A/N: I'm soooooo sorry about the epic delay! I have tried to contact my beta, but for some reason she has not been replying to my messages.
I am leaving soon again for another army training course, and I at least want to bring this chapter out before I go. I apologize in advance for any errors, but I did go over it a few times to ensure it's decent to be posted. Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts, as I still have more in store for these two! And I'm not going to quit on this story! It might just take a while, but I appreciate all of your attentions and your faithfulness to this story!
xXx
Human Like Me
Beautiful Disaster
"You have passed."
"Wait—I... passed?"
There was a hushed silence within the gymnasium, and her heart thundered loudly within her chest, so all she could hear was her blood thumping in her ears. Maybe she was dreaming? Maybe Sesshoumaru was broken, or an imposter? There wasn't even a small chance that Higurashi Kagome had actually been the only one to pass the impossible taiyoukai's test. How was that even achievable?
Sesshoumaru levelly gazed at her. "This is correct."
"But—but why?" sputtered the miko. "I thought we agreed you weren't allowed to tell jokes anymore!"
The elder male drew closer to her, though the crowd in turn also boxed her in. Why, oh why did she just have to go and pass his test without meaning to? She'd prefer to have failed instead of having leering eyes on her. Eri, ever the defensive friend, stood beside Kagome and clutched her arm comfortingly.
"I'm sure Higurashi-sensei has a valid reason, and I'm sure it's just something we've all forgotten to do." She cast a furtive glance around the room. "One that Kagome was able to remember."
"You are correct, Basumi-san." Sesshoumaru supplied, pinning Kagome with his gaze. "What was the first rule I told to all of you?"
When only silence answered him, Sesshoumaru turned to the flushing miko. "Higurashi-san?"
She swallowed thickly, worrying the hem of her gym clothes with her sharp claws. "Never accept a challenge you can't win," she answered meekly.
Her thoughts strayed to a certain hanyou who had not yet grasped that concept, and wondered if that was what Sesshoumaru was also thinking about.
"Precisely. All of you are dismissed. There will be no re-test."
The crowd strode out of the room with an air of indignation that stung Kagome's nose. It wasn't her fault that she accidentally remembered to use one of the rules! She shouldn't be isolated for that! All she had wanted to do was avoid fighting him in fear of humiliating herself. Furious, the miko began to stomp off toward the locker rooms, only to be stopped by the last person she wanted to see.
"Thanks for giving me enemies," she hissed, motioning to swerve around him, though he blocked her path. "Ugh! What do you want?"
"An explanation,"
"For what?"
"Why you are infuriated about succeeding," he answered levelly.
Kagome almost dropped her tirade. Oh, but wait, she was actually still angry. "Because I know you just passed me because I'm more favourable. I have your almighty god-like powers, so you thought it would be appropriate to pass me because of it." She hoped that her lie was convincing enough; somehow, admitting to the Lord of the Western Lands that she actually learned something from him seemed incomprehensible.
Sesshoumaru actually snorted. His dark arresting eyes penalized her, seemingly searching straight through the mask she wore and seeing through to her soul. "You are wrong. I see more than just the physical skill within you; you are a strategist, as like myself, and you used it in your favour. You know very well that it is not time for you to be measuring your skills against me, so you sought forfeit, when others did not see the error in wanting my test."
Though all I've known you to be is headstrong, clueless. All you've ever done is recklessly throw yourself into dangerous situations. Somehow... you have seen past this today.
Kagome balked. "Oh," she murmured. "But... to be fair, you were the one that assigned the test."
Sesshoumaru did not waver. "As I recall, I assigned the test because my students saw they were prepared for it. You are the only student to see that you were not."
"But that was after I initially accepted. Technically, wouldn't it only count if I had submitted straight away?"
He shook his head. "Still, you found error in your judgement, and corrected that mistake. True, in a real situation, you would have been killed. This is but a test, not yet the imminent battle, so for that you have a loophole."
Kagome felt her shoulders slump from exhaustion; she hadn't realized just how tense she'd been while conversing with the demon lord. She understood that before coming to the future with Sesshoumaru that more often than not she would deliberately put herself in danger, in the meagre hopes she could contribute to the battle. So why understand now that she could simply say no to the challenge? What enlightened her to realize that she was not yet ready?
The miko brushed aside those thoughts for now. "Well, that's great and all," she placated, inching away slowly, "but I'm going to wash up before next class." To her relief, Eri caught up with her.
She listened. And respected my lessons. Perhaps there is a shred of hope for this miko.
Just as the two girls were about to leave, Sesshoumaru spoke to Kagome. They were soft, yet held power, demanding attention. He hoped he wouldn't regret this decision. "I accept."
At first, Kagome didn't understand the significance of his words. Realization hit and she whirled around, facing the taiyoukai with a mixture of wonder and shock on her countenance. "You... you do?" she timidly asked.
He gave one nod of his head and made his way out of the gym. As Eri embraced her friend, Kagome fanned herself from being caught unprepared, and Sesshoumaru strolled away with a soft smirk on his lips.
xXx
"Oh, he accepted!" cheered Ayumi and Yuka loudly, startling the other classmates. Kagome quickly became the recipient of three bone-crushing hugs.
