Author: Nefertili
Fandom: Inuyasha
Rating: PG13
Pairing(s): Sesshoumaru/Kikyou, Sesshoumaru/OC
Genre(s): Romance, Angst, Adventure, AU
Warning(s): Battle scenes, betrayal, over-anger (if there is such a word), fluff... What more can I say?
Disclaimer: None of the characters, except perhaps some, are mine. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
Summary: Kikyou, being saved from peril by Sesshoumaru, joins him in a quest against Naraku and one of his allies, who happened to share a past one-sided relationship with the Demon Lord. SesshKik!
A/N: Another chappie! Thank you, Dark Sorceress Arwen for praying that I will defeat my writer's blocks. Hmmm, I envy Kikyou somehow. She saw Sesshy blush! Aaaw, what a lucky girl... T.T And, Motoko Aoyama, they will encounter Inuyasha's group in the future. Whadya think will happen? ;) Ahem, fluff warning in this chapter!
...o0o...
The dark shades of night fell over the land. The second day they spent up the rock formation easier than the first one, for Sesshoumaru had led them farther from the crags and they had reached a certain portion of it that was covered in a dense forest of pines. The little company decided to spend the night under an outcrop of the rock for the night. It was not exactly a satisfactory shelter from the cold, but they could not find another cave nearby. The pines that surrounded them offered a thick shade and barred out most of the heavenly lights, thus it was quite gloomy underneath their majesty.
But the atmosphere between the companions was far from dismal. Kikyou was making animal shadows that stood out clearly in the pure white snow using her hands to entertain Rin. Using Jaken's fire as her light, Kikyou deftly positioned her fingers at ingenious angles and displayed numerous figures of swooping eagles, growling bears and fluttering butterflies.
"Do you want a bunny, little Rin-chan?" Kikyou asked Rin, who was eating the last of the meat of the quail they had caught in the lowlands. The little girl nodded quickly, eagerly awaiting the next animal that will emerge from the Priestess' hands.
Kikyou smiled at Rin's enthusiasm, and at once her fingers fell into place and the shadows on the pearly white snow took the form of a little rabbit hopping, its ears twitching gently. Rin clapped her hands with delight, saying, "He's so cute, Priestess Kikyou!"
The rabbit's shadows then broke apart and metamorphosed into something else. Rin gasped in amazement and said, "Why, it's Jaken-sama!"
Jaken, who was lying down on top of the sleeping Ah-Un, craned his neck to look at the shadow Kikyou had made. It wasn't really Jaken, but rather, the shadow of a little toad leaping on the snow. The lesser demon grunted and turned around, angrily shutting his large eyes to sleep. Rin let out a series of giggles before she let out a yawn. Kikyou then broke the toad shadow as she reached out to pat the little girl's hair, saying softly, "It's time to sleep, Rin."
Rin nodded, her eyes beginning to droop sleepily. Wordlessly, she snuggled into her sleeping bag. Kikyou stooped over the child and kissed her forehead like a doting mother. Rin muttered a good night greeting and went to sleep almost at once. She seems to have been worn out by the excitements of the day.
A loud snore filled the otherwise quiet air of the rugged land. Jaken had fallen asleep, his mouth wide open. It was very tempting to fill that gaping toad mouth with rocks, but Kikyou simply smiled to herself and crept among the dry rocks of the outcropping to sleep. Not exactly the most comfortable of all sleeping places, but at least it was dry and not as cold as snow.
Kikyou spared a glance at the silent figure of Sesshoumaru, who was sitting near the very top of the rocky outcrop. He had not talked at all for much of the day, but the miko let herself overlook it. She did not mind Sesshoumaru's coldness as much as she would before; she had at last seen through the seemingly indifferent outlook of his, and she felt more at home in his presence.
"Still alive, Sesshoumaru?" she called out in a soft voice to him, not expecting a reply. She froze when she heard him speak.
His eyes immediately flashed in her direction. In the dim light, Kikyou saw his lips curving upwards in a smirk as he replied, "Healthy as can be, miko." Kikyou's body relaxed as she smiled back and rested her head against a stone to use as a pillow. In a few moments, she was in a peaceful slumber.
