InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strike By Night ❯ Midnight Soujorn ( Chapter 7 )

Strike By Night

Chapter 7: A Midnight Sojourn

Disclaimer: I don't own any portion of Inu Yasha in any shape or form.

Last Chapter: Kagome was always rather attached to her life, but it seemed someone else had different plans. Despite her near death experience, Kagome managed to locate their target, the one bright point of her day. And being the "magnanimous" person that she is, Kagome decided to rub Sesshoumaru's nose in it, I mean, share her news with Sesshoumaru, which then led to a confrontation that was undoubtedly less than healthy for her blood pressure………or her libido. Oh, did I mention Kagome is also homeless now? Oh yes………something needs to die………painfully.

Kagome never realized how many things needed to be done to plan an attack until she had to do it all in one day. After being rudely woken up at the crack of dawn, thanks to Inu Yasha and a bucket of cold water, she'd been working nonstop beside Sesshoumaru poring over blueprints and profiles and data, working out an angle of attack that will preferably still leave them alive and out of jail at the end. There were many loud arguments.

After a visit to the friendly, state-of-the-art armory that is Sesshoumaru's basement, Kagome now stood in front of the main doors, armed to the teeth, though the evidence was barely noticeable under her fitted black attire and bulletproof but still stylish jacket, ready to go.

Who knew that amount of weaponry can exist in one place? Kagome mused, quite impressed with Sesshoumaru's arsenal, despite the nagging feeling that not all the weapons were quite legal according to several governments. But that's a question I'll ponder another day, Kagome casually dismissed the thoughts as Sesshoumaru appeared, dressed similarly in black and with a hood to cover his hair. And they say women take a long time getting ready, Kagome smirked inwardly. "Shall we go?" she asked sweetly, tauntingly. Seriously, the guy had taken half an hour longer than her to get ready.

Sesshoumaru nodded, barely sparing Kagome a glance and reached past her for the door. Holding it open, he chivalrously motioned for her to go first, and raised an elegant eyebrow when she hesitated. One would almost think we were a couple going out for a night on the town, the irony struck Kagome as she strolled through the door, head held high to show she wasn't unnerved at the slightest and the faintest signs of a smile playing around her mouth. Only we're packing enough heat to rob a bank.

Within a few minutes, Kagome and Sesshoumaru were perched atop of a large tree that stood just outside the range of the sensors and lights that constantly flashed through the compound in front of them. They'd arrived on foot, well, actually more like on air, with Sesshoumaru carrying Kagome as he flew the 50 miles between the mansion and the compound. Even though the trip only took a few minutes, it was a whole lot more pleasant after Kagome stopped hitting Sesshoumaru for nearly giving her a heart attack…again, by suddenly scooping her up from behind and flying off. Sesshoumaru took her beating wordlessly; after all, it wasn't as if she could actually hurt him and her indecision between anger towards him and fear of being dropped made a most interesting combination of expressions on her face. Also, he enjoyed the feel of her in his arms, a thought that stunned Sesshoumaru upon realization and he forbade his mind from delving further into it.

When Kagome finally felt she had punished Sesshoumaru enough, or just giving in to the fact that she wasn't doing one iota of damage to him, she decided to relax and enjoy the view, all the while keeping a death grip on Sesshoumaru's shirt.

Passingly, Kagome wondered where Inu Yasha had been all day; she hadn't seen him since he foolishly decided to wake her up by dumping a bucket of cold water on her head. Probably still picking feathers from his mouth, concluded Kagome, who had reflexively slammed her feather stuffed pillow at his face in response to the cold water. How was I to know that feather pillows burst so easily when they hit something at 30 miles per hour? But the innocent question was belied by the evil grin playing across her face. The way Inu Yasha had stood there sputtering feathers while his he looked like he had invaded a chicken coop and had ended up on the wrong side of that fight was priceless. Using the still drifting feathers as camouflage, Kagome decided then that it was time to get up and go bother Sesshoumaru, leaving Inu Yasha alone. She can only imagine what her room looked now.

"You'd think someone with the skills to kill Naraku would have enough sense to keep a lower profile; the place looks like a movie premiere." Sesshoumaru observed, interrupting Kagome's ponderings. The disgust in his tone was evident. Looking out, Kagome had to agree, and grimace. The lights, the guards, the noise; you might as well be hanging a sign out front saying: "Here I am, Come Kill Me!" It was so………amateur. Something within Kagome told her this was important, but her mind was already preoccupied by another, more present problem.

