Unliving

Chapter six – Taking it slow

Kagome rubbed her eyes and realized they hurt. She blinked a few times and tried to focus. She'd been typing for three hours, and her hands were now resting numbly on the keyboard. Her mind went blank all of a sudden, and she sighed. She still had this sentence to finish. She looked at the pulsing cursor on the sheet and decided she couldn't do it. She couldn't think about the place, the surroundings, or the company.

She was neither able to write her story, nor her father's report anymore. He was the only one she could think of. His husky voice, his deep gold eyes, his flowing movements, the light that sometimes sparked on his face, and the darkness that often covered his features.

Sesshoumaru-sama was inside her head, no matter what she did, where she was… He was there. So many mysteries wrapped around one single person… Her head was spinning, and she decided this was no longer about her story. It was about him. She wanted to get to know him, he'd intrigued her. He had tugged at her senses, took her to the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows.

She felt pulled towards him, but pushed back too. It was like he wanted her to know him… but then when she did get to see, really see inside him, he would push her away. He only wanted her to see some parts, those parts that he allowed himself to unveil. Kagome couldn't help asking herself what he was hiding, that was so terrible.

Her head was still a little heavy from that cup of wine… oops, cups of wine she'd had last night. She looked at the clock.

"Yeah! Lunch time!" she shouted and closed the laptop. She jumped out from the bed and picked up the phone. A few seconds later, she spoke to Emma.

"Emma, could I have dinner now?"

"Of course, Miss Kagome. Where would you like it to be served?"

"Do I get to choose?" Kagome rapidly asked. She'd thought lunch was served, as dinner, in the dining room.

"Well, you may have it in your room."

"Oh, that's fine; I won't make you carry that tray all the way up here, Emma. The dining room will do just fine."

"Lunch will be served within half an hour, Miss Kagome."

"Thank you, Emma. Bye-bye!" She thought she heard a giggle.

"… Good… bye." The young maid said, a little insecure, before hanging the phone.

Kagome shook her head. "So uptight, these people! Poor girl…"

:---:

'What else is there to do here?' Kagome asked herself, looking at the emptied table. Lunch had been great, but she was bored to death right now. She was used to being on the move all the time and she couldn't simply stand around doing nothing.

Emma entered, and before the poor girl could say anything, Kagome cornered her.

"Emma, who was Kikyo?" her hands rested on her hips, and she was frowning at the young maid. Emma backed a little, smiling awkwardly.

"Uhm… well, you see, she lived a very long time ago, and…" Kagome was still frowning. Emma's face turned serious.

"You'd better sit down for this one. It's a little complicated."

They both sat down, Emma practically had to be forced into it, and Kagome leaned forward, with her elbows on the table. Emma was stiff.

"You see, Kikyo was… How should I begin this?" She seemed to ponder over the thought, and Kagome could feel her patience running out. She was one step away from tapping her foot against the floor. But she waited for Emma to put her thoughts in order.

"You know that Muncaster castle was built around the year 1300." Kagome nodded.

"Well, it is said, and beware this is a legend, that Kikyo was a young woman living on the Lord's domain, some two hundred years after that."

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kagome asked. Emma seemed to be very surprised at this thought.

"No… I mean, I doubt it was Lord Sesshoumaru. That would mean he…" she stopped, went pale, but continued.

"Anyway, the Lord of these lands was a cruel man, it was rumored that he drank his subjects' blood to punish their crimes. An eye for an eye, as it goes. If you killed someone, you would be bled to death. If you were to steal from another, your hand would be chopped off. He was said to burn stigmata into men's skin for other crimes, such as rape or treason."

Emma seemed to dread those acts, but Kagome found they were not so unfair. She'd always thought the judicial system nowadays was far too permissive with criminals. Served them right!

"Everybody feared him, especially because he always did these things at night. Nobody had ever seen him go about in plain light." Emma stopped again, this time Kagome was sure the girl would faint, she was so pale.

After a minute, she continued.

