The war was not going well for the Western and Southern allies. Despite having greater numbers, their enemies had the advantage of air attacks, due to the abilities of the bats of the North.
Lord Yukio, along with his family and nobles, had been forced to take refuge with Lord Katsuro. The bears, Lord Yukio reported, fought violently and unnaturally like themselves. Lord Susumu had pushed his border so far south that the royal wolf family had been in danger.
At hearing of the bears' strange behavior, the Lord Katsuro began to wonder if the youkai of the East were in fact being manipulated by another powerful being.
Finally, Lord Katsuro declared, "We have no other choice. We must seek the aid of the Earth Angels."
"Do such creatures even exist?" Lord Yukio inquired, not bothering to hide his skepticism.
Katsuro's glance at his son was nearly imperceptible. "We can only hope that they do. They are our only chance."
"Why would they fight, if they have not made themselves known by now?" Sesshoumaru asked dryly.
"Because the Central Lands will undoubtedly become a target of the North and East in the future," his father replied.
By the end of the meeting, the decision agreed upon was to send an envoy. In a diplomatic show of good faith, both Sesshoumaru and Lord Yukio's eldest son, Kouga, would go as emissaries. Lord Yukio, though, insisted on a small group of guardsmen to accompany them.
"They may be hostile," he had asserted. Sesshoumaru had resisted releasing an undignified snort at the remark.
Sesshoumaru did not care for Kouga, who was nearly the same age, and dreaded traveling with the annoying wolf youkai. The wolf wore armor and fur, and little else. And as Sesshoumaru had predicted, Kouga was continually trying to incite conversation, usually about some female or other. Consequently, Sesshoumaru continually ignored the wolf.
As they neared the border of the Western Lands to the forest, Sesshoumaru's minded was flooded with childhood memories of more enjoyable times in his life. Finally, Kouga lost his temper. "What is your problem? Are you into men or something?"
Sesshoumaru saw his guards send glances his way, and growled at Kouga. Not only had the wolf dared to insult him, but Kouga's words had caused Sesshoumaru to lose some of the respect of his guards. He had to respond, if only to save his reputation. "No, I simply do not bed every female lure that is thrown at me," Sesshoumaru mocked.
"Why, you—" Kouga's retort was cut off as one of their guards cried out, a dagger in his chest. Blood bloomed from the wound as it soaked the surrounding material.
"Take cover!" one of the sentries managed before he choked on an arrow that suddenly appeared in his throat.
Arrows began to rain down as the group sought cover under the trees. Those still standing grabbed their weapons. Sesshoumaru and Kouga, along with several others, withdrew swords. Those with bows and arrows attempted to take down their airborne attackers—bat youkai.
Both bear and bat youaki came through the trees to attack them. The number of enemies was not great, but with the assault from the sky, the guards continued to fall, and Kouga and Sesshoumaru were not unscathed.
Suddenly an arrow struck Kouga just above his knee, and his leg gave. Sesshoumaru moved to stand over Kouga's injured form. Only two guards remained standing. The ambush had been unforeseen by all. They had not known that their enemies had advanced so far into the Western Lands, and the group had been unprepared.
All hope seemed lost. 'Kagome…' Sesshoumaru thought helplessly as he blocked another attack.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several bear youkai fall dead. Arrows broke from the tree canopy and brought down a few of the flying bat demons.
The arrows were followed by creatures with large feathered wings.
More of the winged beings came into his sight to engage the bear and bat youkai fighting on the ground. Sesshoumaru lowered his weapon slightly as no enemies came near enough to endanger him or Kouga.
"Shit…" he heard Kouga murmur in awe. Their unknown allies were indeed a sight to behold. They all wore the similar, tight-fitting outfits that varied in color as much as their wings did. "Look out!" Kouga suddenly yelled.
Sesshoumaru brought his head up to see multiple daggers thrown in his direction. He parried a few with his sword, but knew he could not block all of them.
An intense blue suddenly clouded his vision, and the clang of metal on metal met his ears. When the sound stopped, the small blades were hilt deep in the ground and in nearby tree trunks.
Before Sesshoumaru stood an Earth Angel, back to him. Wings of a deep sapphire met his eyes, contrasting with the black attire and midnight hair; wings that were only a few shades darker than the brilliant blue eyes that met his as the figure turned to face him.
"Sesshoumaru," she whispered warmly.
He studied her. Her hair was longer, reaching the small of her back, like his. She was taller and fuller, but her apparel was less revealing than that of the other females among her group. Her shirt had no sleeves, but the top tapered in towards the neck, where it tied beneath her hair. The back was open, to allow her wings free reign. She wore skintight pants and boots, as well as armguards. At her waist were twin swords.
He knew her scent of fresh rain immediately.
Sesshoumaru dropped his sword carelessly to the ground, but he had taken no more than a single step forward when one of his two remaining guards stepped between them. The other aided Kouga in standing.
"We thank you for saving us," Sesshoumaru's guard spoke. "But who are you?"
Sesshoumaru glared at the guard's back, but before either could speak, another spoke.
"We are Earth Angels," one of them said. He was tall and broad; his wings were a pale jade. His attire was a forest green that complimented his tanned skin. "What is your business here?"
Sesshoumaru straightened. He had dealing to attend to. If he did not perform accordingly, he knew he would receive more than a tongue-lashing from his father upon his return. "I am Sesshoumaru, son of Lord Katsuro of the Western Lands."
"And I'm Kouga, son of Lord Yukio of the Southern Lands," Kouga added.
"Why are you here?" the man repeated. Sesshoumaru thought the man rather rude for not introducing himself.
His gaze was drawn back to Kagome, and her eyes twinkled in amusement. She sensed his agitation and knew the reason for it. She stepped forward, ignoring the pointed glance from the emerald-eyed man.
