AN: Yea!!! Over 400 reviews! Time to rejoice!
CotA: *begins dancing around the room.
Sess-chan clone and Sigmund: *walking into the room*
Sigmund: What's going on? What's the deal?
CotA: I just looked at how many reviews I have. I've never had so many in my entire life. I never even dreamed that one of my stories would do so well. *hugs Sess-chan* This is wonderful.
Sigmund: Hey! Where's my hug?! I was your first muse.
Sesshoumaru: You are a lecher who does not deserve a hug from her.
Sigmund: Take that back, loser!
Sess-chan: *bangs Sigmund on the head*
CotA: No calling my Sess-chan names. It's not nice.
Sigmund: *Grumbling*
CotA: Oh, I posted a one-shot song fic called tourniquet. If someone could read it and give me his/her opinion on it, I would be most oblidged. It's a little different from my other workds. Well, onto the story.
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Kagome stretched as she set her feet on the floor, completely healed and feeling much better. Her short nap had really helped, and she was pleased that she hadn't walked on her leg like she had wanted. Sesshoumaru had been right. It would have been stupid to use her leg before it had healed.
Since she was awake, she noticed that she was still in her clothes that she had swam in. 'That wasn't too smart. Good thing I was in a warm bed. If I hadn't been, then I probably would have become sick.' With that thought on her mind, she changed into clean clothes, a blue skirt and a white and blue shirt.
Smiling unwound the gauze from around her leg, revealing perfectly smooth skin. The cut she had received from an incredibly sharp rock had not even left a scar. Of course, the dog demon cleaning her wound had most likely helped quite a bit. 'He's so nice and thoughtful.'
Her growling stomach brought her attention back to reality. Giggling, she left her room and went into the kitchen, finding Telonomaru there, standing by the microwave. He seemed to be cooking something.
"Telonomaru-sama, are you fixing dinner?" Kagome asked, worry in her voice. She didn't think that her stomach could take even looking at one of his meals.
"Yes, I am," he answered, turning around to smile at her, golden eyes sparkling mischievously. "Is there a problem."
The miko groaned softly. "Please tell me that you're not preparing waffles for our dinner."
The dog demon laughed. "I'm not. Don't worry."
"I believe he's preparing TV dinners because he could wait for you or I to come into the kitchen and cook something healthy," Sesshoumaru stated, coming up to stand beside the raven-haired girl. "He's not very patient when it comes to waiting for food."
Kagome noticed that her old master was paler than normal, and she frowned slightly in reaction. 'I hope that he's not sick. That would be bad.'
Telonomaru scoffed at that. "I am too," he protested regally. "You have no proof to support that obscene accusation."
The taiyoukai raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you have to say about that?" He pointed at the TV dinner cooking in the microwave.
"I was hungry," the older dog demon explained. "What'd you expect me to do? Starve?"
Kagome shook her head sadly, laughing. She found it incredibly funny how he could defend himself and then blow all his arguments out of the water a moment later.
Sesshoumaru continued to give his cousin a skeptical look until he violently sneezed, which completely ruined the look. Quickly pulling out a handkerchief, he sneezed at least four times into the red material.
"Are you okay, Sesshoumaru?" the girl asked, concern in her voice.
"I am fine," he answered neutrally.
"You sound like you have a cold," she responded as he sneezed a few more times.
"Dog demons do not get colds," Sesshoumaru declared calmly.
Telonomaru chuckled. "Yes, they do, and you have one."
"I am not sick," the taiyoukai protested, looking very sure of himself until he had another sneezing attack.
"You didn't change out of your wet clothes soon enough," the older inu youkai stated, shaking his head sadly. "I warned you, but you didn't listen."
Sesshoumaru just growled at his cousin. "I am not sick," he repeated firmly.
"Yes, you are sick, Sesshoumaru," Kagome insisted, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "It'll alright if you admit it. Everyone becomes sick at least once in his or her life. A cold is nothing to be ashamed of."
"I am not ashamed of anything," he retorted.
The miko mentally sighed. 'Go figure. You involve a guy's pride, and he instantly goes on the defensive.'
Telonomaru smiled. "Good. Then you can go lay down on the couch and watch some television while I fix you some soup."
'Kami help us all if he cooks anything,' she thought, mentally groaning. "I'll fix Sesshoumaru some soup, Telonomaru-sama. You just eat your TV dinner," Kagome told him. "We don't want Sesshoumaru to become even more sick from eating your cooking."
The older dog demon had the grace to look embarrassed. "Good point. You make the soup," he agreed. "I'll push my stubborn cousin into the living room and force him to lie down."
