InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Captive Soul ❯ chapter 43 ( Chapter 43 )

Here is chapter 43. Just in time for the holiday. Happy Easter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

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chapt er 43: The real Sesshomaru

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Kagom e glanced over Sesshomaru's battered form quickly, determining how fast she needed to proceed. His face was pale, his expression, one of peace: almost angelic if not for the streaks and splatters of blood on his skin. Her observation moved to his right shoulder, or what was left of it. The clothing was ripped, revealing gobs of shredded flesh pulsating with black poison mixed with dark red blood. The blackish, scarlet pus oozed from the gaping wound, spilling to the dark brown dirt.

After looking over the inu youkai's wounds carefully, she directed her attention to Rin. "You must help me, Rin. You and I will have to perform a cleansing procedure. We must purify the poison from Sesshomaru's blood but you will have to help me do this. You will have to protect his body and spirit while I purify the poison in his bloodstream."

Rin's watery brown eyes rounded with frightened worry. "But Kagome, how do I protect him? I don't understand."

Kagome shook her head, trying to suppress her impatience. She was one of the youngest Mikos ever but she was no teacher, and yet she had to try to teach Rin in seconds what had taken her years to learn or Sesshomaru was going to die. "You must trust in me, Rin, and do everything I tell you to do without question. You are of my blood, sister. You have the power within you to save Sesshomaru's life. Believe in me and your inner strength and we can save him."

For a brief instant, fear flashed in Rin's brown eyes before courage took hold. "I trust in you, Kagome. I can do this."

With a firm smile, Kagome gave one nod. She pointed to Sesshomaru's head and shoulders. "Sit there and put his head in your lap."

Rin moved over and carefully lifted Sesshomaru's head. Easing his head and shoulders up, she scooted her folded calves underneath before carefully laying his head in her lap. She then looked up expectantly. "Okay, Kagome, what do I do next?"

"Now I want you to listen to me, Rin. Listen to every word I say because it will be extremely important."

"I'm listening, Sis."

Kagome took in a deep breath. "Rin, you will be Sesshomaru's protector. You will be using your inner strength, your inner power, bringing it out to protect Sesshomaru. You must protect him...from me. You must shield his body and spirit from my purifying energy. After you begin protecting him, I will start purifying the poison in his bloodstream. If you do not protect him from me, I will purify him along with the poison. Do you understand? Tell me you understand."

Rin slowly nodded. "I understand. Tell me what to do."

"You must place your left hand over his heart and your right hand on his forehead, directly on the crescent moon."

Kagome watched as Rin carried out her order, placing her steady hands on Sesshomaru's chest and forehead.

Leaning closer, Kagome held Rin's gaze. "What I am about to tell you is very important. I want you to clear your mind of everything except one thing. The only thought I want you to have is protecting Sesshomaru from me and my pinkish-white purifying energy. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Kagome continued. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and reach for Sesshomaru with your spirit. Search for him. When you find his life force in the darkness....I want you to surround that life force and protect it with your spirit. Protect him with all of your heart and all of your love. Guard his life, his body, and his spirit...and don't let my energy touch it."

Rin's brown eyes reflected a newfound strength. "I will find and protect him. I promise." She then bowed her head and closed her eyes.

Kagome waited, watching Rin closely. At first, Rin's brows lowered in concentration then raised, her features relaxing as she fell into a searching trance. Kagome knew it would take a minute or two for Rin to find Sesshomaru's spirit. A pink glow around Rin's form would inform her that Rin had succeeded and was now protecting him.

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R in closed her eyes and blotted out the world around her. At first there was only darkness from the absence of light but as she began to feel within that darkness, she could sense a tingle in her fingers, hands and arms. Soon, the darkness was no longer her own. No. Another's darkness had joined with hers: Sesshomaru's. Now she searched within the two, wandering, trying to find his spirit. For several minutes she ran, finding nothing but grayish black shadows dancing in waves of obsidian. All she could see was the blackness. No ground, no sky, and no walls of earth or wood in this endless void of eternal dark.

