InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Therapist ❯ Things Fall Apart ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I don't own "Inuyasha".


Word Translations:

Youkai - demon
Taiyoukai - great demon
Hanyou - half-demon
Ningen - human
Kami - deity
Miko - priestess



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Dozens of brightly coloured orbs spun around Sesshoumaru in quick succession as he set cross-legged on a flat, gray rock. After what seemed to be an eternity, the orbs slowed down and faded into nothingness like smoke in a breeze.

"What have you discerned, Goumonguro?"

The youkai with strange, metallic-green hair slowly closed an ornate box from which the orbs had initially emerged, "My lord, I am certain that you are not under a spell or enchantment which has come from any mortal or youkai. And you certainly are not under any sort of a spell from the priestess."

Sesshoumaru stood up and leapt off the rock. "I see. Is there any kind of magic then that can remain unnoticed and undetected for prolonged periods of time?"

"None that I know of, my lord, for a personage of your stature," Goumonguro replied. "Except if such a spell is entirely woven and cast by kami. For nothing that men or youkai can do in this mortal world can have such hold over you, my lord, that neither you nor I perceive nothing of it. Only kami alone are able to warp the very fabric of reality itself so that what change is done is not merely the casting of a spell, but the unraveling and respinning of Fate's threads."

"May not a pure and holy soul, perhaps the soul of a miko, be a conduit for power that only kami possess?"

Goumonguro shook his head, "Miko or monk, holy man or virgin pure, none can fully wield the powers of the gods. A great gulf separates that which is truly divine from the rest of us. So that, even if a kami were to allow his powers to flow through a mortal, the effect will be only a very pale shadow the divine being's true powers."

Sesshoumaru frowned in annoyance at the answers he had obtained from Goumonguro's tests and observations. Losing his temper certainly would not help the situation because he knew that his green-haired interrogator was absolutely right.

"There is perhaps one way by which the power of the gods may be used on you, my lord," remarked the demon after pondering for awhile. "If the miko had prayed to the gods for a direct intervention and somehow had her prayers answered... But, this is unlikely as the gods seldom bother to directly grant the petty requests of Man. Even if the request came from a holy man or woman."

Sesshoumaru left Goumonguro with the demon's words ringing in his ears. He highly doubted that aloof gods high in the heavens had anything to do with how he was reacting towards the young miko.

As he made his way towards the gardens he was roused form his deep contemplation by the sounds of laughter. Intrigued by the rare sound of mirth ringing through the somber halls of his home, he went to investigate its source.

He soon found Rin playing with that strange woman he had saved. It had been some time since he had last seen her. Growing angrily, he thought about their last face-to-face meeting. Silently chastising himself for not driving Tokijin through her heart, he hurriedly summoned a servant and did the only thing he could to salvage the situation at this point in time.



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The servants came in the early hours of the morning and told Sachiko to prepare for a journey. They then blindfolded her and put her on what felt like some kind of mount or steed. Although she could not see anything, Sachiko knew that the mount was being led by someone, and that they we moving at an incredibly rapid pace because she felt cold air rushing furiously past her.

After a few hours, the mount stopped moving and rough hands picked Sachiko up and put her on what felt like a soft grassy mound.

"Can I take off this blindfold?"

There was no answer. The demons who had travelled with her this entire time said nothing to her and didn't even bother to answer her questions. The only sound she heard was the scuffling of feet before everything fell silent.

A few seconds passed before Sachiko pulled the blindfold from her eyes. She found herself silting beneath a large tree beside a rough country road. Since there was no one else around and she guessed that the demon Sesshoumau, or whatever he was called, had decided to free her. Although she did regret not saying goodbye to Rin, she was also relieved that she wasn't living with a whole bunch of them.

Getting off the ground, she found on the ground beside her, a small package wrapped in plain, homespun fabric containing two sets of clothes, a comb, a mirror and some food. Picking up the package, Sachiko made her way down the country road. She had no idea where she was going and had long ago given up speculating if she was in hell or in an alternate dimension. There was no way for her to confirm any theory she might have, so she decided to stick to the only conclusion she could come to given how she got here.

She was in some kind of afterlife, and perhaps hell was a kingdom run by demons with their own rules. Perhaps the only things that the damned could do were to live by the rules of this new existence and hopefully not end up on some monster's menu. With these somber thoughts constantly running through her mind, Sachiko slowly made her way down the narrow dirt road. She travelled for a day without seeing another person and was glad to be alone for a bit, because she had no idea what she would do it she did meet someone else.

Just after nightfall, she had reached the outskirts of what appeared to be a small town. Despite the relative size of the settlement, it was devoid of any sign of life. As Sachiko moved slowly down the main street of this town, she noticed that not a single window or doorway was lit from the inside. Like a graveyard, it was deathly quiet, lacking even the barking of stray dogs or the meowing of a cat. Stopping in front of an open doorway to a small two-storey house, Sachiko peered into the all too silent darkness.

