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Chapter 3: Lethal Weapons
Kagome woke up feeling a bit chilled. It was early in the morning and the clearing was still covered in mist. The night had been relatively cool and the lazy autumn sun had yet to rise above the fog and clouds to warm the earth.
Yawning, Kagome sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily. Stretching, she turned to look at Sesshoumaru, who had been sleeping near her. Kagome's gaze was met by two amber orbs, which were studying her intently.
The Western Lord sat on the sleeping bag, leaning against the tree trunk, obviously observing her. His injured leg was outstretched on the ground, while the other one was drawn up and his tail was curled around his shoulders.
'He is simply breathtaking.' Kagome admitted in her mind, admiring him in all his otherworldly beauty for a moment. 'If it weren't for him being such a bastard at times, he would have to beat women off with a stick.'
Shaking herself mentally, she managed to tear her gaze away from his intriguing golden eyes before she started losing herself in them.
"Good morning," she said, flashing him the brightest smile she could muster at such an ungodly hour. But Sesshoumaru just kept looking at her. It was quite unnerving.
'Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's father evidently didn't give a damn about good manners. And neither did their mothers!' Kagome thought, irritated.
"Are you feeling better?" she inquired.
This time he generously deigned to speak.
"I believe so, but only slightly. This low healing rate must be due to the dragon youkai's poison." he informed her stoically.
"A dragon youkai? Is that what tore you up so badly?" She was still very curious about what had happened to the taiyoukai.
"Hai. Two dragon youkai, to be exact. They carried shards of the Shikon No Tama in their bodies."
Kagome nodded. "I know, I found them," she told him, indicating the incomplete jewel on her necklace. Actually, it was only a very little part of it, as Kikyo had stolen all of her shards some time ago only to hand them over to Naraku. The memory made her burn with anger. They had spent an eternity collecting the few pieces she was now wearing on her necklace.
One of Sesshoumaru's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "You took them, girl? I thought they would belong to me now, as I killed what had possessed them."
Lowering her gaze, she contemplated his words. He had a point, they were rightfully his possessions and she had just taken them. 'This is almost like stealing!' she thought in horror, shocked by her own actions.
"I'm sorry - I should have asked you first." Kagome said in a small voice. "But you have no use for the shards anyway, do you?"
Shame was radiating of her and it surprised him. Why would the girl be ashamed? He himself would have done exactly the same thing in her situation. This ningen never ceased to amaze him.
"Your assumption is correct, miko. I have no use for the shards. I will allow you to keep them - as a compensation for your services," he announced stiffly.
Kagome looked at him quizzically. Had he just been nice in a weird way? No, most likely not, but still...
"Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama," she replied, a little confused, still searching his face for any signs of mental illness. Sesshoumaru just inclined his head, not bothering to say anything else.
Kagome climbed out of her sleeping bag and put her shoes on. Then she went over to her backpack and fished out some chocolate cookies, which would serve for her breakfast. After ripping open the package, she took a cookie and started eating hungrily. Being halfway done with it, she looked at Sesshoumaru, having completely forgotten about him for the moment.
"Are you hungry, too?" She asked him shyly, a little embarrassed by the fact that she hadn't thought of him first.
Regarding sceptically first the cookie and then the girl who was in the process of devouring it, he shook his head. "No. I do not need to consume food as often as a mere ningen has to," the demon lord told her callously.
Kagome just shrugged and continued eating greedily. As usual in the morning, she was starving. Anyhow, she really couldn't imagine Sesshoumaru liking sweets.
After having devoured about half of the cookies, she put the rest back into her pack. Then she took out her hair brush and started untangling her mane. As she had forgotten to brush it yesterday, it was quite a piece of work to get the knots out of it.
When she had finally succeeded in taming her stubborn hair, she eyed Sesshoumaru closely. He really looked like he was in need of a good brushing, too. His usually smooth, almost knee-length silver hair, was falling down his back in disarray, still partly stained with blood. As he wouldn't be able to take a bath and wash it because of his wounds in the near future, combing it out would have to do.
Getting up, she started to walk towards him, still armed with her brush. For a fleeting moment, the look in his eyes reminded her of Buyo when the cat realized that he was about to have a bath. But before she could make it out clearly, the look was gone.
Kagome kneeled down next to him, but before she could have addressed him in any way, he had turned towards her, extending his uninjured, left arm.
"Give it to me," he ordered, intending not to leave any room for discussion.
