Chapter Five: Marked
The stare off between Miroku and Sesshomaru seemed longer than it was. Sesshomaru stood tense, contemplating his situation and calculating whatever odds he could come up with. He has witnessed the power of this monk's hand before and doubted the length of time he'd be able to resist being pulled into the whirlwind. However, answering the question presented to him was just as dangerous. The monk seemed and honest one and obviously cared for Kagome.
Sesshomaru went to speak. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He looked off to the side, the answer obvious by his behavior. Miroku figured it out the moment Sesshomaru did not immediately deny it. The demon lord was wrestling with his life, pride, and reputation all at once and Miroku understood that, but he wanted to hear Sesshomaru admit it to him and to himself.
"I marked her." Sesshomaru admitted, his upper lip twitching upwards to reveal a fang.
"I thought so." Miroku said and reapplied the prayer beads to his wrist.
There was another extensive silence as the two stared at one another. Miroku was calmer than Sesshomaru expected, leaving him to wonder what the monk was thinking.
"I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru." Miroku said sincerely. For a brief moment, Sesshomaru expected the Wind Tunnel. Instead, he realized the true concern within the sincere apology.
"Why?" he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Sesshomaru did not understand Miroku's calm demeanor after he admitted to his crime. He expected yelling, insults, and other human behavior. Instead, he received a sincere apology.
"Being a demon of your standing, I cannot imagine how something like this impacts you." Miroku picked up his staff, "Kagome is my friend and I care a lot for her. What has happened is unforgivable, but knowing what I know, I cannot put the fault entirely on you. While it would have been smarter for you to just pick a Demon Princess you knew, something prevented you from choosing a mate. It is not your fault you were born with a burden that, quite literally, forces you to mate whether you like it or not."
"I have not found a female demon worthy of myself."
"Heh…" Miroku shook his head, "And now you're in this situation."
"Watch yourself." Sesshomaru's eyes widened angrily, his hand gripping Tōkijin a little tighter.
"Sesshomaru," Miroku spoke sternly, "Your stubborn pride has gotten you into this situation. Over the many years you've lived, you've rejected every female that has come your way. You've decided that you're so far above everything and everyone, that you allowed yourself to fall further than even the poorest of humans would ever allow themselves to."
"WATCH IT."
"You're now drawn to Kagome in a way you never thought you would be, permanently attached to her and desiring nothing more than her safety all because you were too stupid t-…"
Miroku was stopped when a hand reached for his throat and stopped a mere inch away. He leaned his head back, glancing down at the claws that hovered a short distance from his throat. Sesshomaru stared at him, wanting nothing more than to grab his neck, but something held him back. There was little in the eyes of the brazen monk who seemed to intentionally push Sesshomaru's buttons. If this had been a normal day, Miroku knew he'd be dead. However, this was not a normal day for either of them.
"As I thought." Miroku said and sighed, "You can't hurt me, can you?"
"What are you talking about?" Sesshomaru asked, lowering his hand from Miroku.
"You can't hurt anyone that she cares about because it would harm her."
"How do you know all of this?"
"I've studied demons since I was a young boy." Miroku explained, "I've encountered all kinds, read many scrolls depicting different rituals, been given the ability to learn things most can't… One of the things I learned from my Father, just days before he passed away, was about the mating ceremonies of demons. I never really thought them true because I could never confirm it, at least not until now."
"What do you want from me?"
"What? What are you talking about?" Miroku asked, now the confused one.
"I've marked your friend through appalling means. I doubt you'll keep this hidden for nothing."
"Sesshomaru, the only thing I want from you is to die."
"Excuse me?" Sesshomaru's eyes widened momentarily, the shock quickly fading with a second blink.
"Obviously, that's not something that I can do. I'd never have the power to defeat you and I'm not sure if the things sucked into my Wind Tunnel die or are just transported somewhere else, so that path may be useless. What I do know is that you are attached to someone I care about and I believe that only your death will free her from this curse. Until that happens, she's trapped in something she does not deserve and because I can't speak about it, there's no way for me to help her out of it. So, what do I want from you? I want you to die. I want you to stab yourself through the heart with that cursed demon blade. I want you to do this because after what you've allowed to happen to my friend, my very selfless and kind friend, you don't deserve the life you have. You deserve hell, but Kagome does not."
Sesshomaru kept silent and stared at the monk. Miroku stared back for a few moments before closing his eyes, sighing, and walking passed the dumbfounded demon. Sesshomaru watched him pass by without any hint of fear. Seeing that helped Sesshomaru realize a couple things: he really couldn't attack this man because the mark was preventing it and he really was permanently attached to Inuyasha's wench. Was death truly the only option that he had to free himself? He had no plans of dying, but if something were to befall Kagome, he would be free from this embarrassment.
