Chapter 9: FINALLY Meeting Inuyasha
Jaken wandered through the halls of the palace. Ever since he had told Sesshoumaru that Kagome was missing, he hadn't seen a single glimpse of the youkai lord.
To offset his worry, Jaken started doing the one thing that got his mind off things – cleaning. Sure enough, an hour later, he was just about whistling happily as he strolled through the palaces, occasionally dusting off a surface or two.
Absentmindedly Jaken wandered around, bumping into Rin somewhere around the kitchen.
"Good morning," chirped Jaken cheerfully.
"Ok... good morning Jaken-sama," said Rin, doubtfully. It wasn't like Jaken always greeted her; in fact, most of the time he ignored her.
"Take a walk with me," invited Jaken.
"Umm... it's raining, Jaken-sama." A glance through a window showed torrents of rain flooding outside.
"No problem at all," declared Jaken. "We can walk inside."
Rin stared at Jaken. Even under Sesshoumaru's nose he wasn't that nice or cheery. If she had known the term 'Out of Character', she would have used it on Jaken.
Nevertheless, she followed Jaken on a tour of the palace, waiting patiently for Jaken to occasionally finish cleaning a vase or dusting off a painting. The little girl had worried about Kagome, but when Jaken had told Sesshoumaru about it, she had ceased agonizing. Sesshoumaru-sama could do anything he set his mind to – including finding Kagome.
After leading her on a wild trail through the endless corridors, Rin's patience with Jaken was wearing thin. Not that she would ever show it, but still. Especially since Jaken was currently leading her to the west side of the castle, where Rin had gone to a thousand times and found nothing.
Rolling her eyes Rin followed-
And bumped right into Jaken.
"Am I just old, Rin, or is this something new?" muttered Jaken.
A large stairwell had descended before them, occasionally giving off sparks from a barrier that was obviously there.
"Inuyasha, Kikyo's gone, maybe you should just concentrate on finding Kagome," Shippo suggested timidly, prepared to duck behind Sango should the need arise. Sango, however, was speaking in low tones to Miroku.
"Keh," snorted Inuyasha, but he changed directions anyways. "How do you expect to find Kagome in this place? It's too big."
Sango's boomerang crashed down onto his head. "That is why," she said, "Miroku and I have decided to ask your brother for help."
"What?" Inuyasha spluttered. "Sesshoumaru? He would never help us. And I would never ask him for help. And since when did it become 'Miroku and I'?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes flew open. Someone was climbing up the steps that led to his study.
"Fucking hell!" he cursed and untangled Kagome from his arms. "Don't tell me..."
Flashback
"This barrier can withstand almost everything – even the most powerful of swords," said Inutaisho proudly to his eldest son, at that time still pretty young.
"Almost everything?" asked Sesshoumaru.
"Well, except two things. One is, if someone from inside removes or weakens the barrier. Another is, if a very, very powerful miko and taiyoukai, please note, taiyoukai, mate, the strength from their mating can weaken the barrier slightly."
End Flashback
Sesshoumaru slipped his armor on quickly and left his room. When he drew open the door to his study, sure enough, Rin was waiting at the foot of the staircase which Jaken was trying to climb up. The barrier was resisting vehemently and bright sparks of light were flying everywhere. To her credit, Rin was dodging the blasts very well.
A quick recitation of a spell and the barrier weakened sufficiently for Jaken to huff to the top.
"Hello, Sesshoumaru-sama!" said Rin, no longer having to watch for stray sparks.
"You never told me about this place, Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken sounded reproachful. "All these years of faithful servitude... You could've spared me a moment to tell me about this."
"Another day, Jaken, another day," Sesshoumaru said briskly. "Have you received replies to the letters I had you send out yesterday?"
Jaken looked guilty. "I haven't checked, my lord."
"Well, go!" snapped Sesshoumaru, though there was barely a hint of anger in his voice.
Behind him, a sleepy-looking Kagome stuck her head out of the door.
"Is something wrong?" she yawned.
Jaken's eyes bulged so much Sesshoumaru thought they would pop out. "My lord... you..."
A glare from Sesshoumaru made the toad shut up. Rin followed – she loved watching Jaken get the mail from other taiyoukai. It was amusing to see the toad try to boss the other servants around, and get yelled at in return.
