Hey hey! I just want to thank all of you for waiting so long! You guys totally rock! I appreciate all the patience and prayers you guys have given me. Well, school starts on Wednesday for me - eek. Thank goodness that life is back to normal now though. I hope you guys are reading this though, because I deleted one of my chapters that was an author's note. So hopefully you found it first before reading the crazy next one. Also, I apologize for the bold font. Something keeps happening whenever I post this. I'm having a bit of trouble on my computer, so I was unable to send this to my betas. Any errors or mistakes you find are all mine.
Reviews: (Whoa - so many!)
Auron's Fan - LOL, Sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully Miroku and Sango won't end up like that! TwoBrokenToCry - Many, many possibilities! Me - Are you reading my mind? Geez, don't get ahead of the game, LOL. Sueslalues - Loving it more with each chapter? Be still my heart! MidNite Phoenix, Uwaki Aisu - (my darling beta!) BaBeeCinaMon, Blue Rhapsody3, anime-lover-forever2007 - Don't hate me! fluffy li - Glad you liked it! HeimdallMayura - Don't worry, I have every intention of finishing it! Saiyuri-hime, allwitchesmustdie, - Whoa, longest review I've ever gotten! Nice to know you care so much! kawaii-baka4life, LynGreenTea, panda, Lucy-fic, satanessovdesire - I'm happy you like their badass attitudes! darkpriestessofhell, Blood Red Moon, kitty-inuyasha, Minni May Yukibara, Lady Aurora of the Crescent, PurityFlower1989 - You make me smile too! LOL. 1kenshinlover - I'm happy to take advice from you on flamers, so thanks! coldqueen - I'm so sorry I missed your review! See? I'm making up for it. By the way...SPORK?..LOL. Halle - You're hooked on my fanfiction? happy dance Whoohooo! Kyra - Sorry it was so short...Gee, give a writer guilt, will ya? killbillsesschan, teh.stupid.authress.person - I really like you reviews! Hikaritenshi2000, i-wish-i-was-kagome, I don't give a damn, Joey - I'm glad you're catching on to the whole Mom thing. I'm really trying to make it show how freakishly-crazy her mom is. You get a cookie for being observant. Ginny-cry - Thank you so much for adding me to your Story Alert list, I love it! KiTsUnEoOkAmI, LadyAkina - I'm so happy you're into the story! lil mutt face grl - Don't beg! You're better than that, though I do appreciate it! fluffychick15, MidnightKitsuneInuAshurii - Thank you for waiting! Me - Thank you for your understanding and best wishes. hyper person - Thank you for the blessing, and everything seems to be okay here. teh.stupid.authress.person - And you are an UUBER LOVER reviewer! kitty-inuyasha, LadyAkina, darkpriestessofhell - Thanks for waiting! Here's the chapter! allwitchesmustdie, saturngurl123, Little Rascal - Well, we drove all the way to Mississippi because we don't have family far enough away from where the storm was going to hit, and my Mom didn't want to stay in a shelter. Besides, she works for a nursing home and had to help the patients evacuate while it was just me and my brother. Copper Kitty, Saturns Darkness, someone, Wilby711, ladylillyofazra, Fluffy's Brevis, Addanc-TSC, youkai goddess, Falling, Egypt, lil mutt face grl - Thank you so much for loving this story! Sorry you had to wait. Rin Sessys Girl - Thanks! rinseternalsoul - Yeah, I thought it would be funny, glad you thought so too! Mefan Consoer - Don't worry, I'm on the job! localsamurai - Thank you for your prayers, and yes, we're all okay! Wood, tiffany, Kimi-ga-Warui-Tenshi, kawaii-baka4life, Vanna16, Ukiyo.
A/N - Okay, as many of you know, my family and I had to evacuate for two weeks because we live in Southeast Texas. What makes it worse though, was that we were in the process of moving. Anyways, so some of our stuff is gone thanks to untrustworthy neighbors mumbles - damn looters It's crazy how much stuff got ruined in town. Thank goodness my computer is all right! Man, how many disasters am I going to have this year? First my dad, then my stepdad, then my grandma, now this! Eesh! Oh well, I just want to say thank you so much for all your prayers and wishes on my well being. I really realized how many people care about this fic and myself when the reviews started rolling in. So thank you - all of you! You've waited so long, so read on you wonderful peeps o' mine! LOL.
