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Edge of Paradise	By : QueenoftheDream Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Kagome > Sessh?maru/Kagome Views: 5324 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor the characters from it. I made no money in writing this fiction.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
The next day and a half passed uneventfully, a thick uncomfortable air settling around Kagome. The normally chatty and upbeat priestess had taken a turn for the solemn. The group merely headed over the mountainous terrain west to some destination known only by Sesshomaru, whose aloof attitude did nothing to alleviate the tension.
It was indeed while contemplating Sesshomaru’s growing superiority complex that Kagome realized that the demon in question had veered off of the road and into the tall grass. Upon squinting her eyes, she saw that he was not actually walking through the plants, but had conjured a youki cloud and was gracefully floating over the thick foliage, the wispy bottom of the cloud just barely kissing the tops of the green leaves. Kagome and Rin turned to trudge through behind him.
Without slowing down his speed, Sesshomaru turned around to look over his shoulder at the two lagging females.
“Keep up, humans.”
Kagome leveled a glare at him as she heaved her way through the thick stems. The swaying grass made her head spin, adding to the exhaustion-induced lightheadedness she was already experiencing. Her injured shoulder was radiating heat, and the thought of the likely state of her bandages made her want to retch. She slowed her pace, watching Rin gallivant ahead, though at a reasonable distance from the imposing daiyokai.
“Say, Sesshomaru,” Kagome shouted ahead, making the pressure in her temples rise, “Where are we going exactly?” If he said anything, Kagome could not see or hear it, as he did not turn around or raise his voice. He didn’t even give an indication that he had heard her, though she highly doubted that that was the case, given his seemingly preternatural hearing.
“Sesshomaru-sama says we’re walking toward the Fuji-gawa, Kagome-sama. He said we will be there soon,” Rin cried out as she quickly bent to pick up a smooth stone that caught her interest. Kagome’s spirits dropped, as the Fuji River was extremely swift and rough even on the best of days. Her dark thoughts were quickly halted when she caught a heady whiff of what could possibly be heaven.
“Say, is there an onsen around here?” The thought of soaking in the hot spring water for the rest of her days made Kagome want to melt into content, pruny nothingness.
Sesshomaru slowed enough for Kagome’s lagging pace to bring her near enough to hear his voice. “There is indeed a spring nearby, but we shall continue further, for the river is not far beyond.” Kagome would have sighed petulantly if the mere thought of such an exhalation hadn’t made her head swim.
Indeed, after passing the spring and climbing to the top of a large dome-shaped hill, they were able to see the narrow flood plain of the river… or what was left of the flood plain, as the river had flowed over its banks. Several groups of travelers milled about the dry land, presumably making arrangements for crossing the water upon the single rickety ferry upon the swift current.
“Sugooooiiiii,” Rin remarked, bouncing on her heels. “It’s so large, Kagome-miko-sama. Can we go swimming? How deep is the water? Can we fish? Can I go look for worms?” Just as she prepared to spring down the slope, Kagome caught her forearm.
“I think it would be best, Rin, if we stick with Sesshomaru-sama.” Casting her weary gaze to the river’s edge, she saw that the tall man collecting the toll looked like an unsavory sort to say the least. Sesshomaru, meanwhile, had stopped shortly in front of Kagome before turning about-face and marching back up the hill. Confused, Kagome asked, “But where are you going, Sesshomaru-sama?”
“I can cross the river with ease, so they have nothing to offer me. We will make camp at the spring.” He continued up the hill without acknowledging her, leaving Kagome and Rin staring after him, one with incredulity and the other with blank curiosity.
“Well, we, however, can’t. I’m going to ask the toll collector about the cost,” she called after him. “Come, Rin. Stay by my side.” With that, she took a deep breath and they walked to the now-deserted riverside as the ferrymen guided the watercraft back to anchor in the shallows. Kagome watched as the taller of the men help his unfortunate-looking coworker shore the ferry. She tried not to stare at his handsome face as she walked toward the gorged river.
The toll man waiting at the river’s edge cracked a salesman’s smile as the two females approached. “What can I do for you two lovely ladies?” His broken teeth glinted in the afternoon sun, and Kagome vaguely thought he resembled a bear.
“Hello. I was wondering how much it would cost for the two of us to take the ferry across the river.” She finished with a tired smile, hoping she could end the encounter as soon as possible so as to retreat to the hot spring.
He appeared to survey them, his tar-black eyes lingering too long for Kagome’s tastes. “Hmm… Well, how much do you have, dear?” His sun-worn face was ever split in a smile. Kagome found that it was beginning to unnerve her. She pulled out the paltry string of coins tucked in the sleeve of her hakui, to which the toll collector clucked his tongue disapprovingly, shaking his head.
“’fraid that’s not enough, girlie. There are, however, other ways to pay…” he trailed off, cocking an eyebrow suggestively as the two ferrymen snickered behind him. The shorter of the ferrymen wiggled his tongue lasciviously. Rin tilted her head to the side in confusion, and Kagome almost scrunched her face up in disgust. The nerve…
“I’m afraid I can’t afford your fee, gentlemen. I apologize for wasting your time. Good day.” Kagome bowed in farewell, and Rin followed suit.
“Shame. The offer still stands,” he prodded with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I am sorry, sir. Good day.” With that, Kagome and Rin began their trek back to the onsen. When they arrived, Sesshomaru was nowhere to be found. Kagome inhaled deeply, ignoring the heat that had flushed her face during the walk back up the hill.
“What do you say we take a little dip later?” Rin nodded enthusiastically, bounding off to find dry sticks for a fire as Kagome gingerly knelt and began unpacking her furoshiki.
