AN- Revised from version one and ready for you to read. Sorry it took awhile. But it's good! So go and read it!
Mirror's Mirages
Chapter 2
Found
A middle-aged man in his late 30s could be found looking through the ruins of an ancient castle, once the focal point of great legends and heroes. The man wore a tailored suit in the custom black and white. He did nothing to be conspicuous because at the moment he stood out like a sore thumb in the decaying and fallen carcass of the once remarkable castle.
Under the orders of his boss, the man was to investigate the castle. With a sickly tinge of green to his skin and large black beady eyes, the small man flashed a rather impressive beam of light from a flashlight into the falling walls around him.
For unknown reasons, the same boss had directed him to check the stability and structure of the ruins. The skeleton that he now explored had once been the grand Northern Kingdom, about 500 years ago. His boss, Takahashi Sesshomaru, had given him prudent orders to be very discreet with this assignment and to make sure no one heard of this sudden spark of interest in an historical landmark.
Therefore the man, Jaken, cautiously walked around the structure with a clipboard in hand, taking brusque notes. The castle had many rooms and decaying steps that he couldn't be sure to step on, but if Sesshomaru-sama required a thorough examination of the place, then that was precisely what he was going to attain.
Skimming the new room he had entered with his flashlight, he jotted down hasty notes, trying to speed up the process. This was to be the last room of his three-hour tour of the place. Ready to turn and happily report his findings to his boss, he realized that he almost missed a small door in the back corner of the room. Putting aside his unease, he decided that one more room couldn't hurt.
Speeding his shaky walk he crossed the room in nervous strides and tried to push the door open. To his dismay, it did not even creak due to his efforts. Putting forth all his energy to open the door, Jaken heaved with all the meager strength he could summon. The door came crashing down, completely off its hinges and fell forth into the darkness that encompassed the room.
He ignored his vandalism. Shining his flashlight around, he noticed it was completely empty. Except, one of the walls to the side was lined with rusted chains. A dungeon room? From his notes, Jaken concluded that this dungeon room was connected into one of the royal family's bedrooms, by the layout of the formation. It made no sense that there be a dungeon room attached to that.
Stepping further into the murky room, the short man gleamed the light to all corners of the room. In his investigation, he discovered a small wooden table. When he directed the light on to the table, something glimmered. Curiously stepping towards the wooden desk, he realized that it had a glowing box roosted upon it.
By the golden glow, he could tell it was made of gold. Once Jaken reached this small square cube, he picked it up to further his examination. Along the edges of it, he could tell that there was very small writing engraved into the gold. Fastened shut, it had an ominous black band that consisted of more of the undecipherable writing.
'This must have some value to it since the seal set on it is quiet powerful. Lord Sesshomaru could definitely break and open it though.' Jaken contemplated to himself.
With those last thoughts, he exited the rooms and made his way out of the castle. Outside, waiting for him in the heavily forested area was a miniature version of a limo. With a slick coat of black paint and gleaming windows, as soon as the toad-like man ignited the engine, it easily sped off through the dirt road, on to civilization.
In Tokyo
In a skyscraper business building of a mega-worldwide corporation sat the single CEO of it all, immersed in paperwork of his company. This man was very successful and filthy rich. This man was Sesshomaru Takahashi.
His cold calculating embers of an amber flame eyes skimmed, without doubt, the paper he held in hands of budget charts. Sesshomaru's silver cascading glossy hair was tied loosely at the nape of his neck to keep it from interfering from his work. His smoothly edged features only added to his look as ethereal. He had broad shoulders with hints of muscle rippling through his shirt along his arms and abs. His shirt was a crisp white collared shirt with a few undone buttons and a black pants to add to the look of sophistication.
His office was just as elegant as he looked. The walls were of a pure white coloration, adorned with a few expertly painted pictures by great and famous artist. The floor was a trouble-free color of black that shone so fiercely you could see your reflection in it. The white illumination to lighten the room shot from the ceiling through an 80 transparent cover, under which lay the source.
This rich billionaire's desk was made of steel legs supporting the shimmering glass on which he wrote. Decorated with the table and his occupied plush black leather chair, there was only one other furniture in the room. Another, less grander chair, sat directly in front of Sesshomaru across the table. Behind his form, were enormous ceiling-tall windows depicting the view of the city of Tokyo in all of its hustling and bustling glory.
His gaze steadily followed the unwavering perfect strokes he constructed with pen on papers, related on the topic of his prospering company. Dead silence was around him, letting him concentrate his apprehension on the task at hand. That is until, the phone placed to the left of his desk chimed a clear loud ring.
Lifting the receiver on the first ring, his silky voice intercepted through the phone, "Has he arrived?"
"Yes, he has Mr. Takahashi. Would you like me to send him up?" A cheery voice on the other line questioned.
"Yes."
"He is on his way. Goodbye."
Not bothering to reply to another one of the secretaries, Sesshomaru hung up and lifted his gaze from the papers to the opening door.
"What were your calculations, Jaken?" Sesshomaru inquired, his voice as regal as his posture.
"My lord, they are all included in the notes I have taken of the entirety of the castle." Jaken's nasal tone voiced back. Crossing the room to the desk, Jaken handed Sesshomaru the notes on the clipboard, hoping they would please him. Carefully watching the lord skim over his notes.
"Is this all?" Through the middle of gliding his glance across the pages of notes, Sesshomaru looked up to fix his gaze on Jaken, getting displeased that there was nothing out of the ordinary that was founded.
