InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destined Love ❯ chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

For the second time that day, Kagome was terrified. Her love - her real love - was accusing her of being in love with her main enemy. She didn't love Naraku; she couldn't, he'd hurt her too deeply. She'd marked Sesshoumaru because she loved him, but now she was cowering from him.

He could smell her fear. It permeated the air, a rank human stink that irritated his sensitive nose and gave birth to an unexplainable overwhelming glow of power in his chest. But this time the glow was dimmed, undermined by a deep heartfelt guilt. This wasn't some random page boy he was frightening; it was Kagome, his love. He opened his mouth to apologize.

"I didn't mark him," Kagome snapped tearfully. "So don't blame me. Years ago, he stole a kiss, and with it part of my essence; he's held a sort of ownership over me ever since. I don't love him. He terrifies me to know end."

To say that this didn't surprise Sesshoumaru would be like saying the Earth didn't revolve around the sun.

Her essence? But how? How would he do that? Is it even possible?

"He is what he is. He does what he does. No one knows how," Kagome continued, as if she'd heard his thoughts. "Now, I'm going to the gardens…alone. I'll see you at dinner." She turned and walked away silently. The prince made to grab her arm, but she avoided his hand easily and disappeared through the doorway.

Left alone in her chambers, Sesshoumaru just stared into the space where she'd been. I don't understand women, he decided.

"Why have you called me here, Mother?" Kagome asked the open sky. If someone else had been around, they would have called her crazy for speaking to thin air, but she would have ignored them. There were many things nobody but her family (for they had the same traits) and closest friends knew about here. And that was how she liked it.

No one knew that she was part miko, part demon, and part angel, that she had no human blood whatsoever. Her mother provided the angel and miko line, while her father was a full-blooded inu demon; as a result she had a strange blend of physical and psychological traits that was almost unheard of. Her scent, for example, carried nothing whatsoever of her demon or miko sides.

"You know why, my daughter," her mother's voice came. It was carried on the wind, like a feather, and reached her ears as a distant almost-muted whisper.

"Naraku," the princess replied dully.

"Yes. And, incidentally, Sesshoumaru. But Naraku first. You know you cannot defeat him."

"Why not?" Kagome demanded.

"Only true love can destroy him, my child," the whisper said. "Which is why I mentioned Sesshoumaru. You know as well as or better than I do that you love him, and he loves you in return… The essence Naraku stole can be taken back. He will no longer have control over you.

"Remember, the essence you gave to Sesshoumaru cannot be taken back. However, because it was freely given it will not give him control over you. Now, I must leave."

"Wait!" Kagome cried, stretching out her hand as if she could physically restrain her mother's presence. "How do I get my essence back? How do we destroy him?"

"`We' don't. Sesshoumaru does. When the time comes, you'll know." And without any further words her presence faded away, returning to the heavens where she resided with Kagome's dead father, killed in his sleep by Naraku as Kagome looked on.

I have to kiss him again and draw my essence back out of him, Kagome thought. Simple enough…but how to do it without him noticing? She ran back inside and began throwing her clothes back into her bags. She failed to notice the silver-haired prince himself move to stand behind her.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he asked coldly.

"I'm leaving for a day or two," Kagome replied, not missing a beat. She threw another regal-looking dress carelessly into her bag. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Try to miss me?" She turned, gave him a quick kiss on the lips, and flitted through the doorway before he could react.

Alone, Sesshoumaru lifted his fingers to his mouth. He smirked. So, I can still touch her.

Kagome walked carefully through the familiar forest, brushing stray branches out of her face as she went. She'd been traveling for a full day, but she wasn't overly tired; she was used to it. It came with the territory. When you weren't forcing yourself into overly fancy dresses and presiding over too-expensive feasts, you were traipsing blindly across the country on your way to some meeting or other.

She could feel Naraku nearby. For some time now she'd had to force her mental barriers not to solidify, not to form her energy into an actual physical shield.

I know you're here, she thought. Why don't you show yourself, you bastard?

As if answering her unspoken request, the hanyou himself suddenly appeared before her. She jumped in surprise.

