Author's Note: So it seems that I've been getting positive reviews about my last chapter. All of you guys wanting me to not leave you with that. Well, maybe I'll make you wait a bit more? Maybe I won't? We will just have to see where my fingers carry me as I write this chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Inuyasha
Chapter 12: The Reveal
Sesshomaru kissed Kagome for a bit longer, his tongue brushing up against her bottom lip, wanting entrance. Kagome parted her lips enough for his tongue to swoosh inside her mouth. Their tongues danced around with each other. Sesshomaru pulled his tongue out, kissed Kagome for a bit more, then broke the kiss.
Kagome slowly opened her eyes after their kiss ended. Needless to say she felt a little weak in the knees, and had a deep blush across her cheeks. At that very moment, Kagome had so many questions running through her mind. Why did he kiss her? What does it mean? Is he just trying to sleep with her? Does he know she likes him? Kagome had all these questions, but no words to say them.
Sesshomaru, sensing Kagome's unasked questions, just gave a small smile. He leaned forward, placing a small kiss on her forehead. Normally he wasn't one to do this, but for some unknown reason, he just felt that she needed to know. He didn't want her hurting anymore, and he felt that by doing this tonight, she would be able to be happy again.
"S...Sesshomaru… Why…why did you kiss me?" Kagome, finally able to find some words, asked the question that was screaming the loudest in her head. Why did he kiss her? Did he actually have feelings for her? Or would this be another case like with Inuyasha, Sesshomaru running off with another demon if given the chance just like Inuyasha did with Kikyo.
"Why did I kiss you? The answer is simple." Sesshomaru gave her another small kiss on her lips, but before Kagome could do anything about it, he had pulled back. "I cannot explain it, but ever since that day you were crying by the well, something inside of me changed. I have grown quite fond of you, Kagome. And I would like you to know, that I have feelings for you."
Sesshomaru didn't quite know how to say it. He's never admitted his feelings to anyone before, not even Rin and Jaken. But for some reason, this woman in his arms, made everything different. He felt that he could be a completely different person around her.
Kagome's eyes lit up, as a smile went from ear to ear. Hearing him say that made her extremely happy. She didn't care what Inuyasha wanted. She liked Sesshomaru and if Sesshomaru was going to make her happy, then that is who she would be with.
"Sesshomaru…that makes me so happy to hear you say that. I have feelings for you, too!" Kagome threw her arms around his neck, standing on her tippy toes, and bringing him into a tight hug. She felt his arms wrap tighter around her, hugging her back.
Sesshomaru let a small smile appear across his lips as he hugged Kagome. He couldn't explain it; he just knew that she was what he wanted. She made him feel things he's never felt before. She's the only one that got into his head and stayed there for many unknown reasons.
Kagome loosened her arms around him, breaking the hug but still staying in his arms. She took a small step back so she could look up at him. Sesshomaru felt her loosen her arms and loosened his own hold on her. He looked down at her, his emotionless mask, for once, not on his face.
The two stood there looking at one another, trying to read the other's unspoken thoughts. They stood like that for what seemed like forever, in a comfortable silence. It seemed that this moment would last forever, but it was Sesshomaru who broke the silence.
"Now that everything is out in the open with you, I hope you have a good night. Sleep well, Kagome." With that, Sesshomaru released her from his arms. He gave her a small smile before he turned around and walked back to his room.
Kagome smiled back at Sesshomaru. "Good night, Sesshomaru." She watched him leave around the corner. Once he was gone, she leaned against the door to her room for a moment before sliding them open. Kagome stepped into her room, closing the door behind her.
She knew Mina would be waiting for her at the bathroom, so she didn't waste any time. She looked for her bathroom things and saw that Mina had already grabbed them. Giving a small smile to the empty room, Kagome left and headed to the bathroom.
Once there, she stripped down as usual and let Mina bathe her. Although it was still rather different, Kagome was starting to get used to having Mina's help. It was nice sometimes; especially when her body was too sore to really do anything she could count on Mina to be there to help her.
