InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midwinter Dream ❯ The Drunken Conversationalist ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: This plot is moving rather quickly (chapter-wise) despite all the information and scenes I'm adding... Oh well! Believe me, I want those two to see one another again soon too!!

Read, enjoy, reviews please!

Chapter 5

The Drunken Conversationalist

“Ah, do not mind them,” Sheng offered when he caught Kagome looking again at the two frigged guards who were standing right behind her. “They are just stiffs. Come, have a drink!”

She glared at him. This certainly wasn't a regiment hide-out with tents and camp fires. It was a barrier-hidden o-shiro which was utilized to house many demons. Having many demons around, and her powers still sealed away, made for a very cranky and potentially spasmodic miko.

“I find it a tad to my disadvantage to accept an alcoholic drink from the demon suppressing my powers,” she stated a bit bitterly. Her brain almost hurt from cranking that non-abbreviated sentence out.

“Mm, about that,” he stated, taking the cup from his lips to talk. “I cannot have a miko going around hyped up on a certain Jewel with trained but no less greedy demons everywhere. It would be a tad unethical to allow you here completely unsuppressed, and a tad idiotic as well....”

Oh, right, the Jewel... Heh, she could see the blood baths now...

“So, at the sacrifice of your personal comfort,” he continued, gesturing to the room, “you are out of the woods, offered great hospitality, and certainly in no danger.”

Although those facts were undeniably clear and accurate, her skin tingled so much she half expected it to just crawl off and save itself... At least he allowed her to keep her weapons, but those wouldn't do her much good in this sort of situation now would they?

“So! Relax and enjoy yourself. And do not worry, your drink is not poisoned.”

... She hadn't thought of that... Damn it! Even the most obvious and overused movie trick was escaping her list of things that could go wrong!

“So, where were you born, Kagome-sama?”

“In Tokyo,” she replied honestly and harshly. Hate hate hate hate hate... She even glared at the servants who were lighting lanterns and rejuvenating brazers to keep the room warm for the night.

“... That is a Japanese village?” Sheng asked.

“A city, rather,” she answered flatly, still consciously searching for her energy. It had simply vanished though, and she couldn't even utilize the Jewel of all things. Kami, she probably looked like a walking buffet of power just dying to be gobbled up. “Not that you're old enough to know of it...”

“My life goes back farther than recorded Japanese history, miss,” he informed with a jolly smirk.

“Of that, I'm well aware,” she retorted. She was, definitely, not pleased.

His face settled deeper into its familiar grin, eyes sparkling with thoughts. “Oye, guards, take the night off.”

The men looked at him, faces completely blank.

“Do not gawk, that is an order. And relay that to every other guard within a fifty foot radius of this room.”

“Confident?” Kagome asked.

“In what?” he inquired as the men retreated wordlessly to leave him alone with a 'hyped up miko'. She was silent. “Anyway, you've sparked my interest, Kagome-sama. Do you claim to come from the future?”

She gulped, then asked herself what she thought she was doing and decided to not worry about it. “That depends. How sober are you?”

“Completely,” he answered, refilling his drink for the thirty second time. The dosage that had been brought to the room could probably fill up an airplane stewardess' wheeled beverage cart.

“Then yes, I do.”

He chuckled. “You can't beat honesty. So, what city will Tokyo stem from?”

She blinked, only in part over his sudden slip into abbreviations. He wasn't going to second guess her? He believed her??

“It's bad to know too much of the future,” she told him.

“Ah,” he began. “I suppose I'd have to be of higher rank, then?”

Her fingers clenched her hakkama under the table. Certainly, he didn't know that much... Certainly not. He should be too ignorant to be able to insinuate such a thing. “What rank are you?”

“A member of the Counsel,” he informed, not minding the shift. “Used to be a general, got upgraded. Sure you don't want sake?”

“...”

“I'll presume you're thinking on it,” he filled in. “So, how's Tenseiga been?”

Kagome could almost feel her soul begin to ascend she was so shocked. He knew the sword?? Oh, kami, then that meant he knew Sesshomaru, didn't it? ... Oye... Again, why did she care? All she had to do was get herself breathing again and all would be a field of daisies from there.

“You have quite the range of emotions,” he commented with a brilliant and curious smile on his face. “Eat many of those tropical caffeine berry beans in the future?”

She shook her head to clear it. That, and she disliked coffee. “You know this sword?”

He chuckled. “Yep. Knew its first master too. I don't see how Sesshomaru could have lost it though, little miko.”

“I didn't steal it,” she quickly defended herself, feeling the shadow of a bomb grow over said daisies. It was really weird to know that this man knew Sesshomaru, and knew him better than she every would. “He dropped it.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes.”

