See notes in First Chapter.
V
The shrill ring of an old fashioned land-line telephone cut through the quiet of dark early morning hours. Sesshoumaru attempted to leap to his feet only to knock knees against a low wooden surface. The thud of impact was followed by the muffled sound of the low table resettling against the floor.
Sesshoumaru had no idea where he was. He couldn't recall going to sleep. If he had done so willingly, the inu would have insured there was nothing to restrain him from getting back up amber eyes cracked open to stare into the opaque darkness enveloping the space around him.
Thoughts swept through his mind. Sesshoumaru couldn't comprehend what had caused him to fall asleep in an unfamiliar place. Usually he couldn't relax enough to rest unless Sesshoumaru was inside his allotted rooms, doors locked and windows barred. Too many assassination attempts from every strata of society had been made when he tried to sleep.
The rare occasions when Sesshoumaru woke to find himself in a new place, someone had been out to seduce or otherwise take advantage of him.
The inu breathed deep, drawing in information about his surroundings and the company he was keeping.
The soft sound of cloth rubbing against itself drew his gaze to the side where Higurashi had sat up. The female wearily rubbed her eyes as she moved to get out of the single futon present on the other side of the room. The chime for attention shrieked again and the human stumbled to the phone hanging up against the wall over her small refrigerator. It began a third ring as she picked it up and huskily called "moshi moshi," into the phone.
Almost before Higurashi could finish the customary greeting a slurred voice cut her off. The woman yawned before reaching for a tape recorder sitting on the flat white surface of the fridge. Raising the device she carefully clicked on a button before pressing the microphone to the ear piece of the phone receiver. The motions were practiced, indicating this was a common event.
The woman yawned and slouched back against the wall as she attempted to shake the weariness from her head. Her cracked eyes widened slightly in the dark before she reached to turn on the lights above the sink. Memory finally clicked and she sheepishly nodded at him before turning to face away from the inquisitive gaze of her guest.
Sesshoumaru's thoughts circled under his automatic suspicions at finding himself in this predicament. He hadn't consumed anything she'd set out the night before, and she hadn't touched him while he was awake. Reiki wouldn't have a tranquilizing effect on most youkai. There was no way for the woman to induce unconsciousness in his person, purposely or by accident.
Sesshoumaru could hear his brother's drunken voice whining across the room. He should have realized the hanyou brat would continue to harass Higurashi as soon as he knew where she was. Clearly, his half brother had been calling regularly if she was prepared to record calls in the middle of the night. Sesshoumaru didn't bother to hear individual words or phrases. Whether the brat was pathetically pleading or aggressively demanding, it all amounted to abuse of a woman that wanted nothing more from Inuyasha than to be left alone.
Sesshoumaru looked away from her slight figure to glance down at himself.
He sat at the table covered in blankets he didn't recognize. His jacket was missing, and while his buttons were partially undone, Sesshoumaru was still clothed beyond that. He had to check. Almost every time he woke up in the company of others, Sesshoumaru's body had been indecently exposed, occasionally restrained, and littered with small wounds on more than one occasion.
Sesshoumaru's distrust was well-learned.
But Kagome hadn't taken any real liberties with his person beyond insuring his comfort and preventing wrinkles in his jacket. She had covered him and made sure he was shielded from the chill of the unheated room after she responsibly snapped off the under table space heater.
Sharp ears picked up the electronic chirp of her rice maker coming on. It had been set to make part of her breakfast at this time which left him wondering at the hour. The night still hung heavy outside. Surely it was too early for a normal human schedule.
Kagome hung up the phone and clicked the off button on her tape recorder. Popping the cartridge out, she uncapped a marker whose scent burned his nose several feet away at the table. The felt tip squeaked over the plastic as she labeled the recording. Her hand swept up to cover another wide yawn before she set her micro-tape in a box seemingly filled with similar items. Unwrapping a new one, Kagome placed it in the recorder and returned it to the top of the fridge under the phone.
