Chapter 12
Inuyasha had decided to jump into the well and bring Kagome to the past, for the lack of her presence was tormenting and causing him to over worry. Throughout the last couple of hours Miroku had been trying to cast a protection seal on Yuutsuki's arm to keep the sword's demon energy from spreading in case if it went berserk again.
"It should keep it from spreading, at least for now. You should work on your spiritual powers, they do seem to collaborate reasonably well with the ring's power." The monk stated, taking his hand away from Yuutsuki's shoulder. She said nothing, just bowed her head in appreciation. If not for the sudden inflow of adrenaline, her body would have been long absorbed by the sword's energy, not even the ring would have saved her. She had willingly agreed to be possessed, taken over, fortunately the disaster had been narrowly avoided. Yuutsuki felt remorseful, she had behaved like a sassy youngster again, putting herself and others in jeopardy.
"If you wish, until Kagome comes back I can give you a tip or two." Miroku smiled, skilfully alleviating her sense of guilt. "Now rest, you need to sleep it through. We will bring you something to eat before the nightfall." The girl nodded in agreement, omitting her condition on purpose. She passed out as the hut's door closed with a squeal.
Yuutsuki was lying on the floor of Kaede´s hut, inept to control reoccurring shivers running through her enfeebled body. The room was dark and in the air there was a simmering stench of mould. The intentional intake of demon energy had made her feel like a sick dog after consuming a bad sausage. The additional damage caused by Sesshoumaru was certainly not meliorating her state of being. In the end, her assignment had turned out to be fruitless, Sesshoumaru's instructions had not been put in action. She indeed, had managed to lock a part of the sword's energy in her arm, making it swifter and more powerful, but that was not the main objective. Now with no clue which way to proceed, she awaited the upcoming events with uneasiness in her heart, fearing for the worst. She had blindly trusted Sesshoumaru from the past, that she hadn't even dare to doubt his intentions. Maybe it was of his interest for her to leave the past and remain in the future, maybe she was about to cause something irreversible, not necessarily erroneous, harmful.
However, it was not of her intention to execute the plan anymore for somewhere deep within she knew, she had made a mistake, her judgements had been influenced, and her, too persuaded. The awareness of Sesshoumaru's anger, the feeling of his rage, made her feeling horrible about it, had come to confirm it. Yuutsuki regretted her imprudence.
She passed out for a bit again, just to wake up even woozier and with more difficulties breathing. The events came to her head again, causing thousands of uncatchable thoughts. The only thing was sure, feeling embarrassed, she dreaded fronting the whole party, in particular Sesshoumaru the most.
She was too ashamed to ask for aid.
The hut's door opened slightly and Yuutsuki turned her head towards the entrance, giving a short intake of air to her lounges.
"I have brought you something to eat." Sango approached the dark figure lying on the floor. Even though the place was dim, she noticed Yuutsuki's ghastly face covered with sweat drops, her glossy, weirdly sunken eyes.
"Yuutsuki!" The demon slayer dropped the soup bowl she had been holding and quickly opened the door widely to illuminate the place.
"What is the matter?" The old priestess entered the hut, alarmed with Sango's shout. "Oh… she needs help, Sango, quickly, bring some fresh, cold water and my bag of herbs." Kaede knelt in front of Yuutsuki and started to undress the girl. "Don't let any men inside!" She added, yelling.
"How did you develop such a fever, child?"
Yuutsuki lifted her eyes at the old woman's face as her vision became dimmer and darker, she heard an obstinate buzzing in her head, until she finally lost consciousness yet again.
Kaede left the hut after half of an hour, with a saddened face she announced to Sango and Miroku:
"She's unconscious, I feel a lot of demon energy running through her body, your seal has been broken, Miroku… If she doesn't get properly treated she might not last the night."
The monk's eyes widened, he had not expect that.
"Lady Kaede, is any of us capable of helping her right now?"
