A/N: I tried to do the disclaimers earlier, but I guess I didn't do it right cause it didn't show up. Oh well, better late than never, right? By the way, I PROMISE that this will tie in with Rin. It will make sense by the end, I swear. Just stay tuned…
Disclaimer: I am a poor college student who owns nothing but the clothes on her back. Well, I made Yukari up, so I guess I own one thing. But I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other cool characters. L
Chapter 4
Sesshomaru could hear the miko's heartbeats quicken, and he knew that she was regaining consciousness. He had been worried in spite of himself; she had slept so long. He mentally shook himself. No time for weak thoughts now, he said to himself. She's just a human, and after I leave this cursed place I will never think of her again. A small voice inside him told him he was wrong, however. There was something about this girl…
Yukari awoke with a pounding headache, which only worsened as memories came flooding back to her. The things she had seen before losing consciousness still lingered. She pulled herself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the throbbing of her head. She drew her knees up to her chest, folded her arms over her knees, buried her face in her arms, and began to cry.
Sesshomaru could smell the saltiness of her tears; her grief was almost a palpable presence in the pit. In the dim light shining in from the evening sky he could see the girl's slender shoulders shake with her sobs. He found himself wanting to draw her into his arms and stroke her raven hair until she was comforted.
Why do I think such things about her? he asked himself. He couldn't stop the thoughts, though. They had just seemed to come naturally when he met this girl. I must focus on the problems at hand, he said firmly to himself. This girl will not mean anything to me.
His resolve strengthened, Sesshomaru returned to watching the miko. All of a sudden, she jumped up and began fumbling with her empty sword belt. Sesshomaru could see her eyes glittering in the falling darkness. She pulled out a six-inch stiletto knife that had been hidden in the empty sword sheath! The long knife was very sharp, and the silver metal glittered. She walked slowly over to Sesshomaru, the knife raised in her hand.
What the hell is she doing? he asked himself.
Yukari saw his eyes begin to glow a deep red, and suddenly he lunged at her. The girl jumped back, startled. She was lucky that he was chained to the wall. If he had jumped a few inches farther she would be dead! She frowned at him, not sure why he had chosen this moment to try to attack her. She stuck her nose in the air and stomped back to her side of the pit.
Sesshomaru saw her unhappy frown, and could read the confusion in her eyes. Too late, he realized that she had been coming to pick the locks and release him from his shackles. He did feel a little bit bad; after all, she had been coming to help him. He wasn't used to kindnesses from strangers, especially human ones.
They waited in a tense silence, each one unsure of the other. Finally, it was Sesshomaru who ended it.
"What did you see?" he asked.
"What?" she asked, startled and surprised that he had spoken to her.
"When Hokkaido touched you. What did you see?" he repeated.
"Oh." Yukari sighed. "I had a… bad experience in my childhood. Hokkaido was there, and he roused some unpleasant memories."
"Hmph." he replied. He was uncomfortable again. Why did I speak to her? he asked himself. That question came out of nowhere. He noticed that the smell of her grief had lessened, and she had stopped crying.
Silence reigned once more.
Yukari looked up at the sky through the opening of the pit above her. She could see the stars, and the sight was, in a way, comforting. Her eyes began to grow heavy, and she curled up on the cold stone floor to go to sleep.
Sesshomaru's sharp ears picked up the miko's change in breathing, and he knew she was asleep. He watched her for a while, thinking, before he fell asleep as well.
When Yukari woke up the next day she could see the sun directly overhead. Sesshomaru was already awake, staring at the sky over his head. He turned to look at her when her stomach growled.
How long have we been down here? she asked herself. At least two days, maybe three. I can't remember.
"How long do you think Hokkaido will keep us down here?" she asked Sesshomaru softly.
"I will only remain down here until my wounds are completely healed and my strength returns," he replied. "You will remain down here until Hokkaido decides to kill you."
Yukari flinched at the brutal reality of his statement. She opened her mouth to respond, but something caught her attention first.
"Hokkaido is coming," she said in a steely voice.
"No," a voice hissed. "We are here."
A cold hand snaked itself around Yukari's neck, and she gasped as she was lifted off her feet.
"Now, miko, we will drain your powers and take them for ourselves!" Hokkaido laughed crazily.
Yukari spit in Hokkaido's face as one hand crept down to her sword sheath. Hokkaido roared in fury and shook her, still gripping her by the throat. Yukari gasped for air, desperate to stay conscious. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sesshomaru struggling against the chains that bound him.
Hokkaido's four back claws unfolded themselves and pointed at Yukari's chest. "You will pay for insulting us, miko bitch!" he snarled.
"That's what you think!" Yukari croaked.
