Red eyes scanned her dainty form. Taking in her curves, taking in her scent of femininity and the power radiating off her.
Red eyes narrowing consciously aware of their present position and the way her heat seem to infiltrate unto him, pooling in his loins. Igniting a fire that is spreading rapidly throughout his whole being. For once his inu was silently whimpering and panting at the innocence of the one straddling him. How many times had other demonesses desired him, lusted after him. Yet his inu paid no heed. Yet this young one, this 'threat' to him, managed to subdue his destructive side, his irrational side, his 'unconquerable' side. The conqueror now finally conquered ironically by one oblivious to her own actions. Yes she poses a threat to him, not of his right to his lands, but of his right in his mind, soul and body.
"Sesshoumaru-bastard! Let Kagome go!"
Smirking at the raging hanyou he tilts his head, his arrogance showing. Pride dictated he throw 'her' off himself and yet having her pliant supple body against his own felt right, though he would not admit it.
"Little brother, has your eyes failed you as well as your state of mind? It is your female that has 'me' not the other way around."
"I am not HIS female you pompous bakaaaa."
Claws tightened around her throat, beads of blood danced along the ridges of her blouse and around his claws. The seductive scent of her blood singing to him a song of sweet promises.
"Pack or not demoness, if you do not get yourself off my person, you will soon find your head rolling on the ground."
"Yyou know? About the pack thingy I mean."
"This Sesshoumaru will not repeat himself, or has your travels with my half brother alsorendered you to be of slow thinking?"
"Gomen.." she blushed getting up and feeling his claws leave her neck she rubs it slowly.
"Bokusenou explain the matter to which we all purposely sough you out for."
"Hai, Sesshoumarudono, but first... demoness, come forth to where my eyes can behold your appearance...kagome steps closer timidly... soo ka. The similarity is definitely there... ah.. and the shikon?..Tell me female..."
"Kagome."
"What?"
"My name, it's Ka-go-me."
The wise tree youkai laughs, as the ancient boughs and branches shake and rustle softly. 'Almost comfortingly' thought Kagome.
"Well said young one, I had almost forgotten that proud bearing you have... it has been a long while child."
"Um, Bokusenoujichan? You speak as though you know me.. onegai, I am not sure how to handle these changes and what it means. Can you help me understand and come to terms with what I am?"
"There is nothing to be anxious about. 'She' had done you a great service by bestowing upon you the strength many sought to claim." The tachi remain motionless. The taiyoukai and the now conscious Okachira observe silently. All the audience watched enthralled at the enchanting demoness standing in their midst.
"She?"
"Hai, her name was Nadeshiko. Born of the house of the fearsome and most noble taiyoukai, Yurimaru, great grandfather to both Sesshoumarudono and Inuyashasama. Her mother was a woman of exceptional beauty and desirable countenance. It was said she washed up on shore one day, dressed in strange but rich attire. Undoubtedly, hailing from another land. She was priestess of sort, by some unknown foreign god. She kept to herself most of her life. But when Lord Yurimaru cast his eyes upon her he desired her almost to the point of obsession. He wooed her but she remained adamant to remain as she is, alone and not speaking a word. At one time Yurimarudono thought her mute, that is until he heard her sing as she bathed in the spring near the village of Etsu.
...Chortled laugh... she was a resplendent sight to behold. The lord was struck frozen where he stood unable to take his eyes off the tenshi that graced his sight. He grabbed her then and there and locked her in his keep. Not letting her out of his sight. After a while the young lord realized that his new acquisition was no mere human. She did not age as humans do. She did not behave as humans do and her voice was far more lulling than any nightingale. In time they grew to care deeply for each other, though love was never mentioned. Then much to his mate's displeasure, he turned up at social events and special ceremonies with her instead of his own mate. Ah a sad tale indeed. His mate realized she cannot turn away her lord from the girl with mere words so she concocted a plan.She created an intricate web of intrigue to follow the girl in order to throw her off the favor of the impressionable lord. Rumors about her grew that she continually cried to Yurimarudono of the cruel words spoken against her. In due time the young lord grew weary of her day to day minstrations and decided to leave the palace for a while.
Oh how the lady cried tears of blood that day! A dream visited her the previous night that her death would be upon her the moment her lord leaves the grounds. She pleaded with him to take her, she was heavily pregnant then, near her full term, only days away to give birth. Even with her pleas she could not relinquish her lord to take her with him. He left that same day. The lord's conniving mate poured a potion on a cup mixed it with sake then entreated the distraught girl into drinking it. The moment she put the cup down birth pains wracked her body. Servants rushed to her side while the mate of her lord laughed truimphantly and further goaded the depression of the girl by admonishing her of her foolishness in loving a demon. Demons do not know of love. Only of lust. Once the need was fulfilled the female impregnated with his seed a demon loses interest in the breeding female she will soon be cast aside for another. Leaving the laboring girl, the lord's matereturned toher wing of the palace.
