Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, so I don't own Inuyasha…or anything related to the show…yeah go ahead, smirk and laugh…make fun of me…but I warn you, my men are keeping tabs on you all…
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long. This time I just couldn't think. I'm like Sesshy, I know what I want to do, I just don't know how to do it…or how to get there…sigh Oh well. Hope this update it ok. I have a feeling it's crappy. SO GO TO MY PROFILE PAGE, AND READ ALL THE SUMMARIES FOR THE INUYASHA FICS, AND VOTE!!!!
Thanks for reviewing: WinglessAngelLeanne, Pink Sakura, silverkitsunekagome, DemonKikay, AngelMiko69, Chibi Horsewoman, Mooshy, YoukaiLover, Silver Tonbo, SakuraoftheDream, Cattt and kasusander-jie.
WinglessAngelLeanne- You flatter me too much.
Silverkitsunekagome- Thanks for voting!
DemonKikay- Yeah, in my earlier chapters, not sure which one, but Sesshomaru is contemplating, and it says that Inuyasha went insane after Kikyo died and jumped into hell in an attempt to join her.
Chibi Horsewoman- That meant a lot knowing that you know Kagura's character pretty well. Yeah, I realize what your saying, but I'm trying to convince myself that Sesshomaru considers her an equal, and he found her annoying because he didn't bother to correct her knowing that she'd stay longer and snap back at him, and that he'd have to endure her presence longer. But that's just in my dreamland…I wish that were true, but unfortunately, in the real episodes, I think that perhaps what you're saying is true…--. And yeah, I'm Korean and I speak the language, and the 'Korean koreans' always mix up the L's and R's. I know I shouldn't laugh, but the way they say it, my name is really 'Grolia.' titters
Mooshy- Hehe, I will never tell you! You must tune in to find out! I get a cookie?! Whoo hoo! Thank you!
Silver Tonbo- I'm seriously glowing from your review! Thank you, thank you! And thanks for voting, and yes, voting for more than one is perfectly fine!
SakuraoftheDream- You're addicted?! Wow…I didn't know my fic was that great…
Okee…and the voting so far goes like this:
A Tale of Autumn: 3
25 days with Mr. Arrogant: 4
The Doctor is in- love: 1
Ironies of Life/A pinch of chance and a twist of fate: 1
The Trade: 3
The Photographer: 1
Chapter 9
Akeno landed gracefully onto the ground, and transformed into his human form just as he touched the ground. Being naturally rather dark skinned with dark hair, he almost blended completely with the night, but of course the other youkai guards could see him and sense him. He said nothing to anyone, and even ignored Kougorou as he headed up to Sesshomaru's floor.
Akeno knocked on the study, but heard no answer. Thinking that perhaps the lord was engrossed in something much more important, he waited patiently outside the door. Sesshomaru's eyes shot open. He looked around the room; he smelled no miasma…he heard nothing…then he heard three curt knocks coming from the door of his study.
He gracefully got up, and walked into the study. He smelled something along the lines of the fresh sky, and knew it was Akeno. "Come in." he said.
Not too long after, Akeno heard permission from Sesshomaru to come inside. He opened the door, and seated himself from across from him. "She ran off." Akeno said simply. "And I followed her to another village."
"How far away are the two villages?" Sesshomaru asked, secretly amused. He had figured that Kagome would try and pull of an escape.
"Quite a ways apart actually. It requires trekking over mountains. The village she's in is divided by a river that runs down from one of them."
"And how exactly did the ningen manage to travel so far?" Sesshomaru asked again. Even though outwardly, he did not appear to be too happy; he actually admired her will. Too bad all of her efforts would be futile. She was officially his property, and she wasn't going anywhere without his permission.
"The demon slayer girl gave her a fire cat to travel with." Akeno explained.
"Interesting…her friends were dimwitted enough to aid her…they will pay upon their return, which will be by sundown today. I will leave you in charge of their punishment. Do not make it anything traumatic or too severe…just something to scare them." Sesshomaru lectured as he gracefully stood up in one fluid movement.
"My lord, where are you going?" Akeno asked as he stood up as well.
"I must retrieve the runaway. I will be back in a day. This leaves you in charge Akeno." Akeno's dark eyes widened slightly. Sesshomaru was putting him in charge? He immediately fell to his knees. "It is only a day." Sesshomaru added before Akeno could start spewing the whole 'I'm unworthy' speech. Akeno nodded sheepishly, feeling embarrassed.
Sesshomaru turned around, and looked straight into Akeno's eyes. "I trust you." He said. For the first time in his Akeno thought that he may have heard traces of emotion in Sesshomaru's voice as he spoke to one of his men! Akeno nodded, almost dumbly as Sesshomaru quickly flew out of the window.
As the cold night air whipped about him, he suddenly remembered something. He had forgotten to tell Akeno that he would have to deal with a panicking Jaken and a wailing Rin. He almost smiled at the thought of one of his best fighters, and the one who was the closest thing to a friend pick flowers with his young ward.
