Somewhere in Time

Saving Grace

He landed just in time to stop the tentacles from fatally piercing Kagome's heart. The tokijin parried the blow and effortlessly cut the appendages, scattering them to the ground. His golden eyes quickly assessed Kagome. The smell of fresh blood was strongly coming from her open wounds. The tenseiga's barrier had cut off the mephitic mist around her, but he could tell that it had already mixed with her blood and was slowly poisoning her body from the inside.

Naraku was evidently taken by surprise of this sudden arrival and while he recovered from the shock, Sesshomaru seized the moment to quickly cut the bonds that held Kagome. She fell limply in his arm, her head lolling as she struggled to remain conscious. Gently, he removed the cloth that covered her mouth and tossed it aside.

"Sessho...maru-sama?" she whispered weakly, her brown eyes fluttering. Her reiki clung to him in immense relief and he let his youki reach out to her to sooth her pain. He felt the underlying hurt, betrayal, and disbelief from her aura, making his blood boil in fury towards the one who had caused it.

"I am here," he murmured as he gently set her down to the ground, against the wooden post. Her hands clutched at his fur and refused to let go, but he tenderly removed them as he stood up. "I will finish this quickly and return to you. You must take your rest."

Sesshomaru made sure that the tenseiga's barrier still held before stepping out of its protection and back into the battlefield. His youki was blazing with fury. It blanketed the entire field and annihilated every trace of Naraku's miasma. Because of the hanyou's foolish choice, Kagome's life was put to the brink of death. Had he arrived a moment later...

A menacing growl escaped his lips. He was seething with white-hot rage. Naraku's scent was all over Kagome's injuries and he could smell her blood on the tentacles he had just cut down. Unforgivable.

Sesshomaru was furious at himself for failing to sense Kagome's ordeal. Unless she was aware of their connection, it was not yet solid and absolute. He was only able to perceive the danger she was in when he was preparing to leave the sky castle. It had been a vague sense of apprehension and an overwhelming desire to protect his pack. For a second, he had thought Jaken and Rin were in danger, but his mother's palace was an impenetrable fortress. Only then did he realize that someone he cared about outside his small pack was under a tremendous threat. Kagome.

Once he felt her peril and her desperation, the plea for help became a beacon for his instincts to follow. Sesshomaru, in all his centuries of existence, had never felt the strong urgency to rescue someone he deeply valued. Not when Jaken nor Rin needed him. He always knew he would get them back. But when he felt that Kagome's life might be at stake, he suddenly grew very afraid. What kind of an alpha was he if he could not protect his intended mate?

"Ah, Sesshomaru-sama, this is unforeseen!" Naraku said. His arm was back to normal after the daiyoukai had cut his tentacles.

"Silence," he growled, allowing his wrath to strengthen the surge of his youki towards the tokijin before quickly darting forward offensively. His solid form brought forth a powerful impact on the ground when he stopped in front of Naraku and attacked. His blade glowed blue as it pierced the spider hanyou's breastplate. However, Sesshomaru did not feel any flesh when he drove the tokijin deeper into his chest. A puppet.

Naraku laughed maliciously. "Well, this has been fun! I may have failed to kill the young miko today, but I will certainly be back for her. Clearly, Inuyasha cares for Kikyo more. He has cast Kagome aside. This betrayal will tear his company apart, as was my plan all along. Clever, is it not, Sessho—"

The daiyoukai had heard enough. In one fluid movement, he cut Naraku's head using the tokijin and the spider hanyou's body teetered and then fell stiffly on the ground. It disappeared in a puff of smoke and miasma, and a wooden doll lay in its place. Sesshomaru crushed it with his left boot before quickly returning to Kagome's side inside the tenseiga's barrier.

He was enraged to find Inuyasha already hovering over the miko, his hands clumsily brushing her bangs aside and tracing bruises on her face and neck. Sesshomaru gripped the abomination's neck and broke him away from Kagome. His alpha instincts were seething inside him. He would have choked the pathetic life out of him if only the houshi and the taijiya did not quickly intervene as soon as they arrived.

"Let... me... go, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha struggled to say, but he only tightened his grasp.

"Attempt to touch her again and I will end you," he said coldly and let one of his claws draw blood from the hanyou's neck. He growled when he sensed the taijiya cradle Kagome in her arms, but he reminded himself that she meant no harm and that the miko treated her like a sister.

"What's going on, Sesshomaru-sama?" The houshi approached warily, discarding his mask and cautiously stepping forward.

Sesshomaru ignored this and his golden eyes narrowed angrily. "You have failed her, Inuyasha. This treachery has nearly cost her life. You left her to die to save your undead lover. You have stooped low, little brother."

"Is this true, Inuyasha?" The taijiya half-rose from kneeling on the ground and the sudden movement seemed to jolt the miko to consciousness. Sesshomaru tossed the hanyou aside and knelt beside Kagome. Her reiki was weak, but he was able to caress it with his own aura. The moment he did, her eyes flew open.

"Kagome-chan!" the taijiya exclaimed. The miko looked at her in confusion for a moment before a cough forced her body to arch upward. Blood spattered from her mouth and Sesshomaru stiffened. She smelled strongly of the poisonous mist.

He heard the half-breed approach the barrier. "K-Kagome..."

Upon hearing the voice, the miko tensed and turned her head away. The taijiya looked sharply at the hanyou. "You're upsetting her, Inuyasha!"

"Sesshomaru-sama..." Kagome whispered. She weakly lifted her right arm, as if trying to locate him with her sense of touch.

To everyone's surprise, Sesshomaru took her right hand and held it gently. "I am here."

Her skin was smooth and warm, and the daiyoukai realized that this was their first intimate contact, regardless of the few encounters they had. Something inside his chest fluttered and he did not care of the curious and suspicious stares he received from the miko's pack. His attention was on her and her alone.

"Please..." Kagome was whispering again and this time, her brown eyes looked at him imploringly. "Please take me home."

"Kagome, no..." Inuyasha breathed. He attempted to reach her, but Sesshomaru blocked his way and took the tenseiga from the ground to point its tip to his chest. The greenish barrier instantly disappeared.

"This will not hurt you," he said, "but its barrier will." When the hanyou stepped back, he sheathed the sword, wordlessly took Kagome from the taijiya, and cradled her in his arm. The miko buried her face in his fur and he felt her body relax. Her feeble reiki swirled around his youki. All at once, relief and the sense of security tugged at their connection.

Sesshomaru began walking away from the dazed group. His thirst for vengeance was not sated, that was true, but one thing remained clear in his mind—Kagome had asked for him. Not for Inuyasha, but for him.

She had willingly chosen him as her protector. Inuyasha's role had been cast aside. Once again, the miko had participated in the mating ritual unknowingly. This act meant she was submitting her safety in Sesshomaru's care, thus allowing him to prove that as an alpha of a pack, he can provide her security and protection.

This was what he intended to do. And now he had her all to himself.

But first, he told himself as he gazed at the soft features of the miko's bruised face. I will tend to your wounds and honor your request. I shall take you home.