A/N: Sorry, everybody! My computer was taken away from me, because it needed repairs, so I didn't update last week. But now took quite extreme chapters.
Chapter Seven
Once again Kagura was called by Kagome to help, but this time not with the delivery but tending to the wounded. The whole Kijasoku family found shelter in Inuyasha's house. Kagura'd met a lot of youkai slayers already, but the scale of that family astonished and even terrified her. Fifty persons, women included, of all possible varieties. They were obviously not all blood related, but joined together to fight one foe. Along with humans there were hanoyu, priests, monks, mikos, even a couple of pure youkai, and they were all bleeding from wounds inflicted by all possible means: weaponry, poisons, some had whole chucks of flesh missing. Blood was everywhere.
"What happened?" Kagura asked Kagome, who was running from one cot to another.
"Some idiot sold his soul to youkai to get revenge or something, I don't particularly care about his motives. Whatever the reason he must be stopped, it is practically a war zone on the Western Lands' border already. I didn't see anything myself, but from what Inuyasha tells me… It's horrible!"
"But why there? Does this man have any personal interest in the Western Lands?"
"Seems that the contract with the youkai included the point that firstly they'll settle youkai's business, namely destroy Sesshomaru who the youkai has grudge against."
"Grudge against Sesshomaru? So it is personal?"
"Personal or not, people are dying and we have to help them."
Which they did. All women of the village had been dressing the wounds for three days straight. Only at the end of the fourth day some signs of recovery were seen, and for youkai it was definitely too long for comfort. Everyone who had hands and could stand firmly on their feet was engaged in providing care for the wounded, even children.
At the end of one of the exhausting days, Kagura found herself sleeping back to back with Kagome on one side and Rin on another. Her thoughts were in a scramble, the only thing she wanted was to fall into a deep sleep, so it was cause to that chaotic state of mind, Kagura dared to ask Kagome the question that was bugging her since the night she saw Sesshomaru last.
"Kagome? Are you asleep? I want to ask you something," Kagura said softly at Kagome's back.
"Shoot. I am still sane. I think," Kagome whispered back.
"What does it mean when youkai brush noses?"
"Well, I don't know about other species, but for inuyoukai it is a very special gesture. With inus it is all about scents. They can be blind and lose the sense of touch and hearing, but their noses will tell them everything they need. Males rarely brush noses, only when becoming blood brothers. With males and females… while brushing noses they exchange their scents, making the gesture very intimate, because no youkai can let another one be close enough to learn his scent, only if the other party is someone trusted. To make the story short, noses' brushing or touching for youkai is an equivalent of human's kissing. Why did you want to know?"
"Oh, just out of curiosity," Kagura replied in an empty voice, thankful that Kagome couldn't see her deadly pale face. Kami-sama, what should she do now? And did she even want to do anything?
…..
"I am taking Rin with me and that's final!"
"But Kagura, there is a war zone there. She may get hurt," Kagome pled with the raging woman.
"As if she can't be hurt here! Why do I need to go somewhere I don't even know?"
"Because Sesshomaru requested you to be brought to him," Inuyasha interjected, appearing in the doorframe of Naruki's house. "He would've come in person, but he must be getting old for all these fighting activities; rests in his room more than he fights," he remarked sardonically.
"I will go, but Rin is coming with me. He will skin me alive if his precious Rin is left alone without supervision. These are must last words," Kagura declared.
Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha could talk Kagura out of her decision. They didn't exactly try, seeing blazes of sheer determination in her nearly red eyes. They were also surprised not to receive any objection from Kagura whatsoever on the subject of Sesshomaru's summoning her anywhere at all. She agreed but only on her terms, which was quite remarkable for a human woman. Sesshomaru, who believed himself superior to all living things, will certainly be disgruntled to find out that his orders, and bringing Kagura was no request, were taken out wrong. And Inuyasha wasn't going to explain the situation; it was all Kagura's doing, so it was she who would deal with Sesshomaru. Inuyasha really wanted to be present during that confrontation.
The wounded needed care so the group of only four, which included Kagome, Inuyasha, Kagura and Rin, departed from Inuyasha village and headed towards the border of the Western Lands.
Kagura and Rin were cared by a youkai, a familiar lent from one of the slayers which resembled a horse. Kagome was cared by Inuyasha. In such an assembly they reached the border – an enormous mountain rage – in not more than eight hours.
From the height of their flight Kagura could see a majestic, two store palace on the very top of the rage. "What is this building?" she asked in awe.
"The residence of the Lord of the Western Lands," Inuyasha replied. "I didn't even know it existed till I was told a week ago. The Inu clan lived there till father's death, then it was disbanded since Sesshomaru didn't claim the position of the ruler as it was. The whole place reeks and is covered with dust. You'd better not wonder around, little girl," he instructed Rin.
