** Disclaimer: Obviously I do not own any of the rights to these characters, or I wouldn't be writing here for free. ;) **
Chapter 1-
He never feared Death. Truth be told, he saw Death as a business partner of sorts. He would do his part, Death would come and he would leave, knowing his job was done. He rather liked his part as well. In his youth, he was raw, unpracticed, but still had incredible skill. He didn't enjoy it nearly as much then, but now that his skills were honed, his part came easily to him. Never before had he feared Death.
But looking down at the broken body in front of him, even he with so much self-control couldn't stop his shaking hand as he touched her hair. Shock and fear threatened to engulf him as he hesitated, for the first time in his very long life, unsure of what to do next. She wasn't dead, not yet at least, but if he didn't act soon, she would be. He was thankful she was unconscious; the pain she would have been in might have killed her before he could act.
He looked at the other body to his left and the emotion that this fear brought to his eyes left instantly. The rage took its place, a rage he'd never felt before burned in his chest. He was sorely tempted to end that body's shallow breath, but he showed restraint. Never before had he unleashed more than a few well aimed kicks at the little retainer, but then again, never before had the little retainer allowed such an event to occur. He knew that truly, it was not his fault. But when he arrived and saw her, listening to the groveling, he couldn't completely control himself. He knew that one wouldn't die and his eyes turned back to the tiny body in front of him.
Now, he had to do something. He obviously had to find a healer, and soon, or he wouldn't be able to save her. Not this time. A scent wafted by on the breeze and his eyes turned to the tree line. Had he not been so distracted, he would have felt their proximity much sooner. Suddenly, he had a choice. He was far from home and, even running a full speed, he wasn't sure if she'd last the trip. His healers knew her and he knew they'd do everything possible to save her. But could they save her? He didn't know.
The scent wafted by again. It was true; he didn't know much about her. But what he did know made him curious. It also made him wonder if she could help, maybe even better than his own healers. And she was closer, the little body in front of him might fare better a trip to her than a trip home. He leaned forward, scooping up the tiny, broken body with his arm. He felt a pull in his chest, as if his soul was attached to hers. He'd never admit it aloud, but he loved her, more than any other being in the world. He wasn't letting her go.
Suddenly decided, he darted into the tree line, sparing no glance at his other retainer. He'd find him once he regained consciousness.
~*~* Chpt1~*~*
She felt it before anyone else. It was massive, strong and coming right for them. Her blood ran cold, heart pounding in her chest and she stood, dropping the pot of water she had been setting on her make shift grill top over the fire. The fire hissed loudly as the water hit it, making her companions jump and stare at her.
"Kagome?" A female voice called to her.
"Oi, wench! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Her gruff male companion no sooner spoke, before sensing the aura approaching fast. "What does that bastard want?" he growled, unleashing is sword. In an instant, her other companions were battle ready and surrounded her as he appeared before them all. "Sesshomaru. What the hell do you want?"
The mighty Lord Sesshomaru ignored his half-brother completely, only fueling the hanyou's fire. He growled and raised his sword, freezing in place when the woman beside him gasped, leaping over the pit and rushing toward, what he was certain was her very death. He allowed the little Miko to approach, noting that there was nothing but fear in her eyes as she looked at the small body cradled in his arm. "Sesshomaru… What happened to her?" She looked up at him with compassion and worry, her scent no longer carrying an ounce of the fear he was accustomed to his appearance creating.
Stupid woman, she should fear this Sesshomaru. If I did not need her… He briefly imagined ridding himself of this nuisance of a human female once and for all. Normally, when fighting with his brother, she was nothing to take note of. She did pull his father's fang from his grave and has escaped his attempts of melting her many times, but other than her refusal to die, she was simply there. He never gave her much thought. Now, he was irritated that she did not fear him as she should. He looked down as he felt the small body in his arms shudder and he returned his stoic gaze to the woman in front of him.
"You will heal her." Was his reply. A heartbeat later, Inuyasha lost his temper. He hated being ignored.
