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Eyes keen as a hawk's followed small tracks imprinted into the dirt for thirty yards before smaller footprints began to overlap larger boot prints. He stopped briefly and took the opportunity to inspect the indentations more closely to ascertain his findings. To his dismay, Kagome had done the unthinkable by following the enemy.
It was difficult for him to believe what he'd come to learn and he found that he did not know what emotion to express. He was simply too stunned to react; he had cautioned her multiple times to follow his instructions and yet she had acted wilfully. Now his thoughts and uneasiness from earlier had started to worry him. Kagome's scent had simply vanished from the vicinity. He shook his head, discovering that he didn't have much to go on, and the change in weather conditions were becoming more apparent which brought with it a new set of problems.
The sky becoming dark and the morning windier made the air intensely sweet with the scent of jasmine and rain. He would have to double his effort in finding Kagome before the showers came, because if it did any small clues that could tell him something of her whereabouts would be washed away.
Feeling the first twinge of anxiety clutching at his heart he began to search again, only doing it this time more fervently than before. No sooner than the copious feelings of concern attacked him he came across an area where the ground was greatly disturbed and the strong smell of a horse pervaded his nose.
He made quick work of viewing the surrounding landscape and took a deep sniff of the air with his nose upright. The first spattering of rain hit him squarely in the face and he looked back down again. It wasn't hard to put the pieces of the puzzle in the right places now that he'd thoroughly observed the spaces around him.
The zigzagged patterns on the ground along with one set of boot prints told of a struggle and subsequently of one victor emerging. He lifted his gaze and saw four hoof prints leading away from the area and knew with certainty that Kagome had been abducted.
At the very beginning of his search he had been terribly annoyed and angry at her for her stupidity. But the more he followed the path that she had left behind, the less inclined he was to believe that her actions had been foolish. If anything she had done a very brave and reckless thing.
He ignored his interpretation of the events and continued on. He felt the underlying tension in him rise knowing that the priestess could be in grave danger. His own reaction to that knowledge caught him off-guard, causing him to stumble on a piece of log in his path.
He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath to lessen the growing trepidation, though no amount of caution or meditation could ease his frustrations or increase the understanding of the other feelings that she had unlocked within him. Two weeks from home hadn't changed him as much as two days in her company.
He knew he'd wanted her with an encompassing fire, and the very thought of losing her now was an unforeseeable event. He hadn't expected these changes wrought by desire. He had never felt urges this strong before. In the beginning he had been stricken with an unexplainable desire and curiosity for her, and was powerless to stop his heart from feeling the strain.
He who was a battle hardened warrior was losing the fight with a mere woman. But he was conscious in his thinking and knew that not only was he losing the battle with a woman, he was also losing the battle with his heart. He had cursed his emotions when he could not stop the yearning. He had said it was a deep lust that he had felt, and in time when that notion was no longer valid he had deemed it a necessary stage in his life. Being with a tolerable female was nature's way in safeguarding the next generation.
Living beings needed companionship and love was a secondary emotion he kept telling himself. These many months being so intimately close to her brought him contentment and a deeper understanding of the value of life. And yet he'd still believed that what he had felt wasn't love. He cared for her a great deal, much more than he could've ever imagined considering their tumultuous start.
The lies he repeated to himself just now rose up and struck him hard. He felt the pain and confusion smashing into his heart and body so strongly that he had to pause. The combined sensation of tightening muscles in his chest made it that much harder to move. Then slowly he experienced the denial in his head and heart being swept away by a dreadful tide and knew instantly, painfully that he loved the woman sincerely.
He made a couple of steps in haste and stopped immediately afterwards. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a flickering glint. The last rays of sunshine shone on something that bounced off his irises before being covered by massive dark clouds.
He bent and picked up the object bringing it close to his nose, the scent of oranges still stained it. He sighed, painfully aware that the small knife belonged to Kagome. Too bad, the regret whispered across his mind. Immediately he squelched the wayward thought. He made a promise, he would find her again.
Rain, it started to trickle down on him. He had to leave this place quickly if he wanted to find her because harder rain meant the disappearance of any lingering clues.
He hovered slightly off the ground now following the ever fading hoof prints through the forest. There wasn't any resentment to be found in him now. He had made peace with himself and what he felt for the priestess just now. What he felt now more than ever was pent up misery the longer it took for him to find Kagome.
The hoof prints took him through the length of the forest and now he stood on the banks of a river staring blankly on the other side; the gentle spattering of rain disappeared as the heavens opened up and the rain poured. His eyes narrowed, all his efforts ended at the river bank. Searching for her now would be like wandering aimlessly in the dark.
A little humph sound left him before he flew across the river. Nothing would stop him. He would find Kagome even if he had to traverse the ends of the earth and then hell, he would find her.
sksksk
The horrible pain at the back of her head was constant now that consciousness stirred within her and she groaned. Many voices and the smell of food overwhelmed her senses and her eyes flew open. She gazed at the roof in blankness before her mind pieced together her memories.
She gasped when the memories flooded her mind like a striking wind. She sat up, panic and anxiety overwhelming her senses.
"Sesshomaru!" She roared out his name like the thunder. "Where are you?"
In fear and panic she leapt from the bed to land shakily on her feet, her sense of propriety lost in alarm. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, and scattered around it were signs that this was a male's bedroom. A shaver and two rings were strewn on the table along with some books. In the left corner furthest away from a sealed window several yukatas hung from a rack and a muddy pair of boots beneath it.
She glanced at the door briefly and then took the necessary steps to bring her to it. She wasn't thinking clearly else she would have remembered the voices and the smell of food when she had first woken up. And furthermore, her shout of Sesshomaru's name would have alerted everyone in the house of her awakened state. But she couldn't focus on those things now, what she needed to do was to escape.
She made a soft sound of relief when her fingers closed around the door handle and turned, but relief soon turned to dismay when the door opened and she stared at the bare chest of a man.
In fright she slowly backed away from the doorway while her eyes steadily rose to his face in curiousness. The feeling of familiarity returned stronger than before. The gilded bridge of a straight nose, piercing cinnamon eyes, the warm sculpted cheekbones and the curve of a mouth she knew better than she should stared her lovingly in the face.
Unconsciously her right hand left her side to grasp the space over her heart as her lips parted on a gasp of recognition.
"You…I don't understand. Where have you taken me?" She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
He listened thoughtfully and then a smile stretched his lips.
"Kagome san I never thought I would see you again, and now that you are here I fear I will never let you go!" He said, moving closer to the startled woman.
His response sent terrible shock-waves to her brain in an instant. She whirled away from him, her heart pounding with incredulity and dread. She wanted to run but it was too late for that. Her feet froze to the floor, numbed by the weight of his gaze and the incredible circumstances.
"What are you saying, you can't mean...?"
Her reply was awkward, she felt lost, confused and alone. Her own laughter rose up in her throat but she couldn't tell if it was a reasonable response to his declaration or the beginning of hysteria.
Never in a million years would she have thought that after meeting and having sex with this man in Edo a year ago, that she would be standing in his presence now, at his mercy, and hoping with all of her heart and soul that Sesshomaru would come and save her.
She figured her only glimmer of hope lay in a miracle. Of course she was not that lucky. Her luck hadn't been running in the right direction for miracles lately. She turned and faced him again, disbelief clearly written all over her face.