InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What If? ❯ At the Beginning with You ( Chapter 4 )

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

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

\/\/ PLEASE READ! \/\/

Ok, I wanna say, first of all, that I appreciate ALL reviews. I read them, internalize them, learn from any mistakes that have been pointed out and... TRY to answer their questions. Of course, if answering those questions/statements ruins the story, I won't, but there have been certain ones coming to my attention that I feel I need to address.

1. Sesshoumaru and Kagome are in love.

This could not be further from the truth, as of now. They've barely met, people! I'm not one of those writers that says, "Ok, they've met, great first impression, now I'll pull a Twilight and have them love each other at second sight! HAH!" No. In this story, I try to make the characters as real, and as true to who I believe they are, as possible. NO ONE in this story will fall in love at first sight, second sight, or any other "sight." They're going to get to know each other and go from there, if they're destined to fall in love. I suppose I made a mistake in my writing if I've given off the impression that these characters are in love with each other. Kagome is curious about Sesshoumaru for now: his odd attitude leaves her completely bewildered, so obviously, she'll want to figure him out. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, is just as I've said in the story: he's interested, intrigued, and a tad frightened. She represents everything he stands against, after all.

2. Will this story take place only in the past, or in the timeline of the manga/anime as well?

I hadn't intended on telling y'all the extent of my timeline. But if it causes undo confusion, then YES, I am planning on moving through the manga/anime timeline with my plot in mind. It will make things a bit more interesting ;)

(This one hasn't actually been asked yet, but I'll just alleviate future confusion here) :D

3. If Kagome lied about coming from the future, what else did she lie about?

Well, lots of stuff. And she's not the only one who, in this story, lied about their purposes and whatnot. Sesshoumaru's got some bills to pay, too, so to speak ;)
Anyway, I won't go into details about who said what and what was true, and so on. What I WILL say, however, is that there are a select few number of characters (you've already seen this in Kagome) whose parentage and history I will change, and state that whatever was told in canon was a lie. And that should be more than enough of a hint to get your little minds tumbling and figuring out my secrets. :)

It's just fun to screw with this stuff, isn't it? :D

/\/\ THANK YOU! /\/\
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[Girl:] We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming what we'd have to go through
Now here we are, and I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

[Boy:] No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected, what you did to my heart
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

"At the Beginning," Richard Marx & Donna Lewis, from the soundtrack of Anastasia
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Chapter Four: At the Beginning with You

Kagome spent the next three months adjusting to her new life at the dog general's castle. In that time, she proved to be an extremely fast learner, honing and refining her priestess skills to such a degree that one would think she had been fighting demons and humans alike all her life—which, in a way, she had. She'd watched the other mikos and priestesses in her temple slay demon after demon. She knew the art by sight, even if she had not practiced it herself.

Of course, she knew she also had to attribute her quick absorption to the assets she had to practice on. Inu no Taisho had purchased for her a plethora of training tools used by priestesses and mikos. Obviously, he couldn't buy her everything, as certain charm books were forbidden to leave temples, but things like different types of bows and arrows, targets, and an intermediate-level spell book were hers for the taking.

Kagome was out in the yard, taking advantage of one of her conveniently inhuman servants (she was practicing leading a target), when Sesshoumaru appeared.

By this time, she was accustomed to him popping up at random moments and staying for varying amounts of time before leaving. But still, to have him just pop into existence right beside her while she was aiming an arrow...!

"Gah!" was her most unladylike cry of shock as she released her arrow involuntarily. Luckily, she hadn't had the focus to put any power into it, because it snagged the sleeve of the servant caught unawares. If she'd had the time to put even a small dose of her power into that arrow, Kima, one of her favorite maids, would have been incinerated.

"A pleasure to see you, too, Kagome-san, as always," Sesshoumaru responded, cocking a rather scornful brow.

"You know better than to sneak up on me like that!" she hissed with anger, smacking his shoulder. The eyebrow dropped, his expression closed off, and Kagome instantly backtracked, suddenly remembering she was standing beside a very powerful youkai, temperaments notwithstanding. "I'm not insinuating you are my pet or something," she muttered defensively, leaning over to pick up an arrow from the stock she had laid out at her feet, "but there are certain things you should know about me by now and one of those is that I hate to be surprised!"

