Push
Kagome woke up the next morning to Maiko prodding her to get up. After getting dressed, her maid shuffled her downstairs to the dojo.
She had begun to loathe these meditating practices. They never worked. Every time they would get close to a safe balance, something would trigger a response from Sesshoumaru, and it would end in disaster. She was sure this time would be no exception.
Sliding back the dojo door, she found Sesshoumaru already sitting seiza on the floor. She was not expecting, however, his mother to be accompanying them.
"Ah, the sleepy miko has finally decided to join us." His mother intoned.
Kagome debated for a moment, just turning around and leaving. She took a deep breath knowing she had no such option.
She approached the pair and bowed. "Good morning, Gobodo-sama and Sesshoumaru-sama."
Rin had instructed her to be more polite, thus she now referred to her as honorable mother. Kagome quickly sat down in front of Sesshoumaru, ready to get this over with. He held out his hands for to take. She softly laid her hands in his. His hands were warm, and the hum of his underlying youki familiar.
Kagome glanced around the room. "Where is Tortuga-sama?"
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "He's helping Rin with her provisions."
She grinned. "Ahhh, so you let her go?"
"She does as she pleases." He answered vaguely.
Her heart swelled with tenderness for him then. She squeezed his hands smiling with gratitude. He opened his eyes to see her glowing happy face.
He felt smothered by an emotion that affection was too weak of a word for.
"Hurry up. We don't have all day for idle chit-chat." His mother barked.
Kagome threw a dark glare her way, to which Manako seemed unaffected.
They both closed their eyes to begin the meditation. Kagome felt the familiar ick of his youki as it crawled up her arms, giving her goosebumps. Slowly, it spread out across her body, making her feel somewhat suffocated.
Sesshoumaru felt the moment she pushed back against his youki. The warmth of her reiki flowed down his body. He felt surprised that he felt no need to extinguish it. The reiki was now a feeling that he simply saw as an extension of Kagome.
"More, miko." His mother ordered.
Kagome frowned but followed her suggestion. She let her energy well up within her, before she let it spill out and over to him.
Sesshoumaru did not need prompting from his mother, and increased his youki to match her energy.
Kagome could feel that they were close to a fine equilibrium.
"More!" His mother barked. Kagome hesitated; they were so close, why push it?
Neither of them listened to Manako. They hovered at the line of harmony.
Manako frowned.
Kagome gasped when dark youki spilled down over her, like torrential rain in a storm. It wasn't Sesshoumaru's youki that choked her now, it was his mother's. The weight of two strong youki was too much for her. She took a deep breath and reached inside herself for that pure line of energy, and yanked it to the surface.
The air crackled and snapped with the raw energy around them. Her reiki pushed back against Manako's reiki, leaving Sesshoumaru's energy at her back. Kagome opened her eyes to see Manako's red eyes on her, furious. Sesshoumaru's eyes were angry as well. His fangs showed from his snarling mouth.
With a pop of air, he withdrew his youki from her, and the energy around them exploded.
Kagome cried out as blast threw her across the room, tumbling until she hit the opposite wall.
Sesshoumaru slid backward, his claws digging into the polished wood floor.
The place where they had been sitting was now a massive hole in the floor.
Kagome laid on the ground stunned. Her vision swam, and she felt nauseous. What happened?
A growl filled the air. Kagome rolled over and sat up holding her head.
"Sesshoumaru, I..." Manako started.
"How dare you." He grit his teeth, trying to control his anger. She had no right to do that to either of them! His mother had gone too far, and had injured the one he had sworn to protect.
Manako tossed a look over at Kagome. She looked so pathetic. She could smell the blood from where she was standing.
Bakusaiga appeared at her neck, and her eyes slid back to the sword at her throat. He watched in satisfaction as his mother's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Get. Out." He said with deadly calmness.
His mother turned to leave, but paused before she stepped through the door.
"I'll see the miko this afternoon." She said with a flourish, then door snapped shut behind her.
Sesshoumaru lowered his sword, and walked over to Kagome.
She touched the back of her head, and came away with blood.
"Damn it! Why? WHY did she have to do that?" She seethed. He knelt next to her, and gently felt for the wound on her head.
"It's a small abrasion. It'll heal quickly."
Kagome glanced his way. "You're not going lick the back of my head are you?"
He smirked. "No, this wound can heal on its own. However..."
"No! That's okay."
Thoughts of him holding her while he kissed her neck flooded her head. Heat crept up her neck. She felt faint and she closed her eyes, swaying.
"Can I just lie down?" She asked.
"Hn."
He slipped his arms under her knees and around her shoulders, and picked her up. The motion made her head pound.
Kagome vowed she would not throw up on Sesshoumaru.
"Where are you taking me?"
"The infirmary."
She was okay with that. She could handle dealing with Hanako, if it meant she could make her head stop hurting.
She relaxed against him. His fur was so soft against her face. She ran her fingers through the white fur on his shoulder, loving the downy feel of it.
"You're so fluffy."
Gold eyes slid down to her. "I could kill you for saying that."
"Hmm...yes but you probably won't."
He refused to admit that she was right.
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Author's Note: I certainly got a lot of mixed responses about Sesshoumaru and Kohaku. I love to read everyone's opinions and feedback. Sometimes it helps to bring things to my attention. So thank you everyone who took the time to review, it means a lot to me. Hopefully in the next few chapters, some of the questions you brought up will be answered. Enjoy!