InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Melting a heart of ice ❯ Chapter Ten: Negotiations and a little kitsune ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter Ten: Negotiations and a little kitsune

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

Night can be so beautiful. Everything is silent and dark, the moon shines with all its beauty, everyone is resting. But day is just as beautiful. The sun appears, everything and everyone awakes as bright sunlight travels down to the world, taking no heed in obstacles, always finding its way into the smallest places, nothing can hide for it.

Not even a certain peaceful sleeping couple up in a certain tower.

The sun came up, and its light came down, trough the air and finally falling trough the window and on the closed eyes of a certain taiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru stirred a bit, before slowly opening his eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight. Muttering a soft curse, he growled as he noticed how stiff he was. Why was this bed so hard? Then he noticed he was half sitting, half lying and probably had been like this all night.

The next thing he noticed was something warm propped up against him, something, or someone… He blinked once, before looking down. As he saw dark raven hair, it clicked inside his head. Kagome…

Unbeknownst to him, his eyes softened a bit as he looked down at her. While they were sleeping she somehow snuggled even closer to him, her arms around his waist and her head buried in his chest. Somehow, his arm had found its way around her waist, securing her against his side. He raised a brow as he noticed this, but didn't remove his arm.

Kagome… As if to tease him, she had made him even more confused about her. He now knew he really didn't hate her, maybe he even respected her. Kami knows she was clumsy, sentimental, noisy, irritating, disobeying, stubborn, infuriating, and …

… and good, caring, compassionate, powerful, honest, kind… Always helping, no matter what. First trying to heal him, when he had that arrow in his shoulder. Then trying to comfort him as she thought he was homesick. And finally, last night, helping him to get over a very difficult period of his life; his mother's death.

There was a fore and an after, and between that was his mother's death. She had been everything to him, she was always there, loving and caring much like Kagome, never leaving him or his brother, in contrast with his father, who was always busy.

Before his mother's death, he was different from what he was now. He would laugh, never as much as other children would do, after all, he had always been serious, but he wasn't as cold as he was now. He was happy, and he would play like other children.

After his mother's death, he became serious and cold. He was angry at his brother, for not being kidnapped, angry at his father, for risking his mother's life, and angry at the whole world for letting this happen. He didn't trust anyone anymore, throwing up walls around his heart, always doubting others words as in his experience, people mostly lied. He despised humans, because they were weak, and maybe, because Onigumo had been one.

He didn't play anymore, but began paying more attention to his studies. Sometimes, he wished he could be just as carefree as Inuyasha, but his father expected a lot from him, as the oldest son. He had changed into the cold and heartless person he now was.

And now, there was another person in his life that managed to make him feel happy. Kagome. She had that effect on him, as she smiled, or when she talked. She was just like that, a person destined to make others happy, so it seemed. `But then again, she herself doesn't have that much happiness' he thought wryly. He knew her for what, 10 or 11 days? But he already knew there had been hard and tough times in her life, just as there were such times in his life. `Fate plays with both of us,' he stated.

In a way, the situation he was now in was a weird joke too. `But…' he thought as Kagome shifted slightly beside him, her breathing indicating she woke up. `… I think I like this particular joke, somehow…'

*

She was sleeping peacefully, a good sleep like she didn't had in a long, long time. No dreams, no visions, nothing scary, just blissful sleep.

Then why did the sun have to shine in her face like that?

She however smiled a bit, deciding that was just her bad luck and simply burying her head somewhat further in her pillow, blocking the sunlight away.

That was when she noticed her pillow had hardened somewhat since last night.

She stiffened, her sleep fogged mind trying to remember why she felt like she was lying against someone, why her head went a bit up and down as that person breathed steadily, why she could hear a heartbeat apart from her own… Why there was an arm around her waist, and why she felt like somebody was staring at her…

Slowly, she peeked open one eye, and what she saw, made her blush furiously. A bare, slightly toned, muscular chest and silver hair came in her view. In an instant, one name came into her mind.

Sesshoumaru.

She remained stiff, not moving an inch, until she felt him shook with silent laughter. Blushing even more, she hurriedly crawled away from him, shrieking as she almost fell of the bed. And for the second time since she met him, his arm shot out and he catched her. She wanted to thank him, as he went a bit further and pulled her close to him, again.

