Author Note: This hurts! I do not own Inuyasha.
Reviewer Response: Thank you Eisei Pika-ki. That was the greatest compliment anyone could give me. When you write your story, if you haven't already, could you let me know? I'd really like to read it.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed. I really appreciate it!
*They love me! They really love me!!* Okay, someone smack me. Thank you....
Chapter 8: Enough Interruptions!!
Inuyasha had watched the young priestess follow his brother inside the castle. Hours had gone by since then. Inuyasha sat down at the top of the tree and made himself comfortable; he had a feeling he was going to be here for a while. He was not going anywhere 'til he was sure Kagome was going to be alright. He had yet, to see any evidence of the power he could sense in her.
Inuyasha sighed and leaned back against the tree as he starred at the castle in front of him. He had not been here for a long time... not since he was... actually if he hadn't been following behind Kikyo like some love sick puppy and gotten himself pinned to a tree for fifty years, he'd probably still be here, he thought with a frown. He'd never actually moved out he thought, he'd just been gone a lot when he had been in love with Kikyo that it almost seemed as if he didn't live there anymore. Then when he woke up... or rather, was woken up by Kagome from his fifty year sleep and learned of Tetsusaiga and Sesshoumaru trying to kill him for it, he'd figured it wouldn't be a good idea to go home or even consider the castle home.
There had been times, especially after he'd come back from the other place and learned Kagome was gone, that he'd thought of giving Sesshoumaru the sword, but he could never bring himself to do it. Tetsusaiga was his! Their father left it to him and it was the only thing that he had that truly belonged to him. He did not want to give it up, but he wished he could go back to the days when he and Sesshoumaru were... oh, it didn't matter. Those days were long gone and were never coming back.
Inuyasha went still when the scent of his brother reached him. He looked down and locked eyes with a pair of amber eyes just like his own. He figured he must have really been deep in thought, to not sense the Taiyoukai's approach before now.
They starred at one another for a moment, before Inuyasha returned his attention to the castle and its inhabitant.
"Why are you here?" questioned Sesshoumaru in his usual quiet way.
"Why else? As long as she is here, so will I be." He did not bother to look at the demon lord as he stated this.
"You will leave."
Inuyasha said nothing to this and stayed where he was.
"NOW!"
Inuyasha turned his head slowly to look down on his brother.
"You never did like being ignored."
"You always like to remind me of your glaring stupidity."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at that and stood up angrily.
"Who the hell are you calling stupid!?"
Sesshoumaru sighed at his display. "And if at first you don't succeed..."
Inuyasha's eyes glowed bright with anger as he jumped down from the tree and pulled out Tetsusaiga.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?!?"
Sesshoumaru starred at him quietly. He did not have time for this. He needed to know who or what was playing with him. He'd realized that since Kagome knew she did not bring Inuyasha back, that someone else had to. While he did not believe that someone was himself, it still left the fact that someone had and whoever it was did not want them to know he or she had something to do with it. He did not even bother to entertain that what Kagome had said might be true.
Sesshoumaru brought his hand up beside his head; fingers pointed outwards. His hand was surrounded with the green glow of his poison.
"Choose," he began; his eyes focused menacingly on the hanyou's. "You can leave now under your own power, or I can show you how its done. Either way, you will leave now."
"I will leave when I'm good and damn ready!" Inuyasha whispered angrily. "Arghh!!" Inuyasha yelled as he charged at his brother.
Sesshoumaru watched calmly as Inuyasha charged at him. 'Baka,' he thought as he watched him run towards him.
At the last possible second Sesshoumaru leaped into the air and over Inuyasha's head. He spun around in mid-air and swiped out his hand at Inuyasha's back, but caught his left arm instead as Inuyasha had spun around himself to meet his attack. Sesshoumaru noticed that his attack had cut through the sleeve of the hanyou's shirt, but the poison did not get to his flesh.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at that. 'His speed has grown,' he stated to himself and could not help feeling a small sense of approval. 'It had taken long enough,' he thought to himself.
"Your speed has gotten better I see."
"Feh!"
