Tears of the Fallen Chapter 26: Tears of the Wistful, an inuyasha fanfic | ... https://www.fanfiction.

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Tears of the Fallen Follow/Fav

By: ShadowsWeaver1 (/u/1015584/ShadowsWeaver1) (https://www.fanfiction.net/pm2/post.php?uid=1015584)
Kagome is saved by Sesshomaru. Unfortunately for the young miko, Sesshomarus version of chivalry includes having her impaled by Tenseiga and thrown down a mystic
well. But that is only the first of our mikos problems. SessKag
Rated: Fiction T (https://www.fictionratings.com/) - English - Adventure/Romance - Sesshomaru, Kagome H. - Chapters: 36 - Words: 223,758 - Reviews: 1,859
(/r/3195971/) - Favs: 2,103 - Follows: 552 - Updated: Jul 28, 2007 - Published: Oct 12, 2006 - Status: Complete - id: 3195971

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Tears of the Wistful < Prev 26. Tears of the Wistful Next >

Tears of the Wistful

Morning came swiftly, breaking over the land like a curtain being drawn, filling everything with light and life. Birds rose from their nests, chirping happily on tree branches as the
prepared themselves for the rush of the day. Their calls awoke those sleeping below the tree canopy, and they too would come out to greet the morn. All around life began again,
the world moved into another day. Households opened, animals were fed and cared for, and children laughed and frolicked in their play beneath their busy parents' feet. Chores
were done, homes were kept, animals took to their foraging and hunts; life went on as always under the bright light of the sun.

The morning was crisp and clean, the air fresh and the winds gentle. The sky stretched above in an endless sea of the clearest blue, not even a single cloud to be seen. It was a
beautiful day, a day for discovery and adventure, a perfect day to set out on a journey.

The small group set out from their camp early in the day, their spirits lifted from the darkness of the night as they started into the day filled with new hopes. Rin danced merrily
through the lush fields of the highlands as they traveled, her jubilant warmth touching everyone as she skipped ahead to gather precious flowers or chased enthusiastically after
tiny butterflies floating through the air on the sweet summer breezes. Keeping a protective eye over the child in her play, Ah watched steadfast while Un kept his attention to
following the guidance of the miko's hand as she led him over the grassy planes. Even Jaken had contented himself to walking quietly behind the group, his loud protests as to the
miko's company or the child's careless frolicking long since silenced by his Lord.

Ahead though, leading the traveling group to their new destination, Sesshomaru was not feeling the calming peace of the bright morning rays or the warming joy of the child
exuberance. He was distracted and troubled. Through the night he had been fighting off the effects of the witches sutras, attempting to break free of the restraints the sacred
bindings had cast on him; but every time he had believed to be free of them, he found himself once more feeling the drain on his power levels and his senses.

In unsteady waves he would find himself unable to search out ahead for the scents of threats, but only moments later he would become assaulted with the multitude of scents
covering the land as everything would come back to him with clarity and potency. His view of the world was coming to him in unsteady flashes, sensing objects and life moving
steadily for an instant, and then having it stripped away and replaced with a completely different image after that, one in which life had moved on for a few paces and yet he had
missed the steps.

Last night, it had only been his sense of smell that was affected, but upon the morning, he had discovered that his hearing too was off, not quite as acute as it should have been,
only able to detect sound for a sparse few miles instead of several. It was getting worse with every surge, with every flash of the world the images being played back to him
through his senses were becoming smaller, less distinct, and covering less and less of the world ahead.

He felt as though he was standing within the mists of the mountains again, having his senses robbed from him. But this was no mist clouding his vision, nor the unforgiving echo
of wild cries cascading off jagged stone to corrupt his hearing. There was nothing natural about the way his senses had been dulled, and it infuriated him to think that the dark
miko had accomplished something as such against him.

The witch was going to die, and it was going to be his great pleasure to see to it that her death was a painful experience.

"Sesshomaru?" The miko's timid voice from beside him pulled him from his thoughts. He looked down at her, seeing in the clear, endless blue of her eyes the soft tinge of worry.
"Is there something wrong? You seemtense."

For a moment, he considered telling the miko of the spells effect on him, but seeing the worry in her eyes and knowing that telling her would only serve to heighten her
apprehension for the coming battles, he decided against it. After all, he was not without his capabilities. Scent and sound could only serve him so far before it was strength and
speed and skill would take their place. He had been without his senses before and come out of the experience with new knowledge and new confidence. There was no reason to
add to the girl's concerns. However, though he believed it unnecessary to inform her of his current situation that did not mean that he could not utilize the miko's abilities to serve
his purposes.

"Can you sense the Shikon nearby?" he asked her, his tone steady, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.

Kagome cocked her head slightly at the question. It was puzzling that Sesshomaru would ask her if she sensed the Shikon. True, Inuyasha needed her abilities to find the jewel
shards, but Sesshomaru's senses were far more advanced than his brother's. If Sesshomaru was sensing something that seemed threatening, surely he would know if Naraku's
beasts were involved because he would catch their scent. He wouldn't need her to tell him if the Shikon was near, because he would know it himself.

