Alright you wonderful people, here is the next chapter to my story. It might be somewhat different than what you would expect, but I like to aim outside the frame, if you know what I mean.
So, with no more adieus, other than the Disclaimer, I give you my next entry!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Vindictive God in White
Sighing as she finished off the last of her meal, Kagome thanked the cook and exited the small eatery, intent on heading to the mountains in the west so she could seek out aid in her training.
The western mountains were said to house some of the greatest miko's of the time, ones who could help her shed some light on her newly discovered powers.
Gripping the strap of her bag, she headed deeper into the western lands, broadening her senses to seek out any possible threats. When she found none, she calmed somewhat, still anxious about being on her own. Without her friends to protect her, she was at the mercy of the feudal era.
Grumbling at the extra weight her new sword presented, Kagome pulled at the strap bracing it to her back, trying to ease some of the tension.
She had acquired other weapons while in the shop as well. A brand new long bow and a quiver full of arrows had been her next find, followed by two, matching daggers. They were rather plain, but would serve their purpose.
Kagome was somewhat averse to leaving her friends, but this quest was one she needed to do on her own. Shippou, Sango, Miroku, Kirara… she would find them again once her training was complete. For now, however, she was on her own.
Another stab of guilt pierced through her as she thought of her family. Her mother, Souta, gramps… they too would have to wait until she had completed the task at hand.
Perking when she heard the sound of rushing water, Kagome turned off the small, dirt path into the woods, thoughts of a nice, refreshing bath beckoning her toward the noise.
When she emerged along the bank of a crystal clear river, she couldn't help but give a small 'yip' of elation. It had been over a day since her last bath and the smell of blood still permeated her senses. She could feel it matted into her hair.
Rummaging through her new bag, Kagome collected her bathing supplies and skipped to the waterfront. Bending over to test the water, she shivered when she found it to be extremely cool. Sighing, she shrugged out of her outer kimono and toed off her boots, placing them in a neat pile atop a large boulder. Her body suit was quick to follow and she scampered nervously toward the river.
Averting his gaze, Sesshomaru waited patiently for the insufferable wench to finish bathing. He had not known what to think when she strayed from the path, and was equally mortified when he stumbled across her next to the river, completely in the buff. Though he had not meant for it to happen, his eyes seemed to linger on her exposed flesh somewhat longer than he would have expected.
As he sent a scathing glare at the tree across from him, his mind was alit with fury, angry at himself for having actually been leering at her disgusting ningen body. He had seen many a female nude before, most of which were much more attractive than she.
Suddenly, a loud splash and a deafening screech caused him to turn once more to see what, exactly, the sniveling little witch was wailing about. What he found was actually rather amusing.
She looked much like a drowned rat, in his opinion, hair messy and plastered to her scalp; frail, undeveloped body shivering wildly. Her arms were crossed firmly over her chest, her tiny frame bobbing up and down in the water as she chanted to herself, "Oh that's c-cold! S-s-so v-very c-c-cold! Ahhhhh…"
Lifting a perfectly arched brow, her shook his head and resumed glaring at the small spot of bark he had previously pinpointed. His sensitive youkai ears listened with precision to not only the onna bathing, but the area around the river as well. He wanted answers and, in order for him to get what he sought, he needed her alive. He could not have some lusty, barbaric youkai barging in and attacking her. At least not until what he wanted was taken care of. Then he would leave the whelp to her own designs.
He could hear the sounds of her splashing lightly in the water, an odd squirting noise popping up here and there. She was humming lightly to herself, the tune in which he did not recognize.
So many things piqued his curiosity about this onna. There was of course her smell. The scent of decay and sweat did not linger on her. No, she did not smell of urine, dirt, and rotting flesh. She smelled rather lovely, actually. He surmised that perhaps the bottles she had been holding earlier had something to do with that smell, for every time he heard the faint 'bloop' noise, the aroma that defined her became stronger.
Secondly, her voice, when she was not screaming at the top of her lungs, was soft and lilting; musical. She was rather pleasant to listen to now, as she sang quietly to herself.
Her nature was undeniably the most atypical aspect about her. She was a human, and yet she acted nothing like the beings. Not once had he seen her display greed, selfishness, spite… no, her nature belied what she truly was, giving her a gentle, angelic appeal.
