A/N: So obviously, my plan for moving faster with these chapters isn't working too well. Unexpected business trips to Austin be damned! Well, I'll make it up to you… somehow (suggestions for my author groveling welcome). But I just want you guys to know that I really, really, REALLY appreciate everyone's patience with this fic. I guess I write faster during the school year, huh? Well, I'm trying! I promise!
And here's a note, so no matter how late I am, you won't worry – I am NOT giving up on this story. So stop worrying! The Broken Miko will not be abandoned!
The Broken Miko
Chapter 9: Flight
Dusk was falling, but Sesshoumaru continued to keep his steady, fast pace across the fields of Japan. Kagome lagged behind with Washi holding her hand, to the point where she was almost pulling him along. Her demon blood allowed her to walk these many miles without getting winded, but her legs were getting rather tired, and she wanted some food.
"Can't we just make camp?" the girl spoke up, staring at the taiyoukai's white head of hair. "It'll be dark soon and we won't be able to see enough to make a fire."
Washi nodded in agreement, too exhausted to speak. Even with his hawk sight, he wouldn't be able to see much in the dark. Only owl youkai had that ability among the bird demons. As it was, Sesshoumaru was fading in and out as he passed through the shadows.
"My home is not far," answered the dog demon. "We will be there before the sun rises if we keep walking."
Kagome stopped dead, jerking the eagle child's arm a bit when he didn't notice in time. "By sunrise?" she snapped. "Are you insane? I'm not walking through the entire night and neither is the kid. We need sleep and food."
"Luxuries," the taiyoukai said simply, pausing to turn and look at the hanyou. His golden eyes glowed like a cat's against the darkening sky. "You do not require anything at this moment except the safety of my home."
She looked up to the heavens, noticing the thick layer of clouds. There would be no stars tonight, perhaps not even a moon. "What about your transportation cloud? No stars mean that no one will see us, right?"
His eyes slid over her form to the eagle demon, who had sat down in the tall grass. His red face was noticeable even from the taiyoukai's position twenty feet away. Washi was obviously going to collapse soon if he didn't get some rest. He was just a child of some inattentive nobles, after all. He had no endurance or strength to speak of, something that Sesshoumaru intended to change when they returned to the castle.
"We shall see, when night falls," he finally stated. The dog demon nodded to Washi. "Come here and I shall carry you."
The demon child's face lit up in a happy, tired smile as he immediately got up and sprinted to the taiyoukai, using up the last bit of his energy.
Kagome watched in amazement as Sesshoumaru bent down and picked up the child with one arm, so that Washi was leaning against his soft tail on his shoulder. The boy closed his eyes, wrapping his small arms around the taiyoukai's neck.
"I could have carried him you know," said the girl when she finally found her voice again, walking forward to meet the male demons.
The taiyoukai raised his eyebrows. "I sincerely doubt that, half-breed. You appear as tired as the child. It is best that I carry him."
She reached out, letting her fingers brush the scab on Washi's forehead. It would be gone by tomorrow, most likely. It was surprising it had lasted this long. As Kagome watched the child sleep on the taiyoukai's shoulder, a sudden thought struck her. "Do you have any children of your own, Sesshoumaru?"
He fixed her with a piercing glare. "You know that I do not have a mate."
"That doesn't really stop things like that, does it?"
For a brief moment, he could not believe that she had the gall to say such a thing, but quickly reminded himself that this was a former human he was talking with. "To have an illegitimate pup is dishonorable to my clan, since that pup could not properly take my place as Lord of the Western Lands. It would be cruel to the pup and my provinces."
Kagome shrugged, seemingly unaware of her keen ability to get under the taiyoukai's skin. "I was just wondering. This is, after all, the second child I have seen you get attached to. I just thought you might like them because you have your own or something. It's an innocent enough question."
His expression told her that he didn't think it was all that innocent, but the demon said nothing.
They began to walk again, faster now that the boy was asleep and off the ground. Around them, fireflies began to blink on and off in the twilight. Kagome reached out and cupped one into her hands, looking through her fingers to see the soft yellow light of the insect. "Do kids in this era catch fireflies?" she asked.
Sesshoumaru glanced at her. "When Inuyasha was a child, I saw him doing such things, but I do not remember doing them myself."
"You were a very serious child, weren't you?"
