Sorry for not updating in so long. I've just recently gotten over a bout of depression, but I'm back and I'm better! ^.^
Also some people commented that this story is very similar to beauty and the beast, and in a way it is, but it also has some unique qualities on it's own as well. That being said I hope you guys continue to enjoy my story. please review!
They weaved in and out of the trees swiftly as they neared Kagome's home. So swiftly, that the trees were almost a blur. Kagome was almost positive that some kind of magic was involved; how else could they be moving so fast? The journey that had taken her a little over a week was only taking this dog a matter of hours.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at his speed, Kagome thought wryly. I did, after all, have a conversation with him. Besides that he's already healed himself when he was positively covered in blood not too long ago, she thought as she sank her fingers into his silken fur to touch the perfectly smooth skin that had been marred and bleeding before and if he could heal himself so quickly then surely he could heal her mother as well.
She had no idea what to make of this animal. Despite his ferocious looks he hadn't done anything to frighten or hurt her so far. She thanked the kami profusely that the only thing that he had asked of her had been companionship. For a moment, as he was staring down his snout at her, she had thought he was going to demand that she be his next meal.
She wondered, not for the first time, what exactly he was. Her grandfather had often told her stories of man-eating demons and terrible enchantments, but she had always thought of them as just that-stories. Not once in her life had she had she thought that magic would be real and yet she found herself riding on the back of a talking dog. It made her wonder if the other tales she had heard as a child had any truth to them. She thought to ask him, but was startled to notice they had already arrived at her family's home. She looked down to find the dog eyeing her curiously, as if saying 'what are you waiting for, you silly girl?' She gave a nervous smile before sliding off his back. There was no telling how her grandfather would react to him.
"Uh," she tried to start before she realized that she never actually learned whether or not he had a name.
"Sesshomaru," the great silver dog replied in that voice that was enough to make any man tremble. She gathered her courage and gave him a kind smile; he was helping her after all.
"Well, I have a sort of favor to ask of you before we go in." Sesshomaru nodded his head for her to continue. "My grandfather is very superstitious and well he might try something on you. He's quite harmless, I promise you, but I'm hoping you could tolerate him while we are here."
"No harm will come to him," he promised bowing his head. Kagome smiled gratefully at him before leading him inside the small hut.
Standing in the doorway, she spotted her grandfather on the far side of the hut, preparing herbs for drying and storage. Her brother sat with her mother's head in his lap as he tried to get a little broth down her throat. Kagome nearly burst into tears at the sight of her mother. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent and she had lost so much weight that her bones stuck out, making her look more like a living skeleton than a human being. Would Sesshomaru be able to fix her, even with magic, if she was this ill?
She heard a quiet woof behind her and felt Sesshomaru softly nudge her inside with his nose. She looked back at him and gave him a watery smile and moved aside to let him in. Her grandfather must have heard them because he turned abruptly.
"Kagome! I knew you'd, agh! Demon!" he squawked as he reached for the bowl of salt. "Be gone!" he shouted as he threw a generous handful at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru merely narrowed his crimson eyes at the old man and tilted his head toward Kagome as if saying: 'are you going to do anything about this?'
Kagome swiftly ran over to her grandfather and confiscated his beloved bowl of salt. "Grandfather, this is Sesshomaru. He promised to heal momma! He's not going to hurt anybody so please behave." She flinched slightly when he turned his glare from Sesshomaru to herself.
"Are you under a spell? Is he controlling you? What did you promise in return for this 'help'?" he scorned going to stand protectively in front of her mother.
"He isn't here to hurt anybody." Kagome repeated firmly, ignoring his questions for now. "I would already be dead if that was all that he wanted. He's here to make momma better. Do you really want lose her just because you don't have trust in him or me?" Kagome knew that it was a low blow, but she needed him to see that Sesshomaru really did mean to help. She huffed a sigh of relief when her grandfather's shoulders sagged with shame. He sent a warning glare in Sesshomaru's direction before grudgingly moving out of the way.
Sesshomaru approached the mother slowly, being careful not make any surprising movements lest the old man decide to change his mind about attempting to vanquish him. Not that he could, but his more animalistic side wouldn't take too kindly to another attack on his person and he didn't think Kagome would forgive him for that no matter what his excuse maybe.
