Hey everyone, it's nice to be back in the good ol' Inuyasha category again! =D This story has been highly requested for months now, and because my WHR fanfic is nearing the end I thought it would be nice to start this one up. Here's some A/Ns:
1) I don't own Inuyasha! Man I get tired of saying that in every chapter, lol…
2) This is a sequel to my first Sess/Kag story, The Involuntary King and Queen. Keyword there: SEQUEL. Therefore, if you have NOT read its predecessor I highly suggest you do because otherwise you won't understand why Sesshoumaru is already in love with Kagome and everything. Complaints about OOCness regarding that will be laughed upon.
3) If you go my webpage in my profile, I have a) translations for all the Japanese words I use in here [there will be a lot] b) a few fanart pics of various anime characters/couples c) my guide on how to become successful on and d) all of my stories. You will find this story there as well—and at this point I should like to make things clear that there WILL be lemons in this story. I dunno when but they'll be there. Because doesn't allow them anymore, I put the unedited version of my story with the lemons and everything on my webpage, which you can read.
4) I know a few volunteered for a beta reader of this story when the last chapter of TIKAQ was posted but I'm not sure if you're still interested. Apply via e-mail! Thanks! Oh, and I also require that you have at least one story on here with an average of 10 reviews per chappy.
…Yeah that's all. Normally I don't have that many A/Ns, promise! Anyways, enough of that! Here's the first chapter. Hope you enjoy:
"Sesshoumaru…" A warm hand fell to my cheek. My eyes blinked open from a deep sleep. Could it really be? Her wonderful scent filled my nose, and I smiled pleasantly. Yes. She was here…with me.
"Sesshoumaru? Are you awake, Sesshoumaru?" The hand moved from my cheek to my chest and pressed against it. Sweet lips kissed the area right below my jaw line. I felt around for the hand and grasped it gently upon finding it.
'MINE.' I growled possessively. 'Forever mine…'
She giggled and whispered into my ear, "Then you are awake, I see. You had me fooled for a second, my strong taiyoukai." Her sweet voice filled my ear, which made my blood run faster.
"Kagome." I turned to my other side on the futon to face her, ready to take her in my protective arms.
She was gone. An unsettling emptiness in my heart was all that remained.
I sat up from my sleep. I looked slowly to the left, and just as I thought, she was not there. Our comfortable futon had transformed into the grass on the ground, and the silk sheets became only the wind. But most regrettably, her scent…her wonderful scent was now just a distant memory that I could only…dream of…
"Sesshoumaru-sama! You are awake!" My ears twitched in annoyance when I heard this voice. I turned around to see Jaken walking up to me. "I'm SO glad you're awake, master! I hope you slept well?" He bowed his head eagerly as he knelt down.
"So desu, Jaken." I muttered to him. "Stand up now. We're leaving." I stood up and stretched slightly.
"R-Right!" He squeaked. "I'll go fetch Rin, then!" Jaken scurried away.
I walked over to a nearby river and began to wash my face off. I felt the need to cleanse myself suddenly…to wash away her touch from my mind. But it would be a hopeless effort, as it was permanently etched into my mind. I growled at my hopeless predicament, for that was all it would ever be, if nothing more could be done.
Rin came running up to me, with Jaken trudging along. "Here we are, Sesshoumaru-sama! Where are we going today?" She did a small twirl and looked at me expectantly.
"Today we'll be watching over the lady again, Rin. The one who wears green." I walked out of the river and dried my face off. She nodded happily. "…Good, you remember."
"Uh huh! The nice lady named Kagome!" Rin beamed.
Jaken shifted his eyes uncomfortably for a moment, and then blurted out "Master, why do we constantly follow that woman around? Not only is she a miko, but she is also a close friend to your sworn enemy, Inuyasha!"
I looked at Jaken with a piercing, youkai gaze. He immediately fell to the ground and squeaked apologies. Fortunately, I was so immune to his transposing ways that it did not really bother me…for if it had, Jaken would certainly be dead from that remark.
"Master, please don't be mad at me!" He blubbered between sobs.
"…Stand up, Jaken. We're leaving." I turned to go. Jaken sighed with grateful relief and the two followed me out of our campsite.
Perhaps this is a good time to explain the nature of the taiyoukai. For you see, we are incapable of falling in love. At least, the ones that are pure of blood and fully grown. We see it as a weakness that can be easily avoided. We do not have 'lovers'…we have 'mates.' Mates are much different than lovers. A lover requires affection…compassion…effort, and time. There are several steps needed before you can fall in love. First, there is the courting process, which is complicated beyond most youkai comprehension. The next step is the most difficult: each person must acknowledge their true feelings for the other. Most never make it this far, but if you do, then you must spend some time together in order for your feelings to be confirmed. Then, and only then, can the two actually become lovers. And sometimes, even, there must be an extra step, which humans call 'marriage.' In this bond, you may no longer mate with anyone else. No, most youkai find lovers to be less than appealing…and not without good reason.
