{So I've realized as this story begins to take a mind of its own I'm going to have to go back and rewrite the first two chapters. Thank you for the reviews. Sorry to everyone whose read to this point before the rewrite. It might be a little different. Also I guess I need to add the obvious I don't own Inuyahsa. Duh.}
It was quiet in his room, finally. After he had dragged in the half-dead miko along with her adopted kit and fellow shard hunters the day had been full of noise. First mother, then Jaken, then the staff, and lastly his little charge Rin had come to comment on the woman in the chamber next to his. He knew the amount of blood and the extent of her injuries worried the dark-haired girl who had even into the late hour been peeking in on their guest.
He would hear the whisper of tiny voices as Shippo conferred with his friend, solemnly updating her on each movement the woman made. Finally he had banished the fox kit back to the miko's room and his own charge to hers just across the hall.
It had been quiet for almost an hour, he sat in the small room outside his bedchamber with his steward who was dutifully assisting him in going over the proposals and complaints he had missed out on while traveling.
Suddenly the lizard youkai stiffened and at the same time he felt powerful energy broiling in the room next to him. It appeared the miko had awoke.
"She is very powerful milord." The demon flicked his eyes nervously at the hallway that lead to the miko's chambers and back to Sesshomaru who was staring curiously at the same hallway.
"Yes. She is." He stated as if he had never quite considered that fact. He waved his hand to dismiss the youkai, noting that he would get no more work done while the female in the other room was pressing down on them with her immense spiritual power. After the steward had exited Sesshomaru stepped closer to her doorway. The energy rolled around him and he got the feeling it tested him before retreating.
Interesting that she did not consider him a threat.
From his position in the shadows of his doorway he watched Rin peak her head out. Apparently the miko was strong enough for his little human to feel. A tiny paw stretched out and beckoned the girl closer. She giggled and darted into the open door and he heard a happy squeal and the thud of two bodies hitting one. The purifying energy dissipated.
He stepped closer, just enough so that he could peer into the door and see the three figures huddled on the bed.
Rin was under one of the woman's arms and Shippo perched on her lap. She was sitting up and while he could not see her pain, he could taste it on the air, sharp and metallic.
She was strong though, he could see that, she hid it well from the children. Smiling at them as they chattered on about how happy they were she was awake, what she had missed from that day. Finally they began to wind down and Shippo curiously commented on the silence that filled the air.
"Kagome, why haven't you said anything. Aren't you happy to see us?"
Her eyes became glassy and she nodded insistently but touched her throat as if it hurt. Sesshomaru frowned; his healers had gone over with him every injury she had sustained. They did not mention anything about a sickness affecting her throat.
"We should get her some tea!" Rin bounced off the bed and held out her hand for Shippo who grabbed it and they raced out past Sesshomaru. The fox kit spared only a quick glance for the imposing dog demon before continuing down the hallway with his human friend.
Sesshomaru slipped into the miko's room studying her with cool golden eyes. Her bangs swept across her eyes almost obscuring the cerulean gems from him. She watched him wearily from across the room, her hands folded in her lap, silken sheets pooled around her waist.
They remained in silence for a moment before Sesshomaru finally spoke, his deep voice turned her gaze upward just enough to observe him.
"You may stay here for as long as it takes to recover. The exterminator and monk are here as well."
Her gaze turned questioning and his eyes hardened.
"Inuyasha did not come with us. Of his own volition"
Sesshomaru watched as her eyes were cast downward again, he did not miss however the hurt in her expression. Clearly his half-brother still meant a lot to the woman despite his repeated transgressions with the other miko.
The soft footfalls of barefeet caught his attention as Rin and Shippo scampered down the hallway with a full pot of what smelled like badly brewed tea as well as three cups balanced precariously in the kit's tiny paws.
Rin looked bashfully up at him, curling her toes under the hem of her nightgown. Shippo only looked between Kagome who was giving him a small smile and Sesshomaru who was staring haughtily down at him.
"You may continue, but we will be taking tea in my chambers. Go fetch another cup, I will get the miko."
He waited until the children had left before approaching the woman on the bed. She looked gratefully up at him, her wound had reopened as the children bounced around her and she did not want them to see what had been done.
Sesshomaru reached his arm down towards her and she grasped it tightly, wincing as she drew herself up beside him.
Kagome looked down and realized once again she had been dressed by someone else. Her slender frame was wrapped in a soft white kimono. She sighed, it was getting bothersome passing out and waking up in a strangers clothing and with an unfamiliar male nearby. Of course Shesshomaru was preferable to Naraku any day.
He lead her to his room and reached for the tie to her kimono.
Without hesitation a barrier crashed down around her strong enough to cause him to step back. Golden eyes narrowed at her show of resistance.
"I have no interest in your body little miko. Your wound must be bandaged again before the children return. Unless you want them to see."
Her whole body trembled as she lowered the barrier and slipped the knot herself before pulling the material away from her wounds. It had been wrapped all the way around and she really just needed Sesshomaru to use his claws to cut the binding material away.
