Sesshomaru walked slowly away with the girl in his arms. Released from his hand, Tessaiga reverted to a rusty sword and stood embedded in the ground. He never spared it another glance. There was no need to take a sword that had hurt her, he thought, lowering his gaze to the girl resting with her eyes closed in his arms.
Inuyasha stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Sesshomaru's retreating back. That was it? He had come so suddenly and left just as suddenly... as though he had only come to fight me.
Kagome ran to Inuyasha's side, watching worriedly as his hand slowly clenched. "Inuyasha..."
"I'm fine, Kagome. Are you all right?" Inuyasha shook his head. He felt as though he had been let off the hook-by that bastard Sesshomaru...
"Yes, I'm fine. Miroku is fine too..." Kagome seemed to hesitate over something.
"What is it, Kagome?" Inuyasha noticed that she was acting differently than usual.
"I'm a little concerned about what that girl said earlier." Kagome frowned slightly. If she had understood correctly, what the girl had told her afterward, while half-conscious, meant...
"Tessaiga's barrier doesn't keep monsters out. It keeps out powerful demon power," Kagome said softly.
"What does that mean?" Inuyasha asked, looking at her in confusion.
"Probably that Sesshomaru was rejected because his demon power was too concentrated." As a half-demon, no matter how powerful Inuyasha became, the demonic aura within him was limited. Was that what the girl had been hinting at...?
"If what she said is true, then Shippo might be able to touch Tessaiga too, even though he's a full monster. He's a fox demon who hasn't grown up yet, so his demonic aura should be weaker than Inuyasha's, right?" Kagome voiced her conjecture haltingly.
"Yeah," Inuyasha answered quietly.
With Kagome's