Chapter Two – Truth
Kagome sat. Alone, at the bottom of the well, she allowed her heart free reign, giving herself permission to scream. And scream she did.
When her throat was raw and she ran out of breath, she slumped back against the wall, tilting her head back to look up at the circle of night sky. The stars were beautiful in this era, the skies free of the pollution and smog that she was used to. The air was clean, the views breathtaking. She had always wondered when she would make up her mind to stay in one era or the other, but she had never imagined that she would make her decision based on the fact that her home was in the Sengoku Jidai.
A wave of familiar youki washed over her, and she sighed. "I'm fine, Sesshomaru." She doubted he cared.
"Then why do you remain in the bottom of the well?"
"Where's Inuyasha?"
His silence told her exactly what he thought of her avoiding his question, and she watched as his clawed fingers closed over the edge, pale against the dark shadows. He was tall enough, she realized, not to have to bend over the well to see her, but the sharpness of his amber eyes distracted her from the thought.
"The half-breed remains in the village."
His mouth barely moved, but the deep baritone of his voice floated easily through the air. Kagome nodded, and then began to haul herself up out of the well. She hadn't been expecting Sesshomaru to help her, and wasn't disappointed when he simply watched her as she swung both legs over the edge; after all, she was just a—
No you're not, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Her thoughts skid to a complete halt, and she threw an alarmed glance in Sesshomaru's direction. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "Lord Sesshomaru—"
She hesitated.
Asking the stoic inu the questions that buzzed around in her mind could go either way for her, and she knew it. If he answered, he could confirm what she already knew and solidify her growing panic. If he didn't answer, she would be forced to explain herself despite his lack of response, leaving her emotions to play on her sleeve.
"Sesshomaru, I—"
His eyes were too bright, too piercing, and she couldn't ask him, not directly. She bit her lip and reached down, pulling her bag into her lap. His gaze bore into the side of her head as she reached in and pulled the old leather-bound volume, flipping it open to the story of her father's legend.
She turned to him then, licking her lips and holding out the book. "I know that I can trust you, Sesshomaru, and I know you wouldn't lie. I need—I need you to tell me if this is the truth."
Deep down, she felt a twinge of regret for needing another opinion, but her mind didn't want to wrap around the fact that she was a youkai. After seventeen years of life as a human, she couldn't make herself believe it, even though she knew it was true.
Sesshomaru's clawed fingers slipped beneath her own, and his large hand was enough to cradle the spine of the book in his palm. Amber eyes slid over the words much quicker than Kagome figured they would have, and he looked at her before she was ready.
"Lord Shinosamu was killed over a century ago." She nodded, tears stinging at her eyes. "Miko, you will explain yourself."
She took a deep breath. "I—I'm his daughter."
The woman was crazy. She had spent too much time around his idiotic half-brother and her intelligence was withering away before his eyes.
Did she expect him to believe that she was the daughter of a man who had been murdered over a century before? It would have been probable, considering her ability to travel through the well, but she was human. Shinosamu and his mate had been pure bred, full inuyoukai. The Lady Atsuki had been a daiyoukai herself, and her mating with the daiyoukai of the south had produced a youkai heir. Female, yes, but there was no way that this woman before him could have been the same pup who'd been dropped into the Bone Eater's Well.
Kagome seemed to sense his train of thought, because she sniffled and stood, fissure splitting her aura into equal parts of hopelessness and uncertainty. "I know it sounds crazy, and believe me I spent at least three hours trying to think of ways that would explain why it was impossible." She began to pace back and forth, and he noted for the first time that the usual green scrap had been replaced by long blue fabric that hugged her slim thighs and cupped her pert buttocks in an enticing manner. Momentarily, he wondered what they were called.
"I thought for a few seconds that maybe my mother was crazy, but she—she wouldn't lie to me, not about something so serious." She turned to him again, and he ignored the play of the moonlight across her delicate features. "And then she gave me the letter." She nodded toward him as she spoke, indicating the bundle of odd parchment that he held in his hand. "It's tucked into the next page."
