InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Vying for Dominance ❯ Blood and Wine ( Chapter 23 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Blood and Wine
“Fifty says she drinks it.”
Looking ahead across the field at the mortal priestess, watching as she tentatively raised a cup along with Auria and the raven one, Haiiro sniffed in reply to Jomon's bet. “A hundred says she doesn't have the fortitude if she does.”
Jomon considered the matter for a moment, before nodding curtly. “You're on.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“I'm not so sure about this,” Kagome stated to no one in particular, her attention held in morbid fascination at the thick shifting of the blood wine in her cup. The stuff looked horrendous, and, if possible, smelled even worse. She really, really didn't think it was such a good idea to be drinking it.
“It truly does taste better than it smells,” Auria told her before lifting her own cup. Once there, however, she hid the small twisting of her lips as she watched expectantly for the miko to drink.
“Go ahead, miko Kagome,” Kara urged her softy. “The drink will numb the sting of your wound. It will not hurt you.” She paused for a moment, her head tilting slightly in contemplation before she added, “I don't think.”
“Gee, that's comforting,” Kagome remarked dryly. Still, cursing again her damndable curiosity that got her into far more trouble than it was worth, she drew in a deep breath and took a reluctant draw from the contents of her cup.
The effects were instantaneous, and even more terrible than she could have imagined. The instant the liquid hit her mouth, the pungent fumes became like a vapor that swirled upwards through her nose, burning its way behind her eyes before spinning in her head until she swore she could feel it coming out her ears. So shocked by the sudden assault, she couldn't bring herself to swallow the thick substance that had coated her mouth and throat with its putridness.
She gagged, coughed and sputtered, and she could feel her stomach heave as it tried to reject such a horror.
“I told you, Jomon. No human has the fortitude for our drink.”
The comment was made louder than necessary. With their ears, there was no need to raise one's voice. No, the grey had done it just to taunt her, to tell her of her weakness even as she was the one to bear it.
Sheer force of will made her choke back whatever was left in her mouth down her throat; and though it still burned, fogging her head and her vision, she also began to feel the numbing effect it had against her lips and tongue which was slowly spreading out in a warming sweep. It was…weird, but not intolerable. And like Kara had said, it dulled the throb of where the pup's claws had torn her skin.
“It didn't come back up, did it?” Jomon challenged the grey. “I think you're just trying to get out of paying.”
“Double or nothing says she can not do it again.”
Hearing their game, Kagome scowled hard. She was no one's side show. Besides, now that she knew how completely terrible the stuff was, at least she would be prepared for it. “It's a bad bet,” she told Jomon curtly, her voice seeming deeper than she had remembered it. But, shaking it off, she continued. “One thing about gambling: you should always quit while you're ahead.”
The two males had joined their small party, resting back against the backdrop of the trees as the moon was cresting above the mountain peaks. After her wound had been tended to by Kara, Auria had invited them both to join her. But Kagome knew that there was more to her invitation than courtesy. She had rattled one too many cages in the arena today, and the beasts within were looking for their way through to her.
Perhaps it was the golden one's way of paying her back, but whatever the reason, Kagome had found herself, along with her raven friend, in the company of Auria as the Inus settled down from the day's events and prepared to embrace the night.
But, apparently, that wasn't enough to keep them from putting her back to the wall with every comment and every hard stare.
Breaking away from the wolf's attempted stare-down, finding it lacking in so many ways after having stood against Sesshomaru, Kagome lifted the cup again anyways, forcing herself to drink. Gods, it was terrible! But she would be damned if she would let them see her cringe. And, strangely enough, she found the second take was a whole lot better than the first. With her lips and tongue numbed from the first draw, the potency was dulled nearly by half. And though she could feel her head spinning again, it was more of a tingling buzz that shivered its way down her spine.
Of course, she realized, a bit belatedly, that that buzzing was the vibration of her senses. She hardly looked up in time to see the sudden rush of movement that disturbed the scene.
Enai had dropped down from the tree above them, her Sais flashing sharply in the moonlight.
But at the peak of her strike, Haiiro reached up, one large hand wrapping easily around her forearm. He sidestepped so quickly it was hardly a movement at all, but in an instant he had pulled her fluidly to the ground, using her own attack's momentum against her. There was no aggression in his stance as he looked down at her, and once he had her subdued he released his hold and slowly stood back to his full height.
“What did you do wrong?” he asked the young female, his rumbling baritone carrying with it the superiority of a teacher.
