Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
Authors notes: I am very lucky to have such amazing readers. Please Read and Review – you guys give me some amazing ideas
Once again Sesshomaru found himself waiting impatiently for Kagome at the top of the well. He felt the sudden urge to tap his foot as he listened to her start her climb at a snails pace. 'I could waste one of my many lifetimes waiting on this ningen woman'. Sesshomaru finally lost his internal struggle with patience and jumped deep into the well to retrieve the small miko.
As soon as his arms wrapped around the woman waist he was overcome by the smell of sadness radiating off of her small form. He landed gracefully about 10 feet from the well. His eyes slid up and down her form trying to pinpoint a physical pain for such distress. His golden eyes landed on her face and he was shocked by his discovery. A fake smile was plastered on her beautiful face, her face looked puffy from crying and the smell of tears clung to her skin.
"Hello Sesshomaru-sama" Kagome murmured softly with her eyes downturned in perfect submission, his beast purred in appreciation but the intellectual side of him knew she wasn't doing this act on purpose. This Miko was suffering from some sort of emotional pain.
It had been quite some time since she had gone through the well. She hadn't seen him in over a month and so much had happened in that short period of time. She had lost track of time this morning. She had been so busy feeling sorry for herself that she had forgotten her commitment to Sesshomaru – she was sure the Inu Lord did not look kindly on tardiness so she went to go meet him regardless of her swollen tear- stained face.
His hand was still resting on her waist gently – he was afraid to let her go. 'She looks as though she would fall over if this one were not holding her up'.
"Miko…" He responded back hesitantly. He didn't know how to proceed. He was not used to dealing with emotions: his or anyone else's. She turned her eyes up at him and plastered her fake smile back on her face and put on her most bubbly façade.
"So what are we doing today Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome asked with a strained tone. It seemed as though she wore a mask similar to his, the only difference is that Sesshomaru has had years to perfect his. With her strength suddenly returning he allowed his own hand to release the Miko and drop to his side. They stood inches from each other and for a moment just held each other's gaze. He knew she was in pain and she knew that he was aware of her suffering but neither wanted to broach the subject. Kagome wouldn't say anything to Sesshomaru unless he asked – and she was sure he was not going to ask.
"Follow me" He turned and waited for the woman to fall in line behind him. She started following quietly. He couldn't believe how changed she seemed in a month. He knew humans had a short life span but never thought they evolved so quickly. He found himself starting to grow angry that something had happened that hurt her and he wasn't privy to that information.
'I had not missed the Miko in this time apart but I am annoyed my plan was delayed. I have spent the time thinking of sweet victory over this one's half-breed brother as well as the pleasure he will receive from this woman. Now I am more determined to best my brother.' Now that he had the Miko in his grasp he was frustrated that she came to him damaged and it would make the task at hand much more difficult. He did not get much time with the priestess and wanted to make it count.
'I have been planning all month. I will not let her weak human emotions ruin this.'
He let out an angry growl and it caused the priestess to squeak and stop in her tracks suddenly and the scent of fear was rolling off her tiny form.
He turned around and saw the small Miko cowering behind him. Now she smelled infuriatingly of sadness, and fear. The two emotions he did not want Kagome to associate with him. He walked closer to the priestess and she froze in place, tilted her head away from him and hid her face behind his hair.
"Come here" He ordered more harshly than he intended and she inched closer to the towering killing machine. She seemed hesitant to approach him regardless of their earlier accidental intimacy.
He closed their distance and wrapped his one good arm around her waist and summoned his cloud to raise them into the sky. The speed was so great that Kagome screeched and wrapped her body around the deadly man. He allowed himself to outwardly smirk.
"Sesshomaru- Oh Kami! Please don't let me fall. I'm so sorry… I… " She muttered prayers and apologies as they flew toward there destination. 'Holy crap we are going fast, this was much faster then riding on Inuyasha's back and it is much higher up too' Kagome allowed herself a hesitant look down and instantly regretted it – the only thing preventing her from falling to her death was the strong, deadly arm wrapped around her waist.
Sesshomaru was pleased when he realized that her scent was more filled with excitement and nervousness then sadness now. He was holding her carefully – even though she enjoyed squirming around, she was never in any danger of falling.
The sun was settling on the noon hour when they finally reached their destination. They landed very gently on the edge of a small fisherman's village on the coast. They had been traveling wrapped up in each other for several hours and Kagome didn't realize how desperately she had been clinging to him until she peeled her aching muscles off of the Inu Lord. She was temporarily mortified 'If he didn't want me to touch him, he wouldn't have allowed it. AND it was HIS idea to ride the stupid cloud. Why did we have to travel so far? He only has a day'.
Kagome breathed in the fresh ocean air and turned toward her master manipulator. He had an expression on his face that was unreadable but unlike anything she had ever seen him express before. Sesshomaru sat on the beach and gestured for Kagome to sit next to him, which she did willingly.
"When I am not happy – this is the place that I like to come." Sesshomaru said simply. He wanted to make the Miko less miserable so the rest of the day would go more smoothly. He decided that he needed to take her somewhere special and heal her emotional wounds before he could move onto more fun activities. However, he set his own trap and was caught in it – he was offering up personal information that not even his most trusted advisors know. He wanted to beat his brother and there were no limits to what he would do to accomplish that. 'Is he trying to cheer me up?' Kagome wondered.
After thirty minutes of peaceful, perfect silence Kagome spoke "Did you know that I almost died recently?" She breathed out air forcefully, and it almost sounded like a low inu growl.
