Sage under the Moon
-by Kittymui-
The day she received unexpected attention
A week had passed since InuTaisho officially announced the betrothal between Sesshoumaru and Kaguya, and everyone in the fortress had begun the preparations for the wedding.
And naturally, as a servant, Kagome had to help too. But unlike others, who were running round and about with decorations in their hands, she was simply confined to her own quarters.
Sitting on the floor with her back to the sliding doors, she didn't realize someone entering the room.
-.-
"You're lazier than I had expected. Shouldn't you be helping your mistress with the preparations?"
By the sudden jolt of her shoulders, Inuyasha knew he had startled the servant. But he was surprised to hear her wince at the same time.
"Ite!"
He raised a curious brow. "What are you doing?" he asked.
The girl turned around to him with one of her fingers in her mouth. There was a pretty annoyed look on her face, but she hid it immediately with a deep bow.
"Inuyasha-sama! What brings you here today?" she said with her head practically touching the floor.
"I told you to drop the formality in front of me, didn't I?" Inuyasha sighed as he knelt down to her. While he urged her to rise up again, he caught a glimpse of a piece of garment resting on her lap. "Are you...embroidering?"
"Y-yes," she answered meekly. "This is Kaguya-sama's wedding gown."
Inuyasha carefully picked up the garment made of fine red silk and noticed the unfinished embellishment on its left chest. Although incomplete, he knew it was going to be a phoenix. "It's nice," he commended as he handed it back to the servant. "You're pretty good."
"Thank you," she said as she retrieved the garment. Without saying anything else, she picked up the needle, which was attached to the fabric with a golden thread, and continued broidering.
'No wonder Kaguya insisted on keeping her around...' Inuyasha mused inwardly as he watched her hand move gracefully from and to the silk. When he saw the small red dot on her forefinger, he finally realized why she winced in pain earlier.
He got back to his feet and turned to the door. "S-sorry," he hastily apologized and left.
-.-
Kagome's hand stopped as soon as she heard the sliding panels closing. She lowered her eyes to her throbbing forefinger. 'Did he just apologize to me?' she thought puzzled as she stole a sideward glance to where the hanyou stood before.
She shrugged and shook off the thought as she reminded herself whom she was dealing with. 'Drop the formality huh? As soon as I do that, he'll be sure to tell Kaguya about it and have me punished...' she convinced herself. 'Why should I even bother myself with him? He's not the one I should bother myself with.'
Her eyes traveled down to the incomplete phoenix. 'I'll just finish this gown and then Kaguya will marry that stuck up Sesshoumaru...' she thought as she ran her finger over the fine silver and golden threads. 'And then I'll have my revenge...'
Kagome glanced down at her wrist, around which she could still feel the dog demon's tight grip. As easy as it sounded, she painfully realized that after the "well" incident, she might not even be able to approach the dog demon without being killed.
If she wanted her plan to succeed, she would have to change the way he thought about her or at least make him think that she held no hostile intentions. No matter how much she disliked the idea, she knew it was inevitable. It had to be done and it had to be done fast. After the wedding and bonding, it might be more difficult to get on good terms with the demon.
She scoffed at the words. 'Good terms? As if...' She put down the wedding gown on the floor and stood up. 'The longer it takes for me to finish this gown, the later the wedding will take place, and the more time I will have for my plans,' she decided inwardly and made her way to the exit.
Lost in thoughts, she wandered down the hallway. It wasn't until the sun made her squint that she realized she was standing face to face with the familiar garden again.
'Off all places, why here...?' she pondered annoyed as she gazed at the well. 'What's so sacred about it anyway?' Although an expression of indifference registered on her face, she solemnly vowed to herself not to enter it again like last time.
"It's nice, isn't it?" a voice behind her asked.
Kagome jumped up and quickly pivoted around. She widened her eyes at the sight of the lord of the West. "InuTaisho-sama!" she gasped.
The demon lord smiled. "You are Kaguya's servant right? Shouldn't you be busy with the preparations for the wedding?"
