Prompt - Lavender oneshot
Title: The Astral Garden
Author: Howlingowl
Genre: Adventure, drama, friendship, action
Rating: T
Word Count: 2536
Prompt: Lavender
Universe: Post Canon
Summary; A plague swept across Edo, during the war, leaving Kagome to look towards Sesshomaru for salvation.
Author's Note; I wanted to apologize for any error in this post. My computer sides, and I wrote this on my phone tonight. It was labor of love. And is my first Sesshomaru and Kagome oriented piece! Thanks for reading. :)
Breathing was the hardest concept Kagome had to grasp. Her heart throbbed, beating so hastily that should she move it would explode.
The veil between realms had been severed by her Lord. He had solemnly guided her near silence, over the thrushes of death and into the glinting pools.
Time was standing still as she stood beside him, like a bird on a monolith. Their skin was stelliform, bleeding out an illumination that signified the life in their veins.
Kagome recalled the feeling, and the warmth of time itself. It electrified her as she raised her worried eyes to a narrowing set of tawny ones.
He had brought her only because Rin had pleaded for the safety of her lover. That boy, Kohaku, meant everything to her.
This miko had been in shambles, bloodied and bruised from the warfare that had strangled Edo.
His half brother hung by a sliver of a thread, giving this woman the perseverance of a serpent.
On this plane, Kagome was transfixed by the grandeur of the celestial arms, trying to absorb her.
Glowering, Sesshomaru grabbed her arm, removing her from her stupor. Mortal humans were foreign, leaving their wills to callow. He was impressed that the girl was able to still stand.
Sesshomaru pulled her in the direction which he beguiled her frail frame to move.
There was a strange haziness that surrounded her, almost as though the dead were trying to collect her.
The plague that the spring had wrought, just before the war, had decimated her village, leaving no one with a weak soul.
It was spreading like a wildfire, on the wind as the pyres were ignited.
There was a rumor that Totosai, could he recall his own work correctly, had told the miko about a sword.
It was forged from the bones of a Tennyo, buried beneath the lavender field.
A ghostly woman guarded the sword, in his tale. Tennyo were made of Astrid. They had the power to murder, to heal, to control the flow of time.
The one Kagome had encountered, previously, was half of what this guardian was made out to be.
There was only one way to succeed and that was with his help. He had sneered and scoffed at the assumption, until Rin had told him of the pestilence afflicting any being with human blood.
The miko had been spared with her spiritual power and control.
When her energy had failed, he had dragged her through Aokigahara, to the base of a corpse tree.
There, Sesshomaru opened a portal, not to the underworld, but a dissonant realm that belonged to the heavens.
Kagome fell into despair, clutching to her haori as though it would soothe her.
The daiyoukai watched her feeble motion, pulling her along a pathway covered in stardust. He could smell the freshness in the realm disappearing, which meant the imminence of closure.
Kagome's quiver clacked and cried as she fought her resolve. "Onii-San," she said, much to the Lord's aggravation, "Have you been here before? Do you know of Totosai-sama was telling the truth?"
The youkai harrumphed in his usual way, leaving no real closure to her question.
A moment passed, leaving her more distraught, as they breezed by a pool of liquid, dancing with the essence of purity.
She felt dirty, disgusted, as Sesshomaru offered Mokomoko-sama to her. Absently, she grabbed on, shifting her quiver to rest against her chest.
"Don't look into the pools, or what part of your soul, that wasn't returned, will be lost and you will be drawn into the siren's hands." Sesshomaru warned her adamantly. He sounded regal, distinguished as always.
Kagome shut her eyes, ignorant to the thousands staring at her. They wanted her pure blood, her life force. If she looked into their enthralling gaze, she would be suspended within the portal as a vessel.
"Why do I feel such sadness?" The miko asked, feeling Sesshomaru's speed increase.
He shot her a look that she didn't see. "Like Hell, there are demons and wandering souls looking for a house to roam the earth. Kikyo was one of them."
Kagome parted her eye foolishly, hiding behind the tuft of the parasite. It made sense that Kikyo had traveled here, in this purgatory. That's what this felt like.
There was no real solid ground, just the illusion that there was. It was a shiny coat of paint over an old building. Anything seemed possible in this realm, and it was a modest assumption at best.
Sesshomaru sensed her unease, and uncharacteristically wound her closer to him, until she felt the hardness of his armor. "I smell someone ahead. I assume that, this Sesshomaru, has lead you where you need to go."
Kagome held her breath, aching to end this and reclaim her home. "I'm ready." Conviction beseeched her, smothering her with reassurance.
She sure as hell wasn't going to lose Inuyasha to a plague. He was stronger than that. He had fallen ill upon the restart of the lunar cycle, leaving him to feel the discrimination of his humanity.
A pulsation rippled strongly, making Kagome snap her head to attention. Sesshomaru was being resistant to a barrier, which gleamed amongst the darkness.
His pace had slowed, leaving his motion almost methodical. Kagome absently slipped an arrow into her bow. She maneuvered her legs around his hips, finding him looking at her with insolence, until she released her Sacred Arrow.
In away, the human had disarmed him, making his pride shrink at her assistance. For Rin's sake, in the equation, he said nothing and moved forward as the arrow struck its target, dissolving into a spectrum of light.
A voracious grin captured the Lord's face, gripping to his mouth as if it was possessing him. Kagome furrowed her brows, finding his youki to explode with intensity.
"What is it that you sense, Sesshomaru-sama?"
"I need not tell you what I've found." His smooth voice was soft, leading into the tumult of a crescendo.
Kagome looked around mindfully, as she felt a petal fall across her skin. Plucking it from her brow, she watched it incinerate between her fingers, and rupture with an afterglow.
'Lavender...' She thought hopefully. Sesshomaru's talons extended, permeating with a poisonous ooze. She steadied herself as the dark pathway opened up, swallowing them into an astral garden, with lavender fields growing from the static walls.
The smell was intoxicating, bringing Kagome's eyes to a close. She felt as though she was dreaming and all of this was part of it.
This place wasn't real, was it? She could barely believe that Sesshomaru had helped her this long. He had, on occasion, helped her along with Inuyasha, but it was a secret she held.
He realized that she was a mere human, with human capabilities, leaving him to compare her to Rin.
This estranged protectiveness of her was as if she was part of his wayward pack. Her kindness to his lesser sibling and to his daughter, had paid a great part in his acceptance of her.
And now, as he bolting like lightning to the center of the field, he sensed her failure to stay alert.
A bolt of awareness ran through him, making his teeth sharpen and his hands erupt with a heightened need for power.
Even as powerful as he was, this place was grating on his energy, making his defense mechanism kick in. His instinct had never been wrong, and his body beckoned him to transform.
A wild sensation pricked at his skin, ripping the smooth flesh and forces his bones to rearrange. Violently, he shucked Kagome's body into the air, catching her on his giant back.
The impact roused her enough for her to realize what happened. Gripping to his fur, she sat up right.
Feeling the sudden rush of uncertainty hit her stomach. Sesshomaru rolled a red eye at her, baring his teeth as they dropped a gaseous saliva.
It was near.
Snarling maliciously, the youkai sounded a warning through the silence as the miko poised her battle stance.
Arrow drawn, they rode into the Pandora of the Astral Garden. Whether they succeeded in finding the blade, or not, they would still face the heavenly creature waiting amongst the flowers.
From what Kagome could see, her eyes were closed, sealed with glimmering black lashes, polished like dewy blades of grass.
Her hands were in prayer position, ardent in an effort to be the epitome of grace.
Kagome's stomach turned. She looked as those he had been carved in Amaterasu's image. It made the miko question her strength as Sesshomaru slowed to a halt.
The Tennyo floated like an organism in a dish, dissolving the barrier around her with cleanliness.
Kagome's fingers quivered, her heart pounding a deafening tune in her ears. Swallowing, the girl slid from Sesshomaru's warmth, onto the glassy ground.
She felt as though she walked on air, arrow at attention. Sesshomaru places a paw beside her; a silent act of reassurance.
Edging fearlessly close, Kagome broke the silence. Nothing was free, everything had a tax that needed to be paid. Her life meant nothing without those she loved and protected.
If she were to fail, she would rather seek death, than live amongst the ashes of what was.
"I seek the blade of Astrid." She spoke clearly.
Nothing.
Slinking closer, the miko glanced back at Sesshomaru. The lavender haze, reflecting its soft light off of his coat, made her mind drift.
Sleep was gripping at her, pulling her in, but she resisted. Sesshomaru growled, finding her slow pace tedious.
Disappointing Rin was abominable. Without hesitation, the youkai leapt to the nacreous figure, jowls open ad sloshing with poison.
Instantly, he bit down on the barrier, tainting it with his impurity. The woman inside let her vibrant eyes rip open. They were like beacons, blaring color across the sea.
Kagome winced, trying to keep her gaze below her.
A violence erupted from the shell, creating a golden dust to shatter through the crack in her barrier.
"What filth has disturbed my kingdom?" The Tennyo billowed, her voice sounded like the wind itself.
Kagome leaned to the wayside. Sesshomaru seethed, still snarling at the celestial being.
"I've come for the sword." Kagome said again, knowing that her mortal magic was nothing in comparison to anything in this ghostly realm.
The Tennyo's eyes fell on the girl precariously, as if sizing her up. She saw everything, she knew everything. Kagome was foreseen to come, to challenge her was not in her plans.
A smirk coiled on her pallid lips, drawing the form of a sword with the scintillating dust around her.
"You seek it for what purpose?" Even the pure at heart had evils. Seeing as how a lowly youkai had brought his disease upon her throne, surely had proven that.
Kagome raising her eyes, inspecting every aspect of the being, from her pearly hair to the sooty color of her toes. She was so pale, she blended within the walls of flower petals.
"I have no other way of providing help to the people that I love." The miko said, receiving a riveting grunt from Sesshomaru.
The Tennyo scoffed, "What makes you think that I would had over something so sacred to you? I see the darkness in you." Kagome had heard that a million times and never understood.
"I've done everything in my power to save those around me," Kagome said, finding her voice faltering as tears began to spread.
Sesshomaru found the ill urge to nuzzle her, push her on her own journey. He was merely in attendance for the sake of guiding her.
His opinion of this woman had changed over the years, but his was nothing but brute strength in this battle.
Lowering an ear, which went by unnoticed by the girl, he felt the strangeness of sorrow grip at him.
The Tennyo pursed her lips at his action, questioning his demeanor respectfully in her kingdom.
Kagome sputtered about her reasons, each one more intense than the last. When Inuyasha's name spilled from her mouth, her words were frantic. Easily, the angelic woman's attention had been captured.
"This. This is the darkness." She whispered, the petals rustled at the sound, as if being nurtured.
Kagome's expression was blank. "Inuyasha is not the darkness." she responded, "I don't want anyone to die."
The Tennyo grinned coyly. She willed the golden blade to point at the woman. "Nothing else truly matters to you. If he had not been upon death's bed, you would not be standing before me."
Sesshomaru made a peculiar sound as he wrapped his tail around Kagome's legs.
Anger coursed through the miko, making her judgement spitfire at the reality of those words. Was she that selfish? Swallowing a hard breath, she wavered against the plume of laziness that washed nostrils.
The Tennyo's main defense were the flowers. If the lavender plants decayed, she would have no way of soothing the sorrow.
She had experienced something similar with Inuyasha, but the Tennyo didn't 'want' anything from her.
Moments passed as Kagome thought of an equation with a congruent answer. None came to mind as she lowered her head.
Kaguya-hime bad been aggressive, maliciously searching for her prize. This woman felt different, almost rational. All of her plans were well though out, calculated and rehearsed.
"What 'is' the darkness in you, then?" She asked with her head tilting so her hair fluttered down her white robes.
Sesshomaru finally broke. He was tired of the mind games and childish banter. Part of him dissolved when he realized that he needed to protect the miko.
It didn't matter, he would find a way around the truth, as he always did. Hurling his lumbering body at the woman, he was stuck with an ethereal burst of energy.
Her fingers lit ablaze, sinking into his flesh like a hot iron. Kagome panicked, realizing how easily she had maimed such a grandiose youkai.
Kagome's blood congealed, making her movement stiff. She readied her arrow, releasing a streak of light to tear through the garden.
Her purification was so strong, that several bunches of flowers turned black and withered.
Sesshomaru made another pass, teeth snapping hungrily. The Tennyo whipped around, narrowly avoiding his deadly mouth.
Kagome readied another arrow, running along Sesshomaru's shadow lethargically.
The dog demon growled, pawing at the woman so briskly that she fairly made an escape. She scowled at him, eyes widening in fury.
"I don't accept this disrespect in my throne room." She hissed, feeling Kagome's arrow lodge in her leg.
It blew a hole through her calf, disintegrating her lively flesh into dust. The ash reformed along the wall, creating another flower bed, giving Kagome an idea.
She rain to Sesshomaru, feeling him kneel for her to climb, she took his offer. Climbing upon his shoulder, the miko whispered her plans.
It was going to be a long night in this heavenly prison. The stellar blade was buried beneath one of the patches, leaving home that the would make it home in time.
For now, all they could do was survive. Holding on to the proverbial reigns,Kagome guided him into their destiny.