Disclaimer: as always, Inu-Yasha nor Gravitation belong to me, all characters belong to their respective creators. This series is partly based off Gravitation.
Gravitation
Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm
"You can not defeat him with your power alone."
Sesshomaru noted to her, she tried to hide her annoyance, but didn't succeed and drew another arrow.
"I'm not trying to defeat him, I'm trying to weaken him to the point where I can get the film canister, but I may be fighting for my life anyway, so I'll take your point into consideration."
From the bowels of the half-demon's robes sprung new tentacles, they came with mouths this time, full of teeth; she waited until they were at the perfect range and released the arrow, a splash of blood and flesh rained down only for them to be immediately replaced, she repeated the process again, inching closer each time.
"Now, just to make small talk to take my mind off my possible death, what am I to expect now that we're mates?"
She said casually, but he knew that her curiosity was clawing at her, even in this perilous situation; he wished he had a cigarette, but kept his hands busy by covering her exposed sides from any attacks that got too close.
"Actually, you're mine, but I'm not yours."
She took her eyes away from the on-coming threat to glare at him.
"I beg your pardon?"
He rolled his eyes having to remember that she was fairly misinformed when it came to demon culture.
"The exchange of blood, I took yours and left my mark, but you did not take mine, therefore I do not belong to you. And I have no intention of changing that status."
She snarled a little and was tempted to turn the bow towards him.
"Like hell you aren't! I'm not going to be stuck with you if you're not in the same boat as me!"
She reached back so fast and shot an arrow at Naraku, her motions were a blur; well at least he got some kind of emotion out of her, but he was speaking the truth. As they danced around the multitude of tentacles and other creepy things coming for them he sneered just a little.
"Normally women use more subtle and sensual ways to convince me to do something."
This time she sacrificed an arrow and shot it at him; he dodged it, but caught a little burn on his side from the impact behind him.
"Fuck that."
She said and set the bow down and pulled out two short blades hidden in her sleeves; she charged at the inhuman mass that was Naraku, fighting and slashing her way closer. With one leap she closed the distance between them, knocked his rusty old katana out of his hands, and drove both blades into the left side of his chest where his heart should have been. He hissed in pain, but it slowly melted into an arrogant laugh.
"Looking for something?"
Both strikes should have killed him instantly, but then again, she knew from experience that some demons were tough to kill.
"Silly little priestess, do you think I would be stupid enough to leave my heart in my body?"
Humph, that as hell sure explained a great deal about this soulless monstrosity; his head stretched unnaturally until it was inches away from hers; she held her breath, not out of fear, but of the smell.
"Face it, I've already won. I won't die if my heart still beats."
She said nothing as her eyes narrowed and she leapt off him, creating a fair amount of space; when her feet touched the ground she plugged her ears. The two blades, still stuck in him suddenly glowed blue, rapidly getting brighter until the light was blinding… and then exploded. Tiny bits and shreds of him came down like a foul downpour.
"The heart still needs a body to return to."
She spat and groaned quietly as the pieces twitched and slowly dragged themselves back to one disfigured mass; in frustration she flared out her aura and incinerated the flesh around her, but it didn't matter, he was still whole when he came together again. Royally pissed, she recklessly threw her power out at him and he did the same; neither party seemed to care about the destruction it caused around them.
"Little miko, why do you continue to fight?"
Sesshomaru loomed behind her like a powerful—but not very helpful—sentinel. It was obvious that neither side had the upper hand and came down to who could endure longer; it wasn't a helping factor that he had taken a sizable amount of her blood only hours ago. And she was acting a little crazy. She was silent towards him for a while; he didn't really care for an answer, but he wanted the two of them out of this godforsaken place as soon as possible.
"I told you, I came to get that film canister above our heads…I can snatch it down anytime I like."
He could almost hear the smile on her lips and looked up at the little black cylinder encased in some dark purple barrier and narrowed his eyes at her.
"Then get it."
She shook her head.
"There's something I got to do first."
This didn't sound at all like her, she turned and faced him and he could see around the rims around her brown eyes was an ice blue slowly becoming more dominant. There was a wicked grin on her face; she giggled at the splitting pain of the headache where it would normally knock her unconscious. Leaning in closer, the recognition in her eyes towards him was slowly dying away; he could feel the air around her grow cold like winter; her voice echoed, as if disconnected from her body.
"I'm going to finish what I started and kill the Onigumo."
Laughter and pain mixed together in the Shikon no Tama's chamber, the room was filled with the chaos of people laughing in hysterics or screaming in pain, falling over themselves and others, the elite of the Higurashi scrambled to get the room under control, but it was fruitless. The Jewel pulsed and the temperature of the room dropped to icy levels; people scurried in and out trying to run away or help out.
"Taking the Jewel underground will not break the connection between them, Milord."
Kikyo said calmly to the clearly frustrated Lord Kaname as they watched from the observing distance of an open shoji door; the young woman feared not for her fellow kin, this would not kill them, just reinforce their reservations about the destructive power Kagome held. While calm and cruel on the outside, inside she was seething; nothing would make her forget two years ago and nothing would make her forget that bite mark, a sense of déjà vu enveloped her. She knew this peace in the Higurashi home wouldn't last, but she never expected that it would only last two years. The old man beside her narrowed his eyes at her.
"You seem awfully confident for just a newly appointed Head Priestess."
There was a small smile.
"We know what happened two years ago Milord, when you decided the lesser of two evils, let's see what happens when you choose the other. Trust me, I know my sister."
The second sentence seemed completely unrelated to the other, but he got it; with that, she left. The priestess wasn't even outside when the order to evacuate the building had spread and already the thundering sound of feet hitting the floors at great speeds reached her ears and grew louder. She knew from the moment she healed that mark that the demon who put it there would be in constant close proximity to her which was proven when Kagome came to visit her, that "presence" her little sister didn't want her to notice, she counted on it to be true now.
When everyone was outside of the building, the Jewel's power fluxed, ebbing and flowing more freely than it had done in centuries; those too cowardly ran to a safe distance while everyone else tried to do what they could to stop the fluctuations from spreading beyond the building. The miko joined her power with the others and made it seem like she was pouring all of her strength with the others to help contain the Jewel's power. Before their very eyes the whole building became encased in ice, the moisture in the air solidified and fell to the ground as snow. Winter came early to the Higurashi house.
"You will end this now, Kagome, before you lose yourself again to your foolish desires."
If her little sister ever found out, she would probably hate her for the rest of her existence, but she had to do something to break the cycle. Perhaps one day Kagome would come to understand that Kikyo saved her, even if it hurt; she knew what the damage would be and she was prepared to atone and be there for her imoto (younger sister). Once the Tama's power had enough influence over Kagome she would manipulate it to destroy the demon blood around her and there would be no escaping it.
She will kill the demon who stole her heart.
Beautifully lethal white and pale blue ribbons of raw power danced around the miko; her whole body began to glow with a dangerous light, but there was a dark intent: to kill, yet more than that was an overwhelming sadness. It was a familiar pain to Sesshomaru, the ripping and tearing of the soul that only occurs from the death or betrayal of someone close, the pain of loss so strong it was crippling. And it poured from her endlessly.
By now Naraku was sprinting in the opposite direction of her, he knew the power of the Jewel when he felt it and he knew when it was about to be used against him, but he couldn't escape her anymore. She, without hurry, raised her arm and stretched it out towards him; the ribbons caressed the length of her arm as they shot out and struck Naraku. Without a cry of pain or sound of shock he was just gone, completely evaporated in a burst of light; only a little frost where the remnants of her power lingered. Kagome dropped her hand and turned towards Sesshomaru; he did not move to run away, it was cowardly and he knew he wouldn't get far.
"Oh, so you're going to kill me now?"
He raised an eyebrow to her empty eyes; her movements were unnatural as she turned to face him, like a puppet being moved around by a master who had forgotten how to pull the strings. His voice gave pause to her movements only for a moment, but it was enough to show him that she was still in there; he scanned her up and down. She was aglow like a forgotten goddess and had the power to match it, a beautiful face permanently set in sorrow, but eyes as frozen as her heart. Those iridescent ribbons of raw power did not attack him, choosing instead to circle around their host almost as if they knew he was of great importance to her, but they itched to destroy him, it was the nature of the Jewel.
"Wake up little miko, nap time is over and you've got work to do."
Again, her body stilled as Kagome tried to regain control; it lasted longer, but eventually the ice returned with interest as the Jewel fought to keep the little freedom it had suddenly gained. He scoffed and walked up to her, not caring that the ribbons dispersed around him; they didn't touch him as he drew closer to her, but the strength of the purification around her was enough to keep him from reaching out to her.
"Little miko, do not make me think that I have made the biggest mistake of my life twice."
Ignoring the danger he grabbed her arm with his bare hand and yanked her into him; he made no indication that he was in pain as he embraced her, the ice burned and chilled him all at the same time, but he held on, gently holding her like she was something precious. Almost instantly the ice retracted itself back into the depths of her heart, the shock of his arms around her brought her back to full consciousness and the Jewel's influence faded away; the ribbons disappeared and her body became warm again. He could feel her move drowsily, but trembling from the cold, she looked up to him, scared and horrified.
"O-oh my god Sesshomaru! You're-you're burned!"
She pulled away from him and sure enough her power and burned right through his clothing and skin, blood dripped all down his front, but just as quickly as the wounds came, they healed. She looked down at her hands and body before whipping her head around and scanning her surroundings, but her opponent was gone, she couldn't even sense his presence.
"Where's Naraku? What's going on? Why is it so cold?"
Her memory faded to darkness after she blew Naraku to bits except feeling the overwhelming need to just curl into a little ball and sleep; everything was just too much and all she wanted was for it to go away… apparently it did. She got what she wished for.
"Don't worry about such things. Are we done here?"