"I was studious and ambitious," he retorted.
"So, you were serious," she answered, cracking a smile. "Much too serious, from the sound of it. Didn't you have any fun at all?"
"I enjoyed my fighting exercises," the taiyoukai replied stiffly.
The smile morphed into a grin. "I'm sure you did, but didn't you do anything for pure fun? Like, run around in the garden? Catch fireflies? Play fetch?" She let the last one slip as it entered her mind, and she had to cough to hide her laughter.
"Play… fetch?" His eyes were suspicious, but also slightly confused, telling Kagome that he knew she had teased him, but didn't know what it meant. How would obtaining an object have anything to do with 'play'?
"Never mind," she said, still smiling broadly.
A short silence settled upon them, as the sky deepened from dark red, to purple to blue. They were facing the brightest part of the horizon, where the sun had dipped below the land. Behind them, night crept up towards the pinnacle of the heavens, although the stars were still hidden by clouds.
Out of the corner of his eye, the taiyoukai became aware of the hanyou opening and closing her mouth, slowly and deliberately, as if she wanted to say something but had thought better of it.
"If you continue to do that, you will only succeed in swallowing an insect," observed Sesshoumaru. "If you have something to say, say it without hesitation. That is your first lesson in the art of war, which I would imagine you still would like to learn."
Kagome nodded, with a faraway look in her brown eyes. "I would. I mean, I have to, don't I? Kikyo and this new master of hers aren't going to be easy foes to defeat."
"Agreed."
Her crimson ears twitched. "Actually, that's what I was going to ask about," she said, voluntarily steering the subject back on course. "When Kagura said that you were going to protect me… What exactly does that entail?"
He had been considering this question since that morning, when he had made the promise to Inuyasha's empty grave, so he had an answer ready. "You will return to the castle with me and the child. In exchange for fighting lessons, you will tutor Rin and Washi." He looked at her sharply. "You can read?"
"Of course!" she said, slightly indignant. "I learned all sorts of things in my era. Math, science, geography, history, literature, foreign language…" She trailed off, trying to remember her other subjects. She had graduated from high school and had passed all the necessary tests, but she hadn't even bothered to apply to college. No school involvement and average grades wouldn't get her into anything except community universities. And at that point, Inuyasha had admitted his love for her, making it pointless to waste more time in modern era schooling.
The taiyoukai nodded. "Acceptable. You will have my library at your disposal should you need reference materials. And Jaken will assist when possible, since he has been Rin's tutor in the past."
She smiled, imagining the impatient toad and hyper little girl locked in a library together for hours on end. No wonder the old imp was so irritable. "Well, that all sounds pretty good. Anything else?"
Sesshoumaru nodded once more. "I will not allow you to perish of unnatural causes under my watch. You will be permitted to stay in my home and live as a honored guest, but if one of several conditions arise, you must leave."
"Conditions?"
It was his turn to keep the girl in the dark. "We will discuss the conditions later, since they will likely not arise soon." A thought crossed his mind and he amended his previous statement. "However, if I obtain a mate in the near future and she does not wish to have a half-breed in the household, you will vacate my home."
A red and black eyebrow arched at this. "I would never have imagined that coming from you, Sesshoumaru. Already giving in to the old ball and chain?"
He gave her a questioning look.
"You're already whipped," she rephrased.
"No one but Inuyasha and Naraku has seriously injured this Sesshoumaru in many, many years. Certainly not a female."
Kagome covered her face with her hands. "No, no. I meant that you're already under your wife's thumb. Seriously, Sesshoumaru… context. Look it up."
The taiyoukai glared at her. "Your moronic colloquialisms have no bearing in my life. And no female has an Inutaisho 'under her thumb'."
She was getting increasingly frustrated with him. "Then why would you kick me out just if some mate of yours said so?"
"I must have an heir," he answered vehemently. "Since my brother went off and got himself killed, I am the last of the Inutaisho line. A female who is angry will not allow any advances on my part."
"So who's the lucky lady?" asked Kagome.
He shook his head slightly. "No one. I have not made my decision yet. There are many females in my court of child-bearing age, but not many who would… suit my tastes."
Another knowing smile spread across her face, the tips of her fangs pointing out. "So, in other words, a girl that won't annoy you half to death and will leave you alone when you want to be left alone and won't leave when you want attention?"