And, as his pupil, Enai sighed in defeat as she replied. “I let myself get excited.”
“You must always mind your scent. To allow it to spike in anticipation, anxiety, or anger gives away your position.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Enai murmured in annoyance as she lifted herself fluidly and brushed off her clothes. It was nothing she hadn't heard before. But one of these days…
“Enai, mind your address.” Auria admonished gently.
And, though making sure to scowl her displeasure at Auria, Enai bowed slightly to Haiiro before saying, “Gomen nasai, Sensei. I thank you for your lesson.”
“Keep at it Enai,” Jomon told her with a wink as he strode by her. “Maybe next time, right?”
Her features once again being split by a bright smile, Enai called back with vigor, “Right!”
Jomon chuckled softly over the pup's enthusiasm, but his focus was held captivated by the beautiful image of his golden goddess. “Auria,” he greeted her with a slight inclination of his head, but never did his eyes leave hers.
“My Lord.” She had greeted him in kind, the smile on her lips making her even more radiant than her golden light.
“I trust you are well.”
“Well as I can be, my Lord.”
“May I join you?” he asked with a sweeping gesture to the spot beside her.
Being so pale of skin, it was hard not to see the blush that rose on the golden female's cheeks as she replied, “Of course.”
“I can only hope my presence does not offend my Lady,” he stated carefully as he lowered himself to sit, “As you have been more than gracious to endure such callous displays from those of us unworthy of your presence.”
At this, Kagome snorted into her cup. She had been trying to give the two lovebirds their little moment, but this was just too much. She was sitting right there! Did he really think she was so dense that she didn't know he was talking about?
“You find something amusing, miko?”
Amusing? Well, she certainly found it amusing that someone who had taunted and jested with her only hours ago was suddenly so defensive that he would practically dare her to contradict him, but it wasn't the funny kind of amusing. She got it, she really did. The little miko had killed one of their big bad dogs. And now, instead of them giving her any credit for a kill that had been made unavoidable without her own life being the forfeit for the peace, they were all up in arms, pushing her limits, daring her, trying to draw her out, thinking it was a fluke or seeing it as some insult that should be rectified.
It carried far beyond the stadium walls. She had known it even in the calm of the nursery. Though the bitches wouldn't dare say or do anything to contradict Sesshomaru, they wanted no part of having her there, so close to their young. And for the poor mother whose litter they had visited, though it had been something so simple as a slip of her pups claws that had burned it when her blood touched its immortal flesh, she had now more reason to fear, more reason to hate. And for a people so ruled by the strength of their blood, to have hers carried on the air to their sensitive noses was a challenge in of itself.
She had felt the burn in the aura's of those around them as Auria had led her to the lake waters to have her wound cleaned and bound. There was danger there; it hung like a thick blanket over the calm of the gathering grounds. It spoke to her as the young Lord was speaking to her now, of a threat that lay hidden but no less dangerous for a presence unknown and unwelcome.
And then there was his tone - that all-superior, Lordly kind of condescending - the kind that sought to make whoever hearing it feel small and pathetic. Yeah, that was pretty amusing as well, except Kagome wasn't laughing.
Well, she decided, two can play at that game. “Really, Jomon,” she replied just a haughtily as him, “It isn't fitting one of your station to be so careless in your speech.” Pausing, she dared him with her silence to contradict the fact that he had just labeled Sesshomaru as unworthy of anything. When he said nothing, she only smirked. Because where they had their noses to detect the shifting scents of their opponents, she had other senses to serve her. “Or maybe it was your one-sightedness in this matter that allowed you to be so easily fooled.”
This time, Jomon was quick to bite out his rebuttal. “You go too far, miko…”
But Auria had picked up on the miko's insinuation. She wasn't talking about Jomon's words anymore. “What do you mean by that?” she asked shortly.
Rolling her eyes in an elaborate display, Kagome snorted again, finally managing to throw back the last of the vile liquid in her cup before she gave her reply. “The Great and Terrible Inu Lord,” she mocked with the enthusiasm of a player. “So cold, so ruthless; he would even hand over his promised mate into the hands of the enemy because she showed a moment of weakness. Please. Give me a break. It was all a show. He never would have done it if he had thought for even a second I would have taken the shot.”
“It is awfully presumptuous of you, miko, to think that you could derive Lord Sesshomaru's directives so expertly,” Auria stated carefully.
