InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Remnants of the Spider ❯ The Crow ( Chapter 29 )
[ 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: 5.3K | Visits: 258 | 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: 5.3K | Visits: 258 | Status: Work In Progress
Remnants of the Spider
The Crow __________________________________________________________________ ______
Kagome was not thinking today. Not at all.
Her body had been working on autopilot from the time she woke up this morning.
She didn’t think while she and Rin shot arrows into a tree. She didn’t think as she bandaged the wounds of some villagers, while dispensing herbal medicines to others. She didn’t even think while she washed her clothing in the basin near the edge of the village. Those who spoke to, or questioned her were met with short direct answers before the miko moved on to her next task.
Even now, as a cooling bowl of rice sat forgotten in her own hand, Kagome was not thinking.
She certainly was not recalling any partial conversation she and Sesshoumaru may or may not have had last night. For all she knew, it didn’t even happen, because there was no way in the world that Sesshoumaru had asked her if she was bothered by the idea that he might be attracted to her. More than that, there was no way he would not have readily agreed when she dismissed the very notion as being silly.
What a ridiculous imagination she had!
The miko’s eyelids drooped slightly, and she was suddenly warmer than she had been a moment ago.
‘What if… what if she hadn’t imagined it?’
The miko’s cheeks flooded with color at the trace of doubt that wove its way so stealthily into her thoughts.
‘But it’s not possible. He wouldn’t…’ she countered mentally.
Allowing her eyes to close slowly, Kagome imagined the first time she had ever seen Sesshoumaru. He had been the oddest combination of near feminine beauty, and ominous lethality. She shuddered slightly. She could hardly compare that creature from four years ago to the male she had seen last night.
In some ways he was the similar, but… in a lot of ways, he was completely different.
Since that time he had tried to kill Inuyasha, had tried to kill herself, more than once. And had gone on to try and kill Inuyasha several more times.
A slight frown creased her brow as she continued to allow the memories to flood her mind.
She wasn’t sure she could pinpoint when, but somewhere along the line he stopped exhibiting violence toward their little group unless thoroughly provoked… by Inuyasha of course. In fact, in his own way, he had helped them on several occasions. When Inuyasha had lost himself to his demonic blood and was rampaging through a human settlement, it was Sesshoumaru who stopped him and even told them how to make the hanyou return to normal. Though he had always said he would kill Inuyasha, he had always refrained from doing so, even when given the perfect opportunity.
He had also saved her once. When Mukotsu the poison master intended to force her to “marry” him, Sesshoumaru killed him without so much as batting an eye. He had said he’d done it simply because the undead male was in his way, but surely he would have heard what the wretched man had planned to do long before he entered the hut in which she was being held.
Was it possible that he wanted to halt Mukotsu’s lascivious advances? Why would he have cared?
The miko’s eyes opened slightly, but remained glassy and unfocussed. The cooking fire she had used a short time ago to prepare the evening meal continued to dance merrily before her unseeing eyes as a small smile graced her lips.
It was kinda funny thinking about how he had been in the past in comparison to how he was now. She had never really backed down from him, but Sesshoumaru had been a really scary guy! She had personally witnessed how indifferent he could be about taking the lives of humans and demons alike. He was unpredictable and always seemed to have his own agenda.
That hadn’t changed. He was still as enigmatic as ever, and she was sure he would still be extremely dangerous when provoked, but she just didn’t see him the same way anymore. Sure he was kinda pushy, and more nosey than she would have imagined, but in these recent weeks, he had not exhibited so much as a hit of violence toward her, and she had yelled at him at leas once.
It was strange to even consider, but it seemed that he not only accepted her friendship, but reciprocated it as well. In his own emotionally stunted way, Sesshoumaru had helped her through the most difficult time in her life. She couldn’t imagine how much more difficult Kaede’s death would have been if he had not been around.
He had given her sound advice, and just last night, he had offered a few words of comfort. She could tell that he was unaccustomed to such gestures but the fact that he’d tried was probably even more comforting than the words themselves. Her cheeks warmed slightly.
Not far away, a young girl and a kitsune looked on in mild concern. A small smile on her face, and empty chopsticks placed against her unmoving lips, the miko had been staring into space for the better part of twenty minutes.
Speaking quietly behind his hand Shippou leaned toward his companion. “Is she going to be okay?”
Rin shrugged lightly. “She’s been like that all day. I think she must have met with Lord Sesshoumaru again last night.”
The kit frowned and the girl noticed.
