Howdy!

I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter and I hope the second one is far better! We'll see though…

SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSK

CHAPTER 2: Touring the Sengoku Jidai

.

"Kagome?"

She could hear someone calling her name.

"Kagome!"

Kagome groaned as she opened her eyes to the inside of the employee's lounge. "What happened?"

Aya was at her side. "You fainted after you shook Sekiguchi-sama's hand."

"Where is he?" Kagome groaned as she sat up. Today was going to be a long day if she couldn't get some migraine meds in her system.

"He went to the bathroom to clean off the cocoa you spilled on his pants and shoes."

A headache was building behind her eyes. "Ugh. Today's not gonna be good."

"I got you more cocoa." Aya lifted the Styrofoam cup from the floor beside her and handed it to Kagome.

"Correction, this day is getting better. Thanks Aya." Kagome took the ambrosia from Aya's hand and sipped the warm drink.

"No problem. But we need to get going as soon as we can. The tour will start in a couple of minutes."

"Right. Lead the way."

"Are you going to be okay?" Aya's eyes darted to Kagome, not really sure if she should let her give the tour.

"I'm as fine as I'm ever going to be," Kagome said as she smoothed her hair out and straightened her clothes.

As they neared the conference room, Kagome grew more and more nervous. That man looked so much like Sesshoumaru; the hair, the eyes, the manner. Well, whatever happened, she couldn't let him see she was nervous. He ate that stuff up for breakfast. Just as she neared the doors, a hand shot out from the side and grabbed the door handle.

Kagome's eyes followed the arm up to the head and saw Sekiguchi standing there, opening the door for her and Aya.

With a respectful bow, Kagome apologized politely. "Sekiguchi-sama. I am sorry for spilling my drink on your person." The look on his face told Kagome that the only reason he held the door open for them was because there were other people were around. What a dick. "Your ethereal beauty was too much of a shock for me to handle so early this morning." Kagome walked right past him and a very shocked Aya to greet the men awaiting their tour.

SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSK

Sekiguchi did not miss the chocolate-coated sarcasm and followed the women into the room. He took the open seat towards the front and watched Kagome stand before him to start her presentation.

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming to Tokyo Museum this morning. My name is Kagome Higurashi and I am the Director of Ancient History. Tokyo Museum would like to thank you for all your donations that have helped to fund some of the very artifacts that you will see today. We, at the museum, invite you to stay after your tour for a luncheon that is being held in your honor.

"Let me tell you why you are here." Kagome handed out a packet to each person at the table. "This is a packet prepared specifically for each of you, telling you how your donations were used. The one thing that you all have in common is that a part of your donations were used to put together the newest section in our museum, the Sengoku Jidai.

Sekiguchi's head turned. The Sengoku Jidai. How interesting.

"The second half of the Muromachi period is referred to as the Sengoku Jidai, which covers the years between 1393 and 1567, also known as the Warring States Era or Feudal Era as we learned in school. This time period happens to be one of my favorites because of the instability of leadership.

"Please bear with me while I share some personal history with you that I feel is necessary to understand the showcase. After I finished high school, I went on to study Ancient Japanese History and Archaeology. I grew up on a shrine with a priest for a grandfather who had a collection of ancient artifacts. All through my life he told me stories of his different items and it wasn't until I finished my schooling that I actually believed they were legit. My grandfather is kind of eccentric."

A few men chuckled, relating to her already.

"So, with permission, I took some of his artifacts to my labs and had other archaeologists look at them as well and many of the artifacts in the Sengoku showcase are those very items my grandfather had told me about all my life. Since then, I have brought many of my grandfather's artifacts to this museum to share with the world instead of keeping them at home where the only thing that saw them was my dust rag.

"That is my attachment to this showcase and the reason I wish to be your guide today. I want to give you the full history of the items and not just some text book version. When I say the full history, I mean to tell you about the demons of the past as well."

Sekiguchi watched as Kagome's eyes shifted towards him and then back to everyone else.

