A/N
I really love all the support I have been getting for this story. I apologize that I have not been replying to the reviews. My inbox is ridiculously full and every time I look at it, I get scared and intimidated. Honestly!
Once more, I just want to thank everyone, and if you have any questions on the story, PLEASE message me!
~Smo!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I use her characters for amusement purposes only.
Chapter 29
Kagome came to in a large room. It was definitely not the small room they had occupied at the inn. They- that one word triggered it all in her head. Sesshoumaru had stayed with her.
She had followed him to the docks, had heard him fighting with Hiten. However, it wasn't until she saw them in the aftermath of the sparks, the sudden flickering of the colorations and displays of abnormal power did she freak out.
Sesshoumaru had purple stripes, no, magenta stripes on his face and over his eyes. Those once honey-colored orbs were now like golden nuggets, bright, alluring, and worth everything she could give. Those long claws and sharpened fangs had looked as if they were leaking with something and each drop of it seared the wood.
He wasn't human, which brought her to the next piece of business. Where was she, and who was she with?
She sat up, wincing at a bandage around her shoulder. That wasn't good. She touched it gently, and it began to burn. Slowly, she began to peel it off when the door opened.
Before the guest made itself known, she looked frantically around the room for some sort of weapon. There was nothing, and before she could even stand, Sesshoumaru entered. He wasn't alone though. Akane and Shiyo trailed into the room after him, looking just as scared as he was.
That wasn't right. He shouldn't be scared of her; it should be the other way around. "What happened?" Kagome croaked out, her throat dry from whatever had happened. It felt as if her whole body lacked the water it needed.
Sesshoumaru cured it, holding out a glass of clear water and sliding it onto the table, afraid to touch her. "Kagome, you followed me to the docks and saw me fighting with Hiten," he explained.
"You had-had stripes on your face, and claws… and fangs!" She whispered harshly, afraid someone outside of the room might hear.
"Lady Higurashi," Akane broke in, pushing past both Shiyo and Sesshoumaru to fall to her knees beside her lady. "Forgive us for hiding it from you. We wanted to tell you ever but we couldn't!" She ranted, tears leaking from her eyes.
Kagome was even more confused. "What are you talking about Akane?" She asked, trying desperately to keep her eyes on Sesshoumaru.
Kagome knew this was already a secret that Sesshoumaru had planned to keep from her, but, he looked as if he was a large structure of ice. He was completely guarded, all defenses up. There was something odd in his gaze. Those bright golden eyes seemed so dull and lifeless.
Akane continued. "Lady Higurashi, we are demons."
The words echoed in Kagome's head. Demons. Weren't those supposed to be horned and ugly, evil and manipulating? If it weren't for the first two, the description would have made sense in Sesshoumaru's case.
"We originated in Japan but have spread because of all the exploration," Shiyo explained. "We blended with humans after they developed weapons and began to populate so much. We are easily outnumbered."
"You are stronger though," Kagome guessed. Shiyo and Akane both gave a nod, although, they didn't look very happy about it.
"Unfortunately, people do not like demons," Sesshoumaru broke into the conversation. "We tried to fight and rebel but found it easier to blend in after all the religious armies and crusades to 'purify' the world."
There was a scoff in his voice. Kagome raised an eyebrow, "So, Shippo is a demon too. Why don't you just use your demon powers to find them?" She questioned.
They all looked at her as if she were some kind of mentally handicapped child. Shiyo spoke, "Kagome, all you've heard about demons, it is mostly untrue. We can't possess someone's body or read their minds. We don't simply know things. In fact, there are thousands of kinds of demons."
Kagome took that in, but still the surprise overwhelmed her. Demons existed. She knew about them in her church, but had they just altered the real facts to make them out to be evil when they really weren't? "What kind are you?" Kagome asked.
Shiyo gave a small smile, as if she had come across an obstacle. Then again, she would need to accept their existence before they could tell her anything more. At the same time, he didn't want to overwhelm her with information.
"My family is made up of kitsunes, foxes," Shiyo answered, a proud smile on his face. "We specialize in altering our appearances but can also do disappearing acts."
Kagome turned her gaze to Sesshoumaru, her eyes asking the same question. What was he?
Sesshoumaru simply stared back at her for a few long moments. Kagome didn't understand why he wasn't explaining it. He was letting Shiyo and Akane do the talking. Maybe he was afraid to tell her something.
She cleared her throat, "Akane, c-can I get a drink please?" She asked, not pulling her eyes away from Sesshoumaru.
