A/N: Thanks to Miccy, haa, SacredWings, Lyn, Amibasuki, Jezunya, ksha2222, kristy and IC Dragons for reviewing! And to Emmi-chan, I hope this got to you before your algebra test. ^_^ I'm so happy it's almost pathetic. Anyway, to Oniko, this chapter introduces Sesshomaru. Sorry about the .. uh.. hook that didn't deliver... *bows*
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Disclaimer: Guess who I want for Christmas? *looks at a nervous Inuyasha* hehe.. Anyway, I don't own him. (yet)
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Chapter 2
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Rin hummed nervously as she wandered through the forest. Sessho-sama had lost the trail of his newest rival, and was in a dangerous mood. He had ordered Jaken-sama to take Rin somewhere safe to play before he lost his temper. But of course, finding himself above such menial tasks, Jaken had told Rin not to go too far away from the campsite, then promptly left her to go steal some food from a nearby village. Rin had spent a delightful hour playing in a field of blue flowers, but now the sun was setting and she was getting nervous. No doubt Sessho-sama would be upset if she didn't get back before nighttime, and Jaken-sama would somehow make it seem as if she had run off by herself. Rin sniffled bravely and trudged on. Perhaps in that next clearing..
* * * * *
Kagome was getting tired. She had been walking for the better part of the afternoon, and was no where nearer to finding Inuyasha than she was to growing wings and flying herself out of this mess. By now she'd even settle for just finding the well and getting back home. She was just about to give up all hope and lay down on the soft looking dirt when she spotted a little figure ahead of her. If possible, the child seemed even more forlorn than Kagome was sure she herself looked. The little girl looked up and hesitated. Kagome crept forward and smiled. "Hello." she said softly. "Are you lost?" The child gave her a measuring look, then nodded. "I got separated from Sessho-sama!" Kagome smiled reassuringly. "Well now, don't cry. I'm sure if we work together, we can find him. What do you say?" The little girl beamed, her whole expression radiating relief and happiness. "Thank you! Sessho-sama will be so happy that you helped me." Kagome patted her head.
"My name is Rin." the kid announced, gripping Kagome's hand with her small one. "And Sessho-sama is my.." she sounded the next word out slowly. "...surrogate...caretaker." she beamed up at Kagome. "That means he takes care of me." she added importantly. Kagome chuckled. "That's wonderful. Do you know anyone named Inuyasha? That's who I'm looking for."
Rin shook her head seriously. "I don't know too many people. But Jaken-sama says that Sessho-sama is very important, so maybe he can help you!"
Kagome nodded. "That's good. Now, do you remember where you came from?"
"Well, I passed a big field of blue flowers, because that was where I was for the whole time. And I remember the sun was shining, and it made my face all hot."
Kagome mulled over this information. "Which side of your face was all hot, Rin-chan?"
Rin hesitated, then touched the left side of her face. "This side, because it made my cut hurt."
"You got a cut?" Kagome knelt down and studied Rin's face. There was a small scratch on her face, right under her ear. It was minor, as if she'd accidently scraped by some rose bushes or another prickly plant. "Ouch." she said sympathetically. "Well, that was a great clue. So all we have to do is find the field of blue flowers and walk the opposite way from the direction you were going before!"
Following Kagome's reasoning, the two of them neared the campsite in no time. "Oh!" Rin yelled happily. "It's just down the hill, Kagome-nechan." There was a thin thread of gray smoke rising above the trees, a sure sign of a lively campfire. "Sessho-sama made the fire just for me," Rin explained cheerily. "He and Jaken-sama don't need fires."
"Why not, Rin-chan?" Kagome asked, confused. The weather was dropping in degrees quickly, and Kagome had wished several times, while walking with Rin, that she'd brought a jacket or a sweater along with her through the well. "Well," Rin said, a wise expression on her little face, "of course they don't need to keep warm. Sessho-sama and Jaken-sama are demons."
* * * * *
Kagome was silent for a few minutes after Rin's careless remark. She'd never considered the idea of getting help from a demon. From what Sota had said, she'd figured that Inuyasha had quite a few enemies in the demon world. And she had no way of telling whether or not Sesshomaru wanted Inuyasha dead. 'Well,' she decided. 'Might as well play it safe and not mention Inuyasha at first.'
