InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Duet ❯ Gentle Regret ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

I've begun the revising process so please, bear with me until I can get it finished. Thank you all for being so kind. If you are reading this for the very first time, welcome to Strange Duet! Formerly known as “Fallen”, this Sesshoumaru x Kagome fanfic has yet to go over many points that I have planned. I welcome you and hope that you enjoy my story.

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi does and I appreciate having the chance to borrow her characters for my own devices. I also do not own any of the songs listed as the soundtrack unless I've written them myself.

“Be the long awaited answer

to a long and painful fight

Truth be told I've tried my best…” -Fallen by Sarah McLachlan

“Inuyasha! The shard's in his back! Aim for the scar on his back!”

She yelled, drawing back the bowstring and firing the arrow she had loaded, watching as the neon violet aura suddenly erupted and engulfed the arrow's shaft before plunging directly into the side of the giant spider youkai.

`I hit him, I hope that buys Inuyasha some time.'

The light flashed again, blasting away the entire side as it's head swiveled to glare in complete and utter fury. They had done it once again, stumbled upon Naraku when his guard was down, but this time, he had just completed his `time' of the change. His voice was distorted, low and roaring as he sent Inuyasha flying into a tree with a bone crushing swipe from one spike covered leg and came for her.

The expression on his face had changed as well, from fury and loathing to a rather sinister smile as his voice almost seemed to purr and drip with poison as he hit her in the only place he knew how to.

By comparing her with the woman everyone believed her to be the reincarnation of.

“You believe that you, a pathetic imitation of Kikyou, could destroy me? How can one so pitiful possibly defeat me, where even Kikyou could not?”

“Kagome!”

Shippou screamed, alerting the others currently caught up in trying to defend themselves from various pieces of Naraku that had split off and had formed into powerful youkai. Sango and Kirara double teamed a rather nasty ogre looking beast with a spider's body and destroyed it as they began to head for Kagome.

Miroku was busy fending off a swarm of sparrow-like youkai, his head, neck, face and arms bleeding from the tiny scratches and marks from the little swarm's beaks and claws.

And Inuyasha was trying to destroy a line of spider youkai while at the same time trying to remove his foot from where it had been caught in a hole.

All of them shouted her name, various terms of endearment attached at the end as they tried their hardest vocally to snap the girl out of her rigid terror as Naraku bore down on Kagome.

“You will die here this time girl.”

Everything seemed to slow down, Kagome thought to herself as she found herself staring up into the sickeningly victorious scarlet eyes of Naraku, one of the large spike covered legs was raised above her head, casting a foreboding shadow down upon her face even as her eyes slowly widened with the realization that she was going to die.

`I'm going to die…and there's nothing I can do to stop this…'

She blinked back the tears that had come to her eyes as she unconsciously stiffened up while the appendage of Naraku descended down towards her body…

A loud and worry filled voice startled her out of the scene.

“Kagome-chan!”

Kagome shot up, soaked to the skin with sweat as her dark blue-grey eyes flashed once in fear before she realized where she was. A shaky hand came up and covered her eyes, shoulders trembling as she tried to regain her self-control.

It had been that dream again, or rather, the nightmare that had followed her ever since she had nearly gotten herself killed in the battle.

A hand, soft, she knew it had to have been Sango, touched her shoulder gently as an arm was slung around her shoulder in a quick embrace of comfort.

“Kagome-chan, are you sure you're alright?”

Dark maroon eyes filled with concern as the older girl stared into the darkening blue-grey ones of the girl she felt so affectionate towards as a member of her family. Ever since that battle a little over a month ago, the sweet young woman hadn't been herself.

`How can she go on and keep smiling after she was nearly killed?'

The girl's shoulders shook a couple more times before she was able to peer at the worried three people looking at her. Wiping away the tears away with a brush from her shaking fingers, Kagome's pale face looked up at them, the firelight casting heavy shadows across her face as she forced an apologetic and weak smile at them.

`It was only a dream…you worried them for nothing, idiot!'

“I-”

Kagome's voice caught in her throat as she coughed weakly and shook her head before she tried to speak again.

“Forgive me everyone. I keep waking you up.”

Miroku rose from his place across from her and walked over slowly, trying not to startle the girl as he knelt down and touched her cheek, wiping away a stray tear from her face as he cut her off softly.

“There is no need to ask forgiveness from us, Kagome-sama. Anyone would have reacted in the same manner had they been in your situation.”

