Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I do own Gin-Hitomi. My friend, Anime Witch 666, owns Mikato. Thanks so much for letting me use her Mik!
If you're interested in Mikato, or want to read some really good fics, check out Anime Witch 666's profile and read her fics.
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Recap:
"I'm going to need directions." she told him. Instead of saying anything, two bare, muscular arms slid around Kagome's and took the reins from her hands. Normally Kagome would have killed on the spot anyone other than her who tried to take Botond reins, but she made an exception for Sesshoumaru. Besides, she told herself. She liked his arms around her.
Friendship, Betrayal, Lust and Love
Chapter 7- Sesshoumaru's Secret and Mikato
Sesshoumaru steered Botond out of the front gates and across the plain. Instead of taking the main road into the castle, he took a trail that looked as if it was barely used. He stopped suddenly, and said nothing. The two just sat there for a few moments, until hoof beats could be heard.
A figure raced past them and Sesshoumaru flapped the reins to get Botond to move. The horse stayed stock still, not moving an inch. Sesshoumaru frowned, but felt small hands take the reins from his own.
"Hold on." Kagome said. Sesshoumaru frowned, and looked down in time to see Kagome's lips part and an ear-piercing whistle fly through them. He felt the horse's muscles bunch underneath him and was impressed. This horse was in good shape.
Then the horse took off at top speed, and Sesshoumaru nearly fell off. He lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist as he tried to stay on the horse's bare back. Kagome rode with no problems; she was use to this speed, and hated riding Botond with a saddle anyway.
"Gin!" Kagome said in a normal voice when she saw the hanyou 50 yards in front of her. Kagome knew that with Gin's youkai hearing, there was no need to yell.
The figure on the horse stopped and turned. What Gin saw made her jaw drop. There was her older brother, the emotionless prick who had no feelings for anyone or anything, with his arms around her friend's waist, and riding on the same horse. Gin was stunned.
"Hey Hitomi! How was your ride?" Kagome asked when she was level with Gin. Gin stopped staring once she received a glare from her brother and responded.
"Pretty good, although Kouga had a huge fit once you left. He destroyed half the palace." Gin giggled.
"Wow." Kagome said.
"Yeah, he said he was going to find you so that you could be his mate, too." Gin said. That wasn't true, but Gin wanted to see how her brother would take the news.
Sesshoumaru stiffened and tightened his grip on Kagome. He let out a low growl which confirmed Gin's suspicions. Suddenly Sesshoumaru stopped mid-growl. 'Why am I getting all possessive?' he wondered to himself.
"I figured." Kagome respond to Gin's comment about Kouga. "Shall we get back to the palace?" she asked. Gin nodded and the two girls talked about random things as they headed back while Sesshoumaru was lost in thought.
'Why do I care if another youkai wants this human girl? And WHY did I tell her to call me Sesshoumaru?' He wondered. This was bad, very bad. Emotions were getting the better of him, something he had promised himself not to let happen.
'I must avoid Kagome for a while.' he thought to himself. 'Wait, Kagome? Since when do I refer to her by name?'
.:.Later on.:.
Kagome and Gin had spent the afternoon together. They had groomed Botond and Estvan, Gin's horse, once they got in, they had discussed random things, and were now sitting in one of the many hot tubs in the palace. This one was on the same floor as their rooms.
"So, you have the room right beside Sesshoumaru's." Gin said. Kagome nodded, and smiled.
"He's kind of sweet." Kagome said. Gin stared at her.
"Sesshoumaru? Sweet? Are you out of your mind?" Gin asked disbelievingly.
"What do you mean? He told me to call him Sesshoumaru without the respectful title! He even took Botond's reins. I let him though, he's warm." Kagome gave a little giggle at the last part.
Gin stared wide-eyed at her. "Without the respectful title?" she said. Kagome nodded, still remembering the feel of Sesshoumaru arms around her.