Kagome bowed deeply in response. "I'm terribly sorry. I was just-"
"Taking a short rest?" he finished for her. "Do not worry, I will not tell anyone."
For some strange reason, Kagome felt she could trust him. Was it because of the reassuring tone of his voice? When she straightened up again, she saw that he had turned to the garden. 'Perhaps the rumors are true about this man...' she mused in herself as she turned to look at the garden as well. 'Loathed by others because of his kindness towards humans...just like...Kaguya's father...'
"Yes, it is a nice garden indeed," she replied to his question earlier.
"I put a lot of effort in it," he suddenly explained after a short moment of silence. "That is why it is nice to know there is someone actually taking the time to enjoy the view of it."
Kagome stole a sidelong glance at the demon lord. 'He created this garden? Then surely he would know why it's so important to Sesshoumaru.' she concluded inwardly.
"Is this garden...very important?" she eventually asked.
Another brief silence followed her question and Kagome noticed that InuTaisho's eyes slightly hardened as he parted his lips to speak. "I had this garden built for my late wife," he told her.
Kagome raised her brows in surprise. "You mean...Sesshoumaru-sama's mother?"
He nodded and pointed at the well. "She often sat on the edge of that well and listened to the birds on the roof sing," he said. "But that was before she fell ill. She passed away not long after Sesshoumaru turned seven."
Her face dropped after he fell silent again. "I'm so sorry..."
"Don't be, it is already part of the past," InuTaisho told her before turning to her fully. "However, I am curious to the reasons behind your question."
"I-it's nothing, really!" Kagome stammered. "It's just that someone told me this garden was sacred, that's all."
The demon lord raised a brow. "Sacred? Did Sesshoumaru tell you that?"
Kagome nodded meekly. "I tried to draw water from that well earlier for my mistress, but was stopped by Sesshoumaru-sama. He seemed...displeased and told me never to enter this sacred garden again." She quickly bowed deeply. "I'm terribly sorry for entering this precious garden of yours...please forgive my ignorance."
"I see..." he said with a thoughtful tone. "Well, it is already in the past. There is nothing to forgive. Please rise up."
'If only...' Kagome thought as she met his ochre eyes again. '...if only you knew what your son did...'
"I believe I should return to my quarters now," he eventually broke the silence. "You should do so as well."
She nodded in response and bowed politely. "I'm sorry for bothering you with idle chatter, InuTaisho-sama. Good day to you."
The demon lord turned and walked away, leaving Kagome alone with the garden again.
'So this is where his mother used to sit down and enjoy the scenery huh?' she mused inwardly. 'No wonder he got so angry...' She crossed her arms and frowned. 'But that still doesn't rectify his actions! That-' Her thoughts ended abruptly when a bird descended from the sky towards one of the tall shrubs before her.
Even though it was just a small animal, its unfortunate choice of landing location caused one of the younger branches to bent deeply under its weight. It was only a matter of time that it snapped and broke off.
Kagome kept her eyes on the bird as it indifferently brushed its tiny beak on the fresh green branch. She knew she must have shown some movement as the bird suddenly darted its black opaque eyes to her.
Their staring game ended abruptly when a faint sound of something falling on a wooden floor emitted from within the mansion. The bird immediately spread its wings and disappeared into the blue ceiling.
Wondering what could have caused the noise, Kagome's eyes traveled down to the piece of branch on the grass. Just as she had predicted, the branch broke off when the bird set off for the sky.
A sad expression crossed her face as she drowned in her thoughts. There were so many other strong, matured branches and yet it chose the weakest one to rest on. Was it Fate that denied its existence?
Not wanted to let it end this way, Kagome stepped down from the terrace and approached the abandoned branch.
-.-.-
"She seems a nice girl. I think her name was Kagome, wasn't it?"
InuTaisho turned aside in his study, only to see his beloved wife approaching him after closing the panels behind her. "You were listening?" he asked surprised.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Izayoi explained with a smile. "I was just taking a short walk when I heard your voice, so I decided to take a look." As she said that, she noticed the troubled look on the demon lord's face. "Is something bothering you?"
