InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Vying for Dominance ❯ An Exit ( Chapter 33 )

An Exit

 

 

The stage had been set, the players taken their marks. The battle to come had been one brewing for centuries, needing only the spark of resentment to be fanned into a consuming flame of hatred and greed. Nothing so simple as the rights to take a chosen female, regardless of who or what she was, could ever have brought them to this. No, this was not a stand for a mate, but a stand for dominance. Kuro wasn't looking for retribution for his wounded pride or for rectification of the insults he had felt; he was looking at the position of Leader, of Alpha, and seeing it for his own.

 

He had followed the Great General, taken to the winning side of a war fought for centuries. It was Kuro that had risen the young fighters for the then Leader of the Blacks and defected to the General's army. They had joined the cause, become part of the Great Community, and were welcomed into their midst as brothers. But Kuro's loyalties could never belong to anyone but himself. He had followed the General unfailingly, believed in the power of his vision and his cause; but with the General's death came opportunity in the eyes of the Black, and he had begun rallying his true brothers.

 

They stood with him now, sons of litters to him and the closest of his followers that had come with him from their posts in their loosing army. But to Sesshomaru, the numbers rising against him meant nothing. He knew that joining with him in the defense of the true face of the Great Community were once-brothers of the Blacks, but always brothers of the Inu Clan. More were the presence of the Silvers, and, though Tannis would not give the order to do so, those of the Golden tribe that simply would not stand by while Sesshomaru stood for rights they had all fought for.

 

The shock and outrage created by the revelations on this day did more for solidifying allegiances than for breaking ties. Of course, there had been some who had been swayed who stood now with Kuro against what they believed a threat to their cause. But for as many as had turned in the knowledge that Sesshomaru would take a human mate, as many had been turned away when their misconceptions of what they thought they knew were revealed as they looked upon another son of the Great Leader that had given them all so much.

 

That they had seen this boy, now wielding their General's greatest weapon, stand in defense of the very human that their current Lord had claimed as his own; and there were too many uncertainties, too many questions left unanswered. There was simply too much riding on this stand for uncertainties to cloud the mind. A battle was coming, one that would change their world.

 

But for some, they were already standing in the dawn of a new day.

 

“Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru had looked away from Kuro to give this order, meeting his brother's eyes to convey more than words. “Take her from this place.”

 

This would be one time when Inuyasha did not question his brother's order. Not just an order, it was a trust placed upon him. Even knowing that Inuyasha would never let anything happen to Kagome if he could prevent it, Sesshomaru was telling him now that if he failed there would be the devil to pay, a devil that came for him in the form of its Hell Hound.

 

Enough said. Inuyasha would not fail.

 

Tetsusaiga firmly in his hands, he ripped his focus away from Sesshomaru. “Sango, Miroku!” He called his group from across the arena floor. “One exit coming up!”

 

“I know that song.” Even as the monk and Taijiya were taking to the mount of the firecat, Kouga was stepping forward to gather Kagome to him and take her after the hanyou once he started cutting the path.

 

His arm looped around her waist, but before he could secure his grip, Kagome pulled away.

 

“Sesshomaru,” she called out to him, her voice ringing so clearly even in the chaos around them. When he looked back, the smile she gave him was dazzling. “Guard my heart well.” She couldn't tell him not to fight, wouldn't. This was his stand to make. And she wouldn't say anything that would suggest he would not win, not wish him luck or ask for his return. These things went unspoken, and without need. She knew his strength and his skill, knew his determination and his unstoppable will.

 

And in his eyes as he looked at her, she could see his promise that even without words made her heart soar.

 

I will return for you.

 

“Damnit woman, you're gonna make me fucking sick!” The gruff voice shattered the moment, and Kagome's smile turned bashful when she finally looked away from Sesshomaru to face her hanyou friend. Scowling hard at the blushing girl, Inuyasha riveted away from her and set hard eyes on the arena wall. “Oi, fuckers!” His voice bellowed to the Inu set in his path, working off some long-earned tension and anger both in his voice and in the way the fang in his hands surged with power. “You wanna keep what you got, get outta the fucking way!”

 

Though most cleared the path, there were some that did not see the danger, and some that would not allow it to become a threat.

 

Their loss.

 

“Windscar!”

 

Fire and fury tore through the cutting winds as Inuyasha unleashed his attack, a maelstrom of power that shook the very earth in its approach. For those caught in its wake, their end was swift. And for the walls of the stadium, when the blast hit the sturdy construct, an explosion of devastating proportions ripped through the foundations, splintering and buckling the framework supporting the entire eastern wall.

 

Their cue to leave, and the miko and her friends took it.

 

“To think that it would his own fang that brought down the walls my InuPapa built.”

 

“Shaeda,” Sesshomaru addressed the chameleon as she approached, but did not look to find her. There would have been nothing to find anyways. “You should be with them.”

 

“Do not think to order me!” Her voice was sharp with fury, cutting the space between them even as her form broke free of the invisible cast shrouding her from the Inu eyes. She stood between opposing sides, dark currents of power churning the air around her in a murky fog. But even in the deepest shadows, the light that shone within was brilliant as she lifted her hand. The green of her eyes flashed wickedly as they caught the light, and it was Sesshomaru to whom she turned her piercing gaze. “I can not believe you did not tell me!” she hissed out in accusation. Then, tilting her chin, she added with a haughty sniff, “You are simply lucky that my InuPapa would want to be here to see this.”

 

The turning of energies around her continued to build, and her hand closed so tightly around the light she held that the crystal holding it shattered. Crimson fire burst forth, burning through the haze of darkness, consuming it, changing it. Changing her.

 

Even had they not their eyes to see, for the Inu gathered in the arena, it was the scent that told them this was no illusion.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Kouga skidded to an abrupt stop, just narrowly missing the stilled hanyou. From his back, Kagome gave a startled cry when her grip slipped; but the wolf managed to catch her and his footing while narrowly avoiding a full-on collision with Inuyasha.

 

“What the fuck, mutt-face?!” Kouga yelled in aggravation. “What's you're fucking holdup?!”

 

Inuyasha didn't say anything, his attention and senses focused on the arena they had left behind. “That scent…” he murmured in a daze. Father…?

 

“Inuyasha,” Kagome called his name softly. She had seen his troubled look, and her heart went out to him, but... “We have to get going.”

 

“The only place you shall be going is to your grave, wretched miko whore!”

 

Instantly, Inuyasha was snapped back to the scene, turning to face the new threat against his Kagome.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“One last time shall the presence of the Great General be known among you,” Shaeda's voice lifted to be carried on the dancing fires of his power. “Let it be known that he watches as the contest to gives rights to his successor is fought.”

 

She looked to Kuro, never betraying her part as overseer by allowing emotion to cross her features or waver her steady voice. “For your honor you have entered into contest on these grounds sacred to all your kind. Then by your honor have it be decided.”

 

“My honor,” Kuro scoffed in disgust. “It was never my honor that was in question.” His eyes locked back with Sesshomaru's. “And the only thing that shall be decided on this day shall be what to do with you when your shame carries you to your defeat here. It will be my pleasure to see you stripped of you title, your position, and any rights to mate.”

 

Words, so often times, were meaningless, hollow, empty of commitment and resolve. And for Sesshomaru, there were no more words to be spoken. The challenge had been made, the contest set. No more words were left to be spoken. No more games to be played.

 

He attacked.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“You get Kagome over my dead body, bitch!”

 

A sharp gesture from the female had Inuyasha flanked by half a dozen Inu guards in an instant. “That can be arranged, hanyou filth,” the bitch hissed back.

 

“Keh.” Inuyasha's hands tightened once again around the hilt of his sword. “Bring it on.”

 

“NO!” Dropping off Kouga's back in a rush, Kagome flung herself at Inuyasha to stop his attack. “Inuyasha, you can't!”

 

Two guards took the moment's distraction to attack.

 

“Hairikotsu!”

 

One was taken down mid-strike by the cutting sweep of Sango's weapon, and the other met with the ends of Kouga's claws.

 

“Get the fuck off me, bitch!” Inuyasha barked out in annoyance, shaking his frame harshly to dislodge the crazed miko.

 

But Kagome held on for dear life. “You can't, Inuyasha!” she told him again in desperation. “She's Sesshomaru's mother!”

 

“His…” Inuyasha's attempts to push Kagome off of him stilled instantly. His features contorted in conflicting emotions ranging from confusion to disgust to anger as he looked back to the silver bitch blocking his path. His mouth hung agape, dumbfounded with the knowledge that simply wouldn't settle in his mind. “…What?”

 

A showering of dirt clouded Inuyasha's vision and snapped him out of his daze. Looking down, he found Kouga regaining his feet and resetting his stance to confront the advancing guard.

 

“If it's not too much trouble, Baka-yasha,” the wolf bit out hotly, “Do you think you can stop staring and start lending a fucking hand!”

 

Launching himself forward without another word or even so much as a glance back at the hanyou, Kouga collided with one of the guards hard, using his weight and momentum to push them into yet another. The three slammed into the ground, rolling in a deadly spiral of slashing claws and snapping fangs.

