A/N: I do not own Inuyasha or Goblin: the Lonely and Great God

Chapter Fifteen

Having bathed and feeling refreshed, Kagome sat down on the chair at her desk and rested her head on her palm. She remembered earlier that day, how stressful it had been. Sesshomaru had not talked to anyone other than polite, curt answers when they arrived at the cafe. As the conversation between girls had carried on, he stared restlessly out the window, every now and then proving he was paying attention to them with nods of his head. But he was not invested in what was being said. That had not particularly bothered the miko, but it made her worry for him almost. Why was he so fixated on the outside. Were there things he was hearing and seeing as part of his curse that he needed to attend to? Or had they just been bothering him? At the end of the day, when the girls had their fill of gossip and cafe treats, he paid for their meal, and with a cordial wave but without a word, he left. His moods were so volatile that the miko felt like she could not predict him any more than when she had crossed into the past. One moment he had been mischievous and strange, and the next moment he had been aloof and quiet again. Humming softly, she resolved to do something and stood. She changed from her pajamas into a pair of pants and her 'Sham' sweater. Pulling on some shoes, her coat and a scarf—she snuck down the stairs. Closing the back door behind her, she grabbed the handles of her bike and walked it way from the shrine, taking her time down the long set of stairs.

Once she was on flat ground, she mounted the bike and began to peddle away, in her mind a solid idea of where she was going. Nakameguro was about a twenty minute bike ride from where she was, a seven minute express train ride. But she figured this would be better since she didn't know how the transits were looking at the current moment. The nighttime city lights were bright in the peripheral part of her vision, but she continued on without paying much heed to them.

The whole mystery Sesshomaru becoming a Goblin was finally too much for her to bear. He was not youkai. But he was not human. Except he had qualities that made him him more humane than he had ever been before. Yet also at times, he was so reserved that he was no better than a lonely deity on a high pedestal away from the world. So in all reality, Kagome wanted to know exactly word for word what he wanted. A wish-granter, a guardian angel—those were not good enough answers. She wanted to know how he had been cursed.

She needed him to tell her why he was the way he was.

As she pedalled along, she wondered if she could actually pull this off. In no way shape or form had the Goblin told her where he lived other than what district of Tokyo. She had no idea what sort of house or apartment he dwelled in. It could be that he had lied to her as well. He could live somewhere else, somewhere far away like Quebec where she could not bother him. Yet still she wanted to try to see him in person, without summoning. She knew that truly did annoy him. Besides, given how old Sesshomaru actually was, he would have ideals that would be more appreciative of the fact that she would visit him in person about something bothering her. Especially something about him. Although the more she thought about it, the more she realized he had no reason to care.

Stop that, he even came to look for you today, she reminded herself, thinking back to him standing against the school wall, watching her with questioning eyes. He was in the area my butt! That guy was genuinely curious about something but his pride won't let him ask it. Because he came to me, I'll go to him.

Without a second moment of hesitation, she hurried along, the reflectors along her bike flashing brightly with the streetlamp as her guide. In hindsight, it was probably a horrible idea to go out riding her bike at this hour of the night, but it was also the quickest mode of transportation she had on her. So it would have to do. But every so often she would pass a dark alleyway with a few shady figures and that would trouble her. She didn't think they would dare follow her, but every now and then she would feel a chill along her back which would cause her to cast a look over her shoulder. Each time she would see nothing. No shadows or scary gang members behind her (although to be fair, in comparison the hungry youkai, idiots with ski masks didn't quite match to par).

A clock struck a quarter to eleven by the time she reached Nakameguro. The Meguro river was flanked with sakura trees, seemingly illuminated by the waning moon, making the water almost blue because of the glowing light. Taking that as a good omen, Kagome turned right, and followed the river downstream. In her sight there were rows of apartments cramped next to each other on both sides. However they didn't scream Sesshomaru to her, so she kept moving. She traveled along the river before her bike tires squealed to a stop, her eyes looking at what she knew to be the thing she had been looking for. It was a two story house, and the way it was designed seemed almost shrine like. It was wooden and old looking, very classic in the way it stood. Two lanterns on the wall shone softly in the night, the yellow light casting a welcoming shine.

The name on the gate read "Taisho".

And while she thought it was a rather odd name for Sesshomaru to pick as his family name, Kagome could understand the nod to his father Inu no Taisho. It was probably one of the only things left that he felt tied him to his heritage. The memory of his father still looming behind him as a reminder to all that he still held pride of an Inudaiyoukai.

Hopping off her bike and leaning it against the wall of what she hoped was the Goblin's house, she reached forward to push open the iron wrought gate. As her fingers brushed up against the metal, she sent out her reiki to let Sesshomaru know that she was there so she would not alarm him. A faint, yet alert response of youki prodded at her miko powers, a sensation of relief and surprise washing over it when he must have realized it was her. Yet she could feel him approaching. With a smile, she reached forward to rest her hands on the gate—

—before she was yanked backward by someone pulling her hair.

She cried out, her eyes going wide as someone pulled her down onto the floor. Before she could even try to protest, someone or something smashed a heavy object against her temple. Stars exploded in front of her eyes before she felt her lashes flutter and her eyelids close against her will. The last bits of her consciousness was trying to force out her reiki to alert Sesshomaru. But her mind weakened and blackened before she had the chance to dispel the aura.

OoOoO

"Woman?" Sesshomaru asked curiously, opening the front gate at his house to see no one there. His eyes narrowed and he scratched the back of his head in confusion. Had he imagined it? He knew he had sensed the miko. It was a very conscious imposing on his powers and his territory. And still as he looked around, no one was there.

He stepped out from his home. "Miko?" He called again, looking to the left and then the right. His golden gaze landed on the sight of a blue bike propped against the wall surrounding his home. He had never seen it before nor had he known anyone in this neighborhood to have such an ugly mood of transportation. With a frown he tried one last time.

"Kagome?"

When there was no response, he sighed, stuck his hands into the pockets of his pants and went back inside of his house. A thought had crossed his mind and he was now sure he had noticed the miko at his home. She had simply been displaced by people who sought petty human quarrels with him. Good thing he was not human. And even better he was petty. If his enemies wanted to him to fight, then they would get exactly what they wanted. However, for this he would, sadly, need the help of the moronic Shinigami. He did not necessarily want to seek assistance the imbecile, but the grim reaper's aid would be more beneficial in finding the girl and assuring her safety. When he looked down at his feet however, the Goblin realized he was not nearly as dressed as he would like to go out. He himself would need a nicer outfit before heading out into the night, perhaps one of his Italian imported suits with the German made shoes?

Dressed to kill, as the saying went.

a/n: Hello friends! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story^^ I had to take a small break so that's why this chapter is a little late! But I hope this one was enough to satisfy your needs! See y'all tomorrow.

Leave a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter^^

As always, arigato and takk fyrir, lovelies!