Who was this human woman? Surely her name sounded familiar. Maybe he had just seen her name on Tokyo Museum paraphernalia. Or maybe not. But he swore he heard her call him Sesshoumaru. And she looked at him after mentioning demons.

"If you will all please follow me, I will take you to the exhibit."

SKSKSKSKSKSKSK

It was unnerving, the feel of those hazel eyes burning into her back as she led the group from showcase to showcase. Kagome did her best to ignore it though. They finally reached the reason for this specific tour.

"Gentlemen, it is my honor to welcome you to the Sengoku Jidai." Kagome pulled down the large black cloth that hung from two showcase panels opposite sides of the room.

The men walked around, very interested in what their money was being used for. And by the sounds of it, they approved very much.

"What you are looking at is a culmination of three hundred years of history, ranging from house hold items to demonic weapons to the journal of a line of mikos, protectors of the village that Tokyo used to be. If you have any questions, please ask me. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have."

The men looked around but most stopped in front of one display in particular. On small wooden rack lay an old, worn sheathe with several cracks in it. And below it on another rack lay Tessaiga in its full glory, chinks, chips and scratches. In front of the sword was a small oyster shell with a medium-sized dull pink jewel.

A small man with large glasses stepped forward. "Miss Higurashi. Will you tell us the story behind this sword?"

Kagome sighed. Which story should she tell? "As you all may or may not know, during the Sengoku era there were four cardinal lords. But there is nothing that says those cardinal lords were human, ruling over humans.

"The mikos in the pre-Tokyo village kept logs of important dealings, occurrences, anything significant that should not be forgotten. In the journal to the right of this showcase, is the story of Tessaiga and its brothers who are no longer with us. They were created by the lord of the West, a great and powerful demon who believed in honor and who had a great love for the people, demons and humans under his rule.

"To protect that which he loved, the demon lord created two swords. One other sword in his possession made up the three Swords of Supreme Conquest. The first sword that this great lord made was Tenseiga, the sword of heaven and the bringer of life. It was said that one swing of Tenseiga could bring back a hundred dead. The second sword was the sword of earth, Tessaiga, protector of human life that could kill one hundred demons in one swing. This is the sword you see. The third sword was Sou'unga, a sword that could only be wielded by the most powerful. Only demons more powerful than the Lord of the West could wield Sou'unga without succumbing to the demonic spirit that possessed this great and terrible sword. Sou'unga could open the gates of hell and command the spirits that resided there.

"This great lord was not long-lived however. His death came early for one of his kind but the lord left behind two sons. The older son inherited the sword of heaven and the younger son inherited the Tessaiga. Sou'unga was sealed away, intended to not be owned by anyone ever again. The mission of the Tessaiga was to protect the protector of the Shikon Jewel. To give you the shortened version of the story, the miko who protected the jewel accidentally broke it one day after a demon stole it from her. It took the second son and his group three and a half years to complete the jewel again and make a wish on it that would end its existence."

This woman's story was far too accurate to have been learned from a miko's journal, but then again maybe the mikos who kept the journals did an exceptional job. He wanted to know how much more this woman knew.

"And what happened to the other two swords, Miss…"

"Higurashi," another man finished for him. Sekiguchi watched Kagome's smile get a little brighter.

"Tenseiga, I assume is with the family of the eldest brother. Legend has it that Sou'unga was destroyed by the two brothers and sent to hell for all eternity."

"Why was it not given to the eldest also?" he asked next.

Kagome swallowed again but her eyes never left his. The glazed look in the woman's eyes told him she was recalling old memories. "From what I know, after his father's death and for a few hundred centuries, the oldest son was a selfish, power-hungry demon. It wasn't until after learning the purpose of the other two swords that he finally relented and gave in to his inheritance. But Sou'unga was already gone; his father's wish was that no one would that evil sword again. The eldest son was the only other demon who would have been strong enough to silence Sou'unga."

They were interrupted by a man in the group. "You seem to know a lot about this sword, Higurashi."

