InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Centre ❯ Sealed ( Chapter 31 )

Chapter 30: Sealed

"What?" Sango asked, looking down at her brother in shock. Miroku looked down from behind while he unconsciously rubbed his sore arm. If Kohaku made on wrong move, one inclination toward further violence he would kill the boy himself. Sango might hate him afterwards, but it would be better than her hating herself.

"The collars," Kohaku repeated. "He can only control one at a time. Something to do with conflicting mechanics or something….I don't know."

"So now his attention is diverted to something he thinks is more important," Sango said. "Who do you think he is most threatened by?" she asked, looking back at Miroku.

"At first I would say Sesshoumaru….but with Inuyasha's temper, Tetsusaiga and Kagome at his side, that is probably Naraku's greatest threat."

"Do you think he'll be distracted enough for us to get Kohaku out of here?" Sango asked.

"Leave?" Kohaku gasped. Fear crept into his eyes. Fear and a deep remorse laced with dark pain. "But father will kill me…." he whispered. Sango's grip tightened on him.

"Like hell he will. He'll have to go through me first!"

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"Kouga," Ginta said, flanked by several others. "We can't do that."

"Why the hell not?" the wolf demanded.

"Because Ayame heads the pack now. You are her mate, she is the alpha female…if your order contradicts hers then we have to follow her," Ginta said, edging away from his deadly looking leader. Being the messenger in this pack was a death wish, but someone had to inform Kouga of his new position.

"I did not accept her as my mate!" the wolf snarled, advancing on his underling. He quickly had to backpedal when another form interceded between them.

"Since I am the dominant one that really doesn't matter, does it?" Ayame said haughtily. "Now, just what is it about my orders you don't want to follow? You do want Naraku dead, correct?"

"I don't give a shit about Naraku!" Kouga snarled. "I want that damn bitch Kagura's blood on my claws. You can go fight Naraku all you want, but I'm gonna find my woman."

"Your woman?" Ayame said disdainfully. "You mean the Hanyou's mate?"

"They haven't mated yet," Kouga replied, a growl in his throat.

"You're barking up the wrong tree," the princess said with a smirk. "If you want to go get yourself killed, be my guest. I got all I needed from you. The pack, however, is mine."

She turned and walked away, the rest of the pack peeling off to follow her. Kouga snarled as even his most loyal men ducked their heads, tucked their tails and followed. Ginta gave him one last mournful look.

He would not be moved though. Even without the pack he would not lose. He would kill Kagura, kill Inuyasha and take Kagome back with him. He didn't need the pack. They relied on him too much anyway. He could survive alone, unaided, as long as Kagome was by his side.

But why did he suddenly feel so lonely?

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"And who," Kikyou said with a light sneer, "are you?"

Kagome unconsciously took a step back, her entire body trembling as the woman's eyes narrowed on her like a predatory animal.

"Kikyou," Inuyasha whispered again, oblivious to the tension between the two women. "You…died…"

"Yes," she replied, coming toward them in a slow, graceful and deadly walk. Kagome opened her mouth to warn him but her throat was too closed. Could Inuyasha not see the power radiating off her in waves? Not only was she powerful, but a deep hatred had long set into her heart, tainting the power she held.

"I died. Your brother ripped me limb from limb and I died," Kikyou said bitterly, a hand going to the collar around her neck. "However, Naraku has ways of keeping even the dead alive. These collars keep our souls locked, unable to escape a decaying body. We can stay like this for centuries; unchanged, unmarred and immortal. We feel nothing. Not the wind, nor water, nor warmth, nor a lover's touch," she whispered, stopping when she was nearly nose to nose with Inuyasha. Kagome watched in horror as he just stood there, seemingly transfixed by her eyes. Kikyou stood on her tip toes, her hands clutching his shoulders as she pressed her lips against his.

Hot and searing pain shot through Kagome's shoulder, the mark upon it protesting from the contact. She gave a strangled cry and dropped to her knees, tears already streaming down her cheeks as she looked at the two. Inuyasha was still standing there in shock, unmoved as Kikyou wrapped herself around him.

So this was his decision? Kagome felt her chest contract, unable to breathe. To lose him would be unbearable, but to see him unhappy would be worse. Life would go on, she decided. It would never be as bright or as happy or as wonderful, but it would go on….even without him. This had been a hard lesson, but a necessary one.

Kagome steadied her breath and reached a hand up to the mark upon her shoulder. It already burned, so what was a little more pain?

****

Inuyasha didn't know how to react. A woman he thought was dead was holding him, kissing him like she'd never been gone. But it was different. The Kikyou he'd remembered had warm lips…this one had cold ones. But he couldn't move. Whether it was shock or confusion or just his mind being unable to process this all at once, he couldn't move.

