DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha.
"Talking is written like this."
Thoughts and dreams are written like this. (You'll figure it out. There are no flashbacks in this chapter.)
Last time, on "Blossoms into Love..."
She just stared.
Sesshomaru looked at her with those red eyes again. "Troublesome girl," he growled.
It was quiet. All around there were eyes gazed upon the demon hoisted carelessly in the air by a hand sticking out through the chest. Blood was splashing against the green grass and gasps of air were heard by the little creature as it struggled to survive. It scratched at the hand but found it useless as the poison set deeper and deeper into its body. Then, there was a sudden growl that struck a nerve in everyone's heart.
Kagome and Sesshomaru locked eyes for a moment before the demon's body fell to the ground. Kagome's gaze followed the dead—it was screaming for mercy, but it would die soon enough—demon and listened to more of the demons scream in agony. Not to mention the blood fall around her or on her own body. Every drop she felt hit some part of her skin, she would close her eyes to listen to the demons fall to the ground.
One of the demons fell near her arm. She peeked out her left eye to see it crawling towards her. It got a hold of her own arm and scraped its claw against her skin; some peeled off her muscles. She wanted to scream in agony, but her voice only let out a small whimper. The scraping soon stopped and there was only Sesshomaru's hand holding her arm while the other hand threw the demon for others to enjoy their feast.
The main demon—Kagome thought of him as the pack leader—began to panic. "L-Lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome stared at Sesshomaru to see his eyes not falter in color. Just how many people knew him? Sure, he was a Lord from the Western Lands, and the chances of seeing him on his lands were slim. The demon showed signs of honor and respect, what most demons would do when a Lord was in their presence. Was this demon a disciple of another Lord?
She could hear the soft growls and intentional warning signs stir from Sesshomaru's chest while his fangs bore down against his lips. His claws bore down into the dirt and allowed some of his poison to kill the life underneath him. Yes, this was when Kagome started to fear him. "M-My apologies to you, my Lord! I did not know this human was a ward of yours!" the demon cried.
On the contrary, this was strictly business according to Sesshomaru. He was devout when it came to those that he saved (or, in Rin's case, wanted to save) and did not fail when those around needed him. He quickly glanced at Kagome, who was breathing heavily and sweating under the pressure of demons wanting to perhaps hurt her, and growled. Was he striking fear into her mind? He tried to scramble any thought together, but his beast was in control. His head then snapped to the pack leader and quickly faced the demon himself.
Kagome never saw him move! She only felt the cold hand of Sesshomaru leave her presence—almost in slow-motion—and leave no trace behind. She had to admit he was fast, there was no doubt about that. There now was unrest in the forest as she could only hear the cries of the demon and the roars from Sesshomaru.
The demon, much shorter than the tall and mighty Sesshomaru, could only stare into the red eyes of death. The golden hues from his eyes were fading from the blood red color taking over; his fangs grinded against the white teeth set inside his mouth; cracking of knuckles seemed to bring a shiver down his own spine. Hell, Kagome couldn't see his face and she was afraid of him!
The leader, who was quivering in fear from the wrath of Sesshomaru, bowed in mercy. Sesshomaru did not take note to the pathetic excuse of salvation and stared at the demon in silence. He simply was going on about sparing his life and begging for something to change Sesshomaru's mind about killing him. His beast had not cared in the slightest and quickly made its mind up when it came to a decision.
Kagome sat up against the tree watching the scene unfold. It was over in a matter of seconds, but the way Sesshomaru sliced through the demon was like a sharp butcher knife cutting through paper. The pieces of the demon fell in opposite directions and the almost purple blood quickly created a large puddle surrounding Sesshomaru. Yes, this was the Sesshomaru she knew.
The last cries of the demon soon faded and Sesshomaru stood over the rotting body. The blood on his hands was evidence enough he did not care for the demon. As much as he despised killing demons with his bare hands, he would've found it much easier if he actually used his Bakusaiga right in the beginning. He could feel his beast seem to calm bit by bit staring down at the corpse, but it was still very much in control.
He closed his eyes and stood there for merely a moment. His beast was enraged and alive from just those weak demons. Breathing aside, he was starting to become normal again and turned to the one he saved once more. She was staring at him with possibly fear in her eyes and holding onto the fresh new wound now created by one of those demons. From a moment's glance, it would appear she were not in pain. But, if one stared long enough, it was written all over her face.
She had not known what to do at that point. It was obvious that he was there to protect her, but how much of her trust should she use for him? After all, he tried to kill her on separate occasions before; what was stopping him now? He was just standing there, though, staring at her with the pink eyes and fading green claws trying to examine her well-being. He did not move; he was a statue.