Without another word, Sesshomaru left.
The night ended with Shippo curled into Kagome's arms, his head recovering from a nasty bump. Kagome could not thank the young boy enough for saving her, but never wanted him to have to do such a thing again. Seeing him harmed because of her was a lot for Kagome to take in. Sesshomaru's words about her loss of power kept coming back to her mind. Was her soul really in distress? She thought she was getting better, but the evidence was proving otherwise. Shippo made her feel better and Sango was always supporting and reassuring her that things were going to be okay. She thought she believed them, but if her powers aren't working like Sesshomaru said, was there more to this than she thought?
Kagome was not going to find answers sitting in the room the Prince of this village offered. She found herself wandering out into a nearby garden and chose to sit on a wooden bench next to a small flowerbed. She ran a few thoughts through her head, but before anything concrete formed, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see the Prince standing above her, smiling.
"You could not sleep either, I assume?" he asked kindly.
"No, I couldn't." Kagome set her hands in her lap and stared at the ground.
"May I sit with you?" he asked and she nodded quietly. The prince sat down and looked up at the stars above. The two stayed quiet, but the silence soon became uncomfortable for both.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" Kagome lifted her head, asking him nicely.
"My sleep is plagued with visions of demons and the slaughtering of my people." He explained, clasping his hands tightly together as if to pray, "I need you to return that jewel shard you took."
"What? Oh, right." Kagome said as her mind recalled the day's events, "That may not be the best."
"You cannot take it fro-…"
"That's not it. The jewel only brings destruction to those who possess it. Demons seek it, they sense it, and so the longer it is here in your village, the more demons that will be drawn here to gain its power."
"I see, but the jewel is supposed to be a sacred gem of purity. Why does it draw in evil?"
"Because evil seeks to corrupt what is good. The jewel can be corrupted no differently than a soul…" Kagome's words went quiet as they struck a chord with her. Sesshomaru said her soul was in distress and so she could not use the powers she had come to rely on. Her power was that of a priestess, a pure and good person. Maybe by being defiled by Sesshomaru, she was no longer worthy of them.
"Young woman, are you alright?" the Prince pulled her from her thoughts. She looked to him confused, but the small trickles down her cheeks caught her attention. She was crying again.
"Oh, yes." Kagome said and wiped the tears with her sleeve, "I'm just going through some stuff right now."
"I understand. I know it is none of my business, but I do wish you well." The Prince said as he stood up and began walking off. He stopped and turned back to Kagome. "Keep the shard. I do not want more destruction to befall my people."
"Good choice." Kagome nodded and the Prince left.
Kagome sat outside for a few more minutes when the wind picked up. She closed her eyes and took that moment to feel the breeze blow through her hair. The silence normally bothered her since it let her mind run wild, but in this moment, the cool air only helped her relax. Finally, she felt like she could sleep and returned to the room with everyone else. She quietly slid beneath her blankets and went to sleep.
.
.
A couple of weeks passed and Kagome was able to act like normal. Her body was no longer bruised and sore from her attack, but her powers had not returned. She still could not sense the jewel shards and had to start practicing with her bow without the power running through it. She was so used to her energy helping with the power behind it, she had not realized that the firing of her arrows was often weak. It did not take her long to get better. A few adjustments and a newly made bow changed things.
It was early evening on a hot day and the group stopped in a village by the sea. Inuyasha and Miroku were speaking with the village headman about recent demon sightings, Shippo was playing with Kilala, and Sango was relaxing on a log a few feet away from Kagome as she practiced on a tree. She borrowed some of the chalk she gave Shippo a while back and drew a target on the trunk. She notched the arrow, pulled back, aimed, and fired. The arrow shot through the air and slammed into the tree.
"Right on the mark." Kagome said happily and Sango looked over to see the progress.
"Yeah, the bow being up to your standard helps a lot." Sango clapped her hands, "I bet when your powers return, they'll be even stronger because your natural skill has improved."
"You think so? I'm glad this comes so naturally to me." Kagome sat down on the log next to Sango.
"You have been using it a while. Your powers didn't do everything, just made the arrow hit harder."
"That's true. I just hate feeling so useless." Kagome sighed.
"Haha. You're not useless. You never have been and never will be." Sango reassured Kagome, nudging her slightly with her elbow, "You may not be as powerful as a demon or trained since you were as young as I was, but every single day you help us in many ways. If you're not watching our backs, you're keeping our spirit up with your energy and that delicious food you bring from your time."
"Thanks, Sango."
