AN: Hey there everyone. Thank you for all the reviews. I want to say I'm sorry right now, 'cuase I know this chapter will take me a long time to finish. I've been really busy with school projects and family stuff. I must tell you that, if you haven't figured it out yet, the story will be taking a darker turn at some points. Rating may go up. There will be more violence, perhaps more death, some rare language, and perhaps some suggestive stuff....well...don't know what's happening this chapter, but I hope you likey! BTW, if you like the story, tell others! OH yeah, THANKS TO THOSE WITH THE KOUGA IDEAS! Peace and apricots!
A TWIST OF FATE*~CHAPTER 14
"Did you notice anything strange."
"Huh? What?" Kagome snapped out of her trance. "Oh, you mean besides the burning village, shrine full of the dead villagers, and a humongous black ogre? No..nothing. Why do you ask?"
Nerves. She could touch his nerves like no one else. How was it, that he could handle the presence of an annoying toad and overly-hyperactive young girl, but this woman could put him on end. Well, that's a bit of an overstatement. But never before had he wanted to......No. Not that stupid human wench. Not Inu Yasha's whore.
"It is too complicated for a human to notice. But, I do believe that there is a cold stream near by. Are you requesting another bath?" There was something in his eyes. Kagome examined them from the side. Yep. Definitely a bit of humor. Maybe he wasn't so hopeless after all.
But yes....Kagome thought..I did notice something... Kagome frowned to herself. The ogre had bore two shards..but she had sensed at least four...strange...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She missed them so much. What if she had died back there? She would have died never seeing Shippou, Rin, Sango, Miroku, Kaede, Kirara, or Inu Yasha again. She would never be able to confront Inu Yasha. Never be able to see her family again. Her family. They must be really worried about me now. How long will it be before I can see them again? If this goes on, at this rate, with demons like that, I may never see them again. And even if I could, would Sesshoumaru let me? It had been hard enough talking Inu Yasha into letting her go home, but Sesshoumaru, if he ever cared in the least bit, would be impossible to get by. After all, he didn't have a rosary around his neck.
Kagome smiled to herself. Sesshoumaru hitting the ground with a mere 'Sit, boy!' was too much to handle. Would he curse at her like Inu Yasha? Oh, Inu Yasha, you idiot. Oh, you completely incompetent jerk....why can't I hate you?
Kagome was, once again, much to her dismay, thrown into a memory slide show of Inu Yasha. Inu Yasha yelling at her, Inu Yasha fighting demons, Inu Yasha hitting the ground with a satisfying *wump*....Inu Yasha telling her that she was who she was..no one else...why couldn't he understand that what he had said was true. What he had said was the truth..the only truth. Stupid Inu Yasha. Ignorant Inu Yasha...how was I so stupid?!
She had been silent far too long. Not that he didn't appreciate silence. He enjoyed it immensely, but coming from her, it didn't seem right. Like if Rin wasn't happy. It wasn't in character. He didn't appreciate it when people broke out of character. As long as things were in character, it was easy to read them, see their next moves, what they're thinking. Inu Yasha's stupid wench had never shut up for an extended period of time that he could recall. Perhaps that was why he had been more on edge lately. But then again, the human didn't seem to have a set character. She acted without telling, on her sudden impulses, which were not always easily foretold, therefore, she was largely unreadable. Except for her eyes. Still, her silence irked him. He didn't like that. He didn't like her. Her. Of course it was her fault. Not that he would place blame on anyone, that was below him. His problems were his own. Not anybody else's to cope with. But, anyway he looked at it, she was bad luck. Luck. He didn't believe in luck. It was an excuse when bad things happened. Humans blamed bad circumstances on luck.
This was pointless. He was contradicting himself on everything he said. For once, he wished that the Inu Yasha's wench would speak. Just this once. Inu Yasha's wench..come to think of it, what is the wench's name? He knew he had heard his brother say it many times, perhaps even her her say it, but he could not remember it. He would just have to ask her.
Sesshoumaru stopped, turning to Kagome who looked at him blankly.
"Wench, what-"
"You know what Sesshoumaru!" Kagome's eyes lit up as if she had been brought suddenly back to reality and was positively fuming. " I watch over Rin! I'm getting you the tetsusaiga, the thing you want most in this world! I try to help as much as I can!! And I. Call. You. By. Your. Proper. Name!!!! The least you could do is return the favor!!!!!" She was obviously not in a good mood to start with.
"What I want most in the world...." he mused, offhandedly.