Then, a rush of wind, followed by an entity knelt beside her. His face was close to hers—it was not terribly close, maybe a foot apart—and his eyes bore into her own. She gasped and suddenly felt the forest spin once again. His gaze snapped down to her stomach and he grazed the wound with his fingers. "Your wound," he whispered, "has not properly healed."
He looked back at Kagome and found her falling unconscious again. The blood had started to come out once more because of the spear touching it earlier. She felt the pressure of Sesshomaru's palm push down on her open wound and winced at the pain. The last known picture she saw of Sesshomaru was him with pink eyes staring at her wound with blood seeping out. The last thing she felt was him scratching around her wound, as if trying to calm something. Everything else went black.
* * * *
"Master Jaken!" Rin's toothy grin shone over at the green imp and she held out a piece of meat. "Are you not hungry?" He swung his Staff of Two Heads around to the girl and, almost hitting her, caused her to back away from him. Yes, he was agitated to say the least. He did not believe in his right mind that he would be caring for a human girl! Especially one that annoying.
He stood up and started to squawk. "Nonsense, Rin! We demons do not eat your worthless food!" Rin shook her head and ran up to Jaken.
"But, Master Jaken! Lord Sesshomaru has some when I offer him anything!" Jaken shook his head. It was preposterous for someone to say anything of that matter, especially when it came to his Lord. He would never have any kind of human food! Rin took another bite of the meat and handed him some. "It's not poisonous, Master Jaken. Here, have some!" His stomach growled and he cursed his body.
Taking the meat from the girl, he took a bite for her and found it to be rather tasty for human food. It wasn't like he would tell her that, but if it made her happy and not complain to his Lord for what he did or did not do, it at least had him live another day. And, for that, he could only smile.
It would not last, however, as a band of pig demons surrounded the two. Rin was sitting next to Jaken and tightly held onto the meat. Jaken rose from his position and swung his staff in front of their faces. They could only laugh at the little imp and smacked the wooden staff away. Rin could feel some of the demons creep behind her and touch her on the back and she screamed. She crawled away from them a little bit, but felt one of them grab her ankle.
"Look at 'is, Master! Seems to me we have a li'l girl actually eating with another demon!" The rest of the pigs laughed at the situation and closed the circle more. One of the demons easily picked Jaken up and brought him to eye level. He examined the green imp for a minute before showing him off to the rest of the group.
"Oi! If I am not mistak'n, 'is appears to be Lord Jaken!" The other demons were very interested at this discovery and all of them began to loudly laugh, "What got you 'is job, Lord Jaken?" Jaken began to squirm around in the demon's grasp and started to yell at the demon.
"That is none of your business, weakling! I order you to release me and my ward!" The pig leader, who stood next to Jaken and his captor, shook his head in disgust and leaned towards the green imp.
He was very different from the rest of the pigs. He was tall, had more hair on the top of his head, actually carried weapons around his waist, and had more weight than the rest. Not to mention he was the only dark brown pig while the others were a much lighter brown. His voice was deeper, too: "Now, we can't do 'at, Lord Jaken. After all, it is our lunchtime." The pig threw Jaken down to the ground—he immediately was dazed after the collision—and Rin crawled to his side. She did not mind her wounds on her ankle; she wanted to see her Master well again.
"Master Jaken, please wake up!" She shook him and caused even more of a daze for poor Jaken. The pigs around tightened the circle again and the leader started to speak once more.
"Now, now, li'l ones, we have a bit o' a problem: they are not enough for our stomachs to be satisfied!" The demons started to grumble and Rin continued to shake Jaken awake (it was useless). The leader continued. "Do not fear, li'l ones. We'll have 'is as a snack." All the pigs smiled and looked down at the two helpless creatures. Rin placed Jaken on the ground and protected him with her body as she felt one of the demons touch her back once more. He did make a scratch, but the presence of a demon quickly left.
It was replaced with another, and all the demons around either bowed in respect or snarled in anger. Sesshomaru stood within the circle and stood over his wards. Not to mention the scratch he noticed on Rin's back. His eyes did not change color. Instead, he unsheathed his sword and stared at the leader of the pack. The pig leader guffawed and took his own sword out. Sesshomaru just stared.
It was silent soon after.
* * * *
Thoughts raced through his mind as he casually looked at her wound. Blood continued to leave her body—it was not as much as before, but it was still enough to make her pass out. He knew she would not survive the day without proper nutrition to save her, however his beast considered otherwise. It did not want to save her. Rather, make her live peacefully in the afterlife without the worries of pain and misfortune.
