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As the group neared the castle Kagome's sorrow was slowly transforming to fury. Sesshoumaru looked down at the little miko on his arm—he could smell her sadness giving way to rage and for some reason he was fearful of her anger. He had a feeling her wrath was something to be reckoned with. As they touched down on the castle grounds in front of the Entrance Hall doors no one said a word to Kagome. The miko silently handed the soundly sleeping Shippou to Miroku who still also had Rin, and handed Kirara to Akina. She walked into the castle without looking back and not saying a word.
"Poor Kagome. She liked that dog-eared hanyou, didn't she?" Akina asked, her face held sympathy for her friend.
"Hai, very much." Miroku said sadly, looking at his dear friend's back as she disappeared beyond the Entrance Hall doors.
"Is Kagome-chan still going to be sad?" Rin asked innocently. No one answered her; she looked around at them and took the hint to stay quiet.
Sesshoumaru was silent, he had smelt her scent transform into anger, so he was sure Kiori would be in for an earful of her ranting for probably the rest of the night. And so would he, if he didn't say away. As he stepped off of his youkai cloud, it immediately disintegrated into thin air and he walked with measured strides toward the great hall doors. After Kagome was safely about half way to her rooms, the taiyoukai retreated to his study.
Akina, Miroku, Rin, Kirara and Shippou, who was now awake, where left outside. Apparently they would have to take care of Ah-Un. Miroku swung off of the massive dragon and turned to help Akina down, then Rin who was now holding Kirara. Slipping the harness around and off of their heads, she scratched Ah-Un behind its ears and the two-headed youkai walked off to do what ever it did. Shippou wriggled out of Miroku's arms and stood in front of Akina, he looked at her with his long, narrow, emerald green eyes.
"I'm Shippou! Who are you?" He asked bluntly but not irrespectively. His large childish eyes gazed quizzically at her. Akina crouched down to level with him and put on a bright smile.
"Hello Shippou, I'm Akina! I'm Kagome's friend, is she you mother?" Akina asked warmly, even thought she already knew the answer. Shippou nodded enthusiastically and beamed up and her.
"What kind of demon are you?" He asked, his face openly showing his young confusion. "You smell different." He stated, closing his eyes and taking a few small sniff of the air around Akina.
"Well, I'm a unicorn, and we aren't commonly counted as demons." Akina explained to the child patiently, and stood up.
"Akina's really nice, Shippou!" Rin said loudly, smiling at the unicorn.
"I like you!" Shippou declared matter-of-factly, looking up and jumped at the woman. She laughed and caught the fox kit easily; he climbed around her shoulders and sat himself haughtily on the top her pale golden head. He closed his eyes and smiled wide, the evening sun glinting off of his pearly white, sharp fangs. Miroku smiled at the two of them, they looked so cute. He picked up Rin and spun her around, she laughed joyfully and Kirara mewed happily in her arms. Miroku slowed to a stop and set her down, and Rin took his hand in her small one and smiled up at him, he closed his eyes and smiled down at the little girl.
"Well let's go see in your Okaasan has cooled off yet," Akina said, starting to walk toward the castle doors, keeping her head straight as to not knock off the kitsune perched on top of her crown. "She got quite mad toward the end of the trip! Woo! I thought she was going to explode!" Akina joked and reached up and poked Shippou in his side, tickling him. Shippou laughed and covered his sides as all five of them walked inside the great hall double doors.
oOo
"HOW DARE SHE!" Kagome flared, pounding her tightly balled fists once on her four-poster bed mattress as she passed while in her pacing cycle.
"How could she do that right in front of me?" she brought her hands in front of her in semi fists and her fingers twitched in anger. Her eyes might as well have held fire in them by the furious look she fixed Kiori with. Of course she wasn't mad at her but just the sight of them made her loose control! Besides, Kagome was MUCH calmer…now that there was a four foot in diameter hole in the wall. Her fury found vent in accidentally beaming her miko powers in through it. Kagome never knew she had that power, but she now had a wonderful make-shift door to the room next to hers, Sesshoumaru wouldn't be happy…
"What's WRONG with the both of them?" Kagome continued. Kiori was basically terrified—after that hole through the wall, she took to staying a distance from the upset miko.