Worried exasperation began pulling at her mind but Rin shoved it back. No she would not worry just yet. She knew she had to find him. She would find him. She had promised and if she could not succeed in protecting him, her heart would go with his.

Taking new courage, Rin reached out further, her spirit rushing over the vast void in a fluid wave of searching power.

Finally, a silvery white dot appeared on the horizon. Rin ran to it. The closer she came, the faster her heart thumped. It was him, she was sure of it. Upon approach, the outline of his form became more detailed: Long silver hair and billowy white clothes.

As the distance between them grew shorter, Rin slowed. Merely twenty feet away, her light jog became a fast walk until she was now slowly walking toward him. As she approached, Rin realized something. Something about Sesshomaru was not the same as before. His clothes were similar but...different. Rin stopped only a few feet away. There was something unfamiliar about him. He stood quietly, not even acknowledging her presence, his profile staring off into the distant nothingness.

Rin then took note of the strange new additions to his clothes. A very large white fluffy pelt of some kind adorned his right shoulder. On his chest and looping around his left arm...was some sort of metal...or stone with seemingly sharp spikes protruding from it. At his left side, sheathed within his blue and yellow belt, were his weapons.

Somewhat cautiously, Rin eased around until she was standing only a few feet in front of him. His gaze had yet to blink, a continuous stare over her head and beyond.

"Sesshomaru?"

He slowly blinked once.

"Sess?"

The calmness of those dark amber eyes descended to her, yet he remained silent.

Rin took one step forward. "Do...you...know me?"

Down in the depths of his gaze, Rin saw a hint of recognition. He slowly blinked once again.

With courage, Rin stepped forward once more, so close that she had to look up to his unreadable features. "I must protect you. Will you allow me to...protect you?"

For a long moment, the silence bore no answer to her question as he continued to look at her with vacant reservation. Finally, after several moments, he gave an almost unnoticeable nod. "I...know...you. You are my...mate... Rin."

Rin let out a long breath and smiled. "Yes. Will you let me..." She reached out and touched the cold metal armor. "...protect you?"

His gaze moved down to her hand. "Protect me? I am a prince of the Westernlands, mate. I need no protection." His dark amber depths rose to capture her undivided attention. "But...I will allow it...only because it is you...Rin."

Her fingertips left the cold metal as she reached up to lightly caress the dark red stripes on his left cheek. "I love you."

Dropping her hand, Rin closed the distance between them, stepping forward for the last time, her arms wrapping around his waist, her right cheek resting on the softness of the white fur. "Hold on to me."

Strong arms moved, rigidly at first, before warm palms slid around her waist, cupping her lower back before embracing fully, holding her to him, molding solidly to his body.

Relaxing, Rin let it all go, pouring that feeling inside of her out, willing it to surround them both. Soon, a bright baby blue aura flashed across her vision. Within the baby blue, spirals of pink and white swirled in continual patterns of delicate light. Closing her eyes, Rin smiled.

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K agome, waiting and watching Rin, gave Inuyasha a direct order. "Back up, Inuyasha, I don't want to take a chance on purifying you."

Inuyasha's irritated gruff voice barked a tad. "Feh, don't worry about me. I'll be alright."

Resisting the urge to turn her head and reprimand the hanyou, Kagome continued her vigilant watch. Several minutes later, a pinkish-blue aura began swirling around Rin. Kagome inwardly relaxed. Rin had done it. The pink mixed with blue meant Rin was protecting Sesshomaru's spirit and body at the same time.

On her knees, Kagome leaned forward, reaching out, placing both palms flat against the gaping injury on Sesshomaru's shoulder. Her fingers slid into the blackish oozing wound. The sticky cooling warmth coated her hands.

Kagome closed her eyes and began to concentrate. She journeyed forward, searching. In the midst of her reaching, she could sense the toxic blackness pulsing with dark energy. It covered the walls of Sesshomaru's body and spirit, its acidic death eating away at tissue and life. Far away, Kagome could also sense her sister. She was with Sesshomaru, guarding him.

