Chapter 6

Her dreams were of fire. She stood in the middle of it, but no matter how much water she doused it with it wouldn't go out. It kept coming back, stronger and hotter than the time before. Then the water was gone. Instead it was her hands that waved over the flames and put them out. They never touched her skin. She never felt the burn.

Standing there, fire all around, she looked down at her hands. They glowed an eerie green. As she watched, from her fingertips began to sprout sharp points. They grew and grew until they were claws, long and curved and deadly sharp. She didn't control them. They scratched their way towards her eyes.

With a gasp Kagome awoke. Her eyes snapped open and she gaped at the darkness. Her breathing was too heavy. She had to pant to draw in enough air. But no matter what she did she couldn't calm herself down. It took a few seconds to realize there was a reason for it, just as there had been a reason she would dream of fire.

Sesshomaru was causing it. He was putting out waves of energy. Every time one ran into her a flicker of a barrier would pulsate around her. Kagome's powers must acting on their own because she was for damn sure she wasn't the one telling them to wake her up.

"You had really better be having a nightmare," she said through a yawn, "Because if this is your idea of a wakeup call, it is wayyyy too early."

"Stop your complaining, girl. Get up."

Kagome didn't get along well with mornings to begin with, but throw a grumpy, overbearing Dog into the mix was no better than pissing in her Cheerios. She scowled deeply.

"Somebody's chipper this morning," she groused as she pushed herself up. "Let me guess, you have a Demon sized hangover."

Sesshomaru didn't bother to reply. With Kagome's weight off of him he pulled out of their sleeping arrangements without further ado. He stood, took less than a second to snap the stitches out of his side, then picked up his clothes and began to dress.

Kagome stayed right where she was and watched him.

"Where's the fire?" she asked.

"Under you if you do not get a move on," he replied without looking back.

"But the sun isn't even up yet."

"Yet the army marches. Now move."

"Ass," Kagome murmured, but she did push herself to sit up. She yawned again and stretched. Then, taking her sweet time about it, she got up. "I don't suppose there's any water around here that isn't toxic?"

Sesshomaru's only answer was a glare, but Kagome shrugged it off. She snatched up her pack and started walking towards the nearest dark patch of foliage. She made it about four steps before she paused and looked back. Sesshomaru was too close for her comfort.

"Piss off for a bit would you? Go…fetch something or whatever. I need a minute or two."

He probably would have argued but Kagome didn't give him the chance. She turned and continued on her way. Sesshomaru didn't follow. Beyond that she really didn't care what he did. She had some business to take care of that couldn't be done with a blasted Dog sniffing around.

Closer to fifteen minutes later Kagome returned washed, brushed, and happily empty. She had even taken the liberty to change her clothes. Despite it being summer, she wore long sleeves. Her blouse was too flimsy, but she found a tight-fitted hoodie in her bag and put it on. The 'sexy' logo scrawled across the bust in silver sparkle lettering was a little misleading, but it was the best she had. Her jeans were the tightest fit she carried, slim-legged and a midnight blue. She topped them off by rolling her socks over the cuffs. Finishing the ensemble, Kagome tied her hair back in a bun. She lashed the stringers of her blindfold tightly in the knot to keep it secure on her head.

When she returned to the rock nook, however, Sesshomaru wasn't there. In his place stood one very subdued looking twin-headed Dragon.

"He bully you too?" Kagome asked the poor beast.

Ah-Un's only answer was to crouch down and offer his saddle for her. Kagome shrugged. Whatever discipline the Dragon had taken for his little deception wouldn't have been underserved. He was still in one piece and still willing to serve, so whatever it had been couldn't have been that bad. She figured taking him up on his offer couldn't hurt.

But before she took her mount, she had to be sure.

"We're not going to have any more problems are we? If I tell you to do something, you'll do it this time?"

Ah, or was it Un? Anyways, one of the heads bowed down low to her as if in apology. The other leaned closer and nudged her shoulder gently. Kagome couldn't resist the cuteness. She stroked the nudging head with her hand and was rewarded for it by the Dragon's low rumble of pleasure. His serpentine eyes even rolled back and blinked over with a second set of milky-white lids.

"Oh, alright," she said with a little laugh. "You're forgiven. Just promise me that you'll listen to me up there. I don't know how well you can stand up to another Dragon, but I don't want to take any chances."

The heads were quick to nod their agreement. So, with the matter settled, Kagome climbed onto the back of the beast. They didn't waste any time. As soon as she had settled Ah-Un pushed off from the ground and took them high into the sky.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

In just a little over two hours Ah-Un had caught up with the troops. Sunrise was starting to turn the horizon, midnight blue grew pale as soft hues of yellow began to streak the sky, then orange, and at last a blazing red. But they didn't need the light to see the army of men. Thousands of feet stepping in unison shook the earth like a marching drum. Sesshomaru had been right. The sun wasn't even up yet and still they marched.

Kagome scanned the area with a brief look through her Miko eyes. It didn't take long to pick up on the presence of a Youkai. She turned Ah-Un to meet with it and found Kirara carrying Miroku as her passenger.

"What's going on?" she called out to the Monk.

Even after seeing it was Kagome and not a threat, Miroku remained tense.

