Title: A Christmas to Remember
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and Co.
Summary: "Tell me Higurashi, did you and the mythological Lord have tea together?" Her teacher asked sarcastically. "No professor, The Lord of the Western lands and I never had tea together, although we did spend Christmas together." was her simple reply. S/K
A/N: So, I was writing, and writing, and then writing some more. Usually chapters are like 1000 words. This one was not. I couldn't stop. So, I actually forced myself to stop writing. I apologize for the oddly lengthy chapter. Enjoy!
There had been a connection between them ever since that Christmas—ever since Rin. After everything that had happened, he was not so naïve as to think that such a thing would just go away. Clearly, it hadn't. If anything, the occurrence in his bedroom had proven such a thing. He had told himself that he would not court her or persue her in any way. He would simply be in charge of her training, and protection.
Instead, it seemed that the stubborn miko had taken up the task herself.
Sesshoumaru wondered if she realized what her actions told him. Or what her behavior screamed to any youkai. Had even she even realized yet? After all this time, it seemed that she was was perhaps ready to take a mate. When he had met her in the Feudal Era, she had not been ready for such a task. Back then, she may have thought she had been. But she was far from it.
Now, her body had nearly screamed for such a thing.
Searching.
Calling out.
Assessing.
It was almost ironic how her behavior had mirrored that of a demoness in waiting. At first, he had nearly missed the signs. When she had initially awoken, her change of breathing had stirred him from his sleep. He had not needed to look around to realize the situation at hand. When emotions had overtaken her, he had soothed her and aided her in her distress. All the while protecting her. He was her alpha after all. He wondered if she was aware of the reasoning behind his actions. Had she understood how important her protection was to him? Or how thankful he had been for the love that she had so freely given to his ward? The least he could have done was soothed her sadness. Therefore, he had. He had held her, allowed her to shed her tears, and even mirrored her emotions.
This had been her time to mourn her.
So, he had allowed such feelings to be brought out. He had allowed himself to mourn with her. Then, they had rested. He had thought it to be finished. Yet, even when she thought him to be asleep, she had continued with her display of sadness.
The scent of such was everywhere.
Naturally, he had done what any alpha would have done. He had told her to cease such behavior. However, not before throwing out his youki to inform her that he would protect her. There was no need for such sorrow. Their ward had been mourned. Both of them had understood the others sorrow. He had appreciated her display of emotion. That had been one of the reasons for becoming her alpha. Now, as such, he had responsibilities to her.
Protect her body. Her heart. Her soul.
When he had thrown out his youki to calm her, he had thought it would have little to no effect. At least not affect her in a way that it would have on a demoness. It had been done to ensure she understood of the protection she was granted. It was meant to sooth her. Nothing else. Instead, she reacted in a way that a demoness would have. For a human, throwing out youkai to ensure protection meant nothing. For a demoness, it had been something much different. It was an action that resulted in choices. She could accept her alphas protections, or desire for something more. That was the way of the youkai. They could always fight for more. Only if they were worthy, of course.
Instead of settling down, and resuming her rest, she had done something he would have never expected. He had granted her protection, and instead of utilizing it, she had instead drawn closer to his body. Examined him and assessed him. Almost as if contemplating her next step.
It was something a demoness would do.
Her first action had been to demand closeness. He could have easily denied such a request. As alpha, it was well within his power. Instead, he had watched her with confusion and intrigue. Sure enough, she had slowly drawn herself to him when he did not deny her such a privilege. Depending on different youkai breeds, closeness could be irrelevant, or extremely important. For a miko, it seemed to be the latter.
For a brief moment, he waited to see if this was the end of her requests. For a demoness, it wouldn't have ever been enough. When one demanded more, they demanded all. Once again, she followed such steps of youkai court.
She had brushed his lips against his. Displaying her intentions, he knew quickly what it was she was asking for. Intimacy. When his shock had resulted in hesitation of answers, she took matters into her own hands. She had repeated her actions but with much more insistence. Showing him she held confidence in her decision. Ensuring an answer from him.
How, or why she mirrored the actions of a demoness in waiting was beyond him.
Why he allowed such a thing to continue baffled him even more.
He could have pulled away. He could have ceased her advances. In fact, he could have easily walked away when she demanded protection, intimacy and answers. Oddly enough, that had been the farthest thing from his thoughts. When she had asked with her actions if she was worthy of his affections, his beast had given an answer before he could. They had both deemed her worthy.
Instead, Sesshoumaru attempted to show her what it was she had requested. He needed her to see that it would not be soft, or gentle. He was a Daiyoukai. There was strength in everything he did. This was no different. Once again, she handled his actions in a way he had not expected.
She had submitted to him without hesitation.
She had encouraged his actions. Then she had pulled away, only to turn around and bare her neck to him. For a moment, he had thought he would lose control completely. Somehow, he hadn't. Holding onto the little control he had, he acknowledged her offer and yanked her back to him.
She was his.
She had offered.
He had accepted.
Needing the confirmation, he had grabbed the back of her neck to address what she had offered him without so much as hesitation. This was his to accept? Did she understand? Her whimper of pleasure had been the only answer he needed.
He should have taken her then and there.
But, he knew better.
He needed to be sure she understood.
It was with those thoughts that he removed himself from his miko. He had known better than to look back at her as he walked towards the doors. If he had, his control would have slipped. He would have changed his mind no doubt. He would have taken her up on the offer that she so generously gave. Instead, he reeled his beast him. He told himself to have patience.
Then, he had turned the moment into a lesson.
"Be wary of your actions, Miko. One might get the wrong idea and think you are attempting to court your alpha."
With those words, his task had been accomplished. She could no longer be naïve about the situation. Even if she had somehow been unaware of her actions, she was not able to be so anymore. He had informed her of what transpired. He would not hold back if she were foolish enough to let such an event happen once more. With those words, he had left the room—attempting to calm his beast. Had the miko realized that she was blurring the lines between an alpha and potential mate? While such an event happened often in youkai society, this was different.
He had offered his protection, and she had all but demanded more.
He had sat in the kitchen for what seemed like forever. Typically, a demoness would either back off or be livid at the thought of being rejected. Yet, he had not really rejected her. If anything, he had accepted her advances.
In fact, he had simply warned her of what the next steps would consists of.
He had wondered if she would sulk, or be embarrassed. Maybe she would even choose to ignore everything that had occurred—knowing her, that was also a viable option. When he heard her footsteps approaching, he sniffed out for emotions. Nothing. No anger. No embarrassment. Baffled, Sesshoumaru waited for her to enter the room.
The moment he saw her face, he knew what was occurring.
She had entered the kitchen without a word, but her eyes locked with his—and they did not waver. She held the gaze while proceeding to get herself a cup of tea. As she sat down, she continued with the silent treatment and the heated gaze.
Had he not had such control over himself, he would have chuckled. Perhaps even smirked.
The miko was challenging him.
As she sipped her tea, he wanted nothing more than to laugh at her childishness. Her ego was not wounded, her feelings were not hurt, but instead, she seemed to all but call him out on his recent decision. She was annoyed at his decision. At his actions.
The audacity this one had.
"Tell me, are you planning on pouting during the council meeting as well, Miko?"
He had meant to say it playfully. The entire purpose of such a statement was to get her to speak, as well as acknowledge the events scheduled for the day. Yet, her expression did not falter. Instead, she simply shrugged in a nonchalant manner. He narrowed her eyes at her implication.
Silence.
A challenge of silence.
Two could play that game.
Her behavior had continued throughout the entire day.
The entire car ride.
In fact, the walk to the building where the council meeting had been held consisted of nothing but silence.
The miko was being ridiculously childish.
