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Sacrifice	By : AncientChineseProverb Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Kagome > Sessh?maru/Kagome Views: 6417 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
(6/21/2006) Edited for some HUGE grammar
mistakes that made me cringe and bang my head against my desk. So�it runs even
more smoother now�I hope. The next chapter should be out either tonight or
tomorrow (already have 8 pages done and working on the next half even as we
speak). Worse case scenario, Friday evening.

Author�s
Note: Welcome to the next chapter! Cranked it out while listening to Amon Tobin
and Mr. Scruff.

Thanks
for the reviews everyone! Hope I don�t disappoint with this chapter. This is the
last bit of background I�ll provide before the REAL stuff begins (you�ll
understand when you get to the end of this chapter).

Hehe�yes,
Kikyo is a bitch in this story�.and she gets worse, but that�s all I�m saying.
^^ Honestly, I don�t hate the miko (even though I DO agree that only one
resurrection should have been enough for the actual series� story *cough*
overkill�), but I needed someone for the part, and well, there she is.

Anyway,
that�s enough gabbing out of me. On with the chapter. ^^

His eyes
opened in a snap.

How long
ago had that been? A couple of weeks? A month? Ever since that fated day, he
had been staying in this village--ironically to his nature, a shrine, no
less--healing from that unfortunate battle. Thanks to the priestesses here, he
was no longer in a critical state.

His hand
passed through dark locks as he sat up on the futon. Who would have thought
that he would be taking shelter in a dwelling of mikos? Thanks to his
oh-so-considerate half-brother and those three bitches, he had no other choice.
His wounds were by far in better state than before, but he was still a long way
from being able to make any long journeys. He was, in other words, stuck here
until he could repair properly.

His eyes
shifted to Tetsusaiga, propped against the wall. He really should be cursing
it�that heirloom. Because of the sword, he almost never had a moment of peace.
Instead, he always had to use it, be it against a demon who wanted him dead for
his �imperfect� blood, or his brother, who wanted to steal the last piece
Inuyasha had of his father.

Never a
moment�s peace�until now.

A month
without Sesshoumaru coming around to shed his blood was unheard of to the
hanyou. He knew he shouldn�t feel so comfortable around humans, even though he
was one himself at the moment, but he couldn�t seem to bring himself to care.
It was actually quite�nice in this village. No one appeared to hate him or be
disgusted by him; it was a welcome change. Of course, he knew he�d have to
leave the village sometime--his brother would definitely arrive again, and fuck
everything up like he always did.

His head
turned when he heard the door to his temporary bedroom slide open. A smirk
spread across his mouth as he saw the miko enter and place a tray of food on
the foot of the bed. �You�ve been scarce today.�

Brown
eyes looked up to him as a glare set upon her face. �Whatever, Inuyasha. Just
because I live in a shrine doesn�t mean I don�t have any other duties to attend
to.� She set his utensils on the tray in a huff.

Inuyasha raised
a black brow at her. �Rough morning, Kagome?�

She threw
her head back and sighed at that question. �Like you wouldn�t believe. First,
Kikyo makes me clean the entire front chamber, then makes me perform six
wardings of several families� houses, and now, she�s making me head the
memorial service of the Taishi�s father, while she sits in her room doing
nothing!� Kagome fixed her arms to cross against her chest.

�Well,
you�re a miko. You�re supposed to do,� he waved his chopsticks in an absent manner
as he got started on his rice. �you know--miko stuff.�

She
rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. �Well said, Inuyasha,� she noted
sarcastically. �Anyway, at least I have a few minutes until I have to visit the
cemetery. I didn�t even have time for breakfast.� She pulled a pair of
chopsticks from her robes and stole a cluster of rice from his bowl.

Inuyasha
narrowed his eyes at her and pulled his dish back away from her, clearly
offended. �Oi! This is mine!�

She
placed a hand on her hip. �Hey, I was nice enough to find time during my busy
schedule to cook it! Now quit being such a little kid and share!� Her
chopsticks dove towards the bowl for another bite, but Inuyasha was faster. He
jumped off of the bed and took a few steps away from her, smirking during the
entire trip.

�All I
want is some rice. You can have the rest of the food,� she said, gesturing to
the tray on the bed.

�Keh. The
only thing you don�t screw up is rice. I�d probably die if I touched
anything else you cook!�

�Ooooh��
Kagome huffed. �If you weren�t still injured--�

�You�d
what?� Inuyasha countered. �Even when I�m hu--I mean injured, you still
couldn�t hurt me on your best day.�

�Alright,
that�s it!� Kagome made a lunge for the bowl. Inuyasha evaded her attack but
tripped backwards over the bed. Kagome stumbled on his feet and followed, as
both of them watched the prized bowl of food slip out of his fingers and land
on the floor in a clatter.