"Where have you been?" he demanded to know. "I was starting to think you weren't coming. A believe me, I am not the only one."

"Sorry. It couldn't be helped. I was picking up a few recruits."

"Like that one?" he asked with a jerk of his chin to indicate Ah-Un.

Kagome gave the Dragon a pat. He was rattling with annoyance and she didn't want him thinking Miroku was a viable target.

"Ah-Un's just the messenger," she said. "The Big Dog's around here somewhere."

"Sesshomaru? He's agreed to fight?"

Kagome winced a bit at that. "Well I wouldn't say he agreed exactly. He came for the Basilisk."

Miroku couldn't hide his suspicion. "And you trust him to do the job?"

"Better it than any of us," Kagome replied. "He's not in a good mood."

"Kagome, what were you thinking? These men are rattled enough as it is. A Drake attacked the camp last night while they were sleeping. We managed to bring it down, but there were so many casualties. The Lords ordered an immediate march forward so that they didn't loose any more to fear. And you bring a Youkai to the fight? Worse, it's Sesshomaru. He won't pull his attacks to spare these men. Kagome, you know this."

"I know what I'm doing, Miroku. Besides, we need his sword."

"His sword?" Miroku shook his head in disbelief. "You went looking for Sesshomaru for His sword? This is a war, Kagome, not some excuse to make your boyfriend jealous by running off with his brother!"

"Half-brother," Kagome corrected. Her voice was purposefully controlled and dangerously soft. "And if you think that my decision has anything to do with such petty agendas, then you don't know anything about me. Inuyasha is not coming. It was his choice, not mine. And you will play nice with Sesshomaru, or so help me, Miroku, this will be our last battle together."

"Kagome…" Miroku instantly regretted his words. He bowed his head in apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Forgive me, it has been a long night and my temper got the better of me. I would never-"

"Save it," Kagome cut him off. "We can deal with lamentations later, right?"

Miroku nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"So what now? How far is the Army ahead of us?"

"I'm afraid the reports are rather grim," Miroku confided in her. "Even with the march beginning hours ahead of schedule, it isn't likely that we will reach the shores of Inawashiro before the fronts clash. Another three hours, maybe a little more."

Kagome shook her head. "We need the water. This won't work without it."

"Perhaps you will have more luck explaining that to the Lords."

Miroku pointed down into the moving mass. A line of men on horseback stood out from the others. Kagome recognized the banners carried by the pages as those belonging to the two houses committed to lead this march, but she didn't pay much attention to them. Something else had occurred to her.

"How many horses do you figure they have?"

Miroku shrugged. "Fifty, maybe a hundred. Why?"

Kagome only smiled deviously. "Oh, no reason."

Giving Miroku a wink, Kagome pulled on Ah-Un's reigns to direct him down towards the procession. The Dragon did as he was told, but he too seemed curious. With one head facing forward to watch where they were going, the other twisted around to face back.

"What?" she asked. "They're just horses. It's not like I plan on sending you out there with them."

Ah snorted and shared a look with Un who shook off a shiver with a very horse-like beat of his lips. It didn't make Kagome feel any better to know that the beast disliked her idea, but it didn't change her mind.

Kagome brought her mount in for a speedy landing. They didn't want to get caught in the air if a jittery soldier spotted them before they touched down. As it was the Dragon's sudden appearance spooked more than its fair share of horses, not to mention the men that rode them.

Kagome was quick to calm the men. She stood up on the back of the beast so there would be no mistake as to who commanded it. The height made it easier for her to see them as well. She spotted Kuranosuke and the Tokugawa Lord in moments. Holding tightly to Ah-Un's reigns for balance, Kagome Dragon-surfed her way over to them.

Kuranosuke greeted her. "Miko Kagome, we are most pleased to see you here."

"If not too late," Tokugawa added. "Where was this hailed Miko when she was needed?"

Kagome ignored the comment. She bowed from her perch respectfully.

"I do apologize for not being here for the attack. But the supplies I managed to secure are even at this moment being used to treat your injured men. And the allies I recruited more than make up for any tardiness."

"Tell that to the men that died in last night's raid!"

Kagome knew that screechy voice that so insisted throwing out accusations. She turned her gaze only enough to keep an eye on Tokugawa's Priest.

"I personally buried more than twenty men! And you, Miko? What have you done but brought another beast to slaughter them!"

"May the fallen know that our prayers are with them," Kagome returned with respect. "And that their sacrifice will mean our victory. They are honored men, and their families will forever know of their deeds."

The Priest shook with rage as she recited the blessing. "Your words are a poison! They curse our men!"

"Your men?" Kagome lifted her chin and dismissed the fool. She looked back to the Lords. "I was under the impression that it was your men, my Lords, that marched in this army."

Kagome caught Kuranosuke's twitching grin. He couldn't say anything, of course, but Kagome suspected he had been waiting for someone to put the 'advisor' in his place. The Tokugawa Lord, though, was a different story. He didn't look pleased in the least.

Nevertheless, Kagome pushed forward. "The shores of Inawashiro must be secured. We need the water, not only to fight the Drakes, but the Basilisk as well. At our current speed we won't make it there in time. I need fifty horses and one hundred men, preferably archers, to ride an advance and hold the line."

