I do not own Inuyasha nor any of the characters. I do not profit in any way from this story.
Chapter 2
"Your life belongs to me now, miko." Sesshoumaru said quietly, but the arrogance behind his words was tangible, though he spoke the truth.
Kagome continued to stare up into the eyes of her attacker. She would not back down, not even to the great Lord Sesshoumaru. Her position on the ground made her feel vulnerable in a way she had not for a long time. Not since she had been a weak tag-a-long in Inuyasha's group, but she was not that same lost little girl anymore. She would face life or death with head held high.
Sesshoumaru watched the miko carefully. She showed no sign of fear or weakness, matching his cold stare with one of her own. Though he would never admit it aloud, the miko had impressed him not only with her courage, but with her skill as well. The Daiyoukai withdrew his sword from her throat and sheathed it.
Neither of them seemed willing to break eye contact with the other. After the passage of several seconds, Sesshoumaru turned his back and spoke, "Get up, Miko."
Kagome stood slowly, still staring at Sesshoumaru's back. She sheathed her blade and rested her hands on its hilt, still at the ready. The son of the great dog demon did not even look back as he started to walk away, trusting the miko would know to follow.
The Shikon Miko did indeed follow with her head high, not looking at the demon she had killed or his comrades who stood staring with disbelief. She let no thoughts enter her mind, to do so would only make her lose focus. To lose focus around Sesshoumaru was to risk death.
Carefully maintaining her aura and sending her awareness out around her, the priestess monitored for threats in a way that was second nature to her now. She kept the majority of her focus on the inuyoukai ahead of her. He hasn't changed a bit, I see. Had I realized it was him, I would not have raised my blade to him. Then, I would not be in this mess now. As he said, by the laws and customs of the inuyoukai, my life belongs to him as he chose to spare me. Baring your blade at the lord was punishable by death… always.
Sesshoumaru walked silently, questioning how he could have not known her before he saw her. He had not seen the miko since the defeat of Naraku over three years ago. The difference in the strength of her aura was unbelievable, as were her newfound skills with that blade she carried. He could feel her searching around them with her aura and he found that it annoyed him. "Cease your scanning, miko. I will detect a threat long before you do."
Kagome was snapped out of her reverie and her eyebrows knit together at his tone. How dare he presume her abilities? She thought about responding, but chose instead to flare out her aura much further. She forcibly kept her energy calm and emotionless around herself, her face blank besides the tiniest of little smirks at the corner of her mouth.
Sesshoumaru stopped and spun on his heel. His cold amber eyes challenging and assessing her. "Do you wish to die today after all?" He questioned, no inflection whatsoever in his softly spoken words.
Having taken time to study various demons, the inuyoukai in particular, she had learned much of their unspoken rules. To be honest, she found their society to be fascinating. Without changing her facial expression at all, and reflecting his own tone back to him she replied, "My life is yours, Lord Sesshoumaru. You may do with it as you wish."
His eyes changed subtly, but Kagome could see the question in them. It was rare for humans to know much at all about demons, much less know the ancient words to speak. His voice bordered on gruff as he replied, "Remember that."
Kagome remembered a time when that would have made her panic. While she did feel a bit of fear, she at least felt better prepared to handle Lord Sesshoumaru than she had been before. She continued to follow him, pondering all the ways this could possibly end… none of them seemed good.
The sun was setting as they approached the castle. Kagome had seen her fair share of castles and manors in her travels, but she had not been prepared for the sight of the castle of the west. High walls surrounded the castle itself with sentries posted along the top, visible in the light of the freshly lit torches. Beyond the walls, she could see that one side of the castle was five stories high. She could hardly believe her eyes at the opulent palace and she hadn't even seen inside of it yet.
Not having cloaked herself fully in her aura, Sesshoumaru could feel the wonder and scented something akin to excitement. He had been pondering on the radically changed miko during the entire trip. She radiated with a new inner strength to match the prowess he had seen her exhibit against himself. Her demeanor reminded him of the dead priestess Kikyou in a way, though he could not fully rationalize this thought past her quiet, self-assured nature. Shaking his mind of such thoughts, Sesshoumaru approached the gate and demanded entrance into the castle. The gate opened immediately and he continued inside without a word to the cloaked priestess.