Kagome cleared her throat and her mind of the lost memories. A smile adorned her face. "Some people call it an obsession. I call it actively engaged in the pursuit of knowledge."

The man continued on. "Is this Tessaiga also from your private collection?"

"Yes sir, my most prized addition." What these men didn't know was that the sword they saw was an exact replica of Tessaiga. Maybe not so much a replica as it was a construction from a picture Kagome had taken of Inuyasha one day while he practiced in the shrine's courtyard.

Another half hour was spent answering questions and just as they finished their tour, Aya appeared again and informed them it was time for lunch. She led the small group to a room near the cafeteria where they would have their luncheon. Kagome took one more loving look at Tessaiga before turning around to join Aya, only to bump into a large, solid chest.

"I'm sorry, Sekiguchi-san. We should probably join up with everyone." He followed Kagome's gaze to Aya who only winked at her before leading the group away.

"Not before you answer my questions." He grabbed her elbow. "Who did you mistake me for earlier?"

Kagome stiffened. He heard her. "No one. Merely a dying memory." The sadness and despair that surrounded this mystery woman pulled at him in a strange way.

"And how is it that you know so much about those swords?"

"The history of swords has been a hobby of mine since I was younger." Sekiguchi smelled no lie on her. "Now please let me go."

"Do not be difficult. Tell me what you know and do not bother calling on your miko powers to free you. I am more powerful than you can ever hope to be." Sekiguchi knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth. Her body trembled, she was hiding something from him.

Her silent rage and electric miko powers thrummed beneath her skin. He could feel it under his fingertips. With barely controlled anger, Sekiguchi said, "You will tell this Sekiguchi what you know or I will make your life miserable."

Sekiguchi felt her confusion and watched her eyes as they studied his face. He was unaware that his demands brought up even more memories for the miko to feed on. A light finger traced over his forehead in a half circle, then moved to his left cheek to trace over two lines, only to be repeated on the other side.

Sekiguchi didn't expect her tears to drown out all other scents except that of her joy. He stiffened when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and she buried her face under his hair.

"What are you doing?" he could only whisper.

"I was beginning to think it was all a dream." He could feel her tears dripping onto his collar, her breath on his neck, making him rigid. "I'm so happy you found me, but then I knew when I saw you this morning that you were too stuck up to be a mere human." When he tensed up, he heard her whisper, "It's okay, Sesshoumaru. I won't tell anyone who you are."

That had him defensive and pulled the girl away from him. "Who are you, to call me Sesshoumaru?"

He watched as the woman wiped her eyes and smiled up at him. "What other demon has your markings?" she asked with confidence. The woman looked to his face again and turned to his reflection in the mirror. With a glance at a nearby showcase, Sekiguchi saw his family markings, the crescent moon on his forehead and the magenta stripes on his cheek. She disarmed his spell!

With a snarl, he released the woman's arms. He closed his eyes and mumbled something but as soon as he opened his eyes again, his reflection told him that his concealment spell had been reactivated. Who was this woman that she could break through his concealment with only a touch?

"Sesshoumaru? Are you okay?" When he said nothing, the woman said, "You really don't remember me huh? I'm that little insignificant miko that traveled with your brother, looking for the jewel shards." When she saw no signs of recognition she added, "You know, the one who pulled Tessaiga out of your father's tomb with her weak human hands?" Kagome saw the recognition flash through his eyes. "You remember?"

"We will not speak of this here. You will only refer to me as Sekiguchi. You will refrain from touching me, as I do not wish to share my markings with everyone. And after the luncheon, you will accompany me to my home where we will continue this conversation."

Sekiguchi felt Kagome's anger rise to nearly intolerable levels. She narrowed her eyes at him, an expression Sekiguchi was all too familiar with. "I see 600 years hasn't changed you one bit you self-centered egotistical prick." And with that the woman stormed off to the luncheon.

Sekiguchi frowned. At least she hadn't said no.

SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSK