A/N: 600 reviews! (Actually 599, but who's counting? Haha.) I can't believe you guys are so giving with your praise and critiques! As reward, I made this chapter extra long, so enjoy!
The Broken Miko
Chapter 18: My Blood Stained Angel
Sesshoumaru dipped his blood covered hand into the stream, watching as the viscous liquid lifted off his fingers, diluted and washed away. The water was frigid, numbing him up to the wrist, but he paid no attention. Cold didn't bother him and he had never heard of a demon freezing to death this early in the season. It was actually soothing to have the icy liquid swirling around his fingertips, when they had been so recently covered in the steaming blood of a fresh kill.
He glanced behind him, at the boar lying dead at the base of the elm tree. Its throat was torn out and its eyes, although wholly unintelligent, were wide with fright. A small kill, hardly worth the effort, but it had calmed his nerves a bit. What he really needed, however, was a true battle. It was a shame that Naraku was dead, he mused sadistically. He felt as if he could slaughter the power-hungry hanyou without effort. Inuyasha used to do in a pinch, when he was feeling restless for a fight, but Sesshoumaru was now wary of his recently reanimated brother. There was no predicting what the favored minion of a god could throw at him and he wasn't particularly eager to find out. Not yet, anyway.
Putrid anger rose in his chest as he thought of his brother, the one who had forced him upon this road to hell. Without Inuyasha, his life would have been simple. A life dominated by the desire to gain power and prestige among all demons. Instead, Sesshoumaru had a smear upon his life's work, one left by his frivolous father and his insipid human mate. And just like all stains, Inuyasha's influence spread to every other aspect of the taiyoukai's life.
Standing up, Sesshoumaru felt the momentary calm of killing the boar wash away as he remembered all of which Inuyasha had burdened him. A tainted legacy, a worthless sword, a fight against Naraku, a missing arm and Kagome.
Kagome. The name seared into his mind like a tag of degradation and idiocy. What had he been thinking, to ask her to become his mate? She was a half-demon, the epitome of everything that had marred his once satisfying, hanyou-free life. She was everything that he had wanted to avoid in life, and in a moment of instinct-driven madness, he almost surrendered his freedom to her.
Sesshoumaru placed his hand upon the trunk of the tree and allowed his claws to dig into the bark. He peeled it away as if it were the flesh of one of his kills, effortlessly and without mercy. Four deep marks were now permanently etched into the inner core of the elm.
How could she? That insolent little bitch, he thought vehemently. Never mind that he would never have gone through with it, even if she had agreed, but who did she think she was? She was nobody, just a vermin that managed to bite through his shackles back in some disgusting dungeon that he then graciously allowed to accompany him. Without him, Kagome was no one. She couldn't even wield the Tetsusaiga properly. And she dared to reject him? It was preposterous, something that not even his father would have believed.
The dog demon took a deep breath and pulled his claws from the elm tree. There was no need to tear down the forest, he told himself. After all, there was a perfectly good explanation for why he had acted in such a brash manner around a half-breed. Instinct.
She had intoxicated him with her scent, something that male demons could rarely resist, particularly if they had been shut up in a dungeon for five months without female company. Kagome had been the first female he had been close to for so long that his brain had just gone a bit haywire. He fixated upon her, he slept with her and now there was no more to be concerned about. The fixation was over and she was gone. That was it.
Still, he was the Lord of the Western Lands and she had tried to humiliate him. He should have killed her for it, made her blood seep into the earth as a warning to all those who would dare oppose the taiyoukai of the West. It would have been a proper sentence for such a female.
He closed his eyes and pushed away the mental image of Kagome dying at his feet. It was not as therapeutic as he would have thought. Instead, it was beginning to make him feel a bit ill. Perhaps that wave of nausea was what stayed his hand that morning, when she had stalked away from him after being so venomous. Besides, he had made an oath to her that he would not harm her, and he intended to keep it, although his other promises would surely be broken.
His anger began to ebb away as he employed the meditation techniques his tutors had taught him so many years ago. Violence was a temporary solution, they would have said, even though the taiyoukai never really listened to that particular lesson. Temporary, and yet permanent, as one problem was replaced by another. He doubted if Kagome's death would have any effect on the world, but he chose to honor his teachers' words for once. After all, she was certain to be gone when he reached the others and there was no point in wasting time tracking her down.
Looking up into the clear sky, Sesshoumaru decided to return to camp. It was nearly mid-morning and he still planned on travelling quite a ways before dusk. The boar he left behind, wallowing in its own blood. It would be some other creature's breakfast. Some animal's lucky day.
Crystalline sunbeams peeked through the treetops as the taiyoukai moved through the forest. It was quiet, as if every animal and demon knew what sort of humor he was in and knew that he was best to be avoided. Violence was a temporary solution, but that didn't preclude him from using it when he wished.
He approached the camp slowly, using all of his senses to detect the goings-on. Kagome was no longer there, having taken even a more rapid flight than he had anticipated. Her scent was growing stale in the air already, along with the scent of the eagle child. Anger began to flare up in his chest once again, a hallmark that it had never been truly suppressed. Washi was not supposed to leave his care. He was to be Rin's companion and he didn't care to see Rin heart-broken.
Pushing aside a few stray branches, he stepped into the clearing, where a fire was smoldering and a young girl was holding back tears. Keitaro and Jaken looked up at him, not surprised to see him, but not pleased either. The celestial demon gave him a rather icy glare before turning his back to check upon Rin. The little girl accepted a cloth to dry her eyes gratefully and smiled at her lord's return. Jaken bowed to his lord, but uncharacteristically had nothing to say. Confusion and anger emanated off of the little imp in waves, however, telling Sesshoumaru that even he had smelled the scent of sex and despair upon the hanyou as she passed through.
"Where is the boy?" asked the taiyoukai, even though he already knew the answer.
"He went with Kagome-san," answered Rin. "I let him go. Don't be mad at him, Sesshoumaru-sama." She stood up and pressed her hands together in supplication, trying to hide her water-stained face.
"You should not have allowed him to go without consulting me first, Rin," the inuyoukai admonished.
He tried not to allow his emotions to show as he spoke to her. No matter how angry he felt, he could not conjure any true feelings of displeasure towards the little girl. But despite his soft voice, Rin cowered and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, my lord. You're right."
Another surge of fury washed through him as he subconsciously blamed Kagome for the hurt look in his ward's expression. "Do not be concerned, Rin," he told her, the closest he would come to reassurance while he was in this mood.
She brightened considerably, although sadness still rimmed her eyes. "Yes, my lord!"
Sesshoumaru nodded and turned once again to business, trying unsuccessfully to keep the dangerous edge out of his tone. "Keitaro."
The celestial demon stood from where he had been packing up his belongings and bowed stiffly. "How may I help you, my lord?" he asked formally.
The inuyoukai internally growled at the youkai's change in demeanor. Last night, he had been so forthcoming that he had almost found himself on the sharp end of Sesshoumaru's claws, and now he was behaving like a Western foot soldier. The celestial was clearly annoyed at him, and probably sympathized with Kagome, with whom he had an immediate bond. Nothing irritated Sesshoumaru as much as demons that failed to successfully hide their contempt. He only hoped, for Keitaro's sake, that he had enough sense to remain quiet about what had transpired the previous night. "You will return to the Western City," he ordered, "and you will bring the others with you. I have decided to pursue Amatsu on my own and they will only hinder me."
