So I'm not completely sure if I like this chapter. I was busy writing the next two chapters when I realized that there needed to be a bridge between the previous chapter and the next one. So here it is.
Kagome exited out onto the deck, lifting her chin up slightly to take in the cool night breeze. The last vestiges of sunlight peeked out from behind the mass of land before them.
Sesshomaru followed the woman to the railing as she took in the mountainous isle. The volcanic island was silhouetted against the darkening horizon, causing it to appear most ominous and threatening.
Gulping audibly, Kagome turned to Sesshomaru. "Does this lovely destination have a name?" she asked, dousing her question heavily with some sarcasm.
"Ichor." The dog demon replied blandly, occupied with retrieving a green plastic card from a side pocket of his computer bag.
"That name sounds awful." Kagome muttered. Taking a hint from her guide, she began fishing around for her own card in the surprisingly deep pocket of her very wrinkled pencil skirt.
"It is." Sesshomaru replied, watching her for a moment before handing her the card she left on the bathroom floor.
"Oh," she noticed, taking it from him with a reddened face. "I'm glad one of us is paying attention. Thanks." She sighed, knowing that the wine was a terrible, terrible idea. The time for getting drunk would be after they made it through the interrogation at the hands of the panel. If they didn't escape, though, at least she got to enjoy some of life's pleasures before becoming demon food.
As if sensing her distress rising, Sesshomaru spoke up again. "The majority of the fools running the panel have parents born long after I reached adulthood. I doubt it will take much to intimidate them."
He didn't mention the other possibility. He was an older demon in comparison to most, and he knew that several members of the younger generation would try to write him off as a toothless old dog. If that occurred, many of those demons were going to be eating their words.
A small but disturbingly bloodthirsty smirk crossed his features then, causing Kagome to shiver involuntarily and simultaneously feel better about the situation. Sesshomaru was still the big bad wolf. Dog. There probably wasn't very much to worry about.
Ten minutes later, they were headed down the boarding ramp to the small dock. Kagome was thankful for the darkness because it kept the other demons from paying too close attention to the fact that she was glaringly human. The bright colors and jewel tones that made up the demon race made it extremely hard for her to blend in. However, no one was giving her a second glance, save for Sesshomaru, who was watching her like a hawk. He even rested a hand upon her shoulder as the crowd got thicker, effectively steering her down into a staircase that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Kagome then lost the safe feeling that the darkness held as bright fluorescents lit their path down a long white hallway. The priestess could already tell that she would be sick of the color white before this whole trip was out. Everything looked so sterile and unfeeling that she was reminded strongly of a hospital.
Unbidden, memories came up of the time she spent recovering at Tokyo General after her final trip to the Feudal Era. The smells and the sights of the hallway before her were merging with what she remembered from her stay in the medical center, and it was not doing good things to her sense of wellbeing. The dog demon behind her seemed to sense this and urged her forward with his hand.
Sesshomaru then bent down, his silver bangs brushing over the shell of her right ear before he advised, "You mustn't show fear. The panel will surely try to start a bloodbath unless you remain strong." After a slightly awkward pause, he added, "I will not allow you to be injured."
"Thanks," Kagome managed out, trying to stand up straighter. That sure was sweet…ish of him. He was being extremely attentive to her emotions today, which was very weird, she felt, but in a good way.
"Where are we going, anyway?" She asked.
"We are headed to the stylists," Sesshomaru answered. The way he said it was rife with loathing, as if he'd rather have his arm sliced off again than have to continue their walk down the corridor.
"The demons that require new identities from the corporation will continue down this way, while demons that do not require them will be turning. Now." His grip on her shoulder tightened slightly as he steered her to the left, where another long hallway stretched before them.
"I do not doubt that you will be happy about this particular section, priestess." He said flatly.
"I will?" she asked, disbelieving. Sesshomaru just looked so displeased about the situation that she wasn't sure if she should believe him.
"You desire to remove that uniform, do you not?" He asked her, increasing their pace slightly. "I would be appreciative if you dressed in a practical manner. Something with layers. I do not want to deal with a frozen human."
With that, Sesshomaru planted a large hand on the silver door before them and pushed it open to reveal more of the color white, more bright lights, and more obnoxious demons. Before Kagome could even register what was happening, the tall male was striding away towards a mousy looking demon, who immediately scurried into what looked like the biggest closet ever built. Before she even think about asking where she was and what exactly was going on, a form at the edge of her vision caught Kagome's attention. She turned her head to regard the slim demon in front of her, who looked Kagome up and down with sharp eyes before speaking.
"So Lord Sesshomaru brings us a human to reinvent?" She said coldly, her gaze making Kagome feel woefully exposed and unattractive. The demoness was sleek in every sense of the word, from her glossy black hair all the way down to her patent leather pumps that were at least four inches tall. Kagome found herself twisting the wrinkled hem of her blouse as the woman took her in.