She glared at him, but he only smirked at her. "Did I not tell you to stop yelling? Oh well, it's quite some fun, waking up like this… maybe an option for the future?"

She became even redder and began stuttering. "Y-you…"

"Yes Kagome? I can not understand you?"

"You jerk!"

"Now that's better"

She glared at him, silently demanding him to let her go, but he answered her heated gaze with a cold one of his own, only this time, amusement was in his eyes. The staring contest lasted for several minutes, in which Kagome began blushing again, but she didn't back down. However, it wasn't easy to battle with Sesshoumaru by sending gazes, as he was a master in it. She found it rather difficult to keep looking into those golden eyes, if she wouldn't stop, she would just drown in them…

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it depends on how you look at it, at that precise moment, someone decided to barge in.

*

Miroku had just gotten a message to go and get Kagome, because she was needed. A servant had fallen ill, and she needed to look at him. He was walking up the stairs in a steady pace, lost in thought, thinking about his beautiful Sango, and how she would be doing at this moment. So, when he came at Kagome's bedroom door, he forgot to knock.

And he would never forget what he saw once he opened that door.

That handsome demon lord, together with Kagome, in one bed, close to each other, his arm around her waist, he half naked, she blushing, and they were looking deeply in each other eyes. What in truth was a staring contest became in Miroku's perverted mind a lover's couple, lost in each other eyes.

Now he was used to a lot of things, but thinking about whatever they might have been doing, he became as red as Kagome was and began stuttering just like she did minutes before.

"L-lady K-Kagome, lo- lovelymorningisn'tit?" he finished in a rush.

Kagome's jaw had dropped somewhere to the ground, but the only thing Sesshoumaru did was smirking in amusement, before bending down and whispering in Kagome's ear, loud enough so that Miroku could hear it. "Shouldn't he be punished for interrupting our interesting… activity?"

Kagome gulped, before jumping away from Sesshoumaru and glaring at both men. "OUT!"

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows at her. "What did you say?"

"I said OUT! I've had enough! Kami, please, just go away!"

He chuckled softly as he got up and exited the room. As he stood outside in the hall, Miroku was shoved out off the room before the door closed with a loud bang.

Miroku turned towards the taiyoukai, a puzzled expression on his face. But his always perverted mind was working at high speed, so he came with only one question. "So, Lord Sesshoumaru, what exactly happened?"

*

Sesshoumaru eyed the monk with irritation. "Nothing that would interest you"

The monks face got a dreamy expression. "Oh I wouldn't think so… Despite you being a youkai, and she an elf, and both enemies, no offending there, but you two still remain a man and a woman…"

"Obviously."

"… and what they do when they are alone…"

"You are going too far monk. Watch your mouth"

"Ah, in denial. I see, I see… So, you love her?" A growl. "Oh yes, I forgot, you are enemies. Oh and you are a prisoner… But, I am an easy person, love goes above all! I think it's rather romantic anyway. Just remember, if you ever hurt her, you'll have to face me…Maybe I should tell her mother…"

Sesshoumaru had grown VERY impatient listening to the monk's useless rambling, but before he could do anything, a door opened and a very angry Kagome appeared again, now fully dressed, and she grabbed the monk by his robes and pulled him in her room, slamming the door shut.

Judging by her expression, he was glad he wasn't the monk for now. But, curious as he was, he listened in.

*

Kagome glared at Miroku with murder in her eyes. "What. Where. You. Doing. Barging. In. like. That." she said trough gritted teeth.

Miroku waved his hands in the air, looking innocent. "N-nothing, there's just a servant sick…"

"A servant is sick?"

"Yes, and, they need you…"

"Fine I'll come"

She turned around and noticed how Miroku visibly relaxed. Then she remembered hearing him saying something. She turned sharply and pointed a finger at him "Not a single word to my mother, OR Kikyou, you understand? Or I will curse you so badly, you would wish you were never born!"

"Y-yes"

"You swear?!"

"Yes, I do, I do, just please, don't curse me!"

She eyed him warily, before grabbing him by his robes again, "Fine. And now, show me this servant." He struggled against her hold and she looked irritated at him. "What else do you have to say?"

A soft cough. "I just wanted to say, I know it's not my business, but be careful with him. I don't know what this had to mean…"

"I just had a vision last night!" she snapped at him. "You know what happens when I have one of those. Sesshoumaru just helped me."

