::::::VERY IMPT AN:::::
It was brought to my attention by you'llneverknow and AwesomeAmy that I made a mistake with Kagome's father. I wrote an explanation for him in chapter 10 which should be DISREGARDED and I have DELETED it, the correct version of her father's story is the one in THIS chapter.
Please forgive me for my mistake, it has been quite a while since I've touched this story, and I didn't realize it until some reviewers pointed it out to me.
MAJOR thanks go out to you'llneverknow and Awesome Amy for catching that HUGE mistake for me, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!
:::::END OF VERY IMPT AN::::
Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha –tear-
Alright, just to get this out there, because this is part of why I stopped writing for a long while, it makes me sad to be on my fourteenth chapter and only have 72 reviews. Lots of people have been reading this, or at least hitting the page, but not many people are leaving reviews.
I decided to put some COOL plot twists in this chapter, and I really think people will love it, but unfortunately, I'm no mind reader, so PLEASE tell me if you like it, PLEASE, I mean, come on, I'm saying PLEASE!!
PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!
The air was crisp and biting as Kagome set foot on the porch. Some of the leaves were whirling around the streets in clusters, reminding her that autumn was fast approaching. There was frost nipping at the grass of the front yard, and the sky over head was clear and glittering with the morning rays of light.
Sesshomaru followed her calmly; the sound of his footsteps brought her back into the daze she had been stuck in since the kiss. A blush victoriously rushed through her cheeks, and she quickly wrapped her scarf over the color, beginning to walk down the sidewalk with him at her side.
Kagome could still feel his lips tingling against her skin. She tightened her hand into a fist in her pocket. Somehow, he had left a sweet burn that wasn't visible to the eye, but she could still feel his touch… I can't believe I kissed him! And he let me kiss him like that… and that he kissed me back so… so… passionately!
Sleeping last night had been difficult, every time her eyes closed, she saw him and woke. Every time she managed to sleep, a dream of him riled her blood and made her wake. Even now, standing next to him, her blood still pounded.
No words of the kiss had crossed their lips. Sesshomaru followed Kagome, he knew where her thoughts were wandering to, and a proud smirk caught his eye. No other creature had ever been capable of distracting her so well. However, there was no fun at her discomfort if he could not prod at it slightly. For a time, he remained silent; allowing her to muse on whatever came to her mind, then his voice broke through.
"What are your thoughts, Kagome?"
She turned to him quickly, locking eyes with him and shaking her head no quickly, "Nothing." The blush rose past where the scarf hid and he smirked inwardly, I have never met a creature who goes so red this often in my presence….
"You have no thoughts where you wish to go?"
"Oh," she furrowed her brow, "Umm… well, I still have some Christmas shopping to do…" they were at the store; she removed her scarf from her face as they entered and began to walk through the shops. Sesshomaru didn't find many that pleased him, however, Kagome caught his eye on a few things and finally saw it, and he ignored a store she had seen him eyeing, so she took him by the arm and entered.
It was a store with many different kinds of knick knacks, from all different eras and time periods. The two split up to explore the peculiar shop and that was when Kagome found it, the absolutely perfect gift for him. She rang it up without his knowledge, for he was examining portraits and sculptures of many different kinds. He pointed out a few people to her, Lords and Ladies that he had met at one point in his life.
A curious poster caught his eye and he pulled it from the wall, examining it in his hands. "Amusement Park?" he asked, his eyes turned to Kagome, "What is this?"
"Oh wow, I didn't realize they finished it," Kagome muttered softly, taking it from his hands, "I really have been gone a long time…" Sadness slipped in to her voice, and that did not go unnoticed by Sesshomaru.
He watched her calmly, hearing the words she spoke as she pointed to various things on the paper, naming them, roller coasters, bumper cars, cotton candy, prizes, games, boats, flying contraptions, but none of them meant anything to him. There was an excitement in her voice, though, one that seemed to make her smile with a glow in her eyes that he did not want to see dissolve.
His deep voice interrupted her explanation, "When should we go?"
Kagome's eyes shot over to him in surprise, her blue eyes were wide and she seemed very startled. "You- you want to go? Sesshomaru… there are going to be lots of humans there…"
"You are a miko, are you not?" he asked calmly, "There must be a potion to calm my senses of humans when in the presence of so many."
A smile lit her face, "Well… maybe we can go tomorrow, it's more fun to be there during the day, even though there will be lots of humans… are you sure you can handle it, Sesshomaru-"
He narrowed his eyes slightly, annoyed at the question. She giggled, taking his arm, "I was just teasing, come on, I see a photo booth!"
"Photo booth?" he asked curiously. She dragged him to a very small chamber that had a curious screen that could see their faces; she explained it was like her camera, and that they could pose together.
