InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Special delivery ❯ New directions ( Chapter 78 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: saphira404 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.27.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 243 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.27.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 243 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 78: New directions
A/N: Hello yes it’s me. Long time no see! In order to make it up to you for the long wait, this will be a long update.
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…
“Talking”
‘Thinking’
The members of the rescue party started walking down the darkened street. Sunlight was only a few hours away, but despite that the street was still pretty animated, with people walking in and out of buildings.
“Never judge a book by its cover.” Kouga warned them as they drew close to the dirty shabby looking building with the numbers 1302 painted on the front of it in big black block letters.
“Keh! Couldn’t you find anything less corny to say?” Inuyasha mocked his friend. Laughing at Kouga was a good way for him to relieve his stress. Despite how much he wanted to hide it, just like everyone else, he was nervous, and feared the fate Naraku had reserved for Kanna.
“Shut up Dogshit, and follow my lead!” Kouga grinned before raising a powerful leg, and slamming the door opened, his trusted gun, Goraishi, in his hand.
“So much for our careful entrance.” Inuyasha muttered as he looked at his brother quickly follow after the wolf demon.
Kagura had no intention to be left behind, so the second Inuyasha followed behind the two other demons she went in through the broken door as well. She heard Sango and Miroku follow closely behind her, but Kagura was too busy trying to keep pace with Sesshoumaru, Kouga and Inuyasha who were running up the dingy wooden stairs of the present Kurobara. The wolf demon suspected this might be where Kanna was being kept as it was the only place from which light was being noticed.
Surprised by the fact that for a famous brothel and gaming house the place was inconspicuously empty, a clear difference from the dingy street they had just left behind. Kagura kept following hoping and wishing to see her daughter soon.
The groups reached a long corridor, which was only illuminated by a faint light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
“There’s some noise coming from this room.” Kouga whispered to his companions, pointing a clawed finger towards the last door on the right. A ray of bright light was coming from under the door of the room. As one they all started to silently walk towards the designated door, then came to a stop in front of it.
“We need to proceed slowly. I’ll kick in the door, and go in first and see what’s happening.” The wolf demon instructed the six other people huddled around the door.
“Do not tell this Sesshoumaru what to do.” The dog demon spat. Unlike Kouga, he had no firearm with him, and therefore had to contend himself with using his poison claws.
‘Do not worry Kanna, your parents have come for you.’ Sesshoumaru thought as he slashed away the dirty wooden door with his poison claws, providing an opening.
“Cocky bastard.” Kouga muttered as he quickly rushed in after the dog demon. He then raised his gun and was about to yell for everyone inside the room to freeze as he would during any police assault he had conducted in the past, but before he could speak the words died in his throat. The sight inside the room was not quite what either of them had expected to see.
As all the members rushed inside the room after Sesshoumaru, they all fell in silence. There was a long pregnant pause as they all took in their surroundings.
The silence was broken by Inuyasha “What the fuck?!”
“How very eloquently put Dogshit.” Kouga muttered as he walked past the shell shocked Kagura to inspect the room. He walked up to one of the two narrow beds, and started looking through a stack of papers discarded on the covers. Trying to find some clues, he was sure would distract him from the anger boiling inside him. He had been so sure that they were going to find Kanna, that the second his blue eyes laid on the empty bedroom, he had barely been able to keep in a frustrated growl.
Ignoring the usual banter between the two friends Kagura, voiced the dismay everyone else was sharing. “Was mom wrong?”
Following his fiancée’s words, the dog demon turned away from her to the bed opposite the one Kouga was inspecting. With a shaking hand, he picked up a small white object. “No. Sakura was right. Kanna was here.”
As proof he handed to Kagura none other than Kuma-chan. Letting a gasp of pure pain escape her lips, she grabbed the small white plush toy, and hugged it to her chest. It still felt warm to her touch, and carried faint traces of her daughter’s scent, making her miss her child even more.
“Hey guys take a look at this.” Sango said. Feeling for her friends, she had kept quiet until then, silently making her own investigation.
Sesshoumaru was the first one to look at what his former employee was pointing out. After all he would have welcomed any reason to look away from his beloved’s grief stricken crimson eyes.
“What is this?” Miroku looked at the shinning dust-like material littering the dirty carpet.
“Mirror shards that have been crushed.” Sesshoumaru observed. He started recollecting in his mind what had transpired when Naraku had walked in on Sakura speaking to Kanna through their mirrors, and what was running through his mind was not a pretty picture.
‘The bastard has effectively ruined any way we had to contact Kanna…’ Sesshoumaru thought anger pouring through him as his eyes spied the busted and now useless black frame that used to be Kanna’s small round mirror. All he was now hoping for was that the mirror was the only thing Naraku had decided to break. Even though he tried blocking it, the dog demon could not help but remember the state in which he had found Kagura before bringing her to his penthouse; after all, he had been the one to nurse her wounds. He could not help but wonder if Naraku had dared hurt his child. A possible answer to his unasked question was soon to come when Inuyasha let out a small growl.
Sesshoumaru quickly snapped his head to the side, trying to find out what had caused his brother’s upset. Not bothering with words, the inu hanyou pointed a clawed finger to the ground. There on the old, dirty, dark green carpet was a blood stain.
His discovery caused the nose of the two other male demons in the room to twitch as they took in a large gulp of air, trying to identify who the blood belonged to. Unfortunately Kouga was not familiar enough with Kanna to know for sure if it was her blood. Instead of worrying the little girl’s parents for no reason, he decided to keep looking through the stack of papers. A task Sango had started helping him with. Usually he did not abide of females putting their nose in his investigations, but the young human seemed more than able to handle herself.
When it came to Sesshoumaru, he was not sure if the blood belonged to his daughter, or to a previous user of the room. If one was to ask why, he would have haughtily answered that the small traces of blood were too faint for him to properly identify the person from who they had come, an issue one of his much stronger ancestors would not have had during the feudal era. The truth was that the stains were consequent enough for him to identify them, but the dog demon was much too upset to focus his sense of smell properly. There was however one thing he was sure of, which was that if his fiancée was to see the stain, she would be very upset; he therefore came to a very quick decision.
“Hide it!” The inu youkai quickly hissed to his brother, who with the help of Miroku quickly did as asked. The human handed to his friend a piece of white linen, and Inuyasha quickly dropped it to the floor, masking the browning blood stains. For once Sesshoumaru was glad that Kagura did not have a sense of smell as strong as his. He gave her a quick glance, and was relieved to see she had not noticed the interaction between him and his brother as she was too busy looking for clues of her own.
“Naraku was definitely here too.” Kagura said, trying, but failing to control the tremor in her voice. “When I ran away from his house, I forgot this blanket behind. Kanna was so upset… I knitted it for her before she was even born. She loves it so much…” Picking up the white woolen material from the crumpled bed, Kagura clutched it to her chest along with Kuma-chan.
“We will get her back.” Sesshoumaru vowed staring in Kagura’s crimson eyes.
“I hope so.” As she spoke the words, she finally let tears escape her eyes, and a traitorous sob make its way up her throat. She hated sounding so weak, hated people seeing past her tough veneer, but as much as she tried to keep in her sobs, she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. She had been so sure that they would have found her daughter in the dingy bedroom that her disappointment was great, and despair was fast overcoming her.