But with a mate, life is much simpler. This is how most youkai prefer to do things. You have no attachment to the mate, and so there are no burdens involved. Better yet, you may have as many mates as you please. This is the life of a youkai. The only excepting for this is the small, traditional courtship ceremony two youkai will perform. The male will hunt the female through the forests in a time-honored chase. He will circle around her, toy with her, and allow her to escape for a short while, and then repeat. Eventually, if he is successful at capturing her, then they become mates.
My father…he was different for some reason. At first everything was normal enough. He found my mother and declared her the Lady of the Western Lands. For awhile, they were happy…and then I was born. Full youkai. But soon…my mother disappeared. No one knew what happened to her…she could be dead. At any rate, my father, grieving over the loss, had weakened in the mind for a short period of time. I believe it was this weakness that opened his heart to humans. As the memory of my mother slowly began to diminish, his feelings towards a certain female human grew larger by the day. She was not his 'mate' as she should have been…no, there was a distinct difference, I remember. She was his love. And so, a few months later, Inuyasha was born. An unfortunate event.
So why was the same feeling of love happening to me? Had a weakness crossed my heart as well in some point of time? The worst thing about it was the double edged sword of love. I felt a terrible emotion constantly scratching at me from the inside. And why? Because I was in love. And I badly needed it in return. But it would not come. For that, I was a fool to persist. Even though I knew this, I had continued to pursuit Kagome. This, I recognized, was a symptom of love. It had poisoned my youkai mind, and still I pressed on. Oh, the torture…and yet, sweet torture it was.
We had even mated at one point. Yes, I, Sesshoumaru, the taiyoukai of the Western Lands, had mated with a human. It went against everything I had thought to be in life. I used to be disgusted with my father's choice long, long ago…but now I understood. Besides, Kagome was no ordinary human, either. There was something different about her…something powerful. A miko. I could feel it every time I would look at her.
But that was the past, and now it was the present. I was not without my respect. Her decision to not become my mate would be honored. Still…still, I insisted on watching over her. To protect Kagome from harm's way. It was the least I could do. It was…all I could do. Caution was needed, however. My brother was always around, and my scent could be detected easily enough. Once, we were almost discovered when Rin screamed in fright suddenly from a huge lizard that happened to be passing by. It was all I could do to grab them away from the area and leap out of sight before Inuyasha would discover my identity. Fortunately, I heard another youkai roar from somewhere behind—a roar that contained a Shikon no Kakkera from within. We had managed to escape.
Sometimes I blamed Kagome for my foolish behavior. After all, it was she who made the first move in our relationship, if you could call it that. One might say that my eventual love for her was inevitable, with the given circumstances we were in at the time. Our days as King and Queen were over. Now things would have to be done the hard way. Often I had considered the alternative many times of going back to our castle in the other world with her along with me. But I knew that wouldn't be right—it was not what Kagome would have wanted, and so I needed to win her heart with my own accord.
One troubling question then remained…how? I truly believed Kagome did not hate me. Still, I had constantly tried to take Inuyasha's life in the past, and so it was very improbable that I was her favorite person. And yet, hope had remained inside of me. In fact, I was consumed by it. Day after day, night after night…all I could think about was Kagome. Her touch…her voice…her scent. The way she had caressed around my chest lightly. The perfect fit she had created in my arms. I missed, NEEDED, all of those things. My body constantly craved for them, and so, I would be completely consumed by the feeling called love.
"There she is." I whispered to myself.
The opportunity was almost too good to be true. My brother was off somewhere else—probably chasing a nearby youkai he had found. The monk, demon slayer, and neko youkai were gone as well. Only my lovely Kagome and the small kitsune cub had remained. Completely unguarded. I licked my lips delightfully.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama! Wait for meee!!" Jaken came stumbling forward.
"Jaken," I said with a quiet snarl, "Wait with Rin at least two hundred feet from here. And do not make any loud noises." I leapt away to get a closer look. He groaned in sorrow and muttered to himself the question of whether or not this meant I would be returning.
I leaned against a sturdy branch and gazed down. Kagome was studying some sort of book, with the fox youkai resting his head against her stomach. Envy immediately felly upon me for the kitsune, and I had suddenly longed to be in his position. I too had once laid my head against her stomach in the more peaceful days. And we were content…together. It was a moment that was supposed to last forever, but our fates would not allow it.
"Do not let your emotions take control." I scolded myself. "My guard will be let down too easily, and I will be discovered." But I couldn't help to control my eyes as they once more rested their gaze upon the beauty. A sudden wind picked up, and her raven locks blew around gently. A smooth hand reached up to tame the strands, but they insisted nonetheless of being free with the wind.
But when her wonderful, delicious scent finally reached my nose, I lost all restraint over my youkai senses. The movement of Kagome's hair had released her perfume all over the atmosphere. With a sensitive nose like mine, the air felt to be saturated with it. I stumbled back a little into the tree in order to regain myself. More wind blew up, and this time she actually stood up. My nose became overwhelmed suddenly. Once again desire took over my restraint. "Kagome…" My hand reached out, as if to touch her. Blood filled my eyes in the struggle.
"Did you hear something, Kagome?" The small kitsune perked his ears up. "I thought I heard a voice in the forest…"
She gave a quiet giggle. "Don't be silly, Shippo…it was probably just one of your dreams. Go back to sleep." I thanked silently whatever deity there may be out there that I could continue to go undiscovered.
The little youkai yawned. "Yeah, I guess you're right…'night, Kagome." He nuzzled his head against the soft grass and fell asleep.
But she was not to be underestimated. Kagome looked around suspiciously for a few moments. Did she figure it out? There was no way of knowing, for at that exact second, my brother came crashing through the forest with deafening sounds. I growled in annoyance. It would soon be time to make my exit.
"Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha said brightly.
"Shh!" She scolded. "You'll wake Shippo!"
His ears dropped. "Oh…sorry. Well anyways, I caught some fish for all of us…where did the others go?"
She shrugged. "I think Miroku went off to remove the barrier he had put around the area when we slept. Sango and Kirara went with him. So Shippo and I have just sort of been hanging out here."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "You mean…you mean you guys have been here all by yourselves!? Without anyone else!?"
Her face narrowed. "What's wrong with that? I wasn't too long ago that Miroku and the others left! We've been perfectly fine here…"
My brother knew a fight was brewing in the back of her mind, and so he quickly decided to tread over the subject. "Well…here's the fish at any rate. Let's set up a fire so we can cook it, okay?"
Kagome's expression softened. "Yeah, I guess we can do that. Inuyasha, why don't you go look for the others? I can set up the fire and everything while you're gone. It won't take too long, I'm sure."
He nodded. "Yeah…okay, okay. I won't be gone long." With a moment of hesitation that could be noticed by no one but me, Inuyasha sprang away. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to look on.
She knelt down and laid the fish off to the side. As Kagome began to pick up nearby sticks, she began to hum a song innocently. I was well aware of what it was—an ancient Japanese song that dated back to hundreds of years. I sighed in pleasant content as her melody filled my ears and I sat against the branch while listening to her soothing hypnosis.
The kitsune woke up again and began to help her. It was when I heard her laugh happily one more time that I knew I could bear no more. After giving her one last long glance, I leapt away. "Itsumo, my Kagome."
In the blink of an eye, I was back with the others. Jaken loudly proclaimed his happiness for my return, which I paid no attention to, as always. Instead, I walked over to a gigantic boulder nearby and leapt on top of it. I sat down in order to think of a solution for my torturous problem.
I thought back to the magical place where I had fallen in love with her first off. I was not in the right state of mind at the time—the King's personality, which was different from the normal Sesshoumaru's, had slowly but surely taken over me. It was also true that the Queen was Kagome. And so, his love for her had gradually transferred over to me. The same happened for her, and that was how it came to be.
That wasn't the end of the tale, however. Due to what could have only been my carelessness, Kagome had died in that world. A decision needed to be made…by me. Either I could use the Shikon no Tama to revive her and we could live there permanently…or…I could do what Kagome would have wanted, and return to our true world. The cost? She had no memory of what happened, and consequently the love Kagome had shared with me was forgotten. But I could not forget what went on. And I never would. It was too close to my heart. And now, I would do everything in my power to win her back.
But how…how...
I noticed a presence suddenly from behind. Without looking around, I recognized who it was.
"Go back to Jaken, Rin. This boulder is unsafe for an unbalanced human."
She gave an innocent giggle that was not unlike Kagome's. "There's a reason for all the visits to the nice lady, isn't there?" Rin beamed happily with the expression of a child who knew a secret and was about to tell the world.
I looked up at the sky. "That's correct."
"Is it…love?" She ventured curiously.
Apparently my emotionless mask was not enough for her. "You're right, Rin. I love the woman I visit every day."
She spun around. "Then why dontcha talk to her?"
My lips formed a small smirk. "It's…complicated."
"Maybe you're just shy!" Rin blurted out.
My eyes turned to slits. "Go back to Jaken, Rin."
She shook her head. "If you want to win a girl's heart, Sesshoumaru-sama, then you need to know how to impress her! We're much different than youkai!" Rin said in a matter-of-factly tone. "Make her notice you! Treat her like a Queen!!" she was finished spinning and fell down on the boulder.
I stared at her in wonder out of the corner of my eye. The coincidence had been almost too close in that last statement. Therefore, it was an omen. I needed to take her advice to heart. She, after all, knew the ningen ways better than I, however little it was for each of us. 'I will research more about the key to winning the human female's heart.' I thought positively. 'There must be certain techniques to be used to charm her.' This meant that, unfortunately, I would have to endure courtship—something taiyoukai have always naturally hated. But for Kagome, I would to anything.
…And that's all! How do you like it so far!? I hope I was able to briefly explain everything well enough. Oh, and did I mention that today is Vira's birthday? Hehehe. A review would be a nice present! =D The next update will be in a week about, so stick around! Gimme feedback! R&R! Arigato, ja ne!