A/N: Sorry, darlings. I had major surgery, and it knocked me out for quite some time! BUT! I updated! Woot!
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It was immature, sure, but Kagome avoided Sesshomaru as much as possible the next morning as they broke camp.
She was still adjusting to the revelation that she'd liked kissing him. It was easier to just pretend nothing happened than it was to face the kiss and what it possibly meant.
Sesshomaru was a lord, a daiyokai, and she knew he liked teasing her. There was no way he'd ever want more from her, not with his disdain for humans. It was best, she'd decided sometime last night, to not let it affect her. At best, he might have lusted for her, but he'd never love or marry her.
And Kagome needed to be loved.
So, she put all her energy into packing up and working out their next move. They needed information from Azumi, but the yokai was still in a deep healing sleep that Kagome couldn't bring herself to disrupt.
When she moved to help Shin lift Azumi onto Ah-Un, the yokai suddenly woke.
"Stop!" Azumi shrieked. She tried to jerk Shin behind her, but collapsed from the pain as she screamed again.
Shin instantly dropped down to pull Azumi gently into his arms. Azumi, wounded as she was, still managed to twist enough that her wings spread. If she'd been strong enough, Kagome knew the yokai would have already taken the monk and left.
"Shh," the monk whispered, pressing his lips to Azumi's temple. "It's alright, sweet wife. They saved us. Rest; you're still too weak."
Kagome's eyes widened at Shin's confirmation of what Sesshomaru had suggested the day before.
"You cannot trust them," Azumi hissed, digging her hands into Shin's robes. "She's a priestess! She's one of them! Remember what they did!"
"K'gome didn't do anything!" Shippo shouted, putting his hands on his hips. "Except save you, so you should be grateful!"
Kagome gently tugged Shippo back as Azumi hissed. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she showed her bare hands, hoping to prove to the moth yokai that she wasn't a threat. "I hope the bandages aren't too tight; I had to stop the blood flow before you bled out."
"Don't pretend that you care," Azumi snapped. "You may have a little brat confused, but I know what you did! I saw it! I saw you burn us alive, burning, burning, burning, while he laughed! Your kind ripped off our limbs, raped our kind, and strangled our children, and you all laughed."
Azumi abruptly began coughing violently, and Shin immediately began rubbing her back.
Kagome looked at Shin, afraid of unsettling Azumi further, even as she internally shuddered at what Azumi had said. She would not let it show, though, because right now, Azumi needed to know that Kagome was strong enough to help heal the yokai, inside and out. "Maybe you can check on her wounds?" she asked quietly. "I don't want to make things worse for her. Stress like this can delay her healing."
Shin was silent for only a moment. "If you think it would help," he began hesitantly, as Azumi slowly quieted. Sesshomaru, however, interrupted before Shin could say any more.
"She is well enough to speak of what she saw." Sesshomaru's voice was as unforgiving as his expression, and Kagome immediately whirled on him.
"Not helping!" she snapped. "She's completely stressed out by what happened to her, Sesshomaru, and I won't let you make things worse. In my time, we call this sort of thing post-traumatic stress, and it can take a long time to for her mind to heal." She glared at him from where she kneeled on the ground, ignoring how powerless the position made her feel.
"She is already speaking of the incident, priestess," Sesshomaru pointed out calmly.
"And you're not a doctor, Sesshomaru!" Kagome rebutted. "You're not trained to heal anybody, now are you?" She stood to fold her arms across her chest, but she only waited a moment for him to answer. "That's what I thought," she interrupted him as he began to speak. "I am, Sesshomaru, and what I say goes. If she wants to talk, that's one thing, but I'm not going to let you bully her into it."
"Thank you, priestess." Shin bowed his head even as Azumi slipped into a feverish sleep. "I am deeply grateful for your concern and aid."
"It's Kagome," she corrected out of habit. "And please don't thank me, Shin. It's not right, not when I couldn't save anyone else."
