Sage under the Moon

-by Kittymui-

The day things became more complicated

"Get off of m-" Her voice got stuck on her throat when the drunkard suddenly pulled away from her. After blinking away the tears from her eyes, Kagome realized that the man was being pulled back by force. In the next second, he was smashed against a nearby pillar and a shiny blade appeared near this throat.

Kagome widened her eyes as she caught a full view of her savior. "Sesshoumaru!" she gasped, slowly pushing herself up from the table.

She saw him glance at her briefly before turning to the drunkard again. His eyes narrowed as he pushed the cold steel against his throat and growled. "Don't you dare touching her again."
With that, he pushed him to the floor and pointed the tip of his blade at his face. "Get lost!!"

The man let out a large shriek before he clumsily made his way to the exit, leaving Kagome and Sesshoumaru behind in the empty diner.

Kagome felt her whole body tremble as she held her deformed inner garment together. She parted her lips to speak but Sesshoumaru beat her to it as he sheathed his sword. "Now we're even," he said coldly without looking at her.

Sesshoumaru was about to walk away when Kagome burst out in tears with her face buried in her hands. Her timing couldn't be more perfect when he realized some of the cleaning staff had lined themselves up on the stairs behind them. From the looks on their faces, Sesshoumaru also realized that the situation was only going to get worse if he didn't take action soon. The sight of him being the only one standing near the crying victim did not favor him at all. He glared at Kagome. "Stop crying, wench," he hissed under his breath.

"I…I…" she stuttered.

"I'm not the culprit, so stop making me look like one," he bit back.

Before he could say anything else, she suddenly grabbed his robe and buried her face in it. "I was…so scared…" he heard her muffled voice.

Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder at the unwanted audience, which had only increased in size in the meantime. Fortunately, the suspicion that fell on him earlier seemed to have disappeared, though he had hoped it would involve less physical contact. His attention darted back to Kagome when the sobbing suddenly stopped. There was no way he could've calmed her down that fast. His eyes slightly widened when he saw her hands slipping away from his chest. 'Kagome!' A quick bend forward allowed him to grab her by her waist before she fell to the floor.

At that moment, a young lad together with an old man appeared by his side. "I brought the village doctor!" the boy panted with a sweaty forehead.

"She has a very high fever," the elder said, brushing his long white beard.

Sesshoumaru scowled when he saw his other hand land on Kagome's forehead.

"We should let her rest on a bed," the clerk suggested and he made his way upstairs with Sesshoumaru and the doctor behind him.

Once he finished laying her down on her bed, Sesshoumaru stepped aside for the elder. The same young clerk put down a large brown box, which belonged to the doctor, on the table behind them. He quickly picked up one of the stools and placed it right behind the doctor. "Thank you boy," the elder smiled and sat down.

The clerk turned to Sesshoumaru. "Would you like a stool too sir?" Sesshoumaru shook his head and turned to Kagome again.

"You two must have traveled a long distance," said the elder after the clerk disappeared into the hallway.

Sesshoumaru didn't respond as he stared at every movement the human made.

"It is not wise to travel through a storm like that, you know. Unlike yourself, this young lady seems to have taken a heavier portion of rain and wind. She's been greatly weakened by it."
The former dog demon was surprised at how much he knew by simply checking her pulse. His eyes shifted to Kagome when she started breathing heavily. Pain was written all over her sleeping face and he knew more than anybody else who had caused her to suffer like that.

Annoyed by the guilt, he eventually turned away from the bed. "She's of no concern to me," he muttered coldly.

"Feeling guilty huh? Well don't be young man," the elder said kindly as he placed Kagome's arm back under the covers.

Sesshoumaru immediately shot him an ice glare. "You don't know anything human!"

The genuine smile on his face did not fade as he spoke. "The dirt patterns on both of your garments told me more than enough about your journey. The fact that more dirt and grass stained this young lady's cloak and boots can only mean that she was exposed to the storm for a longer period than you." He stood up and stared at Sesshoumaru face to face. "By the faint paleness of your skin, I'm pretty sure that fever had struck you as well a couple of days ago. She must have traveled through the storm for your sake." His eyes dropped to Sesshoumaru's hand, which was holding the hilt of the sword around his waist. "And the reason why you haven't killed me yet is because I'm right."