He had never seen her this way before. There was a glowing madness in her eyes that, if he had been any of a lesser youkai, frankly, would have scared him. But he was Sesshoumaru. He remained unfazed...for the most part. She really wasn't that bad looking for a human. When she was angry, her cheeks gathered a pink tint. Her hair swished back and forth, finally spilling over her shoulders and her eyes, instead of narrowing, usually grew larger. It was almost comical. Almost beautiful.
"I find wench to be quite a proper name for my brother's whore."
That was it. The straw that broke the camel's back.
"SESSHOUMARU!!!!!" Kagome lept at him, like a cat pouncing on its prey. Unfortunately for Kagome, Sesshoumaru was a least ten times faster than she and was behind her, gripping her by the collar of her shirt, suspended in a very dangerous position.
"SESSHOUMARU! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!"
"On the contrary. I find it quite amusing." He said, devoid of any emotion at all. Kagome swung at him furiously.
"Let me go, you egotistical jerk!!"
"As you wish." Sesshoumaru let go and Kagome, who had been precariously balanced at an odd angle above the earth, started to do an Inu impression, falling very ungracefully towards the ground until, at the very last moment, Sesshoumaru caught her by the shoulder, standing her upright.
He expected her to be positively fuming, but instead, she seemed to have lost her steam. She whispered something that even he couldn't make out.
"What did you say."
"Kagome."
Sesshoumaru looked at her, ever so slightly quirking an eyebrow. Kagome couldn't help but smile. The first true emotion on his face that she had seen in a while.
"Kagome. Kagome is my name."
"Ok, wench...Kagome..." he said testing it out. "I will call you this if you no longer insult myself, or attempt to kill my servants." He said that last part very slowly and deliberately, as if making sure that her human skull processed it.
"Deal. It's Kagome. Don't forget." At least he hasn't called me Human Filly for a long time...
"I don't forget...Kagome..." he spat out the words like rotten food.
They continued on for some while, again in silence.
She was in deed, a very odd character. One moment, she seemed quite controversial, and another, she appeared to truly not be complicated in the least bit. He wished to know her name, and with out even demanding it, had received it. With a little bit of work, and pushing the right buttons, he could get anything he wanted out of that thick human skull. This was a very comforting idea, not to say, very interesting and prospectful. Kagome. Yes, Kagome. It truly was a nice, calm, name. Quite a contrast to her attitude. Kagome. He liked the way it sounded.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The group traveled on in silence. With the exception of an occasional slap ringing through the forest, followed by some under-breath mumbling about houshi hands that couldn't keep to themselves.
Inu Yasha was on edge. It was apparent to his fellow travelers that he was very high strung. Especially after he almost beheaded Miroku with the tetsusaiga when the monk had tapped him on the shoulder. Yes, Inu Yasha was slightly peeved, to say the least.
He wasn't paying attention to his companions, his mind was set on finding Kagome. He was an idiot, he knew this. He had let Kagome slip through his fingers…because of Kikyo. He still cared for Kikyo, but it had taken the loss of Kagome for him to realize that he didn't love the deceased priestess anymore. She was not who she had been. She had been so caring and accepting and now she was snatching the very souls from the dead in order to continue on when she shouldn't even still be on the earth. But, then again, neither should he. He was supposed to have died. The only difference was that he didn't. She had. They needed Kagome. He needed Kagome. Needed to straighten things out. He had to find her. He would go mad if he didn't....the stupid wench. He was more angry than he had ever been. He couldn't believe that she had left. That he had let her. And the fact that his brother might have her only added to the problems….
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Miroku nearly slammed into the back of Inu Yasha. The hanyou had suddenly ceased walking and was scanning the area, ears pricked up, if possible, even more alert than he had been.
"What is it, Inu Yasha?" The monk asked quietly.
Inu Yasha sniffed the air, his fists balled up at his sides. His eyes narrowed to dangerous yellow daggers. A feral sound rose from deep within him.
"Naraku." he growled.
With a word, Kirara transformed at Sango's side and Miroku took up a readied stance.
"Where is he? Can you tell? Is it one of his puppets?"
"Shut up, dammit! I don't know, I can just smell him." It seemed at if Inu Yasha was correct for, not more than a second after he said that, the land grew quiet all around. No sounds. Nothing. Inu Yasha unsheathed tetsusaiga, holding it out, ready, poised for battle.
"Naraku, you bastard!! Show yourself, you COWARD!!" Inu Yasha yelled into the surrounding wilderness.
Suddenly, Inu Yasha's ears twitched and he swung the tetsusaiga wildly at a nearby tree, easily destroying it and slicing a baboon skin-cloaked figure behind it in two.
"Heh. I see you are more aware of your surroundings than ever, Inu Yasha. Could it be because you are missing a certain young miko?" the voice coming from the head of the slain figure, laying on the ground, was tinged with humor. "Because you made her upset and now she will not come back to you and you have finally realized that it is too late..." Inu Yasha growled, tightening his grip on the tetsusaiga. "..Or is it because your brother has what you want?" The amusement in the voice rose on the last note. "I could get her back for you, Inu Yasha...at a price..."
With that, Inu Yasha growled, swinging the sword down on the puppet of Naraku, destroying it completely. He wasn't about to make a deal with Naraku, no matter what. He would find her on his own, and his brother-that bastard Sesshoumaru- would pay.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Shoot!!"
Kagome waded in a stream up to her knees. She had slipped back and caught herself with her hands which were now buried in the squishy mud. Very carefully, she stood back up, rinsing her hands off in the freezing water. It's a perfectly warm day! How come the water's always freezing when I want to get clean!!
Kagome sucked it up and waded back in, up to the very bottom of her skirt.
"C-C-C-C-COLD!!!" She squeezed her eyes shut. She felt eyes looking at her.
"Perhaps if you did not bathe in your clothing..."
With a statement like that, Kagome turned around, prepared to see Miroku, but was surprised to see only Sesshoumaru.
"Well maybe if some pervert youkai lord wasn't always watching me, I wouldn't have to worry about it!" She stared indignantly at Sesshoumaru.
"Perhaps if you were not so weak and lacking in self defense, I would not need to."
"I am not weak!!!" Kagome yelled. "Now skip off so I can bathe properly!!" She had to admit, it was nice having someone to look out for her again...no, not look out...he didn't choose to watch her out of the goodness of his heart, did he. But still, it was comforting. But then again, she had to put up with stuff like this. Even though she highly doubted that Sesshoumaru would ever look at her naked purposely or pull any kind of Miroku stunt, a girl couldn't be too careful in this day and age.
"As you wish." Sesshoumaru turned in the opposite direction. "But, perhaps you should bathe in your clothing. The stench coming from them is almost unbearable." And he was gone.
"Jerk." she mumbled under her breath. Making sure there were no peeping toms around, Kagome stripped down, throwing her clothing on the bank of the stream. Here goes!! Kagome dove in, the temperature of the water sending a shock through her body. She let out a small stream under the water and burst out of the surface, shivering like mad. She trembled for a second then dunked her head under the water, scrubbing with her fingers. Finished with that, she looked at the filthy clothes on the shore. She swam over quickly and rinsed them out as if they were going to bite her if she held them for to long.
Not a second after she was done, she was running out of the water as fast as she could, only to see that her clothes had been replaced with her second change of clothing.
Oh. Oh!! That means...! SESSHOUMARU!! Realization hit her. Eeep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Kagome returned to the site where they had decided to make camp, it was alone. The demon lord had presumably gone scouting the area or doing whatever demon lords do in their spare time. Solitude. Sometimes, she didn't mind it at all. And this was definitely one of those times. Peace and quiet. It gave her time to think about things, although, lately, thinking was getting more depressing. Perhaps she would just go to sleep. Silently, she wished that Sesshoumaru might just stay away for a while...she was tired of immature people. He was, in his own way, immature. And she was tired of people who thought they were always right. Sleep. Yeah, sleep.
"Yo, Kagome!"
Kagome was about to scream and make a run for the river, but...
"Oh. Hi, Kouga-kun." She smiled, but waved lazily. Immature...always thought they were right... Just what she needed right now- a wolf demon who acted as if he were still going through puberty. Could he be? she mused silently. After all, it did take a demon a lot longer to age....
"What are you doing all the way out here, Kagome?"
"Taking a walk." She cared for Kouga, she really did, she just didn't want to talk to him, or anybody, at the moment.
"Well, I was looking for a stupid demon who had tried to attack some of my clan, and I caught your scent."
Oh! Could it have been the shards in Kouga's legs that Kagome had sensed? After all, he did have three. That would explain it...
"Kouga-"
Kouga snorted. "And where's dog turd?" he said, sniffing the air.
"He's taking a walk." she remarked unenthusiastically.
"What!" Kouga growled. "He's gonna get his ass kicked for leaving my woman all alone! By herself!"
