InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midwinter Dream ❯ How Dare You ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: Well, I have nothing to say yet. XD Except for, bear with me. :3

 

Chapter 6

 

How Dare You

 

Although Kagome was delighted by her proximity to the demon lord whose ass she sought to beat, there were still more arrows flying at her all too happily.

 

“What IS it with men's 'shoot now, ask questions later' mentalities?!” she demanded, reaching her energy out to seize the bows and snap them in half. She then proceeded to book it up the stairs for all that she was wroth, because now the soldiers were resorting to heavy, long-ranged halberds with pretty gut-grabbing moon blades at one end and a spear at the other.

 

She swore that there was a path or arrows embedded in the stairs as she ran and leaped away from the danger, the sounds of heavy footsteps echoing behind. She just needed to get to flat ground. Flat ground was good, because then she could see everyone on the same horizontal plane as herself.

 

Well, when she reached the top, the thing which greeted her was indeed not a flat plane... It was an irregular sea of observing helmets.

 

“Oh, kami...” she gasped. Come on people, she just raced up about two flights of stairs dodging arrows and pikes!!

 

They really didn't seem to pity her though, because once the curiosity was over with the weapons were lifted.

 

“You guys made the first move!” she informed them, feeling her powers boil from her being and enshroud her. Although it was a lot, like one would expect flames would be from someone dunked in gasoline first, Kagome had full control over the white mist of energy. The best part of that, was that the demons knew she did, and the rear lines took a step back while the forward lines attacked.

 

Kagome's senses sharpened. Slightly, but they did. She could hear the sounds of various sharpened tips as they came screaming through the air, slitting the throat of space to greedily impale her. They were ten feet away, eight, six, four, two... They didn't get past two though.

 

Kagome felt quite smug to see everyone's faces as their weapons of choice embedded her personal barrier ever so slightly, then stick there.

 

“Pretty cool, isn't it?” she asked them all with a grin, polished wood and glinting steel sticking out in various places. Within the two foot range, she had full control over any objects not already in possession of someone else. Any further and she'd have to truly concentrate on depriving them of an assault tactic.

 

That's alright though, their attempt in making her a pin cushion in fact turned her into quite the thorned sea urchin, and like a good sea urchin she bore a great poison.

 

Kagome breathed out steadily, trying to not cut off her concentration on the steadfast barrier as her energy reached out over the levitating arms and made them into glowing extensions of herself. The demons actually stepped away, quite possibly not knowing what to do with her. They were indeed trained soldiers, but none of them were strong enough to send out an energy attack to disrupt her focus. To do that would be far too much like Sheng suppressing her powers with his own.

 

Well, one brave volunteer drew his sword and stepped out of the peanut gallery. He paused when Kagome held her hands before herself, holding the north and south poles of an imaginary ball, and pretending to spin it. It wasn't the ball or the air which spun in her hands, it was her demon-friendly shield.

 

The poor fool tried to take a step closer though and he ended up getting his sword captured. She added it to the barrier after pommeling his gut with the hilt.

 

This all took roughly fifteen seconds, which was a decent amount of time before quite a few higher class demons decided to come out and see what the trouble was.

 

She felt, almost like she was addicted to the sensation of his power, every step Sesshomaru took. Glancing to the side, a rice paper door slid open, almost slowly, and it took her breath away.

 

She saw him.

 

He was there, and her heart felt like it had grown little wings so as to flutter over to him. She broke said wings with a gulp and remembered that she was in a brilliant bad mood when he was concerned.

 

The demon lord seemed rather mad too, because he glared at Kagome and- Left?! He went right back through the door! And the bastard shut it, too!! Sheng followed him, along with the two women who were in the background of the room.

 

Oh. He was ignoring her, was he? Like hell... How dare he upset a pissed off miko?!

 

She took in an almost painful breath, and let it out with a glorious word.

 

“SESSHY!!!!” she bellowed across the jammed pack courtyard at the door, storming angrily closer as the guards parted from her glowing, spinning, sea urchin globe of death. “You are SUCH an IMMATURE, REGAL PRICK!! GET out here and FIGHT me, or I SWEAR, I'll purify this WHOLE place with you IN IT!!”

 

Everyone could tell that she got his attention... The roof nearly blew off. Despite his very obvious anger though he came out at a walk, the door suffering quite a bit as it was persuaded open, and even more demons parted way to avoid being fried by his roiling aura.

