Kryptonite

By Danyealle

(fanfiction/MF/HC/Abuse/MF)

Chapter 37

…Two Weeks Later…

Standing a few feet from the old demon eating well, the pack was saying their goodbyes.  Kagome was going to be going home for a couple days and everyone else, minus Sesshomaru, was going to go see Kaede before once more heading to the fortress.  The plan was for Sesshomaru to stay in Edo while the miko was gone to keep an eye on the well.  Once she returned the couple would be headed to the fortress as well.  Then they would be spending five days there, barring any problems or complications, before once more resuming the spider hunt.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Once they had finished at the taiyoukai’s uncle’s then at Kouga’s den, they had been close to where they had some vague clues about things that might be about Naraku and his new palace.  For two solid weeks they traipsed around and talked to countless people all over the place but could turn up nothing useful.  In face, Kouga likened it to running around in circles and chasing their tails, an assessment that Sesshomaru had seconded.

After two weeks of fruitless searching and mounting frustration the demon lord decided they had enough and that a break was in order.  After sending off a message to the reigning lord with what they had and getting a reply that he would hunt around to see what he could find they headed back to Edo.  Rather than make the long trek back on foot they flew back and made it in little more than a day.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Once everyone had said their goodbyes they started to head towards Edo, leaving Sesshomaru and Kagome alone so they could say their goodbyes privately.

Looping her arm through his, Kagome leaned against him as they walked closer to her porthole home.  “I’m going to miss you.”  She said quietly.  She was well aware his guards were stationed around so she was trying to make sure that they didn’t overhear what she said.  There was no way she wanted to embarrass him.

Leaning into her a bit, he lowered his voice until he was sure they couldn’t hear as well.  “And I will miss you as well Kagome.  It will only be two days but I’m sure that it’ll feel like an eternity.”

“Yeah, it will for me as well.”  She admitted.  “I think I would rather stay here with you than go home.”  She told him so quietly it was all but inaudible.

Giving an internal smirk and his beast a contented growl, he said, “I would like the same thing Kagome.  In fact, I wish you and I could go away for a couple months together so we could be alone.  But you made a promise to your mother and I plan to help you keep that promise to the best of my ability.  I’m quite sure she would worry if you didn’t show up like you said you would.”

“Yeah, she would.”  Kagome admitted.  “I wish we could go away alone for a while too.”

“If I could arrange such a thing and you told your mother ahead of time, would she object to you being gone longer than you usually are?”  He asked.

“No, she wouldn’t.  As long as she knows ahead of time she won’t be worried.  She knows sometimes that I’m a bit late and it can’t be helped.  But to be gone that long without any word would make her worried sick.”

By that point, they were next to the old, weathered well.  Stepping away from her, Sesshomaru helped her slide her deflated pack on her back.  Looking down at her, he couldn’t help himself.  Yes, he knew his men were close enough to see them but he realized he didn’t care about that any more. Slipping an arm around her waist, he pulled her gently to him then inclined his head and kissed her tenderly.

Slipping one arm around his waist, she leaned into the kiss.

When he broke it off, he looked down into her eyes then, gently, rubbed the back of two fingers on her cheek.  “You be careful Kagome.  You need to come back to me so watch yourself.”  He told her softly.

Smiling at him, she said, “I will, don’t worry.”

“Alright.  You best go.”  He told her though he didn’t really want to.

Sighing, she nodded.  “Yeah, I better.”  After giving Daoe an affectionate rub on the head and a kiss, she had him hop over to Sesshomaru’s shoulder.  Adjusting per pack, she gave the taiyoukai a meaningful look then sat on the edge of the weathered boards of the well, dangling her feet into it.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Quiet as he could, Inuyasha slid closer and closer to the couple and the old well, eyes locked on them.  Growling, he thought about the last night he had seen them and how Kikyo was sticking to him like they were sewn together.  Oh yes, she planned to keep him away from her reincarnation but he couldn’t allow that to happen.  She just didn’t understand the connection he had to Kagome and how he couldn’t allow her to slip away from him.  He wasn’t going to allow that to happen if he could at all help it.

