Inspiration:Gnossienne 1 - Erik Satie
It had been a long day. A really long day. Sango had twisted her foot in a quick fight against a demon with long spindly arms. Miroku had hurt his hand further while using his wind tunnel in the same fight, and Inuyasha had a headache, unrelated to the fight that the others had become injured from. Shippo was being grumpy, one of his teeth were hurting.
At first, Kagome thought it may have been from sweets, but after Sango took a good look into his mouth, she proclaimed that it looked like his adult teeth would start coming in. There would be many more toothaches to come.
Kagome hiked along with them. Her shoulders hurt from days of carrying her still almost full pack, and her legs hurt from their never-ending journey, but she kept her complaints to herself. Her companions had enough to worry about. She didn't want to add to any of that.
Shippo stomped along, pouting the whole time. Kagome felt bad. She wished there was more she could do to help, but she already supplied the necessary pain killer. It didn't seem to be working too well though. Then again, Sango kept walking on that leg and Miroku's hand, well, there weren't many words that could express how bad that wind tunnel could mess him up sometimes.
"Maybe we should make camp," Kagome spoke up with her suggestion as she shouldered off her pack and put down her bow. Inuyasha sent a glare at her.
"Just because you're tired—," he began to say, and Kagome made a wincing face almost immediately. Leave to Inuyasha to just point his finger at her right away.
"I think she's saying it for our sakes," Miroku muttered as he dropped his bag almost immediately at the suggestion, and plopped down to sit on it. Sango gave a nod, lowering herself to sit on the ground, Kirara was quick to her lap, seeming more than ready for a break too.
"And I think it's a good idea," Sango said as she stretched out her bad leg and tried not to make a face. Kirara rubbed into her, trying to comfort her. Inuyasha looked at them and then at Kagome, and then at Shippo who now plopped down too. Inuyasha threw his hands in the air.
"Keh! Whatever," he grumbled a few other things under his breath that the others didn't quite catch. He shoved his hands into his sleeves and squatted down, not quite sitting. Kagome rolled her eyes. He talked tough, but she could see just how tired he was by his actions. His shoulders slumped heavily, his eyes half-lidded.
"I'll find some water," Kagome said as she looked to each of her companions, one at a time.
"Let me get your water-skins," she collected them from everyone and began to start off.
"Hey!" Inuyasha called out. Kagome held back a sigh. What now? She turned to him and gave an annoyed look. His face had softened.
"Be careful, bring your bow," he said. Kagome's face softened too, and she nodded.
"I will," she said and she went back and grabbed her bow. Her arrows were still slung over her back.
She watched as Inuyasha clasped his hands behind his neck and leaned back so that he was laying down in the unruly grass that carpeted the ground around them.
"I'll be back," Kagome said as she started off. She received no further replies. Looking back to her companions, they all seemed ready to pass out, even Shippo who leaned against his aching tooth, probably to apply pressure to hopefully lessen the pain.
Kagome couldn't help the small smile that lingered on her face. Even if they could all get grumpy and agitated, they were still some sort of little family, albeit a strange one. A demon hunter, a monk, two demons, a half demon, and a time-traveler, really, there was no stranger configuration of friends, but she would have it no other way. They took care of each other.
"Okay, water," she muttered to herself as she turned back to the task at hand. She began to walk further into the woods, further and further, keeping her ears open for the sound of running water.
After a while, she found herself quite far. She had found nothing, nothing but more woods and brush and trees. She grumbled to herself as she made to turn around, but a noise grabbed her attention. At first she didn't quite catch it, but the second time it sounded, she knew it was a voice.
"I command you to yield to me demon, become mine!" The tone of words that were spoken out held a poisonous heat for the feminine voice it came from. Something twisted in Kagome's stomach. She began towards it, trying to keep low and out of sight, staying lower than the bramble and thickets of tall grass, and being careful as to where she stepped. When she finally reached close enough to peer over the brush, she found old ruins of white stone, and two figures who stood at the top of an altar in the center.
Kagome almost gasped, but stopped herself. There was a priestess, not like any she had seen before. Her robes were white and black, so black that it could have been the color of night. Her face was painted white, with a line of black going down, starting at the top of her forehead down to her chin. Across from the dark priestess... was none other than someone she already knew. An inudaiyokai, Sesshomaru. Between them was some sort of orb that rested upon a standing sconce made of the same ruined stone as the rest of this strange place, and a black aura spewed from it, erupting to take a hold of Sesshomaru.
Kagome squinted at them. Sesshomaru's eyes glowed red, his marks going jagged, yet his body was limp, almost as if the dark magic held him up with a tight grip of shadow. Kagome almost felt sick. Something about this brought back bad memories. Memories of a strange herb bath and having her soul sucked out. Kagome closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.
The dark priestess before her probably exceeded her power by tenfold. Kagome swallowed and reopened her eyes to look at the situation once again. She wished she weren't alone. Even if she was... She couldn't let whatever was happening, happen. What if it was similar to what happened to her before? Even if Sesshomaru had been their enemy at times, well, the point is to be better than others in a way. Right? And even so, it was never that Sesshomaru was truly her enemy, but rather some rivalry that seemed to exist between him and Inuyasha. She definitely had gotten in the way a few times, or the middle of it, and that was never a fun experience.
Yet if anyone was the good guys, she liked to believe it to be herself and her friends. That's what she told herself. Surely to help the inuyokai would earn them points with the western lord if she helped him too, if this even worked somehow that is.
Kagome wet her lips, in her nervousness, they became quickly dry. She drew an arrow and notched it, as quietly as she could.
"Okay arrow, don't fail me now," she murmured softly as she took aim. She lined up her shot and on a soft exhale, released her arrow.