Sesshoumaru did not lose the smirk on his face even as Kikyou fell asleep. He had watched her play with Rin beside the campfire, and he observed the unusual happiness in her eyes. He was sure that it had got something to do with their little banter the previous night, and the silver-haired youkai wondered if they will ever repeat that lighthearted teasing again. He secretly enjoyed it, and he longed to feel her hand in his again.
Sesshoumaru understood by now that if ever Kikyou had a definite weakness, it would be children. He sighed deeply and lost his smile. How painful it must be for Kikyou, for as long as she resided in that clay body, she could never bear a child of her own. She could never be a mother, for her duty as the Guardian of the Shikon Jewel prevented her for being such.
'If she adores Rin this much, what more would she give her own children?'
...o0o...
Kikyou found herself waking at midnight once more. Sesshoumaru had left his post on the rock and was now walking into the dense pine forest surrounding them. Not to throw away yet another chance to be alone with the Demon Lord, the beautiful Priestess at once shook the trappings of sleep away from her body and immediately crawled down the rocks, desperate to catch up with the retreating figure of Sesshoumaru.
His sharp ears immediately caught the sound of her feet scraping against the rough rock and the pounding of her sandals on soft snow. Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks calmly turned to meet Kikyou, but he was quite unprepared for what will befall to his senses when she collided with him in her eagerness.
Kikyou, running nearly at her full speed, had failed to notice a slightly raised tree root in the snow. She tripped over the rough pine root, and her body pummeled Sesshoumaru at full force. Before either of them knew it, they were rolling down the snow-clad incline, her hair entangling in his clawed fingers and his furry wrap falling off his shoulder in the confusion.
In a few seconds, the intertwined figures of the Sesshoumaru and Kikyou fell to a stop when the incline leveled out slightly. Dazed and confused, Sesshoumaru raised his head from the snow. He found out that his remaining arm was pinned under Kikyou's head, cushioning her head from a possible break. The left sleeve of his kimono and several locks of his platinum hair had fallen over her face, and his amber eyes widened slightly to see her left hand over the armor of his chest.
"Kikyou, are you all right?" he found himself saying. For a brief moment, he was worried that their impact on the snowy ground had caused her unnecessary damage, but his short-lived fear was driven away when Kikyou gently pulled his sleeve and the random platinum locks from her face with her right hand to reveal a sweetly smiling mouth and apologetic mahogany orbs. Her raven hair was dotted here and there by flecks of snow, but amidst her disheveled state, she still looked extremely charming to Sesshoumaru.
'So beautiful,' he thought in his mind, but he kept the thought to himself. Instead, he smirked and said to her, "So much for the grace of human mikos."
Kikyou's eyes then fell on her left hand, and Sesshoumaru noted the flush that overcame her face when she hurriedly withdrew her hand from his chest. She struggled to get up, but his fur had wrapped around their torsos and their legs at random places, thus preventing her from moving much. Furthermore, numerous locks of her hair were twined around his remaining hand.
Not wishing to pull her hair off her scalp, Sesshoumaru gently disentangled his fingers from her hair as Kikyou unwrapped his silken fur from her waist and wriggled her legs out of the remaining coils that bound her corporally to the Demon Lord.
When the last strands of her hair was freed from his fingers and her head was no longer pinning his arm against the snow, Sesshoumaru stood up and disentangled his fur from his legs. After smoothing the tangle off his furry pelt, he slung it over his right shoulder in his usual fashion. Kikyou, kneeling on the snow, hand-combed her raven hair until it became orderly once more.
"You were lucky to miss the blade of the Toukijin," he remarked as he readjusted the hilt of his remaining sword to fit comfortably on his waist. Kikyou glanced at the sword. It had no scabbard at all, unlike the Tenseiga. She gave an involuntary shiver when she realized that she could have been wounded unintentionally by the sword or even by the spikes of Sesshoumaru's armor in the fall.
Kikyou's hands left her hair and she bowed her head as whispered softly, "I apologize, Sesshoumaru. I never intended to do that."
