InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dance with the Devil ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: There WILL be one more part following this one, but due to the wonderful holidays and the fact that I would love to spend time with my “other” family, it’s not going to come until after Christmas. Until then, enjoy this part, and I hope your Christmas is wonderful!

Dance With the Devil
Part II

Fifteen years later…

It was cold.

The beginning of December had brought with it the bitter frost of winter, causing pedestrians to scurry along the sidewalks in the snow in an effort to stave off the chill and reach their warm destinations sooner.

Kagome Higurashi was no different, although she did stop from time to time on the sidewalk to enjoy the gentle flakes of snow that caressed her cheeks. She loved how the white of the ice fell softly onto her hair and skin and melted there, melding until they were one. She loved looking out of her windows and seeing the frost on them, shades of silver and ivory covering the darkness of the earth. White had always been one of her favorite shades.

An image of white hair filled her mind, but she quickly shook her head and began briskly walking again. Classes were over for the semester at the local college she attended, and she had gotten together with a few of her fellow students that night to celebrate the end of finals. In another two years, she would receive her History degree with an emphasis in Mythology and perhaps work as a researcher. She didn’t quite know what to do with her degree once she got it, but she was happy she was studying something that was so fascinating to her. She couldn’t have picked another degree, not when there were so many stories of legends, Gods, Demons, and monsters to explore.

Glancing at her watch, she broke into a light jog when she realized if she didn’t hurry, she was going to miss the subway. It was already pretty late and the crowd had thinned to slow trickle, allowing Kagome to reach the subway entrance fairly quickly, her footsteps echoing in the tunnel as she raced down the stairs to the platform.

She cheered mentally when she realized the train was just pulling up and she joined the few other people waiting to board. Sitting on one of the hard-backed seats, she settled down for the short ride to the stop that would take her closest to the shrine. Glancing around curiously, she noticed that only two other people were in her car and none of them were paying attention to her. A middle aged woman who looked worn and tired slumped in her seat a few rows away, packages at her feet, and Kagome knew she had been shopping that day. The Christmas rush was just beginning, and she made a note to herself that she needed to get started as well. Her brother, Souta, was going to be entering his second year of high school, and there was a new video game that he had been going on and on about the last few weeks. If she picked up another shift at the library where she worked, she might be able to afford it.

Mentally tallying her finances, she took a cursory glance at the other occupant of the car but almost immediately looked away. His clothes were rumpled and unkempt, and he looked gaunt and pale, like he hadn’t had a good meal in a while. While Kagome usually felt compassion for people like that, it was his eyes that made her turn away. They were dark and intent, giving off a vibe of unfriendliness. They reminded her of another pair of dark eyes that sometimes haunted her nightmares, flashing red before she woke up gasping. After that strange festival when she was seven, she realized everything that she thought she had seen must have been a dream. There was no man with dark eyes, and neither was there a man with silver hair. She had been dreaming. But that didn’t stop her from remembering images from time to time. Just as red eyes plagued her nightmares, in quieter, calmer times, she dreamt of gold, and silver, and warmth.

She had never stopped dreaming of silver and gold, and every now and then a moon on a forehead the color of the snow she loved so much flashed through her mind. However, no matter how many times she dreamed of a shadowy figure with ethereal features, she knew it would never be a reality. The moon and the hair just proved it. There was no being alive who had those features, and when Kagome realized that, it just reinforced in her mind that she had been dreaming all along. Even if that thought did send a sharp pang of… what? Longing? Loneliness?

Minutes passed and Kagome was lost in her own thoughts. The train stopped, leaving the tired woman with the packages on the platform when it began to move again. Kagome’s stop was the next one, and she was looking forward to a warm cup of hot cocoa and maybe a late night conversation with her mother. This semester had been rough and she barely spent any time with the older woman anymore. Maybe for her mother’s Christmas present she would take her out, a girls’ day just for the two of them. They could go to the local day spa and get facials, manicures, and pedicures, then go out for a nice lunch. She smiled a pleased little smile as plans started forming in her mind, but after a moment she felt uneasy.