"Well, as I was tirelessly taking notes on the rooms, there was this one that was a backroom in one of the bedrooms. Which as my research from the layout shows that the room belonged to one of the members of the royal family. I found this gold box on a table in the dark; it has a powerful seal on it. I thought that you could break it with your demonic aura." Jaken produced the ancient box from the bag he held and handed it to his boss.
Sesshomaru took the box and oh so vigilantly looked at every corner of it, "I want you to get the writing on this box translated as soon as possible." Returning to his analysis, he started to look at the seal. And indeed, he felt a very powerful sensation coming forth from it.
Summoning the demonic side of him, which he now had to hide from the human race, with a slight touch the seal withered under his dominant aura. As it split in half, the black band fell to the ground, giving him an odd indescribable feeling. Now the cube could be opened to reveal its treasures.
Taking hold of the clasp that kept it shut, Sesshomaru lifted it to slowly open the gold box. Inside it was relatively empty, except a red piece of velvet cloth concealed something underneath. Delicately prying away the bright strip of cloth, Sesshomaru focused on the object he had now discovered.
There was a sterling silver looking glass lying on top of black velvet. Intricately woven into it were roses of rubies and wines of emeralds. Around the handle a few placed diamonds stood out against the dark velvet.
He gently picked it up, not wishing to let it break before his investigation was complete as to why it had a powerful seal locking it. As he turned it over, Sesshomaru realized that the mirror was darkened into a pitch black, giving the impression of tainted looking.
But not for long. As it began to glow silver-ish, searing pain shot into his arm, turning the skin into an angry red burn. Which caused him to let it fall next to his chair causing the mirror to break into glowing shards as they banged on to the black tiles, creating an echo effect.
"Miko energy." As Sesshomaru growled this, a form began to materialize from the broken mirror, creating the same silver halo like glow. For a moment, the glow was at its climax, slightly smoldering his keen eyes and he noticed Jaken cowering on the floor. Just as abruptly as it had started, it began to fade away.
The form was a girl of about eighteen, probably a mere five feet and eight inches, not much compared to his six foot two build. She had loose black hair with a soft brown glow and russet eyes with peachy skin. She somehow looked familiar to Sesshomaru, but he couldn't quite place where he had acquainted her.
The most unsettling part of her appearing out of a mirror was her state of dress. In a wedding kimono, adorned most likely 500 years in the past, was gathered around her in layers of silk.
And now, the girl stood in front of an icy president of a company.
"Hi, I-" She uncertainly voiced, in a soft voice, seeming as if she had not spoken before. The teenage girl would have continued, if not for the sudden dawn of realization. The realization was that of the nature of whom she stood in front of at the moment. "S-Sesshomaru…?" Her voice stuttered a bit and her wide eyes did nothing to inform the other of her state of calm.
"How do you know my name?" Said Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, not at all all right with the fact that a girl from a mirror was acquainted to him.
At the instant he had spoken, she seemly forgot his presence and in frantic turns of her head took in her surrounding. "W-Where am I? This isn't the Northern Kingdom!" Her eyes fell on the extensive window showing Tokyo and she rushed towards the glass, her kimono rustling around her bare feet. Though she had not far to go, since she had materialized from the mirror, which had fallen next to Sesshomaru.
Her eyes roamed the tall structures reaching the sky and the vehicles speeding away on the road. The enormous signs and blinding lights of the land were unfamiliar to her newly awakened eyes. "What is this?" Her voice held something kin to wonder and tinge of fear as she turned back around to face the person that had ended her captivity.
"You are in Tokyo," His unchanging eyes glanced away from her and towards the window for an instant, "But you still haven't answered my question." At the mention of his unanswered question and the girl's obvious lack of answer, she felt a slight pain in the back of her head. Reminding her of the deal of being set free from the mirror, she thought it wise to answer before the pain worsened.
Her eyes clouded over with so many emotions, "I'm not sure how to explain to you. I haven't been free for a long time and this is the first time. So I don't exactly know how this works. But, let's just say, I know you. You were a lot…. different before." She started to worry her lip and look around the office anxiously.
His voice drew her gaze back to him, "Explain who I was different."
Forced to answer, she replied, "Well, you were a TaiYoukia. I don't think you are quite human now for some reason…. but, that doesn't matter. Since you freed me from the mirror, you are now my 'master'. I think since you broke the seal, we were instantly linked. I definitely felt that. Like I said, I don't know how this works. I guess something bad happens if I don't do something you asked, I kind of felt a pain in my head when I didn't answer your question for awhile."
Slightly nodding, Sesshomaru asked another question trying to figure out the vague feeling of knowing this girl, "What is your name?"
"Higurashi Kagome." Kagome looked straight into his eyes, trying to discover what he was feeling. But to no avail, his emotions were too expertly hid.
"I see." Sesshomaru replied, trying to cover up his bit of surprise when the girl's identity emerged from the back of his mind. So this was the Northern Kingdom's supposedly dead heir. Locked away 500 years ago, caught up in some sort of scandal. In a mirror, nonetheless. And now she is my property. It will be interesting to discover how this chain of events occurred.
AN- I bet you didn't expect that, huh? If you're confused, don't worry. I explain a little bit more of the 'master/property' thing in the next chapter. Actually…in all honesty, I didn't know that was going to happen myself! I was just typing and then….wham! But I'm glad that I did, it made the plot more interesting, don't you think?
Review please!