Title: Help Me Through This
Author: FairyTails
Disclaimer: I own nothing…but the plot.
Rating: M
Summery: After a battle with Naraku Kagome finds herself in the middle of no where, in a strange yet familiar body.
After an encounter with Naraku's wind witch Sesshomaru wakes feeling a bit weird. But first, when did he go to sleep in the first place?!
Warnings: um…..body switch?
Paring(s): Sesshomaru/Kagome(eventually)
Spoilers: hehe, I haven't even seen the whole series...
Key:
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Between Kagome and Sesshomaru
'Sesshomaru's inner beast'
A/n: Thank you all who reviewed
Enjoy.
Chapter: (2) The Cardinal Lords
Sesshomaru glared at InuYasha across the blazing afternoon camp-fire with his new blue eyes. He held slender arms across Kagome's chest, a growl rumbling deep in his throat, though it did not hold the same effect as it would have if he was still in his body. His half brother glared right back at him with his golden-brown eyes, his low growl of anger showing just how unpleased he was at his brother's mind being in Kagome's body.
Sesshomaru could still remember waking up in the morning, in a strange body, sleeping under a tree the dog hanyou had been resting in. He had freaked.
His normally cold demeanor had cracked as he realized where he was, and whose body he was in. The Taiyoukai now mentally yelled at himself for had stupidly he had reacted, but it was too late now. He had been rash, and had not controlled his tongue like her usually did, from his pattern of speech alone, his brother knew it was him and he was not happy.
When the demon slayer had realized what was going on, the only thing that kept her from punching him was the body of her best friend he was in. So the Slayer settled for something else and has not spoken at all the entire day except to the monk. And yet, Sesshomaru could still feel her glares on his back from the morning's travels.
If not for the monk, Miroku, he was sure they would still be back in the clearing he had woken in, him and InuYasha still going at the verbal fight. His calm words talked some sense into even InuYasha's angry mind. After calming the demon lord down as well, he had been able to extract from Sesshomaru the activities he had partaken in before he had woken up in the Miko Kagome's body.
After taking in several deep breaths and getting a hold on his temper for being treated in such a way, but Sesshomaru told them of his short lived fight with Naraku's wind witch. He recalled that it was her that had tried to ambush him, not trying to hide from him like she usually did. Her whole demeanor was odd, as he recalled many a fight between the two of them.
It was her who made the first move that time, waving her fan at him to push him back with a tornado of wind blades. He was able to dodge it in time to not get injured even in his shock. And yet she seemed to anticipate the evasion, and even how he would do it, leaping a few yards to the side, she was waiting for him where he had jumped to.
Before he had been about to react, she had doused him with a small silk bag full of an odorless powder he had not seen in her hand. It had blinded him at first, stinging his eyes and stalling the dog demon from attacking back.
When he finally was able to regain his sight, his ears had already told him of her retreat. He couldn't even smell her any more as her wind blades had made her down wind from him, taking her sent away from him. He had not know what to think of the interaction, all he could think of was to wash away the powder, not recognizing it as anything he had seen before.
After Sesshomaru's short story, the monk told the demon-turned-human of their last battle with Naraku, and how he had covered Kagome in an odorless powder as well. As the Taiyoukai processed that information, it was InuYasha who said what he was thinking.
"You're telling me, that with this powder, that damn spider put Kagome in Sesshomaru's body and him in her's?!" Sesshomaru had been amazed with his half brothers sudden intelligence.
The Monk had sighed defeated, saying, "It appears so my friend…"
The slayer, who had been sulking the entire time, finally spoke up after that, "I hope I never have to say this again, but it looks like we have to find you damn brother, InuYasha."
Sesshomaru had ruffled at the insult, but kept to himself, in a better state of mind now. He had begun to study all of his surroundings, the people in them and their body language and the way they talked. It was the best he could do, because with out his nose or ears he couldn't do much else. But he took it in as only a six century-year-old inu youkai could, as a learning situation. He would survive this fall back, and live to tell about once he got back to his body –not that he ever would tell anyone-.
But now, as he looked his brother in the face, and not being about to do anything but that, his nerves were beginning to wear down. He had so many things he needed to do at the moment, like returning to his castle. He is a Taiyoukai, and he has lands to lead and protect. He thanked who ever was listening above that the monthly meeting with the other lords had already taken place a week ago.
Just the thought of him showing up like he was now was enough make him want to kill himself before they did. There is no way that the other lords could ever find out about this situation, as it would mean the end of his lands as they currently were. He felt so isolated that he honestly wanted to cry, and this only served to frustrate him even more.
