Naraku growled in frustration as he stared into Kanna's mirror. He watched through the glass as Kagome wandered the safe grounds of Sesshoumaru's palace. When he had been informed that she had been left alone, he had thought a gift had fallen from heaven to him. Now, he watched with irritation as she laughed, smiled, and was generally happy. He didn't wanted to see her happy; he wanted to see her begging him for mercy, pleading for her life. Anger overtook him and he clutched the almost complete jewel in his hand tightly. A slight smile graced his features when he listened to Midoriko scream from its depths. Her never resting soul was tortured by the blood and taint he brought to the jewel. Satisfied with at least her suffering, Naraku looked to Kanna with cold eyes.
"What can we do to bring out precious little flower a good dose of misery?" he asked casually as he rolled the jewel between his fingers. Kanna closed her eyes and pulled her mirror close to her body. After a moment of silence, Kanna extended the mirror to show Naraku the future that he could create.
In the reflection, a young wolf demon was sneaking through a crack in a large stone wall. The stone wall surrounding Nishi's castle. She was running toward the river and from across the river, Naraku saw a half demon smiling at her broadly. She smiled back. The image disappeared and the same girl appeared again, this time wringing out laundry and clipping it to a line. Out of the corner of the mirror's frame, Naraku could see Kagome smiling and laughing with her. Again, the image disappeared only to have a new one resurface. Naraku recognized a jewel shard in the woman's back, her eyes void of feeling as she brought a knife over her head and thrust it down toward the cowering figures of two children in the castle. The images washed away and left only the blankness of black in the mirror. Kanna stepped back and bowed her head.
Naraku chuckled, but soon the chuckle turned into a full blown laugh that boomed through his castle and shook his servants to their cores. They knew that laugh, pain was promised after that laugh. Flinching, they all hurried to continue what they were doing. None of them wanted to be the one that laugh was pointed at.
Pinching the jewel carefully, Naraku pulled off a small shard and pricked his finger with it. He watched with sick satisfaction as his blood coated the shard and sent Midoriko into wordless shrieks inside her jewel prison. Looking to the corner of the room, he noted Kagura and Kohaku sitting close to one another. Smirking, he flicked the shard to Kagura, who caught it easily and stared at Naraku with a raised brow.
"You know what to do with it, take Kanna with you. However, give our little princess time to settle in and get comfortable. Once she is, Kanna will show you when the girl is going to be outside the walls," he said with a smile as he touched Kanna's back lightly and pushed her gently in Kagura's direction. Kagura sneered at being bossed around, but ripped a feather from her hair nonetheless. Tossing it out the nearby window, she grabbed Kanna and leapt onto it immediately, in a hurry to be out of the miasma dungeon. Naraku watched as they took off with a strange smirk, one that promised pain and misery. He chuckled once more softly before retreating back into the depths of his palace.
….
Kagome stretched as the bright morning sun lit her face and brightened her smile. She made a soft grunting noise as muscle stretched and joints popped.
"That was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time," she groaned happily as she looked at her futon and touched it lightly. Suddenly, a flash of her bed at home hit her and her mood fell. She missed her mom and family dearly, but she knew that as long as she was with Sesshoumaru, she wouldn't be able to go home as much. At least, not without him escorting her there and a long journey with only Sesshoumaru wasn't what she needed now with these feelings she couldn't explain. A blush colored her cheeks delicately as she thought of the strange, fluttery feeling that filled her chest when she was near him. She was still denying that it meant anything, but the longer that it lasted, the weaker her arguments felt. She was starting to come to terms with the fact that she definitely had feelings for the demon lord.
"I've hardly seen Sesshoumaru since making it here," she whisper with a little huff in her voice and small hint of bitterness. Shaking her head to dispel the embarrassing, angry thoughts, she stood on bare feet and stretched up onto her tip toes one more time before sighing contently and starting the day. She stripped out of her sleeping yukata and bathed quickly, only taking the time to wash her hair. Upon stepping out of the bath, she toweled off and picked out her kimono for the day. Picking a simple, two layers one again, she settled on a deep, earthy brown with a matching cream under layer. Pulling it all on, she tied the obi tightly and continued to comb her hair before tying it back in a braid.
