InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midwinter Dream ❯ Unrelenting ( Chapter 7 )

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

Chapter 7

Unrelenting

Where Sheng had carried Kagome to was the baths. She was absolutely shocked that they really did have tubs, and not the wooden sort either. She couldn't exactly tell what they were made of, but it was a light white color of rock or crystal with yellow veins through it, and it was very smooth to the touch. Sheng had let her down in the steam filled room to make her own way to the bath, turning his back so she could open the blanket and step in without too much embarrassment. The servants had tried to assist her, but she told them she could do it herself, and that took a little bit of proving.

It stung to sink with one arm into the warmth of the water, and she felt her skin pulsating in a rebelling manner until the heat seeped its way into her jittery muscles.

Sheng dismissed the servants, and as they left he asked Kagome if she would answer a personal question.

“Um, yeah,” she replied. “Just a second, I want to dunk my head.”

Under the water, in moments of being quite still while her skin regained feeling, she could hear her heart racing. A personal question? Those were never really good. She came up calm though, wiping the water from her face in an sideways motion, and she smoothed her hair back over her head as she rubbed her scalp dry. It felt good to bathe, her hair was getting to look permanently greased.

“I'd like to know, Kagome, if you really do love Sesshomaru.”

Time froze around his whispered question. That, or reality pulled her out of itself and put her in the spotlight. Now her heart was truly racing, and she felt a deep blush burn itself across her cheeks.

“Um...” she began. She remembered then that Sheng could smell a lie, so she swallowed both her pride and uncertainty and just said what she knew. “Well, I don't know.”

She stared at the back of his head, wishing he'd forget her dignity and reveal his expression. He didn't though.

He sighed deeply enough to make his shoulders rise and fall, sounding disappointed and like he didn't know what to do, and looked to be staring at the swirling mists ahead. There was nothing else for Kagome to say though, so she let the silence drag out as she had a personal conniption fit in her mind.

“That is a good thing,” he finally stated. She was rather shocked to hear that, of all things, and postulated that she had water in her ears. “If you were certain, then you wouldn't be here, would you?”

She blinked, and looked at her hands where they held one another under the water. She was so swept up that she actually overlooked the throbbing of her collar.

“This is going to embarrass you,” he warned, “but everyone here knows you are at least interested in Sesshomaru. It comes off your scent in waves, and is not something anyone can control so do not feel ashamed.”

...

Oh, but she felt more than ashamed. Kami, what was he saying?! This was too horrifying to be real!

“You're lying.”

Even she was shocked by her saying that, and he finally turned to glance at her. She was too scared to care what part of her he saw, and had worse things on her mind than being seen naked by someone she acknowledged as a friend.

“Consider my honesty merciful. It was a fact you needed to know.”

She was absolutely still, and watched as her vision began to shimmer. Blinking made water creep down her cheek, and she rubbed at her eyes. She absolutely hated tears, they always had such horrid timing.

“Another fact you need to know,” he continued, no longer looking at her, “is that everyone has the capacity to love, if given the chance.”

“You're still lying,” she accused, splashing water at her face to try and calm herself. She was slowly losing it though, and her diaphragm began to betray her with hiccups. She hated dogs! “He could never- I mean... Argh! I'm NOT in love with that ass hole! I'd NEVER lower myself to accept that!”

“Oh?” Sheng asked. “Why?”

She shifted, sending ripples to caress the sides of the bath. “Because nothing good would come of my efforts or interests. He's... He hates me, alright? And I hate him, so... It's as simple as that.”

“You believe he hates you...” Sheng repeated.

She punched the surface of the water angrily, making it splash everywhere. Wiping it off her face she let her temper get the better of her. “Of course he hates me! Want me to list off the facts?!”

“Go ahead,” he invited.

“Well, first off, I'm a human miko! That's the worse possible combination ever, and he hates both as a cardinal rule of his character! Next, for all that time he was in the future, we never really even talked. He avoided me like the plague more often than not, and when we did spend time together it was to watch me squirm in 'training'. I've gotten so many headaches and bruises from him, now after four years our fond greeting is me with a broken collar bone! What could possibly rub off of that as attraction?!”

Oh, kami, she wanted to smack everyone, including herself.