`Anyone except Kikyou…she wouldn't have frozen like that…'

The girl thought to herself as she drew her knees up to her chest, a small yet bulky weight against her shoulders and back informed her of Shippou's attempt to calm her down. Her eyes flickered across the camp area, darkening sadly as she felt a forlorn twitch of her lips at who was missing.

`How did I already know? Why am I still here anyways? I mean, Kikyou can sense the shards, not to mention Naraku…'

You believe that you, a pathetic imitation of Kikyou, could destroy me? How can one so pitiful possibly defeat me, where even Kikyou could not?

It was no use thinking about what was true or even what wasn't true at the moment. She was soaked with sweat and she wanted to try and wash the feeling of terror off of her body before Inuyasha could return and smell her fear.

Because the last thing she needed was Inuyasha demanding to know what had scared her and watching his face turn soft and pity filled as he realized it was the nightmares again.

Not to mention the irritation it would cause the hanyou to be unable to protect her from such a thing.

“I'll be back, I'm going to the hot spring for a while. Don't tell Inuyasha if he gets back before I do.”

`I want to get rid of the feeling of that man watching me off of my skin too.'

It was futile to protest when she had set her mind to something, Miroku thought to himself rather sadly as he and the others watched the young woman take her things and head towards the springs. He shook his head and wondered where the times that they had all been blessed by a smile and a laugh from the young woman with the power to heal their wounded hearts had gone.

“All we can do is watch over her, at least, until she is able to stand on her own two feet one day.”

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“Kagome!”

Inuyasha had shouted her name again, trying to snap her out of her frozen state before Naraku could harm her. He was too busy fighting off the youkai that seemed to double for every one he cut down with the Tetsusaiga to come and save her now.

If she didn't get her act together and unfreeze her muscles, she'd end up killed and her family in mourning.

`Stupid muscles, I said move already!'

Kagome's mind screamed at her unresponsive body as the disgusting spider-like form of Naraku came ever closer to her. Her stomach and senses protested against the feel and smell of the youki that surrounded her. Everything inside of her screamed in pure and unbridled prejudice against the half-youkai monstrosity in front of her, her power frantically building up to a point where the slightest touch from his actual body would make her almost literally explode with sheer purification power.

And she knew that kind of “explosion” would quite possibly kill her, if not render her comatose for an undisclosed amount of time.

Kagome started to instinctively brace herself for the blow to come, eyes closed tightly in fear as she began to mentally whisper a plea to whatever Gods hadn't abandoned her yet for help. She didn't want to see her death anymore than she wanted to be killed. A sickening, victorious laugh seemed to echo in her ears, mocking and stripping away her sanity as it ricochet in her thoughts. Naraku was gloating before he would kill her.

She felt her shoulders hunch up towards her ears, entire body stiffening up and bracing for the blow that would kill her one way or another and managed not to scream out her apology to everyone around her for failing them.

For never being strong enough.

Never being good enough.

And most of all; for not being able to match the stoic Kikyou in the ways of fighting like a proper priestess should.

`Everyone, I'm sorry.'

The final strike against her had never fallen.

Above her was the fiercely glowing Tenseiga, the blade seeming to pulsate with energy at being at such a close proximity to the semi-visible purifying energy that was slowly building around Kagome's body.

Attached to the sword was none other than one eternally stoic and lethal youkai who she had had the misfortune of running into on more than one occasion.

There, preventing her from being destroyed; was none other than Sesshoumaru.

Tenseiga was blocking the serrated edged leg that had been well on its way to severing her head from her shoulders while the white clad youkai held it as if this were nothing more than a mere fool straining against his blade.

He was defending her from Naraku.

Kagome thought in surprise as she held her breath and stared at the confusing man in front of her.

He had never been on the defensive for anyone's sake other than the little girl's, and that she had seen only twice in her three years of being in this era. According to Inuyasha, he had no regard or mercy for human and wanted nothing more than to wipe them from the face of the planet. Cold and ruthless, not to mention powerful, Sesshoumaru was a rather terrifying opponent if angered, and Kagome had seen him in a state of rage a few times before.

She flinched immediately when his head shifted slightly, one piercing amber eye staring right at her as his voice spoke a two word command to her.

“Leave now.”

And she had obeyed without a single word of protest. Sango had shouted for Kirara to go and retrieve her, the warm fur comforting Kagome from her near-death scare as she looked over her shoulder and watched the battle between Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha and Naraku escalate from the usual “catch Naraku if you can” to a rather ugly battle where Naraku was using any and all leverage he had against the two brothers.

`One arrow, I have one arrow left.'

Kagome had realized as she grasped it with blood slicked fingers, forgetting all about the wounds on her leg and her side as she notched the arrow into the string, fumbling for a firmer grip before she managed to draw the bowstring back and aimed shakily at Naraku's back.