"My hair is getting long," she commented quietly to herself as she touched her bangs and pushed them out of her eyes. Smiling at her reflection, she deemed herself ready for the day and walked out of her room.
However, upon closing the door, she was faced with the same challenge she had every day that she had been here. What was she supposed to do with her time?
Snow had started to fall during the month she'd been in Nishi. She wondered one day what month it. She'd been in Edo through August and September, travelled for two weeks on her own, another two weeks with Sesshoumaru, and had been in the stronghold for almost a month. She knew that she had met up with Sesshomaru mid-October. Doing the math in her head, she determined that it was early December. During the month she'd been in Nishi, she had managed to blend into the day to day life easily.
She still had not left the castle grounds, she was nervous about trying to re-enter with the guards at the gate. Their looks still echoed in her head and sent a long shiver down her spine. Deciding to first get something to eat, she headed in the direction she thought the dining hall might be in. On her way, she thought about what she had done while in the Western capital.
"Well, I helped to gather the last of the herbs before the first snow fell. I trained a little with my bow and I've meditated. Oh! And I've played with Rin and Shippou," she mused out loud to herself as she rounded a corner and spotted a familiar face. A smile broke out on her lips as she waved at the small wolf youkai and jogged over to her.
"You-chan! It's so good to see you again," Kagome said earnestly as she smiled at the girl. They had met her first official day here, while the little demoness had been folding laundry. Kagome offered to help the girl and the two sat for an hour chatting and laughing as they folded sheets. The entire time, Kagome could feel Sesshoumaru's eyes on her, but whenever and where ever she looked, she never caught him. Mentally slapping the images out of her head, Kagome tried to concentrate on what her friend was saying.
"Oh, Kagome, hello. It's good to see you too. Where are you off to this early in the morning?" the little ookami asked shyly as she smiled and shifted the basket of laundry she was holding to her hip. Kagome motioned to take it from her, but You-chan side stepped her and her smile widened. Letting her have this one, Kagome laughed as she began to walk with the demon.
"I was heading to breakfast and then I might go and train a little," she said, her tone bored as she thought of the place she really wanted to train. On the far side of the court yard that they had entered in, next to the herb garden, was a large dojo. Kagome had peaked inside once and watched as soldiers spared. They covered everything from hand to hand, to sword work, to obscure weaponry that Kagome hardly recognized. Since that day, Kagome had been itching to go in and ask to practice with them. She had extensive practice with hand to hand that various village mikos and Miroku had taught her in case her bow was gone, and absolutely no sword experience. She remembered the times she had begged Inuyasha to teach her to wield a sword with a pang of sadness. Sango had always promised to teach her, but the hunt for Naraku came first and they hadn't gotten the time to actually train. Thinking of her friends now made her lonely, the anger and hurt at their abandonment had faded into an ache of loneliness and worry. Feeling tears threaten her eyes, she shoved the thoughts away and quickly pretended a yawn to pass off the tears. Wiping her eyes she looked to You-chan with a half-smile.
"This is me," she said as she pointed at the dining hall. She waved at her friend and walked slowly to the door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open and couldn't help the dumb smile that overtook her features when she spied who was sitting at the end of the table.
Sesshoumaru raised a snowy brow as he watched the miko's face light up and her beast sang in his head. Ignoring the annoying voice, he motioned for the girl to sit and tried to forget the way that smile made him feel. Watching her practically skip to her seat, he found that it didn't irritate him the way that it would with anyone else. It was just part of Kagome.
'A human woman I am slowly starting to accept,' he found himself saying silently. Taken aback by the mere thought, he looked away from the girl and back to the documents in front of him. He had to admit, at least to himself, that he was not at that table for breakfast. He should be working and could have a servant bring him his food. After only seeing her no more than a handful of times in a month, the lord found that he had a deep seeded craving to see the miko again. To hear her voice and see her smile and smell her scent when it was fresh and coming off her in the moment. Pushing these thoughts away, he watched out of the corner of his eyes as she got food and ate happily. He was surprised at her silence though and found it unnerving; he was so used to her talking that it was odd to see her mouth shut.
