SESSHOMARU BOUND
By Lady JenDragon
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Author's Notes: Crazy things have happened: moved, family member has been diagnosed with blood cancer, busy as hell with work, what else can happen now? Ok, read.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Unsealed
Around midnight, Sesshomaru lost in thought, realized the miko must be tired and would not walk anymore if they did not stop soon. Despite her lack of interest in talking to him, he found that the silence was more troublesome. She did not convey her inner thoughts typical of her species. It was simpler to understand her mood by the subjects she discussed on her end.
It was then that she stopped in her tracks and refused to budge. He felt the Bounder grow rigid and stopped. Though she said nothing, Sesshomaru knew full well the Human understood she possessed the upper hand with him now. This Bounder would not be kind until they found the key to remove it.
"Camp here." He spoke quietly.
Kagome merely nodded with a small high-pitched sound and took off her backpack. She began to make camp from out of her backpack near a thick tree. Since the night sky clouded up in the last few hours, she thought rain was a possibility. Fearing the possibility of getting wet, she pulled out the tarp she grudgingly brought with her at grandfather's request.
Perhaps it was a good idea after all.
She wondered how much longer it would be until she saw them again; Grandfather, mother and Sota? What was only days seemed like weeks ago. Kagome never expected her life to change so drastically as it had. And being stuck with Inuyasha's brother certainly put a damper on her plans. She would just have to seal the well after this nightmare ended.
How she would seal the well still eluded her but something would crop up sooner or later. Kagome jerked her head confident she would succeed. Someone had to know how this was accomplished.
With camp nearly set up, Kagome began to think of something that had been bothering her. Some would say she was spoiled maybe but she could not help thinking about it. Though tired from the journey, what she wanted more than anything was a nice hot bath. Probably not possible here but it was such a nice thought. She began to hum as she rolled her backpack to use it as a pillow.
In fifteen minutes, she made camp and washed her face using the wet wipes mother packed. She found a granola bar long thought lost at the bottom and quickly made it disappear. Brushing her teeth, she found Sesshomaru settled across the way, leaning against the tree. Kagome watched him for a few seconds as she finished the circular pattern over two minutes.
Rinsing her mouth out, she found herself thinking about Sesshomaru. He seemed his usual distant self. Not wanting to bother him with pointless small talk that he ignored anyway, she could not help wonder what he was thinking. He always kept his thoughts to himself and rarely did he venture to let anyone in.
"There are several hot springs fifty meters from here." Sesshomaru spoke evenly. "Well within the limits of the Bounder."
He smelled the waters from where he sat. The Humans liked the soothing hot water the springs offered for some reason. The water did not change their scent. But he did detect that her mood immediately cheered as happiness creeped onto her face. She nodded quickly and quickly gathered several articles of clothing together.
"That would be great!" Kagome said nothing more as she walked off excitedly.
Sesshomaru waited until the miko disappeared from camp to stand. His purpose for disclosing the hot springs was of his own agenda. Totosai had indeed been correct.
'Such an irritation that this Sesshomaru must bow to this Bounder.'
Yet he knew that to in order to survive, he must obey the rules. The Demon Witch knew what she was doing luring him to her lair. If the miko had not passed by, she may have had a different plan in place and attempt to kill him there.
Since the miko was chasing the Shikon Jewel shards, the witch believed she could take the shards and use them on the Bounder to secure his fate. Alas that fate was currently moving slowly at the expense of the miko's power. Yet, it was the witch's miscalculation that led to the Bounder not being completely sealed.
A fact he learned from Totosai.
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Totosai waited until Kagome left the cave, obviously frustrated that the Bounder remained around her neck. The old demon kept the conversation low and uninteresting on purpose. Sesshomaru showed little interest in keeping up the fasod and chose to say nothing in the presence of the miko.
"You know what must be done." Totosai said after several seconds.
Kagome appeared to have completely left.
"There is no getting around it." Scratching his chin. "But Fex didn't completely seal the Bounder."
"The Bounder is not sealed?" Sesshomaru's eyes rose from the floor.
Sesshomaru knew that Totosai's words to the miko were meant for her. There was an underlying meaning he did not bother to think about. The Swordmaker left the human on her own and allowed her think the worst scenario. Death.
"No." Totosai sighed. "She didn't have time to seal it or Kagome's powers were stronger than she estimated. I doubt she had time to really assess the jewel shards. Probably not enough power to really do what she wanted to the Bounder. Either way, the Bounder won't completely kill you. Just mostly."
