Power II: Running by RyuuAngel

After Kagome's Battle

There is a song in this chapter, and the next, so be warned that I am horrible when it comes to song fics and just had the urge to put a song in. Sry!

Chapter 1: After Kagome’s Battle

Kagome walked as carefully as she could up the stairs, her legs shaking. She stiffened, trying not to let it be seen by the hanyou and youkai who were watching her. Once she had turned the corner at the top of the stairs, she let herself wince a little and put a steadying hand on the wall. What in the world had she done? She had killed. She shook her head to get rid of these thoughts, trying to make it disappear. It worked for the moment and she straightened, heading for her and Sesshoumaru’s room. She opened the door and went in, shutting it with a click behind her. She went to the drawer and took out some clothes, a light purple tank top and a pair of jean shorts. She turned to the spacious bathroom and went in, locking the door behind her.

Quickly, numbly, she undressed, turning the water to start a bath, but changed her mind and let it drain to start the shower instead. She stepped in and turned it on, slowly making it hotter and hotter, her face turned up to the water.

Nothing, not a hint of pain, burning, all sensation was gone. The cold water was completely off and the hot all the way on. If she had not been in the shower, tears almost the same temperature would have rolled down her cheeks from the sting of hot water on her closed eyes.

“SHIT!!” She screamed. Just after her outburst, the door opened,

Sesshoumaru framed in the doorway. He peered through the steam and saw her, her body bright red from the hot water, her face still turned up to the steaming water. His face never wavered, never changed expression. Instead he scooped her up and pulled her out of the shower.

Catch me as I fall

Say you’re here and it’s all over now

Speaking to the atmosphere

No ones here and I fall into myself

This truth drives me into madness

I can stop the pain if I will it all away

If I will it all away

“Aahh!” Kagome yelped as she was bodily thrown out of the shower and over a strong, finely chiseled shoulder. She realized who it was and hit his shoulder repeatedly as she heard the shower turn off and the bath start running. She was set roughly on the toilet; the cushioned covering softened the landing. She looked up into slightly angry amber eyes, and was taken aback. She looked down as he turned and set the temperature to a lower, but not to cold setting, before putting the stopper to the tub in. She fought to maintain her new cold, uncaring expression, but was hard pressed when those amber eyes turned to her again. She tried hard to hold his eyes, and he finally turned away to put bubbles and perfumes to scent the water in the tub. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Did you take care of that man like I asked?” She tried to sound as though it was important, but what she was really doing was trying to break the silence, anything to stop him from glaring at her like that.

“He is locked in a room and his injuries have been treated. Riasha says he will be awake by tomorrow.” She accomplished what she wanted by getting his mind onto other things, but she could tell he wasn’t done.

“How did you manage that?”

“What?” She asked, pretending na�vet�. He scowled at her.

“You know what I am talking about. You took out 30 people as easily as I would have, except I can’t control wind and the such. You fought marvelously, yet you hadn’t even used your new demon powers once yet.” He peered into her eyes. She shifted uncomfortably. He stood up abruptly.

“Get into the tub. You reek of blood.” She knew he was right, her new nose could smell it well. The shower had rinsed most of it off, but not all of it. She got unsteadily to her feet and walked toward the tub. He put an arm around her to help, and walked with her over to the tub. He held her while she shifted and leaned against him to put one leg in, then the other. She lowered herself slowly into the water, her limbs tingling as they regained feeling. Had she been cold? No. So why couldn’t she feel? Why did she feel so numb?

Don’t turn away

(Don’t give into the pain)

Don’t try to hide

(Though they’re screaming your name)

Don’t close your eyes

(God knows what lies behind them)

Don’t turn out the light

(Never sleep never die)

Suddenly she realized what she had done; she had killed. She was no better than those who had come after her. She had mercilessly slaughtered all people, even taunted a few. There were still probably some who were still alive, ones she had only dismembered. She had killed out of rage, without thinking. What if some of them had been forced to work for the man who had killed Souta? There would be families that would mourn their husbands or brothers that never came home. And she caused it. She had done the one thing she said she would never do, lose control of herself. She had lost herself totally in this pain, this horrid emptiness. And it would only get worse. She squeezed her eyes shut as it all hit her, the tornado, earthquake, and thunder, all of it rolled through her all at once. Tears leaked through her tightly lidded orbs as sobs racked her body. She opened her eyes to see amber ones, full of concern. He was there, she wasn’t doing this alone. He reached over her and took down a bottle, squeezing a small amount onto his palm. His other hand guided her around so she was sitting in the water with her back to him. He rubbed the substance into her hair, creating a rich lather. It smelled of sweet lilac, and the smell calmed her. She sighed as the feeling overtook her, and closed her eyes, enjoying his fingers carefully massaging her scalp.

“Dunk.” She heard his voice slip into her conscious, and pulled in a deep breath before plunging under the water to remove most of the shampoo.