The old woman sighted and shook her head in denial. "No my dear, none of us is that powerful. The only priestess strong enough to save her is Kikyou, and I have no idea where she is now. Sesshoumaru has not returned yet?"
"Not a sign of him." Sango squeezed her fists. "We cannot give up, Miroku, let's go to look for Sesshoumaru, with his abilities he can trace Kikyou and take Yuutsuki to her location." The monk nodded his head and shortly afterwards both of them disappeared in the shadows of the evening forest.
Yuutsuki opened her eyes, feeling extremely thirsty and hot. She licked her dry lips and tried to sit up, but the wooziness prevented her from doing so. Covered only by wet clothes, she looked around, catching a sign of her garments quite close by. The three coloured ring was emanating with prickly energy, as if warning her from something. She heard voices outside.
… "Sesshoumaru has not returned yet?"
"Not a sign of him. We cannot give up, Miroku, let's go to look for Sesshoumaru, with his abilities he can trace Kikyou and take Yuutsuki to her location."
Struggling, she straightened up and reached her clothes. With an enormous effort she managed to get herself dressed. Still panting from exhaustion and fever, she hoped to grab the sword, but she had fainted before that.
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The sun had been long gone when two figures emerged from the bone eater's well. The boy in red kimono sniffed the air and his facial expression changed. "Let's hurry Kagome, someone is approaching the village and they are not coming to drink a tea and chit chat." Inuyasha swiftly placed Kagome on his back and set off towards the village.
"What do you mean by someone?"
"Two demons, strong ones and I don't sense Miroku and Sango nearby, dammit, Kaede and Yuutsuki are alone."
\\\\
"Come out demons, I sense you there!" The old woman screamed out, trying to hide her fear. A warrior type, tall female demon appeared just in front of Kaede.
"I am looking for Yuutsuki Ren, a girl with a ring and a sword. I have been told that a woman named Kaede can get me some information." The demon shook her long, blue hair and bared her pointy fangs.
"I am Kaede, who might you be?"
Kona approached the scene slowly. Kaede was speechless with fear, she had heard about this demon in long white dress with a mask on. One her look was enough to kill a person within a second.
"No need to bother yourself anymore, Naka. I have read her mind, the girl is inside of this hut."
Naka laughed and pushed the old woman on the ground.
"Thanks, old one."
The blue haired demon reached for the door, but withdrew her hand immediately, for a purifying arrow whistled just next to her ear.
"Next time I won't miss!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha put her on the ground and unsheathed Tessaiga. He firmly planted his feet into the soil, centring his balance in a vigilant position.
"I guess that would be the priestess and the half breed. Kona, I know you wanted to meet that Sesshoumaru, but c'mon, help me here, don't just stand as always." There was no reaction from the silver haired demon. Kona moved herself towards the shadows of the trees. Naka sighted reproachfully.
"There we go again. Fine. I will do it myself."
"Who are you?!" The dog demon pointed his sword at Naka. "And what the heck ya wanna?"
Kagome approached Kaede and helped her to get up.
"Grandma Kaede, are you fine? What happened?"
"Thank you m'child, they want Yuutsuki. She needs help she is really sick, Miroku and Sango went to look for Sesshoumaru. I'm afraid that only Kikyou can help her…"
"But what is it, maybe I can help?"
"She took demon energy into her body, willingly. I think her body got kind of poisoned. Miroku put a seal to protect her, but it has been broken, or maybe it did not work at all, I don't know myself. The problem is that taking away the energy is not enough. Someone has to purify her. I think it is too much for you Kagome."
"Stop blabling, move away! We won't hurt anyone if you let me take that Yuutsuki girl. What do you care, from what you are saying it sounds as if she's going to die anyway." Naka moved herself towards the door of the hut.
"Kaze no kizu!" Inuyasha attacked her suddenly, expecting to startle her, however she dodged quite easily. Naka twitched her claws and growled loudly.