The demon said with his usual aloofness; neither of them was sure how much of an act he was putting on. Kagome looked around and spotted the little roll of film lying the in center of the wreckage and snatched it up; the remaining family of the twisted clan still stared at her in horror, terrified and trapped in the barrier that Hakudoshi was compelled to make and hold. With her senses gone haywire she could feel the presence of still living people locked up inside the castle, confusion and shock was quickly replaced with rage; her head snapped to them and they visibly flinched.
"I want every person in this castle and on these grounds freed and set this tainted land on fire."
She spoke with an unwavering authority as she released the compulsion from Hakudoshi who instantly dropped the barriers.
"This will not absolve you of your guilt, but it is a start."
They didn't move as her eyes shifted to focus solely on the white-haired demon.
"Onigumo, Hakudoshi…you will ensure that my will is carried out."
She spoke the words with as much power as her tired body could muster and walked back to her demon lover. Kagome, without breaking stride or pace picked up an arrow from her discarded quiver, took the demon's hand and cut a long line across his palm. He did not flinch or pull away, only watched as she did as thick, dark blood pooled in his hand. She dipped her fingers in it and held it up.
"If I take this into me will you be mine?"
She asked in a voice that was as demanding as it was curious, but he knew what she wanted. Letting his hand drop, the blood dripped down flesh that was already healed; he would not lie to her.
"No. You will only be my mate if I willingly let you take my blood the same way I took yours."
Heaving a sigh, she wiped off her hand, she didn't expect the whole "mate" thing to be as easy as that, but it was worth a try.
"What is it with the necessity of blood? I'm tired of it, covered in it, and it smells bad."
She groaned sounding very much like her old self, but her demon partner wasn't sure if she was trying to force herself back into that mode; the miko, wounded and her garbs in tatters, leaned forward and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, content with listening to his heart beat, not caring that he wasn't returning with any gesture of his own, him allowing her this moment was enough.
"Let's get the fuck out of this shit hole. This whole town makes me sick."
The demon quirked an eyebrow, if she was back to using crude language, she must being feeling better than she was before. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he stepped away from her.
"Don't expect me to carry you."
She smiled a little and straightened up.
"Never expected you to."
Sometimes, to make things better, people had to act like there never anything wrong in the first place.
Sitting in the large jacuzzi-like tub, Kagome rested her head on her knees as the bubbles from the jets all around her moved the scalding hot water around the tub, but still she felt cold. This was her second bath, but looking down at the water, it was apparent that the first didn't wash away enough; blood, dirt, grime, and dust all swirled around changing the color of the water to something unpleasant. Sesshomaru refused to heal her until she was clean, she could see why he would make such a request; she would have done the same thing. By the time the third bath was drained away she was clean enough to wrap herself in a large fluffy towel and walk to the bedroom.
"You almost look human again."
The demon was waiting for her, their belongings were still by the door, untouched since they first came to the hotel; without any quick, nasty remarks or prompting she climbed up on the bed and laid down on her stomach almost falling to sleep when her body hit the soft mattress, but his touch kept her conscious, there was no way in hell she was going to be absent for this. He lifted the towel covering some of the wounds which were already starting to bleed again.
"After I heal you, you should go to a human hospital. With all this blood you lost you've made yourself severely anemic."
Her groan was muffled by the pillow in her face.
"Less talk, more magic touch."
He managed to make out as he pulled the towel away from her body; the pillow covered her blush, but the sudden grip she had on the sheets as his tongue swept across her skin could not escape his notice. She could feel his arrogance in his touch and blindly threw one of the luxurious pillows where she guessed his haughty, obnoxious, gorgeous face was; mildly satisfied when it hit him.
"You have the maturity level of a child."
He said, moving the pillow out of the way; the miko snorted.
"Your face has the maturity level of a child."
She could sense his eyebrow twitching and giggled on the inside, but everything within her came to a screeching halt mid-laugh when two of his fingers unexpectedly entered her. He moved them slowly and torturously and had her writhing in the sheets as her pulse picked up double-time; even the cold of her unnatural power could not affect the heat of her very core.
"That's much better, perhaps now I can get my work done."
He said, his voice the same as ever and she cursed him with everything she knew, but traitorously gasped as his fingers picked up the pace; even on the brink of unconsciousness her body still felt so needy. He didn't take his fingers out as he turned her over to heal the injuries on her front; she shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see the look on his face knowing he knew what effect he was having on her. He kept his hand busy as his tongue swept over cuts, bruises, and gashes; the damn demon was a torturously good multi-tasker. He kept her mind and body in the steamy haze of a desire still so unfamiliar to her.
When he was finally done the miko had fallen asleep, completely exhausted; he didn't try to wake her to tell her off, it could wait. Now she needed rest. He was grateful that she was asleep so she would never know the ungraceful way he tried to put a shirt on her, he was better at taking clothes off and had never stooped so low as to put them back on for someone else. But at least he managed to get her decent enough to deter him from being encouraged to try anything.
"You are a troublesome little thing… and permanently attached to me."
He inwardly grimaced at the thought and laid down, purposely putting his back to her and, for the second time that night, went to sleep unknowing that in a half-sleep daze, Kagome reached out, latched onto his arm and snuggled against it like it was a pillow; she couldn't help it, some guys are just softies.
Kagome adjusted the binding on her chest and the padding around her waist, turning herself this way and that in the mirror until she was content that her old disguise looked exactly as it did before, and dousing herself in Aki's spray before heading out of her room. The demon spared a glance her way from his office as she left.
"I thought you were taking a break from your band."
He called in a voice that could care less for her reply.
"Break's over."
She sang back, grabbing her backpack and helmet she used more for concealing her identity than actual safety; before she finished walking down the hall, the doorbell rang. When the singer opened the door, Bad Luck's drummer, sweaty and out of breath, more-or-less tackled her the moment there was enough room for him to get through.
"Oh thank the gods you've come back! The band is falling to pieces and Tohma was beginning to question our contract!"
Kagome blinked in surprise, but hugged him back, grateful that her shirt had hidden the mark still healing; a growl from behind them curbed Inu-Yasha's elation as he, somewhat reluctantly, let her go and stepped back.
"I forgot…"
The hanyou said rather distastefully.
"… that demon's mutts can sometimes be rather territorial."
He shot a golden glare to a pair of the same colored eyes; the demon was leaning casually against a wall with a cigarette smoldering in the corner of his mouth, but there was nothing causal in his presence.
"Too bad you'll never know, half-breed."
In an instant Inu-Yasha began to growl, a rumble resonating deep in his throat, before anything destructive or violent could happen Kagome put her hands on the drummer's shoulders and gave him a good shove.
"Well, now that your peace has been made, let's go Inu-Yasha. See you later, Sesshomaru."
She waved with a flash of her bright smile and continued to shove the silver-haired half-demon until they were down the steps; her demon lover didn't stop them or say anymore, just shut the door as they left.
"If you weren't coming back, you know I would've given you hell for that."
He said in a mock retort and she did her best to smile.
"I'll consider it my one freebie."
He let it go after that as she put the helmet on; since the photos of her and Sesshomaru surfaced in a rather compromising way the paparazzi grew bolder, trying to jump the gate or run through it when it opened and hide in the forest. Either the demon or the miko found them, destroyed their cameras and kicked them out without the intruders ever knowing who they were, but still, she had to start taking more precautions every time she stepped out of the house. She was grateful Inu-Yasha didn't question the increase in numbers, he could have cared less.
"They're following us again."
He commented as they sped away through the gate to the two cars that rolled away after them; the hanyou smirked and cranked up the gas. Kagome looked back for a moment as a little anxiety crept through her, if this kept up, they might eventually follow them to Tohma Studios, but the half-demon didn't let her down, in three blocks flat he had them driving in circles. She let him open to door to their studio where four pairs of eyes waited impatiently for her arrival; only three of them looked relieved. Aki turned away the moment he saw her with a brooding look about him that lasted the whole day.
"Okaa-sama!"
Shippo cried and flung his arms around her grinning widely, he was lucky that the door was shut and no one heard him call their "male" vocalist Mother. She returned the hug with a smile of her own and no sooner had the band begun to fall into their old practice routine when Mr. K dropped a bombshell on them… literally. But this time Kagome caught it in time to throw a barrier around it so only the door was blown to bits and protecting their precious instruments and equipment. He stomped through the dust, guns cocked and loaded with eyes promising death; he spotted Kagome, stuffed one gun into a sling on his back to free one hand and grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt.
"Useless little whelp! How dare you just take off! I had to cancel two gigs and postpone the rest because you decided to take a leave of absence!"
She didn't argue with him as he continued his verbal abuse, she deserved it; Mr. K had little sympathy left over from when he burst into the novelist's home and saw her hanging delicately onto life, he cared not if she was leaving to save her sanity, who needed such a useless thing in the music business? Looking her over after his rant was done, he dropped her to the ground, took up a chair in the corner and sat down in it with his favorite six-shooter pointed at her.
"You've got this one practice to prove to me that you want this band to continue."
He groaned a little when she did; for hours on end she never stopped singing or working even when the others were whining for a break. Now he knew he had work ahead of him, for the week and a half she was gone the band did nothing and was beginning to lose their audience, in order for them to go anywhere, they couldn't afford to take any time off, and now that she proved to him that she was willing to make amends and try to make Bad Luck work, he had double to do to bring them back up. Checking his watch, he lowered the gun and rose up from the chair he had never left and the band gratefully sunk to the floor to rest.
"Higurashi…"
He said distastefully and she looked up at him with a neutral face.
"… you're lucky I like you."
She managed a tired smile.
"Funny way of showing it."
He huffed and stretched, cracking his back in several places.
"Keep your cell phones charged. For the next several weeks expect to leave at a moment's notice. I'm going to take every gig for you available, including the odd hour ones."
He said looking entirely at her.
"You dodged a bullet, girl. Don't expect the same treatment should this happen again."
She nodded, noticing that this wasn't the only second chance she had been given.
"I understand."
He took his leave, stepping over the rubble and past the maintenance crew already rebuilding the damaged area; after some of their strength returned the band departed for home, except for Aki and Kagome who stayed behind.
"Let's go for a walk."
She said it more as an order than as a suggestion and he silently complied, they went to the park with the view of the city and few people, but unlike last time they came to this place, there was no calm or peace as friends, just an uneasy tension. It was in the steps they took and the secure distance between each other, the hands stuffed in pockets and avoidance of gazes.
"Time to pay up Aki, I held up my end of the bargain and came back, now you have to answer my questions."
They stopped at the same railing they did before and leaned against it, taking the view as an excuse so they wouldn't have to look at each other.
"Go ahead."
He said in a voice that promised nothing as his eyes gazed uninterestedly across the sea of city lights.
"What happened two years ago?"
She started, skipping all the little questions and going for the biggest one first.
"Many things happened two years ago, most were pleasant, but some weren't."
She narrowed her eyes at his dodgy answers.
"What is everybody hiding from me?"
"Something that should stay hidden."
This time, she didn't let it go; slamming her fist into the railing he was leaning against, it shuddered violently and his dull bronze eyes flickered up to her.
"Enough with the bullshit answers, Aki!"
Her face drew in close to his, flaring up her power even though she had nearly exhausted it back in Kyoto.
"I can burn you right now if I wanted to!"
His eyes didn't waver or change.
"But you won't."
He said matter-of-factly and she growled.
"And why's that?"
He straightened up, using his height to tower over her.
"Because you're not that kind of person."
The sudden silence that came after was cut by Aki's phone ringing, bringing back Kagome's clarity enough to drop the menacing aura.
"Hello? Oh Ayaka, sorry I was going to call you to tell you I was going to be late, I guess I got a little side tracked."
He feigned a laugh for her and it ticked the miko off, he shouldn't be laughing when he was purposely using a loophole to get out of their deal.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye."
He hung up and caught her curious glare.
"Ayaka hasn't gone back to Kyoto?"
He shook his head.
"She's staying here in an apartment; I was going to meet her there."
Kagome quirked an eyebrow.
"You sure have taken a liking to her… does she know what you are?"
The slight malice in her voice didn't escape him.
"Of course she does and since when did you care who I was seeing?"
The tone in his voice had the miko raising hers.
"I don't know! Maybe if I knew what happened two years ago I wouldn't be like this!"
His anger reached a peak and the necklace beneath his shirt began to glow, the dull bronze eyes and red hair suddenly became rich in beautiful colors that a normal human wouldn't have. They both knew it was only a matter of time before the seal in the necklace would break; she calmed down before he did and watched in silence as his natural features dulled.
"I've got one more deal to propose to you."
He shook his head.
"No. No more deals."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace identical to the one around his neck, it even had the same blood filled seal in its center.
"I picked this up when I went to Kyoto. Yours is going to break sooner or later and reveal your secret. Do me one request and this is yours."
She stretched it out to him, the pendant dangling like a worm on a fish hook; he stared at the necklace for the longest time and she waited patiently, as if knowing he would take the bait. The hanyou said nothing as he snatched the pendant out of her hand seething so much his old necklace began to glow again.
"If you won't tell me what happened two years ago then take me to somebody who will. Take me to see the Dou-Hime."
His eyes suddenly came alive at the mention of his old mentor's name. The Dou-Hime was one of the oldest still-living demons residing in Tokyo, in her youthful years she reigned over the southern lands of Japan; lived to see the suffering of others, lusted for battle and power, and nobody could touch her. Her real name was lost in history on purpose; she much preferred her well earned title: The Eye Princess which struck fear into the masses just by uttering it. She had the power to enter a person's mind and destroy it just by looking into their eyes, blindfolding soldiers with cloth or masks or even closing their eyes did nothing to protect them from her, so long as they had eyes, such obstructions didn't matter.
Her territory had spread and was starting to leak into the lands belonging to other demon lords who were severely peeved by it, but did nothing to stop her; even the tai-youkai (great demons) didn't want to go against her eyes. But whether from time or age, the fearsome demoness changed, she grew peaceful, humble and kind and only the other Old Ones from the past knew why. She eventually surrendered all her land and entire empire to settle down in some unknown location; Kagome's father knew where she lived though, when Aki was young he took the half-phoenix to the Dou-Hime's home so that she could train him properly in his using his demon abilities.
"Did you ever stop to think…"
He began to say, his voice shaking in rage.
"… that we're not hiding secrets from you so much as we are protecting you from them?"
We. Just how many people were in on this scheme? Obviously everyone at the main house knew, Kikyo knew which meant that her mother, grandfather and maybe even Souta did too; that hurt her the most. Angry tears began welling up in her eyes and she bit hard on her lip, hoping they would just go away.
"I don't need protection. I have to know what happened; I can't live my life with a very important gap in it."
He opened his mouth to say something back, but decided against it.
"Fine, I'll take you to see the Dou-Hime, but take into consideration how hard I'm trying to keep this from you."
At that moment she did and tried to say something, but he was already storming off, leaving her alone in the park. Her strong conviction for the truth waned slightly, was this a true case of ignorance being bliss? Her life would become exponentially simpler if she just let the whole thing go and move on, but she couldn't, something in her, beyond curiosity, compelled her to figure out the truth. At the same time, Aki's conviction was also waning; was two years enough time for her to be able to handle the truth?
He kicked anything within range of his feet, sulking off to Ayaka's apartment; Aki didn't know what he and the Ryogan heiress had going on at the moment, they took their time together in stride and promised nothing to each other. It seemed that being with another person who was hurting from someone they cared for brought a strange comfort to him. He knocked on the door of her tiny apartment she rented with her fictitious name and forced a smile for her when she opened the door; her beautiful dark blue eyes met his and she managed a smile back.
"Hello, Aki."
He rubbed the back of his neck slowly.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was… ah…"
He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but couldn't come up with a quick enough story to explain his absence; he didn't realize the extent in which Ayaka could read body language.
"You were with her, right?"
She said, referring to the unknown woman who had shattered this handsome half-demon's heart; he blinked in surprise and let out a hollow laugh.
"I wish I could do that with the same ease that you can."
The woman knew a compliment when she heard one and smiled, stepping back to let him in, but shook her head.
"No, you don't; it's a forced skill I had to develop in order to survive."
He wasn't going to argue with that as he stepped inside and shrugged out of his coat which was unnecessary since his demon blood kept him warm through all seasons, but he did it for her sake to make him seem more human and less demon to take her mind away from a certain Takahashi male. They walked over to her small couch and lay down upon it, embracing tenderly with the lights turned off; the TV was on, but neither was paying any attention to it. All of their focus was on each other, on light caresses and subtle movements that promised everything and nothing.
In the dark they could easily picture embracing the one whom they wanted it to be, but would never say it aloud; they spoke the names of their unrequited loves in their heads, were touching and held the way they always wanted to, but never could. Being a substitute wasn't so bad when he was doing that exact same thing; but lately Aki saw less and less of Kagome in these moments and more of the real woman beneath the mask of night: Ayaka.
She truly was beautiful, everything she did had a natural elegance to it as if she were of demon blood herself; her heart was kind and always open, but fragile and easily hurt. He grew scared sometimes that if he held her too tightly, she would break. But more than anything, she made him smile; there was an air about her that just drew him in, and like a moth drawn to the flame he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He could feel her jump a little in surprise, but she laughed a quiet laugh and he couldn't help but smile in response.
"You sure are being bold tonight."
He kissed her lips lightly in response and sniggered.
"Well, winter's coming, it's getting cold, and we could use a little warming up."
This brought about another laugh from her as she dropped her head to rest it against his chest.
"The news says we're going to have the largest snowfall since the eighties and record low temperatures."
She shifted her body a little and he took the hint with a smile.
"Well, we best get started then."
"Oh… look what Death just coughed up."
"Careful dear sister, you might not be so lucky with me."
Naraku sat up and looked at the tiny room he and his family was crammed into, he could tell by the atmosphere that they were underground, he smelled smoke and noticed there were bits off ash on him, the floor, and the clothes of his clan. He flexed his muscles, feeling stiff with his reconstructed body, but accepted it and took a better look around the room; he recognized the structure to be one of the old cellars beneath the Onigumo Castle, but this one was different from all the others. It was empty except for five large pots which stood together in a row against the far wall, four pulsed steadily, while one remained silent and still; his hand quickly went to his chest and felt an old rhythm he had not in many years.
"After all that work I went through, you put my heart back?"
His eyes narrowed at Kagura and Hakudoshi who were clearly the decision makers; the wind sorceress scoffed and snapped her fan shut with the arrogance of a pureblood demon.
"It's not like we really had a choice, you were nothing but frozen water vapor when the miko left."
The hanyou had more pride than to shiver at the sudden memory of being completely destroyed; he would have died had it not been for his heart and the flesh it lived in. Rising to his feet with ease he looked up at the ceiling of the underground cellar.
"What's the damage?"
He asked, breathing the smoked scented air more deeply; the wind witch snickered and tried to brush off the ashes from her sleeve.
"Well, don't plan on vacationing here anymore."
Their leader gave a longing sigh.
"I'm going to miss the screaming."
He said nothing more and just continued to stare; obviously his mind was running ideas and possibilities and the family was kept in the dark until the plan was enacted, normally keeping silent and just following what he said, but Kagura was feeling brave this evening.
"What will you do about Kagome? We don't have the pictures to expose her, but we do have rumors to fall back on."
Naraku blinked and lowered his gaze to rest on her, she grew wary, but like Naraku, her pride wouldn't let it show; he scoffed with a confident smile.
"Look what happened to us when we acted too quickly; our next move requires more thought and plenty of time to pass. We'll go attack what hurts her the most, but we need time to do that and there's nothing like time to reveal what others don't want you to know."
Kagome woke up in the middle of the night by her very loud ring tone; stumbling around ungracefully with unsteady legs she found the little bastard when she stepped on it.
"God dammit… what?!"
She more or less yelled into the phone when she answered it.
"Is that what you say to the man who's going to save your little band?"
Mr. K responded with mock offence, nothing like rubbing a little salt in the wound to give it an extra sting so she'll never forget; the singer groaned a bitter apology and looked at the clock by her bed.
"It's barely three in the morning… what does Bad Luck have to do at three in the morning?"
She whined and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with a mildly uncoordinated hand
"Oh, it's not what Bad Luck has to do, it's what you have to do, Higurashi."
"Huh?"
She croaked out, still half-asleep, but the suggestive tone in his voice didn't escape her.
"I highly suggest you get out of Mr. Takahashi's home right now and go back to the apartment with the rest of Bad Luck while there's still time."
Now she was a little more awake.
"And why should I do that?"
She narrowed her eyes as he chuckled quietly.
"Oh, you'll see."
With a click he hung up on her; there was a moment of stillness before she bolted into motion, when Mr. K said get out, it was wise to do so with a sense of urgency. She rushed through her disguise routine almost forgetting to douse herself in Aki's spray as she made a bee-line for the front door.
"Now what has driven you to make a run for it at this godforsaken hour?"
Sesshomaru's voice stopped her cold; she backed up to see him sitting in his office chair facing her room with a lit cigarette in his hand. Ever since they returned he had not typed a single word in his laptop, choosing instead to spend his hours sitting, brooding and become strangely reluctant to have her leave his home without him by her side; perhaps it was those new territorial vibes that Inu-Yasha was poking fun at earlier since she became his mate.
"Getting cold feet?"
He teased and she rolled her eyes, territorial or not he was caring way too much about the whole mate thing; she still shuddered at the word.
"No, my manager just called and highly recommended that I return to the apartment with my band this moment. So, I'm off. Bye!"
She made a move to leave when he was suddenly in front of her, blocking her path; his gold eyes glittering dangerously in the darkness, primal and instinctive.
"Sesshomaru, what's gotten into you?"
He blinked a few times like he himself wasn't sure what was going on, but that moment quickly passed over him and his usual self-confidence retuned; at least the creepy demon look was gone.
"You have, and not in a favorable way. Despite all the perks of repression and heavy drugs… you are my mate, little miko, and nothing can change that."
He drew closer to her, suddenly making her feel very aware of how female she was to his male, how when their bodies came together it was like completing a perfect circuit and when they were together nothing felt wrong.
"I have taken your blood into me as fulfillment to The Call of Mates and now you are mine, your blood lives within me through you."
He was only a step away from her now, she could feel every pore, every hair, and every sense drawn to him, consumed by his presence, her body felt the connection her mind refused to believe.
"And what does that have to do with the situation right now?"
She challenged, mentally patting herself on the back for her ability to stay composed.
"It means, little miko, that should you die, part of me dies too…literally."
Something dawned on her that moment which made her feel happy and strange at the same time; if what he said was true then that meant that she was now a permanent part of his life, she was important to him and not just a cure for his writer's block which elated her, but at the same time she could tell he didn't want this. He didn't want her attached to him so intimately, she was suddenly his weakness, something rival demons could use against him, not that it happened very often, but it still happened. At the same time, something he said to her suddenly came to the front of her mind; she furrowed her eyebrows at the words before looking up at him, unsure.
"Back in Kyoto, you said not make you think you made a big mistake twice. Did you mean what I think you meant? Did you ah… mate with someone before?"
A stillness came over him, the likes of which she had never seen before and she knew then that she was treading on very sensitive ground; his eyes grew dangerous again, but in a different way than before. It was that painful recognition, something unpleasant from the past shone in his eyes that even the cruelness in his heart couldn't get over. It was very quiet for a while before he snarled something nasty and punched the nearness wall; she jumped at the sound and at the large hole his fist was buried in.
"No."
He responded, the word sounded forced, like he had to wrench it from his throat the same way he wrenched his fist out of the mess in the wall. It tore at her, even though it was only his anger that he allowed her to see, she knew she had rubbed salt in an old wound and without any prompting she threw her arms around his torso and held him tightly; it was the only thing she could think of to do at that moment to calm things down.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to make things worse."
The demon blinked a few times in surprise and looking around he took note to collect himself and push her off him.
"Don't waste your sympathy. There are worse situations than this."
She smiled meekly.
"You know, my family is all about ridding the world of everything demon; perhaps I can find a way to reverse this 'mate' thing."
He could tell she was struggling to say the words and not really meaning them, but regardless, he shook his head.
"There is no undoing what has been done."
The smile faded as her hand went to the mark hidden beneath her shirt; she was surprised that it was starting to heal into a scar with the unique shape of a crescent moon, not unlike the one on his forehead.
"I will get you one of these days."
He quirked his eyebrow as a shadow of her former smile returned.
"I will get you to give me your blood and make you mine."
The demon scoffed in response and leaned down; he took her lips lightly, but where he should have ended with a simple kiss, he moved in and took her into the shelter of his body. When they finally parted, she was breathing heavily, her eyes glazed over with a need that was reserved only for him, smoldering deep inside her, awakened by the slightest touch and he pulled away, chuckling.
"Don't plan on that being anytime soon."
Feeling slighted she drew up a haughty smirk of her own.
"I've got the rest of my life to convince you. I can wait."
That made him frown.
"Don't kill the mood."
Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow and stare up at him.
"What mood?"
"This one."
Suddenly he was on her, all hands and not-so-subtle movements; she gasped when her body hit the wall with his pinning her to it. If she wasn't so addicted, she would have been severely peeved, but instead she grinned and dove after his shirt to get at his skin.
"Happy birthday to me."
Turning the lock on the door to the apartment, Kagome slipped silently inside, barely able to see anything in the dark she fumbled closing the door and finding her footing beneath the various items scattered on the ground. She left Sesshomaru's a little later than she expected, but had absolutely no regrets about it as she allowed the stupid, dazed smile to stretch across her face. The soreness in her pants she could live with. The miko took a few steps blindly in the dark when in an instant the lights flipped on.
"Surprise!"
Bombarded by five guys armed with party favors, corny decorations, and confetti she had every right to scream… just a little. The sensation of jumping out of her skin passed as Inu-Yasha grabbed her and pulled her to the kitchen where a large and messy strawberry cake with candles just for her was laid out.
"Happy birthday, Kagome!"
They cried in unison again and sure enough in pink icing were the hastily scrawled words: Happy 20th Birthday Kagome!
"Mr. K called and told us that we weren't getting the day or night off to celebrate, so we had to do it in the morning."
Miroku explained when that look of bewilderment didn't leave her face.
"And why didn't you tell us it was your birthday? Aki just mentioned it only hours ago and we couldn't get you anything."
Shippo whined while Koga lit the twenty little candles stuffed in various areas on the cake; she smiled and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry; I've just been so preoccupied I barely remembered myself."
They weren't going to argue with that especially since the experience with the frozen version of Kagome; after a few slices of cake Kagome was sitting with the rest of her band joking contently as the early morning light began to break over the horizon.
"It's so strange for Mr. K to be nice."
The miko commented after a while and everybody turned to her with raised eyebrows.
"Mr. K? Nice?"
Koga snorted and shook his head; Kagome shrugged her shoulder.
"Yeah well, it may have been an extreme sort of nice, it being so early in the morning, but he did call and tell me to come over here for my surprise party."
The silence that followed wasn't what she had been expecting.
"Uh, Kagome…"
Miroku started.
"…Mr. K called us to tell us you were coming, but he had no idea we were planning this. He didn't even mention your birthday."
That had her blinking again in confusion and worry which caused the rest of the band the glance around at each other. Aki set down his cake and locked eyes with the singer, there was suspicion in his eyes and a gut feeling that Mr. K was up to something unpleasant again.
"What exactly did he say to you?"
She furrowed her eyebrows in thought.
"He said to get out of Sesshomaru's and back here while there was still time."
She looked up, the color draining from her face a little.
"What the hell is he planning?"
She said and immediately Inu-Yasha dove for his phone and furiously dialed the crazy American.
"Dammit, he's not answering!"
He said and threw his phone on the bed after the fifth attempt while everyone else had gathered around discussing what their manager had said with very sober expressions.
"Do you think he accidentally revealed that you're a girl?"
Kagome shook her head.
"He sounded too confident to have slipped up on something big like that; whatever he did, he did it deliberately and wanted to make sure I was here when it happened."
Glancing out the window once, Miroku closed the blinds, seeming unsure about what he was going to say.
"Hey guys, what time is it?"
Koga checked the clock on the kitchen wall.
"A little after eight in the morning. Why? We don't have to be at the studio for a while."
The former-monk shook his head and went to the TV in the corner of the large apartment and turned it on.
"It's a bit of a long shot, but whatever Mr. K did or said or whatever… we may be seeing it on the news."
At the mention of the idea they knew he was onto something, but everyone, including Miroku, wanted him to be wrong. He blindly flipped through the channels until they found it and the remote fell out of his hands; everyone's eyes were hopelessly trapped to the screen in disbelief and shock.
"…from the rising band Bad Luck and the famous novelist Sesshomaru Takahashi have been in a relationship for nearly six months. The following pictures were sent to our station late last night, proving such accusations."
The screen changed to a slideshow of Kagome in her male disguise with Sesshomaru, there was no disputing the photographs, no trick of the light to play on, it was all clear as day. There were pictures where they were kissing in what was supposed to be a secluded area, him taking her to his home, carrying her bridal-style, but the worst one was right after the concert when the demon popped out of nowhere and asked her to come back to his place, taken with his hand covering her mouth, lips sensually whispering in her ear, and her eyes glazed over with such a desire, head tilted back ever so slightly. How the hell did Mr. K get that photo?!