"Yes, so you are out of the running completely," he remarked.
She put a hand on her chest. "Why, Sesshoumaru, I'm shocked. To think that I was even in the running at all… That's an insult to your dog demon heritage!"
"I was being sarcastic, half-…" he trailed off when he caught sight of her face. It was twisted into an expression of mockery. "Hn," he finished with a noncommital tone.
The hanyou, however, immediately pounced upon his wording. "You were sarcastic, Sesshoumaru? About me being out of the running? Does that mean, I'm in?"
He shot her a sharp glance and she laughed, unable to keep a straight face at his obvious annoyance.
She waved her hands in front of her, as if she were warding off flies. "Sorry, sorry… We just haven't had a good fight in the last six seconds, so I thought we were quite overdue." She became serious. "Really, though, how many women are you considering? I don't want to leave the kiddo in some big brawl of potential mates."
"The child will be fine," he said in a flat tone.
The taiyoukai was more than aware of what could happen when one of the four lords declared the desire to mate, however. Palaces had been demolished, lands had been scorched, and many demons, both male and female, had been killed.
His own ancestor had been the one to structure the system of courtiers and lesser lords. Before the dog demon clan had taken charge with three other clans, the land had been chaos. It was a mishmash of territory, held by several youkai who claimed to be lord, king or emperor of their realms. The dog demons held much of the West, while the lizards held the South, the bears held the East and the celestials held the North.
The four clans met secretly to carve up Japan into the four territories. They returned to their lands and then conquered what they had claimed at the secret council. To Sesshoumaru's knowledge, there had never been a major objection to this arrangement since those early days, until now of course, when a mysterious lord was spreading rebellion across the lands.
So many millenia of virtual peace and tranquility, only interrupted by the occasional clash at a border between clans. Despite their reputation, youkai were quite civilized. And yet, through all of this, mating still surged with primal instinct, causing both male and female youkai to become crazed in the process.
A fire demoness had ignited the former wolf prince's castle, right before Koga had taken the title. It was the reason his clan slept in a cave, despite his predominance over all the wolves of the territory.
Then there was the male snake demon whose poison had wiped out three fields of rice, forcing his clan to ask for rations from their enemies, the weasel youkai. It had been two hundred years ago, and the weasel demons still held that over the snakes' heads.
So many incidents in so many places around Japan, it was no wonder that the humans feared and hated the youkai.
Sesshoumaru sighed, wondering if he would have to deal with too much of those foolish antics once he had announced his intention to acquire a mate. He knew that if his fan club was any indication, his infirmary and graveyard would soon be full.
Kagome stretched beside him and he remembered his moment of weakness in the forest, before she had gotten herself in trouble in the human village. He had, for the briefest of instances, considered her attractive.
Even now, the curves of her body…
He shook his head, resisting the urge to growl. Yes, he definitely needed to acquire a mate, or at least a very distracting courtesan. Anything to purge these thoughts from his mind.
Before he could start considering prospects for his return to the West, a rancid smell hit his senses. Blood and death seemed to suddenly permeate the air, hanging in the atmosphere and clinging to any passerby.
The taiyoukai stopped, prompting the hanyou to look up at him. "What's wrong?"
"Can you not smell the scent of the dead?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes. "We're in what my history teacher called the Warring States Era. Of course there's the smell of death everywhere."
"No," he said, his smooth voice lowering to a whisper. "This is not the human stench of mortality that constantly surrounds me and my kind. Nor was it a battle of any kind, either youkai or human. There is only one victim, a youkai, and I believe I know who it is."
Her eyes widened. "Oh… A friend of yours?"
"An employee," Sesshoumaru answered, taking note of her furrowed brows. "I shall find the body."
He moved to give Washi to her, but Kagome crossed her arms and leaned back. "No way. I'm going with you. I don't want to be saving your butt from some smelly dungeon again."
"Soon the smell will be overpowering," the taiyoukai observed, ignoring her obvious intended insult. "I have learned how to lower the level of this annoyance, but a half-breed does not possess that kind of control."
"I'll be the judge of that," she retorted walking forward several paces.
Sesshoumaru waited patiently for her slightly inferior sense of smell to kick in. Sure enough, two minutes later, Kagome ran back with a horrified expression and hurtled into the inu youkai's chest, burying her nose in the soft silk.
"That's disgusting," the girl said, her voice muffled.
He could feel her warm breath through the material, but ignored it. "It is one of my scouts, a skunk youkai. They are very rare in these lands, so I doubt you would have smelled anything so foul before, even if you had encountered a dead body. It is the greatest weapon of the skunk demon, to be able to turn away enemies like that. It apparently did not work this time."
A pair of brown eyes peeked up at him, watering slightly from the pungent aroma. "We have to check it out, Sesshoumaru. Your scouts don't die everyday, do they?"
"No," the dog demon agreed. "Sen was one of my best spies. It would have been a difficult enemy indeed to bring him down."
Kagome leaned back from him and pinched her nose closed. "Let's go then," she said, sounding as if she suffered from a severe head cold.
They walked for at least a mile, such was the power of the smell and of the dog demons' noses. The hanyou had to keep switching hands to ward off the stench, but as they got closer, both hands clapped over her nose and mouth like a mask. She made a soft noise of disgust, her ears twitching when they picked up the noise of buzzing flies.
The body lay in a clearing so small that an outhouse could barely fit in it. Sesshoumaru's former spy was propped up against the tree trunk, his long hair matted with blood and dirt. His eyes were closed, as if he were asleep, but the flies discarded all notion of a innocent slumber in the woods. Kagome had to blink rapidly to keep from tearing up at the sight, and tried not to breathe in order to keep her lunch firmly in her stomach.
Unsurprisingly, his black hair had what looked like two wide streaks of white that started right at his temples. It was there that the crimson blood had stained his body the most. A powerful blow to the head had killed him quickly, but not after a good fight.
His claws were caked in the red sticky liquid as well and Kagome didn't need to uncover her nose to tell that it was the blood of his attackers.
"Sesshoumaru, look!" gasped the girl suddenly, using her foot to point to one of Sen's hands.
A pendant, identical to the one they had retrieved from Izo's neck was clenched firmly in the skunk youkai's grip. The hanyou doubted that a crowbar could free it from his grasp.
"So this lord has taken to battle to my own territory," reflected Sesshoumaru aloud, his tone even and calm, although his blood had started to boil. The fact that some upstart demon had entered his lands and taken the life of his best scout was abhorrent. Good employees were hard to come by, after all.
The blood underneath Sen's fingernails was crusty, but the dog demon could tell this had been the work of several youkai. Sen had not stood a chance, although it seemed as if he had given a good fight. Trees were splintered around them and the taiyoukai doubted that the attackers had all survived Sen's defenses, although their bodies were not present.
A soft gasp cam from the girl and he glanced sharply at her, as if she should have more respect for the dead.
She pointed to the eagle child passed out on the taiyoukai's shoulder. His face was mostly buried in Sesshoumaru's tail, his soft breathing the only sign of life. "I don't want him to see this," she wheezed.
"He will not, if you keep your voice low. Eagle demons have no sense of smell to speak of, if you recall. Not even this stench will awaken him."
"Right," the hanyou answered, lowering her eyes. "I remember now."
She lapsed into a reverent silence, trying not to stare at the dead body while Sesshoumaru examined it. After so many years in the Feudal Era, Kagome had seen her fair share of corpses. One of her very first battles, with Yura of the Hair, had taken her to a camp full of headless men. Inuyasha had asked her, somewhat mockingly, if she was scared, to which she firmly replied in the negative.
For some reason though, Sen's lifeless body terrified her. The thought of anyone murdering a youkai Sesshoumaru called 'one of his best' was almost inconceivable.
"Take the child," said the taiyoukai suddenly, deftly transferring the slumbering boy to Kagome's shoulder.
He crossed the clearing in one step and started to study the corpse in detail. Combing through his hair, clothes and the grass immediately surrounding Sen didn't produce any hints to the reason behind the murder or who had committed it. He paid special attention to Sen's hands, encrusted with the blood of his attackers.
Lifting one clawed hand in his own, Sesshoumaru sniffed. "Youkai did this, no doubt, but something is strange in their blood. Warped, as if there were another presence here that cannot be seen."
"The shadow creatures?" offered Kagome.
"Possible, but I will not conjecture at this time," he responded wisely, although his own mind had jumped to the same conclusion.
