Bound by Corruption by BelovedStranger

Hope Springs Eternal

NOW EDITED!

UNEDITED VERSION! 

Prompt: 'Hope springs eternal.'

Kikyo’s blast came right for him. Sesshomaru stood stoic still, waiting. At the last possible second, he stepped to the side in a move too fast for human eyes to see. Though her spiritual attack missed him by inches, he still felt the burn of her reiki. The pain was minor, but he knew a low-level demon would have been purified on the spot by such proximity to such power. Kikyo was strong, perhaps one of the most powerful priestesses who’d dared challenge him. Still, he was far from concerned with his safety, for he knew that he was stronger, faster.

Their eyes locked. Instead of being angry that her attack had missed, he saw determination in her gaze.

“Impressive,” he commented, though his tone couldn’t have been more bored if he’d tried. “However, you missed.”

His taunt had the desired reaction. Anger. The glare she shot him caused him to chuckle lightly in amusement, which only seemed to piss her off more.

“You will not be laughing when I purify your dark soul,” she shouted at him.

Instead of wasting her strength, Kikyo grabbed her bow from her shoulder and notched an arrow in record time, her skill obvious even to his eyes. Without seeming to aim, she fired her charged projection right for his heart. The arrow came at him fast, but he was quicker still. Again, he dodged, letting it fly past just inches from him. His actions were meant as another sort of taunt, proclaiming without words that she was too slow—weaker than he.

It seemed to work. The already emotional miko fired another arrow.

This time, he effortlessly caught it between his middle and forefinger. With a flash of green light, his acid gas easily overpowered her pure light, dissolving the arrow into nothing. While she displayed great power, he used barely a hint of his own, easily showing her that she was no match for one such as he.

He lifted one silver brow tauntingly and watched her anger morph once again into determination. Arrow after arrow sailed past him, this time lower, much lower, as if she thought to take out his legs and make him weak and powerless to dodge her attacks. She missed every time. Sesshomaru didn’t even break a sweat, barely moved from side to side to escape her projections. With the last one he didn’t even have to dodge, for it landed short of its mark, embedding into the ground at his feet. Finally, she lowered her long bow. In defeat? In awe of his awesome powers?

“Tired already? Perhaps you should admit defeat—”

The end of her bow smacking into the dirt interrupted his taunting, and an electrical surge of power snaked towards him. He tensed, ready to jump into the air when he noticed her free hand was held before her. With just one word of command, he sensed power around him. His eyes widened in understanding—too late. She’d missed him on purpose! He didn’t have to look around him to know that his conceit had lead him into a trap. The arrows formed a circle around him, erecting a barrier to keep him in place, unable to dodge the attack she sent towards him.

Drawing his sword just as the blast from her bow struck him, he caught the electric currents against his demonic blade. However, it wasn’t enough to save him from her attack. As the blast hit her barrier, the arrows flared around him. The very ground he stood upon ignited like a bomb. With a vicious snarl of anger and pain, the sphere that held him captive was filled with spiritual light, and it tried to consume him.

His nerves flared, his flesh began to burn as her reiki sought to purify his whole being at once. Fury filled him at her audacity, and Sesshomaru flared his demonic aura. He held nothing back, unleashing his energy around him. An even louder bang echoed around the clearing they stood in. Kikyo’s powers were no match for a demon of his caliber, and the magic surrounding him shattered. Shock waves went outwards, hitting everything in its path.

Kikyo was hit squarely in the chest and flung backwards. Leaves in the trees and bushes rustled and were dislodged, falling to the ground around the fallen priestess.

Sesshomaru was on her in a heartbeat. Sword ignored in his right hand, he snagged the dazed woman by her throat and picked her up roughly, uncaring that he choked her as he pushed her back painfully against a tree. He held her up at his eye level, knew his gaze was seeped in crimson, on the verge of changing into his demonic form—a great, white dog much bigger than the one he’d changed into in Kagome’s company so long ago.

Fangs lengthened, he snarled in Kikyo’s face. And for an instant, fear widened her eyes. He squeezed, cutting off air to her lungs and watched her squirm. Tiny hands held the wrist that strangled her. Reiki erupted, burning him, pink lightning flaring around her hands and up his arm. Soon, his whole body was wracked with holy energy, but that only pissed him off more. Second degree burns covered his body in patches, but with a flare of his aura, Sesshomaru fought against it.

