Title: Of Betrayal, Hope, and Learning to Love Again
Author: The Jade Sabre
Email: Reader:
Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst
Rating: M for blood, violence, language, mature situations, and some sexual content
Summary: Dark fic. Higurashi Kagome has changed drastically; betrayal by friends can do that. Searching for the shards, she enlists the assistance of one she assumes will not affect her and has similar mannerisms to her own, but hope can come in strange people. S/K
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha.
Chapter: First Tome
Comments/Responses: Looking for a beta……possibly a gamma or a delta.
I am a very serious writer; while there are humorous moments at times, most of the time the content ranges from semi-heavy to very heavy. Likewise, I also take great pride in the use of words to express myself; using different levels of vocabulary for different people at different times; there is a dictionary here for a reason; use it if you need it!. Keep in mind that this IS a dark fic, so do not expect a great deal of light moments, especially in the beginning (towards the end it is better). To give you a basic idea of the level of darkness, this fic can be compared to Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth; both have very little comic relief the only comic relief in Macbeth is the beginning of the porter scene. This fic is rated M for a reason (please see above for further explanations). I do NOT want complaints about the tone. You are warned.
Thank you and enjoy
"You don't belong here; this isn't your time."
"I never want to see you again!"
"Kagome, you bitch, you almost lost all of the shards to Naraku."
"It was your stupid arrow that cost us the battle."
"He's right Kagome-sama; it's not safe for you here."
"It would be better for you to return to your home and forget about us."
"Kikyo can help us. You can stay in your time to take your tests and stuff."
"It's not that we don't want or like you, it's just that it's too dangerous for you."
"You're not strong enough to help us complete this."
"You don't belong here, Kagome; go home."
"You keep on getting in my way."
"Well, bitch, it looks like I won; they always said an original is better than a copy."
"Go HOME!"
"Bitch!"
"Wench!"
"Loser!"
"Fake!"
"STTTOOOOPPP!"
Higurashi Kagome nearly jumped out the futon, hands pressed up tight against her ears, trying to suppress the cascade of memories that still haunted her nightmares. Opening her eyes, she scanned her current sleeping quarters, the first rays of dawn shedding just enough light for her to see she was still at the inn. Breathing heavily, she held a hand to her chest and flopped back down, trying to salvage control of her emotions.
"Miko-sama, are you okay?" said a man, poking his white head through the door.
Closing her eyes, she allowed the fire to retreat and the ice to once again cool her corneas. Opening them, she spoke back to the innkeeper, her emotions now in check. "I am fine, Sakaguichi-san."
"But, miko-sama, I swear I-"
Her temper rose slightly and emotion flickered in her eyes for a moment. "I SAID I was fine, Sakaguichi-san."
Sakaguichi Sizuki looked like he was once again about to protest, but with one glimpse at Kagome's daunting presence, he backed off. As he was about leave, he hesitantly asked her if she needed anything.
"A cup of tea and a bowl of rice; I will be departing shortly."
She stared at the innkeeper, almost daring him to try and dispute her request, which he did not. She internally smirked as the innkeeper's Ki spiked and then dropped as he almost took her bait. With a deep bow and a 'hai, miko-sama,' he left.
Kagome then unceremoniously proceeded to strip off her sleeping yukata. Groping around in the near darkness, she found her chest bindings, which she had discovered were much more practical for fighting than under wire bras. Within five minutes, she descended to the first floor of the inn; the room she left had no inclination that it was occupied the previous night. Slipping into the kitchen area, she took out a brush from the bag at her hip and proceeded to tie her raven tresses into a simple samurai knot, a complete paradox considering the fact that she was dressed in the red and white garb of a miko. Sitting down on a stool, she waited for her meal to be prepared. Sakaguichi, however, did not seem to realize he had a guest, as he mumbled complaints about his patrons.
