Chapter 3- Kaishoiriu
Kagome didn't even know what had happened. Only a few short seconds that seemed to stretch to years passed by in the time it took for them to hit the ground, but, luckily for her, they fell onto a soft patch of green grass, the boy on the bottom.
Kagome would've died instantly if she had hit the groud full force, but the boy took all the force out of the impact and lessened the pain for her. However, Kagome still suffered slight pain, but she wasn't sure of the damage at the moment.
Kagome let out a small groan as she opened her eyes, only to blush when she noticed she was on top of the boy, between his legs. She blushed even deeper when she met the demons curious gaze, his dark green colored eyes watching her intently.
"Uh...hello? My name is Kagome," she bit out nervously, worried the demon before her was one that would attack and kill her as soon as possible.
Kagome was a little surprised when the demon smiled up at her and answered cheerfully,"The names' Kaishoiriu, but you can call me Riu."
A smile graced Kagome's lips and she sat up, sending a slight pulse of pain through her leg at the action, causing her to wince and stop moving.
"Why did you try to attack us, Kagome?" Kagome gazed at Riu with slight confusion on her face. "What are you talking about? That...um.. thing you were riding was going to attack me and Aki. The fierceness on its face was very obvious."
Riu's face held the traces of both surprise and confusion. "Atori wasn't going to attack you...she was trying to protect you. There was a small dose of poisionous gas hovering over the area where you were about to enter. Being demons, we were unaffected by it, but you would have died...That's why Atori used her hypnosis to make Aki stop where she was. Sorry 'bout that."
Kagome sighed and looked up, noticing that both Aki and Atori were coming her way slowly. "Oh, ok then...thanks, I guess." Kagome mumbled slowly, obviously exhausted. Riu sat up and looked Kagome over, picking up her hand slowly.
Kagome jumped and a tingle went down her spine at his touch."W...What're you doing?" Riu turned serious eyes up to Kagome and answered,"You're hurt. You twisted your ankle and your arm is halfway out of its socket."
This was true, for the pain Kagome felt when she tried to move her left arm was quite intense, and she probably couldn't even stand up.
Riu sighed and leaned forward. "If you want me to, I'll pop your arm back into its socket, but it'll hurt." Kagome moaned in annoyance. Of course, it figures she'd have to suffer some pain from the fall, but she was ready for it and she was determined to face it head on.
"Ok Riu...Whenever you're ready." Riu turned his gaze up to Kagome and nodded. He positioned his hands on her shoulder and midarm, and with one swift motion, cracked the arm back into its proper place.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" 'That freakin' hurt!!' Kagome screamed in her mind, clearly in pain. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but laugh at the sight before her. She had straight out punched the poor youkai who had so kindly helped her, and he now lay atleast 5 feet away, on his back, with his hand over his right cheek.
There was something funny about the way he looked at her when he sat up.
Riu glared at her, his hand still over his cheek, a deep red mark beginning to appear. Kagome burst into a fit of laughter, pointing her finger at the boy in a mocking way.
"I'm sooo sorry, Riu," she studdered out as she struggled to stop her uncontrolled laughter. Riu simply stood up and growled low in his throat, purely out of annoyance.
Kagome giggled and tried to stand up, forgetting all about her twisted ankle, however, when the weight was set upon her legs, pain shot through her and she fell backwards.
Riu lost all signs of his earlier annoyance and rushed foreward, eager to know if Kagome was alright.
"Are you okay, Kagome?" Kagome leaned forward and sighed. "Boy, is that painful. I knew my ankle would hurt, buy this is worse than I thought. Oh and, I'm ok."
Aki and Atori landed right behind Kagome, worried for the young miko. Unfortunately, Kagome hadn't expected the two to be behind her and a loud 'eep' was heard when she turned to see the duo.
Riu snapped his fingers and Atori looked to him, waiting for an order. "Kagome, Atori is a dragon/neko youkai. You have no reason to fear her."
Kagome smiled at Atori cheerfully, even though the twinge of fear could still be found deep within her character, for this beast was bone-chillingly scary.
