As the storm that had been threatening all day finally opened its maw and dumped freezing rain onto the city below, Sesshoumaru stared at the message on his phone for a solid minute and debated if his brother had some trick up his sleeve. Deciding the Miko's well-being weighed more than the annoyance of dealing with Inuyasha, he pressed the call button. His brother answered on the first ring. "What do you mean the Miko has not left her quarters in three days?"
Inuyasha sighed into the phone. "Exactly how it sounds. Your mom and Rin even sent her an invitation to join them for dinner the last two nights and she didn't show."
Why did she hide in her rooms? Confounded, Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are certain she is in her quarters?"
"Keh! I'm not stupid. I been keeping an eye on her. I can hear her heartbeat and I seen her sitting by the window a couple times. She's in there, alright!"
"Fine. I will deal with the situation." He moved to set the phone down but stopped when Inuyasha squawked in protest. "You have something else to discuss?"
"I'll make it quick ok. Just listen." Despite his words, he paused .
"What is it, Inuyasha?"
"I'm getting the words together, just hang on ok!" He took another moment then cleared his throat. "The Miko is like me when you and the old Lady first found me. I'd been alone for so long and taking care of myself that when you guys finally found me…" He trailed off and stared across the courtyard to the quiet, still house the Miko had not left in three days. "I never told you, but I slept on the floor for the first month and I always sicked up the food after we ate together 'cause it was too rich on my stomach."
"And? What are you suggesting?"
Inuyasha sighed. "She might not even know she's allowed to leave that room."
"I will take care of it," Sesshoumaru said after a moment and ended the call. He returned his attention to the latest report on the missing youkai, but his eyes drifted to the clock on the corner of his desk multiple times. If he left now, he could reach the estate in time for dinner.
He tried one more time to focus on the report, then cursed and reached for his keys as thunder cracked outside.
o.O.o
When Sesshoumaru knocked on her door and she didn't answer, he almost cursed his gullibility and left, but Inuyasha's words played like a broken record in his mind. So he knocked again and when she didn't answer this time, he opened the door anyway and stepped inside.
The rooms he had given her, beautifully designed in calming blues and off-whites with dahlia motifs, remained as stark and clean as the first day she'd arrived. He paused a few steps into the room and observed the dim glow of dusk pouring through the opened curtains. He'd have thought the room empty if her scent wasn't so strong. Sweeping his eyes across the room again, he noticed a stray tuft of hair peeking out from under the dust ruffles.
He took another step into the room. "Are you well, Miko?"
Her silence permeated the room for several minutes before she answered. "….Yes."
Rain continued to come down in sheets outside. By morning, the streets would be covered in ice and dirt slush. "Do you plan to remain under the bed for the entirety of this conversation?" he asked after a moment.
More silence before she answered again. "I don't know…"
A burst of thunder roared and shook the windowpanes. As he watched, that bunch of hair disappeared further under the bed. Seeing no hope for it, he stepped fully into the room and stopped next to the bed. "Perhaps you would like some company while you listen to the storm?"
She took so long to answer Sesshoumaru thought she would say no, but when her quiet acceptance, muffled by her hiding place, reached him he toed off his leather office shoes and knelt. With a grimace, he laid flat on his back and eased under the frame until he was spread out at the Miko's side. The bottom of the bedframe scraped against his shoulders and chest, snagging threads of his white shirt. "You appear better suited to hiding under beds than I do, Miko."
The Miko peeked her eyes for the first time since the opening crack of thunder rattled through the house and found her nose close enough to brush against his shoulder. Raising her eyes, she followed the pale cream of his shirt up to the warm gold of his gaze. "I've never had this before," she said quietly.
"A bed?"
"A place to hide."
Sesshoumaru did not dare break from her gaze even as rage tinged the corners of his eyes red. Not trusting himself, he shoved his hands into the stiff pockets of his trousers. "Given your small stature, beneath the bed seems as good a choice as any." Could she hear the fury in his voice?
She nodded. "Yes. It's very quiet under here, too."
"Dark and quiet," he mused, forcing a lightness into his words he did not feel. "Does the dressing room not meet those requirements as well? It is perhaps significantly easier for someone of my size to join you in such a place."