Kagome sighed. Yeah, that was Kouga for you. Kagome stood up, starting a fire. It was getting dark, and Sesshoumaru would probably be angry if he came back and she was sitting there in the dark, defenseless. Well, to him at least. Kagome could hold her own if she wanted to. After all, she could put up with annoying, immature demons....
"So, Kagome, when're you gonna ditch the puppy and come with me?"
Kagome gave him a bright, albeit fake, smile.
"I don't know Kouga." Whatever it took, she didn't want to talk about Inu Yasha. She was traveling with Sesshoumaru now. Sesshoumaru...Oh No! Kagome gasped. she could sense Sesshoumaru coming towards them at an incredible speed.
"You're my woman, Kagome, I'll take you with me right-"
"You will take her nowhere." In an instant, Sesshoumaru had Kouga in a death grip by the neck, the one that he liked to use so much. Kouga grasped at the hands around his neck, snarling at Sesshoumaru.
"Sesshoumaru! Put him down!!!" Kagome yelled at him, jumping up from her spot by the fire.
"And why should I have any reason to do such a thing." He tightened his grip on the wolf demon, who was, unfortunately for him, no match to the demon lord of the western lands.
"Put him down! HE'S MY FRIEND!!"
"He was going to abduct you, stupid girl."
"He wasn't!! He wouldn't do that! (well...) Put him down, Fluffy! Please!" She ran up to him and grabbed him right arm, looking wildly up into his stoic face. "Please!" This time, she tightened her grip, on his arm, refusing to let go until he had released Kouga. Kouga could do nothing but growl with what little breathe he had left. "Please...He won't try anything, I promise."
Sesshoumaru released Kouga, dropping him on the ground, then walking away to the fire. He stood looking at if, as if it were four times as interesting as the girl and the wolf demon.
"Who the hell do you think you're messing with?!! You kidnapped Kagome from the mutt, didn't you!" Kouga yelled at Sesshoumaru, who remained studying the flames of the fire.
"No, Kouga. It's ok. I chose to travel with Sesshoumaru-sama. Don't worry, he takes care of me." Kagome winced at the last sentence. Somehow, she didn't think Sesshoumaru would appreciated that one.
"W-wait! Sesshoumaru-sama?! You're Sesshoumaru? The lord of the western lands?! Dog Turd's brother?!"
"Half-brother." Sesshoumaru turned from the fire, walking over to a tree and sitting down. He ignored any further remarks the wolf made. He listened to Kagome's conversation with the demon, half-heartedly, only really paying attention when it seemed as if the wolf would be leaving.
"All right, Kagome. Are you sure you can depend on this guy?" Kouga was slightly annoying sometimes, but he was genuinely worried, and Kagome appreciated that widely.
"I'll be fine, Kouga-kun. Don't worry about me. Good luck finding that demon." Kagome waved and smiled as the wolf youkai began to take his leave.
"Oi, Sesshoumaru-sama! Take care of my woman! If anything happens to her-" But he was gone in a whirlwind of dust, into the dark.
Kagome sighed, walking over to the fire. She sat down, quietly, staring at the flames, just as Sesshoumaru had done. She was tired. She didn't deserve this. She glanced across the fire to Sesshoumaru, then back down again, wondering if he was angry or if he didn't care in the least bit.
Man, even when she was with Inu Yasha, it wasn't always this stressful.
"Who was he."
Kagome jerked out of her trance, looking up at him.
"Oh. Kouga-kun is the leader of a pack of wolf youkai."
"I am not dumb. I knew this already. How does he know you."
"Um..well..you see, a while back, his pack got into a, um, bind, and he asked me to help him, because I could she the shards of the shikon no tama.." She didn't have to tell him that Kouga had kidnapped her. Just like she didn't need to tell him that she was the one who had shattered the jewel.
"He claims you are his mate." Sesshoumaru stood from his sitting position by the tree. Kagome wondered what he was thinking. Whatever it was, it was probably the wrong idea.
"No..it's nothing like that. You see, when I was helping him, he sort of...took a liking to me. He calls me his woman, and he is very sweet, but I have no plans for a future with him."
"But, Inu Yasha is a different story, is he not."
This was wrong. She wasn't going to talk to him about Inu Yasha. No, he was the last person he would talk about something like that with.
"That doesn't matter anymore. It never will." Kagome looked down at her feet as Sesshoumaru walked over from his spot, standing about five feet away from her sitting form.
