Raising the Phoenix
Summary - The ashes of its previous life will fall.
Disclaimer - (Since I was a gomer and forgot to put one on here earlier) Me no ownie - you no sue-y.
Rating - "Z"
Warnings - I have no control, I swear. This is worse than that damn pumpkin story for just not letting me sleep. Also, please forgive me if it takes a while for me to update. This weekend is Acen, and I shall be making the pilgrimage of ultimate geekiness. YAY!
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Chapter 2 - The Ashes Scatter
The tension that had once rocked the clearing settled as the sun sank below the horizon. Kagome brushed errant strands of hair from her face as she continued to toil over the wounded child. However, now that her injuries were no longer life threatening, her mind was allowed to wander through thoughts she'd not considered before. Such as, what on God's green Earth was Sesshoumaru doing cuddling this precious child, and what, pray tell, would persuade the cold hearted youkai to even care?
She cast a furtive glance at his crouched figure, relatively surprised that he'd been so near. He seemed concerned, and though anger still coiled in his eyes, somehow the look was softer while directed at the child. It almost made her forget who she was dealing with. Almost.
But when was Kagome ever one to keep her mouth shut when she ought to? Softly, as though trying to keep from shattering the delicate peace that surrounded them, she asked, "What's her name?"
His eyes flicked toward her in an instant, firming and freezing with a hateful stare. She immediately found herself regretting ever asking. Nevertheless, he answered her. "Rin."
Kagome let silence reign once more, but inwardly marveled at hint of gentleness of the voice which had answered her. Well, hint was too strong of a word, in fact, it was like she imagined it, but still, there had been something there. Something.
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Sesshoumaru stifled his initial disgust at being so casually addressed by a mere human. Yet he answered her simple question in repayment of her aid. Plus, he reminded himself, he needed this foolish woman-child to conquer the hanyou.
He wondered at her for the briefest of moments, at how her fear had drained from her scent once she saw the harm looming on Rin's horizon. And even now, she sat near him without a trace of terror. It was rare. In fact, other than Rin, he was certain no creature had ever faced him without fear. Even bumbling Jaken, who'd served him over many long years still trembled under the weight of his gaze.
It was of no consequence, he decided, brushing his previous thoughts aside. The foolishly brave and naively overconfident, like this one, always died quickly. Her lack of sensible fear would be her downfall, like so many other fools.
He stood fluidly, surveying the other occupants of the clearing. The demon slaying woman lay at peace with her neko, the monk resting lightly against a tree. He noticed with amusement the way their hands never left their weapons, and stray light from the dwindling fire glinted across eyes not quite closed. It seemed that these were two not so trusting as their young companion.
A fox kit lay curled near the miko, twitching restlessly in his slumber. It was a young thing, barely a few summers old, and yet it always stayed close to the girl, and heeded her call as a child would it's mother. He decided the arrangement was odd and moved along to the last of his 'companions' that evening.
Inuyasha's eyes had never left his frame since he's first made his presence known. Now perched high in a tree branch, his brother watched on. This also amused Sesshoumaru, for what did his brother intend to do should he decide to lay a hand on the hanyou's precious pet? What could he do?
He stalked blithely to a tree near Rin and sat next to it, knowing full well that they weren't going anywhere until she was healed. It was of no consequence, for the only appointment he had to keep was making sure Naraku kept his with the afterlife. And that would happen all in good time.
He let himself meditate, saving his strength for his upcoming battle, both with his half-brother for further use of the miko, and the eventual duel with Naraku. However, he could not seem to settle. Something was not quite right.
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Relief surged through Kagome as Sesshoumaru seemed to bed down for the night. Not only was it more than a little unnerving to have your enemy prowling about your camp, but his gaze had left her a little shaken. She'd once assumed after only brief glimpses, that he bore the same eyes as his brother, but after a closer inspection, she found them to be slitted like a cat's, and a richer shade of gold. But there was something else, some other minute difference that gave the impression that he could see through you. Even the terribly short looked he'd given her and left her feeling weighed, measured, and found wanting. It was most disturbing, especially in light of her dirty little secret.
Sighing heavily, she fostered one last look upon the sleeping Rin and wandered off into the wood, dragging her bow and quiver with her. She maybe hopeless right now, but that didn't mean she was going to give up trying. Finding a suitable target to practice on, she took careful aim and fired. The arrow embedded itself with a resonant pong.
Satified her aim wasn't slipping, she again notched an arrow. This time she held still, summoning her power from within. Before, she could accomplish this so easily. Many enemies had fallen to her pink arrows, and yet, as she loosed this one, it merely thunked into the tree with its brother. No sign of any power at all. She was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to come back.
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Golden eyes snapped open as the answer flashed in his mind. There was no miko energy in the glen. His eyes were drawn to Rin's recumbent body, but no sign of the older girl was found. Her scent, however, lingered.
He followed it carefully, oddly wary of what the human was doing by herself in the wood at this late an hour. Though miko she was, her sex and her age made her an ideal target for hungry youkai of the night - not that he was concerned, but one did not shatter their knife before heading into battle.
Drawing closer to her, he saw her slight form silhouetted in the moon, her bow drawn, and an arrow shot flawlessly. However, there was still no trace of a miko's aura in the area, only the slight tang of salty tears tickled his nose.
"Miko." he greeted tonelessly as he stepped into sight.
Her arms swung instinctually toward him, leveling the head of her arrow right for his heart. He was certain that the shot would not miss, and should it be one of her potent purifying arrows, his career as Taiyoukai of the West would be brought to an embarrassing end. However, he felt no change in her aura.
Her eyes glinted at him in response, her mouth set in a firm line as she ground out, "My name is Kagome."
"Human, this Sesshoumaru does not care how you wish to be addressed."
"Demon, this Kagome will be addressed by her name."
His vision swam with an angry red at the impertinence of the child in front of him. Without thinking, he tore in the direction of the mouthy bitch, with the intent of silencing her forever. So as you can imagine, it came as quite a surprise when he found that he could not from where he stood.
Tensaiga pulsed at his side, refusing to allow the demon to attack. As the red bled from his eyes, he found himself wondering once more at the strange girl in front of him.
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Review Responses
Stacerue - I'm glad. Thanx for reviewing!
Rayne Flame-hair - Well, thank you! I really appreciate that! And it makes me sad too, I mean, they are a really cute couple. I just have this perverse attraction to alternate pairings. Gomen.
Kenshin luvr - Well, thanks... I guess. Anyways, if I gave it away like that, what incentive would you have to read this crappy fic? ;)
Miss Krux - Well thanks, I'll make sure to keep updating.
SongofRavens - Thank you. I was really concerned about that. I've never attempted to write Sesshoumaru in the actual context of the show blink blink if that made any sense. Either way, your review made my day, thanks!
Isisoftheunderground - Yay! And I'm glad I'm not the only one, I was afraid I was going to start channeling the dead in a minute there, or at least start speaking in tongues.
ShadowGoddesssInc - Thank you for all the lovely pointers. I really appreciate them. You see, this story is completely different from my usual style. I usually pour out the funny (at least I try to be funny) POV fics. This is dare I say, out of my idiom. I'm trying though. :)
AKA Hummer - Yay! You're back! I'm so happy to see your name on the review thingy. I squealed, I swear. And no, I won't tell you right now, but I will before the story winds up, I mean, if I left out something vital like that, I would be a bad author. A bad, bad author.