"As much as we would be happy to accommodate you, Miko," the Tokugawa Lord said, "As you can see, all of our horses are currently being used."

Kagome only smiled. "Really?"

With only a nudge and a pointed look towards the meddlesome Priest, Ah-Un knew exactly what to do. The dragon rumbled beneath her in a choppy, grumbling laugh as he reached out with one of his heads and snagged the man's robes in his teeth. One solid jerk and a second later Weis was off his mount and sprawled awkwardly in the dirt in a heap of tangled limbs and robes.

"There's one," Kagome told the Lord. "Now work on the others. In one hour we lead out. The horses must be strapped with two spears a piece and equipped with blinders."

"Miko" Apparently Tokugawa had seen enough. "Your behavior is highly inappropriate."

"My behavior? I believe, sir, that it would be your behavior that would be questionable if you were to consider the lives of these men less valuable to you than those of a few pack beasts."

Tokugawa fumed, but before he could speak again Kuranosuke's lead guard Uminasoke pulled his steed forward.

"Why spears?" he asked.

"To do more damage when we send the horses in at a charge," Kagome replied. "Once they're lit they will stampede. They will break through everything in their path and give us some time to hit them with an aerial assault. The horses will be lost, but we should be able to confuse the Army enough to buy at least ten, maybe twenty minutes."

"This is an outrage!" Tokugawa's Priest had found his feet again and he was livid. "You would lead our best steeds to slaughter! And our men as well!"

"With the extra time we may be able to hold the line," Uminasoke told his Lord.

Kuranosuke was inclined to agree. "One hour, Miko Kagome, and you shall have it. Best of luck to you."

Kuranosuke spurred his horse to move. The Tokugawa Lord watched him go, but didn't move his own steed before he had one final word.

"The Emperor will hear of this," he warned.

But it was no threat to Kagome. She smiled in return. "I sincerely hope so."

vvvvvvvvvvvvv

An hour later Kagome rode Ah-Un to meet a force of nearly thirty horses and a little less than fifty men. She surveyed her troops but couldn't help feeling less than intimidated.

"They're just boys," she said to Uminasoke.

At least one Officer had had the decency to show up for such an important task.

"You wanted archers," he replied. "Do not let their stature be a test of their skill. They are among Lord Takeda's best."

"Too bad Tokugawa couldn't get that damn Priest out of his ass long enough to find me some men."

"The Lord has reservations. He does not believe that this plan will work."

"No," Kagome corrected. "He wants it to fail. But you watch, Uminasoke, we'll show them all."

"I pray your faith is justified, Miko-dono. Surely we will need the blessing of the Gods if we are to live through the day."

"Who says we don't have it?" Kagome gave the big man a wink. "Keep your eyes on the skies, Uminasoke. You might just witness a miracle."

Kagome pulled Ah-Un to trot out in front of the line. Once again she stood on the Dragon's back to face the men. Miroku was there. He stood beside Kirara to her right. And Uminasoke pulled his steed out to flank her on the left.

She didn't have to call for their attention. She already had it. She was looking at a group of nearly fifty, but almost all of them were younger than she was. For once Kagome was glad she wasn't wearing her skirt.

"Good morning," she called out to them. "You all know why you're here. The Army marching towards us is moving quickly. If our force is to stand any chance at all against them they must be held before they clear the banks of Inawashiro. You are brave men, all, to have come to stand with me and hold them back. We will be the first to see this army, the first to test its strength, and we will be the first to show them the cost of threatening our lands, our families, and our lives. Take hold of your courage, men, for we will not be a sacrifice for their evil! We will stand. We will hold! And they will learn to fear the skies!"

Bow in hand, Kagome thrust it up above her head. Bows in hands, a regiment of men lifted theirs in salute. They raised their voices and cheered; a ruckus of hoots and hollers that drowned out cowardly fear.

They were as ready as they ever would be. And with a sharp order to her mount, Kagome turned and led them into a gallop that raced them North.

vvvvvvvvvvvvv

Less than twenty minutes into the ride and the horses started to spook. They pulled hard against their reigns, neighing and braying and bucking at their riders.

"Hold your mounts!" Uminasoke shouted back at them. The big man's voice carried far even over the thunder of hooves. "Keep them steady, men!"

From overhead Miroku swooped down on Kirara. He pulled up beside Kagome.

"A Drake is coming," he whispered urgently. "We need to spread the men out."

Kagome shook her head. "Let it alone, Miroku. It won't make it this far."

The Monk might have asked what she meant by that, but before he could shouting from the back of the ranks stirred up a commotion. Someone had spotted something on a ridge in the distance, a massive form of quicksilver that bounded across the peaks on their left flank.

Uminasoke pulled his steed up next to Kagome's Dragon beast.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You asked for a God, Uminasoke," Kagome replied. "You didn't specify which one."

In trepid awe the men watched as one massive form suddenly became two. Cresting over the mountain range a second figure appeared. From a distance it was just a dark shape only vaguely defined by its incredible size, but they all knew it in an instant as the same manner of Drake that had taken their camp the night before. The Dragon screeched when it saw them. The sound was so powerful it pierced their ears like a thunder clap even from so far.

