Chapter Seven – Waiting …
Sango hurt. She felt as thought every fiber in her body was on fire. She was so tired, very tired. She concentrated on her breathing, laborious and shallow. One breathe, two, three, four, on and on. Her breathing was the one thing that Sango could depend on at that point. The only aspect that she was aware of regarding the outside world was of the cold hard rocky ground on which she found herself. She could feel one rock in particular, digging into her ribs. She wanted to move; however, she found that she did not have the energy to do so. She managed to utter a sound, so slight that no human ear would ever be able to hear. Sango became delirious, her mind taking her back to various scenes in her recent past, both pleasant and horrid. As her delirium intensified, her visions became darker and darker. She felt herself becoming lost and there was nothing that Sango, the mighty demonslayer could do about it, as the poison ran its course within her bloodstream.
Sesshomaru observed Sango. He could see the slight changes in her vital signs as the poisoning progressed. The smell wafting from the wound remained unchanged. 'That at least is a positive sign.' Sesshomaru thought to himself. He heard Sango's near-subsonic exclamation and he had a disconcerting urge to reach for her, to comfort her. He shuddered slightly. The only indication of his action was of his hair shifting position somewhat as it ran down his back. He turned his head and absently looked toward the brook. He effortlessly stood up from the sitting position that he had remained in throughout the night. He turned to leave the encampment and paused, something held him back. His forehead hurt, it was an experience he, Lord Sesshomaru, was not accustomed to. He knew that somehow it was the damn female lying unconscious on the ground causing the discomfort. Instead of killing her, like he had done thousands of times when faced with bothersome insignificant humans, his curiosity had taken hold. He, Sesshomaru wanted to know why and how she was able to cause this physical reaction in him and why he had not ended her life yet. He sensed no priestess abilities, even if those abilities were latent, he should still be able to sense them. There was no demon blood pulsing weakly in the woman's veins. As far as he could tell with his superior abilities, the woman was an ordinary human female, and a very sick one at that.
Rin had been holding herself back. She felt a tension in the air hanging over Sango. She looked towards Lord Sesshomaru and wanted to run over to him and embrace him. She did not know why she felt like that. Lord Sesshomaru looked uncomfortable, gracefully standing there. There was a difference to him, Rin could tell, although she could not place her finger on it. She shifted her gaze toward Jaken and observed him silently, subconsciously emulating the most important person in her life.
Jaken sat apart from them sulking. He wanted nothing to do with the human woman and he wanted to be far away, as far as his stubby little legs would get him. There was something in the air, and it made him intensely uncomfortable. He did not like how Lord Sesshomaru looked at the human woman. It wasn't really a look, because Lord Sesshomaru did not look or act any different from his usual cold self, it was something else. Jaken knew that Lord Sesshomaru thought humans as weak pathetic insects; he himself had heard Lord Sesshomaru state those words many times over the years. Even though Lord Sesshomaru had taken on the human child Rin, he still felt as though his Lord was still the same human distaining elusive master that Jaken adored and followed. He glanced briefly at Sango, hatred burning in his eyes. He made a decision that he would rid his lord of this annoying unconscious human woman. Then, they could continue as they had, before stumbling into her camp. He did not notice Rin watching him silently.
Rin let out a soft gasp when she saw the look of malice Jaken had made when he had looked at Sango. Her stomach tightened as fear crept over her. She felt protective of Sango and did not want Sango to be hurt anymore than she already was. Rin felt anxious for Sango, she worried about Sango's inability to wake up. She slowly and quietly inched her way closer towards Sango. She wanted to be close to the ailing woman in case she woke up and needed anything. After all, she did offer Rin her food and fire.
Sesshomaru had his back towards Jaken and did not see the stare that Jaken had given Sango. He did feel the malice that Jaken radiated and felt the odd urge to strike his servant for exhibiting such an emotion. Sesshomaru noticed Rin moving towards Sango. He did not move or blink an eyelid. He knew Rin enough to know that she had developed protective feelings towards the other female, so, he allowed Rin her inferior human emotional attachment.
Sango began to convulse. She withered for a minute and then her body went stiff. Just as suddenly, she became limp. Her eyes opened, unseeing. She turned her head and seemed to look directly towards Sesshomaru. Her breathing was labored and shallow. Sango seemed to look right through Sesshomaru, down into his soul where he allowed no one the opportunity to perceive.
