My first Sesshoumaru x Kagome fanfic, so I hope you enjoy. I love Sesshoumaru and although I didn't see Sesshy and Kagome as a pair, they kind of grew on me...
At the end of the chapter, please review! Let me know what you think of it. Also, the 'italic' flashblack in the beginning was taken from Episode 109 of Inuyasha. ALL DISCLAIMERS ARE ON MY PROFILE.
Ch. 1: The Bitterness of Betrayal
Why did Kagome always end up like this? Somehow she was always put into the position of hurt and heartache. She fell to her knees, tears running down her face, cupping one hand over her mouth trying her hardest not to sob loudly. She felt her heart cracking into millions of pieces, and it was all thanks to one idiotic half-breed. Inuyasha.
It all started two days ago.
The group were fighting members of the Band of Seven when they found a very injured and almost dying Kikyo. Once the Band retreated, Inuyasha took Kikyo to shelter; ultimately saving her life. Kagome suggested it, but that didn't mean she didn't suffer from it. No matter what, Kagome would always come second best in Inuyasha's eyes.
The next day was like any other. The sun was shining brightly and the birds were heard chirping beautifully in the tops of the trees. On a grassy clearing, Sango and Kagome rode on Kirara who was flying low to the ground, allowing Miroku and Inuyasha who were running from behind to keep up. Unlike usual, Kagome was not carried on Inuyasha's back, but instead, gave off a tense aura and travelled with Sango. This of course disturbed Inuyasha and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Hey Miroku…Why do you think Kagome is riding with Sango?" Inuyasha asked.
"Probably because she doesn't want to be carried by you…" He said bluntly.
"What the heck did I do?"
"What you did or didn't do doesn't really matter at this point. Kagome feels emotionally betrayed. Women are very sensitive! Kagome is hurt because she thinks that you may still have feelings for Kikyo." Miroku paused for a moment, giving Inuyasha time to take everything in. "You should leave her alone for a little while…it would not be particularly wise to provoke her right now- huh?"
Before Miroku even finished his sentence, Inuyasha quickly ran past him and ran next to Kagome.
"HEY KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled.
"Inuyasha!" Miroku called out. "Idiot…" Shippo commented, sitting on Miroku's shoulder.
Sango sighed, disappointed by Inuyasha's very dumb attempts to make things all better. Kagome held onto Sango's waist and turned, looking in the opposite direction of Inuyasha. The last thing she wanted to do was to talk to him right now. Yes, she was angry with him and she had every right to be. Inuyasha was just too naïve and stubborn to realise this.
"Come on, answer me already! Why the heck are you ignoring me?" He demanded. "Hey Kagome!"
Kagome turned her head slowly towards Inuyasha. Her whole face read nothing but sadness and pain. In a tone that even Sesshoumaru would cower to, she simply said "Not now". A very cold and violent shiver ran down Inuyasha's spine and he quickly retreated back, hiding behind Miroku, quivering in fear. Miroku and Shippo looked a little confused because of Inuyasha's actions, but it was obviously because he said the wrong thing.
A little later in the afternoon, the gang decided to rest for a while. Sango, Miroku, Kirara and Shippo sat atop a small hill while Kagome and Inuyasha sat at the bottom, facing their backs to the others. It was time they had another "chat".
"If you have something to say, then let's hear it okay?" Inuyasha growled.
"Don't bother…" Kagome answered in an emotionless tone.
"Come on, I know you're angry…"
"No, I'm not angry…"
Inuyasha grunted in annoyance to her response. "Anyway, this isn't the time for us to argue. You realise that don't you?"
Kagome went silent. Inuyasha looked at her for a bit, then started fidgeting. He knew that when she went quiet, it meant something bad was coming. He wasn't quite sure what to say to cheer her up. He was afraid if he said anything else he would only make matters worse.
Just as he was about to speak Kagome called out "Inuyasha…" which startled him.
"Y-yeah, what is it?" He stuttered.
"We've talked about it before, haven't we? About me staying with you…" she said sadly. Inuyasha relaxed a bit as he listened to her speak.
"I know that there's a bond between you and Kikyo and I know…I can never ask you to forget about her." Kagome paused for a moment. "And yet…I'm going to stand by you, Inuyasha. It's what I know I have to do."
"Kagome…" he said sincerely.
"So, I'm going to forget about what happened last night…there's one thing though…" she paused. "WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME?" she screamed. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?...Ughhh…" Kagome suddenly stood up and stared angrily at Inuyasha. Sweat started dripping down his face and something made him flinch instinctively.
"THIS IS ALREADY HARD ENOUGH!"
"Hey wait, I was right! You were angry after all-"
"SIT BOY!" Kagome yelled. Inuyasha's face connected with the ground.
"Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit boy!"
Watching from above, Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Shippo could almost feel the pain Inuyasha was going through.
"I told him not to provoke her unnecessarily…" Miroku said slyly.
