Healing the Moon
Disclaimer: Don't own. Wish I did.
Chapter Four
The tall daiyoukai paused in his trek as the soft wind shifted slightly. Looking in the direction of the wind, he couldn't stop the frown that tugged at his lips. "Jaken," he said firmly, gaining the attention of the imp that followed him.
"Yes, milord?"
"If anything should happen to Rin while I am away, I shall kill you," Sesshomaru glared at his retainer for added emphasis. When the imp nodded and moved over to the human child, he turned on his heel and began walking towards the smell of fire and death.
He did not have to journey far, and the sight that greeted him caused him to growl. The small estate that had rested in the midst of his lands had been utterly decimated. The soldiers who had guarded its occupants were slain, and the stench of Naraku was heavy in the air.
The estate itself was smoldering, as if it had been destroyed many days ago. "Why would Naraku destroy the Hikari estate?" he asked himself out loud.
Something moved in the bushes to his left, and Sesshomaru growled softly as he placed a hand on Tokijin. A soldier, bearing the Hikari clans' crest, stumbled trough the undergrowth, nearly dropping the burden in his arms. The soldier didn't even seem to notice the daiyoukai as he knelt and placed the form in his arms on the ground. "I shall search for survivors, milady," he said softly before he straightened and moved past Sesshomaru.
Raising an eyebrow, Sesshomaru watched the soldier as he began to sift through the ruin. He reeked heavily of blood and death, and even as he moved through what remained of the estate, Sesshomaru knew that the human male was not long for this world. Walking over to the form that the soldier had set down, Sesshomaru growled when he saw that it was a human woman.
"Onna, what happened here?" he asked as her eyes fluttered open.
"A demon attacked us, for reasons that I do not know," she said softly. "Keigo was barely able to rescue me from the burning estate, though not without injury to the both of us."
"The soldier will die soon, onna. He is delirious with fever and loss of blood."
"Hai. But he wishes to search for survivors, and I cannot deny him his final request."
He turned his sight back to the soldier and frowned slightly when he saw that the man had settled himself at the remains of the gate, and was still. "Onna, he has passed."
Nodding, the woman hissed in pain as she forced herself into a sitting position, her right arm cradled against her chest as she moved so that her back was against a tree. "This woman is grateful to you for allowing her guard to finally rest."
"It is of no consequence. The male was dying, no matter what I did," Sesshomaru slid his arm around the woman's waist and settled her over his shoulder. "You will come with this Sesshomaru to his camp, and have your wounds tended. Then you shall explain what it is that Naraku sought at your estate."
Midori didn't even bother to respond as she allowed herself to be carried off by the silver-haired male. It didn't take very long before they stepped into a clearing where a fire had been started.
Sesshomaru set the female down against Ah-un and moved to the packs. "Jaken, go to the stream and retrieve a bowl of water," he snapped as he pulled wrapping linens from one of the packs. Glancing at Rin, who was staring at the human female in wonder, he sighed. "Rin," the daiyoukai stated, drawing the girls' attention. "I need you to go find two long sticks, roughly the same size."
"Yes, milord," the human child grinned before dashing off into the woods.
Walking over to the woman, Sesshomaru examined her with a critical eye. "Are you able to tend to your own wounds, onna?"
"I shall need help setting the bone in my arm, and wrapping my other wounds," Midori said softly. "This one apologizes for invading your camp in such a manner, milord."
Rin returned to camp before Sesshomaru could respond, and held out two sticks. "Go and aide Jaken in retrieving water, Rin," he said. The child immediately ran off and Sesshomaru grabbed the woman's arm. "We shall set this before she returns," he stated before finding the breaks in the woman's arm.
With a firm guidance, he reset her arm and quickly wrapped it with the linens and the two sticks. "This shall do for now. What other injuries to you have?"
"Cuts and bruises. My ribs will need to be wrapped as well. I fear that I may have bruised them heavily while trying to escape the estate."
Rin and Jaken returned with the water, and the child calmly helped the woman clean and wrap her remaining wounds once her lord stepped away. Once her wounds were dealt with, Sesshomaru sat across from her. "Why did Naraku attack the Hikari estate?"
"I am unsure, milord. I do not even know who this Naraku is," Midori replied.
"Perhaps you healed someone you shouldn't have," Jaken snapped. "That is what is rumored to have happened the last time your clan was attacked."
"The Hikari clan takes in many travelers who are wounded! We do not turn any away," Midori snarled at the imp, her eyes flashing in the firelight.
"There was a lingering scent in the air that I noticed, Hikari-san," Sesshomaru said calmly. "The scent was several days old, but unmistakable. The hanyou, Inuyasha, was treated at your estate."
"He and two of his companions," Midori said firmly. "They came to us for aide."
"Ha! You invited Naraku's attack then, foolish ningen!" Jaken exclaimed. "All know of that vile hanyou's hatred for Inuyasha and his pack! It is your own fau-herk!" The imps tirade was cut off when Sesshomaru grabbed him up by his throat and tossed him into the forest.
"Is that true?" Midori asked the daiyoukai as he settled his amber gaze on her.
"You could not have known that taking in Inuyasha and his pack would draw Naraku's attention to your estate," Sesshomaru looked at her with a critical eye. "Tell me, why are you not unconscious from the pain? Most ningens would have passed out by now."
"I have been trained to ignore my own pain, but I can only ignore it for so long. If possible, tomorrow, I would like to return to the estate." At Sesshomaru's questioning glance, she smiled sadly. "I prepared for an instance such as this. There is a secret room beneath a trap door in the stables where I stashed away many supplies in case the estate was ever attacked."
"Such as?"
"There are, of course, dried herbs and tonics, as well as numerous scrolls pertaining to the creation of potions and salves that my clan has created for generations. I also hid away several of my clans most valued treasures."
Nodding, Sesshomaru moved to the other side of the fire and settled himself against the trunk of a tree. He kept a close eye on the two ningen females as they settled themselves against Ah-un to sleep. Jaken returned to the camp just as the older female finally succumbed to exhaustion.
"Pardon my forwardness, milord, but is it wise to take on another ningen female?" the imp asked quietly.
"The Hikari clan was once the most prominent ningen family in all of Nippon, and their healers are without equal. If nothing else, she will be able to keep Rin occupied," Sesshomaru stated with finality.
"Yes, milord."
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A/N: Well, there's chapter 4. As for the time-line of this story, it happens sometime before Naraku brings back the Shichinintai.
I almost thought I wouldn't get this chapter out, but I actually managed to get it typed out. Go me!
Later days!