 

Oh yes. A bad day for soldiers would be their lord and a miko both lit like a match over dynamite.

 

“About damn time!” Kagome yelled, sounding braver than she felt as she came to a stop in the middle of the court yard. Kami, his eyes were red... For a minute anyway.

 

...

 

She was GOOD... It was nice to know she could tweak any possible good mood of his almost effortlessly.

 

The two women who were with Sesshomaru and Sheng decided to watch from the sidelines, expressions revealing their expectations of entertainment.

 

“You should consider yourself lucky to still be alive, miko,” he informed her. Oh, man, she was going to have fun. Even if she died, at least she'd die laughing at him. She had not only Sesshomaru, but a crowd which obeyed him to work over now. “You may turn and leave now, and that is your only warning.”

 

She laughed, random weapons still spinning about herself in an orb. “I could say the same to you, Sesshy.” Oh, his eyes narrowed. He was pissed. Good. “It's not every day you have such an angry miko at your doorstep, I presume?”

 

For some reason his features softened. Slightly. VERY slightly, but they did. Then they got twice as hard.

 

“I'll take that as a 'no' then,” she continued, withdrawing Tenseiga and chucking it at him. He caught it as she raised her own sword. “Sesshy, this Kagome challenges you to a fight.”

 

The soldiers began to discretely back off, some tripping over their own feet.

 

“To the death?” he offered, their fighting ring widening exponentially when he tucked the sheath into his sash and drew Tenseiga.

 

“Sure,” she agree. “Why not. I'd never hear the end of things when I beat you anyway.”

 

He smirked, and she suppressed a shiver. Damn him... There was an out of place giggle in the silence, and Kagome glanced to see the young, white haired inu demoness chuckling behind her hand. She looked like the right sort to be Sesshomaru's mom. She was talking with Sheng and the other old demoness. The elders bore smiles as they- They were staring at her?? And laughing?

 

“Oh beat it!” she yelled at them, wondering how Sheng would react to her indifference to him. The outburst made the older demons smile all the wider as their eyebrows rose, Sheng appearing smug for some reason. The younger simply scowled.

 

“Nice pick, Sesshy,” Sheng laughed with a hand cupped to the side of his mouth for emphasis, and the women couldn't hold in the belly laughs anymore. “She's simply divine!”

 

Pick? Kagome was a pick? Of what?? Mikos to make angry?

 

Sesshomaru was infuriate... Sheng was a good man, but Kagome felt like there was a hidden joke behind this. It even had some of the soldiers ready to burst with suppressed laughter. This was confusing, but Kagome was happy to have been helped in sheering another layer off of Sesshomaru's sense of pride. If she survived this, she was going to hug that old man.

 

Tenseiga pulsed in Sesshomaru's hand, which Kagome could sense familiarly now. She realized they were both just standing there.

 

“I know you're emotionally a block of ice, but this won't be much of a fight if you're one physically, too!”

 

So it started. It must have been the first fight to ever start with laughing onlookers.

 

Kagome's spiritual ball was shattered when Sesshomaru's energy ate away at hers, and she instantly blocked the blade. But, the fist was unexpected... There were white specks in her vision, and she landed against something firm which gave way. When she blinked, the once levitating weapons still clattering to the ground, she found that she was laying across two soldiers and rolling away as Sesshomaru tried to skin her alive, whether or not his troops were in the way.

 

“You know,” she commented, standing and rubbing her jaw as she was poised ten feet away from him. There was a coppery taste in her mouth, and she spat some blood. “That was pretty good for a lord...”

 

There was silence as he lifted Tenseiga for the next bought. Kagome took her right hand from the blade and decided to make it into a spiritual fist. “Let's see how well I fare!”

 

This time she blocked three sword strikes before going down, but she used the fall to her advantage. She caught herself easily, since Keiji had her rolling quite a few times in the last few years, and instead of following the momentum to sit onto her heels she lunged to the side and leaped back at him with sword ready. Sesshomaru had to make a quick ninety degree turn to block it, and swinging his balde out under hers he made her stagger away. He had tried to make her blade fly up and over her head, but that would have left her torso wide open and she almost strained her muscles keeping the sword down. Okay, she had to admit, he was stronger than her.

 

She realized how close she was to Sheng and the gang when she heard voices above and behind herself.

 

“-quite the feisty thing though, isn't she?”

 

“His 'preferences' must be hereditary.”

 

She dodged when Sesshomaru tried to lop off her head.