The taiyoukai let out a low snort. He took hold of one of her hands and gently pulled her up. Once she was standing, he placed a finger under her chin and gradually raised her head to meet his eyes. "Who says you did?" he replied half-teasingly.
Kikyou looked deeply into Sesshoumaru's amber eyes and she found herself becoming lost in them. Sesshoumaru, himself, seemed to take his time gazing into her mahogany orbs. He lightly brushed off a flake of snow from the crown of her hair as she asked, "What are you up to all this time?"
"I was searching for a break among the pines," said he. "The sky ought to be clear enough so the stars can be seen. Do you wish to come with me?"
Kikyou smiled and her fingers reached out to tenderly stroke a silken lock of his silvery hair. "That would be lovely."
Sesshoumaru nodded serenely and they set out to walk side by side among the trees. It was quite dark, but his platinum hair shone as though it had caught the light of the moon in its strands. Unknown to either of them, both were actually debating whether or not to reach out and hold the other's hand. Just then, they came to a portion of the snowy crag that was devoid of trees, exposing the skies above. There was an open cliff spreading before them, giving them a wide view of the snowy wilderness that shone silver in the moonlight. No cloud or mist was obscuring the stars or the half moon from their view, and the ethereal blend of snow and sky gave the landscape a very peaceful feel.
The Demon Lord sat down on a large stone near the edge of the cliff, and Kikyou sat down beside him, on his right. Together, they gazed up at the night sky and took in the clear glittering of the tiny diamonds in the heavens. It was absolutely beautiful to behold.
"I used to tell my sister Kaede my own little story on how I thought the stars came to be," Kikyou said softly, recalling the times she gazed up at the stars in her first life. The story began to emerge from her thoughts as she searched her memories. "There was a girl, a celestial being who was immortal and beautiful beyond words. She had a mortal lover, a human soldier. They met one clear night when the moon was at its last quarter..." Kikyou then broke off when she realized what she was doing.
"Why did you stop?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking at her face curiously. Kikyou's eyes widened for a second and locked her gaze with his. She didn't know that he was listening.
"Never mind," she muttered sadly. "Nobody would be interested about the foolish made-up tale of a Tragic Priestess on how the stars came to be..."
Sesshoumaru, however, surprised her with his answer. "Nobody? What will you do, Priestess, if I, Sesshoumaru, say that I wish to hear your little tale?" Kikyou can see the sincerity in his amber orbs as he said the words.
"I have your permission to continue, then?"
"Do so, by all means."
Kikyou smiled and looked up at the stars once more. "They met one night. It was clear and the wind smelled of fragrant flowers, though the moon is but a sickle in the sky. The girl had descended from her holy abodes to admire the wonders of the earth: the rivers, the flowers and the trees that they did not have in the sky world. It was on this moment that a human soldier, wounded and weary from war, came across her, who dazzled there like a fallen star. She healed his wounds, drove away his weariness, and loved him. The soldier loved her as well, even if he knew that she was a heavenly princess not subject to the death of mortals like him.
In time, he was summoned once more to war, and he bade the beautiful girl farewell, promising that they would meet again. The celestial girl waited even as the years came by, and her lover never came back. He had died in the war and had passed to the Other Side.
At first she could not accept the truth. She wandered aimlessly throughout the world, and when she never found her love, she went back to the heavens to muse upon her sorrows forevermore, knowing that she could never die. In her flight back to the sky world, she shed tears, which fell upon the curtains of the sky and upon the clouds, and became the stars."
Kikyou then sighed. "Forgive me if I bored you to death, Sesshoumaru. It was only a made-up one, after all."
Sesshoumaru's lips broke into a sincere smile and he replied, "It was a poignant one, Kikyou. I know of two beings that are very much like your celestial woman and human soldier, who also met in a night under the crescent moon, when the air smelled fragrant and the skies were clear."
Kikyou glanced at Sesshoumaru. "Who is this couple?"
Sesshoumaru's face was enigmatic. So was his answer. "They're my mother and my father."