"You're wrong," countered Sessshoumaru, letting go of his sword. "You're still breathing because you are still of use to me." That said, he distanced himself from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Are you leaving your friend behind?"

He stopped in his tracks. "She's not a friend."

"Either way, this young lady will not recover if nobody's there to take care of her," the doctor told him as he took a piece of paper and writing materials out of his equipment box and started writing. He looked up in surprise when Sesshoumaru suddenly threw Kagome's money pouch on the table, allowing several coins to spill over the surface.The elder frowned but eventually bowed over his paper again. "May I remind you that although I'm obliged to help a patient as a doctor, my task only involves providing the medicines and herbs?" he said calmly and finished what he was writing. As he put away his tools, he called for assistance.

The same young clerk entered the room and walked over to his side. "Yes?"

The doctor picked four coins that fell out of the pouch earlier and pushed one of them together with the piece of paper in his hand. "Gather the herbs on this list and boil the written amount in water into four bowls of broth each day; two for the young lady and the other two for the young man. Do this for five consecutive days including today."

The boy's eyes sparkled as he gazed at the coin he received. "Thank you sir! Leave it to me!"

The old man smiled. "Oh don't thank you me. You should thank this young man," he pointed at Sesshoumaru. "He gave you the money. Perhaps he'll give you more if you help him take care of the young lady."

Sesshoumaru scowled and turned to the clerk with a glare of death. "Touch her and you'll suffer the consequences."

The clerk cringed and gulped. "Y-yes sir."

"Well, my job is done here," the doctor brushed his long beard wisely and left the room without sparing Sesshoumaru another glance.

"Allow me to walk you to the exit sir," the clerk offered almost too willingly and wobbled past the former demon to the exit.

"Wait."

The boy froze and turned to Sesshoumaru. "Yes?"

"Get me some clean water and a towel," he ordered.

"Yes sir! Right away sir!"

After the sound of the doors closing, Sesshoumaru turned around to the bed and gazed at the sick girl breathing heavily. Only a few hours ago, he would've done anything to shut her up, but right now, it felt awkward to see her like that. He picked up the money pouch on the table and approached the side of the bed to return it to its true owner. Just when he was about to turn away again, he found himself unable to look away from her sleeping face.

"This Sesshoumaru does not like to owe anyone anything," he told her sternly. "Your help was uncalled for…" His voice faltered as he studied her pained expression. He thought it would make him feel better by saying that, but the more he wanted to protect his pride, the guiltier he felt. Guided by an unknown emotion, his hand moved to her sweaty forehead. The second his fingers made contact with her damp skin, he suddenly felt a heavy lump in his throat accompanied by a strange feeling churning in his chest. Silently, he pulled down his other sleeve and started to dab away the droplets glistening on her face.

-.-

A couple of days later, Sesshoumaru recovered from the fever with the medicinal broth prescribed by the doctor.

Kagome, on the other hand, still hadn't woken up yet. Although her fever was gone, her prolonged slumber started to worry him with each day that passed.

Eventually, he decided to summon the annoying doctor one more time. As much as he loathed seeing him again, he had to admit that he knew too little about the human body. Was it something he did? Sesshoumaru shook off the nervous thoughts. The doctor will be arriving any minute now, until then, it's no use brooding over it. His thoughts were interrupted with a knock on the door.

"Enter."

The doors slide open and revealed the young clerk with the old man right behind him. "I'll be in the hallways if you need me," the boy said before stepping aside. The doctor nodded kindly and entered the room.

"So…" he began after the doors closed behind him. "It surprises me that you decided to summon me again young man."

Sesshoumaru looked away. "I had no choice."

