A Kludge of One Shots by tenchi no mai
Toxic Overload
This was written in response to Priestess Skye's weekly challenge.
Theme: Toxic
Due: August 03, 2009
Required Word Count: Minimum 800 Words
Actual Word Count: 4595
Universe: Alternate Universe - Modern Day
Rating: M
Warnings: Innuendoes
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 characters, Shun and Hayato, are my intellectual property. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
'Italics' = thoughts
Toxic Overload
Sesshoumaru strolled into the kitchen as Kagome was putting the finishing touches on the dessert, then completed packing the cooler and picnic basket. Approaching quietly, he sat the bottle of wine on the counter, then pulled her back against his chest in a firm embrace. "Are you ready to go, koi?"
"Yep. I guess so. Are you going to put the bottle of wine in the cooler?" Today was somewhat unusual, they had the entire shiro to themselves. Shun was out on an appointment with a prospective customer, and was not expected back until late afternoon. The rest of the guys had tickets to the football game, so there was no one else to worry about. It had been some time since they had had a day to themselves, just the two of them. After a slow start to the day, and a leisurely breakfast, Kagome had suggested an afternoon picnic.
"Yes, it's already cold, it would be a shame to let it get warm. This wine is so much better when its cold. So, where would you like to go? The beach or the orchard in the ninomaru?" Kagome had turned within his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist. Leaning down, Sesshoumaru kissed her gently while waiting for her answer.
"Hmmm... that's a difficult choice. Two of my favorite places. I think maybe the cherry tree orchard. I know there is no more fruit, but it's still pretty. We can go to the beach next time." Kagome watched him raise an eyebrow at her as she went to get two wine glasses to add to the picnic basket. Knowing he wasn't crazy about eating outside, she couldn't resist teasing him. "Don't give me that look, or I'll take Shun with me next time and leave you here."
"I'm sure I could find something to do until you get back, or I may decide to join you after you two are finished playing with your food, or feeding the wild animals, whatever it is you like to do out in the wilds of the shiro." Sesshoumaru grinned at her, he was in a decidedly relaxed mood today, and was going to tease her back. "Come on let's get going."
~*~
After a leisurely stroll through the honmaru and following one of the paths leading to the ninomaru, they arrived at the orchard, and Kagome unpacked the garden cart. 'It looks like I probably brought too much with me again.'
Laying out a blanket under one of the larger cherry trees, Kagome retreived the picnic basket and directed Sesshoumaru to put the cooler in the shade.
"Sesshoumaru, how old are these trees? You once mentioned something about them being ancient." Kagome had plopped down in the shade next to Sesshoumaru, leaning against both him and the tree as she gazed up into the canopy of leaves.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure. The orchard has been here for as long as I can remember. When I was a young pup I used to steal away from my lessons and the palace guards and come down here to play. I can remember many times sitting up in one of the trees, eating cherries, while everyone searched for me." Sesshoumaru put an arm around Kagome, pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. "Now, where did we leave off the last time we were here?"
~*~
Kagome giggled as she packed away the leftovers and dirty dishes. Sesshoumaru was in an unusual mood, and she was going to enjoy every second of it. He was typically very stoic and totally in control. Today he was joking around with her and expressing his amusement aloud. This was a side she didn't often see and took great pleasure in drawing out his rich, deep laughter.
Watching him pour another glass of wine, she wrinkled her nose at him. She had first tasted it several weeks ago when he poured them each a glass, and promptly declared her dislike of it. If the taste wasn't bad enough, the color was a huge turn off for her. It was a clear odd green hue that reminded her of absinthe. "How can you drink that stuff? It's... I can't even describe it."
Smiling at her, he began to swirl the wine in the glass. "Now Kagome, it's not that bad, just something different." As he held the glass up to a shaft of sunlight that broke through the leaves, it began to louche, spontaneously emulsifying to a pale green milky opalescense.
Picking up the bottle, she was once again attempting to read the label. It was in a language she didn't recognise. "Where did you get this abomination?" He had been drinking it enthusiastically, usually after dinner, for the last week or two.
Sesshoumaru reclined back on his elbows, his usual sharp gaze softening to an almost liquid gold. "From the wine cellar. A distant cousin on my mother's side of the family sent several cases of it centuries ago. It had gotten pushed to the back of the cellar and forgotten about. I came across it several weeks ago when I was checking to see what was going to be needed for the holiday parties we're planning."
