “The trees.”

 

“I saw two of them in the parking lot,” Gunnar interrupted. “Where are they?”

 

Bas grunted. “They were going into the hotel when I took off. They can't be too far behind.” Bending down long enough to scoop Sydnie up, he vaulted back into the trees as Gunnar followed suite. “You stay up here,” he told her.

 

Sydnie made a face. “Are you nuts?”

 

“I mean it, cat. I can't concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing if I'm all preoccupied, worrying about you!”

 

She opened her mouth to retort then snapped it closed again, whipping her face to the side as she scanned the forest below. “They're here,” she whispered.

 

Bas uttered a low growl and let Sydnie's feet drop to the solid branch. “Stay here, Sydnie,” he told her again. “I mean it.”

 

She scowled at the stubborn dog but nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. As much as she wished it were otherwise, she knew that he was right. If he ended up injured like he had been the last time because of her . . . Sydnie swallowed hard and hunkered down on the branch beside Bas as two bounty hunters—a wolf- and a jaguar-youkai—stepped out of the trees into the range of Sydnie's sight below. They were the ones she'd seen in the parking lot—the ones who had been following Bas. She dug her claws into the branch as two more youkai slipped into the area . . .

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

`Four bounty hunters?' Bas thought, cutting off another growl before he gave away their position.

 

The hunters were still looking around below, and not for the first time, Bas was thankful for the wind that was effectively carrying their scents away before they could be discerned. The four exchanged looks before continuing to comb the area. Bas glanced over at Gunnar, catching his cousin's eye. Gunnar pointed down then pointed behind him. Bas nodded, sparing a moment to place his hand over Sydnie's before silently maneuvering through the tree branches, circling around the bounty hunters while Gunnar did the same on the other side.

 

Crouching low, he dropped from the tree onto the soggy forest floor, the sounds of his movements lost in the rising winds of the storm. The two hunters didn't seem to realize that he was almost directly behind them, and, gritting his teeth hard, he drew his sword and held it at ready. “Looking for someone?” he growled, his voice a low rumble underlying the distant thunder reverberating through the air.

 

The two swung around to face him, masking their surprise quickly but not quickly enough for Bas to miss the expressions. Before he let them gain any sort of advantage, he whipped around, hefting Triumvirate over his shoulder and bringing it down across the wolf-youkai's chest. He howled in pain, the hot spray of his blood hitting Bas in the face. His body exploded in a wave of dust and light and wind before he hit the ground as Bas turned in time to smash an elbow into the jaguar-youkai's stomach.

 

“You're the one I sensed the last time,” Bas snarled, narrowing his eyes on the jaguar-youkai as he tightened his grip on Triumvirate. “Too afraid to come out of hiding, were you?”

 

“I had my reasons, son of the Great Dog,” the jaguar hissed, cracking his knuckles as he straightened up.

 

“Reasons . . . right . . .”

 

He lunged at Bas, claws flashing with an unearthly blue hue as they sliced through the air. Bas blocked him with Triumvirate's blade and heaved the jaguar-youkai away. He slid across the forest floor, the stagnant scent of decaying leaves and molding wood rising from the earth.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gunnar whip around, the blade of his sword whistling, catching the arm of one of the youkai as a fine sheen of blood arced through the air. The earth-based-youkai bellowed and stumbled back as the second one—a thunder-youkai—slammed his meaty fists into the ground. Gunnar sprang out of the way as a blast of thunder struck where he had been standing.

 

“You'd be better off to pay attention to me!” the jaguar growled, sprinting toward Bas. Bas leaned away in time to avoid the brunt of the attack, head snapping to the side when the jaguar's razor-sharp claws grazed his cheek.

 

“Sebastian! Look out!” Sydnie shrieked. Bas growled, glancing over his shoulder in time to see the furrow of earth rippling toward him. Trees groaned and shook; dirt flew through the air. The earth-youkai stood gripping his arm while Gunnar crossed swords with the thunder-youkai. The torrential rain picked up, splitting the treetops and drenching the forest as the wind drove in more rain from the east.

 

Bas dove to the side moments before the ground shifted under his feet. The jaguar-youkai leapt at him, and he reacted on instinct, bringing his feet up, catching the miscreant in the gut, and shoved him away. Rolling to his feet as the jaguar smacked into a gnarled tree trunk, Bas wiped the rain off his face and tightened his grip on Triumvirate.

