Chapter 15

Otaku seikatsu: What would make you think that?

Italics= Flashback

Regular Text= Present Time

Kagome and Sesshomaru were sitting in their special place in the garden. Kagome looked like a sixteen year old and Sesshomaru looked like a twenty year old. The four lands were having their annual meeting. The adults were inside having their meeting. Everyone, in fact, was inside, leaving the garden to Kagome and Sesshomaru. They were sitting in silence, watching the sun set. The sky was a violet and orange color, orange clouds rolling across the sky. Birds flew across the darkening sky, looking for their homes to rest in for the night. Animals began to quiet down as they settled in their homes. Kagome sighed, a blissful look on her face.

"Don't you think sunsets are beautiful?" She asked Sesshomaru, looking to him. He nodded.

"They are most pleasant." He said. She giggled.

"Indeed. The sunset is very enjoyable." She mocked him. She laughed and he smiled at her.

"Are you mocking me?" He asked her, a twinkle in his eye. She gasped, feigning hurt.

"Why of course not Sesshomaru! I would never!" She exclaimed. "I'm hurt. Truly." She pretended to faint in his lap. Sesshomaru chuckled, looking down at the vixen in his lap. She laughed, opening her sparkling ocean eyes and looking into his honey colored eyes. They continued to stare into each other's eyes, before Kagome blushed, sitting up. She coughed into her hand, looking into the sunset once again.

"Anyway, although I truly enjoy the sight of sunsets, I prefer night time. I like looking at the shining stars and the glow the moon casts down on everything is beautiful." She said. Sesshomaru nodded.

"What time of day do you prefer?" She asked, looking to him. Sesshomaru looked at her. The sunset was casting a golden glow on her, making her seem to be glowing a golden light. A slight wind blew through the garden, pushing some of Kagome's hair in her face. Kagome was about to reach up to push it behind her ear when Sesshomaru stopped her.

"Huh?" She blushed, looking into Sesshomaru's eyes when he brushed her hair behind her ear for her. His hand swept down her cheek to rest on the back of her neck.

"I prefer the time of day that casts a light on you that makes you look much more beautiful than you are now, which is every time of day." He said softly. The blush deepened on Kagome's face. She began to slightly panic when Sesshomaru moved closer to her, but relaxed when his lips came into contact with her forehead. She smiled, sighing softly. He moved back, his hand dropping. She looked up at him with a confused face, but she didn't need to voice her question, as he already knew what it was.

"I specifically remember you saying that you wanted to save your first kiss for that special someone." He said, a barely noticeable smile on his face. Kagome looked at him in shock before giving him a bright smile that rivaled the glowing sunset.

"Right. I did say that." She said softly. "I'm glad you remembered."

Kagome suddenly woke from her sleep. She was feeling dizzy and everything hurt. She sat up groaning and was about to stretch to relax her muscles when a smooth voice stopped her.

"Be still demon." It was the voice of a female. Kagome stopped her motion immediately and opened her eyes. Her arms dropped to her sides when she saw a young woman with short gray hair and violet eyes wearing traditional miko clothing standing in front of her. There was a man standing beside her, his eyes narrowed slightly. The room was surrounded by other mikos that were obviously warriors as well. Unlike the woman standing in front of her who was unarmed, these mikos had their weapons pointed in her direction. Kagome began to panic slightly. She had just woken up in a strange place surrounded by mikos who could purify her.

She stood up suddenly, startling the people in the room. She stumbled back, but cried out when a stick was jabbed in her back, sending her back to the middle of the room. She dropped on her knees but quickly stood back up and began to look for a way out of the room, but any exit was blocked by a miko. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she pushed them down, trying to remain strong.

"P-please don't hurt me. I did not mean to disturb me. If you let me go, I will leave you alone forever." She said. She didn't know who she should be speaking to, but she didn't care. Whoever spoke up first was the leader, she would assume.

"Demon," A deep, smooth voice spoke up. She looked to the man with brown hair and green eyes who was looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"Y-yes?" She stuttered.

"Do you have intentions to destroy our village?" He asked, his voice hard.

"W-what!? N-no! I would never do such a thing!" Kagome shouted. She was quite offended. The man raised an eyebrow.

"And how do I know that you are not lying?" He asked her. He was about to advance towards her when an arm stopped him. He looked at the woman standing beside him.

"She is not lying." She said simply. He sighed, stepping back. She looked at Kagome and stepped forward. Kagome stepped back.

"I will not hurt you. I want to help you." She said. "My name is Akane. I am the keeper of this shrine. This is the head of the village, Akihiro." She introduced herself and the man standing beside her.

"You do not want to hurt me? You are a miko, and mikos purify demons, which I am." Kagome said, taking another step back. She stopped, remembering that she might get jabbed in the back with a stick again.

"But I will not hurt you. We only purify evil demons, and I can tell that you are no evil demon." She said, but Kagome didn't relax.

"I know that you have miko powers. I found you in the pond a few days ago and brought you back here to help you." She said. Kagome's eyes widened and everything that happened a few days ago came crashing back down onto her. She became weak and she dropped to her knees. Tears slipped down her cheek, and she curled in on herself.

Akane was about to step towards Kagome when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Don't." Akihiro said.

"We must show her that we mean her no harm, or else we could never get her to cooperate." She said. She walked away from him and dropped on one knee in front of Kagome and pulled her into her arms. Kagome stiffened.

"We will not hurt you, dear girl. I do not believe in purifying a demon on sight. There are good and bad demons, and I know you are not one. I presume that you have been through something horrible, and I sincerely want to help you. And maybe along the way, train you to control your miko powers." She said. Kagome sniffed, then pulled out of the woman's embrace.

"Really?" She asked. Akane nodded. Kagome smiled softly.

"I- I guess..." Kagome said, but then she sighed. "But I can't just up and leave my family and friends. My responsibilities and my duties." She said.

"May I ask, but where are you from? Who are you?" Akane asked her.

"Huh? Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Princess Kagome of the Southern Lands." She said. Everyone in the room gasped and Kagome looked around in confusion.

"So that is why you have miko powers. You are the first born daughter of the late southern queen, right? You inherited your mother's powers." Akihiro said. Kagome shook her head.

"No, I'm the second born. My sister Kikyo inherited our mother's powers." At the mention of Kikyo's name, Kagome's mood dropped again.

"So where did you get your powers?" Akihiro asked, stepping forward. Kagome shrugged.

"That is what we were all trying to figure out before... the incident..." Kagome looked down, tears gathering in her eyes once again. Akane looked up.

"Guards, you may leave. There is no danger here." The guards lowered their weapons and bowed before exiting the room, leaving Kagome, Akane, and Akihiro in the room. Akane grabbed Kagome's chin softly, pulling her head up to look at her.

"Kagome, tell us what happened, so that we may help you."