A/N:
Thank you so much for your continued support for this story!
Chapter Twelve
Charged, dark clouds dragged far above the group as they continued stepping through their new designated path between sky-high Cedar trees, the impressively wide trunks and raised roots above the ground spreading through the area as if consciously protecting the forest itself from any soul who might try straying from the clear narrow trail and into their entangled territory.
Taking a deep breath while focusing his attention upwards, Sesshomaru inhaled the moisture in the air, his keen senses noticing the slight change in the richness of the ground and movement of the tree-tops, a hidden scent indicating of the wildlife around him quietly preparing for a storm rapidly approaching their location.
This information, however, did not hinder his movement, and he only silently continued in his tracks, steadily striding before the rest of his companions.
Watching his subtle actions in silence, Kikyo raised her gaze to the sky as well, observing the limited patches of grey concealed through the impossibly high layers of treetops which swayed according to the gradually escalating wind.
Then, she once again lowered her eyes to the inu daiyoukai's back in front of her.
'We'll have to stop somewhere for camp if it gets too unbearable.' She noted, turning to stare at Rin who was sitting on top of A-Un's back, already visibly shaking from the decreasing temperatures.
Stepping closer to one of the bundles strapped onto the two-headed dragon's side, Kikyo unwrapped the fabric supporting the remains of their food supply, tucking the few leftover fruits neatly into the other package containing some accumulated herbs and firewood. Without saying a word, the priestess released the cloth with a simple motion, giving it one solid and harsh shake in the air to rid it of any possible dirt, eventually spreading her arms above the child and successfully covering her entire small frame with it.
"Ah, thank you, Kikyo-sama." Rin expressed with wide eyes, sending her free hand to grab and hold onto the improvised source of warmth she was provided with.
Although she herself was immune to cold and fatigue due to her state of existence, Rin was still an ordinary human, and a child, no less.
"Make sure to cover your head as well once it starts raining." Kikyo instructed warmly through a placid expression.
However, before Rin could voice out her confirmation, a sudden presence caught the attention of both Kikyo and Sesshomaru, causing the priestess' eyebrows to meet with solemn alert as she turned sharply, taking a step forward while extending her free hand to the side before Rin and Jaken, calmly signaling them both to stop moving. With her fingers tightening their hold on the longbow she was holding, Kikyo shot a glance at Sesshomaru, who had also come to a halt in response to the familiar, yet unwanted youki, coming from somewhere above, amidst the greenery of the trees consuming the horizon.
their uncalled-for guest soon materialized in the form of a few large bees, the loud buzzing tearing through the peace around them as they flew into the group's line of sight, carrying the foul scent of Naraku on them.
"N-Naraku's Saimyosho!" Jaken called, taking one hesitated step forward with an angry expression.
But instead of attempting to form any kind of interaction, the demonic insects only continued their flight in their unknown direction, hastily passing before them as if their existence was never even present in the first place.
Keeping his focused golden eyes on the wretched beings, Sesshomaru calmly turned to Kikyo who was standing not far behind him, his calculated gaze locking with hers.
She held it for a moment in silence, eventually granting the inu daiyoukai with a single nod of her head, watching as Sesshomaru then turned back towards the source of his current interest, his form soon shifting into a ball of light, hurriedly cutting through the air and following in their direction without sparing a single word.
"Ahhh Sessho... good grief." Jaken gave up on his sentence midway, sealing it with a deep and accepting, albeit disappointed sigh.
"Oh, it has started to rain." Rin said, glancing upward.
Easing her shoulders as she felt the drops of water beginning to gather on her clothes and hair, Kikyo turned her head halfway in the direction of her companions behind her.
"Let's settle down somewhere." She suggested calmly.
The hours passed and yet the rain showed no signs of stopping, its consistent ring throughout the dense forest around them making it fairly hard to notice any suspicious sounds of possible danger, while also surprisingly granting their area with a certain steady tranquility, a rhythm which danced on top of the leaves and ground, drumming against the raised roots of the trees, slowly amassing into unplanned puddles in the moist soil through the thinner sections of greenery above.
