Disclaimer: As afore mentioned, I do NOT own Inuyasha nor any of it's fictional characters…
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Last Time:
Kagome was approved for travel due to her nice healing and the group, Kagome and a slightly jealous Sesshomaru head out to return to her companions.
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Chapter 9:
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Kagome was feeling ridiculously conflicted as she walked beside Ah Un. On the one hand, she had the prospect of returning to her friends, and on the other was Inuyasha. She hadn't forgotten about her little "dreams" even if she'd been spared them of late. (Which of course may have been due to her lack of sleep in general.) She had not left on a good note with him and had been gone for nearly two months to stay at his commonly hated half-brother's home, so she was a little unsure as to how to go about it. She could almost guarantee that he would not be welcoming towards her nor gracious towards Sesshomaru. No matter how she looked at it, it was not looking promising. And she was honestly beginning to grow anxious.
"Kagome-chan, Rin is hungry," mumbled the little girl who held onto her hand lightly.
Glancing down at the little girl who she'd honestly forgotten was there, she forced her mind to focus again.
"Is it dinner time already?"
"Rin thinks so."
"Alright," she turned forward, intent on asking Sesshomaru to stop when she realized he was not there. Glancing around, he was no where to be seen.
"Jaken where did Sesshomaru-sama go?"
The little green kappa stuttered for a moment, finally noticing himself that their lord was missing.
But then Kagome felt his aura brush gently against hers and she looked up to see him amble into the clearing, a string of fish in his hand. He tossed them at his murky green servant.
"Jaken, prepare them."
"Hai Sesshomaru-sama!"
Silent as ever, Sesshomaru then sat down near Ah Un, his back to an old oak tree.
Kagome said nothing as she went about setting up a little camp for them. She assumed that they would be stopping for the night and helped Jaken make a fire.
All was relatively silent as they ate, Rin much more pre-occupied with avoiding fish bones than her usual chatty behavior, and Kagome found that she didn't like it. It made it much too easy to continue thinking about Inuyasha and the inevitable, dreadful reunion. Oh how anxious she was!
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Sesshomaru's lip curled a little as the stench of the miko's unease once more filled his senses. It really was growing very irritating. Her mood was bouncing back and forth between hopeful anxiety and trepidation and quite frankly he was tired of the smell. Her anger he could handle happily for her scent then became laced with a rich spiciness; even her sickly sweet and sometimes heady joy was tolerable. But this was ridiculous. It made her scent quite sour and he'd never been able to tolerate that scent well. It would have to be remedied.
"Miko," he called, waiting for her to acknowledge him. "Due to your lack of speed, in being ningen, it will take us the better part of a week to reach our destination. Owing to this inconvenience, I have decided that along the way I must speak with the leader of the Eastern lands." He waited for any reaction from her but was greeted with nothing but a blank stare. "This will no doubt extend the duration of the intended trip another week or so-" He noticed a glint in her eyes. "-if not longer due to your inabilities, which may be attributed to the wound you've sustained."
The miko nodded slowly and Sesshomaru noticed how her scent seemed to calm back to the original scent that usually laced her physical being.
"I understand, Sesshomaru-sama."
"Hn."
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Despite how happy the new situation made her, the next day Kagome had a little problem that she was sure that everyone, but especially the youkai in the group, would notice. She was P.M.S.-ing, and BAD! While with Sesshomaru at the shiro she'd been relatively calm, more so than usual due to her injury, so he'd never really experienced the real lively Kagome in person. And now he was about to deal with a particularly rambunctious one. And inside, she was sorry for it.
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Kagome grumbled as she moseyed along, her feet hurting, her lower stomach cramping and her tummy rumbling about its lack of food. She was NOT a happy camper, and pretty much everyone in the group had noticed her drastic change. She was becoming very vocal about it.
"Can we please stop for a moment?! Is that really too much to ask?"
Sesshomaru ignored her for the most part, smelling what the particular predicament was and knowing just what kind of affect it generally had on the ningen female sex. He assumed it could be reasonably avoided. Perhaps if he did not acknowledge it, it would disappear or simply quiet?
"Did you not hear me? Have you suddenly gone deaf?"
He continued on, ignoring her challenging tone of voice as it raised in pitch.
