Fandom: Inuyasha
Title: Gargoyle
Author/Artist: Scarlet_foxs (Orange Kisses)
Theme(s): (12:: Gargoyle)
Pairing/Characters: Sesshomaru/Kagome
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer/claimer (if needed): Do not own
Summary (if needed):

This is dedicated to YoukaiYume on deviant art for her Sesshomaru and Kagome styled pictures that I absolutely adore! 3 Her pictures are always an inspiration, and when I first saw it I was thrilled that I wasn't the only crazy one who adored this pairing! D

So, here goes!

Kagome stood where her fifteen year old self had once stood in front of the well, her fingers gently grazing the open well. She was twenty two now, nearing twenty three, and it still brought a pang of home sickness to come near the well. When she had turned eighteen, they had defeated Naraku and had almost lost their lives. She'd been put into the hospital when she'd gotten home; she was injured so badly with broken ribs, collar bone, and a broken foot it was a wonder she didn't kill herself.

Everyone had pitched in on that battle, from Sesshomaru and Jaken to even the tight lipped Kagura, who sacrificed her heart to turn on her master. Kikyo even showed up, wiping incarnation after incarnation out and demon after demon to clear the way. Only with Miroku's holy powers, her holy arrows, Tokijin, and Tetsuiga's combined forced did Naraku fall. A well added slice with the giant boomerang of Sango's sealed the deal and he was finally brought down.

Kagome purified the jewel and put her halves together. After Koga gave up his two shards, she had turned to Kohaku with his one shard and the tension had started. Sango was desperate to keep him alive, but Kagome knew that would be a selfish wish, even if she made it herself. The jewel had to have an unselfish wish, something that couldn't harm them or the jewel. Kohaku, no longer under Naraku's spell, had given his shard up. He had fallen over dead, the only life line he had lost. Sango had been ready to start another war over his dead body, but fate interfered.

Before Kagome could even think about what was going on, Sesshomaru had been over the dead body, Tensuiga raised above his head. With a clean sweep Kohaku's wounds were healed and he was alive again. Kagome could barely believe her eyes when she had seen it! He merely shrugged when Inuyasha pressured an answer out of him as to why he did it.

"The boy deserved it." Simple, to the point, and unexpected. Kagome found her respect for the demon rising to greater heights.

Kagome had turned back to the jewel and had thought hard about a suitable wish to undo the damage it had done. "I wish… I wish for the jewel to be complete and purified forever. I wish for Midoriko's soul to win the battle inside of the jewel so that her soul may finally rest in peace."

It had been unexpected but at the last breath of her wish the jewel had started glowing, rising into the air. Kagome tried holding onto it, going so far as to dangle a few inches off the ground before she let go of it. The jewel rose into the air and as the glow turned brighter and brighter, it disappeared, turning into fine dust that blew away in the wind. In the place of the bright light was a weary looking Midoriko, fading out of existence as her soul thanked the group. Then she had looked at Kagome and told her that she couldn't stay any longer, but had to return to her own time.

Kagome stopped remembering for a moment and snorted to herself. Me and my big mouth…

The moment Midoriko started to disappear, Kagome herself had started to disappear as well. Her friends had been frantic and even Sesshomaru had looked shocked as the miko started to fade away, piece by piece. Kagome had said her goodbyes, trying to frantically tell everyone she loved them, before she was permanently sent over.

The sound of something clattering to the ground behind her had Kagome whirling around, hands raised in defense as she summoned her holy powers to the tips of her fingers. Buyo popped up from the top of the steps, meowing nasally. A board had fallen over. She lowered her hands and walked forward, picking up the old and very fat calico cat. "Silly Buyo…"

Kagome made her way out of the well house and looked at the new building that had been erected. Their house had burnt down when she was away, most of her things going up in smoke. Her family was unharmed, but the insurance money and donations from the community had the large house turned into an actual shrine and dojo. Her family's new home was added on as a wing to the giant dojo and the giant one story building had a sixty foot roof. Apparently her grandfather had used some money he had to buy a giant guardian statue to put inside of it. She hadn't had a chance to look in the main shrine to see it yet, but the movers had been here all day to set it up, even with ropes and pulleys.

