InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Requiem of Time ❯ If It's Not One Thing ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Special Note: Hello! If you're reading this, please let me know if the chapter is still `jumbled'. I'm sorry to anyone who returned to the chapter to re-read it, I had no idea that the site chewed on the format and regurgitated it. :S Thanks for your patience, and I hope this is better! :D

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm not going to explain the hiatus from writing, as it's a long and unnecessary story. :) There's a little something about it on my account though, if you're interested.

To continue with something I wrote about a month ago: WOW. I LOVE all the feedback I got! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! It makes writing all these pages worth it. (even if I do privilege myself and bicker in some.)

So, before I start, I'd like to address some general concerns that were expressed, so now some of you who did not ask may now have the answers!

1: If you don't understand a chapter, or a scene confuses you, please let me know. If you're being general though and say 'the second half of the chapter was hard to grasp', then I can only give you a general answer in return. So, if you can specify what's giving you a hard time, feel free to ask me about it and I'll be happy to explain/edit (a lot of you have actually caught mistakes I've made by pointing out confusing parts. :D). If a LOT of things confused you though, then I highly recommend that you go back and re-read the chapter. I suggest this not because of doubt of your ability to grasp things, but because things are easier to read once the excitement to read something new is over. Also, it's not uncommon for me to remember the most random of facts and to give them very important meaning later, so please do not continue reading until your uncertainties are resolved, okay? Otherwise you'll be stumbling, and may get frustrated, and I want you to enjoy the story rather than trudge through it. :P Now, if something is just blindingly wrong, then please PM me and I'll edit it A-SAP while cursing my ability to overlook such things. :D

2: Yes, Kagome's going through a very, to put it harshly, 'not so spunky and audacious' phase right now. No worries, she'll get her rebellious spirit back (some of you have already guessed how... Darn it) and it'll be way in time for teaching Sesshomaru how to swim. :P I haven't forgotten that little agreement of theirs! (Example A for random facts drawn from previous chapters.) To continue, there's actually a really great reason why she's going through this phase (yes, I plan these things...), and I'm not telling you exactly what it is. Ha ha! Vaguely what it is, is I'm setting up a 'reader response' later in the story. DX I know, who has the time to think of that in a fanfic, but that's what I do when macroeconomics and language intensives have me brain dead. It's going to happen, and dammit, you better love it! X3 By the way, I actually got a B in that economics course! YAAAAAY!! I was expecting to fail! :3 Now I'm in a Spanish language intensive until this coming weekend.. -feels brain sizzle- Intensives are hard.

3: Ah, what else was there...? Oh! The one thing that's driving everyone up the wall! Kagome's freakin' annoying uncertainty about relationships! ... Well, I could seriously write five pages of psychology to support my reasonings behind this, but to put it point-blank and to avoid all the details I've already given in past Author Notes: It is part of the plot. I'm sorry, but the plot simply doesn't work out without this. Sounds dumb, right? All my friends say I'm insane, and I don't care if you agree with them because I am, and so far, said insanity has made a pretty good story. (I'm still appalled that it's so freakin' long. It was supposed to be ten chapters in all! And I'd make a squinty eyed emoticon with a little anger mark, but these sites hate those things, so I can't. T-T I can make that one though!) So, yes, it's taking a very, very, very... very long time. Since the ending of Spring Fever, I've tried changing it, tried altering the plot, and tried to find places to quirk, but nothing works out without degrading the whole story, and I'd rather have a good plot than a sensible and well deserved establishment to their relationship. Sorry, but it's going to be that way. I'll make it up to you with some lemons later on, how about that? :P (No, they'll not be a driving force of any sort, they're just for your enjoyment. Even though you could be under eighteen. -raises eyebrow- It's naughty little girls like you who make adults like me into criminals. :O :) XP)

Alright, that's all so far. Thanks for reading the author's note I've had two months to clutter. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6

If It's Not One Thing...

Sesshomaru awoke to a faint, feminine and young 'ohh!' which was promptly followed by several soft yet urgent 'ssh!' before all noise died, leaving the surroundings to be far too quiet.

That was jarringly out of place... As was his physical condition. He felt heavy, and warm, and so very relaxed. He remained still, muscles burdened and lethargic from a rarely good rest. Perhaps he could forget the noises ever happened and slip away again.

Unfortunately, the morning scenario became even more peculiar by the instant. Starting with the discovery that he had a slight, foreign weight on his stomach. To cancel out the first suspicion, it was lighter than his arms; one of which was uncharacteristically on his chest, and the other was pinned. He was restrained? Why?

Before alarm could form, his senses gathered information. There was no malice hanging in the air, no fear for being caught, and there was someone there who smelled familiar, like him, and yet did not. Also, the weight on his arm had a pulse, which thumped lightly and frequently in time with what was draped on his stomach. There was breathing as well, and it was quicker than his own, yet calm.

This was puzzling, until he took his second conscious breath and recognized a particular female scent he was excessively fond of lately. He felt himself relax from a tension he had not noticed gathering. Kagome. It was Kagome. Everything was fine, and Sesshomaru was ready to laugh at himself. He had not placed her as being there after growing accustomed to her presence all night, his scent weighing over her own in a way that pleased him immensely. Normally, he could not smell himself. No one could smell themselves, unless they were exerting their bodies, and even then it was difficult. Right now, his scent was woven domineeringly through Kagome's, their stronger qualities highlighting one another's. The reason he enjoyed this so much was because their odors were actually mingling (despite his coming off more forcefully), and that was not something that happened normally from being in the same room with someone.

Sesshomaru smirked at the thought, his face being tilted away from the open door. Kagome's hair tickled his lips when they moved, and everything was very, very fine.

He was on his back though, not his side in the position he had fallen asleep in. Why he did not recall turning onto his back escaped him. Such was intriguing because he always remembered when and how he moved while he slept, even if in a fully unconscious state created by exhaustion, but he overlooked this.

