Naraku
The way Naraku treated Kagome at work versus how he treated her as a spiritual advisor had to be different. Luckily the girl was no idiot as she came to him that night seventeen years of age with her hair quite long and braided wearing a blue dress with long sleeves and hem in hopes this appearance would make her undesirable to the weakness of men.
"Father Naraku," Kagome gave him a greeting by bowing her head and falling to her knees in his office.
"Divine Daughter Kagome," Naraku's tone was very soft on the ears when he played this role.
He took both of her hands in his own as he couldn't help but press his lips to the top of her wrist before allowing her to take a seat.
"I see you every day," Naraku refused to sit himself and instead circled her like a predator to prey, "but yet you never come to me like this anymore. It wasn't until recently that I saw you at our most holy of events. Do you not feel as though you belong anymore Kagome? What is it holding you back from this potential you've been blessed with."
"I don't feel as though I belong anymore," Kagome told him the truth shaking her head, "I'm trying. I really am, but too much time has gone by. Everyone I went to classes with is already married and everyone whispers about how pathetic I am to have squandered by potential for so long. I've come to ask you to be let back in the fold. I don't want to be like my mother and be alone with only one child."
Naraku shook his head, "Do not drag your mother down with yourself Kagome. The reason your mother didn't gift you brothers and sisters and the reason your father took no other wives is my doing. Your birth was a great enough gift to us all that couldn't go to waste that I instructed them to keep all attention on you for you would need their guidance. Kagome you can be honest with me in this session. You were never like the others to begin with never having to fight to attention or stand out above various siblings. It is no surprise you don't fit in."
"It's more than that," Kagome seemed to not be happy with his response frowning, "my father tried to turn away from the teachings and I got a couple years of different schooling. My small world opened up and now I'm afraid. I wish to find shelter back with you and my faith."
"Kagome what is it you are asking me?"
"To find me a husband so I can serve the Divine Order as I was always meant to."
"Why are you lying to me?"
Kagome's eyes widened, "What do you mean Father Naraku? I came to you with this because I don't think the other advisors are as understanding."
"It is a conflict of interest," Naraku mused to himself his brown eyes looking at the ceiling, "if I arrange a marriage with you I doubt you'll stay employed for very long, and if I don't I am damning your soul aren't I?"
Kagome looked very disturbed. This was her faith. What she'd grown up with her whole life and Naraku was finding humor in it all. What Naraku was really doing was setting the groundwork for who Kagome would one day become. Someone that could wear humor and irony as a shield to get past the future hardships.
"Father Naraku," Kagome's voice grew soft, "if you can't do it I'll go to someone else, but isn't it your calling to-
"Enough," his eyes turned dangerous, "do you see why you are so distrustful Kagome? Your words tell me one thing actions another. No woman in this order would dare to make demands of a man such as you're doing yet you want back into the fold? Who do you come to me as?"
Kagome flinched, "The reincarnation of Priestess Midoriko."
"And is your soul your own?"
"No. I am simply unworthy flesh to act as a host for my ancestor."
"Lie," Naraku scolded, "if you truly want spiritual enlightenment this evening Kagome you'll have to undergo an audit. I'll have to speak to your soul itself without your personal desires causing an interference. Will you consent to this auditing, or go back to living in between both your fate and that scary terrifying world you've entered? Just know either way I am not finding you a husband tonight. You're not ready in my opinion so you'll have to see another leader for that."
"You thought I was ready when I was fourteen," Kagome tried to whisper to herself thinking Naraku couldn't hear her.
Auditing was when a spiritual advisor would try to communicate with the soul to get answers such as who the host human was a reincarnation of and what life decisions they needed to make to live a life of greatness. Kagome had been audited many times over the years, but only once by Naraku. Her very first was performed by him and he was the one that declared she was the reincarnation of a great female historical figure, which had been quite controversial for women rarely got such an honor. All the other audits performed after that had simply been Kagome shutting her eyes while another man would bother her with hundreds of mundane questions. In order to escape the constant questioning she'd have to tell them everything they wanted to hear, but she could still barely remember the first. It was though she'd been in a trance when Naraku performed hers, and it seemed she'd have to go through it again.