Within the depths of the connection, Kagome sent out tendrils of her soul's energy. The pinkish white light curled into the darkness, heading for the deadly poison.

One pure touch plopped like a raindrop on a water's surface. That one drop rippled outward instantly, purifying the deadly blackness in its wake.

Kagome remained until she made sure every bit of poison had been taken care of. When her task was completed, she backed her spirit out of Sesshomaru's.

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Inuyasha backed up a step after Kagome gave her warning but he stayed as close as possible, arms crossed, observing quietly.

What probably happened in minutes seemed like hours to him. A bluish-pink aura surrounded Rin. Kagome leaned forward and placed both hands on his brother. Soon, Kagome was glowing too, and he could feel great power radiating off the young miko. With some caution, he backed up another step, just to be on the safe side.

Kagome's pinkish white aura surrounded Sesshomaru completely, the brightest glow centering on the badly wounded shoulder.

Finally, after several anxious moments, a blinding flash caused him to squint and hold his arm up to shade against the overly bright light. When the brightness died, he lowered his arm to find that Kagome's aura had faded and she was now sitting quietly, watching Rin.

Seconds later, Rin's bluish-pink aura began to fade, then disappeared altogether right before her arms dropped and her body began to limply lean to the side. Kagome quickly moved to catch Rin, easing her form to the ground.

Inuyasha walked over to Kagome who stood and was now looking out across the damaged field. He stopped at her side. "Is everything okay now? Are they alright?"

She half smiled. "Yes, they will be okay. The poison in Sesshomaru's body has been purified. Rin will be out for a few hours. She used a good bit of energy protecting him, something she wasn't used to doing. Her body is resting now. Sesshomaru will probably be out for a while too, considering how badly he was wounded.

Her smile fell away. "The soul stealer has been destroyed, but now I have a very important job to do. As keeper of the Shikon no Tama, I am responsible for it. It has been shattered and now I must find the pieces."

While looking over his brother and Rin, Inuyasha came to a decision. "You didn't shatter the Jewel all by yourself. It was partially my fault. I'll ...help you find the shards."

The young miko glanced at him with a growing smile. "Your help is very appreciated."

Inuyasha realized he liked Kagome's smile more than anything in the world. "Can you sense the pieces?"

She nodded. "Yes. In fact, I know that it shattered into ten pieces, four of which are only a couple of miles away. The others are farther out, maybe fifty to one hundred miles from here in several different directions."

With a small smirk, he asked. "So, when do we start?"

Kagome glanced down at Sesshomaru and Rin. "First we have to get these two to the house and put them to bed. Sesshomaru, since he is a full demon, should be healed by tomorrow morning. Rin will sleep until then also. When they wake up in the morning, I will tell Rin we are going on a hunt for the shards and that we may not be back for a while. We can leave tomorrow sometime."

"Should I pack?"

"Yes. I will pack a few things tomorrow as well. It may take us a few weeks to find all the pieces."

Suddenly, Inuyasha was beginning to like the idea of this hunt very much. It meant he would be spending the next few weeks with Kagome. He was about to ask about carrying Rin and Sesshomaru to the house when loud sirens began cutting the air, their piercing wails amplified before finally fading. Inuyasha glanced at the house when his ears picked up the sound of car doors opening and closing. "I've got to go tell the authorities about all of this. It's a good thing I was once a government agent. It sure does help them to believe me when I explain weird crap like this."

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Kagom e glanced at Inuyasha. "I will stay here with Rin and Sesshomaru while you go explain things."

He gave a nod then hurried toward the house.

