Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Sesshomaru… but Kohana/Eriko and this cookie are mine.
(I would like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter! It really means a lot to me! Enjoy this chapter, and I would also like to say that other fics that I have read inspired this portion of my story. Thanks again!)
EDIT: MAY 7, 2004
New Beginnings
Chapter 7 – Mending the Trust
all things broken can be reassembled…
The moment Kagome entered her room she decided that she did not want to be in there. She just could not find a suitable place to think. Walking out of the shoji doors leading to the balcony, Kagome found herself wondering where Rin was. She hadn't seen her since earlier yesterday. "Might as well go look for her, I have nothing better to do…" The miko returned to her room and left to wander the castle. An hour passed and there was still no sign of the energetic little girl. With a sigh, Kagome returned to sit in the garden. 'I wonder if there is some way to bring back my friends. There is nothing else in the world that could make me happier… maybe if Mr. I'm-so-high-and-mighty would apologize I could be a little happier.' A grin suddenly spread across her face. "Yeah right!" She said out-loud. "Like that'd ever happen!" As she sat on the edge of a small fountain, Kagome became aware of an increasing uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. She felt that something bad had happened; yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Sesshomaru was disgusted with himself. How could he have allowed a pair of shadow youkai to sneak up on him? He was the superior demon, after all. The lord had managed to defeat the devious demons, but at a great cost. A long gash ran from his right shoulder to his left hip. Luckily the cut was not deep enough to damage any internal organs. Sesshomaru's right knee was out of place and there were a series of cuts that ranged from shallow to deep on his back. The pristine white kimono that he had been wearing when he set out was steadily being stained a deep crimson. A growl ripped its way from Sesshomaru's throat as he felt his body begin to lose responsiveness and his vision darken. 'Curse it all. I must make it to my fortress. The loss of blood from the wounds inflicted by those infernal demons must be taxing my strength.' Although his determination was unwavering, the damage done to his body was taking its toll.
Panting shallowly, Sesshomaru leaned against a tree and tried to clear his vision. He was beginning to see things, to hallucinate. Sesshomaru could have sworn that he was looking at the shocked visage of that girl, Kagome. "Oh my god… Sesshomaru…" Her voice faded away as the stoic demon lost consciousness. He fell into the darkness.
She didn't know what made her do it, but there was a horrible sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Kagome knew, she just knew, that something had happened to Sesshomaru. So she left the castle grounds following her instinct. After about ten minutes of struggling through thick brush and trees, she came across a sight terrible to behold. There, just ahead of her, was Sesshomaru leaning on a tree as though it was his lifeline. But what made the sight so horrifying was that the demon lord was covered in blood and there were rips all over his clothing. Even his tail was bloody and was trailing limply behind him. Kagome gasped, and he looked at her with a dazed expression. "Oh my god… Sesshomaru what happened?!" She rushed over to him and slipped his arm over her shoulder in order to support his body. Just as she had gotten a hold of him, he passed out.
Kagome began to panic. If she had trouble getting here on her own, how in the world was she supposed to get Sesshomaru back through the trees? Then, a calming sensation rose through her. And she knew that she must attempt the inconceivable. So Kagome took a deep breath, repositioned the unconscious youkai, and started back through the forest.
To her eternal surprise, the return journey wasn't at all as difficult as she had presumed. The trees seemed to part before her with the touch of her will. Unnoticed to the weary girl, a faint blue shimmering trail of light was left in her wake. At long last, Kagome caught sight of the castle. "Hold on Sesshomaru. We're almost there." She glanced at the demon and frowned. He seemed to be deeply unconscious; he did not react at all to the jostling movements through the forest or to her voice.
Finally the pair cleared the last of the trees and came upon the entrance to the castle. Kagome managed to push the great door open and get Sesshomaru inside. She shut the door behind her and half-dragged the lord to her room, as it was the closest. Gently, she set Sesshomaru down on her bed, making sure not to pin his tail underneath him. Then Kagome got to take a look at his wounds. As soon as she laid eyes on the horrible gash on his front, the business-like part of her mind took over. 'Okay, those clothes have got to go.' Kagome was suddenly thankful that Rin was not there, and then noticed that the seemingly invisible servants that tended to Sesshomaru's home had refilled her washbasin with fresh clean water. There was a pile of clean cloths next to it.
She walked over and dragged the basin and cloths over to the side of the bed. Then Kagome sat on the edge, next to Sesshomaru's uninjured hip, and unbuckled the clasps to his armor. She slipped it off and set it aside. "Gross. That will need to be cleaned later." Kagome decided to do just that while she was tending the injured lord. Carefully, she pulled away the tattered remains of Sesshomaru's clothing leaving the underwear-like garment in place. She blushed and tried to quash the betraying thoughts running around in her mind at the sight of his, although injured still beautiful and toned, body. 'Okay Kagome girl, you do not need to go there. Ogling the guy in this state… how disgraceful.' Once the encompassing hakama pants were gone, she was able to see the dislocated knee that had been overlooked earlier.
Kagome took one of the cloths and dipped it into the basin, wrung it out and started gently cleansing the demon's body. Every time she had to scrub a little harder to remove some dried blood, she thanked whatever god was listening that Sesshomaru was unconscious. He would surely slit her throat for causing him more pain. Soon, all the blood was gone from his body, and Kagome remembered the wounds on his back. She pursed her lips, trying to decide the best way to get to his back without aggravating the gash on his chest and abdomen. Finally she decided on leaning Sesshomaru forward into a sitting position and washing his back as quickly as possible.