"Like hell we will! Why should we help you?" His other companions shook their heads at him and smirked as Kagome's soft whisper sent him flying into the dirt. The young kitsune leaned over to admire the crater his body had created. It was a good one and he smiled widely. Inuyasha always got what was coming to him.
The Miko stared at the child in his arm before looking up at him. The tear rolling down her cheek made his stomach plunge into his feet, a feeling he had never experienced. "I… I don't know if I can. She's so… What happened?" She moved to her yellow bag, pulling out her sleeping bag and motioning him to lay her down. As he did, she began digging out her first aid kit. He watched her movements as he looked at his young ward.
"She… Fell." He said, suddenly unable to look at her. He looked at the sky, ignoring the pain in his chest. "You will heal her." He stated again, turning his back to her.
"She fell? From where?" Kagome held her hands over the young girl, her palms softly glowing pink as she tried to assess the damage. Her heart was still racing, her blood still cold. But now, it was not out of fear of a demonic aura, but fear of not being able to save little Rin. Shippo and Sango approached Kagome's side, sitting next to her and watching silently. Shippo sniffed back a tear as he looked at her. Rin was his friend, they had played a few times before and she was like pure, unfiltered sunshine. Much like Kagome, but without the burden of adulthood.
Sesshomaru didn't want to tell her. He didn't want her to know that the small child fell from a cliff. He didn't know why he cared, but a feeling he couldn't identify danced around his stomach when he opened his mouth to try. He bit it back and looked at her with the coldest gaze he could muster. "That is not your concern. Heal her."
His reply did not surprise her. She blinked away the tears that came from looking at Rin and focused again. The child was severely broken. Kagome wasn't sure how she survived whatever happened to her, but she was still taking shallow, ragged breaths. Kagome closed her eyes and dug as deep as she could, pulling any power she could find to her hands. She had never tried to heal anything more than the flesh wounds her friends received in battle. She relied heavily on her first aid kit, which she made sure was always completely full and restocked every time she returned home. She had expected him to ask questions about her strange possessions, but maybe he was too upset to care at the moment. She knew the icy lord was not as completely heartless as he seemed, or he would not be here, demanding she heal the small child under her palms. He made her curious, he was definitely a man who was more than what he seemed.
The glow in her hands brightened and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and she dug deeper and pushed harder. If she couldn't heal the worst of it, Rin would die. Sesshomaru watched in mild surprise, though his face would never show it. As she pushed herself, he could feel her power growing at a terrifying rate. He never dreamed this little Miko was as powerful as she apparently was. And judging from the look of awe on her friend's faces, he wasn't the only one. Every demon, and half demon, present could feel the tingly of pure holy power on their skin. Inuyasha pulled himself from his hole and stared at her in wonder. They had been traveling together for years now and he'd never felt anything like it from her before. The air hummed with it and even Sango, who couldn't sense holy power, was floored. Miroku smiled widely. He and the elder Miko Kaede had guessed this. Kagome was a well of untapped power; she only had access to a small fraction of it. They even agreed that she could possibly be even more powerful than the great priestess Midoriko, the Miko whose soul made up half of the Shikon Jewel Kagome now hunted and protected.
Kagome pushed herself father than she dreamed possible and though pulling it to the surface was hard, the power came willingly. She could feel herself tiring and grunted as she gave a final pull. The light that emitted from her hands was blinding, causing everyone to cover their eyes. When it stopped, Sango caught Kagome as she fell back, completely exhausted. Sesshomaru could help but move closer, holding his breath. Did she save his young ward?
The tiny body looked somewhat improved. Her arms and legs were straight again, as was her back. She was still battered and bruised as if she had been beaten instead of fallen. His eyes narrowed at the Miko, whose head rested in her friend's lap. "She failed; she has not been completely healed."
"Lord Sesshomaru, if I may… Rin had a lot of damage, both on the outside and, I'm sure, inside as well. It may not look like she did much, but I'm sure Lady Kagome just saved Rin's life." Miroku said, his head bowed. He would always rush to defend a friend, but he also didn't quite like the idea of losing his head to the great Lord of the West.