�Now,
look what you�ve done. You�ve gone and wasted a perfectly good bowl of food,
baka.� Kagome said as she looked down at him.

�Keh. I�d
still rather eat it off the floor
than whatever swill is on that tray!�

�Why you
little--� Kagome exclaimed, her hands wrapping around his throat.

The door
to the room opened as Kikyo entered. Her eyes blinked at the scene once before
setting her attention on her sister. �Kagome, the memorial is in a few moments.
Get changed and make your preparations.�

The
younger sister rose off the bed and straightened her robes in a huff with
closed eyes. �Goodbye, Inuyasha. May you slip during your bath and fall on some
jagged rocks.�

�Yeah�nice
words, Holy Lady!� he remarked, his smirk widening when he saw her slam the
door behind her. She really was such fun to tease.

�I trust
you have removed any traces of immaturity out of your system?� Kikyo asked,
raising an elegant brow.

�Keh. She
started it.�

�Be that
as it may, it is time for me to check your bandages.� He then noticed the bowl
of greenish-hued liquid and cloth in her hands and sighed as he held out his
wrist. The only real serious injuries were his arms and his legs. Sesshoumaru
had gotten a bit lucky on those appendages, and thanks to his human healing,
they still had a ways to go before they were fully restored.

A glint
of light caught his eye and he looked down at his hand. Quickly, he noted his
nails were slightly longer than what they were than he remembered the first
time his wounds were bandaged.

�My claws�they�re growing back?!�

He
reveled for a split second before he closed his hand into a fist. He prayed
Kikyo didn�t get a good look at them. How would he explain that he was
demon�well, half anyway? His mauve eyes frantically went to her face.

If the
priestess did notice, she didn�t say anything while swabbing the wound with the
dampened cloth. Inuyasha held in a sigh. He would think about this later. If
his youkai half was returning to him, then he would have to leave this place
again. No�best to leave that matter to ponder on for later.

Kikyo put
the last knot in the bandage and inspected her work. �Is it too tight?� At the
shake of his head, she nodded. �I would prefer you to wash your leg wounds in
the spring before I rebandage them, if you do not mind.� She reached around him
to retrieve the forgotten tray of food. As her hand went past him, she leaned
in creating a waft of jasmine that tingled the insides of Inuyasha�s nose. He
inhaled again as she moved to step away from him, tray in hand.

�I assume
you are not going to eat this?� she asked before shaking her head. �I don�t
blame you anyway.� She turned and started towards the door. �When you finish
your bath, come see me,� she said, closing the door behind her, leaving the
memory of jasmine dancing around his head.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Kagome
sighed as she lit the incense. She tried not to sound disrespectful, but she
couldn�t help the feeling of relief that her duties for the day were almost
over. She was tired and exhausted and found herself looking forward to taking a
long dip in the hot spring then, perhaps a nap. Kagome smiled slightly as she
knelt alongside the Taishi family in prayer, attempting to hide her anxiousness.

�Thank you,
Kagome-sama,� the head Taishi female said as she stood, when the ritual was
complete. �Aoki will no doubt be glad that he had such a wonderful memorial
ceremony this year.�

Another
smile lit the priestess� face as she nodded. �I�m sure Taishi-sama is happy
that you come down and honor him diligently every year.� Kagome said as she
bowed once. �Forgive me, but I have a few things I must attend to.�

The older
woman returned the bow. �Thank you again, Kagome-sama.�

The miko
watched as the Taishi family left the burial ground before gathering her
things. The bath she was dreaming about earlier sprung back into her head. �Yeah, that would feel so good right about
now�� she thought.

There was
only one spring that was close to the shrine. It was secluded mostly and was
only used by members of the holy ground. The rest of the village used community
baths, something Kagome was glad she didn�t have to do. She was always a bit
self-conscious about herself, probably due to being around Kikyo too much over
the years. Everyone around her always seemed to compare her to her older
sister�as if she was not competent enough to simply be respected for herself
and not her family ties. The only one who didn�t see her as just the High
Priestess� sister was the injured lunkhead back at the shrine.

Inuyasha.
That insensitive jerk. Just how cruel were his parents giving him that name
anyway, Kagome wondered. To think that she had even thought him to be handsome
when he was brought in a month ago! Then, of course, she had talked to him and
discovered his unkind tongue. He was really a brute, insulting her at every
turn and making fun of everything she did. He was almost hopeless at times.

