"Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature."
- C.S. Lewis
Kagome stood rooted to the ground for a good minute as she gaped at the taiyoukai in front of her. She had never seen anyone who was wounded as badly as him, and she told herself that he had to be dead by now. She could not believe that anyone could really defeat Sesshoumaru and even blinked twice, to make sure that this man, this youkai before her was him. But she could not be mistaken.
The dark blue crescent moon on his forehead and the maroon stripes across his cheeks were visible and real. The demonic blade Toukijin was in his hand and he was wearing his usual white haoris and hakamas with the sakura blossoms insignia, even though they were now stained and splotched with blood. His long silver hair was tucked behind his big pointed ears and the upper half of his face looked seriously... charred. "Hidoi..."
The skin was red and raw and small pieces of burnt skin were actually curling out. The affected area extended all the way around his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, just beneath his long thin eyebrows. Even though his eyelids were shut, she could see that his eyes were slightly swollen and small blobs of reddish pus were forming outside the corners of his eyes like tear-drops.
Kagome swallowed, allowing her eyes to travel down and saw that there was a big wound on his abdomen, as if something big had pierced through him. But the edges of the wound seemed messily patched up, as if the flesh around there had melted and fused together with the surrounding skin, blood vessels and his clothing. Kagome narrowed her eyes and flinched inwardly, he must have used his own poison, to close up that wound...
Then she saw another smaller, neater wound right in the middle of his left breast. It looked to be inflicted by a sharp katana or some sort. Kagome was in sort of a daze assessing his injuries when realization dawned on her. It was his left breast. His heart!
She brought her hand up slowly, as if to cover her mouth but then she stopped midway. She could see that Sesshoumaru was still alive, and breathing. Kagome widened her eyes and was instantly on her knees, peering right into his face warily. Jaken mumbled some rude words about ningen but Kagome was too intrigued and curious to how Sesshoumaru could possibly survive, his life hanging by a thread, to notice the insults.
No youkai, no living being can ever survive through this, Kagome reassured herself in order to convince herself that she was still sane. But she could hear his soft raspy breathing and shakily placed two fingers near his neck. She could feel a pulse, it was soft and faint, but it was there.
Kagome slumped onto the ground on her knees. She could not be looking at a living corpse. Even if Sesshoumaru had not died from loss of blood, pain or his own poison, the fatal stab through his heart chambers would ensue his death. Whoever had done this was cruel and evil, and had wanted Sesshoumaru to die a slow and painful death.
Rin shook her shoulders slightly, and began to point to her own heaving chest. Kagome could not help the tears that sneaked up around her eye-rims when she saw Rin adamantly rying to tell her that her lord was not dead and that she had to help him. Kagome did not know what to say and shook her head gently. She tried to smile even though she could imagine the horrors that went through the little's mind to see violent death again, and to her Sesshoumaru of all people. It was plain to everyone, even to Inuyasha, that this little Rin loved and adored Sesshoumaru to no end.
Jaken could not take it and yelled, "baka! Rin, this useless ningen cannot heal Sesshoumaru-sama!" He tried to swipe Nintoujou at Rin's head, fully intending to knock her unconscious so that he could move her away from this horrible sight. He would take care of Rin for the rest of his life, since that was the job that Sesshoumaru had given him.
Kagome saw the Nintoujou coming and stopped the offensive action with one hand, "nani-"
All three of them stopped when they heard a small noise and turned their heads to the motionless Sesshoumaru. When they heard the faint cough a second time, Kagome immediately put her small hands on his shoulders and called out his name loudly, "Sesshoumaru! Sesshoumaru!"
All they heard was a faint "Rin..."
It was as if a light bulb had exploded in Kagome's mind. She thanked Kami for the third time for her biology lessons and that she was not afraid of blood, at least. She immediately pressed her ear against his right breast and heard the familiar thud, thud, thud beats. It was strong and steady.
Kagome pulled away while her hands remained on his shoulders and looked at Rin with an incredulous smile on her face, "daijoubu desu Rin! Sesshoumaru's heart is in his right chest! Whoever had tried to kill him did not succeed!"
Jaken's mouth was as wide as anyone could imagine and tears began to roll down his green face again, wetting his ugly kimono as he knelt and bowed to the ground fervently until his forehead was red and bruised, "arigatou gozaimasu Kami-sama, arigatou gozaimasu Kami-sama... "
Rin only managed a wide happy smile even though her eyes were red and puffy from all that crying. Kagome smiled victoriously, she had heard of people having hearts in their right chests but it was so rare and she never thought that she would meet one.
Let alone to save one.
