Just a little author's note as an interlude:
Ahem. This is embarassing. It seems this author right here doesn't know how to count and posted the wrong chapter. To those who read what was here before, congratulations on the spoiler of chapter 31! But you'll have to read it again now, this time with the correct chapter here. To those who just arrived, please ignore me and just enjoy the story, as you'll be reading it in the right order. To you, the one person who pointed out that you wished I would've shown what happened after Sesshoumaru woke up: THANK YOU SO MUCH I ONLY REALIZED WHAT I DID THANKS TO YOUR REVIEW LMAO YOUR WISH CAME TRUE!
Without further ado, here's the actual chapter thirty.
Chapter Thirty – To Burn
''This Sesshoumaru demands answers, half-breed.''
Staring between her sister's combusting body and the daiyoukai's red-eyed anger, Kikyou wondered what the proper procedure in a situation like this was. Honestly, how could she explain to a youkai currently controlled by his beast that he had been cursed, almost became human, and was only alive right now because a miko had taken the curse out of his body and into her own in order to save him from dying of old age?
It seemed bad enough to explain that to him on his normal level of consciousness, but to do that while facing his beast was simply absurd. How could she explain that the situation wasn't as bad as it sounded and everything would be fine when her sister currently trashed around on the ground as her body tried to destroy itself?
''Uh, anyone care to help me here?'' Her hanyou friend pleaded, not really enjoying the way his brother was breathing down his neck, and Kikyou found herself gulping down her fear before addressing the daiyoukai.
''We're glad to see that you are awake, Sesshoumaru-sama,'' She started, gaining an attention she did not want from him at all. ''Though we still do not know by whom, you have been cursed and almost died. The curse sealed your youki and aged your body, it was meant to turn you into a human and kill you of old age.''
Kikyou regretted her choice of words as soon as they left her mouth, for the look she was receiving from the beast in this exact moment made her feel like death had just given her a very cold embrace. Perhaps, she mused, she shouldn't have rubbed on his face that he had been rendered powerless by an unknown source just a few hours ago.
He wouldn't kill her though, would he? He was still Sesshoumaru, a much scarier version of himself but still the daiyoukai she knew, and most importantly, the daiyoukai that knew she was Kagome's sister and that understood that murdering her would make the other miko upset.
''Lady Kagome found you on the verge of passing out, my Lord,'' Miroku took over the story from there, making Kikyou let out a relieved sigh once the daiyoukai's piercing gaze left her face. ''She called us all to help, and used her reiki to transfer the curse from your body to hers. It healed you, as now you can stand and move freely, but something we still don't understand went wrong in the process and she started to behave like this.''
As if Kagome understood what a horrible timing it was and decided to make things even worse, she let out yet another earth-shattering scream. Her reiki crashed in waves into the barriers, wanting to slip free, and Miroku threw Kikyou a worried look. He didn't know how long their spell would hold. The woman needed to be controlled, or else she would end up purifying the entire shiro while still unconscious.
''She is in pain,'' The daiyoukai stated as he pushed his brother out of the way and moved to get closer to the woman, only to be stopped by a sword drawn in front of his chest. ''Do you dare to get in this Sesshoumaru's way, hanyou?''
''Believe me, I'm hating this as much as you do,'' InuYasha grumbled, clenching his jaw as he prepared himself to possibly engage on a fight. ''But the wench asked me to keep you away from her in order for you to be safe, and I plan to keep my promise.''
''Foolish,'' Sesshoumaru spat, the red on his eyes darkening all of the sudden. ''This Sesshoumaru would never be hurt by the miko.''
There was a threat in the air, Kikyou noticed. Almost as if the daiyoukai had been insulted by InuYasha's words, her friend's sentence making the mistake of questioning both Sesshoumaru's strength and Kagome's honor at the same time.
''You would, you self-centered prick,'' InuYasha replied, refusing to back down and watch all their efforts be wasted. ''Not because you are weak, but because the wench has no control over herself right now.''
To prove his point, the hanyou pulled back the sleeve of his haori and revealed the burnt skin on his arm. ''I'm being purified by the girl even if she does not mean to, and I'm not even close to her!"
''Just because your blood is weak, half-breed, it does not mean that the same will happen to this Sesshoumaru.''
''You son of a bitch,'' InuYasha spat, his right eye twitching in annoyance as he pushed his brother back by using his sword to falsely attack him. ''I swear that there's nothing I want more right now than to let you step close to that goddamn barrier and become a purified piece of crap, but unfortunately for both of us I made that stupid promise to the wench and I don't plan on breaking it!"