He could only see one answer to this situation, and it was not the best he had even had to use. He had to train this Miko, Kagome to be him -when they find her-, and that meant telling her things that no one, no one was ever suppose to know out of The Four Cardinal Lords. If they found out he was leaking information, well that meat war, and Sesshomaru was more than happy with peace times, living in war while his father was alive.
The Inu Taiyoukai mentally sighed, he is backed up in a corner, and he did not know what to do; Sesshomaru even found him self missing the voice of his inner beast, something he had thought would never happen.He mantally sighed
He was suddenly shaken out if his thoughts when the monk spoke up, interrupting everyone's quiet hatred, even the damn kit youkai was glaring at him. "How much farther do we have to go, Sesshomaru-sama? I believe it is in the best interests of everyone that we find Kagome before any of our enemies do."
Sesshomaru scowled; the world around him was so different than it used to be. He used to keep track of where he was just by the unique smells and sounds around him. As a Dog Demon, his nose told him everything, and now he didn't have it. He was at the mercy of his brother.
"I do not know. My sense of smell isn't exactly what it was before." His sarcastic, cold tone twisted the miko's friendly voice, showing just how frustrated he was, and even InuYasha flinched a little. Though Sesshomaru guessed it was less for his tone and more for whose voice he spoke with.
The monk frowned in confusion, "I'm sorry, I do not understand what you mean Milord."
'At least he has the decency to use my title', He closed his eyes and tried to relax a little, "To a dog demon, their sense of smell is everything. With it we can smell everything around us and recognize it for something we have smelled before or something new."
The slayer growled out at him, "What they hell does that have anything to do with finding where you were last night?!"
To everyone's shock it was InuYasha who replied, "Sango, shut up."
Normally she would have attacked him for that, or answered to defends herself, but this time she only stared at him. His tone was like the one he used when talking about something that truly touched the Hanyou's soul. Like the issue of Kikyo or about his rough past as a child. He was quietly calm and not childishly yelling; it made her listen as he spoke again.
"It means everything. We recognize where we are with our nose, Sango. Not with our eyes or by a map, we don't bother with those things because the unique sent of a place is enough to tell us where we are." He was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, still facing Kagome's body.
She turned white, "So with out his nose telling him where he is, he has no clue where he was…"
InuYasha and Sesshomaru nodded, the later a little less willingly, not wanting to admit his weakness. The monk spoke, "But is it possible for you to describe the sent of where you are to InuYasha and him find the place?"
InuYasha and Sesshomaru shared a quick look before the Taiyoukai answered, "It's not that simple. The scents just register subconsciously, I don't pick out individual scents unless I mean to."
InuYasha sighed and nodded in agreement, "Unfortunately, that is how it works for me as well. And even if he remembered an individual scent, that wouldn't work unless I knew it as well."
Shippo finally piped up, "Couldn't you just smell for Sesshomaru's scent? I know you know that by heart."
InuYasha sighed out loud, feeling the helplessness that his brother is, "Only if I get it from the wind, but good thinking Shippo."
Shippo looked a little shock with the kindness shown, but felt a little disappointed. While a fox's sense of smell is equal to dogs, he is far less experience in how to use it the way they do, he used his ears more. Another thought accursed to him, "Couldn't you smell up-close and see if you recognize anything?"
An image of Sesshomaru in Kagome's body leaning down to sniff the ground came to everyone else's minds and the Taiyoukai glared at InuYasha and his traveling partners as they looked at him. That would help, yes, and make him look like a total fool to boot. "Must I remind you that this weak human nose can not pick up anything close to what my nose can?"
The camping area fell silent again, as everyone felt a little hopeless until InuYasha grumbled, "Then I guess it is up to Kagome to use that wonderful nose of yours to find us."
Everyone groaned at that.
!!
Naraku smiled to him self, feeling like he finally had an edge over the Shard hunters and the Western lord that he thought never possible. Switching Sesshomaru and Kagome's bodies was simply the best idea he had ever gotten.
Both stood at a major disadvantage in the other's body. In the miko's body, Sesshomaru could not run his lands, and eventually the other Cardinal Lords would find out and take over them, leaving Sesshomaru to face his death.
And Kagome would surly die as the Lords would see this as their chance to rid them of the Demon lord's body forever while he could not protect himself; not to mention how that means she can not see the shards, leaving the rest for him to find.
Naraku was not blind to the hatred between Sesshomaru and the other lords. The Inu Youkai is the youngest, and yet holds most of the power and land. Only together could the other lords ever defeat him, and that was likely to never happen with the tensions between the Southern Tigers and the Northern Dragons. They would never team together, for nothing. They were like water and oil. And the Eastern Hawks could care less unless it involved their own lands.