"Now you're dead, bastard!" She briskly set off and punched Inuyasha in the face, just to kick his stomach afterwards. The boy flew back, the impact made him hit a tree. He got up hastily, wiped blood on his lip, and with temper filling his golden eyes, he attacked.
Kagome took advantage of the commotion and entered the hut. She noticed Yuutsuki in incomplete garments, her hair partly wet from sweat, lips dry and face worryingly insipid. Sensing an intense energy from her, she lifted Yuutsuki's inert hand to confirm her theory. The girl's ring was trying to excrete the devastating energy from the sword. The ring kept the sword user harmless whilst using demon tools, but not when the wielder had willingly disregarded the protection. It was too late for the ring to work now. Kagome's face saddened. She concentrated herself on healing, or at least improving her state, buy more time to find a resolution. Outside echoes of battle could be heard, the blue haired demon seemed like a tough opponent. The priestess hoped for Inuyasha's safety.
It had been more an hour that Sango and Miroku were searching for Sesshoumaru's trace. They stopped in the middle of a clearing to repose and catch a breath.
"Do you think she's going to be fine?" Sango quietly queried, directing her vision on the ground.
"Not if we don't provide her with help… It seems to me like she is getting possessed." The monk sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I think that the sword's energy is really… Grasping. It had already made its way through to her heart when Yuutsuki used the sword without the ring. This time she requested it herself, so there is no way of taking it out the same way as before. That's why we need Kikyou. Yuutsuki needs a specific kind of… Exorcism you could say."
"Let's hope we will find him soon. Maybe let's try to call him out loud, maybe he is somewhere nearby, but for some reason does not allow us to feel his presence."
Miroku nodded, acceding with her idea.
\\
Dark haired priestess stopped abruptly. Her big, chestnut eyes looked around curiously, feeling a familiar presence. She perceived branches and twigs sway oddly, losing golden-brown leaves. Ordinarily, there would be nothing peculiar about this phenomenon, but Kikyou knew it hadn't been caused by the wind. She redirected her glance at the nearby path, where first a shadow appeared and a second after, the priestess noticed one of her soul collectors and behind it a figure emerged in front of her.
"What is of such importance that you lured my soul collector to trace me?" Ogling the demon lord, with a gloomy face she spoke tensely, as if bothered by Sesshoumaru's presence.
"You are whipping yourself into a rage." Kikyou admonished him, her words sounded like a bitter accusation. A flurry of anger ran through his veins, strong enough to take him by surprise.
"This is ridiculous." He growled."If you are cognizant of my reveilles, do not waste time and come with me." The typical rawness of Sesshoumaru's voice was nowhere to be found, his words were curt and sharp. Not able to effectively quell his anger, he growled indignantly again.
"If I can help, I shall help, but do not expect miracles. Just tell me one thing Sesshoumaru, why do you urge to save her?" The priestess spoke while observing the golden eyes, so similar to the ones she still loved. Sesshoumaru hissed at her words and grabbed her shoulder, to teleport them both.
"She is my responsibility, I am honour bound to…"
"That's what you say out loud, but the truth remains hidden."
The demon's glare, icy as a midnight breeze, pierced her eyes, but she did not flinch. Nothing else was uttered; the two figures vanished from the foggy clearing in an instant.
After fruitless search of Sesshoumaru, Miroku and Sango decided to leave the forest.
The thickness of its trees, its twisting network of woody vines, and the dangerous unevenness of the forest floor, all of this together gave the place a very unwelcoming feeling. They began trekking back to the village.
\\
Kona was observing the fight with a dreary face, until a strong premonition came over her. The masked demon grabbed her scalp, trying to concentrate.
A flash, enraged eyes of the demon lord, yet another priestess, the monk and the demon slayer.
And finally, a death, no, two deaths. Their target and Naka were dead.
Another premonition came by, more flashes. Them receding, a death, an image of a floor stained with blood…
The second vision was much more optimistic for their purposes. Smirking, she called out to her sister.
"Naka, it is enough. They are all heading this way."