There was a pregnant pause before he replied. "That girl...there is something strange about her..." he began. "There was a hint of anger in her eyes and voice when she mentioned Sesshoumaru."
"Anger?" Izayoi gave him a puzzled look. "Are you sure?"
"She was mincing her words, I could tell," he told her.
Izayoi placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, I'm sure it was just a small punishment. The girl will forget about it after a while."
The dog demon placed his hand over hers and turned to her. "I'm afraid it is not that simple. Somehow I get the feeling there's more going on between that servant and Sesshoumaru."
"You know...you shouldn't suspect Sesshoumaru all the time. He is your son," reasoned Izayoi.
InuTaisho frowned. "Even though we share the same blood, there are time when I am not proud of what my son does," he grumbled in reply.
The human tilted her head at her mate's remark. "Are you referring to the incident 15 years ago? I thought you said you couldn't find any witnesses."
"I didn't," he said as he gazed away. "But I do have my suspicions."
"Are you saying that...Sesshoumaru might be the one behind the assault on the brothel and the disappearance of your men?" Izayoi's voice was reduced to a whisper as she spoke the dog demon's name.
"As I said, I have no prove," said InuTaisho. "But should I find one, I will not allow him to escape his punishment."
"You say you have no prove, and yet you have somehow already declared your son guilty," Izayoi mused.
InuTaisho replaced his annoyance with a weak smile as he turned to his mate. "You never cease to amaze me with your patience Izayoi," he told her warmly. "You always manage to take an objective position when it comes to Sesshoumaru, even though he has never shown any respect towards you."
Izayoi placed her head against his shoulder. "Well isn't that what a good mother does?"
The demon lord chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "If only he knew..." he mumbled under his breath.
-.-.-
Kagome looped some strands behind her ear as she gazed down at the branch, which was now standing upright with its torn end buried in the brown soil.
It wasn't until a gentle breeze caused its green leaves to shiver that she realized where exactly she was kneeling and she quickly rubbed her hands to get rid of the sand. Just when she was about to stand up and leave, a sudden force hit her in her thigh and threw her to the side.
"Ack!" she cried out when she hit the nearest wooden steps with her right wrist. Before she could even register what had happened in the past few seconds, a hand appeared out of the corner of her eyes and grabbed the collar of her garment.
She skipped a breath when she felt her being hauled up from the grass. The first thing her eyes were able to distinguish was the arm that had taken hold of her. The next thing that caught her attention was the pair of dark parallel stripes marking the smooth white skin below the wrist.
"I told you not to enter this place again."
Kagome snapped back into reality as she recognized the voice. Immediately, she pushed back the tears that were stinging her eyes and she raised her head to meet a pair of gold. She was about to stare daggers at him when a voice in her head suddenly reminded her to keep her temper at bay.
"S-Sesshoumaru-sama...I...I was just..." she eventually muttered in defeat while mentally smacking herself. 'How could I've been so stupid! Why did I have to enter the garden...again!'
She could feel his eyes burning onto her skin. Was it the end for her?
"Let her go Sesshoumaru! She didn't do anything wrong!"
A flash of silver and red appeared in the peripheral area of her eyes, but before she could turn to see who it was, she was suddenly released and falling backwards to the floor.
Kagome was surprised when an arm secured itself around her shoulder and cushioned the fall.
As soon as she was helped to her feet, Kagome looked aside to her rescuer and widened her eyes. "Inuyasha-sama!"
"You okay?" he asked as he let go of her.
"Yeah," she nodded and watched how he went to stand between her and Sesshoumaru.
"Move or I'll eliminate you as well." She heard the dog demon growl.
"Kill her and your wedding will never proceed!" Inuyasha barked in reply.
There was a slight amusement crossing Sesshoumaru's features as he heard this but it disappeared rather quickly.
"She is responsible for Kaguya's gown. If you hurt her, she'll never get it done on time," the hanyou insisted.
"I'll have the servants find a replacement. Now move."
Kagome scowled at the patronizing tone, but quickly shook it off again. If she didn't do something fast, the situation might draw unwanted attention.