“Not at all,” Kagome replied with confidence. “He derived mine in the same manner, did he not?”
“I do not see how you can be so confident in such an assessment.”
“Simple,” Kagome smirked. “Know thine enemy.”
“You tread dangerously to so openly declare Lord Sesshomaru as your enemy, miko,” Haiiro growled out in warning.
But Kagome brushed his comment aside as well. “He openly declared me as his. Besides, Lord Sesshomaru and I have an understanding. He wants to kill Naraku because of that vile creature's pathetic attempts against him, but he knows that the only way for Naraku to be destroyed is for the Shikon to be eliminated. I am the only person capable of doing such a thing. Enemy or not, the only reasonable course of action is a truce.”
“Perhaps,” Auria allowed. “But that still does not account for why he would show you the respect of using your name.”
“He uses your name, doesn't he?” Kagome shot back.
What more did these people want from her? Did she have to fight for every word only to be shot down by the knowledge that no word of hers would be taken for its value? Did anything she had done to prove her strength, her will, her wisdom, her experience, mean anything at all? And Auria, had she forgotten so quickly what their contest had given her? Or was that meaningless as well because it had been her hand that steadied those shots and her eyes that saw what no other could that had given her aim?
Why shouldn't he have given her the respect of speaking her name when she had won the contest? Why wouldn't he if she was his ally in the fight against Naraku? Why wouldn't he?
Why wouldn't any of them?
“Yes, but that is because I am…”
“You're what?” Kagome cut her off tersely. “Better than me?”
Auria's ire was raised by being so rudely interrupted. “That is not what I…”
“Yes it is.” Kagome had felt her challenge, and she just didn't care anymore about protocol or acting her part. She had taken all she was able of their prejudices and open displays of mistrust, contempt, and hatred. “It doesn't matter what I do or say or how many times I prove myself, does it? I could outmaneuver, outshow, outmatch, outthink, and outplay every single one of you, and still I would receive no dues, still I would get no respect. I have taken your insults, your accusations, and your biases in stride, submitted myself to the humiliation and degradation that you think is befitting someone of my kind. But you know what? No more. Have you games, your intrigues, your politics, and your displays of dominance; because I don't want them. And I will play this game no longer.”
Standing stiffly, Kagome turned away from the group, taking to the trees to find a moment of solitude. As she went, she could feel the sting in her eyes and the tightness in her chest; and she what it meant, knew what it was she had just done.
In one instant, she had thrown it all away. Her anger had gotten the better of her, and she had let it out. Everything she had worked so hard for, and now it was worth nothing. But then, had it ever meant anything in the first place? Though there was a part of her wanted to say yes, wanted to believe in the impossible; it was weighed down by the impossibly heavy understanding that it could never have been so.
And now, she knew, it was over.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
He had actually flinched.
Even in the heat of battle, against all odds and in impossible circumstances, Sesshomaru would not falter, would not allow his thoughts or feelings to be exposed. And yet, when it came to the little miko, when her powerful words carried over the distance between them, he had flinched as though she had suffered him a blow more devastating than any injury he had ever attained on the battlefield.
Of course, it wasn't like Takked didn't feel for the girl. She had endured so much, and through it all maintained her dignity and composure. But this had been her breaking point. She simply couldn't take any more. And Sesshomaru knew it, knew that his little miko was on the verge of giving up everything.
“A Lord's work is never done,” Takked commented with a light-hearted sigh. “Mesudoku, my dear,” he bid her excuse him, “Forgive me, but I must bring some unruly pups into line.”
The old bitch hardly paid him any heed, her attention held by the pups that were being presented to her by the birthing mothers of the previous year. But he only shook his head and smiled. After all, the young were their future. Soon enough, they would step down and new leaders take their place.
But to his old eyes it seemed that in all their planning, they had forgotten one very important thing.
Taking his leave from the presentation, Takked left it to Sesshomaru to identify and mark each of the new additions to his growing pack.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
He found the little miko curled up at the base of one of the trees in their forest, bitter salt marring the air around her.
“I'm sorry, Lord Takked.” She spoke without lifting her head from where it rested cradled by her arms atop her knees. Though she knew she couldn't hide her tears from him, she couldn't bring herself to let him see them. “But I'm afraid I wouldn't be very good company right now.”
“Then perhaps I might serve as your company for a time, Kagome.”
Shocked into looking up, Kagome stared at the elder Lord in confusion. “What…What did you say?”
