InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Winters Wish ❯ Retribution ( Chapter 5 )

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

"Don't stop until I have her. Finally, she will be mine." Sojobo pronounced as he watched his men chip away at her ice barrier.

The little bitch thought she was quite cunning in making such a thick barrier of ice. They had tried to melt it but it turned out that the ice was too cold to melt, especially in this weather. So they resorted to break it piece by piece. They were already three feet into it now. They had to manuver around the many bodies that had been caught in the ice as she attempted to protect herself.

She had been in there almost two hours and hadn't moved. That was a good sign. Her strength had drained completely and even if she wasn't dead, she was close to it. The thought made him quiver in anticipation. He wanted her; dead or alive.

~~~~~~~~`;*,`~~~~~~~~

Sesshomaru and the others took longer to get there than he had anticipated. Apparently Shigure's battle had set off a vicious snow storm and they were having difficultly navigating through it. According to Jaken, it had been almost four hours since they had left Lady Shigure. She could already be dead.

Sesshomaru inhaled sharply. She would not be dead. If she was, he would kill her for being so foolish as to think he could leave this world without him. He was startled out of his idle threat by Jaken.

"Milord!" he shouted over the roaring winds. "We are almost there!"

Sesshomaru responded with a curt nod that he doubt his retainer could see in this storm and followed them down to the outside area of the battle field. Bodies we strewn everwhere. Dozens of them. Some were impaled by sharp looking icicle spikes. Other seemed to have been so frozen that they just broke apart into tiny fleshy pieces of gore and bone. He was amazed at her power. But looking around he saw no sign of Shigure or the one that Jaken had described as Sojobo. He moved toward the middle of the battle field where he supposed the battle was still taking place.

His eyes widened at what he saw. In the middle of dozens of low-class demons stood a giant globe of ice. It looked to be several feet thick and had blood, men, and pieces of men either pinned to the outside or trapped within its walls. He then noticed the man that fit the description of Sojobo. He was leaning over and frantically urging his men on. They were digging into the ice globe and were pulling something out. It was then that he saw a pale hand followed by Shigure's beautiful bruised face. She was completely limp. He feared the worst.

~~~~~~~~`;*,`~~~~~~~~


"Yes! Bring her to me. She shall be mine at last!" Sojobo screamed above the raging winds. He barely had time to react as the ones that were holding the princess fell to the ground dead, only to be replaced by a very tall and powerful looking demon that made his blood run cold. The other demon paid little attetion to Sojobo as he gingerly examined his princess for further injuries. The demon growled low and feral. Apparently he didn't like what he saw. He laid Shigure on the back of a two-headed dragon and drew his sword.

"This Sesshomaru will send you to hell for what you have done to Lady Shigure."

Sojobo's eyes widened comically. Sesshomaru. This particular demon was famous all across Japan for being the most ruthless as well as the most powerful. He watched in horror as the demon began to charge him only to be stopped by a quiet but commanding voice.

"Stop my Lord."

Both Sesshomaru and Sojobo froze at her voice. Sesshomaru quickly abandoned the attack and went to her side. Sojobo took the opportunity to escape with his life. He disappeared into the raging storm.

~~~~~~~~`;*,`~~~~~~~~

"My Lady! We thought you were dead! We are so glad to see you are alive!" Jaken screeched above the winds.

Shigure took a deep breath and immediately the snow storm settled, leaving nothing but slowly falling flakes.

"I am dead Jaken. I am not long for this world." Shigure said in a pained whisper.

She brought her beautiful blue eyes up to meet Sesshomaru's golden suns. Sesshomaru's breath hitched in his throat. Her cheek was badly bruised and her wrist was clearly broken. There were slashes along her ribs and the top part of her arms from dead mens swords. But none of this seemed to be life threatening. He was startled out of his inspection by a ice cold hand on his cheek. She felt as cold as death; so unlike the day they first met.

"Why did you stop me from killing him?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"You can not kill him. He is the one that rules over Winters domain. If he were to die, Japan would be cast into a never-ending Winter."

"Fuyuzare and Samushi-"

"Are dead my Lord." she interrupted. "He killed them and banished me. I can never return without my brothers who have not been stripped of their power to enter our domain. I had longed to see our family restored before I left this world. Now I know it will never happen. At least I was allowed to see you all one last time." She finished weakly.

"You will not die. There are no injuries here that are life threatening." Sesshomaru stated.

Her eyes locked with his. "I fear I have no chocie. In being stripped of my power of entering Winter's domain it causes me to loose strength each time I use my powers. I can not fight anymore."

Sesshomaru could hear how weak her heart beats within her bosom. It seemed to slow and grow weaker with each passing moment. He watched in horror as her eyes seemed to loose their radience and then fall closed. Her heart seemed to beat no more. Jaken and Ah-Un both seemed to crumble with grief. He panicked. Grabbing her shoulders he brought her up into an embrace.

"You will not die." He commanded with force but it sounded desparate even to his ears. For several moments she did not breath or move and for the first time in his long adult life, he felt like weeping.

Suddenly, to his utter surprised Shigure gasped for air and started coughing. To his utter astonishment he could feel his body lending strength to hers, forcing her to live. Her breathing started out deep and frantic; like she had been suffocating. Gradually, it slowed but heart-beat remained strong. Finally he chanced a look at her. Her color was better and her skin was no longer ice to the touch. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

"It seems I live another day my Lord, and it is all thanks to you."

Sesshomaru simply embraced her again. No words could describe the relief that washed over him. Standing there for several minutes just simply holding her, he thanked the Kami for whatever had happened to bring her back to him. Slowly he picked her up and stood away from Ah-Un. She was already asleep.

"Jaken."

Jaken jumped up. He had watched the whole thing with amazement. One moment, his Lady was dead, and the next, she was alive and well. His Lord was truly powerful.

"Yes Milord!"

"We are leaving. Follow me back to the castle."

Without another word or glance in the direction of his companions, Sesshomaru took off into the sky with his precious cargo.

