***To everyone who has reviewed I love you! This chapter has been so much fun to write so I hope you enjoy it! I tried not to leave you all on a cliff for too long! I have also started a running tally of days Akemi has been missing from her uncle, under the chapter number. Also I want your feedback on an idea for a story I have. I want to do a story of Sesshomaru and Kagome where they are human. It would be along the lines of Unanswered Prayers. Meaning a love story set in present day. I would keep their looks and personalities pretty close to the originals, so just minus facial markings and claws. I am thinking Sesshomaru has to marry to fulfill the terms of his fathers will or lose his company. He sets he eyes on Kagome but will she fall in line or find out his secret? Let me know what you guys think! I am playing around with a few chapters but nothing is set in stone yet.***
Chapter 6
(7 Days Missing)
Akemi paced back and forth frantically in her room. She knew Hana would be up soon to ready her for breakfast and she was dreading it after the uncomfortable dinner the night before. She placed the blame for that solely on Sesshomaru's broad shoulders.
He just had to go and change the game between them. His kiss in the meadow the day before had thrown her off balance and caused her to see him in a different light. One that she really did not need to be thinking about right now. It was hard to remind herself of all the reasons she needed to stay away from him when she did.
Hana had been right when she had said that news of their picnic would be the talk of the castle by dinner. Word had spread of their lunch and how they had come back looking disheveled. Sesshomaru had acted like nothing of import had transpired but Akemi hadn't been able to quell the blush that stained her cheeks since their kiss.
If Lady Aimi and Minako had hated her guts before they wanted to see her gutted now. All through dinner they had sent not so discreet death glares her way. She could have sworn she saw amusement in Sesshomaru's eyes. How had she never seen how expressive his eyes were before? Shaking her head to clear it, Akemi knew she desperately needed to redouble her efforts of finding a way out of this situation or she was in big trouble.
She needed to get her hands on a book of mating challenge rules and fast. As it was she could only imagine what Sesshomaru was planning for her today. The last thing she needed was to spend more alone time with him but she really didn't see any way out of it. She could not afford to start having feelings for him. That could only lead to disaster.
Perhaps she could ask Hana to show her the library in lieu of breakfast and she could sneak off to some corner of the castle and read it before anyone knew she had it. She wished she could just escape for the whole wretched day rather than face Sesshomaru. How was she supposed to act normal or carry off her charade now? Oh Kami what if he wanted to talk about the kiss?
Akemi felt like she was two seconds away from fainting. Oh girl, she thought to herself, get yourself together. Too many people are counting on you to screw it all up now. And there were. Kayo, the servants who took care of the castle, and the men who tended the fields, they were all depending on her to save them from her evil uncle. It was time to tap in to her bad ass side. She didn't have time to be a whinny little ninny.
Taking a calming breath, she blew out gently causing a cloud of cool air. Akemi smiled and walked into it allowing her flushed appearance to cool and return to normal. She hadn't exactly told Sesshomaru all of her little tricks. Some things a woman just had to keep to herself.
Ten minutes later Hana knocked on her door. Calling for her to come in, Akemi pretended to just be waking up. She felt guilty that she was going to deceive her maid but she felt she truly didn't have a choice. Drastic times called for drastic measures.
She let Hana dress her and fill her in on the latest castle gossip. Word was there was something brewing between her and Sesshomaru. Ladies Aimi and Minako were pissed when they realized that Akemi had gotten a picnic when Sesshomaru had only walked with them in the court yard. Lady Aimi was heard to have had a nasty fit that night after dinner. And of course Kyo had informed Hana this morning that Sesshomaru wanted to see Akemi in his garden again today after lunch.
All in all it was along the lines of what Akemi had expected out of the morning gossip. Now she was about to add to it by being absent at breakfast. No doubt some would see it as avoiding having to see the other two ladies but she honestly didn't give a damn what anyone thought. She had plans to set into motion and she was going to see them through.
Slipping on a pair of cream slippers that matched her cream and pink kimono she asked Hana to show her the Library. She gave Hana her most charming smile and assured her that she was not hungry and would it a full lunch to make up for skipping breakfast. All she wanted was a quiet morning and a good book.
Hana looked a little uncertain but agreed to escort her lady to the library. "My lady you know you do not have to hide from the other two ladies. I know their behavior has been less then lady like but I assure you that Lord Sesshomaru would never allow them to hurt you in his own castle."
Akemi nearly snorted at that. She was not scared of fighting them. Her father had taught her to fight and fight well. She knew that because her father never had a son she had been taught many things most women her age didn't know. She was confident in her ability to beat an opponent of her gender and general size. It was men she had issues fighting with, as the only male she had spared with had been her father and he had been incredibly strong.
