InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Avoiding Yokai Eradication ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Seleni 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.29.2010 | Updated On: 10.29.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 308 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.29.2010 | Updated On: 10.29.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 308 | Status: Work In Progress
VOCABULARY
Nagisa – Japanese name meaning Sea Shore. Kagome´s maid
Gina – Japanese name meaning Silvery. Kagome’s bodyguard
Yasu – Japanese name meaning Assertive Child. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Kokoro – Japanese name meaning Heart. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Ryo – Japanese name meaning Jasmine. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Mieko – Japanese name meaning Beautiful Blessed Child. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Reiki – Spiritual energy used by miko (Priestesses) to purify yokai (Demons)
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Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha
CHAPTER 6: OLD FRIENDS
Sengoku Jidai
Juunigatsu, 1548
Tsuki no Palace
It had been a week since Kagome arrival to the Palace of the Moon and, although it hadn’t been that bad staying there, she was in a hurry to leave or at least get out for a couple of hours. She had noticed that Palace life wasn’t for her. It was too stuffy and formal, and almost everything she said offended somebody. Until then, as far as she knew, nobody had tried to kill her, but she could feel the change when something bothered them.
Nagisa was one of those that didn’t understand her or her behavior. The maid was very Sesshoumaru-like. Cold, a sticker for the rules and knew everything about etiquette that there was to learn. It was obvious that the servant tried to be perfect. Because of that, besides being her maid, the Western Lord also made Nagisa her teacher. He had concluded that Kagome wasn’t lady like at all and she needed to know how to behave while in court. He had added that it was good to learn such things for future references. She agreed with him until then but she knew he was just trying to convince her of doing it without complaining. He didn’t care about her future. He just didn’t want her to embarrass him.
With the Etiquette classes from hell, came her personal bodyguard, Gina. The yokai had the most beautiful silver hair she had ever seen. It even surpassed Sesshoumaru’s with the silky texture and natural shine. She was taller than Kagome by 3’ inches and had a shapely figure. But at least, the woman was as mischievous as a kitsune. She was also an excellent warrior and great friend that kept unwanted attention from the miko at all times. Gina might look a little innocent with her wide maroon eyes but Kagome knew by instinct that the yokai was anything but dangerous, even if she was easy going. She just had to remember what happened when she met Sesshoumaru’s concubines.
For some reason beyond her, everybody in the castle thought she was there to mate the Lord and she had thought that Gina’s presence was there to keep her company. So foolish of her. It seemed that there was another reason. One that kept her head over her shoulders.
While getting separated from her protector and maid, she wandered the palace for at least an hour before finding anything that resembled a living being. First, she heard voices, so she followed them until she came to a private garden. It was truly beautiful with pine trees and flowers she had never seen before. She was marveled by it since during that time of year most vegetation would be dead or leafless at least, however, the cold, harsh environment that could be felt thought most of the palace didn’t seem to make it there and hummingbirds, butterflies and other animals simply seemed to still be living in the summer that had been gone for several month. But the amazing flora and fauna seemed quite normal compared to the four beauties that enjoyed their personal Garden of Eden. Four yokai in their teens paced themselves among the luxurious vegetation. The younger ones, a red haired demoness that looked like she was 15 years old, and a silver haired one of the same age, were having a discussion about who was to become their lord’s mate. Their ‘friendly’ conversation was obviously getting out of hand as they raised their voice each time the other said something that made her better than the later. Eventually, both were about to kill each other until one of the quiet yokai who looked to be in her twenties intervened and told them to shut up in a very educated manner. The last female, who was sitting under a tree looking at the sky just snorted at the occurrence.
The oldest female was the first to notice her hiding behind the great doors that led to their garden and went there to see a very lost and curious miko. Inviting her to have tea with them she asked for her name. Once she said Kagome she wished she hadn’t.
“Oh, the new concubine that my Lord is training. Never thought I see the day he would take a human, a miko no less” said the blond demoness who had stopped the quarreling before.
“What?” almost screamed Kagome when she heard the news.
