Chapter 10 - The unexpected healer!

~~The Past - Just Past Mid Day - Sengoku Jidai - Kaede's Hut~~

It had been one of the most incredible displays of spiritual power that Miroku or Kaede had ever heard of. It was a masterful peace of work. So masterful as to almost be a work of art, spiritually speaking. Who could have believed the power possessed by the inu youkai brothers? Just to have witnessed such a display was like being handed a long cherished and desired gift and both houshi and old miko found their breath taken away, just in wonder and amazement.

Even the others were in awe. They little understood what they had just witnessed, except in the most general of terms. All they really knew for sure is that the end result would give them a way of making those who had dared to hurt Kagome, pay for their actions. That was what they all wanted the most and were committed to seeing through to the end.

It had started innocently and quietly enough. At first, Kaede had suggested that Atsuko might want to be alone with the two inu youkai brothers, and Kagome for this part of making the potion of "Smitciv Rorroh". She was surprised, however, when the kobura (cobra) youkai healer had stated that such measures were not necessary.

In fact, she had stated, it would be better for all who cared for the little Miko to stay, as their loving aura's would only help her to face her fears in this matter, by their very supporting presence. With that settled, everyone, including the five ookami, crowded into the little hut and the healer, having arranged everything she needed set about linking the two youkai and one Miko together.

Inuyasha leaned back against the wall, Kagome carefully arranged to sit in his lap so that he could rest his head against hers and nuzzle into the nape of her neck. They were careful of her injuries, and did everything to ensure her comfort as much as possible, despite the nightmares that were still causing her to toss about in her unconscious state.

Sesshomaru, sat next to Inuyasha, facing towards the little Miko currently seated in his little brother's embrace. He had set aside his armor for the duration, as it was not sure what kind of effect this spell would have on any of the trio and if by chance there was any adverse effects, it was less likely that the spiked armor would add to any possible injuries or concerns. On one level, he didn't want to subject himself to the rush of raw ningen emotions that he knew he had to face for this, however, he had been the one to choose to do this, and he was not about to back down now, or admit to being intimidated by the situation, and yes, even a little afraid.

His self imposted barriers were formidible. He had spent centuries strengthening them to his standards of perfection. No one alive could claim the strength and power of the mental shields that the Great Taiyoukai possessed. No one even came close.

But for this potion to work, he needed to access her memories of the events from the previous night. That meant that he had to at least make a hole in his barriers and allow the raw emotions that the little Miko was obviously going through to pass beyond his tight control and actually experience them as his own.

Even Inuyasha would have a difficult time handling such raw and uncontrolled emotion. But it would not be as hard for him, as Inuyasha was not one to keep his feelings suppressed. He was a much more explosive and openly expressive than his much more stoic older brother, and he would be better prepared for the onslaught that they were about to face.

Atsuko, who had been his personally healer for centuries, understood her Lord's unspoken concerns. Without hesitation and expertly avoiding anything that might embarass her Master, she let him know that she would do her level best to support him as needed in this rare spiritual sharing.

"Master, no insult intended, but it must be spoken. Are you quite sure that you are ready to face what must be?" she asked. Part of the ritual of the ceremony needed to link the nightmares of the little Miko to the potion, required that those participating be asked and given the option to back out freely and without shame.

"Hai!" was the only response.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Inuyasha-sama, before I begin you must understand what you are about to face. This has rarely been done between a youkai and a ningen. Even more rarely between a hanyou and a ningen. It has never been done before between a youkai, hanyou and an untrained Miko," stated Atsuko for all to hear.

Miroku curious about why this would make a difference, voiced the question that ran through all of their minds.

"Why does the combination make such a difference, Atsuko-san?" he asked.

"When done between two or more beings of the same race, it is easier for all participants to share what must come. Their emotional mind set is similar enough that there is little danger to anyone of those in the link to mentally harm another. Such things cannot be done by accident or design. It is the nature of this particular spell," she carefully explained.

"Between hanyou and youkai, the sharing of youkai blood, also, aids in the linking for the same reason, just as does the sharing of ningen blood, if the participants are hanyou and ningen. Between youkai and ningen, it is harder. There is considerable difference in the way a youkai mind works, how it choosed to express itself, how it is capable of handling some kinds of emotions, especially extreme ones that a ningen is not capable of handling, however, most youkai have strong emotional control barriers that help to protect either side."

"Even linking youkai to miko would not normally be a matter of concern, as the miko training goes a long way towards protecting the ningen. However, Kagome-sama is untrained, and as I understand it, the more strong her emotional state, the more powerful her Miko powers manifest themselves, sometimes without her awareness of what it happening," the kobura youkai healer continued.