"That would be most helpful. Thank you." She smiled gratefully as she began to search through the cabinets and fridge for everything she needed.
Sesshoumaru frowned as his older cousin began to lead him out of the kitchen. "I am not sick."
Telonomaru just laughed and ignored the other's protests.
Kagome giggled at the sight of her old master being dragged around by his cousin. It was pretty funny. 'Telonomaru-sama is so strange, but he seems to have a close relationship with Sesshoumaru. They were probably good friends before he turned into a matchmaker,' she thought, going back to fixing the soup.
As the miko bustled about the kitchen, Telonomaru came back in, grabbed his TV dinner, gave her a quick compliment on her chef skills, and then left. He came back into the kitchen a few more times while she prepared everything. One time, he wanted a fork. Another time, he needed a glass of water because he had burnt his tongue. The third time he came in to place his dirty dishes in the sink. The fourth time he just stood in the doorway and watched her, trying to learn how to cook from watching her.
Ignoring the intruding dog demon as best as she could, she quietly hummed as she stirred the soup. It was almost done, which she was happy about. When the substance began to lightly boil, she turned off the stove and moved the pot off of the burner.
Still humming, Kagome took two bowls out of a cabinet, spooned some soup into them, and grabbed two spoons out of a drawer. She moved to take both hers and the patient's meal out to him, but Telonomaru stopped her.
"I'll take that to him if you want me to," he offered kindly. "That way, you can eat in here."
She shook her head. "No. I'll do it. I would like to eat with Sesshoumaru," she responded. "Thank you, though. I appreciate it, Telonomaru-sama."
"Okay then... may I have some soup?" the inu youkai asked.
The miko laughed. "The TV dinner wasn't very good, was it?" He shook his head. "It's fine. Have a bowl. I made plenty."
Smiling, he moved to do just that. "Thanks, Kagome."
"You're welcome," she answered as she left the kitchen, a bowl of soup in each hand.
Kagome walked into the living room, finding Sesshoumaru half-laying, half-sitting on the cream couch, a large red blanket wrapped around him. His tail poked out from underneath the blanket, the tip twitching, probably in annoyance. Silver hair spilled over the arm of the couch, about a foot of it flowing over the plush navy carpet. One clawed hand held a remote, pointing it at a 50 inch television set. The dog demon was currently flipping through the channels, pressing the buttons on the remote with the pad of his thumb.
The inu youkai turned as the girl entered the room, his eyes quickly going from irritated to soft. A small smile played on the corners of his lips, making him look even more handsome than usual.
"I brought you your soup, Sesshoumaru," she said, placing a bowl down on the vine-engraved oak coffee table in front of him.
"Thank you, Kagome," the dog demon replied. "However, this was not needed. I..." He sneezed. "Am not sick."
The miko giggled, setting her bowl of soup down near his and placing a bare wrist against his forehead. She pressed her other wrist to her own forehead. "You feel warm," she stated. "You're sick."
He sneezed violently three times into his handkerchief before he could speak. "Dog demons do not become sick," he insisted firmly. "And I am warm because inu youkai have a slightly higher temperature than humans do."
"They why do you appear paler than usual?" Kagome wanted to know, hands on hips. "You should be flushed from being cocooned in that blanket."
"Demon bodies react differently than human bodies do," Sesshoumaru retorted.
She scoffed at that. "Why? Why are they so different? You don't look all that different. Well, you do have a tail and those strange markings, but that's about it."
"You haven't seen my true demon form," he responded, sitting up a little more on the couch.
"True demon form?" the miko repeated, frowning thoughtfully. "You have a different form? Do all demons have different forms?"
'She's a curious little thing,' he thought, amused. "Yes. My true demon form is a giant dog," Sesshoumaru informed her, intrigued that she didn't already know about full, powerful demons having two forms. "Not all demons have different forms. Mostly the royal, powerful, pure ones do."
"Oh..." Kagome nodded her head in understanding. "Now, Sesshoumaru, you should eat your soup before it becomes cold." She pointed at his bowl as she sat down on the couch next to him, picking back up her own bowl and beginning to eat.
Mentally chuckling at her, the dog demon did the same, sighing when he tasted the excellent meal. He was amazed at the flavor, finding the soup much better than anything else she had ever made... and that was saying a lot.
"What do you think, Sesshoumaru?" the black-haired girl asked after a few minutes, her gray-blue eyes fixed on his face. She patiently waited for an answer as he took another taste of the substance.
"This is the best meal you have ever made," Sesshoumaru told her honestly, a very small smile on his face. "I am impressed."
