"WHAT!" Sango's sudden outburst echoed throughout the bathing area, waking a sleeping Hisui. Sango's body immediately tensed after realizing her mistake. Shit she mumbled under her breath. Hoping the warm bath water would lull him back to sleep, she started to rub his back gently and hum a lullaby.
Kagome leaned on the side of the hot spring with her elbows on the grassy floor and her chin resting in her hands. She released a deep sigh and looked around with wonder in her eyes. The two hot springs on opposite sides of the room were each surrounded by a wall of blooming azalea bushes for privacy, a slight mist was coming off of the waterfall as it roared into the pool, and the floor to ceiling windows made you feel as though you were truly outdoors. It doesn't get much better than this she sighed happily to herself.
Hisui's eyes became heavy again and Sango's attention darted back to Kagome. "So, you're telling me Inuyasha ended things, and then Sesshomaru made a move? What the hell?" The anger in Sango's voice took her by surprise. "Well... not exactly." She giggled softly at Sango's implication of Sesshomaru flirting. "I wouldn't say Sesshomaru made a move. I don't understand it either but Inuyasha and I are just going to be friends." Tears started to fill Kagome's eyes.
On the other side of the room, Sesshomaru stretched out his toned muscular body at the sound of Sango's voice echoing. Usually this early in the morning the castle was quiet with only a few servants scurrying around, and of all mornings this is the one he needed to himself. He kept his eyes closed as his head rested on the ledge with his silky hair flowing around him in the water. "Why? Why did I want to...no.. need to watch over her last night?" His beast roared internally at the thought of him letting her out of his sight, and as he stood watch over her from the tree line he began to realize how at peace he felt in that moment. Unbeknownst to him, a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth with the image of Kagome replaying in his mind.
The doors to the bathing room slammed open and in a flash Jaken was standing in front of the hot spring Sesshomaru was resting in. "I'm sorry my Lord" he started while lowering into a bow, "but your presence is requested in the the defense room." Sesshomaru slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the morning sky "Hn. Very well. I will go to my chambers, tell them to expect me within the hour. Unless this is an emergency?" "N-No my Lord, please, take your time." With that, Jaken exited just as quickly as he entered.
Kagome's and Sango's eyes grew wide when they realized they hadn't been alone. They both stood up to peer over the row of azaleas when they saw Sesshomaru emerging from the other hot spring with nothing but a white towel around his waist. Kagome started blushing at the sight and her aura unwillingly let Sesshomaru know she was lusting after him. She must not realize she can't tame her aura as well as she thinks he chuckled as he hid a smirk while walking over to them. He stopped in front of the girls and sleeping baby on the other side of the bush, far enough away to allow them privacy, when Kagome's heart skipped a beat.
"Sango. Kagome." He nodded. "I will let one of our female servants know you will require towels." He nodded once again before leaving the room to head back to his chambers. Kagome and Sango sat back in the water, and started laughing quietly as to not wake Hisui again. Sango turned to Kagome, slightly embarrassed. "What are the odds he heard our conversation?" Kagome tapped her finger over her mouth and thought for a moment before answering sarcastically "Pretty good, considering he's the most powerful daiyokai of this time." They both started laughing again when they heard a voice behind them. "Hello ladies, I am Akasuki. Lord Sesshsomaru has requested that I be your personal attendant. I will leave your towels here while I go begin your breakfast." She bowed and left without needing a response. "Wow Kagome, your new boyfriend is really attentive, unlike your last one!" Sango teased. As soon as the words left her mouth she winced and wondered if it might be too soon to joke about that with Kagome, but when she saw a genuine laugh from her she smiled and realized she might actually be on to something.
Sesshomaru walked into the defense room to his top ranking officers standing in front of their seats, giving each of them a slight nod. He assumed his position at the head of the long wooden cypress table, and once he was seated along with the other officers Ginto cleared his throat. "My Lord, there has been some chatter about the miko we are currently entertaining here at the castle. While we are still trying to gather more information, I thought this meeting was of upmost importance." Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at him, "You've brought me in for a meeting without all of the needed information?" The other officers shifted uncomfortably in their seats, they had wanted to wait before informing the Lord but Ginto insisted for the premature meeting.
Ginto is a fearsome rabbit demon who quickly worked his way up the ranks to be second in command and Sesshomaru's most trusted officer. His shoulder length brown hair is always pulled back into a low pony tail, and his bold green eyes have an impressive vision that gives Sesshomaru's army a one up on any enemy. Although he's never spoke it, Ginto knows that Sesshomaru trusts him with his life and he takes that honor very seriously. When new intel started coming in, he knew that he had to bring Sesshomaru in for a meeting immediately.
He noticed the other officers discomfort, but Ginto stood his ground confidentially. "Yes, my Lord. Although we are still waiting to verify some of the information it seems as though there have been some credible threats to the miko's life." Sesshomaru's eyes rimmed red and his beast thrashed around inside. Just as quickly as his eyes started to turn, they returned back to normal. Ginto took note of the quick change that the other officers missed. That was his conformation that this meeting was more than warranted.
