Two days later:
"She looks so small in the bed. Hard to believe she's in her twenties."
The doctor didn't look up from his notes as he continued writing in her chart. "She's been severely malnourished and abused over the course of at least a decade, probably more. It's likely her captors fed her just enough to keep her alive. Her scans show years of healed fractures, mostly on her arms, back, and legs, not to mention the scarring on the surface of her skin." He finally put aside his pen and looked up at the two males standing on either side of her bed. "There doesn't appear to be any sexual trauma, at least. Regardless, she'll likely need physical therapy to heal through the most recent of the injuries—not to mention a therapist to help her deal with whatever traumas we can't see on the scans."
Inuyasha's hands curled into fists in his pockets. "I don't get how people can do this kinda thing to each other. I just don't fuckin get it."
The doctor sighed. "I've been asking myself that for hundreds of years, Mr. Taisho. I wish I had an answer for you." He turned his eyes to the quieter of the two brothers. "Do you have any questions, Lord Commander?"
Sesshoumaru did not take his eyes off the sleeping girl. Woman. Miko. Even Rin had not come to him so broken and small. "Could a skilled healer undo the worst of the damage?" he asked finally.
"The most recent injuries, such as the fractured jaw and punctured ear drums, certainly. The older ones that have healed over…it's possible. The biggest hurdle will be her ability to deal with the trauma of rebreaking whatever did not heal correctly so the healer can adjust it. Some people can't handle the pain."
"Keep her sedated and order it done. The healers of the Golden Valley clan will see to it. Send the order, Inuyasha." He refrained from touching her as the machines beeped around them, but the beast inside of him paced restlessly at his restraint.
"Yea, done." Inuyasha, unable to bear looking at her bruised and battered face any longer, spun and fled the room. At least this was something he could do.
"Could I make a suggestion, Lord Commander?" When the male did not answer, the doctor cleared his throat and set his free hand on the footboard. "While she is being kept in an induced coma, it's unclear if she will feel any of the pain of what the healer does to heal her. But if she were to wake later and all the scars of what she had endured were gone…all the truth of what she has survived wiped clean, it's possible there might be a mental toll on her. It might be best to leave some of the healing for later, so that she might have a choice in what is done."
Sesshoumaru thought of the scar that still circled his left bicep, a reminder of the mistakes he had made in the past with his brother. "Do what you think is best. Contact me when it is done." And he followed his brother out of the room, eager to put his claws through whatever monsters had done this to her.
o.O.o
Two weeks later:
"Sorry boss, there's nothing here on her. Her prints aren't in the system, neither is her DNA. We don't have a name to search either. There's not much to go on."
Sesshoumaru stared over the tech's shoulder and studied the blank screens. "You searched missing persons?"
"Yep. Nada."
"How far back did you search?"
"A few weeks, like you said." The tech tilted her head in curiosity. "You want to go back further?"
He debated with himself. It was always possible someone from her childhood was still looking for her and not necessarily for the right reasons. But perhaps she had a family somewhere that wanted her back. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Start with five years. If you find nothing, go back again and keep looking. The doctors placed her age somewhere in her twenties. Contact me if you gather any viable results."
He returned to his own office and sank down into his chair. Turning away from the door, he focused on the stars slowly winking out as the sun crested its way into the sky. What a damn mess. An entire mission to root out the fanatics wasted on an empty compound—a mostly empty compound.
Why had they left the girl behind?
How had they know he was coming?
Loath to admit the possibility of a mole amongst his ranks, he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. If there was a spy, it needed to be rooted out as quickly as possible.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than did his mother slip quietly into the room.
"Hello, darling." Smirking, she laid her coat and purse just so over the back of one of the chairs facing his desk.
"Mother." He turned back to face her.
"How is the miko?"
"The healers are seeing to her."
"That's nice."
Sesshoumaru's eye twitched. He drew in a deep breath. "What do you require, mother?"
She chuckled and strolled to the floor to ceiling windows. "Can I not visit and dote upon my son at my whim?"
He didn't deign to answer, instead turning his attention to his computer. If she wasn't going to answer, he would not play her games.
