Chapter 4 - Getting Used to Things
Kagome awoke with a pounding headache. Groaning, she struggled into a sitting position. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked until the room came into focus.
"Did you have a good sleep Kagome-sama?" A voice asked.
Kagome's gaze settled on the girl who'd spoken, "Hai, except now my head hurts," she replied slowly. Kagome frowned at the girl, "Hey, you look a little different."
The girl smiled, "I am taking over for Kiome while she is away." This girl was dressed similarly and had the same bright red hair and eyes, but her skin was slightly darker and she was a little shorter.
"Where is Kiome-san?"
"She is off running an errand for Sesshomaru-sama," the girl supplied.
"Are you two related?"
"Oh I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," the girl flushed, "My name is Kiara, Kiome and I are sisters."
Kagome smiled absently, "Nice to meet you Kiara-san."
Kiara inclined her head slightly.
Kagome's attention strayed as she once again surveyed the room. It seemed cold and uninviting; as if it wanted her to get out. Sighing, she looked back to Kiara, "Is there anything to eat around here?"
Kiara nodded and gestured to a tray of food placed on a bedside table, "Right here, you can eat or drink anything on this tray."
Kagome's eyes rested on the tray. There was an assortment of fruits and breads and bowls placed on the tray with a single, clear glass of water. Though she knew she should be hungry, she didn't have much of an appetite. Exhaling heavily, Kagome got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. Stepping into the room, Kagome marvelled at the beautiful spring. It felt as if she'd stepped out of the castle and right into the middle of the forest. Rocks ringed the edge of steaming water, completing the image of it being outside. Along the wall beside the door, there was a small rack with fluffy red towels and various containers.
Kneeling by the warm water, Kagome cupped her hands together and dipped them into the water. She splashed the water against her face and gently rubbed her eyes. Splashing her face again, Kagome got up and dried her features on one of the towels. Glancing longingly at the spring, she exited the room and sat down next to the bedside table. Pulling the tray toward her, Kagome began picking at her food, occasionally bringing a spoonful up to her mouth.
Sesshomaru sat alone in his study. His mind was tumbling over and over the recent events, trying to find answers. What had caused the miko to react so strongly? Why had she never before displayed such power? What stopped her from killing the hanyou?
Sighing, Sesshomaru used his one hand to massage his temples. He froze when the door crept open and Jaken slunk inside.
"Where is Rin?" Sesshomaru demanded immediately, his cold voice cutting through the stony silence.
"Sh-she ran off," the toad stuttered meekly.
"I told you to watch her," the inu youkai growled menacingly, "Why didn't you follow her?"
"Sesshomaru-sama, there's a very good explanation—"
"You fell asleep again didn't you?" Sesshomaru snarled, getting to his feet.
Jaken remained quiet and looked down at his feet.
Sesshomaru stepped over to his retainer and swiftly kicked him into the wall, creating a fair sized dent in the thick wooden walls. "Ridiculous," he muttered before leaving the castle. Sesshomaru easily picked up Rin's scent and followed it. Soon he could hear her whimpering in fear. Emerging in the clearing, he saw her cowering under the thick roots of an ancient tree. Three demons surrounded her and were clawing at the roots.
Expressionlessly, Sesshomaru exterminated the demons and waited for Rin to come out. He didn't have to wait long; the child quickly noted the growing silence and carefully crawled out from her refuge. Her eyes lit up when she saw her saviour.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" running forward, the girl wrapped her arms around his leg and buried her face into the cloth of his hakama.
"Enough," he stated.
Rin immediately let go and looked up at him tearfully, "Rin is sorry Sesshomaru-sama."
Golden eyes studied the little human and mentally questioned once again why she was still with him. With a slight nod the lord turned and began returning to the castle.
The girl wiped her tears and happily followed after him; smiling softly to herself.
"Sesshomaru-sama took Kagome?" Kaede repeated with disbelief.
Sango glanced up from the floor and cautiously glanced from Inu Yasha to the old miko, "Hai."
"Hmm, well it is inconceivable that she stay with him," Kaede said, "You must get her back."
Inu Yasha felt a muscle on his face twitch, "You all keep saying that. If it bothers you so much then why are you sitting around doing nothing?"
Sango frowned, "You know very well why we're sitting around. It's because you don't want to go. There's no way that we can stand up to your brother."
Inu Yasha's honey coloured eyes narrowed dangerously, "She killed Kikyo." Ever since Kikyo had uttered her last words, Inu Yasha had adopted an annoying mood that bluntly explained his disinclination to act: 'She tried to kill me, why should I help her?'