Miroku looked doubtful at her. "By crawling into your bed…?"

She closed her eyes, trying very hard not to blush. "I asked him to stay, I was afraid. You have NO idea what I saw last night…"

"I have the feeling I don't even want to know it…"

"… AND it involved his past, so it affected him as well."

"Y-you saw something of his past?"

"Are you deaf? And no, I won't tell you, it's confidential"

"Fine, fine, I don't even want to know, so just calm down, ok? And I won't tell your mother, at least, not if you can handle this."

"I can handle it."

"Ok…" he said, sounding a bit doubtful still.

Kagome just rolled her eyes. "Look, we have to go now, I have to see that servant, remember?"

Then she opened the door and stormed out, ignoring a certain taiyoukai and going down the stairs, dragging Miroku with her.

*

Kagome waited patiently for the guards to open the gates. The servant was doing well, but she needed to get some herbs for him, and so she decided to go into the forest and search for those herbs.

Miroku had excused himself, either to go dreaming and speculating about what he saw this morning, or too afraid she would really curse him. Luckily, he hadn't said a thing to her mother yet, but she was sure her mother already noticed something, as she couldn't stop blushing during breakfast.

The most annoying thing was that Sesshoumaru noticed, and he seemed to find it rather amusing. He kept staring at her with that amused smile, and everytime she saw that, she would blush again. Kami, what had she done to deserve this?

But on the other hand, he was rather kind last night. Hugging her back, telling her about his past, and even staying with her. Of course, the first he had to do in the morning was embarrassing her in front of Miroku, but she wasn't angry about that anymore. Embarrassed, yes, but not angry. She felt like, if you would imagine Sesshoumaru as a castle, she had taken the first wall. The first step inside that castle. The first step inside his heart, and maybe his trust.

What he had told her about his past had shocked her. She had hoped he didn't have to see his mother die, but as she found out, he did see it. Somehow, she felt like she had nothing to complain about, she still had her mother, he had lost both parents already. And his mother at such a young age too…

No doubt he became that cold after her death. But she thought that maybe, just maybe he was warming a bit up, as he decided to tell her about this painful experience. He had trust her enough to tell her, and it made her feel good. Of course, she had this effect on almost everyone, people trusted her easily, but he was a worse case. Even when he did tell her, there was no doubt she still didn't have his whole trust, and he would remain as cold as he always was. A bit warmed up maybe, but only a little so you would hardly notice it.

She waved to the guards as she passed the now open gates. Turning her back on them, she left the road that lead away from the castle and disappeared into the forest, following a small path.

She loved this forest. All the trees, and the flowers, and the birds… she simply loved nature. But today, as she entered the forest, it didn't seem as bright as it always did. Dark shadows were between the trees, and it was eerie silent. She neither heard nor saw any birds, and she unconsciously shivered.

She had a bad feeling about this.

*

~Forest near the elven castle~

Never, ever in his entire life had he run this fast.

The young kitsune was running like mad, dodging trees and plants, winching as a branch cut his cheek. He was crying, and his vision was blurred because of all those tears. He heard those two youkai chasing him, dodging trees or simply cutting them down if they were in their way.

He began to run harder and harder, desperately trying to get away. Why he tried to escape, he didn't know. He had lost everything, his parents were dead and he had nowhere else to go to. So why shouldn't he just stop, stay here and wait for death?

No, he decided. His mother always told him to be strong, to follow in his father's footsteps, to grow up and be strong, so that they would be proud of him. And he would do so. He wouldn't just die like that. He would fight.

Still running, he noticed that the forest became thicker and thicker, and soon, he didn't know where to go anymore. He stopped running, panting and franticly looking around for an escape route, but it was already too late.

With a crash, another tree was cut down as the two Thunder Brothers appeared in the clearing. The prettier one smirked, and lightning surrounded him.

"Thinking you could escape from us huh? Well, kid, enjoy your last minutes, because you will die now…"

*

Kagome was still walking trough the forest, but she wasn't searching for herbs. Instead, she felt like she was pulled to some place, like a magnet, and the feeling of foreboding began to grow. Deeper and deeper she came into the forest, her expression determinated, her pace going faster and faster. She would find out where this feeling came from.

