Chapter 14: In her defense

Kagome was very, very confused. For the second morning in a row, she had somehow ended up waking up in Sesshoumaru's arms. Well, at least this time she hadn't migrated to his lap mysteriously during the night. She had felt comfortable being with him. In fact, that was the problem. She still loved Inuyasha, and it made her feel petty to be so close to another man even if he was dead. The fact that the other man was Sesshoumaru only made things more complicated. After all, he was violent, arrogant, and dangerous, icy to the core. But he had saved Rin...and herself. That had to count for something.

She could no longer deny her attraction to the stoic youkai, though. Her heart raced at the slightest touches, the most innocent glances. She found herself wanting to please him, trying to prove she wasn't weak and pathetic, even if she couldn't help being human. Perhaps she was just preparing herself for more heartache, but she had already given away pieces of her heart without ever meaning to. She should just resign herself to the fact that Sesshoumaru could never consider her anything above a companion, there were too many walls between them. Sesshoumaru's whispers had a way of lingering in her mind however. 'You are strong enough,' he had said. It was becoming increasingly difficult to prevent herself from completely jump off the precipice on which she stood and brave the tumults of whatever had the slimmest possibility of developing between them. But she was not that stupid.

Walking beside Tetsusaiga, still casually hanging across Sesshoumaru's dragon, was becoming impossible to bear. It reminded her too much of what she couldn't have and how much she had lost. She fell back a little to walk behind, trying to put it out of her vision and hold back her tears. 'Life isn't supposed to get this complicated until after highschool,' she thought ruefully. She gratefully accepted Rin's hand when the little girl walked back to join her.

Sesshoumaru was acutely attuned to every little sound the girl made as she walked. Her light even footsteps, the shuffling of her clothes, even her breath were sharp in his ears. She had been sighing often through the day, and now she was again close to tears. This only served to remind him of his lack of persuasion over her. Nothing he could do or say could force her to stop, and would probably end up making matters worse. For the first time in his life, Sesshoumaru wanted something, but was at a loss as to how to get it.

Kagome was half lost in her own thoughts when she ran into something and was shoved backward with an undignified "oomf." In that moment, the air filled with shouki, crackling darkly against a reddish-tinged barrier. Hesitantly she put out her hand, but quickly withdrew it as a menacing surge of power tingled up her arm. She pulled Rin close to her. They were trapped by the barrier, the others on the opposite side. "Sesshoumaru!" she called desperately. She could feel the surge of some power approaching, and quickly knocked an arrow and turned, terrified, to face it. Whatever it was, it was already inside the barrier.

Sesshoumaru had felt some sixth sense tingling, warning him of danger, but he could not detect it by scent or sound. When the surge of magic rose to create the barrier, it was instantaneous. By the time he had turned, the kekkai had swallowed up a huge portion of the forest, including Rin and Kagome on the trail behind him. He angrily pulled Toukijin from his belt and hacked at the barrier, sending off a shower of red sparks and sending a ripple of power through the magical field.

The blows had little effect, the kekkai remained firmly in place. Kagome's frightened cry reached him and he renewed his efforts. He could make out her form through the trees and the dark poisons in the air, Rin huddled behind her. He could even see as she tightened her stance and drew her bow. Sesshoumaru watched as a wave of demons filled his line of vision, all of them roaring and converging on the miko and the little girl. There were too many, he knew, for her to ever hope to handle. He could hear the maelstrom of snarls and growls, full of bloodlust. This group was out to kill.

Naraku was trying to destroy her.

Kagome's eyes widened when she saw the massive group of demons descended down towards her, and loosed an arrow. It shone brightly as it cut a path through them, many disintegrating merely by proximity. Not enough though, the group kept coming. Kagome drew another arrow, and then another, but even her strikes weren't doing enough damage. She had hardly made a dent in their numbers.

She could see Kagura now, riding the crest of the wave on her feather, her fan drawn and ready. Their eyes locked, and Kagome knew this time it was her survival at stake.

"Rin, run!" She yelled urgently at the little girl. This group was only after her, and she could not hold them back for long. All she could do was try and give Rin a chance to escape. She nudged the girl again with her foot.