Warily glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw that she was alone now on the car with the intimidating man. And he was staring at her.

Her eyes caught his for a moment, and she gave a weak smile before shifting her gaze, hoping he would do the same. But he still continued to stare at her. Shifting self-consciously, Kagome felt uncomfortable. She could feel his eyes on her, and she fervently prayed that the train would hurry so she could get to her stop and away from him. Something about him was… off.

She repressed a shudder as another glimpse of dark eyes in the moonlight flashed through her mind. The sooner she got off of the subway, the better. Thankfully, she didn’t have that long to wait and she felt the train slow in preparation to stop. After she got off it was just a short walk to the shrine, and she could finish her night in peace.

Gathering up her bag and tightening her scarf around her neck, she hurriedly left the warm car to face the icy chill that awaited her on the street. Furtively casting a quick look around, she almost groaned in dismay when she saw that the strange man had exited after her and was slowly following the same path she was taking up the stairs to the street level. She turned right at the top and walked briskly away from the station, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

Her shoulders hunched against the cold and against the stalked feeling she was beginning to feel as the man continued to follow her at an unhurried pace. Lessons from past self-defense classes came to her mind, and she dug her keys out of her purse, clenching them in her fist. Although she was just running on instinct, it never hurt to be too careful, especially since this area was practically deserted this time of night. The falling snow silently floated to the ground, creating an eerie atmosphere that caused the fine hairs on her neck to stand up at attention.

Kagome began walking faster, her heart pounding as she could hear the stranger behind her pick up the pace as well. Crap, crap, crap. Her brother was always warning her not to walk by herself late at night, but she considered herself to be an able-bodied female. Now, though, she was wishing she had gotten a ride home with one of her friends.

She turned a corner sharply, almost grinning in relief as she saw the stairs to the shrine no more than a hundred feet away. She would be able to ditch the creep and, at the next available opportunity, she was going to buy pepper spray for herself.

Furtively, she cast one more glance over her shoulder to make sure crazy stalker guy was still behind her, but she spun around abruptly when she realized he wasn’t there. Breath beginning to come faster, her gaze darted around her, squinting in the dark. There was nothing but the silence of the snow and her breathing. Creeped out in more ways than one, Kagome turned back to the entrance to the shrine, but drew up short once more.

Dark eyes gazed at her, amused, from the bottom of the shrine steps.

“What do you want?” Kagome asked sharply, clenching the hand that held her keys harder. “I’ll scream in a minute.”

“Please do,” he purred, and burst into action.

Inhaling sharply, Kagome instinctively backed up but blinked in horrified surprise when the man’s form blurred, disappeared, and reappeared directly in front of her. What was he? No normal human being should be able to move that fast! In no more than a heartbeat, he had crossed a few dozen feet. As promised, a scream built up in her throat, but a steely hand blocked her airway, trapping the panicked sound in her lungs.

She was jerked forward by the grip on her throat until his nose was almost touching her cheek. She tried to choke out a breath, but his grip was too tight. She reached up to try to pry his fingers away from her trachea, but they were like iron. Kagome stilled as he inhaled deeply, as if savoring her. She held back a shudder as she felt something wet behind her ear and realized it was his tongue. She frantically renewed her struggles, desperation giving her added strength that did not seem to make a dent in her attacker. The lack of air was beginning to affect her, and she felt her blows become weaker.

Panic filled every pore of her body and she heard the man give a low laugh. She felt him reach up and pull out the pin holding up her hair, causing a cascade down her back to her hips. The wind immediately blew the locks turbulently around their forms, and disgust filled her as he breathed in even deeper.

“You smell delicious,” he whispered, and his other hand tangled in her dark hair, jerking forward harshly. With the strong grip still held around her throat, she felt the edges of her consciousness dim. Her hands limply fell to her sides and there was a roaring in her ears as a few tears spilled out from the corners of her eyes, dropping to the snow beneath them.

Suddenly, she was thrown through the air, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few times in the snow before stopping dizzily. Something had flown at them, causing her attacker to let go and jump back.

