Disclaimer: As you all know, I own not Inuyasha, for my anime is nowhere near the utmost skill of Rumiko Takahashi. (sulks)
Chapter Two. Great Haven of the Western Territories
Kagome grasped Sesshoumaru's hand shakily. She could do this…she pulled herself up, using him for support. (A/N: In this fanfic, we are pretending that Sesshoumaru still has his other arm, because I have no idea what happened in that respect…please don't kill me. He probably looks better with two arms anyways; thank you very much.) She smiled more confidently as he slowly let go of her hands, ready to catch her if she fell. Rin stood on the other side of Kagome, who tentatively took a step, and smiled brilliantly. "I knew I could do it," she whispered. Sesshoumaru patiently watched her take a few steps in a straight line. She sighed contentedly and caught her balance before she toppled over, but found that Sesshoumaru had instinctively moved behind her and steadied her. She smiled her thanks and leaned against him, getting used to putting pressure on her legs again, but taking a small break. He easily supported her, and she probably stayed there a bit longer than she needed to, but he calmly waited for her to try again, stubborn wench that she was. Of course, she did start to walk more again, quickly regaining the strength in her legs, though her various sprains had kept her immobile for almost one-and-a-half weeks. "Okay, I'm ready," she announced. "Ready for what?"
"Well, you've been waiting to go, so if you still want me to come along, seeing as you saved me and all, I'm ready!" He was a little taken aback by this. He cocked his head at her, staring at her confident expression diagonally, then righted himself, and kept his voice calm and controlled. "Are you completely insane? You've only started walking today, stubborn wench." She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. Did he sound…worried? About her? "Oh. Okay," she replied, then paused, and began to walk hesitantly away. "Where are you going now?" he demanded. She rolled her eyes. "To take a bath. I stink. So would you if you hadn't in that long." His nose twitched slightly. He shouldn't have let her get up at all. A nagging voice at the back of his head taunted, 'you're turning into your father, Sesshoumaru. Soft.' Sesshoumaru pushed the thought further back, and turned his attention to Rin, then realized that the girl had run off after Kagome. He frowned in confusion. Why did it feel so safe, having Rin follow Kagome around like that, or even having Inuyasha's wench around. Kagome carried a great sense of security for many, obviously. Perhaps Inuyasha wasn't all crazy for liking her, after all.
Three days later, Kagome was up and around, barely resting at all. Once she'd got up on her feet, she'd recovered swiftly, regaining her strength satisfactorily. There were no threatening demons in the vicinity, and Sesshoumaru knew that Rin grew tired of traveling easily. Therefore, he would take them to a haven, a place in the Western Territories that he visited rarely, and which stood nearly empty until he arrived there. He would stay, if only for a little while, and then continue his search for Naraku. That had been the plan, anyways. Inuyasha's wench changed his plans considerably. He had a feeling that she played a crucial role in the defeat of Naraku. She possessed a shard of the shikon no tama, he knew. Kagome was playing with Rin as they walked. She heaved Rin onto her back and twirled around. Sesshoumaru turned. "Don't wear yourself out. We don't rest until nightfall." Kagome obediently lowered Rin to the ground, not hesitating to continue playing at ground level. Sesshoumaru tried not to smile, and forced a frown. How did she fit in so well, so quickly? Rin had immediately adopted her as a mother/sister-like figure, and Jaken didn't complain as much in her presence. That could be because if he complained anymore, Sesshoumaru would not hesitate to sever his head from his body.
Kagome halted suddenly, turning a ghostly pale, and he smelled fear all over her. He reached her in time to keep her from hitting the ground. "N-Naraku," she gasped, struggling to grasp something seemingly attached to the inner fold of her kimono. She yanked out a tiny shard of the shikon jewel, which appeared as though scorched, stained a deep charcoal black. A dark glow emanated from it, and she felt as though something was reaching out and choking her. "Kagome?" She blinked blurrily, keeping focus. 'Don't fall asleep…' "Kagome."
"S-Sesshoumaru…" Her eyes involuntarily closed, and she fell limp.
"It will be all the easier to retrieve the shikon no tama now that the hanyou and the miko are gone. Kagura?" Kagura frowned. Kanna stepped up boldly. "Kagura has received disturbing news from one of our spies." Naraku frowned. "What is it?"
"The miko, Kagome, is still alive." Naraku slammed his fist down, infuriated. "Then what are you waiting for?" His words were like ice. "Go and kill her." Kagura shook her head. "It will not be that easy. There is a reason that Kagome is alive."
"What? Spit it out." Kanna remained monotonous. "Sesshoumaru."
Kagome gasped as she awakened. She scrambled up frantically, alarming Sesshoumaru, who had been sitting with her in his arms. She spoke quickly, hyperventilating. "Naraku…he- he found out I'm here. He's sending Kagura to kill me!" Sesshoumaru twitched. He could beat Kagura, but Kagome and Rin could be hurt, for Naraku was sure to devise some sort of trick. He bent down. "Get on my back." She frowned in confusion. "But…don't you transform to do that?" He rolled his eyes. "I can take you and Rin without transforming easily; now get on." Kagome obliged, followed by Rin. Jaken scrambled around below. "What shall I do, my lord?"
