To Covet
Rating: M
Anime: Inuyasha
Pairing: Kagome/Sesshomaru
Ages of our characters in this chapter:
Sesshomaru – looks 16
Kouga – looks 14
Kikyo – 14
Inuyasha – looks 14
Kagome – 10
A small figure peered out from sliding tatami doors, doing her best to hide in the shadow of a tall tree covering the engawa in shade. She watched in awe as a boy a few years older than her swirled around with a sword in his hand. He whacked away at different targets in the courtyard, his red training robes often blurring with his speed. His silver hair glittered in the sunlight and his inu ears twitched sweetly upon his head. So pretty…
One day, she would marry Inuyasha, she was sure of it. Her eyes lit up at the thought. Though she did little more than try to secretly stare at the boy most days, his smirks in her direction were enough to convince her that he wanted to marry her too, surely! She declared to her parents one evening that she loved him, and they chuckled and pat her on the head affectionately. It was time they took her request to marry him seriously!
"Kagome, what are you doing?"
She squeaked and turned around with her index finger held up to her lips once she saw who was behind her. "KIKYOU! Shhhhh."
Her elder sister smoothed her yukata before she sat down and snickered next to her. "He can probably see you; you know?" she waved plainly in the hanyou's direction, and Kagome's jaw dropped as it elicited a returned greeting from the silver-haired boy. She thought she was being stealthy! She was always fascinated by the cute boy who spent so much time at their compound and couldn't help but want to take a peak every time he made his way to the training grounds.
Kikyo had once explained to her younger sister that Inuyasha was Sesshomaru's half-brother, both sons of the Western Lord, Inu no Taisho, who was their father's good friend and best ally. Inuyasha's father had gotten a lover pregnant, and she died not too long after he was born, and he went to live with his father in their palace. Palace whispers say that he is still scorned by the current queen, and that's why Inuyasha was often sent to train and spend his days in the more Eastern lands the Higurashi clan presided over.
Kagome squealed as she watched Inuyasha place his sword in its sheath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and began walking over to the obvious girls sitting in plain sight. Kagome gasped and got up, running while she could. How embarrassed she was to have been caught, her face as red as the strawberries her father used to import. Kikyo giggled listening to her sister run off. How unladylike.
"What's so funny?" Inuyasha huffed as he made it to where Kikyo was sitting.
"Oh nothing." She smiled demurely at him, and he rolled his eyes.
Kagome continued to run through the halls and past many gardens of their impressive grounds. She only slowed when she got to the entrance of their main home, stopping to fall to her knees and inhale deeply to catch her breath. The entryway guards exchanging an eyebrow raise while looking at her. As she continued to catch her breath, she heard footsteps crunch on the dirt path behind her.
"Kagome! I've been looking for you everywhere." A voice that attempted to come off as deep and mature gave itself away with a vocal crack halfway through his sentence. The figure rolled their shoulders back and sauntered up to the child. Kagome rolled her eyes before he got close enough to see. He reached his hands under her arms and hoisted her up to her feet before spinning her around to face him.
"I've come to speak with your father today about an offer I have for your hand in marriage in a few years. Aren't you happy?" Every step he took towards her, his long hair bobbed behind him in his ponytail, his blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight with intensity and determination. If there were ever someone to match the young lady's stubbornness and optimism, it was certainly Koga. Except one could argue that Kagome's social skills were better developed….
"Why, hello to you too Kouga. How rude of you to not ask me first for my own hand." Young as she may be, she had a sharpness to her, and she hit his hands off from her shoulders.
The wolf demon grinned and grasped Kagome's hands, his thumbs clumsily running over her smooth fingers. Kagome scowled and stomped her little foot angrily, accidentally stepping on the bottom of her yukata in the process. "KOUGA! You will drop my hands at once!"
He chuckled with exaggerated energy and his grin became larger. "I love your spirit. That's going to be needed in my lands if you want to be my lady."