The Miko hesitated, then shrugged and dropped her eyes back down to his shoulder. "I didn't want to overstep and go somewhere I wasn't allowed to go."
Cursing the low height of the bed frame, Sesshoumaru removed a hand from a pocket and reached out to lay it over one of hers. He ignored the scrape of wood on top of his hand as it collided with the frame. "No room exists in this house in which you are unwelcome, Miko. If you are ever in doubt, you need only knock and ask permission to answer."
She looked at him and bit her lip. "What if no one answers?"
"Then the room is likely unoccupied, and you may enter."
"What if it's empty because the owner isn't there?"
"I am the owner of the house, Miko."
"You use all the rooms here?" she asked.
"No. But if the person who uses the room does not want you to enter, they can tell you another time."
"What if they're angry I went inside?"
"Then you will tell them to go to the devil," he answered.
Her eyes went wide. "No!" she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
He chuckled. "No, but you may apologize and ask forgiveness. Often that is enough to sooth a rational person."
She laughed and, though it rang with the high pitch of nerves, nodded once. "Could you show me the rooms occupied by others, so I know to be careful?"
"If you can bring yourself to leave the safety of the bed?" He peered over at her and removed his hand from her person.
The Miko hesitated and glanced at the swaying blue bed skirt. "Is the storm over?"
Sesshoumaru focused his hearing on the weather. Past the steady beat of her heart and the creaking groans of the house, only the occasional gust of wind and the soft patter of a dying rain reached his ears. "For now. Perhaps, as I show you more of the house, you would be amenable to examining hiding spaces more suitable for adults of our stature?"
She spared another worried glance at the bed skirt and listened to the room beyond it—but when no crack of thunder reached her ears, and no flash of lightning stained the beautiful, dark, hardwood white, she nodded once. "Alright."
o.O.o
The next morning, the Miko hesitated at the door to her rooms. Even with Sesshoumaru's promise that no space within the house stood barred to her, her hand trembled as she reached for the door handle. The lashings from daring to disobey might have healed years ago, but the memory of cowering in a corner after the fact had not.
No one will hurt me again. He promised. Wetting her lips, she loosed a long breath, grasped the handle, and eased open the door.
Nothing happened. The hallway, dimly lit by the first rays of dawn peeking through curtains, stood empty and still. Down the hall, the faint sound of humming teased at a memory she couldn't quite recall. She took the first step and hovered at the threshold, one foot in the room and the other in the hallway—then she moved on, one step at a time, as her heart galloped in her chest. She wiped her palms, damp with cold sweat, on the soft fabric of her leggings and made her way down the hall.
When she reached the room where the humming floated out of, she paused at the open doors. A red-haired maid stood on a ladder and wiped down the windows. Near the roaring fireplace, a little boy lay on his stomach and colored with crayons in a sketchbook. A piano sat in the far corner, the warm brown mahogany gleaming in the dawn sunrise. More instruments lined the wall behind it and another wall held shelves stacked with books.
"Are you the Miko?"
She jumped back a step out of instinct and looked down at the little boy. When had he abandoned his drawing? She'd never seen such a young youkai. Maybe that explained why she hadn't sensed his approach. Nodding once in answer to his question, the Miko took another step back as the maid turned on her ladder to watch them.
"You don't look like a monster," he said, and slapped his hands on his hips to smirk up at her. "You're not scary at all!"
"Shippou!" The maid finally climbed down and hurried over to them. Setting a hand on his head, she forced him into a bow. "Don't be rude. Say you're sorry for startling her, too!"
The Miko swallowed the knot at the base of her throat and raised her hands up. "No, it's alright! Please don't apologize on my account!"
"See mom! It's fine! Gosh!" Grinning, Shippou ducked out from under his mother's hand and reached for the Miko's. "Are you lost? I can help you find whatever you're looking for!"
The maid only smiled warmly at her. "Alright. Hurry back when you're finished, Shippou. We'll work on your homework after I finish this room."
His hand fit so neatly into hers that she couldn't help but to squeeze it gently in thanks—and even though she remembered where the breakfast room was, she let him lead the way. "I promised Sesshoumaru I'd eat in the breakfast room this morning. Can you take me there?"
