Title: Tides Against Time
Rating: M (Language, Violence, and Adult Content)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the Little Mermaid. All rights should go to Inuyasha Inc. and Disney.
Music: The song I have selected for this chapter is: "The Song the makes me cry/original acoustic Spanish guitar sad song."I love to listen to music on YouTube while I read to add to the atmosphere. You are welcome to listen along with my music selection if you want. It is not required. When you see these marks (***) that means to begin to play the selected song. When you see (xxx) this means to stop playing the music. It is important to pay attention to these marking as there is more than one song for this chapter. I do not have credit for these recordings or channels but I think it adds to the story.
Tides Against Time: Waking Up
Sesshomaru rode A-Un as hard as he could run up the beach. Coming through the back gate he yells to a nearby servant and tells him to get the royal healer. Dismounting he tenderly lowers Kagome into his arms and quickly makes his way up to the castle leaving the anxious dragon to be cared for by the stable boys. Servants ran this way and that trying to get out of his way. As he walked he gave out orders for the room connected to his to be prepared and for fresh linens and a hot water basin to be brought into the room for the healer. Entering into the room he sees a servant has laid a blanket over top of the bed so not to get the rest of it dirty. She was still covered in sand and soaking wet with saltwater. Gingerly laying her down on the blanket he sees she is shivering and was growing weaker every second. Just as he was about to call for the healer to hurry up his nanny and healer walked through the door.
"Oh what a poor little thing!" said Kaede as she came around the bed.
"We need to quickly get her out of those soaking wet cloths." said the healer.
She began to lift the torn sail but quickly noticed she was completely naked underneath. Laying it back down before anyone else could see her womanhood she turns her attention to the men in the room.
"I am sorry gentlemen but our patient is not properly dressed you will all have to leave. That includes you my Lord, I must apologize." said the healer Tstukiyomi.
"I will be right outside. Please inform me on any changes." said Sesshomaru as he followed the male servants out of the room.
Seeing the room completely clear of males Kaede goes over to the door and shuts it. She and the healer then begin undressing Kagome and washing her body of all sand and saltwater. When they pulled off her seashells they saw a strange red spot in the center of her chest. It was hot to the touch and was inflamed and bruising on the edges. When they washed her hair they saw faint white lines on her shoulder and upper arm as if a great wound hand once been there. They had tried to take off her necklace but some unseable force would not allow them to take it off. Deciding to leave it since it wasn't causing her any harm they moved down to wash her stomach and legs. When they began washing them she softly mumbled in a language they didn't understand in her unconsciousness and her face scrunched in pain. Once she was washed and dressed in a white sleeping gown that went to her ankles they lifted her off of the dirty blanket and laid her under a new dry blanket on the bed. Seeing that she was a settled Kaede went and opened the door to allow Sesshomaru back in.
"You may come in now if you wish my Lord. The girl is as comfortable as we can make her." said his nanny.
Sesshomaru enters the room to find Kagome sleeping on the far side of the bed near the window. She was still sickly in complexion and she had a light sweat on her brow from her fever. Her lips were not as blue and she was no longer mumbling in pain. He then watched the healer slip some medicine down her throat making her cough.
"What is that you have given her Tsukiyomi?" asked Sesshomaru curiously.
"I gave her some medicine to help bring down her fever and pain." said the healer as she readjusted a hot press on Kagome's brow.
"Poor child, she must have gone through something very tragic to experience such pain. She was moaning every time we touched her lower back and legs. She also had a strange red hot spot right above her heart and it is bruising slightly." said Kaede as she came to stand behind Tsukiyomi.
"Sess..sooo…ma..ru…" whispered Kagome in her sleep making the two women gasp and Sesshomaru's eyes widen in surprise.
"Did my ears just deceive me or did the young lady just say our Lords name?" asked Kaede.
Once again Kagome whispered his name with a light moan answering her question for her. Sesshomaru just stared down at his once little mermaid with a questioning brow graced on his face.
"Does she sense my presence here? Or is she truly calling for me?" he asked himself in his mind.
"Do you know this young lady my Lord?" asked Tsukiyomi curiously as she looked at her Lord.