"You said he hired some extra protection," Kagome's voice was coldly accusing. "This isn't just a bit extra, it`s a bloody army!" Obvious as the protections may be, it was impressive nonetheless. Guards patrolled continuously on the 10ft. wall surrounding the compound. Searchlights swept from the towers, outlining the night vision glasses and the heavy weaponry carried by each guard. And of course there were the motion sensors right in front of the walls. It wouldn't change their plans, but it'd just make it a hell of a lot harder.

"Are you backing out?" He was amused.

"Not on your life" Suddenly, Sesshoumaru grabbed her waist and leaped up. She's never get used to this.

As they descended on their unsuspecting victims behind the elaborate, but oh so useless wall, Sesshoumaru let go of Kagome and both landed with weapons drawn. Immediately they started firing and managed to pick off nearly half and were at the door to the house before the guards finally came out of their shock.

So easy, it almost took the fun out of the frontal assault, pitied Sesshoumaru, boodlust fully in control, but oh well, what else can one expect from weak humans.

Blowing open the front door, Kagome and Sesshoumaru escaped into the house under the smoke screen created by the explosion. They went confidently through the corridors, heading for the master bedroom. It was ridiculously simple to follow the corridors that led to the master bedroom. But then again, with the amount of time Sesshoumaru and Kagome had spent on the blueprints of the house, they probably knew the house better than its occupant. Where were the interior guards though?

They arrived soon enough before Sesshoumaru and Kagome got too far in.Some dispatched more violently than others. The house was now on full alert. About time. Both Sesshoumaru and Kagome had several, though minor bullet grazes by the time they finally reached the master bedroom. Bursting in, they barely had time to run out again as what seemed to be the room itself opened fire. Cursing, Kagome contemplated what to do as she took shelter beside the doorframe while massive firepower rained through the doorway. Shit! She hadn't expected this. Sesshoumaru seemed to be in the same predicament as he knelt on the other side of the doorframe. She could throw a bomb in, but no, they wanted the target alive. They can wait it out, but how long would that take? What to do…

Inspiration struck. Kagome took a small ball from within her jacket, a knockout grenade. Strong enough to knock out a roomful of men, exactly what they needed. But even if that weren't enough, then the smoke screen would at least give them some cover to sneak in.

Catching sight of Sesshoumaru's blurry outline through the still blazing ammunition coming through the doorway, she held up the silver balls and could only hope he saw and understood. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the balls under the firepower and into the room. Within seconds, the firing stopped and smoke billowed out of the doorway. Waiting a bit for the gas to diffuse, they crept cautiously into the room.

Using his superior eyesight, Sesshoumaru could make out various shapes swaying drunkenly through the thick smoke. Creeping closer, they saw that none of them was their target. He wasn't there, they had been wrong. Sesshoumaru growled in irritation and sent a claw through each soldier as consolation to his ego. It galled him to have to creep along the ground, like a lowly servant and searching for the target when he should be openly strolling into this room and have the target presented to him for punishment. Why couldn't the thing just stand where it should to beg for mercy as he is suppose to? Humans…they will never do what they should.

Kagome didn't like the look of this. He SHOULD be here! They had triple, no quadruple checked the plans. From their route, a mouse couldn't have gotten out without their noticing.

The smoke was clearing. Kagome scanned the room, taking in every detail as Sesshoumaru sent out his punishment against what could only have been the bodyguards, now diversions. Suddenly, Kagome noticed something; the smoke seemed to move toward a wall, or more precisely, a specific panel of the wall. Creeping closer, Kagome ran her fingers along the panel and with a jerk, pulled it open along with several other planks to reveal a opening.

She was greeted by a sudden crack in the air, followed by extreme pain in her abdomen and then a scurrying of feet. Hearing the gunshot, Sesshoumaru was by Kagome's side in a blur of motion, catching her as she fell against the wall.

"Get him." Kagome ground out between clenched teeth. "I'll be fine. The bullet was mostly caught by the vest. Now get that son-of-a-bitch." After the slightest hesitation, Sesshoumaru was a blur down the corridor, a picture of grim determination. No one harmed what was his! The idiot will pay dearly for his impudence.

