InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Demon Should Act Like A Demon ❯ Rude Awakening ( Chapter 1 )

A Demon Should Act Like a Demon

By Ericedwyn

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and friends were created and lovingly brought to life by Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: The responses to the reviews are at the end. Thank you for the reviews so far. I really appreciate them. BTW, text in `___' are thought expressions. :) _^,,^_

Pairing: Sesshoumaru and Kagome

Chapter One: Rude Awakening

~* At the Gates In-Between *~

"Welcome Travelers. I hope your stay in the Land of the Living was pleasant."

The two newcomers… a young woman in miko garb glared at the speaker in annoyance. Beside her, a young man with dog ears had sad, downcast eyes. The Kidoban, dressed in white formal kimono, suddenly frowned at their expressions. "That bad, huh? Oh well, maybe next time will be better." The wizened man said cheerfully, not letting the negative energy from the two affect him.

"Is this not hell?" Kikyou glanced around warily. "We are supposed to be in hell." Kikyou's spine stiffened several more degrees that she looked like she was going to break.

"My, my… aren't you anxious." The Kidoban cleared his throat before flipping a page of a large book in front of him. "Let see…" He looked up from the page to gaze deeply into the dead Miko's brown eyes.

"I'm afraid, you missed hell by this much." He placed his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. "I hope you are not too disappointed…"

"Then, where am I supposed to go?" A frown marred the otherwise stoic face.

"I was getting to that before you interrupted." The Gatekeeper said a little testily. He diverted his attention to the Hanyou. "Inuyasha, I'm afraid your wish on the Shikon no Tama caused more imbalance on the soul of a certain young woman named Kagome."

Inuyasha's ears perked up at the sound of Kagome's name and shot a questioning look at his host. "What about, Kagome?" Kikyou turned to glare at him.

"Well, it would have been a lot easier if Kagome had stayed dead so that we could have rejoined her soul with the part that is still in Kikyou. Ah, before I forget. Kindly release the other souls you still carry, Kikyou. A couple of them have been trying to reincarnate, but were tra… er, um… unable." The wizened man chose not to look at directly, but saw wisps of white begin to escape the woman of clay, earth, and bones from his periphery. "Many thanks."

"Now, because of the numerous disruptions on the Kagome soul, Kami-sama felt it would be best to hold the "hate" part of the soul here until the remainder of the soul comes back to us."

"What do you mean? But that can take decades!" Kikyou shrieked.

"Actually, it is more like several centuries…" The Gatekeeper murmured under his breath.

"NANI?!?"

"Were you not paying attention down there, Kikyou?" The Gatekeeper sighed but turned to smile ruefully at Inuyasha. "Do you want to tell her what you wished or shall I, young man?"

The deep blush crept up Inuyasha's face. "I… um, wished Kagome to live and be a youkai." The words sounded as if they were strangled from his throat.

The shock on Kikyou's face was blinding. Her mouth tried to form the words of rebuke, but they would not spill from her lips.

Not one to turn his back on any opportunity, the Kidoban circled his stand and grabbed Kikyou's elbow. "Now, my dear, come along." He steered her through the gates and through the middle door as quickly as his feet could take him. "This is the waiting room. Please make yourself at home." He shut the door behind him, ignoring the muffled sounds coming from the other side.

"Now you, young man..." The Gatekeeper began, before placing a hand on the Hanyou's shoulder and stared into his eyes. "Because your wish was made unselfishly, you have been given a chance to redeem yourself so that your soul can move on."

"What do I do?"

"You must help Kagome come to terms with your wish."

"But how do I do that?" Inuyasha's eyebrows knitted together at the middle.

"Not my department, but here comes Juuki to help you with that. Good luck!" He patted the Hanyou's shoulder once before returning to his post.

Inuyasha looked back at the Gatekeeper and his eyebrows rose in surprise as the old man in the white kimono changed to a young man with longish hair wearing beads, a tie-dye shirt, and flared bottom pants. He heard him say "Hey there, man. How was the trip?" to someone similarly attired.

He took a step forward as he turned his head and ran smacked into something warm and solid. "Greetings, I am Juuki. I will be your guide." Inuyasha looked up into the face of a tall kitsune youkai in humanoid form who bore a deep resemblance to a young friend he left behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~* At Sesshoumaru's fortress *~

Kagome sat up suddenly from the futon, gasped from the wracking pain from her wounds, and fell back down none to gently. "I must be in hell! It hurts!" She groaned through pursed lips. She took a deep breath and tried to exhale through the shearing waves of pain. She felt a hand on her shoulder anchoring her to the bed.

"Baka! Do not move or your wounds will re-open." She heard a thundering growl over her and opened her eyes wide. They grew wider still as the amber-colored ones of Sesshoumaru stared back.

"KYAAA! I am in hell!" She began to struggle beneath his arm to escape, until she spotted Shippou helping the demon lord. "Shippou-chan?!?"

"Kagome… Okaasan. He's right. Don't move. Please." He said frantically, looking straight into her eyes, begging. "It's okay! You're safe! Really!"

He must have convinced her for the injured woman stopped struggling immediately. She closed her eyes again, and tried to get her racing heartbeat back to normal. When the pain subsided to minute stinging sensations, she re-opened her eyes and looked at the worried face of Shippou and a frowning one of Sesshoumaru. "Where am I and why am I alive?"

"My fortress. Inuyasha wished it on your damned jewel," came the curt reply.