The smile was wiped off her face promptly. Kagome had to figure out a way and plan to bring Sesshoumaru to a safe place for him to heal. There was nothing much she could do, but she had promised and wanted to do her best for Rin. She did not understand why but Rin's unwavering loyalty and simple adoration for Sesshoumaru struck a deep chord within her heart.
Kagome frowned and stared at Toukijin hard. During the few minutes while Jaken was babbling and thanking Kami, and Rin kneeling quietly beside her to see what she could contribute, Kagome thought of a plan that seemed workable enough.
"Rin, bring Ah-Un and Kirara here will you?" Kagome smiled at the fearless child. Rin merely smiled and nodded her head, trotting off to bring the two youkai beasts near them. Kagome took a good look at the wounds and was glad that they were at least sealed and would not rip apart for a good while if she was gentle enough. Kagome placed her hands over the wounds in his abdomen and left chest gently for a while and closed her eyes in concentration, willing her ki to come to her hand. She had heard Kaede talking about this for sometime and even though she had not tried it, she hoped that it would work the way she wanted it to.
A small pink glow appeared on her hands, and Kagome could feel a nice sort of tingling sensation around her palms. She opened her eyes and saw that the wounds looked slightly better and firmer. She was not sure what that would do, but if it did not purify him, then it was better than nothing. The worst that could happen was the wounds re-opening themselves again. Kagome shuddered at the possibility of that and nasty infections.
After some coaxing, both beasts were lying on their bellies and Kagome began the difficult ardous task of heaving Sesshoumaru up. She tried to lift him up gently but realized that his body was too heavy and he did not even move an inch. His armour had cracked a little around his chest and Kagome, somehow with Rin's help, got the useless heavy armour off his body. She did not remove the pelt since that would provide him warmth in this harsh winter condition.
Kagome stood up and jabbed her hands to her waist, "yoshi!"
She bent a little and tried to heave Sesshoumaru up by putting her arms under his armpits from the back. This movement was rather tricky since his left arm was nothing but a stump. After a while, Kagome managed to drag him over and laid the unconscious him over Kirara's soft body. Kagome did not think Ah-Un's hard body would be good for the injured youkai and was thankful that his grasp over Toukijin relaxed.
Jaken was more than impressed with this miko's quick wits and was surprised that she was willing to help them. Sesshoumaru had afterall tried to kill her and Inuyasha more than once. Rin went back to fetch Toukijin and Kagome managed to stop her in time.
"Rin! Iie!"
Rin stopped halfway and looked over her shoulder guiltily. Kagome was tired but she still remembered the evil jyaki around Toukijin that could take over a human's sanity, and she did not want that to happen to Rin. She promptly tore a piece of fabric off Sesshoumaru's torn hakamas and tied a tight firm knot over the hilt of Toukijin carefully, leaving a good length of fabric left.
"Jaken, pull Toukijin using this fabric. Do not touch the hilt unless you want to kill us," Kagome wearily commanded the kappa-youkai who was rendered speechless by her authority. He would have used Nintoujou to roast her alive in the past but now, he looked up to Kagome as his lord's saviour.
Kirara was not too happy with Sesshoumaru draped all over her and Kagome knelt down and caressed the diamond mark on her forehead, "gomen ne Kirara.. demo Sesshoumaru is really injured very badly.. He could die if I don't help him, and he is afterall Inuyasha's aniue."
Kirara growled to signify her consent and Kagome thanked her softly. She turned around and said, "Rin, Jaken. Follow Kirara." She was by now so exhausted, mentally and physically that she heaved herself over Kirara, keeping a hand on Sesshoumaru's back to steady him. His hair was all flipped to the front, draping all over the warm lava-like ground. Kagome could feel his firm muscles and saw the nasty wound on his back.
"Kirara, bring us to a warm cave, away from Inuyasha. Onegai, isoide," Kagome managed to get the words out from her mouth.
Kagome did not know how long they travelled through the flurry skies. Snowflakes kept flying into her face and got caught in between her eyelashes. She felt so tired that she bent and laid over Sesshoumaru, whose legs were dangling dangerously on one end, not caring whether it was safe or not.
It was not long before Kirara found a suitable warm cave that was big and spacious. Kagome dismounted wearily and walked to the edge of the cave. She could see forests beneath the cave and realized that they were high up on a cliff. But somehow the entrance to the cave was not straight so it was rather out of sight to outsiders and would partially block the freezing winter winds. She mentally praised the neko-youkai for her intelligence and formulated her next plan.
Kirara must go back soon, if not Inuyasha will suspect...
"Kirara! Arigatou! Onegai, bring me back to the Bone Eater's Well, and do not tell Sango or anyone about this ne?" Kagome patted the neko youkai's head and looked at Jaken, "Jaken, you will stay here with Sesshoumaru until we come back. Rin, can you ride on Ah-Un and follow me?"
