Ah-Un squirmed under the ropes being fastened around his hind quarters but stood in place while Rin cooed soothing mantras to the annoyed double-headed dragon. Miroku and InuYasha hurried to complete loading the camping gear and rations while Sango and Kaede dressed Noriko's wounds one last time.
"Are you certain this is what you want?" Sango broke the silent tension in the hut, asking what they all were wondering as she slid the elder woman's frail arm into the sleeve of her kimono.
"There is no choice in the matter. I am dying soon… very soon. My intent was not to harm the young priestess and for that, I refuse to die with regret." Noriko responded dutifully, a hard edge to the normal tremor they usually heard.
"May the Gods have mercy on ye, then." Kaede solemnly commented, packing a parcel for the bedridden woman's final hours of care. "I have my own doubts about this, Lady Noriko, I must confess. Self-sacrifice is quite the extreme for the wronging of someone ye did not know."
Sango watched the woman's face contort as her eyes screwed shut but remained silent while she knotted the obi with practiced ease. She moved on to her hair, deftly pulling a comb through the thin, gray strands.
"There was a time I rushed to the protection of an invincible being. My heart so full of concern… Times are different now, humans more prevalent in the lands as magic thins and wanes. From my understanding of the strange group you have, it seems Kagome was the heart. It speaks highly of her to be cared for so." The quiver in her voice returned as the slayer secured her hair in a bun eyeing the old woman warily.
"Aye, she is. Strange how ye came to such a conclusion with so little contact outside this humble dwelling. Tell an old woman this, was there ever a time ye were cared for in such a way?" Kaede asked, staying her hand on the tatami door covering, the care package clutched in her other fist.
"I thought I had been, once." Noriko admitted quietly, her voice clouded in wistful emotion.
"But…" Sango urged as she tucked the covers around the woman.
"It was a lie." The dark miko finished, her tone morphing to steely resolution.
The morning sun washed over the room lifting the gloom with the covering as Kaede walked through it. InuYasha appeared in the old miko's stead, striding forward with purpose. He dropped a heavy hand on Sango's shoulder. The slayer met her friend's golden gaze, a small smile in greeting lifted the corners of her lips.
"I'll be respectful." He tried igniting the deep sense of justice within her.
"And if she refuses in the end?" Sango tested, hands busy tying ropes around the prone woman's body to keep her secured on the pallet during the short journey.
"Then it's over. It's ultimately her choice." He answered seriously, his fingers squeezing her shoulder in gentle reassurance.
He then bent and picked up the poles to the bamboo skid they had laid Noriko upon, and began dragging the woman out of the hut to be hitched onto the back of the dragon waiting outside.
Sango followed until she could wrap her arms around her husband's waist. The monk rubbed her back fondly as they watched the sad sight trot away into the forest, the dark priestess being dragged to her final resting place by their beloved friend and comrade.
"I'm so worried for him, Miroku. There has to be another way." She confessed.
"The magic she used is ancient and mostly forgotten, my dear Sango. This, unfortunately is the only way and even then, I have my doubts." Miroku answered honestly, his brows furrowing as their friend's gaudy red outfit disappeared through the foliage.
"No wonder such practices are forgotten." She answered sadly.
The couple hugged each other closely, sending separate prayers that mingled above them to the Kami for mercy and strength in equal measure for the rough half-demon they had come to care for as a brother. He was not a murderer and was only trying to do the right thing, their last chance to ultimately bring back not only Lord Sesshomaru, but Kagome as well.
They just hoped InuYasha would return to them again, unchanged, no matter the circumstance.
Sesshomaru stood over the slumbering woman lying prone on the living room couch, the blanket clutched in slender fingers. Her breathing was soft and even, her nose still red from crying herself to sleep. His heart clenched in his chest at the thought. The night before, his impulsive actions, her warmth and tenderness against him, clinging desperately as she exposed such vulnerability, ran through his mind on a crazed loop.
He had wanted, still wanted, to take the hurt away from her. For reasons unknown, he couldn't block it out, her face, those tears drowning the eyes that kept questioning him, breaking him into a thousand pieces over and over again as his mind tortured him throughout the night.
