* Author: blue
* Email: blueweber@hotmail.com
* Genre: Drama/Angst/Romance
* Summary: Born in a war torn era in Japan, a young girl witness the death of her family and
clan to the hands of hatred, greed and power. Taken in by a mountain shrine, she becomes a
miko of healing. That is, until a wondering and disillusioned assassin breaks through her
peaceful world. Wounded and seeking revenge, he unwittingly finds himself depending on the
aid of the priestess to help heal him from his wounds. There an adventure begins and a
story that echoes through time with magick and mystery. (Sesshoumaru/Kagome)
* Rated: PG-13 (for violence and other contents)
The Kimono She Wore
******************
.blue.
The mountain streams flows,
Breaking through the ice.
The strength of fluid steel
Carries the scent of winter
through the lands.
.Part III.
(Amongst the Cherry Blossoms Falling)
"tokete itta kanashii koto wo
kazoeru you ni
kin'iro no ringo ga
mata hitotsu ochiru"
("As if counting
the melting sorrows,
Yet another golden
apple fell")
-- Voices
(Macross Plus)
Thunk.
In the dim light of pre-dawn, he woke once more only without the bone jilting alarm
that had him frozen that first time only to be greeted by the Chiisai Kawa and her calming
smile. This time, however, he was penetrated only by his slight disorientation before his
senses returned in languid moments. His sleep burdened eyes opened fully with an alertness
in them that had been missing since he received his injuries. He blinked in the dim
greyness of his room, wanting to stretch his bed-ridden body and knowing that it would
probably do him more harm than good. So he opted to rise instead and rotating his shoulders
to get some of the kinks out of his overly lax muscles, flexing his fingers and moving his
arms to make sure that everything was alright and intact.
The throb of pain radiating from his stomach annoyed him, itching ever so slightly
to tell him that his unusual healing speed had not yet diminished. However, it was the
thunking noise outside, radiating from beyond his paper screen door that drew his attention
away from his wounds. Curious, he rose onto his knees, albeit a bit unsteadily, deciding to
investigate where the sound was originating from. Slowly he straightened, wobbling a little
on his feet since the absence of its use in at least two nights. His stomach grumbled in
protest and hunger and he glared down at his body, annoyed at more than his injuries this
time.
Thunk.
The fresh, white robe that the Chiisai Kawa had given him the night before was laid
out next to his futon and he donned it on over his own nakedness. Whoever undressed him, and
he frowned at the distasteful thought, better not have thrown out his uniform. Bloodied
though it may be now, it was still his possession and he disliked the idea of anyone taking
it without his permission. Running a tired hand through his tangled, silver hair, he
stumbled forward towards his door.
He hated the feeling of sluggishness, but he also knew that a breath of fresh
morning air might quicken his body's awakening. Clumsily opening his door, he leaned
heavily against the door frame of his room, and the sight that greeted him was startling
under the sparkling light of the coming morning. His mind felt like that very sky above
him, with the night driven back into the shadows and suddenly becoming crystal clear under
the morning sun.
Thunk.
The memories of the previous night came flooding back into his mind. The shadowed
woman, possibly the Chiisai Kawa, was standing at this very door step, looking in on him
while once again he feigned sleep. He had always been a light sleeper, and though her
approach had been soundless, her presence was a throb of power that could not be ignored.
Gentle though that power may be and the woman that kept it, Sesshoumaru was uncertain
exactly what the origins of the Chiisai Kawa's powers were. He had never felt something
this persistent before. It did not bombard the senses with its essence, instead it ebbed
and flowed like the waves caressing the sands, powerful and yet softly caressing at the same
time.
The very woman he was thinking about was now in front of him, unaware of his own
presence as his gaze took her in slowly, trying to figure her out from his vintage point.
The Chiisai Kawa, dressed in her miko robes stood with her legs braced and ready as she
pulled back the bow, arrow snuggly fitted before she sent it flying towards its target.
Thunk.
