Chapter twenty – Adjustments
The next morning Izumi roused her up early – too early to her liking. Nevertheless she did get up and went through the usual morning routine to which, she found to her surprise, she was quickly getting used to. Sesshoumaru did protest to the priestess dressing him up, but he was taken aback when Kagome calmly reprimanded him.
"Would my lord shame me by handing out what is my rightful duty, to lowly servants? Would my lord really choose a servant before his intended mate?"
This was so unlike the Kagome he was used to that for a moment Sesshoumaru couldn't get a word out of his mouth – but then he noticed the familiar glimmer in the corner of those open blue eyes.
"This Kagome will not have my lord's vassals say that the young lord made a mistake by mating a human." Though the words were polite, there was a slight hint of steel in the tone of her voice.
And then Sesshoumaru understood. This was Kagome's resolve. She would follow through to her best abilities, in order to show everyone.
Izumi regarded her young mistress, with a mixture of astonishment and pride in her calm, even gaze. Suddenly, the servant had a feeling of foresight. Though the miko would surely be a handful, she would not let her down.
Kagome only ate a light breakfast before Kenichirou arrived. The heir of the East took the priestess with him for a morning jog. To the surprise of the both of them, Sesshoumaru silently followed. While Kagome ran on the palace grounds, trying desperately to keep up with Kenichirou, who was holding back his true speed, she thought it oddly comforting to have Sesshoumaru wordlessly run by her side. Even if he had slipped back to his role of the heir. After the morning jog, Kagome revised the attacks Kenichirou had taught her the day before. The snow leopard demon insisted Kagome would go through the series of simple attacks each day with her wooden practice sword, so that she could get the feel of it. After Kenichirou had told her she had practised enough, he handed her over to Daiki, who began her archery training. She was surprised that she actually liked the lesson. Daiki was a silent but efficient man, and her former experience with the bow was a huge help. She was excited to learn a better technique, and compared to her other lessons, this one seemed to be almost easy! The most difficult thing was to keep her holy powers in check. She thought it to be awfully impolite to be shooting purifying arrows in a castle filled with demons.
After her morning weapons training she returned back to Sesshoumaru's room, where she took a quick bath, was dressed out of training clothes into another heavy layered kimono, and then she ate lunch together with Sesshoumaru, under the watchful eye of Izumi. The lunch was also accompanied by the servant's endless instructions.
"As the mate you should serve your lord," Izumi reminded sharply. Kagome obediently picked up Sesshoumaru's empty bowl and filled it with rice from the large serving plate. She collected onto his plate a collection of the various side dishes that were set on the table. After seeing to Sesshoumaru's food, she filled her own bowl and plate and started to eat, rather eagerly, for all the activity in the morning had made her quite hungry.
"Do not squeeze your chopsticks like that," Izumi instructed. "Your grip should be more graceful, as if you were holding a feather."
Kagome tried to ease her grip.
"You are holding them too close to the tips."
Kagome obediently corrected her hand. This was her resolve. She would not complain or talk back. Izumi knew manners and such better than her, in this strict society she was about to enter. Besides, she thought to herself, she'd die of humiliation if all the guests at their mating reception would think her table manners to be that of a country bumpkin. Not only that, she'd embarrass Sesshoumaru and Kimiko as well. And then the mean vassals who still hadn't accepted her would laugh in their sleeves and whisper behind her back how the House of the West had stooped so low when they took in a clueless human like that.
Kagome was determined not to let that happen.
"A lady should take smaller mouthfuls!"
Kagome straightened her back, a firm resolution shining in the depth of her sapphire blue eyes.
She'd become the perfect lady! She'd show everyone!
Sitting again at her left elbow, Izumi was looking closely at her mistress. The servant now understood the will of the young lord. Now that the priestess had stopped resisting her training, Izumi could but admire the young lady's willpower. With the proper guidance and education, she would surely make a great Lady one day.
-CcC-
"When you bow, first place your hands gently down. Make sure to keep your fingers together." Izumi set her clawed hands elegantly in front of her. Kagome, who was sitting in seiza, facing the servant, mimicked the movement.
