AUTHOR'S CORNER:
-sigh- I'm updating tonight, the day before I usually update because I have a 12 hour work shift tomorrow. I work two jobs and they happened to need me at one job in the morning and the other one for the evening. Therefore, I didn't want to leave you all in the lurch and not update until late late late tomorrow night, so I'm letting you have it early. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep up this rapid update schedule... I'll warn you all if it's dropping back though.
I would love to address every one of your reviews, however, it's a pet peeve of mine when authors have really long notes before their chapters, so I'll be brief and just answer the key questions I got.
Requests for fluff: I'm sorry, you all will have to be patient. There will be wonderfully yummy lemons later and I will DEFINITELY make it worth the wait with lots of soft squishy fluff leading up to it, however, they're not there quite yet. If I made it too easy, it wouldn't be in character and waiting just makes it that much sweeter!
Question about the sizes of the transformed demons: the taiyoukai (meaning the lords of the north, south, east and west, don't really care if that's the way it is in the show, in my story it is) are much bigger than other transformable demons. Sesshomaru and Ken'ichi stand at least a story or more taller than other noble demons. SPOILER: Kagome's handmaiden later has an animal form and it's about the size that Fubuki is described as having in this chapter.
Think that's it, hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 21
Kagome backed up as a battle of titans began. Demons of varying sizes slammed into one another all across the battlefield, clawing, biting, snarling, hissing and generally destroying whatever they touched. Sesshomaru and Ken'ichi were the biggest of the demons in the area and the ground shook with each pounding step the massive dog took.
Ken'ichi hissed and lunged quickly as a cobra at the white dog. The pair snapped, snarled, and hissed as they tumbled into one another, rolling around on the ground, fighting for dominance. Kagome watched in horror as Ken'ichi struck forward, too fast to see, massive fangs sank into his furry white shoulder. Sesshomaru snarled in anger as he felt the sting of poison in his veins, but he twisted in on the snake unworried. He had a natural immunity to most poison due to his poison claws.
Fubuki acted of his own accord; the sword disappeared from her lax hand in a puff of white smoke and beside her stood a massive white panther whose back stood as tall as her slim waist. Kagome grinned at the elegant beast and grabbed a nearby discarded bow and quiver of arrows before climbing onto Fubuki's back.
The panther let out a feral roar before leaping nimbly out and into the battlefield. Fubuki was capable of remaining in his mortal cat form almost indefinitely as long as he was touching his master. It required such little power from Kagome that she could even sleep with him curled up next to her and still regain her full powers. Separated from her, however, he could only remain in cat form for about a day before draining her too much.
Kagome settled onto Fubuki's back easily and slung the quiver over one shoulder before drawing out an arrow and fitting it to the string. A flare of bright pink engulfed the arrow as it went streaking into a nearby enemy demon, purifying it upon contact. Fubuki growled in approval, his quick paws carrying them safely through the din of battle while Kagome released a steady stream of bright pink arrows.
Sesshomaru was struggling with his current adversary. Ken'ichi was extremely fast, striking and then pulling out of range, his poison not affecting the dog demon much except to little by little put a rather alarming amount of fang holes in the demon's flesh and leave him bleeding from every single one.
Roaring in anger, Sesshomaru managed to swing his head around fast enough to grab the snake behind its scaly head, making him convulse wildly. The deadly fangs that had just been embedded in the dog demons side were brutally ripped out causing the dog to grunt in pain, but Sesshomaru refused to let go now that he'd finally gotten a good hold on the serpent. Ken'ichi flopped and thrashed, trying desperately to dislodge the taiyoukai's hold on him, but Sesshomaru just snarled and squeezed harder, beginning to cut off the snake's air supply and sink his fangs into the flesh, putting pressure on Ken'ichi's spine.
The serpent became utterly desperate when his air pipe closed twisted impossibly hard and fast, smashing his tail and body into the parts of the dog he could reach, but Sesshomaru just held on and slammed his nose into the ground, pounding the demon brutally, dark blood spurting everywhere.