Inside, safe behind closed doors, Sesshoumaru looked neutrally at Kagome. It wasn't his hobby to make small talk, like 'did-you-sleep-well's', but Jaken made up for the lack of it.
"After breakfast we will proceed to find Inuyasha," said Sesshoumaru tartly. He stopped himself from adding, "Rin will probably miss your company, but hopefully you can visit in time for the youkai ball."
Kagome nodded, but with a – was it wistful? – look in her eyes.
Try he might, Sesshoumaru could not bring himself to say better words if parting.
"I'll see you after breakfast," he called, and left.
Can't you be more... Warm? Friendly? Snapped a voice in his head. Sheesh you just slept with her, and you give her this type of morning greeting?
Shut up! Barked another voice. She'll understand.
Sure she will. But she'll be disappointed.
"Just shut the fuck up. Both of you," Sesshoumaru snarled to himself.
"I say this is a bad idea," Inuyasha muttered glaring up at the hill on which Sesshoumaru's palace stood.
"I say it's a perfectly reasonably course of action," hissed Sango in the voice she reserved for Miroku when his hand was on her rear end.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and started jumping up the hill. Sango and Miroku leapt onto Kirara, and Shippo changed into his pink floating ball shape. As they rose higher, they spotted a small dwarfish man running furiously between other people, presumably servants.
Landing on Kirara was smooth – Shippo, however, bounced quite a few times before halting.
"Hey, you! Have you seen Sesshoumaru?" yelled Inuyasha. It turned out the dwarfish man was Jaken.
Jaken nearly fell over in indignation. "Do not use his name so crudely!" he shouted angrily.
Inuyasha's hand curled into a fist and landed on Jaken's head.
"Take me to my brother."
Kagome sighed. She was leaving, and if Inuyasha was going to act the same way as he did when she returned to her home, it was going to be nearly impossible for her to ever visit Sesshoumaru.
She didn't want to see Rin for fear she wouldn't be able to leave. Then again, she didn't want to see Sesshoumaru either, but that would be hard avoiding.
Finally, she felt as if she understood his lack of showing of emotions. Herself she felt like it would be easier if she crawled under and icy shell, protected from Inuyasha's queries and Jaken's shock. There was nothing to talk about between her and Sesshoumaru. She'd miss him... Then again, she'd miss Rin too. And if she even breathed a word to Sesshoumaru discussed their time together while Inuyasha was still around – well, she wasn't that stupid. The less Inuyasha knew the better.
Sighing, she made her way outside.
Sesshoumaru listened silently to Inuyasha's explanation of Kagome's disappearance and how they thought she might've been in the Western Lands.
"Damn it, say something!" yelled Inuyasha. For all he did, he might as well have been talking to himself.
The only reason why Sesshoumaru was entertaining Inuyasha's nonsense was because he had come all the way to Sesshoumaru's doorstep – making it easier for Sesshoumaru. All he needed to do was chat with Inuyasha about how he should and should not treat Kagome, and he could send the hanyou on his way.
And the thing about what the witch stole from Kagome... Sesshoumaru would make sure Inuyasha heard about it. And he'd make sure Inuyasha did something about it, too.
Kagome spied Sesshoumaru already outside... next to him was... a flash of bright red.
"Inuyasha?" murmured Kagome. As she started running across the dewy grass she could make out silver hair as well.
Inuyasha's ears picked up a small whisper... He tore his attention away from Sesshoumaru and looked towards the direction of Kagome's voice.
"Kagome where have you been?" he demanded as she ran towards them.
"Nowhere..." she said before finding Sango and giving her a long hug. Shippo jumped into her arms next. "God, it's good to see you guys again..."
"Don't I get a hug too?" asked Miroku.
Kagome looked like she was going to knock him senseless for a second, but then seemed to decide against it. She reached over and pulled Miroku into a hug. Miroku, to his credit, didn't let his hand wander anywhere other than Kagome's shoulders and back. The monk, for all his perverted thoughts, had room enough for intelligence. And the moment he'd arrived he'd sensed something different in Sesshoumaru... It was the same with Kagome too – she'd actually hugged him. Miroku didn't take long to put two and two together. And if what he'd guessed about Sesshoumaru and Kagome was right... Well, he didn't want to do anything that might anger Sesshoumaru.