And to hear it all fall from her lips in the process…
The Taiyoukai closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing his mind to focus on the task ahead willing the deep ache in his chest to dissipate. When he opened them, she was looking at him groggily, a dainty fist knuckling a swollen eye.
"Morning." She yawned as she sat up.
He ignored her as he usually did, resuming the usual routine they had established. He moved silently into the kitchen and waited for her to stretch and roughly finger comb the
knots out of her hair. It wasn't long until she joined him. The oversized sleeping shirt she wore sagged low on her bare left shoulder exposing her clavicle and a swath of creamy flesh. He looked down thanking the Gods she was at least covered in trousers there, tiny toes peeking out behind baggy fabric.
Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to deny it, but as he raised his head to meet her studious gaze, he could not avoid the definite conclusion he came to.
She was breathlessly stunning and an utter mess, dark hair matted with tiny strays disobeying their place.
He almost wanted to laugh at his own absurdity. Perhaps the half-breed wasn't the only one who had been cursed by their father.
If she noticed any strange nuances in his behavior, she didn't say, just moved to the refrigerator and began pulling out produce and eggs. Her plump bottom lip was being nibbled nervously under his scrutiny as she opened cabinets and prepared several pans and utensils.
He just stood there appreciating her graceful motions like he never had before, noticing the slight touches of a practiced artisan. After two peppers and an onion were diced to bits, she finally broke the thickening air between them.
"You're staring, Sesshomaru. What's on your mind?" She asked softly keeping her eyes on her work.
"Is it not customary for you to consume dried oats and cow's milk in the morning?" He averted making her smile a little, causing him to feel as though an accomplishment had been met.
"Cereal, you mean." She giggled a bit and turned to put the vegetables into the pan.
They sizzled and sputtered at her as she returned with a green sliver pinched in her fingers, holding it out to him. He took the proffered treat feeling a jolt flip his gut when their fingertips met during the hand-off.
Sesshomaru felt it, straight to his toes, a warmth that spread through his chest and limbs making him feel intoxicated and giddy.
She, however, simply continued on to the eggs, cracking them one after one into a bowl. Her movements were dismissive, dampening his ever-concerning mood. He just nibbled on the sweet, green sliver as he waited for her attention to return to him.
"So, how are we going to do this today?" She asked after a time, her wrist in motion expertly scrambling the large bowl of eggs.
"We will begin as we always have, meditation then experimentation." He answered as she turned to face him, making him foolishly giddy.
"Well, I want to have breakfast with my family first, just in case. You're going to stay and enjoy it with us, right?"
Kagome was so sincere with her offer, her blue eyes wide and inquiring, wrestling his thoughts into silent submission.
"As you wish, Miko." He willingly conceded as he took a seat at the table to give her running room for preparation and waited patiently as the kitchen filled with the aromas of mouthwatering temptation.
"I know we have to do a few things differently this time." Her back was to him again as she began to pour eggs into the pan, the smell wafted across the room tickling his senses making his mouth water unexpectedly.
"You are wondering how we will go about the bleeding?" He summed up for her.
She whirled on her heels, eyes wide and just gawked at him. It took him a moment to notice the hand holding chopsticks was trembling slightly.
"You say that like it's no big deal." She hissed at him.
He smirked confidently in return.
"In my lands, some humans used to give themselves over for food voluntarily to benevolent benefactors. I am told their experiences were quite enjoyable, though I have never had a need for such things until now."
"Wait a minute, are you saying you're going to eat me? Like a demon would? That's the plan?" Hysteria was creeping into her voice, her entire body shaking like a bowstring wound too tight.
His feet responded immediately, taking him to her. His hands landed on her shoulders anchoring her to the spot as his thumbs found the hollows and busied themselves rubbing tight circles without conscious notice on his behalf.
"Sesshomaru, I don't know about this." She whimpered in his grasp causing a sigh to escape his lips.
"Humans have such odd ideas about demons, like we are barbarians. My kind do not rip our prey to shreds like mindless beasts. Sustenance is found in the life force of a being. It is quick and clean, practically painless."
The truth flowed from his lips easily, issuing a sense of calm to wash over the scared Miko under his care. Her muscles finally began to soften under his ministrations.
"Today, we will step into the Underworld and walk out the other end into the past." He reassured.
She tensed again and the chopsticks hit the floor.