Kagome's bath was rather quiet and uneventful. Once she was finished, she got out, dried off, changed, and followed Mina back to her room. Mina brushed Kagome's hair, drying it off as much as she could, then bowed her way out of the room. Kagome climbed into bed, snuggling up under the covers, her mind racing over what had just happened. It wasn't long until Kagome's thoughts put her to sleep.
Sesshomaru walked to his bathroom, his mind going over everything that just happened. He inwardly smirked at the thought of what his dimwitted brother would say if he knew. Though, Sesshomaru didn't really care. If Sesshomaru wanted someone or something, he was going to go after it and he wouldn't let anyone stand in his way.
Sesshomaru let his servants remove his clothes. Once they were off, he stepped into his own private bath. He leaned back, letting the servants clean him. Once his bath was complete, Sesshomaru got out, let them dry him off, then let them assist him in getting dressed for bed.
Once he was all ready, Sesshomaru dismissed his servants and headed back to his room. As soon as he got there, he pulled back the doors, and climbed into bed. 'Did I make the right choice tonight..? I know she said she has feelings for me, too. But did I make the right choice in letting her know mine? I never show anyone my emotions, so why her?'
Sesshomaru was lost deep in his own thoughts of the evening. Sure he liked Kagome, and sure he wanted to be the one that made her happy, but was it the right decision in letting her in? Did he make the right choice in allowing her to get into his head in the way she did and allow him to grow feelings for her?
All these questions ran through Sesshomaru's head, but he could not seem to bring about any answers. Giving a rather loud sigh, Sesshomaru rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes. He was sure that those questions would find answers soon enough. Now, it was just all up to time and fate. It wasn't long until he, too, was finally asleep.
Morning came rather quickly. Kagome woke up, feeling exhausted as if she only slept for a few hours. Rolling over on her side, Kagome felt a piece of paper touch her face. Confused, Kagome sat up and held the neatly folded paper in her hands. Curiosity getting the better of her, Kagome quickly turned the note over and slid her finger under the seal to break it. It was the seal of the western lands, so the note must have been from Sesshomaru. The note read:
'Kagome,
I am canceling our training for the day. I have some business I need to take care of with some of the other lands. I do apologize that I will not be there to help you train. Though I will say that you are learning everything a lot faster than what I expected and I am happy to say that you are growing stronger and stronger with each day.
The dojo is still free for your use if you wish. You may ask Gashio (Gah-she-oh) to help assist you in training if you would like. He is head of my army and an excellent combat partner. He will do well if you still wish to train for the day. Again, I apologize for not being there to train you today.
Also, I have left Ah-Un there so that you may take him back to the village and visit your friends tonight. I should be back sometime in the morning, so if you wished to stay a night with them, by all means, go right ahead. I think it would do you well to spend some time with them, maybe work on your Miko abilities while you are there.
Oh, and I noticed how that little fox acted when you left. I could sense his sadness. It would be perfectly fine with me if you brought him back. I believe he would do quite well in keeping Rin company. I think Jaken is getting rather tired of having to babysit her.
As I said before, I should be back sometime tomorrow morning. I hope you have a great day. If you need anything, I have instructed my staff to take care of you as if they were taking care of me, so do not be afraid to ask them for anything you may need. I will return as soon as I can.
Truly,
Sesshomaru'
Kagome got a little bit upset at the fact that she wouldn't be seeing Sesshomaru today. She was hoping that she would be able to talk to him about what happened last night. Kagome sighed and decided she would go take a bath, then head back to the village to visit with her friends. She was going to skip breakfast here for the day; instead she was going to eat with her friends.
Kagome's bath went rather quickly. As soon as she was finished getting ready, she had Mina show her to where Ah-Un was in his stables. Mina explained to her that all you have to do is talk to Ah-Un and tell him where you would like to go and he will fly there.
Kagome nodded and thanked Mina. Once she was ready, Kagome climbed onto the back of Ah-Un. "Alright, Ah-Un. To Keade's village." With that, Ah-Un took off, causing Kagome to clutch one of the necks tightly. She wasn't expecting that.
