Chapter 17 Knock Knock
"Don't give me that silent treatment crap!" Kagome breathed angrily. "I asked a question and I want an answer! Why aren't we using the car?"
Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly. There were times when he wished she would just be more like Rin and not demand answers from him. "We aren't using the car because I feel it is safer to travel like this to my apartment. We are going there so I can get my weapons."
Kagome put on an exaggerated expression of remembering something. "Strange, I could've sworn that you had expressed a preference for using modern means of transportation. Something about not wanting to draw unwanted attention, as I recall."
In the distance, Sesshoumaru could make out his apartment building a few miles away. In this life he had unknowingly chosen housing that was relatively close to Kagome; not that such was too unexpected considering he had been searching for her unconsciously. If he had been traveling in his Mazda Millennium it would have taken quite a bit longer to get within sight of his destination, but flying helped cut the travel time considerably.
"I have reconsidered in this instance. The people below us will merely see a cloud passing overhead. If anyone does manage to spot us, who are they going to tell? It would simply be an invitation to an insane asylum."
"I rather assumed that when you said you wanted to avoid attention you meant from the other youkai in the area."
"To a lesser extent yes, but mostly it was the prying eyes of the rest of the population I was concerned with."
In an afterthought he added "Damn, I forgot to bring back the customized sheathe holster I had Jaken commission."
"What?" Kagome asked. "Custom sheathe?"
"For my swords; simply speaking it's more practical to carry them on my back now, rather than on my waist."
As the tan shoe box shape of the Makoto apartment building came ever closer, Sesshoumaru began to scan the surroundings for a place to land discreetly. His apartment was on the 4th floor, and he couldn't just float to the balcony, romantic though it might be.
Although Kagome was presently incapable of knowing his thoughts as clearly as she had before, she nonetheless could feel how the attention of her lover's mind flowed. "Use the fire-escape. That is the least conspicuous route."
Sesshoumaru planted a light kiss on Kagome's cheek in silent appreciation.
Two sets of identical eyes watched as a lone white cloud came to a stop above an inauspicious apartment building. The cloud mysteriously and suddenly evaporated and a blur of something shot down toward the rooftop. A few moments later, and the fire escape had two figures descending down it. The two Wei's watched in silence while contemplating how to obtain the woman, Kagome. Undoubtedlythe den of Sesshoumaru is saturated with his jyaki and a clear trail will be laid to it. Making haste to the entrance of the building, the two pseudo twins ignored the curious looks they got as they barged in. For once, Wei felt gratitude towards the historical customs of the Japanese, which discouraged confrontation and inconvenient questions.
Sesshoumaru pulled out the jangling silver ring which contained his keys. Flipping it to the desired key, he shoved it in the lock and twisted. The air of his apartment, which always suggested the heavy use of hair care products, rushed out at him and Kagome.
Sesshoumaru felt a ripple of amusement roll over Kagome and sighed. She never seemed to get tired of making comments about his personal hygiene. "Not now Kagome, we aren't going to be here that long anyway."
Kagome pouted as she walked in, "If only I had the amount of time to dedicate to my hair that you do."
Sesshoumaru smirked slightly while closing the door behind him, running a hand through his silver mane, which now reached to only his upper back. "If you think I spend a lot of time on my hair now, you should consider what it must have been like the during the feudal ages. I can't tell you how glad I am that hair dryers were invented, along with shampoo and conditioner. Now, with the help of Vidal Sassoon, I am indisputably the finest Lord around."
"You're certainly the cockiest Lord around I think."
Sesshoumaru smiled, "What I said still holds true."
He slipped past Kagome and went to a sword case and two sheathe holsters on the wall. The design of the holsters represented a major change for Sesshoumaru in how he armed himself. In the feudal era his sword holster had always rested on his hip, but since his rebirth into the modern era, he decided to strap the sheaths to his back instead of imitating the samurai of old.
Taking down the holsters, he silently slipped one over each shoulder before turning his eyes to the sword case itself. Its contents were the stuff of legends: the Tensaiga, its brother sword the Tessaiga, and the Toukijin. Sesshoumaru reached out and removed the Toukijin and the Tensaiga from the case. I believed that in this life that I would no longer have to defend what is mine; but now with shadows of the future looming over us, I am forced to draw these once more.
As Sesshoumaru went about arranging his swords on his person, the Tensaiga on his right shoulder and the Toukijin on his left, he turned to face Kagome. "Would you mind, carrying the Tetsaiga in my backpack over there. I don't have a holster for it."
Kagome complied with his request, securing the Tetsaiga inside the bag, but had to ask, "Why don't you just carry it in the sheathe instead of the Toukijin. And why aren't you wearing the swords on your hip like you used to? I didn't realize you had become a ninja."
"First, the Toukijin doesn't undergo a transformation like the Tetsaiga does and so it would be too heavy for you to carry," And I'm hoping that its spell of protection will protect you just like it did in my father's tomb...
"Second, the Samurai style of sword carrying has sever drawbacks. While it is useful for single strike techniques, running with it is a pain, because the sheathe constantly slaps against your leg. In fact, just walking that way can be something of a hassle. Since I am not wearing my old armor anymore this is much more comfortable and permits greater freedom of movement."
Kagome opened her mouth to respond but a sharp rapping came from the door.
