InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A little goes a long way ❯ Righting A Wrong ( Chapter 3 )

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the mere sparks of imagination. Characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, VIZ Media et al. Original story idea, The Lion and the Mouse by Aesop.

Reference:Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

 

A/N: I don't know if I will continue to write once this story is complete, being a beta is much easier ;) Thanks to everyone who reads it.

 

Morning came quickly after the ordeal and the sun's rays found their way into the small cave opening and onto the body of the resting daiyoukai. He was not usually one to sleep past dawn but his exhausted body had kept him sedated well past sunrise. Finally stirring, he raised an arm to shield his eyes from the bright light before finally cracking his eyes open. At first he did not seem quite sure of his surroundings, not surprising considering he had been unconscious through most of the night. Slowly he eased his body up into a sitting position and noticed that he was covered by a bright blue blanket made out of some material he could not recognize. `It must be the miko's.' he grimaced as he took a tender sniff of it only to come up with something akin to flowers. There was barely a trace of her on it. Casting a weathered glance around the cave, he observed the small fire pit, down to its embers now and a water canteen sitting away from him.

 

He took a moment to stretch and stopped midway. Golden eyes turned left and downwards and widened as he stared at the pale clawed hand that was held in the air. He had to look over to his right arm before he looked back at the arm that he had lost over three years ago, visibly perfect before he flexed his fingers and clenched his fist - it felt as though it had always been there. `How is this possible? Did she do this?' he pondered; too many questions without readily available answers. Getting to his feet, he reached around his left shoulder with his new arm to find the wound completely healed. The only signs of the injury were the blood trail on the ground and spatter on his mokomoko. `She is more powerful than this Sesshoumaru has ever imagined' the thought impressed and worried him.

 

It was obvious that she had left hours ago, her scent was old and faded except nearest the fire pit. He walked forward and saw a small scrap of cloth tied with a piece of paper sitting on a rock and picked it up. As he unfolded the material, he read her little note.

“Hn, I have no doubt that she will keep this secret” he grunted to himself and looked down to find the purified arrowhead in his open hand.

 

Memories of being pierced and his strength deteriorating raced through his mind as his fingers started to glow green. The compulsion to melt away the damning evidence of his weakness was strong but they were quickly replaced by the recollection of the crying miko pleading for him to let her help him. Her tears meant little to him but the words remained, `She said that she did not want me to die'. A strange pain engulfed his chest at the thought that he now owed her a debt - she had saved his life and not asked for anything in return - and he was an honorable demon; regardless of the situation or whoever was involved. He needed to find her and question her about the return of his arm amongst other things. For the first time in his life, Sesshoumaru, daiyoukai of the West needed to thank someone and it was a ningen priestess from the future. His life was definitely not going to be dull any longer.

 

He dressed hastily and picked up the blanket and canteen, draining the latter before placing the wrapped arrowhead and note into the sleeve of his haori. Using his poison claws, he erased any trace of his blood from the cave floor and stepped to the entrance. His trademark smirk graced his face as he found the last proof of the miko's powers, her barrier. `She left this for my protection while she went out into the night' his own concern quite evident but it was not something he would ever let anyone know or see. As he stepped through it, the pink light faded and disappeared.

“It seems this Sesshoumaru has a miko to find” he exclaimed as he created his demon cloud and followed the scent trail left behind by Kagome's flight.

 

The new day did not find Kagome in good spirits however. After tailing the shard for several hours, her body finally was too fatigued to go any further. She had no idea where she was or how far she had walked since leaving Sesshoumaru sequestered in the cave. `Maybe I should have stayed with him, his rejection would have been better than me dropping dead from exhaustion' she griped as she practically dragged herself forward. There were no secluded copses or clearings and no caves around her, just a long winding path bordered by mighty trees.

“This kind of reminds me of the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz” she remarked while looking down at the sea of dead leaves that glowed in the dawn light.

 

A stumble or two later, she was ready to give up. Hopefully she would still be able to sense the shard after she had a chance to rest and recover her strength; a bath in a hot springs would help to but she had yet to come across one in her tiring solo journey.