Kagome looked up in time to see Sesshomaru shake his head wildly, snapping the snake from side to side, blood gushed all over anything that had the misfortune to be somewhere nearby. A triumphant gleam entered the ember eyes as with one final toss of his head and clenching of his jaw the dog finally managed to snap the spine of the snake between his jaws with a massive and very sickeningly loud snapping sound. Dropping his enormous paws on the thick black body of his now deceased enemy, he yanked hard over and over again until Ken'ichi's head finally came completely off with a sickening ripping and sucking sound.
The head crashed to the ground, heralding the victory of the west. Slowly, the south lost morale and was beaten back, sounding retreat as the west ran after their adversaries with whoops of triumph, cutting down any that remained alive and chasing down the others still able to run.
Kagome still sat astride Fubuki, both of whom were covered completely in demon blood, Kagome's arms and clothes were dripping and Fubuki's normally pristine white fur was matted and a sickening dark red color, turning to brown in places where it had begun to dry. Kagome felt sticky and crusty, the smell was nauseating and she tried hard not to look down at the carnage all around her, not wanting to see any more body parts lying about missing their owners.
Fubuki padded silently and gently toward the edge of the field, trying to take the dazed little miko out of the worst of the gore. This was when the massive dog across the field spotted them. Sesshomaru glared down at the miko, just then realizing exactly what it was she was riding. He remembered Kagome telling him long ago that her sword, the same one who had foolishly appeared in that field so many years ago, had a massive white panther form. Sesshomaru simply stared down his bloody nose at the couple making their way toward him, his outward appearance gave nothing away, but inwardly he felt an unfamiliar twist in his gut. Ice blue eyes met demonic red in a silent challenge.
Finally Kagome's dazed eyes traveled up the length of a bloodstained and very filthy dog leg to his face and started back at the angry look that smoldered in the ember depths as he regarded their approach.
With a small whirlwind and a surge of power, Sesshomaru shifted back to his normal form, his eyes still holding hers across the short expanse of battlefield between them. The cold voice cut through the air, making Kagome shiver and wonder briefly what had happened that she had missed when he finally spoke.
"Miko, since you have your own mode of travel, you will follow my troops back to my lands. Once there you will be given a room and when I call for you, you will inform me of the reason behind your presence here," Kagome wanted to scream, slap him, kick him in the shins, cry, anything, but instead she sat there dumbfounded, her mouth hanging slightly open as the demon she had yearned for all those long years turned on his heel and walked away, leaving her to travel alone with his troops, who had already begun to sneer at the miko's presence and treat her like the filth they thought she was.
Not one of them admitted that she had released controlled attacks that had literally changed the tide of the battle or that she was a powerful miko. Whispered, ningen, slut, worthless, disgusting, and other such insults floated to her ears as Fubuki looked over his shoulder at her, his icy eyes full of sympathy. The pair fell into step with the tired troops, though off to the side and keeping their distance, not wishing to upset the already disgusted and wary soldiers.
Kagome held her chin up, keeping her guarded blue eyes straight forward, not wanting any of them to see a weakness in her, though Fubuki could feel the slight trembling of the little hands fisted in his fur and the sadness and frustration tainting her normally pure aura. Fubuki's thoughts rolled over the past few years with his miko, a small smile forming in his mind at the times they had shared. He had gotten over his initial crush on her and his jealousy at how close she had been to the demon lord. The elemental had been her best friend and confidante through the dark times in her life when she was missing the stoic demon so badly it hurt, and he hated to see her hurting now because of the man she had missed so much. The two had become more brotherly and sisterly, more importantly, they were comrades in arms, but there was no way Sesshomaru could know that.
A stray demon broke away from the group and sidled up next to the pair, preparing to taunt the filthy human female who dressed so inappropriately, but a sidelong glance from those icy eyes, a baring of forearm length fangs and a soft snarl and the demon decided it was safer back with the rest of his group.