"In order for this spell to work and for the visions to be bound to the potion, Sesshomaru-sama and Inuyasha-sama are going to have to make Kagome-sama relive her attack in all of its gory details. That is a very emotionally torturous time for her, and reliving it could trigger her powers to react. If they do, it would most likely be violently and could result if Sesshomaru-sama and Inuyasha-sama being purified at worst, and best, they could almost be babbling idiots for a long time."

"This is a lesser concern for Inuyasha-sama, because he is hanyou, but also because he has an emotion bond to her and already shares much of her feelings and unconsciously channels a lot of her power naturally. His familiarity will aid him in his task, and help to reassure her in hers," explained Atsuko.

"Sesshomaru-sama has to allow her to reach past his own powerful control barriers. In other words, he has to let her inside his head, just as he has to enter hers. I believe that he is more than strong enough to with stand the feelings that even now threaten her very sanity, but it will still be a hard battle and a most challenging experience for him."

"Is there anything that either Miroku-sama or I can do to help protect Kagome-chan, Inuyasha-sama, and Sesshomaru-sama, while they are linked?" asked a concerned Kaede.

"Iie, Kaede-sama," was the reply. "The nature of this spell is such that nothing must be allowed to interfere. It is purely by the strength of their own wills that they do this, and come out of it whole."

"In that case, Sesshomaru-sama," spoke up Miroku, "you should be aware of the strength of Kagome-sama will and feelings. Even at the best of times, her emotions tend to run high. It matters not whether she is happy, sad, depressed, or angry. Inuyasha-sama can bare witness to this, as she has subdued him on many an occasion, although never without good reason."

"She can change her moods extremely quickly as well, brother," said Inuyasha with a slight flush of embarassment on his face at Miroku's words. "I have seen her change from happy, to sad, to frustrated, then angry, then determined, and back to happy, in less time than it takes to turn around in the heat of battle. She is an...extremely...'dynamic' individual."

"This Sesshomaru will keep this in mind. Your warnings are...appreciated..." said a very stoic Youkai Lord.

"Then, if there is nothing more, let's us begin," said Atsuko. All participants, excepting Kagome, nodded. As Inuyasha was already making physical contact with Kagome, it was only necessary for Sesshomaru to touch her in some way. He chose to place his hand on her shoulder. With that Atsuko touched them both in the center of their foreheads. A gentle red glow emitted from the tips of her fingers.

She began a chant, and after a moment removed her hands from the two inu youkai brothers, and placed her hands on either side of Kagome's face. The glow intensified, as Atsuko continued her chant. It flaired suddenly, causing everyone except the trio and Atsuko, whose eyes were already closed, to shield their vision from the glared that engulfed the room.

When the glare died down, everything appeared as it had before. The trio seemed unchanged other than that Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru were no longer aware of anything in the room around them.

For quite a while, it appeared that nothing was happening. Other than that Kagome had finally stopped tossing so restlessly in her fitful slumber. A couple of times, it could be seen that Inuyasha's hold on Kagome tightened a bit, and that Sesshomaru's hand seemed to do the same.

Shortly after this, the whole group looked on in shocked surprise to see tears streaming down the faces of both inu youkai. Both seemed to have trouble breathing, and were almost sobbing in abject terror. A wave of unrelenting fear, and absolute terror rushed through the room, seeming to fill the air and making it feel almost to heavy to breath.

Both grunted in pain, and their left arms jerked as though someone had attacked them. They gasped, and grabbed their sides, and then stomachs with their left hands, the pain of said appendage from a moment ago, completely forgotten in favor of this new assault.

"They are seeing and feeling how she was first attacked," said Atsuko. "This must be when they broke her arm, and damaged her ribs.

The two brothers began growling at this point and their free hands, came up as though about to strike something, their claws extended with an obvious desire to rend flesh and bath in blood. Moments later, their bodies started to twitch uncontrollably. Inuyasha remained up right by dint of being sandwiched between the wall and Kagome, but the Great Lord was not having the same luck. No one knew how he maintained his hold on the little Miko's shoulder, but even as he fell over and writhed in obvious pain and torture, he never once relinquished his hold.

Then to everyone's astonishment, blood began seeping through the fabric of Sesshomaru's haori and his hakama as well. There seemed to be a random pattern of seeping blood that began at his chest, ran down his sides and along his legs, and then back up to his collar and even his neck. His head jerked to the side violently as though someone had just punched him.

