Chapter 7

Sesshomaru was completely silent on the journey back to the castle. Though he would never admit it, he had been thinking about the previous night's battle – or lack thereof – ever since the miko had fallen asleep.

The demon lord's face remained stoic, but internally he was struggling. He was annoyed at his tardiness, that the woman under his protection was attacked, but he was also pleased that she had successfully defended herself and scared off what appeared to be a large group of attackers. He supposed she was fairly used to such sudden battles; she had not seemed particularly upset after the fact and fell asleep soon after. He regretted not going after the other fleeing members of the group, however. All these complicated thoughts and feelings left him unsure how to regard the miko seated calmly upon Ah-Un.

While he had fought with Inuyasha's group (and against them) on a number of occasions, it occurred to Sesshomaru that he had never dealt with the miko for more than brief moments at a time. This was the miko that had purified the Shikon no Tama, however, so surely her power must be quite great if yet still unrefined.

Sesshomaru found himself recalling some of the earliest advice he had received from his departed father.

You can never know the true mettle of a man unless you engage him in battle.

Had this advice not been true of his own half-brother? For though he had truly despised Inuyasha for most of his youth, it was through battle that he had seen his half-brother's particular brand of strength, honor, and valor. It was courser than his own, but not without its own merits. Perhaps the only way to satisfy his curiosity was to engage in battle with the woman directly. Maybe then he would understand her and why her presence unsettled him so.

Upon returning to the castle, Kagome immediately said her thanks to Sesshomaru before gathering her things and returning to her room. It was already late in the day, and there was a lot to do before the evening meal.

First, Kagome tossed her things in her own room, promising to clean them up when she came back that evening. Then she put the children's new clothes in their respective dressers. Satisfied with these tasks checked off, she stepped outside to gauge the time.

From the walkway, Kagome could still see the sun on the horizon. The evening meal would be soon, but she probably had enough time to prepare for tomorrow if she was quick about it. Nodding to herself, the miko hurriedly made her way upstairs and to the work area.

While her brief trip outside the castle walls had been a short but refreshing break from her regular schedule, and she was now ready to get back to work. Her happy thoughts of lesson planning were halted, however, when she noticed the mess of papers and colors scattered on the floor.

"It seems a lesson on tidying up is in order," the miko grumbled to herself as she set about collecting some of the miscellaneous papers on the floor. She sat at the little table that served as a writing desk for both her and the children intending to organize and hopefully reuse some of the less colorful scraps when something on the table caught her eye. She looked down in confusion at the little characters written in unsteady lead.

"Sesshomaru," she read softly to herself.

A bemused smile crossed her features as she carefully took the paper and shuffled it under some of the other documents she had collected from the children. It would do no harm to keep it unless a certain demon lord found it. Therefore, it would become part of her private collection, far away from prying eyes.

"Let me get this straight: You want to fight me?"

"That is what this Sesshomaru proposed."

Kagome looked at him incredulously. Was he nuts?

The day after her return had started much like any other, with the mikos in one hall and the demons in the other. The children had finished their morning training and were already tearing down the halls in search of breakfast when the daiyoukai entered the dojo where the miko was cleaning up. The two girls had been working on archery this day, both having a preference for the more athletic activities associated with the miko.

Kagome briefly considered his proposal. While shooting at a moving target was by all measures more challenging and stimulating, Kagome was sure that trying to fire at the demon lord was closer to suicide than sparing.

"Um… you realize that you're gonna kill me, right? Like, this isn't even a fair fight."

"Do you have so little faith in your abilities, miko?"

"No," she mumbled with embarrassment, "I just have more faith in yours."

Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he should be pleased that she recognized his strength or annoyed that she thought he would kill her for sport.

"It is possible to spar without actually trying to kill the one you are fighting."

"Is that how you learned to fight?"

Sesshomaru thought back to when he was young, to when he had sparred with his father on these very mats.

"My father showed restraint, this Sesshomaru did not."

Kagome wanted to ask more, but something in his tone made her decide against it. She was enjoying this banter. It was the most fun she had had in days.

"I still think this is a bad idea. What if I purify you?"

"A moment ago you were sure it was I who would kill you."

Kagome glared at him pointedly. She threw her hands up the air and walked to the other end of the dojo, straightening the bows carefully. "Fine," she huffed in exasperation. "But if one of us dies, it's your fault."

"Tomorrow, then," replied the demon lord, stepping out of the room before she had a chance to change her mind.

