InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Melting a heart of ice ❯ Chapter Thirteen: Realization and a spy ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter Thirteen: Realization and a spy

 

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

 

Kagome yawned and rubbed her eyes. She felt something move and slowly, she opened one eye. She smiled as she saw Shippou's sleeping face which was turned in her direction. He was sound asleep, his expression peaceful, looking extremely sweet.

 

Then she frowned. Why had she expected to see something different? Something like… the golden eyes of a certain person?

 

Abruptly, but carefully as not to wake Shippou up, Kagome sat upright and faced the wall where on the other side that certain person was. She clasped her hands before her face and groaned softly. She remembered everything that happened last night, especially how she felt when she was so close to… to him.

 

Although she probably understood him better than anyone else, he was still a miracle to her. One moment arrogant, then angry, and then… well… so nice it wasn't normal anymore. At least not for him. Why did he behave like that?

 

And why did she behave like she did, blushing even if he just looked at her? She told him she thought off him as a friend… Could it be that she lied? Could it be that she was wrong?

 

Last night, she would've said yes, she was wrong. And now? She didn't know… it wouldn't be a no, but it wouldn't be a yes either.

 

She stood and changed into a new dress. She realised Sesshoumaru must've brought her here, because the last thing she remembered was being in his room. She was him immensely grateful; what if he hadn't brought her back and Miroku would've walked in again? Or Sango? Or even worse, Kikyou or her own mother? Hell would break loose, that was something she knew for sure.

 

She closed her eyes and saw Sesshoumaru before her, just like he was last night, with those red eyes, his markings somewhat darker, his fangs longer. What exactly happened when he got angry? Why did his eyes turn red? Really, she didn't know much off youkai, she had only seen it happen a few times with him. Maybe she should ask Sango… No, Sango would only get worried, which wasn't necessarily.

 

She fingered with the Shikon no Tama, which hung around her neck. She hummed softly, but suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she looked alarmed.

 

She had seen something just now… A dark shadow, evil eyes… What did this mean? She looked around the room, but nothing was out of the ordinary, the only thing moving was Shippou who rolled on his side. It must've been a vision again. But what did it mean? What was that… shadow, that thing? What did it mean? Was it dangerous?

 

She shook her head and released the Jewel. Things like this often happened when she touched it. Maybe it meant nothing, but she couldn't forget it, just like she couldn't forget what happened not so long ago when she touched the Jewel. That man she saw then… remembering his image still brought shivers down her spine.

 

No, she needed to focus on something else. She shouldn't think about it anymore. She shouldn't…

 

“Kyaaaaa!”

 

She jumped and yelled as suddenly, something crashed into her and a pair of big eyes was blinking up at her. Then she sighed. “Shippou, you shouldn't scare me like that!”

 

The little kitsune smiled up at her while looking as sweet as he could. “Sorry Kagome!” he nuzzled a bit closer to her. “But I missed you!”

 

Kagome frowned. “But I'm right here…”

 

Shippou sniffled a bit. “I know, but when I woke up I didn't saw you for a moment. I thought you were gone.”

 

She smiled and ruffled trough his hair. “Now don't worry Shippou, I won't leave you. What do you think of getting something to eat? This is going to be a long day, if everything goes right, I expect the other prisoners will arrive today.”

 

Shippou pouted. “So I have to stay in this room the whole day again?”

 

“Of course…” she saw how he looked sad. “…not!” His face lit up. “Don't worry Shippou, I don't think something will happen now. You can stay with me today. So what about breakfast?”

 

He jumped out of her arms and she smiled as she saw him running towards the door. She walked after him, expecting to see him running down the stairs, but instead, she stopped as she saw he was standing in the hall, looking up at a certain person which she didn't like seeing right now.

 

Sesshoumaru.

 

He ignored the kitsune and instead looked right into her eyes. “I must say I'm getting rather bored of this. How often do I have to tell you not to scream so loud?”

 

Before she could say anything, Shippou began jumping up and down. “Were you worried? Do you want to protect Kagome?”

 

She blushed a deep red and suddenly found her feet and the ground to be rather interesting. Wasn't it already bad enough she would blush if she saw him, why did this have to happen too? There was no answer, so she looked up, only to find Sesshoumaru staring intently at her. She immediately averted her gaze and looked at Shippou.