The Jinja no Sewanin stumbled tiredly out of sight for a few minutes. When she returned her face was freshly scrubbed and Kagome was carrying her shrine robes on a hanger, patting the cloth over for damp or dirt. The garments were hung from the shelf in the slightly open closet before she returned to the kitchen cupboards with a yawn.
Both her small hands swept over her face to rub at her eyes and forehead before she washed them in the small sink. "Good morning, Sesshoumaru-dono," she greeted him before kneeling to pull out more ingredients for her breakfast. "Are you hungry?"
"This Sesshoumaru does not eat food prepared by others," he replied flatly. It wasn't due to prejudice or disparity of diet. Experience had taught him that others could not be trusted with anything he would ingest. Too many attempts to poison, intoxicate, or otherwise influence his health and mental state were made by means of consumption. Tea was his only exception and that was usually a quiet subterfuge to stymie general criticisms about his manner. He never drank it. A cup would sit in front of him untouched until it was stone cold and he was ready to leave. Very few were trusted with even the preparation of hot water.
"I can understand that," she hummed absently as her ingredients settled on the counter and she went about preparing them. A single set of dishes waited for her use beside a modest sized bento box she filled concurrently. "I had a friend in high school who was the same way. Eri had suffered too many episodes of food poisoning and allergic reactions as a result of food accepted from restaurants and even well known friends. She found it hard to trust anyone else with her food." Her hair was falling out of the loose braid but it remained back enough to avoid impeding her work. "I imagine your reasons are similar."
Sesshoumaru blinked at the comparison. He couldn't be certain if her friend was human or youkai; both species could become ill from wrongly handled foods or have bad reactions to certain types of ingredients. He'd never much liked being classed with anyone else for any reason. It was likely a result of having such associations made between first himself and his father, then later between himself and Inuyasha. He was his own person, preferably in a category by himself.
"I have some vegetables and meat in the refrigerator. The vegetables came from the grocer in town and the meat was delivered to me by Ryoichi. Most of his latest provisions, I sent into town to help feed Oki and Naoki until day after tomorrow. I have more rice if you want it too," Kagome shared. "You are free to make use of my dishes and the counter when I'm done."
Sesshoumaru watched her as she filled up the sink with soapy water and set her rinsed dishes from last night in the low basin. As she worked on her breakfast more dishes were added to the collection until she removed her uncovered bento and breakfast to the table.
Before he could move, she was back at the sink carefully washing and rinsing the soiled dishes. The drying rack attached to the wall quickly filled with wet items dripping gently into sudsy water below. In very little time, Kagome pulled the stopper from the drain and returned to her table, absently yanking off the soaked bandages on the back of her hand as she went.
"How bad is the injury?" he almost reached to see for himself. Sesshoumaru wasn't one to engage in tactile interactions, his concern was mildly confusing. He felt responsible, which was nothing new. Responsibility had been a cornerstone of his life seemingly since birth. He had always been responsible for something whether it be his own honor and lessons or the well-being of his half of his father's territory. Responsibility had never driven him to touch anyone needlessly before.
"I'll live," she replied nonchalantly. Kagome dug into her meal, seeming to savor each individual bite. "Did you want tea?" she asked him.
"Hn, would it not have been better to ask before you sat down to eat so you could enjoy some?" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her timing.
"I'm not having any. If I did, I'd be inclined to linger over it and I don't have the time," she answered. "I need to get outside and break up any ice that has formed over the purification trough, set out the dippers, clean up the lanterns and restock them with fuel so they're ready to light when the time comes. I need to sweep the grounds, check for any snow or ice collected in dangerous areas and all before the volunteers start arriving in a little under two hours."
"Should not such tasks be handled by your volunteers?" Sesshoumaru pointed out, he couldn't understand not making use of the people who had offered assistance.