Sheng smirked, and glanced about for a servant stool. He brought it over, keeping his eyes closed so Kagome could feel better about her nudity, put it next to the tub and sat with his back to it. He could see her face out of his peripheral, and she had a clear side view of his own. He was... smiling... It unnerved her.

“It is always the observer to catch the flaws,” he commented wistfully, pulling his long hair over his shoulder to avoid it falling into the bath. Why he didn't tie it all up into a top knot was beyond her... “Have you ever wondered why he hasn't killed you?”

She blinked, opened her mouth, shook her head with an open smile of disbelief, and scoffed. “He's certainly tried to! He just thinks I'm always easier to terminate than I really am, that's all.”

“You expect him to make the same mistake twice?” he inquired. “You do realize that he could have killed you in your sleep any time he chose, and that you just walked out of a fight to the death alive, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” she almost spat.

“And about your other observations,” he continued, “you remember he cared for two human children for months on end, correct?”

She sighed, thinking of Rin and Kohaku. “Yeah, but-”

“And that you commented during your life's story that he kept waking you up and bugging you to do something, even if it was just training.” She was quiet, avoiding the connection. “And that while training, he never made you bleed. Every training experience he ever had he left bloody, so he should have done the same to you.”

There was a long silence. “You suggest something ridiculous,” she finally informed him, memories which she kept completely to herself flooding back. The sensation of him drawing her closer and pressing his lips to hers was a memory only she had. It was how many of her dreams began.

Sheng chuckled once. “Well, not when you're an outsider and looking in. In fact, the clashing of your lives is quite interesting. ... Did you ever consider the possibility that he simply could not return to the future in these last years?”

She shifted, not wanting to encourage this conversation by speaking.

“When his scout returned with news of a powerful miko appearing by some unimportant village a while back, Sesshomaru left immediately. Everyone was intrigued when he came back, lacking a sword and a good mood. I asked him about it, but left the next day to check on the regiment. He's apparently been bitter ever since then, and no one has been able to put any pieces together until you showed up yesterday.”

Kagome frowned. She didn't want to hear this, but she couldn't help but feel fascinated by what she heard. “What do you mean, 'until yesterday'?”

He glanced at her, then at the ceiling. “Imagine being clueless as to why the young lord of the castle, who changed four years ago, comes back in such a state, then over a week later a young, beautiful, and very powerful woman appears with his forsaken sword and demands his attentions.”

Kagome felt like the only blood remaining in her was in her cheeks, and she was crying all over again. “You all have it wrong,” she told him, choking on her words slightly as she chose which wall to glare hopelessly at. “You have no idea...”

“Don't I?” he asked. “Apparently, Kagome, the only two people who don't see it are you and him.”

Kagome took a shaky breath. Why? Her whole body was swelling with a sensation of immense hope and desire to see that hope turn into fact. But it was impossible. She had spent four full years telling herself it was, and that wasn't about to change just because someone put things in a different light. She wasn't a fool to chase an idea, or a hope, or some fiscal concept laid in front of her in three minutes. If she were to act or think any differently, she would simply have to see things through herself.

“That's because we know better,” she told him, completely miserable.

“Hm,” he hummed. “Well, I suppose you are the best judge of yourself.” He reached back, and ruffled Kagome's immensely damp hair with his huge hand. “Just mind yourself, alright?”

Kagome nodded, and listened as a low whistle became loud and prominent. Sheng stood and stepped away as a maid rushed back into the room to remove the kettle from the metal stove. Kagome hadn't noticed it being there before, and five more kettles were brimming on the point of boil.

“Here you are, my lady,” the minor demoness offered sweetly, scooping some water from the bath with a bucket and pouring the kettle water slowly in, stirring.

“Miss,” Sheng began, obviously not knowing the woman's name, “be sure to supply Lady Kagome with appropriate attire.”

The maid bowed, and Sheng made to walk away.

“Hey,” Kagome called after him, the warm water swirling around her ankles and slowly spreading around, “thanks, Lord Sheng. I'll try to keep myself alive for the fight from now on.”

And so, like before, he left without even a nod, and Kagome was able to enjoy herself for the most part. She nearly fell asleep on several occasions, and would have if not for the kettles going off every five minutes. Once the tub was steaming the maid dismissed herself, and returned after about ten minutes with two other women, all of them bearing wooden boxes of various sizes. Said boxes were set aside though, since Kagome apparently took precedence.