"Listen, Kags...I have to tell you how strange that is for fluffy." Gin said.
"Fluffy?" Kagome asked with a giggle. Gin grinned showing her canines.
"I call him that because it gets on his nerves. He's acting really strange around you. He's usually a stone wall. He only shows emotion around me. Both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are stubborn as hell, and, like all demons, are very protective and possessive. Did you notice how he tightened his grip on you when I mentioned Kouga?"
"Yeah..." Kagome responded slowly. She remembered Gin talk about Inuyasha back at Kouga's palace, and then realized that that was the guy who had called her a wench. She frowned, she would have to get that guy back sometime soon.
"I think my brother has a crush." Gin giggled. Kagome blushed. "Ah, don't worry, he's not that bad of a guy, once you get to know him. He's probably going to be cold and distant for a while now, once he's realized what you've been doing to him, so don't take it personally. He's going to be slow, and take FOREVER to admit his feelings. It's cause of what happened last time." Gin said, her eyes glazing over with memories.
"What happened last time?" Kagome asked, curious.
"Well...Ok, I'll tell you, but you can't say ANYTHING! Cross your heart and hope to die!"
"Stick a sword in my eye!" Kagome repeated the ancient phrase binding her to secrecy.
"Good. It happened about, hmm, 5 years ago, I think. We're actually not that much older than you, even though demons can live forever. I'm only 16! So I'm the same age as you! Inuyasha is 16 as well, and Fluffy is 19. He's not that much older than us, and none of us had had to call on our demon blood to keep us alive longer than human years yet. Anyway, about 5 years ago, Sesshoumaru met this youkai who was very pretty." Gin started talking like a story teller.
Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Quiet you. Anyway, they grew very close, and Sesshoumaru, although only 14, wanted to marry her. He was ready to ask her, he had even gotten a ring made! (I'll explain the rings in a minute Kags.) So my parents set up this grand ball, and Sesshoumaru was supposed to ask her, he was going to do it in his favorite place, the balcony on the third floor. It looked over a garden, and right below the balcony was a spiked fence. He took her up there, and got down on one knee, and asked her to be his mate."
"And?"
"She rejected him and jumped off the balcony to her death."
Kagome couldn't believe it. "Did she say why?" Kagome whispered.
Gin shook her head. "Sesshoumaru won't go near that corridor anymore, nor will he go near the gardens." The mood turned solemn as the girls stayed quiet. Kagome couldn't believe how hard that must have been to endure.
"What about the rings? You said you'd explain them."
"Oh! Yes, when a male youkai becomes of age to take a mate, usually 16 or so, one of their fangs is taken out and formed into a ring. The ring is made hollow, with a tiny hole in the design on the front of it. When they take a mate, they have to fill the hollow part with a mixture of their own blood, and that of their mates. Then they put the ring on their mate's finger, and there the ring stays. When demons take a mate, they take them for life."
"When Sesshoumaru had his ring made, he had it made especially for the youkai he loved. When she died, he smashed the ring and buried the contents somewhere. He had another ring made when he was 17, but only because he was then of age to take a mate, and had no choice but to have it done. Father made him."
"Another thing about demons, they court fast. An example, Sesshoumaru's mother and father knew each other for only a week before they were life mates, so be careful. If Sesshoumaru moves too fast for you, tell him, because I know humans court a LOT slower."
"On a happier note, I'm having a ball in one week!" Gin said suddenly.
"Really? I can't wait!" Kagome exclaimed, still trying to take in all the information Gin had given her.
"I've invited my best friend since birth, she'll be arriving tomorrow. This will give the palace a chance to get to know you, along with Sesshoumaru," Gin winked at Kagome who blushed. "My father, mother, and the southern lands as well. The southern land's princess, my friend, will be staying here along with their army. Princess Mikato is their Head of War, and my best friend. Just wait till you meet her." Gin said. "Um, do you want to get out now? I'm turning into a prune."
