Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to own the characters they all belong to Takahashi Rumiko, not me.
A/N: The next chapter is here! Kikoku is another OC . . . This chapter is a bit longer than what I normally write up to, so enjoy. Things are getting crazier, eh?
Does anyone think I made Inuyasha too mean? ((crouches down behind a bush and hides))
A Gap Across Time
V: Step by Step
"You know what, Saiai, I'll still refuse no matter how many times you beg or ask me to do it. I'm not stooping that low to help my brother." Inuyasha watched as Saiai shook his head, somewhere in the back of the hanyou's mind he knew this annoying tree youkai wasn't going to give up too easily. "Miroku."
"Yes . . .?"
Pointing a finger at the pair, he demanded, "suck 'em up with your wind tunnel! I've had enough of these pests!" Miroku sweat dropped, giving his angry companion a puzzled look. "Come on, Miroku, just do it! It can't be that hard!"
"But . . . Inuyasha . . ."
"Let's just go home, Saiai. It looks like he can't be persuaded, at least not in this way," Aizuna noted.
Miroku turned to them. "I think that'd be best, as you can see, Inuyasha is being fairly unreasonable at the moment." The monk had to jump on Inuyasha when he tried to attack the other youkai himself. "Really, I think you two should leave."
"Let me go!"
Frowning, Saiai turned on his heels and walked away from the hanyou and the monk. Inuyasha, you stubborn fool!
Back at the palace, Saiai and Aizuna were greeted by the soldiers that were guarding the front gates when they returned. Saiai paid little attention, unlike his companion who happily nodded in their direction in response. From the way Inuyasha reacted to such a simple request put the tree youkai in a bad mood. However, the simple request, as he liked to call it wasn't as simple as he wanted it to be. Surely, someone of Inuyasha's caliber wasn't fit for the throne, although blood ties ran deep no matter how one acted, whether they were acknowledged as a good ruler or not for the position it could not be decided by one's own choice.
Saiai snapped out of his musings when Tsume, the haughty sparrow youkai approached them. Her dark brown pools known as eyes scanned the area carefully as if she was looking for someone. "I don't see Inuyasha anywhere."
"That's because he refused the offer," Saiai replied calmly. He knew that Tsume was trying to snare him into an arguing match in which he had no desire to participate in. After all, he had just finished a match with his Lord's half brother. "Well, Tsume, if you think you can do better then go ahead and try."
"Heh, just watch me. I know how to make Inuyasha agree easily," she replied, brown eyes sparkling mischievously.
"Oh? And how will you do that?"
"With her of course." With an elaborate gesture a beautiful priestess robed in red and white came into their line of vision. Her jet black hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, save only locks of her hair to fall across either side of her graceful looking face. Her soft, gentle bangs further heightened the roundness of her cheeks and the dark brown color of her eyes; they were much like Tsume's except a little lighter in comparison.
"Who's this?" Aizuna curiously asked as his opal colored eyes filled with wonder.
"Her name is Kikyou and she's all I need to get Inuyasha to come here."
"Don't forget the end of your bargain, Tsume," Kikyou reminded her. However did I get dragged into this? Kikyou knew from experience that she shouldn't fully trust youkai, but this time her curiously strong urge to see the hanyou again got the best of her. It was even mind-bogglingly to her why she even felt this way in the first place.
Tsume laughed. "Don't worry my dearest priestess, at the sight of you and your word you'll surely make the hanyou do as you ask."
"I see . . ." Will he really listen to me?
-----
"Hi, Katari, whatcha doing?" Rin cheerfully asked. She wanted to try and be in a happy mood. She knew that she had been sulking all day and it wasn't hard to see the distressed look on Surin's face every time she thought the child wasn't looking. Rin had then been walking around the palace grounds hoping to find something or someone to cheer her up. It was here by a mid-lit patio that she stumbled upon the horse youkai known as Katari quietly sipping tea.
The elegant horse youkai turned to the child, for once trying to making conversation with the human girl. Usually, he'd say a few words to her from orders from his Lord, other than that he never really talked to her in an awkwardly friendly way till now. "I'm simply sitting here enjoying the midday sun until Aizuna returns home."
He was already within the palace grounds, but neither Rin nor Katari had any knowledge of this.
"You're always with Aizuna, how come?"
The horse youkai known for the whiteness of his hair, eyes, and clothing blushed a honey-dewed red, flustered by the child's innocent question. It was all too true that he had a fixation over Aizuna; more so, it could have even been called love. No one other than that handsome hedgehog youkai could make Katari's heart skip a beat or leap with unlimited joy. Even his smile alone warmed his gentle heart.
