The Tenseiga

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inu-Yasha characters.

Chapter Two: The Help of a Miko

It took longer than Sessho-Maru expected to return to where he left his companions. His mind reflected on the reasons why, considering that before, it took him a matter of minutes to travel from their resting area to the village. Why was he slowing down now, when such an important matter was at stake?

The demon lord stared at his broken scabbard, seeing that some of Naraku's poison vapors were spreading to his armor. Unwilling to have another of his possessions destroyed, he swiped the substance away with a slash of his claws. As he was traveling, he noticed something quite strange, something he hadn't noticed before. . .

Sessho-Maru stepped into the invisible shield and saw the dead Rin in front of a chanting woman.

He had obviously never seen the wench before; he would remember the miko apparel and the long raven hair tied loosely into a ponytail. He watched for a moment as the woman pressed her two fingers together as she intertwined the rest in a fist, murmuring quietly. Sessho-Maru saw the translucent shield surrounding Rin, flashing a hue of light crimson every second. His eyes narrowed softly when he saw the blood seeped into her kimono.

The demon didn't wait to question the lady; he released Tokigin from its scabbard and pointed it to the priestess, flicking it just slightly. But, much to Sessho-Maru's (small) surprise, it did not harm the woman. The wave merely dispersed into thin air, as the woman opened one brown eye to peer at the lord.

"Your sword will have no effect on me," the miko murmured, opening both of her eyes to reveal a dazzling auburn hue, "Lord Sessho-Maru."

Sessho-Maru lowered Tokigin slowly. Then, seeing that the strange woman will not cause any harm, replaced his blade back into its scabbard. "What manner of a being," he asked, his eyes narrowing, "are you?"

Jaken stumbled out of nearby bushes, heaving big breaths, his toady eyes watery. "Lord Sessho-Maru! Forgive me!" he cried out, running to the demon and wiping his face into his kimono. "I-I tried to stop him! But that blasted demon; he came so fast! And he didn't come for me either! The cursed creature headed for Rin, and I tried to stop him with my staff sir! But I was too late; Rin was dead in a second! And--And. . ." Jaken sobbed into Sessho-Maru's clothes. "But. . . Now that you are here, my lord, you can use the Tenseiga to revive Rin!" The small demon peered hopefully up to his lord. "Lord Sessho-Maru?"

Sessho-Maru looked regrettably to Rin. "Naraku's golems destroyed Tenseiga. I feared that what he said was true. . ." Jaken's eyes welled up once more, howling with tears. The lord cursed at himself for not coming sooner, staring at the woman finish chanting and standing to her feet elegantly. She stared at the demon lord before she spoke.

"So you are the brother of Inu-Yasha," the woman said simply, folding her hands into the depths of her long sleeves. "I have only heard stories about the great Sessho-Maru, son of one of the great demons of the western lands. . ." Sessho-Maru lifted one eyebrow, finally realizing who she was.

"You must be the priestess who had slain my brother 50 years ago," Sessho-Maru followed, "the purifier of the Shikon Jewel, Kikyo. I applaud your success of his death."

"I assure you that the whole ordeal was a misunderstanding," Kikyo said, her gaze shifting to the dead girl, "enveloped by Naraku. It seems that both of us have been wronged by the demon, my lord. . ."

"What is the shield around Rin? And what is the shield around us at this moment?" Sessho-Maru asked in a pressing manner. Kikyo didn't respond immediately.

"I sensed that Naraku was nearby; when I saw him over this girl's dead body, I knew that his foul mind was thinking of a treacherous plan. After his golem left, I found your servant in the bushes, unconscious. I had no spell to revive the girl, so instead I put a shield, making her soul trapped within and unable to be seen from the messengers beyond," Kikyo explained, her head tilted slightly. "Unfortunately, it shall only last for 24 hours, and seeing that your weapon of reviving life is now useless, I'm afraid that we shall need more time."

Sessho-Maru understood immediately. "And since it will take much more than 24 hours for Tenseiga to be back to its original state. . ."

"The shield will disperse, and the messengers of the world beyond will take the girl's soul. Then even you will not be able to stop her death," Kikyo finished, nodding her approval. "You are far more intelligent than most demons. . ."

