Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, but as far as I'm concerned, this story is mine, and I would like to keep it that way!
To Mend a Broken Heart
Chapter 2
All at once, as if they had some sort of unspoken agreement, the demons began to attack. Wave after wave of them hit, and Kagome fought them off as best as she could. Thankfully, Sango taught her some self-defense before the finale battle with Naraku, so Kagome wasn't completely helpless. She just didn't want to use her miko powers in fear that it might leave her drained and vulnerable.
Demon after demon came, and Kagome fought them off of her, but fighting alone just wasn't enough. There were way too many of them, and she could feel that more were coming. Already, she was exhausted, and Kagome knew that she wouldn't be standing for much longer.
Kagome had to use her miko powers, or she and the jewel were toast. She needed to make sure that she could wipe out all of these demons and send the other ones packing with one burst. With a determined little grunt, Kagome concentrated and then let lose all of the purification powers that she contained in her tiny miko soul.
Several miles away, Sesshomaru sat in in meadow watching Jaken and Rin. His head snapped up when he felt an immense burst of purification. Not many demons had that amount of power, and the last time he felt purification of that magnitude was when the little miko purified Naraku. This burst of power was enough for even Sesshomaru to consider feeling threatened.
"Master! Master! Did you feel that? Such power! I—"
"Silence, Jaken," said Sesshomaru, effectively shutting up the ugly green toad. "Watch Rin." With that, Sesshomaru gracefully unfolded himself from his spot and walked unhurriedly out of the clearing.
He headed in the direction of the power, and was surprised to see how far he had to walk. This person must be quite powerful.
Moments later, he came to what smelled like the scene of a battle. Immediately, he noticed the small form of a woman lying unconscious, face down on the ground. She was surrounded by piles of ash, and Sesshomaru knew that she had purified them all, and that is where he felt the power coming from.
He noted that her hand was clutched around something that was glowing pink, and he realized that it was the completed Shikon-no-Tama. This only confirmed his suspicions.
This woman was InuYasha's wench. There was no way that anyone else could be that strong of a miko. The only questions was, what was she doing out here on her own? There were no traces of InuYasha or the rest of her group, so Sesshomaru knew that she was alone, but that didn't explain why she was alone.
Sesshomaru looked over her still form and saw that she was still breathing, and that she was uninjured. Since the woman was unharmed, there was no point in Sesshomaru even being there. As he turned to leave, Sesshomaru caught one last glimpse of her face. She was so pure and innocent that she reminded him of Rin. For some strange reason, his cold heart had a soft spot for the child, and he couldn't just leave the miko there.
"Damn it all," growled the Lord as he bent down to pick up the miko and take her back to his camp.
The first thing Kagome was aware of was the severe pounding in her head. It felt like the hulk had sucker punched her in the face. She could feel her head throbbing in time with her heartbeat, and she groaned.
The next thing she became aware of was the steady buzz of voices emanating from all around her.
"Sesshomaru-sama! When is Kagome-sama going to wake up? Why did you bring her back with you? Is she going to be your girlfriend? Wh-"
"Enough, Rin," Sesshomaru interrupted, sounding very annoyed.
Kagome was going to drift back into unconsciousness, but then stiffened. Sesshomaru and Rin? What was going on here? How in the world had she gotten here in the first place? One moment she was fighting off demons and the next she was waking up as Sesshomaru's camp? What the heck?
"Ugh…" Kagome groaned as the pain in her head intensified. Life just couldn't get any more messed up.
"Are you awake, Kagome-sama?" Rin asked from somewhere very close to her.
Kagome opened her eyes to get a better look at her surroundings. The very first thing she saw was Rin's expectant brown eyes. Kagome sat up slowly, and noticed that the throbbing wasn't as bad when she was in a seated position.
"Hello, Rin. It's certainly nice to see you again!" Kagome beamed at the little girl, the pounding in her head quickly fading.