Accepting defeat just this once, he knew the issue had to be fixed—and quickly. The last thing he had needed was an angry miko in a building full of youkai. Grabbing her hand, he did not give her time to contemplate the action of stopping. Instead, he pulled her body into his.
Just this once, he would allow her to win the childish game she was playing.
Still, he could not help but hope she understood the importance of what she mentally complaining about. He was typically cool, collective and nothing short of logical. For this moment, he would allow her to see another side.
"Little miko, if you insist on becoming frustrated from my behavior towards your affections then I suppose I shall happily accept them."
He had smelled her confusion, and then her shock—only to turn to embarrassment and frustration once more. His head could not help but spin from her constant change of emotions. He could hear her breathing deepend, and he was sure if he had not pulled her into his body—the her knees would have buckled.
But they didn't.
One of his arms had snaked around her waist and held her tightly; the other was currently tilting her chin. Forcing her to look up at him. When she weakly fought off his hand, Sesshoumaru released a low growl.
She was not allowed to behave in such a way.
She had offered. He had accepted. He had warned her. She had persisted.
Now he was apologizing.
She was not allowed to deny him now.
So he explained to her the situation that was before them—without words.
Since she so desperately wanted to act like a demoness, he would treat her as such. Once more, his lips crushed down on hers. Much rougher than before. Demanding. Explaining. Tilting back her head for a moment, he nipped at her neck to show her what needed to occur. Once again, she submitted with a whimper. The scent of arousal filled his nose. His beast purred in delight.
He had tried to warn her of her actions.
Yet, she had been stubborn.
Now they were here.
Pulling her hair to the side, he forced her to show her neck. "Is this what you want? Is this why you have been behaving like a child? Pouting at my lack of affections?" He had not meant to growl in her ear so seductively. He had not meant to purr.
Apparently, his beast had.
Yet she was not angered at his words. Her body had reacted instead of the miko herself. Instantly, her reiki intertwined with his youki in a manner similar to that of a demoness with her youki. Fighting for dominance. To show her worth. Both of their auras fought one another in the moment of passion. He had not expected it to be so exhilarating.
Perhaps if their surroundings had been different he would have shown her what she was asking for. But they weren't. In fact, a clearing of the voice had brought both the Miko and Daiyoukai out of their hazy moment of lust.
In front of them stood none other than Shinji Murasaki, whom at the current moment was attempting to hide his shock—or confusion for that matter.
To be fair, so was he.
All it had taken was the Lord of the Southern Lands to appear to get the miko back to normal. Every emotion but relief and happiness vanished within minutes. The scent of embarrassment had lingered the longest—but disappeared as the Daiyoukai began to speak. Sesshoumaru was well aware that the Inu was attempting to hide his shock.
"Kagome!" Shinji had said in an overly enthusiastic manner while glancing his way with questions in his eyes. Sesshoumaru merely ignored them.
The miko had started the courting process.
He had merely accepted it.
Still, the beast continued to purr in delight at the sight of the miko flushed and clearly still aroused. Whether she knew it or not, his scent was all on her—and not in an alpha manner.
Everyone but her would understand the scent. He could not help but wonder if that was perhaps why his beast was so unbothered by the attentions that the miko was receiving from the Lord of the Southern Lands. Even after Shinji had all but grabbed her hand and began beckoning the two inside, his beast still refused to stir.
Even Sesshoumaru himself paid little attention to such trivial affections.
Shinji knew better.
He was not attempting to receive affections from his miko.
He was merely being friendly—and curious.
For now, Sesshoumaru allowed it.
A/N: Guuuuuuuuyyysss! I apologize for the long chapter but I wrote this to show something. Every little thing that Kagome does seems to hold value in the actions of youkai. Not only that but also the fact that while Sesshoumaru may not be a man of many words...he is a man of many thoughts, lol. Poor Kagome is over here in a heated make out session, and then we have Sesshoumaru planning their entire courting process and the events of her becoming his mate, haha.