InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Remnants of the Spider ❯ Machinations of a Daiyoukai ( Chapter 26 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lady Sianna 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.11.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 300 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 11.11.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 300 | Status: Work In Progress
Remnants of the Spider
Machinations of a Daiyoukai
_______________________________________________________ _________________
A pair of booted feet walked almost soundlessly through the forest. Impassive features belied the turbulent thoughts of a powerful demon lord as he picked his way ever closer toward the miko’s village. The daiyoukai could not seem to stay away from this place for more than a day as of late, and while he found himself mildly annoyed with his own actions he also was apparently unwilling to rectify them.
This whole friendship thing was so terribly new to him, but it seemed to be the driving force which compelled him to come back again and again. While he did wish to know of Rin’s progress, he also knew that she was not the only female who drew him to this place.
‘Kagome…’
She seemed to be consuming more and more of his thoughts these recent days, presumably an additional affect of this friendship. As far as humans went, he supposed there were far less desirable individuals to have connected to himself in such a way. Except, that trouble seemed to chase constantly at her heels. Even now she was in danger… possibly. The thought still brought on a sense of unease, but the feeling seemed to ebb the closer he came to the village. He could detect no malevolence in the area.
Jaken had not unearthed any useful information, but that did not mean there was no threat. What if there was more than one demon? What if the demon was immensely powerful? What if it was even now conspiring with other demons and constructing a plan to end the miko’s life?
It was these thoughts which filled Sesshoumaru with unrest. They had not departed from his mind for more than a moment since his discussion with the miko last night. They practically thrummed through his veins, inciting him to return to her.
She had been somewhat determined not to speak with him in regards to this matter, so perhaps she had omitted additional information. The more he knew about this demon, or supposed demon, the better. It would be best to dispose of it quickly. Anyone who was connected to Naraku was an enemy and would be dealt with accordingly.
As the demon lord continued at his leisurely pace, a particular scent was brought to him on the breeze. He resisted the urge to sigh as a figure clad in red fire-rat robes came into view. His hanyou sibling was perched upon one of the prominent roots of the Sacred Tree, his back resting against its great trunk.
The boy’s head was bowed, his long silver tresses casting a dark shadow over his eyes. His legs were crossed in front of him while his hands were hidden in the billowing sleeves of his haori. He appeared to be sleeping, but Sesshoumaru knew better. Without so much as a sidelong glance, the demon lord passed the hanyou by and continued on his chosen path. Just as he both dreaded and anticipated, the sound of the whelp’s footfalls soon became audible behind him.
“Why the hell are you here again Sesshoumaru?”
Inuyasha was beside him now. His hands were still folded in his sleeves but from the corner of his eyes Sesshoumaru could see the hostile expression the boy was wearing.
“Is there a reason you seek to impose your wretched presence upon me, Inuyasha?”
The hanyou narrowed his eyes. “I asked you a question.” he intoned through gritted teeth.
The demon lord continued to look straight ahead, not bothering to grace the hanyou with so much as a glance. “I owe you no explanation for my actions.” was his lackadaisical response.
“Seems to me that you’re avoiding the question. I’ve been patrolling this area for weeks now and your rotten stench has been around here more and more recently.” the hanyou looked at his brother and sneered. “It’s startin’ to make me sick. Besides, this IS my forest. If nothing else, that gives me the right to know why you keep showing up around here.”
Sesshoumaru paused in his steps but did not speak; instead he raised his head slightly to gaze off into the distance.
Inuyasha stared at him for a long time, annoyance and curiosity vying for the upper hand.
“Kagome says that the two of you are friends now,” the hanyou finally spoke up, “but I don’t believe…”
“You doubt the miko’s words?” the demon interrupted smoothly.
Inuyasha’s eyes bulged with disbelief. “So you… you’re saying it’s true?!” he asked incredulously.
The demon looked at him then, his mild amusement hidden behind a mask of stoicism. “I find her… interesting.” was his cryptic response.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes again and moved until he was standing directly in front of his elder sibling. “Interesting? Since when the hell do you find humans interesting Sesshoumaru?!” he demanded tersely.
Sesshoumaru smirked. “I do not. Whenever did I indicate such a thing? ”
“But you just said…”
“That I find HER interesting.” he said as his expression again melted into that of bland indifference.
