(AN)---thanks to all those who reviewed! you brave readers you, marching right through the opening dream sequence! and to answer the question several of you asked, it was Inuyasha's dream. i thought it was pretty funny myself, AND really icky. :-D it factors in again later, you'll see! (take that as a threat if you want!) ^_~
more Sesshoumaru/Kagome interaction in this chapter. yay! Review and tell me if you like, you won't believe how much faster i write when you do! ^_^
Disclaimer: not mine. never was. never will be. if it did belong to me, i would show Inuyasha how worthless boys who cheat should be dealt with! then we'd be seeing a lot more of Sesshoumaru. A LOT MORE.
Three Times a Lady
Chapter Two:
Sleeping Beauty
He wasn't sure the moment it began, but her spell began to fold back in on itself, slowly, only freeing him one paralyzed muscle at a time. With a growl he raised his hand and grasped the shaft, pulling on it patiently. Power crackled around his hand in pale pink arcs, searing the flesh with each tickling lash.
Sesshoumaru released the enchanted arrow and glared at his ruined palm. No aftershocks, no lingering sting. Even the head buried deep in his shoulder incited no pain. So long as he didn't try to move it.
So, it was that kind of spell, was it? No matter, he would force the witch to lift it, then kill her. Perhaps drop her shredded carcass at that hanyou's feet, just to see the expression on his face.
With that pleasant thought, Sesshoumaru turned and walked away from the well, stepping over the strange contraption the miko had kicked in his path.
Kagome peered over the rim of the well, ready to duck back into it and her own time at the slightest hint of danger. Her serious blue-grey eyes swept critically from one end of the clearing to the other, then tried to pick out shapes from the more distant line of trees.
He's gone, her mind provided, he's not going to waste his time on you when Inuyasha's nearby. Inuyasha...Kagome's eyes widened. He was in danger all this time and you were hiding back in your own time?! Baka! Baka! BAKA! She had a sudden urge to brain herself against the well, but knew it couldn't possibly help. Besides, it lacked a certain amount of dignity.
I've gotta find him, she thought, throwing one leg over the side of the well. I've gotta warn---
"My bike," she gasped, not even reacting to the sudden appearance of the Youkai Lord of the Western Lands. Her eyes were all for the mangled chunk of metal and rubber that had carried her over so many miles. But no more.
"Bastard! You melted my bike! That's the second one, too!" Automatically her fist struck out to thump him angrily on the chest, but her foot slipped on the grass, causing her to lose her balance and her hand to flail wildly. Her fingers brushed something solid, and she grabbed at it, desperately trying to save herself from the impending fall.
It was at that moment that Sesshoumaru had leapt at the distracted miko; flexing his claws in anticipation of the pleasure of feeling them tear through her weak mortal flesh. As fast as he was moving and as close as they were, it was too late to alter his course when he saw the sly little bitch expertly throw herself back, grasp the scabbard of Tenseiga and use his own momentum to send him sailing over her head. And into the dry well behind.
Kagome yelped as what she had been using as an anchor suddenly pulled her over the edge of the well. She was working on cause and effect alone, completely forgetting that falling into the well wouldn't really hurt her.
The magic that powered the old well caught her, setting her down gently in her own time. Kneeling at the bottom, she stared at her fingers as they clutched at the crumbling dirt. Falling was not one of her favourite things to do. Her wheezing breath could attest to that.
Sesshoumaru. Why is he targeting me? I don't have Tetsusaiga; I don't have anything he wants...She stumbled to her feet. But I did hit him with that arrow, so maybe it's a revenge thing. Putting one hand over the other she climbed up the ladder habitually, her thoughts far, far behind her. Once at the top she sat a moment on the edge and let her feet dangle over, peering down into the well's shadowed belly.
"Whatever his reasons," she said, voice steeling, "I can't hesitate this time." She raised a small, fisted hand to compliment the resolve in her voice. It was a very cute gesture. "I have to go back and warn the others. Besides," she pushed off her perch, "He's gonna pay for destroying my bike!!"
She landed off-balance, one knee thudding in the dirt and the other sliding in the opposite direction. She caught herself against her forearms and hands, allowing her head to fall forward to rest tiredly against her wrists. This just wasn't her day.
Can't rest. Gotta warn---um, why is the dirt moving? And hey, while I'm asking that question...how in the seven hells can you straddle flat ground?!!
Her head swung up so fast she was almost dizzy. What she saw did not help to alleviate the feeling.
Oh? OH! She scrambled off Sesshoumaru, her heart thumping so wildly that it took her several stunned seconds to realize that he wasn't trying to kill her. In fact, he wasn't doing anything but laying there. Creeping back from the corner she had automatically pushed herself into, Kagome stared down at the youkai lord curiously, and just a little fearfully. With the cramped confines of the well, if he attacked, she was as good as dead. There was no place to escape to, and no room to fight. But Kagome was nothing, if not brave. Or was that reckless?
His long, luminous hair shone no less bright in the shadowed twighlight the well had created around them. It coiled beneath his still head, and tendrils of it spread across the dirt-floor in all directions. Leaning over him on her hands and knees, she found one tress resting dangerously close to her right hand. And though her fingers itched to touch it, to see if it was as cool and smooth as it looked, she couldn't.