"Miko," said Sesshomaru, "what were you doing alone in the forest?" Sesshomaru really didn't beat around the bush.
Kagome looked at Rin, and decided that it was best that she leave out most of the details. "I got lost from my group," she shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.
"Hn," Sesshomaru responded. He could smell that there was more to the story from the miko's raging emotions and from the look she gave Rin, he knew that it probably was child-friendly.
Kagome decided that was all she was going to tell him unless he specifically asked for more. She would rather him demand more information with a threat than have him kill her for talking too much. To be honest, her mind was still reeling with the fact that she was alive and had ended up in Sesshomaru's camp of all places. It was hard to believe that the icy lord of all people had just taken her in like that. He was supposed to hate humans.
She looked over at Rin, who was humming to herself brightly and braiding a crown of flowers. Sesshomaru had taken in that adorable little girl, so maybe there was more to him than Kagome originally thought. Still, even if he had developed a soft spot for the little girl, that didn't mean that he had accepted the human race as a whole.
Rin skipped over to Kagome and placed the crown of flowers on her head. "There! Now Rin and Kagome can have matching crowns!" she enthused, pointing to a similar one on her head. "Would you like to play with Rin?"
"Of course," Kagome smiled, as she pushed her way up off the ground to chase after the giggling little girl, the pounding in her head now forgotten.
Sesshomaru watched as the Miko played games with his ward all day. Although they were quite loud, Sesshomaru couldn't find it in him to be annoyed. Whatever the miko was doing was working, because Rin looked much happier than normal, if that was even possible. The young Miko even had the ability to make Jaken smile.
He didn't know how the miko did it, so he studied her. She talked to Rin and Jaken as if they were equals, and she had a bright and genuine smile. Her laugh was joyous and innocent, much like a child's. She was odd: the way she talked, dressed, and acted was all foreign. Sesshomaru hoped that watching her would have given him some answers, but now he was just left with more questions, and that frustrated him to no end.
"Sesshomaru-sama, Rin is hungry. Can Kagome take Rin to pick some berries? It would make Rin very happy," the little girl asked with pleading eyes.
"Hn. If it pleases the miko to do so," he answered.
"I have no problem taking you Rin," Kagome said with a warm smile.
"Very well. Jaken, go with the miko and Rin."
"Ay, milord," Jaken said with a bow.
Sesshomaru watched as the three walked into the forest to search for berries. He noticed that Rin was holding Kagome's hand, and it struck him just how much they looked alike. They might as well be mother and daughter. This left Sesshomaru with even more mysteries to ponder until they returned from their search.
The rest of the night, Rin kept close to Kagome. As much as Sesshomaru tried to ignore them, he couldn't. He kept comparing them; they truly did look like mother and daughter or even sisters. The only noticeable difference from them was that Rin had the normal brown eyes of the native people, and Kagome had exotic blue eyes.
As the night wore on, Sesshomaru came to admire the miko's endless patience with his ward. When Kagome went to wash in a nearby stream, Rin went with her. When they all ate dinner, Rin ate right next to Kagome and mimicked the way she ate. As night settled in, Rin managed to snuggle in next to Kagome. Sesshomaru shot the little girl a withering look that Kagome responded to with a smile.
Within minutes, both females and Jaken were asleep. Sesshomaru sat and watched over camp. There were no threats, and the miko had gone to bed happy, so he couldn't help but wonder why the Miko's scent suddenly carried the smells of misery and tears.
A/N: Hello, my readers! Here is another updated and revised chapter! I worked really hard on this, and I hope that you like it! I will try to get out the next chapter pretty soon, but no promises! I have band camp and babysitting, and both are time consuming and tiring. I hope that my old readers are liking the revised story, and that the newcomers are enjoying this! Leave me a review and tell me what you think! Reviews are food for the writer's soul ;)
On another note, I am looking for a beta reader! If you are interested, please send me a message!