Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.
"Speaking."
'Thinking.'
.-. - scene break and/or POV change
Chapter 2: An Encounter
Kagome awoke quickly the next morning, her mind immediately latching onto the memories of the day before. As her subconscious ruthlessly threw them into the front of her mind she felt the power within her begin to stir restlessly. She quickly pushed the unbearably painful memories into the back of her still waking consciousness, the memory of her difficult fight with her power the evening before and how much it had tired her out fresh in her mind.
Carefully examining the immense reserves of power now contained within her, she noticed that they were still at a manageable level. That could only mean that the stealers had stayed the night and taken excess energy from her as she slept.
A rush of gratitude swept through her even as she felt something strange brush against her. Cracking her still tired eyes open; she noticed that none of the soul stealers were close enough to have brushed up against her. Confused, she glanced around and jumped slightly in surprise when she felt the brushing sensation again.
She suddenly realized with a sharp start backwards that something was brushing against her mind, not her physical body. Sitting up straighter, she concentrated on the alien awareness that continued to brush against something within her.
Once the awareness knew it had her attention she noticed a soul stealer separate itself from the others and come closer. Soon it was lazily coiling in front of her, floating a few feet in the air so it was directly at eye level. As it did so the presence against her mind got stronger and more insistent. She suddenly realized that the soul stealer before her was what was touching her mind!
Reaching out slowly with a gentle hand, she lightly touched the soul stealer in front of her, carefully resting her long fingers on the creature's delicate snout. With the onset of physical contact the presence within her mind quickly expanded and Kagome sucked in a startled breath at the confusing sensation.
It seemed as if the presence had a question, but didn't quite know how to ask it. From what she could discern of the mental contact, soul stealers just didn't think the way humans did. Their thought process was much simpler, but more complex in that simplicity, with a distinctly primal edge that would have made her uneasy if she weren't so used to the way demons thought and acted.
Sensing no overt danger from the presence, or any intention to harm, Kagome cautiously opened her mind and let the presence in more fully. As soon as she did so Kagome understood the question it had been attempting to convey as if it had spoken it in plain Japanese. The question was quite simple: Would she be willing to let them stay and feed off her excess energy in return for something?
Kagome smiled and answered quite eagerly: Yes, by all means. All she'd ask for in return was companionship and occasional assistance. An almost startled feeling spread through the presence's consciousness. It almost felt as if it had expected her to want something much more costly. Then the presence warmed with a feeling of content; she could only compare it to what a human feels after having an excellent meal, with no more worries for the day. She quickly realized this was it's way of agreeing to her terms.
With her almost automatic acceptance of them, she was suddenly surrounded by smooth, scaly bodies as each stealer 'introduced' themselves. She soon realized that they didn't recognize each other by names or anything physical, but by the feeling of the presence in their minds. She quickly accepted the greetings as the different minds moved within hers, the separate awarenesses coming to the fore one at a time.
Once she was able to recognize each of the twelve soul stealers immediately, they finally backed away and spread out around her. It was a curious sensation, she soon found; each of the stealers had a distinctively different awareness, but they all carried the basically content feeling the first had adopted after it'd accepted her terms. Each of the presences seemed to have found a place in the back of her mind where they seemed content to stay so she was finally able to concentrate on the surrounding area.
Decidedly more cheerful now that she knew she wouldn't be alone on her so vaguely planned journey, Kagome stood and ruefully noticed that her belongings were strewn about on the ground around her. She must have just dumped them randomly and immediately fallen asleep.
She stretched to loosen stiff muscles, which had grown sore from sleeping in such an awkward position, and prepared to get going. She quickly changed into the miko outfit that Kikyo had given her and packed what she had been wearing into her bag. She then slung it over her back, and, picking up her bow and quiver, started to move forward in the same direction she had been going when she had finally stopped for the night.