Luckily for them, the vast size of the Cedar trees provided a sufficient enough shelter from the drenching coldness and the thickness of the exposed roots an elevated surface to sit on while they all enjoyed the caressing warmth of the fire propped between the circled growth etched into the wet ground.
Eyeing the elegantly seated priestess in silence from across the campfire, Rin couldn't help but fill with endless questions regarding the latest events. She was interested in what exactly occurred when Kikyo left to follow after Sesshomaru a few nights prior, specifically what kind of conversation they had to have them both return to the camp area together, with the distance between them unmistakably smaller than ever before. Thoughts of the sort flashed in her head relentlessly, giving her no rest. But focusing her curious brown eyes on Kikyo's face, Rin suddenly noticed an unnamed change in her unreadable expression, something very subtle, and yet definitely present... the way her deep mahogany eyes reflected the flickering light of the fire, something in the air around her and the way she carried herself were different than before, back when she last noticed, almost as if a thin veil had been lifted off of the priestess' existence, exposing just a little bit more of a hidden side which was completely concealed until now.
But before Rin could quench her curiosity and voice all of her notions into countless honest questions, she noticed Kikyo suddenly rising to her feet with a swift motion, making surprise cross the child's features.
"Kikyo-sama –"
"Hush." Kikyo quickly silenced, cutting into her inquiry, attempting to somehow hear the location of a sudden presence through the heavy rain.
Jaken, Rin and A-Un watched in stillness as the priestess stepped forward, occasional drips of water falling through the leaves above, slowly soaking her being. Just then, her sharp gaze focused on a single spot above and to her left, and she raised her right hand to draw out a single arrow with incredible speed, aiming it between a certain location among the high wildlife with steady precision. After a single moment of further adjusting to her target, Kikyo released her shot, the bright spiritual energy tearing through the rain, creating a clear path behind it while it flew between branches and leaves, eventually meeting with the tree as the being in question managed to dodge the attack only moments before the impact.
"How long do you intend to hide?" Kikyo firmly called to the rain.
The wind sorceress soon followed to her question, hovering down with a smooth motion until her bare feet came in contact with the wet ground below her, positioning herself at a safe distance from her opponent, lips curved up into a smug smile and crimson red eyes locked onto the priestess' being.
"Unwelcoming as ever, huh, Kikyo." Kagura answered nonchalantly, her voice dripping with bored sarcasm.
"Why you, Kagura!" Jaken suddenly snapped angrily from far behind, "You've got some nerve always snooping around Sesshomaru-sama lately!"
Raising her head slightly at Naraku's offspring before her, Kikyo kept her silence.
And she only maintained her gaze without saying a word, patiently observing the next course of actions the woman would choose to act upon, the sound of the never-ending downpour around them once again dominating their environment, granting it with a static drumming which hardly soothed the heavy atmosphere, this time.
"Still a creepy woman, I see..." The wind user eventually said, raising an annoyed eyebrow, "You don't even care you're getting drenched by this rain?"
But Kikyo kept her silence to her attempt of provocation, her sharp eyes never leaving the being before her and her expression impassive.
Letting out a deep breath, Kagura propped one hand on her waist.
"Listen, my business here is with Sesshomaru, not you, but I can now see he's not even here." She admitted, tilting her head to the side with a swift motion, "I guess he left you to babysit?"
Narrowing her eyes, Kikyo only quietly studied her.
"Should an errand slave of Naraku really be asking that?" She answered, her voice calm and yet her words razor-edged.
Hearing this, Kagura lifted her occupied hand with a swift motion, her fan opening against the movement as she held it extended before her.
"Don't fuck with me." She hissed, anger embedded in her face, "What the hell are you even doing with Sesshomaru in the first place? Are you so weak that you have to rely and hide behind his strength?"
As if on cue, the rain suddenly worsened, its harsh drops no longer supported by the thinner tops of the trees above where they stood as they fell violently all around both women, gradually soaking through the fabrics of their garbs and the locks of their hair.
But Kikyo's expression still remained eerily-calm, never answering to her rude inquiries.
