Chapter V -- Visitors and Confessions

Several days passed after Kagome began her training without much change. She would train personally in the mornings with Sesshomaru, sometimes Rin would come, sometimes she wouldn't; in the afternoon, Kagome would spend some time with Rin right after lunch then go to the dojo or her room (in this case, without the sword) to practice and after dinner in the evenings, she would work on letters with Rin. Sesshomaru provided them with paper and ink.

Although he did not want to admit it, she was doing surprisingly well for a human who had never handled a sword before. Kagome practiced in her every spare moment, determined to learn everything she could. At first, Mayuko had tried to get her to go easy, but the girl never listened. Mayuko took to watching from the corner, ready to step in if she had to.

One afternoon, Kagome had vanished into the dojo to work on the newest move Sesshomaru had showed her, when a servant stepped in, paused at the sight of the human with the sword, and headed straight for Mayuko. After whispering something, she stood back as Mayuko took several steps towards Kagome. "Kagome-sama." The girl slowed and glanced over at Mayuko. "Your presence is requested in the main courtyard. There is someone here to see you." She knew; or could guess who it was. Stopping, Kagome turned to Mayuko.

"I don't want to see them. Go tell them I'm not here, or I'm sick and sleeping. Whatever to get them to leave."

"Yes, Kagome-sama," the servant said bowing.

"Then you know who it is?" Mayuko asked once the other had left.

"Of course. I spent two years traveling with him; it's Inuyasha who wants to see me. I don't want to see him." Returning her blade to its sheath, Kagome left the dojo to return to her room. Mayuko did not follow.

Until now, Kagome had been feeling pretty good; it was a nice day out and she felt like she was accomplishing something. Now, she just felt unsettled. It worried her to know that Inuyasha knew not only that she was back in the feudal era, but where she was. Somewhere, back in a hidden little corner of her mind, she had known there was another reason she wanted to be able to protect herself. Now that let itself become more easily known. Standing before her window, she knew that trying to convince herself it was just an unfounded worry would be pointless, so she let it remain and did not think on it.

With a sigh, she turned away from the portal to the outside and set her sword on top of the chest where she had made its home. Removing the hakama and kimono shirt she had been wearing and changed into the yukata she had been wearing when she wasn't training. That done, she retuned to the window and stared up at the sky.

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"Why is it, Sesshomaru, that every time I come across your scent, Kagome's is there too?!" Inuyasha demanded. He was currently trying to get answers out of his elder half brother, but it wasn't going very well. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara stood behind him, Kikyou just off to his side. "I know she's here, so it's no use trying to hide it. Why is she here, she can't have come of her own free will. Where is she?!" Inuyasha said the last part with a growl. The group watched as a youkai hurried to Sesshomaru's side and whispered something. He nodded and the servant turned to them.

"Kagome-sama is currently sick and trying to rest. She does not want to be disturbed." With a quick and not very low bow, the youkai turned and left.

"Sick, or is it injured. Sesshomaru you-"

"Enough, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said calmly. "The human came of her own free will. I did nothing other than tell her that if she wishes to remain here, she must look after Rin; she has done this and until she fails to do so, I will assume that it is also because she wishes to remain here. If you think I want something from her, I do not; but it is apparent that she does not want anything from you either. Leave now, or I will make you regret coming here." Inuyasha growled again.

"I believe we should do as he says, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "It is obvious Kagome has come to no harm, and that is what you wanted to make sure of, is it not?"

"Shut up, monk," Inuyasha said as he stormed past and out the gates. The rest of the group followed.

"I really miss Kagome," Shippo said sadly. "I hope I can see her again."

"Don't worry, Shippo," Sango consoled, "I'm sure you will be able to see her again. Inuyasha, let's return to the village. We have not been there for a while and Kaede might be able to tell us something of why Kagome went with Sesshomaru."

"Feh," was all the answer Inuyasha gave.

After his half brother was gone, Sesshomaru turned and entered his home.

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"Does he not want you around, Miko, or is it the other way around?" a voice asked from her doorway. Kagome turned from the window and saw Sesshomaru. He had approached silently, not giving away his presence until he spoke. "If he did not want you around, why is it that he came looking for you?"

"Ever heard of knocking?" Kagome asked in return, looking back out the window.

"Answer my question."

"Like I know why he came."