How was it that a human… could be so humane? The majority of qualities she showed were more befitting of a youkai than a ningen. She was knowledgeable, smelled wonderful, sang beautifully… was she even human at all?
His proud inu roared within him, scolding him for thinking so fondly of the atrocious woman… no, girl. He forced himself to think about her unpleasant qualities, the ones that made her undoubtedly human. She was weak, yes, weak and needy. Annoying at times as well as hot tempered. She had been a constant thorn in his side ever since she pulled the Tetseiga from its pedestal. That had been a permanent scar to his ego, one that would reside within his conscience forever.
Thought remaining focused on that memory alone fueled his hate for her and her kind, bringing his blood to a boil. It pounded through his veins with every furious beat of his powerful youkai heart, echoing in his ears like thunder.
Distaste for her returning, he sneered silently, 'She is nothing, simply an obstacle of the unknown in which this Sesshomaru plans on conquering.'
Unbeknownst to him, during his inner rant, Kagome had stepped out of the water and was now redressing, slipping her kimono on while still humming to herself.
It was only when she began to stuff her things back into her bag that he realized she was preparing to depart. Now was the time to let his presence be known.
Kagome gave a small 'eep' as a twig snapped off to her right. Hand reflexively flying to her bow, she took hold of the leather grip and snatched an arrow from her quiver in one fluid, practiced movement. Taking hold of the arrow nock, she brought the head to line up with her pointer finger, balancing against the wooden limb of the bow. Stretching her arm back, she pulled the bowstring taut, eyes frantically searching for the whereabouts of the intruder.
Spotting a flash of silver, her eyes darted to the side, where she found an unperturbed looking Sesshomaru standing next to a tree. Gasping, she staggered for a moment, but quickly regained her composure and asked in a serious tone, "What do you want, Sesshomaru?"
The corners of his lips tugged down for an instant at hearing her address him so boldly. He hadn't even initiated a threat and still she refused to use his honorific. Did the girl enjoy pressing him? Instead of correcting her, however, he cut right to the chase, not wanting to stay around her longer than he had to. "Wench, why are you not with my half-brother?"
His keen eyes noticed her own cerulean orbs harden at mention of Inuyasha, a little flicker of bitterness and hate sparking behind her icy depths.
"We… separated. He's going his own way and I'm going mine," Kagome managed to stammer, still holding the bow at ready.
Sniffing lightly, he informed her, "I do not wish to harm you, miko, you may lower your weapon."
"Why should I trust you when you've tried to kill me countless times?" she snapped back instantly, still refusing to lower her guard.
Lifting a sleek silver eyebrow, he scoffed, "You dare question my honor? I am not so low as to attack you without reason."
"You have attacked me before!" she spat.
"You were aiding an enemy and getting in the way of what this Sesshomaru desired. Now lower your arrow, priestess; had I wanted you dead you would have been so long ago."
Warily placing her bow back over her shoulder and returning her arrow to its quiver, Kagome asked, "Have you been following me?"
"I scented blood and power on my lands. It is my duty as Lord to discover what threat any such being might pose to my people," Sesshomaru replied coolly.
"I'll take that as a yes," Kagome muttered sourly. Then, realizing that, if he had indeed been following her, he would have seen her naked, she blushed furiously and snapped, "Did you watch me bathe?"
Snorting lightly, Sesshomaru's face remained impassive as he calmly mocked, "Human, do not presume that this Sesshomaru would waste his precious time ogling your disgusting flesh. Your revolting ningen body is of no interest to me."
Huffing indignantly, Kagome crossed her arms sternly and glared at him, trying to hide the fact that, inside, his comment hurt more than he knew. Was she truly that disgusting? She knew she could never amount to Kikyo's beauty, but why did everyone have to rub that in? "If you've only come to insult me then leave, I won't put up with it."
Ignoring her statement, he asked sternly, "Tell me… why is it that your power level has increased so dramatically since we last met?"
Lifting a brow, Kagome remained silent, tilting her chin just a bit higher as continued to stare irefully at him.
"Wench," he warned in the same cool tone, "I will not repeat myself. Should you continue to disrespect this Sesshomaru, you will be quick to find his patience only lasts so long." To emphasize his threat, he allowed his one hand to glow an eerie green, acid falling from the tips of his deadly claws.
