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Chapter 26: Demon

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Kikyou awoke confused and with a terrible headache. It took a lot of energy to just prop herself up into an upright position as she tried to combat her morning heaviness. It took a while before she was finally able to stand up, smoothing out her hakama and fixing the haori that had slightly came undone, revealing only a twinge of her ample cleavage. Even though it wasn't anything to huff over, the overly modest woman really hoped the demon, Sesshoumaru, had gone off as soon as he had settled her down on the futon. A soft call from behind the screen broke her flustered thoughts.

"Lady priestess, our lord asked me before heading to bed if you'd like to make use of our wash room before leaving?" A woman, a servant more specifically asked nervously; probably afraid to wake up Kikyou if she was asleep.

"Yes, that would be wonderful." Kikyou replied, wanting to cleanse herself of the grime that caked on her body after her run in with the demons from last night. I'm sure everything in the village will be fine, anyway.

As the palace servant showed Kikyou the location of the indoor bath, Sesshoumaru stood poised outside of the castle grounds, looking more like a godly statue than a bored dog demon. Although he wasn't there to personally witness Kikyou's awakening, he knew the woman was up and running, thanks to his superb ears and nose. He caught the disruption of her smooth, continuous breathing; the barely-there whine she made upon trying to rub the sleep off her eyes; the swishing of her garments as she stood up and stretched. It wasn't long, he noticed, before she was off; her light footfalls mixing in with the thumping of another person's more hurried pace. She was to bathe, he had heard.

Sesshoumaru had spent most of the night looming over Kikyou's sleeping form like a faithful sentinel, but wishing to avoid as many humans as possible, he had exited the palace before sunrise. The guards had made no fuss and let him do as he pleased, since they did owe him their lives. In his boredom, the grand demon began taking in all the scents that the breeze carried up to his sensitive nose. Most were inconsequential; they were just the smells of everyday life – the strong smell of a morning fire, the fresh scent of trees, the musty odor of sweating human men beginning the day to till their fields. His expression remained stoic until he caught a whiff of a particularly peculiar scent; it was faint, and at first he had dismissed it as just being a trick of the mind, but as a new breeze wafted that familiar but wan smell, his eyes narrowed in recognition. It wasn't until the pungent smell of human blood accompanied it that he sprang into action. He had to make sure it was what he thought it was. He sped into the forest, avoiding the trees; in seconds arriving at a close enough distance so that he could ascertain he was correct – and he was. There was something off about it – something more striking about the stench, but he was sure it was Inuyasha's and mixing in with it was human blood. He briefly considered accelerating towards the village and dispatching of Inuyasha once and for all, without Kikyou there to stop him, but thinking of how cross she'd be if he left without telling her, he decided against it as he raced back to the castle, using her scent as guidance to find where she was from the outside of the palace. Not wanting to deal with questioning humans, he located her and snuck into the mansion by gracefully jumping up through a screen window. Thankfully for him, most of the staff was still asleep, or just barely getting ready for a new work day. It was a relief that he didn't have to cope with meddlesome humans. Well, except for the young girl standing timidly outside of the room where Kikyou's fragrance emanated. Not thinking of how to avoid interacting with the girl, he merely approached her. She spooked at the sight of him, but more or less regained her composure when she recognized him as the priestess's friend.

"S-S-Sorry, sir, but the lady is bathing..." She mumbled nervously, her face flushed as she glanced up at the extremely tall and handsome man.

"Move."

"B-but, the lady..."

"Out of the way." He merely said as he continued closing the space between the girl and himself. The girl squeaked and dodged out of his way. He opened the sliding door haphazardly, startling the woman inside. She sat up suddenly and gasped in alarm, making the water around her slosh. For a split second, neither moved – Kikyou just gaped, trying to register what was going on, and Sesshoumaru allowed himself a second of indulgence before her arms and hands bolted to cover her naked upper torso. He turned away respectfully, but not forgetting the marvelous sight that would be forever imprinted in his mind.

