Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing my first chapter. I know I can be a little wordy and clumsy with grammar, but I appreciate you all. Thank you, again! ~Catclass
Chapter 2
As Sesshomaru said, Inuyasha and Kagome arrived at the Western Palace by the sunset of the second day. In a subtle show of independence, Kagome rode a horse with her few personal items in the poor, overstuffed, yellow backpack. Inuyasha didn't bring anything, as per usual, and barged pass the entrance guards.
By the time they were shown to Sesshomaru's meeting room, Kagome was calming from her laughter. Inuyasha was calming from his unsuccessful attempt at being faster and stronger than said entrance guards. The room was softly lit with candles, and beautiful ink paintings adorned the walls. The stoic lord sat behind a burgundy wood table, focusing on the paperwork in front of him.
"Jakken, show the priestess to her room. We shall discuss those duties in the morning." Inuyasha glanced back at her before walking to sit with his brother. Kagome, on the other hand, allowed herself to be ushered away by a couple of servants. Jakken spoke up immediately, "Don't get any weird ideas, because I don't really care about a stupid human… but how is Rin? The lord gets to visit her more often than I, so speak up, woman. Tell me about Rin. That girl grown any? She still talking in third person? Odd child. Well? Why haven't you said anything yet?" The surprised priestess couldn't help but smile at his silly antics. The toad obviously cared about Rin, but he was working himself into a worried mess without giving her a moment to respond. "Jakken" She interrupted, "Join me for tea at any point and I shall tell you all about Rin. Right now, I must rest to be ready for my talk with your lord."
The small beak like mouth tightened as he grouchily agreed, "Alright. Rest well, Miko." Blue eyes sparkled at the kind comment from the usually bitter toad, "Please, Jakken, call me Kagome." The green servant huffed and grumbled, "Weak humans need a pathetic amount of sleep, Lady Kagome, so go get some." Then, he waddled away, the servants disappearing after. Memories of a much more despicable Jakken at Inu no Taisho's grave left her smiling at his improvement.
The room, while an eastern extravagance, had the one thing she really wanted to see, a futon. Kagome released her hair after placing her supplies near the bed and stretched her aching body across it. There was a tray of rice, fish, and stew nearby which was quickly devoured, before she welcomed sleep. It was strange how she could doze so easily in a castle of demons.
With the singing of birds at dawn, Kagome awoke from her peaceful slumber. She quietly sang to herself while dressing and pulling her long tresses into a ponytail. When she was ready, the young miko pulled out a novel to read.
An hour passed until a servant came to show her back to the meeting room where Sesshomaru awaited her presence. "Priestess, do you still desire aiding this Sesshomaru in business?" He started.
"Yes, I would like to help you Sesshomaru." His eyes shot to her immediately, "This Sesshomaru is a lord, miko. Do not forget such basic formalities."
"Then, please stop forgetting to address me as Kagome." Her sweet smile sparkled in challenge as she yet again tried to get him to call her by her name. When amber eyes did not meet with hostility but with her playful confidence, he countered, "Very well, miko. These scrolls contain information about each female. Have the information organized and all eligible females scheduled for the next four weeks. Jakken will supply you with any missing information and will see to it that your messages are sent. That is all, priestess."
"Alright, I'll contact you after I go through the information. Bye, Sesshomaru." The stubborn pair stared at each other for a moment before Kagome slid the door close behind her.
Hours passed, and Kagome had scrolls unrolled all across her floor and table. She found that some girls had multiple scrolls while others shared one. First, she had to take count of the total number and each girl's name. Then, there was the business of writing a scroll of their social positions in court. Next, there was rewriting a brand new scroll with the information for each girl presented in a more efficient manner. The original scrolls were a mess, with long, elaborate statements which basically boiled down to "Favorite Color: Emerald Green".
After a hard but successful first day, Kagome wanted to stretch her legs and clear her mind before returning to her work. She carried her hot tea into a garden and sat on a stone bench beside a large koi pond. The wind still bit with an early morning chill as she sipped the warm beverage. Orange and white koi leisurely swam back and forth, their large scales shining in the light. A lot of plants in the garden weren't in bloom, but it was still green and healthy. Such clean, positive energy from this environment purified her mind and soul of stress. By the end of her cup, she stood rejuvenated. A glance eastward had blue meeting gold, as she caught Sesshomaru's gaze. She offered a small wave, but he ignored her to return into the building.
"Well, this is a great start." Kagome spoke sarcastically in hushed tones, before looking to the sky once more. "I can do this! I've got this!" Pumping herself up, she hurried back to her chamber to begin working on more scrolls.
It was well after dinner when the priestess finished the last scroll for the 273rd woman wanting Sesshomaru's hand in marriage. Surprisingly, her door slid open to find an annoyed western lord lightly glaring at her. "Woman, cease your stomach's noises and eat your dinner." He commanded. Kagome was completely lost, and was only just registering how dark it was in her room. She had been so caught up in finishing that she hadn't eaten lunch nor lit a candle after dusk.
The frustrated lord was about to turn and leave when she piped up, "Wait, Sesshomaru, would you join me while I ate? I have some questions about preference to lower the amount of eligible ladies." He hesitated, but eventually made his way to sit by the table with her as she gathered the tray of food. Before she even took a bite of rice, the inquisitive miko asked, "Are there any social classes that you will not look at? Can you describe any physical attributes or personality traits that you would prefer?"