"Yeah, he did..." Kagome said as she shook off her friends. "I still can't believe he said yes, though." Admitted Kagome sheepishly, not completely letting herself believe that the ever immaculate taiyoukai had agreed to join her at the winter festival. It did strange things to her insides, and made her head feel fuzzy. Was this still symptoms of shock, or something else?
"So," popped in Eri, poking Kagome in the arm. "Have you found a dress to wear yet? Are you two going to match? Oh, will he buy you a corsage?"
"One question at a time, please." Kagome slouched in her chair. "I don't have a dress yet. I... guess we can wear matching colours... and honestly, he doesn't need to. Not that he'd know what it was." She mumbled that last part.
"You don't have a dress?" screeched the trio. Kagome covered her sensitive ears.
"Well, it's not exactly as if I was counting on him saying yes."
"You mean you thought he'd deny you?" Ayumi snorted.
Kagome slumped even further in her seat. "Well, yes. I mean, why would he even accept my offer, anyways? It's not like I mean anything to him..."
"I'll tell you something right now," piped up Eri, who had determination and spark in her dark eyes. "This guy isn't like your stupid boyfriend, Inuyasha. He's different! Of course he'd accept your offer."
Kagome blanched. "They're not even that different. Both are arrogant, stubborn, obnoxious, conceited, have better hair than me..." again, she mumbled the last part, finding a hint of indignation of the unfairness.
Ayumi shook her head. "That's just it; they're so different. I don't know how you can't see it, Kagome. I mean, if you compare Higurashi-san to Inuyasha, they're so polar opposites."
"Yeah," Yuka said. "Higurashi-san knows who he is, calculated, a seasoned fighter, and he's very acute. Inuyasha sounds like he's got a lot of growing up to do, is too hasty, and plus sounds obtuse. Need I say more?"
"That's not it," muttered Kagome, at a loss as to what to say. Her friends did have a point, but could she really dismiss Inuyasha off that easily, and instead focus on the taiyoukai who had gotten mixed up in her life by a mere fluke? It wasn't fair, she thought. To discard her feelings for the hanyou so effortlessly would be as if she erased every memory they had shared for the last couple of years. Sesshoumaru wasn't so important that he'd supersede her friends. "They've both got flaws."
"Oh yeah? Name one for Higurashi-san." Challenged Ayumi, who personally considered Sesshoumaru to be the perfect specimen of the human species.
"He's too conceited, arrogant. He thinks himself far superior to everyone else, based on his... ah, credentials. I haven't exactly gathered evidence on whether he's a misogynist or not... I don't think that is a great quality to have, by the way."
"But if that's the only thing wrong, then go for him." Eri winked encouragingly. "When are you ever going to get another one of him?"
"He doesn't even like me!" moaned the miko, nuzzling her head into the crook of her folded arms.
"How many times must we say this!" the trio chorused together. "He does like you!"
"Yeah," said Kagome petulantly, "he's got an awful round-about way of showing it."
"That's just what it is, Kagome," Yuka said. "Men are simplistic in their emotions. And driven by their primal sides more than females."
You could say that again, Kagome thought.
"So when he does some sort of an action that doesn't make any sense, you can't read too much into it. You have to take it at face value, because that is the whole of what they're trying to get across to you." Yuka continued.
So almost poisoning me to death, almost impaling me, and may have or may have not saved me that one time from the poison master Mokutsu was him saying he likes me? The miko suffered a long sigh. They really have no clue what kind of person he is...
"That's nice and all, but I disagree." Kagome stood from her friends' table and made her way to a private one, tuning them all out.
xXx
Snow. Kagome could remember countless times where it either blanketed her in comfort, or severed the feelings from her heart like blood to her limbs. Tonight she wasn't quite sure what she felt like, and it unnerved her. Shouldn't she be feeling giddy, excited?
Rising from her stool in front of her large vanity mirror, the soft velvet material of her rich emerald dress brushed against her legs and pooled at her feet. Her mother managed to find her a North American styled dress online that accentuated the abnormalities of her appearance. The dark green made her golden eyes radiate, and her white hair appear ethereal, otherworldly. The dress revealed much of her creamy skin at her chest, exposing a small amount of cleavage, and created a V at the back, showing her prominent shoulder blades.
Kagome did not use any makeup, as the coral markings already smoothed across the top of her eyelids were not removable, and she felt as if she'd keep at least one youkai signature when she covered the rest up. She knew it wouldn't be fair to Sesshoumaru to keep snubbing his family markings for no reason.
The snow outside continued to steadily drift to the ground, creating a soft cushion on the ground, and dotting tree branches. Kagome found it hard to look away from the beauty. The one night it decides to snow in Tokyo is the night where she was to attend the festival with, oh, that's right, Sesshoumaru, the Prince of the Western lands, Mr. Cold, as her date. How, exactly, did Kagome manage to end up in situations such as these?
From long time enemy, to a hesitant sense of camaraderie, to almost partners against Naraku, and now... this?
The whole prospect was absurd, but here she was, waiting until she steeled her resolve and headed downstairs to where he waited, and the only thing she continued to fret about was how he would look at her. Not that she wanted to look good for him. A person tended to get a little self-conscious when forced to wear the guise of a taiyoukai whom they were not, that included freakishly long nails, oddly coloured hair, and alien coloured eyes.
Still, it was a mystery as to what he might look like. Kagome sighed, headed to the door.
