InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Six Feet ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Sesshomaru watched impassively as the young miko used her little charm on his brother and stormed away with the wolf, her anger radiating from her in waves. He sniffed the air lightly then shook his head in disgust. The air faintly stunk of betrayal. Of course, he had also heard every word that had been spoken, had seen every look that had been given . . . only Inuyasha had been clueless about the situation.

'Typical Inuyasha,' Sesshomaru thought, turning away from the heart-breaking scene. For a moment, he almost felt sorry for his brother. No one deserved to be betrayed like that, not even someone as pathetic as the hanyou. Inuyasha had been through enough in his life and it had looked like he was getting close to claiming the girl as his mate. Then Sesshomaru shook his head, dismissing the thoughts and his momentary feelings of remorse. Such feelings were for fools. His brother deserved the pain he was now going through, especially for being so optimistic that he'd be accepted by a group of humans. Ningens were fickle creatures, untrustworthy. Sure, he had Kikyou and Rin traveling with him, but they were different. Rin was but a mere child, even by youkai standards, and was learning about loyalty and trust through him and Jaken. And Kikyou . . . well, he'd already made it known what would happen to her if she betrayed him. He wasn't the fool his brother was. He would kill those who dared to cross him.

'He should have known the girl would eventually betray him. He should have known . . .'

Sesshomaru continued on his way, heading back to where his traveling companions had set up camp. Rin would be worried about him. She always worried about him and he hated to see her do anything but smile.

* * *

A young girl stood on the ledge, overlooking the valley below her. Her long red hair had been pulled into two tails, one on each side of her head, and a single flower rested in her scarlet mane. Two white wolves sat on either side of her. Behind her stood a tall male with icy blue eyes and a silvery-white mane. The rest of his features had become obscured by the dark robes he had opted to wear.

“Are . . . are you sure about this?” she whispered.

“Hai,” came the murmured response. “I'm sure. I've been watching them for many months now. If they have not become official mates by now, they soon will be. His promise to you has been broken.”

 

“And what about her love for the other? For Inuyasha?” she whirled around to face the man behind her. “Tell me that, Hiroshi! What happened? I thought she loved him! Not Kouga!”

“As did Inuyasha, Ayame. Even as we speak, Inuyasha still remains unaware of the changes that have been occurring around him, though that, too, is about to change.”

“It's about to change?” the wolf demoness echoed. “How do you know this? You're only a half-breed.”

“I may be only a half-breed,” he sneered, stepping closer to her, “but I'm also not blind to my surroundings or to those who are similar to me. I can feel it, Ayame. It's what I get for watching over my nephew since his birth.”

As he spoke, his form seemed to have grown taller, more formidable than before. His blue eyes flashed angrily, reminding Ayame of stormy seas. Then he let out a heavy sigh and his imposing figure disappeared. Ayame let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding.

“But Inuyasha isn't the reason why I'm here, on this night. He will have to deal with his heartache on his own. There is nothing I can do for him. As much as I would like to, I've given my word to never interfere.”

“Then why are you here, Hiroshi?” she murmured, stepping closer to him. “If it isn't because of Inuyasha then why? What would bring you to me?”

Sky blue eyes met hers, a sadness like none she had ever seen reflecting in those shimmering pools. They held something else, too, something she couldn't quite identify.

“You,” he whispered. “I came here because of you.”

* * *

Naraku watched through Kanna's mirror as the scene between Kagome, Inuyasha, and Kouga unraveled then licked his lips at the delicious tastes of despair and betrayal. Ever since it began, Naraku had known about the young miko's relationship with the wolf. However, he had decided not to say anything to Inuyasha just yet. The timing, he had felt, just wasn't right. Things had been at the forgivable or explainable stage, and it would have only unified the strange group of companions against him. He couldn't risk that.

But this . . . this was far too delicious. There was no way that he couldn't act upon this. The group was divided. Perhaps even irreparably.

'Can't take that chance, though,' he thought, getting to his feet. 'I need to act now. While the lines are still divided.'

As he prepared to leave the castle, Naraku couldn't help but smirk. It had finally happened. The ever-so-mighty Inuyasha had finally fallen and in the worst way possible. Brought down yet again by the woman that he loved. The irony of the whole situation was simply . . . beautiful. He glanced at the darkening Shikon no Tama then began to laugh, the sound echoing throughout the entire castle.

* * *

'I can't believe this! I absolutely can't believe this! He followed me! He actually followed me!'
Kagome paced back and forth, her entire form shaking with the anger and rage that she felt. She hadn't expected Inuyasha to follow her and Sango to the hot springs - that in itself looked bad enough - but the fact that he had managed to catch her with Kouga . . . it was still too much.

“Calm down, Kagome,” Kouga murmured, stopping her in her tracks. His arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close. “He had to find out sooner or later.”

“That still doesn't change the fact that he followed me to the hot spring!” she spat. Then Kagome took a deep breath and leaned against him. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just wasn't expecting a confrontation like that.”

“No one was,” he soothed, nuzzling her hair. “But there's no sense in getting worked up over it. What's done is done.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. They stood that way for several moments before she finally pulled away from him. “Come on. I need to talk to Inuyasha . . . let him know how long this has been going on . . . then give Miroku a piece of my mind for breaking his promise to me.”

“Sure thing,” the wolf nodded, wrapping an arm around her as they began to head back to her campsite. “But I don't think the monk did anything. I thought I caught Sesshomaru's scent close by.”

“What?” Kagome felt the blood draining from her face at those words.

“I thought I detected Sesshomaru close by . . . he is Inuyasha's brother, right?”

“Yes,” she moaned. “And if you could detect Sesshomaru, so could Inuyasha. Kami, this isn't good. I need to get back to camp. Now.”

“Then hop on,” Kouga grinned. “We'll be back before you know it.”

Kagome smiled in return as she climbed onto the wolf's back, but the warmth didn't reach her heart. All she could think about was getting back to her friends and hopefully salvage whatever friendship she had left in Inuyasha.

`Kami, what have I done?'

* * *

His chest hurt. It hurt a lot. He felt as if someone had sat upon his chest and was slowly smothering him to death. And the only thing he could think of to do was escape. Escape from the pain, escape from the burning anger he had seen in those eyes, in her eyes . . . escape from the betrayal that had taken place around him.

The wind whipped around him, whistling in his ears. Branches reached for him, slapping him in the face and cutting him . . . but he didn't care. Not anymore. He ran, with no direction in mind. He ran until he could no longer run anymore. With his chest heaving, he fell to the ground, a restless slumber overtaking him . . .