Chapter 7

A long, quiet stillness seemed to envelop the air as Sesshomaru stared with unblinking eyes at the sight before him. He would never have believed he'd ever witness such a thing, and still there it was before him; his daughter pined helplessly to a tree by the gruesome three-clawed arm of a demon stinking of Naraku. It was this sight, which had caused Rin and her companion to cry out for it was indeed a startling one.

Sesshomaru remained still, despite Rin's incessant cowering behind him. He did not feel sorrow; his canine sixth sense relayed clearly that his daughter had not traveled to the netherworld thanks to an unknown binding energy, and so could be revived with the Tenseiga. Moreover it was sheer bewilderment, which consumed his thoughts. What on earth would have prompted Shura to act so foolishly, in a semi-powered state no less? The very idea made him absolutely livid. And still, something inside warmed that there was a greater evil at work here, one that extended beyond Naraku and would no doubt show itself again in the near future.

The demon lord cast a glance over his shoulder as Matyeo and Inuyasha arrived swiftly behind him. Neither one, it seemed, could absorb what their eyes relayed. Inuyasha just stood rigidly, as if the slightest movement would cause him to crumble into tiny pieces. He remained that way even after his friends caught up. Matyeo meanwhile was trying his hardest to remain civilized, though his flattened ears and wide, dilated eyes were not so convincing.

"She died quickly…" the dragon finally managed to force out, though it was obviously more for his sake then anyone else's "she must have…the claw went through her heart." Sesshomaru turned an angry eye on Matyeo.

"Don't be so naïve Matyeo, she's not dead."

"How the hell do you figure that?" snapped Inuyasha, his voice cracking despite his efforts to control it. Sesshomaru didn't answer, mostly out of annoyance that someone of his bloodline and his disciple would be so blinded by emotion they would overlook the faint, spiritual aura still emanating around his child's body. But then again he wasn't entirely surprised either. Such weakness certainly wasn't out of their character.

Glancing harder, Matyeo eventually noticed the energy also, along with the source that kept it there, a flickering dragoncreast in a familiar dagger's handle.

"My dagger…the protection seal…" the dragon blurted out before he could stop himself. The sorrow had disappeared from his voice, but in the same instant it was rapidly replaced by worry. It was not Shura, after all, whom he had given the dagger to…and for the object to bind its power to someone else… the dragon shuddered and tried to cast the thought from his mind by instead watching the white haired dog monarch as he approached the tree anchoring Shura's body.

As he walked closer Sesshomaru drew out the Tenseiga from its sheath. With his weapon's influence he could see the dragon protection aura vividly. It enveloped his child's pale, floating soul as it hovered inches from her body in a dreamless sleep. The beasts of the underworld were there also, but they received painful jolts every time they tried to touch Shura's spirit. Sesshomaru raised the sword to destroy the messengers, as was the routine, however as he did so, a most peculiar thing happened. Far from its normal behavior, the entire blade of Tenseiga turned an iridescent blue. Its pulses also came so hard they rang through the great demon's arm in painful bursts. Sesshomaru only had to shift the sword ever so slightly to destroy the netherworld beasts and negate the dragon protection seal, but when the process was over and his weapon concealed at his belt once more the great demon found blood running down his fingers.

Moments later another pulse sounded in the air, this time however, it was not from Sesshomaru's sword, but instead from Shura's heart. With each second it grew stronger, infusing life into the still demon body it inhabited. First Shura's fingers twitched, then her eyelids flickered. Soon her mouth opened to pull in a much-needed gasp of air. Every passing moment filled the demoness's body with energy and her dormant mind with consciousness…and pain.

Sesshomaru took a step backwards when he heard a growing snarl erupt from his daughter's throat. For some reason he couldn't name his child's resurrection had not gone smoothly; her wounds remained unhealed, her emotions frenzied. It was almost as if…she didn't quite have control over her own soul… Sesshomaru pushed the uncomfortable thought to the back of his mind. Now was not an appropriate time to be mulling over such things.

Meanwhile, half delirious from the revival, Shura writhed wildly in all directions her crimson eyes ablaze with panic and agony. The demoness scratched savagely at the clawed hand that pinned her, dissolving flesh and bone with each poorly aimed swipe. All the while the pain continued to intensify, driving up her delirium all the further. Soon her struggles turned from desperate to violent. The demoness thrashed her head of black tipped hair; foam dripping from her jaws with each jerk, and her cries came as rabid snarls. In this state she didn't recognize friend from foe. Like a cornered animal, she was pinned, wounded, frightened and desperate to escape.

With eyes still blazing red Shura finally did manage to pull the remains of the black demon's sickle shaped claw from her chest. It was a great and painful effort; rivers of blood cascaded from the ragged wound, but at least she was free. Sinking to the ground Shura now turned her attention to the many new figures that had surrounded her. Covered from head to toe in her own blood, the demoness could not distinguish their scents, and it made her even more frenzied then before. She snarled out warnings to all who were near, and they grew louder with the slightest movement anyone dared to make.

It was Sesshomaru who finally attempted to approach, though it was still done so with the necessary caution. Keeping his movements slow and his voice lowered, the great demon spoke out soft reassurances as he gradually closed the gap between himself and his daughter. In this manner, the demon lord managed to come within inches of Shura's snarling form but as he reached out to lay a hand on her head some unseen terror struck her and she lunged, sinking her fangs deep into his forearm. The blow came so sharply Sesshomaru couldn't suppress the roar of pain that sprang from his lips. But that was the only effort he made in protest. Even as Shura's fangs ground harshly against his bones, he remained still his expression an unwavering half grimace.

As the moments continued with painful slowness the taste of familiar blood gradually started to dawn on Shura. Her eyes widened then slowly changed from their current shade of crimson back to soft gold. Her jaws relaxed and slowly opened in the process pulling pointed fangs deep from Sesshomaru's flesh. Then, as Shura drew her head away, she let out a soft cry of sorrow causing her father's blood to escape the corners of her mouth and run down her chin.

"Be still, you're safe now," the great demon spoke as he knelt to the ground. He could see Shura's eyes grow heavy at the quiet remark, as if his very voice were the lyrics of a lullaby. Relaxing from her poised crouch Shura gradually she sank forward and her bloodstained face came to rest softly against her father's silks. Then sleep took her.

For a brief instant Sesshomaru's eyes softened as he looked upon the she-demon leaning against his chest. Her snores were quiet, almost beyond his range of hearing, but they brought back welcoming memories of the tiny infant who used to sleep just as soundly curled in his arms, her head upon his heart.

A knowing pain in his wrist, and the strong aroma of blood forced the images from his mind.

"Inuyasha," the great dog barked catching his brother off guard. "Take her." It was an order even the halfling was quick to follow. After binding his niece tightly with his fire-rat kimono top to slow the bleeding, Inuyasha pulled Shura onto his shoulders, allowing his brother the space he needed to stand. It was Matyeo who offered support to Sesshomaru; even with his inherent immunity to Shura's poison, it didn't make his wound any less painful. Still, injured or not, Sesshomaru had lost none of his mental parlance. Next he turned to his toad servant.

"Jaken."

"Aye milord?" inquired the little demon.

"Do you recall that cliff formation we passed earlier?" Jaken nodded. "Then I trust you to lead the way."