`Please, Please hit!'

She prayed to whatever Gods hadn't abandoned her yet for the arrow to fly straight and true, to hopefully end this right then and there.

The arrow didn't end the battle forever, like she had wished it would have but, it did put an end to this particular one when it slammed into Naraku's hip and practically removed all of the lower half of his body with the amount of holy energy that exploded from the arrow.

Inuyasha was quick to follow up with a blast from the Tetsusaiga and Sesshoumaru with a strange blast from his own Tenseiga.

Naraku left not long after that, his blood sending up noxious fumes that forced the two brothers back and away while he made his escape. The chilling laugh sent Kagome's heart racing and her head throbbing as she rubbed her arms to try and ward off the frozen feeling her body was taking on.

She had fallen to her knees, ignoring the way the wound opened up more on her leg as she held herself, hugging her body tightly as she tried to remember the feeling of being alive and unafraid. After such a near death experience, it was a wonder that she wasn't sobbing her eyes out.

Inuyasha was busy trying to remove his head from between two tree stumps by pushing against them with his feet while Sesshoumaru cleaned off the Tenseiga and sheathed it.

Sango and Miroku were tending to each other and trying not to watch Inuyasha's predicament while Shippou laughed and taunted him shakily.

Kagome had stiffened when she had felt the familiar set of eyes on her back, watching her intently and had turned her head slightly to see his shadow fall over her. For a moment, something seemed to catch his attention as he watched her intently, her eyes holding his for an instant despite her urge to look away from him before the moment was gone and he was moving past her to vanish into the forests. Three words were sent back to her, another order of his.

“Clean your wound.”

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

She was nearby and alone once again.

Amber eyes narrowed in irritation at the scent that came to him on the wind. After the incident not yet two months past, one would think that the girl would stick closer to her companions and not wander off alone and unprotected.

Sesshoumaru did not understand such idiocy, nor did he wish to eventually understand it.

`The fool.'

Whether he was speaking of his half brother or of the woman who traveled with him was unclear. With a whisper of the silken fabric, the youkai lord turned to leave the girl to whatever dangers would serve to teach her a lesson. The memory that had troubled, no, annoyed his thoughts in the silence and long hours in the early dawn emerged again.

`Has she no mind of her own or has she wished for her death?'

His eyes had just happened to land on the human who just stood there and waited for her death to arrive by Naraku's hands. Though he did not know why, something whispered within his mind that he must not let Naraku strike her just then. His hand sought the blade at his waist, unsheathing it from its place at his obi and smoothly stepping between the girl and Naraku, blade singing from the amount of strength used to block the downward blow from reaching his own body.

When the audible crackling of her aura reacting to his own echoed in his ears, Sesshoumaru began to realize why the whisper had urged him to intervene.

A priestess, one that was untrained and relied on pure and unbridled emotion alone to bring her power up to the surface, was a threat to everything with youkai blood within it. By the sheer amount of force bubbling beneath a very thin shield, Sesshoumaru knew the blow would be the end of Naraku, not to mention whatever youkai was in the surrounding forest.

Despite the low birth that the human woman must have been, his eyes had met hers, glowing in the dimness of the area and holding her gaze with his own. Something strange had flashed deep within the blue-grey orbs of the girl, an emotion he didn't recognize or understand at the moment. He had spoken only five words in total to her during the entire battle and its aftermath. The first two were spoken right after he had saved her life.

“Leave now.”

She was worthless at that moment, too paralyzed by fear to be of any use to anyone. He would order her out of the battle and use the rest of his focus to give her time to loose some of that rampaging power elsewhere.

When the arrow had come barreling through and bit viciously into Naraku's side, Sesshoumaru had known immediately from the power that the girl had relied on instinct alone to drain off the built up force.

Though, she would definitely be worn out from using so much and only draining a little off. In his experiences with sorcerers and the like, the more that was summoned, the bigger the consequences.

She would be ill after a time; of that much he was certain.

After Naraku had fled at the prospect of his defeat, he had noticed the girl tending to everyone else in the idiot hanyou's party, therefore ignoring her own wounds. When she finally sank to her knees and allowed herself the feeling of experiencing the terror and the reality of what had nearly occurred, she had wrapped her arms around her body and forced herself to calm down.

Any other normal human woman would be screaming and raising a ruckus loud enough to raise the dead.

He had had enough of watching his brother fraternize with the lifeless one. But as it was, it was no business of his on how the fool sought to end his life or how it was attained. It annoyed him initially that no one in Inuyasha's party had begun to teach the priestess how to properly control herself and teach her on making physical activity an outlet for excess power.