He heard Rin take a quick breath through her teeth and imagined that she was biting her tongue to keep herself from protesting. In truth, he did not want to part from her. She transformed tedious patrols into amusing journeys, but this was no longer safe for her. Without Kagome's assistance, Sesshoumaru could not ensure Rin's safety at all times and, as repellant as the idea was, Keitaro was the best choice to get her back to the city.
"If Rin is harmed, your life will be forfeit, Keitaro," he warned.
The celestial bowed deeply. "No harm will come to any of them as long as I live, my lord."
Sesshoumaru could see that the Northern demon had no desire to continue contact with this rapidly disintegrating family, which, in a perverse way, made the order all the more satisfying. No one would escape from unfavorable tasks this day. "Jaken," he said, startling the imp out of his preparations.
"Yes, my lord?"
"When you arrive at the city, find Nami-san. Tell her I have reversed my decision to allow her to return to her own clan." He set his heart in ice once again and breathed out the last words quickly. "She is to become my mate upon my return. There will be no arguments."
Jaken nodded vigorously. "Nor would I expect any, my lord!" He scuttled over to the dragon and attached the last of their belongings to Ah-Un's flank. "Come on, girl. Lord Sesshoumaru needs things to be done, messages to be delivered and I won't wait for you all day!"
Rin sighed and wandered toward her lord, despite the imp's sputters. "So Nami-san will become Lady of the Western Lands, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
He nodded once. "She is a judicious choice."
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "She's nice. I guess she'll be okay. Will she teach me from now on?"
Relieved to not be thinking about the fate of Japan or of Kagome for one short moment, Sesshoumaru indulged her questions. "Would you prefer another tutor?"
Rin shook her head slowly. "Whatever you wish, my lord."
Her strange attitude confused him slightly, but he quickly decided that it was probably the thought of their imminent separation that ailed her. He placed his hand on top of her raven-colored head. "I will return before the first snowfall, Rin."
She gave him another one of her sad smiles. "Yes, my lord. Don't forget about us."
His ward said that every time he left her, for four years without fail. Usually he didn't grace her with a response, but since her mere presence prevented him from killing every living creature within a five mile radius, he once again gave into her pleas. "I will not forget you, Rin. I will return."
Rin bowed, as he had taught her to do many years ago, and ran back to Ah-Un, swinging herself up onto his back. Jaken quickly joined her after making sure every pack was secure.
"I will inform your generals of your movements, my lord," said Keitaro, opening his wings and shaking them out. "We will await your return." He bowed once more and pushed off the ground, clearly eager to escape the discomfort of the situation on the ground. Rising above the trees, he waited for Ah-Un to join him.
The dragon began to hover above the thin grass, its occupants looking back at their lord with some fear in their eyes. They worried that he would not return, but they knew better than to waste Sesshoumaru's time with such banter. Instead, Rin waved her hand slowly as they rose up into the sky.
In a few moments, he was alone in the clearing. It suddenly seemed desolate, despite the warm colors of the transforming trees around him. He felt chilled to the bone as he listened to the crackling of the swaying branches.
For a second, he paused, considering his possible paths. He could go southeast, in Kagome's footsteps, to the heart of Amatsu's land. It was a road that would surely bring them within close proximity to each other once again and, although it would eventually be unavoidable, he had no desire to do so at that moment. The other choice was to go east, into the bear clan's territory, where the rumors told of his mother's presence. The leader of the east was strong yet impatient, which frequently hindered his decision-making skills. Of the four lands, the east had always had the most trouble keeping skirmishes at bay and rebels repressed. If he knew the impetuous bear lord, Kuma, as well as he thought, wide patrols throughout his lands would be spotty at best.
Although he knew Amatsu was the more pressing matter, Sesshoumaru could not bring his feet to move southeast. He blamed his separation from Rin and Washi entirely upon Kagome's shoulders. If he met her now, he would certainly fight her and that was not acceptable. So instead of taking her path, he turned to the east and began to walk towards the rising sun.
For many hours he walked through the forest without encountering a living creature bigger than a sparrow. He suspected that it was his scent of rage, so strong that even mindless beasts could sense that he was dangerous. Now that Rin was gone and no one was around, Sesshoumaru freely allowed his anger to rise and fall within his chest, like the tide of the ocean. He harped on his morning's thoughts endlessly, each time reaching the same conclusion: Kagome had been wrong and stupid to have rejected him, but he would never have accepted her once his mind had cleared anyway. The rejection part made him angry, the thought of him eventually rejecting her pacified him. The cycle continued for the entire morning and into the evening, nearly driving the taiyoukai insane. Even as he meditated during the night, he had no peace of mind.
The next morning, as soon as he set out again, Sesshoumaru caught the scent of a pair of humans walking towards him. A woman and a man, if his nose served him well. Normally, there would be no hesitation in changing his course. Although he freely killed bandits, human women were not his usual prey, much out of respect for Rin and what she would become one day.
But these humans were different. He had smelled their scents before, not too long ago. He couldn't place them however, in the myriad of human aromas that he tried so desperately to forget.
Slightly intrigued, Sesshoumaru leapt up into the boughs of a nearby tree, allowing the leaves to largely hide him from view. He waited patiently for many moments, until the tell-tale thrashing of human travelers told him that they were below him. They spoke in low tones, but the taiyoukai could hear every word.
"The children will be so happy, Danjuro," the woman was saying.
"We cannot return to the village yet, my wife. There are many more objectives our master wishes for us to secure."
"Of course, but after all, that half-breed monster was the only demon that has ever successfully come into our village and lived to tell the tale. I still feel that Basho and Chie lost faith in us that day." The woman stopped moving across the ground and sighed. "I was hoping to tell them this happy news and rally the rest of the village to our master's call."
Sesshoumaru moved silently in the treetop, earning a partially obscured view of the pair of humans. He frowned as he realized that his instincts had been correct. These were two of the slayers from the village that had tormented Kagome, an incident that seemed very long ago, although it had really only been three weeks previous. They were the ones whose bloodlust had never died in that confrontation, and, as Kagome later told them, the ones that had exposed her to such danger.
The man was gazing at his wife, considering her words. "They will not be pleased," he said slowly, "that we have joined a lord who has demons as allies, Kita."
"I know this, husband, but our master must use them. We have both heard his words. 'To defeat Japan's demons, you must use Japan's demons.' And it is true. No human army could destroy them. His alliance with demonkind is temporary, until they have all killed each other. Then he will usher in a golden age for humanity. For us!"
Danjuro threaded his fingers through Kita's hair. "Yes, I know, my dear. His vision is why I followed him and why our people must follow him as well. But I do not believe they will do so willingly."
"They will," Kita stated with confidence. "They will once they hear that the half-demon who escaped from us is now under his sway. She is the tool of our master until her death!"
The taiyoukai's eyes widened as he heard the woman speak. Kagome had apparently defied every lesson he had ever given her and been promptly captured. Even as he sat there in the branches of the yellow-leafed tree, she could be in pain or, worse, becoming the crucial third part of Amatsu's weapon. His hand tightened upon one of the boughs, causing it to crack and the humans to pause.
"What was that?" asked the woman, suddenly fearful.
The man brought her close to him, holding her to his chest and looked around before stepping away again. "Nothing, I am sure. A bird." He stroked her cheek, calming his wife immediately. "Please go on."
"Yes. She will bring the fall of Sesshoumaru," continued Kita, "and then all of the West shall be open to us!"
