Evolution of a Taiyoukai
By Danyealle
(FanFiction/MF/angst)
Chapter 17
Sitting up in the God’s tree, Inuyasha stared off over the forest but wasn’t really seeing anything. Instead his mind was on the battle that had happened earlier in the day. Even though he realistically knew that Naraku was the one that was responsible for what had happened to Kagome he couldn’t help but be sickened by the fact that it was his strike that had done the damage to her. Despite not wanting it to happen, his mind ran a continuous loop of the sight of her being struck by the adamant shards. Each time he saw one of the shards hit her body he gave a mental wince and his gut would tighten. To say the guilt he was feeling over the whole thing was overwhelming and an understatement.
He was sure that his guilt had been part of the sadistic assholes plan but there wasn’t really any way he could stop it. On the trip back to Edo all of the pack had discussed what had happened and he had been repeatedly assured that Kagome had been as protected as best anyone could have managed and that he had done nothing wrong, even by Kouga, but that couldn’t stop the guilt. All he wished at this point was that he could take the miko’s pain and injuries so that she didn’t have to suffer any more because she’d gone though enough of that. That would be only fitting.
Before he could meander any further down that path he was stopped by the dulcet tones of Kouga saying, “Hey! Dogbreath!”
Looking down, he saw the ookami standing there with his fists on his hips. “What do you want you mangy wolf?” He asked without the usual snide tone in his voice.
“Do you want to go hunting for supper or do you want me to do it?”
Hopping out of the tree, the hanyou stretched, back popping. “How about we both go? I’ll go find some kind of meat. Why don’t you see if you can find some fresh fruits and vegetables? Kaede says that Kagome needs those as well as meat so she can heal faster.”
“Will do.” Kouga nodded. Looking at the hanyou, he told him quietly, “Knock off the self-blame crap Inuyasha, what happened to Kagome wasn’t your fault. Blame Narakus for it.”
“I know.” Inuyasha sighed. “But could you accidentally hurt her like that and not blame yourself for at least part of it?”
“Yeah, I would.” Kouga harrumphed gruffly.
~~~~~@~~~~~
A couple hours alter, right after Sesshomaru woke from his nap, Uryu poked her head in. She asked him to move Kagome to Kaede’s hut for a bit so that she and some villagers he had hired could give the place a good cleaning and set up some furniture she had managed to procure.
Nodding, he gently picked up the soundly sleeping miko then swept out of the tiny hut then made he way to the elderly miko’s.
When he stepped inside with her the pack had already laid out all kinds of cushions and blankets in one corner so that she didn’t have to lay down on one of the sleep mats, making her more comfortable. Sesshomaru, however, had other ideas. Instead he sat on the cushions and held his miko. With a wicked smirk, eyes twinkling, he said, “The cushions are very comfortable.”
That was met with dead silence. To everyone that very much sounded like a joke and they didn’t know how to react. Sesshomaru wasn’t known for his sense of humor or making jokes so they weren’t sure exactly what to do or how to handle it.
Giving an internal chuckle at their reaction, he settled in and made sure she was as comfortable as she could get. He knew that it wouldn’t take all that long to finish with the hut so he wasn’t too concerned about making sure she was situated for something long term. Once he had her all settled, he covered her with his mokomoko and began to gently rub her head. Because of the pain killers she had been given she was out cold and didn’t even stir when moved but he wanted to be sure she knew he was close and sooth her the best he could. Leaning back against the wall, he shut his eyes. Though it looked as though he was asleep, he wasn’t. What he was doing was listening to what was being said closely, especially when discussion had turned to the days events and everyone’s perspective of what had happened was talked about. It was always useful to hear how everyone saw what had gone on because it was seen from many different places on the battlefield and seen different ways.
Suddenly, something set off his warning flairs and there was a familiar tickle in his brain. Eyes flying open, he concentrated to place where it was coming from and if his feeling was correct. When he was sure what it was, he began barking out orders. “Kouga and Inuyasha, Naraku’s insects are nearby. Find them and destroy the hive.” Looking at the rest, he told them, “Make sure nothing or no one else is nearby.”
Without question or argument, everyone was quickly on their feet and out the door on a dead run.
Normally, Sesshomaru would have been the first one out the door, sword drawn, ready to fight but right now, the way he saw it, his first priority was Kagome and protecting her. No way was he going to leave her with just Kaede as protection in the state she was in!
There was also another reason for him staying inside with her. He hoped that Naraku thought she was dead and wanted to cultivate that supposition as long as he could. Even if he did find out she was alive, there was no way in hell that he wanted him to find out just how badly she was hurt. If the arachnid knew that it would just be inviting trouble and attack. The way he saw it right now, his priority was his mate, not Naraku. He would let the rest of the pack and Kouga deal with that end of things; he would stay with his mate.
But it set his mind working at lightning speed. As he well knew Edo was considered to be a safe haven because it was protected with so many charms and sutras by so many beings but to have Naraku’s poisonous insects around then that could mean nothing good. The first thing that came to mind was an attack by the arachnid himself or his minions, not something that would end well. Immediately, his mind began racing for a possible solution.
