InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Absolution's Pursuit ❯ A Precarious Inquiry ( Chapter 15 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lady Sianna 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 08.04.2010 | Updated On: 06.13.2012 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 367 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 08.04.2010 | Updated On: 06.13.2012 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 367 | Status: Work In Progress
Absolution’s Pursuit
A Precarious Inquiry
…_________________________________________________________ __________...
Blood, thick, dark and tinged with a metallic scent, splattered across the ground as it carelessly flung from Sesshoumaru’s claws. He breathed deeply and felt the tension he had been previously unaware of melt from his body. Here in the grassy clearing, surrounded by the carcasses of lesser youkai, the daiyoukai felt almost, almost at peace for the first time in many weeks. Perhaps even longer.
His body felt like his own again; no longer weighted as if he were trapped at the bottom of the sea. Hardly thinking of his actions, the inu lord lifted his claws and slowly licked away the remaining blood that clung there. Though his body felt normal again, his mind was not at peace.
He thought of the strange encounter he’d just had with Kagome. He thought of his uncertain future. He thought of his father… and he thought of Inuyasha.
His hand falling limply to his side, the demon lord allowed his mind to wander. He could still remember, almost as if it had just occurred, the day he’d found the hanyou; the very first time he’d set eyes upon him. He had been so small, so young. Sesshoumaru had hated him, detested him for what he was and the love his father had displayed for him, even before he was born, in his willingness to sacrifice his life. It had been foolish, yet Sesshoumaru knew, just knew that his father, if given another chance, would do it all over again.
What had he been thinking? Though he had given his explanations, Sesshoumaru still could not fully understand why it had been so very important to his father to protect the human female called Izayoi and the halfling pup he sired with her; even to the point of throwing his own life away.
‘Hn,’ he decided, a small humorless smile tilting the edge of his lips. It no longer mattered. All three of them were dead now. He wondered though, in a very distant part of his mind, if they had all found one another again in the afterlife. Hadn’t his father mentioned something about locating Inuyasha? If that was the case, surely he would have already found his human mate. She had died years ago.
Turning on his heel, Sesshoumaru paid no mind to the trail of carnage he had left in his wake. He had wanted to test his new armor and had succeeded in doing so ten times over. Not long after he’d left Kagome at Totosai‘s mountain, he’d fortuitously come upon a hoard of demons as they’d been mindlessly rampaging across a dirt road. The fact that he’d intercepted them before they could make it to a bustling human marketplace had been of little consequence as it hadn’t been his objective to stop them, merely to test his armor and newly restored strength.
He’d been a bit skeptical about the armor at first, for it was notably lighter than his old one, but the fact that it had taken a direct energy blast from one of the more powerful demons without so much as a single scratch, was enough to put his doubts to rest.
The armor would indeed serve its purpose, and as long as he did not expend massive amounts of his demonic energy, he should retain his full strength long enough to attain whatever absolution he needed to escape the fait that awaited the rest of his species.
Sesshoumaru grasped the hilt of Bakusaiga and narrowed his eyes. He had considered using it against the demons but then had thought better of it, reasoning that for now, it would not be prudent to do so. The blade was capable of unleashing destruction like nothing he’d ever seen, but in order to do so, it fed off his own youki. This of course had not been a problem before, but for the time being his situation was precarious and using the blade was risky, even with the armor. There was always something, the inu lord mused unhappily. Now that he held a proper blade, one befitting a daiyoukai such as he, he was unable to use it for it could very well leave him depleted of demonic energy thereby saving the gods the trouble of doing it themselves. How bothersome.
‘A temporary inconvenience,’ he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. His power was all he had now and he would do whatever was necessary to keep it.
Slowly, Sesshoumaru waded his way over the bloody, carcass-strewn road and headed back to Totosai’s mountain. It was swiftly approaching mid-morning; time to meet with Kagome so that they could be on their way. He didn’t look back at the carnage he’d left behind him, but strangely, he found himself pleased that the way to Bokusenou’s forest was not in this direction. Somehow, the idea of exposing the young priestess to such gore seemed faintly disquieting, and in a very, very small way, he was content that for the moment, he wouldn’t have to.