"Now, imagine that your hands form the sides of a triangle. Then you bow, imagining that your forehead will touch that triangle. Of course, the young lady's status is such that you don't have to actually lower your head to anyone. A deep polite bow will do, but do not let your head touch the floor."
"I might not look like it to you, Izumi-san, but I have pride, too. I wouldn't just casually lower my head to anyone."
"That is good," Izumi acknowledged. "Now, young lady, try it."
Kagome bowed down and straightened herself again.
"Your whole upper body should be moving accordingly, do not just bend your head and neck," Izumi advised.
And that was pretty much how the rest of the day unfolded. Kagome was glad that Sesshoumaru was in Kenichirou's room across the corridor, for if he had been witnessing her lessons, she would surely have felt embarrassed. Izumi guided her through everything, even the most basic things. Izumi was constantly instructing her, on how to walk, on how to talk, on how to bow, on how she should behave in general.
There only was a break of that in the afternoon, when the Lady of the West once again invited her over for a cup of tea. And even then, Izumi kept correcting her, as she poured tea for the lady, and as the imperious inudaiyoukai engaged her in a conversation.
Her speaking habits, it seemed, were what bothered Izumi the most. Kagome could not help herself, after all, the casual slang of the 21st century must have sounded vulgar to the ears of the civilised and endlessly polite 15th century nobles. In Kagome's time, none of the young people were well versed in keigo, the polite and respectful way of speaking used when talking to costumers or one's superiors. Usually, they only had to learn keigo when they got employed. And for a teenage girl like Kagome, that world seemed far away. And here, stuck in a medieval castle of the dog demon court, 500 years in the past, it seemed even further away.
Somehow, she felt a bit like a doll, as if her life was being sucked out of her, little by little.
It wasn't really Izumi, that made her feel like it. It was the life in the castle in general. The rules, the etiquette, the expectations everyone had of her as the mate of the heir. Her every move would be scrutinised and making a mistake would make both her and Sesshoumaru to lose face. She would represent Sesshoumaru, she would represent the ruling House of the West, and in an even wider context, she would represent the whole of the Western lands! The weight of the responsibility on her shoulders was oppressing, it was crushing her a bit more by each passing second.
In the evening, Kagome was sitting on her futon, staring at the paper screen that was decorated by elegant paintings describing the seasons. She startled when Sesshoumaru stopped in front of her. He sat down next to the miko and handed her a ceramic cup.
"You look like you could do with a cup of tea."
"Thank you, Sesshoumaru," she replied softly and accepted the cup, feeling the warmth from the cup radiate to her hands.
"What is it?" he gently prompted.
Kagome was once again taken aback by the surprising softness that the demon lord could possess. Somehow, it made her feel even sadder.
"Is it Inuyasha again?"
Kagome flinched. Her wide-eyed gaze that sought out his amber eyes clearly told him that he had caught the priestess off guard.
"No… No, that's not it," the miko breathed out softly after a moment of silence. "About him.. I'm already trying hard to forget, so…"
"I apologise if I brought up something you find upsetting."
"It's you."
Kagome looked at him, seeing the surprised look in his golden eyes.
"I was thinking about you," she elaborated. "Right now I was thinking… 'This must be how Sesshoumaru's feeling, huh…'"
"What do you mean?"
"Today… Izumi was training me the whole day and by the end of it... I started to feel a bit upset. I felt like I was suffocating. There are so many rules to follow; every last aspect of one's behaviour is mapped out before hand. This is how you should eat; this is how you should walk… Everything is defined in such a detail and I can't help but feel I'm always doing it all wrong…"
Her voice died out.
Sesshoumaru stared at her, the vulnerable look in her deep blue eyes made his heart clench, it made him to want to comfort her.
He opened his mouth to speak the only words burning in his mind, but in that same instance, the miko saw through him.
"Don't you dare to apologise to me again," she said sulkily. "It's enough already. Stop blaming yourself, how many times do I have to tell you that?"
He remained silent but his eyes did not leave hers. He could see it shining through again, the same determination that had settled in the previous night.