It was by sheer dumb, blind ass luck that they were near Edo and he happened to catch of glimpse his old pack as they headed this way.  Kikyo, luckily, didn’t see or hear them so she had no idea they were around.  While she was talking to Kaede he was able to get away from her without any problems.

While he was watching them a plan so good that it was almost full proof came to him.  In fact, he was kicking himself for not thinking of it before.  As he well knew he was the only one that could get through the well.  All he had to do was grab her as she went through and he would be home free.  No one would be able to interrupt them then!

Watching them, he ground his teeth as he saw them kiss but didn’t let himself do anything about it and just kept slipping closer.

When Kagome sat on the lip of the well, he took of towards her as fast as he could.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Once last look and smile at Sesshomaru then she waved goodbye and pushed off the lip of the well.  Just as her backside left the weathered boards of the old thing, she felt something hit her hard around the midsection, knocking the wind out of her.  With something wrapped around her, she saw the blue rift appear and felt the freefall that heralded her being transported once more to her time.  Wiggling around, she looked to see what was holding her and let out a frightened cry when she saw a set of familiar dog ears.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Just as Kagome was pushing off into the well Daoe went off once more.  Sesshomaru got no more than turned around when a silver and red blur flashed past him then disappeared into the well with Kagome.  Letting out a roar of rage, he peered down into the well but, as he expected, both were gone.  Letting out a snarl of rage, he put his hands on the lip of the well and glared down into its empty, dark depths and tried to think about what to do.

First thing that popped into his mind was that somehow he had to get through that damn well!  There was no way on Kami’s green earth that he could allow Inuyasha to be alone with her.  Who knew what the boy could do to her?  But how was he going to manage this one?  As far as he knew only the boy could get through.  No one else could manage it from what he had heard.

That brought up the next naturally progressive step in his train of thought… he needed information about the well.  He didn’t know enough about it to even try to formulate a way to work with it.

Calling his ‘men’ over, he sent them to fetch both the pack and the old miko from the village.  Maybe they would have some answers that could help.

Once more he looked down into the empty well and snarled, mind racing.  Though he was fairly certain that no one knew about it, he had, one time in the past, tried to pass though the well.  It had been a natural curiosity about the miko and where she came from that had driven it.  No, he hadn’t succeeded. Now he needed to, desperately!  There had to be a way!  Had to!  And, by Kami, he would find it!  Problem was that time was of essence and he needed to know how sooner rather than later.  There was not going to be much time for sussing this out or debate because who knew what the boy was already up to?

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

When his feet hit dirt on the bottom of the old well in her time, Inuyasha held onto her tightly and leaped out.  Already he could feel her struggling and squirming in his arms, trying to pull away.  OK, he understood why she was doing this, she was terrified.  He could sense and smell that on her.  So it was now up to him to lay that to rest.

Quickly, he made his way out of the wellhouse then put her down.  The way he saw it was she was in full view of her house and knew people were home so she would have to know that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, all he wanted to do was talk.  Nothing more.

But, on the other hand, he was feeling more than a little bit smug about this.  He had managed to get the better of that bastard brother of his once more.  Oh yes he had!  And there was no way in hell he was going to be able to interfere this time!  He had managed to get her alone and there was nothing the fucker could do about it.  HA!  Perfect!  Then he had managed it right under his nose as well.  Nothing better!

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

OK, Kagome was once more officially freaked out and utterly petrified!  But she felt better about this situation than she had about the last one.  No, she didn’t have Sesshomaru to come to her rescue but all she really had to do was make it to the house.  Not only would at least one of her family members be there, she was fairly certain that he wouldn’t pull anything stupid in front of them, but she also had a telephone as well.  The police were one call away and could get there quickly.

Slowly, she started to back away towards the house, eyes fixed on the hanyou.  No, he hadn’t tried anything as of yet but who knew what he might end up doing this time?  Best she could come up with was to delay him and do what she could to keep from setting him off until she could get to the house.  As she well knew, keeping her mouth shut was part of that.  No matter what he said she was going to keep her lips zipped.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Letting out a loud snarl of frustration, Sesshomaru barked out, “Silence!”