"I'll talk to you later, Kagome," whispered Miroku before letting her go. When Kagome looked into his eyes, she saw not lecherousness or disappointment, only understanding and a little hint of curiosity.
"We should go now," Kagome said, albeit unwillingly. She still hadn't given Inuyasha his hug, and wasn't about to give it to him. Stepping closer to Sesshoumaru, she kept a fair distance from him still but used her eyes to communicate.
Thank you for everything... her eyes seemed to say. I'll always remember you.
We're not parting forever, I promise I'll come back for you, he replied silently.
"You should be going," said Sesshoumaru. He handed Kagome a small gold box, barely one inch across all sides. "If you need me for anything, just use this." Saying so, he turned and headed back towards the palace.
"What's in the box he gave you, Kagome-chan?" asked Sango as they cooked dinner while Inuyasha chased Shippo round and round the campsite they had chosen. Kagome didn't say 'Sit!' just yet – Shippo could do with some exercise once in awhile.
"I don't know," admitted Kagome sheepishly. "I haven't looked."
Sango looked at her expectantly. "Well?" She put her hands on her hips.
Kagome drew out the gold box. It had a tiny clasp in front. When the clasp was pressed, the lid sprang open.
"What the heck..." wondered Sango aloud.
"Oh my god..." breathed Kagome.
A long lock of silver hair curled up, nestling in the golden box.
They were interrupted by Shippo's pants and yells of help.
"Inuyasha, stop it," commanded Kagome. "That's enough chasing for one night."
"Don't boss me around, girl!" shouted Inuyasha as he continued his run after Shippo.
One whispered word from Kagome later, Inuyasha was sprawled face-front on the dirt.
"Now where's Miroku?" Sango asked. "He was supposed to be gathering firewood. I suppose he met some helpless maidens on the way and had to send them home."
"Not really," said a voice from behind them.
"Miroku-sama!" exclaimed Kagome. "What took so long?"'
"I was met by some shikigami," he confessed. "They flew around, then dropped this note into my hands." He dangled a piece of paper out in front of Kagome. "When's dinner ready?"
"SIT!" yelled Kagome, safely tucking the note out of sight when Inuyasha tried to snatch it away. "It's for me, Inuyasha, not you."
Inuyasha glared furiously. "I don't believe it. Kikyo -"
Sango took the opportunity to stuff a spoonful of ramen into his open mouth. Kagome thrust a bowl into his hands.
Shippo looked gleeful, but quickly ducked behind Kagome when he caught Inuyasha's angry gaze.
"Quit it, Shippo," said Kagome irritably. "Inuyasha wouldn't keep picking on you if you didn't keep making him mad."
Shippo looked like he was about to retort but then fell silent at a look from Sango. He quietly accepted his bowl of noodles. Kagome picked her bowl up and left the fireside, disappearing behind some bushes.
Sango picked up her own bowl and started after Kagome, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll talk to her," said Miroku.
The taijiya's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she let him go forward anyways. At any rate, Kagome was in a bad mood and if Miroku tried anything, he'd be the one to pay dearly for it.
"Did they send you after me?" asked Kagome. She'd heard his footsteps from behind her.
"No," replied Miroku truthfully. "But I thought you had something to tell me."
"Oh?" Kagome arched an eyebrow. "Sit down and explain."
His robes rustled as he sat down beside her. "Well... We took so long to find you because... Well, the shikigami appeared everywhere. Inuyasha kept leading us off course to follow them. And from the looks of it, you haven't been exactly idle the past weeks or so."
Kagome blushed, allowed her fringe to fall across her eyes, hiding her emotions.
Miroku let out an exaggerated sigh. "Well, since Kagome-sama won't talk, I suppose I'll have to go back and report that she's only suffering from mixed feelings, and can't decide which of two silver-haired brothers she likes better."
Kagome gasped, and grabbed his robes to stop him from leaving. "Don't you dare. Inuyasha would freak and Sango... I don't know."
"As you wish," said Miroku. "So what really happened?"
