When she could no longer sense his aura, she realized he had vanished without another word to her, not even a goodbye. Kagome was left feeling dirty and used. She stayed under that tree long after night fell hugging her legs to her chest. That was how Masaru found her.
The young lieutenant had approached the priestess slowly like she was a wounded animal. Any sudden movement might scare her off.
With gentle words and light touches he was able to coax the small woman back home. Masaru watched as she stepped inside and slid the shoji doors shut, she didn't speak the entire walk back. The young guardian did not know what transpired between the priestess and his lord, but going back to the brook might give him some clues.
Back at the tree the priestess had been sitting under, Masaru took in a deep inhale. A variety of strong scents assaulted his nose, nearly making him sneeze. Two smells stood out to him, a male's arousal and a female's fear. The lieutenant surveyed the rest of the area and saw a basket full of dirty dishes left by the water. The priestess had been cleaning them when his lord had arrived to say his farewell. But something still felt off about the whole situation.
A look of deep concentration marred his face as he stretched out his own aura. The soft caress of pure feminine reiki found him first, obviously belonging to the priestess. Then the suffocating menacing aura that undoubtably was Lord Sesshoumaru's encircled him. Masaru had felt the full force of his lord's power before, but this time it felt…off. Probing the air a bit more with his demonic aura he nearly fell over when a deafening roar pierced through his mind. Lord Sesshoumaru's beast had been there. The presence of the hell hound must have caused the priestess distress, she was human after all and ignorant to dog demon instincts. The lieutenant theorized that the beast needed to scent mark the female before leaving knowing another unmated male would be near her in his absence.
Looking back over to the forgotten dishware, Masaru finished washing them and delivered the now clean basket full of porcelain outside the small hut.
Four months had come and gone since the demon lord departed. It had taken weeks for the atrocious hickey Sesshoumaru left to fade, even longer for the bite mark to heal, much to Kagome's annoyance. The dull ache it felt behind had been an unpleasant reminder of their last encounter. Feelings of unease and dread had slowly turned into anger the more she thought back to that day. Did the dog demon think he had the right to paw at her just because accepted his stupid gifts? If that had been the case Kagome would have burned them all or thrown everything into the river. Maybe the silks, wine, and rugs could join her lost teacup in its new home.
Then there was that fucking mokomoko Sesshoumaru left with Rin. Every night the young girl slept peacefully in a giant white cocoon of fur. The priestess hadn't been able to sleep for weeks without waking up to find one of her hands clutching part of the pelt and her face buried in it. Its soft feel and wintery musk would drift deep into her dreams. At first it started off as nightmares with bloodthirsty eyes stalking her in the woods. Now she would wake up in a cold sweat and a yearning between her thighs. To avoid unwanted wet dreams Kagome now slept in the sitting room. She was back to having the same boring dreams filled with a loud half-demon slurping ramen and a monk getting slapped.
The transition had been hard for Rin at first, but she soon found an outlet for all her heartache in the form of letter writing.
Lord Sesshoumaru's first letter arrived three weeks after his goodbye. It came with Ah-Un when they brought parcels of dried meats and fermented vegetables. The missive had been addressed to Rin and she had been on cloud nine. Its contents were simple and to the point informing her of his safe arrival in the east, even in writing Lord Sesshoumaru was a demon of few words.
After that day Rin had been inspired and every month since would send her lord updates via his two headed dragon. The young girl referred to them as brief correspondents, Kagome called them short novels. No detail was left out, not even the time the priestess tripped over a rabbit hole and fell face first into a puddle of mud.
Lieutenant Masaru had spent his first few months keeping to himself while watching over the females. His days consisted of morning patrols, observing the girls as they went about their activities, avoiding the priestess's requests to join them for tea, more patrols, hunting for his own meals, and at night he would try to sleep in a cave that had its own natural nightlight. Things had been going smoothly so far at his new posting.
Summer had come and gone, and late autumn had set in. Ah-Un had flown back in with more supplies for the females to prepare them for the cold winter. What Masaru hadn't expected was to receive a letter addressed to him from his lordship.