Okay, you've really got to pay attention to this chapter if you want to understand it. I kinda confused myself as well, so yeah...
But anyways, enjoy!
Last Time: Kagome nodded her head with a small smile spread across her face. Secretly, she was bursting with joy at the simple fact that she was, indeed, in love with Sesshomaru. Or at least, she was falling in love with him.
Or had she already fallen in love with him and just didn't know it?
Either way you put it, she had feelings that ran deeper than roots of a tree for the youkai lord. The best thing about this was that he knew and returned the feelings as well.
And she got to see him half-naked in the morning.
How could it possibly get any better than this?
Chapter Twenty-Five - Behind The Scenes
She didn't really have anything to do. She had just finished with the decorations for the festivities with Kagome and was now dressed rather prettily. She did like dressing this way, however, she wouldn't do it every day because, well, to be honest, it just wasn't her.
She had decided not to wear the clothes that their personal "dresser" had made for her and decided to just wear a simple kimono out of the closet. It was green with pink Sakura blossoms floating about in a spiraling pattern from the right shoulder to her the bottom left of the hem of the kimono. She didn't want to face any of the guests, not yet anyway, so she decided to just go for a walk.
She didn't know that the others had decided to take a walk for themselves. Kagome happened to come out of the secluded area of the gardens, and she was going to hello, but when Sesshomaru walked out after her, she decided against it and let them have their peace. So, she went the opposite way and went deeper into the massive garden. She came across Miroku, which she wasn't expecting, and found him to be meditating under a weeping willow tree. He seemed perfectly content with the way he was, so she left him alone, thinking he wanted his peace as well.
She came across Inuyasha, who had been sitting up in the branches of a Sycamore tree and wondered why he was avoiding her. She pretended she didn't notice him and simply passed beneath the very branches he laid across. She could feel his eyes following her every move. She walked further and soon found that Inuyasha was following after her.
She didn't really know what was going on between them. Not really. She just thought that when they had sex the other day, it was because he needed release. Who didn't? All youkai and hanyou have certain instincts and hormones that needed to be released, and the only way to do it was through sex. Humans, themselves, did this so it wasn't anything new.
However, the fact that it was Inuyasha that stole her virginity was very unsettling. How could she have given it so freely? Why did she allow him to do it? It wasn't like her at all. She wasn't a sex-craved woman that got her kicks from having sex with random men. No, she wasn't like that at all. But of all people, why had it been Inuyasha that she gave it to? Why not Miroku? Was it because he hardly gave her any attention anymore? Or was it because she just didn't feel the same way she had when they had first met?
Her feelings were just too confusing. She couldn't separate the emotions that she felt and it was driving her to near insanity. The things that she wanted to say, to do, she couldn't because she just knew something would go wrong. She knew that she had to tell someone, mostly Kagome, that what had happened was an accident and that she really had no idea what she was doing. She just knew that when Kagome found out, she was going to be so heart broken, and feel so betrayed by her sister.
Inuyasha landed beside her and walked alongside her for a while. She didn't even flinch or acknowledge that he was there. He frowned and crossed his arms. What was wrong with her? Was she upset or something? Women were just absolutely confusing.
"Sango," he finally said, being careful not anger her, "what's wrong with you?" And, of course, he has to have a rude word or two.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with us?" Sango suddenly said. She suddenly shook her head. "Never mind," she said, "what about Kikyou? What is she up to? I saw the way Kagome looked at her the other day, what is she doing?"
"She's not doing anything. She's just walking around the palace," Inuyasha said, scratching his head. "Is something wrong?"
"No," Sango replied and then ignored him and went back to the palace.
When she arrived at dinner, there was a lot of commotion. When she took her seat beside Miroku, who kept his hands to himself, everyone started to chatter. It was a bout of both boisterous and serious talk. Whispering females talked about the humans. The humans talked amongst themselves. The demons, of course, stayed in their places and acted as though there was nothing out of the ordinary.
When Kagome and Sesshomaru came in and sat down beside each other, everyone went quiet, fast. It was as if someone dropped a bomb somewhere and everything went still after the explosion. They all watched Kagome take a seat beside the lord, and watched in amusement when everyone picked up their spoons when Sesshomaru took his bite and didn't wait for Kagome.
She was actually surprised at the amount of anger the youkai lord displayed across his face when everyone had the audacity to do what they did. When that one woman went up to Sesshomaru, it only furthered her entertainment. She watched as the woman was thrown into the wall by an unseen wind and watched as Kagome and Sesshomaru made their ways out of the room.