"Sure! That's easy!" Swinging their hands back and forth, he led her out of the music room and down the hall. "I'm in third grade at school now and my friend's big brother said that there's no such thing as Miko! When we found out about you, mom said I had ta keep it a secret, but man I wanna see the look on his face if he knew you were real! He'd be so scared! I bet you'd glow all pretty and stuff, like blue or pink! That's what Fuiasu-sama says the miko used to do a long time ago! Do you know if you can transform and get big like a youkai? Some of the other kids said miko are scarier than youkai because of how they transform, but no one really knows 'cause it's been centuries since anyone saw a miko!"
Despite his choice of topic, Shippou's words forced a smile out of her on more than one occasion. Never before had anyone approached her with such innocent curiosity about her powers. "I do glow a little pink when I use them," she murmured as they turned another corner.
"That's so cool! I glow blue when I use my foxfire!" He grinned up at her and led them down another long hallway. "Wanna see? You could show me yours too!"
She smiled again, and this time it came easier even as her insides turned to jello at the thought of summoning her reiki in front of him. "Maybe another time, Shippou."
"That's okay! I'll hold you to it though!" Chuckling, he stopped finally in front of a set of ornate double doors. "Here's the breakfast room! Thanks for letting me walk you! I wanted to meet you so bad, but Mom said we should leave you alone!"
When he let go of her hand, she stared down at her own. Why did she feel so bereft all of a sudden? Reassuring herself that there would be more chances to interact with him, she shook off the odd disappointment and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Thank you for showing me the way. You can come talk to me any time you'd like. I wouldn't mind the company."
"Really? Wait till mom hears!" He turned and started down the hallway, then came racing back just as she turned to enter the breakfast room. "Hey, Miko! Can I ask you a question?"
Turning away from the door, she hesitated then crouched down to his level. "I guess that's fair, since you helped me this morning."
He glanced up and down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear then took a step closer and whispered, "Why do you have such sad eyes? Mom said Sesshoumaru-sama rescued you, but she didn't say from what. And I don't know why a powerful miko like you needs rescuing anyway."
A lump lodged itself in her throat at his question. Forcing herself to swallow it, she too looked up and down the hallway before answering. "I guess my eyes are sad because I haven't had anything to make me happy before. Sesshoumaru did rescue me, but I think you should ask him about that. I'm not sure it's my place to say."
Shippou stared at her for several long moments in silence as he contemplated her answer before he darted forward and wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug. "Well, you're safe now. I hope you can figure out how to be happy. I can help! We can go for walks every day and I can show you my kitsune tricks and we can play with Rin too!"
In all her memories, she could not recall one of ever being held like this. She froze under his touch, her arms held aloft as she hesitated. He smelled like freshly cut grass. His little arms held her tight, as sturdy as the young branches of a tree. Blinking back tears, she finally let herself return his affection, wrapping her arms loosely around him. "I would like that very much, Shippou."
He held on a moment longer before he let go and stepped back. He noticed the tears at the corners of her eyes, but they looked like what his mom did when she felt so happy she couldn't control it. So he didn't say anything about it. "Okay! I'll go tell mom and then we can figure out times after school, when I've finished my homework! I gotta go now though! Bye Miko!"
She watched him run off as warmth settled deep inside of her. He exuded an innocence and joy she'd never experienced before. Maybe she'd been robbed of it as a child, but that didn't mean she couldn't find it now. Standing up, she used her sleeves to wipe the faint trace of tears from her eyes before turning to the breakfast room.
This time, even if her fingers trembled on the door handle, she didn't hesitate to step through.
o.O.o
She needs more clothes, my dear. A woman can't go traipsing about in the same outfits every week—especially not a member of our pack.
The Miko replayed that conversation, from the breakfast room four days ago, in her head three more times as Sesshoumaru drove them into town in a sleek black SUV. She tangled her fingers together in her lap as his stony silence filled the vehicle. "I really don't need more clothes. You've already done so much for me." She noticed the muscle in his jaw clench out of the corner of her eye and bit her lip.
"When she has her mind set on a decision, arguing with mother is fruitless. We will follow her wishes on this occasion. I will speak to her later about interfering."
Despite the quiet tone of his words, the leashed violence of his grip on the steering will had her tangling her fingers even more together until her knuckles bled white. "Are you angry with me?" she whispered as she dropped her gaze to her lap.