Almost.

Yet,
there was something unexplainable about him. His amethyst eyes were always
expressive, whether yelling at her or giving her that damnable smirk. Kagome
couldn�t deny that there was something there�She knew he wasn�t all bad, since
he always did manage to ask her about her day whenever she saw him or just find
time to chat in general�even if it
did usually end in an argument or her reciting her holy vows to herself instead
of beating him across his thick skull.

Unfortunately,
she could tell she was not the only one who noticed the kinder side to
Inuyasha. Her sister had taken it upon herself to completely tend to
him�something that was rare for her. Kikyo never usually did so for the males
that came in for healing. She would usually ask (or tell in Kagome�s case) the other
maidens to see to their wounds after initially checking the status before going
and performing another duty. The impact of that was not lost on Kagome.
However, it was uncommon for her elder sister to take interest in another. A
grin crept across her face. �Maybe she is normal�who knew?�

Her smile
froze as she heard screams in the distance, then a loud crash. Wind flowed
through the dark strands in her hair as Kagome turned towards the entrance to
the village. What in the world was going on?

Her hands
automatically secured the strap of her quiver of arrows to her back before
coming to a firm grip on her bow. �Youkai
attack?� her mind speculated. �Great�just
what I need today.�

Upon
reaching the village, a gasp came from Kagome�s lips. Three colossal youkai
loomed in the horizon laying waste to the rural farms, houses and terrorizing
the villagers. People scattered throughout the area, attempting to distance
themselves from the destruction that was occurring all around them.

�Lady
Kagome!�

Her eyes
abandoned the scene and flew to the villager that had run up to her. �We need
help! The demons are wrecking everything in the area! My family was able to get
out of our home before it attacked, but our home�� He cast a look at a pile of
debris she could only assume that was the remains of his hut.

�If I don�t stop them,� she thought to herself. �Everyone will��

Her
resolve steeled as she notched an arrow onto her bow. Kagome�s anger fueled the
power that surged from the thin shaft of wood and feathers. The arrow took on a
lavender hue as she aimed for the youkai�s head. The shot sailed in the air and
hit its target--although lower than she had intended--and embedded itself in
the youkai�s back. The shot youkai, barely feeling a thing, continued its
rampage among the houses.

�I can�t do this on my own,� she realized. As much as she
hated to admit, she would need her sister�s aid. Seeing no other option at the
moment, her feet broke into a run as she headed for the shrine.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

�Kikyo-sama!�

The High
Priestess looked up from the bandaged ankle and to the door which had just been
flung open. �What is it, Sayou?�

The
priestess in question took a second to regain herself from running into the
room. �There�s�a youkai attack on the villagers! Three huge gigantic ones and a
smaller one. Keeps yelling about how a Sesshoumaru-sama will destroy everything
until he gets what he wants!� The girl panted heavily after delivering her message.

The man
Kikyo had been tending to paled at the statement. �Was it an inu-demon that
said that?� he asked, his eyes stared at the wooden floorboards as he waited
for the confirmation.

�No. A
small toad-youkai. He�s controlling the other demons. Kikyo-sama, you have to
stop them!�

�Jaken��
Inuyasha said with a low voice.

Kikyo
sent him a brief questioning look before turning her attention back to the
woman. �Gather the townspeople and lead them to the shrine. Do it in groups so
the demons do not suspect anything until it is too late. Command Akko to assemble the other mikos to erect a barrier
around the shrine on your way out. I will see to the demons myself.�

Sayou
nodded before leaving the room. Kikyo rose from her seat, turning to Inuyasha.
�I assume you know who is destroying our village?�

His eyes
hadn�t risen from the floor. �Yeah. Sesshoumaru, my half-brother, sent one of
his lackeys here. The attack�s my fault�� his face hardened as he stood up and
reached for his weapon. Kikyo narrowed her eyes at the action.

�Where
are you going?� she asked.

Inuyasha
gave her a look, as if it should be obvious to her. �I�m going out to fight
them,� he informed her as he strapped Tetsusaiga to his waist.

�Even if
you are able to walk and move around freely, your body is not healed enough for
combat. Do not be stupid, Inuyasha.�

�My
brother won�t stop until he gets me to hand over something to him. Look, if I
go out there, I�ll be able to draw the demons away and nobody else gets hurt.�

�And
afterwards?� she asked, arching a brow.

�It was a
matter of time before he came after me. If I stay here, he�s just going to keep
coming. You�re�� His tone became soft and silent. �You�re better off without
me.�

Kikyo
stared at him for a moment before letting a soft sigh escape. �Wait here for a
moment, and I will take you out to the village. I must see to the villagers�
safety.� She started towards the door.