The girl watched as Sesshoumaru stood over the body and took a chunk of Sen's hair between his thumb and middle finger. He used his forefinger to slice off about five inches of the raven black and dove white hair.
"What're you doing?" asked Kagome, her eyes widening slightly as he tucked the lock of hair into a small pouch at his hip.
"It is custom," explained the dog demon, now used to her ignorance of youkai tradition. "When a male falls in battle, his commander takes a piece of his hair to the fallen male's mate. I shall deliver this to Sen's mate, Ruri, upon our return to the mansion."
She frowned. "He was married?"
"Mated, yes," sighed the taiyoukai.
"Does he have any children?"
"Sen and Ruri had no kits," informed Sesshoumaru. "They have only been mates for a very short time. Sen was only two hundred years old, quite young for kits."
"What about the body?" she asked, peering around the inuyoukai at Sen.
"Ruri may choose to leave it here, so that he may return to earth. Or she may choose to find it and bury it. It is her choice to make." He studied Kagome's face, now a mixture of detached mourning and genuine depression. "You worry for Ruri?"
"Of course," she answered, her voice hollow. "She's lost the man she loves, hasn't she?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Sen was not a noble, so it is possible that he mated for love. I am not so attached to my employees to know the nature of their familial bonds."
She was still staring at the body. "Maybe you should get attached. It might help in the long run."
"You know nothing of managing a territory," he scoffed.
Her eyes finally moved to meet his and he was surprised to see an astonishing depth to them. "True, but I do know how to make friends and you're certainly not doing it correctly. If you keep doing it this way, you won't need any mysterious lord to stir up rebellions. You'll be doing it quite well on your own."
He growled softly at her comments.
She shrugged, shifting Washi's weight to rest on her hip. "I'm just telling it like I see it, Sesshoumaru. It's your choice whether it comes true or not." She paused and licked her dry lips. The smell seemed not to affect her anymore and the taiyoukai suspected that he was seeing her human side tonight. "Either way, I think I'll visit Ruri when we get back. She could use a friend."
The inuyoukai looked skeptical for a moment, not believing that Ruri would accept any offers of friendship from a half-breed. "We will use my transportation cloud for the rest of the journey," he decided suddenly. "We cannot waste any more time now that the battle is within my borders."
Kagome resisted the urge to say 'I told you so', opting to just give a polite nod.
Sesshoumaru quickly conjured a small cloud beneath his feet, upon which the girl gently laid down the sleeping boy. She clambered on and they immediately began to float towards the cloudy, inky night sky.
A soft breeze blew back the hanyou's hair as they ascended, prompting her to tie it back into a messy bun. Once they began moving towards the West, she realized that the breeze was deceptive. They were travelling at an alarming rate, a rate that should create torrential winds.
She leaned over the edge and watched the trees blur into a dark green mass with patches of black, brown and blue where clearing and lakes stood. At this speed, they would probably reach Sesshoumaru's home before midnight.
Sitting back, she thought about what awaited her in the West. Kagome would like to be so naïve as to believe that all that was there were a few servants and Rin. But the realist within her told her that her struggles of being a half-breed were hardly over yet. She had survived the human reaction, now it was time for the flip side of that equation.
Her biggest fear was making a fool of herself. Not being liked… well, she could get used to that, even if it included a few death threats.
But to trip and fall flat on her face? Or say something idiotic?
'It is better for people to think you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt,' she silently chanted in her head. 'Just don't talk and you'll be fine.'
Even as she thought it, Kagome knew that it would never happen. She was much too talkative and she had been feeling more cheerful lately, which meant even more chatter. She just hoped none of the youkai in Sesshoumaru's court would take a deadly offense to something she uttered.
A large yawn interrupted her thoughts, her hand flying up to cover her gaping mouth. "Wow, I'm really tired all of a sudden," she commented aloud.
Sesshoumaru looked down at her and said, "Then sleep." His golden eyes flickered around the horizon, watching for possible aerial dangers, but nothing threatened him at the moment. Only the smell of rain gave any indication of trouble, but it was hours away. They would be at the Western palace long before the skies opened up.
Next to his feet, Kagome was making herself comfortable on the downy soft cloud. Before they closed, her brown eyes peered up at him. "Aren't you going to rest?" she asked.
The taiyoukai blinked at her question. "I prefer to stand," he answered after a moment.
The hanyou shrugged and rolled over onto her stomach, placing an arm around the sleeping eagle child beside her. There wasn't a lot of room on the cloud and she didn't want him to fall off, even if he did have wings. "Goodnight, Sesshoumaru," she murmured.
"I will wake you shortly," came his version of a reply.
She smiled to herself and pressed her ear against the feathery cloud beneath her. A gentle thrumming sound pulsed through the cloud, echoing inside her canine ear. It took Kagome only moments to realize that it was a heartbeat.
Sesshoumaru's heartbeat, she decided quickly. The cloud was a part of his power, so that would make sense. She splayed her fingers over its surface, feeling a slight vibration accompanying each thrum of his heart.
Her eyes lazily shut while she listened to the dog demon's steady, calm pulse. She fell asleep, its beat following her into her dreams.
A light mist permeated the air, making her skin and clothes damp with tiny water droplets. The strong, steady sound of a heartbeat made it difficult to hear, but at the same time, was soothing as she moved through the cool atmosphere."Kagome?" called a voice.
The heartbeat softened as Inuyasha came into view. He appeared as he had always been, with a smug smile and pure white hair. His ears twitched at the sight of her.
"Inuyasha!" she cried, running into his arms.
It felt wonderful to be embracing him once more. Even the coarse robe of the firerat didn't deter her from snuggling into his chest.
"I missed you," she murmured.
"I've missed you too, but why did you change, Kagome?"
Her brown eyes met his golden eyes. "What do you mean?"
He brushed his claws through her hair over where her human ears should have been. She stil appeared confused until he traced the edge of her new canine ears. "Oh! Those…" She grinned sheepishly and reached up to the crimson triangles, as if she had just remembered them. "That's nothing. I mean, that's everything. It means I can stay with you."
Inuyasha smiled and leaned forward to bury his nose in her hair. "Forever?"
The heartbeat, the only other sound besides their voices, gave one more feeble thrum and then died.
Kagome didn't notice as she hugged her mate tightly, pressing her forehead against his. "Forever. A promise is a promise, Inuyasha."
"And what does this promise include?" he asked with a sly grin.
"Me… Isn't that good enough?"
Instead of the expected response, the male hanyou pulled back with a frown on his face. "Of course it is, Kag…but I don't believe you."
"What are you talking about?"
He released himself from her arms and wandered around the area, keeping within sight. "I don't know," he finally murmured thoughtfully, as he made his way back towards the girl. "I just have this weird feeling that something's going to happen. Something's going to split us apart."
"Never," emphasized the girl, leaning into his arms once again. "I've chosen you."
Inuyasha nodded, but still appeared upset.
Kagome sighed and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "What's wrong? Don't you believe me? Who would want to split us apart?" She eyed him suspiciously. "You aren't talking about Kikyo, are you?"
"No! It's someone else…"
"No one can tear us apart, Inu-chan."
"Not even someone who looks like me? Shares my blood and my heritage?" he asked severely, as if he was giving her a pop quiz in math.
The girl frowned deeply. "Are you talking about Sesshoumaru?"
A single heartbeat echoed through the mist as Inuyasha nodded and turned away.
She pressed her cheek against his back and put her clawed hands on his shoulders. "He's your brother, Inu-chan, so I saved him from that dungeon. You would have done the same thing, you know that. I haven't done anything wrong."
"He's dangerous. He could kill you without a thought. In a heartbeat."
She frowned. "I guess…"
He pivoted on his heel and wrapped his arms around her yet again, resting his head on top of hers. "I worry about you, Kag. You're in so much pain right now."
The girl sighed happily in his embrace, only half-listening to his words. She couldn't remember for the life of her why she should be anything but cheerful. She was with Inuyasha, after all. Nothing could go wrong with him around.
"I love you," he murmured into her hair. "I couldn't bear to lose you."
"You never will," she answered. "I love you too."
Inuyasha pulled back slightly and moved her chin so that they were looking into each others' eyes. "It is Fate," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.
She lifted herself onto her toes, to meet to his lips…"Wake up, half-breed!" snapped the taiyoukai, nudging her with his foot.
Her eyes opened and she sat up in a flash. "What? What's happening?"