To her dismay, the plan turned out to be a dud. Sesshomaru was standing over Jaken in a threatening manner when the latter spotted Rin and Kagome. "There she is, master!" he cried. "She's back!" Sesshomaru turned around, and Jaken scurried away while he had the chance. Rin giggled happily and ran up to Sesshomaru, climbing into his arms. "Sessho-sama!" she greeted. "I got lost, but Kagome-nechan helped me find my way back to you and Jaken-sama!" Sesshomaru grudgingly patted the girl on her back and looked past her to Kagome, who was standing in the shadows. "Kagome.." he mused. She moved forward into the light of the fire, and a flicker of surprise passed Sesshomaru's face. "Inuyasha's bitch. What are you doing here?"
"I am not his bitch." she said, insulted.
Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "And how is that? You've been traveling with him for over a year. I'd think you two would be pretty familiar with each other by now."
Kagome didn't answer. "Who are you?" she asked instead. Sesshomaru said nothing for a moment. He watched her, a contemplating look on his face. "I'm Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru." Kagome brightened noticeably at that. "You are? That's great! Can you help me find him? I'm supposed to.." her voice trailed off at the gleam in Sesshomaru's eyes. "Of course I can." he answered smoothly. "After all, I'm sure my dear brother would be eternally grateful to have his shard detector back."
"Shard detector..?"
"Kagome-san, have you suffered a loss in memory?"
She stuttered. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. But aren't I lucky that I've landed in safe hands?" She smiled charmingly at him.
Sesshomaru smiled in return, a dangerous smile. "Very lucky indeed."
* * * * *
Rin sat next to Sesshomaru, playing with his silky white hair. Sesshomaru twitched away from her. "Sessho-sama," Rin, said undeterred, and climbed into his arms. "Is Kagome-nechan staying with us?"
Sesshomaru looked at the little bundle is his arms. "Do you want her to, Rin?"
Rin nodded ecstatically. "Kagome-san is so nice! And she looks pretty. She smells pretty too."
Sesshomaru grunted. His demon nose reminded him constantly of just how pretty Kagome smelled. Speaking of Kagome.. she was sleeping, curled up, in Rin's blankets and sleeping mat. The girl looked absolutely exhausted from her day in Feudal Japan. This shift in sleeping arrangements had cropped up some unexpected problems. Rin had been delegated to use Jaken's equipment, which was a few feet too short for Kagome to use, and Jaken was told that he could spend one night without the luxury of covers. If it made him feel better, he could think of it as punishment for letting Rin go off by herself. However, less than a hour had passed before Rin had snuck into Sesshomaru's blankets, complaining that Jaken-sama's sleeping mat smelled bad. And, for some reason that he himself couldn't fathom, Sesshomaru had let the child stay, curled up in his arms, where she soon drifted asleep, after mumbling something about "picking blue flowers with Kagome-nechan tomorrow to give to Sessho-sama because (yawn) he's such a -a good (yawn) c-caretaker. (yawn)."
* * * * *
Kagome yawned and squinted. The bright sunlight filtered through the trees, casting shifting shadows across her face. She sighed and took a quick glance around the circle they slept in. Rin was nothing but a lump under a thick blanket, and the two demons were no where in sight. The campfire in the center of the ring of sleeping equipment was smoldering under dark ashes. Kagome pulled herself out of the blanket and smoothed her wrinkled clothes absently. She needed to find a creek to wash up..
* * * * *
Sesshomaru stood at the river's edge, looking at the mountains in the distance. What had been a vague plan just last night was slowly being refined and tuned into perfection. There was something obviously wrong with the human girl, and Rin was just as obviously attached to her. Sesshomaru thought over this last revelation. Sesshomaru tolerated the human child, even doted on her sometimes. And he certainly would kill anyone who would dare to hurt the little girl. And of course, Sesshomaru could somewhat understand Rin's frame of mind when it came to Kagome. A little girl traveling with two male demons must certainly long for female companion once in a while. Not that the child ever complained. It was just as well, for although Sesshomaru was a calm person by nature, when he did lose his temper, the consequences were drastic. Jaken could certainly testify to that. The child's obedience was certainly a virtue in this case. But concerning his half brother's bitch..
