InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ This Wasn't In The Job Description ❯ The Rescue and Flight ( Chapter 69 )

Chapter 69

 

 

The Rescue and Flight

 

 

The shock of seeing who their rescuer was made Kagome's head hurt even more. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, as if Kaito, the drummer for InuYasha's band, was banging away at it. The youkai was squatting over InuYasha, who lay on his back, his hair matted with blood. It dribbled down and streaked his pale face. The hanyou was still out cold.

 

“You are the one who caused this to happen!” Kagome accused their rescuer.

 

“I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about,” Kenmeimaru said. “I just got back and found my home in ruins…and you and your friends buried within.”

 

“But…” Kagome stuttered, raising her hand to her head and pushing her tangled and dirty bangs away from her face. “We came to see you, then something buzzed out of a niche in your wall, you disappeared…and the cave collapsed.”

 

Kenmeimaru looked at the ground thoughtfully, pursing his lips. Then he regarded the very dazed and confused human woman whose eyes darted anxiously back and forth between him and the hanyou.

 

“I have not met you before. I have just now returned,” Kenmeimaru said. “But I think I know what happened here. I was led away by what I finally figured out was an illusion. Realizing I had been tricked, I came back as soon as I could, and found this…”

 

The youkai opened his hands, gesturing at the wreckage. InuYasha began to moan. Kagome rushed to his side, taking his hand as he turned his head and his eyes fluttered open. His hand closed on hers, and he looked up into her face, his expression full of concern.

 

“Are you okay?” InuYasha asked.

 

“I'm fine, thanks to you,” Kagome said, her voice shaky with relief. “I am more worried about you!”

 

“I'll be fine, just give me a few more minutes,” InuYasha said, and finally noticed Kenmeimaru squatting over him. “Bastard! You did this to us!”

 

“No, no, InuYasha!” Kagome said quickly. “The one we thought was Kenmeimaru was an illusion. This is the real Kenmeimaru. He was tricked into leaving his home by another illusion.”

 

“Huh…” InuYasha said, sitting up and still eyeing Kenmeimaru suspiciously. “Where are Miroku and Sango?”

 

They heard movement back at the cave, and saw Kirara in her large youkai form, dragging Sango out of the rubble. She held Sango's shoulder carefully in her saber-toothed jaws. Miroku limped out behind them, his face scratched and bruised, and his clothes dirty and torn. InuYasha jumped up to go meet them. Kirara relinquished her precious burden to him and transformed back to her smaller size. Carefully, he picked Sango up and carried her to clear ground. Miroku went and sat by her side.

 

“InuYasha, my first aid kit is in my backpack, in the cave!” Kagome said, as she and Kenmeimaru came over.

 

“Right,” InuYasha said and disappeared into the remnants of Kenmeimaru's home.

 

The three of them knelt by Sango, and Kagome took her pulse and checked her breathing. She seemed to just be unconscious, although scratched and bruised. Miroku took her hand, looking desolate. Sango did not respond to his touch.

 

“I tried to protect her when the cave came down on us,” Miroku said softly. “I knocked her down, tried to cover her with my body. I failed…”

 

“Don't worry, you did not fail her,” Kagome said. “I'm sure she will be fine.”

 

Kagome had never seen Miroku look so serious and bereft. What was that look in his eyes as he gazed at Sango? Could it be? She gazed at him thoughtfully as she came to realize that despite the perverted act, he really cared deeply for Sango.

 

Kenmeimaru gently examined Sango, and nodded. “No broken bones, she was just knocked unconscious. But I must say, you look much more damaged.”

 

Miroku grimaced, shrugging. What were a few broken bones? He was alive, and so was his precious Sango, his best friend and his best friend's girlfriend. They lived to continue their quest. And as he gently brushed the dirt-matted bangs from her brow, Miroku came to a decision. If they succeeded in finding Midoriko and she could get rid of the quantum singularity in his hand, and also save Kohaku, he would give up his lecherous ways…for Sango, if she would have him.

 

InuYasha returned with Kagome's backpack, and she took it from him, digging in it quickly for her first aid kit. With Kenmeimaru's help, they cleaned and bandaged Sango's wounds and set Miroku's broken arm, putting it in a sling. InuYasha submitted to Kagome's ministrations as she bandaged his wounded head. But it was the soft licks of a concerned Kirara that finally brought Sango back to consciousness. She opened her eyes, blinking as the sun's rays blinded her. Kirara mewled happily and butted her head on Sango's hand with a purr. Miroku was at her side in a split second, a look of relief on his face.

 

Sensing that Miroku needed some private time with Sango, Kagome decided to get InuYasha and Kenmeimaru away from them. InuYasha had gone over to Sango when she woke, and Kagome took his arm to get his attention. He looked down at her questioningly. She gestured with her eyes for him to follow her lead.