"Kikyo was poor, but very kind, and she is rumored to have had special powers. The power to heal, mostly. All minor wounds would vanish under her touch. Deadly injuries she healed within two days, often at the expense of her own health. She would fall ill after healing a lethal wound, and recover in a few days, then do it all over again. Everybody came to see her, all over the county, and she would heal them all. She never took anything from them for this, but the villagers she lived with usually gave her food and took care of her whenever she would fall ill. She didn't really need that, though, her spiritual power was able to heal her body without any outside attention.

One night, she was walking this very forest, when she was attacked by wolves. It is said that the Lord found her and took her at his castle, to be taken care of. Nobody really knows what happened between them, if she fell in love with him, or he fell in love with her, or maybe both, but she stayed there for almost a month, forgetting about her healing power and about the villagers. Many came to seek her, but they were sent back by the Lord's messengers, saying she could no longer heal them.

The people understood it wrong, like she wouldn't heal them anymore, and became her enemies, calling her a witch, and that she'd gone on the dark side because of the Lord. In time, they came to hate her, and all that was left of her memory as a healer fainted.

Then, the time came when they would attempt to take her life, sneaking into the Lord's castle and trying to kill her every way they could. Their anger and ignorance grew to the point where Kikyo became a dark witch in their eyes, the one who had turned her back on them to become that monster's woman. She was tainted, no longer the pure maiden they used to know.

They were convinced that murdering her was the only way to free her soul from the Lord's evil powers. So, one time when the Lord was away from his lands, they captured her and took her to the woods. They burnt her on a bonfire, like the witch they thought she was, and the Lord found her remains there, in the woods clearing, when he returned. He was so pained that he slaughtered the entire village, except for the children. Nobody really knows why he spared them, but he did. Now, Kikyo's soul haunts our castle, calling for her Lord to take her from the darkness, but it seems like he can't hear her."

Kagome was staring at Emma, forcing a thought out of her brain.

'Sesshoumaru… Sesshoumaru was the Lord.'

She shook her head, and said nothing. Emma was eying her as well.

"Do you think…" the maid started, but Kagome refused to hear her words.

"Oh, that's so romantic, Emma, I can't believe it's true though! Thank you for the story." She seemed strangely happy to the maid, who simply shrugged her shoulders and excused herself.

Twenty minutes later, Kagome was still seated at the table, temples in her hands, putting it all together.

'He spared the children. He was only seen by night. He was cruel and heartless, but only with those who did wrong.' The image fit Sesshoumaru like a glove. However, it was a fairly vague one, and she couldn't be sure. She decided to look into it.

'That library of his must have some kind of documents saying who owned these lands throughout time.' She jumped from her seat, and went straight to the library. She almost bumped into Ethan on the way.

"Looking for something, Miss Higurashi?"

She gave him an annoyed look. She really didn't have time for him, she had to know this!

"No, I'm just going to the library." She wanted to continue her rapid walk, but Ethan's voice stopped her.

"You know where it is, then?" She swallowed. She shouldn't have known. Officially, she'd never been there. Officially.

"I'm sure I can find it, thank you." She practically ran from him, leaving the man with his mouth open.

:---:

She stood before the large shelves, staring up. This room was as big as a house by itself. It was incredibly high, like three stories up, and packed with books. The stairway went around the room, opening in narrow passage-ways that allowed you to walk along beside the shelves. Also, every here and there the narrow paths held ladders on which you could climb if a certain book was out of reach. The library was organized in sections, beginning with the ancient books, several hundreds of years old, and ending with modern literature. All shapes and sizes.

"Whoa…" Kagome said, staring up. She looked for something similar to History or Proprietorship, and decided to climb up the staircase. At the second level, after an hour of frantic search, she seemed to find what she was looking for, but the section was too far up. She took a glimpse along the narrow hallway, then one down. She wasn't afraid of heights, but that suspended path was way too narrow for her comfort!

She proceeded to dragging the ladder to where she needed it, and climbed up to the books. There were several collections of maps, historical facts and tales from the beginnings of the English Inquisition. She figured Kikyo had been so rapidly categorized as a witch because of the Inquisition. It was en vogue at that time, so to speak. They were practically burning women that had birthmarks, for fear they were witches. Kagome's feminist side felt repugnance at that thought.