"My name is Kagome," she said with a bow. "And this," she gestured to the man who had spoken, "is Matsu. May I ask why you are traveling so near to the Sentoraru Forest?"
"We came seeking allies for the current war," Sesshoumaru informed them, though his eyes never left Kagome.
"No," Matsu stated firmly.
Kagome smacked him lightly on the arm. "You don't have the authority to decide that," she told him sternly. She turned to address Sesshoumaru and his group. "None of us here do. Come, we will take you to the Elders. You can speak with them of the affair, and we can treat your wounded."
Sesshoumaru nodded, and makeshift stretchers were created to carry those who could not walk. Matsu led him and the wounded away, while Kagome and the other Earth Angels remained behind.
"Are they not coming?" Sesshoumaru inquired of the dark man.
"They will, once they restore the area and finish the patrol."
"Restore?"
Matsu seemed reluctant to speak. "We are the guardians of this forest. They will remove all signs that anything unusual took place."
"Including the marks on the trees and ground?"
Matsu remained silent, but another Earth Angel, who was carrying Kouga's stretcher, confirmed his suspicion. "We are Earth Angels," she said, earning a glare from Matsu.
Sesshoumaru was lead to a community that was literally within the forest. Homes were built around and inside the largest of the trees, nearly camouflaging the entire village.
Inside, however, he found the wood intricately carved in designs so elaborate that he could not always determine what they were. Vines seemed to be allowed to grow at will, twining with natural grace along the ceilings and walls.
Sesshoumaru was guided up a spiral staircase to a huge room with a domed roof that was vacant except for a few Earth Angels sitting at a large table at the far end: the Elders.
The Elders were simply an assembly of older Earth Angels, though their age showed in their appearance only as well as Sesshoumaru's father's did.
Sesshoumaru presented to them all of the reasons that they should join in the fight against the East and North. He answered their questions as best he could, keeping no information from them.
As the Elders were talking amongst themselves, Sesshoumaru became aware of Kagome's approaching scent. Apparently, so did the Elders.
"Ah, Kagome has arrived," announced one, and an instant later, Kagome opened the ornate doors he had arrived through, and stepped into the room.
"Kagome," said one of the Elders, a woman with orange eyes and hair, and bright red wings. "What say you about this war?"
Kagome smiled then, the same smile Sesshoumaru remembered. "Today I was going to request an increase in patrols. This war is getting too close to the borders of the forest for comfort."
"We have not fought in a war in centuries," argued another.
"All the more reason," Kagome replied confidently. "Other races have forgotten that we exist. Yes, for that very reason we were not bothered before, but now, with this war, others will think nothing is to stop them from taking our forest. We should reaffirm our place in this world."
"Do not forget your place, Kagome," warned one.
"But she speaks wisely," the fiery female interjected.
"We certainly are not unprepared for a war," the one who proclaimed Kagome's arrival, a man with black hair and grey wings, as well as brown eyes, said. "Kagome, do you think we should aid the Lords of the West and South?"
"Yes. If we do not ally ourselves now, we will all lose."
The conference ended soon after. Kagome, along with several others, agreed to return with Sesshoumaru and his party to speak with the Lords personally.
Once they had adjourned, chaos seemed to ensue as arrangements were made. Sesshoumaru briefly lost sight of Kagome, but she appeared abruptly at his side. Delicately, she took his hand and escorted him away from the commotion.
She brought him to a room that he assumed to be her own, rather sparsely decorated. Besides the natural browns and greens, only the blues and purples of her bedspread and pillows provided any color.
"Yeah, I know. It's plain," she said, as if reading his mind. "But I'm rarely here, anyway." She looked at him and sighed. "I've missed you."
She reached out a hand, as if to touch his face, but she was instantly pulled into an embrace. "So long, Kagome… it's been so long."
"Too long," she agreed, a few tears leaking from beneath her closed eyelids.
He pulled back and brushed them away, reveling in the feel of her pale, soft skin against his own.
Kagome looked up into his eyes and her lips formed a wry smile. "You always did have to be taller than I am, didn't you?" she asked playfully.
She sat on the futon and gestured for him to sit beside her. "Now, tell me what I missed while I was away." She could tell by the coldness in his eyes that he had experienced much in her absence.
Sesshoumaru released years of unexpressed emotion while once again in Kagome's gentle presence. He spoke first of his father. Kagome empathized, but pointed out how much he had learned from his father's training. Sesshoumaru reluctantly admitted that he had ascertained great knowledge from his father.
Then Sesshoumaru began to speak of his mother. At some point, they had shifted position, and Sesshoumaru lay on her bed with his head in Kagome's lap. As he talked, Kagome ran soothing fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp and gently brushing against his sensitive ears.
When Sesshoumaru described his mother's second attempt at suicide, Kagome's fingers froze in their calming movements, and Sesshoumaru's words stopped as well.
"Kagome? Kagome, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting up.
"Come quickly," was all she said, and, grabbing his hand, she pulled him hastily out of the room.
"Kagome, where are we going?" he demanded, though he still followed obediently behind her.
"The reason you lost her scent," Kagome said rapidly, "is because she has been hiding it. She did not want to be found."
Before Sesshoumaru could say another word, Kagome knocked briskly on a door. Not waiting for an answer, she pushed Sesshoumaru inside and closed the door behind him.
There, sitting before him with a book in her hands and a surprised expression on her face, was the woman he had grieved for and missed as much as Kagome. The familiar features, the loving eyes. Eyes devoid of the emptiness they had once held. "Mother…?"
hi: I will try! Thank you for the review!
Kagome21: Yes, Kagome is ten years older than Sesshoumaru. I am glad that you are enjoying the story. Thanks for reviewing!
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