"Err . . . You see, Rin, Aizuna and I are very close friends. It's much like you and our Lord. Your bond is strong just like Aizuna and mines."
"I hope it is." Rin scrutinized the youkai, unsure of what he was telling her was true or not. "Lord Sesshoumaru is always so quiet and emotionless, it's hard to tell what he's really feeling, you know." In that instance, Rin's eyes traveled to that of Katari's steaming cup. She changed subjects as easily as the passing of seasons; she did it with ease. "What are you drinking? Can I have some?"
"Its elderberry tea," he told her, handing her the warm cup. "It's rather sweet, unlike charcoal tea which tastes like what it's called."
From where the two were sitting the sun's rays captured the glow within them perfectly as they shared a laugh. A guard situated not too far from them watched them curiously. He himself had never talked to the human child once; yet watching her now showed him how nice a creature she really was. Still, it was not in his place to have room for such emotion such as fondness or love, as a soldier he had to be resolute and detached lest he wanted to be ranked lower among the other youkai by his Lord. As odd as it may seem, even with the absence of their Lord everyone within the castle still felt the need to act accordingly on a regular basis. This may have been because of the counselors and ministers but without a doubt, most were still sure that their Lord would return; only a few had given up hope. Those were the weak-hearted and least faithful from the brood.
"You there, look sharp. That droopy, carefree grin on your face doesn't suit someone like you," someone barked.
"Y-yes, sir!"
The soldier immediately stood to attention, staring blankly ahead as the counselor slowly walked past him, rough leather brushing against the cold marbled floor. The soldier never once turned his head to watch the orderly youkai turn around the corner. If he remembered correctly, the counselor that caught him slacking was known as Kikoku. His brash, military-like attitude clearly showed all that was around that he meant business and nothing else. Coming from a well-to-do family of fierce badger youkai, this counselor had worked under Lord Sesshoumaru's father centuries ago and now was serving his son. He also sure knew how to strut his weight around and was as loyal to Lord Sesshoumaru as can be. And for reasons unknown, Kikoku had a long scar that ran the length of his left forehead all the way down to the jaw line of his left cheek. If that wasn't menacing enough, his grizzly gray colored hair made the flare of his amethyst hued orbs even sharper and brighter than necessary. The soldier let out a gruff grunt before going back to his job instead of idling about.
However, it was hard not to watch the gentle horse youkai and the human girl interact with one another.
-----
Miroku literally had to use a talisman to bind Inuyasha down when he tried to chase after Saiai and Aizuna. He hadn't the slightest clue why the hanyou hated Sesshoumaru's subjects so much . . . He was sure they hadn't done a thing to his pretty little head let alone any of his other companions.
"Inuyasha, you know I can't undo the spell until you've calmed down. Loathing your brother's counselors and soldiers terrifies me."
"What the hell do you mean terrified?" The only thing that he was allowed to move was his head so he made good use of its movements, craning his neck painfully to look at the monk as best he could. Everything else had been plastered down with charms that prevented mobility. It even surprised the hanyou how Miroku even managed such a feat as pinning him down to the forest floor when he was obviously faster and stronger. Likewise, things such as those didn't matter at the moment.
"Well, naturally, you don't simply hate someone really strongly unless they've done you some sort of wrong. They didn't really do anything other than ask you to substitute as the ruler for the kingdom . . . I wouldn't have minded staying at a castle. There must have been beautiful-"
"Miroku . . ." Inuyasha drawled, interrupting the other man. "Is that all your entire perverted mind can think about?"
"Ehehehe . . ." Miroku impishly smiled at Inuyasha, much like a child would have done to his mother if he were caught in the act of saying something completely out of line, and or rather you call it: naughty.
"Inuyasha, Miroku, we're back!" Sango called out only to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of Inuyasha nailed to the forest floor. "Did Shippou and I miss something?"
"Hah! Inuyasha is pinned to the ground much like the dog he is!" Shippou declared, still mad about the event that had transpired earlier at Kaede's home.
"Shippou, shut up! If I wasn't bounded like this I'll have your puny little hide tanned clean off that wimpy ass of yours!"
"Oooohhhhh, like I'm so scared," Shippou taunted.
"Now, now, you two, no need to have a dispute over this," Miroku reasoned. "And I still can't release you Inuyasha, you'll surely tan poor Shippou's bottom if I did."
"You make it sound as if I seriously meant it!" Inuyasha snorted disdainfully. Shippou laughed then, which caused Inuyasha to head back towards the road of mad rage. "If he doesn't stop with all the taunting I'll definitely do it once I'm free!"
Shippou ran up the length of Sango's right shoulder, positioning himself to the side opposite of Kirara. "Does he sound a lot snappier than usual to you?" The demon exterminator nodded her head in agreement. "We really need Kagome here to clear up his jumbled mind."
"Tell me about it," Sango readily agreed once more.
"What are you two mumbling about?"
"Nothing!" Sango and Shippou replied in unison to Inuyasha's vengeful question.
"Oh, yes. By the way, what did Kaede say?" Miroku remembered to ask. He sat down by Inuyasha's prone form on the forest floor by the sealed well, tired of standing for once since this long afternoon rolled by.
"Well . . . About that . . ." Sango started.
"Kaede said that she can't say anything about it with the extremely vague response Inuyasha told us to tell her. You gotta go talk to her yourself, Inuyasha," Shippou explained. "That little trip really was uncalled for; you should have gone in the first place."
"Keh."
A feminine youkai stepped out into the clearing holding a parchment similar to the one Saiai was holding earlier. All heads turned to her when she ushered for someone to come out into the clearing with her.
All in one voice, they chorused, "Kikyou?"
Kikyou, who had been previously watching her footing, looked up then. Quiet, dark brown eyes scanning along the row of friends to rest gently on Inuyasha who lay pinned to the ground by sutras. He was by far the most shocked of all his companions to see her of all places and times.
"Hello there, Inuyasha," the female youkai called out. Her violet colored shawl was raised higher onto her shoulders as she momentarily adjusted them. Her dark colored skin gave off the impression that it was one with the earth, melding into its cold embrace below their feet, yet this was just a coloring of the sparrow youkai's skin.
Inuyasha paid no attention to the sparrow youkai; the only person he could focus on was Kikyou. Kikyou, too, only had eyes for the hanyou. Something within her leapt for joy at the sight of her past beloved.
"Excuse me . . . But what are you guys exactly doing here?" Sango broke the much unneeded silence.
"Go on, Kikyou, tell him," the female youkai urged. Kikyou obliged.
"Inuyasha, I would like it if you were to watch over your brother's kingdom . . . At least until he returns."
The response the priestess received was not something neither she nor Tsume expected.
"You sound just like Saiai, are you sure you're not him in disguise trying to persuade me with the form of Kikyou?" Inuyasha asked.
-----
It hadn't really crossed her mind how the tarp ended up back in her room, but luckily it was there since she could now escape her mother. Kagome regretfully hauled the bloodied tarp into her arms, but as soon as she did so blood trickled down onto her school uniform. She inwardly groaned, knowing full well that it'd be pretty hard to wash off if it were even possible to at all. Aside from this the raven haired girl now could estimate how much blood Sesshoumaru had lost. From her observations of the tarp and her soaked uniform it was definitely a lot. Sighing, Kagome dropped the tarp onto the concrete porch in her backyard. Out in the sun, the blood shined a bright red, within seconds flies came out of nowhere and swarmed around the disgusting thing.
"Darn, I forgot the soap and sponge," Kagome verbally told herself.
Without thinking Kagome went to the front side of the backyard to get the sponge and soap since it was left by their front door on a small chair. That morning Mrs. Higurashi had been washing something herself. It wasn't until Kagome reached the front porch did she hear someone say, "Kagome, what happened to you?"
Hojo? Turning around slowly Kagome indeed saw the brown haired youth standing yonder the front gate. "Hojo . . ." she managed to say.
"Your uniform . . ." he started.
Kagome looked down at herself and then back up. "Oh! You mean this red stuff? It's merely red paint; my mom wanted me to repaint a chair we have inside the house. You know, it's a messy job." Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew what she was saying wasn't doing her any justice, since she was usually a straightforward and honest person by heart.
Why does lying make me feel so bad? I'm doing it for a good cause, right? More like, I'm doing it to keep things a secret and keep myself cleared of anything . . .
"Would you like some help? I was on my way home from my grandmother's," Hojo told her.
"No, that's all right, Hojo. I'm almost done anyway. But thanks for the the offer," Kagome replied. She hurriedly picked up the sponge and soap and sprinted back behind the house, Kagome didn't bother to see whether Hojo was still standing there or simply walked along his way.
Kagome cringed at the sight of the tarp; there were so many flies on it that she almost lost the nerve to even touch it. However, such a girl like her was strong-willed, so she swallowed her pride as she eased her hand down onto the thing. Once she got into the rhythm of things the raven haired girl lost herself into the act of cleaning, to her this was a daily routine and a necessity in her everyday life. Before long the tarp was clean and cleared of its unbearable stench to some extent. Satisfied with her work, Kagome returned it to the shrine only to remember that something of importance to the taiyoukai was down in the well.