"Ignorants!" she couldn't help mumbling, while reaching for the large book. It was very old, and she would have to be careful with it. But she couldn't reach it. So she left the ladder, and climbed directly on the edge of the shelf. She was certain it could hold her weight; it was iron carved and massive wood. She leaned against the books, to reach the one she wanted, and finally grabbed it, pulling it out halfway, when all went black.

It happened so fast, that she didn't know what hit her. She looked down, and the floor was just beneath her. She was still on the edge of the shelf, she was sure. Looking up, she could see the same books she saw a second ago. Then… what had happened? The room went suddenly smaller and darker.

The movement had been almost imperceptible. She'd been spun around. The shelved had moved with her, and she was now on the other side of the library wall, somewhere in a hidden chamber. She slowly climbed down, leaving the book where it was, halfway out.

She took a second to adjust to the dim light. She could see now that in the middle of the small room was a high pedestal with a thick book opened on top. A single large chair was placed in front of it, and the walls held burning candles.

Again, Kagome thought those were incredibly slow burning candles.

She slowly walked to the book, mindful for the floor not to open and swallow her whole. Her heart was pounding inside her chest, and her eyes were wide open. She reached out to the pedestal, and touched it. It was carved stone, with some strange patterns all over it. She looked at the open book, and saw an ancient handwriting, with all these peculiar phrasings.

The First Tradition: The Masquerade

Thou shalt not reveal thy thy nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood.

The Second Tradition: The Domain

Thy domain is thy concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word in thy domain.

The Third Tradition: Progeny

Thou shalt sire another only with permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shalt be slain.

The Fourth Tradition: Accounting

Those thou create are thine own childer. Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shalt command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.

The Fifth Tradition: Hospitality

Honor one another's domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shalt present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing

The Sixth Tradition: Destruction

Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine elder. Only the eldest among thee shall call the blood hunt.

Kagome read the words with absolute bewilderment; she had no idea what she was reading. Between the weird wording and the assumption that the words referred to a real situation, she couldn't make out their logic. She understood the words, but their meaning was lost to her.

They looked like a creepy version of The Ten Commandments. But all those references to blood, and being slain… And the weird terms, like childer and blood hunt… Kagome read the lines a few times, trying to make some sense out of them. No use, the only thing that grew with repeating reading those lines was her fear. Fear that they might refer to a real life situation.

'What kind does it refer to?' she asked herself while fingering the page.

"Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind."

'Human kind, or…"

"Thou shalt not reveal thy thy nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood."

"Claim of blood…" Kagome mumbled. Her heart went crazy inside her chest, and her eyes widened in realization. The coming out at night only, the peculiar shade of white on his face, those immobile eyes, and the imposing figure, her assumption he could drink blood… Sesshoumaru-sama was a… vampire!

She put a hand over her mouth, as if speaking it would make it true. She couldn't breathe right. She felt suffocated, as if someone had punched her in the throat. A muffled pain rose inside her and she couldn't tell where it was coming from. The room went smaller and smaller, as she tried to focus on standing up.

"So the werewolves were real…" she whispered, and one of her hands went to her stomach. She felt sick. She turned the covers of the book and forced her eyes to read: The Book of Nod. She'd never heard of anything named like this.

The ill feeling crawled deeper inside her, and Kagome's eyes rolled back.

Her legs refused to sustain her weight, and she went crashing to the floor, banging her head on the way down.

:---:

She was choking. She turned to one side and leaned over the edge of her seat to cough. A rumble went through her chest, as she let out the air. Her head hurt and she felt perplexed, like she'd been in a coma for a long time. She flashed her eyes open and slowly took in the pattern on the chair's cushion. She swallowed, and realized she had a taste of blood in her mouth.

She grimaced, disgusted at the unpleasant taste. Her bottom lip stung her and she figured she must have bit her lip when she fell.

'When I fell…'

Kagome's hands clenched on the edge of the chair, and her head sprung up. She was still in that room, and Sesshoumaru was eyeing her silently. She felt something cold at the back of her neck. Staring at him, she put a hand on the cold place, and felt something wet. She removed it and looked at her blood stained fingers. It wasn't much of it, but the cut was severe enough for her to feel dizzy. Her eyesight went blurry every now and then.