Kagome laughed and nodded. The girls got out, dried off, and got dressed into their sleep wear, which was similar to the male kimonos; pants and long sleeved shirts. The only difference between the sleep wear and the male kimono's is that the sleep wear for the princess's was a lot more elegant.
Gin's sleeping kimono was red silk with slits on the top of the shoulders. They were plain, except for one golden vine that wound itself around her torso and legs. The ties at her waist were the same color as her kimono.
Kagome's sleeping kimono was silver silk with white ties at the waist. There was a large white dog embroidered on the back; Kagome had borrowed a pair of Sesshoumaru's sleeping kimonos as she had brought none with her when she had fled Kouga's palace. Kagome giggled; Sesshoumaru still didn't know.
Gin had slipped into his room on their way to the hot tub and had grabbed it from one of his drawers. She said that if he threw a fit, which he most likely wouldn't as Gin kept hinting that Sesshoumaru liked Kagome, just to tell him that she had no idea and that Gin had given it to her.
Kagome's room was two doors down from Gin's, and the hot tub room was right in the middle. The girls waved to each other and went their separate ways.
Kagome entered her room and put down the kimono that she had been wearing earlier. She had explored her rooms when she had first arrived in them, and remembered a balcony at the very back, attached to her bedroom. She made her way to it, and threw open the glass doors that separated her from the night. She walked out, and leaned on the edge of the railing, staring up at the stars.
.:.With Sesshoumaru.:.
Sesshoumaru had been pacing in his rooms for sometime. He only stopped to go out on the balcony to get some fresh air. He had been on his balcony for only two minutes, when the doors separating Kagome's balcony from her rooms swung open.
Sesshoumaru had planned on avoiding and ignoring her. But the moment he inhaled, his planning went out the window. She smelt of lilac and cherry blossoms, but that wasn't what made his planning go to pieces. It was the fact that her scent, was enveloped in his own.
The scent drove him wild. He loved it. Her scent mixed with his own, if he hadn't known any better, he could have sworn that they had mated, his scent was so strong on her. But they hadn't, so why did she smell like she belonged to him?
Looking over at her balcony, he found the object of his torture. His sleeping kimono. No wonder he had smelt Gin in his rooms when he had come in. It had been faint; she hadn't been there long. She had just come in, and grabbed a one of his sleeping kimonos. Kagome probably hadn't brought her own in her hasten to get away from the northern lands.
Sesshoumaru thought he was going to go nuts. Ok, so he liked this girl that much was obvious. But that scent was going to make him go insane. It smelt so good, so...right. About to go back into his rooms and find something to block that scent out of his nose so he didn't do something he would regret, Kagome spotted him.
"Hey! How are you?" she asked.
"Fine." Sesshoumaru was trying to remain cold and indifferent, instead of leaping over there and inhaling that wonderful scent. As it was, he took a deep breath while she was still out here.
Kagome cast around for something to talk about. Sesshoumaru wasn't making it any easier. "Gin said it was ok if I borrowed one of your kimonos." Kagome said.
Sesshoumaru leaped over the railings separating their balconies and stood in front of her. He looked down at her through golden eyes as he stood mere inches away from her. Leaning down until they were almost nose to nose, he whispered as he watched her lips.
"What if I decided to take them back, right now?" he asked, once again inhaling that wonderful scent.
Kagome's eyes widened at what he had just implied. She watched his eyes as she heard him take a deep breath in through his nose. His eyes glazed slightly with pleasure as he did so. Kagome realized that he smelled her.
"You wouldn't dare." Kagome whispered back, noticing how their lips were mere centimeters away.
"Wouldn't I?" Sesshoumaru murmured as he reached up her shirt and raked his nails down her flat stomach. His actions sent delightful shivers up Kagome's spine.
Kagome closed her eyes and pressed her soft lips against his slightly chapped ones. Sesshoumaru was surprised at first, but then closed his eyes and slowly, but surely, kissed her back. They stayed like that for a few moments before Sesshoumaru, hearing someone knocking on his door, broke the kiss.
