Okay, for those of you who've ever read any of my LOST or X-Men: Evo fanfics know that I like to give a soundtrack to my stories, and have the time they have nothing to do with the story. Well, this chapter is put to the music of the gypsy goddess Stevie Nicks herself, with "Stand Back". Haha! Just got the best hits and love it!
"Step away from him, dog boy!"
Master Tashio looked around in confusion before catching sight of the woman behind his son, who was still a bit shell-shocked. "Are you speaking to me?"
Kagome held up the bow and arrow in her hand and nodded. "That man is under my protection and I will not allow you to harm him."
Master Tashio laughed. "You think to stop me?"
"I don't think...I do." Kagome fired an arrow at the demon, singeing him and nearly hitting Suikotsu (who, by the way, was just fine, if you forgive the small bite marks on his abdomen).
"You shot at me!" Master Tashio asked incredulously. No woman had ever dared to attack him...he was MASTER OF THE WESTERN LANDS! You just DON'T DO THAT!
"Yep...and look, here I go again!" Kagome notched another arrow and fired. This time, however, he was ready and dodged the arrow.
"Huh, this is fun," Tashio murmured aloud as he weaved through the trees to come around to the back of her, hoping to catch her by surprise. Impossible to take a miko by surprise but of course he had no idea she was a miko.
Kagome threw a wave of purifying energy behind her and heard a surprised yelp. She'd hit him but he wouldn't stay down long. She needed to speak with Sesshomaru.
"Sesshomaru...Sesshomaru! (God, you have long name) Sesshy!" Kagome yelled at the now kneeling demon. He had his long-lost arm cradled near him and was concentrating on it.
"It's...back."
"What?"
"My arm," Sesshomaru replied, he removed his right arm and showed Kagome that his left arm was reattaching itself to his shoulder.
"Eww..."
"It is demon."
"Huh?"
"When a demon loses an appendage, unless it is completely destroyed it will seek it's owner."
"Like my blood blades?"
"Yes. My arm seeks me," Sesshomaru said, sounding awed by the process. The muscles and bones had already attached and know the skin was tightening and bringing arm and shoulder into alignment. As Sesshomaru wiggled his newly returned fingers, Kagome felt slightly nauseous. This was truly a disgusting thing.
"Are you okay now?"
"I am better than okay. I am perfect."
"I wouldn't go that far."
"What?"
"Nothing. So you gonna help me with your pops? He's trying to kill me and Suikotsu."
"Why should I help you miko?" Sesshomaru grinned, revealing his sharp canines, and held out his new arm. "I am returned to full power."
"Excuse me?"
"I no longer need you, but you need me. What do you propose?"
"Propose? Let's get this straight, Sesshomaru; I am..."
"No longer in the best position. I am in control of the situation and I will set the conditions. We will still mate, but you will defer to me. I will decide what we do and when. You will be wife in the manner I choose. I will be in charge of our relationship...and you will discontinue the one with Bankotsu."
Kagome stared at him uncomprehending. "Wha-..."
Sesshomaru stepped close and turned his face into her hair, breathing deep. "I can smell him on you. It is as strong as if he were inside you yesterday. This will not continue." Sesshomaru grasped Kagome's arms and drew her tight to him, looking into her eyes. "You are mine and no other man shall have you. The deal is sealed; we will mate at the next full moon."
For the first time since arriving back in the Feudal Era, Kagome felt fear. Why was this dog demon so suddenly possessive? He'd gone from uncaring one moment and greedy and needy the second. Kagome struggled out of his grasp and decided to ignore this new development (for now). They had to deal with a resurrected demon first.
"We are nothing if your goddamned father kills us!" Kagome pointed to behind her, but Master Tashio wasn't there any longer. She threw open her senses and barely had time to push Sesshomaru out of the way before Tashio landed right in front of her.
"Such delectable meat...and I'm so hungry!" Tashio ground his teeth. He pulled Kagome close by her hair and scented her neck, then grinned in the same manner of his son.
He had no time to take up the unspoken threat of eating however. Sesshomaru hit him at that moment in full ram mode and knocked him away. "Hands off my mate."
"Mate? My son has mated? To a human!" Tashio roared with laughter and sought a way to properly express how funny this was. "That's...that's...it's...hahaha..."
"Dude, he's laughing at you..." Kagome whispered to Sesshomaru, who was not taking the situation well.