 

“I'm positive I only waked him up Shippou. Now, shall we go down?” She took the risk and looked at Sesshoumaru briefly. “Your prisoners will probably arrive today. Just so you know.”

 

“I am not stupid.”

 

She glared at him. “I wasn't saying that you were.” Why was he one moment so nice, and now so cold? “We are going to watch their arrival, so… see you later I guess.”

 

She quickly scooped Shippou in her arms and walked down the stairs, wanting to get away from his gaze as quickly as possible.

 

*

 

It was a few hours later and Shippou was with Kagome and probably everyone in the castle down on the courtyard. A patrol had come back to the castle, reporting they saw the expected prisoners heading in their direction. It was expected they would be here soon, so now everyone was waiting again.

 

He remembered what he had seen yesterday when he stood on the balcony. All those dead people… He looked up at Kagome and he really hoped such a thing wouldn't happen again. He liked this elf so much, he didn't want her to be sad again.

 

He could clearly remember how every youkai he ever met in his life told him, all elves and humans were bad. But as he stood here now, with Kagome and her friends, he couldn't believe that anymore. They were all so nice… He hoped he would never have to leave this place. First he was a bit scared of Sango and Kagome's sister, but now they were all friendly to him. Kagome told him why they hated youkai, and he felt sorry for both of them, and Kagome too. He was always told youkai were good, but this too, he couldn't believe anymore.

 

He wondered what he could still believe.

 

He studied the silver haired youkai who was standing behind Kagome for awhile. Lord Sesshoumaru… What would his father say if he knew he met this taiyoukai? His father didn't like Lord Naraku, he often told him so, but he also told him Lord Sesshoumaru wouldn't be that bad, because his father was convinced Lord Sesshoumaru didn't like Naraku. And if someone didn't like Naraku, that person couldn't be bad in father's eyes.

 

One of the guards shouted and he could see how everyone's gaze immediately went towards the gates as they opened and the prisoners walked in.

 

A whole different scenario was now taking place. Instead of having dead people walking into the grounds, this time, everyone was definitely alive.

 

And it wasn't very difficult to see.

 

*

 

~ Forest near the elven castle, Southern Lands~

 

Outside the castle, in the forest, everything was quiet. No birds sang, no animal moved, they all hided, feeling a sudden cold coming trough their living area. If you would look closely, you would see a shadow moving from tree to tree, perfectly blended with the darkness surrounding it, so it was difficult to see.

 

It was fast, and as it moved, its eyes darted from left to right, looking out for any danger. It moved on and on, until the trees of the forest began to stand wider from each other, indicating the forest would soon end.

 

The youkai stopped behind a tree, chuckling softly while it gazed at the castle lying in front of him. For once, he felt like his master had given him an interesting assignment. Normally, Naraku would just send him after Lord Kouga, but spying on that wolf had appeared to be quit… well… boring… The only thing he witnessed was the wolf's arrogant behaviour, but nothing important was to tell from him.

 

And now, surprisingly, his master sended him to spy on the elves. Oh he knew most efforts of former spies to come into the castle had failed, but then again, they weren't exactly the best in their jobs, according to his opinion. But he… he would succeed, he was sure of that.

 

In contrast with others, he had rather… special… abilities, which he would use as much as he could. Thinking about that, he gazed at the rather thick walls. He knew other spies would have much difficulty with just these walls, but he, oh no… walls were nothing to him, nothing. He looked at the guards walking on those walls, and shook his head. These too, would proof to be no problem.

 

Suddenly, his head shot up as he heard a sound in the distance. The sound of various people coming this way. He stayed were he was, hidden between the trees and in the shadows. He didn't have to wait long, as soon, a group consisting of both humans and elves appeared. Their clothes were old and they looked tired. Nothing special for humans, he noted, but elves always had these mysterious auras around them, and this unnatural beauty. They were still beautiful, but they looked bad.

 

Then he grinned. This would be the prisoners Naraku had told him about. Now he could just walk trough those walls, but what was life without a bit of fun?

 

His eyes glided over the group again, studying them, how they looked, how they walked, behaved… He chuckled softly and closed his eyes, concentrating. He felt how his body began to change, slowly but steadily…

 

A few minutes later, out of the shadows stepped not a youkai, but an elf.

 

*

 

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

 

Kagome laughed along with everyone else once they realized that this time, nothing was wrong. Soon, people were running everywhere, trying to find family, friends, and so on. Everyone was hugging each other, laughter could be heard and happy faces been seen.