Kagome gasped. The priestess hadn't seen it coming, hell, Kagome thought her shot would be off... She had hit the priestess straight in the eye. She had flailed around for a moment before falling over. Kagome's stomach twisted. Had she killed her? She tried not to think of it as she stepped out of hiding and began a light jog to the altar. She climbed up the steep steps quickly, almost falling over when she stumbled over bits of broken rock.
The black orb was still glowing. With the dark priestess out of commission, the orb's power seemed to go haywire. It now covered Sesshomaru so thickly that Kagome could not make him out through the fog of it one bit.
"How do I make it stop?" Kagome stared at it wide-eyed. A frown formed widely on her lips as she narrowed her eyes and held out her hands. Maybe if she threw it down and got it away from the daiyokai, it would cease to overpower him. Her hands drew closer to it. She held her breath as she grabbed it and lifted.
A scream left her lips. Dark energy traveled up her arms and then quickly enveloped her body. It felt like a million hornets covered her while stinging repeatedly. The orb plummeted from her hands to hit the ruined stone floor. The force of its fall cracked it straight in half, smoke rose from it, but the energy that had enveloped Kagome only a second ago finally faded. She gazed upward to look at the daiyokai. So too, had the energy stopped surrounding him, but his eyes were still red and his face still lined with jagged stripes.
Her heart thundered against her ribcage.
"This priestess was trying to harm you,' Kagome turned her eyes to the unbreathing woman, arrow sticking out of her eye-socket. So too did the daiyokai's eyes turn to her, and slowly, his demonic characteristics began to fade.
'Inuyasha's wench,' at first the words upset her. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"I am not his wench!" Kagome let out. Sesshomaru widened his eyes at her, looking baffled. This shocked Kagome more than anything. Sesshomaru showed no emotion, ever, every time they'd seen him.
'Why is he looking at me like that? I save his life and this is the thanks I get!?' Kagome thought to herself. His eyes seemed to widen more, which put Kagome on edge even more.
'Can you somehow hear me, Miko?' This time though, she realized his lips did not move with his words. Her eyes widened now, and her lips parted to let out a gasp.
'I don't—understand this,' Kagome thought in disbelief.
"Nor do I," he spoke out loud this time.
"But This Sesshomaru believes we are hearing each other's thoughts," as he spoke, Kagome began to shake her head.
"No, this can't... No," she muttered.
'there is no way that jerky mc-jerk-face can hear my thoughts, right?' Kagome wondered to herself, only to find the daiyokai giving her a very unamused look.
"Miko, if you are to blather your thoughts in my head, it is best that you do not antagonize this one," he stated. Kagome covered her mouth with her hands, not that it mattered. It wasn't her spoken words that were the problem.
"I'm sorry, I'm used to my thoughts being more, well, private," she said. Sesshomaru's face had become stoic once again, now that the initial shock had worn off.
"Well, for now, they are not," he said.
Kagome held her breathe for a moment. This couldn't be happening. On top of that, they were actually conversing which was also very strange. Maybe it was all dream.
"Tell me Miko, exactly what you did," he commanded. Kagome gave him a confused look. Normally she would be all over setting him right on not commanding her, but truth to be told, that was the furthest thing from her mind.
"I shot the priestess, but the energy from the orb seemed to cover you more, I picked it up and it hurt me, so I dropped it," Kagome explained. Sesshomaru tilted his head slightly to stare at the halved orb.
'And now it's broken' Kagome added in her mind.
'Curious,' his thoughts were revealed to her just as hers were to him.
"Why do you think this is happening?" Kagome asked. Sesshomaru gave her a small gaze before looking back at the orb.
"It has something to do with that priestess and her orb, that much cannot be mistaken," he stated.
'and whatever magic she was using,' his thoughts finished. Kagome frowned. She didn't like this, not one bit.
Sesshomaru brought a hand to his temple.
"Calm your mind Miko, just as you do, I do not find this ideal," he stated. Kagome gasped. She was panicking in her mind... Meaning he could hear all of it.
"I'm sorry," she muttered. His golden eyes brushed over her again, she felt his look was quite critical upon her.
"I will take this to see what I can find out," he stated. She gave him a confused look. In all honesty she was surprised at how civil they had been with each other thus far. She was far too used to ningen this, ningen that, but he had not said a single word of her humanity this time.
"I'm surprised you're telling me this," she said, usually he seemed quite private.
"I'd rather speak freely than think without privacy," he stated. Her lips formed an 'O' for a second.
"And as to your other question, is it not best to attempt at not infuriating each other, so long as we share a mind, it is best to remain polite," She also never expected him to say something like that, but it did make sense.
'Not too mention I do not wish to bring that rambling wrath upon myself,' surely he had not meant to think it, but the predicament was still so new, it was hard to remember not to think. Kagome narrowed her eyes and held up her pointer finger, her lips parted with the means of some hopefully witty remark, but he spoke before she could.
"Perhaps there is a range to the spell, and the further we get, maybe it would be feasible that we would not hear each other's thoughts," he suggested. Kagome gave a nod. That sounded like maybe it could work.
"Right, well then, I'll just go, I guess," Kagome found herself rambling. She still couldn't really believe these strange turn of events. She turned around and began down the steps, stumbling over the same stupid rock she did before.
'Good going Kagome, way to look suave in front of Sesshomaru,' she scolded herself. And then she panicked. He could hear her thoughts. It would be best to try and not think.
'Wait, water... I still never found any,' she felt annoyed at that. She couldn't really return empty-handed, not unless she wanted to hear Inuyasha complain about it.
'Miko,' Sesshomaru spoke to her by means of his thoughts. She turned her head towards him to see him lift his arm and point.
"I—thank you," she said and then she began off, in the direction he pointed in.