There's really nothing to report, so enjoy chapter 28 and please review! And remember I'm still in hiding right now!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or affiliated with Inuyasha, however this particular story is M-I-N-E! :)
Sacrifice
Sesshomaru gazed down at the young woman who lay in his arms; unmoving and not breathing. Her beautiful hazel eyes were forever closed and lost in the darkness of death. Sesshomaru cradled her closer, unwilling to let his beloved go. He had failed…again.
"Sesshomaru," the sudden voice startled him from his reverie. The grieving hanyou looked up to find the weary green eyes of Ukitake staring down at the two. Though she was beaten and battered, she stood tall and proud. The elder bent down towards him and held his gaze as she spoke with a calm and gentle voice.
"How important is this woman to you?"
Sesshomaru stayed silent for a while. His cold golden eyes continued to stare into Ukitake's, until he pulled away and focused his attention on the girl in his arms.
"Need you ask," he spoke softly.
Watching him carefully, Ukitake finally closed her eyes and sighed. "Lay her on the ground."
Sesshomaru clutched her tighter, anger and confusion clouding his face.
"Don't question me, pup. Do as I say before I change my mind about saving her."
Sesshomaru instantly straightened; hope filling him like a tidal wave. He gently laid her body on the ground as Ukitake took a seat on her other side. She began to reach out her hand over the body, but hesitated.
"Sesshomaru, right now I am weak. If I am to bring her back, I must open a portal to the netherworld, but with my current power, it will only be big enough for you to reach in quickly and pull back her soul." She stopped speaking and held his gaze with hardened eyes. "And I cannot offer the necessary protection you will need. If you want her to live, you may need to sacrifice yourself. Can you do this?"
Without hesitation, Sesshomaru replied, "Open the portal."
Kikyou felt sick; really sick. Her head was spinning, and something hard and sharp was biting into her stomach. She felt like luggage on a pack mule as her body continuously bounced on the hard and sharp object underneath her. The only thing she wanted to do was go back to the unconscious state she had been in, but something in the back of her mind was screaming at her to wake up. Kikyou slowly opened her eyes, but all she saw was red. She tried to turn her head, but a sharp pain shot through her neck, causing her to release a loud groan.
"Tch. Finally awake huh?" a voice came from in front of her as her eyes began to focus more on her surroundings. Then the events from last night came rushing back to her, and she let out a gasp as she began to pointlessly struggle against the iron grip that held her legs in place.
"Let go you fiend!" she screamed, beating her fists on his brick-wall of a back.
"Shut up wench! You're too loud!" Inuyasha growled, tightening his hold on her legs.
Kikyou yelped as she felt the sharp points of his claws pierce her skin. A helpless feeling overcame her, and the only thing she could think of was the wounded Sesshomaru she had left behind. Something wet slid down her cheek, and before she knew it, the tears wouldn't stop flowing.
Inuyasha immediately stiffened and began to sniff the air. "Hey, what's that smell?" he asked a bit alarmed.
Kikyou stayed silent, but made no move to wipe the tears that stained her face. She suddenly felt his hands circle her waist. The girl began to panic, fearing he would dump her on the ground. But the taiyoukai simply placed her on her feet in front of him, staring her down as he took in the sight of her rumpled clothes and wet, puffy face.
"Damn your ugly. Why the hell are you crying?"
Something in Kikyou snapped, and throwing caution to the wind, she marched up to the big man and slapped him hard across the face. "Well sorry for being ugly! And you wanna know why I'm crying?! My friends are in danger and I can't even be there to help them! Even if I was there I couldn't help them anyway! Why?! Because I'm useless!"
Kikyou felt a bit better after yelling her complaints to the world, but then she realized she had just both slapped and snapped at a very dangerous youkai, who probably wouldn't think twice about ripping her to pieces.
Inuyasha's dumbfounded face melted into one of boredom as he fisted his hands on his waist and stuck his nose in her face. "Well just get stronger, stupid! If you're useless, then become useful."
Kikyou was a bit taken-aback by Inuyasha's words. She was expecting him to get angry and retaliate, but instead he gave her an answer she needed to hear.
"A-aren't you…angry?"