“Would you lean forward?” one asked, her sleeves tied back with a cord and hair pulled back. Kagome did, and was shocked that the woman reached forward and began massaging her back.

It hurt so good..........

After a few minutes of that, a back support was place above Kagome's buttocks, and it reached just high enough that she could lean back against the padding and pretend she was at the salon. Her long hair was pulled to the other side of the board she was against, and the third woman poured the equivalent of shampoo into the midnight locks and worked it to a froth, wonderful head scratching included as the massaging was continued on Kagome's left arm.

If she had chocolate, this would be paradise. She wondered if Sesshomaru got this treatment whenever he wanted... Lucky bastard.

By the time Kagome's final calf was being worked to a tingling looseness her hair was rinsed for a final time and twisted to a damp dryness before being wrung up and wrapped with a fabric for later treatment. She was asked to stand, and she took the odd towel before the maids could dry her off. Massages were good, but she could rub herself dry just fine.

...

It was very soon decided that no arrogant jerk would ever pass this up, so Kagome, languishing in a reclined position as oils were rubbed into her skin and her hair brushed through and tended almost lovingly, came to the conclusion that Sesshomaru was, indeed, a lucky bastard.

“I can't believe how good you are at this,” Kagome told them, glancing around for the third woman. She was preparing a peculiar balm, and by the time Kagome's body simply tingled with relaxation of the best sort the third servant approached with the mixture. She dipped two fingers into the greenish paste, and very gently smeared it across the broken collar bone.

It felt very hot, and Kagome hissed as it encouraged the blood to flow past her injury. With time though, it cooled, and this part began while the oil finished seeping into her skin.

“Are you ready to dress, Lady Kagome?” the youngest servant asked, still cleaning Kagome's nails while the other two tended to other matters.

“Mm, I suppose,” Kagome replied, her head feeling funny for the hair style she was given. This was far better than sleeping, she felt like it was a splendid dream. Standing up though, she realized she still hurt from Sesshomaru's experimentation with bone flexibility, and that she was indeed in an o-shiro five hundred years in the past.

She was guided to the next room, which was warmed with several braziers and scented with a certain sweet berry odor wafting from a solitary incense holder. In the room were several wooden racks and full length mirrors, one of which had a bubble to the side of it. Some of the racks were laden with rich and heavy fabrics, all being completely white. Kagome soon realized that they planed to dress her in them.

“Oh,” she began, shocked. “No. I couldn't, I'd get them so dirty.”

The maids smirked at her. “Dirtiness is not an issue with these fabrics.”

Kagome didn't believe them, until one took up some utensils and removed a coal from a brazier to press it nonchalantly to the silk embroidered kimono. Kagome actually winced at the sight of the fabrics burning away, and watched as the maid patted them cool. Within five minutes, during which Kagome was stood on a small padded stool and measured, the fabrics had mended themselves and left not even a stitch out of place.

“That's amazing,” she commented, staring in awe. A short and sheer white yukata was brought over, and while feeling guilty about ever wearing something so very expensive Kagome held her left hand back so the fabric could slide more easily up her arms and settle around her shoulders. It was so cold, at first, but quickly warmed to her body heat and settled lightly around her feminine frame. Her right arm had been gently guided through the sleeve, and was being wrapped in a more-fancy-than-need-be sling while the yukata was secured and wrapped into place. Next, she stepped into some pants she didn't know the name of, but it would be a shame to call them hakama. For starters, they were slimmer, and made of the same silk as the yukata, and they went up to within inches of her breasts. The maids tucked the upper garment neatly under the pants before securing them sufficiently over the yukata tie, and then the two remaining kimono were brought forth.

That's right. Two of them. And they were as heavy as they were stunning.

“You're sure my right arm stays here?” she found herself asking when only her left hand was guided through the sleeve, the silk yukata sleeve settling nicely into the larger one of the kimono. Turned out, it was rather nice to have the inner kimono secured with a beautiful obi right under her right arm. She could lean settle it under her breasts, and it would stay there over the obi. Her arm and under fabrics were completely covered by the kimono, and once it settled into place it was quite comfortable. Even the weight of the fabrics didn't bother her collar bone too badly.