"The North must also fall," warned her husband.
"And it will, with our people's help. Then, the weapon will be destroyed and our lives will have no need for slaying. Demons will no longer walk in Japan."
Danjuro frowned and scratched the nape of his neck. "Sesshoumaru is a difficult foe, and the celestials are almost as hard to kill. It is a rough road that lies ahead of us, my Kita." He placed a hand over his wife's mouth, silencing her as she opened it to speak. "But I will do this, for you and our children. And for revenge against the only demons that have ever walked away from us unharmed."
Kita smiled malevolently. "Did you hear what the yurei said?"
A ghost? Sesshoumaru frowned as the word spilled from the woman's murderous lips. What possible reason would a ghost have to speak with a mortal? The spirits of the dead were troublesome, occasionally dangerous, and frequently sought mortal life. There was only one possibility that the inuyoukai could conceive. The shadow creatures that had attacked Kagome were ghosts. But even that idea was preposterous. Yurei were weak, retained the appearance they had in life and haunted the place they had had their unfortunate deaths. He shook his silver head, determined to investigate the matter further at another time.
The man shook his head. "No. What happened?"
"Last night," she gushed, hardly able to keep the words in her mouth, "when Inuyasha and the miko went to capture the half-breed, they found the child with her. The one that tried to help her escape the village."
Danjuro leaned forward, now thoroughly intrigued. "What did they do with the brat?"
She laughed, throwing her head back and exposing her throat. "They used him, hurt him so that the half-breed would not fight. Then, they left him there. I doubt if he survived the night. An animal probably put the monster out of its misery."
Sesshoumaru's eyes glowed scarlet upon her announcement, his control breaking as she spoke of Washi. Abandoning all pretence, he leapt down through the branches to the ground, landing softly behind Danjuro. Kita's eyes widened as she saw the demon lord descend, and he had a vicious pleasure in hearing her heart speed up to a terrifying rate.
The human male turned slowly, trying to control his panicked breath and failing. To his credit, however, Danjuro held his head high when he saw the raging taiyoukai standing so close, with his claws wrapped around Tokijin.
The taiyoukai advanced slowly, his golden orbs still hidden by the red haze. "Where is the child?" he growled. "And where have they taken Kagome?"
Danjuro took a step back, but Kita held her ground. Her feet refused to move, although she knew that she could never take on a dog demon, with or without the help of her husband. "We aren't going to tell you, monster!" she finally said, pulling out her thin katana blade. Hearing the sing of the metal, her husband unsheathed his as well.
Sesshoumaru tilted his head, studying his opponents for a brief, before lifting his hand off of Tokijin. Before the pair could breathe a sigh of relief, Sesshoumaru made a sweeping motion with his arm. From his hand, a glowing green whip emerged, striking the ground beside Kita. As she flinched away, Danjuro began to scream.
Her husband was now lying in a pool of blood, his severed hand still holding his sword feet away from the oozing stump that had been his wrist. Kita felt dizzy, stepping backwards and running up against a tree. She had never seen so much blood, even on the rare occasions a demon hunt had gone badly. Her breath quickened as she watched the father of her children squirm on the ground, holding his mutilated arm to his chest. The liquid seeped into his brown clothes, staining them a horrible black.
The taiyoukai turned his gaze towards the woman, the red glow never flickering for a moment. "Tell me what I wish to know, or you will both die." His eyes traveled down to her hand, where it was tightening and loosening around her katana's hilt in rhythm with her breathing. "If you attack, I will kill you anyway," he said in a deadpan voice.
Kita stared at her bleeding husband and how his face had turned ash gray and slick with sweat. Letting the sword fall from her grip, she fell to her knees and crawled over to Danjuro. She felt no shame as she ripped up her outer kimono and wrapped it around his forearm, trying desperately to stop the flow of blood. Her mind told her that he had lost too much blood, and that he was shaking from severe shock, but she worked anyway.
Sesshoumaru watched this futile exercise with interest. His poison whip was like a snakebite; it left the injured flesh unable to cauterize its own wound. No amount of healing could save this man, except Tenseiga once he was dead. As the woman continued to shred her clothing, the taiyoukai became increasingly bored with the act. "Tell me what I wish to know," he repeated, the promise of more carnage lacing his tone.
Beside her, Danjuro let out a pitiful moan and stopped shaking. Blood was everywhere, but Kita still reached over to touch her husband's neck, crying aloud when she felt no pulse. She turned a venomous eye to the taiyoukai. His own gaze had faded to its usual molten gold, but anger still swirled in his eyes. Even so, the anger she felt matched his and she stood up to face him. "I will never tell you where they are!" she hissed. "I am glad that the child is dead and I'm even happier that the half-breed's soul is dying at this very moment. You will never pollute this land with your offspring again, you foul monster!"
She moved to fetch her katana, but instead was slammed up against a tree trunk with the taiyoukai's hand wrapped around her throat. His eyes were once again glowing with hatred and vengeance and she could feel the pinpricks of his poison claws digging into her delicate flesh. He leaned in very close, taking a deep breath of her fear-laced scent. "Tell me where the boy and Kagome are, or I will hunt down your children and rip out their throats." He took another deep breath, picking up the older scents in her clothing. "Three of them. Two boys and a girl."
Kita's eyes widened as they flashed back and forth between her dead husband and the taiyoukai. He was serious. The eagle demon was his son, and the half-breed was his lover. The realization hit her like a lightening bolt, transporting her back to her very first lesson on demon-slaying with her father. Youkai will do anything to protect their mates and their children. Do not interfere with these bonds, for it will mean your death. "Directly south of here. About six hours walk, maybe seven, for a human at least. That's where they captured her. I don't know where they took her. Probably to our master, but I have no idea where he lives."
He increased the pressure on her throat, making her whimper in pain. She deserves it, he thought wickedly, for giving Kagome so much pain. "Tell me what you know about Amatsu. And do not tell me of his divinity. I know that already. I want his weaknesses."
"He doesn't have any. He's a god," she breathed. Kita grabbed at his hand as the pressure increased for a moment, reminding her that oxygen was a luxury at this point.
"Tell me something I can use," he snapped. His eyes narrowed as he considered the possibilities, weaknesses that a human would never consider. "If he is a god, why must he use a demon army? Why doesn't he use his own power?"
Kita closed her eyes. "I can't. Amatsu would kill me in a worse way than you ever could."
Sesshoumaru growled, but released her, realizing that she was right. He had been there when Ukon had been liquefied in his infirmary, with a poison so acrid that it had eaten through the floor. The human female was right; he could never torture someone like a god could. He stepped away from her and began to walk south.
"Wait!" she called after him. He turned and gave Kita a questioning look. She stretched out her arms towards the taiyoukai and nodded towards the corpse of her husband. "Please, I have heard you have power over life and death. Please, revive him."
"Why should I revive him?" he snarled. "Your village kills my kind. You tortured the woman that I have in my care. You are fortunate that I did not kill you as well. Up until just moments ago, you still swore against me and my companions."
"You killed my husband!" she shrieked.
"And you have killed my brethren. Do not try to fool me with your whining and your acts. You are still the treacherous human that turned an entire village against two helpless creatures a few weeks ago."
Kita lowered her head, considering her options. Betray her master or betray her husband? "He has a human shell," she said quickly, looking back up at the taiyoukai.
"What?"
