Diclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.
Sesshomaru sat resolutely at his seat. Yuzuki twirled around the dance floor and attracted the attentions of everyone around her, bringing her father to question from whom she got her people skills from. The way she smiled and looked at them, showering them with her affections and making each one feel as if she was giving them her full attentions. He watched her mouth twitch in annoyance when an elder cat demon returned to talk with her. With a feeling of protection washing over him, he found himself politely excusing his daughter from the company of he vulgar and rude man.
"I owe you my thanks," She smiled and laughed, waving to a few woman chatting in a corner. He watched as their cold eyes warmed at her gesture.
"You make conversing seem so easy," He growled and she placed a delicate hand on his sleeve. He found the movement endearing and his body instantly relaxed at the proximity of his offspring. "Did your mother teach you your negotiation skills?"
"Your probing will not unearth my mother's identity. She taught me how to show warmth and with that skill, I found even the hardest of people can be melted with a show of kindness and caring," She moved flawlessly throughout the room, introducing a few dragon officials to him as they fluttered from group to group.
He found when in-between not so riveting conversations about sheep and the declining market, his mind wandered to the not present miko. He forced his thoughts to a different topic and when he finished mulling over battle plans and strategies, he drifted back to the missing woman. Again, his eyes shifted to his daughter. Every time he continued to add to his dreadfully boring speech, she nodded her head and looked at him with eyes so wide he might even have believed her interested.
"While I thoroughly enjoyed our chat, I must be going!" Her laugh was too high to be natural but the man smiled and nodded all the same, bowing before blending back into the crowd. She frowned for a few seconds while she straightened her dress before flashing a smile and tugging her father into the throngs of people.
After more than hour or talking, they all sat and ate supper. The venison was perfectly cooked and he wondered if Kagome had helped with the preparations. After the thought crossed his mind, he grew angry with himself and dismissed himself from the dinner. He ignored the worried glances of his daughter and moved towards the doors.
As the thick wood closed behind him, the beast pounded on his cage and before he knew what was happening, his skin split and he grew. With his mind still awake, he pushed off the stone steps and made it a ways into the wood before the pain wracking his body made his eyes bleed red. His claws lengthened and his teeth poked out of his mouth, to large to be hidden behind his lips. His white skin splintered into fur, dense and pure, covering every inch of his body.
As the moon, not yet full, rose over head, the beast had only blood on his mind.
TUH
Kagome woke to an empty room. The blinds were still closed and she blinked at the dark surrounding. A crumple sounded to her side and with blurry eyes, she pulled the paper from the pillow besides her before holding it up to the flickering flame on the bedside table. The dark ink marked the page, telling about how Sango's stomach had need sustenance and how she would be right back.
Kagome just laughed before standing. Her feet felt like rubber and her legs shook until she finally got her bearings. Her ears caught the faint sound of a party, large from the sound of the laugher. Her weary body was starting to feel better and when she peeked around the corner, she found her eyes immediately drawn to Sesshomaru's honorary seat. It sat empty and the dance floor also proved Western Lord free.
The music was a haunting melody and she found her feet wished to dance. A small smile slipped onto her face and when a hand caught her by the shoulder, she was unprepared. Yuzuki looked shaken and worried, an expression that did not befit her lovely visage.
"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, clamping hands onto the girl's shoulder. His daughter just let her eyes dart about for a while before she sighed helplessly and spilled all she knew. "My father stormed out and I'm worried about him!"
"I'll be back," Kagome whispered resolutely, racing back to her room to grab her overcoat before sprinting down the steps and into the woods, her bow strapped securely to her back.
TUH
Yuzuki found herself more and more disinterested in the things the people said. Normally, she could at least fein interest, but with her father's hissy hit, she felt as if he might be in trouble. A few suitors asked for her hand to dance but she refused to move from her spot next to her father's vacated chair. Her glances were always to the door and when late into the evening, it was pushed open, she darted from her seat to the base of the stairs.
A man walked forward, to broad shouldered to be her father, and she was pleasantly surprised when Ryutaro made his way down the steps. He held out a hand to her, his dark eyes shimmering in the dark light.
"I was told you needed a distraction tonight." He whispered into her ear, trailing a hand down to her waist where he placed a modest touch to her hip before sliding his hand into her palm. His large fingers engulfed her hand and they waltzed onto the dance floor. People cleared to watch the couple.
They moved in tune to the music, now a sensual and beautiful balled. She forgot for a few seconds to breathe. They twirled across the polished floor, her dress brushing the marble and his carefully crafted attire seemed to be an inverse of her outfit. While she was a vision in white, he seemed to be a shadow in all darks. His hair was not tied back and flowed over his shoulders in loose waves. His smile contrasted with his sun bleached skin, making his teeth look almost unbelievably white.
