Healing You In More Ways Than One by Shinjitsu No Utao

Just Confused

Healing You In More Ways Than One

by: Shinjitsu No Utao

***

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own anything related to Inuyasha that may appear in this story. Everything Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I'm just borrowing it for my twisted fantasies. ^_^V

***

This is a fictional tale. The events that will take place here were purely invented, and any similarities from this story to the real world are purely coincidental. Shinjitsu No Utao Productions will not be held responsible for any psychological damage you may and probably will sustain after reading this story. No characters were harmed in the making of this piece of fiction. Much.

Thank you. Enjoy.

***

Chapter One: Just Confused

A light breeze played with Rin's hair as she rode Aun. She breathed in deeply, giggling. Jaken rolled his eyes at her, muttering something about stupid human pleasures. Sesshoumaru remained impassive. He flew on, searching his territory for any intruders. He was already halfway through his grounds, and he had yet caught even the most stupid human trespassing. He was having a bad day. He had hoped that he would kill something to unleash his frustration. Of course, when one looked at him, you might think that he was at a minor inconvenience when killing. Like how he had looked when he finally killed that wretched halfling, Inuyasha.

However, he was unable to get a hold of the Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha's wench had made sure of that. What was her name?... Keh. It doesn't matter. Not long after his defeat, Inuyasha had been pulled into hell by his first bitch, Kikyou. In the underworld, the undead miko had reassembled Inuyasha, making him just as dead as she was. As a result, they both walk the earth, mounds of dirt, mud, and sticks, gathering the shards of the jewel. He imagined that his brother's second wench was still gathering the shards on her own.

Unbeknownst to the girl, Sesshoumaru had been eavesdropping the day when she sent off the houshi, the taijai, and the kitsune. She had said that she didn't want 'any harm to come of them'. The only reason why Sesshoumaru hadn't killed all of them right then was because Rin was beside him. He didn't want her to see another killing.

Sesshoumaru had felt ashamed that he had killed a person in front of the impressionable seven-year-old. Yes, ashamed. He had to admit, he had grown a soft spot for the human girl. Rin had accepted that her foster father had hated Inuyasha, and that he wanted to kill the hanyou. She had been ordered to stay at the castle for the battle, but she had tortured Jaken until he took her on Aun to shut her up. Jaken had only planned to pretend to look for Sesshoumaru, but he had stumbled upon the fight, allowing Rin to witness the bloody murder. Rin had been punished, but Jaken had almost been killed for being swayed by a human girl's words. It didn't seem that Rin had been affected by the killing as Sesshoumaru had thought she would, seeing that she was the same as always. She was incapable of hiding her emotions since she was a child, so Sesshoumaru was certain that she hadn't been scarred.

So now, Sesshoumaru was patrolling his lands, intent on finding anything to take out his anger on. Although he never failed at anything, he had failed to rid the world of his little brother. And most important of all, he had failed to take the Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha. He was furious, although his face betraying nothing. His sharp eyes and ears scanned the ground. He caught a glint of light near a tree. The light piqued his interest mildly, and he decided to investigate. He glided down to the ground and stared at the base of the tree. It was Inuyasha's second wench. What was she doing here? He thought. Sesshoumaru let a rare, almost smile play at his lips. He was having a good day, after all.

The wench was asleep. The taija's youkai pet was nestled on the girl's chest, seeking warmth. Unfitting for a pure-bread youkai, Sesshoumaru thought. The glint of light was half of that blasted jewel trinket, which was on a chain around the girl's neck. Tetsusaiga was leaning against the tree, unguarded. He had no desire whatsoever of the Shikon no Tama, for he had no use for it. However, he could kill the wench that had eluded him so many times before, and, as an added bonus, he could have the sword he so desperately desired. Things were looking up for him.

"It is the bitch of the half-breed!" Jaken exclaimed.

The cat stirred, and lifted a lazy eye-lid. When he saw Sesshoumaru, he bounced off of the girl, hissing. He raised his hackles, his red eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. Sesshoumaru paid him no mind.

"I know, Jaken. You don't have to shout." Sesshoumaru said tonelessly.

"F-forgive me, m'lord. But you see--"

"Don't speak, you worthless toad."

Jaken eeped and then closed his mouth bowing his head. Meanwhile, Rin had climbed off of Aun and raced towards the girl on the ground.

"Kagome!" Rin squealed in delight.

Ah, that was the girl's name. Now I remember, Sesshoumaru thought. Not that it matters, seeing that I will kill her in a couple of minutes. Then he remembered that Rin was present. Even if killing Inuyasha hadn't scarred her, killing the wench surely will. She had acted as a sort of sister towards Rin when Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had fought in previous battles, so they were pretty close. Damn it... Sesshoumaru thought in frustration. He could think of about a million other ways that he could acquire the Tetsusaiga, none of them appealing whatsoever.