"Huh? About what?" he said genuinely confused.
"…I hit you."
"Oh yeah, you did. Well it didn't really hurt. Hehe, you humans are weak after all."
Kikyou felt the blood rush to her face, either from embarrassment or anger; she wasn't entirely sure.
"Huh? Why's your face all red? You gotta fever?" Inuyasha put his palm over her forehead, causing the flustered girl to blush even more.
"Damn it! Don't get sick stupid!" he said grabbing her hand and leading her to a nearby log. Inuyasha pushed her down, then hurried off, calling, "Don't move! I'm getting water!"
Kikyou sat there for a second, trying to figure out what just happened, until a sudden thought came to her head.
Wait, what am I doing?! I shouldn't be sitting here! This is my chance to get away!
Kikyou set out at a sprint, blindly running through the woods, hoping upon hoping she could find a nearby village. She heard something rustling behind her, and fearing the sharp-nosed Inu had already realized she'd escaped, she willed her legs to run faster. The rustling continued, but it didn't seem to get any closer or farther no matter how long she ran. Kikyou was beginning to wear down, but she refused to give up. As she burst through another clump of foliage, she ran directly into a giant web that covered the small clearing. The web was as strong as steel and held her fast no matter how much she struggled. Suddenly the rustling that had been keeping pace with her got louder until a giant spider youkai appeared in front of her, fangs bared for the kill.
Kikyou began to shake in fear as the youkai eyed her with hunger in its eyes. The girl tightly closed her eyes and cried out as the spider lunged towards her. Screeching filled the clearing and something landed on her cheek. Kikyou's eyes slowly opened to reveal a blood-soaked Inuyasha standing in front of the mutilated corpse of the youkai.
"Are you stupid?!" Inuyasha whirled around and faced the girl with an irritated look. "What the hell possessed you to run around a youkai-infested forest you idiot?!" he shouted, quickly slicing through the webbing that trapped her.
The taiyoukai glared down at Kikyou, but noticing her frightened face and shaking hands, his voice softened as he sighed, "Damn what a pain…You okay?"
Kikyou blinked but could only mumble a few incoherent words. "Um…I…uh…"
Inuyasha's thumb gently rubbed over her cheek, making her gasp and flinch.
"Geez calm down, woman. I was just gettin the blood off."
"Oh…uh, sorry," she said keeping her eyes down, blushing slightly.
"Ah, almost forgot," Inuyasha grunted taking a small leather pouch out of his haori and handing it to the young girl. "Drink up. Dunno when we'll find water again."
"Huh?" Kikyou looked at the taiyoukai, a bit dumbfounded.
"Hurry up and drink! I wanna get goin as soon as possible."
"W-where are we going?" she asked a bit nervously.
"Tch. None of your business woman."
"If I'm going with you, don't I have a right to know?!" Kikyou was beginning to get agitated, and Inuyasha's snarky comments weren't helping.
"Women shouldn't be so nosy. Just be obedient and do what I say."
"Like hell I will!" Kikyou shouted, spiting in his face before making a run for it.
"Why you little—" Inuyasha growled before quickly dashing after her.
Roughly grabbing her arm, Inuyasha yanked the small girl against him, covering her mouth with his large hand before growling close to her ear. "Look woman, I don't like this either, but until I hand you over to Naraku, you're stuck with me. Got it?"
Inuyasha's hand slowly slid down to her throat as his sharp claws barely pressed into her soft skin. "And I can get a little clumsy at times. Who knows what I'll do if you try to escape again. Now, unless you wanna be stuck on my shoulder the rest of the way, I suggest you do exactly what I say."
Kagome felt her lungs filling with air, while her body returned from the num state it had been in. She was afraid to open her eyes; afraid to find herself in a world without those she loved.
Just a bit longer…I want to hold off reality just a bit longer.
Kagome knew that if she opened her eyes, she would be alone; left behind by her friends, her family…Sesshomaru. Just when things were starting to take a turn for the better, she just had to go off and get herself killed.
At least Sesshomaru is safe…as long as he's safe, I can handle this.
But she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Knowing she would have to wait years for those she loved to catch up to her was unbearable. So the tears kept coming, as her eyes remained closed in the peace of ignorance.