Watching her attempt to decipher the label, he plucked the bottle from her hands. "It's in Italian. They somehow acquired a villa with a vineyard above the village of Resina on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. It was destroyed in an eruption of the volcano in 1944. The name translates as 'Little Kiss of Death'. I suppose it is a pun of some sorts, mothers side of the family are all poison users."
"You got your poison abilities from your mother?" Kagome picked up the glass and sniffed at the contents. It didn't smell like Sesshoumaru's dokkasu, but did have a somewhat flowery aroma.
"Yes, that is why, being the ultimate poison user, I am immune to all poisons." Sesshoumaru took the glass back from her and slowly sipped the wine.
Kagome shook her head. "So that's why you enjoyed eating the fugu sashimi at the restaurant the other night. You knew you didn't have to worry about being poisoned. I wondered how you were able to consume the entire plate of it. One taste was more than enough for me." She shivered as she remembered how her lips went numb when she tasted it.
Curling up beside Sesshoumaru, she laid her head on his chest and with an arm around his waist, closed her eyes and began to slip into a light sleep.
Sesshoumaru relaxed completely, content, enjoying the feeling of Kagome laying next to him. Smiling down at her, he watched as she took a catnap, her breath ruffling her hair where it had fallen across her face. Brushing the hair back behind her ear, he once again marveled the silky texture of her hair between his fingers.
He was about to join her for a short nap when he noticed an odd sensation slowly building up inside his body. Then there was a sudden tightness to his skin, almost as if his humanoid form was incapable of containing his youki. Realizing the implications, he quickly shook Kagome awake.
At first it was just his fingertips, then both of his hands began to glow green, and he quickly moved away from her. "Kagome! Wake up and get away from here. Right now!" Sesshoumaru was quickly becoming aware that there wasn't much time.
"Sesshoumaru, what's the matter?" Kagome was unexpectedly jarred out of her nap when Sesshoumaru jumped up and moved away from her. Rubbing her eyes, she was somewhat surprised when it looked like his beast was ready to manifest itself. Then she noticed the green glow around his hands. "What's happening?"
"I'm not sure, just get out of the way, go back to the house quickly!" Sesshoumaru was starting to panic. It appeared that he was losing control of his youki and the last thing he wanted was for Kagome to get injured.
"Sessh..." Kagome stood there, rooted to the spot. She wasn't afraid of his beast, she had seen it often enough, but this was somehow different. His youki began to violently swirl around him, stirring up wild winds. The sensation of his youki buffeting her was becoming almost overpoweringly suffocating, as though he was pulling the oxygen right out of the atmosphere. As she began to back away, Kagome watched, appalled, as Sesshoumaru transformed into his true form.
Suddenly her worst nightmare came back to haunt her. Standing in front of her was the enormous white dog that she had last seen in his father's tomb, complete with glowing red eyes and bright blue pupils. Deadly green poisonous saliva was dripping from his mouth, the fumes rising to vaporize the leaves off the trees, as he growled at her.
Horrified, Kagome continued to slowly back away, as she watched the cooler and blanket melt into a puddle of green goo. She wanted to stay and help Sesshoumaru with whatever was happening, but her human sense of self-preservation won out when he shook his head, the toxic drool flying in all directions.
Screaming, Kagome spun around and took off at a dead run, flying through the grove of cherry trees towards the honmaru. She could hear Sesshoumaru crashing through the trees behind her, and wondered if she would be able to make it to the house to call for help. Taking a quick look in back of her, Kagome couldn't see him, but the loud sound of howling echoed across the shiro. While raising her hands to cover her ears, Kagome tripped and fell. Seeing a small cave ahead of her, she quickly crawled inside and tried to calm down enough to think.
~*~
The uncontrolled release of Sesshoumaru's youki was like a sonic boom to all youkai within a thousand mile radius. It was felt bone deep and awakened long forgotten memories of death and terror on a grand scale, sending shivers down their spines. Humans were, for the most part, unaffected unless they held holy powers of one kind of another. For those who did, their reaction was similar to the youkai, a spine tingling sense of some unknown dread.
Shun reacted immediately, calling an end to the meeting and rescheduling for later in the week. Gathering up his paperwork, he ran to the car as he called the house, receiving no answer. Trying both Sesshoumaru and Kagome's cell phones and still getting no answer, he gunned the engine and sped towards the shiro.
