Disclaimer: No characters were harmed in the production of this story.
The Bargain - ch 4
Shippo and Rin were off playing in the woods, once more under Jaken's grudging supervision, and the remainder of their original group was having a heated argument. The harsh tone of Sango's voice made it clear that her earlier tears had been an aberration, and that she was still nowhere near ready to think about anything but her anger and her hatred of Naraku.
"Do you really think a coward like Naraku is going to try to attack Sesshomaru on his own land?" Scorn dripped from the question, and Kagome had to admit that the demon exterminator had a point. Naraku had tricked and trapped them for years; it was hard to believe that he would take such a risk.
"I think we should give it a shot. After all, we've been chasing Naraku for years and haven't managed to catch up to him long enough to stop him. Maybe forcing him to come to us will give us the advantage for once." Kagome was repeating the same thing she had been saying since they had joined Sesshomaru, with little confidence that Sango would listen. She was too wrapped up in her own hatred of the monster that had killed her brother to think of anything other than the fact that she wasn't pursuing him, wasn't *hunting* him.
"True. And admit this Sango: without Inuyasha, we are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to fighting Naraku. Without him, Naraku would have killed us years ago. If Sesshomaru is willing to fight with us, we need to accept that assistance on whatever terms he offers. We need his sword to have a chance at destroying Naraku." Miroku was also repeating arguments made before, and Sango was no more receptive to him than she had been to Kagome.
"Fine." Sango growled, disgust in every line of her face as she stomped on ahead of them. "I'll wait. For now. But if we don't see some sign of Naraku soon, I'm going after him on my own, whether you want to help or not."
Kagome sighed, and hoped that Sesshomaru was right, and that this plan of his would lure Naraku out of wherever he was hiding. Her attention drifted ahead, not for the first time. Sesshomaru strode at the front of their little group, seemingly ignoring the dissention behind him, but she knew he noticed everything.
"I'm worried about her, Miroku. She's almost worse today than she was before."
The priest was watching Sango as she stormed away from them, kicking at the ground. "I know, Kagome." He sighed. "I'm worry about her too. This much rage isn't good. It's choking her. And ..." his voice trailed off.
"And what?" Kagome asked, worried. What was it Miroku was seeing that she wasn't?
This time it was Miroku who sighed. "She blames herself for Kohaku's death. Even if we manage to kill Naraku, I'm not sure she'll be able to forgive herself." His eyes were sad, and Kagome wished she could comfort him. She knew how it felt to lose someone you loved, and she prayed her friend would be spared this pain.
Something occurred to her, and she spoke without thinking. "Sesshomaru was watching her yesterday, and I didn't like the look in his eyes." Kagome looked away, not wanting to see her friend's reaction to the words. He walked beside her in silence for several minutes.
"Do you think he will harm her?" Miroku finally asked. His voice was carefully level.
Kagome thought about it for a bit before shaking her head. "No. But it really creeped me out. He's planning something, and somehow it involves Sango."
Miroku's fist clenched and unclenched several times as he stared after the demon leading them towards his home. "If he hurts her, I'll kill him."
Kagome reached out to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'll help."
They walked in silence until Sesshomaru came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the trail. Sango, lost in her anger, nearly ran into him.
"Rin" he ordered. "Come here. Now."
The young girl obeyed immediately, abandoning her game with her new friend and running to stand in front of her foster father. "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama." Shippo, abandoned, came to stand with Kagome and Miroku.
"What is it?" Kagome asked the demon, looking around to see what had disturbed him. She couldn't see anything, couldn't sense anything, but she was only human after all.
"Death, and demons," he said abruptly, sniffing at the air.
"Where?" she asked, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and notching it on her bow. She looked around again, but still there was nothing to disturb the forest's stillness.
"Ahead of us." He stepped off the path, Rin following closely at his heels. "We will go around the village."
"A village?" Kagome asked. "We have to go see if they need help!"
Sesshomaru stopped and glared at her. "No." The word was uncompromising in it's finality.
"What?" Kagome was appalled by his lack of concern. "How can you say no? What if they need our help?"
"They will have to do without you. We do not have time for such diversions."
Kagome looked over to Miroku, expecting his support. She was unsurprised to see Sango standing near Sesshomaru, but it was a shock when Miroku avoided her eyes.
"Miroku?" her voice was questioning. He had always been willing to help the people they met on their travels before.
"Kagome," his voice was apologetic. "I must agree with Sesshomaru this time." His eyes flicked to her briefly before settling on Sango. "We cannot risk ourselves before we meet Naraku."
"What about learning to fight together?" she challenged him angrily, throwing his words from the day before back at him.
"I believe," his eyes came back to meet hers and she saw fear in them. Fear for soul of the woman he loved. "We have more important concerns now."
