Sesshomaru made his way painstakingly through the crowd of terrified peasants that had circled Inuyasha and Kaede. The attack was evident when he looked at the ruined wooden carcasses that used to be huts. Charred beams of wood lay strewn all over the place, some still smoking and clogging the air. When Sesshomaru sauntered over to his brother he noticed blood stains and some pools soaked into the soil, like a gruesome rain.
Kaede stood next to Inuyasha wearily, leaning heavily on a walking stick that looked considerably worn. Even standing still, her breathing was laboured and her skin hung on her small frame like crumpled paper.
Sesshomaru could smell death and decay coming off the old woman in waves, Kaede was clearly dying and her day of judgement was approaching fast. Sesshomaru guessed that Inuyasha must be aware of this and that was why he stood by her like a bodyguard. The two of them were being interrogated thoroughly by the villagers that survived the attack and were trying to stem the panic that flowed from person to person.
A few metres away to Sesshomaru's left, the unlucky corpses of the fallen had been lined up for identification. Three small children had also perished in the night raid.
Sesshomaru walked over to the line of dead bodies with a tight feeling in his chest, a sense of panic began to overwhelm him. This panic did not show on his face or in the way he moved, he kept his dread reined in on a short leash. He peered at the dead children swiftly: none of them were Rin. The chains constricting his heart snapped with relief and he began to relax slightly. She must be safe.
Feeling relieved Sesshomaru strode up to Inuyasha and waited for an explanation about what had happened. The dog demon towered over even the tallest peasants around him, the humans seemed to evaporate quicker than the demonic frost that had dusted his wounds only hours before. With the crowd dispersed, Sesshomaru had his brother's undivided attention.
Inuyasha gawped at his brother openly, surprised at this unannounced visit.
"I didn't expect to see you here Sesshomaru, what gives?" Inuyasha said, his usually boisterous voice sounded grimmer than usual.
"Rin. Where is she?" Sesshomaru demanded rudely, ignoring Kaede as if he saw nothing but a walking stick. He glared at his brother to hide the worry creeping up his back, Inuyasha turned to Kaede for support.
"She is inside my house, helping Sango and Kagome to heal the injured. They are applying an antidote to those affected by poison. Poison that was used by our attackers last night," Kaede rasped unhealthily, swaying slightly on the spot. Sesshomaru refrained from wrinkling his nose, the stench of oncoming death was overpowering.
"What happened here?" Sesshomaru said with a mild interest, he was impatient to see Rin, never truly convinced she was safe until he had seen her for himself. The bands once against squeezed his heart with worry. Inuyasha launched into an explanation.
"The same spiders that killed Kohaku attacked the village last night, the leader of the spider demons even knew my name. Though I'd never seen him before. It was weird, whenever I tried to fight them head on they kept running off. It was almost as if they were making a show of fighting, but just testing my strength," Inuyasha said wonderingly. Sesshomaru frowned slightly at this odd guerrilla style of ambush. Perhaps the spiders were simply feeding on the villagers and had no other purpose?
"…These demons, they were all spiders?" Sesshomaru asked blandly, masking his curiosity with a blank stare. Inuyasha nodded, apprehension flashing in his eyes. Sesshomaru noticed Inuyasha flexing and releasing his fists with concern.
"Spiders, like Naraku," Sesshomaru mused, voicing Inuyasha's doubts. Kaede and Inuyasha winced at hearing the name. Scars upon the land could still be seen were Naraku's miasma had withered the ground and plant life. First the neighbouring village had been attacked and decimated, then Kohaku had died a painful death, and now this. What were those meddlesome spider demons up to?
"But Naraku's dead, he was consumed by the Shikon No Tama and Kagome purified the jewel. He was destroyed long ago and I haven't seen or smelled Naraku's presence ever since. These spiders just seem…similar to him. Even their scent is comparable," Inuyasha said in an uncertain voice and Kaede patted his shoulder affectionately.
"Do not worry thyself Inuyasha. We all know that Onigumo was originally coaxed by a spider demon, before he transformed his body by merging his soul with demons, the abomination we remember today. It's likely this is why we feel wary of all spiders now and ye must not go linking the two unnecessarily," Kaede said kindly, trying her best to reassure Inuyasha. The obvious bond between the two of them made Sesshomaru nearly roll his eyes.
"Will they attack the village again?" Sesshomaru asked insistently, worried about Rin's welfare. If insidious spiders were intent on raiding the village at night, Rin would be in constant danger. And part of him did not fully trust Inuyasha's ability to keep her safe.