“You do realize how absurd that sounds, correct?”

“Yes.”

He smiled. “For a human, your honesty is astounding.”

She frowned. “Alright, how can you tell if I'm telling the truth?”

He pointed at his nose. “As you've said, yours doesn't work too well.”

Her mind went running giddily with that idea, and various memories of her being with Sesshomaru were suddenly turned into the shade with the thought of him sensing how she felt at every given second. That was almost as bad as someone opening your closet to find you making out with the skeleton hiding in it... “So, you believe that he dropped it?”

“Oh, no,” he answered calmly, pouring himself another round. “You have yet to prove that.”

She quickly came up with a witty little tune, which was playing repeatedly in her head in an oddly enthusiastic voice at a variety of octaves, and it's solitary line was 'I hate dogs'.

Then a loophole appeared. “Would you presume I beat him in battle and claimed it for myself, then?”

He pursed his lips in thought. “That would be quite the sight... But, he came back physically unscathed the day Tenseiga disappeared. He was rather boiled over though, and wouldn't answer questions in reference to the sword and Shikon no Tama.”

“Oh, he has no right to-!” She caught herself from spiraling into an emotional tangent in regards to someone she was somewhat feigning ignorance of; and doing as much was hard enough while carrying around the bastard's sword...

“Don't break your honesty streak now,” he almost scolded. “It's obvious you know him. What were you going to say?”

Oh, sure, give her the green light.

“He has no right to be pissed off because of me kissing someone!”

Sheng, for the barest fraction of a second, lit up like a firework of hilarity.

... Oh, kami, being phrased like that sounded really bad... It's not like the demon lord who loathed humans would ever be jealous over... Over anything, really...

“No, he doesn't,” Sheng replied, refilling his cup again.

“... You're good at hiding your facial expressions, aren't you...?”

“Yes I am.”

Kagome sighed. Great... Well, now that she was holding all the wrong cards she dropped the poker face and decided to give this guy the story of his life. Or, of hers, rather... She was going to be the first miko to ever bore a demon into unconsciousness.

...

... ...

“Aren't you bored yet?!” she demanded three hours later over a platter of excellent sushi. She had only gotten up to the fifth grade of school so far, and night was already fully settled in!

“Quite the opposite!” he informed merrily, not looking drunk at all yet. “Please continue.”

Taking a sip of sake to quench her dry throat, Kagome winced at the foul taste and swore that the sun was up again and laughing at her by the time she got to Naraku's defeat. She absolutely refused to lose at this game though! So, she plowed right on. He wanted a story, and she wanted to be free and not stalked by a platoon of dog demons for not finishing it.

...

... ...

“And then what happened?” he asked delightedly.

Kagome snapped her head up, realizing she was nodding off and would have fallen into a bowl of soup. She wasn't sure if the sun was up, or down, or upside down anymore. All she knew was that her body ached from sitting in that position for so long, and that she was exhausted...

“Where were we?” she asked. Won't lose... Never...

“Explaining the wonders of a ferris wheel,” Sheng informed.

“Oh, right...” Daaaaaaamn it... This was taking for ever!! But, time didn't matter, because Kagome had ample time, and this was a game, and she was going to win and walk straight into a tree for falling asleep while walking by the time she was done here.

...

... ...

“Don't nod off now!” Sheng encouraged with a smirk, verbally beating her awake again. “You were just getting to a very interesting part when the well opened again.”

“... I was?” she asked. Why was she there? Why was she still talking about this? Oh, right, won't lose. Never. ... She had been having a splendid day-dream that she was only dreaming that she was there. Oh, why? WHY did it have to be DOGS?? Of all the insufferable animals in the world, too!

Sheng smiled. “Well, as soon as you finish, I'll let you sleep undisturbed for days on end if you so choose and until you decide to leave you may have meals and delicacies delivered to your room.”

That woke her up immediately, though she still felt quite deranged from not sleeping. Oh, finally, a dog who decided to speak her language!! Maybe she should request a massage, too...?

By the end, which was about ten minutes of ranting later, Sheng was nodding his head and Kagome absolutely couldn't care what resulted of such a conversation because she planned on never seeing the general again after spending what felt like a full day talking about herself and her acquaintances.

“Thank you for your valuable time,” he stated. As he escorted her personally to a room she noticed that the sun was setting, and she thought for a split second that it had only been forty minutes since she got there. But damn, she could talk...

“By the way, I'm expecting a favor for that,” she informed him flatly, trailing behind. Did demons just feel unfathomably comfortable with armor on all the time?! The only reason she wondered was because it was currently reflecting the brilliance of the setting sun into her face.

“What to hear my life story in return?” he asked, turning to look at her.

