Chapter 6

By: Kaguya's Chaos

Kagome stared at the beautiful man before her. His hair was pulled up and away from his face and a freaky hat-thingy rested on his head. Imperial robes draped over his muscular frame and his hands were steeped in front of him. 'He looked better with his hair down…' Kagome thought briefly as she tried to listen to whatever Hotohori was trying to say.

She fully shook herself from her thoughts as a collective gasp went through the large throne room she now kneeled in. She blinked rapidly and glanced over at Tamahome in confusion. He, in turn, was staring at her in surprise. Kagome looked back to Hotohori and frowned. "Er, sorry, but I must have missed that whole thing." Kagome said sheepishly as she tried to keep herself from blushing past the crimson color already on her face.

The whole assembly fell over comically and Kagome laughed nervously. Hotohori smiled and again began the whole explanation process over. "I apologize for the way that you were treated. It was not our intention to harm you in any way. We simply needed to prove you were not, indeed, evil spirits."

At this, Kagome raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I take it we passed inspection then?" She asked tilting her head to the side. Uncharacteristically, Hotohori blushed slightly and coughed to hide it. "Yes. We have indeed found…" He looked into Kagome's curious blue eyes, "that you are the priestess of Suzaku. As such, we ask that you protect our empire."

Kagome felt her smile freeze on her face and her left eye tick. 'Please, Kami. Tell me I heard wrong and all that was just said was a lie. I can't take on another priestess role! Why can't I get sucked into a portal and lead a non-leading role? WHY!' Kagome coughed and closed her eyes momentarily.

"You want me to be what?" She asked and tried to stop the strain in her mind from appearing in her voice. Hotohori face faulted and then quickly gathered up all his persuasive powers. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. "The Priestess told through legend to come and save our country from the danger that lurks ahead."

Kagome smiled again and turned around. "Uh, no thanks! I think you have the wrong girl!" She said over her shoulder as she got ready to sprint over to the massive doors. Hotohori's next question stopped her dead in her tracks. "You have a wish, do you not?" His voice was low and barely above a whisper. Kagome shivered slightly and fought the blush rising up her cheeks. 'Gah! I'm starting to think like Miroku!'

"A wish?" Kagome asked as she turned back around, allowing her slight interest and curiosity to show in her eyes. Those in the deathly silent audience watched this with avid interest. Tamahome, on the other hand, was slightly jealous. He could practically feel the attraction between the emperor and the newly discovered priestess. 'I saw her first!' He thought and quickly squashed it down.

Before Hotohori could answer her softly spoken question, a fizz of pink light filled the room and left the occupants momentarily blind. When Kagome's eyesight was cleared she felt her jaw drop and her eyes widen. "Sesshoumaru?" She squeaked out as she stared at the ruffled Taiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru snapped his golden gaze to the miko who held his current interest in slight surprise. Quickly covering his shock, he strode forward and grabbed a hold of Kagome's arm. "Miko, where the hell am I?" He asked in deadly deep voice. Kagome gulped and giggled a little. 'Hoo, boy…why does this always happen to me!'

Before Kagome could answer, however, the equally deadly soft voice of Hotohori answered for her. "You are in my court. Now release her." Kagome darted a glance over to Hotohori to see he had shot to his feet as well as Tamahome and some of the other people in the room. Kagome glanced back over at Sesshoumaru and nearly gulped again.

His golden eyes were narrowed and his mouth was set into a grim line. Kagome let out a small gasp as he tightened his hold on her arm. Tamahome looked at the one armed man in anger and slight confusion. 'Who, or what, was this guy? What's with the weird face markings? Why is he holding Kagome like that? Does she know him?'

Hotohori narrowed is own brownish-gold eyes and stood up to his full height. Both were roughly the same height, but Sesshoumaru was just a liiiiittle bit taller. Kagome, tired of the tight grip on her arm and the slight digging of the claws, wrenched her arm out of his grip and glared at him. All eyes switched to her as she rubbed her arm.

"Sesshoumaru! What the hell are you doing here!" Kagome demanded as the demon lord raised an eyebrow. Tamahome, unfortunately, chose this time to make his presence known. He stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome? You know this guy?" He asked softly as he trained a glare on the equally glaring Sesshoumaru.

