At What Price

SUMMARY: “Three, two, one.” Ginta counted down. Just then, within a heartbeat of a second the lobby stilled. No shots rang out. The only sound was that which roared above all, and that was the deep inhalation and exhalation of breathing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone once again. Yes, it sad that I haven't updated every day like usual but I'm trying hard to at least update. *Sighs* Thanks for the encouraging reviews. They keep me going, and though I haven't responded to them because I'm complete behind. Know that I do appreciate them with all my heart. Okay enough blabbing. On with the story. I don't own Inuyasha and/or et al.

CHAPTER 71: THE BATTLE WITHIN
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Sesshoumaru with predatorial like grace made his way toward the bastard’s company. The only thing on his mind was revenge, sweet revenge. His team of elite security, were all suited up in there gear and were ready. Ready for Ginta to hack into the company’s security server and set off the fire alarm. This would solve to problem of the employees that would get in their way while hunting down Naraku. The fire alarm would cause a massive evacuation from the building before they stormed in.
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She heard the door open behind her. Kagome had to use all her strength to pull herself up into the metal shaft in the ceiling. But, in her hast to get away from Naraku, her leg caught on the jagged edge of metal in the ventilation shaft and sliced through her skin. Kagome bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain.

The blood oozed from her leg slowly as it left a blood smeared trail behind her. Kagome winced from the searing pain but ignored it as she crawled like a soldier in the trenches to safety, but that wasn’t the case. Kagome was crawling through a dirty ventilation shaft that was littered with cob webs and eight legged creatures, spiders. This normally would have caused her to shudder and her skin to crawl, but she much more preferred this then the monster now in the office room she just left.

The deeper Kagome went into the small ventilation maze, the danker and darker it got. Claustrophobia had never been an issue with Kagome, but if she let it, it would fast become one. ‘Just keep going Kags.’ She told herself.

Kagome was fifteen yards within the vent shaft when fire alarm was set off with a monstrous roar ring in the hollow she crawled through. She screamed, but it was like she never made a sound. It was lost in the loud overture. ‘Shit!’ The blaring alarm scared her senseless, and Kagome could feel the tears coming again. ‘Sesshoumaru where are you.’

The sound of people rushing frantically below her gained her attention as she came upon another small peep hole of a vent. Kagome could see people running to escape the building in maddening hast. ‘But what are they running from?’ Kagome asked silently. She felt safe up here for the mean time but Kagome knew that Naraku wasn’t stupid. He knew that she was in the ventilation system and it was only a matter of time before he found her, somehow. But she’d be damn if she wasn’t going to try to escape the bastard or make it easy.

7:30, 7:29, 7:28… The count down continued.
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“Are you going to answer that?” Kikyou questioned with an annoyed tone. Inuyasha had been looking at the phone for the longest time, lost in thought, and had yet to answer it. The ringing was fraying Kikyou’s already raw nerves.

Inuyasha glared back at her. Indecisiveness seized him. ‘Damn, just open the stupid thing!’ He flipped his cell phone open and with pensive eyes looked at the screen before bring it up to his ear. “Hello, Kagome?”

There was no answer as Inuyasha pulled the phone back from his ear and stared at it with complexity. That’s when he saw something flash on his screen. “Video uplink loading.” ‘What the hell is this?’ He admonished.

Gramps had all he could take for one day. That baka mutt didn’t even show a single sign of remorse or humility for the things Kagome had done for him. Gramps was finished with this. If these two wanted to get married after this, then by golly he wasn’t going to stand in there way any more. Gramps stormed off into the back room where the marriage certificate was, leaving the two in the main room of the shrine. He picked up the certificate off the table and looked at it hard.

“After what I told you Inuyasha, if you can think nothing of what price Kagome paid for you then you are more the welcome to Kikyou. You two are made for each other!” With that Gramps placed the license on the table and pulled out a pen and signed the marriage license. The only thing that those two needed to do now is sign on the dotted line. Gramps stormed back into the main room of the shrine.

“Here! Take the blasted certificate!” Gramps bellowed.

Inuyasha and Kikyou briefly turned toward Gramps breaking their staring contest. Both saw the paper being flung to the floor before Kikyou’s feet. She sneered at the old man. Her goal was just within her reach.

“All you need to do is sign the damn paper then leave.” His voice did not find the animosity he felt at the moment. Gramps entire body posture was tense and rigid.