''We do not doubt your power, my Lord,'' Miroku stepped into the argument, noticing that if the brothers said a single more word to each other, there would be blood. ''But what Kagome-sama did was entrap the curse inside her body, turning it into a prison for the spell. The curse, however, has almost a mind of its own and is trying to get back to the original target, you. If you get too close to Kagome-sama's body, you risk wasting all of her efforts to save you for there's a chance that the curse will return to your core.''
A snarl was the only answer the monk got, and Kikyou pressed her lips together as she stared at the trashing body of her sister. She had stopped screaming, but her hands tapped the floor searching for anything they could hold onto and since she found nothing, she had started to tear apart her own skin. Her reiki still crashed against the barrier, and Kikyou noticed that it had started to crack. Kagome needed to be calmed down, or else she feared the entire shiro would be washed away in a sudden wave of holy energy.
Energy that in her opinion, seemed much more intense and dangerous than before. She did not know if it was because of the curse, but Kagome's reiki had acquired a magenta undertone and a pull so violent that it made even her own skin crawl. She wouldn't be purified if the barrier broke down like InuYasha would, but somehow Kikyou had started to realize that she would be left with at least a few burn marks if that actually happened. The intensity of Kagome's reiki unsettled her and that had never happened before, making her wonder what exactly what was going on with her sister.
Kagome then trashed violently in place as another crack appeared on the barrier, and Kikyou noticed that one of Miroku's ofudas had started to disintegrate. The fallen miko had started to destroy the spell she herself had ordered to be cast, making Kikyou wonder if perhaps she had already started to break the curse inside her body and during the process lost any kind of distinction between it and the protective barrier.
Maybe, she wondered, her sister had become so focused on destroying the curse that she started to target any kind of spells close to her as well. If that was proven to be true, there would be no risks in allowing the daiyoukai to be close to her. If he could somehow find a way to calm the woman down, they would be able to kill two birds with one stone.
Glancing at Miroku, that had a fixed gaze on his burning ofudas, Kikyou noticed that Kagome's reiki had started to unsettle him as well. There was a strange shakiness to his form, and while it could be because of the blatant risk of death caused by the daiyoukai in the room, that currently engaged on a fist fight on the floor with his brother, the miko knew that was not the reason why. While Sesshoumaru was an enemy none of them wanted to face, Miroku had never been one to tremble at the sight of danger. He was starting to fear the reiki that begun to leak out of the barrier, and as Kikyou stared at the daiyoukai and saw that he was the only one looking unaffected, she made up her mind.
''Are you able to calm her down, Sesshoumaru-sama?'' She spoke, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
''Are you out of your mind, Kikyou?!'' InuYasha snapped, struggling to contain his brother in place after having ditched Tessaiga aside because it would be too much trouble to use it on such a small and closed up space. He did not wish to cause his friends any kind of wound by mistake, which led him to resort using his fists against his prick of a brother, that even now struggled against his hold on the ground.
''The barrier is breaking, InuYasha!'' The miko screamed back, not knowing what else they could do. ''It won't contain her for too long, someone needs to calm her down before she destroys the entire population of the shiro and I think that Sesshoumaru-sama is the best shot we have. He is the only one that is not being affected by her reiki at all while you in comparison are on the verge of spontaneously combusting, and even Miroku and I are feeling threatened by the intensity of her energy.''
''While that may be true,'' The monk spoke, cautious to choose his following words. ''We cannot risk Sesshoumaru-sama's life for nothing, mostly because we don't truly know if he is able to help right now.''
''We could make a test,'' Kikyou said, anxious as she stared at the last three ofudas that contained her sister and were quickly burning away like the others had. ''Throw into the barrier something that is infused with his youki and see what happens, it doesn't matter. We have to try, our time is almost done and she is hurting herself in a way that I can't watch anymore without doing something to help!''
''Let this one in,'' The daiyoukai's voice interrupted their discussion, making everyone in the room turn to stare at him. His eyes started to shift colors, gold flashing between the red and giving them the knowledge that he struggled to keep his consciousness in that moment. ''This Sesshoumaru is not a mindless beast, he knows what to do.''
''Boy,'' InuYasha grunted, not liking this whole idea at all. ''If I release you only to watch you turn to ashes in front of me, I swear I'll find a way to stick Tessaiga up your ghostly ass.''
''The second barrier started to crack,'' Kikyou announced, knowing that it was now or never. ''What will you use to infuse your youki and put it inside the barrier?''