But then she remembered Tsubaki's deception from the night before. Somehow, she had managed to deceive Sesshomaru's senses. The witch had concealed her scent, making it
possible for him to believe that she hadn't been the one to attack him. Though Kagome still had not idea what could have allowed his senses to be fooled in such a way, she also
realized that he was asking for her help in locating the witch, and that knowledge stood out from any other doubts.

She paused for a moment, allowing her eyes to close as she focused her energies into stretching across the land in search of what she sought. With invisible hands she reached
out, tracing her fingers across the feelings of swelling power in search of the one most prominent. But as her hands reached out for the knowledge of where the Shikon lay, in
response to her call, the Jewel in her possession surged with power. It clouded her sight, crippled her hands, forced her to feel only the power it had and no other.

Kagome sighed deeply and opened her eyes to look up to Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry, but the Shikon I hold makes it very difficult to locate the one in this time. Their powers are the
same, and calling for one makes the other react." She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I can't find Tsubaki."

"Do not let it trouble you," Sesshomaru replied, easing away her insecurities produced by her failure. "The witch will make herself known when she wishes it, and we will fight her."
He started moving again, walking on ahead as though nothing was out of place, once again the placid calm of the immobile island, the untouchable force. "Keep your senses alert,"
he called back to her, snapping her out of her daze, "We approach the wasteland."

At that, Kagome pushed away her nagging questions and any residual doubts. She concentrated on the path ahead, watching as the lush grasses and rolling hills of the highlands
that they had traveled through throughout the morning began to break away. Slowly at first, the thinning of the brush and the darkening of the grasses to brown, the changes
became evident. But the longer they walked, the more prevalent the death of this place became. The grasses no longer grew on the ground, leaving nothing but cracked mud and
dusty earth beneath their feet, and where lush growth of bush and trees had been only large rocks and protrusions of stone remained.

The land bore a chill to it even in the heat of the summer day, a desolate warning of danger that echoed in the expanses of lifeless ruin. The cold seemed to seep into the body,
numbing and paralyzing, stealing away the very air they breathed. It was everywhere, in the hardness of the stone, in the echo of the cutting winds. The very land seemed to call
out to those passing upon it. Danger: it warned. Beware.

"Kagome?" The little voice from beside her had the young miko looking down to the wide, uncertain eyes of the child. "Rin does not like this place," she said quietly, "It makes Rin
feel funny."

"I know, Rin," Kagome soothed as she knelt down next to the girl. She wrapped her arms around the child in a comforting embrace, soothing away her worries with the simplicity
of her touch. "What you are feeling is only natural." she told her once she pulled away. "It's a warning of danger to keep you alert. But you don't have to worry," she added with a

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Rin's eyes widened in horror, "Lord Sesshomaru is not scary!" she exclaimed.

Kagome just laughed at that, thinking back on what it really felt like to be pinned by his deadly claws and held in the ferocity of his golden gaze. Oh, he was scary alright, very,
very scary. But to know that his power and his presence were working with her instead of against her was enough to put a big smile on her face.

"He's scary enough for me," Kagome told the girl as she took her hand and stood, "Just think of all that big bad doggie breath! Scary!" Kagome emphasized her point with a false
tremor, but the look of absolute disbelief in the eyes of the girl and the fact that she just knew Sesshomaru had heard her comment, sent Kagome into a bout of light giggles.
"Come on, Rin," she urged with a slight pull on the girl's hand once she had reined in her laughter, "We wouldn't want to keep" She was abruptly cut off when she had turned and
found Sesshomaru looking at her intently. She gulped down the nervous lump that had formed in her throat, and managed to find her shaky voice. "Sesshomaru? Is something
wrong?"

Sesshomaru blinked and averted his gaze from the miko. He had known the girls had come to a stop, but that was not what had bothered him. It hadn't even been the miko's
words to the child that caused his unrest; it was the fact that he could barely hear the woman's soft assurances to the girl even though they were not more than a few paces
behind him.

"Let us not waste time," he ordered as he turned and began walking again. "Come."

Kagome, knowing that his tone meant nothing but business, was quick to comply with his order. She quickly took up her pace, bringing her and the child whose hand she was
holding in step with Sesshomaru.

They walked for several hours through the vast emptiness of the desolate planes. The sun in the sky overhead beat down on the mercilessly, its heat stifling when there was no
tress or grass to lessen its impact. Not even the whipping winds made less of the heat, for they too would wash over the travelers with gusts that burned with the sting of
loosened sands and dirt caught in their dance.

Though her demon companions either didn't feel the heat or were not bothered by it, Kagome was fully aware of how much of a toll it was taking on her body. She was sweating
heavily, her clothing long ago drenched in the moisture of her body. And because of this, the sands caught in the winds were sticking to her readily, leaving her with the feeling of
a second skin, dry and cracking and unbelievably foul.

Still, despite the fact that her body was protesting loudly to its current state, Kagome's mood was light and pleasant. Ever since her assurances to Rin, the girl had taken to her
raptly. She had questioned hr endlessly about the use of her powers, her curiosity nearly insatiable. Kagome had answered the girl's questions as best she could, happy to have
any distraction from the seemingly endless stretch of barren plains; but, being that she really didn't know all that much about them in the first place, she soon took to putting
Rin's abilities to practice and allowing the girl to find them out for herself.