... Oh, she thought her heart had stopped! He was laughing at her reaction though, and having seen it he turned back forward. ... So he did that intentionally!?

“You'd talk me into my grave, so I'll pass on that,” she stated. “First, I want you to tell me truthfully whether or not you know Sesshomaru on a personal level and not just as a second in command.”

“I do,” he replied easily enough. “He hates sake too, by the way. Is there a second request?”

... This Sheng was an interesting fellow... She could laden him with loads of requests if he only asked. “Second, I want you to tell me where he is in a week.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “Is there a third?”

“Yes!” she replied in a sarcastically happy tone. “During that week, I want to be guaranteed that I won't die, regardless if I chose to spar with random soldiers here.”

She ran into his back when he stopped and staggered away, clutching her nose. Damn armor...

He looked at her, genuinely surprised. She kept her most likely dark circled eyes on him too.

He finally nodded. “Is there a forth?”

“... I'll get back to you on that in the morning...”

He nodded again. “So, in return for, so far, two extra favors, I expect that you not attack the residents of this regiment.”

“Only if it's in self defense,” she added. “And I won't kill them.”

“Deal,” he stated, holding out his callused hand. ... Well, so demons could get calluses after a few millenniums... Her hand felt so small in his when she shook it, and she was shown her room.

“You're sure no one will rape me or kill me while I'm in a comma?” she asked upon seeing the beautiful bed that was definitely not touching the ground.

“On my life,” he informed. “We have an agreement, after all.”

“Good.” She walked over, flopped onto her face into the feathery down mattress, and didn't remember much after that until she woke up wondering where she was and why her cheek had molded to the fabric so securely. Funny, she slept on a perfectly made bed, yet someone had put a blanket over her out of apparent pity. The second thing she noticed was that she could sense her energy again. The third thing she noticed was that she did, in fact, make an agreement in exchange for that. The forth item on her conscious' agenda was the steaming meal sitting ready for her on the Japanese-style table in her room.

Her stomach leaped at it before she did, which made for bad coordination. She nearly tripped over her weapons and backpack getting to it, and for some reason she was never so happy to see a strange array of edible delights in her life. ... Wait... Was that-? Oh, kami, there was chocolate!!

Sheng earned himself a friendship point.

“Did you get your fill?” aforementioned demon asked halfway through Kagome's inhalation. “Ah! A woman who actually knows how to eat!”

She flipped him off, and downed another cup of tea so she didn't choke on the rice. It was all so good, she couldn't believe how well demons ate! “I'm not fat!” she finally told him, continuing.

“Not what I meant,” he assured her. “Most ladies of the court count bites simply because they are too 'feminine' to work off the food.”

Kagome nearly snorted noodles up her nose. “Trust me, they'll start counting calories soon.”

“What are those?” he inquired.

“The tiny pieces that make up food,” Kagome replied. “It's like identifying the bones in our bodies. Calories are just one part.”

“Good example.”

“Why, thank you,” she replied, surprised at how quickly the food disappeared. She absolutely refused to lick up the rice and sauces though, so she finally noticed the damp cloth that was to the side of the tray and cleaned up her face and hands. “So, General Sh-”

“Just Sheng.”

“Got it. So, Sheng, care to have someone show me around?”

He, on account of there being nothing better to do, actually took it upon himself to show her around. And around. And inside and through and over and under and just about every place he could think of that was interesting. Kagome's favorite happened to be the relaxing garden scenery with the small koi-less pond in the corner. She wouldn't mind relaxing there sometime that week before she left. She still felt odd at inviting herself to stay there, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity of learning things about Sesshomaru and his forces right under his nose, nor the opportunity to see what fighting style he grew up with by testing said soldiers. She imagined that he would have spared with them quite a bit growing up, and she had to kick his ass somehow so she might as well start there.

“Here are the training grounds,” Sheng informed, walking through the barrier ahead of her. She easily passed through, though it stung ever so slightly. Demon barriers were different than spiritual ones, but they didn't prove to be too much of a hassle for her.

Kagome stared. The terrain was rendered mostly to beaten down earth, despite it being the middle of winter, but the soldiers weren't training with weapons.

“Are they all meditating?” she asked, seeing around fifty men, young and old, just sitting with their eyes shut.

Sheng smirked. “Sort of. They're sharpening their senses.” Kagome watched as her escort picked up a rock, scanned the heads, and threw it. Only the targeted man moved, and he caught it without looking and smiled. “Good job, everyone!” Sheng congratulated. Kagome stared, but followed when he walked away, and was surprised that none of those soldiers had glared at her for being there.

“They seemed really calm,” she commented.

“One tends to be while training in that fashion,” Sheng informed. “By the way, what religion to you serve?”

She was mentally floored. “What?”

