See notes in First Chapter.
IV
Kagome carefully stepped across the snowy ground of the shrine, working her way around the perimeter to douse the shrine lamps. Darkness had fully set in making their light necessary for safety, but the last of her volunteers had left over twenty minutes ago. The last patron had departed an hour before that as the volunteers had stayed on to help clean up after the busy day of visitors.
New year was the shrine's busiest time during the winter and the most exhausting event for Kagome. She worked diligently to take care of her expected roles, directing the volunteers to distributing warm amazake and the associated talismans the locals came to the shine for in pursuit of luck and good fortune for the coming year. Today had been the first and it had been long after a night of limited sleep.
Last night she'd been required to stay up and ring the bells the correct number of times around midnight. This morning she'd been up before dawn to meet the first wave of volunteers helping to ready stations installed to handle the excessive influx of patrons. The flow of visitors had been heavy and constant all day, even after the sun had gone down and she felt the depletion of energy down to her bones.
The worst of it all was that she still had some things to do before she could seek out her bed. There were tasks to complete she hadn't felt comfortable asking her shrunken volunteer force to help her with.
Every year since her uncle Mattaki's death, the number of townspeople willing to come up here for any of the shrine events slowly grew smaller. Their loyalty to him and the shrine he ran was fading and Kagome wasn't inspiring the same dedication as he had.
She sighed and shook the discouraging thoughts from her mind. Fluctuating dedication plagued shrines larger and more popular than this one. Kagome shouldn't take it as a personal failure. But...
Being the only Shrine official kind of did make it Kagome's personal failing when interests and involvement flagged. Taking a slow, deep breath Kagome consciously altered her train of thought. Placing blame and lamenting the current situation wasn't constructive. She needed to brainstorm solutions, ways to boost interest in the shrine somehow. Sometimes brainstorming really was the hard part.
As long as there had been shrines, there had been a need for support from the local community. Strategizing ways to renew public appeal was a continuing task. One that did not often produce the same results upon applying previous tactics. People were fickle with short attention spans.
Kagome bent to carefully douse the light contained in the first stone lantern on the grounds. Her shrine contained four large stone lanterns at the corners with two beside the haiden that guarded the inner spaces of the shrine proper. Another pair of lanterns were integrated in the base of the shishi guardians at the entrance just past the last torii gate. In wealthier shrines in more populated areas, the lanterns would be left lit until after the third day of the new year.
This shrine couldn't afford the fuel to do that. If she allowed the flames to gutter out on their own, she would have to clean the screens that guard the light on top of refueling and relighting them for the three days of the new year rites. Hatsumode was practically the only time of year Kagome could swear the town's population swelled to almost three times it's regular winter population. Young adults that left for schools and work in more profitable areas always seemed to return to begin their year with family here. Families that never bothered with the shrine the rest of the year would come out to buy omikuji from the volunteers selling them while partaking of the offered warmed amazake to stave off the chill and have something warm to carry home.
She didn't offer sacred arrows popular at other shrines. This little shrine didn't have the means nor did it seem particularly cost effective when Kagome so rarely drew a crowd outside the summer months.
Carefully sliding back the shade plate, she put out the flame. Kagome savored the heat emitting from the warmed stone along her narrow, newly bared fingers. Darkness had drawn in the chill. Where the shrine had been cold enough during the entirety of the day to preserve last night's snow, the shadows blew a colder breath through her shrine clothing. She was wearing several layers, including a full set of thermal garments under the traditional robes of a shrine official. Still, Kagome had been outside since before the sun came up, the warmth was a nice reprieve from the unrelenting frigid temperatures that had cradled the world.
Experience had taught her to avoid actually touching the stone or the inside of the panels. The residual heat was enough to burn flesh acclimated to winter weather. Outsiders might advise her to wear gloves, like it was a simple solution. They don't understand that any gloves she wore would have to be fire retardant and dexterous, thin with a sure grip in order for her to successfully complete what Kagome needed to do. The lantern openings weren't terribly big. Uncle Mattaki had been grateful for Kagome's much smaller hands when it came to this task. His were lined with years of burns and scars just from this.