After a couple minutes of flying, Kagome got used to it. She released the neck and leaned back, taking in the beautiful view around her. The sun had not risen just yet, so the dusk lighting made the view even more magnificent.
By the time that Kagome had arrived at the village, the sun had begun to rise. She knew by now her friends would be waking up. She walked Ah-Un to the village stables and let him rest there. She pet his hair once, telling him he did a good job and that she will be back for him in the morning.
Kagome walked back to the familiar hut that she missed so much and walked in when she heard the sounds of her friends waking up. With a smile, Kagome stood in the doorway, taking in everyone's surprised faces.
"Good morning everyone. How did you all sleep?" Kagome took her usual place next to Sango as everyone was still waking up. They all rubbed their eyes, trying to get their vision to clear, thinking that Kagome was just a dream and not really there.
"Kagome? KAGOME! It is you! You're really here! Ah, I've missed you! What are you doing here? Did Sesshomaru throw you out?" Sango embraced her friend happily, bringing her into a tight hug. It was definitely a surprise to see Kagome back so soon.
"No, Sango. Everything is okay. Sesshomaru is away today and won't be back until tomorrow. He said if I wanted I could come and spend the time with you guys until he returns tomorrow." Kagome gave her friend a smile, happy that they would be able to spend at least a little bit of time together. Kagome had so much she wanted to tell Sango about her few days of being at the castle, but she knew they would have to talk during bath time.
Kagome decided that she would be the one to make breakfast for everyone. She found their supplies, still in the same spot as always, and began cooking up a breakfast stew for everyone. As she did, everyone laughed and talked together.
"Oh! Shippo! I almost forgot. Sesshomaru said you could come back with me. He thinks you would be a good playmate for Rin." Kagome smiled at the little fox who just lit up with joy at hearing that he could come back to the castle with her.
"Really? That's great, Kagome! I'm so happy! I can't wait to go back with you! And I'll get to play with Rin!" Shippo was beyond happy. He jumped up and down, his excitement too much to contain. Even though Kagome was gone for such a short while, he missed her greatly.
Kagome smiled and watched the little fox's excitement. She was happy he was coming back with her. She loved him, a lot, and always felt bad every time she left him behind because of an argument with Inuyasha or because she needed to return home for more supplies.
Breakfast was soon made, consumed, and cleaned up. The group just sat around talking, catching up on everything that happened. Even though Kagome was gone for such a short time, a lot of things had happened while she was gone.
Sango had gone back to her own village to fix her Hiraikotsu. A hoard of demons had showed up not to long after Kagome and Sesshomaru left, and during the battle with them, it got a little damaged. So once the battle was done, Sango took Kirara and flew back to her village to fix it.
Miroku hadn't really experienced too much. His wind tunnel had widened slightly, due to one of the demons scratching it on their way in. He had to go back to Master Mushin to have him fix it so that it wouldn't get any bigger for the time being.
Shippo talked about all the friends he made in the village after they got around being afraid of him because he was a demon. He showed them that he wasn't a bad demon, and as soon as he did that, they instantly opened up to him. So while everyone else was out protecting the village, he was back in the village playing with the kids and helping out Keade.
Nothing really happened to Inuyasha. He just stayed rather quiet throughout the visit. He could tell something was up with Kagome, he just couldn't quite figure out what. He didn't like the way she acted, as if she was hiding something. And he didn't like how she and Sango kept sharing knowing glances.
The group didn't do much of anything that day. All they did was just hang around the village talking away. They wanted to spend as much time as possible with Kagome, knowing that she would be leaving either tonight or early tomorrow morning so she could be back in time.
The day continued on, the gang not doing much of anything except enjoying each other's company. Inuyasha could tell there was something different going on with Kagome; he just couldn't quite place what it was. He was about to ask her if something was going on, when Sango had spoken up.
"Kagome. I'm going to the hot springs. Would you like to join me?" Sango had already grabbed two towels and all of their toiletries, not giving Kagome much of a choice but to say yes, although she knew that she would say yes anyways.