"Sesshomaru-sama will protect me," Rin declared with utmost faith.
They landed in an inside park which looked rather well kept in spite of the palace to be deserted for at least two hundred years. The park wasn't deserted however, but occupied by the master of the house himself.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin cried, jumping down from the horse, making a bee line for Sesshomaru, attempting to crush his legs in a hug.
To Inuyasha's total shock no protest was showed, Sesshomaru simply took Rin into his arms and cared inside. The others had nothing to do but to follow. Naturally, Kagura looked around since she had never been in fancy houses, but was disappointed. The palace didn't look much different from any other house with rice paper inner walls and bamboo floor mats. There were however some intricate ornaments and decorations on the walls from time to time, and if Kagura knew any better, they were several centuries old. They entered a spacious room that executed the function of a sitting room with a long table and mats beside it.
Sesshomaru put Rin onto one of the mats where lay a bunch of flowers and took seat in the head of the table. Rin instantly engrossed herself with making a crown out of them. Inuyasha flopped down on Sesshomaru's right with Kagome beside him, but Kagura took seat on the other side, closer to Rin, but also closer to Sesshomaru.
"We are under siege," the taiyoukai announced.
"Doesn't look like it," Inuyasha grunted.
"They attack every morning with no exception, and somehow their numbers don't dwindle."
"What about the source? The possessed human? Was he found?" Kagome inquired.
"He is located in the nearby town's brothel," Sesshomaru answered.
"Then why are we sitting here?" Inuyasha exclaimed, "Let's just blast the whole thing!"
Kagome slapped her mate over the head. "You hothead! There are innocent people there!"
"The additional hindrance is that the human brought a monk who cast a purifying barrier over the village, so no youkai or hanoyu can enter."
"And you know all this how?" Inuyasha asked clearly not believing Sesshomaru's words. "You couldn't have heard it all from here."
"Loyalty still exists."
"But this village isn't situated on your lands," Kagome noted.
"Loyalty transcends mere territorial borders." After a pause, Sesshomaru continued, "The situation we are in is the following: none of us can enter the village and deal with the offenders."
"I can go," Kagura chipped in. "The question is, who do you want me to deal with – the monk or the possessed human. It is easier to get near the human, but killing him won't put the youkai to rest, on the other hand killing the man is pretty pointless, he is not at fault for organizing attacks on Sesshomaru."
Inuyasha and Kagome just openly gaped at Kagura after she presented her speech. They couldn't even start to rationalize the plan she suggested, because their minds were clouded by the thought of a human taking upon herself the task of fighting for the youkai, even killing for him… Unspeakable.
Sesshomaru on the other hand… "So be it," he approved with a nod. "We will discuss the details after food is served. Now this Sesshomaru will show the room where Rin and Kagura will be staying."
Hearing her name Rin jumped from her mat and onto Kagura's lap, placing a crown of flowers onto her head. "Now you look even more pretty," the girl stated.
"What in the Hell is going on?" Inuyasha demanded when he and Kagome were left alone. "Why did he agree? I am not talking about him caring about Kagura going on a suicidal mission, just the whole point of letting her do it. Sesshomaru would've never allowed anybody do anything for him concerning enemy's defeat. Honor and other rubbish. And now he just did, just like that. And to a woman, human woman no less. So tell me, Kagome, what is it all about?"
"It is rather mystifying, but maybe it's all very simple. Time will tell. I am mainly interested in how Sesshomaru will treat Kagura if she succeeds."
Meanwhile in the other part of the palace…
"Stay here for awhile, Rin," Sesshomaru said, sliding the door closed. "Kagura will return shortly."
"From where will I return exactly?"
"Come and see for yourself."
The walk was long enough for Kagura to wipe out the goofy smile she was unable to contain, seeing Sesshomaru's new hairstyle: a low ponytail held together by her present. They stepped into another room which looked like a bedroom in frequent use, but there was nothing in it beside a futon. Kagura didn't need a second guess to deduct whose bedroom they were in, his intentions, however, remained a mystery. From a shadow covered corner Sesshomaru retrieved two objects and handed them to Kagura.
"Fans," Kagura stated, staring dumbfounded at two silver-white fans with blood-red patterns. "Why?"
"For something that is given, something must be given in return."
"Oh. Thank you then." She accepted the fans and made several movements. "They are heavier than usual."
"Those are no ordinary fans, they are indestructible, can even stop a sword's blade."
"What are they made of then?" Kagura asked, tracing the unusual material. It wasn't paper, nor was it silk. It was something in between, but it was impossible for Kagura to grasp its name.
"No matter. With these fans you can protect yourself and Rin."
"They can become quite handy tonight too. I am going tonight, am I not?"
"If you wish."
"What am I getting out of this? I don't want to risk my life for nothing."