Taking his gaze off of Kagome and turning his back to the women. He walks over to the window by the bed and looks outside. From here he could see part of the courtyard where they had first been reunited. He could see part of the lagoon, the courtyard's wall, the capital city and the expansive sea beyond. Taking a deep breath threw his nose he answers her question.
"If you remember, 50 years ago my father and I were found on the beach just past our city's board."
"Yes… that is how we found ye. But what does this have to do with the young lady?" asked Kaede.
"This "girl" is the one who rescued my father and I from drowning." He said informatively.
The two women gasped and looked back down at the girl lying on the bed. This tiny human girl had saved their previous Lord and current Lord 50 years ago? She looked to be about 19 in human years so how could that be possible? She didn't look strong enough to have been able to save their previous Lord from drowning let alone live this long and not age! So how could this be possible? Surly he must be mistaken?
"Are you certain my Lord? She is a human?" questioned the healer.
"I am aware of her "species" Tsukiyomi. "I cannot tell you her background for it is not mine to tell, but I can tell you she is the one to have saved me. She is a close friend to the royal family and is my brother and I's honored guest. Kaede, make it your duty that she is to be treated as such."
"Yyy.. yes my Lord." said Kaede. "I will leave to go make preparations right away. Is she to be staying in this room my Lord?"
"Yes, with her being in her state of health and of human kind I do not want her far from the safety of my chambers." said Sesshomaru never once turning his gaze away from the window.
However Kaede could see him staring at her through the glass's reflection. His amber eyes stared into her wrinkled brown ones with authority and seriousness. Kaede not wanting to keep him waiting on her services or being disrespectful in her stare bends at the waist and bows before leaving the room. Tsukiyomi seeing that her patient was sleeping peacefully and that her fever was going down decided she would make her leave as well and come back to in the morning.
"I have done all that I can at the moment my Lord. I will return to in the morning to check on her. If anything changes please call for me and I will be here right away." said Tsukiyomi. "Would you like me to find a servant to sit in here with her?"
"No, send for my brother when he returns. I will be assigning him as her personal guard until otherwise." Sesshomaru commanded leaving no room for argument.
"I will send news for his retrieval right away Sir." Tsukiyomi said as she bowed before making her way towards the door.
"Tsukiyomi, close the door behind you when you leave. I would like this room to be as quiet as possible for her so she can rest." Sesshomaru said feeling the need to explain himself in why he wanted the privacy.
"Yes, my Lord." replied Tsukiyomi before closing the door behind her.
(*** The Song the makes me cry/original acoustic Spanish guitar sad song ***)
Hearing her retreating footsteps down the hall he turns his gaze back to Kagome sleeping on the bed. Even in her sickness she was beautiful. Her long wavy black hair lay about loosely, giving her the illusion on a dark hallo around her head, neck and shoulders. He could see her long sooty eyelashes kissing her rosy flushed cheeks and her little freckles going across her nose. Her lips were parted as she breathed in and out and he was struggling not to kiss them. They looked soft to the touch and were pouty and full. Grabbing a nearby chair Sesshomaru sits down next to the bed and takes hold of her hand. It was so small compared to his large callused one. Her skin was so smooth as he rubbed his thumb over its top. Hearing a knock on the door and feeling his brother's aura he calls for him to enter.
Turning his gaze to his brother he sees what a mess he was. His brother's hair was sticking up at odd angles from riding his horse Entei back to the castle and he had sand all over him. His ears were sitting back on his head and his eyes were still slightly puffy from crying. He could feel the depression radiating off of him and it bothered him to see his brother in such a state. Maybe watching Kagome would be a good thing?
"I take it you said goodbye." Sesshomaru said quietly so not to disturb Kagome and to be sensitive to his brothers grief.
Inuyasha just nodded as he closed the door behind him and then over to Kagome on the other side of the bed from his brother.
"How is she?" he asked through a scratchy voice.
"The healer has done all she can for her to bring down the fever. All we can do now is wait." Sesshomaru said. "With all of the added demons in the castle and her now being a human I would like you to be her personal bodyguard."
