Here is one mother of a one-shot. It's too large to put into one chapter, so this is only the first of several parts. I'm still not sure how many it will take. Maybe 3 or 4?
This SessKag oneshot is based on my favorite myth. If you can tell me what the myth is, you will get awesomeness points.
Haruna was angry. No, not angry. Down right furious would be a better way to put it. To think that some one was more beautiful than she, the mate of the Western Lord, was completely outrageous.
Yet, there had been allegations that there was another woman who had looks fairer than she. Perhaps Haruna wouldn't have minded that if the woman was a youkai like herself - but this woman was a human! She hissed under her breath, and waved her hand towards the mess on the floor that had once been a messenger. The messenger had come from the mountain side close to the Eastern and Western border and told of many youkai who were speaking of this woman's beauty. Not only that, but they were saying of how her beauty dwarfed that of Haruna herself!
Two servants flitted over to the body immediately at the wave of Haruna's hand and began to clean up the bloody mess. The youkai herself stepped around them and headed out into the hallway. Her footsteps became louder and louder as her fiery anger grew. The sounds of her geta* clacking against the wooden floor was surely to be heard throughout the shiro. When she finally reached the room she had been storming towards, she opened the door with a snap of her arm.
Inside the room, her son, Sesshoumaru, sat by the open terrace door that faced out into the gardens and the mountains beyond. His armour and sword had been hung in their proper places on the opposite wall, but the large pelt he had received from his father when he was young remained draped over his shoulder.
"What is it, Okaa-san?" he asked without standing, or even looking over his shoulder to greet her.
"Sesshoumaru, I have a task for you to do," she announced as she walked over to stand by her son by the open door.
"And what leads you to believe that I would do it?" he drawled, his eyes staring out into the mountains.
Haruna smirked. Of course Sesshoumaru would never do something unless he benefited from it in some way. What she had in mind wouldn't normally benefit him at all, but she knew for a fact that it had been some while since Sesshoumaru had left the shiro on a mission and he was getting very bored.
"Your scent gives you away, my son. You are tired of having nothing to do in this palace. That is what leads me to believe that you will do this for me."
The two youkai remained silent for a moment before Haruna turned away. "Come. Prepare yourself while I tell you your task."
Sesshoumaru growled. "Do not tell me what to do."
"You will do it now, Sesshoumaru," Haruna all but roared. She had no patience to coax her son into his armour while everyone in the land spoke of this woman and of her being more beautiful than Haruna herself.
Sesshoumaru stayed in his spot for a moment, just to infuriate his mother a bit more, before slowly standing up and walking over to where his armour and sword hung. He shot his mother a glare as he began to prepare his armour.
"There is a woman named Kagome Higurashi who lives at the base of Mount Fuji. She is the youngest of three daughters of the Higurashi clan. There has been word circulating about her and it troubles me. Your task is this: you will go to her and make her fall in love with the most hideous human male you can find."
Sesshoumaru stopped fiddling with his armour and looked at his mother. "What is the purpose of this seemingly pointless and childish mission?"
Haruna huffed. "There are many who believe that she is the most beautiful being to ever walk this Earth. It is disgraceful to us as the reigning youkai of this area to have a human be above us in anyway."
Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow at his mother. Of course, this was all about her damned ego. He shifted his armour on his shoulders until it sat comfortably. "Why do I not just simply kill her then?"
Haruna scowled. "Have you forgotten? The Higurashi clan is important to us, even though they are only human. They've been in control of all the land around Mount Fuji for centuries. Not only that, but they also pay us large sums yearly for protection. In a sense, they are allies. She cannot be simply killed. Your human-loving father would not allow it."
Sesshoumaru growled at the mention of his father. Inu no Taishou had had a hanyou son with a human hime almost two and a half centuries ago. Since the abomination was born, Inu no Taishou had moved himself to a different shiro so the damn thing would be safe. Haruna, who had been indifferent to humans before this, began to hate them. This rubbed slowly rubbed off onto Sesshoumaru, who had began to hate hanyous as well.