Kagome pulled herself from her thoughts when the movers pulled out of the drive way, going around back instead of the giant set of steps. Shaking her head to clear the old memories, she walked into the main dojo. She slid out of her shoes and walked the new cherry wood floors on white socked feet, glancing around. Her black hair was pulled into a bun on the back of her head and her white blouse and black jeans were neatly pressed, complimenting her thin and tall form. Turning into the large room that dominated most of the compound, Kagome made her way inside of it and stopped short of the very middle. The statue was huge, over forty feet high at the most, and covered in a giant tarp. The movers had just finished installing it and they were dusting themselves up, filing past her to put their supplies back into their trucks. They had a little lane behind their house that went down to the street when service cars had to be called.

The head mover handed Kagome a clip board. "Sign here please. Your statue is huge, hope you enjoy having it." Kagome signed her name on the clipboard and curiously looked at the statue's misshapen form under the tarp. She waited until the movers had moved out before reaching for the tarp. Her fingers just barely brushed it before her Grandfather's shout had her stopping.

"Kagome! You're home! When did you get here?"

Kagome turned to look at her grandfather. He was as healthy as ever, his beard neatly trimmed and his hair pulled back. "I just arrived Grandpa. What's this statue all about? We've never had one so… so huge!" Her grandfather cackled and hobbled over to the statue.

"It's a present from me to the shrine! I finally convinced Souta to take over! He says he'll be a soccer player slash doctor slash priest! Isn't that something?" Kagome discreetly rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "This statue is legendary; I got it at an auction in Kendo. I'm surprised it shipped in one piece, it's quite worn! It has a beautiful legend behind it. A great demon lord of the West, this monster prowled the country side, guarding its lands with a mighty fist. Years passed by and his reputation was enormous, garnering all sorts of attention from classy demons world wide. One day, he encountered a sorcerer who wished to marry his daughter. At first he was reluctant, but the daughter was madly in love with the sorcerer, so the lord agreed." Kagome frowned slightly. This legend sounded familiar… "Anyway, the sorcerer had enchanted the daughter to fall in love with him and he really wanted to kill the lord to gain his land. The sorcerer's enchantment on the daughter wore off the night of their wedding and she warned her father of what he had planned.

"The lord had his daughter and servants vacate the house and flee from the grounds as he faced off the sorcerer. The fight was long and grueling, and the demon lord changed his form to that of a mighty beast in desperation to beat this sorcerer. Finally, the lord crushed the sorcerer, but not with out consequences of his own. The sorcerer used his dying breath to curse the great lord and turned him into stone to forever sleep. The only way he could be brought back to life was if he was given a place of honor in a grand house. Under the light of the first full moon he will rise up!" He threw his hands up in emphasis, chuckling to himself.

"Of course, there's more to it, complications and such. The sorcerer made it harder, in case the statue didn't scare whoever found it away. A kiss from a young maiden must be given under the full moon, for the great lord scoffed at the idea of love. She must summon him by calling him by name and he shall awaken! And they would be bound forever until he fell in love himself! It's only legend; no one knows what this statue was called anymore. The engraving's name is quite worn. Of course this statue was nearly destroyed many times, but because it was huge and perceived as a bad omen to destroy it, it's survived! There's quite a bit of moss on it still, which is why you get to clean it Kagome!"

Kagome gave her grandfather a shocked look. "Grandpa! It's huge though!" He chuckled as his bony hands grabbed the tarp and gave it a good yank. Kagome turned to see what the statue looked like and froze, her eyes wide.

The giant dog statue was huge with rippling fur carved in stone. He was in a sitting position, staring down straight at Kagome with unseeing eyes. The crescent mark and stripes on either side of his face were prominent in the edged stone, his huge ears lying down next to his face. His giant tail was curled around his giant paws and Kagome swallowed heavily. It was him. It was Sesshomaru.

