To be a Normal Demon

“I will only be gone for a day, guys!” The miko stated to the men in her party like they would understand. She looked at Sesshomaru to help rally the guys back over to the clearing to the village. So far he was just as impassive as ever which caused her to cock her head at him for a moment. Nothing. She sighed a loud and shook the the hanyou and kit off her leg and blew kisses to her companions. “Plus, I have my guitar lessons today. That’s why I have to leave now. I need to practice.”

The kit’s face looked on the verge of tears, ready to shatter at the drop of a hat. Inuyasha looked no better, but his gruff expression didn’t give it away. “Well you stink at that geetare any ways. So why practice if your horrible?” The miko looked to be on her last leg as she regarded her friend.

“Inuyasha.. ” Came the ever calm voice before the feral storm. Said hanyou flattened his ears back and stepped away. Leaping into a tree to escape her wrath. “Sit Boy!”

CRASH!

“Kagome. Please bring your guitar with you when you come back,” stated the kit with interest and his own rage barely contained. “Prove Inuyasha wrong.” The kit looked determined at his best friend, his stances said it all. The miko nodded her head and looked at her mismatched party while she jogged to the well in the opposite direction, hoping to through Sesshomaru off of the well by going in a rather larger circle.

The hoshii approached his downed comrade and stated the obvious. “You know that’s all she has now. And yet you become selfish every time she goes home now. Let her be what she was, at least for a little longer. She left school to be with us none stop, and you...” The hoshii was red by the time he righted himself up and gazed ahead. Without looking behind him he whacked the hanyou on the head followed by grabbing the Sango’s hand and walking to the village.

“What the hell did I do know?” The half breed asked his brother through the mud and the muck. As the spells effects started to recede back into the beads the young demon walked over to the well, waited. Than he turned around and sat against the wall with a sigh.

“Little brother,” started Sesshomaru, “sometimes its best to hold your impudent tongue. No matter a circumstance.” Inuyasha looked up at his brother and nodded his head. “I will be by your tree, if you need this Sesshomaru.. ” Turning his body with all the grace he could muster for the small peace he was granted he walked to the tree.

He sat near the roots with his head against the rough bark and let his mind wander. What is a guitar? He didn’t understand, but he was going to assume that tonight's evening meal was to be rather entertaining to say the least.

Hours passed for the daiyoukai against the tree, than he heard a faint noise coming from inside the bark. What?!? It made no sense to his warrior mind as he listened to a small scared voice start to sing. He remember that dialect, though he never heard it in music, of the music, but he didn’t care. He needed to hear more though. It was far too quite, even for his sensitive ears. He held his breath and waited, not even realizing that his feet were taking him to singing on their own accord.

“It started off so well, They said we made a perfect pair. I clothed myself in your glory and your love, How I loved you.. How I cried... The years of care and loyalty, Were nothing but a sham it seems, The years belie we lived a lie, I love you till I die.”

It struck him in an awkward kind of way. He knew that voice, but never did he think that she could sing. Was that odd other noise her guitar? He walked back to where he left his brother and saw the dark black hair and the light silver hair against the brown dull wood wall. She was actually singing to him, though her expression was that of a sad person. Her body movements were sporadic with the way she held and moved with her guitar and hands with the music.

She was holding what looked like a sinitar, but shorter. It was white but the toggles on top were black. Then bellow the togs the, almost neck if you were, was a light colored wood. Such a strange coloring of wood to be, he thought as he stared at the small metallic hairs she was tending to. Made out of wood? Impossible. Her fingers were going all on their own as she looked straight ahead not looking at his half brother but more to the woods. The way she strummed and carried on it was so... How do you explain something you don’t understand. Seemed to him, that she was proving a point. With her determined strumming she looked at Inuyasha and stated as she sang her heart out.

“Save me Save me Sa-ave me, I can’t face this life alone, Save me Save me Sa-a-ave me... I’m naked and I’m far from ho-ome.” She looked so determined and strong as she sang those lines to him. Than when she started on the next she noticed Sesshomaru. His face was that of shock when he saw her tears as she sang on, almost as if it were for him she was singing for now. He was confused on that matter, maybe he was just looking into something that could never be- or something that he wished to be?

“The slate will soon be clean, I’ll erase the memories, To start again with somebody new, Was it all wasted, All that love?... I hang my head and I advertise, A soul for sale or rent, I have no heart I’m cold inside, I have no real intent.. ” He felt the cold sting of those words she sand and her serious, truth filled eyes bored into his than he felt his frozen heart beat in time with her strums and hums. Something, definitely something, was not right. She cleared her expression for him and looked back at Inuyasha as she strummed the chords on her guitar again.

The kit must have heard her singing or the guitar because he was at the clearing sitting and watching. The little fox cub rocked to and fro in time to Kagome singing and guitar skills. He looked up at the taiyoukai and patted the dried, packed earth next to him. Than waited.

Sesshomaru joined him on the ground and they waited as she started to sing once more with conviction in her eyes as she saw her ever growing audience.