 

“Kenmeimaru, we need to speak to you regarding why we came to see you,” Kagome said. “Will you please join us?”

 

The youkai got up from where he knelt at Sango's side, and followed Kagome and InuYasha away. Just in time too, by the look of things, Kagome thought. There was an electric feeling in the air around Miroku and Sango, like the sizzle of lightning about to strike.

 

~*~

 

“What happened?” Sango said in a low, hoarse voice.

 

Sango's mind was a jumble, and if she thought her body ached before, that was nothing. She felt like she had been hit by a truck, and then it had hit her again. Kirara chirped, and Sango put out a shaky hand to pet the neko's little head.

 

“We were ambushed by someone using an illusion of Kenmeimaru to trap us,” Miroku said, and took her hand in the one that bore the quantum singularity, holding it gently.

 

“The last thing I remember is you diving on top of me and knocking me down when the cave started to collapse,” Sango replied.

 

“Sorry about that, I only wanted to protect you,” Miroku said ruefully, and looked away from her.

 

“Gee, aren't you acting strange,” Sango said, but did not pull her hand from his.

 

“Sango, I need to ask you something,” Miroku said. “If we succeed, defeat Naraku and find the Shikon no Tama formula, will you marry me?”

 

Sango's eyes went big and round as Kirara's. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. But Miroku looked sincere, something she rarely saw in the man who was one of her best friends and also an infamous pervert. It was so arresting to see him look at her this way, the words caught in her throat at first.

 

“You mean it, don't you?” Sango finally managed to say.

 

“Yes, dear Sango - with all my heart,” Miroku said. “I will give up my lecherous ways if only you will be my wife and bear my children.”

Those words resonated in Sango's soul, and warmed her like nothing ever had before. She closed her eyes a moment, and looked into her heart. What she saw there, she had known all along, but never wanted to admit. But now was the time. She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile.

 

“Yes, I will marry you,” Sango replied softly.

 

The resulting smile on Miroku's face threatened to put the sun to shame.

 

~*~

 

Standing a respectable distance away from Miroku and Sango, Kagome turned to InuYasha. It was only right that he should be the one to tell Kenmeimaru why they had come to him. InuYasha nodded, his face all business-like, and folded his arms.

 

“We were told by Totosai that you could help us,” InuYasha began. “I need to repair my sword, Tessaiga, which was forged from my father's canine. But the only canine we have to repair it with is mine…”

 

InuYasha trailed off, feeling uncomfortable having to say that his tooth was not good enough because he was only a hanyou. So he stood there, looking at Kenmeimaru, who raised his eyebrows and then nodded his head knowingly. Kagome was impressed by the fact that Kenmeimaru seemed totally unfazed by the fact that InuYasha was a hanyou. And come to think of it, he showed no qualms about helping the humans he found in the ruins of what had been his home.

 

“So I take it our friend Totosai told you I could separate the human element from your tooth and make it a match for repairing your sword,” Kenmeimaru said.

 

“Yeah,” InuYasha replied. “Just name your price, I will find a way to pay it.”

 

“No need to pay me,” Kenmeimaru said, waving his hand dismissively. “I will do it as a favor to an old friend. But we must hope that the item I need to fill your request is undamaged. Also, we should not linger here much longer. Whoever trapped you and tricked me may come back.”

 

“Right,” InuYasha said. “But whoever it was could have only been working for the one person in this realm going out of his way to thwart me, Naraku. Let's find this thing and get the fuck outta here.”

 

As Kagome watched InuYasha and Kenmeimaru go back to the cave and carefully push their way through the debris, she tapped her nose thoughtfully with her finger. Something about Kenmeimaru and their request for help was niggling at the back of her mind. It threatened to make her injured head hurt even more, but it felt too important to let go. She began to pace back and forth a bit, staring at the ground with her brows drawn down in thought. She needed to draw the pieces together in her mind, but her head was throbbing…

 

Just then, InuYasha and Kenmeimaru returned. The youkai held a small, corked vial in his hand, containing a clear liquid. Kagome stared at it, and that feeling she was having that something important was on the verge of her mind got stronger. What a strange vial to have in the demon realm…

 

“Kagome, give him the tooth,” InuYasha said.

 

“Oh,” Kagome responded, startled out of her thoughts. “Just a moment.”

 

Digging in her pocket, Kagome frowned. She could have sworn the tooth was there! Checking the other pocket she came up empty as well. InuYasha watched her, a look of frustration crossing his eyes and flattening his mouth. Slapping her back pockets, there was nothing there either.

 

“I must have lost the tooth when the cave collapsed,” Kagome said ruefully, staring at the vial and that is when it clicked.

