MoaB Arachnophobia Finished

Aaaaand it's finished XD This picture was a challenge, since I've never done perspective before XD Nor such severe backlighting :3

Story: Memories of a Boy
Chapter 5: Memories of a Girl~

"I have you now, Kagome." Naraku leered at the furious girl before him, assured of victory. InuYasha and her other friends were with her inside of a flickering barrier, all of them either passed out or too wounded to fight anymore. Even Shippo sported a sluggishly bleeding gash across his scalp, from where he had blocked Kagome from a blitz attack by a mindless oni.

In a last ditch effort to protect her friends, Kagome had thrown a shield up around them, and was finishing off stragglers with purified arrows from behind its protection. All that remained was the dark hanyou himself, with all but three shards of the Shikon on his side.

Sweat trickled down the miko's pale forehead, her eyes pinched with the strain of using so much of her powers. Despite her defiant stance and angry countenance, Naraku could smell her fear. Fear for her friends, for herself, and of him. But he was not the only one.

With one last, weak shudder, the barrier shattered and Naraku lunged for Kagome. Just as his claws sliced towards her delicate throat, a slash of silver cut him off. Literally. Rearing back in shock and anger, Naraku regenerated his hands while glaring at the insolent fool blocking his path to victory.

"Sesshomaru?" The taiyoukai turned at the questioning voice of the young priestess. "What are you doing here?"

Cool citrus eyes met hope filled sapphire ones, and he turned back to face his opponent, who was now transforming into his giant spider form.

"Foolish human, this Sesshomaru could smell the fear coming from you for miles." A smirk touched his lips at her outraged squawk at being called a foolish human. "My name is--"

"--Kagome."

Kagome's eyes went wide as he finished her sentence. She continued to stare at his back in shock as he sheathed his sword and began gathering his youki to transform. Her mind was swirling with forgotten memories, memories of a childhood friend. Before she could ask him anything, the imposing lord asked over his shoulder, "Do you remember what you told me... about being afraid of spiders?"

-------

A yelp of fright drew the small girls attention over to where Sesshomaru was in the storage house. They had gone in there looking for a scroll that might shed some light on the well, and hadn't found anything yet. Now, Sesshomaru was pressed against the far shelf from where he had been looking, staring at the ground in apparent horror.

Rushing over, Kagome looked to see what was frightening him so, but couldn't see anything on the dusty floor. "Sesshomaru, what is it?" Her voice seemed to jolt him into movement, and he dashed behind her, pointing to the ground. "It bit me!" Frowning, Kagome squatted down and squinted her eyes.

After a few breathless moments of concentration, she saw a tiny, rather angry looking spider rearing up at her. Scowling, she stood up and using her heel, squished the small arachnid soundly. Turning, she grabbed the finger the small dog demon was cradling and looked it over. There was a small welt there, but it was already clearing up. She smiled in relief, glad to see that healing thing he had told her about was true! Seeing that he still looked unnerved however, she pulled the finger to her face and kissed the wound.

"There, all better!" Sesshomaru visibly relaxed a little, then frowned in confusion.

"Kagome... why weren't you frightened? It could have bit you, and you wouldn't have healed like me!" Kagome giggled lightly, and winked at her affronted looking friend.

"Because I was bigger than him! Don't worry Sessho-chan! As long as I'm bigger than the spider, I'll protect you from them! You don't have to be afraid!"

----

Sesshomaru glared at the spider hanyou charging towards them, chanced one last look at the stunned woman standing behind him. Her face was awash in recognition, and as his youki flashed around him, he repeated the words she had told him so long ago.

"As long as I am bigger than the spider, I'll protect you." With a burst of power, his form stretched and grew rapidly, slamming back to the ground with a thunderous crash, his massive jaws glistening with feral determination. In full form, Sesshomaru towered over the dark hanyou still charging forward with reckless abandon. As he brought his paw down and heard the satisfying crunch of Naraku's body, his thoughts turned from the present to memories of a girl...


XD To read all ten chapters, go to my profile to find the story, which is still in progress! 50 Chapters planned out so far!!!

Can also be found on Dokuga under the same name