InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trust ❯ Chapter 30

Maybe I got a little ahead of myself…this chapter doesn't answer all the questions I raised at the end of the last chapter. But they will be answered!

I'm all excited because I spent more money than I should have on a set of Kenshin DVDs…mmm…Kenshin. Ahem.

InusDemoness: Hopefully this will alleviate some of that headache you mentioned last time. Girl, can I just say, your reviews always make me smile.

DBZLover: Hope the battle scene didn't disappoint.

DivaLicious89: I didn't forget about our girl Kikyou. Be patient with me.

Chapter 30

Sango ached. The entire portion of her body between her chest and her legs felt like one massive bruise. She shifted slightly to alleviate the ache, but only managed to turn it into a sharp pain.

"Shit!" she hissed. Her eyes flew open, and she found herself in the infirmary. It was dark, so she couldn't see much. She started as she felt a hand touch her own.

"Sango." Miroku sounded tired but relieved. "You're alright, Sango, I'm here."

"Miroku." She croaked. She tried to clear her throat, but found her husband's arm helping her into a sitting position. He placed a glass of water to her lips and she sipped gratefully.

"How long?" she asked.

"You've been out for about four hours. You had me worried." His smile was genuine, but strained.

"What happened to me? Where is everyone else?" She demanded. She tried to keep her breath slow and even, in order to keep the pain to a minimum.

"Kagome is over there, Inu Yasha is watching her." He answered her second question first. "They told me you were hit with Hiraikotsu. They healed you enough to stop the internal bleeding, but they told me you'd be sore. They wanted you to be awake for the rest of the healing. How do you feel?"

"Sore. Tired." Sango sighed. "But what happened? The battle can't be over already?"

Miroku hesitated, and she grabbed a handful of his robe. "Miroku, please. What aren't you telling me?"

"Naraku-his forces retreated."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Sango's worry increased when he wouldn't meet her eyes. "Miroku, look at me!" Ignoring the pain, she grabbed his forearm, gasping when he hissed in pain. "You're hurt! What happened?" Her voice rose. "What are you doing sitting on the floor next to me when you should be in bed yourself? Are you insane?"

She took his arm and dragged it onto her lap. It was bandaged tightly, and she detected the woodsy smell of medicinal herbs. Over the bandages were a set of rosary beads, looped over the palm and fingers.

"Sango." He kept his voice low. "I'm alright. I simply took a wound in the hand. The weapon was spelled, so the rosary is there to counteract the taint."

"How long is it good for?"

He hesitated again. "It is a palliative, not a cure. It slows the spread without stopping it. The only way to stop it is to kill the one who spelled the weapon."

Sango looked stricken. "Who…who?"

"Akio-the shifter elder-believes only Naraku to have this kind of strength." Miroku looked his new wife in the eye.

Sango's mouth trembled slightly before firming. "Well, that changes nothing. It just gives us one more reason to kill him." Her eyes flashed.

Miroku's eyes softened. "My heart," he murmured before kissing her. He drew back, a new light in his eyes. "I have been sitting here for hours, wondering how to break this news to you. I had almost lost myself to despair, thinking I had just found you only to have to leave you again. But I can believe that anything is possible when you look at me like that. "

Sango blushed, but held his gaze. "I will not lose you to that monster." She said evenly.

Miroku kissed the back of her hand, then stood. "I will get the healer now, love. The next time you wake, the soreness should be gone."

"No need, young one." A short, softly rounded woman approached Sango's bed. "I noticed when she awoke, but wanted to give you some privacy." She laid a warm hand on the younger woman's forehead. "How do you feel, child?"

"Sore." Sango grimaced, and the woman laughed, teeth flashing in her dark face. She had a grandmotherly air about her, but her skin was mostly unlined. Her age was more apparent in the careful way she moved and the wisdom in her dark eyes.

"Most of your healing has already been done. When we finish here, your soreness should be mostly gone. But you will still need a good night's sleep, understand?" The woman bent a stern eye on the fighter, who quickly nodded.

"Do you need anything, lady healer? Can I help in any way?" Miroku asked diffidently.

She hesitated. "If you don't mind, child, I could use a chair. It's been a long day."

"Of course." Miroku walked off to fulfill her request.

"Have you been here long? I haven't seen you in the infirmary." Sango asked.

"No, I arrived just today with my husband and daughter. I've been in here ever since, helping wherever I could." She looked up as Miroku arrived with a stool, sinking onto it with a grateful sigh.

