Evocation by Mikazuki

A Request Fulfilled

a/n: So this is a story that I had posted before, but decided to scrap it and work on a rewrite. I just was struggling with the overall feel and really wanted to edit and revise. Sorry if you were invested in this story before, but good news it is the same story just with a some tweaks and a slightly slower build to the romance stufff. I hate it when stories progress to fast and I was doing just that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Evocation

The dictionary defines it as the act of bringing or recalling a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind. Just be careful of the memories and feelings that mind has seemingly erased, because those are the ones that can bring you to your knees.

“Kill… me.”

The quiet plea forced Sesshomaru to halt his progression towards the fallen miko. Staring at his half-brother’s priestess, his blood cooled at the image she presented. Blood was pouring from multiple wounds across her abdomen and chest, and he could see the whiteness of her bones peeking through the torn flesh. He could not remember the last time he witnessed such a horrific scene.

Her body lay broken before him, and he could tell that she was in immense pain. Her chest shuttered with each breath as blood slowly filled her lungs. He watched as her body convulsed in an attempt to cough and a trail of blood began to spill past her lips and down her chin.

He knew, even without his demonic senses, that she was not long for this world. He sniffed the air and wondered where his half-brother was. He typically did not leave the girl for any reason. He mentally sneered at the lack of honor in his idiotic kin to allow such a despicable act to fall upon one in his charge. He thought the boy had more sense to properly protect his own. But alas, he did not and now the girl would perish.

Yet one lack of information confused him: he did not smell another. There was nothing indicating that anyone had been here with the girl, but he knew that she could not have wound up in this state by her own hand. Someone had been there and done horrific things to this girl.

‘The perpetrator must have masked their scent. Interesting.’ What also surprised him was that he had not noticed her scent sooner. He basically just happened upon her, which irked his ego at being hyper aware of his surroundings. He normally could pick up her scent miles before even crossing paths, but today he scented her less than half a mile before finding her.

The only reason he even bothered to seek her out was because of the amount of blood he detected. Not that he cared for her safety. He has just always been a curious being.

His head tilted quizzically at the girl before him, and vaguely wondered how she got into such a state. He had always known her to be one to find trouble and had even had the misfortune of saving her once or twice during the campaign against Naraku. But this surpassed anything he could have ever envisioned happening to someone like her.

‘What events transpired in these woods?’ Slowly he approached her and kneeled in front of her.

He witnessed the pleading in her eyes, and the acceptance of her fate. She knew she was dying and was only looking to him dfor mercy. He chuckled internally as he thought about himself being merciful; no one would ever accuse him of such a thing. But he did find her resolve somewhat commendable and wondered if others in her place would react the same.

‘Of course, they would not.’ In all his years, Sesshomaru had never met a human quite like this one. She was only a part of a handful of people who had earned his respect, and that includes demons. He had always been impressed with her honor and loyalty. And though he dared never say so aloud, but if she had chosen not to interfere than Naraku would have succeeded in his dastardly plans. She did what others could not: she empathized with the damn hanyou and, in doing so, she helped his spirit let go of the jewel. A truly epochal ending to such a long quest.

Sesshomaru broke from his musing and once again focused on the woman before him. He knew that the girl in front of him wanted death, but if he had learned one thing from these past three years it was that she could not truly die. With little that he did care or know of this human, he knew that her role in this world was not finished. The half breed, Naraku, had been vanquished, but the jewel was still present.

She was the only one who could prevent the evil from taking control of the jewel. Without her presence, there was no telling what events would unfold. The jewel weakly pulsed at his thoughts, which only made his resolve that much stronger. Sighing uncharacteristically, he gently lifted her head and waited until her eyes focused on his.

“P-please…. k-k-kill… m-me.” She whispered. Her breathing becoming more labored. “P-p-please.”

“Miko, I will relieve you of this pain.” He spoke as he positioned his claws to rest over her heart. Her eyes welled with tears as her lips tilted into a soft smile. He paused briefly in awe at how she so easily embraced her death. His resolve almost broke as he wondered if it would be better to let her rest peacefully, but alas, her purpose had yet to be fulfilled. “But you will not escape your duty.”

Realization dawned on the girl’s face. She knew what he planned to do and wanted so desperately to stop him. But before she was able to say word, her world went dark, and she was transported into the underworld.

Removing his claw from her chest, he laid her gently onto the ground. He slowly withdrew Tenseiga from his hip. The gentle thrum from the sword spoke to him, and he knew that his father’s sword approved of his decision.

Not that he needed its approval.

He fixed his steely gaze upon the messengers of the underworld surround her body. The began to wrap her body with the chains of the underworld not aware they were being scrutinized. With a sneer, he struck them down. Sheathing his sword, he decided to lean against a nearby tree as her body mended itself.

He knew that with the amount of injuries she had sustained that it would take her a while to awaken, but he already knew that his sword did not fail him.

Her heart was already beginning to beat again.

~ 0 ~

A loud gasp erupted in the quiet clearing as Kagome finally regained consciousness. Slowly she reached her hand to grasp her head to try and still the pounding in her skull. An overwhelming need to vomit had her taking deep even breaths to try to will the urge away.

Kagome’s mind was reeling. She had no idea where she was or why it was so dark out. Somehow, she had lost a few hours of her life. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and try to back track her memories.  

The last thing she clearly remembered was arguing with Inuyasha about what to do with the Shikon. It was the same argument they always had since they defeated Naraku. It always started with he same question. What are you going to do about the jewel?

He refused to understand what was taking her so long to make a wish. According to him, it should be a simple task that would have only taken him a few seconds and ‘poof’ the jewel would be gone. The problem that he did not realize was the outright impossibility of the task.

The only way to rid the world of the jewel was to ask an unselfish wish. Ridiculous.

During the fight, she remembered getting more riled up as they continued. Deciding enough was enough, Kagome left to go for a walk to cool down. He tried to force her to stay, which of course led him to the lovely crater home that he loves so much.

Something must have happened on her walk, as her body pulsed from head to toe. Every piece of her was on fire. ‘What in the world did I get myself into this time?’

She groaned as she slowly opened her eyes and tried to sit up. The pounding only intensified with the little effort she exerted, and she immediately laid back down. Taking another deep breath, she began to rise once more.

“I would suggest that you take it slow.” Kagome choked on her breath. The deep baritone flowed with the breeze and chilled her to the bone. She knew that voice and her heart began to quicken. She had no idea why he was here.

“Sess... Sesshomaru!” Forgetting his advice, she quickly rose to find the location of his voice. Of course, as soon as she sat up, she was unable to keep the nausea at bay. Unable to escape it this time, she emptied the contents of her stomach. Luckily, she was able to avoid throwing up all over herself.

Turning his head away, Sesshomaru decided to ignore the human woman struggle. His nose curling slightly at the smell. He almost felt bad for the ningen, but he did warn her to take it slow. He did the honorable thing, and it is not his fault that she is unable to follow simple instructions.

“What are you doing here?” She asked as she wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Her browed furrowed as she caught an uncharacteristic shift in his demeaner. She wasn’t completely sure, but Sesshomaru seemed surprised by her question.

“You asked this one for some… assistance.” He turned his gaze back towards her and tilted his head in curiosity. Kagome could not help but compare him to normal dogs but managed to fight back the threatening giggle at the image in her head. She did really enjoy being alive in any case. “Do you not remember?”

“OH... no.” She thought for a moment, trying to remember how she even wound up here. A sharp pain enveloped her brain, and she clutched her head in agony. It felt like lightening was flowing through her head, and only increased with every beat of her heart. Slumping to the ground, Kagome completely missed the concerned look cross Sesshomaru’s face as everything went dark.