Kagome stayed against the wall for a minute. Small beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she battled the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her and the aching pain coming from her abdomen. It's been a very long time since she'd been shot, and now she remembered exactly why she hated it.

As Kagome leaned against the wall, she could begin to feel the blood slowly seeping through the fabric. It was going to be hell cleaning this wound. She had a very strong hunch that she was hurt a lot worse than she told Sesshoumaru. But damned if she's going to lose this target because of a little carelessness. Gathering the reserves of her energy, she made her way down the dark and badly constructed corridor, a hand on the wall to brace herself, willing praying not to get a splinter, and the other on her wound, willing the bleeding to slow. "I know I'm gonna regret this tomorrow morning," grumbled Kagome, wincing with each step.

She caught up to Sesshoumaru at the end of the corridor. When Kagome walked in, Sesshoumaru turned to look at her. No doubt analyzing my condition and the weakness of the human race, thought Kagome, propping herself against the doorframe to catch her breath. Turning her head, the only non-damaged limb of her body, she studied the surroundings. A small windowless room, constructed in the same hurried style as he corridor, unlit except for numerous candles placed randomly around the room. So this is why we didn't know this room existed, it was just built and didn't connect to any of the power grids.

In a corner knelt or rather cowered the man who had shot her. He was marred by several cuts that were all bleeding profusely, but seem to have lost nothing vital. The gun was lying far away.

Sesshoumaru stood as far from the man as the room would allow. But even from that distance his presence seemed to dominate the small room and tower over the trembling man.

Finally focusing on the man, Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. This was the man that killed Naraku?! This whimpering coward! And I was injured by him too, a inner voice reminded Kagome, she grimaced. My pride will never live this down.

Sesshoumaru had waited, knowing Kagome deserved to be here for this. But the incessant blubbering of the man was severely trying his patience and fueling his irritations and anger. How dare he hurt Kagome! How dare he try to deceive this Sesshoumaru! Every fiber of Sesshoumaru screamed at him to kill the worthless scum in front of him, if only to put the man out of his obvious misery and save this Sesshoumaru's poor sensitive ears. But now that Kagome was finally here, the fun would begin.

Turning her eyes from the blubbering man in the corner, she became captivated by Sesshoumaru's appearance. The candlelight danced across his face, hardening the angles of his face, but softening the brilliant molten gold of his eyes. The eyes, which were trained upon her since the moment she walked in, expressed a mixture of concern and annoyance, all the while also seemed to be asking permission. But for what?

His hood had fallen, freeing his unnatural silver hair, which glowed ethereally as the light caressed each strand. He looked more dangerous in this light, more predatory. Somehow, Kagome was excited by this knowledge. The longer Kagome watched, the more she was drawn to the ethereal aura that seemed to surround Sesshoumaru. She almost made to move forward to run her hands through his hair to see if it was really as silken as it seemed to be.

"………Kagome………Kagome…& #8230;…"

She was pulled out of her wonderful hazy little world by the sound of her name, which was sounding more impatient with each repetition. Coming back to reality, she realized the voice belonged to Sesshoumaru. "Oh, sorry," Kagome apologized, blushing brilliantly at being caught with her thoughts as such. You hate him, remember, a voice reminded. "It's one of the reasons I hate being shot; I tend to hallucinate slightly".

No you don't, the same voice argued.

Shut up.

She looks paler than usual, Sesshoumaru frowned. They need to end this quickly. "Alright, talk," he commanded the trembling figure in the corner in an icy voice that froze the blood. "Did you kill Naraku Shinigami?" It wasn't a question, but a statement. Vengeance was always sweeter when the victim knew the cause.

"N-n-no………I would n-never dare. Oh please, h-have mercy, please spare me. I didn't do anything"

"You didn't hate Naraku Shinigami?" the tone was still icy, but tinged with skepticism.

"Yes………n-no. Um………well. Oh, it wasn't suppose to happen like this; they never told me I would actually be caught. No, you weren't suppose to make it this far, you should have died………" This he mumbled to himself, but it wasn't enough to escape Sesshoumaru's hearing.

"Really," his voice was dry, but omnious. "You should never underestimate your opponent. Now, who is this `they' you're rambling about?"

"What………o-oh no. O-of course not. I know nothing about that. Absolutely nothing".

