A/N: I'm so sorry about the delay! I just finished my summer finals! Thanks everyone for being so patient and lovely 3
"You know," Kagome leaned into the window of the black sedan Sesshou drove, watching the scenery change from urban to rural, with farms and rice fields taking up the horizon. It almost felt like the feudal era again. Spotting a farmer in jean shorts, she turned to the demon in the driver's seat, "When you said we could go to the castle, I thought you meant you would get me there pretty quickly."
Sesshou only cocked an eyebrow in response, denying the smirk he felt.
"Why couldn't we use your glowy ball?" She whined, slouching more into the passenger seat.
"I have no idea what you are referring to." Sesshou played dumb, if only to irritate her.
"I've seen you do it." Kagome glared, arms crossed over her chest.
"Don't be a petulant child, Kagome," He reprimanded her behavior, "Many at the castle will be looking to you as the Shikon priestess. You must exude confidence and behave properly."
"Is that title going to haunt me for the rest of my life?" She wondered aloud, "Because I'm really not that priestess. Kikyo-"
"Died for her mistakes, relinquished her title, and disgraced her reputation." Sesshou cut her off, and allowed silence to fill the car. Kagome didn't argue back, so he continued, "You have sacrificed your life, your love, and your future to rectify her mistakes. You saved Inuyasha, you corrected your misstep in aim, and successfully destroyed the jewel that damned thousands of lives, both human and demon alike. You, Kagome, are the priestess of the shikon jewel, wrenched from time itself, for the sole purpose of destroying that damned bobble."
"You sound like you hate it," Kagome's frown deepened with discontent. She always felt like there was more to Sesshou than he let on. "The jewel never did anything to you. Naraku was hardly concerned with you. What's eating you about the sacred jewel?"
"It is not the jewel that concerns me, nor Naraku," Sesshou twisted the wheel to turn into a dirt path. Just beyond the brush, Kagome eyed the distant castle. "We will be there momentarily."
Stepping on the gas, they sped further down the dirt path, coming to a fork in the road. Sesshou went left, circling the towering castle to it's back.
"This place is massive," Kagome whispered to herself, her eyes wide in wonder. "Did Rin spend a lot of time here?"
"Not initially," Sesshou slowed the car to a more reasonable speed as the road thinned and turned around the bends of stables and gardens. "She was not welcomed here at first. I did not trust them as they did not trust her."
"They?" Kagome asked, focusing more on the scenery opposite of her window as the forest had taken a guard around her side of the castle. Going through a tunnel, she eyed Sesshou curiously. He seemed different here. While the only light around was coming from behind them, and from the icons on the dashboard, it brought a soft glow to the inside of the car. His cheekbones were pronounced, despite the concealment that hid away his demonic markings. Even his eyes took a murkier coloring. She was about to ask him if he was unhappy, or maybe even annoyed with her, when they exited the tunnel in a flash of natural light.
Her forgotten question was answered easily. They were the demons that ran the court of the Western Palace. There were many servants, dressed in simple historic uniforms, and then there were children, with mothers or nannies hovering nearby as their children rolled and ran down the hillside.
These demons were fascinating. With snow white hair or silver strands blowing in the wind, faces winded from play, but not quite like a human's blotched sun kissed skin. The ladies were stunning, too, dressed in dresses that looked more appropriate for a dinner party than watching kids play. All eyes turned to the sedan as it rounded once more past the scenery, and finally into an underground garage.
"I feel silly dressed like this," She blushed. "I would have brought something more suitable had you told me you were going to bring me here."
"I had more appropriate clothing prepared for you. This is why we are entering the back of the castle." Sesshou offered his wrist to her, silently requesting she remove his concealment. She obliged, glad to know he would no longer appear human. She relished every moment he granted her the right to free him of his false identity. "I did not want you to be hounded either."
"Hounded?" She tilted her head sideways, placing his wristwatch in his hand.
"You recall Daisuke?" He pulled into a parking spot near the entrance, not labeled, but certainly reserved regardless. As they exited, Kagome nodded in affirmation. "He is not the only guest to have arrived early for the celebration."
"How many people are going to be here for this gala?" Kagome shouldered her bag and matched Sesshou's pace, unable to tear her eyes away from his face. Seeing him again as he was born, the true Sesshou, and not the human identity he assumed in the day time, was such a comfort. It only reaffirmed her sanity. Seeing his markings always warmed her stomach. Flushing as she recalled he has more than his facial markings, Kagome pulled her eyes from his person and brought her eyes downward to her shoes as she shuffled along beside him.
"More than you think," Sesshou took her shoulder and guided her forward, "And it is all thanks to your presence. Everyone is eager to meet you."
"Because that's not nerve wracking at all." She sighed, but with Sesshou's arm around her, she couldn't bring herself to truly feel under pressure.
"You'll feel more comfortable once we get you accustomed to the castle. It is within your rights as part of my pack to explore every corner of these grounds. At times you may even feel like you've stepped into the past." He explained, recalling some of the more traditional events that followed the weeks after the gala from the years prior.
