Chapter Four – Youkai
Sesshomaru pinned Kagome to a tree, a forearm pressing against her throat and his other hand fisted in her tattered shirt. The fabric had ripped under his claws long ago, but he held onto the remains tightly, snarling in the onna's face.
He had known that there would be a fight, had anticipated it, but he hadn't expected it to last as long as it had.
At the initial lunge, he'd simply used her own momentum to throw her away from his body, nudging her as he sidestepped her. She'd landed on her back but was up again within a half a second, throwing herself at him.
Again and again, he redirected her wild pounces, sending her skidding along the grass or crashing into his barrier, in which case she would yelp and attack him again. He never directly attacked her, but his claws caught her clothes when she went by, filling the clearing with the sounds of ripping fabric. Her growls were long and low, malicious and animalistic. There were no words to accompany the noise, no rationality to balance out the instinct.
He would have to beat her missing sense into her.
One of her hands came up, and he quickly ducked around the blow. Faster than she could move in her current state, he captured her wrists, spun her around, and pressed her against the tree. She twisted and he wrenched her hands high into the middle of her back in response, hearing her shoulders pop out of their sockets. She didn't seem to notice the strain, only turning her head and snapping at him over her shoulder.
"Cease this struggle, onna," he demanded, dodging her head as it reared back toward his chest. Her skull cracked against his armor, and the sweet tang of her blood permeated the air. He shoved away the immediate urge to find the wound and clean it for her, shoving a leg between her own to keep her from kicking him.
The heat of her thighs sent a zing of desire through his veins, and his beast whispered of other things he could do to dominate her and bring her back to her rational mind. He banished the thought and swept the feeling from his system. He would not dwell on those things now. Not when there was the very strong possibility that he would kill her out of sheer annoyance.
Ready to be done with the ordeal, he lifted her slight form above his head and turned, slamming her body to the ground. The impact produced a noticeable tremble beneath his feet, and he pressed his knee against her wrists, kneeling above her small body. She was trapped beneath him, shoulders out of place and breath rasping in her throat, and still she struggled. She writhed, snarling and growling at him in defiance even as he twisted her hair in one hand and clamped the back of her neck with the other. She stilled and he waited, wrapping her body in his aura to prevent her from suffering from sensory overload.
Slowly, like a man awakening from a dream, the onna came back to her senses. Her breathing became shallow and short, and he heard the groan as it rose from her throat, low and pained. "Se—Sesshomaru?"
He grunted, releasing her neck and then lifting his knee from her wrists. Her fingers flexed and she gasped sharply as he nudged his toe beneath her shoulder and rolled her onto her back. Pain furrowing her brow, she wrenched her arms from behind her, whimpering softly as she stared up at him. She seemed lost, confused, and he reached down to haul her to her feet. Her shirt hung from her body in ribbons, but he ignored the tantalizing glimpses of flesh and shoved her shoulders back into place, disregarding her soft cries of pain.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice slightly rough.
He regarded her for a moment. "You lost yourself to your beast," he responded.
"Beast?"
Blue eyes, so much like the kind ones of her father, shone with confusion. Sesshomaru nodded. "You are youkai, and therefore possess a beast." He sensed her question before she asked it. "You will learn to control it with time."
Her brow was still furrowed, and her aura undulated with confusion, the air filled with the spicy, fluctuating scent of it. While she processed the information, he slowly lowered the barrier he had pressed against her body while subduing her, exposing her to the surrounding forest. She winced and immediately clapped her hands over her ears.
Her youki reared up in her defense, sparking against his own in what he could only call instinctual anger. He replaced his barrier.
Slowly, her hands lowered, and he observed her quietly, taking in the delicate features of her face. As a human, she had been lovely. As a youkai, she was nothing short of beautiful. The small blemishes that had marred her skin as a human were gone, replaced by perfection. Her cheekbones bore two silver stripes that shimmered as she moved, and the mark of the Southern heir, the eight-pointed star, stood out in the center of her forehead, visible only because of its darker silver color.
"Come. This Sesshomaru shall keep the barrier in place until you learn to control your senses."
If she thought to protest, the memory of what it was like without his barrier must have flashed through her mind—a look of slight pain crossed her features and she nodded soon afterward. He turned and lowered the barrier around the clearing, but hadn't taken more than three steps when the sound of her body hitting the ground reached his ears.
