This was written in response to Priestess Skye's weekly challenge.
Prompt: Search
Due: May 24th, 2009
Required Word Count: Over 500
Actual Word Count: 4705
Universe: Alternate Universe - Modern Day
Rating: MA for angst, language, violence
Warnings: Inuyasha bashing
Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz Media. Only the plot to this story and my original character, Shun, are my intellectual property. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
'Italics' = thoughts
Perquisition, (noun) a thorough inquiry or search
xxxxxx
They were planning on heading out into the woods for one of their role playing scenarios. Kagome was wearing the school fuku Sesshoumaru had recently bought her, as her old uniforms from school no longer fit. Since the weather was somewhat cool, and she didn't feel like getting scratched up by branches and brambles, she was wearing a pair of light tan stirrup pants under the skirt. Sport socks and sneakers, for better traction, completed her outfit.
Shun was sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, uneasily watching Kagome stuff items into her old yellow backpack. "Why don't you let me carry the bag for you Kagome?" He was keeping an eye on the weather. It wasn't supposed to turn to rain until late this evening, but already the sky was beginning to cloud over.
She laughed, "I've carried a lot more than this for much longer than the hour or two we will be outside, Shun." Looking up as Sesshoumaru walked into the kitchen, she stopped and admired her two mates.
They were dressed in their silks from the Sengoku Jidai, with battle armor and swords. Sesshoumaru had his mokomoko‑sama wrapped around his right shoulder, and Shun had his favorite whip wrapped through his sash. They made quite the pair of eye candy in her opinion.
"She is correct, Shun. Sometimes that bag seemed like it was enchanted, the amount of things that would get packed in there. Even back then, she wouldn't let anyone carry it for her." Sesshoumaru smirked, his beast beginning to rise to the surface, aware the chase would soon begin.
"Well, okay, but I still think maybe we should put this off for another day. The weather is not the best, it will begin raining earlier than the weatherman predicts." Shun was apprehensive for some, at this point, unknown reason, and couldn't shake the feeling. He had tried to explain to Kagome and Sesshoumaru earlier, but neither one of them could sense anything amiss. Looking at Sesshoumaru, he said, "I think maybe I should stay with Kagome, and let you track both of us."
"Shun! That'll take all the fun out of it. Besides, it's not like there is anyone else here today other than the three of us. Everything will be fine." Kagome finished zipping up and then fastening the ties on the backpack. Giving them both a kiss, she skipped off towards the door. "Remember to give me a 15 minute head start." The she shot out through the door towards the woods of the ninomaru.
Sesshoumaru looked at his watch, then raised an eyebrow at Shun. "We will give her 7-1/2 minutes today." Shun was still hesitant. "Give her 5 minutes, and that's more than I want to give her."
xxxxxx
Kagome was hotfooting it through the gardens, heading for her favorite shortcut towards the dojo and her office, which were located within a clearing of the ninomaru. The air was sharply cooler than it was earlier in the day, and she wanted to stop in her office, she knew that she had left a sweatshirt there.
xxxxxx
Inuyasha had been following her since she left the house. He was running through the treetops slightly behind her, hopefully she would be too involved in her little 'fantasy' and wouldn't see or sense him.
He had gotten some more of his memories back, but they were very hazy, almost like a dream. He could remember her aiming her bow and arrow at him, then the pain as the arrow hit his chest and pinned him to a tree. The pain increased as a spell took hold, then nothing but blackness.
Inuyasha had spent the last two weeks combing the entire shiro searching for the tree. He could see it in his mind, but it wasn't here. He would find it, maybe it would help bring back the rest of his memories.
However, he did find something else on the grounds of the shiro that was very interesting. In the back of a small cave was a tunnel that led from the honmaru down towards the ninomaru.
After following it for some time, it widened into a small cave with a storage room off to the side, then continued down to the sannomaru and off the grounds. It must have been an escape tunnel at one time. Possibly put in place in case there was a siege, or the shiro was overrun by an opposing army. This was where he was heading after picking up the miko.
Oh, yes. He had seen her in her miko garb when Miroku came over to perform the ceremony for the dead, exorcising the ghosts that caused her nightmares. That's when the memories came back about the tree. He was going to get some answers from her. Without his half-brother or her other pain in the ass mate butting in and making her tell him lies.
After following her towards the dojo, he watched as she went into her office, then came back out with a sweatshirt. Jumping down from the tree, he landed in back of her.
Quickly turning around, her eyes were wide and she put her hand up to her chest. He could hear her heart pounding. "Oh, Inuyasha! You scared me. I thought you were going to spend the day at the office with Miroku."
