Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha.
Hey, I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! I did! Enjoy this one!
New Beginnings
Chapter 4- As Tough as it Gets
Like heat to ice… so can love melt the frozen heart…
I feel rejuvenated. My spirit has almost returned to me completely and I believe that I am learning to love again. Little Rin has taught me wonders… and even Sesshomaru has in his own way. I find that my thoughts insist upon returning to that incident in the baths, though I should not dwell on it… Sesshomaru hates humans…
~*~
"Looky, Kagome-neechan! Rin wants- I want to show you what I found!" The little girl crouched over something in the grass and grinned proudly at Kagome. Kagome knew that Sesshomaru had been teaching Rin to speak properly, so she encouraged it. She crouched down next to Rin and smiled at her. The girl's grin grew wider and she brushed aside the grass to expose a small beautiful butterfly perched on a rose bud.
Kagome smiled with appreciation. "It is beautiful Rin. Thank you for showing me." Rin smiled brightly. With a gasp of delight, the two girls watched the butterfly glide away on the breeze. Kagome pulled Rin into her lap and started braiding flowers into her hair. Rin giggled in delight. After she had finished, Kagome nudged Rin in the direction of the castle. "Why don't you go show Sesshomaru?"
Rin grinned. She had long since given up trying to get Kagome to say Sesshomaru-sama. "Hai! I will!" And she ran off to show her father figure the flowers in her hair.
Kagome chuckled lightly at the smaller girl's antics and stood, lightly brushing off her kimono. With a sigh, she decided to visit the library. Thank goodness I remember how to get here! She thought after winding through corridors trying to find the library. Kagome opened the door and peered inside, there were so many books and scrolls that her eyes almost popped out of her head. "I had no idea Sess was so rich!"
After ten minutes of browsing the isles, Kagome finally settled in a poofy chair to read her selection. She had grabbed a set of bound scrolls that related the stories and legends that passed throughout Sesshomaru's family. "This should prove to be interesting!" And she immersed herself in her task.
Sesshomaru's footsteps barely made a sound as he walked through the halls, trying to track down the missing girl. She had been gone for hours, and had missed lunch because of it. "Where has that pest gone?!" he growled softly to himself as Kagome's scent led him to his personal library. He felt himself become angry at her intrusion of his things. A little voice in the back of his mind told him that he never actually told Kagome not to go into the library, but Sesshomaru ignored it, preferring to become agitated. He slid open the door, preparing a steely cold glare to fix on the girl.
He deflated and sighed the moment he set his eyes on her. Kagome had curled up in on of his chairs with the scrolls of his family history… and she was fast asleep. Sesshomaru stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind him. As soon as he had done so, his nose became assaulted with the full power of her scent. All at once he remembered why he had been avoiding her all morning. Part of him was screaming at him to take her then and there, another part was calmly telling him that this was his guest and he should treat her accordingly, and the other part was snarling about there being a human in his library.
In the end, Sesshomaru settled for leaving the room and sending Jaken to wake her. Coward… He thought to himself. I might as well block her scent from my senses for a while, seeing how I have to train her. She knows not of what she should. He decided defiantly that he would begin the girl's training as soon as she woke. A grin stole it's way across the demon's face as he heard an irritated shriek coming from the direction of the library. It seems that Jaken has woken her up..
As Kagome stormed towards him, Sesshomaru managed to conceal his amusement. Only a small gleam in his eyes escaped, but he had to really try hard to contain himself when he caught sight of her. The girl was soaking wet and dripping water everywhere. Her hair was a mess and her kimono was probably ruined. Kagome's clothes were in danger of becoming untied, forcing her to hold the front shut. She glared heatedly at the demon, ignoring the fact that she had to crane her neck up to do so.
To Sesshomaru's surprise, which showed in a fractional widening of his eyes, Kagome actually struck him on the arm and said angrily, "You had that nasty little toad do that didn't you!" Sesshomaru feigned innocence.
"I do not know to what you are referring to." Kagome snorted with angry amusement, but didn't push it. Instead she turned her back on him and started off towards her room with her nose in the air. Sesshomaru growled softly. She dared to turn her back on him?? In the blink of the eye, Kagome was pinned to the ground with a very angry, not to mention snarling, dog demon lord crouched on top of her. "You would be wise not to do that again girl."
