InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Circumstances ❯ Liquid Courage ( Chapter 15 )

CHAPTER FIFTEEN-LIQUID COURAGE

 

Kagome sighed as she slipped just a little further into the hot springs about half a mile from the village; Sesshoumaru was kind enough to point her in the general direction of it before he left to do whatever it was he was going to do.

 

She had been relaxing for nearly an hour since it had been her first real bath in about a month, and with reluctance she slowly climbed out in order to head back to the village and get ready for their festival. In all actuality, Kagome was now starting to grow anxious for the festival. She had not been able to properly meet many of the townspeople and what better way for her to do so then in one big gathering.

 

Tonight she would not have to worry about a knuckle slapping old priestess, or a reluctant battle trainer. No, tonight she was going to allow herself to have a good time, and maybe make some new friends and forget about her wandering friends that had yet to come and visit her, and forget her troubles with Naraku. Just for the night.

 

Kagome dressed and headed back towards her hut with the promise of making a nice warm fire for herself when she got back.

 

The walk was not entirely bad; there were fantastic views all around her, but with all of her alone time she could not help but to actually feel…well…alone. Kagome wanted to train, it was making her stronger and her priestess powers were becoming exceedingly formidable. She had a great new stamina for walking and running, and she could clear her emotions from her face if need be in battle due to her meditation practices.

 

But there was always that something missing; a companionship that would take away that loneliness.

 

Since Kagome had arrived at the small village she had made but one friend: Takahiro. That was excluding Megumi, for the woman liked to keep to herself whenever they were not training together. Was it any wonder that Kagome needed someone with her?

 

She had gotten so used to having a group of people all around her at one time that now when there was no one, she didn't know exactly how to deal with it.

 

 

Kagome sighed heavily; was she really so dependent upon other people that she couldn't stand to be by herself for a while? She liked to think of herself now as a strong independent woman who could take care of herself. No, she did not need anyone!

 

So why was she secretly pleased that Sesshoumaru had showed up earlier than he intended to? Why was she looking forward to a boring conversation about her training with the demon lord later on?

 

Frustrated, Kagome stomped her foot down hard and growled a little at her wayward thoughts. So caught up in her thoughts was she, that she failed to notice when she had made it back to her hut and was currently being scrutinized by the demon lord of her thoughts.

 

Kagome took a deep breath and gave herself a mental pep-talk before she glanced up and froze.

 

She took in Sesshoumaru's delicately raised eyebrow and then frowned.

 

“Don't look at me in that tone of voice Sesshoumaru,” Kagome huffed. Her statement only caused his eyebrow to rise a little further in confusion.

 

“Miko-”

 

“Listen Sesshoumaru; could you um, please, not call me miko? At least, just not tonight. My name is Kagome; I just want to be Kagome tonight,” she asked earnestly.

 

Sesshoumaru stood still and remained quiet as if contemplating whether to do as she asked. Kagome was about to tell him to forget it until he spoke finally.

 

“Very well Kagome.”

 

Kagome gave him a tired smile before she entered her small hut to start her fire. Sesshoumaru followed after her silently and then invited himself to take a seat on the floor where Kagome had placed a couple of cushions for him on his visits.

 

Sesshoumaru silently regarded her as she rummaged about her hut, gathering pieces of clothing here and there before turning towards him again.

 

“Um, Sesshoumaru? If you don't mind, would you please either turn around or wait outside while I change?” Kagome asked shyly.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded and gracefully stood before sauntering outside. He was only there a couple of minutes before she called for him again to enter. He studied her attire, noting that it was not much different from the priestess robes she usually wore, except these were of different color. While her usual robes were a dark blue shirt and light grey pants, her new wardrobe was a pair of black pants and a light purple shirt.

 

Sesshoumaru, almost begrudgingly, admitted that her new attire suited her quite well and even made her sapphire eyes brighten. He watched then in silent amusement as she attempted to put on a bit of make-up, and watched as it smeared its way down her cheek. She tried twice more, but then soon gave up and wiped it off completely.

 

Feeling eyes on her, Kagome looked up from her small mirror and glanced towards Sesshoumaru. She saw the corners of his mouth up ever so slightly and she bristled.

 

“Can I help you?” Kagome asked with sarcastic innocence.

 

“Why bother with the face paint?” Sesshoumaru asked, genuinely curious.

 

Kagome snorted a bit and turned to place the make-up items back in her bag. “It's not like all of us were blessed with natural good looks Sesshoumaru.”

 

Sesshoumaru felt his lips twitch in a slightly mischievous grin before he replaced it with his cool mask of indifference. Why not toy with her a bit; it could prove to be quite entertaining. “You find this Sesshoumaru good-looking?”

