DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or the book called 'Hasse Simonsdochter' written by Thea Beckman, nor do I own the characters of these two stories!! But I do own the idea of mixing these two ingredients into a new story.
Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap
*...* : noises
-by Kittymui-
Kagome's first battle (upper part): earning respect
Kagome was walking next to Sesshoumaru as they entered and exited several stores that sold clothes.
The streets were not very crowded today. Both sides of the streets of Paedra
were filled with all kinds of stores. The upper floors above the stores were
apartments where owners of those stores and their families live. The town Paedra
had lots of row houses like that and al of them only consisted of 2 floors:
ground floor for the store and first floor the residence. Besides that, the
town also has single houses in which people of upper classes occupied.
The streets were paved with gray square stones everywhere in the town.
[AN: Right now, Sesshoumaru is wearing his usual outfit: armor, white haori
and hakama. And Kagome is wearing temporary boys' clothes: a blue shirt with
black pants and her hair plaited in one braid resting on her back.]
They have shopped for almost 2 hours already and they still hadn't find suitable male clothes for Kagome to wear. For Kagome kept rejecting the clothes that the salesmen offered. It was already high noon.
Damn, shopping with women really takes a lot of patience... Sesshoumaru thought, slightly annoyed, while looking for other stores.
"Ne...Sesshoumaru?" Kagome suddenly asked.
Sesshoumaru kept his eyes in front of him as he continued to walk. "What is it?"
"Where did you get your outfit?" she asked.
Sesshoumaru stopped walking and turned to her. "Why?" he asked.
Kagome blushed. "I...euhm...kind of...wanted to wear the same outfit...as you are wearing now..." she stuttered.
Sesshoumaru widened his eyes. "My outfit? Why?"
"I think it's very beautiful and since it's a male outfit I thought I could wear the same and pretend to be your brother or something like that." Kagome explained.
"I already have one though..." Sesshoumaru muttered. Kagome quickly looked at him, wide-eyed. "Really??"
"Euhm well, he's a half-brother..." he corrected himself, averting his gaze.
"What's his name? Where is he?" Kagome asked curiously. "Does he_" she halted herself when she noticed the change of expression on his face.
"I-I'm sorry, I guess you don't want to talk about it." Kagome said.
Sesshoumaru turned to look at Kagome and smiled at her for being so considerate. "I don't think we'll be able to find the same outfit in any of the stores here in Paedra." he finally said.
Kagome's face dropped.
"But I'm sure we can find someone who can make exactly the same outfit in a smaller size." he added before he started to walk again.
Kagome immediately cheered up and followed Sesshoumaru into an alley.
[AN: In case you might be wondering why the people of Paedra aren't afraid of Sesshoumaru, since he's so famous. It's because people only heard about his name and him being a mercenary that never failed the jobs he received. So people know his name, but do not know how he looks like. It's the same situation as in Pali; the people didn't recognize Sesshoumaru by his looks, but they gasped when they heard his name.]
~*~*~*~
After walking in the alley a while, they've finally reached a store. From the
outside, it didn't look like a store at all, since there weren't anything showing
in the shop windows and it didn't even have a name or signboard. If you look
through the windows you wouldn't be able to see anything, since it was quite
dark inside.
Sesshoumaru entered it without hesitation and Kagome followed.
The story was quite small from the inside and it looked very dusty. There were a couple of closets with clothes and some headless tailors' dummies wearing armor, but that's all of it. A small counter stood at the back of the store. Behind the counter was an open doorway with a large red curtain hanging from top to bottom, concealing whatever it is behind.
"Ah Sesshoumaru-sama, irashai." an old salesman spoke as he bowed deeply in front of Sesshoumaru. "Are you looking for something specific today?" he asked without looking up.
"I want you to make exact the same outfit that I'm wearing now, for this person here." Sesshoumaru ordered.
The old man looked up and scanned Kagome, who was standing next to Sesshoumaru.
The salesman was quite short and meager. His cheekbones are clearly visible on his wrinkled face. He had a bent back and a long white beard. It was obvious that he was a youkai, since his skin color was green. With his skin color he looked like a tortoise without a shell. He was wearing a dark brown tunic with short sleeves and trouser legs to his knees.
"That won't be too difficult, if Sesshoumaru-sama would give me 2 days..." he concluded after a short moment of silence.
"Too long, I'll give you one hour at most." Sesshoumaru stated plainly and handed a small bag of coins over to the old man.
The old man took the bag of coins and looked at it. [AN: It contains about
50 coins, in case you're curious ^-^]
"I-I understand...one hour it is..." the old man responded. "If
this young lady could follow me please?" he said before he turned around.
Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru.
"Don't worry, he's an old acquaintance of mine." he reassured her. Kagome slightly nodded before she followed the old man.
Sesshoumaru watched her disappear behind a red curtain at the back of the store before he walked towards a window and sat down on the windowsill.
~*~*~*~ One hour later ~*~*~*~
Exactly one hour passed and Sesshoumaru stood up again.
The old man appeared again from behind the curtain and bowed. "It's done." he said before he turned around. "You can come out now, young lady." he called.
Kagome came from behind the curtain and walked towards Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru couldn't believe his eyes and his jaw almost dropped at the sight of Kagome wearing almost exact the same outfit as he did.
Kagome was wearing the same outfit as Sesshoumaru. But her haori and hakama weren't of the same color as those of Sesshoumaru. Her haori and hakama were colored navy blue at the edges; like a 5-centimeter wide line that runs alongside the edges of the garments. And the sash that was tied around her armor (at her waist) was white instead of yellow.
"I'm terribly sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama, I could not make the exact same outfit for her, for there wasn't any fabric of the same color as your haori anymore." the old man explained.
"Your job is done." Sesshoumaru replied coolly. "Now leave us. You will not be telling another person about this job and you have not seen us today, do I make myself clear?" Sesshoumaru ordered with a low voice.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." the old man replied as he bowed deeply before he disappeared behind the curtain again.
"And? Does it fit me?" Kagome asked.
"Could not be more graceful." Sesshoumaru smirked as he turned to her again and put his arms around her waist; pulling her closer.
"Only missing a fluffy tail." Kagome giggled, stroking the tail that hung over Sesshoumaru's shoulder.
Sesshoumaru smiled before he leaned closer and placed a soft kiss upon her lips. Kagome wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him back.
After a while he finally pulled away. "From now on, I'm going to have to suppress myself from doing this in public before people start to think I'm in love with my younger brother." he grinned and inhaled her sweet scent. Kagome giggled at the thought.
~*~*~*~
Kouga, Renkotsu and Kyoukotsu were standing at the town square, waiting for their leader.
It was already late in the afternoon. Most of the townspeople were already at home having dinner, so the town square was empty except for the three of them. A fountain stood in the middle of the town square. It was a circular fountain with two angels standing in the middle of the fountain, each with a jug in their hands, where water poured out.
Renkotsu and Kyoukotsu were sitting on the edge of the fountain, while Kouga
was walking back and forth next to the fountain.
"What's taking them so long?" Kouga growled impatiently.
"There he is!" Kyoukotsu shouted as he pointed at someone approaching from the distance. It was Sesshoumaru.
He reached the fountain with Kagome behind him. Her hair was tied back in a braid, which was resting on her back. She was holding something long in her hand and a black rope could be seen, running from her left shoulder to the right side of her waist. It was tied around her chest like a safety belt.
"There you are..." Kouga sighed relieved. He suddenly noticed the person standing behind him. "Hey, where's Kagome?" he asked. "Don't tell me you've replaced her with a__" He quickly halted himself when he saw the glare that Sesshoumaru gave him.
"Baka." Renkotsu smirked as he stood up and walked towards Kagome. "You should really use your nose better than your eyes."
He suddenly grabbed Kagome's shoulders, causing her body to tense. "This so called boy, is in fact..." he whispered as he leaned closer and sniffed her.
Kagome froze as she felt his breath in her neck. What does he think he's doing!? Kagome scowled in her mind.
Sesshoumaru saw what happened out of the corner of his eye and he was about to tear Renkotsu apart for crossing the line. But he halted himself when he saw that Renkotsu backing away.
Renkotsu suddenly halted himself and backed away when he felt something digging his chest.
When he looked down, he saw a shiny object, caused by the reflected sunlight, pointing at his chest. The object moved and Renkotsu realized it was an arrowhead that was pointing at his heart.
Kagome had bent her bow and was holding it diagonally. Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Make one wrong move again and I'll be happy to try out my newly acquired weapon on your body." she snarled.
Renkotsu didn't show any fear at all and smirked instead. "Oh my, I'm
scared. Who do you think you are? You're just a mere mortal girl..." he
mocked, emphasizing the fact that Kagome was a female and a girl. "You
know you cannot kill me...you aren't the leader, you know...you can't just__"
Renkotsu was suddenly cut off when Sesshoumaru unsheathed his Toukijin in a
flash and pushed it against his neck.
The grin on Renkotsu's face immediately fell. "What the...??" he said surprised, turning to Sesshoumaru, who stood next to Kagome.
"As a matter of fact, she can..." Sesshoumaru growled as his gaze
shifted from Renkotsu to the other two youkai, who still stood by the fountain.
They were startled by the whole scene.
"Let this be a last warning to you three...Kagome is and will always be
my mate." he growled. "And I will NOT think twice before digging my
claws in he who dares to lay a finger on her!! Even if it means for me to lose
a group member!!"
