InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 20 ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Kagome was starting to feel weak again. If she was going to suffer a relapse, she wanted the chance to at least bathe first. “Kohaku, do you have any soap?” Kohaku rummaged through his bundle of purchases, proudly producing a plump, fragrant bar of soap. He knew how much she liked to bathe, so he had made a point of purchasing some. She looked over at Sesshomaru, whose face had resumed its characteristic stoic expression. “Is there a hot spring nearby?”

Sesshomaru nodded distractedly, and swept her up in his arms. She felt cold again. Damn. “Kohaku. Follow.”

Kohaku repacked the bundle, and followed several steps behind, as was his custom. The hot spring was small and intimate, and the perfect temperature for bathing. Kohaku laid out Kagome’s new clothes, and set the bar of soap close to the edge of the spring. Then he withdrew to the little ring of trees that surrounded the spring. Sesshomaru set Kagome gently on her feet, removing the voluminous silk shirt that was her only covering. She quickly folded her arms across her breasts. She was not yet at ease with him seeing her naked. Sesshomaru removed his pants, entered the pool himself, and then gently gathered her into his arms and lowered her into the water. The hot water felt heavenly. Sesshomaru worked the soap into a rich, creamy lather, carefully and thoroughly washing every inch of her body. His big warm hands seemed to know just the right way to loosen her tight muscles and soothe every ache. Throwing up had left her feeling wretched. He began to work on her hair, massaging her scalp with his nails. He had to ask, but he knew he had to phrase his question carefully. He was no diplomat, and had never cared if he offended a woman before, even his mother. “Kagome, you were married to Inuyasha,” he began. Kagome looked at him over her shoulder, eyes wide.

“Yes, I think I was, anyway. Even if he had been mated to Kikyo, she was back in hell by the time he married me. So the marriage was legal, wasn’t it?” Sesshomaru shook his head. He just didn’t know.

“Determining such was not this Sesshomaru’s intent. This Sesshomaru has no interest in human law. You are now my mate, and will be marked as such as soon as you are well enough to bear the attendant pain. I wished to determine, in the most delicate way possible, how long it has been since my brother laid with you.”

Kagome turned bright pink. She waved her hands in front of her. “It’s that throwing up thing, isn’t it. There’s no way I’m pregnant, Sesshomaru.” ‘At not least by Inuyasha’, she thought. “Remember that time, when I had just recently returned through the well, and you came to Edo to bring Rin a new kimono?” He nodded. He remembered it vividly. Seeing her in his brother’s arms, and smelling that his brother had taken her, was not one of his better days. “Well, I must have said something that day that really upset him, because he never touched me that way again after that. We only ever did it a few times.”

Sesshomaru felt a surge of relief. If she had truly been pupped by his brother, it would have complicated matters immensely. He was very pleased that Kagome had been almost as innocent as he when he took her the night before. Ideally, they would have both been pure. But she had been more innocent than he had dared to imagine.

“Kagome, when did you start to feel ill? Was it after Kohaku took you from Edo, or before?”

“A little bit before, I think. I know we’ll have to talk about Inuyasha and Rin eventually, but it makes me very uncomfortable.” Sesshomaru smoothed the lines that formed between her eyebrows with a gentle fingertip. She took courage, and dove into the subject. “I have been very upset lately. Inuyasha had been rejecting me and avoiding me for a long time. Rin was traveling with him on demon hunting expeditions while I stayed behind in Edo. I couldn’t eat much, or sleep very well. So I haven’t felt good for a long time. But recently, there’s been something troubling me.”

“I need to tell you a story. A long time ago, there was a dark priestess named Tsubaki. She was the enemy of Kikyo. She’s the one that placed a curse on Kikyo, telling her that if she were ever loved by a man, she would be doomed. Tsubaki was very vain and very beautiful. In order to gain immortality and remain beautiful forever, she welcomed demons into her body, kind of like Sara. You remember.” He nodded. He most certainly did remember Princess Sara. “When I used to go home, Inuyasha or Miroku would wait for me by the well, and bring me back to Edo. One day I came through the well and there was no one there to meet me. It was the time of year when the grass is tall. I felt something bite me on the leg. It was Tsubaki’s shikigami, a serpent. I could sense someone trying to take the soul from my body. It felt like a tugging. Sometimes it felt irresistibly strong, and other times I could barely feel it. That’s what I feel like now,” she completed, lapsing into a worried silence. She looked up at him hopefully. Sesshomaru was not just a very powerful demon. He was also known as a great sorcerer. Maybe he could help.

“Do you have any idea who could be trying to steal your soul now?”

“No”, she shook her head, but he sensed her hesitation.

“Who do you think could be doing such a thing?”

“You won’t like it, and I don’t think it could be true.”

“Tell me, now.”

“Well, Rin doesn’t like me too well any more.”

He wanted to shake his head in denial, but he was centuries old and had grown up surrounded by court intrigues. He knew that a jealous concubine or spurned wife could be one of the most lethal creatures on earth, having been at the heart of the destruction of many ancient and noble families. Sesshomaru decided there was only one thing to do. He had to make Kagome as strong as possible. He would leave her with Kohaku, and go out in search of Rin and Jaken, who now seemed to be missing in action. He just hoped that Kagome’s suspicions were wrong.

Once Kagome was dressed in her new clothes, with her hair up and held in place by the jeweled hair sticks, she felt like a new woman. Well, she felt a little better, anyway.