InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Spring Fever ❯ Why? ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6

 

Why?

 

Reality was a cruel force. It was slow in coming when you needed it, slapped you in the face when you weren't looking, and most certainly hid when you awoke completely disoriented and feeling like the world decided on a whim to get up and rolled over you a few times.

 

In other words, great pain. At least he was sitting up against something to enjoy it properly.

 

Agony stroked his back in knotted fondly around where holes and slices were gouged into his flesh, pulsating with poison as his youki tried to heal the wounds.

 

Sesshomaru was finding it hard to breathe and grabbed his throat with a gurgling growl, feeling under his palm and through a layer of foreign rough fabric where the once smooth surface ebbed, still healing, and a warm ooze tried to insert itself between his fingers. The whole recovering process would take less time if not for the poison, not to mention it would replace the acid in his veins with a healthy amount of blood. But, what was that cloth? He picked at it with a nail, trying to find an edge away from smooth, dried blood. He was failing so far...

 

His senses were slowly coming back into focus, but he could move and feel just fine. He vaguely expected to be imprisoned once more in a scenic forest with an arm sliced off, but since there was no sun like there had been in what felt like a split second ago, he had to expand his horizon of thinking…

 

…

 

Thinking was really hard to do at the moment. Why was there sun on his face one instant and in the next if felt like he had been buried alive? It did smell rather earthy past the scent of his own blood, and speaking of that rarely seen substance he was still having trouble with that infernal throat decoration.

 

Thinking was thankfully taken off his hands when instinct kicked in, and that was in reaction to sensing a miko and the feel of someone's hand taking his wrist to make him stop fiddling.

 

There was a very feminine yelp of surprise when his youki leaped at the threat, but the assault was stopped. Why was it stopped? Apparently opening his eyes was required, despite how difficult it was to do.

 

A very familiar, weak, and scared miko was easily warding off his considerably weak attack with raised, bloody fingers, and was presently sitting kitty-corner to him in a small box nestled comfortably into the earth. ... What? Why the hell would they bury a miko with him? He'd much prefer being buried alone, thank you very much, and speaking of being buried this was a complete and utter waste of his time.

 

“Are you alright?” she asked, confusing him even more. Maybe he got hit in the head, he seemed to be missing some prudent facts and his senses were still spinning hard enough to make his ears ring. It simply was not natural to be a demon and wake up with a purification system merely two feet away with powers activated and inquiring on your condition, which happened to be `not too well,' and in a box. ... Was it a box? If he was going to figure something out he might as well start with his location.

 

He gave up on the low growl he was working on and looked up, refusing to wince for stretching out the hole in his throat beneath that infernal fabric, and saw the opening of their small confinement oh so mockingly high above and glimmering with a spiritual barrier.

 

… Barr-i-er… He was in the ground, with a miko, who decided to imprison him, in a box-like space, with herself… … Okay, that didn't make sense, but at least some facts were sorting themselves out, and that just had to be considered progress since that was a rare thing to come by as of late. Progress was good, but the barrier he could do well without, which reminded him that there was, yes, a barrier and a miko, and things were just quickly spiraling down from there.

 

Tiny warning flags were waving themselves in his mind as his looping thoughts sent his head spinning ever so slowly. What indeed happened? … That's right, he had a few new holes and poison coursing through him, but more importantly, why was he there? If he didn't get some answers soon then someone was going to join him in the merriment of misery.

 

“We fell,” the miko quickly supplied. She had good instincts... “You were fighting a dragon and landed halfway over the Bone Eaters Well, which had to be re-enforced with charms a while back because it was breaking so much and I didn't want to be cut off from home but that's beside the point. I got scared because most of us had gone outside to fight, and then you fell when the dragon grew spikes in its neck, and you were the only one really doing any damage, and Inuyasha couldn't transform Tetsusaiga but helped me fire that shot, and Miroku was holding up a barrier, so I ran over to see how you were and there was this horrible heat behind me and, well, I sort of landed on you and here we are.”

 

... That wasn't an answer, that was a nonsensical session of breathless blathering. Oh how he could live on happily without ever laying eyes on another human again. Especially a miko, which sent his mind running on the track of immense confusion once more.

 

“What?” he finally asked, unable to avoid coughing into his hand as his vocal cords vibrated loose some dried layers of blood in his throat. To add to the list of unnatural things, hacking up a few red clots was pretty high up there.

 

The miko, avoiding the sight, took in a deep breath as though to calm herself. He could sill hear her heart racing from where he sat though, and was sure that overly long speech had deprived her of oxygen.

