Wind rustled through the thick trees of the forest. Birds could be heard in the back ground calling out to the the sky for a companion, one sparrow in particular, was hopping from branch to branch tweeting his hearts content in to the ear of an onyx haired woman.
Kagome wiped the sweat from her brow and looked wearily at the small bird before her. She finished patting the ground around her cultivated herb, and sat back on her heals, closing her eyes to the sound of rustling leaves and bird song. She stood from her crouched position under the pine tree.
“ that's all for today, this time next the spring our hill will be covered with herbs for the village.” she said more to herself then her flighty companion. That moment the wind chose to pick up and blow her hair across her face. As she went to clear her vision, the basket she had carried the plants in caught the wind and sailed through the air away. “ oh no!” she laughed and took off after it.
The basket hit the ground lightly, and she just about scooped it up, as another gust of wind grabbed it out of her reach again. Kagome played this game of keep away with the wind of a few minutes before she was able to catch it. She was laughing and panting from the effort, and almost did not hear the distinct sound of metal clashing against metal. She straightened and glanced around. Not far below her position she spotted two combatants drawing blades. They both looked intimidating, tall in stature and both emotionless in their stare. That, though, is where the comparisons end. One combatant was seething, grotesque in appearance, like a man who made fighting his business. The other was elegant looking and stark in his perfection and color. She squinted to see him better but all that she could see was his silver hair.
There was a moment of speaking between them, but the out come was already decided. The first fighter charged on the silver haired man. Kagome did not see the killing blow, or shut her eyes as the spray of blood erupted. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the silver haired man, covered with the the other mans blood. She watched him clean his blade and walk away not even glancing back at the corps.
A loud tweeting in her ear caused her to jump, startled. Her sparrow friend flew in circles around her head, warning her of danger. “ you don't have to tell me. Did you see him? He was a demon, no man could do some thing like that.” she thought out loud. Her companion increased ferocity and she complied and left her hiding place at the top of the hill. Kagome headed out of the forest whistling a village folk song. Her pace increased as soon as she saw the hut that her and her great aunt shared at the edge of the forest. A small red headed boy burst from the hut and charged at her. The little boy caught her around the waist and squeezed the love out of her.
“ Kagome I thought you were going to let me come with you the next time you went to the forest.” he pleaded. She smiled down at his angelic face and patted his head lovingly.
“ forgive me Shippo, when I came by your home, your mother expressed concern about you going with me.” she said regretfully. She was used to this though, being treated differently. Kagome had always been special, she had abilities to know when bad things were about to happen and she had even been able to heal people with the touch of her hands. She had inherited this gift for her mother and her aunt, but both had long since passed from this world and she didn't know why she was that way, she just was.
Shippo wrinkled his brow “ I don't know why she does not want me to be with you, Kagome. I love you” he squeezed her tightly before letting go and grabbing her to lead her into the hut.
“ Kagome, where are your shoes?” Keade asked as she looked up at her great niece.
“ Shoes?” she said innocently. “ I don't think I took them today.” she shrugged.
“ Kagome! Me and Keade, were just laughing at you over your shoe hatred” Shippo teased snickering at her.
Kagome loved her life, she had become the village healer through all of the superstition of the people, and they had come to trust her with their health. She had even delivered a few children for the village. She just shook her head now, at her friends, their light mood and banter took her mind a million miles away from the murder she had seen earlier. She just hoped that whoever that man was, that he did not incur the wrath of the Lord of these lands. She shuddered at the thought.
The palace satsolid granit built into the side of a mountain not far from the village.it was the oldest palace in japan. Dark things came from the palace, and the Lords reputation was the cruelest, and most violent of all of the lords, even the emperor did not chastise him. Every time the lord comes down from the palace, terrible disasters have befallen the village. Bandits and mercenaries come down wishing to destroy this village and regular murders happen to the young women in the villages surrounding the palace. Her own mother and aunt was a victim to the madness. Kagome shivered, thinking about the terror that has befallen them because of the monster of that palace. There was something happening up there. The villagers were restless in the shadow of that old mansion, and as time passes they seem to grow more, and more, distressed.
A knock at the door interrupted her thinking. She rushed to open the door and was greeted with a six inch wound across a mans leg. She ushered him in and the table was cleared. Kagome cleaned and stitched him up in no time. His manner made it clear to her that he did not want her to touch him but was grateful that she was able to help him. She prescribed him some herbs to crush up and eat with a meal to discourage infection. He half listened as he left and slammed the door in her face.
Kagome sighed.
It was just passed dusk when Kagome felt a disturbance in the night. A screech owl called into the night and her blood froze in her veins. Getting out of bed, she got dressed and was just tying her hair back as a knock was heard at the door of the hut. She opened the door to find a guard, and two horses, outside of the hut waiting.
“May I speak to the healer of the village.” he requested. Kagome nodded and went to wake Keade, who posed as the healer, so Kagome did not get noticed for her strange talents. Keade was barely asleep and woke as she entered the room. Kagome quickly told her the situation and the old woman rushed from her place to the door getting dressed before she opened it. “ the lord of the Western lands required the aide of the healer o this village. My orders are to bring you to the palace immediately.” he finished and waited expectantly.
Kagome gathered the herbs and bandages and made her way to the horse with keade. The guard stepped in front of her.
“ Only the healer is to come” he said
“ she is my assistant and is necessary to get me things that my old bones do not have the energy to get any more.” she feigned a little more frailty than was necessary. The guard nodded and allowed her to pass. They both mounted and began their late night journey to the palace.
The wind picked up, as the drew closer to the mountain. Like the winds and clouds themselves were warning her not to go, but there was something else that she felt. Something, that told her that she needed to be there that night. Keade was not happy, she whispered a prayer and asked that Kagome's life may be spared.
