InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Ice ❯ Her Request ( Chapter 5 )

EDITED: 7/11/05

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Embracing Ice

Chapter Five: Her Request

Written By: Yabou

Edited By: FireAngel8723

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She couldn’t breathe. The tight cords that held her clothing in perfect place were cutting off what little nuances of air she could manage to suck in while hyperventilating. It was impossible to tell how long it would take her body to die, but she could only hope that it would be after dinner so that they might be able to drop her lifeless corpse down the well.

Ah, the optimism.

She gave a weak smile to the older human girl to her right. There was no possible way she could go through with this. ‘Exactly what am I supposed to say? Hi, my name’s Kagome, and even though you don’t know me, I’ve heard of you and you’re supposed to be dead.’ She snorted sardonically to herself. ‘Oh, and by the way, Lady Bishou? Yeah, your husband either dumps you or you die too because he gets a new wife! Isn’t that wonderful?!’

It was definitely going to be a long meal.

“How am I supposed to ask the ruling Lord of the Western to drop everything he’s doing and escort me back to a well in the middle of nowhere?”

If insane asylums existed in any way, shape, or form she would definitely be the first one to be locked up.

“Dinner is being served, My Lady.” A new servant darted in and out of the room before she had any chance of protesting.

Frowning, she pushed aside the shoji screen, “I guess its time to face the music.”

“It is not a normal occurrence to be entertained by the musicians or geisha during our meals. Is it so in your homeland?” Sesshoumaru appeared at her side in all of his lordly glory.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she scanned his plain black clothing. ‘Definitely nowhere near the caliber of what he wears in the Feudal Era.’

“Do you disapprove of my state of dress, Lady Kagome?” He asked through thinly masked amusement.

She gave him an angled smile. “Of course not, Lord Sesshoumaru.”

He let out a low, rolling chuckle, and Kagome nearly felt her heart stop. It was such a soothing and free-spirited sound - one that she had never imagined coming from the lips of such a cold-hearted demon. ‘But he’s not the same, is he? This is not the Sesshoumaru that I know.’

She wanted to cry out at the thought. The only living creature that she remembered did not remember her. It was a cruel truth in a tragically unfair world.

She was completely and utterly alone in a strange world that she had only seen in a few, brief pages of her history books.

“Is something wrong?” He innocently questioned.

Giving him a sad smile, she vigorously shook her head in reply. Her voice was no longer able to produce appropriatesyllables.

“Very well.” He held out his arm. “May I escort you to our meal?”

She gave a weak nod. His actions were only further proof that this was not someone that she remember, or that could possibly remember her in return. “Thank you.” The sounds from her throat were slightly hoarse and not her own. She didn’t care. The noise kept her from thinking far too much.

“You are welcome.” He automatically returned, placing her small hand in the crook of his elbow and moving forward while she jostled along beside him.

In the end, she was glad that he had asked because there was no way she could have found this room on her own. They had made so many twists and turns in unknown breezeways and corridors that she feared she would have to ask him to escort her back to her room at the completion of dinner. ‘How embarrassing. I can’t do anything on my own.’

“Ah, choosing to be civil, Sesshoumaru?” A hearty baritone chortled.

Kagome felt the immense waves of unbound youki crashing against her aura in a true sign of power and had to restrain her knees from collapsing into puddles of mud. This demon - that she had once seen in death - was the cause and answer to so many problems in her life.

Her eyes took in the way his bangs fell against his forehead in a manner very similar to Inuyasha’s unruly hair. She noted that his face was also more angular than either Inuyasha’s or Sesshoumaru’s. But, he also held the slightly straighter nose and more rounded lips of Sesshoumaru.

Kagome allowed a small giggle to echo inside of her head when she silently noticed that Lord Konton’s neck and forehead must have been a family trait, considering the fact that both of his sons possessed them. ‘What weird traits to pass on…’

Lord Konton stood taller than even the Lord Sesshoumaru of the Feudal Era. He had broad shoulders and well muscled arms that looked as if they could punch through a brick wall or tickle a laughing child on a whim. His kimono was a combination of only three colors- blue, white, and red.

She smiled at the thought that Lord Konton could possibly be the perfect combination of his offspring. His moves were controlled and calculated, much like Sesshoumaru’s, but his eyes bore into her very soul like molten lava. A look she had often been given by Inuyasha. She often times felt that he seemed to know what she was thinking; it made her feel naked inside, like she could never hide anything from him.