For a moment, Kagome was swayed by the plea. She hesitated, torn between her instinctive desire to help others, and the equally intense need to help her friends. Her indecision lasted too long.
She heard a low growl as Sesshomaru moved abruptly towards her. Before she could react, he had picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder, careful to avoid impaling her on his spiked armor. She shrieked in panic and beat at his back, trying to force him to drop her. He was unfazed.
"I will not be delayed again by your foolish human weakness," he told her as he strode into the woods, ignoring her attempts to regain her freedom. "There is no need for us to risk ourselves assisting a town full of human vermin. I, Sesshomaru, will not permit it. If you wish, you may return later, once I have dealt with Naraku."
"Put her down!" Shippo yelled, throwing himself at Sesshomaru in an attempt to force him to release his captive, but the older demon simply batted the young fox into a nearby tree.
"Shippo!" Kagome cried out with fear for her small friend and fought harder against the hand restraining her. "Dammit, Sesshomaru, let me go. I need to make sure he's OK."
"He is a demon. He will be fine." The emotionless voice informed her, and his words were confirmed when she saw Shippo stagger back to his feet.
Relief sapped her strength, and Kagome gave up her obviously futile struggles. She wanted to help the villagers, but Sango was her friend, and she supposed that it wasn't fair to her to risk getting any of them killed before Sango had the chance to confront the monster who had killed her family and friends. Besides, being hung upside down over Sesshomaru's bouncing shoulder was starting to make her stomach revolt.
"You win," she told the demon carrying her. "You can let me down now. And you'd better do it quickly if you don't want me to throw up on your pretty white kimono."
Sesshomaru immediately dropped her and she hit the ground with a solid thud.
Ouch, she thought grumpily. "You could have been a bit gentler," she grumbled.
Unsurprisingly, he ignored her. And continued to ignore her as she muttered unhappily beneath her breath.
It was several silent, sullen, hours later and the first stars were beginning to appear in the sky when they once more ran across evidence of demons.
They were walking alongside a small creek when Kagome sensed a far too familiar, far from welcome presence.
"Sesshomaru," she called quietly, sliding her bow from her shoulder and nocking an arrow.
"I sense it," he answered her warning. "Rin," he called, "go stand by Jaken." The girl obeyed quickly and without comment; Shippo followed his companion, and soon the two children were towering over the diminutive toad demon.
Sesshomaru looked around, searching for any sign of the newcomer. All that met his eyes were trees and their shadows.
"It's Naraku," Kagome told him. "And one of his puppets. I can't tell which is which from here." She pointed off to the left, to where an old and gnarled tree stood amid thick brush. "They're over there."
Sesshomaru drew Tetsusaiga and took a step towards the spot she had indicated. Before he could take another, a black figure broke from the ground and lunged at him. Reflexes sharpened by a century of battle kicked in and the fang's blade snapped up, cutting through the form but not damaging it.
Shadow demons, the demon lord realized with a silent curse as he sidestepped the thing's claws. He heard the monk echo his thoughts aloud as he spun away from the shadow's blow.
"Shadow demons," the monk called out, pulling Kagome away from the pair that were springing from the ground at her feet.
"Great!" the priestess answered back. "So how do we kill them?" She glanced over at Sango , who was being ignored by the dark figures that were swarming towards Sesshomaru and Kagome. The demon exterminator was running frantically into the bush, screaming Naraku's name.
Miroku hesitated, torn between following Sango and staying behind to confront the more immediate threat. "Light," he ground out. "Light will drive them off, or damage them, if it's bright enough." Deciding that the advice was the only contribution he would be able to make to the fight, he quickly headed after the fading sound of Sango's voice.
"Light?" Sesshomaru heard Kagome ask in a choked voice. "Where are we supposed to get light at this time of night?" She had her bow and arrow ready, and drew a bead on one of their attackers; as she let the missile fly, the shaft was enveloped in a shining blue glow. The arrow hit one of the shadow demons, and it vanished with a scream as its companions recoiled slightly.
"I can make light, Kagome," she heard a child's voice say, and the clearing was suddenly filled with a burst of foxfire. Shippo stood protectively in front of Rin, calling all the magic he possessed into a shield. Several more of the attacking creatures screamed and disappeared as they hit the wall of flames, but they were quickly replaced by more.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded, "the staff."
Kagome loosed another arrow and watched, puzzled, from the corner of her eye as the toad creature stepped forward and placed the tip of the staff he always carried against the ground. Just as Shippo's shield began to waver, the man's head began to wail. The noise died away, and the head opened its mouth to let out a brilliant burst of flame. Kagome's eyes widened in shock, but before she could react she felt herself being seized around the waist.
Kagome screamed, only to hear a familiar voice growl in her ear.