…_______________________________________________________ _____________...
Carefully scanning her surroundings, Kagome took a small sigh of relief. She lowered her bow, slowly moving back to Mo-Mo’s side and lowering herself to the ground. As Totosai happen to live in a volcanic mountain, she was fortunate enough to find a place to dry her recently laundered clothing. It would have been nice if there had been a spring up here, but instead she had been forced to bath in an icy cold stream, deciding at the last moment to wash her clothes as well. She had managed to find an area that was comfortably secluded and therefore had not felt too discomforted in wearing her white under kimono until she was able to dry her clothing.
Totosai had been good enough to lend her his flying ox, which made traveling much easier and, having returned to the mountain her attention was immediately drawn to an area high up where heated streams of air were escaping through several of the deep craters. Directing the ox to land near one of the smaller vents, the miko smiled in satisfaction as this would serve as her personal feudal era clothes dryer.
It had been surprisingly easy to find a few long sticks with which to fashion a makeshift clothing rack, and so now she simply needed to wait for the oversized clothing to finish drying.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lot of demons up here. She had only just settled her clothing in place when the familiar chill of youki skittered down her spine. She’d dove to the ground just in time to avoid a lethal strike by some unknown species of demon, rolling to her left and quickly grabbing her bow. The thing pivoted and doubled back, moving toward her at blinding speeds and she had instinctually swung her bow, not having had a chance to slot an arrow against it. She’d only been slightly surprised when the weapon, glowing a brilliant pink, instantly destroyed the demon, rendering it little more than a pile of glittering ash.
Her breathing swift and slightly erratic, the untrained miko quickly collected her quiver of arrows, seating them on her back as she scanned her surroundings for additional threats. The decision to arm herself, it turned out, had been a wise one as several more demons appeared, seemingly from nowhere, descending from the sky to swoop down on her. It had not been difficult to shoot them out of the sky, but had also been a little bit frightening because she had not done it in so long. Not only that, but when she’d fought against demons in the past, she usually had the added security of having her friends nearby to help. In this case, only Mo-mo was here, but the oversized ox wasn’t much help, as it seemed largely unconcerned about the demons that had come after her.
‘Oh well,’ she decided with a sidelong glance at the now dozing ox, at least the demons were low level and easily purified.
________________________________________________________ ________________
Thankfully, it hadn’t taken long for her clothes to dry and Kagome wasted no time shrugging back into them. She made sure to keep her weapons nearby just in case more demons decided to approach. The odd thing was that she could feel their presence, tingling just at the edge of her senses, yet they dared not to come closer. Since she had shot those few out of the sky, she supposed that those remaining were afraid to approach her. Still, it made her feel uneasy that they were so close and she was more than happy to be leaving.
As she and the flying ox descended the mountain, the young miko felt a great measure of relief, realizing that the demons hadn’t decided to follow her.
Once back in the relative safety of Totosai’s… home, Kagome allowed herself to relax, breaking her nightly fast with a few pieces of dried meat. There was still time before she was due to meet with Sesshoumaru, so the priestess took the opportunity to speak with the old sword smith, hoping he would have an explanation as to why the demon lord would need a new armor. She had been hoping that any answer she was able to glean from him would help to explain why the daiyoukai was in trouble. To her surprise, the answers were directly related.
‘No wonder he didn’t tell me,’ Kagome thought, the tips of her fingers pressed to her lips as she muffled a gasp of surprise. She had no idea it was something so serious, and in the back of her mind she realized that this must be why there didn’t seem to be any demons in her time. The gods had decided to wipe them out. How could she possibly help him with something like this?!