"Playing silent treatment with me, huh?!" Kagura eventually snapped, and with a deadly swish of her right arm, she released numerous glowing half circles at Kikyo's direction, causing both Jaken and Rin to scream with pure terror as they quickly darted behind the nearest large root of the tree they were standing next to.
Tensing her shoulders slightly with intent, Kikyo only raised her bow before herself, the act performing a shield of pure spiritual energy as the blades of wind clashed against it, coming into a sudden stop as they hung in mid-air before her for no more than a second, then violently deflected back at their surprised sender.
Dodging her own concentrated horizontal attack, Kagura could only jump upwards, her actions already read and considered as Kikyo fired two flying arrows to her next presumed location, managing to successfully guess where she would end up as they tore through the sleeves of her obi, pinning her to the tree behind and slamming her back against the harsh, wet wood, restraining her movements with deadly precision.
"The next one is aimed at your head." Kikyo notified the wide-eyed wind sorceress with a cold and calculated glare, her bow set and ready to fire at any given moment.
But Kagura quickly pulled on her arms to violently rip her outfit away from its current restrains, dropping to the ground as she supported herself with her free hand, her expression pure anger.
"Don't toy with me, bitch!" She staggered to her feet, gritting her teeth, "Answer my question!"
Observing the frustration clear in her enemy's face for another moment, Kikyo lowered her weapon and closed her eyes, releasing a mocking breath which only further fueled Kagura's anger and confusion.
"Kagura of the Wind... You came here knowing Sesshomaru was lured away by Naraku's diversion." She deducted calmly, opening cold mahogany eyes to clash with crimson red ones, once again.
Kagura's expression suddenly turned amused, although her eyebrows still met with unquestionable irritation.
"Hoo? And what makes you believe that, Kikyo?" Her smile was smug, but the way in which she inched backwards was telling enough for the priestess to believe in her own keen judgement.
"Do yourself a favor and do not blindly fall for Naraku's lowly tricks." She only replied, lowering her head down while maintaining Kagura's glare.
Visibly confused by her unexpected words, Kagura maintained her silence for a moment.
"What the hell are you talking about?" She demanded.
Lowering her bow as she returned the arrow back into its quiver, Kikyo only stared at her in silence with perfect poise, her studying eyes never breaking away from Kagura's being.
"Naraku did not choose to send you before me by mistake." She further stated, her voice low, "As a woman, I'm sure you understand what I mean."
Kagura's eyes widened at the last part of the priestess' deduction, causing her expression to immediately shift to pure anger.
"Tch!" She spat, sending her right hand to quickly pluck one feather out of her neatly collected hair bun as she threw it to the ground, using her ability to transform it into a giant feather upon which she levitated herself out of the area, the harsh wind from her actions bursting through the air and splattering cold water everywhere, drenching whatever still dry parts of Kikyo's being completely, "As if I need to hear that from a damn undead piece of clay!" Kagura shot down at her from above, hurriedly taking her leave through the storm.
The rain soon settled back vertically, continuing to pour down as Kikyo maintained her position for a few more moments, confirming that the threat was indeed gone.
Her gaze lingered on the impossibly tall tree tops above her in silence as she once again found herself enjoying the rhythmic drumming of the drizzle all around her, the feeling of its now considerably calmer drops dribbling on her face as if gently washing away her recent unpleasant experience from her memory.
"Kikyo-sama!" Rin called from behind her, peering from above the high and thick root both Jaken and her were hiding behind, "Are you alright?"
Turning to face her companions, the priestess eased her shoulders as she stepped back to the camp area, finally sheltering herself below the large tree from the relentless rain.
"I am fine." She confirmed, cool drops of water falling from her straight bangs and across her face, her completely wet burgundy kosode sticking to her figure and her feet smeared with mud, "You're not hurt, are you?"
Rin shook her head, approaching closer as she eyed her appearance.
"Kikyo-sama, aren't you cold?" The child asked innocently, worry clear in her face.
But Kikyo only wore a warm smile in response, stepping towards the now barely existing fire.