"Oh this is just peachy! I've got a frickin' blister on my heal, do you know what that feels like?" She hopped a little as she tried to readjust her shoe. "Not likely, Mr. Perfect-not-a-scratch-on-me." Eventually she just huffed as they continued, crossing her arms across her chest. "Being pricks must run in the family."
Rin gasped from her seat astride Ah Un, trying to cover her ears as she gaped in somewhat horror at her female idol.
"Kagome-chan should not say such things about Sesshomaru-sama!"
"Indeed, you worthless ningen! Stop this profanity this instant!" cried Jaken, swinging his staff at her threateningly.
"Or what?!" she shrieked in reply to the kappa. She glared him down, smirking triumphantly as he glared in return but lowered his staff.
"Sesshomaru-sama, perhaps we should stop?" Rin asked tentatively. He sighed, stopping in his tracks. How bothersome.
"No," came Kagome, walking forward and passing Sesshomaru on the trail. "He wants to continue and so we shall continue," she said stubbornly. He felt himself bristle a little at how she went ahead of him. Only the alpha may lead.
"Miko, we will stop now."
She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, her hands on her hips.
"No! I want to continue! Because obviously hunger and tiredness don't matter!"
His irritation came out as a low growl.
"Miko, you will stop this irritating display."
"Oh will I? And why is that? Because you say so? I'm so sick of being told what to do by youkai and-and hanyou!"
Her glare narrowed as she watched his eyes smirk in acquiescence.
"I don't think so! I will not just do as you tell me to!" she ranted, shaking her finger at him.
His eyes narrowed dangerously but she continued on, getting closer and practically in his face.
"You do not control me!" she cried foolishly in the face of a threatened demon.
Next thing she knew, she was on the ground with his sneering and growling face above her throat, his hands pinning her down easily.
"Foolish miko! You dare to challenge this one's authority?"
Kagome blinked owlishly, somewhat coming to her senses, her hormonal emotions no longer ruling her reactions. His upper lip pulled back in a snarl, making her jump and screech simultaneously.
"What's happening?!" Kagome cried to Rin and Jaken, watching as his eyes began to bleed red.
"Sesshomaru-sama is alpha!" Jaken shouted at her. "You were stupid to challenge him on something so simple!"
"Challenge?! How did I challenge him?!" She shrieked a little as he snarled at her lack of attention on him.
"Where shall I begin?" Jaken laughed. "You made many mistakes. But to name a few: You took the lead of the pack; you challenged him in his decision to stay or go. And both were incredibly stupid on your part ningen."
Kagome shrieked again as Sesshomaru seemed to grow angrier and a little more vocal about it.
"What should I do?!"
Rin ran as close to them as she dared, her hands twisting in her kimono.
"Rin thinks that Kagome-chan should submit!"
"How?! How do I submit?!" Sesshomaru's powerful aura was pulsing around her threateningly, pushing down on her and making her gasp for breath.
"Turn your head to the side! Show him your throat!" Jaken interceded for reasons beyond him. Perhaps he did not wish for Rin to be scarred by watching her die a painful death…?
Kagome slowly and shakily turned her head to the right, keeping her eyes on him at all times. She watched as his eyes narrowed, and became more focused, though retaining a bit of red. He bent his head down closer to her throat, baring his teeth over it.
Kagome became very nervous; it took all of her willpower to not struggle against him. What was he doing?
He watched her closely as he lowered his canines to graze the skin of her neck as if to warn her, for future notice: How easily he could defeat her.
When he finally pulled away and sat back Kagome slowly and carefully sat forward, her heart hammering in her chest, watching him intently as his eyes returned to their usual molten gold and his aura receded.
"Perhaps Kagome-chan should bow for good measure?" whispered Rin. Her eyes darted over to the little girl before returning to "her alpha".
She took the suggestion into account, slowly leaning forward on her knees until her forehead was to the ground, her hands before her shakily but respectfully.
"Hn."
She heard him stand and walk away and she hoped it was safe to get up. As she sat back up on her haunches Rin practically launched herself at her, wrapping her little arms around her neck in a hug.
"Kagome-chan did well. Sesshomaru-sama is pleased."
She eyed the stoic lord as he sat along the path.
"How can you tell?" she asked wryly.
"Rin just knows," she grinned.
"Well I hope you're right," she muttered to herself.
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Kagome sighed as she yet again glanced over at Sesshomaru, finally hearing the light snores of the others. Well, it was now or never.
She stood and slowly walked over to where he sat, watching his expression and internally sighing again at his lack of one. She sat before him, her demeanor entirely apologetic.
"Sesshomaru-sama?"
He glanced at her, tilting his head a little.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier. I honestly don't know what came over me," she could feel the blood rushing to her face as she thought about it.
"Hn. This one does. It is common in female ningen."
"Yes, but the fact that you felt you had to put me in my place is humiliating to say the least. I never should have let it get that far and I'm sorry for it." She bowed her head a little in apology, happy that he didn't seem as pissed at her as she thought he'd be.
"Hn. Establishing dominance in packs is also common. It is a regular occurrence with Inuyasha, simply in a different manner," he explained.
"Hmm, I suppose, that makes sense," she agreed quietly.
They sat in a somewhat comfortable silence before he broke it.
"Do your emotions generally get the better of you when such a physical change occurs?"
Kagome felt her face turn a deep red in embarrassment and she scratched at the back of her head, looking anywhere but at him.
"Uh, honestly yes. I can't really help it though." She shifted a little uneasily. "But in case you haven't noticed already I'm not exactly a timid sort of person on a normal day anyways."
"Hn. Indeed."
She glanced up at him to see him smirking ever so slightly as he looked up into the night sky.
Glad that he hadn't embarrassed her any more than she already was, she smiled to herself before excusing herself to bed.
"Good night Sesshomaru-sama."
"Hn."
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Kagome hummed as she went about making dinner. Sesshomaru had left to go speak with the Leader of the Eastern Lands and had said that he would return before night. That meant that he'd be back soon.
She couldn't quite discern why but it made her happy. She glanced over to see what Rin was doing, only to find her quietly and calmly coloring in her little notebook. She did at least one drawing a day, happily chattering to Kagome and the others as she did, how excited she was to finish it and give it to Sesshomaru-sama. Kagome watched her with a warm feeling bubbling in her. Rin was concentrating so hard! Such a sweet little girl. And to think that Sesshomaru was practically raising her! She was turning out very well. So respectful and sweet and intelligent.
Kagome went about her business with a light step. For some reason she was just feeling particularly happy today! It had been nice and sunny that day with a cool breeze and now that the sun was close to setting it sent a warm glow about everything. That alone could have made her happy. That and there was no one nagging at her. Normally Inuyasha would be breathing down her neck to quit complaining and hurry up. But not once did Sesshomaru demand that she go faster or insult her for being slow. If anything he was being quite indulgent in regards to her nearly healed wound. Even overindulgent. But she supposed that having a child with as well certainly helped. He seemed ever patient in regards to everything but especially with Rin. Not once did he snap at her for any reason whatsoever.
Indeed, Kagome was quite happy with where she was and who she was with.
She set out some bowls for soup as it bubbled over the fire and sat, preparing the kettle for tea.
As she sat she began to wonder where Sesshomaru had gone and what he would need to speak to the Eastern Lord about. She came up with all kinds of nonsense to amuse herself, such as: the recent lovely weather, rice, potato and sugar cane crop shortages and surplus, or even new neighbors. She made herself laugh outright imagining Sesshomaru and another distinguished youkai gossiping about the new Northern Lord and how his pet would keep on urinating on their bushes and plants, or how their children would cause a ruckus and listen to loud music. Oh, to imagine Sesshomaru in the future! It was almost comical!
But then another image popped into her head, one of Sesshomaru wearing modern clothing. His long and lean legs dressed in black jeans and wearing a blood red button up- half unbuttoned of course- his long hair pulled back elegantly in a ponytail at the base of his neck, the rest of it draped over a shoulder like his pelt. That thought made her eyes widen. Where in the world had that come from? The blood rushed to her cheeks as she hastily tried to think of something else. But it was in vain. She could only imagine how she would react when he came back. She now wondered if she'd be able to face him again without seeing that delicious picture in her mind's eye. Wait. Delicious?!
