InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sunset Love ❯ To Aid ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4 ~ To Aid

 

 

 

Sesshomaru raced along in great distance swallowing strides, his pace slowed only by his extensive injuries and the magic they had used to strip him of his powers. His breath was labored, steps faltering from time to time due to blood loss, small pools forming each time his foot hit ground. Then he leapt away pushing him closer to his destination. The world swam before his eyes even as the scenery streaked by at an unimaginable speed that in his own mind was too slow.

 

Silver tresses, long and matted with blood and dirt flew out behind the racing figure. His only thought of the demon that had threatened his ward.

 

The sounds of his pursuers crashed through the forest far behind reached his sensitive ears even as he crossed over the Western Boundary.

 

They will pay with their lives for threatening what is mine was his only thought as the injured demon pushed himself harder, urgency pressed him onward giving him the strength to push the encroaching darkness away.

 

Sesshomaru knew that the pack of demons behind him would have to be dealt with before he reached the Western Castle, but with a severe blood loss he was unsure how he was going to do it.

 

Swordless, the only weapon he had left was the green poison and his acid whip, his swords had been taken upon his capture, those too had been suppressed by some unknown magic the usurper had used on him. The spell bound his powers and cast his blood beast into a deep sleep rending him almost powerless.

 

An arrow sailed passed his right ear, barely missing the elegantly pointed tip. His pursuers had caught up to the slowing Tiayoukai. Before he could judge the distance between them, the enemy fell upon him with renewed vigor, knowing the dark magic weakened the vengeful lord.

 

Kagome never slowed as she raced toward the Western Lands. Something urged her forward; her aching body protested her harsh treatment of it. Something was wrong, she could sense it in the air around her. Something that was dark and foreboding that raised the hair on the back of her neck and along her arms.

 

Without warning Kagome stumbled upon the scene of battle. To amazement one man stood against twelve others, his blood covered body sluggish under their constant assault.

 

Without thinking, Kagome drew her sword and lunged headlong into the shifting waves of demons, the evil spurring the pure Miko onward without a thought to her own safety.

 

To say that Sesshomaru was shocked at the sudden appearance of the fierce, female warrior would have been an understatement. His emotionless mask portrayed nothing of what he felt except for a slight widening of red-tinged eyes.

 

The raven-haired woman's movements were precise, her accuracy deadly as two of his enemies already lay bleeding their life fluids at the woman's dainty, boot-clad feet. He recognized her clothing as that of a Miko's even as his claws dipped ripping through the stomach of one of his adversaries. He felt it then, her power washing over with her with a purity that was almost astounding in light of the battle and he briefly scented the smell of a thunderstorm as her body glowed with the holy light. A light she used to viciously dispatch three more of the hunters.

 

The small battle ended swiftly, bodies littering the ground as two figures silently faced one another in nervous anticipation. Blue met gold in a clash of iron wills, each daring the other to break away.

 

Her face was blood spattered, a flush on high on her cheeks from the exertion of battle. Stubbornness flared around her that left Sesshomaru feeling an unfamiliar tug in the depths of his cold heart. There was something strangely familiar about her, he felt as if he should know her from somewhere. But he knew there was no time to figure it out, he had to reach the Western Castle soon.

 

“You are injured,” Kagome's soft voice shattered the strangled silence into a thousand pieces. “Allow me to heal your wounds.”

 

She knew who he was; Kagome had recognized the Tiayoukai with the golden glare and silver waterfall of locks. For a brief, fleeting moment felt the old fears creep in. A fear she quickly discarded in the face of his extensive injuries.

 

“I do not have the luxury of time, Miko,” Sesshomaru's cold reply reached her ears. “I must reach my castle before night falls.”

 

“Thank I'm coming with you,” Kagome stated, determination burning within the depths of dark sapphire.

 

“I do not require the help of a weak human,” He snorted turning away from her. Sesshomaru deliberately choice to ignore the fact that this woman had just saved his skin from the hunters his enemy had sent after him.

 

“Don't start that, Sesshomaru,” Kagome chuckled even as she fell in step behind him. “I was on the way there anyway.”