"You can audit me," Kagome sighed, "but I'm not a liar. I know I am not living a proper life and need correction. I know what needs to be done."
"You know nothing," Naraku chuckled as he fumbled with Kagome's chair so she was now laying down, "close your eyes and relax."
The moment Kagome obeyed Naraku's eyes went from brown to a scarlet red. His audits were different than the others, because he was the real deal. He had powers that the others could never imagine as he put a hand to Kagome's forehead forcing the girl into a trance.
"Who do you come to me as?" Naraku asked her.
"Kagome Higurashi," she answered her voice almost sounding robotic.
"Is your soul your own?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Do you believe you are the reincarnation of Midoriko?"
"I don't know. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. This is my life. Not hers."
"Very good Kagome," Naraku whispered as he began to stroke her hair, "and why do you believe you need a husband? Do you truly wish to turn your back on your new experiences and become the servant to another man?"
"No, but I have to my mother's sake. She blames my father's death on herself. If they hadn't considered leaving the Divine Order he'd still be alive."
"You know that's not true right?"
"It isn't true, but I want my mother to feel better. She needs me to do this for her."
Naraku's eyes began to glow brighter as it was time for the fun part of his special brand of auditing. He wanted to influence her decisions, because a girl this age and this confused probably wouldn't have gone through with the future that he wanted for her.
"You will forget everything I tell you this session," his hands still seemed like magnets to her pale skin, "you won't even recall telling me about your mother's intentions, but you will keep my advice in the back of your mind and act on my orders when the time comes. Kagome when you were fourteen and it was time to marry you off it was me who was to be your husband. I didn't mind that your father refused as we've already been together like that in a past life. Been there done that Kagome, so I want something new from you this time. Our little game, however, won't be able to proceed if you become married to another man in the Divine Order. You will never marry a man in the Divine Order. Is that understood?"
"Yes," Kagome's eyes opened but the color of her iris were also red showing that she was taking in his influence, "I will never marry a man of the Divine Order."
"You always seem to marry some kind of boring man that is never capable of defending you when the time comes," Naraku seemed to be talking to someone else besides Kagome, "so let's make it even more interesting. Kagome you will never marry a human man. You will fight this battle on your own. Of course, I only limited it to human, because you with a demon? Now that would be interesting."
"I will never marry a human man," Kagome repeated.
"When the time arises," Naraku continued, "you will leave the Divine Order. You will leave your friends and your family to carve out your own path in this world. It will be scary, but I will keep an eye out on you. You'll be safe."
"I will leave as you command, but I know you won't keep me safe."
"Oh? Continue to be so honest my little dove."
"You will try to kill me," Kagome's voice changed again as it'd become deeper, "you always do. This time it will be different. You will die."
Naraku stopped the video tape right after that. He'd recorded every single session he'd ever had with Kagome Higurashi, but yet he'd watched this one the most. When he audited someone he had the ability to make them completely vulnerable to his every desire, but Kagome never let him down. Her soul reached beyond his influence, his powers, his position and challenged him.
"I am growing impatient," Naraku growled rewinding the tape again to the last thing Kagome said watching it over and over.
He wasn't in his Divine Order office, but was instead in his office at the grocery store. Most of his business was carried out here as he didn't want anyone in the Divine Order catching on to his true nature nor knowing about Kagura, who assisted him in his various schemes. Kagura was born into the Divine Order, but was always against the lifestyle and left as soon as she could. Still he had to keep her close. She was his child and needed to stay near.
"I thought it was all bullshit?" Kagura didn't understand Naraku's obsession with Kagome, "all this talk of reincarnated souls and greatness. So why bother to audit her at all? The girl was going to leave on her own eventually with her own common sense she didn't need your help."
"Whether or not her decision to leave was that of her own making doesn't matter," Naraku laid back in his chair thinking, "I had been working on casting her out into the big scary world for a long time now. If she'd had other siblings and a bigger family I don't think someone with a heart as big as hers could have abandoned them all, but I took care of that problem."