Inuyasha shrugged.
"How would I know that? I'm hoping they'll just give up and leave us alone…But seeing as they knew who I was and sought me out, I think it likely they could attack again. Not that the cowards would attack head on, I hate all this sneaking around."
"I see," Sesshomaru said quietly, making up his mind. "Then Rin is coming with me, until the threat from these demons is eliminated." Inuyasha looked surprised at his older brother's announcement and Kaede opened her mouth to protest. Sesshomaru did not wait for them to give their opinions, he pushed past Inuyasha, who unwisely made a grab for Sesshomaru's wrist. The dog demon turned slowly, and glared at his younger brother ferociously until Inuyasha let go.
"Wait Sesshomaru, surely ye cannot mean to do such a thing. Your own territory is at war from a far greater foe. Who would protect Rin if you were detained? Rin is still a young girl, she needs constant protection as well as human influence in her life. Ye know this to be true. We have discussed this and ye agreed to wait until Rin was older to make the choice of where she lives," Kaede reminded the dog demon with a fussy authority.
"Kaede's right Sesshomaru, don't freak out like this," Inuyasha said in agreement.
Sesshomaru had begun to walk away from Kaede and Inuyasha, but at their words he spun on his heel glowered at them. His canine fangs seemed to gleam in the weak sunshine.
"I need not explain my actions to you, Inuyasha, nor do I feel compelled to debate my reasons. Rin is MY ward and she will be leaving with me. If both of you try and stop me I'll kill you both for your interference," Sesshomaru hissed in a deadly voice. Kaede looked as though she may faint at his words. The western lord's perfect brows were drawn and his displeasure was palpable.
"But ye cannot always protect Rin whilst you are warring with the north! Ye cannot provide her with human experiences. No matter how much ye want to, Sesshomaru, Ye cannot be Rin's mother and father all at once!" Kaede screeched after Sesshomaru in an exasperated voice as he retreated, the old woman had a fearful look in her eyes. Sesshomaru was not one to trifle with, if it could be avoided.
Sesshomaru ignored the old hag and burst into the dingy looking hut were Rin was. Sango, Kagome and Rin were crammed into the small hut with three injured villagers laid out on straw mattresses. Rin had a poultice in front of her and was mashing plant fibres of a natural antidote, a look of serious concentration on her face. Rin squealed with delight when she saw the western lord towering over her, hardly fitting into the small enclosed space of Kaede's home. Sango and Kagome were bent over one of the more sickly looking civilians, the sleeves of their kimonos rolled up as they applied a mint green paste to oozing bite marks. The slayer and the priestess were so absorbed in their work that they did not notice Sesshomaru straightaway and jumped when they realised he had appeared. Sango looked away from the dog demon hastily and applied more antidote to the villager's arm, no doubt their argument still lingering in her mind.
"Rin, we're leaving. Now," Sesshomaru barked pompously at an unperturbed Rin, who stood up and immediately went to her lord's side. They left the hut whilst Kagome and Sango gaped at them in bewilderment, lost for words. Sesshomaru nearly collided with Kaede as he left the hut, she barely came up to his waist these days.
"Ye cannot do this Sesshomaru! Think of what Rin needs! We will all protect her whilst she is residing in this village. I, Kagome and Sango are female role models for Rin. Human role models that she needs as she grows into a woman! You will have your hands full Sesshomaru, whilst you spat with this new northern lord. Rin must stay here were we can care for her, just for the time being," in a frail but final voice, her fingers clenched on her walking stick as if she was struggling to remain upright. Inuyasha hovered behind Kaede as she said her piece, her voice brooked no argument. Rin stared at Sesshomaru with large brown eyes, looking uncomfortable.
Sesshomaru despised them all in that moment, for meddling in his affairs. Unfortunately he could see their point in many ways. Kaede was a skilled healer, Kagome had powers of purification and the monk, the slayer and Inuyasha were all seasoned fighters.
But…Kikyo was a priestess also, she had protected the jewel for years and had shown today that she was no novice in healing. Kikyo was the perfect combination of them all and was harder to kill than a mere human.
Perhaps….
"Fools," Sesshomaru jeered, "I have already found a suitable…human to care for Rin whilst I crush Tsumetai." It was only half a deception, Kikyo had been human once.
"And if this human of yours is attacked? Only rare humans like Sango and Miroku can fend off demons as a job!" Inuyasha scoffed with a hint of disbelief in his voice. Sesshomaru shot Inuyasha a withering look of pity. He remembered vaguely that Inuyasha and Kikyo had some sort of history. Would Inuyasha interfere if he knew Sesshomaru's "human" was Kikyo?
