Previously:
Where the great daiyokai was concerned, she had no reason to feel guilty. It wasn't as if he'd made her his mate or anything. Yes, she did feel a strong attraction to him that wasn't only physical but also mental. Maybe it was only a crush. After all, they'd never had much conversation outside of the bounds of training. She had to admit that almost every time her cheeks got hot was because she'd caught a glimpse of the demon's beauty in the sunlight. And crushes could last a long time. Still, there was a difference between what she'd felt with Inuyasha and how she felt with Sesshomaru.
Kagome sighed mentally. Why did all this have to be so complicated?
Momentarily putting aside her concerns, Kagome prepared to face civilization again as the small village surrounded her and the hanyou.
Chapter Fifteen
Just For You
"Is that ye child?" a slow, raspy voice emitted from the old woman. She struggled with a wooden cane to get a closer look with her one good eye.
"Hi Kaede," Kagome said warmly, bringing the woman into her arms.
"Kagome! Where have ye been?" Despite her scolding tone, she hugged as tightly as her frail arms would let her.
The priestess smiled apologetically. "I went traveling, perfecting my melee and miko skills."
Kaede's eyes widened. "Did ye now?" She paused as she thoughtfully eyed the young woman before her. Her eyes hardened with a scowl again. "Well, ye scared me half to death! This cane wasn't here before, I'll have ye know!" She waved the wooden stick threateningly in Kagome's direction.
Kagome laughed, instantly thinking of Grandpa waving his bat at spirits. "I'm sorry Kaede. It was something I had to do alone." Her instinct was to glance at the hanyou who silently watched posted on the side of the old woman's hut. Instead, she smiled as convincingly as she could without giving away the grudge in her eyes that reflected her heart.
"It's good to know ye are okay," Kaede said with a confirming nod. She shivered as the autumn breeze pressed through her clothes. She turned towards Inuyasha and the door of her home. "Come now, tell me all about it over some hot soup."
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"Well now," Kaede said slowly as she dipped her spoon into her soup. "That is quite a tail."
Kagome nodded in agreement, setting her empty bowl on the floor next to her. The miko had told the old woman everything, from the last jewel shard, to her first days out on her own, to Sesshomaru's suspicious appearances, to training under the Lord of the Western Lands, to her plans for her future. She'd said as little about Sesshomaru as she could, considering Inuyasha's presence in the small one-room home.
The girl leaned back on her palms, staring at the embers glowing in the fire pit.
"Do ye really plan to become an officer?" Kaede inquired. Her tone held no disapproval, only gentle worry.
Kagome nodded confidently. "Now that I've decided this is my home, I want to find my place here. I suppose this is a start."
"And the Shikon no Tama?"
Kagome thoughtfully studied the fire. "Once Naraku is dead and I've completed the jewel, I'll protect it as I am expected to do as its priestess."
"Ye won't make a wish? Even as its priestess, ye can do that. In fact, that is the way it is supposed to be. A wish by any other than the priestess would compromise its purity."
Kagome shook her head. "No, I have no reason to use it, at least not now anyway. Even if that fact will give me trouble later on in life, I know I'll be able to do my job as its protector." She placed her hand gently over her chest, feeling the tiny jewel shard's presence.
Kaede nodded slowly as she sipped the rest of her soup. She set the bowl down as she cleared her throat. "So I suppose ye want to find ye friends to get this finished. Ye don't have much time left, child. The meeting of the lords is not so distant."
Kagome felt an immediate shift in Inuyasha's aura. It sparked and lashed out at the air surrounding it. She glanced at him quickly to see his eyes hardened, staring intently at a corner. She suspected he was upset over Kaede's quick acceptance of her plan of to go into the ranks.
Kagome cleared her throat to bring herself back to the conversation. "Do you know where they are?"
Kaede shook her head sadly. "I am afraid I do not. They passed by about two weeks ago, traveling west, but that is as much as I have to offer. They may have changed course by now."
Kagome nodded, agreeing, but not giving up hope. "Inuyasha can probably track their scent still, as long as we move quickly."
The hanyou snapped out of his quiet rage at the sound of his name, hearing her last sentence. He stood up, alert and ready.
When Kagome followed suit, Kaede quickly asked, "Ye two are not planning to leave now, are ye?"
Kagome glanced outside to see the sun not quite on the horizon. "We have about an hour or two before darkness will fall. If we leave now, we'll cover enough distance to ensure the trail won't be gone for good."
Kaede reached for her cane and struggled to her feet. "Well, if ye insist…" she trailed off. She went over to a small lockbox by her mat. After a few moments, she went to Kagome and gave her a small bag. She could tell instantly by the weight and aroma that it was herbs. "Just an extra energy boost, if ye need it," the old woman said with a smile.