Kikyo was strong, he’d give her that, but she didn’t even compare to his strength.

“You think you can purify me so easily?” he seethed, tightening his hold on her neck.

Pink and green energy clashed. Sparks flared. At first, the light held its own against the darkness, but like a candle, the shadows snuffed out the flame. With only his energy around them, Sesshomaru allowed the onna to breathe, but he did not release his hold on her neck even as she coughed roughly, relearning how to breathe.

“I should kill you for your impudence,” he gritted out.

Kikyo didn’t answer him. Her jaw was clenched tightly as her body convulsed. Sesshomaru was giving her a taste of what she’d unleashed upon him in her circle of arrows. Now it was her nerves that screamed in agony, not his.

“How does it feel to be helpless, to feel your very flesh writhing in torment? How many demons have you purified? How many times did you watch without care that your powers burned them into oblivion?”

Kikyo glared hatefully at him, but said not a word. She refused even to scream her pain, though he gave her vocal cords back to her when he ceased crushing her neck in his hand.

“Do you really think you’re without fault?” he demanded loudly, his voice more animalistic than man. “Do you think your powers make you better than everyone else? Answer me, priestess.”

She did not, but then, she didn’t have to. He could see the answer in her eyes, her self-righteousness.

“Sesshomaru! Please don’t do this!”

Kagome’s shout surprised him. He’d been so focused on the woman in his grasp and his own anger to sense Kagome’s approach. All at once, his youki subsided, and Kikyo stopped her twitching only to collapse in his hold, her body lifeless though she yet breathed. She was still conscious, too.

He released her all at once, letting her drop in a heap on the ground, before stepping back. He watched dispassionately as his lover ran to her sister and dropped down to hold Kikyo to her breast. She wasn’t looking at him, her whole focus on the woman who had sought his destruction. He turned away from the sight and began walking away. His mind was a whirlwind of chaos. At first, he thought he’d screwed up again. He’d harmed Kagome’s sister. Surely she would finally turn away from him, to never wish to see him again. Then anger set in. How dare she condemn him for protecting himself? He was not at fault for this altercation!

Put up with it all, Sesshomaru finally had enough with her.

“Sesshomaru, wait! Where are you going?”

Unwillingly, his steps stopped and he turned to glance at her over his shoulder.

“I’m done,” he answered without inflection, hiding his feelings deep inside, the pain, the anger—everything.

“W-what do you mean..?”

“Kago— Miko…” He could not say her name. Not now. Perhaps not ever.

Her eyes widened as if she read more than he gave. She moved as if to run after him, but Kikyo restrained her with a hand on her arm.

“Don’t go to him, Kagome. He’s a beast. See what he has done to me, your own flesh and blood?” Kikyo’s voice was a hoarse whisper from being strangled, but it was filled with steel. Hate flashed in the gaze she shot Sesshomaru, and he stiffened. Not because he cared what this particular miko thought of him, but at the knowledge that Kagome was forever lost to him, because he had had enough.

Before he could continue on his way, Kagome’s response to her sister’s words kept him rooted in place.

Kagome glared at her sister. “And what of the damage you’ve done to him?”

“Kagome…” Kikyo said in surprise, eyes wide that her sister would not defend her.

“Do you think I’m stupid? I know you lied to me back at camp. You wanted to get Sesshomaru alone and kill him despite me telling you how we felt about each other! You even tried to have Inuyasha keep me out of the way.”   

“No… You don’t understand. Sesshomaru… He’s a monster—”

“—That’s enough!” Kagome shouted and jerked her arm free.

She stood and walked determinedly towards Sesshomaru, who had turned to watch her silently. She hooked her arm through his and gripped his bicep with the other. Kagome didn’t look up at him, too busy glaring at her sister. Kikyo stood slowly in obvious pain as she used the trunk behind her to remain on her feet.

“Kagome, what are you… You can’t really be choosing this demon over me!”

“There shouldn’t have to be a choice! I love both of you, don’t you see that, Kikyo?”