Having been awake now for a grand total of two and a half seconds, he bothered to observe that he was not in his quarters but in Kagome's. It also came to mind that he was still in that kimono, that it was her arm which was across his abdomen in a loose hold, her head was cushioned just below his right collar bone, and there were about forty servants outside the room in an organized line. One of them was walking away from the door and another was tip-toeing closer to it.

Apparently, everyone knew now that he and Kagome had spent a night together, and some of the servants had the gall to treat their lord and his intended as a spectacle. It was obvious that nothing intimate happened between them, considering that his and Kagome's clothes remained on and there was a definite lack of that certain pleasant odor of copulation, but rumors would most likely flow like blood in battle anyway.

Since he actually felt only minutely irritated by this, rather than scare the life out of everyone he simply stirred into action a small part of his youki; a typical routine of his since it jumped his senses into full action. He could not help but to be humored by the sudden stillness of everyone within fifty feet and how they soon fled with silent steps like a crowd of spooked spirits. No one even dared to close the crack that was in the door, how rude.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes when Kagome reacted to his stirring energy. She gave a short grumble of a moan and lifted her arm from his stomach to his chest in a smooth and heavy motion. She breathed in, long and deep, for a total of about three seconds, the whole time moving and snuggling against him in a way that made a smile break havoc on his face, and when she settled again her breath came out in a long and satisfied hum.

Today was an undeniably good day.

The sun was already up, and probably had been up for over two hours now. He vaguely wondered how he had managed to stay asleep when Kagome shifted again, the second time in three seconds, hugging his torso and drawing her leg over his own while making more of her little hums in a language he failed to fully comprehend but enjoyed nonetheless. He like her when she was unconscious, she was quite open about her feelings in that state.

It was all too good to last though, and he wondered if it was the stir of his youki that summoned her awareness. He was betting it was, and if so then he was impressed. Not many could sense such minute amounts while unconscious.

“Mmm...” she groaned, rubbing her cheek inquisitively against him through the kimono as though to figure out exactly what she was sleeping on. He smiled anew, feeling her hand roam his upper body with half a thought to try and figure it out. It went from his side, to his shoulder, up his neck, felt his cheek, and he decided to take her wrist gently before losing an eye to her curiosity.

Her head came up at the contact, quickly in an unaware manner. The upper half of her body lifted as well, miraculously propped on an elbow, and she looked down at him with a frown that was almost ill with exhaustion. Her hair was slightly tousled from sleep, framing her face in depth while brushing the sides of her cheeks.

“Good morning,” he greeted, wondering when she would snap out of her daze. He decided to help her with it by drawing her already grasped hand to his mouth and planting a light kiss over her fingers. It amazed him how long it took for her to wake up, but it did promise to be entertaining.

She just stared, slowly taking her hand back and laying the flat of that arm across his torso for support. Seeming to decide that she was dreaming, she lay back down on him and sighed. His chuckle did nothing to rouse her, despite the fact that her ear was directly over his sternum now, and so he waited.

It took eight more seconds for her to flinch, pat at him again three times with both hands, and then shoot up onto her palms with a very shocked expression.

Today was a good, amusing day.

“Sesshomaru?” she asked quickly and at a volume too high for someone just waking up. She seemed to shock herself with it.

He simply could not resist playing with her a little. “No. Guess again.”

That frown returned, and after she thought his answer over he received a light smack against his left shoulder, making him chuckle again.

She looked around, annoyed, then saw the bright door and was shocked. “It's DAY?”

“Morning,” he clarified, shifting.

She still had a hand on him, and his motions drew her eyes downwards. She was surprised to see that she was indeed touching him, and her gaze fixed to his. She had very clear, blue eyes in the morning. “Did I fall asleep on you??”

Sesshomaru got a huge grin on his face, hoping to have more mornings just like this. “No, in my arms. Do either bother you?”

She blushed, and he loved it. “Actually,” she began, eyes shying away and coming back after her sentence. “Overall, it doesn't.”

That piqued his interest. “Really?”

She smiled, beautiful despite her need for a brush, and shrugged. “I guess. You make a pretty good pillow.” She giggled and quickly bent to peck his lips, then pulled away with a faint blush and a somewhat naughty light to her expression. “And that was our first official 'good morning' kiss.”

“They are a routine thing?” he asked, his right hand -no longer pinned by her side- finding the small of her back and rubbing it, making her smile falter momentarily.

“They can be,” she admitted, relaxing against his chest again as she propped her cheek against the heel of her palm and curled fingers. “At least, more routine than kissing someone's hand.”

A low and attracted growl rumbled from him, partially intentional to see her giggle again, and he carefully cupped the back of her neck in his hand and drew her down for a better 'first good morning kiss'.

----------

Today was a pretty good day for Kagome, and she hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Waking up was a bit confusing, but after an excellent night's sleep she was ready for whatever the rest of the day could throw at her. Even if it was Sesshomaru, who was currently very awake and delighting her with his mouth against her own, the contact powerful, wanting, and yet caring all at the same time. He made her melt and drip floating pink hearts...

She felt her fingers roaming the reinforced collar of his kimono, stopping when his touch on her lower back went higher and their positions were smoothly exchanged. He hadn't become that aggressive that quickly before, but it was actually a huge turn on for her. Especially as she felt some of his weight press against her and his hand slide from behind her back to smooth across her chest. She was liking where good morning kisses wound up so far, and became determined that nothing would interrupt the fun they were going to have. Limited fun, of course...

She found his collar again, and tucking her fingers under the folds she brushed his skin. Starting at his chest, her touch caressed over his shoulders, to his back, and pushed against the fabric so that it'd loosen enough for her to pull it down his broad shoulders.

At that their kiss stopped, and he pulled back an inch. “Wait.”

She grinned. Playing hard to get? “I didn't think you'd be the first to toss the white flag,” she teased, lifting her head to his again and holding it up until his return pushed her back against the futon mat. In a few moments she was missing his skin and resumed disrobing him.

“Kagome.” he interrupted them another time, the thickness of his tone sending shivers down her back to gather in her lower feminine zone. It felt fantastic.