'One day that mouth will be wide open, screaming our name in climax,' his beast said joyfully. Sesshoumaru growled so quietly that Kagome was sure she imagined it. Glancing up at him, she felt her heart stutter and her hands shake ever so slightly. Since when had he had this power over her, to drop her into a crushing teenager? Sighing softly, she looked back down at her food and tried to concentrate on her miso soup.
Sesshoumaru peaked at the woman, noticing the increase in her heart rate and the slight tremor of her hands. She seemed to be concentrating very hard on her soup. The demon lord wondered what she was thinking.
'She is usually so easy to read,' the ice lord noted, 'it is rare that I have to wonder what she is feeling.' Pushing his musing on the miko away, he looked down at the paperwork spread out in front of him. Unknown to the miko, he had held an ulterior motive for returning to the castle when he did.
The meeting of the Four Houses, while still a few months away, was fast approaching. Much to his misfortune, it was Sesshoumaru's turn to host the event. He growled under his breath again as he thought of the tedious work that had to go into the meeting. It was a three part occasion.
First, the grand meeting took place. The lords of the four lands and their advisors sat down to talk about problems with borders and goods, along with marriages between houses and alliances. It was a lot of talking and negotiating. Honestly, it was the easiest part of the entire event, for Sesshoumaru at least.
The second, a friendly festival that hosted merchants from all of Nishi to sell their goods to the visitors from the other houses, this ended with a short sparing round amongst the houses. Each house was permitted to elect two people to fight, and a panel of judges and referee were chosen at random. It was a friendly event, purely for the entertainment of the guests.
The third day was an elegant ball. This year, Sesshoumaru was expected to announce his pack and his potential future mate. Last year he had celebrated his one thousandth birthday, as per tradition, it was time for him to find a mate. This was the part of the ceremony that he hated the most.
He sighed through his nose at the obnoxious work and wondered for the umpteenth time why he had taken the position as Lord. Already knowing the answer, he rolled up the scroll and stood silently. Looking once at Kagome, he nodded his head to signal for her to follow him. Finishing her last bite and taking a last sip of water, before standing and scurrying after him. They walked in silence all the way to Sesshoumaru's study. Kagome was finally starting to remember the way there.
Feeling comfortable in this space, she threw herself with little grace onto the cushions on the floor and tried to find a comfortable way to sit before looking at Sesshoumaru with a carefree smile. He had a brow raised and sighed at her antics.
"Are you incapable of showing the least amount of grace, miko?" he asked, his voice lacking its usual cold overtone. She smiled at him, unashamed, and adjusted one more time before settling in and smirking. He sighed again. Standing by the window, he stared out at Rin playing gleefully in the fields with the miko's fox kit. He felt a tug at his lips and ignored it as he turned to his desk and sunk onto his own cushion.
"I have news for you, miko."
"Kagome," she said abruptly, her tone annoyed. Sesshoumaru looked at her with a slightly raised brow.
"I am aware of your name, woman," he said, his tone matching hers almost perfectly. Kagome glared at him and clenched her fists.
"Will you please use it then?" she asked as politely as she was able, even though the annoyed undertone seeped through. Sesshoumaru felt his ire rising slightly, wondering why this girl thought that she earned such a thing. He sneered slightly at her and looked away.
"Regardless, there is news," he continued, feeling no urge to argue with her right now. She relaxed slightly as she prepared to listen to him. Seeing that he had her attention, he paused and wondered where to begin.
"There is another reason I have chosen to return to my home when I did," he started slowly, staring out his window from his see. He watched Rin force a crown of flowers onto Jaken's head.
"Oh?" Kagome asked, not sure where he was going with this.
"There is to be a grand ceremony, soon. It will take place in the spring. The other three houses will meet here. The meeting will commence over a four day period.
The first day, the other houses shall arrive. We will greet them in the main hall, that evening there shall be the meeting. We will discuss the problems of the other houses, whether it be inter house conflict or foreign conflict. This is mostly about border dispute and trading between the lands. The second day, a festival and sparing tournament. Merchants from Nishi's city will sell their wares to the other houses; this is followed by a tournament between the houses. There will be a party that evening to celebrate the victors. The third day is an elegant ball; at this ball I will announce you and Rin as a part of my pack. I am also obligated to announce a future mate. And the final day, the houses will leave." Sesshoumaru paused and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Kagome tried to soak in all that he had said. If her guess was correct, and it was indeed in the first days of December, then spring was roughly five months away. Somewhere between April and May. Not very long especially considering all that he had described for the festivities. The fact that the other houses were going to be there was enough to take in, but he was officially going to announce her as a part of his pack? And he had to have a future mate picked out by then? She felt a sharp pang rip through her chest at the thought and it caused her heart to squeeze tightly and her breath to hitch. Ignoring this, she tried to make her mouth work.
"So, why do I need to know all this? I mean, besides the announcing me as a part of the pack," she asked slowly, her mind still reeling. "And how does this affect the hunt for Naraku?"
Sesshoumaru sighed at her questions, though wasn't surprised that she was asking them. Shaking his head slightly, he unrolled the scroll in front of him.
"You will be expected to accompany me to all of the events of the ceremonies. The Grand Meeting, especially. Your former group may have had information on the evil hanyou that I do not have. You can explain the problem of the jewel to them. The hanyou affects all the nations, not just the west. It is my responsibility as a lord to warn the other lords of potential threats to their security and land," he explained, watching with satisfaction as understanding spread in her eyes warmly. She nodded and after a moment, the warmth was gone. She looked vaguely troubled, her brows pinched and mouth downturned. Confused by this, he glanced at her curiously.
"What troubles you, miko?" he asked, his beast growling at the use of the word 'miko'. He hushed the beast and looked at her expectantly. He watched as she struggled with words and played with her hands. "Is the answer written on your palms, girl?" he demanded impatiently, displeased with her stalling. Watching her flinch with much less satisfaction than he expected, he once again ignored his beast's anger.
Despite his tone, she continued to think for a moment. After a hum in the back of her throat, she spoke.
"I-I, was wondering what you were going to do about the, the uh, future mate part of the ceremony," she asked, a blush adorning her cheeks quickly. As much as she may deny her feelings for the lord, she couldn't ignore the tight knots in her stomach. The demon lord felt his beast sing at the look on her face, and Sesshoumaru was confused by his sudden happiness at her misery.
'She's troubled because she's finally realized that she has feelings for us. She's despairing at the thought of you taking another as your mate because it would leave her alone. She's falling in love with us! Just like we are her!' the beast's voice grew more and more happy as his speech went on, and Sesshoumaru could hardly believe the words he was hearing.
Not only was his beast claiming that the girl was falling in love with them, but he also claimed that he was falling in love with her! Ignoring the impossible words of his youkai, he stared at the girl and tried to think of what to say to her. He hadn't thought at all what he was going to do as far as having to choose a mate. Part of him wanted to ignore tradition and announce that he had no intentions of taking a mate.
'That's a lie though,' he had to admit to himself. He knew that one day he would be forced to choose a mate. It would not be for love, or for even affection, it would purely be so that he could have an heir. Or at least, that's what he had always thought. Now though, the thought sounded strange to him. As if he was missing something. Deciding to think on it later, he stopped listening to the insistent words of his beast and looked again at the girl.
"I have no plans regarding that matter as of right now," he said quietly, watching as some of the distress disappear from her face. It was replaced by a surprising emotion. A look of intense relief washed over her. Her face relaxed and she smiled the littlest of smiles. Her bright eyes gleamed, the dark shadow of trouble dispelled. He found himself captivated by her, caught up in her bright eyes.
The relief that filled Kagome was as surprising as it was intense. The tight knot in her stomach burst into a swarm of butterflies that racketed around in her ribcage. Her heart beat hard against her ribs, almost to the point of pain. She didn't notice this though. All she could concentrate on was Sesshoumaru's dark gold eyes locked onto her. She couldn't remember a time when he'd looked at her so closely. She was moving before she had a chance to think.
Sesshoumaru watched her lean forward. Her small hand reached out and brushed the stripes on his wrist. Her touch, ever so gentle, calmed his beast and erased the stress that the ceremonies brought on.
"You have a strange fixation with my wrists, Kagome," he whispered, his voice holding an almost teasing quality as he opened his eyes and stared at her. She smiled nervously, eyes locked onto his hand.
"I can feel your pulse in your wrist," she explained quietly, fingers still tracing along his wrist, "When I did it in the woods, I could tell that you had calmed down." She hummed quietly in the back of her throat. "Though, your stripes are fascinating as well."
Sesshoumaru breathed out a quiet chuckle. "It is a sign of my heritage. They were passed down to me and someday I will pass them down to my kin."
Kagome's hand stilled, fingertips barely touching the inside of his wrist. Her wide eyes stared down at the tips of his claws.
'Right. He'll have children someday. He'll find a mate and be with her.' In that moment, the reality of her situation crashed down around her. There was no denying it now. This feeling, the crushing sensation around her heart, was only something she'd ever felt because of Inuyasha. When the half demon would run to meet Kikyou, Kagome would sit up, unable to sleep. She'd stare into the fire, heart in her throat and tears in her eyes, praying that someday it wouldn't feel like this. When she'd finally let Inuyasha go, she was sure that she'd never have to experience this sensation again.
'Oh, what a cruel world it is.' She could feel tears burning the corners of her eyes. With a hard swallow, she pulled her hand away and sat back. Sesshoumaru watched her move, a brow raised at her strange behavior. He wasn't sure what had caused this shift in emotion, but he couldn't ignore the twinge of concern that he felt. He listened to the loud beat of her heart and smelled the salt of her tears. Something was definitely wrong.
Kagome stared down at her hands, clenched into fists in her lap. She could feel her heart racing. She felt like she couldn't get enough air in her lungs. The whole room seemed to close in on her.
'How could this happen? When did this happen? What do I do now?' Her thoughts raced and raced around her head. She couldn't concentrate on any of them; every time she picked one, ten more popped up.
'I need to get out of here,' she thought desperately, 'I need to leave. I need to get ou-'
"Kagome."
The sound of her name being said momentarily pulled her from her thoughts. She realized that her chest was heaving, her breath coming in and out as sharp gasps. Her entire body was shaking. She could feel the hot tears running down her cheeks. She looked up to the demon lord with wide, lost eyes.
Sesshoumaru prided himself on being a calm, rational individual. He could approach problems logically and find a solution to them with ease. It had been a long time since he'd felt at a loss of what to do. Needless to say, sitting across from the miko and watching her melt down was not something he was prepared to handle. He knew very little about calming down another person, let alone a human that had a propensity for being overemotional. All he could do was sit and watch as she stared to hyperventilate and cry. He would never admit it, but in his desperation, he did the only thing he could think to do.
"Kagome," he repeated, softer and gentler this time. The miko was still crying and her breath was still coming in short, little gasps, but she was looking at him. That, alone, was an improvement. "What is the meaning of this?"
Kagome blinked at him, not understanding what he was asking her. Her heart was still stuttering in her chest, skipping beats as she stared at him. His gold eyes, filled with the slightest bit of concern, brought on another wave of tears. She needed to get out of here; get away from him. The realization was too new, too raw. She needed to break down, cry, and work through this. And there was no way that she was going to be able to do that here.
She jumped to her feet, ignoring Sesshoumaru entirely. Backing up quickly, her back hit the bookshelf behind her. Kagome's head swam, dizzy from hyperventilating. She wavered on her feet. She watched with wide eyes as he stepped around his desk toward her, his eyes cautious.
No, she couldn't let him near her again.
Turning quickly, she bolted from the room and down the hall. In the time that she had been there, she had gotten a fairly good grasp on where everything was in the castle. If she was right, her room should be just around the corner. Turning the corner sharply, she realized that Sesshoumaru's aura was right behind her. Pushing herself as hard as she could the last few feet, she slid to a stop in front of her door. Throwing it open, she made it into her room and turned to close it just as clawed hand grabbed the shoji door and halted her action.
She stepped back from him. In a desperate attempt to hold in a sob, she bit her lip hard. With a hand desperately wiping at her eyes, she tried to compose herself. Sesshoumaru stared at her cautiously, not sure how he should proceed. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he had even followed her. There was something about the way she was crying that unnerved him. When she had wept over being left behind by her friends, he had simply wanted her to stop so that the grating smell of salt would leave the air. Now, he itched for the tears to cease so that she would smile again. He tried not to think about why he wanted to see her smile and just concentrated on trying to cease the tears.
"Miko, what causes these tears?" he tried to make his voice gentle, only half succeeding as a slight amount of annoyance broke through. He watched unhappily as she flinched.
Kagome couldn't believe what was happening. One look, one gentle look that held the slightest bit of amusement had been all it took to make her realize what was happening to her. One sentence and she realized how deep she already was. She'd denied it this whole time, this slow change in herself as she spent more time in Sesshoumaru's company, in his home. They had only been together for a little under a month and a half.
' How could I have been so stupid?' she demanded of herself as she tried to wipe the tears away and explain to him the madness that had overcome her. The madness that had crept under her skin and rooted itself deeply in her heart, leaving her no choice but to follow it and let it grow within her. She tried to take a deep breath and it just came out in hitched sobs.
Why? Why did she always have to set herself up for heartbreak? First with Inuyasha, someone who could never choose her over his first love. Now, his brother, the icy lord who swore to love no one. Let alone a lowly human. A demon lord who was destined to mate a beautiful demoness and bare heirs to his throne.
She felt her breath hitch again and she could tell her tears were slowing. The initial shock of realizing her own feelings was wearing off and leaving her tired, empty. She needed time to process these realizations and figure out how she was going to deal with them. She could tell, just by the little roots planted deep in her heart, that this love was far greater than her crush for Inuyasha. Another pang of pain, the echo of unrequited love beating with her heart. She stared at Sesshoumaru now, her eyes red and puffy, and tried to think of what to say to him.
She said the first thing that came to mind, the only honest way to describe her strange outburst.
"I'm… I'm confused," she said, struggling to explain this. She glanced desperately from one side to the other, trying to think of something to say. "I realized something and got overwhelmed. I'm sorry." The words trailed off, barely a whisper by the end. "I'm sorry." Unable to stand in front of him anymore, she turned and retreated into her private bath house. Without another look at him, she closed the shoji doors quietly. Leaving Sesshoumaru to ponder what her words meant.
After a minute, she heard him walk across the room and go to his own through the connecting door. Sinking to the floor, she held in the second wave of tears that threatened to overtake her. After a moment, she stood and walked over to the bath. Not an hour ago she had bathed— her hair was still damp— but she needed to wash the tear tracks from her face. Stripping there, she sunk into the deep, warm waters and let them wash away all the loneliness and sorrow that had soaked into her bones. She splashed the water on her face to wash away the crust and salt that had dried at the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks.
After fifteen minutes, she felt the tips of her fingers pruning and decided it was time to stop hiding from the world. Rising out of the water, she realized she was out of towels. Cursing softly under her breath, Kagome groped around for a stray towel or forgotten one. Finding none, she carefully gathered her abandoned kimono and walked back into her room. Spotting her towel from that morning, she was about to grab it when something shiny caught her eye. Turning around, she glanced at the trunk against the wall. On top, a note was writing and resting upon the note to hold it in place was a small silver dog charm. Grabbing the towel, she wrapped it around her body for she touched the inu charm lightly and moved it to the side. Pulling the paper open gently, she stared at the words and tried to comprehend them.
'Perhaps I am confused as well.' She read it over and over again, her heart racing the more she read it. The words sunk in slowly. He was saying that he might… She couldn't even think it. A small smile graced her face as she set the note down and continued to towel off. Despite her attempts to think rationally, it was hard not to get her hopes up. Even having the slightest inclination that he might feel the same way was enough to lift her mood. She was still raw. Her heart still hurt. Her mind was still reeling. She had hope, though. That was more than she had before.
Going through her morning routine for the second time that day, she decided that she needed an outlet for all of this. Energy buzzed under her skin, her reiki agitated by her turbulent emotions. While deciding how she wanted to work out the tension, Kagome caught sight of the dojo from her window. A smirk spread over her face, determination lighting her eyes.