 

“Be gentle, Sesshomaru,” the younger of the trio almost ordered when he followed Kagome's retreat. “If you do not want her, then I do!”

 

... What?? “Like hell if I'd ever be the pet of a dog!” Kagome informed the woman, trying desperately to not allow her sword to be embedded into her stomach by the pressure of his. She needed to boost her arm strength to get him off, and when Tenseiga swept to the left side was when she found an opening.

 

It felt REALLY good to make him stagger back two steps with a solid spiritual punch. It left a hole in his clothes over her sternum, and it was smoking.

 

“I hope you bruise!” she yelled her best wishes to him.

 

She was always one to get her mind out of battle for a good insult...

 

There was a sickening crack which she was sure many others heard as the breath was knock out of her. Sesshomaru moved too fast for her to calculate, and had punched her straight in the sternum. He caught her before she could go flying though, his strong arm holding her up under her shoulder blades, and with a straight face he brought the butt of Tenseiga straight down onto the right half of her collar bone.

 

Her sword clattered to the ground.

 

...

 

Ow...

 

Ow.

 

Ow!

 

OW!!

 

She couldn't breathe, and every time she tried a horrible pain pulsed like an outfit of needles throughout her body, starting at the bone he had broken. If someone took a picture, she'd look like quite the heart stolen maiden as she gapped up at him, leaning back into his grip.

 

If only she didn't know he would block a kick between the legs, because she would have tried it.

 

What kept her knees firm was that damned smirk of his, his face a mere foot away. She tried demanding that her arm function. And, it did!

 

“You insufferable asshole!!” she hollered as she lunged at him painfully and wrapped her glowing fingers around his neck. His eyes widened fractionally before narrowing to deadly slits. “Why the hell did you do that, you fucking cheat!!”

 

She felt like her skin was going to rip open so that the bone could go hopping away. It couldn't do that though, because he grabbed the injured bone and it all went downhill from there. Oh kami... It hurt so bad! All he had to do was touch it and her vision went black! By the time she blinked it away she realized she had tears in her eyes and someone was helping her sit up as she sat on the ground.

 

“Oh, control yourself!” the Sheng yelled as he held Sesshomaru back, which actually required quite a bit of energy to do. Kagome was too delirious from the pain to feel accomplished in burning her hand prints into Sesshomaru's neck and making his eyes a pretty shade of red again. Whatever dignity or composure Sesshomaru could possibly desire was evidently on vacation at the moment. He looked like an attack dog on the end of a leash, and she was the meat.

 

That made her giggle at him. What a dog...

 

Gentle fingers touched the oddly shaped and swelling skin around her broken bone and she let out a yelled and slapped it. She noted that she was being held up by a demoness...

 

“Let me go so I can finish what I started!” she yelled, trying to get back to her feet, her energy coursing violently through her in response to Sesshomaru's. Yeah, right, she could still take him. So long as he'd fall with her breathing on him, she'd definitely win! That wasn't the point though.

 

“You may finish, if you so choose, when you heal,” the elder demoness replied smoothly, easily holding her down to Kagome's displeasure. The elder turned to the crowd. “The miko has declared this an unfair fight! I validate the accusation and its resumption in one lunar cycle!”

 

“I second it!” Sheng concurred, still holding Sesshomaru's arms back. Sesshomaru was so shocked by this sudden news that his eyes melted back down to golden orbs and he blinked with genuine surprise.

 

“Ridiculous!” he actually yelled, yanking himself from the old man's grip. He wouldn't have succeeded in doing that if Sheng hadn't willingly let go.

 

“I agree to the terms,” the younger demoness stated calmly. “One month shall be alloted, for your damage to be undone.”

 

“I'll heal in half the time!” Kagome protested. She didn't want to be stuck there. Not even for two weeks.

 

“We can have her healed in an hour,” Sesshomaru stated angrily. “And such an attack was not out of the fight agreement.”

 

“No help is to be given to combatants in that time frame,” the elder woman informed, gesturing for two nearby guards to come over. “And you forget, Sesshomaru, the our laws which overrule any qualm you may have with this miko.”

 

“Touch me, and I'll purify you!” Kagome yelled at the soldiers who bent to help her up. She swore she must have looked something like an injured cat who just crawled out of a stream and was none too pleased about it.

 

“And when was the rule of no assistance given to an opponent in a fight to the death established?” Sesshomaru demanded.