Kagome made a face as she climbed up the ladder, situating herself on the giant demon's back as she scrubbed at the moss. She had been at it for hours and her back hurt from getting between the nooks and crannies, and she had only just finished his head! Groaning, Kagome shifted in her seat and leaned forward, resting her head on the cold stone. This wasn't how she had intended spending her break from college. Tossing the brush down, Kagome shifted the belt around her waist. It was a mountain climber halter around her waist that was connected to a scaffolding type thing on the ceiling; Kagome didn't know how to explain it. It kept her from falling and killing herself on accident, and she could pull herself up the statue. Her arm muscles were getting a work out at least. "Gosh, I haven't climbed so much since my time-traveling days! Ugh!" She grunted under her breath as she started climbing down. The open doors showed the pale moonlight outside, the hot summer air making the room stuffy.

Kagome had been uneasy since the sun had set. The statue did give off a bad air about it, as if it couldn't wait to get out and kill something. She shook her head. That was silly, her grandfather's legends were just that, legends. There hadn't been a whiff of a demon in the modern era ever since the well had been sealed off.

Climbing up the back of the statue's head, she stood on its forehead, looking down at the huge nose underneath her. With a light hop Kagome jumped off of the forehead and landed on the nose. She nearly fell to the side, but her arms flying to her sides steadied her. Adjusting the rigging she was connected to, the jean clad young woman turned around to get a better look the statue's face. The uneasy feeling turned to fear in the pit of her stomach as she remembered the first time she had seen Sesshomaru's monstrous form at Inuyasha's father's tomb. It had been breath taking and terrifying at the same time.

Kagome sat down on the nose of the statue, a tiny speck compared to the glorious statue. She looked at it thoughtfully, the minutes ticking by as the night progressed. She suppressed a yawn, taking the bandana off of her head and letting the dusty rag fall to the floor. "You certainly look like Sesshomaru-sama…" She could already imagine the narrow eyed glare she would receive for that. Kagome kissed her fingertips and lightly patted his nose with the hand, transferring the kiss to his muzzle. "It was refreshing to see something familiar, I suppose. Too bad you aren't real; I would love to see you, even if the feeling isn't mutual." Heck, Kagome would love to see anyone from the time period she loved most.

With a sigh Kagome stood and propelled off the side of the giant statue and to the floor. She didn't notice the hair line cracks that had begun to form behind her as she carefully hooked the harness onto a hook on the wall, making sure everything was just right. It was only when she heard a large crash behind her did she turn around.

At every crack in the rock a beam of light shot out and the ground rumbled. Kagome's eyes went as wide as tea cups at the sight. It couldn't be… The rock started to disintegrate and it shook the large room as more of the rocks fell and peeled away, falling to the floor with loud crashes.

Kagome covered her ears and ran out the side door, running into her grandfather and mother. "Kagome, what did you do!?" Her grandfather shouted at her over the noise as he peered inside. His face vaulted as the statue continued to decompose and the light grew stronger.

"I don't know! All I did was say he looked like someone I once knew, and kissed the statue goodnight!" Her grandfather gave her a disbelieving look. The ground itself was shaking now and Kagome motioned her mother and grandfather away over the deafening noise. "Get back! I'll see what I can do inside!"

Kagome rushed back through the dojo doors, ignoring her family's pleas for her to come back inside. The intense rumbling sent Kagome to her knees as light filled every corner of the room. Finally the light grew so bright that she had to cover her eyes to keep it from blinding her.

The tremors slowed as the room filled completely with white. The light slowly began to die away and Kagome squinted through the light, her arms still raised to protect her head. A figure was standing where the statue once was, radiating enough light to power a city block. The light was beginning to fade away and Kagome shakily stood, knowing deep down in her heart that she'd just made her simple life turn upside down.

The figure's glowing slowly died down as it stepped over the rubble, approaching her with calm and measured steps towards the main door. Kagome quickly got to her feet and the figure stopped and turned towards the sudden movement. Kagome gulped a little bit to herself. Putting a brave face on, Kagome fisted her hands at her sides and gathered her courage. The figure's glowing died down completely and her hands went limp next to her in shock. There, standing in all of his glory, was Lord Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands. And he was staring at her like he was going to kill her!

Kagome put her hands up as he covered the distance in a blink of an eye, towering over her form. His hand grabbed her wrist before the purifying power could reach her fingertips. "Miko. You have some explaining to do."

Kagome knew right then and there that her life just went to hell.

This is a one shot, but it'll be a series of one shots. =D This is the first, titled Gargoyle. See you soon!

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