InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Six Feet ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Naraku crept closer to the area where Inuyasha lay. Already, he could taste the hanyou's feelings of betrayal and despair. They were absolutely delicious and the sound of Inuyasha's breathing, that slightly strangled choke that fought back the sob, the shallowness of each breath . . . music to his ears. It was intoxicating, to say the least. Naraku had to have more of it. He closed his eyes and allowed his feet to guide him to his target . . .

* * *

“You came here . . . because of me?” Ayame croaked out, tears spilling down her cheeks. Hiroshi nodded, his expression saddened. How he wished he could kiss those tears away!

“Hai . . . I came here, at the risk of everything else, to come here . . . for you, Ayame,” he murmured.

“Why me?” she demanded softly.

“Because I've been watching you, along with my nephew,” Hiroshi stated gently. “I may not have been able to help him because of my promise to his father but I've been able to watch him. You caught my eye, Ayame. You have a strong spirit. I admire that about you. You've bewitched me somehow . . . and I rather like it.”

Tentatively, Hiroshi approached her. He wanted to hold his arms out to her but he refrained. He had just given her the worst news possible about the one that she had loved for a great number of years. To hold his arms out to her, he felt, would be to invite disaster and that was the last thing he wanted.

“How do I know you're being sincere?” Ayame whispered. “I've heard words like that before. I was even promised to be mated with.”

“I know you were,” Hiroshi soothed. “And I have no way to prove my sincerity other than to be here for you . . . if you so choose.”

“And if I ask you to promise to be my mate? What would you do then?”

“Live up to it,” he vowed. “I'm no fool, Ayame. I would never let a beautiful demoness such as yourself to slip through my grasp.”

“Even if I can't detect jewel shards?”

“I have no need for jewel shards, Ayame. My strength comes from training and honing my skills. Not from something as pathetic as the Shikon no Tama,” Hiroshi stated with conviction. “I have no desire to be something that I'm not. The Shikon no Tama means nothing to me.”

“But it means something to the tribe,” she pointed out. “My grandfather wants someone strong to be able to take over the tribe. That's why he wanted Kouga. Kouga has . . .”

“A jewel shard in each leg,” he finished. “He's also on a vendetta against the dark hanyou, Naraku, because of what happened with the wind demoness, Kagura. Because he has the jewel shards, he thinks he's strong enough to take on anyone who might cross his path and anger him. He's just fooling himself, though. I can assure you of that, Ayame. The jewel will be the tribe's downfall, as it is the downfall of all who seek to possess it.”

“Hiroshi . . .”

He closed the distance between them and took her hands into his.

“I've lived a long time, Ayame. I have no other desire in this world other than to be with you.”

“And to rule over these lands? I'm no fool, Hiroshi. I know what mating with me would mean for you,” she stated. Hiroshi smirked a little.

“My dear, I do not need to mate with you to take over these lands. They're mine by birthright. I am Rei Inu's youngest son, after all.”

* * *

Sango paced back and forth, wringing her hands nervously. After Kagome had left with Kouga, she and Miroku had tried to coax Inuyasha back to their campsite, so they could talk about everything that had transpired. It had stabbed at her heart to see his look of utter devastation. But their attempts to keep him in one place had failed. When they'd gotten him to his feet, the first thing Inuyasha did was take off. Where, she had no idea. The half-demon was simply too fast for her or Kirara to keep up with. It was after the silver-haired male had disappeared that she had turned on Miroku, only to find out Inuyasha had been running towards Sesshomaru. Not her and Kagome.

'How did things get so messed up?' she sighed to herself. 'How could we not have seen that change in Inuyasha?'

After Inuyasha had confessed to Kikyou releasing him from his promise, Sango had wracked her brains for the reason why they hadn't noticed it sooner. Inuyasha had stopped running off to see the undead priestess around the same time Kagome had decided to give Kouga a chance. She saw that now.

'And every time he brought up Kikyou, we bit his head off and Kagome “sat” him,' she sighed. 'If only we'd have listened to him sooner . . .'