"I don't get it," Kagura still couldn't put the pieces together about her father's obsession, "in all the older videos you seemed so happy that she was a 'Divine Soul' and then it seems like you changed your mind and wanted her out of the group. Can you explain this Kagome thing to me?"
Naraku's eyes lit up, "That's right Kagura. I keep losing track of how young you are compared to your siblings. You are witnessing your father's hunt for the first time."
"Hunt?"
He smirked, "You are right it is all bullshit. Every piece of it. The audits, the divine chosen ones, the reasoning for polygamy is all bullshit, but reincarnation is very real. Kagome is indeed the reincarnation of Midoriko. My good dear friend Midoriko always reincarnates about every fifty-years or so, and this is the second time she's been born into the Divine Order."
"So?" Kagura shrugged, "is that what this whole thing has been about? Creating a religion to find reincarnations of your friends?"
Naraku seemed annoyed that his daughter wasn't interested, "In a way that was how it began. In another life under a different name I sold my auditing abilities to humans to find out their desires. At first I pretended to be some kind of fortune teller, but things got out of hand and next thing you know I was called a Prophet and the Divine Order began. This little cult of mine, however, has become quite bothersome. I have to force my disguise to age and then fake my death only to keep coming back and working my way from the bottom back to the top. That's why my loyal children are supposed to be helping me, but hell must curse with me rebels such as you."
Kagura didn't understand her father at all. She could understand why a man like him would create such a cult. He got off on complete control of others. The ones that practiced this religion blinded themselves with their belief while he simply got a kick out of arranging their marriages and lifestyles. She could understand that, but at the same time as he had a way of instilling hope and courage in others such as he did with his audit with Kagome in the video tape. He even allowed her, Kagura, to act as however she wanted to even if it didn't align with his benefits.
"Your loyal children that are taken away from their mothers," Kagura remarked not even knowing which of his hidden wives was her biological mother.
"If my devote female followers knew I had demonic spawn the little game could fall apart," he fired back, "I could probably get a lot more done if I wasn't wasting so much energy on my little cult of followers, but it's too much fun for me to give up. Watching these humans waste their lives looking for an enlightenment that doesn't exist unaware that all their efforts benefit me and only me. Watching their fake smiles that they are ordered to give while their eyes show me their true misery and contempt. Such a thing to me is a drug that cannot be purchased or consumed."
"So Kagome is real though? What does that mean? Midoriko must be important to you, but yet you've allowed me to go this long harassing and belittling that worthless slut."
"You are just jealous that she gets more attention than you," Naraku snapped, "and that I attempt to protect her from you. If you weren't my child that I needed to keep a close eye on you would have been fired long ago. It's all apart of the hunt. Midoriko is very important to me. That is why every fifty years once I track down her reincarnation I kill her in the most splendid of ways. Simply tracking her down and ending her life, however, is would be quite boring so I make a new game and trap every time. About two-hundred-years ago she was born into the Divine Order and I took her as my wife. She was brainwashed, of course, so she was excited to be wed to me. During that time my name was Onigumo and I was the Prophet that time instead of the mere Advisor I am now. I got to watch that excitement leave her as I beat her every night before finally killing her. That game was played already so I didn't want Kagome as a bride this time. No. Instead I'll let her fully integrate into that outside world learning the pleasures of normal life and motherhood with that little orphan she picked up before it comes to an end."
"So you've killed her every time?"
"Every single time," Naraku's voice was quite proud as though he was some sort of champion in the game he'd created, "but this time is different. This was the first time Midoriko reached out to me herself and challenged me. This hunt will be an extra special one."
"Other than the Divine Order you do like to start games and sometimes get tired of them," Kagura was referring to all his unfinished projects in other areas that Naraku began in this 'lifetime' as he called his various identities, "so when will you get tired of killing Midoriko."