"Cease that infernal shrieking." Sesshomaru ordered as he dropped her beside the still burning flame. Kagome closed her mouth as he dropped Tetsusaiga to the ground beside her and drew the Tensaiga.
She watched in amazement as the healing blade began to glow and Sesshomaru strode out of the safety of the flames to attack the few remaining shadows, who fled before he could reach them.
"Hmpf." She heard him scoff, and for a moment she felt a pang in her chest. He sounded almost exactly like his half-brother. "Cowards. Unworthy of the power of the Tensaiga."
He sheathed the no-longer-glowing blade and indicated that Jaken should let the staff go out. Sesshomaru returned to the small group and retrieved Tetsusaiga before turning to examine the shadows.
"Naraku has fled." He stated, and Kagome nodded agreement.
"I can't feel him, or his shards, anymore," she told him. "I felt him leave when I destroyed the first shadow."
"Then we will continue our journey," he informed her coldly, beginning to walk off in the direction they had been travelling before the interruption. Jaken and Rin followed.
"But Sango and Miroku!" she gasped in disbelief. Could he possibly mean to leave her friends behind?
Sesshomaru stopped and turned to face her. Behind him, Jaken and Rin froze. Their lord did not take well to being defied. How would he respond to this confrontation? Shippo shivered, but bravely moved to stand next Kagome.
To Rin's relief and Jaken's disgust, Sesshomaru merely stared at the human female who stood glaring up at him.
"Our bargain was that I would assist you to recover the Shikon no Tama and destroy Naraku. Going after your foolish friends will advance neither goal." He reminded her bluntly. "And I believe we agreed that they would only travel with us so long as they did not delay us."
Kagome growled, curses she had learned from Inuyasha running through her mind. "I don't believe you. They're my friends! Of course I'm going to help them!" She was about to launch into a lecture, when a shout in the distance reminded her of her original goal. "I'm going to go find them. We'll catch up later. Maybe." She spun and headed off in the direction of the shout, the same direction she had seen Miroku running during the fight. Shippo followed on her heels. She could vaguely hear the sounds of battle in the distance, and hoped it was her friends.
Unnoticed, Sesshomaru followed her.
It never occurred to Kagome that he could have simply picked her up and carried her off again.
Shippo quickly took the lead, tracking his friends' scents through the darkened forest towards the crashing and shouting. Kagome followed him, bow and arrow at the ready. She prayed they would be in time.
When they caught up to the doppelganger and his pursuers, it became clear that they were in time, but only barely. Sango lay unconscious on the ground with her boomerang bone broken on the ground beside her and Kohaku's chain-sickle tangled around one arm. Kirara in full battle form was braced protectively over her fallen mistress, growling at the figure Miroku was confronting. His Air Rip was open and already sucking at the hell wasps that surrounded him.
"Miroku!" Kagome screamed at the sight, desperately afraid that he had already been fatally poisoned. How many times could she bring him back from the damage wrought by the insects' venom?
The monk didn't answer her cry, but as soon as her glowing arrow streaked through the clearing, striking the puppet and purifying away its body, he wrapped the rosary around his hand had fell to his knees, sweating profusely.
The wasps fled with the death of their master, and Kagome rushed to kneel beside the her stricken friend.
"How many?" she asked him, hurriedly laying aside her bow and taking his hand in both of hers. He seemed worse than she remembered from the last time he had been stung by the wasps. Had he been bitten more than once? she wondered. Or was he just more succeptible to the venom now? Neither option made her feel better.
"Just one," he gasped, his growing pain evident in his face. "Just enough."
"Hold on, dammit, Miroku!" she ordered, concentrating fiercely, trying to summon forth the power Kaede had tried so hard to teach her to use. If he was being affected this quickly, she needed to work fast.
Fortunately, her power always seemed to work best under stress, and this time was no exception. Within seconds a pale blue glow had risen to surround them both, seeking out the poison tainting Miroku's body and rendering it harmless.
"Thank you, Lady Kagome," he told her, nearly collapsing with relief as the pain that had been dragging at him vanished. But it was a momentary relief, quickly replaced by concern. "Sango?" he asked, turning his face to where Shippo was examining the fallen exterminator.
"She's ok." they heard the fox demon say as he turned to face them. He was shivering slightly, but he seemed to have himself under control. "Just asleep. Kirara's ok too." he added, looking over at the two tailed kitten that stood mewing anxiously and butting her head at the unconscious woman, trying to rouse her. "But she's tired."
"Thank god," Kagome murmured. When she had seen Sango collapsed, she hadn't been sure if her friend was alive or dead.
"Indeed," a cold voice rang out. "May we now continue our journey?" Sesshomaru had arrived and was watching them impassively from a slight distance.
