InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Freedom ❯ Eight ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Kagome gritted her teeth as the dull ache returned full force and her body protested the strenuous climb through the rugged terrain after such a trying ordeal. Just a little longer. She promised herself as she blocked the pain and limped behind the doctor.

They reached a temple, that stretched across the small valley surrounded by the mountains and it included a complex of shrines, living space for the priests, and training halls.  The prison loomed in the distance and consisted of a wooden fence made of planks where two small buildings stood to confine captives. Before the pair could enter the grounds, two guards appeared.

“Halt! Who goes there?” Two monks raised their staffs to stop the trespassers, but when they saw the familiar face of the doctor they visibly relaxed.

“Doctor, what brings you out to the temple grounds at such a late hour?” They knew the doctor to be a strange man, he seldom followed custom but because of his close ties to the head priest, the monks often pardoned the doctors small acts of sacrilege.

They turned to the female and they both shared an unflattering look. Women were not allowed on these grounds, and their mere presence could affect the delicate workings of the temple.

“This lass is dying, and her last wish is to make her peace with this realm and see the holy man.” Suikotsu swayed and easily lied between his teeth, as the monks traded bewildering looks.  They glared down at the woman and the wretch had enough nerve to stare back, bold faced and proud.

 But they had to remember that it was the doctor who had made countless sacrifices in their time of need, and who saved a great deal of their people from the plague with his medical genius. They nodded slowly and allowed them both to enter. Kagome released a breath that she didn’t know that she was holding.

Once they reached deeper into the compound, she rushed past the doctor and made a bee line for the prison which was strangely unguarded. Her heart fluttered when she yanked opened the doors, and she was expecting to come across the half demon, instead the prison cell was empty and smelled faintly of urine and blood.

 What’s going on here? She began to get a bad feeling when she tried to get a read on Inuyasha’s aura, instead she felt a wave of malicious yoki that caused her heart to hammer in her chest. Her eyes flitted behind her and she wondered if the monks could feel what she felt. Something told her to keep going.

Kagome followed her instincts, and kept to the shadows as she stumbled upon a ladder leading down into a small cave. She tucked Inuyasha’s sword in the back of her robes, as the fang began to thrum. I know, they must’ve carried him down there.

Kagome took a deep breath, and slowly made her way down until she was swallowed in darkness. She jumped the short distance when she reached the last peg, landing with a soft thud. Kagome whirled around when she felt something slither just behind her and she crouched in defense and whipped out the sheathed blade, straining her eyes. She made a small noise in the back of her throat when a strange light floated just out of her reach and she flinched as it drew nearer. The light made a circle around her, as if trying to get her attention and somehow the simple action eased her fear as she straightened to her full height.

“You want to show me something?” Kagome couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding that snaked through her as the ball of light grew brighter and she sent a silent pray that she would be strong enough to face whatever was in store for her. “Alright then, let’s go.”

She followed her guide down a path of winding tunnels until they came to a standstill on a mossy ledge, and she was overlooking a field of light. Kagome squinted as she looked closer, and realized that the lights were really globes filled with humans trapped in an amber like substance. She flitted over the faces of comatose women, children, and the elderly, as a tremor shot down her spine.

Kagome backed away and clapped her hands over her mouth, as her mind flashed to the mass of graves in the sleepy meadow as tears blurred her vision.  These villagers were the disappeared and no one would suspect that they were being held captive in some tyrant’s nefarious plot. She shook her head in disbelief, and she wondered if this was what the monks were protecting and whether this was a part of their so called divine order.

The ball of light circled around her impatiently, as she wiped her face and continued to move forward. As they descended deeper into the cavernous hall, she felt a spark of rage and wanted to meet the callous engineer behind this scheme. Something inside of her answered.

 Without warning, a spike of demonic energy prickled at her consciousness and she reeled back into the shadows, as a lumbering bull yokai entered with a fresh round of subjects. Her pulse quickened as she saw a familiar flash of red. Inuyasha! But something was wrong with the half demon lord. He was unconscious, and he was human.

Kagome felt faint as she watched the demon encase Inuyasha and a handful of humans from the village in an egg like shell and their bodies remained suspended in the amber fluid. When it was done, it peered cautiously through the rows of eggs close to where she was hiding, and she thought that she had been found out. She closed her eyes, and gripped tessaiga. But the demon began talking to itself in low, conspiratorial tones.

“The boss won’t mind if I took one for myself. Hell, it was my genius that made these beauties, I should get to enjoy it. The greedy bastard wants to hoard them all for himself.” It rasped, and she cracked open her eyes as she watched the demon approach an egg where a child was frozen inside and curled in fetal position.