"Kagome, calm down! You don't need them, you live here now, you have your friends Miroku, Akina, Shippou, Rin, me, and Sesshoumaru. You have a new life!" Kiori told her, trying to calm the miko down. Kagome's fiery eyes welled tears though it didn't douse the blaze. She looked at Kiori, her eyes shone with unshed tears pooling in her chocolate orbs, and she plopped down heavily on her bed. The girl approached the slowly calming miko and sat next to her, put an arm around her and offered soothing words as she broke down in tears.
"It's okay, Kagome. You deserve better than that hanyou!" Kiori said in a convincing voice.
"It's not alright! What did I do wrong? What does Sango have that I don't? Does he like her because she's stronger than me? Big deal! Who isn't?" Kagome dropped her head into her hands, her elbows resting on her trembling knees. Her room doors opened and Akina and Miroku walked in, they let Shippou stay in the great hall to get to know Rin, and Kirara stayed with the two of them also. Both surveyed the rather large hole in the wall before rushing to the miko.
"Oh Kagome! You don't even know how strong you are?" Akina said, also sitting on the bed next to the miko. She heard the conversation from outside the room door.
"Strong?" She said in an incredulous and slightly hysterical voice. "I can't even hit the mark in archery! And that's what I'm supposed to be good at!" Kagome wailed, her frail body shaking slightly with her sobs.
"Kagome, you're an incredibly powerful miko! With some lessons you'll be as strong as…as Sesshoumaru!" Akina said comfortingly, rubbing soothing circles on Kagome's back.
"And once we find the rest of all of the pieces of the jewel it will merge back with the current protector miko—you. And you'll be unstoppable!" Miroku said comfortingly. "I don't ever want to hear you say you're weak ever again!" he continued and gently held Kagome's shoulders in front of him, tenderly forcing her to look up into his eyes, "…Because the Kagome Higurashi I know never lies." He bent down, closing the space between them, giving Kagome a tight hug. Once Kagome was released from Miroku's soothing embrace she dried her tear-streaked face on her plain black kimono.
"Thanks." She said quietly, looking down at her knees, her mouth still drawn in a thin line. Akina patted her hand, smiled and stood up. Taking Miroku's hand in hers and led him out to let Kagome be alone. Once outside she turned to the monk that never failed to amaze her.
"You were great! You really made Kagome feel better." Akina told him, smiling and sounding very proud of him. "How could such a perverted houshi have such a kind heart…" the unicorn whispered, she stood on her tip toes and brushed his dark spiky hair out of his face, leant in and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, she turned with a small smile and walked down the castle corridor, leaving the monk standing blankly.
Miroku stood there, his violet eyes more than twice their normal size and he blubbered incoherently as he stumbled to his respective room, a hand raised to his cheek.
"See, Kagome? You've got wonderful friends right here, just forget about that hanyou and the taijia, let them go on and have a miserable life all alone. It's obvious they don't know how much of a great friend they just lost." Kiori assured her, she thought maybe promising her friends a horrible life would make her feel better. The miko didn't seem too fazed by her comment but wasn't looking any better either. Kagome sniffed and nodded, turning her watery eyes on her friend and gave her a small smile. The girl stood up and took a deep breath, pushed her hair out of her face and walked to the bathroom to wash her face. The smell of tears on her hands and body would surely tell all the youkai of the castle how upset she had been, if they didn't know already that is.
When she came out Kiori was checking the damage of the hole in the wall.
"Y'know…if you wanted a bigger room you could have said something, the masons of the castle could have surely made a much nicer hole." Kiori joked. She ran her finger around the side of the hole and watched a few pebbles of rock crumble and fall. She turned around to face her friend and started laughing. The whole situation just seemed so silly now. Kagome laughed back, she put on an innocent mock hurt look. Both girls laughed more, the noise went through the door of her room and rung throughout the silent corridors. Sesshoumaru heard it, his study was a whole three flights of stairs down but sound traveled quite easily in the bare stone and marble castle, it effortlessly reached the taiyoukai's sensitive ears.