Sango looked worried. "Are you sure you're alright? I don't want to drain you just for some soreness."

"Child, I saw you when they brought you in. You had serious internal bleeding. I know you don't want to worry your pretty husband, but I know it's more than a little soreness bothering you." She shifted, making herself comfortable. "Now lie back."

Sango obeyed, as the healer closed her eyes and held out her hands over the warrior's torso. Miroku watched anxiously as the woman's hands began to glow. She laid one on each side of Sango's abdomen, letting the healing force flow from her to the younger woman.

As the session came to an end, Sango let out a sigh as the dull ache finally faded away. She opened her eyes to see the healer looking down at her with a smile. "How do you feel now?"

Sango opened her mouth to respond, but what came out was a jaw-cracking yawn. She clapped her hands to her mouth in embarrassment, but the old woman simply laughed.

"That's as I would expect. Healing energy comes from the patient as much as it does from the healer, so you'll be sleepy. Good thing the retreat came as early as it did. You have the chance to get some rest."

"What caused the retreat?" She looked back and forth between the two faces.

"I can tell you about it on the way back to your chamber, Sango." Miroku said smoothly.

"Miroku…" she said warningly. "I am not moving an inch until you tell me what it is you've been avoiding all this time."

He took a breath. "Kagome destroyed the monster with a blast of spirit."

"All by herself?" Sango's eyes were wide.

"Yes, and she exhausted herself, as I said. She will be fine, I'm told. But Nzinga…she is missing."

"Missing?" Sango whispered. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Sesshomaru…went into a fury when he could not find her. It was he that caused the retreat." He shook his head. "I had never seen such a thing…he shifted, but his dog form was enormous…more than a match for anything out there."

"He didn't find her." Sango's voice shook, and Miroku took her hand.

"No, child, he didn't find her." The two started, having forgotten the healer was still present. "But she will find him, don't worry."

"How do you know this?" Miroku looked afraid to hope. He had seen the desolate looks on his friends' faces when they gave him the news, and he did not want to allow himself false optimism.

"My daughter would know if Nzinga had died, just as I would know if she had died." She smiled reassuringly.

"Then you are…?" Sango could barely get it out as she yawned again.

"My name is Adamma. I am Nzinga's grandmother." She smiled and slowly gained her feet. Miroku quickly made his way to her side to offer his arm, but she brushed him off. "No, no, child. I'm just a little stiff. Why don't you help your wife back to your chambers? I'm sure you would both be more comfortable there."

"Are you sure?" Miroku felt obligated to offer, even as he watched Sango's eyes droop with fatigue. The emotional shock after the physical fatigue was catching up to her fast.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm going to check on that foul-mouthed child and his mate, and then I'm going to sleep."

Sango giggled sleepily. "You've met Inu Yasha, then?"

"Malia's boy? Is that his name? Yes, we had words over that filthy mouth of his." She shook her head disapprovingly. "Now you two go on, now."

They watched her make her way through the infirmary, weaving through beds and people alike with assurance.

Miroku turned and worked his arms underneath Sango, preparing to carry her back.

"I can walk." She protested.

"But this is so much more enjoyable." He winked at her.

"I'm not," she yawned, "an invalid."

"Of course not." He responded. "But can you allow me this pleasure?"

She smiled, already half asleep. Miroku felt his lips curve in response when she nuzzled her face into his chest. They both needed rest. The battle continued tomorrow.

***

Inu Yasha watched suspiciously as Adamma checked Kagome's condition. He had no doubt she was a competent healer, but he was afraid to open his mouth after her last reaction to his colorful vocabulary. It had taken him a good three flagons of water to wash out the taste of whatever she had thrown in his face.

"Boy, she doesn't need to stay here. You can take her back to her own room, she'll rest more easily there." Adamma gave him a knowing look. "You seem very quiet all of a sudden. Are you sick?"

"No!" he jerked backwards, not wanting to be near this old woman any longer than he had to. "I mean, no thank you. I'll take her back now, then."

Adamma nodded, and said, "Make sure you get rest as well."

Inu Yasha shook his head. "She'll need me."

Adamma's eyes narrowed. "And what use will you be to her if you are exhausted? Not to mention your fellow soldiers tomorrow."

"What the fuck would you know about-" he blurted, just before she bopped him on the side of his head.

"Oww!!" He howled. She was strong for an old lady.

