InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Windows on the West ❯ When You Have Nothing Left to Prove ( Chapter 22 )

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

Disclaimer:  I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru had been preoccupied for several days – since the day at the shrine over Inuyasha's birthplace.  

Over and over in his mind, he kept hearing Kagome's words to the priest, and even now, he was still incredulous that a human girl could feel that way.  Most humans were like that priest – prejudiced and unwilling to see beyond their own shortcomings.

But this little woman, this girl from the future, this miko, was different.

She knew that following the path of evil was a choice, and not something that was predertermined by species.

What makes her and Rin, as well, completely different than the rest of her race?  If I did not trust my nose so much, I would never believe that she was human.

He looked out at the road that lay before them all, letting the feel of the miko behind him infiltrate his senses as he thought of her.  After all this time in her company, he still did not understand her.

After a moment of lingering on her, he let his senses flow outward to the land around them, checking for any traces of enemies, or anything that could be dangerous to his pack, or the miko's friends.

It was a good thing he did – because it only took a moment for him to lock on to the presence of his greatest enemy... the one that all those behind him shared.  

Naraku.

But he was not alone, as usual.

With an almost casual air, he drew Bakusaiga, and immediately, the rest of the group had their own weapons out and drawn, while Shippo and Rin pulled to the back of the group, protected by Jaken and Ah-Uhn.

That was how Naraku finally came upon them; all his enemies in one place and ready for him.  He didn't bother speaking, he merely attacked, actually catching some of the group off-guard – he wasn't known for such actions, usually taunting them first, before unleashing his minions on them.

This time, Naraku himself also attacked, taking on the daiyoukai that was guarding that which was most dangerous to him.

The miko, Kagome.

But he had a plan... to get to Kagome, all he had to do was get to Sesshoumaru – or make the girl think he was about to get to him.  He may not understand why she would do the things she did, but he could always tell what she would do in any given situation, and this one was custom-made to gain his desired end – her death.

Of course, there was always Tenseiga...

But if he could keep them occupied long enough, her soul would be gone beyond even Tenseiga's ability to recall it.  There were risks with this scheme, as with anything, and no guarantees, but action was better than inaction, and no plan was completely foolproof.  If he didn't win today, he would merely come back another time and try again.

The beginning stages of the game went exactly as Naraku hoped, his hordes quickly separating out the companions, leaving him facing Sesshoumaru – and Kagome standing back, picking off demons to aid her friends.  No one really noticed in the heat of battle that none of the lower level youkai attacking were targeting Kagome... and that was a very serious oversight.

Naraku wanted her free to watch him attacking Sesshoumaru, rather than busy defending herself.  After all, this whole thing pivoted on her seeing the sneak attack he'd set up on Sesshoumaru – and doing everything in her power to stop it.

Sure enough, just as the attacking youkai had everyone elses attention, and Naraku himself had changed into his true form, keeping Sesshoumaru's attention on him, his newest incarnations, ones that carried absolutely no youki to detect, attacked him from the rear, right before Kagome's horrified eyes.

With no time to fire her arrows, she did the only thing she could – she threw herself right into the path of the oncoming attack... and took the blow right through the back.  As a dead silence fell on the battlefield, Sesshoumaru whirled around, only to see Kagome gasp with shock...

And fall to her knees, before slumping to the ground, blood pouring from the gaping wound in her back.

Naraku laughed, in that moment gloating that the girl had fallen just as he'd known she would... and then, to the horror of everyone there, he escalated the attack, making sure no one could get to the injured and dying young woman in order to do anything about it.

But Naraku hadn't counted on the fierceness of Sesshoumaru's response.  It could not have been predicted – nor could the total explosion of youki that followed the muffled thud of her hitting the ground.  He literally blew Naraku away, disgusted to find that it was merely another puppet, but too focused on getting to Kagome before it was too late to do much more than snarl in rage before swinging around and destroying most of the rest of Naraku's slaves with one swing of Bakusaiga.

Dropping to the ground next to the fallen girl, he paid no attention whatsoever to the rest of the group, their sounds of shock and grief fading into nothing in his ears... the only things he could hear were her failing heartbeat, and weak, choking breaths.  Even Inuyasha's screams of anger, his vituperative words, did not make a dent on the daiyoukai's consciousness.

