Lord Sesshomaru's Shocking Case of Obsession

“KAGOME!!”

Her name rang out through the deadly silence. Her friends, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango screamed it in unison. Kirara rushed to the wells edge and placed her massive paws on the top as she glared into the emptiness.

They were gone.

Sango’s fit of wracking sobs grew worse as she finally raised her head to the sky to cry out in a tortured scream, “WHY!!!... WHY!!!”

Miroku hugged her close, wishing with all his might that he could remove this precious woman’s pain. He prayed to Buddha for the strength to bear their loss.

“Miroku, Sango what has happened children?” Old Kaede called as she made her way warily onto the battlefield. She surveyed the area, taking in the frightful scene. Dead youkai lay scattered all over and she could clearly see young Kohaku face down near Sango. She scurried to the boy to see if there was something she could do to help. She kneeled down and checked him for life, but there simply was none.

“Perhaps Lord Sesshomaru’s Tensagia...,” began the old miko in a hopeful voice. She was cut off when Miroku shook his head sadly, then pointed to the body of the fallen lord.

Lady Kaede patted Sango on the shoulder as she rose to check the demon. She, herself, was not overly fond of the taiyoukai, but young Kagome would surely be devastated. Miroku followed beside her and shortly grabbed her shoulder.

“Lady Kaede, there has been a terrible turn of events,” Miroku began.

“Spit it out Houshi, there are services to attend to,” Kaede urged.

“It’s Inuyasha. He... changed... transformed when the Tetsaiga was wrenched from his grasp. He tore into Naraku, and after the evil creature was destroyed... well... he stole Kagome, and jumped into the well.” Miroku squeezed her shoulder lightly, willing strength into her. He knew this would tear her apart, as she was so close to both Inuyasha and Kagome.

Kaede accepted the monks’ words. She faltered for a moment.. and was glad Miroku held his hand on her shoulder, for fear she may have fell to her knee’s. Inuyasha was a beast without his sword. A killing machine. The girl had no protection, and no means to turn him back, completely out of their reach. “Dear Kami.” Kaede shook the horrible thoughts from her mind, trying to again focus on what had to be done. She would mourn for her children later.

The old miko turned and once again headed for Lord Sesshomaru. On her way she found the torn and battered body of the wolf prince Kouga, barely recognizable with wounds so great. There was no need to check him for life. It was clear even from this distance that the once proud, and wickedly handsome wolf, had passed to the other side She shook her head sadly. So many lives, gone in the name of a wish.

Kaede approached the white clad figure of Lord Sesshomaru. Carefully she moved, as she was well aware of what danger lay in an injured beast. “Lord Sesshomaru, are ye alive?” She stepped closer and almost jumped from her skin as Miroku moved next to her. “You scared my wits from me monk.”

“Forgive me, Miroku said, I thought you could use a hand here.”

“Yes... yes,” Kaede said.

Sesshomaru lay face down. His long white hair was coated at the ends with dark red blood. It fanned out over his body, making it impossible to see his face. His arms outstretched above him, as if he were dragged and dropped. Kaede took a tentative step forward, but Miroku moved his staff to block her way.

“This is too dangerous, Kaede. If he is not dead, and you...” he trailed off shaking his head. Instead he moved forward. “Lord Sesshomaru...” Miroku called, using the end of his staff to lightly poke at the demon’s side. Nothing. He took another step forward, “Lord Sesshomaru, are you alive?” Miroku poked the demon once more. No response. He began to kneel down, thinking what horrible luck it would be to finally see Naraku defeated, losing the curse of the wind tunnel, and able to finally live a normal life, only to be cut down by an injured ally.

The fallen lord of the West, lay unmoving, and Miroku was able to flip his huge limp form over. Kaede gasped at the gaping hole in the center of his chest, straight through his armor. With a wound like that, how could there be life in this once angelic creature? The monk stepped back, sensing that it was useless to waste time here.

Then he twitched. Just a clawed finger, but still at twitch.

Kaede fell to her knees and placed her finger on the demon’s neck to feel for life.

“Monk... it’s faint... and slow..., but this demon’s heart beat’s still,” said the old miko in disbelief.

Miroku stood and called to a group of the men who came with Kaede to assist the miko with the wounded. It took six grown men to lift the taiyoukai, after his armor and swords were removed. Miroku gathered the Tensaiga, and finally found the Tetsaiga, but he refused to touch the Tokijin, which still lay where the demon dropped it when the last blow was received. Instead he placed a spiritual barrier around the sword to help keep innocents from accidentally getting near the wicked weapon.

Miroku made his way to Sango, who still sat staring blankly at Kohaku. No more tears were falling, but her face held a look of massive heartbreak. Shippo and Kirara sat quietly on either side of their friend, both grieving in their own way. He stopped and bent to one knee. Sango moved then to pull her knife from her boot. She cut the shard from her brother’s back, and handed it to Miroku. Miroku dropped it into his robes out of sight.

“I found it Kaede-baba,” Called a young man.

Miroku turned and watched Kaede walk to the man. She leaned down and picked up a shiny object. Naraku’s huge portion of the Shikon no Tama. The old miko held it in her palm, as she intensely chanted a purification spell into the jewel. It’s darkened color faded slightly, but still held some semblance of the corruption from Naraku. There may not be a way to cleanse the impurity from the stone, so tainted had it become. Only Kagome could have done this... and well... they could only hope for the best.

Miroku picked up Kohaku and carried him back to the village, as Sango dragged slowly beside him. This was indeed a sad day for all. No one mentioned Kagome. No one wanted to think about it. Death in battle was terrible, but considered an honorable death. Their freinds, who had fought bravely by their side, were lost to a nightmare that could be worse than death.

At the village, Kohaku was delivered to a special hut, used for burial preparations. Miroku found that Lord Sesshomaru had been placed in the hut normally occupied by the shard hunter’s. He went in the hut and found Kaede struggling to wrap bandages around the broad chest of the demon. Quickly, Miroku went to her side, helping to hold his limp body up as Kaede circled his chest.

“Kagome would call that ‘team work’, Kaede,” Miroku said with a slight smile.

Kaede nodded, but still could not trust herself to speak of the girl. She had no time for crying now, and speaking of Kagome or Inuyasha would tempt the fates.

They lay the demon down on the futon. Kaede pulled a blanket over his chest, before pouring a small amount of water into his mouth. He made no move of recognition, and the water simply spilled out onto the floor. She used the remaining water to wash the dried blood from his long hair. She could hardly believe he was alive with a wound of that magnitude. He was a tough one.

The two left the hut and Kaede turned her attention on the wounds of the Houshi and Sango. After placing the medicinal herbs and securing the dressings, she rose to join the other’s in preparation for Kohaku’s journey to the netherworld.

When all had been seen to, the old woman headed for her hut. She could barely will her tired bones forward. Just as she lifted the flap to enter, Miroku called out to her. Wearily she stepped back to see him holding out his hand. Inside he held a single shard of the Jewel of Four Souls.

“This is the shard that Kohaku carried in his back. Could you please see that it is properly taken care of until Kagome’s return?” Miroku asked.

Kaede considered his words. She held out her hand and he dropped the sliver into her palm. She looked into his eyes, and seen sadness and hope. She tried to force a little smile for the monk, who refused to believe any harm could come to their little miko. She sure hoped he was right. Kaede nodded once to the monk and stepped into her hut.