Kagome rode in silence, not even communicating mentally with her friend who was met with mental blocks when he tried to comfort her. She did not want to be disturbed. The poor miko's mind was a whirl of confused thoughts and hurt feelings. What had she done to make Sesshomaru so angry with her? He had seemed relieved and protective when she'd first shown up, but then at the end of the battle he had regarded her coldly, as if she had betrayed him or something. Kagome wanted nothing more than to let tears flow freely down her cheeks but she would never reveal weakness in front of so many demons under the stoic lord's command. She was a proud miko of considerable power and skill, unlike when she'd last been to the feudal era and she would command respect. Of course, she knew this meant earning that respect, or more likely beating it into the demons in her presence, but she couldn't start that process by crying in front of them. She would be strong and would cry in the dead of night when only Fubuki would be witness to it.
Patting his shoulder in reassurance and apology, she saw his head bob slightly before she continued staring straight ahead, wondering what was in store for her when they arrived at the home of the western lord.
Sesshomaru currently was walking at the head of the army, leading them home in victory. He had considered taking his cloud of youki home instead of walking, but he wanted to make a good face for his men and instead, ignored his injuries like the others trudging behind him and took his place at the front of the group.
Extending his senses, he could feel his miko about halfway back behind him, riding alongside the group on her confounded sword. At first he felt little to nothing from her, the aura she was projecting was one of confidence and neutrality, though as he probed further, using his knowledge of the girl he felt tendrils of confusion and sadness tainting the aura she was hiding behind. So the girl has learned to mask her true aura to hide her feelings? Interesting. She has grown immeasurably in power then. When last I saw her she was barely able to control her aura enough to refrain from burning this Sesshomaru.
The tendrils of sadness he was feeling made his gut twist in a feeling he had long ago identified as guilt. Why? Kami's damnit! He had been fine before she had shown up! His rule had been established and though he thought of her frequently, he experienced none of those stupid weird emotions he always felt when around her. Even after twenty years, she pops up and BAM, all the old feelings surface and threaten to confuse him and disintegrate his carefully groomed self control.
He wanted nothing more than to turn on his heel, return to her side, scoop her into his arms and carry her away to his home and do what it took to make her happy and the sadness he felt in her go away. Gritting his teeth slightly in annoyance, he snapped his youki back forward again and pointedly ignored the little miko. Once they were back at the palace, he would distance himself completely until he had a chance to get himself back under control. Then he would interrogate her and find out what she was doing here and find a way to send her home.
Immediately his beast roared in protest and clawed at him inside his chest. Disturbingly his beast had been making a kind of purring feeling in ever since the distracting woman had first shown up and was now protesting greatly at the thought of losing her again. Growling at it internally, he tried to shove it back down and silence it, but the beast was too persistent. It had been denied for so long the one thing it ever really wanted and was not about to give up now.
Deciding that beating the living daylights out of himself in his dojo when he returned home was in order so that he would tire the stupid beast out and then be back in control of himself, he simply fell silent and walked along in front of his army, outwardly nothing of his internal struggle showed in his actions or facial features. To an outside observer, he looked bored.
Kagome gasped in delight despite herself and her current state of depression when she first caught sight of Sesshomaru's castle. It was absolutely breathtaking. The palace was a traditional Japanese castle complete with a courtyard and gardens off to one side. The walls surrounding the castle were tall and strong and the gardens that were just visible around one corner of the building were absolutely beautiful. The castle itself was a few stories tall with traditional slanted roofs, but what made it breathtaking were the vines that grew all along the walls, creating a soft, green appearance.
Entering the gates still riding Fubuki Kagome glanced all around her in wonder, ignoring the insults and disgusted looks she was receiving at being allowed in their lord's castle. Eventually her eyes fell on the lord himself. Sesshomaru stood quite a distance away, still coated in the blood from his victory, most of his wounds having healed themselves during the march, but what made her stop cold was his eyes.