 

Kagome stiffened her back at his remark. She twirled around to look at him, her face flushed crimson in embarrassment. “Uh-I-um, well, that is to say that, uh-you're not-I mean, you are sort of-a lot…”

 

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her ramblings. That was not exactly what he was expecting. He was expecting her to lash out and get angry or even a little annoyed at his arrogant comment. However, clearly, he had off-set the girl before him.

 

So, she did find him good-looking.

 

Sesshoumaru raised his hand in a gesture for her to stop talking and Kagome immediately quieted; thankful for the reprieve.

 

“Do you not have a festival to attend?” Sesshoumaru asked in effort to lure the uncomfortable subject elsewhere.

 

“Yes! Right, I do have a festival to go to,” Kagome said a little too enthusiastically. “Um, do you need anything before I go? Perhaps something to drink or eat?”

 

“I am in need of nothing. I will be here upon your return and we will talk then. Try not to be negligent.”

 

Kagome pouted a little at his haughty tone, but shrugged and left for the small festival.

 

She worked her way down the street and mingled in with the small crowd of people all heading towards the center of the community. There were vendors set up along the sides of the road offering their goods and food. Kagome smiled and headed towards one of the stands, bringing her small coin purse from her robes.

 

Megumi had offered Kagome a small allowance when training so that she could buy essentials for her stay; but since Kagome had brought some things with her, she was able to save up the small amount of money and was now looking forward to indulging herself a little.

 

The little stand owner eyed Kagome as she made her way over to him. He had seen the girl training with the priestess Megumi and had often wanted to introduce himself, if for nothing more than to make another customer.

 

“Hello miss, see anything you're interested in?” the vendor asked Kagome.

 

Kagome smiled at the old man warmly, happy that someone had actually talked to her.

 

“Yes actually, I noticed a very nice looking blanket just behind you-”

 

“Ah yes indeed, a great choice!” the vendor exclaimed. “You know, I'll make a deal with you. You find a way to get me an outing with the priestess and I will give this to you!”

 

Kagome looked at the old man in shock and then suddenly beamed a great smile at him. “I will accept your offer, and trust me, you'll have your outing by the next full moon.”

 

The old man all but jumped for joy and then thrust the blanket into Kagome's awaiting hands.

 

“You know,” the old man started, “you're not as awful as some of the women here are saying.”

 

Kagome gave him a sardonic smile and thanked him before she turned towards the food tables.

 

It was no surprise to Kagome that the women of the small community were speaking ill of her, but it still hurt that such an impression was made on people she had never met before. They had not even given her a chance before they tarnished her name.

 

Kagome plopped down on one of the benches near the food and absently fingered her new blanket in her hands. She looked around the crowd for a friendly face and when she spotted Takahiro she instantly felt better.

 

Takahiro looked her way and she waved, but then frowned again when he did not return the gesture. He clearly saw her because he gave her a half-smile, but then turned his back on her to talk to a woman that was close by. Having been ignored, Kagome sunk back down in her seat.

 

This night just started and already it sucked.

 

Kagome looked around once more and saw that many of the townspeople were huddled in small groups, chatting animatedly amongst themselves and a group of women who were pointing and snickering in her general direction.

 

Seriously, what was these peoples' problem?

 

Kagome grabbed hold of a near-by bottle of sake and easily downed the neck of it. The liquid warmed her throat soothingly, so she took another drink. She was not a drinker at all, so the little bit of sake that she did intake was already giving her a nice warm, slightly dizzy feel.

 

Kagome could feel the muscles in her shoulders relax as she took yet another drink. She glanced at her surrounding and found that people had made their way to the tables and were beginning to eat the offered food. She felt like an outcast here, and Kagome could no longer say that she would be sorry when she left this place when her training was done.

 

She vaguely wondered if the other village would have been like this to train in.

 

With a slight shrug of her shoulders, Kagome made her way to the line of people who were waiting for their turn at food, and fell in line behind them. She figured that since she was here she might as well eat something.

 

Then a thought struck her.

 

Kagome took a quick sip from the sake bottle that she now carried with her and then bit on her bottom lip in concentration.

 

Would Sesshoumaru appreciate being brought some food?

 

Kagome certainly was not having a good time among the village people, and although Sesshoumaru did not seem much of a conversationalist, he at least could stand to be around her.

 

With her decision made, Kagome took another drink of her liquid courage, and ignored the stares as she piled food high upon two plates. She draped her blanket over her shoulders and balanced the plates in both hands, with her bottle of sake tucked safely underneath her arm. Kagome turned towards the crowd that was now openly gawking at her, and gave them a huge grin before spinning on her heels and returning to her hut.