Momentarily, he observed her fallen form as he turned back to her. The moonlight played with her features, highlighted the curve of her exposed shoulder and dipped into the hollow below her elegant throat. He allowed himself a brief perusal of her flat belly and pert breasts, then knelt and scooped her into his arms.
She fit as though made for him, but he shook his head free of the thought and walked toward the village.
Kagome opened her eyes. And saw nothing. Well, not in the literal sense, but nothing in the figurative sense. No excited Shippo, no worried Sango, no lecherous Miroku.
She pushed herself up into a sitting position and surveyed the hut. She recognized it as Kaede's, and she momentarily wondered if the villagers had been notified of her change—probably not. She looked down at herself, noting that she wore a kimono that couldn't have possibly belonged to her. Running her fingers over the expensive looking silk drew her attention to her hands, and she lifted one to her face, observing the lethal claws that tipped her fingers.
It was odd, to think of herself as a demon now. She turned her hand over and laid it against the wooden floor, lightly tapping her index finger against the planks beneath her. It only took two gentle raps to punch a small hole into the boards. She nibbled her bottom lip and pulled her hand into her lap.
She sat silently for all of three seconds before pushing herself to her feet, running her hands over the fabric of her kimono to straighten it out. Her finger caught, and she frowned, looking down to see that she had accidentally snagged a thread. Carefully, she pulled the offending claw free without tearing the thread, curling her fingers in on themselves in an effort to avoid further mishap.
"It is human fabric, and therefore rends easily."
She jumped, looking up to see that Sesshomaru had ducked into the hut, his frame completely blocking the doorway. "S—Sesshomaru-sama." Something seemed different, more familiar, about him, but she shook the feeling away.
He inclined his head, and then turned and left the hut, holding the flap open with a single maroon-striped wrist. She ducked out, squinting lightly in the sunlight.
"Okaa-san!"
"Kagome-sama!"
Suddenly accosted by the smaller frames of the children, Kagome found herself sitting on the dirt, her arms wrapped around Shippo and Rin's slight forms. She didn't know how they had managed to knock her down but the knowledge seemed inconsequential in the face of seeing them again, safe and healthy.
Her mind supplied that they were crying, and something in her lurched forward, prompting her hands to smooth hair away from foreheads and her fingers to brush tears from steadily thinning cheeks. Suddenly mindful of her claws as she wiped moisture from Rin's face, she pushed them gently away from her, smiling brightly.
"Hello to you too, guys."
"Kagome-sama, you're so pretty," Rin whispered, awe prevalent in her voice as she reached forward, soft fingers tracing her cheeks.
"I haven't seen myself yet, Rin-chan," she answered, rising to her feet. Carefully, she brushed the dirt from her bottom, silently congratulating herself as she managed to do so without tearing the kimono.
She opened her mouth to ask where everyone else was, but a warm breeze carried their scents to her. Sango, smelling of the oil she used to keep Hiraikotsu from cracking, was the first to run to her, cinnamon eyes sparkling with tears. Kagome laughed as the slayer unceremoniously hugged her tightly to her chest, near to crying as she told her how worried she had been for her.
"I'm perfectly alright, Sango-san," Kagome murmured as the slayer pulled back and examined her from head to toe. Her eyes lingered on her forehead, and something very close to respect entered her eyes before she stepped back.
Miroku kept a careful distance, and Kagome tilted her head to one side, aware of the wary look in the monk's eyes as he gave her a simple yet respectful greeting, bowing in deference to her inherited status. Ignoring the twinge of humbleness in her gut, Kagome made a mental note to interrogate the usually lustful monk on his unusual behavior, and then turned to Inuyasha.
The hanyou was watching her with narrowed eyes, something in his expression drawing all of her attention to him. She could hear him sniffing, could feel his aura grating against her own. He took a step forward, and before she could control it, a growl broke from her lips, sounding foreign in her ears even though it came from her own throat.
His eyes widened minutely. The sun-gold orbs darkened, and he lifted his chin in defiance even as she growled again. She could feel her conscious mind reeling at what she was doing, but unable to stop it, she slowly receded back into her own mind. It felt as though she were falling, watching what was happening with no way of knowing what was really going on. She felt her leg tense in preparation to step forward.