Rin nodded her head and Kagome smiled at her readiness, she would do anything for her Sesshoumaru-sama...
Kagome tried to figure and remember the path that Kirara took to the Bone Eater's Well. It was not very far away and when they had landed, Kagome buried her face into Kirara's big cheeks, mumbling her thanks. When the neko-youkai took off to the air again, Kagome held Rin's both hands and looked into her eyes, "Rin, matte kudasai. I will come back soon, I need to go and get some medicine for Sesshoumaru."
Rin smiled and nodded her head. Kagome could still see the shred of worry in her eyes and patted her head. Without another word, Kagome swung her legs over the well and disappeared into the blue blast of magic that brought her forward to five hundred years, to her time in Tokyo.
Kagome slided the shoji doors open from the shrine where it housed their well and noticed that it was already nightfall. She sprinted to her room as quietly as she could without waking up her family. She groggily and hastily packed more clothings into her bag, bandages, antibiotics, painkillers, gauze, scissors, eyedrops, antiseptic cream for burns, antifungal creams and whatever she could find in her drawers and first-aid kit. Kagome tried to keep her yawns as quiet as possible and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. Her head and body felt so heavy and she was so tempted to lie in her bed and go to sleep.
"Wake up!" Kagome pinched her underarm hard until she teared.
Kagome then threw whatever ramen, snacks and winter coats she could find into a big paper bag and on hind thoughts, sneaked into Souta's room and took out several tee-shirts and jeans. She could only hope that Sesshoumaru could fit into them. The thought of him still clothed in that blood-stained spoiled kimono was disgusting, his wounds will get infected...
Slinging her precious bow over her shoulder and stuffing the quiver of arrows into the paper bag, she heaved her monstrous yellow backpack onto her back and tried to walk as normally and as quiet as possible to the shrine. Just at that moment, Souta walked out of his room lazily while rubbing his sleepy eyes, "'nee-chan... doko e ikundesu ka..?"
Kagome thought her heart had leapt out from her chest when she looked up to Souta's head. During these three years, Souta's growth was amazing. Her grandfather had simply remarked that Souta was growing like a beansprout.
"Eeto... Im going back..." Kagome laughed nervously while trying to calm her nerves, and wondered why her heart was beating so fast. It was not the first time that she went back to Sengoku Jidai anyway. Souta did not seem to notice the things that she carried and continued on his way to the toilet, "sou ka..."
She let out a breath of relief and hurried her way to the shrine's well, occassionally tripping over imaginary stones and twigs and silently cursing herself and wished that she was some Superwoman with amazing strength and speed.
When she finally heaved herself over the Bone Eater's Well, Rin clapped her hands happily and gave her the widest, brightest smile that Kagome had ever seen. She suspected that Rin had reserved that only for Sesshoumaru and the reason why she had shown it to her was because she had returned to help them.
"Rin! Ano... can you tell Ah-Un not to.. erm... bite me?" Kagome was still afraid of the two-headed beast and was not about to put her faith blindly in such a dreadful and dangerous looking youkai.
Rin nodded her head and went over the draconic youkai, patting one of its heads and pulled it over. Kagome took a step backwards, not sure whether Rin had talked to the beast, or merely stroking it's head. Rin pulled Kagome's hand and laid it on the moist nose of one head.
Kagome looked at the pair of yellow eyes nervously, and it looked back at her.
She gulped, trying not to show her fear even though Ah-Un certainly did not look as kind nor as cute compared to their Kirara. Kagome moved her hand weakly over the black nose and she was not sure whether it was Ah or Un that let out a soft grunting noise. Rin patted the other head and Kagome took that as a favourable answer since her hand was still attached to her arm.
In the end, she had to sling the paperbag over one neck slowly and carefully, and again wondered which head she was trying to smile at. She placed a shivering Rin in front of her, who took hold of the leash and gave it a gentle pull. When they took to the air, Kagome was hoping hard that the she and the paperbag would remain in one piece, and that Ah-Un would remember the way back to the cave because she had simply forgotten about it.
Kagome thought to herself that she would die if she did not get some sleep soon.
A/N: Ah, I hate this chapter. Couldn't sleep well over it. /
hidoi - terrible
sakura - cherry blossoms
hidoi - terrible
ningen - human
nani - what
arigatou gozaimasu - thank you (formal form)
ki - inner energy, something like youki
yoshi - yeah/alright!
aniue - formal way of addressing other's elder brother
onegai - please isoide kudasai - pls hurry
matte kudasai - pls wait shoji - sliding doors, usually made of rice paper
'nee-chan - affectionate way of calling one's older sister
doko e ikundesu ka? - where are you going?
eeto - eh.
ano - excuse me/erm