Then, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw lightning ahead of her. It was followed by a yell, a yell like you would hear from a little child, scared to death.

It was as if all her hairs began to stand upright, and her hand began to glow with a soft blue light. She broke out into a full run, using her inhuman speed to run trough the forest, in the direction of the lightning.

After a few minutes, she came into a clearing, and her breath stopped at what she saw there.

To her right stood a little child. First, she thought it was an elf, but then she noticed its cute little tail and its aura, which were definitely that of a youkai. The kid was crying, but also throwing little blue flames at its attackers.

Those attackers were to her left. Two youkai, one ugly, one pretty, were attacking the little child with pure lightning. They still didn't notice her, somehow, and the uglier one moved in for the kill as the kid was wounded by the other youkai.

Anger flared up in her. How could one being do such a thing to another one, one of its own kind, and a child none the less? She was no warrior like Kikyou, she didn't learn how to fight, but in that moment, she didn't thought reasonable anymore, she just acted on instinct.

Quickly, before the blow could reach the child, she threw up a barrier around him, and as the boy looked with wide eyes at her, she turned to the ugly youkai and throwed her hands out at him, sending waves of blue light in his direction.

There was a blinding flash, before it died down and all that was left of the youkai were ashes. Kagome bent over, panting as she used a lot of energy, but she quickly attempted to stand again as she heard the other youkai yell in anger.

"Manten, no! You bitch! You killed my brother! You…" he pointed angrily at her. "… you will die for this!"

*

~Castle to the north of the Southern Lands~

Kikyou was walking along the corridors of the castle, approaching the room in which the other Lords were waiting for her arrival.

Her face was as cold as always, but on the inside, for once, there was nothing but chaos. Her once so clear and well ordered mind, which knew exactly what to think of which person, was confused.

She still looked down on Lord Kouga, who she found to be rather arrogant and spoiled. She would just ignore him, and think of him as a little child.

She still loathed Naraku, with his evil smirk, and horrible attitude. If there was one person who could manage to get her to stop with her cold behaviour and infuriate her so she lost control, then it was Naraku.

She hated everything about him, not only because he killed her father, but also because of all the other things that foul being had done in his long life. She wanted nothing more than to kill him, but despite being as close to him as she was never before, she couldn't because this was a neutral place; no attacks allowed, only talking.

And yet, she had been close to it last night. She had that arrow there, pointed right at his heart, all she had to do was let her power flow into it and release it, he would be purified and dead before his body hit the ground.

But someone stopped her.

She had been so surprised when Lord Sesshoumaru's younger brother jumped in front of her. First, she thought he would defend Naraku, but no, he defended her, yelling at Naraku for talking to her in such a way.

She always thought of him as a kid too, not too intelligent, or at least not showing it, always insulting people on his way, rude and never thinking trough things. But for once, he showed he had some common sense. Although, not too much. Clever enough to realise it was rude what Naraku said, but not as clever enough to realise he was yelling at one of his allies, and almost attacking that ally too.

That was one of the things why she was so confused. First, why did he defend her, an elf? Second, did he hate Naraku by some change? She sensed anger and hatred in his aura last night, but it confused her, was Naraku not his ally? But then again, she had sensed disgust with Sesshoumaru too if he talked about Naraku. What was going on here?

As she came closer to the room where the other were, she could hear the yells of that very person who was currently on her mind.

"Fuck you, wimpy wolf!"

"You saying something, dog turd?"

Before she opened the door, she sighed once and pushed any confusing thought of Inuyasha aside. He was a stupid youkai behaving like a child, an enemy, and that would never change.

Why did she have the feeling then she couldn't be sure of herself anymore?

*

Inside the room, a person with crimson eyes was studying those around him with care. He watched a bit amused how Kouga and Inuyasha fought, as usual, but not paying too much attention to it, as he already had dozens of plans of how to use this against them.

That was what he always did, studying the people around him, looking at their faces and the way they acted, discovering how they felt about everything and everyone, and then using it against them. Oh yes, toying with people's emotions was what he was best in.

So now, he was thinking about the weird event last night. Young Inuyasha standing up for the elven princess… interesting… he would see how they acted today.

As if on cue, the door opened and Kikyou came in. He noticed how her gaze immediately went to Inuyasha, looking thoughtful at him, probably thinking about the boy. He seemed to notice, as he stopped yelling against Kouga and looked a bit uncomfortable at her, before turning to Kouga again and continue yelling, trying to hide the fact that he was not at ease.