"….trying to steal the sheets as if I wouldn't notice……and Okyama, thinking he's too important to pay for room and board. Well, I'll show him, see if he gets….. fireplace……hot meal. The only thing good that happened was that miko….all the advertisement she will be……charge twice for her room…."
At the point of hearing her name, she cleared her throat just loud enough to cause the innkeeper to jump.
"Miko-sama!" he exclaimed, as he quickly handed her the requested meal. "I….I didn't realize you were here. It takes women much longer to change…I mean… most women…. I….not you in particular…but…I…I mean…that-"
"Enough meaningless chatter, Sakaguichi," said Kagome bluntly, in between a bite of rice. "You will not be using my coincidental inhabitance of your inn to amplify your own profits, do I make myself clear? And don't think that I will not discover that you are because I will. Do not take advantage of my benevolent, Sakaguichi."
"Hai, miko-sama."
"Otou-san?"
Kagome and Sakaguichi turned towards the voice. The small girl, no older than six, standing in the doorway melted the ice in her soul and allowed her maternal instincts to kick in. Her black hair must have been braided that night, though it was hard to tell with the strands of hair that were sticking out in all directions. She was fiddling with the sleeves of her pink sleeping yukata, trying not to make eye contact with either of the two people.
"Ka-chan, what are you doing up?" barked her father, causing Kagome to slip him a harsh look before getting off her stool, down to the girl's level.
"What's wrong sweetheart," she asked, surprising Sakaguichi-san with her calming tones and soothing words. "Did you have a nightmare?"
The girl shook her head furiously.
"Does your tummy hurt?"
Again she shook her head.
"Does your head hurt?"
Ka-chan nodded her head.
Kagome smiled and slipped a hand into the bag on her hip, attempting to locate something. "Ka-chan, do you like peas?" She shook her head. "Me neither. So you know what used to do when my mama made me eat peas?" She shrugged her shoulders. Kagome moved even closer to her ear, as if to tell her a secret. "I used to take a whole bunch in my mouth and, instead of chewing them, I would swallow them with my tea."
The girl gave a great big smile at this comment, revealing the two missing teeth she had. Kagome grasped the top of a bottle in her bag and took out on aspirin capsule. Grabbing her cup of tea, she handed each of them to Ka-chan. "Now this little ball is just like a pea. I want you to swallow it with some tea, but the trick is to do it without chewing or else it would taste really, really icky. You think you can do it?"
Ka-chan nodded vigorously and successfully swallowed the pill. The miko smiled at the girl. "Good job. Now in a little bit your headache should go away. In the mean time, you should go to sleep; it's still dark outside and it's too early for girls like you to be up."
"Arigoto, miko-dono," said the child as she left the kitchen.
Kagome smiled another one of her rare, but genuine smiles, before the frost reappeared, leaving no verification that a compassionate young woman was ever a part of the now ice-cold priestess. "Sakaguichi-san, where are my effects?"
"In the closet, miko-sama; let me get them for you."
As the innkeeper left the room, she looked back at her rice, hand resting on her forehead, half to support her and half to hide her face. Tears were sliding down her chin as she replayed the scene in her head, choking a laugh out. How many times had she used tricks like that to get Shippo to eat vegetables or take a painkiller? Hell, she had used some of the same tricks on Inu-
Kagome stopped in mid-thought, reverting back to the ice queen appearance, which was her dominate expression at all times, except for when around children, whose innocence could not make someone not smile. Wiping the tears away, she returned to her rice, only stopping when Sakaguichi had given her the wanted possessions.
Clutching her quiver, she shot the innkeeper a look, questioning its contents.
"They are a gift from the village," he explained quickly. "You used your remaining arrows to kill the falcon youkai that was contaminating our water supply. It was the least we could do to thank you."
