Yes I am back! And so happy to be back I am! I got back at like three in the morning and slept until three in the afternoon. Anyway, thank you to my faithful readers and I hope you like the fourth chapter of my story, The Miko Princess!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inu-Yasha or anything you might recognize in this fic.
The Miko Princess
Chapter Four
He was doing this on purpose, walking to his castle. He was testing the girl who followed, or, tried to follow him. He could have conjured up one of his clouds or summoned Ah Un, but he still was not entirely sure about this miko princess that was trailing him. He did sense that faint trace of "holiness", you might say, that mikos had about them, but it would take more than just holiness to be accepted into Sessho-Maru's court.
I must find a mentor for her, he mused and sped up his pace to challenge the girl following him. She would find more than she expected at Sessho-Maru's castle, he could promise her that. No longer would she have the luxurious lifestyle that she had enjoyed over her years. He would make sure this miko would be trained to defend herself, even if it meant waking her up at midnight for a false battle alert. He smirked as he imagined how the girl would react to her new life. But if she could not keep up with his fast gait, he would leave her out here in the wilderness to die.
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Geez, even for a demon this guy is fast! Kagome thought as she rushed to keep track of the man ahead of her. Hmph. He's a demon, he should know some things. Can't he fly or something? Keeping up with his demon speed is going to kill me! She mentally fumed. But she was too determined to give up now. Want me to marry a sleaze, do they? Grrr. I'll show them! I'll become the best miko there ever was! She transferred her anger to her speed and soon she could see the silver-haired demon lord in front of her. Finally! She thought, and struggled to catch up with the man.
Sessho-Maru, as he had called himself, looked a bit surprised when he found that Kagome had caught up with him. At least, that's Kagome thought that what came over his features before his face slipped back into its unemotional mask. Before she knew it, the demon lord had broken into a run, literally leaving Kagome in the dust. Grrrr. How am I supposed to keep up with that? Kagome thought angrily. I hate him already! But still determined to escape her father, Kagome summoned her strength and ran after the demon lord.
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Sessho-Maru had to admit, this miko had a little more fire in her than he had expected. Nonsense, he told himself, you were just slacking! He sighed, which was a little hard to do when you were running very fast through a dense forest. Well, it's not like she can keep up with me now, the lord thought. He focused his hearing on the miko behind. Although she is doing a very good job trying, he admitted. Maybe I will lessen the pace, just a little bit, he thought. But just then his castle came into view and all thought was lost.
I wonder if Rin missed me, he mentally said and almost smiled. I, the great Sessho-Maru, Lord of the Western Lands almost smiled? He shook his head to get rid of the ridiculous notion.
The castle was getting nearer by the second, and Sessho-Maru slowed his pace so he wouldn't slam into the castle wall. At last the trees cleared, revealing a splendid castle worthy of a lord like himself. He turned around and heard the miko slow down too. Then she came out of the trees, panting.
"Ah, miko, looks like you finally caught up," he said, his tone making her sound inferior.
"You used your--!" the miko started, but Sessho-Maru cocked an eyebrow at her, daring her to continue, and she wisely closed her mouth and concentrated on breathing.
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"And the kitchens are down there; don't go into them unless you want to be stampeded by angry chefs. The baths are at the end of the second hallway coming up; use them only when accompanied by a servant. The dining hall is down a floor and to the right, but you'll probably be eating you meals in your room unless Lord Sessho-Maru requests your presence. Doors to the gardens can be located on the first floor. And here are your rooms! Any questions?" the servant asked as she pushed the doors in front of her open.
Kagome was a little dazed. It was just too much to remember! When they had gone through the castle gates, Sessho-Maru had passed her off to his servant, Jaken, who had passed her off to the head of staff, who had passed her off to a servant to give a tour to Kagome, so here she was, fruitlessly trying to remember the locations of the kitchens and the library.
"Um, yeah…do I have to memorize all this stuff?" Kagome asked, sheepishly looking up at her guide. The girl laughed and pushed Kagome into her chambers.
"No, you don't, I'll be around to help you, okay?" the girl said, amused.
"You'll be around…?"Kagome asked.
The girl looked at her. "Why yes. I'm your lady-in-waiting. Didn't the head of staff tell you?"
"Um…no," Kagome mumbled. I must sound so dumb right now. But hey, maybe we can be friends; she seems to be around my age.
"Well anyway, these are your chambers and you will be served your meals over there on the balcony—" the girl pointed and Kagome looked and saw a humongous balcony.
"Wow!" Kagome said and ran over to it. She leaned over railing and inhaled the fresh air as a breeze played with her bangs. "What an awesome view!" Her room was over-looking the gardens—specifically, a small lake with an island in the middle. The gardens stretched out from there until they met the forest, which lay over the land as far as the eye could see.
"I know, it's a beautiful view, isn't it?" her guide had joined her at the balcony.
"Yeah," Kagome replied. "Hey, how about we start over? Hi, I'm Kagome. Want to be friends?" Kagome said and offered her hand to shake.
Her guide smiled and shook her hand. "Sure. I'm Sango," she said.
"Okay, Sango, how about we go back inside and explore my rooms?" Sango smiled and nodded.
"So how did you get here?" Sango asked as she opened a door to show Kagome her wardrobe.
"I ran away from home. Sessho-Maru-sama found me and took me here," Kagome said, fingering a kimono. Sango raised an eyebrow, and, looking at Kagome's now sad eyes, decided not probe further.
"And how did you get here? You don't look like a demon—no offense or anything," Kagome said.
"Oh, that's okay. I don't look like a demon because I'm a human," Sango said and showed Kagome her vast array of cosmetics.
"You're not?" Kagome asked, picking up a jar of what looked like almond paste.
"Nope," Sango said. "I am one hundred percent human. I, too, ran away from home, but I came upon Sessho-Maru-sama's castle by accident. I asked for work, but at first they would not take me because I was human. But I gave them a demonstration of my strength and they took me in."
"A 'demonstration of your strength'?" Kagome asked.
Sango smiled. "I used to be a demon exterminator. I cut down fifty trees with my Hirai-Kotsu. Then I knocked out the demons that still refused to let me work and they accepted me," Sango said and laughed, remembering the looks on the faces of the other servants.
Kagome laughed and put down the vial she was holding.
"So what will you be doing here?" Sango asked once they had stopped laughing.
"Well, Sessho-Maru-sama says I will be a miko," Kagome said and examined a vase.
"A miko? Oh goody, I'm going to train you!" Sango said.
"You mean you're a miko too?" Kagome asked and looked at Sango, amazed.
"Huh? Oh, no, of course not! A requirement for mikos in Sessho-Maru-sama's court is that they have to be able to defend themselves as well as any other soldier. Sessho-Maru-sama put me in charge of training new mikos," Sango said. "But you will be trained on how to use your miko powers too. And unfortunately I'm not a miko, so Midoriko will be training you in that area."
"Oh, cool! Is Midoriko nice?" Kagome asked, happy that her new friend would be training her and not some grumpy old man.
"Oh, she's fine. She warms up quickly, and she's a great person once you get to know her, even if she is a little older than us," Sango said.
At that moment the door burst open and….
To be continued….
Dun dun dun! I hope you liked this chapter. The more you review, the faster I update! I'll dedicate the next chapter to the first person who gives me a decent-sized review.
Nessime