 

“Oh, now, actually,” the old man supplied, smirking. “And since we happen to be talking about it, I vote 'yes' to its staying.”

 

The older woman nodded. Kagome had never seen Sesshomaru so aggravated before. It was... positively delightful.

 

Despite Kagome's sincerest threats she was carried off to a room where servants were just finishing with making the bed, the incense smoke curling irregularly in a corner as the sheets parachuted down to be tucked in. Despite herself, laying down was a very good thing, so Kagome allowed being settled onto her back; she refused to utter any noise, but inside her head she was simply screaming. She was sweating over the pain of being moved all the way across that damnably huge o-shiro to that room, but when it subsided to an everlasting migraine isolated to the far reaches of her brain Kagome was left with nothing to do but realize how tired she was...

 

There was a knock, and her eyes opened to see that it was nighttime. She went to sit up, but surrendered herself to the mattress when a numbing agony reminded her of her condition.

 

“Who is it!” she yelled, blinking as the fact that she was in another strange place entered her mind. She was very good and winding up in the most unlikely of situations.

 

The door slid open, revealing both Sheng and one of two guards on duty outside.

 

“I see you are awake, young miko,” he commented unfamiliarly.

 

Kagome was in no mood to smile over seeing the kooky old demon again, since the overruling expression was a wince, but played along. “Listen, demon, it's rather unethical to kill a woman while she's down. And my name is Kagome, please use it more than once to prove to me that your memory lasts...”

 

He smirked, but resisted a chuckle. He did, after all, have to put up the image that they had no idea who one another were and had no friendly connections of any sort. A different guard stepped into the room and remained by the door. Kagome felt like the guard was there to monitor things, not entirely to protect. Sheng could handle himself, after all...

 

“Memory does not fade with time for demons as it does for humans, Lady Kagome,” Sheng stated smoothly, completely indifferent to her. That's alright, she could be indifferent back. Especially since he called her a 'lady'. She hated it when Miroku called her that when they first met. She glanced at the old demon from the corner of her eye. It even hurt to try and move her head to the side. That damn dog... She hoped those burns stayed in his neck... “You will know me by the title Lord Sheng. To continue, by the laws of the fight into which you so boldly blundered into,” he smirked while she frowned, though inside she was giggling; he was making fun of her, and he knew it, “you will remain at this o-shiro for a complete lunar cycle before returned to the fight, should both you and the Lord Sesshomaru choose to continue it. To back out from a fight to the death means to hand your life over to your opponent, so they may decide how to execute it.”

 

... Execute...? Huh... That was a far more scary concept when you weren't hyped up on fighting...

 

Sheng continued before she could ask anything though. “In accordance to your retainment, you are strictly forbidden to engage in another fight to the death, and are restrained from using your powers unless it is in an effort to remain alive for your delayed duel. However, if you should take another life within this month, your own will be taken in compensation. Is that understood?”

 

Kagome had to admit, this was far more complex than she ever imagined it could be. So, like a good confused human, she gave a somewhat confused but agreeing 'u-huh'.

 

“Good,” he began anew. “Furthermore, these are your quarters for the remainder of your time here. You will be watched and cared for. Food, care, and adequate clothing will be provided for your stay.” He snapped his fingers, and two young inu women came meekly in from the hall. “These will be your caretakers, Jia and Bai.”

 

Kagome watched as their heads nodded to their respected titles. Jia was the younger, looking to be about sixteen in age, and had sheer black hair which was braided back and decorated with tiny flowers. Kagome swore, if that demon ran anywhere her heels would kick up the end of her tied hair. Bai was actually quite older, and for a demon had pepper speckled hair. She was younger than Sheng, since he had deeper wrinkles and fully gray hair, but Kagome saw a look in the servant's eye that screamed 'I'm a serious bitch, no fun and games'. It seemed like quite the odd couple of watch dogs for her...

 

“Should you need anything, ask it of them,” Sheng finished. “We of the council will be sure to check up on you from time to time, so do not attempt making a complex sutra or barrier. Trust me, it will be sensed.”

 

Kagome gave another hum, and with a short but warm smile Sheng returned to a serious veteran face and left.

 

“Um!” Kagome began, wishing to smack herself when the three eyes-and-ears known as guards and servants seemed to perk for details. Sheng stopped, but didn't face her. “Thanks, I guess, for explaining all that...”

 

He heard it, but didn't act like he did. He didn't even nod before continuing on his way, and she felt very alone when that door shut.