"Amatsu is within the body of a human. That's why his powers cannot reach their full potential, and why he needs your female…" she trailed off as her stomach dropped and fear crept into her heart. Her eyes grew wide. "Kill me! Please! Before he does!"
Her skin began to crack, the black lines of death sprawling across her skin as it had done to Ukon. Sesshoumaru watched for a moment in silence, wondering if he should end her suffering. The fissures grew larger as Kita screamed for mercy, and the taiyoukai made his decision. His poison whip darted out across the space between them, striking her in her heart and releasing the poison within her. But she no longer felt it. Kita's eyes slid shut and she collapsed beside her husband, the black pitch mixing with his crimson blood.
Without pause, the taiyoukai turned south and began to run towards what he hoped what be a living eagle demon and a healthy Kagome.
For two hours he ran at full speed, ignoring the branches clawing at his clothes and hair, and the forest creatures staring at him in surprise. He was about to turn back, to revive Danjuro and beat him into telling the truth, when he heard a soft crying up ahead. It surprised him that he had heard the child first, but as he raced forward, he realized that the stench of death would cover any demon's scent. Crossing a stream, he realized with a twinge of relief that the death clock had chimed over a water sprite, and not his ward.
He stopped on the embankment and looked up into the branches of the nearby oak. A wing peeked out of the leaves, shaking with each quivering breath of the eagle child. Sesshoumaru walked to the base of the tree and fixed his eyes on Washi, whose tear-stained face gleamed in the late morning sun. "Are you injured?"
Washi started, opening his eyes and pushing away from the branch he had had his stomach pressed upon. After a moment, however, his gaze focused on the taiyoukai. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" he cried, his voice cracking. He had been awake all night, crying himself hoarse, until the morning light had finally lulled the exhausted boy to sleep.
The inuyoukai reached up, taking the child's hand and helping him down to the ground with care. Kneeling beside the boy, he inspected his wings, which were thankfully not broken. To break an eagle demon's wings was the epitome of cruelty, for it was almost impossible to heal fully, usually condemning the demon to walk instead of fly. The rest of Washi's body was another matter. He was patterned with bruises and cuts, each one more gruesome than the last. It surprised him when the boy pulled his battered arm out of his grasp. "Did I hurt you?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking up at him.
"No. You… you were growling," the boy whispered in response. "I'm sorry!" He began to sob.
For once in his long life, Sesshoumaru was quite startled. He hadn't been aware he had been growling, but that was logical considering the boy's state of health. The sobbing on the other hand, completely mystified him. "You have done nothing…" the taiyoukai stopped mid-sentence and stared at the child. "What happened here?"
Between Washi's disjointed, tear-stained story and the tale his nose told him, Sesshoumaru eventually had a clear idea what had occurred the evening before. It took every ounce of his willpower to not allow his eyes to glow their burning red upon hearing the latter part of the tale, of when Inuyasha arrived and took Kagome. He had already claimed victory over his elder brother, it would seem. How wrong you are, Inuyasha, the taiyoukai thought viciously.
"Washi, stop crying. I do not blame you for these events." He gave him a sharp glance as the child's cries softened. "We shall, however, have a talk about the dangers of trusting strange sprites when we return to the West."
The boy nodded solemnly and then lit up when the meaning of Sesshoumaru's words finally sunk in. "You mean, we're going back to the West?"
"Soon, yes. I am beginning to fear this war will take the strength of my entire army."
"Will Mama go back with us?"
The taiyoukai hesitated, and then nodded. "Yes, if she is willing." He chose not to tell the boy that Kagome might be a lost cause, and that perhaps becoming a weapon of Amatsu was an irreversible condition. And he certainly wouldn't talk of the seething anger he still held against her.
"Inuyasha wants you to go after him. He said that you were going to be used to test their power."
"I do not doubt it."
They sat in silence for a few moments while Sesshoumaru resumed his inspection of Washi's injuries. Although he wanted to slice apart Inuyasha and Kikyo for doing such wicked things to such a small child, he had to admit that Washi was healing quite well. Even the most serious cuts would be gone in a few days.
"How did you 'defile' my mother, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
The inuyoukai's head snapped up. "What? Where did you hear that?"
Washi squirmed, suddenly uncomfortable under the inuyoukai's gaze. "When Inuyasha was here, he told Kikyo that you defiled Mama. He said it wouldn't matter once Mama joined Amatsu though, and then he could have her."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I would have thought that the undead miko was the object of my brother's attraction."
"No. He said he wouldn't try to steal Amatsu's woman." Washi looked perplexed for a moment. "He said he'd only steal one lord's female. Yours. What did he mean? Do you love my mother now, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
The inuyoukai stood up so fast that Washi didn't even see him move. "Inuyasha was talking about…" he paused, trying to find the right words. "He spoke of Kagome as the female under my care. The defilement of which you speak is of no consequence. It is an ugly word for something Inuyasha has no conception of."
This speech did nothing to stop the questions swirling in Washi's mind. In fact, it created more, but he knew enough to not anger the demon lord by asking more questions. Not even he needed a sense of smell to tell that Sesshoumaru was beyond rage. And yet, there was one question he had to ask. "Are we going to go save her?"
His breath caught in his throat at the idea of seeing her with Inuyasha. They could be lovers now, an easy shift of relations that would have followed her descent into Amatsu's service. Or worse, he realized with a shudder, Inuyasha could have claimed Kagome as his mate. Then he would have truly lost her. Only Inuyasha's death would release her, and she had made it quite clear that she wouldn't be allowing that. Despite all of that, he heard himself reply with a soft 'yes'.
Washi spread his wings, a bit more slowly than usual out of consideration for the beating his body had gone through. "Great! Let's go then!"
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "No. Not now. Tomorrow we will search for Kagome."
"Tomorrow?" the child echoed in disbelief. "But they took her last night! They could be doing awful things to her right now, making her into that weapon!"
"I know," he responded, slightly chagrined that he was having this conversation with a child. How could he explain to a tiny demon that if he didn't spend the night meditating, calming his nerves, that the thought of Inuyasha with Kagome might send him off the deep end, turning him into the bloodthirsty dog form that would kill everything in its path? "I must… prepare for the encounter."
"But…"
"I will not have her killed because of my impatience!" he snapped, immediately regretting it as he watched Washi cower. He sighed. "I am trying my best, but you must understand that I am not accustomed to saving others' lives."
Washi shrugged, letting Sesshoumaru's bout of temper wash away. "You saved me."
The inuyoukai shook his head. "My scent still lies upon you and for that reason only, you are still alive. No youkai would dare to cross me by killing one under my protection."
"Mama has your scent on her too, doesn't she?"
Sesshoumaru grimaced slightly at the seemingly innocent question. "Yes, but that would not prevent Inuyasha, Kikyo or Amatsu from harming her." He had to admit to himself that his scent all over Kagome's body would probably drive Inuyasha to hurt her even more, or urge on the instinct to cover it with his own hanyou stench. Again, the thought of his brother and his one time lover together angered him more than he would have guessed.
Their conversation ended there, in midstream and without reaching the opposite embankment. They walked to the clearing that Kagome and Washi had stopped in the evening before to retrieve Kagome's belongings. It was the child's suggestion and the taiyoukai decided that moving away from the corpse of the water sprite was prudent, and so he agreed. When they reached the patch of grass, with its dead fire pit, no yellow bag remained.
"A demon might have taken it," offered the boy.
