InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Fulfill a Duty ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

To Fulfill a Duty

Chapter Five

By: DeadBHunter

"talking `thinking'

Chapter Five

He was not pleased, to say the least. He had been watching the miko for a while now, and she just had to disappear while Kagura was disobeying him by searching for Sesshomaru again.

`Again she tries fruitlessly to disobey me. No one can disobey me. What a fool she was to think that I was so preoccupied with watching Her, that I wouldn't notice her leave. She is mine. I hold her heart and it is mine to do with as I please. Her life rests in my hands.'

~~~~~~~~~~

"Junsui, when is the next time you are going to go train her?"

`I assume he means Kagome by "her." He's so stubborn. Why can't he call Kagome by her name?' Junsui sighed in defeat and leaned back against the wall.

"I will train her once again this afternoon about two hours after noon if it pleases you, my lord. She will have had about eight hours of rest. That should be sufficient for her to regain her strength."

It was about 6:30 and Junsui's mind had been present in this world for about half an hour. During this time, she had made herself a pot of tea and sat down against the wall. After Sesshomaru had inquired about Kagome's well being, he too sat down, but kept his back straight in perfect posture like always. They had been sitting together in an awkward silence for the rest of the time with Junsui gently blowing on her steaming tea.

"Eat something before you leave."

Junsui looked up from her cup and asked, "Why is that, my lord."

"Do you dare question my orders, miko?" threatened Sesshomaru. `No one dares question me, lord and ruler of the Western Lands.'

"My apologies, Sesshomaru-sama. I will start right away." Junsui set her cup on the table and stood up. She walked outside to the pile of firewood the men of the nearby village brought in every couple of months in thanks for her assistance in curing a sickness that threatened young and old alike.

Sesshomaru watched Junsui come in a little later carrying some firewood and some vegetables that he assumed came from the garden growing behind the hut.

Junsui started a fire and went to get a pot from the cabinet and fill it up with water from the river near the clearing in the woods. By the time she got back with the water, the flame was flickering an orange and red color with an occasional trace of blue every now and then. (A/N: Real fire does turn blue, but only when it's really hot. When it is at its hottest, it turns white.) She set the pot on the fire and waited for the water to boil while she was cutting up the vegetables for the soup that she was preparing.

By the time the soup was ready it was nearing midday and Sesshomaru had just been sitting against the wall.

"Would you like some soup, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"No."

"Wh-," she started to say, but she stopped in the middle remembering Sesshomaru's previous response to her questioning. "Hai, milord," she quickly corrected herself.

Junsui went to get a bowl and spoon from the same cabinet as the pot. As she stirred the soup, she thought about the girl that she was helping.

`Since when does Sesshomaru-sama help humans? Many travelers had come to me and spoke in fear of the tai youkai of the West who was rumored to be ruthless and could kill children without any regrets. They say that humans are the thing that he despises so. If that is true, then why would he help this girl? He clearly does not want to spend time here healing her. Perhaps there is more to this girl than meets the eye.'

Junsui carefully spooned the soup into her bowl and watched the tai youkai relax. His eyes were closed, but she could tell that he was attuned to all that was happening around him. She could feel his aura probing around for intruders.

She shivered as his aura encountered hers. It was cold and gave off no emotion unlike others. She was tempted to believe that he did not have any emotions at all. The few emotions she had ever seen from him had always been annoyance and anger. Even then, the only proof of this was his mouth which would thin out and become a fine line. That could hardy be counted as emotions.

~~~~~~~~~~

At two, Junsui prepared the fire for entering the trance state and touched the bracelet on Kagome's wrist. The very first time Junsui had to be holding the bracelet. But after that, all she had to do was touch the piece of jewelry. Once again, the fire between the two mikos changed color as well as the mikos themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kagome? Where are you, child. I have come to continue your training."

"Coming, Junsui, I am just finishing lunch." Kagome scrambled out of the kitchen of her home and was once again greeted with the sight of the Goshinboku.

"Let us leave," was Kagome's only warning before the two were transported to the same clearing in the forest.

