"A Heart's Immaculence"
Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kikyo, Naraku, Rin, Jaken, Sesshomaru (how I wish I did!), or any other character created by Rumiko Takahashi.
Author's Note:It's been two days since I've written, but I got plenty of ideas about this story while I was busy on the weekend. Finally, our lovely Sesshomaru reveals himself, and from then on we'll get to find out how he and Kagome will eventually get close. Of course at first they both irritate each other. Still what fun would there be if they got together right away without exposing and exploring their opposite personalities? I even wonder what makes them get attracted to one another when they are both like night and day. I know what it is, but you'll have to continue to read to find out. I just hope it's to your liking. Oh, and thank you very, very much for your reviews! You all always make my day when I read what you have to say!
Chapter Seven
"What is he doing here?" Kagome said, grasping her weapon tightly, her knees congealing themselves beneath her.
All the unarmed villagers were at a safe distance from the danger, but those who were armed took the forefront, their weapons seeming feeble and useful compared to the power of the demon who was attacking the village. Kagome saw the courage such men had, yet underneath she knew they were trembling with fear, not knowing what to expect from their enemy. The wooden houses and other structures around them were torn apart by the mighty power of this demon. Rays of white and blue light flew at them or above them, hitting anything in sight, annihilating all that stood in the way. Despite the collapse of these buildings, and the significant, deadly power of their enemy, the armed villagers continued to display their bravery.
Kagome did not understand why this was happening, and she did not have the time to ponder the reasons behind it only to do what she could to prevent any more destruction, or worse, the death of innocent villagers. She aimed her bow and arrow at the blue ball of light approaching her, awaiting the presence of the demon she sought to see again.
The light soon paused directly a few feet from Kagome's body, and it dissipated instantly as the figure of Lord Sesshomaru emerged in all his strength and power, his full, aristocratic form a marvelous beacon that outshone the morning sun. Ignoring the villagers who stood ready to attack him, Sesshomaru moved towards Kagome at a mild, delicate pace, his feet seeming to float above the ground. As he continued to walk, Kagome could only stare at him, mesmerized by his outwardly divine appearance, a sophistication unlike any she had ever seen. His silver hair danced to the rhythm of the wind, curving to the invisible song it played. Kagome was spellbound by Sesshomaru's silken threads, and she was almost locked into a permanent trance until she saw the demon lord raise his sword and point it directly at her.
Instinctively, Kagome broke her dream-state paralysis and pulled the arrow alongside the bow even tighter, her eyes tracing the sides to make sure it was correctly aligned. She swallowed roughly and waited for Sesshomaru to make his first move, for she feared that if she did her chances of making a successful hit on the youkai would be less than zero. At least if she waited for him to strike first, she would have time to avoid his attack, then if she was lucky, she would try to counterattack him.
As soon as Kagome had thought of her plan, she saw a bright light explode from Sesshomaru's Tokijin, and before she could run away, she felt a strong force push her slender body backwards. Her body banged against the side wall of a house which stood behind her, her head jerking forward before resting on her chest, the rest of her sprawled on the ground, her kimono lightly scorched. Kagome, shocked but virtually unharmed, stood up with weapon still in her grasp, walking a few feet as a test to see if she could walk or not. She was able to move her whole body without any real pain. There was only a slight feeling inside her, one that felt as if an electric current was running through her veins. However, as uncanny as the feeling was, she could not help but notice that the power shot at her from Tokijin was not as powerful as she would have expected. In fact, it hardly felt powerful at all. When she was thrown off her feet, Kagome felt as if she had been pushed by a strong, muscular man rather than the mighty and deadly Tokijin. This was the nature of the force of the blow that hit her, and she was astonished that she was unharmed.
Could Sesshomaru's weapon have weakened, Kagome thought. That's impossible. He was using his sword to blow up houses, and its power shredded them to pieces like paper. Why didn't he use its full power on me then? If he meant to kill me, why didn't he use his sword's ultimate force?
Kagome looked at Sesshomaru, anger swelling within her, her bow and arrow at the ready once again. Not knowing what his intentions were, she knew she had to act defensively towards his attack.
"Hey, you tried to kill me, didn't you!" Kagome shouted, her weapon pointed at Sesshomaru's head. "Don't think you're going to get away with it, mister!"