“No excuses,” she told him, wanting more, exposing his left shoulder and waiting for him to remove his arm, as per usual. He didn't, so she loosened the oddly thicker sash so as to draw it further down his back. He'd either pull his arm out, or let it stay oddly trapped in the fabric.

“Wait,” he repeated himself, lifting off of and away from her into a spread-knee sitting position. It was his only option, really, since he had been straddling her thigh.

How annoying. “I said, 'no',” she told him, completely affronted. She sat up with him, pinching her legs around his right knee so he couldn't go anywhere. Well, not easily, anyway.

“But-” he tried again, actually reaching to lift the fabric back over his shoulder. She cut off whatever he was going to say with a vexed groan, knocked his hand aside, grabbed the thick folded layers of silk, and flung them away to make them fall down his back.

She watched in satisfaction as the layers caught at his elbows, exposing quite the beautiful body, but the already loosened sash unloosened the rest of the way and- Oh, and he was wearing a kimono. Haha, no hakama, right...

...

... ...

Sesshomaru sighed, not embarrassed, and calmly plugged his poor ears.

His motion jerked her back into reality, and she gave out a throat-tearing shriek before her blush strangled it in her throat. After figuring out that she couldn't get away because her legs were locked around his she twisted, squirmed, and was instantly and completely off the bed and and standing a healthy ten feet away with her back to him, absolutely shaking. Dear lord, she had just seen him naked! NAKED!! Her eyes were no longer virgins!

“Get some clothes on!” she yelled breathlessly and almost out of instinct when the rustle of fabrics scrapped her suddenly sensitive hearing.

“Really, no one is that innocent,” he almost accused in a voice that was a giggle and a snort away from laughing at her.

Normally, she would have wheeled around, crossed her arms, and looked him up and down rudely before snapping back at him, but she was perfectly fine with her stance as it was. With her hands raised and pressing burning cheeks. “Well, I am, and don't you dare tell me how you're not or I'm not speaking to you for a week!” Okay, she helped her mom take care of Sota, but she'd never seen a fully developed man. Erm, live, at least. Maybe the slight racing of her heart was putting more weight to her words. She wasn't mad, per say. How could she be? Actually, she'd dare go as far as to say that it was quite a thrill, until her attentions would return to the extra space between her and inexperience. Then she just settled on being embarrassed, being pretty comfortable with that emotion of late. It took up most of the slices of her spinning mood wheel, which Sesshomaru was beginning to learn how to handle with more accuracy than he should have. Darn him.

“You are serious?”

Kagome jumped out of her thoughts and back into the present situation, and glanced over her shoulder at him. He was covered as much as necessary, which wasn't much. The kimono was in place and tied with the upper portion off and hanging almost messily at his waist. Nothing was 'messy' with him though, and if it was then he made it look intentional. Dammit! Why couldn't she undress him to look like that, all decently robed and ready to innocently molest, without everything falling apart. Or, rather, falling open.

She blushed again and looked away, wondering if she should go find a blood loving demon to alleviate her of a pint so she'd stop heating up like that. Every time she blushed she heard in the recesses of her memory Sesshomaru's mother telling her to do it more, and it was getting on her nerves.

The bed's small sigh of relief was the warning she had that he was behind her before his hands were lightly on her arms and his hair falling forward to enter her peripheral. She was ready to telling him to go away and cool off for a while, give her time to collect herself, but instead of words a little squeal sang from her when his lips and breath tickled her left ear intentionally.

“Stop that!” she giggled, jerking her head away and not getting too far. She whipped her left hand back, hoping to at least get his forehead, and she hit nothing but air. Her wrist was then caught in a soft but unyielding grip, keeping her hand slightly above her head, and she screamed with laughter when her right side was attacked with tickles. “Sessh-EEEE!! A-HAHAHA!! No!! Sto-A-HAHAHAHAHA!! Stop it! Stoppitstoppitsto-AAAAH!! E-HEHEHEHEE!!”

Through her outbursts, during which she was squirming and angling around her seized wrist like a fish suspended on the line, she heard him chuckling and enjoying himself. He wasn't even touching her too much. It was likely just the disregarded desire to laugh and knowing that he was doing it that really sent her over the edge. When he finally stopped, leaving her panting for air and giggling like a little girl, she felt him leave a kiss on her neck before letting her hand go.

"That was mean," she tried to scold, not doing so well through a smile and quick pants as his arms wrapped intimately under hers and held her loosely. Her back was still against him as she leaned, but for some reason she guessed that he would know she was smiling even if he didn't see it. And that was fine.

He chuckled. "It was a delight, and that is all that matters."

Scoffing at him, she turned in his arms and poked his chest lightly, getting no more of a response than him looking down at the gesture before releasing her to shrug back into the kimono. So, he didn't finish dressing just to get a rise out of her? Clever jerk...

It felt colder without him touching her, and Kagome realized that a slight addiction might be taking hold as she watched the muscles of his body move, enjoying herself to an almost sinful degree as he wrestled into a clothed state of being. When they were covered by the fabric she was left to regard his trim frame and wonder at how fun it would be to undo his work all over again before pinning him to the bed.

"Are you enjoying your thoughts?" he asked, smoothing the layers so they weren't rumpled in the least and tightening the sash to finish the job.

“M-hm...” She definitely needed a camera.

A warm and tender feeling nestled in her when he chuckled and held her hips, drawing her closer all over again. Maybe it was just her imagination, but they were actually rocking a little. Melting seemed an easily attained goal now, especially when he asked if she was interested in staying the following night as well. Her imagination latched onto that offer like a pink and feathery, padded bear trap, with bubbly hearts and cupids poised overhead, and it wouldn't let it go. She got a thrilling tingle out of that. And then she thought outside that lovely box.

"Actually, if I stay over again without saying anything to anyone, then I think InuYasha will storm over here wondering if I'm okay. Shippo probably blabbed that we were more intimate since the last time he was us together. Little brat."

She expected Sesshomaru to be peeved over bringing up his half-brother, but he wasn't. "The fool cannot enter the o-shiro."