"Sesshoumaru-sama…" she whispered, for fear he would harm her, more than anything else.

He was just in front of her, staring down at her with that unreadable expression. Kagome suddenly felt afraid, when he stepped towards her, and reached for her face. She closed her eyes and backed a little, but he merely brushed some lose bangs off her forehead.

Kagome let out a breath and opened her eyes. He leaned his head and shook it a few times.

"You just cannot sit still, can't you?" He asked. Strangely enough, his voice was calm and composed, he didn't seem angry. He didn't even seem disturbed.

'Maybe he doesn't know what I've realized…' Kagome assumed, looking into those cold eyes. He straightened his posture, and gave a small sigh.

"Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" Kagome shook her head rapidly, with a look of apprehension on her tanned face. Sesshoumaru looked into those bright violet eyes and felt his calm crumbling down around him. She knew, she wasn't stupid after all, but on the contrary. Her remarkable intelligence was one of the things he'd chosen her for.

She knew and now he had to make it so that she wouldn't run away, and scream it out to the world. Literally, because she worked at that magazine…

"You have been unconscious for quite some time, I was beginning to worry." His deep voice was the same; his entire person was as calm as ever, as beautiful and fascinating. There was nothing different about him, Kagome thought, as she tried to make room in her mind for this new realization.

'This cannot possibly be true; it's all some sort of sick game… Vampires do not exist! He's just… weird and pure blooded youkai. That's it! The claim of blood referred to youkai! But then, why not reveal their nature? Everyone knows he's youkai, that's never been a secret with them, on the contrary. They take pride in it, especially the pure-blooded ones…'

Her trail of thoughts was rapidly unfolding inside her head and Kagome soon felt dizzy. She put a hand over her forehead, and frowned.

"This is all too…" she whispered, and looked up at him. He was a statue. No muscle was moving on his perfect face. He was dressed in a black coat that almost brushed the floor, an indigo shirt and black pants. She forgot what he was, for a second, and looked at who he was.

Sesshoumaru was still, expecting her to sort out her thoughts. He knew she must be confused, especially finding it out like this. It was a mistake from his part to allow it to happen. He should have been more careful, should have seen her determination, and prevented this. But who knew she was so damn nosy?

Kagome eyed the Lord much like she would have a being from haven or hell, it made no difference. He was simply captivating; she couldn't rip her gape off him. He felt her intense violet gaze pierce his body, and scorch the inside him like fire. He was a little unsettled with his own reaction. It had been involuntarily draught out of his body, and his heart skipped a beat when he caught her stare.

Kagome's face was lit by the candles, and shadows flew around her entire body, as she stood tensed in that chair. Her hands were now clutched onto the edges of her seat, and her head a little bowed. She looked like wild cat, Sesshoumaru though, with that black hair spreading over her shoulders and face, and eyeing him so intensely.

He blinked and she woke from her trance. This was in need of some clearance, her reason called for it. She needed to know everything there was to know, so that she could act accordingly with all the information at hand.

'Shake it off, Higurashi! If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it until now.' She opened her mouth and spoke, willingly ignoring the fact that there were fates worst that death.

"You're a vampire." Surely enough, it was a statement. Sesshoumaru didn't even flinch at her words.

"I am." He said, and her blood froze in her veins. It was one thing that she was sure of it, as a conclusion draught from what she stumbled across, and an entirely different thing that he would admit to it just like that.

Kagome swallowed her terror. This could not be possible… shouldn't be possible! She thought, and looked at his perfect face.

"And a youkai too." She continued, but he tilted his head to one side.

"Almost." Was what he said, and she frowned. So, the vampire condition took first place and his youkai blood second. But, how?

"How come?" she was still tensed, and very much surprised by her own calm. She figured she was in shock, otherwise she would have screamed her head off. But then again, who would hear her?

"It is a long story, Kagome." She shivered at the mention of her name. The way he said it… Kagome… was like half a whisper, half a demand, so insinuating… She closed her eyes for a second, and tried to ignore his charm. This… creature was certainly unique, because the world, as wide as it could be, simply could not contain two alike!