Kagome smiled brightly back at him, pleased with the sincere compliment. "Thank you!" she replied enthusiastically.
"You're welcome." The dog demon wrapped his tail around her waist and gently squeezed her in a makeshift hug. "You could possibly make a living off of this."
"Really?" Her eyes became wide, hope sparkling in their depths.
He nodded his head. "Yes. I do believe so."
"I can get a job at a restaurant downtown as a chef and work there for a while. And, if I save up enough money, maybe after a few years I might even be able to open my own eating place." She continued to talk about future plans in a bubbly manner, finishing off her soup at the same time.
After about fifteen minutes, Kagome stopped her planning. "Sesshoumaru, would you like some more to eat?" she asked politely.
The inu taiyoukai blinked, surprised at the abrupt change of subject. "No. I am fine."
"I'll talk the dishes into the kitchen then," she responded, stacking the empty bowls and standing up.
"Make Telonomaru wash them," Sesshoumaru suggested. "You made the soup, so he can clean up. It's only fair."
"If that is what you wish," Kagome replied, a slightly devious smile on her face.
'She has a mischievous side to her. How interesting.' He returned the look. "That is what I wish."
"Very well then." She left the room, happily humming again.
Sesshoumaru shook his head in amusement and turned his attention to the television. It had been a while since he had done something as relaxing as watching a movie, so he went through all the channels before finally deciding to watch some kind of horror movie.
Kagome re-entered the living room after a few minutes. "Sesshoumaru, is there anything you would like?" she inquired.
He shook his head. "No," he responded. "Would you like to watch this movie with me though?"
"Sure." She curled up on the couch about a half foot away from him. With her legs folded to the side, she felt very comfortable. So, she turned her attention to the television.
Glancing at the miko out of the corner of his eye, he studied how quickly she became engrossed in the show. 'It has probably been many years since she has watched TV,' he thought. 'I wonder if watching a horror movie with her is the best thing. An action or comedy might have been better, but I believe that I will wait and see how she takes the blood and gore. The movie has yet to progress to that part.'
When the violence came into the picture, Kagome sub-consciously scooted closer to Sesshoumaru, one hand burying itself in the thick fur of his tail. Fear entered her eyes, but the demon had a feeling that it wasn't because of what was literally on the TV. More than likely, she was remembering something in her past. She just didn't seem the type to tremble because of something that wasn't even real.
"Kagome, would you like to watch something else?" he asked, wrapping his tail around her for comfort. She nodded her head in response. "Okay then." Changing the channel and quickly finding a comedy to watch, he noticed the female relax; however, her hand stayed buried in his fur.
'His tail's so soft...' The raven-haired girl petted the appendage as she watched the screen, laughter bubbling out of her mouth whenever something funny happened. Nightmares drifted away with the help of Sesshoumaru's presence and the hilarious movie.
Purring softly, the inu youkai allowed the girl to do as she wished. Normally, he would have fixed a glare on the person and pulled his tail away. With Kagome, though, things were different. He didn't mind the attention she was giving him.
Kagome continued to pet his tail all through the movie... and even through the next one until she fell asleep, her head resting on Sesshoumaru's blanket-covered thigh, some of his tail fur clutched in her hand.
He smiled gently at her as she gave a happy sigh and snuggled up a little closer to him. 'She is adorable like this,' he thought, caressing her silky hair. 'Such a precious, delicate looking girl with a hidden fire. She is priceless.'
Content with where he was, Sesshoumaru moved Kagome off of his thigh so he could lay down. Once he was comfortable, he nestled her against his chest. He fell asleep breathing in the miko's sweet scent and feeling her heart beat near his.
Alia: Yes, my story is a little unrealistic. And you're for Inuyasha and Varice? I'm debating about their relationship. Considering someone flamed me for adding her, I've been seriously thinking about having them actually hook up. (I'm vindictive) And yes, Hojo and Onigumo have already had their butts kicked. I just didn't mention too much about it. I might just have to go back and fix that later; however, I really didn't want to describe Sesshoumaru dealing with his two lying employees.
Ruu-chan: Thank you, Ruu-chan! *hugs her* And I don't when the kiss is going to come in. Hopefully soon. Geez, I take a long time to actually get to the romance.
Tessa3: I'm not sure if I'll actually, physically introduce Tessa, but she'll at least be mentioned. *giggles* Sorry, I find it a little funny that someone has become so attached to my OC that isn't even a main character. People have said that they like Telonomaru, but no one has ever said that they liked him as much as you. And I'm glad I've made you happy. You're a faithful reviewer, and you earned it.