''This Sesshoumaru will never give you the satisfaction of watching him die, InuYasha,'' The daiyoukai spoke, ignoring the way his brother rolled his eyes before letting him go and extending a hand to lift him from the ground. He took it, for deep down he recognized that the hanyou had only been looking out for his safety, and though he found that concern annoying, it proved the boy's loyalty to the pack.
''There is no need to do that, simply twist the spell so this one can get in and mokomoko-sama will accomplish the task.'' As he spoke, the fur that usually stood wrapped on his shoulders twitched before moving to the ground and crawling to stand as close as it could to the miko.
The monk wanted to ask what that was, but as he saw only one last ofuda standing, he started to pray in order to change the core of the spell he had used. Kikyou joined him, her hands glowing along with the barrier as she bent her reiki in a way that allowed the daiyoukai to pass through it without getting hurt.
In the same second they were finished, the fur that once stood in the ground darted forward and entered the barrier, moving to reach the priestess. Once it had done that, it twisted itself between her arms and tied them in place, finally stopping the woman from inflicting wounds on herself. She still trashed in place, but her movements were now less aggressive due to the restriction she faced.
''Mokomoko-sama is my youki condensed into a concrete form,'' The daiyoukai explained making the humans turn to face him. InuYasha kept his gaze on the leaking reiki, ignoring what his half-brother said because he already knew what that meant. ''It is not hurt in any way at all, there is no danger.''
A sigh of relief left Kikyou's body, and though she wasn't entirely sure if this would work, there was at least hope. She glanced at the last piece of the ofuda, about to disappear at any given second, and pressed her lips together as the daiyoukai approached the barrier.
His eyes, that had been glitching from red to gold, settled for a mix between both colors. The markings on his face stood ragged, indicating that his beast was still awaken, but for some reason he had not lost his mind to it at all. His hand touched the barrier as he moved forward, and his eyes stared into InuYasha's ones before he spoke.
''Go make sure Rin and the kit are safe,'' His voice came out deeper than usual, and he pressed his lips together as he felt the touch of Kagome's reiki, laced with her pain, brush across his skin. ''This one is alive, but once I make sure the miko is healthy again, there will be blood.''
As if to emphasize his point, the shade of red in his eyes became darker, almost taking over the gold completely. The last ofuda burned completely then, but before the reiki that had been kept caged inside it could be released, Sesshoumaru raised a barrier of his own to contain it. InuYasha trembled once he saw the woman's reiki dart forward violently for a split of second, trying to take over everything it touched, only to be stopped by his brother's youki. It made him wonder how Sesshoumaru did not fear that power, because even Kikyou that was a miko herself took a step back once the barrier broke.
Kagome's reiki circled around Sesshoumaru's barrier, but unlike what happened with the previous one, it did not try to break it. Instead, it brushed across the youki containing it and began to mix its colors, almost as if they were merging into one. The red shade mixing with the green and golden one created a spectacle for the ones that watched it from outside, and for just one second, they all forgot about the danger they had just faced.
There was peace in watching the energies move in a way that resembled a ritualistic dance. It was almost hypnotic to observe the way they mingled, and the distraction it provided made those standing outside miss the moment the miko's eyes opened.
Her once blue iris shone silver for a second, and a single tear rolled down her cheeks in that moment, falling into the wrist of the daiyoukai that had kneeled down to hold her. The tear then shone in a magenta color, burning softly the skin and carving itself there, leaving a permanent mark that went unnoticed by everyone in the room.
Everyone but the monk, that watched with wide eyes the scene playing in front of him. In his mind, flashes of a conversation he had with his father passed by, and knowledge dawned on him as he watched the daiyoukai move the priestess to his lap and hold her gently as her eyes closed once more. He did not hear what had been said in that moment between them, but one thing was crystal clear on his mind.
He needed to return before it was too late.
Hello my dears, how have you all been doing? The pandemic has not treated me well so far, but I found both the time and will to continue writing these past couple days. The Edge is currently under revision, as I'm editing all the chapters posted and adding/removing/changing a couple parts in them. The next chapter though already written, will only be posted after I'm done editing the story as a whole, but I don't think it'll take long for that to be done.
In the meantime, I hope you all have enjoyed this little update. As I always say, the story will be completed even if I'm only updating it once a year, so thank you for sticking with me during all this time. I hope this update brings a little distraction to all of you during these trying times, I know writing it did it for me.
Until the next time we see each other, I wish you all the best.
With love,
Narumi.