 

She smiled as she saw how her friends and family too went to welcome everyone. Shippou looked up at her and she smiled at him. She suddenly remembered who was standing behind her, and in her happiness, she didn't think about it but just lunged herself at Sesshoumaru and hugged him tightly.

 

“Thank you Sesshoumaru! I knew you wouldn't do such a thing as Naraku did!”

 

A soft cough. “As far as I know, I didn't do anything but enlighten you all with my presence here.”

 

Still, she felt how he hugged her back, and now realizing what she was doing, she quickly let go and laughed nervously. “Anyway, I suspect your brother would listen to you, or do whatever you would've wanted him to do, so this means you wouldn't do such a thing… Arggg, I don't care, I'm just happy!”

 

Waving at him, she picked a wide eyed Shippou up and sprinted away, too embarrassed to stay.

 

*

 

As soon as he was inside, he slipped away unnoticed, hiding in the shadows again while studying the scene before him. It was fun to slip inside the castle this way, instead of just walking trough walls as he so often did. Kami knew he needed a change on his jobs, and this one proved to be just that. But, to him, it wasn't fun to get hugged by almost everyone present. He may look like those prisoners, but he certainly wasn't such a hysterical, sentimental elf… no way…

 

His eyes travelled trough the crowd, looking for the queen, her daughters and the taiyoukai. Lower servants weren't of any importance to him.

 

He didn't have to search long to find the queen. She was standing between everyone, but with his experience, he noticed the way she stood there, so elegant, not hunched over like someone who would do heavy work, with expensive clothes, and that voice of her clearly had authority. He studied her for a moment, but then decided he would look at her later on.

 

Then, his eyes catched silver hair. Quickly he looked that way and almost grinned at what he saw. Lord Sesshoumaru… oh yes he knew him. Naraku had sent him after the taiyoukai once, confident that he would succeed on spying on the taiyoukai. He himself had been rather confident too, he must admit. Only, he didn't even succeed in getting into his castle. So, he only saw the taiyoukai on other jobs of him.

 

`Well, Naraku wanted to know how Lord Sesshoumaru was doing, and judging on what I see, I think he's enjoying himself quit a lot,' he thought as he saw how the taiyoukai was just busy hugging someone. `I wonder who it is…'

 

Just then, the girl broke away and turned. Judging by the face, he wouldn't have recognised her, although he almost immediately noted she must've been someone highborn too. But the next thing he saw made it clear to him who exactly she was.

 

The Shikon no Tama.

 

`Well well,' he chuckled. `I wonder what my master would say if he knew this… Lord Sesshoumaru and the youngest princess… together…'

 

He almost blinked as he suddenly felt like he was drawn to her. Or no, not to her, but the Jewel around her neck. He growled, damn it, why did every youkai in this world have to be after that thing. That way, it was nearly impossible to get… `Oh yes, I'm just some tool for the next youkai who's after it. If my master gets it, I won't get any benefit for it. Anyway, it's almost impossible to get, or so they say. Maybe it is, IF she keeps it around her neck all the time… oh well, time will prove if she does or not. As Naraku said, I have LOTS of time…'

 

As the girl ran away, the strange feeling disappeared too, making it possible for him to concentrate properly again. Soon, he spotted another girl, almost similar to the other one. But he could clearly see how different her character was in the way she acted, and in her eyes. Also, he recognised her from earlier jobs, as in contrast with her sister, she would leave the castle very often.

 

This was Kikyou, the eldest princess and leader of the army.

 

A wicked grin began to form on his face. His master wanted to know in what state their army was… good, he would find out…

 

As she left along with another woman, he followed them silently, staying in the shadows, unnoticed by anyone. Not even the elves sensed his presence, as he made sure they couldn't.

 

Oh yes, Lord Naraku would get a VERY detailed report…

 

*

 

As Kagome ran away from Sesshoumaru with Shippou in her arms, she decided to go to her room. But she stopped suddenly, looking around. She had felt something… a strange feeling, which she knew from somewhere… Oh yes, that dark shadow she saw this morning, she felt the same way now. She looked around, but saw nothing special, just elves and humans, nothing strange.

 

She began walking again, concentrating on that strange feeling, a feeling as if something was there, something that shouldn't be there…

 

Eventually, she shrugged it aside as something unimportant.

