Chapter 18

Author Notes:

Yay! The picture is done!!! Go find it on deviant art, my DA name is ToWriteLoveOnAPage...woah, looks kinda similar to my name on here. Weird. Anyway, comments are appreciated. Okay, just one thing to say about it though: backgrounds are a bitch, especially the castle. Do you know how many vectors that's made of??? A lot.

Oh, and this is a long chapter, rejoice and such.

One mental breakdown and twenty minutes later, Aiko bustled back into the room, two human girls following in her wake, each carrying an assortment of bandages and ointments. Kagome recognized them as a few of the women that had been held as Shigeru's prisoners.

"Amaya, fetch some water. Kiya, disrobe her," Aiko snapped, sounding very much like a general barking out orders.

The women immediately set about their tasks with a practiced grace. They all looked as though they had been granted some time to reprieve after their release and she wondered just how long she had been asleep.

"I see your youkai has finally left you alone," Aiko commented as Amaya bustled out of the room and Kiya began to pull down Kagome's yukata to expose her wounded back. They must have cleaned her up while she was unconscious and gotten her some new clothes, which she was thankful for, but she still felt a little embarrassed that complete strangers had to dress her.

"He's not my youkai," Kagome winced as Kiya grazed one of the cuts on her back by mistake. "In fact, I find it hard to believe he even cared enough to stay. Was he really growling at everyone?"

The hanyou scoffed as Amaya swept back into the room with a bowl full of water and handed her a dampened cloth. Kagome tried not to gasp in pain as Aiko removed her soiled bandages and began to clean her wounds with a practiced, but firm hand.

"Wouldn't shut up, most unbefitting of a lord, but I suppose it is because you are pack," she said shrugging.

Hm, agony, I'd forgotten what it feels like, Kagome noted absentmindedly, barely comprehending Aiko's words as pain coursed through her body.

"I'm what?" She asked more to distract herself than anything else. She could feel the coarse stitches they had woven into her skin to keep her lacerations closed and they pulled with every movement, setting her nerves on fire.

"Pack, girl, you are his pack," she snapped as though the miko was being deliberately dense. "He is a dog demon, what do you expect? Dogs protect what is theirs, you are his, therefore he protects you."

Wait...what? Kagome thought. Aiko had stopped cleansing her wounds and has started to spread some sort of soothing balm onto them, allowing her to truly concentrate on the conversation at hand.

"B-but I'm not his!" She stuttered, taken aback once she finally realized what the hanyou had said. The way the girl talked made it sound like they were married, or something ridiculous like that! And she was positive that Sesshoumaru would rather dance merrily through a river of acid than even entertain the idea of marrying her.

"Please do not strain yourself miko-sama," Amaya said softly, pushing the girl back down to the bed that she had started to rise from in her agitation. "There is no need to become upset, you are both well, is that not enough?"

"I guess," she grumbled and settled back into the soft mattress beneath her. Amaya smiled while Aiko just rolled her eyes.

"You are human, you do not know youkai ways, but he has bound himself to your safety whether you like it or not," she informed Kagome. "That much is plain as day."

"He's tried to kill me a few times, I hardly think he cares about my safety," Kagome muttered, wondering if she had possibly lost a few vital brain cells while she was unconscious and was, in fact, imagining this conversation. It seemed more likely than the idea that she was discussing Lord Sesshoumaru's protective urges with a hanyou kitsune princess.

"Perhaps you were not pack then," she shrugged, wrapping a fresh bandage around Kagome's middle. "But you are now. You have gained his loyalty, or perhaps his admiration, on e can never tell with dogs. They are so vague after all."

"Just because he saved me doesn't mean I'm his...pack," she said, stumbling over the word as though it were some strange, foreign language. "He was just concerned about himself, I'm sure. I was placed under his protection by someone really powerful and they threatened to kill him if I was harmed."

"How interesting," Kiya commented, looking at Kagome as though she had suddenly grown ten times more fascinating within the past few seconds.