He noticed that the ningen was stirring. She opened her eyes and saw Rin.

"Rin-chan? Wha...?" the girl muttered sleepy confusion.

"Rin is here with Sesshoumaru-sama! And Jaken-sama, too!"

The wench's eyes widened and she scrambled up, grabbing the Tetsusaiga. The youkai transformed into his full form, letting out a howl.

"Sesshoumaru! What are you doing here?!" she spat. Sesshoumaru raised a delicate silver brow.

"Why I am here? The question is, why are you here, bitch?" he replied passively. Her eyes widened at the term, her mouth opening slightly. Sesshoumaru took pleasure at the fact that she had reacted so. "After all, these are my lands that you have so unwittingly trespassed on."

****

Kagome was wandering. Just wandering. For once, she wasn't on guard looking for the shards. Of course, she knew that she had to find them before that bastard Inuyasha and that bitch Kikyou can get to them, but Kagome was in no hurry. By being dead for so long, and her aura being corrupted by evil, for Kikyou it was hard to sense the shards of the jewel. Kagome had found all of the shards, and she had exactly half of the Shikon no Tama. She had recovered some from Naraku, but hadn't been able to acquire all of them. But he still had the upper hand, what with him having Kohaku, Kanna, and Kagura as his servants, and him being a half demon. Inuyasha and Kikyo had the rest of the jewel. If Kikyou had had an evil soul from the start, she and Kagome might be fighting now. However, since she was a preistess before she died, and her soul went to seed so easily, she was not able to sense the Shikon as well as Kagome. This was punishment from the spirit of Midoriko. A holy priestess is never supposed to turn to evil. Ever.

Another thing, if Kikyou had had good intentions for the jewel, she might be fighting Kagome for her half. Nay, since she had nothing but selfish, evil, and vile plans for her own being, the Shikon would never respond to her as much as it did to Kagome. Kagome knew exactly where Kikyou's small part of the jewel was in the Sengoku Jidai. It had been Kagome's job in the first place to sense tainted jewel shards. Kagome sneezed violently and groaned. She hoped that she wasn't getting sick...

Kagome absentmindedly reached up with a hand and lightly touched the jewel around her neck, which glowed faintly with a pink light. She removed her hand and touched the blue beads that resided on either side of the jewel on the chain. The beads came from the chain that had secured Miroku's kazzana. He had given a few of them so that she could remember him. Kagome had replied with, "How could I ever not forget you?". Kagome smiled slightly. She lightly stroked Kirara's fur, making the cat youkai purr in his sleep. Sango had let Kagome borrow him.

"I can't accept Kirara! He's been your companion for forever!" Kagome had exclaimed.

"Yes, you can. I won't see you for a long time, so, Kirara is to make sure that you will come back so you can return him to me. I'm not the type of girl who'll give you a sort of friendship bracelet, as people in your time do, but I think that this is a more fitting present." Sango had replied. "He might prove useful. Just make sure that you return him. I know that I will see you again."

Kagome had almost cried right then and there. She had been sad that her best friends in the world couldn't come with her, but she didn't want them to get hurt by Inuyasha, Kikyou, or Naraku. She was determined to not cry. However, Shippo was the straw who broke the camel's back, as they say. Being the kitsune youkai that he was, and a boy, he had tried not to cry. He failed miserably.

"I don't want you to go, Kagome-mama!" he had cried.

Kagome hugged Shippo tightly to her.

"You'll see me again, Shippo-chan. I promise."

She let the tears fall.

Kaede had given her a beautiful silver ring. It was cast with the spell that if Kagome should ever need any of them, all she had to do was touch the ring, whisper the person's name, and they would appear right then and there.

"A word of caution to ye, Kagome-chan. If ye use the ring too much, it will start to drain ye of power." she had said. "If ye shall use it too much, and you should come across my elder sister, I fear ye may not have the strength to fight her. Use it wisely, for it is my gift to you."

After that Kagome had set off, the Shikon no Tama around her neck, Tetsusaiga tied to her waist, Kirara on her shoulder. That had been three days ago. Kagome sighed, and spotted a nearby tree. She was grateful, for she had awakened that morning at sunrise and had been walking ever since. And it was nearly three. She leaned against the tree and unstrapped Tetsusaiga, propping it up. Kirara stirred and jumped out of her arms. Kagome sagged down along the bark of the tree, and Kirara jumped into her lap again. Kagome coughed vehemently. She sighed again. She was getting sick. I can't get sick at a time like this! Kagome thought.

