A/N: Hope you are in the right mood for a Saturday update!
Beta; Cstorm86


The Fae Tree 16


Kagome stared at Mr Kaze, who merely stood there, waiting.

"I... I don't know what you mean, Mr Kaze," she stuttered. The man grinned.

"Call me Miroku," he said. "We, spirited people, are kindred spirits, so there's no need for formality. Or wariness. I harbor towards you - or your yasha friend - any ill will. So, who are they?"

Kagome's mind raced, just like her heart did. Had Souta told him about Inuyasha? No, her brother wouldn't do that... And Miroku seemed not to know who Inuyasha was or even what gender he was. His aura was open and warm, soothing even, despite having little effect on the girl right now.

Someone knew she had a friend that wasn't human. This man, a man she barely knew, knew her most hidden secret. What was he going to do now? What would he do if she admitted to befriending a fae, a yasha?

"H-how?" she choked out. He didn't move towards her. He was still smiling, his gaze intent, but not threatening.

"When we walked towards the house, I happened to look... In the general area the pendant is hidden," he admitted. "And, well, it's a yasha charm, not a human one. It's a good luck talisman, so I know it was given by a friend."

It took Kagome a moment to process his words. He had looked... Her gaze drifted to the collar of her dress, which was modest and not revealing anything, but... The realization that a stranger stared at this part of her body... With a shriek, the young woman grabbed the first thing and threw it at the lecherous man that so blatantly admitted he'd stared at her chest.

"Well," Miroku said as he dodged the loaf of bread that barely missed his head. He sounded in no way intimidated. "That was a first."

"You...!" Kagome growled, her voice rising in pitch. Her hands shook as she grabbed for a piece of white cheese that lay on a wooden plate.

"So," Miroku quickly cut in. "Can you tell me their name? Is it by any chance a yasha that rides a giant cat and is named Sango? I'm looking for her everywhere."

That revelation efficiently doused Kagome's ire. She lowered her hands and looked at him with wide eyes. He knew a fae too? And he was looking for the fae woman - why? Was he looking for a lost friend or did he want to harm that woman? She had to have a quizzical look in her eye, because the man smiled a bit.

"You see, I happen to be madly in love with her," he explained. "But she is not yet smitten with me, so I have to chase her and show her how great a husband I'd be."

"But... You are a priest..." Kagome breathed out. Miroku shrugged.

"Yeah, and she is a yasha warrior that had slain another yasha to defend me," he replied and looked straight in Kagome's eyes. "I am a spirited person, like you. We're not inclined to harm yasha. So, was it Sango who gave you the talisman of good fortune?"

Kagome shook her head.

"It was Inuyasha," she whispered. She wasn't used to saying his name to people who weren't Souta. She didn't want anyone to overhear her. Miroku frowned for a moment, then his face lit up in a knowing smile. That made her cheeks heat up.

"A... lover perhaps?" he inquired.

"Oh, Mr Kaze, don't say such things, and so loud!" Kagome covered her mouth, doing her best silent yell. The young priest chuckled. "He's just a friend!"

A memory of Inuyasha looking at her intently and asking for her hand flashed in her mind. She could have been a yasha bride. Miroku nodded at her words and moved to pick the glass of water waiting for him on the table top.

"I see. Well, it would be fine if he was more, really. I mean, we are spirited people," he said. "We're above all the prejudice and superstitions most humans have."

At Kagome's silent confusion, the man stared at her for a moment.

"You don't know what a spirited person is, huh? And here I was thinking your grandfather was aware of your rare gift," he shook his head.

"He is most stubborn when it comes to seeing rare gifts in girls," Kagome said sourly. "He didn't allow me to study to be a priestess."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Miroku's voice was honest when he said that, and Kagome appreciated it. "So, you are a hidden gem, Miss Kagome. Do you wish to know a bit about what spirited people are?"

"Um... Yes. I heard Inuyasha call me spirited before, and Lord Kagewaki used that term too, but I don't pay much attention to what he says. He is... I don't like him much and his words seem... wrong somehow."

Miroku's dark eyes looked at her with a strange concern. After a moment, he put his half-empty glass on the table and faced her where she stood by the counter.

"Well, spirited people have a great affinity for fae, otherwise known by their own name for themselves as yasha. They can gain their trust and assistance much easier than regular humans, they also can handle items crafted by the wild folk. They also are suspeptable to their magic, at least when they aren't careful."

Kagome remembered Inuyasha's music, the feelings it brought every time she heard it. Was it because she was easier to charm? Had he targeted her because it was easier to put a spell on her? But she also remembered how playful he was, how he treated her as an equal, as a person with her own wishes, dreams and needs. She was certain the silver-haired man had been always honest with her, even if he was mischievous.

"But," Miroku added, bringing her out of her musings. "Spirited people have also a keen sixth sense, the intuition, the ability to sense auras just like trained priests can," he glanced at her, his expression solemn and almost grim. "Be wary of Lord Kagewaki."

"W-why?" Kagome asked, feeling a shiver go down her spine at the tone of this warning. Mr Kaze looked away.

"He is a mage, a man that will do anything for his goal, even things of... questionable morality," he paused when Kagome gasped. "When I first met him a few years ago, he wanted to enlist my aid in his current studies. I declined and since then he hates me. Do not accept his offer when he gives it to you, unless you wish to join in his experiments."

"Can... Can he force someone to work with him like that?" Kagome asked. She could imagine a wealthy mage paying for assistance of a person who could handle fae items. Or blackmailing someone. Or forcing them by some other means. The thought that this nice young lord could do such a thing made her blood freeze.

"Not really," Miroku shook his head. "Our intuition and abilities are an ethereal quality to our soul. If someone tries to force a spirited person... they can end up breaking that spirit and will be left with a regular human. So, if you decline, Loes Kagewaki won't be able to make you turn against any of the yasha that live in the forests near your shrine or your Inuyasha friend."

"That's a... relief," Kagome relaxed at the return of Miroku's smile.

"I'm sorry I frightened you Miss Kagome," the young priest bowed his head. "But I wanted to make sure you are cautious. I wouldn't want any of my spirited brethren, especially so lovely, to lose their rare gift."

Kagome gasped when he suddenly reached his hands and grabbed her hand in between his warm, rough palms.

"Please, fair Kagome, if you need anything, call for me," he said as he peered down at her. "I will do anything for you and all I will ask of you is a kiss..."

Kagome barely kept herself from shrieking and whacking him on the head with a tray. But she couldn't help the hot blush that covered her face.

"I... Um... No," she managed, feeling embarrassed on account of her brashi repl and the whole situation. The young priest chuckled.

"Ah, rejected again," he said, obviously pretending to be hurt. "Maybe it is for the best, I will keep my kisses to the lovely fiery beauty that stole my heart."

Kagome stared at him as he moved past her to the counter and then walked out of the kitchen. He gave her a lot to think about.

It was just when she saw the young priest riding his horse down the road that she realized he'd taken the whole bread, the circle of cheese and a whole ham with him.

She decided it was a fair trade for all the information he had given her.

Then she realized one thing - the next day she was going to go and visit Lord Kagewaki in his house. Her hand immediately went up to grasp the pendant around her neck, the good luck charm from Inuyasha.

whatever waited for her in that manor, she decided, she was going to face it and then never talk to the young lord again. If he really was doing some experiments that would harm others she didn't want to be a part of it.