She was going to enter that dojo. Today.
Still naked from her bath, she dug through her bags and made a small noise of pleasure when she pulled out her short training pants and a tank top. Pulling them on, she used a rubber band to bind her hair in a high ponytail on the top of her head.
Turning to her door, she raised her head high as she walked over to it and pushed it open slowly. She needed to be strong. Her heart may hurt and she may be overwhelmed, but she'd been strong up to this point. She'd stay strong now as well.
….
Sesshoumaru knew the minute that she stepped out of the shower. He listened intently to the beat of her heart and the sounds of her feet as she walked around the room. He was curious to the small sound of pleasure, but ignored it as overwhelming amounts of pride and determination spread through her aura. He, curious as to the sudden shift in her mood, listened as she left her room and waited a moment before leaving his own and following her.
He was surprised by her state of dress. Even the day that she had toiled in the dirt of the herb garden had she dressed nicer than this simple outfit. Curiosity only fueled, he followed her silently with a masked aura to see where she was going. His confusion only grew when she walked out into the courtyard; he watched a goose bumps rose on her arms and legs where they were exposed from the cool winter air.
He watched as she casually walked toward the dojo, her tiny feet leaving imprints in the blanket of snow, and her intent slowly dawned on him. A feeling of immense respect overwhelmed him as he stopped walking and watched as she stood in the doorway of his dojo and after a moment of deep breath, entered with a high head.
'She will never cease surprising me,' he admitted to himself, smirking at his beast's noise of agreement. He followed silently after her, curious as to how his soldiers would react to a woman, let alone a human woman, in their dojo. He smirked at the thought.
….
Kagome stared at the men surrounding her with calm eyes. They were all looking at her with intense looks of surprise and in some cases, disgust. Among them, one approached her. He was a large demon, a lizard, if she had to guess. His tongue flicked out in irritation as his yellow eyes narrowed at her angrily.
"What do you want, woman? The healer's quarters are next door," he said gruffly, smiling as a few soldiers chuckled along with him. Kagome stared at them emotionlessly.
"I want to train," she said calmly, completely serious. The dark haired woman had to fight back a smirk as the demons all gaped at her as if she was growing a second head. She almost giggled.
The lizard was the first to regain his senses; he growled at her.
"Is that so, woman? I would like to see what you could possibly teach us." His pride was evident in his voice as his knees bent and he held out his hands. Kagome smirked at the obvious challenge in his stance and fell into a similar one, her arms tucked close to her body and her powers awakening slowly.
The lizard took no time, as soon as her position was set, he lunged at her with a loud grunt. Kagome anticipated this and side stepped it easily. She elbowed him hard in the back of the neck. He choked on his breath and fell to his hands and knees. Turning, Kagome kicked him hard in the ribs. Sending him toppling onto his back. Stepping back, Kagome smirked. The lizard was getting to his feet and growling angrily. Again, he came rushing at her, all punches and jabs. Kagome dodged most of them, taking a few in the arms. Grunting, she ducked down and swiped her leg out, knocking his feet from under him. Stepping back as he fell to his butt, she couldn't hold back the giggle that slipped from her lips at the dumb look on his face.
Rage overtook his features and his yellow eyes flashed a dangerous orange as his pure youkai energy erupted out of him. This took her off guard and Kagome didn't have time to do anything before a sharp kick to the knee sent her crumpling to the ground. She could feel her knee pop out of place and grunted loudly. She could hear the demon laugh over her and fury burned in her veins. Pushing herself to her feet, she felt her knee lock and with a hand on either side of her knee, she pushed it into place with another low grunt. Testing it gently, she knew that she'd need to be careful with it now. It could hardly sustain her entire weight on it. She was happy that this wasn't her first dislocation or she wouldn't have known how to pop it back into its proper place. Ignoring the memories of her shoulder dislocation, she eyed the smirking demon coldly.
"Don't you think this has gone on long enough, little woman?" he said. The mock was easily read in his feral eyes. Ignoring his attempts at riling her, she braced herself and waited for him to make his next move. Seeming to realize that the battle was going to continue, he fell into his first stance and the smirk held strong.