The soul stealers quickly surrounded her, two or three staying nearby whilst the rest went further away, ranging both ahead and behind. Occasionally they would swap places so that a different soul stealer could take in some of the well's ever regenerating energy.
Kagome soon set a steady pace, stopping only for a brief lunch. Finally it was time for dinner. She was quite satisfied with the distance she had managed to make, and it was nice to travel without an annoying hanyou in the background urging her to go faster then her human body was equipped to handle.
The soul stealers were actually quite good company, and warned her if any dangerous animals were around. They seemed to be perfectly okay with taking orders from her, and were equally willing to act as scouts. Quickly settling down for the night, she rolled out her bedroll and was soon asleep, content in the knowledge that one of her new friends would wake her should there be any danger.
.-.
Kagome woke early the next morning; long before the sun made its appearance above the trees. As a result, the forest was illuminated sparsely at best and a light layer of mist swirling across the ground gave the air a subtle chill. Quickly repacking the few necessities that she'd removed the night before, she stood, slinging the bag and quiver of arrows over her shoulder as she gripped her wooden bow in her other hand.
Joining up with the soul stealers, who seemed rather eager to get moving, she swiftly moved off into the trees. She spent the day much as she had the one before, persistently walking until noon, when she stopped to eat, and then continuing forward until dusk, when she stopped for the night.
She continued with this repeating schedule for the next few days, making good time. Over the course of her journey she came to learn even more about her odd companions. She had learnt early on that the soul stealers enjoyed physical contact. She soon learned that this was because it allowed them to strengthen their mental connections and gave them a deep feeling of belonging, something they genuinely treasured. They also seemed to really enjoy making contact with her, finding her complex and rapidly switching emotions to be fascinating.
A few days after the… incident… Kagome sensed something different in the presence of a few of her scouting stealers. From their 'position' in her mind, they 'told' her that there was a large human road up ahead moving towards the northwest. Thanking them she told them they could come back if they wished, stroking them in thanks when they arrived not long after.
Glancing up through the branches of the forest, she noticed that the sky was quickly beginning to darken. She frowned lightly at it for a moment before nodding, resolving to check out the human road the next day.
Quickly finding a clearing, she prepared to settle down for the night. After eating she did what was quickly becoming a routine, and settled into a meditation pose, crossing her legs comfortably and resting her hands on her knees. She dove into her power, checking on the well's energy, noting the level of her own reserves, and claming her mind enough for sleep.
She then frowned suddenly and opened her eyes, the small, gentle aura that had surrounded her as she'd focused inwards quickly dissipating into the night air. The energy of the well seemed to be slowly merging with her own power, taking on the same distinct undertone as her own aura.
This, quite understandably, confused her. Everything living thing in the world, from the smallest wisp of grass to the strongest of demons, had an aura. An aura was like a name, or a distinct scent; it told those who could sense them what, and who, you were. And no two auras were the same.
Her brows furrowed even further in bewilderment as she wondered what it could mean. If the well's energy was merging with her own, did that mean that the well was becoming a part of her? She huffed in frustration and flopped ungracefully backwards, flinging her arms out to her sides as she did so.
Staring upwards at the stars that were visible from where she lay, she turned the conundrum that was her own power over in her head, trying to make some sense of it. She didn't know how long she laid there, unable to come to a conclusion before she sat back up again to prod the dying fire.
It was at times like these that she wished that she had the experience of her former incarnation. Despite her year long tutelage under said incarnation's guidance, she didn't really have all that much experience with even her own powers.
Kikyo had long ago told her that she was undeniably powerful, and her control over that power was much better than it had been. However, despite the many different techniques and uses of her strength that she had learned, she had next to no real life experience in using them. It had been one of the reasons Kikyo'd been against hiding Kagome's powers early on; if Kagome couldn't practice in real life situations around her friends, how was she to learn how to utilize them properly?