Gone completely was the warmth she had worked so hard long ago to bring out in the beautiful amber orbs and it was replaced by a coldness that rivaled that of Fubuki's blade during her Kaze no koori. His look dared her to even try speaking to him before turning away and speaking softly to a servant and then disappearing into the enormous building that was his home. The servant disappeared as Kagome slipped off Fubuki's back and stood at his side, one hand still fisted comfortingly in his fur, wondering what was going to happen to them.
Just then a female demon servant came scurrying out of the palace and right up to Kagome. The little miko saw a look of barely concealed amazement and disdain before bowing low and telling the girl to follow her to her assigned rooms. Kagome nodded mutely and followed behind the female demon with Fubuki padding lightly at her side. Neither bothered returning him to his sword form because both knew that she was in desperate need of his comforting presence at her side.
The servant gave Fubuki a disdainful and appraising look before leading them inside the huge doors to the castle. Fubuki simply regarded her back coolly and she made the wise choice not to say anything about leading a huge cat into her lord's castle. Stranger things had happened.
Kagome followed behind the servant with her head held high, though she was beginning to get a little worried. The demon was taking them through a maze of hallways and the miko was absolutely sure she was thoroughly lost and would never find her way around. Just as she was beginning to think the woman was just leading them around in circles she abruptly stopped in front of a set of doors that were painted beautifully with a Japanese mountain range and bamboo shoots.
"My lord has ordered that you reside here and that you will not leave your room or wander around the castle unless with an attendant," she bowed mockingly low before disappearing around a corner before the miko could retort, not that she really had much to say. With a sigh, she slid the door open and slipped into her new quarters with Fubuki right behind her.
The room was truly beautiful. It was rather large with a good sized and comfortable looking futon against one wall decorated in deep blues. The whole room had a blue theme, which was unusual for an ancient oriental room's furnishings, but she shrugged at the thought. Sesshomaru was obviously very well to do and it wouldn't seem too farfetched that his home be furnished with the best. Crossing the room she flung open the sliding doors that opened onto a beautiful balcony. Gasping in happiness, Kagome was thrilled to see that her balcony overlooked the beautiful gardens she had seen before. Now, although it appeared she was a prisoner in her room she would still get to enjoy the amazing gardens at least a little.
Turning back into the room she noticed that Fubuki had his nose shoved in a partially opened door on the opposite side of the room as the futon.
"What'd you find, Fubuki?" the cat simply whuffed weirdly and shoved his head further into what appeared to be a closet. Rolling her eyes slightly, she made her way over to the enormous cat with its head completely out of sight and threw open the doors, her eyes widening in amazement at what she saw. Behind the doors was an enormous closet that was completely stocked full of beautiful and extremely expensive looking kimonos. Kagome's fingers trailed longingly over the fabric of the closest sleeve discovering that it was indeed pure silk.
"I can't wear these," she stated to no one in particular and Fubuki gave her an annoyed look and bumped her with his head.
Of course you can! Why wouldn't you be able to wear those? They would fit you nicely.
Kagome glanced down at her best friend before looking back at the garments.
"These are far too nice for someone like me to wear, I wouldn't want to sully them," she said sadly. Fubuki was starting to become really aggravated by her attitude. That damn Sesshomaru! Doesn't he realize what he's doing to her? Because of how he's treated her she doesn't think she's good enough to wear the clothes.
Fubuki whuffed again and glared up at her.
"Don't look at me like that! Plus you know they are horribly uncomfortable, I would die wearing these," she said giving him a sidelong look.
That may be, however you cannot wear what you have on either. It took me quite some time to become accustomed to your style of dress and I'm positive it will not be tolerated here.
Kagome nodded with a sigh.
"Of course, you're right," with a frown she stared at the garments again. Just then a knock sounded at the door and they both looked at each other in confusion before Kagome responded.