"The night Inuyasha left for Naraku, I went for a walk. This bird youkai picked me up, but halfway through its flight I got it to drop me. I landed in a forest, where I found Rin. Then another youkai there attacked us. Sesshoumaru arrived to save us and they took me back to heal my injuries." Kagome paused. "Let's just say that Sesshoumaru isn't as cold-blooded or evil as he seems to be."
Miroku nodded knowingly.
"That's all I wanted to hear. So, any chance you'll become the Lady of the Western Lands soon?"
"Unlikely," laughed Kagome.
Miroku smiled at her. She was so like a little sister to him. The time he'd realized he held her like he would a younger sister, he'd stopped groping her.
He found himself telling her that.
Kagome listened, and laughed. "Well, I'm flattered to be your little sister, Miroku. And I would love for Sango to be my sister-in-law."
"And I would love to be the brother-in-law of some powerful taiyoukai lord," teased Miroku in turn, earning him a friendly whack from Kagome on the head.
"Say, Miroku," Kagome raised as they returned to the rest of the group.. Something bugged her from the time she'd visited the monks in the village near Sesshoumaru's palace. "How long did it take you to finish your training as a monk?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, but he grinned. "Take a guess."
"Forever, since you can't keep your hands of women."
"On the contrary, Kagome-chan – can I call you that, if you're my sister? – I passed the training three months after I actually started training. I was about nine."
Kagome stared, and he caught her glance. "It wasn't that hard," he explained. "Plus, I can keep my hands of women. I just prefer not to."
A/N: Like I said previously. Bear with me please. My life is one hectic mess of bullshit.
Oh, I forgot to add in Chapter 8 that I hit 100 (actually, 106) reviews! Thank you all so much for taking time to review... You've all really made me very happy. I'm starting something new too, with the reviews...
Dedicated Reviewers (people I've seen many times on my review page. Maybe you've reviewed more than once and I missed you out. My apologies... I have a short memory. Just review a bit more and I might remember you):
Special thanks to the following people who make writing for me so special and rewarding...
unknown (are you the same person or many people with the same names? Anyhow, thanks of all your reviews)
demonswty (You inspire me a lot with your kind reviews)
lilc-101 (Talk about good reviews... I enjoy reading yours, it helps me think back to what I've written and what I should write next)
InaZuma Yosei (Thanks, you give me really long reviews too...)
DeniseD (You leave the sweetest reviews)
Sycoh (You're really good with compliments!)
zeddy222 (Short and sweet must be your review motto... Thanks for all the reviews)
Review Responses (My log-in page is still screwed, if I miss you out please tell me):
kissesforsess-chan: You don't sound perverted at all.
InaZuma Yosei: Lol... what a cute review.
Sycoh: Thanks, I hope you get over writer's block soon!
lilc-101: You never know...
Lasako: I hate it when people steal your screen names. Though the best thieves are the ones that steal your story idea, then flame you for your 'stupid story'.
inu.-sess.fan: Kagome doesn't plan on telling Inuyasha; I'm not sure about Sango.
inuyasha88: Lol... Maybe I should've made them kiss in Chapter 3. But I didn't. evil laugh
demonswty: I love such a heartfelt plea... I wish they could too...
MeilinH: Thanks for the tip, but I don't think I'm going to use it. I think that scenario can be interesting but is generally too stereotyped. I'd also prefer the challenge of having almighty Sesshoumaru fall in love with a human.
unknown: Patience is virtue... but I can understand you since I don't particularly have that virtue myself...
sunfire-moondesire: XD XD XD
DeniseD: Thanks, I'll try very, very hard.
Piper: No, it doesn't, it simply means that they've mated.
tiggerlily1: I actually normally make them longer, but for Chapter 8 it was rather hard to write more while making it fit right.
Seshura: Don't we all wish he would. If only anime characters could come to life... better not, I fear what havoc Miroku would cause.
bloodbunny: Let's see how it turns out...
Sessh's BabyGrl: I agree 100%.
Shadowmai: Thanks for pointing it out.
Siripiritus: Well, you're lucky, you got the update soon after you reviewed.
FluffyandSnapeslover: Waves to fruit vendor Lemons here, please!
Kagome360: You lucky thing...
Sess, i-don't-talk-much, zeddy222, Megan Consoer, fanficWriter, Pixy-Misa- Misao-Amano: Thanks for the review, I'll update as soon as possible.
