Kagome looked up at him and then tore her gaze from him. "You'll cover for me, right?" The question seemed odd but it was needed. Nobody here knew but him, anybody who might would think she was in need of mental help. At least he only thought she was insane but was perfectly fine with allowing her to stay that way. That thought disturbed her a little.
They had talked some, he explaining to her some of his past and how he had come to be in the service of humans, while she explained more of her time travels and the history of the shikon jewel. He seemed most interested in her part of the battle against Naraku, as if there was something that he had not told her yet. She wouldn't put it past him.
He nodded, no words, he could honestly care less if she fell to the bottom and broke her neck but inside his mind something told him that she could be the one to honestly help with this situation. Opening the latch he watched as she walked over to the lip of the well and fearlessly jumped, the temporary lighting of the well illuminated the dusk darkened area and then faded. Waiting a moment he heard no sign of her so he closed the door and latched it shut again, walking back to the house.
Sesshomaru had to think of some way to get her stronger. It wouldn't work if she was always so defiant against him. Somehow, she remembered the older version of him as a formidable creature that must be feared. While he didn't argue that fact, there was no reason for her fear now. It was inhibiting her progress, what little she had made.
It was rather ironic that he would need her help, a human! Weren't they the ones who had got him in this mess? Well, he figured, if it hadn't been for that hanyou then this would never have happened. According to Kagome, in the time that she had known, there were no youkai. If there were they had been in hiding so long that humans merely thought of them as folklore.
That didn't sound very pleasing to him, but it was better than nothing. He would rather die in his own way than to die in the service of some human woman. A frown marred his face as he sat on Kagome's bed and thought over the past, to a time that he didn't really want to remember.
The rebellion had started rather quickly, once that man had died the people in the area had gone a little insane and began to tell stories to one another about how youkai were invading their homes and terrorizing their lives. At first, Sesshomaru believed them to be just imagination, fantasies to scare little children and women into staying away from being alone in heavily wooded areas.
Really, that was fine to him, stay away forever! Unfortunately there was a ripple effect and somehow Rin had picked up on these stories. She had looked up at him, her cherub face scared and uncertain, and then asked him what he was going to do to help the other scared kids. Help? Help the humans? Was the girl daft!
She persisted and eventually he sent out some of his military to gather information on just what was going on. The reports that would grace his desk by morning all lead to the same obvious problem. Naraku, he had taken it upon himself to cause serious havoc. Sesshomaru hadn't been certain as to what was going on in the hanyou's mind but now it was clear. The girl, Kagome, he had been trying to erase her.
Something as simple as finding a way to allow youkai to overcome extinction could possibly remove her, then obtaining the shikon jewel would be much easier without her annoying presence. Unfortunately the hanyou, as they most often were found to do, didn't think it through very much. Time had altered in the opposite effect. Now, not only were there youkai in abundance but they were enslaved by the very humans that Naraku had been trying to destroy!
On top of it all, the human wench was still going back in time to find the shards of the shikon, further disrupting his plans. What an idiot. Sesshomaru couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Naraku, he would certainly get what was coming for him after this little screw up. Now it was just a matter of convincing Kagome to do what needed to be done.
After all, it wasn't just his future she would be saving but everyone's.
Kagome sighed as she hefted herself over the well. Looking around she noticed InuYasha walking up to greet her. He looked a little surprised when she launched over the side of the well but didn't say anything. When he went to lift her pack she waved him off and slid it onto her shoulders. "I need the weight."
He frowned. "What? What do you mean?"
She ground her teeth together a little and closed her eyes with a sigh. "It's a long story. Just let me do it." Within her, she felt that telling anyone about the incident on the other side would be very detrimental.
InuYasha was a little concerned for her but shook it off. Maybe she was just being Miss. Independent today. Who knows? Women were weird. She started to march off towards the village and he shrugged, following her.
Kagome had made her mind up. She wouldn't mention what was going on. She would simply keep going as if everything was normal. But… she would have to make an excuse as to why she needed to go home more often. Maybe they would believe her if she told them that her mother wasn't feeling well. She wasn't really herself, which was true.
As she settled in to sit by the fire she noticed that InuYasha kept giving her odd glances but she stared at him and he stopped. Now or never, she took a deep breath. "Well. I had fun at home for a bit! But, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go home more often now. Mom isn't herself lately and I think she really needs me to be there for her. Please, guys, I'll work extra hard while I'm here to look for jewel shards."
Her last statement seemed to appease InuYasha so the others merely nodded and smiled, happy she was back. That night Kagome went to sleep in Kaede's hut. The last image she saw before darkness took her was Sesshomaru, standing in her bedroom with a stern look. "Four days, wench, then you come back here. People will get suspicious if I keep giving them excuses as to your whereabouts."
She had nodded, afraid of what he might do, and agreed. What could she say? No? Yeah right. Besides, he had a point. People on that side would wonder where she had gone.
Absently she remembered how her mother on that side had thought she had only been gone ten minutes. Maybe time here and time there moved differently? She would have to test that theory when she had the chance.
Kagome heard a squish as her feet landed in the well. "Eww. Gross!" The more she remained away the weirder this place got! The well, apparently was taking on more and more water with time. This was going to get strange.
She felt her fingers around and found the ladder that Sota had brought, still propped against the side of the well. Climbing up she expected the door to be shut, instead she saw that it was open. There in the doorway stood Sesshomaru, waiting for her.
He didn't look happy. As she exited the well house she watched him close and latch the door. Then the world went spinning and she was shoved against the door, his body pressed against hers and his arm pressing tightly against her throat. His face was so close and she looked up slightly, at his eyes, wondering what she had done. "Hello to you, too, Sesshomaru."
A growl escaped his lips and he pressed against her throat, inhibiting her speech. "Wench, I said four days, not four weeks; where have you been!" If she could have, she would have inhaled in surprise. A month, had it been that long already? Oh wow. Time really was on a whole different spectrum here!
Her hands flailed out and she reached out, smacking him across the head. That wasn't what she was aiming for. Oh well. He frowned but released her, glaring at her still. "Let me explain! It has only been four days over there!" He growled again and she whimpered. "Okay! It's been five! I'm sorry! But… seriously, I wasn't trying to make problems. We ran into Naraku again."
Surprisingly, he seemed to accept this answer and turned away from her in a huff, walking towards the house. "Tell me what more you have learned of the hanyou Naraku." It was not a request. Kagome fumed.
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to respond to me in a kind way once in a while!" She had her hands balled into fists, eyes closed as she practically jumped up and down in a tantrum. Sesshomaru frowned, this wouldn't do, and he would have to teach her what her place truly was. Not this illusionary world.
Then things got stranger for Kagome. Within her mind she saw something, something that she'd been practicing on since she had left. A leg, flying out towards her feet, and then the image of her falling to the ground; a shocked gasp escaped her lips and she jumped, opening her eyes at the same time. Then everything seemed to speed up as he thrust out his hand, trying to knock her over again, she dodged by feinting to the right. He stood and nodded, turning around. "Very well; perhaps you are not so stupid after all."
He started walking again and she stood there, blinking for a moment, before running after him to tell him what she had learned of Naraku and find out why he was so interested.
