Pre-Story A.N: Sorry this update took so long…Also, I'm sorry for the fact that the last chapter centered around mostly Sesshoumaru and Kagome. Back to the long overdue update: When I moved, our computer was packed up, and we didn't really set it up 'till July 4th. Plus, our computer is like, in the middle of our family room. So much for privacy when it comes to writing stories. Ugh. I have so much to rant about, but I'll save that for later.
Disclaimer: I think once, when I was in the car on our way to our new house, a clever disclaimer popped into my head, but I definitely forgot it. I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters.
Inuyasha rested his chin on the coarse wood of the bone-eater's well. It had been four days since Kagome had gone. He was so tempted to bring her back, to be in her presence again. He always felt sort of tingly inside when she was near. He stood, lifting one tanned, callused foot to the edge of the well.
"Leave her be, Inuyasha," a male voice sounded behind him. The hanyou turned to see the monk, the demon-slayer, and the kitsune eyeing him. "Kagome needs her time alone."
"Shoot, Miroku, what do you know about women?" Inuyasha said, removing his foot from the well as his arms folded.
"Kagome asked for a week in her own time, which she has explained is seven days." Sango said softly from beside the monk. "We can all tell that Kagome has been very tired lately. She is not used to constant travel, not to mention the stress that is caused by these 'tests' of hers."
"Yea, Inuyasha," Shippou piped up, "The last thing she needs is you going to her time and messing things up!"
"Feh." Inuyasha replied, beginning to nonchalantly walk away. "The last think I need is for you three idiots to lecture me."
Sango turned to Miroku and Shippou, breathing out a sigh of relief. They all knew what would come about if Inuyasha were to fetch Kagome from her time. There would be a lot of shrill yelling and cries of 'sit!' on Kagome's part, and name-calling on Inuyasha's They also all knew that the hanyou's intentions were good, but he was utterly clueless when it came to certain teenage girls from the future.
Souta stood up and stretched. His limbs were stiff from sitting in one position, half-asleep, for hours on end. The daze was filled with fuzzy dreams that detailed Inuyasha's heroic rescue of him and Kagome's praise on how incredibly brave he was.
A scuffling noise in the corner made Souta gasp. Could it be…rats? He hated the vile rodents, scrounging for scraps of food with their greasy, filthy paws and whiskers. Whirling around in fright, he breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that it was only Kohaku. The puppet boy hadn't moved in hours; Souta had completely forgotten that he was there.
"Lets try to wake you up again, Kohaku," Souta said to no one in particular. "Let's talk about your sister Sango. What did she look like? Was she pretty?" Souta had discovered that talking about this puppet boy's sister was one of the only things that revived him from his zombie like trance. Even then, it wasn't dependable.
"Sango was…" Kohaku breathed, eyes becoming lucid again, "she was beautiful. I always thought she looked the strongest and most beautiful when she was exterminating youkai."
"She was a demon exterminator?" Souta prompted, eager for any conversation.
"Yes. I came from a village of demon slayers."
Souta looked at the boy sadly. He lived in the past…Thinking not about the present…living in his memories.
"How did you get here?" Souta asked softly.
Kohaku narrowed his eyes, as if trying to remember. "We were…" He began, slowly, cautiously. "Slaying a demon." Pause. "Something, entered my mind and…" He stopped suddenly, eyes wide with horror. His hands flew to his head as he fell to his knees.
"NO!" He gasped. "I don't want to remember!" He screamed loudly, causing Souta to take a step back.
"I don't want to remember! I don't want to remember! No!" Kohaku sobbed, choking over his words.
Souta extended a trembling hand toward the crouching figure, jumping uneasily as the door behind him slid open. He whirled around expecting Kagura, but was much more surprised at what he saw. Silvery-Sleek fur hung to the ground, catching the light so that it held and eerie glow. The fur hid the form of the figure underneath it, as a baboon mask hid the thing's face.
Kohaku's nearby, labored breathing continued as he chanted, "I don't want to remember," quietly.
The figure glided across the floor past Souta, extending a human-looking hand from behind the pelt. The hand hovered over Kohaku's head, radiating some sort of dark magic. The boy's whispering ceased as his yeys clouded, pupils receding once again until it seemed they were completely gone.