"You really should worry more about yourself," the priestess huffed.
"So should you," he simply countered, his golden gaze boring into her.
She answered his gaze, and after a while, her features melted into a smile.
"I suppose that means we're both equally hopeless, huh?"
A slight smile curled his lips. The sincere, smiling expression on his usually stoic face almost felt unfamiliar to her. But at the same time, a part of her understood that she just might have been the only person ever to see such an expression on the cold daiyoukai. For some reason, that realisation made her throat tighten and suddenly the need to touch him overwhelmed her. She sighed and leaned against him, her head coming to rest on his wide shoulder.
Sesshoumaru stiffened momentarily, surprised at the situation. Kagome didn't usually initiate proximity with him. He could feel that she still was not physically comfortable with him. But this… This Sesshoumaru understood. He knew that the miko was merely seeking comfort in their companionship. Within these oppressing castle walls, it was only during moments like these when they were alone together that they could let go of those walls that sheltered their fragile selves. In front of the young human miko, Sesshoumaru didn't have to pretend to be anything but who he truly was. That was only one of the reasons why he valued her company.
-CcC-
Kagome and Izumi both sat in seiza on the tatami floor. Kagome stared at the equipment in front of the servant, and tried to quell her nervousness.
"Remember that the ceremony is a combination of skill, art and performance. The art of tea is refined, thus, it is important to not soil the ceremony with speech."
Kagome nodded mutely as she calmly accepted Izumi's words. Despite her nervousness, she was growing more and more excited. She would actually be taught the tea ceremony! She would soon be part in a piece of cultural tradition that had survived all the turmoil of the long centuries. Tradition that still was practised even in her day! Although she greatly disliked the life in the castle – the strict rules, formalities and etiquette overwhelmed her and were very difficult for her to adjust to, thanks to her modern free upbringing. Still, despite her resentment on being controlled by the social expectations and norms, she could appreciate the chance of learning first-hand about the history and the deep-rooted traditions of her own culture.
"Now, watch carefully," Izumi advised the miko.
Kagome turned her eyes to the servant.
She noted how each piece of equipment seemed to have its precise and respective place. A thin and long bamboo instrument was on top of a lidded container, which lay right from the tea bowl. The whisk was in the tea bowl. Behind the tea bowl stood the large metal container in which the heated water was kept.
Before Izumi began, she gave a short and graceful bow. At first she picked up the small lidded container in which the tea powder was stored. She placed the cup in front of her and then pulled out the rectangular linen cloth she had tucked in her obi. She pulled the cloth taunt and then proceeded to carefully fold it with precise movements into the correct shape. Then, confidence, skill and gracefulness blending together in her moves, the youkai female picked up the lidded container once again and lightly wiped it with the cloth.
"You must begin by purifying the equipment," she advised her with a hushed voice. Words were meaningless in the ceremony, but in order to properly educate her mistress, Izumi had to provide instructions.
Izumi placed the container back to its respective place, unfolded the cloth in her hands, pulled it taunt again before carefully folding it again so she could wipe the next item: the thing and long bamboo scoop. After she had set the scoop aside, on top of the lidded container she had cleaned previously, Izumi lifted picked up the tea bowl and set the whisk that had been in it aside. She opened the lid of the metal pot in which the water had been boiled. She picked a bamboo ladle and dipped it in, before carefully moving the ladle to pour the hot water into the tea bowl.
"Make sure you do not let a drop of water fall onto the floor."
Her left hand keeping the bowl in place with a light hold, she picked the tea whisk in her right hand and with precise movements stirred the hot water with the oddly shaped bamboo instrument. She repeated the same stirring pattern a number of times, before she set the whisk aside. She picked the tea bowl in her hands and gently turned it around, before she poured the water out to a small basin beside her. Then, she took out a new cloth and wiped the bowl clean and dry.
"Now that you have purified all your equipment, it is time to prepare the tea."