"The woman is a priestess, like your wife," Sesshomaru admitted. Inuyasha and Kaede blinked at him.
"But the only truly strong Priestess in this region for miles around is Kagome and….and Kikyo...when she was alive. I thought priestesses like that were hard to come by," Inuyasha mused in awe.
"Then you thought wrong Inuyasha. Your intellect is not your strong point," Sesshomaru mocked, saying nothing further. He would not have this bunch of meddlesome humans and his brother interfere in his business.
Kikyo did not await the dog demon's return to the castle. Instead, after a short rest, she spontaneously decided to make her move. Her reasons for this was partly the battle that waged outside the castle that seemed to rock the very walls she resided in. Tsumetai's demonic forces seemed close, Kikyo could feel the shudder of war pressing its way into every creature in the vicinity. Another reason for her rash actions was because time was trickling away from her reach, like sand between her fingers, and a plan needed to be initiated before it was too late. Thankfully, Kikyo no longer needed to sleep like a normal human. After absorbing enough souls, she was ready once more to fight the northern lord.
Kikyo tied her thick, raven hair into her usual low ponytail with a white ribbon. Her luscious locks were in fact a hindrance when in the middle of a battle as they sometimes blocked her sight when she was shooting. She picked up her bow and her quiver, counting fourteen arrows in total. Kikyo frowned as she inspected the cracked surface of her bow, her own bow had been superior to this old one. But she had gifted that particular bow to Kagome and could hardly ask for it back.
Kikyo walked serenely to the outer courtyard, noticing how the outer exterior was crumpled and burned from various attacks over a long period of time. The courtyard was deserted now, it seemed that Sesshomaru's forces had gained a few yards of ground. The newly constant frontline of Sesshomaru's forces was unmissable, it stretched less than a mile away from the castle and beyond Sesshomaru's maze-like gardens. An endless assault viciously pitching demon against demon.
She was pleased to see that her favourite part of the gardens, the river and its surrounded willow trees, remained untouched by the war raging outside. The japanese willows stood as proudly as when she had first arrived.
Kikyo walked in the direction of the front line, her first obstacle was to find a way through without being killed.
Sesshomaru's castle barricade could hardly be seen under the menagerie of demon corpses that were piled up on either side. Tsumetai's demons had obviously attempted to clamber over the top of the walls and been repelled by Sesshomaru's archers, When Kikyo looked closer she could see the scramble of claw marks sunk into dead flesh. She wondered whether their earlier ambush of Tsumetai had reinvigorated this assault.
As Kikyo approached, the presence of Sesshomaru's servants became more frequent, they looked at her in surprise as she drifted past them. Perhaps they were unaccustomed to seeing dead humans wandering about. They watched in awe as Kikyo fired a holy arrow at the outer castle wall to her left, killing ten lesser demons attempting to drop to the other side. They disintegrated instantly and her power filled the air with a violaceous glow.
Kikyo then gingerly began to climb up and over the barricade, trying to avoid touching the corpses beneath her. The smell of rotting meat filled her nostrils and she nearly gagged. She dropped to the other side of the barricade as spryly as a cat and looked out over the pitted fields that seemed to go on for miles. The fields held over a hundred skirmishing soldiers from the north.
A challenge had been set before Kikyo, one that she had never experienced before in all her years of protecting the Shikon jewel. The challenge of surviving a battleground.
'I must attract Tsumetai's attention and seal him with my arrow, but the only way I can achieve this is to walk alone in the battle field without Sesshomaru guarding me. That will be the only way to draw him out. Once I reach the dead zone in between the two armies, I should have gone far enough. I must not die at the hands of Tsumetai's soldiers,' Kikyo thought with a calculated gaze.
A demon with coarse grey fur covering his body and sharp bronze claws lunged at Kikyo head first, catching Kikyo off guard. She whipped out an arrow and shot the demon in the head, reducing the demon to ash. Three more demons began to corner her, only to be swallowed by pure lilac light. Kikyo's bow twanged with the force of her shots, practically humming in her hands.
Before more demons could charge her, Kikyo erected a small personal spirit shield. It rippled with an azure light that shifted with every careful step she made. Demons cavorted around her, snarling in pain when their outstretched claws were purified. They lingered for some time, trying doggedly to break through the barrier as Kikyo moved deeper into the battlefield. Once the priestess was satisfied that Tsumetai would be unable to ignore her intrusion, she knelt on the scorched earth, and waited.