He knew he was scratching her skin. He could feel his beast surge through his veins as he raced to make a decision on the girl practically bleeding to death. No, she would not die; there was no reason for her to die. There are numerous reasons to cause pain to her body, but there are no reasons to extinguish this life, he concluded. His beast was not happy, but it quickly left when he heard a familiar scream: Rin.
He did not know how much longer he could keep that up—going between two groups to save lives. He was not a protector nor was he a hero; he was a warrior, that was all. He dashed through the forest dodging all the trees that surrounded him before coming up on the band of demons terrorizing his original group. He noticed one trying to grab at Rin and he quickly sliced through the pig as if he were a tree.
The band of demons were both respectful of their Lord and disgusted at their Lord: how could he interrupt on their snacking? Sesshomaru paid little to no attention to the demons and watched as the leader took a sword out to defend his honor. As the pig was laughing, Sesshomaru wasted no time and brought retribution to him; there were no laughs to be sung after that.
The demons' bodies laid around the group. Rin shielded her eyes so she would not witness the killings while Jaken slowly came to from the fight. Sesshomaru made sure the blood would not spill on his wards—although it was difficult, to say the least—and sheathed his Bakusaiga once more. It was a quick fight, one that required little to no wit when it came to the pigs, and turned to his wards. Rin applauded him like always and Jaken slowly applauded him for his work.
Sesshomaru was perplexed, on the other hand. His beast did not care like his instincts did for Rin; why was it showing interest in the girl? Was it that bloodthirsty for a weak priestess? A faint gasp of air entered his ears; his eyes flashed red and his beast emerged. What was it trying to tell him? To kill her? Why must she be sacrificed? He casually looked to the forest again and spoke to Jaken.
"Jaken," he said. Jaken immediately came to his senses and stood by his Lord. Sesshomaru would not be running back and forth between groups again; he needed everyone in one place. "Let Ah-Un take you into the forest alongside me. I will see to it that you two will be safe," and away he dashed once more. Jaken squawked at his Lord, but already heard Rin talking to him.
"Master Jaken, we must do what Lord Sesshomaru tells us! Hurry before we are left behind!" Jaken grumbled and sighed, complying to the young girl's wishes. Whatever seemed to perk Sesshomaru's inner-demon made him run like a bat out of hell.
* * * *
"I thought you loved me, Inuyasha!" cried Kagome. She was surrounded by darkness and all in front of her were memories of her and Inuyasha. They varied, from confessions under the moonlight to assurance under the bright sun. He, above all, was standing in front of these memories looking at them, as if he were in the dream with her. He did nothing and she continued to yell. "You lied to me this whole time!" She could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces, shattering in her chest. But he still did nothing.
There were tears shed in these memories, smiles shone, and thoughts contemplated. He understood her feelings all along looking at these precious times (some not so precious as well) and could feel her point of view for it all. "Why, why did you go back to her!" He had no answer. Kagome continued to cry and repeat those words like a broken record; she wanted to drill them into his mind.
"Tell me!" She cried. He couldn't.
"Why did you do this!" He didn't know.
"Please, answer me!" He wouldn't. Instead, he faded away into the darkness and Kagome was left with the memories and the image of her broken heart next to her, sprawled out on the empty floor. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she was left there to listen to the voices from the past. She knew they were all lies and it hurt to realize the undeniable truth; it was a way of life.
The memories started to fade one by one and a new shadow appeared before the memories. They were painful ones, those full of death and threats made by one of her "enemies"—they weren't necessarily her enemy, but she did, after all, help Inuyasha. She started to hear new voices enter the void and new phrases come along. She opened her eyes from the ground she knelt upon and stared at the memories with this shadow.
They all involved Sesshomaru. They were not pleasant, as most of her memories with him were; she noticed the first time they met and the times she had to save Inuyasha. The tears stopped falling and she continued to be fascinated at the memories before her. Two new ones appeared at the very end, when she witnessed his protection and his demon like never before. He turned to her with those amber-golden eyes and brought a new world before them.
They were near a waterfall. The pieces of her heart were planted in the ground and bloomed as little daisies around the sparkling water. Her tears were wiped away by the wind yet Sesshomaru continued to stand there, staring at the waterfall. Kagome did not understand. "Why are you here, exactly?" Sesshomaru coldly replied:
"You were on my lands with that half-breed. I do not appreciate idiocy when I am nearby," and she nodded. Of course, that was his reason in reality, but what about the dream?