"Quiet, boy. There are sick people trying to rest. I don't stand for that kind of disrespectful nasty talk, so you watch that damn mouth of yours." Adamma didn't move, but her small form managed to grow even more intimidating to the incredulous man.

Inu Yasha opened his mouth, but to his surprise all that came out was a mumbled, "Yes ma'am."

She hmphed, satisfied, and stood to leave.

He watched her make her careful way to one of the exits, before rousing himself to pick up his mate. His eyes softened as he bent over to pick her up.

The trip wasn't long, but he could tell he was getting tired. Stopping in the shared chamber, he drew in a breath; Miroku and Sango were asleep in her room. Good. If Sango was well enough to be in her own room, she was going to be okay.

He pushed open the door to Kagome's room with his shoulder, and kicked it shut with his foot. She hadn't stirred during the entire trip, and to be honest, he would have been terrified were it not for the Bond. Through it, he could feel her steadily regaining her strength as she slept.

He laid her on the bed, and went to climb in himself. He paused, however, remembering another day when he tried to climb into bed all sweaty and dirty. The resulting argument had almost blown out the walls. He sighed and looked around for the washcloth and basin of water Kagome kept in the room.

He gave himself a quick but thorough cleaning before lying next to his mate. He knew he should get some sleep, but he couldn't seem to help running his claws through her dark hair, or trailing a finger over her features.

Pressing his lips to her forehead, he finally closed his eyes and went to sleep.

***

"Masaharu."

The Clan Leader stiffened at the tone in his mate's voice. He wasn't sure what he had done, but he knew he was about to be sorry for it.

"Yes, my love?" He tried for a neutral tone, but the look on her face said she wasn't buying it.

"Would you mind explaining to me why our son has a tail now in his human form?" She asked, with a dangerous lilt to her voice.

"I believe it is left over from his shift. There was too great a difference in mass between the two forms for him to be able to absorb it all. The tail was what was left." There. He was very proud of the matter of fact way that came out…even if he hadn't been able to look at her since she stalked into their tent.

"Oh yes. His transformation." She said with a poison sweetness that made him cringe inside. "And what exactly accounted for the extra mass? What I mean to say is, how exactly is it that our son turned into a giant dog in the first place?"

He hated when she used that voice. It got his hackles up and reduced his argument skills to Inu Yasha's level.

"Well, no one in our family has been able to do that in years! Why should I have brought it up?"

"Well, I'm bringing it up. Explain. Now."

"Woman," he growled. "Don't use that tone with me. I'm not in the mood." His golden eyes pinned her where she stood.

Malia stared right back, refusing to back down, even as her husband's growl increased in volume. "Don't fuck with me. What is happening to our son?" she snarled.

He sighed, and subsided. There were very few things in this world that could stand against a mother's protective instincts. Sesshomaru himself would have been surprised to see her anger on his behalf.

"Our family…let's say that I'm not the first to mate outside our kind." He paused. "Long ago, someone took a woman of the Dragon Clan to mate."

"Dragon Clan? I've never heard of that Clan." Malia interrupted.

"They are few, and prefer their solitude. They seem to stay out of sight just long enough to let us think they are gone, then one day one is sighted. They don't concern themselves with the affairs of the other clans as a general rule." He turned to the fire, facing away from his mate. "At any rate, some children have been born with the ability to assume a dragon sized form of their dog transformation. But it has not happened for generations." He shrugged. "Perhaps Tora had the blood as well. But it usually shows up during adolescence…I'm not sure what took so long with Sesshomaru."

"Well, he was an usually well behaved adolescent. I've seen him go through more emotional swings since his mating than any other time. Perhaps that had something to do with it."

Her mate looked impressed. "It could be."

She sighed and flopped down on the ground next to him. He tentatively put an arm around her and was rewarded by her head on his shoulder. He sighed softly in relief to himself; crisis averted.

"I'm just scared." She said softly. "I've never seen him that way before."

"I know. But he'll be better once Nzinga comes back. I trust Uchenna, and so should you."

She nodded.

"Come. I'll bank the fire. We should get some rest." Masaharu ran a hand down her arm, laced his fingers through hers and squeezed once before releasing it and standing. "I'll join you in a moment."

She smiled and went to prepare their sleeping pallet.

***

The dark haired man writhed in pain, cursing the bitch that wounded him. He was regenerating, but that was beside the point. Thanks to that cow, he had had to direct the entire battle from his recovery bed.