His breathing was erratic at best, and he was panting for air like it was almost impossible to breath. He was once again grabbing his chest, and the action of his claws tore enough of his haori to expose the flesh underneath. Even as they watched, bite marks appeared, as well as, the obvious signs of fingers being roughly dug into the flesh tearing it open and then tracing symbols through the blood that poured from the injuries.

To everyone's shock and horror, the word 'Nightwalkers' was left written in the blood pouring from the wounds. All left to wonder what it meant or who it was, and almost too stunned to move or speak.

"Someone, please! Get me a bucket of cold water quickly," demanded the kobura youkai healer, as she rushed over to the Demon Lord. "Sango-san, I will need your help, if you please. I am going to have to try to hold him down, until this is over. No matter what, we can't let his connection to Kagome-sama break or it will kill him."

"Hai, Atsuko-san," said Sango as she quickly moved to assist the youkai healer.

"What of Inuyasha-sama?" asked Miroku.

"He doesn't seemed to be being affected as strongly as Sesshomaru-sama," said the healer. "But, if you could keep an eye on his just the same, it would be a good idea."

"I will help with Inuyasha," came a surprising response from Kouga and he went to aid, Miroku. So far, all that appeared to be happening there was his twitching in response to the attacks that the trio were seeing inside their minds. Ginta had by now returned with the bucket of water that was asked for, and handed cloths to Miroku and Atsuko, which Kaede had passed to him when he returned with the water.

Kaede spoke up, "Ginta, Hakkaku! Ye and Jaken-san would be a great help if ye took Shippou and Rin outside. They should not have to sit and see such as this."

"Hai miko-sama," was the joint reply, as the three youkai took the children outside. They chose to take them to the clearing by the old well, so as to not have to bare witness to even the sounds that could now be heard coming from the Youkai Lord.

"I have never heard of this kind of a reaction to this spell before," said Atsuko in a mix of awe and horror. The Youkai Lord was still thrashing about, his legs now sitting in a most obvious and horribly uncomfortable way, that left everyone wondering just how anyone could have their legs put into such a position and still walk afterwards. He was still clawing at his chest, which by now was covered in blood, and turning a deep black even as they watched.

Kouga suddenly took a deep breath, trying to catch something odd in the smells that filled the room. "This doesn't make sense!"

"What is that, Kouga-kun," asked a busy Sango, both hands full of trying to keep the now convulsing Taiyoukai from furthering his own injuries.

"The scent of the blood in the room. It is not Sesshomaru's," he stated firmly.

The kobura youkai tasted the air. Her heightened sense of taste had centuries of experience as a healer, and her skill at deciphering smells was second only to the Inu Lord beside her. "He is right. The blood scent coming from Sesshomaru-sama is the Miko's, not his own. I have never heard of this, unless...."

At her hesitation to continue, Kaede spoke up and drew her back to the moment at hand. "Unless what, Atsuko-san?"

"Unless his Lordship has somehow become empathically bonded to the Miko." was the awed reply.

"Is that anything like a mating bond?" asked Kouga, not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad one. Either way it bothered him.

"Yes, and no!" was the confused reply.

"It is not even as remotely intimate as the bonding of mates, however, emotionally they are inseparable. The only way that something like this could happen is if they both have suffered some similar horror in their lives, or if they both suffered some extremely traumatic incident in their lives that both found to be almost too much to handle, and have never finished facing and dealing with." said Atsuko, still doing her best to hold down her Lord and Master, who was still violently thrashing and from the sounds of the growls that were coming from his chest, he was in danger of losing to his youkai blood.

"If something is not done soon, or they do not get through this nightmare soon, he is going to go into a blood rage and we are all done for then," stated Sango.

"Then let's just separate them and get Sesshomaru out of here." stated a determined, but fearful Kouga. His concern was not for himself, but for Kagome. He could not sit by and not at least try to do something to help keep his nee-san safe.

"Iie! Don't even consider that. If you do, you will kill all three of them, at best. At worst, you will cause both Sesshomaru-sama and Inuyasha-sama to lose themselves to their blood beasts, and Kagome-sama would die regardless. We can't separate them," stated Atsuko firmly.

"But we have to do something, and soon," Sango said. It was getting more and more difficult to hold down the Youkai Lord, and already the features of his face had begun to enlongate as the youkai in his blood began to take control. His claws were lengthening, the left hand clenching and unclenching as the claws extended, and the claws of the right had begun to pierce Kagome's shoulder, although remarkably, it could be seen that the Lord was fighting to not hurt her.

Inuyasha was shuddering and to some degree he, too, was convulsing, however, he was not showing any of the effects that were appearing on Sesshomaru. Even his growls, although viscious in the extreme, were not showing any signs of a loss of control to his inner beast.

