A/N: Last chapter: Sesshomaru learns about Uekya's wish, granting humans the lifespan as long as a demon if a human couple pick a rose from Uekya's garden with true love in their hearts. However, nobody has succeeded in achieving that fete yet. Sesshomaru makes Kagome mad because he reminds Inuyasha of Kikyou.
to sorrellKaren: Thank you so much for your review. You keep me going. Thank you.
Chapter 17: Unexpected Ally.
Leaving Kagome and Inuyasha to their brawl, Sesshomaru went to the woods, to the spot where he saw the garden of lotus some nights ago during his flight from Rin's seductiveness.
If Inuyasha still remembered Kikyou, could Inuyasha's love for Kagome pass as true love. Could Inuyasha be able to prolong Kagome's life by Uekya's roses.
Could the spell of Uekya's roses be trusted.
Sesshomaru would test it using into his brother since he had seen how Inuyasha and Kagome had risked their life for each other. But with Kikyou in mind, the knowledge would be kept from Inuyasha for the time being to prevent Inuyasha from the possibly fatal temptation.
Sesshomaru stood, gazing at the lotuses.
Their origin was from the lady in the rose garden as the scent from her power was the same. The lady, unknown to him, had been watching him perhaps. How else would she know he had feelings for a human. Perhaps, the gleam she sent into his eyes was not to immobilize him, but to read his thoughts. And he, being off guard, had revealed some thoughts to her inadvertently.
Whatever the method she used, the lady had caught his interest. Though her power was weak, she was worthy of cautionary measure.
He came back to their village at nightfall. Inuyasha and Kagome seemed to have worked out their problem and were sitting with Miroku and Sango while the kids were running for a game of tag with Jaken.
Sesshomaru started to walk into the house when Rin flew with Ah-Un's over the roof from the backyard.
He immediately followed.
Making his way toward Ah-Un's side, he asked, "Rin. Where are you going at this hour of the night?"
"Sesshomaru-sama, the Phoenix statues, they're being taken away I think. All their symbols on the map had faded but one. I'm going there."
"Rin, for what?"
"I don't know, I must warn the bat demons. I must do something."
"Rin, go back."
"No, we've got to do something, Sesshomaru-sama."
He became quiet and followed the adamant girl who had apparently just engaged herself into another life saving mission, and he must come with her to save her from it.
Sesshomaru and Rin arrived at a blue barrier that was slowly dissolving in front of them.
Facing them was Takashi with his Meido Staff gripped tight in his hand. Looking at Sesshomaru with a dark glare, Takashi smirked.
Two bat demons were flapping in the air above the altar that held a blue baby Phoenix statue, with their arrows raised in their hands, ready to shoot.
Sesshomaru stood, nonchalant. "Leave, Takashi."
"So, you even know my name. I must be well known."
"Hardly."
"In that case, let's make it known."
Takashi swung his staff, dispatching 5 huge meidos covering a wide range of space, all heading towards Sesshomaru.
Ah-Un zipped upwards and backwards away from the battle perimeter.
The bats demons flapped to the side to get out of the meidos' paths, both shooting arrows into the meidos, with no effect. They flapped farther out of sight.
Sesshomaru leapt in zigzagging pattern dodging the meidos.
When Sesshomaru appeared from behind the last meido, Takashi jumped up and punched Sesshomaru's face, sending him teetering to the ground and barely missing the meido from sweeping him away.
Sesshomaru sprang up, only to cower down on his knees again from the pains his mother had caused him. Only she could heal the wounds, not even time could erase them. And it exaggerated when his body exerted any force.
Takashi landed in front of Sesshomaru. "You're wounded, Sesshomaru." He raised his staff. "Very good then. Let me finish it for you."
Sesshomaru flipped backwards and landed in a crouch. He pulled out his sword.
Takashi landed in front of him. "Running away?"
Takashi stooped down to grab Sesshomaru's neck but immediately jumped back when Sesshomaru swiped across Takashi's arms with his claws.
The more Sesshomaru exerted force, the more pain shot out from the wounds to all parts of his body, crippling him. Painful shockwaves in his head pulsated, blinding him.
The pain from the mother was to ensure their children's inability to fight back. Knowing that much, Sesshomaru bore the wounds and didn't let his mother heal him to prevent himself from transforming since the process required an assembly of certain energy from his body.
'Curse it.'
It was backfiring on him at the moment.
Landing back a few feet away from Sesshomaru, Takashi chuckled. "Who could have inflicted such pain on our Great Inu Demon?"
Takashi blasted a stream of energy from the end of his staff squarely into Sesshomaru's chest, sending the latter flying backward.
Sesshomaru could not muster his energy to break free from the jet of energy that was pushing on his body.
Ah-Un and Rin swooshed down. Reaching out a hand, Rin tried to grab Sesshomaru.
"Wah, how sweet. Let me send all of you to the underworld once and for all."
Takashi dispatched multiple meidos in the group's direction.
Rin was unfazed, determined to pull Sesshomaru out of the way. Unable to achieve the fete, Rin urged Ah-Un to jump in front of Sesshomaru, hoping to shield Sesshomaru from the approaching meidos.
When a meido was at a hair distance from Rin, a white shimmery shadow flashed across the meido's path, catching Rin and Ah-Un and flinging them out of the way into a far distance, away from danger.
The white shadow zipped back for Sesshomaru and carried him away, just in time when the meidos arrived at the point where they would have swallowed the whole group.
Sesshomaru, forcefully exerting all of his energy, had conjured up nothing but the accumulation of excruciating pain, like thousands of sharp blades rushing through his bloodstream, shearing the flesh and bones all over his body. Catching a quick glimpse of the white figure resembling the lady in the rose garden who was carrying him away from the meidos by holding onto his hand, he slowly slipped into unconsciousness from the crippling pain.
...