"Well then, shall we take a look at the young lady?" he said as he put down his toolbox and approached the bed. He gently placed his wrinkled hand on her forehead. "Ah, her fever has gone down. That's relieving to know."

"The clerk told me she hasn't woken up since the last time I paid her a visit. That's what caused you to summon me again, am I right?"

Sesshoumaru was about to say something in self-defense but the doctor cut him short with a smile. "Don't worry, she's only sleeping due to the exhaustion her body had accumulated." Sesshoumaru watched him bend over Kagome one more time before he turned to him again. "She should be waking up in no time," he reassured him while brushing his beard. Without saying anything else, he picked up his toolbox and made his way to the doors again.

"Your payment," Sesshoumaru halted him.

The old man shook his head and looked over his shoulder at him. "I only ask one coin per patient for each consult." With that said he pushed open the sliding doors and disappeared into the hallway, leaving a bewildered Sesshoumaru behind.

He listened to the fading footsteps outside the room while contemplating the elder's words. There was something odd about what he said. 'He only wants one coin per patient, but why didn't he ask for one today?' Sesshoumaru frowned as he recalled his first visit. 'Wait a minute…he took four coins last time and gave one to the clerk…does that mean…?'

His train of thoughts crashed when a soft shuffling sound came from the bed behind him. Sesshoumaru slowly turned around and widened his eyes when he saw Kagome's head turning slightly to him. Realizations suddenly hit him hard and instead of feeling relieved, a wave of rage clouded his mind. 'He knew he would be summoned again! That's why he took three coins! He couldn't have known that Kagome would stay asleep unless…' Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as it all made sense to him now. It was all his doing and to think he had been playing all along for the past days. As he continued to sulk mentally, he didn't realize that Kagome had completely woken up in the meantime and was staring at him.

"Sesshoumaru?" she croaked to get his attention.

She watched how the angry expression faded from Sesshoumaru's face as their gazes met. "H-how long have I…" she began as she tried to sit up but stopped when she suddenly felt an arm supporting her shoulders from behind. She looked up only to see Sesshoumaru's face inches from her and widened her eyes in confusion. "Why are you-"

"Now we're even," he cut across her as he placed her pillow upright and ushered her to lean against it.

'Even?' she thought puzzled. She remembered him saying the same thing right after he rescued her. Her eyes scanned her surroundings until she caught the glimmering sheathed sword leaning against the bench below the window. 'A sword…? That's right, he used it to save me back then.' She shifted back to Sesshoumaru and tilted her head as she studied his outfit. She didn't notice it before but now that he was so near, she realized he was wearing different garments than when she first met him. Instead of his black wedding outfit, he now wore a white haori and hakama with navy edges. And when she located her dark gray cloak hanging on the wall, she found a jet-black one next to it.

With narrowed eyes and a fearful assumption, Kagome desperate searched around for her money pouch. When she found it, she picked it up hastily and widened her eyes. Even without checking its content, its weight already told her that at least halve of it had been spent and she glared at Sesshoumaru in fury. "No Sesshoumaru," she hissed, staring straight into his hazel eyes. "We're far from being even."

She was surprised when he merely responded by staring back at her in silence. She had expected a counterattack of comments about how normal it was for him to have used her money and that she should be grateful. But none of it happened. There was no sign of anger in his eyes.

And soon, their staring game ended with several knocks on the door. Both of them almost jumped up in shock and averted their gazes awkwardly.

"Enter," said Sesshoumaru as he stood up.

The familiar clerk entered the room with a pile of garments in his hands. His face lit up when he saw Kagome. "You've awakened miss!" he said happily and exchanged brief glances with Sesshoumaru before kneeling down before her. "I'm sorry for leaving you all alone back then. Thank goodness your betrothed arrived on time! We were so worried when you fainted in his arms."

Kagome slightly blushed when she started to recall some fragments of what happened back then. She dropped her gaze to hide her face, only to realize that the clerk was holding her clothes. "Ehm…thank you for bringing my clothes…h-how did you know I needed them?"