Kagome smiled warmly. "Thank you Kaede." As she enclosed her in a hug, she added, "I'll come back to visit soon."
The woman's motherly eyes watched the couple as they grabbed their weapons, left her hut, and headed out the village.
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The demoness stared up at the sky through purple miasma from her perch on a low wall. Her ruby eyes held a range of emotions from irritation to anger to boredom.
She sighed. No matter how hard she stared, she couldn't see the sky's blue expanse, open and clear. Instead, she was stuck in this hellhole. Naraku was driving her crazy. The bastard continued to sit on his lazy ass while others did his work. She couldn't really complain since the sooner the last jewel shard was found, the closer she was to her death. But at the same time, his actions, or lack thereof, irritated her. Wouldn't he get the idea that no one was really suited for the job when, after over two years, there still were no results?
She sighed again. She was restricted to the perimeter of his lair too. He'd begun to see her outings as suspicious so she had to stay in the poison infested area.
"Excuse me Kagura," a voice said from behind her.
She didn't bother to see who it was. "What?" she asked in a bored tone.
"Master Naraku has requested an audience with you," the young demon said.
Kagura rolled her eyes. What did he want now? She jumped from her post and walked the memorized path to her master's chamber. She slid the door open and stepped inside. "Master," she murmured with a bow. It was more out of habit than respect these days.
"Kagura," his silky voice rose from the opposite side of the room. "I have an assignment for you. Kanna has finally seen something of use to me." He paused before adding, "I'll be going with you.
Her eyes widened in anticipation.
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"So I guess you'll be living in his castle." It was more of a statement than a question, but she felt the need to answer.
"Well, officially, I guess so. But as an officer, I'll hardly have time to sit around and lounge in a huge castle. I like traveling anyway."
Inuyasha shook his head in exasperation as he walked alongside Kagome on the wide dirt path. The scent of their friends seemed to be heading them towards the next village over.
"Does it bother you at all that that bastard tried to kill you before?" he asked with a harsh undertone.
Kagome shrugged. "Not really. I mean, it made me suspicious at first, but the past is the past."
Inuyasha grunted in dissatisfaction. "Well, I don't trust this whole situation. I'm just gonna have to keep an eye on you while you're with him."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Haven't we been through this? I don't need your protection anymore. I can handle myself. And I'm pretty sure Sesshomaru isn't going to hurt me."
"What, are you saying you trust him now?" the hanyou sneered.
Kagome didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes."
Inuyasha paused in surprise but recovered and caught up. "I can't believe you're practically handing your life over to that dog."
Kagome sighed. "I'm not even gonna comment on that, Inuyasha. Just shut up now before this conversation gets out of hand."
Inuyasha twitched angrily at her commanding words, but he obeyed. His pride wouldn't let him admit it even to himself, but the truth was that now that he knew what she could do, he didn't want to push her too far.
There was silence as the couple continued along the pathway. She wondered what the daiyokai was doing. She could feel the tugging at her heart as she thought of him. She missed him. The sunset didn't seem as bright without him by her side.
Darkness began to settle around them as the sun completely disappeared behind the horizon.
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Inuyasha's eyes studied her sleeping form intently through the campfire's flames. The flickering blaze cast erratic shadows across her peaceful face. Her raven hair fell in waterfalls around her body as she perched comfortably against a rock. A soft smile twitched on her lips.
He tried to imagine what she could be dreaming about. Was she with him? Was she in Sesshomaru's arms? Had she defeated Naraku? Was she with her family?
The scorched wood crumbled under the fire's intensity. A twig snapped from somewhere in the woods. A bat fluttered overhead.
His heart ached thinking of how distant she had grown. He still didn't know how to get used to the new Kagome. How could he even talk to her? He'd poured his heart out to the woman, and it didn't get through to her at all. How could he convince her that his love was genuine?
Another twig snapped and a rustle emitted from the depths of the trees. Inuyasha gazed at the miko one last moment before standing up. He drew Tetsaiga and headed into the forest to hunt down the disturbances. Nothing was going to take his Kagome from him again.
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Kagome awoke with a smile on her face. She'd dreamt of willow trees and white clouds. She shivered as the winter's breeze wriggled its way beneath her clothing. The fire was barely flickering with life.
The girl stood and stretched before throwing more logs into the fire pit. As she attempted to coax it back to life, she wondered where Inuyasha had gone. He'd probably tried to find a lead on their trail of Sango and Miroku. Three days and two villages later, they still hadn't come across the couple.
