A/N: So I know I haven't updated this story in a while and I'm sorry, but hey what can I do with all the stress I'm dealing with right now, so please forgive me. And now, on with the story! Oh and just a quick question, does anyone know if Menomeru is a moth demon or not?
Disclaimer: All right to prevent a future law suit in my near future, I proclaim to all of you that I don't own Inuyasha, which is probably a good thing, though I would like some of that money that Rumiko-san has. Sigh Aww well!
Drawn Like a Moth to a Flame
Kagome stood frozen before Menomaru as she stared into the crimson eyes of the moth demon. She watched, still rooted to her spot two feet away, as he struggled to sit up, a look of pain showing clear on his face. When he lifted a hand to beckon her over, she shook her head fiercely, still frozen to her spot, not realizing she had conscious control over her body again and that she could easily escape from him.
"No . . . " she rasped. "No you're dead. How can you still be here on this Earth?"
Menomaru finally gave up his attempt and decided to bring her too him through his own will. When he clamored up onto his feet and started to approach her, his knees gave out and he collapsed onto the stone cold, cavern floor, holding his ribs as his body impacted with the ground.
Kagome couldn't help but become anxious when he lay on the ground moaning in pain and she hadn't realized she had moved towards him, until she found herself kneeling by his side. Once she was close enough to him, she could just make out the wounds decorating his torso and arms in a spectrum of colorful bruises and gashes, by the faint light emitting from the oil lamp nearby. Although she didn't want to be anywhere near him, she knew she couldn't just leave him there to suffer from his grisly disposition. She reached her hands behind his head and lifted it onto her lap, carefully, true concern apparent in her mocha-chocolate eyes as she stared down at him. He looked up at her with a blank expression, his crimson eyes looking deep within hers and his lips moving as he tried to communicate something to her.
Kagome leaned in closer, trying to make out what he was saying, but all she could make out were small gasps of air. She pulled back slowly with a look of confusion playing upon her features, still unable to discern what he was trying desperately to tell her. That is until she heard his voice echo inside her head, 'Please . . . help me.'
Kagome gasped at suddenly hearing his voice inside her head again and thought, 'Is he communicating with me telepathically?'
'Yes' she heard him answer inside her head.
'And he can read my thoughts' she thought in disbelief.
'Yes I can read your thoughts too. Now please, help me.'
'Sure. But what can I do to help?'
'Water . . . bring me water. And bandages too.'
'Okay, but where can I find what I need' she asked him with her thoughts.
'Go to the nearby village and ask the headmaster there for bandages and a basin. Then go to the nearby stream to collect some water.'
'All right, that's fine, but what if I run into to demons on the way there and back?'
'Don't worry, if anything should happen, I'll take over and fight for you' he assured her telepathically.
'Okay, I'll be back' she told him with her thoughts. She then picked up his head and carefully set it back down on the stone, cold floor of the cavern. She then stood up and turned on her heel, exiting the dark cavern and stepping out into the humid night air.
Kagome found locating the village simple enough and ascertaining the bandages and basin just as easy. It wasn't until she was filling the basin with water from the stream, did she run into some real problems. She soon found herself face-to-face with a red-eyed slithery demon, coiling up like a snake and preparing to strike.
'M-Menomaru' she thought as she took a few tentative steps backwards before falling backwards on her backside in fear.
'Don't worry' she heard him whisper inside her head, before she felt control over her body slip from her grasp. She soon felt herself lifting off the ground, just as the demon struck the ground where she was situated only a few seconds ago. She ascended rather quickly into the air, somersaulting in mid-air before landing lithely on her feet a small distance away from the befuddled demon. It turned around with lightning speed, coiling up for another attack, before lashing out again. Kagome felt like she was on the outside looking in as Menomaru manipulated her body into flipping through the air, defying gravity in every single way, and landing a few feet away from the demon again. She then watched as her nails glowed yellow and her arm pulled back, thrusting outward towards the demon and launching the tips at it.
The razor sharp tips pierced through the demon, its body bursting in a flash of light. As soon as the immediate danger had passed, she felt herself again gain control of her body once again, feeling almost as if her spirit had dropped back inside her body. She stumbled a bit, trying to regain her composure after her out of body experience. She went over to the edge of the stream where she dropped the basin and the bandages she obtained. After she refilled the basin again, she started to make her way back towards the cave where Menomaru was awaiting her medical aid. Before she could make it through the entrance of the cave and to the safety it held however, she came across several demons that blocked her way.