By now, Sesshomaru's face was bathed in sweat, his left eye and the entire left side of his face swollen and turning black and blue. It was obviously when Kagome had been punched and beaten in the face. In between the growls that were being pulled from his chest, there were whimpers and cries for the pain that was racking his body as it continued to convulse with what was obviously each blow and thrust of the invasion of the onna's body as she had been attacked.

"My kami! How on this earth did she ever survive all of that?" asked an awed and terrified Kouga. "Who...what kind of monsters are those people that would do such things to anyone, let alone someone as sweet, kind, and innocent as Kagome?"

The waves of fear, terror, blind rage, hatred, despair, shame, guilt, and loneliness seem to make the very air around them throb like a physical presence. There was not a dry eye in the place and not one of the people there, youkai and ningen, male or female alike, who felt shame for those tears that fell.

Gasping for air, at the intensity of it all, as the waves of emotional turmoil poured surprisingly not off of Kagome, but off of Sesshomaru, Kaede spoke up.

"There must be a way to help relieve the stress that is so strongly affecting Sesshomaru-sama," she stated.

"I wish that I could make a suggestion, Kaede-sama," said a flustered Atsuko. "Unfortunately, this is something that I have never heard of and to my knowledge nothing like this was ever even mentioned in my ancestor's journals, or even the ones that followed later generations."

They were all at wits end, and had no idea what to do to help the Great Lord. Each moment saw him in more and more pain, more and more blood, more and more injuries, and slowly, inexorably transforming into his true form, blood lust becoming rapidly more evident in the sound of his growls and the one eye that was not swollen and bruised was so red that it glowed in its lust filled hatred.

Just when all seemed beyond anyone's control, the scream of Inuyasha's name was torn from both Kagome's and Sesshomaru's lips. The sound so filled with pain as to leave all who heard it gasping in shock and anger that anyone would put their friend through so much pain and hell. Moments later, Inuyasha began to growl even more visciously than he had been thus far.

For a moment, everyone feared that they were going to have two blood enraged youkai tearing the place apart. But much to the surprise of everyone, the hand of Kagome's unbroken arm, and Sesshomaru's left hand reach out to each other, and when they met, they gripped each other tightly as though the Seven Levels of Hell itself could not tear them apart. Inuyasha's left hand reach over to lie on top of the two tightly clasped hands, and where the three met and blinding flash of red light exploded outward until the hut fairly radiated with the intensity of the glow.

Long moments passed before the brightness faded away, and the afterglow cleared from the temporarily blinded eyes of the occupants of the room. When it did, the sight before them was almost as amazing as the events that had transpired all during the past hour, that seemed like a full day.

Atsuko noticed that the vile of potion, which had been sitting on the floor near the linked trio, was glowing with the same red light that had filled the room just moments ago. It pulsed with a power all its own, and sent shivers up the spine of the kobura youkai, for the almost living quality that the potion seemed to eminate.

Sesshomaru was once again sitting up, just as he had before the spell was caste. The bruising on his face and body gone, like it had never happened. The cuts, and scratches that had once covered his body in random patterns, were no longer there, the only evidence of any of the injuries was the blood that his once pristine clothing now lay soaked in, and the tracks of the blood on his body that still looked like someone had been finger painting with it, and the vile word, 'Nightwalkers' still visible on his stomach.

Every joint and muscle he owned seemed to be in pain. He felt like he had joined a cross country run, but had been run over by everything including a mountain. He put a hand to his pounding head, as a cup of soothing tea was brought to his lips. Without even considering that someone was holding the cup for him, he drank and was grateful for the ease it brought to his pain racked body.

So intense was the pain, and so clouded his mind, that he didn't notice the condition of his clothes or the blood that coated his body, nor the patterns that were painted there. A cool, wet cloth was brought to his almost fevered brow and began to wipe away some of the sweat. Even as gentle as it tried to be, the side of his face was pained by the touch, as though someone had pound that area of his face to a pulp.

He growled at the pain that claimed his cheek, until he heard his brother.

"Sesshomaru, what happened to you?" moaned a tired and aching Inuyasha. Kagome still in his lap and his arms still securely wrapped around her.

That was when Sesshomaru looked down as his clothing and body. More slowly and weakly that he would willingly admit, the Lord stood up with Atsuko's and Sango's aid. As he did, what was left of his clothing fell away and the trails of painted blood could be seen by all. The source of that blood, the bruising, the scratches, gouges and cuts were no longer evident at all. There was no sign was what had caused, or where the blood had come from.

So caught up was everyone looking at Sesshomaru that it was not until Inuyasha reluctantly made to put Kagome down and made to stand up, that he looked at Kagome's face. His gasp of astonishment drew everyone attention and when they looked to see what he was looking at, their own astonishment filled the room.