"Sesshoumaru! Have you gone mad?!" She exclaimed in embarrassment. Had Sesshoumaru still been facing her, he would have caught the smoldering red hue on her usually cool countenance.

"Get dressed." He commanded, trying to forget the image of her comely figure. The subject of Inuyasha quickly eradicated any carnal desires from his thoughts. "Your village is in trouble."

"What?!"

"Just get dressed!" He snapped, knowing the longer she idled in her nudity, the more his head was tempted to entertain impure thoughts. She questioned him no more, quickly arising from the tepid water and shuffling around to pull on the clean priestess garments the servant had been kind enough to provide her with. A gift from the village priest, the girl had said. The clothes stuck to her wet skin uncomfortably, but there was no time to complain about such petty things as she rushed past Sesshoumaru, grabbing her bow and arrows from the entrance to the room. The pair bumped paths with various staff members, but the busy humans left the priestess alone, perceiving the worry etched on the young woman's face. Making her way out of the palace, she ran to where she had tied her horse, but Sesshoumaru halted her.

"You wouldn't get there on time. Leave it here." He warned her.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"We fly." He said bluntly. She stared at him, completely dumbfounded. He could fly? She wasn't allowed to ponder too hard about it as he motioned for her to hold onto the long pelt thing he wore around his body. Hesitatingly, she grabbed hold of the soft plush of his pelt, and at his command, she held onto it tightly. Before she could contemplate how they were supposed to fly, he was already up in the air, traveling much faster than the poor, old horse could ever hope to. She swore her stomach fell to her feet as he built up speed. Her wet mass of hair left loose trailed behind her, flapping violently in the wind. She wondered how the feeling of such rapid flight did not deter him like it did her. She stared at his back appreciatively, thankful to have him to warn her of danger. Her heart began to race as she conjured up the scene from earlier; when he walked in on her in the nude. She felt herself begin to blush furiously at the memory and only hoped Sesshoumaru could not sense her embarrassment.

Kikyou, what are you thinking!? Focus. The village is at bay! Forget about it!

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"I-Inuyasha!? What's going on?!" Kaede shouted, demanding for an answer as Inuyasha approached her, looking menacing as he smiled at her with protruding fangs, red eyes, and jagged facial markings. He held the Shikon Jewel in one of his clawed hands. "Where's Kikyou?!" She inquired, remembering that her sister had last carried the jewel with her. He didn't reply, instead opting to saunter towards the frightened child with the dog in her arms. Scared of his strange behavior, the child began to run, barely missing one of Inuyasha's fatal strikes.

"Somebody help!" Kaede screamed at the top of her lungs. An injured demon slayer ran to her aid, throwing a large boomerang at the feral Inuyasha, stunning his pursuit for a moment. "Help!" She screamed again, tears beginning to spill from her eyes again. Dying was a horrible experience – she didn't want to go through that again! And where was her sister? The wounds her sister sported looked terrible. Had Inuyasha taken advantage of her sister's weakened state to rob the jewel? Inuyasha was once again hot on her trail; she could feel him stamping behind her, snickering maniacally all the while. Kaede felt her screaming was useless; the villagers who remained were probably all gone by then, or at least cowering in their huts, hidden from plain view. Nobody would save her. She was going to die. She thought the end was near when a dragon flew above her and covered Inuyasha with flames. She sighed in relief to see it was Jaken atop the dragon. From his odd staff he expelled fire that engulfed Inuyasha.

"What are you doing just standing?! Run, you stupid girl!" Jaken commanded.

"Thank you!" Kaede nodded as she ran, urging Taro to follow her. She hoped that with Jaken's fire and the dragon's blasts of energy, they would subdue Inuyasha, but it was too much to hope for, she knew, for even though Inuyasha was only half-demon, the demon blood that coursed through him was that of a superior demon – one that was of Sesshoumaru's caliber. This made Inuyasha stronger than lesser demons like Jaken and the dragon beast. Kaede heard Inuyasha cackle and Jaken scream as he barely missed a swipe from Inuyasha's elongated claws.