Something soft brushed her cheek, taking the tears with it. Kagome wondered if an angel was possibly comforting her, but she didn't want to find out just yet. The hand then moved to her hair and began brushing it with gentle fingers.
"Stop that pup! You'll wake her, and right now she needs rest!" A voice whispered harshly as it began moving around before speaking again. "I will return shortly. For now, leave her in this cave to rest."
"Hnn." Another voice spoke next to her as the first voice quietly left them alone.
The gentle hand slowly pulled away from her hair, and without the physical contact, Kagome became anxious. She unconsciously reached for the hand to draw it back, causing the much larger hand to entwine with hers.
"Kagome?" a soothingly familiar voice whispered, making her feel both happy and panicked. She instantly recognized that it was Sesshomaru, but if she was dead, then that would mean he was too. And if she was right, then that would also mean her efforts to save him were in vain.
She slowly opened her eyes to find the man himself staring down at her with more love and affection than she had ever seen. His large hand moved to her cheek and began rubbing small circles with the pad of his thumb.
"How are you feeling?" He asked softly.
"S-Sesshomaru? W-why?"
"Shh. Don't be alarmed. You are not dead."
"I-I'm not?"
"Would this Sesshomaru lie to you?"
His response almost made her feel ashamed for doubting him. Tears came to her eyes, but this time from joy. A small smile spread across her face as she moved her hands to press his closer to her cheek.
"I'm so happy…" Kagome whispered as her tears trickled down to his palm. "Would you…hold me?" she asked in a shy voice.
A strange look crossed Sesshomaru's eyes for a split second before softening again. He leaned down and moved his right arm behind her back, circling her waist with a strong but comforting grip. She waited for his other arm to do the same, but instead he pressed his lips on her forehead, slowly trailing them down her temple, then cheek. She glanced at his left arm and saw that it was covered by his haori, but a few bandages peeked out from under the shirt. She reached for the cloth that covered his arm, but when she touched it, she could not feel the bulging muscle beneath. Panic overcame her, and she quickly yanked the sleeve back to reveal only a bandaged stub where his left arm had once been.
Kagome gasped from shock and terror, instantly meeting his golden eyes.
"What happened to your arm?!" she sobbed as the tears started rolling again.
"It is nothing," he said, slowly recovering the appendage with his haori. "I lost it in battle, but do not worry. This will heal with time."
"But…but your arm—"
"It is only an arm. I would much rather lose this lump of flesh…than the small life in front of me," he said quietly, dismissing the subject. He slowly rose, but motioned for her to stay down. "I will bring you food," and without another word, he headed towards the cave's entrance.
"He was lying you know," the sudden voice startled the girl as she whirled around to find Shippo watching her intently.
"W-what?" she asked, confused.
"I mean about his arm. He didn't lose it in battle."
Kagome starred up at Shippo, trying to comprehend what he was saying, and before she knew it, she asked, "Then why did he lie?"
"Probably so you wouldn't worry, but I think you have the right to know what really happened. When grandmother opened the portal to the netherworld, Sesshomaru used his left arm to catch your soul so that you could be revived. However, since the netherworld itself is not compatible with life, his arm began to decay the moment he passed through the portal, so to keep his whole body from being infected, we had to slice off the arm."
"So…So it's my fault…It's my fault he lost his arm?" Kagome whispered helplessly, more to herself than the fox prince in front of her.
"…I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Kagome. If I had watched you like I promised…then this wouldn't have happened." Shippo dropped to his knees and bowed before her. "I beg for your forgiveness."
Kagome couldn't think of any words to say, and simply bowed her head too.
"The fault does not solely rest on your shoulders, pup. We all are to blame for what occurred today," the regretful voice of the fox elder filled the cave as she stood before them.
"However, Sesshomaru chose this path my dear, and the best way to show your gratitude is to follow him down that path and give him the support he needs when times become almost unbearable. If you cannot handle this much, then there is no hope left for either of you. The choice rests with you, Kagome. Will you follow Sesshomaru and remain by his side, or abandon him to an even crueler fate?"
Other Author's Note: I have given you two incredibly long chapters in a row. BE HAPPY!