InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Where the Sun Rises ❯ Extricate ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

AN: How special is this? Another chapter to read. It's kind of a long one, but I like delivering long chapters. It kinda justifies the wait, right? Well, enjoy the following text, and review if you can.
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With furious steps, Inuyasha marched his way back towards their hut, continuing to mumble under his breath. His hands were balled into fists, and his eyebrows were so far downturned that the inner edges almost touched the bridge of his nose. There was no stopping him.

Sango had to jog to even keep up with him, and she could tell that she just caused the death of Miroku. But she couldn't not tell Inuyasha about what happened. If she didn't, it was like cheating on him, right? Maybe.

Turning onto the dirt road, Inuyasha's steps quickened even more. He couldn't wait to enter the hut and wring the monk's neck. He could not believe that Miroku would do something like that, but maybe he had a death wish. Either way, that human was going to suffer insurmountable pain for placing his tainted lips on this hanyou's mate. Inuyasha would make sure of that.

Approaching the door and throwing the curtain aside, he stormed inside and scanned the room. All he saw was an alarmed kitsune, neko and ferret, staring at him wide-eyed, and Kagome stirring a pot of boiling rice. And his brother sitting cross-legged in the corner. "When the hell did you get here?" Inuyasha asked, his anger suddenly replaced with confusion.

"Right after you left to spend some 'quality time' with your mate," Sesshomaru answered, not even bothering to stand. Then with a quick sniff, he promptly covered his nose. "You could have done us all a favor and bathed before you came back."

"I would have, but I have a monk to kill first," Inuyasha replied, scanning the room again with narrowed eyes. "Where is he?"

Kagome rose from her kneeling position at the pot and walked over. "I don't know where he is. He's been gone for a while. What did he do?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll get him when he comes back. He ain't going to get away with this."

"Master, should I go and search for him?" Mizuki asked from his spot on the floor between Shippo and Kirara.

Inuyasha shook his head again. Saying nothing else, he side-stepped Sango who was standing behind him and went back outside. She followed him, but stopped short of tailing him back onto the dirt road and into the trees. She watched him leave, and once she was sure he was gone, she turned and entered the hut again.

"Sango, what's going on?" Kagome asked, sitting down next to Shippo on the floor. "Inuyasha was really mad. And I knew he wasn't going to give up any information. So... why is he so mad at Miroku?"

Sango joined everyone else on the floor, but didn't answer. She flipped her hair out of her face with a heavy sigh, and then proceeded to pet Kirara. "I assume that you told him," Sesshomaru said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, I did."

"Told him what?"

"It is natural that he wants to kill that monk. That human had no business touching a demon's mate. He deserves to die."

"Miroku touched you? How? Where?"

"I know it's the code, but I would feel horrible if Inuyasha hurt him. But I couldn't keep what happened to myself. Miroku needs to understand that I don't want to be with him anymore."

Kagome couldn't take it anymore. "Can one of you tell me what Miroku did?! You are both ignoring me! Tell me!"

Sesshomaru had to close his eyes and exercise his infamous self-control to keep from striking the miko. "The monk put his lips on my brother's mate, and now he will die for it."

"Oh."

He wasn't finished. "And if you ever disrupt a conversation in that manner again, I will sever your head from your body. Do not think I am saying this in jest."

Sango sighed in exasperation. "I hope this turns out better than what I'm thinking it will."

"Me too," Kagome agreed, resting her head on top of her drawn up knees. "But I don't think Inuyasha would actually kill Miroku. We've been through way too much to throw a friendship away over something like this."

Sango nodded. "But you know how Inuyasha is. He doesn't think before he does anything. He might actually carry out his threat."

"I do not see why you are so worried about this. It has to be done." Sesshomaru crossed his arms and stared at her. "This is not something that requires this much conversation. The monk will die, and you will move on."

"But-" Sango tried to interject.

"Listen to me," the youkai's voice became very hard and stern. "This is what you have to deal with when you mate with a demon. If another male comes into contact with you, he dies. The monk should have kept his body to himself. Now he has to deal with the punishment. Now, I do not want to hear another word about it. If you want to save that human's life, it is not me you should be asking. Go find your mate and ask him."

"Fine," Sango said, climbing to her feet. "I'll go and find h-"

She was cut off by a sudden uproar that was taking place outside. Rushing out of the hut with Kagome, Mizuki, Shippo, and Kirara at her heels, Sango froze as she saw Miroku's frantic attempt to get out of Inuyasha's grip. Clawed hands were wrapped around a reddened throat, and the victim desperately scratched at the hands which held his life in their grasp.

"Inuyasha!" Sango gapsed, preparing to run and keep him from killing their longtime traveling companion. But she was restrained by Sesshomaru, who appeared in the doorway, and held her arm firmly. She looked up at him, wildly. "What are you doing?"