 

The women, Jia and Bai, were alright. Jia was a potential delight, if you removed her tendency to inch away from any spiritual being who glanced at her, and Bai... Well...

 

“What is that wretched smelling 'food' you're eating?”

 

Kagome looked up from her little baggy of dried fruits. She was glad to have never dipped into her stores of consumable goodies, because now she had something to eat and she was guaranteed that it wasn't poisoned. Besides, her right arm felt too out of commission to use chopsticks, especially since her handmaids had forced it into a makeshift sling.

 

“It's called banana slices,” Kagome replied, forcing the scowl from her features. What a bitter hag... “Would you like to try some?”

 

Bai wrinkled her apparently sensitive nose at the proffered fruit slice and looked away. Like Kagome, those women were somewhat imprisoned. They were more like cell maids rather than attendants, and the two guards outside kept a good watch on the room.

 

After another hour of being watched, Kagome was ready to put aside her book and try to fix this.

 

“Jia, would you mind asking someone for sake and tea for five?”

 

Bai scoffed. “Quite the combination...”

 

Kagome half rolled her eyes with a lazy huff. “Yeah, well, it's nice to have a variety for more than one person.”

 

In ten minutes, an unfamiliar female shuffled past the door, placed the tray with drinks and stacked cups on the low table, and left without a word.

 

Kagome labored to her feet, pulling at her very fractured bone with the most innocent of movements. She finally made it to the sliding door though.

 

“Hey!” she greeted out the bedroom with a smile to the guards. She could feel her hair settle from a gentle swing with her enthusiastic visit, and still the guards paid her no heed. She refused to be discouraged though. “If you want to keep a better watch on me, there's some sake and tea in here which you're more than welcome to.”

 

They ignored her.

 

“Not that I'm encouraging you to get drunk, I think it takes a lot to make demons drunk... And if anything, I'll be the one to get poisoned. ... I know how boring it is to just stay in one spot doing something mundane, so, if you want a break, you can glare at me over a cup of drink, alright?”

 

Well, one of them glanced at her, and she offered a smile before closing the door most of the way. She left it gapped, sort of like an open invitation.

 

“I refuse to touch it,” Bai informed when Kagome nudged some tea towards her. It was hard to pour the stuff with your unfamiliar hand without spilling, then nudging it. Surprisingly enough, some gestures with her left arm strained her fracture, and she was getting quite angry with the jerk who caused it. “Knowing you, you have some miko trick up your sleeve.”

 

Kagome laughed at the old woman, which was short lived until further healing was done. Sometimes, age certainly did not guarantee wisdom. Jia seemed to be enjoying herself though, sipping at some tea nervously. The poor thing actually flinched when Kagome laughed.

 

“You know, I wasn't trained to be a miko,” she began conversationally, thinking of ways to relieve the strain of sitting upright. Oye. She knew that she'd be hard pressed to ever get these demons to trust her, but she had to start somewhere. “And you're more than welcome to think I'm full of shit. I honestly don't care, because that's your call, not mine. Anyway, my powers didn't come to me naturally. My life had to be threatened several times to awaken them and get them to the level they're at now.” She poured herself another cup of tea, thinking herself lucky now that they can sense a lie. “Come to think of it, I was never really even trained by any spiritual person. All of my important training came from demons.”

 

THAT caught some attention.

 

“Really?” Jia asked, fingers shifting around her drink as her sunny yellow eyes glanced nervously up at Kagome. She had a very soft voice, like a child's whisper. It was the first time Kagome had heard her talk.

 

“Yep!” she replied. “Which is really odd. I mean, you all hate me because I'm a miko, so that's a given, and I don't stand too well with 'my kind' because I just don't fit in. It's really annoying... Heh, I even went through that twenty-four hour session of pain that demons experience, so that sucked.”

 

Jia gave a very small smile behind her cup, hiding it from Bai. “You must be strong, then.”

 

Bai gave the younger servant a glare.

 

Kagome shrugged, then noted to not do that again. “I don't really know yet. I'm still learning.” She finished off her second cup of tea, and decided to scoot back two feet to lean against the wall. Even though she was still upright, it shifted her weight to a more comfortable angle. “In fact, the only time I'm able to use a lot of power at once so far is when I'm either angry or scared, and trust me, that's annoying.”

 

Jia looked uncertainly at Bai, but decided to ask anyway. “You are angry with the Lord?”