“My name is Yasu” she added ignoring the miko’s rude outburst. “The red head over there is Kokoro. She was given to our lord for his 600 birthday by her father, a minor lord in the West. Next is Ryo, the one with silver hair. She is one of the daughters of the Southern Lord given to Sesshoumaru-sama to finalize a treaty between the lands. She is the newest one and my lord’s favorite partner for the time being. And at last, there is Mieko, the one seating against the tree. My Lord saved her from dying during the wars with the South but don’t tell her that. She hates him and blames him for the destruction of her village but knows she is protected while she lives here” Yasu chuckled when the afore mentioned demoness looked at her with killing intent.
“Ah, so you are the famous miko everyone is talking about?” asked Kokoro, jealousy disfiguring her beautiful face. “I thought she would be at least pretty”. Kagome didn’t miss the offense but held back and tried to explain that she wasn’t there to bed their lord; they could keep him with castle and all. But thought better of it, after all, that red-haired bitch deserved to sweat a little for assuming things.
“Sorry, I got lost while walking around and I was trying to find my way back to my room but there was nobody in sight so I ended up here. I’m very sorry I interrupted whatever you were doing, but I would like to leave” said nervously the miko, fearing the situation would get out of hand. She knew how to defend herself, but she didn’t know if her head had the same value as one of the Lord’s concubines because she was sure to kill one if she was attacked.
“Afraid miko?” asked Ryo getting closer and flexing her claws. “I thought your kind got off killing demons”.
“I’m not like my kind” said Kagome warily, knowing they would attack her.
“Is that why you want my mate?” asked the silver haired female reading herself to kill a possible threat to her become the Western Lady.
“As far as I know, Sesshoumaru is not your mate” several gasps were heard. Nobody dared referred to their lord without a proper tittle and doing so meant a relation more personal than the miko knew about.
“You bitch” screamed the enraged yokai who attacked her at an incredible speed for the amount of clothe she wearing.
Kagome moved out of the way easily, having fought several yokai over the years had taught her how to not get killed at the beginning of a battle. From there on, however, was becoming hard to fight since she had no weapon. She had learned to master the sword years prior and she could hold her own in hand to hand combat, but the bow was her favorite weapon and without it, she was most likely to be killed rather than to kill. The most she managed to do was avoid the attacks thrown her way and once in a while, sent a reiki fused punch that, although not aimed to kill, did enough damage to slow the yokai down and eventually made her fall from exhaustion.
Yasu was awed at the power and control the miko exerted but never lifted a finger to aid her knowing well enough that that was her battle to fight. No sooner, Ryo was breathless and falling ungracefully to ground, Kokoro took her place to fight the miko. The blond demoness hid her smile at the curses the miko was sending to a certain lord while Mieko’s laugh resonated through the whole garden. Kagome was holding her own against the apparently more experienced Kokoro. But the fight was getting nowhere and before either could claim a victory, Gina came to the rescue, knocking Kokoro out cold without much effort.
“Kagome-sama, are you well?” asked the worried yokai who was sure to be disciplined for the slip on her guard. She was supposed to watch over the miko but somehow this one had disappeared without a trace from her view.
“What’s going on here?” asked Sesshoumaru who had been watching the fight from the very beginning. He was quite proud that the miko didn’t die right away and also somewhat disappointed that his concubines weren’t a match for her at all.
At his entrance, everyone cowered except Kagome who looked at him and narrowed her eyes at him. Then and there she knew and stumped all the way to him.
“Sesshoumaru” she half growled “Why didn’t you intervene before things got out of hand?” She asked him looking at him straight in the eye.
“You were faring well enough Miko” was his answer.
“Well, I don’t care if I was fairing great or whatever, it was a stupid fight that only helped to fuel you gigantic ego, and for that, my beloved Lord, I don’t fight” she said while pocking his chest with her index finger. He looked at her appendage and considered how he should remove it but before he came to a decision, she was already half way to the door and signaling Gina to follow her. Turning around she added just as vehemently as before “I’m not your concubine. Is that clear?” she said before disappearing from his sight.
