"Men achieve a certain greatness unawares, when working to another aim
"Men achieve a certain greatness unawares, when working to another aim." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Picture, now, the midnight sky with gems of twinkling light
Imagine Heaven's gaze on ocean waves, dazzling sunlight burning bright
Though these things inspire dreams, they can not compare
To the simple spark within you now; the simple spark of your soul's flare," – Bob
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There was no need for the shade from the trees, because darkness had set in. Yet, the towering forest continued to loom over the landscape and shadow it from the moon. The eerie shadows danced along the ground and created gloomy puppets with what little light there was. Some creatures used the dark abyss of night for their advantage.
Creatures of prey stay hidden in the trees. They remain still and silent. They wait with baited breaths. They wait for a sound. They wait for a movement. They wait for a sign. Once it finds them, they strike. They strike in an instant. They strike without warning. They tear down their prey with no remorse, for the will to survive shall always surpass compassion.
The screams of their prey can be heard in the night. Whether it is an owl snapping up a mouse in its claws or a demon coming down on an unsuspecting traveler, the screams sound all the same. It begins with surprise and ends in unyielding terror. For those close enough to hear it, it brings a chill down their spine.
Perhaps the only thing more chilling than the screams is the cool of night. Warmth is a necessity hard to come by in the forest. The dirt is always soft, but moist. The only dry things in the forest being the trees, but they are always rough and teeming with bugs that enjoy the dry places as well. It always got even cooler when a night breeze would blow.
Kagome shivered as she embraced herself. Even with a fire in front of her, the forest was still far too cold. The fire provided some light, but only enough so that she could see snippets of the shadowy figure in front of her. Other than the fire she had nothing to keep her warm.
"I do not pity you…" spoke a cool voice, "It was your own doing that led to your current discomfort,"
Kagome said nothing for a moment. She tried staring harder through the flames to see Sesshomaru. Kagome studied him more closely now, and held herself more tightly. She bit her lip. An urge to say something biting back to him swelled up inside of her until she released her thoughts.
"Of course you wouldn't pity a girl like me. You never pity anyone. You're cold and heartless. I finally realized nothings changed and you're still the same person I met the first time," Kagome retorted sharply. The comment seemed sudden. It had sprouted out of nowhere and left Sesshomaru intrigued. This didn't seem to be correlated with the girl's current physical state, but a mixture of her thoughts thrown out in an opening of speech.
"Why be bitter towards me now? What is different now little miko?" Sesshomaru snapped back in a deadly tone. He was already in a bitter mood. If anything else was to happen it was sure to set him off.
"You killed her! You killed her!" Kagome cried as she stood up from her sitting position. She waved her arms hysterically and seemed to dance around the fire wildly. She desperately held back tears. She lowered closed fists to her sides and looked at Sesshomaru pointedly.
"I have killed many in my lifetime. What one person makes a difference? Who are you blathering about?" growled Sesshomaru so loudly that it resonated in his chest. He was holding down boiling rage. This girl was far too emotional for him, and there was something about her that grabbed at him.
"You killed Nozomi…" Kagome gasped before her body found itself crushed to the ground. Small rocks and twigs dug into her back, while looming red eyes stared down at her. Gleaming white fangs were illuminated in the fire light. Kagome had always imagined her death would be shrouded in darkness. The pierce of sharp claws digging into her shoulders brought Kagome back.
"I still am unaware of where you received this information, but I assure you I did not kill her. She took her own life. It was not my fault," Sesshomaru seemed to hiss as he continued to hover over Kagome in a threatening hunch.
"You're wrong. It is your fault. You killed her the moment you gave your love to another. You're just like Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered sadly. Tears pricked at her eyes till they finally started sliding down her cheeks. The roughness of how Sesshomaru was holding did not change for the better, and only seemed to intensify.
"How dare such a thing come from your mouth," Sesshomaru said furiously. Kagome winced as Sesshomaru slid his hand down her shoulders and grasped her wrist tightly. It felt like it was almost to its breaking point. The pressure on the delicate bone was intense.
"But it's true—" Kagome said as she closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. When she opened them again the fire seemed to catch her eyes and cast sheen on them. It made them look almost akin to the falling rain. Another tear swept down her cheek as her blue eyes glistened.
Sesshomaru's claws continued to dig deeper and deeper into Kagome's wrist. A guttural growl pierced her ear as bared fangs hovered dangerously close to her ear. A hot breath caressed the protruding cartilage and it caused Kagome to shudder.
