Chapter 8 - The essence of a nightmare!
Submitted May 21, 2007 Updated May 21, 2007 Status Incomplete | What do you mean Inuyasha asked a now nervous Mrs. Higurashi. She saw the look in the hanyou's eyes, and the feral gleam promised things that she didn't even want to conceive. It left her shuddering in fear. Contains Violence, Language, Rape
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Chapter 8 - The essence of a nightmare!
Chapter 8 - The essence of a nightmare!
~~The Past - Sengoku Jidai, Kaede's Hut~~
A "smitciv rorroh", was what Sesshomaru had called the 'simple' potion that he mentioned. For in truth, it was pretty simple. The herbs required were fairly common place and indeed, Kaede had them in abundance. It was but a matter of about an hour to have enough of the potion's base ingredients combined and ready for use.
It was the last ingredient that was the hard part, and at first it was something that Inuyasha was dead set against. He just couldn't find it in himself to put Kagome through that nightmare again.
Essentially, what it involved was linking to Kagome's mind, and encouraging her to relive the images of what she had gone through. As Sesshomaru had explained it, the closer to the incident in question for the victim, the stronger and more potent the potion would be. As Kagome had only been attacked but a few hours ago, the potency of the potion was never in question.
The hard part was that Inuyasha didn't want to have Kagome relive those memories. Initially, he was so against it that he would not even hear of doing such a thing, and even Kouga originally agreed with him. It was finally Sango that helped turn the tables.
"Inuyasha! You would not be making Kagome relive anything that she is not already having nightmares about now." Sango stated simply. She had watched over her little sister ever since Inuyasha had brought Kagome back from her own time. She had spent hours watching as the onna tossed, whimpered, and cried in fear at the horrors that her mind, as equally abused as her poor battered body, replayed over and over again throughout the night.
"She will probably have nightmare images of last night's events for years to come, if she is ever able to get over them at all." stated Sango with pain filled assurance. "I wish it were not so, but what happened to her, is the worst nightmare that every onna and woman lives with almost daily. Luckily, most never experience such horror. But for those who are not so fortunate, their lives are never the same. Some never recover at all."
"She is right Inuyasha," said a calm spoken Miroku. "I once met an old woman, who had suffered a similar incident when she was but a teenager. Much like Kagome, from what I found out. She was but 25 years old when I first met her, and yet she looked older that Kaede-baa-chan does. She could not stand to be around males of any kind, not even her father or brothers. I learned about a year after I had met her that she had finally not been able to take the nightmares and horror anymore and had thrown herself of a cliff not far from where she had lived."
"The priestess of her village had told me that part of the difficulty is that the victim of such crimes are hard pressed to face the fear that such an attack brings to them. Instead they spend much of their time believing that it is they that are to blame for what happened to them. That they are dirty for having been violated, and that those around them see them as nothing more than loose women who asked for what happened to them to begin with." Miroku informed the group.
"But that is ridiculous," said Kouga. The idea that any woman wanting to have such a thing occur was totally ludicrous and that others would think such of a woman who had suffered so, was almost beyond contempt. "Anyone who could take one look at the pain and hell that Kagome has suffered would be a fool to think that she asked for that to happen to her."
"You are right, Kouga," said Sango. "Be that as it may, it is a fact nonetheless. It is part of the mind's effort to cope with the horror. Only those of strong will and determination are able to relive their nightmare and then finally put it aside and continue with their lives. Those are the ones who learn to accept what happened as something beyond their ability to control, and stand up to the fear it causes. Once they do, they are able to move forward with their lives, and if not be what they once were, at least they are able to live something of a normal life."
"For Kagome, it could be even harder," said Miroku. "As a Miko, at least during our times, such an action is believed by many to have tainted her soul and made her less than pure. The truth, however, it that the only thing that is impure is the abuse to her physical body. The spiritual impurity is only a concern, if the victim can let go of the nightmare before it darkens their heart."
"While this Sesshomaru is not experienced in the matters of which you speak," spoke the up to now silent Youkai Lord, "I do understand what you are saying. There is another factor in this idea that you are missing. I have heard that most such victims of violent attacks, find it easier to face their nightmares when they can 'share' them with someone else."
"As I understand it, many prefer to share their fears with someone that they love and trust, while others prefer to seek the support of strangers. I do not understand this completely, but it is what I have heard," he said.
"Hai, ye are right Sesshomaru-sama," said Kaede. "I learned of this when I was young, long before onee-sama died. For some, the love and support of a close relation lends them the strength to face their horrors and on a mental level, beat back the beast that lies within."
"Others are afraid of being judged by their loved ones, and seek solace in the aid of strangers who are unbiased. They are neither there to judge the victim, nor accuse. Just to listen and be there for them as they need," Kaede concluded.
