A/N: Really quickly, I wanted to thank Warm-Ice, the author of 'My Daughter'.. although she hasn't updated in forever, her idea of secret spells passed down through the family gave me the idea of incantation scrolls... Plus, where does it say you can't respond directly to certain reviewers? I thought the TOS said you could, as long as it wasn't taking up the entire space of a chapter...
And to all you who reviewed, thanks... I feel kinda bad about the comment I made concerning the site counter.. heh, but... at least you guys reviewed! Again, reviews are really encouraging to get, believe it or not.
LucretiaDecoy: Thanks! I've noticed that if I keep Sesshoumaru from speaking, he seems more in-character (wink). He's going to have to say some more stuff later, though.. so.. wish me luck!
Disclaimer: No,I don't own anything. Well, I do, but I am not Takahashi-sama. I don't pretend things like that. I just play with her characters!
CHAPTER 5: 'Yuketsu'
When she arrived back at her room she changed out of the silk kimono and into a linen robe. Seating herself at the desk, Kagome unrolled the scroll she had attempted to decipher the night before. It was a difficult task, because some of the characters were ancient Japanese. She would have to ask Sesshoumaru what some of them meant. If she was to teach these incantations to Rin, she would also have to learn them herself. Skipping over some of the harder characters, Kagome was able to get the general idea of the spell that the scroll contained.
"Tobu?" she said, deciphering a character from the incantation's description. "A spell for flying? How is a human supposed to learn how to fly?" she asked aloud. She began reading the words of the scroll- the ones she could understand. It seemed like a bunch of gibberish, but apparently when the words would be recited together, they gave the caster the ability to fly at will. Mustering some courage, she rolled up the scroll and went to find Sesshoumaru. The easiest way to find him would be to feign escape, but she knew that it would probably not be the best idea, given the circumstances. She pushed him a little too far today for her own peace of mind.
Kagome walked outside, and sat near the small lake. There were fireflies buzzing over the water and resting on the rocks that bordered it. The stars were clearly visible, even though there was abarrier separating them from her. She had planned to call out for Sesshoumaru, knowing that his youkai ears would definitely hear her voice, but finding herself in this peaceful atmosphere, she suddenly decided not to. Instead, the young woman laid back on the soft grass to get a full view of the milky way. The stars were so much brighter here than they were in her time. 'Inu Yasha.' At least they were both under the same sky. That was somewhat comforting. Kagome was shaken from her reverie by approaching footsteps. The sound ceased, but was then followed by the gentle stirring of grass, meaning that whoever was there had just sat down next to where she was. Sitting up, she turned to see who it was.
"Eh-- Sesshoumaru?" She was surprised to see that the taiyoukai had come to meet her, even though she hadn't called for him. Just as well.. he knew she was outside; maybe he had come to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't try to escape. He said nothing, but clearly looked from her face down to the scroll. Now, if any, was the time to ask him about those characters. "I have a few questions about this scroll," she began. Unrolling it, she pointed to several characters, and asked him to explain them.
"Not surprising you don't know them, considering Inu Yasha has forgotten his heritage."
'What is that supposed to mean?' Kagome looked confused.
"If he had taken more responsibility to learn who he is, he would be much stronger than he is now."
"You mean, he would know all of these incantations?" Silence was her answer. "Then.. why does Rin need to learn all of this? And.. how would she learn how to fly? She is just a human girl…" Sesshoumaru said nothing along the lines of a response to Kagome's questions. Rather, he pointed to each character and explained them and their pronunciations one by one.
"Now that you know these characters, try the spell yourself." The young miko stared at the taiyoukai, who only stared straight back at her.
"Now?" she asked.
"If you don't want to see how it will work on a human, then don't bother." Sesshoumaru rose to his feet, and began to walk away.
"Wait!" she called for him, standing up. He turned around. "I'll try it." She recited the words in order. The scroll began to glow a faint blue, and the light from it began to form a pathway toward her heart. Once it touched her body, however, the light dispersed. The incantation had failed. "W--what?" Sesshoumaru looked at the woman. He stepped toward her, and leaned in until his face was mere inches from hers. "Sesshoumaru… wh…" she trailed off. It seemed like he was sniffing her. After a few seconds he stood straight up and smirked.
"So, he hasn't done it yet."
"D--done what?"
"That Inu Yasha.. I never cease to be amazed at his stupidity."
"What?" Kagome was totally clueless. Sesshoumaru held out his wrist, and bit into it. Blood trickled down his arm, and began to drop onto the grass, mixing with the freshly forming dew.
"Taste this. It will only be temporary, but then you will understand." Kagome stared at him, absolutely shocked. He held his arm out to her, offering his wrist for her to taste his youkai blood.
"W--ww-what?" She took a step back, but before she knew it, Sesshoumaru pressed his wrist against her lips.
"Taste it," he told her calmly.
