The words escaped Kikyo's lips before she even realized it. It came to her so suddenly, so randomly, yet she meant it completely…
She loves me Sesshomaru thought, cringing under the pressure of Onigumo's fingers around his waist. Ha, what an idiot. That doesn't mean anything to me. He just couldn't admit it.
Love is a strong word Kikyo's mother had told her once. Just like hate. When you tell someone you love them, it means your heart has decided. Don't let your mind fool you into thinking you love. When the time is right, your heart will tell you.
My mind isn't fooling me mother Kikyo thought firmly. My heart has decided. But after a few seconds, she became hesitant. Is this really true? Could I actually be madly in love with someone who does not feel the same way in return? From the way that Sesshomaru had been acting, Kikyo had a lingering doubt that he felt anything for her. But then again, why had he come? He must have been worried, right?
Before Kikyo could think up answers to any of these questions, the realization of Onigumo's raging presence suddenly came back to her. She took up her bow and quickly aimed…Sesshomaru being crushed in the demon's fist….then she released it, a fast arrow straight towards Onigumo's beady eye. His reaction time was far delayed, and it hit right on target. Onigumo reeled back in pain, the pointed edge of the arrow sinking deeper into his pupil. However, the pain in his eye could not match the pain and anger he now felt in his heart, and he shot a demon arm at the priestess. She easily dodged it, for Onigumo was now blinded and could not coordinate his attacks. Kikyo watched him crash sideways into some nearby trees, ripping them from their roots. His grip on Sesshomaru loosened quite a bit, allowing the youkai lord to slip out and retrieve his weapon.
"Augh! My eye! Damn you Kikyo!" Onigumo bellowed. He then got a tight grip on the arrow and ripped it out, his eyeball going with it. Only bloody veins and dark red flesh remained in the hollow space where the eye had been. Completely crazy and more dangerous then ever, Onigumo pulled himself clumsily to his feet and went on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that moved. This included the corrupted animals, of which he slaughtered by the masses. Sesshomaru took advantage of his disabled state and attacked from all directions. Still, he encountered the same problem; the sliced pieces of flesh always healed back together. It was frustrating and puzzling at the same time. This is so hopeless! He thought irritably.
"Don't waste your energy!" Kikyo called out to Sesshomaru. She had an idea.
Sesshomaru wasn't sure whether he should believe the priestess, but hesitated to swing his blade all the same.
Kikyo closed her eyes and focused all her power on conjuring up a spell. She had only executed it once, when she bound Inuyasha to a tree 50 years ago. All her life she regretted that one deed, for at the time she had been acting under the influence of Naraku. Kikyo had vowed she would never use the spell again, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Her eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated harder. She could feel every part of her body tingling, drawing their energy together. What Kikyo hoped for was an eternal curse, one that would keep Onigumo constrained forever. Her hands began to feel warm, then grew hotter as the power became greater. As soon as she felt as though she had drained herself of all magic, and her body was weak, she carefully transferred the energy to her arrow. It glowed brightly, creating a small orb of pure light around the priestess. Without hesitation, Kikyo strung the arrow across her bow and aimed once more. This time she pointed it towards Onigumo's chest, in an attempt to pierce his heart.
From watching her, Sesshomaru realized Kikyo's intentions, and without further ado he sprung into the air to distract the demon. He was in mid-air, about to attack, when all of a sudden a wave of nausea washed over him. Sesshomaru fell back down, landing on his hands and knees. What is this? He thought. His lungs began to constrict, making his breath short and ragged. A sudden convulsion of coughs sent blood spurting from his mouth; unnaturally colored blood. Sesshomaru wiped his lips with the backside of his hand and examined the smear. It was contaminated with poison.
The monkey tapped Kikyo's shoulder, but she didn't feel it. She was too concentrated to notice anything but her own actions. She was waiting for the exact right moment. Onigumo suddenly lunged forward, straight towards the priestess. This is it! Kikyo shouted in her head, and released the arrow. Time almost seemed to stand still as the enchanted arrow cut through the air, and Onigumo's gruesome demon body came closer and closer. The arrow hit almost dead center on his chest. The force threw Onigumo backwards, driving him straight into the trunk of a large oak tree. Kikyo held her breath, praying that her spell had worked.
