I wasn't going to add any more but then I thought it might be nice to have Sesshoumaru's point of view. Wrote this a little different, but I like it.
Secret
He had many secrets. Some were his own. Some belonged to others. Some had been past down in his family for generations. But she…she was the greatest of them all. She was a secret so great she could either make him or break him. 'I do not know how I let it come to this. I do not understand how she became more than a simple curiosity.'
He could remember the moment he decided to learn more about the little miko from the future. She had always been a point of interest for him since she first survived his poison attack in his father's tomb. He knew then that there was more to the tiny onna that followed his brother than met the eye, but he could never imagine how much more. It was only after the battle with Sou'unga that he had decided it would be beneficial to learn more about the girl…Kagome.
It had begun simple enough. He had waited for his fool of a brother to sneak off in the night to visit the dead one; believing no one knew of his disappearance when all the while the live miko waited for his return back at camp with an increasingly breaking heart.
That first night he'd appeared to her she had been slightly afraid. Of course not truly afraid. His little miko feared little after all. That first encounter had been brief. He'd appeared in the trees soon after his brother had left. He was always careful to mask his scent when checking on his brother's pack so as to avoid detection, but that night he had flared his aura just enough to alert the girl to his presence, and as expected she had rose to see what he wanted. He'd led her far enough into the forest to avoid being heard and simply asked her questions. Surprisingly she answered them all…truthfully.
Yes, she was from the future. Yes, she had been born with the Shikon Jewel inside her body. Yes, she was in love with his brother. Yes, she intended to give the jewel to Inuyasha if he asked for it once they completed it. Yes, she was aware Inuyasha left each night to visit the dead miko. Yes, she knew that Kikyo was not long for this world and that the dead priestess sought to evade death by stealing back the remaining portion of her soul. Yes, she knew Inuyasha would not accept this fact. Yes, she intended to wait for Inuyasha no matter how long it took.
He had been shocked at her honesty, and even more astounded by her unwavering loyalty to his brother. By the time he'd left her that night he'd had more questions than answers. The miko from the future was a living enigma and he swore to figure her out. So he had visited her again…and again, and again and again. He asked many questions and she always answered as truthfully as she could. She never lied, but sometimes she evaded…for awhile. There was no answer she did not eventually give to him. Sometimes it took him awhile, but eventually she divulged anything he sought to know. He had found her honesty refreshing. He found her refreshing. She was so different from anyone he'd ever met.
'I never saw it coming. I didn't have time to prepare myself. She does nothing because she has to…she does it because she wants to. She wants to help Inuyasha…she wants to help the slayer, the monk, the kit, the wolf prince, and anyone else in need. She wants….to love. That's all she wants and I just didn't understand that. I still don't, but I admire that fact about her.'
He had spent months meeting with her in secret each night after his brother abandoned her. Eventually she asked a question….and surprisingly he answered. Of course that led her to asking more questions, and even more surprisingly he gave her more answers. All true. He refused to lie to her. She had only ever given him the truth and as such he would do the same. Soon he found himself volunteering information. He told her things he'd never told anyone. Not because he had to or because she asked to know, but because he wanted to. He wanted her to know him. Him. Somewhere along the line her opinion had begun to matter to him and he wanted to see how she would view his conquests. He wanted to know how she viewed him.
So he gave her all of himself. He gave her the words she asked for, but more importantly he gave her actions. He never held himself back. He refused to be less than what he was around her. She had to take all of him, or none at all. He killed without remorse before her very eyes when human bandits attempted to accost them one night. He'd heard them approaching and smelt their disgusting lust for the onna at his side, but had not attempted to evade them. He was a youkai lord, he ran from no one. He had not even taken his eyes off of her when he released his poison whip to divest them of their heads before they could even raise their weapons to attack. He hadn't batted an eye…merely sat and waited to see her response.
She had gasped in surprise. She'd looked over his shoulder at the headless corpses as they fell from the darkness the trees had provided them cover in. She'd taken in their torn, bloody clothes stained with the blood of the innocents they'd slaughtered without thought, just as he had them. Then she'd turned her eyes on him and said, "Want to find a better spot?"
He'd fallen in love with her then and there. She accepted him for what he was. Without reservation. She did not hold him accountable to her standards of what was right or wrong. She recognized he was and would always be a predator. He would attack or defend as he saw necessary and she understood that. She understood him. He made the decision then that if there was a possibility to make her his he would.