Breakfast passed in much the same way it always did. The children chattered amongst themselves, and the adults did not. Kagome didn't mind today, however. Breakfast had been especially good, as the seasonal fall vegetables were at their peak freshness. It was accompanied by warm barely tea, another of the miko's favorites. A happy, full stomach and Sesshomaru's earlier sparring proposal were enough to occupy the young priestess' mind for the moment. However, that peace was not to last.

"Kagome?"

"Hm?" replied the priestess, drinking her warm tea with appreciative slowness. Sesshomaru did not skimp. Hot tea on a cool autumn morning was a luxury she felt she could get used to. Much better than the juice boxes or vending machine hot chocolates from her time that were overly sweet and seemed to become ice cold in a matter of minutes. She savored each sip of her beverage in pure, unadulterated bliss.

"Where do babies come from?"

Kagome immediately spit out her drink and coughed violently. She dared a look at Sesshomaru and saw that his eyes were large, round and almost fearful. He quickly schooled his emotions, however, and excused himself from the table, avoiding any possible deflection of this question to him.

"Jerk…" Kagome mumbled to herself. Shaking her head and putting down her mostly empty cup, Kagome led the children to their schoolroom promising to answer the question when they got there. She was unaware that the Lord of the West was following and intently listening (despite his better judgement) to the conversation.

Kagome pulled out a children's science book and flipped to the section about anatomy and pointed the female figure. "You both know where babies grow, right?"

"In the stomach!" proclaimed Shippo proudly, clearly remembering Sango's pregnancies. He pointed at the woman's stomach with the tip of his clawed finger.

"Sorta… It's actually a little below the stomach… here," Kagome corrected, pointing to a diagram of the uterus. This was really not how she saw her morning going.

"But how does the baby get there?" Rin asked, looking back and forth between her stomach and Kagome's.

"Well… when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…" Kagome began, not sure how much of an explanation was appropriate.

If Sesshomaru could facepalm, he would have at this point.

"Can everyone have babies?" asked Shippo, interrupting Rin's question. He knew that only women could do it, of course, but to what extent was a bit of a mystery to the young demon.

"Some people have difficulty having a baby, if that's what you mean. Sometimes the mommy or the daddy has some problem that prevents them from having children."

"What about cats and dogs?" Rin ventured, clearly with a specific idea in mind.

Shaking her head to focus her thoughts, Kagome tried to come up with a good answer. "Regular cats and dogs cannot, although I don't know about beings with those qualities," she admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Yes, indeed, priestess," Sesshomaru thought to himself. "What do you mean?"

"Usually, different species – that's different types of animals – can't have babies together."

"But demons and humans can," Shippo replied astutely.

"Yes, well–" Kagome stopped suddenly, her mind working very quickly. It was true, if they were completely different species, demons and humans shouldn't be able to produce offspring at all. Of course, there were some exceptions, but…

"That's all the time we have for questions today, kids. Let's go play outside!"

Kagome walked down the corridor to her room, pulling the happi coat around her shoulders a little tighter. The evening air was quickly becoming cold; she could almost see her breath coming out in little puffs.

Looking out onto the courtyard below, Kagome was surprised to see Sesshomaru standing near the railing that looked out over his lands. She wondered briefly if he intended to go somewhere, but even her human eyes could see he was not wearing his customary armor. Deciding that it was too early to retire for the night, she backtracked to the stairs and descended to the brazier-lit courtyard below.

Sesshomaru was lost in thought. The latest correspondence from his spies suggested that their enemies were changing tactics. The outright battles of the previous years were becoming fewer and farer between, mostly resulting in the occasional skirmish when the opposing armies happened to be in the same area. But what were they planning? It was impossible to imagine.

Absorbed as he was, Sesshomaru did not notice the approaching miko until she was almost upon him. He stiffened and turned suddenly, causing her to take a step back in surprise. They stood that way – frozen – for a moment, neither sure how to break the spell.

Kagome wondered if he was upset; the demon lord's eyes looked cold and hard. She took a step back, apologizing, but as soon as she turned around his voice stopped her.

"Wait."

Kagome hesitated.

Sesshomaru had not missed her look of disappointment and apprehension. As much as his thoughts troubled him, it would not do to give the miko the wrong impression as to the direction of his thoughts.

He continued, hoping his words would ease her.

"I have received word that the enemy of these lands is no longer trying to directly engage with my forces. There are small battles here and there that appear to be a matter of coincidently being in the same place, but this Sesshomaru does not believe in coincidence."