He ignored her, and kept his eyes on the action that was taking place in the middle of the dirt road. He watched as his younger brother applied more pressure to the small neck of the human, and silently wished that it would be ended soon. This didn't particularly interest him.

The same could be said for the attacker. Inuyasha didn't want to spend too much time in killing his former friend; he knew Sango wouldn't approve. A moment or two later of slowly suffocating Miroku with just one hand, he decided it was time to get his task over with. Just as he was tightening his grip to collapse the throat he held in his hand, a loud shriek was heard.

Pausing long enough to look down the dirt road, he saw a young woman running towards him. She looked strangly familiar, yet he couldn't place her face. She had long, chestnut colored hair, with very bright green eyes. She seemed so familiar...

"Miroku!" she gasped in concern as she ran toward him, but slowed considerably when she saw a demon holding him by the throat. "Please let him go!" she pleaded, clasping her hands together. "I love him; please don't kill him!"

Inuyasha had to take another look at her coupled with the sound of her voice to remember who she was. It all came together; she was the whore Miroku cheated on Sango with back at the town with the numerous taverns. He remembered the woman now, but in a way, he really had to thank her. Had she not seduced Miroku into bed, then it may have taken longer for him and Sango to come together. In a way, he owed her.

He glared down at the pink face of the man he resolved to kill and back up at the girl. He closed his eyes and held a quick conference with himself. Instead of killing him now, he had a better idea. Releasing his hold on Miroku's neck, he watched the terrified man fall to the ground, gasping for air. The woman knelt next to him, hugging him tightly and whispering about how happy she was that he wasn't killed. Once he caught his breath, she helped him to his feet.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked the woman, cracking his knuckles.

His gesture not going unnoticed, the woman answered shakily, "My name is Kira. I live in the town down the road. Soon, Miroku and I will be getting married."

"What?" Kagome gasped, covering her mouth. "Are you crazy?"

"No," she smiled, turning to Miroku, who was rubbing his throat. "I fell for him when he and his friends came to my father's tavern. I asked my father for their free lodging, and me and my Miroku made love all night in his room."

Inuyasha couldn't find the words to say anything. He just turned to Sango, whose face didn't tell him anything about what she was thinking. Her blank eyes only stared at the woman, and with just a second passing, she erupted into laughter.

Sesshomaru gave her a puzzled look, and slowly let go of her arm. He figured she had gone crazy. What about this situation was so funny? He had no idea.

Sango clapped her hands together as she doubled over in giggles. Everyone could only look at her while she continued her complete enjoyment of what was going on. Her tiny fangs glistened the sunlight as another round of laughter escaped her throat. Finally, once she got herself together, she smoothed out her hair and cleared her throat. "Sorry about that," she grinned, flicking her ears. "I'm okay now. I just want to wish you two luck and... have a nice life."

"Thank you!" the woman clapped, unaware of the undertones in the demon slayer's statement.

"So... um... you said your name is Kira, right?" Kagome asked, scratching her head.

She nodded.

"It's obvious you and Miroku are sleeping together since his stench is all over you," Inuyasha cut in, but he caught Sango's warning glance. However, he decided to continue. "So... you aren't pregnant, are you?"

"Inuyasha!" Sango hissed, approaching him and hitting his arm. Turning to Kira, she said, "please disregard him. He's not the most polite guy."

"It's okay," Kira said, nervously. She had spotted Sango's pointed ears perched on the top of her head. She was clearly afraid of them both. "But it's alright if I answer his question. I'm not pregnant yet."

"Yet?" Shippo piped up from the doorway of the hut. "You mean you are going to have his child?"

A staggering Miroku stepped into the conversation. "Yes, she is. She agreed to it last night."

"I'm sure she did," Kagome snickered, bending down to pick up Shippo.

"Well, all that's gonna have to wait," Inuyasha told her, cracking his knuckles again.

"Why?"

"He's going with me to the Eastern Lands. I need him to help me fight and claim the land. You can do whatever you want when he comes back, but until then, you better hold off on making human babies."

"What?" Miroku interjected, outraged. "You mean after you tried to kill me you want me to help you? Are you serious?"

The hanyou's golden irises found violet ones. His gaze was piercing; he wasn't in the mood for that human's mouth. "Yes, I'm very serious. How about this: if you don't help me, I'll kill you. Then your woman can marry someone else, and she'll forget all about you. How does that sound?"

The monk gulped. "I'll fight right by your side."

"Good. Now get a lot of sleep tonight. We head out tomorrow morning."

"Got it."

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He wrapped his arms around her naked body and lightly kissed her forehead. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too. I couldn't tell you how I survived your leaving the first time."