“Save me Save me Sa-ave me. I can’t face this life alone. Save me Save me Sa-a-ave me... I’m naked and I’m far from home.” The guitar took over as she plucked the stings in time to her own beat. She chanced a glance at the hanyou next to her and lowered her song to a hairs breath. “Each night I cry I still believe the lie. I love you till I die.”

The hanyou looked at her and finally understood. He rose to his feet and left, not taking the chance to look at her shaking form at his ultimate rejection. His head held high, shoulders back and a finality to each step, he pressed on out of the clearing only to head back to the small village.

Slightly slumped shoulders only sagged out of sadness as she continued as he walked away. Tears streaming down her face to couple at her chin and plunge down to the guitar. Sesshomaru watch as the pool of tears on the guitar went to the front than in the hole. Who knows what happened to them past the journey of the eye, wondered the full demon as he noticed a small movement out the corner of his eye.

The kit approached her slowly and sat across from her with such solum eyes. He did the grown up thing and waited for her to finish love song; he did it for her love and the finality of understanding that she was always wanted. He sat cross legged, and watched her slender hands grasp the guitar with nearly white knuckles as she caressed the strings for clarity, as he rocked back and forth patiently waiting for the finish.

“Save me Save me Sa-ave me. Don’t let me face my life a-a-alone. Save me Save me oo-ooh... I’m naked and I’m far from hoo-oome.” She closed her eyes. Her love ballad done. Her feelings not returned. The feeling of being cold, and alone was too fresh to think about. She set down her guitar with a thump at her side and looked at Shippou for the first time since she came back. “Honey, do me a favor?” All that work to try and explain her feelings to the man, well half demon, she thought she loved. The embarrassment was too much. The fact that he didn’t care for her, only to.. to. She knew, she should have always known. Kagome Higurashi will be nothing more than a shard detecting, food making - human. Nothing more or less.

“What is it Kagome?” Shippou asked with a look of uncertainty.

“Catch me.”

Sesshomaru rose and grabbed her before she smoother the boy with her hair and weight. He looked at the cub than her and...

And started to wake. “Hey Se-ess.” Such a sing song voice, he thought at the little voice got more forceful with each ticking of the imaginary clock, “Sess! Wake up.” Followed by a not to gently punch in the arm. That got the youkai’s attention as his groggy mess of a brain started to turn on and the cogs meshed to action once more.

His head was heavy as he looked around. Everything looked slanted as he realized he was laying down on the ground. He shook his head and tried to rise. “No, Sess. Stay down. You ran too much remember?” Joker was talking to him and raising his eye brows for emphasis. Along with pushing him down to the sleeping bag, he continued. “Priest is getting his leg looked at. The said it missed tendons and looked to be healing rather fast from the inside out.”

Flashes of death and innards in his mouth went through his mind as he tried to remember Kagome again. But like before a type of tunnel started to tune it out. He shook his head for good measure than looked at Joker. “Where are we? The guys ok? I remember helping Priest to sit back up and than Rogue started to- Wave?” The questioning tone in his voice gave way to his worries. He didn’t even realize that Joker already spoke of the other guys before hand. His judgment was clouded, probably by the fact that he was talking and laying down at the same time.

“As soon as back up came you passed out. Rogue is with Priest. He hasn’t slept since we had to ‘burn his leg closed.’ “ He even added his own quotes with his fingers for an added flair. “The pilot, Sid, was bribed to bring us to enemy territory. We left his body were it fell.” Joker said the last part with such disdain that he couldn’t look at his friend face. He started to cheer up though when he remember the best part. “At least you knew what was going on. I think the top wanna talk to you, too. Make sure that you shit in your shorts first so they can smell the shit that’s gonna come out yo’ mouth. Huh?” He laughed than trying to lighten the tense forced silence on the two men.

“Uh.. Joker.. about the running. I wanted to tell you, all of you guys. But there was never a good moment. If we had met under different circumstances.. ” He let that hang in the air, so his friend would grasp the meaning. With a glance from said friend, he knew that it would be better. “You guys are like my other family.” Sess felt like a boulder was being lift off his chest as he started to talk. When he noticed that, Joker was already standing and motioning to the door. He got up slow, afraid that the room would spin. Absentmindedly, he reached down for the ring and started to rub.

A thought struck him than. He looked around, they were in a windowless room. Why not, he thought as he stopped. Clearing his throat and motioned for Joker to close with a small hand motion. “Joker. Listen carefully.” He waited for his friend to nod. “Tell not a soul, understand?” His counterpart nodded and with that he raised the ring along with the chain over his head and felt the magic wear away.

Joker was shocked. He thought all that stuff he saw before was just his adrenaline, but he was wrong. The fluffy thing on his shoulder to the tattoo’s on his cheeks and arms followed by the blue crescent moon on his forehead. He looked at Sess’ hands and was shocked again. Claws?!? Whoa! “Far out.” He whispered quietly. That was much. Than he noticed two odd shaped things at his side. Than it hit him like a sack of bricks. “Swords? That thing can conceal S-sw-swords? Are you kidding me Sess?”