"Kanna." He spoke softly, but his very voice struck dread in the girl he addressed. She never showed it, though. She knew better than to show any kind of emotion.

She came forward silently, awaiting his command. She was slight, dressed in a small white robe and she carried a round mirror. She had the appearance of a young girl. Her hair and skin were dead white; the only color to her was the striking black of her eyes. But no young girl ever held the depth of knowledge apparent in her bottomless gaze.

"Are you sure of what you have seen?" He asked.

"Yes." She responded. Her high, breathy voice was as eerie as her appearance.

He smiled. "Summon Kikyou to me."

She turned, leaving as silently as she came.

Naraku considered his new information. Kikyou knew some of their adversaries, in fact had grown up with them. He remembered that she had been captured near Dog Clan lands, but had not connected that with the presence of their fighting force.

"You summoned me, Naraku?" Kikyou's voice broke into his thoughts.

He regarded the woman in front of him. Even after years with him, she managed to project an aloofness that stated more clearly than words the fact that she was better than him and his petty, grasping desires. He allowed her this…conceit, as he saw it…as long as she obeyed him without question.

Even as strong as she was, his hold on her was stronger.

"Kikyou. I understand that you are closer to some of our enemies than you would have led me to believe."

She remained silent, not bothering to ask how he received his information. It never mattered.

"I have a task for you. As you know, today's retreat was…unfortunate. I had not foreseen that particular eventuality."

Kikyou wanted to laugh. Pompous bastard. Of course he never thought he might be beaten. Even now, he worded the destruction of the bulk of his fighting forces to make it seem less serious than it actually was.

"Tomorrow, I want you to deliver a message to the Kieran's Pass fighters."

She blinked, unsure of his intentions.

"Wait until mid morning…that will keep them on edge, wondering what we plan to do."

She nodded, as he seemed to want some response.

"Tell them you wish to speak to Inu Yasha and his mate. Alone."

Kikyou kept her face expressionless. Inu Yasha had a mate? Her heart sank; there went her last chance for escaping this monster's clutches. She supposed it was for the best; she had too much blood on her hands and too many lives on her conscience to ever be able to live a normal life.

"And what message shall I give them?" Her voice was steady; good.

"That they send certain of their warriors to meet certain of my warriors. If they beat my forces, they win. If my warriors win, then I am allowed through the Pass."

"Which warriors do I request?" Kikyou knew he wanted certain fighters to meet his; he was too much of a tactician to leave such a fight to chance.

"Inu Yasha and that bitch of his who wounded me. The woman with the boomerang, and the monk with the poisoned hand. The redhead who fought beside him. Kouga, of the Wolf Clan. The two of berserker blood." He paused.

"Will that be all?" She asked.

"No." When he looked up, she was unable to control a wince at the unholy fires burning in his eyes. "I also want that giant dog who decimated our forces. I will teach him to make a fool of me." His low voice may have seemed pleasant to those who did not know him, but she knew the viciousness that lay beneath his civilized veneer.

She was worried. Naraku never entered into a situation that he had not completely manipulated to his own advantage. This unexpected loss had clearly driven him to the edge of reason. As far as she knew, they didn't have the strength necessary to beat the warriors he had named.

Naraku knew that Kikyou questioned his methods, but he also knew something that she did not. She herself would play a pivotal role in weakening the enemy. Inu Yasha would not dare hurt her, and his mate would not go against him. Those two were among the most dangerous. The poison of the monk's wound would sap his strength, and his wife would be distracted.

The two berserkers could be set on each other. He had ways of warping their divine rage to suit his own purpose.

He was not beaten, by any sense of the word.

A/N: Berserkers were Viking warriors who worked themselves into a fury before battle, believing that this made them resistant to pain. By some accounts, they believed they were possessed by bear spirits. They dedicated themselves to the worship of Odin, the All-Father, head of the Norse pantheon.

Now before you say, "I don't remember any Vikings in this fic," remember the story behind baby Zi and baby Inu Yasha's mini-siege in Chapter 26. Vikings did invade both Scotland and Ireland and some of their customs were absorbed into the local culture. There are accounts of both Scottish and Irish berserkers. One example is Cuchulainn, one of the most famous heroes of Irish legend. (Trained by none other than the original Scathach!)

Some info taken from Jim Cornish's page "The Viking Berserker Warrior" at http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/v_berserker.htm