"No, I mean the dream. Why exactly are you here?"
Sesshomaru looked over at her with his eyes and did not make any expression; he was still as cold as ever. "That, girl, I do not know. Perhaps you need comfort in another that does not care. Or, perhaps, you assumed I hated my brother just as you do, along with the dead woman he carries around. All the more reason to include me in this passive world," Kagome just sat in the flowers staring at him. He sure had a way with words.
"But," she started. Sesshomaru noticed the confusion when she looked down to the flowers. "isn't that true? You do hate him, don't you?"
Sesshomaru carefully nodded and replied: "I despise him more than any other demon on this planet." He leapt across the river separating them and knelt before Kagome. She tensed up and feared for her life. "Yet, you loved him. You could not possibly have as much hatred as I have when I, myself, have never loved him in the first place," Kagome looked up and saw anger seeping into his eyes. He really did hate him. "As for the woman," he continued, "all dead creatures should never walk the earth again." She nodded and looked back to the ground.
"So, if I am right about your hatred," she whispered, "why are you really here?" The waterfall, their surroundings, everything disappeared. They were back to square one, with the memories in front of Sesshomaru, who was now standing once more, and Kagome found a piece of her heart mending with another. A tiny fragment, but all the more reason that her heart seemed to be healing—whether it was would be a mystery. He turned to her and replied:
"To protect you from death by a half-breed," and she looked up at him. The memories all changed. It was not him killing her, but she noticed the little details where she was almost killed because of Inuyasha. Sesshomaru disappeared from her darkness and the memories continued to play. She began to cry and felt the air around her leave. She was going to suffocate?
She gasped for air as she opened her eyes. The sky was blending and melding into a red-orange color and the clouds were the color of a miasma: purple. Kagome grunted at the pain set by her side but she could now move about. She groaned and rested her head down on the ground to let the pain subside before moving again. She figured she lost some blood in order for her to pass out again, but how much was she losing? Surely she had to eat something in the forest, right?
Maybe I'll just starve so no one has to worry about me anymore, and she continued to look up to the sky. Yes, she could be in Heaven any minute from these wounds, especially with the lack of medicine for them. She raised her head to look at her left side to find a massive blood stain on her uniform, both wet and dry from the days on the forest floor. Or maybe I just won't leave this spot until I can move again, she thought. That was another possibility.
She looked around the forest. There was no sign of Sesshomaru anywhere. Did he leave her again? Oh great, now I have to fend for myself again. She sighed and let her head rest back on the forest floor. Then, she felt a hand graze her right arm and she immediately looked to that direction. It was a familiar face, a friend that she hadn't seen for the longest time. "Kagome?" Immediately after he spoke, he was lifted off the ground and held up by Sesshomaru's hand. He was then dropped away from Kagome and he stared at her.
She wanted to yell at him, but the way he looked down at her with the angered eyes made her not want to say anything. He knelt before her and asked: "Are you well?" and her eyes widened. Of course, she was not well! Inuyasha broke her heart, Kikyo almost killed her, not to mention the demons wanting to kill her just hours ago, and now this? She shook her head. She grabbed his arm and he snapped. "Do not test me, girl," he snarled. She shook her head and whispered,
"He did nothing wrong," and she looked over to the body on the ground. Sesshomaru felt his beast calm again and jumped into the tree above Kagome. He did not trust anyone, especially her group she trudged around with, but if she trusted him, then she was in no danger at the moment. He needed to trust them, too, no matter how hard it would be. He saw her sit against the tree while talking to her "friend" and he fought to subdue his beast inside. Just what was it about her that made it so...irate?
* * * *
"Inuyasha?" a woman's voice entered the hut. Inuyasha was sitting next to the burning food prepared for dinner. He looked up at her and his ears drooped. Every time he saw her, he felt so ashamed that he did such a thing to another woman. His beast got the best of him. She knelt down next to him and smiled.
"Yea, Kikyo?" He took a bite out of the food and began to chew. He didn't know what she was up to, but he was going to eat anyway; he was hungry, after all! Kikyo reached out and held his hands while he stared into her eyes. Something was stirring, and he didn't know what. He would soon find out.
"I believe we should pay a visit to Kagome. Perhaps she would be willing to hand over the Sacred Jewel after all," and Inuyasha frowned. Of all the things Kikyo wanted to do, she wanted to torment the girl? But, he could never go against Kikyo; he loved her too much. He swallowed the bit of food and reluctantly nodded.