"So, she must be humiliated in some way. That is why you cannot kill this girl," Haruna finished. A satisfied smile played across her dainty red lips.
"Why must I be the one to do this?" Sesshoumaru asked as he tied his sword to his obi.
Haruna frowned. "Such complaining from you today, my son. You will do this because I am certain you will not fall in love with her beauty like other men have."
When Sesshoumaru was done, he followed behind Haruna as she walked briskly down the hallways of the shiro towards the room where they kept an dark miko. The two guards at the door gently opened the door as Haruna and Sesshoumaru approached. Without stopping, Haruna entered the dark room and headed for where the dark miko slept on her bed.
"Wake up," Haruna yelled as she approached.
The dark miko sat up immediately, and glanced around the room with bleary eyes. As soon as she spotted the youkai standing by her bed, she instantly fixed her sitting position into a kneel. "Haruna-sama, how can I assist you?"
Haruna smiled. When they had managed to capture the dark miko, it took many youkai to contain her in the shiro, and many more to work at taming her. It had taken almost a year, but when they had finally broken her spirit, they had officially had an unending source of dark miko powers.
"You will give me an enchantment."
The dark miko looked up at the youkai and smirked. "I have many of those, my Lady. What kind do you search for?"
"One of love."
The dark miko's brow puckered in thought as she stood up from her kneel. "I do not usually do love enchantments as I find them meaningless, but I do believe I have one that my sensei taught me."
Haruna watched the dark miko pull out a an old box from her closet and rummage through dozens of old parchments. "Ah," she sighed as she pulled out one that appeared to have never been used.
"This is a simple spell to use. All one must do is unroll this scroll and place one hand on the circle in the center. No words need be spoken, but this can only be used once, so no mistakes should be made on the user's part. There are further instructions on the parchment itself." With a bow, the dark miko turned towards Haruna and held out the parchment.
Haruna snatched the scroll from the dark miko's hands. "Do you hear that, Sesshoumaru? No mistakes."
Sesshoumaru growled at his mother as she exited the room. "Woman, I do not make mistakes."
Haruna smiled and held the scroll out to her son. "I should hope not. Now go. I want this taken care of by tonight."
Sesshoumaru snatched the scroll from her delicate hands and headed down the hallway for the exit. As Haruna watched her son walk away, she felt a small bubble of excitement working its way up her throat. She quickly cover her mouth with the back of her hand as the giggle escaped. As she regained her composure, she motioned for the guard to close the dark miko's door and headed back for her room.
"Kagome-chan?"
The bright blue eyes of the girl in question darted up from her work. "I'm in the courtyard, Yuka-chan!"
Kagome took her hands out from the herb plant she had been tending and wiped her dirty hands together just as her eldest sister, Yuka, bouncing into the courtyard. "Kagome-chan! You have another suitor!"
Kagome sighed and stood up. "What else is new?" she groaned as she straightened out her pale blue yukata.
"He isn't here yet, but Mama wants you to go wash up in the hot springs. Ayumi-chan and I are going to come with you." When Yuka mentioned her name, Ayumi, the second oldest of the three, came around the corner of the house carrying a huge bundle of fabrics.
"Hey, you guys? Could you…?" Ayumi's small voice was strained, and her steps were unsteady.
Kagome rushed forward and took an arm load. Yuka followed her lead, taking an arm load that revealed a flushed Ayumi.
"Yuka! How could you leave her to carry everything! You know she isn't very strong!" Kagome chided. Ayumi objected the accusation of her weakness in between laboured breaths as Yuka apologized to her younger sister on the way to the hot springs.
When they reached the bath house, the girls lit the lanterns in the room and sorted out their belonging on the benches that sat on the edges of the spring.
"So, apparently, this guy is fairly well off. The son of a merchant!" Yuka gushed as the three of them soaked in the hot water.
Kagome rolled her eyes and ducked her head under for a moment. She scrubbed her scalp vigorously before coming back up to the surface. "If you like him so much, Yuka-chan, you have my permission to pursue him when I turn him away."
