A Sister's Gift

Chapter 41 – Battle Time!

Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Tooru watched helplessly as the guards in the arena marched to various locations. Ten of the twenty were now stationed in front to the Emperor’s booth and the remainder were spread around the arena.

Inuyasha was frantic. Kikyo looked so alone and so far out of his reach. He never questioned his feelings for the young priestess who called him her mate. He never had to. They were pure and true. He would give his life for hers without regret at any time. Now, when he felt she needed him the most he was being forced to endure the torture of watching her go into battle alone. His growling grew more intense and only by the force of the slave bond was he frozen in place. ‘Kikyo!’

Kikyo stood in the middle of the arena awaiting the arrival of her opponent. She had been briefed on what to expect, and though she was nervous, she felt no real fear. At the moment she was more concerned with Inuyasha. She could hear his snarling growls and it made her feel terrible to put him in this position.

The daisaiin explained briefly that they would be forced to subdue their protector’s, and despite their protests, the old woman held firm. She then explained that they, each ,were to face off against a rouge youkai, who had been captured by the Imperial Guard and held strictly for this contest. Then Senshi-sama left them, with only her fleeting wishes of good fortune.

Ani brought them a bowl full of slips of paper with numbers written on them. The poor girl looked downtrodden, and all five of the miko’s tried to assure her that they would be fine in the end. It failed to ease the child’s worry however, and after the drawing of opponents was done the girl strode off with a heavy heart and well wishes to the battle ready miko’s.

The guards were there to protect the onlookers, and to attack the youkai just in case she failed.

Kikyo had no intention of failing.

Her attention was quickly diverted back to the huge gates as ten men pulled a snarling beast out into the light. Kikyo appraised her opponent. The oni stood about three meters high, or approximately ten feet. He was massive with bulging muscles beneath the taught green skin. His clawed hands could easily take her head off. The youkai stood on two feet, and its hands were just shy of reaching the ground, giving him an impressive reach. His teeth, which were clearly visible, lapped over his upper jaw.

Kikyo briefly wondered if the beast even knew what was going on. Was its intelligence as such that it would understand that it was about to be purified for its crimes? Her answer came when the men stopped in front of her.

While two men busied themselves removing the spell infused collar attached to its neck, the others were attempting to pull the chains away from its arms. The beast appeared to take no mind of the human males as his beady red eyes were trained on the miko standing in front of him.

“Today is judgement day for this Buru, little miko woman! Buru will die today, to be sure. By you? Maybe, maybe not!” Ha! Ha! Ha! After the oni released the deafening roar of laughter he said, “Buru will not go down without a fight, human bitch!”

Kikyo could barely hear the foul youkai. Her hearing was centered on Inuyasha’s growling. It sounded as if he was ready to defy the power of the slave bond and come into the battle despite the horrific pain it would cause.

This would not do. She would not be victorious if she allowed her attention to be distracted by her mate. Kikyo used her many years of training to drown out the noises, only focusing on the threat to her life. She began to back away from the youkai as the last of its restrictions were released.

“Grrrr.... your death is mine bitch!” The oni snarled before using his long arms to propel himself through the air and to the right, easily dodging the first of Kikyo’s purifying arrows.

The miko immediately fell back, running with all her strength to keep distance between her and the oni. If he were to make contact with her he would knock her senseless. She could hear him gaining on her. It was no use to run! She had to turn and fight or be over run and cut down!

“Not this time you filth!” Kikyo cried as she dove to the side, and rolled once coming to a stop on bended knee. Her aim was true and the arrow split through the air with its powerful pink light of purity. Kikyo watched as the beast screamed its anguish before disappearing as dust in the wind.

She stood up, and brushed herself off. Her heart was racing, with the adrenaline of battle, but she felt exhilarated.

Kikyo bowed low to Prince Hasun and Daisaiin Senshi. As soon as she paid her respects she turned to her lover and smiled. Even though he was far away, she knew he was smiling in return. She could almost feel his aura beginning to calm.

Knowing that Inuyasha was finding peace once more, brought Kikyo’s own sense of peace, and she quickly headed to the doors, which were opening to let Yuka in to take her place. She wished the girl well, and stepped into the welcome darkness.

Sesshomaru watched as the girl, Yuka, faced off with her opponent. The girl was not as skilled as Kikyo. The ensuing battle proved to bring her quite a bit of injury before she finally managed to bury her purifying blade into the bear youkai. The death blow was rendered while hovering over the girl, as it sliced through her flesh with its claws. The miko’s blood and fear filled the air, making the three Youkai Protector’s feel the itch to fight.

When the girl finally eliminated her opponent, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. She appeared to be wounded, but alive. The guards rushed over to assist the fallen miko out of the arena.

The miko following the reigning injury victim was simply too under-skilled to handle the swift attacks of the boar youkai, whose huge stature only led one to believe it would be a sluggish creature. A deadly mistake. Sesshomaru could barely hear her heartbeat anymore. The tusks of the hog tore through her gut like a knife through lard. The scent of death hung in the air. The inuyoukai’s stomach was in a painful knot. ‘That could have been Kagome.’

As if he sensed his brother’s anxiety, Inuyasha said, “That girl didn’t know what the hell she was doing! Kagome and Kikyo put that miko to shame!”

The obvious attempt to ease his mind fell on deaf ears, however. His mates’ life was on the line.

Tokie was up next, and Sesshomaru almost felt pity for the ookami, during the battle between his mistress and the red oni, the boy looked positively ill. He was sure the wolf was going to purge his stomach contents at any moment. Tooru absolutely had Sesshomaru in stitches during the entire fight.

Though Tokie did not come out of the battle unscathed, the injury to her shoulder was minimal, and easily treated. The girl certainly impressed Sesshomaru with her skills. Tokie's actions were laden with the adrenaline rush of terror, as it was clearly painted on her pretty face. He had never seen a human pull arrows from a quiver that fast. Fear does a lot to put speed into a person.

Tokie turned to her ookami and raised her bow in victory. The boy literally turned from green to gray. ‘Good. The last thing I want to see is a vomiting wolf,’ Sesshomaru mused.

All eyes turned to the lovely figure now entering the arena. She was smiling, and walked with confidence, which made Sesshomaru’s chest swell in pride. He could not detect any nervousness from his mate, and though that should have calmed him, it only managed to put him a little more on edge. He hoped that she was not overly confident. Fear was an important factor in the face of battle. It pushed the warrior inside. Kagome should feel some fear. Any fear.

Kagome stood bravely as she awaited the moment the huge doors would open. She was confident in her abilities, and what little fear plaguing her conscious, was crushed into silence.

She would feel no fear.

She was being brave for Sesshomaru.