"Waaah!" shrieked Kagome, covering her face with her hands as she rested her forehead on her knees.
"Kagome-chan! Are you alright?" Rin rushed over, trying her best to pull her hands away from her face. "What has happened?"
"Nothing Rin! It's nothing!"
"Kagome-chan's face is red!" The two tumbled over into a giggling heap as Kagome began to tickle the little girl.
"Oh look! Rin-chan's face is red too!"
"Stop Kagome-chan!" she giggled wildly.
When they'd finally calmed, both stretched out on the ground like snow angels, relaxing in the last rays of the sun. Kagome felt as if she'd begin to dose off soon if she wasn't careful.
"Shouldn't Sesshomaru-sama be back?" came Rin's timid little voice.
Kagome sat up, looking back at the now set sun.
"He said that he would be back by night. Sesshomaru-sama never breaks his word." Rin sat up as well, twisting her hands in her lap.
Kagome closed her eyes, calming herself to stretch out her aura.
"Ah! There!" She felt his aura almost instantaneously. Her brows knit together in confusion. His aura was pulsating oddly. She'd never felt it do that before. Something was wrong.
"Jaken!" she called, getting to her feet quickly. "Stay here with Rin! DO NOT leave her alone!" she bent down to Rin, resting a hand on her hair. "I'll be right back Rin-chan."
She headed quickly into the trees, making her way to where she noticed his aura coming from. She didn't know how she could have missed it's abnormality before. It was thoroughly expanded and pulsing, almost as if pained. She sped up at that thought.
Soon enough she broke through into a small clearing, breathless and tired. But her eyes were immediately on the figure somewhat hunched in the middle of it.
"Sesshomaru-sama!"
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Kagome began to sprint to him, but stopped halfway when he turned, raised his head and snarled at her. His furious red eyes practically glowed in the darkening light.
She inhaled sharply as she fell backward, landing on her elbows, her eyes wide.
"What happened?" she whispered.
An arrow was protruding from his shoulder, just above his heart, and another was sticking out of the top of his thigh. Blood oozed out of the wounds like rivers, quickly staining the fabrics that adorned him. She reached out towards him, but he pulled back minutely.
His hand was gripping the arrow in his leg, and as he watched her narrowly, he ripped the arrow out of his flesh. The arrow crackled an angry reddish purple as he snapped it into splinters in his palm. A deep rumbling filled the clearing.
"Sesshomaru-sama," Kagome murmured gently, afraid to anger him with any sharp movements. "I want to help you."
She watched as he gingerly sniffed the air, tasting her familiar scent. It was apparent that his youkai half was in control; He was unfamiliar with her, and so he was wary and cautious.
She crawled towards him slowly, all the while keeping her head down, but watched him out of the corner of her eye. She really did not want to piss him off.
He held his chin up high as he assessed her, his nostrils flaring and his eyes calculating. When she got as near as she dared, she bowed her head to the ground, twisting, exposing her neck in the process.
"I only want to help him. Help you."
He growled at her, but much calmer than before. She took that as an acquiescence and sat up, assessing what was before her. He slouched a little now that he had come to terms with her presence, and his breathing was slightly ragged.
She didn't bother with the leg wound just yet. It wasn't as close to the heart as the other.
Gingerly, she touched the shaft of the arrow but pulled away when she felt a shock and he flinched. She could feel the miko powers emanating from it; It was much stronger in this one. He wouldn't be able to pull it out himself. Even she may have trouble with it.
"Sesshomaru-sama, this arrow needs to come out. Will you allow me to do this for you?"
He locked eyes with her then, a little confusion evident in his expression.
"If it doesn't come out it will kill you. This arrow will purify you slowly. Please let me help you."
His eyes closed slowly as he settled himself on his haunches, his remaining hand on the ground for support. When he was ready he glanced back up at her, a firm set to his mouth.
She nodded at him and turned her gaze to the arrow. This was not going to be enjoyable. For either of them. She steeled her reserve, her hands just hovering above the shaft of it. Grimacing, she wrapped her hands around it and pulled with all of her might. Purple energy crackled around them dangerously, sending angry shocks up her arms and into her body. She couldn't help but cry out, but she refused to give in. She forced her own reitai at the arrow, forcing it down. Sesshomaru was snarling almost painfully, the purifying energies no doubt eating their way into his wound.
