Chapter 3: Ownership
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I DO own the plushy, the role playing game, the movies, the life size doll – erm…cough
A/N: sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I was being fussy with the way I wanted certain things to go. Enjoy!
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A warm breeze lifted a stray lock of ebony hair passed the vacant eyes of a pondering Kagome. It had been a couple hours since Sesshoumaru and she arrived at the taiyoukai's castle, deep within the western lands. To Kagome's surprise, Sesshoumaru had waited patiently for her by the dry wells edge as she collected some things she thought she would need for her 'visit' at the demon Lord's castle. Thankfully the well had allowed Shippou to pass over with her, since he wouldn't release her tattered shirt from his little claws. It was also in her favor that her family wasn't home at the time of her arrival, or they would have asked questions that she was incapable of answering. She had written them a note saying that she had stopped by to pick up supplies and that she would be home again soon.
'And I WILL go home again.' Kagome thought determinedly as she searched her yellow pack for something to amuse the children who were playing tag in the garden in front of her.
She had brought chocolate and other candy she was sure Shippou and Rin would enjoy, books for teaching the little girl, and some of her own schoolbooks to catch up on her studies. She would need the information when she went back to school. She was determined to get her education, and even the Ice Prince couldn't stop her! Setting the candy she had retrieved from her bag on the grass next to her, she remembered how the said youkai had treated her when he brought her to his home.
Lugging her overloaded yellow pack out of the well, she was met with the emotionless amber gaze of an annoyed inu-youkai. Without a word passing between them, he had slung her pack over his shoulder and promptly lifted her in the same position. Her outburst of being handled like a sack of potatoes, nor her squeaks of displeasure at being upside down while so high up off the ground even phased the stoic taiyoukai. Yanking on his silky mane though however did earn her a deep-throated growl of warning as Shippou held back snickering from his seat on Kagome's back.
'I still don't think it's fair that his hair is nicer than mine!' She thought with a scowl. Ripping more grass from the well-manicured lawn, she didn't notice the bouncing child coming toward her. 'Stupid, girlish looking, cold-hearted, arrogant bast-'
"Kagome-neechan! Does Kagome-neechan not like the flowers Rin picked for her?" Rin said as she plopped down on the grass in front of Kagome, a pout forming on her face. Snapping out of her thoughts, Kagome noticed Rin had been speaking to her and quickly began to reassure the little girl.
"Oh Rin, they're wonderful! I was just thinking about what we can do with the pretty flowers you picked. Have you ever made flower jewelry?" She knew she had caught Rin's attention from the fascinated look on the girls face and how she bounced up and down from her seat on the grass.
"Rin didn't think you could make jewelry from flowers! Show Rin!" At this moment a ball of red fur launched itself into Kagome's chest, knocking her over onto the grass. She laughed when she realized Shippou was standing on her belly and had a very satisfied grin on his face.
"You're it Kagome!" He squealed as he bounced off her stomach to land next to Rin on the lawn. Rin giggled as Kagome hoisted herself back into an upright position with an evil grin on her face.
"Hey Shippou, lets play tag later and do something a lot more fun now!" Kagome winked at Rin while the kit's eyes grew big as he nodded his head excitedly.
Kagome and Rin giggled with each other as they put the flower jewelry they made on the disgruntled Shippou, unaware that they had caught the attention of a certain youkai. He noticed rays from the setting sun were illuminating Kagome's form as she propped herself up against a tree, facing him with Rin in her lap. Both of them were covered with flower chains. Musical laughter reached his sensitive ears as he took note of her brilliant smile, more brilliant than the sun kissing her hair. She looked like an angel.
He immediately shook himself from that thought. 'Humans are disgusting creatures not comparable to beauty such as an angel,' he thought to himself. He found himself gazing back at her though when another gentle laugh sounded from his garden. He found himself conflicting with his recent thought.
'Maybe she is not human…' Sesshoumaru pondered as he forced himself to leave the window to get back to his work. If he were to get anything done that evening, he would have to stop thinking of the wench.
Some things in life are harder than they appear.