Strangely Kagome felt no fear towards Sesshomaru, although the sound of his growl was enough to make a grown man wet himself. So she did the only thing that she could think of to curb the anger that was causing red to start spreading through his eyes; she avoided making direct eye contact with him and exposed her neck as a sign of submission. Please let this work… I hope that I didn't spend so much time looking up dog traits for nothing…
The sight of Kagome's bare skin snapped Sesshomaru's instincts back in line. He blinked and rose gracefully to his feet. "Meet me in the dojo after you dine." And he was gone. Kagome sat up and took a deep breath.
"That was a close one," she muttered to herself. Kagome stood and started to brush herself off, but giving up at the sight of the ruined kimono. "Sigh… I might as well change again."
~*~
That was such a close encounter with Sesshomaru earlier… I must remember that I cannot behave around him in the same manner that I did around Inuyasha. Sesshomaru has much greater instincts and is more formal. I will definitely not make the mistake of turning my back on him again!
I have come to the decision that I must leave the sanctuary of Sesshomaru's home. I must find a way to return to my own time. At first, I thought that I could learn to live with staying here… but I miss my family terribly. Everyday I wonder how they are doing… but there is no way of knowing... perhaps, just perhaps my own powers will be enough to send me home.
~*~
Kagome decided on dining alone in her room that afternoon, on the basis of not wanting to change into a new kimono, then have to change into something appropriate for a dojo. After finishing her meal, Kagome straightened the light blue sash at her waist, and inspected herself in the looking glass. She was wearing a dark blue hakama with a light blue trim and ties, and her hair was held in a high ponytail by a blue ribbon. Satisfied with what she saw, Kagome left her room and headed towards the dojo. I wonder what Sesshomaru will teach me…
Sesshomaru waited in the dojo with several different weapons. Just as he started becoming impatient, Kagome slid open the door and bowed respectfully towards him. Sesshomaru inclined his head a fraction of a nod in return. "We will begin with a test of your skills." He picked up the bow and arrow set that was resting against the wall. "Aim for those targets, first without spiritual powers, then with." Kagome followed his gaze to a set of targets about 100 meters away, in various positions.
"Hai!" Kagome smiled and drew back the bow after notching the first arrow. This should be no problem… I am much better at this then I used to be… Kagome concentrated on her target and made sure to hold in her powers.
*twack*
The arrow hit it's target dead on. Sesshomaru was inwardly impressed, though all he did was nod to encourage Kagome to continue. She's not bad… for a human that is.
After Kagome had successfully hit each target, Sesshomaru instructed her to try again. Only this time she was to use her power and aim for moving targets. Kagome nodded and again concentrated on her target. Once she got into the general range of hitting it, she lightly closed her eyes and sought out the aura of the target. It shone brightly in her mind. Kagome gathered some of her energy and released the arrow. It was another bulls-eye.
Sesshomaru was very impressed by this shot. Not many people could do what she had just done, let alone a human female. Her miko powers must be great indeed… After Kagome finished with the moving targets, she set the bow down and waited for her next instructions patiently. Sesshomaru tossed Kagome a thin katana blade after making his decision. Kagome caught the sword apprehensively. Is he just going to attack me…?
Seeing a suspicious look on the girl's face, Sesshomaru gently probed into her mind to understand her apprehensiveness. Kagome's eyes widened fractionally as she felt a twinge of harmless curiosity that was not her own. After a moment, she realized that Sesshomaru was causing the warm feeling coursing through her. Kagome gasped, and the feeling disappeared and the demon lord cleared his throat.
"I am going to teach you some basic katas before moving on to more advanced stages. Try to follow along with me." And he began running through simple katas slowly. Kagome just watched the first round through and then performed the exercises in synch with Sesshomaru. Before long, Kagome was running through the katas on her own, Sesshomaru having stopped to observe her. She learns quickly… this is good. The girl had almost perfected each simple kata in a matter of minutes. Sesshomaru spotted a mistake and stopped her. "Here, run through that last kata again. I'll show you your mistake." Kagome nodded and started again, but she jumped and almost lost her balance when she felt Sesshomaru's hand on her leg.
