Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
By Echo Hunter
One-Shot
Kag/Sess pairing
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing,
Sesshoumaru leaned against the large tree and took in the newest member of his motley crew. It was the miko that had traveled with his brother for years. She had grown since the first time he saw her-a fifteen year old, brandishing his great father's sword like a foolish human would use a tree branch to fend off a hungry bear in the wood. It had been a little over six years since that time and she had matured well, spiritually and physically.
The final battle over the possession of the remaining jewels shards was an ugly fight, not even the great Sesshoumaru had escaped unscathed. Rin had been left with Shippo at the elder miko's hut with Ah Un and Jaken to help watch over them while Naraku waged an unholy war that resulted in the death of one.
Inuyasha.
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
After the battle that ended the war, Kagome was locked in time – she who lived in the past and the future simultaneously. Her powers were unlocked from the tight grip of the evil Magatsuhi, the fog had been lifted from her soul but she could not summon enough power to open the well and allow her to return to her time.
She cried.
It was not the first time he had seen tears in her eyes but it was the first time he had tasted the despair that was etched into her heart. In losing Inuyasha and making a wish on the jewel, Kagome had sealed herself in the Sengoku Jidai, never to see her family again.
Even with all hope lost, she was still able to smile and yet Sesshoumaru was the only person to ever see it.
Far away and dreaming
Every night as he fell into his thoughts and memories, he looked over the members of his pack and saw the miko smile as she dreamt about better days and happier times. Miroku and Sango were eventually wed and decided to rebuild the demon slayer village with a new found respect for all living creatures. Sango would make sure to train future slayers without the deep ingrained hatred she grew up with. It was a new life, a new world and she would make sure all who came to live here understood what they were about.
Kohaku decided to remain with his pack and train under the Western Lord to repay his life debt. The boy would eventually replace Jaken's duty of guarding young Rin, a duty which Kohaku had wholeheartedly accepted and would later ask Sesshoumaru's permission to do so for the rest of his and Rin's life.
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
Kagome.
She was twenty one the day Naraku had been destroyed. Twenty-one and three days when she had made the final wish that would essentially change her life forever. Twenty two and at the grave site of her best friend, the haze had finally lifted. The sorrow she'd been living in, the despair of never returning to see her family was a dull ache now. Traveling with Sesshoumaru, caring for Rin as a mother would had eased the pain. Walking. Kagome would love walking for this very reason. It never left much room for daydreaming and falling into painful memories and for that, the miko would always be thankful for Sesshoumaru's kindness of keeping her with him.
She was sure her tears irritated him and she tried not to let it get the best of her. After three months, three long months of constant walking across the beautiful plains and forests of the Western Lands, ninety-two days of Rin's laughter and flowery antics, Jaken's squealing, Kohaku's training and Sesshoumaru's rather silent personality, the heaviness in her heart began to ease.
Kagome could understand the beauty of the lands that Sesshoumaru lorded over and the beauty of the man. He was kind in his own way, thoughtful of their human needs and still held the air of a long line of regal blood about him. The Sesshoumaru that Rin saw was now the Sesshoumaru that Kagome saw and it made her heart ache with want. Want for what, she did not know but Kagome filled her days with the happiness of her new family born of the ashes of her recent past.
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Two years she had been walking. Two years put her at twenty three and one more memorial service at Inuyasha's grave once again. This time however, there were no tears, just a bittersweet smile and flowers from her and Rin.
Sesshoumaru told her that two years was a quick time to restore balance to the land but the dog demon was a very efficient demon and ruler with more than efficient workers under him. This meant that they could return home.
The castle was wondrous, she had never seen anything like this in her lifetime! She was shown to her room in the family wing where Rin stayed and where Kohaku would also occupy a room. The first month was magical. Kagome learned so much about demon society and yet it felt like she could never learn enough.
The depths of her knowledge astounded Sesshoumaru to the point that in the evenings they would sit outside in the private gardens and she would tell him everything she could remember from her classes. Physics, mathematics, geography, Japanese Literature, science, psychology, anything she could remember was his for the taking and he took, night after night.
And when the end of her knowledge came to be, they moved on to what could be, what would be and why. Philosophy was the new journey and Kagome had never had a more stubborn conversation partner. With Sesshoumaru's perfect memory, Kagome placed bets in their future regarding things he refused to budge on. Kagome wrote them down in her journal but for naught. Most of the things they spoke about would come to pass after she would be long gone.
Well, every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure
The first night to break their ritual of daily thought sharing was awkward. Sesshoumaru had a meeting he had informed her about earlier but it was already a habit to go into the gardens. She took her journal and a lamp under the stars and leaned against her favorite tree.
