InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Made New ❯ Chapter 7

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

A/N: So, it has come to my attention that I have been negligent. It seems that I did not make clear why Kagome has a bond with sesshomaru, and how its different than the 'mark' Inuyasha put on her. Sesshomaru used his own aura to stop Kagome's powers from killing her. His beast did this on its own by the way. This created a bond between the two energies that was supposed to disappear on its own, but it hasn't. Inuyasha intentionally put a mark on her aura-like a stamp that demons can see, which made her his intended mate, and a part of Sesshomaru's pack. Kagome can not remove the mark by herself. Sorry for that everyone.

~*~

Kagome pulled her fingers through the wet onyx locks of her hair. The night air put a small chill on her back, but the warm fire at her front kept it at bay. A few hours ago, she had finally found a good hot spring. She managed to wash her poor clothes, and scrub the grime off of her skin. Sighing, she scooted closer to the flames. It was going to take forever for her hair to dry. She knew it was impractical to wear it so long. At least not while she was here and liable to get it stuck in tree branches. She seemed to remember it being yanked a few times when she got captured. Call her vain, but it made her feel beautiful when the wind picked up and caressed the strands, making them dance around her. It was almost worth all the time she spent fussing with it. She could never compare her locks to Sesshomaru's though. She snorted. It didn't seem fair that a man should have such gorgeous hair, not to mention nearly every other part of his body was nearly perfect.

Said demon Lord was off doing who knows what. Whatever it was, he didn't feel it important enough to tell her about it. He had disappeared earlier that night after they had set up camp. She was sure he hadn't gone far because she could still feel the constant buzz of his aura surrounding her own. She used to find that unsettling-the raw power of his being brushing up against her holy energy, it felt wrong and the clash made it hard to relax, but it was getting easier. It was almost a comfort, she never really felt alone, and yet by all other means she was. It was like she knew she was being watched over, or taken care of, but still had her privacy. Not that she really had much of that when he was around. That stupid bond, or whatever it was that had happened when she lost control of her powers was making it hard for both of them to keep any emotion a secret. Anyway, when he had left, she didn't wait for his permission to wander. Soon, she found herself at a nice, even if it was small, hot spring. She gladly set to work, removing the last few weeks' muck off of herself and her clothes.

It felt so good just to be clean! Kagome sprawled herself over her sleeping bag. It smelled sweet, like the flowers she had washed it with. They were sprinkled about nearby. If Rin were here, she would have forced Kagome into another round of 'Who can make the best pretty'. It had been less than a day since she saw her last, but she already missed her. Kagome sighed again. She was tired, and her still wet hair made her cold. At least she had gotten her sleeping bag and blankets dry in time. She washed herself last, and she was suffering for it. She didn't feel right sleeping until Sesshomaru returned though. Not that she was afraid of something sneaking up on her. It was a long time ago she leaned to rely on her miko powers to protect her from things like that. It was just a natural courtesy that she would have given to any members of her group when she was with them. She missed her friends very much. Even if Rin had been a comfort to her, there was no substitute for real companionship. She closed her eyes as she remembered her friends. Inuyasha, of course came to mind first.

She was such a little girl when she had met him. Her crush was immature, and faded like most high school crushes do, but he was one of her closest friends. In her time, the girls she knew were nice and even worried about her while she was away, but none of them really knew her like her friends in this time. She wished she could talk to them now. Sango would understand everything Kagome was going through, and make jokes about her attraction to Sesshomaru like a good big sister. Kagome smiled at that. She never had a big sister, but if she did, there was no one better than Sango for the role. She was always there for her. Kagome pictured her big chocolate eyes that seemed perpetually concerned for her. She remembered how suddenly those eyes changed to anger at her womanizing monk. Miroku loved Sango more than she had ever witnessed. She was glad that they had the chance to start their own family now. Shippou was sure to be taken care of as if he was their own.

