DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

The Sword Smith's Secret

By MissKatt

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Consequences

Everything about the next couple days was troubling.

The Western lord could tell it was going to be one of those days- again. Ever since three nights ago, the tension in the air was thick. The miko had not so much as glanced his way since then and it was already well into high noon of the second day of traveling back to the West. It seemed as if she were avoiding him. Back at Totosai's she would not dwell in the same quarters as him, nor chime into any conversation he was involved in. Even now as they traveled to the West together, she managed to somehow act as if he did not exist. Or, perhaps she was trying to convince herself it did not happen, or maybe she was trying to make herself disappear.

He could not blame her, no.

He too felt…annoyed by what happened. His beast had gotten the better of him and he was disturbed by how much influence his beast was having over him lately. He would have to speak to his mother about subduing the pest. Was there a way to do it? He could only hope. He did not need any more persuasions or anymore incidents.

Sesshoumaru's hands clenched into fists as he recalled that night. It all spiraled out of control after he noticed her reaction to meeting his beast. Though her pulse did speed up, she was not afraid of his beast, nor did she give off any indication that she was hurt or disgusted by him. His beast relished in the fact.

'She fears us not.' He cooed happily. 'Any normal ningen would flee or scream from us. I grabbed her and threatened her at first and yet she still did not back down. She is mate material.'

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed a fraction. 'Silence, Beast. I do not need to hear your foolish words.'

He then tuned out his beast as she began to talked to him and ask questions about his beast. As he answered her, he could not help but be surprised at how freely he spoke to her about it. No, he would not become completely like a human, but he would lose most of his youki abilities if he lost it.

'Yes, I am part of you. Perhaps you should listen as to what I have to say. In all the centuries of our life, I have never recognized a female as being so suitable.' His beast replied.

He tried to ignore him as he continued his conversation with the miko, the topic now shifting to if miko perhaps had something like a beast inside them, which was absurd of course.

'I know she is for us. Her soft, moist lips mold perfectly against ours.' He sent to image to the forefront of their mind.

Sesshoumaru stiffened slightly as the scene was played out before him. He could almost feel the sensation against his lips. Without his permission, a statement tumbled clumsily from his lips, "My beast kissed you."

"W-what?" She stammered.

'She remembers it clearly. She enjoyed it. Just ask her.'

His body seemed to move on its own as he bent over her, his face dipping close to her. "Why do you have such a reaction to such a subtle thing, Miko?" His beast had him curious, he had to admit. Her sharp inhale caused his interest to peek.

"I-I have only kissed one other person, Sesshoumaru…" Came her confession.

'So innocent, so pure. So unlike the other female youkai we have encountered. Look how she responds to a simple gesture,' His beast pointed out before turning domineering. 'But someone already has claim on her. He will take her for himself and we will lose the chance forever. Do you know who it is?'

An unpermitted growl rumbled in his throat. "The dragon."

"H-hai, Ryura." She answered.

He did not like the guilt that emanated from her. They had done nothing and yet she felt guilty? Why? Why was he so interested in her all of a sudden? Was it truly because of his beast? Or was it because she simply was just so different? When his fingers gently grasped the warm flesh of her chin, he felt his beast growl in delight.

'Yes, make her see what she is missing.'

Propelled, he lowered her lips closer to hers. "Perhaps you need to broaden your experience." The bright blush on her face made his chest swell with pride. He was doing all these things to her emotions, and yet he was doing nothing.

"Eh? Sesshoumaru, I don't know if-"

Sensing his next word, he stopped him promptly. 'No, call her by her given name.'

"Kagome."

Sesshoumaru shook his head as he attempted to throw the memory from his mind. He could not lie though, her kiss was unlike what he had experienced before. She was pleasantly inexperienced, though not a lifeless doll. He enjoyed that she did not try to attack his lips with hers, nor be too forceful. So many times females had tried to dominate him with their lips with eager kisses and demanding need; and Asano was no different. That was why when he visited his concubines, he did not kiss them. He refused them, the one he was most intimate with, the pleasure of doing so, yet he gave it so freely to Kagome.

No, not freely. His beast had persuaded him.

Still, the kiss lingered on his lips. It was not just the way she kissed, it was the feeling of her lips. He did not just mean the softness of them or their perfectly plump shape, no, it was the fact that it had this subtle charge behind it. He could feel the tingling of her powers behind it, but it was in the most pleasant way.

'Yes, most pleasing. And we could be the only one receiving them…'

'You have done enough damage, Beast. As soon as we get back to the Western palace I am finding a way to silence you.' He threatened. He was contemplating smacking a rock against his head to perhaps stop his banter, but thought better of it. He did not need people to go around saying his was mentally unstable.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin chimed from behind him.

