Chapter 1
She stalked off further into the forest with a maddened fury, her black tresses following behind her. The thick trunks of the masses of trees threatened to block any moonlight, swallowing her in a fatal darkness. An orchestra of night's creatures coursed peacefully through the evening, sounding deceitful to the threats that lay dormant within the forest. Creatures and demons of all sorts, spineless as snakes, searching for prey. Honestly, Kagome could not care less if she were spotted by these ominous predators. True, she did not have her bow and arrow present at her side; idly she believed her ferocious aura flaming about her kept the predators at bay.
Putting a hand deep into the pocket of her denim jeans, she fished for the carton that created a bulky extension from the side of her hip. She forced the carton out from the pocket's vice-like grip, smoothly flipping the opening. Fumbling with a cigarette, Kagome placed the slender cylindrical shape between her lips, fishing in the other pocket for her matches. A cigarette—an evolutionary source of tobacco of this era.
Kagome picked up the habit of smoking a while ago. There was no relevant reason as to why she pursued the nasty habit. They were a foundation of comfort, an escape from the stressors of her bizarre life. Her friends weren't too fond of her smoking. "It defiles your image as a miko," the monk that traveled with them stated. Kagome made a sound of irritation as she tried her second attempt to strike a match. Miko. As if she wanted to be a miko in the first place. In actuality she really had no choice. Who said she wanted to portray herself as pure, as perfection? Who said she wanted to be a protector of this blasted jewel? Irritating and painful questions such as these were silenced every time she brought a cigarette to her lips.
After her fifth attempt at striking the match, it burst into a small flame. She brought the match to the cigarette, lighting it, all the while puffing out smoke as she took small testy inhales. Once it was thoroughly lit, Kagome took in a grateful and long inhale, savoring the feeling of smoke filling her lungs.
Perhaps she began to smoke because of how much the very stench of it irritated a so-called friend of hers. How he wrinkled his nose in disgust and let out a disapproving growl whenever she would light one in his presence. Kagome did this purposely in front of the hanyou, not because it pissed him off, but because of the pleasure of seeing him displeased. Instead of using the subjugation beads, she used cigarettes to shut him up.
Over the years Kagome decided to use the beads what they were made for which was to suppress the hanyou if he ever became a threat. Thanks to his fang, these threats hardly ever came. Using the beads just to shut him up was a bit cruel, Kagome thought admittedly. Yes, her arguments with the hanyou were still at large, but at least she didn't have to deal with a pissy dog after being pummeled into the earth. Plus it was a little cold and immature of her to punish him just because he irritated her.
And it probably was humiliating to know that a female could overpower him, worse: a human female. Fully aware of the demon blood that ran through his veins, Kagome knew how unorthodox it was to have a female dominating over a male. It besmirched the hanyou's youkai heritage, and Kagome did not want to be the suspect to taint his nature. If she really wanted to piss him off without subjugating him, all she had to do was whip out a cigarette and accidentally blow smoke in his face. On many occasions it silenced him.
Truthfully, she did not understand her sudden crave to make the hanyou upset on a daily basis. Perhaps it was because of that…
That woman. Her previous anger resurfaced once more, the main reason why she had distanced herself from her friends, and especially from him. 'He went to her again,' she mused angrily, exhaling a long stream of smoke. The vivid image of Kikyo, the dead priestess flooded into her mind. The priestess was just a mere imitation of life, made of clay from the bones of warriors that had died during battle. A walking corpse that surprisingly still had the talent to lure in her first love, Inuyasha. Kagome growled inaudibly. "I don't understand," she spoke to herself.
Suddenly tuning into her surroundings, Kagome heard the unmistakable sound of the humming of a waterfall. Following the source of sound, she found entered a clearing to find a lake, a grand waterfall spilling its river rapids into its calm waters. The waterfall veiled what seemed to be an entrance to a cave. The settlement was a sight to behold, and Kagome agreed as much but unfortunately such failed to soothe her anger. Sitting on a boulder at the edge of the lake, she continued her musings.