Sesshomaru didn't understand at all, and in the first picture, she smiled boldly at the camera while he watched it with the same cold expression. She laughed at him and stuck her fingers behind his head in the next photo, their eyes locked and with her smiling innocently at him with her eyes closed. The third picture, Sesshomaru had caught both her arms and was pinning them together, glaring at her with a playful glimmer in his eye. Kagome looked slightly nervous, a sheepish grin on her face. The final picture, Sesshomaru held her to his chest, she did a curious hand gesture that she called a peace sign and convinced him to do it as well. A smirk actually came to his face and was caught by the machine.
When they finished, a paper with two sets of the four pictures came out. Kagome smiled as she tore them down the center, they were identical strips of paper. Sesshomaru found it fascinating and seriously considered opening the machine to discover how it was done, but Kagome realized what he was trying to do and promised she would explain it to him. Sesshomaru looked at the pictures in his hand and smiled slightly, he placed them in a pocket in his new garments and followed her as she made her way about the store.
There was snow whirling about on the ground, it was fresh, the first of the winter storms that would soon cover all the land in a blanket of pure crystal, that would glitter under every form of light brilliantly.
No signs of life were heard over the land. There were no joyful birds singing their sweet lullaby's, no soft voices carrying on the wing. All was still, all was silent. It was just past noon, and the shadows were beginning to fall.
However, at a waterfall that flowed into the Southern lands, the shadows were not the only thing disturbing the blanket covering the earth. A crimson stream was flowing over the ground and tainting the icy river.
Kagura folded her fans away, readjusting the hairpiece in her hair and flicking blood from her cheek, as she stood over the dead body of a creature. She tucked her fan away and folded her hands within the sleeves of her robes, staring coldly at the creature now bleeding through the virgin snow.
It was a demon, who now had dead brown eyes that were locked, forever to stare up at the snowy sky. There was a frozen miracle burning in her eyes, teal and silver that once burned with life now sat like a river frozen over by the winter cold. Her long gray hair once held tight to a bun atop her head, but now it was loose and flowing in the water, stained with blood and flesh ripped from her own body. The blue and black kimono she wore was covered with filth; much of it was missing from the attack that had killed her. A woven basket lay inches from her fingertips, a few curious herbs sitting atop the wood.
After a few moments, there was a whirl of snow, announcing the arrival of her master. She bowed lowly, remaining there as he approached to examine her work slowly.
"Messy," Naraku stated coldly as he stared at the creature, he glared at Kagura, "You will be punished for your sloppy work." The woman tensed and remained bowing to him. She tightened her hands within the sleeves of her kimono. A command came for her to rise and remain silent. She obeyed, and then he turned his eyes to the forest, "Selene."
A woman walked up to him from the shadows. She had short black hair, straight and weightless. Her lips were a blood red, and wore a kimono of cherry blossoms that matched the color, with no weapons at her side. Her violet eyes traveled the form of the creature in front of her, "This is the creature?"
Naraku glared at her coldly. Selene knelt by the woman, taking her blood in a vial, then putting both her hands into the deep wound that had nearly destroyed the body. Her eyes began to burn an evil crimson red and a dark smile crept on to her face, the body before them began to shrivel into nothing. A powerful aura came off of the woman, her black hair floating around her with the power.
When she pulled her hands away, the body before them was shriveled into nothing but skeleton and skin. There were no eyes in the sockets, no tongue in the mouth, and no blood staining the ground. The long locks were all now a sickly black color, many floating away with the power of the river. Bony hands were clenched tightly, unable to move.
Slowly, Selene stood, flexing her new fingers. Her violet eyes now burned a deep brown, twinkling with silver and teal darkly in the moonlight. She smirked down at what was left of the body before her. Without hesitation, she placed her foot atop the skull and crushed it with a sickening crack.
Dark laughter escaped from Naraku's lips. He examined Selene's form. "Perfect…" He stroked her cheek, his dark eyes locked to hers, "You are the master of shape and poison in your village. Now that you are ready, you will hear: I plan to destroy the Lord of the Western Lands."
The demon circled her form, searching the body for any imperfections, "He has gone soft, with that disgusting human child he has brought under his wing, and now using the savior items on a pathetic woman that otherwise would have died. My spies saw him go to this creature to get the potion to free him of the bond. However, I have a much better plan…"
Naraku's eyes glittered as he took the basket in his hand, "You now have two months, and will create the potion, but you will create it at full strength. Instead of Sesshomaru loosing half of his soul in order to free himself of the bond, he will lose all of it!"
His dark laughter filled the air. Selene furrowed the brow of the new body she now held, "But… my Lord… if he has no soul… he will die, and be of no use to you."