"No, if I give you the brush you'll probably tear the stitches on your shoulder. So I'll brush your hair for you," she stated, ignoring the glare it earned her.
The girl was not only silly, but insolent as well, Sesshoumaru noticed. How dare she contradict his orders? Under any other circumstances he would have taken immense pleasure in tearing her instantly into pieces. But again, he was forced to admit that she had a point. The Lord of the Western Lands was many things, but 'unreasonable' and 'stupid' were not on his list of traits. So he swallowed his hurt pride once again, and turned his back towards her so she could reach his hair.
Kagome released the breath she had been holding, feeling enormous relief because of his unexpected surrender. Upon further thought, she came to the conclusion that Inuyasha would never have let something like a brush near him.
Anyway, why was it that she always got herself into lethal danger because of such stupid things? Why did she care about the state of his hair anyway? There was nothing life-threatening about tangled hair, for crying out loud! And why was it that she obviously couldn't resist talking back to him? It had to be his arrogant demeanour, which challenged her enormously.
Sighing softly, she started to brush his hair carefully so not to pull out some of it, allowing her fingers to follow the brush through the silken strands. Marvelling at the very soft and smooth texture, Kagome got completely lost in her task.
'He really has nice hair. Most of the girls I know would be green with envy.'
Sesshoumaru felt a shiver running down his spine. What was this human doing to him? Why did it feel so good when she ran her deft fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp so gently? His eyes slid shut while all of his being concentrated on the sensations her touches caused. In one way it was very calming, but in another way it made every nerve ending in his body bristle with electricity. Never had he felt this kind of pleasure before. His tensed muscular frame started to relax completely under her touch.
'This is dangerous and highly addictive', his mind told him, but at that moment, he couldn't care less.
It was a completely unfamiliar thing for the demon lord to be touched with such gentleness and in such an intimate way. Leaving him bereft of his usual tight control, her touches lulled him into a haze and made him crave more.
Absentmindedly he noticed that he was surrounded by her intriguing scent. Inhaling deeply, he smelled sunlight on a meadow full of flowers. With his eyes closed he could imagine such a place, and it was beautiful. He observed idly that the tones of roses and jasmine were the most prevalent in the garden of Kagome's scent.
When her warm fingers accidentally brushed against Sesshoumaru's pointed ear, he was barely able to suppress the groan that threatened to escape his throat. Heat shot through his body and he grasped her wrist unconsciously to keep her hand in place. The girl's skin felt warm and soft under his cool fingers.
Her surprised gasp brought the demon back to reality. Turning around he noticed that he was still holding her wrist and she looked at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Slowly Kagome's breathing started to return to normal. Sesshoumaru had scared the wits out of her when he had grabbed her wrist without any warning. For a short moment she was sure she would suffer the most painful death at his hands, but when she looked in his face, he didn't seem to be angry. His features were unreadable as ever, but his amber eyes stared at her in outright wonder.
Looking down at her wrist Kagome noticed that he still held it rather gently in his clawed hand. To her surprise his touch didn't feel unpleasant at all. She really didn't understand why, but she noticed herself blushing slightly because of the contact. What was it about him?
"I think that will do, girl." Sesshoumaru told her indifferently when he had recovered enough to speak and released her wrist abruptly.
Kagome looked at him absolutely confused. This guy was really weird and dealing with him meant going through the most extreme emotional changes in just a few seconds: From contentment to mortal fear to embarrassment and then back to normal.
The strange expression in his eyes had vanished completely and now they appeared as cold and as unfeeling as ever. Shaking her head, Kagome got up and tucked the brush back into her pack. Picking up her med kit she returned to Sesshoumaru's side and knelt down again. Opening the plastic box, she said, "I have to change your bandages and make sure your wounds are clean."
Sesshoumaru nodded without looking at her.
Searching for some fresh water, Kagome noticed that she hadn't any left and decided to get some before she tended to the demon's injuries.
"Sorry, I'll have to go to the river first and fetch some fresh water. There isn't any left." Kagome told him, indicating towards the empty bowl.
The taiyoukai inclined his head slightly, indicating that he had understood, and continued to stare off into another direction. Sighing again at his strangeness, she pulled her wash bag, a towel and fresh clothing out of her yellow pack. She could also change and clean herself if she had to go to the river anyway. Getting up again, she took the bowl and started to walk into the direction of the small stream.