Cautiously, she removed one of approximately three dozen arrows. The shaft was sturdy mahogany, which would be less likely to splinter upon impact. The mahogany itself was said to be a good conductor of miko energy, allowing optimum fatality when fired. Golden pheasant feathers graced one end while the tips were a sharp steel. The arrows were of good quality, some of the best she had ever seen in both time periods. Kagome made a mental note to retrieve as many of these as possible. She told the innkeeper to thank his village.
Quickly checking that her wetting stone and small dagger were still in their proper spots, she slid the leather quiver over her shoulders and slipping the two sais into her obi. The sais were something she had possessed since almost the start of her solo quest to find the Shikon no Tama. Her hand instinctively drew up to the few Shikon shards that hung on a chain around her neck, the ones she proudly said she had gathered on her own. Half of those few shards had come from an acid youkia inhabiting a forest that surrounded a fairly large town on the border of the Northern Lands. It really was only luck she escaped that battle alive; luck and the will to stick it to everyone she formally considered friends that she was capable of capturing shards on her own, that and the fact that her miko blood purified most of the poison as it entered her body.
It was her first battle on her own, so naturally she expected to get hurt, but she didn't expect it to be as hard as it was to defeat the creature. At the time she was almost hoping that Inu Yasha-tachi would happen to come along and find her, though the thought of it now just disgusted her. That battle almost cost Kagome her life, but now she was very thankful for it. It was that battle, and a few situations preceding that battle, which allowed her miko powers to show their true colours; it opened the flood gates so to speak, causing her previously miniscule powers to begin to increase exponentially. She still thanked Kami-sama every day for allowing her to live, after two weeks bed rest, but she lived nevertheless. The only other physical reminder of the battle was four parallel scars that ran from her left shoulder blade to her right hip, which, after three months, were not yet fully healed.
The village itself was famous for its steel and metal working, more specifically their weapon-making skills, and they stopped at no expense to make her gift a great one. Hilts were gold filigree and had a silver branch/vein like pattern was imbedded into it. Kagome, herself, helped to forge these weapons, after losing a battle about not needing blades to fight. The spiritual leader of the community, an old, but wise Buddhist monk, had helped her to "pour" her spiritual energy into the blades, allowing them to act as her purity arrows would.
Throwing on her hooded cloak, she checked her pouch to see that everything was in its proper place. The bag was much smaller and emptier than her once trademark yellow backpack; only carrying a sleeping yukata, matches, water skin, first aid kit, hair brush, soap, and the thing she missed most about modern times, tampons. Grabbing her bow, she left the inn without a sound and headed in the opposite direction of the rising sun.
It was not until the sun was overhead that Kagome stopped to break by a small stream. Sitting down, she shrugged off her quiver and untied her bag, then headed over to a near by berry bush. The berries themselves were not especially appetizing or soft on the palate, but they were high in natural sugar, calories, and certain vitamins, which could sustain her until the stars played and she could kill a small rodent or fish.
After ingesting her fill, she once again sat down by the stream and shrugged off her cloak and gi, then unwound her chest binding, to reveal the proof of the acid youkai. Reaching into the pack beside her, she pulled out a container of a muddy looking substance both in colour and consistency. The paste was something she had helped make once before, at a time in which someone she once cared deeply about had been stabbed by poison claws in his stomach. Granted, this person had a naturally accelerated recovery range so not so much of it had to be made. Thrusting two fingers into it, she nearly blindly tried to cover her wounds with the paste; the only she could do to see them was to wrench her head around to attempt to look at her back. Once the goo was applied, Kagome then persisted to lie in the sun.
Waiting for the mud like substance to dry was a luxury she normally did not have.
'Yeah, because I normally have a death wish on my 'tail' or am too tired to even apply it,' she thought dryly. Her humor had changed since leaving her…well she still hadn't come to terms with her former relationships. She couldn't consider them friends anymore; acquaintances were another misnomer, since she was not anywhere remotely amiable with them; associates-no that would imply she was on speaking terms with them. 'Backstabbing-insulting-maybe-possibly-if-situations-were-different-lover-now-bastard, evil-ice-queen-soul-stealing-bitch-whom-I-happen-to-be-the-reincarnation-of, hentai-pretending-to-care-but-really-only-wants-to-get-laid-lecherous-imbecile, and untrustworthy-indifferent-doesn't-try-to-help-but-agrees-with-them-betraying-apathetic-heartbreaker; yeah that works for me; long but fitting.'
