Kindness Reborn
Chapter Three
Sesshomaru staved off the demon, wondering where the hell it had come from, or why. Jaken was trying to scurry around the thing… he seemed to be in a panic.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" His high voice cried over the noise of the battle. Sesshomaru ignored him, his mind a little occupied by the girl not too far away.
Suddenly the demon stopped moving, and something glowed in his back. Sesshomaru stood there, watching curiously as the creature grew, unfazed. It must've been the work of a jewel shard; that could make things a little more interesting.
But he sensed something was wrong when the demon doubled, than tripled his original state, his growth never ceasing.
"The shards were composed of five others!" Jaken cried. At least, that was what he heard. And there were more than one… he had to finish this off before it got out of hand.
Sesshomaru unsheathed his sword, raising it over his head to kill the now obese creature. As he swung it down, a large barrier appeared, deflecting his hit.
Tokijin flew out of his hand, surprising the Lord.
The demon thrashed about, looking for an escape. It finally ran off, flattening the forest around him. Jaken scurried around it's feet and picked up the Tokijin, returning it to his master.
"Aren't you going to go after the demon, my lord?" He asked, eagerly.
"I'll take my time." The dog demon took his sword and began to walk, thinking over the events of the past few minutes and wondering how he could break through the barrier.
Then the smell of human blood filled his scent.
Rin's blood.
"This way!" Inuyasha called to the others. Kagome was on his back again and he could feel her anxiousness to get back to her sister. He had to hurry.
Blood filled the air, and they made it to a clearing which seemed to have been made through a struggle. Hundreds of broken trees created a pathway to what could be the battle scene. And Sesshomaru's scent, mixed along with everything else.
He tensed, sniffing the air. He could smell human blood, and lots of it.
"Where next, Inuyasha?" Sango's voice broke the silence.
"Down there. I smell Sesshomaru as well."
"Funny, it's usually Sesshomaru that finds us, isn't it?" Miroku remarked as Kirara approach him. Inuyasha brooded at his half brother's name, but he continued anyways.
Kagome gasped at the scene in front of them. They had walked into a battle between Sesshomaru and a gigantesque demon. More precisely; Sesshomaru and the barrier surrounding the demon.
"Heh, it doesn't matter how strong Tokijin is," Inuyasha unsheathed his sword, the Tetsusaiga glowing a deep red, "it still can't beat good old Tetsusaiga!"
Inuyasha broke through the barrier with only a slight resistance, but leaped back when it dissolved. The smell of blood could be detected, even without demon powers. The scent overwhelmed Kagome, making her gag, her knees buckling.
Sango and Kirara attacked the demon, and a moment later Inuyasha joined them. In her weakened state, Kagome's stomach began to turn over. She could feel herself going green.
The demon soon fell, the others having managed to hit the shards by chance while she was hunched over. She didn't get to see what happened, but more blood spilled onto the ground and she was sure she was going to be sick soon.
"Kagome!" Miroku helped her sit down and fanned her off. Inuyasha and Sango soon joined them.
"Sorry." She smiled weakly. Kagome could feel herself recovering slightly. "I guess I was rushing myself."
"The smell of blood must be bothering you." Sango bent over her, worried. She took off her mask and tied it around Kagome's face. The air felt a bit better through it, and the teenager took only another moment to recover.
Sango helped her up. Kagome surveyed the scene before her, the forest was full of blood…
… and standing over the small lump of flesh was Sesshomaru, half-sheathing one of his swords. He seemed to be frozen on the spot.
"Get the jewel shards Kagome." Inuyasha ordered. Kagome was about to give him a piece of her mind when she noticed he was staring at his brother, hard.
"Alright."
Inuyasha walked over to Sesshomaru.
"Couldn't protect her. And now you can't revive her." His older brother didn't move. He figured it was because of shame.
There was a moment of silence between them. It felt strange, to be standing beside Sesshomaru and not be trying to defend his life. Finally, Sesshomaru's head dropped and he threw one of his swords to the ground.
The Tensaiga.
"Her soul… it's gone. The sword is worthless."
Kagome came over as Sesshomaru walked away. She gasped softly upon seeing the shattered body.
"Inuyasha… is… is that…?"
"His ward."
Kagome stood stock still for a minute until she bent down and picked up the Tensaiga. She began to walk over to Sesshomaru, with Inuyasha close behind.
"Se- Lord Sesshomaru." She bowed and placed the sword behind the dog demon as he paused. Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga, not trusting his brother. "It may help if you stayed to bury her with us."
Inuyasha could feel his heart pounding, waiting for his brother's next actions. Sesshomaru turned, slowly, and walked forward to where the Tensaiga lay, an arm's length from Kagome.
"Worthless bitch." His one arm came out to choke Kagome, but Sesshomaru was unusually slow that day.
"Hands off!" Inuyasha shot a Wind Scar at him. Sesshomaru stopped and closed his eyes as the attack enveloped his body.
The Tensaiga and he both disappeared.
"Inu- Inuyasha." Kagome tipped a little, and finally fell. She was unconscious by the time Inuyasha caught her.
"Kagome!" Miroku and Sango both hurried towards them, crouching to inspect the girl.
"She fainted." Inuyasha picked her up and brought her to Kirara. "Let's bury Sesshomaru's ward and be gone."