"I-I'm terribly sorry for trespassing the forbidden area again," she cut across the hanyou, who was in the middle of arguing something. When she made sure both dog demons had turned their attention to her, she continued with her head bowed deeply. "It was unforgivable, but please do hear me out. I had no intention of staining this beautiful garden with my presence. I only wanted to bury the branch that was broken by a bird."
The silence that followed her explanation only added up to her uneasiness and she swallowed hard. "If...if my punishment cannot be avoided, then please, I beg you to let me finish my mistress' wedding gown first. After that, you may end this pitiful life of mine..." 'Like you ended the lives of my grandparents.' she added inwardly in disgust.
Kagome dared not to raise her head after she finished talking. 'What's going to happen now?' she wondered to herself.
The sound of footsteps over the grass made her stiffen, but when she realized it was going away instead of nearing, she raised her head, only to see the dog demon walking away from her and Inuyasha. 'Eh...?' she thought confused. 'Why is he-'
She realized she must've looked pretty spaced out as the hanyou had to wave his hand to get her attention. "Are you okay?" he asked again.
"I think so," she mumbled half-listening.
Inuyasha gazed down at her swollen wrist she was trying very hard to conceal. "You hit your wrist when you fell. You need to see a nurse," he suggested with a hint of worry on his face.
As much as she agreed with him, Kagome decided she shouldn't stay there any longer and bowed slightly. "I think I have to return to my room now. I'm so sorry for making Inuyasha-sama argue with Sesshoumaru-sama," she apologized. "Please excuse me."
She brushed past him and left the garden hastily, but not before catching a glimpse of a stupefied expression on the hanyou's face.
"What the hell are you talking about? What about your wrist? Hey!" She heard him yell after him, but she wasn't listening any more.
She didn't know why he helped her. She knew that if it wasn't for him, she might've already been dead by now. But still...this was something between her and Sesshoumaru, it was irrelevant and unnecessary to involve anyone else.
She sighed deeply as she gazed down at her swollen wrist, which had started to become a bit blue. Her only concern right now was what Kaguya might do to her if she knew about this.
-.- that night -.-
Dinner time had long passed when Sesshoumaru shuffled silently though the moonlit hallways of the mansion. It had been a tiresome day. Although he had delegated everything of the wedding to everyone else to save himself some hassle, he still had to deal with the most loathsome matter: his betrothed.
Her insatiable desire to see and be with him all the time was truly frightening, even for a fierce dog demon like himself. Somehow, the demoness' high-pitched voice, which she always used to address him, kept reverberating in his mind and it annoyed him greatly.
'Her servant is just as detestable...' he added in his mind as he finally arrived at his quarters. 'Ignoring my warning and entering the garden again...what impudence!'
In fact, he was more than exhausted and all he wished for was a quiet night of rest in his room. But for some strange reason, he found himself reluctant to open the sliding panels before him.
'Why did I even bother listening to her explanation?' his thoughts suddenly continued. He let out a soft growl for being mentally pestered again by the human girl, even in her absence. 'I'll kill her in the morning...I need my rest now.' He finally decided.
His clawed hands were already touching the wooden frame of the doors when a dim light caught his attention. He turned around and was enraged to see it coming from the garden. 'Not again!' With murderous intent filling his eyes, he walked away from his room and stepped into the direction of the light.
Somewhere halfway, he sniffed the air and immediately recognized the scent that was drifting from his destination. 'Girl, I'm going to kill you tonight!' he growled inwardly as he increased his pace.
Upon arrival, he only found a small candle lit on a platter on the terrace in front of the garden. He also noticed a neatly folded piece of garment not very far from it accompanied by a small wooden box containing various embroidery equipments.
He gazed around him cautiously, but couldn't find the seamstress anywhere. From the way things were placed on the floor, he figured she would return eventually and decided to wait. He wouldn't be able to rest before he had killed her anyway.
Sesshoumaru stole a glance at the dark fabric below. Was this the gown his moronic brother was talking about? Unable to suppress the urge to confirm this, he eventually bent down and picked it up.