Sesshomaru lowered Tokijin and smiled at her coldly. "Why do your words sound so familiar to me?"
"Because those are the exact words I used when you tried to kill me the first time with your poison claws, remember."
"Father's tomb," Sesshomaru said calmly. "You would have died then, had it not been for Tetsusaiga."
"Why do you want to kill me, Sesshomaru? What have I done to you? And why are you attacking the village?"
"Insolent girl, you persist in speaking my name so disrespectfully!"
"Forgive me, Lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome said sarcastically.
Before Sesshomaru could reply, the armed villagers began to run towards him, moved to anger by the youkai's attack on the young girl who looked like their priestess. Sesshomaru looked at the men with an irritated face and swung Tokijin at them, his arm moving effortlessly to block the attacks and the blows he was given. Despite some men getting injured by him, the remaining villagers continued to fight until they became a bothersome nuisance. He allowed the power of Tokijin to course through the blade, and as if out of its own will, the blue and white light from the sword emerged and slid downward, escaping out into the air, heading straight into the crowd of men in his way.
"No!" Kagome screamed at Sesshomaru. "Don't hurt them!"
She was about to attack him, yet out from the distance a disturbance intervened with the brightness of Tokijin's power, for a different stream of blinding light appeared and sliced through the beam intended to hit the villagers, deflecting its power. Everyone, including Sesshomaru and Kagome, looked to see who or what had caused the deflection, although both knew who was responsible for the disruption. Surer than expected, the straight, confident and elegant figure of Kikyo stood before them, her dark eyes soaked in outrage and revenge. She looked almost angelic, but it was not a heavenly angel Kagome saw in that instant but an angel of death who had come to take away the demon lord from the land of the living and send him into the depths of hell.
Amazing, Kagome thought. How did she do that? I must learn how to use my arrows that way.
"Run away from here!" Kikyo tells the armed men. "I will deal with this demon myself."
"But Lady Kikyo," an injured man said. "We cannot let you fight this demon alone. You'll be injured, perhaps killed. Please let us help you."
"Do as I say!" Kikyo demanded. "Go! I don't have time to argue. All of you leave! Now!"
All the armed men ran as quickly as they were able, and the only ones left to confront Sesshomaru were Kikyo and Kagome. Kikyo noticed Kagome was still present and did not leave with the villagers, her weapon aimed at Sesshomaru the same as hers. The priestess was rather annoyed at having her there by her side trying to defend her village, one she did not even belong to.
"I do not need any help from you," Kikyo said irately to Kagome while her eyes remained on Sesshomaru.
Kagome paid no attention to Kikyo's words. "He tried to kill me! Do you expect me to stand here and let him get away with that!"
Kikyo gave a soft laugh. "As if you could defeat this beast on your own…."
"You do realize this is Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older brother you're dealing with. He's a thousand times stronger than Inuyasha. He'll kill you with the snap of his fingers if you're not careful."
Kikyo squeezed her eyes before opening them again. She bit her lip and held a tighter grip on her weapon. Kagome noticed the priestess's tension, and she could only guess it was her presence that bothered her or that she had mentioned Inuyasha's name again. Whatever the reason, she was not leaving Kikyo alone to fight against Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru himself was becoming impatient with what he was witnessing, yet he was amused at the sight he saw before him. Through his amber eyes, he saw two young women who looked amazingly identical. He completely understood what he was looking at, though he observed some differences in the way both girls behaved and presented themselves. Kikyo possessed an elegant beauty almost as divine as his, and her composure was almost regal, but underneath her exterior was a silent, slightly emotionless warrior armed with strength, intelligence, cleverness, and a bit of arrogance. Kagome, on the other hand, reflected a beauty that was earthly and mediocre, yet her demeanor was unbecoming when she displayed her temper fits, was slouchy in dress and in the manner she carried herself, was a dreadful archer, and tended to be rather clumsy, but she did have a flamboyant spirit and determination, and that made up for everything else. Still, as Sesshomaru compared the two, he saw that Kagome had a certain kind of glow, a softness and gentleness of face, something the other young woman did not have.
Unexpectedly, Sesshomaru laughed quietly as he took turns looking at both Kikyo and Kagome.
"What are you laughing at?" Kagome said.
"What business do you have here?" Kikyo said to Sesshomaru. "Why are you attacking my village? What is your reason for coming here?"