It didn't matter anymore, the secret was out and there was no taking it back, millions of people at that very moment were watching as her relationship with her demon lover was put in the spotlight on display for anyone and everyone to poke and prod at. Now she understood why Mr. K had her hiding out here, there would have been no way for her to escape the army of the press from getting to her; hopefully Sesshomaru could handle them.
"This discovery has been quite a shock to the pop culture community and could possibly spark another dispute for demon rights if this unique couple decides to fight for their relationship…"
Kagome snorted.
"Like we have any choice now."
She said it before thinking and clamped her mouth shut, mentally cursing herself as the eyes of her band mates returned to her; there was no way in hell she could tell them, especially Aki, about what happened in Kyoto. They hadn't connected the dots about her disappearance back to Kyoto and the sudden annihilation of the Onigumo Clan and she made sure as hell that the crescent scar Sesshomaru gave her would be covered at all times. Nobody could know, not now when there was too much to deal with.
"What'd you mean by that?"
Inu-Yasha said, she looked at Aki whose eyes were locked onto her person with his full attention, she didn't like it when he did that, made her feel like she was being accused or guilty of something. But in this case she was. The miko waved an uncaring hand, trying her best to sound convincing.
"Nothing, just thinking aloud and it won't help us now. So what are we supposed to do? No doubt the press is hell-bent to divide and conquer; they're already at Sesshomaru's and probably at the studio too."
They grew silent at this until Aki stood up.
"Who gives a damn if they're at the studio? We've got practice to do and concerts coming up, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not letting a bunch of human sized parasites stop me."
They all shrugged or looked away, of course they were going too, but damn it was going to be a pain and decided to head out at that moment knowing that later on the crowd was going to be even worse.
"Kagome, you can ride with me."
Aki said it more as an order than a suggestion which she assumed was him getting back at her and figuring she owed him, she nodded and followed, albeit a little numbly. Looking back as Miroku turned off the TV she closed her eyes and inwardly groaned… she was never going to catch a break. She and Aki were the only ones in the car as they drove; there was no radio or conversation, just a tense silence.
"Once this media frenzy has cooled down, I'll take you to see the Dou-Hime."
Aki's voice sounded bitter which meant that he was telling her the truth; she said nothing in response, just nodded and turned to look out at the passing scenery. She would have felt a little better with this information, but the sudden predicament killed any chances. The crowd began almost three blocks away from Tohma Studios; police had to be called out to clear the streets as people pushed and shoved to get to the Studios; Kagome and Aki ducked the heads a little to try to hide their identities.
The miko looked around at the people; some were die hard fans of Bad Luck, many of Sesshomaru's books or the demon himself, some evidently were new fans to the once-secret relationship, but there were also those who were quite the opposite. News reporters with vans, radio jockeys with microphones, and freelance hopefuls swarmed the area hoping to catch the biggest pop culture story of the year. By the time they could see the studios they were discovered and it was only by sheer politeness that the crowd didn't smash the windows and drag them out.
"Aren't animals supposed to be kept in the zoo?"
Kagome asked, completely bewildered and a little frightened; Aki growled low in his throat and revved the engine of the car, slowly forcing his way through the crowd. When they finally pulled into the garage at the Studios, the crowd was forced away, but that didn't stop the employees in the building from being just as bad. People openly pointed and whispered as the two walked by and not-so-subtly taking a picture or two, some even glared in disgust; she glared right back and they eventually turned away.
"Come on, Kagome."
Aki pulled her by the arm to keep her moving as the rest of Bad Luck surrounded her for protection and show of loyalty; they clamored into an elevator and the higher it went, the higher the collective rage grew towards their manager. The band wasn't surprised to open the door to their studio to find the American sitting rather contently in a chair with his feet propped up and even had the gall to smile when they walked in.
"You amateurs; get a little taste of celebrity life and you suddenly go sour on me."
Koga slammed the door so hard that the walls shook.
"You've got some nerve you blonde bastard! How dare you do that to Kagome!"
The wolf bit out, showing his fangs.
"You've completely ruined Okaa-san!"
Shippo said right after and that made the tall man quirk an eyebrow.
"Not to mention ruining Bad Luck."
Aki spat quietly; Mr. K turned to the girl who had said nothing, but her glare was enough.
"Ruined? You think I've ruined her and the band? Quite the contrary silly, little demon, I've saved it."
That drew a confused reaction out of her and the blonde didn't miss it; he took his feet off the table and leaned forward.
"Because of your drama…"
He said pointing to her.
"… I had to cancel or put off all of Bad Luck's performances, showings, interviews, everything; big businesses, the people you are trying to impress, do not take kindly to being let down. Most lost faith in you guys and dropped you from their lists and your fans were beginning to move on. I was going to reveal you romance one day or another, but this was the perfect opportunity…"
There was a flash of anger in the singer's eyes, the only thing stopping her from punching him was the holster strap on his gun was undone, leaving the weapon quickly accessible.
"… right as Bad Luck was leaving the limelight I not only thrust you back into it, you're now in the very center and suddenly everyone wants to know about you. Now, I believe this is the part where you will thank me for my efforts."
Miroku cracked his knuckles.
"How 'bout a knuckle high-five to the face?"
The American shrugged casually and rose to his feet; the monk had to bit his lip to keep himself from whimpering.
"Another time perhaps for I must get going."
He made it to the door and paused when Kagome spoke up.
"Where to?"
Normally she wouldn't give a damn, but the man had caused a considerable amount of damage and she wanted to be prepared for any more. There was a smile spreading across his face as he opened the door.
"To the airport. Sango Taijiya's flight will been landing soon."
He closed the door on that note, but could still hear Kagome's squeal; even with her life turned upside-down, she still had the ability to enjoy the little things. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rose up his right hand.
"3… 2… 1…"
"Mr. K!"
Right on cue Kagome burst out of the room and slammed into him at full sprint which sent them both toppling to the ground. The miko didn't seem to care as she took hold of the front of his shirt as her face got up close and personal with his.
"Take me with you!"
He could see the glitter in his eyes and grimaced; that much happiness in one person made him sick; he used his large hand to clamp it over her mouth and shove her face away.
"Sango is a delicate flower; she doesn't need a zealot like you trampling all over her."
As he tried to get up, Kagome threw him back to the floor with her; he wheezed as the impact knocked the air out of his lungs.
"I'll be careful! You won't even know I'm there!"
Mr. K had to use more force this time to pry her off him.
"Not gonna happen kid; no one knows she's coming back, if all goes well no one will know until on Tohma's terms. You and your demon have the biggest targets on your backs right now; I doubt anything you do will go unnoticed by the press."
That sobered her mood up quickly as she backed away from him like a puppy that just got kicked; he chose not to notice as he brushed himself off and walked away unhurried. She let out a huff and stuck her tongue out at him.
"You're lucky you're not a demon or I'd fry your ass."
"Heard that."
The American called as he rounded a corner, the singer let out a little squeak and dashed for the shelter of her studio.
She leaned casually against a wall, hair tucked into a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes which had the extra protection of sunglasses; she wore plain baggy clothes and beside her were several cheap, worn-out suitcases. She carefully hid her smile beneath a zipped-up jacket as the masses passed her without so much as a glance her way.
"You're getting better…"
The woman perked up at the sound of a familiar voice and was careful to not make any moves to draw attention to herself.
"… would've walked right by you had you not told me exactly where you were."
Mr. K walked right up to the woman and folded his arms against his broad chest, looking down at her; she was tall, but he was taller. He could see her rich brown eyes peeking through the sunglasses to look at him and smile.
"Hello, Sango."
The American said with all the ease and familiarity there ever could be between them; she wasn't impressed… or fooled.
"Never thought Tohma would keep a crazy bastard like you in charge."
The blonde laughed; it sounded false and forced, just like always.
"Good to know there's no animosity between us."
"None lost anyway."
She added and he shook his head and half-heartedly threw up his arms.
"After all my efforts I get no respect."
She gave him a punch in the arm; for all the playfulness in appearance, it made the American wince. He never forgot how strong she was, for such a difference between their sizes, she was the only one whom he made sure to stay out of range of.
"So are we going to leave or stand here until we get noticed?"
She always had a subtle way of getting to the point; he rubbed his arm where she hit him before holding it out in front of him with a little bow and allowing her to pass. They came towards the exit where the crowd had thinned considerably; Sango paused when she noticed Mr. K was trying to get her attention.
"Where's Kirara?"
He asked, hoping that he just sounded curious and nothing else; she glanced down.
"Right pocket."
She turned so he could see the bulge in her coat pocket; he made cooing sounds as his hand inched closer to the mass. Barely two inches away quick movement and several nasty snarls had him snapping his hand back.
"Still doesn't like me, eh?"
"I stole one of the shirts you took with you on our final show and brought it back home with me. Let Kirara have it… didn't last long."
Without waiting for a response she turned back and headed outside, leaving her old manager to suffer alone with that knowledge. She embraced the swarms of people that walked, rushed, and maneuvered around her, the smell of car exhaust and fried food and buildings that touched the skies; it wasn't home, but it was a welcome familiarity. The blonde paused cautiously a few feet behind her and stuffed his hands in his pockets; she addressed him without looking back.
"Tohma said that once I settled in he had something interesting to show me."
She could hear him snigger behind her, but didn't turn to look at him.
"I'm not sure I would call it interesting, but it's definitely… one-of-a-kind."
"Aim for the cameras!"
Kagome cried, swinging her make-shift weapon around: a broom she pilfered from the janitor's closet; Inu-Yasha and Shippo stood back to back with her as they made a tight ring to cover all sides were doing to same thing, but they had less mercy and struck out at the cameramen. Inch by inch they made their way closer to Sesshomaru's main gate, but there was no relief when they reached the iron bars; looking through them she saw that people who were hiding in the woods popped out and began to push their way down from the other side of the fence.