Shippou, she missed him the most. She missed his loyal attitude, and how defensive he got when Inuyasha was a jerk to her. He always looked to her for protection, even when he was being brave, and at night he kept her warm sleeping under the covers in a ball at her stomach. She missed that warmth too. She used to sing him to sleep on the really hard nights. When something terrible had happened, or when he was just too scared to sleep because of the dangers he had seen of their journey. Kagome allowed one of the old tunes to float through her mind. It was a beautiful song her mother used to sing to her when she was little. She never had the musical talent of her mom, but she guessed that she wasn't too bad. Shippou seemed to like the song a lot, and before long he started humming the tune every night even when Kagome didn't sing. Without really thinking about it she started humming like the little one she missed so much.

~*~

Sesshomaru walked into the campsite, silently as always. Catching the miko off guard was becoming one of his favorite pastimes. It was getting late and if he did not make the stubborn girl sleep soon she would be difficult all day tomorrow, as the past few weeks of traveling with her had led him to find out. The air was scented like wild flowers and already the girl had a bright fire going. She was stretched out over the soft-looking bag she always slept in with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. Sesshomaru could tell she wasn't sleeping though, from the quiet melody coming from her direction.

Uninterested, he finished his assessment of the campsite and saw her things hanging from a branch nearby, apparently she had found time to wash them. 'Good,' He thought. She was starting to smell like the rest of her unpleasant species. Usually he found her sent to be above their standard, it was one of the few things that almost made the girl tolerable. He was pleased to see she was keeping control of her hygiene. He sat down next to the fire with his legs crossed in his traditional fashion. Soon the girl would sing herself to sleep and he would not have to deal with persuading her.

Kagome felt herself drifting peacefully with the song, and let the words sway out of her mouth as best she could remember them. "The silver moon . . . She hummed the rest of the words she didn't know. "Pink flower in the sun . . ." after more humming came Shippou's favorite part. "By love true, and battles won, were made new, and as one. When the gods said pain shall be no more." She let the mostly forgotten song rest slowly in a wordless sigh as she opened her eyes.

Sesshomaru said nothing as he listened to the song. Kagome's voice was by no means amazing, but it was soothing, and his beast found comfort in its highs and lows. It was a strange sensation. He was very used to restraining his best at all times. He never, even in his sleep, could let his guard down or the thing would take over. That was a weakness he would not allow. But as he heard the miko sing he felt his beast stop fighting his hold. The chains went limp and he simply stopped struggling for freedom, and it settled as if in peace. Sesshomaru was glad that the bond between them would soon be broken, because he was sure it was having an adverse effect on his beast.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome's no longer soothing voice, assaulted his ears. "How long have you been here?"

Sensing an opportunity to annoy her he said. "Long enough." His face was stiff.

"What do you mean?" She narrowed her eyes until the blue of them was lost in her inky lashes.

"Has your brain always been so small as to not retain the words of a simple song?" He asked raising one silver eye brow.

Kagome fumed. He snuck up on her again! Not only that but he had caught her singing! "At least I have better things to do than sneak up on people in the middle of the night!" The cloud that had been hiding the moon suddenly came free and their campsite flooded with the blue light. Kagome calmed herself down as she watched the blue and orange colored lights dance with each other, before the moon was hidden away again.

Sesshomaru replied coolly, "This is by no means the middle of the night, Miko, and I am not to blame for your weak senses."

He just had to go and piss her off, didn't he? "Weak senses!" Kagome got up from her sleeping bag and stomped over to Sesshomaru, kicking little dirt tuffs as she went. "You. ..you!" She drew a blank, what could she call him? Arrogant? No he wouldn't care about that. Stupid? He clearly wasn't. She decided to fall back on her old classic, "You Jerk!"

Sesshomaru looked blackly up at her from his seated position not even bothering to get up and argue with the girl. In all seriousness he said. "It is time to sleep. We will be reaching our destination tomorrow afternoon."