"Keh... I thought maybe I would help you. Are you trying to hide from Sessh and Shun? I know someplace that they will have a hard time finding you. Follow me."
"Inuyasha, I'm not really trying to hide from them. It's more like a game." Kagome just noticed that Inuyasha was dressed in his firerat, and was barefoot. She had been feeling uneasy around him for weeks now, as he began to remember different things. The memories seemed to be jumbled up, and not in the correct sequence. Some were newer, then he would remember some older ones. He had become confused and belligerant, and didn't seem to believe them when they tried to explain the correct order that things had happened. Today he seemed a lot calmer and almost wanting to be helpful, so she decided to give him a chance.
xxxxxx
Sesshoumaru and Shun left the kitchen not quite five minutes after Kagome. They tracked her scent through the gardens and towards her favorite shortcut to the dojo and her office.
As they jogged through the woods, Sesshoumaru began to detect the scent of his half-brother. 'That's odd, he was supposed to be with Miroku all day today. His scent has been all over the shiro lately, but this is fresh, too recent.'
Taking to the treetops, Sesshoumaru called down to Shun, "Keep an eye out for anything unusual. It smells like Inuyasha was just through here."
Shun looked up at Sesshoumaru and then kept scanning from left to right as they picked up the pace and ran towards the dojo.
xxxxxx
After walking through the woods back towards the honmaru and the house, Inuyasha suddenly turned towards Kagome. "Hey, why don't you get on my back, we can get there faster with me carrying you, than with you traipsing along like it's a walk on the beach."
"I don't know, Inuyasha. It's been a long time since I've ridden on your back." Kagome backed up a couple of steps, then realized this was one of the few things she missed from the feudal era.
"Come on, you used to do it all the time." Inuyasha could hear Sesshoumaru and Shun. He wanted to get far enough ahead of them that he could hopefully lose them for a few minutes. He knelt down and waited.
"Well, if you don't mind, I guess it'll be alright." She climbed up on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Grabbing her by the backs of her thighs, he sprinted through the woods, backtracking several times as well as running through the treetops, hoping to throw them off the trail. Cutting through the honmaru, past the garages, he quickly arrived at the cave. Putting Kagome down, he looked at her, then pointed to the entrance of the cave. "Here we are."
"I don't know, Inuyasha, it looks kinda small. Will we both fit inside there?" Kagome was bending down looking into the opening.
"Keh... of course we will, it opens up and is bigger inside, plus there is another section to it." Inuyasha bent down and half crawled inside the cave. "Come on."
Watching Inuyasha go inside, then stand up, Kagome shrugged her shoulders, then followed him. If there was enough room for him to stand, there certainly should be enough room for her.
xxxxxx
Shun at this point was frantic as he and Sesshoumaru tracked Inuyasha and Kagome's scent. His foreboding feeling from earlier returned in force as they ran through the woods of the ninomaru following a convoluted trail that backtracked on itself, then went straight through the honmaru. Sesshoumaru wasn't in much better shape, first running ahead of Shun, then taking to the treetops, hoping to catch sight of something, anything.
xxxxxx
"Come on, Kagome, I'll show you the other part of the cave." Inuyasha grabbed her hand and started pulling her into a dark tunnel at the back of the cave. She quickly pulled a flashlight out of the backpack and shone it down the tunnel. It was barely wide enough to squeeze through. At the beginning of the tunnel, Inuyasha had to turn sideways to fit through. He had a tight grip on her wrist, pulling her after him. She stumbled several times as the tunnel descended, before it widened into a cave the size of a small room.
"See, I told you there was another section of the cave." Inuyasha suddenly swung her around and through a doorway she hadn't noticed before. "And now I will have some answers from you, bitch! Don't lie to me either, I'll know if you're lieing to me!" He grabbed her with a hand around her neck, forcing her back against the wall.
Fighting down the panic, Kagome tried to remain as calm as possible. "Inuyasha, you know I wouldn't lie to you. What questions do you want answers to?"
"Why did you shoot me with an arrow and pin me to a tree? And where is the tree? I've been looking for two weeks now and I can't find it!" Inuyasha was leaning on her crushing her against the wall, all the while baring his fangs at her.
"That wasn't me Inuyasha. That was Kikyo who pinned you to the Goshinbuko. You know where the Goshinbuko is, it's over at the Shrine." At the feral look on his face, Kagome went from panic to outright fear, and began to struggle with him.
"Bitch, I told you not to lie to me! Did those two bastards tell you to say that?"
"NO, Inuyasha, it's the truth, you can ask anyone, Miroku, Kouga, Shippo. They'll tell you the same thing. Let go of me." Kagome continued thrashing around trying to get out of his grip. Feeling the tips of his claws suddenly pierce her skin, she stood shock still. "Inuyasha, let's go back outside, I'm beginning to feel ill."