 

“Okay,” she began, hands before her as though arranging the facts. “Remember a dragon? It was very big and dark and randomly spiky.”

 

He scoffed, causing a wave of pain to ripple through him. “I may be injured, but I'm not addled.” Unlike his half-brother, he was a fairly good liar… He felt half drugged without the numbing benefits.

 

“Oh good,” the miko replied, seeming rather annoyed herself by… something, “because he almost turned me into a living flambé and was the cause of us tumbling into the future in the first place, so I was wondering if you could introduce me to his mortal looking self so that I can return the favor!”

 

Sesshomaru glanced up again. The future? The future had a very sturdy roof over its well. That was impressively pointless; it was suppose to collect water... Wait, where were they? Argh. It should be a common courtesy to hold one's tongue until the listener had a lung full of air and could stand.

 

There was a sudden trickle of youki into their present confinement, and the barrier flashed as though with anger, incinerating it.

 

“And I am getting very tired of doing this,” the girl informed, pink purified stars shimmering halfway down the well before winking out like snowflakes. That's right, she was tired in the first place wasn't she? She shifted, apparently uncomfortable around him, and began talking again. “How long until you... feel better?”

 

That was a very good question. Bodily, an hour, maybe two, in regards to his pride it had a few new blemishes which would take years to remove. He supposed she meant bodily though, so he ignored her. He would have done the same in regards to his pride too, so ignoring her was seemingly a no lose situation for himself.

 

His mind suddenly went 'clunk' and decided to arrange some words for him in basic Japanese. Miko. Well. Future. Demon. Why?

 

She proved to be quite the embodiment of Tenseiga when it came to being heard, apparently not noticing Sesshomaru's immense session of concentration as the select five words recycled themselves in his weary mind. Thinking still seemed to be low on the agenda. What turn of satirical fate was this?

 

“Ah! The great Sesshomaru,” came a particularly unfamiliar voice, tone sneering down at them. “I have been planning for centuries to encounter your meager half-brother with the last miko...”

 

The last miko? There was a god… Then again, his luck was never too good. Okay, no, he was still unconscious, what was all of this playing out before him? Tenseiga's doing? It had to be, that rotten scrap of metal which was hell-bent on destroying his life was going to melt. This revelation did not bring him to consciousness though. In fact, he was fairly sure that he was very wide wake already as he used his youki to push away the suddenly blazing spiritual powers.

 

“Won't you scram!” the miko demanded of the voice, using the well as the barrel of a cannon to shot her powers up in a large explosion. Sesshomaru was not too pleased to be in that barrel at the same time. “Argh!” she growled, looking back down and suddenly realizing who she literally erupted next to. She slapped a hand over her mouth, apparently shocked. “I'm so sorry! I swear it won't happen again, that took a lot out of me anyway!”

 

Sesshomaru unclenched his shaking fists and retained his youki from its barrier form. He hated humans, and he hated mikos, and combining the two into a ditsy female truly topped this experience off. It was decided. This wasn't a twist of fate, it was cruelty, and he was going to personally dispose of the being responsible for it in an artistic exploitation of blood. As soon as he could stand, he swore that he would do just that.

 

“I think we have to leave while he's still being fended off,” the chit commented, concentrating on the air and feeling out auras. “That last shot gave us enough space to get to the house, and it's under at least twenty generations worth of barriers.” She glanced at him as he gave her a flat stare. “Oh, right, the whole demon thing... Sorry, forgot about that. Yeah, generations of barriers probably isn't best. … I've apologized a lot lately...”

 

Did mortal females tend to think aloud and trail off like that? If so, he didn't think he would handle Rin for much longer...

 

The demon roared from about fifty feet away, and the girl clambered with some difficulty to her feet. “Yep, time to go. Can you walk?”

 

... Really, did he have to? Being buried sounded just fine for now, and being rid of her was even better. It was a great feat to stand in one fluid motion, back cracking into place as he did. The girl's eyes were rather wide at the noise and searching his masked face for any expression of pain. There was none to be found, though he had the impressive holler echoing between his ears for that motion.

 

“O-okay,” she stammered, turning to start climbing. The barrier disappeared and he made an easy leap out, cringing at the landing as it shook every injury he bore. This place smelled quite foreign, and a stench worse than any demon invaded his sinuses, like burning bodies that were long dead.

 

“Gotta hurry, gotta hurry,” the miko chided at herself, finally reaching the top with a sigh of relief. She hoisted her body up, lifted one leg out, landed wrong and commenced to topple forward and at Sesshomaru.

