Title: Falling Stars
Author: Celyia (ladycelyia@aol.com)
Genre: Romance
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns all. :-)
Dedication: To all of those who enjoy the journey.
Note: Thanks for the welcome back, guys. I can't tell you how happy you've made me! By the bye, I think what I'm going to do is start chopping up the chapters a little to make them shorter. That way, I can post shorter chapters more frequently instead of posting long chapters once in a while. I suspect this may help keep me motivated :-) (Especially since yesterday during work, I wrote out a 15 page outline for this story.)

Oh, I've added on three years to the journey so Kagome's actually legal age. Please overlook the obvious inconsistencies of this.

Just a mild warning for those who are new to my writing style- contrary to popular belief, this really is an NC-17, but mine are usually pretty tame. I can't write action and I seriously can't write sex scenes. Now ask me if that keeps me from trying. : )

By the bye, don't expect any sex scenes for a while because the focus is on the story and not the sex.

Thanks!

-Cel.




Chapter 1

At least ten minutes had passed, but still, she couldn't keep her hands from shaking.

Kagome leaned against the tree, her head tilted back as a chill breath of wind caressed her face. She should feel elation, but the only emotions nagging at her heart were fear and the most damnable sense of guilt.

She could have killed him. The funny thing, Kagome admitted as she closed her eyes, is that she probably should have. Who knows how many lives the youkai would take now?

But it hadn't been so simple.

Exhaling loudly, the frustration nagging at the corners of her lips until they dropped in a forbidding grimace, Kagome shot a quick, uncertain look back towards the forest.

It had all started off so innocuously- the way the sun had glittered down as she had walked slowly through the forest, lost in her own thoughts as she made her way from the Bone-Eater's Well back to the village.

That's where Sesshoumaru had first grabbed her arm, his grip so tight that she didn't need to look beneath her flimsy white cotton sleeves to know she was bruised.

She would never be quite sure what had happened next, but when her veil of confusion lifted, she had an arrow aimed at the youkai's heart. A part of her screamed inside, her own chest hurting as she recalled the pain of watching his golden eyes.

Of watching the realisation of his impending death, the regret which had narrowed the pale lids, and finally, seeing his eyes soften in resignation even as he raised his chin haughtily; a defiant taunt for her to do her worst.

The youkai had never seemed so incredibly human or so strangely noble.

Kagome exhaled sharply, amazed she could ever associate that word with a cold-blooded killer, but she couldn't manage to brush the thought away. For the first time in the three years since she met him, he no longer seemed to be the black and white monster she had accustomed herself to expect.

I'm not a moron, she thought as she felt the sun embrace her face, a part of her stealing the warmth to still the shivers that seemed intent to possess her body. I know he could have killed me at any time. So why did he choose to accept to die instead of killing me?

To Kagome, that insinuated that her companion's older brother had a sense of honour, twisted as it may be. For the first time, Sesshoumaru seemed like a real person… one who, perhaps if things had been different, maybe have been something like Inuyasha. Or perhaps, Inuyasha could have been like him.

Biting her lip to stop the moan from escaping her throat, Kagome winced as she considered it. How could she kill Inuyasha's only brother? Estranged or not, she had noticed on several occasions the way the hanyou had puffed up with a pride he tried desperately to hide when word of another of Sesshoumaru's feats came to ear.

Like the time when the army of bandits had rampaged through several villages nearby right before the first time she met the youkai. Evidently, Sesshoumaru had single-handedly decimated the band of rapists and pillagers until only one teenage boy had been left alive and given the strict orders to inform everyone what would happen if they dare mess with the Western Lord's property and peasants.

Kagome had previously attributed this tale and those like it to pure propaganda circulated by the youkai or his retainer to ensure his popularity with his people, for he was definitely well-respected (if not feared) by those of the Western Lands. Certainly she believed him capable of committing atrocities, but she didn't exactly see him doing it out of a need to protect his people.

But now, she wondered differently.

Oh, stop it, she told herself firmly as she came to her feet. You are romanticizing him now. Those of honour wouldn't try to kill their own brother or innocent young girls from another time, Kagome reminded herself. And Sesshoumaru was quite guilty on both charges.

He's evil.

And Inuyasha must be told about this.

Kagome sighed as she sat back down beneath the tree. Blowing her straggly bangs out of her eyes with an impatient exhale, Kagome looked towards the sky. Night would fall upon a new moon soon.

All she needed was a testosterone-crazed and completely human Inuyasha to try to hunt down his brother because he was too pig-headed to admit his own limits. No, she thought as she pulled her chilled hands inside her sleeves, she would tell him when he was back to normal and able to defend himself.

With a quite unladylike snort and roll of the eyes, Kagome looked towards the heavens in impatience as her thoughts jumped back and forth from both completely intolerable creatures on her mind.

"Men."



Response to reviews:

Steph- Your review made me giggle in delight! I'm glad you liked it :-)
LadyRissa- Thanks! :-) Yeah, this is definitely a Sesshoumaru-centred fic. I hope you like what comes next!
Vernal Equinox- Great name! And you do such a great job for boosting my ego! Thanks! *bounces around like a loon*
Voldersnort- As to whether this is Kagome/Sess fic... *grin* you tell me. ;-) I think, though, you'll like where it goes.
Anonymous- Oh, my dear anonymous reviewer! Thank you! :-)
Jessy- *BOUNCE* Thanks! I'm usually not very good on details but I'll try to remember to write more because you like em. :-)
Lightning- Woo! I'm so glad you like it. (And isn't logging in just so annoying???)
Falara- Sorry about the cliffhanger. *GRIN* No, I'm not. Especially since the cliff is still hanging. *innocent look* And I'm so happy to see all the Sess/Ka fics lately! That's sooooo cool.
Sakura- What an incredibly sweet review! I don't think anyone has ever made me feel as cool as you just did. Thanks :-) As for Inuchan... *innocent look* guess you'll have to keep reading to see exactly what kind of hell a bored fanfic writer can put him through. :-)
Rymsie- That coming from one of the coolest people on this site means a lot. Thanks!
Sandy- Yeah. There is a lot of chapters coming up. I mean, a *lot*.
PN- Glad you think it's interesting. :-) The NC-17 is pretty limited though, but there will be enough to put this story in that catergory. Don't expect anything for another few chapters and even *that* won't be that intense.
Archaic Tears- Trust da author. :-) As for Demonheart, that one is currently being revised. A new chapter should be uploaded fairly soon.
Sarina-chan *GRIN* I'm so glad you think I kept them in character. That's what I worry about, especially considering I have a sex scene or two coming up and keeping *that* in character is gonna be a bitch. Hope I don't disappoint you! Thanks! :-)