By the way - I would like to state that this chapter is officially dedicated to coldqueen. I'm so sorry I didn't acknowledge your review. Your thoughts and opinions mean a lot to me.
Standing in the beautiful entrance of Sesshomaru's home, Kagome took the time to remind herself why she came. Because that no good youkai planned on never contacting me again. Steeling herself against any kindness he might show, she was prepared to give him a piece of her mind.
Sesshomaru had disappeared from her view as soon as she had stepped in. He was now returning, carrying a large blue towel. Unfolding it, Kagome saw it was nearly the size of a bedsheet. Well, I guess he needs large towels for those huge shoulders of his, mmmm...NO! Bad! Bad Kagome! Remember, he's a jerk! Angry as much with herself as him, she set her face in a deep scowl. Sesshomaru lifted one of those perfect brows much to her displeasure.
Kagome snatched the towel away from him, dabbing at her face and hair, sneering all the while, "Amazing, you giving me something."
Raising both eyebrows now, Sesshomaru demanded in a deep voice, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing, I just thought that since you made it clear you wouldn't give me the time of day, so much as a towel from you brings me to my knees." She snapped, bowing low to him. "Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru, your generosity astounds me."
"Really?" Sesshomaru asked, with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Turning his back to her, he walked away.
"Yeah, really!" she yelled, nearly slipping on the wet floor to catch up with him. "Listen, you, we had a lot of fun that day, and I thought it meant something. However, you must have had a really boring time to ignore me just like everyone else!" Grasping his broad shoulder, she turned him back around while he was in midstride. She didn't realize that she didn't possess enough strength to turn him, but that he had let her.
"Mom, Kikyou, Inuyasha, my friends, and now a guy I think actually likes me." Her eyes looked to the enormous windows outside. Gesturing with her arms, she said, "But of course, just like Inuyasha, you can prove me wrong everytime." Her voice quieted.
Whispering, she tried to hold back the growing lump in her throat. "I just wish I was right once in a while." She looked up at him, her gaze searing his. "I know maybe what you did with me probably didn't mean much to you, but to me, actions speak a lot. Maybe I misinterpreted how you felt, but I was positive you wanted to see me again." Her voice had returned to anger.
Sesshomaru continued looking down at her, for a moment. "Kagome, perhaps you should take a shower, and I'll prepare a meal-"
"Oh no you don't! You're not sending me away again in the middle of something important! We are talking this one out, mister, and I won't take no for an answer." She growled out, poking him in the chest with a damp, cold finger.
"Kagome, you can take a shower and warm yourself. I guarantee we will continue this conversation afterwards." In other words, it was his only chance to calm her down before she verbally and perhaps physically attacked him.
Raising her eyebrows, and obviously doubting him, she conceded. As much as the warm towel had helped, she was still a shivering mess.
"Point me in the right direction," she muttered.
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It was so dreadfully hard for her to stay mad when she had the most wonderful bubble bath of her life in the most luxurious bathroom she'd ever been in. Soaking up the warmth from the steaming water, she reflected on her behavior. Okay, so I've been overreacting. I guess the storm threw me into kind of a panic. You've got to calm down, Kagome. Talk this out with him like a civilized person.
The more she thought about her actions, the more irrational the trip to Sesshomaru's house seemed. She shouldn't have come here. She shouldn't have made a scene. So she was a woman scorned. Big deal. You either heard from a guy or you didn't.
But this isn't just any guy. I don't know if this is all because he's Inuyasha's brother, or if it's because of who he is, not who he's related to.
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Sesshomaru leaned against the bar in the kitchen, waiting for the pot of water to boil and the oven to preheat. His thoughts, however, were not on the Italian dish he was preparing, but on the girl torturing him.
She was so brazen it was unbelievable. Stampeding her way through his life, she turned everything upside down for him. But why is it that when she turns everything upside down, my life seems finally right side up?
He could smell her scent even through the rain, and it still beckoned him from the bathroom she was bathing in. How could one simple high school girl shake his senses so easily?
And how could he tell her that he stayed away from her because he couldn't stand not feeling in control? The eldest Taisho son bested by a seventeen year old. There was no way he could admit to what he was truly feeling.
Confessing what he felt about her was unthinkable. She was his weakness, and no one could ever know that.