Dear Journal,
A few months ago I would have laughed in the face of the person who told me I'd spend every night under the stars with Sesshoumaru discussing everything from osmosis to Shakespeare but tonight I laugh at myself. Sesshoumaru has a meeting with his generals about the security of the land. There is a threat coming, a demonic and holy threat that was never brought up in history class and I am kind of afraid of what's to come.
Sesshoumaru dismissingly told me that a threat is coming, a demonic and holy war. He and his Generals are discussing the best options on how to either avoid or eliminate the threat. I told him that I couldn't bear losing any more friends to fighting. I would do my best to come up with a plan on how we could survive and stay intact as a whole.
Now, I just laugh at myself because tonight is the first night since we've been at the castle that Sesshoumaru hasn't been with me in the gardens. I laugh because this whole time we've been 'home', I've actually felt at home but moreso at night during our conversations than any time during the day and the thought of what that could possibly mean scares me more than the thought of losing my new family to the oncoming war.
She was tired from chasing Rin around today and leaned against the tree for a little while until she felt like moving again.
That was how Sesshoumaru found her a few hours later – asleep.
Kagome woke in her bed with her journal tucked under her arm. When she realized where she was and how she would have gotten there, she frowned. That was the first night they had spent apart in three months.
I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
Lying close to you, feeling your heart beating
The war had come and gone. Kagome's idea had saved thousands of demonic and human lives but it had taken a lot of resources to make it happen. The key of the whole ordeal was balance of power. At first Sesshoumaru had been set against combining his and Kagome's powers because of what that meant in the demon world but Kagome did not know that.
But when crunch time came, Sesshoumaru gave in knowing that he might lose a little now but somewhere along the line he could lose more if he didn't submit to the idea. And Kagome's idea did have merit but it was unheard of and not many in the ruling demon class would be supportive of such a drastic move.
Jaken was the one who informed Kagome that she had proposed that she mate Sesshoumaru by bonding their power together to form an unbreakable seal against demonic or holy powers. Kagome was more than shocked. She'd been struck dumb for a better part of the day and could not bear to look Sesshoumaru in the eyes until he told her he would go through with it.
"But Sesshoumaru, you know that mating is the only way that will work the way we need it to work."
"Do you think me stupid, miko?"
"No, but that means we will be mated. You a demon god and me a human priestess. Our basic energetic make-up contradicts this very idea that this could possibly work."
Sesshoumaru growled in frustration. "It is that very energetic makeup which tells me this plan will more than work. You said it yourself, did you not, that we need balance. How do you think those with holy powers came into existence? The ancient gods gave birth to both our kinds. We were in their image but there was too much greed in the world to let us be whole so our souls were divided into two parts. The holy from the unholy, one that could eradicate the other in case they became too wild and too strong. Do you not see, miko. We were originally one. To be one again would bring us back full circle in our original godly form."
It was Kagome's turn to be frustrated. Just a few days ago Sesshoumaru had heatedly told her the plan would never come to fruition but desperate times called for desperate measures it seemed. "I can't mate you!"
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed minutely. "Am I not good enough for you, miko? We would be more powerful than anything the world has ever known, more powerful than that blasted jewel we fought for not so long ago-"
"It's not power that I want, Sesshoumaru. I just-"
"You want Inuyasha." The jealousy was there in his voice. Even after death his brother would still carry things that Sesshoumaru would want.
Kagome gasped. The thought had never even occurred to her and she hissed in anger. "How dare you bring him into this. Who have I been spending every day of my life with these last three years? Who do I swear fealty to and remain loyal to?" Tears welled up in her eyes, "who do I cry for now, Sesshoumaru? Let the dead be dead. It's not Inuyasha I want."
"Then what is it that you do want, miko?"
When Kagome looked up from wiping her eyes, Sesshoumaru's golden orbs burned into her watery ones, waiting for her answer.
"I want to be wanted for me. Not for my power, not for what I am but for who I am. I would be your mate, Sesshoumaru, but I need to know that it's for more than just this war coming up. I need to be wanted for being me. That is all I have ever wanted."
Kagome sniffled and wiped her face in her sleeve. A single finger hooked under her chin, bringing her gaze back up to the warmest fire Kagome had ever been privy to. Sesshoumaru's brows gathered and he looked deep into her eyes.
"Who have I spent every day but one with for the last three years?" Sesshoumaru said, turning Kagome's words back on her. "Who occupies my evenings and my thoughts every day but you? Who sees me as Sesshoumaru instead of the Demon Lord of the Western lands? There is only one who is the answer to all three questions and I am with her at this very moment."