"I'll be fine once we maintain these flames." She said, reaching for the pile of wood next to it as she quickly tossed a few planks into the burning pile of embers.
"Kikyo-sama was so cool!" Rin beamed, stepping in to help with increasing the warmth of the fire, leaving Jaken behind her, who was still shaking from the unexpected danger which almost wiped out his existence. Hesitantly stepping from around the large root, the imp demon eyed Kikyo in silence, swallowing hard as his green hands clutched onto the wooden Nintojo.
He most definitely will never admit it to any other soul other than his own, however, he was now beginning to find some sense behind Rin's words regarding similarities between the priestess and his master.
As soon as both Rin and Kikyo managed to once again liven and expand the flames enough to grant their camp with sufficient warmth, a familiar presence returned to the area, this time, one which was most welcomed and recognized.
"Welcome back, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin greeted happily from across the campfire once she noticed his figure.
"Oh! Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken cried out with relief as he hurried before his master descending through the now steady rain and onto the wet soil, his sash returning to its normal size as it draped over his shoulder, carefully lifted slightly above the ground behind him as to not get stained by the muddy ground. He made his way towards where they were located, his golden eyes setting on Kikyo as he watched her throw another piece of wood into the fire, examining her soaked appearance.
She turned back to face him with a smooth motion, her expression unreadable as her mahogany eyes met with his golden ones, drops of rain still departing from her hair and garbs, running down her face and neck, eventually falling to the ground below her feet.
Reaching where she stood, Sesshomaru stopped at a respectful distance from the priestess.
"Naraku's insects proved to be nothing but a waste of time." He said, staring down at her, "His actions were clearly a diversion."
Hearing this, Kikyo let out an amused breath.
"Yes, they were." She confirmed.
Sesshomaru only kept his gaze on her for a moment more.
"This area still reeks with his scent." He stated, his golden orbs studying her wet form, "What has occurred in my absence?"
Turning back to the warmth of the fire, Kikyo made her way along the large root of the tree, sitting herself down on it as she lowered her arrow quiver from her shoulder, setting both the barrel and her longbow to her side, leaned against the wood next to her legs.
"Kagura was here." She said simply, raising her gaze back to observe the daiyoukai's reaction.
But Sesshomaru only stepped in the opposite direction from the priestess, elegantly sitting himself across from her with the fire positioned between them both, his expression not reflecting any signs of special emotions residing in it.
"I assume she was of no substantial threat to you." He answered, his tone very matter-of-fact, yet hinted with interest regarding the events which unfolded while he was gone.
"No. However, I was not the one she was truly hoping to see in the first place."
Keeping her observing gaze on him, Kikyo couldn't help but blink at the hinted confusion reflected in his fierce golden eyes exposed by the steady light of the fire, as well as his continued silence, patiently awaiting her to further explain the point behind her words. Refraining from answering to his unexpected wonder for a moment more, she eventually caught his eyebrows meeting with a quiet realization.
'Did he really not notice?' She mused.
Unable to explain why, exactly, the priestess suddenly overcame with a rather useless, albeit most consuming curiosity regarding her ally.
And at that moment, she allowed herself to superficially scan and examine his physical features. Compared to Inuyasha, Kikyo already noted Sesshomaru was much bigger in build, however now, when she took a good glance at him, the priestess noticed his face also seemed far more refined, with keen, intelligent eyes that surprisingly could reflect more than just cold murderous intent, a noble nose, solemn mouth and strong jawline, all framed by long silver locks, his unique markings, fancy armor and regal attitude only solidifying his impressive appearance.
No doubt his looks would shower him with continuous attention from the opposite sex.
His personality, however, was a different story entirely, the contrast evidently large enough to explain the reason her hint did not resonate with him straight away.
"I suppose it's no surprise you don't really pay these kinds of themes much thought." Kikyo eventually concluded, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Narrowing his eyes at her, Sesshomaru processed her blunt words for a moment.
"I seek nothing more than to battle the most powerful beings alive." He answered, watching her closely, "Themes of the sort which you speak of are irrelevant and therefore unnecessary."