So he'd waited. He'd waited and he'd watched and then finally one day the opportunity presented itself for him to make his intentions known. The dead one tried once more to claim Kagome's life, and his brother refused to acknowledge that fact. To make matters worse his fool of a brother had run off to the clay miko and listened to her lies instead of hearing the truth of the live one. That very night he let her know what he could offer her. He'd held himself in check, but he'd opened the door for her.
She didn't show the next night, or the one after, but he'd expected that. He knew she would need a few days to come to terms with what he was offering. But she'd come back. She'd been hesitant…reminding him so much of a doe picking up the scent of danger, but she had come back. It had taken him awhile, and he knew she still had unresolved feelings for his brother, but he didn't let that deter him. It started out with the simple gesture of holding hands. From there she'd allowed brief kisses that turned into tentative touches, and eventually she had allowed him more. So much more.
He never breached her maiden barrier; telling her that he would not dishonor her, but she had let him know her in other intimate ways….and she had known him. He'd made it apparent from the start that his body was hers to do with as she pleased, but she had been too shy to make the first move. He'd always had to take her hands and place them upon himself to get her started. However, once she began she would not stop until she knew all of him. And oh how he luxuriated in the feel of her fingers mapping his skin. Learning the secrets of his flesh just as he did hers.
'But it was not enough…it will never be enough. I could spend every day by her side and still never have enough of her presence.' So he'd told her that the secret could not continue. He'd told her that they'd past the point of return. He'd told her he wanted more.
He knew he had only two alternatives. Walk away from her for good…or mate her. He had thought briefly of leaving her behind…and almost immediately his heart skipped a beat and his breath left him. He'd known then that there was no way he would ever be able to walk away from her. The mere idea of it left him physically weak. If they were to be no more she would have to do the walking away. He knew that mating her was a terrible idea. She was a human. A miko. By definition alone they should be enemies. The other lords would rebel and any offspring they had would not only never know true safety, but would be shunned by many, and probably for the majority of their lives. Every day of their existence would be a battle….but he didn't care.
So he'd told her. He'd told her flat out. "I desire you as my mate. I care not for what others think, nor do I care of the repercussions. I want to live the rest of my life with you by my side. Do not come to me again in secret. If you come…come for good. I will hide no more." And with that he'd watched her walk away.
That had been a week ago. He'd sent out the call of his aura every night to summon her, but she did not answer. He knew she would need time, just as she'd needed it before, but as more nights passed he began to worry. 'What if she does not come? What if she chooses….him? Could I stand for that? Can I let her go? Can I let her go to him? He who hurts her? He who abandons her for a traitorous dead woman? He who will never see her for who she really is? Can I let her leave me for him?' He wasn't sure.
He had promised himself that he would give her two weeks. If she did not come to him by then he would seek her out and demand an answer. He knew that if she didn't come in that time he should probably take that as a rejection in its own right, but his feelings were so great….his love for her so strong that he had to hear the words from her own mouth.
And so he sat here beneath a tree, starring up at the moonlight as he beckoned her to him once more. As he had every night for a week. He waited…and he hoped. 'How pathetic….I am nearly 800 years old and I sit alone night after night longing for one tiny onna. Father you must be laughing at me.'
Suddenly he stilled. His demonic hearing caught the sound of something moving towards him. Lifting his head to take a delicate sniff he felt his entire body come alive as her delicious scent reached him. 'I told her not to come if she did not intend to stay. And…she's coming.' He remained seated as he had to spare his honor somewhat by not appearing too eager, but it took all of his control not to stand and go to her. To take her in his arms and hold onto her forever.
He watched with an intense look in his gaze as she finally came stumbling through the trees. 'Stealth has never been her strong suite,' he thought with amusement. Meeting her blue eyes with his amber he asked simply, "Have you chosen?"
She was silent for a moment and he waited with baited breath, but when she smiled that beautiful smile at him he felt his heart expand and total joy overtake him. Her next words sealed their fate.
"Yes Sesshoumaru…I've chosen. No more secrets. I will be your mate."
Standing he made his way to stand in front of her with slow, measured steps. When they were but a breath away from each other he reached out to take hold of her chin and tilt her head up for a gentle kiss. Pulling back he said, "You were never any good at keeping secrets anyways my mate."