The inky midnight sky stretched across her vision, with a lining of green where the trees were still a blur underneath them. She realized she was facing backwards when Sesshoumaru muttered, "We have arrived."
Kagome looked up at him and recoiled slightly at his icy gaze.
"What is the problem, half-breed?"
"Nothing, nothing," she lied, rubbing her upper arms for warmth. Her dream flooded back into her mind and she seemed to be able to remember every word, every touch that Inuyasha had given her. Including the warning about his brother, and the kiss that had never happened. Kagome almost growled at the memory of being interrupted. It had been her most realistic dream since Inuyasha had died.
She finally turned around to face forward, and immediately gasped.
"It's beautiful," the girl whispered in awe, as the cloud began to make its final descent into Sesshoumaru's home.
It appeared to be more like a small city than anything else. About eight large, classic Japanese-style mansions were situated within a large area of fenced in field. Each had enormous gardens that Kagome could see from the air, containing a variety of trees, shrubs and flowers.
The mansions had a collection of smaller buildings clustered around them, which Kagome rightly guessed to be servants' quarters, kitchens, training dojos, bathhouses and stables. The kitchens, separated from the main houses for protection against the spread of fires, all had smoke curling out of holes in the tops of the edifices.
"Is that a shrine?" the girl questioned suddenly, pointing to a small, central structure. It's two-tiered building surrounded by covered walkways in a reverent, auspicious design indicated that it must be a holy place. She could see several tiny ant-sized figures bustling around it.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Youkai worship the gods as well."
"And that?" She moved her attention to a large, low-lying complex outside the main walls, with a defensive wall of its own.
"My army's barracks and training grounds," he replied patiently.
"Why are there eight palaces?" she asked, still shocked by the grace of the Western lands headquarters.
"Seven are for the major families in my court. The eighth is my own," he answered.
For a moment, Kagome wondered which mansion was Sesshoumaru's, but quickly realized that would be a foolish question to ask. The largest palace sat in the back of the area on a bit of raised land, tucked neatly in the corner with the most expansive, exotic gardens encircling it. The vast quantities of bamboo and trees surrounding it almost hid the actual building from view, but she could see its carefully planned-out structure and graceful lines even from this high up. It appeared very peaceful and secluded, even when in such close proximity to other nobles' homes.
It was there that the cloud was floating towards, earning many shouts of surprise from the youkai below in the square around the shrine.
As they drew closer, Kagome could see why the palace suited Sesshoumaru so well. It was constructed of dark wood against white, creating a clean, solid appearance. The many-tiered roofs of all the buildings in the complex were tiled and upturned at the corners in typical Japanese fashion but otherwise unadorned.
"It's you," she said aloud. "Strong and impressive, but not so fancy you want to throw up. I like it."
He sent her a piercing glare, wondering how something that resembled a compliment could sound so foul. "You will stay inside the walls of the City of the West, unless you are with myself or Jaken."
She glanced around once more before the cloud lowered itself below the tree line. "Okay, I guess I can do that," the girl agreed, noticing the dozens of guards carrying deadly weapons atop the thick wall.
Sesshoumaru chalked her acquiesence up to the fact that she was still looking about her in wonderment. He doubted she had even listened to what he had said. "Wake the child," he ordered.
"Oh! I forgot!" she cried, turning to Washi and gently shaking him. "I guess he can fly up any time and see all that, can't he?"
"See what?" the eagle child muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Sesshoumaru's home," Kagome answered. "We're here. It's your home too now, I guess."
Washi jumped off the cloud as it touched down to the ground. "Where's Rin? I want to meet her and then we can explore, right, Kagome?"
The hanyou began to nod, but stopped when she heard the clatter of weapons and armor. Looking up, she saw dozens of soldiers running towards the three of them, with a little imp she recognized as Jaken scurrying behind. "Somehow, Washi, I don't think this is going to be a quick little hello," she muttered darkly.
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A/N: There you go! I hope it's satisfactory. If it isn't (no fluff or whatever), don't worry – I've outlined the entire story and I've put in LOTS of all that you guys have been asking for. Mainly fluff, but battles and fights and Washi and Kagura too. Fear not! The next chapter is coming… relatively soon I hope. Stop worrying!… No, I said, stop worrying. Haha.
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