Still, even Kikyo had made no mention that something like this might happen to her. She had vaguely mentioned the 'side effects' of sealing something powerful, but that was about it. Kagome groaned softly in frustration and then sighed tiredly. There was really nothing she could do about it, and it didn't seem to be affecting her in adverse ways, so, for now at least, she decided to leave it well enough alone.
She quickly prepared herself for sleep and lay down in her sleeping bag. She needed to get some rest for tomorrow. Despite the worries rapidly circling in head, she was soon fast asleep.
.-.
Kagome woke quickly as the birds first began to sing. Her soul stealers flew past; sounding out light trills to welcome the grey light of the dawn (it had taken a while for her to figure out that the sweet musical sounds were coming from her soul stealers, something she was still a bit embarrassed about).
As she stretched lazily, a stealer wrapped itself around her arm, hugging tightly to her skin. She looked over at it as the scales brushed along her skin and smiled. This one had been the first stealer that had 'spoken' to her and, strangely enough, it had an almost greenish tinge to its light. In fact, each soul stealer had something to differentiate between themselves and the others.
She had quite accurately dubbed this one Emerald and, she had to admit, that it was her favorite simply because it stayed with her no matter what. It was like it was as attached to her as she was to it. The others would swap places every once in awhile, but this one was always nearby.
Emerald unwrapped itself and, releasing a light musical trill as it did so, rose into the air, coiling above her as she went about her morning business. She quickly changed back into her miko shihakusho and prepared herself some instant ramen.
'Ha! No more ramen for you, Inuyasha! That'll teach you to send me away like that!' she thought slightly vindictively as she quickly slurped up the noodles. She just couldn't help the thought or the slightly guilty and depressed mood that temporarily weighed her down afterwards.
She quickly finished off her breakfast and, after cleaning up in a nearby stream, was ready to head off once more. Her stealers spread out, Emerald faithfully pacing along beside her and always keeping a stronger touch within her mind. The others moved out to surround her, scanning the area for any demonic or threatening presences.
Moving toward the large human road, she eventually positioned herself to move parallel to it. She considered it a stroke of luck, as the road continued heading in the direction that took her the furthest from her ex-friends; a west, northwest heading. Not that it mattered. She simply had to search for shards and help people as a traveling miko until Naraku showed himself for the final battle.
A small part of her wondered if it would really be that simple, but it was quickly crushed by forced optimism. She pushed herself hard, using the punishing exercise to keep her thoughts from turning dark. The stealers warned her should anything come to close, be it human or demon, and she avoided them all.
She stopped for a brief lunch, and was silently glad that soul stealers only fed on energy; otherwise her rations wouldn't last very long considering she had 13 mouths to feed, including herself. She was soon traveling again, moving late into the evening with her only her stealer's light as guidance.
Finally she could push herself no further, and, asking her stealers to search for an adequate clearing, she sent them out. Then she sat with her back to a tall tree, ignoring the rough bark as it bit into her back through the miko garment. Sighing heavily, she let her mind wander as the light trills of her companions sounded through the night.
.-.
Sessshomaru allowed his piercing golden eyes to drift close as his retainer and ward finally fell into the deepest reaches of sleep. Spreading his other senses to search for threats, on finding none, he opened them again. Taking in the clearing he had decided his small group would rest in for the night with the same calm criticism as always, he decided to stay awake for tonight, though he'd have to sleep again soon.
His aristocratically arched brow twitched with slight annoyance as the kappa he kept around mostly for amusement purposes curled tighter around the Staff of Heads and murmured, "Sessshomaru-sama…" blissfully. As there were no witnesses, he allowed himself a brief huff of impatience at Jaken's obnoxious hero worship.
He then turned his attention to the only human of his party, expression softening slightly at the sight of the small girl sleeping against the resting Ah-Un. Despite what he would like most to think, Sessshomaru did have emotions, he just kept them hidden in order to avoid the weakness they displayed to other demons.
