Chapter 9 – To Fear

Kagome gasped for air as she abruptly sat up, clutching her throat.

Her hands were shaking and her heart was beating way too fast, she tried to calm herself down but failed miserably. She could still feel the fear that had taken over her mind, the sensation of being utterly helpless as their hands grabbed her body and tried to rip her clothes off, she could still hear their voices, the promises of what they would do to her.

Taking a shaky breath, Kagome looked around and tried to tell herself that she was safe. She was with Rin, Shippo, Ah-Un and even Jaken, nothing would happen to her because she was sure Sesshoumaru would protect them, she had nothing to fear. Digging her nails into her palms, Kagome closed her eyes and forced the memory away, she wanted to cry but she wouldn't give the ghosts that haunted her mind the satisfaction.

''Miko,'' Kagome bit back a scream when she heard the voice, turning to look at the one who spoke with wide eyes. ''There is no danger here.''

The daiyoukai could sense her fear in the air, he could smell the salty scent of the unshed tears and mentally sighed, wondering what had caused the miko to be so disturbed. She seemed fine the other nights, she slept soundlessly and woke up with a bright mood, he couldn't figure what was wrong now and the scent of her fear disturbed him. When he saw her looking around, searching for something that could prove her she was safe, he decided to appease her fears, much like he did with Rin once she had been resurrected.

He never thought his father's fang, Tenseiga, would be useful to him but there came a day where he had needed it. Rin had found him when he was injured after a battle with InuYasha, his worthless half-brother who got Tessaiga, his father's most powerful sword. Sesshoumaru had been trying to restore his honor and recover the sword, a half-breed wasn't worthy of possessing such a powerful heirloom and the fact that his father didn't give it to him was insulting, Sesshoumaru was his heir, the sword was his by right.

InuYasha ended up cutting his arm off in the fight while he was in the middle of transforming into his real form, and after making sure the half-breed was severely injured, Sesshoumaru snorted in disdain and left in order to recover himself. He underestimated the severity of his injuries though and passed out in the middle of the woods, far from his lands.

When he woke up, he found a little girl taking care of him and though he tried to chase her away, she always came back and offered him food. He noticed that she was always dirty and skinny, sometimes he would see a bruise on her body and wondered why the girl was so stupid to the point of giving him food when it was obvious she needed it more than him.

Once he recovered, he left without looking back. He had not only lost his father's heirloom to a half-breed but the same mutt had managed to sever his left arm off by playing dirty, Sesshoumaru's pride had been damaged.

In the middle of the path he followed to go back to his shiro, he found a village and could smell the scent of blood, the place had been raided by ookami youkai. He passed by without batting an eye but stopped when he noticed the smell of the blood of the little girl that had taken care of him and until today, Sesshoumaru was still not sure why he decided to follow the scent.

When he found her dead body, he felt something inside him change and narrowed his eyes. Tenseiga, the sword that his father had left for him and supposedly brought people back from the dead, started to pulse on his sash and Sesshoumaru unsheathed it. He had never bothered to use it before but now he could see the undead trying to take the little girl's soul away, and with a quick slash, they were all gone and her heart started to beat again.

Sesshoumaru had then wached with interest as the wounds on her body closed before fading away and the color returned to her skin as she suddenly sat up and gasped for air. When the girl saw him, her eyes widened and she smiled brightly as she got up and ran to hug his leg. He didn't say a word to her, only raised an eyebrow, and she giggled before she held onto his mokomoko-sama and started to walk together with him.

He still wasn't sure about the reason why she decided to follow a dangerous daiyoukai around, but he reasoned that since she had tried to take care of him, he should do the same to repay her. Rin had been around him ever since this day, two years ago, and he often had to deal with her waking up from the nightmares of her life before he found her.

Humans could be truly disgraceful. After Rin's father died in the war, the other villagers started to steal her possessions and beat her when she tried to fight back. The girl had no mother, the woman had died when she was nothing but a baby due to an unknown sickness, so she was an easy target. The little girl had been forced to steal food and hide in the woods in fear of being beaten again, which explained why she seemed so unhealthy and bruised when he found her.

''I-I know.'' Kagome muttered, biting her lip and looking at the grass. He could still hear her heart beating fast and the shaky breaths she took, and it annoyed him.

''What ails you, miko?'' Sesshoumaru asked as he stopped looking at the sky and paid proper attention to the human. She looked fragile and way too pale in the moonlight, making him wonder what had caused this reaction on her.

''Nightmare...'' Kagome whispered so low that he almost missed it. She turned to look at the daiyoukai and saw that he was waiting for her to elaborate.