"Unorthodox," she said finally, "but we will make due without masking spells." She said this a bit louder in the direction of another demoness, who had ice blue hair that seemed to float as if underwater.
"Is there a style in particular that you would like me to select for you?" She asked, running elegant tapered fingers through her cropped hair.
"Um," Kagome said intelligently, remembering Sesshomaru's pushy requests. "Just something comfortable…with layers?"
While the demoness turned on her heel and strode away, the other swooped in from nearby to pick up Kagome's limp hair, still damp from the shower, and inspect the ends.
"What are you planning to do with this?" She asked, sounding slightly less snobbish than her wardrobe counterpart. "Are we removing length? Coloring?"
Kagome pulled away in a hurry at that. "Nothing is wrong with my hair!" she snapped, already tired of this ridiculous state of affairs. This wasn't some chick flick with a makeover montage. This was her life! Didn't they have to go talk to bloodthirsty demons about keeping her life, or something similar?
"Trim it and make it more presentable," came a familiar voice from behind her. "And dress her in something more flattering," he said to the wardrobe woman, who immediately turned back into the clothing warehouse with whatever was in hand.
Gaping openly, Kagome turned to give the arrogant dog demon a piece of her mind, but was stopped short by what she saw.
Clothed casually in slim jeans and a stylish pullover, Sesshomaru looked coolly down at her with hazel eyes and almost white blonde hair. It was cropped to a short length and combed away from his face, which was wiped clean of all demonic marks. He raised a beautifully shaped brow at her expression, looking slightly amused.
"See something you like, Priestess?" He asked, smirking slightly at the blush that rose from her neck to dust her cheeks.
Choosing not to answer, Kagome made a growling sound. "Did I just hear you making decisions about a woman's hair without her consent? Do you have a degree in cosmetology that I don't know about, because otherwise I don't think that you're qualified to even touch that subject."
The dog demon shrugged his shoulders that seemed much larger with his short hair for some reason. "Yes."
"That was a rhetorical question, Sesshomaru," she snarled, before doing a mental double take. "Wait. Really?"
Sesshomaru pretended not to hear as he examined the clothes brought over by the wardrobe demoness.
"Acceptable," he told her, before turning to the hair demon. "Make sure that she looks presentable. I will be outside."
"Whoa," Kagome said, trying to comprehend all that had just happened. "Whoa, wait a second-" But he was gone, leaving Kagome in the hands of the ice twins, who closed in on her, poking and prodding with various hair styling instruments and claws.
It was hard enough to keep her cool without all of the alcohol in her system. She forced herself to relax. With all of the demons around it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her abilities in check, especially after not using them for so long. She shut her eyes and tried some calming breaths, knowing that it couldn't possibly take that long for them to make her look "presentable."
By the time she finally emerged in a pair of jeans and a feminine sweatshirt with rose appliqués on the collar, hair trimmed and shining, there was a fire smoldering deep within her gray eyes, and it was all directed at a certain dog demon seated on a plush bench against the wall, who seemed almost apologetic as she stomped toward him.
"My scalp," she ground out. "Is almost bleeding."
"They were gentle with you, then." He said simply, standing. Kagome didn't miss the way his eyes flickered back to the door from which she just came, and the slight influence he placed on the word "you". A mischievous grin overtook her features as the puzzle pieces fit together in her mind.
"You sure hurried out of there before," Kagome said casually, sidling up to him. "And you seem to know how those two operate. You wouldn't happen to be…a past victim, would you?"
"Hn." He answered, turning abruptly to head down yet another hallway.
"If that was meant to be a no, Sesshomaru, I want you to know that I didn't miss the apprehensive look on your face just now." Kagome let out a giggle at the growl she got in response. It felt nice to have a visible effect on the demon lord for once. He had always been so untouchable, at least compared to her own constantly changing emotions.
Eventually they came to a stop at another set of doors. Sesshomaru took a moment to slide his new bracelet off, revealing his normal traits once again. He turned to look down at Kagome, who was fingering the hem of her sweatshirt nervously.
"This should go fairly quickly," he told her, reaching into his pocket to pull out a ring. "Put this on."
Upon inspection, the ring was one of a very obvious type. A round blue stone sat in the middle, nestled in a ring of tiny crystals. It was a lot lighter than she expected, which led her to the conclusion that this was a piece of costume jewelry.
"Is this a fake engagement ring?" She asked flatly, irritated by the fact that she would have picked out something very similar, had she actually been engaged.
"It is either that or a physical mark on your body," the dog demon said. "I deduced that you would prefer the less obtrusive choice."