Sesshoumaru now understood the source of the sound that had wakened him. It was in
that moment that the sun tipped over the horizon and ascended over the misty lands. The
morning dew sparkled in fragmented colors on the pale petals and dark branches. And as the
thousand fingered light touched the hair and pale complexion of the Chiisai Kawa, casting
her features into shadow, her fingers released another arrow.
Thunk.
She was very good, Sesshoumaru admitted to himself reluctantly. The fresh late
spring breeze pulled at the loose petals overhead and rained damp, pink sakura blossoms down
around the miko before him. The picture she created was enchanting as she lowered her bow,
blinking as if waking from a dream and raised her hand from her side. A small blossom
floated into the palm of her hand and her smile was as innocent as it was peaceful.
Never, in all the years that Sesshoumaru lived, had he ever seen someone so at peace
with her surroundings. He had been raised in court when life was once, much more luxurious
than this, but everyone always had a hurried purpose or agenda to fulfill. When he had
grown older, wondering the city or prowling through the streets on an assignment, the people
all held the face of either desperation or despair, sometimes both, yet always they too
hurried on, as if there was not enough time to live or be alive for, anymore. And when he
had thought that there was no place left in this world that could possibly be breath taking
in its own simple beauty, he found himself here. In this enchanted place that was cut off
from the rest of the newly emerging world, he had finally found what he unknowingly sought
out to find.
Peace.
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh, undisturbed scent of the
coming summer. His fingers tightening around the wood beneath his hand as he straightened
to his full, magnificent height before stepping out into the sunlight. Here, he realized
with a frightened and yet hope-filled thought, I could learn to live again.
It was then that the Chiisai Kawa slowly turned her face to his, turning her smile
to him, and Sesshoumaru felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight. That simple
gesture that had been missing from his own life was in itself a small wonder to behold, a
wonder he had all but forgotten about till now.
"Ohayo," she said to him kindly. It was a word of greeting that he had not heard
spoken with such sincerity beyond politeness for a very long time and the novelty of it all
sent his heart racing. It left a strange and sweet taste in his mouth that lingered far
longer than any bitterness he could have remembered in that single moment, beneath the
dawn of a new day.
* * *
He brought with him the air of the city.
The odd, exciting enticement of the new had filled the courtyard the moment he
stepped out of his room and she watched him from the corner of her eyes before turning to
him completely. Her soft greeting had startled him, that much she could tell right away,
but it left her pondering as to why the look in his eyes held such quiet joy at such a
simple word. Did the outside world really become so cold and foreign?
Perhaps, she noted with a soft ache in her breast, and hoped that those she loved on
the outside did not have to weather the storm like this man seemed to have had to do for
most of his life.
Even if his personality seemed to have been worn around the edges, the sharp keenness
of his features had not. He stood out like a candle in the dark, his beauty startling in
its intensity. At that moment Kagome wondered what he would look like after he had bathed
and the tangles in his hair were gone. She had a sneaking suspicion that his looks would be
almost inhuman then, and in her childish curiosity, she wanted to know how he would look
better groomed than this. Being that this was already making her shy and nervous in his
presence.
Yet, there was a dark shadow around him that bespoke of a wound deeper than the
slash to his stomach and the bruises covering his back. Whatever wounds that might be lower
down, she had one of her more experienced male apprentice tend to that. After all, it was
really the slash on his stomach that worried her more than anything else. Whoever it was
that tried to kill him had poisoned their blade, it was a miracle he made it here and a
miracle that he made it in time for her to save him.
She rested her weight on her heels and turned to face him, her hands clasped
together as she bowed politely. "Are you hungry?" she asked when she straightened, looking
up at him and suddenly coming to a realization of how domineering his presence was, as well
as how tall he was compared to her.
He looked at her amused, though she knew not why and suddenly, for the first time in
her life, Kagome felt self conscious before a member of the opposite sex. She resisted the
urge to tug at her hair and opted to look shyly down onto the ground instead, unable to hid
the uncertainty from her gaze. "Yes, I'm hungry." He answered at last, nodding at her even
though she refused to look up at him to see it. She turned instead in the direction of the
kitchen, though he did not know that at the time. The other apprentices and mikos should be
up by now in another section of the shrine and she knew it would be best to direct him into
their care now that he seemed to be better. But apart of her was more concerned than
embarrassed, and so was determined to let him rest well she go about her duties as a hostess
and a healer.
"I'll be back soon," she told him as she stepped back onto the walkway, setting her
shoes down on the edge of the steps.
His hand on her wrist startled her, "I'll come with you." It was not a request,
instead he stated like a fact.
Kagome's face turned into a worried frown, "You aren't well enough to move around
that much," she told him with a sternness in her eyes that contradicted the softness of her
voice. He did not look away, facing her gaze stubbornly. At last she sighed in defeat,
"Let me put some salve on your wounds first and then we can go."
He nodded in agreement at her prudence and the two turned back into his room. "What
have they done to my clothes?" He asked at last in the silence that always seemed to fall
between the two of them. Watching her gentle hands smear the herbed cream, cool and wet
against his skin, he had almost forgotten about his earlier dilemma. The top of his white
robe pooled around him as she studiously studied his wounds and forced her gaze not to
wonder. His question caused her to look up at him in question. "I hope you have not thrown
it away." He explained when he understood the source of her confusion.
Kagome noted the slight anger in his tone, "If you wish to have it back once you
healed," she said as she reached for the new bandages, "I'll look into it for you, I
promise." She assured him.
The stranger's hand on her wrist started her once more at both his closeness and the
tightening of his grip around her skin and bones. In that moment she felt so very small
next to him. "You make sure of it," he told her with a warning gleam in his golden eyes
though the threat was not entirely directed at her.
She blinked at him before nodding slowly. The same old silence settling between
them like the snow of falling petals outside, in the courtyard. When she finished bandaging
his wounds up once more, she wondered if it would be too forward if she asked his name now.
Gathering her courage she looked up to him and met his steady gaze, it made her catch her
breath at his piercing beauty. She has never met anyone so beautiful in her life before,
the realization made her voice shake slightly as she breathed out the question. "You never
told me your name," her eyes widened at her own brazenness and covered her hand over her gasp
of surprise as she looked up at him with a blush coloring her cheeks.
The strange and beautiful man looked to her wearily at this, though the spark of
amusement did not leave those golden depth. "Sesshoumaru," he said at last. The man named
Sesshoumaru looked to her almost expectantly, gauging her reaction to his name.
"Sesshoumaru," she repeated the foreign name. Testing the sound of it on her tongue
as she looked into his eyes. "I don't think I can heal you, then." She said at last.
If her statement surprised him, he did not show it.
The sun raised its magnificent head up behind her then, shining over the tree tops
and into the small room, throwing theirs shadows against the wooden floors. Whatever he
found on her face was covered in the shadows of the bright light shining behind her,
illuminating his white and golden features anew.
"I didn't think you could," his voice washed over the room like the light, casting
shadows that had not been there before. Yet even as he spoke those words, he felt her deep
blue eyes, hooded by that same light engulf him in her wide-eyed stare. The silent tension
between them began to rise once more like a stormy wave, separating their two worlds in a
clear, grey veil.
She did not rise to his challenge.
to be continued...
********************************************************************************************
* Ohayo is a morning greeting in Japanese, think of it as "Good morning".
* Sakura means Cherry Blossoms
To the Reviewers
***************
Ehehehe ^-^;; I actually written back to everyone's feedback but I accidentally erased
that and now am too lazy to write a replacement... would it appease your anger if I
told you that umm... I finished the next chapter and that I'll post it as soon as I
finish the chapter after that? *bats big bambi-like eyes at reviewers* Please don't be
mad at me ;_; I really do enjoy and appreciate everyone's feedback O:)
Hope you enjoyed the fic!