Sarcasm, oh how she loved the literary device; dido to smirks and arrogance. She cursed at herself mentally at how much she was picking up his traits. Ok, so she wasn't acting that much like the hanyou; she wasn't hot-headed, she thought before acting, and, hell, she had a shit load more power than he did, and a shit and a half more powerful than his undead bitch.
Most of the animosity towards bastard, bitch, imbecile, and heartbreaker could not be taken at face value. Like all people who have been deeply wounded, psychologically or physically, by a loved one, they tend to cover up their anguish and agony with intense emotion, whether extreme cheerfulness, withdrawal, but most commonly anger and hatred. Kagome, being stung as hard and deep as she was, could only hope that both time and her hatred would help to cure her pain she felt in her soul. As long as she did not dwell on her misfortunes, she could handle her past quite well, but the more she thought about it, this being one such instance, she tended to disperse silent tears.
'I've lingered to long. I really have to send thank you cards to the demons I kill; and any other time I find myself running for my life. I'd probably be dead if I went back home like he told me to, but then again when have I ever listened to him on that matter.'
Shrugging on her bodings and weaponry, she left as silently as she came.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, look what Rin found!"
The small child bounced after the demon lord with a beautiful bouquet of sakura flowers. Sighing, he continued to ignore his ward, inwardly grimacing at the girl's grammar, or lack there of.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, look what Rin found!" exclaimed the girl a little louder. As he continued to ignore her, she became silent. "Sesshoumaru-sama…"
Turning around, he crouched down to eye level with Rin. "Rin, what have I told you about speaking like that."
Shyly, she answered, "Don't talk in third person, or else you won't answer Rin… me." He nodded. "So Sesshoumaru-sama, look what I found!"
Proudly, she displayed her garland of sakura blossoms. He smiled inwardly at her innocence, as she happily bounced along as he patrolled the Western Lands. She was completely oblivious of the ways of the world, and personally, he wished to keep it that way, not wishing for her to mature as fast as he was forced to.
Walking the lands allowed him a sense of peace which he was not able to obtain with the dignitaries from the races of youkai inhabiting the area, whom he was forbidden to kill when he could no longer tolerate their insolence. No one in the Western kingdom was not accounted for; a foreigner was fair game. These people he often used as a source to relieve some of the tension that surrounded him in social settings.
Taking a deep breath, he smelt something faint in the air. The sent was almost completely out of the range of his senses, but as he sniffed again, he could tell it was definitely there. Besides being weak, it smelt of sakura blossoms after the first frost; frozen with evidence of power underneath, no matter how weak it seemed. Despite the weak sent, the youkai, he had decided it was a youkai because of the power behind the sent, no matter how slight it was, did not seem like he or she was far away. Reaching out with his own Ki, he attempted to locate the demon to attempt to better locate the intruder in his lands, but he found that there was no Ki; or rather the mask was the best he had ever seen including his own.
These facts alone caused him to frown slightly; who ever he was, he was an unknown intruder, and had some power behind him. Turning to Jaken, he told him to watch Rin; and ignoring the toad's muttered comments and choice insults, left to pursue his quarry.
It did not take the Lord of the Western Lands nearly as much time to reach the youkai as he thought. A small amount of respect was felt by him as he approached the cloaked figure; he had assumed that he would be located much farther from here, dictating that his sent was under a heavier façade then he first anticipated.