“I wouldn’t worry though. They’ve been getting along really well, and she doesn’t seem upset or anything, just preoccupied.” Keeping her eyes on her still daydreaming mentor, she whispered conspiratorially, “I think she and Lord Sesshoumaru are really starting to like each other.”
Shippou’s eyes widened. “Really?!” was his incredulous reply. He had known Sesshoumaru had been coming around a lot lately, but he had just assumed that the daiyoukai was checking on Rin.
Interrupting the kit’s musings the girl giggled quietly behind her little hand. “Yeah, you should see the way he looks at her!”
To those who did not know the demon lord well, the looks he gave the miko would likely have been interpreted as nothing more than bland indifference, but Rin was absolutely convinced that she knew better. There was a certain spark in her lord’s eyes when he looked at Kagome, something she never saw when he looked at anyone else. It wasn’t something she could readily identify, but she had a good feeling about it.
She looked over at Shippou, who had just crammed a large piece of fish into his mouth. A coy little smile found her lips. She was unsurprised to see a similar look flashing through the emerald depths that stared back at her.
“What?” he asked around his mouthful of food, wondering why she was suddenly staring at him.
Her only answer was a gradually growing smile.
Their moment was interrupted when an abrupt gasp drew their attention. Kagome dropped her bowl entirely spilling some of its contents, and her head snapped toward the door. It took a few moments, but Rin soon felt what he mentor apparently did.
‘Lord Sesshoumaru!’ she thought happily, but her smile soon faded when she realized that he was not alone. There was another demonic aura accompanying his slightly more powerful one. Her brows began to furrow as she focused on the unfamiliar youki. The demon was powerful; really, reallypowerful, but its aura was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
Kagome was wearing a similar expression, but said nothing as she continued to stare at the door. Standing, the miko subconsciously ran her fingers through her hair, straightening it before she began to brush imaginary debris from her clothing.
“Stay here.” she said automatically before she turned and exited the hut. She had not stood outside for long before Sesshoumaru’s familiar silhouette came into view. Just as she had expected, there was another demon with him, a male.
He was of similar height to the demon lord himself, but outside of that, his appearance was starkly different. Where Sesshoumaru’s hair was fair in color, the other demon’s was as dark as night. The hair at the front and crown of his head was drawn up into a high ponytail while the hair in the back remained unbound.
His dark blue clothing appeared to be of similar quality to that of Sesshoumaru’s but was not nearly as elaborate. He wore sturdy, but simple armor and carried a single katana at his hip. Like Sesshoumaru, the demon wore a sashiuki hakama which was gathered at the ankles. The sleeves of his haori were gathered into long dark gloves that reached his elbow and appeared to be plated with some sort of metal. Presumably to deflect blows from an enemy.
As the pair of them drew closer, Kagome was able to see that the demon’s eyes were a bright shade of shimmering blue. His aura was unusual to her, but the crest upon his brow seemed to indicate that he was an elemental; a fire youkai.
‘Except…’ she noted mentally that the demon’s crest was blue. ‘Blue flames?’ she wondered. Something seemed vaguely familiar about that.
Kagome thought it over for a moment before she suddenly remembered something Sango had told her about elementals.
They tended to be very humanoid in their appearances, and many of them had neither fangs nor claws. Often the only giveaway that they were even youkai aside from their pointed ears, was a crest which they wore proudly upon their brows.
Most elementals were immensely powerful if she recalled correctly. The demon huntress had also told her that not all fire youkai were equal in power. The weakest of them wore a red crest, while stronger ones wore yellow or orange crest. More powerful still were the ones who wore the blue crest. When the reached their ultimate power, their crests became a radiant white.
Usually ultimate power for an elemental youkai was only reached through advanced age, and by then there were few who could hope to stand against them and live. It was only fortunate that most elemental youkai were docile and peace-loving in nature, as very, very few demon slayers would stand a chance against them, especially the older ones.
Soon the demons were just a few feet from her, and Kagome walked forward to meet them. Before she could say anything, the unknown demon began to speak.
“Good day. You must be Kagome-sama.” he said before executing a deep bow.
Kagome slowly returned it with a bow of her own before replying. “Yes, but the honorific isn’t really necessary.”
The demon flashed her a pleasant smile. “You are far too modest. Tales of your victory over Naraku have reached far across this land. You are worthy of nothing less than the highest respect, anything less would be tremendously inappropriate.”