"Little demon, I mean, Jaken, get away from here!" Kaede shouted behind her.

"Did you really think that would be enough to stop me, you worthless toad?" Inuyasha's voice was an octave lower and ten times more threatening than she had ever heard on him. "You're nothing but dirt. You should be bowing down to me!" Inuyasha called after the escaping Kaede and Jaken.

"To a half-demon like you? Never!" Jaken retorted back snootily, to which Inuyasha replied by nearly striking the little demon as it ran into the wall of a hut. Impulsively, Kaede turned and ran towards the little demon and helped him on his feet.

"I'm a full-demon now, idiot."

"Please don't hurt us, Inuyasha!" Kaede begged, tears streaming down from her only eye. "Don't you remember me?" Inuyasha showed no sign of changing his mind; he seemed set on killing them. The little girl and the demon huddled together in fear. Inuyasha took a step forward, the sinister smile still on his face, but his kill was interrupted when the little Taro stood in front of the trembling Kaede and began to bark at the glowering demon protectively, his barely there fangs bared in loyal bravery. Sesshoumaru's pet dragon flew above Inuyasha, roaring in anger.

"Die, all of you."

"I think not!" A woman's voice accompanied the whizzing of an arrow as it flashed past them, meaning to distract the maddened Inuyasha.

"K-Kikyou." Inuyasha's eyes softened at the sight of her. "Kikyou, you're alive!" His red eyes began to fade to white and he put his claws to his head, holding it as if having an internal struggle with himself. "Help, I can't...!" But his red eyes reappeared - his seething gaze returning to the frightened child and midget demon.

"Inuyasha, no!" Kikyou cried out desperately, but fortunately, Sesshoumaru got a hold of Inuyasha and was able to throw him over his shoulder before he could slash at the helpless beings quivering on the floor. Kikyou ran to Kaede, bringing and smothering the child in her arms in relief of having gotten there in time to stop her sister's second death. "Get away from here, Kaede. Evacuate the remaining villagers. Understood?" The little girl nodded as Kikyou gave the child one more tight hug before urging her to go. Wasting no time, Kikyou ran after where Sesshoumaru had thrown Inuyasha to.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kikyou called out to the demon. Inuyasha and he were wrestling one another, but unlike the last times she had seen the brothers fight, Inuyasha was giving Sesshoumaru a difficult time. "His demonic aura... It's different. The jewel!" She gasped as she saw the shiny pink pearl dangling from Inuyasha's grasp.

"What's the matter, Sesshoumaru?" The younger male sneered, sidestepping out of the way of Sesshoumaru's light whip. "Can't handle your little brother?" Inuyasha mocked as he struck Sesshoumaru, hitting him square on the chest, his armor collapsing underneath the strength of the blow. Sesshoumaru merely glowered, knowing Inuyasha was toying with him. "Aw, cat got your tongue? Or should I say dog!?" The deranged former half-demon chortled as he managed to connect his fist with Sesshoumaru's jaw. The force of the punch threw Sesshoumaru back a good few meters, momentarily stunning him.

"You've made yourself a full-demon with the jewel." Sesshoumaru wiped the tiny trickling of blood from his mouth, grimacing all the while. "No matter. You're still a pathetic wretch in my eyes!" Kikyou saw Sesshoumaru's eyes flash red as he retaliated, pushing back the shorter Inuyasha with the force of his claw strike, but Inuyasha didn't let the hit deter him for more than a second, as he roared and swiftly sprang at his brother, brandishing his deadly and newly-acquired poisonous claws with a speed that even Sesshoumaru had trouble keeping up with.

Kikyou wanted to intervene with her arrows, but the speed at which the brothers were moving would make it impossible to hit her target, and she might mistakenly hit Sesshoumaru, in which case they would all be in severe danger. Instead she opted on trying to figure out a way to weaken Inuyasha, if even just for a moment. "Sesshoumaru! Take the jewel away from, that's where he's getting all that extra power!" She finally got an idea, running along with them, her sandals thunking against the ground. Sesshoumaru heeded her advice as he tried snatching the jewel from his younger brother, but much to Kikyou's dismay, this only opened up Sesshoumaru's defense, leading Inuyasha to take advantage of the situation to pierce Sesshoumaru's torso. "No! Stop Inuyasha! Please!" She shouted in vain, Inuyasha was far too gone into his demon self to hear her pleads.