"Kagome-chan, why do you never like any of the suitors who come for you? Do you not like all the attention you get?" Ayumi asked.
Kagome felt guilty at once. Every time a suitor came to the Higurashis' home, it was always for Kagome. And she would turn every single one away, no matter how rich, powerful, or handsome they were - much to the dismay of her sisters. Kagome just never felt strongly about any of them. None of them ever stood out to her. They were all the same - they had heard of her apparent beauty from across the land and simply had to come have her as their trophy wife. No one ever came for either of her sisters, although they did get some attention from the suitors Kagome turned away. Still, who would be happy with being second choice?
"I'm sorry, you two. I know it's selfish of me, but none of them interest me. They're all the same to me."
Ayumi slid down until her nose was barely above the surface. Yuka frowned. "They all seemed pretty interesting to me."
"I know. I just wish some of them you come for you two instead of me some times. I mean, you two are as equally deserving for attention as me."
Ayumi blushed and ducked her head under the water. Yuka's face relaxed from its frown. "You're so sweet to us, Kagome-chan. No matter how much attention you get, you will still be our modest little sister."
The three sisters soon got out of the hot springs and began the process of dressing. Yuka was dressed first in her dark purple yukata with the help of Ayumi and Kagome. Next sister dressed was Ayumi in her crimson yukata. Finally, Yuka and Ayumi helped Kagome get dressed into her navy yukata. All three had white flowers decorating the fabric of their yukatas. Their obis were all also white. Before leaving the bath house, each girl put on a pair of white tabi** and then a pair of geta on their feet.
By the time they got back to their home - which was the size of a small palace - their hair was pretty much dry. The girls got in line on the back patio. Doing Kagome's hair was Ayumi, and doing Ayumi's hair was Yuka. Because the suitor was coming to see Kagome, her hair received special attention, therefore taking twice as long. When Yuka finished Ayumi's hair, the two switched places. Shizuka, the family's youngest servant at sixteen, brought out a small wooden box that contained three hair clip for each of the girls. They were placed quickly and skilfully into place.
"Ah, Kagome! You look more beautiful than ever," Kagome's mother praised as she stepped out on the patio. "Yuka, Ayumi, you two look splendid as well. What a luck woman I am to have three beautiful daughters."
"Has he arrived yet, okaa-san?" Yuka asked as she did the final touches on Kagome's hair.
Their mother smiled as she fussed with Ayumi's hair, which had small curls popping out from the lovely bun Yuka had put it in. "Yes, dear, he has just arrived."
After a few more moments of giggles and touch ups, Lady Higurashi beckoned her three daughters to follower her into the house. Yuka went first, followed by Ayumi, with Kagome at the end. The girls walked with their eyes cast down to the floor.
When they arrived in the room their father and suitor were waiting in, Lord Higurashi cried out. "Ah, here is my wife with my three wonderful daughters. Hojo-san, my present to you Yuka, Ayumi, and Kagome."
Hojo-sama was quite handsome indeed. Kagome heard Yuka sigh quietly to herself in approval, while Ayumi blushed furiously.
Kagome forced a smile on her face as Hojo's bright brown eyes met her blue ones. "What beautiful daughters you have, Higurashi-sama," he exclaimed, though his eyes never left Kagome. Beside her, her sisters shifted uncomfortably where they stood.
Kagome ground her teeth together while still managing to keep a smile on her face. Had he no manners? Didn't he know to acknowledge each person instead at leering at only one? Because of this, Kagome already knew how this was going to turn out.
"You turned him away so quickly, Kagome dear. Why?" her mother asked as her daughter was prepared for bed by Shizuka.
Kagome sighed as Shizuka brushed her long raven hair. "Because, okaa-san, he was like the rest. The rest simply didn't stand out in any way."
Lady Higurashi sighed and rubbed her temples. "Kagome, you mustn't keep doing this," she muttered as she left the room.