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com
* Email: blueweber@hotmail.com
* Genre: Drama/Angst/Romance
* Summary: Born in a war torn era in Japan, a young girl witness the death of her family and
clan to the hands of hatred, greed and power. Taken in by a mountain shrine, she becomes a
miko of healing. That is, until a wondering and disillusioned assassin breaks through her
peaceful world. Wounded and seeking revenge, he unwittingly finds himself depending on the
aid of the priestess to help heal him from his wounds. There an adventure begins and a
story that echoes through time with magick and mystery. (Sesshoumaru/Kagome)
* Rated: PG-13 (for violence and other contents)
The Kimono She Wore
******************
.blue.
The mountain streams flows,
Breaking through the ice.
The strength of fluid steel
Carries the scent of winter
through the lands.
.Part III.
(Amongst the Cherry Blossoms Falling)
"tokete itta kanashii koto wo
kazoeru you ni
kin'iro no ringo ga
mata hitotsu ochiru"
("As if counting
the melting sorrows,
Yet another golden
apple fell")
-- Voices
(Macross Plus)
Thunk.
In the dim light of pre-dawn, he woke once more only without the bone jilting alarm
that had him frozen that first time only to be greeted by the Chiisai Kawa and her calming
smile. This time, however, he was penetrated only by his slight disorientation before his
senses returned in languid moments. His sleep burdened eyes opened fully with an alertness
in them that had been missing since he received his injuries. He blinked in the dim
greyness of his room, wanting to stretch his bed-ridden body and knowing that it would
probably do him more harm than good. So he opted to rise instead and rotating his shoulders
to get some of the kinks out of his overly lax muscles, flexing his fingers and moving his
arms to make sure that everything was alright and intact.
The throb of pain radiating from his stomach annoyed him, itching ever so slightly
to tell him that his unusual healing speed had not yet diminished. However, it was the
thunking noise outside, radiating from beyond his paper screen door that drew his attention
away from his wounds. Curious, he rose onto his knees, albeit a bit unsteadily, deciding to
investigate where the sound was originating from. Slowly he straightened, wobbling a little
on his feet since the absence of its use in at least two nights. His stomach grumbled in
protest and hunger and he glared down at his body, annoyed at more than his injuries this
time.
Thunk.
The fresh, white robe that the Chiisai Kawa had given him the night before was laid
out next to his futon and he donned it on over his own nakedness. Whoever undressed him, and
he frowned at the distasteful thought, better not have thrown out his uniform. Bloodied
though it may be now, it was still his possession and he disliked the idea of anyone taking
it without his permission. Running a tired hand through his tangled, silver hair, he
stumbled forward towards his door.
He hated the feeling of sluggishness, but he also knew that a breath of fresh
morning air might quicken his body's awakening. Clumsily opening his door, he leaned
heavily against the door frame of his room, and the sight that greeted him was startling
under the sparkling light of the coming morning. His mind felt like that very sky above
him, with the night driven back into the shadows and suddenly becoming crystal clear under
the morning sun.
Thunk.
The memories of the previous night came flooding back into his mind. The shadowed
woman, possibly the Chiisai Kawa, was standing at this very door step, looking in on him
while once again he feigned sleep. He had always been a light sleeper, and though her
approach had been soundless, her presence was a throb of power that could not be ignored.
Gentle though that power may be and the woman that kept it, Sesshoumaru was uncertain
exactly what the origins of the Chiisai Kawa's powers were. He had never felt something
this persistent before. It did not bombard the senses with its essence, instead it ebbed
and flowed like the waves caressing the sands, powerful and yet softly caressing at the same
time.
The very woman he was thinking about was now in front of him, unaware of his own
presence as his gaze took her in slowly, trying to figure her out from his vintage point.
The Chiisai Kawa, dressed in her miko robes stood with her legs braced and ready as she
pulled back the bow, arrow snuggly fitted before she sent it flying towards its target.
Thunk.