Kagome drew the bouncing child near to her, taking hold of her hand as she instructed the girl to draw out the powers of the amulet she now wore around her neck. Rin did as she
was told, concentrating on the tingling as Kagome had told her. In only moments, she was seeing the first glittering waves of gold that burst forth around her, and after several
long minutes more, she was able to hold the barrier steady for several seconds at a time.

Rin beamed with pride at her accomplishment, and her joy became Kagome's as well as she too took pride in her pupil's learning. But again, as she watched the flickering seal of
the barrier around her, Rin's curiosity overcame her and she began asking question again.

"Kagome, why does the barrier not affect you? Rin is holding Kagome's hand, but the barrier does not react."

"It won't react to me because I don't intend you any harm."

Rin seemed contented with that explanation, and, for the moment at least, abandoned her questioning in favor of swinging herself playfully using the elder girl's arm as her swing.
But she quickly realized that her swinging was rather lopsided. Rin paused momentarily in her game, but her little mind quickly came up with a solution. She looked over to where
her Lord was walking beside her. Usually, the girl wouldn't have thought to do such a thing, but with Miss Kagome being so willing to play with her, Rin was finding that more and
more she wished that her Lord would as well. She looked longingly at his hand, wishing to take it as Kagome had so easily taken hers.

But he wouldn't, she thought sadly to herself. He had always stayed so distant. It wasn't that she minded or anything, she knew that was the way he was, and she loved him still.
But she wished, if only for a moment, she could feel what it was like to have him care for her as openly as Miss Kagome. She knew her Lord cared, she knew that he would always
protect her, she knew these things; but still

Rin allowed her vision to slide upwards until she could see his face. He was so calm, his expression almost placid. He had always seemed to her to be an angel lost in the world,
always with his eyes searching ahead for the light he had left behind. But not now. Now, all she could see when she looked at him was the calm. He no longer seemed to be
searching ahead. Now, he was walking in the present, as though he had found his light.

That thought made the young girl smile. She wished for nothing more than for her Lord to be happy, and she knew, that in ways that could never come from battle or from the
totems of power that he sought, he had found something to bring him joy. Oh, she could see it on his face, that face formed from the most perfect of molds, the lines of worry that
etched his flawless skin so delicately as his muscles clenched in uncertainty. He was fighting with himself, holding himself back, hiding something unknown to anyone else. But
even so, the calm was there, radiating from him. He was happy, maybe more so than she had ever seen him, and that made her smile in joy as well. Maybe, just maybe

"Rin," Sesshomaru's voice pulled the girl from her thoughts. "Is there something you wanted?"

Rin decided right then that she should just go for it. She took a deep breath, then reached her little hand up and slid it into Sesshomaru's. For a moment she stopped breathing.
All she could do was watch the way her Lord's eyes widened ever so slightly and then quickly turned to look down at her. But when she felt his hand slowly and gently tighten
around hers, her whole face lit up with a radiant smile.

"No, Lord Sesshomaru," she told him, her voice only another measure of her joy, "Rin has everything she could ever want."

The day continued on, but even in the vast emptiness of the barren lands, even through the heat of the sun and the rush of the sandy winds; they was joy to be found, a peaceful
calm that had settled over the traveling group. It was the innocence of a child that brought such feelings to a group that had suffered under such distrust and anger. And as the
day wore on, and Rin drew them in to her innocent games and joyful play, there was no escaping the feelings of contentment and happiness.

Rin couldn't have been happier. With one of her hands in that of her Lord's and her other in the gentle hold of her new friend, the girl couldn't remember the last time she had felt
so wonderful, so loved, so much a part of a family. But there was still a member of her family missing. Rin twisted slightly around, managing to catch a glimpse of the lumpy green
form of the toad trudging along behind them.

There was a special place in Rin's heart for the loud little toad. True, he tended to be quite mouthy, and he liked to point out the fact of how utterly human she was, and he
seemed to be overly fond of whatever that foul stench was that he was always covered in; but she knew, underneath his lumpy green exterior, that the toad had a good heart and
that he would, if it came down to it, give everything he could to ensure her safety. He was her friend, perhaps the only one she had before Miss Kagome had come into her life,
and seeing him so downcast as he shuffled his little feet behind his master made Rin feel sad for the little beast.

She should do something for him, she decided suddenly, something to lighten his mood and put awellnot a smilebut perhaps a less pronounced scowl on the toad's beakly
face. Rin allowed her eyes to scan across the reaches of the barren planes. Of course, a pretty flower was out of the question, but surely, she thought, she could find something
that would serve as a present to her rather tantrum friend.

It didn't take the girl very long to find what she was looking for. Just to her left, at the base of a gathering of rocks jutting over a small stream of greenish waters flowing down
into a narrow pass that led to the deep ravine below, something glinted in he bright rays of the sun. A flash of metal perhaps, or even a precious stone hidden within the dull rock
and dirt of the wasteland; either way, the girl was immediately filled with a rush of exhilaration. Jaken would love it! She was sure.

Still, just because she was going to get a special gift for her friend, that didn't mean that she was about ready to give up her spot holding the hands of her two favoritest people.
But how to keep her place for when she returned? Rin's little face scrunched up slightly as she debated the issue, but then, suddenly, she was struck with an inspiration.