"I think I won't be going anywhere, Sesshoumaru-sama. Is that right?" she said, aware of the fact that she was now captive in his castle, or at least on his estate, indefinitely. She had to find out more of this, and then she could shape an escape plan from this hell. Living with a vampire wasn't exactly her idea of a comfortable residence.

He smiled ever so faintly, and nodded once, very slow. He looked at her from under his eyebrows, and Kagome got a shiver. This time, it wasn't the one on the back of her neck, It was a fiery one, from her stomach, that seemed to light her up entirely. For a brief moment, she thought he heard him chuckle.

She was so dizzy, that she couldn't tell, though. He extended an arm.

"Come with me, Kagome." He lightly turned his shoulders to one side, and waited for her to take his hand. Kagome looked at those pale fingers, and noticed the two magenta stripes on his wrist, identical with the ones on his cheekbones. She was sure those were part on his youkai inheritance.

However, something kept her from touching him. There was something burning inside her that called for his touch, but yet something that desperately kept her from such an intimate contact. She stared at him, while standing up. She wasn't gonna take his damn help! She could walk by herself!

"I'm coming." She said, slowly, but didn't take his hand. Sesshoumaru nodded.

"I see." He dropped his arm elegantly, and walked to the bookshelf. He looked back at her and pushed the wall. It cracked open and he invited her to pass through first, which she did, mindful not to touch him too much. Some small voice inside her heart cursed her for avoiding him. But her reason told her she should not touch this creature, that she should run away as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

She walked out in the light of the chandelier, and heard the door shutting closed behind her. She knew he was there, behind her, too. She could feel his gold eyes stuck on her back, burning marks into her skin. She couldn't stand it, she felt too vulnerable in his presence.

Her shock grew when she realized that her vulnerability wasn't one of an inferior creature facing a predator. She felt too… feminine with him. She felt too much like a woman, too much like the protected one, like the one who needs comforting and caring for. She hated it.

Kagome began walking to the huge staircase that led down, and heard his soft footsteps following her. Sesshoumaru said nothing, until she reached downstairs, and turned to look at him.

'Man, he's tall!' she thought, as she turned and had to lift her chin considerably just to look into his eyes. He was at least a head taller that her, and that long black coat only added to his imposing appearance. His white hair fell over his back and shoulders like an embrace.

"I trust you're not going to hurt me, or you would have already done that by now." She said, and her voice was a little wavering. She immediately resented her human blood.

He narrowed his eyes a bit.

"I will not harm you, Kagome. That is not why you are here."

'Not why I'm here?' she seemed a little taken aback by his words.

"Why am I here then, Sesshoumaru-sama? I thought I knew, but it looks like I don't have the slightest clue." She raised her eyebrows, and Sesshoumaru felt a little impressed by her composure.

'I must say, she's taking this far better then I would have thought, considering the circumstances.'

"All in due time." He said, and seemed to think something over for a second. He had the same concentrated look upon his face as the one he had before his meeting with Devonshire. Kagome instantly realized Devonshire was a vampire too.

'Great! This opens too many possibilities…' she thought, a little exasperated.

"For the time being, we must attend to your wound, and then you should eat something." Kagome had completely forgotten about the blood on the back of her head. She involuntarily put a hand on the sore spot, and swallowed, looking at the floor for a second. She really was feeling dizzy, but she was almost sure it came from the news, and not the lack of food. Well, maybe having her head banged against the floor had something to do with it too, but that was really the least of her concerns at the time.

:---:

Kagome was seated on a large chair; in the same room he had received her in during her first evening here. The large window was in front of her, and the burning fireplace at her left. The light wasn't much better than it had been then. She was alone, staring outside, where rain had begun to trail down the window.

The wind blew dead leaves everywhere, and Kagome couldn't think of anything at all. Her mind was as blank as a sheet of unwritten paper. She needed some time to process the information, to adjust to this new world she'd been thrown into, all of a sudden. One vampire meant an entire society of them, she was certain.

Where had Sesshoumaru gone to?