Inuyasha was dumbfounded that the venom in Gramps voice. He met the priest’s eyes but could not hold it. In all his years of knowing Gramps, Inuyasha thought, he had never felt the priest’s small power contained with in him, until now. Those piercing eyes reminded him a lot of Kagome.

Kikyou grabbed for the paper before her like a greedy child in a candy store. “Let’s go Inuyasha, we have what we want.” She purred with a victorious voice.

Inuyasha turned back to Kikyou and nodded, but out of the corner of his eye Inuyasha saw Gramps leaving the shrine. He heard the priest’s word inside the small office in the back. His words of enlightenment struck a nerve. ‘He’s wrong if he thinks I do not appreciate Kagome’s selflessness.’ Inuyasha’s sad eyes peered back at his cell phone. The video uplink was fifty percent of the way downloaded.
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Naraku was impassive as the fire alarm went off. He chuckled to himself. ‘Ah, this was an expected unexpected turn of events. Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands, how very typical. Always meeting the battle head on.’ Naraku walked down the hall with an arrogant swagger in his stride. He did not fear the great InuTaiyoukai. In his past history dealings with the Inuyoukai clan they had all fallen by his hand and Sesshoumaru would be no different.

As Naraku drew closer to the security room he was cursing silently at the lack of responsiveness from his employees. When he opened the door to the security room he hissed at his head of security. “What the hell is going on here Kanna?!”

“Someone hacked into the business security mainframe and set off the alarm.” Replied the deadpan voice. Kanna’s black lifeless eyes meet Naraku’s blazing glaze. She could feel his eyes on her back. It would have scorched a weaker person, however; Kanna was different. She was devoid of any emotion. “The building will be in total lock down in five minutes.”

Within the security room it was total chaos. There was a mass rush of people around their individual computer terminals trying to turn off the fire alarm, locate the inflators, and devise a plan of attack. Voices were shouting information on location, security level, and varying statistic on Naraku’s henchmen. But, within the mist of pandemonium only two individuals remained calm against the raging war. The fire alarm was turned off seconds later.

Naraku walked over to Kanna, his head of security, and placed a hand on her shoulder while he stood behind her. “Kanna, I do believe we have a runaway in the ventilation shaft. Find her.”

The small pale statured girl looked lifelessly back at the monitor and typed in a security code. Milliseconds later surveillance cameras fed their footage to a wall of several nineteen inch televisions. But, one particular TV screen held the interest of Naraku. It was of the little miko crawling through the ventilation shaft on the tenth floor. Though the image was in black and white it showed Kagome coming upon another opening in the ventilation system. This grate was located by the elevators and it was apparent that this was where Kagome was headed.

“Kanna, lock down all elevators so that on one will be able to use them.” He turned away from the scene of mass hysteria that played out before him.
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A steady stream of frantic people ran out off the build with fear etched in their eyes. The majority of them were humans. They worked the low level position for Naraku’s corporation. Hanyous and youkais who disgraced themselves by working for Naraku held the higher up position. Humans were more expendable, so in many opinions they were not to be bothered with this strike.

When majority of people where out of the build Sesshoumaru gave the signal to move in, for those that remained inside the building they were putting their lives in danger by staying. The ones that would be remaining inside were more likely to be Naraku’s security lackies.

Ginta and Hakkaku were the first to move into the lobby of the devil’s entrance. Their weapons readied as they charged in and took cover. Hakkaku huddled in a door frame and covered his partner who moved deeper in the massive entrance of the building.

“Clear.” Ginta yelled.

As the rest of the team waited for that word to be spoken they readied themselves mental and physically. It was a game of out wit and out smart the opponent, when that word came over the headsets they moved. It was their signal. Retribution was at hand. Sesshoumaru, Bankotsu, and Jakotsu rushed in through the double doors. They had just enough time to scan the area when in that moment Naraku’s henchmen came out of hidden passage ways within the lobby and started firing rounds at the inflators. Sesshoumaru’s men drove for cover as the hail of bullets caming at them with amazing fury.

As they stabilized there positions within the confines of the lobby they returned fire on the attacking enemy. Bullets were whizzing so close past them they could taste the gun powder residue in the air. Contained inside the volley of lead rounds screams of agony could be heard bouncing off the marble floor and the walls from the men that had been hit.

Sesshoumaru did his name proud as he moved with unseen lethal grace. Any one who dare stand in his way would perish. Sesshoumaru had made his way from the double doors to a wide column pillar in the middle of the lobby’s main entrance. As Sesshoumaru made that dangerous venture a trail of lead fallowed his every move licking his backside closely. ‘Pitiful, do the think they can stop me with their silly guns?’ He thought savagely. The demonic youkai within him was searing his tightly reigned control.

