InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpeced Allies Part III: Trial of the Century ❯ The Choice ( Chapter 13 )

{Disclaimer: Anyone who's read this from chapter one of part one knows this already, so…}

Chapter Thirteen:

The Choice

Kenirous left the prisoners alone for three days. The only youkai to come in and out were the guards, who occasionally brought food for them. Kagome refused to eat, quietly sobbing on the futon at the back of the cell.

Sango and Miroku looked on sadly as Mira looked in from the adjacent cell. Keni'Chi and the other youkai called to her as Sesshoumaru probed her subconscious, each trying in vain to reach the catatonic miko. Kagome didn't eat, sleep or talk for three days. On the fourth day, the guards came for the male inuyoukai council member. He turned to her sadly, then followed the guards out the prison gates. Kagome quieted the instant he left, her eyes closed as if waiting for something. The others tried again to get her to eat, but the only success they had was Miroku getting a few droplets of water down her throat.

The zing of the executioner's sword through the air and a small thump came from above them. The youkai in the room could smell blood, and knew in that moment the inuyoukai was dead. Kagome started to cry again, her tears staining the front of her kimono.

This process repeated itself with the bear youkai council member, and there was nothing the others could do to dam the river of sorrow flowing from Kagome's spirit as she took each of their deaths to heart. She whimpered slightly, her small frame shaking under her crying.

Sesshoumaru's mood darkened the longer she was unresponsive. He started pacing the cell again, this time with a distressed Shippou on his shoulder. 'If only I could touch her,' he thought as he turned on his heel, deepening the already large ditch in the floor. 'I could get her to sleep, then talk some sense into her. That bastard Kenirous! When I get my hands on him I'll-'

Kagome whimpered again, but this time it was mentally, the only link Sesshoumaru received from her in days. Sesshoumaru latched onto the link like a lifeline, tugging it insistently. It faded under his touch, but it left her feelings of guilt, despair and heartache inside him. Sesshoumaru sighed and sat down on the futon.

He would not give up on her so easily.

++++++

The kitusne council member was the last to be executed. He turned toward the last cell at the end of the hallway. The cell was silent again, but he could still smell the miko's tears. He stopped.

"I would like a last request," he said to the guards. They stopped and looked at each other, confused.

"Can he get a last request?"

"I don't know. Go ask Elder Kenirous and see."

One guard scurried off. Moments later he returned, with Kenirous behind him. Kenirous paused before the kitsune, a patch over his left eye.

"You wish a last request?"

The kitsune nodded. Kenirous motioned for him to speak. "I wish for the miko to eat. She hasn't in at least five days. It is not healthy for humans to go so long without food."

Kenirous considered his request for a moment, and then walked to the end of the cell block. He unlocked Sango and Miroku's cell, reached in and yanked Kagome off the futon. She followed without complaint, her fighting spirit completely squelched as Kenirous dragged her to the kitsune's feet.

"You shall have your request," he said regally as a guard came in with a tray of food. He motioned for Kagome and the kitsune to sit between Keni'Chi and Sesshoumaru's cell beside the wall. Inuyasha gasped as he looked Kagome over. Her eyes were puffy, with dark circles underneath them, and the expensive kimono hung off of her elfin frame like a burlap sack. Kagome sighed miserably as Kenirous shoved her down. She looked at the kitsune beside her as he held out a piece of sliced apple.

"Please, miko. Eat."

Kagome sniffed, then did as he asked, accepting the apple and biting through it quietly. The kitsune motioned for her to eat a little more before speaking again.

"Do not blame yourself for our deaths," he whispered. "The rest of the council knew of Kenirous' treachery and had time to stop him, but we waited. My mate, Lady Soyovana, has not been seen in days. I feel as if she is waiting for me on the other side."

The guards jerked him to his feet as Kenirous yanked Kagome to hers. As they dragged the kitsune out, he yelled to Kagome as Kenirous tossed her inside her cell and locked the door shut.

"Do not weep for us, little miko. This council is undeserving of tears so pure as yours."