Carefully, so as not to tear the flimsy flaps, he turned the page, finding the letter in question to be safely nestled. It was instantly obvious that the letter had been written on real parchment—the edges were yellowed with age, and he instantly recognized the handwriting.
Shinosamu and the Inu no Taisho had been great friends and Sesshomaru had many memories of the kind-hearted, ebony inuyoukai. When he was a child, he would often find letters tucked beneath his pillows or slipped underneath his rice bowl. Often, the letters contained riddles that he would attempt to answer when he next saw the lord of the south. He could never forget that handwriting—the riddles had provided him with great entertainment, and they were one of the few things he remembered with fondness.
He read the letter quickly, and then turned his gaze back to the young woman who had just proven her position as heir to the Southern Lands. He couldn't deny the handwriting, nor could he say that he couldn't feel the faint traces of youki clinging to the parchment. It was Shinosamu's youki, and unless the miko had traveled further back in time and forced the youkai to write the letter, it was legit and enough evidence for him.
The cerulean orbs that stared back at him were big and full of what he could only call hope. He didn't know whether it was hope for the truth she already knew or hope for everything being a fluke, but he found himself uncertain on how to proceed. It was not every day that he didn't know what to do, but seeing the small woman staring at him uncertainly stirred something in his chest that only Rin had been able to stir.
Her arms were crossed underneath her breasts, and though it appeared that she were hugging herself, the motion pushed the enticing globes of creamy flesh upward, teasing him as the moonlight dipped and played across her skin. Sesshomaru forced his attention away from the sight, choosing instead to focus on the obvious distress that was beginning to fade into her features.
"It appears that your caretaker was telling the truth, onna." Her arms fell to her sides, and she blinked rapidly. "You were already aware of this, woman, yet you are surprised." He was careful not to call her 'miko'—if the reiki in her body was not her own, then she was not a miko and would not appreciate the reminder of it.
"No, not surprised," she murmured. "I—I think I need to make a connection between the pup who was sent through the well and the woman I've become."
He nodded, and she sighed, reaching forward and taking the bundle of pages from him. Her small fingers brushed against his and a light blush dusted the apples of her cheeks. She was exquisite in the moonlight, and his beast reminded him that she was an acceptable mate—after all, if she was really the heir of the South, they were already promised to one another.
He pushed the thought away. The onna was carefully inserting the tome back into her bag, and as she swung it up onto her shoulders, he nearly groaned at the way it pulled her low neck shirt taut against her breasts.
"You knew my father, didn't you?"
He glanced down at her as they began the walk to the village. He nodded. "He and my father were acquainted."
"And my mother?"
He nodded again. "She was with pup—with you—when she and your father visited the Western House for the last time."
A light smile played across the woman's lips and she shifted the bag on her shoulders. "So you'd already met me, huh?"
"Yes."
They walked in silence for a moment, the sound of her footsteps steady and sure. She had grown over the past two years and had finally shed most of her clumsy tendencies. She had become used to the ever changing terrain and had learned to adapt to unexpected situations—in the battle against Naraku, she'd turned a disadvantage into an advantage and it was her quick thinking that had finally vanquished the evil hanyou.
Her gentle inquiry brought him out of his thoughts. "What were they like? My parents I mean."
For a moment, Sesshomaru remained silent, collecting his thoughts. He could tell her many things, but he settled for the simple memories. "This Sesshomaru remembers the Lady Atsuki as being a fierce fighter and she was honored by many despite her status as female. Your father fought alongside mine and they were said to shake the earth with their strength."
Kagome hummed. "That's the most I've ever heard you talk at once, Sesshomaru," she murmured, continuing before he had the chance to retort, "but thank you for telling me."
Again, they walked in silence, and as the village's lights became visible, the onna stopped, turning to him and pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. "Look, I know you don't have any sort of obligation to me or anything, but do you think you could, um, stay?" Her cheeks went red, and she scrambled to explain. "I mean, just for a little while."
Sesshomaru looked down at her, finding her nervous shifting to be more persuading than any amount of pleading would have been. He inclined his head, and the smile that graced her lips was beautiful.
Shippo was the first one to greet her as she ducked through the mat of Kaede's hut. Kagome laughed as she gathered pulled the growing kit toward her—his head reached her ribcage now, proof that all he needed was security in order to grow into his own. His eyes sparkled up at her, but before he could ask if she'd brought anything, she shrugged her backpack off of her shoulders and stepped to the side as Sesshomaru's massive aura nudged against her own.
As his tall frame ducked into the hut, Inuyasha shot to his feet and began to sprout obscenities at the top of his lungs. Shippo cringed away from his waving hands, and Kagome waited about five seconds before she mumbled the word that sent him plummeting to the floor.
In the sudden silence, she turned to Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry, Sesshomaru-sama, please sit down."
The big inuyoukai nodded and folded his large body until he sat against a wall. He seemed much bigger in the small space, and Kagome tried not to notice the way his presence seemed to suck all of the air out of the room.
Kagome dropped her bag and then turned to Miroku and Sango, smiling brightly. "Hey guys, how have you been?"
"We have been well, Lady Kagome," Miroku answered smoothly, violet eyes twinkling at her. "And yourself?"
"I'm great," she lied, hoping he hadn't noticed that she almost dropped her water bottle at his title for her—he'd always referred to her as 'Lady' Kagome, but now it was hitting a little closer to home.
"What's that jerk doin' here, Kagome?"
Kagome cleared her throat and glanced at Inuyasha, rolling the chilled bottle between her palms. Something in her expression must have given her away, because Sango's cinnamon eyes sparked in worry and Shippo craned his neck from where he sat, his tiny nose sniffing the air around her.
"Actually, I have something to tell you guys." She hated the tremor in her voice, but knew that there was nothing she could do about it—she was nervous, really nervous. What if they didn't accept her? What if they kicked her out of the group and—
"Onna, calm yourself."
Sesshomaru's quiet command cut through the panic that threatened to cloud her mind, and she took a deep breath. Inuyasha was silent despite the obvious ire rolling off of him and Sango was the first one to speak when the silence stretched out for too long. "What is it, Kagome? What's wrong?"
The slayer's voice was full of worry, and Kagome wanted to smile and assure her that everything was alright, but she couldn't seem to bring the expression to her face. She cleared her throat.
"When I went back home," she began, staring down at her fingers as she spoke, "I found out what's been making my mother sick."
"So does that mean you used your medicine to make her feel better?" Shippo's question was innocent, but it sparked a tide of emotion that she didn't want to deal with. Tears stung at her eyes, and she burrowed her chin further into her chest until the overwhelming urge to cry passed.
"She'll get better soon," she murmured, knowing that everyone would notice that she hadn't exactly answered the kit's question. Barreling on despite the lump in her throat, Kagome shifted, twisting the cap of her water bottle on and off. "I also found out that she's not my birth mother, and that she found me at the bottom of the Bone Eater's Well when I was a baby."
There was a short silence. "What does that mean, Kagome?"
The young woman was glad that the monk had not called her 'lady' again, but the question still caused her breath to run short for a few seconds. She forced her fears to the back of her mind and took a sip of water. "I wasn't born in the Modern Era." She took another sip. "I was born here, over a hundred years ago."
For a moment, there was a tense silence, and then Inuyasha launched into a string of profanities, shooting to his feet and pointing a clawed finger at her. "Who are you and what have you done with Kagome, huh? Come 'ere so I can—"
The hanyou never finished his sentence, nor did he have time to jump across the tiny hut to dish out whatever he wanted—Sesshomaru was standing in front of her before she could think to open her mouth and give the hanyou what-for, the air of his movement brushing her cheek and fanning her hair.
"Sit down, little brother." The words were spoken quietly, and Kagome cringed at the ice in them. "The onna will explain, and you will dredge up what meager decency you possess and allow her to do so."
Inuyasha, as expected, didn't listen. "Since when are you on her side? And why are you takin' sides anyway? Don't you have a village to burn or somethin'? Get outta my way!"
Kagome couldn't see much from where she still sat, behind Sesshomaru's voluptuous pant leg, but she knew that the hanyou made a move to shove the larger inu out of the way—that was a pure Inuyasha move, and she knew it wouldn't be long before Sesshomaru put the hanyou in his place. Suddenly aware of the growl rolling through Sesshomaru's chest, Kagome thought to stand, only to be pressed down by the daiyoukai's massive aura.
"You will not harm the onna, Inuyasha." There was another layer of ice coating Sesshomaru's deadly tone, and some part of it must have made the hanyou wary; Kagome heard the shuffle of his foot as it slid back.
"What the hell, Sesshomaru? What's your problem?"
The large inu didn't respond, and instead stepped to the side and sat back against the wall. "You may continue," he murmured, eyes boring into Kagome's. Kagome swallowed, and then looked back up at Inuyasha, who was looking back and forth between them as though he were suspicious. His eyes narrowed but he sat again, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Go on, Kagome, finish what you were saying." Sango's tone promised retribution should Inuyasha speak up again, and Kagome smiled gratefully at her heart's sister, taking a deep breath.
"My birth parents were the rulers of the South when the Inu no Taisho was in power in the West. My father's brother—my uncle—usurped him just a few weeks after I was born, and my parents decided to drop me into the well to save my life." Another deep breath rasped in her throat, and she gathered the courage to look up into her friends' wide eyes. "I'm an inuyoukai, and heir to the Southern Lands."
Instantly, the half-breed scoffed. "Yeah, right, and Ice Lord here has a heart."
The onna's bright blue eyes narrowed, and anger at the hanyou caused her to miss the wide-eyed, disbelieving look that the kit was bestowing to her person. Sesshomaru ignored the argument the two got into, focusing instead on the way that the kitsune's eyes widened. The green orbs flew to his, and he nodded slightly, knowing exactly what the young demon had detected—a very faint trace of youki had begun to work its way into the strong aura of reiki.
"There's a seal on my youki, Inuyasha," the onna was saying, jaw clenched and fingers tight on the odd container. "If you would let me finish, then you would get the whole story!"
The hanyou opened his mouth to retort, but he must have felt the youki streak as soon as the onna did, they both cringed, and Kagome looked at Sesshomaru in alarm.
"The seal is beginning to release," he murmured, answering the question in her large eyes.
"I told her to release it at midnight tomorrow!"
"Kagome, such a seal is a very complicated thing," the monk interjected gently, a sage-like wisdom in his violet eyes, "so it is possible that it must be released little by little."
The onna nodded slowly, though there was a sense of panic in her eyes. The air around her swirled with indecision, and she blinked numerous times in quick succession. Then, just when he thought that she would shake off the whirl of emotion, she broke down and began to cry, large tears sliding down her cheeks and plopping onto the material covering her legs.
Sesshomaru's nose twitched, stinging with the scent of salt, and he was grateful for the slayer, who was up and beside the sniveling woman in an instant, an arm around her shoulders and soothing words crooning past her lips.
After a while, the crying stopped, and Sesshomaru found himself relieved when the slayer suggested that the two of them go to take a bath and talk. Kagome agreed eagerly, wiping at her face as she collected the necessary materials before leaving, throwing him one last, watery glance before she left.
The silence that the two women left behind was only broken when Inuyasha stood and grumbled that he was going to hunt. The kit followed without being asked, and the monk declined, deciding instead to settle back against the wall.
For a while, the only sounds in the room were that of the human's breathing, but a quiet question and respectful tone shattered the stillness. "Lord Sesshomaru, if I may be so bold as to ask, what were your reasons for defending Lady Kagome's honor?"
Sesshomaru fixed the monk with a blank stare, but the man did not flinch. Sesshomaru felt an inkling of respect filter through his system. "Long ago, the firstborn daughter of Lord Shinosamu of the South was promised to the firstborn son of Lord Yoshiro, Inu no Taisho, of the West." He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "This Sesshomaru will honor that pact."
Author's Note: And there you are! Thank you for waiting patiently for this chapter-I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Oh and thank you so very much for the reviews! I can't even begin to describe how happy you all have made me over the past week or so...Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
~Aubrey