“Sango take her home to the Fujibayashis.” Sesshoumaru moved his gaze away from his beloved to instruct the young human. Whatever other gruesome finding he and his accomplices were sure to uncover next in the bedroom, he did not want his fiancée to be a witness of.
Even if the idea of refusing such an order from her former employer crossed Sango’s mind, the second her dark brown eyes saw how upset the wind sorceress was, she did not hesitate. Taking Kagura by the arm, she directed her out of the room.
The Kagura he knew and loved, would have argued with him, not liking to be ordered around or shut out like a child, but to his great shock, and concern, his lover quietly let the taijiya take her out of the room.
‘I promise you that I will get our daughter back… and you as well’ Sesshoumaru thought, pain running through him.
The first step to his plan was to make two important phone calls before even trying to find clues inside the accursed bedroom of the Kurobara.
Golden eyes trained on Inuyasha who unmasked the previously covered blood stain, Sesshoumaru took out his cell phone and dialed a phone number he now knew by heart.
“Ugh Hello…” A sleep-heavy female voice groaned into the receiver after a few rings.
Sesshoumaru had forgotten how late at night, or rather early in the morning it actually was, but did not feel slightly bad about waking up the person he wanted to talk to.
“I have a favor to ask.” His grave voice spoke. Noting the unusualness of his request, she quickly woke up, and was all ears.
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“Why don’t you try getting some sleep?” A gentle female voice murmured in Kagura’s ear. The wind sorceress could feel the presence looming over her, but did not make any effort to turn around and look at the other woman. She repressed a groan when the other demoness leaned forward to gently brush her dark bangs away from her crimson eyes. In any other circumstance Kagura would have been thrilled to get a taste of what by being raised by Naraku she had missed out on, notably the gentle touch of a mother. However at the moment there was nothing she wanted more than to be alone to do some serious thinking.
“No... and before you ask again, no I don’t want any food either.” She retorted with a sigh. Aiming to tune out her mother’s incessant inquiries about her well being, Kagura turned on the bed she had been lying on, and turned away from Sakura. She then pressed her head against the pillows. Even if she had intended to follow her mother’s suggestion, she knew that she would never be able to fall asleep. Despite being on the softest bedding she had ever encountered, she knew that sleep would evade her as long as she would not be reunited with her child.
With sorrowful eyes, Sakura stepped away from her daughter’s side. Her ever supportive husband gave her shoulder a short reassuring squeeze before whispering in her ear “Let her be for now, she has every right to be upset.”
Kagura barely paid attention to the demon couple as they left the bedroom she had been given to ‘rest’. Sleep was the thing furthest from her mind as Kagura could not help but worry about her daughter. Every time she gave in to exhaustion and closed her eyes, the angst ridden crying face of her child would appear in her mind, preventing Kagura from even thinking about sleeping.
Another reason why she was finding it hard to fall asleep was that she had not heard from Sesshoumaru yet. When she had left him and their companions behind, she had fully expected for them to join her at the Fujibayashi’s mansion soon, which had yet to happen. To Kagura’s disappointment, Sesshoumaru had not even answered the numerous phone calls she had given him. She therefore had no way of knowing if he had found out anything about their daughter’s whereabouts.
‘I’m so weak. I just couldn’t stand to stay in the same room that bastard imprisoned Kanna in…’ She clenched one of her fists near her side, anger and shame flowing through her. She knew that had she not left the bedroom in the Kurobara, she would have had a nervous breakdown.
‘But I need to stop whining, and help Sesshoumaru find our daughter. In order to stay sane, I need to do something. I need to help him any way I can.’ New found resolve burning in her chest, Kagura left the bed to reach for her purse, which she had earlier discarded on a desk present inside the room. Inside she found what she was looking for: a small notepad and a pen.
After retrieving the two items, the wind sorceress settled back on the bed, and started working.
‘I need to make a list of all the places Naraku could be keeping Kanna. If we have a place to start looking, our chances of retrieving her will increase.’ She encouraged herself as she started racking her brain. She also decided that writing down the names of some of Naraku’s old fellows might be a good starting point as well. After all whether she liked it or not, Kagura still had ties to her former life.
‘As much as the idea of talking or seeing one of these people sickens me, I am willing to go through this to ensure Kanna’s safety.’ She thought to herself as she penned down the name of one of her former regular client.
Kagura had scribbled down a few names of people on the white page when loud male voices suddenly came in from the other side of the door. Intrigued, she put aside her notepad on the side table, and sat up. She wholeheartedly expected to have her fiancé walk in through the door, ready to deliver some news to her, and was therefore shocked when an unknown young man burst the door of the guest bedroom opened and walked in as if he owned the place, a cocky grin on his lips.
“Who the hell are you?” She asked staring at the white hair and light lavender eyes of the new comer. She was sure that the fact that he shared an uncanny resemblance to her daughter was not the only reason why the young man’s face seemed so familiar.
“It is a real pity to meet you under such circumstances big sister.” The youth exclaimed.
Before Kagura had a chance to form some sort of response, a more familiar face popped inside the room.
“Please excuse our younger brother; he has the manners of an ape.” Byakuya sighed over dramatically as he stepped inside the guest room his half sister had been given.
“Younger brother?” Kagura echoed in surprise. Then she remembered that long ago while Kagura was still working at the Higurashi shrine, before she had known Sakura was her mother, the older demoness had showed her the picture of her son. Said son was the same man now standing a few inches away from the wind sorceress’s bed.
“The name’s Hakudoushi Fujibayashi. A pleasure to meet you. Forgive my surprise; I have only been informed of your existence not too long ago.” He interrupted himself to send his older brother a sharp glare, to which Byakuya answered with a shrug and a grin, before resuming. “I also just found out by our dear mom that I’m an uncle, and that before I had a chance to meet her, my niece was snatched away by a perverted bastard. So what’s been done to get her back?”
“Son, I was made to believe that I had raised you with better manners.” Morio walked up to his youngest son, anger flashing in his purple gaze, the same eyes his son had. “There is no need to badger your sister in such a way.”
“Welcome to the Fujibayashi family. You’ll quickly find out that things easily turn into a three ring circus around here…” Byakuya whispered to Kagura as he sat next to her. “Especially when my father and brother are in the same room.” He added thoughtfully.
“Silence!” Sakura intervened. “Right now is really not the time for one of your pointless arguments. We are faced with a crisis, and we need to support Kagura as much as we can…” The older demoness scanned the room with her intense crimson gaze, calling all male members of her family back to order. Chuckling at his mother’s unusual outburst Byakuya gave his sister’s hand a quick comforting squeeze then stood up from the soft mattress, preferring to stand next to his younger sibling.
“Kagura dear pay no attention to them. Besides there is someone else who is really looking forward to seeing you...” The words were barely out of Sakura’s mouth that a short dark haired form ran over to the bed before jumping into Kagura’s lap.
“Mommy.” At hearing herself being addressed as such, Kagura’s heart could not help but beat faster. She knew that it could not be her Kanna, but a small part of her heart could not help but hope. The bewildered wind sorceress then looked down at the sobbing child before saying in disbelief “Rin? What are you… how did you even get here?”