The taiyoukai laughed a rich laugh at his friend. “What can I tell you. Its magic. Real actual magic. Do you mind if I..?” He trailed off and started to put the chain and ring back on over his head, not bothering to wait for an answer. He started to feel weird having someone stare at his true form for so long. “Ok. Priest first. Than what ever else. Sounds good to you?”

Joker looked at his friend as he saw the swords and all the other things vanish. “Wha - where did the.. um?” He raised his left hand and started to rub his neck in utter confusion.

“I can still feel them.” Sess rubbed at his side and looked like he was holding the swords. He had a glazed look in his eye’s like he was beyond memory, reliving his glory days it seemed. Joker cleared his throat to get some semblance from his demon friend. With a small nod from Sess they started out of the room and head towards the medical and recovery side of camp.

As they walked Joker began to get a quagmire of thoughts all at once. One in particular seemed to jump out the most so he blurted out before he could think it through, “How come yesterday you- ah changed?” Joker asked with moderate hesitation as they rounded the corner and kept walking at a quick pace.

For awhile Sess looked at his feet hitting the trampled grass and dusty man made road. Small dust clouds formed from feet trampling so often after a physical training that the moisture was gone from the ground under foot. The buildings looked like they were made from discarded wood scraps left in the rain. The camp was beyond crowed that they needed to get tents put up, and they looked better than the wooded building.

It, the small camp of misfit soldiers and friends, reflected his feelings in such an odd way. He hated to admit it but it was true, even for him. As being living ‘Perfection’, he still makes mistakes or gets too into his moments. He stared off at the haber sham, that was their camp. It looked like a third world country, only the true irony is that they were in a third world country trying to protect it. Such oxymoron's for this day and age, he looked on in disgust. A small smirk twisted across his face as he found his musings to be beyond logical thoughts. He sighed and glanced at Joker. Real life, he thought, always seems to make you think about your problems in the worst way.

“If I get angry, very angry than my basic instincts take over and override this Sesshomaru magic. I mean a kitsune did put it on.” He stated the obvious with a wave of his hand like it was old news to everyone. “They are not very strong in the way of spell casting, but he owed me a favor.” Sesshomaru stated with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and looked at his friend.

“Y-you mean there are m-more of thes- you - demons?” Joker was getting nervous. Are they everywhere? Can they help the enemy? Are they like Sess? Do they wanna be friends? Question upon question clouded his thoughts that he barely managed to grasp what Sess was saying.

“They are all residing in Japan. Except for me. Most are afraid to cross the ocean. You’d be surprised at how many can’t swim.” He laughed a hearty laugh at his own joke. Joker just looked at him like he lost his marbles. What else was he suppose to do? Freak out about himself? That seemed counter productive really.

By the time Joker had another question it was far too crowded and they were at their first stop. They walking into the tented area without so much as a word spoken between the two. A lot of guys waved at them. A few were shaking Sess’ hand and giving him a small amount of praise on his heroics. By the time they got to Priest’s bed he and Rogue were in a rather heated discussion.

“No! I won’t leave you yet. I can’t go. They’ll start asking me questions and I have no idea how to answer them without one of you guy-” Rogue stopped mid sentence when he spotted Sess and Joker heads among the throng of people. A sigh of relief found Joker and Sess arrival when they paused first to Rogue.

“I am going to talk to them now.” Sess told the startled man. “Go and eat. Rest well be here when you need it.” With a simple nodded from the man Sess turned his attention to his friend and looked a Priest. “How’s the leg treating you?”

“Fine. Perfectly fine. Not a prob. here. But they won’t let me leave this damn wing.” He growled out the last part as he grabbed a cig and light up taking a long smooth drag of his calming stick. “ I told them it went in and out as a clean pass, but theses assholes don’t listen to shit!”

“Eh. Fuck’em!” Said the almost silent third party, as Joker reached for a stick too. He didn’t normal smoke, but odd moments called for odd cravings. “They got that stethoscope shoved so far up their tight asses that they’ll do anything for the credit.” He elbowed Sess in the ribs for emphasis with a waggled eyebrows.

A small headache started to form in his head, just like when his half brother bothered him, this family was no different. He chuckled at his own joke. Clearing his throat he looked at Priest. “ I’m glad that you are ok. I have to go explain our situation. I won’t be too long. Tell Rogue that he doesn’t have to worry. ‘Kay Priest?” The questioning tone he used was for Priest to understand the importance of them all keeping quite. One for all and all for one the saying goes, he realized what it actually ment to him now. “One for all, and all for one,” he muttered as he turned and walked out the tent with his friends shoulders sagging in finally relief.

---------------l-------------

this one i didn't know how to stop. I wanted to add more, but i felt soo.. soo.. stuck at a point. well i liked the flash back none the less. i thought it was to make sense about inu and kag's a little better. i will clarify they're 'ness' as my husband says in better terms later.

HOLY COW guys!!! the hits are fricken SHWEET! i never thought i would get soo many people reading this. it just manifested from nothing-ness. is it a good story though? i wonder? hermm...... *ponders the meaning of life as well as the topic of said story*
eh.

now if the reviews were coming in a little bit, just a trickle bit more?? hmm?? p-p-pahleeze? ** bottom lip quiver**

ThankYou!!
higan