"Oh, no. You haven't even begun to feel 'ill' yet."
Kagome screamed as she felt the first hit, and possibly the second one, before everything went dark. Her miko energy suddenly surfaced, radiating outwards to fill the room. Inuyasha howled as he was unexpectedly being purified, and dropped Kagome to the floor. She lay there unconcious, as Inuyasha screamed "Bitch!" and kicked her in the side.
xxxxxx
Sesshoumaru and Shun were following the scent trail on the far side of the honmaru when there was a sudden flare of Kagome's miko energy and a loud howl. They looked at each other and ran in the direction it seemed the strongest. Inuyasha's unique scent suddenly evaporated as it was purified by the radiating reiki. If that wasn't bad enough, the rain began falling in a light drizzle, further dampening and obliterating any remaining scents.
Shun whirled around as a flash of red and black caught his eye. He took off after it, heading towards the house, Sesshoumaru hot on his heels. As they ran inside the front door, a human Inuyasha stood there shaking with rage. Taking one look at him, Sesshoumaru grabbed him by the front of his haori and demanded "INUYASHA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"Keh... Sesshoumaru, what do you think I've done?" Odium radiated from him. The hatred and contempt rolled off him in waves as Sesshoumaru held him off the floor.
"Where is Kagome?" Shun commanded as he tried to control himself and refrain from beating the living daylights out of the hanyou turned human.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? You mean you can't keep track of your own bitch?" Inuyasha gurgled as Sesshoumaru grabbed him by the throat and dragged him into the office. After throwing Inuyasha in a chair, he quickly logged onto the computer and input the information for the GPS in Kagome's telephone. "Shun, you stay by the door, keep an eye on Inuyasha for a minute."
"The GPS says she is in the house." He looked at Inuyasha as he unclipped his cell phone and dialed Kagome's number. When the ringing came from Inuyasha, Shun flew over and began frisking him, quickly finding Kagome's cell phone.
"Looking for something... or someone?" Inuyasha sneered at him.
"Where did you get this Inuyasha?" Shun was beside himself at this point.
"I found it." Deciding to play dumb, Inuyasha was being uncooperative.
Sesshoumaru stood directly in front of him, and took a deep breath. Grabbing Inuyasha's wrists he held up his hands to examine them. Heart sinking, he could scent Kagome's blood on his fingernails. "I will ask you one last time Inuyasha, what happened, and where is Kagome?"
"Like I'm going to tell you anything!" Inuyasha stuffed his hands in the sleeves of his haori, and turned his back to both Sesshoumaru and Shun.
"If so much as one hair on her head is harmed, Inuyasha, you are one dead hanyou. No youkai court would hold me responsible for killing someone who has hurt my mate." Shun bit out at him.
"Inuyasha, if you do not give me the information I seek, believe me, the Spanish Inquisition will look like a stroll in the park." Sesshoumaru had to get control of himself as his poison began to drip from his claws and sizzle on the rug. It wouldn't help them find Kagome if Inuyasha was dead. Later was another story altogether.
At that moment the doorbell chimed, then Miroku walked into the office. "There you are Inuyasha, why didn't you meet me at the office?" Suddenly aware of the rage emanating from the three males, and seeing the purification burns on Inuyasha, a horrified look came over his face. "Where is Kagome?"
"We don't know, and Inuyasha won't tell us what he knows." Shun bit out between his elongating fangs as Sesshoumaru told Miroku what they did know.
Seeing that both youkai were about to give in to their beasts, Miroku fought down his own panic and tried to calm everyone down. "We are going to need more help than just the three of us. I'm going to call Kouga and get him and the wolves over here to help search for her."
Within 15 minutes Ginta, Hakkaku and half a dozen wolves were there, and not two minutes later, Kouga arrived in a whirlwind and a cloud of dust.
Grabbing Inuyasha by the front of his haori, Kouga hauled him up off the chair. "What the hell did you do Inu-baka?!" He screamed at him, smelling Kagome's blood on his hands.
"Keh... nothing for you to get upset about wolf boy." Inuyasha spit back at him, rage pouring out of his hardened gold eyes.
"Remember this Inuyasha, because it is not a threat, if anything has happened to Kagome, I personally will kill you." Kouga, his eyes beginning to bleed red, dropped him back into the chair before he did something he would regret before they found Kagome.
Sesshoumaru was on the phone again. "Make sure your bag is packed with everything you can possibly think of. We have a huge problem out here. Be sure to bring some sodium pentathol, it looks like we may need it."