Knowing that such a display was going to be the cause of more misinterpreted rumors, he just left his concubines with an incredulous look in their faces. Only Mieko was enjoying herself very much for his public embarrassment; for, until then, nobody had told their lord they wanted nothing to do with him.
Kagome half smiled at the memory and guessed that in a way she was being punished because Sesshoumaru hadn’t come to retrieve her to go to Edo. But he was bound to come any day now, there was no way he could delay it anymore. As expected, somebody knocked on her door and soon after opened it to show the Western Lord himself.
“Get ready, we are leaving in an hour” he said before leaving her alone to prepare for their journey.
~*~
Sengoku Jidai
Juunigatsu, 1548
Town of Edo
Sango, Miroku and Shippou were packing their stuff to go and look for Kagome. They were tired of waiting for Inuyasha to take them to his brother’s palace so they were going to look for the place themselves. The stupid hanyou had decided to wait more than two days for her arrival because the Ms. Terracotta had convinced him to postpone their departure and, as the rest of the group had no idea which way to go besides that toward the west, they had decided to wait for him. But that was done and over with. They needed to know if their friend was alive and well.
They were about to leave when Inuyasha appeared in front of them. He looked at them inquisitively before huffing and jumping high to sit in a tree.
“They are on their way” he said and closed his eyes while he waited for Kagome’s arrival.
“How do you know?” asked Sango looking suspiciously at him.
“Kikyo told me” he said not caring what they thought about him and Kikyo anymore.
“You have changed, Inuyasha” said Sango with something akin of nostalgia in her voice. “Kagome is not going to like that most of those changes are because of Kikyo but she will accept them nonetheless because she cares for you. Something I cannot say about your dead lover”.
“Don’t bring Kikyo into this. It’s all Kagome’s fault for going to my brother instead of coming here first” his voice was filled with hate thinking that his best friend had betrayed him.
“And who told you that? Kikyo? Inuyasha, I thought you would have learned not to trust her. She can be as deceiving as Naraku himself” added the taijijya filling sorry for the hanyou.
“She wouldn’t lie to me. Kikyo said she saw Kagome come out of the well, head west instead of coming here first and half way there, Sesshoumaru picked her up and took her to his castle. I think that is convincing enough” he said stubbornly.
“Inuyasha…” sighed the slayer “its Kagome we are talking about here. She wouldn’t do anything without consulting us first and you know it”.
“Then tell me, how she is here without us knowing. The only way she could have come was through the well. However, she is with Sesshoumaru as we speak heading our way” clenching his fist from the ire that was consuming him, Inuyasha punched the air imagining his brother in his place. But it did little to alleviate the hurt in his heart.
“I don’t know, but there has to be a logical explanation for it” added Sango sure of her friends innocence.
“Well, you can ask her” uttered the hanyou.
At that moment, Sesshoumaru and Kagome arrived at the well’s clearing and were heading for the village. Kagome was happy to be back and out of Sesshoumaru’s giant prison. She had missed them all, but most of all Shippou. No sooner had she thought of him that a red ball crashed against her repeating her name like a chant. Hugging him to her, she basked herself in his warmth. Almost at the village, Sango and Miroku waited for her. After hugging Sango and Miroku –making sure his hands weren’t anywhere near her ass as she did– they headed for Kaede’s cottage. There they talked about all that had happened during the past three month but never discussed Sesshoumaru’s presence and his interest in the Jewel’s wish.
Sesshoumaru had been patient, knowing how talkative the miko was and her ridiculous need to catch up with her friends. So he had waited for an hour before reminding her of why they had come. It was then that she noticed a very important person missing.
“Where is Inuyasha?” her friends’ look told her something was amiss. She had missed the hanyou as well but he wasn’t into sharing his feelings too much and hadn’t thought much of his absence during her return to the village but now she supposed something was really wrong for him not to be there.
“He is outside” said Miroku without giving any further details.
Kagome nodded her head and stood up leaving Shippou in Sango’s lap before heading outside. She could feel Sesshoumaru behind her but she just ignored him while she looked for his brother. It wasn’t hard to find a red clad figure mopping in a tree’s branch no far from the hut. He was looking at her strangely and she felt a tremor run down her spine. There was certainly something wrong, however, she showed him one of her best smiles.