Izumi picked up the thin scoop and then the container, and removed its lid. Carefully, she scooped the tea powder into the bowl with the thin bamboo instrument, carefully assessing the right amount of the powder to what she assumed would suit Kagome's taste. She spread out the green powder at the bottom of the bowl with the scoop. With her left hand, she put the lid back on tea powder container, setting it aside and placing the bamboo scoop once again on top of it. Then, she took the ladle and carefully poured hot water into the tea bowl, once again making sure that the rations would be proper. Izumi picked up the whisk and with graceful movements mixed the powder and water with precise movements.
When the tea was ready, she set the whisk aside and turned towards Kagome. She picked the tea bowl with both of her hands and turned it around counter clockwise three times, before once again setting down the bowl and bowing.
"After the tea has been served and drank, you must clean your equipment again, this time starting from the tea bowl and finishing with wiping the contained clean. When you have finished, all of the equipment should be exactly where they were placed before you started." Izumi's brown eyes met Kagome's blue ones, and the priestess nodded in understanding.
"Then, young lady, it is your turn to try."
They went over the ceremony a several times. Kagome was quite unsure of herself, but with Izumi's guidance, at the end of the lesson she felt that she had made at least some progress.
"That was good for a first timer," Izumi complimented her, and Kagome couldn't hold back her smile.
"While the basics are not too complicated, it will take time until each of your moves will speak of harmony and precision, as they should in a properly condoned tea ceremony. As of now, you show too much hesitance, but that much was only to be expected."
"I guess that means that I'll just have to practise more."
Izumi gave her a stern and reproachful glare and Kagome briefly berated her forgetfulness.
"I suppose in that case I will need to practise hard."
Izumi nodded at Kagome's correction, while Kagome internally sighed to herself. Talking was the most difficult part for her, she never remembered that she wasn't supposed to speak in that "vulgar and casual manner", in which she had been speaking all her life. The rules, they were always restricting her.
-CcC-
The lesson ended, and they were on their way back to Sesshoumaru's quarters, which the young lord shared with his intended. Kagome was walking along the corridor, with Izumi only a few steps behind her. She rounded a corner and found a demon blocking her path.
"Excuse me," Kagome said softly and took a few steps forward to try and circle around the demon. The male was robust, and the corridor was quite narrow.
She came to a halt, however, when she felt the demon's youki rising. It snaked towards her, enveloped her in the kind of an unpleasant, intruding way that paralysed her. Vaguely, she realised that she was shivering heavily, and that her hands were shaking.
The robust demon's eyes were full of loathing and his lips were curled in an angry snarl. Slowly, he drew out a short wakizashi blade out of the sheath on his waist.
Kagome could but stare, her eyes widened in horror, as the hostile being started to slowly advance on her.
At the same time, back in Sesshoumaru's room, the daiyoukai was reading through a scroll when he suddenly stiffened. The chain around his wrist had all of a sudden grown as cold as ice and was hurting his skin. He frowned and set the scroll aside. Something was happening. Something was out of place. Sesshoumaru hastily got up and stormed out of his room, following the gleaming silver chain.
Kagome's knees were trembling, threatening to give out under her weight. She wanted nothing more than to scream and flee, but she was unable to move and her throat had painfully tightened so that no sound could escape. She watched the deadly blade approaching her and could feel the cold sweat beginning to form on her forehead.
And then, from the corner of her eye she saw a quick flicker of movement, a flash of bright colours, and felt something lightly brush against the sleeve of her kimono. The next thing she knew, the robust demon had been tossed on his back on the floor, the short sword fallen from his hand.
Kagome stared on in amazement at the sight of the growling Izumi straddling the attacker's chest, holding a long and sharp ornamental hair needle less than an inch away from the demon's right eye.
"Go on," the servant hissed. "Give me a reason."
The demon growled, but did not move.
"Young lady," Izumi calmly spoke out, the sound of the familiar voice finally waking Kagome out of her stupor, "please pick up his sword. If he tries to approach you again, do not hesitate to unleash your powers."
Kagome hastened to grab the wakizashi lying on the floor, as Izumi got off the demon, having a vice-like grip of his right arm.
"Get up," the servant growled.
Once the youkai was on his feet, Izumi firmly twisted his arm behind his back, while she pressed the tip of the long needle on his throat.
