Disclaimer: I can only afford to own a really gorgeous Sesshy doll. But, I'll trade it for the real one anytime!
Once more, a big "Thank you!" to all of you who have been supporting this story. It's still continuing so don't worry; just that it'll be a little slow in unfolding.
Bern.
Chapter 19: The Ties That Entwine
Naraku's Palace
Unlike Musou, Naraku cursed and swore at the sudden disappearance of the youkai lord. It had been so close to the fulfilment of his schemes but it seemed that fate had cheated him of his assured success once more. The sole consolation was the Magatsushi that was winging its way towards him but even so, a small part of him knew that as long as Sesshoumaru remained alive, he would not be able to exert full control over the Four Lands.
Musou had managed to force the taiyoukai back and had been delivering the final blow when some strange power whisked Sesshoumaru towards the heart of the Western Lands. Wondering if it may be the Western Lord's stronghold, Naraku stroked his chin in contemplation. If it were true, he would have to consolidate his forces with the help of the Magatsushi before getting Kagura to lead the assault on the Western Fortress. But to do that, he would have to take out the other players in the field first.
Softly chuckling to himself, Naraku pushed the thought of Sesshoumaru's sudden departure as merely a setback that would be taken care of eventually. After all, the best way to defeat that arrogant inu youkai was to strip him of everything he had in terms of support and resources. Sesshoumaru would never be humbled as much as Naraku hoped for it to happen but he could be eliminated. And that was all that mattered to the hanyou.
"You may have escaped me for now, Sesshoumaru," Naraku murmured as he stared into Kanna's mirror. "But your death is still mine to claim."
Battlefield at the Forest of Despair,
Daikuma lumbered back to the remains of his army and took in the scene of devastation with faint disbelief on his face. By now, Naraku's swarm had retreated and the remaining survivors from the various armies were tending to the wounded. Lord Honouryuu was resting on a boulder, his chest heaving slightly from the earlier effort of destroying the enemy swarm. Lord Akira was mustering what was left of their armies and was busy receiving and sending various reports and orders out. As Daikuma made his way into the makeshift camp, Lord Akira spotted him and hurried over.
"How fare you, Lord Daikuma?" came the concerned query and the black bear slowly waved a paw in a dismissive manner.
"I'll live," he replied as he tugged at what remained of his massive breastplate. "I'm concerned for Lord Sesshoumaru though. He should have made his way back with the Magatsushi by now. Has anyone seen him?"
Akira frowned as he shook his head. Sesshoumaru was a thorough individual and would no doubt make sure that his enemy was dead before returning from the battlefield. Something was not right with this lateness. Lord Honouryuu made his way towards the other two lords and his clawed hands twitched in a nervous manner. As typical of the dragon lord, he voiced the thought that was foremost on his mind regarding Sesshoumaru's absence.
"You do not suppose the Magatsushi corrupted him, do you?" was the anxious question.
The other two lords glared at the dragon but in their hearts, they too could not help but wonder if it was true. If so, then their lives would not be long in living. Sesshoumaru was a deadly combatant and it was silently acknowledged amongst the other three that if he wanted to, the Four Lands could easily come under his dominion. But so far, the inu youkai lord had shown no interest in the lands beyond his territories and they were grateful for that. But if the Magatsushi were to have conquered his soul...
"I believe Lord Sesshoumaru is more than capable in overcoming the effects of that accursed jewel," Akira spoke out. "We had better send scouts to search for the Western Lord in case he may have been injured and needs assistance."
"I agree," Daikuma growled as he raised a paw to hail a passing soldier.
The said soldier quickly returned with another soldier from Sesshoumaru's army, and Daikuma ordered for a small group to search for the presence of their lord and master. The group quickly moved out and the remaining lords shared a thoughtful, if uneasy silence. It was hard to believe the possibility of Sesshoumaru's fall but until the group brought back the body or some proof of his death, the three lords could only hope that he was still alive.
'I hope for all our sakes that you are still breathing, Sesshoumaru,' came Lord Akira's fervent prayer. 'Something tells me that our own destinies are tightly entwined with yours...'
Some distance from the Forest of Despair
Miroku, Sango and Kirara had started at the sudden bright light that pierced the night sky overhead. There was a faint tremor beneath their feet that followed closely behind it and the monk gripped his staff tightly. He could feel the massive psychic vibrations rolling over his highly attuned spiritual senses and the residual effects directly after almost choked him with its noxious taint. He breathed deeply to centre himself when he felt Sango's hand gripping his shoulder. Blinking in surprise at the exterminator's touch, he took in the worried frown on her face.
"You were about to fall over, houshi-sama," she said as she released him. "What was that?"
Looking into the distance where the light had originated, Miroku felt his lips thin in apprehension. There was something deeply disturbing about that power blast and its residual evil could still be felt even now. He was about to answer Sango's question when Kirara growled loudly and transformed. Sango quickly readied Hiraikotsu for battle and Miroku searched for the enemy, his senses still scrambled from the earlier psychic surge.
The oni appeared out of the woods to their right and fixed its crazed eyes on them. It seemed as though it had lost its mind and roared long and loud into the night sky before charging them. Dodging out of the way, Sango released Hiraikotsu and the huge bone boomerang slammed into the oni's back forcing it to stumble forward. Reaching out to catch its rebound, she prepared to launch it when the oni slammed its fist into a tree by the side.