"Never. The game began when that miko decided to seal me to a tree with an arrow. She believed she could save the world from my wickedness if I was left in a purgatory not alive or dead. I remained sealed to that tree for fifty years. That's fifty years I lost that could have been put to better use. I could have been the supreme demonic ruler this entire world. Instead I woke up to a world where humans and demons were of equal numbers and seemingly living in peace give or take a petty war once in a while. Midoriko wanted to free this world of me, but she will not have her wish. We will do battle for all of eternity. That is the wish I will give her. She will regret those fifty years she took from me as I will always cut her life at least fifty years short or short enough to stop her from having a life of peace. All that Kagome has right now is a false sense of security before I show her what hell is. She challenged me so she better give a good showing, or else I'll just make it worse in her next life."
"Sounds like she is still making you waste your time," Kagura had underestimated her father's obsession, "there are better things you could be doing. Why this mayor thing then? Why are you even the manager of this worthless store for starters? Isn't controlling your followers enough?"
"Never enough. Don't worry about me. Other than my time on that tree I haven't wasted a minute. Everything I do is either for the benefit of human hope that turns into misery or complete misery all together. I want it all Kagura. Hope and despair. The true essence that makes a human will belong to me and be tamed by me. My game with Midoriko represents that."
Great. Now her father was being all philosophical on her. No matter what speech he gave about human misery she couldn't understand him. He was an ancient demonic creature after all. He had all sorts of life experiences that she couldn't begin to compare her own to.
"I spoke to Mei-Lin," one of Kagura's other duties as her father's daughter was to take care of his little whoring business he had the side, "she believes her client from the other night was Sesshoumaru Masaharu."
"Cheating on his beautiful Kagome already?" Naraku asked with a chuckle, "I prepared a beautiful bride that would have no attraction towards human males and this is what he does? Pays one of my whores. Has her bruises healed?"
Naraku had no intention of meeting with Mei-Lin on his own for quite a while. All she wanted to do was beg him for absolution that her next life would be one worthy of the Divine Order distracting from his lust of forcing a once shy religious girl into a life of prostitution. Her constant babbling is what caused Naraku to hit her all the time anyway, but now she needed to stay clean of his obvious abuse now that she was being investigated.
"The visible ones," Kagura said coldly.
"Did she tell you who was looking into my business?"
"Kikyo Yamada. That lawyer who is on the TV that put Kagome and Sesshoumaru together."
Naraku shook his head but had a smirk on his face, "Ah Kikyo Yamada. She is very interesting. I like this woman. When I arrange marriages between my flock I am seen as someone who is objectifying women and exercising power, but when she does it it's okay? I've found her interesting since before she meddled in my affairs. That first season finale of Love Trials excited me."
Kagura almost lost her composure. Her father just went on about his personal struggles and philosophies and was now talking about reality television?
"Someone such as you watches Love Trials?"
"Of course," Naraku didn't see why anything was wrong with that, "ever since this reality television boom began I've been quite invested. It allows me to study human nature without leaving my home. I like to see and study what is obviously fake to find the kernel of truth. Kikyo's reaction when that half-breed didn't give her a rose was beautiful. It was real. I could feel her despair. Now I know she is in my own backyard trying to expose me. I like this. Midoriko will always be my one and only, but I'll play with this Kikyo to. They will all be mine."
"So what should our move with Mei-Lin be?" Kagura tried to keep his mind on track, "should she pursue Sesshoumaru? See him again? It could all be in an interesting piece of blackmail. You know use for misery and all that stuff you like so much."
"Amateur," Naraku seemed very offended by Kagura's line of thinking, "one day I will need a heir or heiress to continue my life's work and with that line of thinking it won't be you Kagura. There is a solid piece of advice that I have woven into the teachings of the Divine Order that I, the great and kind being that I am, try to impart on everyone. It is not my problem that no one listens."
"Please don't give me a sermon."