"How's that, huh? Better?" InuYasha asked as he adjusted the multiple rolled up furs at Noriko's back.
He had wedged her against the well, sitting up per her request, but the frailness of her body positioned there just looked so wrong. She was wan under the rays of the afternoon sun, her hair so thin that he could see her spotted scalp through the strands. Large, plump veins skittered under her paper thin flesh, blue and vivid in the daylight.
It was almost pitiable having this sickly woman out here exposed in her condition, but the old witch had agreed to help and he couldn't turn down the offer. This was all her fault after all.
"Much, thank you, Master InuYasha." She replied gratefully, finally too tired to do much else.
"Don't start with that shit. I ain't a Master of nothin'." He literally spit on the ground afterwards making her laugh harshly.
InuYasha sneered down at her. He had no idea where he came from or what status he actually held in the youkai world. It had never been a priority. Not that he would have been accepted with open arms anyway. Any curiosity he had ever had about his father's ancestry was met with aggression and hostility over the years. It just wasn't worth it.
"I'm curious, what do you really know about your lineage? The world in which your privileged brother was raised and now rules?" She asked eliciting a huff of annoyance from him.
"Ya know, when I agreed to this arrangement, I didn't think you were gonna yammer on the entire time about my Old Man. What's with you anyway? You think you're special? I'm sure Sesshomaru's mother thought so too and my mom, but she's dead now." InuYasha groused plopping down in front of her and began setting up a mortar and pedestal just as she had outlined. "He was a dog, I get that. I don't care where he came from and I don't care about Sesshomaru. I told you already, now what's next?"
Noriko grimaced as she barely lifted her hand, motions heavy and clumsy in her lap. A gnarled finger pointed shakily to the linen parcel beside the hanyou's knee.
"The bones need to be ground to powder, leaves crushed and folded into a paste. This is a potable solution, please remember." She instructed as her hand fell heavily onto her lap.
"All I need to hear, just sayin'." He grumbled getting to work.
Turning the little bat wings and frog legs into dust took no time at all, but when it came to the herbs, the old croan piped up again barking rasping orders.
"Crush them separately, hanyou. You can not simply rush through this process with brute force. Spells take order and patience." She admonished with exasperation.
He sneered at the stone bowl and did as he was told, taking his time, each leaf ground and devoured into the remnants around the stone sides. His thoughts drifted to doing such tasks for Kagome's cooking. Spices, she called it and seasoning. They always made the wild game taste so much better. That wasn't magical of course, just science she said. This on the other hand was closer to the occult than he ever wanted to get.
"Very good. Now, blood is required in the mixture, the life force of a soul." Her voice interjected grating on his fraying nerves.
InuYasha grabbed the bamboo cage holding a fat toad, it's eyes dumb and glossy staring sedately back at him. He removed the frog from its confines and held it up as it croaked and breathed in his grasp, its slimy eyelids blinking under the sun.
It would be easy to just cut out its heart with his claws, but it wouldn't be for food this time. No, his motivations bordered on assassination and he felt like a despicable individual just for thinking about it. Defeated he got up and handed the amphibian over to the witch quickly, waiting for her to get a decent grip on the creature's smooth skin before letting go.
She exposed its light underbelly and used a small shucking dagger to cut into the toad's chest with ease despite her obvious limitations. The swiftness with which she accomplished her task eluded to a sickening recurrence of practice in such things. It made his stomach flip and sour.
InuYasha watched as she dug her thumb and forefinger inside the cavity she had just opened.
The amphibian's strong, thick back legs kicked and its arms jerked erratically against her forearm resting in her lap. A wet squelching sound assaulted his sensitive ears as the witch pulled the light beating of the toad's heart into the sunlight with trembling, blood slick fingers.
He held out the pedestal and received the rhythmically pumping organ while trying not to think about what he was about to do or what she was going to do with it when he was done. Of course, the old hag wouldn't allow such mercy.
"It needs to be enveloped in the mixture while still beating. Then we need to move to the bottom of the well. My blood needs to be spilled on the soil directly."
Again, he obliged her without comment or question, his mind drifting to his beloved as his task popped and squished into a gooey mixture between his folded knees.