"Stay behind me." Izumi sternly commanded, and Kagome obediently followed. They had not walked long until Sesshoumaru found them.
The young heir took one glance at the malicious look on the demons face, the way Izumi was handling the robust male and the unfamiliar sword the distraught looking priestess was carrying.
Sesshoumaru locked his eyes with the demon's and let all of his fury seep into the loud, threatening growl rumbling in his chest.
"Everything is in order, young lord," Izumi said insistently, cutting through the inudaiyoukai's growl. "We must hurry and take him for the Lady. It will be her who will decide on this matter."
Sesshoumaru stepped aside and Izumi hurried past him. The young inu prince stepped close to his mate-to-be, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. He gently guided her after Izumi.
Some moments later, the four of them entered the main hall, which instantly erupted into a confused buzz of voices as the demon court took in the peculiar sight in front of them. They ignored the curious glances and the whispers as they walked across the room, stopping as they reached the tatami dais on which the Lady of the West was sitting. Kenichirou sat up from where he had been seated, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he took in the sight before him, a low hiss escaping from his lips.
"My Lady," Izumi greeted with her eloquent and carrying voice, "a moment ago the young lady and I were confronted in the corridor by this demon. He drew his blade and started to advance on the young lady. I stopped him."
"You did well," Kimiko complimented the servant. "You may release him now."
Izumi released her grip and stepped back.
The demon stood there defiantly, boldly answering the imperious Lady's gaze.
"Explain yourself," the Lady barked out, her voice colder than Kagome had ever heard it before.
"I do not think what I did requires an explanation, your Ladyship."
A terrible scowl darkened Kimiko's face.
"You have sworn your loyalty to the House of the West! What you have done today is unforgivable."
"It is the House of the West I was trying to protect today, my Lady," the demon insisted vehemently.
"Protect?" Kimiko growled out incredulously.
"How could I allow the heir of the West to mate that woman? It would be unacceptable to see a filthy human like her joining the House of the West! I only did what I deemed necessary."
Before Kimiko could respond, a loud growl filled the room as Sesshoumaru began to advance on the demon, the promise of murder in his cold amber eyes. He flexed his claws, feeling the poison starting to seep to the tips.
He was about to lash out, when he was forced to stop. His angered eyes met the unyielding sapphire ones of the priestess, who had moved between the two demons.
"Please don't," she begged softly.
Sesshoumaru let his hand fall.
"It was I who has been threatened. As the victim, should I not have a say in his punishment?" Kagome spoke, a newly found touch of authority in her voice as she looked at the demoness sitting up on the dais.
"Very well," Kimiko said smoothly. "What is your wish?"
"I want you to spare his life."
"Are you certain of that?"
"Yes," Kagome said firmly, her determination evident in the tone of her voice.
"So be it then." Kimiko turned to the demon in front of her. "From now on, you are banished from the Western Lands. I will have my guards escort you to the border to make sure that you leave my domain. If you ever dare to set your foot on my lands, you will be killed without hesitation." the demoness paused, her golden eyes flickering into the direction of the miko.
"Is this judgement acceptable to you?"
"Yes," Kagome spoke out, sealing the demon's fate.
-CcC-
A short moment later Kimiko sat in her private courters. One of her closest attendants poured tea for her.
"It was a good thing Izumi was there, my Lady," the servant made small talk while Kimiko sipped the hot drink.
"A senior attendant should be by her mistress side at all times," huffed another close and trusted servant, who had been taking care of her lady for centuries.
"Luck had nothing to do with it," Kimiko admitted. She turned her head when she heard commotion behind the door of her room. Before she could react in any way, the shoji screen was violently yanked open and Kenichirou strode in.
The female servant assigned at the door of Kimiko's room wrung her hands helplessly behind the agitated heir of the East.
"I am deeply sorry, my Lady! I tried to stop him but – "
"It is fine," Kimiko assured. "Kenichirou, sit down."
The servant bowed and slid the door shut again. The snow leopard, however, remained standing.
"You cannot let him go like that," were the first words the Eastern prince managed to hiss.