“Why did you return?” he asked her. She wasn’t sure where that came from but she didn’t like it one bit. It made her feel unwanted and like she had done something wrong.
“Look, Inuyasha…” she tried to defend herself not bothering to smile anymore.
“Half breed, we are here for the wish of the Shikon no Tama” said Sesshoumaru without preamble. Kagome couldn’t believe he had just said that. He was going to blow things out of proportion and Inuyasha wasn’t the listening type when it came to his brother.
“What?” the hanyou looked at Kagome as if searching for something in her eyes. She tried to not look at him but that seemed to be the answer he was looking for. Kagome never looked at him in the eyes when there was something she didn’t want him to know. “So that’s it, ha, he wants my wish and you just give it to him, no?” he said getting angry.
“Now, Inu, it’s not like that. It told him to ask you first otherwise I wouldn’t be here” she replied.
“But it only means that you agree with this or you would have denied him” he reproached.
“That is true, but I only approve because I think what he is asking for is fair. Better yet, you can still have you wish, you just have to tell him what it is and if he agrees, then I’ll wish it” she tried to convince him. She knew what he thought of asking but such wish was selfish. Actually, any wish was selfish because it was meant to make the person happy. It didn’t matter how indirect the results may be. But she was willing to pay the price, she was sure Inuyasha wasn’t ready for that.
“No” he said.
“No what Inuyasha. You don’t want the wish or you are not going to tell him” she asked him warily. The whole situation seemed to be at the edge, if it got tilted to the wrong side it would fall to the abyss. “I’m doing this for everyone, not just for you or me. I’ll respect your wish but I have to know what it is” she tried again.
“Give me the jewel” was his only reply.
“No, Inuyasha, I won’t give you the Shikon” she told him right away. “You don’t want me to know what your wish is because it’s about Kikyo, isn’t it? You want to wish her alive, right? You just have to say yes and I’ll do it, Inu. It doesn’t matter to me as long as it makes you happy.”
“No” it was Sesshoumaru who intervened. He wasn’t about to wish the miko into nonexistence. For some reason unknown to him, he didn’t want her gone.
“This is not about you, Sesshoumaru” she told him barely paying any attention to him which made him narrow his eyes at her tense figure. But he said nothing else instead focusing in his half-brother who had jumped down the tree and stood in front of the miko.
“Why would the great Sesshoumaru not accept my wish? Is it an inconvenience to him or he doesn’t want Kikyo to live?” asked a mad Inuyasha.
“I want this miko alive” he said signaling toward Kagome “or the undead priestess is more important than the living one, half-breed?”
“Enough. Both of you. Sesshoumaru, the wish is for me to make, the consequences are none of your business and I’m well aware of them” said a very pissed off Kagome pointing at the taiyokai. “Inuyasha, you just tell me what you want and I’ll wish it”.
Inuyasha hid his eyes under his silver bangs and smiled cryptically. Kagome took a step back and Sesshoumaru put his hand on his sword, ready to defend the miko, but both were surprised when the hanyou stepped forward and hugged her. He said her name in a low voice and caressed her, making Sesshoumaru growl dangerously for the half-breed to step away from the miko. Inuyasha looked at him darkly, as if he knew something the taiyokai ignored, before pushing Kagome away so strong that she fell back on the hard earth and showing the glowing Shikon no Tama in his hands.
Kagome looked at him from the ground as if it was the first time she saw him. He was chuckling as he looked down at her with narrowed eyes, hate present in them like when he had woken and thought she was Kikyo. It hurt her seeing that look directed at her but she had little time to say anything as Sesshoumaru attacked Inuyasha. The hanyou didn’t stay to fight, he jumped into a tree branch and ran toward the forest with Sesshoumaru and Kagome hot on pursue.
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A/N
This is the sixth chapter. It not that long but I kind of wanted to present a little bit about Kagome´s stay at Sesshoumaru castle. Up to that moment, Kagome and Sesshoumaru haven’t had that much contact with each other but Sesshoumaru is feeling slightly, and I mean very slightly, attracted to her and he doesn’t understand why –exactly what one expects of him– however, things are about to change.