The inuyoukai shook his head. "The bag carries my scent as well, and I sense no other youkai in the area. Kagome returned to fetch it herself."
The revelation pushed them into complete silence. Like a child, Sesshoumaru turned it over in his mind. Kagome had returned for her bag, but not for the boy. She knew that he had witnessed her kidnapping and yet offered no help, no condolences. There was only one likely explanation. Kagome had fulfilled her part of the triumvirate, and she now was the final facet upon a terrible weapon.
His hand clenched beside him. The idea of Kagome's total disappearance from his life, so appealing just the day before, now turned to rot. It hurt his heart to think of her as lost. "We will rest here," he said, trying not to trip over his words.
Wordlessly, Washi agreed and settled upon a low branch of the tree Kagome had fallen out of just the night before. The blanket she had used to tuck him in still hung in the boughs above him, but he made no move to get it. It was bad enough seeing the claw marks upon each branch, where she had tried to stop her fall. Even so, he forced himself to sit there, as penance for betraying his mother. The fact that neither she nor Sesshoumaru had become angry with him for such an awful act made him feel even worse.
Looking over at the taiyoukai, however, he decided that he was better off. The dog demon appeared to be the same proud, strong creature, but his rage and sadness was barely suppressed. For Washi, it was blatant.
Hours passed quietly. The eagle child fell in and out of fitful sleep, never speaking when he woke to find Sesshoumaru looking at him with a bare trace of concern. The taiyoukai himself felt no better than the child. Meditation only served to smooth his frayed nerves, but did nothing to prepare him for the upcoming confrontation.
What is past, is past, his mentors would have said. Look to the present, for only there can you affect the future.
If they were still alive, Sesshoumaru would have liked to give them all a good kick in the rear.
He sighed and looked up at the sky, surprised to see the stars fading and dawn's light reaching across the dome above him. Soon, it would be time to follow Kagome's footsteps once more and to find her, transformed or not, and to bring her back.
Would she look the same? Her innocent brown eyes and her crimson streaked hair, with the puppy ears atop her head? Would she be cold and cruel, as Inuyasha had become? Would she remember her life? Would she remember him?
He snarled at his own capricious thoughts, banishing them to the back of his mind. It didn't matter, he told himself. What was important was the fate of Japan, particularly the West, and although he would try not to harm Kagome, neither would he let her destroy what his family had worked so hard to protect for millennia.
The sky was slowly turning pink, warning Sesshoumaru that time was growing short. Across the clearing, Washi woke from yet another dark dream and they stared at one another. "Is it time to go get Kagome?" the boy asked quietly, knowing that the taiyoukai could hear him.
He stood up and curled his tail around his shoulder. "Yes. Are you feeling well?"
"Better, yeah," he answered despondently. "You won't hurt her, will you?"
"No."
"Promise?"
He hesitated, knowing that if Inuyasha's previous behavior was any indication, Kagome might require some firm handling. "I will try my best."
They began to walk east, following the path Kagome would have taken. Sesshoumaru was surprised to sense faint traces of her presence, hovering around him like rose petals floating in the air. It was strange. He thought her aroma would have long since faded, even if she did return briefly to get her bag.
As they continued walking, Sesshoumaru's suspicions grew. Kagome's scent was not drifting away with the breeze as it should have done. In the early afternoon, he found an apple core, not even browned with time. Kagome had eaten this apple. It had been the last that she had plucked from the tree on the first day of their journey east, when she had so carelessly toppled him over with her paranoia.
A crimson strand of hair winked at him, catching the late afternoon sunlight. A footprint was smudged into the fresh mud along the shore of a small lake in the early evening. When the crickets began their simple song at dusk, he found an empty cup with writing upon it at the base of a dogwood tree. Ramen.
The pair of demons stood there, staring at the damning evidence for long moments. "She's okay then," Washi finally said, hope lacing his voice.
"She is toying with us," Sesshoumaru gritted out.
The boy frowned. "But we're still here to help her, right?"
Against his better judgement, the taiyoukai nodded his assent. "We must use caution, however. I do not know what exactly I am to be fighting."
A soft, feminine laugh echoed throughout the trees, causing Sesshoumaru to hiss with surprise. He felt Washi grip the fabric of his empty sleeve, his body trembling and sending waves up to the taiyoukai's shoulder.
Golden eyes darted over every shrub and tree in the immediate area, searching for the source of the laugh, but no one was there. "Kagome," he said aloud, trying to keep his voice calm and even. "We know that you now serve Amatsu. Show yourself."
A veil seemed to lift from his eyes as the last rays of the afternoon sun shone through the boughs of the dogwood tree. There, sitting with her arm propped upon her bent knee, Sesshoumaru saw the silhouette of the hanyou among the last dogwood blossoms. He lifted his hand to shade his eyes, trying to see her face and her features, but failed. She was a black figure against a rose-hued sky. She still smelled of mandarin oranges, but as the last light faded, Sesshoumaru saw that no trace of his Kagome remained.
Her hair and her eyes were entirely crimson, making her appear as if she was drenched in blood. Dressed in her leather slayer outfit, she was the essence of danger, a fiery hellcat that spoke of barely suppressed malice. She smiled a predatory smile and gracefully eased herself onto the ground. Her claws dripped with the blood of demons, spattering across the grass as each droplet fell. "When Inuyasha awakened me, he said that it might be awhile before I could meet you once again," she purred. "How pleased I am to see that he was incorrect."
Sesshoumaru ignored the mocking lilt in her voice. "You will stop this foolish behavior and you will return with me to the West."
She laughed and he was irritated to hear that it no longer retained the bell-like quality it once had. "How amusing you are, Sesshoumaru! Return with you? To the West? As what, may I ask? Your children's tutor? Your honored guest? Your mate?"
For a moment, the taiyoukai said nothing. He hardened his heart as best he could against the blood-soaked hanyou before him. "I will fight you, if necessary."
Washi made himself known once again at this statement. "No! Sesshoumaru-sama, you promised you wouldn't hurt her," he begged. Seeing that no emotion flickered in the dog demon's eyes, the boy turned to his mother. "Please, Mama, don't do this. Inuyasha lied to you. Look, I'm alive. Please don't give into them!"
Kagome lounged against the dogwood tree and crossed her arms. "You really think that makes any difference, you little brat, that you live?" she asked. "I joined Amatsu with joy. He is what I have missed my entire life."
The inuyoukai shook his head. "You sound like a poor copy of my brother's speech," he said in even tones. "Cease this foolishness."
"A copy?" asked the hanyou, incredulity tingeing her voice. "He came to Amatsu for power, and for the chance to see me once again. I joined their power because everything else in this mortal world has forsaken me."
Sesshoumaru could not respond, for what she said, although twisted, was true. He had forsaken her two nights ago. He knew of his attraction and yet did not mark her as his mate, only used her to satisfy his more carnal desires. Washi had betrayed her as well. Unknowingly of course, but it was painfully clear that such distinctions no longer mattered to the hanyou. Love and happiness, emotions he knew her human heart craved, rejected her at all turns, taking the ones she did care for with death.
Kikyo and Inuyasha stepped out of the shadows, clearly tired of eavesdropping. "Hello, brother," the male hanyou greeted. "Do you like Kagome's new image? How appropriate, don't you think?"
The taiyoukai knew that his younger brother was attempting to take control of the situation, but took the bait anyway. "What do you mean, by 'appropriate'?"