Blowing a childish raspberry, she snapped, "Alright, alright, you're Highness, no need to get so darn moody!" Sighing she told him, "After Inu-Inu… he and I separated, I came to the realization that the reason why my miko abilities were so poor was because I had believed them to branch from purity."
Curiosity spiking once more, Sesshomaru interrupted her, "And is it not? Purity is what every miko strives to obtain."
Shaking her head, Kagome explained, "No, it isn't. Most mikos do strive to be pure, that much is true, but what they don't realize is that purity in itself is not what feeds our power. It's only half of what any being needs to become complete. In order to be perfect, in order to be whole, a miko needs to accept not only the light, but the darkness as well. Once I understood that factor, my powers were finally unleashed. However, I have no way to control them, for I was not trained in the ways of a priestess as a child. It was only a year ago that I even discovered my powers."
Nodding brusquely, Sesshomaru then inquired, "They say you are the reincarnation of the one called Kikyo. If that is true, then tell me, when are you from?"
Shocked at his unexpected and correct assumption, Kagome stuttered, "I-I beg your pardon?"
Smirking slightly as she gave herself away, the tall, silver haired inu youkai advanced slightly, inwardly relishing in the fact that she took a small step back. "You cannot be from this time, miko, since it takes a soul hundreds of years to be reincarnated. I am no simpleton, wench; it is rather obvious that you couldn't possibly have been born of this era since Kikyo passed fifty years ago."
Gritting her teeth, Kagome pondered whether she should tell him or not. So far, only her self and Inuyasha had been able to successfully travel through the well. The only reason he could, she surmised, was because of the ring of prayer beads looped around his neck, giving him a direct connection to her.
Deciding it would be best to appease him, she grit out, "I'm from five hundred years in the future."
When he nodded she felt somewhat surprised that he believed her so readily, shock evident on her face.
"I can sense a lie," Sesshomaru explained, hearing her unanswered question, "Therefore do not attempt to hide anything from me, girl." When a look of angry submission flashed across her face, he continued in his quest for knowledge. "How did you fall from the cliff?"
Hearing that question, one she did not want to answer, she pouted and mumbled, "What is this, twenty one questions?"
Giving her a bored look, the inu Lord clipped, "The number of questions I inquire is irrelevant, though I expect you to answer each one of them adequately."
Realizing that he had no clue as to what twenty one questions was, she dug for another way to avoid the subject of Inuyasha's betrayal. "I know, I know, and I will answer all of your questions adequately."
Nodding his approval to her slight surrender, he reminded her, "Well then perhaps you can answer the question to which I am still awaiting a response."
Grumbling to herself at his uncanny ability to see through people, Kagome growled, "I was betrayed, alright?"
"By my half brother?"
"Yes. I don't want to talk about it though, alright?"
Frowning somewhat, he commented, "I do not care whether or not you wish to discuss the matter. You agreed to my terms and will hold up your end of the bargain… or does your ningen blood prevent you from being honorable?"
Snarling, Kagome spat, "You're the one who needs to learn some honor bud! Picking at the mind of someone who's just been through a traumatizing ordeal isn't very gentlemanlike if you ask me!"
Growing fairly frustrated, Sesshomaru was quick to silence her ranting, her nearly weightless body dangling so very vulnerably from his hand. As she struggled to loosen the iron like grip of his claws on her throat, he suggested, "You need to learn when to hold your tongue, wench, lest you want it cut out. Others are not as lenient as I."
Nodding weakly, Kagome gasped in a mouthful of air as he dropped her to the ground. Catching her breath, she peered up at him to find him gazing down at her, the belittling look in his eye as he stared down his nose at her doing nothing to help her withering self confidence.
Snorting, he turned and threw over his shoulder, "That is enough, for today. Should I wish anything else of you, wench, I will find you again."
And with that he was gone. Blinking frantically at the spot he had been only seconds ago, Kagome rubbed her sore neck and rose shakily.
'He,' she hissed, 'is by far the most insufferable man I've ever met!'
Yes, yes, people; Sesshomaru is a dink in this chapter, but hey, this is the reputed Icy Inu, human hater extraordinaire! I can't just have him smitten over her now can I?
What's that, will he change his ways? Well, you'll have to wait and find out, won't you? However, I'm a greedy, greedy little bitch and I want more reviews! Bwahahahahaha………