READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
More than a week passed before they were able to forge a path into the boundary between worlds. Inuyasha was rabid, possessed with a frenzy of desperation Sesshoumaru had never witnessed in him before, nor would again. Though they did not speak of it, the grimness in their expressions betrayed their growing dismay—a beautiful young woman in the clutches of a sadist…
Sesshoumaru felt each hour that passed like a new wound being laid upon him.
He doubted now that they would find her alive. It was vengeance that drove them on in his mind, that brought them all together at last into Naraku’s fell domain. When the Jewel’s evil spirit rose to challenge them in the form of Magatsuhi, when he gloated to them that he had sealed Kagome’s spiritual power away, Sesshoumaru understood then that they had been too late from the start.
Her words came back to him, and he could see now that Naraku had been little more than a pawn in the Jewel’s dark schemes. Yet a point of light remained in the Shikon no Tama still—enough to give them the advantage. Without reservation, he broke his Father’s fang over Tessaiga, granting his brother the power he needed to defeat Naraku and Magatsuhi both.
As Inuyasha unleashed the final killing blow, Sesshoumaru raced ahead, following the faint, fading trail of Kagome’s scent. To recover Rin, he had been forced to venture into the netherworld, but as he descended into the bowels of Naraku’s dungeons, Sesshoumaru came to understand that the true hell lay before him.
A pit, fathomless and dark, its sheer walls impossibly steep to scale. Lurking at the bottom was a horde of snarling, brutish demons. Low beasts, weaklings—easy enough for her to have purified, had she been left even an ounce of her reiki. In his presence, they cowered and shrank. The two that were still upon her shrieked as he ripped them off and melted the flesh from their bones.
Naked and mauled, she lay listless in the dirt before him. His fists clenched futilely at the sight. They had done everything to her, short of killing her—no doubt at their master’s insidious command. Because to Sesshoumaru’s dread he could see that she was breathing still.
Her one intact eye stared past him unseeing, and in the light of it he saw—a glint of radiance that mirrored the sliver of purity hidden away in the Jewel’s dark, defiled depths. The last of her power, which Magatsuhi had been unable to seal away. The last bit of leverage they had needed to defeat their loathsome enemies. Instead of using that power to protect herself, she had chosen to prevent the Jewel’s corruption and to secure their victory.
As Sesshoumaru looked upon her, he wished that she had not.
All the hopes he had harbored for her survival now seemed revoltingly cruel. Death would have been a mercy to her. Stepping forward, he meant to make it so, to put an end to her unspeakable suffering. She would be freed from her pain, and only he would be burdened with the knowledge of how she had languished here in violence and misery.
Yet he had wavered a moment too long. In his inaction, he failed her once again.
Already he could sense his half-brother falling through the darkness to land beside him. One glance at her, one span of her rattling breath, and Inuyasha flew into an agonized rage not even Tessaiga could contain.
Swiftly, Sesshoumaru grabbed the girl to him. Together they rose through the unrelenting dark. At his growl, the firecat and others drew back in alarm, and he landed with her on the ledge before them.
The monk paled at the sight of her. The slayer clapped a hand to her mouth with an anguished cry. Stripping off his outer haori, Sesshoumaru wrapped Kagome’s limp body up in it, before thrusting her into Miroku’s arms.
“Take her to my mother,” the demon lord said shortly. “Jakken will show you the way.”
With a faint nod, the imp turned with Ah-Un to lead them on. From the pit far below, the echo of piercing screams heightened and lengthened. Tearing himself away from the edge of the chasm, Sesshoumaru went out into the castle courtyard to wait. Tensely, he listened until the demons’ tortured wailing ceased, uncertain what state he would be faced with when his brother at last returned.
It was a long time still before Inuyasha emerged, blood-drenched and dead-eyed as the poor broken priestess they had dredged up from the depths. Abruptly, the hanyou stopped. Without so much as the faintest indication of what he would do next, he unsheathed Tessaiga and destroyed the palace buildings in a series of savage, crushing arcs.
Only when the castle had been reduced to dust did Sesshoumaru’s brother turn panting toward him. Tessaiga’s point grated across the ground as Inuyasha closed the distance between them. Bloodied claws struck out, gripping Sesshoumaru by the neck of his haori.
As his younger brother glared into his eyes, Sesshoumaru would have preferred the castle’s fate—even the fate of the demons in the pit—to the look of cold seething blame Inuyasha leveled upon him.
As Tessaiga slipped in its wielder’s shaking grasp, as Inuyasha collapsed depleted to his knees, numbly Sesshoumaru gathered him up and left this accursed place behind them.