"Lady Kagome!" Keade rushed over to Kirara to help heft Kagome off the cat's back. Torches crackled in the night atmosphere.
"Lady Kagome?" The group stopped as an unfamiliar voice drifted from the hut. Inuyasha walked in first, looking around for the stranger.
He found Jin against the hut wall, staring at him. "What am I missing here?" She asked him. Her eyes found Kagome's body and she struggled to sit up.
"Careful, child, you are still not fully recovered." Keade walked in behind Inuyasha, preparing a place beside Jin for the younger of the two sisters. Miroku and Sango followed with Kagome.
"What happened to her?" Jin reached out to touch the younger girl, stroking her soft face and brushing away some hair. "Rest her on my lap." The monk and demon slayer complied.
"The scent of blood seems to have been too much for Kagome's already weakened state." Miroku explained, sitting down crossed legged. Keade tended to the young girl and told the others to help themselves to some soup.
"Where is Shippo?" Sango asked Keade.
"Out finding some firewood."
Jin sat there, slack-jawed at their casualty. One of them had fainted! "Aren't you worried about her?" She exploded, feeling a lot of her energy drain with it.
The group all stared at her, then at the girl in her lap.
"Hell no." Inuyasha huffed and turned around. A civilised-looking young woman tugged a strand of his hair in protest to his answer.
"Please excuse Inuyasha. Of course we're worried, Jin, but this is all we can do right now. We have to tend to ourselves as well so we can protect each other."
Jin stared at the older woman. This world was a lot different from home, and she was going to need a lot of answers once everything was sorted out.
The old priestess, who's name she'd learned to be Keade, put a reassuring hand on Jin's shoulder, "Child, ye need your rest, so please do relax. This goes for all of you. We should all go to bed once I've finished tending to Kagome. I have a feeling we are all going to need our energy tomorrow."
"You're right Lady Keade. I think I'll be sleeping outside tonight." The young monk cast a nervous glance at her and waved to them all. "Good night!"
After he left, the silver-haired boy, Inuyasha, huffed and walked out as well, heading the opposite way as the monk.
"Do they… always sleep outdoors?" Jin asked the two remaining strangers. The young woman nodded.
"I figure you have a million questions, Jin, but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Please try to relax." The young woman smiled gently. She then looked down at Kagome, her smile faded a little, and then she stood up.
"I'm going to go set up a place to sleep myself. Good night, Keade, Jin." She rolled out a futon, which looked quite a bit like the older ones being sold in stores now, and went somewhere, by the looks of the bundle in her arms she was about to change.
Keade sat with her, wiping off the beads of sweat from Kagome's forehead and slipping small sips of water into Kagome's mouth. Kagome never choked once.
"Child, please do rest." She would want to, and desperately needed to, but there were too many questions. How long had Kagome been travelling back and forth between their two worlds? Long enough to know these people and trust them with her unconscious body.
From the outside none of them seemed trustworthy. A young monk, with wards on his hand (she had to be stupid to miss those), a woman who acted much more civilised that she was dressed, a small demon child, and of course, the tough-looking half demon.
"If ye spend too much energy today, Jin, young Kagome here will have to donate more of her powers towards you. Ye know very well that she could not possibly hold enough energy to sustain the two of you as it is."
"I know." At least this woman seemed trustworthy… 'But then again,' Jin thought to herself, 'Sometimes you cannot trust your eyes or instincts.'
"At least try." Jin forced a smile at the old priestess and laid down, arranging her foster sister and herself so they could lie comfortably by one another. Today was quick and hectic, so she had to be sure to drag out the next day as long as humanely possible.
The ward, the little girl that had once followed his half brother all over the place… why did her face bother him so much today? Of course, it had be very much… well… maybe it was better off mentioned. But still, her face, in his mind, clean and untouched. It sparked a tingle in the back of his mind.
He knew, all too well, that his subconscious was telling him he was a moron, and was looking over a very important detail. He couldn't put his finger on it though…
And that girl! She was irritating! Everything about her bothered him. What gave her any right to act so protectively towards Kagome? They had only really known each other for a year, from what he heard. And what did they do that made their bond so special? At least he and Kagome had travelled all over Japan, killed hundreds of demons, did that not automatically make his relationship with her special? Didn't he have automatic rights to protectiveness over Kagome?
But what if… what if Jin was… a lily? In that case, Inuyasha had to get Jin away from Kagome immediately. There was no way Inuyasha was going to be beat by a girl, especially in that way.
And Inuyasha refused to acknowledge the fact that maybe, just maybe, he was pulling things out of nowhere and thinking of excuses to separate Kagome from her beloved foster sister. He spent the night in the trees, brooding and talking to himself. One moment his mind would be on the two sisters in the hut not too far away, the next he would be contemplating on how the ward's face seemed to taunt him.
What the hell was going on?
Hee hee.. torturing dear old Inuyasha. And yes, that "Lily" statement was actually inspired by a certain chapter in the manga, "Pretty Face" (awesome read, by the way!)
So yes, Rin was killed. I had to fight with myself about it, because I personally love Rin's character, and I could have fit her in, in many different places in this story, but it's very important in the story plot later on.
I hope you enjoyed, and sorry for ignoring this story lately ; My main focus right now is Reminiscent, so I'll only have sporadic updates here until I finish that story. Please understand!
And thanks so much for the reviews! I appreciate every comment. :smile:
