We're in a sea full of sharks,
Just swimming around and around if we get caught
They're gonna taste our blood.
You leave a trail and the word will get out
That we're all lost and ready to kill,
We're all lost and ready to kill.
…Are you gonna make an enemy of me?
Are you my enemy?
Are you my enemy?
Enemy, Hannah Georgas
In a way Sesshoumaru was right: Kagome was looking for someone to save. It might have been her reincarnated spirit, or the fact that she was still a miko at heart, but Kagome was eternally looking for someone to help.
It wasn't that she was self-sacrificing, not really, but a small, insecure part of her—a part she often chose to ignore—needed to be important to someone.
Inuyasha…Shippou…Her family…
They'd all needed her and then…they hadn't. Inuyasha had been taken from her and had likely moved on; Shippou was a demon—stronger than her in every way imaginable and would have grown into an adult; her family would learn to live without her and they'd gotten used to her frequent absences already.
And so, Kagome had reached a crossroad in her life and the realization came that the only person she needed to help… to save… was herself.
Apollo was stunning and frightening in a way she hadn't experienced since Naraku. He'd threatened her—threatened her family, if she didn't aid him. And as a god, she knew he could make good on his word, but in what way, she wasn't sure.
Sesshoumaru's powers seemed to have diminished over time, but if that had anything to do with the curse, she didn't know. Likewise, the ancient Greek gods were all but lost to the world—what kind of sway could they really have over the mortal realm?
And was she brave enough to call Apollo's bluff?
"It will be one of the smallest, most insignificant things, Kagome. Hardly a bother to you at all," he'd said coaxingly, his persuasive, erotic voice the product of aeons of living in perfection.
She had a hard time focusing on what she knew to be true of all immortals: that they were mercurial, harsh, selfish—and only ever interested in furthering their own ends.
Kagome let her fear ground her, consume her. It kept the moment real, while the supreme being tried his best to do what he'd been designed to do: inspire blind devotion.
"I'm looking for something—hardly anything important, but it was kept away from a friend of mine. She was betrayed and Sesshoumaru knows where the key to unlocking her from her torment lies," Apollo said, pacing slowly through the room, highly aware of how the waning rays of sunlight gave him a faintly ethereal glow.
He hadn't been lying about her attractiveness as he did find Kagome lovely, but his first duty was to Amaterasu. Still, it couldn't hurt to cultivate the affections of a deeply powerful, and desirable priestess.
The sleeves of his white button-down shirt had been rolled up to reveal well-muscled, bronzed forearms. The tattoo of a laurel branch could be seen along the sides of his inner arms. Shirt tucked tight enough into his tan slacks to define the muscles of his chest, he cut an impressive figure—especially given how his dark features contrasted so perfectly with the light color of his clothes.
Kagome closed her eyes, refusing to look at him. "What do you want me to do then, if it is so small?" She had a hard time keeping her accent from the words, frustration and fear making the English language thick on her tongue.
She heard him slowly walk over to where she was sitting and wait. Eventually, he grew frustrated with her resistance and demanded, "I need your eyes upon me, priestess, for only then shall I know the condition of your heart, truly."
He was lying, but Kagome didn't know exactly what powers a god might have—all he wanted was to be the temptation she'd never experienced and convince her that maybe helping a god wouldn't be such a bad idea for her.
Kagome did look at him, straight into his eyes—which were mesmerizing in their otherworldliness. Human eyes did not look that blue, but they were far less distracting than the whole picture of the god before her.
"He is tied to this object—as is my friend. They both need it in order to lift the curse that has been placed upon them. I believe it goes without saying, though I will say it, the demonmust not know of our arrangement."
Apollo held a hand out for Kagome and when she didn't immediately take it, he huffed softly, saying, "I would not do anything to you that you did not wish for, little one. A god is merely the servant of his people—truly, I wish you no harm."
Some part of Kagome knew it was the truth, which was why she took his hand and let him pull her up. But she knew it wasn't the whole truth. At that moment, he might not have wished her harm, but in the future, if she crossed him… If all it took to reverse the curse was to use the item, why would Sesshoumaru have hidden it? Did this have something to do with the goddess that had bound him? Did she need the object as much as Sesshoumaru obviously wanted to keep it from her?
Apollo continued, "I will show you what it looks like—he will have hidden it somewhere sacred, somewhere safe… only he will know, for it is hidden from even my divine sight. You must win his trust in order to gain it for me. I shall meet with you in secret to gauge your progress." Apollo carefully inched closer to her, purposefully manoeuvring himself into her personal space, forcing her to grow comfortable to his overwhelming presence.
But he did not know women, specifically Kagome, as well as he liked to think he did—for she surprised him with her demands, "Once you've shown me, you will leave. You've threatened my family and are no friend of mine."