Last year she'd managed to get through nearly the whole three days with only one accidental burn. Kagome had yet to burn bad enough to blister, but her predecessor had told her it was only a matter of time. Age slowed reflexes and increased whatever shaking appeared in her hands. The old injury had birthed tremors and nerve damage enough to kill her career dreams. It also left her likely to collect burns in her current occupation.
Kagome breathed in slowly before letting the air out in the same pace. Regulating her breath often helped to stabilize her hands for this procedure. She needed it even more this evening because she was tired.
The flame went out slowly, reducing itself to mere glowing embers before ceasing to emit light at all. Assured the task was completed with the smallest amount of soot thrown up on the transparent sides, Kagome smiled and slid the panel closed to keep the snow out until tomorrow when she wiped the interior of the lantern out and loaded in the fuel. The stone was too hot to do it now.
She repeated the process with each lit lantern, moving to each of the outer ones before reaching the ones beside the torii gate and the shishi guardians. Kagome always saved the ones by the haiden for last because she knew the paths around the building were clear of ice. Once the flames were out, she would be feeling her way to her quarters in back. It would be safer to do it where she knew the ice had been kept clear of the path. It wasn't every year that there was a full moon over the three days of new year. Even if there were, her night vision was only so good. Black ice was hard to spot even in daylight.
Kagome bowed respectfully to the shishi before moving to douse the light. These lanterns were smaller and more likely to deal out burns than the larger ones for the lack of room to maneuver. As such, Kagome always added a request for protection against burns. Sometimes it worked, more often it didn't.
She turned to the second guardian and reached her hand into the small lit space just as disaster struck. A youkai presence darted through the bounds of the Seishin-tekina shouheki without warning. It startled her and she jumped, brushing her ungloved hand along the rough edges of the heated interior of the lantern. Kagome hissed abruptly as she dragged her hand out of the lantern faster than her feet could touch the ground again. Upon landing her heel slipped on a patch of ice sending her foot out from under her. The hard landing jarred her spine and both hands as they tried to soften the impact. This second pain drew her to shriek abruptly before she collected herself enough to shove her burning hand into the most convenient pile of snow.
Kagome's heart was pounding with an adrenaline rush. As the world caught up with her and she turned to her surprise guest, keeping her injured hand packed in the white snow. "Ha," she gulped and restarted her attempt to greet the youkai visitor. "Sesshoumaru-dono, I wasn't expecting another visit until spring." Her voice strove for pleasant and polite though she feared it came out strained and short.
"Hn," the tall youkai gazed down at her as she scraped more snow over her injured hand. "This Sesshoumaru had not intended to cause injury."
"I'll be fine," Kagome struggled to her feet without use of her hands as one held the snow over her burn. "You had a reason for appearing, Sesshoumaru-dono. Please let us focus on that. Is there a problem concerning Naoki and Oki remaining with me until spring?"
"It was not your charges this one has come to speak with you about," Sesshoumaru dismissed the topic as he carefully grasped her elbow and helped her back to her feet. "You were trying to put out the lantern?"
"Yes," Kagome answered as he stepped away from her. She turned to her guest only to find him blowing out the flame. "Don't!" The light went out in a curling puff of smoke. "Please Sesshoumaru-dono, leave this task to me." She struggled to keep complaints and explanations to herself. He was not someone in training to care for the shrine and he was not a friend. The inu was a government official whatever the reason for his sudden appearance.
"Your way caused injury," Sesshoumaru pointed out.
"My way prevents excess soot from staining the inside of the glass screens," the protest escaped before she could think better of it. "The lanterns will be in near constant use for the next few days and the shrine will be very busy. There will be little time for cleaning," she explained to soften her complaint. Kagome lamented the outburst but bemoaned more the cut into her sleep time tonight. She would have to wake earlier than planned to scrub the flame residue from the inside surfaces of that one lantern.
"Surely you have staff," Sesshoumaru countered, as well he might. Shrines in the city had excess volunteers most years. Some even had paid attendants regularly, as in more than one. But this was not the city.
"The number of local volunteers has dropped since my predecessor passed on a few years back. I have no assistant which has been a boon for Oki-chan and Naoki-kun, but has left the shrine in a shabbier state than I'd like. What volunteers I do have are already tasked as far as I'm comfortable with," she declared flatly. Then turned to the last two lanterns next to the shrine. The pair were as large as the ones posted at the four corners. With the snow melting over her benumbed hand, taking care of the last pair without further injury would be a challenge.
Taking a deep breath she moved to finish the chore trailing the ever observant inu youkai. "What was it you came to discuss?" Kagome asked. "Oki and Naoki still haven't spoken anything coherently, but I'm not certain if they had properly learned before they were left to their own devices. I talk to them often, hoping they will learn it the way that toddlers do, I read to them. I do not think it is something physically wrong with them like an injury."
"It is likely the trauma," Sesshoumaru suggested observing her struggle to use her injured hand. "The injury should not be irritated by further use."
"I am the only shrine official present," Kagome countered. "There is no one else to handle this task." People in Hokkaido learned to do things for themselves even when injured. If you didn't, then things that were necessary never got done. "Ryoichi had indicated there was reason for some serious emotional trauma in the last year." The shimarisu's father had died several years ago from some accident, but their mother had only passed on the previous winter. Kagome had learned the pair were given into the custody of their aunt which had proven insufficient. The female's chances of finding a mate of her own whilst watching the young of someone else, even her own brother, diminished significantly. Especially when the first male that showed interest specifically refused to even dally with her unless she got rid of the hangers on. What the female didn't know, was that the same male had pursued Oki and Naoki's mother and blamed the helpless pair for her death.
Kagome shook her head. Youkai courting practices were occasionally barbaric to her mind. She was human and couldn't really imagine pursuing the death of children in order to have more children. It seemed ridiculously wrong to her.
Kagome tried very hard not to look at the injury on her hand. She didn't want to know how bad it already was when she would likely make it worse over the next couple days. Still she took her deep breaths to steady her hand. Still she carefully watched the flame and subsequent embers die.
"This way is cleaner?" Sesshoumaru gestured to the clear glass bowl settled over the bottom inside the lantern. Maneuvering the bowl over the flame and under the stone top was part of the reason the guardian lanterns were more difficult to tend.
"Perhaps not cleaner," Kagome admitted, "but it keeps the mess off the inside of the lantern. The bowl is easier to clean." She was also very lucky it didn't break when she dropped it earlier. She always remembered to handle the heavy glass with her gloved hand when removing it until it cooled. Putting it over the flame risked the glove catching on fire and then the rest of her clothing.
She had to wait a bit between the last two lanterns. The glass needed time to cool longer than it took her to move between the two. Even the guardian lanterns were farther apart. "Is this discussion going to take long, Sesshoumaru-dono?"
"Does it matter?" the youkai daijin asked in reply. "This one informed you the report you made would be looked into."
"You're here to talk about that?" Kagome stared at Sesshoumaru incredulously. "What for? Nothing will be done about it."
"Something is being done about it," Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "This Sesshoumaru does not waste his time looking into things for no reason."
Kagome shut her mouth and turned back to her task. That last flame went out and she removed the bowl carefully. "I don't know what you want to talk about. I made sure the report was as detailed as possible."
"You wisely insisted on keeping a copy of it," Sesshoumaru added.
"My grandfather was supposed to insure that if anyone else tried to press charges the file would fall into the hands that needed it," she replied.
"It is now the only record that a report has ever been made," Sesshoumaru informed her.
"I figured," she shrugged and turned to lead the way back to her personal spaces. Moonlight bounced off the fallen snow making the scene glow brightly despite the night. "I was fairly certain that the ones in charge would bury it before it ever reached your father's ears. Even if it made it that far it would disappear."
"Hn," came the noncommittal sound behind her.
Kagome slid open the outer most screen door and stepped into the low space to remove her shoes and outerwear. "Shall I make tea? Would you prefer something else?"
"Tea would be acceptable," Sesshoumaru agreed, watching as Kagome stripped off her tabi to lay atop her shoes. The soft cotton was clearly damp, likely from her tumble in the snow.