Biting her lip, she sighed and decided to speak. ''I could feel their hands on me, trying to tear my clothes away. I could hear the promises of what they would do to me and how they would use me after their master was done. Of all the memories I have from being captive, this is by far the worst one.''

Sesshoumaru understood what she had been talking about, rape was rather common in the human culture but was viewed as a disgrace by the youkai society. A male that couldn't willingly make a female his and forced himself on her was shunned by everyone and sentenced to death, it was a dishonor to the family and society as a whole, he never understood why humans didn't condemn this act like they did.

''I was hopeless, I couldn't do anything to stop them from touching me, I thought I would die there, sullied by the hands of bandits.'' Kagome let out a shaky whisper as she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. ''The torture wasn't half as bad as this moment, I was so glad when they got afraid of me because of what my reiki did, it was a small measure of peace inside that living hell.''

Sesshoumaru pressed his lips together as he stared at her, he could feel her despair in the air and decided that he didn't like it, the miko's company was much more enjoyable when she was her normal and cheerful self.

Getting up, Sesshoumaru motioned for her to follow and walked away.

''Eh?'' Kagome frowned at the daiyoukai's back, before moving to follow him.

She didn't expect him to offer any kind of comfort but walking away was a bit too rude, even for someone like him. She stopped walking when saw him pause and turn to face her as he pointed at the weapons on her waist.

''Get the dagger.'' He said and she frowned but obeyed. ''You will keep it inside your sleeve from now on, in case of danger.''

''What do you mean?'' Kagome asked, confused when he started walking closer to her.

Holding her wrist, Sesshoumaru put the dagger in a pocket inside the sleeve of her right arm and spoke. ''This Sesshoumaru will teach you how to protect yourself properly, in case you find yourself alone.''

Eyes widening, Kagome's mouth opened slightly as she gaped at the daiyoukai. She couldn't believe what he had offered her and suddenly felt the need to cry and hug him. Nodding, Kagome bit her lip and struggled to show him how much this meant to her. When she was about to speak though, he shook his head softly and she knew he understood.

''First lesson: If they grab you, stab them anywhere you can reach. It does not matter if it is a vital point or not, just damage them.'' He spoke, making Kagome nod. ''I am going to hold you now, and you will do as I say.''

Before she could blink, Sesshoumaru had disappeared from her view and she suddenly felt both of her arms being held behind her back, making her eyes widen in surprise at how fast he moved. As she struggled to break free, she felt his breath on her ear and shuddered, wondering for a second if he ever missed his lost arm because he seemed completely capable of living without it.

''Twist your wrist to the left and then you will be able to get the dagger.'' He instructed and she obeyed, her eyes widening when she noticed that putting the weapon on her sleeve was actually a great idea. ''Second lesson: Once you break free, watch how many of them are trying to get you and even if it is only one human, see if you can take him down by yourself. Try to count how many of them are there before they try to immobilize you, that way you will not lose time.''

Kagome used this moment to swing her dagger at him and watched in amazement as he let her go and nodded in approval at what she did.

''If you cannot take them down, use the third lesson: Run.'' He spoke and Kagome's eyes widened as her instincts took over and she started to run, clutching the dagger tightly in her hand as she jumped over a rock.

She dodged the trees and was about to turn left when something slammed into her side, knocking the air out of her as her back hit a tree. ''Fourth lesson: Go somewhere safe and hide until they leave or help arrives.''

Letting out a shaky breath, Kagome tried to ignore the way her heart beat faster at her proximity with the daiyoukai, a mixture of fear and adrenaline, and focused on what he was saying. ''These are the only things you need to know when you are in this situation. You break free, you run, and you hide.''

Nodding her head, Kagome moved her head up to face him. The moonlight illuminating the markings on his face suddenly made her realize that looking up was a bad idea, his looks captivated her to the point she couldn't bring herself to look away from his golden eyes. He looked dangerous, and she wondered why she wasn't so scared of him anymore.

''Come,'' Sesshoumaru spoke as he let her go. ''This Sesshoumaru will also teach you how to properly use the dagger in case you get yourself in a fight.''

Dumbly nodding and following him, Kagome's heart warmed up when she realized what the daiyoukai was doing to help her even though she didn't ask him to. She wondered how anyone could call him heartless, the Lord of the West had been nothing but kind to her ever since he had saved her life.

Eyes widening when she noticed that she was getting too far behind, Kagome jogged to catch up with him and gave Sesshoumaru a bright smile, relieved for finally being able to forget her nightmare.