Immediately, every being in the clearing fell silent, making the demon lord give a sigh of relief.  Yes, as would be expected, once everyone found out what happened there was a bit of a panic and a lot of high emotions.  Of course, as usually happened, there was a lot of babbling while everyone tried to figure out what exactly went on.  Usually that was fine and he let it go on but he couldn’t do that this time.  This time he needed answers, and quickly. 

Turning to the old miko, he asked, “Do you have any idea how it is that Inuyasha was able to get through the well when no one else could manage that?”

Sighing, the old miko looked at the ground, quiet for a few seconds while she thought about the question.  When she looked back at the taiyoukai she said, “I have no real answer for ye Lord Sesshomaru because I don’t know not for certain the reason he was able to do so.  All I have are guesses and a bit of deduction.”

Expecting that, Sesshomaru nodded, “Understood.  From your observances, why do you feel he was able to do such things?”

“I believe it was because Inuyasha was bound to her in some way.  First, through the beads then because of the mating mark and the bond that created.  Ye need to remember Lord Sesshomaru that it is just a guess on my part.”

“Understood.”  Sesshomaru said with a nod while he mulled over what she had said.  “Inuyasha carried no jewel shards when he went though?  Nothing like that?  Nor had anything special crafted for it?”

“Ney.”  Kaede said with a shake of her head.  “Only young Kagome carries shards.  Inuyasha never has nor has had anything crafted so he could traverse the well.”

Nodding, Sesshomaru had a bit of hope bloom in his chest.  If it was as the old miko thought, the connection to the whelp that was the reason he was able to traverse the well, then he also had a chance to be able to do so.  The courting mark, though not a strong connection, may well be enough to provide him what he needed.

Looking at his guards, he said, “If you see Inuyasha come back through, grab and detain him then one of you go to my great uncle’s fortress and retrieve him.”  When he saw the head of the guard detail nod he put his hands on the lip of the well and once more looked down in its dark depths.  Heart hammering in his chest like it hadn’t in many years, he silently asked that any Kami listening let this work then hoisted himself over the edge of it and dropped down into it’s dark depths.  As he fell he hoped like hell his little miko was still safe and that he wasn’t already too late.

….ks…ks…ks…ks…

Trying desperately not to scare her more than she already was, Inuyasha kept stepping closer to her as she backed away from him.

“It’s OK Kagome, really.  All I want to do is talk to you.  I swear what happened last time won’t happen again.  You have my word on it!”

Yes, she knew the prudent thing was to keep her big trap shut, that opening it could make the whole situation infinitely worse, but she couldn’t help herself.  Maybe it was the fact that she felt she was much safer this time than she had been the time before because she was in a place where help was much closer and easier to call or get or the fact that the beads were back on him, thus giving her some measure of protection.  But, whatever it was, it loosed her tongue.  “I don’t believe you.”  She told him softly while she slowly kept backing up towards the house.

Sighing, his shoulders slumped a bit.  Yes, he expected that and could understand why she felt that way but it hurt to hear her say it.  “I understand, really I do and I can’t blame you for it.  But give me another chance, alright?  I’ve changed and will keep on doing it until I’m a much better being.”

“You can’t have changed all that much.  Look what happened just a couple weeks ago.  That shows you can’t have changed all that much Inuyasha.”  She told him, a bit more emboldened.

Ears lowering a bit, he winced and sighed heavily.  “I’m sorry about that.  I don’t know what happened with it but I’ll make sure that it never happens again.”  He told her in a firm, resolute voice.

“You’ve told me that before.  Each time you’ve hit me in fact.  But it always happens again.  So I’m not buying it.”  She said with a shake of her head, backing away a bit faster.

That comment make him give an internal wince.  Not only that, it was quite hard to argue with it because she was right.  It also made it harder to get what he wanted out of this whole thing.  “Alright… yeah, that’s true.  I admit it.  I’ve done that.  But I won’t ever do it again, I swear.  Just give me the chance to prove it, that’s all I’m asking from you.”