"If anything in this life is seems easy don't do it," Naraku crossed his arms, "it's not fun and it's not interesting. Mei-Lin will never see this Sesshoumaru again nor do I want him around any of my whores. He should be a proud demon excited for the challenges his beautiful Midoriko reincarnation gives him not picking up whatever is easy for his carnal desires. Kagome is the one for him. He will have her. They will have each other. Then when the time comes, when she is truly happy, he will be the death of her. Of course, not before she knows I was behind it all."
"So what are you going to do then? You claimed to be impatient but yet you seem to be in it for the long game."
"Before I make any moves I need Midoriko to show me something. Something that can only be brought out when a bit of danger comes her way. Sure I want Kagome to be happy before the fall, but too much comfort could make her quite separate from her true self. I need to threaten her."
"What is that Divine Order thing about atonement? Isn't there members wanting her dead so her soul can be purified or whatever?"
"You really did escape my flock quite early didn't you? Stubborn child. I think I'll pay a visit to your mother tonight and beat her for giving me such a disrespectful spawn. Yes. She needs to be killed to be saved. Of course, that's an idiotic false hope. If she were to die at the hands of the Divine Order my fun days of a cult leader would be over. Still, I don't want her feeling too safe. I'll have to bring this up at my next meeting with the other leaders. Oh Midoriko I hope you are getting just as impatient as I am for this battle."
Kagome did feel safe. The letter sent to Kikyo hadn't been the last one as Kagome did make a public post office box for her bills and whatever letters anyone wanted to send her. There were a few more that were wishes that she would give up this undesirable lifestyle she'd chosen in order to save her soul unless she wanted to be killed for her decisions. Kagome would simply just shred such letters.
To someone on the outside looking in this would seem so foolish of her especially when she had she had a daughter to protect, but Kagome was the one that had spent her life around these people and their tactics. The more letters they sent just meant that their threats were hollow. When words were their primary weapon they used multiple times it meant it was their only weapon, and if they wanted to get violent they would start small. She was still a young fertile female with a promising soul they wouldn't risk killing her unless it was absolutely necessary.
With that nasty business out of the way Kagome gathered up her study guides and pencils that she would need for today's test. Today was the moment of truth. She would either find out she had a place in this new open world as she could make the way to being equal to a high school graduate, or she could learn the truth that she was just too stupid and being a mom was all she was good for.
Even that was becoming a challenge to her as she was now in a constant fight with Rin over the broken cell phone. Rin kept claiming she didn't do it, and Kagome wanted to believe her, but what if it was a lie and she fell for it? That would pave the way for Rin to manipulate her parents for the rest of her life.
"Can I watch cartoons now?" Rin asked poking her head out from behind a wall and then hiding again.
She always did this when she was in trouble. Tried to hide and stay out of line of sight. Kagome couldn't help but have her heart melt by how cute her daughter was being, but still she had to stay tough in her resolve.
"No," Kagome sighed, "I've told you over and over again so why do you think the answer will change? You're grounded missy."
"I'm a good girl mommy!" Rin yelled at her from behind the wall, "I'll even clean my room. I promise."
"Do it and we'll see. You have to prove yourself with actions and not words little one."
"Mommy I just wanna watch princess cartoons."
"Rin I just wanna live in a house where things aren't getting destroyed all the time."
Rin was losing this battle and she did the only thing she knew how to do at a time like this and that was little out a scream as she held her hands over her ears before going somewhere to pout and cry. Kagome wanted to go to her, but she was running out of time. Kagome hadn't figured out how to argue past Rin's tantrums yet, and today wouldn't be the day she could figure it out.
Rin made a sprint towards her messy room only to fall backwards after running into Sesshoumaru's knee caps. She looked up at her father and of course was quite scared of the annoyed glare he gave her.
"What is your problem now?" Sesshoumaru simply asked wishing for the screaming to stop.
"Mommy still thinks I broke her phone," Rin said standing up with tears in her eyes, "but I didn't. Now she won't let me watch cartoons."
"That's all she is taking away from you?" Sesshoumaru dismissed her concerns, "you will survive."
Rin responded to Sesshoumaru the same way she responded to Kagome and let out a scream of defiance ready to continue to her run to her room but Sesshoumaru intensified his glare at her.
