InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Existence ❯ Bloody Feathers ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha… *bursts out in tears * I didn't want to say it, they made me! *Points accusingly at detestable family * They will get theirs soon… *laughs manically *

Scene 6

Three days later…

Inuyasha's party consisted of his regular fighting group and now included Sesshoumaru, Myouga, and Kaede. Sesshoumaru had told Jaken to take Rin and Ah-Un back to his castle. He stayed with the group, keeping close watch over the girl at all times. His protectiveness was stunning to everyone and more often then not random members of the group would find him staring down at the girl, silently thinking. No one knew what he was thinking due to his lack of expression and no one asked. It was like a silent rule to not ask the taiyoukai what he thought about the girl… or rather how he felt about her.

Since the prophecy, the girl had yet to indicate that she was living except for the steady rise and fall of her chest with her now regular breathing pattern. He body healed itself during her sleep and the wounds disappeared leaving no scars as was normal for youkai. The only thing that hadn't healed was the mark. The bite remained fresh on her neck and constantly dripped with blood. It never clotted and thankfully the mark was small so the blood loss did nothing to give fatal warning.

No word of Naraku had come and there had been no major attacks as of late so their full attention was focused on the girl. The hours passed slowly and the group did their normal things. It wasn't all that interesting except for the behavior of certain lecherous monks in the group. His antics would happen several times throughout the day but never were they more profound than when nightfall approached, as it seemed to be doing currently.

The night was steadily overcoming the bright sky, turning it different shades of red and purple. The group gathered around a small fire outside the hut. Kaede had deemed it off limits since each time someone went to check up on the girl, everyone else would ultimately follow and then Sesshoumaru would growl at them when they got too close. The only people he seemed to tolerate were Kagome and Kirara. He and Inuyasha may have been on tolerable terms due to the circumstances but they hardly talked.

The group sat around the fire, Kagome preparing dinner for all of them. He never ate. He really didn't trust the `food' that she prepared. It came in small parcels and with just some boiling water it would be ready. They made small talk about juvenile things and as always, Sesshoumaru never participated. Although he never showed it, he listened in amusement to the constant bickering. The monk, he deemed, was quite inappropriate when it came to women, especially the youkai exterminator, Sango. He would constantly make passes at both women and then get pounded in the head with Sango's Hiraikotsu, slapped by either female, or punched by Inuyasha. Nevertheless, he would resume his antics within the next hour or so. Sesshoumaru couldn't help thinking that this human must have had a pretty hard head.

As they made idle chatter, a very low groan rang through the air. Sesshoumaru made no movement as of yet but he briefly darted his eyes to the hut and then to the youkai in the group. Apparently, Inuyasha and Kirara had also heard the miniscule sound. Inuyasha's ears twitched in that direction and he glanced at Sesshoumaru. Kirara walked from Sango's side to the taiyoukai and looked up at him, her head cocked to the side as if waiting for something.

He stared down at the fire neko and gave a small indiscreet nod. She moved back to Sango's side and lay down. Shippou hadn't heard, his attention obviously drawn elsewhere. Inuyasha glanced again at Sesshoumaru as the sound of another low groan. Sesshoumaru quietly stood, walking over to the hut and a quick nod from Inuyasha acknowledged his approval. No one paid him any mind and they continued to chat, oblivious to what was happening.

Sesshoumaru quickly pulled back the sheet that made the door to Kaede's small hut. His eyes were drawn instantly to the girl. Her hands were fisted in the bed sheets and her eyes were tightly closed with silent tears cascading down her face. She groaned as a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Her head lolled from side to side and her legs drew up, kicking away the sheet from her body. She gasped, her back arching and a quick, sharp cry spewed from her lips. He watched awestruck as the girl continued to struggle in her dreamland. Abruptly, her eyes shot open and she shot up, a hand held to her chest and her breaths heavy and ragged.

She closed her eyes and brought her hand to rub at her temples. The dream eluded her but that pain she had been feeling was only now starting to dissipate. A feeling of dread weighed heavily upon her and she felt as though she had a huge responsibility to bear. Memories decided to flood her mind and she closed rested her head in her palms, reliving her past events. She shuddered as each haunting memory only intensified. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She sighed, a tormented whisper coming from her lips.

"Just go away… Oh gods, why do you torment me so? I have done nothing… I've done nothing to deserve such cruel punishment. Let me die… please." Her voice trailed off, a sob threatening to make itself known. Abruptly, a virtually invisible figure shifted to her right and she tensed. She quickly stood, holding the blanket against her body as she took a defensive stance. Her eyes skimmed the room and she mentally noted the size of the room, and the exits. One exit, the only exit, was blocked by a man… actually a youkai male… a rather beautiful youkai male. His white fluffy tail draped over his shoulder and his long hair ran down his back in a sheet of silver tresses. The one thing that really struck her though, were his eyes. Their golden depths seemed to glow in the darkened room. She tore her gaze from him and assessed her other means of escape in the tiny hut. There was a window but it was too small to escape from and there was another door to the side but it only seemed to lead into another room.

She brought her gaze back to him and was somewhat surprised to see that he hadn't moved. He hadn't moved… at all. Other then his eyes, his facial features were shrouded in darkness. He didn't look like he was going to hurt her but if he did, she knew she didn't stand a chance. She was still weak and just standing there was proving difficult. She'd be lucky if she could remain there for another two minutes. Luckily for her though, he still hadn't moved and she allowed her muscles to relax. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. Her ears swiveled toward his direction and twitched, indicating that she was still alert to his presence and would know when he moved.

His scent reached her nose and breathed in deeply. It was familiar but she couldn't place it. He smelled like… fresh rain with the slight aroma of flowers. It really was relaxing and she found herself calming down more and more in his presence.

`Rain… flowers… I know this smell… and yet, I don't… I wonder where it's from?' As her mind drifted to possible answers, a sudden searing pain shot up her spine. She cried out and doubled over. The blanket she had been holding, pooled soundlessly around her feet. Another blinding pain spread from her spine out through her shoulder blades and she fell to all fours. She bit her lip in an attempt to muffle her yelps but she only ended up drawing blood. It felt as though her back was about to rip apart from the inside.

She screamed as her skin tore on her back. Blood poured from the wounds and she sunk down from her hands to her elbows, resting her head against the cool floor. A sweat broke on her head as her skin continued to rip, "What… the fuck… is happening?" She screamed again as she felt something push out from under her skin, making it's way through the tear in her flesh. Gasps of pain came between each scream as blood poured fluently down her sides.

"What… the fuck… is happening?" Gasps of pain followed each pause and another scream erupted from my raw throat, "It hurts! Make it stop! Oh gods, please!"

Another tear ripped down her back, more blood just incessantly flowing from her deep wounds. She let loose a final gut-wrenching scream filling the air and then… the rips stopped… and then the pain gradually subsided after a few moments.

She just lay there, unmoving and breathing raggedly. She felt a slight weight on her back and slowly sat up. The thin nightgown now clung to her skin with the blood that had come from her back. The blood continued to come but in smaller amounts. It had already started to clot meaning that her body was already healing itself. She squatted and wrapped her tail around her legs. Her ears were pressed flat against her head and she fisted her hands in the bloody blanket at her feet. She clung to it as if it were a lifeline. And then she noticed them. A bloody, whiteness surrounded her. She hesitantly reached out for the blood stained feathers as realization dawned upon her.

`… Shit…'