Kagome slung her bag over her shoulder, kissed her mother and sped out the door. She was ready to go back and start this new journey with Sesshomaru. The wind blew slowly around her, kicking up leaves and dust in the summer air. She hadn't even made it halfway across the yard before she started sweating. Flocks of birds flew overhead, filling the afternoon air with their songs. She slowed down and stopped in the middle of the courtyard, taking in all that was offered to her. After a few moments, she continued her walk to the well house.
As she approached the newly refurbished building she noticed something was wrong. The wood that was brand new yesterday was pale and dry looking today. Even the air around the area was strange and she even found it hard to breathe the closer she got. What could have happened in a couple of hours? The well house wasn't like this when she went for lunch.
Kagome sat her bag down and walked up to the small building. She tried to pull the doors open but they were jammed shut. She stepped away after a few seconds, struggling to catch her breath. Whatever was happening had cut off all air from the immediate area of the well house.
She called over her shoulder. "Momma!"
Her mother, hearing her daughter's distraught call, rushed outside. "What's wrong dear?"
Kagome held out her hand, hoping to keep her mother far enough away from the well house. "The doors have been sealed shut, can you go grab my bow and arrows? I might be able to shoot them open."
Without hesitation, her mother ran to one of the nearby storage sheds. While waiting for her mother she took a deep breath and approached the building again. She needed to get rid of the seal and check the well, there was no way she was going to be stuck here. Not again.
Kagome pressed her palms to the door and summoned her spiritual powers. The pink aura around her hands burned the doors but only slightly weakened the seal. She focused her eyes and she was able to see a dark grey barrier fighting to reconnect under her hands. The second she backed away, the barrier stitched itself back together again.
Kagome backed up until she was able to breathe again and crossed her arms. Her mother returned with her bow and a few arrows.
"Honey, I'm going to go stand over there. You're more adapted to this stuff than I am. Let me know if I can get you anything…"
Kagome nodded, taking the bow and slinging the quiver over her shoulder. She took another breath and stepped forward. With every minute that passed, the color of the well got lighter and lighter. Whatever was happening was happening fast and she needed to be faster.
She knew there was no point in shooting the doors, that much was obvious from how the barrier reacted to her powers. Kagome pulled an arrow out of the quiver and wrapped her hand around the metal tip. She prayed for a few seconds and unfurled her fingers, exposing a white-pink tipped arrow. Kagome placed a steady hand on the door and drew back with the other, using all her strength to jam the arrow in the crack between the doors. A pink light erupted around her and the doors flew open with an alarming crack. Splinters shot out as one of the doors collapsed in on itself. Kagome picked the arrow up and stuck it in the doorway, preventing to barrier from shutting her in as it struggled to cover the entryway.
She turned her attention to the inside. It was dark, way too dark seeing as the sun was shining directly at the building. The air was extremely thin here, making her retreat to catch her breath. After a few minutes, Kagome returned, enveloping her hand in her pink aura as she crossed the threshold.
At the bottom of the steps was the well. It was pitch black like someone vacuumed sealed a trash bag over it. She placed her hands on the rim of the well and tried to will the barrier away but it only reformed after she removed her hands.
Kagome sprinted back out to meet her mother. "I need you to go and get some sutras, the really old ones that grandpa keeps in the shed."
Her mother nodded and left Kagome again. The girl turned around and nearly cried out. The wood of the well house was becoming transparent now, it was slowly disappearing before her eyes. She sat down on the ground and pulled the arrows from her quiver. She needed to act fast.
Kagome thought back to all the barriers she had encountered over the years, none seemed to match this one. Breaking this barrier wouldn't be easy. She thought to Sesshomaru, was he on the other side? Was he experiencing the same thing in the past?
Her mother returned with an old dusty box and handed it over to her daughter. She had only seen this box a few times as a child. Kagome opened it, revealing four incredibly old sutras from the feudal era. They glowed with spiritual power and their aura pulsed in tune with Kagome's. She removed them from the box and laid them on the ground with her arrows.
"Four chances. Four chances at breaking this thing." Her mind was working overtime, trying to figure out the best way to shatter the barrier with only four arrows. She prayed over each arrow, causing the metal tips to glow. Kagome wrapped each arrow in a sutra, leaving the tip exposed. She hoped that the old power of the sutras would back up her own power when activated.