Sesshoumaru watched her leave the clearing. What was it with her? The demon lord had no idea why this low ningen girl had such an odd effect on him. She made him confused and he hated every bit of it. Having never been confused or uncertain about anything in his life, the state he found himself in now was indeed quite unnerving. Still, these alien sensations made him curious and he wondered idly what they were all about.
After some time had passed, he noticed that the girl had forgotten to take her bow and arrows with her. Humans! How dense could someone be to wander off into the forest without armament?
The demon lord was brought out of his reverie when his sensitive nose picked up a very unpleasant smell. Although he was certain that he had smelled it before, he wasn't quite able to place it. The scent belonged to a youkai, that was unquestionable, but who was it and what were his intentions?
Sniffing again, he realized that the demon was coming towards him at a very fast rate. Before Sesshoumaru could further examine the scent he could hear the demon already approaching through the forest in front of him.
A male neko youkai with ink-black hair burst from the trees. His face was covered with ugly scars from innumerable battles and he was clad in torn and dirty brownish-green attire. After flickering briefly over the clearing, his sharp, shockingly green, eyes focused on Sesshoumaru.
"So my old nose hasn't failed me. I thought I picked up your scent, Sesshoumaru. Well, to be more precise, the scent of your blood. And again, I think I was right."
The neko's neutral expression changed into a sly smirk. "The mighty Taiyoukai of the West is badly injured and completely alone in the middle of a forest. What a lucky day for me," the demon purred.
Sesshoumaru snorted. He had recognized the demon immediately upon sight. The cat youkai had belonged to a group of bandits that had consisted of demons and humans. When they had trespassed upon the Western Lands and burned down one of his villages, Sesshoumaru had slain most of them. Presumably, this demon had come to seek revenge for his companions.
Thinking quickly, the taiyoukai assessed his situation. Again he cursed his weakened state, as it prevented him from fighting properly. To make matters worse, Tokijin, half-covered by the sleeping bag, was the only weapon he could reach, and it was lying on his left side. He would not only have to move quite a bit just to grasp it, he would have to distract the cat youkai long enough to grab it and keep the cat from knowing that he was armed.
"What is it that you want from me?" Sesshoumaru asked coolly, his arrogant and detached demeanour never wavering as he began moving very slowly towards his sword.
A frown appeared on the cat youkai's face and he started to approach the demon lord. "Is it possible that you don't remember me, Sesshoumaru? I, Ichiro, have come to avenge my brother, who died at your hands last spring!" he said in a threatening voice.
The Western Lord fixed him with one of his most icy glares, which stopped Ichiro's movements effectively.
"First, you will address me correctly, or suffer the consequences. Second, this Sesshoumaru has never forgotten a fight. Even though your brother was hardly worth my time," he spat, casually inching more towards his weapon.
Ichiro gasped in obvious outrage. He couldn't decide what angered him more - that the taiyoukai had the nerve to insist on his title in this situation or that he had just insulted the formidable fighting skills of his younger brother.
"You bastard! I will make you pay. You will regret the day you laid your hands on my companions!" With these words Ichiro menacingly drew his sword and resumed walking towards the demon lord.
All it earned him was a low snarl from Sesshoumaru. "You lowly vermin! You dare to threaten this Sesshoumaru?" The taiyoukai demanded sharply.
Ichiro was fuming with anger now and didn't pay any attention to Sesshoumaru's subtle but steady movements towards the sword. Suddenly, the demon lord stopped dead in his tracks and sniffed the air intently. He could smell the girl and she was returning to the clearing quite fast.
Kagome had just washed herself and changed into another pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt, when she noticed the presence of another youkai in the direction of their clearing. Dropping the bowl she was about to fill in horror, she started to run back as fast as she could. Her concern for Sesshoumaru gave her more speed than she had known she possessed.
Mid-way she realized that she had forgotten her bow and arrows at the camp. 'Damn it! Why can't I think just one time before I do something?!' she scolded herself mentally. 'I hope I'm not too late - Sesshoumaru won't be able to fight in his state!'
Picking up her pace again, she ignored the branches slapping her face and tearing at her skin. When she reached the clearing, she stopped dead, hiding behind some trees. She saw a quite evil looking neko-youkai, who was stalking towards Sesshoumaru with his sword drawn.
'Oh shit! What do I do now?' she thought desperately. The bow wasn't an option, as it lay on the right side of the clearing next to her pack and she would have to cross Sesshoumaru and his attacker, who was obviously too busy focusing on the demon lord to notice her, to reach it. Then she saw the sword that lay on the demon lord's left side, only a few yards away from her. It would have to do.
