InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Separation ❯ Kidnapped ( Chapter 4 )

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

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc.  I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc.   I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created.  I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.


Fanfiction of the Week:  Emergence, by inufan625


Kidnapped


“You take my daughter as your wife.”  

Inuyasha’s breath whooshed from his lungs as his mind frantically tried to process the old youkai’s request.  He had to have misheard her, right?  What she was asking was just crazy.  Yet, his hanyou ears rarely missed anything, let alone something he was consciously listening to.  He stared at the demonness as if multiple shrieking heads had just sprouted from each shoulder.  Still, even that would have been less insane than what he knew he had just heard her demand.  But he had to be sure.  

“What?” he growled incredulously.  

“You heard me.  You will mate my daughter and she will live with you as your wife.  You will give her children and cherish her for the rest of your days, or I shall turn you into nothing more than an ugly smear on the ground.  But that will not be necessary.  Over time you shall grow to care for her; she is a kind soul, and you will make each other happy.”    

Still stupefied, Inuyasha took a step back.  “Wh-why the hell would I marry someone I don’t even know?”  

Her ire building, Shinobu responded in kind.  “Is a hanyou like you ever going to get a better offer?  The hand of a young, beautiful full-youkai; this is something you could never have hoped to achieve in your wildest dreams.”  

Lowering his ears, Inuyasha was forced to admit that Shinobu was right.  Even in his youth he had known the futility of pursuing a full-youkai bride.  No youkai female would even associate with him, let alone consider him as a possible life partner.  That simple fact made the old youkai’s offer even stranger, and a little suspicious as well.  But as much as he would love to continue their shouting match, he knew it would get him nowhere.  Aside from marching Shinobu to the well at sword point, there was no way he could force her to help him.  No, to his great annoyance he had to at least try to reason with her.  Diplomacy had never been one of his skills, but he was determined to get to the bottom of this.  

“If your daughter is so desirable,” he asked, choosing his words carefully, “then why would you want a hanyou like me to be her husband?”  

Shinobu’s face hardened, old pain rising to the surface, and for a moment Inuyasha thought he would get no answer.  Finally, in an exhausted, miserable voice, the old demonness spoke.  

“Twenty years, ago, when my daughter was barely a maiden, she was attacked by a rogue group of youkai.  By the time I arrived, the vile act had already begun, and it was too late to save my daughter or her purity.  I took my vengeance, but it did nothing to heal my daughter’s wounds.  To this day no self-respecting full-youkai will court her.  In my desperation, I even allowed her to associate with humans, but once she revealed her demonic heritage all their professed love vanished, replaced by fear and hatred.  An outcast like you, who is neither human nor youkai, has become my only hope for my daughter’s happiness.”  

A stifling silence engulfed the cave as Inuyasha was struck speechless.  Bitterness hung thickly in the air, and he could practically taste Shinobu’s remorse with every breath.  Finally, the demonness spoke.  

“Enough.  I will discuss no more tonight.  My daughter will show you to your chamber.  Kasumi!”  

Slowly a lone figure emerged from the shadows behind her mother’s left shoulder.  “Please, follow me,” she said without emerging into the fading light.  

Then she turned and proceeded back the way she had come, and Inuyasha, with Shippou still clinging to his shoulder, saw little option but to follow.  Jogging, he closed the distance between them until he walked barely a few feet behind her.  From the back, she looked every bit the beauty Shinobu had alluded to.  Though her simple white kimono revealed little skin, it did nothing to hide the curves of her womanly figure.  Her knee-length black hair was tied in a simple ponytail, but otherwise swished freely behind her.  Inuyasha, however, was no pervert, and he found himself paying more attention to his unfamiliar surroundings than the youkai leading him further into the mountain.  The passage had been hewn into the rock, but the floor was surprisingly smooth on his bare feet.  Round containers filled with some sort of luminescent liquid were spaced periodically along one wall, provided dim light.  The fixtures cast a greenish glow along the corridor, giving the hallway a ghostly aura, as if the mountain itself was haunted by the tragedies of the past.  