"Really?" she asked, surprised. "No 'I've got the blood of an heir so suck it up' trick for him?” The Hollywood raping of such a concept certainly credited the thought... “Hm. Well, he can certainly yell through the barrier for a few days straight."

"You wish to stay that long?"

Kagome squirmed. 'No. I want to stay longer, you idiot.' she thought hopelessly, no longer keeping her hands to herself -well, they were on his chest, but that was 'to herself' compared to what they'd been doing- and hugging him fondly. He was being so freaking lovable, she could hardly stand it. She still had a hard time admitting to herself that this man who tried to kill her on multiple occasions could love her. The thought commonly struck when things were getting good, too. Oh, she'd have voiced her thoughts of how she could stay with him until things got boring -which seemed impossible given who and what they were- but something held her back and she remained silent. He could interpret her lack of response as he chose.

The quiet lasted for three blissful heartbeats. Well, three of hers, maybe one of his. Then he asked in a murmur if she wanted to bathe.

That'd be absolutely wonderful... “That'd be nice,” she replied, looking into his face and seeing a little mischievous spark in his eyes, then adding, “but not with you.”

He smiled, but the light didn't flicker out. It made her feel all hot and bothered inside, in a good way. “You are sure?”

She was torn between gaping, laughing, and entertaining the thought. So she did all three, and felt her sanity drop a notch. “I'm sure.”

He nodded, hands dropping from her slowly, feeling her form almost innocently. She wondered just how good a bath with him would be. Probably steaming and delicious... He smirked as though she just said that aloud, and assuring herself that she didn't Kagome just assumed that her scent was giving her away; with colored signal flags, and theme music.

“Well,” she began, stepping out of his reach and surprised to have elbow space, “I'm going then. Will you be busy afterwards with meetings and such?”

Curiosity strummed its cord in her when a thought visibly crossed him and his mood altered. Hardened, in a way. Must not be a pleasant thought. “I will be.”

“Okay. I can wait then.”

“You should go home,” he said, that little frown now comfortable on his face. Dammit, something told her that that was coming. “I may need well over a day, and if your complaints are anything to go by, you cannot entertain yourself that long without complications.”

He was teasing her, despite the lacking change of expression, and she crossed her arms. “Can, too. I haven't had a good game of soccer for a while, anyway.”

He exhaled, looking at her in a way that made her feel she should be balancing on a scale. A very comfortable scale. He broke their visual bond to regard a wall during his reply. “I will give you time to ponder over it.”

She grinned, liking that. “Deal.” Hopping on her toes to gain some height, she applauded herself for pecking his lips before walking out, absolutely refusing to look back and see his reaction. She was quite happy with the one that was in her head anyway, and if she turned he'd see her face split brilliantly by achievement and satisfaction. ... Then again, what's the point in hiding something he can most likely sense, anyway?

Sesshomaru didn't follow her down the hall, which was promising depending on the subject. She knew where he was, could feel that he was en route for another part of the o-shiro, but Kagome still peeked over her shoulder a few times just for girliness' sake.

She then walked into an indignant wall.

“Whoah!” Kagome shouted automatically, catching herself half a step later. There was a very weird specimen of 'female' in front of her, inspiring another step back for the sake of personal space. The young lady was huffing and puffing over 'filth' and 'humans' while messing with very unappealing hair that not even hairspray could manage.

Kagome brushed herself off automatically, a subconscious precaution against contracting anything. She hated running into people, especially if it was in a literal way, who radiated confidence.

“Uh, sorry?” Kagome practically asked, wondering who the recipient of the 'filth' comment was. That makeup was too thick to look anything but indecent. And sure, it was partially Kagome's fault for not looking where she was going, but this woman's personality laid waste to any sympathy.

“How DARE you!” the chit accused in an accent, furious and brimming with self-importance, yanking her funny looking kimono into disarray. Chinese? Kagome got the disapproving look over then, and crossed her arms in preparation for the rest of this possibly entertaining verbal onslaught. “You...! You shall address me by my title, and beg for forgiveness until I am sated, you little human wretch!”

Kagome, arms still crossed, stared as millions of excellent responses all demanded release at the exact same time. There were just too many great ways to ruin this woman's day. “My apologies then. I should have assumed that your ego would cloud your sights in every imaginative form. Next time, I will try harder to sense, and therefore avoid, you at all possible costs, Ms. Twit. Perhaps if you can muster three times as much energy, I will know when you are three inches away.”

Her fury was priceless, and she took an angry, noisy inhale through her nose to say something. Then Kagome was put on guard when the twat's mood melted away to mild irritation and... curiosity?

“You are a miko?” the female yÅkai inquired, looking at Kagome again. In miko garb and everything. This woman was either a major foreigner, an idiot, or a splendid combination of both.

If silence was golden, Kagome was aiming to be up to her eyeballs in precious metal. Why the sudden question?

The woman filled the sound with a small harrumph, then continued on her way without another word.

... Weird.

The bath was superb, and Kagome was having a great time catching up with Jia while pruning in the hot water. Hot springs were nice, but you just couldn't pass being pampered... It was amazing how dexterous their fingers could be with an aching back, and their stamina was fantastic.

“Oh! Wait!” Kagome called groggily after a young woman who was walking away with her miko fabrics. “Please don't take that away, I don't want to walk around here naked.”

“You do not wish to be dressed?” Jia asked, openly bewildered as the girlish servant looked indecisively at the less than clean clothes. “I thought that-”

Kagome caught that Jia's gaze passed her own, and had a feeling someone was giving an 'abort your conversation' signal. “... Thaaaat?” Kagome prompted, as loose and giddy as though she just had a goblet of red wine for her sipping pleasure.

Jia smoothed everything over with a smile. “That you would look lovely today in yellow.”

Yellow? “You're lying,” Kagome accused lightly, winging it. “What were you going to say?” Jia's smile faltered. Haha, she had her now. “Tell me now, or I am not babysitting the children tonight.”