"Aw man! That's really gotta hurt…" Shippo said, looking over Sango's shoulder at the poor Inuyasha.
"STOOOOOOOP!" Inuyasha pleaded from below.
Once Kagome had finished letting out all her anger, she walked back up the hill where the others acted like they didn't hear anything. Kagome picked up her yellow backpack and threw it over her shoulder. She then asked Kirara to come over where she was, then hopped on and began ordering Kirara to fly back to Kaede's village.
"I'm going home for a few days! Don't you DARE try to follow me Inuyasha…" she yelled from above.
Miroku and Sango looked on from below. They didn't try to stop her as they knew it would only make matters worse. It was better to let Kagome go home and calm down, then she would be better by the time she got back. Inuyasha was still face-planted in the ground, unaware that Kagome had left, but even when he sat up and saw her depart, he said and did nothing.
Kagome was now kneeling in front of the bone-eaters well. Kirara had already returned to the others, but Kagome couldn't help but think about what had happened.
"Why do I keep doing this?" she said to herself. "Why do I keep running away every time my heart breaks…?"
Kagome eventually stood up and wiped the tears off her face. She looked down into the well, debating in her head whether she should stay or not. 'I can't keep running away every time this happens…' she thought. 'What if something terrible happens and I'm not there to help all because of my stupidity…'. Despite how much she wished Inuyasha would choose her over Kikyo, she knew deep down that that would never happen. It was time Kagome stopped acting childish and finally became a stronger person.
She swung her backpack over her shoulder and returned to Kaede's village. After explaining to Kaede why she was going to return home in the first place, she then told her that it was a stupid mistake and he would return to Inuyasha and continue on their quest. Kaede admired Kagome's strength, it was a lot like Kikyo's, not that she admitted it out loud of course.
After a few hours, Kagome finished gathering some food and extra supplies, and took off. They weren't too far out, only about a days walk (since she didn't have her bike with her). She remembered the way whilst she was riding on Kirara, plus if she ever did get lost, all she had to do was ask someone from a village which way it was to Mt. Hakurai.
Sticking out of her backpack was a bow and a couple of arrows – courtesy of Kaede in case she ran into any trouble. It was lucky she had, because once night-time fell, demons decided to come out and play.
Walking along the side of a river, Kagome heard something rustling in the bushes. She turned to see if anything was there, but it was nothing. She thought it might've just been a small animal, so quickly scurried off.
A little further down the track, a giant horned demon jumped out from the trees in front of her. He was at least 10 metres tall and had lots of horns sticking out of his head and back. His complexion was of a dark red colour and his eyes shined brightly green. His mouth was drooling as he stared at the startled miko.
Kagome didn't have time to grab her bow and arrow, so quickly turned around and ran, hoping to get some distance between them. Her attempt was in vain because as soon as she turned around, another demon was in front of her. The demon looked identical to the first, only his complexion was orange and he had deep yellow eyes.
"I'll take the top half, you can have the bottom…" The first demon said in a very grouchy, low monotone.
One demon, Kagome could've handled thanks to her spiritual power, but two at close range, she stood little chance. She quickly dived to the side near the edge of the river and pulled out her bow and arrow. She aimed and fired at the second demon. The arrow glowed pink, then hit the demon straight in the chest. He yelled in pain and clenched tightly onto his chest where the arrow pierced. No longer being able to stand, he fell to his knees before ultimately falling to his death. The other demon watched on with horror.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT HUMAN!" the demon yelled as he charged towards her. Kagome tried to put another arrow in her bow, but she ran out of time. As the demon struck a blow, she dodged it but slipped on the bank and fell into the river. She grabbed onto a rock, stopping herself from getting carried away by the water, but the demon jumped in and began walking towards her. Being so big, the water only reached to his waist and the river was too weak to carry him. Kagome let go and started paddling with the current, distancing herself from the demon. Without even realising it, she came upon a waterfall. Having very little time to react, she tried desperately to grab onto something, but it was no use. She fell.
The demon stood at the top and looked on to see if he could spot the human getting out of the water. Unfortunately for him, he didn't see anything. Concluding that she must've died after falling, he turned and wandered back to his dead companion.
When she fell, Kagome was knocked unconscious. The water carried her for miles. By morning, she had washed up in shallower waters where her body laid motionless and unguarded. If a demon found her before she woke up, she could find herself in lot of trouble – and nobody knew where she was.
From a flower meadow not too far away, Rin was playing with the pretty flowers, creating flower necklaces and bracelets that she put on Jaken and Ah-Un. Sesshoumaru was standing under a tree in the shade, watching on as he saw his servant and his ward play. As a gust of wind blew through, something caught his interest. He smelt a human nearby, but also blood. As he headed off to investigate what it was, Rin saw him leaving and quickly ran after him, followed by Jaken then Ah-Un.
"M'lord! Where are you going?" Rin called out, finally catching up to him.
"D-Did you sense Naraku nearby M'lord?" Jaken asked, trying to catch his breath.
