Disclaimer: Inuyasha was never mine, never will be... The plot, though, came out of my twisted imagination. The only purpose of this story is entertainment, yours and mine.
Warning: The high rating of the fic is due to violence and explicit adult situations (some not consensual). I have also to warn you against spoilers from the manga. If you only know of the anime, there are some things you might not understand...
This story is about death. Not death of the body but of the heart. It's about purity and hope. It's about trust and betrayal. It's about immortality, of the soul or of the body. It's about love and Love. It's about healing too.
Please enjoy the ride, and tell me what you think of it in reviews. I'm not a fast writer, English not being my first language, but reviews will probably encourage me to go faster.
Thanks to my mum for the betaing of this load of grammatical failures and spelling mistakes.
[u]
When the sun rises[/u]
[u]Chap 1: Glow; When the sun sets[/u]
She was glowing, gentle pink light flowing from her small form in soothing waves.
He had never seen such a thing, a being so innocent and yet so powerful.
'I must be dreaming' he told himself, but the pain that shot through his weakened body from time to time told him otherwise. She was really there, a few feet from him, sitting across the entrance of the small cave that sheltered him.
She was facing the outside, showing only her back and silken dark hair to him. Her scent was familiar and she obviously seemed to mean no harm to him, so he allowed his lids to fall over his eyes, his consciousness slipping again.
As he fell into a slumbering state for his body to heal itself, he relished in the warm feeling the light procured him, letting it fill his sore heart.
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Usually, when the final battle occurred at the end of a fairy tale, the sky was dark with menacing clouds, courageous battle cries answering evil taunts and acts of epic sacrifices ensuring the heroes their victory, erasing the villain and his minions from the face of the earth.
When they faced Naraku for the umpteenth time, they were just all too exhausted with their never ending quest for shards and revenge to be that excited.
As usual, Inuyasha was being his rude and insulting self, sputtering curses between his Kaze no Kizu and Gokuryuha, not to mention the occasional Meidou. The others, being no match for the evil hanyou were warring against the youkai swarm which never failed to accompany their arch enemy.
The miko, Kagome, his mind supplied, was shooting bright pink arrows wherever they were needed, protecting her friends from afar without fail. A look of passionate determination was marring her features, her dark blue eyes burning holes in her targets before she even shot them.
After four years of fierce pursuit, Naraku was near his end. They all could sense it, and in a way he must have known it.
Nearing his death, Naraku just had to make sure his memory would still bring pain to the hearts of all those despicable and pitiful foes who just had to lead him to his own destruction. So, in an ultimate jolt of his youki, he darted to his most hated enemy while the others were combining their forces to bring him down.
Looks of horror to terror appeared on their faces as they realised what was happening. The girl was going to die.
Only one of them moved faster, no emotion showing in his golden orbs as he sped forward, so fast that no human eyes could see him.
He protected the miko with his own body, taking all the force of the impact willingly.
And then, everything was over. The silence claimed the forest again, oblivious to the scent of blood and death. Birds would not sing for a while in this area, but the sun was still shining, albeit declining in the afternoon sky, and the summer air was warm, nearly damp from the previous storm.
Naraku was dead, but the victory had taken its toll on the fighters.
Amongst the bodies which laid on the ground, one should never have fallen. White pristine silk should never be soiled with blood if it wasn't the blood of his enemy. This was just wrong.
Kagome never hesitated. He had saved her, and she knew what was the right thing to do.
She walked swiftly through the messy battlefield and lowered herself next to his now unmoving form. Looking warily at his pale white face for a split second, she opened his haori with steady hands. She saw the dark brown tentacle protruding obscenely from his chest and put her right hand on it, seizing the offending appendage with her small fingers, her other hand ready just near the wound. Then she paused, glancing again at him.
She had to ask.
«Sesshoumaru? I know you are still here. I'm going to pull, but everything is going to be fine. Just trust me all right?» Her voice never betrayed the concern she was feeling. It was firm and gentle, she was trying to soothe him, he realised.
He never could trust humans, that he knew. He didn't even know why he had saved this one, his body moving by instinct only when he had jumped. But instinct told him once more that she was important. He always listened to this inner voice, for it was his very nature speaking to him. He let his eyes open, showing her his unspoken agreement.
She let out the air from her lungs and set her face in concentration. His golden orbs never left the depths of her brown ones as she pulled swiftly the hard length from his body, her other hand covering the wound immediately. He could feel her power helping his broken flesh to heal, blue light mingling with his own reddish youki.
This was the first time he had ever felt this. Mikos were not supposed to heal youkais. It was just not to be, as they were natural enemies. The purity of their sacred powers was just meant to destroy them and he felt very curious, oblivious to his own state of health as he mused on the possibility it entailed.
He allowed his senses to analyse the blue light escaping from her hand. Its nature was different from the usual pink hue coating her arrows. Was it because it was a healing power? Or because he was youkai? He wanted to ask her, but the words never came out of his lips. He was too exhausted even to speak, he realized, disgusted with his own weakness.
When the warm feeling of her healing him stopped, he nearly whimpered at the loss. He felt like a small puppy and he hated it, but she never mocked him, concern swirling in her eyes.
She looked at someone in the distance and said something he didn't understand. He was slipping from consciousness and there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted to go somewhere else, a place safer for him to recover from the fight. He wanted to know where Rin was and bark the order to Jaken for him to look after his ward. He just didn't have the strength to do so, as mist cloaked his sight slowly.
He felt a gentle hand on his right cheek and stiffened, a growl of warning escaping his closed mouth. But it roused him enough to understand the next thing she told him in a soft murmur.
