After Kagome had eaten to Sesshomaru's satisfaction the nurse had come in for the tray to get it cleaned up. As she left the room, Kagome shot Sesshomaru an expectant glare, and he just kept typing away at his computer as though he didn't feel her eyes boring into his skull.
"Ahem." Kagome cleared her throat in an attempt at getting his attention.
He looked up over the top of his computer at her, one regal eyebrow raised in an incredulous expression that seemed to almost say "yes? " With such a sarcastic air as to make Kagome once again struggle to refrain from slapping that perfect face of his.
"You owe me an explanation. I still don't know who the hell you are." She demanded.
Face falling marginally, he took a deep breath, which he held for a moment, and then let out in a long heavy sigh. Folding the screen of his laptop down and placing it back in its bag by the chair, Sesshomaru leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and folded his hands together, his face regained some semblance of emotionlessness, as he tried to think of where to even begin explaining himself to this fragile girl before him. After several false starts, he finally spoke. "How old are you?"
"How is that relevant to this conversation?"
"It is, I promise. A name would be useful too. Unless you prefer I just call you Little One all the time..."
Kagome gave him an evaluating glance before deciding to play along. "Fine. My name is Kagome. I am 18 years old."
Nodding, he asked her another question. "And you have graduated High school?"
"... Yeah"
"What did they teach you about the Waring States Period?"
Kagome gave him an odd look but answered him anyway. "It was over 500 years ago, Japan was separated into different territories, which were each ruled by their own warlord who kept his own citizens in line by various means. Um, there was samurai, and traveling monks, and priestesses."
"What myths did your teachers tell you about? "
"I still don't see the relevance. "
"Just... Answer the question, I need to know what you know before I can explain myself"
Kagome rolled her eyes "The monks and priestesses had powers and along with other humans known as demon slayers, they fought freakish looking creatures that hungered for human flesh, they were called youkai."
"Is that all?" He sounded mildly surprised.
"There might have been more, but that is all I remember."
Sesshomaru sighed again, contemplating his next words carefully. "There is truth in every myth you know"
Kagome looked at him like he was crazy. "Please don't tell me you are a vampire... Or a shadow hunter... I'm not an idiot. "
He chuckled a little. His face held a rueful expression. "Oh no little one, I am far more terrifying than that. "
Kagome almost laughed, until he looked her directly in the eye, and she saw something that could only be described as feral. He wasn't lying. She shut up.
"There were Youkai, and demon slayers, Monks and Miko as well. The Youkai are also known as lesser demons, and yes, they are quite ugly." he smirked here before continuing "But there was another type of demon, more evolved, the Taiyoukai, or Daiyoukai, depending on who you ask. They are able to change form, to hide their true selves, to the point that many of us today are born in humanoid form. We are far more powerful and civilized than any of the lesser demons."
With his pause, Kagome jumped in "Us? We? You can't actually be serious."
The piercing gaze of his unnervingly golden eyes effectively shut her up again. "I am a Taiyoukai. A demon. Of the Inu Clan, to be more specific."
"So... You're telling me you're a dog? "
This time Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. "Please do not compare this Sesshomaru to the domesticated creatures you humans call dogs, we share no resemblance to those needy creatures"
In Kagome's shock with the fact that he obviously believed everything he was saying, she found herself almost just going along with his ridiculous story. "Sure... I still don't believe you."
"Shall I prove myself?"
Kagome laughed sarcastically. "Sure...whatever... I still think this is crazy."
Her laughter died as soon as Sesshomaru let his disguise fall. He stood, and he allowed the control he held over his appearance to fade, just enough for his markings and Moko-Moko to be visible. His vast years of experience and the sheer power he held over his aura and youki allowed him to hide his markings and Moko-Moko, as soon as he let go of that control he stood before her, markings and all. It had been so long since he had been so exposed in a human's presence, he almost felt naked without that extra barrier between them.
Kagome stared at him for a second. One minute he appeared perfectly human, the next, his face had some sort of tribal markings, and there was a large fluffy cloud looking thing draped over his right shoulder. After the surprise wore off, Kagome scoffed at him "That was some sort of parlor trick. You're just screwing with me, aren't you? Who are you really? "
He stalked over to her bedside and let more of his appearance change until he was just on the verge of transformation. His face elongated, and his eyes turned blood red. He growled and the air in the small room crackled with his power.