"Don't smile at me like that," She demanded before laughing and burying her head into his silken threads. He could only chuckle at her antics and hope the hundreds of pairs of eyes watching then were kind enough not to comment on their compromising position.
"Why did you come tonight? You barely know me," Yuzuki moved in tempo to him, matching each shift of his body with hers. When the song reached its climax the room held its breath. He spun her around and with a wide kick, her dress flared up and made the simple move look spectacular. Her mouth remained fixed into a resolute frown that looked shockingly similar to her father.
"The way you look at me," He whispered into her ear when he threw her away from his body, only allowing their bodies to touch from their fingertips. Her painted face turned down and with a little slight of step, he was pressing his hand into the curve of her lower back. "We are friends in the future. The least a friend could do it be a distraction."
He was rewarded with a smile that seemed to make the room lean in a bit closer to overhear the conversation. Yuzuki just pushed him away before spinning around so her back was to his front. She threw her arms out for him to grab and he latched onto her wrists in order to dip her so low, her manicured hair curls pooled on the floor and her painted lips almost kissed the marble.
He hoisted her up and placed reassuring hands on her hips as the crowd burst into applause. She looked around the room in awe, unsure what was expected of her. Ryutaro placed a strong hand on hers before leading her hand up in a little wave.
"Like I said, friends," He muttered into her ear and tried to look into her face. She shifted in his grasp before strutting back to her place upon the dais, not even looking in his direction. He could feel the humiliation building in his cheeks and with a huff, he pushed through a throng of girls who pawed at him, also not looking back.
If the other had just looked, they might have seen the utter disappointment that painted the others face. To bad nether looked back.
TUH
Kagome found the trail easily. He had shattered whole oaks in his haste to run from the castle, making an easy path to follow. Her feet made little noise in the decomposing foliage and in the moonlight, everything looked like something out of her fantasy novels. With gentle fingers, her hand brushed her arrow and full quiver, reminding herself that the creature she was tracking was not going to come in willingly.
Her pace picked up when the trees became sparse and the destruction stopped. She spun on her heals but couldn't find anything showing a living creature had passed through here. She huffed in annoyance when in her peripheral vision, a slight shimmer to her left. When she faced it, the empty field looked solid, like she hadn't just seen it moving. With calculated precision, she turned her head back and made her eyes shift to the left.
Again, the world shimmered. Her keen huntress senses were tingling and she crept forward carefully. With a note of fear, she reached her hand out and was met with liquid. It surrounded her hand and she moved forward more. When her whole forearm was covered, the liquid gave a jerk and pulled the rest of her body in. Instead of panicking, she swam forward, the darkness giving no clue to which way would yield air.
When she broke the surface, she found she was in the center of a meadow. She looked over her shoulder and saw the tunnel of dense clouds shifting and swirling. The gates shimmered around her as she walked leading to the realization that that was what she saw, a hidden garden.
When she passed under an arc, she stopped dead in her tracks. The dome was engulfed in sunlight, the rays coating plants of every color and shape, even though it was nighttime. A pond bubbled up and made gentle waves lap at the smooth stones that surrounded it. But that was not the strange part; Sesshomaru rested in the center of the meadow, covered in different grasses that blew to an invisible breeze. As she moved forward, a woman popped from the bushes.
"Stay where you are!" She brandished a stick, waving it around a few times before Kagome grew annoyed and grabbed it from her. She cried out and Kagome realized the plump woman had to be some kind of mystical creature. "You nasty miko! You can't hurt the Lord!"
"I was sent to rescue him!" She explained, making sure her bow and arrows were a bit less conspicuous. She shifted on her feet and placed her hands behind her back. The woman placed her arms over her chest and bit her large lips. Her round face grew red with the concentration before she let a breath out and nodded, her hazel eyes glancing worriedly to Sesshomaru who was splayed out on the floor of grass.
Kagome raced over to him before throwing her bow off to the side and placing a caring hand on his forehead. His temperature was high and his breath was coming out in frantic pants. She glanced over to the woman who was wringing her hands into her skirt.
"What's wrong with him?" Kagome asked, placing a cool palm on his cheek. The smooth skin felt feverish under her fingertips and she couldn't help but place his head into her lap.
"He required a place to rest while he deals with his beast. He came to me because he knew I could put him to sleep so his body didn't hurt anyone or anything while under stasis." She bit her lip in worry before starting to pace. Her hands clenched and unclenched in her patchwork dress made up of swatches of many different colors of fabric. Her foot tapped on a rock by her feet and she switched from chewing her lip to her fingernails. "My name is Tennin."