That settled the score, to the point that Jia's truly preteen maturity level exposed itself almost indecently. “That you would stay, and that you finally decided to let him court you!” Jia exclaimed cutely in an eager tone, making Kagome stare. “You two were so cute together in bed! Oh, you should have seen yourselves! Everyone wanted Sanyu to come and paint the two of you quickly, but no one could convince him because the paint would have woken the Lord Sesshomaru anyway!” After that terribly excited and hyper one sided conversation, Kagome found herself quite stunned into silence. People had peeped at them?? How... How freaky.

Jia shifted before continuing, clearing her throat as though banishing her mood until further notice. It didn't last long. “Well, the two of you really did look, ah, comfortable. Oh, I am so happy for you! To think that he chose such a wonderful person, and you two are so in love that I'm shocked you have yet to mate! Has he asked you to stay? That would be wonderful news!”

Kagome blinked, processing a couple of thoughts. “Um, Sesshomaru wants me to leave today.”

For some reason, hearing all three of them -Why were there always three of them, anyway?- gasp at the same time wasn't too exciting.

“What do you mean?” Jia asked innocently, looking ill with confusion. Kagome hated when women's normal moods changed for rare events, it was odd.

“I mean, I may be leaving,” Kagome reinstated. “Today. No matter how painting perfect we may be.”

Jia was almost staring her down, then she calmly turned to the woman who was still holding Kagome's clothes. “Yuki, would you keep those hidden for a few months?”

Kagome sat up, sloshing water everywhere. “WHAT?!”

“Nori, I think the white kimono would be glorifying, without the last two layers,” Jia continued, completely ignoring Kagome as she tried to see where Yuki was briskly walking off to. She had already left.

“Jia!” Kagome yelled, stupefied and trying to jump out of the tub. It was harder than it looked. “What-?! What do you think you're doing?!”

Jia stood, suddenly very tall and actually threatening, if one could imagine it.

“Me? I'm going to go and fetch another kettle of hot water. Would you like oil in your bath, or rubbed on after your first toweling?”

Kagome, now jumbled and sitting back a little, was starting to get peeved. “Get my clothes back here. I'm not dressing up for him, and if he wants me gone then I'll go.”

An utterly wicked grin played itself across Jia's face, and Kagome just waited for the lightning and a morbid blue screen to drop in the background. “Oh, but you are, and you are not, my lady.”

...

And so it was decided, and Kagome didn't complain one bit, nope, not even after she was dressed a little thickly and on her merry little way back to her rooms, with Jia tagging along and possessing a happy smile on her innocent face. That woman was scary.

So scary, in fact, that Kagome almost flinched when Jia grabbed her shoulder, stopping them in their steps. About three inches from Kagome's inertia swung-out hand passed a small procession of servants, a frantic look in their eyes as they hurried off someplace.

“Is there a party tonight or something?” Kagome asked, laying future-wording heavily on her main lady in wait/jail keeper. If the girl was going to throw her connections around to manipulate Kagome's day, then... Well, then Kagome was going to try her best to peeve the woman.

“It is Lady LÃ©i,” Jia provided with a bored certainty. “I hear she was suddenly interested in inspecting all the feminine supplies stored here.”

... Kagome was going to presume that 'feminine supplies' referred to makeup and clothes and jewelry. She knew what the other version was like in this era, and quite frankly, she did NOT want to become familiar with it. Lucky her, considering her very lacking need for the stuff. Multiple doctor visits confirmed that Kagome was perfectly healthy, despite the fact that she did not bleed for a fifth of every year, as was expected. Rather, it was about twice a year, which saved her from being absolutely humiliated during that summer with Inuyasha, the big-mouth. She felt sorry for Sango. And for all other women, come to think of it. If she had to haul 'feminine supplies' all over feudal Japan, she probably would have given up on the Jewel long before finding the fifth fragment.

Kagome lifted out of her thoughts when a muted groan, twisted with disdain, reached her, and she looked back to see Jia looking down where the servants had long disappeared. “Are you ready to retire to your quarters?”

Sniffing a tad haughtily, Kagome gathered the lacking front of that glorious kimono and marched down the hall after the servants. Jia was ready to treat her like a doll, and that was not nearly as promising as ticking off royalty. “No.”

---------

Relatives were a bad, bad thing. Especially if they were not yours. So, like any proud man, Sheng waited for the 'guests' to leave while cradling under one arm a promising scroll entailing creative human's battle tactics, and under the other a faintly clanking string of sake jars. They would look like a branch of grapes, if grapes were a foot high, half a foot wide, and made of rendered clay. The fruity, tinted drinks across land and sea held nothing to the splendor of well made sake.

The sound of slippered feet caught his ear, and Sheng looked up to watch Kagome enter the hall from an intersecting one, looking first to her left, then right and at him. She smiled, and hurried on past at a slight scurry. Poor thing couldn't do much from the waist down though in a constricting kimono. More scurrying announced another presence. Ah, poor Jia had miko-sitting duties today. That made for great exercise.

“Did a cluster of servants pass this way?” Kagome sought almost formally, not pausing in her quick pace and soon passing Sheng before he could even answer.

“Indeed, though such is common,” Sheng answered while slowly turning on his heel so his voice could follow her. Suspiciously enough, Kagome just nodded and hurried onwards. Jia, with an inclination of her head, continued after. It was amusing, watching two women in kimono running one after the other. Like little birds on the beach, when their legs move faster than their bodies through the air can follow.

'Women,' he thought with a chuckle to himself, adjusting the thick rope supporting the collection of sake. 'Maybe I can persuade one to replace this scroll for the evening.'

----------

Sesshomaru was wondering over whether or not he should worry about Kagome, seeing as he could track her running through the various connected buildings of the o-shiro like it were a maze. He had found it entertaining for the first five minutes, seeing as Jia was not too far behind, though now he was losing sight of any possible purpose. That was a bad omen, when it referred to Kagome. She had a tendency to get herself into trouble when she was bored, from what he could assume.