Kagome set the glass bowl on the counter beside the sink before setting the kettle she'd filled earlier to heat. Fujimoto Natsuo had left her Osechi for her late meal. It was larger than Kagome expected to be able to eat, but not large enough to supply a proper meal to both a human and a youkai guest. Picking it up to place on the low table, she reached to click on the small heater placed under the kotatsu. "I can pull out some cakes or biscuits as well if you like," she declared conversationally. Politeness required she offer both food and tea. She pulled two small plates from her cupboard and chopsticks as well before adding the cups for tea. She set the dishes out on the low table properly before receiving his answer.
"This Sesshoumaru does not care," the male answered. "This is not a social call and food is not needed."
Kagome blinked at him, wondering if he realized how rude he sounded. Antipathy could be beneficial in some situations. She imagined it served him well when dealing with other powerful youkai both foreign and domestic, but in most informal scenarios it was just impolite. She exhaled softly, careful not to sigh audibly. Rude as he might be, diplomacy required she be polite. Rather than answer his words, she returned to the counter to pour water from the kettle into her ceramic teapot and collect the tea leaves. Both were carried to the table before the pot was covered with a simple warmer. "I must excuse myself to change. My clothing is damp and the chill is a threat to continued good health," it would also give the water time to cool and her guest time to collect himself and his thoughts.
"Higurashi-san," Sesshoumaru called as she turned to collect clothing and change in the bath. "Bathe. You are chilled. This one was informed upon our last encounter that a certain nurse would take exception to a failure to properly address any frigid dampening."
"To do so without someone to assume position of host would be rude," Kagome shook her head. "I can just change quickly and-"
"This Sesshoumaru's visit was unscheduled," the tall male cut her off. "See to your health. This one will wait, I will not be cause of further injury. My family has done you enough harm already."
"You're not responsible for my hand, Sesshoumaru-dono," Kagome turned to address the youkai directly. "I have yet to get through a full new year's rites without burning myself on the lanterns. I've been jumpy lately and likely would have been startled by anything moving around behind me," she admitted flatly. It was true even if it was slightly embarrassing. Since Inuyasha had found her again, Kagome felt hunted every time she left the shrine grounds. She'd thought it was because the Seishin-tekina shouheki protected her on the grounds but not beyond them. It wasn't until this morning when her charges were taken to stay with the Fujimoto family in Nishi no Mura that she learned location had nothing to do with it. Being alone without distraction left her feeling vulnerable, even when she wasn't.
"But it was this Sesshoumaru that startled you and not some harmless animal," he countered.
"Last year it was a squirrel," Kagome argued as she drew back to the low table and settled to the floor beside it. "The year before, an owl. My first year I burned myself so many times, my predecessor threatened to takeover the chore in my place. My uncle's hands were scarred with burns from attending the lanterns every year. You were not responsible for any of those. If you were not here this year, I likely still would have burned myself anyway. Do not take on responsibility for minor accidents you could not have prevented."
"And your last injuries? The ones your charge gave you, do you blame him for them?" Sesshoumaru demanded, "Because he is as surely responsible for drawing blood as Inuyasha was for the ones that stole your future."
"Naoki was trapped under the ice, scrabbling at it to break free. He had no time to realize my arm was there to catch him up or be scratched by his desperately flailing claws," Kagome responded hotly. "There is a difference between seeking to live and scratching someone you didn't even know was there and what Inuyasha did. I can forgive an awful lot of someone young and drowning that I can't forgive an adult simply throwing an angry tantrum. You cannot compare disparate situations like that. Naoki didn't hurt me because he didn't get what he wanted. You didn't realize I wasn't actively scanning the area with my reiki instead of relying solely on the shrine's notification system. Inuyasha did know that he'd dumped me and therefore could have no say in what I did with my life afterward. That I didn't mope and beg him to come back to me is not grounds to drag me away from my friends and assault me."
"Peace," Sesshoumaru ordered flatly as he leaned forward against the table. Kagome studied him closely. Many youkai chose stoicism when in company of outsiders. The older youkai were especially good at hiding what they thought or felt. It took years of careful observation and often some extra training to pick up the minuscule clues left to detect. Sesshoumaru wasn't so old as some of the youkai she'd met in Tokyo, but he was hard to read.