As he had walked past, amber eyes could not help but notice the way the girl had stiffened when he had past her. It was curious, in a manner to him, the girl was never able to silence herself, nor could anyone else for that matter.

She recognized him and looked over her shoulder to see him standing there, watching him watch her. For a moment, their eyes connected again and something passed unspoken between them.

Yet another “something” that Sesshoumaru did not yet comprehend or understand.

He had overheard Inuyasha's retainer speaking of the girl as if she were a high born, by youkai standards of course. He knew Inuyasha had not noticed the injuries the girl had sustained from battle, he had noticed the wounds she had received before his arrival and narrowed his eyes as he passed her by, speaking once again to her as he had before.

“Clean your wound.”

Sesshoumaru's flashback ended as he came upon the scent once more, this time stronger than it had been. This time it was closely mingled with the slightly sulfurous scent of the hot springs she was bathing in. He needed not to hide his presence, due to her complete lack of guard and awareness at that very moment. His ears picked up the sound of her voice murmuring to herself , a curious habit, and felt himself begin to move closer to hear better.

There was no law stating that he was not allowed to observe such a strange woman while she was muttering something that could be potentially useful in the future.

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

`I really should head back, I don't want them to think I've gone and drowned myself.'

Kagome thought softly as her vision blurred with tears of frustration and shame. Despite the fact that Sango and Miroku had thanked her for ending the battle a couple months ago, she was still feeling guilty that she was nearly killed.

All because she didn't know how to defend herself from anything except the random pop quiz. Even against those she didn't fair so well against.

`How can they still treat me as if I'm someone useful after all this time?'

She rose from the water, the moonlight streaming over the steamy water that cascaded down her body and back into the spring itself. To a normal person's eye, she would have made a rather lovely picture. Unfortunately, the person she wanted to think of her as beautiful, and a worthy companion, was nowhere to be seen.

Kagome hated getting depressed like this and yet, lately, it was happening more and more frequently.

A long heavy sigh escaped her lips as she turned around to reach out and grab the bottle of scented bath soap she had brought with her from her time. Her mother had bought it especially to help her calm down and relax.

Despite the fact that the clear bottle said `Sleep' on it, there was really nothing that could induce sleep or make her relax. Well, it had worked on Sango the one time the slayer had used it.

`Am I the only one who can't seem to relax when something to make me do just that is given to me?'

She poured a small amount on to the sponge-like material and began to rub the washing utensil with both hands, until the cool liquid soap turned into a rich foamy lather that she then began to try and scrub away all her fears and doubts. Kagome took a deep breath and dove into the deepest part of the spring to rinse herself off. With a splash, the girl vanished underneath the water, soft waves beating against the rocks and the shore before she came up, pushing away the water soaked black hair from her face and over her shoulders.

Everything was feeling “alright” at the moment, all she had to do was soak a little longer, until she was getting sleepy, and then she'd head back and probably pass out from the heat exhausting her. Inuyasha was probably going to yell at her for being in the springs this late and all alone but, she'd take care of it later. If he didn't knock it off within a half an hour of scolding her for it, she'd warn him that she'd say the word. If that didn't work, she'd say the word.

A suddenly chill swept over her body as she stiffened up, head rising from her arms as she stood up slowly and began to try and search out the direction where the feeling was coming from.

`Not from the left or the right…not in front of me either… It doesn't…feel like it's planning anything threatening either.'

Now she was getting a little nervous. Kagome called out, trying to make it sound as if she had known they were there the entire time.

“Hey, I know you're out there. You'd better leave before you get hurt!”

A soft rustling of the wind through the tree branches and leaves was the only answer that was given to her. Kagome silently kicked herself for being such a paranoid ninny before returning to her usual routine of washing her body when another sound caught her ear.

This one was definitely not one caused by nature.

`I've heard of old habits dying hard but, this is ridiculous!'

“Miroku-sama, I hope Sango-chan notices you're gone and really lets you have it with Hiraikotsu!”

She snapped out irritably as she waded through the water and reached for her towel, only to be frozen by the familiar power that trickled over and brushed against her own aura. There was no way that that could be Miroku, her brother-like companion, she realized as she swallowed hard and turned to look over her shoulder.

He was there, standing perfectly still and silent as she found her eyes meeting his, before he spoke to her rather coldly.

“You would mistake my power for that of the monk?”

Again, the revising will be going on for quite sometime, or until I'm able to figure out exactly how I'm introducing the 16thchapter. Thank you for your patience and please come back!