"Too bad it will not save your life this day," Sesshoumaru said to him with that icy calmness. 'It was good to be able to fight his halfling brother without the miko getting in his way', he thought. 'I should have done this sooner.'
"What makes you think I'm going to be the one to die?" said Inuyasha; irritated.
Sesshoumaru just lifted his right eyebrow at that. He didn't see the question in that.
Inuyasha charged at him again when he saw the look on his face. This time Sesshoumaru pulled out Tokijen and charged right back at him.
Their eyes sparked at one another as their swords clashed. A loud ring rung out as sword met sword. The two brothers pressed against one another, both trying to force the other one back. Just then, Sesshoumaru swiped out his poison claw. Inuyasha jumped backwards, but was not fast enough this time and was cut across the chest.
Inuyasha looked down at his chest to see three, long, red scratches across his chest. He was bleeding from then and his shirt was ripped.
"DAMMIT!! Kaede just fixed this shirt for me!" yelled Inuyasha as he went to charge at his brother again.
Sesshoumaru leaped in the air and met him half way. He swung hard at Inuyasha's head and watched Inuyasha block the blow with the transformed Tetsusaiga. With a flick of his wrist, Sesshoumaru sent Tetsusaiga flying out of its master's hand and landed some feet away, pointed end down, in the ground.
"Now, you die Inuyasha."
Sesshoumaru brought his sword up high and was just bringing it down when something caught his senses and he jumped back. Sesshoumaru watched as the large boomerang landed in the ground beside Inuyasha... exactly where he was just standing.
Both demons looked up to see Sango, Shippou and Mirouku approaching on Kirara's back. They landed beside Inuyasha. Sango jumped down and retrieved Hiraikotsu from the ground while never taking her gaze from the Taiyoukai.
"Inuyasha?" began the houshi, "Daijoubou desu ka?"
"Hai, Mirouku." Inuyasha sighed and got to his feet. He couldn't believe he'd been unarmed by his brother; again. "How did you guys find me?"
"How else?" replied Sango as she continued to stare at the demon Lord. "We followed you, like you followed Kagome."
"Inuyasha? Where's Kagome?" asked the kitsune in worry.
"She's inside there," answered Inuyasha with a nod towards the castle.
They all turned to look in the direction he indicated and sucked in there breaths. They all starred at the huge castle made of gray stone. 'It didn't look eerie at all', they all thought in surprise. It was not what they pictured Sesshoumaru's home to look like.
Inuyasha, saw their faces and decided to relieve them of there worry. He thought they were shocked to think they had to get Kagome out of such a huge castle.
"Do not worry she is fine. She went in of her own free will."
They all nodded dumbly at his words as they continued to stare at the castle. Mirouku was the first to recover from his shock and find his voice.
"It is not what I expected," he said to no one in particular.
Hearing that, Sango shook her head to clear her surprise and speak.
"No... its not. Is it?" she asked, but not really as a question.
"Umm umm," said Shippou with a shake of his head. Then added, "Its not eerie at all!"
They all froze at the low growl they heard come from both Inu-youkais at once. They looked at the two brothers and saw the anger on ones face, while the others was just as calm as usual, but his eyes were glowing a bright gold color. They realized they must have offended the brothers in some way. They all took a precautionary step back.
"Eerie? And why the hell should my home be eerie?!?" Inuyasha screamed at his friends.
"Umm..."
"We..."
"Ahh!"
They all began at once. Shippou leaped onto the houshi's shoulders and hid behind his head.
Sesshoumaru was not amused. He did not care for the way they spoke of his ancestral home. He also did not care for Inuyasha claiming the home to be his as well... it was no longer his home, but that he did not care about. He was annoyed that they had come and interrupted his fight. He was almost rid of the hanyou... permanently.
Sesshoumaru sighed and turned to leave. 'Next time,' he thought as he walked away.
"We will finish this Inuyasha. Now get off my land." Sesshoumaru did not bother to turn around as he said this, but kept on walking.
They all watched as the Taiyoukai walked gracefully away. None of them were planning on leaving though.
"ITS MY HOME TOO!!" yelled Inuyasha at his brother's retreating back.