From the parking garage, they boarded an elevator and took it to the ground floor, opening up to a basic service hallway. Sesshou led his nervous companion onward, eventually coming to the family wing on the third floor. Kagome could tell by the lack of security that it had to be part of Sesshou's private living quarters. In the final hallway they entered, the decor had clearly been renovated since the feudal era. While some of the hallways they had ventured into had a more traditional style, with shoji doors and a minimalist interior, the royal wing was lavish and colorful, with turquoise and deep reds, lavenders and indigo, with emerald green splashes. The walls were intricate and glossy, the furniture, while still low to the floor, was black and beautiful with rings of the trees from which they were forged, and the doors themselves were heavy and solid. Kagome was simply in awe.
"Do not assume I did this." Sesshou glared at the audaciously colored rooms. "Father liked to stand out no matter what room he occupied." Kagome pondered the idea, curiously eyeing Sesshou, until it hit her that his silver-white hair and alabaster complexion stood out like a Western wedding dress amongst a crowd of attendants.
"You didn't feel the need to redecorate?" She snickered, trying to picture a top hat sitting on top of his head, accompanied by his dour expression.
"It is unnecessary," He explained, "I do not stay here often."
"If your father did this," She thought out loud, "How is it so modern?"
"The head of housekeeping regularly updates the rooms as the centuries go on. However, she has seen to never repaint and never stray from my father's preferences." He was quiet for a moment as he explored the room. Eyeing the black furniture, he nodded to her, "I believe this is new."
"Maybe you would like living here if you tried to make your quarters more comfortable for you." Kagome came to stand beside him, looking up to search his honey gold eyes, "But I understand why you prefer your house." Smiling, she added, "I love it there."
The coloring of her cheeks warmed him, reminding Sesshou that he was more than a Lord, or the son of the last Western General. He was also a demon, born and bred for perfection, surpassing his sire in strength and will, and somehow still finding himself in his father's shoes, taking in human women. Not that he minded. His keepsakes were mortal, but he was working to rectify that. He would not lose this warm blooded, surreal soul to the heavens above. She would remain next to him, this he was sure of.
"You make it obvious with how often you doze off on my couch," He teased, quirking his mouth into an awkward smile. "Come, let me show you to your rooms."
He guided her to a heavy sliding shoji door at the far side of the room and into a hallway with a few sets of doors on each side. At the end of the hall was clearly the doors to the Lord's room, with hard carved wooden molding around the frame of the double doors. Taking her to the end of the hall, and into the last room on the right, Kagome seemed nervous, but he paid no mind to that.
"This place is huge," Kagome voiced her anxieties, "How am I ever going to get used to all this in the next couple of weeks? This will take me forever."
"You do not have to know every section of my lands if you do not want to," Sesshou walked onward, through the more delicately decorated sitting room and into the bedroom, "But you have your entire life to know the Western Castle."
She colored at his sentiment, knowing he was offering his friendship and protection for all eternity. Hiding her blush from him, she turned to view the room more. Everything was rather barren compared to the initial sitting room. There was color, and furniture, similar to the previous room with everything low to the ground and resembling traditional styles, but without the pop of color everywhere, it made the room appear less lively.
"Sesshou," Kagome swallowed her nerves, "Isn't this the Lady's room?" She sheepishly glanced at the door on the left wall, knowing there couldn't be much beyond it aside from the Lord's personal room.
"Yes."
"Why do I get to use them?" She nervously adjusted the hem of her skirt, keeping her focus on his feet in her peripherals.
"You must remain close by during the events of the gala." He knew what she meant, and he was well aware of how that might be perceived by others, but those that knew him well also knew a funny fact about this room, "Rin also stayed in this room for a time."
"What about your mother?" She didn't wish to impose. "These were her rooms, too."
"She will be staying across the hall." Sesshou headed towards the wardrobe on the right wall and opened it to show her, "Now pick something to wear and we can present you to court."
"What is this, France of 1500?" Kagome rolled her eyes, stalking towards the line of kimonos hung up, "These are way too nice."
"Wear whatever you like," Sesshou headed towards the door leading to the main sitting room, "I will be waiting."
Kagome sighed when he left, closing the door behind him. Taking a look at herself in the long mirror, with her plaid skirt and knee high socks, knobby knees and all, she glowered. Her reflection denied what Sesshou had so proudly proclaimed in the car. Her reflection said teenage girl, not warrior time traveling priestess.
No, kagome shook herself of her bad attitude. She made herself rummage through the line of dresses and picked one at random. She was not going to let herself get beaten up by herself, the demons of this court, or the demons long gone from her life.
Looking over her selection, she braced herself to don the kimono. It'll do, she decided.
Exiting her temporary bedroom, she felt determined. No tripping, no sweaty palms, she was ready.
"Kagome," He swallowed his words, "I'm surprised."
"Good." She grinned, "Now show me the way," Her eyes sparked in a way that made his chest tight, "Lord Sesshoumaru."