"Tell me!" demanded Kagome, staggering over to try her luck at intimidation. Having a hole in your stomach really did make you most impatient. The man, if you could really call him that, cowered even more under the combined menacing glare of Kagome and Sesshoumaru's cold ominous stare. He debated between death by his boss, once, not if he finds out, or by these two friendly people in front of him. Neither choice appealed to him and both scared the shit out of him. He had not signed up for this. No he didn't…

"Um………well………y-y-you see………" he began, deciding to go for the possibly quicker and less gruesome death. But his answer was cut short by an explosion, which rocked the foundations of the small room. When the shaking stopped, Kagome found herself in a corner of the room and in Sesshoumaru's arms. She couldn't really complain; Sesshoumaru's arms were quite comfortable. And then mentally slapped herself for thinking about this now. He had used his inhuman speed to take them to a far corner of the room, away form the door. And had used his body to shield her from the blast.

Kagome had not expected Sesshoumaru to be so chivalrous. Meeting his eyes in astonishment, Kagome was unable to tear her gaze away. They remained like that, in a pleasant state of shock, where nothing in the world existed except each other, until the smoke was but a memory.

Realizing the situation, Kagome turned away and scrambled out of his embrace so he wouldn't see her furious blush. The explosion had knocked down all the candles, allowing flames to lick at the walls of the small room. If the pieces of flesh and limbs strewn around the room were any indication, their target was dead beyond a doubt. Closing her eyes from the sight, a sudden strong wave of nausea swept over Kagome again. But she managed to fight it down, if only just barely.

"We have to leave. The explosion will have attracted attention." Sesshoumaru came up behind her. The explosion had shredded most of his attire and left many deep gashes on his body, which were already starting to heal thanks to his youkai ability. How she envied that ability right now, when her own body ached from pain and longed to drop.

Then she saw the huge hole in the wall. It really was amazing the room was still standing. Maybe the construction wasn't that bad after all. Nodding her permission, she felt herself swept up by Sesshoumaru and speeding through the air. Their departure was accompanied by loud gunshots from those who were first to arrive at the scene.

All through the trip back, Kagome barely held on to her consciousness. The airborne feeling did nothing to help her nausea. As soon as they landed, she dashed through the door, to the bathroom, and promptly threw up. After holding her head over the toilet for a few minutes, she felt a lot better. Rinsing her mouth out with water, she decided that since she was here anyway, she might as well wash up for bed. Finding bandages behind in the medicine cabinet, she stripped down, cleaned and bandaged each wound and gash. She made a sound only when she peeled the vest away from her stomach, taking the half lodged bullet with it and allowing the air to hit her wound. It was slightly better than she had feared, but it would still scar. And she was vain enough not to want another scar upon her body.

Too tired to really think, she mechanically cleaned and bandaged that wound too. Then she realized that she didn't have a change of cloth. What she had worn was too tattered and bloodstained. She decided to chance it. After all, a look in the mirror told her she was too covered in bandages to really be considered indecent. She looked about as revealing as a mummy. Taking care nonetheless, she dashed from the bathroom to her room as fast as her aching and bandaged legs would allow her. Once safely in her room, she donned a very light and loose nightgown and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Downstairs, Sesshoumaru had waited. He had busied himself in the kitchen until he was sure she had enough time to get to bed before heading upstairs himself. Stepping inside the bathroom, he was assaulted by the smell of blood and a pile of clothing on the floor. He briefly wondered about Kagome. The smell of blood was very strong, but considering the injuries she had sustained tonight, the blood loss was not unusual. Besides, he chided himself, she was not his responsibility. He didn't care what happened to her. Her injuries were caused by her own carelessness and no concern of his.

Washing up himself, he went back to his room, leaving his clothing alongside Kagome's inside the bathroom, promising to take care of it in the morning. It was uncharacteristic of his usual exacting behavior, but right now he was too tired to care. He had not used any bandages, as many of his wounds were already healing. So he had walked back to his room clad only in his underwear. (boxers or briefs, your choice ;-)) He was STILL the lord of this house. (so there!)

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Finally, I have finished this chapter. It's been in the works for a really long time. This chapter kinda wrote itself; although I'm not too sure which direction this story is really going. Therefore, if anyone can help a bit, it would be greatly appreciated. Somehow I don't have a lot to say… Anyway, enjoy. And I LOVE REVIEWS. (Hint, hint. Shameless, I know.)

--hitokiri*seraphim