Shun and Kouga realized he was talking to Suikotsu, and were glad Sessh had thought to call the doctor first, so he would already be here when they found Kagome.
Setting up the search parties, Sesshoumaru had them concentrate on the honmaru from the house eastwards towards the ninomaru, since that seemed to be where the main burst of reiki came from. They had been unable to pinpoint the exact location, and Inuyasha refused to help in any manner whatsoever. "Inuyasha, again, what happened?"
"I don't remember." Inuyasha spit out, glaring at all of them.
Sesshoumaru tried desperately to retain his calm outward appearance, even though inside he was seething. "Your memory loss is long term, not short term. Don't pull that shit with me." Turning to Shun, he said, "Tie him up, he's coming with us, even if we have to drag him."
xxxxxx
Kagome could feel that she was laying on the floor. She swam up into a half conciousness a few minutes ago. Cracking open her left eye, she tried to see where she was, but the flashlight was dim and on the verge of flickering off. She could see it laying on the floor on the other side of the room. 'Why, Inuyasha? And why can't I move?' She shivered from the cold and damp, then lost conciousness again.
xxxxxx
A couple of hours later, the weather was getting worse. It was turning colder, and the rain was coming down harder, beginning to mix with tiny pieces of ice. The search parties had covered the entire honmaru and most of the ninomaru. Their spirits were beginning to flag at this point, but no one was giving up. They would not return to the house until they found Kagome.
The wolves were searching as best they could. The rain and ice dampened all scents, even the demons were unable to pick up on the trail.
Kouga's large black male wolf, Nikita, kept leading them towards a small opening to a cave. "Nikita, it is too small, come, keep searching." Kouga was beginning to get exasperated with the wolf. This was the third time in the space of about five minutes he kept wanting to go into the cave.
Shun, who was holding the end of the rope that was tieing Inuyasha, happened to be looking at him and caught his smirk. "Let the wolf go in the cave, Kouga, allow him see if he can find anything."
Kouga kneeled down to watch Nikita, then saw him disappear into a crack at the back of the cave. Kouga crawled in after him, then called for Ginta to join him.
Ginta was the smaller of the twin pack brothers. He was as tall as Inuyasha, but very slender, wiry and lithe. "Follow Nikita, then let me know what is there."
Kouga walked back to the cave opening, looking around. It was a lot bigger than he expected after the view from outside. He crawled partway out, then called Sesshoumaru over. "The entry is not too large, but it opens up inside, I can stand, and there is enough room for all of us. Nikita followed a crack at the back of the cave, and I sent Ginta after him." Hearing Ginta calling him, Kouga backed up into the cave and stood waiting for Sesshoumaru or Miroku to join him.
Ginta came tearing out of the crack with Nikita hot on his heels. He was excited and almost jumping up and down. "Kouga, it's a tunnel, it widens up after a few meters, then continues downwards. Here, I found these." He handed Kouga a few long black hairs and a scrap of green material. "The tunnel then widens into another cave and continues on the other side. There is a door closing off a section of it, but I can't open it. When I touched it I got shocked, I think it's warded. The backpack Sis always used to carry is on the floor of the second cave."
By now everyone was crowded into the cave. Five pairs of red demon eyes and one set of violet ones turned to glare at Inuyasha. "Now is there anything you want to tell us Inuyasha? That is before we continue?" Sesshoumaru glared at him, giving him one last chance to confess what he had done.
Inuyasha remained silent and defiantly stared at all of them.
Sesshoumaru was carefully eyeing the tunnel. "Ginta, you said the tunnel widens. Does it narrow before then? Also, is the second cave the same size as this one or smaller?"
Ginta turned to look at him. "Sesshoumaru-sama, this is the skinniest part of the tunnel, about 3 meters in it widens considerably, you will be able to walk normally. The second cave is larger than this one, not including what space is behind the door."
"Okay, let's move forward." Sesshoumaru and Shun removed their armor and swords and left them on the floor in the first cave.
Nikita and Ginta went first, then Kouga, Sesshoumaru, Shun, still leading Inuyasha, with Miroku and Hakkaku bring up the rear with two more wolves following them. While Ginta was able to walk facing forward, the rest of them had to turn sideways at the beginning of the tunnel until it widened and allowed them to walk normally.
By the time everyone arrived in the second cave, Nikita was laying at the door with his nose against the crack at the bottom, whining. Ginta took the other two wolves and was going to search the second part of the tunnel to see where it went.
Returning a few minutes later, he told them that the tunnel went to another small cave in the sannomaru, then a small twisting tunnel to outside the shiro, ending up by the side of the road, where the former moat used to be located. "At one time it must have been an escape tunnel, or a way to enter the shiro and retake it if it had been captured."