“You gotta death wish or something, asshole? Don’t you know that she is Sesshoumaru’s woman?”

Shuddering, Kagome’s head jerked up at the sound of that name. Sesshoumaru. Groggily, her dreams came back to her. Silver hair in the moonlight. Golden eyes staring unwaveringly into glittering black eyes of malice. Pushing herself to her knees, her gaze blearily tried to focus on the voice of her savior.

Her eyes widened as long locks of white fluttered in the freezing breeze, snow mixing imperceptibly with the hair until you couldn’t tell the difference. The man looked down on her and she almost choked as the same gold from her dreams stared down on her in resignation.

“Shit,” he murmured almost to himself as he surreptitiously looked her over. “Sesshoumaru’s going to be pissed that you were hurt.” His gaze turned back to the enemy. “You made her cry. That’s a death sentence in itself, but you are lucky he’s not here right now or your ass would be melted already. So instead, I’m going to claw you into little bite sized pieces and leave you to the birds.” A different voice, a slightly different face than the one that had plagued so many of her nights, but the similarities were there as well. She had the nagging sick feeling that maybe she hadn’t been dreaming after all. Movement caught her gaze and, when her eyes drifted to the top of the young man’s head, she stared in disbelief.

Were those… ears? Dog ears?

She shook her head slightly. Perhaps the lack of oxygen was causing her to hallucinate. She wasn’t lying the snow staring up at a strange boy who bore a strong resemblance to the man she had dreamt of so long ago. The man who had choked her wasn’t getting to his feet in a defensive position, holding up claw-tipped hands. Since when did humans have claws? Nope… this was all just another dream. The school semester had taken a harder toll on her than she thought and, mixed with the cold… well, it was all another hallucination. Just like when she was seven. She was going to wake up any moment and head up to the shrine and get that cup of hot chocolate she had been dreaming about earlier. She and her mother were going to stay up and talk about inane things, giggling into the night while Souta walked in every now and then and rolled his eyes.

Except… she was still shivering on the cold ground, hair twisting around her, and she couldn’t wake up no matter how hard she tried. Instead, she could only stare in mute shock as the newcomer and her attacker squared off against each other. Her attacker’s eyes flashed red in the dark, and she almost whimpered. Those eyes… those eyes never meant anything good.

As if sensing her panic, her dog-eared rescuer turned to look at her briefly once more, taking in her huge blue eyes that seemed to swallow her overly pale face. His hard gold eyes softened minutely and he said in an almost gentle voice, “Close your eyes, Kagome. You don’t need to see this,” and held up his own claw-tipped fingers.

Not even fazed by the fact that he knew her name, Kagome squeezed her eyes closed, wishing she had put her hands over her ears, as the sounds of snarls, screeches, and the horrible, horrible sound of ripping flesh drifted to her. It only seemed to be a moment, however, when she heard silence and the beginning of soft footsteps coming towards her. Eyes snapping open, she scrambled back on her hands and knees to get away from the white-haired man coming her way. She still didn’t really know what was going on but, beside the fact this whole thing wasn’t a dream; she still had a few facts.

One, whatever attacked her was not human. Humans’ eyes do not flash red. They do not have claws and super-human speed.

Two, puppy guy wasn’t human either, and just because he saved her didn’t mean she trusted him. Her eyes flicked behind him and she could see no trace of her previous attacker, which meant that this guy was stronger than the one who had captured her. The only reason she wasn’t screaming her head off now was because he seemed to know who Sesshoumaru was. If events in her past weren’t dreams either, then that meant Sesshoumaru was a real person and not just some figment of her imagination.

“Whoa, chill, lady,” dog-boy said. He snorted in exasperation. “I’m not gonna kill you. Are you okay?”

Kagome couldn’t seem to speak. The shock that she had gone through was starting to crash down on her, and she began trembling violently on the cold ground.