"Kagome pleaded mercy for him," Kimiko simply replied, a mocking smile threatening to rise onto her lips. It seemed that her son wasn't the only one with a soft spot for the miko.
"Kagome-san does not understand the situation! She is too innocent. She is too forgiving."
"Calm down, Kenichirou-kun," Kimiko calmly ordered the younger demon. "Sit down and have a cup of tea." Although the demoness did agree with Kenichirou completely in the matter, she had to admit to herself that despite her personal feelings towards the priestess, she had been impressed by the miko. Though Kagome was all too soft-hearted, she had shown authority befitting of the Lady of the West. She hadn't hesitated, not even before her mother-in-law-to-be, the current ruler of the lands. Whatever Kimiko thought of the human, she had to admit that she had guts.
Kenichirou stared at the woman. How could she just have complied with Kagome's request? Didn't she understand? How could she be sitting here, calmly like that, drinking tea?
Still, unable to resist the command in her golden eyes, he joined her at the table.
"Today, that demon drew his blade in order to attack Kagome. It was a development I had been anticipating ever since my son brought the miko here to be presented to the court, and part of the reason why I assigned Izumi to be her attendant. There are still many vassals who have not accepted a human as their superior. However, most of those against Kagome are able to put their personal feelings aside, out of loyalty and respect towards me and my son. Still, there will always be few who are seething, and will not rest until the human invader has been disposed of."
"That is precisely why you should not have gone easy on that bastard! You should have had him killed!"
"Who do you think I am, young heir of the East?"
Kenichirou fell silent in his shock.
"I have been sitting on the Western throne for centuries. I am quite aware that I need to set an example in order to discourage any further attempts at assassinating Kagome."
Kenichirou stared at the female youkai. There was a hard gleam in her eyes that almost made him shudder.
"Did I ever say that I would not have the traitor killed?"
Kenichirou blinked.
"You are going to have him killed?"
"It will be a bit more complicated than that," Kimiko smiled coldly. "I would appreciate your co-operation on the matter, though."
Kenichirou set his jaw. He knew what Kagome's thoughts on the matter were, but what the miko didn't know, couldn't hurt her. Kenichirou knew better the reality of the world than the sheltered priestess. Furthermore, he was a demon and born a warrior during an era of unrest.
"Tell me what I can do."
"Contact your parents for me. Let them know about what transpired today. The second my guards reach the border with the traitor and he sets his foot on the Eastern lands, I want your father's people ready for him."
Kenichirou nodded grimly.
"I will get to it right away."
-CcC-
It took a week before a rumour began to circulate in the demon court of the West, words spoken and repeated time after time, telling the story of how the traitor of the Western House, the traitor whose life their heir's mate-to-be had mercifully saved, had got into an "accident" the moment he had left the Western lands behind. It was not too difficult for the Western vassals to put one and two together. After all, the House of the East had had close ties with the House of the West for quite a while. It effectively got the message across. Attacking the miko would be the same as attacking the ruling House of the West, and the cold-hearted Lady would not hesitate at all to take the necessary steps in order to crush all mutinous attempts, no matter how much the miko would plead mercy for the ones doing her wrong. In the end, the Lady of the West still had a firm grip of her throne and she wasn't going to allow any of her subordinates to forget that fact.
-CcC-
Sesshoumaru sat still on the wooden porch overlooking the garden. His golden eyes had settled on the form of the miko, who stood in the garden performing kata, supervised by Kenichirou. Ever since the assassination attempt on Kagome, the heir of the East had been very insistent on Kagome's self-defence training, as in a hurry to teach her the necessary basic skills so that she could somewhat defend herself if another similar incident would occur.
Sesshoumaru's sharp and battle-trained eyes could see that the moves and series of attacks had not yet become a routine to the miko, but she had only been training for a week and half, and he could tell that Kenichirou's teaching methods were effective. It seemed to him that the wooden practice sword no longer felt alien to the priestess.
Sesshoumaru perked up when he heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching him. A moment later the shoji screen behind him slid open and shut. He turned his head and to his surprise – though he naturally quickly hid the reaction – saw the matchmaker. The kitsune flashed a smile at him and then sat gracefully down in seiza, taking a seat next to the inudaiyoukai.