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Warning warning! A warning would be nice. I need to be told about these dark things as to prepare myself for it. I wonder why almost every second Author goes and has kagome raped…mailed and so on…. When we clearlly see in manga that every time her situation is dire her light will help her? In most cases it is used just because, to she the tragism of her situation and try to show character growth. Unfortunately too often it is used without showing the depths of the trauma and actually “showing” what the victim is going through, because suicide and self harm s not the only aspects of it. In this case I can see the situation you painted as a more realistic one. In my opinion naraku and the jewel would not want to defame her before the jewel is whole. And let’s not forget about the superstition of those times. Anyway I am curious about this, but it would have been nice to be warned. I at least am glad that not sesshoumaru raped her. Too many Stockholm fics out there cause let’s be serious no matter how beautiful the rapist or skilked, no sane female would fall in love with her abuser. I wonder why many hate it in real life and love reading in fiction? Truly curious…
Anyway excuse the long rant, will wait for new chapters….thx for sharing!
Lol sorry to be like every second author 😅 Tropes become tropes for a reason I guess, but hopefully this’ll turn out to be a fresher take 😉 Glad you find this to be a more realistic depiction of the trauma so far and hope you’ll continue to read and enjoy the story!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! ❤️
Sorry if I came across as rude or anything. I just stated my opinion. I mean no disrespect.
I agree that it’s a trope but I genuinely expressed interest why it’s popular from the psychological point of view. I didn’t mean your fic in general. You depict the situation in a perfect way and your portrayal of kagome has many depths that many don’t show. You truly have talent. Thx for writing and sharing.
That being said I will try to read in the future but maybe I shouldn’t review. I really am too blunt and not everyone likes that. Again I am sorry. Please don’t think I tried to be offensive. Sorry again.
Take care of yourself and good luck.
He should have killed her. Inuyasha could never do it. Kagome was raped, tortured and God knows what else. I wouldn’t want to live after going through that either.
There are no hints in the first chapter that Sesshoumaru views Kagome as anything more than an ally so it was logical he would save Rin first. But he knew Kagome was needed to stop Naraku so you can’t really fault Inuyasha for blaming him.
If I were Sesshoumaru, I would make sure Rin never crosses paths with Inuyasha again in case the hanyou also blames her for what happened to Kagome. Something has snapped inside the hanyou. He lost Kikyo and failed to protect Kagome. Who knows if he won’t go after Rin, Sesshoumaru snd whoever else becomes the focus of his wrath.
I can understand if Inuyasha never forgives Sesshoumaru, blames himself for being unable to protect Kagome and lash out at those who survived Naraku’s plots and machinations. And how will Inuyasha ever explain to Kagome’s family what happened to her?
At this point, it will be a blessing if the well stops working. Better for the Higurashis to assume Kagome died than to find out the terrible truth.
I wouldn’t want to live after that either… 😞
There is certainly cause for Inuyasha to blame Sesshoumaru – the problem is, as you described, when you start going down the path of revenge, where do you stop?
Anyway, you raise some excellent points and questions as always, my friend! 😊❤️
Char, the author, did put ‘READ AT YOUR OWN RISK’ ahead of the chapter and I took that to mean that thar be deep darkness (such as rape, torture, and other nasties) in them thar waters of words ahead matey [(pirate lingo…lol :)].
Poor Kagome is seemingly forever sacrificing herself for the sake of humanity and demonamity but in this case her powers were sealed so she could not fight back. I agree with Doug, Sesshomaru should have mercy killed her. If I were Kagome that’s what I would have wanted him to do. She saved that last bit of purity of power to give her friends an advantage to secure a victory over their enemies instead. Kagome, most of the times, (in quite a few other stories I’ve read) seems to set herself up as a martyr whether it is intentionally or not. Again, poor Kagome. Did she lose an eye like Kaede did?
Why does Sesshomaru always drag Rin into a battle zone or a potential battle zone in the first? Like in this story, Rin should have been left in a secured location somewhere…maybe in the village of Edo or back at the castle with Jaken for instance. He cannot fight with her as a distraction. I never could figure that one out. Also speaking of him fighting, it seemed like he didn’t do too much of that either other than breaking Tensaiga to give Tessaiga, Inuyasha’s sword, more power and then Yasha seemed to be doing all the killing while he practically stood on as an observer, so to speak…did I misinterpret in reading the scenes?
Anyway, fantastic writing of an intriguing story Char. Can’t wait to read what happens next time. 🙂
If I could get away with talking like a pirate in everyday life, I totally would 😂
I agree with you and Doug 100% about the mercy killing, sad as it is…Some things are worse than death in my opinion. As for Kagome being a hero/martyr you may have hit upon my reason for wanting to write this story in the first place! I feel like I’ve been portraying poor Kagome in a pretty negative light in my other fics recently (it’s sad because I absolutely love her character!)