Sesshoumaru said something to the approaching youkai, which seemed to enrage him even more. As Kagome was too occupied forming her plan she didn't quite make out the words. Absentmindedly she noticed Sesshoumaru raising his left hand and gesturing for her to run away. But for Kagome there was no way she could leave him to a certain death, even if it meant mortal danger for herself.
Sesshoumaru was furious. 'Why won't this human obey my orders just once? Why won't she just run?' There was no way she could reach her own weapon and he wasn't able, at the moment, to defend them both. He just hoped that Ichiro wouldn't notice her before he had his sword. His left hand was now only inches away from the handle. Just a little closer...
"Enough talk, Western Lord! I will kill you now!" Ichiro roared furiously and raised his sword, ready to charge at Sesshoumaru.
Just when the demon lord was about to grasp Toukijin, he sensed the girl leave her hiding place in the trees and sprint into the clearing. Before he could reach for the sword, she had snatched it away from him, unsheathed it and planted herself between him and the approaching demon - Tokijin raised for battle.
"Over my dead body." Kagome said calmly, ignoring Sesshoumaru's growl of outrage behind her. Her heart was beating madly and her hands shook slightly, but otherwise she was able to maintain a determined posture despite her fear.
Ichiro gapped at her in surprise for a moment. Than he threw his ugly head back and started to laugh insanely. "The great Taiyoukai of the West, hiding behind a human girl? This is hilarious!" he managed to get out between chuckles.
Growling again, Sesshoumaru resisted the acute urge to bang his head against the tree trunk. Stupid, stupid ningen! She was brave, well yes, maybe, but she was so dumb! He would now have to make sure that the cat demon didn't live long enough to spread the tale of this humiliating scene. But how could this girl come to the conclusion that he was not only unable to fend for himself, but that he would need the help of a weak human girl? A weak human girl, who, incidentally, was being more of a hindrance by snatching away his only chance of ending this whole thing quickly. But matters could get even worse: The demonic sword would most likely try to possess her...Sesshoumaru was brought out of his ponderings by Ichiro's cry of outrage.
Blood flowed from the youkai's face and stained his garments. Kagome looked at him in disbelief. She had just gotten so angry when he hadn't taken her seriously that she had sliced him on his cheek. The deep gash was bleeding heavily. Wiping the blood away from his face with his sleeve, Ichiro raised his sword once more.
"Very well, my dear girl. Your death can be arranged!" he growled threateningly.
Kagome gulped. She just now realized that she had no idea what to do with the sword, as she had never really fought with one before. Moving out of reflex she brought up Toukijin to block the demon's first blow and stumbled backwards with the force of it. She almost fell to the ground but managed to block the second strike with her blade. Dodging Ichiro's next attack she moved to the side, further away from the place where Sesshoumaru still sat on the ground.
But there was no way to escape the enraged and skilled youkai. Following her, Ichiro landed a few quick blows, which she blocked miraculously, and forced her to retreat farther. Then he got her by surprise and landed a very hard blow on her blade, which made her lose the sword. It flew through the air and fell to the ground some yards away.
Sesshoumaru cursed under his breath violently. It was impossible for him to reach the sword and he couldn't use his light-whip either as Ichiro was located too far away. He doubted that his magic would work well in his injured state anyway. Frantically, he looked around him for anything he could use as a weapon, and his eyes fell on something silver in the strange box which rested next to him on the ground.
Kagome started to back off slowly. Adrenaline was rushing through her and her hands were now shaking badly. Ichiro followed her steadily, obviously taking devilish delight in her fear.
"Now little girl, shall we end this? But maybe if you beg me nicely for mercy, I might not kill you immediately. I'd like to have such a beautiful little slave..." The demon drawled, leaving no doubt about his intentions.
In spite of her fright, Kagome's spirits flared. "I'd rather be dead, youkai!" she exclaimed aggressively, moving further away from him. Then she stumbled over a root, which came off the ground behind her, and fell on her rear, her back facing Sesshoumaru. Ichiro towered over her, eyes clouded with bloodlust, sword ready to kill.
'Oh Kami, I don't want to die. Inuyasha, wherever you are, please HELP ME!!' Kagome pleaded in her thoughts desperately. But nothing happened. She closed her eyes when the demon lifted his sword over his head to slam it down into her, awaiting the final blow.....but it never came. Instead she heard a loud thud and opened an eye tentatively.