The force splintered the wood and the trunk began to tilt in her direction forcing Sango to run out of its path. Kirara swiftly dashed after her and managed to grab the exterminator before the branches caught her in their descent. Miroku had managed to recover his bearings and quickly yelled for Sango and Kirara to get behind him. With an ease born of practice, the rosary over his Kazaana was removed and the void released to begin its deadly suction.
The oni howled in fury as the air trembled and swirled about it, pulling it towards the dark void in the monk's hand. Attempting to scramble out of the increasing suction, it pulled at the various trees and branches as it began to slide backwards into the void. It soon lost its grip and fell back with its feet off the ground. The power of the Kazaana caught it within its deadly vacuum, and a few seconds later Miroku was swiftly binding the rosary about his cursed hand.
Sango and Kirara stepped out from behind the monk and silently took in the damage that the oni and the Kazaana had wrecked on their campsite. Exchanging glances, Sango shrugged and mounted Kirara. Miroku climbed up behind her and laid his staff across her waist as support. With Kirara leaping up into the air, the trio made their way towards the strange disturbance from earlier. As they travelled to their destination, Miroku could not help but wonder if the power he felt could be related in some way to that girl they had met travelling in the company of the deadly Western lord.
Shaking his head slightly at the thought, he doubted that the power she held could have been so terribly corrupted as to almost be a spiritual pollution. The power held death within its source and it would take a form of absolute defilement to achieve it. No, there was something more this than met the eye and in his heart there was only one answer to that - Naraku.
'It would seem that the time for facing that foul creature is near,' Miroku thought as his hands unconsciously tightened about his staff. Unknown to him, Sango herself was pondering the same thought. However, hers was a lot more bloodthirsty and a burning eagerness for revenge filled her mind at ensuring Naraku's death.
Kirara flew onwards, her instincts guiding her towards the source of the disturbance. She allowed a small growl to escape as she picked up on the moods of her riders. It looked like the time to battle was near and the fire-cat was more than ready to join in.
Meanwhile...
Kagura slowed her feather boat and turned to look at the fight that was happening behind her from a safe distance. Her heart had begun to calm from its earlier frantic pace and she allowed a small smirk to grace her lips. With her superb eyesight, she watched as Sesshoumaru clashed blades repeatedly with another of Naraku's spawn whose name eluded her. In her hand, the Magatsushi glowed softly as though sated from its earlier indulgence. She briefly eyed the thing before turning to look at the fight once more.
From her vantage point, she was undecided as to the winner although she had to grudgingly give credit to the man challenging the taiyoukai. It seemed that with each 'child' he produced, Naraku was getting better at it. The thought caused a nagging worry at the back of the wind youkai's mind. If these 'children' proved more useful to Naraku than her, no doubt she would be either reabsorbed into the bastard's body or out rightly killed. Neither option held any appeal for her.
Kagura grimaced as she felt her bruises from the earlier fight with Sesshoumaru protest. As much as she secretly admired the haughty lord, he also scared the living daylights out of her. She shivered involuntarily at the memory of his glowing red eyes promising her a messy death when the fighters before her settled their score. She watched in half-horror, half-glee as Naraku's spawn shattered Sesshoumaru's blade and into his armour. But in that moment, a strange blue light that wrapped itself about the injured taiyoukai took her aback.
A second later, she was almost bowled over by the streaking sapphire light as it passed by her feather boat. She turned to follow its trail and noted the direction it took. Just before it seemed to disappear into the horizon, it dipped as though coming in to land. Making a mental note to explore the area at another time, she turned to see the man disappear into the trees below her. Frowning, she assumed that he was probably tracking Sesshoumaru's escape and a disdainful scowl crossed her face. Trust Naraku to be thorough in his schemes. She harboured a secret hope that the taiyoukai would recover in time to challenge the man and this time, hopefully win.
No matter how much she disliked Sesshoumaru, she knew that his very survival was tied to hers. For as long as he lived, Naraku's plans would never be able to succeed. And for that, Kagura was in some way almost grateful.
'I hope this time Sesshoumaru will definitely kill you, Naraku,' she cursed. 'And I will be the first to dance on your grave.'
Author's Notes:
Okay, this is cheating a little but dare I say that it allows you to see things from the different characters' perspectives? I hope so. I've also included more Sango and Miroku interaction as I had promised several chapters back. I'm trying to work them into the story a little more but I have no intention on making them take the spotlight away from Sess and Kag.
I'm starting to move into the actual plot now but things are still going a little slower than I expected. Needless to say, I have to go back and read through my notes from when I first started to the present story's context. A bit of a bother but I have to get some of the more crucial details down or the story will wander off into the Sahara Desert and never be found again.
I hope to hear from you regarding the chapter. After all, your comments and reviews keep me going, as I know there are readers out there who actually like this fic. I just hope that I won't disappoint you guys too much! Till the next chapter, ja mata ne!
PS: I'll be posting the Side Story to this fic shortly. It will focus strictly on Sess and Kag while he is recovering in Kag's world. I hope it'll appeal to the readers who have been wondering why there's been so little KagSess moments in the past chapters. See you soon!