Sesshoumaru peered his head out from behind the column to track his prey. His hazel eyes narrowed as he tracked them all. As he began to pull back a biting sting grazed his cheek. A bullet caught the great Taiyoukai by surprise but he did not react to it. It burned like the fires of hell but he wouldn’t admit it. Sesshoumaru hated the weapon however. He thought the gun denied him the chance to have a more honorable fight, one that would require strength, discipline, and intelligence. Not one that required an individual to pull a tigger without thinking to much into it. Sesshoumaru’s mind work at rapid speed, the bastard he was going fight had no honor in his miserable being. ‘Naraku you will pay you despicable bastard! You stole something sacred from me, a mother, a father, and now my wife. It ends now. I will have justice, and it will be by my hand.’ His hand tightened around the hand of his sword with the thought of vengeance. Sesshoumaru’s sword tokijin hummed with the anticipation of the revenge it would have, and soon. It’s sensed it owner’s deepest desire course in his black demonic blood. The sheen of the metal was unbreakable, not even the bullet could shatter the katanna held firmly within Sesshoumaru hold.

“Sesshoumaru!” Hakkaku yelled “the elevators are on lock down! We will have to use the stairs.” He held in one hand a small palm pilot with the capability of a computer. Hakkaku was in charge of linking into the security network so that they would be able to locate Kagome and keep tabs on the enemies’ movements.

Sesshoumaru didn’t reply but had figured as much. It was like Naraku to leave the welcome mat out or to be the first at battle. Naraku was a coward. Golden eyes took on a red sheen as he mental laid out the way to the stair well.

“Bankotsu,” Ginta hollered, “diversion one is ready and waiting on your count.”
Bankotsu checked the position Sesshoumaru and his men were in. All was set. It was a divide and conquer strategy they devised. “All position secured.” Bankotsu said into the headset. “Diversion one is a go.”

Three metallic balls, the size of marbles, went rolling across the highly polished floor unnoticed by the swarms of bodies trenched in at various locations in the lobby. Their attention was otherwise diverted by the fire of bullets from every angle.

“Three, two, one.” Ginta counted down. Just then, within a heartbeat of a second the lobby stilled. No shots rang out. The only sound was that which roared above all, and that was the deep inhalation and exhalation of breathing. A bright burst of light from the small balls, almost mirrored the sun, sent there blinding flash of pure white light out. The light which was emitted was so intense the light that would burn the retinas of the unsuspecting individuals that didn’t cover their eyes.

“MOVE!” Sesshoumaru roared like a great battle cry.

The men covered their eyes with the protective reflective glasses and moved like the four winds. Each with their own destination. Each with their own goal.

“Sesshoumaru, Kagome is on the tenth floor.”

That was all he needed to hear.
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Kagome used her uninjured foot to kick out the grate. *Pang! Pang!* The grate fell to the floor with a loud clang. ‘Okay, Kagome just back yourself out slowly.’ She told herself mentally. Due to the angle Kagome had position herself in the ventilation shaft she would have to climb out feet first. This caused her to be blind sided to what is beneath her. Kagome’s forearms were shaking from exhaust at the exertion just to lower herself down. She was dangling four feet from the floor when her finger finally gave way. Gravity brought her down to the floor. *Thud!*

Kagome grimaced at the impact her body had with floor. She tried to land on her feet but due to the injury on her left leg it could not handle the impact, and it sent her entire body to the hard floor. Kagome groaned as she brought her head up and looked around. She inhaled deeply. ‘No one is here. Alright, Kags start moving.’ Kagome picked herself up off the floor and limped over to the elevator that was only twenty feet away.

She was half way down the hall when she heard the storm of bullet fire. It made Kagome pause for a moment. Panic swept through her at the thought of not knowing what was happening. The gun fight was close, a little too close, and that thought made her blood run cold. Kagome strained to hear the rapid gun fire to gain a better bearing to where it was, but as soon as it started it ended. ‘What was causing all that commotion?’ she pondered. Then that blessed voice she had been praying for cut through her thoughts. It was faint but all too familiar. “Impossible,” Kagome murmured while shaking her head in denial. She all but fear to utter that name in the off chance that it would not be her husband, however; her heart knew better. “Sesshoumaru.”

“Yes, Kagome.” Came that sly silkened voice, “I do believe your husband as come to take you back.” Bright blazing crimson eyes watched the beauty before him stiffen.