"You can't even control your demon impulses. What a pitiful creature you are, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru sneered, shrugging off the fresh wound like it was just a scratch.

"Have you forgotten that we both share a father and thus the same blood? You're quick to hurl insults at me, Sesshoumaru, but now, we're on the same level!"

"You? At the same level as me? Your strength is but a lie – to me you're still just a petty half-breed. Know your place, little brother! Grovel at my feet!" Sesshoumaru retorted gruffly, leaping into the air before enveloping Inuyasha in the pelt he wore, attempting to strangle the half-demon before slamming him to the ground by Kikyou's feet.

"Inuyasha…" Kikyou softly called out to the stunned boy-demon. He directed his red gaze to her, his glare once again softening.

"Kikyou! Help… All I wanted..." But he wasn't able to finish his statement; his eyes returned to being the soul-less pools of bloody hatred that they were before. Kikyou did not rouse from her spot next to him, too fazed about the ordeal. Inuyasha had betrayed her trust; he had stolen the jewel while she was away for his selfish desires, so then why was he asking for help? She should kill him, like she did other demons, but as she fished for an arrow and aimed at him as he returned to stalking back to Sesshoumaru, she found that she could not release the arrow, and not only because her hand trembled.

"Grovel, you say? Only when you're dead and I'm laughing at the ground by your feet, you son of a bitch!" Inuyasha decried as he commenced his attack on Sesshoumaru once again, viciously swinging his claws to and fro. Kikyou's eyebrows were creased in apprehension as she witnessed Inuyasha's relentless barrage of slashes all directed towards his elder brother. Sesshoumaru wasn't far behind, as he dodged gracefully before landing a few blows, but she let out a sharp intake of breath when Inuyasha bested the older demon by landing a powerful jab to the stomach. Although a demon, Sesshoumaru was not immune to such things, and so he succumbed to the severe force of the blow. "Feh. Now look who's on his knees, bowing before me!" the cocky demon Inuyasha guffawed at the sight presented to him. His extremely proud demon half-brother was on his knees, his usually pristine attire stained with his blood, his wide eyes reddening in sheer anger and disgrace mixed to create an unadulterated rage. Before Inuyasha could continue on with his violent assault, Kikyou intervened, shielding Sesshoumaru, buying him time to recover from the blow.

"Stop, Inuyasha! How could you do this?!"

"Your human bitch has come to die with you. Isn't that just heart warming?" Inuyasha snarled sarcastically.

"I will not allow you to speak to me this way." Kikyou retorted, in back of her, Sesshoumaru started to let out a sickening growl of utter contempt. Is this brash, contemptible demon truly Inuyasha? The half-demon I thought I knew would never disrespect me so. Or talk so cockily.

"K-Kikyou!" Demon Inuyasha relapsed, his golden eyes returning as he regained control of himself. "Kikyou, I never meant to hurt them!" He gasped as he grabbed at his head, seeming to struggle with himself. "I just… need to kill Sesshoumaru, and that's it."

"Inuyasha, please don't! Give me back the jewel…" Kikyou pleaded, taking a few steps towards the unstable half-demon.

"Kikyou, I am in –" But Inuyasha wasn't allowed to finish, as Kikyou hurled herself at him, embracing him.

"I know now," She comforted, "Don't say it, Inuyasha. If it is so, then please stop this."

"I will not stop until he is dead!" Inuyasha's voice dropped to a rasp as he roughly threw the priestess to the ground, towering over her in agitation, but before Inuyasha could harm her further, Sesshoumaru emerged from the ground - his eyes still the color of blood as he launched himself at Inuyasha; letting his demon wrath show to compete on par with Inuyasha's. "I got my wish, and now as a full-demon, I'll kill every single last one of these humans and Sesshoumaru!" Sesshomaru said nothing as the stripes on his cheeks grew jagged and his fangs seemed to lengthen in his anger.