"My few volunteers will have enough to fill their day without those tasks. The charm stall has to be manned at all times and the amazake table needs to be set up and maintained. Someone has to watch the purification trough and manage the traffic flow, and it cannot be me," Kagome informed him monotonously. "I'm needed in my capacity as a shrine official to greet the visitors and offer direction while overseeing everything else." She set her chopsticks down and settled the lid over the bento before resuming her meal. "As it is, there are not enough volunteers to support covering everything in shifts. Whoever manages each booth will be stuck there all day or else I'll have to close it."
"The kitsune-" Sesshoumaru began, only to be cut off by the Higurashi woman.
"The youkai who secretly live in Nishi no Mura will do what is necessary to remain unobtrusive," she stated firmly. "This is a small town far away from Sapporo and any other large population centers where youkai mixing into human society is out in the open and generally accepted. The news we receive here is only the sensational crimes and politics. Do you know what these rural people hear about Tokyo and Kyoto and other large cities?" Her words took on an edge of frustration. "Every bombing, every string of murders, every major crime that destroys property and lives is perpetuated or caused by youkai. They hold it as simply something crazy that happens in cities because they haven't the sense to keep the youkai outside of town."
"Those sentiments went out of mainstream decades ago," Sesshoumaru told her incredulously.
"This place isn't mainstream, Sesshoumaru-dono," Kagome shrugged. "Here when they hold suspicions of someone for not being born here, the whispers hint at youkai ancestry for explanation."
"They believe you are youkai?" Sesshoumaru was tempted to laugh. It was absurd to believe Higurashi could be mixed with anything not completely human. She was far too average in all things except reiki and its associated hardiness.
"I believe the latest tales the teenagers were whispering had me as a bakeneko," she was clearly amused by the depiction. "I was apparently born from a cat my uncle's daughter raised before she died. My cousin was allergic to cats and she died years ago with no reason to seek any kind of revenge." Kagome smiled at him smugly, "Before that, I was a yukionna, come down from the mountains to deceive the towns people and plague them with harsh winters. I didn't even have the romantic tragic story of being jilted by a man I loved, I was just spiteful."
"Hn," he hummed, considering her words. It was laughable that such ignorance still existed. Yes, certain animals and objects could take on youki if the circumstances were just right, but it was very rare. It was more common for a youkai to be born in the natural way. To become youkai was far too uncertain to be able to plan it. One couldn't just decide to hinge hopes for revenge on a pet or a favorite garment. The change was often the result of chance rather than determination.
"I let them talk and scare themselves all they want," Kagome stood and reached for her robes. "When they aim to expose me as youkai they search for a proof of something that isn't there. Better their eyes pin suspicions on me than on ones who can be severely injured by their gossip."
Sesshoumaru knew there were several youkai families in the local town. They had lived there for centuries among the humans and were still subject to the occasional gossip. They were different from their neighbors in that they fostered their children with extended "family" and reciprocated the custom. The practice was well known in Nishi no Mura and wasn't questioned much, but it was different and set them apart. It irked him slightly that his people were being protected by someone else in such a way. But Higurashi was right. The gossips could never prove she was youkai so better they put their efforts trying to in her direction than at ones who could be exposed.
It was only a dangerous situation if the humans had cause to become violent. Even then, shrine families were protected by the respect of their position. Kagome would not likely come to physical harm under their covert persecution.
"There are three kitsune leashes in Nishi no Mura and one tanuki tribe," she added. "They police themselves from pulling too much mischief on the wrong people. It's the koorigamo I'm having to focus on right now."
"The birds on the far side of the marsh?" Sesshoumaru questioned. He was only passingly familiar with the wild youkai boundaries in the area. The treaties in this region were stable and usually required little effort to enforce. Most of the non-humans remembered the reasons the restrictions were in place. Most of the humans had no reason to encroach on youkai inhabited territory.