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'Phew, those kids have energy to spare!' Kagome thought to herself as she made her way back to her room. She had just tucked Rin into bed along with Shippou after they had eaten a nice dinner. A nice dinner without Sesshoumaru, mind you. Jaken had informed them after they had washed up from playing in the garden that 'his Lordship, Sesshoumaru-sama' could not join them because he was too busy with his work.
The demon Lord must have not been in a good mood, Kagome thought, since the toad was sporting fresh bumps on his head. Even though Jaken had called her a 'filthy ningen', she offered him a spot with them at the large dinner table. He had squawked loudly and turned a lovely shade of tangerine, but had accepted nonetheless. So the four of them had eaten peacefully with Rin chattering on and on about how 'Kagome-neechan is the greatest because she taught Rin how to make flower jewelry' and Shippou exclaiming about how she owed him a game of tag. After excusing themselves from the table, Kagome had taken the children to their chambers and read them a bedtime story from one of the books she had liked when she was their age.
But now she was bored. Utterly and helplessly bored.
Deciding that her room would offer her no form of amusement, Kagome turned down a different hallway and wandered about the East Wing. Looking around, she noticed that the walls were covered with finely crafted tapestries and wonderfully painted portraits. Kagome stopped at each one, admiring the beauty of each demon and demoness. With a gasp, she realized that they all had Sesshoumaru's trademark crescent on their forehead.
'These are pictures of his family! Wow I wonder how far back this goes?' Taking a look down the hall, Kagome spent less time gazing at each individual portrait; she had a new goal in mind.
Coming to a stop close to the end of the hallway, one picture caught her eye. A Sesshoumaru look-a-like was gazing back at her, but Kagome could tell this was not Sesshoumaru. His eyes were the same warm amber and hair as silver as Sesshoumaru's, but his features were soft and tender with his arm wrapped around the waist of a stunning female inu-youkai. Her lavender eyes smiled from under silver tresses as she held what seemed to be a young boy. Kagome's eyes widened when she came to the conclusion that the boy must be the younger version of Sesshoumaru. It was hard to believe at first because he had a smile on his face and his frigid attitude seemed non-existent.
With a soft smile, Kagome thought, 'So he hasn't always been like he is now, he was happy once.' Her smile quickly fading as something occurred to her, 'There is no picture of Inuyasha though. I know that their father took a human mate and then Inuyasha was born, but is that was caused Sesshoumaru's change of heart? Hmph, more like he LOST his heart, but I guess he can't be that uncaring if he has Rin here. There's gotta be some part of the child left in there.'
Sighing deeply, Kagome let her feet guide her as she turned down another corridor she hadn't seen before. Her thoughts drifted to a cocky, amber-eyed hanyou that she had left behind. Of course she had gone with Sesshoumaru because she owed him her life and it had absolutely nothing to do with her not wanting to be around Inuyasha. Of course!
Kagome glared at the stony floor in anger, 'Ugh! I can't believe he keeps going back to Kikyou when all she wants is to take him to hell with her and possibly reclaim 'her' soul from me!' Eyes softening, she stopped walking as a tear glided down her cheek.
'I've understood for a while that we could never be together, but I just wish that Inuyasha would see how much he means to me. He's my best friend and I couldn't bear seeing anything bad happen to him if I knew I could stop it. But how can I protect him from the one he loves?' Wiping the moisture from her eyes and cheeks, Kagome peered up through watery lashes to see that she had stopped in front of two large doors.
Curiosity peeked and her sadness forgotten, she tugged lightly on one large handle and glanced inside. What her eyes beheld upon her first gaze quickly made her cheeks flush a bright pink.
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After Kagome had regained consciousness and been whisked away by his evil half-brother, Inuyasha had been making his way back to Kaede's village slashing trees down with his sharp claws and taking his anger out on other defenseless flora. His loud snarls accompanied by his furious cursing had alerted Miroku and a bandaged Sango to his presence.
"I hear Inuyasha has made it back to the village," Miroku spoke as he stood from his seat on the floor of the hut, dusting off his robes. "Shall we go greet them, my dear Sango?" With a lecherous grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows, he extended his hand towards the angry Sango.
"I can do it myself, thank you!" She yelled at the monk while hobbling passed him. "Damn perverted houshi, been trying to take advantage of my injuries. Well he has another thing coming if he thinks he'll be able to grope me and not get pummeled!" Sango grumbled as she walked towards the forest and waited. Inuyasha's lone figure soon emerged from the trees edge, a depressed look on his face.