"Rin will be right back," the girl chirped happily to the two adults as she began drawing her hands together, "Hold my spot."

And with that, Rin pulled her hands away and darted off to her treasure, leaving two very shocked adults clutching each other's hands in the place of the little girl's

After Rin's departure, Kagome, for the life of her, couldn't figure out what to do. Here she was, holding Sesshomaru's hand, and her body was betraying her and not letting go. At
least, she was blaming her body, but that was because she really wasn't about to accept the possibility that her body was simply obeying the thoughts running through her head
which told her that it felt rather nice to have Sesshomaru holding her hand, and that she really didn't want to let go.

Hesitantly, she lifted her eyes to find his. Half expecting to find him glaring at her murderously for daring to touch him in such a way, she was completely thrown when she found

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'For me to pull away,' Kagome realized in a slight daze. 'He thinks that I would pull away from himBecause of the last timebecause ofInuyasha.'

Kagome's eye widened with the realization, but after a few fast flutterings of her eyelids to clear away her confusion, she managed to look back down to their locked hands that
had put her in this position in the first place. A slight, involuntary, twitch of one of her fingers startled Kagome so badly she nearly lost her balance. Chastising herself harshly for
acting so much like a frightened little school girl, while disregarding the fact that in reality she was just that, Kagome pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she worked
through the fog of her mind to try and figure out what to do.

'Oh this is ridiculous!' she was screaming in her mind. 'It just his hand for crying out loud! His hand, with sharp, deadly claws that shoot poison, and which have shot poison
directly at me, pierced straight through countless demons without so much as a thought, killed..but ooohhhh his hand is so warm! Ok Kagome, girl, get a grip. It's just a hand.
Holding hands is what friends do, right? Yeah, right. Friends that are about to get friendlier! Well it's not like he hasn't tried to get friendlier already. Then again, that was like 200
years ago for him, and then there was that whole 100 years or so of hating me because he thought I betrayed him and all, and.OOOHHH!! You stupid demon! Why didn't you just
let go! Or yell at me to let go?! Not like you ever yell or anything.'

Kagome was cut off from her inner ramblings, a startled gasp leaving her lips, as Sesshomaru's hand tightened around hers, pressing against her skin with light pressure as his
fingers shifted slightly to wrap more securely around her hand. Her eyes flew up to find his, and she could feel the heat building under her cheeks as a furious blush stained her
skin. For a second, she thought she saw something in his eyes, something that she had thought only a dream when she had unknowingly woken in the future. But no sooner had
she seen it, than his eyes shifted, flashing back again to the hardened gold. Before she even realized it, he had turned away from her and pulled his hand free of hers.

"Sess" she started to call out to him, but was interrupted by a shrill, high-pitched, scream.

Kagome spun quickly towards the sound. "RIN!!" She cried out in horror as she watched the ground under the child surging to life under her.

In a heaving mass, the ground beneath the girl's feet pressed upwards. The dirt and mud began to fall away from what was rising, and as it fell the sharp glint of metal began to
reflect in the sun. In only seconds, Rin was surrounded on all sides, the thick projections of metal gathering like a fist ready to clench down on the child.

She screamed again, a shrill sound of horror, and in response, the juttings of metal snapped together, intent on smothering the girl in it grasp. But no sooner had the creaking
grind of the moving elements sounded out, than a hissing crack rang out through the air. Three of the large projections fell away immediately. They had been cut through, the
junctions of their severing still sizzling with the hot acid that had corroded them.

Within the clutch of stone, Rin was visible again. She was crouched down against the shifting stone at her feet, her arms lifted above her head; but all around her, flashing strong
with currents of whipping black light against the encroaching stone, the barrier of the enchanted pendant held firm.

Again the hissing crack echoed on the air, severing another portion of the metallic stone, crumbling two more peaks. In a flash, Sesshomaru was within the gripping confines right
next to the crouching girl. He gathered Rin to himself, securing her against his chest with a sharp order for her to hold on. Her hands tightened against his fur, and Sesshomaru
pushed strongly off away from the closing grasp of the clutch. But even as he lifted himself and the child away, he turned back to the heaving stone and released his acid whip
once more.

The rising ore was decimated beneath the powerful crack of his whip, causing showers of stone, dirt, and metal to spray in every direction as it was torn apart. But as Kagome
looked on, a whole new apprehension began gripping her. The metal that had been embedded in the stone, the metal that had lifted up out of the earth in an attempt to take hold
of the girl, was melting on the ground, collecting into small pools before seeping back into the rocks and dirt of the planes.

"Jaken!" Sesshomaru called to the imp forcefully as he settled the still trembling child onto the saddle of Ah-Un. "Take Rin and Ah-Un and go back to the highlands. Wait there for
my return."

"My Lord?" the little toad questioned as he drew up to the side of the pack beast.

"Go. Now." Sesshomaru ordered frigidly to the imp as he smacked hard on the rump of the dragon to force it to the skies.