The door fell closed, and her eyes shot up at him. He was carrying a small medicinal case, and a recipient with what appeared to be warm water.

"I will not have my personnel asking improper questions about your injury, Kagome. I have done this many times before, on more severe wounds."

She blinked a few times, realizing he wanted to clean her wound. She really didn't want him to touch her, but she had no choice. He would probably tie her down and see to her wound, if she wouldn't comply.

So she moved to another chair, one without a back, and pulled her hair over one shoulder, bending her head down. The movement hurt, and she realized that the cut must be pretty deep, although not deep enough for it to demand stitches. A shiver passed through her when she thought that he could probably even stitch wounds too.

Her wordless approval somewhat surprised Sesshoumaru, but he went around her and kneeled to take a look at her wound.

"It is not severe. It will merely need cleansing and a small bandage. Nothing to worry about and it would probably be out of sight if you wear your hair down." His words brushed the back of her neck, and Kagome could feel his cold breath over her skin. She wondered id his touch would be as cold. His fingers reached her skin and she immediately sprung forward, away from his touch. He was as cold as a corpse. Her entire body shivered at their contact, but she tried to put it in the account of the sudden coldness.

"I apologize." He said in that low voice of his, making Kagome even more nervous than she already was. It was really beginning to bug her, this stupid feeling she had around him.

After a minute, he resumed his work, this time his skin as warm as any other human's.

"Wow…" she whispered, and she felt his eyes widen at her word. He cleaned the dry blood off her wound, biting on his teeth. This required more self control than he would have thought. Her slender neck, and that cut was just a tad too tempting. He growled between his teeth, and forced his instincts out of his body.

"How did you do that?" her dim voice surprised him. It was soft, with no trail of fear about it. She was most certainly in shock.

'When she will recover, she'll be so frightened she will try to escape anyway she could' he thought. Although that was the rational way to put it, he hoped she wouldn't do it. He dreaded being forced to chain her in here. He wanted her to understand him, and his need for her.

"One must be able to pass for a warm blooded creature, around them. We are able to force blood through our veins at will. Of course, this comes with a price."

Kagome hated the plural.

"Will you just talk about yourself? I don't think I can take the we." She mumbled, and he found that he understood her feelings. It must have been overwhelming.

"As you wish." She sighed and tried to focus, shutting up her mind, which was yelling to get the hell away from that creature while she still could. She had to find out more about him. There was more to him than just what he was; it showed in his actions, on his face and mostly in his eyes. Those sun stained eyes, who couldn't look at the blue sky anymore. A wave of compassion rose inside her, but she quickly cast it aside.

'Maybe he wanted to become a vampire, and then my compassion would be worthless to him.'

She focused on his gentle movements, his light touch on her skin. His fingers shallowly brushed against the back of her neck, and she closed her eyes. This man could not be led by his nature, no matter how vicious that nature might be. He was too prevailing; he emitted such energy, and caused her such intense feelings, that no nature could possibly lead him. His nature only imprisoned him. It was his cage, not his drive. She succumbed to the shudder his light touch sent through her body, and denied what he was, if only for a moment.

:---:

A small glossary:

Kindred – refers to the vampire kind in general

Sire – the vampire that made another vampire, the daddy vampire as it were

Childe – the one who has been made a vampire (by his/her Sire), plural childer

Kine – humans, mortals

Prince – an elderly vampire who acts like some sort of ruler for the others. Mind you, though, the Prince does not enforce rules like our Police would, but works mostly to keeping peace among Kindred with the power of persuasion.

Blood hunt – Vampires setting out to slay another vampire. This only takes place from the Prince's order, and is caused by a vampire breaking one of The Six Traditions, which are like the laws of Kindred. Surely enough, there are 13 clans of vampires and each have their own interpretation of the Traditions, but they are generally the same to all Kindred.

The Book of Nod – is actually a very rare script of the Kindred's ways, clans and sects. It very rare and ancient, and I've kinda abused it here, I don't know it a vampire would keep it hidden like that. I'm not even sure if he's supposed to have it. Oh well…

That's all I can think of right now. If you wanna know more just ask.

:---: