It was a perfect morning, Shizuka taking in a contented breath of fresh air. The sky was a deep crystalline blue, a gentle breeze coming in from the west. She hadn't realized it until now, but since she had met Sesshomaru, she had come to develop a strong appreciation for the wilderness. It was so different from the city she had grown up in.
It became quickly apparent that Sesshomaru wished to linger no longer. Ah-Un and Jaken were already ready to depart, but the human girl, Rin, was nowhere in sight.
Shizuka was saying her goodbyes to Kagome, when the wind suddenly stopped. It was just for a moment, but she felt it. Every hair on her body stood on end, her eyes immediately flickering to Sesshomaru. He was about ten yards away, she was horrified to find her feet couldn't move.
"Did you miss me?"
Kagome suddenly looked very concerned, Sesshomaru stopping to watch her carefully. Shizuka had gone deathly pale.
"They cannot see, smell, hear, or sense me unless I wish them to. Even your precious mate, and that priestess there." Crimson hair spilled over her shoulder as he leaned over her, chuckling darkly. "But I can't fool you. can I? I am but a slave to your light."
His arms snaked around her, his large palm splaying itself across her stomach. "How tragic."
Warning bells sounded within Shizuka's mind, her skin turning instantly to fire as she transformed. She did not know how she knew, but she knew she would have to protect her unborn child.
Uirusu laughed madly, his crimson eyes crescenting in mirth. "You wish to fight me? Very well, but even your mate cannot protect you"
Villagers all around suddenly fell to the ground, weakened by the immense demonic aura though they could not see the demon it belonged to. The clear sky turned to such darkness that the only source of light was Shizuka's burning form.
Sesshomaru transformed, and he was attacked first. The Lord of the West could see nor smell his attacker, but he was immense. Powerful black paws pushed him into the ground, sending tremors through the ground.
Shizuka acted quickly, her teeth sinking deep into Uirusu's shoulder.
Sesshomaru's eyes widened in shock as his mate's light exposed his assailant. That decoy that he had met in the woods fell in pale insignificance. He was once and a half Sesshomaru's size, black eyes with red irises meeting his gaze in the darkness. He was a powerful, great wolf-like creature, his teeth were jagged and sharp, too-long fangs glinting the firelight as he snarled. He possessed a powerful neck, shrouded in a mane of darkest red fur that spiraled like smoke, his body rippling with muscle and enormous paws sporting hooked claws like spears.
His back legs grasped for purchase on Uirusu's underbelly, but Uirusu was not to be trifled with. He knew Sesshomaru was still a threat with one arm, so instead he closed his powerful jaw on the femur of his right leg, a sickening snap filling the air.
Shizuka was small compared to Uirusu, but her fury seared the earth.
Uirusu growled at the tiny female, and the fight began. She was helpless in regards to his might, but she was nimble. It was a game of nips, one trying to keep out of the other's jaws. Eventually, Shizuka managed to grasp his front leg in her jaws, but her success provided Uirusu with an opening. His teeth sank into her neck.
Time seemed to stop, as Shizuka's mind filled with searing pain as Uirusu's teeth severed muscle and bone. Her fire went out and all was still.
Sesshomaru had managed to get to his three good legs, his rage numbing him to the pain as he attacked Uirusu in the pitch darkness.
His jaws closed on nothing, light slowly returning.
Uirusu was gone.
Sesshomaru turned his attention to his mate.
She wasn't moving.
Inuyasha ran into the fray, quickly followed by Kagome, Ran, and Rin.
Jaken took several steps forward, falling to his knees, his bulbous eyes wide with shock.
Sesshomaru snarled ferociously at the approaching people, who who all halted at the sound. The great dog nudged his mate's body with his nose, earning no response.
Desperate, Sesshomaru reverted back to his normal self, and using his mokomoko as a crutch, he unsheathed tenseiga, but there were no creatures of the dead around her body. His heart pounded in his head as he watched her blue eyes open, dull and nearly lifeless as she struggled to breathe.
Kagome's hands flew to her mouth.
Shizuka was paralyzed.
...
Three days passed, and a certain kind of melancholy had passed over the village. Sesshomaru's leg had healed in the time he refused to leave his mate's side. He didn't know what to do, he considered killing her so he could revive her again...but Tenseiga was an unpredictable sword and he didn't dare lest she be lost to him. Then there was their unborn child to consider, he dared not hope for its survival.
It was on the fourth day that a dragon spiraled through the sky, familiar with its silver eyes. Upon landing on the ground, the young dragon transformed into his lesser form. A young boy in a simple white kimono and haori. "It is just as I feared." he breathed as he approached Shizuka.
Sesshomaru glared suspiciously at the dragon.
"I am glad I made it in time." he said, almost reverently as he placed a hand in the tendrils of silken fur. He paid Sesshomaru's warning growl no heed. He turned to look at the growling man. "I have known Uirusu for centuries, but his behavior as of late has been unusual. It is not like him to simply injure demons and disappear. When I realized he was going this way, I knew he was up to no good." he turned back to Shizuka. "The regenerative ability of sun dogs is unrivaled in the demon world, but she will likely suffocate before the task is complete. We must help her along."