The combination of flattery and mild embarrassment caused a faint blush to color the miko’s cheeks, but she managed not to look away. She was silent for just a few seconds before deciding to change the subject.
“Um…” she began awkwardly, “I don’t believe you told me your name.”
The demon’s eyes widened slightly. “Forgive me Kagome-sama,” he said with another quick bow, “I am Tsunjin, loyal vassal to Lord Sesshoumaru and sentinel of the western lands.”
“Oh, nice to meet you.” she answered politely, her tone colored with lingering curiosity.
A bloated silence followed, and Kagome resisted the urge to fidget under the intense blue gaze being leveled on her.
“Umm…” she began, nervously tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.
It was only then that Tsunjin realized that he had been staring. He gave himself a slight shake.
“You must think me an boorish oaf.” he said as he looked away from her, a sheepish smile gracing his handsome face. “I am normally not so impolite as to stare, but…” he trailed off and looked at her again, “It is so strange…” he said as if he were no longer speaking to her, but allowing his thoughts to be vocalized without his mindful consent.
“What’s strange?” Kagome wanted to know.
He shook himself again. “I… did not expect a woman of such apparent power and heroism to be so… beautiful.”
A deep blush followed the unanticipated compliment, but before the miko could think to respond, Sesshoumaru cut into the conversation.
“Tsunjin.” his commanding tone startled her slightly, and Kagome turned away from the elemental to look at him. It may have been her imagination, but the demon lord looked just a little less happy than he usually did. Not that there was much of a difference, but something about his eyes, and the set of his jaw gave her the impression that he was slightly… annoyed?
An odd sense of familiarity tickled the back of her mind, but Kagome brushed it away before it could manifest into an actual thought.
“You have an assignment.” the demon lord stated coolly.
Tsunjin responded with a respectful bow. “Yes, of course my lord.” he said quickly. Turning back to Kagome, he offered one last smile and another curt bow. “It was an honor to meet you Kagome-sama. I am certain that we will meet again.”
In spite of feeling a bit uneasy now, Kagome returned his smile. “It was nice meeting you too.”
His smile broadened slightly before the demon turned away from her and headed back the way from which he and Sesshoumaru had come.
Both Miko and daiyoukai watched him go.
The elemental had displayed an instant enthrallment toward Kagome, a fact which was oddly disquieting to them both. It made the miko feel slightly uncomfortable having another male display such an open fascination with her. She was sure Sesshoumaru’s presence added to the awkwardness, but for the moment she refused to consider why. They were just friends after all.
From the corners of his eyes, Sesshoumaru watched as Tsunjin disappeared into the distance. He would have to speak with the demon fairly soon. He had not anticipated his reaction to Kagome.
Tsunjin was unmated, and clearly attracted to the miko. Even elementals tended not to look to humans as potential mates, but all youkai were attracted to power. The spiritual power Kagome possessed was not something which could be ignored. It charged the very air around her, a warning against any who would wish to do her harm or a beacon to any who sought a powerful ally… or mate.
The demon lord narrowed his eyes. That was not the reason Tsunjin had been brought to this village. He, Sesshoumaru, had given the fire demon an assignment, and he expected him to fulfill it. It would not do for him to become distracted with the notion of courting the miko. He would ensure that Tsunjin was informed of this.
“…Assignment?” Kagome was asking, unknowingly halting his train of thought.
He turned his attention to her, his eyes locking with hers. “He is to patrol the borers of this village, and report any unusual activity to me at once.”
“Oh…” was her simple response, but the shallow crease in her brows told him of her apparent displeasure. A single brow rose in curiosity, as he had not expected a negative response from her.
“You are displeased.”
It was a statement not a question. His voice was calm, but Kagome was almost sure she could detect a bit of confusion and a hint of what sounded surprisingly like concern.
Ignoring what was probably an inaccurate assessment, the miko folded her arms over her chest and turned away from him refusing to speak. She immediately felt him move closer, but refused to turn and look at him.
“This Sesshoumaru will not be ignored Kagome.”
The sound of her name from his lips stole a small gasp from her, and much of Kagome’s anger slipped from her grasp. Unfortunately, it left only a dull ache in it’s place.
“I thought you trusted me Sesshoumaru.” she blurted out, but still refused to face him. She knew he was standing right behind her, as she could feel the heat of his large, powerful body.
‘Don’t think about that!’ she scolded herself mentally. She wanted to hold onto what little anger she had left, and not focus vaguely delicious, but highly inappropriate fact that if she leaned back just a little bit, she could rest her head against his chest. Nope, this was not the time to consider such things!