Miroku stood along side of Sango as they watched their sullen friend approach. Asking the question they both had on their mind, "Inuyasha, where's Kagome-sama and Shippou?" Seeing Inuyasha flinch at his question, Miroku assumed that it wasn't a common argument that occurred to make the miko decide to not return with him. With a worried glance at Inuyasha, Sango spoke first.
"Did she go home and take Shippou with her?" The demon exterminator was worried that Kagome had gotten into trouble when shard hunting with Inuyasha. Sango had begun to see Kagome as her sister, and with everything that happened to her family thus far, she wasn't going to let anything happen to her closest friend. Fists clenching as she received no answer, she was going to ask again when Inuyasha spoke quietly.
"She didn't go home." He said with his head bowed towards the ground.
"Where is she then?" Miroku asked, fearing the worst when Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head.
"Sesshoumaru took her." His friends gasped and soon he was overwhelmed with questions on how it came to be that Kagome was taken. Inuyasha explained to them how they fought with Naraku and the events that occurred to the point where he regained his consciousness to see Sesshoumaru hovering over Kagome. Images in his mind haunted him of Kagome's horror stricken face as the mass of youkai descended on her and Shippou. He had smelt her fear radiating off her in waves and saw her eyes pleading with him to save her.
'If only I had gotten there in time! If I wasn't knocked unconscious by whatever the fuck that power was, Kagome would have been all right and she wouldn't have had to go with that bastard Sesshoumaru!' He growled at the thought of his cold-hearted, half-brother having Kagome in his possession.
"Why would Sesshoumaru want Kagome though, Inuyasha?" Sango asked as she paced back and forth trying to comprehend the situation at hand.
"Keh! He said some bullshit that she owes him because he saved her life. So she's supposed to teach that little girl that follows him around or something until he's fucking satisfied." Inuyasha spat and jumped into the closest tree.
"You are just going to let Kagome-sama stay there with Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked while looking up into the branches of the tree Inuyasha perched in. Wide-eyed, Sango stopped her pacing and rushed over to the tree.
"We can't let her stay there! He's too dangerous! What if he's planning on using her for something we can't just-"
"Dammit! What do you want me to do?! She went willingly with that bastard!" The angry hanyou yelled from atop his branch.
With a frustrated yell, Sango turned and briskly walked back to Kaede's hut to discuss matters with the old miko. Seeing the demon exterminator's worry over their friend, Miroku sighed heavily before speaking to Inuyasha.
"What exactly made Kagome-sama wish to go with Sesshoumaru? Is there a part of this story that you are not telling us Inuyasha?" When the only answer he got was the rustling of leaves, the monk decided to leave his friend to his thoughts and went to join Sango in Kaede's hut.
Silver hair cascaded over hunched shoulders as Inuyasha stared blankly at his clawed hands. The same clawed hands that had taken so many lives and inflicted so much pain.
'Kagome…'
Ears flattened tightly against his skull and saddened eyes downcast, he thought about all the times he had caused Kagome pain. Kagome, the first person who saw him for who he was, not what he was. In the beginning he only saw her as Kikyou's reincarnation, but he recognized so many differences now. None were as important as the fact that Kikyou was never satisfied with what Inuyasha was. A hanyou. Part demon, the monsters that her heritage had sworn to destroy. Kagome saw him as another person, along with every being she happened upon.
'Feh, that wench likes everyone until they try to kill her. And even then she'll forgive them… like me.' Inuyasha thought sorrowfully.
He knew the Kikyou that roamed the lands presently was not the same Kikyou that he had known 50 years ago, but his honor would not allow him to go back on his promise to her. And he knew that promise was hurting Kagome in the meantime. Inuyasha realized that Kagome held strong feelings for him some time ago, but there remained feelings in him for the Kikyou he knew. It would be betraying Kagome if they were to become mates and he ended up leaving her to keep his promise to Kikyou.
Fists clenching to the point of drawing blood from his sharpened claws, Inuyasha growled out his frustrations. Amber eyes hardened in determination, he made his decision.