"So, there are only a few weeks left, young heir of the West."
Sesshoumaru did not respond. He did not like the matchmaker much. Similar to the mysterious Fortune Teller, the matchmaker seemed to possess a sixth sense of sorts, the kind that Sesshoumaru himself had never experienced. The inudaiyoukai was always a bit unnerved by the sharp pair of emerald eyes that seemed to see right through him, to even the deepest and darkest corners of his soul.
"Your mother is urging on the preparations. I assume it will become really hectic in this castle soon. The invitations have been sent and all."
Sesshoumaru still didn't reply to the vixen.
"Are you sure you are ready?" the direct question, as well as the insistent tone of the fox demon's voice compelled the cold prince finally to talk.
"It is not I for whom this Sesshoumaru feels concerned."
"Ahh," the matchmaker sighed in understanding, a smile touching the corners of her lips. "Indeed," she concurred, her attentive gaze moving from the young heir to the miko practising with the wooden sword in the garden.
"She sure is trying really hard, is she not?"
Sesshoumaru coldly glanced at the matchmaker. His reaction only seemed to widen the annoying demoness' smile and fuelled Sesshoumaru's irritation towards the red-haired vixen.
"I can see into your heart, heir of the West," the matchmaker spoke, the smile evident in her tone. "It is precisely your concern for her that is the base of what you feel for her."
Sesshoumaru ignored the meddling woman.
"Indeed. At this point I am certain that you are not going to regret your decision of taking Kagome-san as your mate. After all, you have already begun to fall in love with her."
Sesshoumaru snarled, earning a merry chuckle from the matchmaker.
"You may deny it all you want, young lord," the vixen spoke. "But I do notice the signs when I see them."
"You are not as all-knowing as you think," Sesshoumaru growled.
"Perhaps," the matchmaker gracefully admitted, with a nod of her head. "Still, I have to say that I do agree with you, young heir. I am concerned for her as well."
For the first time, Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at the fox demoness, acknowledging her presence. He did not need to speak, Aiko could still hear his question loud and clear.
"She might not be ready yet," the woman spoke softly. "The shadow of her old love still pains her, even if the worst of it is over. And of course… there is much she needs to do in order to become your mate."
Sesshoumaru scowled darkly.
"It is my fault she needs to sacrifice so much."
"That may be, but nonetheless, she is sacrificing herself willingly. That gives me hope that in time, she will come to both recognise and return the feelings that you, my lord, have for her."
Sesshoumaru's amber eyes glared at the calm matchmaker.
"Denying it will only make it more difficult, young heir," she advised him. "And you cannot avoid it forever. If you wish to be rid of this chain, you have to accept your love for her."
"She almost got killed because of me," the inudaiyoukai spat out darkly. Then, his scowl turned in to a frown. "I could feel it when she was attacked. The chain suddenly grew cold."
"The chain can obviously see your opening heart the same as I can, Western heir. It sent you a warning so that you might protect her as you yearn to."
Sesshoumaru ignored the remark and instead diverted the matchmaker with a question.
"Do you think that we will ever be rid of this chain?"
"Had you not noticed?" Aiko asked, mildly curious. "The chain has already been more lenient to you for a while."
Sesshoumaru considered this bit of information revealed. His golden gaze settled on the glimmer of silver around his wrist. It was true that as of late the chain had not been such a bother to him, but he had just shrugged it off as him getting used to being bound to the miko.
"It is because the first condition is already met," the matchmaker told the inudaiyoukai. "By becoming close friends who share a mutual bond of trust, you two have taken the first step, you two have already been joined in mind. And come the day of your mating, you shall be joined in soul as well. Having fulfilled two of the three conditions, the chain should become easier to live with."
"Thank you for telling this to me," Sesshoumaru said stiffly.
"You have every right to know, my lord," the matchmaker replied.
They both fell silent and sat there, side by side, both an amber and an emerald pair of eyes keenly following the form of the young woman wielding the wooden practice sword out in the garden.