Inuyasha held out his hand, which was immediately grasped by Kagome in a possessive grip. He led her to stand between him and the undead miko before speaking again. "She is our heart," he explained, gazing fondly at the female half-demon and stroking her hair. "I am the strength and Kikyo is the spirit, but Kagome is our heart. She completes us." He gave Sesshoumaru a devilish grin. "Such passion and desire in the heart, it was bound to reflect in her appearance, wouldn't you say?"
The dog demon snarled, his eyes bleeding red. "You will not touch her!"
Surprisingly, Inuyasha dropped his hands and bowed. "As you wish, my lord." As he straightened his back, he smiled again. "But you will not touch her either. She is not yours any longer. She was never yours. This was her destiny, as it is your destiny to die by her hand."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "If that is truly my fated end, I will accept it. I have never feared death, but I will not die before I hear what you have done to Kagome."
"They have not done anything to me," the female hanyou responded. "I joined willingly."
"If that is true, why did you not join them weeks ago? When you suspected that Inuyasha had been resurrected, when the shadows attacked you or when you discovered the identity of Amatsu?"
Kikyo laid a hand on Kagome's arm, silencing her. "Your games will have no effect on what will happen here," she warned. "You will die today, Sesshoumaru."
He arched an eyebrow. "Tell me what I wish to know first."
The miko narrowed her eyes, searching for clues to taiyoukai's hidden agenda. Finding none, she began to explain. "After her friends' deaths, it was a matter of time alone that would have brought her to our side. Her heart was dark with grief and anger. The perfect gift to our master." She lifted her chin and glared at the dog demon. "But then you came along, together with that brat, and her heart began to change once again. She was happy," she hissed out the word like poison. "And so we began to send her dreams."
"The nightmares," Sesshoumaru interrupted. "Those were from you? The ones that tried to turn her against me?" He felt the heat of rage surge in his chest once again and forced it down. A gloating villain always gave away their secrets, and he intended to listen to every word from the miko's cold lips.
"Of course!" Kikyo's eyes shone with a rare light, telling him that she was delighted in his annoyance, but the light quickly died. "But even they didn't affect her as much as we would have liked. But then you took your part in hand beautifully. You did exactly what our master expected you to do. By rejecting her, her heart became as black as pitch once again, needing only the betrayal of her adopted son to push her totally into our power."
Washi began to cry quietly beside him, as the taiyoukai turned over these facts in his mind. How blind he had been! He had known that Amatsu Mikaboshi was known for taking those with dark hearts into his power. He should have realized that that would have been necessary to take Kagome as well.
But the time for self-reprimand would have to come later, after he had taken the hanyou back and escaped with their lives. Kikyo's speech had given him no insight into Kagome's condition and how to break it, so he decided to take the question to another. "I demand to see Amatsu," he said.
Kagome laughed, seemingly unaffected by the conversation that had taken place. She did not seem to care that she was manipulated into her present state. Sesshoumaru wondered idly if she still believed her choice was her own. "Don't be ridiculous," the girl said. "Our lord and master has more important tasks than to deal with you, Sesshoumaru. And no one commands his movements, least of all a mangy dog like yourself!"
"It is alright, my heart. I will speak with him."
The deep, calm voice made the taiyoukai freeze, as if the past had come and taken hold of his body. He tried to keep his breathing steady as he looked at the three who had supposedly come to kill him. They had fallen to their knees, with their heads bowed. As Sesshoumaru watched, disks of light appeared just beneath the hollow of their throats.
There was a flash of blue light and a man stood before them, cloaked in misty gray. He pulled back the hood and smiled at Sesshoumaru. To anyone else, he would have appeared just as any other human male. His ears were rounded at the tips, he had no fangs and his skin was pale against his long black hair. But his appearance stilled Sesshoumaru's heart for long moments, until he finally remembered why he had called forth this god masquerading as a human.
"Why, Sesshoumaru, how nice it is to see you once more." Amatsu moved back, between the kneeling figures of Kagome and Kikyo, and studied the tall demon lord with his black eyes. "You have grown so much since you were child. I see so much of your father in you. Of course, you look like your mother as well."
The taiyoukai felt his patience break and stepped forward snarling. "What have you done with her?" he growled, for here before him was the soldier that took his mother from him so many years ago. The human who had had the audacity to take the mate of the Western Lord for his own, who Sesshoumaru had wanted to murder since the age of ten.
Amatsu looked down innocently at Kagome's blood red head and lay a hand upon it. "You mean, Kagome? I thought my Kikyo explained that to you."
"My mother," answered the dog demon. "You took her. My father gave you that truce to save your people and you betrayed him."
The god lifted his hand and placed against his lips. "Ah, but that was so many years ago, Sesshoumaru. You were a pup of just ten years. Could you really hold a grudge for so many centuries?" He smiled as red bled into the gold of the taiyoukai's eyes. "I suppose you can. Well, rest assured that your mother, my wife, is quite alive and well."
"And yet you lie with this creature at night?" hissed the dog demon, glaring at Kikyo. "You take her from her child and mate, and then you dishonor your promise to her?"
"Such emotion from the unemotional taiyoukai!" exclaimed the god. "And to think that I left you in that dungeon for so many months! I could have been amused by you so much sooner."
"How are you still alive?" seethed Sesshoumaru.
Amatsu wagged a finger at him. "No, no. Those are questions for another time. I came here with a purpose towards the future, Sesshoumaru, not to rehash the past." He glanced once more at Kagome. "I will tell you now that my hold over her is complete. There is nothing you can do to save this woman. She is the heart of my weapon and I will not let her go."
"If that was true," growled the dog demon, "then you would not be here to protect her."
"So clever and yet so wrong! It is a pity that we never got to know one another in my former life as your human step-father." He shrugged. "Now, I just want you to die."
Sesshoumaru straightened and met Amatsu's gaze. "I have one more question before I go to my death."
"I'll take it as a last request," laughed the god. "What is your question?"
"The prophecy. What is it? Why Kagome?"
Amatsu smiled. "Well that is two questions, but I shall humor you." He walked behind his three-part weapon and spread his arms. "It is an ancient prophecy, spoken in the language of the gods, but I will be happy to translate for you. 'In the days of the land's greatest danger, two priestesses will rise, one dead and one alive, sharing the same soul. They will love a half-demon who possesses great power and the three will be linked forever. Brought together in darkness they will become a weapon greater than any before or since and they shall control the world for their lord and king.'" He lowered his arms and smiled. "So you see, this was her fate. Leave her to it."
Sesshoumaru drew Tokijin without hesitation. "Then it is time for me to die."
"I'm afraid so," laughed the god. He stood back and the triumvirate rose as one. "I shall watch this demonstration of their power. Do not concern yourself with me. I shall not interfere."
Kagome tilted her head and smiled. "I have learned some new tricks since seeing you last, my Sesshoumaru." She pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath with a fluid motion and let it transform within her hands. "Kaze no Kizu!"
The taiyoukai grabbed Washi by the scruff and dodged out of the way just in time. Landing on his feet and setting the child down, he glared at Kagome. "You cannot harm me with the Tetsusaiga as long as I wear the Tenseiga by my side," he warned.
She gave him a feral grin. "I know. I just wished to test one of my new abilities." She sheathed the Fang and crooked one finger. "Now, I will truly kill you." Pressing her hands together, a strong breeze swept through the clearing, tearing off the dogwood blossoms. In the snow of petals, Kagome opened her hands once again and the earth began to tear.