"I assure you Hana I am not scared of coming to harm in your lords castle. I just wish to have a quiet morning rather than have to harpies snipping at me." And that was true enough. The last thing she wanted to do was listen to them bitch at her. She had too much she needed to get done to play verbal sparing with two spurned females. It wasn't her damned fault that Sesshomaru persisted in wanting to figure out more about her. If she could figure out how to be less intriguing she damn well would!
Akemi nearly sighed in relief when Hana finally escorted her down to the library. The first thing she noticed about it was its size. Her father's own library was not small by any means but this one was easily twice it size. She was awed by the sheer number of books that must be in the room.
She left Hana at the door without a second thought. All she saw was the rows and rows of precious books. Quickly diving in she began to see how they were grouped and began pulling the ones she just had to read. There were books of the histories of different lands and famous houses, battle tactics, healing, rare youkai and their specialties. She was certain she would be content to spend forever in this room.
Spying a book on youkai mating laws she slid it to the bottom of her stack. Turning back to see if Hana was watching, she couldn't help but grin at the look on the maids face. No doubt she was confused as to why her mistress was so thrilled over a bunch of old dusty books. Akemi supposed you just had to be a bookworm to understand the amazingness of such a large library.
"Hana if its okay, can I just go sit over in the corner and read for a while? I can't wait to dig into these books! The chairs look comfortable enough and I don't plan on moving from here before lunch." In truth the large heavy leather chairs did look very comfortable as long as they did not swallow her. Plus there was a window that allowed in natural light perfect for reading.
Hana just nodded. "If you would like my lady. I will leave you to your books and come back to fetch you for the noon meal." Shaking her head, she backed out of the room and went to find Kyo. Though she had talked to him briefly this morning she wanted give him her full report.
Hana quickly walked down the hallway and out the back of the castle and into the training yard. Kyo preferred to train with his men in the morning insuring that they kept their skills on point. His reasoning was you never knew when a war might break out or your castle needs defending. She supposed he was right.
Catching sight of a familiar face she slowed her walk and watched. Yukio was in the fighting arena sparing with an opponent. The man was just too good looking to not take a moment to appreciate. His sweat slicked muscle bulged with the effort he put into besting the other soldier.
Then as if sensing her eyes on him, he gave her a brief glance and then a grin. She watched his eyes twinkle as he realized just who was watching him. He quickly renewed his effort and gave a burst off speed unarming his opponent. Kyo quickly stepped forward and praised him and he moved off the training field to allow the next set of soldier to enter the arena.
Hana pleased that Yukio won, winked at him before continuing on to where Kyo was standing. Kyo who was no fool noticed the exchange and chuckled. If Yukio wanted the Hana he would have to go through her father, and he was a mountain of a demon. "Hana, what brings you out here? You are not due to report in for a few more hours yet."
"Well I really wanted to harass you and figure out what exactly happened between my lady and your lord yesterday. I could hardly pull two words out of her after she got back. I mean obviously something happened! The two of them coming back all disheveled and her blushing like a bride on her mating night."
Kyo gave another chuckle and shook his head. "I honestly didn't get a lot out of Sesshomaru and I have not had a chance to corner him and drag anything out of him yet. I do know that he wants to speak to her privately about something which is why he wants to walk with her in the gardens again today. I am trying to talk him into having the noon meal outside with her in his private garden. It would be more intimate and romantic."
Hana pondered his words for a moment before agreeing. "My lady skipped breakfast this morning to go hide out in the library. I think if maybe she had a lunch with say Lady Rin and Lord Sesshomaru she might actually be able to relax and enjoy her meal. You saw the way those other two harpies tossed those nasty looks and barbs at her last night. I can't say I blame her for not wanting to eat with them. And she might not eat alone with Sesshomaru either. I feel like if Rin is there to break the tension it could be a nice family moment. Plus he could do the walk after they eat and send Rin off."
Kyo arched a brow. "She hid in the library? I must say that's a first. And no I don't suppose I would want to eat alone with those two either."
"Well she said she was not afraid of Lady Aimi and Minako, so maybe hide was not the best choice of words. She made it through the mating challenge unscathed so she is obviously able to take care of herself. I just got the feeling that she really did not wish to deal with any drama this morning. On top of that she was ridiculously happy when she saw all the books in the library. I swear to you she had a stack of books ten high that she wanted to read when I left."
Kyo couldn't help but grin over the ladies love of books. "You know Sesshomaru loves his library so maybe they can bond over their love of books together. As for that meal idea, I like it. I will talk to your mother and set it up. Just bring her to the private gardens at noon and I will make sure Sesshomaru and Rin are there."