"Every few years or so you get a new crop of koorigamo ready to nest, adding to the competition for space on the shore," Kagome nodded. "I found Naoki because of one unlearned male. He'd decided to remove himself from the competition by moving to the side no one else was looking to nest on. I had to shoo him back, but a few others have happened upon the enterprising idea. Luckily, there have been no humans caught in the middle yet. I do not want to try to mediate the situation after someone's child has been injured or killed." She didn't have the confidence of her fellows in town.
"Hn," that could erupt into a set of events far too similar to the last domestic war. Sesshoumaru took note of the situation to look into while she pulled the robes on over the thermal garments she'd slept in.
"I've spoken to Ryoichi and the elders of the flock," Kagome shrugged her loose sleeves into place. "Ryoichi makes a sweep of the near side of the pond on every visit and the elders are trying to educate the reckless young males about the dangers involved. Their efforts have limited efficacy." Her robes smoothed out to her satisfaction, the little female bent to fold up her futon and return it to the closet.
"We still need to speak of your problems with Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru changed the subject. Others had done everything they were allowed to do for the situation. There was little more that could be done until an incident occurred. If Ryoichi caught one of the ducks on the wrong side of the marsh, he could physically eject the trespasser. The elders could only advise the youngsters against the risk, prevention on their part was unlikely as there were only so many elders in a flock and far larger numbers in the younger generation. They couldn't watch every one all the time. It was a bigger problem when the younger generations failed to revere the teachings of their elders. There were far too many new adults that believed they knew better than all the ones who went before and survived what the world had thrown at them.
"It'll have to wait for evening," Kagome declared, her hands freeing her hair from the frazzled braid before tying it back with the traditional paper. "My day is full."
"This needs to be discussed," he insisted. Sesshoumaru wanted to know her thoughts on why the original report had been lost by the two agencies entrusted with it.
"And this shrine needs me available to receive patrons all day," came her smart reply.
"Surely you plan to break for a meal at mid day, we can-"
"We can't, Sesshoumaru-dono. I will not be breaking until well past sunset. Just like yesterday. The same will hold true for tomorrow as well," Kagome cut in which he chose to excuse.
"This Sesshoumaru only has a break in duties for this time. Day after tomorrow, this one's responsibilities must be resumed," he generously explained, certain that the knowledge would induce Higurashi Kagome to alter her stance.
"The reason you were able to orchestrate a three day break over the first days of the year is because even youkai observe traditional behaviors surrounding time with kin, performing the patrol duties of shrine families in rural areas they are too busy to conduct, and even visiting shrines to help maintain the illusion of being human for their neighbors." Kagome turned to raise a sardonic eyebrow at him. "Natsuo's whole public family came out early yesterday to pay their visit and collect Naoki and Oki." She turned her attention to the table clearing her breakfast dishes from the space before reaching for the first aid materials to re-bandage her hand. "You're welcome to stick around all day to speak with me tonight. I still have some of Uncle Mattaki's robes you can wear if you want to wash your clothes. They might run a little short, but they are clean and we can tell people who ask you're a visitor from the city."
"This Sesshoumaru is youkai," he pointed out blandly. It was strange that she would encourage him to expose his presence at her shrine after detailing how unreceptive the local humans were of non-humans.
"Your human form is well done," Kagome smirked at him as she cut gauze to fit over her abrasions. "I'm certain you are familiar with the reactions your appearance gains from most females and a handful of males. If you remain reticent and ignore most of them, the locals will treat you like a passing rock star. The remaining few who aren't influenced completely by your image will decide how to view you based on your behavior and treatment towards the ones in the crowd they individually care most about." Carefully, she taped the gaze down with medical tape before flexing her hand to judge the fit. "So long as you are polite and aloof, there shouldn't be a problem. No one will become jealous, aggressive, or offended. You won't be here long enough to be accessible or catch anyone who thinks you should be open to a relationship with anyone but me who they will presume is your reason to be here."
"Will not that make things more difficult for you?" he felt compelled to ask.