He was surprised they were able to hold their monthly meeting with out them going at each other's neck. Boy, would he love to be fly on that wall.
Sesshomaru had proved to them he was not to be messed with, his strength slowly rivaling his late father's; not only as an individual, but as a leader.
Their only chance was to kill the Silver Inu Youkai and distort his followers into defeat; and Naraku had just given their only chance of ever doing that. 'Now let's see if they are smart enough to see it before I need to give them a push.'
!!
Kagome stared at the Bone Eater's well before her. It had taken her few days, but with non-stop travel she was able to find the edge of InuYasha's Forest, and finally made it far enough in to get to the well; the site of the God Tree above the rest helped a lot.
After being told about the other Cardinal Lords by the inner beast -which she had nicknamed Fluffy, just to annoy it- she had traveled taking every back road she could find, trying her hardest not to be seen. Her new heightened senses helped a lot; she was now used to them and would miss them when she went back to her body.
She had also learned to control Sesshomaru's poison with the help of the Fluffy. That didn't mean she could pull out his whip and use it as well as he could, but she was getting better. 'I wonder how Sesshomaru is doing…'
'Without me? I wouldn't be surprised if he is dead.' She had grown used to its harsh humor and ignored it, looking around the clearing. She was taking her time at this point, being a bit afraid of going down to the village and being attacked.
'Just go already, you have a good chance they are there.' Kagome snorted, it seemed she was acting more and more like the damn inner beast to more the days that passed.
'Fluffy, they aren't as stupid as you seem to think, for all we know they are out looking for me.' She growled under her breath as he ignored her, but at least he had shut up. With a tired sigh she turned her attention to the god tree. Even in Sesshomaru's demon body, she was some what tired. Not just physically, but mentally.
After the first day of travel, she had decided that she needed a bath, but that just posed one problem for her; seeing Sesshomaru's naked body. Her eyes had been shut for the entire process, her hand doing all the dirty work. She still shivered at the thought's that had occurred, 'Miroku is rubbing off on me…'
'I believe you were perverted to begin with.' The voice sent at her, remembering the occasion as well. And all the dirty thoughts he had seen in her mind. At first he couldn't even believe a human female could think of such things, and then she told him about her 'romance novels' back in her time through gritted teeth
She rolled her eyes and walked towards the god tree, planning on making it her bed for the coming night. So she would be well rested before she was forced to go to a village where they hated the person whose body she was in. As she stood in front of the large tree trunk she looked up and bent her knees, muscles coiling, ready for the jump.
In one elegant move she was over fifteen feet in the air, high enough to land safely on one of the lower branched. She stood there for a moment, catching her balance before leaping higher until no other, higher, branches could hold Sesshomaru's weight. She than sat down and leaned against the thick trunk of the god tree, closing her eyes to rest.
'I remember the first time you tried that.' Fluffy spoke, interrupting her rest.
'Of course you would, you made fun of me for the rest of the day,' She replied back dryly. 'I'm sorry it took me a moment to get over years of being terrified of heights…'
He chuckled, rewinding and playing the memory in their head. She had been testing out her new ability to jump incredibly high, going from tree to tree, and soon higher and higher. It wasn't until she had been hit with the need to pee, that she realized just how high she was. She had frozen, and with Sesshomaru's one arm clung to the current tree as if it was her life line. She would have peed herself, and ruined Sesshomaru's clothes, had it not been for Fluffy's calm voice –after he was done laughing- making her release the tree and forcing her to jump to lower branched and then to the ground.
'You won't let me forget that will you..?'
'Nope, nor the fun activity of you pissing in this body for the first time that came shortly afterwards,' He sounded happy with himself as Kagome sulking mood turned to a bright red blush across her emotionless face-she had mastered that too, finally-.
She had been mortified; she was forced to touch Sesshomaru's 'manhood' in order to not wiz on her self. Shortly after words she had proceeded washed her hand until its porcelain skin was red in the nearest stream, which is very difficult when you only have one hand to begin with. And the whole time Fluffy had been laughing hysterically in the back of her mind. She was sure anyone who saw her would not recognize her because of Sesshomaru's face being beat red, 'I doubt even InuYasha would have recognized his brother's body…'
She heard a muffled snort, 'InuYasha?! Sesshomaru wouldn't have even recognized his own body!'
She mentally glared at him, 'Gee, thanks for the support…'
'You are very welcome female.'
Decided he didn't need an answer she let her self drift off into dream land.
!!