Lifting her hand, Kikyo silently reached for an inner pocket in the sleeve of her still wet burgundy kosode, pulling out a small, pale cloth out of it. Lowering herself down slightly, she sent her palm to her right foot, beginning to wipe the mud staining her skin.
"I believe it's important to at least recognize them." She said nonchalantly, her attention focused down at her current task as she efficiently rubbed the dark stains with a circular motion, the wet cloth collecting the dirt onto itself and gradually releasing her being from any imperfections.
Keeping his gaze on her, Sesshomaru's eyebrows met with displeasure to her words.
"Should you really be telling me that when you, yourself, failed to recognize such useless emotions coming from no other than Naraku himself, back at his pitiful human state?" He countered with ease.
Hearing this, Kikyo stopped her actions for a moment, only to resume them again as she silently continued with her cleaning.
"I was aware of Onigumo's desire for me." She admitted, finishing her task and rising up back to meet his gaze with a smooth motion, her expression as unreadable as ever.
Sesshomaru's frown only deepened at her words.
"And yet you kept on foolishly caring for him?" He asked, his tone harsh and his golden eyes boring into her being in their usual intense fashion.
"I was and still am a priestess." She answered, returning his fierceness with calm confidence, "It is my duty to help those in need."
The daiyoukai held her gaze for the longest time in silence.
The sight of her sitting inside the cursed cave, how she embraced the corrupted saint who was so easily persuaded into abandoning his objective to the concept of her setting his soul free, as well as the way the man who almost killed Rin pathetically begged for her to do the same, all surfaced in his mind, granting him with the same wretched heavy and suffocating feeling in his gut.
He did not even need to ask about the white strand of hair she had carried with her back then, either;
By now, he had learned enough to unfortunately be able to guess what kind of human it belonged to.
Maintaining his gaze on her form, he watched Kikyo continue with her actions as she placed the dirty cloth onto her cream mo-bakama, lifting her hands and reaching back for her pale hair binding, releasing the knot and letting her still wet hair fall freely down her back as her purplish-black long locks spread out to frame her being.
He clenched his jaw.
"With your appearance, it would only be wise to constantly keep the nature of men in mind, miko." Sesshomaru voiced out his disagreement, his tone low and heavy, as if letting out the sentence itself was a difficult battle for himself to overcome.
Surprised, Kikyo blinked at him as she processed his unexpected words.
While she most certainly did not need for him to advise her that, she couldn't help but analyze the hidden meaning behind his remark;
The way he said it, his tone and current displeased look... all of it seeming rather like jealousy, almost.
But that couldn't possibly be the case here... right?
"For such a generally collected individual, you're appearing quite provoked right now, Sesshomaru." She noted before him, testing his reaction to her stark words carefully.
But instead of following with his own agitated state further, she watched him suddenly compose himself to cold perfection, as if the mere idea of showing any unplanned emotions was absolutely unthinkable.
Fascinated, Kikyo's silent curiosity sparked once more.
Why was this man in front of her so careful of displaying his emotions in the first place? Surely his rank couldn't be all there was to his motive.
Quietly staring at him for a few more moments, Kikyo swept all of her damp hair forward, slowly squeezing and rinsing it before the warmth of the fire from all the liquid it still carried, drops of water hurriedly falling onto the root she was sitting on.
"Is there a special reason for your lack of expressiveness, Sesshomaru?" She further investigated. And only when the question left her mouth, did she realize she was truly lost in the most unnecessary of subjects, and sharing this type of exchange with someone the likes of Sesshomaru, no less. However, she somehow found herself still uncontrollably drawn to uncovering these answers regarding her companion, and she resolved into realizing the spare time they currently had was better used for this purpose, rather than wasted on another lengthy silence compensated by the steady sound of the rain all around them.
Never breaking from her studying gaze, Sesshomaru only shifted in his seat, straightening his posture before her with a calm expression.
"There is no possible other way for I, Sesshomaru, to respect my own position and rank as Lord of the Western Lands." He answered simply, although dryly, "You, however, are unfamiliar with ranks of the sort and yet still maintain your invariable composure. What is your reason?"