Kagome relaxed a bit at the comforting warmth on her shoulder and nodded a bit. "Yeah. He's an…uh…acquaintance…from my world." She said haltingly. Hotohori stood and also approached Kagome's side. His advisors flinched a bit, too afraid to approach and slightly ashamed at their possible failure of protecting their lord.

Sesshoumaru, however, didn't hear any of the human males words. He stared at the hand on the miko's shoulder and tried to describe the feelings coursing through him at the moment. 'Am I…jealous?'

:Inuyasha and the gang:

Miroku paused in his hurried reading once again, to stare in shock at the drama unfolding before him. Inuyasha, however, was jumping up and down at the injustices of the book, and why his brother got through and not himself. "What the hell makes him so special to get into the book and not me!"

Kaede frowned as she set the tea down in front of the houshi. Shippo and Sango watched the hanyou with growing irritation and Kirara watched all in the room with a critical gaze. Miroku placed the book on his lap and glared at the hanyou pacing in front of him. "Inuyasha. Perhaps if you would just shut up, we might be able to find out what will befall Kagome-sama." He stated in a calm voice and closed his eyes to contain his growing anger.

Inuyasha stopped his ranting and looked at the houshi. He snorted and sat down abruptly. "Keh! Fine. Just get to the readin'!" Sango rolled her eyes and then turned back to Miroku with a nod. Shippo returned his gaze to the book and Kaede sat down on the floor, awaiting the tale as well.

Miroku glance back down at the book and picked up where he had left off. "The young priestess and her warriors told the tale to the new addition to their group and the night came upon them swiftly…"

:Back in the book:

Kagome sighed as she sat down on the lush bed that was given to her. Her eyes softened from their angry look and tears momentarily filled them. 'Why do I always find myself into these sticky situations? Why am I always the one who has to be sucked into these things?' She sighed slightly and pulled her knees up to her chin, resting her head on them slightly.

'I wonder if anyone knows I'm gone? Do they even care? Have they come looking for me?' She laughed a little sarcastically as she remembered what she was to the hanyou she supposedly loved. 'Yeah, I'll bet Inuyasha's real steamed by now. His jewel detector missing! Good Lord!' She laughed slightly at her little joke and folded more into her own thoughts.

'I hope Shippo is ok. And Sango and Miroku. Kirara…Kaede. I guess I hope Inuyasha's ok too…but something still bugs me…how the hell did Sesshoumaru get in the book? He gave subtle hints that he found the book while fighting Inuyasha. Does that mean that everyone knows I'm in the book? Do they know Sesshoumaru's in the book!'

Her thoughts stopped abruptly as a hand clonked her upside the head. She whipped around to glare at Tamahome. "Hey! That hurt, ya know!" Tamahome grinned and sat beside her on the bed. "What's with the weird faces? You go through too many emotions at one time, you know that?" He said while studying her face.

Kagome rolled her eyes and looked down at the floor. "Yeah, well…I miss my friends and family." She muttered to herself and then looked back up at the handsome boy in her room. "I don't really know why or how Sesshoumaru got here either."

Tamahome grinned and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Aw, try not to worry about it too much. After this whole is over, you'll be able to go…" Tamahome paused on the last word, trying to get it out. "…home."

Kagome smiled, not noticing the pause and hugged Tamahome. "You're right! I just hope my friends wait for me." She said trailing off. Tamahome noticed the silence and stood up. Looking her directly in the eye, he said, in all seriousness, "If it were me, I'd wait for you."

Kagome's eyes widened and a blush stained her cheeks. She watched as Tamahome gave her a last smile and walked toward her door. Just as he was walking out, however, he bumped into Sesshoumaru. Tamahome glared at him and then shouldered passed. Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to growl at him and then rip him to shreds. It was very undignified to show such emotion.

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru in confusion then stood up with a smile on her face. "Ah, Sesshoumaru-sama. What are you doing here?" She questioned lightly and sat back down, trying to keep the blush off her face.

Sesshoumaru had taken off his armor and his chest was clearly defined without the it blocking the view. His swords were still at his hip and his tail hung over his shoulder as always, but his clothes were loose due to the slight heat in the evening. Sesshoumaru raised his own eyebrow and came over to sit beside her.

"Why was that human in here?" He asked instead of answering her original question. Kagome frowned and stood up. "He was just trying to cheer me up." She answered a little waspishly and paced over to one of the walls. "You know, you never really told me how you got into the book. Why are you here?" Kagome asked as she scrutinized his tall form. " And why are you in my room?" She asked after she thought about it.

Sesshoumaru sat back on the bed and Kagome fought off the thoughts about him being a sexy porn-star at that moment. 'Gah! I really am turning into Miroku!'

"I fought with Inuyasha, saw the book and opened it up. Now here I am." He said simply and then turned a hard stare at her. "Now how did you get into this book?"

Kagome gulped and smiled nervously. "Er…see, my brother and I…found it…? And well, I got sucked into it…?" Kagome thought of a better way to explain it, but couldn't without giving some hint that she was from the future in their own dimension. 'Well, he certainly should believe me…we are, after all, in China, stuck inside a demonic book…'

Sesshoumaru frowned but excepted this answer. He stood and without a single word left. Kagome frowned after him as she realized, he never told her why he had come to her room. 'What a crazy day…I'm so tired! That's it! I'm going to bed!' With this thought, Kagome turned to her bed and snuffed out the candle.

:With Inuyasha and the gang:

Everyone stared at the book with blank expressions, not knowing how they were supposed to take all this in. Inuyasha sat in the back of the hut and stared at nothing. He was currently having an interesting and enlightening discussion with his inner self.

'She thinks I only think of her as a shard detector.'

(Well, it's not like you have given her any other reason to think that way.)

'What! Yes I-' He stopped his retort aimed at his subconscious and realized it was right. 'All I ever do is yell at her.'

(And compare her to Kikyou. Mustn't forget that.)

'Shut up. Leave me alone.'

(Whatever. I'll be back.)

Miroku took this time to grab something to drink and sooth his sore throat. Sango cuddled Shippo and Kirara to her as they listened to the story. Shippo's eyes were drooping, but he would not shut them. No sir! He was going to stay awake and find out what was going to happen to his Kagome!

Sango's on eyes burned from keeping them open, but worry and intrigue kept her stubborn mind from allowing them to close. Kirara, however had lost the battle to stay awake and the houshi's rhythmic baritone had delivered her to dreamland.

Kaede sat behind Miroku, in a slight doze. The soothing quality of Miroku's voice as he told the story lulling the old woman to sleep as well. Miroku looked behind him as a slight snore reached his ears. He smiled slightly at the old woman's slack face and turned toward the others in the small hut.

Shadow's played about their eyes and even in the dim light, Miroku could see they were tired. Looking out the small shuddered window he guessed it was way passed their bedtime. Smiling to Sango, he closed the book and set it down on the small table. "I say we all sleep for the night. We can continue tomorrow."

No one argued or said anything about shard hunting. Not even Inuyasha. Instead they all lay down to sleep, dreaming of the strange situation their friend had gotten into and what might lay ahead of her.

:In the heaven's or…something like that:

"This is taking forever! Shouldn't we give the story a little nudge?"

"No. Let it take it's course. Tomorrow should prove to be entertaining. The Taiyoukai will pose problems that the fates had not originally seen."

"I don't think the fates saw ANY of this!"

There was a silent pause in the room.

"True…this is all clearly…unexpected."

:Next morning in the book:

Kagome slipped on her jeans and determined she would have to ask for new clothes or something. 'Wearing the same thing everyday so totally-OW! What the hell poked me!' Kagome shrieked as she felt something jab into her hand as she searched through her clothes.

Jerking her hand back she glared at the few drops of blood sliding down her palm and then shook her shirt out. A small clank sound reached her ears and a shinny glint caught her eye. Looking down, Kagome let out a cry of surprise. 'That's…'

"Sango's dagger!" She said out loud as she held it up in triumph. "I had forgotten all about it!" Kagome looked at the engraved sheath still attached to her shirt and then down at the dagger in her hand. Wiping the excess blood off the blade and her hand she sheathed it and stuck it to her thigh. 'Eh…looks weird, but it works!' She thought to herself as she inspected the small cut and then decided it wasn't even worth her attention. "Like a paper cut." She said to herself as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

Seeing the dagger and remembering Sango made a wave of homesickness run through her. 'That's right, the sooner this is done, the sooner I can be home!' Kagome thought as she went in search of the only person who could help her at the time. Hotohori.

Kagome skipped down some stairs she had no idea existed and walked down a hall that looked vaguely familiar. By sheer luck, she smacked straight into the emperor. "Hey, Hotohori! What's up?"

Hotohori stared at her in confusion. "What is up?" He asked back and Kagome grinned sheepishly. "Eh, forget that. Um, I was wondering…how do we find these other Suzaku warriors?"

Hotohori smiled and that's when he took out this scroll and began an elaborate explanation. Kagome briefly realized that Tamahome and Sesshoumaru had both shown up and were listening when she felt it. The beginning dregs of a day dream. 'Ah! No! Kagome! Focus! Listen to what is being…why the hell is he showing me his ne-oooooh.' Kagome watched as a glowing red symbol blazed at the base of Hotohori's neck and realized that it was the same kind of symbol as Tamahome had on his forehead.

'I'll get the explanation form Tamahome later.' Kagome decided and listened as Hotohori went on to say that the warrior, Nuriko would hold great strength. Kagome felt the battle aura of both Tamahome and Sesshoumaru flare to life. 'Oh, great. That's all we need. A show-off Suzaku warrior and a blood-thirsty demon on the loose.'

"I suggest we hold a tournament for the strongest warriors. It may draw out the next Suzaku warrior." Kagome groaned as Hotohori suggested this and placed a hand over her face. 'Oh yeah. That will work…not!' Looking up into Hotohori's smiling face Kagome felt her own will crumble.

"Alright! That sounds…fine." She said with fake enthusiasm and tried tom ignore the whoops from the human behind her or the smirk on the demon beside him. 'May the Kami have mercy on our souls.'

:Sometime later:

Kagome sighed dejectedly as she sat beside Hotohori and watched the assembled warriors before her. 'Ugh. None of them are going to be this Nuriko person. The main characters always hold some sort of beauty or features that grab a person's attention. All of these guys are old and-'

"These are the strongest warriors that the kingdom holds." Hotohori said, interrupting Kagome's mental rants for the second time that day. Sesshoumaru softly snorted from his position behind her and Tamahome smirked as he made his way down the small steps into the courtyard. "Well, we'll just have to give them all a little test, then, won't we?" He said smugly as he cracked his knuckles.

Kagome slightly shifted away as Sesshoumaru descended the stairs as well. A barely audible, "Yes we shall." Issued from his mouth and Kagome groaned again. Without saying anything to any of the three men she was associated with, Kagome stood and walked a little distance away. 'Those poor, poor men. I hope they have a quick death.' She prayed in her mind as she sat in the pavilion she had chosen as her sanctuary.

Hotohori noticed her walking away, but before he could get up and follow, the two about to "test" the soldiers began to fight. He winced as the sound of flesh on flesh and bodies went flying everywhere.

Kagome ignored the sounds of the "massacre" and looked about the almost peaceful courtyard. A flash of colorful silk caught her attention and Kagome looked over to see a figure move behind a bush. 'Weird…I didn't know that there were other people loitering around…maybe it was a servant?'

A strange whistling sound brought her attention back to the war-zone and Kagome shot to her feet as a couple of the men's weapons came flying at her. "Oh fu-" Kagome never finished her sentence as the weapons hit the already weak structure and a loud rumbling filled the air. Kagome looked up and watched, as if in slow motion, as the pavilion crumbled and slowly fell on her.

A shout to her left caused Kagome to look over to see a strangely dressed woman run at her. Her thought's stopped completely as the tons of heavy block crashed down on her, crushing her to the stone floor. 'Ow…' She grimaced as needle like pains drifted up her leg and blindingly hot pain settled over her chest.

'Oh, lovely.' She thought with as much sarcasm as she could manage. 'I face demons for over three years and now I am going to die by being crushed by stupid stone. Thank you Kami! My life is now complete.' She felt her eyes close and her ribs crack. 'A corner of something is definitely poking into my abdomen.' She finished obscurely.