Kagome was held in place by her hips as one of the women lifted her foot from the stool to wrap a tabi sock up over her toes, securing the smaller four like a normal sock but isolating the big toe with a stitched slice in the fabric. This was designed so that her feet would slip into the, quite oddly, white zori sandals.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Why white? She wasn't getting married. Was it just her color?? If someone said she was pure and needed to wear white day in and day out, she was going to smack them big time. By the time the second sock was donned, she stepped uncertainly down from the stool and turned to see two maids lifting the final kimono off its rack.

It simply took her breath away. She was going to wear that? It was simply gorgeous. This particular outer kimono, a style long dead in her time, trailed behind its wearer while hugging around the shoulders, open and untied with ignored yet ornate sleeves hanging to the sides.

The who women who finished pulling it over her frame stepped back as the third placed the zori sandals in front of Kagome, and she grew a good inch stepping into them.

She stared down at herself, enamored by the sight of wearing the clothes of royalty. She looked up, smiling until her cheeks hurt, and the three women were smiling warmly in admiration.

“Would you like to see?” the oldest asked delightedly.

Kagome sucked her lips between her teeth, still smiling, and nodded. She just had to see this transformation. She had never dressed like this before, and even on her wedding she would have not looked this nice. So she was left to stand, and the women walked to grab the standing mirrors and set them before her in the half hexagon shape so she could see it all at once.

Her jaw fell in awe, and her free left hand lifted with shock to cover her gapped mouth. She didn't want to sound egotistical, but she had to admit to herself how shockingly different and stunning she looked. He hadn't even noticed before that her hair was made so ornately, most of her ebony locks glimmering over her shoulders as the rest were twisted and looped ornately around matching ivory combs.

She smiled at the women once they set aside the mirrors, and seriously had tears in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she did. She swore, she would never cry again, because she should have dried up like a well in the desert after these last two weeks.

“Dear kami, who are you?”

She giggled, shifting when Sheng happened across her room. He had actually startled upon seeing her.

She was drinking tea to calm herself, and hadn't walked around too much. She really had nowhere to go, nowhere to be, and was actually embarrassed to be seen like this. She didn't want to be stared at and have it confirmed how well she now looked. She even wore a touch of pigment on her face, skin sparingly powdered over to a pale glow and lips painted a vivid red. She tried to make them stop with her eyes, since their being blue was glaringly obvious of them as it was, but the maids ended up rubbing just bare smudges of charcoal over her lids and black lines which followed the density of her eyelashes. The better she looked, the better of a job they did, and at this rate she would promote them.

“No need to exaggerate, Lord Sheng,” she commented, unable to suppress her smile. “What have you been up to?”

He was still looking her over, and she turned her head to the side. He gathered himself though, and crossed his arms. “Simply punishing a bad servant is all. Nothing too exciting.”

Oh right... That had happened... Kagome glanced at the weather worthy doors and saw them tinted pink. The sun was only now rising.

“Why are you staying in here?” he finally asked her.

“Well, I don't really have anywhere else to be,” she replied honestly. She glimpsed her weapons, propped against her backpack in the corner, and remembered yet again that she couldn't train in this attire.

“It would be a shame for you to remain here,” Sheng told her. She gave him half a shrug. “Hm. Would you accompany me then for the day?”

She looked at him from the corners of her eyes, and since she was sitting and he was standing, from under her thick lashes, a sarcastic smirk gracing her face. “Lord Sheng, am I becoming interesting to you?”

He smiled. “It certainly will not hurt my reputation to be seen with such a maiden.”

She giggled at him. Men were men. She agreed to be with him, since his life simply had to be more interesting than hers, but tucked a small English book between her inner kimono and yukata so it rested on her arm in case he had a meeting. They say if you don't use a language, you lose it, and she definitely was not going to give up that useless advantage she had here in the past.

As soon as she reined in her energy to be nearly undetectable, she stepped out the door, and two passing guards stopped. If not for the powder, they'd see the horribly blush igniting her face. They stepped aside, which guaranteed her and her open kimono enough room to pass freely, and walking onwards she dared a glance back at them. The soldiers quickly averted their eyes and continued on her way, and she returned her attentions forward and giggled softly. Sheng chuckled at her enjoyment, and they continued on their way.

Kagome, stopping short of a door, watched as Sheng opened it.

“Just in time,” a man commented from inside, grabbing the old demon's focus. “As soon as sake arrives, look who shows up.”