The first thing that hit his senses, as he stood by her side, was the scent of death. This woman was merely a hairs' breadth away from the netherworld. The second thing he noticed was the small boy hugging her to his body protectively. Though the scent of fear was prominent, the young one did good job of hiding it. Sesshomaru had to pay a small amount of respect to the boy. Even grown men had been known to run at the mere sight of him, yet here he was- holding his ground for the sake of his mother. How like Kagome he was.
"Move," he ordered, obviously startling the poor thing.
The boy hesitated; Sesshomaru noticed the steely look entering his eyes. For a moment Sesshomaru had thought the boy would fight him on this. "Promise me," he started, only the slightest of trembles evident in his tiny voice. "Promise you won't hurt my momma."
"I swear it," Sesshomaru said bowing his head, the seed of respect growing with admiration as well. The boy stared at him, a calculating look on his face-more than likely wondering if he should trust the word of a monster.
"I'll trust you," he finally said. Then, as gently as could be, laid his mothers head down on the floor and quickly retreated to Kagome's side, where she put a reassuring arm around his shoulders. Such a protective bunch they were.
Sesshomaru bent his head down, taking in her image for the first time. As ill as she was, Sesshomaru was still able to discern how beautiful the woman was. She might not have been as eye-catching as the woman of his court had been but there was a certain something in her face that held one's attention. He glanced at Kagome from the corner of his eye. She would grow to become a beauty as well, given some time.
Forcing himself to focus on the task at hand, he pressed his nose against the woman's forehead-ignoring the uncomfortable heat that was beginning to seep into his nose. Gathering the power of his own healing ability, he began to force it, little by little, into the slight woman.
She squirmed weakly, obviously uncomfortable with the foreign energy entering her body, Sesshomaru pressed more firmly against her- holding her in place. Contact could not be broken or else the woman would fall dead completely. She whimpered silently but otherwise remained still.
Concerned at her mother's discomfort, Kagome took a step forward. She stopped when Sesshomaru gave a warning growl. She barely had time to notice that the frighteningly pale pallor of her skin was receding before her grandfather tried to angrily make his way towards Sesshomaru.
"No," she said, grabbing his arm. "Look, she is already getting better." Her grandfather scowled at her but remained quiet and at her side.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sesshomaru finally stepped away from her mother. Kagome took a hesitant step forward. When Sesshomaru did nothing, she continued forward with more confidence. Seemingly taking the hint from Kagome's movement, both Souta and her grandpa moved forward to surround her mother.
Kneeling by her side, Kagome was surprised to see that her mother was already staring at them. The glassy look was gone from her eyes as was the confused haze brought on by the fever. Her skin had a healthy glow about it and her cheeks were no longer red.
"Ka…gome," her mother whispered tiredly, yet the brightness of her smile rivaled that of the sun. Then it hit Kagome. Her mother was well….She wasn't going to die.
As soon as the first tear trickled down her cheek, Kagome found that she could not hold them back. They kept coming and coming. Trying to salvage her pride, as well as seeking some comfort Kagome threw her arms around her mother, being careful not to jostle her too much. Almost immediately, she felt her younger brother join the embrace followed by her grandfather.
"It's alright," her mother cooed quietly, embracing them with weak arms. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Sesshomaru watched on as they continued their heart-felt embrace, a touch of guilt on his mind. He felt reluctant about taking the girl now. Her family obviously loved each other very much, but no. He was too selfish to entertain the thought of leaving her here for too long and far too envious. He wanted to know how it felt to be loved again or at least know the kindness of others again. He had gone far too long hearing the screams and cries of people as they looked upon his face. The soul could only endure so much hate before it took its toll.
He looked away from the group sighing sorrowfully. It was time to move on to the second part of his promise then he would take the girl. He loathed to admit to anybody-even himself- that he was jealous of mere peasants.
He trotted over to a sack of rice, ignoring the elder he squawked at him to leave their food alone. The sack was open and nearly empty. They wouldn't have to worry about their meager supplies for long. Leaning forward, he breathed some of his powers into the sack, willing the rice to transform and to multiply. He stood back as gold coins filled the sack to the brim, and then continue to pour onto the floor as it over flowed with coins. If he could, he would have smirked at the gasp of surprise the old man had made, along with those of the family.