Kagome threw her hands in the air and stomped away defeated. "Where are we even going?" When she reached her sleeping bag she turned around and looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

He ignored her disrespectful tone, and filled his voice with pure boredom. "We are going to the estate of an old comrade, who will remove the bond." He conveniently left out the part about his new lead on the whereabouts of the dead priestess. The miko's distress on the matter was distasteful and he had no wish to bring up the matter tonight, when the hour was already late.

Kagome flopped down on her sleeping bag. "Remove the bond?" She whispered as a blush spread across her face. They had never really spoken about it so bluntly before.

"Yes, so go to sleep. He is expecting us." He closed his golden eyes.

After the embarrassment had faded slightly Kagome felt an odd panic start to rise. The feeling confused her. Shouldn't she want to be rid of the connection between them? Shouldn't she want to put as much distance as she could between herself and the demon who had tried to take not only her life but the lives of her friends as well? Then why didn't she feel relived? Why was she starting to panic at the thought? Did she just get used to it? It had been less than a month since the bond was formed how could she have grown so attached to it? The cool tenor of Sesshomaru's voice silenced the seemingly endless questions running through her mind. "What?"

Sesshomaru fought the urge to roll his eyes. The turbulence the girl was spiraling in was going to give him a headache "What is upsetting you?" He repeated in only mild interest.

Kagome felt her face heat up again. "Oh, it's nothing." She knew he could tell she was lying, but how could she just say 'I want to stay bonded to you'? It was out of the question. Sesshomaru was an egotistical, slightly homicidal, and a completely dangerous demon. She was sure the best thing was to let it go. He had been lenient with her so far, but she wouldn't say something so foolish. It was a good thing that the connection would be broken.

She was trying to ignore the sensation the best she could before, she didn't really think of it that often, but now she felt like she was about to lose something very important to her. When in all actuality the bond really wasn't. It was just an annoyance she had grown used to nothing more. It was only a sense of familiarity that she missed her friends. She didn't need it. Maybe she was just feeling insecure about all the changes that were happening lately, or maybe she really had found comfort in knowing the demon lord's presence was always around her. Kagome looked slowly up from the flames and met Sesshomaru's golden gaze for a moment. Those eyes were the coldest she had ever seen. They wept for nothing, lit for nothing, cared for nothing. She mentally scoffed at herself, how could anyone hope to find comfort there?

He was a beautiful man, Sesshomaru, but also very lonely. She would know even without the bond, and there was a reason for it. He never allowed himself to trust, never allowed himself to smile and so never allowed himself a true friend. Rin was different, Jaken was a servant, and she was a lowly human. He only suffered with her because of his honor. Why should she seek any kind of help from him? Suddenly anger took over her small body and she got back up.

"Sesshomaru," She said, her voice full of determination.

He looked up at her again from his resting place. "Miko," He replied.

She put her hands on her hips to keep them from shaking. "You are the biggest ass I have ever known!" That said and her anger ebbed, fear quickly took its place and she made a fast retreat back to the ground. She let herself slide into her sleeping bag, not once looking at the youkai across the flames.

"Hn." Sesshomaru stared at the girl who was currently avoiding his gaze. He was tempted to reprimand her, but a yawn from the miko pushed the thought away. Her anger was insignificant. For now she was going to sleep and that at least he could be thankful for.

~*~

It smelled as though it had rained last night, even though Kagome knew it didn't. The crisp feeling to the air made her shiver, but because the sun was still shining she knew she would warm up soon enough. Sesshomaru didn't seem to feel the cold. He was walking only a few steps in front of her, a perfect picture of his male dominance side leaking through. She decided she didn't hate it though. It wasn't like Inuyasha's ' I'm in charge ' attitude and it didn't make her feel belittled or even like he felt he was better than her. No, it was more of a protective stance, than a position to force submission. She looked away from the Lord when she heard a light little bird's song in a close tree. The little brown jobby made her smile. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sesshomaru turn to her then, probably sensing her smile, so she shared it with him-never losing the light in her eyes, even when he only looked away. She didn't expect him to smile back at her, she knew better. It's better to give than to receive right?