Although it looked simple at first glance, Sesshoumaru was surprised at the weight and thickness of the garment. With both hands, the dog demon took hold of its shoulders and allowed the rest of the attire to unfold toward the floor.
Almost immediately his eyes fell on the dimly illuminated ornament embellishing its left shoulder and chest.
To say that he was simply amazed would be an understatement. The fine needlework rendered the dog demon completely speechless for the first time and he could only stare at the meticulous lines and curves shaping the upper body of the goldfeathered phoenix.
'Perhaps the half-breed was telling the truth after all...' he mused inwardly, his eyes never leaving the gown.
-.-
'This should ease the pain a little...' she thought as she carefully wound a cold towel around her bloated wrist. She winced silently and bit back the pain as she secured a knot using her other hand and teeth. 'Sesshoumaru, I hate you!' she screamed in her mind.
Tired and defeated, she silently entered the hallway again. She hated the dog demon, but she hated her mistress even more. Not only did she refuse to accept her explanation, she was evil enough to forbid any medical help until her gown was finished.
Kagome let out a troubled sigh. It wasn't like she didn't see it coming, but how was she going to finish the gown on time in her condition?
"And it's all your fault..." she muttered angrily. "You selfish, arrogant, cold-blooded..."
Her voice trailed off when she found herself standing in someone's shadow. "Move!" she spat before thinking.
The silhouette seemed to have noticed her presence and slowly stepped aside, allowing the candlelight to identify him.
Kagome widened her eyes and gasped at the sight of the dog demon. 'What is he doing here!' she thought in panic. It didn't take a long moment for her to realize how serious the situation was and she quickly bent forward with her head. "G-good evening, Sesshoumaru-sama," she greeted as composed as possible. 'I'm so dead...' she told herself, hoping that he didn't hear her cursing him earlier.
When she straightened up again, she found the same stoic expression on his face. It was then that she realized he was holding the wedding gown in his hands. 'Why is he...?' Her thoughts stopped when she noticed the dog demon turning his attention to the garment as well.
There was no way she could've missed the flash of disgust that briefly crossed his features and she readied herself to grab the gown from his claws. 'Don't you dare...' she warned him mentally.
As expected, the dog demon motioned to throw the garment to the floor, but luckily, Kagome had found herself dashing towards it already. She caught it in the air and held it close to her chest as she finished her brief sprint. Her heart thumped frantically in her throat as she gazed down at the flickering candle below her, only an inch away from her feet. 'You bastard!' she cursed inwardly, raising her eyes to meet his. She realized furiously that the gown she had desperately tried to finish would have been ruined had she not caught it in time.
Although she might have dug her own grave with her recklessness, it pleased her to know she had at least succeeded in foiling one of his evil plans. With an invisible smirk, she praised herself mentally and slowly settled down on the floor near the candle. 'If you have to kill me then do it fast...' she told the dog demon silently as she calmly picked up a threaded needle and nonchalantly continued embroidering. 'But I won't waste more of my precious time on you...'
-.-
Sesshoumaru stared silently at the girl on the floor who was obviously ignoring his presence. Was she accusing him of trying to burn the gown on purpose? Not that the idea didn't appeal to him for a certain moment, but he concluded that she must've been too caught up with cursing him mentally to notice that it was simply the work of the midnight breezes.
He could clearly remember the fury in her eyes when she stared at him after catching the gown and it amused him to find such deep hatred for a mere attire. Should he prove her wrong? He shook off the idea. 'Why should this Sesshoumaru explain his actions to a servant?' he thought, cursing himself for having such ridiculous thoughts. But then again, being captivated by the work of the same servant and consequently failing to notice her presence was just as absurd.
Either way, she was a nuisance. Never in his life had he encountered a servant so ignorant, insolent and utterly annoying. She was indeed testing his patience, which was something he never had.