Blood red eyes that seemed to look into the very soul stared at Kagome in interest. Horns traced the lines down the head of the neko dragon. Black fur covered her body, mixing with brown and small strands of white, giving her a beautiful look at the same beastly look that fitted her so well.
A fluffy tail with a sharp blade-like tip swayed back and forth behind her in a agitated fashion. Razor sharp claws stuck out slightly from her cat-like paws and the same nose any neko would have could be found.
"Hi Atori, sorry about earlier, I kinda tought you were gonna try to attack us." Atori gave a swift nod and stalked off towards the East.
Kagome sat there, feeling pretty stupid."Where is she going?" Riu grinned at her and answered,"Atori is going home to inform the castle that their lord will be running late, for he is helping a beautiful young miko at the moment."
Kagome blushed at that last statement. Beautiful? She was beautiful? "Umm....you think Im..." Kagome snapped out of her daze as Kilala nudged her arm and let a low purr vibrate from her throat.
"I'm okay, Aki. Don't worry."She insured, blushing even worse than before. She had let her mind wander away for a second and found herself thinking of the wounded Inuyasha back at the hut.
Then it hit her, Riu had said that he was a lord. "You're the Eastern lord?!" Riu smiled at Kagome and nodded. "I very recently took the throne, you see, my father and mother died just 2 months ago. I was in training to learn how to be a proper lord and so, now the throne is mine."
"How old are you, Riu? You seem kinda young to be a lord." Riu looked slightly surprised."I'm 52, but demons and humans age differently. I think that in human years, I'd be about 17."
Kagome nodded and pulled her ankle out in plain view. It was now swollen and red, and the slightest touch seemed to send a tingle of pain up her entire leg.
Then the thought of how she was going to find Sesshomaru with a hurt ankle rushed into her mind and she began to panic. "How am I going to find that stupid lord now!?I'm hurt and can't even stand!!"
Riu was quite taken by surprise by her sudden outburst and walked over to sit beside her.Of course, Kagome didn't even notice as she continued talking about all sorts of things...something about a herb and garden...
Riu sighed and looked at her ankle. 'I can fix this easily.' he mocked in his mind. He placed his right hand above Kagome's ankle and concentrated, blocking out the girls annoying chatter. A light blue light swirled around her ankle and the redness disappeared.
When the light dispersed, not a single sign of a twisted ankle could be seen.
"How did you do that?" Riu jumped at the sound of the girl's voice. When had she stopped her distressful bickering? Was she watching him the whole time? Or was she just dense?
Riu smiled nervously."It is in my capabilities, you see, I am a mixed youkai. Rain and Inu, and proud to be. There aren't many pure rain youkai any more, but that is a completely different story...anyway, Rain youkai hold the ability to heal to a certain extent. In your case, it was easy to heal, due to the fact that this was a mere sprain."
Kagome nodded and stood, no pain at all remained. Aki gave a sudden growl and stooped low to the ground, informing Kagome that it was high time to leave, for nightfall would be there in a matter of hours.
"One moment, Aki." Kagome stated, and turned to Riu. "Do you know where Sesshomaru is?"
Riu looked slightly surprised and nodded. "Sesshomaru is probably in his castle, off to the west...Why?" Kagome sighed and responded,"I need to get a herb from within his garden so that I can heal my...friend back at Keadae's village."
"Please allow me to accompany you, Kagome. You can use some protection from the wild demons that cover the lands. Plus, it will take about 2 days to get there at your speed."
Kagome thought for a moment, and then accepted.'Might as well...I really don't think he'll take no for an answer.'
"Shall we head out now, then?" she asked. Riu nodded. Kagome climbed onto Aki's back and they were off, Riu right beside them on foot, easily keeping up.
A/N:
Ok, now, one person made a very rude prediction on my story, and I'd advise her to just stop! No, Sess is not to make a deal like that, for he is a proud lord who would probably not lower himself to make such a stupid deal. However, this is a Kag/Sess! I am not that predictable.
Anyway, thanks to everyone else that reviewed. Feel free to ask any questions that plague your mind, k.
ja ne,
Mistress of the twin souls, Lady Casari