Her ears twitched as she could have sworn she heard shouts coming from outside what she knew to be a crumbled wreck. 'I'm gonna pass out! I'm loosing air! I can't move! Wow, who knew I was claustrophobic?' Kagome shut her eyes as a blinding shaft of light hit her face. "Gah! I'm going to be blind!" She shouted and only realized she had said it out loud when a small chuckle reached her ears.

"Don't laugh at me! Get me out!" She shouted again and tried to fight the darkness at the fringes of her vision. She took in a deep gulp of air as the crushing block on her chest was lifted and the annoying pokey stone was removed from her abdomen. With her eyes still firmly shut, she felt numerous hands grip at her and slowly lift her up.

"Someone turn out the light!" She muttered as she tried to open her eyes. The minute they were open she was met with the relieved face of Hotohori, Tamahome and Sesshoumaru. She blinked a few times when the searing pain from before made itself known. Her blue eyes left the three men's faces and swept over her body. Dark red blood stained her jeans and shirt, not to mention the dirt and dust coating her in a fine sheen. "I don't think anything is broken." She said as she tried to sit up with the help of Hotohori. As she did so, her eyes met another pair of eyes. Kagome blinked at the woman before her and smiled.

"Um, hi." She said and blinked when the woman just sniffed and turned her head away. Tamahome placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "That woman was the one who dug you out." He said and Kagome raised an eyebrow. Sesshoumaru fought the urge to roll his eyes as he eyed the so-called woman.

'A woman? Right, and I'm a human.' He snorted to himself as he stood away from the injured miko and stared at the "woman" in suspicion. Hotohori also stood and regarded the woman before him. "That power you displayed a moment ago…could that possible be…"

The woman stood up and lowered the collar of her kimono, showing off a glowing red symbol. "I am Kang-Lin, or "Nuriko" as in the constellation." She said and Kagome grinned standing up and ignoring the hands trying to lift up her pants leg. Hotohori placed a hand on her shoulder and Kagome extended her hand.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi." She said in greeting. The woman again ignored her attempts at being friendly and instead turned her attention to Tamahome behind her. She walked forward and grabbed his shoulders. "I only saved you because he was worried." She said as she leaned forward and kissed the Suzaku warrior.

Kagome felt her jaw drop and her anger rise. 'If she wants him, then fine! But how dare she ignore me!' She thought to herself then let it roll off. 'We have to get along. If we're going to be traveling together for a while.' She decided and smiled at Tamahome's dazed expression. 'He acts like he's never been kissed…I'VE never been kissed come to think of it.' Her expression once again changed to that of sad and Nuriko smirked, thinking "she" had made the girl sad.

Turning to Hotohori, Kagome forced another smile. "So, now we have three celestial warriors? Which one is next?" She asked as she grabbed a hold of the emperors arm and lead him further into the palace.

Nuriko watched the girl lead the emperor away and tried to stop "herself" from screaming in rage. Her eyes glanced over at the other tall man that rivaled Hotohori in looks. His cold golden eyes were fixated on the arm that the miko clutched to her side as she and the emperor walked away. 'So, I'm not the only one who's jealous…maybe I could persuade him-' "She" cut herself off as the cold eyes of the Taiyoukai swung to her.

A knowing look passed over his eyes and Nuriko felt "her" own eyes widen. 'He knows I'm not a woman.' He thought as he watched the youkai smirk and turn away. ((from this point on I will refer to Nuriko as a him…))

Tamahome, meanwhile, had just come out of his daze and realized he was sitting beside the rubble all alone. 'W-where'd everyone go?'

:With Inuyasha and the gang:

Miroku looked up from his reading and tried not to laugh out loud. A shocked Sango stood beside an equally shocked Inuyasha with her mouth open. Shippo was blinking in confusion and Kirara looked like she was going to choke. Kaede wisely kept her mouth shut and pretended that she did not hear any of what was just said.

"So…the third warrior was, uh, found."

"Do you think Sesshoumaru is right about her? Or him? Or whatever the hell it is?" Inuyasha burst out as Shippo blinked in confusion again. Sango blinked herself and sat down next to a slightly hacking Kirara. Miroku frowned as her stared down at the book again. "Well, your half-brother could certainly smell whether or not the person was male or female…perhaps we read it wrong?"