Kagome stood, slipping all but one arrow in the quiver and placed it on her shoulder. She walked into the well house and nocked the arrow. She focused all of her energy on the tip of the arrow and shot at the well. The whole place lit up in blinding light, making her recoil. Through squinted eyes she could see the barrier rip apart, making the arrow shudder as it fought against the combined spiritual powers. She rubbed the base wood beside the shaft of the arrow. She needed to find a weak spot.
Kagome leaned over the side, the light filtered down and revealed the fading barrier at the bottom. She climbed on the rim and stood with an arrow nocked. She released her held breath as she focused. There was a faint light, a point of power in the bottom of the well. She thanked the recovery of this skill, momentarily thinking back to Magatsuhi and his seal on her body. She released the arrow, sending it into the depths of the well but it never made contact with the bottom. She hoped no one was standing right above the well on the other side. The barrier pulsed under her feet, sending her forward.
She hit the dirt with enough force to knock the remaining breath from her body. She groaned as she struggled to breathe in the extremely thin air. She sat up, pulling a blessed arrow from its quiver and shoving it in the ground. The thin barrier was repelled back, revealing trees on the other side. The arrow quickly dissolved, making her panic. Her lungs felt tight from the lack of air, she had to hurry.
Kagome removed the last two arrows and peeled off the sutras. She shoved the bare arrows into the ground by her knees, pushing the barrier away. She prayed that Sesshomaru was there waiting for her. She quickly wrapped the sutras around her hands and yelled through the hole in the barrier.
"My Lord!"
She wheezed, trying to breathe what little air she could through the hole. Within seconds he was there, his voice echoing through the passage.
"Kagome."
His aura filtered through the well and surrounded her, giving her much needed strength. "I need you to focus all of your demonic power on me, right in the center of the well." She leaned up, hovering her hands over the two arrows. Sesshomaru's purple aura surrounded her tenfold.
"Are you ready, My Lord?"
"Yes."
She knocked the arrows aside and slammed her fists into the ground. The force of the power around her fists was so great, the ground warped and bent, fracturing underneath her. The sound of glass shattering echoed around her as the barrier broke, sending her through the dark abyss of time. Two hands reached through the void and grabbed her wrists, pulling with such force her shoulder popped. She gasped for air as she materialized on the other side. Sesshomaru had a death grip on her wrists, there was no way he was letting her go.
"Kagome, you are never going back. You will stay with me." He whispered quietly into her hair as he brought her close to him. She let his aura completely consume her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She gasped as he squeezed her, trying to bring her as close to him as possible.
"My Lord… are you okay?"
She felt him take a deep breath. "I've become undone. Give me a moment…"
"…Yes, My Lord."
After a few moments, he jumped out of the well with her in his hold. They were met with a bewildered Inuyasha and an uncaring Kikyo.
Inuyasha stepped forward. "Sesshomaru, who was that woman?" He squeezed Kagome's shoulder, making her look up.
"Inukimi. She will be a problem." It dawned on her, the power she felt coming off of the barrier, it was exactly like the demoness from a few days ago. Sesshomaru looked at Kikyo, he despised how calm she was. She would also be a problem.
"Kagome, where are your things?"
She gave him a panicked look. "My bag… it's on the other side."
He let her go and looked at Inuyasha. "Go get her bag." The hanyou stomped his foot.
"I will not! You don't command me."
"Please… Inuyasha." Kagome whispered just high enough for the two demons to hear her. She knew that if she asked he would do it, no questions. He looked over his shoulder at Kikyo, but she was already walking away. He lowered his ears and jumped down the well. While he was gone Sesshomaru examined her hands. The paper sutras were stained with her blood and her hands were bruised and cut.
He peeled the paper away, not caring that they were burning his fingers. He turned her hands over and looked at every cut.
"Two of your fingers are broken."
She sighed, grateful the pain hadn't reached through her adrenaline yet. "I figured. I may have overdone it when I broke the barrier."
"We will get you proper medical treatment in the next village."
She nodded, about to lay her head on his chest when Inuyasha appeared behind them. He tossed the bag at their feet and turned away, following his wife through the woods.