"Hold on, Kagome!"
Was all the warning she got as Inu-Yasha wrapped his arm around her waist and made an effortless leap over the gate and infestation of people to land in a tree branch far away; a few moments later, Shippo touched down beside them. All three band members were breathing hard a sweating; the miko didn't realize that the hanyou still had his arm around her waist until he realized it first and quickly took it away.
"Hurry and make a run for the door. We'll hold them off as long as possible."
She nodded, knowing there was no time to disagree.
"Thank guys."
The singer took care to climb down like a normal person, not wanting the press to figure out any more than they already did; once her feet hit the ground she took off in a full sprint up the gravel pavement only to figure out too late that by doing so she made herself an obvious target. The first photographers appeared as she tried to make a run for the cover of the woods; she dug her heels and made a sharp direction change to hide on the other side, but more people had come out from there as well.
"Where the hell do all of you come from?!"
Kagome cried and veered again on the straight path towards the house; she knew that she was on her own with them, Shippo and Inu-Yasha were stuck dealing with the people heading up from the gate. She ducked, dodged, jumped and tackled her way around them, forcing herself to limit her effort knowing that they might grow suspicious if she went full on.
"I wanna learn ninja stuff Otou-sama! I wanna be like the ninjas on TV!"
Kagome ran in circles around her father as he calmly paced towards the training grounds; he smiled every time she stumbled in the robes that were still too big for her.
"Now why would you want to be like the ninjas on TV?"
He asked with over-emphasized curiosity, instead of making her stop, it just made her run around more excitedly, jumping every now and then.
"I wanna do tricks in the air! Throw shuriken and… and beat the bad guys up! Tons of bad guys all at the same time!"
She squealed a little as her imagination went wild.
"I'll take on twenty! No… forty! No… a hundred! Yeah! I'll beat up a hundred bad guys at the same time!"
Kagami openly laughed, but she didn't take it as offence.
"That's it; no more late night shows for you young lady. They're obviously rotting your brain."
The girl stopped her running and walked beside him, he had to slow his pace a little in order for her to keep up; she reached up through her too-long sleeves and grabbed his hand. The priest glance down as her eyes met his.
"But will you teach me Otou-sama?"
He grinned and ruffled her hair with his large hand.
"Of course. I'll teach you everything you want to know and then some."
"Like how to beat a hundred bad guys?"
She said, with that excitement back in her voice; the priest smirked as he reached down and yanked Kagome up by her little ankle; she squealed loudly as he swung her around like a sack of vegetables and pulled her up so that their eyes were at the same level; he could tell that the blood rush to her head was making her dizzy as her laughter became a little slurred.
"Kagome, when I'm done with you, you'll be able to beat a thousand bad guys…but just hope you'll never have to."
Ah how she was wishing that right now, but this time it was different, she couldn't knock the paparazzi out cold or kick their teeth in, wouldn't exactly help her band out with several lawsuits breathing down their necks. The best she could hope for was not to get caught up by them; she could hear the bulk of the press coming closer along with Shippo and Inu-Yasha, and just ahead was the front door: safety. She let out a cry of triumph when her body slammed into it and turned the knob to open the door. It was locked.
"Oh shit."
Was all she got out before the wave of people, cameras and microphones was shoved into her face; the sheer volume of people had her pressed tightly against the door.
"Kagome! Is it true about your relationship with Sesshomaru Takahashi?"
"Do you live with him?"
"What is the status of your relationship?"
"How do you feel about the other relationships he has currently?"
"How has your band taken the news?"
"Did they know?"
She clamped her hands over her ears to quiet the noise, but it did no good; they were too close, asking things too personal, too loud, too nosy, too everything. It made her want to scream. She opened her mouth to do just that when the door she was shoved against gave way; a familiar arm wrapped itself around her waist, hand settling on her hip like it belonged there and pulled her flush against a tall warm body. She knew it was him long before the press went into a frenzy of questions towards him, screaming his name.
"I will say this only once and then you will a leave."
Despite the strength they had in numbers, they knew that Sesshomaru's wealth gave him a legal advantage over them; whatever he was going to say they had to accept and leave or suffer consequences no amount of income from their stories was going to pay for. Inu-Yasha and Shippo forced their way to the front to see all eyes on the demon, including their singer's. The hanyou knew what his brother would say to these people, what he would always say when something like this surfaced: you could say we have a relationship, but then you would be printing lies.
"The allegations of a relationship between Kagome and myself…"
A flash of painful sympathy marred the half-demon's features, he knew how much it would hurt their singer who wasted her affections on someone who couldn't care less; he saw Kagome look away and see his expression and could tell she knew what he was thinking; the same hurt came across her face before she could properly hide it and just lowered her head so that the pictures wouldn't be able to get a clear shot of her shame.
"… is true."
The hanyou's jaw hit the floor and her head snapped up so fast it made her neck hurt, she opened and close her mouth, trying to figure out what to say, if there was anything to say at all, but nothing came to mind and she just stared at him dumbly, eyes hopelessly locked onto those molten gold pools, it was so unfair for him to have eyes like that.
"Kagome is my lover."
He said not looking at the press who had suddenly gone into a frenzy; he kept his full attention on her; with his free hand he tipped her chip up just slightly. That smirk she had come to know and hate went all the way to his eyes; the shock of his admission kept her from doing anything.
"We're lovers."
Stated matter-of-factly like he was announcing the time of day; dropping his head down to the ear so that the cameras couldn't see he tortuously whispered
"Let's give the people what they want, shall we?"
Her lips parted slightly and he took advantage by claiming them fully with his, tongue intertwined and teasing hers without any warning or his usual tentative exploring; her face flushed with heat and the sudden clench in her core had her body twitching to move and grind against him. The mark above her collarbone began to throb as much as her heat, demanding attention; he pulled away right as he sensed her body reacting to him and turned to the crowd. His ears picked up the quietest sounds from her, a glimpse her way and he instantly regretted it, she was staring openly at his lips with smoky bedroom eyes, but didn't make a move towards him; he knew that she didn't want the kiss to end and was having trouble with the instant need that demanded sating.
"This is the part where you leave. Kagome and I have much to catch up on."
With that said he whisked her into the house and slammed the door on the curious eyes; the two weren't sure who put the distance between them, but suddenly it was there and suddenly it was unbearable. Despite her exhaustion, chaotic emotions and potential exposure to the whole world, her very being pulsed with desire; the only control she had left was not to jump him and rip the clothes from his body. He stood before her stoic as ever, but she knew that everything about him was focused solely on her; his eyes paid too much attention to her figure, slowly taking away her disguise piece by piece until there was nothing but skin and that sultry figure she carried with too much confidence.
"The paparazzi are still outside."
Kagome said with a very feminine suggestion in her voice and he growled, knowing that she was doing it on purpose.
"They will leave."
He said with his apathetic tone, but she knew better now.
"Not soon enough."
The singer stalked up to him and suddenly everything masculine about her disguise fell away. She was all female.
And she was all his.
Kagome tilted her head up and kissed his chin and bit her lip to keep from doing any more; he made sure not to move an inch, give any ground. He had more pride than to fall to the whims of this young human.
"I suppose we could wait."
He countered and a stab when through her about the idea of waiting; she had waited long enough already; he could see the almost-horror in her eyes at the prospect and, despite himself, he sneered.
"You can't beat me at my own game, little miko."
The smokiness in her eyes came back with a flare and suddenly the tips of her fingers were slowly running along the lines of his body, so light the demon could barely feel them beneath his clothes, but their caress sent fire rushing through his veins; he began to see red bleed around the edges of his vision.
"Oh, can't I?"
She said, making sure she sneered right back at him when she looked into his eyes; again, he stood rock still as her fingers danced across his bare skin, breaking eye contact didn't help the situation, but he stayed true and gave nothing away.
"They're still outside, Sesshomaru."
She whined ever-so seductively and he broke composure to growl, a low, deep, threatening rumble that rippled out from him to the surrounding area; it an instant his aura flared out, leaking through the walls, spreading like a bad omen. The cries of terrified humans breached the house and suddenly, they were gone; turning high-tail to get as far away from the Takahashi home to shake off the gripping pain that came from the demon's power. Inside she smiled at her little victory.
"Not anymore."
He said; she became aware that everything about him was very male; when his aura faded away there was a silence she had rarely experienced, but had sensed before…
The calm before the storm.
It started with a kiss. Kagome stretched herself up to her tip-toes and lightly claimed his lips and he let her, wanting her to know who it was that always won these little games; she let him think that and the battle of wills was over, for now. He waited until her arms wrapped around him before his body snapped into motion; she gasped as her back was suddenly against the wall of the living room. With one hand he pinned her wrists above her head and with the other he tore her shirt, padding and binding to shreds that fell around her; relief washed over her as her crushed chest suddenly spilled free. He fondled her, glorifying in the way she moved against him, trying to fight his hold he had on her. He could see it in her eyes the same way she could see it in his, that need beyond primal desire, the compulsion for the circuit they made to be complete.
"What do you want little miko?"
He asked her as his teeth lightly scrapped lightly down the valley between her breasts, feeling the acceleration of her heart at the sound of his voice.
"I want you…"
He began to smile.
"… to let go of my hands."
A silver eyebrow went up as he lifted his head back to her level and could see something wild barely contained behind her eyes.
"I have another idea."
He stated with that demon arrogance of his; she clung to him tightly as they went from the wall to the couch in a flash. He made a move to set her down when her leg wrapped around his and yanked hard; he spun and fell back against it.
"So do I."