Inuyasha received the same impression from the youkai in front of him, when she stopped before a door and turned to face him.  He gasped softly; her beauty was truly striking, ethereal even.  Her face…a smile could have made it shine with all the radiance of the sun.  How could such a beautiful creature appear so downtrodden, so crushed by the weight of the world?  How long had it been since happiness had flickered across her visage?  A rare emotion welled up inside Inuyasha: pity.  How long had it been since he had pitied anyone?  Usually when pity was part of his life he was on the receiving end of it.  They had pitied his mother, those who thought she had suffered the same fate as Kasumi.  Those who knew better simply hated her, and they all despised him, the spawn of an unholy union.  He found himself deeply empathizing with this broken woman before him.  He understood her loneliness, having spent many years of his life on his own.  A mother’s love could only heal so many wounds or fill so much of the dreadful void.

It was this empathy that kept him from giving in to his frustration and dismissing her without a second glance.  Instead, he addressed her calmly but firmly.

“Come inside.  I want to talk with you.”  

When she nodded her assent, he preceded her through the doorway.  The room he found himself in was quite impressive, with several cushions and a large, comfortable-looking futon placed strategically near the fireplace.  A small fire was already burning, the smoke floating upwards through an air duct that eventually led to the exterior of the mountain.  Plopping down against one of the cushions, he motioned for Kasumi to follow suit.  She stiffly seated herself across from him.  Inuyasha studied her closely; her appearance was neutral but her eyes betrayed an underlying anger.  It nevertheless relieved him to see her exude some emotion; she had been resembling Kikyou far too much for his liking.  Still, no matter how much he sympathized with her, there was no way he was going to acquiesce to her mother’s request.  And it wasn’t because of Kagome…he just didn’t feel like taking a wife at the moment.  Yeah…

“Just so you know, this wedding thing ain’t gonna happen,” he stated more harshly than he intended.  

“I know,” she whispered sadly.  

“Y-you do?”  He was surprised at the apparent ease of setting her straight; he had been expecting a major argument.  But she merely nodded, as if she was used to this sort of rejection.  In fact, she had probably been refused more times than she could count, which didn’t make him feel any better.  

“Of course.  You don’t know me, and you don’t want to.  Why should you be any different from any of the other men my mother has propositioned over the years?”

“That’s not—I’m not like those bastards!  I’ve got my own reasons.  Besides, I understand how you feel.”

She shook her head, glaring at him as some emotion finally leaked into her visage.  “No, you don’t.”

“What, you don’t think I understand loneliness?” Inuyasha demanded incredulously.  “When people would rather kill you than associate with you?  To have humans and youkai alike judge you before they even know you?  Trust me; I know how you feel.  And I never said I didn’t want to get to know you.  I just don’t want to marry you.”  

Kasumi paused before responding, her expression morphing from anger to confusion.  “Why?”  

It was a simple question, but one that quickly transformed Inuyasha’s mind into a jumbled mess.  He hadn’t really thought about why he didn’t want to marry this youkai; he had just known the second the proposition was made that it wasn’t an option.  He simply hadn’t had to think about why.  But Kasumi was looking for a reason, and he would at least try to give her one.  He hastily pushed aside the first thing that popped into his head; he had, after all, just told himself that she wasn’t the driving force behind his actions.  Admitting Kagome was the reason behind his resistance to Shinobu’s offer would be admitting far more than Inuyasha’s befuddled mind was ready for at the moment.  Sidestepping the potential emotional debacle, the hanyou eventually came up with another answer.  

“Uh, I’m on a quest…to unify the shards of the Shikon no Tama.  My friends and I, we can’t rest until the jewel is complete and I have had my revenge on the one wronged me.”  

Kasumi frowned.  “So?  Why can’t I come with you and your…wait, did you say you had friends?”  