"How can a dead woman still win his love?" Kagome sighed sadly, taking yet another hit of her cigarette. 'How can his decaying love for her surpass mine?' In spite of herself she envied the dead woman. Although many claimed her to be the reincarnation of the woman, she found herself very opposing from the dead miko. Kagome was everything Kikyo wasn't. And yet Inuyasha still found a place in both of their hearts—beating and not beating. Making an irritable sound once more, Kagome shook her head. He had some nerve thinking he would get away with having both of them as his. Kagome wouldn't allow it. It was either that dead bitch or her. Regrettably, she took the last hit of her cigarette, flicking its remains into the lake. She hunched over the boulder, placing an elbow on her knee and resting her chin in her palm. Miserable, she said quietly, "I never thought I would be comparing myself with the dead."
"Perhaps tonight you will." Kagome hardly had time to decipher the stranger's voice, for what was barely a millisecond she was painfully pressed against a tree, a clawed hand encircling her throat. Startled brown eyes met fiery liquid gold. They shone out prominently, piercing through the darkness. Instinctively, Kagome clutched at the threatening hand around her neck. "Sess—"she tried to voice out, only causing the hand to tighten. She felt shortage of air snag at the back of her throat. Damn cigarettes.
The demon lord narrowed his eyes icily at the woman struggling pathetically. Her chest heaved due to the lack of oxygen. How her hands tremulously clutched his grasping her throat caused a small smirk to crawl at his lips. Her position was absolutely pitiable. "Wench," he spoke venomously. Disoriented eyes met with his. She was slowly losing oxygen. Taking note of this, he released her throat, caring less how gracelessly she fell to the ground. Kagome gasped throatily, heaving for air then resulted in violent coughs. "What the hell is your problem?" she said voluminously between coughs.
He did not answer but continued to glare at her pathetic form sprawled on the ground. Meeting his glare, she stared defiantly up at him, enraged that he had just attempted to strangle her but did not utter an explanation why he had a legitimate reason to do so.
"Fine, don't answer," Kagome grumbled, coming up to her feet unsteadily. She brushed the dirt and dead leaves off her clothes, trying hard to ignore the penetrating stare that came from the inuyoukai. When she met his eye contact, Kagome got the impression that his was stare was belittling her. Feeling slightly annoyed, she said snappishly, "Well, are you going to stare at me all night or are going to tell me what the hell your problem is?"
Sesshomaru continued to glower at her, his stare becoming, if even possible, icier than ever. Seriously, what the hell was his problem? Kagome was merely minding her own business, and then this arrogant prick, out of oblivion, decides to strangle her. She had no idea silently venting out her frustration by enjoying the nighttime scenery offended the demon lord. What didn't offend the demon lord? Well, she was human, that was one thing, so the attempt to appear non-offensive would somewhat be impossible to his standards.
He remained silent, as if refusing to explain himself. And why should he? The stupid ningen wasn't even worthy to receive an explanation. "You deaf or something?" Kagome shouted. She was aware of the consequences that could possibly come for being this petulant in the presence of the demon lord. But honestly, Kagome didn't give a damn.
"Leave," he finally said after what seemed like minutes of a rigorous staring contest. That's it? He was just going to tell her to leave after just threatening her life with his vice-like grip? The smartest thing to do was to obey the dangerous demon and get out of his way as soon as possible lest she wanted to sport any sever injuries or fulfill a death wish. But Kagome wasn't going to leave. "No, I won't leave. I was just harmlessly musing to myself before you rudely," she clipped the word with such loathing she was surprised she didn't wince at her own brusqueness, "interrupted them by nearly choking me to death." Sesshomaru advanced on her, his eyes narrowing as if he were flashing a warning.
Apparently Kagome didn't get the message. She still continued her rude antics while the demon lord approached her with slow threatening steps, his claws flexing. "…completely uncalled for. I would understand if this was your land-
"Miko," Sesshomaru growled, finally ceasing the woman's raving. "This is my land." She was beginning to feel stupid. She uttered a small "oh" backing away from him only to find that the tree she was previously pressed against was in her way.