This time Kagome wasn't as worried and calmly set her objects aside, awaiting Menomaru's monotone voice to echo within the walls of her mind. The demons soon began to close in on her and she slowly backed away. When her back hit a tree, however, she knew she was in trouble and prayed feverishly for Menomaru to save her.
'Relax. All I need you to do is pull a handful of leaves from that tree branch hanging above you and I'll handle the rest.'
'Okay.'
She did as Menomaru requested and tore a handful of the fresh green leaves from the tree branch and felt a surge of power flow through her like a torrential wave, and in a flash of pink light, the lush green vegetation morphed into a bow and quiver of arrows. From then on she could feel Menomaru's hold on her relinquish from her body as she drew on her own power to fire sacred arrows at the surrounding demons intending to annihilate her. She was glad that Menomaru trusted in her ability to handle the demons using her power, so much so, that she felt absolutely on her own. That suited her just fine and she was pleased that she didn't have to rely on anyone to fight her battles this time, finishing off the last of the demons in no time. As the bow and the last of the arrows reverted back to their original forms, Kagome grabbed her supplies and jogged back to the cave housing an injured Menomaru.
Kagome entered the darkness of the cave silently, and as she approached the lighter portion of the cave, illuminated by the dim glow of the oil lamp, she found Menomaru lying in the same place she left him. After kneeling beside him, she set her things aside and placed her palm over his forehead to check if he had a fever. It became apparent to her, as she caressed his forehead, that she wasn't going to be able to gauge whether he had a fever or not, seeing as she believed a demon's normal body temperature was higher than any human's.
'Well something cold over his forehead won't hurt' she thought as she tore a wide strip of the cloth that the headmaster gave to her, along with the bandages and soaked it in water. She then gently placed it over his heated forehead and smoothed it over with the palm of her hand. However, she soon realized that she neglected the fact that he may be dehydrated as well.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "I forgot to get you water. I'll be right back."
Before she could rush out of the cave and retrieve water from the nearby stream, Menomaru took a firm hold about her wrist, halting her progress and holding her in place.
'No, it's all right' she heard him whisper across her mind. 'Just please stay with me.'
"All right," she said, kneeling beside him once again. She reached over and grabbed the basin of water, tore a piece of cloth again and soaked it in water so she could cleanse his wounds. Once that task was complete, she started to bandage his wounds carefully, starting with his arms.
'And whoever said that those First Aid classes wouldn't come in handy' she thought as she worked with a clear mind and steady purpose, while properly tending to Menomeru's wounds.
The hardest part came when she had to bandage his bruised torso, which she suspected from his earlier impact with the cavern floor, that his ribs were undoubtedly broken. Even the lightest of her touches along his bare chest, made him rear up and wince in pain.
"Listen to me, Menomaru. I need you to sit up so I can bandage your ribs. And you need to hold absolutely still or I won't do it right."
He nodded faintly and slowly began to sit up, being extra careful not to shift his already broken ribs. Finally with the help of Kagome, Menomaru was sitting up, enabling her to wrap his ribs tightly with several bandages.
Once the last of the bandages were wound securely about his ribs, she asked, "How does that feel?"
"Much better," he whispered.
She was glad she was able to help him and just sat there for a while, staring off at the illuminated cavern walls, that is, until she saw Menomaru shift from the corner of her eye, attracting her attention to him, her gaze coming to rest upon his face. As she stared upon his visage, she noticed a small gash that she overlooked, marring his beautiful face, and couldn't help finding herself wanting to cleanse it and possibly bandage it like his other wounds. She tore another piece of cloth, soaking it in the cool water from the basin, and leaned in closer to Menomaru, so that she could wipe away the dried up blood and dirt spattered there. She dabbed at it lightly, so as not to hurt him, satisfied when the gash had been meticulously cleansed.
However, when she made a move to shift away from him, Menomaru took a hold of her hand, leaning in close; so close that she could feel his breath fanning her face lightly. Her breath caught in her throat for a few moments, before coming out as labored gasps—her heart beating a steady rhythmic beat within her chest. She locked gazes with his riveting, crimson eyes, noting the look burning there; he looked as though he wanted to kiss her. And as he leaned in even closer, he looked as though he would, but at the last moment, his advancement towards her lips halted and he opted to brushing his soft lips along the delicate skin of the back of her hand.
'Thank you' he whispered across her mind, his words wrapping about her like silk and sending shivers up and down her spine.
