InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Worth Fighting For ❯ A Desperate Situation ( Chapter 4 )

A Desperate Situation

The forest seemed more vast the second time through it; it was also unusually quiet… more quiet than it had been on our way to the mountains. There was a strong, ominous presence nearby as well and I didn't like it… I kept my hand on the hilt of my sword in case I needed to pull it out.

Many minutes went by before the presence and sickening scent of a lesser demon wafted to my attention. I stopped in my tracks, clutching the Tokijin's hilt tightly.

“Sesshomaru-sama, what's the matter?” questioned Rin, standing beside me.

“Rin, listen to me; stay well back and whatever happens, don't move…” My demand made Rin open her mouth to question, but I stopped her by saying, “Trust me, it's for your own good… It's a spider demon… As long as you're still, it can't see you…” At last, I saw Rin nod.

Several minutes passed without anything happening. Then finally, a horrible screeching noise echoed throughout the area, the ground beneath our feet quaking as the demon approached. As soon as I saw the creature's long, black legs emerging from the bushes, I ceased being still and pulled out the Tokijin, holding it at the ready. I could clearly hear Rin's shallow breathing and knew she was afraid.

“Shhhh, just be quiet and don't move… A spider demon's sense of sight is very poor, and it has no sense of smell, but it's senses of hearing and touch are good enough to catch prey… Just be brave,” I instructed, tightening my grip on my sword as the spider demon completely emerged from the bushes, its gruesome pincers clacking together, its foggy red eyes gleaming in the darkness. The repulsive beast seemed to know we were standing there, however, its senses were failing it miserably. I watched as it moved closer to us, staying still for the time being. I had fought spider demons before, and the trick was to try getting them onto their back somehow and stabbing the soft underside of its abdomen; another way was to cut through its armor-like skin and slice it to pieces. However, this was easier said than done, so it seemed the first option was my only option at this point.

The demon had made its way past me to Rin, its eight legs creaking loudly whenever it moved them. I watched it cautiously, my eyes narrowing dangerously. If it laid but a single claw on Rin, I would kill it without any hesitation whatsoever…

I could see Rin trembling with fear, a small bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face as the spider stood directly in front of her, venom dripping from its pincer-like mouth. I growled at the sight of the venom.

The spider jerked slightly when it heard me growling and whipped its attention away from Rin, hissing. Good, at least she was off the menu for the time being…

Growing weary of just standing there and allowing this repulsive beast to continue living and wasting my time, I made a quick, sudden movement with the blade of my Tokijin, provoking the spider and allowing it to see me.

The spider let out a loud screech and lunged at me viciously, attempting to snap me up in its jaws. I simply leapt into the air and flipped over the beast, landing behind it and slashing at its back with my sword, sparks flying when the blade made contact with its hard skin. I heard Rin utter a gasp at the sudden battle and I yelled at her, “Don't say anything, Rin!” I saw her give a small nod from the corner of my eye and knew she was safe.

With my distraction, I narrowly managed to escape being injected with the spider's venom as it advanced on me, coming dangerously close to sinking its fangs into my leg. That was close…

The spider lunged again, each of its eight legs stretched out to their full length as it tried to capture me for its meal. I managed to slice off a few of its legs with a forceful strike toward the base of them, but then it whirled around and caught me off guard. I roared in pain when I felt the demon's venomous fangs sink their way into my arm.

When Rin saw this, I heard her scream, “SESSHOMARU-SAMA!!!!” The spider had heard her and immediately ripped its fangs out of me, making a move toward Rin. Seeing that she was in great danger, I leapt in front of the demon and rolled under it. Taking the momentary chance of defeating the monster, I plunged my sword into its soft underbelly, pressing it deeply into the wound. It roared in agony and did a great deal of thrashing about before its red eyes turned white and it collapsed on top of me, dead. It absolutely disgusted me to have this repulsive creature on top of me, but I found myself barely able to move. With the ounce of strength I had left in me, I forcefully kicked the beast off of me, sending it flying into a tree and falling at the base of it.

Gasping, Rin ran up to me and knelt by my side, wrapping her arms around me and sitting me up.

