Connected by c'estmoi

Ch. 1

"Get out of the way," he repeated; and though he had not raised his voice there was a new and dangerous edge to it.

The wrinkled, withered old woman peeled her lips back in a grotesque imitation of a smile. A raspy, hoarse chuckle slithered out of her mouth. Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth and set his jaw, but otherwise his face did not show the irritation he felt. He refused to take even one step out of the way for this woman. He would not insult himself by moving for her. No, it was she who would move for him, and if not her life would be the price for her ignorance of his obvious superiority.

He was about to reach for her throat, to crush it and toss her out of his path and out of his life. He was about to forget the small bump in what had otherwise been a smooth and wholly uneventful patrol of his territory inspired mostly by boredom. But with a speed and agility that was out of place in the ancient creature, she held her hand out, as if to signal "Stop!", and smiled even wider. A blue spherical barrier flew up around her and, much to his dismay, Sesshoumaru bounced off harmlessly.

He tumbled back, but caught himself and landed gracefully on his feet. His eyes, in a rare display of emotion, grew wider and then narrowed. The old hag dared to defend herself. He had underestimated her, yes; but he would not make that mistake again. He drew Toukijin in one smooth movement and leapt at her barrier. Toukijin smashed against it; it rippled as if it were liquid but stayed in place. This time, Sesshoumaru held his surprise in reign and did not move a facial muscle.

He stood back and watched her carefully for a moment. She was most certainly not what she seemed to be, but what exactly she was eluded him.

She stared right back at him. Her smile never wavered, and it would almost seem as if she were enjoying herself. Her barrier resembled miko energy ... but it was not the same. He did not recognize this magic and it was most unsettling.

"Who are you?" he asked, sheathing Toukijin but resting his hand on its hilt to signify that he would not harm her if she complied.

"A friend," came her gravelly reply.

Sesshoumaru blinked. He was certain that he did not know her. He did not associate with old, decrepit ningen females.

"You are not," he boomed, "a friend." He was not used to using the word "friend", and in the back of his mind a small voice marveled at how strange it sounded coming from his lips. He quashed it and concentrated on trying to communicate his annoyance through his stare without actually changing his expression.

"Oh, you'll understand soon enough, little inu ..." She said. Sesshoumaru was quickly tiring of her vague replies. Before he could say anything, though, a familiar scent and the accompanying red haori crashed through the underbrush into the clearing. He sighed inwardly and slowly pulled his eyes from the woman to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha growled and drew Tetsuseiga.

"Leave now, hanyou, and I will spare your worthless life," Sesshoumaru said in a flat, bored tone. He wanted to figure out just who this mystery woman was without the added distraction. Inuyasha just growled again and grasped Tetsuseiga with two hands, raising it higher. Behind him, the rest of his entourage appeared; the houshi, the taijiya, and the miko. He noted that the kit and the lesser-demon fire cat were absent, but he could smell them very faintly. He assumed they were back wherever the four had come from.

"Just walk away, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted at him. She had heard Sesshoumaru's offer and was more than happy to walk away from this situation with no injuries and no arguments. However, Inuyasha thought differently.

"Stay back, Kagome, this is my fight," Inuyasha snarled and lunged at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru dodged the sloppy attack easily and backhanded him across the clearing. Inuyasha landed on the ground with a resounding thud, but recovered after a few seconds and jumped at Sesshoumaru again.

Kagome, Miroku, and Sango sighed in unison. It was senseless, this fighting ... Inuyasha had to know how stupid it was to challenge his brother. Or maybe he didn't. No one was quite sure.

The clanging sound of metal against metal rang through the small clearing as the brothers' sibling rivalry played itself out. The fight was beginning to reach an end, and it wasn't looking so good for Inuyasha. Still, though, he fought valiantly, and either he was ignorant to the fact that he could not win or he didn't care. Finally, Sesshoumaru struck Inuyasha's head with the flat side of his sword. Inuyasha flew a few feet and crumpled to the ground.

"NO!" came Kagome's wild scream at the sight of Inuyasha's broken body. She couldn't tell if he was dead but assumed he wasn't when Sesshoumaru stalked over to him and positioned Toukijin carefully over Inuyasha's neck, presumably to finish the job.

"Stay here, Kagome. We'll take care of it," Sango reassured her as she and Miroku rushed to Inuyasha's aide.