She drew her left hand away from the sheath, clutching the stiletto knife. She
drew it up in a wide arc, slicing through layers of muscle in the arm holding her. Hokkaido howled in pain and dropped her. She automatically rolled away and quickly got to her feet. Hokkaido was clutching his wrist. All of a sudden he began to laugh.
Oh no, she thought. He's going to reflect himself! If he does I will surely be killed!
Thinking quickly, she turned the knife around and hurled it at the demon. It caught him in the chest and broke his concentration; the double that had been beginning to form dissolved. Hokkaido plucked it out and threw it away. He lunged at Yukari, landing a blow across her ribs before she could dodge.
She gasped for breath, then realized the knife was laying right next to her! She leapt to her feet, preparing to throw it again. Hokkaido saw what she was about to do and disappeared right as she threw it. Instead of striking the demon it embedded itself in Sesshomaru's shoulder!
"Stupid woman," he yelled at her. "You could have killed me!"
"Well, it's not like you're useful or anything," she shouted back. "It's not like you helped me out! You just stood there and watched while I did all the hard work!"
She began walking towards him, intending to hit him for his rude insult. I am not stupid! she thought indignantly.
She roughly pulled the stiletto knife from his shoulder and swiftly picked the locks; the chains pinning Sesshomaru to the wall fell away. She stepped back.
He rubbed his wrists, thinking about what to do next. She could have left me pinned to that wall, he realized. She knows that's what I would have done. Why did she decide to help me after I insulted her?
"I hope you don't expect me to return the favor," he said to her over his shoulder. With that he bounded out of the pit with a single, upward leap.
"You jerk!" she yelled after him. "I didn't set you free so that you would be in debt to me!"
She sat down on the hard floor.
"I did it because I don't think anyone deserves to be left alone to die in a pit," she said softly, more to herself than because she thought anyone was listening. "I did it because I wanted to help you."
But someone was listening; when he jumped out of the pit Sesshomaru had stayed behind to see what the girl would do. His keen demon ears heard very clearly what she said. Her words echoed in his mind.
"I don't think any one deserves to be left alone in a pit to die," she had said. Sesshomaru sighed. I'm going to regret this, he thought. He turned around and jumped back into the pit.
Yukari looked up in surprise when Sesshomaru landed softly next to her.
"You're right," he said. "No one deserves to be left alone in a pit to die. Not even a weak, pathetic human like you."
"Why…you…" she sputtered angrily.
Before she could come up with a good retort he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her roughly to her feet. He picked her up, cradling her against his chest so she wouldn't fall when he jumped. Thanks to his youkai strength, they both landed neatly on the grass beside the pit.
At that moment Yukari noticed the blood staining his white kimono; blood from where she had threw her knife at him. She gasped.
"Oh no, I didn't know I injured you!"
"It's fine," he growled.
"But it's my fault you're hurt. At least let me heal the wound for you."
Sesshomaru didn't answer, so she took his silence as a yes. Placing her fingers lightly on his temples, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Immediately the air around her changed; it hummed with her power, and she glowed with a brilliant white light. For a brief moment their minds touched, and Yukari sent a stream of healing light energy into his body. Sesshomaru could feel the small wound in his chest heal, and the last lingering ache from the wound in his head disappeared. He felt powerful once again!
Yukari sensed his healing was complete, so she removed her finger from his head. She opened her eyes, only to find him staring at her. She blushed and tried to look away, but his golden gaze trapped her.
Sesshomaru stared into her deep brown eyes. She's beautiful. The thought came unbidden to his mind. Suddenly he was very aware that he was still holding her in his arms. So he unceremoniously dumped her onto the ground.
"Oof," she said as the wind was knocked out of her. She stared up at him from her seat on the dusty ground.
"You… ass!" she cried.
He ignored her and turned around to walk away. Yukari grabbed the nearest rock and hurled it at his retreating back.
"This is the thanks I get for trying to be NICE!" she shrieked.
She found more rocks to throw. One struck him on the head, but he pretended not to notice. He left her there throwing rocks at him and calling him rude names.
I didn't know a priestess could have such foul language, he thought. He quickly pushed all thought of her from his mind and began walking faster.
A/N: Sorry for the extra-long chap. ^_^ Thanks to theMaven, my first reviewer! Yay! You're right, I'm wrong… freakin' crescent moon. You'll have to wait to find out who Yukari is… it's my sneaky way of making you keep reading! PLEASE review, all you people out there. I wanna know what you think. I hope to get a few more reviews before I post the next chap.
p.s. to the Great Mesa: thanks for being my biggest fan. Roomies Forever!
Boo yah!!!!!!!
XOXO Sayori