"You are extending too much, when you learn the more complex katas that are based on this one, you will strain your muscles. Try again." Kagome swallowed and restarted once more, but she was much more self-conscious due to Sesshomaru guiding her leg. After a few more run-throughs, Sesshomaru deemed that Kagome was ready to begin sparring. "We will not use those ridiculous wooden sparring "swords", it is more beneficial to use the real thing at the very start."
Kagome blinked in surprise. "But won't these cut us if we get hit?" Sesshomaru smirked and drew his Tensaiga.
"I would suggest not getting hit." And he attacked without any other warning. Kagome yelped in surprise and flung up her katana to defend herself. A strong vibration shook her arm as their swords clashed. It felt as if her arm had gone numb. However she somehow managed to continue to defend herself. "Take the initiative, girl! Don't just block me!" Sesshomaru called to her.
Kagome growled irritably at Sesshomaru's condescending tone. If it's an attack he wants, it's an attack he'll get! She concentrated on her katana and felt a warm pull. Relishing in that warmth, Kagome took a deep breath and pulled a second katana from the first blade. She kept her eyes closed in order to fully use her senses; eyesight would not win her this match. Sesshomaru's aura was a gentle blue in her mind and there seemed to be an edge of surprise around it. Kagome rushed at him and flipped up over his head, slashing downward as she went. One of her blades caught his back, causing a long rent in his clothes.
Why that little… Sesshomaru growled and his eyes flickered red. Suddenly his stance changed from training to serious. Kagome could sense the change and realized that she had kicked his instincts into action, though she thought that Sesshomaru had more control than that. Kagome now had to concentrate all of her energy on fending off the angry demon. She managed to push him back into the wall with a burst of power, but then all of her energy flickered like a flame, and extinguished. Kagome had nothing left and she staggered back against the opposite wall and slid down to the floor, breathing unevenly.
Sesshomaru stood and stalked towards her fallen form, growling dangerously. However as he reached her, the fact that she was unconscious forced its way through his foggy mind. The redness cleared from his eyes, and Sesshomaru brought himself back under control. His eyes filled with self-disgust. "Damn fool." Sesshomaru sheathed Tensaiga and put away Kagome's katana, which had reformed into one blade. He made a mental note to ask Kagome how she split the blade. Then the demon lord picked up Kagome and carried her to her bedroom.
Kagome was now lying on her bed, looking pale and helpless. Sesshomaru sighed. "When did I become so soft…?" He relented and took a wet cloth to her face, wiping away the dried sweat. Kagome gave a contented sigh and some of the lines of tension left her face. It seemed that she used up all her energy in their match. Sesshomaru tenderly brushed the hair away from her face and smiled ruefully. "Girl, what am I going to do about this…?"
~*~
She was running again. But things seemed different somehow… as though something had changed. She was tackled from behind and flipped over onto her back. As she opened her eyes, she felt as if a cold spear stabbed through her stomach.
"Did you really believe that you could get away from me?" Sesshomaru smirked down at her and raised his claws. Poison dripped from his hand and he swiped-
~*~
"KYAAAAAAA!!" Kagome woke screaming and sobbing in the middle of the night. She huddled down into her pillows and cried hysterically. Sesshomaru slid her door open and strode over to her.
"Kagome! Kagome, what is it??" Sesshomaru looked bewildered at the girl. "She's gone mad." He reached down and fisted his hand in the front of her shirt, then he raised his other hand and lightly smacked her face. "Snap out of it girl! What is it?" Kagome said nothing, but flung herself into Sesshomaru's arms, still sobbing. Sesshomaru blinked in surprise. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and made a comforting rumble in his chest to soothe her.
"Oh Sess… it was terrible!" Kagome pulled herself closer to him. Sesshomaru held her tighter when he felt her shaking.
"Shhh… it's alright Kagome… I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He stood, bring Kagome with him, and then resituated so he was leaning against the headboard and Kagome was lying on top of him. Soon, she had fallen asleep again, this time it seemed without dreams. Sesshomaru lightly stroked her hair and lost himself deep in his thoughts before he, too, fell into a dreamless slumber.
~*~
whew... that's it y'all!
Next time: more relationship development between Kag and Sess… a little more fluff… maybe some limeyness
Have a good Christmas break! I'll update as soon as I can!
~myinuyasha