Kagome looked around, a pleased smile coming to her face again. The forest never ceased to amaze her. It was so wild and uncultivated. Man had not tamed the forests here in the Sengoku Jidai, but in the future, wilderness was practically nonexistent. Human kind had destroyed the once large woods. Animals were driven out of there ancestral homes and caged in preserves that were crowded with others that did not belong there. (A/N: I'm kind of an environmentalist.)

"So what are we going to do today, Junsui?" asked Kagome, finally turning her attention to the miko beside her.

"We are going to improve your healing abilities further. Healing a flower or plant is easier than healing an animal. Animals have a more complicated structure and they can move while you are helping them, but the ones that you the most feelings toward are the hardest and easiest to heal, including yourself. You have an unlimited amount of power because your emotions help feed your power. But your emotions may also be the undoing of this. Because you have feelings for them, you may be rushed to heal them and neglect something. You first need to learn some more control and be able to heal animals before you can heal yourself."

Junsui walked to a nearby bush, pulled back a couple of branches, and revealed a mouse with its right leg bent at an odd angle.

"This mouse has broken the bone in its right leg. It is a clean break so only the bone needs to be repaired. All the muscles and tendons are fine. This should be easier because bone is easier to mend then the others. Now remember what I told you before, you must picture the bone mending, like you did with the flower."

"I'll try, Junsui."

Kagome looked for the miko power inside of her. She beckoned to it and imagined the bone mending. At first, it looked like nothing was happening. She was almost ready to give up. Concentrating harder, the bone was growing, slowly at first, but as she became more immersed in her work, the bone began to grow faster. As she watched the bone knit together, she could hear Junsui in the back of her mind congratulating her on a job well done.

"Well done, Kagome. But before I go, I would like to ask you some questions. How did you come to be in the silver-haired youkai's charge? He doesn't seem like the type to care. From what I have heard, he does not share his emotions; many say he does not have any."

"Well truthfully, when I first met him, I was scared. He tried to kill me because I interfered with what he wanted, at that time he wanted to gain power. But after a couple of years, it seemed like he didn't want power. It was like he just wanted to enjoy the road getting there. Since then, I have been traveling with him for about three years."

Junsui just nodded her head. `Many said that Sesshomaru-sama had been traveling with a human girl, but I never thought that it was THIS girl. They said that the girl was about 7 or eight. But then again, they said that she seemed happy to be under his care. Maybe Kagome is the girl he has been taking care of.'

Kagome watched as Junsui's face turned from thoughtful to confused.

"I see. I must leave soon; your protector is not very patient."

Junsui decided to accept Kagome's story because she was not one to lie. She may not have known her for very long, but she could tell that someone with a heart as pure as hers would not lie.

"Keep practicing your magic, child. Heal the forest, make things grow. You were born with a gift, child. You should use it."

"I will, Junsui. Tell Him I said hi!"

"Hai, child."

~~~~~~~~~~

Junsui opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight of the roof of her hut. She had been laying on a futon while she was in Kagome's mind.

"I am back, Sesshomaru-sama. Do you wish for me to do anything for you?"

"Tell me how the girl is doing."

"She is doing fine. As I told you before, it will probably take her about four months to heal now. It may take less depending on how fast she will master the later lessons. The basics are the hardest of all to learn. Once she has perfected the basics, then the other lessons should move faster."

"I will leave now to hunt for food."

"It is not necessary, Sesshomaru-sama."

"I will not go back on my honor, no matter that it is beneath me. I will hunt for you. I promised that I would take care of her, and that is what I will do, whether directly or indirectly."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama."

~~~~~~~~~~

Sesshomaru ran swiftly and silently through the forest, looking for deer.

`I cannot believe that I am lowering myself to hunt for humans. Not only that, I have been sleeping outside in trees which is not befitting for a lord of my stature. It is not like me to help those that are too weak to help themselves.'

He quickly killed an elderly deer, lingering in the back of the fleeing herd, too slow to keep up and escape death. He fetched it quickly, hoisting it over his shoulder before heading back to the hut that housed his charge and her healer. He continued his thoughts.

`Only the strong survive.''

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! It took forever to write. Chappie 6 coming soon! Read and review!

~Jennifer