Sesshomaru pulled his head back to face her again. Suddenly a strange thing occurred. The blood red orbs began to soften. Kagome was taken aback as the bestial figure above her seemed to lean in even closer. His golden eyes bore into her own cerulean eyes. Kagome was confused.
"In just that moment, your eyes looked like hers," he said softly. Then it clicked inside her mind. The puzzle pieces fell into place. She had seen this same look before in Inuyasha's eyes when he looked past her to see Kikyo. It all made sense now. A feeling of guilt welled up inside Kagome.
"You loved her. You loved Nozomi. She was the one…" Kagome said as she felt the grip on her wrist loosen. A second later the rest of the weight leaned off of her. She looked up to find him standing tall beside her. His back was turned slightly away from Kagome and his chin was tilted to the sky.
"I loved her more than the world could ever truly know," Sesshomaru said solemnly. Kagome lowered her head and wiped away at the last of the tears off her face. She felt around for a moment before brushing her hand against the rough bark of the tree. She used the tree to pull herself up to stand. It was still a tad to dark for her to see everything around her.
"Why did you never tell her that you loved her?" Kagome questioned as she stared off into the dark of the forest. She could hear the shifting of fabric and out of the corner of her eye she could see the silhouette of Sesshomaru that the fire light created.
"I let society dictate my actions and thoughts," Sesshomaru answered simply.
"Why?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The conversation had continued onward until dawn. The topics had flowed and changed like the tides. It had started out tense and uncomfortable, but slowly faded into a more tolerable atmosphere. It was the most Sesshomaru had talked with a single person in a long time.
"Tell me more of the soldiers we met earlier. You seemed to know their leader. I figure I should learn as much about them as I can. They spoke about this golden era and then of Naraku. It made me fairly uneasy," Kagome said as she poked the remnants of the fire with a fallen tree branch.
"The leader is the Lord of the East. He is a kin of mine. Although he has done well in the past, his more recent choices appear foolish. I am not entirely sure of this golden era however," Sesshomaru answered as he leaned more into the tree decided to prop himself on.
"I had noticed he had the same moon marking as you, except facing the opposite way. I wasn't aware that dog demons ruled both the east and the west. That's a fairly interesting fact. I had been extremely curious about that," Kagome said as she dropped the branch she was holding.
"You are only partially correct. It is not dog demons that happen to rule over the east and the west, but more specifically it is the house of the moon that rules over those lands. It was an attempt to bring about equality in the kingdoms," Sesshomaru specified as he shuffled his feet in front of him.
"What exactly do you mean?" Kagome asked curiously as she stood up to walk over to Sesshomaru. She took a minute to settle herself beside him. She had enjoyed the talk she had been having with him. It had relieved her somehow, just to talk to someone.
"It was hundreds of years ago. My grandfather and his brother were in line to rule the lands of both the east and the west, at the time it was one land. Their father was dying and he feared that a war would break out between the brothers over who would become Lord. A decision was made to split the land evenly between each of the two brothers as best as it could be done," Sesshomaru explained.
"But what about the crescent moons? Why are they different? Plus even if there is similarities between you and your kin there is still a lot of differences that I can see," Kagome said as she shifted her weight from one knee to another. Sesshomaru paused for a moment before speaking again.
"Like the land, the symbol or crest of the family was whole as well. A full moon marked the House of the moon. However, to show separation of the two kingdoms an ancient ritual was performed. It caused the two brothers to become exact opposites of the other. One with the traditional white hair to represent the light of the moon, one with contrasting dark black hair to represent the shadow of the moon. The symbol itself became two different identities," Sesshomaru said as he glanced over at the girl beside him.
"That almost seems like ying-and-yang. I'm supposing the idea worked since as of right now the east and west are separate territories," Kagome said as she returned Sesshomaru's gaze. He turned his head away from her to look at the sky. The sun was beginning to come up.
"It resolved most of the problem, but not all of it. Is there anything more you would like to ask?" Sesshomaru said as he leaned his head back onto the tree again. Kagome thought long about it. Something had been plaguing her mind for a long time. It had muddled in the back of her mind the whole time she was at home.
She dug her fingers into the dirt and played around with it. She let it slide in and around her fingers. The question was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't possibly ask it now. Not after all that had happened. Could she?
She continued to play with the dirt as a child would. Sesshomaru watched as the girl dirtied her hands. He could feel her anxiousness. Kagome stopped playing with the dirt and started to tap her fingers along the ground instead. She sighed.