A small, secret smile dipped across her lips before Fuiasu sat on the corner of his desk and watch him work. After a time, his keystrokes swift and sure as they filled the quiet, she murmured, "The girl has visited this one's visions twice before you discovered her."
Sesshoumaru paused, his fingers stilling over the keyboard as he finally looked at his mother. "I assume you did not see anything of use if you did not deem it important enough to share sooner."
One elegant shoulder of her emerald, tailored pantsuit lifted in a shrug. "Nothing that spoke of who she was, or who her captors were." She sighed and closed her eyes. "Only what was done to her."
He leaned back in his chair and watched her, golden eyes narrowed intently on her slender frame. "Why are you sharing this information?"
For a long moment, Fuiasu was quiet as she turned her attention to the window and the rising sun behind him, lips pursed. "This one came to remind you to be kind to her. She has known enough violence."
Recognizing the words left unsaid, Sesshoumaru focused his eyes on the dark ebony wood of his desk. "The male you are remembering…"
"I am aware you are not the same male as you were in your youth. Rin is evidence of your growth." She didn't turn to look at him as the first amber rays of sunlight danced across the skyscrapers on the horizon. "However, you are still known for your relentlessness, your ruthlessness, even your remorselessness when you pursue the monsters you hunt."
Sesshoumaru frowned but did not refute her claim.
"The girl will need you," Fuaisu said quietly. "She is the last of her kind. Humans and youkai alike will come for her. You must earn her trust."
The first full burst of sunlight glittered through the floor to ceiling windows and danced across the wooden floor boards Jaken had polished to a high gleam just the day before. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "What are you asking of me, Mother?"
Fuiasu stood and finally faced her son fully. Setting a hand on his shoulder, she leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Whatever you see fit, my darling. But it must include protecting her, by any means necessary. She has a part to play, I'm sure of it. The visions do not waste my time with unnecessary omens." Letting go of him, she smiled and picked up her purse and jacket. "I'm sure you won't disappoint me."
Just as quickly as she had come, she was gone. Sesshoumaru listened to the click of her heels on the floors outside his office as she strode towards the elevator, his mind racing for a long time after the sound faded from his senses.
o.O.o
Later that night:
Sesshoumaru lounged in the chair by her bed, her medical file laid out carefully on the ankle currently crossed over his knee. The healers had repaired most of the damage. She was no longer covered in bruises or open lacerations. Her ears and jaw, amidst a myriad of other injuries, had been completely healed.
She looked even younger without the injuries marring her pale skin. In the dim glow of the lamp in the corner, it was even difficult to see the scars on her arms—the only other visible part of her since the nurses had bundled her in thick blankets.
The healers said she would wake tonight. The combination of the induced coma and the healers magic and repaired a majority of the damage done to her—old and new. He'd known the injuries had been extensive and old, but looking through her file reminded him of just how bad. The beast inside of him pulled at the leash again, itching to spill the blood of the people that had done this to her.
Suppressing those urges, he dropped his eyes to the file again. He had hoped there would be a birth mark or some other defining feature they could use to search missing persons for her, but there was nothing. Resigned to continuing the search, he closed the file and set it aside.
He was leaning back in his chair when he heard her heart rate start to increase, and her breathing. And yet he was still unprepared when she opened her eyes and immediately turned to look at him.
They stared at each other for several minutes in the quiet hospital room, the only sound the beeping of the various machines as they monitored her. He wondered about her quiet study, about what thoughts must be running through her mind, about what confidence she must still have to meet his eyes so steadfastly even after everything that had been done to her. And so he could not help himself as he leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees, a smirk tilting at the corners of his lips. "Hello, Miko."
o.O.o
Ch. Fin
wc -1759
a/n – Hi guys. Sorry for the delay in last week's update. My cat has been extremely ill, not eating or drinking water, so I've been picking up extra hours to afford her medical bills and also preparing for the holidays for my students. She might need surgery next week, so I might still be a little slow for the next update. Hope you guys can be patient. As always, thanks for reading! Please review or comment—your words always improve my day.