Even still, she could tell he was tired. Weariness hovered over his shoulders like dead weight. There was something like disgust haunting the inu's golden gaze, the type of self-loathing brought on by discovering examples of one's own culpability.
What Kagome knew of this particular youkai's personality lead her to believe that looking into her case had shown him things that violated Sesshoumaru's personal code of ethics. Likely he'd discovered that everything she'd said about his father protecting Inuyasha to the point of circumventing his own laws was true. Such a truth this proud male would see as a blemish on the honor of his family line, one that he would carry with great shame until he saw it right. The problem was that it was unlikely to ever be set right.
Kagome sighed and settled more solidly on the floor, her clothes in her lap and her eyes on her guest. Telling him that her case wouldn't be given real consideration by youkai or human law merely irritated Sesshoumaru. He was stubborn once riled, and no matter how many times she told him it was a lost cause she knew he would chase it down.
"Sesshoumaru-dono," she began quietly knowing his biggest complaint against her previous words had more to do with volume than anything else. "You are not your brother. You are not your father. They are each individuals you cannot control. Fate does not answer to you. History cannot be changed. My future was not stolen, only altered to flow down different paths. I have struggled for a long time to learn that lesson. I cannot change what has already been done. I can only choose how I will react to my present and live one day at a time. It hasn't always been easy. But I'm alive. I live Sesshoumaru-dono and that's enough." Her tone turned admonishing towards the end. "You have enough real responsibilities to carry without adding imaginary ones."
"You exist within my territory. You were harmed by my family," Sesshoumaru growled. "Your justice is in my purview." His eyes narrowed on her, hiding the bits of feeling she'd detected better in his earlier gaze. "Your health requires change of clothes, heated water and proper attendance to your injury. You will see to all three before this Sesshoumaru will allow this discussion to continue."
Who did he think he was? Kagome wanted to growl right back at him. This was her home! She wasn't a youkai and she didn't answer to youkai powers for anything! A slow deep breath helped to release the pressure of anger building in her chest. Sesshoumaru was just like Inuyasha in some ways, that dominating, bossy behavior must be inherent to the breed.
She wasn't stupid. She wasn't a small child. Kagome very well knew what was necessary to maintain her own good health. She also had plenty of mother hens who lived a lot closer with a more prevalent presence. Sesshoumaru was not her friend. He was not her family. He wasn't even in charge of her government. He had no right to order her at all.
But pointing all that out would get her no where. Kagome well knew the stubbornness of dogs having the misfortune of dating Inuyasha for any span of time had certainly taught her that. "By your leave," Kagome's tone was sardonic and she couldn't bring herself to care if he was offended by her mocking his lack of manners. She didn't care how he reacted and her follow up actions proved that by immediately removing herself from the position of witnessing it.
Sliding the changing door shut behind her, Kagome huffed at the stuck up youkai intruding on an otherwise quiet and peaceful evening. Swiftly stripping out of the outer robes of office she wore for shrine events and rites, she hung the damp clothing up to dry for the next day before assessing the thermal under layers she'd been wearing. Traditional clothing did not officially include anything modern in the way of undergarments. Many purists would be scandalized to know Kagome wore her bra and panties as well as thermal garments from neck to ankles.
She scoffed at the knowledge. Kagome was a transplant to Hokkaido and even the years she'd spent here hadn't completely acclimated her to the frigid weather she was expected to be outside in for New Year. Quite honestly, if no one was going to see under her robes it really didn't matter what she wore under them. Removing the tighter sleeves of her under shirt made her very aware of the damage her hand had taken though.
With the strong lights reflecting off the hard surfaces in the changing room, Kagome got her first good look at the mess her hand had become.
The back of her dominant hand was very red, both from the burns and from scrapes. With a groan, Kagome realized she'd drawn blood and burned herself bad enough to blister for the first time. This would take real bandaging after she'd cleaned up. It was very likely this would be her first lantern scar.