"Then tell me why you did not go with him, or at least speak with him."

"Why do you care, anyway?" That was a good question. Why did he care?

"It is not your place to question me, human." Kagome could feel her temper flaring and knew it could be potentially a bad thing when dealing with Sesshomaru, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"Maybe I just didn't want to!"

"You hate him." Sesshomaru paused, reading her scent more closely. "Or you fear him."

"Well if you're going to say that, why did you bother asking?" Kagome demanded. This is exactly what had happened right after she returned home after her last fight with Inuyasha; only then she had felt sorry for letting her temper get the better of her. She couldn't see why she would now. Why couldn't he just leave her alone about this like he did with everything else?

"Tell me."

"What?"

"Tell me what he did."

Again, Kagome turned to face Sesshomaru. Her fists were clenched and shaking, the emotions in her eyes were easy to read. "No. That's my business, not yours."

"You do not tell me what is or is not my business; it very much is when Inuyasha is involved." When Kagome did not say anything, he went on. "Miko, you are trying my patients. Speak."

"I will not." For a moment, they stared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to break it. Kagome blinked first; then Sesshomaru turned and left. Kagome managed to take the few steps to her bed before collapsing on it. Thus seated, she buried her face in her hands and simply sat. Moments later, someone new entered the room. Kagome knew it was one of two people, and easily removed one from the list of candidates. "What do you want?" she asked Mayuko sullenly, without looking up.

Mayuko did not speak for a moment. Before she did, she knelt before the girl and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong, Kagome?" She merely shook her head. "Please tell me. It has to do with Inuyasha-sama, right? And… those scars." Slowly, Kagome looked up then nodded. She would not meet the other girl's eyes. Mayuko thought briefly that she would once have found it funny to feel sympathy for a human, but banished the thought. Kagome remained silent. "Please, I've heard that if you talk about it, it can help lessen the pain."

"How would you know?" Kagome asked quietly.

"I don't but it would appear to be a popular saying among you humans. Personally, I have found that if you tell someone of a problem, it doesn't quite seem a bad as it did before." Kagome drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. That was the thing; she had spoken of what had happened, to her mother and grandfather, but it hadn't seemed to help at all. It wasn't until she had put it from her mind that her life seemed to be put in some sort of order. "Kagome." Mayuko's voice was kind and soft, making it hard not to speak. Finally, Kagome gave in.

"Inuyasha," she paused, thinking of how to phrase it. "Right after our last battle with Naraku, when we finally completed the Shikon no Tama," her hand moved to it where it still hung about her neck, "and killed him, we went back to a village we stayed in a lot. I went home, I lived near there, for a few days then came back. Since there was no reason, we had not decided on a set day and Inuyasha hadn't been expecting me. About half way between," her voice faded out for a second, "my home and the village, I saw Inuyasha and Kikyou, a miko who I look like. They were kissing and… almost going farther, but I must have made a noise." By now, her voice was not nearly as strong as it had been, hardly above a whisper. "They both turned and saw me.

"'So you've finally decided?' I asked Inuyasha. He did not answer, but turned to look at Kikyou. It was her who answered me.

"'He has,' she said. For another moment, he continued to look at her." Tears began, slowly at first, to run down her cheeks.

"I remember exactly what he said then. I don't think I will ever forget anything said that day. He said, 'Kagome, I lover her. I always have.' I didn't know what to do. I had thought that there was something between us, but I should have known from all the times he put her first. I said some things I shouldn't have; I probably will never say them again. He got mad. 'You have no right to say that! You are only a weak attempt of her shadow.' We said some more things to each other, and by then we were both mad. Kikyou did not help. She stood silently for the most part but eventually spoke and said that I did not deserve to keep her soul; that I should either die or go back to my home and never return. She… told Inuyasha that if he really loved her, he would kill me and get her soul back.

"I still bad my bow and arrows with me, so when he came at me with that look in his eye that said he was ready to kill, I shot at him. It hit him in the arm, and I guess that's what did it. Since he's a hanyou, his youkai part began to take over and he really attacked me. That's how I got the scars.

"He and Kikyou left me for dead, my friends Sango and Miroku found me and took me to Kaede's hut. I stayed there for about a week before I left and went home."