A hand clasping her shoulder startled her out her thoughts and Sango whirled around, her hands balled up. Miroku just barely managed to dodge as her fist swung out. Sango blinked then took a deep breath to calm herself. She hadn't realized she'd been that on edge.

“Sorry,” she murmured. He offered her a bit of a lopsided, if somewhat mirthless smile.

“It's quite all right,” Miroku stated. “I don't blame you for lashing out like that, especially with the strong demonic aura to the south of us.”

“What?”

Her eyes went in the direction that Miroku had indicated then widened. She felt it, had been feeling it, and that had been setting her on edge. More so than usual.

“That's the direction Inuyasha ran in,” she murmured. Instinctively, she ran for her hiraikotsu and calling Kirara to her side. Talking to Kagome would have to wait. Inuyasha needed them more.

* * *

Icy blue eyes gazed her, almost in amusement at her declaration of why the half-demon had been interested in her. He was the youngest son to Rei Inu?

“Kami,” she breathed, her knees feeling weak. Unlike Kouga and most members of the wolf tribe, Ayame knew who several of the youkai lords were and who had come before them. Her grandfather had talked constantly about Lord Rei Inu and how he'd been such a formidable foe, how anyone of that bloodline would be an opponent no wolf could take on. Inuyoukai only grew stronger with age and even more so when they had someone to defend. Most youkai ridiculed them for taking a keen interest in humans, including the wolf tribes, but very rarely said anything to the inuyoukai about it. To do so was to invite certain death.

“Yes, Ayame. These lands are mine by all rights. I could take over in the blink of an eye, and effectively force the wolf tribes to find another place to live. However, the land, my title . . . they mean nothing to me. They've never meant much to me and they never will. There are more important things to be concerned about.”

Ayame took a deep, steadying breath while he spoke. If what he said was true, and she did believe him for no one invoked Lord Rei Inu's name as casually as he had, then she'd be a fool to pass the opportunity by. However, Ayame was not a greedy person. Her tribe's needs came first above her own needs.

And her tribe needed someone like Hiroshi, the youngest son to Lord Rei Inu. Though he was a half-demon, he still possessed power and knowledge. There was no way Kouga or any other male wolf could rival him. She offered him a wan smile. Hiroshi had said he was there for her, even when he couldn't be for his nephew . . . because he desired her. It felt good to hear such things, especially from another male youkai. Ayame nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I'll let you stay . . . to prove that you're the one for me, Hiroshi.”

“That's all I'm asking for, Ayame. That's all I'm asking for.”

* * *

'Please . . . don't let us be too late,' Kagome prayed as Kouga had picked up his pace. They had just started to take off back to the campsite when she'd detected the sacred jewel . . . and Naraku's presence. He was south of them and she feared for her friends' safety. However, it never crossed her mind that Naraku knew about her decision to be with Kouga and had intended to use it against her.

They ran on.

* * *

Naraku glanced at the pale face, and the unseeing golden eyes of his longtime nemesis. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the inu hanyou knew he was there or if he wanted to continue with what he had planned. Then he shook his head.

'Doesn't matter,' Naraku decided as he lifted the puppy-eared male into his arms. 'He's of use to me.'

A light wind came from the north, bringing with it the scents of Inuyasha's traveling companions. A soft smile touched his lips.

'So they know that I'm here . . . Good. Let's make them wonder about your health, shall we, Inuyasha?'

With the still-shocked half-demon in his arms, Naraku took off to his castle, his barrier blocking his scent as he did so. He'd make them wonder, all right. And with that wonder, the guilt and the tension would rise. Then, when the moment was right, he'd strike. In the meantime, he'd have a little fun.

He laughed as he ran.

* * *

Kikyou lifted her head just as Sesshomaru came into view. Her senses had begun to tingle, telling her that an enemy was nearby. An enemy who possessed the nearly complete Shikon no Tama.

“Naraku,” she whispered. Before she knew it, Sesshomaru was gone once more, his aura heading back to the north.

She had a very bad feeling about this.