�Kikyo��
he said as she turned around. �Thanks�for taking care of me.� She gave him the briefest of nods before
leaving the room.

---------------------

After she
had secured the door, Kikyo hesitated for a moment. She was almost sorry to do
it, but there was no way that she would allow Inuyasha to intentionally put
himself into harm�s way.

She
fished through her robes for the scraps of parchment. �It�s for your own good, Inuyasha.�

Very few
people had ever caught her eye, and when he had came to after she had the
villagers bring him in, she could not help but feel some sort of pull. He
seemed secluded, isolated from others, emotions sealed and guarded. She knew
how it felt firsthand and was drawn to him as soon as she noticed. Her feelings
had increased over the weeks as she began to take note of the kinder side to
him. She was not irresponsible enough to completely abandon her holy vows and
duties for him, but she could not deny that she felt something for him.

Kikyo had
also been noticing a few changes in him lately, however. His eyes fluctuated
from his normal purple hue to gold for the briefest of seconds, his jet black
hair was now dusted with several ashen-colored strands. Not perceptible to most
people, but she had noticed from the large amount of time she spent with him.
And the major change was the flares of youkai that she kept feeling coming from
him. Subtle, but her miko senses were able to pick up on it.

She chose
to be quiet about it, since Inuyasha never had brought up the fact that he had
demon blood within him. Kikyo knew that he probably kept it from her because he
was afraid, and she had no desire to make him feel any discomfort. It, of
course, was a problem she planned to deal with down the line, but things hadn�t
gotten that far yet. It did, however, come in handy for what she was about to
do.

Ending
her thoughts, she proceeded to seal the door with the wards. Her powers would
be strong enough to keep him within, and even if they weren�t, there was no way
he could leave the shrine with the barrier around it in place. She was doing it
for his own safety�even if it was a bit selfish.

With the
wards in position, she met up with her fellow priestess who had assembled among
the shrine�s entrance. Her brown eyes surveyed the massive demons in the
distance. It would be difficult, she realized, to take all three of them down
with minimal damage.

�This
won�t do,� she began. �We will have to force them to cease with the least
amount of destruction.�

�How will
we do that, Kikyo-sama?� the miko named Akko
spoke up.

The
High-Priestess� brows drew together slightly in thought. �First and foremost,
we must appease whoever is in control of the beasts.�

�Sayou
mentioned that Inuyasha-san called it �Jaken�,� one of the other mikos stated.
�Besides, we can�t appease it, as you said. The only things the villagers have
to offer are crops, and the demons are ruining them!�

Remembering
the look on Inuyasha�s face when he told her his brother was behind the
devastation, she then realized that whomever his brother was, was probably
worse than even this ordeal. �Then, we will have to pacify it in another way.�
Kikyo said with narrowed eyes as she regarded the group. �A sacrifice.�

The
others gasped, and Akko spoke up nervously.
�Wouldn�t the head priestess be the ideal one to send?�

Kikyo�s
eyes hardened at the miko. �If any of you had enough power to become my
successor, I would not hesitate.�

�So then,
who will have to go?�

The
High-Priestess closed her eyes with a sigh. �I do not disagree that sending any
one other than me would be an insult.� A cruel and wicked smile tilted the
corner of her mouth ever so slightly as she witness the other mikos exhale in
relief. �So we shall have to send the next best thing.�

�Kikyo!�
Kagome�s voice fluttered up to them as her figure rounded the path up to the
shrine. �We�ve got trouble! There�s some huge
demons wrecking the town! I tried shooting them with an arrow, but�� her voice
trailed off as she took notice of the looks the other mikos were sending her.

��What?�

�
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

�She�s taking a long time,� Inuyasha thought. Kikyo be
damned, he was not going to wait around when there were people in danger. He
marched to the door and made to pull it open.

�Ow!�
Light flared as soon as his hand touched the handle and sent a sharp spark of
pain down his wrist. He tried it again, this time leaving his hand on the
handle a bit longer, watching as blue lightning crackled around his arm. There
was no doubt about it; it was the work of a miko.

�Kikyo��
his voice dropped, a growl rising in the back of his throat. His eyes widened
for a second afterwards as he came to a realization.

�She�she knows!!�

Kikyo
wouldn�t have put any of her power behind the door if she thought him to be
human. He vaguely wondered how long she had known before looking around for
another exit. He�d think on it later.