"But just the other day, when Father gave you a new kimono, you were so pleased," Sesshoumaru retorted, his voice verging on a cutting tone with its acidity. "Was that not a surprise?"

"That's different! That was a welcome surprise, it was a gift for me. I'm talking about sneaking up on people and scaring the wits out of them!"

The amused, slightly contemptuous glint was back in his eyes as he replied, "I should think my presence would be a gift beyond measuring."

"Oh, shut up," she sighed, unable to fight back a smile. When he wanted to, the youkai beside her could have charmed bees into giving up making honey. She shook her head, attempting to bring some measure of sternness back into her tone. It really was important to her that he grasped this trait about her. "But, really, Sesshoumaru, I could have seriously hurt Kima just then. We've known each other for a while now, so I know you take some sadistic pleasure in frightening me, but, in this instance if nothing else, please refrain."

"A while?" Kagome rolled her eyes. Of course he would completely bypass her point and pick apart her word choice.

"Yes, a while," she reiterated crossly. "We've known each other more than three months. I'm surprised we haven't killed each other by now."

"Does three months really seem a great deal of time to you?" he asked curiously.

Confused by his genuine interest, she responded honestly, "Not a great deal, but it certainly seems considerable when looking at how short life is."

"Human life, you mean," he scoffed. "Youkai like myself live for centuries. Without famine and murder, we would live forever. Three months is but a second to those such as myself."

Kagome couldn't stop herself from sneering, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Lord Sesshoumaru. I forgot you are utter perfection, the likes of which I can't even begin to relate to myself."

"I forgive you."

Taken completely aback by his teasing reply, delivered in such a no-nonsense, emotionless tone of voice, Kagome couldn't help but burst into gales of laughter that would make other ladies blush in embarrassment.

But she didn't, and Sesshoumaru noticed. She merely picked up her arrows and continued practice with Kima.

But, a few days later when she had exhausted all possible hope of expanding her skills, she grew bored.

Inu no Taisho was the first to comment on her new apathy. The discussion they'd had afterwards was one she would always look back on with a wince.

In it, she told the general's family of her boredom, her feeling that she couldn't get any better at her spiritual skills without actually immersing herself in using them. Short of joining a temple herself for the sake of schooling, she really couldn't improve any more.

The dog lord had been reluctant to send her to a temple, where she couldn't be followed by her usual bodyguards. So he had asked her if she thought there was something, anything, else she could do to increase her powers.

Her answer to that pleased him even less.

"Well, I suppose I could visit my father and ask him to train me in that way," she'd responded reflectively. Seeing the protest beginning to form on the father-like Inu no Taisho's face, she hastened to add, "Or I could just travel there and speak with him. He might give me a tutor to bring back here with me. Then I could still be safe, but not bored."

Inu no Taisho bit the inside of his cheek for a moment, pondering on his two possibilities: send her away for several months to a temple where he'd have limited access to assure himself of her safety, or send her away for a week at most while she fetched herself a tutor.

It didn't take a genius to figure out which he was going to choose.

"You may go to your father on one condition," he ordered. Kagome, seeing that this would be her only chance and that the dog general was being more than fair to her at the moment, nodded acceptingly. "You will be accompanied by at least three guards."

"What?" Kagome nearly shrieked. "My lord, I can take care of myself—haven't I proven that already?"

He nearly rolled his eyes. "Of course you have, my dear, but that does not make me blind to the risks. You will not go unattended. You may choose your guards, but I'm afraid that is the only compromise I can afford you."

Kagome glared at the ground, thinking. She was fond of all her guards, they were good men and strong demons, but she didn't want any of them to go with her. Conversations were awkward, and she'd be taking a fair few of them from their mates, who were maids here.

"I have a different idea," she offered slowly, considering the possibility that she might be rejected. "What if I take one guard, the best of all the others, who has the strength of three?"

The dog lord met her gaze levelly and said, "Kagome, I trust all my men implicitly, and I know they are each masterful in their skills. But none have the abilities of which you speak."

"That would be because I'm not talking about one of your men," Kagome informed him, smiling, "I'm referring to your son."

"Sesshoumaru?" Inu no Taisho repeated, stunned. "But—I had no idea the two of you were so close."