Miroku scowled, speaking to him kindly and gently implying that they wanted to go save their friend clearly wasn't working, perhaps a more direct approach would suffice, "How many times do we have to tell you that she was already dead? Kagome-sama could have killed you if she wanted to. It was only her love for you—albeit unrequited—that stopped her from doing so. That is explanation enough, so quit moping around and let's be on our way." As much as he'd tried to keep his voice calm, it had evolved into a shout along the way and he was left on his feet, seething at the unyielding hanyou.
Inu Yasha was not one to back down, he leapt to his feet and quickly uttered his rebuttal, "I don't care! I'm not going anywhere! Let him kill her; I don't care."
Sango's eyes widened and Shippo burst into tears, mumbling about insensitive half-demons. Miroku's scowl faded into shock; he had not expected that kind of response. They watched him stalk out of the hut and disappear into the darkened surroundings. The flap settled back into place but the occupants of the hut couldn't pull their eyes away.
Kaede sighed and shook her head disapprovingly, "Give him time to think about this. Rushing him will do no good; after all, he did love Kikyo-onee-sama. I assure you that before long, he'll be good as new." Even as she said it, the old miko did not believe it. She'd never seen the boy so upset.
"Kiara-san?" Kagome called from inside the large closet.
"Hai Kagome-sama?" Kiara answered. She followed the girl's voice and stopped a few steps behind her. She had pulled two kimonos and was studying them with great concentration.
"Which do you think would look better on me?" swirling to face the demoness, Kagome held up a baby blue kimono that was littered with soft pink sakura blossoms and a magenta one with large cerulean hearts decorating the silk.
Kiara smiled at the girl's trivial problem, "The blue one. It'll compliment your hair."
"Thank you," Kagome beamed, returning the magenta kimono to the shelf.
Kiara bowed as the girl walked past her and exited the closet. She heard the adjacent door slide shut and concluded that she'd gone in to shower and freshen up. While waiting for the girl to finish, Kiara gazed at the accumulation of clothing. The sheer quantity of it never ceased to amaze her. She supposed it was from years of the female occupants of the castle receiving gifts.
Kiara adjusted the clothing and tucked hanging corners back onto the shelves, all the while resisting looking down at her own plain clothing. It wasn't her place to wear such finery and she should be glad that she was even here. She quickly finished up and exited the small compartment. Closing the door, she squashed all thoughts of longing, 'Sesshomaru-sama has done so much for my family. It would be thoughtless and ungrateful for me to want more.'
A slight clatter pulled her from her thoughts and she was surprised to see Kagome standing before her wearing the kimono.
Unaware of the demoness watching her, Kagome stepped into the room and tossed her school uniform onto the bed. Raking her fingers through her hair she caught quite a few snags. In the corner of the room, she spotted a vanity mirror and seated herself gratefully in front of it. Before she could reach for the brush, slightly tanned fingers grasped it and picked it up.
Kiara smiled at the human in the mirror, "Please, allow me, it'll calm you."
"Iie, it's really no problem—" Kagome stopped when she realized that it was pointless to argue. The demoness was already running the brush gently through her hair, smoothing out the tangles. Admittedly, it was relaxing.
When she'd smoothed out Kagome's hair, Kiara carefully arranged it in an elegant bun, adding a few deceptively casual-looking loops and leaving a few soft tresses to frame her pretty face.
"Ah, it looks so nice," Kagome breathed when she finished. She turned her head slightly to allow her to see how she looked from the side before her features settled into a grin. "It looks amazing! You must teach me how to do this!"
Kiara nodded with a smile and said, "It will help with your first impression."
"Eh?" Kagome froze, "What first impression?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention? You're to join Sesshomaru-sama for lunch," the demoness laughed nervously.
Kagome's jaw dropped, "Yes you forgot to mention!"
"My apologies Kagome-sama, but you are dressed already. Come now, you mustn't keep him waiting," Kiara smiled brightly at her flabbergasted guest.
Kagome stared speechlessly after the girl who'd turned and was heading to the door. Of all possible scenarios that she'd envisioned during her bath, she'd never expected this and there was no way that she could ever be ready for it.
An uneasy feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach.
This was not going to be pretty.
A/N) Being a genius I realised after that in this time and place they wouldn't have doors, they would have shoji screens. My apologizes for this and any other historical inaccuracies. -_-
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