Jaken squawked in shock and frantically scrambled to take hold of the dragons reins before it lifted into the sky. Still, as he left his Lord behind, Jaken could not help but worry.
Something was troubling his Lord, and that in itself was cause to worry because nothing ever seemed to trouble the great Sesshomaru-sama. But ever since he had returned to
the camp on the previous night, his Lord had been even more removed than usual, almost as though he was distracted by something he was sensing. But the toad could not go
against his master's orders, and he was left with no course of action but to hope for the safe return of his beloved Lord. Surely, the great Sesshomaru-sama would bring down the
threat that had been playing across his highly advanced senses.

Little did the toad know, that it had not been what Sesshomaru had been sensing that had troubled him so, but rather, what he had not been sensing.

"What is it, Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked in a hushed whisper as she drew closer to him, her eyes never leaving the disappearing pools of gleaming metal.

A low rumble of aggravation began vibrating through Sesshomaru's chest. "I do not know," he answered the miko curtly. "The only scent is that of the ore in the rock." But he
knew it wasn't just that. Something was controlling the movement of the metal ores, but he could not focus his senses enough to be able to pinpoint its source.

Kagome cast a curious look at Sesshomaru. There it was again, the distraction she had seen earlier. What was it? What was bothering him? She had never seen him so tense. Even
on the misted mountain he never radiated this kind ofunease. She didn't like it. She didn't like seeing him like that, it was wrong for him, for a being of such power and will. More
than that, she didn't like the knowledge that he was keeping something from her, something powerful enough to distract even him from their journey. And she was going to tell
him thatlater.

Right now though, right now she had a demon to find.

Kagome planted her feet firmly on the ground and stretched her hands out in front of herself. She took in a deep, steadying breath, and then lanced her searching aura forward.
Her hands stretched out before her, but not as visible entities. They were the soft brush of the breeze, the gentle mists of the forest streams. They touched everything, speaking to
it in soft whispers, and listening as even the elements of the living earth spoke back.

"Where" it was a whisper of awe, of reverence for the land; but it was a question of need, a testament of wills.

The answer came to her in a rush; a pulsing of power, a shift in the balance. She could feel it like a cold shiver at the loss of the sun behind the long shadows of a cloud. The dark
aura rose up around her, revealing its intent. It rose from the very heart of the land, from the dark places that never saw the light; and it came with only one purpose: to destroy.
But she had seen darkness before, she had faced down its wrath and stood firm against its claim to power. And she was still here, though the same could not be said about many
of the dark ones.

Kagome flared her aura powerfully, pushing it into the land around her. "Come out!" she called forcefully to the beast lying in wait.

It was there, just beyond the sharp drop of the ravine. It was the earth, it was the elements; but it was alive. She could feel it now, the pulse of the beast in the earth. It was a
painful throb that passed across her senses. Anger, fury, hatred, death; this was all the beast knew. It had pulled back when it felt the surge of her powers, but it had returned
with a fury that magnified its terror a hundred fold.

The ground began to shake, fitful tremors that broke through the earth so fiercely that all around large splits in the stone opened to create deep chasms. Kagome dropped to her
knees to steady herself against the tremors, her bow already in hand. The beast was coming, and she was going to be ready for it. But the shaking of the earth did not cease. A
sharp crack resonated through the ground directly underneath her, and Kagome threw herself to the side only seconds before a sharp jutting of jagged metal burst out through the
stone.

She scrambled back from the projection, but another sharp crack from beneath her had her pushing herself forcefully to her feet and dashing across the trembling earth. The
ground beneath her feet was heaving, rising and falling as though the very earth was breathing. The disorienting motion forced Kagome to stay low to the ground, using her hands
to steady her as she was jostled from her feet with every rise and fall. But she had to keep moving. All around the metal spikes were shooting through the stone as what lay
beneath rose to the surface.

A sudden lurching sent Kagome sprawling. She tried to right herself, but the ground had all but disappeared from under her. It had broken away in a sprawling gap just ahead of
her, but behind her the ground had lifted at an impossible angle. She was falling, slipping against the loosened dirt and rock, unable to hold on.

Then she stopped. She was moving away from the rise of land.

"You could have been there sooner," she sighed as she relaxed against Sesshomaru. He didn't respond to her with words, but she could feel the light rumble that shook through his
chest and it made her smile despite everything happening around her.

In only moments, Sesshomaru was setting them down away from the great split that had opened. Kagome turned and lifted her eyes to the growing horror. The huge section of
land that had rising up beneath them was breaking away from something solid underneath. The great spikes that had thrust so forcefully through the outer crust were revealed to

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be jagged spines of metal protruding from the heavy frame of the beast.

Its shoulders lifted first, the spines protruding from its armored form crumbling the stone and shaking it away to reveal the shifting grey of its skin which flashed in every
movement with the shine of hard metal. In an explosion of power far back from the lifting frame, the creature's tail burst out of its stone confinements. A dozen ferocious balls of
deadly spikes, snapping wildly in every direction; the whipping tail sent a hail of ruble raining down across the devastated land. When at last the beast pulled its head from the
depths of the ravine, there was no more doubting what kind of creature they faced.

A metal dragon: a mythical creature of the elements rather than of flesh and blood.

