InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Ice ❯ A Compassionate Heart ( Chapter 7 )

EDITED: 7/13/05

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Embracing Ice

Chapter Seven: A Compassionate Heart

Written By: Yabou

Edited By: Swasdiva & FireAngel8723

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I must also thank Hopper for discovering the first of my giant plot holes. If not for him, I may have ended up six feet under.

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They were only about two hours away from the home of the Western Lord and Lady, and she could already feel the sweat drenching through the kimono and creating a very uncomfortable feeling between the skin of her back and the shifting silk. She hated to admit it, but she really needed a break. The months she had spent recuperating inside of the cozy room had weakened her ability to withstand the heat and endure long periods of exercise.

She was a wimp. ‘Man, I can’t believe this. I’m going to have to tell him that I need a break. I’m going to die out here, and he probably won’t even stop!’

“Hey, Sesshoumaru, I-,” He interrupted her before she had a chance to fall to her knees and beg.

“We will stop here for now. There is a stream to your left if you require replentishment.” One striped hand ushered her in the direction of the babbling river bed even as he took shelter beneath a tree.

She huffed. “What if I don’t want to stop here?”

“You do.” He gave her a disbelieving look. “I sense your extreme amount of discomfort.”

“Well,” she irrationally reasoned. “Just because you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there.”

He gave a low chuckle. “You refuse to think logically, do you not?”

“I’m thinking just fine, thank you very much. I know my own body better than you do, stupid youkai!” The blustering miko stomped her foot for added emphasis.

“You prove to be irrational, miko.” He stood, towering a head above her own.

One small finger stabbed at his chest, “Oh, don’t you try to intimidate me, mister!”

“I do nothing of the sort.” He turned away, walking in the direction of the well.

“Hey! Just where do you think that you’re going?” She quickly trailed after him, dead set on finishing her argument. Sure, she was acting stupid and unreasonable, but she really needed to blow off some steam. For some unknown reason, she was completely set on edge. She felt as if every tiny hair on her body was standing on edge. It was a bad sign. It was the same feeling she got waiting on a youkai to spring onto their traveling party in Sengoku Jidai.

“You wished to continue, did you not?” He questioned, slightly exasperated.

She stopped. “Well, yeah…”

“I am merely complying with your request, miko.” He turned to face her. “Do you wish to carry on, or do you feel the need to break for a moment’s time?”

She sighed. “Let’s keep going.” He was giving her the ‘you’re stupid’ look, and she knew that she deserved it. She was being a complete moron. A break was definitely in order, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop when she knew it would only prolong the amount of time it took to reach the well. And that was something she felt as if she could definitely not afford to do. The longer she stayed in the Heian, or Nara, Period the more comfortable she would become around Lady Bishou, Lord Konton, and even Sesshoumaru. No matter how safe she believed that she was with them, she couldn’t allow a single word to pass through her lips about where she was from and exactly whom it was that she was traveling with.

“Very well.” He took back to the long pathway ahead of them. “If you insist, we will maintain our pace.”

“I do insist.” She quietly grunted.

Another low rumble was heard from her companion.

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Fifteen minutes later, Kagome decided that talking wouldn’t be so bad, as long as it could distract her from the task at hand. “So…Sesshoumaru?”

His head turned slightly to the side, giving her a small, curt nod.

“How long has your family lived in Nara?” Innocent questions were all right, weren’t they?

“We relocated from our ancestral home only 120 lunar revolutions ago.”

‘Ugh…I hate math! Let’s see…about 120 months equals…ten years…right?…Right!’ “Why’d you move?” She continued.

“My Mother has presented you with the answer to this question before, Miko.” He didn’t bother looking at her this time, merely kept walking in their predetermined direction.

“Oh,” Kagome remembered. “That’s right. Political reasons.” ‘So we’re only 10 years into the Heian Period? Oh, Kami. That means that it’s about …720.’

“Where is your place of origin?” Sesshoumaru asked.

“Um…,” Kagome gave a nervous laugh. “Why do you ask?”

He gave her a strange look. “It is understandable that I should ask. You questioned me, and I answered. It is your turn.”

“Eh heh, right. I knew that.” One hand wiped the sweat away from the back of her neck. “I’m from…the village Tokyo.”

“Tokyo?”

“Yes, it’s where the well is.” Kagome’s feet kicked a pebble in her trail.

He frowned. “I have seen no village there.”

She shrugged. “It gets destroyed a lot by war and rogue youkai.”

“Many do.” He nodded.

Kagome had almost begun a silent round of pats on the back for herself when he asked his next question. “Is your family there?”

She gulped. This was bad. ‘Think fast, Kagome!’ “N-no.”

“Where are they?”

She was really praying for the wordless, arrogant Lord to overcome this new, chattery one. “They left.” ‘Wow, great answer, genius. He’ll never suspect anything now.’ She mentally banged her head against a brick wall.

“And left you behind?”

She sighed. “I had other…pressing duties that needed to be taken care of before I can join them permanently.”

He surprised her by giving a slight growl of agreement. “I understand.”

Kagome frowned and looked for a way to push the conversation in another direction. “Hey, I think you’ve asked more questions than I have!”

“So I have.”

“Hmm,” she tapped a finger against her lower lip in contemplation. “Oh, I know!”

He smirked. “Then you have no need of a question.”

“Ha, ha.” She stuck out her tongue. “Not funny. How old are you?”

He made a slight roll of his eyes. “Age is of no significance to me. I am youkai.”

“But I answered all of your questions!” The hyperactive woman whined.

“I have been in existence for nearly one thousand, three hundred and sixty-eight lunar cycles.”