Sesshoumaru now understood the source of the sound that had wakened him. It was in
that moment that the sun tipped over the horizon and ascended over the misty lands. The
morning dew sparkled in fragmented colors on the pale petals and dark branches. And as the
thousand fingered light touched the hair and pale complexion of the Chiisai Kawa, casting
her features into shadow, her fingers released another arrow.
Thunk.
She was very good, Sesshoumaru admitted to himself reluctantly. The fresh late
spring breeze pulled at the loose petals overhead and rained damp, pink sakura blossoms down
around the miko before him. The picture she created was enchanting as she lowered her bow,
blinking as if waking from a dream and raised her hand from her side. A small blossom
floated into the palm of her hand and her smile was as innocent as it was peaceful.
Never, in all the years that Sesshoumaru lived, had he ever seen someone so at peace
with her surroundings. He had been raised in court when life was once, much more luxurious
than this, but everyone always had a hurried purpose or agenda to fulfill. When he had
grown older, wondering the city or prowling through the streets on an assignment, the people
all held the face of either desperation or despair, sometimes both, yet always they too
hurried on, as if there was not enough time to live or be alive for, anymore. And when he
had thought that there was no place left in this world that could possibly be breath taking
in its own simple beauty, he found himself here. In this enchanted place that was cut off
from the rest of the newly emerging world, he had finally found what he unknowingly sought
out to find.
Peace.
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh, undisturbed scent of the
coming summer. His fingers tightening around the wood beneath his hand as he straightened
to his full, magnificent height before stepping out into the sunlight. Here, he realized
with a frightened and yet hope-filled thought, I could learn to live again.
It was then that the Chiisai Kawa slowly turned her face to his, turning her smile
to him, and Sesshoumaru felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight. That simple
gesture that had been missing from his own life was in itself a small wonder to behold, a
wonder he had all but forgotten about till now.
"Ohayo," she said to him kindly. It was a word of greeting that he had not heard
spoken with such sincerity beyond politeness for a very long time and the novelty of it all
sent his heart racing. It left a strange and sweet taste in his mouth that lingered far
longer than any bitterness he could have remembered in that single moment, beneath the
dawn of a new day.
* * *
He brought with him the air of the city.
The odd, exciting enticement of the new had filled the courtyard the moment he
stepped out of his room and she watched him from the corner of her eyes before turning to
him completely. Her soft greeting had startled him, that much she could tell right away,
but it left her pondering as to why the look in his eyes held such quiet joy at such a
simple word. Did the outside world really become so cold and foreign?
Perhaps, she noted with a soft ache in her breast, and hoped that those she loved on
the outside did not have to weather the storm like this man seemed to have had to do for
most of his life.
Even if his personality seemed to have been worn around the edges, the sharp keenness
of his features had not. He stood out like a candle in the dark, his beauty startling in
its intensity. At that moment Kagome wondered what he would look like after he had bathed
and the tangles in his hair were gone. She had a sneaking suspicion that his looks would be
almost inhuman then, and in her childish curiosity, she wanted to know how he would look
better groomed than this. Being that this was already making her shy and nervous in his
presence.
Yet, there was a dark shadow around him that bespoke of a wound deeper than the
slash to his stomach and the bruises covering his back. Whatever wounds that might be lower
down, she had one of her more experienced male apprentice tend to that. After all, it was
really the slash on his stomach that worried her more than anything else. Whoever it was
that tried to kill him had poisoned their blade, it was a miracle he made it here and a
miracle that he made it in time for her to save him.
She rested her weight on her heels and turned to face him, her hands clasped
together as she bowed politely. "Are you hungry?" she asked when she straightened, looking
up at him and suddenly coming to a realization of how domineering his presence was, as well
as how tall he was compared to her.