Sheng glanced at her. “How do you claim being a miko?”

“By being one?”

He stopped walking, so she did too.

“What training did you receive, is what I am asking.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, feeling a tad foolish for not guessing that first. “Um... The minimal amount. I actually made my friend, a monk, angry recently. He said I should forget how to use my powers in the manner that I do.”

Sheng looked curious. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed. He insisted on seeing this, and Kagome's stomach was sent on another ride for a sizable second so when they stopped they were far enough to not send everyone into a panic with her demonstration.

“Show me how you made him mad,” he requested, letting her go. She was very happy to keep her stomach under control this time.

“Um, well, it wasn't much,” she replied, needing her hands again to practically sign language her energy into submission. She carved it into the snow and packed it a few times, lifted, and fired. This time it went completely through the tree, which highly embarrassed her. “I'm not trying to send it through the tree, FYI.”

“FYI?”

“... For Your Information.”

He nodded. “Actually, I'm really impressed that you can.”

Her hands fell to her sides. “Are you kidding? I should have more control over it.”

He waved a hand in the air as though the statement were an easily discouraged fly. “Control comes with discipline and is easy to come by. Power, however, comes with time.”

“Actually, I blame the Jewel,” she told him.

He laughed openly then. “Why? You didn't use it.”

“... I didn't?” she asked. She didn't? She could have sworn she did, she was way more powerful than she was used to.

He shook his head, topknot bobbing side to side. “If you had, you would have regretted it. If anything, it merely allowed you to concentrate.”

“... Why would I have regretted it?” she asked.

He sighed, obviously not wanting to answer.

“... Please tell me why?” she tried again.

“Kagome-sa-”

“Just Kagome.”

He smirked. “Kagome, have you seen what happens to someone when they actually tap into the full power of the Jewel?”

A vicious image of spikes sprouting from Naraku's body as the darkened energy of the Jewel overcame him came to mind, yes. “You're suggesting it works on humans in the same way?”

“No, I'm stating fact,” he replied.

“Ah,” Kagome replied. “So, so long as I don't go growing thorns like a mutated rose I should be good?”

“Basically,” he confirmed with a smirk. “You understand what I mean though, correct?”

She nodded. Use the Jewel equaled bad plastic surgery which also equaled avoidance. Eh... She lived with it in her body for most of her life, which was the only reason she was even fine with it being lodged so comfortably in her chest...

“Now,” he continued, “about the way in which you use your power, it's...”

“Recklessly?” she asked, which had been commonly used in regards to her manner of manipulating spiritual energy.

He lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Not right?” she asked. “How about 'immature'?”

Both lifted at her.

“... Unthinkingly... No? Too quickly? Hazardously. Sinfully. Too eagerly.”

Apparently, he wished to see how long the list could get.

“Desperately, carelessly, badly, bad-natured-ly, indiscriminately, openly, freely, willingly, jokingly, happily, evilly, scarily, god-will-smite-ye-ly...” she needed to breathe. “Ah... Did I say recklessly?”

Sheng blinked.

“...” She lifted her hand. “How about experimentally?”

He blinked again, and then let out a roar of laughter. Despite herself, she joined in on the fun. Okay, this guy wasn't so bad...

“Have those all been used against you?” he asked, still shaking from the giggle he couldn't rid himself of.

“Most of the beginning ones,” she admitted. “And some of the latter.”

He chuckled. “Well, those weren't exactly the words I was looking for,” he admitted. “I was going to say 'suppressed'.”

Kagome was so shocked that her knees went numb and she fell onto her ass, but she was still staring up at him as though he just sprouted a second nose and third eye..

“SUPPRESSED?!” she couldn't help but to scream. “Are you insane?!”

He controlled himself to smiles now. “Some would say as much.”

“Hah,” she breathed forcefully, making her shoulders and chest bounce with the noise. “Suppressed... Really...?”

“Certainly,” Sheng replied. “And truly, it's an easy thing to fix.”

“How's that?” she asked.

Eight minutes later, she was holding her sword out in front of herself, and staring at ten young demons who were armed with a variety of different weapons.

“How's that?” she asked again, panicking a little. Why soldiers? Why dogs?? Why ten??

“You'll see,” Sheng informed. “So long as you don't kill them.”

“I promised not to...” she replied, her energy swelling around herself protectively and making not a single demon shift.

“Good,” Sheng replied, standing behind the men to watch her reaction. “Alright boys, kill the miko.”

She was shocked, yet her fear had every muscle in her body tighten momentarily so her jaw couldn't drop. Only two of them attacked initially, and when she jumped back another four leaped after and the remainder spread quickly to flank their prey. They were good... She never wanted to scream 'bad dogs' so badly before in her life.

Okay... So, now that she just dodged three blows at once and had another streaking for her neck, Kagome felt at a loss for defense. A small burst of energy had the sword pausing, and she fell back enough for the swing to follow through and just barely graze her neck like a bad razor.

“Good!” Sheng yelled. Who's side was he on?!

Kagome, desperate as she began to fall back to the line of demons behind herself, remembered how to direct energy to her muscles.

The demons watched as she jumped really high and over them, not angling it right or something which made her perform an over exaggerated forward flip. Oh, shit...

“Graceful!” Sheng announced when she discovered she didn't know how to land. Her limbs flailed for a second before the ground embraced her with a grand 'hello'. Her palms specifically stung, which felt like jumping down from a wall and having needles launch up your legs starting from the numb soles of your feet. It hurt worse, surprisingly, for the hand not holding her sword still. Her right and armed hand had nigh-broken knuckles though...

As she cursed out a particular agreement-breaking demon in her head, Kagome rolled instinctively immediately after landing. She missed a sword, but instinct seemed to hate her and made her stop in the landing zone of another demon. His sword went ahead and sliced the top of her shoulder as it dug into the earth. Thankfully, her bone kindly kept the blade from going deeper into her skin...

She didn't scream though. It was odd, because the sword slicing her like a knife into bread was barely registered as everything else settled into her conscious. She was on her back, she was hurt, she was in bodily shock from the injury, and nine other blades were coming for her all at the same time, and she couldn't do anything about it. No one was there to save her.

Kagome thought she was going to die. End of story.

As time slowed her mind raced. The energy which was still wrapped uselessly around her shifted. It formed a penetrable dome not five inches above her stomach, and rendered the air inside it cold. Then, more energy circulated through her at speeds she was surprised didn't melt her body let alone tear through it. It drew itself from her very bones and ran along her nervous system to the point that it hurt. Then, as suddenly as she felt it, it leaped from her body and shot through the cold energy barrier and at her attackers.

The force and a combination of hot and cold made an explosion...

“That's what I'm talking about!!” Sheng laughed as seven of his soldiers went flying away in various poses. He was rubbing his ears, so they were probably ringing.

Kagome felt like she would never recover from that moment... Mostly because her skin was still inhabited by her newfound miko-bomb. It was more subtle now, but she could feel her very cells ignite momentarily in a pulsating fashion, making her hot and her stomach churn. If she had her wits about herself next time, she'd make sure to never do that move ever again.

... Wait, there were three more demons to take care of...

For the next two minutes Kagome had to admit that she had her fill of dodging, ducking, diving, and flat out death defying demonstrations. At least those who experienced the bomb full-on were still unconscious. That, or they really didn't want another round and just stayed there. Having three well trained soldiers hot on your tail with your left shoulder out of commission and bleeding was still pretty bad though.

Blades, swords, sharpies, rendered steel, foiled agony, glimmering death, pointed doom, however you wanted to call it, it was being jabbed at her. Over, and over, and over again as she rolled and defied gravity while avoiding getting diced for the most part. By the time her patience bar was filled to the red zone, she had obtained about nine new scrapes.

“That's IT!” she finally screamed. Fine! If being attacked helped her, then by all means they should have at it! They were a bit unnerved by her suddenly turning around and facing them, standing stock still and panting, but one unfortunate victim decided to take advantage of her obvious stupidity.

Okay... Concentration was all she needed... And a great imagination... Let's see here, the hilt was a snowball... Or a pencil...

Sheng had a wide grin on his face when victim number eight had his sword not only ripped away from his iron grip but it began to chase him as well.

The other two attacked her at the same time, and Kagome thought she'd have a migraine stealing their weapons as well. Sadly though, it was really easy, and she got to see what happened when you took someone's toy away and slapped their ass repeatedly with it. They yelped a lot. One fool actually tried to grab his sword back by the blade, that was dumb, and then by the hilt but that's where a fistful of spiritual energy resided, so it was even more dumb.

Oh yeah... Pencil flying to the extreme... This was awesome...

Her skin was still way too hot though, and she finally stopped once she had all the men pinned to the ground.

“Was that suppressed?” she asked Sheng when he applauded her. She imagined that the smile on her face looked rather stupid, but she was really quite pleased with this new trick of hers.

“Only a little,” he told her. “Feeling better about your powers?”

“... Yes and no,” she replied, bottling it up so the guys could get off their faces. Odd, it was still coursing through her. “I'm getting really hot for some reason, like a fever. Then again, demons don't have fevers, so you wouldn't know...”

“That will go away,” he assured her.

“Oh really?” she asked. That was good to know, because so far she couldn't bid it away.

