InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tenseiga ❯ On a White Horse ( Chapter 11 )

Sesshomaru could feel her life flickering. He wasn't sure how he knew it was Kagome, but he knew. He did not attempt to hide himself when he arrived. Instead he strode strait through the village and toward the hut in which he sensed her. Screams and shouts followed his wake but he ignored them. Entering the hut he found an old man watching her. Something inside him constricted in terror. She looked like a skeleton. The old man looked up at him, weariness in his eyes.

"You are the one she calls for? You are Sesshomaru?"

"I am."

"Can you help her? It has been five days and she has not wakened."

He knelt beside her form and touched her forehead. He recoiled suddenly as if he had been burned. There was a greater magic here, something far more powerful than he. Slowly he touched her again. This time the feeling that shot up his arm was not a painful jolt as last time, but a constant tingle that made him want to twitch away. Slowly he found the threads that connected her to the draining magic and severed them. Then he mentally reached for Tenseiga. The sword pulsed once then went still. Beneath his fingers Kagome's fevered skin cooled. She sighed softly and opened her eyes.

Sesshomaru found himself on the receiving end of her dazing smile. He sat back, watching her as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. The old man handed her a bowl and she drank slowly, clearing her throat in an attempt to find her voice. At last she faced him.

"I knew you'd come. Yuka and Eri?"

"They are safe in my palace. Inuyasha was most vexed with me for not bringing you back."

"Yeah, well, it seems I have more important things to do than keep him happy and fed."

"Is that what you call it now?"

She blinked owlishly at him. "What I…" comprehension dawned suddenly and she gasped softly. "I never…we…he…I…"

She came to a sputtering stop, her cheeks glowing red. Sesshomaru felt a wave of relief wash over him. The hanyou had never touched her, or attempted to it seemed. At last she settled down enough for conversation.

"This creature you battle thrives on things arid. For these people to be safe, they must move."

"They will not, this is their home."

"Then we must find a way to bring the water."

"Yes," she yawned, careful to cover her mouth, "but not right now."

"You need sleep. I will come again in the morning."

"No!" He stopped and stared at her. She blushed again at her outburst. "Please stay."

He nodded and seated himself across the small room from her. After a few minutes she was asleep once more. He thought about perhaps leaving, but something in the way she'd spoken told him he was needed here. The old man looked him over slowly.

"If you will stay, I will tell the others there is no danger." He nodded. "She has nightmares you know. She calls out for you, begs you to save her. I am glad you are here. I am not the stuff heroes are made of."

Sesshomaru watched the old man leave. After a few minutes Kagome whimpered softly. He reached out for her then snatched his hand back. He did not need her. Her soft cries echoed through the small space. He did not need her, but it seemed she needed him. Slowly he moved closer, watching her carefully. Her face contorted in pain and fear as she gasped out his name. Carefully he took her hand. Her eyes fluttered open, but there was no light in them, no recognition. A cruel smile touched her lips.

"How sweet." The voice that emerged was not her usual melodic tone, but rough, like gravel washing over a river bed. "So you are the one she thinks will save her. I expected something more."

His grip tightened slightly on her hand. "I owe her a great debt."

The laugh that emerged from her soft lips was callous and hysterical. "Yes, but she loves you demon. She has loved you for a long time, in secret. In her dreams…" again the laugh sounded insanely high and piercing, "oh how she dreams. You should see the things you do to her, how you touch her, taste her. Quite an imagination our little witch has."

"She is her own. She belongs to no one."

"We shall see."

She closed her eyes and the creature was gone. Sesshomaru barely suppressed a growl. The power of this being ran deep. He was strong, stronger than any of the other taiyoukai, but this creature was far more powerful. Sesshomaru did not allow himself to be fooled. He would die here, in this arid land, protecting her and it would not mean a damn thing to these people. Even his death could not bring about this creatures end. Slowly Kaogme's eyes opened once more. She looked up at him and sighed.

"He spoke to you, didn't he?"

"Hai."

"I don't know if I can fight him. I think I will die here."

"No, you will not. Does he have a name?"

She shook his head. "Names have power. If I had his name I could forbid him from ever doing this again, but I don't think I am strong enough to delve that deeply and not be lost. He is ancient, Sesshomaru. Older than the mountains."

"We will work something out."

"Sesshomaru…" her voice was suddenly soft and her eyes sought the wall beyond him. "Inuyasha and I…there was a time when I wanted him to love me. I wanted it so much I began to lose hold of who I was. Then one night, when the moon was full he…he came at me. He was a beast, a monster. He tried to take me by force. He doesn't remember it and I ask that you not reveal it, but if…I would rather die than be raped. I don't think he could live with the knowledge that he did it though."

Sesshomaru felt himself go completely ridged. "Why do you tell me these things?"

Her eyes, now filled with pain found his. "I am so damn sick of being alone."