“I believe I am to thank for that.” A beautiful red haired human female walked inside the room. “Do forgive me for the intrusion and for stopping by so late at night... or rather early in the morning, but this couldn’t wait.”
“Is that my niece?!” Hakudoushi exclaimed purple gaze trained on Rin, who was holding on tightly to her adoptive mother while having tears stream down her cheeks. “She is human…” He added, trying to explain his shock.
“Brother you’re such a snob.” The elder of the two Fujibayashi youngsters commented before clapping his much shorter brother on the back.
“Rin is not Kagura’s biological daughter, but she is a member of our family just as Kanna is.” Sakura only showed her distaste at her son’s comment by sending him a reproachful glare, which he chose to ignore.
“How many kids does she have?”
Kagura decided to completely ignore her youngest half brother’s remark, and instead focused on wiping away her daughter’s tears with the sleeve of her shirt. “Not that I do not appreciate the surprise, but what is Rin doing here?”
“Sesshoumaru called to apprise me of the situation with Kanna. I am so very sorry.” Haruka said her saddened eyes resting on the mother/daughter duo. “You can thank your lawyer for Rin being here. He somehow talked the judge into giving Rin to you. As of today, she is officially your daughter. Sesshoumaru and you will only need to provide your signatures on some official documents, but this can wait.”
“Not that I mind, but what made the judge change his mind about our case. I thought he wanted to investigate us further?” Kagura asked as she kept caressing her daughter’s brown hair.
“Just count your blessings, and don’t ask too many questions…” The orphanage director said, then added “Although something tells me that somehow your lawyer must have changed the judge’s mind.”
Kagura who had spent most of her life in the presence of Naraku knew exactly what Haruka meant: bribing. It had been an eventuality Myouga had suggested early on in their adoption process, but Sesshoumaru and his high morals had rejected it. However the wind sorceress was pretty sure that Kanna’s abduction had provoked his change of heart.
“Oh that is just fantastic, congratulations!” Sakura beamed. There was at least something positive happening in the life of her daughter. “Now everyone out! Rin needs to go to bed, so does Kagura.” She added as she spied the dark smudges under her daughter’s crimsons eyes.
“Rin has already packed a bag with all her necessities. I will contact you later on to get everything sorted out.” Haruka declared before walking out of the luxurious bedroom, and heading back to bed.
“Mother I cannot leave yet. All my questions have not been answered.” Hakudoushi protested. His words were ignored by everyone especially his parents. His father took a hold of his long pale locks, and dragged him along.
“Yep! Definitely a three ring circus…” Byakuya muttered to himself as he followed behind his father and brother.
“Kagura honey, you and Rin try to get some sleep. Sesshoumaru will surely get in contact with you soon to let you know how the search is going. In the meantime rest. You will not be much help if you are not at your best.” With these last words of wisdom, the void demoness left the room she had prepared for her daughter.
“Mommy Miss Haruka told me about Kanna… is she really gone?” Seeing the sadness in the dark gaze of her adoptive daughter caused Kagura’s heart to clench.
“It’s true a bad man took her away from her.” She paused in her answer to wipe some of Rin’s tears before resuming. “But Sesshoumaru will get her back, so you don’t need to cry anymore.”
For the first time ever since she had been brought over to the Fujibayashi mansion, Rin allowed herself to smile. “I am sure daddy will get her back. He will make everything better. Like he always does.” Feeling slightly appeased, Rin burrowed her small face against her mother’s chest. Her smile widened when her mother resumed petting her head.
Not before long the young child had fallen asleep; her even breathing soon becoming the only sound present in the room. Kagura smiled slightly amazed at how easily her daughter had been pacified. Her blind faith into Sesshoumaru also stunned her.
‘If only I was as sure as her…’ Kagura thought. Doing her best not to move so as not to disturb the slumbering Rin, she reached for her discarded notepad, and resumed working on the list she had been compiling earlier. ‘I’ll work on it for a bit, then I will try to get in touch with Sesshoumaru again.’
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Sesshoumaru Takahashi hated wasting his time, especially when confronted with a situation where time management was so paramount. He knew they needed to get Kanna back, and fast. To his great displeasure their meticulous search of the bedroom had not provided any kind of clues as to where Naraku might be headed next. A more positive thing was that after a careful analysis the traces of blood Inuyasha had found on the carpet had at least turned out not to belong to his child. The blood seemed to belong to some demoness, who thankfully was not his daughter. The last thing Sesshoumaru would have ever wanted would have been having to tell his fiancée that Naraku had injured their daughter. As far as he knew Kanna was unharmed as of yet.
‘If my calculations are right, Rin should have arrived at the mansion already. She will be safe there with Kagura.’ Only thinking about his other family members caused him to clench his fist in anger. Ever since his father had passed away, Sesshoumaru had done everything in his power to protect the ones he cared about. Sesshoumaru had always been the responsible one. The dependable one. The one people went to when facing an issue. He had financially taken care of both his mother, but also Izayoi. He had also made sure that Inuyasha had gone to school and had become a productive member of their advertising agency. Now that the hanyou was about to be married and be a father once again, Sesshoumaru knew he would have no need to worry about him anymore. He had taken care of everything around him for as long as they could remember, and this was why the idea of not being able to protect his own daughter angered him so much.
This was also the reason behind why going against what he usually stood for, he had agreed to make a generous ‘donation’ to the mayor, who would be soon running for re-election, in exchange for him convincing the judge presiding over his adoption case to grant him and Kagura custody of the little girl immediately. The money Sesshoumaru had used was the only ready cash he still had in his possession. The rest of his money had been invested back in the remodeling of his agency, and buying back the shares forfeited by Kanzaki. If Naraku as to ask again for a ransom, then the dog demon would need to get a loan from his bank as he was loath to sell shares of his company.
He decided to push away his thoughts, and focused on something else. With Rin settled at the Fujibayashis and out of harm’s way, he could feel himself relax a little. At least she would be one thing he would not need to worry about.
‘Now only if I could find some way to track down Naraku…’ He thought angrily.
“Feh! We’ve inspected every inch of this damn place, can we get the hell out of here now?” Inuyasha asked, thrusting his brother out of his deep thoughts.
Until the inu hanyou spoke, everyone else had decided to wait until Sesshoumaru was ready to leave the Kurobara before suggesting it was time to leave. After all no one, not even the brave Kouga wanted to get their heads bit off by the angry dog demon.
“I doubt we will be able to find out anything more here.” Miroku added, hoping his words would get though to his employer, and that if Sesshoumaru was mad he would take his anger out on Inuyasha, who had first suggested the idea, and not on Miroku who had simply been agreeing with his friend.
Sango silently nodded her assent. Even if she had not been instructed to, the second she had made sure the wind sorceress was settled back in the Fujibayashi mansion, she let her in the capable hands of her mother, and rushed back to the Kurobara, Kirara following faithfully behind her.
“To my greatest shock, I agree with Dogshit on this one.” Kouga then addressed Sesshoumaru. “Don’t know about you old man, but we need to rest. I’ve been on my feet for more than 48 hours straight, and I could use some rest. And don’t give me that crap about our ancestors being able to run for days straight without taking a break. I get enough of that bullshit from my father in-law.” The wolf demon groaned.
Just like his collaborators, Sesshoumaru knew that they would not be able to get any more information from the bedroom. As much as he hated the idea of having to tell Kagura he had no idea where their daughter could be, he knew that they needed to go home.