Ginto continued on with the information they currently had on hand, and Sesshomaru listened intently. Finally, he spoke. "Where do the threats seem to be coming from?" He was sure he already knew the answer but needed to ask. "We believe it's coming from the North, and we are actively working to confirm that. Once our meeting adjourns that will be the next thing I will be focusing on. My apologies for the lack of information, but I thought this was something you would want to be aware of even if it is premature." Sesshomaru looked over at his most loyal and dedicated officer, dare he said friend. He gave him a nod of approval. "Very well. I will inform Kagome myself, and in the meantime security is to be upgraded to full alert at this location. I also require Kagome to always have body guards known and unknown to her. Understood?" The officers released a sigh of relief, fully expecting to be reprimanded for this meeting. "Understood" they all acknowledged in unison.
Kagome and Sango sauntered into the dining hall deep in conversation, when they were hit with the aroma of any and every breakfast food they could imagine lined up and down the table. Inuyasha and Miroku were already at the table shoveling food into their mouths, while Rin and the twins had much better table manners. "Wow, and I thought the past 2 weeks of breakfasts were great!" Kagome sung as she clasped her hands together with a big smile plastered on her face. Sango continued to glance around the table "I do have to admit, this is impressive..." She gave Miroku a look, and he immediately slowed down his eating to be a better example for his girls while he greeted Kagome. Inuyasha continued to shovel food in his mouth. "Oh, hey Kagome" Inuyasha said between fork fulls. Kagome smiled and waved awkwardly, with Sango and Miroku feeling the tension in the air. "Akasuki, thank you so much for this breakfast, it's truly wonderful!" Kagome not only wanted to be polite, but also needed to break up the awkwardness that hung in the air. "Thank you miko, I will let the Lord know you were pleased with his suggestions." Inuyasha's ear twitched and his fork stopped mid air, why the hell would Sesshomaru care what Kagome ate for breakfast? He let out a small unintentional growl. "What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, wondering why he was so out of sorts. "It's northing" he replied curtly.
The dining halls doors slammed open and Kagome jumped. "Sheesh Jaken, you don't need to slam every door in this place!" His eyes narrowed at her. "Lord Sesshomaru is requesting that you come to his office immediately after breakfast. He has instructed me to wait until you are done so I can lead you there." Inuyasha let out another growl and Kagome's head whipped in his direction. "Seriously, quit it!" she yelled. Inuyasha rolled his eyes "Heh. I don't know what you're talking about." He continued to eat but grew more agitated as he wondered what Sesshomaru would want with Kagome.
Sesshomaru heard a knock on his office doors and without looking away from his papers his voice boomed. "Enter." Jaken pushed open the doors and ushered Kagome to one of the oversized chairs in front of his desk and went back to his post outside of the doors. When he looked up at Kagome he inadvertently held his breath. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun with some pieces pulled out to frame her face and she was wearing one of his guest kimono's adorned with crescent moons. Kagome's scent permeated his sensitive nose and for the first time he really studied her intoxicating aroma. She could feel his gaze burning into her as she looked around from her chair, color rushed to her cheeks and her heat beat just a little bit faster.
"Kagome. We have some urgent matters to discuss. I apologize for the news, but it appears there have been threats made to your life." Kagome absentmindedly stared as Sesshomaru kept talking, but none of his words were registering. Someone wants to kill me? I've been back here for 2 weeks! Who could I possibly of made an enemy with this quick. What am I supposed to do? Go back to the village and hope for the best?
Sesshomaru noticed she wasn't paying attention and stopped talking mid sentence. The fear from Kagome's aura was suffocating the room, and in the blink of an eye he was standing in front of her. She looked up at him while wiping tears from her eyes. Defeated and stammering she finally spoke out loud, "I'm sorry... I'm just... scared." Sesshomaru lifted her out of her chair with ease and wrapped his arms tightly around her, resting his chin on top of her head. Kagome inhaled sharply. Is this really happening? She closed her eyes and returned his embrace, burying her face deeper into his chest. Her entire body felt warm and relaxed, I could stay like this forever she thought. Their hearts felt as though they were beating in sync as they were entwined in their embrace.
Kagome tilted her head up to him, tears glistening in her eyes. He looked down at her damp face while wiping her tears away with his thumb and caressing her cheek. Their eyes locked onto each other as they memorized each others features. He began to lean in closer as he brought her face to his, with his eyes barely more than a squint. Kagome felt his lips gently push up against hers with his hands still caressing her face, and in that moment she all but melted in his arms. After what seemed like an eternity, Sesshomaru slowly pulled his lips away from hers and gently stroked the back of her head as she nestled her head into the crook of his neck.
"Don't be afraid, Kagome. I'll protect you." Sesshomaru promised, his voice barely above a whisper.
_
Authors Note:
Thank you again for all your reviews, follows, and favorites! This chapter was longer and I'm hoping to keep that trend going. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this chapter. It took me longer than I would have liked because I was concerned I was throwing too many details in and/or making the story progress a little slow. I don't want to rush this story, but also don't want to bore you. Let me know what you think, and happy reading! :)