Trails of Pain and Love

Chapter 9



Sesshomaru arrived in Tokyo by nightfall, and immediatly went to the hutt where Kagome was resting.



Miroku, Kaede, and Grandpa all looked up when the dog demon entered, and backed away from the miko.



His eyes scoured over her body, noting her pale skin, with sweat covering her from head to toe. Her head thrashed from side to side occasionally, and she seemed to be very weak and frail.



"What has happened in my absence?" inquired Sesshomaru, looking mainly to the monk for answers.



"Soon after you left, Kagome came awake and tried to feast on her younger brother's blood, after undergoing a transformation into a...vampire." began Miroku, closing his eyes as he recounted the unpleasent affair.



"Go on." prodded Sesshomaru, his eyes narrowing as he listened to the monk's story.



"Well, I put a seal on her, which only worked for a moment. I ended up having to put my most powerfulest seal on her, one which knocked her out. Later in the day, she muttered something about someone calling Amaru dying. Moments after that, she started convulsing, then throwing up blood which proceeded to dissipate. After that, her condition has been declining." finished Miroku with a sigh.



He worried that if her current rate was any indication, Kagome would not last the night. Unfortunatly, he didn't know how to go about saving her. With the well closed, it's impossible to transport her back into her future era, where the physicians would be more likely to be able to help her.



"I know what I need to do now. Back away you three, this will be dangerous." warned Sesshomaru, heading over to kneel beside Kagome's body. Heeding his warning, the monk, old priestess, and priest in training departed to the entrance of the hutt, ready to flee at a moment's notice.



Sesshomaru rolled back the sleeve on his left arm, and pushed it forward to where it was in front of Kagome's nose.



Then, using the claws on his right arm, he proceeded to cut himself near the vein in his wrist, allowing a trickle of blood to pour down his arm and into Kagome's mouth.



The miko came awake with a start, and greedily latched onto his arm with her fangs, aggravating the wound and causing more of his blood to flow into her mouth.



Sesshomaru's eyes flinched, just noticeably, as Kagome continued to suck his blood.



Finally, after drinking perhaps two pints of his dog demon blood, the miko stopped feeding and lay back down in the bed, her eyes remaining open.



"Sesshomaru...is that you?" she asked weakly, her head hurting too much for her to look at the being kneeling beside her.



"Yes, it is me..Kagome." he replied, withdrawing his arm and using a low dosage of his poision to close the wound near the wrist, including the four sets of puncture marks now gracing his skin.



"Amaru...that vampire..." she inquired gently. She thought she had felt his death, but she wasn't sure.



"He's gone. You'll never have to worry about him again." stated Sesshomaru firmly, cupping the back of her head with his right arm.



"Thank you..." breathed Kagome as she closed her eyes, falling asleep soon afterwards.



However, the peace was to be shortlived for the exhausted miko...



* * *



It was but an hour or so later in the night when the trouble began. Sesshomaru had left to tend to his duties as lord of the Central Lands, and old Kaede and Grandpa had retired for the night. Miroku had taken his leave as well, wanting to be with the recuperating Sango.



In their places at Kagome's side now rested Souta, and Shippou, who had returned to the village after visiting his father's gravesite.



Shippou was the first to notice trouble, coming awake when he began to scent Sesshomaru's demon scent coming in waves off of Kagome.



A mere moment later, Kagome's eyes fluttered open, followed by a soft gasp.



"Kagome, what's wrong? Are you ok?" asked the kitsune as he leaped up into her lap.



"Oh Shippou, I don't know, I feel....." she never finished the sentence, as her back arched into the air, sweat beginning to pour out of her body.



Shippou was thrown off of her by a blast of demonic energy that emanated from her body.



Souta looked up in fear as Kagome's eyes turned red.



As it turns out, in giving his blood to her, Sesshomaru perhaps unintentionally started a conflict within her body, as his demon blood fought for control of her body over her own human blood.



The battle was waging inside her body right now, and it appeared that the demon blood was winning.



Then Kagome's miko powers emerged from her body, the shining pink energy enveloping her and causing the demonic energy to recede. Her eyes returned to their normal color, and the convulsing stopped.



At that moment, Sesshomaru barged into the hutt, having been awakened from his slumber by the pulsing demonic aura coming from Kagome's body.



The dog demon stared at the pink and red light emanating from the miko's body, and his eyes turned to Shippou and Souta for an explanation.



"I'm not sure what happened, Lord Sesshomaru. One moment she was resting peacefully, the next her body seemed to be in conflict with it's self. It looked as if she was going to transform into a demon, then her powers stopped that from happening." explained Shippou, getting up and rubbing his head where he had banged it against the roof.



"I'm....ok now..." whispered Kagome, her eyes still closed. Sesshomaru placed his hand upon her forehead, feeling for a temperature. No longer scenting the demonic aura from her body, he was satisfied and turned to leave.



He paused at the exit, and turned to look at Kagome.



"Rest well miko. We shall see what has transpired in the morning." said Sesshomaru, before exiting the hutt and heading back to his castle....