"It will only leave this Sesshomaru weakened then." A small smile appeared on his lips.
"It can still kill you if you aren't careful." Totosai reminded the Dog Demon. "In the presence of Kagome, you don't know exactly what it will do. Fex did many tricky things with this Bounder in anticipation of your arrival at her den. She intended to kill you with it."
"This Sesshomaru killed her before the seal was completed." Sesshomaru bent his arm at the elbow and flexed his left hand slowly. "Her demise was fitting after all."
"The science of Bounders is still relatively unknown." Totosai began. "Not even your father knew how to break one. Considering he nearly got ensnared four times, he should have prepared you for this."
"Father and I did not agree on many things." Sesshomaru lowered his arm.
For many years, he believed his father lost his desire to fight. With the power of Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga at his side he could rule the world yet he sought no world domination. Many demons thought the Dog General mad for not exercising his tyranny on the lands of his clan and rule with an iron fist.
A lost opportunity indeed.
All because he lost his heart to a mere mortal. It was an obscene and severe insult to the clan enough that Father's ability to reign was diminishing. Yet few were willing to stand up to him and make him face the truth. Sesshomaru felt it his duty back then to lay the facts on the ground. They often debated about the purpose of power. His father chose to ignore his warnings and paid the price. All for a human woman carrying a half-breed.
During the formative years, Sesshomaru believed Inuyasha would be killed by another demon and the matter would sort itself out in the end. The son of the Dog General and a half-demon would annoy most pure-bloodline demons enough to warrant exterminating the young half-breed. A most annoying fact was that the child was allowed to live, despite his attempts to kill Inuyasha on several occasions that seemed to fail regardless of his powers.
"There was a lot you never agreed with your father on." Totosai smiled toothily. "That did not change his vision that you should grow up to be your own demon. Despite his power and reputation, he understood what it meant to be fair."
Sesshomaru lifted his eyes to Totosai.
"Fairness?" Sesshomaru questioned. "All that is fair belongs in the hands of the one who holds the power."
"Which is why Tetsusaiga was left to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru." Totosai shook his head. "Your father told me that until you learned to love, you would never understand true power."
Sesshomaru said nothing in full disagreement.
"Naraku possesses the other half of the Shikon Jewel, he usually does find a way to possess some portion of it." Totosai got back to the subject at hand. "But, I guess you already know that. You will need it to break the unsealed Bounder. You will also need Tetsusaiga as you guessed in addition to Tenseiga. The Fang Cross should take care of it if your father's understanding of Bounders is correct. But you need to break it before the time is up which I think is about three weeks. With Kagome's power as a miko, the triad of power should do the trick. The rules of the Bounder still apply in the mean time. I wouldn't tell Kagome anything about the rules."
Totosai paused.
"It might scare her." He looked at the Dog Demon. "Don't hurt her, Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru looked up at Totosai saying nothing.
He left the cave shortly after that finding the miko sleeping outside in the clothing bundled together into something called a 'sleeping bag'. Her serene and calm face reminded him of Rin, an older version of Rin. Would Rin grow up to look like this?
'A strange question for this Sesshomaru to have asked.'
Jaken would take care of Rin during his time away. He took that moment to walk away and leave the miko to rest outside Totosai's cave. She would be more open to traveling once she acquired more rest. The miko showed the ability to handle long journey's as along as she was allowed to stop to sleep and eat.
Humans required large amounts of resting time. It would be the miko explaining that humans required so much sleep to function properly during one of her many incesstuant ramblings that humans engaged in for communication on their way here. They remembered and learned things better in addition to making them less grumpy.
One of the stories was of her friends who were mending from Naraku's last battle with Inuyasha where the half-breed lost his memory of her. Sesshomaru remembered they stopped by for a visit shortly after they became bounded. It appeared she was hurt by Naraku's forgetfulness spell on Inuyasha. She did not come out and say the words but he deduced the likely conclusion. The reason that spurned her on to find the Shikon Jewel and return her home, he reasoned.
'Strange that this Sesshomaru remembered the human's ramblings.'
Sesshomaru stopped short of the hot springs. He fisted his left hand tightly knowing what he must do to live long enough to break the Bounder. Totosai was not completely correct. The Bounder could indeed kill him if he was not careful. Even unsealed a Bounder was still dangerous. Perhaps more so since it was not sealed properly leaving the Bounder's powers unchecked and capable of dispersing without warning.