Renkotsu winced at his loud voice and back away. "I understand."
Kagome finally lowered her bow and relaxed.
"Furthermore...everything she commands will be obeyed without question." Sesshoumaru added. "From this day on, you will be referring her as lord Sora, understood??" he ordered.
The three youkai nodded obediently.
"Let us go." Sesshoumaru commanded before he turned around and walked away. Kagome walked beside him with her bow in her hand and quiver on her back; the rest followed behind.
-- At the counselor's mansion --
The mansion was located at the border of Paedra. It was a huge mansion, obviously meant for people from the upper classes. Well, since the counselors worked for the king, it was quite predictable that they were wealthy.
Sesshoumaru knocked the large front door of the mansion and a maid opened. "What is it?" she asked.
"Tell your master that Sesshoumaru has arrived." Sesshoumaru replied casually.
The maid invited them in and disappeared upstairs.
After a while she returned. "Please follow me, my master awaits." she said politely and walked up the stairs again.
The stairs were wide and the steps were coated with a very expensive burgundy carpet. Although Kagome didn't show, inside she was quite amazed by the incredible wealth that was visible inside the mansion.
~*~*~*~
Before entering the counselor's room, Sesshoumaru ordered Kagome and the rest not to interfere with the negotiation and let him do the talking and they understood.
"Ah Sesshoumaru, I have been expecting you." the counselor greeted,
sitting in his chair behind his desk.
The room of the counsilor was filled with bookcases and cabinets. Beautiful decorations were visible in the room: statues, paintings, rugs, antlers and so forth.
The counselor was a middle-aged man with brown hair and a wide mustache. He wore clothes like those of a general: dark green uniform with small medals pinned on it at the height of his chest. He didn't look friendly, very strict instead.
"Save the formal greetings." Sesshoumaru said rudely. "I've come to ask if there are any missions."
The counselor frowned by Sesshoumaru's unmannerliness but quickly hid it again. "For the great Sesshoumaru?" he chuckled. "Yes, there is one." he said as he handed over a scroll.
Sesshoumaru took it and read it.
"Take out a gang of thieves huh?" Sesshoumaru muttered, his voice sounded insulted.
"It's a very powerful gang and several groups of mercenaries have already fallen after taking this mission." the counselor added, sensing Sesshoumaru's discontent.
"How much are you willing to pay me?" Sesshoumaru inquired.
"One thousand gold coins." he replied.
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Multiply by five or I'll have to pass."
The counselor jumped out of his chair and smacked his hands on the desk. "Five thousand!?!?! But that's extortion!!" he cried.
"Take it or leave it." Sesshoumaru snickered.
The counselor pondered for a moment and sat down again. "Oh alright, five thousand it is then." he gave in dismayed.
"Prepare the money and wait for my return." Sesshoumaru stated confidently before he turned and left the room with the group following him.
After the whole group left the mansion, the counselor relaxed and sighed. "I hate his guts!! Impudent youkai!!" he cried out. "Someday, your pride will be your death and I will definitely jump in the air of happiness."
-- Back at the inn --
Sesshoumaru and the rest returned to the inn when the sun had set. After dinner, Sesshoumaru stood up and walked to the stairs. Kagome followed him. The rest of the youkai stayed at the table.
Halfway up the stairs, he paused and looked at the other three youkai. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll leave at dawn." he ordered and continued his way to his and Kagome's bedroom.
~*~
Kagome was resting on Sesshoumaru's chest and listening to his calm heartbeat.
"Neh Sesshoumaru?" she suddenly asked while lifting herself up to look at Sesshoumaru.
"Hm?" he replied, without opening his eyes.
"Is it..." Kagome continued but hesitated for a while. "...okay for me to have the same authority as you? I mean...I'm a female after all and they might rebel against you because of your decision..."
Sesshoumaru finally opened his eyes a little and raised his hand to her face to stroke her cheek. "So that's why you were silent during dinner. Don't worry too much, love, they'll learn to respect you once they know you." he said reassuringly.
Kagome felt relieved after hearing his words and laid her head back down on his chest again. She fell asleep after a while and Sesshoumaru followed.
~*~ The next morning ~*~
Sesshoumaru and his group left the inn as soon as the sun appeared from below
the horizon.
They were walking through the forest. Kagome was riding on her horse, with a
quiver on her back, a bow in her one hand and the rein in the other. She was
wearing the clothes and armor that she bought the day before and her hair was
tied in a braid, which was draped over her shoulder. [AN: Her hairstyle kind
of looks like that of Bankotsu now, only with a shorter braid.]
Sesshoumaru walked in the front, Kagome rode right behind him on her horse.