 

* Later that day *

 

~ Forest near the elven castle, Southern Lands~

 

At the edge of the forest, hidden in the shadows so that no guards would see her, a dark haired woman sat on a huge feather which hovered just above the ground. Her face wore an expression of both boredom and annoyance. She seemed to be relaxed, but if you looked closely, you could see she was idling with her fan, snapping it open and close again and again, a bit of an unnatural wind beginning to form on this spot. A guard would later complain how windy it was while he stood guard, while everyone else reported it was calm.

 

Kagura huffed once while she glared at the elven castle, willing it to go away, just so that she too could leave this place. Why Naraku had sent her to hear the spy's report was beyond her. Usually if he sent her anywhere, it involved killing someone. A sound left her throat, and one could swear it was a growl.

 

Without any warning, suddenly a voice spoke from behind her. “I know I should not complain, but it appears my master has sent me a rather… angry person. May I know what annoys you?”

 

Kagura stifled a gasp as she almost tumbled off her feather. It was only due to her perfect reflexes (Naraku used this kind of approach a lot) that she could regain her balance. She brought up her fan and turned at the dark shadow standing behind her. “Certainly you may know! What bothers me, are YOU! I swear, if you ever pull that stunt again, I'll rip your head of!”

 

The spy chuckled softly. “Silence my dear, or they will hear us…” he studied her. “I don't recall seeing you on this sort of job before…”

 

A snort. “Doesn't matter; just tell me what the hell you saw so I can leave.”

 

It nodded at her. “Very well. I made sure to study the castle thoroughly, and the army. It appears the elves are using the truce to train some new soldiers.”

 

“Indeed… they must sense Naraku is planning something…”

 

“Or, they simply NEED it…”

 

A sigh. “I don't bother why they do… whatever they do. Just tell me everything.”

 

It began telling her all it saw, how big the army was, how many weapons they had, in what condition the castle was, everything. As it fell silent, Kagura shrugged. “Well, then I'll be leaving to report our DEAR Lord Naraku your interesting discoveries. Oh, one thing, what about the Shikon no Tama?”

 

It didn't answer for awhile. Then it began speaking, almost hesitatingly. “I would say, it is VERY hard to get. The youngest princess carries it all the time, and mostly there are a lot of people around her. And, you'll never guess who's closest to her at this very moment…”

 

She frowned but didn't answer. She didn't know, but she wouldn't guess as he would tell her anyway.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru”

 

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“When I arrived, almost the first thing I saw was a nice little scene in which our dear ally HUGGED the youngest princess. In the following time, I found out she has ordered upon his arrival here to put him in the room next to hers, which is up in the Southern Tower. It wasn't difficult to find out they seem to be friendly with each other. If I didn't hear it from servants, talking under each other, I would see it myself.”

 

Kagura shrugged. “Probably he's just trying to get something from her… Something like the Shikon no Tama. If she would trust him, it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill her and flee, especially when they are all alone up in that tower…”

 

“Yes, that could be…”

 

“Well,” Kagura straighten herself and gave the spy a stern look. “Anything else which is important enough for me to stay here?”

 

She heard a soft chuckle as the youkai answered her. “I don't know, do you like parties?”

 

She rolled her eyes and waved her fan before its head. “Of course not! What the hell are you talking about?! Remember, I can still kill you…”

 

Now, she was sure she heard him laugh. “Nothing, it's just, in a couple of days there will be a big party here, or so I heard when I was walking around…”

 

She snorted and made sure her face was in a flat expression. “Seeing as you already begin to ramble about…” she looked over her shoulder towards the castle, her eyes flashing in anger. “…PARTIES…” she looked back again. “… I doubt you have anything interesting to say…”

 

She blinked once, as she noticed she was talking into thin air. Where had the blasted idiot gone? Oh, why did she even care, this meant she could get out of here. With a grin she flew up in the air and looked with satisfaction how the castle got smaller and smaller in her view.

 

She sighed once and began to chew on her fingernails, something she only did when she was deep in thought, or nervous. She was supposed to report everything to Naraku, but she had a feeling she should keep quiet about what the spy saw from Lord Sesshoumaru.

 

She always suspected that the cold taiyoukai hated Naraku. The way he always looked at him, always so thoughtful and with annoyance. She could still remember how Sesshoumaru never showed any interest in the Shikon no Tama, and as far as she knew, he still hadn't changed his opinion on that. But, she also suspected something else, namely that Sesshoumaru wanted to prevent Naraku from getting the Jewel.

 

And if Sesshoumaru was now trying to get the Jewel from that girl, she wouldn't stop him, she was almost certain of it, he would never give the Jewel to her father. It was a risk she took, but she would hope he got it. But that also meant, she shouldn't tell her father of this, or else he would go after Sesshoumaru.

 

Question was, wouldn't Naraku see right trough her if she lied to him?

 

* A few days later *

 

~Elven castle, Southern Lands~

 

Up in her room, Kagome was nervously looking at her reflection in the mirror. She frowned and without noticing began chewing on her lower lip. She sighed and decided to go for it.

 

“Well Shippou, how do I look?”

 

She turned to see the young kitsune staring up at her in awe. “K-Kagome, you… you're…”

 

She smiled and made a gesture with her hand. “I know, I know, it looks bad, so I'll go and change again.”

 

Shippou shook his head and shrieked. “N-no, this is just… fabulous. You're so pretty!”

 

She blushed and looked warily in the mirror again. “Really…?” she asked in a high pitched voice. She wore a low-necked, long red dress with long sleeves, which left her shoulders bare. Around her neck glistered the Shikon no Tama in the spare light. Her hair was done in a knot with a few strands loose. She wore no other jewels, she only had a small diadem in her hair which her father gave her when she was younger.

 

To Shippou, she looked like a goddess. “Really!” he answered. “Everyone will be jealous off Lord Sesshoumaru!”

 

She frowned at him and he gulped at the gaze she sent him. “Shippou… what's that supposed to mean?”

 

“W-well, you are going with him to the party, aren't you?”

 

She sighed and looked at the wall, wishing she could just see trough it. Tonight, there would be another party to celebrate that all their friends and family were finally save at home again. But she didn't know if Sesshoumaru would come… she was afraid to see him, as she always felt embarrassed these days, but she hadn't seen him for awhile, as she was busy with checking the prisoners over, but she knew that deep down, she hoped he would be there, although that would be a miracle. She could still remember how he thought about the last party.

 

“I don't think so Shippou…” she sighed. “There was a party before, and he didn't really like it then.” She saw how Shippou pouted a bit and she smiled at him. The little kitsune absolutely adored the elder youkai, constantly trying to ask him things, or looking up at him with admiration. “We'll just go, and who knows, maybe he'll turn up!”

 

Shippou nodded at her, and together, they left.

 

* A few hours later *

 

Everything was silent in the castle, the rooms were deserted, nobody was inside. Even in the gardens nobody walked around, only the courtyard was full of people.

 

Kagome looked around at all the happy people around her who were celebrating. She sat to the side, away from everyone, Miroku and Sango were dancing, Kikyou and her mother were sitting somewhere else. Shippou was with her, but he was now surrounded by a group of elves who were all asking him things, commenting on how sweet he was, giving him something to eat. She could see he enjoyed himself, so she just sat down to watch in peace.

 

Sesshoumaru still hadn't shown up. She had sensed him up in his room when she and Shippou left, and she imagine he didn't really fancy going to a party. She also knew how much he hated it if she would use magic to get him here, so she didn't even thought about using a spell again.

 

She looked contently at all the decorations she had hung up with a few servants and hummed a bit with the music. She stiffened as she suddenly heared a voice behind her.

 

“It seems elves are rather fond of organising parties.”

 

She turned and looked behind her. How could it be she didn't notice him? He was standing there, in the shadows, out of the light's reach, looking intently at her, as if screening her over. She noticed how she blushed again, but he didn't say anything, just stood there. She patted on a spot next to her and noticed he was following every move she made. “Please Sesshoumaru, sit down!” she invited him.

 

He walked towards her and sat down, as elegant and graceful as ever. She looked at his profile for a moment out of the corner of her eyes as he looked at all the other people around. “I didn't thought you would actually come,” she blurted out. “I recall you telling me how awful the stench of us all is so you couldn't bear it.”

 

Without moving even an inch, he said something which made her believe he went insane. “The stench is indeed horrible, but… yours is pleasant enough to forget the others.”

 

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She realised she was staring shamelessly at him and said something not so intelligent. “Ow…”

 

Had she really heard this right? Sesshoumaru, the cold taiyoukai, just said he liked her scent? This was not real, this was a dream. Yep, a dream it was.

 

A silence fell again, until Sesshoumaru decided to speak. “Maybe I should go and sit somewhere else.”