Now it was Inuyasha’s turn to frown, though her assumption that a hanyou like him would be a loner was not all that surprising.  Since they had just been talking about loneliness, he was not overly offended by it either.  

“Yeah, I’ve got a few friends.  Two youkai and three humans.  Well, three and a half if you count Kaede,” he chuckled dryly.  His amusement diminishing, he continued in a subdued manner.  “At first, I was as shocked as you are.  But Kagome stood by me, and she kinda roped the others in one at a time.  She’s really the only reason I’ve got anybody.”  

Kasumi’s expression turned contemplative, and she asked her next question in a tone that reflected suspicion.    “Tell me, who is this Kagome person?”  

Inuyasha’s eyes widened comically, his mind racing once again.  He had never had to describe Kagome to anyone before.  As he had once told her, Kagome is Kagome; he didn’t need any other words to describe her.  As his mind was nearly overwhelmed by hundreds of possible words and phrases, he chose the easiest, safest one.  

“She’s uh…a girl I know.”  

If expressions could speak, Kasumi’s would have said ‘Duh.  Try again, baka.’  Inuyasha felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment as he groped for another answer.  “She can sense the jewel shards, so she helps me on my quest.”  

“So this Kagome girl is merely a shard-detector?”

“No!”  Inuyasha was momentarily taken aback, surprised by his own outrage at Kasumi’s suggestion, especially since it was something he himself had said many times before.  How long had it been since he first realized that the temperamental miko from the future was no longer just a shard-detector?  But just what was Kagome to him?  How does this question keep popping up?  Cognizant of the youkai waiting patiently for his response, Inuyasha cut short his mental investigation and spoke from the heart.  

“She’s my friend…my best friend.  She’s, uh…important to me.”

Kasumi studied the flushing hanyou before her for several moments before seeming to come to a decision.  “I see,” she muttered before rising and heading for the hallway.

“W-wait!  That’s it?  No wedding?”  

Kasumi smiled wryly.  “No, no wedding.  I will speak to my mother; perhaps she can come up with something else you can do for us.  I no longer wish to have you as a mate or husband, now that I know the truth.”  

With that, she left the room, closing the door flap behind her.  Inuyasha was left puzzling over her sudden departure.  The truth?  About what?  Oh, well, it didn’t really matter as long as this marriage was off the table.  Looks like I might not have to resort to violence, after all.  

“Inuyasha.”  

The small voice had Inuyasha leaping to his feet, primed for a fight, until the hanyou realized it was only Shippou.  He had completely forgotten about the silent fox kit.  Then again, the runt hadn’t had much to talk about since they arrived at the mountain.  

“Yeah, what?” he demanded grumpily, covering his embarrassment with surliness.  

“I’m glad you’re not going to marry that youkai.  Kagome would be really sad if you did.”  

Inuyasha reached his hand toward the kit’s head and Shippou braced for a sharp impact, but instead the hanyou only ruffled his hair as he distractedly stared at the wall.  

“I know runt.  I know.”

Kasumi walked the familiar hallway to her mother’s chamber, her resolve showing in her stride.  She couldn’t explain why, but she felt a strong desire to help Inuyasha in any way she could.  It was not a familiar emotion; in fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been so driven to aid another.  She was quite sure romantic interests were not the reason.  Perhaps it was the sense of camaraderie she was bathed in when she spoke with him.  Perhaps it was because he had fought through so much adversity and had still come out a good person in the end.  Or perhaps it was because he, a lonely hanyou, had found someone to fill the void in his heart.  It gave her hope that someday she too might find someone to hold dear.  

Reaching her destination, she took a deep breath before reaching up to push aside her mother’s door.  Her hand froze midair as Shinobu’s voice reached her ears.

“Yes, Kasumi, what is it?”  

How does she do that?  She had never been able to creep up on her mother.  In fact, she had never seen the older woman look surprised, period.  Kasumi pushed through the door and entered the room.  She found her mother sitting on the mat in front of the fire, stirring some ominous looking potion in a small bowl.  Stepping quietly to her mother’s side, Kasumi was content to let the silence return before she broke it once more.  