"That sounds great, Sango. I can see you already grabbed all of our things, so let's head on to the hot spring." Kagome grabbed her items from Sango as the two headed down the path to the hot spring, leaving the boys standing around looking at each other. The two girls laughed and talked the entire way there, just catching up on the company they had missed.
Once at the hot springs, Kagome sighed. She sat on the edge, not getting undressed, and put her feet into the water. Sango knew something was up with Kagome, she could tell the minute she came back to the village for a visit. Sango sat next to Kagome, neither one of them undressed. Although they took a trip to the hot spring to clean up, this just wasn't one of those trips. Instead it was a way to get away from the boys, without having them follow, so they could have some much needed girl talk.
"Alright, Kagome. Spill. What's going on with you and Sesshomaru? I can tell something is up. You haven't been the same since you came back. What's going on?" Sango looked at her friend. She couldn't quite place if this was a good thing happening or a bad thing, she just knew something was up.
Kagome gave her friend a small smile. "Alright, you caught me." With that, Kagome began talking all about everything that happened while she was away. Even though it wasn't long, a lot had happened. From her training, to her feelings for Sesshomaru, to him admitting his feelings for her, to him kissing her, a lot had happened in such a short time.
"Oh my god, Kagome! Did Sesshomaru really tell you he had feelings for you? This is great! I always knew you two would end up together. Inuyasha was never right for you to begin with. You were always destined for something much greater." Sango hugged her friend tightly. She was so happy for her.
Kagome hugged her friend back. She was happy to finally have told Sango what was going on. She didn't know what she would do if she had to keep this to herself. Talking to Sango always made things better, and Sango was right. Inuyasha was never right for her, Sesshomaru was.
The two girls headed back to the village after a little bit more time of talking. They decided that they had made the boys wait long enough for them. Upon arriving back in the village, they could smell dinner being prepared. Kagome was happy, for once they had cooked dinner instead of her and Sango cooking dinner.
Dinner went on rather uneventful. The group continued to talk and laugh, each catching up on what the others had missed while Kagome was away. Although Kagome had originally planned on coming home later in the morning, she had changed her mind and decided that she would return to the castle early in the morning. For some reason, she wanted to be there before Sesshomaru returned.
After dinner was finished, the boys cleaned up the mess. Kagome and Sango teased them because for once they were taking on the woman's job instead of just sitting back and doing nothing like they were used to.
Once everything was finally cleaned up, everyone got in their usual spots to get a good night's sleep. Kagome fell asleep faster than she originally thought she would, she was a lot more tired than she thought.
Morning came rather quickly and Kagome was the first one up. It was still dark out when she woke up. She gathered her things, having already said her goodbyes the night before. She picked up the sleeping fox demon and gathered her things, heading back to Ah-Un. Once on, she told him to head back to the castle. Kagome found herself yawning the entire way, and ended up falling asleep on the back of the giant demon.
Ah-Un landed at the castle just as Sesshomaru did. The demon instantly went to his master, nudging him in the shoulder to show him the sleeping Miko and fox that lay on his back. Sesshomaru inwardly smiled as he picked up both Kagome and the fox demon.
Carrying the two inside, Sesshomaru instructed one of the servants to take the sleeping Shippo to Rin's room and prepare him a bed. He had explained that the fox would now be staying with them and would be staying in Rin's room with her.
Once that was taken care of, Sesshomaru carried Kagome off to his room. He was going to originally carry her to her room, but decided instead to take her to his. Once he was there, he laid her down in bed and covered her up. Once he was satisfied, he got comfortable himself and fell asleep for a little bit. When he awoke, he went to the small desk that was in his room and began his work for the day, waiting for the sleeping Miko to wake up.
Author's Note: Alright guys, here it is. FINALLY the next chapter. I am so sorry I've kept you guys waiting this long for it. I've been super busy with work and everything. I will try to update as much as I can. Hopefully you guys still like it. Read and review! Let me know what you guys think!