Sheng chuckled, and stepped back. “Care for a drink?” he invited Kagome. He just had to give her the grand entrance, didn't he?

Taking a breath, she stepped forward five feet and turned into the room which was occupied by three demons.

Sheng walked in behind her, and made introductions.

“Lady Kagome,” he began, gesturing first to the unfamiliar man. “This is Lord Tao, member of the council and specialist in finances.”

Lord Tao, despite his girth, bowed respectfully at the waist where he sat in greeting. Kagome managed to bow at the waist, her one hand over her left thigh formally.

The two remaining women were ones who Kagome had already seen. Yesterday before the battle, accompanying Sesshomaru.

“This is Lady Shu Fang, a fellow member of the council,” Sheng continued, the older demoness bowing her head, “and Lady Li Hua, Lady of the o-shiro and mother of the Lord Sesshomaru.”

Li Hua blinked at Kagome when her apparently informal name was mentioned, and a sinister smirk which so reminded Kagome of Sesshomaru quirked her lips. “Will you be joining us for tea and sake, young miko?”

Kagome was annoyed by how unwilling she was to be sarcastic. Young miko? That was rather rude when Sheng already said her name. Ugh, maybe it was the hairdo, or makeup, or the clothes which made her feel sickeningly polite. She felt like she suddenly had an image to uphold. Still, being witty was always an admirable trait, right?

“You know, I must say,” Tao suddenly stated before Kagome could make a reply, “I was stuck with a nickname that just-”

“Oh, Tao,” Shu Fang scoffed. “You and your nicknames... If that were a counselor position, you would be the first and only candidate.”

There was a round of chuckles as Kagome took a the available seat at the end furthest from the door and next to the only person she was familiar with there. Sheng, sitting next to Tao to face Sesshomaru's mother, poured himself a drink and passed the tea tray to Kagome so she could serve herself.

“Seriously though,” Tao began anew, taking the sake container from Sheng to refill his own cup, “it suddenly hit me, right at first glance, and it will not cease in pestering me.”

“Do you require we inquire?” Li Hua asked skeptically.

“Certainly,” Sheng filled in, “unless you prefer being egged on until nightfall.”

They all chuckled again, even Tao being amused.

“I believe Lixue is fitting,” he finally stated, looking at Kagome. She felt very on the stop when the others turned to face her, weighing something.

“It seems suiting,” Sheng replied. “Do you speak Chinese, Lady Kagome?”

“No,” she replied, unsure of what everyone was talking about. “Well, some. I do speak English though.”

“English?” Shu Fang asked. “My, my, what a rare language, and here on this island. What purpose do you have for that?”

Oh, crap... “It is a great interest of mine,” she informed them, which wasn't a lie. “I can see a future of it being a world renown tongue, if history continues to lay this course.”

The men nodded in thought, whereas the young woman looked skeptical. “You have a funny accent, young miko.”

Kagome smiled kindly. “In turn, yours sounds rather ridiculous in my ears as well.”

She had supporting smirks.

“That makes sense,” Li Hua replied.

Kagome nodded her head once. “Why inquire my knowledge of Chinese, Lord Sheng?”

“Mm,” he intoned, in the middle of a drink. “Simply to know whether or not you understand Lord Tao's informal name for you. It means 'pretty snow'.”

... She already had a name though...

“I like the name Lixue,” Shu Fang commented. “Some do have terribly hard times adjusting to a second title...”

The three other demons laughed at that.

“Speaking of, Chao-san should be here soon,” Tao commented lightheartedly.

Sheng, by all appearances, became a tad uncomfortable. “I was not aware of that.”

“Did you forget which meeting this is?” Shu Fang asked mildly.

“We certainly have plenty to lose track over,” Sheng commented.

“Mm, and being tipsy for each one certainly does not help,” Tao jested. He got punched in the arm, in a friendly guy manner which women would never understand. Kagome certainly didn't. If Sheng hit her like that he'd throw her socket out of place.

“Do not fret, Sheng,” Li Hua assured. “It is good for him.”

Which brought about the question of who was Chao-san? Kagome barely asked as much before she sensed with suppressed powers someone right at the door, and it opened.

She glanced up, blue eyes somewhat wide with curiosity, to see impassive golden orbs look back at her.

Kagome felt her breath leave her immediately, and barely registered how the other demons shared glances. She recalled how much her collar bone was hurting her though, and glared at the demon lord.