The clerk laughed. "Oh these? The doctor told me that you would wake up very soon, so I thought I should prepare them. But I never thought the old man would be this accurate!"

"A doctor was here?" Kagome stole a glance at Sesshoumaru, whose expression had hardened ever since the clerk mentioned it.

Her attention turned to the boy again when he hastily continued. "Your betrothed was worried about you too! He never left your side except when the maids had to change your clothes. He even fed you the medicine the doctor-"

He was cut off when Sesshoumaru cleared his throat in a very self-explanatory way.

The clerk immediately got the message and jumped to his feet. "W-well, I still got a lot of things to do, so uhm…I'll be heading off now," he stammered and excused himself from the room after placing her clothes on the nearby table.

After the doors closed, Kagome slowly turned to Sesshoumaru, who stared at the closed doors with a rather annoyed expression.

"You were still of use to me, nothing more, nothing less," he grumbled without looking at her.

For some reason, Kagome felt no anger building inside at his insult. She was no more useful to him than her bag of money and yet he came back for her even after he got the equipments he wanted. He despised her and yet, he rescued her and took care of her when she couldn't take care of herself.

"Thank you," she said to him with a small smile. But her smile dropped fairly quickly as she realized whom she was thanking. 'I shouldn't be grateful to him…he's the one who murdered my grandparents…'

Her thoughts halted when something blocked the daylight and towered over her. She froze when she realized it was Sesshoumaru. With slightly widened eyes, she watched how he silently sat down on the bed next to her and slowly moved his face closer to hers. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his warm forehead landing on hers. She felt the blood rising to her cheeks and forced herself to think about something other than the close proximity between them.

It wasn't until he pulled away that she realized she had been holding her breath all this time, which caused her to cough heavily.

"Are you okay?" Sesshoumaru asked gently as he rubbed her back.

"Y-yes…cough…I-I'm fine…cough cough…" Kagome replied with tears in her eyes. "How's your fever by the way?" she asked after the coughing ended.

Sesshoumaru stood up again, which forced her to crane her neck to look at him. "I'm stronger than you think, I've already recovered while you were sleeping," he stated proudly.

A grin formed on Kagome's lips as she stuck up her nose. "Since you're a human, I'd say you're just as weak as I am," she scoffed. She turned to Sesshoumaru while awaiting his mocking remarks but blinked in confusion when she found him staring at her again. 'It's that expression again…why is he doing that?' Kagome averted her gaze in bewilderment. 'Why is he looking at me like that? What is wrong with him?'

What she didn't know was that the same thoughts tormented Sesshoumaru's mind as well. 'What's wrong with me? I should be angry at her for insulting me…' he wondered.

On top of that, he hadn't had the slightest idea where the urge to embrace her suddenly came from. And the strangest thing was, the idea of embracing the human did not sound as appalling as a few days ago. What changed?

-.- meanwhile -.-

"This is ridiculous! How could you dispatch your best men and still fail to find my beloved Sesshoumaru-sama!?" she pouted behind the delicate bamboo screen, which separated her from the audience chamber.

Jaken flinched at her sharp tone while remaining in his groveling position. "Please don't worry my lady, I have sent some of our demonic soldiers. They'll be able to track down Sesshoumaru-sama's scent in no time."

"I sure hope they do, or I'll be having your head next time you bring such disappointing news," warned the demoness.

The servant swallowed hard as he imagined the headless self. 'If only InuTaisho-sama were here…' he wailed mentally, recalling what the former lord said before he and the former lady left for the Northern Lands.

"Unless you found Sesshoumaru's corpse, do not disturb me with any messengers."

He surreptitiously raised his head, only to see the silhouette of Kaguya pacing back and forth.

At that moment, Inuyasha appeared beside the servant with a grin plastered on his face. "What's wrong Kaguya? Frustrated that my brother left you untouched before disappearing?" he scoffed.

"Shut up half breed! You're not even qualified to call me by my name!!" she hissed angrily.

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Keh! You're not even marked yet so don't talk big about being a lady and all that! My brother can still get rid of you anytime he wants!"

