Chapter 9

Author Note:

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed!

I wonder how a great taiyoukai such as myself has come to be involved in such foolishness, Sesshoumaru pondered. He had been on a simple search and destroy outing when somehow not only had a rather large responsibility been thrust upon him, but a miko as well.

It was beyond irritating to have to travel with the noisy ningen, but to be forced to walk amongst her filthy people as well? It was disgraceful.

As soon as they had entered this small, human village it's residents had begun making a fuss. Kagome had assured them that she was a miko, and that her youkai companion wouldn't harm them, but they still shot him nervous glances and scampered away whenever he drew too near. He wished they would catch fire, or do something interesting. Then perhaps he wouldn't feel the almost overwhelming urge to destroy them all.

But agreeing not to harm any ningen while in the miko's presence meant that he would have to be tolerant of these humans, and that did not sit well with him. Not at all.

"Find your weapon, miko, I do not wish to linger."

Kagome gave her regal companion a hard look, they had barely been here five minutes and he was already trying to rush her? Geez, was his need to decapitate everything with a pulse seriously that hard to control?

"Okay, okay, but you take the fun out of everything," she grumbled, but quickly recovered as she spotted a small, worn looking hut with an assortment of swords and spears displayed tastefully near the entrance. "That place looks promising."

Sesshoumaru didn't need telling twice. This place reeked of foul humans and their disgusting animals and he was eager to get what they came for and leave.

Without even giving the miko a chance to gather her composure, he took her forcefully by the forearm and pushed her towards the shop. She glared daggers at him, but stumbled through the door nonetheless.

"It's good to know chivalry isn't dead," she sighed, rubbing her sore arm and throwing the unrepentant demon another dirty look. He ignored her, not even wasting the effort to look her in the eyes. It was infuriating! But just as she was about to go over there and give him a piece of her mind, she was interrupted by a very surprised and very portly shopkeeper.

"My lady, I believe you have the wrong shop," he smiled kindly despite his obvious shock at the pair's dramatic entrance. Kagome saw his eyes flash quickly to Sesshoumaru and watched as he gave him a curt bow before turning back to her.

Obviously youkai weren't very popular around here. Probably the only reason the man didn't pick up one of the many swords and thrust it at Sesshoumaru was because the demon lord looked positively deadly from the shadows he had taken to.

"You sell bows here, right?" Kagome asked despite the very obvious arrangement of said weapon hanging in plain view only a few yards away.

"Yes," he said, quirking a brow.

"Well, then I am definitely in the right place," she smiled politely. The shop keeper gave her a calculating look; there was something very different about this girl. Not only did she dress in an almost indecent fashion with her short yukata, but she talked in a foreign manner and gave off an air of great intelligence far beyond her years.

Not to mention her unconventional... pet.

"I see, I guess I should have expected nothing less from one who shares such company as yours," he chuckled.

Kagome was about to say something to his rude comment, but realized that he hadn't meant it in an offensive way. He simply thought it strange that a women would want to purchase a weapon and had obviously attributed the odd behavior to the same ailment that prompted her to take a youkai as a companion.

It's not like all women are defenseless maidens, Kagome sighed inwardly. And just because I travel with a demon doesn't make me crazy... although traveling with Sesshoumaru probably does, but that's not the point.

"I don't need anything fancy," Kagome said, encouraging their conversation away from the lurking taiyoukai as the shop keep lead her over to an assortment of bows. "Just something simple and sturdy."

"Simple and sturdy? And what, may I ask, will a lady such as yourself be using such a bow for?" He smiled warmly at her pleasurable manner of conversation.

She had a lovely voice, one full of life, and the words seemed to flow from her mouth effortlessly as though she were an old friend. Most of his customers came in brandishing cold eyes and haughty sneers and didn't seem happy until they had threatened his life with their newly acquired wares.

Yes, this girl certainly was different.

"Oh, I am no lady," she giggled, picturing herself donning a ridiculous kimono and the look that Inuyasha would give her and her new wardrobe. He would probably disown her. "My name is Kagome, traveling miko, at your service."

"I am called Shin. A miko, eh? Don't get too many of those around here," he said thoughtfully as he turned to look intently at his merchandise with a furrowed brow of concentration.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," she laughed. "So, did you make all of these yourself, Shin?"

"Goodness no!" He said as he picked up a bow, gave it a long look, played with the string, and put it back. "I'm just a trader, I buy weapons off other merchants and passing soldiers. I probably couldn't even begin to tell you where half of these were originally made."

"Wow, I didn't know soldiers could sell their weapons like that."

"They can't, so they sell the ones that don't have masters anymore," he shrugged, completely unfazed with his morbid conversation. Kagome looked around the shop and wondered how many of these swords had been unable to defend their wielders, how many had been stolen away from the corpses they once protected to be bargained off for a few coins. The thought that a vast majority of these weapons had once lay useless at their slaughtered companion's sides was enough to make the young miko shudder uncomfortably.

Suddenly the man gave a deep sigh of frustration and straightened from his hunched position to give her a tired stare. "You know, they say it is the weapon that chooses the person, not the other way around."