The coins finally stopped multiplying after a few long minutes of seeping into the dirt floor beneath the sack. That coinage was more than enough to see them through this life time and the next, maybe even a couple more. They would have plenty to eat and would no longer have to live on the out skirts of this impoverished village. They could even afford to keep servants should they choose to do so.
His end of the bargain complete he turned to look at Kagome, who was still within the arms of her mother. The awe in her eyes dimmed almost immediately as she understood what was expected of her. For a frightening second, Sesshomaru thought she would refuse to go with him; instead she did her best to give him a reassuring smile and nodded at him. She truly was an odd girl if she was trying to reassure him, when he was the one that was ripping her away from all that she knew and loved. Again, he questioned himself on whether or not he was willing to emotionally harm this girl for his own sake. He shook his fur with an annoyed huff, this girl was going to give him endless restless nights. He could already tell.
"Momma," the girl began, cutting his musings short. "I'm glad you're better now…but I made a promise to Sesshomaru here." She said nodding his direction. He noticed the old man instantly narrowed his eyes in suspicion and scowl. This did not bode well.
"What exactly did you promise Kagome?" he heard the mother whisper warily.
"I would help your family," Sesshomaru interrupted. "And in return Kagome would come and live with me," he did his best to keep the biting growl out of his voice but from the frightened look on the woman's face, he hadn't succeeded. Besides that, already were human words beginning to become difficult to form. Steeling himself, he forced his voice to go on- despite the sharp pain on his throat and tongue.
"I have…kept my end… of the…bargain… now Kagome…must come."
"Oh, no." her mother whimpered has her arms tightened around her daughter as much as they could in her weakened state.
"It'll be alright momma," Kagome assured calmly as she ran her fingers through her mother's hair in an effort to calm her. "Sesshomaru is nice. He did heal you after all. You don't need worry. I'll be safe with him, right Sesshomaru?" she asked turning to face him again, silently begging him to help her calm her mother, though a part of him wondered if she asked for her own sake as well.
"I promise it… Kagome will be…safe with me…always."
The woman's eyes shone with tears unshed, but she nodded her acquiesce. "A promise is a promise and I didn't raise my daughter to be an oath breaker," she sniffled quietly before continuing. "I love you. Be safe and take care of yourself alright?"
"Yes, momma," Kagome whispered brokenly, a stray tear coming out of the corner of her eye.
"No!" the old man shouted suddenly. "I won't allow Kagome to be taken by this, this demon." He moved to draw Kagome behind him, as if to shield her with his own frail body. The fool, like he would ever be a match for him.
"Grandpa, look at what he did for momma, as well as you and Souta. How can you say such horrible things about him when he hasn't done a thing to make you doubt him so?" Her words, though scolding, had no bite in them. She was not trying to hurt or disrespect him, only reprimand him.
Perhaps it was the stubborn glint in her eyes, or maybe it was the look Sesshomaru was giving him-the look that said Kagome was coming with him no matter what. Whatever it was the old man reluctantly nodded. Kagome smiled and embraced him.
"I still don't agree with this," he said angrily. "And if he does anything to harm you in any way I will curse him with my last breath," he finished as he narrowed his eyes threateningly at the silver dog.
"Whatever you say grandpa," Kagome smiled. "I'll miss you," she said, making the old man's face soften as he tightened his hold around her.
"And I you, little one."
After a long moment, Kagome broke away from her grandfather with a kiss on the cheek then proceeded to tell her tearful mother and brother- who was attempting to put on a brave front- goodbye. She turned towards Sesshomaru and did her best to smile at him, but he could tell that her heart just wasn't in it. Nodding minutely, Sesshomaru led them both outside.
As soon as they had cleared the small curtain that served as their door, Sesshomaru knelt down on the rich soil. Understanding at once what he expected of her, Kagome straddled his back-carefully holding onto his fur. Kagome turned back to see her family at the doorway, her mother being supported between her brother and grandfather; keeping the tears at bay for her sake, as much as theirs, Kagome smiled and waved goodbye as Sesshomaru trotted into the forest once more.
They were well away from the small hut when Sesshomaru felt the girl bury her face in his fur. Were it not for his enhanced hearing he wouldn't have been able to her soft, heart broken cries.
