A/N: Awww thanks for the sweet reviews guys. I really appreciate them XD I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!
Sesshoumaru and Kagome's POV
oooooOooooo
Chapter Sixteen: Ache
oooooOooooo
Firefly finds his love
They settle into grass
Together
~~~ Masajo Suzuki
oooooOooooo
The ground was cool and hard beneath me, but I couldn't find it within myself to move.
The waters of the river gradually receded, leaving me alone on the shore. Even lying face down in the grass, I knew where I was.
The sound of people, the smell of roasted fish, the lilting tune of a hocchiku . . . it was achingly familiar.
I thought of calling out, but I was so tired. The heavy material of my clothes was weighted down with water, pressing on me. Soaked hair clung to my neck, chilling me, making me shiver, but still I didn't move.
I remembered the churning currents that had sucked me away from Sesshoumaru, and I remembered what I had wanted, desperately wanted, as walls of water crushed me. But, whether it was Sesshoumaru's doing or the magic of the gods' realm, I hadn't drowned. Breathing in the water had been no different from breathing in air.
I cursed silently. Sesshoumaru would never forgive me. He would never know whyI had left. He would never know how close to death he'd come. He would never understand . . .
Hopefully, Chisaki would be able to keep him away from me for a while. I needed time to figure out what to do next. I realized I couldn't stay in my village. That would be the first place Sesshoumaru would come looking for me.
And he wouldcome. Despite how hurt he was, there was no doubt in my mind that he would come.
I shuddered, half from my drenched clothes and half from fear. In his eyes, I'd betrayed him. I could only imagine the anger, the absolute fury, he had to be feeling.
My throat burned, a tell-tell sign of tears. Damn that Kagutsuchi, I thought bitterly. Damn him to the last circle of hell. I knew the story of Kagutsuchi. I knewthat he had burned his mother alive when he was born. And I had pitied him. Pitiedthat self-righteous lunatic!
A lukewarm breeze brushed by me, raising bumps on my arms. I half-hoped I'd die of pneumonia. Maybe then I would have some peace . . .
Fate, however, seemed to have something else in mind. As darkness crept in on my senses, a shrill scream echoed around me, and it was the last thing I heard as I sank gratefully into unconsciousness.
oooooOooooo
oooooOooooo
Chisaki, I decided, was as good as dead.
The fact that she was with Kira was inconsequential. This . . .this was unforgivable.
Kagome was gone. She was gone.
Chisaki, however, didn't seem to realize the danger she was in. She took a step towards me. "Sesshoumaru-dono," she said firmly. "I am very sorry, but I have to ask you to remain here."
I hardly heard her. Rage, raw and all-consuming, rippled through me, and I snapped like wire strung too tight.
Blood rushed in my ears and violent wind whipped my hair from its braid. Rivulets of water pooled at my feet, and rain thundered down from the sky in a torrential downpour. My fingers curled into fists, and the falling rain instantly became a hurricane, flinging around my body in a whirlwind.
I couldn't understand it. She was gone.
A delighted voice reached me through the din of my emotions. "My, my. What in the world could have gotten you in such a tizzy?"
I went rigid, and realization dawned like the sun.
Kagutsuchi.
With my back facing him, a feral grin turned my lips, promising pain. "It's nothing to concern yourself with, Homusubi. Leave."
That riled him up, though he didn't show it. "Well, if you insist, I'll go. Though I was rather hoping to see Kagome today . . ."
If he thought he could hook me with that bait, he was sadly mistaken. "I doubt she would want to see you, even if she were here."
"If she were here?" Kagutsuchi's satisfaction was almost palpable. "Little brother, you don't mean to tell me that your bride has abandoned you?"
My silence was answer enough.
"Oh, this is terrible." He was in front of me now, just outside my liquid tornado. "What are you going to do?"
I looked at my brother with barely-concealed loathing. His flaming hair was damp from my rain, and his mouth was stretched into a too-wide smile. "Well, first," I said casually, though my anger was still apparent through its manifestations. "I'd like to know just how you convinced Kagome to leave."
Kagutsuchi's smile quickly twisted into a grimace. He patted the left side of his chest. "Ouch. That really hurt, Sesshoumaru! You think I would threaten your bride?"
Twisting my wrists, I watched blankly as twin whips slashed Kagutsuchi across the face. "Have you forgotten, Homusubi, who it was that saved your life the day Mother died?" I whipped him again across the collarbone before he could move. "Have you forgotten how Father tried to dismember you, and that I was the one who saved you?" The whips moved faster, landing blows so quickly I couldn't tell where he was hit. "I see that my effort was wasted, but no matter. I'll finish what Father started here and now."
"And just how do you plan on managing that, Mizuhame?" Kagutsuchi smirked through his pain. "You would kill your own brother over a human wench?"
Smiling, I extended my arms and watched Kagutsuchi's eyes widen in horror. "Who said anything," I murmured, "about killing you?"
oooooOooooo
A/N: I hope that was okay ^_^ I feel like it wasn't one of my best, but I tried my hardest!
Please review!