Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Transit Umbra, Lux Permanet	By : ChaoticReverie Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Kagome > Sessh?maru/Kagome Views: 3749 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters. All OCs belong to me. I am not making any profit from writing this, it is for enjoyment only.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha's tormented shout echoed across the plain, his body slouching in defeat as the miko's reiki suddenly flickered out. Behind him, Sango and Miroku stared – disbelieving – at the spot where their friend had been lost within the mist.
"It… It can't be," the slayer whispered.
Osore's mocking laughter smothered the grim silence that followed. "I can taste your sorrow form here! So much sadness over a simple human girl."
The hanyou suddenly tensed, youki flaring as he snarled, "You filthy bastard. I'm gunna make you pay!"
The sadistic demon smirked at the dark utterance, but before he could respond a brilliant light exploded from within the thick sheet of fog, blinding in its radiance. "Impossible!"
The others gaped, watching as the fog hissed and writhed, dissipating more and more with every thrumming ripple of power.
Sneering, the incarnate of Zetsubou withdrew, knowing his Master would want to hear of this new development.
Sesshomaru watched his foe disappear, his eyes returning to the light as it began to dim. The massive cocoon of energy compressed, shrinking until it vanished completely, leaving only the source.
"Kagome!" the inu hanyou gasped in relief, leaping to her side. What was left of her clothing was in tatters, having been burned away by the mist, though she didn't seem to notice. Snatching his haori from the ground where she'd dropped it, he draped it over her hunched form. She was trembling, gripping her throat as she gasped in deep mouthfuls of air.
Shippou, Sango, and Miroku encircled her, the former prepared to leap onto her when Inuyasha motioned for him to wait.
She was staring down at her hands, her head shaking back and forth.
"What's wrong?"
"How can this be?" she whispered, her voice so low he almost didn't hear her.
"What are you talking about?" he asked her gently, worry returning.
"I felt it… I felt it eating my flesh. I should be dead."
She looked up at him suddenly, and the words he was about to speak died on his tongue. "Y-Your eyes…"
Shippou scurried to her side, shocked at what he found. "Whoa! They're purple!"
Shaking his head at the strange turn of events, Inuyasha gathered the stupefied girl into his arms. "We need to get you back to camp."
"Shall we stay to search for survivors?" Miroku suggested.
"There are none," the daiyoukai responded, dropping to the ground and approaching slowly. He regarded the miko as he drew nearer, noting the shift in her eye colouring, but sensing something else as well. "She is changed."
"Yeah, we got that already," his brother remarked smartly.
Frowning, he clipped, "That is not what I am referring to, fool. It is her scent."
Bushy brow lifting, the hanyou turned back to the dishevelled priestess, leaning closer to take a whiff. Wait… something had changed. There was something missing. Suddenly it struck him. "No decay."
"I beg your pardon?" Sango spluttered.
"Keh. Don't get all riled up. Every human has that particular scent, and the older you get the stronger it becomes. It ain't the same as a corpse or nothin'. It's just… the way humans smell."
Kagome, for her part, remained silent, in somewhat of a daze.
"Bokuseno may be able to offer us new insight," Sesshomaru proposed.
Readjusting the slight weight of his cargo, Inuyasha nodded. Turning to look at the others, he asked, "You coming?"
Miroku glanced sadly back at the ruined village. "We'll be along shortly. There may not be any bodies to bury, but I would like to offer a prayer for their souls."
"I'm staying with Kagome!" the kit announced, leaping onto the hanyou's back.
Inuyasha travelled with haste. He could no longer sense turmoil within her, but she seemed oddly despondent, and a quiet Kagome was never a good thing. He only hoped Bokuseno was feeling a little more straight-forward at the moment; he currently had no patience for the tree's maddening manner of speech.
The giant magnolia hummed in greeting as the sons of the Inu no Taisho returned to him. "I have seen what transpired. It would appear my suspicion was correct."
"Then why the hell didn't you let us in on it earlier? If you knew Kagome would survive you should have said something instead of worrying us all like that!" the hanyou snapped, already irate.
"I did not know what would occur. I would not give false information simply to ease your mind, pup," the tree lectured sternly. Once he was satisfied that the boy was thoroughly reprimanded, he continued on. "As you have witnessed in the past, the jewel's effect on a being is reflected by its wielder's desires and emotions. This instance was no different; the outcome depended solely on Kagome's heart. Had she allowed it to surface while she remained uncertain, it would have destroyed her."