“Again.” He stated. She repeated her previous attempt, but felt his hands in her hair, trying to rid it of the cleansing substance. She came up gasping for air at being held under so long. She noticed that the water didn’t feel warm enough anymore, and stood up. She didn’t miss the catch in his breath as he watched her stand, exposing her body to him. She stopped herself from smirking, and went to get a towel. She rubbed at her skin and tried to dry it quickly, but only made it turn red. She threw it angrily and decided it didn’t matter. She headed across the bathroom to get dressed, and found her hand caught in the grasp of her mate.

“Let me.” He picked up the towel, expecting her to acquiesce, but was surprised when she yanked her hand away.

“I have to go and check to make sure there aren’t any left alive. I didn’t kill them all; I only chopped off some of their arms. Some of them may still be alive and suffering as I sit here and enjoy a nice bath. They could still be alive.” Her voice cracked as a single tear broke through her fa�ade. A look of surprise flitted across his expression before he walked over to where she was trying to get dressed quickly. Finally she just flung the tank top to the floor and sat on the bed, crying softly. He put a comforting hand on her arm. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

“I hate it! I have to control myself all the time or else I’ll cause devastation. And now I have to worry about killing instincts! Damn to hell this fucking demon blood!” Her tears came down faster. The curtains to the windows billowed out as Sesshoumaru finally noticed the storm brewing outside.

I’m frightened by what I see

But somehow I know that there’s much more to come

Immobilized by me fear

And soon to be blinded by tears

I can stop the pain if I will it all away

If I will it all away

Sesshoumaru sat beside her and put his arms around her. She turned and fell against his chest, the one place she really felt safe. Her tears warmed his shirt, dampening it.

“I have already asked Jax to go and kill any that were left alive. It is already taken care of.” He soothed that sore. But that was just a tiny speck compared to the one that was really bothering her. He sighed, trying to decide how to start on that one.

“Do you have any idea what it feels like to be overwhelmed to the point you can’t feel anything anymore? It’s like I can feel everyone’s emotions from all over the world all at once, all the time. That time you transferred your emotions to me just toppled the tower. It was like it was the last straw. I could feel it, and it hardly compared with the daily assault I get. I dream to have the same feeling you do, I could control it. I know I could.” She actually felt slightly relaxed, getting that off of her shoulders. She turned around and snuggled into him, allowing their connection to keep telling him the things she had felt when she had been annihilating the intruders. Souta’s murderers. She told him how she felt out of control and everything had happened, she didn’t have any clear images of anything except one, one little thing. She remembered the man who had killed Souta, she didn’t know how she knew he had been the one to kill him, she just did. She remembered the look in his eyes when she had ran her sword through his stomach, and how he had clutched his stomach and died so slowly.

Kagome noticed how strangely silent Sesshoumaru was, and looked up into stormy eyes, eyes that were deeply pained. ‘Sesshoumaru’ she silently probed. His eyes widened, and he pushed her away from him. His chest was heaving, and he had a wild look. What was going on? What the hell was he doing? She tried to reach him mentally, using her power, concentrating. Suddenly, she realized how weightless she felt, how free she felt. She probed and sure enough, there it was, constricting, tightening around him, trying to choke him. He had tried to take all her extra burden from the Shikon No Tama onto himself! A burning sensation was felt in her flesh where the jewel was situated. She saw the strain in his eyes, and realized he was trying to take the Jewel into himself. No! He wouldn’t be able to handle it! Youkai or not, the Shikon’s Power had been gradual into herself, and was meant for her. She was especially strong in spirit to hold it withinherself; it was why she was its protector.

“Sesshoumaru, STOP!” She yelled. He ignored her, and frown lines were etched in his face from the effort of willing the Shikon to him. The jewel would take over his mind; she would have to do something! He was shaking now; the jewel didn’t want to leave its protector in such a pure state. Midoriko had won the fight thus far with Kagome’s pure spirit keeping it from becoming tainted. The monster within was fighting to regain hold now that a darker force was pulling at it. Kagome mentally pushed Sesshoumaru away with all of her strength, pulling back the burden of the emotions raging within. He gasped and fell back hard, hitting his head on the corner of the bureau.

Kagome shut her eyes, not seeing her mate fall to the floor. She wrapped her arms around herself, ready and hating the emotions flooding her again. She screamed and felt the wind whip and swirl around her. Slowly it settled, and the pain of the cursed jewel lay heavily on her heart once again. She opened her eyes torturously, expecting the anger that would come. Instead her eyes filled up with tears, and she rushed down next to his head, seeing the blood come out of a hole in his head. It wasn’t a gash; on the back of his head there was a piece of flesh missing the size of a penny. Blood was leaking out fast, getting everything soaked. Her fingers were covered with the gooey stuff, and she stared at them horrified. Finally she found her voice and started to scream, long and loud. She never heard herself; she was deaf, and nothing permeated her mind this moment, only this moment.

Don’t turn away

(Don’t give into the pain)

Don’t try to hide

(Though they’re screaming your name)

Don’t close your eyes

(God knows what lies behind them)

Don’t turn out the light

(Never sleep never die)

SOOO, how did you like my first chap into the sequel? Please review and give me some feed-back. I welcome any and all comments, critisisms, etc. Thank you for reading!

RyuuAngel