Stolen Moments
...OOO...
The door of the shrine burst open as Sesshomaru strode in bringing with him a gust of cold wind. Instantly his eyes fell on Kikyo lying on the altar.
Something was wrong.
"You're too late," Aiko told him blankly from her kneeling position in front of it. "She'll be his soon."
It did not take his keen sense of hearing to notice the alteration in her voice, and he knew- whoever this was now, it wasn't the same as the priestess from earlier that afternoon.
Reading his intuition, the woman reached back and tugged her long hair over her shoulder to reveal the back of her neck stamped with the unmistakable emblem of a spider.
She smirked, "She was useless after performing the ritual rites. The old bag never knew what bit her."
From her stone bed, Kikyo moaned softly, an expression of deep pain etching itself on her face. Pushing past the old woman, he reached for the incantation scroll binding her hands.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Naraku's puppet laughingly warned him. "Unless, of course, you'd prefer to trap her inside her own mind forever." Then she shrugged, "Then again, I suppose it doesn't matter. Either way my master wins."
Unable to stand her banter any longer, Sesshomaru cut her down and she crumpled to the ground but did not bleed as her body shriveled and turned to dust before his eyes, swept away by the invading wind to leave only her garments behind.
It had all been a set up, he scowled to himself. Naraku had planned this from the very beginning and like blind fools, they had fallen right into it.
Kikyo muttered softly in her trance, and he turned his attention to her. The pained look was gone now, replaced by eyebrows creased slightly in confusion.
In her sleep she whispered the name that chilled him, "Naraku?"
...ooo...
"Naraku?" Kikyo asked bewildered as he leaned over her, brushing away a strand of hair which had fallen across her face. The name sounded familiar, but she didn't know why. "Do I know you?"
"Yes," he answered, unconcerned with her disorientation. It had been too much for her. He knew it would be- he had counted on it.
"Who are you?" Something... something in him evoked something inside her- awakened a strange energy that was her own but wasn't. But she didn't know what... just something.
He smiled down at her, "I'm the one who loves you, the one who'll take care of you. From now on you won't have to worry anymore. You'll never have to hurt again."
But she frowned, examining his face. Why? Why couldn't she remember?
...ooo...
Sesshomaru fixed his gaze on her. Should he break the spell? he wondered? Rip apart those damn scrolls? Blow out the incense?
But no, he couldn't take that chance. It was too risky...
On impulse he reached over and placed his hand over hers and, not knowing what else to do, spoke, "Kikyo."
...ooo...
Kikyo.
The name echoed in the darkness, and both she and Naraku glanced up as if expecting to see the speaker.
"Kikyo?" she pronounced the name as if it were foreign to her tongue.
Naraku frowned in aggravation.
...ooo...
"Kikyo?"
Sesshomaru almost withdrew his hand from hers as she echoed him.
She had heard?
Tentatively he answered, "Yes. That's your name."
...ooo...
Kikyo... she thought, and remembered. Yes. That was her name.
As the knowledge seeped in, she didn't notice Naraku's image fade as he glowered at the offending voice in the darkness.
That damn dog... how? How was he doing this?
In his arms, Kikyo shifted, trying to decipher the direction the voice was coming from. It sounded so familiar... so why couldn't she place it?
Aloud she asked, "Who... are you?"
...ooo...
The question struck him bitterly.
She does not know?
But swallowing his pride, he replied softly, "Sesshomaru."
...ooo...
"Sesshomaru?" Yes... she knew that name as well. And with more confidence, she repeated, "Sesshomaru... Where are you?"
"Here." He appeared beside her, replacing Naraku who had vanished with her inattention. Kneeling down, he fingered her hair carefully, mindful of his sharp claws. "What happened?"
"I don't know," she murmured, shifting her face to rest against his hand. "Too many doors... a girl and a mother..." little by little bits and pieces were coming back to her. "Lots of gray and black... and red... so much red... Why does it hurt so much?"
He heard the distress in her voice as she tried to remember, and it pained him.
"It's alright," he told her gently.
Dropping down completely, he slid his arm under her and pulled her to him, trying to comfort her.
It was alright, right? It was only in her head. It was only a dream... she would never know...
She melted into him, burying her head in the soft fur, and sighed peacefully.
He feels so nice... so warm and strong and... safe. The word reverberated in her mind, triggering more memories. Safe.
"It's so dark in here," she commented.
"It doesn't have to be," he responded.
She slid herself further up his body until she was completely on his lap, her head resting on his shoulder, and wordlessly he reached his hand to stroke it tenderly before dropping his arm to wrap around her slim waist.
They didn't speak as the scenery around them evolved, and he leaned back a little. Now they were sitting under a blossoming cherry tree on a low hill, a light breeze stirring the flowers, the grass, and their hair. It was night, but there was a large full moon bathing them in its diffused light, interrupted now and again only by wisps of passing clouds.
"Sesshomaru..." her voice had lost its childish undertones, and he knew she was herself again.
"Hm?"
Yes, she remembered it all now- where she was and how she got there... but it didn't seem to matter. At this very moment, at least, it couldn't touch her.
It was alright, wasn't it? It was only in her mind. She was only dreaming... he'd never know...
"Will you stay with me? Until I wake up?"
"Yes," he promised. "I'll stay with you."
...OOO...