How amusing this was. Finally some distraction, something unexpected.

He could use this sometime…

*

Kagura rolled her eyes at Kouga and Inuyasha, who continued fighting after that elf came in. Deciding this was definitely below her, she turned to look at Kikyou.

Kagura always acted like she hated the elf, insulting her, sometimes fighting against her, if Naraku ordered it, but from deep inside, she respected her, and only disgusted the woman because she was an elf; but she didn't really saw her as an enemy.

She respected the way Kikyou went further with her life after her father's dead, leading the elves to so many victories, she respected her intelligence, and her quiet and composed appearance.

She didn't think of her as an enemy, not really anyway, because she always hoped, someone would free her from her father. She hated Naraku with all her being, but she couldn't kill him. There were some… circumstances… which made it impossible for her. Nobody knew about it, and she always tried to hide her hatred, failing mostly because Naraku would see it anyway. But Kikyou was powerful, and she hated Naraku too, and maybe she could kill him once…

She snapped out of her thoughts, focusing on the others as they had started negotiating. They were discussing an eventual truce, and after another hour or so, they agreed there would be a truce for two months, just like Kikyou had wanted. Kagura especially enjoyed the way Kikyou dealed with Naraku, not attacking physically, but with words, giving sharp remarks. Oh, this woman was clever.

Kouga seemed to be bored, not really paying attention, his gaze wandering to the walls a bit too often. Inuyasha on the other hand seemed to be very nervous, she spotted his flee servant on his shoulder, and he seemed to talk with it a lot. As she saw the mischievous smirk of her father, she pitied the boy, because her father had seemed to notice and would probably comment on it.

"Now, Inuyasha, I didn't know you had nor needed an advisor… I don't think I ever met him…"

The boy glared at her father, getting a bit red, but obviously at a loss of words.

"… or is it you don't really know how to deal with the situation?"

"Feh"

Kagura narrowed her eyes at her father. Sure, Inuyasha was annoying, but that was a bit cruel, embarrassing him like that. And of course, that stupid wolf had to go along with it.

"Hehe, dog turd has no brains, I told him that so often, but he still doesn't get it."

Inuyasha was just preparing to jump and attack Kouga, as Kikyou spoke. "I am sure Lord Inuyasha has more… important… matters on his mind. He is probably worried about his brother, am I right?"

Kagura noticed amused how first Inuyasha opened his mouth, probably to point out `his brother was an ass and he couldn't care less about what happened to him', but then seemed to realise the elf was helping him. "Yes, that would be right," he muttered instead, settling back, before starting to pout. `Hn, that must've been hard to say' Kagura mused. She looked at her father. `Why do I have the feeling he did this on purpose?'

She didn't ponder on it however, as she noticed Kikyou asked for the list of their prisoners. She watched how Kouga and Inuyasha gave their list, both seemingly bored, but as Naraku gave their list, he smirked evilly. She shifted uncomfortable and felt the urge to throw up as she thought of his little plan regarding their prisoners.

Why, of all the people walking this earth, did Naraku have to be her father?

*

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

Servants stared, as they always did when Sesshoumaru walked by. He would normally give them cold glares, but today, he was lost in thought.

He still had to laugh as he thought back of this morning, the way Kagome acted, how embarrassed she had been. After all, he decided he would embarrass her as much as he could while he was here. And he thought he had been rather good at it, seeing how she would still blush whenever she saw him.

It was amusing, yes, but he also worried about it, as everytime she blushed, he thought of how pretty she looked. And that was something to worry about; since when was an elf pretty? But, he noticed as he thought back, when he first met her that had been one of his first thoughts too; she's pretty.

He had been a bit afraid as she told the monk this morning about having a vision involving his past. He had panicked for a second, would she tell the monk? Would she tell everything he told her, and so prove she was not worth his, or anyone's trust? Because that had been the thing he worried most about, he had told her, somehow, about his mother, but did he trust, or could he trust her enough to do that? But, well, he already told her, so there was nothing to do to change it, he decided this morning. Still, he was afraid she would tell someone, but she didn't. The monk didn't even have a change to ask about the vision, as she told him clearly it was confidential.

She had no idea how much he appreciated that.