Luckily for her, the unconscious demon cooperated wonderfully. Sesshomaru's body stayed in an upright position long enough for Kagome to wipe the blood off. Then she set him back down and rummaged around through her bag that was sitting on the floor next to her. "Ah! Got it!" She pulled the first aid kit out and removed the bandages and disinfectant. Although she realized that Sesshomaru would probably be healed by the next morning, there was no need for him to be in pain while he was waiting. So she carefully sprayed the disinfectant on his wounds. Then Kagome pulled Sesshomaru into a sitting position again and wrapped the bandages around his chest and abdomen.
She carefully laid him back down and prepared herself for the more taxing task. 'Man, I hope he stays unconscious…' Kagome place her hands on Sesshomaru's leg and wrenched his knee back into place. After a fleeting glance at his face, she wrapped another bandage around his knee. Then she sat back and sighed. "Good thing that's over with!" Kagome took advantage of the fact that Sesshomaru was sleeping to look him over. Oh okay, she was staring shamelessly and she knew it. But he was rather beautiful. Kagome yawned and sat in a chair by the balcony door. "Oi… it's been a long day…" She yawned again and slowly drifted off to sleep.
In the dead of night, the shoji doors of Kagome's room slid open. A dark figure wielding a scythe crept into the room. The assassin took a cursory look around the room, and a pair of wings twitched slightly. It took in the sleeping girl by the balcony doors and the injured demon lord on the bed. Slowly and as quietly as possible, the assassin tiptoed over to the sleeping lord. It raised the scythe and prepared to take Sesshomaru's head off. Suddenly Kagome stirred and sat up groggily. She looked around and spotted a shiny glint hanging over the bed. Blinking, she stood and walked over to it, and saw that it was a weapon and it was attached to a person. "Um… you aren't just a figment of my imagination… are you?" Kagome rubbed her eyes and yawned before spotting wings attached to the stupefied assassin.
The said assassin stiffened when Kagome reached out and gently ran a finger down one of the wings. 'A human? And a miko too… what is she doing? Has she no fear?'
"Are these real? I've ever seen a demon with wings before." Kagome looked up and smiled brightly. Then she raised a hand and slowly pressed down on the scythe until it was harmlessly resting on the floor. "There's no need for that right now, why don't you come with me? I can get you something to wear for the night…?" She whispered, trying to hint to the demon to leave the room with her or she was going to wake Sesshomaru and he would have no qualms about killing the assassin.
The foreign demon's eyes hardened with understanding and Kagome grabbed onto his arm and led him out of the room. After sliding the shoji door shut, Kagome turned to the assassin with a serious look on her face. "Now. Who are you and why are you here to kill Sesshomaru?" The assassin took a long measured look at the miko and decided not to risk the purification powers that she was capable of delivering. He pulled off his mask and revealed a… girl? She looked to be Kagome's age was quite beautiful. Kagome saw in the dim growing light that the woman was wearing what looked like a long black trench coat over a gray body suit. She had long dark blue hair in a high ponytail that had random braids with gray ribbon and her wings were light blue. After a moment, Kagome met the other woman's crystal blue eyes and smiled, her exhaustion showing slightly.
The assassin spoke, and her voice was a pleasant alto that flowed smoothly. "I am called Eriko, but you may use my true name, if you so desire." She paused for a moment. "I am Kohana. I was to kill Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands." Kagome looked at the woman. And Kohana found herself feeling irritated by the pitying look in the miko's eyes.
Kagome laid a small hand on Kohana's arm. "Eriko… 'collared child'… is that true?" There was something about that girl, something that made Kohana want to drop her defenses and tell everything to her. But before they could continue talking, the door behind Kagome opened, startling them both, and Sesshomaru stepped out looking none too happy.
"You. Come with me." He motioned towards Kohana, and then looked directly into Kagome's eyes. "As for you… wait in your room, I'll deal with you later." Sesshomaru sounded so serious that Kagome nodded.
As Sesshomaru led Kohana away, Kagome yelled out after them, "Don't you dare hurt her!" At the slight nod of Sesshomaru's head, Kagome felt immensely better and retreated back into her room. She couldn't help but wonder what the demon lord was going to do, he seemed beyond furious.
Sesshomaru gave Kohana a none too gentle push into his study. He sat behind his desk and stared coldly at her. "Explain yourself." Kohana's eyes hardened at his tone, but decided not to push it as she knew of his reputation. Before she could speak, however, Sesshomaru stood abruptly and leaned over to her. "Give me that." He gestured at the giant scythe that was strapped onto Kohana's back. She scowled, but complied and handed it to him. "Now, you may talk."
Kohana swallowed. "I was to kill you. However, that miko prevented me from doing so." Sesshomaru sat back and waited for more.
When none came, he barked out, "Why did you not dispose of her, before moving on to me?"
The demon glared at Sesshomaru, and she said heatedly "I may be an assassin, but that does not condone the killing of innocent people. I was to kill you, and you alone."
A staring match arose between the two until Kohana couldn't stand the harsh glare and looked away. Sesshomaru smirked inwardly at the victory before waving his hand. "Get out of my sight. If I so much as detect your scent on my lands again, I will kill you."
Who's the one after Sesshomaru? Stay tuned for the next installment of New Beginnings!
Kohana: the assassin made to kill Sesshomaru. She is an elemental demon that controls storms and has light blue wings, and dark blue long hair that is kept in a high ponytail with small braids throughout that have gray ribbon braided in. She has crystal blue eyes. Wears dark gray body suit and a long black coat, wields a scythe. Kohana's family was brutally murdered when she was a young demon, and she was kidnapped and forced into the assassin business by the Southern Lord, Toshiro; thus the meaning of her pseudonym, Eriko.
Name Meanings:
Kohana- little flower
Eriko- child with a collar
Toshiro- talented or intelligent
Next time: Kohana leaves, but not before another small chat with Kagome… and the mysterious Lord who controls Kohana is revealed.
Chapter 8 – Evil Returns
myinu