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Sesshoumaru silently headed towards Morio’s library. He was in search of a quiet place where he would not be disturbed, even though the house was quiet as everyone was in bed. In fact all his companions had headed for bed, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku in one of the guest bedrooms of the Fujibayashi mansion, and Kouga had decided to drop by his house to check on his wife and newborn daughter and get some sleep before resuming his search for Kanna.
“You’re back. Considering how upset you look, I take it you haven’t found any clues.” A voice came from behind him before he even had the time to turn on the lights in the imposing room. Just like everything in the mansion, every piece of furniture was from an imported designer brand. The room was big, and was lined with heavy dark wooden bookshelves, all filled with hundreds of books and rare volumes. By turning on the lights in the room, the dog demon revealed the majesty of the room to both his eyes, but also the ones of the person trailing behind him.
“Kagura.” He greeted the other person present in the room. Feeling weary, he allowed a rare sigh to escape his lips. “No. We still have nothing to go on…” He then said wanting to change the subject asked “How is Rin?”
“Asleep. She was very upset, but has calmed down enough to fall asleep. She seemed very glad to finally come live with us… despite the circumstances.” The wind sorceress walked up to her lover. She could easily discern on his face how strained the dog demon was feeling.
“I see.” He paused for a time then decided to speak what he had wanted to tell her for the past hours. “I am sorry.” He struggled to let the words out.
“You don’t need to apologize to me.” She smiled sadly before reaching up to tenderly cup his cheek in the palm of her hand. With the tip of her thumb, she traced the bags forming quickly under his left eye. She knew that mirroring bags were present under her eyes as she had not been able to get a bit of sleep.
He shook his head in disagreement. “I have failed.” He shifted his golden eyes away from hers, not able to look her in the eye while admitting his shortcomings.
“Don’t say that!” She snapped. “You have done all you could. Besides there are no reasons for you to give up. So we’ve had one set back. Big deal, we’ll find her eventually. Naraku isn’t crazy enough to hurt her. He knows he wouldn’t get any money from us then, and money is everything to that sick bastard.” Even as she spoke the words Kagura was able to convince herself. As much as she hated it, she knew how Naraku thought, and she knew that he would not hurt Kanna… at least not too badly.
Sesshoumaru who had always been the one to support her felt strange having the tables turned, and be in the position of the one needing comforting.
‘The witch is right. Apologizing like that is not like me nor is giving up.’ He thought to himself before speaking. “There has to be a way to get in touch with Naraku. As you said he loves nothing more than money, so I had anticipated for him to call me again about the ransom, but he has yet to do so.”
“Alongside money, torturing people is his second passion. He’s trying to fuck with our heads. He’ll contact us again whenever he feels like we’ve suffered enough.” Kagura said, her voice surprisingly devoid of the rage she was feeling inside.
“While you were out, I started putting together a list of people who might know where Naraku is hiding.” She fished inside her pocket and retrieved the piece of paper containing names of people and places affiliated with the spider hanyou before handing it to Sesshoumaru.
“Who are all these people?” He asked as he quickly read through the list. The slight blush that appeared on her cheeks surprised him.
“Most of these people are my former… clients. They are close friends of Naraku, and would certainly know where he is... I am sure I could make them talk.” The wind sorceress said, slightly afraid of how her lover would react. They had rarely spoken of her past as a prostitute, Sesshoumaru and her preferring to focus on their present and their future rather than her past.
As much as he could see the sense of her plan, the idea of Kagura having to interact with the men who used to pay for her sexual favors angered him. He could feel his jaw clamp in anger, and his claws dig into the fleshy part of his palm as he clenched his fist, but did his best to hide his rage from the wind sorceress.
“I see.” He simply stated, doing his best to relax.
“I hate when you say that.” She sighed. “I never know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
Instead of answering her lament, he headed for one of the comfortable armchairs, then signaled for her to come closer. Once she did, he took hold of her arm and tugged her forward until she reluctantly sat on his lap. He encircled her tightly in his arms. She took in a large calming breath, then rested her head on his shoulders.
“There has to be another way.” His warm breath tickled her pointy ear.
“I think it would be a good idea to talk to them. They might have an idea of where Naraku is hiding.”
“Maybe.” He paused deep in thought. “Although you will not talk to them.” He ordered. Before she had a chance to protest his domineering attitude, he spoke again. “I will have Kouga, Touran and Sango take care of it. They will be more than able to get all the information we could need.”
“But…” She tried to protest, but he interrupted her by pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.
“I need to stop by the bank when it opens this morning. Can you stay with Rin? You are the only person she really knows in this house. After being at the orphanage for so long, I am sure she will be in need of reassuring.” He knew that by saying that he had effectively prevented her from formulating any kind of retort. He was aware that as much as Kagura would want to be able to help in a more hands on way, because he had played the ‘Rin card’, the wind sorceress was stuck.
“I guess… I don’t think I have any other option, do I?” She sighed. He did not bother answering her question, preferring to tighten his hold on her.
Ever since Kanna had been snatched away, Sesshoumaru had not really displayed a lot of warmth towards her, but as of now being hugged by his arms, encircled by his warmth, she finally felt a little more at peace. She had a feeling that they were a long way away from getting Kanna back, but at this moment she allowed herself to relax a little bit.
‘We are going to be okay.’ She thought to herself even as for the first time ever since she had received the accursed phone call from Naraku the previous afternoon, she allowed her eyes to drift close, and sleep to overcome her.
As Kagura’s breaths evened out, a clear sign that she was slumbering deeply, Sesshoumaru stood up, carrying her in his arms. He laid her on one of the plush couches present in the library then covered her with a blanket crumpled on one of the armchairs. Without sparing her a glance, he turned off the lights and left the room.
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Mayumi hated herself. She hated the fact that she had been weak enough to fall under the spell of Naraku, and hated the fact that she was fearful enough to not intervene in favor of the sleeping young child bundled in the sofa next to her.
“I am going out, look after the brat.” Naraku stated as he put his jacket on. “I am sure that you won’t say anything to anyone, right my dear?”
The young demoness did not waste any time to answer. “Yes master. Of course master.”
Mayumi also hated the fact that the hanyou was right in her assumption that she would not say anything while he was gone.
‘I would but he would take it out on my mother… If only there was a way to make sure that Naraku wouldn’t retaliate against my mom then I would help that poor kid.’ The young pale haired demoness thought to herself her heart clenching as she thought about how scared Kanna must be, and how in such pain the child’s mother should be. ‘At least Kanna was able to fall asleep. Hopefully Naraku is not able to reach her in her dreams.’
“Do take the time to clean up. Dried blood is not something I find appealing.” His blood colored eyes rested on the browned smudges still present under the young female’s nose; only remnants of her earlier nosebleed caused by the punch Naraku had laid on her earlier in the evening.
“Yes master.” She gently rested her fingers under her nose as she answered.
Satisfied by her words, Naraku walked out of the room. ‘I think it is time to remind my dear Sesshoumaru and daughter of me.’
To be continued…
A/N: I don’t know when the next one will be out, nor do I know the title, but I can assure you that things will be moving on. I am now officially a college graduate! Woot! Woot! And I’m looking for a grown up job. During my search I should have more time to update, so you can expect the next chapter sooner.