 

Sesshomaru snorted at her disrespectful answer, the familiarity with which she used his name unsettling. If it had been any other day he would have simply killed the raven-haired woman but now his only concern was for the only one he ever loved. If she wanted to follow than so be it but she would be on her own, he did not have time to protect her along the way.

 

With a slight lifting of muscular shoulders, Sesshomaru sped off, letting what was left of his demonic speed carry him toward his distant home. He was needed and no weak human was going to slow his progress, even if she did seem familiar to him.

 

Kagome couldn't help the grin that brightened her eyes. Still the same I see, she thought breaking into a run. Well she'd just show him who was weak around here.

 

His weakened state allowed Kagome to easily catch up to him. She had gotten faster since she'd last traveled in this time, faster than any human Sesshomaru had seen before.

 

Her soft footfalls reached his sensitive ears, her controlled breathing a soft whisper that sent a shiver down his spine. What was it about the girl that seemed to call out to him, a shadowed memory from the past that hovered just at the fringes of his mind.

 

A slight chill went through Kagome as she watched his retreating back, his muscles rippling just under the surface of pale skin. Silently she thanked whatever god had deemed the Western Lord only be dressed in tattered hakama. Warmth pooled in the pit of her belly as she watched them bunch then loosen under the strain of his run.

 

Unknown instincts spurred her forward a desire to catch him as he raced ahead. Even in the face of such urgency, Kagome could not deny that she found the sight alluring. A burst of speed brought her along side his battered form, a strangely competitive race toward the castle.

 

The Castle loomed largely in the distance; the peaked and layered roof and round columns rising above the massive stonewall that protected the castle itself. Twin guard posts stood empty off all but the great dog statues that stood on either side of the massive gates. Its large wooden doors stood broken inward and Kagome could hear the deadly clang of metal against metal. Shouts could be heard above the din but not clear enough for her to make out what they were saying.

 

The outer courtyard was a swarming mass of colliding bodies, the stench of dead or dying clouded the air with its putrid stench, and blood covered almost everything. There was so much of it and Kagome's stomach lurched heavily, bile rising in the back of her throat. Only her determination to be sick after everything was over kept her from emptying her breakfast on the blood soaked stone of the courtyard.

 

Sesshomaru raced on, cutting down any who dared stand in his way. Intent on getting to the castle doors, he failed to notice three archers take deadly aim at him. Kagome did though and pushed forward knocking the magic-tinted projectiles away before they reached their destination. The action surprised her as three shattered shafts fell harmlessly in her wake. Without waiting to contemplate what she had done, Kagome raced after Sesshomaru.

Inside the castle was no different, small fights had broken out in the grand halls as both guards and servants alike tried desperately to defend their home against the intruders.

 

With the practice born of long familiarity, Sesshomaru wove his way through the confusing maze of twisting hallways and multitudes of stairways. He slowed as he reached the top, scenting the air around him before plunging headlong around a bend that blocked him from Kagome's sight.

 

Her scent had led him to her, her blood drifting through the broken doorway even as he rounded the bend. It called to him, stirring the bound blood beast where it struggled to awaken from the spell's embrace. A growl ripped from his throat and crimson tinted his eyes, his anger growing intense.

 

Kagome skidded to a halt as she rounded the bend, there laying in the hall lay Miroku, blood splattered across his black and purple robes. Her senses flared outward immediately seeking any sign of life in her friend, a sigh escaping as they detected the radiant flicker of his aura. The glimmer told her he was merely unconscious but would survive with the proper care. The question was however, why was Miroku at Sesshomaru's castle in the first place?

 

Determined to find out later, Kagome lunged through the open doorway only to stop in stunned silence once again at what she saw.

 

Kikyo stood with Sango against the invaders while her brother Kohaku guarded a young woman huddled in the corner. Her right arm, limp and bloody was cradled gentling by her left. Shivers rocked her tiny frame and her eyes were half closed, an anguished look of pain on her face.