She had been getting symptoms since last night, and she was fearing that it was worsening. Should Inuyasha and Kikyou find her unable to fight, they would surely take advantage of it. Her eyes drifted closed, and she instantly nodded off into bliss. Her sleep seemed short, however, when she heard an extremely annoying voice shout something, but Kagome couldn't place it. She felt Kirara's weight leave her and heard him hissing. Her eyes refused to open, so she assumed that the voice had been a passing traveler, and that Kirara had warned him away. She heard another voice, this one more controlled, almost stoic. Kagome could’ve sworn that she had heard that voice so many times before. However, she was groggy from sleep, and couldn't place it. She then heard an excited little girl's voice,

"Kagome!"

Kagome finally opened her eyes sleepily, and saw Rin.

"Rin-chan?" she said, "Wha...?" Usually Rin was out and about with only two people...

"Rin is here with Sesshoumaru-sama! And Jaken-sama, too!"

Kagome snapped fully awake, and her eyes widened. She stood up clumsily, grabbing the Tetsusaiga. Now she understood Kirara's hiss of warning. The cat in question transformed fully, letting out a roar.

"Sesshoumaru! What are you doing here?!" Kagome spat. Sesshoumaru raised a brow gracefully.

"Why am I here? The question is, why are you here, bitch?" he replied passively.

Kagome's aura flared up in anger, her mouth open. How dare he! Kagome thought.

"After all," the youkai lord went on, "These are my lands that you have so unwittingly trespassed on."

Kagome mentally slapped herself in the head. These were Sesshoumaru's lands! How could she have been so stupid? She had accidentally walked into Sesshoumaru's territory! Baka, baka, baka, baka! Kagome berated herself.

"I had no idea that this was your... territory, Sesshoumaru. I can assure you that it was an accident," Kagome said. Her voice betrayed none of her fear. "I will leave now. Kirara, let's go."

"How dare you speak to Sesshoumaru-sama like that?!" Jaken yelled in indignation. "You will speak to Sesshoumaru-sama with respect!"

"How can I?" Kagome retorted. "When he doesn't even say my own name?"

The next moment was a blur for her. The last thing she knew was that she was turning away, Kirara backing away, when she was forcefully pinned against a tree. Kirara growled and pounced forward, but Sesshoumaru flung him against another tree. Kirara howled, but got back up determinedly. He hissed, but kept his distance, eyeing the youkai lord warily. Kagome could feel the bark pressing in her back painfully, could feel Sesshoumaru's claws digging into her throat and numbing her nerves, preventing her to move. He spoke in a dangerously cold voice,

"You will address me with respect, bitch. Never cross me. I'd rip out your throat with my bare hands, but, unfortunately, there is a child present."

Kagome was breathing heavily, losing breath fast. Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on her throat, making her gasp.

"I can kill you with a flick of my wrist right now, and make you seem unconscious to Rin. Don't tempt me."

He suddenly let go of her, and Kagome slid against the bark. She gasped, clutching her throat, and felt a sticky substance. Blood. She coughed as she raised her defiant eyes to Sesshoumaru, who turned away from her.

"Rin. Jaken. Come." he said. He started to walk away from her.

"B-but m'lord! You can get the Tetsu-"

"Do you question my actions? I said come, you incompetent idiot."

Jaken squeaked and ran forward, tripping. Rin waved sadly at Kagome and whispered,

"Rin hopes that Sesshoumaru-sama didn't hurt you. Rin hopes that Rin will see you again, nee-chan!" Through the pain, Kagome smiled.

"And I you, Rin-chan."

Rin giggled and climbed on Aun with Jaken. Aun rose up in the air. Sesshoumaru was already ahead of them. Kagome stared. Why hadn't he killed her? Because Rin was there? Why would he care about Rin? Kagome was severely puzzled, and she felt something softly nudge her. She turned and looked up at Kirara, who was still in full form. He then reverted back to his kitten self and mewed. His eyes were full of concern, and he mewed again.

"I'm okay, Kirara. Just confused."

****

A/N: Yo! So, how was that? How did you like it? Did you like it at all? Do you have any suggestions? The plot might be a tad bit old, but I might tweak the story. I will probably update every week or so, so be patient with me! If you hated the story, please, don't send a flame that says, "I hate this story! This story sucked! This plot is too old! You give authors a bad name!", blah, blah, blah. In fact, don't send a review at all. If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all. However, if you did like it, please, review! It would really make me happy! And, for each chapter, I will dedicate it to someone! You just have to review! Let your words be known! I think that covers everything.... Yes, I think it does.

Ja ne!

Quote of the Day:

"Inuyasha! SIT!"

-Kagome Higurashi, from every episode, Created by Rumiko Takahashi.

-Shinjitsu No Utao

****