He glared back.

“I see you finally decided to arrive, Chao-san,” Tao commented, gesturing to the other end of the table so he'd sit opposite from Kagome. Sesshomaru didn't acknowledge anyone else though, and after another second he merely turned and left.

“Kagome?” Sheng asked when she shot to her feet and stormed after Sesshomaru.

“Should we stop her?” one of the women asked.

“I vote that we watch,” Sheng replied giddily before Kagome left the room.

Fine. Let them watch. So long as they didn't interfere.

“Hey! Sesshy!” Kagome yelled at the demon, not able to keep up as well with all those fabrics on. “Hey!” He refused to look at her, so she hiked up her inner kimono, loosened her right zori from around her toes and kicked it from her foot at him.

He turned halfway and caught it with his left hand, which brought them to meeting one another's gaze again.

She effortlessly kicked the other sandal aside so she could walk properly, and closed the gap between them. Once she was five feet away, she stopped and met his icy glare with her own boiled over temper.

“Nice to see you again,” she stated sarcastically, suppressing so many memories which tried to flood in and quell her anger. She missed him, but she was not going to admit that.

He blinked at her. “The feeling is not mutual, miko.”

She sighed. She really wanted to beat him up, but it seemed a tad pointless when he was clueless as to her reasoning. “You have no right to be mad at me.”

She could practically feel four sets of eyes glance out of the room and into the hall to watch them. That, and Sesshomaru nearly snarled at them all.

His attention was Kagome's though, so she spared some energy to slam that room door shut on the demon's noses should they be too slow to move back. None were.

“It's been four years since you locked me into my time, and the best you can do is first storm off, then break my bone?” she demanded, watching as his eyes shifted quickly to glance just below her shoulder. “That's not very polite of you.”

“Politeness is not spent on worthless humans.”

She felt her aura flare around her like a bomb went off in her soul. “How dare you call me worthless! You know nothing about me, and you never will!” His frown deepened at the last part, and Kagome decided to verbally dance around him until she got some answers.

“Never is a short time for a mortal,” Sesshomaru countered icily before she could continue. Damn both him and his impeccable ability to verbally dance more quickly! “Remember that.”

“I already know, you dumb ass,” she told him. “That's why humans have to make every day count.”

Sesshomaru looked positively pissed off. “I will remember that to make a day count one must freely associate with the opposite sex in a more than friendly manner.”

“I was simply carrying her,” came Sheng's voice through the paper door as he defended himself. Both Kagome and Sesshomaru yelled at him to be quiet.

She glowered at the demon lord once more. “Well, then I must say you have certainly made a few days count for both of us!”

The door hissed open again, and she could swear Sheng needed a visual to verify that that fact she just let slip was actually true.

Sesshomaru scowled. Oh yes, he definitely remembered that.

“And I don't care what you think of me, because Inuyasha is just a friend who I haven't seen in four years.”

“I see friendship goes a long way,” Sesshomaru commented.

“Well, guess what!?” Kagome continued, actually nervous at saying this next bit but too infuriated to care. “I also don't care what you think because you and I aren't even friends, and I'm sure you'd agree with that. You have no right to be mad over how I choose to live my life and what I do with it. Maybe you would if you were actually a part of it, but you're not, so until then, fuck off.”

She barely saw it, but his lips pursed ever so slightly before he glanced away from her. She had the feeling that saying 'until then' was an invitation in this case, and that he was considering it. Her heart went fluttering away at that thought, but she quickly caught it.

Sesshomaru turned and left once again after she said that. Kagome, deep down, wanted to run after him once more, but she remained planted in the floor. She had more dignity than that.

Once he rounded the corner, she turned around, and realized he had just stolen her shoe...

Grabbing the lone sandal, she dismissed herself from Sheng and gang and walked in the opposite direction of Sesshomaru for her room. She got lost a few times, but that was apparently long enough for the maids to swap out her mattress with a dry one. She shut the door, ate a few bites of fruit and a stick of meat, and retired to her bed to catch up on what she lost that morning.

It was midday when she awoke, and she lay there contemplating life in her layers of clothing. She ended up reading a fifth of her book while ignoring the servants as they monitored the braziers in her room, and the hours of translating put her back to sleep in the later afternoon.