But Takked only smiled warmly and shook his head. “You give yourself too little credit, miko Kagome. And you cheat yourself by quitting so early in the game when you have already performed so admirably.”
Releasing a long, dragging sigh, Kagome leaned her head back against the tree she was resting against. “What's the point?” she asked tiredly. “I don't belong here. It was stupid of me to ever think that I could…” She sighed again. It was hopeless. She knew it. All along she had known it. But she had just thought that maybe…
Another tear rolled down her cheek, adding to the shimmering lines of her turmoil. It was strange to see such emotion displayed so openly, and perhaps it was because of that he was so moved by it. Kneeling down in front of her, Takked reached out, mindful of his claws, and carefully brushed away the hot trails of her tears.
She didn't shy away from his touch, but she did refuse to meet his gaze, hiding from him the shame she felt for her weakness. But was it a weakness to feel things so strongly, to be moved so deeply? Was it a weakness when with her tears she had moved so many more than her proud words had ever managed to do?
No. Because he could already hear the whispers spreading through the gathered crowd, and already he knew that the ones who had hurt her so terribly were making plans to have their wrongs made right. And then there was the one that he knew wanted more than anything to have been the hand to soothe her now, as he knew that it was his doing that had brought her here, and for him she had endured against all odds.
“The point, dear miko,” he told her softly, “Is that it is not for them that you have stood so proudly, and not for them that you would fight.”
For a moment, she almost believed that he was talking about her, that he was saying it was for herself that she had done all she had to show them that she wasn't the things they would believe she was, that she had honor and pride and reasons for these things to be hers. But taking in the soft, knowing smile he was giving her, she soon realized that she was wrong.
Releasing a heavy breath, she hung her head; knowing she had failed to keep her secret, and his. “You know.”
“I know a great many things, Kagome,” Takked replied easily. “But even I do not know what the future will bring. However, it has been my experience, that the only way to find out is to look towards it as you live every day to its fullest.” He held out his hand, waiting for her to take it so he could help her to her feet.
A delicate smile rose on her lips as she took his offer. “Oh, I don't know,” she replied as she stood with him. “It has been my experience that what you learn by looking to the past can sometimes surprise you.”
“Hn.” Takked eyes the miko curiously for a moment. As one who could almost always find meaning in the hidden words left unspoken, he found that this was not the first time he couldn't quite gasp the miko's meaning. Shaking it off though, he patted her hand gently. “No more blood wine for you, priestess,” he told her. “It makes you say the strangest things.”
“Yeah,” she giggled softly. “It sure does.”
- - - - - - - - - - - -
“You see what a weakness mortals are? You see how they infect those around them? That vile creature's influence must be purged. So too any that would stand for their wretched kind. Let our strength be what it once was. Stand with me, Tannis, and our great community shall have new leaders to bring them into a new era of prosperity.”
Kuro's voice reached his ear, hushed enough that Takked could not detect it, but just as strong and determined.
“New leaders…” The words whispered of a memory, and of a dream.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“My Lord? Why have you not chosen a new mate? You let your own brother take our once leading lady, but will not take a mate yourself? Who now shall our females look to for leadership?”
“They shall look to where they have always looked: to the strongest and the most suited. Mesudoku is a fine lady. To whom she will bear pups does not change that.”
“But my Lord…”
“Are we not friends, Tannis? Have we not fought side by side for neigh a thousand years?”
“Hai, my Lord. It is so.”
“Then call me as my friends would call me, as my brothers would call me. And speak to me plainly, as my time here draws short.”
“Your time? But your time is eternity, my friend.”
“Hai, that it may be. But the time has come for me to step down, for another to take my place here.”
“No. I can not accept such a thing. And neither will any other. You are our leader, our general; the one that brought the clans together at long last, that formed our great community. There is no other that can take your place.”
“Has all we have fought for taught you nothing, my friend? It is not the leader that is important, but the community itself that gives us strength. Together, there is nothing that we can not face, no threat too great, no enemy too powerful. It is our combined strength that makes us what we are. Of sun and moon and the space beyond, gold and silver and black; united we are the unmovable force, the great Inu clan. There is no single presence greater than that mighty vision. No, Tannis, I am not irreplaceable. Soon our children will have grown, and when the time comes, it shall be they that take our places to lead our pack into tomorrow. It is they our brothers shall look to, and they who carry our future on their shoulders.”