After that, everyone was quiet and hardly anyone ate their food. The children, of course, ate because they were starving, but the adults were all perturbed and on the edges of their cushions. Sango finished her food and then stood and left the room. Soon after, Miroku, Inuyasha, Kikyou, and the kids followed after her. She practically felt the glares and the pressure of the youki swirling within the room. She was almost positive that Miroku could feel the malice as well.
After she was out of there and had gone to her room, she got undressed and pulled on an almost see-through gown that Kagome had given to her for her birthday one year. Sango kept it to sleep in, but didn't walk around in it. If she didn't have the time, she would just slip on the "house coat" Kagome gave to her as well to put over her sleeping clothes.
Soon enough, instead of the bed, she fell asleep on a cushion that was positioned in the corner of a room and slept. Not realizing she was so exhausted from the many events that had happened in the past few days.
She could feel the change happening. She knew that it would happen, but no one ever told her that she wouldn't be able to remember a thing. She looked at the sky and guess it was about mid afternoon. The scene changed and she found herself chasing after a group of rabbits down a hill. The thrill of the chase excited her, making her want more as she raced after them. Miroku was beside her, also watching their prey and waiting for the pounce.
They both lept at once. They tore in to their meaty delicacy and swallowed it raw. Blood dripped from their fingertips onto the soft grass below and stained it red. Their clothes were stained as well with the bloody chase and their eyes were a deep red color.
Coming from their high, they looked at each other before they both pounced and mated right there on the floor. Neither of them marked the other. It was simply sex. Heated and quick, right in the middle of nowhere.
Sango sat up with a gasp. What in the world was that? She looked at the time of day outside and found it to still be dark. Weird...she doesn't remember anything about having sex with Miroku. Maybe it was just a dream. Yes, just a dream...
Inuyasha and Kikyou sat in Kikyou's room, staring at the storm outside. They weren't aware of anything other than themselves. When Inuyasha fell into a deep sleep beside her, she slipped out of the bedroom and into the hallway. The candles that usually were lit during the night, were burned out and the only thing that lit the path was the moon beyond the open windows of the palace. She wondered idly why they had even built those enormous windows if there were going to be storms that could blow rain and much into the palace. Then she remembered that it was a youkai's domain and it was how they were.
When she got out of the "tunnel of doom", she came upon several options. She could go straight and risk someone spying her. She could go to the right, but it would lead her to a possible dead end. She could go left, but that would totally bypass everything and she'd have to back track. Sighing, she went forward. She kept her footsteps light and kept a tight reign on her aura and energy. She didn't want anyone to become suspicious of her, and she had worked too hard only for her plans to stop here.
Silently, she passed a guard who didn't even so much as turn around to see if she was there. She slipped through a pair of doors, and disappeared down another dark hallway. No one ever saw her walk by, nor dor did they even hear the door close down the hall. They simply continued on with their business and stayed alert.
Kikyou stood in the center of a weapon room. She had come across it several times and after memorizing the different paths that led to the room, she was finally able to move on with her plan.
Though no one other than Kagome had felt any change in her, Kikyou had slowly been able to find that she was different than what she had been. She felt so much more alive after the events of Naraku, but not in the sense anyone would think. Being dead had its limits, yes, but it also had a great advantage when it came to certain aspects of fighting. For one thing, she wouldn't die in battle, just be wounded. She wasn't mortal, but she wasn't immortal either. With that being said, being dead was a helluva lot better than being alive.
Only now, she wanted, no...she NEEDED something. The warning Midoriko had given Kagome was just perfect. It ruined her plans so she had to change them. She had to get everything ready, and she had to do it fast. Letting her soul free, she fell to her knees and her head hung low as her spirit fled across the earth's surface before coming to a stop before a mirror.
"Kanna," Kikyou said, and the little girl let her emotionless eyes stray up to Kikyou's floating figure.
"Naraku is dead," Kanna said, "but with his death brings great misfortune. Princess Kaguya has been brought back from the dead. Tsubaki, the witch, will be led to her fortress. You will become the Princess's new body and you will cease to exist.
"The war draws near. Kaguya seeks to destroy mankind and make youkai her slaves. She is creating an army as we speak," Kanna said, her tone cold and, well, toneless.
"Very well," Kikyou said with a nod. "I have unfinished business to attend to. I will find followers, tell Kaguya that. She would be pleased to know that her future vessel is doing some good for her."
Kanna didn't reply, but instead, disappeared in the wind and left Kikyou. Kikyou then scoured the area and found a rather heated Taiyoukai in the middle of the woods. He was tearing up everything in his path. His hair was jet black with the eyes as black as coals. When she appeared before him, his rage calmed slightly as he stared.