"You saved her," Shin replied quietly, staring down at his wife as he gently bundled her into the blanket he'd slept with. "You did what no other priestess would have. You may not be aware of what you have done, but I am." He gave her a small smile before gently settling Azumi down on Ah-Un. "And what you have done could change everything."
Kagome winced. "I've never been big on fate, Shin."
Shin gave her a level look. "Fate, priestess, is not something so easily ignored."
Kagome tried not to shiver.
.
Sesshomaru told himself that it did not matter that Kagome had ignored and subsequently disobeyed him.
She had, but the only reason it riled him was because she was human, and therefore, not his equal. As such, she had a duty to obey those who were in a position of authority.
Of course, those who led also had a duty to watch over those who obeyed, but that was not the case here. Sesshomaru had not failed in his duties.
Kagome had.
Worse, it was for the sake of another human and a weak yokai who had mated him. Neither of them were worth his protection, or hers, for that matter. Yet Kagome had not hesitated to protect them, despite the yokai's accusations.
More than anything, however, was what he did not admit to himself. That his anger stemmed from the fact that Kagome had kissed him, had held him, had melted in his arms, and yet, she acted as though she had felt nothing. She had whimpered for him, begged for his kiss, and yet here she was, acting friendly with others while she ignored him.
He ignored the fact that he had resolved the night before to do the same, and ignore both her and the feelings she caused.
He could not scent any of the usual emotions from her; she seemed tensed and closed, but that was it. Even her aura had pulled away from him, and after the past few days of its constant touch, he wanted to howl at its loss.
It felt like she had rejected him, as alpha, as packmate, as—
He shook the thought from his mind. He had not rested last night nor the last few nights prior; he was tired and it was jeopardizing his judgment.
"It is time to move out." He turned and began walking, though he was no longer as confident that Kagome and the others—Jaken and potentially Ah-Un aside—would follow.
To his surprise, Kagome immediately began walking by his side, something she had not done since before he had disappeared to seek the counsel of Bokuseno. Jaken and the others trailed slowly along after her, no doubt due to Ah-Un's need for a slow pace for his burdens.
"I want to talk about the people who attacked them," she whispered to him, and it took him only a moment to realize that she was trying to keep the conversation private.
He almost smiled. All of the yokai in their company could hear, whether she whispered or not. "It was a priestess, was it not?" he asked when it became clear that she was waiting for a reply, as she slowed down beside him.
It soothed his ego, that she had waited for his consent before continuing to keep his pace.
Kagome noddded. "And probably more than just one. It's not just humans, Sesshomaru. If you're right about the priestesses and monks being killed, why is anyone with holy powers allying themselves with the killers? It's like . . . like a purge."
"You suggest that this is a deliberate attempt to cleanse," he sneered the word, "those they would consider unworthy?"
"It makes sense," she said quickly. "Why else would they kill off everyone with powers? I just don't know why." She bit her lower lip, and he pretended not to notice both her actions, and the sudden smell of strawberries and lilies.
"Perhaps it is intended to control," he offered, even as he considered her suggestion. "It would bring them great power, to have the only holy power in all of Nippon within their authority."
"Then why kill off the babies, when they could clearly raise the children themselves?" she countered, and he was forced to admire her quick wit. "It doesn't make any sense, Sesshomaru."
"Perhaps it does not make sense because there is no sense to make," he replied quietly. "Either way, it is something for this one to consider. Pick up your feet, priestess. This one will not allow the trail to grow cold because you lingered."
Kagome glared at him, and he caught the faintest hint of anger wafting into her scent. "I'm walking just as fast as you are, and you know it."
Sesshomaru found himself teasing her before he could stop himself. "If that is the case, why are you falling behind?" he retorted, quickening his pace just enough to let her fall behind.
To his surprise, Kagome huffed at him even as she fell behind enough to keep pace with Ah-Un. "Fine, then walk up there by yourself."
She didn't say anything further, and Sesshomaru was surprised to find then how much he missed her company and chatter.