Her expression clouded with worry, Kagome thought over this new development, trying and mostly failing to make sense of what Totosai had revealed to her. The fact that neither he, Mo-Mo or Myoga were affected, seemed to suggest to her that Shippou, Jenenji, and other “friendly” demons would not be affected either. Still, the idea that Sesshoumaru was going to… to die, it did not sit well with her, and not just because he was her self appointed protector.
Falling silent as she sorted through her own thoughts, Kagome was all but oblivious to the light scraping sounds as Totosai meticulously sharpened the blade of an exquisitely crafted naginata, one of the many weapons that stood in one of the far corners of his cave.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat there, but after a time the miko suddenly snapped to, instantly jumping to her feet and moving to the cave entrance. “Oh!,” she gasped lightly, “I’m gonna be late! Sesshoumaru should be back any minute now!”
Totosai watched in silence as she quickly gathered her things, returning them to her traveling bag before darting toward the cave entrance.
“Hey!” he called before she could rush past him.
Kagome halted, pivoting just enough to peer at him over her left shoulder. “What is it?” she asked, a hint of apprehension coloring her voice at the intense look he was giving her.
For a moment the old demon held his silence, seeming to ponder something of great importance before he finally rose to his full height, using the naginata to help support him as he stood. “Why…” he trailed off, but then willed himself to press on. “Why are you traveling with Sesshoumaru?”
Totosai did not miss the fall of her shoulders, nor the pallid hue that slowly drained her face of color. She turned to him fully, a heavy sigh escaping her lips and a deep sadness in her eyes. It was truly amazing how quickly her emotions could change.
She stood there in silence, her eyes staring right through him and in that moment the elemental knew that something was terribly wrong. Though his mind was carefully piecing together the scattered bits of evidence, he was not prepared to accept the obvious conclusion of his thoughts. An unpleasant feeling washed over him, sharp and unrelenting, it clawed at his old heart, and even though he could hardly register that there was air in his lungs, the ancient could not prevent himself from asking, “Will you… be going back to Inuyasha?”
Kagome bit her lip, a single tear escaping her eye.
…_________________________________________________________ _________...
The priestess was late, Sesshoumaru decided, his disinterested gaze fixed upon the sparse clouds that lined the flawless blue sky. Patience was not a strong point for the daiyoukai, yet he found himself markedly disinclined to venture up the mountain to retrieve her. Somehow it seemed beneath him to do so. Not that standing here and waiting for her was much better. The demon lord scowled.
Folding his hands into his sleeves, he allowed an inaudible sigh, his expression becoming unreadable once more. He thought of Bokusenou. What would the old demon say in regards to his predicament? Would he be able to provide any useful answers?
Sesshoumaru pondered this for a time before finally pushing the thoughts aside. In spite of his impatience to have this situation resolved, he realized that speculation on the matter would do nothing in the way of helping him. He would simply have to wait to see what, if any wisdom Bokusenou would impart to him.
Perhaps the solution would be a simple one.
Behind him, the light rustling of fabric, together with the labored breathing of the young miko became audible, and the inu lord pivoted just enough to glare at her over his shoulder.
Tottering down the mountain as quickly as she could, the female gradually made her way to his side. She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and a suspiciously bright smile gracing her face. Even he could see that it was forced. She smelled faintly of sadness and tears.
“You are late.” he intoned dryly, turning away from her and beginning to walk in the direction of the south.
“S-sorry,” she breathed tiredly. “I was just… talking to Totosai.”
Sesshoumaru glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, not for the first time taking note of the naginata she now carried. Taller than she, the weapon’s long, thin shaft was dark and smooth. The uncovered blade, slightly shorter than the length of Kagome’s arm, was intricately designed and slightly curved. The weapon was clearly of high quality, though why she now carried it was a mystery to him. Oddly, it… annoyed him.
“Why do you have that?”
Starting, Kagome immediately roused from her melancholy thoughts and looked up at him. She was about to ask him what he had said, but then she noticed the direction of his gaze. “Oh this?” she asked, turning her attention to the weapon as well. “Totosai gave it to me.”
“Why?”