His swords . . . I must have forgotten them before . . .
In the mean time Kagome's mother stayed by Sesshoumaru's side as he slept, most quite uncomfortably in her standards. Every once in a while she'd take the damp towel away from his crescent marred forehead to soak the cloth once more with cool water. Kagome walked in then, carrying two swords oddly as she tried not to make them touch her stained uniform and hurt her injured hand too much; however the swords were not light so Kagome had trouble walking straight. It made her wonder how Sesshoumaru could carry these things with graceful ease on the side of his waist.
"Kagome, your uniform."
Kagome sweat dropped. That's the first thing my mother worries about? With her already awkward movements Kagome tripped over one of her own highly stacked books in a corner. The swords flew out of her hands: one landed on the floor with a loud thud while the other sword, the Tenseiga, landed on Sesshoumaru. Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru awoke with a start, the sword's hilt made contact with his injured ribcage, causing him to painfully awake.
At first everything was hazy; he even felt light-headed from all the blood he'd lost earlier. "He's awake!" he heard someone say. Within moments a flurry of green, white and red blocked his view from the acrid, white-wash walls of the room. The voice he heard spoke again. "How are you feeling, Sesshoumaru?"
I . . . I vaguely remember . . .
"Think you can handle it from here, Kagome?" The girl nodded. "Okay, then," Mrs. Higurashi stood up to leave, "and Kagome, do take care of that burn on your hand. You know where we put all the medicine." The girl nodded once more.
Kagome turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru to see that he was studying her closely. Kagome blushed then, it was either from his silent staring or the fact that she looked like a mess before him. Her embarrassment didn't last long though because he spoke.
"You, what did you do to my clothes?" he demanded, voice very low and menacing.
"I've got a name, you know. It's Kagome - so stop calling me 'you' or 'woman', my name is Kagome, got it?" She frowned when the taiyoukai did not acknowledge her; instead he looked down at the Tenseiga that lay on top of him. "Oh! Your swords!" Without much thought she picked them up from the floor and laid the Tenseiga and Toukijin side by side on the bed to Sesshoumaru's right.
The pain in Sesshoumaru's ribs subsided, but the fact that dawned on him now annoyed him to no end. Curse this body, why is it that I have no strength to move? From an outward appearance one wouldn't have been able to tell that Sessshoumaru was sick at the moment unless they touched his burning forehead. His eyes followed the girl's when she suddenly looked to his right. It didn't take him a single heart beat to know what she was staring at.
"Is that your tail?" Kagome asked curiously. She had always wondered about it.
"That is of no importance to you," he replied rather coldly. Turning his head to the side the once cool cloth fell off his forehead to land softly on the pillow. Kagome leaned over him at this moment to pick up the cloth, the smell of peaches were so strong that it overpowered Sesshoumaru's senses completely. "Get away."
"Huh?" Kagome leaned away from him with the damp towel in here uninjured hand.
"Stay away from me. Your scent is most unwanted near me," he told her blandly.
The girl blanched at the comment, she was openly hurt by the need for her to stay away. It greatly confused her as to why she'd hate separating herself from him when at any other time in the feudal era she would have gladly avoided him.
"Stop daydreaming and get me my clothes. I am not suited to such nudity." Sesshoumaru was even surprised that whoever shed him of his clothing went so far as to remove his undergarment too. The one material that kept the thing between his legs hidden were gone also much to his dismay.
"Erm . . ." Kagome looked around the room, his clothing was nowhere in sight, "it's not here at the moment. In the time being wouldn't you like a warm bath? That spasm you had earlier really gave us all a scare - you're even burning with fever, too. Although from the look of things you appear to be fine. Surely, you must be in pain though?"
"Be silent, woman, you talk too much." He was indeed burning with fever, due to his befallen illness everything about him heightened ten-fold. What worried him however was that with his senses this highly stimulated it put him at great risk of getting hurt. It was not that he was worried of getting attacked in this world anyhow, but one can never be too sure.
"Look, Sesshoumaru, I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not," she stood up and stalked towards her bedroom door in big strides, "and I'm going to run a bath for you. In all actuality you'd appreciate this gesture; it's just that you don't want to admit it."
Foolish woman. I wish not to thank you; it is rather in my desire to silence you forever.
Geez, guys these days . . . Well, more like 'youkai'. . .
Kagome looked at her burned hand for a moment as she stood before the bathroom's large mirror. The arrow that burned her before never really left her mind; she simply tried her best not to think about it. Now that she was alone for once that day she wanted to take a good look at the burn. From her speculation the scalded skin on her hand wasn't too badly damaged, although she shouldn't take the wound too lightly. Looking towards the cabinet to her left she opened it to take out a roll of bandages to use it to wrap around her injured hand.