“Perhaps she is venting,” his mother suggested out of nowhere, completely unconcerned with a miko running about and talking into her steaming cup of tea. “Please stop staring at the walls now. You will not see her through them.”

Annoyed, Sesshomaru pressed his lips momentarily and decided to eat something. For some reason, he was actually hungry. And sugared cookies were excellent for solving that dilemma. As he reached for one, the gaze of his mother fell on him and he regarded her, drawing a good handful of sweets closer and cupping them in his left palm like it were a bowl. The evil woman was smiling over something.

“Sweets, Sesshomaru?” she finally asked, now smiling.

He paused before swallowing the third bite-sized portion, then noted he couldn't speak properly with his mouth full and finished the act. “Obviously.”

His appetite slacked when her whole body shifted comfortably and that all-knowing light burned through the mask on her face. Mothers would be mothers... Damn it. “I see...”

He set the cookies aside. For later... “And the significance behind my interest in a daily indulgence of yours would be...?”

Her fingertips caressed the sides of her cup, as though she were fond of a thought. “I am a female. Such is my nature.”

... “How very sexist of you.”

She blinked, a small frown settling in its natural place. “'Observant', or perhaps 'insightful', are far more appropriate terms.”

He opened his mouth to protest.

“And if you even think about denying it, then you are a fool.”

He shut his mouth. Briefly. “Am not.”

Giving him a blank look of disbelief, she shoved the mute emotion aside and set her tea down. Such was a gesture which bore meaning only for her. “Sesshomaru, your lacking comprehension is far too exhausting for the both of us. First off, yes, you are clearly going to be starving after being with her for a night and not mating.” She was almost arguing with him, eyes slit and meeting his own in a scornful manner. “Secondly, everyone expects this of you, so for the love of a kami would you please abide by instinct to put everyone at ease on that level?” ... Ah, that was why he usually awoke to the smell of food of late... He was beginning to think that it was a dutiful way to bother him.

“Furthermore,” she began anew, now getting interested in the subject and expressing as much with a more settled position, “upon this... 'freshly enhanced' state of yours, I implore that you delicately throw your cousin out before you become overwhelmingly territorial. Your father was a nightmare, and never really could live a few actions down. The rambunctious idiot, throwing people into ponds and walls alike...”

Sesshomaru felt more cautious when his mother glowered at him all of a sudden, as though he were said rambunctious idiot back from the dead. “I will not have any of that here, so mind your manners, even when she happens to be conversing with a handsome young man.”

... Hm. There really was no good reply to this (especially since the thought of Kagome staring into another man's eyes bothered Sesshomaru minutely). In fact, listening presently seemed quite promising.

“Tell me, when are you going to gather the nerve and ask her to stay?”

His shoulders tensed. Gather the nerve? She was insulting him. Truthfully, he had already asked her, in various ways and on several occasions (the first time being shortly after Kagome's discovery of lords having consorts).

The confusing woman threw her hands away from the table and towards her shoulders, palms to him and swiveling at the wrists. She was flustered. “Do I have to engage you to her in order to see the two of you happy?”

That was crossing the line. His fingers twitched to beat some sense into the babbling bitch, though a surprised visit slipped through his stressed senses and past the doorway.

“Damn,” Kagome muttered after looking through the room, as though in search of something. Her senses could not be that horrible, could they? She spared him a smile, oblivious to the conversation at hand, then stepped back outside, closed the door, and left.

She had smiled at him...

“And thusly, the ferocious and untamed temper of the great Sesshomaru is slaughtered in its tracks.”

That's right, the rude wench was still there. Despite the crude wording, she was right. His mood had definitely improved.

Kagome really did have a lovely smile though, especially when it was directed at him.

Facing forward once more, Sesshomaru noted that his mother was completely unimpressed. Her words emotionless save for her dislike for his terrain's temporary name. “Sesshomaru, I am bringing up the 'Central Domain' lord's marital status in the next council meeting.”

He glared at her. “That is of no one's concern.”

“It is everyone's concern,” she countered angrily. “To the point that every servant comments of it daily. That is a fact not soon to change on the whim of your not liking it. After all, why else would your cousin even be here?”

Sesshomaru's mood was soured once again. Perhaps the servants would be more interested in other things should their high and mighty lady be beaten half to death with a tea cup and rendered blind for a week via sugared cookies.

“Admit it. At the very least to yourself,” she continued. “Whether you like it or not, you are nearing your limit for waiting for her. Your father was bad enough with waiting one year, and you are breeching on five.”

Rather than becoming absolutely infuriated, Sesshomaru was a little taken aback. A limit? Such things had limits? That was ridiculous.

“Though...” she pondered aloud, “it has been under a year for dealing with her actual physical presence. Perhaps I have been giving more credit th-”

There was a sudden spike of energy, and it was followed quickly by Kagome's. Sesshomaru bolted in her direction without a second thought.

----------

Kagome was not amused.

“A miko is allowed to wander amongst our prestigious kind without proper penalty now?” some pompous bastard asked her with a smile on his face while gliding (hopping was more like it, but too crude a suggestion) off the covered walkway she had once been traveling. Right now Jia was pressed against the wall, where she had been shoved to, and Kagome was scrambling off her tush out of the foot deep snow and simply bristling with energy. Her skin hurt for how quickly she released it, and it felt far too tight within her, humming with the resonance of her attacker.

The man with bad facial hair approached her without hesitation in a seemingly slow stride known to royalty. His sword was still drawn, but as important as a tissue next to the waves of raging power. He lifted the blade back and across to his other side, readying a swing, and Kagome felt a barrier jump out of her skin to catch it. Though shocked by the last one and a half seconds, she began wishing she were armed, thinking on ways to attack using just her energy when she had no weapon to channel it through. There weren't many options. Most of her special attacks were either too big and flashy for Jia to be near, or too innate to incur consciously. And this was happening too quickly for her anger to harness her power usefully. Absurdly fast, yet not. Watching events go fast forward while hanging in a syrupy reality. It hard to grapple her thoughts.