Seleni
Nagisa – Japanese name meaning Sea Shore. Kagome´s maid
Gina – Japanese name meaning Silvery. Kagome’s bodyguard
Yasu – Japanese name meaning Assertive Child. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Kokoro – Japanese name meaning Heart. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Ryo – Japanese name meaning Jasmine. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Mieko – Japanese name meaning Beautiful Blessed Child. One of Sesshoumaru’s concubines
Reiki – Spiritual energy used by miko (Priestesses) to purify yokai (Demons)
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Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha
CHAPTER 6: OLD FRIENDS
Sengoku Jidai
Juunigatsu, 1548
Tsuki no Palace
It had been a week since Kagome arrival to the Palace of the Moon and, although it hadn’t been that bad staying there, she was in a hurry to leave or at least get out for a couple of hours. She had noticed that Palace life wasn’t for her. It was too stuffy and formal, and almost everything she said offended somebody. Until then, as far as she knew, nobody had tried to kill her, but she could feel the change when something bothered them.
Nagisa was one of those that didn’t understand her or her behavior. The maid was very Sesshoumaru-like. Cold, a sticker for the rules and knew everything about etiquette that there was to learn. It was obvious that the servant tried to be perfect. Because of that, besides being her maid, the Western Lord also made Nagisa her teacher. He had concluded that Kagome wasn’t lady like at all and she needed to know how to behave while in court. He had added that it was good to learn such things for future references. She agreed with him until then but she knew he was just trying to convince her of doing it without complaining. He didn’t care about her future. He just didn’t want her to embarrass him.
With the Etiquette classes from hell, came her personal bodyguard, Gina. The yokai had the most beautiful silver hair she had ever seen. It even surpassed Sesshoumaru’s with the silky texture and natural shine. She was taller than Kagome by 3’ inches and had a shapely figure. But at least, the woman was as mischievous as a kitsune. She was also an excellent warrior and great friend that kept unwanted attention from the miko at all times. Gina might look a little innocent with her wide maroon eyes but Kagome knew by instinct that the yokai was anything but dangerous, even if she was easy going. She just had to remember what happened when she met Sesshoumaru’s concubines.
For some reason beyond her, everybody in the castle thought she was there to mate the Lord and she had thought that Gina’s presence was there to keep her company. So foolish of her. It seemed that there was another reason. One that kept her head over her shoulders.
While getting separated from her protector and maid, she wandered the palace for at least an hour before finding anything that resembled a living being. First, she heard voices, so she followed them until she came to a private garden. It was truly beautiful with pine trees and flowers she had never seen before. She was marveled by it since during that time of year most vegetation would be dead or leafless at least, however, the cold, harsh environment that could be felt thought most of the palace didn’t seem to make it there and hummingbirds, butterflies and other animals simply seemed to still be living in the summer that had been gone for several month. But the amazing flora and fauna seemed quite normal compared to the four beauties that enjoyed their personal Garden of Eden. Four yokai in their teens paced themselves among the luxurious vegetation. The younger ones, a red haired demoness that looked like she was 15 years old, and a silver haired one of the same age, were having a discussion about who was to become their lord’s mate. Their ‘friendly’ conversation was obviously getting out of hand as they raised their voice each time the other said something that made her better than the later. Eventually, both were about to kill each other until one of the quiet yokai who looked to be in her twenties intervened and told them to shut up in a very educated manner. The last female, who was sitting under a tree looking at the sky just snorted at the occurrence.
The oldest female was the first to notice her hiding behind the great doors that led to their garden and went there to see a very lost and curious miko. Inviting her to have tea with them she asked for her name. Once she said Kagome she wished she hadn’t.
“Oh, the new concubine that my Lord is training. Never thought I see the day he would take a human, a miko no less” said the blond demoness who had stopped the quarreling before.
“What?” almost screamed Kagome when she heard the news.