"I…Why did you kiss me?" Kagome asked finally. After the question a long silence followed. Kagome paused her tapping. She slowly lifted her head to find that Sesshomaru was staring right at her. A breath caught in Kagome's throat.
"As I said before, I do not know…" Sesshomaru answered truthfully. He continued to look at Kagome as if she held the answer. The just gazed at each other in wonderment about the question. Kagome bit her lip and slowly opened her mouth to speak.
"I have a theory. I think it was just because we're so desperate for affection. I knew I was. We can never have the ones we truly love, so we seek it from anywhere else we can find it," Kagome said sadly. The words brought a harsh reality, but it seemed entirely accurate.
"I suppose that is true," Sesshomaru said. They broke eye contact. It grew quiet again. Kagome thought deeply about something before slowly crawling on her hands and knees towards Sesshomaru. Her movements caught his attention once again. His eyes followed her until she sat right in front of him.
She began to lean in her head. Black hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves as she did this. She stopped up to the point where their noses touched and her breath tickled at his lips. Her deep blue eyes captured his until she shut them. She closed the remaining gap as their lips touched.
It was much sweeter than the last time they had kissed. There was innocence to it. A softer tone spoke through it. Kagome cautiously reached a hand into Sesshomaru's hair as she attempted to bring him closer. He seemed to allow it as he joined into the kiss as he tangled his own hand into her hair.
The kiss was light and only seemed to brush their lips together. Kagome daintily slid the tip of her tongue on the bottom of his lip. Sesshomaru nipped at hers. A tiny sad smile came to Kagome's face and he felt it as they broke apart. They just stared at the other for a while. Each still had a hand tangled in the others hair.
"I still love him," Kagome said softly.
"And I her," Sesshomaru said in the same soft tone.
They stayed in that position a few minutes before finally fully detaching from one another. They did not speak of the kiss. They did not discuss it. They merely let it be. They let it hang in the air. They were both entirely aware it had happened. They did not deny it. They just kept quiet. It was like an ethereal thing in which they just let it be, acknowledged but not touched upon.
"I imagine I should be heading back now. They're most likely wondering where I ran off to," Kagome said. She was comfortably watching the breathtaking sunrise from under the shade of a fairly large tree. Sesshomaru stood off to the side and occasionally turned his gaze her way.
"We will be going to my castle. The journey back to where you belong shall commence on another day," Sesshomaru said. Kagome turned back to look at him. Her eyes studied him closely. She lowered her head and breathed in deeply.
"I trust your judgment. However, exactly why are we doing this?" Kagome questioned. Sesshomaru walked over to Kagome. She lifted her head and gave him her full attention. He seemed to confirm something and merely nodded his head.
"As a human you should obviously know of the exhaustion from not sleeping, I truthfully do not wish to begin the journey back only to stop halfway for you to rest. My home is much closer to where we are and you shall be able to rest there. I will take you tomorrow back to where you need to be," Sesshomaru answered.
It was only when Sesshomaru spoke of her not sleeping that Kagome realized how tired she was. She supposed she had been running on adrenaline. She had woken up extremely early the other morning to run all the way here. Then she had stayed up the whole night talking to Sesshomaru. A rest seemed like a good idea.
"That idea seems fine with me," Kagome said picking herself up from the ground. She balanced herself on the tree and waited for Sesshomaru's command. He nodded his head and they slowly started making their way through the forest.
Kagome continued to follow Sesshomaru through the various trees of the forest in silence. It was a comfortable silence in the least. Kagome mainly focused on not collapsing due to not sleeping in so long. Her eyes found a single point on Sesshomaru's back that she used to center herself on.
They made it to a dirt road about an hour later. Roads always led to civilization of some sort. Kagome hoped this meant it wouldn't be much longer now. They hadn't spoken to each other once during the journey so far. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Kagome wasn't used to the quietness when traveling. Her group always proved to be rather loud when on their way. Kagome let a smile grace her lips.
The silence was breached however when the commotion ahead could be heard. Workers moved from left to right in abundance. The castle was in distance atop a large hill. The workers worked diligently as they hefted around large grey and red stones. They were building a pathway.
A strange feeling crept over Kagome as they continued to walk towards the castle. This all seemed far too familiar for some reason. She tried to shake off the feeling as best as she could. As the two walked through the workers they would stop to bow at Sesshomaru. Then their eyes would fall to Kagome and they would continue to watch her as she followed Sesshomaru. It was an unnerving feeling.
