CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Mikage

I let my hot fingertips brush against my rugged skin, making my jaw tremble in fear just as before. I could still feel those whirring blades skimming against my flesh, and oh. Oh, that terrifying crack as that spinning weapon of metal was shoved through me. Since then, it had begun healing, pain not driving throughout my entire body as often. It was only in the badly burned areas, and my abdomen. I wasn't fierce, I knew that. I wasn't strong. I think though, that I did hold my own very well.

I let out a crusty groan as I twisted about on the grass, attempting to get comfortable. The sticky grass clung to my heated skin from all my constant writhing. How long was it that I had been laying there? I hadn't even opened up my kimono to gaze at that wound that plagued me now. I was to scared to see my body ripped open. Like a doll with seams ripped apart. I felt like a puppet, played by the hands of my pain. But then again, was I not just a marionette to the demon side of myself? What was different from then?

I twisted to gaze at the tree-barren area to my east. I could still hear that fear that had gripped at my heart when the rattling tremor sounded throughout the forest before it had erupted. Everywhere. Heat. Hot. Burning.

I looked to Sango and Kagome who had not spoken a word- either of them. Their heads were bowed in defeat. Bodies racked with small trembles as I stared. The sight was painful. Their motions resembled that of scared puppies separated from their mother for the first time in their life. Jagged and sharp, just as my pain. It was then that a faint, yet familiar odor passed through my stuffed nose. An odd tickling sensation filled my nose as my body forced forward with a sudden sneeze. Yuuhi... And Inuyasha. Mixed together, the scent was odd. Like yuzu fruit, sour and vicious to the tongue and mouth, puckering and tangy in my mouth. And then that other scent, somewhat musty, like a dog. It was them. They had come.

I let my jaw fall open with my labored breaths. So they had made it after all. What a relief. It was then that a sudden thought entered my head. Gakupo. He could have entered the woods soon after I. If that was true... The explosion could have reached him. My eyes stretched in fear as a cold hand gripped my stomach, churning it in fear. Or what was left of it, anyway. My fingers dug into the bark of a nearby tree, struggling to pull my lead-like body to its feet. Sharp pains sliced through my entire body, forcing my teeth into a tight grit of protest. I felt my body scrape against the ground just as Inuyasha and Yuuhi came into the clearing.

Kagome let out a loud gasp as the monk stepped off of my cat, and Inuyasha came from behind. Deep black soot covered them all from head to toe. Yuuhi let out a startled cry as she caught sight of me. Her amethysts narrowed, as a slight pearlescent shine covering her irises.

"Baby, what happened?" Yuuhi cried, voice cracking with a worried panic. I watched as her shoulders tensed, muscles trembling as she leapt towards me. Subconsciously, my hand drifted towards my gut, remembering the unrelenting pain the injury offered me. I thought of just how horrible it would have looked in Yuuhi's mind. That scarlet tainting my clothes, the gaping hole in my stomach. I thought of the fear she must feel for me, just as I was feeling for Gakupo. My nails scraped against the bark, the ragged wood vibrating my fingers. I tuned out the sound of the rejoiced welcome Kagome and Sango gave the men as I sucked in a crisp breath of chilled autumn air.

"Yuuhi... I need your help, okay...?" I grunted between pained gasps. I waited until the cat was before me to drop from the tree's now scratched hide.

"Girl, what are you tryin' to do hurt like this?"

Yuuhi's fur ran lightly through my fingers, slightly longer with her winter coat. I felt as the gritty black particles came loose from the purple, deciding then to attempt to pull myself up.

"Gakupo..." I explained, a moan escaping my lips. I felt my tongue curl back within my mouth in sheer pain, shortened breaths coming one after the other. I knew on normal circumstances, I shouldn't even try to lift myself up. But then again, this wasn't one of those normal circumstances. My brown, uneven bangs were wet with sweat, plastered to my forehead in an I'm sure, horrid way. My hair was weighed down with grease from not being able to take a bath in a few days. My clothes felt stuck to my body, sickening me with the scent of unwashed body odor. I wished that I had the strength to bathe, but as seen, it would be impossible for me to do so.

"Yo, Mikage. That's sure a nasty injury you've got there. Are you sure you should be moving?" Inuyasha's crusty voice asked me, streaked with what sounded to me like fatigue. I shook my head. I knew the answer to that question myself, and knew I was defying my body's lust to rest. But Gakupo's safety was more important above all things to me right now.

"No." I pulled myself onto the cat's back, gritting my teeth as the cat's hard body brushed against my abdomen. "I know I'm not supposed to."