He nodded. “It is quite normal. All powerful demons go through that stage.”

... Awkward... “I'm a miko though.” She wiped her brow and was surprised to see the back of her hand soaked like it were kissed by a huge slug. Oh, gross!

“Indeed you are!” Sheng agreed. “And a great one at that! I'm glad you're staying a week so I can watch your progress!”

She was still a tad unnerved as sweat rolled down her cheek. Ick. “I'm a miko though.”

“I heard you,” he replied, actually ruffling her hair as she stood before him with a still drawn blade. “But if you use your powers like a demon, then you go through the stages like a demon. Simple as that!”

“... What other stages are there?”

His smirk wavered slightly. “Well...”

Kagome was very grateful for the spittoon in her room when she went rushing over to it later that night at the mere sight of food.

“It'll only last twenty four hours...” Sheng tried to assure her, being her social company with enough sake to kill a horse.

“Oh, kami!” she yelled to the stinky depths of her echoing pot. “What the hell is wrong with you demons?!”

“Well,” he began, pausing for the splatter so she could hear him, “this part is usually short.”

“Ooooh,” she whimpered, shaky hand on the comparatively cold wall. She felt like her brain was boiling in its own fluids, and it made her vision double at times, which didn't help with her immense nausea. “What's next?”

The thing which happened next was cramps... And not the kind one received on her period. These were far worse.

“Make it STOP!!” she screamed at him, huddled into a tiny ball on the bed as she experience a battle of drawn out explosions in her muscles.

“Just give it time,” Sheng suggested, for some reason not enjoying this with his sadistic side. “If it helps, you're progressing rather nicely.”

“Demons have less grace than this??” she demanded. At least she wasn't trying to vomit up her spleen anymore.

“Yep,” Sheng answered, making a note in a scroll he was reading over. “Some do this at the bodily age of seven, and they don't necessarily enjoy it.”

Uuuuuuuuuugh... Why?? Even her head had a cramp!

“Wheeeeen's it oooover?” she sobbed, tears leaking out of her eyes even though she wasn't crying.

“When it's over,” he supplied. “Just be thankful you don't need to be tied down. I heard Sesshomaru nearly destroyed half his home in China when he went through this stage.”

Although that was simply hilarious to imagine, Kagome was in no state of mind to acknowledge as much.

The cramps stayed for a while, and as they began to fade she got to feel her body temperature drop by twenty degrees in a matter of minutes. So, she bore with the next stage rather silently, her face a permanent mask of displeasure and agony as her body shook beyond her control. Sheng was understanding and nice enough to draw the blanked over her, but that didn't help much. It felt like her very soul was freezing over. She got some sleep at that point though. Not much, but some was better than nothing. The nausea later came back with a vengeance.

“Do you have to watch this...?” she pouted from her bed. If being pregnant ever felt anything like this, she was rendering herself sterile.

Next phase, her bones were made of glass and her muscles of tissue paper. She got even more sleep then, but whenever she stirred a fractional inch she woke up cursing, which only added to the problem.

“Hey, Sheng,” she mumbled miserably quite a bit later, now on her side and facing the demon who knew all of this was coming and didn't warn her.

“Yes?” he asked, taking a drink without removing his sights from another parchment. He signed the bottom of it.

“Why the hell is this happening...?”

“Hm,” he hummed almost warmly. “It's the body's way of coping. Don't worry, you're almost to the headache stage, then it's over.”

And he was right. She felt like someone decided to insert an ax into her scalp and wiggle it slowly from left to right until it gradually came free and left a dull, moan inducing agony which synchronized with her heartbeats.

“Is it fading?” Sheng asked, making her wince at the noise.

“When I get better...” she began, worn out. Damn, it really was her luck to be stuck going without sleep every other night for six days, wasn't it? “I swear, I'm taking whatever energy or understanding of the meaning of life which comes of this, and I'm shoving it straight up your ass...”

He began reading the next sheet. “Vulgar women truly are the best.”

Kagome glared at him through what felt to be swollen eyes. “I'm not vulgar, I'm righteously ticked.”

He chuckled at that. “Alright then. Think you can stomach food?”

Her initial response to that was a 'no', considering she had seen too much food come out of her than into her in the last day to really want to be refueled. He took 'no' as a 'yes' though, and he called a servant in and told the man that Kagome really wanted a bowl of rice and plenty of tea and pond-cooled water.

She glared death at him. Well, the water sounded really nice, but she didn't want any food...

Ten minutes later, she wanted food, and she got food.

“Careful not to choke,” he recommended.

“Sure,” she replied, bringing the spout of the water container to her mouth and tipping it. She savored how the cool fluid not only went down her throat but over her face and down her neck as well. When she let it down, gasping for air, she noticed Sheng was staring. “I am not ladylike, FYI.” Who could be ladylike when they felt like they had just rid themselves of a third of their body water in a few hours?