At this rate, even Sesshoumaru will be in trouble. Inuyasha's incredibly strong… I have to stop this, or else.

Kikyou took aim once again, trying to focus her energy on the arrow, trying to forget the oncoming sadness of disappointment trying to overcome her senses. Inuyasha failed her. He was a rotten traitor who had tried to take advantage of her by feigning friendship. Even earlier, when she had embraced him in an attempt to subdue his violence, he had to have been pretending. Why else would he have taken the jewel?

"Inuyasha! How could you betray me!?" Kikyou shouted before letting her arrow rip through the air, lodging into Inuyasha's torso and pinning him to the nearest tree, Goshinboku, the God tree.

"K-Kikyou?!" Inuyasha cried out disbelieving after the priestess standing a distance away, her the string of her bow still quivering in the silence. His eyes returned to their former molten gold color, but the jagged demon markings still remained. "You… Why?" He felt his eyes grow heavy ans let the jewel fall from his clawed talons as he stared confusedly at the beautiful woman. Sesshoumaru snapped from his angry stupor to stand besides the frowning priestess. "You… lied. Kikyou… why? I…" But he wasn't able to pronounce his last thoughts, as his eyelids shut and his mouth fell slack.

"What did you do?" Sesshoumaru asked, irritated that she had interfered and hadn't let him finish Inuyasha off.

"I've sealed him to a tree." She merely said, receiving Sesshoumaru's questioning glare, she further explained, "That arrow has put him into an eternal sleep. He shall never wake from it unless I desire him to." She looked sad.

"Awaken him!" Sesshoumaru ordered, "I shall dispose of him. You're intervention was unnecessary."

"No. Let him be, the spell will not break without my consent."

"To hell with that! You're going to let him get away with a painless death after what he did?" Sesshoumaru tried to reason with her, but the woman stayed stubborn. "Don't tell me you love him?" His face once again let itself manifest agitation – or was it jealousy?

"I do not. You were in danger and the only way to subdue Inuyasha was to seal him!" She countered back.

"Danger? In danger due to a dirty half-breed? I think not." He retorted brusquely.

"Look at yourself! You're bleeding profoundly. Can't you just gulp down your pride just once and let it be? Inuyasha invaded my village and tried to kill my sister. And he…" She paused briefly, "And he was using the jewel to increase his power… to hurt you! You may be a demon, but you're not invincible. Can't you just accept that I care about you!" He scrutinized her then, his eyes dancing across her dark, creased eyebrows and her unusually expressive ochre eyes. He stepped closer towards her, too close, she thought, as his hands lingered on the air above her shoulders, seeming to want to grasp her. In anger or in passion, he wasn't sure. The petite priestess drove him wild. She stirred in him feelings he had not ever known before. Possessiveness, jealousy, fondness, desire. He was ashamed of himself for esteeming a human, for putting her on a pedestal above all others even with her dirty blood. But she was his human – no, he thought, such a pleasant creature couldn't be lumped together in that disgraceful category; she was his human that was not a human. He contemplated on settling his hands on her, but wasn't allowed to carry out the action, as a new trespasser entered the scene. Both turned their heads rapidly to the tree Inuyasha was pinned on to set their alarmed stares on the baboon-clad demon from the night before.

"You." Sesshoumaru was the first to speak.

"Yes, me." The demon laughed quietly underneath his disguise. He stopped his procession just before reaching the spot where the jewel had dropped from Inuyasha's hands.

"The jewel." Kikyou gasped, but Sesshoumaru was on it as he zapped to the mysterious demon's place, only the man had already nabbed the jewel. Sesshoumaru was too late, for once. "Damn!" She cursed at her incompetence, readying her bow for attack again.