Kagome began back peddling, there was no way this could be faked, but... as unnerving as his appearance now was, even as he reigned back his control, reverting back to his only slightly demonic appearance, she still felt no sense of danger from him. She felt unnaturally calm seeing as she had just witnessed the impossible. Frowning at him, she reached out and grabbed the wrist that was closest to her, examining the magenta stripes, and sharp claws that now adorned his previously very normal hands. "So it's true?"
He hummed in the affirmative, now fully back in his undisguised humanoid form.
She ran a finger over one perfect claw and felt the solid reality of it. She shook her head, "how are you even real? "
"A few hundred years ago we were forced to hide our true selves, to blend in. You, humans, were getting smarter, developing newer stronger weapons. Even my concentrated power is no match for an atomic bomb. We heal quickly, but not quickly enough to withstand being blown to minuscule pieces."
"And how old are you?"
"1,300 years old, give or take a few years, I stopped keeping track after I hit about 650."
"Now your screwing with me. "
He gave her that judgemental look again. "No, and my father is even older than I"
Kagame looked at him in disbelief. "None of this explains how and why you saved my life. "
There it was again, that pained look. "We Taiyoukai each have something called a Mate. A life mate. The connection is similar to what you humans would call marriage. They are predetermined for us by an unknown force, usually detected by our more primal side, something we call the Beast. Usually Mates find each other within the same species. An Inu will mate an Inu, a Kitsune a Kitsune and so forth. But on very rare occasions, Mates can be interracial, or even sometimes between a human and a demon." He paused, rallying himself to explain the next part. "My Beast sensed you while I was driving home from the office, the night you tried to... Kill yourself" His voice quieted. "I was able to single out your scent and track you to that bathroom."
Kagome was reeling. Mate? Marriage? Nobody ever asked her about this! She wasn't ready to get married yet, she still had... Well okay, she did try to kill herself, obviously she didn't have that much to experience before marriage, but still, that is a big step to take...
"It is understandable if you are confused, or need time to process this, but... I have been waiting over 1300 years to find a Mate. Most of us find ours by the time we are at least 600 years old. I really had lost almost all hope of ever finding you, and to see you in the water... With so much blood... " His voice had died. He looked down at the ground as he sat heavily on the bed beside her. His shoulders were hunched his head fell, his long unnaturally perfect silvery white hair fell in cascading waves over his face and shoulders. "I know we don't know each other well, or at all really, but the Mate's bond grows and develops fast. Watching you die, it was like watching my self, die, right before my eyes. I know that as a human, you can't possibly know any of this yet, but you are already a part of me. I may not love you yet, but I know I can't lose you."
Looking at this man in front of her, Kagome's eyes softened. Where was that nonchalant, bossy know-it-all from earlier today, because the man before her now was a completely different person.
"You're right."
He turned to look at her, straightening back up a little.
"I don't understand all of it... But... " Kagome paused, looking for the right words... "But I am willing to learn about it, and about you."
His eyes gained the slightest glimmer of hope in them.
"What else do I really have to live for anyway. " Kagome laughed lightly, but Sesshomaru frowned at her.
"Don't say that." He whispered sullenly.
"We can't pretend like it didn't happen Sesshomaru, I tried to kill myself, it's passed, let's move on."
Sesshomaru's frown deepened. "I'm not pretending like it didn't happen, but you shouldn't make light of it. Suicide isn't something you can 'just get over'."
This time it was Kagome's face that dropped "Fine, can we not talk about it right now then? If you're just going to be serious about it..."
"Sure, but we will talk about it later." He gave her a knowing look, "I have lived long enough to know when someone is hiding their true feelings behind humor, my brother does the same thing."
"I thought we weren't talking about this. "
Sesshomaru looked down into her eyes and said "Alright then. You need your rest anyway. Try to sleep, I'll just be over here." He stood up and went back to the chair in the corner, and pulling out his laptop, he began working again as though nothing had just happened.
So, this guy was supposed to be her mate... Kagome thought about it for a while. Her final thoughts before sleep finally overtook her was maybe it wouldn't be so bad, to be married... Mated to someone like him.
AN. So that's all for this chapter. Getting some good conversation between our Lovebirds. Also, I looked it up, and if Sesshomaru was 500 years old in the feudal era which was about 1185-1603, assuming that the events of Inuyasha happened around 1190 ish, Sesshomaru would be 1,328 years old in 2018, give or take. Just a little fun factoid there. :)
I'll try to update again soon. Until next time readers!