Chapter 5:

Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment, trying to decide what to do with her. Kagome was perfectly still, and he could tell she wanted to run but knew the futility of such an action. The sight of her elegantly poised body made him want to drag her back into his arms and cure her of her defiant glare. He wanted her writhing at his touch.

"Let me go," she repeated, slightly more desperate.

He stayed perfectly still, waiting to see what she would do. "You belong with me now."

"Stop saying that!" she hissed at him. "This doesn't even make sense. You kept trying to kill me, and now..."

"And now I have claimed you, and I will not allow you to come to harm." He slowly extended a hand towards her. "Come back to me, Kagome, and I will forget what you just did."

She stared at his hand as if she didn't recognize what it was.

"Or must I punish you to help you learn how to treat your master? If it is your wish, I can treat you like an unruly bitch and discipline you properly."

She flinched slightly. "But you said no harm."

He beckoned to her coaxingly. "I will allow no others to hurt you, but it is my right and responsibility to teach you your place. There are ways to convince you that will inflict no lasting damage."

Still she hesitated, as a single tear dripped from one of her deep eyes.

"You will come to me, even if I must muzzle and leash you, little girl. You will obey me... or I will make you."

Tentatively, she put one hand in front of the other and began to crawl very slowly towards him. She was crying softly, making her tremble slightly. He waited patiently as her body slid towards his, and with an effort she dragged herself alongside his outstretched arm. She kneeled in front of him, head bowed and waiting.

He smiled slightly at his bright young mate. Though she probably deserved a punishment for attacking him, he would never harm her for coming to him. She was being trained, and it would be dangerous to break her trust. Besides... he had rather enjoyed her defiance. She was such a little spitfire.

Slowly, so as not to startle her, he grasped the edges of her rumpled garment and wrapped it securely around her bare flesh once more. She was still flushed from his earlier attentions. He wrapped her in a gentle embrace, trying to reassure her. He stroked her mussed hair, coaxing it to lie in smooth waves once again. Little by little, she melted in his arms until she was leaning against his chest, to tired to support herself any longer. He tenderly tucked her in to him as she started to cry softly into his chest.

Sesshoumaru was stroking her hair, and began to murmur softly to her. Pressed against his chest, his low voice was uncannily soothing, though she could only hear part of what he said.

"You are precious to me, Kagome," he hummed against her hair. "I will always take care of you."

Tears squeezed from her eyes at his words. She felt so emotionally drained.

"You were enjoying yourself before you broke away, weren't you?"

She didn't want to think about it. The things he had made her feel were frighteningly new and intense, and she was startled that he was the one to get such a reaction out of her.

She ignored his question, whispering instead: "It wasn't supposed to be you."

He bristled as he realized she had wanted someone else-his hanyou brother no doubt. The girl was loyal to a fault, unfortunately it was someone else who held her loyalty. No matter, as soon as he convinced her, that beautiful faithfulness would be only his. "We belong together, or you would not have come to me. It was always supposed to be me, you simply did not know until now."

His sudden appeal to her romantic side confused her, and she realized suddenly how safe she felt in his strong arms. As much as she tried to tell herself to keep her distance, she could not deny the effect of his touch.

Her hand found its way into his silver hair and she began to idly run her fingers through it. It was so soft, thinner than Inuyasha's but more silky. She watched it shimmer through her hands, impressed by its beauty.

"You're confusing," she whispered. "How long will you keep me here?"

"Forever," he said seriously.

She wasn't totally surprised by his answer, but it sounded ominous in her ears. She sighedand curled into him. She tried to ignore the tips of his lethal claws touching her, and let herself be lured to rest by his steady heartbeat.

~*~*~*~

He held her for a long moment in silence, until she went slack and her breaths evened in sleep. Since she was still very weary, he let her sleep. She needed to eat soon as well, but he would worry about that when she woke. Until then, he would enjoy the few moments peace afforded to them.

Tenderly, he laid her soft sleeping body back on the futon, careful not to rouse her. The lingering scent of her arousal called to him, and his own unsatisfied desire was burning away at him. He stood up and unsheathed Tenseiga, watching a warm glow gather around the hard steel. Carefully, he swept the blade over the slumbering girl, returning Tenseiga to its resting place in one smooth motion.

He knelt beside her, and she sighed softly in her sleep. The cut on her neck was gone, and the injuries he had inflicted on her wrist. He nudged aside her robe, far enough that he could see that the ugly burn from his trap had disappeared and her skin was once again smooth and flawless. He stroked the muscles of her stomach lightly with his claws, and the girl turned toward him slightly in her rest.

He pulled a blanket over her, kissing her very lightly on her soft lips. His lustful imaginings of his future mate could not compare with her. He had reveled in anticipation of the fight, of struggling and taming a powerful female. A woman who would fight him tooth and nail until he threw her down and tortured her beneath him, until she was a slave to his touch. Kagome was all he had imagined and more. The holy power she had tried to strike him with still stung a bit, but her show of defiance only made him want her more. She was willful, refusing to give in even when it was obvious her body was deep in the throes of pleasure. Yet she was also soft, gentle, and compassionate--a sweet treasure never meant to be tasted by a demon.