He had no doubt that Akeno would sense the Shikon no Tama in the drawer. He had placed a special seal on it, but Akeno would more than likely be able to break it with ease. This would be a test of Akeno's true character, and strength to resist temptation. If Akeno did fail this test; Sesshomaru knew that he would be able to count of Kin and Kougorou to at least kill him. Kougorou may seem a little shady, but was intensely loyal to him; he had already passed a test before.
'So you're in the mood for a little game Kagome?' Sesshomaru thought, almost sadistically as he flew through the air. A predator like smirk crossed his face. 'Very well then.' He felt his heart beat faster and his blood pump harder. The thrill of the hunt…and he wasn't even near her yet. He flexed his fingers, a few puffs of his poison escaped from the tips of his fingers.
He began to muse on how he should bring her back. Should he be friendly and punish her when they got back to the castle, or should he punish her first? 'Not too badly of course,' he reminded himself, his golden eyes glinting with anticipation. If he did not have any self control he would've howled already from excitement. 'But I am a lord, not some common wolf.' He thought, almost bitterly. He shifted the white fur pelt on his shoulder, the fur of his father.
…
"Retiring already?" Totosai exclaimed.
Kagome smiled. "I'm afraid that I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."
"You don't really plan on leaving our village that soon now do you?" he continued.
"Well actually, I'm going to leave early in the morning."
"For what?! Be our guest! Enjoy- "
"Father…" Totosai's son, Daisuke interrupted.
"What now?!"
"Let her sleep."
"But- "
"Father…" Daisuke repeated. Totosai scowled, and discontinued harassing Kagome. Kagome said goodnight to the headman's family, and retreated to the small guest hut. Kilala quietly padded behind her, and curled up next to Kagome as she slept. "I need to wake up early…" she murmured to herself before she fell asleep.
Kagome was awakened the next morning by a rude poking. "I'll be up in five minutes…" she muttered in a slurred voice.
"I thought you were going to leave early." came a slightly annoyed voice.
"The sun's not even up yet…" Kagome grumbled despite the fact that she had her eyes squeezed shut.
"You ningens are lazy. Spending half of your short and wretched lives napping away." Kagome swore her heart stopped beating as her eyes snapped open. "Good afternoon."
Kagome screamed. "Where…how…when…."
Sesshomaru's eyes slowly opened as he stared at Kagome. "Shut up."
"Ex-excuse me?!" Kagome sputtered, still half in shock.
"I command you to cease your speaking." Sesshomaru growled.
"Make me!" Kagome dared. As soon as Sesshomaru came flying towards her, she immediately regretted it. Little did she know that Sesshomaru was in an extremely bad mood. He had arrived to the village, planning and expecting to find Kagome gone, and running into the night, but instead, he had found her sleeping soundly inside a hut.
He had been anticipating a hunt. But all he had to do was intoxicate the fire cat with some of his poison, dispose of its body, and carry off Kagome. He left her in a clearing, and even left her alone for a while, hoping that she would wake up sooner or later, and startled, make an escape. But she didn't even budge. He waited until morning, and expected her to wake. After all, didn't most humans wake up sometime then?
But Kagome had slept on. Finally, he got tired of waiting, and kicked her. Even then, she was rather slow to awake. "Do you regret having a big mouth now?" Sesshomaru hissed into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
Kagome just stared back at him, wide eyed. "Please…don't…hurt…me…." she pleaded, her voice just barely a whisper.
"You truly are a pitiful creature," Sesshomaru said with disgust.
"I'm sorry…" Kagome muttered as Sesshomaru released his hold on her throat. She let out a sigh of relief, and slumped down to the base of the tree. Kagome's stomach then growled; slightly embarrassed, she sheepishly peered up at Sesshomaru.
"I will be back."
"With food?" Kagome asked with hope.
"You still have the cheek to talk?"
"No! It's not that! It's just- "
"While I am gone, you will not make a sound. Who knows what the lesser demons might do to you while I'm gone?" Kagome let out a frightened 'eep,' and settled against the base of the tree. Sesshomaru almost smirked, and took off into forest.
As he ran through the forest, he kept seeing Kagome's eyes, wide and full of fear staring at him. 'It didn't seem right,' he half thought as he caught scent of a deer. He quickly changed course. 'Her eyes should not be full of such emotion.'
Sesshomaru blinked, what was he thinking? Fear was exactly what he had wanted to instill into Kagome. Then why was he regretting it? He remembered his annoying dreams. In all of the dreams she would look at him…fondly? He should have been feeling a nauseated at the thought, but he didn't. An odd, yet overwhelming feeling came over him.
'Damn the girl,' Sesshomaru angrily thought as he took a swipe at the poor deer that had absolutely no chance of escape. In order to combat this foreign feeling, Sesshomaru filled himself with anger and rage, and clawed at the deer's carcass long after it had died. By the time he stopped, there was nothing left of the deer…at least nothing 'edible.' He didn't mind feeding it to the girl, but he was certainly not going to eat it.
He didn't smell another other deer nearby, and ended up catching three rabbits. With his pitifully small catches in his hands, he went on his way, hoping that he'd smell something larger. He could already imagine what the ungrateful girl would say. 'That's all?' Sesshomaru growled, he was letting the girl get to him. He should just kill her, and get it over with, but… 'But what?'