~*~
Hayato was getting ready to leave for his home in the mountains for a long weekend when the unmistakeable release of an enormous amount of youki caused him to hesitate. He knew of only one dai-youkai with that kind of power, Sesshoumaru. Realizing instantly that something was horribly wrong he changed his plans, immediately worrying about the Lord of the West and his mate.
After what seemed like forever, but was only actually about fifteen minutes, Hayato arrived at the gate to the shiro. After treating Kagome for her depression a few months ago, they had all come to be on quite friendly terms, and he now had his own passcode for the shiro. Taking the direct road up to the house, he parked by the front door and entered the house calling out for Sesshoumaru, Kagome or Shun. Getting no answer, he quickly searched the house and found no one there.
Hayato acknowledged to himself that he could waste hours searching the property. While he was familiar enough with the house itself, the grounds of the shiro were another matter altogether. The property consisted of an enormous amount of acreage contained within the honmaru, ninomaru and sannomaru. Exiting the house, the dai-tengu made an instant decision, and with a swirl of youki transformed into his true form, a large black eared kite.
Taking to the sky, he rode the thermals above the property, making note of the damage in the ninomaru. Following the trail of wreckage, his eyes were drawn to the youkai lord in his inu demon form on the beach. Hayato was about to glide down to the beach when Sesshoumaru leaped up into the sky and, with clouds of billowing youki under his feet, commenced to run at great speed towards the west and the slowly setting sun.
Knowing he would never be able to catch up with the youkai lord, Hayato continued to circle over top of the shiro, now concentrating on the more important task of finding Kagome. Deciding to check out what appeared to be the origin of the damage, he landed in the cherry tree orchard and once again resumed his humanoid form.
Pacing slowly through the destruction, he noted pieces of a blanket, a picnic basket, a puddle of green goo with a plastic cooler handle beside it, and a crushed garden cart. Several of the cherry trees were dead, some more were crushed, and the overpowering, sickeningly sweet smell of dokkasu hung in the air. Picking up an empty wine bottle, he sniffed it then wrinkled his nose at the faint odor of some type of poison.
Unclipping his cell phone, Hayato called Kagome's cell phone number and was sent directly into voice mail. Pressing the speed dial for Shun, it rang once and then Shun's frantic voice answered. "Shun, where are you? This is Hayato. I'm at the shiro, in the cherry tree orchard in the ninomaru. How quickly can you get here? No, I haven't seen Kagome, I'm looking for her now."
~*~
Kagome sat in the small cave, as far from the entrance as she could, trying to catch her breath and calm down. Her mind was running in a million directions all at once, and she knew if she didn't get it under control, she would be sitting here for hours while Kami only knows what was happening to Sesshoumaru.
As she slowly stopped gasping and her breathing became more normal, Kagome walked back towards the entrance of the cave, kneeling down, then carefully poked her head out to listen for any sounds indicating Sesshoumaru's whereabouts. Not seeing or hearing anything, she sat down and tried to think of the best way to get to the house and call Shun.
Petrified was the closest Kagome could come to naming her emotions at this point in time. The last time she had seen Sesshoumaru in his true form was when he and Inuyasha fought over Tetsusaiga in their fathers tomb. To her mind, he seemed smaller then, although not any less intimidating or dangerous.
Suddenly hearing something crashing through the brush, Kagome flattened herself against the wall of the cave and held her breath. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness in the cave, she noticed the skinny tunnel at the back and making her way over to it began to wonder if it connected with the other caves. Kagome knew for a fact that one end of the tunnel was in a cave in the honmaru behind the garages, and had heard from Ginta and Hakkaku that the other end of the tunnel exited the shiro next to the road.
She could feel a slight breeze exiting the tunnel and figured that either option, the honmaru or the road, was better than trying to outrun Sesshoumaru in his "doggie" form. Putting one hand in front of her and the other on the wall beside her, Kagome took a deep breath, then carefully stepped into the pitch black of the tunnel.
~*~
Shun was stuck in traffic. Apparently the traffic signals were not working correctly. He was in a near panic from the massive release of youki and desired nothing more than to arrive at the shiro, make sure Kagome was okay and to check with Sesshoumaru about the unusual incident.
When his cell phone rang, he quickly answered, hoping it was either Sesshoumaru or Kagome. Hearing Hayato's voice his panic grew as he listened to him. 'Sesshoumaru is in his true form, Kagome is missing, and part of the shiro is destroyed. May the Kami's in heaven help us all. What in the name of hell had happened out there today?'
Traffic was starting to move, and Shun told Hayato he would meet him in the orchard as quickly as he could get there.