"I will be back very soon," he told her slumbering form. He reluctantly rose and left her, closing the door and sealing the room in case she should wake. He had instructed his few servants to stay out of sight, and not to disturb or have contact with her in any way. Until she was completely his, he would allow no one else in her presence that might disrupt her training.

He departed, heading towards the village where he knew his half brother and his group usually stayed. It had been about two days now, and he was not surprised to find searchers about in the forest looking for her. He observed Inuyasha, who was furiously circling an old well in a clearing, trying to sort out the old trails. The westward path, the one he knew she had taken, faded quickly in the woods, washed away by an early morning rain. There were no signs, of course, of Sesshoumaru himself, and he carefully hid his presence from his foolish young brother.

Sesshoumaru bitterly recalled the way his chosen mate had fretted over the stupid hanyou in battle, and the boy's brash concealed concern for Kagome. Inuyasha was half-panicked, searching like mad. He wanted more than ever to kill the brat, for having earned Kagome's affections and for holding her so closely for so long while he was without her. Still, he had stupidly let her go unguarded and now Kagome belonged to him, and would not be taken away. Revealing himself now, even to kill Inuyasha, would only complicate matters, and he required all of his energies to make Kagome his.

He traveled around the village, catching vestiges of his new mate's lingering scent, but no sign of any that might be directly related to the girl. It was as if she had just appeared there one day, as if waiting for the day when he would come and claim her. This trip had been mostly fruitless, revealing little about his miko's strange origin. It was only a matter of time, though, until she told him herself.

~*~*~*~

Kagome woke up to an empty room. Her initial relief was quickly overwhelmed by loneliness, however. She realized she had been tucked back into bed, and was feeling considerably better than the last time she woke. A slender hand went to her throat, and she was surprised to find that the cut on her neck and the ache in her wrist was gone. When she looked she discovered all of her recent injuries were completely gone, and she wondered how long she had been asleep. The room had been straightened a little, but there was no sign of any other living thing.

Kagome sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to comfort herself. The memories of what Sesshoumaru had done to her were all-too vivid. The way his mouth had moved so skillfully over her lips and her body, the hungry scraping of his teeth and fangs--and his hands... his hands all over her body, invading her most secret area as he restrained her. She remembered the way he made her toss and writhe, the vicious torture he had inflicted. She was angry and ashamed at the same time--angry because he had so deliberately violated her, and ashamed because she could not close herself off from the feeling. Her body had enjoyed his punishments, and even now the thought of him disciplining her was making her body ache all over again.

It almost didn't matter that she had fought against him. In that passionate haze, the thoughts of Inuyasha--they one she was supposed to love--disappeared from her mind. It felt like a betrayal, no matter whether it actually was or not. Sesshoumaru had a power over her she could not deny, and she knew she would not be strong enough to last against him. He had called her his mate, and admitted that he would never let her go. Would he treat her like a slave until she broke? Would he make her betray Inuyasha further? She could only imagine what her friends and family would think of her if they knew what Sesshoumaru was doing-- and that she couldn't help but like it, even as it infuriated and scared her. The meticulous attention he paid to her was so exciting she just couldn't help it.

She had to escape him, before it was too late. She was naive, but she knew that he would not stop. If she did not leave, he would take her virginity and everything else he pleased, whether she was willing or not.

She walked to the door, a simple structure that looked as if it was not meant to hold anything captive inside. She extended her hand towards it, and jumped back in surprise as her hand was struck by an invisible barrier. She cradled her hand, which was stinging sharply, and glared at the door. She should have known that he would not let her escape so easily. Still, she recognized that this might be her only chance.

She stubbornly struck the barrier, but it tossed her back forcefully. Glaring, she tried again, this time trying to focus her power and slowly push through it. With an effort, her hand penetrated, sending shooting pains up her arm and making her body shake. She pushed open the door, grimacing as the pain grew but refusing to withdraw.

Shudders of distortion made the barrier shimmer angrily. Flashes of light danced across her vision. She fell to her knees, but began resolutely pushing herself across the threshold, inching her way out. The pain was terrible, she couldn't even keep her eyes open anymore. All her strength was being sapped as her holy energy tried to protect her, but she could feel it start to ebb and was no longer even sure if she was moving. Her limbs refused to communicate with her mind. She admitted her failure with her last thought as the pain claimed her.

~*~*~*~

I'm very sorry. I know it's been a while, and that this is a short chapter, but I've been rather unmotivated of late. Actually, I chopped this chapter up so I could post sooner. It hasn't really been proof-read, but... yeah, you don't care that much. I'm sorry, I know it's a little thin on smut, but we'll get back into it next chapter.

If you're in a voting mood, go vote for this story on A Single Spark. Also vote for Aiwendil's stuff, even though she's lazy and hasn't bothered to get that Moonstruck follow-up posted. What a slacker. Or, you could vote for fics of equal or greater merit. That's also cool.