"Well you didn't have to choke me!" Kagome then came back with another yell, surreptitiously spiking the inuyoukai's anger.
"Miko," he growled more fiercely than before, staring dangerously down at her.
"I suggest you return to your place and have your male wretch discipline you," he said in a dangerous tone. She gaped at him, feeling thoroughly insulted. Inuyasha discipline her? That was a laugh. He would never have the audacity to set Kagome in her place. Even though she didn't use the subjugation beads any more, he still knew it was best to not test Kagome. Plus, Inuyasha wasn't her male to begin with. "Excuse me?" Kagome hissed, her temper rising. And she thought her worries of high blood pressure at a young age were over. "I don't have a male wretch, and I suggest that you shut your mouth." She spat the sentence out like venom.
Again, the demon lord's eyes narrowed dangerously then he turned away, leaving the woman behind. For a moment, Kagome thought he actually took her word and felt herself swell triumphantly. But her moment of glory for telling the demon lord off instantly deflated when he said rather coolly with his back to her:
"It is most dishonoring to witness a creature with demon blood fail to discipline those in his pack. You, miko, with your human presumptions, bring him dishonor and furthermore lower the hanyou you travel with. You are a disgrace, miko."
Kagome felt her chest freeze over as a breath hitched in her throat. Stock still, she stared at the inuyoukai's back with wide eyes. Ignoring the sting of his words she began sputtering incoherently, making an effort to form a witty repartee but failed miserably when Sesshomaru interrupted her pathetic blundering. "At least the dead miko you are so jealous of does not disgrace herself in such a manner." Kagome felt like ripping the demon lord's head off. The blow of those words hit with such force she was not ready for them and recovering from them was a pathetic sight to witness. Feeling he had concluded this pointless meeting with the woman, Sesshomaru began to walk away, distancing himself and feeling her anger permeate the air.
She did not know which emotion was stronger than the other; her anger or her wounded pride. Being notorious for having the last word, Kagome picked up a rock that fit nicely in the palm of her hand. With all her strength, she chucked the rock aimed at the demon lord's head. Kagome knew she wasn't going to hit him, he would effortlessly dodge her shot, and to top it all off she was blinded with fury. She was expecting the rock to stray far from the Lord of the Western Lands.
To her astonishment, she watched the rock strike the back of the demon lord's head and swore she heard the rock meet with his skull. She would have laughed, but she was so angry and shocked that at the time she was unable to voice her mirth. Sesshomaru stopped in mid step, frozen in place. For a moment Kagome felt she made a dreadful mistake. Again, it would have been wise to turn the opposite direction of the demon and book it, but she remained rooted to the spot.
Within a blink of an eye, Sesshomaru had her pinned to the tree for the second time, wrists held above her head in his hand. He had to manage to swallow the snarl that was threatening to emit because he did not see fear in her eyes. Defiance shone proudly in her brown orbs, her brows furrowed in boldness. She raised her chin and managed to look down from her nose at him, as if he were lower than her. Sesshomaru found her attempt to pick another fight futile but was mildly surprised that he did not detect any trace of fear. Instead, he could sense her wounded pride, her insecurity, resonating off her like waves. 'The girl has fire in her,' Sesshomaru mused to himself. Finding that he was wasting his time, he released the woman. He then for the second time turned away and walked back from which he came from. Although the forest brush had hidden his form from view as the distance between him and the miko increased he could still feel her piercing stare on his back. The feeling did not go away until he was a good half mile away.
"Where've you been?" barked an impatient and irritated hanyou. He had expected to find the miko with the rest of his comrades when he had returned. Though when he did, he entered a solemn campsite with all of his friends glaring at him. Kagome seemed to be absent. Inuyasha didn't need to ask where Kagome went off to and why they were all glaring at him. He was fully aware what had happened without having any explanation. Inuyasha saw Kikyo's soul collectors and without little thought, followed them. His meeting was not that long. It was actually a fleeting moment with his first love. And nothing too serious had transpired between them. Sure, he had allowed her to caress the back of her hand against his cheek with his defenses completely down, but that was it.