"What about our job?" Naka yelled, engaging herself in yet another skirmish with Inuyasha.
"The lass will die regardless of our actions. The rest we will collect other time."
The blue haired demon did hesitate and briskly withdrew herself next to Kona. Years of experience had taught her to trust her sister in every judgment she would make.
"You are not getting away!" Inuyasha swung Tessaiga. "Kaze no Kizu!" However, it did not range them. Without a trace, they disappeared into thin air. He decided to pursuit them.
Miroku and Sango noticed a bright burst of light nearby Kaede's hut, they rushed towards it.
To their sheer surprise they saw the ones they had been searching for, Kikyou and Sesshoumaru.
Without any words, the whole party along with Kaede barged into the hut and witnessed Yuutsuki opening her eyes narrowly, barely grasping for air. Kagome was crying while holding her pale, shaking hand. Kikyou knelt next to Yuutsuki, cursorily checking her state. The priestess frowned, tilting her head a bit on the side as if a great idea suddenly lighted up her thoughts. She folded her hands in several signs and a glowing, shimmering light emanated from her body.
"I need you all to stay noiseless and not interfere, no matter what happens." Kikyou did not delay any further; she bared the girl's sweltering chest, exposing the bandage wrapped around her breasts.
Miroku looked away, slightly abashed. The priestess initiated a prayer and placed her palm on Yuutsuki's heart height. Waiting for the best moment, to everyone's surprise she emerged her hand into the enfeebled body, forming a hole. With a hasty movement she dragged out a black matter and purified it immediately. A strong jet of blood spattered out of the wound. It splashed Kikyou's face and kimono.
"Kagome, I need your help, help me to stop the bleeding!"
Kagome nodded understandingly, unleashing her healing powers. Nevertheless, the blood did not stop flowing, in fact the dense, red fluid began to make a puddle next to Yuutsuki's body.
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened, he was speechless with incomprehension. He lowered his glance to see blood soaking down into the wooden desks. Restraining his rage, he withdrew Tenseiga, hoping to save the girl's life. There was nothing to cut through, it perplexed him.
"Kaede, we need to sew her! Like this she will bleed out! Bring the needle now!" Kikyou said through her teeth. "Kagome do not stop healing, I will sew her…"
From a small cabinet, the old priestess took out a needle and a line, passing it to Kikyou.
Not stopping the healing, Kagome grabbed Yuutsuki's hand. It was still warm, she was not dead yet. Tear drops fell into the increasing puddle of blood, melting into it. The silence was deafening.
Sesshoumaru thrust his nails in his palms, several drops of blood fell on the ground.
After fifteen minutes Kagome almost fainted from exhaust. Kikyou was fighting for Yuutsuki's life alone. Another fifteen minutes had passed before the treating was done. Kikyou had stopped the bleeding, closing the wound securely.
Still panting from drain, she spoke:
"There is no danger anymore. She's really weak though, needs recovery."
Kagome sighted with a great relief and lifted her eyes at Sesshoumaru. She saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. Was it alleviation?
"Great job, you saved her." Kaede admitted. "Go to rest, I'll change her clothing and clean the blood. Sango-chan, mind helping me?"
"Of course. The rest should leave."
Miroku, Kikyou and Kagome exited the hut.
"Sesshoumaru, you too." Kaede thought he would demur, but after throwing yet another glance at Yuutsuki, he placed Tenseiga alongside her body and left without a word.
\\
Two days later.
"I have bad news , all the people in the nearby villages are looking for Yuutsuki. Seems like there is a price for her head…"
"What?!" Astoundingly, Sesshoumaru barked out, not being able hide astonishment.
"Sango, explain please." The eyes of Miroku scanned his beloved's face.
"The house of Rens set a high price for Yuutsuki's head. Dead or alive. The word has spread. Everyone deems Yuutsuki as an evil witch who had enchanted the western lord, making him forget his true self, making him abandon his promises to people…"
"Nobody doubts the Rens. Nobody sees a reason to. They say that…" Sango threw a concerned glance at the hut where Kagome was helping Kaede to treat Yuutsuki. "that the Rens' only daughter, Oka will grant a big amount of money to the one who brings or kills Yuutsuki. Miroku… What should we do? Travelling through villages will be dangerous… We cannot count on hospitality of people anymore."
"Well… Oka did come in here demanding Yuutsuki to step down… That is of no surprise to me. The grand scale of her undertaking is though. We still have a couple of shards to find, so we cannot stop moving. As soon as she recovers we should depart again."
"I wonder what´s the best for Yuutsuki. Travelling together binds with danger for her. We really cannot avoid villages; we have to make money somehow…"
Sesshoumaru hissed at Sango's words, who curled her posture, feeling the heaviness of his glare, but she quickly relaxed as Miroku placed his hand on her shoulder and declared.
"Yuutsuki should be the one deciding. She's endangered everywhere anyway. If Oka put a high price for her head, there will surely be avaricious demons prowling around in order to cut off her throat. However, if she doesn't go with us the issue of spiritual training poses as a problem. She must learn how to extract her own powers in order to stop the sword's energy."
Sesshoumaru did not even open his eyes.
"Nonsense. My influences will easily disperse the rumours. The tongues shall stop wagging and Ren Oka's head will be cut off, serving as an example of treachery to the western lands."
The demon's firm statement awoke doubts. Miroku shook his head and confronted Sesshoumaru's words.
"No, this cannot be done, it will only worsen the situation. The people will see this as a proof of Oka's accusation."
"Enough of this crap." Inuyasha approached the trio. "Sesshoumaru likes to say Yuutsuki is his responsibility, so let him deal with it how he wants. I don't care about Oka, if she did what you say she deserves a punishment."
"Inuyasha, Yuutsuki should stay with us, she is extremely helpful in regaining the shards. Sesshoumaru-sama, if you fear those demons attempting to attack Yuutsuki again, why not to come with us, like this you could keep an eye on her." Miroku tried to persuade.
At that exact moment the hut's door opened and Kagome emerged from the inside. With a delighted smile she announced:
"She finally woke up! She is suffering of blood loss, but apart from that she should be fine."
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes suddenly, straightening his posture and frowned.
"Why is she crying? Why do I smell her blood?"
Kagome lowered her glance.
"Kaede is changing her bandages, the wound renews every time we do that. She is as well really weak and in pain, her body is really fragile. We try to do this as carefully as possible, but pain is unavoidable."
With one, swift jump he moved himself just next to the hut's door.
"Sesshoumaru, please, you shouldn't go!"
He fully omitted her plea and entered the place.
"Sesshoumaru, what are you doing here, it's not time for visits yet!" Kaede looked through her shoulder. Her wrinkled hands were stained with bright red blood. The demon had never seen Yuutsuki in such a ragged state, he was shaken. Her skin scary pale, eyes covered in a dark, deep shadow. Her usually rosy lips, purple dry. She was barely conscious, probably unaware of events around her.
"Continue. And leave once you're done." He directed Kaede with husky voice as he carefully swiped away hot tears from Yuutsuki's chilly cheeks, loathing himself for feeling despondent.
Kaede nodded. Before she left, she spoke:
"Let her rest. If she needs, water is next to the pots."
The hut's door shut and none of them broke the silence. She continued on sobbing and he continued on wiping her tears.
/
Kikyou came in, holding medicine in her hands. Sesshoumaru moved so that she could sit closer to sleeping Yuutsuki.
"What are you giving her?" He enquired as the unpleasant smell of the mixture entered his nostrils.
"It's just something to numb her pain and reduce the fever, she should sleep more soundly this way"
"If you do not wish to be truthful to yourself, at least save her the trouble of further doubt." Kikyou added after a pause, as she lied Yuutsuki down, again in pain. Sesshoumaru's expression remained icy cold and neither he nor the priestess exchanged another gaze or word as she walked out of the hut.