He smiled at her bravado. "Of course, priestess. I live only to serve," he drawled, making Kagome wonder how exactly he would serve someone he was trying to intimidate and control.
Apollo leaned in towards her, looking for all the world like he was moving in for a kiss!
"What do you think you are doing?" Kagome cried as she pressed him back, indignation clear on her face.
"The kiss of inspiration, Kagome—how else did you expect to experience a divine vision?" He smiled patronizingly at her, as if this sort of thing was common place between gods and humans.
"I do not kiss men I hardly know," she said, cheeks coloring, nose flaring slightly.
"Oh, but do you want to?" he said thoughtfully, tongue darting out to lick his lips, forcing her to gaze at them. She almost growled with anger as she turned away, fully aware of what he'd just made her to do.
"Little virgin priestess…I wonder, what do you think of in the dark of night? Or better! What do you dream about when the sun is shining down, heating your body from the inside out—raising your pulse, coloring your skin…making you dream…" He smiled at her, his gaze smoldering, fully aware of the affect that someone like him would have on a mere human woman.
Kagome had stiffened at his words, she knew he was bating her, but still her mind couldn't help but consider the options that had been available to her… and passed her by. Inuyasha… Kouga… Hojo… She should be married, maybe with kids by now.
It's what she always thought she'd wanted.
But then life had other plans… and now… she didn't know anymore.
Alone… for so long she'd been alone, her traitorous heart reminded her. What could the harm be in one little kiss?
In the end, Kagome resisted, because her dignity was the only thing that she had left to barter with. "You may kiss my hand. That should be sufficient contact between us," she said while holding her hand out between them.
He tried to keep the smugness from his expression—it wasn't exactly the concession he'd been looking for, as the plan would go much more swimmingly if she were a willing, eager participant, but it was something. Something small enough to bridge the gap… show her what was waiting for her, if she but choose to reach out and admit she wanted it.
Slowly taking her hand, he held it close, brushing it softly against his cheek—his other hand caressing slowly along the inside of her arm, making her shiver at the contact.
Oh, but being touched with divinity was an unparalleled experience and if Kagome had known better, she would have stuck with a kiss on the lips, for the contact with his hands, his body, would have been the undoing for most other humans.
She could feel the heat radiating out from him and it reminded her of what he'd willed her to remember—the sun shining on her body, filling her with warmth, contentment, and no small amount of pleasure. She tried—successfully, to keep herself from leaning into him and furthering the contact.
His fingers caressed the inside of her wrist, his soft lips brushed against the back of her hand—warm, firm.
She bit her cheek till the blood ran inside her mouth.
It was enough—so barely enough.
And then the vision flooded her mind, overwhelming her with its power.
And the world went black.
He waited in the sun for her. It was hot and humid, as was common with the town, but Sesshoumaru hardly noticed as his body was able to adapt easily to new climates.
He was more subtly dressed in his newly acquired clothing. Sesshoumaru had stolen the clothes from a shop that hadn't been open yet and didn't feel badly for it. The entire situation had been determined by a pesky, meddling miko, so if anyone should feel guilty for the theft, it should have been her.
He'd been spending most of the years in his animal form, albeit a smaller version of the great dog he'd once been. And now, being bipedal, was unfamiliar and awkward to him.
Especially given the way modern humans chose to dress. Though the clothing covered his form, it was revealing—the cut and style made him feel like he'd gone out in his juban. And judging from the reactions of the females around him they agreed.
Sesshoumaru had always known he was a beautiful male, but his reputation had always preceded him, so the reactions of those around them had been tempered by their fear.
There was no such fear in the lustful looks of the women around him. They openly stared, gawked, some even tried to take pictures as he waited along The Old Way, disregarding the attendants who told him to: "Stop sitting on the artifacts." The assumption on their part that he was a native English speaker was vaguely insulting to him.
He supposed he did look foreign enough. The curse had altered his own demonic attributes, so he was able to mask his markings—muted and blurred until he almost looked human.
His hair and eyes, however, still retained their natural brilliance and if he'd been less proud of his appearance, he would have altered them as well.
Still, they were a sign of his heritage and house and should not be taken lightly. And so, he endured the stares.
For two days he waited in the ruins and still she did not come. Finally, on the third day, she appeared. He'd been considering tracking her back to the place she'd been staying—the pendant would lead him straight to her, but he'd wanted her to seek him out on her own.
He wanted her to prove that she needed him more than he needed her, to prove that this new quest gave her a sense of purpose and had been the reason she'd been drawn to the pendant—the only reason.
Sesshoumaru watched as she walked slowly along the path, seemingly careful not to step on the many marble tiles that still lined the ground.
She was wearing clothes that reminded him of what she'd been wearing when he'd tried to kill her for the first time: clothing that covered very little at all—though her head was adorned in an over-sized hat, shielding her from the sun.