Her grandfather in Tokyo had his. Uncle Mattaki's hands had been riddled with his own set. Kagome had avoided them, avoided this when she was younger. Her hands had been so important for her dreams, her future. She sighed and swallowed as her stomach constricted tightly with the reminder of what Inuyasha's fit had cost her. She clamped her hands tightly over the edge of the hamper and took a few deep breaths.
The past was over and gone. It couldn't be changed and she couldn't have any present but the one she lived now. Kagome repeated the words to herself, adding rounds of positive thoughts to build herself back up. When she first came here, her depression was disabling. She was exhausted all of the time, more than just her recovering wounds would warrant. She hid away from everybody for months, trying to pull the pieces of herself out of the shattered heap left in the wake of a broken ambition. She couldn't risk the health and safety of others with her shaking hands and numbed finger tips.
Her mother had tried to encourage her to take on some other medical path. Higurashi Akina had insisted Kagome could be a nurse or a physician's assistant. Kagome slowly let go of her tight grip on the clothes hamper. Her mother couldn't seem to understand that having her dream within reach before being yanked away from her made it impossible to work so closely with others who had achieved that dream. To constantly rub salt in that wound would have rotted her soul until she was bitter and broken.
It wasn't that Akina didn't love Kagome. She'd just never fully understood. Sometimes people got stuck trying to hold things in one shape rather than allowing them to spread out and grow. Kagome seriously pursuing a career didn't fit the shape of things Akina desired for her children that day her father had left them.
Kagome didn't dwell on the what ifs of that day and it took her a long time to let go of the what ifs following Inuyasha's attack. Lamenting over what almost was didn't change it from never being.
Releasing a deep breath, Kagome stepped away from the hamper and into the bathing room. Reaching up, she twisted her hair up out of the way. She was in here to get clean and warm up. Much as she would like to soak and wash everything thoroughly, Kagome didn't feel comfortable leaving Sesshoumaru alone. Besides, wet hair wouldn't be conducive to getting warm and staying that way. She had quite a lot more of it than when in Tokyo.
Seven years with little more than the occasional trim left her with hair long enough to be fashionable several hundred years ago. Kagome supposed it was something else to mark her as different from the towns folk. Not that it took much, her hair was just something obvious for them to point at as a reason for whatever they wanted to say about her this season.
Kagome clicked on the hot water before dragging the stool out from where it was tucked against the wall. Reaching for her preferred scentless soap, she settled on the wooden surface still a little chilled, and turned on the hand sprayer and wet her wash cloth. Clicking the water back off, Kagome loaded the cloth with a dollop of liquid soap before working the cold square into a full lather. The soap stung her hand and brought tears to her eyes, but she knew better than to wuss out. The stone of the lanterns were cleaned yesterday, but that didn't mean they weren't still coated in germs and dirt. Animals left droppings everywhere and snow itself wasn't exactly clean. The lanterns had been covered in snow this morning, but the sun and the heat of the light had melted it off, leaving the resulting water to trace the contours of the stone inside and out.
Kagome sighed as she clicked the warmer water back on to wet herself before setting the sprayer aside and scrubbing herself down with the soaped rag. Damp skin prickled in the cool air and she wanted nothing more than to light the flame of the little burner for the tub and soak the cold and the aches of her labors away. Denying herself the luxury out of politeness for her unwanted guest, she shook her head and raised the sprayer again to rinse the suds from her body with the warmest water she could stand. Toes and fingers tingled with the rush of heat after being so acclimated to the temperature outdoors. One more prolonged rinse for good measure, Kagome wrung the soap out of her washcloth and hung it to dry before clicking the water off for the night and reaching for her overly fluffy towel to rub down and dry her skin.
Dressing quickly, Kagome checked her hand again to assess just what supplies she would need to address it properly. Her skin was red and the scrapes bled sluggishly. The blister remained whole and tender. Nodding to herself she dug out some antibacterial ointment, some gauze squares and medical tape. Carrying her supplies, Kagome exited the changing room and headed for the low table in her main living space for a clear work area. The counters in the changing room were littered with toiletries and items ready for mending. Oki and Naoki had a few toys scattered here and there where they would fit as Kagome preferred to keep the bathing room clear of unnecessary clutter when not in use.