 

“Don't . . . kill . . . them . . . all,” Gunnar grunted. Standing his ground with swords crossed, he and the thunder-youkai seemed to be engaged in a battle of brute strength.

 

“Kill us all?” the thunder-youkai scoffed. “I'd like to see you try, puppy!”

 

Gunnar grunted again, regaining his footing on the slippery earth. “Bring it, old man.”

 

“Why don't you give up? Tuck your tail between your legs, and I might let you run away.”

 

“This Mamoruzen will not run,” he growled.

 

Bas hefted his sword over his head and slammed it down on the ground. The shockwave shot out of the blade in waves, intercepting the earth-youkai's attack in a violent collision of Bas' yellow-white flames and the earth-youkai's reddish hue. “Sure thing, Mamoruzen . . . I'll have Mother invite them over for fucking tea,” he snarled back.

 

“Strong for a young'un,” the thunder-youkai mused with a grim smile, “but not strong enough.” With a growl, he shoved Gunnar hard. Gunnar stumbled back a couple steps before hurling himself toward the thunder-youkai again. The swords crashed as the two faced off, sparks flying as the scrape of the blades ignited in an eerie purple glow.

 

The jaguar-youkai sprang at Bas once more. Bas spun away to avoid the attack a moment too late. The youkai caught his right wrist, claws scraping against bone as he grunted in pain. The hit sent Triumvirate flying end over end, and it embedded itself in the earth fifty feet away, the blade resonating with the force of impact.

 

“Only as good as your sword, aren't you?” the jaguar gloated. “Let's see what you can do without it—if you can do anything at all.”

 

Bas clutched his bleeding wrist for a moment but let go, shaking the appendage and gritting his teeth against the searing pain. Cracking his knuckles, he blanked his features and narrowed his gaze on the youkai. “If you believe that,” he began, “then you're stupider than I thought you were.”

 

“Don't make the mistake of underestimating him, Glave,” the earth-youkai grumbled.

 

“I've seen him fight,” Glave scoffed. “He used the cat as a decoy, all because he lost possession of his precious sword. That's what I saw.”

 

Bas didn't bother replying to the obvious taunt. The reason he'd relied so heavily on his sword in the last fight wasn't because he was weak. He'd been more dependent on it because he'd allowed himself to be caught off-guard, and with the injuries he'd sustained to his ribs, he couldn't fight without Triumvirate as well . . . Not that the bounty hunters needed to know that. On the contrary, he'd be the last one to tell any of them that crucial bit of information . . .

 

Glave leapt at Bas again, his claws whistling through the air as he recklessly swung his arm. Bas stepped to the side to avoid the brunt of the attack, left hand flashing out in a blur of motion. Catching the jaguar-youkai by the throat, he dug his claws into the vulnerable flesh. Blood dripped down his arm, spiraling in a hot wash of fluid. The jaguar's eyes flashed and flared, and he gasped as he clawed at Bas' hand. Tightening his grip, Bas gritted his teeth, and snapped his head to the side just in time to avoid the blast of wind and dust as the jaguar-youkai's body disintegrated.

 

The earth-youkai sent another furrow of earth after him. Bas pushed off the ground, evading the attack easily enough. Landing in a crouch, he spun around in a broad sweep of his leg, intent on knocking the earth-youkai off his feet. The youkai sprang back, taking a moment to gather his bearings before lunging at Bas. Bas hurled himself at the bounty hunter, arm stretched out behind him. The manic light in the youkai's eyes flashed in the illumination of lightning that split the night. The macabre light siphoning through the treetops . . . the hiss of the leaves in the bitter wind . . . the strange, almost dream-like quality that delineated his movements . . . It all combined in Bas' mind to create an unnatural sort of urgency.

 

Bringing his arm around in a semi-circle, he slashed through the youkai's thick leather jacket. The earth-youkai tried to spin away from Bas' claws. The pungent scent of his blood mingled with the blood already saturating Bas' hands, and with a grunt, Bas landed, flicking his hand to shake off some of the dripping fluid.

 

The earth-youkai stumbled, clutching his twice-injured arm. Bas strode forward, more than ready to end the fight. The youkai barreled into him, using his shoulder as a battering ram and sending Bas sliding back a few feet. He caught his footing, boots squelching in the thick mire of mud. The earth-youkai slammed his fist into the ground, sending a wall of mud straight up around Bas only to spill over him in a torrent.