Sesshoumaru was already readying his claw for a swift execution when he suddenly noticed the clumsy bandage around her wrist. 'Does she really think such a messy treatment would be effective?' he thought, remembering her injury. He knew it couldn't have been the work of the nurses housed within the mansion. Apparently, the hanyou didn't summon any medical assistance for the human, which was surprising since he seemed very eager to protect her this afternoon.
"Your wrist. Why isn't it bandaged properly?" he inquired indifferently while lowering his arm to his side.
"After I told Kaguya-sama about my injury, she disallowed me to seek any medical help and ordered me to continue without proper treatment," she told him flatly, without looking up at him or halting her activity. "Saying I should repent for my own clumsiness."
Sesshoumaru's brow twitched slightly at her emphasis at the end but kept his eyes on her wrist in silence.
-.-
Kagome forced herself to stay calm and sit upright as she waited for something, anything to happen. She was stupefied when the dog demon turned his back to her and started walking away.
She watched how he disappeared into the dark corridors and scowled. 'What's that supposed to mean? That this pitiful life of mine was once again spared? That I should be grateful?' she cursed in silence as she lowered her gaze to her hands on her lap. Almost instantly, the fear and anxiety that she tried very hard to suppress earlier suddenly took over and she realized she had begun to tremble uncontrollably.
'S-stop trembling! Damn it!' she cried in herself as she bent forward as though she was suffering an immense stomachache. Did she just escape death once again? Or did the dog demon decide to wake and inform her mistress about this and have her exercise the punishment in his stead?
'I have to get out of here...fast!' she decided in terror. With her shaky hands she removed the needle from the thread and put it back into the wooden box. After scrambling up everything in her arms, she pushed herself up from the floor. 'The candle!' she reminded herself quickly and bent down again to the dim light source.
Just when she was about to put it out, a familiar pair of feet appeared before her eyes. Realizing that she had missed her chance to escape, she slowly straightened back up without blowing out the candle until she met his icy gold-amber glare again. 'What now...?' she thought nervously. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath ever since his unwelcome return until she was suddenly craving for air with a deep inhale.
For the next couple of seconds, which seemed like an eternity, the two just stood there facing each other in silence. "U-uhm..." Kagome began hesitatingly as she clamped the garment and equipment against her chest.
"Rin," the dog demon suddenly cut her off.
Kagome raised her brows in surprise. "Eh..?" Her body stiffened when she caught something moving in the shadows behind Sesshoumaru.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," a female voice responded.
With confusion crossing her face, Kagome saw a girl appear from behind the dog demon, carrying a wooden box in her hands. She squinted her eyes to study her features, but concluded that she had never seen her before. She had dark hair like herself in a low ponytail and was wearing a plain brown kimono.
"Look at her wrist," he ordered coldly.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she obeyed and approached Kagome.
She stopped within arm reach and put down the box she was carrying "Please, sit down," she requested kindly.
With the dog demon's ever-so-intimidating presence, Kagome painfully realized she didn't have much choice and sat down.
"Let me see your wrist," she asked while opening the wooden box. It revealed a neatly partitioned interior separating opaque bottles from fresh green herbs that emanated a calming scent.
Kagome put down the things she held in her hands and stretched out her right arm, palm up.
The girl slowly pushed back Kagome's sleeve and began untying the knot keeping the wet cloth around her wrist. Removing the quasi-bandage revealed a swollen wrist coated with blue and brown, which even Kagome herself couldn't bear to look at. But the nurse seemed unaffected at the sight of her injury and began pressing around on the swollen area with her thumb.
Kagome gritted her teeth and forced herself to endure the pain. 'I will not yelp in pain or cry in front of him!' she told herself bravely.
"Nothing's broken, it's only sprained, Sesshoumaru-sama." She heard her report to the dog demon. "It shouldn't take too long to heal, provided with the right medicine and treatment."
Relieved to hear it wasn't too serious, Kagome felt some of her tenseness ebb away.
"How long?" Sesshoumaru suddenly asked.
She took a moment to think before replying. "Three, maybe four days."
"I'll give you two days," he stated before turning to leave.
"I understand, Sesshoumaru-sama," she replied politely.