They all heard the Taiyoukai's quiet reply. Though he did not yell, it came loud and clear.
"No its not."
The rest of them turned to look at Inuyasha to see his reaction to this, but looked away when they saw the pain he could not hide.
*************************************
~*~Inside the Castle~*~
Kagome looked around at the walls and sighed. She'd left Rin in the garden with Jaken about a half hour ago, on her way back to her room. 'She was lost!' she thought in self disgust and sigh. She'd known this was going to happen if she left her room. It had taken her twenty minutes just to find the garden... and she'd only found them because she'd realized she was going the wrong way... after looking out a window and seeing the forest in the distance; that she knew was on the opposite side of the castle from where she knew the garden to be,
Kagome stopped walking and leaned against the wall. She'd checked every door, that would open of course, to see what part of the castle she was in, but the castle was so huge it was no wonder there were parts that were not occupied. She figured this was one of them, because even though all the rooms were wonderfully furnished, it was obvious no one had lived in them in quite some time... if ever. Yet they had to have been furnished within the last two years because all the rooms had mattresses on the beds. If that didn't prove that Sesshoumaru still remembered her world, she didn't know what would.
She wondered if she yelled for help if anyone would come help her. She also wondered if anyone would even hear her. She thought about blasting through a couple of walls with her powers, but decided against destroying the place. It was too beautiful for her to do that... and sadly it was too big for her to keep walking. Besides that, she figured Sesshoumaru was going to be difficult enough without having him mad at her too.
Kagome thought about her host and prayed he'd come looking for her soon. With another released breath she slid down the wall and sat down on the floor. Kagome folded her arms atop her knees where they were pressed to her chest. She leaned her head back against the wall and prepared herself for a long wait. She had a feeling she would be here for a while. 'It took him four hours to come for me when he knew where I was. Who knows how long it will take him when he doesn't know,' she huffed and closed her eyes.
~*~
Sesshoumaru returned to his home and immediately thought about his young guest. Not realizing it he headed off to the room he'd given her to occupy. He knew before he reached the doorway that she was not in her room. One, he couldn't sense her and two, her door was open and he did not hear any movement coming from the room. He wondered where she could be as he went to check Rin's room down the hall, but discovered she was not there as well. Sesshoumaru remembered that she had left to go to the garden and went to check there for her.
Sesshoumaru went down the hall and down a pair of steps to the lower level. He walked down another hall and was just about to turn left to go towards the garden when he sensed her presence coming from the opposite direction. 'That's strange,' he said to himself. He wondered why she was in a part of the castle that was not occupied. In fact, no one had lived in this part of the castle since Inuyasha's mother died. He'd had this part of the castle refurnished just like the rest of the castle, but he still no longer used it. He had no idea why she would want to come this way. He recalled how he watched her going the wrong way when he believed she was going to the gardens where he knew Rin was. He guessed she must be lost, that was the only explanation for her being in this part of the castle. He'd been out of the castle for a couple of hours; he wondered if she'd been lost the entire time as he continued to follow her scent down the hall.
Sesshoumaru came to a stop when he spotted her. She was sitting on the floor a few paces away from him with her back against the wall. Her head was resting on her arms atop her knees. Her hair was pulled over her shoulder covering the side of her face that was not resting on her arms. She was facing his direction, but he could not see her face because of her hair.
Sesshoumaru moved closer to her and realized she was sleep. For a moment he thought she might be ignoring him again. He starred down at her silently for a moment. 'She really has changed in these last two years,' he thought to himself. He had no idea what he was going to do with her. He had to find out what was going on and he really didn't need her here to do that. He wanted her here though. He knew he was attracted to her in the physical way, but he wasn't sure if that was all there was to it. He didn't like the thought that it could be more. She was a ningen. He would not deal with any more weak ningens... that was a vow he had made a long time ago. He did not intend on breaking it, even if she was not as weak as most ningens were.