"Yes? Come in," the door slid open revealing a very nervous looking young woman who entered, closing the door behind her before bowing low at the waist and holding a bundle of fabric out to the confused miko.
"My lady, his lordship informed me that my new position would be as your handmaiden and that since you are a miko you would prefer the garb fitting your station," Kagome and Fubuki looked at each other with wide eyes making the girl shift uncomfortably. Of course the young demon had heard of humans and lower demon animals forming bonds, but this one seemed a little too strong.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Kagome couldn't help exclaiming much to the surprise of the poor nervous woman, "you have no idea how much I was fretting over the fact that I might have had to wear a constricting kimono!" the little miko beamed up at the servant completely baffling her further.
"Oh, well then, perhaps we should get you changed?" she asked tentatively, realization dawning on her that her new mistress might not be as bad as she had originally thought. She had always considered human women to be snobby and cruel, acting like they were higher than their actual station with no character to back themselves up.
"Oh!" Kagome suddenly exclaimed, "I've been so rude! Gomen! I am Higurashi Kagome," she said bowing low at the waist, "what is your name?" The young demon was highly taken aback and shaken up by this. She was not expecting the girl to introduce herself, let alone act as if her mere servant was on her own level by bowing to her.
"Oh, my lady! I am but a servant! You shouldn't bow to me," she was starting to get nervous, but Kagome waved it off as if she was talking nonsense.
"I have no need of a servant, but I'm in great need of a friend," the human woman said with a grin, "and come to think of it, you probably will need to dress me a little because I'm hopeless when it comes to this type of clothing! However," the demon woman winced, "I still need to know your name!"
"My name is Akiko, my lady," she said hesitantly. Kagome squealed in delight nearly scaring the poor servant half to death and earning an annoyed look from Fubuki.
"Akiko! How beautiful! It suits you perfectly!" and it was true, Akiko means "autumn child" and she had waist length auburn hair with deep soulful dark red eyes. She had one single brown stripe on each cheek and her skin was a beautiful tan color. "If you don't mind my asking, what kind of demon are you?" Akiko shifted nervously from foot to foot, no mistress she'd ever served had acted this way. What was wrong with her?
"I am a tiger demon, mistress," Kagome nodded to herself as if that made sense.
"Please, don't call me 'mistress' or 'my lady,' Kagome is fine, or if you must Kagome-san, though I much prefer Kagome-chan," this was too much for the poor demon and she couldn't hold her curiosity in any longer.
"My la… Kagome…-sama… why do you act this way? You treat me as if I am an equal and you insist I call you by your given name. Why? You are a miko of known power, you deserve to be called by your title and given respect," as if realizing what she'd blurted out, she fell on her face on the floor in a groveling bow, "forgive me my lady! I have been too forward!" Kagome watched the woman in confused fascination.
"Akiko, I don't want a servant or someone who will grovel before me. I am just a human woman. You are probably much older than I am and would actually therefore be my senior. I have done nothing that commands respect, nor would I take it if I had," Akiko looked up at the young woman in confusion. Kagome sighed deeply and crawled forward, pulling the woman up into a sitting position and smiling at her.
"You must understand, I do not wish for you to treat me like I'm better than you, because in all honesty, I'm not. Just because you weren't born a noble doesn't mean I have the right to treat you like trash," Kagome wanted to giggle at the look on the woman's' face that flickered from pure amazement to horror and back again. Dragging the female demon to her feet she let out a small laugh.
"Well, Akiko, as much as I would like to continue discussing this at length, I really would prefer to do it while getting clean and dressed in some non-bloody and non-stinky clothes!" Akiko blushed deeply, having completely forgotten her lady's obvious state of dirtiness.
"Oh! Lady Kagome! I apologize!" Kagome's firm hand on the girl's arm kept her from dropping to the floor face down, "I was not attentive to your needs…" she was about to tell her new mistress that she would take whatever punishment she saw fit, but Kagome was already waving her apologies away.