Her shoulders were covered, her legs and arms were bare, and it seemed that not even the miko was impervious to the gazes of the men in the area. They watched her as she passed by, some even called to her, but either she didn't hear them or pretended not to notice.
Sesshoumaru almost had the urge to walk to her, to walk with her, keep their gazes from her body, but he resisted and dismissed it as simple masculine awareness and a desire to exert his dominance over obviously weaker males.
There was no way he would be defensive of the girl.
Finally, she reached him and said nothing as she took a seat beside him on the ground. He watched as she took a small poppy between her fingers and softly stroked the petals, thought she did not pluck it.
Kagome looked up at him and smiled before saying, "Have you come here to apologize?"
He sniffed at the comment. "Have you come here to admit the truth?"
She raised an eyebrow, but the smile remained. "An impasse? Agree to disagree? Is it so hard to admit a fault, Sesshoumaru?"
"-sama, miko. It is my title," he said, a little more brusquely than first intended, but she was beginning to frustrate him.
"Ah, Sesshoumaru-sama. Though, maybe onii-san would have been more appropriate?" she said, anger evident in her own voice.
"Fate has a plan for us all, miko," he said, dismissing his wrongdoing.
"Ah, yes—Sesshoumaru-sama, the great instigator of fate; well, my name is Kagome—so use it," she spat, seething from where she sat. Kagome closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, leaning her head back, letting the sun warm her.
They were going nowhere fast, but neither seemed ready to give a concession.
Finally, she opened her eyes and looked up at him, waiting until he caught her gaze. "You didn't just take away Inuyasha from me. I'm not aging and everyone I know will die. If I were to choose to enter into a relationship now… Everything would be taken from me in the end."
Ah, and there was the truth. He'd taken so much more than the past from her—he'd taken the only chance at happiness she'd had, at least, as far as she'd been concerned.
It was a feeling he was well acquainted with; as long as he'd been alive, he'd watched the world change, the people in it grow, have children, grand-children, die—of disease, tragedy, murder. He'd seen it all.
And the jewel had changed her.
And it had formed her for immortality.
And he'd taken the one chance she would ever have at attaining any sort of normalcy and happiness.
He thought of Rin, of her face as he'd watch her draw the last breath she'd ever take. The small smile she'd only ever given to him. He'd told himself that he was above it, that she'd meant nothing—a child, his child, no—just a ward. And yet…when she'd held his hand at the end, telling him that he would be fine without her, that she'd always watch over him.
It had broken him.
And he'd forced the same fate upon Kagome without a second thought.
He considered his words carefully, for Sesshoumaru never entered into a bargain unless he stood to gain—and he would, but this time someone else might be able to reach a measure of happiness within their life as well.
"Miko-"
"Kagome," she corrected.
"Kagome," he grudgingly compromised. "Do you know what I have been trying to accomplish these past five hundred years?"
"I haven't the foggiest," she replied. "Traveling and writing an epic?"
He gave her a bland look before continuing. "Searching for power—divine power. I thought that I had discovered it, but I was deceived. It has been told that the source of control over divinity lies within these lands, though I have yet to find it."
Kagome stared at him, jaw slack. "You want to be a god, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"I want the power to be free of this curse and the goddess that binds me and in order to do that, my power must be equal to her own, so that I might restore balance and remove the curse of the pendant."
"Just the pendant?" Kagome asked. He was keeping information from her and she knew it because of what Apollo had told her—what a game she'd found herself in, one where she was subject to half-truths and intrigue, though she should have expected it.
"There is another component… the goddess created a partner to the pendant; it will be the final piece, after I secure the relic," he said, dismissively.
Kagome blew her bangs out of her eyes, "What did you do to each other?" she asked, annoyed that she had to dig for information and that she was not being told the entire story.
"That is not any of your business," he said, avoiding the question.
"Did you ever try apologizing to her?" Kagome asked, and the look in his eyes said he'd never even considered that to be an option.
"Once one has crossed a goddess it would take more than a simple apology to win back her favor—more than I ever had any intention of giving," Sesshoumaru answered, semi-cryptically.
Kagome tried to piece the story together in her mind—maybe it was one of those legends, where the mortal, or in this case, demon, caught the interest of a divine lover, but eventually their inequality causes some rift and the mortal is banished to the earth? Sounded romantic in her mind, but she eventually dismissed the idea as silly fluff, Sesshoumaru was definitely not romantic, nor mortal.
And now Kagome was faced with her decision. She'd spent the greater part of two days laying in her hostel room, trying to puzzle out a solution to the dilemma that faced her: trick Sesshoumaru into giving up an item that he obviously did not want in anyone else's hands but his own, or cross a god who would rain down hellfire and destruction upon her family.
It seemed like an easy decision, but Kagome wasn't one to betray anyone's trust, even one so unworthy as Sesshoumaru.
