AN: Hello all! I know it's been quite a bit since my last chapter. My anxiety was absolute crap and I could not focus to type the document. I've had the chapter written out for months, as is the next one, but every time I would begin to type my brain would force a shutdown. I do hope you'll forgive me, and enjoy the newest chapter. As always, InuYasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi - my story idea is my own.
Glancing at the clock, Sesshomaru noted that their conversation had now lasted nearly three hours. Clearing his throat, he loosened his grip on Kagome, since she was collected and handling everything better than he had hoped.
"I will continue, but I believe refreshment is in order," he said, stretching his legs out and sliding her back onto the sofa beside him. "This will likely take a bit as well. Would you like to refresh yourself?"
Blinking and slightly taken aback at his thoughtfulness, despite his repeated showings of it, Kagome nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. That…that was a lot."
Sesshomaru nodded as well, standing and heading towards the door to his domain, opening it for her. "Please use my room to change. There is a bath to the left," he said, turning to her. "I'll prepare tea. Take your time."
"Thank you," Kagome replied, standing and stretching, one hand rubbing the final teary remnants from her face. She moved to pick up her satchel. "I won't be long."
Stepping into his room added another shock to Kagome's already reeling emotions. Unlike the main areas, this held a bit more of his personality. The evidence of his wealth was evident everywhere, but this had been what she had thought to see when she arrived.
Her gaze locked on the small shrine in his room. She stopped there, reverently running her hand across its top. With a sad smile, she carefully lit an incense stick and knelt in prayer. Normally, the shrine would have been kept in the common areas - it spoke volumes for his devotion to not only Rin, but Shippo as well. It was likely the last thing he saw before bed, and upon rising.
Standing and continuing her perusal of the room, she was taken aback to see Tenseiga held in the most accessible place on his display, and unlocked, almost as if it were used often. While not dusty, the other swords, Tokijin and Bakusaiga, did not appear to have been moved recently and were tightly secured. He was not a worldly man, and these items, evidence of more than power, showed more of his changed character.
Hearing him set the kettle on the stove shook Kagome from her reverie. She moved to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her, not that she thought for one moment he'd peek. Slipping into a blue cotton camisole and matching pants, she brushed and fully plaited her hair. Finishing up with a quick scrub to her face, and freshly brushed teeth, she tied the short robe she'd brought for warmth loosely and headed back into the living room, leaving her satchel on his bed.
Sesshomaru was emerging from the kitchen, carrying a tray, and Kagome saw that he had placed extra pillows and several blankets nearby the sofa.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked
"Thank you, but no. Raoul had everything laid and ready. Perhaps he is worth the salary I pay him," he replied, smirking slightly.
Gratified to be rewarded with her soft laughter, he set the tray down. Raoul had done well, especially with Sesshomaru's vague response to his inquiry for this exact scenario. On the tray was a pot of the finest green tea, with several plates of varying desserts, such as small cheesecake bites, mochi, assorted scones and pastries, with several varieties of cookies. Setting the tray down drew a gasp from Kagome.
"Kami, Sesshomaru! How many people did he think were coming tonight?"
Looking slightly ashamed, he replied, "This One did not wish you to find his hospitality lacking. As This One did not know your tastes, an assortment was requested."
The admission, delivered so sheepishly and slightly self-deprecating, not to mention his fall back into his old mannerisms, caused a tiny pang in her chest. It was another moment to lock away in her memories of him. She knew their worlds were still too different for her to fit into, no matter how much she wished.
Clearing his throat, he drew her attention before the silence became too awkward. "If This One could request your assistance in pouring, " he began, "a change would benefit This One as well."
"Of course!" she waived her hands at him. "Go on! Get comfy. You still take one sugar, right?"
He nearly faltered in his barely begun movement. They had only had tea together twice, and she recalled that meager detail. Looking directly at her, her eyes soft but still red from earlier, he wished he could fall into their depths. Nodding, he headed into his room to change.