“It figures, when I'm alone and want to take a soaking bath, I can't find a hot springs but when I'm with InuYasha there's always one around the corner and I have to fight to get him to let me use it…life so sucks right now” she spat out, her face set in a scowl, not too dissimilar to the one, her former patient always wore.

 

Not long after her outburst, she spied a couple of fallen trees that were hollow from age and rot. The space was large enough for her to crawl in and lay down but she could not sit up, which was quite fine with her. All she wanted to do was sleep. Grabbing an armful of the moss blanket that lay on the wooded floor, she made a makeshift door to hide herself from anyone or anything else that walked along the trail and crawled in. Digging in her backpack, she pulled out her sleeping bag and lay it out, too tired to bother to zip herself in, she collapsed on top of it, her pack at her head and fell fast asleep.

 

 

Far off on the southern border of the Western Lands, the group of shard hunters were awakening to the growls and rants from an irate hanyou.

“Where is she? That stupid wench better had not gotten herself abducted or worse…or so help me, I'm going to beat the crap out of her if I have to save her stupid useless self again”

 

A sleepy Sango and an even sleepier Shippou opened their eyes to see Miroku quickly advancing to the side of the fuming InuYasha.

“Kagome did not return from her walk last night. I assume she was still upset about your argument over yesterday's battle and probably felt that some time away from you was best” the monk calmly explained before continuing, his normally even-keeled voice beginning to show signs of bitterness and pent up irritation. “If you had bothered to come back to camp before dawn you would have been aware of that fact. Where exactly were you last night?”

 

“Where I was and what I do with my time is none of your concern monk. She needed time away from me, ha! She almost shot me with one of her stupid arrows and SHE'S UPSET WITH ME.” InuYasha groused loudly, growing more and more frustrated about the fact that his miko shard detector had left the group without so much as a word as to where she was going or when she planned on returning. “We don't have time for this shit, grab your stuff - we are leaving NOW!!”

 

Sango and Shippou were almost through packing up the camp before the hanyou bellowed and with Miroku's help they loaded up their things and jumped atop a transformed Kirara, waiting to see what direction InuYasha headed off to. The taijiya and monk were actually quite worried about the safety of their missing friend, especially since it was the first time in the three years together she had been drawn into the Feudal era that she had spent the night away from all of them. Normally after one of their heated arguments instead of saying `SIT' as did in the past, she would now just wander off alone to give InuYasha time to cool off before she either came back on her own or he went to retrieve her. For all his gruffness and abrasive nature, he did actually care about her; he just really sucked at showing it.

 

Kagome had changed with the death of Kikyou. After the reburial, Kaede noticed the young miko's personality and aura shift and believed that with the return of the missing piece of her soul, the part that housed her anger and hatred that she was less willing to put up with InuYasha's incessant ranting. She spent more time to herself although she never neglected her friends or stopped helping others; that was a part of her that would never change. It became obvious to the rest of the group that she no longer harbored intimate feelings for the hanyou and treated him no differently than everyone else. Her determination to see to the destruction of Naraku and the reclamation of the Shikon shards was her main priority and she had all but given up on travelling back and forth to her own time if it meant that she could be done with her duty sooner.

 

She had told Sango in private one night during their bath time that she was not sure what she would do once they had defeated the spider hanyou and made the wish on the jewel; that if the jewel didn't automatically send her back to the future that she didn't have any reason for her to stay in the Feudal era and on the flip side that trying to return to a life that she had put on hold would be just as stressing and disorientating.

`My soul is torn between two worlds, the one I was born into and the one I grew up in. I have two families and I love you both very much but I feel like I do not belong in either. When I thought I was in love with InuYasha I would have done anything to spend the rest of my days with him and I did everything I could to become stronger and be the only woman he would have ever wanted but now that I know that those feelings were unfounded, what good is having all of this newfound power if I return to my time ? There is no need for mikos in the future, like demons; we are the fodder for my history books and children's fairytales. My honor prevents me from abandoning my quest and at this point, we have been through too much for me to just walk away. I do it to avenge your family and village, for Shippou's father, for Miroku's curse, for the love that InuYasha and Kikyou could have had, for everyone who has died or suffered under the wrath of Naraku - that is the purpose of my life, the destiny the kamis have bestowed upon me; beyond that only time will tell. I may never find happiness or love or someone to share my life with but maybe that is just the way it is supposed to be.'