Descending the stairs in heels she thought impractically high (how could they not be when traipsing within Feudal Japan was your hobby?), Kagome spotted first her mother poised with a digital camera, who snapped a photo while Kagome was struggling to remain natural, and her brother, leaning against the wall with a guarded expression. She knew it was to maintain his new aloof nature, but his eyes and scent portrayed his awe toward his older sister.
Grandpa Higurashi was next in her line of view, snuffling with a tissue in his wasted hands. He dropped praises her way when she embraced him. "You look great, my granddaughter. Taiyoukai or not." He offered her a gapy grin.
Kagome returned the smile and stepped away from her grandfather, catching a figure in her periphery. Expecting it to be her little brother, Kagome turned quickly, only to have her breath shoved out of her lungs.
Sesshoumaru stood in the threshold of the living room door, his long dark tresses of hair smoothed back and tied in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, with his bangs shading his eyes from her. Dressed in what she thought to be a tailoured black tuxedo, he wore a dark green tie and identical boutonniere. He held a box in his hand, and wore a stony face. Kagome wasn't sure if she should feel butterflies in her stomach or acrimony toward his indifferent attitude.
"This is for you," he proffered the box, and as her hands took the small package something coursed through her body, almost like an electrical current just gentle enough to tickle.
The smell of strawberries and a pinch of lemon entered her nostrils as his scent from his hand subsumed her personal space. What did strawberries and lemons mean? Kagome wondered as she began dissecting the box, barely hiding a small gasp of surprise upon discovering the tiny, brightly green coloured rose within the box. Along some of the petals glittered tiny delicate rhinestones, as well, the bracelet was made completely of rhinestones. Did his gift mean something?
Sesshoumaru bit the inside of his cheeks. What he would give to have his superior sense of smell at that moment to determine the mood the miko was in. Her face was a blank mask, which irritated him beyond belief. Was she happy about her gift? It was only due to Mrs. Higurashi's insight upon the miko's modern day traditional festivals did he have the idea to purchase such an accessory, as well as the colour of the item. Why couldn't Kagome portray her emotions physically for him, when every other instance he'd known the woman she was very open about her feelings. What caused her to shut him out? How come he felt so perturbed at being in the dark?
Kagome quickly attached the corsage onto her left wrist, covering some of the magenta stripes that had been exposed despite the makeup. It accentuated her dress exquisitely; Sesshoumaru found his challenge laid with his eyes remaining fixated upon her face.
"It's beautiful," said Kagome, noting with a bit of amusement at the way the taiyoukai was eyeing her. His gaze wrenched away from her the moment she spoke, however, nodding his head in response. He didn't trust his tongue, strangely.
Mrs. Higurashi stepped in between the two. "I'll drive you guys there."
Kagome fleetingly looked at Sesshoumaru before nodding her head. "Thanks, mom."
xXx
The strobe lights in the propinquity of the room dazed the taiyoukai slightly as he and Kagome entered onto the dance floor. Having had their jackets already taken and provided with a cool beverage, Kagome began the process of sorting through the massive amounts of people for her friends. Conveniently enough for her, her youkai heightened sense of smell aided her quite nicely in locating her three amigos; the miko practically ripped her way through the crowd in haste, Sesshoumaru in tow.
Gyrating masses of bodies surrounded them, drunk and tipsy teenagers bellowing and laughing vivaciously as they danced the night away. Sesshoumaru decided that he definitely loathed humans. Their stench was cloying to his senses and the sounds of their obnoxious cat-calling and yelling harmed his ears. How Kagome could have lived her life amongst this rowdy species was puzzling, he thought as they approached three females he recognized as her friends, one of which he also recognized to be in his kendo class.
Sesshoumaru was always curious as to why women seemed to have their own greeting call to each other that consisted of gasps and awes. A simple "hello?" couldn't do? Stifling his growing discomfort, the foursome of girls flocked to each other as they raved over the garments they wore.
He heard none of it, spectating the party in a sort of detached manner as to absorb all of the details, whilst getting too focused on one aspect. As in any uncomfortable situation, Sesshoumaru devised a plan to quickly escape. He'd just be out of the throng of humans, far enough away that he could still observe Kagome; after all, even with his power her human instincts would override the primal side long enough for her to be perpetually distracted all night.
As he bypassed many bodies he had (unfortunately) had to make contact with, he spotted one face that spiked a brief memory. Deciding to embark on this, the demon lord swerved in and around the crowd until he was face to face with said recognizable face. The young boy had thick, petered brown hair and brown eyes, along with a goofy smile which seemed permanently etched onto his face. Cognitive memory recall put a name to the face for Sesshoumaru.
"Hojo-san," said the demon lord tonelessly, curiosity building as he noted the boy's eyes were constantly roaming about.
"Hai, Higurashi-san," responded Hojo quickly, his body language suggesting he was opting to remove himself from the inuyoukai's presence. "Nice seeing you again."
"Hn. Tell me, where are you off to?"
Hojo stiffened only a second. "Off to mingle, I suppose. You're a chaperone here, correct:? Shouldn't you be watching the others instead of focusing on me?"