She frowned. ‘Ugh! How long is that? Let’s see…divide 1368 by 12.…that’s 4 and carry the two…ummmmmmmm. Blast long division! Oh…its…100 and…10...and 4...114? Wow, what a geezer! That means he’s like … 900 and something in Sengoku Jidai! Ewwwww…’

“You’re ooooold.” She grimaced.

He shook his head. Females were the most confusing creatures - no matter the species.

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Night finally fell, blanketing the sky in millions of sparkling diamonds against a deep, midnight hue. “There is a village a short distance ahead.” Sesshoumaru remarked.

“Good,” Kagome groaned. “I need a futon.”

The youkai gave a slight sniff. ‘And a bath.’

Kagome gave a small sniffle. “Ew! And a bath.” Her nose turned up in distaste.

The village came into view almost instantly, but the scent of sickness made Sesshoumaru begin to turn away. “We should not tarry here.”

Pleading eyes met his, “Why?”

“It is not safe for you; much sickness tarries here.”

She gave a cracking yawn. “Oh…well, I guess here will have to do.”

Sesshoumaru watched in amazement as the young woman pulled the black bag off of her shoulders and spread its meager contents on the ground. He was shocked to find that she did not complain about his inability to provide her with a safe haven for the night. Was it possible that she was not as well bred as she appeared to be? Her mannerisms spoke of both wealth and barbarianism.

She was her own walking paradox.

Watching her crawl into the comfort of an oversized fabric roll, he situated himself at the base of an oak and prepared to observe another sleepless night pass. After all, he had promised to protect this weak slip of a human woman from harm.

“G’night, Sesshoumaru.” He heard her whisper into the darkness.

He nodded only to realize a moment later that her vision would be failing her in the pitch. “Good night.”

Kagome smiled. Maybe this new Sesshoumaru wasn’t so bad. At least he knew how to keep someone preoccupied.

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Morning rose quickly, leaving no room for anyone to oversleep. Kagome began grumbling once the first rays of cheery sunshine hit her eyes, leaving her vision swimming in dots of purple and black.

Sesshoumaru already stood and awaited her at the edge of the path.

She groaned, but managed a slight “good morning” before falling back into her pallet.

“Rise, Kagome.” Sesshoumaru commanded, standing at the edge of her bedding.

“No,” she whimpered. “Too early.”

“Rise.” He demanded again. “We must travel out of these areas before the humans come to spread their malady.”

Kagome’s face grew contemplative with sympathy. “Oh, that’s right. How many are sick, Sesshoumaru?”

He did not like the train of her thought, but delicately inhaled the air anyway. “Only a few remain untainted.”

“Those poor people,” she commented, stowing her makeshift bed in the bag and throwing it onto her shoulders. “We should help them.”

He frowned. “No.”

She gave him a distressed look, “But they may die!”

“Many humans die.”

“Not while I’m around.” She ground out and marched toward the village. “I’ll help them.”

Sesshoumaru grabbed her arm. “Your stubbornness will be your death, woman.”

“That may very well be, Sesshoumaru.” She ripped her arm away from him. “But I can’t just stand by and watch anyone die.”

So, Sesshoumaru followed in silence and watched as the fearless woman was welcomed into the village with open arms. He sat beside her while she cared for innumerable of the villages sick and wounded. Her kindness was irrefutable.

“Sesshoumaru, could you hand me that bowl?” She asked, pointing one hand toward the healing poultice she had created that morning.

Her hand skimmed against his own as she grasped the bowl’s edge. A light blush stained her cheeks. “Thank you.”

He nodded in return.

The youthful demon watched her hands work deftly over the weakened remainder of what was once a strong adolescent male. Her voice called out to the injured in soft, soothing tones, reassuring him that he would regain his strength in the shortest amount of time. Her fingers gingerly placed bandages at his throat to hold the poultice inside. Its medicinal properties were absorbed through the pores and cleared the nose and throat of any mucus build up through it’s heavy, vapor-like smell.

Most of the day continued in the same manner. Kagome cared for all of those she could, and she cried over those that she couldn’t. Many of the village’s older members were too far ravaged by the influenza to be saved. She felt the first signs of uselessness set in after they brought in four more of the elders.

“I can’t.” She sorrowfully whispered. “I can’t heal these people.”

Sesshoumaru could feel the pain rolling off of her body. He turned to the stronger villagers. “These humans will die. There is nothing further to be done.”

That’s when the first wave of a different scent hit his nose. It was the smell of salt. Kagome was crying.

“I-I’m sorry.” She mumbled and stumbled her way out of the sick room.

“Please,” one of the female caregivers spoke up. “Tell the Lady Miko that we understand. She is not at fault. The kamis will have the souls of those they wish.”

“Very well.” Sesshoumaru responded and freed himself from the confines of the room.

Following the sounds of Kagome’s wails, he found her clutching the base of the tree he had kept watch under the night before.

“No one could heal them.” He commented, causing her to cry harder.

“I-I’m sorry!” She snuffled. “I-I didn’t mean t-t-to-.”

“Cease this.” He demanded. “You have placed your own life in peril today in order to protect the lives of others. You should not be ashamed that you were unable to shield them all from the eyes of Death.”

“I-I know t-that.” Kagome hiccupped.

“You are a creature worthy of life, Lady Kagome.” Sesshoumaru complimented. “For the kamis would have stolen your soul from your body long ago if they did not deem it so. You are a being of many foolish actions.”

Kagome gave him a watery smile. “Don’t be too nice, Sesshoumaru. One might think you cared.”

He frowned. “What is the fault in caring?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it at his remark. ‘That’s right…you’re not the same, are you?’ “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Sesshoumaru turned away. “You have done great things with your eighteen years, Kagome. Many great things.”

She frowned. “How do you know how old I am?”

“Youkai can find many answers through scent alone.” He responded.

The young miko remained silent.

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