This is by far the longest chapter so far!! Go me!! LOL Hope everyone is liking the story!!
~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U
Chapter Four – Ready for a Fall
Sesshomaru slid to a stop in the center of the field and turned slightly to look back at the hill. People were running all over the place either sledding down, walking up, snowboarding like him or simply just hanging out. He spotted Sango at the top of the safe part of the hill but she was looking around like him. He glanced around her and realized that Kagome wasn't there even before he realized that she was who he had been looking for the entire time. Then he heard it. Her shriek. His eyes snapped to the tallest section, the part where no one would go down tonight and saw Naraku standing at the top and Kagome zipping down in a sled.
"Save our mate!" his beast roared.
Sesshomaru froze for a second and his eyes widened….Mate? What? He saw her racing down the icy path and took off towards her.
Kagome held a death grip on the edges of the sled and screamed again. For once, her eyes were wide open and watching as the sled raced atop the sheet of ice. The ground was getting closer and closer and the sled had started to spin around on the sleek surface. Now she did close her eyes. The bottom here was at a sharp angle to the hill and the edge of the sled stuck into the ground and flung her off. Flying through the air, she cringed and waited to hit the ground. In her mind she saw how she must look: arcing over the snow in the air, head getting closer and closer to the hard ground. Suddenly, she was propelled to the side as she was enveloped by something warm and firm. The world shifted and she realized she was still. But she hadn't felt the pain she should have of hitting the ground. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes to see a white jacket directly in front of her and looked up to see Sesshomaru. His eyes were bleeding red and he looked shockingly fierce.
"Sesshomaru?" she questioned quietly, her breathing ragged.
His arms tightened around her and he took a deep sniff before seeming to relax somewhat. He was lying on his back, breaking her fall as she was held on top of him. The red began to recede and he looked down at her, cocooned in his arms, to see the confusion and wonder in her eyes. Carefully but swiftly, he shifted her onto the snow and stood, leaving her on the ground, and stood in front of her as he glared at Naraku who had come to the base of the hill to watch them with a look of amusement. Sesshomaru snarled at him. He flexed his claws and the tips began to glow green and his poison dripped onto the snow.
"Naraku," he growled.
"Sesshomaru," Naraku greeted him and his voice, by contrast, sounded pleased. "It seems I misjudged you. Who would have thought you would take a liking to a human? Let alone a miko…." He looked down at Kagome who lay exhausted on the ground behind Sesshomaru. At his words two bright spots flared up on Kagome's cheeks, momentarily from embarrassment at the insinuation and then anger. What gave Naraku the right to treat people like he did? She struggled to stand even as Sesshomaru spoke.
"I would not think you would be so incredibly stupid, Naraku," Sesshomaru said coldly. It was taking an impressive amount of control to keep his voice even. "In the future it would be wise for you to keep away from the girl. If you value living."
Naraku smirked slightly. He knew Sesshomaru was a strong foe to have but it seemed that he had found a way to finally get at him. He intended to use this to his advantage. Right now though he could see Inuyasha running over and Sesshomaru blocked the miko. The night was not a loss, though. If anything it had been extremely satisfying.
"Do not think that your threats intimidate me," he said and then turned on his heel and took off.
Inuyasha arrived a second later. "What happened? What did Naraku do?" he demanded.
Kagome tried to raise herself up again and this time gasped in pain once she was standing and immediately shifted her weight off her right leg. Inuyasha hurried over to her side and held on to her right arm, supporting her up. "Kagome, what happened?" he asked worriedly, looking down at his friend whose face was scrunched in confusion and pain.
She looked like she was trying to figure out what was wrong. She bent her leg slightly and winced. "I think my knee is hurt. I landed on it."
Sesshomaru looked over at that. "Landed on it? You did not hit the ground."
Kagome shook her head, looking up from her leg at him. "No, before. Sango fell off the sled so I was the only one on the sled. It slid to the edge of the woods," she glanced over at the trees," and he stopped the sled with his foot and I flew off and landed on my knee."
Sesshomaru struggled to control his breathing as he looked over at the area she was staring at. How could he have missed this?
Inuyasha was starting to look angry. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed. "Then what did he do, Kagome?"
Kagome looked down. She felt somewhat embarrassed and didn't know why. Luckily, her anger was growing. "He picked me up and took me to the top of the hill and told me to sled down to prove that I wasn't scared. I told him I didn't have anything to prove to him and I wouldn't do it so he pushed me down the hill."
Both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha growled in anger at how Naraku had treated her. Having been around the two long enough, the noise didn't scare her. In fact, it relaxed her, knowing that she had them both to protect her.
"Naraku," Inuyasha growled. He shook his head. Naraku was an ass in general and had on occasion insulted Kagome when she would stand up to him as he harassed someone. But why do something so extreme out of nowhere? He looked down at her again and his eyes caught on the crescent moon on her cap. His widened eyes caught Sesshomaru's and he glanced back at the cap with a slight growl to show Sesshomaru what he was trying to say.
Sesshomaru looked back to Kagome to see what Inuyasha was trying to communicate and his eyes immediately locked on his cap he had given her. The cap with his symbol on it. His eyes grew cold.
"Hey!" a voice shouted and all three looked over to see Miroku and Sango hurrying over, Sango carrying the forgotten sled in her hand. They were breathing hard as they reached them.
"We saw what happened," Miroku said, his eyes narrowed. "We tried to follow Naraku but he took off."
"Kagome, are you ok?!" Sango exclaimed, looking worried. Kagome gave her a small, shaky smile.
"We need to get you to the hospital," Sesshomaru said to Kagome. Sighing, she nodded. He regarded her, trying to figure out how to get her there. He couldn't carry her comfortably with her legs straight. Then he had an idea. Sesshomaru held out his hand to Sango who handed over the sled automatically. He laid it on the snow and took Kagome from Inuyasha, lowering her slowly onto the sled. She winced slightly once but otherwise felt no pain as he supported her weight. Leaning down already as he set her completely on the sled so that she was sitting with her legs stretched out, he gripped the edges and easily lifted it.
"We'll grab the other sled and the snowboards," Miroku said, referring to him and Sango. "Inuyasha, you wanna tell Kikyo we're going?"
Once they were all back in the van, Miroku drove quickly to the hospital. Sango, in the passenger seat, had called Kagome's mom who would be meeting them there. Inuyasha sat on the first bench by himself, having told Kikyo he would call her later and leaving her with friends. Sesshomaru sat in the corner of the back bench with the sled spanning the rest of the bench. He had an arm wrapped around Kagome as she was having trouble keeping balance over bumps and on corners, not able to lean against the seat. Instead she leaned against Sesshomaru, her cheeks pink but she told herself it was necessary.
Kagome kept thinking about what had happened. Her fury over what Naraku had done was being distracted by thoughts of Sesshomaru. She was so sure that she was about to feel incredible pain as she was flying through the air, but he had plucked her right out of the air and kept her from hitting the ground. She could still remember how his face had looked. So angry and fierce, the look in his eyes guaranteed her safety. She flushed. It wasn't helping that she was enveloped in his warmth. She was all too aware of his large firm chest behind her and his arm wrapped securely around her.
Sesshomaru was also lost in thought. Naraku and him were natural enemies and now Naraku believed that harassing Kagome would be the best way to enrage Sesshomaru. He looked down at Kagome leaning back against him, her hurt leg stretched out in front of her. He would not let Naraku harm her.
~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U~U
Please REVIEW, everyone!!! I really want to know if you like it and what you think! (P.S. Be nice lol)