Chapter 1: Escape
Kagome felt a breeze go across her back as she lie on the floor and heard the door to her cell snap open. She could not move her head but she could hear the sounds of pain from the little girl who shared the cell with her. She wanted nothing more than for this torture to end but knew it could be a very long time before anyone she knew could be able to get them. Kagome could barely hear the sounds of the person entering the cell. She wanted to sit up but her aching and broken body would not move at her brains command; she had spent too much energy earlier that day fighting back. She heard a hiss as the boots walked past her and towards the girl. A low growl escaped from the person and Kagome knew it was not her captor who had entered the room but someone else.
Kagome forced her head to turn and face the person who had entered their cell and had ignored her knowing that a barrier had been erected by the priestess inside of the chambers. Kagome saw the one form she knew would come for the girl; she did not expect the lord to save her but knew the girl would get out here safe at least. Everything about this Sesshomaru was right even the scent which Kagome knew because of her accidental run in with him one evening. The ways his swords looked and were placed were the way they should be. Naraku had tried many a time to get Kagome to lower the barrier by using Sesshomaru’s likeness to try and get her to lower the barrier. But each time he had forgotten some little detail that she had picked up on. Most of the time it was the aura of the thing coming in that gave it away very rarely could he have it right.
Kagome lowered the barrier before laying her head back down and closing her eyes. She heard Rin gaps as the barrier lowered but soon heard the girl cheer happily at the sight of the person who has been her savior time and time again. The little girl stood up and moved as fast as her malnutrition body could. Rin wrapped her arms around him and buried her dirty face in his pants before crying happily. Kagome heard Rin try to speak but knew that her time here had made the girl mute once more. Rin motioned to Kagome trying to have the girl speak for her.
Kagome sighed before opening her mouth and saying in a raspy voice, “Rin is happy to see Sesshomaru-sama. Rin knew he would come and save her even though the big mean man tried to copy Sesshomaru-sama and make Rin believe that you only took me in to later hurt me.”
….
Sesshomaru turned towards the girl who was speaking for Rin and took a moment in order to recognize her. The scent was in familiar and the girl looked nothing like she once had. Her once lean body was nothing but skin and bones. Her once shining and glorious, although he would never admit that, was dull and matted. Her skin was darkened with dirt, dried blood, and things he would rather not think of at the moment. He may have hated the girl but he did not want to see anyone in the shape not even his brother. It was dishonorable to treat even the most hated criminals in such a way. By the look of the things the girl had been here even longer than Rin had and it had taken him nearly three months to find his precious ward.
Sesshomaru picked Rin up and rubbed his head against hers in a way of comfort very familiar to the inu. He could feel her bones poking him through her dirty kimono. He was appreciative of her at least having that in like the miko who still lie on the ground. He was also appreciative of the miko having protected what was his for him and for that he would take her out of here but she would owe him for the rest of her life.
As he started to lean down to grab the miko, she opened her mouth and said in a scratchy voice, “Get her out of here, Sesshomaru-sama. He will be back soon and there will be hell to pay for her escape. I will keep him off of your tracks for as long as I can. Go now.”
Sesshomaru glared down at the girl and let out a low growl that caused her to flinch. He looked at her curiously and picked her up slowly careful not to cause her any pain for he did not wish to hear her whine or cry out in pain. Like he had thought the girl was even bonier than Rin and she had cuts, bruises, and abrasions all over her body. She seemed different but he could not tell in the almost non-existent light of the room. He sat Rin on his shoulder and held the miko bridle style in his arms. He could feel the miko shake from what he thought was pain but for her was fear and uncertainty. From the feel of her the miko would not have lasted more than two more weeks in these conditions.
Sesshomaru moved quickly through the place the Naraku had called home for the past few months. All around there was the dead bodies of those that had dared to try and stop him from getting to his ward. When he stepped out into the sunlight both of the girls hissed in pain from the abrupt reintroduction to light. Sesshomaru continued for many more miles before stopping at the place he had set up camp for when he found Rin. The two headed dragon, Ah-Un, lie by the unlit fire. He set both girls down on the blanket and examined them for bodily harm.
‘Much must have happened to the miko for her not to cover herself from this one’s sight,’ thought Sesshomaru.
‘Even better for us, beneath all of those bruises and such she is pretty. Although she must gain some weight,’ his beast commented.
‘Enough beast we will need to deal with her soon,’ Sesshomaru told his beast.
‘I expect for her to stay and teach Rin,’ his beast demanded with a slight growl.