She would not have lost her place so drastically if the book had remained in her hand.

She winced in sitting up, bones shifting from a comfortable position, and groaned over how numb her left arm was from sleeping on it. The sun had finally fallen, and she definitely felt like the laziest person in the world with her outer kimono covering herself in a wing of white and draping off the far end of the bed. It really was long...

She looked down the side of the bed to try and find her book, thinking she had shifted and it fell, but since it wasn't there and the bed had no exposed underside she scooted back to see if she had rolled over it. When she still failed in finding the damn thing she began to wonder if it got caught somewhere in her layers of clothing. She was saved from the dread of having to search herself when she lifted her head.

A horrid flinch instantly jerked her awake when she saw Sesshomaru sitting nonchalantly at the table in her room, looking over her book.

“English has several useless words,” he commented, practically to himself, making a note on a sheet of parchment as his eyes skimmed another line.

She blinked several times at him. “Wha-? What the hell are you doing here??”

He glanced up at her over the book. “You do realize that this is my home, correct?”

... She hadn't thought of it that way... “So what? Even if I'm temporarily entitled to this room, it's still suppose to be my place of privacy, for kami's sake! I offered the same to you four years ago!”

She entertained herself with the thought that his ignoring her represented his inability to make a reply, and that his inability to make a reply represented her having a point. She'd feel good about having said point if his ignoring her wasn't so completely perfect...

Kagome sighed, vexed and still angry with him, and shrugged from under the outer kimono so she could actually walk around. She walked straight up to Sesshomaru and made to grab the book away.

He easily held it aloft.

“You son of a bitch, give that back!” she yelled, wishing she had two arms so she could plant one on the table to reach further.

He merely continued reading, or at least pretending to read, while the book was held in the air over his right shoulder. Kagome noted then that he was right handed with the sword, but preferred his left hand to write. Damn odd man... Then again, for all she knew he always was left handed and just learned to wield his sword with his right out of necessity, since Inuyasha spared him his left arm for quite some time. ... Maybe he was just old enough to be ambidextrous? Yes, that seemed like a useless enough talent for any demon to pick up after seven hundred years...

“That's not yours, Sesshomaru,” she informed him like she was scolding a puppy. “Give it back to me.”

“No.”

Wow. It speaks. “What do you mean, 'no'!? It's mine, and I demand it back!”

“Then pack your things and leave,” he retorted almost absentmindedly.

Kagome gave a huff of exasperation, then decided to speak in English for a while. “What a fucking, intolerable, piece of shit for a man you are! Ungrateful, deaf bastard, I hope you fall over dead!”

He blinked at her, and feeling quite good about herself she walked over to her backpack, grabbed a small bag of fruit, walked back over and had a seat. It was rather difficult to do everything with one hand, but using her teeth she managed to undo the plastic press-in zipper of the bag and upend it onto the table in front of her.

“Quit staring,” she snapped at him, pouring some tea, “I only use my teeth when an arm is out of commission, thank you.”

“That was rather rude of you to say earlier,” he informed her.

Her heart missed a beat. Did he completely overlook her reference to his breaking her collar, or did he just not care? Furthermore, what? “What do you mean?”

“This Sesshomaru does not enjoy being ignorant,” he commented. “I have traveled in the past four years, and have a fairly good grasp of English as it is spoken.”

She was instantly angry with him again. “What the hell?! You couldn't have understood all of that!”

“No?” he asked, making another note on the parchment. Apparently, he was teaching himself how to write in English, too.

This was so utterly unfair. “I was the only person in your entire life to ever speak to you in English, and so you go and learn it!?”

“Yes.”

She was baffled, and flustered. “You... You are so immature!!”

He regarded her with a frown.

She laughed at him. “I can't believe this. You don't want even one person, one 'worthless' person, to have an edge on you?!”

“A language is a powerful thing,” he told her. “And power is something one seeks.”

“Power also corrupts those who seek it,” Kagome shared with him bitterly. “Or did losing an arm not teach you that?”

“Silence yourself!” he actually yelled, making her lean back.

Kagome was shocked. She had never seen him actually angry like that, and it was scary... Not that she was scared, since it was a very brief exposure of anything other than his stoic self. To prove she wasn't indeed petrified, she stomped her foot at him. “I. Don't. Have. To!”