Kagome pulled her thoughts back the man in front of her and smirked. "Is that your way of saying you have no idea which bow to sell me?"

"If you want to be blunt," he responded with a mischievous smile. He liked this little miko, she was much bolder than any woman he had ever met, and the fact that she was more than easy on the eyes didn't hurt either.

"Alright, I'll have a look." Kagome set off down the line of neatly hung bows, quickly passing the heavy, ornamental ones in favor of the more slender variety. As she neared the end of the line a white, sleek looking bow caught her eye. She lifted it off it's holder and found that it fit in her hand perfectly, almost as if it had been made for her.

"Wow," she whispered, "it's so... pretty." She had never seen such a dainty instrument of death. It seemed kind of ironic.

"Your taste is impeccable," the Shin said appreciatively as he looked over her find.

"And unfortunately expensive," she sighed as she noticed the silver bands that accented the tips; this thing was probably worth an arm and a leg. She simply did not have enough money so, reluctantly she put it back.

Shin frowned at the disappointed look on the pretty girl's face, it was enough to break any man's heart. "No," the shop keeper stopped her, "you and that bow are a sight to behold, I insist you have it."

Kagome turned towards Shin's kind voice with wide eyes, "that's very nice of you, but I can't do that."

"You can and you will, this old man has more than enough money, but a pretty girl's smile is indeed a rare sight to see. I do not mind parting with this bow in exchange," he smiled gently and pushed the bow towards her. "Now, let's get you some arrows, shall we?"

Kagome didn't know what to say, this was the first good thing that had happened to her since she first found herself in this mess. Everything had been so overwhelmingly horrible that she barely had time to be miserable when the next horrible thing would happen. But this... this man was doing something nice for her. She didn't know if she should immediately go crazy or burst into a fit of laughter.

Deciding upon an appropriate medium, she threw her arms around the man and started crying. "T-thank you!" She sobbed. "T-this is s-so n-nice!"

Shin patted the girl on her back awkwardly, "Lady Kagome, please dry your tears, it is simply a bow. I have many others."

"I know," she sniffed and pulled away from his embrace. "I'm sorry, don't pay any attention to me."

Shin just nodded at the girl and gave her another pat on the back for good measure. He really didn't want her to start crying again.

Sesshoumaru watched wearily as the miko wiped her dripping face and gave the man a wide smile. She followed him into the back room to fetch the rest of her supplies, leaving him to unscrambled his thoughts.

What the hell is wrong with that woman? He found himself wondering in agitation. He hated tears, he would rather deal with gushing blood than a crying female and he had always avoided such situations whenever he could. He could dress a wound, fight an enemy, but he could not for the life of him stop the flow of salty water that cascaded down a sorrowful face. He was powerless against it.

He did not like being powerless.

As a youkai he had been completely unprepared for his first taste of this womanly tendency. Youkai women did not cry often and ladies of the court only did so rarely and in private. He did not truly see a woman cry until he was a young adult and to this day it never failed to surprise him in the most unpleasant of ways.

***

"Father, can you not make her stop?" Sesshoumaru said distastefully as another wail erupted from the next room.

"My boy, I would if I could," the dog general chuckled and sipped his tea.

Sesshoumaru scowled and tried to drown out the aggravating noise. He hated his father's new concubine, hated her more than anything. She was beautiful and sweet and had a smile that could soften even the hardest of hearts.

Which was one reason Sesshoumaru hated her; he did not like feeling soft, it was below him. The other reason was because she was human. A filthy piece of trash dressed in silk and bows, dirtying his father's name and bed. This was her first time visiting the great Western Palace and already she acted as though she belonged. Smiling at him and the other members of the court as his pathetic father displayed her like a prize upon his arm.

She was no prize in Sesshoumaru's eyes, to him she was nothing. So, he tried to ignore her, bide his time until her visit was over and she went back to whatever human mud-pit she came from. A task which was proving exceedingly difficult with her gut wrenching sobs.

"It is disgraceful," Sesshoumaru said quietly as he too took a sip of tea.

"Now, now, my son. She is a ningen, she is not like youkai women," he chided lightly. "Humans are easily flustered, they are slaves to their emotions. Passion, anger, sorrow...love," the great Inu no Taisho said with a faraway look in his eyes and in that moment he did not look like the powerful and feared leader he was said to be, he looked...content.

It sickened Sesshoumaru.

"And sometimes they give into powerful emotions for no reason at all," he chuckled, returning from his blissful reminiscing. "It is something even I do not understand, but I have found it is best to let these things run their course."

"You know not what ails her?" Sesshoumaru said in his usual bored manner. He did not really care about his father's wench, but her tears made it impossible to focus on anything else. It gave him this horrible feeling of restlessness that was unbefitting of a youkai of his station.

"No, I do, but I assure you it is not something to cry over," he laughed. "That is another thing about humans: they often have the most inappropriate reactions. They never act as you expect them to."

Sesshoumaru sighed and secretly wished his father was a more direct man. He knew that the great demon lord could just tell him what was bothering his whore, but he also knew that his father would much rather force his quiet son to ask.

