Chapter 8

Deceptions and Requests

Naraku was not pleased. He leaned forward anxiously, staring at the mirror held in his pale, seemingly young, minion, Kanna. He saw her, Kagome, becoming closer and closer with the mutt of the west. He growled in agitation.

She was supposed to stay in her whore mother's family shrine, where he could easily reach her, but of course that had not happened. He needed the girl for the power she possessed, more specifically, the shikon jewel.

When she had been born, her weak mother kept her out of his sight. He wouldn't have cared, he had no attachments to the offspring his whores birthed, but he soon sensed immense power in the child. When he tried to rip out the source of her power, he had only managed to break off a shard of the rounded gem, before her pure energy nearly burned off his arm.

He held up the blackened crystal fragment with a smirk, turning it to watch it shimmer in the candlelight. This shard held the key to winning this war. He could infiltrate her mind, and bend her to his will. As much as he hated to allow them to become even closer, it would be all the sweeter when he crushed the mutt like he had all those years ago.

He had meant to kill the young girl he captured five-hundred years ago, but a servant had helped her escape before he had the chance. It was no matter, the western lord still thought her to be dead, and soon, he would be also be betrayed by Kagome.

He chuckled and waved a hand, dismissing Kanna. A little longer, and he would begin the plan, and then, he would invade whilst the dog was distracted.

Just a little longer.

-K-

Kagome felt like she couldn't move. She studied the intricate stitch work that embroidered her summer yukata; it was a shimmering pale blue, with lily pads, white waves, and bright golden koi that seemed to swim as she walked. Her concern with getting such a beautiful gown dirty was growing the more she walked.

As much as she protested that this was too much for a girl of her stature, Kinu had claimed that Sesshomaru had several yukatas and kimonos specifically made to fit her, including the one she currently wore. She couldn't refuse such beautiful gifts, even if why she had received them had been a mystery. However, she felt as though she could do nothing in them.

Many times, she had stealthily put on her old shrine clothes to help Kaede in the fields, but had quickly been caught, and sent back to the castle. Kinu showed Kagome the private gardens, so that she could appease her need to 'sift through the soil', but that is not why Kagome had wanted to be in the fields.

She was worried about Kaede, although she had heard she made a quick recovery, and she wanted to learn more about herbs and fine-tuning her healing abilities. Of all the times she had asked about visiting the old woman, each of her requests had been denied. She almost wished Sesshomaru had never agreed to personally protect her.

She could not, however, deny that she had a much easier time talking with the demon lord. He still was silent through much of their conversations, but he had stopped calling her 'human' and called her 'miko' in much less of a derogatory way. She had actually become quite fond of the way he addressed her.

With her back straight, she made the final several small steps to stop in front of his study. She took a brisk sigh before raising her fist to knock on the sliding door. Before she could lower her hand, she heard him speak.

"Come in, Miko." She jumped a little, forgetting about his excellent hearing. He had a way of making her flustered. She slid open the door, and slipped in. He continued reading the papers in front of him with narrowed eyes, she found it humorous that he narrowed his eyes when she knew he could see the text just fine. "Shut the door." She did and fidgeted with her fingers a bit as she walked up to his desk.

His whole office was filled with scrolls and maps. It was rather messy for such a prideful demon, but it was warm and filled with life. "Did you need something? Or did you just want to twiddle your thumbs for my entertainment?" She glared at him and pressed her hands against her sides.

"I have a request." She stated bluntly. He lifted his eyes to meet her, seemingly bored with the prospect, but she knew better. He wouldn't have taken the effort to look at her if he wasn't interested.

"And that would be?" He set the paper down, and continued to look at her with his golden eyes. She moved closer to his desk, sitting on one of the decorative chairs in front of him.

"I would like to continue working with Kaede." She leaned forward, hands on her knees, determined to make him grant her request. He pinched the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache.

"I have made space in the private gardens for you, is that not enough?" He set his hand down and gave her a narrowed stare. She held strong.

"I really do enjoy the gardens, but I want to become stronger. I want to be of more assistance. I want to help the soldiers like we agreed to." She watched as he looked out of the opened window beside his desk, she followed his eyes, watching the cherry blossoms swirl in the air. She looked back to him. "Please, Sesshomaru. I hate sitting around doing nothing of value." He turned back to her, face blank. Her heart beat wildly with hope. He had not even reprimanded her for using his name so informally.

"I will bring the old woman in to teach you. However, you are not to leave the inner castle gates unless I am present." Kagome squealed with joy, and jumped up. He flinched, and she relized she must have hurt his sensitive ears.

"Sorry, Sorry! I'm just so happy! Thank you so much!" She bounded over to him, giving him a quick hug before running out of his office, and sloppily skipping, within the restrictions of the tight yukata, back to her quarters to change.

-S-

His eyes had marginally widened at the use of such informal physical contact with the miko, before he could react, she had already disappeared. He noticed she had left the door opened, and sighed. He ran clawed fingers through his long hair, pushing it away from his face. This girl was even more hassle than his previous ward. At least Rin had held back in her ways of greeting him, but Kagome seemed to hold nothing back.

His beast growled happily at the close contact he had for a brief moment, and he resisted the urge to groan. He felt weak, granting this girl her every request, keeping her under his protection, but a part of him felt powerful when she gave him thanks, or submitted with an apology. He felt more powerful with her, than he had slaughtering thousands of demons at a time.

Perhaps, a that part of him felt so powerful, because she was so weak. No, she was not weak spiritually, only her delicate flesh was weak. Even so, the fact that such a powerful miko needed him for protection felt invigorating. For five-hundred years, he felt power, for he was one of the strongest demons alive, but he had no enjoyment from such power. It just was a part of him. However, she added new challenges.

He felt as though she had shaken him awake from a deep haze. She certainly had awakened his beast, who would not stop obsessing over her. He felt he could finally take Naraku by surprise with such a powerful miko by his side. For once, he had finally felt that he had made the right choice in keeping her by his side. He got up, about to shut the door to his study before an unsightly toad made a rushed entrance.

"What is it, Jaken?" He was irritated at the interruption from his thoughts, as though the toad had personally been listening. The toad was flustered and bowed deeply.

"Milord, Some of Naraku's minions have been spotted at the borders! We require immediate assistance!" Sesshomaru swiftly made his way past the blubbering toad, to the girl who had been occupying his thoughts. His thoughts turned sour, and he began wondering if he had actually caused her greater harm by keeping her with him, than if he had left her in that meadow weeks ago.