Tetsusaiga and the Shikon Jewel were their objectives and in that order.
Inuyasha And Naraku would use the Bounder against him to the fullest of extent. The irritating inferior demon continued to be a nuisance to his lands, not just humans apparently. Their next meeting would require careful consideration. One thing was clear.
Naraku would die.
Sesshomaru felt it imperative to remove this deplorable creature from his lands. He would aid the miko in acquiring the Shikon Jewel, remove the Bounder, and send her home. There was no reason to kill the miko. For the time being.
Now, it was time to do what was required.
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Kagome sat in the hot spring, her hands resting on her abdomen. Heat penetrated every pore, every nerve, every muscle soothing the pains from the journey away. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath relishing the sensation of complete relaxation. Even her fingers felt loose and calm, the aches seeping out of her.
Now that she was relaxing, thoughts began to creep back into her mind. Not pleasant ones unfortunately. Kagome opened her eyes wondering if she would find the rest of the Shikon Jewel, get it from Naraku without getting killed, and go home. Never to see this place again, allowing history to write the stories she grew up reading.
Not that there were stories of demons that people believed actually existed. A way to explain the world in the eyes of the people who lived explained in a way they understood. Never in a million years did she expect to find them here. Yet she did not regret coming here and finding Inuyasha, Sango, KiRaRa, Miroku, Shippo, and the others. She did regret losing them at the moment to injury and spells.
Never had she felt more alone than now. Even having Inuyasha's brother as a companion did not seem like she was part of a group. He did things his way and did not care about the needs of others. Had she not been Bounded to him, she doubted he would have bothered looking at her.
Though he had demonstrated the capacity of being kind in the past, Sesshomaru did not offer it. He tolerated Jaken and seemed to silently and genuinely care for Rin. She could not deny that. But at what point would he let her go too? Kagome shook her head trying to focus on the matters that counted at the moment.
Getting Tetsusaiga and the Shikon Jewel from Naraku. Both would be difficult tasks. She did not relish seeing Inuyasha again. He was not kind, believing her some kind of demon in disguise. He remembered that Kikiyo was walking among the people and they were not the same person. Inuyasha responded violently towards her on their last meeting.
That was when she returned to Miroku and Sango recuperating at the temple. She learned then that Naraku placed some form of spell over Inuyasha before the battle ended last time they faced off. Inuyasha grunted that it was nothing, pushing past everyone and leaving. It took twenty-four hours before it took effect.
That hurt so much.
And now she would face him again when Sesshomaru went to retrieve Tetsusaiga. Taking another deep breath, she would not allow her thoughts to get the best of her. Inuyasha was not himself because of Naraku. Miroku and Sango were alive and mending. No one died even though it could well have turned out that way. She should be grateful for that fact.
And now her life was topsy-turvy. It was so odd being attached to Inuyasha's brother. He was not the cold-hearted demon she once thought before. That decision was a bit shaky since becoming bound to him. Then again, she always flip-flopped on her thoughts about Sesshomaru after she kept running into him. Though not always kind, he was always fair in his decisions. He did not feel he had to be nice. He was a demon after all.
Kagome settled deeper into the water letting her mind dwell on nothing.
Minutes later, once the thoughts oozed from her mind. She sat thinking of nothing in particular, her hands brushing her breasts. Glancing down, Kagome frowned at the response her body gave. Her nipples hardened under her own caress.
A little spooked, Kagome decided she spent enough time away from camp and moved to get out of the water. Not that Sesshomaru would miss her but she felt a bit unguarded at the moment. Her clothes were left near the side of the large rock she used as a backrest. If someone were to sneak up on her, she could grab them quickly and dress.
Not that it would happen. There was no Human for miles around here. Only Sesshomaru and she knew the springs were here. And he was certainly not interested in her. She was just a human after all, despite being a powerful miko.
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Sesshomaru watched from a short distance at the heat rising from the hot waters. Shifting to a different position, he waited then took a step forward. He could see her face in the water's reflection. Her hands caressed her body in a slow rhythm.
He observed as the miko suddenly stood up from the water, the splashing of waters cascading down her form back into the pool crashed around her. Her body appeared sleek and soft from the back, a light color pink from her time in the heat. She stepped out of sight to the right. Seconds later, he could hear the woman beginning to dress.
It was time to make the necessary move.