Kagome sat in the car, staring back in the vanity mirror in her visor at the passenger behind her. He looked so out of place and so surreal. She wanted to ask him what had happened, if anyone knew he would, but somehow she felt it was not the time or place. He seemed to be staring out the window, watching the scenery go by with an apathetic look.
Strange, but that look on his face showed her in more ways than one that he had an advantage over her in this situation. He knew when and where he was while she remained clueless. Taking the time to look at him more closely she was a little surprised.
In the past she had never given him two glances. He was the brother of InuYasha by blood on their father's side only and he was the lord of the western territories. He was an inu youkai who harbored hatred for humans yet kept a human child as his ward. He had long silver hair, golden amber eyes, and liked to wear white. He kept two swords, Tenseiga, a healing gift from his father, and Tokijin, a powerful fang blade created from the spawn of Naraku. He chased after Tetsuigia with his toady retainer Jaken. That was all she knew of him.
But now, staring at his face she noticed some things that had never seemed to matter before. He looked young, late twenties or early thirties, but his face was not flawless as it might appear from a distance. There were slight folds and lines from years of frowns, grimaces, and growls that escaped those lips. Those lips, they were thin and hard, firm and worn. His nose appeared to be slightly snubbed, as she supposed was normal for an inu species, and was a very faint pink tint. His eyes curled up in elegant swoops across his face, like shutters to windows into forever the secrets they held within clung tight and kept for they alone.
Sesshomaru turned to look at her and she shuddered, adverting her gaze quickly. That was one power he hadn't seemed to have lost yet. Rubbing her temples with her hand she suddenly remembered something and looked up, but couldn't see it in the mirror so she turned, fully facing him now. So it was true! He had both arms again. Amazing. He glared at her and growled low, seemingly irritated at her. Kagome's mother heard the growl and frowned, staring back at him in the rear-view mirror. "Now, now, mister there will be none of that! You know as well as I do that we can subdue you in an instant so don't get cocky with my little girl."
Kagome's eyes went wide. Subdue? That was how they did this? Oh my god. It was so strange and so wrong! She looked over at Sesshomaru with an apologizing gaze but he was looking out the window again, ignoring her and her mother. She felt so sorry for him. He was such a proud youkai, so strong and intelligent when it came to the measure she had in comparison to others, and yet he was bound and chained like the rest of them.
Had the world just gone mad since her last visit? No. That didn't make sense. Well, none of this made sense. She sighed and something finally dawned on her. She now owned Sesshomaru. How had fate caused this ironic twist? Well, she wasn't about to have a slave, that was for sure. She would treat him with dignity and respect. He deserved it by now, certainly.
When they got to Kagome's home her mother left them, going up the stairs and into the house, expecting them to follow. Sesshomaru turned to look at her with a bored expression. "Since when did you start allowing your facial expressions to show?" She asked in curiosity only then remembering that he probably didn't remember her at all.
He raised an eyebrow slowly but merely looked away for a moment before returning his gaze to hers. "Since I was bound like a common pack animal. There was no need to keep my hatred hidden anymore, after all." She sighed and nodded, that was true. Then she remembered something and bowed low to him.
"I know that you are not the lord of the western lands by now and that, in all ideas, you are my property but I would rather it not be that way. I don't really know what is going on here." He didn't seem surprised by her ignorance and merely "hmmed" under his breath. She looked at him carefully and then took his hand in hers, afraid but still comforted by his presence.
His expression turned to amused as she dragged his taller frame up the stairs and into her home, taking him directly to her room. Nobody who had ever had him in their service had treated him like this. She was truly an enigma. "Your name, Kagome, is it not?"
She stopped, surprised and turned to him quickly, a misty look on her face as if she were remembering something. "Yes. It is. Kagome Higurashi." She blushed when she noticed that they were in a rather awkward silence and then turned to look about the room, noticing how subtly different it was to her own. "Well, this is my room and I guess you'll be staying here. Eh, would you like a bath and a fresh change of clothes?"
Both eyebrows rose at that and his gaze turned shocked. "You do not need to concern over my welfare, I am capable." She smirked and shook her head slightly, taking his hand once more and entering the bathroom, Sesshomaru in tow.
"I know perfectly well what you're capable of, Sesshomaru. Don't get so defensive. I want you to be clean and at least remotely content. I don't intend to let somebody else abuse you ever again." He watched as she went to run the water, testing the temperature and then pouring in a couple salts and oils. He heard her say something under her breath that sounded like "At least not until I can fix this whole mess."
Then he saw something strange, something trailing down her face as she sat next to the tub and watched the water fill. She was crying. Why was she crying? Had she been hurt? Reaching out with his hand he brushed the tear away but quickly drew back when she stiffened at his touch. She was afraid of him, horribly afraid, why?
"Kagome" That seemed to make it worse, what was wrong with her? "Are you afraid of something?" His question seemed to hit her hard and she began to cry fully, unable to stop herself.
She looked up in his face, that slightly familiar and unchanging face that was the only thing in this world which seemed so real, and frowned. "Sesshomaru, something terrible has happened and I'm not sure how to fix it." He looked confused and she turned the water off, standing and rubbing her eyes dry. "Bathe first, then I'll tell you everything, okay?"
He nodded and she left him in the room, going into her own and laying on her bed. For a moment he just sat there next to the tub and watched her. Then he stood, closing the door to the bathroom so that he would not hurt any human modesty.
Kagome watched as the door closed and sighed, throwing an arm over her head in a haphazard manner. What was she going to tell him? The truth, maybe, he would probably be the only old enough creature with intelligence to know what she was talking about. She shifted on her bed, turning onto her stomach, and looked around for anything that might give her clues as to what was happening to her.
It was sitting on her dresser. As if to mock her saying "the answers have been right here all this time and you're running around like an idiot!" and she scowled at it. Reaching out she grasped the book and turned it to her, it looked so familiar but not quite the same; her history book. With a sigh of renewed determination she cracked the cover open and scanned through the table of contents. Most of the early history was pretty familiar sounding so she skipped those parts.
Then she came across a section, subsection really, simply titled "The Youkai Inquisition", page 138. She flipped through the pages and landed on the sought after page, looking at the opening picture. The image was sepia, drawn several hundred years ago, and depicted a boar youkai being shot in front of a firing squad. How grotesque.
Tearing her eyes from the picture she began to read. After four paragraphs something caught her attention, something that made her inhale sharply in surprise. That man, he was listed here; he had been an advocate for the separation of youkai and human civilizations. According to the text, he was gaining major favor in the political circles around the area of Kyoto. Several daimyo had already begun to hear him out and were agreeing to sign a treaty which would keep their focus away from the youkai. However, in an ironic twist of fate, the advocate had been snatched up by a vicious demon and died.
Kagome groaned and smacked the book against her head before continuing to read. After the attack on the advocate his word died down, he had no apprentice and nobody to support his cause, so the daimyo eventually changed their minds. A few more years would go by until the attacks on the people and beasts under the ownership of the daimyo would drive them to call an all out war upon the youkai.
Several specific youkai clans were hunted over others, as they were viewed to be most powerful. The wolf clan was sought out first, destroying their numbers and diminishing their forces created a sense of unrest and fear within the youkai societies. Their own lords responded in kind, specifically the lord of the wolf clan.. oh Koga, Kagome thought as she imagined the wolf girl back in the cell.. and the lord of the dog clan.. Sesshomaru? Now she was really interested. It went on saying how the wolf lord had died; crying out a woman's name into the distance; but the dog lord had not been found. He fought from the shadows, only killing those who were truly creating danger and protecting small women and children, even humans, from the warpath. The book continued to say that it was believe that due to an unknown artifact that the dog lord carried he could never be killed.
Kagome shook her head in disbelief. She didn't hear the door to the bathroom open or see him enter the room and sit on the floor, next to her. She kept reading, wanting to know what had happened, and he watched her curious look with a sense of humor. He knew who she was, he just decided not to tell her, but he found it funny that she had not remembered any of the past history. Humans, of anything, had a certain skill at keeping their history close to them.
He watched her face as she read, shocked, disgusted, appalled, and sorry. So many emotions danced across her face and he had to wonder why she cared. Had she not killed many youkai before, herself? Why was she so empathetic? She finished the chapter and closed the book as she closed her eyes, breathing unsteady. "It wasn't as bad as they make it out to be."
She jumped at his voice and opened her eyes to see him sitting before her in a bathrobe. Oh, no, she had forgotten to give him clothes and now that she thought about it she really didn't have much for him. When she went back to the past she would have to get some proper clothes made for him. If she could go back, a frown marred her face at that though and then she went on to think of what he had said. It wasn't that bad, he said. Well, this was Sesshomaru, getting your arm amputated wasn't that bad either, right? Rolling her eyes at this thought she sighed and smiled down on him. "Feel better?"
Sesshomaru nodded once and then looked back at her, silently asking why she was avoiding the subject. She sighed and fidgeted under his gaze, turning to glance at her clock. It was still rather early, only about 1 pm. Maybe talking to him would help pass the time, if nothing else. Setting the book back on the dresser she curled up on her bed, getting comfortable and then looked back at him. "Before I begin I have to know something to know just how to begin. Do you remember who I am?"
He was surprised that she would ask but smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, Kagome. You still smell like InuYasha, after all." She blushed at this and scowled, thinking over how to begin her tale without boring him.