Before he had a chance to think up a reason why he couldn't think of what the 'what' was, he smelled that smell…from his dreams. That sulfur like smell…it was faint…very faint…he began to race towards it. As he got closer, he realized that the sulfur like smell was mixed with a scent of lavender…Kagome!
He emerged into the clearing where Kagome was, and saw a man with a white pelt covering him, and a baboon mask on, talking to her. Kagome seemed to be thinking, and nodding as the man whispered into her ear. He was too close to Kagome…Kagome was his. Kagome's eyes widened as she saw Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed.
The man in the white pelt turned around, "Why Lord Sesshomaru, how kind of you to come join us."
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Just a humble passerby, and my name?" the man looked at Sesshomaru and back at Kagome. "It's of no importance."
"Your name." Sesshomaru growled.
The man chuckled. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. 'Coward. Hides behind a mask.' he thought. "Very well then. It is Naraku."
"What are you doing here?"
"My intentions are purely sincere…lord Sesshomaru. I passed by Kagome…and I wondered what a beautiful and delicate creature was doing alone in these woods. I decided to stay with her until you arrived…lest someone try to take advantage of her."
"Well now there is no need for you to stay." Sesshomaru replied coldly.
"It appears that you went to get lunch." Naraku commented.
"Do you want to join us?" Kagome asked.
"I would love to." Naraku replied as he kissed Kagome's knuckles.
"No." Sesshomaru growled, his blood boiling at the sight of Naraku kissing Kagome's hands. He didn't even wonder why he was mad, all he could think about was ripping Naraku's throat out.
"I beg your pardon?" Naraku asked.
"You will not be joining us. Kagome and I have a long journey."
"But I'm hungry!" Kagome pouted.
"You can eat later." Sesshomaru said icily.
"But I want to eat now." Kagome whined as she stood up.
"If you do not come to me this instant you will be kept in solitary confinement…in the dark for a week…with nothing but water to drink." Sesshomaru threatened.
"You're so mean!" Kagome yelled. Perhaps she acting bolder than usual because Naraku was there, but either way, she was pissing Sesshomaru off who was already feeling a bit testy. Kagome turned to Naraku. "Is it alright if I join you on your journey?"
"You are not going anywhere." Sesshomaru warned, his voice rising in volume.
"Says who?" Kagome demanded.
"You forget your place human, you are a servant, and I am your lord."
Naraku chuckled. Sesshomaru wanted to wring his neck. Not only did he hate the sound of Naraku's chuckle, Naraku gave him weird vibes, that and because of the strange sulfur-like stench emitting from him, he, Sesshomaru, couldn't tell if Naraku was human or demon. "If I did not know better I would mistake you two for lovers having a small quarrel." Naraku commented.
Kagome and Sesshomaru looked at each other for a second. "Yeah right." Kagome scoffed, turning red.
"I see…so what is wrong with Kagome joining me?" Naraku asked, almost slyly.
"She is mine." Sesshomaru growled. He was slowly losing his control and patience. Didn't this fool, 'Naraku', know that Kagome was his?! 'Since when was she yours?' his subconscious asked. Sesshomaru could've groaned. How typical of his subconscious to kick in at a time like this.
'She is a servant and I am her lord. She is my property.'
'Actually that's how it is if she's your slave. But she's not. Technically, she could go with Naraku and you can't do anything about it.'
'I am a lord. I have total control of everyone and everything.' He retorted. After that, he did not hear anymore from his subconscious.
"Sango and Miroku will be punished accordingly…" Sesshomaru almost laughed in triumph to see Kagome's eyes widen. "Unless you come back to the Northern Lands with me."
A pained look crossed Kagome's face. She glanced at Naraku, and sighed. Wordlessly she stepped towards Sesshomaru who still had the three dead rabbits in his hand. "Resorting to bribery lord Sesshomaru?" Naraku mocked.
"Do not meddle in affairs that are not yours." Sesshomaru replied.
"Of course, it is just that I never would have expected for the great lord Sesshomaru to have to resort to bribery to make his servants listen to him. It might work better if you were nice to her, but of course, you don't know what that word means."
Sesshomaru had had enough. In a flash he tossed the three rabbits to Kagome, knocking her to the ground, and slashed at Naraku, only to find the baboon mask and white pelt cut in half…with no one and nothing inside. "Clever…" he muttered to himself.
Sesshomaru looked up, and frowned. Above by the tree tops hovered a man with long wavy black hair with pale skin and garnet colored eyes. "Kukukuku, nice try lord Sesshomaru. Perhaps we shall meet again." Naraku then turned to Kagome. "Remember my offer." Then he disappeared.
"Disgusting." Sesshomaru hissed. He was on the verge of passing out because of that nauseating sulfur-like smell.
"You're just jealous because he has better people skills than you," Kagome grumbled.
"You're still talking?" Sesshomaru growled. Sesshomaru turned to face Kagome, "Now tell me what 'offer' this Naraku was talking of."
((A/N: Ok, so this update sort of sucked…and it was boring…but it will get better! I swear. I apologize…my brain has just sort of gone dead. Anyways.))