Sesshomaru's eyes widen slightly in shock. He had not expected to feel so, exposed. No one ever had the ability or the audacity that this one insignificant human female seemed to possess. He narrowed his eyes and observed Sango more closely. 'This woman, there is more to her than I thought. She warrants further study.' He thought to himself.
Jaken watched Sesshomaru jealously. He almost crowed in joy when he misinterpreted his master's intense expression toward Sango. 'At last, my Lord is going to be done with that irrelevant creature!' Jaken all but danced in his sadistic glee. His breath quickened in excitement.
"Jaken." Sesshomaru spoke, not breaking his gaze from studying Sango. "Rin will need to eat soon." He stated.
Jaken's jaw dropped. He was dumfounded. 'What is he doing?' He thought. An evil idea popped into his head. 'Aha! I get it! He doesn't want Rin to see him dispose of the woman. I don't see why he should bother with that girl, she's nothing but a hassle anyway. It would do us some good to let her know how dispensable she really is.' He smiled in glee as he stood up from where he had been sitting and sulking. "Rin, follow me." He demanded.
Rin held back. She still vividly recalled the evil look that he had given Sango. She did not want to go with him. She looked up at Lord Sesshomaru for guidance. She silently pleaded with Lord Sesshomaru with her eyes.
Sesshomaru ignored Rin's wordless plea. "Rin, go with Jaken."
Rin looked down and slowly stood up. "Okay, Lord Sesshomaru." She started walking towards Jaken, "Please, my Lord, take care of her." She said in a soft voice. Sesshomaru stood expressionless as Rin walked slowly behind Jaken. She stopped and suddenly ran to Ah-Un. She grabbed it's reins, leading the creature. She felt a bit safer with the beast accompanying them. 'Ah-Un wouldn't let anything happen to me.' She thought.
Sesshomaru listened as his charges move father and father away. When he could no longer hear them, he moved. He took a silent step towards Sango; she had slipped into unconsciousness while he had ordered his charges to leave. She was pale; sweat plastered her hair to her face. Her breathing was shallow, but regular. Every now and then, her brow would furrow and her body would attempt to convulse weakly. Sesshomaru stood above her and watched. His cold amber eyes watched every detail. Nothing passed his gaze.
Sango felt trapped within a dark morbid place. She felt weak, as though her limbs had been tied down. She tried to look down, to see what held her and she found that she could not move her head. Her eyes felt heavy. She wanted to sleep. Something deep inside told her that she could not allow herself this. If she slept, she would never wake up. She felt as though someone was watching her. Sango attempted to look into the darkness to see if she could locate the presence. The presence felt cold, but non-threatening. She concentrated on identifying the aura. It felt like an eternity as she focused all of her energy on that on factor.
As she concentrated, she determined that the unseen presence was decidedly yokai, and a powerful one at that. Something about the aura made her think of Inuyasha. Thinking about the half demon made her thoughts turn towards memories of Miroku. Her heart hurt. She groaned in anguish. 'No. I do not want these thoughts in my head!' She screamed silently.
Sesshomaru watched as Sango's thoughts turned towards Miroku. Her body tensed and she started withering in silent pain. Sesshomaru could hear her heart quicken, he could smell her adrenalin increase with each passing moment. Inhaling deeply, he could tell that her body was slowly working the poison from her system. The wound was getting better. Her reactions perplexed him. 'She should be conscious.' He thought. Sesshomaru eventually sat down and leaned against a tree that grew near the camp. He was close enough to Sango to observe her actions, his hand unconsciously rested upon the pummel of his Tenseiga.
The hours passed quietly. He never took his eyes off Sango. Her physical responses intrigued him. He could tell that she was physically getting better. The poison was almost out of her system, yet she did not wake. She seemed to be in mortal pain, and there was no tangible reason for it, as far as Sesshomaru could surmise. 'Humans, such weak creatures.' He thought and then, closed his eyes.
End of Chapter Seven.
A/N - Sorry if this seems like a filler chapter. It didn't turn out exactlyhow I had wanted it to. Thank you everyone for reading! An extra special THANK YOU going out to those who have reviewed!
I'll try not to take so long getting the next chapter up.