He tilted his head slightly over his shoulder and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He could not help but glance at the miko as she stared down at the ground as they walked. With an internal sigh, he looked back at Rin. "Hai, Rin?"

"Can we stop for a moment for a snack? Rin's tummy is rumbling." She asked.

"The correct phrasing is, 'my' instead of 'Rin'," He corrected, but nodded. "We shall take a short break."

"Good, maybe she can finish the last of your hand." Inuyasha spoke up, walking with the group to a shaded area on the side of the path. "What do you think, Miko?"

(FF Keeps deleting my spacer! GR!)

Kagome kept her pursed lips sealed shut as she walked behind the inuyoukai and hanyou, her sapphire eyes shining with guilt as she stared at the gravel path below her. She was still so disappointed in herself; not to mention ashamed and embarrassed.

She couldn't face Sesshoumaru this morning, or the past two, and could hardly stand to be in the same room as him. She knew she was being slightly ridiculous because it wasn't his entire fault, but every time she was near him, the flashback came. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she could not get the kiss from that night out of her mind.

She had been beyond surprised when he had brought up the kiss his beast gave her. After talking to him, she had a better understanding that they had a different conscious from one another. She had suspected it at first, but he had cleared it up for her. Still, she didn't like the reminder. She almost felt as though his beast had stolen the kiss from her, but she was not angry at that particular one.

The second kiss with Sesshoumaru…she had no excuse for. He had enticed her and she had given in like a broken water gate. She knew it was wrong when she was doing it, but she could not force herself to say no. The close proximity of his handsome face, the clean, masculine scent that invaded her nose, the shine of desire in his amber eyes, and finally the deep baritone voice that spoke her name for the first time made it impossible to escape. She was so mad at herself for not just not stopping it, but for enjoying it. Yes, she felt angry.

And so, so guilty.

The miko had been kissed twice since she departed from the West and neither were from Ryura. She frowned deeply as she began to think of Ryura, her dragon love interest. He was very, very fond of her, even wanted her to become his mate! Was she just as fond of him? Yes. She felt safe and he made her feel beautiful when she was with him. But there were times when she felt slightly uncomfortable with him. Sometimes, he seemed just a little too eager to do other things. True, he did not verbally or physically force her to do anything, but she often felt pressured by his advances.

It was almost like he was trying to dominate her in every way; and she wasn't ready for that.

But, she didn't feel that way with Sesshoumaru. His kiss was so gentle, which was surprising to her. She expected it to be rough and dominating like Ryura since they were both youkai. She thought it would be powerful like he was in battle, but no, it was graceful and caressing. Even when their tongues intertwined, he did not overpower her, instead he dared her to play back in a dangerous dance. She gave in, joining him in the duet, but was thankful that their number had been interrupted by Rin.

Her face grew hot again and she shook her head. 'Stop it, Kagome! Stop thinking about it! You have a wonderful dragon youkai who would do anything for you. You like Ryura! A lot! And he does not fight with you like Sesshoumaru does! He does not talk down to you! Though, he did that one time about going to battle and about how women should act. And…Sesshoumaru acknowledges your fighting strength, whether he wants your presence on the field or not. And, you kind of like arguing with him because, though infuriating, it is fun to have an intelligent bicker and-NO! Stop! This isn't helping!'

"What do you think, Miko? Oi! You listening to me?"

"Eh?" The assistant asked, perking her head up. She blinked when she realized they were off to the side of the road. She hadn't even noticed that they had pulled over for a break. She supposed that is what happened when one disappeared into their head. "I'm sorry, Inu-kun, what did you say?"

His ears flickered slightly, but he was used to the nickname. "I was saying you should probably heal the rest of his hand before we get back to the West."

"Oh," She breathed. He was right, of course. After all, she didn't have that much more to go. She only had his fingers left. She should be able to finish it in an hour or two. But, she wasn't sure if she could handle touching him. Still, she replied, "Hai, let's get working on it."

She sat down next to Rin on the grass and pulled off her travel pack. She then took out the dumplings she made and handed them to the little girl. She nodded as Rin thanked her happily and then turned to see that Sesshoumaru had perched down next to her. He wasn't too close to where it was uncomfortable given their situation, but it was close enough to where they weren't stretching to reach each other.

Kagome reached out her slightly shaking hand and felt the butterflies swarm her stomach when his hand was placed in hers. 'So warm,' She thought and wrapped her hand around his while bringing up the other to hover over it, her power soon engulfing his hand. She furrowed a brow when she felt something somewhat different about it.