Kagome picked up her bag and clung to Sesshomaru as they ascended through the trees.
The twosome headed westward, towards Sesshomaru's homeland. She was worried about Inukimi and he was worried about Kikyo. She seemed to silently enjoy the idea that someone was targeting Kagome. The dead woman was going to be a problem for sure.
But no matter what, he would protect Kagome.
The castle servants had gone quiet, hoping to escape their Lady's wrath. Inukimi was wandering around the grounds, cursing Kagome's name with every other word she whispered. Four days ago, she placed a barrier on the Bone Eater's Well, hoping to block Kagome's passage from her world to theirs. She used a barrier her husband had taught her during one of the great wars. It was meant to be a protective barrier that could only be broken from the inside or by the caster. He used it to protect his family when he was on the battlefield.
When struck from the outside, the barrier would get stronger and stronger. She mixed in her own borrowed power from the Meido. This added power was supposed to slowly suck the well and its portal into the netherworld. She knew if it hadn't of been for Inuyasha's dead mate, Sesshomaru would have tried to use force to break the barrier, making it stronger, thus throwing the well into the netherworld quicker. Inukimi had not foreseen someone who still knew of Taisho's secret barrier. She would have to be wary of the dead priestess.
She left her thoughts to gaze upon a crater in her garden. In the center was a blessed arrow with a very powerful sutra wrapped around it. Inukimi had narrowly dodged the arrow as it shot through the in-between worlds and landed in her garden.
"Kagome will be a formidable foe. She broke my barrier and used the meido as a transportation portal for her cursed arrow."
She frowned at the servants who attempted to dislodge the arrow. They were vaporized immediately, the poor creatures.
She needed a new plan, one that would involve the death of Kagome. There was no toying with this woman. She turned her back on the crater and made her way inside the castle. Inukimi would need a pawn if she were to get close to Kagome, someone who wanted the woman gone. She remembered her son saying something about how Inuyasha didn't want her anymore and that he was involved with the dead priestess. Surely Kikyo had a grudge against Kagome considering the hanyou once loved her too.
She smiled, squeezing the meido around her neck. She had her pawn.
Kagome woke to the smell pine and a crackling fire. She smiled at the warmth of her blankets and turned over. She listened, trying to remember where she was. Kagome could hear people talking and the sound of carts rolling by. She heard children laughing and playing around the building she was in. That's right, she was in a village with Sesshomaru. They had been traveling for about a day when she asked to stop in a village they flew over. He agreed and rather aggressively got two rooms for them to stay in. She took note that he was not one to pay for any services that should be "given" to him.
The two had stayed up late eating and talking. He surprised her by cooking a meal for her, telling her of how he had to learn for Rin's sake. When she finally retired to bed, he took his leave, saying something about a feeding and disappeared into the darkness.
She rolled back over and sat up, wincing at the pain that rippled throughout her body. She was incredibly sore, one injury on top of the other was not good for her. She flexed her bandaged hands and sighed at the two stiff fingers on her right hand. Sesshomaru made her soak them in hot water and stressed that she relax them. Kagome thought back to last night and sighed. He had relocated both of them for her and she fought hard not to scream. The two spent the better part of the evening cleaning her wounds and bandaging everything.
She sighed and looked around the room and noticed a small parcel beside the door. Had Sesshomaru left her a gift? Kagome crawled over on her hands and knees to see what it was. She sat on her knees and took the parcel, examining it. There was no note or letter saying who it was from.
"Oh well, I guess I should open it, it was in my room, so it must be for me." She got up from the floor and walked back over to her bedding, opening the package slowly. A gasp escaped her as silky fabric fell around her feet, he had bought her a kimono. A rather nice Kimono. It was two-layered with a light blue nagajuban and a darker blue kimono. The obi was pale pink with butterflies on it. She walked behind the changing blind and wasted no time getting undressed.
Kagome slowly slipped the nagajuban over her body and tied it in place then slipped the kimono around herself. Even with two layers, the fabric was light and didn't make her sweat, which was surprising considering how hot it was. She took the obi in her hands and had an internal panic as she unfolded it. There was no way she could properly tie it by herself.
As if summoned by her panic, Sesshomaru appeared behind the blind.
"Kagome, we will depart soon."