He nodded, smirking over some personal joke.

“Now,” she began again, taking another bite and not caring what he saw of it once it left the chopsticks, “I want to know why I can't bottle my energy up anymore.”

“Bottle it up?” he asked. “That would be a waste.”

She got angry, and couldn't help it when a flair escaped her skin like a bright mist. “Will you please give me a direct answer??”

He was probably the most patient person in the world, and deep down she really did appreciate that.

“It is nothing more than the fact that your connection to your power has widened,” he informed her. “To 'bottle it up' takes more time and focus now. When you do though, I'll warn you now, you're going to feel like a mortal.”

She scoffed. “I've always felt like a mortal.”

He smirked. “On the contrary, you probably never have.”

As they debated her sense of mortality, time slipped on, and Kagome was relieved of him for the quickly dawned night. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so soundly.

In the long run, Kagome supposed that her twenty four hours of 'let's have fun tempting death' was worth it, because she was able to face ten demons and beat them without changing her stance. Accomplishing as much, however, took a lot of time and many soldiers to practice on. Some men were actually coming regularly to watch her, and began to place bets.

“Alright,” Sheng smirked, checking in passing the vitality of a fallen man with his toe as he approached, “I suppose no matter how many times I tell them to kill you they simply can't.”

Kagome felt like her ego was just pet, and it made her want to blush and make a stupid smirk.

“So, I'm doubling the number.”

She blinked, momentarily scared. Then she got cocky. “Alright, bring them on!”

Five days of this went by, and by the end of it Kagome was feeling very good about herself. Surprisingly, demons respected anyone who could beat them and not rub it in their face, especially if it happened to be a female miko. She got along well with most of them, and was invited to hang out on several occasions. It seemed that only the really old demons who had many encounters before her were truly prejudice of 'her kind', but she could live with that. On the evening of her sixth day being there, Sheng steered her aside to have a conversation.

“You're what?” she asked.

“I'm leaving,” he repeated. “I have to visit Lord Sesshomaru beforehand though, and will stay at the main o-shiro for approximately a month securing matters in the council, but I am returning to China afterwards and will not come to Japan for a long time.”

Something rang like a bell in Kagome's head. He was going to visit Sesshomaru. She could tag along, yes?

“No.”

“Why not?!” she whined.

He smirked, ever patient. “Because my reputation would be destroyed.”

... Good point... She supposed that bringing a well trained human miko to your demon boss' place was a bad thing.

“I have, however, made arrangements...”

She wanted to hug him. Out in the yard they just walked to was a two headed dragon who he said went by the name of Ah-Un, and it apparently always knew where the main o-shiro was.

“He's been here for a while,” Sheng told her. “Mostly for the type of winter vegetation we sport in the garden; the female servants hate him annually eating their work. Anyway, I'll just assume you know how to will a demon to be your friend and coincidentally end up at a certain place in, say, two days...”

She hugged him, and he actually hugged her back for a moment.

They both left the regiment that evening, Sheng staying upwind from Kagome while she lead Ah-Un by his reins and a week's worth of radishes.

“I can't believe you took a bath,” Kagome teased the old demon. “At least you'll smell pretty.”

“Well, can't really give anyone reason to believe you and I met,” Sheng explained sheepishly, minding his distance from her.

“Yeah, despite all the soldiers and servants knowing?” Kagome asked.

Sheng waved it off. “They may gossip, but word won't travel too quickly from a regiment to the castle. Seems unfathomable, but those two don't have a strong social connection.”

“... Why wouldn't they?” she asked.

Sheng smirked. “Because I would happen to be it.”

They both had a laugh at that. Alright, so his secret was safe for now. She was busy asking him questions on location and timing when something shifted in her head with a resonating 'thunk'.

“Hey, Sheng?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you do all of this for me?” she asked. She had wondered this for a long time now. Really, why? Certainly she wasn't so likable that he'd risk a few things for her sake. He even trained her, though he said that if that came up he did order the soldiers to kill her, not be practice dummies of any sort.

He smiled at nothing, the snow glimmering in the fields under the nearly full moon. “Sometimes, things are just meant to be.”

“... Um, that sounded important, but what?”

He chuckled. “Never you mind. Just stay alive for a while, make camp, do whatever, then in a couple of days tell Ah-Un where you want to go and he'll take you there, alright?”

He left shortly after that, and Kagome pet two muzzles wanting attention.

“Hey Ah-Un,” she said to him conversationally, “want to surprise a little girl and get her scent all over us?”

Kagome was betting that Sango would be more than shocked that the chat had lasted so long and she survived it...