Hojo's general tone displeased Sesshoumaru, mainly because his past experience with the youth pegged him as the perpetual glibly young man with an immense amount of politeness. How Sesshoumaru was even able to recall all of those insignificant details was lost as Hojo began to slither away from him. Something was rubbing the inuyoukai the wrong way.
Sesshoumaru and Hojo said nothing as they moved their way through the crowd. Upon seeing the young miko's glowing countenance amongst her friends as they danced gaily together tipped the demon lord off.
"Oh, Hojo!" said Kagome, approaching the youth, oblivious to the pensive step to smoothly block the two from getting closer. Kagome caught this but attempted to push through anyway. "Are you here with anyone?" she directed this question at Hojo.
"Oh, no one," answered Hojo. "Hey, do you want to step outside a moment?" His brilliant smile—the smile Sesshoumaru suspected to be fake—returned, dazzling the miko despite her platonic feelings toward Hojo.
"Yeah, no problem." She hiked up her long skirt and stepped off with the youth. Sesshoumaru quickly impeded her departure. "What?" she snapped.
"Let me go with you."
"Why?"
Sesshoumaru hesitated. Wait. Sesshoumaru never hesitated. Kagome picked up on this quickly, asking herself what might lead the Oh Great Inuyoukai to halt. "Sesshoumaru?" she whispered close to his ear, finding that the small chills brought on by their proximity to be unerringly annoying. "What's the matter?"
"I think he's dangerous." He deadpanned.
Kagome blinked, leaned away from him. She proceeded to guffaw loudly, giving him a look of incredibility. "Him? Hojo? No, you've got it all wrong. He's a perfect gentleman, not a threat." She said this in a low tone.
Sesshoumaru would've given almost anything to possess his greatness, his sense of smell, his objective perceptibility, everything—as it was, he was bereft of these essentials, which were entrusted to one ignorant little miko.
"I have a feeling," he supplied. "You need to be more perceptive."
"Of Hojo? Again, Sesshoumaru, the jealousy is flattering. However—"
"I am not jealous!" he hissed, opting to appear intimidating. If he could display his prowess, her instincts would hopefully override her stupid human senses and listen to him. As it was, she turned out to be exceedingly stubborn.
"I'm going out with Hojo, and now I'm rude because I'm making him wait while I bicker about something so stupid! See you when I get in," with a huff for effect, Kagome glided to where the youth awkwardly stood, looping her arm through his as they exited out on the back courtyard.
The blood—his human blood—simmered and boiled within his veins as he fought to control and compartmentalize his thoughts. Maybe he had been jumping to conclusions due to his lack of insight. He halted his thoughts. No, Sesshoumaru didn't jump to conclusions. His instincts were always correct, however dull they were now. So if he assumed this Hojo person was a threat to Kagome, he'd eradicate this threat quickly.
Yes, because Sesshoumaru never needed a reason to do as he pleased, so he wasn't about to start rummaging around for one now.
"I'm sorry about Sesshoumaru," said Kagome lowly, noting how pensive Hojo had gotten since conversing with the taiyoukai.
His easy smile was back again, though Kagome picked up on something false about it. His words snapped her out of exploring further. "Yeah, he's definitely intimidating." In a gesture Kagome once thought would have been due to true awkwardness, Hojo began scratching the back of his head, his eyes never leaving the backdrop behind her. "So... I was wondering if... that maybe you'd want... to... dance?"
Hojo took her clawed hand. Something akin to an electric shock coursed through her fingers and up her arm, startling her. The youth continued on as if oblivious, wrapping an arm around her waist while holding their connected hands above their shoulders, wedging their bodies closely together.
"H-Hojo," gasped Kagome, afraid to use her words. What had gotten into him to be so confident? Once more, the shadows at the edge of her mind warned her of something, but of what?
They danced in a slow modern waltz. The miko could not help but feel as if something were amiss, and she needed to really rejoin her taiyoukai companion back inside. Slowly, she disengaged their contact, avoiding his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I really should be heading back inside." The miko hastily apologized, not giving Hojo a chance to reply before she hurried off. She made it inside of the dance hall, only to be met with said demon lord she'd been thinking of. His dark eyes assessed her, scorched through her own citrine eyes minutely before his mouth began to function once more.
"What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
Sesshoumaru appeared on the brink of actually fracturing his well preserved apathetic expression. "Did he attack you?"
Kagome blinked, startled before she became indignant. "No, because it's Hojo, who would never attack me!" she hissed fiercely, all the while moving their conversation back to the middle of the dance floor where they rejoined Kagome's group of friends. "We just danced for like a minute, but it was really awkward so I left, okay?"
Kagome hoped she portrayed enough sternness in her voice to convince him to drop it. Sure she'd had a small, niggling sense that Hojo wasn't acting himself. Maybe he'd been drinking? But that wouldn't explain the fact that his breath didn't contain any sort of alcohol at all. Kagome told herself that if she wouldn't drop it herself, how did she expect Sesshoumaru to? Her eyes tried to convey her perturbation toward the demon lord.
"I will concede this argument, just this once," said the taiyoukai reverently, returning to his normal, detached self.
Kagome was about to thank him for relenting so easily when one of her friends—Yuka, she noticed—pushed her way toward them with a smile on her face. It was then that the miko noticed the genre of music playing, and groaned. "Listen, Yuka, I'm not sure if he'll—"
"What're you talking about?" Yuka demanded, flouncing to her side while placing two hands on Kagome's shoulders. "You two need to dance at least once!"