 

To his right, Inuyasha could just make out the darting movement of Kirara as she blocked the path of another guard, drawing off his attacks before he could reach the houshi and taijiya. Sango was already engaged with one of the Inu guards. Without the use of her smokes and poisons, and in too close of quarters with her opponent to use her most trusted weapon, she had fallen back on her blade, crossing swords with the youkai, matching his speed with skill and aided by the support of the monk who for every advance of the Inu would bind him with a new seal that bound his demon fire.

 

“InuyashaaAAA!!!”

 

“Kagome!!”

 

Whipping around at the sound of her voice, Inuyasha caught sight of the little miko. She had been ripped away from his side, the final guard snatching her up like a piece of meat and dragging her away in his claws.

 

“She is the least of your concerns, wretched creature!”

 

Before he could make a move to go after Kagome, twin whips of poisonous light seared through the air directly towards him. Inuyasha turned fast, the pivoting motion saving his neck by only inches. The scent of singed hair filled his nose, and his ears rung with the shrill scream of his friend's distress. When his eyes finally landed on the silver bitch, his vision was overtaken by blinding rage.

 

Tetsusaiga cut through the air in an angry hiss as Inuyasha lifted his blade. “You picked the wrong hanyou to fuck with, bitch! Welcome to hell!”

 

She didn't move, only looked on with golden eyes corrupted with crimson lines of fury as Inuyasha released Tetsusaiga's attack.

 

“Windscar!”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Fox Fire!”

 

The burst of heat slammed into the unsuspecting Inu. Shippo had been concealed in Kagome's pack, hiding away from the battle raging around them; but when she had been taken by the Inu guard, when he heard her panicked scream, Shippo found his courage. Squeezing out of his concealment, he let loose his fire.

 

The Inu reeled back from the blast; but with his hold on the little miko broken, nothing was left to stop her from plummeting down towards the ground.

 

“Kagome!!”

 

Shippo grabbed the pack strapped to her shoulders, willing himself to transform. A burst of magic and a trick of the light, the little fox became buoyant enough to slow her decent. But even as he brought them closer to the ground, Shippo could see the Inu coming again. Terror swept through the kit. He knew he stood no chance against a fully grown Inu. And more than that, if he tried to defend himself, he would have to let go of Kagome. A tiny whimper left him as he watched the Inu approach, his widened eyes shining with fearful tears.

 

He knew he could escape, but he would not let Kagome fall.

 

Sunlight streaked into his vision, so bright Shippo couldn't keep his eyes open even to watch the last moments of his short life. He stubbornly blinked it away, only to find when he open his eyes that the Inu guard had been thrown off, taking the plunge to the ground with a roar of pain tearing from his lips.

 

“That miko sure knows how to find trouble for herself.”

 

Shippo was startled to hear the lyrical voice coming from so close. He cried out in start and turned abruptly, coming face to face a young Inu female. Her emerald eyes sparkled with glee as she gave him a wink and flashed the tip of her sai to show him what had brought the other Inu down.

 

And then she was gone as fast as she had come.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Oof.” Even with Shippo's help, Kagome hit the ground with a thud. Her legs folded to absorb the impact, bringing her to rest on her knees.

 

“Kagome!” Transforming back to his normal state, Shippo dropped down beside Kagome and scrambled up into her arms.

 

And though Kagome took the kit in her protective hold, her focus was trained elsewhere. She watched as the storm of the winds died down, as the fire of Tetsusaiga's attack cleared away from its path of destruction.

 

But the fires did not die completely. Left in their wake, burning crimson shifted and licked upon a surface that had no substance except that of the fire. And beyond the protective shell, the silver Lady still stood.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Did you think, hanyou, that that fang could ever harm me?” Mesudoku laughed, but the sound was mirthless and wicked. Lifting her hand, she set it atop of the pendant around her neck that bore the crest of both the sun and the moon and the fires around her began to fade. “Even in death he sees to my protection and that of our Great Community. But you,” her eyes hardened even further, slits of gold that promised death to the hanyou boy she looked upon, “You that comes here spouting lies, using your disgusting manipulation of that Fang in a wretched attempt to taint the good name of our Great General, you who seeks to corrupt the mind of my son with your miko whore; you shall be made to pay for your atrocities. And once your filthy influence has been purged, then I shall make example of that miko wretch.”

 

“Keh, you talk too much, bitch.” Inuyasha dropped his stance to prepare for a more direct approach. “The only one gonna be made example of is you when I use my sword to cut that big mouth of yours right off!”