Within the hour, the sun began setting, and Kagome had a moderately sized fire safely burning. The two girls sat chewing upon the last pieces of dried meat in their rations. Sesshomaru had still not shown.
After quickly scanning the area for any traces of demonic activity, Kagome guided Rin to the rocky ledge of the natural spring, where they eagerly shed their clothes and sank into the steaming water. As was predicted, the bandages wrapped around her shoulder were in an atrocious state. When she peeled them from her flesh, they came off yellow and sticky, much to her disconcertion. The wounds were clearly not healing properly and had become infected. Kagome’s eyes slid closed as she listened to Rin prattle on about inconsequential trifles. The warm water simultaneously relaxed her aching muscles and poured what felt like searing molten metal into the wounds in her shoulder.
“Remember, Rin,” Kagome softly spoke, “to get out of the water when you start feeling light-headed. You don’t want to fall into the water and drown.” The little voice in the back of her head was crying hypocrite. If one has been lightheaded all day, when should they get out of the water…?
She could hear the small splash of Rin exiting the spring, and she opened her eyes to make sure the child didn’t slip or otherwise injure herself. After judging that Rin had donned her yukata satisfactorily, Kagome sank back into the water. The rising tendrils of steam waved in front of her tantalizingly, beckoning her to submit to the drowsiness blanketing her consciousness.
The spell was broken, however, when a twig snapped in the bush behind Kagome’s head and before she knew what was going on, rough hands pulled her out of the water and onto the sharp rocks. Rin shrieked as Kagome called out in alarm and pain. “Run, Rin! Run into the trees!” She saw the girl dart into the dark just as a hand cracked her head to the side with a hard slap, stunning her.
Willing her eyes to focus, she saw that her attacker was the one of the ferrymen from earlier in the day. She kicked and flailed, attempting to push the man off of her, but his heavily muscled arms drove her shoulders further into the rock. The face she had thought was so fetching earlier was marred by lust and determination.
Heart racing and tears burning down her cheeks, she threw her shaking hands up to rake at his chest with her fingernails. The only sounds she heard were the thundering of her heartbeat and her own frantic, whimpering panting. When he loosened one hand from her shoulder, she took the opportunity to throw that arm up and drive her palm into his face, producing a sick crunch and a spurt of hot blood that coated her cheek. He leaned back with a yell, cradling his broken nose, which gave Kagome the opportunity to slip out from under him and make a dash for her clothes, which hid her tanto blade. With a blood-covered hand, he grabbed her by the arm, whipping her back around.
Oddly enough, he stopped for a fraction of a second, looking over her shoulder. Kagome, asking no questions, threw her fist into his right temple, causing him to slump limply to her feet. With wild eyes she spun around frantically, fully expecting to see the other two men from the ferry operation. As the blood rushed to her head, a high-pitched ringing drowning out all other sound, all she saw was a smear of white before she crumpled to the ground.
She awoke next to a fire with the taste of blood in her mouth. Raising her hand gingerly to her face, she felt that her lip and right cheek were hot and swollen. Awareness dawned upon her, and she flew into a sitting position to see none other than Sesshomaru sitting across the fire from her, one eyebrow quirked. Hands shaking, she looked over her shoulder toward the steaming spring and saw nobody. Turning back to him with wide eyes, she said nothing.
“He left,” Sesshomaru simply stated, putting a broken stick on the fire.
“L-left?” Kagome looked around, searching for her attacker in the darkness. All she saw were the dancing shadows cast by the fire and Rin’s sleeping form curled up by a bush. A slightly cool breeze suddenly made Kagome keenly aware that she was nude.
“Where are my clothes?!” she whispered, panic tinging the edges of her voice.
“You were graceful enough to knock them into the water,” Sesshomaru replied dryly, boring into her with his scrutinizing sare.
Rage filled the priestess. “Graceful? I was being attacked! You could show a little sympathy!” Her hands curled into tight fists.
“It happens all the time. Why should your case be any different?”
Scoffing incredulously, Kagome retorted, “Well, because you need me!”
The demon leveled his gaze to look directly into her eyes. “For…?”
Kagome was dumb-struck, not by his seemingly uncaring response, but by the truth in it. As much as it hurt her to admit it, he didn’t really need her around. Not really. A shiver trickled down her spine as another cold breeze twirled around her exposed body, causing her fevered skin to rise in goosebumps.
Standing to tower over Kagome, Sesshomaru pinned her under his gaze as he unwound the pelt from his shoulder and practically threw it onto her. Kagome looked at him, baffled by the sudden action. “Once your clothes are dry, you will return it, and we will continue,” he stated simply, his bored gaze flickering with the glow of the fire before him. Kagome wrapped the warm fur around her body and clutched it in her hands as she gazed blankly into the flames. Her brain barely registered when he added, “If you stain it with that infected wound, I will wring your neck myself.”

a/n: For any readers who have stuck with me, thank you so much. It’s partially you guys that keep me a-trekking through this fic.
This chapter was heavily influenced by the song Wings of Despair from Kamelot’s Karma album. This just… this. Read the lyrics and you’ll get what I mean. Kagome, as much as it’s awful to say, almost needed this experience in order to start to get over her grief and come to grips with the terrors that may face her on her perilous journey. After all, a new day is dawning, and no one can save you.
*Fuji-gawa, aka the Fuji River: A river just west of Fuji-san with an extremely fast current and, before the ages of dikes and dams, the propensity to flood. Therefore, Kagome and Rin couldn’t just ford the river and be done with it.
- 10
- 11
- 12
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Edge of Paradise