"Sesshoumaru, what a surprise." The greeting was cold, with a hint of smugness coming from a pitch of sound much higher than he expected; it was the high voice of a female. He mentally smacked himself in hindsight; the flower blossoms are a nearly exclusively feminine sent, though let no sign of his displeasure with himself show.
"Youkai, what are you doing in my lands?"
Sesshoumaru had anticipated many responses to his question; ranging from arrogant replies, to shameless pleading and rationalizing, to even running. What he did not expect was the scene in front of him. The girl was laughing, hard, as if his question was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
"Woman," he growled, "I do not take kindly to be patronized."
The demoness had seemed to recompose herself, pushing a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I suppose, but then again, you never take kindly to anything. Secondly, you should not call someone something they are not; it's like calling an ox a bull. Sure he enjoys the honor, but lacks the very thing that makes him one."
He paused for a second, sniffed, and then growled, claws beginning to glow a sickly green. "Human, give me one reason why I should let you live?"
"Because I make no threat against you or your lands; I am merely a wander," the woman spoke, tone mimicking his own. He was slightly amused by her, while he was also slightly surprised. The fact that the woman stood there, answering him without fear or hesitations, startled him.
"Do you not fear death, or the creature that carries it?"
She let out a snort, before she appeared to look him in the eyes; the cloak she wore successfully hid her entire profile. "It is foolish to fear what you can't avoid."
"You are either very wise, or very, very stupid."
"There is just but a thin line between intelligence and insanity."
"Woman," he spoke, patience now only being held by a hair, "Enough with your philosophy, I grow tired of it. Now answer my question; who the fuck are you?"
The slight derision in her tone froze as she closed the gap between them as she attempted to ruff him up. The endeavor, Sesshoumaru found, was rather funny. The woman was moderately petite; her head barely grazing his chin. "I am not a mind reader, Sesshoumaru," she spoke brusquely, "Do not assume I am."
As she spoke, he quickly snaked his arm around her neck and grasped the hood of the cloak. As the woman finished her tirade, he quickly pulled her cloak off her head. Almost instantaneously, she recoiled, twisting away from his grip, and scooting a couple meters away from him.
Black hair cascaded out, neatness the work of a simple samurai knot; dark eye staring at him daringly. If he had been a lesser being, or at least had a semi-normal sense of humor, he would have let out a hard laugh. He, however, was know for neither being a lesser being nor a sense of humor, and settled for a rather intimidating glare.
"Well, well, well, Inu Yasha's bitch," he spoke with some amusement in his tone. "Where's your keeper, wench?"
After his rather short, but denigrating monologue, three things happened. The girl closed the gap rather quick, backhanded him in the face, and he pinned her hands over her head. Despite her current situation, she still managed to keep her cool.
"Never, ever say that," she spoke icily, "I am not that bastard's bitch! I never was and never hope to be."
Her comments caused him to stagger a little, dropping her hands. She used that hesitation to retreat back to the edge of the river bank. "Clearly, your impression of my brother has drastically changed since I last saw you."
"A person's view can be obstructed in the shadows; you need light to see their intentions, and often that is too late."
Sesshoumaru drew his sword. "Your current alignments are of no interest to me, nor will resuscitate you from your death."
With that statement, he charged at her, but instead of hitting the girl, the blade ran into the flesh of a snake youkai.
Kagome braced for impact, knowing that the speed of the tai-youkai would not allow her to draw her bow and knock an arrow. Waiting for another second and after feeling nothing, she cautiously looked up. Sesshoumaru was currently engaged in a heavy battle with at least a dozen snake youkai, with another dozen headed her way. Without hesitation, she quickly snatched her discarded bow and grabbed an arrow out of her quiver, firing quickly, not taking time to aim. The arrow sailed through the closest snake and getting stuck in a second's head, the pink aura around the arrow vanishing as the creatures were blown to pieces.