“That may be so. But you speak of a future not yet come to pass. Toga, my friend, what of today? You would leave us now when there is still so much to be done, so many that need you?”
“No, Tannis. My need is greater elsewhere. I know this, as I know that in my absence only a new kind of strength shall form, as those that have been too long overlooked must pave the way of acceptance and of new understanding. They shall look to you, my friend, and to my brother, and my son. You will serve them well.”
“And what of you, my Lord? Where shall you go?”
“I go where I am needed, where my heart will have me go.”
“Your heart?”
“As we fight for them, they fight for us. But what if they could not fight? Would it then not fall to us to be that much stronger, to fight that much harder to see them kept safe?”
“Forgive me, Toga, but I do not understand.”
“No. I do not suppose you would. One day perhaps. One day…”
- - - - - - - - - -
“It has been a fine day today, do you not agree Kagome?”
“Yes, Lord Takked. A very fine day.”
Even as they moved away, Tannis heard the words spoken by Takked and the miko girl that had throw so much havoc into their midst. But hearing her voice brought back to him even more of the words she had spoken on this day.
I know this youkai that sired my hanyou protector, and he was the greatest of your kind.
He was... There is only one that was.
Hundreds of years from now, and still there will be stories told of him, still people of all races will know of his deeds and his battles, still he will be revered and respected.
There was only one that commanded such respect that even those of the different races would understand the greatness that had walked among them.
He shall be a true immortal, living on even after his death.
And he would be. He would live forever in their hearts and memories, and in the great vision that he had made their reality.
Soon our children will have grown, and when the time comes, it shall be they that take our places to lead our pack into tomorrow.
The tomorrow had come. Their children had grown, and they had already begun making their own choices apart from the wishes of their parents. He had heard it in his daughter's voice as she asked for his permission to challenge the miko. Because she wasn't asking, not the way a daughter asks her father. She was telling him, telling him that it was her decision, that it was her challenge to make. As it was, as it should be. And he knew that Auria, despite whatever shame might have been hers by her loss, did not look upon it unkindly. Quite the opposite. Though her position she held in the highest regards, her duty something she took pride in carrying out; she wanted no part of the general's son, just as he wanted no part of her.
But did such things matter?
They shall look to where they have always looked: to the strongest and the most suited.
There was no other that could take Auria's place. Of all the females of their great community, there was no other with the grace, the poise, the dignity, the intelligence, or the power held by Auria. Who she mated would not change that. Even a loss to the skill of a miko's bow would not make her place among the females of their breed any different.
But then…Auria would have known that, just as she would have known that there was no Inu female that could have taken her in an even challenge. And Sesshomaru…he would have known as well. He knew the miko, knew what she was capable of, knew what she fought for, and who she fought with.
Her hanyou.
But what if they could not fight? Would it then not fall to us to be that much stronger, to fight that much harder to see them kept safe?
Her protector.
One day perhaps. One day…
“No, Kuro,” Tannis finally replied. “You are wrong. What you see is not her weakness, but yet another of her strengths: the strength to give the will to fight for those who would have her protected. And you are a fool to think that Sesshomaru can not see his father's vision, as it is now that he sees it far more clearly than any of us. It was the General's vision that our children lead us into tomorrow, and now, more than ever, I believe in his vision. No, Kuro. I shall never turn my back on Sesshomaru, never betray the trust his father, our general, my friend, has given to me. If it is your desire to see the miko pay for what crimes you believe she has committed, then by all means, try. But heed me, Kuro, do so, and it shall be your blindness as to where her strengths truly lie that will be your undoing.”
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See? Without that ending this chapter would have been crap. Crap I tell you! XD Lol, but no, really, I just so love the little flashback. *-Le Sigh-* It's so bittersweet. And with my Inupapa it just makes it that much more heartening.
I know, I know, it might seem like Kagome flew off a bit prematurely, but the way I figure it, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Her outburst was an accumulation of everything she has endured in her time at the Inu's gathering ground, and helped along by the blood wine. And…well, I just thought it was necessary for her to have an emotional breakdown before her next stand - especially since in having her breakdown she also found new support and new reasons to keep fighting.
The next chapter will probably take a bit to piece together…or not, depending how much of the outline I manage to cover in my word allotment. But since I don't want the scene to get cut at any pivotal moment, it might carry on a little longer than usual. Hn, I suppose we shall see. But here's hoping to me getting it done by Sunday ;)
Alright. So, I guess that's all. Cheers everyone. Till next time.
Shadow