Kagome wasn't sure what she expected when she reappeared after cleaning up. Perhaps Sesshoumaru would growl at her for taking so long. Or maybe he would tell her to go back and take longer like Natsuo did. It was possible he would take the first aid supplies from her and insist on treating her hand personally. Contrarily, he could criticize her for incurring the injury at all while still insisting on responsibility.
The Shrine network knew the elder son of Masashi didn't care to mingle with humans much. It wasn't a rare sentiment among youkai that lived so long. Humans were little more than blips in the vastness of their lives and investing emotion or effort to learn their personal peculiarities didn't seem to pay out much in the long term. Kagome could almost understand that. There were many humans who took personal insult at it though. She could understand the reasons for that point of view better. Neither were right. Neither were wrong.
She definitely didn't expect to find Inuyasha's older brother with his hand propping his head up and his eyes firmly closed. Disbelief swept through her upon viewing the scene. The table's contents sat untouched. The cozy over the teapot remained in place. The box of New Year edibles remained full with the chopsticks she'd left out settled over top of it.
Kagome snorted to herself as she settled to the tatami and placed her burdens on the flat edge. She knew kotatsu heaters could have a soporific effect but this was ridiculous. Sesshoumaru should be on high alert this close to her reiki. The shrine itself was imbued with the energies of past caretakers and the occasional miko attendant. Yet, there he sat, slumbering away. The lines that had unnoticeably marred his features smoothed out in the low light and restful state.
Then again, Ryoichi occasionally fell asleep during their visits. The higuma always insisted it was a result of unanswered exhaustion. Perhaps the Northern youkai daijin suffered the same problem. Many of the more powerful youkai put off sleep as unnecessary until it caught up with them and forcibly shut them down.
Shrugging her shoulders, Kagome went on with her evening. Her hand was anointed and bandaged up. Her belly was filled with kitsune made Osechi. The tea was poured into her cup, still plenty warm enough to be enjoyed. All of her dishes were transported to her sink and rinsed down. The left over Osechi was covered and set back on the counter before she fetched her futon from the closet to get ready for bed.
Through it all, the silver inu slept. Kagome wasn't quiet by any means but neither did she go out of her way to wake him. Eventually her bed time came and he still sat there, determinedly unconscious. With a sigh Kagome made the decision.
Moving back to the closet, Kagome dug out the blankets Oki and Naoki usually cuddled with. Laying a layer of cotton over the floor behind the youkai, Kagome reached to remove Sesshoumaru's tailored jacket from his shoulders. She loosened his collar, removing his tie and undid the buttons near his neck and cuffs. With motions practiced handling much smaller bodies, Kagome guided the inu back to lay on the thick blanket. She stepped away to hang up his jacket and tie before returning with a pillow she tucked under his head.
Sesshoumaru roused enough for the light to gleam off a sliver of amber before he fell back into the soft arms of Morpheus. Kagome paused a minute to see if he would wake again before throwing the second short blanket over top of him. She drew the edge of the kotatsu blanket up over the edge of the short blanket and insured he was fully covered before clicking off the heater under the table.
"Sleep well, Sesshoumaru-dono," Kagome sighed before moving to settle in her futon. She swiftly took down her hair and wove it into a loose braid to keep it in order while she slept. Turning out the light she settled in for some sleep. She wasn't sure how her guest would handle waking up in her shrine tomorrow. She didn't know if he would try to talk with her or if his schedule required Sesshoumaru to return to some other part of his territory.
Kagome had certainly never kept tabs on the higher ruling levels of youkai government so she didn't know what Sesshoumaru's schedule was normally like. All she needed to know was Ryoichi's rounds and Fujimoto Natsuo's nursing schedule. Sesshoumaru existed in her stratosphere, so far out of reach as to be relegated to the back of her mind. In Hokkaido, Tokyo was far away and all but insignificant in the day to day workings of her life. Sometimes following what the emperor did from morning to night was entertaining, but it was hardly necessary for her to know.
Kagome yawned before drawing her blankets up to her ears, waiting for her body heat to warm a comfortable space she could sleep in. Tomorrow was a another day.