"Kanna," A deep voice rumpled from behind the baboon mask. Souta took two steps back as a pale girl that looked slightly younger than him floated into the room.
"Yes, Master Naraku?" the girl inquired, her paper-thin voice holding no expression as it echoed off the walls.
"I am relieving Kohaku of guard duty. Obviously he cannot be entrusted with such a task. You shall take his place."
"Yes, Master Naraku." The ghost-like girl bowed slightly, and Souta watched her silver-white hair fall over her shoulders as her head inclined.
The fur clad figure floated out of the room, followed mindlessly by Kohaku.
Souta winced as the door slammed shut without any warning. His gaze moved quickly from the door, however, to the girl. It wasn't until then that he realized that she was holding something.
"Wha—What was your name again?" Souta asked, his voice still trembling from the encounter with the strange creature that dressed in silver fur.
Kanna shifted her gaze to look directly at Souta. The boy shuddered at the dead gaze. He watched as she moved the object she held—what he now saw was a mirror—so it reflected light, shining brightly into his eyes. Souta fell to the ground, unconscious.
Kagome ran her fingers over the rough brick outside Sesshoumaru's room. How the hell had she found herself here again?! Ten minutes before she had felt the idiotic need to wander the castle instead of sleep. It was late, yes, but she did not feel incredibly tired. Her thoughts kept her awake. Not in the mood to deal with Sesshoumaru, she slid down to the floor outside his room, forehead resting on her knees. She ran her hands through her hair. How long had it been? She tried to count the days. Four? Only four days? It was hard to believe. It felt like it had been so much longer…so much longer away from everyone she knew. When would Inuyasha realize she was not in her own time? She wished he were here.
Sesshoumaru tried to concentrate on his work, but his mind lingered elsewhere. He could hear and smell the girl in the hallway. He gave up on the documents he had been poring over and listened to her very closely. Her rhythm, the way she paced her breath and how her heartbeat sounded was odd. It was a near perfect rhythm, the heartbeat synchronizing perfectly with each soft breath she took. Not only that, but the pulsing of her magic resonated in time with both the beating of her heart, and the rising and falling of her chest. He listened to her human blood pumping though her veins, sitting back in his chair and let his eyes lose their shrewdness for a few moments. The demon suddenly realized that he was falling asleep, lulled by the rhythm of her body. Sesshoumaru placed his hand on the desk, standing up. It was about time to get rid of her.
Kagome felt the tears begin to spill again. They always started when she thought of her poor mother and grandfather, probably worried sick at home. She felt the salty droplets slide down her cheeks, and watched them stain the floor for a moment as they landed on the stone. Suddenly Kagome felt a presence in front of her. Startled, she quickly looked up. Kagome gaped at Sesshoumaru for a brief moment before reaching to wipe her face clear of any tears. He grabbed her wrist, not allowing her to clean the tears and dragged her upwards so that she was standing in front of him. Kagome fervently rubbed the tears off her face with her other hand.
"I don't like to cry in front of other people," Kagome said firmly, straightening her kimono.
"I care not," Sesshoumaru replied with equal firmness. "What I do care about, however, is your idiotic insistence on visiting my room at night."
"Well," Kagome began, "I get lonely and sad and scared at night, so I cant sleep, and then I begin to wander the halls. It is purely by coincidence that I have ended up here two nights in a row." As soon as she finished, she knew he wouldn't care. She also realized something else—he was still holding the wrist he had forced her to stand up with. Her eyes flicked from his face to the wrist. He must have noticed as well, because he dropped it casually.
"Go back to your room now, human. And stay in there. I do not care about your stupid human emotions."
"Weeeeell—" Kagome said slowly and deliberately, drawing circles on the floor with her foot. "There's kind of a problem with that. I don't really know how to get back. I can always seem to get here, but the complications arrive when it comes to returning to my room."
He muttered something along the lines of "stupid, insolent, human" as he began to stride down the hallway on her right. She followed quietly, watching his feet.
