Heart of Tensaiga

An Alpha's Duty

Kagome sighed blissfully at the luxury she was being allowed during her travel with Sesshomaru. There had been no foot stomping, no sitting, and no pouting. She had noted that off in the distance there was a hot spring and she nearly cried at the sight of it. Kagome realized she had not had a proper bath in days and it was really starting to bother her. Of course dying probably had a lot to do with the grunginess that she felt. Well, that and the unnaturally warm day for this time of the year had her sweating more than she felt any woman should.

So she had kindly asked if they could stop at a small clearing near the spring so that she could bathe for once. Kagome expected him to glare at her or tell her that they needed to walk farther or that she was stupid for asking something of him. Instead she was answered by an incline of head and an order to Jaken to set camp up ahead in the clearing and to prepare a small fire.

She sighed as she sank into the water that she had wasted no time in getting into. Of course Rin joined her and was splashing loudly in a more shallow section. The two had played a nice game of Marco Polo after she had taught Rin how to swim. Rin was not very good at it yet but she could at least hold her own in still waters.

After scrubbing and playing was officially done they both hopped out of the water and they dressed in newer and most certainly cleaner clothes. Kagome smiled at the feeling of silk around her even though she felt it was still highly impractical. The movement restrictions were what got her the most. She was clumsy enough as it was and this only made it worse.

As Rin's outfit was far simpler, the girl told her she was going to check on Lord Sesshomaru. Kagome waved at her as she disappeared in the direction of the camp Sesshomaru had set up. After finally getting the fabric to work with her Kagome triumphed in her ability to dress herself. Well, it was mostly correct.

She shuddered suddenly as her priestess powers tingled with something she hadn't felt for a while now. Sesshomaru was not known for getting attacked so her demon sensors had not been going off at all lately. Now she felt like something was coming and she was most certainly not going to like. Her eyes darted around when she saw a dark hole form in the air a little distance from her and demons poured out in mass numbers. She knew from past experiences that this had something to do with Naraku. I guess he was really serious when he wanted me dead!

Glad that she didn't have modesty to worry about as they struck while she was clothed; she instinctively went to where she normally put her bow and arrows to realize that they were not there. She swallowed hard as she realized she was surrounded by demons on all sides and there was nothing she had to defend herself with.

As the horde rushed out at her she cringed as she remembered her last encounter with a demon. The pain, the sorrow, everything spilled out as she cried out the only name that came to mind, "Sesshomaru!"

A sudden burst of blue light mixed with sparks of electricity filled part of the area to her side as an angry looking Sesshomaru entered the area. With a swift leap he sent another burst to the other side so that half of the area was taken care of. Flesh burned and the smell made Kagome wanted to wretch. It was so horrible.

With a swift movement, Sesshomaru landed beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He did a small twirl so that Kagome was now behind him and he was between her and the rest of the demons. He glanced behind him to make certain that she was safe before turning his attention to the rest of the demons. She felt the energy from Tokijin gather and with a swift stroke the rest of the demons in the area were torn to pieces.

Kagome held part of her outfit over her nose to try and help keep out the smell. She could only imagine the havoc it was having on Sesshomaru very sensitive dog nose. She gave him a big smile and though she would normally have hugged him, she settled for a small bow. "Thank you for saving me…again…Sesshomaru," she said as her smile softened.

Sesshomaru sheathed Tokijin and turned to the girl behind him. He eyed her and noted that she had not been injured. He responded with a curt, "I did my duty."

Kagome tilted her head in curiosity, "Duty? I am afraid I don't understand why it's your duty to save me Sesshomaru."

He could smell that she was honest in her ignorance and he decided that he should educate her now that she was going to be traveling with him for some time. "This Sesshomaru is the alpha of this pack and thus my responsibility is to ensure the safety of those within it." He hoped the explanation was good enough for her.

"I still don't understand why you feel you are responsible for me," she stated.

He could feel a headache starting to form as he told her, "This Sesshomaru became responsible for you when I revived you with the Tensaiga."

She smiled at the demon lord in front of her. At his stare she simply said, "Thank you again, Sesshomaru, for bringing me back even though it was a bother to you in the end. I didn't mean for you to have to take responsibility over me."

Sesshomaru nodded stiffly before walking away and said over his shoulder, "Just remember, Kagome, now I am to be held accountable for your actions."