«I'm going to move you some place else, Rin chan and Jaken will follow. Just sleep now.»
As he felt no deceit in her words, he let darkness claim him.
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She was still glowing.
He could tell many days had passed since the two headed dragon had carried him into the cave, letting the slender miko slide him from his massive back to a soft fur pelt on the ground.
How could a small human female support the weight of his heavy youkai body, he could not decipher. But she had done it, her usual smile reaching her dark blue eyes. She only touched him the minimum amount of time, respectful of his personal space as much as she could.
Since then, she had been seated across the opening of the hole in the side of the mountain.
Glowing.
During the rare moments he could remain conscious of his surroundings, he never saw her leave her post. She was watching over him he knew, but what was she doing, letting her pure bright light shine in the open for all to see from a long distance?
And then he understood.
She was so powerful that any youkai doted with a little amount of intelligence would just avoid her, the other mindless demons would be purified in a split second were they to approach her.
She was a beacon of love, pulsing through the forest and calling every living creature to her. She was a part of Nature itself, like a river winding lazily through green meadows, playing with wind and sunlight. But like Nature, she could be as fierce as thunderstorms or typhoons.
Youkais were animals, they were part of Nature too, driven by instinct alone for most of them. No demon would ever take the risk of facing a force they were supposed to protect.
And she was doing all this for him. The thought made him cringe internally somehow. He was not one to be this easily caught in a state of weakness, and being protected by a human, a female no less, was a bit too much for the proud Daiyoukai.
But then his anger was washed away by a warm feeling settling slowly in his heart. He was wary of the centuries of bloodshed he had lived through until now, and he found he could indulge in this for a small amount of time. His body could not move anyway, so he knew he'd better just rest and let his injuries be healed by his demonic powers.
As the corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly to reveal a tiny and uncharacteristic smile, he went to sleep again, welcoming dreams of a small rivulet gurgling across wild spring flowers.
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Something was wrong.
His magenta streaked lids opened slowly as he took in the familiar cave.
Something was amiss.
And then he hissed as realisation dawned on him.
The miko was nowhere to be seen.
He scented the air, focused on his heightened youkai senses, expanding his aura and youki. She was not there.
Perhaps she had to sustain herself or answer mother nature's calling? She had been sitting there for kami knows how many days, she must have felt sore or hungry...
His instincts kicked in fiercely. She was not there and it worried him a great deal. He didn't even listen to the now indistinct voice of reason that told him that the whereabouts of an insufferable and weak human wench were none of his concern.
Grinding his teeth together, he moved his undisciplined limbs slowly, gathering his legs under him. Steadying himself with the walls of the cave, he stood carefully and began to walk, following the now old track left by the miko.
He felt a heavy knot form in his chest as the smell of blood filled his over sensitive nose. Well, it was not blood that made a growl escape his lips as his face featured his usual blank mask. He knew that something terrible had occurred on the bank of the stream he was now nearing.
She was there, curled up in a tight ball, a couple of meters from the gentle flow of cold waters.
Naked.
Her small form stricken by numerous shallow gashes and bruises was trembling, but not from the cold. He could smell no tears, but he knew she was beyond crying for the moment. Her ebony tresses fell around her like a wet curtain, hiding her face.
He didn't have to see her expression to know there would be none, her wide eyes, once dark blue, glazed by the shock, her mouth slightly agape. He had seen it numerous times on young women, never really understanding how humans could hurt their own kind this way.
Because this could be only the doing of human filth. No youkai, even evil at heart, could force a female to do... that... It was simply not in their nature.
Not that they could not be savage beasts when coupling, but its purpose was breeding. Sometimes alliances could be sealed with a mating, but eventually the female would simply accept the male as the strongest or the more powerful, thus entrusting him with the raising of offspring.
Females were somewhat sacred, while males fought to prove who was the strongest amongst them.
He approached her, circling her cautiously, feeling her tense visibly as she sensed his presence. Driven by pure instinct, her powers rose around her. They were tainted by a strange purple hue reminding him of illness. The scents around her were overwhelming and he frowned in disgust.
He could have left her there to die, but he didn't.
Instead, he took one more step near her and reached with his tail. A soft whine escaped her form as the furry appendage touched her, sparks of energy burning it in some places. He enveloped her waist slowly, never stopping even as his fur began to smoke, and he dipped her in the cold river.
She shrieked but didn't move. She was like paralysed, her body overwhelmed by pure pain and horror.
He came closer and began to pour water on her, never really touching her with his hands. Her limbs moved then, scrubbing frantically her damaged skin until it nearly bled, her once shining navy orbs still reflecting the deep void she was experiencing in her very soul.
Before she actually pealed off her own skin, he took her out of the fresh stream, his tail still steadying her. He shrugged off his haori and put it on her shoulders. Mechanically, she filled the sleeves with her arms, tied it, and then stood still, clasping her small hands in the silky fur. Her gaze was far away, but he could sense she felt a bit better.
He tugged at her with his tail still about her waist and she walked, reminding him of a moving corpse. Going back to the cave, he mulled over the last events and what was going to be his line of action from now on.
He was honour bound to protect her, he knew as much. She had done it so selflessly when he had been injured that he could not just leave her in this state.
Could he bring her back to his half breed brother? Where had he been anyway, letting him and the miko alone?
He groaned inwardly at the thought. Inuyasha was never there when she needed him anyway, even when he knew she had a knack of getting through the worst situations. Life with her was never simple, but she had always faced it with a smile and a pinch of salt.
He couldn't blame Inuyasha, could he? After all, this happened while she was under his own watch, not that he could watch anything in the state he was but well... He was who he was, and pride came at a price.
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