Kagome takes over the wor: I'm pleased that you took my advice. That should help your story some and make it easier to read.
InvisibleRain: You missed Telonomaru? Well, do you feel better that he was in this chappie? I liked their little "moments" too. They were so sweet. :)
Sukuri: There's nothing wrong with analyzing my story. And thanks for the compliment about my descriptions. I tried to make them good enough that my readers could visualize things.
KyouFan17: Sorry about things being so boring. I'm hoping to get back to the action soon. I just gotta get Sesshoumaru and Kagome together. My Sess-chan clone has been helping me, as has Sigmund, my other muse.
Hamaguri: I sent you the teaser, and if anyone else wants it, I'll send it to them. :)
Inu-Anime: Thanks for the compliment. Kagome cut herself on a very, very, very sharp rock.
Sukera: Ummm... he's a rocket launcher with a targeting system. *hands it to Sukera-chan* Try this. It'll probably help.
Magiabruxa: Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it.
Luffy: Best chappie yet? Wow. I feel so special. *hugs Luffy-chan*
Fluffyluver07: I would love to visit the garden as well. It's so beautiful. My descriptions in my story didn't even match what I saw in my head. *huggles back*
Sesshoumarulover: Yes, Kagome is very lucky. She gets Sesshoumaru. Well, I have a clone, so I can't complain too much. My Sess-chan is wonderful. ^_^
Leashy-chan: Thanks for the compliment. I've been trying to put in some more fluff. My story needs it.
Ami: You're welcome. I'm glad you like the pic. Oh, I don't think I have your email addy. Could you give it to me or send me an email? Once I have it, I'll send you the teaser.
My-Name-is-Spoken: Yep. He is protective of her. Ya gotta love it. :) I most certainly do. And I'm glad to hear that I helped improve your mood.
Silverstone: I received the pic, and thank you. I love it. *hugs Silverstone-chan*
Dragon of Sesshoumaru: First off, awesome name! I love it! There will be more stuff about Inuyasha later. Promise. Sango and Miroku have to go on another date, ya know.
Candygurl51: Yes, I'll continue to update. Don't worry.
Rei Akita: There will be more romance soon enough. Be patient. I like to take my time with things.
Sakura onto Hitomi: Yea! Cookies! Thanks! *hugs Sakura-chan* I love them. I'll update as soon as I can, promise!
Kyia Star: She was injured on a rock.
Dianefallahan: Yep. Plot thickens. It's going to become even thicker once they leave the castle.
Kittymui: Congrats on passing. You did a good job. I'm impressed. I have to take two tests today: Calculus and Spanish IV. Wish me luck.
Ichigo: Yes, they're coming around. Give them a little more time, and they'll be closer than you can imagine.
Kaoru-chan: Si, Kagome y Sesshoumaru son muy romantico. Estoy de acuerdo con tu. ^_^ Haberé mas Inuyasha en otros chappies (lo siento, pero no se como dicer chappie en español). Yo no soy bueno en leyendo reviews en español. I'm sorry, but my Spanish isn't near as good as I thought it was. I stink at vocabulary. Grammer is more my thing, and that even isn't so good. Well, I'll talk to you later. Keep writing your reviews in Spanish if you want. Maybe I'll get better with practice. Gracias.
Raining Fire: Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it a lot.
Keala-Chick: Thanks for the compliment.
Galaorton: Yes, I missed you. And... I might write a book one day. I don't know. This one is certainly getting long enough that if I changed the characters and such I could possibly publish it. ^_^
Kagome: HEY KAGOME-CHAN! I think that Sesshoumaru is becoming very attached to you. I've already become attached to my Sess-chan clone. (I've taken to calling the real Sesshoumaru by his full name and my clone by Sess-chan. It's less confusing). And I do believe that you terrified all potential flamers. *giggles* Well, thanks for that. *hugs Kagome-chan* I appreciate it. You're my absolute favorite reviewer. I always look forward to your reviews. They're so funny. :) Oh, and tell me why Sesshoumaru wanted you in his room. I'm dying to know.
The Girl Who Cried Oro: Yep. Cute Sess/Kag moment.
Namiko-Daughter of Sekhmet: Thank you. I appreciate you saying that I'm a good authoress. Writing fanfics so much as improved my skills drastically.
Smiley-chan: She cut her leg on a rock.
Sam: Yes, water wars again. I do love them so much. *hugs Sam for remembering the other story*
Yanou: I love Inuyasha's ears too. And my next Inuyasha fanfic is going to be I/K. If you want, I can send you a teaser. :)
Bubblesbb03: Thank you. I'm glad you liked the chappie so much.