"Tell me, father, why does she cry?"

"Because, Sesshoumaru, she is to birth my child," he said happily as though his words had not just shattered his reputation, his empire, and his future. "When she first told me she smiled so widely I thought her face would surely crack, and then, she burst into tears and hasn't stopped since. Isn't it fascinating?"

Sesshoumaru put his unfinished tea down upon the table they shared and gracefully stood. Without giving his father a second glance he walked from the room and out of sight. Izayoi gave another heart-breaking sob as Sesshoumaru melted the first servant to cross his path.

***

His father's human wench had left the palace the next day, it was not safe for her to stay in a place where so many wished to kill the abomination growing in her womb. He remembered the mutinous looks that his father's subjects had flashed the dog general as he led her to the gates, his hand on her shoulder. It had made Sesshoumaru weary, but not nearly as weary as his father's expressionless countenance as her carriage took her away.

But there were no tears that day, just a radiant smile that lit the woman's face as she kissed his father good bye and placed a tender hand on her stomach.

Her changing emotions were the most irrational thing he had ever seen. Well, until he met this miko, that is. One moment she had been fine and the next she was sobbing uncontrollably upon the poor shop keep, thanking him for his kindness. And now as she skipped back into the room with a quiver full of arrows strapped to her back and tears still drying on her cheeks, she was happier than he had ever seen her.

Ridiculous.

"Ready?" She smiled at him. He gave her a curt nod as she turned to say goodbye to Shin. "Thanks so much for everything! If you ever need a miko, just say the word!"

"Thank you, my lady, but I'm sure I'll be just fine," Shin smiled and waved at the young girl. "Take care, use that bow well!"

Sesshoumaru quickly exited, dragging Kagome along with him to prevent her from thanking the man AGAIN. She let out a squeak of surprise, but other wise did not protest.

"Okay, you can let go now," Kagome smiled amusedly. She had never seen Sesshoumaru in such a hurry, even when he was fighting for his life against Naraku he alway seemed so laid back and...bored.

He looked down at the hand that was still clasped onto her wrist, towing her after him, and immediately let go as though he had just been burned. "We are leaving now," he said in his deep baritone voice.

Thanks captain obvious, she sighed inwardly.

Kagome looked down at her new bow and smiled. "Okay, I got what I came for anyway. Now you won't have to come and save me again."

"Hn, that remains to be seen," he said dryly.

"Hey! I resent that!" Kagome huffed as she ran to catch up with the impatient demon lord. He was already disappearing into the trees as she gave one last look at the human village he seemed so eager to get away from.

When she finally caught up with him she was panting and sticky with sweat. She wondered why her life couldn't be more like a movie where actors run the lengths of several football fields and come out of it with nothing more than a slight sheen of glistening moisture. But no, this was reality, and reality apparently meant that she was doomed to have a steady stream of stinky droplets of salty water running down her red face.

She really hated reality. Especially since it seemed that Sesshoumaru didn't sweat at all. Nor was he out of breath, or flushed from the heat of the midday sun. In fact, he didn't have a damn hair out of place! Why did it bother her so much that his hair was prettier than hers? She didn't know, but it really made her want to chop it all off to make herself feel better.

"Ahem," Kagome said, staring at her youkai companion with a pointed glare. If he heard her, which she knew he did, he was doing a very good job of playing deaf. "I said, AHEM!"

Sesshoumaru sighed, "yes?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She said, raising a dark eyebrow. He had been almost chatty before they had entered the village and she really didn't want him to go all "silent and brooding" on her again.

"No," he responded cooly before he even had time to try and figure out if there was something he was supposed to be remembering.

Kagome growled. "Aren't you forgetting a certain part of our agreement?"

Sesshoumaru would have rolled his eyes, did he not find the action beneath him. He had rather hoped she would forget about that. "The part where I bestow meaningless praise upon your person?" He said tiredly.

"Yes...wait, hey! You're a real jerk sometimes, you know that?" She huffed.

Sesshoumaru shrugged lazily and went back to ignoring everything.

"Fine, be that way," she grumbled and crossed her arms. "Where are we even going?" She spat.

"South."

Kagome rolled her eyes and had to fight the urge to scream. She was going to have an aneurism, he was going to give her an aneurism.

"Okay, we're going South. Are we just going to keep going South until we circle the entire earth and end up right back here? Because that plan kind of sucks."

Sesshoumaru, if he didn't know better, would have sworn that his eye had just twitched. But that was impossible because his body never did what he did not want it to do and what he did not want it to do was show any sign that the infuriating wench was effecting him. Which she wasn't. So his eye could not have possibly twitched. Obviously.

"Be silent, miko."

Said miko sighed and decided to come to terms with the fact that she was probably never going to get a straight answer out of the stubborn lord. She was just going to have to be the bigger man...woman...human...species...whatever, and let this go.

Breath in. Breath out. Don't kick the demon, Kagome chanted to herself. Yeah, good plan.

Chapter Notes:

Kagome's a little stressed at the moment, thought she deserved a little mental breakdown...

Anyway, hope you like it!