Kagome hadn't recognized him, that much was evident. Sesshomaru was a expert at telling the differences between frauds and the real thing, and anyhow, he doubted that the girl could act so well. Besides, he was certain that his bastard of a relative would never let his treasured mate wander straight into Sesshomaru's territory like that. If Rin hadn't liked the girl so much, Kagome would be dead in a ditch somewhere, preferably where Inuyasha could find her before her corpse became unrecognizable. 'But', Sesshomaru mused, 'that would be a waste of a perfect opportunity.' After all, hostages don't just drop into lives that easily. Sesshomaru had no qualms about killing to get what he wanted, but he preferred not to let Rin witness the bloodbaths that would no doubt take place. She was much too innocent to be exposed to that at such an early age. Though his concerns might be a little on the late side...
Sesshomaru heard a rustle behind him, and caught the unmistakable scent of Kagome.
"Sesshomaru-sama?" she ventured timidly, after a few moments silence.
Sesshomaru turned around slowly. "Kagome-san," he greeted. "Good morning."
"Good morning." she hesitated, as if debating with herself over an inner issue, than made up her mind and looked back up at him. "When do you think we'll get back to Inuyasha? I have an urgent feeling that we have pressing business together."
Sesshomaru smiled, a expression on his face that Kagome couldn't quite make out. "Well, Kagome-san, my brother and I travel too much to keep in touch constantly. I think the best thing to do will be to take you back to my estate. From there, we can send out a bulletin informing Inuyasha of your whereabouts and situation. He knows where my domain is, so from that point on the only thing to do will be to wait."
Kagome grinned. "Sesshomaru-sama, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you."
Sesshomaru looked at her, his face carefully devoid of all emotion. "I'm sure you are."
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Ending Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! If they didn't, I wouldn't have had the motivation to grind this chapter out so quickly. I hope that you guys will keep reading and reviewing! I don't know how many more chapters this fic has, but it's not over yet. ^_^ As for the pairing, this fic is a IYxK story. My sincerest apologies to people who wanted Kagome to end up with Sessho-sama. My friend Amy was sort of urging me to write a SesshoxKagome fic. Should I? If you find any mistakes in this story, email me at FoxfireKitsune@Aol.com
For the people who like CCS also, please read my CCS fic? It's called 'Hiding', and it's an ExT fic. And, as always,
PLEASE REVIEW!! I've come up with a saying,
"The more reviews the story gets, the faster the author writes." *hint hint*
C
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Disclaimer: Guess who I want for Christmas? *looks at a nervous Inuyasha* hehe.. Anyway, I don't own him. (yet)
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Chapter 2
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Rin hummed nervously as she wandered through the forest. Sessho-sama had lost the trail of his newest rival, and was in a dangerous mood. He had ordered Jaken-sama to take Rin somewhere safe to play before he lost his temper. But of course, finding himself above such menial tasks, Jaken had told Rin not to go too far away from the campsite, then promptly left her to go steal some food from a nearby village. Rin had spent a delightful hour playing in a field of blue flowers, but now the sun was setting and she was getting nervous. No doubt Sessho-sama would be upset if she didn't get back before nighttime, and Jaken-sama would somehow make it seem as if she had run off by herself. Rin sniffled bravely and trudged on. Perhaps in that next clearing..
* * * * *
Kagome was getting tired. She had been walking for the better part of the afternoon, and was no where nearer to finding Inuyasha than she was to growing wings and flying herself out of this mess. By now she'd even settle for just finding the well and getting back home. She was just about to give up all hope and lay down on the soft looking dirt when she spotted a little figure ahead of her. If possible, the child seemed even more forlorn than Kagome was sure she herself looked. The little girl looked up and hesitated. Kagome crept forward and smiled. "Hello." she said softly. "Are you lost?" The child gave her a measuring look, then nodded. "I got separated from Sessho-sama!" Kagome smiled reassuringly. "Well now, don't cry. I'm sure if we work together, we can find him. What do you say?" The little girl beamed, her whole expression radiating relief and happiness. "Thank you! Sessho-sama will be so happy that you helped me." Kagome patted her head.
"My name is Rin." the kid announced, gripping Kagome's hand with her small one. "And Sessho-sama is my.." she sounded the next word out slowly. "...surrogate...caretaker." she beamed up at Kagome. "That means he takes care of me." she added importantly. Kagome chuckled. "That's wonderful. Do you know anyone named Inuyasha? That's who I'm looking for."