He paused, looking at the girl. "Your soul, dear child, is one of the few that can withstand the jewel's darkness. In the end, when you were certain your demise was imminent, what did you decide?"
Kagome blinked, turning slowly to regard Bokuseno. "That I couldn't leave my friends to fight alone. I had to survive… for them."
He smiled. "Even when faced with death you remained selfless. You chose to fight - not to help yourself, but to help the ones you love. It is that which allowed you to accept the Shikon instead of being overcome by it."
"What… what has it done to me?" she asked quietly, again looking at her hands.
"What other lasting effects it will have on you I cannot be sure of, but there is one thing I can tell you with certainty. You are no longer human."
"What do you mean?" she whispered, sounding somewhat afraid.
"You are not bound by time as you once were; your body has ceased its decomposition. Ten, twenty, fifty years will come and go, and you will remain unchanged."
Inuyasha's gaze slid down to the girl in his arms, his expression awed. "Not… human?"
"I feel it is no coincidence that this is happening now, when Zetsubou's evil is resurfacing in this world. You will play a pivotal role in the war to come," the forest youkai reflected.
The hanyou frowned. "I thought… I thought we were supposed to get rid of the jewel. That was our quest."
"The path has changed, but the destination remains the same. You will save this world from falling into darkness."
"How are we supposed to destroy this creature?" the young woman finally asked. "If he is truly so powerful, what chance do we stand against him?"
Bokuseno replied, "Remember that he is weakened still. So long as you can keep the fragments from combining again, I believe it is possible for you to defeat him. And remember, unlike Kibou, you will not stand alone. You have the sons of the great Inu no Taisho at your back."
She sighed, resting her head against Inuyasha's chest. Taking that as his cue, the hanyou nodded to his brother and started back for camp.
The daiyoukai followed them with his eyes, brow quirking when he heard the tree's rumbling laughter. "You find something amusing?"
Bokuseno grinned. "When the girl was enshrouded in mist, I witnessed your reaction. Others might have mistaken it for fear, but I know you too well to make that error. You were waiting… expectant. You never doubted that she would survive. Even I had not felt certain of her fate. You hold her in the highest regard, it would seem."
Sesshomaru did not deign to respond, choosing instead to take his leave of the smug demon.
The magnolia's grin widened as the youkai Lord departed. "And her eyes… such a fetching shade, wouldn't you agree?"
The inu growled lowly at the tree's boldness, though he did not disagree. Purple did become her.
......
Miroku offered a cup of tea to the despondent young woman, relieved when she lifted her hands to take it from him. Turning, he settled himself next to Sango, trading a worried glance with her. Since their return to the camp, Kagome had yet to speak a word. And while it was clear that she was no longer in pain, it was equally clear that something else was amiss.
Inuyasha, unable to stand the silence any longer, crouched down beside her. "Kagome… you alright?"
She didn't answer him, continuing to stare down into her cup.
"I'm gettin' real sick of watching you sit here without saying a word, damnit! This ain't like you!"
Her passive expression was immediately replaced by a scowl. She turned her head sharply, and he watched as her eyes flashed from a muted, smoky purple to something darker.
"Just back off, okay?!"
Recovering from his shock quickly enough, he frowned right back, getting in her face as he retaliated, "No, I ain't gunna back off until you tell me what the hell is bothering you!"
Trembling in anger, the young woman slammed her cup down on the ground, hot tea splashing up onto her hands as she did so. She paid it no mind. "Are you kidding me?! I don't know if you recall, but I've had a pretty rough day!"
"And you think it's been fun for us?! Do you think we enjoyed watching you get hurt?! We thought you were dead! You're not the only one whose been suffering lately, so stop bein' so damn selfish!"
The fury immediately diminished from her posture, her eyes fading back to their previous, sombre mauve. She seemed to swell with guilt, gaze cast downward once more as she sighed.
"I'm… I'm sorry. You're right."
Sango shook her head. "It's alright. We know you've been through a lot."
Kagome looked sheepish when she glanced through her bangs at the slayer. "No, it's not alright. All of you have been affected by my situation, and I've been a self-centered ass. This has just been… so overwhelming… and then today … I felt myself die, and it's like part of me just shut down. But there's no excuse for treating your friends badly. I hope you can forgive me."
