Chapter Thirty-Six: Clinging

A/N: Edited on 9/11/15

Sesshomaru glared at the now unconscious priestess. "Please Inuhidoi! You...can't." It was the last thing she said until her human body gave out to the intense heat. Sesshomaru had begun to feel his own skin burn slightly. He wasn't going to last too much longer in this ring of fire.

Holding the unconscious priestess in his arm, he flew up into the air. Her weight was barley a factor; she weighed nothing to the Demon Lord. The sky was much clearer up here, and Sesshomaru found it easier to breathe. The priestess whimpered in his arm, her breathing was slow and jagged. Sesshomaru could smell her burning flesh from miles away, but since she was close now the smell made him wrinkle his nose.

His search was now intended for Rin, but her scent had been lost. Sesshomaru felt his anger rise. Where was Rin?

"Rin!" Sesshomaru shouted over the scorched earth. Despite his powerful nose, he couldn't pick up anyone's scent but his own and the priestess's. "Half-demon, damn it!" Sesshomaru never felt such anger run through him since the time Naraku had attempted to absorb him.

The priestess suddenly began shivering in his arm, almost making him drop her because of her sudden movement. Sesshomaru growled he had to put her down before he did drop her. If only he had his other arm.

Sesshomaru shook that thought from his head, and began to drift further away from the demonic fire. He was also moving away from Rin, but Sesshomaru would know if Rin had been killed. He just had that feeling Rin was being protected by one of InuYasha's companions. They may despise him because of the fights InuYasha and he made, but they were still human. They had protective feelings for Rin.

Sesshomaru found a nice clearing that contained soft grass. He laid the priestess's form on the ground. She flinched when her body touched the grass.

"Priestess?"

She didn't respond. Her eyes seemed to be moving behind her eyelids rapidly, fighting the unnerving pain that was corrupting her body. Sesshomaru took hold of Tensegia, but her breathing did not stop. So he stood back up and his eyes scanned the terrain.

"Priestess?"

There was still no response. Sesshomaru looked away, annoyed. He knew human bodies were weak and did not heal quickly, but still he needed her alive. More really, InuYasha needed her. Sesshomaru had seen the connection between the two. He didn't truly understand why his brother was attracted to human women in such a way, but Sesshomaru was staring to doubt his own feelings. He had revived Rin and had taken her in under his protection.

"Priestess!" Sesshomaru took her by the shoulder and shook her slightly. She screamed causing him to pull back and cover one ear.

"Please…don't kill me!"

Sesshomaru frowned, she thought he was Inuhidoi. "Priestess, this Sesshomaru is not Inuhidoi."

The priestess blinked a few times, and winched in pain. "Sesshomaru…?"

Sesshomaru growled in approval. He would give her no reinsurance, but he could at least tell her he was not going to kill her. The priestess tried to sit up, but fell back since her injuries were too severe for her to move around much.

"Sesshomaru…what happened to InuYasha?"

"This Sesshomaru does not know." Sesshomaru glared through the trees. Sesshomaru looked around to see if anyone else was close by, but there was no one in his sight of scent range.

"Kouga…"

Sesshomaru turned to see the priestess holding her knees and her eyes tightly shut. She was in great pain.

"What does the wolf have to do with anything?"

"He…was right in front of him." The priestess whimpered. Sesshomaru flinched; the wolf could not have possibly survived if that had been the case. Sesshomaru decided best not to respond to the priestess's worries of the wolf. Rin was more important to him.

"Priestess, are you able to walk?"

"I don't know."

"This Sesshomaru will not carry you." The priestess tried to stand, but fell do to her burned legs. She whimpered and held her right knee.

"Just go…I'll be fine." She answered him.

"That is not an option priestess." Sesshomaru glared at her.

"Just go!" Kagome yelled.

Sesshomaru felt a tight growl come up his throat, but kept it silent. He would not show his irritation to the likes of mortals. Only Rin was the exception. He stood there, his back to the priestess. If he was going to have to wait, he would.

"This Sesshomaru does not have all day."

"I don't heal…like you do!" The priestess snapped.

"If you want to see…" Sesshomaru started when he felt her presence behind him. He turned to see her standing up and had moved directly in front of him. She had a scowl on her face.

"Don't you tell me what I want to see!" Kagome slammed her fist into his armor, and burst into tears and slumped to his feet towards the ground. Sesshomaru was caught off guard by her sudden express of emotion. He said nothing and let her cry.

Somehow she pulled her tears under control and just sat there. They stood there for only a moment when Sesshomaru turned his back once more. "Do not express sympathy in front of this Sesshomaru."

"I was doing it for InuYasha." The priestess whimpered.

"This Sesshomaru would rather you not shed your emotions at his feet."

"Then stop lecturing me." Kagome turned away. "Do what you want, I'm not walking."

"A priestess who hits a Demon Lord with such force is able to walk. Get up." Sesshomaru glared. The priestess looked up at him, and blinked in surprise.

"I…hit you?"

"If you think you successfully inflicted pain on this Sesshomaru you are mistaken."

"I'm sorry, I was…just angry."

"Then we move on." Sesshomaru said. He started walking, curious to see if the priestess would follow. Despite her near identical stubbornness to InuYasha, she knew when she was beat. She stood up on shaky legs, limping, and she slowly followed.

Sesshomaru stopped and sniffed, just to make sure Inuhidoi was nowhere nearby. He started walking when he suddenly felt a tug on his shoulder. He looked down to find the priestess clinging to his tail, she had lost conciseness again. Sesshomaru growled, of all the places to faint.

"Priestess, get up."

No response. Sesshomaru looked down. She was still alive, but her life was clinging to the small part it had left. The wounds on her arms and legs were severe burns they had blackened her pale skin. Her face was only slightly burnt, but the scared burn from Inuhidoi's blood still remained. One of her fingers looked broken, and her eyes had long, dark semi-circles that lay just under her eyelids.

Sesshomaru stood up and started walking, how did she suddenly get so heavy? When he flew into the air, she was nothing more then a feather. The tail was not meant for this, Sesshomaru thought.

Rin, where are you? Sesshomaru put his hand on a bark of a tree, feeling it's warm wood. The wood seemed to have absorbed the heat from Inuhidoi's blast. What was that blast? Sesshomaru had never seen demonic power used in such a way before.

Brother, Sesshomaru thought, now that you know. What will you do? Knowing that your human mother was killed by your own claws and sent to the after life.

Sesshomaru suddenly felt intense pain come up his right leg. He bit his lip and ignored it. Pain was nothing more then mental test in most cases for demons. Humans had no choice. There minds make it too hard to ignore such pain. Some give up and let fate take them. Others, like his brother, were so stubborn they fought until their last dying breath.

In spite, Sesshomaru realized the only difference between a human and a demon was their physical capacity. Demons were stronger, able to use power in intensive ways, while humans have to use the land to supply their own resources. This thought bugged Sesshomaru, how come he never realized until now? Was it Rin who had opened his eyes to the human world? Humans could be greed, evil and selfish, just like many demons were. Both thought that one was more evil then the other.

The war between humans and demons seemed to never end through Sesshomaru's eyes. But it would only take a small step, like his father did, to love and cherish a human and make the world a better place for both humans and demons.

For now though, Sesshomaru had his own war. To defend his brother from breaking, the priestess from dying, and more importantly to protect Rin.