Its eyes, set deeply behind a barricading wall of the jagged metal, gleamed a wicked red as it turned to focus on the essence of purity that had come to face it down. The armor
shell covered every inch of it, jutting out in every direction as deadly skewers, and behind it, thrashing furiously, the dragon's tail left a devastating wake that shook the land. It
was massive, towering so high into the sky that it put into shadow everything below. It snapped its jaw wide, revealing the razor edges of the gapping maw, and released a hissing
roar.

Kagome screamed and clasped her hands tightly against her ears to force the sound away. It was deafening! It resounded against her eardrums in a thundering pulse, shaking her
inner balance, forcing her to her knees. She could do nothing but fight against the sound, pushing it away from her with everything she had.

Then, suddenly, it stopped. The roar faded, taking with it the debilitating pulse. But in its wake, a deep hiss filled the air, followed immediately by a deep, shuddering, choking
sound. Kagome managed to lift her head to look up at the beast, but the moment she did she knew she had no time. The dragon has spit thousands of jagged spears from its
great maw of shredded metal, and they cut through the air directly at her.

Kagome braced her hands before her, hiding her head away from the path of the spears. She knew the effort was all but futile, but she was working on nothing but instinct. She
held her breath and waited, but the spikes would never hit. The screeching rip of metal against metal echoed all around her, and she peered hesitantly over the protective shield of
her arms. A deep sigh of relief left her when she saw Sesshomaru standing in front of her with his sword drawn. He was standing right in the path of the attack, forcing aside
every jagged bolt with easy swipes of his blade.

When the barrage had finally come to a stop, the dragon was visible again. Sesshomaru wasted no time in moving in on the beast. He pushed off from the ground, his target in his
sights. He had lifted himself to the towering height of the dragon, as easy in the air as on the ground as he manipulated the currents of energy around him to lift him to his will.
His blade came down in a great arch, filled to its capacity with currents of power. The blast from Tokijin exploded outwards in a fury, lancing in searing bolts towards the dragon's
head.

The beast hissed and recoiled from the sheer force of the blast, but in its retreat its tail snapped forward, flying meteors of destruction. Sesshomaru evaded the wild swings. Using
his speed, he easily avoided any contact and managed to position himself for another attack. His arm lifted as he prepared to strike, but the beast suddenly burst out of the still
burning currents of energy from the last attack. It thrust its gapping maws at him, attempting to snag him in its armored teeth. But again Sesshomaru was too fast. He
maneuvered behind the dragon's head, lashing out again with his blade. His strike landed solidly with the beast's neck, but the second the sword hit the armored skin of the
dragon, it recoiled back from the solid metal frame.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome's voice drew his attention in an instant. Silently, he cursed the girl for drawing the attention of the beast as well, but he was already too late to stop her.
"There's a power source in its neck!" She yelled up to him as she notched an arrow.

"No!"

But he couldn't stop her. Kagome had already loosed her arrow at the soft glow of power she saw reflecting off the shifting metal of the elemental's armor. The arrow sped towards
its target; its path strong and true and tracking a glittering wave of pure energy behind it. It slammed into the metal shell of the dragon, its power exploding outwards in bright
rays of light. But the arrow had been shattered, its magics deflected from the creature's protective shell.

Kagome stared unbelievingly for a second, but then quickly reached behind herself for another arrow. Her actions, though, had set the dragon's sights on her once again. Its
burning eyes locked on to her, and even as she lifted her bow, she could see the jaws of the beast opening again. Her eyes widened in apprehension, and her breathing quickened.
She knew she needed to make this shot count. With no more time to waste, Kagome focused every ounce of power she could into the light wood of her arrow and loosed it in a
brilliant stream of light.

Sesshomaru could see the arrow's approach, but from where he was he could also see the dragon ready to unleash its attack. Kagome wouldn't survive a barrage of the jagged
spears. He had to do something, and he had to do it now. In a burst of speed, he pulled back from the dragon, only to stop dead and spin back to the beast. He used his
momentum to propel himself against the dragon's armored head. As he rushed the beast, he reached out to take hold of one of the jagged spikes of its metal covering. With an
unyielding grip on the dragon, he continued his movement forward, swinging the head with him over the edge of the ravine.

Not in time.

The dragon's attack had already begun. The jagged spears spewed forth from its grate maw, slicing their way towards the little miko. But the attack had been diverted, it was
slightly off course. Kagome saw her chance, and bolted away from the deadly spines. From the corner of her eye she could see the massive frame of the elemental dragon being
pulled forcefully over the edge of the cliff. She startled when she saw a flash of white against the glinting silver of the metal beast. Sesshomaru was taking the dragon over the
ravine, but it was falling directly above him. It would trap him beneath it!

"AAAAHHHH!!"

The startled scream was wrenched out of her when she felt the ripping pain tear across her left shoulder. She lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, rolling with the force of
the impact. She hissed as the jarring force of the ground tore against the deep wound cutting across her shoulder. Reflexively, her right hand reached up to cover the tear in her
flesh. Feeling the pulse of blood seeping through her fingers and the searing pain ripping through her whole arm, Kagome cried out in shock. Her breathing was harsh, short,
forceful gasps to return lost oxygen to her body, but slowly and on shaky limbs, she managed to push herself to her knees.