 

She stared at him. “W-why? I myself asked you to sit here…”

 

“It has nothing to do with you, but rather with your friend. I don't think she likes me sitting here, judging by the furious look she gives me. Who knows, maybe she is going to attack me again…”

 

She saw how he smirked a bit and followed his gaze to see how Sango was watching his moves and glaring at his close proximity to her. “No way, she's only a bit careful, she has no real reason to attack you.”

 

“As far as I know, the last time she had no reason too.”

 

Kagome face got a more angry expression. “Oh, she had a reason, believe me…”

 

“What, that rubbish about her village?”

 

She turned to glare at the impassive taiyoukai next to her. “Yes, exactly! She spoke to Naraku, and he told her you had something to do with it. It was horrible for her, she lost everyone she loved, she isn't it logical she wants to know who did this and take revenge?”

 

He snorted and now turned towards her, looking in her eyes. “I told her I have nothing to do with it.”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “There is still something… I believe it wasn't you, but you do know something about it, don't you? Please Sesshoumaru, if you know anything about it, tell me!” He looked thoughtful at her, and she could almost imagine him thinking and considering if he should tell her, if he could trust her enough… “If it is someone you don't want to get hurt, I promise, I won't tell Sango who it was, that way, she can't take any revenge…”

 

She saw how an amused look came on his face. “You don't need to promise anything…” he chuckled softly. “… I think I know who did it, but I wouldn't mind at ALL if your dear friend would go on a rampage.”

 

She held in her breath and looked pleadingly at him. “Who Sesshoumaru? Who is it?”

 

“Who else than our dear Lord Naraku?” she gasped, but he continued anyway. “He told me about a taiji village, and he said he had taken care of it… which in his language means he certainly didn't embrace those people, if you know what I mean…”

 

Again, she was staring at him, but somewhere in her head, a small voice said how obvious it was, who else than Naraku could have done such a thing? “Sesshoumaru?” she whispered, and she saw he was still looking at her. “…does Naraku… did he… did he ever talked to you about… you know… when he killed my father?”

 

She bowed her head, avoiding the fierce look in his eyes then and waited for him to answer, but seconds passed, and still, he hadn't spoken at all. She looked up again, and blinked as she saw him looking… worried?.... at her. “Sesshoumaru?”

 

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” he asked.

 

She gave him a small smile and nodded. “Yes, I want to know, don't worry, I can take it…”

 

“I wasn't there when he killed your father, I didn't see it…” his eyes narrowed. “… but, he did tell me about it. Came banging into my room, showing up about it. No need to tell you how disgusted I was… Oh I wouldn't mind at all if your friend would go on some quest to kill him…”

 

She bowed her head again, tears beginning to form but she fought them back. No, she wouldn't cry, not now, this was a time to celebrate, her father died long ago, there was nothing to do about it now. But that Naraku even showed up about the killing, it made her shiver and angry in once. She clenched her fists and reprimanded herself. What would Sesshoumaru think of her? All he ever saw was her crying, poor little Kagome, always the weak one… No, she would stand firm, she would…

 

“Lady Kagome?” She looked up to see a young elf smiling at her. “Would you like to dance?”

 

He stretched his hand out to her, and she stared at it for a moment, wondering what a hand was, what dancing was… she shook her head and scolded herself again. This was not the time to get all confused, and besides, a bit of dancing would maybe take her thoughts somewhere else. She looked at the boy again, and smiled, ready to take his hand, when she heard a growl to her side.

 

She blinked once, before looking at Sesshoumaru with a glare. Why did he have to growl? The boy however looked with scared eyes at the taiyoukai, who was giving him a murderous glare, and eventually, he backed away.

 

“Thanks a lot Sesshoumaru!” she snapped at him. “Why did you have to scare him away like that? I want to dance a bit, and now I can't to that anymore, everyone else is already dancing!”

 

He ignored her little rant, and instead took her hand and tugged her after him. She let a little noise of surprise, but followed anyway and as he stopped when they were facing all the dancing couples, she frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

 

He raised one single eyebrow. “I thought you wanted to dance?”

 

Her jaw dropped as she looked at him. Sesshoumaru, the almighty youkai lord, wanted to dance with HER?!