 

 

****

 

 

Sesshoumaru leaned back against the wall of Kagome's hut when she left, allowing him some free time to catch up with his ever-working mind.

 

Earlier, when he had pointed Kagome in the direction of a hot spring, he had had every intention of letting her be. However, his thoughts caught up with him and thought better of it. Sighing inaudibly, Sesshoumaru slowly followed after her; he had not invested all of his time and efforts in getting her trained for her to get herself killed while bathing.

 

Sesshoumaru did not think twice about the speed of his pace; he thought for sure that the priestess would not be covering as much ground as he. He did not take into account Kagome's longing for a nice hot bath that resulted in an even faster travel to the hot spring. He had been so sure that he was going to arrive earlier than her

 

So imagine Sesshoumaru's surprise when he arrived at the hot spring, not far behind the priestess, and saw Kagome slowly emerge herself into the awaiting waters. She was indeed a vision to behold. From his closeness he could see the light bumps playing across her skin as she acclimated to the water's temperature. He could see how her nipples perked at the contrast of cool air and warm water.

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes rebelled against him as they slowly drank in her form. Kagome's face was set in determination as she tried again and again to lower herself completely into the hot water. His eyes traveled downward to the swell of her breasts and further down to the flat plane of her stomach, and then traveled even further to her hips and then the patch of small black curls that hid her womanhood. The rest of her was hidden by the waters of the spring.

 

With much willpower, Sesshoumaru turned his gaze away from the nymph and retreated a little further into the woods to give the priestess her privacy to bathe.

 

Sesshoumaru had pushed the image from his mind in attempt to soothe the burn raging through him. He did not yearn for women in such a fashion any more; that was a thing of his adolescence. He had never found a woman, much less a human woman, to be something that was continuously desired.

 

Demon women were absolutely stunning, but many held an attitude that marred their features. Human women, while not always ugly, were moderate looking compared to demonesses and had similar attitudes as them, making them even less desirable.

 

He could not lie to himself and say that he did not find the priestess arousing standing partly submerged in the water. In fact, it was a picture that he would probably keep in the confines of his memory for quite some time.

 

He felt almost like a deprived juvenile looking to keep with him any sort of erotica he could get his hands on. What a turnabout from his usually careless façade.

 

It was difficult to find a woman who held beauty and a delightful attitude, so Sesshoumaru had stopped looking.

 

Which brought him to a new set of issues to deal with. Was he looking again? And if he was, would the shikon priestess fall in that category of suitable possibilities?

 

 

Sesshoumaru came out of his inner musings and lightly snorted at that thought. He did not need a pining female around him all day. No, he most definitely did not need that.

 

Mind once again cleared, Sesshoumaru gazed around the small hut in an effort to understand the priestess better. He had been taught to know the odds and ends of persons he did, and at times did not, associate with. It was a security precaution.

 

He dared not venture into the closed bag in the corner, but there was no harm in looking at the things carelessly left in the open. Sesshoumaru grabbed what looked to be bound parchment from the floor and opened it. His eyebrow rose as he took in the arithmetic in the book; it far surpassed anything he had ever encountered.

 

Sesshoumaru saw another book and picked it up, this one showing up in a foreign language that he could not understand. Setting both back in their relative places, he picked up the last one in the pile that read: History: Sengoku Period - Japan 1467 AD to 1615 AD. Now that got his attention.

 

Sesshoumaru was about to open it when he heard mumbling outside of the hut. He gently set the book back in its place and went to investigate the noise. Before he reached the bamboo mat that covered the doorway, Kagome came stumbling through with her arms full of stuff.

 

Without a second thought, Sesshoumaru removed the items from her hands and set them down on a small table in the corner.

 

Kagome looked up from the ground and blinked her eyes a couple of times to focus. She smiled brightly when she saw Sesshoumaru in front of her with a questioning look upon his face.

 

“Shesh…Sho…Seho…man, your name is hard to say,” Kagome acknowledged with a nod of her head. “Oh! I brought food; I know you said you didn't need nothing, but I figured what the heck!”

 

Kagome, as gracefully as she could, walked over to the plates set on the small table and handed Sesshoumaru one, which he took with a slight nod of his head.

 

Sesshoumaru eyed the priestess curiously before he caught a small whiff of alcohol.

 

“I find it less than amusing that you return here for our discussion inebriated,” Sesshoumaru said in an even tone.

 

Kagome lifted one shoulder in a shrug and stumbled her way to her mat to sit. Sesshoumaru followed suit and sat down on the other side of the fire to observe the priestess in front of him.