“Shit, okay, not all right,” he said, running his fingers through his hair agitatedly. “Okay, look. Look. I’m not going to hurt you, all right? I’m going to give you my jacket, and then I’m going to take you home, okay? Mrs. Higurashi is probably worried sick about you right now, and Sesshoumaru is going to be pissed enough as it is, so I gotta get you home. Do you believe me?”

Teeth chattering, Kagome’s eyes bored into the man’s in front of her as if gauging his sincerity. Granted, those puppy ears twitching on top of his head were abnormal, but jumped up his “innocent looking” factor. Plus, he seemed to know her family and, more importantly, he knew Sesshoumaru. Before she could really think about it, she felt her head give a jerky nod.

“Okay then,” the man sighed, kneeling down in front of her while taking off his heavy jacket. “I’m Inuyasha. I bet you have a lot of questions, but they are going to have to wait a while.” He draped his coat around her and easily picked her up as if she weighed no more than a feather. “The shit’s already hit the fan enough tonight as it is,” he continued, seeming to mutter to himself. “Damn it, how do you always get yourself into these messes?”

“E-excuse me,” she managed between clenched teeth. “I h-hardly asked to be attacked.”

“Yeah, but it always seems to happen, doesn’t it?” His voice turned surprisingly cheery. “Oh, well. After tonight, you’re Sesshoumaru’s problem. I know he wanted to wait a bit longer before everything came out into the open, but what are you going to do? Naraku’s little goons keep causing problems.”

Kagome began trembling again even harder. Naraku. The monster with the red eyes. He actually existed.

“Shit,” Inuyasha breathed, feeling her increasing anxiety, and rushed up the stairs to the shrine where her home resided. Kagome didn’t question how he knew his way around the shrine as he purposefully walked to the back door where the kitchen was, and most likely where her mother was also. She was trying not to question anything too much tonight.

However, she did receive a start when he opened the door and her mother jumped up from the table exclaiming, “Inuyasha! What are you doing here? What happened to Kagome?”

“It’s okay, Mrs. H. I took care of it. But, uh–well, the cat’s kind of out of the bag now, don’t you think?” He wiggled the ears on top of his head visibly as he made his point. “I need to call Sesshoumaru and see what he wants to do.” He placed Kagome gently onto one of the kitchen chairs. “Can you get her something warm to drink? She’s had a few shocks tonight.”

Despite her growing confusion and curiosity, she couldn’t help but snort inwardly at that understatement. How did her mother know Inuyasha? Granted, her mother had always been very adaptable to every situation, but having a supposed stranger barge into your kitchen with puppy ears on his head and your daughter in his arms was bound to raise more than just a few standard questions. The fact that her mother knew Inuyasha’s name meant that her mother knew more than Kagome did about this entire situation.

As her mother bustled around the kitchen, she saw Inuyasha grab a slim phone from his pocket and press a number on speed dial. She made no attempt to hide her attempts to hear the conversation.

“Hey, it’s me. We have a bit of a problem. What? No, she’s fine… well, kinda. Don’t get pissy, she’s just in shock! But, well, one of Naraku’s guys went after her and she saw me and him fight and… We’re at her house now, and I think you better get down her so you can explain things. It will be better coming from you anyway. Yeah, okay.”

He hung up the phone and blew out a breath. “Bastard.”

“Inuyasha!” her mother scolded, and Kagome saw dog ears droop a bit.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Anyway, Sesshoumaru’s on his way.”

Kagome perked up, although it still seemed like she couldn’t get her mouth open to talk and little shivers kept running through her tiny frame.

“Kagome?” She turned at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Why don’t you change out of your wet clothes, okay? It will help you warm up.”

Kagome nodded faintly and stood up on shaky legs, beginning to walk in a daze out of the kitchen. Sesshoumaru was on his way here. She was going to get to see him again. Her memories as a child were vague and murky, mostly because she thought he was a dream, but he wasn’t. He was flesh and blood and he was on his way to her house.

“Mama?” she said, finally forcing her mouth open as she turned back into the room. “Everything will be explained, right?”

Her mother and Inuyasha exchanged a glance, and Kagome felt her gaze narrow. “I expect answers when I come back.”