"Not really," Kagome shrugged as she set her medical scissors and other supplies back into their box. "According to local gossip, every scandal to sweep through the community since my arrival has been laid at my door step. I've apparently broken up a half dozen marriages, aborted three pregnancies and eaten the principal's pet goat around the time of last year's graduation ceremony down at the middle school. My coming here was the result of a jilted lover, a broken marriage, or because a wealthy man paid me to stay away from his son." She sighed, "Having anyone visit me for anything beyond shrine business will always be twisted to look badly on my character. You could be my younger brother, my grandfather, or even my mother. Somehow the rumors would end and begin in a nefarious tone and include some sexual element."
"Surely not," Sesshoumaru barely refrained from showing a strong reaction to her words.
"It would only titillate the story tellers more if they knew they were talking about me with a family member," Kagome huffed. "There were certainly plenty of stories about me and my uncle while he was alive. Some persist. I live alone without known witnesses. Every summer since his passing the children tell tales about me resurrecting my uncle's ghost. The adults take it further."
"That is disgusting," the words escaped him.
"It is my reality," Kagome shrugged. "There were many people who had their aspirations disrupted by my appearance up here. At least half a dozen families insist Mattaki would have chosen their beloved son to inherit if I hadn't bewitched him into thinking I was family enough to succeed him." She stood up from the low table and headed for the low shelves by the door to pull on her waiting gloves and grab up a metal bucket. "People like to think they are closer to inheriting respected positions than they ever were if not for the existence of some undeserving person in their way." She stepped into her shoes before reaching for the door. "If you decide to stay and wash your clothes, my uncle's clothes are in the bin on the shelf above my futon. Shrine robes would be ideal if you intend to stay in the shrine. Street clothes would work better if you intend to go into town and check on Naoki and Oki. I wouldn't suggest trying to do both immediately. You are too distinctive in your coloring for visitors not to make the connection without greater effort to disguise yourself. As it is, visiting the Fujimoto family might be a problem if anyone in town is familiar with what the daijin looks like. You are a favorite of the press in some of the more respectable news publications."
Satisfied that Sesshoumaru would be fine on his own, Kagome stepped outside and shut the door on any further attempts to steer the conversation back to his desired topic.
With no one around to see, Sesshoumaru glared at the door. He hadn't expected Higurashi Kagome to be so evasive concerning her own troubles with Inuyasha. She was open about everything else in her life. She was transparent about the youkai situation in her purview and the local people's opinion of herself.
His eyes widened as Sesshoumaru realized something. Kagome was open about things that were currently in her life. She was focusing on the present, almost desperately so.
Genkei had insisted, Kagome wouldn't want to talk about Inuyasha's attack. The wound was large and long in healing. The hanyou had torn a hole in more than her arm. He'd ripped her world apart and hadn't even given her the courtesy of putting her out of her misery. She was surviving, and in some moments Kagome managed to counterfeit happiness so well it was almost real.
Sesshoumaru doubted Kagome had been so balanced immediately after becoming aware of her nerve damage and what it meant. He doubted she'd found it easy to settle into a lifestyle she had previously rejected. There was no way she could have with the locals set against her for assuming a respected community position so many others had their eyes on.
She wasn't being evasive because she didn't want to talk to Sesshoumaru. It was the time frame Kagome rejected. It was anything about her past before relocating. The only reason she had bothered to inform him of the report made was because Inuyasha had been present to force the issue.
The brat was still present, golden eyes shifted to the box of tapes she'd added to that morning. Drawing the small blanket from where it had rested all morning over his shoulders, Sesshoumaru stood up from the floor. White socked feet padded over to her small kitchen space to investigate.