Wait a minute… yes… no… wait… was that… was that his breath brushing across the back of her ear??!! Kagome suppressed a shudder, but just barely.
“When did I exhibit distrust toward you?” the demon lord wanted to know.
The miko rounded on him. He was even closer than she thought, but she suppressed a gasp of surprise in favor of glaring up into his eyes.
“Just now!” Kagome yelled as she pointed in the direction the fire demon had gone. “I thought you trusted me to protect Rin, but now I’m suddenly not good enough?” she finished, folding her arms over her chest again. Though she tried to hide it beneath her anger, the miko was clearly hurt by what she perceived as a loss of faith between them.
Not for the first time the daiyoukai wondered how he allowed himself to become entangled in this strange ‘friendship’ with the woman. She was such a vexing creature at times. Her volatile nature could be quite frustrating, he thought with a slight narrowing of his golden eyes.
But on the other hand, it was also fairly captivating, and even amusing at times. All I all, her unusual personality did not repel him as he would have expected, instead it only served to draw him in and pique his interest and his curiosity. In the end, he supposed he allowed the friendship for no other reason than that the woman intrigued him.
“Well?!” Kagome prompted, and he could tell that she was rapidly approaching the end of her patience. Normally he would scoff at the notion of someone losing their patience with him, after all, what could she do about it?
‘She could withdraw her friendship.’ a helpful voice whispered from the back of his mind. To his great surprise, his chest constricted rather unpleasantly at the thought. It was quite surprising indeed. Had he considered it, he would not have expected such a powerful reaction to the idea of loosing the miko’s friendship.
‘Perhaps it is time for an explanation?’ the same voice wondered curiously.
“Have you not considered that it is not merely Rin’s safety I seek to maintain?” he asked after a moment.
Kagome’s eyes widened, and her lips parted soundlessly. It took only a moment for understanding to dawn in her mind, but she could hardly believe what she had heard.
“I…I hadn’t thought of that.” she murmured breathlessly. Feeling lightheaded, and embarrassed and abnormally warm she began, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to yell at you, I just thought--”
“It is of no consequence.” the demon lord cut her off before she could begin to ramble.
Kagome stared up at him and for at least a moment she was completely speechless. Was he really saying that he wanted to protect her?
Needing an answer, she cautiously asked, “You… you mean you did this… for me?”
She was so focused on his face that she did not see him move. Apparently he had however, for she soon felt the tips of his clawed fingers on her left cheek Very slowly, each of his fingers slid across the side of her face before finally coming to rest just as they threaded into her hair. She was already looking into his eyes, but the gesture somehow drew her in even deeper.
“Are you not this Sesshoumaru’s friend?” the demon lord asked in response to her question.
Noticing how her mouth had become uncomfortably dry, Kagome cautiously licked her lips as she willed the now sluggish gears of her brain to churn out an answer. The slight movement of the daiyoukai’s eyes told her that he watched as she attempted to moisten her lips. The realization caused her to flush in embarrassment, and something else; something she was reluctant to put a name to.
“Umm… yeah.” she managed, finally finding an answer to his question.
A small smirk formed on his lips.
“Good.” __________________________________________________________________ ______
“Are you certain it is wise to go against Hiroshi-sama’s wishes?” asked a diminutive crow demon. Though his words would not have been understood by any stray passers-by, the little creature spoke in a low whispering tone. “Surely you realize that you will not remain in his good graces for long if you continue to disobey his orders?”
Standing together with another demon on a spacious balcony, the crow youkai looked up at the other male with mild concern.
“I have considered this Shin,” Daisuke remarked quietly in a language only the crow could make sense of. “but there are few other options. If at all possible, I will not see that dragon unleashed again.”
This incident with the scrolls did not bode well in his mind, and the ancient fox demon had learned long ago to trust his instincts. He could not shake the idea that there was more to this situation than what was visible on the surface and he would do whatever he could to help, even at the risk of angering his lord.
Kami help them if that creature was set free to roam these lands again.
Drawing a deep breath, Daisuke focused his attention on the crow again. With careful fingers, he ensured that the small scroll of parchment was securely attached to the bird’s right leg.
“You must make haste, my old friend. Fly well.”
The crow nodded. “As you wish Daisuke-sama.”
The fox looked on in silence as the bird turned away from him and spread its midnight wings. With a powerful thrust, the creature pushed off the wooden surface of his balcony and took to the skies.