He blinked against the sudden sunlight, and noticed he was outside, on the courtyard. How had he come here? He wanted to turn and enter the castle again, as he noticed a spot above the forest with pitch-black clouds, while everywhere else, the sun shone brightly. Now, that had nothing to do with nature.

He turned fully, and now noticed there was lightning too, and some noises of fighting. More people seemed to notice, as guards and servants stood together looking at it, muttering what it could mean, the elves among them also hearing the sounds of fighting and worrying about it. He sniffed at the air, and faintly, he smelled three youkai, one of them was a kitsune. Then he stiffened, as another scent reached his nose.

Kagome.

She was out there.

*

~Forest near the elven castle~

He had stopped crying, instead, all his tears were forgotten as he followed the battle before him with wide open eyes.

He had tried to fight those youkai, those two brothers, tried to be strong, as his father told him. But he was too weak, he was only a child, it wasn't fair! He had yelled as he was wounded at his side by one of the youkai, and then trembled in fear as the other prepared to kill him.

And then, she came.

A barrier was thrown up around him, and he turned, surprised, with wide eyes looking at the person who cast it.

At first, he thought it must be an angel. He was dead, and now there was an angel to take him away from this world. He had always liked tales about angels, and he imagined, this was just what an angel should be like. Beautiful and kind.

That's when he noticed the pointed ears, her hands glowing with a blue light, and her scent. This was an elf. He was shocked, an elf tried to save him? He knew nothing better than elves were his enemies. He watched how she killed the ugly youkai, turning him into ashes. His eyes widened even more, never had he seen such power.

She had collapsed, and he wanted to hurry towards her, but she smiled at him and told him to stay put, she was going to save him, everything would be alright. That smile of her, it remembered him of his mother, of how she would smile at him, and he felt completely warm inside. He remained where he was and watched how the girl stood again, facing of against the remaining youkai.

He noticed she looked nervous, he didn't understand why, she was so powerful, she could kill that youkai so easily, she had proven that just now… He saw how her hand began to glow blue again, power building there, but the light flickered, as if it would die down any moment now. Had she used too much of her power?

The youkai smirked, mocking her, and threw a blast of lightning her way. The girl's eyes widened, before she jumped out of the way, a bit clumsy, but she managed to get away. However, she hadn't seen how the youkai threw a second blow after the first one, and she got hid on her side, just like he minutes ago. She groaned, clutching her side which began bleeding now, and she leaned on a tree for support.

He watched how the youkai prepared to throw another blow, and he forgot he had to stay to the side, instead running towards the girl and standing protectively in front of her. "S-stay away from her!" he yelled.

The youkai just smirked. "Such bravery… all wasted. But, please, just stay there, that way I can kill you both with one strike…"

*

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

Sesshoumaru stood facing the gates, now, although he would never admit it, a bit nervous. Some time ago, there had been a lot of lightning, and then, nothing. He couldn't check on the situation himself, as there was a barrier around the castle, and it would just throw him back if he would try to pass it. All he knew was that Kagome was outside there, and three youkai. What was happening exactly, he didn't know.

His head shot up as he heard one of the guards yell. "Open the gates!"

He watched how the gates opened, and he couldn't help himself, he was worried about the girl. What the hell happened to her this time? What bad luck had she met now?

His eyes widened a bit as he saw her. She stumbled in, her clothes damaged, cuts and bruises everywhere, and a large wound at her side. She was clutching something, but he couldn't see what it was.

`What stupid thing did she do now?' he thought. `Has she been fighting? And so yes, for what?' Then, he noticed how whatever it was that she was holding, moved, and he saw how it had a head and a tail, and all in all… it was little kitsune. A youkai. `I thought she hated making prisoners, so why did she just make one?' he asked himself.

He noticed how all the people around them looked worried, but no one hurried to the girl's side, nobody moved, and he wondered why. She was beloved, they were worried about her, she why didn't they help her? Oh well, maybe they were just shocked.

Then he watched, as if in slow motion, how she slowed down and began to fall to the ground, no doubt losing consciousness. Before he could think of his actions, he was beside her within a second and catched her before she hit the ground.

She went completely limp in his arms, and he picked her up bridal style, with much more care than he could imagine himself doing. The little kitsune who had been in her arms all the time was still there, staring up at him in fear.