Immediately her sight was drawn to the edge of the ravine that Sesshomaru and the dragon had disappeared over. Her panting breaths shortened when she saw no movement
from beyond the drop. She needed to do something. Quickly, she gathered her bow from where it had been sent flying from her hand when she had been struck, and she got to
her feet and started towards the ledge. But she had only made it a few paces when she found herself stumbling backwards again.

From out of the gap in the stone, the massive frame of the dragon surged upwards. Its shifting metal body glinted in blinding flashes as it twisted in the air. But the position of the
creature's body was wrong. Even as it shifted in the air to bring its legs down to contact with the ground, Kagome could tell that the beast's departure from the base of the rock
split was not of its own doing. Her eyes shot back to the edge just in time to see the sleek, muscled form of the powerful Inu launching himself over the edge of the cliff in a
collision path with the dragon.

Sesshomaru was on the dragon even before it had time to right itself from being thrown from the pit. His jaws snapped open with a vicious snarl as his heavy frame settled across
the back of the dragon. Ignoring the projecting pieces of metal covering the dragon's back and shoulders, Sesshomaru ground his claws against the beast, gripping against the
jagged spikes as his jaw wrapped around the dragon's throat.

The dragon roared in fury when it felt the heat of the corrosive poison burning through its outer shell. Its body reared up powerfully, jerking back against the Inu that held it. The
beast's movement managed to break Sesshomaru's hold. He pushed away quickly, his hind legs taking the force of his impact and shaking the earth beneath him. But the dragon
was quick to strike back. It turned quickly, its tail whipping forward with a hiss of movement.

Sesshomaru reared back from the attack, avoiding the hit of many of the spiked implements and deflecting the rest with determined sweep of his claws. The instant the attack had
passed he was moving forward again. He caught several of the smaller connections whipping out from the dragon's thick, armored tail between his teeth. Using the combination of
his corrosive saliva and the force of his jaw, the heavy balls of spikes fell to the ground, the remaining tendril of their attachment thrashing wildly.

The dragon roared in pain and reeled back. It used the bulk of its body to slam into Sesshomaru, sending him back again. But again he regained his footing as he planted his hind
legs behind him and used his claws to force grips into the stone and earth. The dragon wheeled on him, its eyes flashing dark and deadly. It was preparing for another attack.

The slight shifting of the ground beneath him was the only sign for Sesshomaru that anything had taken place, but in an instant, explosions erupted everywhere as the metal ore
in the stone was called up by the elemental. Sesshomaru growled fiercely at the beast as he was forced to push back again to avoid the jutting of metal that sought to impale him
at the jagged tips. One missed him by only inches on his right side. He made to move around it, but in his rush he failed to make the adjustment for his upset balance without his
left foreleg. His heavy frame tilted precariously. Only by inches, he managed to steady himself by shifting his back leg forward. But no sooner had he corrected his lapse than he
was forced to press off the ground in the face of another projection of metal.

Sesshomaru growled out his fury at the dragon as he lifted towards it. Elementals always were an annoyance. Again he crashed into the side of the beast. The fibers of his fur,
though silken to the touch, were as strong as the metal covering of the dragon and they shielded him from injury, allowing him to he hold back nothing against the beast. His jaws
wrapped around the dragon's throat again, burning deeper and more forcefully through the beast's armored shell. The taste of metal began to bleed into his mouth, the creature's
blood thick like flowing mercury before it too was corroded and melted into acrid fumes by the potent poison flowing through his body.

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Tears of the Fallen Chapter 26: Tears of the Wistful, an inuyasha fanfic | ... https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3195971/26/Tears-of-the-Fallen
The dragon bucked again, but this time Sesshomaru's grip was too tight and his jaw remained locked tightly around the beast's neck. Beneath him, he could feel the creature
thrashing wildly. Its frame shifted, the jagged spines running along its back screaming as they brushed against each other. The tail! Sesshomaru released his hold and ducked
quickly to avoid being caught by the spiked clubs of the dragon's tail. He saw the beast falter as it staggered back from him, and he growled lowly in triumph.

But the elemental wasn't finished yet. It forced the ground to tremble again, putting the great Inu on the defensive as the metal ores of the earth rose up about him, and it
snapped its maw wide once more. The dreadful hiss of the dragon's breath spewed out again in a dark cloud of raining metal spears. It followed Sesshomaru's path as he took to
the skies, lifting its head and tracking the Inu with its deadly spears.

It was the move that would spell the end of the dragon.

The moment it lifted its head, it had revealed the corroded area of its neck. From the ground below, Kagome found a perfect shot clear through the dragon's outer shell. She could
see the power source gleaming in its neck, the dark light that was the curse of this beast. She lifted her bow, fighting against the painful sting of her wound that was pulsing with
throbbing protests with every slight motion. But she fought against it. Her window had opened and she would not miss it. She drew her bowstring taught, lining up her sights with
her target, and then released.

The brilliant stream of power cut through the air, passing under the dragon's protective shell. The arrow sunk deeply into the dragon's frame, stilling only once it had reached the
pulsing flow of dark light. The beast immediately stiffened. Its frame shook and its maw snapped open and closed again in a futile attempt to roar out its anguish. But the purity of
the sacred arrow burned through the darkness of the beast's power, the light overshadowing the darkness and sealing it away. One last time, the dragon reared back, wheeling on
its hind legs to face the little miko below. But she stood strong against it, and already another arrow of light was streaking towards the tear at its neck.