Eventually, she came to a compromise: she'd feed Apollo as little information as she could about the whereabouts of this 'magical book' and do her best to reverse the curse on Sesshoumaru… and herself, before she discovered the location of the book.
She just needed to figure out a way to bring it up… without arousing Sesshoumaru's suspicions.
"A bargain, then: I will find the source of control over divinity and when I do, I will grant you your mortality."
Kagome couldn't help but hold her breath and wait for her part of the bargain.
"In exchange, you will utilize your holy powers to seek out and detect divine outlets of power."
She knew she could, thought she wasn't sure how he knew that piece of information. A miko was given certain powers by the gods: to restore balance, keep the peace; but it also meant that the gods themselves bequeathed a piece of their own power over to a human entity.
And that divinity would forever call to the mikos, leading them towards godly relics and repelling them from the demonic ones—thought it would feel like a beacon to both, whether they chose it or not.
She remembered Apollo's power and how it had filled the small space of her room, coursing through her body and veins. The source of divinity? Kagome couldn't even begin to imagine what that would feel like.
And so, they were both using her—gods and demons and a lonely miko who'd wanted nothing more than a link to the past.
But wasn't she always getting more than she bargained for?
Holding out her left hand, she made her decision.
Sesshoumaru regarded her for a moment before extending his own hand, apparently familiar with the primarily western and modern custom of a handshake.
She'd done it on purpose, she just wanted to see for herself—that his arm really had grown back. She'd noticed peripherally when she'd seen him before, but there were too many emotions for her to just focus on the revelation that the arm she'd had a part in dismembering was again hanging at his side.
She shook his hand and asked, "How did you get it back?"
"The goddess," he said, offering no more.
Kagome snorted. "I should have guessed that. Well," she said while standing and brushing her shorts off. "Where to, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"We shall travel the Panathenaic Way to the Acropolis and search the grounds," he said while moving off of the column as Kagome started grumbling—he towered over her, so her whining was doubly as unimpressive to him.
"Seriously? It's almost forty degrees! Shouldn't we start somewhere closer? Or take a bus?"
"Do you wish to be free of your immortality, miko? Or shall I leave you to your own devices?" he said, eyebrow raised.
Kagome made a face. "I was just thinking it might be better to start after the sun has gone down—it's hard for this human to breathe."
Sesshoumaru gave Kagome a look that seemed to say: take it or leave it.
So she shrugged and said, "If I get tired, we will have to stop for some water."
"Hnn," he said noncommittally, and they started on their way.
And they walked… and walked… in near silence… for hours.
And found nothing.
But, unluckily for them, they weren't the only immortals searching the ancient grounds that day.
Kagome had sat on one of the uncomfortable marble benches that littered the Acropolis, drowsy in the sun and waiting for Sesshoumaru to come back from wherever he'd disappeared to.
He'd been doing it all day—one minute, he'd be shadowing her, the next he was gone.
Kagome didn't understand how it made any sense—didn't he need her to find the book? Though he didn't know that she knew it was a book. She wondered why he needed help finding it if he was the one that hid it—had he forgotten where he put it?
She could understand that as she was constantly putting things in places and forgetting about them, though she hardly thought Sesshoumaru fell into that category. There must me more to it…
A small giggle drew her away from her musings and Kagome looked down only to find a small child staring back up at her, smiling.
"Oh…" her mind fumbled for some Greek, "Yah sou…" He was as cute as a button—bright, blue eyes, curly brown hair and tiny dimples framing his smile.
The child giggled, reaching his hand out to Kagome.
Unthinking, she took it and let the child draw her up and away from where she'd been sitting.
Her mind was clouded immediately—a gray haze hovered around the edge of her vision, so she never noticed the changes.
How the child flashed his teeth, his smile sharp—more like teeth than fangs. His eyes took on a reptilian look, seeming to blink with multiple eyelids. And his grip was definitely stronger than that of a mere mortal child.
And he was firmly leading Kagome straight towards the cliff along the outer edge of the Acropolis.
And she went with a smile.
A/N~ looks like Sesshoumaru isn't the only one that wants to keep Amaterasu right where she is. Anywho, sorry about the delays on this guy. This year's been full of death and work-related stresses (though, I'll be eliminating the work related stress soon). Thank you for your continued support and understanding. Hope it was worth the wait! I'm taking some liberties with old mythologies—so keep that in mind. I also don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters, or Hannah Georgas' awesome song — but the story is mine :) C. Nichole.
2015 edits. Ohhh! Sesshoumaru is such a dreamy jackass. I really love the dynamic between Kagome and Sesshy. She's so human and he's so...not. I always found Inuyasha was more like Kagome, so that relationship made sense...but it was kind of boring and expected. But Sesshy and Kags? Light and dark? Looove it. Add some Apollo to the mix and you have one sexy pie there!