Rin shook her head seriously. "I don't know too many people. But Jaken-sama says that Sessho-sama is very important, so maybe he can help you!"
Kagome nodded. "That's good. Now, do you remember where you came from?"
"Well, I passed a big field of blue flowers, because that was where I was for the whole time. And I remember the sun was shining, and it made my face all hot."
Kagome mulled over this information. "Which side of your face was all hot, Rin-chan?"
Rin hesitated, then touched the left side of her face. "This side, because it made my cut hurt."
"You got a cut?" Kagome knelt down and studied Rin's face. There was a small scratch on her face, right under her ear. It was minor, as if she'd accidently scraped by some rose bushes or another prickly plant. "Ouch." she said sympathetically. "Well, that was a great clue. So all we have to do is find the field of blue flowers and walk the opposite way from the direction you were going before!"
Following Kagome's reasoning, the two of them neared the campsite in no time. "Oh!" Rin yelled happily. "It's just down the hill, Kagome-nechan." There was a thin thread of gray smoke rising above the trees, a sure sign of a lively campfire. "Sessho-sama made the fire just for me," Rin explained cheerily. "He and Jaken-sama don't need fires."
"Why not, Rin-chan?" Kagome asked, confused. The weather was dropping in degrees quickly, and Kagome had wished several times, while walking with Rin, that she'd brought a jacket or a sweater along with her through the well. "Well," Rin said, a wise expression on her little face, "of course they don't need to keep warm. Sessho-sama and Jaken-sama are demons."
* * * * *
Kagome was silent for a few minutes after Rin's careless remark. She'd never considered the idea of getting help from a demon. From what Sota had said, she'd figured that Inuyasha had quite a few enemies in the demon world. And she had no way of telling whether or not Sesshomaru wanted Inuyasha dead. 'Well,' she decided. 'Might as well play it safe and not mention Inuyasha at first.'
To her dismay, the plan turned out to be a dud. Sesshomaru was standing over Jaken in a threatening manner when the latter spotted Rin and Kagome. "There she is, master!" he cried. "She's back!" Sesshomaru turned around, and Jaken scurried away while he had the chance. Rin giggled happily and ran up to Sesshomaru, climbing into his arms. "Sessho-sama!" she greeted. "I got lost, but Kagome-nechan helped me find my way back to you and Jaken-sama!" Sesshomaru grudgingly patted the girl on her back and looked past her to Kagome, who was standing in the shadows. "Kagome.." he mused. She moved forward into the light of the fire, and a flicker of surprise passed Sesshomaru's face. "Inuyasha's bitch. What are you doing here?"
"I am not his bitch." she said, insulted.
Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "And how is that? You've been traveling with him for over a year. I'd think you two would be pretty familiar with each other by now."
Kagome didn't answer. "Who are you?" she asked instead. Sesshomaru said nothing for a moment. He watched her, a contemplating look on his face. "I'm Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru." Kagome brightened noticeably at that. "You are? That's great! Can you help me find him? I'm supposed to.." her voice trailed off at the gleam in Sesshomaru's eyes. "Of course I can." he answered smoothly. "After all, I'm sure my dear brother would be eternally grateful to have his shard detector back."
"Shard detector..?"
"Kagome-san, have you suffered a loss in memory?"
She stuttered. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. But aren't I lucky that I've landed in safe hands?" She smiled charmingly at him.
Sesshomaru smiled in return, a dangerous smile. "Very lucky indeed."
* * * * *
Rin sat next to Sesshomaru, playing with his silky white hair. Sesshomaru twitched away from her. "Sessho-sama," Rin, said undeterred, and climbed into his arms. "Is Kagome-nechan staying with us?"
Sesshomaru looked at the little bundle is his arms. "Do you want her to, Rin?"
Rin nodded ecstatically. "Kagome-san is so nice! And she looks pretty. She smells pretty too."