The men fought to control their horses. Shouts and cries went up. But still they watched. They watched because they could see the line of the first beast. The Inu Kami drove straight towards the Dragon.

The Drake didn't even clear the peak before it ran into the ambush. The Inu that had been skirting the ridges out of sight leapt up. He caught the Dragon in his claws and pulled it from the sky, tossing it down and back against the mountain rock as if it were rag-doll instead of a terrifying Beast.

"You see, men!" Kagome cried out over the commotion. "Even the Gods are on our side! Take hold of your steeds and ride them! We ride for victory!"

"Victory!" they chanted back.

The horses calmed as their riders filled with elation. They rode straight and true. They pressed on, forward towards battle. But not a man among them feared its coming. They held the faith and marched on to their destiny.

vvvvvvvvvvvvv

The lakewaters of Inawashiro were a beautiful sight. In the early morning they sparkled with the light, but that was not what made them so inspiring. The banks were clear, as was the road ahead. They had made it before the Army.

Kagome got the men to work right away. Miroku scouted ahead to see how long they would have, Uminasoke took a third of the troop to draw water from the lake and carry it in baskets to their position, and Kagome took charge of lining up the horses and making sure they were strapped tightly with spears and fully blinded.

Every animal she passed by she touched softly. She would bow her head to them in silent thanks and pray for courage. They were truly magnificent beasts. Their loss would be a terrible one, but to spare the men and save the land their sacrifice was necessary.

She felt the Youkai approach long before she heard his voice.

"This is your plan?" he asked, "A few horses and a hail of arrows to stop an army?"

Kagome sighed softly. She gave the horse she had been tending to one last pat before she turned to face Sesshomaru.

"You don't approve?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer right away. He walked past her and gave the horse she had been tending to a once-over. He bushed a hand through the tail and brought it back, rubbing his fingers together to feel the tack. Kagome had run out of fire-starter and lamp oil a dozen horses ago. She had switched to hairspray. It was sticky, but the horses couldn't complain. Not yet.

"The method is crude," he said. "There is a reason it has not been used in a millennia."

"Well, we could always send you out there instead. You know, save the horse, ride a cowboy."

Kagome wasn't really expecting Sesshomaru to laugh at her joke, but she didn't think she deserved his glare. She rolled her eyes and sighed again.

"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears. But we will hold this line."

It took a minute, but the grumpy Dog finally abandoned his glare.

"Twenty-three minutes," he said.

"Eh?"

"That is the lag time between the Army approaching and your reinforcements. If your line holds, I will see you on the other side."

He turned to leave, but stopped after a step.

"And, Miko," he called back over his shoulder, "I said the method was crude. That does not make it any less effective."

Kagome released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She looked down the line of horses, then back at the line of men. Twenty-three minutes. That was all they needed. They could do it. They had to.

vvvvvvvvvvvv

No banners flew over the marching Army. No messengers were sent, no negotiations were to be had. The Army marched forward. That was all. Stone faces filled the ranks. No battle cries, no taunts, no sounding horns or drums; just the pounding of feet and faces blank as slate. They marched in formation, fifty wide with no telling how deep and they didn't slow at the sight of the line of men standing against them.

The order was given to fire. One shot was all the men had to gauge the range. After that it was eyes down and closed. Uminasoke had been truthful, the arches were the best. They held their line even blinded, orienting themselves with lines in the dirt or an arrow pegged at their feet. One shot with eyes open was all they needed, and every one thereafter was a measured draw to inch back as the Army marched forward.

Hails of arrows pierced the sky like angry swarms. They descended en masse to strike the advance. A line fell, and then another. And still the Army pressed forward.

The first wave of miasma spewed out like a fog. It made the day seem like night. From above, Kagome's arrows cleared the path for the next assault.

The horse tails were set alight. Driven by rage and fear the beasts charged. They ran wild, unheeding, uncaring, and blind of any and all that stood in their path. They looked like streaking comets through nebula of black.

Hundreds were taken by the stampede; some under hoof, some impaled. But what remained of the Army marched right over their own fallen men. Their progress was only slowed by the crunch of bodies beneath their feet.

More and more the air was filled with poison. Kagome's arrows couldn't purify it all. On the ground Miroku scrambled blind to throw up barriers around the men, and they, even without their eyes to see, launched their attack over and over again. Baskets and baskets of water doused the line, but it wasn't enough. Even with eyes closed and armor lashed tight to their bodies, the toxin was getting through. The men were slowing with heavy limbs.

Something needed to done. Kagome ordered Ah-Un to throw in to the attack, but even his lightning breath could only give them seconds. She strained her eyes to find the source of the miasma. Only a few minutes more. That was all they needed. If she could shut it down the men might stand a chance.

And then the Dragons came. In tandem the Drakes attacked. Sesshomaru was on them in seconds, but even he had been guarding his eyes. He didn't risk a transformation. He went after them with his sword. But good as he was he couldn't stop a Drake's fire, not from two directions at once.

There was no time for a warning. The scorching blaze hit the left end of the line. It decimated everything. Over a dozen men were lost in one blow. The fire that lingered took two more before it could be doused.

And then the screams really started.

Panic from the Drake attack had caused more than a few eyes to open. They looked around for their fallen comrades, sought out safety from the flames, or just couldn't bear the darkness any longer. They opened their eyes and the Basilisk took them.