The box wasn't hidden as it laid atop the small refrigerator. It hadn't seemed very big from across the room, and in reality it wasn't any bigger than a commercial shoe box. It only seemed large when one considered how many tapes were required to fill it and the sheer number of unwanted calls they represented. Inuyasha had resumed his schedule of harassment as soon as the brat made it home. All of the cartridges were labeled with dates and times. Each one cataloged anywhere from two to four separate calls. Sometimes the inconsiderate hanyou called more than once in a single twenty four hour period. Sometimes he skipped a couple days then called at one or two in the morning.
Any other woman, Sesshoumaru would advise to change her number and keep it unlisted. Shrine families had to have a listed land line upon which government officials and other shrine families could contact them. Inuyasha was a youkai daijin which meant her tormentor would always have a way to contact Kagome. She couldn't block his number, as ineffective as it would be, or she would be violating that rule. She couldn't install caller ID and refuse to answer his calls. The brat went through phones like a toddler went through candy.
Besides which, even an incompetent fool knew how to get around such efforts. All Inuyasha would have to do is borrow a phone or use one of the public phones out on the street. An answering machine wouldn't really do her any good, and voice mail was generally frowned upon by the Shrine school and monitoring body.
It made Sesshoumaru consider how often shrines received harassing or prank calls. The only protection the shrines had was related to the general respect of the community for the service they provided. It was certainly not enough. Clearly, it didn't protect against stalking.
Sesshoumaru strangled a growl at the situation. He may not have heard every single individual word in this morning's call, but he recognized the emotional manipulation being attempted. Inuyasha's mother had been prone to similar schemes. In Izayoi it never went this far. She never pursued something this much. She respected certain boundaries where Inuyasha saw none worth stopping for.
Sesshoumaru had been glad Masashi never mated his human fling. Izayoi was far too childish to hold a position of respect in youkai society. She couldn't see beyond her own wants to the greater needs of his father's people and never mastered diplomacy. Her humanity wasn't even the biggest issue as far as youkai nobility was concerned. Izayoi was a bit of fluff, lacking substance in every way that mattered.
Inuyasha was a bit more than his mother given the length of time spent growing up beyond her lifespan. It had not seemed to counteract the original influence she'd had on his personality, rather only managed to ingrain her negative traits even further.
Slender fingers shuffled the clunky plastic a bit to study the dates, memorizing the earliest ones and wishing for an actual calendar to map out the patterns of contact. Sesshoumaru doubted Inuyasha was drunk for every call. He doubted the boy whined in every try at persuasion. There was more than one way to coerce a person, as the inu well knew. Inuyasha was brash and reckless. Where Sesshoumaru could gauge what strategy for persuasion might work most effectively on a person of Kagome's temperament, Inuyasha wouldn't think in such a linear fashion. As often as the boy tried to convince Kagome he needed her with his whining, no doubt Inuyasha called to berate and demean her into coming back to him because she couldn't do better. Both were abusive lies, schemes she had clearly seen through at least a dozen times. Inuyasha wouldn't step back and try thinking of another tactic to try, he would just continue to alternate between the two erratically, depending on his mood or the progress of his day.
Sesshoumaru sighed quietly before leaving the box of tapes alone. It was curious as to why Kagome would tape the calls and keep them. Clearly she had no intention of giving them to her local police. There were too many present, this had gone on for too long. Beyond which, Inuyasha couldn't stalk her locally so the local offices could take no action beyond issuing a restraining order that wouldn't accomplish much. Sesshoumaru was a bigger deterrent.
No one in local authority knew the history of the situation. It was unlikely they would work with the Tokyo branches even if they did. Tokyo had proven their incompetence and unwillingness to give Kagome's complaint due process. What investigation had been conducted was by her personal agents: family, friends and contacts. There was no reason for her to trust in the efficacy of outside parties. She was incredulous that Sesshoumaru was looking into it.
Deciding against preparing himself a repast, the inu approached the closet in search of the robes she'd promised. Wearing his clothes a second day without freshening up, was distasteful to him. Besides, if he was going to linger around the shrine, Sesshoumaru was determined to keep busy and his clothing was far too expensive for the type of activity he was likely to find.