"Why you-" Her sentence was cut off by the sound of tearing fabric. "Aargh!! Where is Kagome?! Get me Kagome, NOW!!" she suddenly yelled furiously.

The hanyou stifled a laugh. Apparently, she had accidentally stepped on her garment and caused a tear in it.

"I'm so sorry Kaguya-sama, but the servant you speak off has gone missing," explained Jaken.

Kaguya's silhouette froze. "What did you say? Are you saying that she has fled??"

"I-I'm afraid so my lady…"

Inuyasha smirked. 'Too bad you can't see this Kagome. I'm sure you would've loved the drama.' He thought amused.

"The nerve…nobody disobeys me and gets away with it!!" Kaguya growled, turning to Inuyasha. "You wouldn't by chance have anything to do with her sudden disappearance…would you half breed?"

He shrugged casually. "What if I did…and what if I didn't? There's no way you can prove it anyway."

Although it was just her shadow, he could sense her expression darken considerably. "You pesky little…"

"My lady, if I may interrupt you," Jaken cut her short hastily. "From what I've heard, the servant named Kagome has been missing ever since your wedding night."

The demoness seemed to have taken the bait as a moment of silence ensued. "The same night when Sesshoumaru-sama left?" she asked finally.

"Yes."

Inuyasha's amusement faded as he took in the information seriously. 'W-what…!?' he thought shocked. 'I saw him enter the room with Kaguya before I went to pick up Kagome! I made sure nobody was following us!'

"Ah of course…it all makes sense to me now," said Kaguya as she sat down calmly. "That sly little bitch took the chance to flee the fortress when the security around the gates was weakest. Sesshoumaru-sama sensed that and that's why he suddenly left before we-" Her voice trailed off as she squealed in happiness. "Aw Sesshoumaru-sama, you shouldn't have… Oh I'm so sorry for doubting you my love… you made Kaguya so happy!!"

As she continued to refer to herself in third person, Inuyasha drowned in his worry. It wasn't impossible for Sesshoumaru to have sensed Kagome's disappearance. Could he have missed his brother's scent when he left the fortress to pursue her? 'Come to think of it, I was distracted once by something else back then…near the gates…'

His thoughts ended when the shadow of Kaguya stood up again.

"I can't let my beloved do all the dirty work. He's a lord now…killing a human isn't something he should bother himself with," the demoness decided.

"What do you intend to do my lady?" Jaken asked.

Kaguya giggled evilly. "I guess now's the time to catch up with my friends. I'm sure they'll lend me a hand if I told them that I'm in a position to get them whatever they desire…"

A shiver ran down Inuyasha's spine as the demoness started to laugh hysterically. With his hands covering his sensitive ears, he slipped away from the audience chamber. 'This is bad…' he thought to himself. 'Sesshoumaru is already dangerous enough…if Kaguya's demonic friends are pursuing her as well, she'll surely-' He groaned in frustration. 'Damn! If only I had noticed it sooner!'

Inuyasha shook off the scary thoughts. 'No, there's a chance he hasn't found her yet...as long as Kaguya hasn't dispatched any of her reinforcements yet, there's still time...' He clenched his fists in determination. 'Kagome...'

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Again sorry for the late update. It seems I'm making a habit of updating every 1.5 to 2 months, argh...I'm so ashamed of myself... I hope you like it nevertheless. I'll try to update sooner! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks a lot!

Cheers,

Kittymui

'Italic': thought
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
CAPSLOCKED WORDS: noises

-.-.-.-

Next chapter: The day he began to regret

-.-

What will Sesshoumaru do now that Kagome has become the target of his bride's wrath? Will he be forgiven before anything bad happens to her?

-.-.-.-

Posted: May 5 2007
Last Edited: May 5 2007
Spelling check: YES

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Inuyasha characters or plot. Nor do I own anything of the Chinese myth/fairytale I'm basing my story on. If there's anything similar between my story and that of another author or artist, I swear sincerely that I have no intention of copying or stealing anything!