Hana giddy with anticipation assured Kyo that her lady would be there, then bounced off to find Yukio. She thought he deserved a reward for his excellent skills in the arena.
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Akemi waited for the sound of Hana's retreating foot steps to fade away before quickly pulling out her hidden book. She quickly began scanning through the information. Most of it she already knew. The mating challenge was always issued right at the beginning of spring. All available females of noble blood were allowed to enter. The area was warded off for the safety of the participants. Guards also were on stand by to remove those that failed the challenge. Yadda, yadda.
When she came across the section on reasons for ineligibility or disqualifications, she slowed down and began to read more carefully. Females were ineligible if they were not of noble blood, not of the proper mating age at the time of mating, or if they were betrothed to another by a binding legal document. Well she struck out with that. She was of noble blood, she would be of proper mating age by the end of the two weeks, and her father had not betrothed her to anyone. And as far as she knew her uncle could not betroth her to anyone. He only intended to sell her off before she had a chance to come into her own power.
Disqualifications listed were: neither party could be mated already, if either party planned to do harm to the other, and lastly if either party tried to threaten or coerce the other into a forced mating. Yep she was totally screwed. Sesshomaru was an honorable demon, he would never try to harm her or blackmail her into mating him. She wasn't stupid enough to do either of those to Sesshomaru. And she knew for a fact that neither of them was already mated.
Her hope for getting herself out of this mess was quickly dwindling. If she mated Sesshomaru she would never get to go back home. She would be stuck here in the West. Not to mention what would happen when he realized she had been lying to him about just who she really was. Her last hope hung with Kouga.
She had to get a letter to him and soon. He was the only one who might be able to help her untangle the mess she had made. If nothing else she might be able to talk him into smuggling her out of the damn castle. Kami knew she just couldn't walk out. There was always someone with her or near by watching.
Feeling down she returned the book to the shelf. At least she had a vast library at her disposal and a whole morning to devote to reading. Returning to her chair she sunk into it and picked up the book at the top of her stack. Opening it up, she shoved all the negative thoughts out of her mind and lost herself in the histories and legends of the Western Lands.
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Sesshomaru really considered tossing Kyo out of his castle. As much as he valued and appreciated him, Kyo was frankly entirely too interested in his love life. The man was starting to be meddlesome and annoying, as if Sesshomaru couldn't court his own woman properly. Now he was going to be sharing his time with her at lunch with Rin.
All Sesshomaru had wanted was a quiet walk in the garden to relax Lady Kimi so he could try to get her to open up about how she felt about their kiss. It had been very enjoyable and he thought it was for her too, but she had barely spoken to him at dinner the night before. Not that it would have been possible with the other two ladies trying their best to monopolize his attention. He growled in disgust. Like they had a chance.
Still Sesshomaru wondered how Lady Kimi felt about him. Did she like him? Could she see herself mated to him? Did she think that they could suit one another? He certainly thought that they did. She obviously loved children and was great with Rin. She was gentle and sweet but could defend any pups they would have. Add to that her intelligence and beauty and she really was a catch.
For the first time Sesshomaru was finally ready to admit to himself that he wanted her to be his. Now all he needed was to know just what Lady Kimi was trying to hide from him.
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Akemi was upset when Hana hauled her from the library at noon. She had just finished her first book and had been debating which one she wanted to start next. Instead of diving into another book she was being dragged off to lunch.
She almost wished she hadn't promised to go. Surely she could just have it brought to her? She found herself dragging her feet as they walked down the hallway. Never before had she dreaded going to a meal as much as she did lately.
When Hana bypassed the great hall Akemi felt a sense of unease. "Hana we missed the great hall." Her maid just smiled at her and kept walking. Soon it her just where she was being taken. The doors to Sesshomaru's private rooms came into view. Well hell.
Hana had tricked her into walking like a lamb to slaughter. She was going to be served up to Sesshomaru for lunch. Well figuratively anyway. How was she supposed to be able to eat with him sitting right across from her? She was likely to choke on her food if he asked her to talk about the incident yesterday.
She had decided on calling their kiss 'the incident' because thinking about kissing him made her wonder things that were best left alone. The closer she moved to where Sesshomaru was the more she felt like she wanted to run the other way. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that the Chiyo's and Kumiko's were not cowards. They faced battle with a fierce war cry and determination to win. She would not disgrace her family.
Pulling back her shoulders and carefully schooling her features she followed Hana into Sesshomaru's private wing. She was led down the same hallway as before only when they came to the terrace she was surprised to find not only Sesshomaru, but also Rin, sitting at a small table pilled with food. Her immediate reaction was thank kami.