Their own men started attacking from within the line. Their offense fell apart as they struggled just to stay alive in the chaos. It was terrible and horrifying, but it was only then that Kagome saw. The men that turned, the ones that forgot themselves and attacked their brothers, they glowed. Not brightly, just enough to be different from a man, just enough for her eyes to see.

One by one, Kagome began picking them off. Each shot was torture. She was killing her own. But if she didn't then even more innocents would fall. Tears streamed from her eyes and still she shouted at the rest of the men to resume their fire.

Arrows streaked the sky. Lightning crashed down and split the earth. Fire blazed. It was Hell on Earth. And it was only the beginning.

Then, as Kagome tracked the last man to have turned, she saw it. At first she thought it might have been a trick of the light. Barriers and sacred charms and arrows were everywhere. Demonic attacks were left and right. Between Sesshomaru fighting and Ah-Un blasting away she couldn't have been sure. But she had a feeling that it was what she had been looking for.

With a new urgency, Kagome pushed Ah-Un down. The closer she got the more sure she was. The man that had turned, the one she had been tracking, there was something else there with him. It was so tiny she hadn't seen it before. She lined up her shot and waited. Until there was no mistake, until she saw the true face of the Beast.

It was holding the man like a hostage, stiff and scared and trembling with fear. But it had no hands to hold him. All it had taken was a look in the eye from the creature and the man belonged to it. But it was nothing. It was no more than a speck hovering in front of the man it had taken, a newt clinging to the trunk of a tree.

Close enough, Kagome took her shot. Her arrow streaked vibrantly for a split second. It sliced straight through the creature. But that wasn't the end of it. She was forced to pull Ah-Un up hard to avoid the fallout. From the severed head the miasma spewed uncontrollably. It hissed and gurgled and tossed about as though being thrown from a runaway hose.

As she watched dozens of the miniature sparks of light pulled back in retreat. They snaked through the field like serpents, but they moved together as though all tethered to the same cord.

The few dozen men that remained standing couldn't feel the relief of a new charge from their backs. The roar of fury that filled the air was so massive and terrible it stilled the waters of the lake. And even if they couldn't see it, they could feel the tremble of the earth as one of its mountains reared up and the Basilisk revealed itself.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Eyes down! Eyes down!"

Kagome screamed at the heavy infantry as they charged through. They had made it with not a second to spare. The stone soldiers were almost on top of them. But if they looked up they would never join the fight.

She rode above the charge screaming out the order all the way down the front. Shields blocked and thrust the stone Army back. Swords darted out for quick strikes before retreating back. They pressed in to the dark cloud. As one line slowed another took its place. They pushed back with all their might to clear the path.

"Get these men clear! Medics!"

"Hold them off, men! Watch their feet! Aim high!"

"Over here! You men, now! Fill the water brigade! Douse those troops!"

The last orders from what remained of Kagome's advance force were taken up and relayed by those that came after them. For the handful of them that remained, they were at last given a moment to breathe.

Kagome pulled Ah-Un down to land. She found Miroku right away. She had never really lost him even in the chaos. He was helping move the wounded from underfoot, shouting orders for medics and the like. His aura was dimming. It wavered unsteady in Kagome's eyes.

"Miroku." She put her hand on his shoulder so he would know where she was. "Are you well?"

"I'll…be better once we have a cure for this…toxin." His breathing was labored, heavy but not from exertion. "Did you…see it?"

The Monk wouldn't have looked. He knew better than to try. But he would have felt it, just as she did, known how massive it was, how terrible. What he didn't know was how horrendously hideous it was.

"A Stone Dragon," Kagome told him. "The size of a mountain. Armor plated. A mouth full of snake-like things. Its tongue maybe. They were what spit the poison and turned the men. Tiny little lizards, but all attached to one beast. Believe me, Miroku, you don't want to see this thing."

He fumbled blindly to grab for her arm. "I take…it back."

"What?"

"Anything I ever said...about Sesshomaru."

Kagome could feel it too. Their men couldn't reach the mountain-sized beast. They couldn't even dream of a way to strike it down. All they could do was keep the stone soldiers busy and away from the real battle happening far beyond the front lines.

"Hold on a little bit longer," she bid him. "We'll make it through this."

But someone was missing. "Kirara? Is she…?"

"By the water," Miroku panted in reply. "She got…burned pretty badly…pulling men out of the Drake's fire."

Kagome sighed in relief then nodded. "Alright. Take care of things back here then. Don't push it. I'll be back as soon as I can with that monster's blood."

"Be careful," the Monk warned.

And Kagome smiled for him even though he couldn't see it. "I will."

She turned back to find Ah-Un, and nearly ran into one of the army men.

"Miko." Uminasoke's voice, but rougher, deeper. He had been infected as well. "I know…what you did out there."

"What I did?"

The big man took hold of her arm. He followed it down until he found her hand. Pulling it forward, he placed a small bundle of arrows on her palm. They were still charged.

"These…can not be left behind," he told her. "Should the Priests see them…they will know it as well."

"Uminasoke…"

But he wasn't listening. He started walking away. His steps were too heavy, and he carried himself with a limp that hadn't been there before the battle, but still he shouted at the troops.