Kagome burst out laughing at the very idea. "Oh, we're not," she assured him. "We have daily conversations, true, but I feel like for every one answer I receive from him, another twenty questions are born. We are not close; I don't understand him. But he is stronger than the rest by scores, and easy company, and should he decide to accompany me, I won't be embarrassed by a parade of guards."

This, too, was broiled in Inu no Taisho's mind for several minutes, before he came to the conclusion that he rather liked her idea more. Not merely for the fact that she was agreeing to have at least one defender, but because it was his son doing it. And not just for the obvious reasons. He knew that his son and the priestess were getting closer. They shared conversations that lasted several hours at least once a day, and they both seemed highly intrigued by one another. Should they leave on this trip together, not only would Kagome—whom the dog general fondly thought of as the daughter he'd never had—be protected, but perhaps... she and Sesshoumaru could explore this budding relationship between them?

It was almost too much to hope for, he knew that, but, in that moment, he had never wanted anything more in his entire life. It would be so perfect for the two to unite. Kagome was, without a doubt, the most powerful female on the face of the Earth (or she would be once she realized her full potential), and, not to toot his own horn, his son was quite possibly the most powerful upstart male. The children they could have together...

But he was getting far too ahead of himself.

Clearing his throat, he nodded and agreed, "Go with my son. You will have no longer than three weeks, before I send a party after you."

Kagome beamed at him seconds before throwing her arms around his neck—not quite an easy task, that, as she stood nearly two full feet below him in height. "Thank you, Inu-papa!"

Taken aback by the familiar term of endearment, the dog general held her loosely, patting her back almost awkwardly, though he was quite pleased by the show of affection. He knew far better than to expect such an outburst from Sesshoumaru. Just the thought was enough to make him laugh.

Kagome released him and turned to exit the room, shouting before she was even out the door, "Sesshoumaru!"

And so it was decided. Sesshoumaru, only a tiny bit reluctant, agreed to accompany Kagome on a journey that would no doubt be at the very least three weeks long. They were, after all, situated in the Western Lands. Their journey would take them all the way across to the Eastern Lands, and then far off into the sea.

Inu no Taisho gave them directions, in a word, since he was the only one there at present with living memory of the ways in which to reach Ryuujin's castle.

"And how will Kagome-san prove to Ryuujin-sama that she is his daughter?" Sesshoumaru pointed out as they were packing to leave. "He believes she is dead, does he not?"

"Just the knowledge of her life should be enough," the dog general said pensively. "No one else knew about her and her mother. However, if he decides he wants tangible proof, take something of mine to vouch for me."

"Write a letter, chichi-ue, and put your seal on it," he suggested. "There can be no disputing that."

"Excellent idea, my son!" the dog lord cried with gusto, grinning at his nearly-cloned son. "I knew I kept you around for a reason."

When Sesshoumaru scowled at his father's sarcasm, Kagome couldn't help but laugh.
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"Are you certain you have everything you require? Bedding, food, money?" Inu no Taisho worried, causing the duo to pause at the door. "Weapons?"

"I'm pretty sure Sesshoumaru's the only weapon we'll need," Kagome teased, "but, yes. I have my bow and arrows, and Sesshoumaru—he's got whatever he usually has, I guess." She turned to the dog general's son confusedly. "What did you bring?"

She eyed her own sack of clothes, medicinal supplies, money, food, and bedding curiously, for there was no companion sack near it.

"I require nothing but the clothes on my back," Sesshoumaru responded.

"Cocky, aren't ya?" Kagome joked, but added, "Seriously, what if we get into a fight with some demons? You can't walk around with essence of demon guts all on your clothes. At least, I won't be walking with you then."

"I would have thought you'd know me better by now, Kagome-san," the young lord answered, lifting a sarcastic brow as he practically quoted her from a week before. "I am not a barbarian. When I kill, I do not do so savagely—therefore, I am seldom dirtied."

Kagome bit her lip, nodding. "You're right," she conceded contritely. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"I am not so easily offended. I wished only to make a point."

"Yes, and you did so quite thoroughly," Inu no Taisho put in, chuckling at the pair's antics. Despite his secret, fervent wishes, he truly wondered how the two would survive together even for this journey. Their relationship confused him—it reminded him too much of his own with his wife. True, Sesshoumaru and Kagome seemed far more... playful than he and his wife, and their relationship seemed to carry a near-constant undertone of sexual instinct, but all that did was confuse him more. "Please be safe; come home in one piece."

