A/N: Yo! Another chapter ready for your viewing pleasure!
Disclaimer: Of course Inuyasha isn't mine! The plot would be completely different, there would be more blood and gore and a LOT of heavy metal background music! And do you really think I would put Kagome in a position where she actually LOVED that idiotic welp of a half-breed!?... Just kidding! Inuyasha's cool.
Chapter Six:
An Angry Miko, Peculiar Situations, and the Gentle Stranger
By: Kate the Inuyoukai01
Kagome was irriated, for lack of a better word. She had been flying on Sesshomaru's back for over a day and she had become uncomfortable. She had complained, much to her carrier's dislike, and at the moment was being carried bridal style through the sky. She was extremely embarassed, and wanted to reach the Western Palace as soon as possible, so as to end her humiliation.
After a few more days of walking, Sesshomaru finally decided to take to the sky. He had said they would begin to take flight earlier, but Ah-Un had consumed an unfamiliar plant and was not able to do more than walk for a time. They had to wait for the strange plant to be eliminated from his system before they would be able to take the faster method of travel.
Kagome crossed her arms huffily, "Why couldn't I just ride on Ah-Un?"
"Because," Sesshomaru sighed inwardly as he spoke, "if you were to fall asleep on the beast then you would most likely fall to your death."
"Then why is Souta asleep?" she asked as she pointed an accusing finger at her younger brother. He was currently riding said two-headed dragon, his head wedged in between their heads and his body over their back, which was large enough to accomodate the tall boy. His snores resonated throughout the night sky as if he had never slept in his entire life.
"Because he has had experience," he explained. "During his first year in my companionship, we moved from place to place almost daily. Ah-Un was what he slept on as we traveled."
Kagome smirked, "Well, I think you just want to hold meEEEEEEEE!!"
Kagome was cut off when he released his hold on her and let her free-fall from sixty feet off of the ground. Her scream was almost deafening, piercing Sesshomaru's sensitive ears. He waited a moment longer and then she was in his arms again, shaken, but safe.
"You... bastard!" she shrieked once she regained her composure. "You deliberately dropped me! You...!"
She silenced herself at his warning growl, "Next time the trees will be the first to catch you. Do not try my patience."
Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, completely dumbfounded. "You wouldn't..."
He narrowed his eyes, "I would."
She huffed and crossed her arms. She was irritated and tired. All she wanted was to sink into a warm futon and sleep.
"How much longer until we get there?"
Sesshomaru didn't look down at her, just kept his eyes ahead. For a minute, Kagome thought he wasn't going to answer her, until he let out a sigh.
"We are making camp tonight. We still have two more days before we reach our destination."
"Two more days!" Kagome stared up at him, her eyes wide. "We've been traveling for two weeks!"
"Deal with it."
Insufferable demon! Kagome thought heatedly. She had known the demon for three weeks, and she was starting to feel sorry that she ever did. He was kind in his own sort of way, but she hadn't had that kindness directed towards her since that night at the hotspring. She saw it directed more towards Souta.
She knew that they had three years of history, and they probably had some sort of bond... The half breed, Kagome realized. So, that's why they're so close. They both had the same enemy and had been training to better defeat him ever since Sesshomaru took Souta under his wing. She looked over at her brother, still sleeping on Ah-Un. He had gotten so much stronger. She no longer saw fear light up his eyes when the sun set. When a demon came near when Sesshomaru was off on an errand, he didn't run away. Instead, he faced the demon with a courage that she had only seen before in Jin, and defeated him swiftly without a word from his opponent.
"How do you know that the demon isn't one of Sesshomaru's?" she had asked him one night. Sesshomaru had left to fetch food for the group and a demon had slipped from the trees. Souta had killed him swiftly, without even asking who he was and why he was there.
"Sesshomaru's servants and allies all have the crescent moon insignia somewhere out in the open," he said as he picked up the demon's body. He checked for the dark crescent moon, and, when he was unsuccessful, gave Kagome a beaming smile, "See?"
Sesshomaru has taught him well, Kagome thought as the memory died away to be replaced with the star-filled sky. I should at least show him some respect, seeing as how he made my little brother such a great warrior. She looked up at Sesshomaru, his silver hair billowing in the wind behind him. The moon's light reflected off of his pale clothes, hair, and skin, making him look like somewhat of a god. She smiled lightly before speaking.
"I apologize, milord."
Sesshomaru was a million miles away. He was thinking about what he would say when he touched down on his lands with another human girl. He understood his followers' concerns. He had been felled once before by a human woman, and now was obsessed with finding and killing her murderer. He knew full well of his obsession. What would happen when this girl was in danger, and he was nowhere to be found? His followers would most definately not be happy with his decision to ally himself with a human woman, especially a miko. He could see them, his followers, replaying the incident with Rin in their minds and then looking towards Kagome, who was almost identical to her little sister. 'History repeating itself! Save milord!' He could already hear their minds screaming what had to be done to keep him safe. Even though he didn't need saving. This woman was nothing but a mere ally. Someone who could help them avenge the death of his beloved. He suddenly heard her apologize, and looked down at her questioningly.
"For what?"
She blushed and looked away, "I know I haven't been extremely kind to you, but you have taken such good care of my little brother and I. I am willing to do anything you ask of me to return the favor."
"Anything?" Sesshomaru asked lightly, disbelievingly.
Her blush deepened, "Within reason, yes."
She saw a ghost of a smile on his lips as he spoke, "I'll hold you to that."