 

Sesshomaru had already joined the fight, shredding any enemy that stood in his path with deadly claws. The large force of the soldiers who crowded the room was mostly demon and from the looks of things Sesshomaru was willing to take them all on even as his body bled and slowed under the severe injuries.

 

A swift look around quickly told her who was friend and who was not. Her hesitation only a heartbeat in time that allowed her to gather the facts of what was going on. Miroku had been trying to protect this room with the others and had been knocked out while Kikyo and Sango retreated to better protect the girl.

 

From the moment her katana was drawn, its deadly aura filled the room with her miko powers, drawing the enemy soldiers toward her in force.

 

Kikyo's arrows barely crazed off one soldier's armor as Kagome plunged into the fight. The room's thirty-foot span allowed enough space for them to maneuver but it confined Kagome's powers. She was afraid to let it flow out for fear that she would affect Kikyo or Sesshomaru, so she pushed it all into her sword as the purifying blade bit into soft flesh. Between the two small groups the soldiers were effectively trapped with no way to escape and the fell quickly under the assault their ashes scattering across the marble floor.

 

“Father!” the shout startled Kagome and she turned in time to see the dark-haired teen fling herself into Sesshomaru's outstretched arms, tears streaking down a cherubic face. It surprised her even father to see the cold Tiayoukai comforting the human girl that could only be Rin.

 

“I was so frightened, Father,” Rin cried openly burying her face into the demon Lord's shoulder as if trying to hide. “That demon wanted to take me away but Lady Kikyo and Teacher Sango wouldn't let him. Kohaku helped guard me while they kept them at bay, but the houshi was hurt.”

 

Kagome couldn't help the gently smile that crept unaware to her lips as she listened to Rin tell everything hat had happened in his absence. Bending over to wipe the blood off her sword on one of the human enemies clothing, Kagome watched Kikyo from the corner of her eye. Sango had run from the room with her brother close behind the moment the last enemy fell.

Probably to check up on Miroku, Kagome thought as she sheathed the katana.

 

Kikyo kept her attention on father and daughter, sliding a quick glance toward Kagome from time to time. This made Kagome slightly uneasy and she wanted to be out of the way, besides she had to check on Miroku to ease her feeling of guilt at leaving her friend just lay there.

 

Silently she left the room giving those inside a moment to themselves. She was almost positive that Kikyo wanted to tell Sesshomaru something but wouldn't while she was there.

 

Outside the room, Kagome found Sango cradling the monk's head in her lap while Kohaku tried to stem the flow of blood from Miroku's wounds with strips from his own robe. The sight stirred some deeply hidden emotion in Kagome and she knelt down next to them.

 

“Need some help with that?” she asked calling up the fake happiness they had always been use to hearing in her voice so long ago. Her eyes became softer as she saw the love her sister had for the man she so lovingly cradled.

 

Sango looked up in surprise at the offer from the strange woman, confusion glittering across her lovely features as she watched Kagome extend one slightly glowing pink hand over Miroku's wound. Kohaku moved to stop her, but one look from Kagome's suddenly stern gaze halted his actions, hand raised halfway in the air.

 

Understanding dawned on Sango slowly as a once loved image flashed across her mind of a young girl who traveled in their small group ten years ago. A girl who had tended their wounds so many times with no concern for herself, a girl she thought she would never see again. A mere woman-child who had held their tiny group together through sheer force of will, a good-natured smile and lots of sitting to a certain hanyou turned demon. She had been the key to Naraku's defeat, a time-traveler, a miko, a friend and sister, and so much more that Sango had lost track over the years. For a long moment she sat there staring at her in disbelief, not knowing wither what she was seeing was real or some figment of her imagination.

 

“Kagome!” Sango's voice echoed through the long hallways, reaching the sensitive ears of many youkai that dwelled in the castle. Even before Kagome had a chance to pull her hand away from the monk Kagome found herself in a bear-hug of strong arms that were threatening to break ever last rib in her body. Tears of joy slid along Sango's cheeks as she clung to the girl she had called sister.

 

“Kagome is it really you?” She asked burying her face in the shorter woman's shoulder. “I can't believe your really here.”