“You're back already??”

“Not what I was expecting,” Kagome admitted, confronted with a puzzled slayer, an annoyed hanyou, an indifferent monk and children. Also, there was a new face which she hadn't seen for so very long.

“KAAAGOOOMEEE!!”

Needless to say, Kagome's torso was bombarded so sufficiently that she went falling backwards into the snow.

“I've missed you so much!!” Shippo sobbed. Kagome was at once delighted and astonished. And boy, had he grown!!

“Look at you!” she laughed, holding him up around his torso. “What a strapping young man you're becoming!”

Shippo offered her a toothy grin. His clothes had changed, save for his fur vest which seemed to grow with him. She couldn't hold him suspended at arm's length for ever, so Kagome gave him a bear hug and shared her loving coos of happiness to see him again.

Then her bottom got soaked in the snow bank, and she carried him inside so she could thaw. He was too big to allow on one shoulder, so she held him on her hip until he wanted down.

“So, what happened?” Inuyasha asked as Kagome watched Shippo run about with Rin and the twins around Ah-Un, who seemed to delight in it.

“Hm?” she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder. “When?”

His gaze leveled at her. “When you were kidnapped by that other inu...”

“Oh!” she yelled, remembering. “Yeah! Wow, it's been a while... Right, his name's Sheng. He's a pretty cool guy! His age lies.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha scoffed halfheartedly. “You might as well have not left me worried about you for a week then.”

Kagome felt her lips curl in a cute and evil fashion. “Awwww.... Inuyasha was worried about me!”

His ears went flat against his head in a scared and affronted manner, then shot straight forward defiantly. “Keh! Did not!”

“Is that the best you can come up with?” she taunted.

He was silent, so she smiled and gave him a quick head drill with her knuckles. He always hated those, despite how rarely she did them, but they were fun and he knew it. After a few more minutes Kagome decided to show the kids how to build snowmen, and poor Rin tried to make a snow-Ah-Un. She did a mini version instead, picked it up, showed it to the dragon, and one of its heads took a bite out of it.

After two days, Kagome said her goodbyes, still promising to make it to the twin's birthdays, and mounted Ah-Un. It broke her heart how badly Rin wanted to come, but she made a really dumb promise in exchange that she not feel too bad about remaining behind. Kagome promised that Sesshomaru would visit her within a month, and how she was going to accomplish that if he wasn't willing was way beyond her. No one, save for Rin and Sango, knew where Kagome was going. But, even if everyone did, they wouldn't be able to stop her let alone even try to. Well, Inuyasha might have...

Ah-Un was told to go home, and with Kagome's backpack secured behind the saddle with her bow slung safely over it he leaped into the air. He was a lot more bulky and blundering than Kirara, but in exchange for the odd start he was a smooth flier all the way through, not needing to move his legs at all.

It was over an hour of one anxiety attack after another as Kagome searched for some grand establishment to reveal itself from the horizon. She'd get excited that a grove or a cloud shadow was it gray shape, but it never was and she had to tell herself to stop getting frantic like that. As time went on, Ah-Un suddenly began to accelerate and rise into the air for what appeared to be a wispy cloud. Kagome panicked, and leaned forward to grab one of his necks.

It got colder the higher they went, and by the time Kagome breathed again out of necessity she could actually taste the lack of oxygen. She wondered if the dragon knew what he was doing, but Sheng told her to trust it so she did.

They dove into the cloud, and feeling a particular charge in the air Kagome examined how secure her sword was on her left hip before focusing ahead. She could feel a barrier, and was still wondering where it was when it smacked the whole front of her body. Despite how good she usually was with barriers, this one proved to be as annoyingly painful as rolling around in a pool of needles. When they passed through the first things to greet them were arrows.

Ah-Un dodged with minimal effort, since his scales were like armor. He simply didn't enjoy being shot at, so he avoided the pointy sticks.

Kagome quickly lifted her arms to protect herself, and she suddenly felt like she was pressurized when a shield puffed from her to envelop even Ah-Un.

There were stairs nearby, so Kagome jumped down with only her sword and trusted that Ah-Un would stick around so she could get her bag later.

There were thirty demons in the rows flanking those steps, and many more beyond them out of sight. Kagome was illogically elated though, because she could feel Sheng's energy clearly somewhere uphill and far away, and next to it she could distinguish Sesshomaru's.

A/N: Is anyone starry-eyed yet? By the way, I'm having a great time laughing about this cliffy, in case you're wondering. My sides actually hurt.

Something else I wanted to state, some reviews are becoming really hard to reply to and I'm going to stop responding to those in particular. I know that was really short and abrupt, but compared to what I had written earlier, trust me, shorter is better. :D