"Hnn." The lord replied, looking more closely at his ward. She did look a bit less pale as well. He decided to accept the monk's explanation for now and would get more information when the Miko regained consciousness.
The silence was deafening. When Inuyasha could stand it no long, he marched over and stood behind Kagome and Sango. "Well, Kagome healed her. Now you can leave." He grunted, glaring at his elder half-sibling.
"This Sesshomaru will not be going anywhere, little brother." His words dripped in venom. "This Sesshomaru will wait until the Miko awakens and can heal Rin completely."
"OH HELL NO YOU ARENT!" Inuyasha screamed, pulling his sword from his hip again.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome's soft voice startled everyone.
"Are you alright Kagome?" Sango asked, helping her friend sit up.
She flashed a bright smile and nodded. "Yeah, just tired. Over did it, I think." She looked at Rin. "But I think she will survive." She then looked at Sesshomaru. "Listen Sesshomaru, I told you, I don't know if I can save her. If she survives, she might not be exactly the same. I healed what I could inside to keep her alive. She's got some serious injuries in there; I could only get a sense of them with my powers. I wish I had an x-ray or CAT scan machine…" She trailed off, lost in thought. Her last sentence confused everyone around her, but she had been speaking more to herself anyway.
"X-ray? Cat scan machine?" The unfamiliar words fell awkwardly from Sesshomaru's lips and the baritone voice made Kagome realize what she had actually said and to whom she had said it.
"Never mind." She said, hurriedly. "My point is, I'm healing that I can, but she's so broken." She looked back down at the child. "Her brain has some heavy bleeding around it. Normally doctors would do surgery to relieve the pressure, but I hope my healing powers were enough…"
Sesshomaru scowled again. "Doctors?"
Her eyes went wide and she could have slapped herself. "Uh, that's what we call healers where I am from…" She said in a nervous voice. Her eyes went wider when Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow.
"Where is that?"
"Far from here." She looked back at Rin. "Sesshomaru… She might not be the same… mentally. Especially if she fell from a high place."
His heart dropped into his stomach. Her words made her forget all about how irritated he was that she refused to call him by his proper status or that he had no idea where she was from or if her information was even correct. He also didn't have much knowledge of humans himself, so it was frustrating having to trust blindly. Trust was something he had for very few and he hated giving it so freely. He didn't even know how intelligent this girl actually was. She did choose to stay with his half-breed brother, so he doubted she was all that bright to begin with. The admission that she called healers "doctors" only lead to more suspicion that this girl was just as unintelligent as his brother, maybe more so.
But the idea what Rin wouldn't be the same, that her fall had changed her; it pushed it all from his mind in a millisecond. He thought of the small girl who always had a smile for him, even when he showed her no kindness in return. The girl who laughed and played and made crowns of flowers that Sesshomaru refused to wear, but secretly got great amusement from by allowing her to put them on Jaken instead.
Seeing the slight change in his eyes made Kagome smile. She knew she was the only one to notice it, but it was proof to her that she was right. Underneath his icy, deadly exterior, a father lived who loved his daughter, be she blood, adopted, youkai, human or even hanyou. "I'm not done yet, my lord." She said softly, smiling wider at the momentary look of shock that he instantly hid from view. "I think she is out of immediate danger. Let me rest and I will continue tomorrow."
"Hnn." He turned, sitting down against the tree nearest to Rin.
Taking his reply as agreement, Kagome slowly got up and looked at her friends. "Shall we get ready for dinner? I'm sure you're starving Inuyasha. I'll have to go get more water, Miroku; will you get the fire going again?"
"Yes, Kagome." Everyone began to go about their evening as if the icy demon lord wasn't even there.
Inuyasha gaped at everyone in shock. "He's staying? We are just going to let him stay? Kagome, he's a KILLER. What if this was all a trick to get tetsusaiga? You can't expect me to-"
His words were cut off by a sudden lack of air. In the time it took Kagome to blink, Sesshomaru had crossed the clearing, grabbed Inuyasha by the throat and slammed him against a tree. "How dare you question this Sesshomaru's honor." He snarled, tightening his grip.