Rushing into the heart of the battle, she began to panic. The snakes' auras were not of those working for Naraku, nor were their Ki's ones of his children. Something just didn't add up. Reaching out with her Ki, she could sense dozens of more snakes waiting just past the edge of the clearing, just waiting to pounce, well slither, into the battle.
She fired and collected her arrows with only her subconscious guiding them, while her conscious was trying to figure out the current situation. It simply was illogical for the youkai to be attacking Sesshoumaru, for they were obviously singling him out, she was just in their way; he was the Lord of the Western Lands and they were acting like the kamikaze pilots of late World War II; knowing they were going to die, but trying to inflict as much damage as possible before falling victim to the Lord's sword.
'It's like they're trying to draw his attention away from what's important; like they don't want him to realize something. And they are succeeding, he is so lost in the blood lust that he can't see or sense anything else. But what would they try to draw him away from; he's too far away from his castle for this to be effective and the only people who travel with him are that toad, the two-headed dragon and the− the girl, it's his weakness. Fuck, he doesn't even notice or draw the conclusion!'
Kagome turned and ran towards the direction Sesshoumaru had arrived, using a sai to wound whoever stood in her way. She almost froze in fright as she approached the spot of the girl. Yes, there was a snake youkai there, a cobra youkai to be more precise; but the thing that truly frightened her was the fact she sense three shards in it. She was not sure how she made it to the Lord's campsite so quickly, though it was most likely the adrenalin that allowed her to sprint as fast as she did. Jaken was currently lying unconscious while the dragon was in a similar state. Standing at the edge of the clearing she saw the cobra had the girl wrapped around in his tail about to retreat.
Kagome did the only thing she could think of, fire an arrow. Not having any time to aim at the moving target, she hoped her aim was true. The first arrow was imbedded in his scales, as was the second and third. He kept slithering, slower now, but only barely, as if the purity arrows hardly fazed him.
Reaching out with both her Ki and miko powers, she realized two things. One, that the shards were jammed in his right eye and, two, he was working for Naraku. The pieces of the puzzle fell together fast. The girl was the great tai-youkai's weak spot and the Naraku needed to get at Sesshoumaru. By drawing him away from the girl, he could easily capture, especially if he was preoccupied, thus where the kamikazes came in. And Naraku had succeeded, well, he would have if he did not have a miko added to mix.
Noticing how her arrows were stuck in his rock-hard scales, he laughed. "Pathetic human, I've won, why do you try?"
"You're overconfidence is you weakness."
"Your faith in your abilities is yours."
Knocking another arrow, she took the time to direct it specifically at the demon's right eye. The arrow successfully dislodged the shards from his eyes, and found his body blown into a thousand pieces. She quickly collected the three shards, the proceeded to slide down the tree trunk she was leaning against. Dropping her bow, she leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and attempted to catch her breath.
"Miko-sama," asked a high-pitched voice, poking her left arm, arousing her from her rest. "Rin wants to know if you are ok."
Opening up her eyes, she saw a small girl looking at her with wide, curious eyes. Smiling a genuine smile, she spoke to the child. "Yes, Rin, I'm fine, thank you, just a little tired; and my name is Kagome, Rin-chan."
"Oh, did Kagome-chan have to come very far to save Rin?" the girl asked, almost ashamed that she might have caused her problems.
"No Rin, I just ran really fast to get here to save you, since Sesshoumaru was busy." There was no point telling the girl that he was drawn away from her as a trap, and he didn't realize she was in trouble; the girl idolized his way too much.
"Okay. Will teach Rin to shoot like that?"
"Rin," said a cold voice behind her, "What have I told you about speaking in third person?"
The girl looked behind the tree and saw, Kagome judged by the stranger's voice and Ki, Sesshoumaru.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, Kagome-chan saved me," she exclaimed. "There was this big snake youkai who knocked out Jaken-sama and Au-Uh and grabbed Rin-me. Then Kagome-chan came and shot it and saved Rin.