After maneuvering around as much of the traffic as possible by following back roads, Shun finally arrived at the shiro. Parking outside the garages, he quickly searched the house then ran at full speed for the orchard.
Walking through the mess that used to be the lower part of the cherry tree orchard, Shun met up with Hayato who was walking back into the grove of trees.
"It appears that Kagome fled the orchard in that direction. I have been searching back and forth between here and the house." Hayato was pointing up towards the honmaru. "I was able to follow her path for a short while before it disappeared. My sense of smell is not nearly as acute as either yours or Sesshoumaru's. I am hoping you will be able to pick up her scent."
Shun stood amid the decimated trees, carefully scenting the air in all directions. Along with the sickeningly sweet smell of Sesshoumaru's dokkasu and Kagome's normal scent, there was the acrid stench of escalating panic, horror, fear and terror. Following the scent trail Shun tracked both Kagome's and Hayato's footprints through trees and up the gradual grade of the ninomaru. Stopping less than half way to the honmaru, he turned several times trying to pick up Kagome's scent again.
"This is where I lost her scent." Hayato indicated as he followed behind Shun on the trail, his sharp eyes keeping watch for anything he may have missed the first few times. Noticing several handprints and fresh scuff marks in the dirt, he headed in that direction. "Shun, what's over here?"
Shun watched as Hayato headed over towards one of the small caves that dotted the shiro. He walked over and could tell from the scent that Kagome had been here. Shun was just about to crawl into the cave when his cell phone rang. "Kagome! Thank Kami! Where are you? Are you okay? We'll be right there!"
Both Shun and Hayato took off running for the honmaru and the house. They quickly located Kagome sitting on the kitchen floor. Shun grabbed her off the floor and hugged her tightly to himself. Smelling more dokkasu, he hastily looked her over, then made a mad dash for the master bath. "You are covered in droplets of of Sesshoumaru's dokkasu, I can feel it starting to burn my skin. We need to get you cleaned off asap, then you can tell us what happened."
Stripping Kagome and putting her under the shower, Shun then joined her. Washing her carefully, he made note that the pattern of tiny burns was mainly on exposed skin, her shorts and t-shirt must have given her some little protection from the droplets. Drying her off, then wrapping her in a towel, he carried her over to her dressing room. Leaving Kagome to get dressed, he went to get some clothes, then they went to meet up with Hayato in the breakfast room.
Hayato had been joined by Miroku, who had arrived while Shun and Kagome were in the shower. Miroku hugged Kagome, then went to get the burn ointment from the first aid kit in the security office.
He returned quickly, handing the tube to Shun who immediately began dotting it on the tiny burns. "Now, Kagome, that was quite some release of youki. What exacty happened?"
"I don't know Miroku. We had finished our picnic lunch, and I was laying down in the shade with Sesshoumaru and fell asleep. Next thing I knew, he was shaking me awake and telling me to get away and go back to the house. His hands were glowing green, then he transformed into his true form and growled at me. When he shook his head and the drool started flying, I ran. I wanted to stay and help him, but I was scared and I ran." Tears were glistening in her eyes, but she refused to cry, there were more important things to do. "Where is Sesshoumaru?"
"We're not sure Kagome." Hayato then related what he had observed after he arrived. "I'm sure Sesshoumaru will return as soon as he can."
Miroku was deep in thought as he watched Shun apply the ointment to Kagome's burns. "What did you have for your picnic lunch, Kagome? And anything unusual in the last few days?"
She listed the items that had been packed in the cooler and picnic basket, nothing that unusual. "Oh, and Sesshoumaru brought a bottle of that horrible wine with him."
Shun looked up at her and grimaced in disgust. "That's a good description of it Princess. And don't forget, he ate that entire plate of torafugu sashimi the other night at the restaurant." Looking over at Miroku he wondered what the monk was thinking. "Why? Do you think it's connected Miroku?" Miroku ran the lab for the security company, and if he was asking, he must have some idea in mind.
"Right now I'm not sure. Is there another bottle of the wine that I can run some tests on?" Miroku looked towards the kitchen, curious if there was another bottle in the wine cooler that was under the counter.
"Yes, unfortunately, there are several cases of it. I know there is one in the kitchen. Sesshoumaru's been drinking it every night after dinner. Bring the bottle and a glass, I'll show you something very strange." Kagome had turned around so Shun could put the ointment across the back of her neck and shoulders.