Aiko shrugged. "That may be part of it, but if he truly only cared for himself, I do not see why he would not abandon this room once your life was secured. I will have you know that he has not left your side since you arrived here and has nearly beheaded several servants for simply straying too close to your quarters."

"He what!" She nearly yelled, causing Amaya to fidget over her nervously as she tried to get her to calm down. "How long was I out of it! He didn't stay in here when you changed my bandages, did he?"

Some rational part of her brain told her that she should probably be more concerned that he was threatening to kill people over her, but when wasn't he threatening to kill some one? No, the notion that he could have possibly just sat there and observed as she was stripped naked, was much more pressing.

"You were asleep for three days, miko-sama," Aiko sighed tiredly. "And no, I forced him to stay out in the hall while we changed your dressings."

Kagome sighed and took a deep breath of relief. She was uncomfortable enough about having these women seeing her unclothed body, but thinking about Sesshoumaru watching as they cleaned her oozing, red wounds was too horrifying to even comprehend.

"Thank the gods," she murmured and even smiled as her three companions chuckled. "And you don't have to call me miko-sama, Kagome is fine."

The three stopped laughing. "Then we shall call you Kagome-sama," the dark haired Kiya told her solemnly.

"That's not necessary," the miko reassured them, wondering why they looked so serious all of a sudden.

"We know it is not necessary," Amaya told her kindly, "but you have done us all a great service. We are forever in your debt."

"All I did was get myself captured," she disagreed, "Sesshoumaru was the one that killed Shigeru. He's the one you should thank, not me."

"We have...not that he cared much," Kiya said flatly, "And besides, if you were not taken by Shigeru, the dog never would have slain him."

"Even if you were not the one to free us, we would still honor you, Kagome-sama," Aiko spoke up. "We all saw you stand up to that monster, and even now we see the evidence of your courage upon your very skin. You have earned all of our respect."

The other two nodded in silent agreement, staring at Kagome as though she were some sort of bedraggled saint.

The young miko cleared her throat nervously at the attention that had suddenly been thrust upon her. "W-where are the others?" She asked tentatively. There had been at least ten women under Shigeru's imprisonment, but only these three tended to her.

Aiko and Kiya looked to the floor, their expressions darkening as the third woman frowned and took a deep breath. "There were some that simply walked off into the woods, saying they would seek their old home's by themselves, and there were some that just stood there as though their minds were no longer within them..." The girl paused and took another breath. "A-and t-there was one...she grabbed Shigeru's abandoned sword and thrust herself upon it."

Kagome gasped, wondering which one of the broken women had been so torn that she had ended her own life. What had Shigeru done to them? She wanted to know what evil could possibly be so consuming that it would drive you to insanity simply for being near it, but at the same time, she knew she would never ask. These women should never have to think of their torture again.

Amaya blinked away a few tears and looked at her lap, forcing herself to forget the horrible ordeal. "Once you are healed, Kagome-sama, I will seek out my husband-to-be. I was once a wealthy hime, it will be nice to return to that life," she smiled faintly. "Though, I do not believe I will be traveling by carriage anytime soon."

Amaya chuckled humorlessly and the other two began to busy themselves with collecting dirtied bandages and cloths, breaking their melancholy silence to chatter amongst themselves. It was as though they had frozen and rebooted, like a computer trying to repair itself. Sadly, Kagome knew that these women's recoveries would not be so easy.

They talked for awhile after that. Kagome learned that Kiya had been a silk spinner's apprentice in the village she had grown up in. She traveled through much of Japan with her master, selling their fabrics to youkai and humans alike - as long as they could pay it did not matter who they were. In fact, she had sold Shigeru the very kimono he had been wearing upon his death, handed him the beautiful fabric just as he grabbed her about the waist and took her away.

Amaya was a wealthy hime who had been on her way to her her betrothed's estate. She longed to finally meet her husband and enjoy a quiet, untroubled life. Apparently she had been the last bride taken before Kagome, though, this hardly made her feel any less effected by the whole ordeal.