Kikyo sneered. “He has you enthralled. You don’t understand—”

“No, you don’t understand!” Kagome interrupted loudly. “How could you do this? How could you betray me?”

Kikyo stiffened. “I have never betrayed you, Kagome. Not once. Not ever.”

“What is lying if not betrayal? You think I don’t know who and what Sesshomaru is? I know him better than you and Inuyasha combined! He’s lied to me, hurt me so many times, but we’ve finally come to an understanding.”

“Kagome—”

“I’m not finished!” Kagome screamed, sick and tired of being interrupted, of being ignored. “You don’t know what we’ve been through. You don’t know anything, and instead of talking to me and trying to understand, you go behind my back and try to kill the man I love. For all the turmoil Sesshomaru has put me through, what you’ve done hurts so much more.”

Sesshomaru remained quiet under the sisters’ ‘conversation’. With the mood Kagome was in, he did not want her ire aimed in his direction, not when she was defending him, apparently choosing him over the last of her family. It surprised him that she would, gave him hope, and the tightness in his chest over the thought of never seeing her again eased.

Lacing his fingers with hers, he bent his arm and held her arm against him, silently conveying his gratitude. In answer to his gentle gesture, Kagome looked up at him and smiled at him for the first time since interrupting his fight with Kikyo. He couldn’t help but offer her a small smile in return. He was a love besotted fool. It should sicken him, especially with another witnessing their affection, but it did not. Right now, all that mattered to him was that Kagome was here, beside him.

“Kagome, please,” Kikyo implored, taking a small step forward. “He’s lying to you. An Inugami can’t love. Not him.”

Kagome turned a hard stare on her sister. Seeing the pain on Kikyo’s face made her heart clench, but what really caused her pain was the fact that Kikyo would not listen to her. Perhaps she never would. Upon realizing this, devastation filled her heart.

More quietly, she answered. “Though human blood runs in his veins, Inuyasha is also an Inugami, and yet you love him.” Then she smiled a small, sad smile. “I think I now understand why you lied to us, why you left our village to be with him. Love makes you do crazy things. I don’t blame you anymore for abandoning us. I know you didn’t mean for the bandits to attack while you were gone. I can even forgive you for trying to kill Sesshomaru, but I can’t stay with you, not when you can’t trust me to make my own decisions. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

Kikyo stumbled forward, hand outstretched beseechingly. “Don’t leave. Please, don’t go with him.”

“When you can finally accept that we love each other, when you can finally see who we are and not what you think you see, I’ll be back. And we can be a family again.” Though her voice didn’t waver, tears fell from Kagome’s eyes. She looked up at Sesshomaru, who stared right back at her. “Can we leave now?”

“As you wish, aijin.”

Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her and clouds swelled under their feet, lifting them into the air. Kikyo ran towards them, stumbling, still weak from Sesshomaru’s attacks. “No, Kagome! Come back! I thought I lost you once. I can’t lose you again! How can you abandon your family like this?”

Kagome wrapped her arm decisively around Sesshomaru’s hips and rested her head on his chest as she stared at her sister.

“You have it backwards, Kikyo, for you have abandoned me.” Let’s go, Sesshomaru.

Hold onto me, Kagome.

Always.

With misunderstandings between them, Kagome couldn’t help but feel like her heart had been ripped out of her chest, but her resolve did not waver. She’d been down a long, hard road with Sesshomaru, and though neither of them were perfect, she could not imagine living her life without him. Kikyo had forced her hand, forced her to make a difficult decision, but she did not regret it. The only thing she regretted was that she had not been able to convince Kikyo that Sesshomaru was the only man for her, but perhaps in the future…

Looking into the late morning sun, seeing the beauty of the land beneath them, Kagome had hope. Though Kikyo couldn’t hear her, she murmured into the wind, “We will meet again.” 

“Goodbye doesn’t always mean forever, aijin,” Sesshomaru said in an attempt to console her.

She hugged him. “I’m counting on it.” 

THE END!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, this is the last chapter to Bound by Corruption. The ending is purposefully vague as I am thinking about making a sequel! If anyone is interested in a sequel, let me know. 

Sequel has been written! Follow this tale in:

'Soothed by Corruption'