 She watched in horror as the demon consumed the child and globe and smacked its lips in satisfaction. Suddenly, the cave began to pulse. Kagome threw her hands over her head, as something shook the ground and she realized that it was the bull yokai causing the disturbances. She watched in horror as its horns grew twice in size, its muscles bulked up, and a pair of spindly wings sprouted from its back.

The demon tipped its head back and laughed.

“The shikon jewel lives.” It burped loudly, and made its way out of the cavernous hall. The shikon jewel? it can’t be! Kagome’s face paled and began to take on a feverish glow, when she turned to her guide she saw that the ball of light began to dim, until at the last moment, the ghostly shape of a child materialized and smiled sadly before fading away.

She felt that she had somehow failed as she stood in stunned silence and tried to process everything that she just saw. Souls. Hundreds and hundreds of human souls. But for what purpose?

She had never known demons to be intelligent enough to try to create a jewel like the relic of legends. As she scanned each row and peered into the comatose faces, understanding dawned as she felt her skin crawl. They couldn’t find the original jewel, so they decided to create something like it. And this is the result?

She was beginning to believe that such thing should have never existed in the first place, especially if pain and suffering was the result. Always the result. Her mind whispered with finality.

It took her several more moments to find her courage, until she made her way to the globe that Inuyasha was trapped in. She used tessaiga to slice open the gel like substance and reached inside to pull the half demon turned human out. Kagome had to suck in a pained gasp as the amber liquid stung her arms.

She used her robes to clean the liquid off Inuyasha to the best of her ability and felt for his pulse. He was alive, but his breathing was hitched and shallow. She slapped his cheeks gently.

“Inuyasha. We have to get out of here.” She whispered softly, and tried again when he didn’t respond.

“Something really dangerous is going on, and we have to leave now.”

Inuyasha began to groan, and she sighed in relief as his violet eyes fluttered open. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and he tried to get up but felt his strength leave him.

The last thing he remembered was being led into the holy grounds where those cowards chained him in their prisons and then a burning sensation rippled through him and he lost consciousness. A shadowy face flashed through his mind, but he could not penetrate the black cloud shrouding his memories.

“Kagome?”  She nodded mutely, and he was relieved that she was okay and ashamed of himself that she had to see him like this.

“We can’t keep meeting like this.”  He let out a weak chuckle, and he was bombarded by her nearness and he wanted to reach out and touch her. He had wanted to see her, he had secretly hoped that she stayed away especially when he wasn’t sure that he could keep her safe in his weakened state. He inhaled her scent and felt a familiar warmth flood through his chest.

“Are you keeping score?” She gave a breathy laugh and her eyes sparkled, as his eyes settled on her mouth.

“No, are you?” His voice dropped to a lower register, as a thrill shot through her and she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. He reached up and brushed a thumb across her cheek.  

“No.” She whispered, holding still and leaned into his touch and that was all the reassurance he needed as he cupped the back of her head and claimed her mouth in a kiss, reveling in the feel of her soft lips.

The kiss started slow and built up in urgency, as she pressed her fingers on his back in encouragement and desire spiked through his body. He poured in everything he felt but didn’t have the words for and hoped that she got the message.

His hand moved to the curve of her hip as he deepened the kiss, devouring her sweet mouth. When he accidently brushed against her shoulder, she sucked in a sharp breath and it was too late for her to disguise the sound. He reluctantly broke away from her and sat up.

“You’re hurt.” He said seriously, his voice roughened with want. He leaned down to press his cheek against her head, and breathed in the scent of her hair as he tried to regain control of his raging instincts.

“Show me.”

Kagome was under a spell as she turned her back, and gingerly shrugged out of her robe, and he sucked in a breath at the ugly scar that was forming on her shoulder blade.

“It was a low level yokai, but I didn’t have anything except for your blade. I met a young doctor from this village and he helped patch me up.” She sighed as she righted her clothing. Something inside of her slowly caved in, as she turned and told him everything that happened since he went missing.

 He didn’t interrupt her or interject, but when she was finished she had given in to the fear and began to silently sob as she managed to release the pent-up sadness and fear over his wellbeing that had been driving her. Inuyasha simply held her.

“Feh. That doctor sounds like a creep. But we need to move out of here. You’re right, those bastards are cooking up something really nasty and I don’t like it.” He helped her get to her feet, and he graciously took tessaiga and jammed the sword in his belt.

 

 She gave him a small smile and nodded as they made their way back through the tunnels.