“Sesshomaru-sama, are you alright?!” she asked, worry heavy in her voice. I wanted to reply in a positive way, to tell her that I was fine, but it wouldn't check out this time; I could feel the spider's venom spreading throughout my body and even when I took a breath, a fresh wave of pain seared through me.

Then I heard Jaken's voice. “Of course he's not alright, you silly woman! He has been injected with a spider demon's venom, which is extremely potent!”

“Ja… ken…” I managed to say, feeling dizzy.

“Yes, m'lord?”

“T-Take me back to my castle…” It was a request I rarely made unless I was too weak to carry on by myself, and that was exactly what I was.

Jaken nodded vigorously and snapped at Rin, “Rin, help him onto Ah-Un's back! He is too weak to do so alone at the moment!”

Rin inclined her head and wrapped her right arm around my chest, using her other hand to keep my arm over her shoulders.

“Sesshomaru-sama, are you able to walk?” asked Rin, looking at me worriedly.

“Yes, I believe so… I will need assistance, however…” I answered, blinking my eyes in attempt to focus them, for my vision was starting to become blurry.

“Alright.” Rin and I walked slowly over to Ah-Un, my hindered ability to move slowing us down even further. At last we made it to Ah-Un and I allowed Rin to help me onto the dragon's back. Rin climbed on behind me, letting me lean back against her for support.

“Arigatou…” I mumbled, closing my eyes.

“You're welcome,” she answered. Even though I couldn't see her face, I could tell from the tone in her voice that she was smiling. After Jaken had gotten onto Ah-Un's back with us, I heard him say, “Let's go, Ah-Un! We must get Sesshomaru back to the castle!”

That was when I felt the cool rush of the night air against my face. It calmed me, and I was suddenly feeling tired, but I forced myself to stay awake. When I took in a deep breath—which was difficult because it was becoming harder to breathe—I growled in pain, panting heavily in my efforts to get air into my lungs.

Rin spoke to me then and said, “Hang in there, my lord…”

“I'll try…” I mumbled painfully, smiling slightly. The next half hour of getting to my castle seemed to take all eternity as the spider venom began taking its ultimate toll on me—my entire body felt as though it was burning from the inside.

At last, Ah-Un landed in front of my castle and Rin helped me off his back, walking with me into my home. I coughed suddenly and I tasted blood in my mouth. I didn't mind it, but I spat it out nonetheless.

When Rin saw the blood, she gasped fearfully, stopping and kneeling down with me when she saw I was growing weaker. She called behind her at Jaken, “Jaken, he can't go any further! We'll have to take care of him out here, look, he's coughing up his own blood!”

Jaken snapped, “I can see that! But we can't take care of him out here; we need to get him to his room and take care of him there!”

“Jaken…!” I hollered viciously, causing he and Rin to jump.

“Y-Yes, m'lord?” inquired Jaken, sounding frightened.

“Do what Rin… tells you to do…” I demanded harshly.

“Of course, Sesshomaru-sama!” agreed Jaken, bowing so low that the tip of his nose nearly touched the floor.

Panting, I requested, “Rin… lie me down and go…get Yusaro…”

Rin blinked, lying me down on the floor but still partially holding me in her arms, and asked, “Yusaro? Who's that?”

“She is a doctor who helps demons like myself… She should have an… antidote for this poison…”

Understanding, Rin nodded and got up, running off. I could hear her shouting the demon doctor's name as she ran as fast as she could. I closed my eyes. Hurry…

I know not how much time passed, but it seemed like forever before Rin returned with Yusaro. Yusaro was a dog demon like myself, except that she specialized in taking care of me if I happened to get injured. Her hair was as white as snow and her eyes were amber, like my own. On her forehead, there was a mark that looked like a star and across each cheek was a thin purple line marking.

She and Rin knelt down beside me, Yusaro placing her hand to my forehead. In comparison to my fever-stricken body, her hand felt as cold as ice against my heat. I heard her ask Rin, “He has a terrible fever… What's happened to him?”

Rin replied, “He was bitten by a demon spider and was injected with its venom! Please, you have to help him!”

I smiled faintly after Rin said this. Is she really that worried about me…?