For the past two years Sesshoumaru had wondered if he would ever see her again. Sometimes he'd even imagined how it would have been if he had chosen to stay in her world, though he would never tell her he'd thought that. There were times when he would be so angry with her and all that he knew was to come, that he thought five hundred years was too soon to see her again... and other times, when he wasn't so mad, he hoped he would see her. Now that she was here though... he wasn't sure what he should or wanted to do with her. He knew one thing though: if she stayed under this roof he would end up sharing her bed, but after that? He didn't know.
Sesshoumaru heaved a sigh and bent down to gather the sleeping priestess into his arms. He stood up with her draped in his arms and turned to go back the way he came. He looked down at her when he felt her move in his arms and snuggle closer to his chest. He listened to her sigh as she placed her head on his chest. He tightened his arms around her and held her more securely against him as he headed back to her room.
Sesshoumaru stopped walking when he made it to her bed. He had every intention of placing her in her bed then leaving her, but he was so deep in thought he just stood there starring down at her bed with unseeing eyes... the miko still in his arms.
Kagome stirred at the unusual position she was in. She leaned her head back and opened her eyes. Kagome was surprised to see him just standing there holding her, but she was glad to see him. She was even happier to see him when she looked at her watch and saw that she had only been waiting for him for about forty-five minutes. She looked around and saw that they were in her room... well the room he'd given her to occupy. Kagome turned her head to look back at his face to ask him why he was just standing there, when her eyes widened in surprise. His eyes were open, but he was so deep in whatever he was thinking he didn't even notice her. 'Should I...' she wondered if she should shake him or something.
With that thought in mind, Kagome starred at his face. 'He really was beautiful,' she said to herself in thought. She also thought it really wasn't fare... 'Why should she be attracted to someone prettier then herself' and sighed in wonder. Slowly she reached up a hand with her finger stretched out and moved toward his face. When she was less then an inch away from poking his cheek, she moved her eyes upwards to his... and froze guiltily. His eyes were focused on her face and when she lifted her eyes to his he'd captured her gaze with his.
"What are you doing?" he asked her. He watched her face tinge slightly pink. She was a marvel to watch, he decided.
Sometime while she was lost in her on musings about his face, he'd come back to reality. Kagome gave him a sheepish smile and dropped her hand to her lap. She shook her head at him as if to tell him "nothing" and came back with a question of her own.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Penny?" he asked in confusion, than it dawned on him. He remembered vaguely of her telling him about their 'money' system. He did not remember much of it. When she was telling him he'd decided that the humans were more foolish then he had originally thought, even though they had proved to be rather resourceful in learning to survive and thrive, so he'd stopped listening to her. 'If I remember correctly, a 'penny' was the least valued of there 'money' system', he said to himself and frowned. He was not pleased with what she considered his worth.
Kagome saw his frown and decided she should explain. She'd told him once of there money system in her world, but she figured he must have forgotten. Not that it mattered; it was only an expression it did not actually have to do with any money.
He saw her mouth opening and figured she was about to answer his question, so he cut her off.
"I remember," he stated to her and watched her smile in approval before he continued, "You believe my thoughts to be worth so little?" The frown had returned to his face.
Kagome sighed and shook her head. 'He really was annoying sometimes' she thought. Kagome figured he was the only person who would think of his self worth with a statement as the one she said... 'Then again...' she was sure Inuyasha would too.
"No, Sesshoumaru." She sighed and tried to explain, "It is an expression. Its something a person says when they wish to know what another is thinking, but have nothing to give in return. It is not a true penny since thoughts should be shared among friends freely."
Sesshoumaru starred at her as he thought about this. It made no sense to him. 'Why don't they just ask to know," he wondered, then put the question to her.
"That's what I was doing... asking," she replied; emphasizing her words.
"No." he said to her; his face calm as usual.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes." Kagome gritted her teeth; he was really irritating her now. 'If I wasn't asking then, Kami-sama, what was I doing??' she asked herself in exasperation.
Kagome began to squirm to get out of his arms. She wanted to be set down because he was annoying her. 'Besides, was he going to hold her all night,' she wondered. Not that she would have a problem with that, but she didn't think that was a good idea, especially since she had a sinking feeling he was very capable of doing just that. 'How long had he been holding her already and didn't look to be tired' she thought and squirmed some more.