'Kikyou, I'm sorry, I can't keep my promise to you anymore.' He knew he had a lot of work to do to win Kagome back, but he was willing to go all the way. It was clear to Inuyasha that he needed a thought out plan to get Kagome back, unlike other situations he couldn't just rush into this fight head-on. This was Sesshoumaru he was dealing with. But not even the heartless taiyoukai could keep him from Kagome now. Not when he finally realized he was in love with her. Inuyasha snarled in rage at the thought of his half-brother keeping Kagome from him.
'Kagome is mine!'
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A dust cloud raced up the mountainside and stopped short at a plateau where a small lagoon and waterfall decorated the cavernous hillside. Out of the whirlwind stepped the Prince of the Northern Lands, Kouga. He grinned handsomely at the she-wolves welcoming him home and sent a casual nod to his friends Ginta and Hakkaku. They ran to greet him as he entered his den.
"Kouga! You're back!"
"Did you see Kagome-neechan again, Kouga?"
Taking the carcass of a dead boar from his back and flopping it onto the floor in front of him Kouga replied, "Yo! I'm not staying for long. Dog-face's older brother Sesshoumaru took Kagome and I'm gonna get her back and bring her here to stay with us."
Scratching his chin thoughtfully, Hakkaku asked, "Isn't Sesshoumaru the Western taiyoukai?" At Kouga's curt nod Ginta frowned.
"But why would Sesshoumaru want to take Kagome-neechan? Does he want her to be his woman like you do Kouga? Is that why you are going to get her back?" Kouga growled and turned towards his friends. Hakkaku and Ginta cowered back from their Prince, never had they ever seen such intense anger in his eyes before.
"No dog will ever have MY woman! Kagome is mine!"
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Kagome's breath hitched in her throat as she took in the vision before her. Sesshoumaru had taken a break from his work and come to train in his expansive dojo when Kagome stumbled upon it in as she contemplated her relationship to Inuyasha. He had rid himself of his usual garb and was wearing only black training hakamas. His finely chiseled chest was bare and from where she stood she could see a fine sheet of sweat covering his body.
She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as her blush spread quickly down to her toes. She had never reacted as strongly as this when Inuyasha had his chest bared. But anytime Inuyasha's chest was bare it was because of a fatal injury, so it wasn't much to base things off. All she knew was that her body was on fire, and most of it pooled between her legs. Kagome was not as naïve as most thought she was. She was 17 for Kami's sake! She just never had the time in the past 2 years for a relationship. She had to juggle school along with making trips to the feudal era to search for shards, where was the time for boys?
Kagome entered the dojo fully and closed the large door behind her quietly, her gaze never leaving the well-toned youkai ahead of her. He moved with such grace, such beauty that men in her time never possessed. She was so entranced by the swaying of his long silver mane as he swung his practice katana against an invisible opponent that she didn't sense him taking notice of her presence.
He had been relieving his stress of the day, mainly caused by the impudent wench who now resided in his home, when he felt her approach. Ignoring her presence at the door, Sesshoumaru calmly kept at his routine. His concentration almost broke when the scent of her arousal tickled his sensitive nose. For reasons he would not want to come to terms with, he was very pleased by this occurrence. He tried to continue his training practice, but her scent was driving him mad! His most primal needs called out an answer to her arousal and that did not make the demon lord happy. He had never experienced such an urge to satisfy his lustful cravings before, not even in the company of the most exotic demoness. He would not be manipulated by a woman, a ningen woman at that! Forcing down his need to succumb to his body's desires, Sesshoumaru turned with his icy façade in place, barely concealing his rage at the unaware miko.
"It is rude to stare."
Kagome gasped as she realized that Sesshoumaru had turned in her direction and spoke to her. Fumbling with the pleated ends of her skirt she tried to not embarrass herself further and say something in reply.
"Err, um…I was wondering if you have a library!" She patted herself on the back for making up an excuse so fluidly.
A silver eyebrow rose in speculation as he detected her unease and her receding excitement. He took long strides and was soon standing before her, only a couple feet apart. Her eyes danced quickly over his naked chest before resting on the stub that his left arm used to be. His anger returned full force at the look she was giving him. Pity.
'I will have no one's pity! Damn her, it is her fault it is gone to begin with!'