Their shoes clacked on the pathway the workers had managed to build so far. Up ahead something caught Kagome's eye. She gasped and ran past Sesshomaru. Her feet took her closer and closer to the red blotch in the distance. She stopped. Her breathing was rugged and hard as she outstretched a hand to stroke the immense red dog statue.
"Déjà vu…" Kagome whispered as she continued to rub her hand against the figure. A second later she felt someone hovering behind her. She turned her head to meet Sesshomaru's gaze. He was looking at her curiously.
"What is wrong?" Sesshomaru questioned. He had watched as the girl started sprinting away from him. He was caught off guard when she did this. He wondered if she was trying to escape him. It would have been a foolish attempt on her part, but then he saw her stop at the statues. What could have intrigued her so much about them?
"It's nothing. I can't explain it…" Kagome said as she removed her hand from the statue. She bit her lip as thoughts began to swirl in her head. This explained a few things, but only seemed to raise more questions.
"You may find a place to rest once we are inside," Sesshomaru said simply breaking Kagome out of her thoughts. He watched as she turned her gaze slowly from the statue back to him. She seemed almost dazed as she nodded her head towards him. The workers continued to stare at them from afar.
Sesshomaru took a few steps forward and Kagome began to follow him as he went onward. Kagome decided she would have to try her best to keep her thoughts to herself. Inuyama-Jo was Sesshomaru's castle. Another thought came to Kagome as she thought about this. It filled her both with excitement and with a bit of anxiety.
They finally arrived in the grand entryway of the castle. Servants ran back and forth putting last minute touches on the interiors of the building. Currently the inside was very plain. It was even plainer than when Kagome had seen this same castle as a museum.
Kagome's gaze went to where the portrait of Nozomi was meant to hang. All that faced Kagome was a cool blank stone wall. It was completely bare. Where was the beautiful painting? Kagome was aware she couldn't just ask where it had gone. It would make her seem suspicious if she asked about a picture she supposedly hadn't seen before.
"What is wrong? You seem bothered about something," Sesshomaru commented after he had continued to see the same dazed look in Kagome's eyes as they walked. Kagome seemed surprised by Sesshomaru's sudden acknowledgement. It took her a moment to answer him back. She quickly thought of something to reply.
"May I go to the garden?" Kagome asked. Sesshomaru was puzzled by Kagome's question. When she asked about the garden it reminded him about the conversation he had had with Rin a while back, before the unpleasantness happened.
"I do not have a garden. I never believed a garden necessary for my stronghold. I see no purpose for one," Sesshomaru said simply. He watched as Kagome's contorted into one of confusion. She was bewildered.
"But I was certain…" Kagome began before correcting herself, "I was certain a castle of this stature would have a grand garden of some sort,"
Sesshomaru said nothing in return to Kagome's statement. The front entryway grew quiet again. A silence returned between them as they got lost in their own thoughts. The servants had stopped bustling around now. They had seemed to disappear. A chorus of footsteps broke through their barrier of soundlessness.
"Kagome!" said a happy voice as it bounded off of the stone walls. A few squawks were heard after the other voice. Rin and Jaken came into view from around the corner. It would be explained later that the two had learned of Kagome's arrival through the fast spreading gossip of Inuyama-Jo.
"Rin, take Kagome to your quarters. She requires rest," Sesshomaru as he gestured slightly down the hallway the little girl had emerged from. Rin nodded happily as she rushed over and took the older girls hand in her own. The pair walked off. Right before they were finally out of sight, Kagome looked back at Sesshomaru one last time. Then they were gone.
"Not that I don't believe in your judgment Lord Sesshomaru, but are you not afraid to open old wounds? Another human in your companionship? I have no doubt in you, but I fear what happened before will happen again," Jaken said once the others had left. He winced in anticipation of being punished for his words. However, the assault never came.
Jaken looked up to find a blank face. As usual, no emotion showed on Sesshomaru's face. This time however, Jaken could actually feel the hint of utter rage behind that face. In an attempt to avoid opening old wounds, Jaken had merely resurfaced old memories that had long been buried.
Sesshomaru turned away from Jaken to face the large expanse of blank wall that stood in front of him. His fists were clenched at his sides. With the most control he had ever needed, Sesshomaru spoke sharply.
"They have taken away one castle in the belief that I was weak. I assure you that shall not happen again,"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I apologize profusely for the delay. I have been schooling in Germany for the past few weeks. Although I did have access to a computer, I was unable to use it for fan fiction purposes. I also did not have the first half of the story on my computer there. I had forgotten to bring it with me. I did continue to write the story in my travel journal however. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again I apologize for the delay.