First thing that came to mind was moving their home base. Of course his fortress came to mind. It was well protected and as safe as one could get. Though the slayer village came to mind as well. Though not as good as the fortress, it was well protected and isolated enough that it could be a good place. But discussion of moving would come later. Now, he just needed to wait to see what was going to happen. But he did make mental notes to send for a couple of his most trusted men to fortify the guard around the village. The ningens had a guard around the tiny hamlet 24/7 and they were very good at what they did but they weren’t youkai and not as trained as his men. No, he didn’t want to take over that duty completely, just to supplement it.
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do something to strengthen the watch around the village. The idea of using the ookami prince’s wolves came to mind. That, the thought, was a good idea. They wouldn’t be out of the ordinary and could easily conceal themselves and stay out of sight. Add to that the fact that there were so many of them that they could blanket the entire area around the tiny hamlet with some to spare. Pleased with that he added it to the top of his mental to-do list.
Though he tried to project a calm aura to keep from rousing or disturbing her, he was highly agitated. Just sitting there doing nothing and having to wait for word of what was happening set his teeth on edge. He was used to being in the thick of things and making sure they were taking care of.
Holding his miko gently, he scanned around to the limits of his senses to see if he could tell or get some kind of clue as to what was going on. Much to his frustration, he couldn’t pick up anything nor could he hear anything that was any kind of help in that area.
Just as he was about to snarl in frustration, the pack began to trickle back into the village. Though he questioned each of them a bit when they came back in, he waited until they were once more all assembled in the hut to hear the totality of what had happened.
From what he was told, it appeared this may have been just a case of reconnaissance. Though he was sure the spider was going to use some of what he saw to stargaze, mostly it was, from what he heard and deduced, probably nothing more than Naraku wanting to gloat over what he had done earlier. Sesshomaru was sure that there was no attack imminent. As high as emotions in the pack were that would be a suicide mission. When emotions were running high the viciousness level and want for revenge would be so high that it would result in a situation that could easily result in annihilation of the attacker. He was sure that Naraku knew that. This was even more so when there were several youkai involved.
Screaming, Naraku swiped a row of delicate, breakable objects off a nearby table. Though the smashing sounds were satisfying, it really did nothing to assuage his temper. Standing in the middle of the room, he huffed and snorted like an enraged bull about to charge a matador.
All he could think was that the stupid bitch was still alive! He knew she had been dead from what he had seen in the void child’s mirror and he knew the taiyoukai hadn’t been able to revive her so how in the hell was the bitch alive?
Storming through the palace, he ignored how Kagura, Kanna and Kohaku cringed from him. He wanted answers and he wanted them now! By Kami, he was going to get those answers then he was going to eliminate her if it was the last thing he ever did! Her and Kikyo had troubled him long enough, they needed to be wiped off the face of the earth as soon as he could manage it!
~~~~~@~~~~~
Once she woke, Kikyo began to walk again though she had no real destination in mind. She was headed the general direction of Edo but that really wasn’t where she was headed. What she really needed was time to think and plan out what she needed to.
Yes, he had already made her diction about what she was going to do. But she needed to make plans about how to go about things. There were things she wanted to do first, before she put things in motion.
Although she knew what she was doing was for the best that didn’t mean she couldn’t rethink things or mull it over to ensure that she had made the best possible choice in the matter. Not only that, there was the matter of just how to go about things if she stuck to her decision. It was a lot more complex and complicated than just putting it into action.
Sighing, she walked on with her soul collectors floating along by her side. With effort, she forced herself to turn her attention to another train of thought; what had happened earlier. No, she didn’t have details but she had enough to deduce some of it, the really important parts anyway. Even from those parts there were questions she wanted answers to or things she wanted explanations for. Maybe, given time, she would figure many of them out for herself but she was sure that she would need to talk to Kagome to get those answers. That in its self was going to be tricky. To do that it would mean she would come in contact with Sesshomaru. Knowing full well he planned to ‘kill’ her on sight that could be fairly complex to deal with. Some how or other she would have to get to Kagome just to get her to even agree. She was sure that her reincarnation would be able to deal with the demon lord. Perhaps Inuyasha could act as a go between and arrange that for her. Yes, she knew Kagome was probably still fairly upset with her because of all the pain she had inflicted but she hoped that she would be true enough to character that she would at least talk to her, especially if it was made known that all she wanted was information, nothing else.
With a deep, melancholy sigh, she tried to decide what to do next. Going to Edo right now was a very bad ideal. She was sure that Kagome was injured badly enough that she wouldn’t be able to talk with her even if she was able to arrange a meeting. Add to that, with what had gone on, stress levels of all of them had to be through the roof. No telling what the reaction would be if she showed up. Until she had that chance, Kikyo knew her showing up in Edo was a spectacularly bad idea. Sesshomaru’s protection instincts had to be in overload and it wouldn’t take much to set him off. So she decided to wait a while and just see where she wandered before she would make any kind of diction about talking to her reincarnation. She was sure that her instincts would tell her when the time was right to do that.
With another sigh, she wandered forward, no real destination in mind.