"I doooooon't want to be!" Kagome howled in frustration. How was he not understanding? He never seemed to get it. She frantically looked around, hoping a servant, or perhaps even Inuyasha were around to help get her out of this uncomfortable situation.
The hair on Kagome's neck stood tall suddenly, and she felt a chill wash over her. A powerful presence was nearby. Koga must have felt it too, as he shuddered and looked upwards behind Kagome towards her estate. He took a step back with widened eyes, and Kagome looked behind her to see a taller figurer looming over her. His long silvery hair was long enough that it brushed over her shoulder as he leaned towards her, and he wrapped one arm around her side, pulling Kagome into him. How did he get that close so quickly? This was not the savior she was hoping for.
"Ookami…" he murmured, offering an icy glare to the dark-haired adolescent.
Kouga huffed and crossed his arms angrily, defiantly gazing back at the teenage-appearing dog demon. "Inu. What do you think you're doing?"
"I could ask you the same…harassing my future mate?" Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and his grip on Kagome tightened. She was suddenly very aware of his lengthened claws that could easily pierce her if he so wished. Both Kagome and Kouga looked at Sesshomaru incredulously.
Kagome had only ever seen the eldest dog demon in passing before this moment. He had never been inclined to partake in the games the other children would play, and instead would ignore them to listen in on meetings between their families. Even though most would still consider him a pup, he already held a reputation for being a formidable presence. She once had watched Sesshomaru beat Inuyasha into submission at the Western palace and from that moment on she found him terrifying, and thought him to be a bully. Seeing him up close in this moment, she didn't find she was very frightened of him, finding instead comfort in the familiar and cool features his family possessed.
"W-what did you say?" Koga sputtered and continued to frantically stare between the young dog lord and the girl.
"She is my betrothed. Isn't that right, Kagome?" his golden eyes flickered down to Kagome's confused blue orbs. He gave her a barely discernable squeeze on her arm, and she nodded her head in an overly eager manner. She threw her arms around his lithe figure, catching Sesshomaru off guard.
"It's true! I love him." She looked deeply into his eyes, with almost too much enthusiasm as she tried to mimic the way she'd seen her mother look into her father's eyes. A light dusting of pink spread out over Sesshomaru's cheeks, and he chose to look up and glare at Kouga again.
Kouga growled and began to unsheathe a dagger "I will challenge that, you damn Sesshomaru! No one gets my woman but me!"
Kagome tensed, and before a fight could ensue, a strong voice rang clear through the air. "That is enough!"
A few strides brought two men to the scene. Kouga shrank back as his and Kagome's fathers shook their heads in exasperation. Kouga's father apologized, pushing his son's head down with each syllable. He continued to chide his son before grabbing the back of his neck and escorting him off the premises with him.
After watching the lesser demon lord and his son retreat, Kagome's father smiled at the two still embraced in front of him. Sesshomaru immediately pulled Kagome away from him and placed distance between them. "Young and in love, huh?" the Lord chuckled and scratched his chin. "I figured Kikyou and you would pair up nicely, Sesshomaru, but perhaps I was wrong!"
"Papa! It's a misunderstanding!" Kagome gasped and ran up to her father, clutching at his hakama. Heavens forbid he tried to pair them together. Not when she really loved Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru had bowed his head and walked away silently as Kagome argued with her father. He didn't give her the chance to say thank you. That had been her only real interaction with Sesshomaru, and while she was grateful to him for rescuing her that day, she couldn't understand what had possessed him to help her. Other encounters were infrequent, and had they met in passing, he would barely offer her a glance. It was as though he couldn't be bothered to remember she existed! Stuffy and pretentious is what she labeled him, and Kagome would gladly roll her eyes and stick her tongue out at him if she could without being scolded. Despite his reputation of being cold and cruel, rumor had it many ladies wished for the young, handsome demon lord to propose to them. She couldn't understand the appeal.