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Sesshomaru didn't have any clothes in Kagome's size, as was expected from a man of his height and size, but he had found a terry cloth robe for her to wear. Since the white robe was so enormous, it pooled around her feet, and went several inches past her wrists. She found a brush in a drawer. Deeming herself as appropriate as she could given the circumstances, she exited the foggy bathroom.
She quietly made her way through the living room, looking at the steaming pots and dishes on the kitchen counter. Boy, he really went to work, didn't he? Kagome found herself losing more and more of her anger since her arrival. His hospitality had been unexpected, especially considering the way Inuyasha had talked about him.
Craning her neck around to see into the shady areas left in the living room and den, she spied a glint of silver and amber staring at her from a recliner.
"W-what are you doing over there?" Startled to see him sitting but ten feet from her deep in the night shadows cast across the room. The sinister appearance of him shot a spark of fear into her, but she quickly calmed herself.
"Waiting for you. You said we needed to speak." He held out his hands, palms up as if to say, Well, what happens now?
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but the initial tension remained. Leaning against the back of the couch, she stared at him. "Okay. Why did you ignore me? Scratch that. Why did you take me for a ride?"
A sliver of light from the kitchen landed on her face, illuminating her eyes. Sesshomaru frowned.
"I gave you a ride because I provoked you and you in turn responded." Sesshomaru said. "I brought you to my home because I live here." He said, gesturing to the home around him. Standing up. he continued, "I kissed you, Kagome, because I wanted to."
Now directly in front of Kagome, her head tilted up to look at him, she felt a shiver go up her spine. A combination of fear and excitement, not knowing what the dangerous amber eyes youkai would do. Lowering his face by hers, he placed his lips next to her ear. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head allowing him better access. "And I took you home because I know what is best for you."
It took Kagome a moment to realize what he was saying. She had been so caught up in what he was doing to her physically that she had to register his meaning belatedly. Backing her head away several inches and craning her neck to the side to look at him, she saw the cold, assessing stare he was giving her.
"You bastard."
Sesshomaru was surprised to hear her curse, but his face didn't show it. He knew that she would be angry, if not hurt, and by the expression on her face, she was both. "You do not understand, and I do not expect you to." He said with a deep sigh of resignation.
"Oh yeah, try me? Why does it have to be this way for you, Sesshomaru? Why do you have to push me away, huh? You're not my goddamned mother." She growled, her eyes glinting with anger. Pushing away from the couch, brushing against his shoulder, they both turned to look at each other.
"It's not up to you to decide what's in my best interest. That is for me and me alone. If I want to kiss you all day, every day, or go ride on your damn motorcycle, I WILL!" She shouted, balling her fists at her sides.
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, much to her displeasure. "Kagome." He warned her. In one word, he could make a threat. She stopped herself from saying more. She straightened her spine, trying in some way to show defiance and anger without pissing him off.
The rain outside poured down in torrents on top of the cottage, leaving no silence between the two people inside. With only the lights in the kitchen and bathroom on, the living room they were in was still dimly illuminated.
As if calling their argument to a halt for the time being, he gave a slight nod. "Come, let us eat before the meal grows cold."
Kagome followed obediently, watching him turn the light on in the dining room. She silently helped him set the table. The meal consisted of pasta and sauce, garlic bread, and salad. Kagome examined the plates they would be eating on. It was beautiful china with intricate silver designs weaving in and out to create a crescent moon.
They sat down to eat, opposite from each other. Kagome kept her head down, staring at the food on her plate. She knew the food would taste good, but the resentment she held for Sesshomaru made the food seem tasteless. Hm, pasta for the second time today, she thought.
Sesshomaru laughed inwardly about the obvious way Kagome was sulking. She had her bangs in her eyes, her chin propped up on her elbow, and her bottom lip was pouting to epic proportions. If only she could understand his reasoning. Granted, you haven't properly explained yourself, a voice in his head said. Oh shut up, I'm getting to that, Sesshomaru barked back.
Kagome spent the majority of the time ignoring Sesshomaru and moped so much that he finished long before she did. Sesshomaru politely waited for her to finish, demonstrating the endless patience that provoked so many enemies and rivals to anger.
Finally dabbing at her mouth and setting her napkin aside, Kagome sat back, still not looking at the demon across from her, but instead at the table. Sesshomaru leaned back against the chair, looking at her.