He reached forward ignoring her trembling and sliced through the wraps careful not to slide his claws against her delicate skin. She pulled the bandage away from the wound on her side as the taiyoukai turned away after handing her a wrap to cover the wound. He knew that she would not be able to do a proper job on her on but assumed she would get it tight enough to last through tea and satisfy the children.
As she finished wrapping herself up the patter of feet was heard down the hallway. Sesshomaru turned just as Kagome finished wrapping the wound. Rin and Shippo barreled through the open doorway with the extra teacup.
"Rin, pour the tea."
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
The next day Kagome and Shippo followed Rin on a short tour of Sesshomaru's stronghold. Kagome couldn't help but stare at the splendor she never knew that the quiet, cold taiyoukai had possessed. She assumed he had a quiet, empty castle waiting for him at home. After all why else would he travel with a small human girl and a toad servant? Clearly there was more to the stoic demon then she had originally assumed.
As they dallied through the gardens, Rin naming each type of flower they passed, they came upon another small party making their way through the gardens.
"Daichi, Daichi! Come meet Kagome and Shippo"
Rin waved frantically to a handsome demon, leopard by the look of the spots around his eyes and across his arms. He nodded to his companions before strolling casually over to the little child. Kagome was surprised there was any other demon that would so willingly part from his demon companions to come to the request of a small human girl.
He bowed low and smiled.
"Lady Kagome, Shippo my name is Daichi, youngest of the Lord Sesshomaru's captains."
The raven-haired woman smiled hesitantly and nodded. The leopard demon's smile faltered he wondered if she was afraid of demons. It would be surprising a miko of her caliber, and yet there was fear there. He just wasn't sure it was directed at him.
"Kagome isn't talking right now, her throat hurts. She's really nice though and once she feels better she'll talk your ear off. Or at least that's what.." Shippo paused. He was about to say Inuyasha but the hurt look on his adopted mother's face made him stop and mumble instead, "..our other friends say."
Daichi managed to take all this in stride and elegantly extended his arm to Kagome who smiled shyly at him as she took it.
"Well in that case I will talk to you and you may listen. As I said I am the youngest captain. I am only 274 years old, perhaps around 20 in your human years. How did I become captain you ask? Well let me tell you all about it."
Kagome smiled up at the bold youkai as he began to relay his tale of a fierce battle and daring rescue. At one point in his story he had them stand back so they could watch as he demonstrated the thrust of his sword and then swipe of his claws. They carried on until they had circled the massive gardens. He bowed at the gate.
"Lady Kagome, it has been a pleasure. When you are well enough you must seek me out. I'm sure you have a beautiful voice to match that pretty face."
She blushed and thought briefly of Koga. If there was any way a wolf and leopard could be related, she would certainly believe it. She waved as Daichi walked back towards the opposite side of the castle. She hoped that in the coming days here that she would see more of his friendly face.
Kagome yawned and pointed back towards the castle. The two children took the hint and helped her back inside and down to her room. She would have liked to explore more but the wound in her side would take rest and time to heal. It would do no good for her to reopen it and begin the process all over again.
As she eased herself into the sheets she wondered briefly about the kindness Sesshomaru had shown her last night. Well, not necessarily kindness for a normal person, but it was definitely an improvement on their previous encounters. He hadn't even tried to kill her once.
Just as she began to get comfortable the very same demon that had just been occupying her thoughts swept into the room. His gaze was narrowed and she realized she may have just assumed too much too quickly. There was still plenty of time for him to kill her after all.
"Why does your bed smell of another male."
She quirked an eyebrow up at him, and grabbed the bit of parchment she had placed by her bed. Sesshomaru's gaze widened ever so slightly as she wrote out what had happened. He had never expected the girl to be educated.
Swiftly he pulled the paper from her hands and scanned her explanation of how she had been escorted around the gardens. He tamped down a growl, why should he care who escorts this miko anywhere? Powerful female or no, she was not his concern. He had allowed her here to heal and that was all. With that thought he sat himself on the edge of her bed.
"You are not physically ill miko. You must speak.'
He was not surprised when her eyes widened and she shook her head fiercely. Sesshomaru however, was not the most patient creature. He leaned towards her and growled softly, not threatening merely frustrated. If he wasn't releasing her until she was healed, he would make sure her mind was healed also.
"You think I have not seen the horrors you have seen. You think I have never been held by an enemy."
Kagome's could not believe this. Lord Sesshomaru, demon of the fewest words was talking to her almost as if he was trying to help her. Still she shook her head, knowing once she opened her mouth it would all spill out and she would be forced to relive it. What if this was the only way though, the only way to cleanse herself of those terrible memories. Did she really need to get them out in the open like this?
Kagome looked up and met the waiting golden eyes of the most powerful creature she knew, and he was waiting for her.
"It was terrible."
Sesshomaru sighed, audibly and leaned away from her as she drew her knees to her chest.
"It's over now and he will not capture you again."
Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru, tears standing in her brilliant blue eyes.
"Do you promise?"
As Sesshomaru met that lovely gaze he felt the strangest pull in his chest. He stared at her for a long time, their eyes holding.
"I promise."
{Hope you liked! This chapter was my fave so far. Reviews make a writer happy!}