The girl was obviously very excited about the whole ordeal, not realizing how serious the situation was. Pulling herself up, she looked him. "Jaken and Au-Uh have been poisoned by the cobra youkia, rendering then both unconscious and temporarily paralyzed. They'll be fine in a couple of hours. It was a trap set by Naraku, why I don't know, though you and I running he obviously did not foresee."
He nodded; as if to tell her continue. 'Kami-sama, he's treating me like a general reporting to him.' "Most likely he was going to hold Rin as blackmail. Did you not notice that while the snakes seemed to throw themselves at you, as if they were awaiting death?"
"What makes you think that it was Naraku? And if it was, what would make you think that he wanted to capture Rin?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she continued in her low tone. "The cobra had a residue of Naraku's Ki, very small and hardly noticeable, but there; and he had three shards of the Shikon no Tama in its eye. And why he captured Rin? The others were just paralyzed, not killed; he wanted them to report to you that Rin was captured. And knowing that the girl is your weak point and you would do anything to save her, Naraku would predict you would come charging directly at him, it gives him the upper hand. When he defeats you, yes I said when not if, he would be able to control you like he does Kagura."
"What makes you think he would defeat this Sesshoumaru?"
"Because this Kagome knows his trickery a hell of a lot better than you do. He would have a trap set and defeat you underhandedly."
Nodding his head, the next hour and a half was spend in silence minus a few affirmations to Rin as she chatted happily to both Sesshomaru and herself. He, at one point made an attempt to silence her, but Kagome gave him a look as if to say that if he tried to shut Rin up, she would hurt him.
Finally, the two youkai arose. Gathering themselves, Sesshoumaru-tachi turned to the west to leave. Kagome, in turn, was about to head south when she was stopped by a clawed hand.
"Is there anything else you require, Sesshoumaru?" she asked frigidly.
"You will returning with me to my home." It was a command with no room for argument.
"What?" she inquired voice just barely able to be categorized as a whisper. She did not need to shout like most people; rather her soft inquisition seemed more intimidating. "I do not have to go with you."
"You are coming with me. I have a debt to pay and refuse to discuss the terms in this place."
Grabbing her wrist, he then proceeded to drag her off westward, the rest of his party following him.
Eventually Kagome's wrists were released by Sesshoumaru. Rubbing them, she continued to walk beside him. She could tell he was surprised by her stamina, sneaking a gaze her way every so often and an eyebrow raising only a fraction of a centimeter when he saw she was still there; they had been walking for three hours, and she had not once faltered. She found the silence comforting; it had been so long since she had traveled with others that she was unsure of what she would say to them. Then again, the time she spent traveling with Inu Yasha-tachi was often spent in silence or in argument.
Looking over at the demon next to her she inquired how far the destination was.
"Another hour or so; we should be arriving just after sunset."
She nodded, then returning her gaze to the path in front of her. She actually found it soothing to travel with people again. The fact that there were other people watching her back caused the tension building up in her body to be relieved, tension she never knew she had. The group itself was not a bad group to travel with either. Sesshoumaru may be a killer, but he had honor and would not break his word.
Looking over at Au-Uh, she smiled slightly. Rin was currently curled up between the dragon's two heads as it flew overhead. Feeling someone's hot gaze on her back, she turned to Sesshoumaru, who was glaring at her almost inquisitively.
"It's been so long since I've traveled with another, that I've almost forgotten the touch of humanity," she explained to him. She, herself, was surprised at her tone; much like his Ki showed that he was. It was not the normal chilled tone she used while talking to people other than children; rather, it was one of indifference.
Sesshoumaru had a very strong Ki; one that was nearly impenetrable, had it not been for her own strength of learning to read Ki, a skill she learned while staying at a monastery for a week while healing from the acid youkai attack. But it still took a lot of energy to get beyond his top layer, which only extremely strong and basic emotions emanated. She was told she was surprisingly adapt to reading them by the abbot; only receiving a little instruction before her natural instincts took over. As she further used it, her skills increased, allowing her to read more guarded Ki, while further strengthening her own. Now hers easily rivaled Sesshoumaru's; the strongest Ki she had ever seen, including that of the abbot and Naraku.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. As he stated, they reached his fortress just after sunset as dusked set upon them; the stars shining brightly without the moon to dwarf them.
