InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Unforeseen Flame ❯ Kagome's Suprise ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, nor could I ever hope to be as genius as Rumiko Takahashi.

Kagome ran as quickly as her slender legs would carry her, oblivious to the brambles and small bushes catching on her short green skirt, shredding the no longer white sleeves of her uniform and tearing at the flesh of her bare legs. She had no idea where she was running to or where in the forest she was even at, for that matter. She had ceased her crying in front of Inuyasha. He had made her so furious with his callous comment. But now that she had time to replay the situation in her head a few times over, she was weeping too hard to see anything clearly.

'What do you want me to do Kagome? I can't stop loving her, you know...' The words kept playing over and over again in her head like a song stuck on repeat. All she could think was that it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he couldn't love her the way he loved Kikyo. It wasn't fair that she had to fall in love with someone who didn't love her in return. It wasn't fair that she had to fall down the stupid ancient well and go back in time to take care of problems that never should have been her responsibility to begin with. It wasn't fair…It wasn't fair…It just wasn't fair!

Her lungs were beginning to burn with the need for air, as she gasped through her sobs, but she didn't want to stop. Despite the tingling ache beginning to form in her tiring legs, she needed to keep going, needed to distance herself even further, needed to escape. Suddenly, her burning lungs and aching legs were no longer a concern as Kagome was stopped dead in her tracks by a large, overhanging branch. The collision left the young woman unconscious with a large knot upon her forehead that was bleeding heavily from a long gash above her left eye.

Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands was nothing if not severely bored. It was early in the morning, so early, in fact, that the sky was just barely beginning to lighten into roiling shades of deep reds and purples, and the stars were starting to fade into what would soon become a deep azure sky. Rin was still sleeping soundly, her steady breathing soft and peaceful, and he could hear loud snores emanating from the ground where Jaken slept. Ah-Un stirred from where he rested, opening one slitted eye to observe his master, before shutting it again lethargically.

Sesshomaru suppressed a disinterested sigh, as he gazed in Rin's direction, suddenly regretting his decision to allow her to accompany him on his travels. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy her company. She was just so fragile, constantly in need of care, and she needed to sleep ever so often. It was entirely too much of a hassle, making sure she was properly attended to.

He shifted against the brittle bark of the tree he was leaning against in agitation. He imagined his life would probably be a sight more boring without her and all her exuberance. She brought color into his life where there had been none, and gave him something to consider that wasn't himself or his territory. The little girl was probably the first person, human and demon alike, ever to completely melt away the ice surrounding his cold heart. Not that he would actually admit that to anyone.

As he sat bored, he picked at an imaginary piece of dirt upon his pristinely alabaster haori and waited for Rin to wake, contemplating the ways in which she enriched his existence. From out of nowhere an unpleasant aroma suddenly assaulted his nostrils drifting through the air from across the forest to curl up under his nose distastefully. He immediately recognized the pungent, coppery smell of human blood pervading the air, stinging Lord Sesshomaru's sensitive nose. The scent was absolutely revolting, but he resisted the urge to screw up his face in disgust.

The Youkai Lord surmised that some unfortunate human must have wandered across the path of a hungry animal or maybe even a demon, but, as he had no other business taking precedence over the matter, he decided to investigate personally. After all, the treacherous Naraku could be involved. It always seemed as though if Naraku was present, bloodshed wasn't trailing far behind.

He rose to his feet with practiced grace and nudged the snoozing dragon gently with his foot. Slowly two scaly heads rose snake-like off the ground, yellow eyes peering curiously at the owner of the offending foot.

"Keep Rin safe while she sleeps," Sesshomaru commanded monotonously. Then, he began to wind his way through the thick clusters of trees silently, heading toward the source of the aberrant scent.

He strode with unmatched agility through the dense trees and undergrowth that grew thick between them for a short while as he searched for the source of the offensive odor. Soon he spotted the form of a slender girl lying on the ground inelegantly, tangled in a mess of rotting leaves and other assorted detritus from the forest floor. Her face and hair were caked with dirt mixed with blood from a wound on her forehead that was still oozing making her features almost indistinguishable. Deep scratches and bluish-purple bruises marred her dirt-covered legs.

Sesshomaru couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the woman seemed familiar. Ah, he recognized it. The scent of that half-breed was on her clothing. This woman had to be Inuyasha's wench. He could identify her by her inappropriately short garment. But, what was she doing so far from his brother? Was the mutt so insufficient that he could not even protect this girl adequately? He turned to leave, but stopped when he heard her stir in her sleep restlessly.

"Leave... Inuyasha," she murmured softly from her slumber. "It...It hurts...too much..."

It was barely enough to piqué his interest, but Sesshomaru decided learning a bit more couldn't hurt. It wasn't as though he was particularly occupied in the first place. With his one arm, he lifted her off the ground as carefully as was possible and slung her over his shoulder to carry her back to his encampment.

So, there was dissension between his useless mutt of a brother and the girl. He assumed that the clay wench of his was associated with this sordid business of theirs. Whatever the case, it didn't really matter much to him. He'd glean whatever useful information she had about Naraku, if any, and then leave the human to fend for herself. She had proven that she wasn't completely useless in battle, and another human companion was the last thing he needed. Rin could be troublesome enough as it was.