~~~~~~~~`;*,`~~~~~~~~

"I want to go to the village. We promised we would be there today!" Shigure demanded and sent a frigid glare in the direction of her captor.

"No. You have not yet healed." Sesshomaru countered. Noticing the glare, he fought the urge to shrink and cower. The woman could definately be intimidating.

Shigure seemed to know this. "The only thing that hasn't healed is the wrist and the cheekbone and they will be completely healed in a matter of days! I am perfectly capable of travel and I am weary of being inside the castle all the time." Now it was time to pull the trump card. "Rin was looking so forward to going as well. And I already told her we could go and that I was feeling well enough."

It was Sesshomaru's turn to glare. He was perfectly aware of how much Rin was looking forward to going to see Kagome and being there to see the arrival of his nephew or niece.

At his lack of response Shigure added. "My Lord, you can not stop me from going. I could easily erect an ice barrier around you and go on my own."

Sesshomaru growled. "Do not presume to threaten me. Your barrier would not last long and I be after you soon enough."

"I thought as much. So now we have a few chocies. You can force me to do this the hard way, I erect the barrier, leave on my own and risk a repeat of what happened a few days ago; or we can not break a little girls heart, leave together and get there safely." She said condescendingly.

Sesshomaru surpressed a sigh and turned to face her. "Fine. We will be gone within the hour." He stayed long enough to see her brilliant and triumphant smile before stalking out of the room.

Damn manipulative women. He was only trying to pretect her. He had terrified him 3 days ago and he wasn't willing to experience that feeling again. Rin had insisted on staying by her side pretty much night and day. He had heard the girl call Shigure "mama' more than once in her sleep and Shigure had always responded by comforting her the best she could. Shigure was still injured. Her cheek-bone had indeed been cracked and there was still a bruise defacing her porcelin skin. Her wirst was stilll quite painful from what he could tell. He was glad she had been unconcious when it was set. Shaking his head to free himself of such thoughts he continued to the dining room to retrieve Rin. The girl would only leave Shigure to eat and bathe. He entered swiftly and saw Rin look up from her breakfast.

"Good morning Sesshomaru-sama." She said less brightly than usual. She thought Lord Sesshomaru would not allow them to go to the village and was upset about it.

He nodded in response. "Rin, after you have finished return to your chambers and pack a tote. We leave for Inuyasha's village as soon as you are prepared."

Rin smiled immediately and jumped off her chair. "I am done. I'll go now and start packing." She said running toward the door. Just before she went through she ran back and gripped him tightly around the waist and whispered "thank you" before quitting the room entirely.

Sesshomaru shook his head and looked out the window at the beautiful morning sky. Snow blanketed the country side, creating a sense of peacefulness. It had been the same the day Shigure had been injured and almost killed. He just hoped this journey went better than the last,. He didn't know if his heart could take again if Shigure were threatened.

All he had been able to think about the last couple of days was Shigure and what had happened. He didn't know the full story yet but apparently Winter's doman had been infiltrated and conquered. Shigure had been cast out and stripped of her domain pass because she was invincible while her family was still connected to the throne. Stripping her had made her vulnerable and therefore easier to kill off. Her family was dead; all except her siblings. The younger sister was too small to be a threat and the borhters had been abroad for more than a hundred years. He had sent out scouts to find them if possible and inform them of what had happened hoping they would return immediately. They would need them in order to regain the throne of Winter. He didn't want Shigure to suffered from using her powers anylonger. If he could help her regain her familiy, she would prosper. But for now, it was all up in the air and there was nothing he could do. He didn't know what was going to happen.

One thing he was sure of, he would find the bastard who hurt Shigure and she would have her retribution.