"Go!" she cried, finally sending Rin running away as fast as she could for the trees.

She watched the little girl's form fade, and true to her belief, the youkai had not altered their target. Kagome shot at the ones closest to the direction Rin had gone, the first of the demons reaching her just as she released her arrow. The few who happened to be standing there were torn apart by the arrow's aura, but instantly more took their place.

Before she could reach back for another, she felt the sting of claws and teeth crashing into her, tossing her around. They enclosed her in moments, slashing from every direction.

Instinctively, she released her holy powers, destroying all that were touching her. The burst had hardly begun to subside when the next were on her. She gritted her teeth as she felt claws and teeth grip and tear. Squinting against the pain, another burst of white light erupted from her, but as soon as it had been drawn back within her they returned undeterred.

"Sesshoumaru!" she shrieked, completely caged by the mass of youkai. She felt weak, her vision swimming. She knew she had no strength for another attack. She only had a moment to think before they all converged on her.

'Sesshoumaru, please, I don't want to die here.' Then they were tearing into her, and she felt no more.

Sesshoumaru continued to pound against the barrier. He watched as Kagome's arrows sped like shooting stars to find their targets, but they kept advancing. He saw Kagome shove Rin away and watched her run. None of the demons wavered in the slightest, sure of their prey. If he didn't break through, they would be on her soon. Nothing he tried was working.

He couldn't let her be killed. She was his ticket to finding Naraku. He had a promise to uphold. She was his, and no one had the right to touch her. He angrily struck the barrier, again and again, trying to reach her. For all the good it did, he might have been swinging at air.

He watched in horror as the first of the demons reached her. He could hear her flesh tear even from where he was, and knew if the shouki weren't there he would smell her blood. In moments they had surrounded her, jostling and tossing her as if she was nothing in the process.

With a strangled cry, a white light illuminated the inside of the barrier like a light bulb. When he looked again, he saw that she had managed to destroy the demons in a tight radius around her, but the others were only growling louder now at the smell of blood in the air. As soon as they could, they would charge her again.

She would not be able to hold off the assault for long, just the first wave had wounded her badly. Something stirred inside him as he watched her stubbornly pull herself into a firm defiant stance, preparing grimly for the next of them. She was like an apparition, an impossible incarnation of purity, her white magic tossing her hair and clothes as it rushed obediently back into her. The next demons allowed her no recovery, attacking as soon as the light had receded.

She yelled again, and for a moment he lost sight of her in the swarm. Again the light came, but weaker. It was soon gone, and he could see her again. She swayed, her body drooping, blood flowing freely from too many wounds to count. She was only barely standing as the demons began their final assault.

He was out of time. She was about to die right in front of him.

"No!" he roared at the barrier. This was no longer a matter of ownership. The truth was staring him in the face: he could not bear to see her die. Promises and vendettas were shoved aside. They meant nothing to him at the moment. Some how amidst the chaos in his mind, a thought rose: he loved her. Completely, irrationally loved her. He refused to deny it any longer, and he would not lose her now that he had discovered the truth. In that instant, he would give up everything he had strived for in exchange for her life.

He felt a sudden pulse of energy beside him, responding to his urgency. He looked and his eyes found Tetsusaiga, still strapped to Ah-Un where it had been left. He dropped Toukijin and put his hand over the Tetsusaiga's hilt, feeling it pulse in time with his heart. For a moment he wondered at the lack of resistance, until Kagome's final cry reached him. He hesitated no longer, yanking the aged blade from it's sheath.

Instantly, it transformed in his hand, red bands of power swirling up and down the length of the fang, turning it completely crimson. As he drew the blade back, he saw Kagome's limp body fall to the ground in the midst of a swarm of demons.

With an enraged cry, he brought the blade down in a massive arch against the kekai. A huge wave of power surged outward as the barrier shattered, but Sesshoumaru ignored it and charged through. He swung through the group on top of where he had seen Kagome fall, only to discover she was no longer lying there. He angrily sliced at the mindless youkai that attempted to swarm all over him, afraid to try the kaze no kizu until he had found Kagome.