She left the room, leaving the two remaining people staring after her.

“Shit,” Inuyasha said again.

This time, her mother didn’t say anything.



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Changi ng her clothes did much to warm her up, but her nerves were still strung tight, mostly from anticipation. Who was Sesshoumaru? And what did she have to do with him? Why had her mother known all along who these people were? And really, who were these people? She felt a little bit like Alice must have when she first fell down the rabbit hole but, at the same time, she was excited.

She couldn’t explain it, but she felt like her life was going to change tonight, and everything lay in the unknown hands of Sesshoumaru. She was honest enough to admit that as she grew older, she looked forward to dreaming about his eyes, his face; even though she knew he didn’t exist. She had tried to ignore the residual heat she felt in her body when she first woke up after having those dreams, but she felt tingles in her body even now. She was not much of a dater; her social life was healthy, but romance never seemed to come her way. At least, the kind of romance she wanted. The college boys she had contact with seemed just that - boys. She didn’t really know what she was looking for, but she knew that wasn’t it. And she had been waiting… it seemed like since she was a child.

Walking back down the stairs, she heard a voice raised from the kitchen and realized that Inuyasha was yelling. Quickly, she picked up her pace, but the voices stopped just as she rounded the corner. Her gaze was unresistingly drawn to the face she had only seen once long ago, and since then, only in her dreams. Her breath seemed to stop and something within her clicked.

His eyes were just as bright as she remembered, brighter than Inuyasha’s because of his paler skin. Skin the color of snow that matched his beautiful hair, which hung down far past his waist in a river of silk. Her fingers tingled to touch it.

He would dwarf her if she stood next to him, the top of her head only coming up to his shoulders and he slowly walked towards her. He stopped about a foot from her body, enough to feel his heat, and her eyes gazed over his features as his gazed over her.

Slowly, he brought a hand up, as if to touch her hair, and that brought her out of the trance she had put herself in. He had claws.

His hand paused in mid-air as she took a small step in retreat from him, and his lips frowned. It was quick, but she seemed to catch a quick glimpse of hurt before his hand slowly fell down to his side once more.

Her breath shuddered at that small glimpse. She didn’t know why, but she knew immediately in the very depths of her soul that she didn’t want to do anything to hurt him. He had saved her when she was a child, and she had been fascinated with him since then. It had been a gut reaction on her part to draw away, but after seeing that look - which she never really wanted to see in his eyes again - she tried to make amends.

Moving quickly, she grasped the hand he had let fall, and almost gasped at the warmth. She cradled his bigger hand in her two small ones, not brave enough to brush it against her cheek like she knew he might have done had she not stepped away, but enough to squeeze it firmly.

“Sesshoumaru,” she spoke first, her voice coming out breathier than she had ever heard before. “I knew I didn’t dream you.”

At first she was afraid of his reaction. He had gone still when she touched him, and she wondered if she was being too forward. She didn’t even know him, after all, despite the strange connection she felt to him. But, just as her grip had started to fade, she felt his fingers wrap around her and those gilded eyes softened just the slightest bit.

“Hn,” was all he replied to her, but it was enough for a small smile from her. “Inuyasha,” he continued, turning to the other male in the room, “Leave us.”

She almost had to close her eyes when she heard his voice again after so long. It had affected her strongly when she was a child, but even more so now. Now, it felt like that deep voice reverberated throughout her entire being until she was filled with it. Dimly, she realized that her mother and Inuyasha were leaving the kitchen, leaving her alone with Sesshoumaru.

This time, when his hand came up, she didn’t flinch. Her eyes did close as his thumb gently brushed the dried tearstains on her face as if erasing them. She opened them just in time to see something flash in his eyes, something dangerous and scary but not directed at her. It warmed her heart.

However, she needed to keep her wits about her if she wanted to get any answers, and she reluctantly stepped away from him. Grabbing a seat at the small table, she waited with a barely veiled impatience as he slowly followed suit, sitting his large frame down across from her, gazing at her now with indiscernible eyes.