Using the naginata as a crutch to save herself from falling over the large stone she hadn’t notice until she nearly tripped over it, the miko recovered nicely and shrugged. “For protection I guess.”
Sesshoumaru felt his annoyance spike. Did Totosai not realize that he, Sesshoumaru had taken the charge of protecting the woman?
“I got into a bit of trouble in the mountains, so I guess he thought I needed another weapon, just in case something gets too close and I can’t use my bow and arrows.”
Sesshoumaru frowned at this, but Kagome didn’t notice. She was looking straight ahead, seemingly pleased to have something to talk about, something to take her mind off whatever had been troubling her.
“I don’t really know how to use it, but I guess I’d just have to swing it and…”
“You were attacked in the mountains?”
She looked at him. “It wasn’t a big deal.” she said in a quiet voice, uncertain about the intense look he was giving her. “Just some low level demons. They never even touched me.”
For several paces Sesshoumaru did not respond, and soon the dappled shade of treetops fell over them as they entered the forest.
“My apologies. I should have been there.” the demon lord said, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. Stunned, Kagome almost, almost asked him to repeat himself, but refrained, her brow creasing as she studied him. He was clearly avoiding her gaze, and somehow, she could tell he was tense and uncomfortable. There was a certain tightness to his jaw, a rigidity in his shoulders that hadn‘t been there before. She could only guess that he was unused to apologizing and doing so now made him uneasy.
“It… it wasn’t a big deal Sesshoumaru. Really. It was just a few demons and I purified them with my arrows.”
“Were you not frightened?” he heard himself ask, though he didn’t know why it mattered. The important thing was that she had not been harmed.
“Well, I‘m always a little afraid when I get attacked,” Kagome admitted breathlessly. She was beginning to feel very strange. This conversation with Sesshoumaru was extremely surreal, and just plain… weird. It almost seemed like he cared, in spite of the fact that most of the time, he acted as if she didn‘t even exist. “But I’m fine.” she finally said. “I’m not completely helpless you know.”
“That is of no consequence.” the inu lord told her. “I offered you my protection, yet I was not there when you were in danger.” He looked at her then, his intense gaze ensnaring her as they continued to move forward. “It will not happen again.”
Again Kagome felt a strange sensation wash over her. She wanted to say something but her mind was drawing a blank, so instead she just nodded mutely, keeping her eyes on him until he finally turned away and returned his attention to the path ahead.
A slightly tense silence fell between them, each having retreated to their own thoughts. For his part, Sesshoumaru considered the implications of what Kagome had told him. When he had offered his protection to her, there were some things that he truly had not considered. He had not given much thought to the fact that she was a miko and that as such, her life might carry greater worth than that of an ordinary human. Now he was faced with the possibility that his very fate could hinge on her continued safety. The possibility of his own failure in what seemed to be such an uncomplicated task, had not presented itself to him. Clearly, it was going to require more vigilance than he had initially expected.
He glanced at her again, hoping to distract himself from the mild annoyance of his thoughts. “Do you intend to keep that?” he asked, referring to the naginata again.
She didn’t return his gaze. “Couldn’t hurt.” she said distractedly, inadvertently leaving the daiyoukai with the impression that she didn’t fully trust him with her safety.
“Hn.”
They were silent again for a long while before Kagome tentatively spoke up.
“Sesshoumaru, I… haven’t been completely honest with you. I think Totosai gave me this because… I told him what happened to Inuyasha,” she trailed off, a sad, thoughtful expression on her face. “He knows that Inuyasha used to look after me so, I guess this was his way of telling me that it’s time I start looking after myself.” She glanced at him then looked away.
“You know, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you,” she murmured, and the demon lord felt a twinge of unease at the direction of this conversation. “I know… I know you never liked Inuyasha, so… why did you try to save him?”
…____________________________________________________ ________________...
Alright, I know it’s been forever and a day since I updated! Hopefully I still have some readers left! Oh, and I promise I’ll be getting another chapter of “Remnants” out within the next few days or so, for those of you who are still hanging in there with me! Life has been kinda kicking me in the butt lately so, you know how that goes.