She cooed back with a smile; languidly climbed up and straddled him, enticing him with her soft weight on him, the heat radiating from the juncture of her legs traveling through their clothes and right to his very obvious arousal. The singer eased her hands with a painful slowness around his neck as her hips moved against him; a lazy grinding that sent his senses haywire. He seized her by the hair, strong enough to keep her head in control, but not painfully and pulled her down to him; their lips met in a fiery kiss. Movements were, quick, rough, demanding as if nothing they did would ever be enough; her small hands pulled at his shirt and he slipped it off with ease.
Skin-to-skin gave her such a feeling of euphoria that for several moments all she could do was press herself against him and run her hands across his skin, trace the lines of his body with soft, yet calloused hands, commit every detail to memory, every movement he made as she tortured him with her light touch. The hand tangled in her hair pulled her head back and their lips parted so she could look into his eyes; they were quickly fading to red, he wanted her to know that he was on the brink of his control and at any moment it would be lost. She would welcome whatever was to come.
"What's the matter Sesshomaru? Think I'll break?"
She kissed him with the searing passion she knew would drive him over the edge, ground her hips the way she knew would make him crazy and felt the primal growl vibrating deep in his throat. His hands wrapped around her waist and flipped their positions; his hips ground her into the couch more than she falling back on it and continued to do so as his mouth claimed her heaving breasts. She became very aware of his manhood rubbing across her core, separated only by their clothes; easy access was quickly becoming a perk for her baggy attire. The demon nipped, kissed and sucked his way to the mark that throbbed for his attentions; he paused as his lips hovered, breath brushing against it and in an instant her eyes were as wild as his.
"Hurry up!"
Kagome snapped not caring about how it came off; with blood red eyes, he grinned, dropped his head down, and licked the full length of the scar. She let out a groan of relief and bucked her hips into his; body moving in an ancient rhythm like she had been doing it for years; after a few nips the demon grabbed her again and flipped her over, she was about to bite out a protest when suddenly his large frame surrounded her. His front was flush against her back and made her realize how small she was compared to him; she felt his hands encouraging her to spread her legs and did so willingly.
"Brace yourself."
She heard him rasp out and instantly her arms were gripping the back of the couch, breasts pressed into the cool leather; his hand was at the small of her back and took a fistful of her shorts and boxers, in one swift yank the material was down pooling around her knees. Cool air hit her first and then the sound of his zipper coming down; a shiver rocked her body, traveling up and down her spine in anticipation. He surrounded her, even like this she was still looking up at his chin, but he easily lowered his head to her ear.
"Sing for me, little miko."
That was all the warning she got when he suddenly thrust into her with no preparation or hesitation; a broken cry left her lips as pain melted into a mind erasing pleasure, overwhelming her until every bit her senses were filled with him and this moment. He drove into her quick and carelessly, but always making sure that it was her who was moaning, clawing at the couch because it was all she could do. He stretched her completely, filling her to the point of madness, completely leaving her, only to come slamming back in and the more he did it, the more unbearable it came… until she broke. Her body writhed beneath him in urgent and sloppy movements, her voice echoed across the walls and down the hall, and he was there, keeping her body steady so he could ride her to completion.
She came two more times before he finally broke; a film of sweat coated her body and made her hair stick to her forehead, her breathing was heavy and her chest heaved up and down with an enticing rhythm. The demon was breathing a little bit more, but looked no different than usual… so unfair. Night came and the demon went to the fridge, the sight of his bare back and chest was too much for the miko as she jumped over the couch and seduced him to taking her right there on the table which he easily obliged. Completely naked, she walked down the hall to go shower when suddenly he was all over her.
"Don't tell me you want more?"
The miko moaned between kisses; it seemed like every part of her had been thoroughly sucked, caressed, licked, kissed, and bitten which made everything so sensitive. He took her to the floor and smirked that Takahashi smirk as he grasped her knees and forced her legs apart.
"Relax, I'll go slow."
And he did, he slid into her with a slow ease and gently rocked his hips in and out of her knowing that she was already sore, but still the opportunity was too much to resist.
"You should know better to waltz around, completely bare and just begging me to take you all over again."
He rode her to a slow ecstasy after thinking she couldn't anymore.
"What the hell are you turning me into?"
She hissed out right before her orgasm wiped away all thoughts, until there was nothing but feeling. Soon after she slipped into a deep sleep and there the demon took her, even in her dreams.
"Hey girl! There's someone I want you to meet!"
Bad Luck hissed, clamping their hands over Mr. K's mouth and looking around to make sure no one caught his little slip of the tongue.
"You crazy American! What if someone heard you?!"
Koga snapped and the tall man pushed the group away from him.
"Tsk! After I go through all the trouble of doing something nice for you, you act so ungrateful!"
Everyone collectively rolled their eyes.
"The last nice thing you did for us was leave us alone."
Shippo spat, but the gun-lover took no offence as Kagome stepped forward; his blue eyes glinted all-knowingly at hers and she grew wary.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer her directly as he glance over his shoulder and called out.
"Okay Sango, you can come in now!"
The miko refused to believe it when the woman stepped into their studio, she was like her, disguised as a boy, but it was so obvious the moment the cap was off and the rich brown hair fell around her frame that this was Sango Taijiya, her idol. Kagome could only stare with her mouth wide open and after a few seconds the singer of Nittle Grasper turned to her manager and pointed at the miko.
"Is she always like this?"
The feminine pronoun didn't escape the boys' ears, but Kagome didn't hear a word; as quick as a demon she snatched her idol's hands and got on her knees.
"Now I can die happy."
Tears of joy welled up as she rose to her feet and invaded the singer's personal space; the woman tried not to seem too nervous around what appeared to be a ticking time bomb of repressed energy.
"Ah, thanks, I'm flattered; it's good to know that my work can be an inspiration to other artists."
Sango flinched as the miko's head snapped up and she raised the hands she was clutching up to her chest.
"Inspiration?! Oh no, you are more than just inspiration! You're the goddess I worship daily! I memorized every song you ever sang, when I was first singing I only did your music. I bought every t-shirt, CD, poster, watched every show about you, read every article, even use the same shampoo as you! I-I love you!"
She pounced, her body impaling the soft form of the woman; she stumbled but didn't fall. The band groaned or looked away, embarrassed that their singer just made herself look like a psychotic devotee, but stared in shock with deep red blushes as Sango openly fondled Kagome's chest and looked up at the American way too calmly.
"You're right; they're crushed, but they're there."
The miko reeled back and clutched her chest, her blush was the brightest as she looked bewildered at her manager who snorted a little and glanced away, giving no indication for sympathy.
"If Tohma knows, then Sango must know too. Besides, you should be happy that you're being honest with 'the goddess you worship daily'. Play your cards right and you might actually become friends."
The blonde's hand touched Sango's shoulder.
"Remember, only a few minutes; you've got practice."
She nodded as he left and closed the door; once Mr. K was gone, the Nittle Grasper singer unzipped her pocket and out popped the little neko youkai; Kirara shook her head as she leapt out of the tight space and settled comfortably on her right shoulder. Her eyes flickered up as she saw the shocked look was still on her face.
"Relax, your secret's safe with me, but between you and me, I don't think it'd be such a bad thing if people knew you were a girl."
She absently scratched the demon cat's ears and it purred contently; the band relaxed slightly and the miko quickly forgot about the groping as her eyes passed over the adorable little cat, her face lit up as cooed at it.
"Aw, so cute! Kirara, you're more adorable in real life than in any poster!"
The miko couldn't help but come closer to Kirara, reach out and pet her; the singer quirked an eyebrow.
"Short attention span, huh? Ah—Kirara!"
The neko leapt from Sango's shoulder right into Kagome's open hands, the biggest grin appeared on her face as she nuzzled the feline check to cheek, completely gushing over her and Kirara was obviously loving the attention; the older woman raised an amused eyebrow.
"Well, look at that. I don't think I've ever seen Kirara warm up to someone so quickly before."
Kagome giggled as it crawled and jumped all over her before finding a comfortable spot on her head, the little claws tickled.
"Alright, Kirara likes you, let's see if I will."
Sango leaned back on the wall and folded her arms.
"I was promised something special; now show me what you've got."
She blinked at the sudden request.
"Uh… okay."
A little numbly the girl hand the demon cat back to its owner and turned to her band as they went to set up. The singer counted them off, but the moment they started playing the woman raised her hand and they stumbled into silence. She suddenly looked much colder and that made Kagome nervous, there was no way she was making a fool of her self or her band in front of the one person she openly worshiped.
"No. Not with that voice you use to fool people, I want the real thing. You said you know all my songs, so play one."
The miko faltered she licked her lips and turned around to her band.
"Sleepless Beauty."
She said after a few moments, lucky that everyone knew the song; they mentally shifted gears, but just as Miroku started the energetic entrance, she stopped him.
"Would it be rude of me to ask if just Aki and I do this one?"
Her eyes flicked to the half-phoenix and smiled.
"Like we used to."
The hanyou looked to Miroku for permission and he gladly stepped away from his keyboard; Aki put down his guitar and rested his hands on the keys with a practiced familiarity. He nodded to her, she took a deep breath in and the voice which she had kept quiet for so long rang out sweetly in flawless synchronization with the slow and soothing notes of the keyboard.
"Don't fear the passage of time
so that words of guidance won't
completely spill out and flow away
and there's no way out."
Sango let out a sigh and smiled, closed her eyes and let the waves of the song, her song take her away.
"I'm falling further down
to the reincarnation to you I say
color your eyes, without smiling alone.
Even if the world you've long for
has suddenly burned to ash
the miracle could still happen to come again."
Without any conscious thought, her lips parted and she began to sing in perfect harmony with Kagome, her voice supporting the miko's, but still allowing her to take the lead.
"Let's depict vividly dancing thoughts
found in that place of light
that is unreachable even now.
Don't fear the passage of time."
She pushed herself away from the wall and opened her eyes to see the younger woman watching her in awe, unbelieving that the great Sango Taijiya was singing with her; she walked over to the miko's microphone, she quickly moved to giver her plenty of room to stand by her side.