"Sesshomaru? Please don't kill him." Kagome moved to their side, reaching for Sesshomaru's arm without thinking. He snarled at her, still holding his brother by the neck. "Please." She said softly, resting her hand on his arm. To everyone's surprise, including his own, Sesshomaru released Inuyasha and went back to his tree.
Inuyasha sat on the ground coughing and staring at Kagome like she had grown a second head. "He could have killed you." He said hoarsely.
"This Sesshomaru should have." The taiyouki said darkly. He wanted to tell her to never even think of touching him again or he would remove her head from her shoulders them moment she was no longer necessary for Rin's health, but something stopped him. Instead he just sent her a deadly glare, his eyes narrow. They narrowed further when she smiled at him.
"I apologize, my Lord." She said, nodding. When he simply "hnn"-ed in response and looked away, she smiled a bit wider. I know there's so much more to him in there. Maybe some coaxing will bring it out. She nodded to herself as she picked up her pot to refill with water.
Inuyasha huffed and leaped into a tree where he could keep an eye on Sesshomaru and leap in of he made a single move against any of them. He still believed this was a trick. The cold hearted bastard didn't care about anyone. Inuyasha didn't care what Kagome thought or what Sesshomaru said, that jackass was not above mangling a human child to trick them into letting him stay close until he had a chance to get what he really wanted. Inuyasha's grip on this sword's hilt tightened at the thought.
The night continued on without incident. Rin stirred in her injury induced unconsciousness a couple of times, but she seemed to be stable and not in pain. Kagome hoped she stayed that way, she would hate to see the girl in pain. She decided a cup of tea would do everyone a world of good and brewed a pot, humming softly to herself. As Sesshomaru watched the group carry on, he became more and more confused and annoyed. They seemed to slowly forget his presence, only occasionally noticing him and becoming uncomfortable. It was soon fade again until another would realize he was still present. He was not used to being ignored and apparently distaste for being so was a family trait. His confusion came from Kagome herself. She owned items he had never seen before, made food he had never heard of and he only understood half of the things she said. Both her manner of speech and the words she said bemused him. Not only did she not seem to fear him, or forget he was there, but she seemed actually comfortable in his presence. Sesshomaru did not like being confused and it lit a certain fire in his chest he had never experienced before. He both despised and was enthralled by this woman. He wanted to kill her where she sat, smiling and brewing tea, her eyes shining in the fire's flickering light. Her death would end these new and distracting feelings in his chest. He tried to imagine all the way he could kill her now, all the ways he had tried before, but he inwardly frowned at the feeling the images in his mind created in his chest. It wasn't a pleasant one and he chose to think about something else. He wondered where she was from, why she seemed so very different from every other woman, youkai or human, he'd ever met.
She approached him smiling, offering a cup of tea. He looked at her for a moment, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. It was as if he had been thrown back in time. A young Rin, offering him food and drink, her eye swollen shut and a smile that was missing a few teeth. They looked different, but the same. He took in Kagome's chocolate eyes, her raven hair and her pure smile, the smile that was so much like his young ward's but so different at the same time. Her smile grew as he took the cup from her, nodding his thanks in silence. She nodded in return, a silent response and went back to the fire to serve the others. He watched her closely now, suddenly aware of her femininity. The way her hair curled and framed her face. The curve of her waist and hips. The length of her legs and how very fragile she looked.
But there was strength there; he had to admit, if only in his own mind. He briefly remembered the tingle of her power as it ghosted over his skin, crackling in the air. Her muscles were toned and strong, not an ounce of fat where it didn't belong. But she was still soft, as a female should be. He watched them settle down for the night, pass around wishes of sweet dreams and all was silent. The humans and demon's fell asleep quickly. Only Sesshomaru and Inuyasha remained awake. He could feel his little brother's hateful glare from in the trees and he ignored it completely. He watched Kagome sleep and sighed softly in his head. Only one afternoon…. That's all it took for the Lord of the West to become obsessed with the enigma that was Kagome. Not that he'd ever admit it.