Kouga walked on the left side of Kagome and Renkotsu on the right; Kyoukotsu
walked behind her.
~*~*~ After a couple of hours ~*~*~
Suddenly Sesshoumaru held up his hand and everybody stopped walking. "They're
here." he warned before he unsheathed his sword.
Kagome readied her bow and the rest prepared themselves for battle.
A moment of silence blew over the forest as they waited for the enemy to make their first move. To their surprise, Kagome suddenly fired an arrow into the trees.
"What the fuck are you shooting at?!" Renkotsu cried out loud and looked furiously at Kagome.
Sesshoumaru growled and was about to say something but was halted by Kagome
as she raised her hand.
She turned to look at Renkotsu but didn't say anything. She only smirked instead.
Five seconds after she smirked, something suddenly fell out from the tree onto the grass.
*THUMP*
Everyone turned to the thing that laid motionlessly on the grass. They gasped except for Sesshoumaru and Kagome.
It was a frog youkai, dressed like a bandit, that laid on the grass near the tree. Kagome's arrow had hit it right in its temple.
"Impressive shot, young lad." a voice spoke from behind the trees. "Didn't expect any less from the famous mercenary group led by Sesshoumaru."
Sesshoumaru and the rest turned to where the voice came from. A youkai appeared
from behind a tree. It was a youkai that resembled a tiger. It had a yellow
fur with black streaks and could walk on two legs instead of four.
"But I'm afraid you'll regret taking this mission." the tiger smirked
and made a loud roar.
Within seconds, a swarm of youkai already surrounded Sesshoumaru's group, which consisted of tigers, foxes, frogs and lizards.
"Chikusho!! We are surrounded and completely outnumbered." Kyoukotsu shrieked as he looked around. Kouga and Renkotsu didn't say anything but inside, they were also panicking a little bit.
"Pull yourself together, Kyoukotsu!! The reward is waiting for us!!"
Kagome shouted with a low voice and fired another arrow.
Because of the high velocity and the sharp spinning arrowhead, it didn't stop
after piercing through one tiger-youkai. Instead, it pierced though another
4 youkai before it hit a tree and stopped.
Astonished, yet encouraged by her words and arrow, Kyoukotsu, Renkotsu and Kouga pulled themselves together and dashed towards the youkai to attack.
Sesshoumaru blinked before he dashed towards a tiger youkai with his sword first. And this girl was afraid that I've made the wrong decision. he thought proudly while dashing.
A fierce battle royal began between group led by Sesshoumaru and the group
led by the tiger-youkai.
Others jumped and dashed around while Kagome just sat on her horse and fired
her deadly arrows whenever it was needed.
[AN: sorry but if there's something that I ain't good at...it's describing fighting scenes ^-^]
~*~*~
After fighting for 2 hours, the swarm of youkai decreased rapidly and there were only a few left. And Kagome suddenly realized she ran out of arrows. Chikusho! she cursed in her mind and looked around.
Kyoukotsu was fighting with a lizard with his huge claws, Renkotsu was cremating several frog youkai with his breath of fire and Kouga had pinned another fox youkai to a tree.
Sesshoumaru? Kagome thought panicked and continued to look around her, while sitting on her horse.
She relaxed when she found him. Sesshoumaru was still alive and fighting with a tiger youkai.
Kagome's eyes widened when she saw the tiger leader appear behind Sesshoumaru.
He's going to attack from behind! The bastard!! Kagome thought angrily
and quickly looked around again.
She stopped turning when a shining arrowhead caught her eye. It was the first
arrow that she had fired. Shit I might not make it in time!! Kagome panicked
as the watched the tiger approach Sesshoumaru from behind.
But she shook the thought off of her mind.
Without thinking any longer, Kagome jumped from her horse and dashed towards
the corpse of the frog youkai.
She pulled out the arrow in one swift motion and dashed towards Sesshoumaru.
"Sesshoumaru!! Behind you!!!" she cried out, while dashing.
Sesshoumaru heard his mate's cry and turned to see her running towards him, but quickly turned back to the tiger youkai in front of him when it launched a claw-attack at him. He quickly blocked its claw with his sword.
*CLASH*
He saw the tiger leader raise its claw behind him out of the corner of his
eye but it was impossible to dodge it since he was already blocking another
attack. Damn it! This is bad!! Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth.
The tiger leader swung its claw at Sesshoumaru.
*SLASH*
Vocabulary:
Ne: sort of like 'hmm?' or 'isn't that right?', used when you expect
a positive response; also used to get somebody's attention in a casual manner.
Irashai: Welcome
Hai: Yes
Baka: Stupid/Moron
Chikusho: Damn it
Posted: 4 August 2003
Last edited: 12 February 2004 (re-edited because of tags problem)
Spelling check: YES