Chapter 3
I'm sorry for the long wait. Work and life have kept me busy.
SHOUT-OUT TO ALL OF MY REVIEWERS, FAVS, AND FOLLOWERS! You all mean the world to me, and help to keep me motivated in continuing to write.
Ok, I know it's moving a little slow, but hopefully soon it will start to pick up a little more… Hope you guys like this next chapter. Please R&R!
Also, I know that in the movie, Inu no Taisho uses So'unga to battle Takemaru, but for the sake of my story, he did not. AND just for the simple fact that I can't figure out a way to properly explain it, when Inuyasha and Sesshomaru defeated So'unga, Inu no Taisho's ghost DID NOT appear to them afterwards. You'll understand later.
For those of you who have any questions about this chapter or any others, please leave it in a review or PM me. I promise to answer them as soon as I can!
If I use any words that I'm not sure most people would know, I will leave the definition for that word at the end of the chapter.
ON WITH THE SHOW…
~MSP~
'Thinking'
"Talking"
"Demon Language"
'Kaia'
'Gin'
'Bali'
'Kagome'
The next day, Kagome and Kaia were sitting side by side watching Gin and Bali roughhouse when suddenly, there was a large burst of energy about a mile north of where they were.
Immediately, the Demon-Miko and Tigress were on their feet and rushing towards the energy as they ordered the cubs to hide in the cave until the adults deemed it safe to come back out. The cubs did so unquestioningly, having sensed the energy at the same time as the adults.
As the two got closer to their destination, both were troubled to smell blood - a lot of it. Looking at their partner simultaneously, they picked up their speed even more. They arrived in a large clearing within five minutes of feeling the energy burst. However, by the time they got there, all they saw was an unconscious and bleeding male demon in the middle of a large, smoking crater. The crater itself looked to be as deep as a small lake, and about one hundred feet wide. Around the crater, there were deep gauge marks in the ground.
Without thought, Kagome instantly went to check on the male while Kaia searched the perimeter to see if she could find any clues as to what had happened.
Kaia soon became confused however, because although she picked up the faint scent of another male demon besides the one currently in the clearing, she found no other indications that anyone other than the three of them had been in the area recently.
Just as she decided to go report her findings to her partner, she heard Kagome let out a gasp. Alarmed, Kaia turned away from her spot at the edge of the clearing and ran back over to the crater to see what had startled her companion so.
As Kagome jumped down into the crater, she cautiously walked up to the unconscious male, who was laid out on his stomach. She could just barely pick up the sounds of his shallow breathing.
As she approached, she took in his bloody and battered appearance. There didn't seem to be an inch on him that wasn't covered in blood and soot. His clothes were torn in multiple places, and his armor seemed to be held together with nothing more than a lick and a prayer.
The closer she got, the more she could tell that some of the blood she smelled wasn't his. She was slightly relieved at this realization, though she didn't know why. He appeared to have been in a great battle of some kind. This puzzled her because she knew that there wasn't anything like that going on anywhere near these parts of the lands. She and the others would have known-would have felt the energy of such a battle as he seemed to have been engaged in.
Finally reaching his side, Kagome slowly kneeled down beside him. She briefly took note of his matted silver hair as she carefully placed one hand on his shoulder, and one on his hip. She slowly rolled him so that he was laying on his back, so she could better inspect his wounds.
Just as she got him settled into the new position, she gasped in surprise when his hand struck out to grab her wrist. Her eyes shot up to his face, and she was even more startled to see she one honey-golden eye peek through the grime on his face briefly, before it rolled into the back of his head and his hand once again went slack. He had passed back out.
The Miko let out a sigh of relief right as Kaia stopped at her side.
'What is it? What happened Kagome?' Kaia asked anxiously, as she scanned her friend for any sign of wounds or distress.
"Nothing. When I rolled him over, he woke up and grabbed my arm before passing out again. It just startled me, is all." Kagome told her, petting her in order to help soothe the Tigress' worries.
Kaia calmed down as the explanation registered in her mind. Nodding, she spoke. 'Good. I was worried he had woke up and attacked you or something. We don't know this demon, after all. He could be evil incarnate for all we know.'
Despite the seriousness of the situation, and the truth of Kaia's words, Kagome couldn't help but giggle.
"True, but if he was evil, don't you think my Miko powers, let alone our instincts, would have warned us somehow? You and I both know that if anyone or anything truly accepted evil into their hearts, my Miko powers would react." She reminded her friend.