Their questions turned to Aiko, who told them proudly that it had taken Shigeru five whole minutes to finally chase her down. She was half kitsune and an inherent trickster, using her cunning and speed to outwit anyone who opposed her. But Shigeru had been faster in the end. He was a full demon after all.

"But no matter, I am home now," she said, giving Kagome a rare smile. Unlike Shippou, this kitsune was incredibly subdued and smiles were few and far between. "And tonight my father holds a feast for my return!"

Amaya chuckled at the princess' enthusiasm and turned to the injured miko. "I regret that you will not be able to attend, Kagome-sama, but I shall sneak you some food from the kitchens."

"Yes, it is a pity," Kiya agreed. "It seems as though you would have many interesting stories to tell," she mused, raising a questioning brow in Kagome's direction.

The miko almost laughed at the girl's less than subtle hint. It was obvious they all wanted to know how a miko such as herself had come to be traveling with a taiyoukai, and now that she thought about it, it was a pretty good story.

And so, Kagome treated the three women to the riveting tale of 101 ways to drive a miko to the very edge of sanity. It started with her kidnapping, prattled through the days of constant bickering she had endured, and finally concluded with how she had apologized for ruining Sesshoumaru's shirt and he had blown a blood vessel and stormed out.

"He is the absolute limit," Kagome grumbled as her new found friends sympathized.

"I think it's romantic," Amaya said. "He's so very protective of you, I hope my husband is like that."

"A hot-headed jerk?" The miko questioned incredulously.

Amaya scoffed. "No, of course not! I hope he is as passionate for me as this youkai is for you."

"Passion!" Kagome snorted and burst out laughing. Like he would ever be passionate for anyone, let alone her! A stick had more passion! Yes, on the list of bizarre things that would never ever happen, Sesshoumaru being passionate ranked right up there with him suddenly proclaiming to be a vegan, a human rights activist, and a monk all in the same day.

The women eyed the laughing miko with apprehension, turning to one another before shrugging and continuing their chat.

"You did not see the way he watched you, Kagome-sama," Kiya said knowingly. "It was as though every pain you had was his own."

"Yes, I have never seen a man so tense," Aiko agreed, chuckling to herself. "But youkai are strange creatures, I am not sure I will ever understand them, and I am half youkai myself!"

"And men are even stranger," Kagome grumbled as the other three nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yes, like night and day aren't we?" The hanyou said wistfully before sighing and getting to her feet. "But I am afraid we must continue this conversation another time, the feast is starting soon and we must ready ourselves."

The two human girls looked apprehensive as they eyed the door; obviously they felt bad about leaving the miko behind. Kagome only shook her head and assured them that she was much too tired to enjoy a feast even if she had been able to go, and that they should have a good time without her. She smiled as one-by-one they bade her a goodnight and slipped out of her room.

But just before Amaya reached the doorway, she stopped and turned. "Kagome-sama, you must be watchful while your companion is not at your side," she warned in a whisper. "You are a miko in a youkai palace, your presence is tolerated at best." And with one last look in Kagome's direction she turned and was gone.

Awesome, I'm going to be assassinated! Kagome thought giddily. Perfect! I hope they kill me slowly and painfully!

***

That night Kagome forced herself into an uneasy sleep. She dreamt of expressionless women and chains and whips and golden eyes that grew cold and burned a wild, violent red. Not even hunger could wake her from her tormented slumber, and when she finally opened her eyes the next morning, she was covered in sweat and ready to devour her pillow.

Fortunately she didn't have to, seeing as she had found a plate full of cold rice patties that one of her friends must have brought her during the feast. She ate them so fast she barely tasted them, and when she was done, she wished she had more. But she knew that she would just have to wait until someone saw fit to bring her lunch. She could barely move without being in agony and that made a walk to the kitchens out of the question.