 

He stepped aside to let the steps brace her.

 

“Owie!” she whimpered, checking her palms for slivers. What were humans made of, paper?

 

Another roar of frustration vibrated the air and she scrambled up the wooden steps and peered out the sliding doors at the top. Deciding it was safe, she opened a door and ran out.

 

This was not the best thing to do.

 

“EEP!” she squealed as a shadow covered ground melded into an army of hands reaching up and grabbing her ankles. Sesshomaru walked past her, his aura melting a path for himself. She swatted the last claws off her skin and quickly ran ahead, too fast to be grabbed. It was like a lizard over water choppy. She jumped onto the porch, an impressively thick barrier quivering as she entered it, and turned to gesture him into his obliteration.

 

“Come on!” she almost whined, frantic. “If Inuyasha could pass this then I'm sure you can!”

 

Was she goading him? If she wasn't then Tenseiga certainly was, wanting to drag him through the spiritual vaporization process. Intolerable sword.

 

The demon pounded the ground, making an ignorant passerby drop a brown bag with food in it and run screaming 'earthquake'. She really couldn't see it? Speaking of 'it,' it was getting closer, and he was in a great mood to slice something down.

 

“Sesshomaru, get over here!” the stubborn miko yelled, stomping her foot not eight arm spans away. “Would you at least heal yourself before jumping back into a fight, please?!”

 

“Unnecessary,” he replied coolly. He could feel her flare with irritation. Did she not notice that she loss control of her powers? She certainly wasted a lot of energy with her impatience. Speaking of being impatient she came rippling back through the barrier and stalking over to him, the shadowy ground ebbing away from her flaring feet. He glared at her as she approached. What could this worthless woman possibly hope to accomplish with such a display of uncontrolled power other than being decapitated? If he did that, then there would be no mikos, right?

 

“Sesshomaru!” she yelled. He froze. He wasn't scared, or baffled beyond bodily control, he just stopped and watched as she stormed closer and very very very boldly grabbed his sleeve. “Come before I make you a collar!”

 

His feet very very very boldly obeyed her, and his mind began racing all over again. Mostly over the fact that he was moving. Yes, that was established. He was moving, and being led by the sleeve by a miko who needed to pick out her grave marker. Why was he moving? Why wasn't she now dead? Why why why why why?? Yes, Tenseiga would like this wench rather nicely. And why were his feet still moving? Couldn't he grab her wrist and rip her arm off now? Please? No? Alright, let's walk through a barrier and then talk about it.

 

About half a second after he was clear of the well-established sacred shield his limbs recalled which brain they obeyed and the miko soon found herself pinned by the neck against a wall.

 

“What did you do to this Sesshomaru?” he demanded, claws glowing. She could survive his attempts to kill her twice, but third time was the charm, right?

 

She looked very terrified as her hands grabbed at his wrist, rich brown eyes competing against her gapping mouth in how wide they could open. He was then all too nicely reminded that she was, yes, a miko, and reclaimed his searing wrist with a hiss. Screw the Jewel, she was dead.

 

“KAGOME!!” came a young male voice, the door flying open and a boy exposing himself. “Oh! You're not Inuyasha! Kagome, who's this?” The lad seemed none too taken aback by a stranger with poised talons and a, by their scents, sister who was brimming brightly with energy. Unless such power was as noticeable as a demon for these humans.

 

“This is Sesshomaru, his half-brother,” she replied, rubbing at her neck and glaring at the demon Lord. “He's our guest for an interesting story which I'm sure he'd love it hear.”

 

Sota looked between the demon and miko who were currently glaring at one another, a small smile on his face. “Cool! I'll tell gramps!” He ducked back into the house, eagerly awaiting the story.

 

“You can kill me AFTER this,” Kagome informed Sesshomaru.

 

He balked. She was giving him permission? How DARE she try and tell him what he is and is not allowed to do. “I can kill you now.”

 

“Okay, before or AFTER I shoot you through this barrier??” she demanded, a fist full of energy ready.

 

He forced himself to calm down. At his current state, she was right. She did have all the energy she needed to purify him, with or without the barrier, and having a full lung and a half of blood and other unpleasant things wrong with himself he was not sure if he could move quickly enough to introduce her to her insides before that happened. Her previous well experimentation evaporated a lot of his youki anyway.

 

“A friend of yours?” a woman asked through the doorway. She blinked when she got two harsh 'no's at the exact same time.