Her Mystic Bodyguard

~*~ With Sesshomaru~*~

Two weeks had already passed, and somehow __________ had managed to hold on. When he came back carrying her his damned
brother gave him that look, but thankfully had not asked any questions. When he laid ________ on her bed Kagome rushed over and
started to tend her, which gave Sesshomaru some air of relief for she was a powerful and skilled priestess and could perhaps do what
his Tenseiga could no longer. He had left her room and went to his quarters, only then did he notice all her blood. It covered the front of his
kimono, stained his hands and sleeves......

He shook the memory away. Since then Rin had also been visiting every day, bringing flowers, cookies, her favorite toys, even telling
stories to a mostly unconscious __________. He looked out the window of his study, watching the grass sway with every whisper of the wind.
He had mostly been caught up in trying to figure out why a demon was after Rin. Inuyasha had given him some information but it wasn't
enough for him to be able to go out and strike confidently.

Sesshomaru turned from the window, hands clasped tightly behind his back. When Inuyasha had left he promised he would find more
information and then bring it to Sesshomaru, before this would cut into Sesshomaru's pride, now it smarted him but he could do away with
it, he did not want to leave his castle at the moment, he looked towards the direction of a certain individual's room and let the all the
emotions it brought wash away.

~*~With You~*~

You were sitting up in bed, a bandage wrapped around your torso. Kagome had fixed the broken rib and healed your wounded lung,
most of your other injuries were almost gone as well. The door to your room slid open and admitted the said priestess, all smiles as she
brought you a tray of food. She was powerful, perhaps the most powerful priestess in all of Japan and yet one wouldn't guess it from her
demeanor, or her looks. You smiled back as she placed the tray in front of you, it held a bowl of noodles, steam rising from the top as you
moved it with your chopsticks, revealing chunks of chicken. The tray also held a glass of juice, some bread and cheese and a flower heart.

"That was Rin's idea, she spent all morning making it for you."

Your face lit up and your heart smiled. Eagerly you set into your food, glad that you were finally able to have more than just broth. As you ate
you inquired after the demon that had been here to capture Rin.

"Well Inuyasha is out looking for more information, but we think it's the same demon we had been hunting when we found you. The
demon's name is Yoyokuza and he steals life forces from children. But there is however a catch to him obtaining them, they must be given
freely by their parent's or who ever is taking care of them."

"So why come after Rin, surely he must know we would never give her up!"

"Well Yoyokuza has been experimenting lately, we think he has figured out a process to simply suck the life out of the children and then
transfer it to a gem that he can wear or embed in his body, but we think he requires more children if he has to do it that way, BUT we think
he somehow heard about Rin, how Sesshomaru had saved her with Tenseiga and he now thinks because of that she has a more powerful
life force that could sustain him for a very long time, Inuyasha thinks he is getting desperate."

You finished up what you could of your food and then turned to Kagome, asking her to help you get dressed. She helped you out of the bed
and then went to the wardrobe, pulling out a lilac colored kimono with pretty white flowers on it. She helped you get dressed and then you
told her that you would be okay on your own. She left and you slowly made your out of the room, feet heading towards a place you had not
been to in a long time.

~*~

You breathed in a great lungful of air, enjoying the scent of scrolls of paper in the Library. It still looked the same and you smiled as you
remembered your time spent there. You gave a little stretch and started to browse the selection, remembering a scroll that you had come
across once before when here. Ten minutes later and you found it. You pulled it free of it's spot and sat down, unrolling the aged paper.
The title read,

"A History of Japanese Demons"

You scanned through the parchment until you saw the name Yoyokuza.

Yoyokuza is an engery draining demon that delights in stealing the life of children, claiming it gives him more power and time. However
Yoyokuza was not always a demon that demanded lives of innocent children, no he had started out mortal and certain events shape shifted
him into what he is now. Yoyokuza had a family, a beautiful wife and three children. He was a prosperous farmer, but a pompous man who
grew too arrogant for his own good. One day he crossed a witch who had asked for food, he told her no and she begged but he told her that
if he gave her food than what would he feed his kids? But his answer was sarcastic in tone and he laughed in the witch's face as he rode away.
Angered the witch placed a curse on him and before long he sought her out, his form was that of a grotesque being and he pleaded with the
witch to remove the curse. But the witch just laughed in his face and told him that if he wished to live he would have to feed on his children.

Yoyokuza was distraught and he ran into the woods, but everyday brought him pain and madness. He wanted to live and he finally decided
that he didn't care if his own children had to die. He loped to his house and stole their lives without a hint of love or guilt on his hideous
face. Some say that he has said it was the best meal he had ever had.

You felt a bit sick to your stomach but saw there was more and so continued reading.

Now Yoyokuza offers demonic protection to those foolish enough to seek it out, but the price is a child, preferably theirs. He may be hard
to kill for he has no heart and some priests believe that if he consumes one million souls he will become invincible.

You were not sure just how old this scroll was, but it's look hinted at very and you shuddered at the thought of how many poor children
would have to of been consumed during that time. You rolled the scroll back up and replaced it in it's proper spot leaving the library with a
heavy feeling around you.