“Yeah, and she’s human!” the hanyou pointed out loudly, barely managing the urge to draw his sword. After a moment, he shook his head slightly, reminding himself of his original point. “Look, I don’t know why the hell you’re finding Kagome so interesting all of a sudden, but I don’t like you hanging around her!”
“Humph. And tell me Inuyasha, just what is it you are concerned about?” the demon lord asked, taking the opportunity to further agitate the whelp.
Inuyasha growled lightly at the smugly satisfied look on Sesshoumaru’s face. “Kagome is my… my… friend,” he bit out, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m not gonna let you hurt her!”
His tone saturated with tedium the demon replied, “Surely even one as simple as you would realize that if I intended to harm the miko, I would have done so by now.”
A scowl formed on the hanyou’s face. “Enough with the fucking insults already! That’s not what I meant and you damn well know it! For whatever reason, you seem to get a kick out of pissing me off, and I know you’re just using her to get to me!”
Sesshoumaru’s amusement died with Inuyasha’s words and a slight downward turn of lips appeared to mark his annoyance.
“Though your accusation hardly warrants a response, I will inform you that I have better things to do than concern myself with pathetic half-breeds such as yourself.” He scoffed lightly. “Your overly inflated ego never ceases to astound me. Now move aside, you are in my way.”
The hanyou continued to stare at him and again he managed to ignore his brother‘s usual insults. It was the demon’s reaction to his accusation which stood out in his mind. He hardly knew what to think, but one thing was fairly certain to him now. If Sesshoumaru had, at any point been using Kagome to get to him, he definitely wasn’t now. He had seen his brother’s anger far too many times to be mistaken, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
Soon the half-demon’s face contorted with a strange combination of revulsion, resentment, and a sort of begrudging… acceptance.
“So you actually like her huh?” asked Inuyasha, bitterness seeping into the undercurrents of his tone.
Sesshoumaru brushed passed him taking several steps before he paused but did not turn back. “That, Inuyasha is none of your concern.” the demon lord intoned quietly. “Your continued possessiveness toward her is misplaced. Whatever claim you may have had to the miko, be it valid, or conjecture of your unmerited sense of self-worth, it is at this time null and void. You are betrothed to another. It is advisable that you mind your own affairs from this point on.”
The hanyou whirled around to face the demon only to find that he was no longer there. He knew he could go after him, but instead he simply stood there vacantly staring at the spot Sesshoumaru had previously occupied.
In both the words Sesshoumaru said, and those he did not say, Inuyasha discovered something about his brother that moments ago he would have thought was impossible; something that Sesshoumaru himself probably didn‘t even realize yet. While it seemed to suggest that the demon was not the heartless bastard he had always known him to be, he could find little elation in this newest discovery.
In the darkest recesses of his mind, the idea had already reared its ugly head more than once, but until this moment he simply could not attach any measure of validity to it.
For all of his hatred of mortals and even his own brother who was birthed by a mortal woman, Sesshoumaru… was falling in love with a human.
‘Kagome…’
A humorless chuckle escaped the hanyou’s lips.
‘Stupid bastard doesn’t even realize what’s happening.’ he thought scornfully.
And somehow that made it worse. It was worse because that meant…
…that meant it was real.
_________________________________________________________________ ______
“Don’t forget to make sure your feet are level with your shoulders.” Kagome instructed softly as Rin took aim at a distant tree.
“Oh, right!” said Rin as she looked down and repositioned her feet. She gave her mentor a small smile before closing her left eye while using her right to focus on the tree.
Kagome watched with interest as the girl pulled back on the bowstring, before releasing her arrow. A faint pink glow enveloped the wooden projectile as it blurred through the air before burying itself into the tree.
“You see?” The miko asked, her voice bright with excitement. “Your powers are already getting stronger!”
Rin offered a sheepish smile. “I am happy that my powers are getting stronger, but I still missed the target.”
“But you did hit the tree.” Kagome offered with a reassuring smile. “You’re already doing better than you were the first time we did this.”
“I guess you’re right.” said Rin as she looked at the tree, which now had several of her arrows buried in its trunk.
“I told you it will get better with practice. It may not seem like it now, but you’re going to be a fantastic archer one day!” Kagome assured her as she walked over and began to pull the arrows from the tree. The girl quickly made her way to her mentor’s side, and she too began removing arrows from the tree.
“You really think I’ll be as good as you one day?”
Kagome smiled at her. “You’ll be even better! All you have to do is… AAAHHH!”