Sesshomaru grunted. His demon nose reminded him constantly of just how pretty Kagome smelled. Speaking of Kagome.. she was sleeping, curled up, in Rin's blankets and sleeping mat. The girl looked absolutely exhausted from her day in Feudal Japan. This shift in sleeping arrangements had cropped up some unexpected problems. Rin had been delegated to use Jaken's equipment, which was a few feet too short for Kagome to use, and Jaken was told that he could spend one night without the luxury of covers. If it made him feel better, he could think of it as punishment for letting Rin go off by herself. However, less than a hour had passed before Rin had snuck into Sesshomaru's blankets, complaining that Jaken-sama's sleeping mat smelled bad. And, for some reason that he himself couldn't fathom, Sesshomaru had let the child stay, curled up in his arms, where she soon drifted asleep, after mumbling something about "picking blue flowers with Kagome-nechan tomorrow to give to Sessho-sama because (yawn) he's such a -a good (yawn) c-caretaker. (yawn)."
* * * * *
Kagome yawned and squinted. The bright sunlight filtered through the trees, casting shifting shadows across her face. She sighed and took a quick glance around the circle they slept in. Rin was nothing but a lump under a thick blanket, and the two demons were no where in sight. The campfire in the center of the ring of sleeping equipment was smoldering under dark ashes. Kagome pulled herself out of the blanket and smoothed her wrinkled clothes absently. She needed to find a creek to wash up..
* * * * *
Sesshomaru stood at the river's edge, looking at the mountains in the distance. What had been a vague plan just last night was slowly being refined and tuned into perfection. There was something obviously wrong with the human girl, and Rin was just as obviously attached to her. Sesshomaru thought over this last revelation. Sesshomaru tolerated the human child, even doted on her sometimes. And he certainly would kill anyone who would dare to hurt the little girl. And of course, Sesshomaru could somewhat understand Rin's frame of mind when it came to Kagome. A little girl traveling with two male demons must certainly long for female companion once in a while. Not that the child ever complained. It was just as well, for although Sesshomaru was a calm person by nature, when he did lose his temper, the consequences were drastic. Jaken could certainly testify to that. The child's obedience was certainly a virtue in this case. But concerning his half brother's bitch..
Kagome hadn't recognized him, that much was evident. Sesshomaru was a expert at telling the differences between frauds and the real thing, and anyhow, he doubted that the girl could act so well. Besides, he was certain that his bastard of a relative would never let his treasured mate wander straight into Sesshomaru's territory like that. If Rin hadn't liked the girl so much, Kagome would be dead in a ditch somewhere, preferably where Inuyasha could find her before her corpse became unrecognizable. 'But', Sesshomaru mused, 'that would be a waste of a perfect opportunity.' After all, hostages don't just drop into lives that easily. Sesshomaru had no qualms about killing to get what he wanted, but he preferred not to let Rin witness the bloodbaths that would no doubt take place. She was much too innocent to be exposed to that at such an early age. Though his concerns might be a little on the late side...
Sesshomaru heard a rustle behind him, and caught the unmistakable scent of Kagome.
"Sesshomaru-sama?" she ventured timidly, after a few moments silence.
Sesshomaru turned around slowly. "Kagome-san," he greeted. "Good morning."
"Good morning." she hesitated, as if debating with herself over an inner issue, than made up her mind and looked back up at him. "When do you think we'll get back to Inuyasha? I have an urgent feeling that we have pressing business together."
Sesshomaru smiled, a expression on his face that Kagome couldn't quite make out. "Well, Kagome-san, my brother and I travel too much to keep in touch constantly. I think the best thing to do will be to take you back to my estate. From there, we can send out a bulletin informing Inuyasha of your whereabouts and situation. He knows where my domain is, so from that point on the only thing to do will be to wait."
Kagome grinned. "Sesshomaru-sama, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you."
Sesshomaru looked at her, his face carefully devoid of all emotion. "I'm sure you are."
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Ending Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! If they didn't, I wouldn't have had the motivation to grind this chapter out so quickly. I hope that you guys will keep reading and reviewing! I don't know how many more chapters this fic has, but it's not over yet. ^_^ As for the pairing, this fic is a IYxK story. My sincerest apologies to people who wanted Kagome to end up with Sessho-sama. My friend Amy was sort of urging me to write a SesshoxKagome fic. Should I? If you find any mistakes in this story, email me at FoxfireKitsune@Aol.com
For the people who like CCS also, please read my CCS fic? It's called 'Hiding', and it's an ExT fic. And, as always,
PLEASE REVIEW!! I've come up with a saying,
"The more reviews the story gets, the faster the author writes." *hint hint*
C