"If you want to take your rage out on someone, take it out on the Taiyoukai of Western Lands. He has been weakened by an ex-miko. She can not control her powers right now, and she is quite vulnerable," she explained. She watched as his anger flitted across his face. "I am but an apparition and my words are merely suggestion." With an evil smile, she disappeared from his sight and he stalked forth, headed for the Taiyoukai of the West's palace.
Miroku looked up from his glass and saw Sango dressed in a beautiful kimono. The way it fit her curves so perfectly made him want to drool in ecstasy from his own fantasies. He watched as she took her seat. He was going to get up and sit with her, but Kagome showed up and took a seat herself.
He saw their exchange and wondered silently what they were going to talk about. Being curious, he moved to a closer seat and hid his aura so that his miko-youkai friend wouldn't pick it up. Then again, he never did know if she could even feel it before she turned youkai.
Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts and listened in on what the two females had to say. He took a sip of his drink and acted as if nothing was happening.
"Nothing happened," he heard Kagome say. Nothing happened? What did that mean? Did something happen and he missed it? How clueless he was.
"W-Well," Kagome said, and Miroku listened carefully. He heard her whole confession and was a bit shocked to find that Sesshomaru would actually ask a favor of their beloved Kagome. Then again, Kagome always did have her special something when it came to irrational individuals like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. He also understood why she did it, so he didn't hold a grudge. He was a little upset to not have heard this before, much like Sango was, but he got over it quickly and continued to listen.
"I've got something to tell you," Sango said, looking into her cup. "I-I am no longer a virgin."
That got Miroku choking on his drink. His sake went spewing forth from his mouth, all over the table and he coughed to try and get it under control. Glancing at the girls, he found that none of them had heard him and his eyes wide. Who...? What...? When...? He couldn't even form a completely sane question!
He, himself, was a pure monk who had never had sex. In fact, he was positive that he had never laid a hand on any woman in a sexual kind of way. True, he had touched a few tushies here and there, but he never went so far as to actually engage in sexual activities.
A brief scene flashed through his mind. One of him and Sango. Both of their bodies were completely unclothed, shed and thrown to the side. They were...playing...in a what looked to be a murder scene. They had just killed a few rabbits and...now they were...
No, that couldn't be. He had no knowledge of ever rutting with Sango! He never did such a thing! He knows he hasn't! Unless...the demon in him took over because of some unsastainable reason...that would mean that when they were still learning how in the world to control their powers, their demons got loose somehow and resulted in THAT.
"I knew that, Sango. I mean, it took you a while to tell me, but man, it's about time you had the guts to tell me. I noticed a while back that you and Miroku got quite comfortable with each other-"
"It wasn't Miroku, and I never had an intimate relationship with Miroku," Sango said. "Kagome, I'm so sorry, I never meant to do it, I swear."
Miroku's eyes and eyebrows narrowed. So, indeed, it wasn't him. See, this proves he never stole Sango's virginity! Then...he heard those few words that changed his whole opinion of Sango and what he felt:
"I got up and walked through the more secluded area of the gardens and found Inuyasha." Putting two and two together, he abruptly stood, left his glass on the table, and walked away. He didn't want to hear anymore. Anger flooded through his veins as he thought about what Inuyasha and Sango had done. The betrayal he felt could rival that of Kikyou's and Inuyasha's relationship at the very beginning.
He clenched his fists in pure anger and found his spot in the center of the gardens and began to meditate.
He didn't want to see either Sango or Inuyasha. All he wanted was to not remember anything.
Kikyou glared at the two women who sat a little ways away from her. She let her miko powers flow into her ears so she could hear just what the two gossiping women had to say. What she found was not what she liked. Frowning, she stood and headed the opposite way Miroku had gone. She had seen him go the other way. She had noticed his aura. He had only thought to block it off from the two chattng girls, but never did he think about herself.
After her run in with the taiyoukai earlier on in the evening, she had went straight back to her body and decided to join in the festivities while 'her' hanyou slept peacefully in her bedroom. She was going to show him. She was going to show that slayer and ex-miko as well. She will NOT be made a fool and she'd be damned if they thought they could play her like before.
Clenching her fists tightly, she began to explore the palace once more. When she was ready, and everyone went to sleep, she would continue her plan.
My goodness! This was an EXTREMELY long chapter! I've worked on it since last Thursday about! I have tried hard to keep the line in check, so now, I will get back to the present! If I forgot something, please let me know! I haven't exactly proof-read it yet...I'm working on that...heheheheh...well, review!