Kaia snorted, but conceded the point, knowing that the Demon-Miko was right.
'So what now?' She asked, sitting beside Kagome.
Kagome thought for a minute before responding. "For now, I'm going to heal him enough to stop the bleeding, so he doesn't lose anymore and go into shock. Then, let's take him back to the hot spring and clean him up so I can patch the rest of his wounds without worrying about them getting infected- if they aren't already. He will have to stay with us in the cave, at least until he is healed."
Kaia nodded. 'Sounds like a plan. After we get to the spring, I will find the cubs and explain the situation to them. Then I will have Bali bring your backpack to the spring for you, while Gin and I hunt for more meat, since we now have one more mouth to feed. He will need as much nutrition as we can provide in order to heal properly. He looks like he's on the verge of death. Even being a demon, he will take at least a few weeks to fully heal.'
Kagome smiled at her in gratitude before raising her hands over the male's body. They began to glow a lilac purple color as they were filled with healing energy. After a few minutes, she removes her hands, using one to wipe the beads of sweat from her face. Even though she is much more powerful than she used to be, it was still harder to heal large wounds. Especially when healing such large wounds on a demon. Because she uses her Miko Ki to heal, she must concentrate very hard on just healing. Otherwise, she would wind up accidentally purifying her patient.
Then, she rose to her feet and moved to grab the male under his arms. Kaia silently moved as close as she could and laid down, so Kagome could lay him across her back. One brief struggle later-because let's face it, even though he was physically fit, he was still one heavy demon, and even though Kagome was now a demon, she was just barely able to lift him- Kaia cautiously stood and they began the slow trek to the hot spring, stopping a few times along the way to readjust her passenger. Kagome walked closely beside her.
Once they got to the hot spring, Kagome helped relieve Kaia of her burden, then slowly drug the demon as close to the bank as she could without worry of him falling in. Kaia stretched her back to rid it of kinks before heading back to the cave to inform her cubs of the recent turn of events.
Kagome watched her friend leave the clearing in silence. Turning back toward her newest patient, she sighed. Kneeling, she began undressing the male, leaving him in only his Fundoshi* and cutting the leather tie from his matted hair, tossing it aside.
Just as she finished undressing him, Bali entered the clearing, holding the strap of Kagome's bedraggled yellow backpack in her mouth.
Thanking her quietly, Kagome took the proffered bag and began digging through it. She pulled out a wash cloth, two towels, her old seldom used bathing suit, a bowl, and her first aid kit. Setting down everything but the bathing suit, Kagome stood and quickly changed into it before moving her Miko garb to a safe distance away from the spring.
"Bali, will you do me a favor? Run back to the cave and bring me the small bag I keep my herbs in, please." She asked, turning to the cub.
'Sure Kagome, no problem.'Bali said, getting up to do as she was bid.
"Thank you." Kagome called out after her.
Turning back to the unconscious male in front of her, she grabbed the wash cloth, dipped it into the warm water and started gently cleaning the wounds that littered his body, starting at his feet and working her way upwards.
Sometime during the impromptu bath, Bali returned and placed the bag beside Kagome, before moving a short distance away and proceeding to sunbathe, though she stayed aware of her surroundings, in the case Kagome needed her help again.
Kagome hummed as she worked. It was an old song that she could remember her mother humming while doing chores or cooking. Once she finished cleaning his wounds, she took out some healing herbs, placed them into the bowl and added a little water, grounding them into a paste. She then spread the paste over his wounds and -with the help of Bali- wrapped them in strips of cloth that she had gotten from a nearby village, to use as bandages.
When she finished, she carefully dragged him closer to the spring and allowed his head to hang over the bank so she could work on cleaning his hair and face. She tackled his hair first, as it was in more serious need of a cleaning. As she began washing it, she noted that his hair was a beautiful silver color, though she didn't look too much into it.
Hair completely clean, she finally moved on to his face. She had just gotten done wiping the dirt and grime away, when she decided to take an overall look at him. He seemed somewhat familiar to her, but it wasn't until she glanced at his now completely clean face that she realized why he looked so familiar. She involuntarily gasped, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth in shock and disbelief…
Lying in front of her, was a person she had only ever seen in paintings. Someone she had never thought to be able to meet in person.
It was…
TBC…
MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!
*Fundoshi – Traditional Japanese undergarment for adult males that is usually made from a length of cotton.