Kagome gulped as a new flame was born in her chest. Sesshoumaru's face came closer to hers and her attention moved from his sun-flamed eyes to his lips.
"Hear this, Kagome. I am a demon of my word. I will never let any other have you, that is an oath. You are the greatest jewel I have ever known. Your intelligence on what is to be far surpasses my own and I cannot help but be drugged by your very presence. I know no other more worthy to be the Lady of the West and I will have no other to be my mate but you.
"You will never want. Inu youkai are loyal to the death and we have an unfortunate habit of keeping our mates pleased. I can provide anything you wish within means so make your decision but do not make it too late."
His lips were too tempting and Kagome found herself leaning forward just enough to catch them with her own and tell him with her lips that she had made her decision.
Neither realized how powerful Kagome was and that was measuring her raw power alone. With a work horse of a mate, Kagome could control her powers fairly well after six months of training and at her year mark, they were ready to set their plan in motion.
The day she turned twenty five, or would have if aging was possible for her any more, was the day that all the demons and humans who wished nothing more than to live with peace made the trek to Hokkaido.
The Western lands were barren of its inhabitants when the holy war moved to that end of the country. The villages had been set fire to as the villagers left, curses-the marks of the Lord of the West and his mate were placed on the land to deter any from taking over it when they left. The curses would be removed once they returned home.
Sango and Miroku died during the hundred years the Western citizens occupied the Northern Lord Kiyoshi's island, the island that Kagome and Sesshoumaru had placed a barrier around to block those with ill wishes on man and demon kind. The only reason their barrier worked was because it was a mix of their demonic and holy power, a perfect balance between the two because of their strong bond.
The Western civilians had acclimated to the colder weather and they had flourished under the guidance of their Lord and Lady. An ally to the West and the North was the eldest son of the water god who hated ignorance and aided Sesshoumaru in protecting the inhabitants of Hokkaido by sinking ships that carried the would-be murderers to the haven in the north.
One hundred years was not a long time in demon life and it was finally time to return home. Many requested to stay behind, for the young, it was the only home they ever knew. But more were anxious to return to the beautiful West.
With gratitude, Sesshoumaru and Kagome led the families of their land back home and lifted the curses that had been placed as protection spells. The land was overgrown but with a new mix breed of workers – demon, human and their hanyou children, the work would not be daunting. Before leaving however, Kagome asked Kiyoshi if they might seek refuge in the north in a few centuries when the land would be at war once again. Kiyoshi whole heartedly agreed – telling the Lord and Lady that the past one hundred years was the most peaceful he had ever lived through and would not mind such peace again in the future.
After the first day of spring, the countrymen of the West had returned home and went to work right away on their fields. The land was well rested and produced well for the happy citizens under Sesshoumaru's rule.
Once again, Kagome and Sesshoumaru found themselves in the private gardens. Sesshoumaru leaned against the large sakura tree and Kagome sat between his legs, wrapped in his arms, neither saying a word as they enjoyed the feeling of being where their journey together had taken off for the better.
Kagome thought about how she had never wanted for the last hundred years. She was fifty before she realized that she hadn't aged a single hair since the day she had mated Sesshoumaru. Kagome smiled. It was good to be home.
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Sesshoumaru had been lost in his thoughts until Kagome distracted him with a kiss to the underside of his jaw. He looked so serious when he thought hard and it was so cute to catch him in such a state. One of the perks to being mated with Sesshoumaru meant that he was more willing to share is emotions with her, more like she felt them through their mating mark and it helped her to understand him in ways she never knew she could.
"What are you thinking about," she asked before laying light kisses on his neck.
Sesshoumaru sighed into the tree, relishing the attention his mate gave him. Mating her had been the best decision he had ever made. Not only was she everything he knew she was through their many nights of discussion but she had a wisdom and a heart that was sorely missed in the Western Lands and Sesshoumaru was more than happy to have her at his side.
"I am thinking about my age."
"Your age? You are so random."
With two arms, Sesshoumaru turned Kagome in front of him. "I think about all the things I have done in my lifetime and the things I have yet to do and want to."
"And what are those things?" Kagome felt Sesshoumaru stiffen before relaxing again.
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Sesshoumaru looked deep into Kagome's eyes, the same look he'd given her the night he asked her – no, told her that she would have no other if she would not have him, and said-
"I wish to make you a mother."
I wish to be a father.