Kenirous watched him go, then turned to smile at Kagome. "Tomorrow is the taiyoukai and his mother," he whispered as Sango helped Kagome back to the futon. "I cannot wait to see Lady Mira and Lord Sesshoumaru's heads roll across the courtyard. It will be a sight indeed. It almost makes up for the 300 years it will take to regenerate my eye. Goodbye, miko. See you tomorrow."

He left, smiling at Sesshoumaru before leaving the prison entirely. Kagome fell back into the catatonic state, the only sound from her was the sob that came after the whistle of the executioner's sword above and the thump that followed.

+++++++

Kagome glanced outside the cell window. The moon was almost set, with the sky lighting little by little. Kagome sniffed, her thoughts tortuous as they mulled over and over in her mind.

'I couldn't save them. Even after getting back the Shikon no Tama, destroying Naraku and fighting so many thousands of youkai, I'm still going to loose everyone important to me.' She sniffed again as a large tear rolled down her cheek. 'Mira, Seishou, I'm sorry I'm so weak. I'm sorry I can't do anything. I always seem to get in the way.'

'Kagome…' a smooth male voice whispered in her head.

Kagome blinked in confusion. 'Seishou?'

'No, Little Feather. I am not your taiyoukai. I have come to help you.'

'I know you don't I?'

'I first spoke to you at Narasa's Mountain, when Rin was….injured.'

'I don't remember you.'

'Of course you don't. Don't worry about that. As I said, I've come to help you.'

'Are you going to get us out of here?'

'As much as I'd like to, no. I can't.'

Kagome huffed irritably. 'You said you would help me. Getting us out of here would be helping in my book.'

'I am not talking about helping you out of here. I'm talking about helping you get yourself and your friends out of here.'

Kagome laughed lethargically. Sango, who was asleep in the corner nearest to her, woke up at the strange sound. She glanced at Kagome, who seemed to stare into space.

'If Seishou and Inuyasha can't get out, then neither can I.'

'Not true. You could use your power.'

'Purification wouldn't do a lot of good.'

The voice sighed in slight irritation. 'Not purification. Your power. The power inside you.'

Kagome froze, her eyes widening in terror.

+++++++

Keni'Chi noticed the scent change first, pounding on the wall connecting to Shorin's cell to wake her up.

"Wake up, Shorin! Something's wrong with Lady Kagome!"

+++++++

'No!' Kagome hissed mentally, curling into a tighter ball. 'I can't! I can't control it!'

'Yes you can. It's just like your purification, only stronger.'

Kagome shook her head viciously, her cheek softly striking the futon below her. 'I can't! I'm just can't! Can't you just come and get us?'

'NO!' the voice hissed in response. 'Are you so used to being saved, that the mere idea of becoming a savior frightens you?'

'No!' Kagome gasped, her fists clinching and unclenching. 'I can't use it! I don't know what it is!' She sobbed brokenly. 'I'm scared I'll hurt my friends!'

'I know,' the voice said gently. 'I know you're scared, but you must understand. No one can help your friends but you. The youkai council's fate was sealed the day Mira disappeared. You will return home, safe and sound, but your friends' fates are uncertain. The lives of the humans of Japan are uncertain. Kenirous will be defeated, but at what cost? If you dally, then thousands of lives will be lost, starting with Mira and Sesshoumaru. You hold their destiny in your tiny hands.

'If you sit back and do nothing, they all will die.'

Kagome gasped, her face turning an ashy white as the sky lightened to a dark blue. 'I can't-I don't-'

'You will not get another chance to make this decision, but even the decision to save them comes at a price. You are running out of time, Kagome. Haven't you felt like you're more than you are? Like you've masqueraded at a ball all night and there's nothing more you'd like to do than take the mask off and show your real face? This is your chance! This is the only way to save them! '

'If I choose to give in to this power, what are the consequence?' Kagome asked as her toes curled.

++++++

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru exchanged glances as Keni'Chi's pounding reached their ears.