Ichiro had fallen to the ground next to her without making a sound, dead. Looking at his lifeless body in utter shock, she noticed that her scissors were buried up to the hilt in his chest where his heart was supposed to be. Dark, crimson blood flowed from the wound freely, soaking his haori slowly, before the demon's body started turning into dust.
Still shaking badly, Kagome turned to look at Sesshoumaru. He stood upright, leaning on the tree with one hand for support and panting from exertion and pain. Slowly she realized that the demon lord had just saved her life. A wave of relief washed over her. He had killed the other youkai with nothing but a pair of scissors!
'Well,' she reasoned, 'probably nearly everything turns into a lethal weapon once it's in Sesshoumaru's hands.'
Kagome got up, careful to stay upright while her legs kept shaking, and walked back to the demon lord. Giving him an honestly grateful smile, she said "Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama. You just saved my life."
When he didn't reply immediately, she took a closer look at his face. What she saw there made her wish that one of the cat demon's blows had actually hit her. Sesshoumaru's eyes were blazing with cold fury and if looks could kill she would have dropped dead immediately. Hastily, she took a step backwards.
"Why did you not obey my orders, wench?" He demanded with deadly calm.
Kagome was confused, she didn't know what he was going on about and he was really scaring the hell out of her now.
"What do you me..uck!" Before she had ended her question, she found herself pinned against the tree trunk, his hand at her throat. His claws were digging into her flesh angrily and it was near impossible for her to breath. Sesshoumaru's face was mere inches away from her own and she could feel the rage radiating off him. This was much more terrifying than anything she had experienced a few moments ago with the other youkai.
"Do not dare to play dumb with me, wench! I ordered you to go away and you did not obey. Instead, you took away my sword and made a most ridiculous attempt to battle my opponent."
"I just wanted to help you," Kagome managed to croak out.
"And what, pray tell, makes you think that this Sesshoumaru might need the help of a lowly ningen?" the demon lord hissed, his fangs baring slightly.
Kagome shivered at the coldness of his voice. Although he never raised it over a normal level, his tone was more threatening than anything she had ever encountered before.
"I...I...don't know. I just thought you were ... injured and...and wouldn't be able to defend yourself," she stammered, but regretted her words immediately when his grip around her neck tightened painfully. Cold, amber eyes glared at her menacingly.
"Wench, as you might have noticed, this Sesshoumaru is very much able to fend for himself!" The taiyoukai snarled.
"I will not tolerate any more of your pathetic attempts to offer your so-called 'help'. If you value your worthless life you will, from now on, obey my every word. And be assured that I am only refraining from killing you here and now because I am honour-bound to you," he stated icily once he had gotten his murderous temper back under control and released her from his iron grip.
Stumbling forward, she managed to catch herself before falling to the ground again. When she turned back around, she noticed that the demon lord had seated himself again, exertion now clearly visible in his features.
'I really shouldn't care! He is such an ungrateful jerk. Yet another death threat from him - or did that count for two?' she thought, when the adrenaline started to leave her body slowly.
She was very frightened and very pissed off at the same time. But Kagome, being Kagome, couldn't keep her temper in check even if her life depended on it. Taking a few steps back into Sesshoumaru's direction, she pointed an accusing finger at him.
"YOU... you... you...- I can't even think of a word for what you are! Why do you have to behave like an utter jerk!? Why can't you have the decency to be just a little grateful at times?! Does it give you some kind of sick pleasure to scare me to death?!" she snapped at him irritably.
After looking at the stoic taiyoukai once more she added "Oh, just forget it!" and stomped off furiously towards the river to retrieve her bowl and bathing supplies, which she had abandoned in her earlier haste to get back.
She left a baffled demon lord at the clearing. Really, although she was doubtlessly the most impertinent creature he had ever met, she seemed to be braver than he had first given her credit for. Nobody had ever defied him in the way that she did and he was starting to find it not only annoying but also quite interesting. His more primal youkai instincts commanded him to break her, make her crawl before him in the dirt and bathe luxuriously in her blood. His sharp mind, however, kept tight control over his baser instincts and formed other plans.
The girl somehow managed to amuse him and challenge him at the same time. He had never been able to resist a challenge, and he was more than ready to meet the challenges that she offered. The demon lord was quite curious about the odd little miko and he would take this as an opportunity to find out more about her.
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(A/N):
Again thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I could get addicted to those ;-)!!!