Jaken wandered through the halls of the palace. Ever since he had told Sesshoumaru that Kagome was missing, he hadn't seen a single glimpse of the youkai lord.
To offset his worry, Jaken started doing the one thing that got his mind off things – cleaning. Sure enough, an hour later, he was just about whistling happily as he strolled through the palaces, occasionally dusting off a surface or two.
Absentmindedly Jaken wandered around, bumping into Rin somewhere around the kitchen.
"Good morning," chirped Jaken cheerfully.
"Ok... good morning Jaken-sama," said Rin, doubtfully. It wasn't like Jaken always greeted her; in fact, most of the time he ignored her.
"Take a walk with me," invited Jaken.
"Umm... it's raining, Jaken-sama." A glance through a window showed torrents of rain flooding outside.
"No problem at all," declared Jaken. "We can walk inside."
Rin stared at Jaken. Even under Sesshoumaru's nose he wasn't that nice or cheery. If she had known the term 'Out of Character', she would have used it on Jaken.
Nevertheless, she followed Jaken on a tour of the palace, waiting patiently for Jaken to occasionally finish cleaning a vase or dusting off a painting. The little girl had worried about Kagome, but when Jaken had told Sesshoumaru about it, she had ceased agonizing. Sesshoumaru-sama could do anything he set his mind to – including finding Kagome.
After leading her on a wild trail through the endless corridors, Rin's patience with Jaken was wearing thin. Not that she would ever show it, but still. Especially since Jaken was currently leading her to the west side of the castle, where Rin had gone to a thousand times and found nothing.
Rolling her eyes Rin followed-
And bumped right into Jaken.
"Am I just old, Rin, or is this something new?" muttered Jaken.
A large stairwell had descended before them, occasionally giving off sparks from a barrier that was obviously there.
"Inuyasha, Kikyo's gone, maybe you should just concentrate on finding Kagome," Shippo suggested timidly, prepared to duck behind Sango should the need arise. Sango, however, was speaking in low tones to Miroku.
"Keh," snorted Inuyasha, but he changed directions anyways. "How do you expect to find Kagome in this place? It's too big."
Sango's boomerang crashed down onto his head. "That is why," she said, "Miroku and I have decided to ask your brother for help."
"What?" Inuyasha spluttered. "Sesshoumaru? He would never help us. And I would never ask him for help. And since when did it become 'Miroku and I'?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes flew open. Someone was climbing up the steps that led to his study.
"Fucking hell!" he cursed and untangled Kagome from his arms. "Don't tell me..."
Flashback
"This barrier can withstand almost everything – even the most powerful of swords," said Inutaisho proudly to his eldest son, at that time still pretty young.
"Almost everything?" asked Sesshoumaru.
"Well, except two things. One is, if someone from inside removes or weakens the barrier. Another is, if a very, very powerful miko and taiyoukai, please note, taiyoukai, mate, the strength from their mating can weaken the barrier slightly."
End Flashback
Sesshoumaru slipped his armor on quickly and left his room. When he drew open the door to his study, sure enough, Rin was waiting at the foot of the staircase which Jaken was trying to climb up. The barrier was resisting vehemently and bright sparks of light were flying everywhere. To her credit, Rin was dodging the blasts very well.
A quick recitation of a spell and the barrier weakened sufficiently for Jaken to huff to the top.
"Hello, Sesshoumaru-sama!" said Rin, no longer having to watch for stray sparks.
"You never told me about this place, Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken sounded reproachful. "All these years of faithful servitude... You could've spared me a moment to tell me about this."
"Another day, Jaken, another day," Sesshoumaru said briskly. "Have you received replies to the letters I had you send out yesterday?"
Jaken looked guilty. "I haven't checked, my lord."
"Well, go!" snapped Sesshoumaru, though there was barely a hint of anger in his voice.
Behind him, a sleepy-looking Kagome stuck her head out of the door.
"Is something wrong?" she yawned.
Jaken's eyes bulged so much Sesshoumaru thought they would pop out. "My lord... you..."
A glare from Sesshoumaru made the toad shut up. Rin followed – she loved watching Jaken get the mail from other taiyoukai. It was amusing to see the toad try to boss the other servants around, and get yelled at in return.
Inside, safe behind closed doors, Sesshoumaru looked neutrally at Kagome. It wasn't his hobby to make small talk, like 'did-you-sleep-well's', but Jaken made up for the lack of it.
"After breakfast we will proceed to find Inuyasha," said Sesshoumaru tartly. He stopped himself from adding, "Rin will probably miss your company, but hopefully you can visit in time for the youkai ball."
Kagome nodded, but with a – was it wistful? – look in her eyes.
Try he might, Sesshoumaru could not bring himself to say better words if parting.
"I'll see you after breakfast," he called, and left.
Can't you be more... Warm? Friendly? Snapped a voice in his head. Sheesh you just slept with her, and you give her this type of morning greeting?
Shut up! Barked another voice. She'll understand.
Sure she will. But she'll be disappointed.
"Just shut the fuck up. Both of you," Sesshoumaru snarled to himself.
"I say this is a bad idea," Inuyasha muttered glaring up at the hill on which Sesshoumaru's palace stood.
"I say it's a perfectly reasonably course of action," hissed Sango in the voice she reserved for Miroku when his hand was on her rear end.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and started jumping up the hill. Sango and Miroku leapt onto Kirara, and Shippo changed into his pink floating ball shape. As they rose higher, they spotted a small dwarfish man running furiously between other people, presumably servants.
Landing on Kirara was smooth – Shippo, however, bounced quite a few times before halting.
"Hey, you! Have you seen Sesshoumaru?" yelled Inuyasha. It turned out the dwarfish man was Jaken.
Jaken nearly fell over in indignation. "Do not use his name so crudely!" he shouted angrily.
Inuyasha's hand curled into a fist and landed on Jaken's head.
"Take me to my brother."
Kagome sighed. She was leaving, and if Inuyasha was going to act the same way as he did when she returned to her home, it was going to be nearly impossible for her to ever visit Sesshoumaru.
She didn't want to see Rin for fear she wouldn't be able to leave. Then again, she didn't want to see Sesshoumaru either, but that would be hard avoiding.
Finally, she felt as if she understood his lack of showing of emotions. Herself she felt like it would be easier if she crawled under and icy shell, protected from Inuyasha's queries and Jaken's shock. There was nothing to talk about between her and Sesshoumaru. She'd miss him... Then again, she'd miss Rin too. And if she even breathed a word to Sesshoumaru discussed their time together while Inuyasha was still around – well, she wasn't that stupid. The less Inuyasha knew the better.
Sighing, she made her way outside.
Sesshoumaru listened silently to Inuyasha's explanation of Kagome's disappearance and how they thought she might've been in the Western Lands.
"Damn it, say something!" yelled Inuyasha. For all he did, he might as well have been talking to himself.
The only reason why Sesshoumaru was entertaining Inuyasha's nonsense was because he had come all the way to Sesshoumaru's doorstep – making it easier for Sesshoumaru. All he needed to do was chat with Inuyasha about how he should and should not treat Kagome, and he could send the hanyou on his way.
And the thing about what the witch stole from Kagome... Sesshoumaru would make sure Inuyasha heard about it. And he'd make sure Inuyasha did something about it, too.
Kagome spied Sesshoumaru already outside... next to him was... a flash of bright red.
"Inuyasha?" murmured Kagome. As she started running across the dewy grass she could make out silver hair as well.
Inuyasha's ears picked up a small whisper... He tore his attention away from Sesshoumaru and looked towards the direction of Kagome's voice.
"Kagome where have you been?" he demanded as she ran towards them.
"Nowhere..." she said before finding Sango and giving her a long hug. Shippo jumped into her arms next. "God, it's good to see you guys again..."
"Don't I get a hug too?" asked Miroku.
Kagome looked like she was going to knock him senseless for a second, but then seemed to decide against it. She reached over and pulled Miroku into a hug. Miroku, to his credit, didn't let his hand wander anywhere other than Kagome's shoulders and back. The monk, for all his perverted thoughts, had room enough for intelligence. And the moment he'd arrived he'd sensed something different in Sesshoumaru... It was the same with Kagome too – she'd actually hugged him. Miroku didn't take long to put two and two together. And if what he'd guessed about Sesshoumaru and Kagome was right... Well, he didn't want to do anything that might anger Sesshoumaru.