Rin stopped talking as she caught site of her and came bounding out of her chair to give her a hug. Akemi could not help but to smile back at her and return the hug. "Rin what a pleasant surprise! I missed not talking to you this morning." And that was actually true. She had not realized how much she had come to enjoy her time with the human girl.
"I missed you too Lady Kimi! Rin had to eat with the other two ladies and they never talk to me!" She looked so sad at that, that Akemi started to feel bad about not attending breakfast.
"Well I promise I will be there tomorrow morning, and we are having our noon meal together to make up for this morning." Rin grinned and walked with her back to the table.
Akemi noticed that the only other chair open was across from Sesshomaru. She was not quite sure if that was better or worse. Taking her seat she nodded politely to Sesshomaru and began filling her plate.
At first Rin filled in the silence talking about her lessons and what she liked and didn't. Akemi laughed and told her stories of what her own tutor had to go through with her, causing Rin to laugh with delight. She could have sworn that Sesshomaru had even cracked a smile over her childhood antics. She really had tortured her poor tutor when she hadn't wanted to sit through boring lessons.
All too soon though the meal was over and Rin was sent off to finish her lessons. Akemi wished she could escape with the girl but stood her ground and waved her off with a smile and a hug. Once she was out of sight Sesshomaru helped her out of her seat and asked her to walk with him. She agreed and placed her hand on his offered arm.
Sesshomaru kept glancing down at her and she wondered what was on his mind. She found she didn't have to wait long. "Lady Kimi, yesterday I may have been inappropriate with you. I should not have been so forward as to kiss you without your permission. Yet I do not regret it. I hope that you enjoyed it also."
Akemi blushed furiously. She knew that this had been coming and yet she had desperately been telling herself that maybe he would drop it. She decided to just nod her head and keep silent. She continued walking hoping that he would just take it and let it go. She should have known better.
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Sesshomaru wanted to kiss her again so badly it surprised him. He made himself walk so that he would not be tempted. "Lady Kimi, yesterday I may have been inappropriate with you. I should not have been so forward as to kiss you without your permission. Yet I do not regret it. I hope that you enjoyed it also."
Watching her closely he saw her blush and nod her head not commenting on the topic further. He supposed an innocent lady would not know exactly how to convers on the matter He found he wanted to see her spunk and fire again not this quietness. Feeling devilish he stopped and looked down into her impossible blue eyes. "May I kiss you again Lady Kimi?"
He watched her eyes widen and her tongue shoot out to dampen her lips. She stammered, unable to gather her thoughts and express them clearly. It made him want to laugh. He found he rather liked having this effect on her.
Stepping closer to her, he leaned in and whispered in her ear softly, "Is that a yes or no little wolf?" Running his large hands up and down her arms he watched her shiver at the contact. When he smelled a hint of arousal and took her answer for a yes. He dipped his head down further and touched his lips to hers.
He tried to keep the kiss gentle and soft, but when she gasped he could not stop the urge to deepen it just a little bit more. Her mouth was so soft and sweet he wanted to devour her. He nearly growled when he felt her small hands clutch at the sleeves of his shirt.
The smell of her arousal was growing stronger causing his beast to want to rear its head. He knew he needed to pull back and leave her but it was so hard. She was just too sweet and innocent. He wanted to be the first one to conquer her. He wanted make her scream his name in mind blowing pleasure.
Growling at himself he tore his mouth from hers and set her away from him. She looked lost in pleasure and just a little flustered. He wanted to groan and pull her back to him but he knew he could not.
"Little wolf you are just too tempting. I have to go train with my men but you are welcome to wander the gardens until you are ready to go back into the castle. If you will permit me I wish to escort you to dinner tonight." He was not going to give her an opportunity to escape eating with him tonight. And he had been distracted from his goal of gathering information from her. The little minx had no clue what she did to him.
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Akemi blinked up at Sesshomaru and noticed he was trying to speak to her. She just nodded not really understanding at the moment just what he was saying. He smiled at her surprising her, then stroked the side of her cheek with his hand. She assumed that whatever he had asked she had answered appropriately because after that he turned and made his way out of the garden.
Finally after a few minutes the haze from her brain began to clear out, and the enormity of what just happened hit her. She had just kissed Sesshomaru again, and enjoyed it again. Now he wanted to escort her to dinner? That was going to cause problems wit the other two demonesses that she truly didn't need.
Telling herself to pull it together for the second time that day, she calmed herself down. Then it hit her. She was alone in his private gardens that connected to his private wing, and he was going off to train with his men. His office would be clear and empty.
Adrenaline pumped through her. She could do this. She could set her plan into motion to get her cousin here. It was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up. Summoning her inner youkai she cloaked her aura and scent and went to find Sesshomaru's study.