"You…you wench!" Onigumo screamed. "It's not over yet! I will have you!" But the magic began to settle in, and his struggles slowed. "You will die…Kikyo…"
Then all motion ceased, and his head fell to his chest. Kikyo let out a sigh, and collapsed in front of Onigumo's body, exhausted. The little monkey jumped from Kikyo's shoulder and landed in her lap, bouncing up and down. The priestess smiled meekly.
"You're safe now" she said. "You can go home."
But the primate did not budge. It was trying to tell her something. Kikyo watched it wearily, then suddenly realized what it was pointing to. Kikyo stood up hastily and ran to Sesshomaru, who had collapsed on the ground. She kneeled by his side, deep concern written all over her face. His eyes were tightly shut, and he was clutching his shoulder. Kikyo could smell the poison in his blood before she even noticed the gash Onigumo had left. Kikyo immediately sprung into action. She rolled Sesshomaru onto his back and took hold of the wounded arm. There was only one way to get most of the poison out. Kikyo leaned down and put her mouth to the gash. At the feeling of Kikyo's lips on his skin, Sesshomaru growled and tried to pull away, but found that his condition was so pathetic that even such a simple task as that was difficult. Kikyo ignored him and sucked out as much blood as possible, then spat it out on the ground beside her. She did this a few times, until the blood she was spitting became a more normal color. Then she found the nearest bush and selected the freshest leaves. She returned in a hurry, ripping off long strips of her kimono. Her experienced hands worked quickly, pressing the leaves against the open wound and wrapping cloth around the arm.
"Don't…waste your sympathy" Sesshomaru growled through tightly clenched teeth.
Kikyo paused and looked him directly in the face. "Don't act so arrogant" she said, tying the strips of white cloth together. Her hands were bloody and red, but it made no difference to her. "There are healers at my sister's village, which isn't too far from here. I'm going to take you to them."
"What makes you think….I want to be taken…to a bunch of…mortals?" Sesshomaru managed to sputter, the effects of the poison still causing him to feel nauseous.
Kikyo rolled her eyes and slid her head under his good arm, slowly lifting him from the ground. Sesshomaru didn't like the idea of being carried by a woman, or being in such a pitiful state. He loathed having to rely on others. Kikyo's strength surprised him, for she had successfully gotten him to his feet and was now dragging him along.
"You'll thank me later" Kikyo huffed, taking one slow step at a time.
……………………………………………………..
Rin sat with her arms around her knees on the other side of lake, waiting for Sesshomaru to come just like he promised. But what was taking him so long? Rin was getting really nervous. She was scared that something awful had happened to him. And what about Kikyo? Rin suddenly remembered that Kikyo wasn't there when she woke up. Was she in danger too? A cold breeze nipped at Rin's yukata and she huddled tighter against her legs. Then she heard the sound of crunching leaves, and immediately froze. She could feel herself shaking. What if a demon was coming up behind her? Rin slowly rose to her feet and turned around, her eyes searching frantically amidst the shrubs and trees for something to appear. A shadow became visible, followed by a small figure. Rin squinted at it, and as it came closer she realized who it was.
"Lord Jaken!" she gasped.
Sesshomaru's little green companion hobbled over, carrying his usual stick, but leaning on it more than usual for support. His forehead was completely swollen, but other than that he seemed fine. He was lucky to even be alive.
"What happened to you?" Rin asked, looking him over. "Your head is all black and blue."
Jaken lowered himself to the ground and sat next to the girl. "Don't get ahead of yourself" he grumbled. Then he looked around, and only then saw that Rin was alone. "Where is Lord Sesshomaru?"
"He's fighting demons. He told me to come here and wait for him, but he hasn't returned. I'm afraid he might be in trouble."
Jaken swore under his breath. "He's already in trouble as it is!" he said.
"What do you mean?" Rin asked, staring wide-eyed at Jaken.
"That young lass to whom I owe this disgusting, swollen head, has announced to the Northern village that Lord Sesshomaru killed Inuyasha. Is that true?"
Rin just shrugged. She didn't remember anything from then.
"Well anyway," Jaken continued. "All the villagers are angry now, and are planning to hunt down our lord and execute him."
Rin looked at Jaken with a so-what expression. "What can a bunch of mortal men do to Lord Sesshomaru?"
Jaken rolled his eyes. He just couldn't stand being around Rin sometimes. "You can never underestimate them" he snapped. "You'd be surprised how smart they can be when it comes to killing demons."
Little did they know that Kikyo and Sesshomaru were headed straight towards that same village…