Kagome's heart stopped before thrusting itself through her chest wall. She leapt forward into her mate's waiting arms and kissed him hard on the lips. It was how she learned to answer him when she had no words for her excitement. Kagome had asked him a few times when they were in Hokkaido if they could start their family but with the dangers of being away from home, regardless of the fact that they were the safest they had ever been, Sesshoumaru told her it was not the right time.
But now Sesshoumaru was home, in his ancestral home where he felt the safest and it was time to begin the next part of their lives together.
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together
Their first child, Seiichi was born to the Lord and Lady of the land. He had his father's looks and his mother's blue and wise eyes. The labor had been hard, Sesshoumaru had been allowed to stay and hold his mate. And as he looked down at their son nursing on his mother, he couldn't help the pride and humility that swelled in him. He had a loving and powerful mate in her own right and a son who was created out of the best of them. He would be a force to reckon with as he grew.
They were on the bed, Sesshoumaru spooning Kagome as he watched the little miracle suckle away. Kagome was tired but the boy was hungry. She looked up to her mate who kissed her gingerly on her eyes, telling her to get rest. He would help Seiichi if she fell asleep before he finished.
And I just wanna stay with you
Their second child came the next year, a girl with Sesshoumaru's coloring with blue stripes on her cheek like her grandfather before her and silver eyes. Seiichi was such a good older brother and way more advanced than a human child his age.
Sesshoumaru stood with his arms around his mate as they looked down at their children who fell asleep hand in hand on the pillows in the corner. Sesshoumaru smiled into Kagome's hair. Fatherhood could not be happier.
In this moment forever, forever and ever
Their third attempt took a few years but twins were born to them, two more sons with Sesshoumaru's personality but held their mother's looks. The only difference between the two children were their eyes. They both had one silver and one golden colored eye, but the first son's silver eye was his left and the second son's silver eye was in his right. Now if Kagome could only remember which was which when they were in trouble.
Sesshoumaru sat back and watched his mate chase after the twins with their first two children tailing behind her, just along for the game. When Kagome saw him standing in the doorway instead of helping her catch the little monsters, she pointed a finger at him and yelled, "GET DADDY!"
Four sets of eyes gleamed in a way that let Sesshoumaru know these were Kagome's children. Each child grabbed onto a limb and waited for Sesshoumaru to swing them around. His eyes locked with Kagome's and that familiar pride and humility hit him again. His mate who had asked so little of him had given him so much.
And there she was, that perfect being, standing in a nursery full of toys and children, looking ever like that young girl he had proposed to all those years ago. Sesshoumaru smiled and Kagome blew a kiss at him.
I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
I don't wanna miss one smile
Once more the older citizens of the West packed up and left for Hokkaido where they would seek refuge from another war and for the last time. After this, Kagome's knowledge of what was to come would be nil.
The information spread like wildfire among the demon community and friends of all with the knowledge left the areas where the United States would drop their atomic bombs. It was devastating but what was more devastating were the young demons of the West who thought Kagome was crazy for prophesying of destruction. They paid for their ignorance with their lives.
It was the year 2001 and it was time to return home. Kagome went down the well in 1996 and it took them six years to destroy the jewel. Sesshoumaru knew Kagome wanted to visit her mother and she was going crazy with waiting! One more year was all she'd have to wait but there was a problem.
Kagome couldn't remember the last date she traveled through the well.
Their room was a mess. Papers and books were everywhere, some still floating in the air, on their way to the paper graveyard that was their room floor.
"I can't find my journal anywhere Sesshoumaru! Please, help me find it!"
"If you didn't try to pepper this room with confetti, it wouldn't be so hard, love."
Kagome glared at him. "I need to find that journal. It's almost time and I can't remember the date." Her glare melted into a look of desperation, a look Sesshoumaru hadn't seen once he brought Kagome back to the castle for the first time. "Please, Sesshoumaru. I haven't seen my mother for over five hundred years."
I don't wanna miss one kiss
Sesshoumaru hid his discovery in a sleeve and sat down on their bed. "If you had the choice to go back when the war was over," Kagome knew what war he spoke of, "would you have returned home?"
Kagome kneeled before her mate and grabbed his hands. "I probably would have." Through their mark, Kagome felt the sadness drift through; Sesshoumaru's emotions had become her own over the last five hundred years. "But I wouldn't have felt whole. I would have tried to find a way back."
Sesshoumaru looked over her head at the empty bookshelf. "You can stop yourself from going through the well-"
Two small hands held his cheeks and pulled his face down until Sesshoumaru looked into Kagome's eyes. "I would never dream of changing my circumstances after living such a wonderful life, Sesshoumaru. How could you think after all this time that I would want to change what we have? I would sooner die."