She managed several bites before he began to speak. "Daughters of Generals, Daiyoukai, or princesses, they must be full demons of the court. No cats." He quieted in thought for a minute, while Kagome wrote down what he said. She took another mouthful of rice when he spoke up again, "She must be strong and able to produce a full blooded heir. Remove any promiscuous females or ones with large familial debt. Is that enough, priestess?"
The miko finished scribbling down her notes, before taking her last bite of food. "I'll have a report ready for you of the remaining girls by morning. Thank you." Her focus was already on the scrolls; Kagome peeked at the information and then designate it to the "keep" or "go" piles. She only paused when she noticed the long silver hair shining in the freshly lit candlelight. Sesshomaru had stayed; he was reading one of the scrolls with a subtle wrinkle over his brow.
A small wave of worry sunk in as the ideas behind him looking at her work pounded away at her confidence. So she tried, "Can I help you with anything?" It took way too long for his steady gaze to rise from the page, and it took even longer for him to speak.
"What language is this written in?" Kagome instantly giggled at the relief from this question, but when he continued to stare, she felt uneasy again. He didn't know about her time traveling and now she had to lie without lying. "It's, um, Japanese, but it's just not the complicated forms that, um, are common… at this time." That was a lot harder than she had hoped, but he took it.
"Can you read and write in any other languages?" Kagome didn't think about what that could mean in this era and spoke truthfully, "I was taught English and dabbled in Mandarin and Hangul." It slowly came to her understanding through a cold stare, that those names were probably still foreign. She wasn't even sure if he would recognize the names China or Korea, so Kagome quietly stared back.
A low baritone hum floated to her ears as he quietly accepted her answer. With a quick glance back to the open scroll in his hands, he continued, "This Sesshomaru was under the impression that miko only studied medicinal remedies and spiritual cleansing. Is this no longer accurate?"
"Well, that is still true for a lot of priestess with, you know, there's archery or staff fighting skills. I wasn't born into the life of a priestess, so it should be understandable that I do not match your general expectations." Kagome grew more confident in her words as she spoke. "However, there are many monks and miko that have additional skills beyond the ones required in their chosen life style. Please don't think too much of my education; I wasn't even the best in my class." With memories of the "C"s and "D"s she received in high school, the young woman chuckled in embarrassment.
Again, amber eyes stared as if questioning everything she had said, but after a moment, he gracefully left. The sudden exit had the poor girl staring at the door in confusion for a full two minutes before resuming to the task at hand. She would see him again as soon as she finished sorting through the hundreds of bachelorettes. A rush of energy surged through her, causing Kagome to shift into overdrive with a bold smile.
As she had promised, the sleepy miko stood before his office ready to present that morning. Kagome was as tired as hell, but she was quite confident in this meeting going very smoothly. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE LEAVING ME HERE?" It was Inuyasha. "Aren't your people used to you not being here? Why do I have to be here doing your job this time?" The door quickly slid open as if Sesshomaru needed to present Kagome to Inuyasha. The small, silver dog ears straightened in surprise at her presence.
"Inuyasha, there are matters that require my presence elsewhere." The lord spoke in even tones. Kagome's eyes slipped from Inuyasha's scared expression to the eyes of the man whose bewitching words were calm and clear. Sesshomaru stood a head taller than her with perfect posture; his broad chest faced her while his cold eyes watched the deflating half-demon.
Kagome allowed her lids to slowly blink as a memory flashed across the darkness. It wasn't just the scene of Inuyasha standing in front of her with Tessaiga or how his voice sounded when he was promising to protect her from Sesshomaru. It was like a feeling of warmth and trust. However, by the reopening of her eyes, Kagome was already wondering if she had imagined it.
The frustrated younger brother sighed and crossed his arms, "Fine. Be secretive. I'll do the 'Stand-In-Lord' thing until you get back, but only, and I mean "only", if you promise nothing will happen to Kagome."
There was a slight glare added into the look the lord was sending Inuyasha, as if to say "troublesome". However, the older demon properly faced him before promising, "This Sesshomaru will see to it that the miko returns alive." It was obviously not what Inuyasha wanted but with a huff and a puff the hanyou left the room. He knew it was as good as he was going to get out of a demon that rarely made promises.
In a maneuver to get out of the way of Inuyasha's rough exit, Kagome turned to have her back merely a foot from the lord. Once the younger brother started stomping down the hall without closing the door Sesshomaru moved to close it himself. The long, white sleeve moved across ebony hair, startling Kagome enough to jump into action.
"So! I've come to update!" She enthusiastically chirped. His nod and elegant return to his position behind the large desk cued the girl to continue. "The number of eligible ladies has dropped from two hundred and seventy-three to twenty-one. There are two Daiyoukai, seven princesses and the rest are the daughters of generals with connections to the upper court. Are there any new requirements you would like to help lower the number more or should I start making travel arrangements?" As per usual, he did not outwardly show surprise or that he was impressed. The stoic lord simply digested the information in silence before commanding, "Jakken will send word of our upcoming arrival to the remaining women. We leave at dawn. Go rest, miko."
With her work a success, the priestess smiled brightly as she stood to leave. "Good day, Sesshomaru."