Kagome was in no mood to talk when she reentered the campsite. Her posture was rigid and her hands were curled into fists. He noticed that her lips were drawn into a thin line. Kagome was furious. Risking igniting her anger, he had demanded where she was for the past ten minutes. Meeting her fiery gaze he was somewhat prepared for the uncomfortable sensation of a hook yanking at his neck and bringing him face first into the ground. But nothing happened. She merely glanced at him, and wordlessly sat down.
"Hey, I was talking to you," Inuyasha rounded on her, becoming more irritated. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes, pulling out a cigarette from her pack. She brought herself towards the fire, leaning her face towards the flames, watching them lick at the tip of her cigarette. "I just took a walk," she said softly after exhaling smoke. Inuyasha hated when she would do that. The smell was awful. And when this awful smell mixed with her beautiful clean scent, it made him want to scream. Miroku was about to open his mouth to say something, but Kagome shot him a look and he closed his mouth, suddenly reconsidering.
Inuyasha was mad now. She knew he hated it when she smoked. And she still did it anyway. He never knew why. "Are you that stupid enough to walk by yourself at night? You could have been attacked and then I would have had to rescue your sorry ass." Maybe he shouldn't have said that. He saw her jaw clench.
The woman wanted to very much come back with a snide remark. She wanted more than anything to say, "Your duty to rescue me would have interfered with your love affair." The words that Sesshomaru had said to her flooded her mind at the moment. Surprisingly she did not say what was at the tip of her tongue. She took in a rather large inhale, nearly swallowing smoke, then blew out smoke again. "You're right Inuyasha. Next time I won't be so reckless." Inuyasha sat there with his mouth open, confused that she did not say anything near insulting. She had actually agreed with him. When was there a time when they ever agreed on anything?
"Y-You're not going to tell me off?" he asked her incredulously. Kagome raised her eyebrows in mocked confusion. "Why would I do that?" she asked in return, blowing smoke in his direction. Damn Sesshomaru for making her feel so insecure and stupid. But then again, she always felt stupid when the impressive Lord Sesshomaru belittled her. It pissed her off how he had that affect on her. It almost made her want to prove him wrong, but that would be pointless.
"Usually you have something to say," Inuyasha replied. Kagome shook her head, fighting with all her might not to tell him that 'something' she really wanted to say. "No, I agree with you. It was completely reckless of me to put myself in danger like that. I apologize." Inuyasha startled by her words. "Apolo—wait a second…how come you smell like him?" Kagome was nearing the edge of her calm demeanor. "What?" she spat. "You heard me! How come you smell like him?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kagome said, becoming extremely agitated that her polite behavior was left unappreciated.
"How come you smell like Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha spoke the name so bitterly, as if the name itself was a displeasing taste in his mouth.
Everyone ogled at Kagome as though she were the most unusual creature that they ever laid eyes on.
She really didn't want to talk about it. More than anything, she didn't want to talk about it, especially with Inuyasha. "It's nothing," Kagome said feebly, fumbling around in her yellow backpack pretending she was searching for something. "Nothing? What do you mean nothing? You were just with Sesshomaru, and I'm surprised you aren't dead let alone injured-
"I said it was nothing!" Kagome yelled, silencing the hanyou for a moment. Sesshomaru's words again rang in her head, and Kagome wanted nothing more to ignore them. 'You are a disgrace, miko.'
"What did you do with him?"
This time it was Kagome's mouth that fell open. "Wha—? I didn't do anything with him you idiot! What on earth would make you think I did something with him?" Kagome exclaimed, completely bewildered by Inuyasha's disturbing and most unlikely assumption.
"Why're you getting all defensive then? You did do something with him, didn't you?"
"Don't be thick," she said rather defensively. But Inuyasha continued to round on her. "Don't try to hide it. You reek of him. I know you two did something." If only she hadn't promised herself to stop using the subjugation beads unless it was necessary…then she could have sent this idiot to the center of the earth.