"And with a tutor," Kagome added, smiling.

"And with a tutor," the dog general echoed, nodding.
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They walked for quite some time—until the castle had been out of Kagome's sight for at least an hour—before she finally broke the silence.

"So, uh, thanks for agreeing to come with me on this trip," she offered tentatively. "It would have been really embarrassing for me to have to travel with a whole entourage."

"Think nothing of it," the young lord responded neutrally.

He said nothing else.

Kagome flicked her fingers at her sides for a few moments, thinking of something—anything—to say to break what she perceived to be an awkward silence. Nothing came to mind immediately, so she turned to nibbling on her lower lip. She still drew only a blank.

"I don't understand something," Sesshoumaru offered suddenly.

Seizing the opportunity for a conversation, Kagome pushed, "Yes?"

"Why do you have such a strong aversion to silence?" he wondered. Kagome's back was instantly up.

"What do you mean?" she asked defensively.

"I've noticed it ever since we met," he informed her. "You cannot stand silence. Every time a lull in conversation appears, you feel the need to fill it with needless words and banal observations."

"I do not!"

The young dog lord said nothing, maintaining his brisk pace without so much as looking at her.

Kagome waited a few moments to see if he was merely thinking of something else to say to her, before she demanded indignantly, "Hello?"

"And there you have it," Sesshoumaru said triumphantly, finally looking her in the eye with something very close to amusement in his own.

"I wasn't bothered by the silence," she retorted, growing angry. "I was getting mad. I thought you were ignoring me."

"Do you think that every time someone is in your presence and does not speak?"

"Of course not."

He fell silent again, retreating into his own mind.

Given the freedom to think on her actions, Kagome realized that she really didn't like silence.

But, she added hastily, I have a perfectly good reason to hate it. I've spent my whole life this far whispering and staying quiet so as not to hurt humans. How can I help it if I enjoy talking now that I don't have to fear for people?

But she didn't say this out loud. She wanted to prove a point: that she could and would entertain silence until he decided to break it.
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Kagome let out yet another long-suffering sigh.

It seemed the Lord Sesshoumaru could hold maintain silence as though he were dead. The sun had begun to set already, they had traveled miles and miles, and yet the inu daiyoukai had said nothing.

Her legs were starting to grow sore from all the walking, so she lifted her arms straight up over her head and stretched her muscles as best she could, sucking in a large yawn in the process.

"Are you tired?" came the immediate query from Sesshoumaru.

Kagome blushed at being caught doing such an unladylike thing, especially in public. Even if we are on a dirt track in the middle of the forest—it's still rude, she chastised herself.

"Um, no," she answered shyly. "Just a little hungry. Could we stop—just for a few moments?"

The dog lord sighed irritably, and Kagome was instantly contrite. "Never mind. Forget I even asked. I'm sorry. You're already doing so much for me—sacrificing all this time just to get me a tutor—"

She would have kept rambling on if Sesshoumaru's large, but surprisingly smooth, hand hadn't come down over her mouth.

When he was confident she would maintain silence again, he lifted his palm from her face and asked, "How long have you been hungry?"

Kagome's cheeks tinted pink at intensity of his stare, and her eyes fell to the ground. "Um... I don't know... Perhaps since a little after midday?"

Sesshoumaru sighed again, and demanded, "You must tell me whenever you need something. I am unaccustomed to traveling with someone with more frequent necessities; I won't remember all the time. I realize that I scolded you for your talkativeness, but really, that is something you must always share. I am not unnecessarily cruel, I don't wish for you to go hungry. Am I making myself clear?"

Kagome nodded, unable to say anything, caught as she was by the molten swirls in his golden eyes.

"Promise me," he commanded.

Not even in control of herself enough to be offended by his imperiousness, Kagome whispered, "I promise."

"Good." Instantly, she was free of his intense gaze. The next time she glanced at his face, she was surprised to see a hint of indulgent amusement in them.

"Now," he said, effectively dropping the subject, "let's see what new concoctions you've created for us to, uh, enjoy."

Kagome laughed, punching his shoulder. "Watch your tongue or you won't be given anything at all."

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