“My name is Yasu” she added ignoring the miko’s rude outburst. “The red head over there is Kokoro. She was given to our lord for his 600 birthday by her father, a minor lord in the West. Next is Ryo, the one with silver hair. She is one of the daughters of the Southern Lord given to Sesshoumaru-sama to finalize a treaty between the lands. She is the newest one and my lord’s favorite partner for the time being. And at last, there is Mieko, the one seating against the tree. My Lord saved her from dying during the wars with the South but don’t tell her that. She hates him and blames him for the destruction of her village but knows she is protected while she lives here” Yasu chuckled when the afore mentioned demoness looked at her with killing intent.
“Ah, so you are the famous miko everyone is talking about?” asked Kokoro, jealousy disfiguring her beautiful face. “I thought she would be at least pretty”. Kagome didn’t miss the offense but held back and tried to explain that she wasn’t there to bed their lord; they could keep him with castle and all. But thought better of it, after all, that red-haired bitch deserved to sweat a little for assuming things.
“Sorry, I got lost while walking around and I was trying to find my way back to my room but there was nobody in sight so I ended up here. I’m very sorry I interrupted whatever you were doing, but I would like to leave” said nervously the miko, fearing the situation would get out of hand. She knew how to defend herself, but she didn’t know if her head had the same value as one of the Lord’s concubines because she was sure to kill one if she was attacked.
“Afraid miko?” asked Ryo getting closer and flexing her claws. “I thought your kind got off killing demons”.
“I’m not like my kind” said Kagome warily, knowing they would attack her.
“Is that why you want my mate?” asked the silver haired female reading herself to kill a possible threat to her become the Western Lady.
“As far as I know, Sesshoumaru is not your mate” several gasps were heard. Nobody dared referred to their lord without a proper tittle and doing so meant a relation more personal than the miko knew about.
“You bitch” screamed the enraged yokai who attacked her at an incredible speed for the amount of clothe she wearing.
Kagome moved out of the way easily, having fought several yokai over the years had taught her how to not get killed at the beginning of a battle. From there on, however, was becoming hard to fight since she had no weapon. She had learned to master the sword years prior and she could hold her own in hand to hand combat, but the bow was her favorite weapon and without it, she was most likely to be killed rather than to kill. The most she managed to do was avoid the attacks thrown her way and once in a while, sent a reiki fused punch that, although not aimed to kill, did enough damage to slow the yokai down and eventually made her fall from exhaustion.
Yasu was awed at the power and control the miko exerted but never lifted a finger to aid her knowing well enough that that was her battle to fight. No sooner, Ryo was breathless and falling ungracefully to ground, Kokoro took her place to fight the miko. The blond demoness hid her smile at the curses the miko was sending to a certain lord while Mieko’s laugh resonated through the whole garden. Kagome was holding her own against the apparently more experienced Kokoro. But the fight was getting nowhere and before either could claim a victory, Gina came to the rescue, knocking Kokoro out cold without much effort.
“Kagome-sama, are you well?” asked the worried yokai who was sure to be disciplined for the slip on her guard. She was supposed to watch over the miko but somehow this one had disappeared without a trace from her view.
“What’s going on here?” asked Sesshoumaru who had been watching the fight from the very beginning. He was quite proud that the miko didn’t die right away and also somewhat disappointed that his concubines weren’t a match for her at all.
At his entrance, everyone cowered except Kagome who looked at him and narrowed her eyes at him. Then and there she knew and stumped all the way to him.
“Sesshoumaru” she half growled “Why didn’t you intervene before things got out of hand?” She asked him looking at him straight in the eye.
“You were faring well enough Miko” was his answer.
“Well, I don’t care if I was fairing great or whatever, it was a stupid fight that only helped to fuel you gigantic ego, and for that, my beloved Lord, I don’t fight” she said while pocking his chest with her index finger. He looked at her appendage and considered how he should remove it but before he came to a decision, she was already half way to the door and signaling Gina to follow her. Turning around she added just as vehemently as before “I’m not your concubine. Is that clear?” she said before disappearing from his sight.
Knowing that such a display was going to be the cause of more misinterpreted rumors, he just left his concubines with an incredulous look in their faces. Only Mieko was enjoying herself very much for his public embarrassment; for, until then, nobody had told their lord they wanted nothing to do with him.