After a couple hours of walking through the country side, Kagome started to spy hints here and there that a village may be nearby. Land working tools were scattered around, and she could see smoke above the trees only a short distance away. She wondered what kind of people they were. Every village she went to, seemed to have different customs, different ways of life. It made her excited whenever she got the chance to visit another one. It made her think about her job, and her responsibilities. Did she end up saving these people, did she prevent a demon from intruding on their lives? She didn't really want a thank you, but just thinking about it made life a bit easier. Knowing she could be, at least partly, the reason they still had their lively hoods made her feel like it might be worth it. All the things she had to give up, or the battles she had to fight, not even counting with Naraku, were worth it.

She thought back to her fight with the lizard demon not too long ago. Well it wasn't really her fight as much as it had been Sesshomaru's, and even then it wasn't much of a battle. Still she had felt like a fool without her arrows. She sighed, maybe she could get Lord Stony to let her buy some.

"Sesshomaru?" She said as she brushed a branch out of her way.

" . . ."

"I need to stop in the village." He was pretending to ignore her. She laughed, and walked a little faster to catch up with him. He had to know that there was one coming up. She stopped walking "I still need arrows," She said twisting her foot in the dirt awkwardly

Sesshomaru paused with her for a second, without looking at the girl whose eyes were on his own. She did need arrows, if he were to let her hunt for jewel shards on their way to dispose of the clay priestess, she would need a way to protect herself. For the Kamis know how irritating it would be to have to further protect the stubborn miko. Not to mention the fact that she would be a good asset if she had at least a weapon. He felt her anticipation rising, and he took a calculated breath- not a sigh."We will acquire all necessary items here."

Kagome's face spread into a wide grin and she skipped ahead of Sesshomaru. As they came upon the outskirts of the village, she let the youkai take the lead again and watched in fascination, the workers in the flooded rice fields, and the heavy looking water buffalo carrying carts to plow the land. She was lucky, she had never known work like that. She saw a dirty face look up at her, as the tanned man wiped sweat from his brow. She waved, but the older person only squinted at her and shook his head. Confused, she turned to Sesshomaru, but he didn't seem to be paying attention.

She shrugged, but it didn't really feel right. They went on, into the dirt alleys that were more like paths, than actual streets, until Kagome saw a young red-headed boy sitting against one of the mud buildings with his face turned away. There was no one else in the street, which made Kagome wonder where all the other children were, but other than that everything else seemed normal. So, she left Sesshomaru's side and walked over to him smiling."Hey, you alright?"

The boy flinched at her voice, and looked up at her with startling blue eyes. As soon as she did she knew, this boy was a hanyou. His hair was a strong red, an extremely rare sight for humans in Japan, unless you were a demon. Her own cobalt orbs peered into his and found an, all too familiar pain. Her heart skipped a beat. The boy looked like he could only be seven! If only Inuyasha was here, to help her give this little one some strength. She didn't have to ask were the kid's mother was, why he was alone, or why he was so afraid of her right now. She just looked into his bright blue iris and knew.

~*~

Sesshomaru watched the miko walk next to the hanyou boy and bend down, so that she was eye level with him. Immediately, he knew this was not a good idea. He felt her heart start to twist itself up at the mere sight of the hanyou. If she was already this concerned, he knew she would be even more upset the closer she got to the redhead. "Hey, you alright?" It was too late to stop it now, she was already hooked.