“I see…” muttered Yusaro. “I will do what I can to help him…” She then turned to Jaken. “Jaken, go get a bowl of water and a cloth, please…”

Without question, Jaken ran off to get what Yusaro asked for.

Yusaro then looked back at me, frowning slightly. “Sesshomaru-sama, you're dripping with sweat… I am going to try cooling you down, alright…?”

I nodded weakly and muttered, “Hai… Yusaro… do what you must…”

“Indeed…” Yusaro glanced at Rin and requested, “Rin, help me remove his haori… If we want to bring down his temperature, we need to cool him down…”

“Hai…” agreed Rin. I felt them taking off my armor and my haori, my heated skin making contact with the chilly air in the castle and making me shiver slightly. I heard the pitter-patter of Jaken's footsteps and heard him call to Yusaro, “I have the bowl of water and the cloth, Yusaro-san!”

“Excellent,” I heard the demon doctor say. “Okay, Rin-chan, let's cool this demon lord down…” It was a few moments before I felt the blissfully cold water on the wet cloth against my feverish body and I smiled slightly as it made me feel somewhat better; however, I was still in a lot of pain.

When Yusaro and Rin were done with that task, I heard Yusaro say she'd get the antidote. Moments afterward I heard her and Jaken run off in the direction of the castle garden. Rin and I were alone.

“Gomennesai, Sesshomaru-sama…” Rin apologized with a guilty tone in her voice.

“For what…?” I inquired weakly. It even hurt to talk now.

“You got injected with that venom because you were trying to protect me from that spider demon… If you hadn't protected me… you wouldn't be in this condition…” sobbed Rin distraughtly. I could smell the saltiness of the tears rolling down her cheeks and frowned.

“Rin, I had to protect you… I couldn't just let that spider demon make you its next meal…” I stated painfully.

“But…”

“I have no regrets, Rin… so stop worrying… I'll be fine…”

Before Rin could reply, Yusaro and Jaken returned and knelt beside me again.

“My lord, I have the antidote. Now all you have to do is swallow these berries,” Yusaro said pointedly.

I tried answering her but I could no longer speak. I didn't even have the strength to open my mouth… I was in a real trouble. I closed my eyes.

“Oh no…” muttered Yusaro.

“What is it?!” asked Rin urgently.

“He isn't strong enough to take the antidote on his own… Someone has to administer it to him…”

“I'll do anything to save him! Just tell me what I have to do!”

“Well… you have to chew these berries without swallowing them until they're a liquid, and then you have to get the liquid into his mouth so he can swallow it…” explained Yusaro grimly.

“…Okay, I'll do it.” For a few minutes nothing happened. I opened my eyes slightly to see what Rin was doing and through my blurred vision I saw her silhouette getting closer. I blinked in surprise when I felt her lips against mine and I stayed still. What's she…? When I felt a bitter-tasting liquid drip into my mouth, I knew she was administering the antidote to me. Painfully, I swallowed it down. Moments after I did, Rin pulled away.

“Did he swallow it?” questioned Yusaro.

“He did,” answered Rin quietly.

I felt very strange about what had just occurred. What was it that I was feeling? I felt very warm, but it was probably just my fever… Managing to speak, I quietly thanked Rin.

“Rin-chan, help me get him upstairs to his sleeping quarters…” requested Yusaro, slipping her arms around me and slowly sitting me up.

“Alright,” I heard Rin whisper, also slipping her arms around me. Soon enough, I was on my feet and getting helped up to my sleeping quarters.

I got up the stairs okay and lay down on my bed once we got to my room, closing my eyes and feeling the two women pulling the blanket up over me. I felt stronger than I had before I took the antidote so I knew it was working, countering the spider venom in my body. I smiled slightly and uttered a soft chuckle.

“That's the most pain I've been in in a long while…” I stated.

Yusaro laughed softly. “I'm sure it has… My lord, how are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks to you and Rin…”

It was Rin who spoke this time. “Anything to help, Sesshomaru-sama…” I smiled up at her before lying back fully against the pillow and resting. I heard Yusaro whispering something to Rin, then footsteps, then the door of my room sliding closed. I sensed Rin's presence still in the room with me.