With the second arrow, the purity became too much. The dragon was overtaken by a blinding surge of white light. It enveloped its body, inside and out. It raced through its veins
as fire hot enough to boil even the metal in its blood. And then it went still. Its head lifted to the skies and its eyes slipped closed. The light exploded from within the beast,
showing outwards in a hail of glittering ash that floated gently to the earth below.

The ground trembled with shock when the heavy bones of the cursed dragon crashed down. Its life in service to the curse of the land, to the power of the shifting metals, had
come to an end.

Kagome dropped to her knees when she saw the beast fall. Her bow slipped from her hands, clattering to the ground at her side. She hadn't the strength to hold it any longer. She
took in several deep, gasping breaths to harden her resolve, and then looked to her wounded shoulder. Her breath caught. Spreading out from the large tear in her flesh she could
see the thin blue lines that were spreading through her skin and seeping into her blood.

Poison! The word screamed out in her mind. The elemental had poisoned her with its attack. The heavy metals of its blood were being drawn into her body, poisoning her with
their taint with every beat of her heart. She pressed down firmly on the gash to slow the flow of blood, hissing as the pain assaulted her once more.

"Sesshomaru!" she called out to him, her voice rasping in pain. But she knew what had to be done. He appeared beside her almost instantly, already morphed back to his
humanoid form. "It's poison," she hissed as she lifted her hand to reveal the deep gouge on her shoulder and the spreading lines tracking beneath he skin. "You have to burn it
out."

Sesshomaru knelt down next to her. He could see the poison spreading beneath her skin, smell the taint in her blood; but "My poison will kill you."

"No." Kagome shook her head firmly as she struggled to catch her breath. "It won't. You have to" She paused as a wave of dizziness passed over her, stealing her vision to bleary
grey before she blinked it back into focus. "...trust me," she finished as her eyes locked on his again. She reached forward with her good arm and took hold of his hand, guiding it
up to her shoulder until she could press the end of his claws into her skin. She gasped involuntarily, her face being contorted as the pain ripped through her again, but she held
steady. "You must."

Sesshomaru hesitated for a moment longer, but the solid determination in the eyes of the miko soon won over his sense of uncertainty. He pressed his claws deeper into her, his
jaw setting in concentration as he blocked out the strangled cry of pain that left her. He kept his eyes only on the tear in her shoulder, focusing all of his attention into slowly
releasing a steady flow of poison from his claws. A wracking tremor took over the miko's body as the poison entered her system, but he held her still.

"It burns" he heard her soft whisper between her gasping breaths. "Likeyou"

Slowly, carefully, he pulled his claws back from her. She swayed unsteadily as another fit of tremors raced through her frame, but he caught her before she could fall. Bringing her
close against him, Sesshomaru held the miko tightly as she strained for breath and fought against the corrosive poison racing through her veins. But even though outwardly she
seemed worse, he could also see the streaking blue lines fading away beneath her skin as his poison dissolved the elements of the ore.

"Rest, priestess," he told her quietly as his hold shifted on her trembling body so that he could lift her.

"No" her tiny whisper brought his eyes back to hers.

She was fighting to keep her eyes open, but she did not want to give in just yet. Her right arm lifted slowly from her side, trembling slightly as she reached out to him. She
touched the side of his face timidly, trailing along the line of his jaw with shaky fingers before her strength gave out and her hand fell limply to her side. But even so, a small,
happy smile pulled up on her lips.

"Youreyes," she whispered quietly as her eyes filled with a clear barrier of moisture. "Theycare..."

Her voice dropped off and her eyes slipped shut. She went limp in his arms, her body stealing her into unconsciousness to fight against the poison coursing through her. And as
her head fell forward against him her hot tears dripped down onto the silken fibers of his fur.

Sesshomaru tensed slightly as her weight settled against him, but he soon found himself pulling her closer. He had felt the soft heat of her touch, heard the longing and need in
her voice. She had asked him to trust her again, and he had. With hardly any thought, he had done as she asked him to. He had watched her body tremble with waves of pain as
his poison coursed through her; but with the sight of it, the feeling of her body trembling against him, knowing how hard she was fighting; he couldn't help looking into her eyes,
seeing past the hazy blue surfaces to the flashing waves of light burning within. He could see them dance and surge within her, almost feel the heated waves of her pain. But in
that moment, he had inadvertently opened his eyes to her as well.

She cried because she had seen it again, seen past his hardened barriers to a place within him meant only for her. She shed her tears because she knew as much as he what it
meant, and how deeply the ache spread.

Tears of the wistful.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Ok, that was the longest chapter EVER!! Phew! I didn't think it would ever be over. But, it is. Thank God!

These battles take forever, but they are fun while they last. Next chapter though, I think I'm going to take a break from the battles to come and relax for a bit. I think I've earned
it! And so have they.

But on your way out, if you would be so kind, leave a review to let you authoress know how her battle went. I'm still working on my battle scenes, and some feedback would be
good for tweaking the ones still to come in this journey.

Well then, till next time

Shadow

Disclaimer: Unfortunately my imagination only goes so far as to create plotlines not characters. I don't own any of them.

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