"No." Sesshoumaru replied in his usual, expressionless tone.
As they came out of the bushes, they saw Kagome lying motionless on the bank of the river. Immediately Rin ran over to inspect her and see if she was still alive.
"It's Kagome M'lord!" Rin called out. She put her head on Kagome's chest to see if she could hear a heartbeat and to see if she was still breathing. "She's alive!" Rin called out, overjoyed.
'Inuyasha's wench…why is she here, yet, Inuyasha's scent is nowhere nearby…?' Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He quickly dismissed the matter and turned around, beginning to walk away.
"Lord Sesshoumaru! We can't just leave her here…" Rin pleaded.
"That wench does not concern us. We're leaving." He ordered.
Rin looked at her lord for a moment before turning back to Kagome. She sat next to the unconscious girl and held tightly onto her hand. "She's so cold…" Rin said with a very sad tone in her voice, one that Sesshoumaru had not heard before.
"RIN! Lord Sesshoumaru has said that we are leaving! You better leave the girl or else you're going to get left behind!" Jaken snapped at her. Rin just ignored the little green imp's comment and continued staring at Kagome.
Sesshoumaru was growing very impatient. He watched on as he saw Rin trying desperately to wake Kagome up. When she finally gave up and concluded that Kagome would not wake up, no matter how hard she tried, she stood up. Sesshoumaru expected Rin to walk back over to Jaken and Ah-Un so that they could finally leave, but, he was wrong. She grabbed hold of Kagome's arms and tried desperately to pull the rest of Kagome's body out of the water. Unfortunately for Rin, she was a little too small and weak, and was struggling to move her even an inch.
"What are you doing now you stupid girl?" Jaken complained.
"Rin has to get Kagome out of the water or else she won't get warm!" Rin replied, still attempting to pull her out.
By this stage, Sesshoumaru was really getting agitated. Although he constantly told himself in his head to just walk away, he didn't move. He was never going to admit it out loud, but he wasn't going to leave Rin by herself. Between Rin's persistence and Sesshoumaru's impatience, he gave up. He narrowed his eyes and grunted, sickened by what he was about to do.
"Move out of the way Rin." He said in a deep emotionless voice. Rin looked up at her lord, then set Kagome's hands back on the ground, quickly moving out of his way.
Sesshoumaru knelt down and put Kagome's arm around his shoulder. With his single arm, he lifted her up by the waist and leant her against his mokomoko (fur on his right shoulder). Carrying the girl, he walked over and placed Kagome on the back of Ah-Un. Jaken's jaw was on the ground. He couldn't believe his lord just did that! Especially for one of Inuyasha's allies.
Sesshoumaru noticed a small patch of blood left on his fur. As he inspected closer, he realised it belonged to Kagome. He inspected her once more and realised that she was bleeding from the back of her head. If they didn't come along, another demon would've probably smelt the blood and killed her. Sesshoumaru knew they needed to find a warm place to put her down or else she might still die of blood loss.
Sesshoumaru began walking down the river and saw out of the corner of his eye, Rin smiling brightly up at him. He pretended he didn't notice it and continued walking, followed by Rin, Ah-Un and eventually, Jaken.
As they continued down the river, Sesshoumaru saw a small hut hidden by a large amount of trees. A perfect place to stay safe for a night.
"Jaken" Sesshoumaru called out.
"Y-yes M'lord?" Jaken replied, running over to him.
"See if that hut is occupied. If it is, then make sure it no longer is. Go"
"Oh! U-uh Yes M'lord!" Jaken ran over to the hut as fast he could. He stood outside the door and took a deep breath. He swung open the door and jumped inside. "Leave now or suffer the consequences!" Jaken called out, trying to sound menacing whilst holding the staff of two heads in front of him. When he opened his eyes, he realised that it was empty.
Jaken signalled Lord Sesshoumaru that it was okay to enter now. Standing outside the hut, Sesshoumaru again put Kagome's arm around his shoulder and held her by the waist. He carried her inside and laid her down softly on the ground. Rin ran over with two small blankets that was carried in one of Ah-Un's backpacks. She spread out one blanket on top of Kagome and put the second one underneath her head for comfort.
"Rin…" Sesshoumaru called out, as he stood at the door.
"Yes M'lord?"
"You're in charge of taking care of her." He said with his expressionless tone of voice. Rin smiled at him then directed her attention back to Kagome. Sesshoumaru slightly growled under his breath then left the hut.
"Jaken"
"Ack! Yes M'lord?"
"Watch over Rin…"
Finishing off their short conversation, Sesshoumaru took to the sky, going out on his usual patrol to make sure the area, and his lands, were safe.
Completely unaware of Kagome's misfortune, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara continued travelling, searching for Naraku at the base of Mt. Hakurai.
Chapter 2 will be up soon! Please Review and tell me what you think so far. Good or bad, I don't mind. I'm trying to stick to the characters personality as much as possible, so let me know if I go off track with a character, thanks!.