“Mother, I do not wish to marry the hanyou.”  

Shinobu’s face remained passive as she replied:

“Now, Kasumi, we have been over this.  You need someone to take care of you.  I will not live forever, you know.  Inuyasha may be brash, but I can tell he is a good man, and he will treat you well.  Or else I will relieve him of his testicles.”  

“It’s not that mother.  I…I do not love him.”  

Shinobu’s head snapped up as she turned her eyes to her daughter for the first time.  “Love?  Love is a human emotion; it is useless for us youkai.  Love and deceit are intertwined.  You have seen how easily humans express love one moment, and then abandon it the next.  Love is a lie.”

“Is it?  Can you honestly say you never loved my father?  I watched you grieve for decades after his death.  If that is not pure love, then what is?”  

The two women locked in a staring match for several moments before Shinobu finally backed down.  

“You are right; I did love your father.  But our mating was arranged, and that love grew over many years of companionship.  I was hoping the same thing would happen for you.”

“Mother…I have always dreamed of marrying for love, you know that.  And I know that it probably can’t happen anymore, but…I just wouldn’t feel right marrying a perfect stranger.  Besides, Inuyasha is already in love with someone else.”  

This time Kasumi swore she saw a flicker of surprise flash across her mother’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.  

“You are certain?”

“Yes, I am.”  

Shinobu sighed heavily, lowering her gaze to the fire pit.  “Very well.  I will think of something else the hanyou can do for me.”  

Kasumi fell to her knees and enveloped her mother in a quick hug.  Then, after whispering her thanks, she rose to her feet and left the chamber.  She would have pleasant dreams tonight.  

Shinobu sighed again and shook her head.  Kids…

The next morning, Inuyasha received his new mission.  It turned out that the old demonness simply wanted him to gather a few ‘hard to reach’ herbs.  The mountain where the plants grew was a few days journey away, and Shinobu had not traveled there in over twenty years.  The herbs were very powerful and she only used small doses at a time, yada yada yada.  Inuyasha tuned out that part.  He did listen as she described where the plants would be located and sniffed the samples she gave him, committing them to memory.  Then he turned and went to find Shippou.  

“Hey runt, I’m leaving.  The old hag’s got a job for me, just gathering a few plants.  She agreed to look at the well when I bring them back.  You stay here.”

“What!  No way!  I’m coming with you!”

“No you’re not!  I don’t know what kind of youkai are living on that mountain, and Kagome would ‘osuwari’ me to hell if I let you get into danger.  Besides, Katsumi…she could use some company that’s not her mother.”  

Shippou frowned, but reluctantly admitted that Inuyasha’s points were valid.  The hanyou could probably go faster without him, and Katsumi did look really lonely.  He too could sympathize with her, having experienced a short period of complete loneliness himself before he had joined the Inu-gang.  He shuddered at the memory.  

“Fine, but you better not screw it up!”

“Thanks for the confidence,” Inuyasha replied sarcastically before leaping into motion, quickly speeding out of sight.  Shippou sighed; he was not excited to be stuck playing the waiting game with Inuyasha.  The days were going to absolutely drag until the hanyou returned…

“Hentai!”  SLAP!!  

They had not managed to make it to the human village by dusk, so they decided to make camp a short distance from a hot spring Kirara led them to.  Sango had let down her guard, and when she bent over to start the fire, she felt the familiar sensation of a hand massaging her backside.  Nothing unusual for the two of them, but for the first time, Sango felt somewhat guilty for slapping him so hard.  He really had been well-behaved recently.  In fact, he hadn’t groped her since Inuyasha called him on it a few days ago.  Maybe I should have gone easy on him this time…  But old habits die hard, she supposed.  It was funny; Miroku would probably defend his lechery using the same logic.  

“Houshi-sama!  Are you going to start that again?”  