 

“Jia,” Bai scolded.

 

“Oh, can it,” Kagome snapped at Bai.

 

The old woman looked affronted, as she should. She probably didn't even know what that term meant, but the message behind it was obvious.

 

“You know what?” Kagome began anew, “if you hate me that much, then you're more than welcome to leave this room and never come back. And don't give me that look, I don't care what the lords or ladies here said, Lord Sheng stated directly that you were here to serve me for a full month. Thusly, it's my right to do us both a favor by dismissing you immediately.”

 

Even the two guards glanced into the room when they heard that. Yeah, Kagome was disrespectful, but dear kami the line had to be drawn sometime!

 

“Well, just to let you know,” Bai began snootily, “whatever you say doesn't affect my doings. My orders come straight from my Lady, and not from some dirt-value miko who thinks she can waltz in here and take over things.”

 

... Alright, despite the pain, Kagome laughed at her again. It was an angry laugh though.

 

“Oh...” she finally sighed, deciding to scoot forward and pour another cup. “You have no backbone, Bai.”

 

That was, evidently, a great insult to inus. Bai stiffened her spine, pursed her lips, then stood and stormed out. The guards had to quickly resume their positions to avoid being knocked aside by the elder bitch.

 

Kagome giggled. “Hey, Jia, mind helping me?”

 

Kagome, with great difficulty, moved her end of the table so that the furniture corner was halfway in front of the sliding door.

 

“Alright,” Kagome sighed, pouring two more cups of steaming herbal tea and nudging them to the side for the guards. “In case you're interested. Now, to answer your question Jia, I am actually quite bad at your lord.”

 

She finished off her cup, and it was so obvious how the guards ears twitched. Yeah, go ahead, spread this news like wildfire. It would only do Kagome good, if she phrased it correctly.

 

“I mean, almost two weeks ago, that ass decides to suddenly appear to give his greetings or whatever he had in mind, got mad at me, and then he wouldn't even face me in person.”

 

Jia smiled weakly, shifting a little. “He is a lord, miss miko.”

 

“Please, just call me Kagome. No formality, I insist.”

 

Jia nodded.

 

“And furthermore,” Kagome went on to defend herself. “The only reason that pompous ass is a lord is because of his birth right, and to me that means nothing. Just because you're born into royalty doesn't mean you have what it takes.” Oh, yes, that was a blow. The guard Kagome could see shifted his feet. “Aside from that, I also don't care if he's a lord. You know why? Because I'm not the dirt under his feet, and I'm not to be taken for granted like that. If he plans on trying it, then he should plan on suffering the consequences as well. That's the problem with men, they think women are nothing so long as they say 'yes' to anything they want. The issue here is that your Lord Sesshy is having a hard time swallowing the fact that I'm not like other women, and his stubbornness isn't going to change that any time soon.” She loved to bitch about him... “Besides, if he went all that way just to talk to me about something, then he should have had the balls to do so by the time he got there. He's wasted too much of my time, making me track him down to give back that sword, for me to be happy about things.”

 

To say the least, Jia was red in the face and looking like she really wanted to agree, but would be killed if she did. So thusly, she remained silent, and shifted a lot. Kagome continued talking for a few more minutes, and was quite happy when a guard discretely bent down to drink some tea in one swallow and return the cup to the table. Kagome had asked if he wanted more, but since he was silent she decided to take that for a 'no'. He would have to learn to speak to her like she existed before she gave him anything he didn't want.

 

As time flew, Kagome eventually dismissed herself to the bed, not really sure what the demons would do while she slept. Would they stay there? Switch shifts with someone? Simply leave? She wondered as much, then her mind spun off onto unrealistic scenarios of what would happen when she awoke, or if she awoke.

 

Turned out, she woke because of how cold it felt in the room, then her eyes opened with a start when the blankets were yanked away and something hit her with a slosh.

 

“Ah!!” she cried out as the sensation of jabbing needles hit her. She sat up so quickly that she felt her broken bones grind, and through her wince she looked to see Bai with an bucket. Kagome had been drenched in winter cold water, now pooled around her waist and quickly numbing her skin. She realized this and scrambled off the bed, limbs shaking from the shock and sudden adrenaline rush as her muscles flexed spasmodically. “What was that for?!”

 

Bai looked rather smug. “It is time to wake up,” she informed helpfully.