"Meet us there." Jaken appeared quite flustered. "Where, my lord?" Sesshoumaru just looked at him blankly, and Jaken remembered. "Oh! I'm so sorry, my lord. Of course, my lord." (A/N: Pathetic toad-boy) Sesshoumaru took of with immense speed toward a haven of the Western Territories.
Kagome realized suddenly that she was still clutching the shikon shard. She unraveled it from her palm, and was calmed and distressed to see that it was no longer black. Calm because she wasn't feeling as sick, and distressed because that meant that Naraku had formed a plan. Sesshoumaru sensed this, but found it wiser not to say anything. She suddenly looked around her and noted that Sesshoumaru had stopped. They were inside a massive hall. She climbed off of his back cautiously. Rin followed her. "What is this place?" Kagome asked in wonder. Sesshoumaru shrugged slightly. "It is the third haven of the Western Territories. You'll both be safe here." Kagome stepped around the hall slowly. "This is one room? I could fit my house into here!" Sesshoumaru assumed that a house was some kind of hut. "Would you like something to eat?" She glanced at the long table at the far end of the hall. "At that?" He smirked. "Usually Rin and I eat at a smaller table." He led her and Rin into another room, where there was a smaller table and a set of six chairs. A small demon girl strode in with a tray. Kagome raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How did she know to make dinner? This quickly?"
"They make dinner every night for themselves. When I arrive, they bring a portion into this room." Kagome shrugged. "Oh. I guess." Three plates of delicious-looking noodles greeted her eyes. Her stomach growled. After all, she hadn't eaten for about a week. She picked up her chopsticks eagerly and commenced shoving noodles into her mouth, not really caring whether or not she was being polite. Her stomach agreed vehemently. Rin also ate quickly, more out of childish habit, but Sesshoumaru seemed to savor each bit, and Kagome (in her present state of hunger) couldn't understand how he wasn't shoveling it in. The food on the plates disappeared quickly, despite Sesshoumaru's "slow" eating. Kagome smiled in contentment. "That was good." The corners of Sesshoumaru's mouth twitched in humor. Rin nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama." Kagome glanced toward him, remembering her manners at the last minute. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru," she murmured. Her eyes had more sparkle in them, though the fatigue was still there, and dark shadows encircled the lower half of her eyes. Rin shifted impatiently, then skipped out of the room. "Where's she off to?" Kagome asked in surprise. Sesshoumaru smiled as he watched Rin flit away airily. "To her room to play, I suppose." The room was silent. Kagome automatically began to pile the plates onto the tray. Sesshoumaru observed her mildly. "Kagome." The miko looked up. "Hmm?"
"Neko-Chan collects the dishes, Kagome. You don't need to." She realized what she was doing. "Oh. I guess. That demon girl…she was a cat demon?" Sesshoumaru nodded. Once more, there was silence. "Are you tired, Kagome?" She shrugged. "A bit." He shook his head. "Come. I'll show you where you may sleep." She nodded as he took her hand to lead her out. She smiled softly, wistfully, and stopped. "What are you doing?" she whispered. He had been subconsciously rotating his thumb in the palm of her hand, sending surprising shivers up her spine. He raised an eyebrow, then stopped when he realized what he was doing. Was that red tinting his cheeks? "Sorry," he mumbled stiffly. She shook her head thoughtfully. "That's okay. It felt kind of…nice." She smiled, and he'd already released her hand. Out of an act of curiosity, she reached out and felt his white, fluffy boa. It was so soft. She stepped closer and pressed it to her cheek. "Soft," she murmured. Sesshoumaru stared down at the miko in disbelief. How was it that she could do this? What ever she was doing. She seemed to sense his discomfort, and gently linked her arm with his. She spoke quietly. "I thought that you were showing me to a room?" He blinked, then nodded, taking her up a winding corridor of carpeted stairs. She gasped as he led her into a pure, almost crystalline white room. Rin poked her head in, frowning in confusion, but was silent as to what she was confused about. "Rin brought a pretty kimono of Neko's for you to wear, Kagome-sama. Yours is dirty." Kagome looked down at her kimono. "I suppose it is." She waited patiently. "Sesshoumaru?" He nodded. "Will you leave while I change?" He raised an eyebrow and lowered it again. "You have nothing to sleep in," he said uncomfortably. Rin beamed. "Rin brought that, too!" He was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Ah." He stepped out of the room, closing the shoji behind him. Kagome donned a white under-kimono and deemed that this was enough to sleep in. She set the shikon shard warily on the small table next to the bed, and set the red and white kimono that Rin had brought on top of it. She slid under the covers on the bed, then smiled at Rin, who promptly left the room. Kagome snuffed the candle at her side and turned onto her side, falling asleep immediately.
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" He nodded. "Yes, Rin?"
"Why is Kagome-sama sleeping in your room?"
"There are certain barriers around that room to protect you, like your room; remember?"
"Oh. Yes. Rin remembers. Goodnight, Sesshoumaru-sama." She scooted out to her room, leaving Sesshoumaru standing at the balcony, staring out into the night.
He groaned. Pain was screaming at him from his entire body. He grasped his shoulder, and coughed out a mouthful of blood. His dark hair was stained with red. He crawled forward. He had to get out of the clearing. He crept toward the underbrush, and winced as various branches scratched him. 'At least I'm alive,' he thought to himself.