Sesshoumaru tightened his arms until she stopped squirming. He would put her down when he was ready and not before. 'Why the hell am I still holding her anyway?' he asked himself in thought. He had been about to put her down until she seemed too eager to get away from him. He could see she was angry with him and didn't understand why. 'What did she have to be angry about,' he wondered. 'It was I who was called unworthy, not her.'
Kagome folded her arms across her chest and huffed. It was obvious she wasn't getting away from him until he was ready for her to be. 'Its not fare that he's stronger then I!' she fumed silently.
"Put. Me. Down," she said through gritted teeth.
"No."
Kagome's mouth fell open in shock. 'Didn't he see that she was angry with him?' she thought. Lie. She didn't want to be held by him right now. Another lie.
"SHUT UP!!"
Kagome froze when she realized she'd yelled that out loud. She leaned her head back to look him in the eyes and saw he was just starring at her face. 'Was that a sparkle in his eyes?' She couldn't believe he was laughing at her...well sort of. 'Well, as close to laughing as he was ever going to get', she thought and started to squirm again. Now she wasn't just mad... she was embarrassed.
Kagome opened her mouth to demand him to put her down, but was interrupted... by his mouth on hers.
She was so occupied with her own thoughts she didn't see him coming.
Sesshoumaru pressed his mouth to Kagome's when he saw hers opening for her to speak. Since he had no interest in what she was going to say; he did this instead and was rewarded with instant access to her tongue. Sesshoumaru gave a low growl in approval when his tongue rubbed against hers for the second time that day.
Kagome sighed and opened her mouth more. All thoughts of getting away from him were completely forgotten. Kagome felt the delicious tingles go down her spine again, and this time understood what they meant: desire. Kagome grabbed two handfuls of Sesshoumaru's shirt and pulled herself closer to him. When she had his mouth more securely against hers, she copied his movement and moved her tongue into his mouth and sighed in bliss.
Sesshoumaru felt her grab his shirt and pull him closer and would have smiled at her enthusiasm if he weren't, otherwise occupied doing other things with his mouth. His whole body shuddered when he felt her wrap her lips around his tongue, which he had in her mouth, and sucked on it. He'd never had anyone affect him like that. For a second, he'd almost dropped her from shock.
Sesshoumaru pulled back from her and saw her lips were swollen from his kisses and rubbed against them with his own before bending down and placing her on her bed. He stayed that way; bent over her and starring until he saw her eyes focus on his mouth. He knew she wanted him to kiss her again... and Kami-sama he wanted to as well. 'He had to get away from her,' he thought to himself and straightened his back.
Kagome watched him straighten away from her and had to ball her fist to keep from pulling him back down to her. They starred at one another in silence; both of them in they're own thoughts. Then Kagome watched in surprise as Sesshoumaru proved not to be all that different from the rest of the male population, human and demon both... he left the room very quickly.
Kagome couldn't believe it. 'He was running from her!' She would have laughed if she weren't so confused. 'Why would he kiss me like that and run?' she asked herself in wonder. Kagome sighed and decided to put on her pajamas and sat up. She saw her bag was across the room beside the door, but it looked so far away. Kagome looked over to the closet, but immediately nixed that idea. She knew it was full of nothing but kimonos.
Kagome decided to compromise; she wasn't getting up to get her bag, she was too tired, so she decided she'd take her jeans off and sleep in her bodysuit. With that decided Kagome stood up and kicked off her shoes. Then she peeled her jeans off and tossed them at the end of her bed. She stood in thought for a moment. 'It was going to be uncomfortable sleeping in her bodysuit,' she thought and tried to think of away to change that.
Kagome smiled to herself when she came up with a solution. She reached down between her legs and unsnapped the hidden buttons that held the bodysuit together. The two tails immediately came unsnapped and rose up to rest against her lower abdomen. Kagome sighed in comfort. 'That was better.' she said to herself and got back into bed. Kagome pulled the cover up over her and immediately fell asleep. The last thing she thought was that whenever Sesshoumaru kissed her, her brain turned to mush and she always forgot whatever it was she was thinking before hand. She frowned in acceptance of that.