He couldn't, that is, until he felt the sharp pain of purification coming from his intended mate. That jolted his body back to reality.

Gods! Kagome!

Kikyou gave a startled cry when Inuyasha suddenly pulled away from her. She fell back, hitting the plush grass in an undignified thump.

"KAGOME!" he yelled, springing over to where the girl had collapsed, forcefully tearing her hand from her shoulder where she was purifying something. Kikyou frowned, focusing her gaze upon that shoulder. The purification energy glowed around the mark.

Inuyasha's mark. Something Kikyou had never allowed. Something she felt was a dirty reminder he was half youkai, a race she hated.

"Idiot," Inuyasha scolded, wrapping his arms around the sobbing girl. "Don't EVER do that again!" Kagome did not reply as she gasped for air. "How many times are you going to scare the shit out of me bitch?" he whispered in her hair.

Kikyou's eyes widened. Inuyasha prevented the girl from purifying the mark, held her in his arms…..and called her bitch. He intended to make this girl his one and only. The one his youkai side wanted and accepted. Something Kikyou had never been.

`It should have been me!' the miko thought, anger welling up inside of her. She pulled an arrow from her quiver, power flowing from her fingers to wrap around it. `I gave myself to him. I sacrificed my dignity, my honor, and my very loyalties for HIM!' The arrow settled on the string of her bow, the power traveling up the bow, a deep glow resonating.

`Die you little whore' Kikyou thought as she pulled back, letting the arrow loose on a path toward Kagome's heart. Kagome looked up in horror, seeing the arrow coming right for her. Inuyasha's demon eyes caught the flash and saw the intended path.

"Kagome! MOVE!" he snarled, pushing her out of the arrows path. Kagome winced as her head hit a rock, stars dancing in her vision.

"No," came a strangled whisper. Kagome looked up and saw Kikyou standing there, hand still back from releasing the bow, a horrified look upon her face. Dread filled her heart as Kagome turned, unsure of what horror she would see.

Inuyasha's hair shifted slightly in the breeze, his head bowed and eyes closed. His claws were nearly retracted, his arms hung limply at his side. He almost looked like he was asleep.

Except an arrow through his heart pinned him to the large tree in the center of the garden, sealing him in eternal sleep.

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"AIYAAA!" Rin screamed as a heavy hand settled on her shoulder. Training kicked in and she threw the attacker off balance, propelling him over her head. She whirled around, Tenseiga ready in her hands. It might not kill, but the resultant cut from the blade would buy her some time to escape.

Sesshoumaru groaned as he picked himself up. Never had his body felt so sore….in so many places. For such a tiny thing she was fierce.

"Bitch," he snarled. "You dare throw me?"

Rin's jaw dropped in amazement, tears shining in her eyes. She quickly crawled over to him, dropping Tenseiga as her hands went out to touch him. He glared at her, still angry over the indignity of being thrown. She wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug.

SLAP!

Sesshoumaru's eyes glinted red as he turned his head back to face her, his cheek stinging. The damn minx had dared to slap him! HIM!

"You were dead!" she screamed. "DON'T DO THAT TO ME!"

"Are you quite through now?" he said dryly. She nodded, giving one last sniffle.

"Sorry for slapping you," she apologized. "You are enough to drive me insane sometimes."

"I'm not mad at you, Rin," he said, a small wicked smile touching his face. "But I will get even."

Uh oh…..

"Here," she said as she held up Tenseiga to him, her knees trembling as she tried to think how he was going to exact revenge. She'd thrown him and slapped him. Oh was she in trouble now. Being alpha bitch and disrespecting your mate were two totally different aspects and she'd crossed the line. The sword pulsed as his claws curled around it.

"Hmm," the youkai said, his eyes narrowing. "Interesting." Rin cocked her head in confusion but he did not elaborate. Oh boy. On top of it all he would drive her curiosity insane by keeping information to himself.

"I smell…flowers?" Rin said as she followed him.

"There is a garden ahead. Inuyasha and his bitch are already there…." Sesshoumaru seemed to be thinking about something. Was someone else there as well? Rin was going crazy trying to read his facial expressions.

A thin sliver of sunlight was coming through the door. Sesshoumaru didn't even bother with the knob; he just reached up a poison clawed hand and sprayed. The door quickly melted into a puddle of poisonous mush. Rin grimaced and jumped onto Sesshoumaru's back, taking strong handfuls of his shirt into her hands. The youkai calmly looked back at her, unsurprised.

"Can't you open the door like a normal person?"