"So that words of guidance won't
completely spill out and flow away
hold my gently, always catch me
more and more in order to break my heart."
As the last of the notes faded away, the two women looked at each other, the older one smile and ruffled her hair playfully with a loud declaration.
"With a voice like that you guys will be just fine!"
She looked at her watch and quickly ran for the door, all the while stuffing her hair back under her cap, pulling it low over her eyes.
"Talk with Mr. K, the day you go back to being a girl, I'd love to do a concert with you."
She waved and slammed the door on them; the band just stared motionless, slowly looking at one another with mouths dropped open in shock, but composed themselves as their singer turned to them.
"Sango Taijiya wants to sing with me… when I'm a girl…"
Big, fat tears formed in her eyes.
"I can't catch a break."
The guys knew what was coming and carefully tried to soothe her, but it was too late; she dropped to the floor and had a tantrum that a toddler would be proud of.
A month went by and winter was looming, people everywhere were preparing for the first snowfall, the trees had long lost their leaves and went to sleep until spring would rouse them, the temperature had dropped and with it the number of paparazzi following Bad Luck and Sesshomaru around. All outdoor concerts were over until warmer weather so the band was more or less able to relax with only the small venue indoor concerts to perform. The demon had published another book: "Cool", how appropriate, and despite the freezing temperatures the latest novel topped the charts and sold the most in his entire career, bookstores everywhere were sold out and people slept by the doors for an opportunity to get their hands on a copy.
"I'll be better in a couple of days."
Inu-Yasha groaned to his band; the other attribute of winter were the winter illnesses, the stomach flu had been circulating around Tohma Studios and the hanyou was the first of them to catch it. The other five wore face masks and gloves religiously to prevent infection; they had a week of freedom and were prepared to go their separate ways and didn't want anything to hinder their first real vacation. Miroku and Koga were the first to leave, no specific place, just away from the chaos of the city; Shippo reluctantly left, he didn't want to leave his surrogate parent, but had not been to the orphanage, or his real parents' grave in a very long time.
Aki had plans to stay with Ayaka over the week, but unexpectedly cancelled, using their drummer as the excuse, but the white-haired hanyou knew better, he could tell just by looking at him that the guitarist was desperate to get some alone time with their singer. With Inu-Yasha bedridden for the next couple days Kagome volunteered to stay at the apartment and take care of him instead since she knew from experience that her boys barely knew how to care for themselves when they were well. She rolled her eyes at the healthy guys; it was a little pathetic the way they stared blankly at the sickly half-demon as if it would cure him.
"Get out of here Kagome."
Inu-Yasha finally told her after three days.
"I'm well enough to take care of myself, now go get cozy with my brother; I'm tired of hearing you pine for him in your sleep."
The miko scoffed, quite offended.
"I do not pine for him! I've never pined for anything!"
A silver eyebrow went up as he peered over his book.
"You certainly were last night and the night before that; you always want him to go harder."
A deep blush rose up and she turned away; he leaned forward a little.
"Now do you see why I want you to go away? A sick person doesn't need to be hearing something that gross… especially about his pain-in-the-ass brother."
"He's right."
Their eyes snapped up to see Aki walk in with a bowl of soup and set it down next to the drummer's bed; he was expressionless. Inu-Yasha would have slapped himself in the face if Kagome wasn't there, he completely forgot Aki hadn't left today and could see the white-knuckled fists the hanyou jammed into his pockets. He looked down in regret and shame for bringing up an old pain, but clearly the half-phoenix was better at hiding it as a little smile pulled at his lips.
"Your… lover is probably missing you."
There was venom in his voice that even she could detect, but she had no idea why it was there, was he jealous that Sesshomaru was taking up all her free time?
"Aki—"
"I'll drive you home."
He cut in, snatched up the keys and walked to the door.
"Dress warmly, we're taking my bike."
Again, she tried to say something, but was silenced by the slam of the door; she turned to the drummer.
"Do you know what's going on with him?"
'Of course I do! The idiot's in love with you and you refuse to see that it's killing him!' He licked his lips and turned a page in his book.
"No idea."
He said easily and went back to pretending to read, she took the hint and left; he was waiting for her with a helmet in hand, she slipped it over her head and climbed on behind him, her arms wrapping around his warm torso.
"I'm taking you to the Dou-Hime."
He said and could feel her jump in surprise.
"Really?"
He peered back at her through his helmet.
"Be a pretty cruel joke if I wasn't."
He gunned it out of the parking lot before she could respond; the usual vans and cars filled with photographers followed after them, but they were no match for him. When he lost them he veered off down a narrow street with barely enough room for the bike to zip through, but maneuvered his way around with ease as if he knew every which way he needed to move and turn to get through unscathed. He slowed to a halt in front of a house barely within the Tokyo borders, there were no other houses and the road was compressed dirt.
The house was large and of traditional design, reminded her of the main house, but there were no fences or gates to block anyone out and as she peered closer the sliding door didn't look like it had any sort of locks on it either. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of person wouldn't bother to try and keep out unwanted guests.
"Come on, let's hurry and get this over with."
Aki removed his helmet and got off the motorcycle and she quickly followed suit, making sure to stay behind him as he walked up to the shoji door and lightly knocked. The miko held her breath as she heard the shuffling of feet and rustling of clothes behind the door; when it opened, Aki made sure to put on a warm smile.
"Hey there, Chidori."
The hanyou girl rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked up at him aghast.
"Onii-sama?" (Big brother)
She gasped, suddenly all the exhaustion was gone from her face, she peered past Aki to the woman standing behind them.
"Kagome-san?"
Again, she asked in disbelief; it was striking how similar the siblings looked, but unlike Aki, she did not wear any seals so her striking crimson and gold hair and wings were open for display. The miko managed a believable smile for the girl.
"Hi Chi-chan, it's good to see you again, but what are you doing here?"
At thirteen years old, the hanyou girl was short for her age and timid, she avoided the singer's gaze and began picking at a splinter in the doorframe that didn't exist.
"I live here now. My demon blood is stronger that Onii-sama's; the seals kept breaking…"
She indicated at the pendant around the guitarist's neck.
"… and after Higurashi-sama died I couldn't get any more, so I'm stuck looking like this monster."
She looked down at herself in anguish and there was an instant angry growl coming from Aki's throat.
"Is that you talking or Okaa-san?"
He spat, leaning forward to stare her down and instantly the girl became desperately defensive and grabbed his arms.
"Please Onii-sama stop it! Mama tried, she tried very hard to accept me this way, but it wasn't safe for me to go outside anymore and I didn't want to her to suffer."
He was obviously displeased and pulled away from her, but did so gently; the girl forced herself to calm down and turned towards Kagome.
"I asked the Dou-Hime if I could live with her, take care of her; she and Mama talked and came to the agreement that I become the Dou-Hime's apprentice. This is my home now."
She opened the door wider and stepped aside.
"Please come in. I'm sure the Dou-Hime will be happy to see you again, Big Brother."
After a hesitant moment Aki stepped inside and she followed suit; they waited until Chidori closed the door and began walking ahead of them. Because of the dark the miko never noticed that the only thing the hanyou was wearing was a short robe and billowing out from the back was a beautiful tail folded up with rich red and gold feathers of all sizes and shades, so long it brushed against the ground. "Sweeping the place must be a walk in the park for this girl…'
The woman snickered to herself, but mellowed down as she took in the half-phoenix's entire profile, the girl was right when she said she had stronger demon blood than Aki, in fact it was so strong that she looked more demon than human. She could only imagine what that could do to a girl desperate to grow up normal, or as normal as possible under the circumstances. They walked down halls covered in centuries-old paintings depicting graphic battles, humans against demons, demons against demons, they were all different in their own way, but one common element they had was a white and black dragon was always present.
"Thank you Chidori, for bringing our guests in, you may go now child, I know how tired you are."
The girl gave a bow in the direction of the room at the end of the hall and left without a word, she was sleepy and decided to leave a few things left unsaid between her and her brother, lest the bickering get out of control.
"Aki, I'd know the sound of your stride anywhere. Come here boy and bring your guest too."
The voice sounded elderly and sweet like her great-aunt Kaede, unlike the unpleasant art on the wall, there was nothing unpleasant about the aura of the home, it was warm, welcoming, comfortable; he beckoned her to keep walking and they came upon a large, open training room with an elderly demoness sitting at the end of it sipping tea. Her hair was completely white and not because of age, she wore a simple dark blue kimono over her slender figure and her eyes were a cloudy white and stared forward at nothing which made Kagome realize something…
The Eye Princess was blind…
"Please, sit down and join me for some tea."
There was already a pot out with two cups filled; she beckoned to the two cushions in front of her. Aki nodded to Kagome in approval and they both walked up and took their places in front of the Dou-Hime; the demoness smiled when they did.
"It's been a while Aki. Chidori, despite your past history, has missed you and so did I."
The hanyou didn't respond and she turned her head in the direction of the miko.
"I see you've brought Miss. Higurashi back…"
After a moment of silence
"Not willingly."
He did not hide his distaste, but the singer paid no heed as she leaned forward.
"H-How do you know me?"
The demoness put down her tea.
"You're Kagome Higurashi, the girl whose heart I've kept sleeping in a box for nearly two years."
Hello to all my readers out there, it's good to be back! I know this wasn't a speedy update, but at least I didn't take as long as the last one.
As a quick note, I know the song I used "Sleepless Beauty" was very different in the anime than the one I made it out to be in the story. I'm not positive if the lyrics are accurate, I just picked a translation the sounded like it was close; the slow reference I got for the song is a beautiful instrumental called: Sleepless Beauty Sacred Air Mix. If you want to hear it you can find it on , , and even Youtube.
To my readers, I thank you for your patience and support and see you next chapter!
-Love's Essence