Kagome thanked Shizuka when she was finished and got into bed. She knew she couldn't keep turning them away. It was just that none of them meant anything to her. She felt nothing when they spoke gently to her, or when they looked at her with burning eyes. Even when they dared to stroke the back of her hand, she felt nothing. She wanted someone who could make her feel something. She wanted a brave man to come and take her away from this simple day-to-day life and make her feel something different.
Shizuka put out the candles that surrounded Kagome's room. She left the room with a small bow and a farewell. "Goodnight, Kagome-sama."
"Goodnight, Shizuka-chan."
As the door slid shut, Kagome rolled over and sighed as she thought of the moon rising over the mountainside. "Maybe tomorrow," she whispered before she closed her eyes for the night.
It was well past midnight, and Sesshoumaru was tired of waiting for the humans in the house below to go to sleep. He was considering of going down there and killing that one last human who seemed to be just fiddling in her room. The only reason she was still awake was only to torture him, it would seem.
Sesshoumaru left his place from the tree he had settled into to just simply put her out of her misery when her aura slowly shifted into a dreamy state. He scoffed silently before walking towards the house.
The house was large yet simple. It didn't take long for him to find where the girl slept.
The girl's chambers was almost in the center of the building, as if to protect her as much as possible from the outside. As if simply putting her in the center of the building could protect her from a youkai attack, Sesshoumaru thought.
He entered the room silently, and went to the end of the girl's bed. He could tell the room was completely dark, because even his keen eyes had trouble detecting any light. Even if the girl did wake up, she wouldn't even know he was there as long as he was silent.
He took the dark miko's scroll out from where it was secured in his obi and knelt to the floor. As he unrolled the ancient parchment, the girl sighed and rolled over in her sleep. Sesshoumaru ignored the sound and read through the instructions on the parchment for the second time. Like he had told his mother, he did not make mistakes.
User of this spell: beware.
This is the spell to forever bind one's soul to another.
Press you hand on the ink-drawn circle and pierce the recipient with the arrow of love.
Whomever they lay their eyes upon first shall be forever bound to that person.
This eternal love shall never be swayed.
Sesshoumaru had found what he thought was a unsightly human male in a nearby village earlier that day. Not only did he smell like stale liquor and urine to Sesshoumaru's poor sensitive nose, but Sesshoumaru also noticed how woman in the village avoided him if at all possible. The man was in the forest behind the Higurashis', passed out and tied to a tree. As soon as the spell was cast, Sesshoumaru would take the girl out to the where the man was, and leave them both there to find each other when they woke up. When he thought of the awful stench of the human male, he noted how this girl smelled like orchids and a hint of ginger.
This mission that his mother give him was so simple, it would be like he never left the shiro by the time tomorrow came.
Sesshoumaru gently placed his hand down on the parchment's circle and watched as the entire scroll became a glowing white arrow under his palm. The light it emitted filled the room, momentarily blinding the inu youkai.
When his sight returned to him after three seconds, Sesshoumaru took the arrow with a firm grip and stood. He lifted his eyes up to look at the girl, and was shocked. He had known that this girl would be beautiful, but thinking that now seemed absurd. She was beautiful at the very least, and she was only sleeping!
Her long raven hair was spilled like ink across the white pillows and sheets. Her skin was like cream, and her little mouth was open slightly as she took slow, deep breaths. Sesshoumaru imagined her awake and smiling with her hair swaying gently when she moved. He took a deep breath to try clearing his thoughts, but found himself overwhelmed with her scent again.
Never had Sesshoumaru been so stunned by the beauty of another, especially that of a human. He was so stunned, he didn't even notice his grip loosen, and the arrow slipping from his hand.
By the time he heard the thunk of the arrow hitting his foot, he knew it was already too late.
There he was, having just failed a mission for the first time in three hundred years, and Sesshoumaru couldn't find it in himself to care, because he could not keep his eyes off the girl who was lying before him.
* - traditional Japanese footwear that resemble flipflops worn with kimono and yukata.
** - traditional Japanese socks where the big toe is separate from the other toes so they can be worn with thonged footwear.