As they came to what she recognized as her room, she sighed. Sesshoumaru turned to leave, but she called after him. "Sesshoumaru, wait. Will you please stay with me until I fall asleep? Call me whatever names you would like, I just don't like being alone when I sleep." It was true after all, she had always been surrounded by people when sleeping, whether it was her mother in the room next to her, or Inuyasha and the gang all around her.
His eyes narrowed, but he obliged. She sat on her bed awkwardly, not ready to lay down yet with him in the room. She watched his take a seat in the corner.
"Sesshoumaru? Have you received any word from your spies as to the whereabouts of my brother?" She said cautiously.
"The spies have promised that they will come to me tomorrow, with whatever information they might have." Was his concise answer.
Kagome sat for a minute under his golden glare, then began again. "You know, Sesshoumaru…You remind me more of a cat than of a dog."
"I dislike cats."
"Which would be expected," Kagome put her hands up defensively, smiling. "But, you have that kitty glare, and cats rarely ever show any emotion—unless they're purring, of course." Kagome said, thinking fondly of her own cat, Buyo. "Now, Inuyasha really reminds me of a dog, because he usually sits like one and sometimes he scratches his head with his foot." Kagome laughed to herself.
"Inuyasha isn't a full dog demon." Sesshoumaru said icily.
"I know, but I'm just saying—" Kagome stopped opening her eyes and becoming serious.
"Do you know what Inuyasha called me the first time he saw me?" Kagome began.
"I do not, and I care not."
"I figured. " The miko said sarcastically. "He called me Kikyo."
"I have heard this name once before." Sesshoumaru said.
"Well, Kikyo was Inuyasha's lover, until there was a misunderstanding, and she bound him to a tree forever. Well, except it was only fifty years cause of me."
"Inuyasha was a fool to trust such a wench."
"Hey!" Kagome said defensively, "I happen to be the reincarnation of that 'wench'! Anyway, it wasn't her fault—It was Naraku that tricked the two into hating each other…But I can tell Inuyasha still loves her, so he doesn't love me." Realizing she was getting a little too personal, Kagome faked a laugh and changed to a different topic.
"I believe the first thing you said to me was something along the lines of "die, stupid wench," then you tried to kill me with your poison claws. Which, I'd have to say was a very elegant thing except for the killing part. But I was still alive, so nah-nah!"
"You were only alive because of the tetsuaiga." Sesshoumaru cut.
"It doesn't matter. As long as I'm here to annoy you, I win." She stuck out her tongue as he glared.
She changed the topic again. "I want to know what we're dealing with here. How do you think Naraku stole my brother and manipulated my mind?"
He hesitated, shooting her a look that she really couldn't identify. "I have heard tales of a powerful old witch doctor who could execute such a task. However, I believe that an object is needed for him to manipulate bodies and minds."
"But how could he get anything of my brother's? I mean, they don't live in the same time!"
"If an object you possess has a strong connection to someone else, a powerful witch doctor can manipulate both you and the other person, no matter what barriers stand between them. However, I know very little on the subject—Only what I have read."
Kagome was silent, absorbing the information. "I'm glad that you are intelligent, Sesshoumaru. If it were...If it were Inuyasha helping me, he would know nothing on the subject, and probably rush into battle completely ignorant of the enemy, getting severely hurt in the process. I've seen it many times before." He said nothing, so she once again changed the subject. "What was your father like? Did you know him?"
"None of your business."
Kagome sighed, finally feeling comfortable enough to lay down. "I suppose you wont tell me anything about your life—figures. Humans are naturally curious by nature, I suppose, and you seem to be rather secretive by nature. Inuyasha is like that too."
"I order you to not compare me to my brother, woman."
Kagome rose her eyes to meet him. He looked slightly miffed, an odd look for him. She laughed to herself before the giggles reached a much louder volume.
"Whatever you say, Lord Sesshoumaru-sama." She stood up and bowed, still laughing to herself. She ignored his warning glares and lay back down. She became suddenly aware of how physically exhausted she was, something she always forgot when those evil thoughts came near. Her body was always overridden by her mind. But now, having his presence in the room seemed to chase the thoughts away. She was…Comfortable.
Sesshoumaru stood, checking once more to be sure she was asleep before he left the room.
:: End.Chapter ::