"All is forgiven," Miroku replied genuinely. "We understand that it must have been a traumatic experience for you to go through, but you are very much alive, and we only hope to see you returned to your old self again; to the girl we all know."
He reached toward her. "Were you burned?"
She laughed - a short little huff. "See for yourself."
The group was astonished when she extended said appendages, revealing unmarred skin. That tea had been scalding hot.
"Astonishing," Miroku whispered.
Kagome looked at her hands again, still uncertain. "I… I still feel like myself… and I'm not tired anymore; that's a nice change, but… I am concerned… about this new power."
"How so," the monk inquired.
"It may heal me… but what else is it capable of? I've seen the destruction it can produce."
Inuyasha snorted. "Bokuseno said that the jewel's power differs depending on who wields it, and that's why you were able to withstand it without being possessed or destroyed."
"You would never do something evil, Kagome," the kit put in, green eyes serious. "You're too good to abuse that kind of power."
She smiled at him, pulling him into her arms for a tight hug.
"Thank you, Shippou. I appreciate you saying that."
The fox scampered from her arms when she finally released him, settling next to her by the fire.
The miko chewed the inside of her cheek, considering this turn of events. "The idea of having so much power… it makes me nervous. I have no idea how to harness something like this, and it won't do us a whole lot of good if I can't control it. Could you train me, Miroku?"
"I am most flattered by your faith in me, Lady Kagome, however… I do not know that I would be of much use. The power I sense from you now… it is strikingly different than that of your reiki."
He watched her aura ripple around them. It had always been immense, but since her transformation it had grown, expanding past his range of sight – and she wasn't even projecting it! The only other being he'd ever encountered with an aura so impressive was standing a short way from their encampment.
"I will train the girl," the daiyoukai offered.
All but Miroku glanced his way in surprise, the monk having expected as much.
"You… you would?" Kagome stammered.
Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Keh. He's probably the most suited for it."
The priestess continued to stare at the stoic inu Lord, and he did not look away from her. He wanted to train her. The notion seemed so bizarre, so unlike him. Sesshomaru was just full of surprises this past little while.
The hanyou cleared his throat. "Now what are we going to do about the rest of the jewel shards?"
Sango growled. "This is hardly the time for-"
"No, it ain't!" he disagreed. "There are still pieces of it out there! Fighting Naraku was bad enough, but now we've got this Zetsubou asshole to worry about too. The last thing we want is to let any of the remaining shards fall into their hands!"
"He's right," Kagome acknowledged. "Now would be the perfect time to finish that portion of our quest."
"The collection of the Shikon no Tama has gone on for years now, and it may take another handful of years still before we are able to locate all of the pieces. Would it not be wiser to focus our efforts on these incarnates of Zetsubou, as Bokuseno has instructed?" the monk advised.
Kagome smiled. "It won't take long."
"How do ya figure?" Inuyasha probed.
"I can feel the shards."
"You've always been able to feel the shards," he reminded with a quirk of his brow.
She shook her head. "Not like this. When the jewel's power became a part of me… I guess it linked me to all of the other shards. I could lead us to their exact locations. There are four pieces that we have yet to claim, the largest of which is in the Southeast – likely the one in Naraku's possession."
The group gaped at her confession.
"When were you plannin' on telling us?!" the hanyou barked.
"When the opportunity arose," she replied while shooting him a hard look, daring him to argue.
Biting back any further complaint, Inuyasha gave a sharp nod. "Fine, but the monk raises a good point. We can't exactly abandon the hunt for the shards, but we can't up and leave when these new demons could strike again at any time!"
"You shall remain to deal with Zetsubou," Sesshomaru intoned. "I will escort the miko to gather the remaining shards, save Naraku's. It will provide us with an opportunity to begin training."
The hanyou had to agree. "It would be the fastest way."
The miko felt her stomach do a funny little twist at the idea of travelling with Inuyasha's older brother. Their groups had joined together a handful of times, but they had never been alone. 'Well, if he's going to train me, I suppose we'll be spending a lot more time together.'
She chanced a look at the tall, pale demon, a nervous smile blossoming on her lips. "So… will we head out tomorrow?"
He nodded. "Rest well. We leave at dawn."
- 8
- 9
- 10
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Transit Umbra, Lux Permanet