Inuyasha nodded his head and sat down across from Miroku, also staring at the book. "I hope Kagome is ok." Shippo said after a while and everyone remembered the girl had been injured. Sango took this time to look down at her dagger, the twin to the one she had given Kagome.

Her gasp made Inuyasha jump and Miroku shoot his head up. All eyes swung to the slayer in question and she held up the unsheathed dagger as an answer. Bright red blood dripped down its edge and onto the hilt. Inuyasha leapt up and sniffed at it. His eyes flashed a brief red as he confirmed all of their fears. "It's Kagome's."

:Again in the Heavens:

"Well, the third warrior is a cross-dresser? How…intriguing."

"Yeah::snort: And, he's in, love with the second warrior. This little drama is getting better and better!"

"Hmph. The cross-dresser is jealous of the emperor's attention on the miko. He will try something to get rid of her."

"Ah, don't be sucha stiff, Suzaku! The girl can handle herself! She can take whatever the fruit can dish out."

"Don't call him a fruit! He's not gay…just misguided…"

"Yeah, ok…"

"Will you two shut up! I think the youkai is going to tell the miko what he knows."

"Why is that such a startling thing?"

"Because it could cause things to get a little sticky if she takes the whole thing wrong."

All four beings stopped talking as they watched through the watery mirror window into the mortals world.

:Meanwhile in some obscure place in Japan:

A girl wearing the exact same thing as Kagome shrieked in horror as her outfit was covered in blood.

((I couldn't resist! SORRY!))

:Back with Kagome:

'Ugh. That's it. I'm going to ask Hotohori if I can have some extra clothes! These blood stains just aren't coming out!' Kagome thought as she again started to scrub at the jeans in the wash tub. 'Gah. I need a bath.' She thought to herself as she realized the gash on her leg once again reopened. A small circle of blood showed through the bandage.

Kagome looked over at her stained shirt right next to the tub, waiting to be washed. The wound on her chest pulsed, as if reminding her it was what caused the shirt to be stained. Her anger turned to the three males responsible for her current predicament. 'I should have those baka's clean my clothes!' She thought indignantly as she set the ruined jeans aside.

'That's it! Where is my robe! I am going to ask Hotohori for some new clothes!' She sighed as she stood up in only her bra and underwear. Just as she turned to look for the robe, her door crashed in and Tamahome came to an abrupt stop. Kagome blinked as the boy became red in the face.

"Hentai!" Kagome screamed as she threw a bottle of something at his head. "Get the hell out! Haven't you heard of knocking?" She continued to scream as she threw whatever was in her grasp. Tamahome dodged the objects and tried to defend himself, even as the image of a nearly naked Kagome danced through his head.

"No! Please! You gotta hide me!" He screamed out as he was hit in the head by a stray object. Kagome stopped momentarily as she shifted her robe on and tied it securely. She glared at the warrior crouching before her and sniffed. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a large white whip-like thing coming from the door and wrapping around the boy's legs.

Kagome watched in mild amusement as Nuriko came in through the door, tugging Tamahome closer to him. "Oh, this man is so shy! Come, Tama-baby, we're leaving." With that both were out of the room and down the hall, Tamahome screaming and Nuriko brushing him off. Kagome waved and tried to keep the smile off her face.

She turned around to enter her room again, only to encounter Sesshoumaru standing there. His eyes slid over her barely concealed body with cold eyes and his eyebrow raised. Kagome immediately felt indignant. "What! It wasn't my fault he interrupted me as I was cleaning myself!" She slammed the door shut in his face.

:XP:

I think I am going to end it there folks. I had a hard time coming up with what to write next and how to make it sound like it would fit together. :lets out a long sigh of relief: Anyway, the polls for pairings are still open!

The pairing, or should I say triangle that is winning is Sesshoumaru/Kagome/Hotohori. In a close second is Tamahome/Kagome and we have a couple of Nakago/Kagome votes as well.

In the next chapter, the priestess of Seiryuu will be coming in and I think I am going to mix in Kikyou too…maybe. Heh…well you know the drill! Read and Review please!