Even though her back didn't hurt quite so much this morning, it was still far from better. Aiko had told her that the cream they had been applying to her back was a mixture created by one of their most talented healers. It would mend her wounds much faster than normal, but that she would still be out of commission for the next few days.

And there were the scars. She was sure she was going to have scars.

"Should have expected this, really," she grumbled bitterly to her sheets. "Obviously I need more things wrong with me: big, nasty scars should do the trick."

It was then that Kagome decided that she was particularly unsatisfied with the customer service the universe was providing her with and that she would really like to file a letter of complaint. Dear Universe, she began. You're kind of a jerk. Can you please try to suck less? Love, Kagome.

Now all she had to do was wait for post offices to be invented...and insane asylums, since she obviously should be in one.

Mental health and imaginary letters aside, Kagome spent the rest of the day in relative misery. Her three new friends came to change her bandages and talk about the lavish feast they had attended last night, but soon they were off to tend to their own affairs, leaving Kagome to ponder last night's events.

Apparently Sesshoumaru hadn't attended the feast, though he had been invited, and Kagome had to wonder where he was. Even as evening drew close he still hadn't so much as looked in on her, which upset her far more than she thought that it should have. It was strange, the uneasiness that his absence stirred within her, but she assured herself that it was only because she didn't like the idea that he was still mad at her. She hated it when people were angry with her, so obviously this was why she was on the verge of crawling down the hallway in search of him.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she was bored and missed talking to him. Nope, nothing at all.

Delusion is grand, she thought to herself wistfully.

The next two days passed in much the same way. She would wake up, have her bandages changed, eat the meals that were brought up for her, miss Sesshoumaru, and fall back asleep. She knew that she was getting better, she could feel the skin on her back stretch and tighten as it hastily mended, and she could even sit up now without being in pain. But she was far from completely healed and she knew it.

She had been secluded to this one room of what promised to be a very large, impressive demon manor, and she was getting restless. She hardly talked to anyone and for the most part she was ignored. Which was probably a good thing, seeing as most attention she would receive around here would be homicidal at best, but then again, a fight to the death might actually liven things up around this place!

And then there was Sesshoumaru. She had gone from missing him, to being slightly annoyed with him, to being thoroughly pissed at him. She hadn't seen him in three days! Three whole days! It was just rude, she decided. Three days was an awful long time for a hissy fit, even for someone as stubborn and stuck-up as him. He needed to get over it and get his butt over to see her before she went mad and started having conversations with the walls! Because contrary to popular belief, the walls did not have ears and would not be able to listen to her, nor would they be able to respond.

Not that the taiyoukai was ever very responsive, but talking to him was a lot more sane than talking to walls...maybe.

So, it was on the third night of her conscious solitude that Kagome found herself restlessly contemplating all the ways in which she might purify his haughty self. It was extremely cathartic, she decided. Picturing Sesshoumaru with burnt eyebrows and a singed nose was an image that never failed to entertain, but it was also a lame substitute for reality.

Just as Kagome was about to give up and attempt to lull herself to sleep, a very strong demonic aura sparked at the edge of her senses. It was approaching her room! It was right outside the door! It was...stopping? It was turning around! It was leaving!

"Oh no you don't!" Kagome exclaimed, throwing caution to the wind and throwing herself out of bed. She stumbled and had to grab onto the wall for support, but she was standing nonetheless. "Get back here!"

She threw open the door to her room and tripped gracelessly out into the hall with just enough time to see silver hair disappear around the corner. It struck her as funny that he would let himself be caught, he was more than fast enough to be on the other side of the building by now, but maybe he hadn't actually figured she would follow him.

"Sesshoumaru, get back here!" She growled, stumbling around the corner only to barely avoid running straight into him.

He caught her by the arm as she almost fell back. "Miko, why are you out of bed?" He questioned coldly, not letting go of her arm even when she was steady enough to stand. He had been checking on her for the past three nights as she slept, but this night she was up much later than she should have been and had sensed him. He wasn't about to go crawling back to her side like some repentant pup, and so, he turned and left.