"Me? I.. I can't." Inuyasha said quickly as he took a few steps back from the bed.
"Why not little brother?" asked Sesshomaru questioningly.
"I just can't ok!" Inuyasha said through a harsh whisper and fists clenched.
"Why do you push so hard from this? Is it because she looks so much like Kikyo?" Sesshomaru asked irritated as Inuyasha started making his way towards the door to leave.
Inuyasha's back went stiff and he bent his head to hide his eyes behind his bangs. How was it his brother could read him so easily? He clenched his teeth together as he tried to keep it together. Couldn't he just leave him alone? Knowing he lost the battle his shoulders slumped in defeat and he turned back around to look at his brother.
"Yes…" Inuyasha said sadly.
"Then watch over Kagome for Kikyo's sake. She would want her sister protected. If not for Kagome do it for her." said Sesshomaru.
Inuyasha stared back and forth between his brother and Kagome. Knowing his brother was right and that he was being selfish he takes in a long breath.
"Fine, but you owe me one." said Inuyasha as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Good, now go wash up and grab something to eat. I will wait here till your return." Sesshomaru said.
Inuyasha then disappeared from the room, closing the door behind him. Hearing the sheets move beside him Sesshomaru turns his attention back to the slumbering maiden to see that she was begin to rouse from her sleep. Kagome fluttered her long black eyelashes and opened her piercing blue eyes, capturing his heart once more. Feeling her head ponding in her skull and her aching back and legs she scrunches her face in pain and brings one of her hands up to cradle her forehead. A single tear flows down her cheek and a painful whimper escapes her lips.
"Uh…" Kagome moans.
"Shhhh, you're ok. I'm here, you're safe." Sesshomaru said as he wiped the tear away with his thumb.
"Sess… Sessomaru?" Kagome questioned as she adjusts her vision to take in the demon in front of her.
When her eyesight finally adjusted she sees him sitting in a chair a few feet in front of her. The setting sun was behind him casting orange and red through his silver hair. He was whispering her things she didn't understand but she could tell he was trying to comfort her. She felt his hand upon her cheek making her chest tighten. Feeling his warmth she knew she was not dreaming. Some how by the grace of the gods she had made it back to him. How it happened or how she got there she didn't care. They were together and she was overrun with emotion. Leaning into his touch happy tears run down her cheeks. Her shoulders begin to shake and she began to cry. She tried to sit up to get closer to him but when she did a shock of pain ran down her back causing her to cry out. Seeing her in pain and trying to sit up to get closer to him, Sesshomaru adjusts the pillows behind her and gently holds her in his arms.
"Shhh, yes... its me. It's your Sesshomaru. I'm here. Try not to move just yet, your body hasn't fully recovered from the transformation," said Sesshomaru gently has stroked rubbed her back and held her close.
Kagome continued to cry in his embrace. She couldn't believe it. Here she was with Sesshomaru once again and he was holding her and taking care of her. Leaning back into the pillow she reaches up and cups his cheek, softly running her thumb over his stripes. Leaning into her touch he kisses the palm of her hand near his mouth making a small smile appear on her lips. Being this close he could smell her coconut and tropical flower musk. Oh how he missed her gentle touches and her intoxicating aroma. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. His chest begins to tighten making him feel warm inside. He had never experience anything like it before and didn't want it to end. How his little mermaid became a human he didn't know but he was overjoyed to be able to spend time with her once more. Hearing footsteps approaching and feeling his brother again Sesshomaru takes hold of her hand from his face and brings it down to hold it in his lap. His brother knocks on the door before entering and then closes the door behind him. He was now dressed in a loose fit white sleeping shirt and baggy red sleeping pants. He was barefoot, smelled clean and his hair and ears was still slightly wet from his bath.
"Hey you finally woke up!" Inuyasha said as he came to sit on the bed next to her.
Reaching out her other hand she takes hold of his making him blush across his cheeks.
"Enuyasu" Kagome says quietly with a soft smile on her lips. Her eyes were rimmed with exhaustion and he could tell she was still very sick and weak.
"Hey…" Inuyasha said as he softly smiled back. "What happened? Why are you human now?"