Something was bothering Kagome. Once again, she turned and scanned the field, looking. That object, that spinning black object had fallen nearby. She had a good idea of what it was and she needed to find it. After taking one quick look at Rin and Sesshomaru, Kagome strolled toward the area where the soul stealer had fallen, searching every spot of ground as she went. Soon, she entered the large, open, black, extremely burnt circle of broom sage. All of the brown stalks were now a flattened smoldering charcoal. The smell wafting from the dispersing curls of smoke reminded her faintly of a sweetened sulfur, if there could be such a thing, an almost sickeningly sweet scent. As she studied every inch of the blackened ground, Kagome strained to see that one small shine hidden amongst the ashes. Coming to the very center of the circle, she saw that shine of metal and stopped.

Carefully, she stepped closer, knelt and then reached out. Digging into the ashes with her fingers, she felt the heavy thickness, grasped it, and pulled. It came up easily, dislodging caked flakes of black and gray ashes that scattered on the wind as she picked it up.

Kagome stood while dusting off the object in her hands. It was somewhat heavy, about five pounds at least. Her fingers glided over the ringed roundness, clearing away the ashes and dust, revealing the shiny black surface underneath. When it was cleaned enough, Kagome held the heavy black ring with both hands and lifted it up to eye level, turning it, studying it, searching for the inscriptions that had been on it before, yet the surface was now completely smooth. There was no ancient language etched into the metal. It was gone. It had been erased, just as Sesshomaru's bondage had been erased. This restraint no longer bore the eternal spell which bound Sesshomaru to servitude. The spell had been for him alone and now that it had been broken with the removal, the markings had vanished.

The longer Kagome looked at the torturous subduing device in her hands, the more her stomach squirmed with an unfamiliar feeling, a feeling close to detestation, bordering on hate. This...collar had broken a very powerful inu youkai and tortured him for centuries. What purpose did that serve? It was a prison sentence, more than likely one without justifiable reasons. Whoever bound Sesshomaru had been more powerful than any miko, one whose magic survived over hundreds of years, never diminishing in their strength or power. It was enough knowledge to inflict a small amount of fear within her musings. Kagome seriously hoped the black miko was long gone, and hopefully, dead. Such a being was...very...deadly.

Yet, Kagome knew she had beaten the ancient miko and her black magic, for this type of spell was definitely dark. It incorporated horrendous evil energy, reining it to insure that the spell would never fade in strength. The miko had used demon energy mixed with her own to seal Sesshomaru's fate. It was a combination of strange magic, but not unheard of. Only, it made her shiver to think that the woman had been so powerful as to have complete control over such great demon energy.

Lowering the ring of metal, Kagome walked over to the ancient oak, not too far from where Rin and Sesshomaru lie. Carefully, she stepped around the protruding roots until she came upon a very deep hole, one big enough to place the heavy black ring in. With a little bit of shifting and digging, Kagome lodged the ring deeply into the hole then covered it with last Fall's leaves. Backing up a step, she bowed her head and recited an incantation that would keep the restraint hidden from any being's eyes for almost an eternity. When she was finished, Kagome strolled back to her sister, knowing no one would ever find that restraint.

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To Inuyasha's utmost annoyance, Kouga showed up in the middle of the police questioning. The first thing the idiot wolf did was bark at him, asking where Rin was, if she was hurt and why he had put her in so much danger. He couldn't get through to the stupid wolf that it had been Rin's decision to help remove Sesshomaru's restraint. She had known of the possible dangers and had agreed to go through with the removal anyway.

Kouga, who was too exasperated to listen, barged past him to the house. He was calling for Rin as he dashed around the side of Rin's home, probably following the girl's scent. Inuyasha grimaced irritably at the wolf's retreating backside before turning to the officers and continuing with the details of what had happened.

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Af ter the last police car pulled out of the driveway, Inuyasha went back to help Kagome.

Nearing the border of the garden and field, Inuyasha saw Kagome and the wolf talking. Why such an innocent gesture made him so angry, he didn't know. Keeping his ire in check, Inuyasha walked up to the quietly talking couple. Kouga merely nodded when he stopped at Kagome's side. Kagome smiled at him.