“Father,” Sesshoumaru spoke, drawing her away from her musings. “This is Lady Kagome, a miko of unknown origins.”

The Inu no Taisho gave her a slight, respectful bow. “Greetings and welcome, Lady Kagome.”

“Lady Kagome, this is my father, Lord Konton, Ruler of the Western Lands and the Inu no Taisho.”

Kagome gave the elder demon a deep, sweeping bow, not knowing if it was entirely appropriate to speak without being spoken to first.

Lady Bishou’s entrance allowed her reprieve from the chance of making a mistake. It was very important that she was able to influence Lord Konton correctly. ‘Otherwise, I’ll never get back.’

“Ah, my beautiful wife.” He greeted the youkai-woman with a hearty smile. “Your face is most welcome after my travels.”

She gave him a blushing laugh in return. “You were gone a mere two days, My Lord.”

He winked. “Any time without you is an eternity.”

‘Maybe he’s related to Miroku.’ Kagome thought while listening to the Lady’s bell-like laughter echoing through the chamber.

“Come.” Lord Konton motioned the party toward a long, low table. “Let us dine.”

Lord Konton dropped into a kneeling position at the head of the table and signaled for Sesshoumaru and Lady Bishou to sit at his right and left while Kagome was left sitting on Sesshoumaru’s right side.

The meal was carried out with silence dominating the women while the men focused on topics of economics and newly gained territory somewhere to the north.

Kagome endured the supper simply by staring at her food and contemplating exactly how she should go about asking for her safe return to the Bone Eater’s Well. It would be difficult, to say the least, and she could feel her courage slipping with each warm grain of rice that slid down her throat and pooled into the forming knot in her stomach.

There was no way around it.

So, with dinner set aside at last she whispered at her disregarding audience.

Both males paused in their slight argument over the usage of the fertile territory in the North and turned to give her a bewildered look.

“Did you speak, Miko?” Lord Konton questioned.

She bowed her head. “Yes, I did, My Lord.” Now was the key. She had to make him realize the importance of her return without telling him anything. Her mental eyes rolled, ‘Well, that should be easy…NOT!’

“Do you wish to speak of something?” He composed himself.

She looked up. “Yes, I do.”

He was intrigued. Never mind the fact that he could have killed her merely for speaking out of turn in his presence. She was bold. “Then speak.”

She, once again, found the strong lines of the cherry wood table very interesting. “I wish to return home, My Lord.”

“That is reasonable.” He nodded. “Do you wish this, Lord Konton, to inform your village to send the provisions necessary for your journey?”

She gave a weak smile at his mannerisms. “That is not possible, My Lord.”

He snorted. “Surely they wish your return.”

“They do.” She nodded.

“Are they too poor?” He asked.

“No.” She responded meekly. “They are only…unable.”

He felt the first tick of frustration dawn upon him. “Wounded, then?”

She considered it. They may well have been injured after the attack from the eagle youkai. “They are so few in number and strength that they would be unable to retrieveme in their current situation.”

“You are from a smaller village then?”

“I am not from a village, really. I travel with a small group helping those who are less fortunate.” She twisted the words about for a moment before deeming them satisfactory.

“I see.” He gave a curt nod. “Well, you are free to leave whenever you wish, then.”

She frowned. He was a little hard-headed, it seemed. “I cannot go alone.”

“Why not?” He arched one delicately sculpted brow.

She felt the heat begin to rise in her cheeks. Shame was a terrible feeling. It added to the uneasiness in her stomach. “I am…not capable of protecting myself.”

“Not capable?” He repeated her words in disbelief. “You are a miko, are you not?”

“Well, sort of.”

“Can you not protect yourself with your purity?”

Her face shaded a brighter red. “No, I cannot.”

Lord Konton tilted his head to one side. “Why not?”

She felt tears welling up behind her closed eyes. “I do not know why.”

“What is your purpose if you cannot use the powers your body houses?”

The words stung, and she had to bite her tonguein order to keep from crying out at the truth of his accusation. “I d-do not know.”

His eyes softened at the slight waver in her voice. “What is it you request, Lady Kagome? I will do my best to serve you.”

Kagome took two deep, calming breaths before answering. “I would like to request an escort back to the place where you found me.”

“To the old well?” He questioned, not sure if she really knew where he had found her or not.

“Yes.”

He sighed and gave a moment to thought before answering. “Very well, I will arrange it. But, may I ask you why you wish to return there?”

“I will know my own way home from there.” She quietly responded. ‘I hope.’

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