Snagging Washi once again, Sesshoumaru leapt away from the fissure opening up in the ground, threatening to swallow them whole. As the wind screamed past his ears, the rumbling stopped and Kagome looked up.
"It's no fun if you try to escape!" she called. The breeze became stronger and clouds suddenly covered the sky, thick with rain.
He turned his head to watch Kagome lift her hand and then let it fall like the executioner's axe. The clouds broke open, drenching him and the child with water as they landed on safer ground. Sesshoumaru spun around to face the girl. "I will not tolerate your magic tricks, Kagome! If you wish to defeat me, engage me in true battle!"
Lightening crashed to the ground only a few steps to his right, making dirt fly everywhere, but the taiyoukai didn't move. "You will not live more than a second!" called back Kagome. "Don't you see that I have command of the very elements? And that is only my power alone! Imagine the three of us unleashed upon the world!"
"Then I will die trying to prevent it," answered the taiyoukai, charging forward.
Kikyo and Inuyasha stepped back to flank Amatsu, smiles upon their faces as they watched Sesshoumaru run to his certain death. Kagome held her ground, not bothering to draw Tetsusaiga. As Tokijin's crackling blade came towards her, she held up her hand.
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as his sword came to a stop, immovable against Kagome's flesh. No blood seeped down the blade, as it had done with Inuyasha so many years before. She just stood there, smiling wickedly as Tokijin pressed against her skin without breaking it. "You can't defeat me," she whispered, drawing back her other hand and slashing at his arm.
A cry of pain escaped his lips as the taiyoukai fell back. She had tried to purify him. If he hadn't moved, he would no longer exist in this world. He jumped back and crouched, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his forearm. "I see you still possess your miko gifts."
"I do, yes." She cracked her knuckles. "Please, try again if you do not value your life."
He had no choice, and they all knew it. He could not walk away and if he hoped to discover a weakness, he had to attack once more. And so, Sesshoumaru lifted Tokijin, steeled his heart against the fear of failure and charged once more.
This time, he attacked without mercy, bringing forth all of the anger he felt towards the hanyou. His eyes glowed red as Tokijin crashed down upon Kagome's forearms, which she held up in defense. Deadlocked once again, Sesshoumaru leaned all of his strength onto his sword and took deep breaths of Kagome's scent, searching for any weaknesses she might possess.
"You will not win this, Sesshoumaru," she purred, as if she was telling him during a pleasant meal instead of with a deadly blade pressed against her body.
Something stirred within the taiyoukai as he took another breath and he smirked at the information that he alone was privy to. He could have laughed, if he was in any way used to the action. He had found her weakness. "No, my Kagome," he purred right back, making her smile drop from her face. "I have already won."
She pushed back his sword and swiped again with her claws, catching him beneath his throat and tearing his kimono to shreds. He gasped at the holy power coursing through his veins, but knew that his declaration had scared her too much for it to be concentrated enough to kill him. She was uneasy now, unsure of what he had learned while they were so close together.
Amatsu stepped forward. "Kagome," he barked, "finish this! Keep your concentration!"
"Yes, my lord," she answered dutifully. She moved towards Sesshoumaru, stalking him as her prey. "Why do you say things that are not true, Sesshoumaru?" she asked, trying to regain her confidence.
"I do not lie to you, Kagome," he responded with an eerie calm.
"Then tell me what you could smell that no one here can," she challenged. "Tell me how you plan to defeat me."
He remained silent, only moving to sheath Tokijin once more. His chest was tightening, and he realized too late that Kagome's last hit had hurt him much more deeply than he had known. Blood still rushed down over his armor and his breathing was becoming labored, but he used his remaining strength to calm himself, to steady his hand. Tenseiga pulsed beside him, telling him silently that it was ready.
"Tell me!" she screamed, bringing down another crash of lightening to his right. Washi jumped and clutched at his empty sleeve, but again the taiyoukai did not say a word.
"Concentrate your power, Kagome!" warned Amatsu. "You are mine!"
The hanyou ran forward, lifting her purifying claws to finish off the taiyoukai. Bringing down her right hand, powered almost entirely on rage, she was entirely shaken when Sesshoumaru deftly caught her wrist. He pulled the hanyou towards him with a rough jerk and smirked again at her stricken expression. "You are his at the moment," he whispered, "but the child growing within you is mine."
Kagome let loose an ear-splitting shriek and brought back her free hand to strike at him. The taiyoukai released her and, calling forth his poison claws, gave her a fierce blow across her chest as her own claws connected with his shoulder.
Amatsu and the two remaining pieces of the triumvirate cried out as Sesshoumaru and Kagome collapsed upon the ground. Washi dove forward as Tenseiga pulsed once more.
A second later, the god was alone with Kikyo and Inuyasha, staring at the bare patch of grass where their heart had last been seen.
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Washi opened his eyes, immediately shielding them from the bright light of the noonday sun. "Ouch," he grumbled, sitting up and stretching his wings. He felt as if cobwebs were in his head instead of brains. What had happened? Where was he?
A soft moan cleared his mind, as he turned his head to see his mother lying on her side, bleeding from the four parallel gashes in her chest. Beside her, Sesshoumaru was on his back with his own bloody injuries. The battle came rushing back into his mind as he scrambled over to Kagome. "Mama?" he asked hesitantly. Her hair was black and red once more, but it wasn't until she opened her eyes to reveal chocolate brown irises that he breathed a sigh of relief. "Mama? Can you sit up?"
She blinked and looked up at him, completely dazed.
Well, at least she isn't trying to kill anyone, the boy mused silently. He reached down put his hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should just lie on your back. I'm going to try to wake up Sesshoumaru-sama." Kagome allowed herself to be gently pushed onto her back, following his movements with her brown eyes.
He walked around her to the taiyoukai's side. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Golden eyes opened and focused immediately on the boy. "Where are we?" he said, his voice cracking slightly from lack of water.
Washi smiled. "Good, you can talk. I don't know where we are, but its daytime again, so we must have been asleep for a long time." He motioned to the blue sky, almost sighing with happiness that no supernatural clouds hung heavily over them with lightening and rain crashing down.
He nodded and looked past the child to Kagome's pale face. "Has she spoken yet?"
"No, she just looked at me when I talked to her."
Sesshoumaru struggled to sit up, exhausting himself with the simple action. "She might be in shock," he breathed. "My poison is corrosive."
He moved to place a hand on her forehead, but Kagome caught it in her own claws. "I'm fine," she whispered. "I was just remembering everything that happened while under Amatsu's power. It came back in a huge rush. I'm fine now."
Their eyes met for a brief second before they each glanced away, pulling their touch from the other, as if contact burned their skin. Sesshoumaru searched for something, anything to say. "What do you remember? It could help us defeat Amatsu."
She rubbed her temples as she rested upon the grass. "I… I can't make sense of it. It's just jumbled images." She lifted her hands in front of her face and stared at the dried blood upon them. "I killed demons, didn't I? I can't recall why, but I did it." Kagome took a deep breath and twisted her head to look at the taiyoukai's wounds. "And you! I hurt you too!"
"I will recover." He glanced at the torn skin on her chest, so deep that her breastbone was nearly peeking through. There were traces of green phosphorescence where his poison had gone particularly deep. "I harmed you as well, despite my oath."
Kagome closed her eyes. "It's alright, I can feel my skin knitting back together. I remember the fight. I deserved this. I was trying to kill you."
