Chapter 52 Altered

Sesshomaru approached the village, confused that he could not find Otome's aura. It had always burned brightly with energy and innocence. It was like a candle that welcomed him after his lonely wanderings. Now it was absent. This fact caused an unsettled feeling within the great demon. At this time of night, the female retreated to the Priestess' hut. Even he knew the girl was terrified of the dark. She should be in the hut since Inuyasha's pack was in residence in the village.

With an ever silent step, the demon strode into the hut to investigate. The tense mood of the room was overwhelming. The three humans, two demons and one half-demon turned somber eyes towards the new arrival but spoke not a word. In the second little room, Sesshomaru smelled the familiar scent of another human. The frown on his face grew deeper. It should not be the girl's human night.

The darkness drew back as he approached to reveal a heart-wrenching sight. There, on a pallet on the floor, lye a ghostly imposter of Otome. His gut tightened in revulsion at the sight of her. It was wrong that she was stretched out on the floor, instead of hidden above the hutch where she slept by choice. It was wrong that her vivacious aura was dimmed to barely that of even a human. It was wrong that her deep, black hair had turned the color of ash. It was wrong that her inquisitive, innocent eyes were closed in the deathly gray face.

Fear and memories gripped him as he recognized the first stage of purification. He had watched the little modern priestess purify demons. It was not that different from what he had witnessed of Kagura's demise. He could not watch another worthy female taken from the world in such a brutal manner.

Without being asked, Miroku explained what had occurred. "It wasn't Inuyasha's fault. Otome went out searching for my youngest daughter who had wandered off. As far as we can tell, the two encountered a traveling monk who thought Otome was going to hurt Hitomi." The monk paused, angered at what had happened next.

Inuyasha jumped in to continue the tale, "That bastard plastered her with sutras, and even stuck a few more on her when she was already down. Some holy man!" He would have spit on the floor in anger if he wasn't in Kikyo's hut.

The girl lay on her side on the little futon. She had been dressed in a simple, white sleeping yukata which parted in the front and exposed the rectangular burn marks on her ashen chest. The very demon markings that he had proudly witnessed being raised only weeks before were practically invisible; only silver hints of the deep navy strokes that had graced her form. The smell of burned flesh drifted about the room like smoke.

The great demon moved closer and folded his frame up against the wall just to the left of her little pallet and reached for the delicate hand that jutted out from the robe. With an atypical gentleness, he placed the entwined hands under his bent knee to simulate her sleeping desire to reach out and touch him. Silently, he hoped the contact would comfort the girl. Her skin was cold and the cute claws that had graced her digits were gone. The irrational need to hold onto her hand and anchor her to this mortal plane gripped Sesshomaru so hard he almost crushed her fragile fingers.

Kikyo knelt on the other side of the girl and gently brushed the gray hair away from her pale face. "We think that her human part is just barely enough to keep her alive. If she survives the next few days, she should be…" She just couldn't bring herself to say "fine." Because, in truth, none of them knew how this would affect their friend. Would she revert back to her mostly demon self? Would she stay a human? None of them could say. The most experience they had with this type of thing was the holy barrier at Mt. Hakurei when Inuyasha had been purified into his human form only to revert to a half-demon after he moved away.

Kikyo could only do so much for a purified demon. As far as she and Miroku could tell, Otome no longer possessed a demonic aura. Still, there was no way to tell if she could survive as a human. Her breathing was slow and labored. Her skin was cold and clammy. Her hair and skin color still remained the shade of ashen gray that demons disintegrated into. Yet, by nightfall, she had not reverted to dust. That in itself seemed to be a good sign. As long as her condition didn't worsen, there was hope for recovery.

Sesshomaru remained silent. His thoughts turned to the day he had watched Kagura go. It had been a horrible, helpless feeling. How he had regretted in that moment that he had refused to help free her from Naraku at their first meeting. But he had been taught from birth that you had to earn everything. He had denied her request because it irritated him to see people who were unwilling to even try to solve their own problems. Still, he had not known the terrible predicament in which she lived. He had no appreciation for the danger he placed her in with his demands. And when he finally understood, it was too late. He watched as her very essence dissolved into the breeze. He had been happy that she gained the freedom she desired, but at the same time, he felt that the world was somehow diminished. He had not understood the feelings.

And here he sat again; helpless; waiting for this girl's demise. He didn't know if he could maintain his calm demeanor if the hand he was holding so desperately were to suddenly evaporate into dust. This strange girl tugged at him in ways that only Rin, Kagome and Kagura had ever affected him. How he wanted her to open her eyes, look at him with trust and wag her non-existent tail. Somehow, he had allowed himself to get attached without even realizing.

The night stretched slowly as the group kept a vigil over the struggling girl. Each breath took great effort to draw as if she had to remind her body to perform the act. Her heart stuttered and paused several times. The demons in the group tensed and held their breath each time and prayed that the next breath or beat would soon follow.