 

Again the bitch laughed, superiority and condescending mocking him in the light chimes. “Impudent fool! Look around you.”

 

Sweeping her arm, she directed his focus to where the slayer girl had been brought down with her firecat. The monk that stood guard over them, but not daring to release his curse when in its path would be both friend and foe. Then to the wolf, being restrained by two of her guards while a third beat him mercilessly, leaving him sagging in the iron holds that kept him on his feet even when he could no longer do so on his own. And finally to the miko that was left unguarded and alone. She was crouched on the ground, her arms holding her little kit tightly, shaking with anxiety as she watched the approach of more Inu guards.

 

Mesudoku smiled at her victory as she looked back the hanyou boy, telling him with confidence and certainty, “You have already lost.”

 

“Call them off, bitch,” Inuyasha growled out lowly, his grip on Tetsusaiga tightening almost painfully. “Or so help me…”

 

“You are in no position to be making threats, hanyou,” Mesudoku interrupted frigidly. “This is my home, and so long as I am Lady then filthy scoundrels like you and this pathetic group of mortals and traitors shall find nothing here but their deaths.”

 

“Then perhaps it is time that you no longer held the position of Lady, Mesudoku.”

 

A hiss of fury left the silver Lady as she turned her sights on the new presence. “Auria…” She spoke her name, a threat and a curse together in one simple word.

 

But Auria hardly glanced back at Mesudoku. She offered her hand to help Kagome to her feet, and once the young miko was standing, she handed her a bow and a supply of arrows. One sharp and pointed look back at the Inu guard that had been advancing on the miko promptly turned them away with the message that this battle had just moved beyond their ranks and stations.

 

As one line fell back, others were being forcibly removed. Enai had returned with her sister, dropping down on the guard unit holding the wolf prince. Taken from behind, her sais cut deeply into the two holding the wolf. Blood stained the ground as it erupted from fresh wounds, and the instant their grip had gone lax, Kouga broke free to tackle the last member of the unit to the ground and repay him for his beating.

 

Using the moment of distraction, Inuyasha turned his sights to the guards, as well. One mighty sweep of his blade, and the Inu advancing on Miroku and Sango were either pushed back or obliterated in the fury of the winds.

 

The burn of battle raged all around, but as Auria stepped forward to confront the silver Lady, she was calm as the lazy rays of the afternoon sun. “If there was one thing to which I was grateful to Sesshomaru for my position,” she told her softly, “It would have been that in becoming his mate I would not have to fight you, Mesudoku.”

 

Insult compounded rage, turning it into a storm of fury. “You dare challenge me, Auria? Such treachery will seal your fate!”

 

But Auria only shook her head. “Have the years not taught us much, my teacher, my friend? If not you, then know that I have learned, grown beyond the time of your days. In these coming centuries it shall be I that our pack look to for birthing the newest of our champions and Lords. And for that, and for them, I can not let you bring harm to the chosen mate of our beloved General's son and most esteemed Lord.”

 

More than an insult, Mesudoku's eyes bled crimson to have the honor of her family dirtied by such a heinous accusation. “That mortal filth shall never hold claims in my family!” Never. She would never allow such an atrocity, never condone such repulsive actions. No son of hers would ever take a lowly mortal priestess to mate.

 

Auria paused for a moment to look back at the miko as well. The revelation about her true place with Sesshomaru, though shocking, had in some unexpected way been pleasing as well. Even in the short time the miko had been in their midst, she had changed the views of so many; including Auria's. It wasn't the human she saw any longer when she looked at the miko, but simply the Kagome. All her enthusiasm, her easy acceptance, her joy, her spirit; all her emotions that she displayed so freely and so openly were like a breath of fresh air in a place where emotions were seen as a weakness and feelings and directives needed to be concealed at all costs.

 

For this girl to have brought these things to the one of them that was by far the most secluded and removed from such, Auria couldn't help but see how remarkable such a thing truly was. For centuries she had known that Sesshomaru was to be her mate, and for centuries she had dreaded the day it came about. She respected his strength and leadership, would follow his orders without question and without hesitation; but he was so cold, so distant. She couldn't imagine how alone she would feel standing by his side.

 

But not her, not Kagome. Simply by being herself did she move those around her. Even now it could be seen in the way her friends rallied to her yet again, always standing in her defense and yet never begrudging it. They did this because they cared for her, and for each other. They made their stand with pride and without thought of consequence - Because to them, there was no consequence, nothing powerful enough to make them turn their backs on their own.