The majority of her story had been told with many pauses, but Mayuko had listened intently. When Kagome had started speaking, she had moved to sit beside the girl. Now that she was done, she broke down into tears and Mayuko did the only thing she could think of. She put her arms around the other girl and held her, letting her cry until she could cry no more. They then sat in silence for some time. The square of sunlight on the floor had moved several feet as the day grew longer before either spoke. It was Mayuko who did so.

"You should tell Sesshomaru-sama. He was mad when I saw him leave earlier."

"But I-"

"No, shh. It's his brother you were talking about, remember? He should know. Besides, I'm sure there was more behind his asking you than he let on." Kagome blinked in surprise.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"I'll let you find that out on your own, now come on. At the very least, I'm sure an apology would do some good." The human spluttered. As the youkai who was supposed to be her servant almost literally dragged her down the hall, the thought of what a situation she had gotten herself into, all because she didn't want to see Inuyasha. Not only was she torn between still being upset, being angry at Mayuko for forcing her to see Sesshomaru and a bit worried because she really didn't want to have to talk to him. She knew that she would probably end up spouting the whole story again. By the time she realized Mayuko was taking her into a series of halls she didn't know, she had resigned herself to her fate. No, she didn't want to go speak to Sesshomaru, but yes, she would.

Eventually, Mayuko stopped at a door and stepped in, motioning for Kagome to wait. She reappeared a moment later, bowing out, and turned to the girl. Grinning, she gave Kagome a small shove, getting her into the room and closing the door. She found herself in a library; shelves were stocked with scrolls and very old-fashioned books. Mostly scrolls. Sesshomaru was sitting at a low table, with several of the scrolls laid out before him.

"Sit," he said. She looked down and saw a cushion on the side of the table. Moving forward, she knelt and sat. "Well?" He appeared to be looking at the scrolls on the table. Kagome clenched her fists to stop them shaking and looked at the floor. No one spoke. No one moved.

Finally, as she began to feel the effect of the day's emotional exertions, Kagome spoke. It was no more than a whisper, but Sesshomaru heard. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't want anyone to know… I thought maybe it would just go away if no one knew…" If she had looked up, she would have found Sesshomaru watching her intently. He did not speak as he waited. She let her chin drop to her chest; her bangs fell forward and hid her eyes. She made a silent promise that she would not let herself cry anymore. With a last deep breath, she began telling her story again. Sesshomaru let her speak as Mayuko had, waiting until the very end and giving her a few moments after to simply sit in silence.

"Thank you." Kagome's head snapped up. She couldn't believe what she had just heard him say. It was almost enough to snap her out of the mood she had been in for the last couple hours or so. He had not entirely wanted to say it, but she had answered many questions and told him when she did not want to. "You should go rest for the remainder of the day. Dinner will be served soon, ask Mayuko to bring it to you in your room." Kagome was about to object, she did not want to seem weak to the rest of the household, particularly not Rin, but something made her stop. She stood. "You may feel free to speak to me about anything you wish." This also shocked her, but she nodded her head. Maybe she had just had too long a day and was imagining things. She left quickly, Mayuko taking her arm and leading her to her room almost as soon as she left the library.

"Did it go well?" Mayuko asked as Kagome leaned against the wall near the bed.

Shaking her head, Kagome said, "I don't know. I just-"

Mayuko sighed. "Well, sit down. I'll have a tray made up for you; an early dinner. You look like you could use a week's worth of sleep." A simple nod was the only response as Kagome slid into her bed. After finishing her meal, Mayuko managed to get Kagome into her night clothes; she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her last conscious thought was that Mayuko had been right, she did feel better now that she had told someone about it.

Mayuko smiled as she looked at Kagome's sleeping form before leaving. Maybe this human girl would finally be the one to melt her lord's icy heart. She knew it would be good for both of them, especially after hearing Kagome's story of betrayal. But at the same time, she could see easily that it would not be easy for Kagome to let anyone get close to her. She had good reason not to. Turning, Mayuko decided that she would not interfere and see how things played out on their own. Kagome was a human, Sesshomaru would need to learn for himself how to find love. Closing the door quietly, she went to look for something to do until she felt like sleeping.

Lunartcat12 -- Muahaha... Well, Kagome's secret has been revealed. (I'm sorry to all of you, but I kind of have a small case of writer's block for chapter six, so I'm open to any suggestion... .; It might take a little while. In the mean time, I'm working on a Naruto story that should be posted soon... maybe.)