"Who could be laughing that hard so as I can hear it all the way here." He mused and stood up and out of his study chair, entering the hall and strode through his castle to come to a stop at Kagome's room doors.
'How is it that she can be so happy after what just occurred?' Sesshoumaru asked himself and pushed the door open to let himself in with out even knocking. He marched into the room; it smelled heavily of Kagome's jasmine scent and her tears, it there it made him feel slightly lightheaded for a split second. The two girls looked up instantly to see the Taiyoukai. Kiori ceased laughing immediately and stood up straight, her arms tight by her side and her face devoid of any trace that said she had been joyfully laughing just a few seconds back. Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru then at Kiori and giggled, her eyes closed.
"What is so funny." He asked, glaring at the miko with a bored look in his eyes. Kagome shook her head and looked past him to glance at the hole in the wall and laughed a little harder.
"If you want to visit a neighboring room in my home you simply walk outside and go through the door, do you really see the need to demolish my castle?" He commanded lightly, not even looking back at the hole, he saw it on his way in but didn't comment then. Kiori couldn't help it; she let out a giggle and tried to straighten her features back to normal.
"I am ever so sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama." Kagome said in a sweet, joking voice and she gave a shallow bow. Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow at her and she giggled.
"Servant." Sesshoumaru commanded sharply. Kiori jumped and scrambled to stand in front of him, she bowed her head and awaited orders. "Leave. The miko and I have some things to discuss." He said vaguely.
"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." Bowing quickly again she swiftly exited the room, leaving Kagome with the taiyoukai. She felt a little uncomfortable about being in her private rooms alone with Sesshoumaru. The incident in the hot springs made its way into her head and she blushed. He smelt her uneasiness in her scent and knew he had to get her to calm down before being able to talk to her.
"Relax miko, you're not in trouble." He told her and she visibly settled down and sighed softly. Then she looked up sharply and fixed him with a stare.
"Why do you call me miko? Its always miko or woman or human, at least it's not wench…" Kagome said the last part quietly, "But why can't you just call me Kagome?" She glared at him, and gave him an accusing stare. He looked back at her looking thoroughly nonchalant. "And can't you be a little nicer to Kiori?"
"I shall call you whatever I wish. And do not tell me how to command my servants." He said curtly and turned toward the door. Kagome's face fell and she looked alarmed at his sudden desire to leave.
"Ah, hey wait! I thought you wanted to talk to me about something!" She walked behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, he wasn't wearing his boa or armor and looked strangely more slender with out them.
"What?" He said calmly as always.
"What did you want to tell me? Why did you make Kiori leave if you weren't going to say anything?" She questioned, letting her hand slip from his shoulder back to her side. He didn't circle around to face her.
"You will be given lessons on how to control you miko powers and how to use various weapons." He declared, not even asking her opinion on the matter, he was telling her. Ordering her.
"And do I have any say in this? What if I don't want lessons?" She said defiantly, not noticing what she was saying.
"You do not want to learn how to control your powers?" Turning his head a bit to look at her. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes opened a little wider, realizing what she said.
"No, sorry, I do." She said, her head bowing slightly. Sesshoumaru turned back forward.
"So be it. You will have training everyday, starting tomorrow at dawn." Sesshoumaru said.
"Eek! Dawn? But that's way too early!" She countered quickly.
"Do you want them or not?"
"…Yes." She said quietly.
"Then you will wake up every day at dawn." He answered and took a few steps toward the door until…
"Wait!" She exclaimed, "Who will be my sensei?" Kagome asked, looking at Sesshoumaru's back facing her. He didn't turn around, his silver head moved slightly as he looked at her out of the corner of his golden eye. She could hardly see the smirk that adorned his face.
"Me."
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A/N: Hehehe how I lurve Sesshoumaru =) I don't think you guys understand how excited I get when I see reviews in my inbox, im like bouncing in my seat when I see I have a couple lol, well thanks for readin!
JA NE!