For the first time, Sesshoumaru looked away from the road and noticed the hunch of her shoulders and the tension nearly vibrating off her as she fidgeted with her hands and bowed her head. The beast in him recognized submission and fear, but it didn't sit right with him in this moment. "I am angry with the situation, Miko. Not with you."
Daring to look up, she glanced first at him and then at his hands before she returned her attention to her lap. "Okay."
He followed her gaze to his fierce grip on the wheel. If he clutched it any tighter, no doubt his anger would dent the sturdy plastic. Loosing a long breath, he forcibly relaxed his muscles one by one until he all but lounged in his seat and casually draped his left arm against the door and window. "I apologize for scaring you."
"It's okay."
"It's not," he said, and carefully switched hands on the wheel so he could reach for her hands. Prying apart her fingers, he took one of her hands and held it in his. "I have promised not to harm you. That includes not scaring you. I swear, Miko, you will only every find safety in my hands, no matter what feeling I might be expressing in the moment." Once her knuckles no longer bled white and locked together, he smoothed her fingers out on her thigh. "Additionally, if I am ever angry with you, I will speak to you of it. You are not responsible for monitoring my emotions."
"It's a habit," she admitted, not taking her eyes off their hands.
"I am aware," he said dryly, and finally let go of her hands to return his to the wheel. "You will start therapy soon, and when you find a doctor that suits you, no doubt they will help you to unlearn such things."
"If that's what you think I should do," she murmured, and let out a long breath so she didn't twist her fingers together again.
Flicking on the right-hand blinker as they approached the mall, Sesshoumaru spared her a glance. "You do not have to do anything you do not wish to do, Miko. It is only what the doctor suggested, given the experiences you have survived."
"Can I think about it for a little bit, first?" she asked.
Her words quavered, but Sesshoumaru did not acknowledge that as he answered. "Of course. You are responsible for your choices now. I might make suggestions as alpha of our pack, but you are not obliged to follow them."
"Okay. Thank you, Sesshoumaru." Looking up finally, she offered him a tentative smile.
"You are welcome," he said as he reversed into a reserved parking spot. "Now, shall we purchase you a new wardrobe?"
She glanced nervously out at the parking garage and the bank of brightly lit windows off to the side. A man in a suit stood by the doors with his hands behind his back. "I don't know what I even like, or what suits me."
"The concierge will help with that in the shops." He watched her as she stared at the doorman. "Thirty minutes," he said when her shoulders started to lock up again. "If after thirty minutes you are still uncomfortable, we will take our leave."
Her gaze drifted gratefully to his and she nodded. "Okay. Thirty minutes. I can do it." Taking a deep breath, she unbuckled her seat belt, pushed open the door, and started towards the wall of windows.
o.O.o
When they entered the first shop, an attendant dressed in a dark blue suit skirt clasped her hands in front of her and bowed at the waist. "Good afternoon, Sesshoumaru-sama. My name is Mari. The President called and had the shop cleared for your visit."
When the attendant turned to her, the Miko flushed and started to return the bow but stopped when Sesshoumaru set a hand on her elbow and guided her past the woman. "What-
"My companion will examine the racks for anything that appeals. If she has need of you, we will call." Sesshoumaru barely spared her a glance as he led the Miko further into the shop. When they were out of hearing distance, he sighed and let go of her arm. "My mother's interference at work again. Perhaps she thought you might be more comfortable with less people."
She followed him to the center of the shop and stared. Racks and racks of clothes lined the spacious shop on all walls. A variety of tables sat at different points, each laid out with different kinds of trousers or sweaters in perfect lines. One whole wall at the back bore shelf after shelf of shoes, lined up neatly, straight as teeth. Racks throughout the store dangled with glittering jewelry. "I don't know where to start."
"Do any of the colors or fabrics catch your eye?"
Taking a second look, her gaze lingered on a swatch of dark green on one of the benches layered with sweaters. "The forest green is pretty…and the deep, ocean blue next to it, too."
Sesshoumaru spied the two sweaters and guided her over to the bench they lay on. "These?"