 

Kagome had probably gotten four hours of sleep, and the sky was still pitch black. The only reason she could see the sky though was because someone had thrown open the doors to the outside, and she could see the snow raining down and blowing in with the cold wind. The temperature had dropped to extremely low with the blizzard, and being near mount Fuji's peak for it was a horrible combination.

 

Kagome was so cold that her entire body shook, and despite how much she wanted to kick the woman's ass she could only manage to hug herself as best she could and sit against the wall, huddling in on herself tightly. The water had been splashed from the top of her head to her groin, and the cold was seeping freely towards her organs. She was drenched, and the room was freezing, and she didn't know when the sun would be up. All of this spelled 'disaster' in bold letters, especially since there was no such thing as a hospital and flu vaccines in the past.

 

“Mind your manners next time, miko,” Bai stated. She walked for the door, and it opened with an urgent clatter before she reached it.

 

Kagome's ears were ringing now as water dripped from her clothes, but she could definitely hear the bucket drop and a sound slap. Someone hit the ground as her teeth began to chatter, her skin feeling like it was ripping in hundreds of places as her muscles clenched instinctively. She couldn't believe the shock her body was going through because of this, and her injury felt like it was glass and slowly cracking further to the breaking point. It made her wince and clench her jaw tight enough to still her teeth and make them grind as they shifted fully shut.

 

She yelled out in pain when she was suddenly jostled, and her eyes opened when she was lifted to her feet. Something, that really annoying something deep down inside, wanted to see that Sesshomaru had lifted her.

 

“Are you alright?” Sheng asked, actually seeming worried. Kagome would have responded, but was too shocked by him quickly disrobing her.

 

“What are you doing?!” she demanded, trying to clutch her icy wet fabrics to herself to remain covered. She tried her best with her left arm alone, because her fight now hung at her side sorely.

 

“No need to die over decency,” he jested, not phased at all by her future lack of coverage as her white haori flopped like a dead fish to the ground. It didn't even land before he was undoing the ties of her hakama with a practiced hand. “You need to take the wet clothes off, they're seeping your body heat.”

 

That was obvious, now that she actually thought about it. Although she hated every aspect of it, she allowed him to peel the freezing fabrics from her bumpy skin, and once she stood naked before him he quickly took the blanket which had been ripped away from her earlier and swung it around her quaking form. She barely had time to clutch it firmly around her self, feeling warmer already, before he bent oddly and easily lifted her off her feet and into his arms.

 

He turned for the door, walking away with her, and she noted that even his armor felt warm against her, and she curled against his torso as though to seep the heat into herself. For some reason, she felt extremely embarrassed, nearly to the point of vomiting. As he neared the exit, she noted the glare he directed at the woman who was still holding her cheek on the floor.

 

“Bai, resign yourself to your room until I personally come for you,” he ordered. Oh yes, that maid was in deep shit now. Despite herself, Kagome was glad that Sheng was not indifferent to the point that he didn't care...

 

The air outside her room and further into the o-shiro was warmer, proving how long her doors and windows had been open, and when Sheng turned on his heel towards some unknown destination Kagome saw something scary over his shoulder.

 

She saw Sesshomaru, who was taking in the events on a visual alone. What was scary though was how not a trace of anger was on his face. In fact, he looked at her in a softer manner, and it made her heart feel like it was ripping in two.

 

She couldn't look at him anymore, and so buried her face against Sheng's neck as he walked briskly further away from the young lord. She didn't care how she looked with her face there, it was the only way to hide herself from that damn demon. Besides, her head had been soaked too, so having warmth against her brow relieved some of her headache.

 

Still, she couldn't help but think that she didn't want to see Sesshomaru because she didn't want to see his expression change to a scowl... She preferred to lie to herself, and think that he could actually be worried about her. She was sure that, sometime later, feeling that way would make her sick with herself, but for now it was an unexpected comfort as Sheng carried her away.

 

A/N: Hm, I loved writing this. It had so many scenes that I barely needed to think about as they wrote themselves... And don't worry, I'll have Kagome and Sesshomaru interact on a non-fighting basis in the next chapter, and it'll be fun.

 

By the way, if some of you don't fine this last scene very believable, then I invite you to stand on top of a mountain in a blizzard and pour winter pond water over your head and stand there. That's basically what happened to Kagome, and yes, I'm cruel.

 

Hehe. Also, I could have updated sooner, but my friend decided to visit again. She pulls rank over writing. :D

 

Please review this chapter and let me know what you think of it! I'll be aiming to update soon!