If this worked, she would be home soon. Sesshomaru could go back to keeping the peace in his lands and life would go on for this tiny village as if nothing had happened. Kagome could sit him into oblivion if it made her happy. He didn't care as long as she was safely under his watch every night from here on out.
InuYasha turned finding the old woman drawing symbols onto her forearm with the frog's blood, a light sheen of sweat glittering on her pale forehead and lips moving in a silent mantra as she blessed the sacrificial area she wished to use. She had summoned the last bit of her strength just to move her arms. They rattled with tremors and she dropped them often, but pressed on with her meditation, giving her limbs time to rest while she repeated her spell over and over again.
He gulped uncomfortably, his daydreams splintering into the harshness of reality. This was really happening. When he emerged from the well again, it would be with Kagome.
But a funeral pyre was the only thing waiting for Noriko. This old woman, full of vengeance and hate, was going to sacrifice herself for his one last shot at happiness.
It was a deeply dark predicament he was in, a situation they wouldn't have ever been in if Sesshomaru had just dropped the brat off and left.
Nonetheless, he was grateful he wouldn't have to be the one to make the final cut. Kagome or no, he was not a cold-blooded killer.
The meal was pleasant, laughter and jokes were shared as omelets were consumed and seconds asked for. Kagome couldn't help but glance over at Sesshomaru every so often. Her unlikely companion in an unbidden adventure was completely consumed in conversation with her grandfather, his face handsomely embodying respectful consideration, a small smile here and there showing a hint of fang. Each time her heart oddly skipped a beat.
"I take it you and Lord Sesshomaru found common ground again." Akira interrupted, drawing her attention to the sweet woman's smiling face.
"Something like that. We may have found a solution as well. We're going to try another experiment today." Kagome admitted covering her mother's hand with her own as she tried to memorize every single detail of the sweet woman's face.
"Feels a little different hearing you say it this time." The elder Higarashi's smile dampened a bit but remained strong. "Sesshomaru asked me to return the books for him. He sounds so resolute."
"If it works, I just want you to know…" Kagome started, but was shushed by her mother.
"Hush now. As long as you're safe and content, that's all that matters. Besides, we've already discussed this." Akira reassured warmly.
That afternoon, Kagome set out to the well house with another backpack filled to the brim with food, first aid, and various camping supplies. Just like old times. Her mother had been right. It felt different today, walking beside Sesshomaru, hands almost touching.
Something had changed between them from the night before, a nervous spark, that they both seemed to exude. The aura bled to her family, who interpreted it as a finality to their so-called visit. Kagome wished she could say that family was truly the only thing her mind was focused on.
Sesshomaru hadn't strayed very far from her during the entire morning, his eyes always watching, making her nerves jangle and her stomach to burst into its favorite renditions of Cirque du Soleil at the drop of a hat. It was strange and somehow flattering. Though, the intensity of the attention was abnormal even for him. She had barely made it through her omelet during breakfast because of her nerves.
She floated through odd thoughts and sad goodbyes until the dull thud of the well house door being closed behind her jarred her from her thoughts.
And then there he was, towering over her, his eyes pinning her to the spot. Her throat ran dry as his fingers curled their way into hers.
"Shall we jump, Miko?"
The only thing she could manage was a nod of affirmation in return as she stared nervously up at him.
She allowed him to lead her to the well and just as they had done countless times before, they climbed onto the lip and jumped to the cold earth below. He let her go then and walked away, taking a long look at the earthen surroundings they were in, circling her as he did so.
"What do we need to do?" She finally asked, her voice stopping short of a squeak.
She knew before he could answer what he needed from her. So, when he walked back to her, she moved her hair back exposing her throat like she had seen done in many movies, preparing herself for the inevitable pain of him taking her blood.
A quiver went down her spine and pooled low in her stomach when he growled, his fingers caressing and running down the length of her neck. Her skin erupted in gooseflesh in their wake as his golden eyes searched hers hungrily.
"You do not know what such an action means to my kind." His face dipped out of sight, his lips brushing her ear with a whisper, his hands following her shoulders and the length of her arms. "Intimate submission to a male."
The words were deep and effectual completely mortifying her. He smiled at her in bemusement as he lifted her left hand to his lips, his eyes softening in apology.
"This will hurt. I will try to make it quick." He said turning serious, lifting the palmer side of her wrist towards his mouth, his amber eyes studying her carefully.