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A/N: Hello yes it’s me. Long time no see! In order to make it up to you for the long wait, this will be a long update.
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…
“Talking”
‘Thinking’
The members of the rescue party started walking down the darkened street. Sunlight was only a few hours away, but despite that the street was still pretty animated, with people walking in and out of buildings.
“Never judge a book by its cover.” Kouga warned them as they drew close to the dirty shabby looking building with the numbers 1302 painted on the front of it in big black block letters.
“Keh! Couldn’t you find anything less corny to say?” Inuyasha mocked his friend. Laughing at Kouga was a good way for him to relieve his stress. Despite how much he wanted to hide it, just like everyone else, he was nervous, and feared the fate Naraku had reserved for Kanna.
“Shut up Dogshit, and follow my lead!” Kouga grinned before raising a powerful leg, and slamming the door opened, his trusted gun, Goraishi, in his hand.
“So much for our careful entrance.” Inuyasha muttered as he looked at his brother quickly follow after the wolf demon.
Kagura had no intention to be left behind, so the second Inuyasha followed behind the two other demons she went in through the broken door as well. She heard Sango and Miroku follow closely behind her, but Kagura was too busy trying to keep pace with Sesshoumaru, Kouga and Inuyasha who were running up the dingy wooden stairs of the present Kurobara. The wolf demon suspected this might be where Kanna was being kept as it was the only place from which light was being noticed.
Surprised by the fact that for a famous brothel and gaming house the place was inconspicuously empty, a clear difference from the dingy street they had just left behind. Kagura kept following hoping and wishing to see her daughter soon.
The groups reached a long corridor, which was only illuminated by a faint light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
“There’s some noise coming from this room.” Kouga whispered to his companions, pointing a clawed finger towards the last door on the right. A ray of bright light was coming from under the door of the room. As one they all started to silently walk towards the designated door, then came to a stop in front of it.
“We need to proceed slowly. I’ll kick in the door, and go in first and see what’s happening.” The wolf demon instructed the six other people huddled around the door.
“Do not tell this Sesshoumaru what to do.” The dog demon spat. Unlike Kouga, he had no firearm with him, and therefore had to contend himself with using his poison claws.
‘Do not worry Kanna, your parents have come for you.’ Sesshoumaru thought as he slashed away the dirty wooden door with his poison claws, providing an opening.
“Cocky bastard.” Kouga muttered as he quickly rushed in after the dog demon. He then raised his gun and was about to yell for everyone inside the room to freeze as he would during any police assault he had conducted in the past, but before he could speak the words died in his throat. The sight inside the room was not quite what either of them had expected to see.
As all the members rushed inside the room after Sesshoumaru, they all fell in silence. There was a long pregnant pause as they all took in their surroundings.
The silence was broken by Inuyasha “What the fuck?!”
“How very eloquently put Dogshit.” Kouga muttered as he walked past the shell shocked Kagura to inspect the room. He walked up to one of the two narrow beds, and started looking through a stack of papers discarded on the covers. Trying to find some clues, he was sure would distract him from the anger boiling inside him. He had been so sure that they were going to find Kanna, that the second his blue eyes laid on the empty bedroom, he had barely been able to keep in a frustrated growl.
Ignoring the usual banter between the two friends Kagura, voiced the dismay everyone else was sharing. “Was mom wrong?”
Following his fiancée’s words, the dog demon turned away from her to the bed opposite the one Kouga was inspecting. With a shaking hand, he picked up a small white object. “No. Sakura was right. Kanna was here.”
As proof he handed to Kagura none other than Kuma-chan. Letting a gasp of pure pain escape her lips, she grabbed the small white plush toy, and hugged it to her chest. It still felt warm to her touch, and carried faint traces of her daughter’s scent, making her miss her child even more.
“Hey guys take a look at this.” Sango said. Feeling for her friends, she had kept quiet until then, silently making her own investigation.
Sesshoumaru was the first one to look at what his former employee was pointing out. After all he would have welcomed any reason to look away from his beloved’s grief stricken crimson eyes.
“What is this?” Miroku looked at the shinning dust-like material littering the dirty carpet.
“Mirror shards that have been crushed.” Sesshoumaru observed. He started recollecting in his mind what had transpired when Naraku had walked in on Sakura speaking to Kanna through their mirrors, and what was running through his mind was not a pretty picture.
‘The bastard has effectively ruined any way we had to contact Kanna…’ Sesshoumaru thought anger pouring through him as his eyes spied the busted and now useless black frame that used to be Kanna’s small round mirror. All he was now hoping for was that the mirror was the only thing Naraku had decided to break. Even though he tried blocking it, the dog demon could not help but remember the state in which he had found Kagura before bringing her to his penthouse; after all, he had been the one to nurse her wounds. He could not help but wonder if Naraku had dared hurt his child. A possible answer to his unasked question was soon to come when Inuyasha let out a small growl.
Sesshoumaru quickly snapped his head to the side, trying to find out what had caused his brother’s upset. Not bothering with words, the inu hanyou pointed a clawed finger to the ground. There on the old, dirty, dark green carpet was a blood stain.
His discovery caused the nose of the two other male demons in the room to twitch as they took in a large gulp of air, trying to identify who the blood belonged to. Unfortunately Kouga was not familiar enough with Kanna to know for sure if it was her blood. Instead of worrying the little girl’s parents for no reason, he decided to keep looking through the stack of papers. A task Sango had started helping him with. Usually he did not abide of females putting their nose in his investigations, but the young human seemed more than able to handle herself.
When it came to Sesshoumaru, he was not sure if the blood belonged to his daughter, or to a previous user of the room. If one was to ask why, he would have haughtily answered that the small traces of blood were too faint for him to properly identify the person from who they had come, an issue one of his much stronger ancestors would not have had during the feudal era. The truth was that the stains were consequent enough for him to identify them, but the dog demon was much too upset to focus his sense of smell properly. There was however one thing he was sure of, which was that if his fiancée was to see the stain, she would be very upset; he therefore came to a very quick decision.
“Hide it!” The inu youkai quickly hissed to his brother, who with the help of Miroku quickly did as asked. The human handed to his friend a piece of white linen, and Inuyasha quickly dropped it to the floor, masking the browning blood stains. For once Sesshoumaru was glad that Kagura did not have a sense of smell as strong as his. He gave her a quick glance, and was relieved to see she had not noticed the interaction between him and his brother as she was too busy looking for clues of her own.
“Naraku was definitely here too.” Kagura said, trying, but failing to control the tremor in her voice. “When I ran away from his house, I forgot this blanket behind. Kanna was so upset… I knitted it for her before she was even born. She loves it so much…” Picking up the white woolen material from the crumpled bed, Kagura clutched it to her chest along with Kuma-chan.
“We will get her back.” Sesshoumaru vowed staring in Kagura’s crimson eyes.
“I hope so.” As she spoke the words, she finally let tears escape her eyes, and a traitorous sob make its way up her throat. She hated sounding so weak, hated people seeing past her tough veneer, but as much as she tried to keep in her sobs, she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. She had been so sure that they would have found her daughter in the dingy bedroom that her disappointment was great, and despair was fast overcoming her.