“I had wished,” he began in a slow voice, “to keep you sheltered for just a little bit longer before knowing of my world, but certain circumstances have forced those plans to change. You have already been exposed to my world, once when you were seven, and then again tonight.”

She nodded. “You guys are vampires.”

“Oi, we’re not fucking vampires,” she heard Inuyasha yell from the living room. “Where in the hell did you get that idea?”

“Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru intoned, and the yelling subsided. However, he raised his eyebrows at her as if to ask, Really? Vampires?

“What?” she shot back defensively. It had been the only logical explanation she could come up with. “I mean, come on. You guys have claws, and the guy that jumped me tonight had fangs. You are super fast and strong with other abilities. What else am I supposed to think?”

“We are demons, Kagome. Youkai.”

That brought her up short. “Youkai?”

“I am the TaiYoukai currently presiding over the demon world. Inuyasha is a half-demon, a hanyou, and also my half-brother. The person that attacked you was a pawn of Naraku, also a hanyou, but not by traditional means. Naraku is an enemy of mine and wants a certain artifact to help him gain power to take over my position. You know of the Shikon no Tama?”

She nodded faintly. “I’ve heard about it since I was little, but always believed it to be a myth. I’ve studied more on it in my classes since then. Supposedly it can grant a wish to the wielder.”

Sesshoumaru nodded. “Precisely. There is a prophecy that the Shikon Miko will bring peace between humans and demons. My father, Inu no Taisho, was the former leader before I was and set certain regulations for the demon world regarding humans. However, there will never be true peace until the clans unite. One demon and one human.”

“Unite?”

“Mate,” he said baldly.

A bright blush stained her face. “Oh,” she replied inanely.

“Kagome,” he said suddenly, pinning her with an intense gaze and leaning forward slightly. “The prophecy is that the Shikon Miko will mate with the ruler of the demons, thus bringing peace. So, you know who the Shikon Miko is?”

She shook her head.

He smiled at that and she saw a flash of fangs as he flashed a slightly disarming smirk.

“You.”

You could hear a pin drop in the next room over. The silence was so thick, Kagome felt like she was choking in it, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. What could she say?

She decided she needed clarification.

“So what you’re saying is…”

“You were mine as soon as you were born,” he replied smoothly, and her breath caught at the looks he sent her. If tingles had been crawling under skin before, he was causing sparks now. Strangely, she wasn’t freaking out. Perhaps she had inherited her mother’s calm when it came to strange situations. Speaking of her mother…

“Mother knew about all of this.”

“Of course. As soon as news of your birth hit us, precautions had to be made to protect you.”

“Because of the jewel,” she stated flatly, and he frowned at her.

“Because of you,” he stressed. “You were to be the mate of this Sesshoumaru. Anything happening to you would have made me very… displeased.”

“Meaning he would have gone on a homicidal rampage,” Inuyasha decided to pipe up from the living room once more.

Cold silence met his statement, and she heard a loud sigh. “Fine, fine, I’m gonna go patrol the shrine. I’ll let you finish your explanations in peace.” Kagome heard the front door open and shut and silence reigned once more.

“You were there when I was seven,” Kagome spoke, bringing his full attention back to her. “I followed you that night at the festival because I was curious about your… about the way you look.” Another damning blush filled her cheeks at her almost admission of her fascination with his hair. “Why didn’t you let me know then? Why did you let me think everything was a dream?” Why didn’t you come for me sooner? was the unspoken question.

“Kagome, you saw Naraku that night. He has taken his hatred of humans and thirst for power to an extreme, but there are many others within my world who could easily do the same.”

A flashback of the conversation she had heard that night between the two demons entered her consciousness:

“We should be ruling this world and instead we are confined to live in its shadows like mindless beasts cowering in fear from their masters.”

“We are beasts… We merely create the façade of humanity, but I can see the monster inside of you. The humans cannot.”

“You fail to include yourself, Sesshoumaru-sama. You should know intimately of the monster within yourself, just as I do mine.”