"Get on that water, boys! And eyes down Damnit! I catch one of you looking up and it'll be my blade you see! Move it! Move it!"

Kagome watched after him for a second, but her eyes couldn't see his individual light through her blindfold. She closed her hand around the arrows he had given her. Her own power still coursed through the wood, and still she could feel the sticky slickness of the blood that coated the shafts.

But there was no time for second-guessing. She took only one breath to steel her resolve, then turned back to find her Dragon mount.

vvvvvvvvvvvvv

From a distance, the creature was horrifying. The size of a mountain, its bulk made the earth tremble. It lumbered more than moved, each step an angry shriek of movement as solid masses were strained and forced to move. Trees rooted in the stone surface were whipped and tossed, each becoming something akin to a spike of armor as they were twisted and tilted away from their natural heights. Some broke, some shattered, and some even lost their roots as they were torn from their bases. A hail of branches and trunks and massive mounds of soil rained down with every shuddering impact.

And the sound. By the Gods, the sound. It was unbearable, unnatural. Stone shrieked like a banshee. Wood cracked and snapped like thunder. The hiss of the spewing mist was unrelenting. And something deeper and angrier rumbled from somewhere deep within the mass.

From a distance, it was horrifying. Up close it was even worse, a nightmare made real.

Everything was dark. The air was thick and heavy. The sun had been blotted out with a mixture of poison and debris. All around massive crashes of stone and dirt and wasted foliage shook the ground deeply as every movement of the beast and threw more dust and cloud into the air. Sight was impossible. Breathing was heavy, chocked with so much destruction in the air.

And the sound. Oh Gods, the sound. From a distance it was horrifying. Up close it sounded as though the earth itself was screaming. Anguished, tortured, wailing screams that were never-ending.

Kagome did what she could to block it out. She drove her mount hard and fast straight into the chaos. She relied on her second sight and intuition as much as much as Ah-Un's bestial instinct to dodge around the hazards. From the ground they leaped and skidded around and across the broken land. When that was not possible they took to air and weaved and ducked as more debris fell from above them. Still they drove forward and deeper into the chaos.

Though it all Kagome could still see the light of Sesshomaru's fire. He was in battle, the Demon fire within him set ablaze. She could see his movements as he darted about the creature with impossible speed. What was more, she could see his attacks. The aura of Bakusaiga reflected that of its master: sharp, precise, and so hot it was cold.

But there was no power for Bakusaiga's attacks to drain, no regeneration or healing by the beast. The creature was heedless of any loss of its form. For every chunk and mass and plate chipped away there was just another chunk or mass or plate underneath. As powerful as Sesshomaru's attacks against the creature were, all they were serving to do was amass greater piles of devastation on the ground beneath his feet.

And he was fighting blind. All around him, no matter which way he turned, Sesshomaru was surrounded by hundreds of the tiny lizards that had ensnared the men. One misstep, one second where his eyes opened, and they would have him. Never look one in the eye. The Youkai Lord was proud but he wasn't stupid. His body might have been immune to the toxin being spewed relentlessly from the creature, but he wasn't willing to test the effect on his eyes.

For the moment it was a stalemate. The Basilisk couldn't move fast enough or strike hard enough to slow Sesshomaru, and Sesshomaru wasn't hitting with enough power to crack the armored plating of the beast. Given enough time, the Youkai would find a way to do it. He always did. But then, given enough time and the men fighting on the ground would succumb to the toxic air, or worse. Kagome wasn't about to make that sacrifice.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas," she asked her mount.

Ah-Un looked back at her question. His eyes were a milky white. The Dragon's second lids were enough protection from the Basilisk without compromising his vision completely. But even through the opaque covering there was the distinct impression of a blank stare. He didn't know either.

Still, something had to be done. The Basilisk had to be brought down. Its blood had to be harvested to make the antidote. Even if Sesshomaru managed to get one of his attacks through the rock shell it couldn't be so massive that it destroyed everything.

But what could she do?

Looking back at the men in the plains, Kagome grew desperate. The stone soldiers were gaining ground by the second. Men were falling in droves, some cut down, others taken by a worse fate as they turned on their brothers. She had to save them. She had to stop this. But how?

Then, just as she was about to look away, something caught the corner of her eye. If she hadn't been looking down at the battle below she would have missed it. But there, just barely visible at the base of the monstrous form of the Basilisk, something out of place glowed faintly. It was so far away, so tiny on a creature of such impossible size, but with her Miko eyes Kagome could see it.

There was a depression in the stone, a binding placed there by a mortal hand. Five fingers spread wide were the seal, the lock and key to the Basilisk's power, and its defeat.

Kagome willed her voice to rise above the din.

"Sesshomaru!"

She screamed his name across the battlefield. It wasn't the first time. But unlike any time before, he answered.

He actually pulled back from yet another attack. Likely he knew, as she did, it was a futile effort anyways. He turned sharply, leaving nothing but air for the cumbersome beast to swipe at, and doubled back before the creature even registered what was happening.

In seconds he was near enough for her to feel his presence apart from the chaos around her.

"It isn't the mountain," she said quickly, knowing he could hear. "There's something else. Something is binding it. I can see it."