"Rin stop," he commanded in a soft voice.
"Fine," Rin gave up when he wouldn't let her past and didn't seem to be falling for any of it.
"Did you break your mother's phone?" Sesshoumaru inquired.
"No!"
"Is that the truth? I will know if you are lying."
"I didn't do it! Doggy eared boy must've did it! He was here to."
InuYasha as a prime suspect? Sesshoumaru analyzed the case with what evidence they had and believed Rin should be cleared. There was no proof to say who broke the phone in question, but if there were multiple suspects now. Each suspect had a motive. Rin was a child and destroyed things as proven by the state of her once perfect room he'd created for her while InuYasha was just a danger to everything around him.
"The case is dismissed," Sesshoumaru had decided, "watch your cartoons and keep your voice down. Whether you did it or not you don't touch your parent's things. Understand?"
"Understand," Rin said her voice filling with excitement when she had permission, "I'm going to watch them, okay?"
"Okay," Sesshoumaru responded watching the girl go off happily only for him to be met by a death glare from his wife.
"Why did you do that?" Kagome asked him, "we can't start this sort of thing where I tell her one thing and you tell her another."
"Don't make this dramatic," Sesshoumaru wasn't going to go down that road with her as he walked past, "you don't have enough evidence to prove she did it so she can't serve time. That's how your human legal system works doesn't it? I simply served as the unbiased judge in this case. If she wants to rot her brain watching those TV animations then let her."
"This isn't a courtroom," Kagome sighed, "InuYasha is a jerk but why would he break my phone? I haven't done anything to him… recently that I know of. He is even taking me to my test."
"I am taking you to your test," Sesshoumaru corrected her, "I reached out to Sango and she has agreed to watch Rin."
Weren't her and Sesshoumaru supposed to keep their distance unless it was a public event? Why was he being so nice to her all of a sudden? Kagome then noticed a book in Sesshoumaru's hand that was the exact same text book she'd been studying from.
"Are you-" she began in disbelief, "taking the test also?"
Sesshoumaru nodded, "I haven't been schooled since I was a young demon aristocratic. Apparently that knowledge doesn't carry over to this integrated human society so I need to be evaluated as well. All the human politicians are from respectable universities. I cannot enroll into one of those without being equal to a high school graduate."
Kagome was going to say he didn't have a chance into getting into a good University without actually having attended high school, but then she remembered he had all the disposable income a good ivy leaguer needed. If he was turned away whatever schools he applied for would be labeled as prejudice against his kind.
Still she didn't like taking the test with him. She wouldn't be able to help but to compare their grades to one another. It was a test for a human society, and he'd probably do way better than her. He knew technology therefore would probably know numbers and she'd assumed he'd read a book or two of his personal vast collection in his office. That would just make this more embarrassing. Then again there was reading comprehension. He was the kind that made a lot of misunderstandings so there was a chance he wouldn't know all the terms that would come up in the test.
"You should attend University as well," Sesshoumaru told her as they were now waiting for Sango, "there is no reason you couldn't. My family should be a well educated one despite whatever hardships you grew up with."
"That might take a while," Kagome voice showed how unsure she was, "You'll probably be given your diploma right away while I'm stuck at the third grade level. Won't be long before Rin and I are doing the same homework."
"I doubt Rin could count change back at a grocery store," was all the encouraging words Sesshoumaru had for her.
He believed she would be fine and was just doubting herself. He didn't, however, want to play into showing any affection for her that was still a dangerous road for him to travel down. His theory about just having pent up sexual frustration seemed to be a false one. He'd had his evening with that Mei-Lin girl and it didn't really do anything for him. She was just a prostitute and that would shatter any fantasy he could create. She wasn't the woman living in his house caring for his child. That little outing of his cured nothing.
Sesshoumaru made sure to tell Sango that Rin was free to watch her cartoons and the time for punishment was over before Kagome could raise any objections. Once these tests were out of the way it would soon be time for her to get her driver's license as well. He'd allowed her to drive his car twice yesterday with his supervision and she seemed to do just fine. His wife would soon be completely ready to enjoy all that her small world could offer her without anymore of that religious silliness she grew up in holding her back. At least he could do that much for her.