She nodded and reached out for the green one. Her fingers hovered over the fabric for a moment when she glanced up at the attendant waiting at the door, but when she didn't react, she picked up the green sweater. The fabric, soft as butter, slipped through her fingers easily. She rubbed it against her cheek instinctively. A little sigh slipped out as she relished in the luxury. "They mostly kept me in the miko hakama and haori," she murmured as she lowered the sweater and held it to her chest. "Sometimes the fabric felt so rough, my skin burned when it rubbed."
When she didn't continue, he picked up the blue sweater and held it out to her. "You wore nothing when I found you."
The blue cashmere sweater was just as soft as the green. Hugging both to her chest, she nodded once and dropped her eyes. "One of their punishments, when I tried to refuse their orders."
Despite the doctor's assurance, he needed to hear it from her. "Did they touch you, Miko?"
Blushing, she shook her head and reached out to rub the silk of a blouse between her fingers. "No. I heard them talking about it sometimes, but they worried it would…defile my abilities or anger the Kami."
He picked up the silk shirt she played with and held it out to her. If his eyes tinged pink as he struggled to control the rage on her behalf, she didn't notice as she focused on the clothing. "I am relieved their foolishness spared you from something so vile."
"Me too." Clearing her throat, she folded the shirts neatly over her arm and wandered to another table. Leggings sat in tidy stacks, each column a rainbow of jewel tones. She traced her fingers over the top of the crimson stack before adding it to the pile.
"I don't know their names. They were very careful." Picking a few more colors at random, she added those as well and kept her eyes resolutely focused on the clothing. "But I burned their faces into my memory. Every person who came into that room or hurt me. I can describe them to you, if that helps. Their scars, the shapes of their faces, their heights, their builds. I know all of it."
Sesshoumaru took the growing pile of clothing from her and passed it to the silent attendant. "If you are sure, you can work with a sketch artist to build composites. My techs can run those through facial recognition."
Stepping up to a rack of dresses, the Miko let her fingers dance mindlessly over the silks and satins. She traced her fingers over sequins and embroidery—and when the words finally weighed too much to carry any longer, she said, "There are other faces I remember, too."
"Undoubtedly. Today however, your task is to choose a new wardrobe." When she turned to him finally, he continued. "There will come a time when you will be asked to face the trials you have experienced—but that time is not today."
She loosed a long breath and looked up at him. "I promise I'll make it all right."
"I know, Miko."
o.O.o
Later that night, she sat curled up on a corner of a sofa in one of the various family rooms. Sesshoumaru lounged nearby in an armchair, flipping through a newspaper, as Inuyasha and Fuiasu bickered over what to watch. Her eyes drifted shut. It would be so easy to sleep now after the exhausting day of shopping, especially here in the warmth of the family room surrounded by people who wanted to help her.
"The Miko will fall asleep if you do not choose something to watch," Sesshoumaru drawled, not looking out from behind his newspaper as he flipped to the next page.
His comment startled her enough to spot two sets of golden eyes landing on her. "I don't mind," she said quickly.
"Let her pick it then," Inuyasha said and, snatching the remote away from Fuiasu, tossed the remote to her.
She darted up to catch it, her arms wrapping around it clumsily.
"You will suffer for that, dear Inuyasha," Fuiasu murmured as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "I will choose the most creative ways to make it so."
"Bring it on, old hag!" Grinning, he plopped down several seats away from her.
Staring from them to the remote to the television chattering quietly at the front of the room, she sank slowly back down into her seat.
"Simply press the up and down arrows to navigate the channels, my dear," Fuiasu said as she filed her nails.
Following her instructions, she flipped through channels slowly as she took in what happened on each one—and stopped when her face stared back at her from the screen. "What…"
Sesshoumaru took the remote from her and raised the volume.
"…spotted in the company of known defense contractor, Taisho Sesshoumaru, and our President, Taisho Fuiasu. Her name is Higurashi Kagome. Please treat with extreme caution. She recently escaped a high-security prison and is considered extremely dangerous. She is wanted for over a dozen murders in the greater Tokyo region."
o.O.o
Word Count – 4560
a/n – sorry for the delay on this one guys, it's been a rough few days emotionally. Anyway, hope you all can bear with this version of Kagome as she learns to become stronger and more confident. Keep in mind she's been imprisoned and abused most of her life. Hope you enjoy the cliffy. Also, please remember to follow my new Insta( shewritesexcerpts ) to see updates, WIPS, deleted scenes, and some original work as well. :D