The
window was an obvious choice, and he began moving the bed directly under it as
well as stacking a chair on top in order to reach it. He didn�t trust himself
to jump just yet, if he even had that ability back. For now he�d play it safe
and leave the gambling of his body�s strength to when he made it outside to
fight.

As his
hand pulled the rest of his body onto the windowsill, he was at least relieved
that it wasn�t a high fall�well, not much anyway. His feet hit the ground and
he turned, searching for the direction of the demons. �Shouldn�t be too hard,� his mind contemplated. �Hell, I could take Jaken at
least!�

His plans
were cut short as he felt himself walk into an invisible wall. �Right, the barrier. You�ve thought of
everything haven�t you, Kikyo?� he thought bitterly.

Inuyasha
understood that the only thing he could do now was convince the priestess to
remove it. He really didn�t want to go through with it, since it meant he�d be
wasting valuable time arguing with her, but he also knew it was necessary.

Besides�.after
boldface lying to him, Kikyo owed him one.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He
continued to walk through the forest, his ire increasing as the moments ticked
by. �Jaken should have completed his task
by now. I should have done it myself instead of him, the incompetent toad.�

It wasn�t
as if Sesshoumaru was lazy; lazy was not in his vocabulary. His distaste for
humans caused the demon lord to take up his servant�s offer to do the task for
him. He had smelled enough human stench upon his last encounter with his brother
to last him a lifetime. Humans�they were petty, insignificant little
beings that only served to get in his way. They never received his curiosity or
attention--beneath him-- mere mortals worth less than the dried mud that
crudded the bottom of his shoe.

And now,
his brother was one of them.

It was
that thought that initiated his response to allow his servant to go ahead of
him and retrieve the ex-hanyou in his place. And now, he was regretting it,
since he had released Jaken over an hour ago. He disliked waiting and demanded
promptness. Jaken would be punished whenever he decided to return.

�My
lord!�

Sesshoumaru
turned and narrowed gold eyes at the voice. �You are late,� he stated.

The small
toad youkai huffed as he dragged a large package behind him by a rope. �My
sincerest apologies, but the humans of the village informed me that Inuyasha
had escaped during the assault. They offered a gift as a request for my lord�s
forgiveness.�

�I do not
care,� the taiyoukai declared as he turned his back on his retainer. �Leave the
vessel here.� He then began to walk, his nose working to uncover any trace of
his wretched half-brother.

�B-but��
Jaken sputtered after glancing between him and the container. �It�s pretty
heavy! Should we not look at what is inside?� he asked, his curiosity getting
the best of him.

At that,
Sesshoumaru stopped. His head turned back with the slightest look of annoyance
on his face. Jaken knew from experience that that particular look meant the
servant was really trying his patience at the moment. �Jaken,� the demon lord
said in a low voice. �Are you questioning this Sesshoumaru�s direct orders?�

�N-no, my
lord!!!� Jaken quickly released the rope and scrambled to catch up to the
taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru nodded faintly and turned to keep walking.

That
was�.until he heard an exceptionally loud thump come from the container.

Both
youkai turned then, staring at the wooden box. Whatever was in it was alive.
His interest piqued, Sesshoumaru moved back towards the package and slowly cut
the ropes with his claws. Would the humans be foolish enough to send an
assassin that would arise from the box in an attempt to kill him, he wondered.
Not that he was afraid of a trivial human, but it would be wise to be prepared
at least. With that thought, he slid the top of the container open.

His thin
elegant brows drew downwards at the sight of the box�s content, certain it was
a joke but not particularly finding it amusing.

The
humans had sent him a miko.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So there
it is�No more background. Now we can start up the Sesshy/Kag arc (don�t worry,
there�s not going to be too much Inu/Kag �I�ve decided to go completely in
favor of our favorite taiyoukai)! When is the next chapter coming out?
Hopefully soon. I�m going to begin working on it either tonight or tomorrow. With
luck, it�ll be out next week. Updates don�t come as fast with me than other
authors, but that�s mainly because even when I have the time, I easily get
distracted. I mean, it�s hard for me to sit still for an hour to type ideas
down and�hey, is that a blue pen under my desk? Wheeeeeee!!! *spins in office
chair*

Anyway,
you get the point. Also, I tend to write long chapters and in addition, I�m
slightly obsessive about grammar and stuffs. So even if the chapter is
finished, I need a day to go over it and make sure things are in order.

Alright�.this
author�s note is getting too long, so I�ll stop. Hope you enjoyed the chapter,
and hopefully I�ll get a bit of input on things to improve, if they need to be.
*nudge* *nudge*

Thanks
for reading!

~ACP
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Sacrifice