Without You | Sesshomaru

Chapter 53

Sesshomaru was walking inside Naraku's spider form. The place reeked of Naraku's stench but he could still sense his son and Rin. Suddenly, an evil chuckling surrounded him and he stopped walking.

"Ah, Sesshomaru," Naraku's voice echoed around the chamber. "I'm surprised you made it out of my fabricated world. But you're too late. Your son's demonic power has already provided me with the strength I required."
"Enough of your insignificant declarations," Sesshomaru spoke, having heard enough. "It's time for you to die."
Naraku chuckled again. "Good luck with that. You and I both know that you won't kill me unless you find your son. By then it will be too late. I will have absorbed him into my flesh."

Sesshomaru knew that Naraku was simply trying to get on his nerves and so chose to ignore him. He continued walking, following Mikazuki's scent as well as he could.

Soon, he came across Kagome. However, she was unconscious and lying on the ground. There was a wound on her right arm and it seemed that she had been attacked. Lower level demons were closing in on her and so he slayed them with his claws. He would have to keep her from harm until she regained consciousness. In an ideal world he would have left her since she wasn't his responsibility but he knew that Lyra would have gotten angry at him if she found out.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before Kagome woke up. Looking over her shoulder as she sat up, she was shocked to see Sesshomaru protecting her.

"Sesshomaru?"

He glanced back at her before continuing to slay the demons.

"You've been driving away these demons all this time?" she asked in surprise.
"That wound," he said. "Is it Inuyasha's doing?"

Her hesitance was her answer.

He figured it out. "Being a mere half demon, I presume Naraku's darkness overcame him."

Kagome recalled when Inuyasha had pushed her down after his demon side took over. But she refused to believe that he was trying to hurt her.

"No, that's not it," she defended.

However, Sesshomaru was already walking away. She called out to him to wait and ran after him. She had a better chance at survival if she stuck with him. It was awkwardly silent for a long time as she trailed behind him. To break the silence, she began asking questions.

"So, is Lyra okay?"
"Yes," he replied simply, not really in the mood for a conversation.
Still, Kagome continued. "Where is she?"
"In the village with Jaken, the old lady and the fox demon child."
"Where were you guys?"
Sesshomaru had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "In a fake world. Lyra can explain it to you," he said, hoping that would put an end to it.
"Sesshomaru," she continued. "Your nose is as sharp as Inuyasha's, isn't it? Aren't you able to locate Rin and Mikazuki?"

He didn't answer her and remained silent, which made Kagome feel awkward and left wondering if she should have even mentioned Inuyasha in the first place. However, Sesshomaru's thoughts were on something else entirely.

'Naraku's body is much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside.'

Then, Kagome's gasp made him glance over. She was looking at what appeared to be Rin sitting upon the flesh.

"Look! Rin's right up there!"
Sesshomaru continued walking. "That is only an illusion. Pathetic. Is Naraku trying to mock me? All the same, it's clear I can't use Bakuseiga carelessly."

***

Down in the village, Jaken had given Lyra the lowdown on what had happened during their disappearance. According to him, everyone was on the search for Mikazuki but Naraku had grown so powerful that he was able to conceal himself. And it was all because Sesshomaru wasn't there. Obviously being unprotected, Rin was easily captured as well. Apparently they thought Sesshomaru and Lyra had been killed until Naraku had boasted about what he had done, all to showcase his power.