“The balance of peace is a fine one in our world.”

“Because you are governed by your beasts?”

He blinked at her. “Some more than others. Those who have the will to control their beasts are the ones fit to mingle with humans. Others are monitored carefully by our enforcers. However, beasts are beasts and there have been… situations where enforcement came late. It was decided that you should be spared of any knowledge of our species until you matured enough to do so.”

Her eyes narrowed at him, and damned if she didn’t look enticing. “Decided by whom? You? If I hadn’t been attacked tonight, when would you have told me about you?”

He hesitated for a moment; something that she could discern just by looking at him was uncharacteristic. “Your twenty-fifth birthday.”

“That’s three years from now, Sesshoumaru.”

“Yes, I am aware of that,” he said drolly. “No one has been more aware of how much longer it would have been than me.” He paused, and then sucked in a sharp breath. “To have to wait for you to know who I am… that I even existed… the way I felt about it was… unexpected.” She watched his fists clench. “To only observe your life rather than to participate it was not something I would have chosen for myself, but you had to be protected. You had to be safe.”

His voice never changed tone or intensity, but quickly Kagome had already learned some subtle nuances about him, through his body language and his expressive eyes. It caused a little bubble of happiness in her to realize that he never wanted to hide his identity from her. She had thought before that she was reacting rather well to this entire situation, accepting the fact that she was to be the mate of someone she barely knew but, in some unexplainable way, she did know him. And this felt right, whatever it was. She had been dreaming about him all this time, and she figured that she was half in love with him already. Plus, from the sound of it, he was not impartial to her either. And that made another thought form.

“Sesshoumaru, how old are you?”

His hands unclenched as he looked at her curiously. It took him a moment to do some mental math. “I believe I will be close to my eighth hundred year. I will reach full maturity when I reach a millennium.”

Her eyes wanted to bug out of her head, seeing as how he didn’t look a day over his early twenties, but she thought she restrained herself admirably. “And have you ever had a mate before?”

“No.” Shortly.

“I see. So you have been waiting all of this time for me when you could have told me when I was eighteen. But instead you wanted to protect me.” Okay, so maybe she was a little bit more than halfway in love with him. She reached out across the table and grabbed his hand again. “Thank you.”

She watched his eyes do that curious softening once more, but his smile turned wicked. Slowly, he brought her hand to his thin lips and pressed a light kiss to her fingertips. His lips were soft and warm, and that tiny contact sparked a wave of heat in Kagome so powerful she felt almost dizzy with it. She gripped her fingers around his and pulled away, just to escape the heat for a moment.

He took it as fear.

“Are you afraid of me?” he demanded. She had been through a lot that night and had barely been introduced to the idea that monsters did exist. Not only that, but that her destined mate was, in essence, the biggest monster of all, ruling over them. But, he could not have her afraid. For too long he had been alone. Too long had he been waiting for her. She would never know of the torture and frustration he had been through these twenty-two years of her life. He thought of the one encounter with her from years ago every night and replayed every moment in his mind until he thought he would go mad with waiting for her.

He was pleased to see her eyes widen after his question and immediately put her hand on his cheek. His eyes became hooded with pleasure as she stroked softly.

“No, of course not! Sesshoumaru, you saved me! And you’ve been watching over me waiting until I was old enough to know the truth. Most girls would probably be freaking out about this whole situation, but you’ve been in my mind since I was a little girl. And if prophecy says we are meant to be together, and you have no objections, I’m not going to complain either. I just… feel too much when I’m around you, and that is what scares me.”

He gave a nod of understanding, pleased that she seemed to be affected by him as much as he knew he was going to be affected by her. The mating wouldn’t take place for some time in deference to her human sensibilities and the fact that she would most likely want to know him more personally before anything physical took place. He had no such qualms; in the process of watching her grow up, he also had the privilege of seeing her turn into a creature that even he could admit was gorgeous. Just glancing at her now caused something tight to grow in his chest. Tousled midnight hair fell in gentle waves down her slim back and blue eyes gazed out from a pixie face. She had curves in all the places curves should be, but was delicate enough to appeal to his instincts. He was looking forward to the more… physical pleasures of mating but, for her he would continue to wait. She would come to him, willing and hot, no matter how long it took. And, after her admission, it appeared it would happen sooner than they both thought.