"Ku, ku, ku…my dear miko. You've finally returned," he said with false warmth. Her mind was replying something along the lines of Hell, no!, but her mouth was already saying "Yes."

"Good little miko," Naraku chuckled. "You've finally learned your place…"

As you will learn yours, Kagome snarled mentally. His very voice was sending shivers up her spine. "Can I ask of you one thing?"

Naraku noticed with considerable consternation that Kagome had been slowly advancing, and that now she was only inches away.

"Anything, my miko," he responded, wrapping one arm around her while his other hand buried itself in her luxurious hair.

"A kiss?" Kagome whispered. "Just one simple kiss…that's all I ask…" She moved her hands slowly up his chest and looked into his eyes, pleading.

Not so far away, a rapidly reddening Sesshoumaru was watching intently.

Naraku leaned forward and caught her lips with his, pressing his body against hers. She forced herself to lean into him, to respond, not to shudder at his tough. And slowly, she drew back the essence he'd stolen. By the time they separated it was done. He'd never noticed a thing.

Sesshoumaru bit his tongue, hard, when he saw the goofy lovestruck grin on Kagome's face. That lying bitch, he thought.

Kagome looked back up into Naraku's cold eyes and smiled. "Thank you…bastard!" She drew upon the full force of all her demon, angel, and miko powers and shoved him away; their combined effect sent him flying out of her sight. Before either he or the still-unseen Sesshoumaru could shake themselves out of their confusion the princess had turned and fled into the shadows of the trees.

What the hell? Sesshoumaru wanted to scream. What was that? Why? And how? But his train of thought was broken by Naraku's furious voice:

"That bitch! She'll pay… Shit! She stole back her essence! Ku, ku, ku…well played, my miko bitch, very well played indeed… But it is a small matter. Soon you will be mine." His voice faded away, and Sesshoumaru was left alone, still undiscovered.

So…she took back the essence he stole. You go, girl! he thought proudly. But Naraku has no right to call my Kagome a bitch. Wait…my Kagome? My Kagome? Where in the seven hells did that come from?…but I do rather like the sound of it. He took off quickly through the underbrush, moving with all the noiseless grace of a full-blooded demon. He had long since lost sight of her retreating back, but her scent was still fresh, and it didn't take long for him to catch up.

When he broke out of the treeline he pulled up short, gasping in surprise. The vision spread in front of him was absolutely breathtaking. It was a crystal-blue lake, surrounded by tall, lush trees; he couldn't understand how he could have missed it before, especially as said trees were not green but rather a brilliant pink, covered as they were in sakura blossoms. It was doubly strange that they were blooming now, in the middle of their off season.

But none of this was what stirred him so. No, it was the being in the middle of the lake. She was surrounded by an ethereal glow, which made it difficult for even his keen vision to make out details, but he could see her wings easily enough, and her long raven-black hair was a stark contrast against her pure white kimono. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Kagome," he whispered breathlessly. It took a moment for his heart to start beating again, and considerably longer for it to return to its usual steady rhythm.

Floating just above the surface of the lake, Kagome heard the gasp and the whisper, but she could not spare the concentration to acknowledge it. Her transformation was almost complete. When she was finally done, she turned with supernatural grace to scan the shoreline. It was her turn to gasp.

"Sesshoumaru! What are you doing here? How did you find this place? And how the hell did you even get in here?" He could see that she was both startled and furious.

The prince favored her with a cold glare. "I should be the one asking you the questions," he replied. "But since you asked first…"

Kagome inclined her head, as if to say `Go on.'

"One, I came here to find you. Two, I found this place by following your scent. Three, I don't know. By walking in. I assume you erected a barrier?" Kagome nodded silently. "I've answered your questions," Sesshoumaru continued. "Now you answer mine. Why did you kiss Naraku? Why did you put up a barrier in the first place? And what exactly are you?" His voice was no longer demanding.

"To take my essence back," she replied evenly. Then, much more quietly, "And…toprotectmyselfwhileItransformedintomytrueform,andI'mamikodemone ssangel," she finished quickly, hoping he wouldn't catch it.

Boy, was she wrong. Inuyasha spoke like that every time he thought he was in trouble (which was fairly often), so Sesshoumaru had grown quite fluent in quick-speak. He heard every word clearly.