"Kagome, are you aware that there is some type of poison substance in it? When I picked up the bottle down in the orchard, I could smell it. It's similar to, but not exactly like, Sessh's dokkasu." Hayato held out a hand to see the bottle Miroku had returned with. "Yes, that's the same bottle."
"You've got to be kidding me! No, I didn't know that." After Miroku uncorked the bottle, he handed it to Kagome along with a wine glass. "Here, watch this."
Pouring a small amount of the wine, Kagome watched as it flowed into the glass, a translucent green color, with a somewhat sweet, almost herbal bouquet. She picked up the glass, then swirled the wine around, watching as it changed into a pale green, milky opalescense. Three sets of eyebrows raised as Shun, Hayato and Miroku sat there amazed.
"Spontaneous emulsification! I've never seen anything like that before. Usually you have to add something to a solution to cause that reaction. How much do you know about this wine Kagome." Miroku had taken the glass from Kagome and was holding up to the light, then sniffing it. Pouring another glass he left it sitting on the table, watching it closely to see what would happen.
After Kagome told them what Sesshoumaru had told her about the wine, Shun started asking Miroku questions.
~*~
Sesshoumaru was currently loping across the sky towards the horizon and the mountainous area of the western China/Tibet border where his mothers family originated.
He had stalked through the ninomaru and down to the beach, after growling at her. He had to get as far away from Kagome as quickly as he could. Sesshoumaru knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't want to leave and would insist on trying to help him. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.
As he stared at the sky, he decided to make a run to his mothers ancestral home, knowing there was very little human population, and a great expanse of open land. Sesshoumaru had a feeling it would take some time before whatever this was wore off and he would be able to return to his humanoid form.
After he took flight, Sesshoumaru turned his head to look back and saw Hayato in his avian form circling the shiro. He also knew that Shun would probably be home any minute after feeling the release of his youki. Deciding that Kagome would be well taken care of, as much as he didn't want to leave, he continued on his journey.
~*~
Miroku had taken both glasses of wine and the bottle with him over to the lab to run some tests. Returning a couple hours later, he let himself into the kitchen to find Hayato cooking dinner and Shun sitting at the breakfast bar with Kagome in his lap, trying to keep her calm.
"Well? What did you find out Miroku?" Kagome was becoming extremely anxious. They hadn't heard anything from Sesshoumaru yet. She had hoped that he would call as soon as he was able, to let them know he was okay.
"Kagome these are only preliminary results, there are still a number of tests to be run, and a rather incomplete hypothesis, but..." Miroku started to go into details when a flash of bright blue light set down on the patio.
"You may as well wait a few minutes Miroku." Hayato was getting ready to serve dinner, and reached to get out another plate and place setting. "It appears as though our wayward dog demon has found his way home."
Sesshoumaru came running into the kitchen. "Kagome, I am so sorry. Are you alright?" Going over to her, he hugged her tightly to his chest.
"Of couse I'm alright! What about you? What happened?" Kagome was trying to get a good look at Sesshoumaru, but he wasn't ready to let go of her just yet.
Since there was more than enough room and everyone looked comfortable sitting there, Hayato moved dinner from the breakfast room to the breakfast bar in the kitchen.
"Miroku, I'm sure Sessh will be very interested in what you have found out, and I'll be interested to see if it upholds my theory as to what has happened." Hayato finished serving up the dinner and sat down to eat as well as to hear what the results of Miroku's testing showed about the wine.
Looking at the notebook he had laid on the counter, Miroku gave them the results of the chemical testing of the wine. He confirmed that there was a type of poison in there, and that it was related to Sesshoumaru's dokkasu. "After running some rudimentary dna testing for comparison, the poison in the wine and the dokkasu match up with a majority of standard testing points. It is definitely from his mother's family." Miroku took a few mouthfuls of dinner before continuing. "This is really good Hayato."
"Continuing on, it is my theory that after the cousins moved to Italy, and probably married either local youkai, or possibly local humans, they began to lose their poison abilities. Now, not knowing what these abilities were to begin with, this is only a theory. The wine may have been created to help fortify their poison. It has not been fermented in casks as a normal wine would be. This is something I have never seen before. My hypothesis, Sessh, is that you reached a level of chemical toxicity that resulted in your youki spontaneously transforming as a way to purge your system of the excess poison."
Hayato nodded. His theory was holding up to the scientific testing. It wasn't anything he had ever seen before either, but it made perfect sense. 'Toxic overload.'
~*~
Fin