Meanwhile, the girl, believing the words left by the traitorous mate of her lord succumbs to the emptiness growing in her. She breathes her last as a child was born of her. She called her Nadeshiko (it was taken from 'nadamaru' whichmeans to soothe, calm) after which she expires. Fearing for the safety of the child, a servant loyal to the now dead girl switched the live pup with a dead one she found earlier. She rolled it in the birthing blood to conceal it's scent and then abruptly delivered the live pup wrapped in heavy blankets to a waiting servant to be sent away to a miko settlement in the outskirts of the Akage mountains, far from the palace and far from those who would do her harm. The servant had secured a guardian for the hanyou pup in the form of the great miko teacher Naga Shiyo, whose spiritual powers would undoubtedly ensure protection and teaching to the pup.
The lord returned a little before sunset. Surprised at the silence in the normally bustling courtyard he summoned a guard to explain the odd occurance. The guard informed him of the girl's death and of the pup's demise. Yurimarudono not believing the guard went to the wing housing the girl only to be greated with her soulless body devoid of the warmth that many a times welcomed him. He had learned that the pup was cremated earlier on his mate's order. Anger and grief clouded his mind when his wife appeared and demanded the cremation of the girl's body, his inu took control, knowing he cannot kill his own mate by his own hands he ordered a servant to take her out and kill her in the place where the pup was cremated. He had long suspected his mate as being the one responsible for the rumors though he had dismissed it lightly. Finding out too late how his misjudgement led to the death of one he held so dear.
Yurimarudono could not bring himself to cremate the girl that captivated him so he buried her in forest where he first met her."
"Here! She was buried where you are now right Bokusenou?" asked Kagome, wiping the river of tears that refused to stop.
"Hai, Yurimarudono placed a seeding as protector and a spell to guard her resting place. I am that seedling I am her protector. I am keeper of memories full of pain and also of love. The girl's love for Yurimarudono lingered even as the hidden child grew. One day a hanyou girl came within these very same woods looking for answers that eluded even her great teacher Shiyo. We spoke together. Nadeshiko and I. I learned then that the miko who later born the shikon no tama in her heart, was the very same miko that she had trained with her as a girl. Nadeshiko grew to be a great warrior and miko, but she would often come here if she is unsure of things or troubled by something. Here was her sanctuary."
"She felt safe here didn't she? ...that must be why when we were falling and I thought of a safe place we ended up here..."
"You were falling yes, but not out of the sky, you fell through a black mist that appeared suddenly in the canopy of the forest." corrected Okachira limping slightly.
"Feh, if you're so full of wisdom tree, you'll tell us what's happening to Kagome, I don't want to age gnarled and bent like you. The story was nice and all for bedtime but were not here to listen to some wench becoming your personal compost!"
"Inuyasha ...SIT! Shut that goddamned appendage you call a mouth or I'll give you a fist in 'your' mouth!"
"Another temper flair.. you keeping score Sango dearest?"
"Hai houshisama, I must say this is turning out to be quite an entertainment."
"Pssttt... you guys want to make this more interesting?" whispered a secretive Shippo.
"How so young kitsune? Enlighten us." joined Miroku.
"We can place bets how many times the brain-dead hanyou gets 'sat' the closest guess to the actual 'sit' number gets the prize." winked the kitsune pup.
"Hai but what do we bet with?" mumbled Sango.
"Hugs." remarked Miroku.
"no."
"kisses." smooched Miroku puckering his lips at Sango.
"Iyah! That's disgusting and dirty!"
"yea, you never know where those lips have been." added Shippo
"I know! What about we give the winner special benefits..."
"Like what houshisama?" asked the ignorant taijiya. Shippo shakes his head.
GROPE
GROPE
"HENTAI!"
double smack
The fuming demoness and the grounded hanyou turn towards the swollen cheeked monk, now sporting a handprint on each cheek.
Sesshoumaru lifts one elegant brow then walks past Kagome and directly infront of the aging tree.
"Waste not my time any further Bokusenou my patience wears thin. How has the sealing blood spell effected the ningen miko of my half brother that she is now full blooded youkai of equal power and strength to this Sesshoumaru."
"What is with you two? Are all inu so arrogant? Or did you two just happen to be honorary members of 'bastards r us'?"
"Take care what you say demoness. I do not find your show of impudence appealling. I, unlike my brothercan strike you down with just my jaki."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Sesshoumaru! I am your opponent you frostbit bastard!" growled Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha! Freeze your stupid ass you BAKA!"
At that moment ice formed around the hanyou's behind. Involuntarily making him shiver violently. "KKKagoooomeeeee...teeth chattering..."
"Good thing she didn't yell 'I should fire your stupid ass'...can you imagine what would've happened then?" snickered Shippo.
"Good one Shippo! Anyway I say ten sits before the night is through."
"I say twenty!"joined Sango.
"hmmm... put me on thirty!" beamed the kitsune.
"Eeep! Gomen Inuyasha.. I didn't mean it." bowed Kagome repeatedly.
"Now who has frostbite Inuyasha?" smirked the stoic lord bemusedly.
"And you! How dare you ...pointing an index finger at the taiyoukai.. order everyone around. Who died and made your 'person' prince over us?" she fumed.