"Inuyasha, calm yourself," the monk smoothly interjected. "Think of what you're saying. Sesshomaru despises humans, and considering that Kagome is human, the possibility of Kagome and Sesshomaru doing whatever your imagination came up with is highly unlikely." Besides the numerous times Miroku had nagged at Kagome to end her smoking habit, she was grateful for his skills to usher the hanyou into sensibility.
"Unless," Miroku then said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Kagome was beginning to reassess her gratefulness towards the monk. "Kagome did do something with him."
"What the — that's — I would never!" Kagome sputtered uselessly, appalled that her friend would even side with that imbecile. "After all, Kagome has grown into a fine woman over the years. Perhaps even The Great Sesshomaru was not able to resist her siren's call," Miroku said with a twinkle in his eye. Inuyasha wore the expression equivalent to smelling something quite foul.
"T-That's ridiculous," she stammered, blushing furiously from flattery of the monk's words, and from anger at Inuyasha's facial expression. "So it's true then," Inuyasha said in a cold and high voice.
"Oh knock it off, both of you," Sango, the demon slayer finally said. "I'm sure Kagome has a reasonable explanation." She knew Sango would be able to see reason. Relieved that Sango rescued her, she sighed. Kagome risked a furtive glance at Inuyasha, who was glowering down at her, arms folded across his chest. "She better hope she has a damn good explanation," Inuyasha growled, and Kagome's temper boiled dangerously.
"It was an accident, all right?" she snapped bitterly, feeling really annoyed that the idiot continued to stand by his faulty accusation.
"An accident, she says," Inuyasha huffed, increasing his glare. "Then why are you so reluctant to tell, huh?" he continued to interrogate her.
The miko was trying with all her best efforts to keep calm. Right now her deepest desire was to beat the living hell out of this mutt. But whenever she would envision herself standing over a pit with the hanyou at the very bottom of it, she felt a guilt wash over her and then that pompous demon lord seemed to wriggle his way in and make her feel even more ashamed. "Well, if you would let me talk instead of planting ridiculous ideas into your head then you'd have yourself a damn good explanation." Inuyasha opened his mouth, about to retort but Kagome beat him to it. "And I assure you, my meeting with Sesshomaru was as brief as your meeting with Kikyo."
He immediately closed his mouth, suddenly finding that he didn't really know what to say. Kagome didn't feel any smugness towards her comment; in actuality she mustered a great amount of courage to even say it. Whenever the topic of Kikyo would come between them, it wouldn't just hurt Kagome, but Inuyasha as well. The last thing Kagome wanted to do was cause pain for the hanyou that had already suffered a great deal in his lifetime. She felt selfish for bringing guilt upon Inuyasha, but was it really fair to lead her on that way? She figured they both had their reasons and that there really would not be a resolute solution to this.
The silence that fell upon the campsite was beginning to get a bit unsettling for Kagome. Feigning as if nothing had happened, she forced a smile and asked, "Now then, who's hungry?" She was honestly grateful that the small kitsune instantaneously responded to her offer, jumping out of the demon's slayer lap at once. This, thankfully, shattered the awkward and almost unbearable silence. Everyone, excluding Inuyasha, was chattering merrily as Kagome prepared their dinner. Once she finished serving everyone their bowls, Kagome looked over at Inuyasha who was perched on a tree branch. Approaching the tree, she looked up at the sulking hanyou. Figuring that it would be pointless and tiring to continue being upset with Inuyasha she called up to him, "Are you going to brood all night, or are going to have some ramen?" She smiled as she saw the white ears perk at the mention of ramen. With a huff, he leapt from the branch, landing beside Kagome. She gave him a cheeky smile, and tweaked one of his ears before returning to the campsite. Even though he was trying to hide it, Kagome could see the light smile on his features as he ate happily at his ramen. Sometimes he was too cute to be upset with, Kagome thought to herself.