Breaking the silence, he broached the subject. "Kagome, do you ever feel in danger?"
At his voice, she looked up, trying her best not to look curious or confused. "No." She said curtly.
Sesshomaru nodded. "And do you know of any men that would want you dead?"
"No." Came her response, and little louder, sounding more like a question than a reply.
Sesshomaru nodded. "In my line of work, I find that it is much easier to make enemies than usual." Holding out his had, flexing his claws, he continued. "Given that I am a demon, the percentage is even higher. Kagome, I did not tell you this because I did not deem it necessary on our last encounter, but I am not only involved in historical and ancient weaponry.
"Perhaps my idiot brother let it slip to you that our father is the most powerful youkai in the Western Lands, as this area was once known. My father controls the majority of youkai and youkai affairs in Japan."
Kagome had not known this, and her unease was palpable. She knew whatever Sesshomaru planned to say would somehow not be on the positive side of things.
"That responsibility will one day be given over to me, being that I am his firstborn son."
Kagome continued to stare.
"Kagome, there is a great deal of danger for those that involve themselves with me. Including you."
And of course, Kagome ruined his dramatic moment by asking, "So you're saying you're not strong enough to protect me?" Kagome asked brazenly.
Sesshomaru paused. He was used to bickering with Inuyasha. If she wanted to verbally spar, they would. "I am not saying that in the least. Perhaps I just do not want to put in the effort it takes to baby-sit you."
"So you're lazy?"
"No. I do not tolerate those not worth my time."
"Oh, that's rich." She bit out.
"No, but I am." He quipped.
"Ha. So anyone with a bank account smaller than yours isn't worth your time?"
"Nonsense, I don't discriminate against the entire country." Sesshomaru knew she was hoping to bait him into an argument, or get a rise out of him, but he stayed cool, calm, and sarcastic.
"Yeah." She growled out sarcastically. "How are you supposed to take care of the entire Western region of Japan if you can't dedicate time to a seventeen year old girl?"
"Simple. I do not give myself weaknesses." His eyes shined overly bright. Kagome came to a comprehension.
"Oh. I see. If you start to care for me, someone could use me against you, making me a weakness. Right?"
Sesshomaru looked down at his hand gripping the armrest of the chair he sat in. He should never have let her know his thoughts. He was not even as open with his family as he was being with this girl.
And here I thought you were determined to protect yourself and the girl. If you care for her that much already, who says she isn't a weakness even now?
"Damnit, damnit, damnit." He muttered. It was true. He knew that even though they might part ways now, whatever happened to her would always affect him.
"Sesshomaru." Kagome spoke quietly, watching him with intense concentration.
He looked up at her, glaring, but she knew it was more from anger at himself than anger at her.
"I don't know if you do care for me, but let me tell you this. I can take care of myself. I know that it's hard for you to imagine, but Kikyou taught me a few ways to protect myself and others. I'm no warrior, but I could handle a mugger."
She continued, standing up now. "All I know is, if you care for me, even the tiniest bit, I hunger for that. I want to be liked, to be wanted." She slowly made her way to his chair, kneeling down by him. His cold amber eyes stared at he, watching her like a hawk. Picking up his hand, she held it between hers, feeling the claws slide over her palm. "Don't send me away, Sesshomaru. I want your care. I'm not asking for the most you can give me, but what you are willing to give. I'll ask you one time, Sesshomaru. Are you going to allow yourself to be with me?"
Sesshomaru saw a shadow move outside in his peripherial vision. Lightning struck, illuminating a figure standing outside the windows in the living room. Suddenly, it was gone, and the window shattered, letting in rain and wind throughout the house.
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DUN DUN DUN...Haha. Well, as you can see, this chapter is nice and long for you wonderful reviewers and readers. What would I do without you? I'm really trying to bring out future plans for the plot in the last two chapters. I kind of feel out of practice, though. Damn evacuations. Oh well! I think Kagome is acting dramatic. And Sess is OOC. It'll get better, I promise! Well, I'm putting my nose back to the grindstone, okey-dokey!
So, can someone guess who it was outside the house? I hope so! Come on...you guys are smart! Lemme know!
Would a review be too much too ask...?
Pweez?
Ah well...
Love,
-ac06