"Well, look at it this way. I won't be away as long. As soon as I gain complete control I'm going to start construction on your castle, and while it's being built, I'll come back and get you. Then you're gonna have the best castle anyone has ever seen."

She looked up at him with shimmering eyes. "I told you that you don't have to do all that for me."

"I want to."

She placed feathery kisses along his neck. She smiled into his skin. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She watched him flick his ears, and with a laugh, flicked hers too.

"What's so funny?" he asked, looking down into her face.

"I really like my new ears, that's all."

"Obviously."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "You know, I'm a little worried."

"Why?"

"I just afraid that you won't have enough fighters to help you. I mean, you are going into lands that aren't yours and fighting demons who probably have armies of other demons just ready to rip apart anyone who objects to them. Aren't you afraid?"

He shook his head, but they both knew that he was lying. "If I want to claim land, then I really don't have many options in how I do it. They challenged me, and if I win, I rule the East. So really, all I have to do is win."

She broke their embrace and sat up straight. The chilly night air made her draw a blanket around her bare shoulders. "You say that like it's so simple."

He sat up too. He didn't bother with a blanket. "It is that simple. Win or be killed, those are my choices when I go back there."

She sighed in frustration. "Fine, if you aren't worried, then I will be worried for you. There is no way that I am comfortable with you going back there and possibly not coming back."

"I will be back. I'm not going to lose."

"How can you be so sure?"

He stretched out his arms and pulled her to him. "Because I know that you'll be here, waiting for me."

She relaxed into his chest, but wasn't comforted. "You don't have enough help."

"I know."

"So what do you plan to do about it?"

"I don't know. Maybe Mizuki knows some fighters that can help us."

She raised her eyes to his and gave him a tiny smile. "I guess you really have no choice..."

He knew what was coming. Immediately, he began to shake his head. "No. Don't even start that."

Her smile grew. She placed a soft hand on his cheek and gave him a light kiss right along his jaw. "I could help you."

"Sango, I already told you no," he said, trying his hardest not to kiss her back. "I don't want you to go."

Another kiss. "So are you going to leave me here all alone? Besides, I've always loved fighting by your side. You know that."

"No."

She paused. She realized her current persuasive method wasn't working, so with her quick thinking, another idea hatched. "Okay. You win."

He looked at her questioningly. She gave in so easily. Surely she wasn't serious. He gave her a stare that meant he was on his guard. He was determined not to let her trick him.

"Well, you leave tomorrow..." she continued, pulling away from him. She reached for their food basket and began moving things around inside of it. She was looking for something. It bothered him that she deliberately set her back to him as she shuffled around. He still didn't trust her.

Finding what she was searching for, she turned to him, and tried to give him a smile. It was feeble; clearly she was hurt by his decision to leave her behind. In her trembling hands, she held a rosary. His rosary. "I hope you'll wear this when you go back," she said, voice wavering. She was on the verge of tears. "It probably doesn't work anymore, but at least you'll think of me when you look at it..."

He bent forward to allow her to slip the rosary around his neck. It was cold against his skin. While she did so, he couldn't seem to understand her last statement. Why would he remember her whenever he looked at the rosary? It was Kagome who held its power over him. Entirely confused, he decided to ask. "Why would this remind me of you? It was made for Kagome to use-"

"SIT BOY!"

The weight of the rosary activated by those dreaded words slammed his face into the grass. Struggling to sit up, he gave her a bewildered look. "What the hell was that?"

"That's why you'll think of me," Sango said with a playful smile and arms crossed over her chest. "I had the power transferred to me. Kaede did it the day after you left. I never thought I'd have to use this, but you really left me with no choice. If you weren't being so stubborn, I could've kept this locked away. But obviously, you want to keep me here instead of letting me help you, so I had to activate it. Now if you don't change your mind, then you and the ground will be better acquainted than you ever were when Kagome controlled that rosary."

His dazed eyes turned to anger, and he glared at her with all his might. But he knew she wasn't joking. She'd be a lot more unforgiving than Kagome was. Working to his disadvantage, that was another reason why he loved his mate so much. Oh, the pains of love!

Sighing in defeat, he nodded. "Fine. You can come with me. But Kirara has to go too. I don't want you within striking range of those damn boars. And under no circumstances are they to find out that you are my mate. If they knew, they'd come after you twice as hard. Got it?"

"Okay!" she cheered, clapping her hands. "Now, that's the compromising Inuyasha I love to see!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he whispered, "now, how about removing this rosary from my neck?"

Kissing his cheek again, she whispered back, "not a chance."

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AN: I wrote this chapter three times, and still I don't like it. But that's the pains of being an author, I guess. Well, I sense the end of this fic is upon us, so let's just hope I can find a suitable ending for it. Grr... damn writer's block. Well, review if you want and let's hope I can deliver a good battle scene for Chapter Nine!