"Nonsense, I'm the one who distracted you, but if I may ask, is there a hot spring somewhere around? I'm in great need of a good soak!" Akiko nodded, quickly gathering up bathing supplies, clean clothing and cloth to dry with before silently leading the girl from her room, Fubuki padded silently alongside the girl.
She is so strange! Akiko couldn't help thinking. She actually considers me an equal! I would have been beaten numerous times now for the way I've acted if she were any other noble lady. Maybe this is why his lordship requested me for this position. I thought it unusual that he would request me by name, I had thought that maybe I had done something wrong…she glanced back at the young miko who was oblivious to the thoughts of her new handmaiden and was gazing around her in fascination. But now I see that perhaps he chose me because I am best suited to her, the other handmaidens are rather close mouthed and stoic. Mulling over her thoughts, she reached the hot springs and swiped them away for later before sliding the door open for her new lady.
Kagome's squeal of delight had both Fubuki and Akiko wanting to cover their ears as the miko rushed past them both and into the beautiful room. The bathhouse was simply built around a natural hot spring and was decorated in the most attractive wood colors. Akiko was about to protest about Fubuki's presence when he padded past her and she was almost positive she saw him wink at her, silencing any objections she may have had. The white cat meandered to the side of the spring while Kagome poked and sniffed at the bottles lining one shelf before he lay down languorously next to the pool. His amused eyes met Akiko's for a moment before he disappeared in a puff of white smoke and was replaced by a beautiful white katana lying within reach of the pool.
"L-lady Kagome… your cat… he… what's…?" Kagome looked up at the female servant and then her eyes fell on the katana. A grin broke her features and she waved dismissively at the sword.
"Oh, Fubuki knows better than to try and be present when I bathe. He made that mistake once and it's one he'll never forget. He can't actually see anything when he's in katana form unless I touch him, but then he only can see what I can see," Kagome picked out a scent she liked from the wall as Akiko stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Lady Kagome, shall I wash your hair for you?" she asked hopefully.
"Naw, I'm not used to people doing things for me, but I'd like very much if you would keep me company," Kagome noticed the crestfallen look on the girl's face and decided there was nothing for it. "Oh, alright, you may wash my hair." Akiko's face brightened and she removed her socks and sandals, bunched up her servants robes and waded into the hot spring.
The whole time Akiko worked on her hair and helped her bathe and wash the blood and grime from her body Kagome drilled her on her background and her family and how she had come to work for Sesshomaru. It turned out that her family had originally meant to give her away as a present to one of the nobles under the taiyoukai's command, but last minute they discovered that the noble was treacherous and had betrayed Sesshomaru. The western lord had struck the noble down and since the woman now had nowhere to go, he agreed that she could take a place as a handmaiden in his household.
Kagome oozed all over her about how awful that was and how could her family do something like that to their daughter. Akiko merely shrugged and told her that this was the way things were in the world.
Briefly Kagome outlined her own experiences in the feudal era, leaving out any details regarding the future and a few other choice details, but she told the woman about her travels with Sesshomaru's half brother and her first meeting with the taiyoukai. The little miko laughed at the woman's expression.
"You know, if your eyes go any wider they will fall out of your head," Kagome teased. Akiko blinked and blushed deeply.
"My lady! You stood up to his lordship and lived!" Kagome giggled and placed a damp hand on Akiko's forearm.
"It's not the only time I've done it either!" Akiko nearly fell over much to Kagome's amusement. The rest of her bath consisted of comfortable chatter, through which Kagome learned from Akiko how she would be expected to dress and act. Sesshomaru had outlined for her that she would eat in the dining hall, and would have access to the gardens, but would not be allowed to do anything without Akiko by her side. Kagome stiffened slightly at her complete loss of freedom, but seeing as she couldn't really do anything about it, and it was obviously safer for her with demons walking around who hated her guts, she acquiesced grudgingly. At least she had someone to talk to that was at least somewhat interesting, she thought.