'What the… what is going ON, here?' Kagome asked herself frantically as she was force-fed Sesshoumaru's youkai blood. It didn't taste like human blood at all. Kagome was surprised. Why didn't she know that youkai blood was different? Out of all the battles she had been in with Inu Yasha, she had never once tasted his blood. Of course, the fact that she was thinking such a weird thought didn't even occur to her. The taiyoukai blood of Sesshoumaru was beginning to confuse her mind, and her thoughts began to muddle. Sesshoumaru's blood lacked the metallic attributes that she tasted from her own whenever she would prick a finger and pop it into her mouth. His was more like sweet corn and a hint of garlic blended together. Kagome's head began to feel warm, and she felt dizzy. Closing her eyes, she became lost in the taste of his blood. Her hands, once pulling on his arm to remove it, were now pressing his wrist against her lips. Kagome drank and drank, she couldn't seem to get enough. All she could sense now was that alluring taste, and the warmth that it brought her. Now her entire body was numb, and her head spinning, but she didn't care. Finally, she blacked out from the sheer pleasure of being infused with the blood of taiyoukai Sesshoumaru.
She collapsed, but Sesshoumaru caught her easily and gently laid her on the grass. He stared at her, waiting for her to wake up. A few minutes later, she began to stir. Her raven hair began to develop small silver streaks. After about 30 minutes, the transformation was complete. Letting out a moan, Kagome opened her amber eyes. They were now nearly identical in color to the youkai who donated his blood to her. She sat up.
"Don't strain yourself," he said to her, putting his hand on her back. Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, shocked that he sounded so gentle.
"What… what happened?" She asked, rubbing her head. She was still unaware of the physical changes that befell her.
"You now have some youkai ability," he answered.
"You mean.. you… you made me a hanyou!" she asked, getting more and more furious by the second.
"Like I said before, it is only temporary. Though you drank more than enough, the effects should last for about a day. For any normal human it would only last half a day, but because of your spiritual powers, I suspect it will last a little longer than that." Kagome sighed in relief. "See if you can stand," he instructed her, grabbing hold of her arm, and supporting her as she lifted herself onto her feet.
"I feel a little woozy… but.. I should be okay," she said, looking at Sesshoumaru, who then released her arm.
"Now, try the incantation again." Kagome nodded, and picked up the scroll from where it rested on the ground. She said the words in succession, like she did the first time. Again, the scroll began to shine, and the light that previously diffused when it attempted to merge with her heart now penetrated her body. She felt exhilarated, electrocuted, and free at the same moment. Just as fast as it had appeared, the light quickly faded.
"Did… did it work?" she asked Sesshoumaru. It was strange.. for some reason, her relationship with the taiyoukai seemed much warmer than it had ever been before. There was still some hesitation, but nowhere near the amount of distrust and dislike that had been there prior to her drinking his blood. Was that blood transfusion some kind of bonding ritual? At this moment, Inu Yasha was the furthest thing from her mind.
"Now, think of flying, and recite the final word of the incantation." Kagome looked down at the scroll.
"Yuketsu!" she said firmly. Suddenly, her body glowed the same blue that penetrated her body before. Her body seemed to take the shape of a small sphere. She was now hovering, in spherical form, next to Sesshoumaru's head. Having fun with her new shape as well as new ability, Kagome circled Sesshoumaru, and flew quickly to the pagoda on the other side of the lake, and back. When she consciously thought about landing, her body transformed back into humanoid form, and she gently landed on the ground, facing Sesshoumaru. "… Wow," was all she could say.
"Rin must learn to read these incantations," he said to Kagome. He broke his gaze with her, and looked up at the small sliver of the moon. "It is late," he told her. Kagome nodded, knowing what he meant. It was time for her to turn in. He headed back to the castle.
"Good night, Sesshoumaru." The taiyoukai stopped and turned his head, as was his usual response.
"Ah." This vocal response from Sesshoumaru shocked Kagome to no end. He was suddenly more vocal with her, and seemed to be even… caring for her, when she woke up… She walked suspiciously back inside the castle, to her room. Arriving, she prepared for bed. She picked up the toothbrush, and began to clean her teeth. She spit into the sink in the bathroom, and looked up at the mirror.
"KKKKKYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" her scream echoed throughout the entire castle. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised her if Inu Yasha heard it from wherever he was. Birds that had been resting in the branches of trees on the castle vicinity were scared by the sudden sound, and took to flight. Rabbits hid in their dens.
Rin looked around curiously. "Was that Kagome?" she asked herself out loud.
From his own quarters, Jaken shook his head. "Frail humans. I'll bet she fainted from seeing a spider," he mumbled to himself, cursing Kagome.
Sesshoumaru, alone in his room, smiled when he heard the scream. "It seems she's finally noticed."
A/N: Oh, you guys... sorry this is a short chapter! I didn't notice it before, but now that I do, I will update tomorrow, just to make up for it! Remember to tell me, if you notice any plot holes or ooc-ness, yeah? I hope you liked it!