"What is it, Keni'Chi?" Inuyasha grumbled. Keni'Chi's panicked growl answered him. "It's Lady Kagome! Her scent just spiked! I think she's dreaming!"

Sesshoumaru tapped his temple thoughtfully, trying to find the little golden thread that always lead him to Kagome's dreamscape. Finding none, he shook his head as Shippou woke up.

"She is not dreaming," Sesshoumaru stated as Shippou glanced around. He gazed up as Sesshoumaru and whispered

"Why is Kagome so afraid? And why does this place smell like lilies?"

Sesshoumaru's brow knitted together as he sniffed thoughtfully. He remembered the last time the lilies in her scent were this strong and instantly paled.

'Narasa's Mountain, after she formed the Tosusaiga!'

He attacked the bars to their cell furiously. The bars held under the assault, proving their metal against the youkai lord. Inuyasha watched him quizzically. "What is it, Fluffy?" he asked as Sesshoumaru struck the bars again.

"Kagome is about to make the Choice."

++++++

'You will outlive your family and your human friends. You risk watching your loved ones die while you do not age.'

Kagome stiffened. 'Mom…Souta…Grandpa….I would watch them all….die.'

'But if you don't, all of Japan will suffer for years to come. Human or youkai, Kenirous will rule them all and will eventually bring more pain and destruction than Naraku ever could. You have to choose.'

Kagome inhaled sharply, then released it in a shaky breath. 'I don't know. I just don't know.'

'Can you live with yourself, knowing that you had the chance to save so many but you let your coward ness stop you? That you sentenced hundreds of thousands of children, youkai and human, to become orphans like Rin and Shippou? That you condemn Rin herself to becoming an orphan twice in her young life, then murdered at the hands of that monster?'

Kagome shook her head as Sango and Miroku watched her warily.

'Then what will you do, Higurashi Kagome? Will you protect those that need you, or will you wither back and watch them die, one by one?'

'I don't want them to die,' Kagome thought as she locked eyes with Sango. She could see the fear, concern and worry in them. Kagome smiled wanly and Sango grinned back in response.

'Then what do you choose?' the voice asked as Sango moved closer to her.

"I choose," Kagome whispered. Sango stopped in her tracks, with Miroku behind her. They both stared at Kagome nervously as the scent of lilies flooded the cell.

"Kagome," Miroku called. Kagome's eyes flickered to him for a second before whispering

"I choose to protect."

----

SF: Ack! {::ducks flying fruit::} I'm sorry! I had to end it there! Don't hurt me man!

Kagome: {::throws an orange::} That was terrible of you SF!

Kouga: Yeah, what's with you and the cliffhangers?

SF: {::singing::} Cliffhanger! Hanging from a-

>Woosh!<

Silver Fox: {::watches as a flood washes SF offstage::} Not that again. I'm so tired of that-

>Zap!<

SF: {::comes back onstage looking like a drowned rat::} HOW DARE YOU YOU LITTLE SHIT?! {::chases Silver around the stage::} Come back here!

Kagome: {::watching along with the others::} Um, does this feel familiar to anyone?

Sango: Like how?

Shippou: {::jumps on Inu-chan's head to see better::} Hey, this is pretty good isn't it Dog Boy?

Inu-chan: Yeah, it is-What did you just call me?

Shippou: Uh-oh! {::jumps off Inu-chan's head and starts to run with Silver::}

Kagome: That's what I meant.

Silver: {::picks up Shippou just as Inu-chan catches up to SF::} Do you have any more of those sealing spells?

Shippou: Yeah! {::digs around, then slaps a scroll on Inu-chan's hands::} That's one! {::slaps another scroll on SF's forehead::} And that's two!

SF: {::drops to the floor Indian style::} What the hell? {::can't move::}

Inu-chan: {::hands drop beside SF as a statue holds him down::} Hey you little bugger! Come get this off!

SF: Yeah!

Silver Fox: {::high-fives Shippou::} Good job. Sorry, no recommendation this week. God SF, you're falling off.

SF: Shut up Silver. See you guys next week!