The two understood that Kagome was asking for privacy with this man. Shiyo held on to his wife's arm and guided her out of the room.
Emeralds clashed with gold as they remained staring at each other. Kagome tried to fit the pieces together. There had to be a reason why Sesshoumaru refused to give out any information on what kind he was. Maybe, his kind was supposed to remain a secret. No, that didn't sound plausible.
She hummed aloud as she thought about it. He made no move to stop her. He simply stood there, at the foot of her bed in his Commissioner uniform. The patch on his shoulder symbolically showing his rank in the police force, little did every one knows that he was a demon.
Maybe he had told someone who had rejected the idea. She knew how frustrating it was to have no one believe her. For years, she had believed in dragons and fairies and nobody had supported her wild imagination. Her eyes widened slightly. Yes. That was it.
"She left you after you told her," Kagome whispered.
She saw his shoulders stiffen. A dry smile, one that housed more disgust then happiness, spread across his lips. "You are too smart for your own good," he returned.
Kagome laughed under her breath, dismissing him with her hand. "Why did she leave Rin?" She mumbled.
Sesshoumaru backed away from her and crossed his arms over his chest. He needed more room. Maybe if he separated himself from her, she would stop reading him so easily.
He huffed, "She figured that if she left her child as a sacrifice I wouldn't come after her."
Kagome blinked. Part of her was astonished that a mother could ever think that way and offer up her own child. Another part of her refused to believe it altogether.
"What scared her away? Was it the existence of demons or your appearance?" She continued. Guilt rang through her. She was questioning him about a part of his life he would probably rather forget. Nonetheless, she awaited an answer.
A few moments of complete silence fell over them. Kagome began to play with her fingers, while Sesshoumaru stood stoically in front of her with his arms crossed over him. Maybe, he thought it would defend himself.
"The powerful demons are given two forms, one that we use to communicate with humans in and one that is true to our nature." Sesshoumaru finally released after a long pent up breath he had been holding.
"Nature?" Kagome specified.
"Shiyo will turn into a fox, but he can only communicate in the body he has now. Two forms," Sesshoumaru answered. He refused to use himself as an example. Women would love to hold a small fox. He was a beastly giant of a dog.
"Y-You had stripes," Kagome added. His appearance had taken her by surprise, but it wasn't scary enough for her to run away and leave her own child to die.
"That is not my natural form," Sesshoumaru cut in before she could say anything more- if she was going to say anything more.
Kagome felt her curiosity get the better of her. "What is it?" She asked.
Sesshoumaru snorted. He didn't mean to, it just escaped him. Did she really think he was going to show her the form his last girlfriend had ran away from while screaming?
Kagome knew it was a long-shot. There was no way he would show her such a private thing. It was like her getting naked for him. She flushed at the thought and stood up, nodding her head to him. "I-I would like to get dressed and return home."
She saw conflict in his eyes the second she made the motion. "I would rather you stay here for the time being. Hiten is a thunder demon. He can kill you next time, and now that he knows you exist, he might come after you," Sesshoumaru explained.
Kagome paused to think about it. That may be true, but were Sango and Miroku safe? She would need to send someone to get her out of the house. Maybe, she could go back to the countryside to Miroku's home. She sighed. That was probably the smartest thing to do.
She looked up at Sesshoumaru, obediently giving a nod. "Alright, but can I at least go somewhere, if only to think. I-I will take Akane with me," she pleaded.
Sesshoumaru stared at her. He trusted her, even though she had done some extremely foolish things. It's not like he had said 'don't follow me to the docks' that night. He had just expected her to be too tired to really form any plan. While she hadn't formed a plan, she hadn't gone to sleep either.
"My driver will take you," he added. He knew his driver would report back to him and keep her in his sights.
He began to walk towards the door before he paused. "Naraku is a demon as well. A true demon, one they warn you about. He is evil and will use any means necessary to get his way. Stay away from him."
Kagome watched as the door closed behind him with a weird look on her face. She then snorted. Of course Naraku would be a demon. No human could be that evil.
She shrugged off the dress she was wearing from the previous night and peered into the hall. She recognized it then as Sesshoumaru's house she was in. She was probably in a guest bedroom somewhere in the house.
Akane entered with both a cup of milk and a dress. "Sesshoumaru told me to bring it up," she added beginning to help Kagome undress.
Kagome took a drink when she could. The dress she wore was just white, loose around her body and somewhat short for what was usually worn. Then again, she was still young and could pull off such a wardrobe off without it being deemed inappropriate.