The memory of those words brought tears to Sango's eyes. If anyone deserved happiness, it was Kagome and right now all she cared about was finding her safe and sound. When they found her, after giving her a big hug, she'd yell at her for making her worry so much. Taking a good guess at the reason for Sango's silent sobs, Miroku wrapped his arms around her a little tighter from his spot behind her on Kirara's back and pulled her back against his chest. Shippou, in front, smelled the salt trailing down her face and snuggled himself even further into her embrace. The only thing or person rather on their minds and in their hearts was their friend and loved one, Kagome.

 

High above the treetops, a figure clad in red turned and sniffed the air, a small growl erupting from his lips. `Where the hell did she go off to? I didn't say anything to her that could possibly make her this mad, did I?' doubt slowly creeping into him. `We always argue but she always forgives me and comes back. I know she wasn't aiming at me and she can't help be a klutz but she didn't come back this time; but why did she have to go wandering off in the Western Lands. What if Sesshoumaru found her? She better be safe wherever she is' his anxiety getting the better of him now. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught sight of Kirara and her passengers huddled together, pained concerned looks on their faces. `I will find her. I will fix this. I will not lose Kagome just because I don't know how to keep my temper in check and when to keep my mouth shut. I promised to protect her and if anything happens to her, I don't know what I would do.' Fear and worry spurring his pace as he turned and headed deeper and deeper into his half-brother's territory.

 

 

The sun was high in the sky before the daiyoukai caught the strong scent of the miko he was searching for. `Jasmine and spiced vanilla, an odd combination in truth but quite befitting of that particular onna' he contemplated. Sesshoumaru loved a challenge, was excellent at solving riddles and the enigmas of life but never in all his years had he ever come across someone as unique as Kagome Higurashi.

 

When she had brokered the truce between the Inu half brothers almost two years ago, after the despicable incident of Rin's abduction and Kikyou's second death by Naraku, Kagome felt it necessary to `lay all her cards out on the table' so to speak and be totally honest about who she was and where she came from to the demon lord. She understood demon culture much better now and knew that by accepting him as an ally and by the mere actuality that he was InuYasha's older brother that he was, whether he chose to be or not, the Alpha of their pack. It would be considered traitorous under penalty of death to keep such secrets from him. InuYasha rebelled against the decision saying that his “asshole of a half-brother would use her to his advantage so he could take over the world or something”. “Too much television in her time was rotting his brain” was her response.

 

She came prepared when she made her announcement, armed with an pack full of colorful scrolls, `school books' she called them and various tools and implements from her time. It was not that Sesshoumaru didn't believe her; it was obvious to everyone that she was different; it was the enormity of her declaration. It explained many things that he had questioned over the time that he had witnessed her - from her strange, indecent clothes, her manner of speech, her independent-bordering on disrespectful attitude towards matters of culture and possession, her utter lack of understanding of demons…There were so many more questions but at least he finally got answers and all without having to threaten her for them.

 

He finally understood why she showed no fear, was so open and friendly and never held anything back. It was the way she was raised, in a time 500 hundred years from now, where there were no demons (or so she said), where man's advancements in every field were taken for granted and accepted as the only truth. The thought of there being no demons in the future bothered him and he bristled at the idea of being only remembered in some dusty tome as a legend. As a military strategist, he could have decided to use her knowledge of upcoming events to his benefit, as the hanyou had obnoxiously insinuated but he was struck with the greater realization that their common foe would be an even greater problem if he were to ever become aware of the miko's secrets. While he did not put much consideration into his alliance with InuYasha, the old saying “The enemies of my enemies are my friends” took on a whole new life for him. Regardless of his general distaste for the human race, this was one human, aside from his ward Rin that had to be protected at all costs. Her being the chosen Shikon Miko and probably the only person that could finally put an end to Naraku's reign of terror only further cemented that fact.