 

Her thoughts shattered, all she could do was nod, but he didn't even wait for her to do that, instead, he took her one hand and laid his other arm around her waist, leading her into the crowd. She got a small glance of Sango and Miroku, with Shippou on his shoulders, all looking surprised at them, and she briefly noted to warn Miroku that he shouldn't teach Shippou anything about his antics, but she quickly forgot about them.

 

Who had ever thought Sesshoumaru could dance? But he could, and he was even good at it. As they danced, Kagome forgot the whole world around them, all she saw were his golden eyes which were looking calmly at her. All she felt was where he touched her, and her heart which was racing.

 

Suddenly, his face got closer to hers and she shuddered as he whispered in her ear. “Did I ever tell you how great you look?”

 

This was a dream.

 

*

 

Everyone was celebrating, no one, not even a single bird saw the dark shadow moving trough the gardens. But everywhere around it, all was silent, because the animals did feel it as a sudden chill.

 

The youkai stood still for a moment, listening to all the noise and music, and it groaned. The job was a BIG change indeed. Never did he saw so many parties, and the people around here… He had been here for a couple of days now, and everywhere, the only thing he saw were humans or elves, nothing else. Once, he disguised himself as an elf again, but after he got hugged by some weird woman who believed he was her son, he decided, it was enough. Brrr, really, that was the worst thing he ever had to experience.

 

He was on his way to report to that woman again, and it didn't make him happy. Somehow, they didn't like each other, and every time, she threatened to kill him and he would drive her insane with his stupid comments.

 

On his way, he came pretty close to the ongoing party, so he decided to take a look. Who knew, maybe there was something important to see, although he doubted it. But, as he was looking on, he suddenly caught a flash of silver, and immediately, he took in the scene before him.

 

Lord Sesshoumaru, and that princess, dancing and looking deeply in each others eyes.

 

Chuckling, he moved away from all those people and continued on his way out. Now, this was something that would interest his master…

 

*

 

To Kagome, it felt like an age, but it was only a few minutes until the song ended. Applause clang, another song began, and for a moment, she stood there, not sure what to do, what Sesshoumaru wanted. She was staring at her feet, but as she looked up, he was looking at her, and she felt how she blushed again.

 

But when they danced, and when they were so close, yet again, she realized something. She came to a conclusion, she became aware of something, and she needed to think of it.

 

Quickly, she faked a yawn and gave him a smile. “Sorry, but I'm so tired, I think I'm going to bed. Would you tell Shippou were I am?”

 

Wasting no more time, she ran away, leaving a slightly stunned Sesshoumaru.

 

*

 

He was close to the wall and just prepared to walk trough it, as he heard soft footsteps behind him. Quickly, in the blink of an eye, he was standing in the shadows of a tree, invisible to anyone who would pass. He didn't have to wait long, because soon, a girl came walking pass him, humming to herself and apparently lost in thought.

 

He cursed the stupid elf for distracting him and hoped she would be gone soon, so he could just report to the wind sorceress and disappear again. But the girl walked a bit further and than sat down under another tree and gazed up at the stars.

 

It was then, it the light of the moon, that he saw it.

 

The Shikon no Tama.

 

Immediately, he felt the same urge as when he first came here, as if the Jewel called to him, and he discovered he had taken a step forwards. He heard of this, all youkai were drawn to the Jewel, and this had to be that effect. His dark eyes looked at the tiny thing with a wicked glint in them, and he smiled.

 

Why not?

Always, he had been under someone's charge, there was always someone more powerful than him, someone who thought he could order him around. Someone like his master, for instance. And even though his master could kill him easily, the idea didn't disappear.

 

What if he would take the Jewel for himself?

 

He would get incredibly powers, and his master would be nothing compared to him. He would rule instead, and the Jewel, that powerful item, would be his, and his alone. This was his opportunity, he could sense how powerful this girl was, but against his abilities, she couldn't win. And now, there was no one around to help her.

 

But, he had to get close to her. He would take no risk and injure her immediately, so that she couldn't defend herself properly. But how, how would he do that? He thought about it for awhile, all the time feeling that pull growing, and than, he got an idea.

 

Kagura could wait for awhile.

 

*

 

She was sitting on the ground, looking at the stars when she saw the moon, and the face of a certain person came floating before her face.

 

Sesshoumaru.

 

She had realized something back at the party, when they danced. She just knew it, the instant she looked into his eyes. It didn't matter to her that he was a youkai, that he was so cold, because she thought it made him special. And besides, he wasn't that worse anymore. No, he had been so nice to her, and in fact, she had felt it all along, but didn't realize what it was. But now, she knew it.