A piercing scream burst from the miko’s lips as her face took on an expression of pure terror. Kagome dropped the arrow she had been about to remove, and wrapped her remaining arm around Rin’s waist. As quickly as she could she scrambled away from the tree, taking Rin along with her.
“Lady Kag--?” Rin began, but was cut off when she heard the woman shriek again.
“EEEEKKKK! SPIDER!!!!!”
Kagome was so focused on putting distance between herself and the eight-legged little arachnid that she did not realize someone was behind her. A surprised little noise escaped her when her back came into contact with something very hard, and very solid. She turned quickly and the first thing she saw was a pair of golden eyes staring down on her.
“Oh!” she cried, embarrassed at having backed right into Sesshoumaru. “I’m sorry, I--”
She moved to back away, but he wrapped a clawed hand around the upper part of her arm, forcing her to stay where she was.
“What are you doing?” he asked quietly, his brows drawn together slightly.
Kagome could not suppress her blush if she tried. Rin had managed to escape her grasp leaving Kagome almost intimately close to the daiyoukai. Her hands were splayed over his armored chest, and she was pretty sure that they were not separated by more than a couple of inches.
‘Wow, from this close he looks really, really tall.’ she thought absently. Her mouth had become extremely dry all of a sudden, and an unusual warmth spread throughout her body. She couldn’t seem to get enough air as his powerful presence nearly overwhelmed her. She was abnormally aware of everything about him from the soft breeze that ruffled his hair, to the firm but gentle hand that held her in place and even the warmth of his body as he stood so close to her. They were practically hugging!
“Um…!” she began, but something about the way he was looking at her crashed whatever train of thought she had been forming. His eyes were boring into hers, but there was something there she had never seen before; something that looked frighteningly similar to a combination of concern, and something else, something she could not begin to identify. The usual iciness was strangely absent, and the golden depths held her captive and would not let go.
On her arm she felt his hand move ever so slightly. His fingers crumpled her sleeve and the fabric rubbed her skin causing a spattering of goose pimples to erupt across her body. Somehow she managed not to shudder.
“Umm…” she said again, his movement having pulled her from the mild stupor she had been immersed in. “There was… there was a spider… on the tree over there.” she managed as she pointed with her free hand.
A slight frown formed on his brow. Initially she had thought he was annoyed by her irrational fear of something so small, but soon she realized that this was not the case. He was merely confused.
Sesshoumaru continued to stare at the miko’s flustered face. She had been frightened… by a spider? A tiny harmless little creature had incited her to flee in fear, when she had hardly broken a sweat over facing a creature many times her own size and strength. It had in fact been an enormous spider. A creature that had saturated the very air with near suffocating malevolence had not stayed her hand, yet an insect that could do her no harm had frightened her?
It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever witnessed, yet he could not find fault in her for it. Instinctually, he would normally think to chide or ridicule her for such foolish behavior, but all he could think about at this moment was how quickly she calmed when she saw him, how close she still stood, and how she made no effort to move away.
“Forgive me for interrupting,” Rin spoke up suddenly, “But I need to head back to the village. I have to um… wash a few kimonos.”
Kagome looked over to the girl intent on telling her that she did not need to leave. When she saw her, Rin was already settled on Ah-Un’s back preparing to take to the sky. Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but again the girl was too quick for her.
“I’ll see you back at the village Lady Kagome. It was great seeing you again Lord Sesshoumaru!” She gave them each a bright smile before snapping the dragon’s reins, signaling for it to take off. The demon immediately pushed off the ground leaving the miko and the inu lord alone in the clearing.
Kagome stared passed the daiyoukai watching the shrinking green dot that was Rin and Ah-Un. The demon lord only regained her attention when he finally released her arm.
“Oh,” she said quietly as she took a step away from him. “Umm… what are you doing here?” Then deciding that that sounded a bit rude, she rallied, “I-I mean, is there something I can do for you?”
“Have you discovered any additional information about the demon?” he asked after a moment.
She wasn’t surprised by the question, but the subject was not one she was terribly comfortable with. “No. I haven’t heard anything so far.” she shrugged lightly, and plastered a fake smile on her lips. “There might not even be a demon, remember? Kouga did say it was a rumor after all.”
“Hn.” was his noncommittal response. “And you have not omitted any information?”
“No. I told you exactly what Kouga told me.”
“Hn.” he said again and he appeared to be thinking something over.
“Was that… was that all you wanted to know?”
He closed the distance between them again, but this time he made no move to touch her. “For now.” he murmured. “But you will send Ah-Un to the west if you attain any new information.”
“Yeah, sure.” she agreed as she looked up into his eyes.
His eyes narrowed, and she was left with the impression that he was not convinced.
“I promise.” she added softly. “If I hear anything, I’ll send Ah-Un.”
He gave a curt nod then and stepped away from her. “I will return soon.” he said as he began to walk away.
“I guess I’ll see you later then.” she said somewhat dazedly, but he was already walking away. He seemed to have come to a decision, but apparently he did not feel inclined to share it with her.
“That was… weird.” she murmured as she began the short trip back to the village.
______________________________________________________________ __________
Lord Hiroshi was angrily pacing the floors of his study when a tentative series of taps on his shoji drew his attention.
“Enter!” he yelled immediately and soon the door slid open to reveal the captain of his guards. The demon slowly entered the room, a pale white scroll clutched in his right hand.
“You are late.” Lord Hiroshi informed him in a vicious growl. He snatched the parchment from the demon’s hands and quickly began scanning over the information written upon it. His captain grew increasingly anxious as low growls began to emanate from his lord.
Pale green eyes grew wide with incredulity as they read the last lines of kanji on the rough paper.
“The maps…” he whispered fiercely. “The cretins have stolen the MAPS??!!!”
Clearly uncomfortable, his captain barely resisted the urge to shrink away.
“A-and the amulet.” the panther demon added quietly.
Lord Hiroshi’s eyes widened even further. “What did you just say?”
This time the captain did step away. “The brigands… the brigands absconded with the amulet as well.”
The panther demon barely saw his lord move before the now crumpled piece of parchment hit him in his left eye.
“I want all of the guards and all of my advisors to meet me in the assemble hall at once!!!” the hanyou roared, his sharp claws carving thin curls of wood from his previously flawless desk. This was serious. This was beyond serious, and something had to be done about it right away.
“And I don’t think I need to tell you that this matter is to be treated with the utmost confidentiality,” More curls of wood were scraped from his desk before falling to the beautifully polished floor. “…under penalty of decapitation.” Hiroshi added, a thunderous scowl marring his otherwise handsome face.
The captain’s eyes widened visibly, and he backed away again. “Y-yes my lord.” he said as he quickly exited the room to carryout the Lord’s orders.
_______________________________________________________________ _________
Machinations of a Daiyoukai
_______________________________________________________ _________________
A pair of booted feet walked almost soundlessly through the forest. Impassive features belied the turbulent thoughts of a powerful demon lord as he picked his way ever closer toward the miko’s village. The daiyoukai could not seem to stay away from this place for more than a day as of late, and while he found himself mildly annoyed with his own actions he also was apparently unwilling to rectify them.
This whole friendship thing was so terribly new to him, but it seemed to be the driving force which compelled him to come back again and again. While he did wish to know of Rin’s progress, he also knew that she was not the only female who drew him to this place.
‘Kagome…’
She seemed to be consuming more and more of his thoughts these recent days, presumably an additional affect of this friendship. As far as humans went, he supposed there were far less desirable individuals to have connected to himself in such a way. Except, that trouble seemed to chase constantly at her heels. Even now she was in danger… possibly. The thought still brought on a sense of unease, but the feeling seemed to ebb the closer he came to the village. He could detect no malevolence in the area.
Jaken had not unearthed any useful information, but that did not mean there was no threat. What if there was more than one demon? What if the demon was immensely powerful? What if it was even now conspiring with other demons and constructing a plan to end the miko’s life?
It was these thoughts which filled Sesshoumaru with unrest. They had not departed from his mind for more than a moment since his discussion with the miko last night. They practically thrummed through his veins, inciting him to return to her.
She had been somewhat determined not to speak with him in regards to this matter, so perhaps she had omitted additional information. The more he knew about this demon, or supposed demon, the better. It would be best to dispose of it quickly. Anyone who was connected to Naraku was an enemy and would be dealt with accordingly.
As the demon lord continued at his leisurely pace, a particular scent was brought to him on the breeze. He resisted the urge to sigh as a figure clad in red fire-rat robes came into view. His hanyou sibling was perched upon one of the prominent roots of the Sacred Tree, his back resting against its great trunk.
The boy’s head was bowed, his long silver tresses casting a dark shadow over his eyes. His legs were crossed in front of him while his hands were hidden in the billowing sleeves of his haori. He appeared to be sleeping, but Sesshoumaru knew better. Without so much as a sidelong glance, the demon lord passed the hanyou by and continued on his chosen path. Just as he both dreaded and anticipated, the sound of the whelp’s footfalls soon became audible behind him.
“Why the hell are you here again Sesshoumaru?”
Inuyasha was beside him now. His hands were still folded in his sleeves but from the corner of his eyes Sesshoumaru could see the hostile expression the boy was wearing.
“Is there a reason you seek to impose your wretched presence upon me, Inuyasha?”
The hanyou narrowed his eyes. “I asked you a question.” he intoned through gritted teeth.
The demon lord continued to look straight ahead, not bothering to grace the hanyou with so much as a glance. “I owe you no explanation for my actions.” was his lackadaisical response.
“Seems to me that you’re avoiding the question. I’ve been patrolling this area for weeks now and your rotten stench has been around here more and more recently.” the hanyou looked at his brother and sneered. “It’s startin’ to make me sick. Besides, this IS my forest. If nothing else, that gives me the right to know why you keep showing up around here.”
Sesshoumaru paused in his steps but did not speak; instead he raised his head slightly to gaze off into the distance.
Inuyasha stared at him for a long time, annoyance and curiosity vying for the upper hand.
“Kagome says that the two of you are friends now,” the hanyou finally spoke up, “but I don’t believe…”
“You doubt the miko’s words?” the demon interrupted smoothly.
Inuyasha’s eyes bulged with disbelief. “So you… you’re saying it’s true?!” he asked incredulously.
The demon looked at him then, his mild amusement hidden behind a mask of stoicism. “I find her… interesting.” was his cryptic response.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes again and moved until he was standing directly in front of his elder sibling. “Interesting? Since when the hell do you find humans interesting Sesshoumaru?!” he demanded tersely.
Sesshoumaru smirked. “I do not. Whenever did I indicate such a thing? ”
“But you just said…”
“That I find HER interesting.” he said as his expression again melted into that of bland indifference.
“Yeah, and she’s human!” the hanyou pointed out loudly, barely managing the urge to draw his sword. After a moment, he shook his head slightly, reminding himself of his original point. “Look, I don’t know why the hell you’re finding Kagome so interesting all of a sudden, but I don’t like you hanging around her!”
“Humph. And tell me Inuyasha, just what is it you are concerned about?” the demon lord asked, taking the opportunity to further agitate the whelp.
Inuyasha growled lightly at the smugly satisfied look on Sesshoumaru’s face. “Kagome is my… my… friend,” he bit out, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m not gonna let you hurt her!”
His tone saturated with tedium the demon replied, “Surely even one as simple as you would realize that if I intended to harm the miko, I would have done so by now.”
A scowl formed on the hanyou’s face. “Enough with the fucking insults already! That’s not what I meant and you damn well know it! For whatever reason, you seem to get a kick out of pissing me off, and I know you’re just using her to get to me!”
Sesshoumaru’s amusement died with Inuyasha’s words and a slight downward turn of lips appeared to mark his annoyance.
“Though your accusation hardly warrants a response, I will inform you that I have better things to do than concern myself with pathetic half-breeds such as yourself.” He scoffed lightly. “Your overly inflated ego never ceases to astound me. Now move aside, you are in my way.”
The hanyou continued to stare at him and again he managed to ignore his brother‘s usual insults. It was the demon’s reaction to his accusation which stood out in his mind. He hardly knew what to think, but one thing was fairly certain to him now. If Sesshoumaru had, at any point been using Kagome to get to him, he definitely wasn’t now. He had seen his brother’s anger far too many times to be mistaken, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
Soon the half-demon’s face contorted with a strange combination of revulsion, resentment, and a sort of begrudging… acceptance.
“So you actually like her huh?” asked Inuyasha, bitterness seeping into the undercurrents of his tone.
Sesshoumaru brushed passed him taking several steps before he paused but did not turn back. “That, Inuyasha is none of your concern.” the demon lord intoned quietly. “Your continued possessiveness toward her is misplaced. Whatever claim you may have had to the miko, be it valid, or conjecture of your unmerited sense of self-worth, it is at this time null and void. You are betrothed to another. It is advisable that you mind your own affairs from this point on.”
The hanyou whirled around to face the demon only to find that he was no longer there. He knew he could go after him, but instead he simply stood there vacantly staring at the spot Sesshoumaru had previously occupied.
In both the words Sesshoumaru said, and those he did not say, Inuyasha discovered something about his brother that moments ago he would have thought was impossible; something that Sesshoumaru himself probably didn‘t even realize yet. While it seemed to suggest that the demon was not the heartless bastard he had always known him to be, he could find little elation in this newest discovery.
In the darkest recesses of his mind, the idea had already reared its ugly head more than once, but until this moment he simply could not attach any measure of validity to it.
For all of his hatred of mortals and even his own brother who was birthed by a mortal woman, Sesshoumaru… was falling in love with a human.
‘Kagome…’
A humorless chuckle escaped the hanyou’s lips.
‘Stupid bastard doesn’t even realize what’s happening.’ he thought scornfully.
And somehow that made it worse. It was worse because that meant…
…that meant it was real.
_________________________________________________________________ ______
“Don’t forget to make sure your feet are level with your shoulders.” Kagome instructed softly as Rin took aim at a distant tree.
“Oh, right!” said Rin as she looked down and repositioned her feet. She gave her mentor a small smile before closing her left eye while using her right to focus on the tree.
Kagome watched with interest as the girl pulled back on the bowstring, before releasing her arrow. A faint pink glow enveloped the wooden projectile as it blurred through the air before burying itself into the tree.
“You see?” The miko asked, her voice bright with excitement. “Your powers are already getting stronger!”
Rin offered a sheepish smile. “I am happy that my powers are getting stronger, but I still missed the target.”
“But you did hit the tree.” Kagome offered with a reassuring smile. “You’re already doing better than you were the first time we did this.”
“I guess you’re right.” said Rin as she looked at the tree, which now had several of her arrows buried in its trunk.
“I told you it will get better with practice. It may not seem like it now, but you’re going to be a fantastic archer one day!” Kagome assured her as she walked over and began to pull the arrows from the tree. The girl quickly made her way to her mentor’s side, and she too began removing arrows from the tree.
“You really think I’ll be as good as you one day?”
Kagome smiled at her. “You’ll be even better! All you have to do is… AAAHHH!”
A piercing scream burst from the miko’s lips as her face took on an expression of pure terror. Kagome dropped the arrow she had been about to remove, and wrapped her remaining arm around Rin’s waist. As quickly as she could she scrambled away from the tree, taking Rin along with her.
“Lady Kag--?” Rin began, but was cut off when she heard the woman shriek again.
“EEEEKKKK! SPIDER!!!!!”
Kagome was so focused on putting distance between herself and the eight-legged little arachnid that she did not realize someone was behind her. A surprised little noise escaped her when her back came into contact with something very hard, and very solid. She turned quickly and the first thing she saw was a pair of golden eyes staring down on her.
“Oh!” she cried, embarrassed at having backed right into Sesshoumaru. “I’m sorry, I--”
She moved to back away, but he wrapped a clawed hand around the upper part of her arm, forcing her to stay where she was.
“What are you doing?” he asked quietly, his brows drawn together slightly.
Kagome could not suppress her blush if she tried. Rin had managed to escape her grasp leaving Kagome almost intimately close to the daiyoukai. Her hands were splayed over his armored chest, and she was pretty sure that they were not separated by more than a couple of inches.
‘Wow, from this close he looks really, really tall.’ she thought absently. Her mouth had become extremely dry all of a sudden, and an unusual warmth spread throughout her body. She couldn’t seem to get enough air as his powerful presence nearly overwhelmed her. She was abnormally aware of everything about him from the soft breeze that ruffled his hair, to the firm but gentle hand that held her in place and even the warmth of his body as he stood so close to her. They were practically hugging!
“Um…!” she began, but something about the way he was looking at her crashed whatever train of thought she had been forming. His eyes were boring into hers, but there was something there she had never seen before; something that looked frighteningly similar to a combination of concern, and something else, something she could not begin to identify. The usual iciness was strangely absent, and the golden depths held her captive and would not let go.
On her arm she felt his hand move ever so slightly. His fingers crumpled her sleeve and the fabric rubbed her skin causing a spattering of goose pimples to erupt across her body. Somehow she managed not to shudder.
“Umm…” she said again, his movement having pulled her from the mild stupor she had been immersed in. “There was… there was a spider… on the tree over there.” she managed as she pointed with her free hand.
A slight frown formed on his brow. Initially she had thought he was annoyed by her irrational fear of something so small, but soon she realized that this was not the case. He was merely confused.
