The wind was whipping the trees wildly around, the ancient wood creaking in protest. The branches seemed to part before the taiyoukai as he ran through the forest, clutching the wounded Miko to his chest.
The village was dark and quiet, which did nothing for Sesshomaru's nerves. He stopped in front of the elder miko's hut, where the children were sleeping inside. Tearing the cloth door aside roughly, he laid Kagome down gently, not wanting to disturb her wounds.
Roused by the clamor, Kaede stepped out of her bedroom, blearily rubbing sleep from her eye.
"What brings Ye here in the dead of the night?" She asked sleepily, lighting a candle as she spoke.
"The hanyou has wreaked havoc again." Sesshomaru's voice had a surprisingly bitter edge to it, his hard eyes not leaving the miko's form.
The candle lit, Kaede gasped as she beheld Kagome's gaping wounds. She quickly ran around the hut, grabbing medicinal supplies.
"Inuyasha is her attacker?" Her voice was heavy with shock, and worry for the kind, young woman. Kneeling besides her, Kaede quickly ripped the shred of her shirt away, taking a rag and dipping it in a bowl of water, she began to wash away the blood.
Sesshomaru could still smell her vitality, but the weakness of it disturbed him. This woman still had so much potential...her death would be meaningless. As Kaede began to apply herbal poultices to the wounds, stitching the largest ones up, his thoughts turned inward.
Was this attack the reason that his older self had mentioned Tenseiga? He did not want the Miko to die, that was for sure, but to use Tenseiga...it hadn't pulsed or given any sign that its powers would be necessary.
However, the warning about the Miko could be completely unrelated to his words about the sword. Sesshomaru felt the beginning of a headache.
'Who knew one's self could be so difficult to handle,' he thought with a dry tone that was sorely lacking in humor.
About an hour later, the old woman let out a heavy sigh, sitting back heavily. Kagome's midsection and chest had been cleaned, and covered in snowy white bandages.
"It's up Kagome now, to make it through the night."
Sesshomaru raised his heavy eyes to her, and they were burning in their intensity.
"What are her chances?" The old woman opened her lips, before closing them again.
"It...it is hard to tell. She is young and strong, but so much blood was lost...only time will tell." Sesshomaru bowed his head, his eyes dropping to the Miko.
He did not understand.
If it had been Rin in front of Inuyasha's claws, or any other defenseless, child, her actions would have merit but not in this case. He would not have suffered from Inuyasha's attack; he would have healed before the sun rose. Why did she jump in front of him?
A little, warm hand landed on his leg. Sesshomaru's gaze flicked over to see Rin, her eyes sad, but still holding vestiges of sleep. She leaned her head on the taiyoukai's lap, her gaze taking in the Miko.
"Why's Kagome-chan hurt?" Her little voice was filled with sadness, her eyes flicking up to Sesshomaru's duly .
The very question he wanted answers too.
"She jumped in front of this Sesshomaru as the hanyou attacked us."
Rin's gaze flickered back to the sleeping woman, a new light of appreciation shining in them.
"I wish that Kagome-chan wasn't hurt, but I'll have to thank her for protecting you, Sesshomaru-sama." His eyes widened slightly.
"She must care about you a lot to take such wounds..." The little girl trailed off, her eyelids drooping sleepily.
A light flickered in the taiyoukai's golden orbs as he gazed at the Miko. Surprisingly, hearing that she cared her him inspired no feeling of disgust...
There was only gratitude...and a peculiar warmth.
~WLITS~
She was on fire.
Her midsection was burning. Thick lines of pain carved through her, stealing her breath away, and the words she so dearly needed to say. Words that she didn't have much time to utter, as the blackness crept into the edges of her vision.
"To...get hurt." Her motivation gone, the priestess sank into unconsciousness in Sesshomaru's arms.
It was a long time that she slept but an unmeasurable period. Days or weeks, she couldn't tell. The next time she woke, it was just a flutter of awareness. There were quiet voices around her, and her eyes flickered open briefly.
Intense, golden orbs started as she made eye contact with them, but before any words were exchanged, she sank back into unconsciousness.
"Sesshomaru-sama, when will Kagome-chan wake up?" She identified Rin's voice nearby, quietly hushed.