"Hello," Kagome replied, looking over his body for any flesh wounds. When her initial search proved fruitless she moved to rubbing calming circles into his neck and shoulders. "It is nice to meet you Tennin."
"He has been under for many hours." She stuttered out, marching back and forth before making her mind up and racing over to squat down into the grass with Kagome. At the girl's strange look, she explained. "Time flows differently here in this realm."
"You are what, a fairy?" She guessed and Tennin looked horrified. She stood and planted her hand on her wide hips. She huffed and puffed until Kagome looked sheepish.
"I am a mountain spirit, thank you very much!" She deflated after a few seconds and sat back down. Kagome threw a few glances to the woman before thinking about her options.
"I could try to heal him with my miko powers. They will be not as effective but might give the real Shesshomaru a boost in this mental battle he is fighting," Kagome took in a breath before releasing it. Her palms grew bright with energy and Kagome made sure it was all healing energy before placing her palm on the side of his face. As if her hands sent bolts of electricity through his body, he started convulsing.
"His body is rejecting the healing powers!"
Kagome yanked her hands back and quickly pressed down on his shoulders to stop his jerks. Tennin shrieked and dove into a nearby bush. Kagome watched as slowly, Sesshoamru stopped moving. She worried she might have to do CPR but was shocked when his eyelids shot open. His chest rose with a great heaving breath and he coughed a few times before his still glazed eyes caught Kagome's.
"You huntress, you not only invade my dreams, but now you seek to infect my nightmares as well?" His words rattled out of his throat like he had swallowed gravel. With a shaking hand, he reached up to brush a loose strand of hair from her face before his body went limp and he slipped away. Kagome shook him franticly, afraid he might have died.
She could feel the tears forming behind her eyes and words that were half formed spilling from her lips. They were a jumbled mass of curses and hatred to him if he was so weak as to be killed by himself. Tennin tried to yank at her arms but Kagome could feel her own anger bubbling up.
She started screaming. About different things; about how she had lost to many people, about how she hated him and how if he succumbed to this, she would hunt him down in the next life. Tennin was crying as well and when Kagome took in this fact, she rubbed at her wet cheeks in disgust.
As she was rubbing the salt from her eyes, she caught sight of a little robin perched on a branch. She moved forward, thinking about the large book of myths her father had gifted to her on her third birthday.
"Robins carry the souls of our loved ones." Tennin hissed and Kagome remembered the passage from the foreign section of the book. Her breathing picked up and she raced over to her bow, pulling the string taunt until it brushed her lip. It flew up, fluttered a few times, before fluttering right thought the protective warding. Tennin was calling out at how impossible that was but Kagome was already out the portal and after the small bird. Tennin yelled after her.
"Bring back his soul or there is little else I can do!" Kagome raced after the franticly flapping bird.
She was tired of loosing people. It didn't matter that she was still mad at Sesshoamru, it didn't matter she would do this if it was also a stranger, all that mattered was that she was mad and the bird never stood a chance.
The bird had avoided three of her arrows shot in haste and with little though into where she wanted them to end up. She cocked her arrow and looked upward, catching the bird in her sights. She fired again, the fetching smacking the bird enough to throw it off and Kagome watched at the poor creature spiraled to the ground.
Her feet carried her quickly over the land until she spotted the bird about to strike he ground. She dove under it, sliding across the grass with her arms outstretched. When her fingers wrapped around the warm body of the bird, she felt victory. The creature squirmed a bit before opening her talons and letting a stone tumble into her palm. The little bird fluttered away and Kagome sat up, covered in twigs and grass. She opened her fingers and a small gem rested in her palm. It was purple and when she held I up, it shined golden, as if she had placed it before firelight.
With a slight limp, she made her way back to a panicking Tennin. She was tying to heal Sesshomaru, bringing small strings of water over his body but the woman's healing magic lacked a soul to heal.
"Will this help?" Kagome let the precious stone slip into the spirits hand. A wide grin split her face and with deft hands, she let the glowing stone sink into his chest, right over where his heart would be. He heaved a few times before clutching at his chest and blinking rapidly. He looked up and Kagome smiled at his bewildered expression, "Welcome back to the world of the living."
After staying a bit later, they left, waving goodbyes and blowing kisses; Kagome a bit more than Sesshomaru. Both leaned on each other for support as they hobbled back through the woods. They remained silent and let the activities of the day sink in. Sesshoamru was exhausted and Kagome had hurt her leg in her sliding stunt but despite their differences, both relished in the thought of a hot bath and a good night sleep.
God I mixed so many types of mythology in this chapter. If you have questions, as your bound to have, just ask.