"How much do you need exactly?" Kagome asked as fear began to creep in banishing any silly thoughts of bravery now that the moment was upon them.
Uncharacteristically and just as unnerving, his free hand came up to gently cup her cheek, his thumb rubbing her bottom lip like he had the night before stirring up uncomfortable feelings. The glint of remorse in his gaze cushioned the blow of his words.
"Enough to wield Tenseiga. Are you ready?" He lifted her chin firmly insisting she keep their connected gaze.
Kagome nodded slightly. She moved in close allowing his fingers to thread themselves into her hair and rest firmly just behind her ear. Her own hands held tight to his armor as his lips peeled back exposing his fangs.
She flinched and bit her lip against the cry that wanted to fly loose as he sunk into the tender flesh of her wrist. He retracted his fangs from the wound quickly, then began to suck and devour her blood as the rivulets of red ran unchecked from the deep gouges.
He held her arm firmly in place, his eyes fluttering closed in blissful satisfaction, as his other hand began to tug her closer until she was squashed flush to his armor, his arm winding around her shoulders caging her against him. The world around her spun as he fed from her, but she let him take what he needed until he finally pulled away leaving her heart beating deafeningly in her ears and a light buzzing behind her eyes.
His tongue darted out, laving the rent flesh he had created, mending the wounds with his youki. She couldn't tell if it was the sudden blood loss or the smolder in his gaze that turned her knees to jelly. Those mesmerizing amber orbs told her something primal had been awoken, something deep in his subconscious, the true antithesis of the demonic spirit, and its full focus was on her. She shivered having a hard time denying the attraction to it, to him.
"Hold on tight." His deep baritone rumbled through her muscles as she tried to do as he commanded.
She couldn't even speak. Her entire body had gone to aspic melting into him, fingers slipping limply from his armor as everything faded to dark.
Sesshomaru cupped her cheek as the light began to fade from her eyes, his arm moving to support her completely as she fell into him. He had taken too much causing her to lose consciousness.
Cursing, he crouched and hoisted her by the waist higher into his grip as he unsheathed Tenseiga. His powers were fluctuating wildly causing his grasp to become borderline desperate. The familial fang erupted to life in his hand, singing to the renewed fire within his blood.
In one smooth stroke he lifted his arm and brought it down, cutting through the seam of dimensions. Their entire surroundings glowed in an unnatural purple that seemed to dribble up from the ground itself. A portal opened before them, dark and swirling with the same wisps of amethyst coming from the dirt.
Sesshomaru secured his sword and adjusted the slumbering Miko awkwardly from his shoulder into his arms before stepping through, falling with his first steps into the void below.
The moment his bare feet hit the dirt of the well, InuYasha felt the tug of a familial bond through the fabric of space and time. Tetsuaiga's heartbeat rhythmically summoned him to draw it from its sheath at his hip.
"We have to hurry. It's happening now!" He exclaimed setting the priestess in the dirt, kneeling to allow her the use of his leg as a prop to keep herself upright.
He drew Tetsusaiga as she gulped down the viscous concoction he had made moments prior and discarded the wooden cup on the ground. She wasted no time slicing into her own flesh, her blood welling and spilling over onto the dirt. As the heartbeat in his palm turned into a humming crescendo, their desolate earthen surroundings exploded in a spiraling purple.
InuYasha raised his sword and brought it down, the two powers colliding together in an ancient dance. He shielded his eyes with a clawed hand against the subsequent explosion, the light blinding his sensitive vision.
When it abated, he expected to see Kagome sitting before him or at least his asshole brother, but the well was empty save himself and a fading Noriko.
He dropped the fang in favor of grasping the bleeding woman by her bony upper arms, her head lolled languidly to her shoulder.
"What happened? Where are they?" He asked shaking her making her focus on his voice as her eyes began to roll up.
"I... I don't know…" She managed before moaning pitifully.
InuYasha went to work bandaging her wrist, packing the wound with the poultice Kaede had mixed, but the damage had been done. By the time he moved to pick her up, she had already passed out.
His fist collided with the well floor in frustration as the threat of tears burned his eyes. Dirt exploded about him from the impact.
Now what was he supposed to do?