Inuyasha came beside me, face leaning close to mine. His heavily warm breath caressed my cheek for a moment as he let out an annoyed snort.

"Then why are ya goin'?"

I gripped Yuuhi's scruff as she began to walk off. I felt my face tighten with the determined expression taking hold of it.

"To find my brother."

With that, Yuuhi's toned muscles bunched, before she launched from the ground without another word said. We were going to find Gakupo.

A cold breeze blew against my skin as we soared past the thin clouds. I pressed the side of my hand against the skin just above my brow, keeping a searching eye out for any signs of life. Finding none, as usual, I sighed. Where could he have possibly gone to?

I let my spine straighten with a well-deserved yawn, closing my eyes as I inhaled. After a few moments, I pushed out a bit of the air audibly. I was so bored, and not to mention worried. How could he have gotten so far? Or could it be worse...?

I shook my head in an abrupt manner, feeling my thickened hair wave back and forth with the movement.

Don't think like that, Mikage...

I reminded myself, my fingers curling under in a tight fist. My sharp fangs rubbed against my bottom lip before I settled on biting it. I was never going to find him if I didn't keep calm.

"Girl, you need a bath-"

I interrupted her before she could finish the statement.

"Yes, Yuuhi, I know," I sighed. I realized how bad I must have smelt, and how disgusting it must be to have me on your back. But my sanitation and cleanliness was the least of my worries right now. What was on my mind was to find him, and... Wait. What was I to do after that? I pondered about different ideas, each time dwelling more and more on each before returning to the one last before it. Basically, I had chosen myself three possible answers. One, I take him in, two, I send him home, or I bring him to Inuyasha's village. I had definitely ruled number two out.

Wait. There was a fourth option, too. I could also let him be on his own. Despite my reckless worrying, Gakupo was every bit as much as an adult as I was. It would probably be humiliating to travel around with your twin sister when you had to deem yourself as a man first.

And the more I thought of it like that, the more a cold feeling had begun surfacing in my gut. That feeling had begun nagging me. Telling me that I should turn back and just leave him. After all, I had begun detecting his scent now. He was alive.

Reluctant, I gulped back my fear and pulled up on Yuuhi's reins. I heard my back crack as I stretched, wincing as a predictable pain slithered its way up my torso. The wind pressing on my face died down to a mere breeze, the cat pulling to a stop. We hovered there for a while before I had actually spoken.

"He'll be fine, Yuuhi. I shouldn't bother him. He is a man now, after all."

I was speaking, but my voice felt far away from me. It didn't feel as though the words were coming from my lips at all. My body felt light, and dizzy, as though even a breeze could knock me down. I felt just like a kimono hanging from a drying line.

I slid my trembling legs over the side of the purple cat, taking a moment to regain balance before I scooted off. I allowed myself to fall a little ways, watching as I brushed past sun-stained clouds. Then, snarling in angst, I forced my legs below me, halting the pull of gravity on my broken body. As I settled my gaze on the rounded purple spheres of Yuuhi's, I saw that there was unsure hesitance resting there. She watched my face with careful studiousness, searching for any weakness underlying beneath my hardened expression. What she may have thought was strength displayed, was a mere bravado. In actuality, I was scolding myself yet again for my injuries, knowing that I could have moved- had I been paying attention. I was also nagging myself for any possible harm that may have come to my twin. I had to begin looking out for myself and him if I were to ever make it in this huge world.

"How can you bear not knowing how to use your powers, girl? You're a demon! It makes no sense!"

The not-yet-mature voice of a twelve-year-old came into my head, words edged with a chiding lecture. It was of course, Lord Sesshomaru's. I remembered his slightly-rounded face, even bangs hanging over his brow, nose wrinkled with disgust at my feat. Then the unchanging poker face he had given me recently. He wasn't the same anymore. But the more that phrase repeated in my mind, the more the appearance of him now and the words with his new voice merged. After a short while, the image in my head was him now telling me the words he did then. Before, in his eyes, I was only held back by my inability to use my strength in my favor. Now I had that power, but it was me holding myself back.

"Uhhh. Yoo hoo, Ms. Spacey, what's up?" Yuuhi mocked.

I snapped back to attention, vision focusing once more. Looking at her, I let my cheeks pull my mouth into a smile.

"How about this. I'll take a bath, and try to get better, okay? You can go do whatever cats do."

Yuuhi gave a chuckle, then a laugh.

"You got yourself a good deal, girl!"