"Ah! That makes sense then," said Sesshomaru. "This link that I wish to do, would have much to benefit the Miko then. The fact is that during the linking she would not be reliving the injustice she suffered alone. She would be supported by the person or persons linking with her, as she shows them what happened."
"Those who are linked would see what she saw, from her perspective, including feeling her pain. No physical harm would come to anyone, but it would feel as thoough they were right there as the attack occurred. In otherwords, whoever is linked with her as she relives these memories, will feel just like they are her, feeling exactly what she felt as she felt it."
"For her, she would be like an onlooker viewing the act on the sidelines. While I link with her on this, I would feel just like she did, including all of her pain, but at the same time, I would be able to stand with her from the sidelines and show her that she is not alone," stated the Taiyoukai quite matter-of-factly.
"In that case, this is probably a good thing to serious consider Inuyasha," said Kaede. "It would go along way to helping Kagome-chan recover much more readily from her experience. Especially if it can be done now, while everything is still fresh."
Sesshomaru's personal healer, Atsuko, who had arrived earlier, with Jaken, had had the opportunity to examine Kagome and offer her own remedies to aid the little Miko in her recovery. She knew of the potion that her Lord was seeking to create and what was involved in its creation. In fact, her great-great-grandmother had been the one to originally come up with the ancient recipe that was used for this most effective and useful potion.
She took the time to speak up in the conversation, "If I might interject here. There are many benefits to this potion, not to mention its ultimate purpose against the criminals that originally caused the current crisis."
"The sooner that Kagome-sama can face the fear of her nightmare, and understand that it is alright for her to be afraid, to be angry about what happened, to even hate those who attacked her, the sooner and the easier in the long run for her to recover and come to grips with what occurred," stated the healer with complete confidence.
"But the other side of this potion, is the one that you do not yet understand," Atsuko continued. "When my great-great grandmother originally created this potion, it was intended as a means to pay back those that spent their lives bringing pain and suffering to the innocent."
"The essence of Kagome-sama's nightmare would be bound to the potion. All it takes is a few drops of the completed potion on the lips of the criminal that caused the victim's suffering. Just a few small drops and the criminal is left to spend the rest of their lives reliving every single second of pain filled torture and horror that they gave to their victim. They would never show the marks, and nothing can be found physically or mentally wrong with them. But every time they close their eyes, every time they try to sleep is spent making them feel exactly as their victim did."
It was this last tidbit of information that helped to turn the inu-hanyou's decision around. His only condition was that he would, also, link with Kagome along side his brother. This way, Kagome had the support of two to be there for her, and help her to not feel alone.
A "smitciv rorroh", was what Sesshomaru had called the 'simple' potion that he mentioned. For in truth, it was pretty simple. The herbs required were fairly common place and indeed, Kaede had them in abundance. It was but a matter of about an hour to have enough of the potion's base ingredients combined and ready for use.
It was the last ingredient that was the hard part, and at first it was something that Inuyasha was dead set against. He just couldn't find it in himself to put Kagome through that nightmare again.
Essentially, what it involved was linking to Kagome's mind, and encouraging her to relive the images of what she had gone through. As Sesshomaru had explained it, the closer to the incident in question for the victim, the stronger and more potent the potion would be. As Kagome had only been attacked but a few hours ago, the potency of the potion was never in question.
The hard part was that Inuyasha didn't want to have Kagome relive those memories. Initially, he was so against it that he would not even hear of doing such a thing, and even Kouga originally agreed with him. It was finally Sango that helped turn the tables.
"Inuyasha! You would not be making Kagome relive anything that she is not already having nightmares about now." Sango stated simply. She had watched over her little sister ever since Inuyasha had brought Kagome back from her own time. She had spent hours watching as the onna tossed, whimpered, and cried in fear at the horrors that her mind, as equally abused as her poor battered body, replayed over and over again throughout the night.
"She will probably have nightmare images of last night's events for years to come, if she is ever able to get over them at all." stated Sango with pain filled assurance. "I wish it were not so, but what happened to her, is the worst nightmare that every onna and woman lives with almost daily. Luckily, most never experience such horror. But for those who are not so fortunate, their lives are never the same. Some never recover at all."
"She is right Inuyasha," said a calm spoken Miroku. "I once met an old woman, who had suffered a similar incident when she was but a teenager. Much like Kagome, from what I found out. She was but 25 years old when I first met her, and yet she looked older that Kaede-baa-chan does. She could not stand to be around males of any kind, not even her father or brothers. I learned about a year after I had met her that she had finally not been able to take the nightmares and horror anymore and had thrown herself of a cliff not far from where she had lived."