"KAGOME!" Sango suddenly yelled, catching those around and Kagome off guard as a strange tendril of some sort whipped around Kagome's neck. It coiled tightly and quickly started dragging her off. Sango hurried to her hiraikotsu, but by the time she looked back, Kagome was far away. Shippo and Kilala were chasing after her, but couldn't get close. Sango followed quickly as Kagome was dragged into the sea.
"Sango, what's going on?" Inuyasha yelled as he ran over alongside Miroku.
"IT GRABBED HER." Sango screamed and just ran into the water without another word, dropping her primary weapon so it wouldn't slow her down. She could barely see Kagome in the water and tried swimming toward her, but her friend was getting farther out of her reach.
Kagome pulled desperately on the tendril choking her and dragging her to the bottom of the ocean. It wasn't long before her back hit the sand and she was being pushed into the sea floor.
Seeing Sango run into the water, Inuyasha followed suit and dove much quicker than Sango could. He looked to Sango who pointed in Kagome's direction, catching sight of the demon who grabbed her. It was a large sea creature with tendrils growing out of its back. Its face matched that of a catfish and its body was more like a praying mantis. Despite its hideous appearance, it had enough strength to knock Inuyasha away when he tried making the first strike. Once he stopped flying through the water, he pulled out Tetsusaiga and released the Windscar without another moment of hesitation.
The demon was defeated, but Kagome wasn't moving. Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from the sea floor, swimming to the surface. Once she saw Kagome was with Inuyasha, she turned back and went to the surface. As Sango's head popped out of the water, she took in a deep breath and looked around for Inuyasha. He was floating there with Kagome in his arms. She was unconscious.
"Is she okay?" Sango swam over.
"She's not breathing!" Inuyasha began to panic, tapping Kagome's face.
"BRING HER HERE." Miroku yelled from the dock. Inuyasha and Sango swam over as quickly as they could. Miroku helped them pull Kagome from the water and laid her on the dock.
"That thing she taught us, remember?" Shippo said and hit Kagome on the chest, "Push here, push here and breathe into her mouth. Remember?"
"Right… H-How do we do that again?" Inuyasha asked, the lesson escaping him.
"Damn it, move." Miroku pushed Inuyasha aside and began performing CPR, "Sango, breathe for her. Remember to keep her head back enough or it won't work right." Sango did as she was told and this continued on for a couple of minutes, a time that felt like hours to the group.
The villagers began gathering around and offering their prayers, knowing that those who were under the water too long did not come back.
"Come on, Kagome…" Inuyasha begged and pat Shippo's head as he held back tears.
Kagome's chest suddenly raised as she coughed up water and rolled onto her side. She took in a deep breath and took a few moments to recover. Miroku and Inuyasha fell back and laid on the dock. Sango let the tears fall, holding Kagome in place as she coughed out the rest of the water. Shippo jumped for joy and ran around in circles with his arms up.
"I knew you could do it! Yay!" Shippo cheered.
"You… remembered." Kagome spoke through labored breaths.
"Miroku remembered better than any of us, but yes we did." Sango said and wiped her tears, before picking Shippo up and bringing him over, "In fact, Shippo was the one that reminded us what to do."
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Shippo crossed his arms proudly.
"Thank you, Shippo." Kagome leaned over and kissed his cheek, "You saved my life, again."
"You're welcome." Shippo smiled sheepishly, his cheeks tinting a faint red as he scratched at his cheek.
The temptation to kiss the boy on the cheek was high, but everyone's attention was caught by the surrounding villagers. They were muttering amongst themselves, shocked at Kagome's revival. When the headman calmed a few of his worried people, he walked up to the group.
"How did you bring her back?" he asked, glancing to Inuyasha, "Is this a trick of demons?"
"No, it's not." Kagome said and went to stand up. She stumbled for a moment, but Sango kept her on her feet. "It's something I learned from my people. It doesn't always work, but when it does, you do have a chance to revive someone who has drowned and breathed in too much water."
"Please, please, I beg you. Teach my people this technique." The headman dropped to his knees and held his hand together, "We have lost so many to the sea. Whether they were under for a long or short time, it hasn't mattered. They all perish to the water. I can't bear to lose another child this way."
"I… Uh." Kagome looked to the others. Their plans were to leave here before the day was over, but with such a desperate plea for help, none of them felt comfortable abandoning these villagers.
"Of course." Miroku spoke up.
"What?" Inuyasha retorted, "Miroku, we have to keep searching for Naraku."
"I understand that, Inuyasha, but after Kagome's brush with death, she has the right to rest." Miroku explained as calmly as he could, "Besides, how many lives can we rescue even in our absence merely by teaching these people this life saving technique. We never thought it would come in handy."