"Where?"

If only it were that easy.

"I can't tell you. I can't show you. The land is moving faster than I could point the way."

"Miko."

There was warning in his tone. They were running out of time.

"I know. I know!" And she did. But she didn't know how. "If you could see it, you could get me there."

The answer was so simple. Kagome's mind was made up before the thought even finished.

"You did it before," she told him. "Do it again."

"You will be blind."

The statement was as much a warning as it was him asking for permission. Though understanding what she was asking, Sesshomaru had no intentions of giving away any of his abilities while engaged in battle. There would be no sharing of powers, no equal exchange. If she did this, he would simply take her sight and use it to supplement his own.

Kagome nodded even though he would never see it.

"Yes. But I don't need my eyes to break that seal. I can do it."

And she could. The darkness would mean nothing. The loss of her sight would be a trivial thing if it meant bringing this monster to its knees.

She could feel him move closer. Through the shield covering her eyes she saw the dance of his power. It lifted her from her mount, held her within the burn. But the fire never touched her skin. The maddened dance was tempered by ice, cool and calm and focused.

Something held him back.

"Kagome…"

It was a question, something uncertain, some hesitation that he couldn't quite find the words to express. But she understood. Kagome smiled even though he would never see it. She closed her eyes. She lifted the shield covering them. And with the last vision she would have, she used it to fit the covering over his eyes.

Then she pulled herself up and found him in the fire. She tangled her hand in his hair and brought him closer. He let her do it, let her guide him to her lips. And when she felt the press of power against her senses, she willed her breath to carry with it more than a touch, more than a kiss, more and everything. She opened herself to him and willed all she could to breathe into him her blessing.

All around them there was chaos. All around them there was destruction. All around, and yet, between them, for a moment, there was silence.

Darkness descended. The totality of it was what made her break their connection. Kagome gasped a breath. Her eyes opened yet she saw nothing. The world around her was gone. Only the void remained.

"Hold on."

Sesshomaru's voice. He remained with her. She could still feel where he held her to him. A part of her was relieved. A part of her was grateful.

She nodded once and steeled her resolve. This had been her choice. She had known the consequence. She was not going to break now because of it. She tightened her arms around him and secured her hold.

Stone and rock were strewn everywhere. Black clouds of smoke and ash and sticky resin hung so thick not even the midday sun could penetrate them. But even in the chaos, even through the darkened cloud of putrid ichor, with a Miko's eyes to guide him, Sesshomaru found the way.

He brought them down to land at the source. When he released her, Kagome didn't need her eyes to know where to go. She could feel the vibration of the seal, knew it as well as she would know her own sacred arrows. She stepped forward.

Behind her, Sesshomaru turned to face what was coming. On the battlefield below the stone soldiers fell back from the front. They scurried like ants to defend their queen. They threw themselves in waves and hoards against them, but Sesshomaru drove them back with sweep after sweep of his powerful sword, leaving only heaps of formless rubble in the wake.

The mountain groaned. The creature bellowed in protest. Its stone servants crashed against them, against each other, climbing over rubble of their once ranks only to join them. Kagome could hear the shrieks of stone and slate, the crack of limbs, the crash of earth, but she tuned it out and focused. She could hear something else in the din. A wailing, a screeching, a tiny voice muffled by layers of rock. She reached out to it and found the seal beneath her fingers. It pulsed strongly in warning.

The seal was strong, but Kagome knew she could be stronger. Her fingers spread wide. Five fingers. Five points of power. A Mortal hand but not. She could feel the pulse within the stone, the life there that was not of the earth. She willed it to come forward.

The seal shook. It vibrated with currents of power. They lashed out. They sought to strike her. They lanced and cut. But Kagome held firm. No Mortal seal would even bind her. She spoke to it.

"Open."

It was an order. She demanded it.

"Open!"

She forced her power into the stone, flooded it with wave after wave.

"OPEN!"

One last burst of power. She called for it from every God and every life past. From all that made her, they would serve her now.

The binding began to crack. A second later and the seal shattered like a pane of glass.

Silence followed. A stillness as though the earth itself were drawing a breath. The hoards fell still, their stone limbs set in their final resting place. The mountain grew quiet, its rampage nothing more than a memory.

The battle was over.

And then they heard it. A sickening screech. A pitiful wail. A tiny, insignificant voice from within the rubble.

Sesshomaru steeped clear of the debris. He reached down into the opening Kagome had made when she broke the seal. His claws took hold of the true form of the basilisk.

The little creature twisted and thrashed and screeched, heedless of the vice of razor claws that held it. It was deformed, a hideous twisting and blending of parts. It wore a skin of scales and flesh in one. Its legs wriggled and writhed like worms on a hook. Its arms snatched and pinched like a crustacean's claws. And its head, though bearing the face of a man, was pitched and elongated like an alien straight out of a horror film.

"Why? Why? Why!" the creature screamed to its captor. "Why fight for the Humans? This is their doing! They did this! They did this to me! They must die! All of them! Die! Die for your crimes! Wretched, filthy, cowardly Humans! Die! Die! DIE!"

"What crimes?" Kagome found herself asking.

She couldn't help herself. Even though she could not see it, she could feel how desperate it was. And even after everything she knew it had done, she felt sympathy for this poor misshapen creature.