The white dress had black silhouettes of flowers dancing across it. A few black butterflies flew around with a trail of black glitter. The bodice was tight and showed off her cleavage while the sleeves fell off of her shoulders. She slid into a pair of flat sandals before leaving the room and shuffling downstairs.
Akane followed, and the two women were met with Shiyo and Sesshoumaru waiting at the door. "Would you wish me to come along, Lady Kagome?" Shiyo asked.
Kagome quickly shook her head. She needed time to think. It was a shock to know that her world was expanding at such drastic measures. There was a whole other world that she had just been exposed to.
There mere thought of that made her scared. What did that mean to her? Could she ever forget and ignore that side?
No, Kagome would never just ignore something simply because she was foreign to it. After all, that's what her father had embraced. He had been an outcast and had built his whole business on his own.
Kagome snorted. Naraku, the demon, had taken advantage of him too. He had preyed on her father and now he was doing the same to her.
Kagome got into the car, determined to think this through. "The park," she ordered. Her mind went back to the docks. Watching Hiten and Sesshoumaru fight had been watching two high-speed bugs. She had barely seen them, only the sparks of electricity. She had watched as Sesshoumaru kicked Manten so hard the man had flown into the water several feet away.
The mere power that these demons held scared her. Then again, they had said humans were still superior because of their technology and number. Kagome supposed it was good that they had blended, or else she would probably not be here. What if one of her ancestors leading to her birth had been killed in the uprising?
Kagome chose not to think in the 'what if' situations. There was only the situation she was in that she needed to think about it. She was surrounded by demons and now needed to deal with it. By what Akane and Shiyo had said, demons were like people too, in the case where there were both good and bad. They were like guardians almost, watching from the shadows.
She stared at the window with a sigh as they approached the park. The driver came around to open her door and released her from the confines of the car while her mind wandered to the Commissioner.
There was no way he would allow her to see his 'natural' form. Not if he had so much pent up fear over it. Her heart ached for him. In a way, he was also protecting her from it. He didn't want to scare her. Kagome let out a small smile as she began to saunter through the luscious green grass of the park.
Many couples were out today, some horseback riding through it and having picnics. Mothers were with their children, enjoying a fun picnic in the sun.
Kagome sighed. She wanted Sesshoumaru to be able to trust her enough to show her his life and past. She wanted to be able to comfort him for the things he had lost. A sudden reminder of the vow she had made with her sister came to light. She let out a groan. She was such an idiot.
This man, no, this demon, was far too guarded to allow anyone to love him, simply because he didn't want to disappoint anyone. The small truth made her smile subconsciously. He used his flirtatious ways to push people further away. The ill-reputation he carried was probably his strongest defense from society.
I'll break through it, Kagome thought with such determination that she didn't feel the hand on her shoulder until it turned her around roughly.
She gasped and stared up into the reddened eyes of Naraku. "What do you want, Lord Naraku?" Kagome asked fearfully. Her eyes scanned the premises. Maybe someone would come to her aid if she screamed.
"Lady Kagome," he said, pulling away from her as if he had read her mind. "I apologize for frightening you," he added with a smirk.
Kagome only gave a nod, rubbing the shoulder he had touched, the bare skin suddenly tingling. Naraku continued, "I understand that you've come across information that has been… overwhelming?" He guessed.
His black hair was hidden under a top hat. The white gloved hands holding a small cane topped with a skull. The blackened suit he wore had several stripes racing vertically along it. The red tie framed his long neck and for a moment, Kagome actually realized that demons were blessed with handsome looks.
"What information?" She feigned innocently.
"I know what Sesshoumaru's natural form is," he returned, his smirk widening.
Kagome hated how her curiosity won over her all the time. "What is it?" She asked, giving away the information that she knew.
Naraku chuckled before gesturing to the carriage. Kagome saw out of the corner of her eyes that Sesshoumaru's driver was approaching them. Maybe, if she could just stall, he could catch up to them. "Where are you off to?" She asked.
"I can show you his form, Kagome. I can show you what he will never show you because of how his fiancé hurt him," Naraku teased.
Part of her wanted to go, and she felt the adrenaline begin to rush through her. Naraku put the finishing touches on it, "You would understand him so much better if you saw our world, Kagome. Koga will be there, in case I am not enough."
Kagome glared at the last part. Naraku would never be enough. She would never accept that man's proposal.
How dangerous could it be if Koga was there? He would help her if she needed it. Did that mean Koga was a demon too?
Too many questions were unanswered. She flicked her gaze to the driver who was almost to them before nodding to Naraku, brushing past him to enter his carriage.