While she was busy doing this, Sesshoumaru was quickly trying to find a way to escape her horrid home. It was much too cluttered and small to his liking, unlike his massive kingdom; it was expansive and roomy.
With much effort Sesshoumaru managed to lift his right arm from out underneath the blood-stained blanket. He could smell it everywhere - his own blood's scent filled his nostrils with more than enough of their share. His head sharply snapped up when Kagome returned with a bandaged hand. From the looks of it, it appeared that she had been injured. Why hadn't I noticed the stench of her wound? Curse this bothersome fever!
"Your bath is ready, Sesshoumaru. Ready to go?" Kagome stood beside him by the bed, watching him expectantly. It didn't cross her mind that he couldn't really move due to the loss of large amounts of blood and his fever. "Come on, get up."
Sesshoumaru frowned, remaining tight-lipped. He knew he needed assistance but he wasn't going to ask this girl to help.
"Something the matter?" she asked. Why isn't he getting up? Is it because he's naked? Oh! That must be it! "Um . . . Sesshoumaru, I'll turn around so please get up. I promise I won't peek."
How stupid can this girl be?
Respite what he didn't want to show the girl he longed to bathe ever since he awoke. He wasn't going to get up on his own, but he couldn't bring himself to ask that one simple question.
"Woman," he started.
"It's Kagome! My name is Kagome, not woman!" she replied, quickly turning around without thinking. One of her heels had been kneading down on the blanket since parts of it fell to the floor beside her. With her sudden turning motion she accidentally slid it down almost below Sesshoumaru's waist. Her face turned as red as a tomato. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Kagome bent over to cover the taiyoukai only to fall on top of him from her flustered movements. He gently grunted in pain, as much as he tried to conceal it, Kagome was too close to him so she heard the pain moan. "Oh! Oh, I didn't mean-"
Sesshoumaru snarled out of anger. Unbeknownst to him he somehow found the strength to shove the obnoxious girl off him. She landed on her bottom with a soft thud, her face crinkling up upon the contact.
"You intolerable bitch," he spat angrily. "I don't need your help." Hurt, Kagome stayed the way she fell, head bowed. "I will go take a bath, do not touch me." Putting on a look of indifference Sesshoumaru miraculously stood up, blanket draped securely around his mid-section. Kagome never once looked up at him as he slowly made his way out of the bedroom. Only when she heard a loud thud did she take the time to react.
"Sesshoumaru!"
"I said don't touch me!" He slapped her shaking hands away. My legs . . . Why did they suddenly fail me, causing me to fall like this? As hard as he tried his legs refused to budge.
"You need help so don't push me away," Kagome said in a commanding tone. Her once sulky demeanor disappeared to be replaced with that of a courageous nature. "I know you can't move your legs, if you could you would've gotten up already. Besides, you're going the wrong way if you're trying to get to the bathroom . . . It's in the other direction." Turning back to look inside her bedroom she saw the fluffy material she assumed as Sesshoumaru's tail on her bed. "That . . . Wasn't your tail? I though you had a tail since Inuyasha . . ." she looked down at him, voice faltering from the way he stared at her, ". . . had dog ears."
"You speak as if you wish to degrade me. You despicable woman," he told her.
"No! That wasn't what I was trying to do! Um, I'm sorry." Kagome kneeled down by the taiyoukai. In a much gentler and quieter tone, she said, "I really want to help you so please let me, okay?" He grunted in response. "Is that a yes?" Sesshoumaru remained impassive and silent. "I'm guessing that's a yes, then."
With careful hands Kagome struggled to angle her hands correctly since Sesshoumaru had a injured left shoulder and ribcage. At one point she unintentionally pressed a hand onto his wounded shoulder, but he made no sound of protest or pain. Puckering her lips Kagome managed to get the taiyoukai to stand up in a straight manner when she shoved him from below the right armpit. She nearly fell back down from all the weight he was putting on her. It wasn't that he was extremely heavy; he was bigger and taller than her so it was only natural that he weighed more.
"Don't strain yourself," she heard the Demon Lord say.
Kagome smiled, she knew that Sesshoumaru was trying to see to her well-being. Even if he wouldn't openly admit it if she had asked of him, but she knew all too well.
"Don't worry, Sesshoumaru, we're almost there." Kagome was painfully aware of Sesshoumaru's bare skin brushing against her left cheek lightly as she hauled him by the armpit.
"Oh, Kagome . . . My, my, who is that with you?"
Grandpa, not now! Why did he have to see me at a time like this!
To be continued!