Sesshomaru ignored his beast as he walked over to the saddle bags beside Ah-Un and threw a set of bandages and healing aid to the miko as well as a gold kimono which he had bought for Rin but was going to have adjusted before she had been taken away. It caught his attention when she snapped them out of the air like she was a demon. He knew humans and that they were incapable of such feats. His curiosity was sparked by the miko. He looked more closely at the girl and noticed that some of the wounds he had felt on her earlier were not as bad as they were before. Either she was using her miko powers to heal her or something that the spider had done to her had changed her. The woman and the girl helped each other wrap their wounds in a silent way that both seemed very familiar.
He watched as Rin made motions to the miko and the miko replied with more motions. It seemed both of them had developed a method of silent communication. He watched them for a while before both his and his beast curiosity caught up. He walked forward catching the attention of both of the girls. Normally both of them were oblivious to anything around them when they were talking but apparently during their imprisonment they had changed. Sesshomaru caught that the miko’s eyes had changed. The once radiant blue orbs were now a black that almost melded with the black of her irises. This intrigued the Cardinal Lord as he stopped in front of them.
“Tell this Sesshomaru what these motions are,” he demanded in a calm tone which bellied his curiosity.
Rin made motions with her hands before realizing he could not comprehend the motions that she was making with her hands. A frown crossed her face before she faced the miko and tapped her on the arm and motioned something to her. The miko nodded in agreement before turning to face the inu lord.
“Lord Sesshomaru, it is called sign language. What I assume was three weeks after the start of my imprisonment by Naraku, Rin was brought into the same cell as me. Her neck had a slight laceration on and I soon came to realize the Naraku had cut her vocal cords in order to force her not to speak. I slowly over time started to teach her to be able to sign with her hands. I was able to heal the cut on her throat but sadly could do nothing about the vocal cords,” Kagome informed him.
“Miko how is it that you learned such a thing,” he demanded in glaring at her.
“I had a friend back in my village that was unable to speak from birth and had learned a method to speak with his hands. He taught me as a kid and I learned quickly. Rin has learned enough in order to survive but things will be a little hard for her around people who do not know it,” she replied bowing her head.
Sesshomaru continued asking her about the language and she showed him quite a few of the signs used in daily life of a Fuedal era person. Rin soon fell asleep feeling safe and comfortable around the two people who had saved her time and time again. Before falling asleep, Rin signed something that made Kagome gasp.
“What was that,” Sesshomaru asked staring at the girl who cuddled to the miko.
“She signed dad and mom,” Kagome replied looking up at him.
They sat there in comfortable silence for a while as Rin’s breaths evened out and Kagome laid her down. Sesshomaru stood up and motioned for the miko to follow him. Kagome stood up and followed him as the dragon moved over and took her place by Rin. They walked in silence for a few minutes and soon came to a stop.
Kagome broke the silence by asking, “What happened?”
“This Sesshomaru was hunting for Rin’s dinner when he attacked this one’s camp and took Rin. He killed Jaken and badly injured Ah-Un. What of you miko,” he replied turning to look at her while leaning against a tree.
“We were sleeping when I detected his presence but by that time it was too late. He somehow had convinced a dark miko to cover his and his minor demons auras. We were caught by surprise and fought as best we could but nothing could be done. We took out half of his minor demons before he called out Hakudoshi, Kagura, and Kanna. Kanna and Hakudoshi fought Inuyasha. He was caught unaware by one of Naraku’s tentacles,” she paused for a moment to catch her breath.
Sesshomaru could tell that the miko was sad but he was only interested in what happened and not how she felt about it. The miko calmed herself and made her face an emotionless mask like it had been since he had picked her up.
“He was stabbed through the heart. The subjugation beads around his neck fell off and I knew for sure he was dead. As I was running towards him, Naraku grabbed me from behind. He had hid himself behind a wall of the minor demons and was waiting for the perfect moment to come out and grab me. I was weak from the fighting we had done earlier that day and the sudden wakeup call so I could not fight him. The last I saw of Shippo and my two friends they were fighting the stragglers of the demons following Naraku. Kirara could not keep up with Naraku and the others. I fear that they are dead but I can only hope they are alive,” she whispered the last part as she stared at the sky above her as she continued talking about her worries.
Sesshomaru could smell her tiredness, anger, and weariness. He wondered how one could feel so many emotions at the same time without going crazy which humans were known to do quite often. He stood there and let her rant about how she feared for her friends. He was a silent listener but paid attention to every word for later reference. Soon she stopped talking and stared at him for a little bit.
“I am sorry Lord Sesshomaru for ranting on you like that,” she said bowing at the waist sorrowfully.
“This one is used to the ranting of humans,” he replied as he sat on the ground against a tree in his usual fashion.