“No Inuyasha.  No more chances.  I’ve given you all kinds of them and nothings changed.  You just do what you did before.  But each time you get more violent.  The last few times I’ve actually wondered if you might not kill me.  I can’t go through that again!”

That comment, the one about being afraid he would kill her, hit home more than anything else she said.  His ears flattened against his head.  That hurt and made his heart clench painfully. When it was happening or right afterwards he didn’t think it was that bad but now, looking back, he could see why she felt that way.  He had done some real, serious damage to her.  No, if it had been done to him it wouldn’t have done all that much but for her he could have easily killed her if it had gone on much longer.  She had every right to feel that way, he understood that now.  But that made what he was trying to do all that much harder to do.

Moving a bit quicker than he had been, he got closer to her then reached out and grabbed her wrist gently then pulled her closer to him.  Touching her again made him feel so much better and calmer.  Because of those damn beads she was wearing most of the input from their mating bond was cut off.  But when the touched her a small bit of it came back.  For him though that wasn’t enough, he wanted more.  As he well knew, the mating bond was rally weak now but he wanted to feel as much though it as he possibly could.  Hand snaking out as quickly as he could, before she could start pulling away like he knew she was bound to do, he pulled those damn beads off her then pulled her closer.  Shutting his eyes, he inhaled deeply.  Yes, like before, he could smell his bastard brother on her and that upset him but he didn’t let it bother him to the point that it had before.  Yes, it upset him but wasn’t going to let it get the better of him. 

Holding her wrist firmly, he pulled her close then held her to him in a tight hug.  “I’m so sorry for all I’ve done Kagome.  I never, ever meant to hurt you.  Really I didn’t and I don’t know why I did it either.  If you give me another chance I swear it won’t ever happen again.  You can even put the beads back on to make sure of it.  Do or come up with anything and I’ll do it.  Just give me another chance!”  He all but begged. 

He could feel that she had stiffened up and that her anxiety level had gone though the roof so he knew that he had done nothing to change her mind.  After a couple minutes he could tell he had gotten no where at all with her and her forgiveness was not forthcoming this time.  He had done too much damage for it to be undone.  That thought brought tears to his eyes. 

Burying his head in the crook of her neck, he tried to get himself under control and keep the tears from falling by taking deep breaths.

Concentrating on that smell that was uniquely Kagome, he let it sooth him like it always had done in the past.  After a minute or so he began to smell something odd. After a couple deep wuffs of air, his eyes widened a bit.  Inhaling once more to make sure, he concentrated.  When he was sure he was right, he lifted his head and looked at her, eyes wide, mouthing hanging open. 

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

When he pulled her into a hug, Kagome stiffened up, not sure what to do.  Her first instinct was to try to yank away.  But she knew from past experience that it wouldn’t work and may well set him off.  So she wasn’t going to try that.  Instead, she decided to wait to see if he would give her an opening.  Then she would wiggle away and run like the hounds of hell were on her heels.

When she felt him pull away from her and saw him look down at her with an astonished look on his face, she had her opening.  Because he was distracted she was able to wiggle out of his grasp.  She was about to run like hell when she saw something over her shoulder that was Kami sent if there ever was anything.  Backing away from the hanyou, who was still looking at her astonished, and now starting to sputter like a car in need of a tune-up, she yelled, “Sit boy!”

When a startled yelp, Inuyasha crashed to the ground.  Just then a flash of white that was moving so fast it was almost a blur came at them from the well house.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

When his feet hit the ground, Sesshomaru knew it had worked and that he was no longer in ‘his time’.  The first breath he took in was almost overwhelming and made his head swim as his sensitive nose was assaulted by smells so foul it make his eyes water.  But he shoved that aside the best he could.  His miko needed him.  That came before his own discomfort. 

Leaping out of the well, he found his way out of the hut the well seemed to be in.  Once outside the smells seemed to be even worse but he ignored them.  He had to find his miko!  Then he heard a familiar refrain and the sound of a certain hanyou eating dirt.  Head snapping that direction, he saw Kagome and a prone Inuyasha then took off towards them as fast as he could.

>