"I guess you deduced right," the priestess told him with a sigh, sliding the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. "Is this it?" She asked, gesturing to the door. She caught a barely imperceptible nod from him before he launched into command mode.
"Simply keep to the story from before and I am confident that we will not have complications. Do not mention the Jewel of Four Souls, and do not mention that you are the Priestess of said jewel. In fact, only speak when asked a direct question. I will do most of the talking."
Kagome scowled at him. "I'm not stupid, you know. I wouldn't dare mention the jewel in front of them! And I don't see why you should be the one doing all of the talking, either."
"You will thank me later when you aren't dead," he replied.
"Oh no," she said, puffing her chest up and poking him hard in the chest with her index finger. "Don't you dare write me off. I'm no idiot. I'm pretty sure it was me who sold our story in the interrogation. All you did was feel me up through my shirt!"
Sesshomaru blanched inside. She wasn't supposed to have noticed that. "Is that what you think that was?" He said in his most icy voice, sending his patented glare down at her finger.
"I don't think, I know." She said, poking him once again for good measure. "You may be able to fool everyone else with that ice prick routine, but I see right through it."
"You know nothing," Sesshomaru hissed, grabbing her hand and forcing it away from his person. "about my so-called routine, human. As if I would touch someone like you willingly."
Much to his disappointment, Kagome did not take the bait he threw before her. Instead, her expression became cold as stone, but not before he saw a vulnerable hurt look flash across her face. She drew herself up, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in her sweatshirt. "Lets get this over with, then. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I can gain some semblance of normalcy."
Frustrated that she had allowed herself to become casual with her old enemy, she turned away to face the door and hugged herself, crushing the burgeoning feelings of attraction within. Perhaps it was the nostalgia that came with a figure from her past, the feeling of maybe belonging, once again, to something a little bigger than herself. It was only logical, she thought, that she would feel the need to be close to him, due to her not-so-subconscious desire to be with her feudal era friends.
Sesshomaru was the only link she had to them, and the temptation to fall back into the past was apparently overwhelming enough that she had jumped to connect with the dog demon that had barely said a sentence to her throughout her entire stint in the feudal era.
It was downright pathetic, and she was looking forward to going back to normal. Yes, only slightly less pathetic normalcy. At least the only things haunting her then were in her head.
An emotion Sesshomaru didn't feel too often was making itself at home in his chest. Guilt. He was being overtly defensive and commanding towards the human, but he knew he was right in his instructions about the upcoming meeting with the panel. He sighed inwardly. He was getting so soft. Perhaps he was just a toothless old dog.
"The panel is difficult to deal with. They live in the past and do not see humans as having strength. Especially women. If it appears that I have control over you, they will not see you as a threat to their security." He said finally, after a long pause.
Kagome turned back to look at him, caught off guard slightly by the raw emotion in his golden eyes. He was sorry. She knew that he wouldn't say it out loud, but she could tell that he was asking her to understand and forgive him.
She sighed softly. "I understand. I'll try to act accordingly." To her surprise, a smirk flitted across his features.
"If you could find it within you to produce those tears again…I would be appreciative."
"You…want me to cry?" She asked dubiously, narrowing her eyes in confusion.
"Unlike the owl on the ship, some of these demons will have extremely heightened senses of smell. It is possible that they could identify dishonesty. Your tears will confuse their noses."
"Huh," She said, shrugging. "I'd never thought of it that way….but if that will help…"
"It will," he told her, interested in her sudden complacency. It appeared that she just wanted a helpful part to play in this. The calculating manipulator inside of him filed that little fact away for future reference. If this was all it took to ensure her cooperation in difficult matters, then he would make great use of her pleaser personality.
"Come," he said, opening the door for her to allow her entrance. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the doorway and stopped short, confusion overtaking her features.
Kagome wasn't sure what she expected on the other side of the doors. She had been picturing a dark, dungeon-like room with severe judges and possibly some chains, but what she entered with Sesshomaru was extremely…average.
It was a quietly buzzing office space with several cubicles. To the left stood a pair of polished wood doors with an equally polished desk sitting beside it. A demon wearing an expertly cut suit was typing languidly on the keyboard, hooded eyes fixed on the screen.
As they approached the desk, the demon looked up at them, eyes raking over Kagome before focusing on Sesshomaru.
"Ah, Lord Sesshomaru," he said, glancing again at the screen. "Captain Johannson called about your…situation. The council has been waiting for you."
Sesshomaru nodded in response. He glanced back at a paling Kagome before striding to the doors fearlessly. Turning slightly, he quirked an eyebrow at her, prompting Kagome to move to stand beside him. His emotionless mask was firmly in place, and it was clear that he was in character as he opened one of the thick oak doors and walked in first, leaving Kagome to scramble after him.