The demon lord frowned. "Then what is most needed at the moment is time. Something of which I do not have. And if I know Toto-Sai, it shall take him much more than a day to recreate Tenseiga, which means. . ." Sessho-Maru felt his heart plunge into despair. "It will be too late for Rin."

Kikyo nodded, staring at the dead girl. "But there is something to give you more time, my lord. What you need is," she said, staring back at Sessho-Maru, "is a shard of the Shikon jewel." Sessho-Maru wasn't surprised; he heard of the jewel's sacred powers.

"But how?" Jaken spat out. "It's hard enough to even find a sliver of the jewel; but we have no idea where it might be! And considering the rumors, most of the Shikon jewel was already found!"

"I agree," Kikyo said, casting her eyes low, "which is why you must find it from a knowledgeable source. And I believe the easiest of the shards to find will be in the hands. . ."

"Of Inu-Yasha and his wench," Sessho-Maru finished, annoyed at the thought of asking his half brother for help. "Considering his wench is a reincarnation of yourself, her shards shall already. . ."

"Be purified, yes," Kikyo murmured, "which will be of much easier use than an unpurified shard. So, you need to find Inu-Yasha, retrieve one shard, and bring it back to me. I shall place it within the shield to increase its lasting capability, therefore giving you the time you need to restore Tenseiga." She then pointed at the shield around them, continuing, "This shield will protect us from anyone. No one shall look at this spot and find four beings inside, and even Naraku will not be able to sense our presence. Only the shield's inhabitants shall travel in and out of this shield. Do you have any objections, my lord?"

"To ask my filthy brother for his assistance," Sessho-Maru murmured, "will be like defeat. Is there no other way for me to find another shard from another source?" He didn't mention the fact that he did not want to his brother to know that the cause would be to help a human.

"I know of no other sources other than Naraku, which, I believe, will be of no assistance to you," Kikyo said, her tone quiet.

"That flea bitten demon will never help us, anyhow!" Jaken protested, snorting in spite of the thought. "He would kick dust in our faces rather than handing over the shard. Besides, my lord never had an interest in the jewel before; he will wonder why we will want it now!"

"If you do not want Inu-Yasha to know of your cause," Kikyo replied, "then do not speak of it. But you must give a reasonable explanation to his companion, Kagome, for it is she who holds the shards." She was quiet before continuing, "Kagome will listen to you, if you say the right words."

Sessho-Maru stared at Kikyo, searching for any sign of distrust. When upon not finding any, he asked her, "Why are you so insistent on helping me?"

"Anything involving Naraku is my business, Lord Sessho-Maru," Kikyo said, her gaze ever so serious. "If you wish to save this girl. . . Then you will suck up your pride, and retrieve the shard." Sessho-Maru gave no answer to that; he understood what was needed to be done.

She looked up and peered closely at a not-so-far-away object. "It seems Fate is on your side," Kikyo continued, staring at the road ahead of them. Sessho-Maru turned to where she directed and narrowed his eyes, seeing his half brother and his companions walking happily down the road. He realized that, in order to be successful, he could not kill Inu-Yasha or his companions. Sessho-Maru snarled at them. Oh how he hated his brother; but if he ever wanted to save Rin, he would have to confront him, and do the thing he would never thought he had to do.

Ask for his help.

'Rin,' Sessho-Maru thought, leaving without a word to Kikyo and entering the outside world, 'I will save you. . .'

He stepped onto the dust bitten road and approached Inu-Yasha immediately.

To be continued. . .

After listening to Frou Frou for two hours, while typing a new chapter, it kinda gets to ya. Thank you to the people who read/reviewed my first chapter.

And a note to Alanna-the-tai-youkai: Thank you for your kind words on your review. It really made my day. :) As for adding an encounter with the Inu gang. . . It was kind of inevitable. XD

So, this chapter featured Kikyo. I favor Kikyo over Kagome, but I still like her too. I tried to remain as true as possible to the characters' nature; I hope I did good. And although Kikyo and Sessho-Maru never met before, I am sure that they have at least heard of each other, which was why they were able to recognize one another. And, in my opinion, I think Jaken really does care about Rin a lot; why wouldn't he cry?

My favorite pairings are the Sesshy x Rin and the Sesshy x Kikyo. It just works. Will they appear in this fic? Who knows. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.