"I had no intention of setting foot in this human-infested place," Sesshomaru replied uncaringly. "I was bothered by the men of your village. They carelessly and foolishly attacked me in provocation. I did nothing to provoke them."
"I find that hard to believe," Kikyo said distrustfully. "They are human beings, creatures who are weak in comparison to a demon like you. They have the sense to keep away from any danger that may threaten their lives. You must not be a threat to them then, if they so courageously believed they could easily defeat you."
Kagome admired Kikyo's fearlessness in the presence of Sesshomaru, for although she herself was becoming less afraid of him the more she met him, he still had a way of making her nervous. And for some strange reason, she believed the youkai's words, whether it was because she wanted to side with him just to be against Kikyo, she did not really know.
"I do not care whether you believe me or not," said Sesshomaru as he put away Tokijin. "But I warn you to keep the villagers at bay. Should I ever encounter them again, or if they dare get in my way, I will not hesitate to kill them."
Sesshomaru glanced at Kagome and turned around, walking away from the village at a faster pace than she was used to seeing him.
"You are to blame for the trouble caused here," Kikyo said, catching Kagome off guard.
"What!" Kagome said. "Why am I to blame? I have nothing to do with him coming here."
"Are you sure of that?" Kikyo gave Kagome a terrible, vicious look. "Did you not speak Sesshomaru's name in your dreams?"
She did hear me! Kagome said to herself, embarrassed at the thought that Kikyo was watching her while she was sleeping and dreaming about both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru at the same time.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kagome yelled.
"Before you arrived," Kikyo explained, "the villagers never experienced any danger, any threat. When I came here, everything was peaceful and joyous. Now all that has been scarred by you."
"I do not understand how you can say this," Kagome was close to tears. "I tried to help the villagers, tried to protect them against Sesshomaru. You want to throw me out because of—"
"You will leave this village!" Kikyo commanded, not allowing Kagome to complete her remark. "Leave and never come back! You are no longer welcome here!"
"Fine!" Kagome, not wanting to argue with Kikyo anymore, stormed away from her and grabbed her yellow backpack from where she left it. She placed both her weapon and her pack on her back and began to walk away from the village, Kikyo following her every move.
"She can be so mean sometimes," Kagome said to herself, remembering a hurtful part of a past encounter she had with the priestess. "What do I expect from someone who took my jewel shards away from my neck and tried to kill me? Why am I complaining? I did not want to be there anymore anyway."
In Kagome's opinion, Kikyo had the same kind of coldness that Sesshomaru possessed, and she thought they fitted each other well. They could make a good couple since they shared a lack for emotion. She laughed at the thought of them together and wondered what Inuyasha would think if it happened.
"He'd have a fit," Kagome said. "Kikyo and Sesshomaru. I can just imagine. Kikyo and Sesshomaru sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…."
Kagome began to laugh even harder as she neared walking inside the forest. But just before she went in, she turned around to look at the village one more time, curious to know if Kikyo was watching her. She was nowhere. Shrugging her shoulders, Kagome pirouetted but then fell to the ground when she heard someone call her name.
"Kagome!"
Kagome strained her ears to see where the voice came from, and out of the sky a large green creature with two heads appeared. It was a dragon, and two individuals were sitting on top of it, a girl and a green imp. The girl was smiling widely at Kagome, and her big, brown eyes blinked excitedly at her.
"Rin!" Kagome said in return. "What are you doing here?'
The dragon landed next to Kagome, and Rin jumped of its back and gave her a hug around the waist. Naturally, Kagome returned the little girl's embrace and patted her head.
"How are you, Kagome?" Rin said. "I've been looking all over for you."
"Why?"
"I want to help you look for your friends."
Thinking about Lord Sesshomaru, Kagome replied, "Does Lord Sesshomaru know your're here?"
Rin lowered her head and placed a finger in her mouth. "Uh, no."
"Of course he doesn't!" Jaken yelled hysterically. "When Lord Sesshomaru finds out you came to help this idiot of a human, he's going to be more angry than you've ever seen him!"
"I just want to help her, Master Jaken," Rin said guiltily. Her voice began to crack as if close to tears. "She saved me. Why would Lord Sesshomaru get mad at me for helping someone who rescued me?"