"We'll set out tomorrow then." She smiled and leaned against the hut's wall. Yes, it would be just a matter of time.
Well, I lied: I didn't update on Friday like I promised. I AM SO SORRY!
ANYWAYYYYY. Like I said before, I just started up college again, so don't expect TOO many updates from here until May. Don't worry I'll still update the story. I won't abandon it like I usually do with my chaptered stories at some point Dx Whoops. Just know that if I say an update..day, give me a week until you bombard me with messages. I got this out in four days after Friday so..it wasn't like you waited a long time or anything. I'll try to update next Wednesday, but..no promises. Remember that!
Hm, I want to tell you this: no, that was not romance between Kagome and Sesshomaru. I'll get into the Beast stuff in the next two chapters. AND! They'll leave the forest! I PROMISEEEE! Plus, characters that have not been introduced in this story will be. Just wait and see!
Uh, does anyone else feel like Kagome is always being threatened by demons? There's a reason, and if you've figured it out..you are pretty good at mysteries 8D It's right at the end of the chapter here, so..that's a hint. And who do you think is by her side?! I have two people in mind (oh, I think you'd know) and have two different story plots to go along with those people. Hm. I wonder which one I'll choose..
I would love to reply to reviews! LET'S GO! 8D
Jill L: I hope you meant "read" instead of "wrote" about "Enslaved" because I've never written anything like that xD But, yes, I have read that before. A great fanfic, I must say. Thank you for the great review! I'm glad you enjoyed the flashbacks (I certainly do not, and yet I included it..) and I do not mind that you write a lot to me! I love reading all my reviews, so say whatever you need to say! 8)
KatiechanXoxoXSesshoukun: Why, thank you for the love! 8D I'm glad you love the story!
Jill L (again!): 8D Thanks! I've gotten a lot of comments in previous stories about how I go too much in the details 8/ I've also been told that my story will not be as popular as other fanfics because of how much time I put into my story. Hmmmmmmm that sucks! But, with faithful readers like yourself, it's fine by me! Besides, with details, I try to make the story..interesting? xD I don't know. But thank you for the review! I promise Kagome will be awake the rest of the story (for now, at least ;D) and will put as many details as I can before I cannot!
Mesuki: If you don't mind, I'd love to just reply to all three reviews at one time. That way I don't have to get confused or anything 8) (Your chapter 4 review:) I was in your shoes before, with the whole "Sesshomaru and Kagome" pairing. I hateeeeed the people that wrote such stories! It wasn't meant to be for those two! I read a fanfic one day (it's been deleted, which is sad, because I've always wanted to re-read that story!) and fell in love. Oh my gosh, it made me love the pairing to the point where I want her and him together instead of her and Inuyasha all the time xD Whoops!
(Your chapter 5 review:) Haha I could've totally had him attack her for no reason. There are just reasons for that any day ;) I'm glad you love the story! I have so many days when I look at my story compared to others that I read on here and think: "Wow, I must suck compared to these authors." But! I guess we all have different styles, and I'm not the one to just write a story with less than 1500 words :/ I need my details! With the whole emotion thing..I try to think about what they would feel, or what they would look like if they were happy or sad or junk, and then try to do the same while writing. I'll admit, for some of my stories, I've cried with my characters. It gets deep! And it is not a problem that you write such a fantastic review! I love reading them, so no harm done here! Besides, you get the longest reply, so you get to feel special love from me 8)
(Your chapter 6 review:) I'm surprised someone could be impressed by this! I have no idea what I'm doing chapter to chapter, but somehow I find a way to pull it all together xD Hope you don't mind that (I like to surprise myself too, once in a while) but that's how I do things here. You know, I've gotten so much appreciation from the flashbacks..I thought they were pretty weak compared to others I have done! But, if you guys insist that they're great..I guess I'll try to incorporate some when necessary. Oh, I read each and every review that comes my way and I make sure I reply to each one. If you show love, I'll show love back. If you show hate, I'll appreciate the criticism all the more! My way of saying thank you, I suppose. But it is not a problem if you cannot review each chapter that comes along. Thank you for the lovely review and thank you so much for all the love! Glad to know someone appreciates my work! 8)
Do you have something to say to me? Would you like to suggest something? Then please Review! I reply to each and every review that comes my way (if it's not in the next chapter, it's always in the next after that) and I would love to hear either some love for this story or hate! Criticism is always welcomed and I'm not afraid to take some critiques from my lovely, lovely readers.
I do hope you enjoyed this chapter (eh, I'm mixed about it) and do review! It'll make me write faster!
Until next time!
TLS