A hue of pink painted the miko's cheeks at the implications. Being close to him, breathing in his scent... all of those aspects of him amplified due to her unusual condition of being an inuyoukai, all bombarding her simultaneously as she would have to remember how to dance. Her stomach churned.
"No, I don't think it's needed," said Kagome, flustered, refusing to look up at the demon lord in fear he'd be enraged at the suggestion. "Especially since—"
Her sentence cut off, Kagome numbly noted that a hand, much larger than the ones before, took hold and captured her other hand. Topaz eyes clashed with arresting black, "What?" Kagome squeaked, cursing herself for being caught so flabbergasted.
"The girl is correct in one thing," said Sesshoumaru levelly. "We should at least engage in the customs of bringing along an escort to such a festivity at least once."
Since when was he so traditional? Kagome questioned herself. Mentally, she slapped herself; of course he'd be nothing but traditional, since back in his era things weren't so gray in the form of bringing a date to an event such as this. It would be expected that they'd share a dance, if even once, and the prospect of him even considering to honour that with her did funny things to her insides.
The song's melodic notes hung poignantly in the air as couples everywhere danced, and irrationally Kagome was making herself believe she and Sesshoumaru were in the center of it all. Though the feel of his hands, the effortless way he guided her in movements foreign to her, brought back from centuries ago, made the moment she was slowly encasing herself in feel that much more surreal. She wasn't entirely sure if the way he avoided her eyes was customary of the dance—perhaps it was too intimate for that era?—though she was entirely confident that it wasn't necessarily to play with their connected fingers in an almost soothing way.
Enraptured by the lyrics which sung of finding a way to break through the other's past, Kagome found she was already lost in his presence, in his scent, in his touch that it slightly scared her. When had these thoughts of him blossomed, and why hadn't she noticed until now? Had it always been this way? Sure, she'd tried to explore where she stood on an emotional scale with the taiyoukai, but she'd never been close to discovering something such as this—attraction. Was it the mood, the dark lights, the proximity, which stirred this into fruition?
Maybe she'd never have a chance to fully understand, for the primal instincts which she tried to keep shoved into the recesses of her mind stirred and lay siege to her senses. She could suddenly smell it, taste it, feel it lurking within the crowd. Starting, Kagome jumped away from her contact with Sesshoumaru and focused on what she was picking up on. Sesshoumaru seemed to sense this right away.
"Where?" he inquired, whispered so only she could hear.
Kagome gave one subtle sniff of the air and pointed toward the doors that lead out into the foyer. "There,"
The blood thundering in her ears due to the adrenaline rush only spurred her on further, nearly sailing past each of the partyers and losing Sesshoumaru within the crowd in the process. She could feel it, deep within her core, the same feeling and warning that Hojo had elicited within her, now only much more prominent. Did this mean the youkai was closing in on her friend, and was simply observing him earlier? Somehow, dwelling on the other alternative possibility was too much for the miko.
Dutifully Sesshoumaru appeared in front of her before she had a chance to open the doors out into the foyer, trying with all of his might to pinpoint where their enemy was. He damned his simple human instincts that were weak and defective.
"Kagome, where is it?" he asked, eyes roaming every nook in cranny his dull human eyes could make out. The miko next to him flinched only a fraction, enough for him to catch it, but he decided to let the matter slip.
"I think..." she began, hesitant. "I think it's out there, definitely near. I can feel it."
"I can as well," Sesshoumaru said. "Go on. I'll cover your back."
Kagome nearly whipped around and stared. He was going to have her back? Never did she suspect the taiyoukai to allow her to follow her own intuition when dire consequences were at hand, let alone have himself be the backup! The situation must be more crucial than she realized. Or, perhaps he was simply coming around to her.
Removing those thoughts viciously, the young miko turned inuyoukai solely focused on her senses to pinpoint their enemy. A second later she had his location, began racing toward him in almost a blind frenzy. There was something odd that she had picked up, something that tickled and burned her nose in one instance and left her hot and cold the next. It was something vaguely familiar, yet warped and misshapen somehow, as if her current state of species altered her knowledge of a previous memory.
Deciding that ruminating upon it now would do her little good, she ensured Sesshoumaru was at her side as they narrowed in on the youkai. What they actually saw upon honing in on said enemy was a different matter.
"Oh, hey Kagome-san." Greeted the brown haired youth.
Kagome started. "H-Hojo?" she gaped, mind temporarily shutting down. No, there was no way, he couldn't be—
"Well, what're you waiting for?" Sesshoumaru said drily to Kagome, attempting to rationalize as to how this human boy possessed the aura of a demon.
"But, this can't be—" she cut herself off as a glint of red shrouded the irises of Hojo's eyes. It was enough of a decision for her—Kagome lunged quickly into an attack mode and zeroed in on the youth whom she'd known just moments ago to be human, wanting to believe the worst of her suspicions weren't correct.
Her attack didn't hit the mark she'd wanted; Hojo had managed to somehow dodge the blow she'd aimed for his chest in time for her to merely connect her fist with his right arm. The boy barely winced as he shifted away from the miko, hissing and spitting while revealing two curious pairs of elongated incisors.