 

A silence reigned over them as they ate, and Sesshoumaru watched as Kagome took yet another drink from the sake bottle. He saw that almost half the bottle was empty and wondered if she had been the only one to partake in it this night.

 

“Seeeshumuro?”

 

Sesshoumaru frowned at his butchered name but humored her. “Yes?”

 

“Do you think I'm intimidating?”

 

“Hardly,” he said mockingly.

 

Kagome got a hard look on her face and straightened her back. “I can be threatening!”

 

Clearly, Sesshoumaru did not think so if the look on his face said anything.

 

Kagome huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She reached out and grabbed for the bottle of sake, but Sesshoumaru beat her to it and downed the remainder of the bottle in one gulp. Kagome looked at him wide-eyed as he elegantly wiped his mouth and tossed the bottle aside.

 

“Shusemoru! I was gonna drink that!” Kagome screeched.

 

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her. “Clearly, you have had enough.”

 

“You can be such a jerk, ya know that?!” Kagome slurred. “I can't believe I thought you were good-looking!”

 

Sesshoumaru took his chance to toy with her. “This Sesshoumaru is still good-looking.”

 

“Pffft! Puh-lease…you're a-well it's-hm…yeah you're good-looking,” Kagome relented.

 

Sesshoumaru actually chuckled lightly at her admission. She was quite amusing when she was loose-lipped.

 

“Gods even your laugh is hot! It's not fair; you could seduce a rock if you wanted to!”

 

Sesshoumaru shook his head a little, allowing the sake to seep its way through his system a little more. He had not had a drink in quite some time, and even so, he knew that this sake was not of great value. Even so, he enjoyed the light buzz it gave him.

 

“Miko-”

 

“Kagome.”

 

“Kagome; why did you not stay at the festivities?”

 

Kagome sighed a little before she answered a little more sober this time. “This village has a problem with me apparently.” She shrugged before continuing, “It's just as well; I don't plan on being here much longer. I think as soon as Megumi finishes her teaching I'll go to a different town and find someone else to train me in combat. The women here speak lowly of me and the men avoid me like the plague; although I should be used to that by now.”

 

Sesshoumaru did not miss the bitterness that was in that remark.

 

“Oh! I forgot; look what I got at the festival before I left!” Kagome exclaimed, breaking the unease that came over the small confine.

 

She padded over to the doorway and picked up a bundle there. Grabbing the corners of the blanket, Kagome spread it out to display it to Sesshoumaru who had stood up after her.

 

“It's a blanket, I-um-well, got it for-for you,” Kagome said as a light blush crossed her face.

 

Sesshoumaru looked over the blanket with something akin to wonder. No one gave him gifts; not unless of course, they wanted something in return. Did she perhaps want something?

 

Sesshoumaru looked up at Kagome who still held a look of expectancy in her eyes. “You will receive nothing in return for this blanket from me.”

 

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Sesshoumaru's remark. She lowered the blanket down so that he could see her face clearly as she spoke to him.

 

“Sesshoumaru, I didn't get this for you in hopes of getting something back. It's my gift to you for when you stay here so that you are comfortable.”

 

Sesshoumaru looked upon her face for any sign of deception and found none. She was honestly giving him something without expecting something in return. He approached her slowly and grabbed the blanket from where Kagome's hands were; in effect placing his hands on top of hers.

 

Kagome looked into Sesshoumaru's unwavering gaze and tried desperately to slow her breathing. The way he was looking at her was so…exciting. When she saw his head move closer to her so that his mouth was close to her ear she closed her eyes to feel the closeness.

 

Purposely deepening his voice while he was close to her, Sesshoumaru spoke slowly. “I thank you for this gift Ka-go-me.”

 

Kagome felt herself shudder at his words and opened her eyes just barely enough to see him looking at her again while keeping his nearness.

 

Whether it was the sake or some other variable; Kagome closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. For a moment she thought she had overstepped her boundaries, and just as she was about to pull away and apologize, Sesshoumaru dropped the blanket and wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck to hold her in place, while placing his other hand around her waist to pull her in closer.

 

When Kagome had first pushed her lips against his, Sesshoumaru did not know how to react, but when he felt the warmth of her against him, he let loose his resistance to her and all things female, and held onto the woman in front of him.

 

Instinctively, Kagome opened her mouth to him and Sesshoumaru did so as well; both of them deepening the kiss and enjoying the moment that either one of them might regret later.

 

The fire behind them cast silhouettes on the walls of her hut, and the two beings inside cast away the cares of the day.

 

For tonight she was Kagome; tomorrow was another day.