"Then why, if you do not wish for my brother, do you not go with the wolf. He claims you as his own." There was a sharpness in his voice that Kagome had never heard before. "There is obviously a reason why he would claim such a thing. Why do you not join him." It scared her. His voice was tinged with something. Was it disgust?
"I told you, Kouga just took a liking to me! I'm not his! I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE!!" Kagome was screaming now, standing a foot away from him. "I don't belong to Inu Yasha, I don't belong to Kouga! And I'm perfectly fine with that!"
Her body shook. Her eyes had shut tight while she was yelling at him, her head falling to her chest as she shook it violently, than raising back up to glare at him with..not so much as anger...but an odd sadness. Her face relaxed and she gazed at him through half-closed eyes.
Her hands clenched violently at her sides. She stared up at him with huge eyes, realizing what she had done. She had no right to yell at him. He hadn't deserved that whole episode. Her body slumped slightly and she stared at him as if she he would disappear if she didn't find what to say fast enough.
"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru." She turned away from him, walking over to her own spot by a tree, only to stop midway as Sesshoumaru found his turn to talk.
"You are not his, but he will make you his if the opportunity comes."
Kagome turned back around to face him, anger flaring up in her face again, despite the fact that she tried to withhold it.
"I said that I am not some prize, I am not his, I am nobody's! I DON' BELONG TO-"
But Kagome didn't have a chance to repeat her sentence. Before she knew what hit her, she was under Sesshoumaru's grasp, back pressed up against a tree. He was looking down at her with an expression in his eyes that Kagome had never seen before, an expression that scared her. It was as if he could see into her very soul and mind, golden eyes boring into blue ones.
He could her heart beat increase and her breathe become more shallow. He beautiful blue eyes were frozen, locked on his, but he did not hold hers, she held his.
"H-Hey! What's going on!" Kagome was scared. The expression on the usually stoic face was becoming more clear, slowly. It was an expression she expected to see on a Miroku that had gone mad. Five seconds felt like a century. Finally, forcefully, she broke his gaze, turning her head to the side as far as she could.
"W-What-" She was afraid to look at him. Gods! What's he doing!!
Kagome nearly choked as he bent down, his head close to her neck and hair.
"What you said earlier...you're wrong.." He whispered in her ear.
She didn't know what to do. Her body was frozen. What was he doing?!
"Wh-"
Sesshoumaru inhaled her light scent. So clean and fresh. So different.
"S-Sesshoumaru, wh-"
But Sesshoumaru had grabbed her arms, forcefully pinning them to the tree. She could feel his breath on her skin, hear it in her ears. Kagome let out a small gasp as his lips touched the skin of her neck.
No. What's happening! No! She held back another gasp as she felt his lips move against her skin, sending tingling sensations up and down her spine. She thought her heart would burst, it was beating so rapidly. His beautiful hair brushed her face like a silver curtain. She felt his sharp, yet smooth fangs against her skin, but they did not cut her. Instead, the sensation only made her breath come quicker.
No. It's Sesshoumaru...no...
Giving one last shudder as she felt his mouth lightly brush against her ear, Kagome jerked away from him with all her might, but Sesshoumaru grabbed her chin with one hand, holding it in place. That look in his eyes... Kagome was on the verge of tears. Her breath became unstable and her chest was heaving against him with silent sobs. She looked at him, fear and hurt in her eyes.
Her eyes. Realization hit Sesshoumaru harder than anything ever had. Kagome saw the clouded look in his eyes fade away. He pulled his hand away from her face, glaring at it, than her. He turned away sharply, walking to the other side of the campfire.
"Go to sleep." He said, in a low but commanding voice. Kagome stepped, shakily, away from the tree and nodded, violently, silently, tears still staining her cheeks.
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AN: Ohmygawd, I can't believe I just wrote that! That was not supposed to happen! Well, for those of you that wanted more Kag/Sess action, there you go. Angsty, huh? Damn. Jueez! I can't get over it. If you guys didn't like it, I can totally rewrite it. Tell me what I should do. Wow, Sesshy lost it! Man, just proves I have no idea what I'm going to write. Well, anywho, hope you enjoyed it. NEXT CHAPTER: I will possibly have a little more of the IY group action..and perhaps...hint hint...a little more of our favorite evil hanyou....but then again, I never know what I'll write...
Please review! I would appreciate like fifteen or twenty, 'cause, I know I don't write much, but it's really hard for me..you guys keep me going... (and chocolate)....Peace!!