The palace was impossibly big. The doors were a heavy dark wood that reached up into a high arch. Through the heavy doors the entrance was an elegant front room designed for luxury and functionality with the winding halls and paper walls. They were lead down a hallway into the main house they passed doors and halls winding up the biggest stairs that Kagome had ever seen. They turned down a long hallway and the guard walked to the end of the set of doors and pushed the last one open. Kagome was expecting this to be a chamber of some sort but it ended up being another hallway. The guard walked past every door in the corridor to stop at the one the the very end.
A guard was posted there. They briefly spoke and the one posted there turned and swept in side and then opened the door to allow the rest of them in. Keade and Kagome walked close together. Neither prepared to come face to face with the demon lord, but both knew that disobeying a direct order from the lord was death.
Kagome was startled as she came closer. He was sitting up in a chair, close to his large bed. In the bed lay a small dark haired girl. That though was not what startled her. The man that she saw before her, was the same silver haired mad that she had seen murder another man that morning. This was the demon lord.
As soon as the thought formed in her head, he looked up at her. They locked eyes. She was frozen, terrified, caught in his amber gaze, he was reading her, looking into her soul and the only thing she could hold on to was the resolve to help the little girl and finish her job quickly. Keade noticed they way he was watching her and made her self known.
“ My lord how may this healer and her assistant be of service today.”she bowed lowly and kagome followed in her example.
“ My ward is ill” he said returning his gaze to the shivering little body in the bed. His voice was deep, smooth, and completely emotionless. Kagome snapped her eyes to him she sould see in his eyes that there was something wrong. A healer knew these things. He did not seem to be in immediat pain so she was content to deal with the child firs.
“ How long has she been like this” Keade asked approaching the child. There was a deep resonant growl and Keade froze.
Kagome looked at him once more but there was no visible difference, surely that could not have been him. There must have been a dog in the room that they were not aware of. “ madame, I asked for the healer to tend to my ward.” he looked at Keade and dismissed her.
“I know not of what ye mean sir, I am a healer of the village.” she said honestly. He did not even glance at her again.
“ You.” he demanded. His voice was cold, like ice. His eyes never showed any emotion as she approached them. She leaned over the child and felt her head. The girl was burning up. Rifling through her bag of herbs, she turned to Keade and asked if she could manage some hot water.
“ Send for the kitchen boy.” he demanded without a thought. Sesshomaru observed Kagome, never taking his eyes off her. Kagome uncovered the little girl who began to shiver immediately.
“ Lord Sesshoaru!” she panicked and reached for her lord. He did not reach back to her he just watched.
“ Rin, this woman is here to help you.” he said. She calmed immediately and let Kagome handle her as needed. Rin was a small girl of maybe eight summers, she smiled, even as she cried over her fever and pain. She assured Kagome, that she was a big girl, and that she would be good for her. Keade came back, and Kagome quickly made tea for the child. She sat by her side as she drank. Coughing and shivering still, Rin settled against her pillow and rested.
Kagime turned to the Lord, and caught him staring at her once more. Seeing an opportune moment to check on him, she leaned close to him and put her hand across his forehead to gauge his temperature. His eyes widened a fraction but he did not move. Keade sputtered at her boldness but did not say anything more.
“ Lord,have you have been wounded?” she asked seriously. He did not answer immediately, instead he stood and removed his chest covering and revealed his bandaged chest. She noted that it looked like he had wrapped his own wound. The blood had seeped through the bandage and it was starting to become infected. “ this was not done by a normal blade, my lord” she examined it.
“Hn” was his reply. She looked up at him raising one brow but he did not grace her with any further comments. She looked through her pouch for something to heal that with. Unbinding his wound, she was horrified by how close it was to his heart, the four inch stab wound seeped poison, She found the dried hairs of a demon flower and rubbed the herb into the cut. The affect was almost immediate. She looked at him as his wound closed before her eyes, and hoped that he did not notice. He did, the reaction she got though, was something she was not used to. “ I am grateful.” he said not looking at her twice. She thought she may have heard wrong, but did not react, hoping that this wasn't a test.
Kagome sat in amazement that her power was revealed so clearly and yet the lord of the western land did not name her a witch and have her cast into the fire like many other women with strange powers had been. And yet, what if that wasn't her. She peered at him. Was this man really a demon.
Kagome sat with Rin all night. The childs' fever did not reduce until the suns rays were touching the tree tops. Kagome looked at the sleeping girl, and felt warmth in her heart for the innocence that she possessed. She wondered how anyone would poison such a sweet child, but she was sure that is what happened. She looked over at the demon lord, he sat as ever still as he did all night, he did not sleep, and he did not move all night. She glanced at her sleeping mentor and was glad that she at least got to get some rest.
“ Do you know who may have wanted to harm your ward?” she asked the sitting man.
“ I have many enemies.” was his short reply, he continued to watch the sleeping child.
“ She is weak and will require rest for a few days and the medicine has taken a lot of the toxins out of her body.” Kagome felt the girls head again. She nodded and stood from her spot sitting on the bed. Rin stirred and woke slightly.
“ Miss Kagome, will you play with Rin in the gardens?” she begged sleepily.
“ I am sorry honey but I must return to my village to continue healing there.” Kagome smiled taking her small hands in her own. Rin wilted a little and yawned. “ can you come back to visit Rin?”
Kagome thought about her answer. She did not want the child to believe that she would come back willingly, but she had also become attached to her in such a short amount of time. “ If the lord calls for me again, I will come back” she said honestly. Looking at the lord she could not see a reaction, but she hoped that the strange feeling that she got from him, was just a feeling. Somehow she knew, though, that it wasn't.