"I am not a normal person," was his reply as he walked through the poison, his own body unaffected. Rin held her breath, careful of the fumes. Even so her eyes burned.

Across the garden Rin saw a horrific sight. Kagome was on her knees, her bow clutched to her chest while another woman stood not too far away, bow still raised from a recent shot. A short distance away Inuyasha was pinned to a large tree, the arrow still glowing from the seal.

"Kikyou," Sesshoumaru snarled.

"Wasn't she dead?" Rin asked.

"By my claws," he answered. "These collars are somehow keeping them alive." Anger began to build within him. That damn miko bitch had sealed his brother. Sesshoumaru hated him, yes, but Inuyasha was his to kill, not hers. No one was allowed to have the pleasure of watching the light leave the Hanyou's eyes. "Rin," he snarled. "Get down."

******************

Kagome let out a choked sob, pushing herself off the ground in a stumbling run toward Inuyasha. She pulled herself up the smooth roots sticking up, grabbing a handful of his clothes to keep from falling back. She reached out a hesitant hand toward the arrow.

A bright barrier shocked her hand, sending Kagome flying back onto the ground below. She looked up again in horror. She could not remove it! She turned back to the miko who had shot the arrow, willing to trade her life to know how to remove it. Anything for him.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome gasped, seeing the youkai blur at impossible speeds toward Kikyou. The miko turned, but instead of trying to dodge or defend herself, Kikyou spread her arms wide, accepting her fate. Poison claws racked through her abdomen and she crumpled down onto the grass.

"No!" Kagome yelled, sprinting for the miko. "Don't! It's not her fault! She wasn't aiming for him!"

Sesshoumaru looked down in disdain as Kagome shielded the dieing miko with her body. She truly had a forgiving heart if she could shield the murderer of her mate-to-be.

"No," Kikyou struggled to say. "Let me die. If I am dead Naraku cannot control me anymore. Long ago hate set into my heart and he has used that hate. Don't let him use it again."

"But-" Kagome began, unable to say it. `Inuyasha loves you. I can't kill someone he loves. Even if he is dead, I can't do it.'

"Once I am dead, remove the collar. So long as this collar remains, my soul cannot leave," Kikyou whispered, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth.

"Just remove the collar. That should remove the bind on her soul," Sesshoumaru commented.

"Wait," Kagome said, holding Kikyou's bleeding head in her lap. "How do I remove the seal? How do I bring him back?" she demanded.

"I…I don't know," Kikyou said. "I've…never had…to take…one off before. I'm sorry…" Sad, dark eyes looked into hers, the gaze telling Kagome all she needed to know. Kikyou wanted relief….she wanted freedom. To know she had killed her own love was more grief than any woman could shoulder.

Kagome rested her fingers upon the collar, trying to focus her energy. It was like calling someone's name in a hurricane. Try as she might she could not get the power to heed her. She gave Kikyou an apologetic look.

"Confidence, child," the miko said. "The only limitations are the ones you put on yourself. Did Inuyasha ever doubt you?"

"N-no," Kagome replied.

"Then why do you doubt yourself?" Kagome inhaled a deep breath. She had the power, she knew that. It was there. Now how to get it to come? She thought of Inuyasha. If he was here he'd be standing behind her with a sarcastic comment and unquestionable support. He'd probably even tell her she was being silly worrying over trifle things too much….and to hurry it up already.

Kikyou felt warmth begin to spread from the collar around her neck. She could feel the grass beneath her, the air around her, smell the flowers….she could feel it all. The pain…and the release.

Thunk.

Kikyou's body quickly faded into bones, all other traces of her gone. Sesshoumaru wrapped the bones up in his shirt and crunched them beneath his foot. Kagome looked up, questioning as he did so, tears streaming down her face in silent sorrow.

"So he cannot recollar her even in death," the youkai said. Kagome's eyes fell to the blade at his hip.

"Sesshoumaru!" she gasped. "Can you use Tenseiga?" The demon looked down at her, an eyebrow raised.

"On Inuyasha? Even IF I wanted to he would have to be dead first."

"He's not?" Kagome asked.

"No. Asleep, yes, but not dead. His heart still beats. However, you won't be able to remove that seal unless he wakes up."

"How do I wake him up?"

The demon answered with a shrug and left her there. Rin came over, wrapping her arms around Kagome in a comforting hug. Sesshoumaru looked down at them, his face impassive.

"We need to leave," he said. Rin nodded and helped Kagome rise.

`How do I wake him?' Kagome thought, her hand absently stroking the mark upon her shoulder. It gave a light pulse in response.

"Wait," Kagome said, causing Rin and Sesshoumaru to turn back. "I have an idea."