“You little fool,”  he hissed, the rage in his voice at odds with the tenderness that he lifted her from the dirt with.  “You may be immune to the effects of time, but you can still be killed.  Why did you do such a thing?”

Kagome opened her eyes, a chiding expression in them.  “Shame on you, Sesshoumaru.  I chose to do what I did.  I told you I care about you – and I didn't want to see you in the position I'm in now,”  she gasped painfully.

His hands tightened around her even as Inuyasha and the others grew quiet, and he glared at her.  “I do not need caring,”  he spat out, enraged, though he did not understand why the sight of her brought so low angered him as much as it did.  “Caring has no place in conquest and the search for power!”

She chuckled weakly, a gurgling sound in her chest that told him her lungs were punctured, and she was drowning in her own blood.  His eyes tinted vermillion.  “Silly youkai,”  she said fondly, even as her own eyes began to slide closed,  “if power is so important, tell me... once you take over the world-”  there was a slight bit of sarcasm in her voice that he did not miss,  “-what will you do then?  When you have nothing left to prove to anyone, and no one there to care for... what will you do?”

Stunned, he stared at her even as her breathing stuttered, and came to a halt in the same moment as her heart stopped.  He was frozen for long moments, her last words slamming through him with the force of a tsunami, colliding with the shock of her death and keeping him motionless for precious seconds.

He was brought back to the moment at hand as Inuyasha shouted at him.

“Fuckin' idiot!  You can stare at her and think about her words after you bring her back!  Draw Tenseiga before it's too late!”

Sesshoumaru scooped her up, his senses offended at the sight of her laying in the dirt, covered in blood.  Moving her over to a soft patch of grass, he laid her down gently, and then stood, staring down at her as he pulled Tenseiga from his obi, and spoke to it aloud.  

“This is not a request, Tenseiga – you will bend to my will this time,”  he murmured, refusing to let the sword decide as he always had before.  

No... this time, Tenseiga would obey.

It did, pulsing with a cyan blue glow, it literally vibrated with power, and as the imps of the underworld came into the daiyoukai's view, he swung, tearing through them with a feral growl vibrating around them in warning.

And that's how Kagome came back to the world, surrounded by the warmth of Tenseiga's power, and the force of Sesshoumaru's will yanking her back into life unceremoniously.  

It was a feeling she would never forget, no matter how long she lived.

She looked up with a smile and met the burning, questioning gaze of the daiyoukai, even as the others sounded out with relief around her.  

Sesshoumaru sheathed Tenseiga and reached out a hand to Kagome, and she took it, squeezing it gently as he pulled her effortlessly to her feet.  

“Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama,”  she said quietly.  “But I want you to know that I didn't do what I did thinking that you'd bring me back.  I fully expected to remain dead.”

Without relinquishing her hand, he looked down at it.  “I know,”  he said, his voice low.  “But this one does not forget his promises so easily, miko.  I promised to protect you, and I promised that we would remain together.  I have no intentions of allowing you to leave me.  You are pack.”

Kagome's smile widened.  “I hate to tell you this, Sesshoumaru,”  she whispered,  “but that is called caring.  If you didn't care, you wouldn't bother to keep those promises.   I think you just don't understand what it is to care about someone, because you haven't had someone care for you in so long.  But you're learning...”  she trailed of mischievously at his narrowed eyes.

Then she looked down at herself and shuddered, tugging her hand free of his grip.  “I think it's time I go find some water and clean up.  I really want to wash my blood off and get clean.”

As the rest of the group took over, handing her bag to her, and leading her to a water source, Sesshoumaru was left standing behind, shock stilling his thought processes and his body with equal facility.

That... is caring?  I... care... for the miko?

It would be late into the night before the inuyoukai lord joined the rest of the group in the camp they set up – and even then, he would avoid Kagome's gaze for some time thereafter.  

After all, it wasn't everyday that a daiyoukai of his class had his entire world-view overturned, especially in such a manner.

~oOo~

A/N:  Can anyone say gobsmacked?  ~chuckles~

Amber



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