Nocturne - An Inuyasha Fanfic

Chapter Fifty-Two: Untimely Rescue

Nocturne - Chapter Fifty-Two: Untimely Rescue

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to violence, and coarse language)

o - o - o - o - o : Indicates scene or POV change

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

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He traveled towards the outskirts of the village when, finally, a familiar smell hit him, though it was mixed with the faint aroma of blood and death. A strange feeling zapped through his chest, one that he did not care for one bit. It was vaguely familiar but unwelcome.

Following the smell, he saw two bodies near each other; one a man and the other a taijiya girl. Neither belonged to his woman, but her blood scent stained the area. The thrumming of Tensaiga got his attention. He'd felt its call all while he flew, but there was no time to revive each and every mortal he passed. Even had he wanted to,, Tensaiga would not differentiate between friend or foe, reviving all who had fallen and was within his reach. Sesshomaru grabbed the sword's hilt and with its power, saw the demon imps of the underworld.

Without a second thought, he sliced through their bodies, and the female slayer sucked in a breath. She clutched at her throat as her eyes darted around in confusion.

Sesshomaru looked down at the newly revived girl and set a hard face on her. "Where is the miko? He demanded.

"Di- Did I die?" The girl asked in confusion.

"You have been given a second chance at life, but only if you answer my question first," he threatened.

The girl gasped and looked around. "I-I-I don't know."

He continued to stare down at her with an icy glare. Her eyelids fluttered, and she trembled to try to remember what had happened during her last moments of life to appease the demon standing before her. "There was a yokai, like-like you. He stabbed her and killed me. That's-that's all I remember." She sat petrified under his scrutinizing gaze. "I'm sorry, there's nothing else."

He turned away, looking towards the clearing. He could hear the girl scramble to get away, taking his lack of response as a dismissal which she snatched up within a heartbeat. Now he must rely on his senses to find the miko. The smell of her blood disappeared just beyond the clearing leading to the forest. Her healing ability had come back to haunt him at this moment. She would be near to impossible to find without a trail to follow, and if Sesshomaru's suspicions were correct, the daiyokai who took her could not be tracked by any conventional means either.

The air roared beneath him as he flew in the direction the blood trail ended. It was his only lead, and he would find her somehow; he had to find his woman.

The branches burst on the impact of his yoki as he tore through the forest at top speed. He opened his ears to every little sound: the rustle of the wind through the leaves, the fauna that scattered from his approach, and the water that trickled down the riverbed nearby.

Suddenly he heard a sound that was a caliber above all others. It was a grunt of pain, but it was no animal that made that sound. He banked hard left and slowed when he heard a whimper and cry.

There, just a few feet away, was a cave. The cave, he realized quickly, where their story had started. He stepped quietly towards the cavern covered with vines and creepers.

Sesshomaru heard another sound. This one was the lower register of a male, and then the smell hit him.

"MINE!" The voice within screeched.