Lol whenever I was watching the anime I always wondered myself why Sess would drag Rin into those types of situations 😂 And you didn’t misinterpret anything – I glossed over the details of that final battle. I guess I was attempting to portray Sess more as the “brains” behind the victory lol
Anyway, thank you so much, Cheryl, for the awesome feedback and hope you enjoy the next chapter!! ❤️❤️
Holy…shit.
Char…
I FUCKING LOVE YOUR WRITING. I love reading dark, fucked up, twisted stories. So, I really appreciate this piece. I love how you write Kagome, period. She’s not just a damsel in distress in your stories. She’s got more depth than in the anime. I really can’t wait to see where this goes.
And if people can’t read “warning” and understand it, don’t sweat it. Dark or not, your stories deserve to be told.
Thank you, thank you!! I really appreciate the encouragement 😊 so glad I’m not the only one who likes the dark stuff – and a strong-willed Kagome 😉
Hope you enjoy the next chapter! ❤️
I really don’t understand why people who love to read dark often don’t understand those that don’t. There’s nothing wrong with that. I even was once told to wear a tin hat and hide under the bed. And that’s really painful and rude. If you like it it doesn’t mean every one needs to like it. And a warning is needed because there are more dark themes than abuse. Every one has his own trigger and to it just a general warning is not always enough. I really mean no disrespect or anything. I never say anything to those that like reading slave fics or other. For me Rape is a sensitive topic but I can read it f I know and am prepared. You write beautifully and I apologize if I came it as rude. I really don’t mean anything.
Again I apologize. Take care of yourself.
I’m just gonna leave my two cents and hope I don’t come off as rude. Where do we draw the line for warnings without spoiling the chapter? Is Char not known for dark? Is rape not one of the most common tropes in fanfiction? It’s right up there with the dom and sub dynamic, crosses all fandoms.
Rape is a sensitive subject, that goes without saying, but it’s also an undeniable kink, a fantasy. And I’m not saying that’s what this story is, but you mentioned that no woman would fall for her captor…
Eh… I’m a degenerate, but I figure those fics have self inserted fantasies. Consent is assumed since the character (author) would have whoever’s crossing a line anyway. How else can I say this…
Some men, their existence alone seems like a sexual assault, those you’d loathe entirely if they ever touched. But others… well, I wasn’t aware I was ovulating but okay.
Excuse me, like I said. I’m not all right in the head and my humor’s a bit dark too.
You see that’s the point that we actually want the spoiler. For me this won’t ruin the story and the sort of a psychological help. To be prepared. I don’t think it’s wrong to have preferences and never judge anyone. It’s just the way I am and I am sorry if it bothers anyone. I admit that I am too blunt but also never try to discriminate. Expressing your opinion is something I do. It’s not that I attacked anyone or anything. And I don’t force my opinion on anyone. I stated that I find this fic refreshingly realistic.
And to tell the truth I actually didn’t see the warning. Maybe my bad vision is at fault or the fact that instead of the title of the chapter the warning was issued so yes I actually missed it. Anyway it doesn’t matter. Like I said it’s simply my opinion and I don’t force anyone to agree with it. Sorry for my rant.
Lol my humor’s dark too 😆
“Where do we draw the line for warnings without spoiling the chapter?” – just want to say that this is essentially where I’m coming from.
I’m the kind of person who NEVER wants warnings, but I realize not everybody is like me (in fact most sane people, I’d wager LOL). So the general warning is the compromise I’ve settled on these days.
Thanks so much for sharing your two cents as always, Inuyaoi! ❤️
No need to apologize whatsoever ❤️ I totally understand. And thank you for the lovely compliment! 😊
I’m scared to read the chapter if YOU wrote “read at your own risk”. I’ve never seen that on any of your chapters. I’m gonna hide and try reading this tomorrow. Maybe…
Warnings make me anxious. I’d rather just have the murderous sinew randomly thrown at me.
LOL I’m right there with you as far as warnings go, but I understand and do my best to try to sympathize with the fact that other people have triggers. Thanks for checking this story out and hope you’ll continue to read along! <3
I appreciate content and trigger warnings as someone who suffers from PTSD for multiple traumas it helps make the world more accessible to me, in a similar way that braille makes the written word legible for blind people and captions in movies allow deaf people to enjoy them. If you want to compromise between not giving spoilers and not doing psychological harm to those who are vulnerable to it, perhaps there’s code available that would hide the details of the trigger warnings the way a lot of allow for hiding spoilers. The “read at your own risk” was enough for me today but some days or with certain content, especially when it’s an author who’s work I enjoy, a little more info would help me know if I can risk reading or not.
I’m very sorry to hear that you suffer from PTSD. Thank you for sharing your thoughts – and thank you for the suggestion. 🙂
I’m planning to make a blog post detailing my thoughts on this subject tomorrow.
<3