It seemed that everyone had forgotten the odd old woman, still cocooned in her strange, glowing barrier. However, she remained there, not attempting to escape Sesshoumaru and thanking her lucky stars that Inuyasha had burst into sight at precisely the right moment, as one might think she would. No, she was watching the scene unfold quietly, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's reflections dancing animatedly in her sallow, sunken eyes. She did not interfere until Sango and Miroku ran into the center of the chaos to help their friend.

The woman clicked her tongue like a mother scolding an unruly child. Can't have that, now ..., she thought and flicked her hand as though knocking away an insect and both Miroku and Sango went flying backwards. They hit the ground hard and didn't get back up. Perfect,she thought. It was only Kagome and Sesshoumaru now.

Kagome's breath quickened with panic. Oh god. Oh god. This ... this ... it's bad. Oh ...god ... was the only mostly-coherent thought she could manage to squeeze out of her brain. Her legs moved without permission beneath her and she found herself at Inuyasha's side. Before she could draw her bow or notch an arrow or even utter a word, however, she found herself paralyzed by a bright light coming from a strange old woman encased in a big, blue ... bubble. Or something. The woman drew a fine golden thread from somewhere in the depths of her sleeves and, giving Kagome a warm smile that made her mentally shiver, stepped towards her. She shuffled forward, and as she got closer Kagome grew increasingly nervous. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the woman got close enough to reach out and pluck an ebony hair from Kagome's head. Ow!! she thought furiously, and tried to form a pout, but her muscles still wouldn't budge.

The woman moved from Kagome to Sesshoumaru, who was also frozen in place. Though he could not move, Kagome imagined he was very angry. The elderly woman stole a hair from Sesshoumaru, too.

Kagome imagined that if he were able to move he would demand indignantly that the woman return his hair, this instant. She tried to laugh but was unsuccessful as her throat refused to respond to her coaxings.

The woman's fingers nimbly wove the two hairs and thread together. She put the thin braid back in her sleeve and bowed respectfully to Kagome and Sesshoumaru. The already-bright light she emanated grew brighter until it blinded the two. Kagome felt herself sinking into unconsciousness ...

Kagome awoke with a start. She blinked a few times and sat up. It was the middle of the day ... and she was on the ground. The hard, rocky ground. Kagome reached behind her and massaged her aching back.

How had she fallen asleep here? She slept on her sleeping bag, and Inuyasha never allowed her to sleep this late anyway. Something was up ...

Then she remembered. It came back to her in a torrent, a flood of random fragmented memories. Oh, crap... her mind sputtered. She got to her feet and looked around.

Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku still lay where they had fallen. Kagome gasped and got about two feet before she seemed to hit an invisible wall, and fell on her back. Scrambling backwards she rose up and tried again, but at that same point she found she could go no further. She started to panic.

What if they're dead? What if they're laying there dying and I'm stuck here and - "They are not dead," a deep voice cut through her thoughts. She whirled around in surprise. Sesshoumaru stood about fifteen feet away, arms crossed. He looked pissed.

"How do you know? I need to get to them, they need help," Kagome said frantically.

"Cease your words, miko. I can hear their heartbeats. They will live," He said calmly.

"Well, Mr. I-Know-It-All, why can't I go any farther?" Kagome asked, walking a little closer to him, pointing her finger accusatorily. "Do you have something to do with this? I'm gonna-" her rant was cut short when Sesshoumaru turned his back on her and began to walk away. Kagome stomped her foot. "Look at me! I'm talking to you!"

Sesshoumaru had moved perhaps 5 feet when Kagome's feet flew out from underneath her and she found herself being dragged along behind Sesshoumaru.

"Hey! Stop! Stop! Help!" She screamed. Sesshoumaru stopped moving and glanced over his shoulder at her. She was covered in dirt and altogether not very happy-looking, but she was no longer being pulled along in his wake.

"It is as I suspected," he said cryptically.

"What is? What is as you suspected?" Kagome cried angrily.

"It appears, miko," he answered her, "that we are bonded."

aaaaaaaand ... that's a wrap!

Okay. I don't think I like this very much, so I won't bother to continue it if no one likes it. I'd appreciate reviews, but I really can't ask for them as I hardly ever leave reviews when I read a fic. Which isn't to say that I wouldn't like to receive a review or two ... ;)

Anyway, tell me if you like it. Or tell me if you don't like it, whatever floats your boat. This is my first fic ever, and I'm starting high school in a few weeks so things are hectic and I definitely won't waste my time if no one is going to read it.

Wow. I just totally said the same exact thing in those paragraphs. I have the most amazing talent for repeating myself over and over and over again. Wow.

Okay, well, for fear of saying more stupid things I'll be quiet now.

Ty, ty, tyvm,

Rachel