"Which is where you come in, my dear," Naraku stated with a dark smile, "You will create this potion, and you will create it at the full strength it is capable of being made, then, I will call upon the dead miko to curse the body without the soul to be placed fully in my control. Without the Lord of the West to stop me, there will be no creature strong enough to stop my plans!"
"How do you know the miko will not double cross you?" Selene asked darkly, "She has been known to waver on the sides of this war."
"I hold the key to something she wants very dearly," Naraku stated calmly, a dark twinkle in his hellish eyes. He smirked down as the ashes of the woman that was disintegrating away with the winds, "The body of a live woman who lives as her reincarnation… the priestess known as-"
"Kagome!" Shippo giggled, pointing to a picture and smiling broadly, "I remember that day!"
He was pointing to a picture of Kagome when Shippo had been playing with the camera. Inuyasha had dove his head in the water to catch a fish and emerged with one clenched between his teeth. Kagome's eyes were popping out of her head and were was a sickly green tinge to her cheeks, as if she couldn't believe that he had really done that.
Rin laughed at the picture, and then noticed that Kohaku was silent… She turned to look up at the boy. He had his hair pulled back to stay out of his face, but his head was bowed, his dark bangs hiding his brown eyes from sight. Rin leaned forward some, to see his brown eyes were deeply troubled, there were angry tears storming within them. She put her hand on his knee.
The motion seemed to pull him from the spell he had been in. He jumped, quickly turning to look at Rin, there was no expression on his face, but he lifted up towards the light, so his freckles and wide eyes were easily seen. The girl had large brown eyes full of warmth, and she smiled at him, "Don't be sad…"
Kohaku gave a weak smile, gently placing his hand over Rin's, not saying a word. The girl held it, pulling him to his feet; Shippo put the book down at Rin's command and followed the two from the room.
Inuyasha was sulking in a large window, staring out at the snowflakes that were covering the palace ground. His ears were flat against his skull. I hate this time of year… He glared out as the innocent crystals fell to the ground. I still remember that year it snowed here… that was the last time Sesshomaru was ever kind to me…
FLASHBACK!!
Sesshomaru was walking far ahead of them on the snowy walkway. Inuyasha was fidgeting from the grasp his mother had on his hand. He broke free and bounded back to him. The demon prince didn't stop moving when he arrived at his side.
"How come you're not walking with us?" Inuyasha asked, trying to keep up with the pace of his elder brother.
"Because you walk slowly." Sesshomaru replied coldly.
"Nu uh!" Inuyasha pouted, "I can keep up with you just fine!"
They were silent as they continued down the snowy path. Sesshomaru finally looked over at Inuyasha, he could see his hands were raw from slipping many times in the snow, and refusing to fall back, he would catch himself and run on all fours to catch up to him, then stand again. Inuyasha was surprised when a pair of black gloves was put in his hands and Sesshomaru slowed his pace. The boy didn't say a word, Inuyasha said thank you and pulled them on over his hands, then placed them atop his ears.
Sesshomaru looked at him and he laughed. Inuyasha stared. It was the first time he had ever heard him laugh, and the last time he would ever remember it in the future.
That day, Sesshomaru was his brother. Inuyasha prayed that the walk would never end. They played, they talked, they ran, they chased; they had fun…
It was the last day Inuyasha had ever seen Sesshomaru act like a child. The next week, Inuyasha's mother died… their father was murdered… and Inuyasha ran away…
Inuyasha pulled a pair of black gloves from his kimono, smoothing them with his thumb. It had a crescent moon on the back of each hand, and was magically made to never break, and always change to fit the one wearing them. He sighed deeply, turning to gaze back out the window. A tug on his kimono ripped Inuyasha from his thoughts.
Rin was standing there, she had pulled Kohaku into the room, and Shippo jumped to sit at the foot of the window sill. Miroku and Sango were standing at the door to the room, and Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at them all, breaking free of his melancholy mood.
"What are all of you starin' at me for?"
The little girl smiled at him. It was a wide, innocent smile that glittered as brightly as the fresh fallen snow. "Will Inuyasha please play with us in the snow?"
All of the eyes seemed to glitter with hope. Inuyasha looked at them and huffed, crossing his arms, and saying gruffly, "Fine…but you all better go get more clothes on; I'm not taking the blame if you brats get sick."
Rin launched herself around his neck, clinging to him with a giggle, "Thank you! Rin will find clothes for everyone and Rin will bring us all back here!"
She took Shippo's paw and began to rush out of the room with both boys, completely oblivious to Kohaku as he tried to correct the way she had spoken.
Sango smiled at Inuyasha, "That was very kind of you."
"I must agree," Miroku chimed in, "The children have been very well kept by you these past few days, Inuyasha. Kagome would be proud."