Almost as suddenly as he leaned in close proximity to her, he pulled away, and settled down to rest on the stone cold floor of the cave, getting as comfortable as he possibly could. Kagome sat rooted to her spot for a few brief moments after having Menomaru so close to her, trying to regain her composure. After a while she let out a deep sigh, and leaned her back against the cavern walls, still a bit flustered from that brief, charged moment, while also trying to avert her gaze and prevent it from falling upon the injured, inert form of the demon lying only a few feet away from her. Yet no matter how hard she tried, her gaze always found its way to him as curiosity often got the better of her and she ended up staring at him again, with apparent fascination.
Menomaru could sense her gaze fall upon him once again, but he chose to ignore it, yet he couldn't seem to rid himself of the curious need to find out what was troubling her mind, for he could sense the inner turmoil her mind was radiating to him through their psychic connection. Rather than simply reading her mind to find out what was causing it to be a jumbled mess of thoughts he decided to just question her up front.
"What is troubling you," he asked with some semblance of sympathy hidden within his voice.
Kagome jumped at the sound of his voice echoing along the solid walls and ceased staring at him, averting her gaze to somewhere else less fascinating inside the tiny cave as she fumbled out an answer. "Um . . . uh . . . what do you mean? Nothing is bothering me."
"Do not lie to me. I can read the disconcertment coming off you in waves. You wish to ask something about me."
"Yeah . . . " she said as she let out a sigh. 'There's no use in lying to a demon that can read my every thoughts' she thought as she slowly, reluctantly gave in.
"I wish to know how you survived after our last battle with you and who injured you?"
"Well . . . " he said as he shifted onto his left side, so that he was facing her while still lying on the floor, "when you and Inuyasha combined your attacks and destroyed my body, my original demon blood protected me and severed my bond to my father's power, the late Hyouga, and thus, you only destroyed my father's power, but not me."
"Then what happened after you escaped us that day," Kagome asked in earnest from her spot only a few feet away.
"I returned to the continent where my clan resided, in shame. It was there that I was challenged, shortly after our epic battle, by one of the members of my clan for leadership by Kageromaru. Well due to my injuries from our battle, I ended up losing the challenge and I fled for my life, and was banished. At that point I was near the brink of death, and that's when I called you to come and assist me."
"Oh," she said after he finished his tale.
Soon afterwards an ominous silence settled about them, and Menomaru sensed that he had answered her questions and that her mind had settled. With that knowledge he shifted onto his right side and settled down to rest once again. Kagome soon decided to do the same, propping herself up against the wall and closing her eyes so that she could get some sleep.
'I wonder when Menomaru will allow me to return to my friends. They must be worried sick about me.' Those were her last thoughts as she drifted off into a deep slumber inside the cave.
Menomaru awoke a few hours later to find that the temperature inside the cave had dropped a significant number of digits and that dawn was vastly approaching. He looked over to find Kagome sleeping in the last place he saw her, before he drifted off himself, and took note of the involuntary shivers that shook her petite frame. He realized that she was undoubtedly cold from the cooler temperatures of the approaching dawn and couldn't help feeling sympathetic towards her. He felt that he was indebted to her for coming to his aid and saving his life, so he decided the least he could due was keep her warm and prevent her from catching a cold from the chill air of pre-dawn. He slowly eased himself up from his warm place on the cavern floor and stood slowly, so as not to disturb his tightly bound ribs, and walked over to her.
Once there, he situated himself next to her, scooped her up off of the icy, chill ground of the cavern floor, and eased her into his lap. She barely even noticed this and only shifted a bit in her sleep, moaned and sighed as she leaned against the warmth of his body. Menomaru couldn't help but note the softness of her bare skin as it brushed across his own and he couldn't ignore the intoxicating scent that was radiating from her. He buried his face in her hair, reveling in the feel of the silky strands as they caressed his face and took one quick whiff of her scent, memorizing it, before he leaned his head against her own, cradled her tightly against his chest, and drifted off into a comfortable relaxing sleep.
A/N: So what'd you think? Next chapter will have some more fluffy moments and stuff, but you'll have to wait a while for the update because school has got me stressed out. Oh the name Kageromaru has no relation to Naraku's incarnation, I just chose the name 'cuz I like sound of it and it rhymes with Menomaru's name! LOL! Anyway I hope you liked this chapter and that you'll leave me a review! I'm out!
Silver Moon Vampiress