 

She loved him.

 

A single tear came down her face as she though about that. Even now she realized it, she also knew it was impossible. It didn't matter to HER he was a youkai, but it mattered to the rest of this world, where youkai and elves were mortal enemies, and something like this would be impossible. And further, he would never like her, not in that way. Her mother was probably right; if he had been free, he would've acted differently towards her than he did now.

 

She heard a sound close to her, and gasped at the person she saw.

 

Sesshoumaru.

 

Did he follow her? He looked warmly at her, but he didn't speak as he spread his arms, as if inviting her to hug him, to come to him, to… She stood and began walking towards him, as she felt it again. The same feeling as when she touched the Jewel a few days ago, the same feeling as when the prisoners arrived.

 

`Stop,' she thought. `Something is wrong here. This feeling… and Sesshoumaru acting all weird…' she looked up at him again and than realized something and took a step back. `This is not him…'

 

“Who are you?” she heard herself ask in a high voice, fear evident in it.

 

“I am Lord Sesshoumaru, who else should I be?” he answered.

 

But still, she felt weird, and she didn't trust it. “No,” she began. “…you are NOT Sesshoumaru…”

 

Suddenly, he disappeared and she blinked, but then, she let out a scream as she felt pain, incredible pain… She looked down, and saw a hand with claws attached to a wrist with two markings on it which dug into her side. “Are you sure?” a voice whispered in her ear. “Are you sure this is not something you wish for, something you want to believe? Who says I'm not Sesshoumaru?”

 

“You are not him!” she grunted out. “He would never do such a thing!”

 

“Mmmm…” a soft chuckle. “… perhaps not… you seem to be very close… Oh well, now you seem to see right trough me, I might as well give it up. It was fun though… oh go on, you can scream as much as you want, with all that noise you elves make, I doubt someone will hear you…”

 

Her hand began to glow blue, and she quickly turned and throw a blast at the creature, which looked still like Sesshoumaru, but it had disappeared again, and she looked around, panicked, and everytime she heard something, she threw another blast. She tried to sense it, but it was impossible.

 

How was she supposed to get out of here alive?

 

*

 

Sesshoumaru stayed a little longer at the party, but without Kagome, he found it pretty boring, so he decided to go to his room. When they danced… he hated to admit, but he liked it. His pride forbade him to admit it aloud, but it was true.

 

He stopped dead in his tracks as he sensed something. A strange feeling, and for a second, he could swear he sensed a youkai nearby. Instinctively, he began walking towards it, when he saw a blue light in the distance.

 

His mind was working quickly now. He had no doubt now there was indeed a youkai, and that blue light would be Kagome.

 

What was going on here?

*

 

She kept throwing some energy blasts around, but every now and then, she got hit by that creature. It was either very fast, or invisible, as she couldn't sense it, nor see it. She had nothing to defend her except her power, but of what use was that, if she couldn't see her target?

 

She had screamed a few times, but she knew it was right, no one would hear her. For awhile, nothing happened, but she kept looking around, her right hand glowing in a blue light. Suddenly, a blow hit her from behind, and she collapsed to her knees.

 

Then, it became visible again, still looking like Sesshoumaru, and it approached her. In a last attempt to defend herself, she threw up a barrier, but it only smirked.

 

“Oh come on, barriers are no problem for me…,” it came closer and closer. “… now why don't you give me that Jewel, I will kill you anyway, maybe then I will make it less painful…”

 

“No! I promised to guard it, and I will never give it to you!” she yelled at it.

 

It only shrugged. “Be it that way. Now, let's get that nice little barrier of yours down, shall we?”

 

Her eyes widened, and tears came into them. This was it. Nobody was here to save her, she had screwed it up, despite being so powerful, she had failed to protect the Jewel. This creature was just to fast for her. Maybe, if she had been more skilled in fighting like her sister, or Sango… but no, there was no hope now.

 

She closed her eyes in fright, and only one name came over her lips. She only thought about one person…

 

“Sesshoumaru…”

 

***************************************************************** **************

 

honey_gurl1818 : Thanks ^^

 

whit: oh shit… I totally forgot I had only 12 chapters so far on this site… so, I'm glad you like the story and reminded me that I still have a few chapters to add here ^^ I'm such an idiot to forget that…