Sesshomaru grasped Tenseiga where it lay against his hip and unsheathed it. Then swinging it he sent a wave of healing energy to where Master Tashio stood laughing. You see, Sesshomaru believes that his father is just another of Naraku's clay dirt and water creations, a person brought back but not truly alive. If that had been the case, Tashio would have been destroyed if that had been the case, but Tashio had been resurrected using something other than that process. Even Kagome was surprised when nothing happened to Tashio.
He had stopped laughing. "You attack me? My son?"
"Yes."
Tashio bowed his head for one moment before shifting into a defensive stance. "So be it."
Sesshomaru and Tashio rushed each other, bringing their swords together in a clash of steel and other magics. They rebounded off each other and charged again. Kagome took advantage of their distraction to see how Suikotsu was doing.
"Suikotsu," she whispered fervently as she kneeled by her entombed friend.
The small man, no longer fully the warrior he had been as Suikotsu, looked at Kagome from beneath his ink black hair and grinned. "I'm a little tired...and hungry..."
"When we get you free, we'll take care of that." Kagome studied the cliff and spared a glance to the fighting dogs behind her. They had lost their swords and were fighting hand to hand. Soon they would change to their real demon form and then every thing in the area would be destroyed, including her and Suikotsu. Dogs were notorious for not caring about anyone or anything else when they went all demony.
Kagome placed her hands on the stones around Suikotsu and began to push her energy into it. She could not cause the cliff to explode for that would surely kill Suikotsu as well, but she did have a plan that might work. Sesshomaru was no help to her at the moment so she would have to rely on herself, as usual.
Underneath her hands the wall began to waver and loosen its substance. The wall began to dissipate around Suikotsu and slowly he slid through the gaseous wall and onto the grass just outside the cliff. Kagome released the hold she had on the wall and too sank to the ground. That had taken a lot of her energy and she could feel herself sinking into sleep. Just as the last of her energy sapped out of her she whispered, "Sesshomaru."
Her last sight was of a large white dog coming towards her.
The sight of his intended mate falling unconscious woke Sesshomaru from the almost trance-like blood heat in him. Blood-heats were rare for upper level demons, unlike regular heats. A heat for a demon was an uncontrollable urge to do something, usually being to mate. Rarely, however, a blood heat would take over and cause the demon it affected to seek to spill blood, anyone's blood for any amount of time. It was one of the worst things that could happen to a demon, often causing said demon to massacre families, sometimes his own, and many towns. It has even been seen that a demon decimate an entire country.
Kagome had whispered his name and dragged his attention from where he had grasped his father neck with his teeth. Shaking his head fiercely he tossed his father far into the trees. Then, walking to her fallen body, he transferred his body from his true form to his human form. Sesshomaru kneeled by her body and gently swept her long braid off her face. He lifted her into his arms and started to carry her away, only thinking of her safety when another scent reached him.
Suikotsu was out of the cliff and too unconscious. Sesshomaru's first thought was that he had failed, and Kagome would not be his mate. Then another thought came to him, she was unconscious and would never know that Suikotsu had survived. For all she knew he could have died and in her grief she would reach for him, Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles and considered covering Suikotsu in poison and doing exactly that when he realized that he didn't want Kagome by treacherous means. He wanted her to want him back and not because he'd tricked her. Sesshomaru...cared...for her. Creepy.
Special thanks to Hermonine, Angel-Assain, royal blueKitsune, Sesshomaru's Miko, and Kagome of the Western Lands for reviewing and loving my story!
Destinyheart15: Yeah, Fluffy's dad. Wasn't expecting it were you? Yeah, I like throwing twists in there. And yeah, Bankotsu is sexy. That's why I made him have a relationship with Kagome. Cause she's sexy too. In a purely platonic way. Eww, not the big metal one! EWW!
Kogasgirl142: AH! Another BEP fan...I'm so happy...I love Union, and Pump It, but I really love My Style, Bebot, Ba Bump, and Audio Delite...yeah, I love the whole damn CD.I also love My Humps...cause it's naughty.
Bizzet: Yeah baby! A nine...A NINE!
I'm actually really sick right now. Can't keep anything down, including water. Fever, cough, head ache...you guys are lucky you have this chapter...Okay, so yeah! Chapter 8...it's good. Keep reading and reviewing...next chapter...a little more R& R...if anyone knows what that means...