Kagome just stared at him in confusion, not understanding his question. Seeing her questing scowl he lifts up his leg over the side of the bed and points to it.
"How did you get your legs? What happened?" he asked again.
"Ah, understand." Kagome said as she tried to pull herself up into a sitting position.
The brothers seeing her struggle and hearing her hiss in pain help her to sit up and stack the pillows behind her so she could converse with them comfortably.
"Hey be careful now. Don't push yourself too hard." Inuyasha bossed.
"And I thought you didn't want the job Inuyasha." Sesshomaru teased.
"Shut up." Inuyasha barked causing Kagome to giggle.
"Sorryz, Kagome trouble Enuyasa, n Sessomaru." Kagome said embarrassingly.
"It's not a problem Kagome. Sesshomaru and I are happy to see you. We uh.. missed ya.. sort of." Inuyasha said as he rubbed the back oh his neck with a darker blush on his cheeks.
"Kagome miss Enuyasa n Sessomaru." Kagome replied back shyly with a blush to her cheeks as well as she looked back and forth between the brothers.
"So what happened with your legs?" asked Sesshomaru quickly changing the subject back to the elephant in the room. He was not sure of how to respond to the emotions in the room so he felt the need to change the subject.
"Kagome um… no happyz no see Sessomaru n Enuyasu. Kagome fight Father um… Urasue fix Kagome." Kagome tried to explain.
"What is an urasue?" asked Inuyasha.
"Sorry… Urasue… um…" Kagome tried to figure out a word to explain a sea witch but came up blank.
"Sorryz, no good." Kagome said defeated.
"That's all right. Do you know what she means Sesshomaru? I only understood part of her story." asked Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru just sat there in the chair for a moment trying to think of a solution. After a few moments an idea came to mind.
"Inuyasha, does the water snake still serve in the kitchen?" asked Sesshomaru.
"I think so why?" asked Inuyasha.
"I've heard the water world has their own universal language. I am sure that this demon can speak it and translate Kagome's story. With some of the servants seeing me bring her in I'm sure everyone in the castle by now knows of her existence." Sesshomaru said.
"Great idea! I'll go down to the kitchen tomorrow and see. Most of the servants have probably left for the day seeing as how late it is." Inuyasha said.
Kagome by this point was having a hard time keeping her eyes open and Sesshomaru carefully lifted her back and readjusted the pillows so she could lie down once more. Before he could turn away Kagome took hold of his hand. Intertwining her fingers he sits back down in the chair and holds her hand in his. She then brings her other hand up to his face and lightly traces his markings. Her eyes struggle to keep open and she soon falls asleep. A smirk graces his lip at seeing her cute mannerism and brings her hand down to rest at he side and pulls the sheets and blanket up to cover her. Seeing a loose strand of hair on her cheek he reaches forward and tucks it behind her ear. Standing back up he untangles their fingers and takes once last look at her before walking out of the room. Inuyasha having left the side of the bed after she had fallen asleep pulled some extra blankets out of a chest at the end of the bed and flops down on the couch in the corner of the room. He lays onto his side so he can keep his attention towards Kagome and the door and soon follows her in sleep.
The castle grew dark and quiet as the hours ticked by. Candles and torch lights glowed in the dark hallways. Crickets chirped and a few servants and guards quietly meandered about. Everything was peaceful in the castle but news of their Lord bringing in a strange human girl had spread. Servant's whispers could be heard in the shadows and by morning all had heard of the mysterious girl. There was rumors of her being a new concubine, a survivor of a shipwreck, being a witch that had put a spell on the Lord and his brother and a dozen other outrageous rumors. Unfortunately for Kagome, most of them were not in her favor. With the increase in curiosity and danger towards Kagome, Inuyasha was definitely going to have his work cut out for him over the next 6 days.
(End of Chapter 10)
(Poor Kagome! Will she be able to gain enough energy to leave the room and explore like she hoped? Will Sesshomaru continue to check on her or will his duties limit his visits? Will Inuyasha be able to protect her? Will this water demon be able to tell her story? Only time will tell! Please follow along to find out! Also, let me know what you think so far. I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks again for reading.)