Kagome set about preparing two cups of tea, noting with delight that Raoul had also included fresh fruit with his teatime repast. She didn't think a lot of sugary treats, as delicious as they looked, would benefit her nerves tonight. She glanced at the door to his bedroom; he'd seemed so shocked that she remembered how he liked his tea. Was it the idea that he mattered to her in some way? She wasn't sure.
Shaking her head, she sat down on the sofa again, carefully setting the plate of tidbits on the cushion as she drew up her knees to rest her chin on them. Blowing gently on her tea, her thoughts drifted. The shrine in Sesshomaru's room had surprised her. Rin's kimono in a place of honor didn't surprise her. But Shippo's coat? Sitting here, momentarily alone, she admitted that nearly broke her again. All of the time collecting those damn shards, only for the long-awaited happiness to be snatched away so viciously? Why? What possible reason could the Kami give to make any sense of it?!
In his bathroom, Sesshomaru's head snapped in Kagome's direction. Her aura was fluctuating, so violently, so erratically. Tossing the towel he'd been drying his face off with on the floor, he grabbed his shirt and raced into the living room, his eyes gaining red tints at the possibility of an intruder in his domain. He sniffed once, noting no other scents fresh in the area other than theirs. Turning to Kagome, he caught the dead stare of her eyes and realized the problem. He plucked the cup out of her hands, setting it on the table before turning back to her.
"Hey! Why'd you take my tea?" he was met with a confused Kagome. As he looked at her, to reassure himself she was alright, he watched her eyes drift down and her face turn from her soft porcelain to one of the brightest reds he'd ever seen.
"Where in the hell's your shirt?" she wanted to screech, he could tell. Possibly. Her mouth was moving, but not a single sound was forthcoming. Why this stoked his male pride, he would never know, but his infernal beast was suddenly howling delightfully in his mind while he himself contemplated purring to the stupefied girl at the same time.
"I felt your aura flare and became concerned," he said, turning from her to retrieve her teacup. Replacing it in her hands, he slipped into his shirt. Taking a blanket from the accessible stack, he laid it across her lap, retrieving his own cup and took his place next to her tidbits.
'Seven hells, let the floor swallow me whole!', Kagome thought furiously. 'That was so damn embarrassing! Then again, ' she licked her lips, 'he's as hot as ever, who could blame me for staring?'
Grateful the teacup hid his smirk, Sesshomaru could scent the addition of soft spice in the air. So the little miko found him attractive, did she? Was this no longer one-sided? He could feel his beast rolling his eyes at his apparent stupidity.
'Absolute fool. Why am I even allowing you near her?'
'I swear if you do not cease insulting me…'
'You know I'm right. I'll let this be for now, but I knew from then.'
He narrowed his eyes. 'We will speak of this later…'. He felt the sofa shift and looked to see Kagome reaching for a piece of fruit.
"So," she began after a nibble, "how can we fix this? I've searched for a way to repair the well, to locate another portal, hell even to open one myself."
"I would have an answer, first. Why were you so desperate to return? Did you not give up the past for the hanyou's happiness?"
Sipping her tea to clear her palate, Kagome had wondered if he'd be curious about that. After all, Midoriko had been VERY clear in her explanation.
"Being returned to the present that last time was not as instantaneous as it had been during previous travels. I realized that there had been one other I should have asked to speak to. I…I left something important unsaid, and even if my worst fear came true and when I told him, at least I would have been able to tell him how much he came to mean to me. How many times he made me feel important for me, for Kagome. Not because I could see shards, or because I housed a soul that needed a little extra time to heal."
The answer was not at all what he expected. He knew from Shippo that two of those she described were Kouga, the wolf-prince-king, and InuYasha, the fool that he was. She could not have meant the monk, for she knew he was the slayers, and it would not have been the brother, Kohaku, as her interactions with him were not of an intimate enough nature for their talks to have revolved around such heady subjects. He would have to think on it later.