A wave of a very rare emotion hit him, and he knew it was coming from the girl. True compassion, and understanding radiated off of her like light from a candle. He watched as the child locked eyes with Kagome, and started to cry. It was pathetic to let yourself be so weak, the boy was a demon, even if only half. He should not have been so freely vulnerable to a human, but Kagome's eyes made it okay. Sesshomaru was taken aback by the concern bleeding out of her deep blue orbs-it was nothing like the pity he had expected. She was truly hurt, truly empathetic. The boy opened his arms, almost pleading for the girl to hold him, which she did without saying another word. It was as if the hanyou knew she would absorb all his tears, even without ever meeting her in his life. Children were truly inspiring creatures. To trust so easily.

He saw the miko pick the boy up in her arms and cradle him to her as she stood up, running her hand through his long red hair. She looked up at him, a silent question, in her eyes about to burst like the kid in her arms. He nodded. He knew it was useless to try to console the hanyou, it was ridiculous to try, the boy had probably lived a hate ridden life, full of discrimination and pain. Sesshomaru did not care for his troubles, and they were wasting time, but he would not deny her. To do so would mean having a fight that he was not at all sure he could win, with the willful and overly kind miko.

He followed them with his eyes as she walked over to a small patch of grass and sat down. She was rocking back and forth with him now as if to calm a baby down. Sesshomaru could, tell she would be a good mother one day, but that thought was not his most prominent. 'Why?' Again, he was asking himself this question. Kagome had him think far too much about her, but the more she ran through his mind the more calm his beast seemed to be. Was it just her soothing presence? The same presence that made this boy open up to her so wholeheartedly? He did not know, but he was sure that as more time passed with the mik, he would find out. The prospect, suddenly, did not seem too repulsive. At least at the moment.

~*~

"I'm Maru." The boy said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. Kagome had introduced herself with the biggest smile she could muster. When Maru stopped crying he stayed sitting in Kagome's lap, staring up at her with big blue eyes. He was wearing, what looked to be an expensive men's kimono, in a soft navy. Kagome felt the smooth fabric against her legs. 'Silk.'

"Maru?' Kagome asked gently, helping the boy off her lap. He held onto her hand even as she stood up. "Do you live around here? Is there somewhere we can take you?" Kagome let the fabric give her hope that the boy was taken care of.

Maru scratched his red head. "We?" For the first time the hanyou noticed the daiyoukai. Kagome looked up at him too, to see him watching her and the boy intently with his golden eyes. She felt his curiosity skim over to her and then move away again. He was looking down at Maru stoically. His handsome face as unreadable as always. Maru's eyes went wide. "Lord Ses-Sesshomaru!" The boy forgot Kagome's and went down to his knees on the wet grass again.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything, he only glanced back up at Kagome, maybe judging her reaction. She bent down to interrupt Maru's bow. This was ridiculous-he was only a kid, and not only that, but he was just getting over a break down. Why should he have to bow like that? He didn't even budge.

Cool and detached, Sesshomaru's voice forced her to look his way. "Stand."

The boy did as he was told. Kagome had forgotten how fearsome the demon lord was in the eyes of others, when had he stopped being so in her own?

"Lord Sesshomaru-sama. M–y f-family will w-want to rec-c-ceive you." Maru stuttered, and shook a little as he spoke.

Kagome placed her dainty hand on Maru's shoulder as he talked to try and calm his shaking. Sesshomaru was silent. "Of course we'll meet your family, Maru . . ." Kagome said as she looked back up to her alpha.

~*~

A/N

Sorry this chapter feels a little short. It's just as long as my other ones though, and I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer than you had to. Anyways I have more important news to share with you . . . . . I have a new beta reader! Everyone say thank you to Le-chan in your reviews for helping me with this and the other chapters. By the way, all of them are edited and redone so, thanks to her, they are much better. I had no idea how bad my grammar was! I truly thank you guys for sticking with me through that! Spring break is here so expect your next chapter a little sooner than this one came out!

Now, to those who review. . . . I LOVE YOU!!!! You make me write, and keep this story going. Thank you. Please, please continue to review my story, and help me grow as a writer.