InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Fulfill a Duty ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

To Fulfill a Duty

Chapter Two

By: DeadBHunter

"talking" `thinking'

Chapter Two

The sun shone brightly in her eyes, waking her up from what felt like a month of sleep.

`Where am I?'

Her mind drew a blank. The last thing she remembered was protecting Sesshomaru from Naraku's youki.

`Strange…why would I help out him? And since when did the "great" Sesshomaru need help?'

Rin was the only word that came to mind.

A pair of golden eyes interrupted her thoughts, blocking out the sight of sunlight filtering through the treetops. `Inuyasha?'

All that came out was, "I...ya...sa?"

"I am not Inuyasha, miko. If that is what you wish to know," replied Sesshomaru face blank, showing neither annoyance nor contempt.

"If you wish for water there is a stream not to far from where we are. Do not get lost, for I will not spend the time looking for someone as useless as you."

Kagome gave slight nod, wincing at the pain of moving her neck. She attempted to get up, but the only evidence of this was the grimace on her face and the sight of her muscles clenching and unclenching.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at the girl, amused, but not showing it. `This will be harder than I thought. Ugh, more time with my brother's bitch.'

Kagome looked at the demon lord for help, receiving nothing but an icy glare in return. Kagome gave an exasperated sigh and slowly dragged her weary body across the hard ground.

`Great, another uniform ruined. And Mama just bought this one! Just what I need. Now what am I going to wear? I bet he's enjoying this. Who am I kidding? He probably thinks I'm a weak human for not being able to walk. How do I get myself in these situations?'

~~~~~~~~~~

By the time she reached the river, half the day had already past and it was time for lunch. Her face and back were covered with sweat, stinging her eyes and making her blink often.

She rinsed her face and took the long awaited drink, once again immersing herself in her thoughts.

`And he said there was a river nearby! Really! It might be close for a full youkai, but being human and dragging yourself across the dirt is not fast! Are all men so inconsiderate?'

As she reflected over her boy troubles, she noticed that only inu youkai were inconsiderate. Or more of, half inu youkai and full inu youkai were careless. Humans were much nicer, like Hojo, despite his odd habit of giving her gifts for being "sick" and Miroku was also more thoughtful than the two youkai. Even his tendency for groping women could be considered thoughtful under extreme circumstances. She laughed outright at this thought. But at least he was considerate toward her feelings.

Mulling over her life, she stared at the scenery. Tall trees filled her vision, the spring rains filling the branches with leaves and blossoms. Birds could be heard singing further-off into the forest, creating a tune that always put the young girl's mind at rest.

The lush green grass called out for her to lie down and relax. Kagome rolled over on her back, and stared at the clouds, mindful of the sun's rays that threatened to momentarily blind her.

A small breeze made the tips of the grass sway in the wind, tickling the miko's toes. She breathed in deeply, and once again appreciated the fresh air in the Sengoku Jidai, which could only be found in the future far away from cities and towns, located in the remote countryside.

Thinking of the past would only make her homesick, and she did not need to show any weakness in front of the tai youkai. To keep her thoughts off of her family, she once again started to drag herself over the ground using her hands, praying that her legs would respond some time soon.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sesshomaru had no idea long he would be spending with the miko. He recalled his half-brother's words, thankful, for once, that his brother made him give his word to bring the young priestess back.

~Flashback~

"You have to bring her back when she is fully healed," said Inuyasha, not trusting his brother to return with Kagome.

"I give my word that I will return with your miko when Junsui proclaims her fully healed, and not later. It is not my idea of amusement to keep a female ningen with me. The stench that all humans have will get all over this Sesshomaru."

`I don't really have a choice. I know that son of a bitch will bring Kagome back, even though he's a bastard, he has honor. I guess my bastard half-brother will have to take Kagome. There is not much time before something bad happens to Kagome.'

As much as he hated to admit it, Sesshomaru was the best choice to go with. He could travel faster, and that speed might save Kagome's life.

"Fine, you can take her. But remember you will bring her back when she is fully healed," was Inuyasha's reply, for once thinking things over.

~End Flashback~

Sesshomaru sat high up in a tree, waiting for the human wench to return.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Sesshomaru's tail came into sight, she knew she could rest soon. Her body was fighting a losing battle against the dizziness that threatened to overcome her.

`Finally, I can sleep.'

What she didn't know was that by the time she would wake up, she wouldn't have any clue to where she was.

~~~~~~~~~~

`I thought my brother's wench would never get back. Despite what I said, if she were to get lost I would have been honor bound to save her.'

Emerging from deep within his thoughts, he noticed that said miko wasn't moving. Her breathing had slowed down and her heartbeat was faint, even to his youkai ears.

`Weak ningen must have fainted on the way back. How do these people survive?'