 

Like a jolt of electricity to her brain, the pieces of the puzzle started to come together in Kagome's mind. She paled, her eyes going wide, and slowly moved her hands away from her pockets. InuYasha went from looking annoyed and chagrined to curious, his ears pricking forward. Kagome stared at the vial in Kenmeimaru's hand again.

 

“That is an uncommon vial to have in the demon realm,” Kagome said, pointing at it. “It looks like something from my era in the Human Realm. Tell me, where did you get that from?”

 

Kenmeimaru looked surprised, then raised the vial and looked at it thoughtfully before answering her. The liquid inside sloshed a moment, and then settled.

 

“I promised the human woman I got this from to protect her,” Kenmiemaru. “But yes, it did come from your realm.”

 

InuYasha's eyes suddenly glowed brightly as he caught on to what Kagome was getting at. She looked excited, wringing her hands and hopping from foot to foot, so he held himself back from interrupting her. But he knew she was on to something, and her excitement was contagious.

 

“The only thing that can separate DNA is the Shikon no Tama formula!” Kagome said. “You got that from Midoriko, didn't you!”

 

InuYasha looked thunderstruck, and hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Ah, why didn't I see it!” InuYasha exclaimed. “Kenmeimaru, we are here to find her. You must tell us where she is!”

 

The youkai looked dubious a moment, regarding them with an air of indecision. They looked so earnest, especially the young human woman. He could tell she was from the same realm as Midoriko by her speech and clothing.

 

InuYasha clenched his fists, and Kagome looked at him pleadingly, her hands wrung so tightly together her knuckles were white. Time seemed to have slowed down, and Kagome needed to speed it up. She raised her hands to him beseechingly, her eyes shining.

 

“We assure you, we are not here to harm her,” Kagome said. “Her enemy is our enemy, and we must get to her before he does!”

 

Nodding, Kenmeimaru stroked his chin. “Yes, InuYasha did mention that Naraku was his enemy, and Midoriko told me she was fleeing him. She is in hiding from him here, and I am one of the few people who know her whereabouts.”

 

“So then you will bring us to her, as soon as possible,” InuYasha replied, his voice firm and insistent.

 

Kagome reached out and put her hand on one of InuYasha's clenched fists, making him turn his glowing eyes on her.

 

“Not quite yet, InuYasha,” Kagome said. “It is too dangerous for you to be without Tessaiga. Let's get it fixed first, before Naraku finds us.”

 

“She is right,” Kenmeimaru said, nodding. “We must leave for Totosai, immediately. Let us return to your friends.”

 

They quickly went over to Miroku and Sango, who were holding hands and talking softly. When they saw them approach, they let go and looked wonderingly at InuYasha and Kagome's excited and urgent expressions.

 

“Can you move, Sango?” InuYasha asked. “We need to leave at once, as I am sure Naraku was responsible for trying to trap or kill us. Can Kirara take us all back?”

 

When Sango struggled to sit up, Miroku came immediately to her aid. He put his good arm around her back, and she smiled at him so warmly, InuYasha was surprised. But Kagome smiled at the way her two friends were looking at each other - she had been right to leave them alone for a while.

 

“I'll be alright,” Sango said. “Kirara, can you carry us all?”

 

The neko chirped her affirmative, and transformed to her large, youkai self. Kagome grabbed her pack, and InuYasha scooped Sango up carefully in his arms. Miroku mounted Kirara first and beckoned InuYasha to bring Sango over to him. Using his good arm to steady her, Miroku held her against his chest. Kenmeimaru mounted behind him to give the two injured humans more support, while InuYasha was first with Kagome between him and Sango.

 

“So will someone fill Sango and me in on what's going on?” Miroku asked, as Kirara got ready for flight.

 

“You tell him, Kagome,” InuYasha said. “I need to concentrate on looking for danger.”

 

As Kirara launched into the air, Miroku and Sango listened as Kagome explained. Holding onto InuYasha's waist with one hand, and looking back at her battered friends as she talked, she told them how she realized that Kenmeimaru was the key to the fulfillment of their quest. The marveling expressions on their faces belied how impressed they were with Kagome.

 

“I always knew you were more than just a pretty face,” Miroku said, grinning.

 

Sango just shook her head and sighed, then rested it against Miroku's shoulder. Kagome grinned back at them, and felt InuYasha reach around and squeeze her hand. She was filled with a sense of elation, despite their injured state. Naraku would not win, he had had the key to finding Midoriko right under his nose and did not know it. He was too set on vengeance and convinced the only way to the Shikon no Tama formula was through them.

 

~ * ~

 

Naraku and Byakuya did not have time to notice the speck in the sky as they approached the ruined cave of Kenmeimaru. They had a bigger problem on their tails and it was closing in….