Miroku grasped her hands in his own and pulled them to his chest, then adopted his most charming smile.  “My dear Sango, I can’t help it.  Your shapely bottom just calls to me.  I would be content to just look, but my cursed hand…well, it has a mind of its own.”  

Sango stuttered for a moment before wrenching her hands away and spinning sharply in a lame attempt to conceal the heat rising to her cheeks.  Damn that houshi!  How does he get to me so easily?  She couldn’t help the small spark of excitement she felt when he complimented her, when he looked at her like that.  Not liking the effect Miroku’s words were having on her, she decided to withdraw for some much needed alone time.  

“Kirara, I’m going to take a bath.  Don’t let Houshi-sama leave camp.”  

Nodding in agreement, the fire-cat sat herself on her haunches, her eyes firmly locked on Miroku.  

“I am so misunderstood,” he lamented while settling down against a nearby tree to await Sango’s return.  

The normally relaxing experience of settling into steamy water had done nothing to calm Sango’s nerves this time.  She had really hoped she had seen, or felt, the last of his groping, because it was the most confusing aspect of their relationship.  Yes, she had promised to marry him, but she still was unsure what place she occupied in his heart.  These past few days, things had been different.  Without the threat of his wandering hand to make her wary, Miroku had seemed more…open, and she had truly enjoyed the time alone with him.  For a man who shielded his emotions carefully, the monk had very expressive eyes.  Several times she had sworn she had seen open affection, even love, in his orbs as he gazed at her.  Other times she saw lust, but most often his eyes reflected companionship and contentment.  The whole experience had sparked feelings within her that she had never felt before, and she didn’t like it.  Warriors did not enjoy feeling vulnerable, as if at any moment their control could snap and they could surrender to the desires of the heart.  Yes, she loved Miroku; she would not have agreed to bear his children otherwise.  And these past few days she had become more and more convinced that perhaps that love was reciprocated.  When he groped her, however, she couldn’t help but feel betrayed, as if he wasn’t interested in her, just her body.  As if she was just another woman to him, just another conquest.  

Sango shook her head violently.  Miroku may be a hentai, but he told me I was special…  And the monk would never lie to her.  The thought made Sango feel a little better, but the doubt remained, swimming around in the back of her mind as she tried to enjoy her bath.  After a good, long soak, she emerged from the water and dressed on the bank.  She was wringing her hair out when a small round object bounced and landed a few feet in front of her.  Looking closely, Sango immediately recognized the thing for what it was, and shot her hand inside her robe.  She managed to place her slayer’s mask in front of her face just before the smoke pellet exploded, clouding the entire clearing in a white, blinding smog.  The foul gas stung her eyes, and she knew from experience that the potion would have definitely knocked her unconscious had she breathed it in.  She hastened to fasten the protective mask around her face before her attackers could move in.  

The first attack came from behind, as two strong male arms wrapped themselves around her torso in a tight bear hug.  Sango responded with all the grace and skill born from years of intense training.  The hands had barely linked themselves in front of her before she thrust her head backwards, driving it squarely into the man’s chin, stunning him.  She smoothly dropped into an open squat while simultaneously raising her arms, forcing the man’s own arms above her head.  Next she drove her elbow into the man’s gut and delivered a finishing sidekick to his chest as she stepped away.  Footsteps alerted her to the next attack, as she deftly parried the fist aimed at her head.  Her counterstrike to the man’s temple as he passed sent him sprawling to the dirt.  The next man came at her with a dagger, attempting a straight-in stab at her midsection.  As the blade came on, Sango parried with her hand at his wrist before grabbing it and bringing it above her head.  She spun her back on the man and plunged his outstretched arm down upon her shoulder, feeling particular satisfaction as she heard the elbow joint snap.  The quickest way to remove a weapon was to disable the arm that was holding it.  

What Sango didn’t count on was the man’s scream of agony reverberating in her ears.  Unable to see her enemies through the smoke and hear the sound of oncoming footsteps, she didn’t detect the next attack in time.  She felt a sharp blow to the back of her head, and then nothing.