"Hnn. When This One lost Rin, he sought a way to turn back time to prevent these occurrences. An oracle came to the shiro some nine months after the kit and Rin were lost. She was an odd youkai, for she seemed both omniscient and the simplest being to exist. Small, with three heads, a rare Oni breed. One head communed with the other two and interpreted their words. She was known to only appear by the Kami's command, and they had ordered her to give me a prophecy."
"Do you know the legend of the Fated Pairs?" he asked, not surprised when she shook her head in the negative. "I believe the easiest comparison is your human soul mates. Naraku had upset the balance, and the deaths of the three fated pairs prevented the fourth and continued the downfall of this realm. Nika was charged with giving me the spell and told me she would return to advise me again. When she returned, it was to tell me of the spell's triggers and limitations."
Nodding, Kagome entreated him to continue. Finishing the last few sips of his tea, he set his cup on the tray.
"There are three limitations. As the holder of the spell, I am unable to return to the past. I am the 'anchor', the point of return. The second is that the returner must obtain an item from each of a fated pair to be able to return to a pivotal point. Third, and most importantly, both must hold a personal connection to the fated pair."
"Which could be me," Kagome said, slightly bewildered by all the information. "So you need me to save Rin …nothing more?"
Snorting harshly, Sesshomaru reached for her hand. "Even without the…need for you, for the spell, This One would have sought you out. To honor your sacrifice and that your history book helped Kouga and I to save what youkai we could before the Americans destroyed Japan during the forties. We were able to relocate most of youkai to America long before then. Kouga and his tribe run my interests in America, while I focus here, and Touran, if you recall her, is overseeing the UK branches. By having so many diversified interests, we're able to keep youkai safe yet still immersed in human culture. Believe me when I say you are revered. Kouga is aware of where my information came from. Touran as well - it was the only way she would acquiesce to relocate.""
"I wondered about that," she admitted. "What happened to Kirara? The fire-cat that helped Sango?"
"I do not know. After we recovered the slayer and performed rites, Kohaku became further withdrawn and would disappear for weeks, if not months, with her. I do not know what became of him, or the fire-cat."
Kagome set her teacup and empty tidbit plate on the table. There was so much information to absorb and understand. To realize she could save everyone…somehow. It still seemed so immense. So…so impossible.
"Kagome." Turning her head to look directly at him, she was surprised when he placed a hand softly behind her neck and rested his forehead against hers, as if drawing strength. "This is entirely your decision. I…I have come to terms with the losses. In a way, I have moved on. I do not want you to feel that this is something you have to do. If you choose to do nothing, I will understand and no blame will be yours."
Her eyes watered and she slid her forehead off his, to rest in her hands. This was too much. Too fast, anyways. Sesshomaru's hand remained at her neck, gently soothing the overwrought emotions running rampant through her entire body. She could tell through his touch he meant every word. No, she could feel it beyond the simple touch. He was the one person who would never lie to her, who had always seen who she was. He had kept her from making the wrong wish…yes, she could do this. For him.
Kagome sniffed hard, wiping her eyes, and lifted her head. "I can do this. They…they deserve so much more than what they were given. If I have even the smallest chance to fix this, I will. WE will. When can we start? What do we need to do?"
Sesshomaru could almost not contain the immense surge of pride he felt in that moment. They could do this. Together.
"We can start tomorrow. For tonight, you will rest, for I know this has been quite a bit to absorb," he said, releasing his hold on her, standing to offer her the same hand to assist her to her feet. He guided her to his room. "Sleep now, and awake refreshed."
"I can sleep on the couch, Sesshom-" she didn't get to finish her protest before he placed a finger on her lips.
"You will sleep in comfort while I finish some business and determine our best course of action. Tomorrow, we will discuss our steps and move forward from there," he gently tugged her into the room, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Rest, Kagome."