"Because he hates to be around mortals like you and this wench!" Jaken answered. "And you know better than to run off and do things without our lord knowing about it first. He does not care to help worthless creatures of any sort. If you keep on like this, he may even tire of you and get rid of you!"
Kagome's anger flared as she saw Rin's tears cascade down her gentle face.
"Lord Sesshomaru would never do that to me!" Rin said tearfully.
"Yes he would!" Jaken continued. "I have known him longer than you have. I know him better than anyone. Do you think he allows you to be with him because he cares for you? Ha! It was just a whim of his that let you be in his company. He's just waiting for the right moment to dump you off somewhere."
Smack!
Jaken fell off the dragon and hit his head on the rocks below. Kagome began to kick him repeatedly, her anger increasing with every motion that rocked from her body.
"You heartless toad!" said Kagome. "How dare you say such horrible things to Rin, making her cry like that!"
"Please stop!" Jaken screamed in agony. "Please! I won't say anything like that to her again! Don't kill me!"
"I would very much like to!"
"Kagome," Rin said, pulling the sleeve of Kagome's kimono. "Please don't hurt him anymore."
Hurt by Rin's saddened face, Kagome reluctantly ceased her abuse on Jaken and hugged Rin tightly.
"I'm sure Lord Sesshomaru would never do anything to hurt you, Rin," Kagome said comfortingly.
"You're right," Rin said, her tears drying up. "Jaken just tells me bad things because he's jealous."
"Jealous?" Kagome did not get Rin's meaning.
"Yes. Jaken thinks Lord Sesshomaru pays too much attention to me. He feels ignored all the time."
"I see," Kagome said. "That's still no excuse for him to treat you so badly."
Jaken waddled painfully and climbed on top of the dragon again, resting his head on one of its necks.
"So Rin," said Kagome. "You said you wanted to help me. I thank you for that, but how can you help me find my friends?"
"Ah-Un will help us find them," Rin said sweetly, patting the dragon's back. "We can ride him and try to find your friends from the air. I think you can see where they are better flying then walking."
Kagome hugged Rin again. "Thanks a lot, Rin. I really do appreciate it. I just hope Lord Sesshomaru doesn't get mad at you if he finds out."
"He left to go out on his own again. That is why I thought it would be the perfect time to come and get you. He won't be back until night. You should find your friends by then. Afterwards Jaken and I will return to Lord Sesshomaru as if nothing happened."
"I hate it when Lord Sesshomaru is angry!" Jaken moaned painfully. "He always takes it out on me, even if it's not my fault. He blames me for everything when Rin gets into trouble."
"I think we better be off now," Kagome said. She lifted Rin and set her down on Ah-Un's back and then she followed. Holding tightly to the reigns, Kagome felt a sudden upward slant and a gush of wind on her face. They were all in the air, flying above the never-ending forest.
Kagome felt very lucky to have Rin help her, but she was nervous again when she thought about Sesshomaru. What if he caught her with Rin and Jaken? What else would he do to her that he hadn't already done? Yet she knew it was a chance she had to take. She missed Inuyasha and her friends horribly, and still she wondered why they had not found her yet either. A feeling of doubt came over her, but that feeling metamorphosed into a darker sensation, for she heard a buzzing noise vibrate inside her ears.
"Kagome, look!" Rin screamed.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Jaken yelled.
Kagome shivered as a swarm of flying insects surrounded Ah-Un, blocking him from getting past them.
Inuyasha! Kagome screamed inside her head, desperate for her rescuer to arrive and save her. But then another name came to her mind, one she did not expect to come from her conscience. Sesshomaru!
Geez! I can't believe I took more than 3 hours writing this chapter. Like I said, I'm a perfectionist, and I read and reread my writing until it sounds the way I think it should. I had to change some stuff and go back to rewrite it in certain places. I only hope I did the right thing and that it makes sense to you all. My arms are hurting like crazy since I've been typing away. I know, I know. When are Kagome and Sesshomaru going to be all mushy with each other? Please be patient. I want that part to happen already too, but like I said, they need to get on each other's nerves before anything good can come from it. Besides, Sesshomaru is not the type to take one look at a pretty, attractive human and automatically desire to be with her. We all know that is not his character. I hope I can entertain you all long enough until the moment of truth between Kag and Sess arrives. More reviews are welcome, so please don't stop giving me your appreciated input!