Before she could react, however, Kikyou saw her body glowing white. Alas, why had the souls in her body chosen this time to be released from her clay body? She was about to stand up when she felt Sesshoumaru's hand over hers. Her shinidamachuu began appearing in the thin air, new souls in their claws.
"I know you don't wish to see me like this, Sesshoumaru," she said, looking into his amber eyes. His face was illuminated by the same light that lit up her body. A white point of light came out of her arm, but was immediately replaced by another one as a Soul-snatching demon floated by.
"No, just stay here, Kikyou," he replied, his hand giving hers an affectionate and pleading squeeze. The miko nodded and she returned his hold on her hand with a gentle squeeze. Kikyou could see that he was saddened by the mere thought of his parents, and he changed the subject immediately.
"Do you ever feel guilt at having to get another's soul for your own?" he asked her.
Kikyou heaved another sigh and she nodded. "I don't wish to live like this, Sesshoumaru. I am neither dead nor living. I have no body, no soul...no future."
Sesshoumaru can see that part of her wanted to cry right then and there, but she held back her emotions. "Is there not a way for you to have a body and soul without your reincarnation having to give up her own?" He loved her...her pain was his as well, and he would give his all to make it go away.
"No, there is no way," Kikyou said sadly as numerous souls began to leave her body one after the other. Her pet shinidamachuu, however, made sure that for every escaping soul, a new soul was absorbed by their mistress' clay body. "That is, except perhaps in the Shikon jewel. Perhaps, if I manage to purify it, the Four Souls might take pity on me and restore my body and my soul without taking life from my reincarnation. But that's only a big maybe, Sesshoumaru. I have been living on hate and pain far too long, and I don't know if that may still come to pass..."
"You speak as though there is no hope for your revival," Sesshoumaru said. Most of the old souls in Kikyou's clay body had been replaced by new ones. Gradually, the light that illuminated the miko's body began to fade until her skin took on its regular hue again. Her body completely filled with new souls, she sent her shinidamachuu away. "I will gladly follow you into Naraku's lair if it would mean helping you attain this."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Sesshoumaru," Kikyou muttered. She had been betrayed and toyed with throughout her whole life. She had heard variations of those words a thousand times...promises that were never intended to be kept...
"I am not that coward Naraku, or my foolish hanyou brother," Sesshoumaru countered her. His hand left hers and went up to cup her cheek gently. "You have the very permission to banish my soul to hell if I did not follow you to the very end."
"Don't weave your own web of doom..." Kikyou whispered, her heart beating wildly to hear him say this. She loved him...she could never let him rot in a mixed dimension for all eternity...oh, how her heart will break if he spends his life in misery just to be with her...
"Kikyou," Sesshoumaru said in such a gentle tone that she looked at him with utter amazement. His eyes, the expression on his face! They spoke of benevolence, of a promise. Only once had she seen him like this, back in the night of Kikumo's betrayal. "If doom is your destiny, let me share it with you."
Kikyou's lip trembled. She can hardly believe that he was the same Sesshoumaru, the cold Sesshoumaru who rescued her from the Red Shinidamachuu...he who was betrayed by his past love...he who once detested her for seeing him in his weakness... No, he does not hate her! There is a chance for the two of them! She closed her eyes and flung her arms around his neck, saying repeatedly, "You foolish demon! You would forsake your own life for a miko who lives only a half-life!" But as she buried her face against his neck, she was actually smiling out of pure joy. She was not alone after all.
Sesshoumaru's amber eyes widened slightly at Kikyou's unlooked-for action. Gradually, a smile began to form on his lips and he wrapped his one arm around her shaking form only moments before she broke their brief embrace.
"From this time on, Sesshoumaru, would you please call me by my true name?" she asked shyly.
"Gladly, Kikyou," he replied. She wrapped her own arms around his remaining arm and rested her head against his soft pelt. He did not even resist for one moment.
Their eyes met, and the words of a promise were put into their hearts by the mere glance.
'I have suffered because I loved, but I am eager to suffer once more, for you, no matter what the cost.'
...o0o...
I took obvious reference from my poem 'Firelight' for the last line. If you haven't read it in full, you may want to take a look at it.