 

As he descended from the sky, the auras of many unknown demons assaulted his powerful senses. He had been shielding his own aura while in-flight and was about to release his jyaki when he sensed the malicious auras close to where Kagome's scent was emanating from. A nest of viper demons had been hunting along the wooded trail and had come across a rather delectable trace of something pure and definitely human. Poor Kagome, asleep in her camouflaged fallen tree had no idea of the happenings of the world outside of her dreams. Whatever power she had left before falling asleep was used as a barrier to protect the vial of shards that hung on the silver chain around her neck, leaving her body wide open for anything demonic to detect. They slunk through the fallen leaves almost soundlessly and blended in almost invisibly with the surrounding trees. The leader, a tall lean black headed male with mossy green slits for eyes slithered up to the miko's hidden resting area and slowly moved aside the mossy curtain that had been sheltering the opening to the hollowed tree. With the sunlight filtering in through the trees, even his faulty vision could make out the petite ebony-tressed girl lying within. He could hear her shallow, even breathing and she was totally unawares as he crept further in, twisting into the narrow space drawing closer and closer to her form. A pink forked tongue flicked out of his mouth as he hissed out a warning to his brethren outside “Tasty morsel my find, go search elsewhere”. Thinking to himself that a find such as her would be too great to devour hastily, his intention was to poison her and carry her limp body back to his nest where he could feed off of her vitality at his own leisure. Inclining over the bag that sat above her head, he leaned his head forward, open mouth and venomous fangs over the arm that rested on her face and took a good long look at his prey before commenting “This will be over in a minute”. With the swiftness that could only come from a snake demon, his fangs imbedded themselves into her wrist as he released his paralyzing poison into her bloodstream.

 

Two things happened next that he was not expecting, never in his wildest dreams or worst nightmares: the instant the poison entered her body, Kagome's eyes shot open and she released a death-wail of a scream that stunned the viper's near non-existent hearing and within the time it took for him to blink twice, his body was forcibly pulled out of the hollow and he came face to face with a red-eyed Inu taiyoukai. His recollection of who exactly he was dealing with was too short to form any comprehensible words before his head was removed from his body. Before his brain stopped functioning, his eyes cast aside to see the dismembered bodies of his nest all in similar or worse conditions to him and his last thoughts were ` Who the hell was that onna and what is she to Sesshoumaru-sama?' As a reflex action, his tongue darted out his mouth and his life was snuffed out by the end of a green acid whip slicing his head in two.

 

Sesshoumaru lost all control when he came across the viper demons lingering too close to Kagome's dwindling aura. He knew in an instant that she was weakened probably from all the energy she had exerted during the night dealing with him and he was enraged. After disposing of the dozen or so sentries along the trail, he ran to where he sensed the last demon was. He got there just the scream exploded from within the tree; not letting the ear-shattering sound affect him, he grabbed the snake by its legs and pulled it out. Her blood dripped from its fangs and ran down the chin of the vile creature. Compelled to seek vengeance for the miko who had saved his life just hours ago, he let his bestial side take over as he decapitated the floundering demon in his arms and for good measure sliced his head in twain, because everyone knew that a snake's head could operate without a body and this one had already bitten one victim too many. He being poisonous by nature from birth was immune to pretty much every poison there was but Kagome was human and from the sound of it was battling the venom with her holy powers but her exhausted body was too weak to put up a good fight.

 

He wasted no time before splitting the hollow tree with his whip, allowing him easier access to pull her out. The old trunk split down the middle like a hot dog bun leaving the writhing miko inside. Grabbing her pack and slinging it over his shoulder, he reached in and lifted her small body holding her gently against his armored chest, her head resting on his mokomoko. She was shaking violently and sweating profusely, her lips a horrid shade of purple. Using his restored arm, he cautiously lifted her violated wrist - the bite mark was bloated and discolored, her blood still flowed slowly out of the puncture marks, all the veins in her arm were raised and blue - the venom was still racing through her system. There was very little time left before she would be completely paralyzed and eventually die. He had to take her to the healers in the Western Citadel, he owed her that much if not more.

 

Before he could take two steps to turn around, she whimpered in his arms “I don't want to die”. He didn't think she knew that it was him not that it mattered but for some unknown reason, he didn't want her to die either. He concentrated his youki and transformed into his orb and flew off in the direction of his home. The only thing on his mind was the welfare of the frail woman in his arms.