He smelled her now! Somewhere in front of him! Only the amount of her blood allowed him to be certain of where she was. For the first time in his life he was afraid. She had lost too much blood, she could not possibly be alive. He sent out the kaze no kizu to his right and his left, tearing apart the hoards and what remained of the forest effortlessly. With speed that was impossible to follow, he sliced through the demons in front of him, reflecting on how much more enjoyable it would be to tear them apart with his claws, letting their blood spray over his hands and dissolve their bones in his poison for what they had done. But Tetsusaiga helped him control his fury, channeling and strengthening it until none on the field remained standing. Save one.

Kagura stood, poised to flee on her feather, holding the miko's shredded form in her hands. Kagome was not moving, and she was covered with many deep lacerations, there was hardly anything left of her. Her blue garments were hung in shreds over her, now dark and dripping with her blood. Sesshoumaru sneered as he watched a trickle flow down her arm to drip off her pale fingers into the growing puddle beneath her. He raised the tip of the blade to Kagura's face.

"Put. Her. Down." Sesshoumaru ground out each word, his eyes turning red and flashing.

Kagura took a step backward in fear, provoking an angry growl from Sesshoumaru. "Now!" Kagura knew by the look in the demon lords eye that she could never succeed in returning the miko's body to Naraku. Especially now that Sesshoumaru was somehow in possession of his father's fang. She would be destroyed before she could make one movement. Nor could she do as Sesshoumaru ordered. He would tear her apart the moment Kagome wasn't in the way.

She felt a sliver of hope when the buzzing of Saimyoushou reached her ears. The insects could perhaps give her some cover, or give her a little distraction to escape. She would have to be quick. Without warning, she hurled Kagome away from her, using her winds for extra acceleration. The impact would be bone-shattering if Sesshoumaru did not stop it. She jumped on her feather and was gone in a swirl of poison and a cloud of insects. When she chanced a glance backward, she was relieved to find she was not being pursued. Sesshoumaru had opted to catch the girl, and was now lowering her gently to the ground.

Sesshoumaru ignored the wind user as she blew away. He pulled Kagome's blood soaked hair away from her face, her stillness and chill confirming what he already knew. She was dead. He heard Jaken rushing up behind him, and fought off his lingering bloodlust, growling to make sure the toad stayed back. "Jaken, go and find Rin. Bring her back here safely, but don't let her see what happened here." He heard Jaken rush away, frantically searching.

'I've failed,' he thought disbelievingly to himself. 'I allowed this to happen.' The severity of her wounds inflamed him. He wanted to destroy some more, wanted to see Naraku's head roll. But more than that, he wanted her to sit up. He wanted to hear her strange laugh and nonsensical words. He wanted to clean her wounds and wash away the blood until no reminders of the battle remained. And maybe, if she were alive, she would be compassionate enough to forgive him.

He stood over her broken body, Tenseiga drawn. 'If I fail now,' he thought, 'then I've already lost her.'

I'm not sure if that qualifies as a cliff hanger so much as a really cruel place to end this chapter. A short chapter at that. I am sorry. Next chapter has lots of good stuff, I promise.

Another Author's Plea:

What do you want to see happen in the rest of the story? I've pretty much decided on the ending, but I'm really flexible with the middle. Send along some ideas. The more good ideas I get, the more interesting story I write. i.e., Up until now this story has existed in that happy little world where Kikyou actually figures out how to stay dead, but this is still an open end. I could stir things up a little with that, if you guys are in the mood for some rampant Kikyou bashing. Any thoughts? Give me some ideas, or I'll be forced to (heaven forbid) think for myself.



More Notes:

Is there going to be a lemon? -Sorry. The hageshii mouse would disown me, and daren't challenge her. Maybe a twist of citrus just to add flavor.

Thanks for all the reviews, I always love to read them. Please continue to point out my mistakes and suggest things.

Review please!!!!

-Aiwendil



This chapter last updated: Monday, May 5, 2003-format only

Date of original posting: Thursday, May 1, 2003