Daisuke continued to watch, his mind clouded worry as the bird shrank against the darkening horizon. __________________________________________________________________ ______
The Crow __________________________________________________________________ ______
Kagome was not thinking today. Not at all.
Her body had been working on autopilot from the time she woke up this morning.
She didn’t think while she and Rin shot arrows into a tree. She didn’t think as she bandaged the wounds of some villagers, while dispensing herbal medicines to others. She didn’t even think while she washed her clothing in the basin near the edge of the village. Those who spoke to, or questioned her were met with short direct answers before the miko moved on to her next task.
Even now, as a cooling bowl of rice sat forgotten in her own hand, Kagome was not thinking.
She certainly was not recalling any partial conversation she and Sesshoumaru may or may not have had last night. For all she knew, it didn’t even happen, because there was no way in the world that Sesshoumaru had asked her if she was bothered by the idea that he might be attracted to her. More than that, there was no way he would not have readily agreed when she dismissed the very notion as being silly.
What a ridiculous imagination she had!
The miko’s eyelids drooped slightly, and she was suddenly warmer than she had been a moment ago.
‘What if… what if she hadn’t imagined it?’
The miko’s cheeks flooded with color at the trace of doubt that wove its way so stealthily into her thoughts.
‘But it’s not possible. He wouldn’t…’ she countered mentally.
Allowing her eyes to close slowly, Kagome imagined the first time she had ever seen Sesshoumaru. He had been the oddest combination of near feminine beauty, and ominous lethality. She shuddered slightly. She could hardly compare that creature from four years ago to the male she had seen last night.
In some ways he was the similar, but… in a lot of ways, he was completely different.
Since that time he had tried to kill Inuyasha, had tried to kill herself, more than once. And had gone on to try and kill Inuyasha several more times.
A slight frown creased her brow as she continued to allow the memories to flood her mind.
She wasn’t sure she could pinpoint when, but somewhere along the line he stopped exhibiting violence toward their little group unless thoroughly provoked… by Inuyasha of course. In fact, in his own way, he had helped them on several occasions. When Inuyasha had lost himself to his demonic blood and was rampaging through a human settlement, it was Sesshoumaru who stopped him and even told them how to make the hanyou return to normal. Though he had always said he would kill Inuyasha, he had always refrained from doing so, even when given the perfect opportunity.
He had also saved her once. When Mukotsu the poison master intended to force her to “marry” him, Sesshoumaru killed him without so much as batting an eye. He had said he’d done it simply because the undead male was in his way, but surely he would have heard what the wretched man had planned to do long before he entered the hut in which she was being held.
Was it possible that he wanted to halt Mukotsu’s lascivious advances? Why would he have cared?
The miko’s eyes opened slightly, but remained glassy and unfocussed. The cooking fire she had used a short time ago to prepare the evening meal continued to dance merrily before her unseeing eyes as a small smile graced her lips.
It was kinda funny thinking about how he had been in the past in comparison to how he was now. She had never really backed down from him, but Sesshoumaru had been a really scary guy! She had personally witnessed how indifferent he could be about taking the lives of humans and demons alike. He was unpredictable and always seemed to have his own agenda.
That hadn’t changed. He was still as enigmatic as ever, and she was sure he would still be extremely dangerous when provoked, but she just didn’t see him the same way anymore. Sure he was kinda pushy, and more nosey than she would have imagined, but in these recent weeks, he had not exhibited so much as a hit of violence toward her, and she had yelled at him at leas once.
It was strange to even consider, but it seemed that he not only accepted her friendship, but reciprocated it as well. In his own emotionally stunted way, Sesshoumaru had helped her through the most difficult time in her life. She couldn’t imagine how much more difficult Kaede’s death would have been if he had not been around.
He had given her sound advice, and just last night, he had offered a few words of comfort. She could tell that he was unaccustomed to such gestures but the fact that he’d tried was probably even more comforting than the words themselves. Her cheeks warmed slightly.
Not far away, a young girl and a kitsune looked on in mild concern. A small smile on her face, and empty chopsticks placed against her unmoving lips, the miko had been staring into space for the better part of twenty minutes.
Speaking quietly behind his hand Shippou leaned toward his companion. “Is she going to be okay?”
Rin shrugged lightly. “She’s been like that all day. I think she must have met with Lord Sesshoumaru again last night.”
The kit frowned and the girl noticed.