Well, I just wanna be with you, right here with you, just like this
Kagome walked up an all-too familiar set of stairs, hand in hand with the love of her life. She was so nervous that she needed Sesshoumaru's strength to help her finish the climb. At the torii at the top of the stairs, Kagome froze in place. She wasn't sure if she should go, she never wrote what time she'd jumped into the well to return to the Sengoku period.
Sesshoumaru stood at the top of the stairs and lifted his nose to the air. "You've been gone for a couple of hours."
It sounded so weird to hear him speak of her that way but Kagome knew her past self would not be coming back through. It was safe.
One foot in front of the other was her mantra until she was at the front door. Her hand reached out of its own accord but she couldn't touch the handle without tears running down her face.
Sesshoumaru pulled her into his chest and kissed her head. While distracting her, he reached forward and knocked on the door.
Footsteps grew louder and the turning of the door handle had Kagome's heart stopping. As the door swung open, more tears streamed down her cheeks as her mother stood before her smiling, wiping her hands in her apron.
"Kagome, did you forget something? And who's your friend?"
Kagome fell into her mother's arms and buried her face in her neck, sobbing and soaking her mother's shirt. The smell of home permeated Kagome's senses and she sobbed harder.
Kagome's mom wrapped her arms tight around her. "Kagome, are you alright?"
"I missed you…so much."
"But you've only been gone a couple of hours-"
"That was not this Kagome. This Kagome has not seen you for over half a millennia." Sesshoumaru motioned his head to his mate.
"Over 500 years?" Satomi's countenance fell. "She doesn't come back? My Kagome doesn't come back?"
Satomi stroked her daughter's hair as Sesshoumaru explained the series of events that took place.
"Come inside. Please."
Now that Satomi knew what had happened, she clung to her daughter as though she hadn't seen her in just as long a time, shedding tears for the lost years between them.
After a couple of hours, Sesshoumaru told Kagome it was time for them to head out but not before inviting Satomi, grandpa and Souta to the house for a small family get together set for this weekend.
I just wanna hold you close
Sesshoumaru held his wife close as they watched Satomi, Souta and grandpa meet four generations of their children. The small family get together was anything but small. Most of the first three generations had stayed close to home with a few of the fourth and some fifth generations abroad. Kagome's family would meet them at the summer family reunion, one they had every five years.
Kagome's heart was so full at the sight of both families from both of her timelines finally combined into one. She rubbed her mate's arms across her chest and placed a light kiss on them.
"Thank you, Sesshoumaru. For everything."
Feel your heart so close to mine
Kagome spent the night, laying in her mate's arms, listening to the sound of his steady heartbeat. It was her favorite sound and it represented so much more than just his health to her. He was her rock, her fortress and her comforter whenever she needed him.
Sesshoumaru, he who had given up so much of himself to let her into his life; Kagome would always be grateful for him and his love.
And stay here in this moment
Sesshoumaru stroked his fingers through his mate's hair. When they were first mated, it didn't occur to him how addicted he would be to the spitfire that lay across his chest. Even after all these centuries, his want and need for her had only gotten stronger. She went everywhere with him, he had made good on that oath to never let another have her. There were a couple of lives lost along the way to idiots who thought they could steal her from him. That was information that he'd rather not have her know about even though it was four hundred years in the past.
For all the rest of time
The family reunion had gone off without a hitch. The whole family had come together and met Kagome's mother, the grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother they had waited their lifetimes to meet.
All of this, all of this happiness, wouldn't have come about if it weren't for Sesshoumaru. Kagome knew from the very beginning that she could never have gone back to her life in the future and have been satisfied. Most of her dreams and wishes had come true the day she wished the jewel out of existence and it was all because of Sesshoumaru.
He was right, like he usually was. She had wanted for nothing.
Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
'Cause I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
Author's Note:
Inuyasha & the song "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" do not belong to me unfortunately. I just thought it would be a perfect fit for each other is all. I'm sorry, I forgot about Shippo so he's not in the story but it doesn't matter because it's not about him anyway!
I do believe this is my first Sess/Kag one-shot. I was totally in the mood to write something relatively short so this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to donate reviews if the story moves you. I greatly appreciate it and reviews help to fund the writing processes and the muses!
OH! I totally forgot to tell you. For those of you who are waiting to watch the end of the series, you can go to .com and type in the search bar 'Inuyasha The Final Act'. They have the last of the anime episodes.
Thank you for reading,
Echo Hunter