"Yes, when Kagome was teaching us, we weren't that serious about it." Sango pressed her finger against her cheek, recalling the CPR lesson that Kagome had given them. Inuyasha barely paid attention, Sango was only half-learning because she was distracted with repairing her hiraikotsu, and Miroku and Shippo watched as if they were being shown a new treasure. "I still think Miroku only paid attention because he imagined pressing down on a woman's chest, but it ended up saving your life in the end."
"I beg your pardon! I pay attention to all of Kagome's lessons and women have little to do with it." Miroku crossed his arms and raised his chin in rebuttal to Sango's claims.
"I think we should stay and teach them." Shippo said and pointed toward a few kids, "If not, one slip could take someone's life and that's not good. Teach them!"
"We will." Kagome agreed and looked to the headman with a smile.
"Oh, bless you!" He said cheerfully and turned to his people. He called on them to offer whatever assistance and comforts they could to those that would be teaching them. "Nothing is more important than protecting our children and this could save hundreds, now and in the future."
The group was led to one of the larger huts in the village. It was not the wealthiest of villages, so they were offered whatever the village had. Throughout the night, they were brought food, blankets, clothing, and even some tools the villagers had to offer. Kagome began her lessons after dinner and gathered as many villagers in the center of town as possible. She used both Miroku and Sango as examples for normal CPR and then Shippo when she needed a young child. The lesson lasted for a couple of hours before the villagers scattered and everyone seemed to settle in for the night.
"I wish I had paid attention last time…" Inuyasha said solemnly, the group sitting around a warm fire in the hut they were given for the night, "I didn't think drowning was that common."
"It is, especially for people who live by the sea." Kagome replied, stoking the fire.
"I hope they remember it. The village headman made sure everyone paid attention." Shippo added. "I saw people writing some of it down too."
"Kagome, there is another one I want to relearn." Inuyasha brought up.
"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"The one where you make food pop back out of their throats." He said.
"Oh, the Heimlich Maneuver."
"That word is weird, but I guess." Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head, "Can you teach us again?"
"Yes, but not tonight. I am really tired and breathing is a little uncomfortable after almost drowning." Kagome said and then looked down to Shippo.
"Huh? What's wrong, Kagome?" he asked, but all she did was smile and pull the boy into her arms, nuzzling her cheek against his.
"I love you, Shippo. You know that, right?" Kagome said.
"I-I love you too, Kagome." Shippo returned the hug tightly, wondering if this was his moment.
"You two are adorable." Sango giggled and clapped her hands together, "Perfect mother and son."
"Ah!" Shippo gasped at Sango and pointed at her, "Stolen! You stole it."
"What do you mean, Shippo?" Sango asked, the entire group confused.
"I wanted to ask her, but you just said it!" Shippo flailed his arms angrily, tears in his eyes.
"Shippo, I'm… sorry. I don't…" Sango blinked in surprise, feeling a little guilty.
"I was gonna ask Kagome to be my Mom…" he said, his head lowered. He had been planning on it for a really long time, but didn't have the courage. With everything that had been going on with Kagome, he thought the time was coming, but he didn't want someone else to spoil it.
"Shippo…" Kagome swooped the young boy into her arms again, holding him close, "You have no idea how much you mean to me. We have been friends for a long time now and if you really want me to be your mother, then I have to admit something to you that is very, very important."
"What?" Shippo asked, blinking the tears away.
"I would really, really love it if you would be my son." Kagome said excitedly and Shippo lit up. He never thought Kagome would ask him to be her son. This was amazing.
"Really? You mean it?" Shippo asked, wanting the reassurance.
"Yes, I do, but only if you really want to."
"Yes! You'll be the best Mom ever. I know it." Shippo hopped a couple times then nuzzled himself into Kagome's chest, squeezing as tight as his little demon strength would allow.
"I hope so. I'll try my best." Kagome placed her cheek on Shippo's head as the two embraced. She had been calling him her son mentally ever since she heard him call her Momma in his sleep, but until now it had never become an official thing. Shippo was what kept her going, kept her calm and ready to fight her inner demons as they crept up to gnaw on her mind.
Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha watched the two calmly. They each could see a tranquility wash over Kagome as she held Shippo in her arms. The two had always bonded well and everyone could tell that they cared deeply for each other. At times, it was a surprise that this talk hadn't already happened.
With the night ending on a beautiful and refreshing note for the entire group, they all were able to sleep peacefully. Kagome, for the first time in a long time, rested as if there wasn't a worry in her world. With her son laying right next to her, no darkness was able to stir her mind. On this night, she was at peace.