He looked at her amused, though she knew not why and suddenly, for the first time in
her life, Kagome felt self conscious before a member of the opposite sex. She resisted the
urge to tug at her hair and opted to look shyly down onto the ground instead, unable to hid
the uncertainty from her gaze. "Yes, I'm hungry." He answered at last, nodding at her even
though she refused to look up at him to see it. She turned instead in the direction of the
kitchen, though he did not know that at the time. The other apprentices and mikos should be
up by now in another section of the shrine and she knew it would be best to direct him into
their care now that he seemed to be better. But apart of her was more concerned than
embarrassed, and so was determined to let him rest well she go about her duties as a hostess
and a healer.
"I'll be back soon," she told him as she stepped back onto the walkway, setting her
shoes down on the edge of the steps.
His hand on her wrist startled her, "I'll come with you." It was not a request,
instead he stated like a fact.
Kagome's face turned into a worried frown, "You aren't well enough to move around
that much," she told him with a sternness in her eyes that contradicted the softness of her
voice. He did not look away, facing her gaze stubbornly. At last she sighed in defeat,
"Let me put some salve on your wounds first and then we can go."
He nodded in agreement at her prudence and the two turned back into his room. "What
have they done to my clothes?" He asked at last in the silence that always seemed to fall
between the two of them. Watching her gentle hands smear the herbed cream, cool and wet
against his skin, he had almost forgotten about his earlier dilemma. The top of his white
robe pooled around him as she studiously studied his wounds and forced her gaze not to
wonder. His question caused her to look up at him in question. "I hope you have not thrown
it away." He explained when he understood the source of her confusion.
Kagome noted the slight anger in his tone, "If you wish to have it back once you
healed," she said as she reached for the new bandages, "I'll look into it for you, I
promise." She assured him.
The stranger's hand on her wrist started her once more at both his closeness and the
tightening of his grip around her skin and bones. In that moment she felt so very small
next to him. "You make sure of it," he told her with a warning gleam in his golden eyes
though the threat was not entirely directed at her.
She blinked at him before nodding slowly. The same old silence settling between
them like the snow of falling petals outside, in the courtyard. When she finished bandaging
his wounds up once more, she wondered if it would be too forward if she asked his name now.
Gathering her courage she looked up to him and met his steady gaze, it made her catch her
breath at his piercing beauty. She has never met anyone so beautiful in her life before,
the realization made her voice shake slightly as she breathed out the question. "You never
told me your name," her eyes widened at her own brazenness and covered her hand over her gasp
of surprise as she looked up at him with a blush coloring her cheeks.
The strange and beautiful man looked to her wearily at this, though the spark of
amusement did not leave those golden depth. "Sesshoumaru," he said at last. The man named
Sesshoumaru looked to her almost expectantly, gauging her reaction to his name.
"Sesshoumaru," she repeated the foreign name. Testing the sound of it on her tongue
as she looked into his eyes. "I don't think I can heal you, then." She said at last.
If her statement surprised him, he did not show it.
The sun raised its magnificent head up behind her then, shining over the tree tops
and into the small room, throwing theirs shadows against the wooden floors. Whatever he
found on her face was covered in the shadows of the bright light shining behind her,
illuminating his white and golden features anew.
"I didn't think you could," his voice washed over the room like the light, casting
shadows that had not been there before. Yet even as he spoke those words, he felt her deep
blue eyes, hooded by that same light engulf him in her wide-eyed stare. The silent tension
between them began to rise once more like a stormy wave, separating their two worlds in a
clear, grey veil.
She did not rise to his challenge.
to be continued...
********************************************************************************************
* Ohayo is a morning greeting in Japanese, think of it as "Good morning".
* Sakura means Cherry Blossoms
To the Reviewers
***************
Ehehehe ^-^;; I actually written back to everyone's feedback but I accidentally erased
that and now am too lazy to write a replacement... would it appease your anger if I
told you that umm... I finished the next chapter and that I'll post it as soon as I
finish the chapter after that? *bats big bambi-like eyes at reviewers* Please don't be
mad at me ;_; I really do enjoy and appreciate everyone's feedback O:)
Hope you enjoyed the fic!
.blue.
blueweber@hotmail.com