His thoughts turned to his young ward. Maybe this woman could serve a useful purpose after all, where Rin was concerned, at the least. It was possible that she could serve as a good companion, and quite possibly mentor, for Rin, for the time being. She did, after all, take very good care of the young fox kitsune that traveled with his disgusting half-brother. Hadn't he just been thinking that attending to all of the girl's many needs was a hassle? And Rin was growing older so very quickly, it seemed. She could use a female to learn from. Eventually Rin would grow into a woman, and she might decide she wanted to settle down and build a life somewhere. Sesshomaru honestly never expected the girl to travel with him forever.

Momentarily, his eyes flickered to the girl slung haphazardly over his shoulder, his golden eyes emotionless as he surveyed her pale and battered legs, before returning to the forested path ahead of him. She stirred a bit, mumbling incoherently as he shifted the muscles his shoulder, positioning her in a fashion more comfortable for him, but she didn't wake. That was well enough for Sesshomaru, because he wasn't sure she would react very well to waking in the situation she was now in.

His mind turned to her reasoning for running away from Inuyasha, wondering absently why the mutt hadn't chased after her. He could never understand why she stayed with that worthless hanyou in the first place. He was a half-breed. He didn't belong anywhere, not among the humans nor the demons, but she had accepted him despite this fact. She fought with him, saved his life on occasions, and even, it seemed, had grown to love him.

Sesshomaru gave a small snort of derision at that idea. The idea of a human and hanyou falling in love and producing offspring seemed almost more ridiculous than the thought of youkai and human offspring. As if half demons were not weak enough, the progeny of a hanyou and a human would be even more pathetic.

He, Sesshomaru, had never loved anyone, or, at least, that's what he told himself. There had been a woman once, a long time ago, when he was young. But, of course, that was a long time ago, and in his youth could have been, and probably was, ignorant and, therefore, mistaken about his feelings.

"Good morning, Lord Sesshomaru!" a young girl called genially, interrupting his thoughts. He hadn't even realized that he had reached the encampment; Sesshomaru had been so absorbed in his thoughts. "Oh, you found someone! Is she your friend? Oh no! She's hurt."

He stared at the girl silently for a moment, his glacial expression unchanging, as Jaken approached, prepared to chastise her for no real reason as he often did. The diminutive imp was quite vexing, constantly scolding the child, but she was always very good-natured about it. Sesshomaru found it an admirable quality the young girl possessed. He lacked the patience and natural understanding that seemed to be inherent within Rin's very being, however, he was a Demon Lord, and as such, those qualities were less than useless to him.

"Good, you're awake now, Rin," Sesshomaru commented in his form of salutation.

"Milord!" Jaken exclaimed surprised at the disheveled sight before him. It was very uncharacteristic of his Lord to go around rescuing humans in distress. He had though Rin had just been an exception to the rule, spurred by the curiosity the Lord's Tensaiga had inspired within him. "Is that not one of Inuyasha's human companions?"

Ignoring his inappropriately inquisitive vassal, Sesshomaru turned to Rin, as he set the unconscious woman down on the ground unceremoniously.

"Fetch some water and herbs for a poultice to clean and treat her wounds," the demon lord commanded. "Jaken, accompany her and keep her safe."

"Yes milord," Rin nodded dutifully, unable to hide her toothy grin. She could not help but feel excited at the addition to their small party.

Accepting her task with even more vivacity than was normal, Rin set about collecting the things her Lord had requested. Jaken trailed behind her, peeved by his menial task. He was supposed to be the Lord's faithful advisor, not a nursemaid for some annoyingly high-spirited child.

It wasn't long before Rin and Jaken returned with the items necessary. Wordlessly, Rin went about the task of tending to the injured woman. Being orphaned at such a young age had forced the girl to learn how to take care of herself. She had learned how to properly care for any injuries she sustained, so she was surprising adept at treating minor wounds. Gently, she washed away the dried mix of soil and blood that was plastered to the woman's face and gingerly applied a fresh poultice of herbs she had collected to the wound on the woman's head.

"My... My Lord, may I inquire as to the reason you are caring for your half-brother's woman?" the gutless toad asked meekly as he watched Rin attend to the woman.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he fixed his prying vassal with a frigid stare. Jaken shrank back, trembling with apprehension under the scrutiny of the inuyoukai's irritable gaze.

"I humbly retract my question. I apologize for inquiring into what is none of my concern," he squeaked his apology fearfully, bowing repeatedly and scrambling to remove himself from the vicinity quickly.

"My Lord!" Rin exclaimed excitedly, rescuing Jaken from the beating he was about to receive. "I think she is waking up."

Indeed Kagome was beginning to stir from her slumber. A dull throb originating from her forehead pulsed uncomfortably throughout her entire head sending dizzying shockwaves through her brain. What a horrible headache! Kagome reached a hand up to rub the agitated spot and felt a cold compress over the ache. Confused, she opened her eyes slightly only to meet an amber gaze.

At first she thought it was Inuyasha, but, as her vision sharpened into focus, she realized these eyes were different. They were golden, just as Inuyasha's were, but the color was dissimilar, more piercing and intense than the murky amber of the hanyou's eyes. These eyes that she was scrutinizing dazedly were cold and emotionless, differing almost completely from the hanyou's perpetual glower. Then, startled by her realization, she recognized the gaze she was meeting. It was none other than Inuyasha's elder brother, Sesshomaru.