Keeping his gaze away from her, he asked softly, "Will you try again?" Is your recovery a trick of Amatsu? The unspoken question was almost tangible.
"I… I don't know," she answered. "I feel that his presence is gone from my mind, but I don't think a god would give up so easily. Perhaps if I made sense of these images in my mind." She shook her head, trying to clear away the confusion, but to no avail. She could see a demon with dark hair, dungeons filled with creatures, a pale demoness with empty eyes, and so much blood that Kagome could barely ponder it.
Sesshoumaru nodded, satisfied with her answer. If she had replied with a definitive 'yes' or 'no', he would have been extremely suspicious. Her uncertainty erased his own. "There are ways to create an order in the chaos of your mind," he said. "If you wish, I will help you when we return to the castle."
She laced her fingers together over her stomach. "I suppose that would be okay," she answered. Her hands suddenly splayed out on her lower abdomen, as a soft gasp escaped her lips.
"You remember that part as well, then," Sesshoumaru observed.
Kagome bit her lip. "Now I do."
Washi touched his mother's wrist. "But now we can all be together again, like we were." He caught the pained look on her face. "I mean, I thought you would be happy."
"Children are always a cause for joy," she answered, although her tone did not match her words. Then she smiled brilliantly, making both male demons catch their breath. "You're alive though," she whispered, as if she just realized it. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. "They told me you were dead."
The eagle child returned her embrace. "They did it so you would accept Amatsu. I heard them say it."
She sighed heavily. "I guess it worked then."
Washi didn't know how to respond, so he just hugged her tightly and stood up. "I'm going to find some water." He held up his hands before Kagome could say anything. "I'll be okay. Don't worry. If I see anyone strange, I'll come right back." He said it with a fierceness that conveyed his determination to not be a burden.
"Good boy," Kagome murmured with a smile, watching him wander off. As he disappeared into the forest, the hanyou breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted the boy to hear the inevitable conversation between her and the taiyoukai. It was too embarrassing. "So, what happens now?" She winced immediately. Could she be more vague?
He answered anyway. "We will return to the castle using my transportation cloud and you will go to see Jun in the infirmary immediately." He glanced at her injuries again, making sure not to meet her eyes. "My poison has some long term effects occasionally."
"That's not really what I meant." She sat up so that she didn't have his face at the corner of her vision, wincing again as the pain in her chest increased as she moved. "You said once that you didn't have any children, because illegitimate pups would be a dishonor to your family. That hasn't changed…"
Sesshoumaru frowned slightly. "No, it has not."
She worded her next question more carefully than the first, trying not to announce to the entire world that she was on the verge of tears. "Will this child be your heir then?"
In an instant, he felt as if his body was torn in two, each fighting the other half. His demon blood riled against the girl, demanding that he repay her rejection with one of his own, condemning the hanyou to a life of dishonor and poverty. His more sensible side warned him that he had his own honor to uphold, and that meant taking her as his mate and claiming the child to be his heir. There may not be another chance like this, he knew. Female demons were much more frequently infertile than humans and conception was rare.
If nothing else, the dog lord was honorable. And yet, his anger against Kagome was still palpable. She betrayed him and his trust. Why should he accept her back so willingly when she had tossed his offer aside once before? Saving her from the grip of Amatsu did not mean that he wished for reconciliation. He remembered the fear that twisted his heart, the thought that she might be injured or worse at the hands of the god. But he was not ready to admit anything more than the fact that he had made a promise and was bound to uphold it.
His conflicting emotions led him to the coward's answer, one that he regretted as soon as it passed his lips. "We will talk of the situation at a later date. We have some time yet."
Kagome tried not to let the disappointment she felt in her heart show in her face. "Okay. May I ask how long I have? How long do dog demons carry their pups?"
"Six months," he answered rigidly.
"Humans take nine months," she replied softly, talking more to herself than the dog demon. "It's just a guess, but it'll probably be about seven months."
They sat in awkward silence for a few moments, refusing to look at one another. It felt as there was a great chasm between them, wide enough so that no demon could cross to the other side. So much had changed in just a few short days that they didn't know where to begin. Despite all they had been through, they were strangers once again. And yet, they had a bond between them greater than many of the greatest friends and lovers had, nestled in Kagome's womb.
Kagome had always assumed that her first child would be the source of the greatest joy. How many times had she imagined having her own baby with Inuyasha, with tiny ears and fangs that even the male hanyou could not help but love? How many times had she thought of her mother cooing at her first grandchild, when they visited through the well each week, with Sota and Grandpa smiling in the distance? If she admitted the truth, she resented Sesshoumaru horribly for taking those dreams away from her.
She rubbed her belly, thinking of what a three-fourths demon would look like. Sesshoumaru probably resented her as well, she realized, for forcing his hand with this tainted child. Every time the dog lord and Inuyasha had met, Sesshoumaru sneered down upon the hanyou's heritage, and she was certain he felt no more blessed by this child than if locusts suddenly descended upon his crops.
Maybe she should go to Kaede, explain the situation and wait out her time there. She needn't burden the taiyoukai with a child he had no love for. The old woman would understand and they would raise the child together, eventually teaching it to protect the village, as Inuyasha had once done. It would be a fair trade, the best she could make of the situation. Perhaps even Myoga could help.
She wouldn't suggest it now, though. She was well aware of how strongly Sesshoumaru felt about other people interfering with his plans. She remembered what happened the last time she threatened to do so. It would be better if she just remained silent on the matter for the time being. When the thought of fatherhood with a hanyou child struck him full force, then she would suggest parting ways again.
"How did you know I'm pregnant?" she asked suddenly, breaking the uneasy silence and trading it for uneasy conversation. "Not even Amatsu knew."
Sesshoumaru looked up from his inspection of his wounds, satisfied that they were already healing. "The male is always the first to know," he answered, "so that he may start to protect the female as soon as possible. It is a defense mechanism against predators. Expectant mothers can be easy prey."
"I see."
The conversation, already gasping for breath, died and they sat in silence until Washi returned, the smell of spring water hovering around him. His pleased expression dropped as he looked at the two adults sitting in an uncomfortable quiet. "Um, so are we going back now?"
The taiyoukai nodded and conjured a small transportation cloud, keeping enough energy so that they could make it to his city. He watched as Washi helped his mother onto the downy surface, making sure they were secure before lifting off the ground. Kagome lay down immediately and turned away from the taiyoukai, so that their backs were facing each other.
Washi sat between the hanyou and taiyoukai as the landscape shrank away beneath them. Kagome held his hand tightly and he squeezed it, trying to wordlessly reassure her that everything would turn out all right. He knew that it would have been much more convincing if only he believed it himself.
"So, Mama, what will you name the baby?" he asked gently. He was trying very hard to accept this new information gracefully, trying not to let jealousy of the new child seep into his heart. At least the news had answered all those questions he had, although some of it disturbed him quiet deeply. He noticed that Kagome wasn't answering, so he tried again. "What will you name the baby if it's a girl?"
"Kaiya," she answered without hesitation.
Washi frowned. He wanted to ask what she meant by it, although he didn't have to ask what it meant.
Forgiveness.8888888888888888888888888888
A/N: Whew! That really took a lot out of me. I actually did quite a bit of research for this chapter. Dogs amazingly are only pregnant for two months, so I tacked on extra time for the whole demon thing. Anyway, I'm just rambling now. On to the review responses!
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