After making sure he won't be turning around again, Kagome gave the dog demon a dirty look. Even though it was just an order, he still made it sound more like a threat. 'I wouldn't have expected anything less...' she thought to herself as she turned back to the girl before her.
She watched how she mixed the content of several medicine bottled with some mashed herbs and carefully applied it around her wrist.
"I'm sorry to bother you at this late hour," she apologized when she finished applying the soft scented substance. "I didn't expect him to summon someone to treat my wrist."
"It's okay," she smiled while taking a roll of white bandage out of the box. "I'm actually glad Sesshoumaru-sama summoned me. Although it's not very serious, it could get worse if it doesn't receive proper treatment."
Kagome was puzzled that the girl could still smile after being threatened. "But aren't you angry at him? He said he'd only give you two days even though you explained it would take longer," she asked.
"Oh don't worry about that," she grinned with a hint of mischief. "I knew he would do that, so I extended the day of recovery on purpose. Truth is, it'll probably heal within two days."
Kagome couldn't believe what she was hearing and stared at the girl with widened eyes. "B-but then..."
"I've served Sesshoumaru-sama for a very long time," the servant explained. "He may be cold and harsh, but he is not evil. You may not believe me, but he was the one who saved me from a pack of wolves a long time ago. If it wasn't for him, I would never be here and telling you this right now. Ever since that day, I swore to myself that I'd dedicate my life serving Sesshoumaru-sama. And I will continue to serve him until the day I die. It's the only way I can repay kindness."
'Kind? Sesshoumaru is...?' Kagome thought disbelievingly. Yet, the girl before her didn't look like she was lying. As the bandaging continued, she silently wondered what caused the dog demon to be so out-of-character and save the human girl back then.
Her thoughts crashed when the servant stood up again. "There, all done," she said as she smoothed out the ends of her kimono and offered her a hand. "I'm Rin. What's your name?"
"Kagome," Kagome replied with a small smile as she gladly took her hand with her other hand and stood up. "And thanks for treating my wrist."
"Nice to meet you Kagome and you're very welcome," she responded while gathering the box in her arms. There was a awkward pause before she continued. "And please don't hate Sesshoumaru-sama. Although I'm not sure what exactly happened but I know he must have had his reasons."
With that, she bowed slightly and silently trod away from her.
'Had his reasons...?' Kagome repeated her words in her mind. She looked at her neatly bandaged wrist, which had stopped stinging a long time ago. She didn't know his reasons for summoning a nurse to treat her injury and defying his soon-to-be mate. She didn't know why he hated the human kind so much that he could wipe out an entire brothel just to eliminate three humans.
"He must have had his reasons."
'Yes, he must have,' Kagome thought as she gazed into the darkness where the dog demon and his loyal servant had long gone. 'Just like she has her reasons to devote her entire life serving him...'
'...and just like I have my reasons for hating him for the rest of mine...'
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Sorry for the late update! Things have been a bit hectic after I returned from my vacation. Bills, luggage, cleaning, you get the drill. Anyway, I finally managed to gather my muses and finish this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know by review okay? Thanks!
And by the way, in the manga, Rumiko Takahashi has finally revealed Sesshoumaru's mother. She's quite pretty and she's not dead! If you want to see some scans of her, just ask me for the link okay?
Cheers!
Kittymui
'Italic': thought
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
CAPSLOCKED WORDS: noises
-.-.-.-
Next chapter: The day she made a friend
-.-
Kaguya explicitly forbade Kagome to seek any medical help, but now her wrist is neatly bandaged. How will the demoness react and who will come to her rescue?
-.-
Vocabulary:
ite: ouch
hanyou: half-demon
-sama:
honorific suffix added to the name of someone you respect
hai:
yes
-.-.-.-
Posted: 22 August 2006
Last Edited: 22 August 2006
Spelling
check: YES
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Inuyasha characters or plot. Nor do I own anything of the Chinese myth/fairytale I'm basing my story on. If there's anything similar between my story and that of another author or artist, I swear sincerely that I have no intention of copying or stealing anything!