When they'd both arrived at the government building where they would be taking their tests Sesshoumaru had no choice other than to take her hand in his as there was a flock of cameras and media upon them. The event at Kouga's had been press free, but this would be the real test for them. Finally appearing in public together in front of the world even if it was just for something mundane.
"Sesshoumaru are you both here to take the High School Equivalency Exam?" a female reporter asked him.
"Yes," Sesshoumaru answered, "I do not have an education in these lands and must test myself. My wife has a desire for a higher education as well and I wish to join her in her pursuit."
For someone that wasn't that social Sesshoumaru seemed to always have an answer for when he bothered to give the reporters anything to work with. Then again Kagome shouldn't have been too surprised. This little family of theirs truly had their issues as they let the media teach them about the outside world instead of just experiencing it for themselves. Sesshoumaru had obviously seen many interviews in his research into politics and campaigns.
"Your wife didn't graduate high school either?" the reporter didn't even bother to ask Kagome what she was doing here.
"No," Sesshoumaru answered recalling Kagome didn't want the whole world knowing about her life in a cult, "she was busy working and taking care of her family only to turn around and raise a child at a young age. Now, however, we both have time to work on what we've been lacking."
Now would have been time for Kagome to add to the conversation, but she didn't. She was either lost in her own thoughts or simply didn't like being put on the spot. That would have to change as the cameras would eventually have to become her friends, but for this small thing he'd let it slide. Perhaps she could start by finding comfort in the fact he didn't betray her and reveal anything about the Divine Order without her say so. It might have been a mistake as he was showing her he could still be a trustworthy individual, which he didn't want that, but he still didn't want to betray her.
Kagome thought about saying something. Just to add a comment to make it appear that she didn't need Sesshoumaru to always speak for her, but she was distracted by Sesshoumaru all of a sudden becoming quiet and looking away from all the cameras and back at his car in its parking space.
Sesshoumaru's car was completely off, but yet he could hear a sound coming from it. Something that sounded like igniting. He quickly without any regard to the cameras or Kagome's reaction forced her to the ground as he was on top of her. He insured she would stay there as he put his hands over the top of her palms. No one could resist but to take pictures of Kagome underneath him trying to fight him off, but it was all soon followed by screams as his car gave off a boom of an explosion knocking all humans around to the ground.
Kagome couldn't hear anything. She temporarily lost her hearing as all she heard around her was a faint buzzing noise that didn't compliment the little bit of destruction she could see from under Sesshoumaru. All the cars that had been around his were now destroyed and Sesshoumaru's clothes were being burned off of his body. It didn't harm him, but if not for his body being over hers half of her body would have been in the line of explosion. He'd saved her life. With that came guilt. It was hard to even process what had just happened, but already she knew who was to blame for this. It had to be them. The Divine Order, and they'd warned her and she didn't say anything about it. She could have died or been seriously burnt today and it would have been all her fault.
Sesshoumaru asked her if she was okay, but she still couldn't hear him. If she had heard him she would have realized his voice was a much dramatically different tone than one she'd ever heard before. Only one reporter that seemed to care more about their job than the condition they were in or danger around them snapped a photo of a completely red-eyed Sesshoumaru still keeping Kagome against him with his claws out and fangs revealed ready for any attacker that would come for what was his.
He could have lost her in that moment, and whoever dared to make an attempt on his life or the life of his wife mother of his child wouldn't get another attempt.
(End Chapter)
AN: Chapter 20 of MoC and finally a car got destroyed. Was excited to get to this chapter just because of Naraku. There were a few reviews asking about Kagome having any spiritual powers or if the shikon jewel would be in this story. Still no answer on if she has any powers, but Naraku himself is pretty much like a shikon jewel. Loves hope and despair and humanity's failings and wishes to do some battles with mikos for all eternity just for his own fun and pleasure.