“I wouldn’t worry though. They’ve been getting along really well, and she doesn’t seem upset or anything, just preoccupied.” Keeping her eyes on her still daydreaming mentor, she whispered conspiratorially, “I think she and Lord Sesshoumaru are really starting to like each other.”
Shippou’s eyes widened. “Really?!” was his incredulous reply. He had known Sesshoumaru had been coming around a lot lately, but he had just assumed that the daiyoukai was checking on Rin.
Interrupting the kit’s musings the girl giggled quietly behind her little hand. “Yeah, you should see the way he looks at her!”
To those who did not know the demon lord well, the looks he gave the miko would likely have been interpreted as nothing more than bland indifference, but Rin was absolutely convinced that she knew better. There was a certain spark in her lord’s eyes when he looked at Kagome, something she never saw when he looked at anyone else. It wasn’t something she could readily identify, but she had a good feeling about it.
She looked over at Shippou, who had just crammed a large piece of fish into his mouth. A coy little smile found her lips. She was unsurprised to see a similar look flashing through the emerald depths that stared back at her.
“What?” he asked around his mouthful of food, wondering why she was suddenly staring at him.
Her only answer was a gradually growing smile.
Their moment was interrupted when an abrupt gasp drew their attention. Kagome dropped her bowl entirely spilling some of its contents, and her head snapped toward the door. It took a few moments, but Rin soon felt what he mentor apparently did.
‘Lord Sesshoumaru!’ she thought happily, but her smile soon faded when she realized that he was not alone. There was another demonic aura accompanying his slightly more powerful one. Her brows began to furrow as she focused on the unfamiliar youki. The demon was powerful; really, reallypowerful, but its aura was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
Kagome was wearing a similar expression, but said nothing as she continued to stare at the door. Standing, the miko subconsciously ran her fingers through her hair, straightening it before she began to brush imaginary debris from her clothing.
“Stay here.” she said automatically before she turned and exited the hut. She had not stood outside for long before Sesshoumaru’s familiar silhouette came into view. Just as she had expected, there was another demon with him, a male.
He was of similar height to the demon lord himself, but outside of that, his appearance was starkly different. Where Sesshoumaru’s hair was fair in color, the other demon’s was as dark as night. The hair at the front and crown of his head was drawn up into a high ponytail while the hair in the back remained unbound.
His dark blue clothing appeared to be of similar quality to that of Sesshoumaru’s but was not nearly as elaborate. He wore sturdy, but simple armor and carried a single katana at his hip. Like Sesshoumaru, the demon wore a sashiuki hakama which was gathered at the ankles. The sleeves of his haori were gathered into long dark gloves that reached his elbow and appeared to be plated with some sort of metal. Presumably to deflect blows from an enemy.
As the pair of them drew closer, Kagome was able to see that the demon’s eyes were a bright shade of shimmering blue. His aura was unusual to her, but the crest upon his brow seemed to indicate that he was an elemental; a fire youkai.
‘Except…’ she noted mentally that the demon’s crest was blue. ‘Blue flames?’ she wondered. Something seemed vaguely familiar about that.
Kagome thought it over for a moment before she suddenly remembered something Sango had told her about elementals.
They tended to be very humanoid in their appearances, and many of them had neither fangs nor claws. Often the only giveaway that they were even youkai aside from their pointed ears, was a crest which they wore proudly upon their brows.
Most elementals were immensely powerful if she recalled correctly. The demon huntress had also told her that not all fire youkai were equal in power. The weakest of them wore a red crest, while stronger ones wore yellow or orange crest. More powerful still were the ones who wore the blue crest. When the reached their ultimate power, their crests became a radiant white.
Usually ultimate power for an elemental youkai was only reached through advanced age, and by then there were few who could hope to stand against them and live. It was only fortunate that most elemental youkai were docile and peace-loving in nature, as very, very few demon slayers would stand a chance against them, especially the older ones.
Soon the demons were just a few feet from her, and Kagome walked forward to meet them. Before she could say anything, the unknown demon began to speak.
“Good day. You must be Kagome-sama.” he said before executing a deep bow.
Kagome slowly returned it with a bow of her own before replying. “Yes, but the honorific isn’t really necessary.”
The demon flashed her a pleasant smile. “You are far too modest. Tales of your victory over Naraku have reached far across this land. You are worthy of nothing less than the highest respect, anything less would be tremendously inappropriate.”
The combination of flattery and mild embarrassment caused a faint blush to color the miko’s cheeks, but she managed not to look away. She was silent for just a few seconds before deciding to change the subject.