"You would do well not to mock my birthright wench. I tire of your antics and those of your so called companions." narrowed eyes bled crimson.
"Funny. For the same reason I tire of your pompous ego as I choke on the scent of the noble blood you so proclaim to carry!" she snapped. Tilting her head up meeting his gaze defiantly she stands on her tip toes, hands on hips with a rebellious pout on her mouth. The air crackles as the winds pick up and shift uncomfortably.
The ground shudders in respose to the two great powers in such close proximity.
Miroku and Shippo make strangled noises. Sango gapes. Inuyasha who is rubbing his ass trying to make it warm again stands frozen.
GRRRRRRRRR.
: female issuing challenge to us!
The inu's male pride escalating to boundless heights as he sees the utter determination in the female before him.
'I will not give in to this. I will not play her game.'
Clenching his jaw. His proud bearing breaks away from the stand off with the demoness, and walks back to Bokusenou. Kagome narrows her eyes at the taiyoukai's now calm facade, knowing full well he was boiling just below the surface. 'Why did he step down I wonder?'. She thought.
"That was an interesting display, Kagome," approved Bokusenou. "however, it would do you no good to defy him openly like that."
"Why should I care about that self-absorbed prick, he's nothing but a walking advertisement of himself... hmp."
"To challenge his blood is to challenge his honor and authority-a formal challenge to right of rule. Do you understand?"
"Iie.. I do not. What's the challenge mean?"
"That you deem yourself worthy enough to be considered mate. In challenging him formally as you were doing earlier by clashing headlong into his jaki,you were infact telling him in inu-pack nature that you are strong and powerful enough for him and will bear him worthy pups. You are courting him ne?" explained the ancient tree.
"WHATTT? I'm not that delirious! I couldn't stand frosty's presence even if christmas was around the corner, and he was butt naked with only had a red ribbon to cover himself with."
"I am unsure of the meaning of your statement Kagome."
"I said we won't last the hour without trying to kill one another. How is thatsome courtship? I see him as stuck-up aristocrat with his ass too high up in the air to notice someone like me and he sees me as some walking-disease-carrying bacteria trap!...tips her nose in Sesshoumaru's direction..you see? We're better on opposite sides of the pole." Sesshoumaru merely glances at her uninterestedly in the corners of his eyes.
Bokusenou laughs merrily
"Hai! You remind me of her so much.. your fiery spirit and the care you lavish upon your companions."
"Tell us please, what has she to do with the tama?"
"As I told you she and Midoriko trained under the tautolage of Shiyo. They became inseperable. As she grew up she started exhibiting strange powers unknown to the youkai here, her powers it seems were passed down from her mysterious mother. Soon she was making quite a name for herself. It was during that time that Yurimarudono learned of her, recognizing her as his own daughter he thought long dead. They reconciled just weeks before the fate battle that took her life. He mourned her loss deeply. He mated again in his later years, though after receiving an heir he never slept with his second mateagain."
"Yurimaru acknowledged Nadeshiko as his daughter?"
A rare smile graced Bokusenou's rough visage. "Daughter and heir, though she is illegitimate being the child of a concubine and not of a mate. But since she is his only living child-she is his heir."
"Oh kami." she figited and eyed the taiyoukai apprehensively.
"Continue Bokusenou." commanded the stoic lord not looking at the tree and the demoness.
"HaiSesshoumarudono. She had started having premonitions about her close friend Midoriko. Moved greatly at the future fate of the one she considers as a sister she decides to strenghten Midoriko by a blood spell. She hoped to merge with her giving Midoriko and her the chance to be released once the shikon no tama was formed while the youkai within the tama are purified. The result being that they both would absorb the strengths of the youkai trapped within the tama and none of the weaknesses that the trapped youkai possess. Unfortunately, before she could go to her friend, she was ambushed on the way. Aid came too late and in her dying breath she placed a half strength blood sealing spell, to be completed on the event of a certain blue-eyed miko's blood coming in contact with the jewel to fully activate the spell. As she had seen in her meditations. However, it seems she had misjudged the size of your soul, Kagome for after releasing Midoriko's soul, you retained Nadeshiko's essence and the combined strengths of the youkai trapped in the tama."
"That explains the confusing mix of powers you possess Kagomechan!" chirped Sango.
"That still does not explain what I am to both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha." retorted Kagome.
"It explains clearly demoness. I am bound by honor to uphold the unfulfilled wish of my great grandfather. It would be foolish to fight me for the western lands, however, seeing as I am without heir I bequeathe you with your birthright as heir. You are to come with me."
He motioned for her to follow his lead.
"Excuse me your royal pompousness! I don't recallbowing downto your edict let alone agreeing to this arrangement! It's a future catastrophy waiting to happen!"
"Your agreement is unnecessary regarding the discussed matter. You will comply or find yourself and your companions exiled from my lands with a great bounty upon your heads."
"You can't just threaten me around you damn ..."
"Cease your flippant remarks and behave as befits your station. You will not cause me further humiliation or I will make real my threat."
"You can't do that! You can't!"
"I can and have already end of discussion."
Kagome stood flabbergasted.