The bruising that had covered more than half of her face was gone, no evidence that it had ever existed. Carefully, Inuyasha pull up the hem of her shirt, to show her stomach, the area where the most cuts from the knife had been made. Not one single cut could be seen. It was like they never had occurred.

Kaede checked the splinted arm, and found that it too was no longer broken, and her skilled fingers, as well as those of Atsuko were able to determine that the cracked ribs were healed as well. Miko and healer asked for a bit of privacy to check Kagome out more thoroughly and no one objected or complained. A short time later, when they all were back sitting in the hut once more, the two healers were able to confirm what the all already suspected. All the marks, all the cuts, all the bruising, everything, including the bodily violation that the poor onna had suffered was gone. Gone like it had never happened.

For the first time since the attack, the little Miko was resting peacefully. With her physical injuries healed and gone, it was just a matter of healing mentally that peaceful slumber would do a lot to aid. It was also felt, though not spoken out loud that the unusual bond between the Miko and the Youkai Lord, would speed the mental healing along, as well.

Somehow, in the empathic bonding of the Miko and the Youkai Lord, perhaps because of his own natural healing abilities, or perhaps the powers within the onna, herself, or perhaps a combination of the two, all her injuries had been healed leaving nothing to show for them, except the memories. Memories that were now bound to a potion. A potion that had a special destination date with six sadistic bastards who would learn of the horror that they seemed to enjoy bringing to the innocent.

Miroku left the hut and sought out the village weaver. It was luck that the woman and her family was quite skilled in their craft and had gained a well deserved reputation for the quality of her goods. With a bit of haggling and negotiating, Miroku was able to get a fine set of silk hakama's and haori that while not exactly like Sesshomaru's originals, at least matched the quality. It would serve for now.

Jaken was immediately dispatched to his Lordship's fortress home to get a fresh set of the Lord's more customary clothes and instructions that if he didn't return within the hour, he would become the local villages next 'experienced childcare provider', with Rin as the evidence of his long and expert experience. Of course, Jaken fairly fell over his own feet to rush out the door and could be hear calling to Ah-Un, and berating the poor beast to fly faster as they left, and was soon just a small speck in the western skies.

In the mean time, Atsuko, Sango, and Kaede, brought the two inu youkai up-to-date as to what had happened during the hour that they were held in the spell, linked to the little Miko. If it were not for the blood tracks and the pain that he still felt, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha would have had a hard time believing what they were told. Both were able to confirm that what they saw on Sesshomaru's body was exactly what had been done to Kagome, including the finger painted blood.

No one could understand why the blood was Kagome's and not Sesshomaru's, neither could anyone understand why the waves of emotional stress that had filled the room a short time ago, poured off of the Youkai Lord and not Kagome herself. Atsuko explained her theory as to why things had gone the way that they did, but no one offered further comment on the matter.

Sesshomaru seemed more withdrawn that usual, not that he was talkative to begin with by nature. It could almost be felt how he seemed to retreat further than normal behind his emotional barriers, especially after Atsuko explained that only unresolved great trauma experienced in the lives of both him and Kagome could be the explanation for the events of the past hour.

In any case, it was now fact that Sesshomaru and Kagome were mentally linked on an purely emotional level. They could not confirm with 100% accuracy until she regained consciousness, but it was believe that both the Miko and the Youkai Lord would permanently be able to feel the emotions of the other. The stronger the feeling, the more affected each would be.

Once Miroku returned with clean suitable clothing, Sango and Atsuko assisted Sesshomaru in visiting the local hot springs just on the outskirts of the village. Miroku, having been aware that such a visit would be necessary, and knowing that the Youkai Lord would need and want some privacy, had taken the time on his returned with the clothing to make sure that no one was using the springs.

By the time that Jaken returned, remarkably in less than an hour, Sesshomaru was cleaned up, and once again sitting in the hut with another cup of soothing tea. Inuyasha, although not having suffered near as much as his brother, still felt a need to clean up, but decided that he would hold off until they got to Kagome's era and was in her mother's home. It did not go un-noticed that the Taiyoukai sat next to the still unconscious but now peacefully resting Kagome, nor that one hand was resting upon his knee.

No one brought it up, as more than anything it seemed to bring even the stoic Youkai Lord a bit of healing comfort at the close contact with the onna. Considering the things that they had all witnessed either directly or not, no one even thought to make a anything of the matter. If either of the two could and obviously did find healing and comfort in so simple and innocent a thing as touch, who were the others to consider standing in their way.

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