"Get out of Hojo's body!" shrieked Kagome as she struck again, this time prepared for his little trick and felt a sense of satisfaction as her fist connected with its—Hojo's—chest, sending him flying backwards and crashing into a cement bird bath. Her previous drive seemed to wane instantly as she noted the way his vulnerable, human body coiled in on itself in pain, and took in the fact that it snapped the bird bath in two.
Sesshoumaru recognized what the circumstances were the moment Kagome first engaged in battle, but hadn't the thought as to warn her. Now seemed like a good enough time. "Do not waver in your attacks," he told Kagome sternly. "He is not the actual boy. Can you not see that his human shell is already starting to crack?"
Swallowing thickly, the miko looked at her friend/youkai, only to officially notice that its face was now a gruesome profile sporting darkened yellow eyes, and a muzzle almost resembling an ox. Its arms were morphing before her eyes into massive, heavily muscled arms with talons on the ends of huge hands.
"We need to get out of here." Kagome hurried to Sesshoumaru's side before he had a chance to protest, summoning her cloud and taking to the skies. "I need to get him away from everyone. Where should we go?"
Sesshoumaru's words were discernible enough, even through the cries of anger coming from below as the youkai continued to metamorphosis into a giant ox-bat hybrid.
"That was a sound decision." Sesshoumaru commented.
"Yeah, thanks. Say, you didn't happen to feel anything unusual around the demon, did you?" she remarked almost flatly, as if she were trying to solve this puzzle out at the same time as well. Sesshoumaru shook his head, and her hopes plummeted a little. "I felt something so strange, almost as if I could have missed it easily, but for some reason it called to me..."
"What did?" inquired the demon lord, genuinely curious.
"I don't know..." she shook her head, fretful. "I felt hot and cold, and it was almost as if a feeling of familiarity came with the sensation. I don't know how to describe it."
"Hm. This is peculiar. I'm sure we'll have enough of a chance to find out."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because the youkai is right behind us,"
Refusing to shriek like a little child, Kagome's eyes met the demon's glowing ones as it soared through the air with bat wings that carried its thick and cumbersome body with almost a garish finesse. She'd have to lead it somewhere and kill it, she concluded, almost fearfully. Somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, would be sound. But how long could she continue to placate it while she soared high above Tokyo until she reached the outskirts of the city?
"Keep on," encouraged Sesshoumaru, by her side like an anchor. "We'll lead him out far enough away from the population."
This comment sort of puzzled the miko; why was he acting adamant about bringing the fight away from humans, when he claimed to care less about them? Was it due to his certain vulnerability of being human himself that opened his eyes, or could it be that maybe he was coming to the conclusion that humans weren't his enemy. Either or, Kagome decided the best thing was to leave his statement be and focus on the present, which was right behind them and roaring like a lion on helium.
Spurring herself on, Kagome struggled against the blistering winter winds and tried her best to shield Sesshoumaru from the brunt of it, for if she was feeling even a slight bit chilly, he must have been developing frostbite at this point. As it was, the demon lord refused to elicit any sort of weakness she could interpret by mere sight, but her sense of smell alone could alert her of his growing discomfort. Uneasily, almost as if he were precious object she was trying not to shatter—when the actual reason consisted of her growing want of his proximity that she refused to acknowledge—Kagome shifted close enough to him that her nose was almost touching the tip of his shoulder blade, her body shielding his from the onslaught of the frosty air that was beginning to turn into hail.
"What are you doing?" grunted Sesshoumaru. If Kagome was more confident she would've believed him to be almost embarrassed.
"I know you're probably freezing," she prattled on, "but if I can feel a slight nip in the air, you're probably worse off than me."
"Do not be foolish." As if by design, his body was wrought with tiny muscle spasms intended to keep circulation flowing to his limbs. Kagome could not believe he'd shivered.
Becoming bolder in her actions, she wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her nose into his suit, inhaling his comforting scent and feeling relief when he didn't shiver again. In a brief instant she wished his arm would embrace her, but that was wishful thinking. Sesshoumaru never made any sort of intentions on wanting her, so why should she even start fantasizing? Just because it was cold and they had the company of each other, didn't make this a movie moment. The clear notion that they were currently being pursued by a demon shattered the illusion firmly enough. Kagome sighed wistfully into his shirt.
Sesshoumaru honestly couldn't find any reason to order her away from him. She smelled good and was quite warm, and oddly a little familiar, and Sesshoumaru favoured things that were familiar. He supposed putting up with her close proximity could be tolerated until they were forced to land. Really, nothing was upsetting about this situation.
Kagome's impressive speed carried them safely to the cover of trees within the dense forest. The sounds of the youkai from behind them gradually increasing in volume, the miko swerved them into a clearing, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Find an area thick with trees. We don't want to give him any reason to unleash his power in the open,"
Kagome nodded, searching and finding the thickest area of trees nearby. As they landed their clothing got caught and torn by the many branches, scratching their skin and tangling their hair. Kagome managed to have her shallow cuts healed by the time their feet touched the ground, though Sesshoumaru was less fortunate in his tattered suit and scratched up face. There was no time for her to dwell on that now; as expected the youkai following crashed nearby them, bending trees to the ground with his weight.
"What should we do?" questioned Kagome as the swell of that unfamiliar energy consumed her thoughts minutely.