~*~
Sesshoumaru went to his own room, which was only a few feet away from the miko's and sighed in relief. He didn't know why he put her so close to him; he had a feeling it was going to turn out to be a very bad idea. He didn't understand why he was drawn to her. Yes, she was beautiful... for a ningen, and she could kiss, but that was all she could do. He knew she was untouched, which worried him more, because he knew he would be her first. He liked the thought of being the only one to touch her, he admitted to himself, but he wasn't sure why that was. 'Why was he feeling so possessive of her?' he thought to himself.
He didn't understand it. She annoyed him like no one else could... even Inuyasha never irritated him as much or as easily as she could. And the thing was, whenever she annoyed him all he felt like doing was kissing her... and if things kept going the way they were going he'd be kissing her all day. It didn't help that he didn't have to be annoyed with her to want to kiss her... and do other things to her. Nope, he came up with those ideas all on his own.
Sesshoumaru sighed and walked over to the window. The moon was already high in the sky. He realized then, that the whole day had gone by and he'd learned nothing of what was going on. He hadn't figured out why Inuyasha was back from the dead or why she believed he, Sesshoumaru, was the one to do it. He also realized that she hadn't had dinner yet. He did not worry about himself, truth be told, he didn't always eat dinner anyway.
Sesshoumaru sighed and knew he would have to go back to her. He had to, at least, see if she were hungry. He knew his staff would have already taken care of Rin, and put her to bed by now, so he had no worries there. He removed his outer armor before leaving to go back to his guest.
He turned and left his room as he headed back to the priestess. He'd figured he'd have at least until the morning before having to see her again. He made it to her closed door a minute later. He remembered he'd closed it when he'd left her an hour ago; it was his way of telling her not to follow, though he didn't really think she would.
Sesshoumaru pushed the door open and walked in. He saw that she was already asleep on the bed. He figured that meant she wasn't hungry and shut the door behind him as he advanced further into the room. He came to a halt beside the bed and starred down at her sleeping face.
'She really was beautiful,' he thought. He even admitted she was prettier then some of the youkai females he'd come across. He would never tell her that though. Sesshoumaru looked down the bed and stopped when he spotted her jeans at the end of the bed. He looked back at the top of the bed and wondered. He could see that Kagome still wore her shirt because the covers stopped at her mid-section. 'What, then was she wearing on her lower half?' he asked himself in curiosity. There was only one way to find out...
Sesshoumaru bent and grabbed the edge of the cover from her stomach and pulled it back. He froze at what he saw and starred. There before him, was nothing but her bare legs and a tiny wisp of cloth that covered the junction between her legs. He saw that the pink contraption she was wearing had rode up to settle against her stomach. It had a tiny tale with two metal dots lying above her belly button. He saw the way it curved on the side and figured there must be a similar tail at her back. Sesshoumaru's eyes traveled back down her body and stopped when they came to the tiny piece of cloth and the part of her body he knew it was trying to hide and starred. He was trying to catch his breath.
Kagome had woken up to the feel of cold air against her legs. Her eyes had widened in shock when she saw Sesshoumaru standing their starring at her. When she saw the look in his eyes, that he was not trying to conceal since he had no idea she was awake, she froze. She had it in her mind to ask him what he was doing, but the look in his eyes had stolen her breath away.
Sesshoumaru shock his head as if to clear the images. He'd been bombarded with all the images of what he could and would do to her one day. That was certain now. He returned his gaze to her face... and locked eyes with her. He had no idea she had woken up, but seeing the look in her eyes all the images he had just shaken off came back faster then they had left.
Kagome sucked in a breath she didn't know she had when his eyes locked with hers. She knew what that look meant. Desire... and Kami-sama help her, she was feeling it too.
Sesshoumaru stood stock still, still holding the cover in his hand. He could feel his blood raging through him. He'd never wanted anyone this badly.
"We have a problem," he whispered to her; his eyes glowing with his feelings.
Kagome's eyes widened when she heard what he whispered. She saw the glow in his eyes and swallowed hard; there was a huge lump in her throat.
Kagome began to pray...