"The priestess of her village had told me that part of the difficulty is that the victim of such crimes are hard pressed to face the fear that such an attack brings to them. Instead they spend much of their time believing that it is they that are to blame for what happened to them. That they are dirty for having been violated, and that those around them see them as nothing more than loose women who asked for what happened to them to begin with." Miroku informed the group.
"But that is ridiculous," said Kouga. The idea that any woman wanting to have such a thing occur was totally ludicrous and that others would think such of a woman who had suffered so, was almost beyond contempt. "Anyone who could take one look at the pain and hell that Kagome has suffered would be a fool to think that she asked for that to happen to her."
"You are right, Kouga," said Sango. "Be that as it may, it is a fact nonetheless. It is part of the mind's effort to cope with the horror. Only those of strong will and determination are able to relive their nightmare and then finally put it aside and continue with their lives. Those are the ones who learn to accept what happened as something beyond their ability to control, and stand up to the fear it causes. Once they do, they are able to move forward with their lives, and if not be what they once were, at least they are able to live something of a normal life."
"For Kagome, it could be even harder," said Miroku. "As a Miko, at least during our times, such an action is believed by many to have tainted her soul and made her less than pure. The truth, however, it that the only thing that is impure is the abuse to her physical body. The spiritual impurity is only a concern, if the victim can let go of the nightmare before it darkens their heart."
"While this Sesshomaru is not experienced in the matters of which you speak," spoke the up to now silent Youkai Lord, "I do understand what you are saying. There is another factor in this idea that you are missing. I have heard that most such victims of violent attacks, find it easier to face their nightmares when they can 'share' them with someone else."
"As I understand it, many prefer to share their fears with someone that they love and trust, while others prefer to seek the support of strangers. I do not understand this completely, but it is what I have heard," he said.
"Hai, ye are right Sesshomaru-sama," said Kaede. "I learned of this when I was young, long before onee-sama died. For some, the love and support of a close relation lends them the strength to face their horrors and on a mental level, beat back the beast that lies within."
"Others are afraid of being judged by their loved ones, and seek solace in the aid of strangers who are unbiased. They are neither there to judge the victim, nor accuse. Just to listen and be there for them as they need," Kaede concluded.
"Ah! That makes sense then," said Sesshomaru. "This link that I wish to do, would have much to benefit the Miko then. The fact is that during the linking she would not be reliving the injustice she suffered alone. She would be supported by the person or persons linking with her, as she shows them what happened."
"Those who are linked would see what she saw, from her perspective, including feeling her pain. No physical harm would come to anyone, but it would feel as thoough they were right there as the attack occurred. In otherwords, whoever is linked with her as she relives these memories, will feel just like they are her, feeling exactly what she felt as she felt it."
"For her, she would be like an onlooker viewing the act on the sidelines. While I link with her on this, I would feel just like she did, including all of her pain, but at the same time, I would be able to stand with her from the sidelines and show her that she is not alone," stated the Taiyoukai quite matter-of-factly.
"In that case, this is probably a good thing to serious consider Inuyasha," said Kaede. "It would go along way to helping Kagome-chan recover much more readily from her experience. Especially if it can be done now, while everything is still fresh."
Sesshomaru's personal healer, Atsuko, who had arrived earlier, with Jaken, had had the opportunity to examine Kagome and offer her own remedies to aid the little Miko in her recovery. She knew of the potion that her Lord was seeking to create and what was involved in its creation. In fact, her great-great-grandmother had been the one to originally come up with the ancient recipe that was used for this most effective and useful potion.
She took the time to speak up in the conversation, "If I might interject here. There are many benefits to this potion, not to mention its ultimate purpose against the criminals that originally caused the current crisis."
"The sooner that Kagome-sama can face the fear of her nightmare, and understand that it is alright for her to be afraid, to be angry about what happened, to even hate those who attacked her, the sooner and the easier in the long run for her to recover and come to grips with what occurred," stated the healer with complete confidence.
"But the other side of this potion, is the one that you do not yet understand," Atsuko continued. "When my great-great grandmother originally created this potion, it was intended as a means to pay back those that spent their lives bringing pain and suffering to the innocent."
"The essence of Kagome-sama's nightmare would be bound to the potion. All it takes is a few drops of the completed potion on the lips of the criminal that caused the victim's suffering. Just a few small drops and the criminal is left to spend the rest of their lives reliving every single second of pain filled torture and horror that they gave to their victim. They would never show the marks, and nothing can be found physically or mentally wrong with them. But every time they close their eyes, every time they try to sleep is spent making them feel exactly as their victim did."
It was this last tidbit of information that helped to turn the inu-hanyou's decision around. His only condition was that he would, also, link with Kagome along side his brother. This way, Kagome had the support of two to be there for her, and help her to not feel alone.
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