She didn't know if she could ask him for help or if she should ask him to get the innkeeper's wife.
"Kagome."
She could feel a blush coming to her cheeks. "My Lord… we cannot depart, I um… have a problem." She did not know how to ask anything of him, even after all of this, he was still a demon lord. And there were things you had to follow when addressing a lord.
"What is the problem?"
She sucked in a breath. "I cannot tie my obi…"
He looked around the blinds at her, she was so embarrassed. He stepped around and stood in front of her. Kagome inhaled him, letting his scent overtake her. She gazed at him, he only wore a green kimono. His normal clothes and armor must be in his room. It was so strange to see him like this, so off guard.
He casually pulled the obi from her hands and slipped it around her waist.
"Turn around, I will do it." She slowly turned around and he went to work. Sesshomaru tied it around her, tucking and pulling at the obi. He slipped two fingers between the sash and her back, making sure it wasn't too loose or too tight. After he was done, he lingered near her.
"Kagome, do you really wish to travel with me?" His voice had a hint of sadness in it, did he doubt her?
"My Lord, of course, I wish to go with you. If I didn't, I'd be in the village trying to get through to Inuyasha or back home being miserable." She could feel his breath on her neck. It was like a sky breeze flowing through flowers in a meadow. Goosebumps crossed her body as she reached put to him with her aura, mixing pure with impure. It had become a little easier to connect with him like this and she smiled as they mixed together.
He turned her around by the shoulders and cupped her face with his hand. He admired her features. She had a slender face and deep brown eyes reflected his own. He craved her, but why? What was so important about this human that made him feel this way? He had never sought the company of a female companion. It's not that he didn't want it, he was a man after all, just not with a human.
Her cheeks warmed under his palm and she turned a dark shade of pink as he watched her. Sesshomaru shifted his weight, making her lean against the wall and rested his other hand on her waist. She was both relaxed and tensed in his shadow.
"Lord… Sesshomaru."
She slowly closed her eyes and leaned up to him. This woman made his heart skip, the feeling he got from her aura was too great. He leaned in and let their lips touch. Kagome melted against him, his kiss making her legs grow weak. The way he tasted and the way he smelled was perfect. He placed his other hand on her waist as she reached up to cup his cheeks. They pressed close to one another, deepening their kiss, only separating to let her take small breaths. They kissed a little quicker, taking each other in. Sesshomaru pulled back and looked at her. She was red-faced and her breathing was almost a pant.
No words could explain the feeling in his chest right now, it was a feeling he had never felt before in his life. He needed Kagome, she was what he needed to complete him. He gently lifted her up and kissed her again, pressing her against the wall. She was taken by surprise but she had no time to fully react.
He started kissing her neck and clinging to her thighs. She interlaced her fingers in his hair and pressed his head to her.
"My Lord…"
He wasn't stopping. He kept kissing her and pressing her against the wall. Her heart was racing and her breathing was unsteady. This was not a feeling she was familiar with. He parted the collar of her kimono and kissed her collarbone.
"Oh no…"
She was panicking, she wasn't ready for this.
"My Lord stop."
He didn't. Kagome cut her aura away and started to push him.
"My Lord… please…" She whispered as a tear-stained her cheek. The smell of her tears brought him to his senses and he stopped and looked at her. He slowly kneeled on the ground and let her lean against the wall.
"Kagome, Kagome forgive me." She covered her face, it was still red and she struggled to hide her tears.
Sesshomaru felt like he had broken her, he had done something she wasn't ready for. His feeling of pleasure had quickly turned to guilt.
"Kagome." He placed his hand on her head and she leaned into it. Relief passed over him, she didn't push him away. Kagome looked up at him.
"I'm not ready for that My Lord..." She slowly leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her gently, for if he held too tight she would crumble. She kissed his cheek and rested against him. He worked her up and laughed to himself. He had a lot to learn about her and what he needed to do and how to properly treat her.
He and Kagome sat there for a while into the midmorning, holding each other. She fit perfectly against him. Sesshomaru knew he was falling for this girl. This human priestess was holding his icy heart in his hands and was slowly warming it up. It was something he could get used to.
If you enjoy this story, consider buying me a coffee! Just go to Ko-fi. com and search for ScreamingBanchie!