Kagome half smiled at the memory and guessed that in a way she was being punished because Sesshoumaru hadn’t come to retrieve her to go to Edo. But he was bound to come any day now, there was no way he could delay it anymore. As expected, somebody knocked on her door and soon after opened it to show the Western Lord himself.
“Get ready, we are leaving in an hour” he said before leaving her alone to prepare for their journey.
~*~
Sengoku Jidai
Juunigatsu, 1548
Town of Edo
Sango, Miroku and Shippou were packing their stuff to go and look for Kagome. They were tired of waiting for Inuyasha to take them to his brother’s palace so they were going to look for the place themselves. The stupid hanyou had decided to wait more than two days for her arrival because the Ms. Terracotta had convinced him to postpone their departure and, as the rest of the group had no idea which way to go besides that toward the west, they had decided to wait for him. But that was done and over with. They needed to know if their friend was alive and well.
They were about to leave when Inuyasha appeared in front of them. He looked at them inquisitively before huffing and jumping high to sit in a tree.
“They are on their way” he said and closed his eyes while he waited for Kagome’s arrival.
“How do you know?” asked Sango looking suspiciously at him.
“Kikyo told me” he said not caring what they thought about him and Kikyo anymore.
“You have changed, Inuyasha” said Sango with something akin of nostalgia in her voice. “Kagome is not going to like that most of those changes are because of Kikyo but she will accept them nonetheless because she cares for you. Something I cannot say about your dead lover”.
“Don’t bring Kikyo into this. It’s all Kagome’s fault for going to my brother instead of coming here first” his voice was filled with hate thinking that his best friend had betrayed him.
“And who told you that? Kikyo? Inuyasha, I thought you would have learned not to trust her. She can be as deceiving as Naraku himself” added the taijijya filling sorry for the hanyou.
“She wouldn’t lie to me. Kikyo said she saw Kagome come out of the well, head west instead of coming here first and half way there, Sesshoumaru picked her up and took her to his castle. I think that is convincing enough” he said stubbornly.
“Inuyasha…” sighed the slayer “its Kagome we are talking about here. She wouldn’t do anything without consulting us first and you know it”.
“Then tell me, how she is here without us knowing. The only way she could have come was through the well. However, she is with Sesshoumaru as we speak heading our way” clenching his fist from the ire that was consuming him, Inuyasha punched the air imagining his brother in his place. But it did little to alleviate the hurt in his heart.
“I don’t know, but there has to be a logical explanation for it” added Sango sure of her friends innocence.
“Well, you can ask her” uttered the hanyou.
At that moment, Sesshoumaru and Kagome arrived at the well’s clearing and were heading for the village. Kagome was happy to be back and out of Sesshoumaru’s giant prison. She had missed them all, but most of all Shippou. No sooner had she thought of him that a red ball crashed against her repeating her name like a chant. Hugging him to her, she basked herself in his warmth. Almost at the village, Sango and Miroku waited for her. After hugging Sango and Miroku –making sure his hands weren’t anywhere near her ass as she did– they headed for Kaede’s cottage. There they talked about all that had happened during the past three month but never discussed Sesshoumaru’s presence and his interest in the Jewel’s wish.
Sesshoumaru had been patient, knowing how talkative the miko was and her ridiculous need to catch up with her friends. So he had waited for an hour before reminding her of why they had come. It was then that she noticed a very important person missing.
“Where is Inuyasha?” her friends’ look told her something was amiss. She had missed the hanyou as well but he wasn’t into sharing his feelings too much and hadn’t thought much of his absence during her return to the village but now she supposed something was really wrong for him not to be there.
“He is outside” said Miroku without giving any further details.
Kagome nodded her head and stood up leaving Shippou in Sango’s lap before heading outside. She could feel Sesshoumaru behind her but she just ignored him while she looked for his brother. It wasn’t hard to find a red clad figure mopping in a tree’s branch no far from the hut. He was looking at her strangely and she felt a tremor run down her spine. There was certainly something wrong, however, she showed him one of her best smiles.
