The Guardian by MissLibra

Hero

Challenger: Priestess Skye

Prompt: Hero

The beasts shoulders gave a small shimmy as it settled itself into a dangerous predatory bow. It glanced behind her despite her ability to stay planted at the forefront of it's sight. She glared at it before picking up a large book from the desk next to her and throwing it. The book made contact with its arm with a hard thump,

"Don't look at them! Pick on someone you're own size!" She yelled, his fists clenched at her sides. The monster growled before snapping out its large hand and slamming it down on top of the girl. Her classmates all screamed in unison, the sound of her name being called in worry pierced the onslaught of fear. The pressure of its weight on her shoved the air out of her lungs and left her feeling like she had been hit by a car. She placed her hands on the one crushing her and tried to push it off her chest in order to allow more air into her. The thing dragged her towards it, it's claws leaving heavy gashes in the floor, her back rubbed hard against the unforgiving ground making her wince.

"Get off me!" She yelled. The familiar warmth flooded from the middle of her body and into her hands. With a howl the thing released her as its arm began to be purified from the wrist up. It screamed in pain before more ink pooled from the hallway outside and manifested the limb back, his talons just as deadly as before. Kagome gulped.

Well, crap.

She stood as it seemed to heave in its anger at her. It's gaze snapped away from her, making pieces of stucco rain from the ceiling as its head and horns rubbed against it. She found her teacher trying to lead her classmates to the door while the thing was distracted. She had a few seconds to think but she knew one thing: she had to get them time to escape. She jumped up on the window sill, taking a book bag with her before launching it at its head. On impact, it's attention turned to her with a threatening roar.

"Come on big guy! You want me come and get me!" She said and shoved that warmth inside her to the outside, pushing and snapping against its aura. With another roar it raced at her at top speed and for the split second of her body hitting glass, red eyes meeting hers and fangs open wide, she realized that her classroom was on the fourth floor.

Glass shattered and rained to the students who stood outside the school, most had evacuated at the sound of roars and whatever the ink magic was. Kagome felt her body pummel to the ground and she closed her eyes and waited for impact of either the ground or the beast above her. But it never came. She felt two arms around her, one around her back and the other under her knees. The monsters aura and presence was far away and all she could feel was a soothing aura, if not a bit angry. It was a aura that made hers seem to calm. She opened her eyes to find herself face to face with the pale beautiful demon who seemed to fall to the ground slow, controlled and graceful.

The others around the battle scene and from the fourth floor window watched in awe. A man had jumped into the fray of the Higurashi girl and the monster, shoving the thing from her and saving her from the fall. He looked like a fallen god or angel. To some who were closer, he looked like he was apart of the yakuza with his tattoos and outlandish hair color. He was dressed in a pair of black suit pants, a button up white shirt and a black blazer with what seemed to be boots made from various straps. A sword hung on his back. No one knew what to make of the man but then again, heros weren't questioned until after they saved the day.

"Sesshoumaru...how did you...why are you..."

"Foolish miko." He said as he placed her on her feet. "This Sesshoumaru has superior senses to humans." His golden gaze never once looked at her but instead watched the monster stand, the place where Sesshoumarus hand had seemed to go through its body began to bubble heal. Both predators sized each other up and at this point she knew that whoever or what ever had created that thing didn't expect the inuyoukai to show up. She looked around at the shocked watching faces. Some had fled but others were too enthralled and curious. It all seemed to come together in the mikos head at once.

"This is a test."

"Hnn."

The monster jumped into its pouncing position, roaring at the other youkai. Sesshoumaru coolly reached above his shoulder and pulled the blade at his back with a sleek ring of metal. At that moment, Sesshoumaru looked like the protagonists in samurai and yakuza movies. Everything about him emitted a confidence and power that most humans wish they had. She knew then that this was not the lord from the Feudal Era but the warrior who had instilled respect and fear in demons 500 years later.

The thing began to circle them, his body heaving in its breaths. It's tongue dripped ink that seemed to burn through the concrete in the beasts anger.

"So what's the plan?" She asked watching the thing.

"This Sesshoumaru thought that was obvious." His sword was brought up with a shift of his wrist and it was then she realized it wasn't the sword he had last time, it was the second one that he carried. It seemed to have a demonic aura all it's own. "Destroy it."

Before she could reply, the beast lunged. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and pulled the sword to the left, "Kenatsu." He spoke and with a powerful stroke of his arm, needles of of blue yoki fired from the slash, embedding itself into the ink made body directly. More students fled at such power. The beast roared in pain, its key smoked and seemed to start to disintegrate where the needles had hit it. Just as soon as she thought he had weakened it. More ink began to pour from the rooms of the school and fuse into the demons wounds.

With calculating eyes, the demon looked from the structure to the miko.

"Do you know what a barrier is?"

Kagome backed up as the beast heaved and screeched as its flesh tied itself together.

"I guess. I mean I've read about them and my grandfather thinks he can make them." She said standing slightly behind the daiyoukai. Sesshoumaru looked her with eyes that told her her that her answer wasn't good enough.

"Miko," he said, his timbre just the volume for only her to hear. "This Sesshoumaru will attack again. You must create a barrier around the demon to keep the ink from healing it."

It sounded perfect except she wasn't sure she could manifest anything let alone a barrier.

"Sesshoumaru...I've never done this before! I can't just--!"

"Do not fail." He spoke, his eyes looking into hers, "or it is the humans around you who will suffer."

She looked around her at the fearful faces that seemed to lose hope in their savior by the sight of the regenerative abilities of the monster. She knew she had to protect them but she wasn't a demon. She just found out about her powers a couple days ago! Did he really expect her to just do everything he commanded? Of course he did! He was a arrogant demon lord who demanded he got his way every time. She felt her heart beat fast. But something inside her didn't want to fail him. He was helping her and he didn't have to. She had to do this. She gave him a nod.

The beasts red eyes found them and with another roar the cracked the windows of the school, it charged at the inuyoukai. Kagome backed up and waited, praying to whatever god was watching to give her the strength she needed. Sesshoumaru took to the air with a graceful leap and brought his sword down in a beautiful arch. The needles of powerful yoki appeared again and embedded themselves into the beast.

"Miko."

She held her hands out, her eyes closed tight. "Come on come on come on."

"Miko!"

She opened her eyes and watched as ink began to leak from the windows and doors of the school. Her hands glowed pink and she felt the trickling of warmth feel her but it wasn't enough! She couldn't do it! She shut her eyes again thinking of all the pain and fear of her classmates paired with her failure. Her heart beat fast, her knees shook. The ink raced toward the injured creation. "Come on kami come on!"

"Kagome now!" The powerful voice boomed. A switch inside her seemed to flip and the warmth reacted to the sound of the inuyoukais voice. The sound of that soft direct voice being raised, her name being used, the stress of what was expected of her made her powers rise to the occasion and the moment Kagome envisioned a circular wall around the beast it appeared as a shimmering pink barrier.

The ink hit the barrier and was instantly purified on contact. The demon inside continued to scream and roar in pain as Sesshoumarus kenatsu began to denigrate its flesh and its body began to dissolve into nothingness. Once the demon was gone her barrier flickered out.

There was absolute silence. On lookers were shocked to silence while Kagome felt her knees go out. She let herself sit on the ground, watching the ink stained mark on the concrete where the beast used to be.

"We did it." She whispered.

She heard the inuyoukai slide his blade back into its sheath, holding it at his side. The wind picked up his hair softly as well as hers and the audience erupted with applause.

Word Count: 1750