“Um…” she began awkwardly, “I don’t believe you told me your name.”
The demon’s eyes widened slightly. “Forgive me Kagome-sama,” he said with another quick bow, “I am Tsunjin, loyal vassal to Lord Sesshoumaru and sentinel of the western lands.”
“Oh, nice to meet you.” she answered politely, her tone colored with lingering curiosity.
A bloated silence followed, and Kagome resisted the urge to fidget under the intense blue gaze being leveled on her.
“Umm…” she began, nervously tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.
It was only then that Tsunjin realized that he had been staring. He gave himself a slight shake.
“You must think me an boorish oaf.” he said as he looked away from her, a sheepish smile gracing his handsome face. “I am normally not so impolite as to stare, but…” he trailed off and looked at her again, “It is so strange…” he said as if he were no longer speaking to her, but allowing his thoughts to be vocalized without his mindful consent.
“What’s strange?” Kagome wanted to know.
He shook himself again. “I… did not expect a woman of such apparent power and heroism to be so… beautiful.”
A deep blush followed the unanticipated compliment, but before the miko could think to respond, Sesshoumaru cut into the conversation.
“Tsunjin.” his commanding tone startled her slightly, and Kagome turned away from the elemental to look at him. It may have been her imagination, but the demon lord looked just a little less happy than he usually did. Not that there was much of a difference, but something about his eyes, and the set of his jaw gave her the impression that he was slightly… annoyed?
An odd sense of familiarity tickled the back of her mind, but Kagome brushed it away before it could manifest into an actual thought.
“You have an assignment.” the demon lord stated coolly.
Tsunjin responded with a respectful bow. “Yes, of course my lord.” he said quickly. Turning back to Kagome, he offered one last smile and another curt bow. “It was an honor to meet you Kagome-sama. I am certain that we will meet again.”
In spite of feeling a bit uneasy now, Kagome returned his smile. “It was nice meeting you too.”
His smile broadened slightly before the demon turned away from her and headed back the way from which he and Sesshoumaru had come.
Both Miko and daiyoukai watched him go.
The elemental had displayed an instant enthrallment toward Kagome, a fact which was oddly disquieting to them both. It made the miko feel slightly uncomfortable having another male display such an open fascination with her. She was sure Sesshoumaru’s presence added to the awkwardness, but for the moment she refused to consider why. They were just friends after all.
From the corners of his eyes, Sesshoumaru watched as Tsunjin disappeared into the distance. He would have to speak with the demon fairly soon. He had not anticipated his reaction to Kagome.
Tsunjin was unmated, and clearly attracted to the miko. Even elementals tended not to look to humans as potential mates, but all youkai were attracted to power. The spiritual power Kagome possessed was not something which could be ignored. It charged the very air around her, a warning against any who would wish to do her harm or a beacon to any who sought a powerful ally… or mate.
The demon lord narrowed his eyes. That was not the reason Tsunjin had been brought to this village. He, Sesshoumaru, had given the fire demon an assignment, and he expected him to fulfill it. It would not do for him to become distracted with the notion of courting the miko. He would ensure that Tsunjin was informed of this.
“…Assignment?” Kagome was asking, unknowingly halting his train of thought.
He turned his attention to her, his eyes locking with hers. “He is to patrol the borers of this village, and report any unusual activity to me at once.”
“Oh…” was her simple response, but the shallow crease in her brows told him of her apparent displeasure. A single brow rose in curiosity, as he had not expected a negative response from her.
“You are displeased.”
It was a statement not a question. His voice was calm, but Kagome was almost sure she could detect a bit of confusion and a hint of what sounded surprisingly like concern.
Ignoring what was probably an inaccurate assessment, the miko folded her arms over her chest and turned away from him refusing to speak. She immediately felt him move closer, but refused to turn and look at him.
“This Sesshoumaru will not be ignored Kagome.”
The sound of her name from his lips stole a small gasp from her, and much of Kagome’s anger slipped from her grasp. Unfortunately, it left only a dull ache in it’s place.
“I thought you trusted me Sesshoumaru.” she blurted out, but still refused to face him. She knew he was standing right behind her, as she could feel the heat of his large, powerful body.
‘Don’t think about that!’ she scolded herself mentally. She wanted to hold onto what little anger she had left, and not focus vaguely delicious, but highly inappropriate fact that if she leaned back just a little bit, she could rest her head against his chest. Nope, this was not the time to consider such things!