With a sigh, the tai youkai used his tail and once again placed Kagome in his arm. Continuing on his walk westward, he hoped that she would stay unconscious until he arrived where Junsui resided in his lands. The demon lord was accustomed to traveling with little to no talking, and that was the way he liked it. One human girl would not be the one to change his lifelong habits.

~~~~~~~~~~

He could sense someone getting closer, a youkai by the smell of it, a weak one. He had a suspicion that it was attracted the Shikon shards on Kagome's neck.

He softly dropped the bundle in his arms in front of a tree, and prepared for battle, hoping to spill the blood that dare challenged this Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands.

The fight was over before he had even looked at the offending youaki. With a flick of his wrist, the youkai had disappeared, courtesy of his youkai whip. The poison in his whip was the same as the poison in his claws, but the poison did not kill the youkai. It was the sheer force behind the whip that killed the demon.

Sesshomaru was hoping for a bigger challenge and more bloodshed. He took pleasure in watching his enemies slowly die, drenched in their own blood, while he was untouched and staring coldly at his enemy. Unfortunately, the fight was over before blood could be shed.

`No one challenge me and lives to tell the tale.'

The tai youkai had no idea that this was about to change drastically as time went on and as he spent more and more time with his brother's wench.

~~~~~~~~~~

After another two days of traveling, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo, had finally returned to Kaede's village.

The weary group was seated in Kaede's hut and in their normal positions. Kagome was gone, and their circle was broken. The group looked smaller than it should have been, and it was missing the feeling of cheerfulness. Without Kagome, the group of shard hunters was slowly falling apart.

Sango told Kaede the story of Kagome getting injured and how she ended up getting taken to a miko called Junsui, with Inuyasha throwing in an insult about his "bastard brother" every now and then.

Kaede listened to their story with growing apprehension. She had been told of Sesshomaru and his homicidal behavior from Inuyasha, not to mention the occasional traveler from the Western Lands that told about a merciless demon lord who would not hesitate to kill anyone for getting in his way.

The thought of Kagome with the tai youkai made the old miko tremble. Not much worried her. Living with her sister when she was younger had hardened herself from the outside world. Kaede was still caring, but not many things could scare the miko. Unfortunately, fear for others she cared about, especially Kagome, who was like a granddaughter to her, would make her lose sleep.

"So what do you think we should do, Kaede-sama?" said Miroku.

"What we should have done in the first place, bouzu! Go to Sesshomaru and get Kagome back!" shouted Inuyasha.

"I believe I was asking Kaede-sama, Inuyasha," replied Miroku.

"Houshi-sama is right. Kaede-sama will know more about how to treat Kagome-chan's injuries than you will," Sango put in. "Besides, Inuyasha, I do not have the most faith in your judgment when it comes to either Kagome-chan or your half-brother. With both Kagome-chan and your brother invo…"

"Half-brother, half-brother!" interrupted Inuyasha.

Sango glared at Inuyasha for interrupting her.

"As I was saying, with both Kagome-chan and your half-brother involved, we should trust Kaede-sama's opinion."

"Feh," was her only reply as Inuyasha leaned back to listen.

"I believe," Kaede started, "that if you should let Kagome remain under Sesshomaru's care. By your description of her wounds, I do not have the knowledge to heal her. Without a skilled miko to heal her, it might take her over a month to heal. Wait in this village or gather shards for a month, but for at least a month. After a month, you should go to this miko, Junsui-sama, I believe that is her name, and find Kagome to bring her back."

"But we can't leave Kagome with Sesshomaru! What if he kills her? What if he loses her? What if…" Shippo whined.

"SHUT UP!" yelled Inuyasha, hands covering his ears." We'll go get her now! Kaede-baba's idea is stupid. We'll go right away!"

"No! We think that Kagome-sama should stay with Sesshomaru for a month, and no more. Then we can take her back," said Miroku, speaking for himself and Sango.

"If you don't listen, we can always seal you into a hut," threatened Sango, with a grin on her face.

`I've always wanted to do this to him. After I saw how his meetings with Kikyo left Kagome-chan so hurt.'

Inuyasha was silent. He did not want to leave Kagome with his half-brother or get sealed in a hut. He had already been trapped in a hut by Miroku and Kaede when his brother had previously stabbed him through his stomach.

"Besides, Inuyasha, the month will give Kagome-sama time to heal from her wounds. Do you want to take her and lessen her chances of surviving just because you wanted her back?" Miroku knew how to get Inuyasha to listen. All he had to do put Kagome's safety on the line.

"Feh."

~~~~~~~~~~

The tai youkai held Kagome in his tail, and knocked on the door with his hand.

The door opened with a loud creak and a wheezy voice beckoned to Sesshomaru, "Come in."

A/N: Yay! I finished my second chapter! This one is a bit longer than my first one. And thanks to all my LOVELY reviewers for reviewing! R&R

~Jennifer