The next morning Kagome was shaken from her sleep by the sound of a blood curdling screech. She nearly fell out of the tree but caught herself just in time. It took her a moment, looking around her surroundings to remember where she was. 'Wha…?'
'You're not a morning person, are you?' Fluffy bribed from the back of her tired mind, 'I believe that was coming from that village.'
With another scream in the direction of the village she calls her home away from home; she is fully awake and standing on the branch. More screams and yelling could be heard with the sound metal clinging together. As the metallic scent of blood reached her sensitive nose, she reacted. Leaping from the tall branch to lower ones she was heading towards the village, hoping it was the enemy's blood she smelled.
Her feet carried her past the bridge and over the fields and finally the village came into site. It was pure chaos and all she could think of was running in and helping them, but Fluffy reminded her, 'If it catches wind that Lord Sesshomaru jumped in to save a human village the other lords will hear of it!'
She growled back at his words, she knew they were true, but she had to help. She spotted several demons, running about. From the smell, she knew they were lower class. Her claws glowed green, 'Than lets just hope this doesn't catch wind!'
With that she took off, her elegant steps taking her towards she destination.
!!
A few miles in the other direction, InuYasha heard the same blood curdling scream that Kagome heard. He jerked awake and leaped down to wake everyone else. After a day they had all decided that Kagome would most likely return to Kaede's village. And as they all packed up and prepared to fight they were glad they did.
Sesshomaru tucked Kagome's dagger into a make-shift sash around his waist. He had been very happy to know she had it, to him it meant she wasn't completely defenseless and hopefully she was learning how to use his weapons, like he was getting a grip on her's. He pulled on her shoes and ran next to Miroku as they all started their trek to the village. InuYasha ran at the front with Sesshomaru and Miroku close behind. Above them Sango gripped her boomerang atop Kirara with Shippo clutching her back.
As they neared the village InuYasha shouted that it was just lower class demons, but soon they were all able to see the fight as well. InuYasha rushed in first, drawing Tetsusaiga in a blaze of golden light.
!!
Kagome smelled them before she saw them, coming down over the hill on the other side of the hill. She slashed at another demon before jumping back; she didn't want them to see her just yet. She jumped from the main street where most of the demons were, heading to the other streets as continue killing the threat.
She spotted her body right off the bat, and saw her dagger flashing in the morning light. She smiled to herself, 'So he discovered my dagger did he?'
'It appears so, want to sneak up on him?'
She rolled her eyes at him, 'You are just too evil…'
'Well?' He asked ignoring her reply.
She smirked, 'Hell yah!'
He smirked back; he just was getting to know her too well, 'Thought so.'
Her claws slashed through yet another lower class demon, 'There is no end to them!'
She turned on her heel as one tried to take her head off, only to result in the removal of its own as Sesshomaru's poison ate at its neck. As it fell she spotted her body being forced of the main street onto her street and smirked; this would be her chance. And she would only claim to be protecting her body because Sesshomaru was getting too surrounded for him to take them down quick enough.
With one step forward she concentrated on her pointer and middle fingers, forcing the poison there. With one movement of her wrist, a green whip sprang forward and nearly twenty of the demons behind Sesshomaru were dead and dissolving. At the sound of the whip the miko's body whipped her head towards the sound and widened blue eyes met laughing gold.
Kagome leapt forward and grabbed her body in her only arm and jumped to the top of the nearest hut. Sesshomaru had become distracted and was getting ready to have his head taken off, "Be careful will ya!"
At the sound of his voice Sesshomaru was shaken from his sudden shock, "You can use my whip!?"
Kagome pointed to her head, "He never shuts up! And you are using my dagger, we are even, yes?"
Before Sesshomaru could answer another voice interrupted him, "So you have finally met up have you?"
On the roof top both of them spun to face Naraku standing there, smirking at them. But it wasn't all of him, as their eyes got to his waist they noted his feet were fading away. He pointed to them as they both prepared to attack him in anger.
He laughed, "Time to show tell you what's going on, yes?"
Kagome went to speak but found her voice gone. She swayed as her vision blackened. She turned to her body and noted that Sesshomaru seemed to have the same problem. She stumble back and looked at her feet, like Naraku, they were fading away. Before her eyes she was disappearing, and so was Sesshomaru.
The battle around them was coming to an end; it had already fulfilled its purpose.
TBC
Ending note: Chapter two came to me quicker than I thought it would…And the plot thickens! I feel slightly evil and a little in over my head…towards the end there I felt as if I was rushing things…
Yes I realize Sessho is out of Character, wouldn't you be?
Thanks for bothering to read this fic now tell me what you think!
FT