"I was dead." She said dumbly and looked up at the ceiling.

"Hai, and now you are not." She snapped her eyes towards the demon lord, and from the barest of moments, she thought she saw the corners of his lips twitch upwards. She brushed it aside thinking she must have imagined it. `Maybe I'm feverish too…'

"Shippou, fetch more bandages."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama! I'll be right back, Kagome-okaasan." The kitsune scurried off the bed, but not before giving her a peck on her cheek. Kagome smiled weakly after him.

Sesshoumaru watched the interaction between the two with a slight interest before sliding Kagome's yukata open.

She gasped and covered her breasts with her arms. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Woman! What do you think I am doing? Seducing you?" He roared. "You have opened yet another wound through your foolish struggling." Sesshoumaru ran his claw over the bandages on her stomach and pulled them off. He examined the wound gently, before wiping the excess blood with the used bandages.

Kagome watched him warily, and was taken aback by the gentleness of his ministrations.

"Here you go, Sesshoumaru-sama." Shippou said breathlessly as he jumped on the bed and offered the strips of linen to him. When the demon lord took one and placed one end over her wound, the kitsune placed his hand on it to keep it in place before the first loop.

"Very good, Shippou." The demon lord acknowledged quietly, before wrapping the bandages around Kagome's wound with his only hand. When he completed his task, he pulled the front of the yukata closed from under her arms and tied the sash. He glared at her as he pulled the blanket over her.

"You, rest." Then shifted his attention to Shippou. "And you, make sure she does." With one last daggered look at his patient, he strode out of her bedchamber.

It wasn't long before sleep claimed her again, and she welcomed it gladly… faintly feeling the kitsune snuggle up to her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~* Somewhere in the Realm of In-Between *~

"So… I can visit Kagome in her dreams when this pearl turns blue."

"Hai, and only when it turns blue. That is when she will be more receptive to a visit. Visiting through dreams is the least intrusive way to communicate with the living." Juuki explained.

"There is something nagging me for a while now…" The Hanyou began…

"Eh?" One of the kitsune's eyebrow rose in question.

"You know, you look like my friend, Shippou." His face scrunched up as if in deep thought…

Juuki looked down at the Hanyou who bore an expression on his face as if he was in very much pain. "Hai. I was his Otousan. I am waiting here until he is grown and mated, so I can return to him as his son."

"The Kidoban said after I redeem myself, I can reincarnate again." Inuyasha said quietly after a long pause.

"Hai. I think your soul has a lot more to learn. Kagome's soul is a very mature one. You will need to catch up to her to be together with her again in the way that you hope." Juuki smiled at the Hanyou whose face brightened at his words. He looked at the pearl in Inuyasha's hand which just took on a bluish hue. "Why don't you go for a visit?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~* In Kagome's dream *~

"Kagome…" came a whisper somewhere close by.

"Inuyasha?" She whispered and looked around. All she could see was blue light everywhere. "Where are you?"

"I'm right behind you, Wench!" Inuyasha laughed and grabbed her from behind.

She laughed and turned in his arms, and hugged him back. "Then it was just a dream. I am dead, right? But then… that means you are too?" She felt very much confused and searched the Hanyou's face for answers. He looked so young and carefree. And his smile held no burden. She reached up to place a hand on his cheek.

"Iie, Kagome. It is not a dream. You are alive. I just came to visit you to make sure you are okay."

"Oh." She frowned sadly at him.

He buried his face on her blue-black tresses and inhaled her sweet scent. "I had to. I thought it was the right thing to do at that time. I did it out of love for you. Please forgive me if I hurt you instead. I seem to have made it a habit between us."

She sighed, but tightened her hold. "How about your decision to die? Was it right for you?"

"I did it to fulfill a promise, Kagome." He hesitated. "Remember I love you and I will always love you."

She felt her heart overflow with both joy and sadness. Tears welt up in her eyes. "And I will always love you."

Silence crashed loudly for several moments as they held each other. "I have to go, Kagome. I will try to visit you again soon." He smiled sadly as he let her go and began to walk away. "Besides, Kagome, being a demon is not so bad."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~* At Sesshoumaru's fortress *~

"NANI?!?" Kagome woke up with a start, and sat up on the futon once more at the dismay of her little caretaker who fell unceremoniously onto the floor. "You made me a WHAT?!?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Glossary: (If I am using the Japanese terms wrong, please let me know. I'm already butchering up English… I don't want to butcher up Japanese too. Arigatou! _^,,^_ )

Arigatou - Thank you

Baka - Fool; Stupid; Idiot

Hai - Yes

Hanyou - Half-demon, half-human

Iie - No

Kami-sama - God

Kidoban - Gatekeeper

Kitsune - Fox

Miko - Priestess

Nani - What

Okaasan - Mother

Otousan - Father

Youkai - Demon

Yukata - A thin kimono; can be called a bathrobe

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Responses to Reviews: Arigatou, Reviewers! I really appreciate your input. _^,,^_

Inu bullet: It wasn't me, I swear it! Inuyasha did it! But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Inuyasha still needs to redeem himself after all, so he will be doing some more cameos.

Miss_Marily69: Arigatou for the rating and for your support. I love the Inuyasha/Kagome pairing, but I wanted to explore the Sess/Kagome one in this story. I just think they are hot together.

Karete-chan: Arigatou, and I will! ::giggles:: I hope you enjoyed chapter 1.