"True form? Miko-demoness-angel?" Sesshoumaru repeated smugly.

Kagome just sweatdropped. "Inuyasha?" she finally ventured.

"You bet."

"Figures. I learned from the best…unfortunately, it seems that you did too."

The prince felt a stab of icy jealousy sear through his heart. What else has that worthless hanyou taught her?

"He isn't worthless!" the miko-demoness-angel protested. "Who cares if he's a hanyou? And I meant that he used to do that with me and I picked up on it. He hasn't taught me a thing." At least, that's what Sesshoumaru should know.

He knew she was lying.

"What are you hiding from me?" he asked, gently, desperately. Beneath his words ran a chill undertone, but Kagome didn't hear it. "What else did he teach you?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow slightly, then smirked. "Well, he taught me this…" Her voice trailed off, and she stalked towards him rather like a predator. She stopped just inches away. She stood on her toes and stretched, catching Sesshoumaru full on the mouth.

He blinked.

She deepened the kiss.

He blinked again.

She leaned in towards him, pressing her chest against his.

He heaved a mental sigh and threw all hope of maintaining coherent thought out the window, abandoning himself to wild desire. In the heat of the moment he failed to notice how she moved her hands to his chest, and how they began to glow faintly - well, glow more than the rest of her, that is. When she was satisfied by her power buildup, she released it all at once to send Sesshoumaru flying. He landed gracelessly several yards away.

A look of confusion flashed across his face, quickly followed by one of hurt pride as he realized what precisely had happened. "So," he said bitterly, "the hanyou taught you how to kiss. Are you a slut, too? Were you his whore?" He failed to notice the way Kagome was struggling to keep back her tears, or the way the light that radiated from her was slowly but steadily increasing. "You're nothing better than a common bitch. First my half-brother, then Naraku…and how many before them? How many after me? Where does it end?" He sneered.

"ENOUGH!" Kagome shouted. The forest went deadly quiet. "He taught me that I had to distract my opponent. He taught me to use my own strengths to win. But he didn't teach me how I was supposed to do that, only that I was…the rest was my decision. You were my first kiss. I haven't been touched. So just…go fuck off," she whispered fiercely.

It didn't take a particularly keen pair of ears to hear the pain, the anger, the hurt, the sadness in her voice, and Sesshoumaru had better hearing than most.

"Kagome," he murmured sorrowfully, stretching out his arms toward her.

Kagome favored him with a dark glare. "No! You've made it perfectly clear that you don't trust me. Why try to deny it? You don't even trust your own flesh-and-blood brother, half or no half - you can't trust anyone. And if you can't trust anyone, than you can't love. Because all love is, is trust; to trust someone with your heart, your feelings.

"You can't even show your feelings. You probably don't even have a heart - and if you do, it's stone cold. Let's give a big round of applause to the cold-hearted-can't-trust-a-damned-person-loveless Lord Sesshoumaru - he's certainly lived up to his name. God…and to think, I actually thought I loved you! And that you loved me back! You couldn't even have feelings for me, much less love me," Kagome snapped.

It was Sesshoumaru's turn to succumb to tears. He didn't bother to wipe them away. He just stared down at the ground, avoiding her accusing eyes.

Kagome restrained a gasp. I…made him cry, she realized slowly. Oh, Sesshoumaru…I still love you…you just can't know it. She turned and started to walk away.

A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her up short.

She's wrong. I have a heart. And she's the only one it beats this loudly for, Sesshoumaru decided. I can trust; I do. I trust her with my life, my mind, my soul, my body…my heart.

His mental and I love her was little more than an afterthought; he didn't need words to know it. He pulled her to his chest and whispered softly into her ear everything that had just passed through his mind. And when he finished, he lifted her chin so that she was looking directly into his eyes, and he murmured, "And I love you…more than I can say."

"I…oh, Sesshoumaru," Kagome sobbed. She broke away from his embrace and ran into the treeline, crying openly now.

Sesshoumaru could smell the salt in her tears, but he could also feel the bliss that permeated her aura; he took off after her, thinking that he would never understand women.