“Sango take her home to the Fujibayashis.” Sesshoumaru moved his gaze away from his beloved to instruct the young human. Whatever other gruesome finding he and his accomplices were sure to uncover next in the bedroom, he did not want his fiancée to be a witness of.
Even if the idea of refusing such an order from her former employer crossed Sango’s mind, the second her dark brown eyes saw how upset the wind sorceress was, she did not hesitate. Taking Kagura by the arm, she directed her out of the room.
The Kagura he knew and loved, would have argued with him, not liking to be ordered around or shut out like a child, but to his great shock, and concern, his lover quietly let the taijiya take her out of the room.
‘I promise you that I will get our daughter back… and you as well’ Sesshoumaru thought, pain running through him.
The first step to his plan was to make two important phone calls before even trying to find clues inside the accursed bedroom of the Kurobara.
Golden eyes trained on Inuyasha who unmasked the previously covered blood stain, Sesshoumaru took out his cell phone and dialed a phone number he now knew by heart.
“Ugh Hello…” A sleep-heavy female voice groaned into the receiver after a few rings.
Sesshoumaru had forgotten how late at night, or rather early in the morning it actually was, but did not feel slightly bad about waking up the person he wanted to talk to.
“I have a favor to ask.” His grave voice spoke. Noting the unusualness of his request, she quickly woke up, and was all ears.
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“Why don’t you try getting some sleep?” A gentle female voice murmured in Kagura’s ear. The wind sorceress could feel the presence looming over her, but did not make any effort to turn around and look at the other woman. She repressed a groan when the other demoness leaned forward to gently brush her dark bangs away from her crimson eyes. In any other circumstance Kagura would have been thrilled to get a taste of what by being raised by Naraku she had missed out on, notably the gentle touch of a mother. However at the moment there was nothing she wanted more than to be alone to do some serious thinking.
“No... and before you ask again, no I don’t want any food either.” She retorted with a sigh. Aiming to tune out her mother’s incessant inquiries about her well being, Kagura turned on the bed she had been lying on, and turned away from Sakura. She then pressed her head against the pillows. Even if she had intended to follow her mother’s suggestion, she knew that she would never be able to fall asleep. Despite being on the softest bedding she had ever encountered, she knew that sleep would evade her as long as she would not be reunited with her child.
With sorrowful eyes, Sakura stepped away from her daughter’s side. Her ever supportive husband gave her shoulder a short reassuring squeeze before whispering in her ear “Let her be for now, she has every right to be upset.”
Kagura barely paid attention to the demon couple as they left the bedroom she had been given to ‘rest’. Sleep was the thing furthest from her mind as Kagura could not help but worry about her daughter. Every time she gave in to exhaustion and closed her eyes, the angst ridden crying face of her child would appear in her mind, preventing Kagura from even thinking about sleeping.
Another reason why she was finding it hard to fall asleep was that she had not heard from Sesshoumaru yet. When she had left him and their companions behind, she had fully expected for them to join her at the Fujibayashi’s mansion soon, which had yet to happen. To Kagura’s disappointment, Sesshoumaru had not even answered the numerous phone calls she had given him. She therefore had no way of knowing if he had found out anything about their daughter’s whereabouts.
‘I’m so weak. I just couldn’t stand to stay in the same room that bastard imprisoned Kanna in…’ She clenched one of her fists near her side, anger and shame flowing through her. She knew that had she not left the bedroom in the Kurobara, she would have had a nervous breakdown.
‘But I need to stop whining, and help Sesshoumaru find our daughter. In order to stay sane, I need to do something. I need to help him any way I can.’ New found resolve burning in her chest, Kagura left the bed to reach for her purse, which she had earlier discarded on a desk present inside the room. Inside she found what she was looking for: a small notepad and a pen.
After retrieving the two items, the wind sorceress settled back on the bed, and started working.
‘I need to make a list of all the places Naraku could be keeping Kanna. If we have a place to start looking, our chances of retrieving her will increase.’ She encouraged herself as she started racking her brain. She also decided that writing down the names of some of Naraku’s old fellows might be a good starting point as well. After all whether she liked it or not, Kagura still had ties to her former life.
‘As much as the idea of talking or seeing one of these people sickens me, I am willing to go through this to ensure Kanna’s safety.’ She thought to herself as she penned down the name of one of her former regular client.
Kagura had scribbled down a few names of people on the white page when loud male voices suddenly came in from the other side of the door. Intrigued, she put aside her notepad on the side table, and sat up. She wholeheartedly expected to have her fiancé walk in through the door, ready to deliver some news to her, and was therefore shocked when an unknown young man burst the door of the guest bedroom opened and walked in as if he owned the place, a cocky grin on his lips.
“Who the hell are you?” She asked staring at the white hair and light lavender eyes of the new comer. She was sure that the fact that he shared an uncanny resemblance to her daughter was not the only reason why the young man’s face seemed so familiar.
“It is a real pity to meet you under such circumstances big sister.” The youth exclaimed.
Before Kagura had a chance to form some sort of response, a more familiar face popped inside the room.
“Please excuse our younger brother; he has the manners of an ape.” Byakuya sighed over dramatically as he stepped inside the guest room his half sister had been given.
“Younger brother?” Kagura echoed in surprise. Then she remembered that long ago while Kagura was still working at the Higurashi shrine, before she had known Sakura was her mother, the older demoness had showed her the picture of her son. Said son was the same man now standing a few inches away from the wind sorceress’s bed.
“The name’s Hakudoushi Fujibayashi. A pleasure to meet you. Forgive my surprise; I have only been informed of your existence not too long ago.” He interrupted himself to send his older brother a sharp glare, to which Byakuya answered with a shrug and a grin, before resuming. “I also just found out by our dear mom that I’m an uncle, and that before I had a chance to meet her, my niece was snatched away by a perverted bastard. So what’s been done to get her back?”
“Son, I was made to believe that I had raised you with better manners.” Morio walked up to his youngest son, anger flashing in his purple gaze, the same eyes his son had. “There is no need to badger your sister in such a way.”
“Welcome to the Fujibayashi family. You’ll quickly find out that things easily turn into a three ring circus around here…” Byakuya whispered to Kagura as he sat next to her. “Especially when my father and brother are in the same room.” He added thoughtfully.
“Silence!” Sakura intervened. “Right now is really not the time for one of your pointless arguments. We are faced with a crisis, and we need to support Kagura as much as we can…” The older demoness scanned the room with her intense crimson gaze, calling all male members of her family back to order. Chuckling at his mother’s unusual outburst Byakuya gave his sister’s hand a quick comforting squeeze then stood up from the soft mattress, preferring to stand next to his younger sibling.
“Kagura dear pay no attention to them. Besides there is someone else who is really looking forward to seeing you...” The words were barely out of Sakura’s mouth that a short dark haired form ran over to the bed before jumping into Kagura’s lap.
“Mommy.” At hearing herself being addressed as such, Kagura’s heart could not help but beat faster. She knew that it could not be her Kanna, but a small part of her heart could not help but hope. The bewildered wind sorceress then looked down at the sobbing child before saying in disbelief “Rin? What are you… how did you even get here?”
“I believe I am to thank for that.” A beautiful red haired human female walked inside the room. “Do forgive me for the intrusion and for stopping by so late at night... or rather early in the morning, but this couldn’t wait.”