"I'll talk to you later, Kagome," whispered Miroku before letting her go. When Kagome looked into his eyes, she saw not lecherousness or disappointment, only understanding and a little hint of curiosity.
"We should go now," Kagome said, albeit unwillingly. She still hadn't given Inuyasha his hug, and wasn't about to give it to him. Stepping closer to Sesshoumaru, she kept a fair distance from him still but used her eyes to communicate.
Thank you for everything... her eyes seemed to say. I'll always remember you.
We're not parting forever, I promise I'll come back for you, he replied silently.
"You should be going," said Sesshoumaru. He handed Kagome a small gold box, barely one inch across all sides. "If you need me for anything, just use this." Saying so, he turned and headed back towards the palace.
"What's in the box he gave you, Kagome-chan?" asked Sango as they cooked dinner while Inuyasha chased Shippo round and round the campsite they had chosen. Kagome didn't say 'Sit!' just yet – Shippo could do with some exercise once in awhile.
"I don't know," admitted Kagome sheepishly. "I haven't looked."
Sango looked at her expectantly. "Well?" She put her hands on her hips.
Kagome drew out the gold box. It had a tiny clasp in front. When the clasp was pressed, the lid sprang open.
"What the heck..." wondered Sango aloud.
"Oh my god..." breathed Kagome.
A long lock of silver hair curled up, nestling in the golden box.
They were interrupted by Shippo's pants and yells of help.
"Inuyasha, stop it," commanded Kagome. "That's enough chasing for one night."
"Don't boss me around, girl!" shouted Inuyasha as he continued his run after Shippo.
One whispered word from Kagome later, Inuyasha was sprawled face-front on the dirt.
"Now where's Miroku?" Sango asked. "He was supposed to be gathering firewood. I suppose he met some helpless maidens on the way and had to send them home."
"Not really," said a voice from behind them.
"Miroku-sama!" exclaimed Kagome. "What took so long?"'
"I was met by some shikigami," he confessed. "They flew around, then dropped this note into my hands." He dangled a piece of paper out in front of Kagome. "When's dinner ready?"
"SIT!" yelled Kagome, safely tucking the note out of sight when Inuyasha tried to snatch it away. "It's for me, Inuyasha, not you."
Inuyasha glared furiously. "I don't believe it. Kikyo -"
Sango took the opportunity to stuff a spoonful of ramen into his open mouth. Kagome thrust a bowl into his hands.
Shippo looked gleeful, but quickly ducked behind Kagome when he caught Inuyasha's angry gaze.
"Quit it, Shippo," said Kagome irritably. "Inuyasha wouldn't keep picking on you if you didn't keep making him mad."
Shippo looked like he was about to retort but then fell silent at a look from Sango. He quietly accepted his bowl of noodles. Kagome picked her bowl up and left the fireside, disappearing behind some bushes.
Sango picked up her own bowl and started after Kagome, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll talk to her," said Miroku.
The taijiya's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she let him go forward anyways. At any rate, Kagome was in a bad mood and if Miroku tried anything, he'd be the one to pay dearly for it.
"Did they send you after me?" asked Kagome. She'd heard his footsteps from behind her.
"No," replied Miroku truthfully. "But I thought you had something to tell me."
"Oh?" Kagome arched an eyebrow. "Sit down and explain."
His robes rustled as he sat down beside her. "Well... We took so long to find you because... Well, the shikigami appeared everywhere. Inuyasha kept leading us off course to follow them. And from the looks of it, you haven't been exactly idle the past weeks or so."
Kagome blushed, allowed her fringe to fall across her eyes, hiding her emotions.
Miroku let out an exaggerated sigh. "Well, since Kagome-sama won't talk, I suppose I'll have to go back and report that she's only suffering from mixed feelings, and can't decide which of two silver-haired brothers she likes better."
Kagome gasped, and grabbed his robes to stop him from leaving. "Don't you dare. Inuyasha would freak and Sango... I don't know."
"As you wish," said Miroku. "So what really happened?"