When she thought of it, of all the times she had faced Sesshoumaru, alone or at Inuyasha's side, there had never been true contact. Nothing but sight and sound to tell her senses that he was real. Some part of her didn't think he was real. Nobody was that beautiful.
Is he...asleep? Baka! Why would he be sleeping at the bottom of the well?! Oh gods, had she...She shook her head, sending her ebony hair flying in a gesture that was pure 'teenage girl'. Doesn't matter. I gotta warn Inuyasha...
What, that his brother attacked you and is passed out at the bottom of the well, her mind inquired, suspiciously pleasant.
Well, yes...
And if, by some chance, he believes you, what is he gonna do?
Well, he'll...Kagome's brow furrowed, the path of her thoughts offending her sense of right and wrong.
Bingo.
But he tried to kill me.
But he's unconscious AND wounded...
Kagome reached out hesitantly, running her fingers through the air above the arrow still firmly imbedded below his collarbone. A tiny spark of magic arced out, as if magnetically pulled to her fingertips. The miko jerked back, cradling her hand against her chest protectively. There was no pain, she just hadn't expected it to react to her. Like it was seeking comfort from her touch.
He couldn't pull it out...
The wonderings snapped out of her blue-grey eyes, leaving them serious and determined. And oddly warm still. To kill is one thing, but I can't leave him wounded like this. She ignored the accepting caress of her own magic and wrapped her fingers around the arrow, mentally willing it free even as she pulled gently at it.
But he tried to kill you, her mind protested, throwing her images of all the times his claws had come at her with the full intent to rip her out of existence.
I know! It doesn't matter what he's done, only what I do!
The arrow let go with a low hiss, dissolving into flecks and pinpoints of pale pink light. Kagome's then empty hand fell to the inuyoukai's collar, and she pushed it aside to make sure the spell had left him completely.
A scar blossomed on his upper-chest where the head of her arrow had made entrance. A flush-pink spot to mar his otherwise perfect flesh. She traced fingers over the edges of the scar, fascinated by the contrasting textures. His youkai body should swallow up this mark as well, right? I hope it's gone before he wakes up.
His left sleeve drew her eyes with its flatness. The cloth lay still upon the dirt, pretty to look at, but empty. That's the arm Inuyasha hacked off. Odd, but I never notice its absence...Of course, it wasn't as odd as one would think. Usually she was afraid or worried or upset, or a host of other emotions that didn't leave a lot of room for casual observance. It's because he doesn't treat it as a handicap...so nobody really sees it as such.
Her fingers were pushing gently at his collar, sliding it down his shoulder...
No! What are you doing?! She jerked her hand back and stared at it in shock, her fingertips tingling with the feel of his skin. That...was wrong. It was none of her business, and she wasn't sure what had possessed her to be so bold. The great youkai lord would not appreciate her groping him while he was so vulnerable, and frankly, she didn't like it either. For some reason, it scared her.
Do you have a death wish? What do you think he's going to do if he wakes up and sees you hovering over him? Touching him? And he's a powerful demon, he won't be out for long! Her logic finally clawed to the surface of her mind, shattering the quiet world inside the well. She was mere inches away from a creature that wanted her dead, and had already tried to kill her several times. A creature that could wake up at any moment.
Kagome got to her feet slowly, making sure not to disturb him anymore than she already had. It was time to go, to warn...
I can't tell Inuyasha! He'll insist on fighting! What am I going to do?!
Are you protecting him?
Of Course Not!
Then let Inuyasha come. Sesshoumaru has tried to kill you more times than you can remember. It's time to return the favour. So he is wounded, so he is unconscious...why show him mercy? Has he ever shown any to you?
No, and that's exactly the point.
The part of her mind that believed in survival alone called her a fool, but it wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last. She couldn't fully understand the rationale, but Sesshoumaru was a proud creature, and if he died---he deserved to die as such. Striking him now while he was vulnerable went beyond wrong. It was disgusting. Something in her would die with him. And keep dying.
She grabbed onto the familiar old vines, keeping one eye on the demon prince, and the rest of her attention on being quiet. As much as possible. By the time she climbed out of the well, she was calm, collected, and already had a plan forming.
She would lead Inuyasha away from the well. Away from a fight that did not need to be. Hopefully they would be long gone by the time Sesshoumaru regained consciousness. And if hope was truly on her side, he would grow bored and not waste time on finding them.
She did not hurry to Inuyasha, though she wanted to. To do such a thing would have been a mistake. Inuyasha was a half-youkai, and an inu as well. She knew that merely being in Sesshoumaru's proximity wrapped faint traces of his scent around her. And Inuyasha, always alert to the possible movements of his brother, would not fail to notice. A bath was in order. A short, but thorough one. And though the afternoon was bright and warm, she knew the water would not be. The lake she had bathed in after her first trip through the well was nearby. She would go there, and be quick, and hopefully be gone before Sesshoumaru rejoined the world of the aware.
She didn't think she had so much luck, but it was worth a try.
My, Inuyasha must be really busy. I've been on this side of the well for about fifteen minutes, and he still hasn't come to chew me out. Not complaining, but I wonder where he is...
TBC...