“Is that my niece?!” Hakudoushi exclaimed purple gaze trained on Rin, who was holding on tightly to her adoptive mother while having tears stream down her cheeks. “She is human…” He added, trying to explain his shock.
“Brother you’re such a snob.” The elder of the two Fujibayashi youngsters commented before clapping his much shorter brother on the back.
“Rin is not Kagura’s biological daughter, but she is a member of our family just as Kanna is.” Sakura only showed her distaste at her son’s comment by sending him a reproachful glare, which he chose to ignore.
“How many kids does she have?”
Kagura decided to completely ignore her youngest half brother’s remark, and instead focused on wiping away her daughter’s tears with the sleeve of her shirt. “Not that I do not appreciate the surprise, but what is Rin doing here?”
“Sesshoumaru called to apprise me of the situation with Kanna. I am so very sorry.” Haruka said her saddened eyes resting on the mother/daughter duo. “You can thank your lawyer for Rin being here. He somehow talked the judge into giving Rin to you. As of today, she is officially your daughter. Sesshoumaru and you will only need to provide your signatures on some official documents, but this can wait.”
“Not that I mind, but what made the judge change his mind about our case. I thought he wanted to investigate us further?” Kagura asked as she kept caressing her daughter’s brown hair.
“Just count your blessings, and don’t ask too many questions…” The orphanage director said, then added “Although something tells me that somehow your lawyer must have changed the judge’s mind.”
Kagura who had spent most of her life in the presence of Naraku knew exactly what Haruka meant: bribing. It had been an eventuality Myouga had suggested early on in their adoption process, but Sesshoumaru and his high morals had rejected it. However the wind sorceress was pretty sure that Kanna’s abduction had provoked his change of heart.
“Oh that is just fantastic, congratulations!” Sakura beamed. There was at least something positive happening in the life of her daughter. “Now everyone out! Rin needs to go to bed, so does Kagura.” She added as she spied the dark smudges under her daughter’s crimsons eyes.
“Rin has already packed a bag with all her necessities. I will contact you later on to get everything sorted out.” Haruka declared before walking out of the luxurious bedroom, and heading back to bed.
“Mother I cannot leave yet. All my questions have not been answered.” Hakudoushi protested. His words were ignored by everyone especially his parents. His father took a hold of his long pale locks, and dragged him along.
“Yep! Definitely a three ring circus…” Byakuya muttered to himself as he followed behind his father and brother.
“Kagura honey, you and Rin try to get some sleep. Sesshoumaru will surely get in contact with you soon to let you know how the search is going. In the meantime rest. You will not be much help if you are not at your best.” With these last words of wisdom, the void demoness left the room she had prepared for her daughter.
“Mommy Miss Haruka told me about Kanna… is she really gone?” Seeing the sadness in the dark gaze of her adoptive daughter caused Kagura’s heart to clench.
“It’s true a bad man took her away from her.” She paused in her answer to wipe some of Rin’s tears before resuming. “But Sesshoumaru will get her back, so you don’t need to cry anymore.”
For the first time ever since she had been brought over to the Fujibayashi mansion, Rin allowed herself to smile. “I am sure daddy will get her back. He will make everything better. Like he always does.” Feeling slightly appeased, Rin burrowed her small face against her mother’s chest. Her smile widened when her mother resumed petting her head.
Not before long the young child had fallen asleep; her even breathing soon becoming the only sound present in the room. Kagura smiled slightly amazed at how easily her daughter had been pacified. Her blind faith into Sesshoumaru also stunned her.
‘If only I was as sure as her…’ Kagura thought. Doing her best not to move so as not to disturb the slumbering Rin, she reached for her discarded notepad, and resumed working on the list she had been compiling earlier. ‘I’ll work on it for a bit, then I will try to get in touch with Sesshoumaru again.’
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Sesshoumaru Takahashi hated wasting his time, especially when confronted with a situation where time management was so paramount. He knew they needed to get Kanna back, and fast. To his great displeasure their meticulous search of the bedroom had not provided any kind of clues as to where Naraku might be headed next. A more positive thing was that after a careful analysis the traces of blood Inuyasha had found on the carpet had at least turned out not to belong to his child. The blood seemed to belong to some demoness, who thankfully was not his daughter. The last thing Sesshoumaru would have ever wanted would have been having to tell his fiancée that Naraku had injured their daughter. As far as he knew Kanna was unharmed as of yet.
‘If my calculations are right, Rin should have arrived at the mansion already. She will be safe there with Kagura.’ Only thinking about his other family members caused him to clench his fist in anger. Ever since his father had passed away, Sesshoumaru had done everything in his power to protect the ones he cared about. Sesshoumaru had always been the responsible one. The dependable one. The one people went to when facing an issue. He had financially taken care of both his mother, but also Izayoi. He had also made sure that Inuyasha had gone to school and had become a productive member of their advertising agency. Now that the hanyou was about to be married and be a father once again, Sesshoumaru knew he would have no need to worry about him anymore. He had taken care of everything around him for as long as they could remember, and this was why the idea of not being able to protect his own daughter angered him so much.
This was also the reason behind why going against what he usually stood for, he had agreed to make a generous ‘donation’ to the mayor, who would be soon running for re-election, in exchange for him convincing the judge presiding over his adoption case to grant him and Kagura custody of the little girl immediately. The money Sesshoumaru had used was the only ready cash he still had in his possession. The rest of his money had been invested back in the remodeling of his agency, and buying back the shares forfeited by Kanzaki. If Naraku as to ask again for a ransom, then the dog demon would need to get a loan from his bank as he was loath to sell shares of his company.
He decided to push away his thoughts, and focused on something else. With Rin settled at the Fujibayashis and out of harm’s way, he could feel himself relax a little. At least she would be one thing he would not need to worry about.
‘Now only if I could find some way to track down Naraku…’ He thought angrily.
“Feh! We’ve inspected every inch of this damn place, can we get the hell out of here now?” Inuyasha asked, thrusting his brother out of his deep thoughts.
Until the inu hanyou spoke, everyone else had decided to wait until Sesshoumaru was ready to leave the Kurobara before suggesting it was time to leave. After all no one, not even the brave Kouga wanted to get their heads bit off by the angry dog demon.
“I doubt we will be able to find out anything more here.” Miroku added, hoping his words would get though to his employer, and that if Sesshoumaru was mad he would take his anger out on Inuyasha, who had first suggested the idea, and not on Miroku who had simply been agreeing with his friend.
Sango silently nodded her assent. Even if she had not been instructed to, the second she had made sure the wind sorceress was settled back in the Fujibayashi mansion, she let her in the capable hands of her mother, and rushed back to the Kurobara, Kirara following faithfully behind her.
“To my greatest shock, I agree with Dogshit on this one.” Kouga then addressed Sesshoumaru. “Don’t know about you old man, but we need to rest. I’ve been on my feet for more than 48 hours straight, and I could use some rest. And don’t give me that crap about our ancestors being able to run for days straight without taking a break. I get enough of that bullshit from my father in-law.” The wolf demon groaned.
Just like his collaborators, Sesshoumaru knew that they would not be able to get any more information from the bedroom. As much as he hated the idea of having to tell Kagura he had no idea where their daughter could be, he knew that they needed to go home.