She was thinking about apologizing to Sesshoumaru for his missing arm when her thoughts were cut off by a strong grip to her throat. She was promptly shoved back into the large wooden door she had come through with an angry inu-youkai staring heatedly at her.
'Man, what have I done now?!' She glared at the demon lord as she clasped her hands over his strong wrist which was holding her a foot off the floor. When her vision began to blur and he had not yet decided to tell her what she did that was so offensive, she chose to ask.
Enduring the pain, Kagome gritted out, "What's wrong?"
Sesshoumaru noticed her dazed look and the strain of her voice as she spoke to him. She infuriated him like no other! What angered him further was that he detected no fear from her at his close proximity. However, it would do him no good if he decapitated his ward's nanny right at this time, especially since he did not know if Tenseiga would work twice on the wench.
Unceremoniously she was dropped to the floor with a resounding thud as her bottom hit the wooden ground. Flinching, she rubbed her sore neck and glared at the stoic taiyoukai towering above her. What was stuck up his butt this time?
"You will wake up at dawn, bathe and feed Rin while I am making my patrols. You will educate her in the matters of the proper usage of language, reading, writing and mathematics. Any deterrence from this list will bring upon you severe punishment."
His commanding tone sent shivers up her back. Why, when he said "sever punishment", was she thinking about him playing with her spleen? At her nod he glanced over her form, taking his time to let his gaze rest upon the amount of her thigh he could easily see from the rising of her short skirt. He frowned mentally and met her eyes with a glare.
"You will also not dress so indecently. I do not wish for Rin to think it is acceptable to wear such clothing."
Furious at his statement about her clothes, Kagome stood up and gave him a glare to match his own. "My clothes are NOT indecent where I come from and you CAN'T order me around!" She even went so far as to stand on her tip toes and poke him firmly in the chest with her fingernail.
'Who does he think he is?! I don't look indecent! My skirts aren't THAT short!'
'Doesn't this wench know who she is dealing with? I could snap her neck in an instant and rip her limbs from her supple little body before she could realize I had moved!' Too focused on his anger, Sesshoumaru didn't realize the lustful gaze that seeped into his eyes as he stepped closer to her. When he could step no further, he bent his head down in front of her heated stare.
"Of course I can order you around. You belong to me now." He smirked as she sputtered in indignation.
"You do NOT own me! Since when did you think that crazy idea?!" Hands firmly placed on her hips with her eyes set on his, she growled low at him.
The demon nature in him demanded to show this female his dominance and the small growl she gave him only made him lust for it further. Soon he found himself plastering her against the door with his hand around her throat again, this time a bit gentler. Eyes bleeding red, he growled deep in his chest and began to sniff around her neck. Finding no mark and no scent of another male on her, a growl of satisfaction rumbled in his throat.
'Oh god, what's he doing?!' Kagome thought as she firmly gripped Sesshoumaru's shoulders. He was pressed against her so tightly that she could feel every inch of the muscle she had previously been drooling over. She could also feel a rather large bulge between her thighs. Her legs had wrapped around his waist instinctively when he slammed her up against the door and right away she realized his intentions were not of the spleen fondling kind. When he began to sniff around her neck, Kagome couldn't help but gasp at the sensations he was creating. And when a warm and wet tongue lapped at the juncture of her collarbone and neck she wasn't responsible for the loud moan that escaped her lips.
The moan that seeped from the woman snapped Sesshoumaru back into reality. The red haze faded from his sight and he realized that he was pressed against the wench and had previously suckled on her neck. Releasing her neck from his grasp and letting her fall to the ground once again, he stepped back and spoke coldly to her.
"Do not forget that this Sesshoumaru owns you, wench. You WILL do what I say." Leaving no time to argue, the demon lord left the dojo and walked briskly down the halls, determined to forget about what transpired a minute before.
Still recovering from her passion-fogged mind, Kagome rubbed her sore bottom and thought over Sesshoumaru's words. Sighing as she reached up to touch her neck, she thought, 'Maybe he's right…'
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A big thanks to all my reviewers! Thank you so much for your encouragement on this story. And if you like this story you should all thank Amyfushigiyugi for making- err… suggesting that I write my own story.
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