Her nerves were beginning to pick at her. She had wanted to finish with this whole kill-Naraku-thing fairly quickly so she could hurry back to the Castle of the Western Lands in time for the Meeting. But it had already been a week and they still hadn't even found the rest of the gang. She only had about a week left.
Just as the fire began to blaze again, Inuyasha stepped onto the campground from the forest.
"Morning," Kagome said, still cheery from her dream. "What were you doing?"
"Just surveying the area. The demons seem to be bugged about something…" The hanyou sat down with grace next to the fire.
Kagome shrugged. "Probably about the last jewel shard."
He blinked at her. "Yeah, I guess so."
She stood from the flames and stretched her back. Her eyes settled on him and she noticed he was staring at her with a fierce intensity. Fearing he'd get into another of his tirades, she said, "Ready to leave?" She strapped her sword and dagger to her waist and slung her bow across her back.
He simply nodded, continuing to stare. When he made no move to lead the way following their friends' trail, she shrugged and started walking.
Inuyasha fell back a few yards as they began following the dirt path. She got the uneasy feeling he was still staring at her. His aura told her no new information since it was cool and collected. She just knew this day was going to end with another argument.
Forcing her mind away from that idea, she turned her gaze to the sky. The sky was turning a rainbow of colors as the sun began its climb into the blue sky.
A single white cloud floated in the distance. She smiled and closed her eyes in remembrance of her dream. When she opened her eyes, the cloud was closer. Her eyes suddenly widened in amazement and she stopped in her tracks as a familiar person came closer and closer.
The demon's hair rode the waves in sync with his flowing white boa. His armor glimmered in the sunrise's rays and his amber irises were trained solely on her.
"Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement.
The demon fully descended to the ground and his cloud disappeared. "Hello miko," he said in his deep voice. Only she could hear and see the subtle affection hidden in his tone and his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, although she didn't really care much about the answer.
Before the demon could answer, Inuyasha caught up. His eyes were blazing with hostility and his claws curled with tension. "What the fuck are you doing here you asshole?"
Sesshomaru fully turned to face him. "Hello half-brother," he growled with obvious disgust.
"Answer the fucking question," Inuyasha demanded.
"Now, now," Kagome said sternly. "Let's please not get like this already."
"Fuck that!" Inuyasha shouted. "I wanna know what the fuck this bastard his here for since he's obviously not here for a fight." He cast a harsh look in Kagome's direction.
"I never said I wasn't here for a fight," the demon challenge, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. He shrugged. "I never said I was either though."
"Would you just answer the damn question?"
Sesshomaru turned to Kagome. "How you put up with him will forever be a great mystery."
Kagome smiled in spite of herself. "How long are you--" With a glance at Inuyasha who was still shouting profanity, she whispered, "One minute."
Sesshomaru nodded as Kagome returned her attention to the hanyou. "Come on now, you can fight him later. We've got to find Sango and Miroku now. Lead the way." She pushed him forward, past his brother and into the front of the group. He stumbled slightly from her shove before glancing over his shoulder with loathing eyes. He marched angrily forward.
Kagome sighed in relief. This definitely wasn't the end of this battle, but at least she could enjoy peace for a little while.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the hanyou. There was something different about his brother. He didn't normally back down that easily. Perhaps Kagome had already shown him the extent of her newfound strength.
Kagome's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Aren't you supposed to be at the castle waiting for the lords? The Meeting isn't that far away."
Sesshomaru glanced at her, seeing the concern in her eyes. "Not really. This isn't the first time there has been a Meeting at my castle. Tami knows how to handle everything. And I'll be back before it starts."
"So will I," Kagome said with determination.
Sesshomaru held her gaze for a moment. The glow in her pupils mesmerized him. The confidence of her aura and the grace of her movements captivated him. He finally forced himself to look away. If his loathing brother weren't only ten yards ahead of them, this scene would've gone differently.
"How long will you stay?" Kagome asked quietly so the hanyou wouldn't hear.
"Until I must leave," he replied.
"So you really came here just to see me?"
The demon glanced at her again. Their eyes connected only a few moments before he looked ahead again. Kagome smiled widely at the answer she saw within his eyes.
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It's been about a month since my last update. I'm really sorry guys. I had the worst writer's block ever the past two weeks. Even when I sat down to just try to think about where to go next, I always came up with nothing. Just like any other time, my inspiration for this chapter was totally random. I suddenly got my idea today and got to work. I'm feelin pretty good about it, actually.
So I guess the Big Fight is gonna come up within the next chapter or two. Things will slow down after that, so I'm not sure how I'll really keep it interesting. I was thinking of a sequel... Tell me whatcha think about that. And feel free to comment on the chapter or contribute any ideas. Until next time!
Hiko
P.S. It's late and I'm tired so I'm not gonna check over for errors, lol