Sesshomaru smirked. "What do you want, Kagura?"
"What can you give?"
"I can preserve your beauty for the following fifty years."
Kagura placed the fan in front of her face to cover her blush. "Are you talking about granting eternal youth or are you complimenting me?"
"Whichever suits you."
Kagura's beautiful face became screwed with a scowl. She was tired of Sesshomaru's awaseveness. If he was saying that she was beautiful in his eyes then why not just say so? Was that considered some sort of defeat on his part? At the same time he let her chose, so he wasn't exactly denying his thoughts that her features appealed to him. In reality they were not even her features, but the wind youkai that Sesshomaru trusted long ago.
"Damn you," she spat, snapping the fan shut. "Your pride has no bounds. Despite the fact, I will take your offer. I will be a fool not to. Why does that youkai bare a grudge against you anyway?"
"This Sesshomaru killed him."
"Any particular reason why you took his life?"
"He attacked me."
"How boring. Hopefully, he wasn't just passing by."
"His fiancée was pledged to me by her father."
"So it's all about a woman?" Kagura exclaimed with outrage. It was hard to determine whether she was angry about the fact that she was risking her life and women's honor because of a primal dispute of two males over a female, or because one of the males was Sesshomaru.
"The woman's father wanted to get a better bargain on the lands so he used this Sesshomaru's status for leverage. I've never met the bitch. But that came to light only after the hot-headed lover attacked and fell by my hand."
"So he is also an inuyoukai? And he doesn't have a clue that it was a misunderstanding?" Kagura asked now in a more moderate tone, satisfied by the explanation.
"He had four hundred years to get confident in his rightness and to build up enough hate to break through the border between the worlds to be summoned by a human."
"Four hundred?" she asked incredulously. "How old are you exactly?"
"Almost eight hundred years old."
"Incredible. You must've seen so many things, talked to so many people."
"Finished so many lives. Long life doesn't mean-"
"A happy one?"
"Go and bring Rin to the room we were before. The dinner will be served shortly," Sesshomaru rapped out and stormed out of the room.
"Coward," Kagura said under her breath, fully aware that it wasn't left unheard.
The dinner was a strangled affair. Kagura, Kagome and Rin were served with stew by some unknown person, Inuyasha bit into a deer's leg and Sesshomaru just sat, staring at the opposite wall. The final plan, that was supposed to be discussed during dinner, was put together by Kagome, who seemed to already receive her mate's approval.
The plan was the following: Kagura was to, firstly, determine the whereabouts of both the priest and the possessed human. Then render innocuous the priest for him to be incapable of upholding the barrier. The others will be on standby, the moment the barrier falls everything will be finished.
Kagome waited for any comment from Sesshomaru, but there was none, she then moved her glance to Kagura, but the latter didn't say anything either.
"Are you going somewhere, Kagura-chan?" Rin asked with big puppy eyes with tears ready to spill out any moment.
"I'll leave for a couple of days. Sesshomaru-sama will look after you while I am gone."
"But come back soon, okay?"
"Okay." Kagura wanted to say something else, but saw Sesshomaru stand and move towards the door. It was her cue to follow him once again. She threw a glance at his ponytail for having nothing better to do and noticed that it was not the only difference of the hairstyle. The hair seemed shorter somehow, but she was not sure.
They stopped at the edge of the cliff. Kagura looked down and shuddered. The height was unimaginable. As if they were standing on clouds.
"You, youkai, do believe you are Kamis to live on such a high place. Let's go then," Kagura said sounding tired. Her arms slithered around Sesshomaru's neck in a familiar motion and the next moment they were falling on an incredible speed, gliding against the mountain and maneuvering around the coming out rocks. She knew that there was no danger of her falling, but still tightened her hold at some point. The landing was as sudden as the start of the descent.
"If the barrier doesn't come down in five days we will assume you failed," Sesshomaru stated, putting Kagura onto the ground.
"Very encouraging, thank you," Kagura grunted, but remained beside him.
"On the way to town are hot springs. Clean your clothes and yourself, so our scents won't be detected on you."
"To stink of a dog, brrrr," Kagura said with a naughty smile. "What about something for good luck?"
Before Sesshomaru could respond, Kagura put her hands on his shoulders, rose to tip toes and traced one side of his nose with the tip of hers. She did it exceptionally slowly, so there would be no mistake of her actions being nonrandom. When she drew away and opened her eyes, Kagura burst out laughing. She just couldn't help it – the expression of pure surprise and shock in Sesshomaru's widened eyes was too much to bear.
"You thought, I wouldn't notice? Or think it was just the wind that time? And if nothing of the above – it was just an accident? No freaking way, Sesshomaru!" she cried, skipping down the road that should led her to the unknown.
That time the last word belonged to Kagura.