Sesshoumaru continued to stare at the miko’s flustered face. She had been frightened… by a spider? A tiny harmless little creature had incited her to flee in fear, when she had hardly broken a sweat over facing a creature many times her own size and strength. It had in fact been an enormous spider. A creature that had saturated the very air with near suffocating malevolence had not stayed her hand, yet an insect that could do her no harm had frightened her?
It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever witnessed, yet he could not find fault in her for it. Instinctually, he would normally think to chide or ridicule her for such foolish behavior, but all he could think about at this moment was how quickly she calmed when she saw him, how close she still stood, and how she made no effort to move away.
“Forgive me for interrupting,” Rin spoke up suddenly, “But I need to head back to the village. I have to um… wash a few kimonos.”
Kagome looked over to the girl intent on telling her that she did not need to leave. When she saw her, Rin was already settled on Ah-Un’s back preparing to take to the sky. Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but again the girl was too quick for her.
“I’ll see you back at the village Lady Kagome. It was great seeing you again Lord Sesshoumaru!” She gave them each a bright smile before snapping the dragon’s reins, signaling for it to take off. The demon immediately pushed off the ground leaving the miko and the inu lord alone in the clearing.
Kagome stared passed the daiyoukai watching the shrinking green dot that was Rin and Ah-Un. The demon lord only regained her attention when he finally released her arm.
“Oh,” she said quietly as she took a step away from him. “Umm… what are you doing here?” Then deciding that that sounded a bit rude, she rallied, “I-I mean, is there something I can do for you?”
“Have you discovered any additional information about the demon?” he asked after a moment.
She wasn’t surprised by the question, but the subject was not one she was terribly comfortable with. “No. I haven’t heard anything so far.” she shrugged lightly, and plastered a fake smile on her lips. “There might not even be a demon, remember? Kouga did say it was a rumor after all.”
“Hn.” was his noncommittal response. “And you have not omitted any information?”
“No. I told you exactly what Kouga told me.”
“Hn.” he said again and he appeared to be thinking something over.
“Was that… was that all you wanted to know?”
He closed the distance between them again, but this time he made no move to touch her. “For now.” he murmured. “But you will send Ah-Un to the west if you attain any new information.”
“Yeah, sure.” she agreed as she looked up into his eyes.
His eyes narrowed, and she was left with the impression that he was not convinced.
“I promise.” she added softly. “If I hear anything, I’ll send Ah-Un.”
He gave a curt nod then and stepped away from her. “I will return soon.” he said as he began to walk away.
“I guess I’ll see you later then.” she said somewhat dazedly, but he was already walking away. He seemed to have come to a decision, but apparently he did not feel inclined to share it with her.
“That was… weird.” she murmured as she began the short trip back to the village.
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Lord Hiroshi was angrily pacing the floors of his study when a tentative series of taps on his shoji drew his attention.
“Enter!” he yelled immediately and soon the door slid open to reveal the captain of his guards. The demon slowly entered the room, a pale white scroll clutched in his right hand.
“You are late.” Lord Hiroshi informed him in a vicious growl. He snatched the parchment from the demon’s hands and quickly began scanning over the information written upon it. His captain grew increasingly anxious as low growls began to emanate from his lord.
Pale green eyes grew wide with incredulity as they read the last lines of kanji on the rough paper.
“The maps…” he whispered fiercely. “The cretins have stolen the MAPS??!!!”
Clearly uncomfortable, his captain barely resisted the urge to shrink away.
“A-and the amulet.” the panther demon added quietly.
Lord Hiroshi’s eyes widened even further. “What did you just say?”
This time the captain did step away. “The brigands… the brigands absconded with the amulet as well.”
The panther demon barely saw his lord move before the now crumpled piece of parchment hit him in his left eye.
“I want all of the guards and all of my advisors to meet me in the assemble hall at once!!!” the hanyou roared, his sharp claws carving thin curls of wood from his previously flawless desk. This was serious. This was beyond serious, and something had to be done about it right away.
“And I don’t think I need to tell you that this matter is to be treated with the utmost confidentiality,” More curls of wood were scraped from his desk before falling to the beautifully polished floor. “…under penalty of decapitation.” Hiroshi added, a thunderous scowl marring his otherwise handsome face.
The captain’s eyes widened visibly, and he backed away again. “Y-yes my lord.” he said as he quickly exited the room to carryout the Lord’s orders.
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