Kagome raised her hood as the gate opened, though she doubted any here would recognize her. She wrapped her aura around her as a second cloak, dimming her humanity and power within it. The beautiful miko followed the silent Sesshoumaru into the gates, already feeling the stares of those on the walls and in the courtyard.
As they walked through the courtyard, everything was strangely quiet. Kagome kept her eyes on Sesshoumaru's back as servants opened the doors to their Lord. She tried not to let her eyes wander to the beauty of the castle. Hopefully, she would have time to explore later without Sesshoumaru. Unless he decided to throw her in a dungeon, of course.
The Daiyoukai kept his brisk pace through the massive carved wooden doors on their right. The hallway on the other side was resplendent in hardwood floors and walls. The walls sported various expensive looking hangings and yet more carvings. She followed the silent inu to the wooden staircase at the end of the hall, the bannister smoothly carved and shining under her fingers as they ascended three flights of stairs. The pair turned down yet another beautifully decorated hall, finally stopping at the last door on the right. Sesshoumaru finally stopped and turned to face her.
He looked at her with his usual emotionless façade as he turned the handle on the door, "This will be your room, miko. A servant will be made available to you."
Kagome looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face, "So… that's it? You take me to your palace and put me in a room?"
That damned faint smirk appeared on his lips again, "For now, miko. Unless you would prefer a place in the dungeons?"
She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at him. Instead, the priestess raised her chin higher and replied with a cool tone, "No, thank you. This will be sufficient."
Kagome stepped forward to enter the room when the Lord's arm snaked out to block her passage. Waiting a few moments, the blue-eyed miko turned those bright sapphire gems to meet the cool amber of Sesshoumaru's. He seemed to study her face, still not breaking the silence. Kagome felt the need to look away, but would not give the demon lord that satisfaction. He knew he was making her uncomfortable, and she knew it.
The silence continued to draw out and it was taking all she had not to fidget or turn her gaze away. The tension was palpable though she could not say what the source of the tension was. A shred of the old Kagome came to the surface, "Is Lord Sesshoumaru waiting for a good night's kiss?"
Kagome grinned but quickly forced it *most the way* off her face. His face was impassable as though his features were carved of stone. The snarky priestess began to regret her words and a modicum of anxiety was rising in her.
Sesshoumaru could not quite believe his ears, even knowing how unpredictable the onna could be at times. He could see just the tiniest bit of fear in her at his lack of reaction. So, she does value her life after all. The Daiyoukai took a step forward, breathing deeply of her scent. Underneath the demon dog's blood clinging to her, was a rich perfume he could not believe belonged to a human. Sesshoumaru heard the miko swallow and her scent changed slightly. A combination of fear and awareness of him permeated the air between them.
Yet, she never faltered in holding his gaze. The little miko was even proficiently at hiding in her expression any hint of emotion except the bit that danced behind her eyes. His piercing amber stare moved lower, to her barely parted lips. I wonder what they taste like…
Sesshoumaru straightened up, realizing he had leaned towards the beautiful vixen. He met her eyes and spoke more harshly than he intended, "Your weapons."
The trance like state that his eyes had held her in suddenly vanished and she could feel heat in her face. Please oh please, do NOT blush now, Kagome. Get ahold of yourself!
The priestess broke the eye contact finally and slung the bow and quiver off her shoulder, handing it to the smug youkai. She drew out her blade from her sash and handed that to him as well before taking a step back.
"And the hidden blade, miko." He sounded amused, but she dare not look up into his face right now. Reaching into her haori, she drew a dagger out of the space near her right hip and handed it over to the infernal demon lord. She stole a quick glance at his face and was angered to find that he was indeed amused judging by that infuriating little smirk.
Kagome felt more than a little naked without her weapons, though she knew she still had her substantial spiritual powers at her disposal. Sesshoumaru stepped back into the hall and turned back toward the stairwell with her weapons. She stared at him for a moment before stepping into her new quarters and shutting the door just a little harder than necessary.