Sesshoumaru and Shun had been trying to figure a way to bypass the old wards and open the door. From the way Nikita was acting, Kagome was most certainly on the other side. Kouga had been launching himself repeatedly at the door, trying to break it down, but eventually stopped when he was getting burned by the wards. A sword strike was out, they didn't want to collapse the cave and tunnels. All questions to Inuyasha about the room, the wards or Kagome were not being answered.
After trying his poison, Sesshoumaru realized it was not going to work. The wards embedded in the door were too powerful. To his mind that meant only one thing, Togau had warded this room at some point during his life.
Hakkaku, usually the quiet one, spoke up at that point. "Sesshoumaru-sama, I remember hearing a story once that wards could be broken by something, a possession, that was owned by the person who placed the wards. Sort of like a lock and a key."
Sesshoumaru rushed back to the house to get Tessaiga. His fathers fang should be able to break the wards. Kagome had lifted the spell on the sword after they were mated, and he was now able to handle it with no problem, as he now had something to protect.
Kouga and Shun were currently worrying about the door possibly falling into the room when the wards were released. "Inuyasha, how big is the room on the other side of the door? Is there enough space for Kagome to get back away from the door?" Kouga was not going to take the silent treatment any longer, and grabbed him by the haori.
"Don't worry, she can't get close to the door." Inuyasha sneered at him, then smirked. Kouga hauled off and knocked him out, then shoved his limp body against the far wall of the cave.
Shun was still searching for another entry into the room. He could feel the fresh air blowing through the tunnels, but unfortunately that brought the cold and dampness with it. Again, he was worried about what else Inuyasha may have done to Kagome.
Sesshoumaru returned a few minutes later with the fang, and saw Inuyasha laying unconcious on the floor of the cave. He looked at Shun and Kouga when they both said "You don't want to know!"
Inuyasha was slowly turning back into his hanyou form, apparently his human side had absorbed enough of the purification to allow his demon side to repair itself. Miroku stood ready to apply some sutras to keep him under control when he completed his transformation back to hanyou.
Sesshoumaru unsheathed the Tessaiga, watching as it turned into the large fang with which they were all familiar. Grasping it in both hands, he raised the sword and then brought it down gently against the door. There was a brilliant flash of blue and gold light, then the wards flickered and disappeared.
Dropping the sword, he pushed the door open, and quickly scanning the room, saw... nothing. Heart dropping, he suddenly heard a soft chattering sound. Looking around a second time, he saw Kagome laying on the floor, shivering, shackled by leather wristcuffs and a short chain to a ring on the wall.
Quickly slicing the leather with his claws, he wrapped her in his mokomoko-sama and carried her out into the cave. In the darkness he couldn't clearly see the extent of the damages caused by the hanyou, but using his youkai senses, he could determine they were severe. Then there was the hypothermia on top of the physical injuries.
Miroku had resheathed Tessaiga, and was standing guard over Inuyasha, who was now hanyou again and sitting up against the cave wall with sutras applied to his forehead, back and chest.
"Inuyasha, we shall deal with you after Kagome's injuries are taken care of." Sesshoumaru never bothered to look in his direction. Looking at Kouga, he said, "Bring him back to the house, I don't care how you get him there."
With the help of Nikita and Shun, Sesshoumaru managed to get the unconcious Kagome out through the tunnel, then with a flash of light transported her back to the house to have Suikotsu attend to her injuries.
xxxxxx
A few days later, Shun was cuddling with Kagome in bed when Sesshoumaru walked in. After joining them, he asked her how she was feeling.
"My broken ribs hurt like hell, and the bruises are still tender to the touch, but other than looking like I lost a prize fight, I guess I'm okay." Kagome was sitting in Shun's lap drinking a mug of hot chocolate. "Where did you have to run off to?"
"I was at the youkai court for the inquest. Inuyasha has been comitted to the youkai equivalent of a mental facility for an indeterminate amount of time. There will be periodic reviews on his progress, of which we will be apprised, but he is currently no longer a danger to anyone else or himself. They will continue to search for the cause leading to this latest episode, while they help him to regain the rest of his memories. It was the best conclusion that could be reached considering the circumstances."
"I feel bad for him, but at least he is somewhere safe where they will help him." Kagome sighed as she stared down into her hot chocolate. Shun hugged her closer to his chest, but didn't comment.
"I know this is not what you had hope for, but believe me, they will help him more than we ever could by ourselves." Sesshoumaru took the mug from her hands and set it on the nightstand, then wrapped his arms around her, joining Shun in the group hug.