He began to descend as he felt himself become more fond of the woman. She had just given him her life willingly, despite her well-known dislike of him. He found this extremely honorable, and his own opinion of her rose. They touched down on the soft grasses of a small clearing, Ah-Un following close behind. They set about building a fire, Souta awakening to help set up camp. Afterward, Sesshomaru told Kagome of a stream that wasn't far off where she could bathe. She graciously thanked him, and headed off toward it.
She found it somewhat difficult to see at night, and felt an eerie silence settle over the wood. She tightened her grip on her bow and quickened her pace. How many demons were in the forest at night? Too many to count, she knew. An hour passed until she could see the stream. That's when she felt a presence above her.
"My, my," a dark voice spoke, "What is a young miko such as yourself doing alone at this time of night?"
She looked up and saw it. A spider head perched in the tree right above her. She could feel the others. Over a dozen of them surrounding her in hidden places.
"You must think you have great fortune in finding such an easy target out in the middle of nowhere," she said calmly as she narrowed her eyes. "I assure you, you are mistaken."
The demon screeched and launched itself out of the tree in the exact moment that she sent an arrow flying. The arrow sent off a stream of purple energy as it pierced the demon's chest. It gave an ungodly shriek and fell to the ground, the power from her arrow slowly disolving the demon's corpse. The others around her came out of their hiding places. Demons of many different species and sizes coming for her. She let another arrow fly, striking a fire demon that was a few feet away. But, before she could draw another arrow, the mass of demons fell ontop of her. She growled, sending her energy through her fingers and killing a number of demons.
"What the hell is going on here?!"
She heard the voice, young and rugged, from a short distance and her heart fell. It wasn't Sesshomaru. Someone else was risking their life to save her. She felt tears prick her eyes. She felt like she was a disgrace to her heritage. She heard bodies falling left and right and soon a slightly clawed hand came through the bodies and pulled her out.
"Stay back!" he said as he turned and continued killing the demons coming for her. She narrowed her eyes again and went to get her bow. She looked around and saw that her bow was smashed, her arrows broken. She couldn't do anything unless the demons came into arms length. She looked up and saw the man's face. His eyes were a dark amber and glowing with rage. His face looked younger than he seemed, with a slight boyish roundness in his cheeks. He had thick black eyebrows, though they didn't taint his looks. His lips were curled back in a snarl as he fought with his claws, the short fangs visible as they slightly protruded from his mouth. His clawed feet bare as they sloshed through the mud the blood he spilled made.
Hanyou... Kagome realized as she stared in shock. The last of the demons fell and the man turned, flicking blood out of his claws as he kept an eye on the bodies behind him. His clothes were covered in blood, the dark green cloth he wore seeming even darker.
"Damn ingrates, attacking a woman!" he snarled under his breath. He reached her and his face softened, "Are you alright?"
She stared at him, dumbfounded. His eyes swam with what seemed like genuine concern. She blushed and couldn't deny that he was handsome. "Y-yes, I am quite alright."
She saw him taking in her disheveled form and smiled, "I was making a bath when I sensed the demons. If you'd like you can have it."
"No!" she said smally, "I couldn't possibly."
"Hell," he said with a snort, "It's the least I can do with what you've been through tonight."
She looked into his eyes. He really seemed like he was just helping out... "Okay..."
He walked past her and when she didn't follow, turned, "Come."
She slowly followed. She didn't know if she should trust him or not.
He did just save your life, her conscience said.
She heaved an inward sigh, Good point.
She followed him to a small cave not far from where she was attacked. She could still smell the blood from the demons, it's smelled thick and acrid in the air. She entered the cave and saw a large wooden tub filled with steaming water, a small fire underneath it to keep the water warm. It looked perfectly inviting and she couldn't help the small smile that spread across her lips as the kind half demon before her smiled.
"Here we are," he said as he moved to get something for her to dry off with. "I will be leaving you in a moment so you can have your privacy, and after you're done I would be happy to share my dinner with you."
"Oh, please," she smiled lightly, "you've done enough already-"
Her stomach growled suddenly, causing her to blush. He chuckled, a deep, rugged sound full of merth.
"Now, I must insist."
She nervously scratched the nape of her neck, the pink tinge on her cheeks darkening into a full-blown red, "I suppose..."
--
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly. Kagome had been gone for over two hours, and he knew that it didn't take her this long to bathe. He sat with his back propped up against the trunk of an ancient tree, his eyes observing the full moon in all of it's glory. Stars sparkled lazily around it, seeming like small children to their mother. His thoughts had more often than not been wandering over to the little miko as of late, and he couldn't help but become irritated with himself. She was such a nuisance, yet he couldn't help but feel that she and her brother were the ones that were keeping him going. Inuyasha, of course, was another.
His half-brother spurred such unadulterated hate in him that he felt disgusted to even spend so much time over him, but the halfing had taken something that was his, and he couldn't let this pass.
His thoughts again wandered to the ceralean-eyed miko. What if Inuyasha had appeared while she was on her way to bathe, and had somehow taken her away, himself being completely unaware? He cracked his claws. That could not happen again...
"Don't worry about it," he heard Souta mutter as he sat out their bed clothes. "We've been traveling for over a day. She's probably just taking her time to wipe off the grime and relax. If she doesn't return in another hour, then we can go after her."
"This Sesshomaru is not worried," he growled. Still, she was usually back within thirty minutes of finding her destination. The stream he indicated was about an hour away, so he estimated that she would be back by now. To tell the truth... he was worried...
Where can that insufferable woman be?
--
A/N: Uh-oh! Who is this kind stranger? What will Sesshomaru do? I guess your gonna have to find out next chapter! Heh heh, I'm so evil! Please review. Remember, constructive critisizm only!
