InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Duet ❯ Deal with the Devil ( Chapter 2 )

I hope people are enjoying this story, `cause I think it's better than my other ones so far! The tracklist'll go accordingly with each chapter, and I'll try and label that. Anyhoo, enough dicking around, here's the next chapter!

 

Tracklist:

 

Fallen- Sarah McLachlan (Chapter One)

Understanding (Wash It All Away)- Evanescence (Chapter Two)

 

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Inuyasha.

 

Kagome paled as she recognized the voice without even having to turn around. Her breath hitched in her throat as she tensed up, shoulders hunched up over her ears as her mind began to slip into the fight or flight mode. She was torn between screaming for help or dealing with it herself. Unfortunately, the choice was made for her as she opened her mouth to scream, and found that not a sound nor word came out.

 

`I can't say anything, or scream… What's going on here?!'

 

It was truly a pitiful sight, he thought to himself as he watched her eyes fill up with tears of panic and desperation while her hands clenched at her throat, that such a ningen with an abundance of untapped power was cast aside. He had seen her numerous times in battle, her skills, though by now much improved, were pathetic. Now that he had her alone and completely vulnerable, he might as well take advantage of the situation to sate his curiosity about some of her mannerisms.

 

`Ningen, especially the female, are weak in general, take advantage of their situation and they are at one's mercy.'

 

“You waste your time miko. You will not speak unless it is to answer a question that I ask. Do I make myself clear?”

 

Ebony hair framed her eyes and plastered against her shoulders as she peered at him with wide fear filled blue-grey eyes and nodded once in confirmation. The fear in her scent rising along with the anxiety.

 

`Why haven't you come for me yet?'

 

“Good. At least it is clear that you have a mind to think with, unlike the hanyou.”

 

She didn't like that, he thought to himself as he watched the girl's eyes flare up in anger as she straightened her back. His eyes caught the slightest movements of her feet beneath the water, drawing his gaze up to where she thought she was slowly shifting towards. A slight twitch of his lips was missed by the girl as he watched her try and slip towards the bundle of folded clothing beside the large folded square of cloth that lay only a few yards ahead of her. A blur of white caught the corner of her eye as she abandoned her subtlety and dashed head first for her clothing, freezing as she saw the black swathed feet in front of her, her clothes not where she had left them.

 

` Small wonder the hanyou cannot control her, a truly manipulative and sly creature would prove more than a match for him.'

 

`Now what's going to happen to me?! I'm stuck, naked, in front of one of the most dangerous men in all of Japan nonetheless. My life can't get much worse, right?'

 

“An unwise decision miko of Inuyasha's.”

 

His eyes narrowed as the girl flinched at his words, her scent shifted from fear to hurt as those oddly colored eyes removed themselves from his person to stare off at something to the right of him, where her companions were resting. Her eyes and face wore an expression of loss and sorrow. He knew now what his first question would be.

 

“Where is the hanyou?”

 

Another visible flinch as the sorrow in her scent deepened, changing her eyes from the light blue-grey to a dark smoky sapphire. His eyes glowed as he loosened the mental grip he had on her vocal chords, allowing her to speak. A rush of words reached his ears in a low whisper, the loudest he allowed her to speak, as she replied, a small hint of anguish was within the defiance in her voice.

 

`He won't come, if he hasn't sensed him by now, he won't come for me…'

 

“It doesn't matter what you do or threaten to do to me, Inuyasha will never give you the Tetsusaiga and- ah!”

 

Her voice was choked off again, she trembled visibly as his cold voice spoke to her again.

 

“Should I truly desire the fang, then I would possess it. Where is your hanyou?”

 

“He's not mine!”

 

The whisper had returned to a normal volume, as if she were speaking in a regular voice. The pain and anguish in her voice raw as her voice dropped down on it's own, her eyes filled again with tears of sorrow and regret.

 

`Never…'

 

“He…he's not mine. He never was mine to begin with.”

 

Sesshoumaru watched her hands cover her face as the girl wept. He did not pretend, as some did, to understand the ways of mortals, nor did he have a desire to do so. A number of youkai, men and women alike had asked themselves after seeing or hearing of the miko who traveled willingly with a hanyou, why the girl cared so much and fought so hard beside such a disgrace.

 

“You shed tears over such a thing, why weep for a blessing in disguise?”

 

(A/N: HAH! I bet you all thought it was Naraku, didn't ya?! Fooled you!)

 

Kagome's head flew up, the stormy ocean night color of her eyes suddenly flaring up into a starfire blue as she glared at the youkai in front of her, a few tears continuing their descent as she shot back an angry reply that might have been more effective, had her voice not been so husky and choked with tears.

 

`How dare he?! That closed minded, arrogant…'

 

“Having my love unrequited is not a blessing, there's no possible way for it even to be seen like that! I cared for him, loved him with all my heart! When I finally forced myself to accept that he would never return my feelings…”

 

A broken sob cut the rest of her words off as she buried her face in her hands again, shoulders shaking underneath the impassive gaze of Sesshoumaru. After a long moment, she continued quietly, not caring anymore that he was there and listening to her.

 

“…I wanted to die, the pain of being rejected, it hut and still does so much. At that battle, half of me couldn't do anything because I was so afraid, but, the other half wouldn't do anything because dying would have made all the pain disappear.”

 

Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru, the pain and desperation in her eyes starling him, though he did not visibly show it, as she directed her voice to him.

 

“I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on to my worst enemy. I hope you never experience this, never love someone so much that just looking at them hurts, because you want everything to be alright for them, because you want to protect them. I hope you never love someone in such a way that you never ever let them see how much pain they cause you.”

 

The pure agony in the girl's expression and her words suddenly triggered a memory, one Sesshoumaru thought was long gone. It was of the last time he had spoken with his father, and seen him before his death.

 

Scarlet liquid dripped down the dark stone like armor and on to the flesh of his hand, dripping off his fingers to fall into the snow, leaving a crimson trail where ever he moved. Pristine silver-white hair was secured in the usual high ponytail and flowed down his back and into the soft cold breeze behind him. He had turned to face his oldest son, the amber eyes holding within their brilliance a deep weariness that only the dying knew of. He did not know what his son was thinking, the stoic mask having been inherited from the man's mother as he looked at his son. Sesshoumaru watched his father gaze at him, there was a deep and bitter disgust and disappointment he held for his father's choice, he would be risking the last very few moments of life to go and rescue the half blooded bastard and the whore that whelped him. He did not understand his father's decision, nor did he understand the final words his father gave to him; a question that sounded more like a riddle when spoken.

 

“Sesshoumaru, do you have something you protect?”

 

`There is nothing I desire to protect. This Sesshoumaru does not protect the weak.'

 

“Love does not exist in the world of youkai. Such a mere ningen emotion holds only as an illusion to procreate and to serve as a weakness that the strong will exploit.”

 

Her expression changed to pity, one emotion Sesshoumaru had never seen directed at himself before. Her voice was soft as she turned away from him once more, hiding her body as she moved towards the rock she had been seated at before, on the opposite side of where he stood.

 

`How can someone, even a youkai, say such a thing like that?'

 

“…you've never experienced love… That has to be why you say such things like that. Love does exist, among ningen, hanyou, and youkai alike. You just…haven't met that person yet. I feel sorry for you, for having to say such things.”

 

His eyes narrowed marginally, the wench had dared to think so highly of herself that she had looked directly into her eyes and lectured him, dared to think she knew him so well. Strangely enough, the pain in her eyes somehow enhanced the supernatural look to the ningen girl. He stared coldly at her before finally responding, his eyes had caught a faint glimpse of something on the girl's right thigh before she had moved.

 

`A mere ningen thinks she can explain this Sesshoumaru's behavior.'

 

“What is that on your leg.”

 

Kagome nearly jumped when he had spoken, she had thought he had left after her little tangent. She looked up slightly as she lowered herself back down to her shoulders in the steamy water. He had caught her naked but she'd be damned if she allowed him a full view of her own choice, just so she could leave the spring.

 

`On my leg?'

 

She looked down, puzzled through the slightly clouded water at her legs. Understanding dawned on her as she realized what Sesshoumaru had been talking about. On her left thigh were three diagonal scars that slanted up towards her knee cap. Her eyes darkened slightly as she touched the largest of the scars with the tip of her finger, it was a quarter of an inch in width and about the length of both her middle fingers put together. The other two were slightly smaller and but still the same width.

 

`He was talking about these…'

 

“They're scars.”