Her voice was strangely soft. "Inuyasha, Kouga has agreed to help carry Rin and Sesshomaru to the house."

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath. "Like I need help from him."

Kouga glared slightly. "What was that, Inu Kuro?"

"What did you call me, you wimpy wolf?" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome's stern and very authoritative tone intervened. "Boys, now is not the time to be getting your dander up over such nonsense." She pointed to Inuyasha. "You do need help carrying Sesshomaru. He needs to be carried carefully because of his wounds and Kouga can help you with that." She then pointed to the wolf who was standing there rigidly with both his arms crossed. "Kouga, I do not need your colorful speech or your hyper 'jump to conclusions' attitude right now. Help Inuyasha carry his brother and my sister to her room and lay them both on Rin's bed together. Got it?"

Kouga flinched at Kagome's aggressive attitude before nodding. "For Rin, I will do as you ask, Kagome."

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Kagome sat at Rin's kitchen table, staring out the window above the sink. The late afternoon sun was now peeking through the glass, painting the air with solid beams of warm sunlight. Specks of dust swirled within those beams. Before her mind wandered with those specks, Inuyasha came through the kitchen door and sat down, letting out a long breath. "We got them both settled, Kagome. I removed most of Sesshomaru's clothes but I didn't put Rin under the covers with him until you had a chance to undress her. Kouga just left. He said that since Rin was okay and sleeping well he would be back tomorrow to check on her."

Sighing, Kagome gave a nod. "Thank you...for everything." She leaned back in her chair. "If it hadn't been for you...Sesshomaru and Rin would be dead right now."

The hanyou smirked and his ears twitched. "How grateful are you?"

She couldn't believe he was flirting with her again and right now of all times. They had just gone through one of the most dangerous experiences of their lives and he was flirting. He almost reminded her of Miroku. Kagome leaned forward and rested her chin on her fist, smiling slightly. "Hmmmm, let me see. Maybe grateful enough to ask you on a date. You know, to show how grateful I really am."

Inuyasha's smirk rose to a full smile. "Now that sounds like a good idea. How about we go out to eat, just the two of us, right before we go shard hunting?"

Tilting her head a tad, Kagome let out a small laugh. "It's a date, then."

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After Inuyasha had left, Kagome went upstairs. When she entered Rin's room, she looked at the bed. Rin was on her back, sleeping soundly. Sesshomaru was on the other side, under the covers, his long silver hair draped over the other side of the mattress. First, Kagome went to the dresser, pulled out one of Rin's nightgowns, then walked to the bed. With some effort, Kagome removed Rin's blue jeans and dirty blouse. The whole time she tended to the task, Rin did not wake. When she was finished changing her sister and pulling the flowered comforter over her body, Kagome left with all the soiled clothes, heading for the washroom.

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It was dark enough now, she knew. It was near midnight and the lights had gone off in Rin's house around ten. Smirking to herself, she cautiously eased around the border of Rin's garden. Kagome should be fast asleep by now. Rin and Sesshomaru were out cold and would be until much much later, considering the inu youkai's wounds and Rin's so called sacrifice of energy. She silently humphed. She would never have gone that far to save that dog demon's sorry tail.

Finding the tree where Kagome had hidden what she wanted most, Kikyo bent down and began to search. Fortunately, she had seen where Kagome had hidden the restraint. If she had not, she would have never found it for the concealment spell. It would have stayed hidden for centuries. Anyone who did not even have an inkling it was there would have unconsciously avoided the secret hiding place.

The moment her fingers touched a certain spot, a small shock made her jerk her hand back. 'Very clever, cousin, but not clever enough.'

Kikyo quickly set about with a counter spell to Kagome's barrier. It took nearly an hour, and by the time she was finished, it was close to one o'clock in the morning. Smiling in thankful glee, Kikyo dug under the big root until her hands touched the rounded metal. She pulled the black circle out and stood, whispering to herself, "Now, Inuyasha, you will be mine...forever." .

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