"What a lovely color the jewel glows when it is corrupted by hatred. Wouldn't you agree?" The baboon-man questioned cynically, holding the jewel in his hand. "I'd be careful with that arrow, Kikyou. You might shatter the jewel, and that would be troublesome for us all." The jagged magenta stripe on Inuyasha's cheeks disappeared and his fangs and talons returned to their normal size. Sesshoumaru moved to take the jewel, but the man leapt out of the way into the air and unleashed a tentacle from underneath his white pelt, meaning to attack Sesshoumaru, but the dog demon easily evaded him. Sesshoumaru was about to make a hit, but before he could advance, he was enveloped in a lavender light that came from the jewel.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kikyou cried worriedly, unleashing her sacred arrow at the demon. The disguised demon merely laughed as he moved out of the way, the arrow only blasting off his arm. The demon continued to chortle, seeming to not feel the pain of losing an arm. The light surrounding the dog demon faded and he fell to the ground. Kikyou's eyes widened at the sight, completely at a loss as to what had occurred. Sesshoumaru grunted in pain, clutching at the injuries Inuyasha had inflicted on him. But what had distraught the priestess more was the demon's appearance. His brilliant white hair was no more; it had turned coal black, mirroring her own raven black locks of silk. His facial markings were gone – the crescent moon on his forehead and the stripes on his cheeks that demonstrated his demon lineage, and most surprisingly, his once honey-colored were replaced by burnt brown irises. Kikyou was brought out of her stupor only when the man with the jewel in his possession cut the silence with his crow of laughter. Sesshoumaru, unaware of his physical transformation, ignored the look of astonishment on the priestess's face and instead propped himself up to a stand, wincing all the while at the searing pain that pierced him to his very bones. Never had he felt such ardent pain in his life before. After just barely getting up, the demon caved in to the agony, landing on the floor in his pool of blood. Kikyou ran to him, kneeling by his side.

"How does it feel, Sesshoumaru? To be a weakling human you so despise! Kukukuku!" Kikyou made a choking noise at the demon's revelation while Sesshoumaru fisted his clawless hand in frustration and disbelief. "I am Naraku. Remember that!" The demon bellowed. Kikyou readied her bow again and shot at him, but unfortunately the demon swiftly made an escape. She considered running after him, but at Sesshoumaru's low whine, she decided that at that moment, Sesshoumaru was the priority, since his death was imminent if she didn't stop his bleeding. She glided back to him, gently grabbing him and turning him over so that he lay on his back. She tried moving him to somewhat carry him and drag him back to her hut, but her strength had its limits – his weight was too much for her slender form to carry. Kikyou started to worry of Sesshoumaru's survival. She felt herself grow light-headed in slight panic.

"Sister Kikyou!" Kaede called, a few men tagging behind her along with Jaken. "Kikyou, w-who is this? Is this Sesshoumaru?!" The child shrieked at the sight of her sister's priestess garb soiled with blood - the same blood that drenched Sesshoumaru's normally immaculately clean outfit.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Oh, what has happened to you, sire!?" Jaken cried at the sight.

"Men, please help me get this man into the hut! He is dying and needs urgent attention!" Kikyou commanded sternly. "We must hurry!"

"Yes, lady Kikyou!" The man at the front bowed before two men crowded around Sesshoumaru, ready to heave him up. Sesshoumaru only let out an uncharacteristic groan of pain before passing out from loss of blood.

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"So why didn't you just take Kikyou now?" A curious Tsubaki asked Naraku as he entered the old shrine he had been occupying.

"Now where's the fun in that? I want to see his face when I pluck her from him. I want him to be fully conscious and then, my dear, his humiliation will be complete." Naraku explained evilly, removing the baboon pelt that he hid himself under.

"If you say so…"

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C. Mushroom Says: And yet another chapter! OH NO! Our beloved Lord Sesshoumaru has been turned into a human… Now he's going to be feeling true pain. So what will happen next…? Will he make it? And what of poor Inuyasha, who couldn't control his demon blood from making him into a total douche? FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER! Stay tuned!

P.S. Thank you reviewers! You guys are awesome and give me inspiration to write more. SO KEEP 'EM COMING! Tee hee.