Higurashi had indicated she was short handed. Perhaps she would be more amenable to discussion if Sesshoumaru helped to alleviate her problem. Life had taught him there were many ways to achieve what he wanted. Persuasion could take many shapes. With some it required munificent awards to charity. Others required PR assistance. A few succumbed to wisely measured flattery. Perhaps Kagome would bend to a show of his willingness to act on her voiced difficulties.
Sesshoumaru couldn't blame the human female for dismissing his personal interest in the injustices of her situation. Most officials were given to offer boons and action that never happened. Many of Masashi's own court and council were prone to dance verbal circles around making a solid promise over anything.
Clawed hands pulled out the colorless robes that smelled of recent washing. Higurashi seemed very thorough in her year end cleaning. Sesshoumaru held the haori up against his torso to check for size. Most humans lacked the breadth of shoulder to fit comfortably on him. Traditional robes were looser in ever way, increasing the chances he would be moderately respectable in them. The hakama proved short, as Kagome had suggested. If he wore the socks tucked into the bin beside the robes, it would be less notable than if he wore his own stark white ones.
Sesshoumaru headed for the changing room and the promised washer. He wouldn't wash his suit pants or jacket, the fabrics required special treatment, washing everything else would have to be enough.
The bathtub tempted. It was rare when Sesshoumaru had the time or the traditional facilities available to him for a proper bath. Places he stayed during the course of his duties rarely were so well equipped. Often, if such amenities were present they were also public and therefore far too hazardous for him to use. His father's house, despite its age and grandiose proportions, was of a western style in all aspects. Masashi seemed to prefer his grooming to be quick and efficient even when he had the luxury for more.
Sesshoumaru's own apartments were deficient in this one aspect as well. It was so very tempting to take advantage of Higurashi's hospitality. It was even more tempting to plan to take advantage in future as well, to build into his busy schedule some recurring excuse to journey this far out of his way just so he could partake of that tub.
"Hn," Sesshoumaru snorted against the thought. There were not many inu who were so fond of soaking in water. There were many who liked to swim and others who enjoyed a run in fresh smelling rain. Sesshoumaru had been whispered to be odd for enjoying a good soak in steaming water. He didn't mind those other pleasures provided the water wasn't cold. He spent most of his time in the north where all water seemingly was. There was also the issue of privacy. All Sesshoumaru's leisure pursuits were subject to the intrusion of either unwanted amorous attention or sudden urgent business. Running through rain was very public and swimming...There were not many bodies of water Sesshoumaru felt comfortable spending time in outside regardless of temperature.
Having an exceptionally sensitive nose and the ability to identify all that was detected, Sesshoumaru knew exactly what contaminated the rivers, bays, and seas surrounding Japan. He didn't need to have scientific tests run to tell him. The waters of Higurashi's soaking tub smelled clean, likely a result of regular exposure to her reiki. If not for his strong desire to get to the bottom of Kagome's lost complaint against Inuyasha, the inu would have performed a thorough grooming just to soak in that tub.
Instead, Sesshoumaru thoroughly freshened up and donned the approved robes before dropping the removed articles into the washer. Taking note of the time on his expensive watch, the northern daijin pointedly strode out of the changing room in search of appropriate shrine footwear. His shoes were a shiny, polished leather, perfect for completing a distinctive impression. They were not meant for standing and walking over gravel and pavement for prolonged periods of time.
Higurashi's intention was for him to appear on shrine business, shrine officials did not wear expensive, foreign made shoes manufactured out of animal hide. At least not when they were wearing traditional robes observing shinto rites.
In a small cubby next to the door, Sesshoumaru found a spare set of geta that appeared to be comparable in size to what he needed. Sliding them on his feet, he paused to get a feel for the fit and balance. Satisfied, the silver inu reached for the door, sliding it open before striding into the two day old new year.