"Soon." The taiyoukai's voice seemed as impassive as ever, but if you listened carefully, there was an edge of quiet relief to it.
Kagome's azure eyes finally fluttered into full consciousness a few moments later as she awoke. A blanket had been tossed over her, and thankfully too, since her midsection was bare save for the bandages wrapped around her. The imperious taiyoukai was seated besides her, his legs crossed Indian style, and his eyes trained on the miko's face.
Her tired gaze met his intense one and she smiled weakly. "I lived." His lips thinned but a twinkle of warmth could be seen in his features.
"Just barely, you foolish woman." There was no sharp edge to his words; they were uttered softly, meant to be gentle.
A dry, gasping chuckle pushed its way out of her, ending in a murmur of pain, as the edges of her stitches were pulled.
"Ah, but I'll heal." Her words were rough as she attempted to clear her throat, only to end up coughing.
Sesshomaru's eyes darkened as he handed her a bowl of water. His lips pursed as she eagerly drank it all, wincing slightly.
He was going to kill Inuyasha.
The fool really had no excuses he thought as the tired woman slumped back on the ground, her eyes slipping closed for a moment. To leave her a strong, innocent Miko, in such a state...it was abominable.
"You should not have to," the woman's tired azure eyes opened and looked into his as she heard his quiet rumble. Surprisingly, her lips twitched into a small smile.
"I wanted to protect you, though." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why? This Sesshomaru would not have been injured to the same extent."
She shrugged, a sheepish blush spreading across her cheeks and neck. A welcome sight, after her earlier pallor.
"You don't think about those things in the heat of the moment. You just think that someone you care about is going to get hurt and that you can stop it."
Sesshomaru's eyes glistened with amusement as his lips twitched into a smirk. "Someone you care about?"
She coughed lightly, cheeks now flaming with color. "Of-of course."
The teasing gleam faded from his eyes, and he gently smoothed a strand of midnight hair away from the miko's eyes.
"I give you permission to care for this Sesshomaru."
She snorted loudly, indignantly feigning to be outraged by his words, as she crossed her arms snootily.
"Like I needed that!" Turning her chin up, she gave him a stubborn look, cerulean eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Nevertheless, you need not worry about angering this Sesshomaru with your human emotions," he said arrogantly, golden eyes alight with humor.
"I didn't care before," she said with an ease that was entirely false.
Sesshomaru only scoffed lightly, moving his hand from her silky tresses to rest upon his lap, but his small noise carried the same weight as an uproarious laugh.
Kagome relented, smiling at him lightly, as she held back a laugh. The tired woman sank back into sleep but with an easy mind, sure that she had protected a true ally and companion.
A few days later, the Miko was healing nicely. Her reiki sped the process along, and she was moving around the house already, albeit slowly. The children had been close by her side; lavishing attention and well wishes upon her. She loved them very much, and never let it show that Shippo and Rin's attentions were a little bit suffocating.
Kaede kept her company too, changing the bandages, and asking all about the miko's fight with Inuyasha. The two had come to the conclusion that something was off about it. The man wasn't in his right mind, but what exactly the issue was, was unknown. Kagome didn't want to dwell on the fight at the moment. She wanted to move on and grow stronger.
Sesshomaru stayed near the village. He had surprised even himself with that. As the taiyoukai didn't care for the villagers, or their scent, he stayed away during the day, checking on the borders of his lands; however, come nightfall, he always returned to Edo and spent the nights in the small hut. Shippo had warmed up to the imperious lord greatly, quietly observing the differences between him and his old alpha, Inuyasha.
Kagome smiled more. The childlike kit noticed that she no longer had the scent of tears on her, and that she could argue without screaming. Slight changes perhaps but important ones nonetheless.
Rin hadn't been oblivious either. She saw the flecks of warmth in her lord's eyes, and how often they had been present. She loved him dearly and was overjoyed that he seemed to accept the Miko, and protected her too. In her heart, she harbored the childish fantasy of them becoming her parents, but she tried not to let that dream blossom into hope.