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Sesshoumaru silently headed towards Morio’s library. He was in search of a quiet place where he would not be disturbed, even though the house was quiet as everyone was in bed. In fact all his companions had headed for bed, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku in one of the guest bedrooms of the Fujibayashi mansion, and Kouga had decided to drop by his house to check on his wife and newborn daughter and get some sleep before resuming his search for Kanna.
“You’re back. Considering how upset you look, I take it you haven’t found any clues.” A voice came from behind him before he even had the time to turn on the lights in the imposing room. Just like everything in the mansion, every piece of furniture was from an imported designer brand. The room was big, and was lined with heavy dark wooden bookshelves, all filled with hundreds of books and rare volumes. By turning on the lights in the room, the dog demon revealed the majesty of the room to both his eyes, but also the ones of the person trailing behind him.
“Kagura.” He greeted the other person present in the room. Feeling weary, he allowed a rare sigh to escape his lips. “No. We still have nothing to go on…” He then said wanting to change the subject asked “How is Rin?”
“Asleep. She was very upset, but has calmed down enough to fall asleep. She seemed very glad to finally come live with us… despite the circumstances.” The wind sorceress walked up to her lover. She could easily discern on his face how strained the dog demon was feeling.
“I see.” He paused for a time then decided to speak what he had wanted to tell her for the past hours. “I am sorry.” He struggled to let the words out.
“You don’t need to apologize to me.” She smiled sadly before reaching up to tenderly cup his cheek in the palm of her hand. With the tip of her thumb, she traced the bags forming quickly under his left eye. She knew that mirroring bags were present under her eyes as she had not been able to get a bit of sleep.
He shook his head in disagreement. “I have failed.” He shifted his golden eyes away from hers, not able to look her in the eye while admitting his shortcomings.
“Don’t say that!” She snapped. “You have done all you could. Besides there are no reasons for you to give up. So we’ve had one set back. Big deal, we’ll find her eventually. Naraku isn’t crazy enough to hurt her. He knows he wouldn’t get any money from us then, and money is everything to that sick bastard.” Even as she spoke the words Kagura was able to convince herself. As much as she hated it, she knew how Naraku thought, and she knew that he would not hurt Kanna… at least not too badly.
Sesshoumaru who had always been the one to support her felt strange having the tables turned, and be in the position of the one needing comforting.
‘The witch is right. Apologizing like that is not like me nor is giving up.’ He thought to himself before speaking. “There has to be a way to get in touch with Naraku. As you said he loves nothing more than money, so I had anticipated for him to call me again about the ransom, but he has yet to do so.”
“Alongside money, torturing people is his second passion. He’s trying to fuck with our heads. He’ll contact us again whenever he feels like we’ve suffered enough.” Kagura said, her voice surprisingly devoid of the rage she was feeling inside.
“While you were out, I started putting together a list of people who might know where Naraku is hiding.” She fished inside her pocket and retrieved the piece of paper containing names of people and places affiliated with the spider hanyou before handing it to Sesshoumaru.
“Who are all these people?” He asked as he quickly read through the list. The slight blush that appeared on her cheeks surprised him.
“Most of these people are my former… clients. They are close friends of Naraku, and would certainly know where he is... I am sure I could make them talk.” The wind sorceress said, slightly afraid of how her lover would react. They had rarely spoken of her past as a prostitute, Sesshoumaru and her preferring to focus on their present and their future rather than her past.
As much as he could see the sense of her plan, the idea of Kagura having to interact with the men who used to pay for her sexual favors angered him. He could feel his jaw clamp in anger, and his claws dig into the fleshy part of his palm as he clenched his fist, but did his best to hide his rage from the wind sorceress.
“I see.” He simply stated, doing his best to relax.
“I hate when you say that.” She sighed. “I never know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
Instead of answering her lament, he headed for one of the comfortable armchairs, then signaled for her to come closer. Once she did, he took hold of her arm and tugged her forward until she reluctantly sat on his lap. He encircled her tightly in his arms. She took in a large calming breath, then rested her head on his shoulders.
“There has to be another way.” His warm breath tickled her pointy ear.
“I think it would be a good idea to talk to them. They might have an idea of where Naraku is hiding.”
“Maybe.” He paused deep in thought. “Although you will not talk to them.” He ordered. Before she had a chance to protest his domineering attitude, he spoke again. “I will have Kouga, Touran and Sango take care of it. They will be more than able to get all the information we could need.”
“But…” She tried to protest, but he interrupted her by pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.
“I need to stop by the bank when it opens this morning. Can you stay with Rin? You are the only person she really knows in this house. After being at the orphanage for so long, I am sure she will be in need of reassuring.” He knew that by saying that he had effectively prevented her from formulating any kind of retort. He was aware that as much as Kagura would want to be able to help in a more hands on way, because he had played the ‘Rin card’, the wind sorceress was stuck.
“I guess… I don’t think I have any other option, do I?” She sighed. He did not bother answering her question, preferring to tighten his hold on her.
Ever since Kanna had been snatched away, Sesshoumaru had not really displayed a lot of warmth towards her, but as of now being hugged by his arms, encircled by his warmth, she finally felt a little more at peace. She had a feeling that they were a long way away from getting Kanna back, but at this moment she allowed herself to relax a little bit.
‘We are going to be okay.’ She thought to herself even as for the first time ever since she had received the accursed phone call from Naraku the previous afternoon, she allowed her eyes to drift close, and sleep to overcome her.
As Kagura’s breaths evened out, a clear sign that she was slumbering deeply, Sesshoumaru stood up, carrying her in his arms. He laid her on one of the plush couches present in the library then covered her with a blanket crumpled on one of the armchairs. Without sparing her a glance, he turned off the lights and left the room.
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Mayumi hated herself. She hated the fact that she had been weak enough to fall under the spell of Naraku, and hated the fact that she was fearful enough to not intervene in favor of the sleeping young child bundled in the sofa next to her.
“I am going out, look after the brat.” Naraku stated as he put his jacket on. “I am sure that you won’t say anything to anyone, right my dear?”
The young demoness did not waste any time to answer. “Yes master. Of course master.”
Mayumi also hated the fact that the hanyou was right in her assumption that she would not say anything while he was gone.
‘I would but he would take it out on my mother… If only there was a way to make sure that Naraku wouldn’t retaliate against my mom then I would help that poor kid.’ The young pale haired demoness thought to herself her heart clenching as she thought about how scared Kanna must be, and how in such pain the child’s mother should be. ‘At least Kanna was able to fall asleep. Hopefully Naraku is not able to reach her in her dreams.’
“Do take the time to clean up. Dried blood is not something I find appealing.” His blood colored eyes rested on the browned smudges still present under the young female’s nose; only remnants of her earlier nosebleed caused by the punch Naraku had laid on her earlier in the evening.
“Yes master.” She gently rested her fingers under her nose as she answered.
Satisfied by her words, Naraku walked out of the room. ‘I think it is time to remind my dear Sesshoumaru and daughter of me.’
To be continued…
A/N: I don’t know when the next one will be out, nor do I know the title, but I can assure you that things will be moving on. I am now officially a college graduate! Woot! Woot! And I’m looking for a grown up job. During my search I should have more time to update, so you can expect the next chapter sooner.
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