With her wounds he hadn't actually thought that she would be stupid enough to follow him, which was of course his fault. One should never underestimate the miko's stupidity for it knew no bounds.

"Why are you sneaking up to my room at night and checking on me while I'm supposed to be asleep?" She shot back, glaring at him. "Afraid of little human girls?"

He raised a brow at her audacity. "I do not answer to you, wench."

"That's funny, because I'm pretty sure I had to explain myself to you just the other day," she said with false sincerity.

He looked over her head as if she didn't even exist and refused to acknowledge her.

"Oh, you-you jackass! Get over yourself!" She yelled. "Stop acting so high and mighty, you're not a god! The world would still turn if you weren't here, ya know!" She harrumphed.

"I am a demon, girl, my station is higher than yours," he growled.

"Youkai, humans, they're the same! We're just here to put on a show for whoever wants to watch!" She exclaimed in near hysterics. "And we will, too! We'll fight and fight and fight until one of us is dead, until one of us is gone, and you know what? The world will keep on spinning when that happens too. We don't change the world, Sesshoumaru, the world changes itself. We aren't more or less important than each other because really, we aren't important at all!"

"Get to bed, miko, before you spout more nonsense."

"No!" She exclaimed, wrenching her arm out of his grasp angrily. "You don't get to dismiss me! You don't get to yell at me and not talk to me for three days! You don't get to stand there and pretend like this is all my fault, punish me like I'm a child that needs to be taught a lesson!"

She turned away from him panting and leaned against the wall for support. "You didn't even come to see me for three days, for all I knew you had just left without me! Do you know what it feels like to be in the dark and the only person who can tell you what's going has just disappeared?"

She turned her big, brown eyes on him and they seemed to glisten and shine, drawing him in.

He sighed, and for the first time in a very long time, he actually found himself feeling guilty. "I did not mean to cause you distress," he said stiffly. "But this is not the place to discuss such matters, you should not be standing."

She nodded, agreeing with him for once, and reluctantly accepted his arm when he offered it to her. She guessed that putting aside her pride for a moment was a heck of a lot more productive than stumbling back to her room like a drunken sailor. And besides, he had a nice arm: steady and firm and strangely warm. Seriously, was he always this warm? She was pretty sure that couldn't be healthy...but maybe demons ran at a higher temperature than humans? Prime enzyme environments and stuff...

Shaking her head exhaustedly at the thought of demonic biochemistry, Kagome managed to shuffle back to her room. Once inside she gladly took a seat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her aching back.

"I'm sorry for causing you distress, too," she said moodily as he sat down beside her and stared at the floor as though he could see right through it. "I know you were just worried that I could've gotten myself killed...not that I know why you were worried about that."

He slanted his gaze towards her and gave her a calculating stare. "I do not know why myself, miko," he told her. "You are a vexing creature, a frustration, but it have found that it...displeases me to see you injured."

"Princess Aiko said it was because you considered me your pack," she remembered.

"Hn," he responded, once again returning his gaze to the floor.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably, she wasn't really sure what that meant, but she wasn't about to push it. Biting her lip, she worried the threads at the ends of her sleeves. "Did...did you really growl at everyone?" She asked, unable to resist the blush that rose on her cheeks.

He huffed and straightened his back, lifting his aristocratic nose into the air. "You were placed under This Sesshoumaru's protection and as such I am honor bound to prevent any future harm from befalling you."

"And growling at the help was necessary?" She said skeptically.

"Yes," he snapped.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."

He gave her a sidelong glare as if to say, of course it is 'whatever I say' I am master of all things sensical and right. Do not question me again, pathetic human.

"There is still something I do not understand, miko," he said after a moment's pause. "What is it about my half-brother that you take preference in his protection over mine?" It was something that had been on the edge of his thoughts since they had arrived here. He, Sesshouamaru, was obviously more capable of protecting her, and yet, she went dashing off to deal with things on her own. Did she find him incompetent? That would not do.

