A/N: Thanks SO MUCH for all the reviews and favorites everyone! Here's a special update for you all, and also a special shout out goes to Inuyashaloverxox15 :D Hope you all enjoy it!
Kagome's POV
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Chapter Forty-Three: Resurrection
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"Koishii?"
Sweeping my hair away from my face, I paused in my dressing and peered out from behind the screen that hid me from Sesshoumaru. "Yes?"
His sun-kissed eyes were brooding as he absently flexed his long fingers back and forth, manipulating the contents of the water pitcher at the far side of the room. "I fear that my father has truly lost his mind."
I couldn't help but agree. "It's a shame, because he seemed congenial enough before he had me kidnapped." Sliding back behind the screen, I quickly tied my sash and donned my wrap. "Though I do not understand why I was kidnapped at all. Rin made it clear that Kagutsuchi is her preference. What had he to gain by arranging this?" As I stepped out into the room, I caught the stricken expression on Sesshoumaru's face before he could compose himself. "Sesshoumaru?"
I hurriedly crossed the floor and knelt beside him. "There is something you are not telling me." Taking his larger hand into mine, I bid him to look at me. "What's the matter?"
His free hand came up to touch my face, and I instinctively relaxed into his caress. "I do not know if it is wise to tell you, Kagome. The world of the gods is a strange one, and divine beings live for a long time. Such longevity gives way to boredom, and desperation. I have troubled you with so much already that to tell you what I have learned seems cruel."
"Sesshoumaru . . ." I reached to trace the curve of his cheekbone delicately. "I am your wife. Who can you talk with if not me? Ease your burdens, and tell me what plagues you."
He shifted, drawing me closer until I rested against his chest. "If you so insist," he whispered, and there was laughter in his voice. "My father knows that the Empress is easily swayed, and he thought to use her feelings for my brother to attain his goal. He told Rin that Kagutsuchi had married and, as he expected, she was not pleased. It was then that he proposed a trade: a wife for a wife."
"A wife for a wife?" I repeated, my confusion evident.
Sesshoumaru nodded, his silver hair shining as he did. "Yes. Apparently the Empress has the ability to call back souls from the Underworld, so long as she has another soul to use as a replacement."
I felt the color drain from my skin. "You don't mean . . ."
Seeming as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, Sesshoumaru clutched me tightly as he spoke, "A wife for a wife."
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A/N: Please review! :)