The man didn't move, and yet there was pain. Reality throttling agony. It wrenched her head backwards in ecstasy for sensation, and her throat vibrated for a noise she couldn't hear. Her muscles clenched with a spasm. Her ears rung in silence. The snow melted to black before her staring eyes... Then she blinked and winced at the light of day.

Something moved under her clenched hands, and she held onto it in fear of falling over without the obvious support. Everything snapped back within perspective, leaving her head pulsing noisily. A lost strength was slowly seeping into her muscles again, steadying shaking limbs, and she recognized there being a foreign aura on her skin. It was very familiar, and she thought for a moment with flickering visual memories that she should be knelt and directing power into Bashamon's seal.

“So, there is meaning to her presence?” came a joyously intrigued masculine voice, and Kagome felt the still-mending world fall over without her as she lifted her head to see the man who tried to- to... to do something to her. And what was he talking about?

“You test your authority here,” Sesshomaru stated, and she could feel anger in him. Lots of it. She hoped it wasn't her fault, she couldn't really figure out what had just happened. Oh, and she found where her hands had gotten to. One had secured Sesshomaru's right shoulder, and the other was knotted in the fabric at the small of his back, which made her notice that he changed out of that kimono and back into his usual attire. Anyway, he provided excellent support, she had to give him that.

Groaning with frustration and an impeccable headache, Kagome scrambled for the facts and looked things over again. Okay, yes, she was up against Sesshomaru's back, so she wasn't lost in terms of where she was. Actually, feeling that he wouldn't want her hanging there like that, she tried to regain her feet. Numb, her legs didn't want to take her weight, and they felt willing to merge with the ground at any given opportunity. She settled for trying to hold him discretely with one hand, keeping it where it was on his lower back and hidden from the other guy's view. The action was harder than it looked.

“How does it feel to have a human wench hang on you?” the jackass inquired nonchalantly from ahead, grabbing her attention again. She peeked around a little more to see that Sesshomaru probably was left handed, since Tenseiga was in that hand and holding up that asshole's sword, which was now stopped in mid-desce- Holy crap, it had descended?!

Her stomach did a just as she absorbed the fact that, yes, it had been coming down. At her? Heh, stupid question. And to think, she hadn't even begun to stop it, aside from the barrier which meandered off somewhere when things suddenly got all fuzzy in every possible sense. What happened to it? Would it have protected her? The butterflies of doom wafting hyper actively in her torso said it wouldn't have, and that introduced a whole parade of feelings.

Kagome's sense of mortality twisted 'what-ifs' with her imagination. What if she could have kept herself together? What if she had attacked first? What if Sesshomaru hadn't been there? ... She felt drained, and wanted to kill that wannabe murderer all the times he was worth, which was probably a few hundred.

“A yÅkai requires authority to do away with a miko?” the guy asked with a grin, his long fangs bearing themselves as he continued to press wight down onto his sword. “Such a demure expression of consideration towards her life, cousin. Surely this is not a Japanese flaw?”

Swords withdrew with a shrug-like gesture from Sesshomaru, throwing the other's weapon up and away, and Kagome gaped. Did he just call him cousin?! “You're related to this jackass?!”

Said jackass was very taken aback and affronted by his new name. At seeing that expression she felt some splendid blood seep back into her, coursing with gall and ire.

“Indeed,” Sesshomaru confirmed her question, in a way agreeing with the new title for his cousin. Her grip on him tightened, and she entertained the thought of being related to that guy through- Through something she didn't want to think about right now.

Third person self reference. That was as good as any birth certificate. She gave Sesshomaru a bewildered look, which was unappreciated by him since the terrifying glare of 'all things bad done unto you' was presently being imparted on the cousin. “I think you should disown yourself from him,” she offered lightly, looking away from his face so as to avoid directing that expression onto herself as he'd regard her. She did not want him glaring at her like that, it would ruin her week. “The relationship can't be healthy for you.”

“Ignorant canicula,” the guy called her, ready to say more.

There was a blur, and Kagome wound up alone. Still standing but precariously balanced without Sesshomaru to hang on. Wondering where exactly the small of his back scampered off to, she looked around and saw- ... Well, uh, maybe it was her imagination, but she could almost swear that Sesshomaru was physically beating the daylights out of that guy.

“Hey!” Sheng barked, suddenly on the scene and becoming involved like any on queue actor or fatherly figure. It almost seemed like a play though. A practiced lie. Sesshomaru just couldn't do that. Not in front of her, right there and trying to yank his fist back from Sheng. Sure, slugging Inuyasha was one thing, everyone could use doing that at certain times, but this? It was awe worthy, in its own right, and was actually becoming quite comical rather than scary. Holy hell, Sesshomaru really was acting the age he looked. It was thrilling, in a cruel and twisted way, but it just looked so wrong. Really, he could do that?

“SESSHOMARU!!”

Kagome nearly fell onto her bottom at the sheer volume, and for some reason she felt like she was the only person who heard it. In a whisper of silks and youki, Sesshomaru's at-times-scary mother marched by, tromping through the snow like it were down feathers.

“Time to leave,” came yet another unexpected voice, and Kagome was ready for a surprise-induced heart attack as Jia grabbed her arm and forcefully led her away.

“What was I just saying about you fighting!” bellowed Sesshomaru's mother, making Kagome shiver. Why on earth had they been talking about something like that? “ONE minute -just ONE, MINUTE!- and here I find you brawling like some commoner over bread!”

... Ouch.

Things slowed down as the two young women entered the o-shiro again, and Jia was fussing.

“The nerve of him, attacking a lady in finery!” her voice wafted back into perspective. Kagome decided she was better off gone rather than becoming more involved. Leaving felt right. Dear lord, her reality was a jumble of events. Meats and potatoes all thrown together to simmer into something she hoped would turn out well. This particular event though was something she couldn't fully grasp, so rather than try and understand things she just resigned to being led away from the commotion, stewing over ideas.

“Really,” Jia continued indignantly, “some people have no class.”

That tugged a smile onto Kagome's face. “He's a yÅkai, what do you expect?”