"H-hello? Is anyone in?"

Silence.

Sachiko stepped cautiously into the house. A cold chill raced up her spine as she stepped gingerly on the dark, creaky floorboards. Making her way down a gloomy corridor, she reached out with her hands as she felt her way through the deepening shadows of the residence. The papered windows that occasionally broke the gloom did not let in much moonlight to illuminate the blackness.

As she turned to enter the first room to the right of the corridor, her foot struck a sack-like thing on the ground and caused her to lose her balance. The petite woman fell right into the “sack” and found herself face to face with the bloated visage of a middle-aged man whose bluish tongue was hanging out of his mouth.

A piercing shriek broke the silence as she backed away quickly and scrambled out of the house. Despite the horrifying screams, a part of her consciousness remained chillingly calm, quietly hearing the sounds she made with a certain unnerving detachment. The observer noted with a dry, silent laugh, how much like a horror movie her situation had become. Almost as though anticipating the next plot hook of this horror story, the observer caused Sachiko to stumble onto the street and turn her head to the right. Somehow, the observer knew that it - the monster of this story - was there, waiting for her.

In the distance, she saw a small snowy-haired girl clad in an elegant white kimono glide down the lonely street. The girl child held something in her arms, a bundle wrapped in the finest brocade. As the eerie youngster neared the petite woman, she tilted her arms so that Sachiko could see the contents of her bundle.

Staring into the child's arms with growing fear and horror, Sachiko found herself locking eyes with a lavender-haired demon that had the face of a cherub. Voices from an unseen source started to whisper in her mind as she spiraled down a deep, black whirlpool.


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Mean while …

The first thing that he noticed about her was the way her hair fell over her face when she slept. Although she didn't have skin as white as snow and hair as glossy as ebony lacquer on fine tableware, her hair did have a way of making her face look serenely beautiful, almost like the a fairy maiden from the legends of old.

Moving in for a closer look, the Taiyoukai floated gently down onto the platform where he had the miko imprisoned in an arcane circle. He sat down quietly on the stony floor about 4 feet from her, one leg brought up gracefully against his chest as he rested his arm on the upraised knee. Quietly, he watched her sleeping form, studying her smooth curves almost with the diligence of a scholar. He had always viewed ningen females as being rough, lumpy creatures without any semblance of beauty or dignity. However, seeing Kagome up close, he could not help but wonder why he never noticed her fragile beauty. In fact, she seemed soft, much much softer than a demoness. So delicate and pliable was the form of this human female that he reached out and stroked her rosebud cheeks without even knowing that he had done so.

When he became aware that he was touching the miko, Sesshoumaru snatched away his hand quickly with a slight snarl. Unfortunately, that same snarl caused the subject of his “study” to wake up.

“W-what are you doing!” the taiyoukai found himself confronted by Kagome's wild, accusing stare.

“Checking to see if you are still breathing!” the demon lord winced internally. He wished he didn't sound so defensive.

“Well, stop staring!”

A clawed hand shot out and closed itself around the girl's throat. “You forget your place, ningen! In my domain, only I make the demands!”

Gasping desperately for air as the taiyoukai's claws tightened around her throat, Kagome tried her best to pry his fingers apart with her hands, but to no avail. Sesshoumaru had pulled the miko close towards him, so that their faces were mere inches apart. Somehow during the struggle, the front of her robe had become loose, exposing the smooth curves of her heaving bosom. It didn't take the demon lord long to notice her creamy skin through the opening of her robe.

THWACK!

A reddish palm-shaped mark appeared on the Sesshoumaru's flawless cheek. Completely caught off guard, it took the demon lord a few long seconds before he could come up a response to this insult. With a vicious snarl, he shoved Kagome hard on the ground and brought his hand up to deliver his own reciprocal blow. As the taiyoukai's hand came down towards the girl's cheek, a strange sensation filled his chest. It caused a lump to form in his throat, so that in the end, he only managed a light tap on Kagome's cheek.

Rounding his hand into a fist, Sesshoumaru quickly retracted it from the miko's face. Stung by how his own emotions and reactions had betrayed him, he allowed his carefully cultivated mask of cold detachment to take over. Straightening himself up so that he towered over the whimpering girl, Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and walked away, as though nothing had happened.

He wanted to say something menacing as he walked way, but the confusion of emotions in his mind prevented him from coming up with anything that would have be appropriate for the situation. He thought it best to let the ningen female wonder what neferious evil he might do to repay the insult.

Back in this own private study, Sesshoumaru slumped down beside his writing table, one hand covering his face. It took all the willpower he had to maintain his air of aloof arrogance as he left the prison and made his way to where no one could see him. It was now clear to the demon lord that he was in big trouble and no amount of magic or might could untangle him from the mess that he was in.

He had fallen in love... again. And like his previous encounter with this terrible affliction, he was sure it would end in blood.