"The night Inuyasha left for Naraku, I went for a walk. This bird youkai picked me up, but halfway through its flight I got it to drop me. I landed in a forest, where I found Rin. Then another youkai there attacked us. Sesshoumaru arrived to save us and they took me back to heal my injuries." Kagome paused. "Let's just say that Sesshoumaru isn't as cold-blooded or evil as he seems to be."
Miroku nodded knowingly.
"That's all I wanted to hear. So, any chance you'll become the Lady of the Western Lands soon?"
"Unlikely," laughed Kagome.
Miroku smiled at her. She was so like a little sister to him. The time he'd realized he held her like he would a younger sister, he'd stopped groping her.
He found himself telling her that.
Kagome listened, and laughed. "Well, I'm flattered to be your little sister, Miroku. And I would love for Sango to be my sister-in-law."
"And I would love to be the brother-in-law of some powerful taiyoukai lord," teased Miroku in turn, earning him a friendly whack from Kagome on the head.
"Say, Miroku," Kagome raised as they returned to the rest of the group.. Something bugged her from the time she'd visited the monks in the village near Sesshoumaru's palace. "How long did it take you to finish your training as a monk?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, but he grinned. "Take a guess."
"Forever, since you can't keep your hands of women."
"On the contrary, Kagome-chan – can I call you that, if you're my sister? – I passed the training three months after I actually started training. I was about nine."
Kagome stared, and he caught her glance. "It wasn't that hard," he explained. "Plus, I can keep my hands of women. I just prefer not to."
A/N: Like I said previously. Bear with me please. My life is one hectic mess of bullshit.
Oh, I forgot to add in Chapter 8 that I hit 100 (actually, 106) reviews! Thank you all so much for taking time to review... You've all really made me very happy. I'm starting something new too, with the reviews...
Dedicated Reviewers (people I've seen many times on my review page. Maybe you've reviewed more than once and I missed you out. My apologies... I have a short memory. Just review a bit more and I might remember you):
Special thanks to the following people who make writing for me so special and rewarding...
unknown (are you the same person or many people with the same names? Anyhow, thanks of all your reviews)
demonswty (You inspire me a lot with your kind reviews)
lilc-101 (Talk about good reviews... I enjoy reading yours, it helps me think back to what I've written and what I should write next)
InaZuma Yosei (Thanks, you give me really long reviews too...)
DeniseD (You leave the sweetest reviews)
Sycoh (You're really good with compliments!)
zeddy222 (Short and sweet must be your review motto... Thanks for all the reviews)
Review Responses (My log-in page is still screwed, if I miss you out please tell me):
kissesforsess-chan: You don't sound perverted at all.
InaZuma Yosei: Lol... what a cute review.
Sycoh: Thanks, I hope you get over writer's block soon!
lilc-101: You never know...
Lasako: I hate it when people steal your screen names. Though the best thieves are the ones that steal your story idea, then flame you for your 'stupid story'.
inu.-sess.fan: Kagome doesn't plan on telling Inuyasha; I'm not sure about Sango.
inuyasha88: Lol... Maybe I should've made them kiss in Chapter 3. But I didn't. evil laugh
demonswty: I love such a heartfelt plea... I wish they could too...
MeilinH: Thanks for the tip, but I don't think I'm going to use it. I think that scenario can be interesting but is generally too stereotyped. I'd also prefer the challenge of having almighty Sesshoumaru fall in love with a human.
unknown: Patience is virtue... but I can understand you since I don't particularly have that virtue myself...
sunfire-moondesire: XD XD XD
DeniseD: Thanks, I'll try very, very hard.
Piper: No, it doesn't, it simply means that they've mated.
tiggerlily1: I actually normally make them longer, but for Chapter 8 it was rather hard to write more while making it fit right.
Seshura: Don't we all wish he would. If only anime characters could come to life... better not, I fear what havoc Miroku would cause.
bloodbunny: Let's see how it turns out...
Sessh's BabyGrl: I agree 100%.
Shadowmai: Thanks for pointing it out.
Siripiritus: Well, you're lucky, you got the update soon after you reviewed.
FluffyandSnapeslover: Waves to fruit vendor Lemons here, please!
Kagome360: You lucky thing...
Sess, i-don't-talk-much, zeddy222, Megan Consoer, fanficWriter, Pixy-Misa- Misao-Amano: Thanks for the review, I'll update as soon as possible.