 

The wolf had been shot down, publicly humiliated in the miko's refusal of his suit; and still he fought for her. Injured and relying on the help of an Inu girl to walk, and still he growled threats and warnings to the Inu guard telling them that another attack would be met just as strongly with their defense. The mortals, so outmatched in this place of youkai, and they too fought valiantly, holding each other up, guarding each other's backs, never letting one of their company fall behind or be overcome. And the hanyou, the one Sesshomaru had called brother, the one that wielded the General's greatest weapon as naturally as Inu no Taisho himself had held the blade; he was the most determined of them all.

 

He still bled from the wounds Kuro had inflicted upon him, his hanyou body not nearly as resilient as a full youkai's. The pain he was feeling must have been excruciating. Exhaustion mirrored in every one of his motions. And still he stood; bold and defiant, steadfast and sure. He stood for his miko friend, for them all; and he did not waver, did not think to submit or beg for mercy or lenience, did not succumb to the overwhelming odds against him and against them all. He stood with pride and confidence in his abilities, and with the unwavering belief that they would not be defeated here, that he would be victorious, and that he would bring his friends to safety.

 

So often she had heard of the weakness of mortals, of their primitive existence and volatile temperaments. Even more had she heard of the shameful, disgraceful existence of hanyous and their like, rogues to be slaughtered, put out of their misery for the betterment of them all. But here, now, seeing the determination exhibited by this group and the strength of the bonds that held them together despite the barriers of race and breed and upbringing; and Auria found herself looking at a vision.

 

This was His vision: to see family brought together even across seemingly impossible barriers. And the General had accomplished that. He had brought the warring clans together, had brought peace and harmony in the family that settled the Great Community. He hadn't been bound by trappings that had ensnared so many, and his vision, once only an impossible dream, he made into their reality.

 

Now Sesshomaru, whether it had been his plan or not, was following in his father's footsteps, paving the way through the trappings of resentment and hatred to bring them into a new future, a new reality where the impossible dream wasn't so impossible anymore, where ties of friendship and love could overcome all barriers and defeat all who opposed them.

 

This was his family, too. And rather than choosing one or the other, Sesshomaru would make his stand to see to it that there was no choice to be made. After all, they were not separate things - It was the Community that made them strong; it was the family, the ties of brotherhood that bound them that made it so they could defeat any enemy. And in this stand, Sesshomaru would make it so that those they saw now as their enemy could be welcomed into their midst as once so long ago the different breeds of the Inu clans were welcomed into the General's Great Community.

 

It was a beautiful vision, and a worthy cause. And when Auria turned back to face Mesudoku, her commitment to it was complete.

 

“These contests no longer suit you, Mesudoku,” she told her with finality. “They have not for a very long time. You know this, as I do. Then step down, and accept that it is my word that you shall hear now instead of me yours.”

 

“Never.” The word was a hiss of hatred and loathing.

 

Auria nodded once, understanding that pride and honor forbade the silver Lady from submitting her position without contest. She did not begrudge her for standing for her rights, but she would not allow her to continue abusing her position when she was fully capable and now willing to take her place. “Very well, my Lady. The choice is yours, but the battle shall be mine.”

 

The light shifted around Auria, sunlight becoming blinding as it fueled her strength and began to contort her form. Words had been expired. There remained only one course of action.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Good luck, sister.”

 

Enai whispered her support, but she did not look back. Auria was strong. She would prevail.

 

With the wolf prince supported by her right arm, Enai gestured with her left for the miko and her group to follow her. She would lead them beyond the barriers of the Inu gathering ground, fight with them if necessary against any that would bar their escape. There was no time to think of the consequences of her actions, no place for doubts to cloud her mind in lifting her arms against her Inu brothers.

 

The task had now been left to her to ensure that the miko and her friends made their exit, and she would not fail.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

That chapter seriously had me pulling my hair out. All the overlapping exchanges and tension gripping every character and every word left me wanting to scream out my frustrations at the world! But, thankfully, it is now over; and with it went the last of my battles. What? Lol, yeah it might seem a little premature for me to say that. But, really, the battles are over, or at least will be come the next chapter (well, more or less ;P). A good thing too. If I had to write any more I think I would have driven myself to insanity….moreso XD.

 

Well, it seems that my one-shot - *ahem* - will be finding it's ending in the near future. Again, WHAT?! Heh, yup. Almost over, this one. But hey, Shadow can't let this one go without another lemon, now can she :). And though I make no promises on the expediency of that final chapter, the next one should be relatively easy after all the commotion and high tensions of these past few.

 

So, until next time then. I hope you've all enjoyed.

 

Cheers.

 

Shadow