“Why did you return?” he asked her. She wasn’t sure where that came from but she didn’t like it one bit. It made her feel unwanted and like she had done something wrong.
“Look, Inuyasha…” she tried to defend herself not bothering to smile anymore.
“Half breed, we are here for the wish of the Shikon no Tama” said Sesshoumaru without preamble. Kagome couldn’t believe he had just said that. He was going to blow things out of proportion and Inuyasha wasn’t the listening type when it came to his brother.
“What?” the hanyou looked at Kagome as if searching for something in her eyes. She tried to not look at him but that seemed to be the answer he was looking for. Kagome never looked at him in the eyes when there was something she didn’t want him to know. “So that’s it, ha, he wants my wish and you just give it to him, no?” he said getting angry.
“Now, Inu, it’s not like that. It told him to ask you first otherwise I wouldn’t be here” she replied.
“But it only means that you agree with this or you would have denied him” he reproached.
“That is true, but I only approve because I think what he is asking for is fair. Better yet, you can still have you wish, you just have to tell him what it is and if he agrees, then I’ll wish it” she tried to convince him. She knew what he thought of asking but such wish was selfish. Actually, any wish was selfish because it was meant to make the person happy. It didn’t matter how indirect the results may be. But she was willing to pay the price, she was sure Inuyasha wasn’t ready for that.
“No” he said.
“No what Inuyasha. You don’t want the wish or you are not going to tell him” she asked him warily. The whole situation seemed to be at the edge, if it got tilted to the wrong side it would fall to the abyss. “I’m doing this for everyone, not just for you or me. I’ll respect your wish but I have to know what it is” she tried again.
“Give me the jewel” was his only reply.
“No, Inuyasha, I won’t give you the Shikon” she told him right away. “You don’t want me to know what your wish is because it’s about Kikyo, isn’t it? You want to wish her alive, right? You just have to say yes and I’ll do it, Inu. It doesn’t matter to me as long as it makes you happy.”
“No” it was Sesshoumaru who intervened. He wasn’t about to wish the miko into nonexistence. For some reason unknown to him, he didn’t want her gone.
“This is not about you, Sesshoumaru” she told him barely paying any attention to him which made him narrow his eyes at her tense figure. But he said nothing else instead focusing in his half-brother who had jumped down the tree and stood in front of the miko.
“Why would the great Sesshoumaru not accept my wish? Is it an inconvenience to him or he doesn’t want Kikyo to live?” asked a mad Inuyasha.
“I want this miko alive” he said signaling toward Kagome “or the undead priestess is more important than the living one, half-breed?”
“Enough. Both of you. Sesshoumaru, the wish is for me to make, the consequences are none of your business and I’m well aware of them” said a very pissed off Kagome pointing at the taiyokai. “Inuyasha, you just tell me what you want and I’ll wish it”.
Inuyasha hid his eyes under his silver bangs and smiled cryptically. Kagome took a step back and Sesshoumaru put his hand on his sword, ready to defend the miko, but both were surprised when the hanyou stepped forward and hugged her. He said her name in a low voice and caressed her, making Sesshoumaru growl dangerously for the half-breed to step away from the miko. Inuyasha looked at him darkly, as if he knew something the taiyokai ignored, before pushing Kagome away so strong that she fell back on the hard earth and showing the glowing Shikon no Tama in his hands.
Kagome looked at him from the ground as if it was the first time she saw him. He was chuckling as he looked down at her with narrowed eyes, hate present in them like when he had woken and thought she was Kikyo. It hurt her seeing that look directed at her but she had little time to say anything as Sesshoumaru attacked Inuyasha. The hanyou didn’t stay to fight, he jumped into a tree branch and ran toward the forest with Sesshoumaru and Kagome hot on pursue.
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A/N
This is the sixth chapter. It not that long but I kind of wanted to present a little bit about Kagome´s stay at Sesshoumaru castle. Up to that moment, Kagome and Sesshoumaru haven’t had that much contact with each other but Sesshoumaru is feeling slightly, and I mean very slightly, attracted to her and he doesn’t understand why –exactly what one expects of him– however, things are about to change.
Seleni