Kagome frowned, carefully considering his words. She advanced to his side, looking out over the trees bathed in moonlight before them.

"You think they are purposely avoiding conflict and only engaging in small fights to keep your attention away from something else."

The demon lord nodded, pleased that she understood his thought process.

"I have not seen these battles myself. I only receive word from my commanders after the fact. It is difficult to determine the enemy's motives from these correspondences."

"The… enemy," Kagome began hesitantly, "are they human?"

Sesshomaru looked down at her from the corner of his eye, but she did not meet his gaze. In fact, her expression was unusually blank.

"Yes," he replied after a brief pause. "Does that bother you?"

Kagome turned to look at him this time. "No, I was just thinking…"

Sesshomaru frowned. Kagome had suddenly become quite tense and her heartrate had picked up as a series of unreadable emotions passed over her face. While her face was turned in his direction, she seemed to be looking at something much farther away, eyes wide and unfocused. "Miko," the demon lord began, but she didn't seem to hear him. He tried again, "Kagome."

Her blue-grey orbs suddenly clashed with his own, and he saw fear within them.

"Please," she started, her sudden fear making it difficult to breathe. "Please excuse me."

But before the demon lord could dismiss her, she was already running up the stairs of the castle.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. She knew something, but he could not imagine what she would know about these conflicts. He followed her scent up the stairs and into the classroom where she was reaching into a back corner of one of the shelves she used for teaching. She pulled out two volumes of neatly bound paper. He was shocked and embarrassed to find that he did not understand the writing on either of them.

Kagome had noticed the demon lord's presence, but her current search would demand more of her concentration than she had for him at the moment. She sat up on her knees bent over the low table in the library, a lone candle that she had grabbed from the hallways on her way up illuminating the space and casting eerie shadows about the room. Before her were two books she had considered not even bringing with her for fear what the knowledge in them might lead to: a Japanese history book and a world history book.

Kagome had eventually decided that knowing what would happen might be useful, but if that information got into the wrong hands it could be catastrophic. Therefore, she opted for English books. While English was certainly not her strongest subject, she knew enough to find what she was looking for. It was not good news.

Kagome sat back in proper seiza and looked up at the demon lord who was regarding her carefully. She knew that he knew she had found something. But how much she should tell him was another matter. On the other hand, she may have just found one of the reasons demons did not really exist in the future. Did she not have a duty to protect life if she could?

She looked down at her hands, still unsure and tense with fear. What would happen to Shippo? To Inuyasha? To Sesshomaru? If she did not share what she knew…

"Kagome?" the demon lord asked again, almost softly. Her complete change in character was tugging at his instincts. There was something terribly wrong, he could tell, and her silence and continued agitation only made him more wary as well. He knelt beside her giving the bound scrolls another cursory glance. The symbols on the strangely glossy paper meant nothing to him, and the pictures were also a mystery, though impressively detailed. There seemed to be a metal device and the map of an island. What could these pictures mean to cause such a reaction in the young woman beside him.

He placed his one clawed hand under her chin and lifted her face to meet his gaze. She did look at him this time, but the mix of sorrow and fear left a cold feeling in his stomach. Seeing that she would not refuse to meet his gaze again, the demon lord removed his hand from her face and set it on her wrist.

"Tell me what is wrong."

Even though it was said as a command, Kagome was sure she had never heard him talk so gently to someone before. The thought that he was concerned about her, or at least what she knew, made something flipflop in her stomach. Her eyes burnt a little with as tears gathered, the weight of the knowledge heavy on her heart.

"I… I'm not sure if I'm right…" she began hesitantly. "But I think you should send your army or spies or whatever to the south."

"South?" the demon lord repeated, more than a little surprised.

Kagome nodded and closed the books before her, not wanting to look at the offending text any longer. "I can't tell you everything, but please just trust me."

"Alright," he replied, standing immediately. "I will instruct my spies to move south." He moved toward his study to make and dispatch the necessary correspondences. Before he slid the door open, however, he turned to the priestess, who was still sitting on the floor.

"You should go rest. It is late."

Kagome nodded mutely and stood on wobbly legs. The thoughts swirling around her head were giving her a headache. Sesshomaru watched as she placed a hand against her temple and walked silently to the door. Before she opened it, she turned back to the demon lord.

"Ask them about what they smell."

Surprised as he was by this strange addition to her request – for what would a human notice about smells that a demon would not – Sesshomaru only nodded in agreement. The miko, seemingly satisfied, bade him a good night and silently slipped from the library leaving the demon lord to his work.