Another growl burst through her haze, and upon realizing that it came from Sesshomaru, something in her snapped to attention. Her actions were her own again, and she turned wide eyes to the stoic inu, shrinking back at the fierce rebuke in his sharp eyes. Suddenly the growling became words, guttural in their cadence.
"You will not attack a pack member, is that understood?"
"I—I didn't try to," she stammered, resisting the urge to twist her fingers into the sleeves of her kimono. The bashful apology seemed to placate the daiyoukai, and he looked away from her, eyes finding and pinning Inuyasha.
"Half-breed, stand down," he murmured, causing Inuyasha's back to stiffen in indignation. He opened his mouth to retort, but a growl that shook Kagome to the bone silenced his protest before it left his lips. Inuyasha's ears flattened back against his head and he turned, stalking off. Kagome thought to go after him, but Sesshomaru's voice cut through her intent. "Come onna."
Kagome had no choice but to follow, throwing her friends a reassuring smile over her shoulder.
They walked in relative silence, the only sound coming from the surrounding forest as they walked into it. His footsteps were virtually nonexistent and hers seemed overly loud in comparison. She tried to focus on walking quieter.
As they stopped in a clearing that seemed somehow familiar to her, Sesshomaru walked to the middle and waited until she stood before him to erect a barrier around the clearing. Wincing slightly at the feel of his youki grating against her, she looked up at him in confusion as he reached forward and pressed his first two fingers against her forehead. The contact burned and she ducked away, mouth opening to protest. The words died in her throat as strange warmth spread through her system, rounding her toes and traveling out to her fingertips.
"What did you do?" She reached up to touch her skin, relieved that it didn't feel any different than she thought it should.
"A simple transfer of youki. It will keep your beast from emerging."
She frowned. "Why would my beast emerge? Is that what happened earlier with Inuyasha?"
The silver head nodded once. "He did not acknowledge your status as his superior."
"Superior? I'm not his superior."
"Sit." She did so absentmindedly even as he lowered himself to the ground across from her. Strangely, the sight of the big inu folding into a lotus position wasn't as odd as she thought it should be. "You are his superior in every way," Sesshomaru murmured, watching with sharp eyes as she instinctually mimicked his movements.
"Just because I'm a full youkai doesn't mean—"
"In youkai society," he interrupted, "half and full is the difference between the royals and the peasants." She opened her mouth. "What is fair and what is not is determined by instinct and breeding," he said almost harshly, as though guessing what she was going to say. "Because you were born to Lord Shinosamu, you are inherently of a higher status, and your beast recognizes that status even though you may not."
"But—but I'm not even an official lady yet, am I?" Embarrassed at her lack of knowledge, Kagome looked down at her fingers, inspecting the clawed tips with new eyes. Was she really supposed to be some sort of glorified dog? If that was what being a youkai meant, then she didn't want any part of it. She looked back up.
"There is no way of officially being a lady," Sesshomaru answered, eyes boring into hers. "The moment you were born, you were a lady."
Kagome pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling on it. "I'll have to prove myself to the youkai court, won't I?" He nodded, and she took a deep breath, trying to steady her fluttering stomach.
"You will be presented to the four cardinal lords when you are ready." Something in his tone sent her nervousness rocketing.
"How much time to I have to get ready?" She was almost afraid to know the answer.
"There is one moon cycle left before the cardinal lords are scheduled to meet."
"A month? That's all?"
"It is time enough. However, before you are to worry about that, you will need to learn to control your senses."
Kagome nodded, shoving the impending meeting to the back of her mind. "Alright. Let's get to work then."
Sesshomaru grunted. "Close your eyes, and spread your aura as far as you can. This Sesshomaru shall lower the barrier cushioning your senses."
She nodded, and then settled into a comfortable meditation stance, doing as he'd instructed. The effect as he lowered the barrier was immediate, but she fought the urge t clap her hands over her ears and hold her breath. Her aura pressed against Sesshomaru's outer barrier, and both spread outward until Sesshomaru abruptly halted the progression, instead urging her to move upward.
