Yayyy! It's another chapter!...
Don't all cheer at once. T.T
Not feeling so talkative right now, so I won't force you to pretend to read another long A/N. XD
Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf. – Ute proverb
DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters… which means that Takahashi Rumiko is STILL teh luckiest ladeh in teh world!
….
The miko simply stared at her savior for a moment, in awe at his statement.
"Huh," she said, not sure quite else to say.
That was easier than I expected.
Sesshoumaru raised an imperious eyebrow at her obvious surprise.
"How very eloquent," he replied drily. Without waiting for rebuttal, he turned and stalked out of the dungeon. The miko jumped up to follow him after realizing that he was actually going to leave her behind. She felt a bit of pins and needles around her ankles where the leather thongs had held her, cutting off her circulation.
Running to catch up with the demon lord, Kagome took the chance to look around. He was leading her up many flights of stairs, the space between the walls narrow and the spiral case steep and tightly wound. Even as she expected herself to get dizzy, she realized that at each landing the air got cleaner and space itself seemed to become more hospitable.
Wow… must have been down there pretty far, she thought with a mental gulp. She could have been killed down there, and no one would have known.
After a couple moments of climbing the steep staircase, Kagome began to huff and puff with the effort. Sesshoumaru either didn't notice or, more likely, chose to ignore it out of lack of concern. The miko grew more than a little bit irritated at his indifference. She chose to stay silent for the time being, settling on leveling a scathing glare at his silk-clad back and swaying silver hair.
This was, she soon realized, a bad choice. She found herself growing annoyed with how extremely, disgustingly beautiful his damn hair was. Seriously. He just choked a guy out and not even a hair out of place! There was no justice.
Her anger sufficiently distracted her from the tough climbing and they reached the top landing capped by an ornate red door bordered with silver paint and little white cherry blossoms.
Sesshoumaru pushed the door open, standing to the side. Kagome's angry mood lifted for a second at the thought that he was finally being polite. She lifted her chin a bit and looked Sesshoumaru in the face.
"Thank you, my Lord," she said with an air of imperiousness.
"You are in the way, miko."
Angered once more by his response, Kagome stomped through the opening, stopping about five feet from the door on the other side.
Sesshoumaru ignored her minor tantrum and stood in the doorway with his back to her. Summoning up his youki, he placed a barrier around the opening and infused his strength into the wood of the door. He shut it tight once again when he was finished and motioned for a servant.
The man that came running at Sesshoumaru's beckoning gesture was a broad-shouldered man of about fifty years old. He wasn't unattractive, but there was something strange about him that Kagome couldn't quite place.
The man bowed in respect and waited for his orders.
"Tell my captain of the guard to be in my study within the hour."
He bowed once more. "Yes, my Lord."
As the servant walked off to find the captain, Kagome finally figured out what was strange about the situation.
She gave a Sesshoumaru and accusatory glance.
"He was human!" she exclaimed.
"Thank you for pointing that out. Have you not seen one before?" came the sarcastic response.
The diminutive miko scowled and chose to ignore his tone. "You hate humans!"
Sesshoumaru began to walk away with a graceful toss of his hair over his left shoulder.
"So you assume."
Gah!
She was getting sick of chasing after this stubborn dog. Kagome planted her feet and huffed at him, finally getting his attention. Sesshoumaru turned around and looked at the exasperating miko.
"What do you mean, I 'assume'? You've made it quite clear that you hate humans!"
This was getting old. He was already sick of this miko and he had been aware of her presence for, oh, twenty minutes?
Perhaps if only I hadn't been in such a hurry to save her. A minute or so more and I would not be dealing with this.
He turned his cold gaze on the miko, causing her eyes to bug as if they'd pop out and roll away.
"And when, miko, have I made such a statement? You have made your own assumptions, based purely on your own belief. Your argument lacks evidence and your statement lacks truth." He did a graceful turn on his heel and continued on his way.
Kagome stood there for a moment and hung her head. He had a point. She didn't know anything about him, but she had made plenty of judgements.
Even after he saves me, I can't be fair.
And in his palace, too!
Well this sucks.
The miko found herself meekly following the demon lord, not paying much attention to their lavish surroundings. Finally finding her voice, she said, "Sesshoumaru-sama?"
He stopped without turning and she could sense the tense air around him. As always, his youki was well contained and appeared calm, but she could sense the tension in the air around him.
She sighed and continued, "I'm sorry. I… I shouldn't have judged you. It was wrong. Don't be angry, please."
He didn't give any response that she could hear. Mentally kicking herself and thinking that he had denied her apology, she deflated a bit, not sure of how to proceed.
"Your apology is accepted."
She instantly perked up and beamed at him, feeling light and refreshed at her absolution. Her little inner Kagome did a victory dance and even threw in a cartwheel for good measure.
Containing her excitement, Kagome ran to catch up with her host and the pair continued on their way in amicable silence.
….
Not sure how long that silence will last with motor-mouth Kagome around! Thank you so much for reading and please review!... My Dokuga people, I'm talking to you. Your lack of feedback makes me sad :'(
~Siki
