InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Case of Double Personality ❯ The Purification Trial ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter V: The Purification Trial

 

 

Midoriko opened her eyes while experiencing all of Kumiko's recent memories.

The girl seemed to be better at making conversation with the demon than she was. Maybe that was because she did not know demons as well as Midoriko did, even if she had access to her memories.

 

 

Her head was leaning on something soft and the first thing she laid eyes on was Sesshoumaru's face, his golden orbs starring at her.

 

 

She jumped out of his arms, blushing heavily. How the hell did that happen? Kumiko's last memories didn't show anything about her sleeping in a taiyoukai's arms!

 

 

Well, that was embarrassing, she thought, regaining her dignity while coughing a little.

Strangely, the demon seemed to expect her reaction and didn't seem too bothered by it.

 

“She is too predictable.” Sesshoumaru thought, smiling in his mind.

 

 

“I will take Rin to find breakfast.” She announced him, looking away.

 

 

“I have taken it upon myself to ensure food for both of you this morning.” He answered, his gaze turning to two bowls of rice and some roasted fish.

 

 

“I can't imagine him cooking.” Midoriko said to herself, assuming wisely that Jaken had done all the work

 

 

“Thank you.” She said to the both of them as the little girl jumped around the bowls of food.

 

 

“Good morning, Midoriko-sama!” she exclaimed, giving the Miko a hug.

 

 

“Good morning, Rin.” She answered, sitting down and tasting the food cautiously. It wasn't bad at all. Jaken seemed to know what he was doing. Maybe that was the reason Sesshoumaru kept him arround, Midoriko thought in a more amused attitude.

 

 

When they finished, the demon lord got up and asked Midoriko:

 

 

“Do you sense anything?”

 

 

She shook her head in denial.

 

”I don't sense any barriers or demonic energy. Except yours, that is.”

 

 

He pondered for a second and then instructed:

 

 

“We travel further. Let's go.”

 

 

Jaken, Ah-Un and Rin just followed him without protests and Midoriko did the same.

It was good that he had the two-headed dragon with him, or the little girl couldn't possibly keep up. His pase was indeed exhausting, but Midoriko was used to travel, so she made no complaints.

 

 

Her body however, she noticed after a while, was not so used to traveling large distances on foot, as her previous one had been. Her feet were starting to hurt, but she kept silent and followed, not wanting to seem weaker than him.

 

 

This woman had a will of steel, Sesshoumaru thought. He had noticed her exhaustion a few hours ago, and yet she kept going. She was maintaining his pase too, though it was obvious that she was in pain. The wound from her leg was bleeding again, he didn't need to look at her to know. Before he had found Rin, he despised humans. He still did, but he pitied them as well. Rin was an exception amongst humans, he thought. She was loyal, happy and innocent, while they were greedy, deceitful and foolish. They were truly pathetic creatures, lacking any real defenses or attacks. They healed unimaginably slow too and they had such short lives...

 

 

Beginning to get exasperated by the fact that she declined to admit how tired she was and was bearing the pain with stoicism, he decided to finally stop. It was getting dark too and the clearing they had reached seemed acceptable so he decided to stop there for tonight.

Midoriko tried not to seem too happy about it and actually succeeded. She was used to not letting emotions spill all over her face.

 

 

Jaken had made a fire to keep Rin warm as the little girl cuddled into the dragon and fell asleep instantly.

 

 

Sesshoumaru stood by the fire, seeming, as always, to be in a far away place. The Miko sat down on the opposite side of the fire, thinking she should make some conversation with him, after all they were allies and he had saved her once. Well, twice, but the one when Kumiko was in charge didn't count.

 

 

“So...what kind of a demon are you?” she asked.

 

 

His gaze reverted from the sky to her face and, after a few moments, he spoke:

 

 

“Why do you ask?”

 

 

“I was just wondering. You are not a wolf demon, I have seen them before and you don't look anything like one. Definitely not a kitsune. I would say that you are not any kind of feline demon either, they behave differently. You have honor and stick to your word, but that is most common in taiyoukai so it can't really be a hint.” She thought aloud.

 

 

He let her make assumptions over his true form, wondering if she would finally guess it.

 

 

Humans, even ones with purifying powers, couldn't tell what kind the demons with human form were. They could only be distinguished by scent, but humans didn't have it that well developed. They didn't really have anything well developed, except maybe some body parts, he admitted looking at the girl in front of him.

 

 

“Lion demon?” she tried.

 

 

“No.” His tone sounded offended.

 

 

“Damn. I thought I had that one.”

 

 

“I thought Mikos had ways of knowing.” Came his calm voice.

 

 

“They do.” She replied.

 

 

He raised an elegant eyebrow.

 

 

“Do you want to get hit with an arrow that would reveal your true form?” she asked almost hopefully.

 

 

“If I recall correctly it is enough to shoot the arrow near the certain demon.” He surprised her.

 

 

“Damn, he knew.” She thought bitterly.

 

 

“Can't you just tell me?” she asked.

 

 

“No.” He answered simply.