He glared at her, and the more angry he was the more audacious she became. Ah yes, the beauty of natural selection...

“Now give me back my book!”

Something hard struck her face and sent her tumbling for the ground. She instantly lifted herself onto her rump, and by that time she felt how much her cheek suddenly hurt.

“Did you just slap me?!” she demanded, seeing him standing where she once did.

“No,” he replied, tossing the book into her lap. “It did.”

She glared at him, then retracted with a jolt so her back hit the wall when he knelt merely a foot in front of her.

“I do not expect you to recall this, miko,” he informed her, his eyes glowing with the flicker of nearby flames and looking alive. “Four years ago, at an amusement park, you informed me that you deserved respect because I was not in my own time.”

She remembered that. That one long lecture she gave him. It was fragmented and she couldn't recall the words, but she did recollect the tone of that conversation, and the way he seemed to truly listen to her and acknowledge her. She remembered how he surrendered his undivided attention, and how much she was thankful for that.

“Now you need to understand this,” he continued icily, her eyes locked onto his. This wasn't the same man she knew four years ago. This was the man she had known before he became trapped in her time. The aristocratic assassin who tried to kill Inuyasha and herself. An icy ball formed just behind her vocal cords, and for it her breaths were hard and shallow. “You are the one currently displaced in another time. You live in my home, for now, so you will live by the rules; both the spoken and unspoken.”

Kagome gasped when his hand suddenly grasped under her jaw bone, and her energy flared out to attack him. He unlocked his own power, and suppressed hers as he lifted her up the wall to the point that he was standing and she was dangling.

“I am the Lord of this terrain,” he seethed as she struggled, her face getting hot and her vision shifting. “Your very existence is meaningless here. You are nothing unless I say otherwise, and the only reason you still live is due to a complicated law based off of moral. You mentioned how you were not an object in your time, how you had feelings and could care and trust in another. In this time, those are not needed from you. So an object you are.”

He released her, and she fell with a gasp to the floor. Sparks flew across her sights, and she held her throat with a newfound sensation of fear while her vision slowly cleared to reveal his black boots.

“Get use to being what you are,” he ordered, taking the first steps to leaving.

Her throat felt as crushed as her spirits, and her lungs burned with every haul of air; but she managed to speak, even if only out of spite. “I hate you...”

She listened to his light steps cease, and sat back against the wall to stare at her bed. Damn. Damn everything to hell. Why, of all times, did she have tears in her eyes now?!

“I can live with that.”

“I doubt it,” she bit back, refusing to look at him. She saw him glance at her out of her peripheral though.

“And why is that?” he inquired, sounding less than humored.

She gave a solitary dry chuckle, a memory crashing to the fore of her mind. “Because, I'm the one who makes you laugh...”

“Mirth is no longer needed,” he informed her.

She looked up at him, seeing a humored smile and a laughing man who knew how to live like he had a soul. This wasn't him, and his changeless features blurred because of the water in her eyes. She wasn't crying though, her face was perfectly neutral. At least she had that going for her. “I know it's not... Not by a lord.”

He looked away from her and back forward.

“I'm sorry that you had to die, Sesshomaru.”

He didn't move. Not for a minute anyway. His thinking was short lived, and he did the most regal thing he could by leaving without another word.

It was a very long and miserable night to follow. Kagome felt like she remained motionless for over an hour, thinking on too many things at once. She recalled her time with him, both in the recent and long forsaken past, and Sheng's seemingly random comments.

“Sometimes,” she said aloud to herself, hugging her knees. These people didn't have pillows, which was odd for her. “Things are just meant to be...” She hiccuped. “Yeah, to be hell??” As memories of Sango's conversation with her, of Sheng's from that morning, and from the last four years battled for dominance in her mind, Kagome eventually settled onto her back and allowed those thoughts to coax her into the uncaring night.

It was amazing how, despite what had just happened, the first thing to greet her in her dream was a strong embrace and silky hair across her cheek as soft kisses assailed her neck. Just like she remembered.

A/N: ... Huh... A lot and yet not much happened in this...

Alright! Their first conversation in years! Probably not what they expected it to be, but at least they're on talking terms again. Sort of... ... Maybe?? Anyway, the next chapter is going to yank you off the edge of that seat, so there's your warning. Just a much needed dose of unpredictability. :D

Reviews please! Thanks for reading!