The human girl he had saved on the whim of Tenseiga was one of the few he could ever remember caring for, a number of people so few he didn't have to use more than a few fingers to count them. His father had been one, and Rin a second. Before his father had taken to that human princess his mother had been another, but after she had learned that his father actually preferred the presence of a human to her… well, she had changed. And not in a good way.
These days he actively avoided her as much as possible. She was likely to either nag him for his distinct lack of responsibility, or pointedly wish for grandchildren, which was equally as horrifying. As for his only other close relative… Giving another sigh of impatience at the thought, he reached forward to prod a bit more life into the small fire at the center of the circular clearing.
Suddenly, he sensed movement in the higher branches of the trees around the clearing, but just as he turned his attention to it, it vanished. Sitting upright again, he spread his senses once more and almost immediately honed in on the presences moving towards him.
He then furrowed his brows in slight confusion. He felt almost as if he should know whoever was approaching, but the signature of the aura was just off enough that he couldn't immediately identify it. However, what he could identify was enough to set him on edge. It was a miko, but the other small presences that surrounded it were blatantly demonic in origin.
He might have thought it to be that undead miko his foolish half-brother was so obsessed with, but the scents of graveyard soil and death were distinctly absent. Then the miko stepped into the clearing and his eyes widened minutely with slight surprise. She was wearing the traditional red and white shihakusho, but her long dark hair was left loose to fall below her small waist.
Multiple soul stealers twirled around her, brushing up against her as if seeking reassurance. Their luminescence reflected off the panes of her face with elegant shadows that flickered mysteriously as she tucked some of her hair behind a small rounded ear. The movement drew attention to her face, the surprise there more than apparent. With the moonlight hiding the flaws of her humanity, he couldn't deny that she was really quite attractive.
It was then that he finally recognized her as the strange miko that traveled with his half-brother. He couldn't help but be slightly curious as to why she no longer seemed to be traveling with him, as well as the change in her aura. Now that she was so close, he could tell that not only had her signature shifted, but what he could sense of her reserves was much larger than they had been before.
Then she suddenly seemed to remember something and bowed at the waist, her hair falling in a dark waterfall over her shoulder to stop just above the ground. "My lord." She said politely. His eyebrow raised in distinct surprise at her apparent manners. From what he knew of her she was just as uncouth as his younger half-brother. It rose even further as she kept her head down and continued speaking in the same polite tone.
"I apologize for intruding. This was the only clearing in the area and I seek a camping site here, just for the night." Suddenly realizing that his surprise could be seen on his face should she look up, he blanked his face of all emotion and rose silently to his feet.
Soon he stood in front of her, considering the girl before him. He had only heard her speak on two occasions, either when in battle or after he'd inadvertently saved her. So it was either in anger or embarrassed gratitude… if she spoke like this normally he supposed he might have to revise his first opinion of her. He quickly decided to test her current behavior first.
He just barely caught her light gasp as she realized her was standing not two feet from her, and permitted himself an inward smirk. Then he said, "This Sesshomaru supposes that calling you wench would be inappropriate now, considering you are no longer dressed as such." He smirked a bit at her reaction. She had abruptly straightened to glare at him, and then when she'd realized what she was doing looked away just as quickly.
He was almost glad to know that the fire he'd seen in her when she'd first fought him wasn't completely gone. Then she replied, "I would appreciate being called by my birth name, my lord." Then she hesitated and he wondered what she was going to say next. "Under different circumstances I would respect you with the same." His eyes widened in surprise at the informality she was suggesting and he quickly looked away, appreciating the fact that she had yet to raise her eyes since she'd glared at him.
He carefully refused, keeping his voice as indifferent as ever, "Respect is earned, not granted. Until then, Miko, this Sesshomaru shall refer to you by your station.'" She sighed but nodded her head in agreement, as he turned back to look at her. Then he spoke again, asking with almost unnoticeable derision, "Where is the half-breed, Miko? Do you not travel with him?"