Sesshoumaru shrugged. "You're going to have to fight,"
"Here?" she squeaked, fully aware that the demon was encroaching quickly.
"There is no choice."
"In my dress?" she said indignantly.
He shrugged once again. "There is no choice."
Opting to settle their disagreements later, Kagome found herself even more angry toward the demon before, although most of it was misplaced fury. How dare it interrupt their perfect evening, and ruin their clothes! And how it pretend to be her friend! As sweat rolled down her brow, she gained confidence that revenge would be soon doled out.
With little regret, Kagome took her shoes off as she tore most of the dress's material that covered her legs, until she was able to freely move them, albeit revealing a little too much for the demon lord's wandering eyes. She turned toward said demon. "Are you going to hide somewhere?"
He nodded. "I won't be too far. Deal with him quickly."
She agreed and took off in a blur, tracking the demon through her keen nose and coming upon it obliterating most of the forest's trees with brute strength alone. Kagome raised one of her hands and watched as it lit up like a million fireflies, unleashing her whip which struck true to the youkai's haunches, sending him into unrelenting pain as it howled into the night.
Over and over, she continued to strike him with her whip, effectively stunning the demon into submission where it attempted to recover from the massive blows. Just as her other hand began hissing with her dokkasu, the demon's next words startled her long enough for it to evade the poisonous attack.
"You killed my brother!"
Halting in place, Kagome searched for the youkai with her senses. Her sensitive ears picked up its ill-concealed movements and she lunged for the attack, spraying poison all across the forest, disintegrating wildlife and the forestry surrounding her, until nothing hid the demon.
And then there was that energy again, beckoning her, as if they were old friends. What could it be? Questioned the miko fretfully as she attacked her opponent with renewed vigor. As she continued to creep nearer did she realize that the youkai was actually gaining height and becoming much larger, and that its features morphed just enough for her to notice. How had that happened? Unless...
"With the power of the Sacred Jewel I can surely win!" His words froze her, stunned her, physically immobilizing her to the spot while the youkai discovered his new powers and charged them.
The Shikon no Tama was... in the future with them? But how had this been possible? Did it get sent with her and Sesshoumaru, and nearly been repelled someplace far off into Japan until a demon found it, such as this one? Is that why the energy seemed to be her lost friend, because she was youkai and thus her senses regarded such power differently?
"Watch out!"
Sesshoumaru's cry brought her back to reality just in time to narrowly avoid the large swipe the clawed youkai attacked her with. When she regained her footing the tangy smell of blood interspersed with something akin to foreign energy entered her nostrils, and only when she moved and stirred the blood pooling down her arm did she recognize it as her own. Not having a chance to inspect the wound, her fast reflexes kicked in and helped her dodge another lethal swipe, in which she returned with a strike of her own whip of energy.
The youkai screamed in agony as his right arm was cleanly sluiced from his shoulder, granting Kagome enough of a chance to hack away a piece of muscle on his left calf. As it continued to suffer, his form began to expand and grow, adding extra appendages as well as a spiked tail. The Jewel enhanced his power doubly, even regrowing his lost limb.
The miko decided that, in this moment, now was the time to run and think of some sort of plan. Her nose efficiently targeted Sesshoumaru's scent as she pushed on to his location, hampered by her injured body. "We need to move," she said when she was close enough to him, and when he turned to question her why his eyes locked on the figure of the youkai increasing in size before his eyes.
Not arguing, he scrambled unto her back and they took off with a burst of speed Kagome wasn't sure if she could keep up for more than a minute. She took them far out of the youkai's way until they eventually came across a wide clearing. "The situation has changed," Sesshoumaru said in her ear, "we need to lure him into the open."
Kagome started panicking. "But why!?" she asked shrilly, her primal, youkai mind telling her that now was the time for flight.
"You must transform. If you do not slay him now, the Jewel will only continue to increase his strength. You'll be more powerful in the true form, and he will be no match."
"And if I wait longer?"
She couldn't see the grim expression on the demon lord's face. "Then he will be unbeatable."
As she approached the clearing in break-neck speed, Kagome couldn't help but feel outrage. Outrage toward the fact that if Sesshoumaru had simply kept his powers, he'd have no trouble dispatching the youkai behind them. Since she was lacking in any sort of demon training and was still new to all of his powers, her lack of warrior seasoning hampered her situation. It was up to her now, the weak little girl, now bereft of her bow and arrows to aid her. All she could depend on now was her instinct, and Sesshoumaru.
They flew into the clearing, two dark apparitions preparing for battle. Sesshoumaru ensured himself a safe place to spectate that was down-wind and thoroughly hidden in the brush, while Kagome stood center of the clearing, willing her barriers to be removed. She had to transform before the demon caught up, to catch it by surprise, and finally get rid of it. With a few deep breaths, the call of her youkai nature became harder to ignore, and then she just... gave in.
The transformation for the miko was a haze. She recognized that her form had gone through metamorphosis into a giant, white inuyoukai, and yet her cogent, human mind wasn't entirely present. Kagome's eyes could see the land before her in startling detail, could feel each and every wildlife running within the forest and beneath her giant paws, but there wasn't a moment where she could think coherently without the niggling voice of the demon telling her what to do.