He leaped off the balcony without a word and got the door. Kagome sighed and went back into her rooms, closing the door behind her. She climbed into bed and started thinking.
'I've only known this guy for a day.' Kagome thought, realization hitting her like a brick. 'Does he want to become mates? But...I don't think he'll know if he loves me, how could he? After only a day?'
Kagome soon drifted off to sleep, extremely confused.
.:.With Sesshoumaru.:.
Sesshoumaru went back out onto the balcony to clear his head. He was beginning to wonder about himself. He decided that, no matter HOW she smelt, he had to avoid her. The problem was, how to avoid her at the ball?
Deciding to deal with complications later, he went to bed. Sometimes, sleeping it off was the best thing to do to find the solution to a problem.
.:.The Next Day.:.
Gin-Hitomi and Kagome had decided to do a little training before Mikato arrived. Kagome was dressed in one of her plain black silk male kimono's; her last clean one. Gin was having more made for her, along with some formal kimonos. Another kimono was being made for her right now for the ball tomorrow night. Kagome's swords were at her sides and on her back was her quiver. Her bow was in her hand.
Gin was dressed in a plain white silk male kimono and had a sword at her right hip, and a dagger at her left. There were two wrist knives up her sleeves; Kagome's; Gin had wanted to try them out.
They were walking past the stables on their way to the dojo when they heard horn calls. Kagome looked up, confused, as Gin listened. The horn calls ceased after a moment.
"Mikato has been spotted, she's clear of the woods and heading toward the castle. Come on, we can train later." Gin told her and turned around, heading for the gates. Kagome followed a few steps behind.
A young lady with black hair that reached her butt rode up on a black Percheron. She rode side-saddle, proper for a princess. The horse stopped without a word from the young woman. She slid gracefully off the horse, which was amazing, as the horse was 18 hands high.
The young woman wore a crimson cotton male kimono. It was plain; obviously a traveling kimono. Although her dress was plain, she still had a godly air about her. More so than Sesshoumaru.
Kagome, her warrior training taking over, looked her over from top to bottom. She noticed the sighs(sp?) hidden in her sleeves, the dagger on her belt, and the boot knife tucked into her left boot at the side. The young woman walked briskly over to Gin-Hitomi who was standing a few paces in front of Kagome, and they embraced.
Kagome watched the two and noticed something she hadn't when the lady had first rode up. Her black hair was red at the tips. The coloring was uneven too; it looked as though her hair had been dipped in blood. The two broke apart and the godly woman gave a smile to Gin-Hitomi.
"How are you?" asked the young lady in a pleasantly light, playful voice.
"I'm fine Mikato, and you?"
"Annoyed with these servants, per usual. They of course protested when I wanted to ride Zàdor here. But I overruled them." she smiled.
"I want you to meet someone." Gin said, turning to Kagome. "This is Princess Kagome of the Eastern Lands, Kagome-Hime, this is Princess Mikato of the Southern Lands."
Mikato's amber eyes looked Kagome up and down, just as Kagome's emerald ones had done to her earlier. Mikato nodded her hello. Kagome nodded in response. Mikato then turned to the people she had brought with her.
"Danti, Hashka." Two servants came forward and bowed. "Take my things up to my room."
"What about Zàdor?" one asked.
"Like I've told you a hundred times." Mikato said coldly. "No one touches my horse."
Kagome smiled. She was sure she'd get along with Mikato just fine.
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Zàdor-Violent
This story is so close to being discontinued it isn't even funny. I've had to put up with a lot of bull from my friends cause they don't like Sess/Kag pairings, and it's pushing me over the edge. Also, with three other fics all on the go, I really need a GOOD reason to continue writing this story. I need 10 reviews but the time I go camping, the 17th, or else this story will be deleted when I get back.