 

A slight note of irritation had entered the taiyoukai's voice as he spoke to her, amber eyes watching her every move as she refused to meet his eyes.

 

“This Sesshoumaru is able to see this for himself. How did this come to be?”

 

She flinched again as she peered up slightly through her bangs at the youkai watching her on the bank. There wouldn't be a second chance, knowing his temper and his honor streak, is she lied to him, Kagome thought to herself as she returned her gaze to her leg.

 

`Doesn't he have anything better to do than to watch me squirm?'

 

“It was my fault that it happened, I got in the way of one of the battles we were in with a youkai, and this was the result. I was too weak to be of any use and I was the worst injured.”

 

The words seemed to bother Sesshoumaru, though the taiyoukai did not show it visibly. Often times he had heard the girl fighting with Inuyasha about her strengths, even though she was ningen and weak. Now, this stranger, who seemed to wear the guise of Inuyasha's companion, was another soul entirely. Her scent and aura his only confirmation that this truly was the girl Inuyasha traveled with. An idea formed in his mind, though the girl would more than likely refuse.

 

`She realizes her weaknesses, yet, in her eyes there is the desire to change this.'

 

“Do you wish to change this, onna?”

 

Her head rose up to meet him, curiosity filling in beside the caution, anguish, and wariness in her eyes as she replied, her voice matching the caution in her eyes as she spoke. A long tendril of the ebony hair fell over her shoulders, brushed away by one hand as she watched him carefully, unsure of his intentions.

 

`What's that supposed to mean?'

 

“Hai, I'd like to change, to be less weak, so that the others could rely on me more than they do now, instead of being the person who always gets in the way, I could be someone who can fight beside them, to help protect what we treasure. Why?”

 

Sesshoumaru's back straightened a little as he matched his eyes to hers, the amber orbs burning into her blue-grey ones as he spoke. What he offered would not come freely, but rather, at a vague price that held many implications and would set her on unstable ground if she agreed.

 

“This Sesshoumaru will grant his training and time to you, for a price.”

 

Kagome's heart stopped for a moment in her chest as she watched the fire in the stoic amber eyes begin to flare up. She swallowed hard, she knew the saying, “if one plays with fire, then one should expect to be burned.” but, did she have the courage to undertake this kind of risk? It would be safer to ask Sango or even Miroku to help her, she thought to herself nervously. But, they were her friends, they'd go easy on her, Sesshoumaru would not, he was not a friend nor an ally who cared for her. In the end, Kagome realized as she thought about what she should do, this was perhaps the only way she would be able to train and get the most out of it.

 

`But, what is it that he wants from me?'

 

“What's the cost? I don't have any money.”

 

`From this era anyways.'

 

The flames grew brighter inside the youkai's gaze as the two of them, complete opposites in more ways than one, stared each other down. Sesshoumaru's voice was stoic as usual, giving away no emotion whatsoever as he spoke his price.

 

“You will become indebted to this Sesshoumaru.”

 

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she shifted her position, eyes unable to leave his as she tried to figure out what that implied. Failing to understand, she tried to get a better answer, one with more clarity for herself.

 

`Well that was vague.'

 

“What kind of debt, and how will I have to repay it?”

 

“Do you agree or not miko?”

 

Kagome worried her lower lip with her teeth before she was able to respond. What he was asking of her was heavy and could end up binding her in more than one way, some of which did not settle well with her. Finally, she shook her head and the old spark that had always followed her around reappeared faintly in her eyes.

 

`I can't spend my life moping around, not when we're going to be fighting against Naraku and the Gods know what else. I can't just freeze up like that again, I have to do this, even if it costs me.'

 

“You have a deal.”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes flared up again, Kagome felt like her soul was being consumed by the flames within that fierce amber gaze. A slight gasp escaped her lips as she tensed up at the feeling of silken hair dancing across her bare shoulders. His voice was low and murmured into her ear when he spoke to her, hot breath fanning across her face and making her shiver.

 

“Then I will seal the bargin now.”

 

 

UGH!!!!!!!!! Why the HELL is this story giving me SUCHa freakin headache?! Maybe it's because I'm really really working hard on making this as good as I can. Anyways, PLEASE review for me, questions, comments, hell, even flames are good! next chapter should be out sometime soon.