"You have never been alone."

"I have always been alone, Sesshomaru. I was born alone and I will die alone, but for this moment, I don't want to be alone."

He brushed the hair out of her face gently. "I will learn his name, and we will fight him. For now, rest. I doubt Tenseiga brought you here to die."

He used just a touch of his magic to send her into a deep dreamless sleep. Once he was sure she would not wake for several hours he rose and emerged from the hut. The old man stood with several other men. Sesshomaru looked toward the mountains far in the distance.

"What demons live there?"

The old man shrugged. "Too many to count. The one she suspects is said to live on the southern slope of Kunjin."

"Do you know his name?"

"I do not."

"You will guide me there."

"I am old, I will only slow you."

"You will not slow me."

Simbuno eyed him then turned to Ratri. "She is your charge while we are gone."

The man nodded. "I understand."

Without further ceremony, Sesshomaru lifted the old man and began an all out sprint toward the mountains. He heard him gasp softly, but make no other comment about his unnatural speed. He ran for the rest of the day and stopped on the outskirts of a small town toward evening. The people stared in curious wonder at the two of them. Simbuno addressed the village leaders while Sesshomaru stood impassively by.

"We can stay the night."

They settled in for the night, though Sesshomaru was not sure he would be able to sleep. The memory of the gravelly voice and those dead eyes still haunted him. The old man leaned up against a wall and watched him for a time.

"The man you left in charge of Kagome…"

"So that is her name. She never did tell us. There were only questions about the river and the fields. She seems more concerned about us than about herself." Sesshomaru remained silent and at last Simbuno sighed. "Ratri has told me more than once that she reminds him of his daughters, and I have observed him treat her with the same level of care as he might his own blood. She is safe with him."

Sesshomaru's eyes fixed on a point in the blackness where daylight would reveal the mountains. "How long?"

"At the rate you travel we will be there in two more days."

They were silent for long minutes that stretched into hours. Sesshomaru did not cease his gaze toward the mountains, and Simbuno did not stop his study of the youkai. The moon had risen high when at last he spoke.

"Do you love her?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do, at least I think part of you knows."

Golden eyes met brown in the light of false dawn. "She is human, I am not. Any love would be…forbidden."

"History is filled with people doing the forbidden and doomed. It means nothing if you love her. Are you hungry?"

The question caught him off guard. He was hungry, but not for meat. In her weakened state he had felt it was wrong to feed from her, but it had been almost a week and a half and even the strongest of youkai had to eat in that time. He sighed softly and shook his head. There was nothing here that he wanted.

"You are lying."

"Yes, I am, but you cannot provide me with what I need, only she can."

Simbuno let that lie. Night settled on the village and Simbuno slept. Sesshomaru stepped outside and looked up at the blanket of stars. He could be at Kagome's side in minutes, feeding, but that was wrong, selfish. It was better he go a little hungry than to risk her health, after all if she died he would not be able to feed. He felt something inside him snarl at his own thoughts. He closed his eyes and shook his head. This was going to be harder than he ever imagined.

Dawn came and Simbuno made their excuses. Sesshomaru scooped him up and leapt skyward. This was taking them far too long. He closed his eyes, it took him far too long to form his solidify his oki. Then they were flying. Simbuno gasped softly as he watched the land go by.

"Never in all my years…I never imagined…thank you."

"For what?"

His voice was soft. "For more than you know."

He could scent tears from the old man and wondered what could be their source. "We reach the mountain tonight."

"You are worried about her too."

They were silent for the rest of the trip. The sun began to set when Sesshomaru landed them on the slopes of the mountain. Before them was a cave entrance. He stepped in, then paused when he realized that Simbuno was not following him.

"Are you coming?"

"I'm not sure I should."

"Perhaps you should stay."

"But…I…"

"If you want to come, come. I will not stop you."

Slowly the man stepped into the cave. Silently they advanced. The tunnel opened up into an immense chamber. There he sat, everything about him, from his skin and hair to the sickly green shade of his eyes seemed to be rotting. The scent was enough to turn Sesshomaru's stomach.

"So you are the demon who holds her heart. Did you even know she loved you? It was so easy to possess her, to take that love and turn it against her own soul. She writhes now, in torment, begging you to save her. But you are not there, now are you?"

Simbuno stepped out in front of Sesshomaru. "Why do you do this to us? What have we done to anger you?"

"Done? Why nothing? Why would I need a reason for doing anything?"

"He is a monster, Simbuno, he does the only thing he can do. He is instinctively doing this, he has no control."

"You are wrong, Lord Sesshomaru, he can control what he does. He did not always do this to innocent people. There was a time when his brother was there to balance his darkness, but he was tricked and banished from these lands until such a time as he is restored to his throne." Dark intelligent eyes met Sesshomaru's. "His name is Irimul."