Inuyasha watched the interaction carefully. He was no fool; he could smell the guilt on her and the confusion on him. Something had happened between the two of them a few nights ago and since she still smelt pure, he assumed it was a kiss. If it were true, it would complicate things a great deal. Things with Asano could go bad quick if she were to find out, but the more troublesome thing would be if Ryura found out. Loyalty to his lord or not, he knew the dragon well enough to know he would fight to the death for what was his.

He had to keep it under wraps somehow. The first step, he concluded, would to break the awkward tension between the two.

"So, Kags, when do you think this will be done?" He asked, trying to break the aura.

Blue orbs blinked before they shifted over to him. "Soon. No one should be able to tell what happened by the time we reach the West."

He nodded and then looked at Sesshoumaru. "She's amazing, heh? Being able to heal your arm in only a few days."

Sesshoumaru dipped his head once and let his gaze fall upon the miko in front of him. Her eyes were focused back down on his hand, her brow furrowed slightly. "Is something the matter, Miko?" He questioned.

Hearing him address her, she stiffened slightly. She cleared her throat and tried to rid the tension in her shoulders before she gave a soft, one shoulder shrug. "No, my imagination is just playing games with me I suppose."

His golden eyes stayed on her face for a moment longer before they fell down to the reiki glowing around his hand. Now that he concentrated on it, he could see it was not as bright as before, nor as potent. It was still warm, but it felt as if she were only using half her strength, which he knew was not true.

The Western prince huffed. "Well, by the time we arrive, Asano's old man will be there, right?"

The taiyoukai nodded. "He is supposed to be there the day after the next." He replied and then narrowed his eyes curiously as he watched her close her eyes, her brows furrowing more as she seemingly concentrated more. He nearly jumped when a surge ran through him. It raised the hair on the back of his neck and made his eyes widen.

Kagome knew something was wrong with her reiki. She wasn't healing him nearly as fast as she had been the last few days. She didn't understand why though. But the rate she was going, she would get too tired before finishing the task. So, she closed her eyes tightly and focused in on the warmth inside her, the source of her reiki. She clenched his hand tightly and tried to channel her power into to him. She felt a gust of it rush through her in a hurry, leaving her breathless once it was done.

She met his gaze and instantly knew that he had felt the same thing in him. She released his hand and smiled triumphantly when she saw his hand had been fully restored, down to each perfect claw. Her eyes widened though when she saw that the once purple-blue stripes on his arm were now a pink hue. She blinked and then looked up at him.

"I-I'm sorry? It was not like that before." She murmured. What the hell had happened? Why were his stripes pink? But, it was only on that arm. Was it just from her healing him? No one else had ever turned pink before!

Sesshoumaru looked down at his arm and at the color of his heritage markings. Though he was displeased with the color change, he could put no blame on her. She had healed his arm in a record amount of time and sought no sort of compensation for it. If he had to pay with the color of his markings, so be it. However, he was slightly concerned about the power burst from her. Though she did not look any different, she did seem slightly tired. But, that could easily be from walking in the sun and using her power to heal him.

"Do not fret, Miko," He finally replied. "I am not angry. You have healed me and therefore the only thing you shall be receiving is my gratitude, not my scorn."

She gave him a smile and let herself lay back against the grass. "Well, I am glad I could help."

"Ha! Your arm is pink! Not very manly, huh?" Inuyasha mocked.

Sesshoumaru's brow twitched ever and he proceeded to throw a rock at his half-brother's head with his regrown left arm. Satisfied with the large welt growing on his brother's head, he looked down at his hand and clenched it slightly a few times to test its mobility. Sure enough, it worked perfectly as before.

"The color is of no matter, but we will stop at the outer village before going home.
He commented.

Rin perked up. "The town?" She asked excitedly and then lowered her voice a little as she looked at her big sister as she mumbled softly in her sleep. "Are we going to shop around, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Hai. I will pick up a new haori to cover my arm before we arrive. We do not need to let on to anyone that anything happened." He commented and then looked over at the miko as she napped on the grass.

No, no one would know what transpired during their time away from the West.

A/N: Okay. I'm sorry. It's been a while. But I have been really busy. I've been busy looking at wedding venues and school plus work have been kicking my bootay. Working all day then school for two hours each night takes a toll on someone. Even as I write this chapter, I have work tomorrow morning XD. Well, I hope you all enjoy this.

-MissKatt

P.S.: Krazy4Fluffy: I hope this cleared things up for you (: Thank you again for your detailed review!