Sesshoumaru watched on from the thick brush, could see that the miko was having a difficult time in mustering up her human side so as to balance her youkai nature. Naturally, to the demon lord such a thing was taught at a younger age, and he only hoped that she would be able to push forward and not succumb to the power.
He saw as the youkai pursuing them crashed into the clearing and stumbled when it noticed the giant inuyoukai standing before it. Her maw gnashing together threateningly, Kagome released the deadly poison in which he recalled doing so to her years ago in his father's skeleton. It worked quickly, especially in the windy night, effectively poisoning the youkai's lungs and organs, slowly melting them. The power of the Jewel enabled it to feel no pain as it charged its opponent, first slashing with its giant claws, then turning so that its spiked tail could strike out like a snake.
Kagome avoided the claws, but fell victim to the sharp sting of the tail. Her jaws clamped around the thin stretch of muscle and effortlessly snapped it off, through the stinger remained in her flesh. The youkai ignored the pain and fought blindly, getting his arm caught in the inuyoukai's jaws as the poison dripped and melted the sinews of muscle and the dense bone.
Before the youkai had a chance to abuse the Jewel's powers more, Kagome latched herself onto the demon's neck with her jaws and sunk her claws into its chest, ripping away his skin and tearing through its ribcage while her teeth sunk into the sensitive flesh. The youkai stilled, paralyzed by the poison seeping throughout its entire system now, as its innards were viciously ripped out of its cavity and its windpipe was crushed.
Kagome reared her massive head back and threw the demon into the many trees, breaking its spine even though the poison had rapidly spread to its heart and stopped it. She licked her giant muzzle clean of blood and nursed the wind still left by the demon's stinger, trying to remove it with little success.
"Kagome?" asked Sesshoumaru as he entered the clearing, mindful of the miko though she was an ally. "Change back. You—" he cut himself off as he noted, too, the stinger lodged into her haunches. "Do not change, and let me remove that. If it is poisoned you have a better chance of your system getting rid of it than in your human shell." The giant dog gave a gruff whine and sunk down to the ground, laying her giant head on her folded paws.
Expertly, Sesshoumaru climbed on top of Kagome's back and assessed the wound carefully, noting that there was no apparent skin colour changes, or any residual pain she was expressing. His hand clasped the pointed stinger which resembled a dagger, first checking for poison that might have leaked out before swiftly dislodging it. Kagome yelped and tried to shake him off, but he gracefully jumped off before then.
"I believe you are fine. Change back now, Kagome." Her bright ruby eyes locked on to his, as if questioning, and then, as smoothly as she had first changed, she changed back, standing before him naked.
He averted his eyes and handed her his suit jacket, though tattered and riddled with holes, but she gladly accepted and covered herself.
"That was... interesting," Kagome mumbled, touching her wound gently. "I don't remember most of what happened."
"That normally comes back later," assured Sesshoumaru, as he approached the now dead youkai who was already half-way disintegrated into dust. "Can you sense the Jewel on him?"
In a haze, she stumbled over to the youkai she had just killed and felt the tug of energy coming from its head. "Here," her hands probed the back of its blocky head, finding the Shikon no Tama buried deep within the demon's neck muscles. "I can't believe it's here. I can't believe it's been here all along,"
"Neither can I," said Sesshoumaru softly, taking the Jewel from her hands. "Can you lift us to your home? Are you too weary?"
"No, no I'm fine," Kagome gathered her last remnants of dwindling strength and summoned the cloud beneath her feet. They arrived in her courtyard fifteen minutes later, with the scent of Feudal Japan entering her nostrils almost instantly. "The well!" she gasped, eyes locking on the small shrine. "I can smell it, it's activated again."
"Due to the Jewel?" pondered Sesshoumaru, masking most of his relief. It was about time they returned and he gained his rightful powers back.
Kagome took a step forward, only to hesitate. Her eyes told him she was troubled.
"What is it?"
The miko shook her head morosely. "I'm not ready to go back," she turned to face him. "At least, not tonight. I... I don't know if I can face them."
Understanding showed on his face, as well as in his scent. He understood the possible ramifications she could face if she returned to her friends looking as such. Fortunately for him he wasn't as concerned with his appearance as she, though knowing that Inuyasha would be stronger than him irked the demon lord. His hanyou half-brother would most likely flaunt the fact in his face like a child.
What would become of them, then? Should he continue to live his separate life when he regained his powers back? It seemed like the only logical thing to pursue, considering they had no concrete history together before such events to hold a sort of camaraderie. Somehow, the Prince of the Western Lands wasn't too pleased about this prospect.
He tucked the Jewel into his pants pocket. "We shall leave the next morning." Sesshoumaru promised, gently taking Kagome's hand in his, leading them to the house.
When the sun rose and Kagome attended school, she fought the nausea pooling within her stomach as Sesshoumaru left to resign from his part time teaching.
Sesshoumaru himself found that departing from the future and cancelling his class that were full of idiots was a refreshing revelation. He could return to the proper time period that was his, where he remained in charge.
The miko fretted about the thoughts her friends would have when seeing her. Would they think she was a threat? Would Sango exterminate her? Miroku purify her? What of Kikyou, who did not care what happened to her reincarnation? Would she simply purify Kagome on sight based on her species? The thoughts were endless, the worries pouring in.
There was no solace to be found for Kagome until later that evening, when she finally settled for bed.