 

 

It was actually more of a test to himself. He wondered how much of her purifying energy he could bare without transforming. He would test his strength and his level of self-control.

 

 

“Fine.” She snapped. “But my hand may tremble.”

 

 

“See that it does not.”

 

 

She took out an arrow and whispered in her mind the words to the spell that would reveal a demon's true form. The arrow charged up with purifying energy, exploding in a wave of purple light when she shot it, just millimeters away from his foot.

 

 

A huge burst of light covered Sesshoumaru and he struggled to stay focused. She had power; he had to give her that. His eyes turned red as he tried to control the raging blood inside of him. The holy energy urged him to transform, it burned him and it seemed like his flesh was going to melt, exposing the beast underneath.

 

 

He started to breathe heavily as the red aura around him started to fade. Every muscle in his body tensed and he closed his eyes, ignoring the pain.

 

 

“It shouldn't take so long...” Midoriko thought, waiting anxiously to see his true form.

 

 

Soon the light started to fade as well as the pain Sesshoumaru felt. He opened his eyes and the red cleared away, leaving room for their normal golden color. He had done it. He had fought the spell of the most powerful Miko and doing so, he had achieved a higher level of self-control.

 

 

The light disappeared and Midoriko remained stunned to see Sesshoumaru standing calmly, still in his human form.

 

 

“He's strong, I'll give him that.” She thought. Still it was annoying. No demon had been able to resist her spell before.

 

 

“Are you waiting for applause?” she asked in a mocking voice, seeing that he hadn't moved from the spot.

 

 

“You underestimate me. I can kill you without moving from this spot.” He said, making an energy whip appear from two of his claws. “Now remove the binding spell.”

 

 

Midoriko smiled and went to get the arrow out.

 

 

“Well I needed something to hold you down in case you couldn't control the rage caused by the purifying energy in your true form.” She explained, taking the arrow out of the ground.

 

 

“I have complete control over myself, as you could see.” He replied finally being able to move his legs again. That was one strong binding spell.

 

 

He sat by the fire again and the girl did the same.

 

 

“Sesshoumaru?” she asked, her voice slightly changed.

 

 

“Midoriko?” He asked as well.

 

 

“Nope. Wrong answer.” The girl laughed.

 

 

“She usually warned me about that.” Sesshoumaru thought, observing the cheerful girl.

 

 

He didn't know why she would be cheerful, one in her situation should be nothing of the sort. She reminded him of Rin somehow.

 

 

“Dog demon?” she asked calmly.

 

 

If his half-brother would have come over and handed him the Tessaiga, giving him a hug, he wouldn't be more surprised.

 

 

“How did you know?” He even forgot to hide his astonishment.

 

 

“I don't know. You just seemed to be a dog demon.” She said thoughtfully.

 

 

Sesshoumaru didn't seem to be buying the explanation and kept staring at her.

 

 

“Maybe it's because I've seen a lot of dogs. I really like do...” she stopped mid-sentence, blushing terribly.

 

 

He found it amusing.

 

 

“I mean I like dogs, you know, the animal, not dog demons.” She said quickly. “Not that I have anything against dog demons.”

 

 

Sesshoumaru was smiling, and trying hard not to burst into laughs. That would be inappropriate for a man in his position. She was red like a tomato and she was trying to look anywhere but at him, while her heartbeat was so loud that his ears began to hurt.

 

 

“Maybe you should rest.” He suggested, thinking he could not stand another moment of looking at her without laughing.

 

Strange, he had never felt the urge to laugh aloud before. Of course, he always laughed at Jaken in his mind, but this was different. It required more self-control not to laugh now then to fight Midoriko's arrow earlier. That was amusing too. He seemed to find everything amusing at the moment.

 

 

“Yeah, that seems like a good idea.” She said and got up quickly.

 

 

“Way to go, idiot...” she scolded herself as she cuddled in next to Rin, closing her eyes.

 

 

“I hope Midoriko's going to take over when I wake up, please, please take over!” she said to herself in hope that the Miko would hear.

 

 

After getting over the incident, Sesshoumaru gave some thought to the fact that she had guessed what kind of demon he was. Midoriko with all her years of training and with all her power hadn't succeeded. Maybe there was more to this girl then met the eye.

 

 

 

ooooOOoooo

 

 

Naraku was thinking the exact same thing, having seen the incident in Kanna's mirror. He assumed he had done enough research and it was time to put his knowledge to the test.

 

 

The half-demon reviewed the information in his mind.

 

 

One: she was a very powerful Miko, skilled with the sword as well as the bow.

 

 

Two: she was also a childish girl who had no idea how to use the power she obviously possessed.

 

 

She could easily be killed in the moments that she was not Midoriko, he thought with a smirk. She was obviously a great threat and, because of her powers, she could sense his barrier and could lead Sesshoumaru straight to his hiding place. That could definitely not happen; she had to be dealt with.

 

 

He summoned his puppet, Kohaku.

 

 

“Tell the Shichintai I have a new task for them.”

 

 

 

A/N:

 

 

Reviewer response:

 

 

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