Kikyo's eyebrows rose slightly.
She did not expect him to turn the question back at her like he did, however the fact that Sesshomaru held similar interest in her own ways of carrying herself had increased the necessity of their exchange which she deemed so useless, somehow allowing slight relief to dwell inside of her. She let out a silent breath as her slender fingers let go of their grip on her long hair, instead beginning to slowly brush through it.
This was a subject which she much rather not talk about, however, it was only fair of her to respect his questions and share equal amount of information with him, as well.
Watching her closely, Sesshomaru once again noticed the faint hint of sadness and longing expressed in her features and exposed by the cascading light of the fire before her.
"My duty as both a priestess and guardian of the Shikon Jewel prevented me from displaying any kind of emotions to my surroundings." She began, mahogany eyes locked with his golden ones, "From a young age and throughout my years of training, I was frequently reminded that demons would not hesitate to take advantage of this weakness, and therefore that I must conceal my thoughts and feelings, making sure to always appear sturdy before anyone."
The heaviness in her voice and the way her breath dragged after she finished talking did not escape the daiyoukai's keen senses.
"An understandable truth to live by." Sesshomaru determined, "When cornered, one must know how to detect and ignore useless notions in order to maintain composure even at the most desperate of situations."
Kikyo kept silent to his words, her chest rising and falling with a silent exhale, eventually breaking his eye-contact and setting her gaze down onto the fire.
"Perhaps." She answered, the deepest shades of mahogany in her eyes uncovered against the source of light, "However, because of that, I have found myself tumbling between two realities, perceived as neither a human or a demon... an unnamed existence which had no clear place in this world."
Taking in this information, Sesshomaru suddenly felt an odd need of countering it. There was something about her words that sent avid disagreement within him, as well as the urge to make sure she understood how ridiculous that kind of deduction was when applied to someone like her.
"A place in this world should be decided by power and power alone." He said firmly.
Lifting her eyes back to meet with his for a moment, Kikyo's expression hinted with disappointment.
"Even the vastest amounts of power do not grant one with true happiness, Sesshomaru."
He only stared at her in silence for the longest time, the now much calmer fall of dribbles gently splashing against the accumulated puddles on the ground around their camp area.
"Hmph," He mocked, calmly placing his right hand on top of his bent knee, "Insignificant human emotions are something that I do not understand."
But Kikyo only let out an amused breath at his words.
"Well, when you are denied of something for so long, you tend to appreciate it more once you can finally enjoy it." She said, raising her mahogany orbs back to meet with fierce golden ones and allowing herself to smile, if only once, "Free to love, free to hate... I guess only someone like myself can treasure it to this degree."
Sesshomaru blinked as he met with the rare genuine expression on Kikyo's face, the first she had ever directed towards him instead of Rin in all of the priestess' time accompanying his group and different from any of her sad smiles before, the way the deepest shades in her eyes gleamed with remarkable emotion and how the light danced across her glistering wet features all causing the same cursed warmth to ignite in his chest and spread through his entire being, only this time significantly stronger, making his eyebrows meet with displeasure to the sudden intense sensation.
He lowered his head and swallowed hard as he internally forced himself to shake his mind clear from these dangerous notions, narrowing his eyes at her form and involuntary leaning away in his seat without even noticing.
Managing to calm his thinking process, Sesshomaru cleared his throat.
His heart, however, would most likely take long before it would cease its irrational thudding in his own chest.
He only watched in silence as Kikyo rose to her feet without saying a word, making her way around where they were seated and stepping towards Rin, A-Un and Jaken who were resting behind one of the tree's large roots, his golden eyes never leaving her figure.
'Just what part of this woman could ever be mistaken for anything other than human?' He wondered as quietly as he could.
A/N:
I had slightly different plans for this chapter, but overall I think it more or less came out as I envisioned.
Kagura makes her appearance! and trash talks as always.
Hope you enjoyed this one! Thank you so much for your kind reviews and positive feedback! please keep on letting me know what you think.