"Yea, yea," he growled, "Whatever keeps them out of my hair…" He pulled the gloves on and went to follow the energy balls down the hall. Sango and Miroku smiled at each other, following him and catching hands as they slowly followed the small group.
"Tada!" Kagome smiled in victory, the potion was done and she was certain it would work. She had tested some of it just because Souta doubted her, and she did have to admit that it had relaxed her senses to the humans and made it much easier to focus.
It took some bullying, but she finally convinced Sesshomaru to take the potion in order to become accustomed to the change. She had made it potent enough to last for the few days that he would be here, and at his request, made sure that it only targeted humans and not demons. After merely drinking the potion, he could feel a difference in the air, the foul scent of so many relaxed against his nose, and the murderous thundering that echoed throughout the crowded streets diminished considerably.
Sesshomaru rubbed his temples after drinking the mixture. He had to admit, he was grateful that the two had forced him to do so. They had turned on two very different, very loud music boxes and began to sing to both of them at the same time. It had not been pleasant to his ears, and there was no where he could go in order to escape it. Now, however, the house had calmed, the family was watching a movie… all except the grandfather.
The demon lord entered a room at the end of the hall. There was the grandfather; he looked at Sesshomaru calmly as he entered his study. "How may I help you, Lord Sesshomaru?"
When he went to stand, Sesshomaru calmly held up his hand. He took a seat at the chair before the desk, "I have searched this home," he replied firmly, "And have found no trace of a father for these two. Tell me, why is this?"
A heavy sigh escaped the lips of the old man, "You will not like this answer, Lord of the West, must you ask?"
"Kagome and her brother will hide details from me. It will cause them both pain," he replied simply, "And no question should be asked to the Lady of any home."
The old man nodded, standing, "You have quite proper manners, demon, I thank you for that… your half brother was not as… graceful in his questioning on this matter… he did not receive an answer," a book came into his hands, "but you shall."
He opened it up to reveal a wedding picture of Kagome's mother and father. The man was very handsome; he had bright blue eyes, and soft brown hair. "She gets her eyes from her father…" the grandfather stated softly, "He was a good man… Very kind, very proper, very firm but very loving… His name was Souta; his son was given the name at birth…"
He smiled softly, "Perhaps, you have seen the tree by the well?"
Sesshomaru nodded firmly. The grandfather smiled, "That is where Souta proposed to my daughter… some believe that tree holds sacred powers, and he was one of them that did. The way he lived… it seemed as if there were something magical running through his veins…"
"The children were loved by him, he spent every waking moment he had to give to them… he was constantly away on business, but he always returned with a trinket for each of them, and days to spend with them," he turned through pages after pages of pictures of the happy family, showing how much love the four had known.
"But then one day… he didn't come home," the grandfather stated sadly, he began to turn through pages of holidays without him, "Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years before our very eyes…"
Sesshomaru watched in the pictures how the woman, who had once appeared to be so in love, now, lost some of the glitter that had been so visible in her eyes. The children were still happy, but the smiles that were in the picture before his departure were no where to be found.
"My daughter refused to believe that he was dead, she pressed on… even after all the search parties ended, the police called it a cold case, everyone gave up hope, she refused to accept their belief that he died." He turned the pages, "Her heart won't let her believe that he was really gone… or at least, it wouldn't…"
Two golden eyes narrowed curiously, "What do you mean, it wouldn't?"
Before he could answer, a pair of feet came scurrying down the hall, Souta popped his head in the room. The grandfather hid the book behind his back, speaking quietly, "A story for another day, Lord of the West…"
"You guys are missing the movie!" Souta complained, pouting at them. The grandfather gave a hearty laugh, "We are coming, my boy, we are coming."
Souta smiled and ran to grab his grandfather's chair. The old man put the book back in its hiding place, and then he and Sesshomaru began to walk down the hallway.
Kagome was surprised when the demon lord took a seat next to her, but she didn't complain. Her grandfather was set up in the chair Souta carried, and then the boy sat Indian style on the floor by him. Kagome's mother sat in her chair.
Sesshomaru's eyes gazed at the woman. He could sense a strange sadness that was within her, the same kind that lingered within Kagome. Silently, he placed his hand atop of hers, relaxing at her scent to enjoy the movie. The woman at his side relaxed at his touch, and the trust made his eyes turn to watch her. No matter how hard he tried, the thought still lingered there…
They had both lost their father… they both knew the kind of pain it caused… the common ground…
Made him respect her even more.
And another chapter is up!! WITH more plot to it!! I thought it was about time I started making this dangerous again… and if you don't recognize the demon that was killed; you need to go back a few chapters to refresh your memory, mkay?
PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!
Please review!! I'm saying please, pretty please?
–Puppy eyes-
Pretty please with sugar on top!!
PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!