"What happened?" He stated. He always seemed cool and collected but on the inside he was raging. 'That stupid half breed idiot. He has one job – he has to keep one female Miko safe so I can convince her of my merits, bed her, and return her to him rejected and broken. None of this can happen if the fool cannot do one simple task.' Even he was surprised by his unjustified rage. 'If Kagome dies my brother will be miserable anyway – but it will happen without him learning a lesson and I cannot allow that'.
His mind was moving a million miles a minute – he barely registered Kagome's tale of the Lady Kikyo who pinned Inuyasha to the tree, come back to life and using Kagome's soul to do so. Then he was even more surprised when Kagome was the one who rescued Inuyasha from being pulled into Hell by the woman impersonator. 'Stupid half breed – having to be rescued by a human miko from a human miko.'. Then they got to the part of the story that really mattered – she recounted what Inuyasha had said to Kikyo while Kagome was hidden from his sight
"Kikyo I never stop thinking about you, not even for a minute". Inuyasha had screamed at Kikyo while Kagome was forced to watch. That is when Sesshoamaru figured it out – Kagome loved his half brother but the feeling was not mutual. 'What a fool. Picking an undead, clay woman over Kagome'. He could feel the sadness radiating off of her body after she told that part of the story and he suddenly felt slightly sorry for using her as a tool, similar to how his brother had. It wouldn't change his plans but his empathy wouldn't allow him not to feel something resembling guilt for the petite woman. He would make attempts to cheer her up and temper these new feelings.
"I think my brother is a fool" He simply stated at the end of the story and Kagome's eyes doubled in size. She wanted to sputter or ask why but she was terrified of the answer so she just sat silently, watching him, with her mouth hanging open slightly.
'Oh the things I will do with that mouth' he thought with a small playful glint to his eyes. His beast growled wildly and fought against the control that Sesshomaru had so carefully constructed over it. This surprised the Inu Lord greatly; he could not recall his beast fighting so hard before, especially for the pleasure of a woman. This was something he would need to think on later.
"Anyone can see that you are a superior choice" It was so factual that Kagome didn't understand what he meant for a second. As soon as the realization hit, her face became a beautiful red hue, and she started to sputter objection.
"Sess.. that's not what… I mean... I'm not…" This would have gone on for much longer if Sesshomaru hadn't seen fit to interrupt her. He was enjoyed the reaction a few choice words were having on the small woman. He knew that if he gave the woman the attention that the Hanyou did not – then he could easily deceive her and win her over.
"Silence. I am not blind. I have lived many centuries and know what attraction looks like. However, it is very one sided and this Sesshomaru believes that you deserve better." Her whole body was blushing now and she wasn't sure how to respond to such a statement. She finally looked out into the sea and used the rushing ways to calm her heartbeat.
"You're saying I should give up on love?" Kagome whimpered slightly at the painful idea and he was tempted to reach for her. She knew this was an incredulous thing to ask a Lord of ALL the western lands but here she was asking anyway. Its not like she knew a ton of people who knew both of them and Sesshomaru was a pretty impartial observer.
"I am saying that you should look elsewhere for love" His eyes were smoldering and shimmering when he said this. He turned his perfect demonic face toward Kagome and did something only few ever saw in their lives and most right before they died. He smiled. It lightened up his whole face, he looked younger and more handsome than Kagome could ever imagine. The way Sesshomaru was looking at Kagome made her feel as though she were a bunny and Sesshomaru was a vicious fox hunting her down for lunch.
The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully – Sesshomaru built them a fire on the beach as the sunset and they simply talked. It was a silly distraction from the pain in her heart but she felt as though Sesshomaru's presence was freeing. When she was with him she didn't have to worry about being attacked, or lack of food or shelter. When she was with him she felt completely safe. 'He was the ultimate alpha dog wasn't he? It is his job to make me feel safe.' The more tired she became the more poisonous her thoughts were. She turned toward the Inu Lord.
"Sesshomaru I must sleep now – humans cannot stay awake for so long" He nodded in her direction and she set up her sleeping back and crawling inside. Once she was settled she noticed that Sesshomaru was not where she left him. He was suddenly sitting right next to the sleeping bag.
"Sesshomaru what are you doing? You SCARED ME half to death" Sesshomaru was unfamiliar with the strange words but he understood their meaning.
"This Sesshomaru will protect you while you sleep. Sleep now – I will return you to the well in the morning" He could sense her need to protest and he growled and glared at her to get her to back down. She rolled over in her sleeping back so she was facing the handsome demon prince.
"Thank you Sesshomaru-sama. You are my knight in shining armor" She muttered as her eyes fell shut. He was confused and astounded. 'Did this ningen woman just tease me? Mock me?" Hewas beyond shocked – he couldn't remember the last time anyone teased him and then felt safe enough to sleep in front of him. Her steady breathing indicated she lost no sleep over making fun of him. He was half tempted to kill her in her sleep. It had been an hour since the damned Miko had fallen asleep and Sesshomaru was still fighting an internal battle on whether it was worth it to keep going with this challenge or to simply kill her now and dump her body at Inuyasha's feet.
When suddenly while she was sleeping the woman wiggled her sleeping bag closer to the Demon Lord and wrapped herself around his crossed legs. She was shivering and instinctively sought out his warmth. 'How can this woman surprise me so many times in one night? How can she be so bold? How can she not fear this Sesshomaru as so many do?' When she whimpered in her sleep and started shivering again he reached his hand forward to pull her into his lap. He was surprised that she did not wake up or protest, she must be a heavy sleeper. His body warmth would keep her warm while sleeping on the cool beach. As he held her – he did not think of killing her again.
Authors Notes: Lots of love for my readers! Sorry this took longer then I planned! The more Views/Reviews/Favorites/Follows that I get the more I will update!