Kagome was about to respond angrily when Miroku intervened, anxious to ward off Kagome's visibly seething temper. He doubted Sesshomaru would appreciate it any more than Inuyasha had, and they had no binding necklace to control this brother.
"Perhaps it would be a good idea to at least move some distance from this spot," he proposed. "Kirara can carry Sango for a while, and I am capable of walking." He looked around, noticing the deep shadows that surrounded them. "Although it is late, and we will need to rest soon anyway."
Thoughout his speech, Kagome glared at the dog demon. As soon as the monk finished, Sesshomaru nodded his assent and turned to leave. Then he hesitated "I will retrieve Rin and Jaken," he informed them. "And prepare a place to rest for the night. Follow when you are ready."
Kagome continued to glare at the space he had occupied for several beats after he was gone. "What is it with dog demons and being annoying?" she grumbled irritatedly.
Miroku and Shippo decided that discretion was the better part of valour and refrained from answering.
Still grumbling, Kagome helped Miroku to his feet before heading towards Sango. Kirara, understanding what would be required of her had transformed and stood waiting for her passenger.
They drafted Shippo to follow Sesshomaru's trail, but even with his demon sense of smell to lead them it was nearly an hour later when they caught up with Sesshomaru. To Kagome's surprise, she found that he had prepared a small campfire, and that there were already several rabbits roasting over the flames. Her anger had fled with the adrenaline rush from the fight, so she simply took the meat Shippo handed her and sat down on a nearby log to eat the food as Miroku and Sango followed suit.
All the humans were tired, so the meal was quick and silent. Kagome, who had taken the least damage in the day's battles, cleaned up the scraps, intending to remove them from the immediate area. Rin and Jaken were already curled up next to Sesshomaru's two-headed dragon. Miroku and Sango went straight to their bedrolls and collapsed, and it didn't take long for Shippo to join them, nestling into Kagome's sleeping bag.
Despite the exhaustion leadening her limbs, Kagome wasn't quite ready for bed. She sat with her back against a tree and stared up into the clear sky. It was the night of the new moon, she realized for the first time, and felt guilty for not having remembered until now. Tonight would have been Inuyasha's 'time of the month'. A falling star trailed across the sky, and she wished that he would be safe and happy, wherever he was.
"Tell me about the fox kit." Sesshomaru's voice pulled her out of her sad thoughts.
Kagome startled. "Huh?" How very elegant, she snorted to herself.
"The fox kit," there was the merest hint of impatience in Sesshomaru's voice. "How did he come to travel with you?"
Kagome felt a smile creep across her face as she remembered her first encounter with the young demon child. "He stuck Inuyasha to the ground with a spell so he could steal my Shikon shards," she told him, still smiling.
One aristocratic eyebrow lifted. "Indeed?"
Kagome nodded, wondering why he was asking.
"It was just after I broke the jewel. On one of our first trips to find some of the shards. We were after these guys named Hiten and Manten." Her voice turned solemn as she admitted, "Shippo's father had had a shard, and they killed him and his mate for it. Shippo stole my shards so they would come after him. He wanted revenge." It was still hard, knowing that but for her actions Shippo's parents might still be alive and caring for the child she had come to love.
"An understandable desire." Sesshomaru commented.
Kagome shrugged. "We took back the shards and killed them. Shippo's father's pelt was destroyed in the fight. It burned away and formed a foxfire shield when Hiten attacked us. We couldn't just leave him, so he's been with us ever since."
She thought about the young fox, and sorrow filled her. Of all her companions, she worried about the youngest one the most. Even now Miroku and Sango had each other, but Shippo ...
"I don't know what to do about him. I can't stay in this time once I've fixed the jewel, and he's already lost too many people he loves." She wrapped her arms around herself and looked over at the sleeping child. "Even if I could stay, I'm a human and he's a demon. I'll die long before he's an adult and able to look after himself. I don't know how to teach him anything he needs to know about surviving in this time: I can't hunt or fight, really, and I don't know anything about being a fox demon, or about how his magic works."
Sesshomaru was silent for a while.
"It is the same with Rin," he surprised Kagome by admitting. "She is a human, and a female. It is difficult to know what to do with her. To wonder if perhaps she would not be better off with others of her kind."
Kagome chuckled. "I think you'd have a hard time convincing her of that."
Sesshomaru nodded, and they sat in silence a while longer until Kagome yawned.
"Goodnight." She went to bed, once more leaving the demon lord alone with his thoughts.
***
Notes: To anyone who remembers when I first started posting this, my apologies for the looong delay, and the shortish chapter. Check out chapter 7 of 'Fallen' if you want the gory details (check out the whole story really; I'm rather proud of how it turned out); otherwise, just know the next chapter shouldn't take quite as long, and should be a bit better, since I think I've found the characters again.