 

“Yes, Sango, its really me and I am happy to see you too,” Kagome could feel the sting of tears in her eyes as she returned the warm embrace.

 

“Lady Kagome,” Kagome felt a second set of arms engulf her and Sango. Her back stiffened slightly as the velvet voice steeled over her, memories of the lecherous monk foremost on her mind. When the expected assault to her rear wasn't forth coming Kagome broke away from the two to great Miroku.

 

“I am glad to see you have returned safely to us.” He told her, his arm still resting across Sango's shoulders.

 

“So My reincarnation has returned,” Kikyo's voice broke them from their happy reunion. As she turned to great Inuyasha's love, from the corner of her eyes she saw Kohaku move to stand behind his sister and the monk.

 

Sapphire clashed with chocolate as the two stared at each other in silent communication. Kagome's gaze remained calm, while she watched several emotions shift rapidly in her adversary's. First surprise turned to jealousy or hatred, Kagome couldn't be sure which it was and then it softened with acceptance and even gratitude maybe?

 

Kikyo steeped closer, her arms hidden in the sleeves of her haori. “I wish to thank you for the return of my soul, though I do not understand why you still live in its absence.”

 

Kikyo examined her closely for any signs of the undead state in which she had been imprisoned before the girl could set her free. Not finding nay the demon Miko's eyes opened wide in shock and confusion. “How can this be?”

 

Kagome smiled at her gently, her fear of Kikyo melting away. “Its kind of simply, Lady Kikyo,” Kagome used the respectful titled in awe of the quickly forming friendship she felt.

“My grandfather explained to me that I maybe only partially your reincarnation, your soul a guardian to something that was struggling to survive. When the witch cast her spell, she hand not looked deep enough within me when she tried to revive you. That was why I was able to call most of it back or technically my other soul had called it back. That may also have been the reason Kanna's mirror couldn't fully absorb it. But when I made the wish, I could feel the other one was ready to be alone and rejected yours so I could return to its rightful place within you.”

 

Kikyo nodded accepting the explanation as a rational one. Then her eyes slightly narrowed into a glare. “Then why did you wish for me to be turned demon? Did you not realize that my own powers might try to purify the body you gave me?”

 

Kagome blushed a deep shade of red as embarrassment gripped her. “That was not my wish, Lady Kikyo, that was the Shikon's way of granting my wish.”

 

“What exactly was your wish Kagome?” Kikyo's voice held curiosity her dark head tilting to one side to reveal the pink crest upon her forehead.

 

Kagome grinned sheepishly, her eyes raising to meet Kikyo's, “For everyone to be happy. For you and Inuyasha to be granted the time that was lost to you.”

 

“It was your wish that brought back Kohaku to me,” Sango added understanding something that had confused her until now. He had been healed quicker than expected because she had wished for his happiness along with everyone else's.

 

“And my arm as well.” Sesshomaru's smooth voice drifted from the doorway where he gently cradled Rin to his side. It was more of a statement than a question even though Kagome nodded shyly noticing the fear still coming off the shy girl at his side. Those almost black eyes staring at her with a mixture of curious anticipation and fearful longing.

 

Unable to help herself, Kagome took a step forward, her hand extended toward the young woman. She said softly trying to coax up some of the memories they had shared together. “Let me heal you, Rin.”

 

Rin looked up questioningly at Sesshomaru, than slowly approached her at his barely nodded consent. The moment her hand slipped into Kagome's a bright light flashed through the room, shrouding both of them from the blinded vision of the others. When it died down, Rin was hugging Kagome tightly, a big smile lighting her delicate features, fully healed. A quick assessment of the others present sent an uproar of surprise through the small group as everyone felt stronger and healthier than before, noticing that any wounds gained from battle had been quickly healed.

 

The other gathered excitedly around to talk to their returned friend while Sesshomaru watched with detached interest from the doorway. He knew if she were here than there was trouble brewing somewhere and he didn't like the implications of that thought. Once problem at a time, he kept telling himself over and over again. Once this situation with the northern usurper was dealt with than he would find out what had brought her back in time to this era.