Jia whipped her face around to her reclaimed hostage. “Would you group me with him??”

“Oh!” Kagome startled. “No, I'm sorry, I- I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean it like that.”

The adolescent looking servant stared a moment longer, then returned her eyes to ahead. “No, you probably have ample reasons to say that.” Great, now they both felt bad. “He was ready to kill you though! Just like that!” and she snapped her fingers, looking like a high schooler.

“Speaking of 'that',” Kagome interjected, snapping her fingers as well in reference, “what happened? I, ah, kinda blacked out, or something like that.”

Jia just nodded. “He had separated you from your power, which would have hurt since you were holding so much.”

Pursing her lips, Kagome frowned at nothing. What Jia said made sense. The hard part was finding the fairness in it all.

“Do not worry yourself,” Jia simpered, patting Kagome's hand effortlessly as it swung through the air in her walk. “I can guarantee that neither Sheng-sempai nor Sesshomaru-sama will let you sleep until you can protect yourself from such an attack.”

Sempai? How cute. Still, learning something in a day seemed more troublesome than it was worth. In fact, it sounded absolutely dreadful. Maybe she could go to bed early, or just nap a while upon arriving at her room?

Kagome walked into something and it began pushing her back, a tad frantic and veering off for a closed room. It was Jia, but Kagome's narrowed eyes were fixed ahead.

“The miko is still amongst us?”

Jia's hands jerked calmly into the action of smoothing the front of Kagome's still perfectly arranged kimono, and after settling the score with an invisible flaw she turned and bowed slightly to the newcomer.

Kagome's manner of greeting was just a glare. She had an innate dislike for that gussied up woman.

“It seems my mate should take more care in aiming,” the female commented blandly, giving Kagome the look over. “Not a scratch.”

Jia visibly flinched, and Kagome felt like her jaw would drop if it weren't clenched in fury.

“My Lady LÃ©i,” Jia addressed the woman stiffly, formality plaguing her voice. LÃ©i sounded like a surname. Considering the relations, was it one which Sesshomaru went by? Nah, it sounded funny. “We were-”

“I do not care,” the 'lady' bit out, confusion shadowing her face. “Miko, why is it that even after bathing you smell of Sesshomaru?”

Kagome felt her back straighten. Whether it was from her rebellious streak deepening or the slight pride she felt for remembering who cared for her, she didn't know and didn't bother deducing. Both were good, and rooting for her.

Her body language must have spoken volumes, for the woman's eyes widened slightly and she stepped back. In fact, Kagome could have sworn that if she were human she'd have fainted.

“You must be jesting,” was the comment.

“About?” Kagome inquired, and a blink later she found her fist in the air and the lady staggering backwards, holding her cheek.

Alriiiiiight...! Automatic reflexes. About time. She'd have to thank Keiji the next time she saw him. And she would see him again. She'd see all of them. Even if she did have to learn a trick or two and watch Sango's and Miroku's family tree grow.

“You little bitch!” screamed the possessor of a bad hairdo, and she leaped again with all shackles of etiquette undone.

“Please, stop!” Jia yelled through Kagome's thoughts of 'holy shit, she's faster than she looks'. Falling back, Kagome tried to drag Keiji back into her head, and refused to acknowledge wearing a kimono rather than hakama. Dammit, she wanted more of those.

Some attacks were dealt and blocked before a gap naturally occurred between them. “Did he teach you?” the richly adorned lady asked softly in a taunting way. She offered a few more jabs, backing off after six of them, and she looked Kagome over judgmentally, then came forward with claws poised.

Doing the most logical thing possible at the moment, Kagome shoved her hands into the other woman's and locked them, holding her away. Push went to shove, and Kagome soon needed to channel energy into some areas of her arms to add to her strength.

This impressed the lady. “Well met, for a miko. Just tell me who taught you this, and I will have them beheaded for betrayal.”

Kagome was shocked, and as her energy faltered in wake of the emotion she shot it at the unbearable woman to purify her a bit. Aside from rubbing her hands together though, lady LÃ©i wasn't very affected. Dammit, if she could just have a weapon of some sort!

“Was it Sesshomaru?” she asked, holding her hand in an interesting manner. “Did he find some worth in you? Perhaps Sheng, he seems to be the type.”

Alarmed and imagining death sentences while watching her opponents fingers, Kagome set a barrier. Something collided into it briefly.

“You are tainted,” the woman seethed, a whip-like cord of energy drawing back into her fingers as she gave a humored hum. “You do not genuinely believe that you are capable of learning a yÅkai's ways without costs, correct?” She licked their clawed tips, and hummed. “It's delicious...”

Kagome shivered. What, exactly, did she just taste? Anything? Was this a mind game to keep her from performing at her best? Well, it wouldn't work. She'd make sure of that, even if a threat was needed. Or a bluff. A bluff would be excellent. She took a long, twin toothed comb from her hair, and was ready to threaten shooting it at the woman.

“Ah... It tastes like young Sesshomaru.” Her dull fangs glinted in a light of their own. “Quite the sin.”

Kagome was utterly shocked, and something swelled inside of her. “Shut up.”

Blinking and smiling, she didn't. “Would you drag his future through the mud to satisfy yourself?”

Kagome balled her fists, feeling the comb bend slightly.

“You would,” the wench confirmed easily. “And you would do it to be a bed warmer and to whelp hanyÅ.”

“Shut. Up.”

Enjoying herself, the 'lady' smacked more of Kagome's buttons, angering her. “All while thinking that someone with so much potential could ever fall in love with you.”

Kagome didn't feel the comb in her hand anymore, and there was a shriek.

A/N: Dun-dun-dun... :)

Not as long as three months of not updating should make it... :( Sorry about that. And sorry in advance for any possible grammatical/spelling errors, I'll get back to them when the story's not so fresh to me. :D

Also, if anyone wants to read up on a news flash/rant thing, you're more than welcome to look at the update on my account. Other than that, I hope this chapter was better. :)

As always, thanks for reading! :D Write your thoughts in a review, please!

~AD