“So the man tonight,” Kagome began, taking her hand away from his cheek, which he reluctantly allowed. “Was he sent from Naraku? To try and get the Shikon no Tama from me?”

He nodded, leaning nonchalantly back in his chair. “He has been evasive for the past few months, following any lead of the Shikon no Tama that could lead him to find it. Earlier last month he found the scrolls that foretold the prophecy of the Shikon Miko. Further research gave him your name and he has been targeting you since. Sending that man tonight has just sealed his death.”

His voice was dark on the last note, but Kagome wasn’t afraid of it. If she was truly honest, she was a bit happy he cared so much about her and was willing to punish those who hurt her. She had almost been choked to death tonight, and even remembering the feeling of fingers around her neck caused her to shudder inwardly.

The sound of a cell phone ringing pierced the air around them, and Sesshoumaru picked up without a greeting. He never said a word before he hung up, but his eyes had narrowed and that dangerous look was back in them as he slowly stood up.

“Inuyasha,” he said in a slightly raised voice, and a few seconds passed before Inuyasha entered through the back door.

“You found him?” the hanyou asked, a small smile of anticipation lighting up his features.

Sesshoumaru gave a short nod. “Be ready to leave in a moment.”

Kagome stood up as well, an anxious bubble welling up in her chest. “Found who? Naraku?”

Inuyasha discretely left again, leaving the two alone.

“You’re going after him now?” she squeaked.

“This is an opportunity that only a fool would miss.” Unspoken was the fact that if Naraku kept getting away, he would become an even bigger threat to Kagome and that… Would. Not. Happen.
But he could smell the anxiety come off her in waves, her hands twisting together until they were turning white, and he couldn’t really let that happen either.

“Kagome.”

She looked up at him, her emotions in her eyes. She had only just met him and now he was going to face the real monster that had haunted her dreams. What if he didn’t come back? What if he got hurt? She was no longer surprised at the depth of feeling she had for him. It felt right. They felt right.

He walked slowly toward her until she had to crane her head back to keep contact with his amazing eyes. “I will come back for you.”

“Promise?” she whispered, her voice trembling only the slightest.

Instead of answering her verbally, he gave in to his desires and answered her the only way he could. She didn’t have time to blink before his lips were on hers, devouring hungrily, even if chastely. He didn’t want to scare her off, but he needed this contact from her and, oh God, it was glorious. Her gasping breaths and soft sound of surprise were swallowed by his greedy mouth, and helpless, she responded eagerly.

He let out a deep moan as her mouth opened to his and his tongue immediately plunged inside to taste, to claim, as he had wanted to all along. Her body shifted closer to him and he was drenched in her heat and passion until his demonic blood was pulsing hotly throughout his body and into his head until it was roaring.

He changed the angle of his head and his tongue scraped the top of her mouth. She went fairly limp in his grasp and he growled in triumph. Her mouth was innocently giving and the passion he had awakened in her would fill his long life with unspeakable pleasure, something he would soon be claiming from her. But first, he needed to rid the world of the threat against her.

One last scrape of his fangs against her swollen lips, and he found the strength to let her go. Her dazed blue eyes were dark under her hooded eyelids, and he almost grabbed her again but managed to resist.

“Wait here for me,” he said, his voice dark with the lust and other emotions she evoked within him, and she nodded her head mutely in response.

A heartbeat passed and he was gone. Falling heavily back into her chair, she lifted trembling fingers to her blood-filled lips and closed her eyes. She would trust in him, trust in the promise he had left her, and wait.

After all, he had waited years for her.

It was time to return the favor.



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A/N: Okay, kiddies! One more part, which I think may include a lemon to follow, so look forward to it. And please, if you enjoyed this story, please review and tell me your thoughts on it!

Mujitsu