She gave an almost indiscernible wince and answered, "I no longer travel with him, my lord." She confirmed "Our circumstances changed and we had to part ways. They do not know where I am, and I would prefer it that way." She looked away as she said this and he couldn't help but notice the way her eyes softened as they fell on his sleeping ward. Then the fire sputtered and he would have to have been blind not to notice how she stared at it so longingly.
Sesshoumaru's calculating gaze roved her form as he considered her answer. He had questions, ones he wanted answers to, but unlike his half brother, he wasn't an idiot. He could clearly see that the miko was close to collapsing with exhaustion. He supposed no answers would be forthcoming should she go into an exhaustion induced coma.
It was a good thing she was no longer dressed as she used to, otherwise he wouldn't even consider doing what he was about to. Twisting around he strode quickly across the clearing, only to stop before the fire. He heard the miko's slight sigh of relief and inwardly smirked at what might happen next.
"You may use the fire, Miko. But in return, tomorrow this Sesshomaru will have answers to some questions he has." He heard her start in surprise before she walked gracefully over to him. Inwardly he raised an eyebrow. Where was the careless, trip-happy miko he knew? Maybe his half-brother had a deteriorating effect on all those around him and now that she was no longer in close proximity to the half-breed, she wasn't affected...it was an interesting idea, one worth exploring.
"That seems to be an adequate offer, my lord." She said with a sort of surprise. "But knowledge is power. Perchance I do not like the question, may I simply answer to the best of my ability, and only if it should not compromise those I am loyal to?"
He turned to glance at her, looking her over once more. Outwardly he made sure to seem slightly annoyed, but inwardly he was a bit impressed. Considering their past encounters, he hadn't thought it at all possible for her to speak in such a dignified manner. He also knew that knowledge could be a dangerous weapon when wielded correctly, so he allowed it, giving her a slight down turn of the head in acceptance of the terms.
As soon as she saw the small nod her dignified and graceful persona went out the window and he watched in a sort of stunned silence as she bustled around the campfire, quickly making herself comfortable. After setting up her odd bedroll near to the fire, she seemed content to simply revel in the heat for a moment.
He took the opportunity brought by her distraction to return to sitting at the foot of the largest tree on the edge of the clearing and marveled at her almost bipolar behavior. One moment polite as a noble, the next exuberant as a cheerful peasant girl… he wondered at the difference. He'd never enjoyed spending much time around females, and Rin was a relatively simple girl, so he couldn't decide if her behavior was typical of the sex.
He found himself hoping it was unique to her, otherwise he'd have to eventually deal with a growing clone in Rin, as at least some of their behaviors resembled one another. The glowing parasites she'd arrived with continued to swirl around her, assisting her in her preparations for the night as they did so. Then she murmured a quick goodnight and was almost instantly asleep.
He blinked slowly as she quickly settled into a deep sleep, wondering at her trust, to be able to relax so thoroughly in his presence. Was she an idiot after all? No, she'd managed to somehow negotiate her way into his campsite without any bloodshed, so that couldn't be it. He eventually ended up thoroughly pondering the mystery of the surprising, if temporary, addition to his small group for the rest of night.
~ Author's Note ~
Well, I hope you all like this chapter; I personally enjoyed writing from Sesshoumaru's perspective. What do you guys think of it? Do you think I portrayed him properly? I know quite a few of you have been anticipating his entrance, so I hope you're satisfied with how I did it.
Next time will hopefully see some careful advancement in their relationship, or at least have Sesshomaru become a bit more open to actually conversing casually with Kagome. You people have no idea how hard it is to advance their relationship realistically; at the moment I have no idea how to get them out of the 'she/he is human/former enemy' faze. It'll honestly be easier to get Kagome moving forward with this, 'cause despite how much I like him, our dear Fluffy-sama can be real stick in the mud sometimes.
Well, can't really think of anything else to say so… See ya next time then… and don't forget to review.
~ Aljan Moonfire ~