With one final resolute tug she ripped it from his shoulder, falling backwards into a panting heap on the ground. As soon as she got her bearings she threw the arrow from her as hard as possible. Her hands burned, and as she looked down at her palms and opened her hands slowly she realized just what the damage was.
"Damn it," she muttered darkly. Her hands were practically charred. The skin was peeling and cracked in some places, dark and burnt, and in others a sort of semi-melted scarred mess. She'd never been burnt like this before. It was disgusting. And infuriating.
Sesshomaru's expanding aura drew her attention away from her hands for the moment, once she remembered the situation. She noticed how he was heaving, his shoulders shaking with the effort.
"Sesshomaru-sama, we have to get back to camp."
He glanced at her from behind a curtain of silver hair.
"We have to clean your wounds."
He watched her for a moment, but then slowly reached for her, his hand beckoning her forward.
She slowly crept towards him, careful not to touch his wounds. He wrapped his arm around her waist and then with a wince and a burst of energy, they were up in the air.
Kagome forgot to breath at that unexpected leap, and had to force air into her lungs once she realized what was happening. Her arms had automatically wrapped around his neck and she held on with a death grip, despite his grunt of pain.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
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They landed moments later in camp and a great commotion ensued. Jaken began to panic and run in circles shouting all manner of obscenities and accusations while Rin simply burst into tears. Kagome quickly helped Sesshomaru to lay down at her sleeping bag, not caring if it got covered in blood. She grabbed the kettle off of the fire, and poured some of the water into a bowl with some herbs that she'd grabbed from her bag.
"Rin, can you fetch a towel and rag for me?"
She began to take off his armor, with his one hand helping as best as he could and showing her it's hidden clasps.
Once she got down to his haori she peeled it back, watching in morbid fascination as the blood made it stick to his skin. From what she could see beneath the blood, the skin around the wound was just like her hands, charred and melted.
Rin quickly dropped the towels beside her, retreating to Ah Un's form and huddling into it's side, her little sobs quieted against it.
Kagome quickly set to cleaning the wound, using the hot water mixture to kill germs and hopefully any infection. Being youkai he would naturally heal quickly but given the circumstances she was unsure. How did youkai heal from miko reitai? Obviously it was affecting him more than any normal attack would. And how did he get wounded in the first place? Sesshomaru was never injured in battle. Right? She was seriously concerned. Whatever it was, it was bad enough that Sesshomaru would retreat into his mind and allow his beast control. She didn't like this at all.
She cleaned and bandaged the wound as quickly as possible, staunching the blood flow and ignoring how her hands burned. Hopefully his body would put a stop to the bleeding quickly.
She glanced up, feeling his eyes on her. He was watching her with hooded and pained eyes, his breathing calming slowly.
"Almost done," she promised as she went over the area a final time with the wet rag to get up any remaining blood. When she looked back up his eyes were closed in what she hoped was sleep.
"On to the next one," she murmured to herself. She examined the leg wound for a second before tearing the fabric around it, so that she could access it better.
"Sorry," she mumbled in apology for his clothing. "But I think you'll need new clothes anyways."
She cleaned that wound and bandaged it as well, before tending to her own wounds. Rin had to help her wrap the bandages around her palms and Kagome tried talking to her gently as she did, to attempt to calm her a little.
"You see, Rin? It's not so bad. And Sesshomaru-sama will be better in no time at all."
Rin sniffed a little.
"Has Sesshomaru-sama ever let you down?"
"No."
"Exactly. So what makes this any different? He'll come through fine as always."
The little girl nodded forlornly.
"You'll see. I'm sure tomorrow he'll be up and about like always."
"Rin hopes so."
Kagome smiled at her and wrapped her arms around the petite girl, kissing the top of her head.
"Come on, now. Bed time. You've stayed up long enough munchkin."
She tucked her in, and then settled herself beside the sleeping taiyoukai. Jaken and Ah Un would keep watch.
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A/N: Well there you have it. This one took a while to get started and I think it was a little awkward, but once I got the ball rolling it worked out rather well I think! ^_^ Well, I hope you guys like it!