'I will wipe that smirk from his face,' she promised herself darkly, watching as he came at her headlong again. Anticipating this, she jumped back and when he tried to straighten to look up at her, she sent a well-aimed kick into his jaw. She smiled when blood dribbled down the corner of his mouth. It was foul and green, making Kagome's nose wrinkle. Normally, she would have felt guilty for causing another to bleed, but in this case it was necessary that she make a place for herself.
If she was going to live here, she needed to continue to train and this was the only place she could do it properly. She needed to gain at least some of their respect or they would never take her seriously. She would not accept that. Determination blazing anew, her eyes started to glow faintly with miko energy. It was time to have a little fun, she decided.
Watching passively as he straightened, she saw the serious look in his eyes. He, also, needed to impress these men. To hold their respect and to maintain his pride, he needed to win. Turning serious as well, Kagome got ready to fight once more.
Five minutes later, neither party had given in, but Kagome was visibly tiring. Her dodges were slow and her jabs weak as she hopped back and tried to put distance between her and her opponent. Her breath was coming in desperate gasps and sweat dripped down her face and soaked her hair. Her knee ached deeply and she knew that she wasn't going to last much longer. Deciding that it was time to end this fight, she waited as the youkai came at her with a fist. The object was intended for her face but Kagome ducked and forced her energy into her fist. Her powers came to her immediately, burning along her skin. The miko drove that fist into the demon's gut as hard as she could. Not hard enough to damage anything, and certainly not with enough miko energy to do anything but sting him; but the result she planned was the same. A choked grunt and his body going heavy with dead weight. He was out instantly, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. Unconscious. Kagome looked around and took in the flabbergasted, taken aback looks of the demons around her. Her face reflected pride and her eyes demanded respect.
"He's just knocked out, you guys. He'll come around soon," she said, assuring them almost smugly as she stepped over the lizard's still body and walked slowly toward the door. Her knee was stiff and hurt to put pressure on, but she refused to show that to the men staring at her. As soon as she was outside, she allowed herself to limp some as she approached the castle entrance.
"A little healing powers and I'll be fine," she muttered to herself. She was dreading the walk up to her room though. She contemplated just going to the medical wing when a strong energy washed over her.
Stilling on the path, she wondered what Sesshoumaru was doing. Looking around, confused, she was glad when she felt him approaching her. She might require his help getting to her room. Her leg was beginning to feel noodley and she didn't want to put anymore strain on it.
Sesshoumaru appeared beside her in moments. Without word, she was being assisted by one arm around her waist to help her to her room. She wondered for a moment if Sesshoumaru had been watching. As if reading her mind, he looked down at her with eyes that reflected approval.
"I was impressed with your fighting, I had not expected you to have gained such skill in the time with my idiot half-brother," he said quietly as helped her get to her room. She was still trying to catch her breath and didn't attempt to answer him until he was helping her lay on her futon. After another deep breath and a drink from the cup of water offered to her, she replied.
"Thanks, I've wanted to go in there for a while now. I missed training; Miroku used to each me some hand to hand, along with some other priestesses that we ran into," she explained as she took a deep breath and looked down at her knee. It was no longer dislocated, but was stiff and sore. Begging for rest and sleep, and perhaps a little help from her miko powers. Placing her hands on her knee, she pushed a little of her energy left into her knee to ease the discomfort there. Moments later, it felt almost back to normal and Kagome was near out of energy. She looked up to Sesshoumaru, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression. There was a strange energy between them that made Kagome want to squirm. Embarrassment at her earlier meltdown brought a blush to her cheeks.
"You can leave; I'm going to take a little nap to renew my energy. Dinner tonight?" she asked quietly, a small yawn breaking the last word in half. Her eyelids drooped and she struggled to stay awake to hear his answer. She should have realized that such aggressive fighting would take a lot out of her after so long relaxing. Especially after the emotional rollercoaster that today had been. Her mind was becoming foggy and a dream state was threatening her. When he finally spoke, she wasn't even sure it was real.
"Yes, Kagome."