About a week and a half had passed and Kagome could now move around with ease, but she wasn't allowed to do and hard labor yet when unexpected guests came by. She was grinding herbs by Kaede's fireplace, keeping a watchful eye on the children, as they played outside.
"Kagome!" A female voice cried out, and the Miko found herself engulfed in a hug. She gasped, overwhelmed, but it quickly changed to a large grin as she saw a familiar Taijiya uniform.
"Sango! It's been too long!" She hugged the other woman back eagerly, having missed her greatly. She was about to inquire about Sango's constant companion, when a familiar hand began to creep down her back side.
"Miroku, move your hands right now or I will clock you."
"You hentai!" The Taijiya yelled as she stepped back and smacked him with the edge of her giant boomerang.
"Ah, I was only reacquainting myself with the lovely Kagome-San. It has been much too long," the light hearted Miko said easily, rubbing the growing bump on his forehead.
"Yes, it really has been too long! Where have you been, Kagome? And I see that Shippo is with you! Oh, you don't know how worried we were." Sango looked up at her with sad, confused eyes the smiled fading. Kagome's own grin dropped away and she stepped back inside the little hut.
"It's a bit of a long story, So you may as well sit down." They all filed inside, lounging on the floor easily. Sango fixed the Miko with a pointed look. She wasn't leaving anytime soon.
"Start with why you left." Sango felt a brief flash of guilt as the miko's eyes turned away from her, heavy with memories. She cleared her throat, but didn't meet their eyes.
"I came back through the well a few weeks ago, and I caught Inuyasha with Kikyou...They mated. I, uh, I ran away when I saw and quite literally ran into Sesshomaru." Gasps of shock were heard as she said that, eyes widening in slight fear. "I've been traveling with him ever since. We had a run in with some horrible priests, and he's been helping to bring out my reiki since then. That's the bones of it all."
"Sesshomaru?! As in, the killing perfection? Kagome! How dangerous was that?"
Kagome snorted at them. Sango and Miroku reeled back shocked by the woman's nonchalance.
"It wasn't. Rin asked if I could travel with them, and Shippo joined up not long after." The Taijiya mouth dropped open, her brown eyes wide and disbelieving.
"I...I guess that's good...I didn't think that the western lord could be so tolerant." Surprisingly, to the monk and his companion at least, Kagome's lips spread into a soft smile, showcasing her apparent fondness for the icy lord.
"Yes, he's really quite the good person, once you get to know him." Miroku discreetly snorted as he heard that.
"Well, such remains to be seen," he said, as the Miko shot an accusing look at him.
"Either way," her tone indicating that she had no desire to continue the current topic, the woman looked back at Sango, who had somewhat composed herself. "Where have you two been?"
The demon slayer's eyes looked downcast, and she folded her hands nervously. "Well, we were with Inuyasha, he said that you wanted to stay home for awhile, so we left Edo a few days after you went down the well." Kagome nodded, that must have been Inuyasha's cover when she left with Sesshomaru. But why lie at all?
"Something seemed...off, about him. We continued to look for rumors about Naraku, and the shards, but he just didn't care as much. He left each night, and although we suspected Kikyou, it makes more more sense now that they...mated. But that isn't all. He was more irritable and seemed so preoccupied. Shippo left, after he yelled at him for something stupid, and we took off the next day but got a bit lost." She ended with a little chuckle, exchanging a fond glance with Miroku, but Kagome didn't join in. The Taijiya's words about Inuyasha worried her; she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the hanyou. Shaking her head, she resolved to think about it when she had more time to herself.
"Well, it's good that you two made it here."
"Though I much enjoy your presence, lovely Kagome, the nights spent with Sango were some of the best that I, or my hands, have ever had." Miroku smiled innocently, but not before receiving a smack from the now blushing woman.
"You're such a hentai," she muttered.
"Ahh, but you accept me anyways, don't you, fair Sango?" The blushing woman looked away from him, crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes. They spent the rest of the night happily, making dinner and laughing with the kids when they came inside. The weather was turning as the end of autumn came, and the outside air grew chilly earlier each day.
As was his wont, Sesshomaru was close to the little village as the sun started to set. Scenting the air, he noticed that his shitty brother's other two companions had returned. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly approached the older mikos little hut.