When she had spread her aura as thinly as she could, she stopped pushing. Sesshomaru's voice was easy on her ears, naturally quiet and almost deep enough to soothe her to sleep. "Tame your aura first, and the senses will follow," he murmured, his youki nudging against her own. "Pull your aura back toward your body, but note the sounds of the forest as you do. Visualize it in your mind and use what you feel to alert you to what you hear."
She began the work without responding.
It was easy to pull her aura back to her, much easier than it had ever been to attempt to tame her mother's reiki. Her youki didn't feel as strange as it had during the early hours of her transformation, and she acquainted herself with the silky texture of it, feeling it caress her skin as she called it back to her.
It brushed against trees and grasses as it came, bringing with it the whisper of the wind or the shuffling movement of a bird. She could easily picture the small rabbit that darted down into its home, the sound of its retreat echoing in her head. She stopped pulling, shoving her aura down into the den after the creature, curious.
The den wasn't as far underground as she'd expected it to be, and she blinked as she noted the small movements of little baby rabbits, all shrinking back away from her aura. She observed their noises for a moment longer, memorizing the grunts and sniffling noises of their breathing. Sesshomaru's aura pressed against hers, and she pulled out of the den, resuming her task.
It was amazing how many sounds there were in a forest that seemed otherwise quiet. The small ticking of ants and larger insects were prevalent, accompanied by the scratching of grubs as they ate away at the insides of tree branches. Even animals that seemed never to make noise—the butterfly, for instance—made a sound, gentle but noticeable to her new youkai ears.
When her aura was successfully returned to her body, Sesshomaru demanded that she repeat the process, which she did with growing excitement.
By the time she'd finished describing, at Sesshomaru's command, the things that her aura showed to her, she could've traveled through the trees with her eyes closed, her hands bound behind her back, and her brain fuzzy. She opened her eyes, shocked to find that most of the day had passed.
The sun was directly overhead, and it warmed the top of her head. Kagome sighed and unfolded her legs. "Do you always see the forest like this, Sesshomaru-sama?"
She still couldn't help but hear everything around her. Sesshomaru's barrier on her senses had never been put back into place, but her own aura seemed to naturally flow with the world around her so that sounds and sights and smells weren't overpowering but informative, as though she were reading a very descriptive book.
"Yes."
"Does Inuyasha?"
"To some extent."
Kagome hummed but asked nothing else. The feel of the forest had lulled her into complacency, and she lay onto her back in the soft grass, allowing the world to tell her its story.
It was close to midnight when Kagome cornered Miroku, who had studiously avoided her since she'd returned to the village. Gripping the collar of the monk's robes and hoping she wouldn't ruin his clothes too much, she pulled him in the direction of the forest, stepping silently through the brush until they were out of sight.
To his credit, Miroku was smart enough not to make a sound until she had his back pressed against a tree. "Kagome-sama, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit from such a being of your lovely stature?"
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Can the flattery, monk. What're you hiding?"
His violet eyes flashed with something akin to panic before calm suave smoothed the momentary slip. "Nothing at all, Kagome-sama. I have nothing to hide, and please believe that I wouldn't be able to lie to such a beautiful—"
"I said can the flattery," Kagome interrupted, taking a step closer and standing on tiptoe. "And you are lying—I can smell it."
For a moment, Miroku seemed to fight with himself. His eyes darted around, the violet color flashing with uncertainty. He took a deep breath, and Kagome stepped back to give him a little bit of space. "Kagome-sama," he began softly, finally looking her in the eyes, "Sesshomaru-sama is—well, you see, he's—"
"Miroku, spit it out."
His shoulders slumped. "He's your betrothed, by way of a pact between his father and yours."
Kagome's scream echoed through the forest.
Author's Note: And there you are, my lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Oh and in case anyone is wondering, I picture the eight-pointed star as something similar to the compass rose, with four longer points and four shorter ones in between...I wanted Kagome's star to be different than any other star, so that's what I chose!
Anyway, thanks for reading! Oh, and a special thanks to lara5170 for her encouraging reviews! Lara, you brightened my day with your kind words, and I'm so very happy that I've managed to capture your attention! Thank you!
p.s. - I've decided to put An Artist's Touch on hiatus, for those of you who are reading it...This story has begun to demand all of my attention, and I can't seem to find the inspiration to work on AAT. I'll let all of you know when it comes off of break, though, I promise!
Until next time!
~Aubrey