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Allegiance | 7: Reassurance
MASTER SERIES INDEX IS HERE.
Click here to read original entry (300 words)
Title: Reassurance - Expanded
Universe: Canon
Rating: T
Warnings: A touch of angst
Word Count: 494
Summary: Even taiyoukai need to be reassured sometimes.
Author's Note: Set between 'Vengeance' and 'Alliance'. This was a surprise, actually; I never expected to fill in this particular gap, but I suppose muses work in mysterious ways :) I was actually a bit disappointed that the original didn't place in the contest.
Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.
“My lord?”
Sesshoumaru ignored the incredulous remark, closing the door behind himself. The infirmary was not a place he visited often, or even occasionally; no doubt such was the reason for the guard’s confused address.
That, and the fact that he was supposed to be halfway across the eastern mountains by now, seeking out his compensation for having to defend his home against invaders.
But he couldn’t help it. He had to know. His mind would not rest until he confirmed it with his own eyes.
His expression was impassive as he walked down the length of the dark, narrow room. His progress was slow and measured as his eyes swept over the rows of ill and injured. Finally, he spotted his object of interest: she was at the very end of the corridor, shunted off to the side under the drafty window, her pallet flush against the cold stone wall. This will not do, he thought, his features sinking into a scowl.
His approach was quiet – not that it truly mattered. She lay perfectly still on the makeshift bed, her body battered and bruised, her eyes closed, her hair matted against her forehead. Her chest rose and fell in a slightly irregular rhythm, her breath heavy as it eased past her slightly-opened lips. So weakened was she from the battle that her spiritual powers lay totally dormant.
A surge of intensity rushed over him as he drew closer, looking down at her. This feeling, suffocating though it seemed, was a mere echo of the primal urgency that had flooded through him the moment she was struck down in battle. And yet, even now, with the knowledge she was safe and alive, his heartbeat still accelerated, his youki still flared.
He sank down beside her, pinning his golden gaze on her face, studying her. He didn’t understand why he felt this way. What was it about her that had provoked these primitive instincts – to protect, to avenge? She was a human, after all – and, perhaps more distastefully, had been his brother’s mate.
Nonetheless, he felt drawn to her, the sadness that lingered in her soul reflecting his own sense of regret.
His hand brushed across hers.
“My lord,” came a soft voice.
Sesshoumaru glanced down, recognizing the footwear of the court physician. He rose swiftly, silently, letting go of Kagome’s hand. He was keenly aware that he was being watched – with much interest – by the others in the room.
He didn’t care. His eyes never left her face.
“She is resilient, my lord,” the physician noted shrewdly, casting a knowing glance at the stoic taiyoukai. “She will be fine.”
Sesshoumaru turned away, a shadow of relief touching his features. “Move her away from here,” he commanded quietly, gesturing at the window. “She deserves more than a mere modicum of your attention.”
Before the physician could respond, Sesshoumaru was gone, sweeping out of the dark and dreary room just as quietly as he had arrived.
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I need to carve a nice chunk of time out so I can read all the expanded versions together!
Just don't wait until its finished...because that point may never come, LOL!!
This has been a lot of fun, as well as a bit of a challenge. I can already see where I'm going to have to make little edits for when I put the story "back together" in the correct order.
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I'm actually really surprised this wasn't among the winners for this prompt. I thought it was a very strong entry.
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Heh, me too. The only thing that stops me from following even more WIPs than I do (beside time constraints) is length of the story. If its really long, or the author has been writing it for *years*, I'm more likely to just wait til it ends if I come in rather late. Otherwise, I'm all over it.
I've noticed a lot of people are serializing their drabbles/oneshots for the contests, LOL.
I understand wanting to put the parts that had to be cut back in. My echo entry was butchered to fit the word count and really lost a lot. Add to the list of drabbles and one-shots I'd love to rewrite without a word limit.
Yes, I could tell you had to do a severe edit with your piece - the end felt too abrupt, like there was way, way more to the story.
My list of drabbles to expand is pretty much as long as my entire collection, LOL. I'll never get to them all, but its kinda nice knowing I'll always have something to work on :)
I'm actually really surprised this wasn't among the winners for this prompt. I thought it was a very strong entry.
Thanks :) I thought so as well, but then I did vote for 2 of the 3 winners so I guess I can't complain LOL. Voting is very strange for me there - either I vote for everyone who ends up winning, or no one. I guess I march to the beat of my own drummer haha.
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I do not vote because I am not a real SK writer and I feel like the voting should be left to SK writers.
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I would urge you to consider voting in the future though, since I'm sure its pretty tight (just like at every other community, heh).