'The new moon; Inu Yasha's human night,' she thought, 'I wonder where they stopped. He's up in a tree right now. Life's a bitch sometimes; Inu Yasha doesn't realize the power I have over him. If I wanted to, I could easily track him and kill him on a night like this. He thinks I'm at home now. Stupid bastard, when have I ever listened to things he's told me to do? Of course, he thought that I could never survive on my own. Bastard.'
She was knocked out of her thoughts as Sesshoumaru tapped her on her shoulder, gesturing for her to follow a panther youkai, whom Kagome could tell was lightly aghast to the human that was to follow him. She could not say that he was an ugly person; actually, he was quite the opposite with black hair pulled back in a low ponytail and piercing green eyes. He had a tail, which was not a large fluffy thing like Sesshoumaru's, but thin and black, just reaching the floor.
He walked brusquely, obviously hoping to lose her as he twisted and turned through the winding corridors, before arriving at her room.
"There is a bath house down the hall and to the right. Sesshoumaru wishes to speak to you in about an hour, so be ready." He spoke very quickly. Reaching out with her Ki, she could see the disgust radiate off him. He was obviously a hater of humans, but forced to respect her by most likely Sesshoumaru himself. Bowing shallowly, he bid her farewell.
"If you need anything, just ask. Goodbye…"
"You may call me either miko-sama or miko-dono," she said filling in his gap.
His surprise was evident in his body language; eyebrows raised, eyes wide, mouth ever so slightly agape. "Miko-sama."
He quickly left, closing the door behind him, leaving Kagome the time to absorb her accommodations. They were not overly fancy, but had hints of the wealth of the owner of the manor. Slipping off her sandals, which she now wore instead of sneakers, and learning to run with them, at the door, she proceeded to investigate her surroundings. Running the pads of her fingers over the walls, she walked around the room, before reaching an opening, revealing a balcony overlooking a garden, the stars glistening in the koi pond. Draping her arms over the edge of the balcony way, she sighed, finding a peace here that she had not felt in the longest time, very possibly the first time since entering the well two years ago. She tore her self away from the breathtaking sight and headed back into her quarters, but stopped suddenly.
Something wasn't right; correction someone wasn't right. There were two of them; obviously trained assassins sent to kill her, though they did not realize their cover had been blown. Growing impatient, she called out to them. "I know you are here; come out."
Two wolf youkai stepped out from the shadows, a katana in each hand. Kagome gulped, slightly nervous about fighting in unknown quarters and against trained assassins. She laid a hand on her sais, drawing them while glaring at the two wolves.
Parting Thoughts: Please send your questions, comment, or concerns to me via the reader reviews or emailing me see beginning for address, though I would prefer you to post a review. Inquisitions for a beta reader position can email me and I will get back to you as quick as possible.
I heart semicolons! They are happiness right under my right pinky; they just love to be inserted instead of periods; semicolons, I ♥ you!
I would also like to take this time to explain the calling the ox a bull quote. An ox is a castrated (or neutered) bull. I do not take credit for this quote, but give it to the writers of the musical/movie 1776.
Finally I do not own the Tragedy of Macbeth, the dream sequence from Star Wars Attack of the Clones, Roroni Kenshin, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Cicero, Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl, Star Wars Return of the Jedi (Your overconfidence is your weakness), Lord of the Rings Return of the King, Mulan (You don't belong here, Mulan (Kagome); go home) or the musical/movie 1776 (ox and bull comparison).
Once again I thank you for reading
Bacci e ciao
♥ The Jade Sabre ♥