Kagome blushed again and took her turn to stare at the floor boards. "I don't know...I guess...I guess it's just because you make me feel like I have the power to do things on my own. No one's ever told me that I was strong, no one's ever believed in me enough to take care of things myself...not until you," she said shyly. "Inuyasha always comes to my rescue, but when I fought that bear youkai, you let me kill him on my own...it made me feel important, like I could actually do something that mattered instead of just always getting in the way."

He slid his gaze to her face as she sighed and ran her fingers through her thick hair.

"It's just that...before everyone always tried to catch me before I fell, like I was some weak, little doll," she mumbled. "But sometimes I think you just need to let people fall even if it hurts them...just be there to help them back up, you know?"

"Sometimes we fall too far, miko," he said darkly. "One cannot always get back up, even with help."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hide behind everyone else for the rest of my life," she huffed. "I may not be fast or strong like you or Inuyasha, but I've fought my fair share of demons and lived through it. That's got to count for something."

He considered her words for a moment and chose his response carefully, he knew she could be a bit...touchy at times. "You are powerful, miko, but do not think yourself invincible," he told her. "To be cautious is to stay alive: remember this."

Kagome frowned. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed, an awkward silence settling over the pair.

The young miko glanced over at the youkai lord and noticed that Sesshoumaru - for once in his life - did not look entirely bored, just sort of distant. It was as though he were searching for answers that only he could see and Kagome really hoped he found some so he could share them with her. This whole situation was getting seriously confusing and she didn't really know what to think about it. The cold demon lord she once feared and somewhat despised, now sat beside her, telling her that she was strong and giving her advice...almost like a friend.

And she realized that Sesshoumaru was her friend, she had only been with him a little over a week, but there was no denying that they had both grown comfortable around each other. Slid into each other's lives like a silent serpent weaving through the fabric of their beings, twining them together. She didn't quite know how it happened, or when it happened, but they had both become a part of the other's lives. They would always share this strange, intangible bond that she could not truly describe.

Things between them would never be the same, would they? At the end of this journey they would part ways, but something told her that they would meet again.

"You need rest," Sesshoumaru stated, interrupting Kagome from her internal musings. He stood up and started making his way towards the door, but just as he was about to exit, Kagome spoke.

"I didn't bow," she said quietly, but fiercely, "he told me to, but I didn't."

With his back still to her he said, "I know."

"I'm glad I didn't, he didn't deserve it."

"He did not," the inuyoukai agreed, wondering where the miko was going with this.

"You told me that I should do what makes me proud, and I did," she said simply. "I'm proud I didn't bow, even if it means I'll carry these scars the rest of my life."

He turned to her then, his golden, piercing eyes searching her face. She didn't know why she wanted to tell him this, but it felt like he should know. That he should realize that he had helped her even if only through his words.

"And I'm sick of being a doll, okay?" She mumbled, "I can help you, I know I can. I won't break."

"Your injuries say otherwise, girl," he said blandly, his eyes flickering to her torn back.

"Hey, that doesn't make me broken!" She huffed. "Just...gently used!"

The taiyoukai sighed; he really was getting too old for this sort of meaningless argument. "Do as you wish, I will not prevent you from aiding in battle as long as your safety remains assured."

Kagome instantly brightened, her ridiculous, lavish smile blooming on her face and igniting the whole room with its fire. "Thanks, I won't let you down!"

"I have retrieved your pack," he told her, finding nothing else to say. "I did not think you would like to be without it. Now, goodnight, foolish miko."

Chapter Notes:

Sometimes my fingers don't really do as they're told.

They type something stupid, or something too bold.

But don't be afraid, don't you dare fret.

They haven't typed nonsense, at least not as of yet...

Yay! Sorry, there will be no update this Sunday, it is my high school graduation and I have a ton of stuff to do, like go to the 8 parties that my friends so conveniently decided to have on the same day...

So, to hold you over, I recommend reading Remnants of a Spider, by Priestess Sianna, or Beside You In Time, by RosieB.