Hope you all enjoyed, and please review!
A Precarious Inquiry
…_________________________________________________________ __________...
Blood, thick, dark and tinged with a metallic scent, splattered across the ground as it carelessly flung from Sesshoumaru’s claws. He breathed deeply and felt the tension he had been previously unaware of melt from his body. Here in the grassy clearing, surrounded by the carcasses of lesser youkai, the daiyoukai felt almost, almost at peace for the first time in many weeks. Perhaps even longer.
His body felt like his own again; no longer weighted as if he were trapped at the bottom of the sea. Hardly thinking of his actions, the inu lord lifted his claws and slowly licked away the remaining blood that clung there. Though his body felt normal again, his mind was not at peace.
He thought of the strange encounter he’d just had with Kagome. He thought of his uncertain future. He thought of his father… and he thought of Inuyasha.
His hand falling limply to his side, the demon lord allowed his mind to wander. He could still remember, almost as if it had just occurred, the day he’d found the hanyou; the very first time he’d set eyes upon him. He had been so small, so young. Sesshoumaru had hated him, detested him for what he was and the love his father had displayed for him, even before he was born, in his willingness to sacrifice his life. It had been foolish, yet Sesshoumaru knew, just knew that his father, if given another chance, would do it all over again.
What had he been thinking? Though he had given his explanations, Sesshoumaru still could not fully understand why it had been so very important to his father to protect the human female called Izayoi and the halfling pup he sired with her; even to the point of throwing his own life away.
‘Hn,’ he decided, a small humorless smile tilting the edge of his lips. It no longer mattered. All three of them were dead now. He wondered though, in a very distant part of his mind, if they had all found one another again in the afterlife. Hadn’t his father mentioned something about locating Inuyasha? If that was the case, surely he would have already found his human mate. She had died years ago.
Turning on his heel, Sesshoumaru paid no mind to the trail of carnage he had left in his wake. He had wanted to test his new armor and had succeeded in doing so ten times over. Not long after he’d left Kagome at Totosai‘s mountain, he’d fortuitously come upon a hoard of demons as they’d been mindlessly rampaging across a dirt road. The fact that he’d intercepted them before they could make it to a bustling human marketplace had been of little consequence as it hadn’t been his objective to stop them, merely to test his armor and newly restored strength.
He’d been a bit skeptical about the armor at first, for it was notably lighter than his old one, but the fact that it had taken a direct energy blast from one of the more powerful demons without so much as a single scratch, was enough to put his doubts to rest.
The armor would indeed serve its purpose, and as long as he did not expend massive amounts of his demonic energy, he should retain his full strength long enough to attain whatever absolution he needed to escape the fait that awaited the rest of his species.
Sesshoumaru grasped the hilt of Bakusaiga and narrowed his eyes. He had considered using it against the demons but then had thought better of it, reasoning that for now, it would not be prudent to do so. The blade was capable of unleashing destruction like nothing he’d ever seen, but in order to do so, it fed off his own youki. This of course had not been a problem before, but for the time being his situation was precarious and using the blade was risky, even with the armor. There was always something, the inu lord mused unhappily. Now that he held a proper blade, one befitting a daiyoukai such as he, he was unable to use it for it could very well leave him depleted of demonic energy thereby saving the gods the trouble of doing it themselves. How bothersome.
‘A temporary inconvenience,’ he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. His power was all he had now and he would do whatever was necessary to keep it.
Slowly, Sesshoumaru waded his way over the bloody, carcass-strewn road and headed back to Totosai’s mountain. It was swiftly approaching mid-morning; time to meet with Kagome so that they could be on their way. He didn’t look back at the carnage he’d left behind him, but strangely, he found himself pleased that the way to Bokusenou’s forest was not in this direction. Somehow, the idea of exposing the young priestess to such gore seemed faintly disquieting, and in a very, very small way, he was content that for the moment, he wouldn’t have to.
…_______________________________________________________ _____________...
Carefully scanning her surroundings, Kagome took a small sigh of relief. She lowered her bow, slowly moving back to Mo-Mo’s side and lowering herself to the ground. As Totosai happen to live in a volcanic mountain, she was fortunate enough to find a place to dry her recently laundered clothing. It would have been nice if there had been a spring up here, but instead she had been forced to bath in an icy cold stream, deciding at the last moment to wash her clothes as well. She had managed to find an area that was comfortably secluded and therefore had not felt too discomforted in wearing her white under kimono until she was able to dry her clothing.
Totosai had been good enough to lend her his flying ox, which made traveling much easier and, having returned to the mountain her attention was immediately drawn to an area high up where heated streams of air were escaping through several of the deep craters. Directing the ox to land near one of the smaller vents, the miko smiled in satisfaction as this would serve as her personal feudal era clothes dryer.
It had been surprisingly easy to find a few long sticks with which to fashion a makeshift clothing rack, and so now she simply needed to wait for the oversized clothing to finish drying.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lot of demons up here. She had only just settled her clothing in place when the familiar chill of youki skittered down her spine. She’d dove to the ground just in time to avoid a lethal strike by some unknown species of demon, rolling to her left and quickly grabbing her bow. The thing pivoted and doubled back, moving toward her at blinding speeds and she had instinctually swung her bow, not having had a chance to slot an arrow against it. She’d only been slightly surprised when the weapon, glowing a brilliant pink, instantly destroyed the demon, rendering it little more than a pile of glittering ash.
Her breathing swift and slightly erratic, the untrained miko quickly collected her quiver of arrows, seating them on her back as she scanned her surroundings for additional threats. The decision to arm herself, it turned out, had been a wise one as several more demons appeared, seemingly from nowhere, descending from the sky to swoop down on her. It had not been difficult to shoot them out of the sky, but had also been a little bit frightening because she had not done it in so long. Not only that, but when she’d fought against demons in the past, she usually had the added security of having her friends nearby to help. In this case, only Mo-mo was here, but the oversized ox wasn’t much help, as it seemed largely unconcerned about the demons that had come after her.
‘Oh well,’ she decided with a sidelong glance at the now dozing ox, at least the demons were low level and easily purified.
________________________________________________________ ________________
Thankfully, it hadn’t taken long for her clothes to dry and Kagome wasted no time shrugging back into them. She made sure to keep her weapons nearby just in case more demons decided to approach. The odd thing was that she could feel their presence, tingling just at the edge of her senses, yet they dared not to come closer. Since she had shot those few out of the sky, she supposed that those remaining were afraid to approach her. Still, it made her feel uneasy that they were so close and she was more than happy to be leaving.
As she and the flying ox descended the mountain, the young miko felt a great measure of relief, realizing that the demons hadn’t decided to follow her.
Once back in the relative safety of Totosai’s… home, Kagome allowed herself to relax, breaking her nightly fast with a few pieces of dried meat. There was still time before she was due to meet with Sesshoumaru, so the priestess took the opportunity to speak with the old sword smith, hoping he would have an explanation as to why the demon lord would need a new armor. She had been hoping that any answer she was able to glean from him would help to explain why the daiyoukai was in trouble. To her surprise, the answers were directly related.
‘No wonder he didn’t tell me,’ Kagome thought, the tips of her fingers pressed to her lips as she muffled a gasp of surprise. She had no idea it was something so serious, and in the back of her mind she realized that this must be why there didn’t seem to be any demons in her time. The gods had decided to wipe them out. How could she possibly help him with something like this?!
Her expression clouded with worry, Kagome thought over this new development, trying and mostly failing to make sense of what Totosai had revealed to her. The fact that neither he, Mo-Mo or Myoga were affected, seemed to suggest to her that Shippou, Jenenji, and other “friendly” demons would not be affected either. Still, the idea that Sesshoumaru was going to… to die, it did not sit well with her, and not just because he was her self appointed protector.
Falling silent as she sorted through her own thoughts, Kagome was all but oblivious to the light scraping sounds as Totosai meticulously sharpened the blade of an exquisitely crafted naginata, one of the many weapons that stood in one of the far corners of his cave.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat there, but after a time the miko suddenly snapped to, instantly jumping to her feet and moving to the cave entrance. “Oh!,” she gasped lightly, “I’m gonna be late! Sesshoumaru should be back any minute now!”
Totosai watched in silence as she quickly gathered her things, returning them to her traveling bag before darting toward the cave entrance.
“Hey!” he called before she could rush past him.
Kagome halted, pivoting just enough to peer at him over her left shoulder. “What is it?” she asked, a hint of apprehension coloring her voice at the intense look he was giving her.
For a moment the old demon held his silence, seeming to ponder something of great importance before he finally rose to his full height, using the naginata to help support him as he stood. “Why…” he trailed off, but then willed himself to press on. “Why are you traveling with Sesshoumaru?”
Totosai did not miss the fall of her shoulders, nor the pallid hue that slowly drained her face of color. She turned to him fully, a heavy sigh escaping her lips and a deep sadness in her eyes. It was truly amazing how quickly her emotions could change.
She stood there in silence, her eyes staring right through him and in that moment the elemental knew that something was terribly wrong. Though his mind was carefully piecing together the scattered bits of evidence, he was not prepared to accept the obvious conclusion of his thoughts. An unpleasant feeling washed over him, sharp and unrelenting, it clawed at his old heart, and even though he could hardly register that there was air in his lungs, the ancient could not prevent himself from asking, “Will you… be going back to Inuyasha?”
Kagome bit her lip, a single tear escaping her eye.
…_________________________________________________________ _________...
The priestess was late, Sesshoumaru decided, his disinterested gaze fixed upon the sparse clouds that lined the flawless blue sky. Patience was not a strong point for the daiyoukai, yet he found himself markedly disinclined to venture up the mountain to retrieve her. Somehow it seemed beneath him to do so. Not that standing here and waiting for her was much better. The demon lord scowled.
Folding his hands into his sleeves, he allowed an inaudible sigh, his expression becoming unreadable once more. He thought of Bokusenou. What would the old demon say in regards to his predicament? Would he be able to provide any useful answers?
Sesshoumaru pondered this for a time before finally pushing the thoughts aside. In spite of his impatience to have this situation resolved, he realized that speculation on the matter would do nothing in the way of helping him. He would simply have to wait to see what, if any wisdom Bokusenou would impart to him.
Perhaps the solution would be a simple one.
Behind him, the light rustling of fabric, together with the labored breathing of the young miko became audible, and the inu lord pivoted just enough to glare at her over his shoulder.
Tottering down the mountain as quickly as she could, the female gradually made her way to his side. She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and a suspiciously bright smile gracing her face. Even he could see that it was forced. She smelled faintly of sadness and tears.
“You are late.” he intoned dryly, turning away from her and beginning to walk in the direction of the south.
“S-sorry,” she breathed tiredly. “I was just… talking to Totosai.”
Sesshoumaru glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, not for the first time taking note of the naginata she now carried. Taller than she, the weapon’s long, thin shaft was dark and smooth. The uncovered blade, slightly shorter than the length of Kagome’s arm, was intricately designed and slightly curved. The weapon was clearly of high quality, though why she now carried it was a mystery to him. Oddly, it… annoyed him.
“Why do you have that?”
Starting, Kagome immediately roused from her melancholy thoughts and looked up at him. She was about to ask him what he had said, but then she noticed the direction of his gaze. “Oh this?” she asked, turning her attention to the weapon as well. “Totosai gave it to me.”
“Why?”
Using the naginata as a crutch to save herself from falling over the large stone she hadn’t notice until she nearly tripped over it, the miko recovered nicely and shrugged. “For protection I guess.”
Sesshoumaru felt his annoyance spike. Did Totosai not realize that he, Sesshoumaru had taken the charge of protecting the woman?
“I got into a bit of trouble in the mountains, so I guess he thought I needed another weapon, just in case something gets too close and I can’t use my bow and arrows.”
Sesshoumaru frowned at this, but Kagome didn’t notice. She was looking straight ahead, seemingly pleased to have something to talk about, something to take her mind off whatever had been troubling her.
“I don’t really know how to use it, but I guess I’d just have to swing it and…”
“You were attacked in the mountains?”
She looked at him. “It wasn’t a big deal.” she said in a quiet voice, uncertain about the intense look he was giving her. “Just some low level demons. They never even touched me.”
For several paces Sesshoumaru did not respond, and soon the dappled shade of treetops fell over them as they entered the forest.
“My apologies. I should have been there.” the demon lord said, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. Stunned, Kagome almost, almost asked him to repeat himself, but refrained, her brow creasing as she studied him. He was clearly avoiding her gaze, and somehow, she could tell he was tense and uncomfortable. There was a certain tightness to his jaw, a rigidity in his shoulders that hadn‘t been there before. She could only guess that he was unused to apologizing and doing so now made him uneasy.
“It… it wasn’t a big deal Sesshoumaru. Really. It was just a few demons and I purified them with my arrows.”
“Were you not frightened?” he heard himself ask, though he didn’t know why it mattered. The important thing was that she had not been harmed.
“Well, I‘m always a little afraid when I get attacked,” Kagome admitted breathlessly. She was beginning to feel very strange. This conversation with Sesshoumaru was extremely surreal, and just plain… weird. It almost seemed like he cared, in spite of the fact that most of the time, he acted as if she didn‘t even exist. “But I’m fine.” she finally said. “I’m not completely helpless you know.”
“That is of no consequence.” the inu lord told her. “I offered you my protection, yet I was not there when you were in danger.” He looked at her then, his intense gaze ensnaring her as they continued to move forward. “It will not happen again.”
Again Kagome felt a strange sensation wash over her. She wanted to say something but her mind was drawing a blank, so instead she just nodded mutely, keeping her eyes on him until he finally turned away and returned his attention to the path ahead.
A slightly tense silence fell between them, each having retreated to their own thoughts. For his part, Sesshoumaru considered the implications of what Kagome had told him. When he had offered his protection to her, there were some things that he truly had not considered. He had not given much thought to the fact that she was a miko and that as such, her life might carry greater worth than that of an ordinary human. Now he was faced with the possibility that his very fate could hinge on her continued safety. The possibility of his own failure in what seemed to be such an uncomplicated task, had not presented itself to him. Clearly, it was going to require more vigilance than he had initially expected.
He glanced at her again, hoping to distract himself from the mild annoyance of his thoughts. “Do you intend to keep that?” he asked, referring to the naginata again.
She didn’t return his gaze. “Couldn’t hurt.” she said distractedly, inadvertently leaving the daiyoukai with the impression that she didn’t fully trust him with her safety.
“Hn.”
They were silent again for a long while before Kagome tentatively spoke up.
“Sesshoumaru, I… haven’t been completely honest with you. I think Totosai gave me this because… I told him what happened to Inuyasha,” she trailed off, a sad, thoughtful expression on her face. “He knows that Inuyasha used to look after me so, I guess this was his way of telling me that it’s time I start looking after myself.” She glanced at him then looked away.
“You know, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you,” she murmured, and the demon lord felt a twinge of unease at the direction of this conversation. “I know… I know you never liked Inuyasha, so… why did you try to save him?”
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Alright, I know it’s been forever and a day since I updated! Hopefully I still have some readers left! Oh, and I promise I’ll be getting another chapter of “Remnants” out within the next few days or so, for those of you who are still hanging in there with me! Life has been kinda kicking me in the butt lately so, you know how that goes.
Hope you all enjoyed, and please review!