Wait a minute… yes… no… wait… was that… was that his breath brushing across the back of her ear??!! Kagome suppressed a shudder, but just barely.
“When did I exhibit distrust toward you?” the demon lord wanted to know.
The miko rounded on him. He was even closer than she thought, but she suppressed a gasp of surprise in favor of glaring up into his eyes.
“Just now!” Kagome yelled as she pointed in the direction the fire demon had gone. “I thought you trusted me to protect Rin, but now I’m suddenly not good enough?” she finished, folding her arms over her chest again. Though she tried to hide it beneath her anger, the miko was clearly hurt by what she perceived as a loss of faith between them.
Not for the first time the daiyoukai wondered how he allowed himself to become entangled in this strange ‘friendship’ with the woman. She was such a vexing creature at times. Her volatile nature could be quite frustrating, he thought with a slight narrowing of his golden eyes.
But on the other hand, it was also fairly captivating, and even amusing at times. All I all, her unusual personality did not repel him as he would have expected, instead it only served to draw him in and pique his interest and his curiosity. In the end, he supposed he allowed the friendship for no other reason than that the woman intrigued him.
“Well?!” Kagome prompted, and he could tell that she was rapidly approaching the end of her patience. Normally he would scoff at the notion of someone losing their patience with him, after all, what could she do about it?
‘She could withdraw her friendship.’ a helpful voice whispered from the back of his mind. To his great surprise, his chest constricted rather unpleasantly at the thought. It was quite surprising indeed. Had he considered it, he would not have expected such a powerful reaction to the idea of loosing the miko’s friendship.
‘Perhaps it is time for an explanation?’ the same voice wondered curiously.
“Have you not considered that it is not merely Rin’s safety I seek to maintain?” he asked after a moment.
Kagome’s eyes widened, and her lips parted soundlessly. It took only a moment for understanding to dawn in her mind, but she could hardly believe what she had heard.
“I…I hadn’t thought of that.” she murmured breathlessly. Feeling lightheaded, and embarrassed and abnormally warm she began, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to yell at you, I just thought--”
“It is of no consequence.” the demon lord cut her off before she could begin to ramble.
Kagome stared up at him and for at least a moment she was completely speechless. Was he really saying that he wanted to protect her?
Needing an answer, she cautiously asked, “You… you mean you did this… for me?”
She was so focused on his face that she did not see him move. Apparently he had however, for she soon felt the tips of his clawed fingers on her left cheek Very slowly, each of his fingers slid across the side of her face before finally coming to rest just as they threaded into her hair. She was already looking into his eyes, but the gesture somehow drew her in even deeper.
“Are you not this Sesshoumaru’s friend?” the demon lord asked in response to her question.
Noticing how her mouth had become uncomfortably dry, Kagome cautiously licked her lips as she willed the now sluggish gears of her brain to churn out an answer. The slight movement of the daiyoukai’s eyes told her that he watched as she attempted to moisten her lips. The realization caused her to flush in embarrassment, and something else; something she was reluctant to put a name to.
“Umm… yeah.” she managed, finally finding an answer to his question.
A small smirk formed on his lips.
“Good.” __________________________________________________________________ ______
“Are you certain it is wise to go against Hiroshi-sama’s wishes?” asked a diminutive crow demon. Though his words would not have been understood by any stray passers-by, the little creature spoke in a low whispering tone. “Surely you realize that you will not remain in his good graces for long if you continue to disobey his orders?”
Standing together with another demon on a spacious balcony, the crow youkai looked up at the other male with mild concern.
“I have considered this Shin,” Daisuke remarked quietly in a language only the crow could make sense of. “but there are few other options. If at all possible, I will not see that dragon unleashed again.”
This incident with the scrolls did not bode well in his mind, and the ancient fox demon had learned long ago to trust his instincts. He could not shake the idea that there was more to this situation than what was visible on the surface and he would do whatever he could to help, even at the risk of angering his lord.
Kami help them if that creature was set free to roam these lands again.
Drawing a deep breath, Daisuke focused his attention on the crow again. With careful fingers, he ensured that the small scroll of parchment was securely attached to the bird’s right leg.
“You must make haste, my old friend. Fly well.”
The crow nodded. “As you wish Daisuke-sama.”
The fox looked on in silence as the bird turned away from him and spread its midnight wings. With a powerful thrust, the creature pushed off the wooden surface of his balcony and took to the skies.
Daisuke continued to watch, his mind clouded worry as the bird shrank against the darkening horizon. __________________________________________________________________ ______