 

“Don't kill him, Shakes,” the thunder-youkai—still engaged in a pushing match with Gunnar—remarked as Bas wiped the mud off his face. “The boss wants him alive.”

 

“Who is your boss?” Gunnar demanded.

 

“Doesn't matter to you, pup,” the thunder-youkai scoffed. “You'll be dead before this battle's over . . .”

 

“That's what you think,” Gunnar shot back. Jerking his sword back and whipping around in a circle, he brought the weapon down, aiming for the thunder-youkai's legs. The youkai hopped backward but not fast enough to avoid the blade. It grazed his left hip, leaving a gash in the youkai's jeans as a ribbon of blood welled from the wound, staining the dark fabric with an even darker shadow.

 

“First time you've taken a hit in how long, Jack?” Shakes asked with an incredulous expression on his face.

 

“Barely a scratch,” Jack growled. Gunnar snorted and slammed his sword into the ground, unleashing a wall of flames that surged over the sodden forest floor. Jack jumped out of the way, landing just below the tree where Sydnie was perched.

 

Bas opened his mouth to tell Gunnar to watch out as the earth-youkai shot forward, slamming Bas to the ground. Catching Shakes' descending claws by the wrist, Bas grunted as he twisted the appendage with a sharp jerk. The sound of splintering bone collided with the earth-youkai's screech of pain. Bas shoved him aside and rolled to his feet, catching Triumvirate's hilt as he whipped around. The blade flashed in a blur of motion as Shakes lunged for Bas once more. Grimacing as the sickening scrape of the youkai blade against bone groaned loud in the night, Bas wrenched the sword, severing Shakes' head with a single blow.

 

Breathing hard, he wiped his face with the filthy sleeve of his leather duster. Bas turned around, Triumvirate clenched tight in his fist as the fissure of light illuminated the forest. The fabricated wind died away, and Bas stopped short. Gunnar heaved Jack away, sending the huge youkai careening back against the tree trunk.

 

Sydnie shrieked as she toppled from the branches. He sprinted forward as Sydnie fell. Jack shook his head and glanced up, catching the cat as though she were little more than a feather on the breeze. “Sydnie!” Bas bellowed, skidding to a halt as Jack's grin widened. With a stifled growl, Gunnar slammed his sword into the scabbard and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“It's raining cats and dogs tonight,” Jack mused, sensing that he had suddenly gained the upper hand.

 

“Let her go, damn you,” Bas snarled.

 

“Well, that would be stupid, wouldn't it?” Jack pointed out.

 

Sydnie uttered a sing-song wail; a vicious growl. Jack tightened his arms, and she winced.

 

Bas started toward the two. Jack lifted a hand to her throat, his claws grazing over the soft flesh in a warning. “Do you really want her dead that badly? Drop the sword, pup, or the cat dies now.”

 

Sydnie's hand shot out, slamming against the side of the thunder-youkai's head. With a predatory howl, she pushed against him with all her strength as her claws raked over his ear, shredding the skin as he bellowed in pain. He dropped Sydnie, who sat still for a moment, blinking almost incredulously. Gunnar grabbed her arm and pulled her back as Bas leapt over her, driving the blade of his sword straight into Jack's chest—straight into his heart. The forward motion of Bas' body drove the two back against the tree. Triumvirate trembled in his hands as the blade embedded itself in the wood.

 

Jack's murky eyes glistened in the semi-dark. He wheezed out an incredulous chuckle that shifted into a groan of pain as Bas jerked his sword free then twisted the blade. The thunder youkai's eyes dulled slowly as the rain beat down around them. The last blast of dirt and wind and light flashed through the trees as Bas turned around with a weary sigh just in time to see the blur that was Sydnie.

 

She'd pulled away from Gunnar's grip and threw herself against Bas' chest, body quaking, breathing harsh, and even in the onslaught of the pouring rain, he could smell the salt of her tears. “It's okay, baby,” he told her quietly, slamming Triumvirate, point down, into the earth so that he could wrap his arms around her. “It . . . it's okay . . .”

 

 

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A/N:

 

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Reviewers

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fallenangel7583 ------ Rawben ------ OROsan0677 ------ Shadow_Within ------ animeloca ------ inuyashaloverr ------ Simonkal of InuYasha ------ Angelswrath ------ Lennex ------ Kurisu no Ryuujin ------ RhiannonoftheMoon ------ Kuramas gurl ------ artemiswaterdragon

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Final Thought fromGunnar:

He calls her … baby..?

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Phantasm): 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~