The Inu that held it in his grasp, no doubt, did not. But hearing her question, for whatever his reason, Sesshomaru turned and brought the creature to face her.

"There's no escape," Kagome told him. "And for terrible destruction you've caused you will be punished. But you may find an easier death if you just tell me why. Why have you done this? Why attack innocent villages? Women and children? Why? What purpose could so much death possibly serve?"

"Human…"

The creature said the word like it was venom on his tongue. His fruitless struggles ceased and he brought his focus to land squarely on Kagome. His eyes were black, solid like onyx stone. No iris, no pupil, just an endless void of nothingness. If the eyes truly were the windows of the soul, what darkness lay in this creature was abominable.

"Tell me," Kagome said again, blind to all of it. "Why have you done this? Why kill so many?"

"Humans think it is death to be locked away in a stone," the creature spit. "My prison is now theirs to bear! They will never be free. Never! Never!"

Kagome shook her head in heavy sorrow. "So this is all about revenge. You found a way to escape your prison, but instead of living you cursed those that put you there."

"They deserved to die. All Humans. All Humans!"

The creature's dark eyes burned. Hellfire black as night swirled in their depths.

"Die…"

The voice seemed to be coming from within the black fire.

"Die..."

It hissed and spit like the flames.

"DIE!"

A sharp snapping sound jarred Kagome back from some dark place. She blinked in confusion.

"What…?"

But she didn't really need to ask. It had been the Basilisk's voice she had heard in the darkness. Even without her eyes to see it, the Demon sought to put her in its trance. And it was Sesshomaru, standing outside of it and seeing what was happening, that had snapped the Dragon's neck and left him in a pile of lifeless flesh at his feet.

Kagome cringed at the idea of such senseless death. But then, she supposed, the Basilisk could not be blamed for acting on its nature any more than a bird could be blamed for flying. It was her doing that had brought this creature its end, her selfish desire to understand the madness that drove it that had made her look upon its face. It was she who had forced Sesshomaru's hand.

"Sesshomaru, I…" But what could she say?

"You won the battle," Sesshomaru finished for her. "That is all they ever need know."

There was such finality in his words, like he expected not to be questioned on the matter. Except Kagome wasn't so easily mollified.

"But I didn't win." And she knew she hadn't. She had failed in so many ways. "I couldn't have. Not without you. What you did…What you've done…"

"You would thank me even now? Even as it is with your eyes I now see?"

Kagome couldn't quite place his tone. Her head tilted as she puzzled through it. He wasn't angry. He wasn't cold. Not condescending or snide. But there was something there. Something more than the smooth voice of instruction. Something different than the soft tenors of contemplation. Something….

She felt him move closer, felt the warmth of his hand as it brushed her cheek, and she leaned into it without any more thought

"I could have taken everything from you," she heard him say.

But Kagome only smiled and lifted her had to cover his where it cupped her face.

"But you didn't"

He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. The touch was so gentle even his sharp claw only brushed softly against her skin.

"Perhaps one day I shall"

His lips touched hers. But there was no fire. There was no burn of energy, no clash of powers. There was only the press of his lips against hers, the soft motions, the subtle hints. His teeth grazed her bottom lip to pull it down and coax open a deeper path and she found herself letting him in, yearning to taste him as he was her.

A breath of time and it was over. Kagome opened her eyes and she saw. Light came back to the world. She blinked to adjust, thinking she would open her eyes and see him. A twinge of disappointment gripped her chest when she found her focus and realized Sesshomaru was no longer with her. He had released her, moved away, his focus directed up to the skies.

Kagome followed his line of sight. It took her only seconds to recall her power of sight. It came back to her as naturally as taking a breath. The light shifted and she saw the energy form in the skies closing in. Ah-Un. She recognized the Dragon's aura. Sesshomaru must have called for the beast and he, the dutiful servant, had come.

The twin-headed dragon pulled in for a landing by his master. He set down with a smoothness that betrayed his bulk. No words were spoken, but a vibration in the air, a rumbling growl, left Kagome shivering. The Dragon had heard its order and understood. He lumbered across the rocky ground, bent down with one of its heads and snatched the basilisk up in his maw, then turned and sat down on his haunches, exposing his saddle to Kagome in an action that was unmistakable in its intent.

Kagome knew what he wanted. But she couldn't take him up on his offer just yet.

"Sesshomaru…?"

She called after him. She knew he was leaving, but a part of her just couldn't let go.

"Tend to your duties, Miko," he said without looking back. "I shall not be far. When you are ready, Ah-Un will bring you to me."

It was enough and it wasn't. Still, Kagome nodded. She had a Duty. She couldn't let her own feelings stand in the way of that. She turned and took her mount. But even as the dragon leapt up and took to the skies, she couldn't help but look back.

He wasn't there. Sesshomaru had left. No trace of him remained. But a part of her, a small part so deep and secret she couldn't be sure it was there it all, looked back and saw something more than the destruction of the land, more than the sickly resin that had settled on every living surface. The creature was dead, the barrier binding it destroyed, yet as she looked back she could almost see the lingering of power in the stone. It pulsed softly, a stroke of red left behind in the carnage.

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