"P-please don't hurt her!" he pleaded. He raised his brow at the kid. "Please, she saved me!" it wailed now. "She killed the bad youkai and she saved me!"

He was surprised; she saved this little child, a youkai none the less? But he didn't show it, as he nodded at the kid. Then, he addressed a few guards. "Go and get someone to look after her"

They nodded, and ran off. He looked once more at the girl in his arms, his eyes a bit softening. She saved a little youkai child… typical. He eyed the child, who was crying and clutching Kagome's clothes, then he simply picked it up by its tail and dropped it to the ground.

No use for it anyway.

Then he concentrated on his youki, and a cloud appeared under his feet, lifting him up to the tower in which her room was, and he landed out on the balcony, opened the door to the girl's room and walked towards her bed, placing her down on it.

He stood again, watching her laying there, taking in the ugly bruise on her cheek, the cuts on her arms and legs, the damaged clothing, the bleeding wound on her side. She looked bad, to be honest.

He frowned as he felt something pulsate on his side. Tenseiga, it pulsated. He knew from experience that this sword had a mind of its own, deciding whether or not it wanted to heal someone. And in general, if Tenseiga pulsated, it meant it wanted to heal someone. He looked at Kagome again, his hand unconsciously going towards the sword.

Should he?

*

~Castle to the north of the Southern Lands~

Inuyasha was walking trough the castle, trying to find Jaken. They would leave tomorrow, and he needed the toad to do some things for him. He walked on and on, looking everywhere for something green, small and ugly, so he didn't expected to hear a voice at all.

"Good evening Inuyasha." He jumped and whirled around, claws ready to strike. "What, gone from defending me to killing me?"

His jaw dropped. "You…"

But there was no doubt, it was Kikyou standing before him, bow at her back. "What, are you seeing a ghost or something?"

He shut his mouth and immediately went to his old behaviour again. "Feh, I would rather see a ghost than you, bitch"

She looked amused at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Are you that stupid that you can't even understand one single sentence?"

She smiled sadly at him. "Maybe I am…" then she turned and began walking away.

Somehow, he felt a bit guilty as he saw that sad smile. He remembered how she helped him this afternoon, when Naraku embarrassed him like that. Before he knew it, he called after her.

She turned around and looked surprised at him. "What is it?"

"I…" as she kept looking at him with those brown eyes, he got impatient. "Look, I just wanted to thank you for helping this afternoon, so quit staring like that ok?" he fell silent, before mumbling "bitch"

He saw how she smirked, and realised she must have heard that insult. "I was merely returning the favour," she said, turning and walking away. Then she looked over her shoulder once, before disappearing around the corner.

"… puppy…"

*

Inside his room, a dark haired man was watching the display with interest trough his daughter's mirror. Oh how funny this was. He could definitely use it.

However, his mind was already somewhere else, with the elf's sister, to be precisely. About an hour or so ago, he witnessed how his two generals were killed by the girl, while she saved the little kitsune.

It was annoying the brat got away, but the main purpose had been to kill its parents, and that had happened. It was also annoying two of his generals were dead, but they were replaceable. He wasn't thinking about those things, no, he was thinking about the girl.

That power of her… He had never seen much of Kikyou's sister, as she would stay in the castle, which was protected by several barriers which made it impossible for him to see her, even trough Kanna's mirror. In fact, at the moment there was a particular strong barrier around the castle. Probably to keep Lord Sesshoumaru inside it… Oh well, he had become interested in the girl. He wanted to find out more about her, firstly because she was the Jewel's protector, and if he wanted to get the Shikon no Tama, he needed to know how to get past her. And second, maybe he could use that power of her in his advantage…

But first, he had to give his prisoners back.

What fun that would be...

**************************************************************** ***************

I'm very sorry for letting you wait, but you know, the row I had with my mother, she's still pissed at me, but tonight is one of the rare moments when she thinks I behaved and should get something for it… Meaning, I can go on the computer and update!

Now, I had this chapter checked, but right now I have no time to correct any mistakes. I'll just post it, and as soon as a certain person cooled down, I'll change it and take out any errors… so, especially to Abby (bubblesbb03), I really appreciate your job, and I'll do something with it later, ok? I only have half an hour or less, so, I'll just post this now…

Oh, I almost forgot, everyone thanks for reviewing! You are great! Â