Evolution of a Taiyoukai

By Danyealle

(FanFiction/MF/angst)

Chapter 4

It was one thing to know how fast he could travel like this but it was a whole other thing to experience it for herself.  Kagome was sure that she had only blinked once after ‘lift off’ and they were at what she assumed was his fortress, standing in a magnificent suite of rooms. 

“This is my chambers.”  He explained.  Keeping hold of her hand he led her to a door and opened it then led her into an equally opulent set of rooms.  “This is where you’ll stay.  Why don’t you settle in.  Take all your dirty clothes out of you pack and one of the staff will get them laundered for you.”  Pointing towards another door on the opposite side of the room, he said, “There’s a hot springs through there.  Why don’t you go take a nice soak while I go alert the staff and arrange for supper.  Alright?”  He asked.  “Then we’ll sit down to eat.”

Speechless, she just nodded as she scanned the beautiful room.

Smirking, he gave her a pat on the back then vanished through the door they entered.

Dropping her pack on one of the steps that led up to the bed, she pulled out all her clothes that needed washed and stacked them neatly on the floor then grabbed her bathing supplies and headed to the hot springs.  If the room was this magnificent she couldn’t wait to see the hot springs!  After opening the door she wasn’t disappointed.  Not only was it a real hot springs, it was lined with rocks and ferns as well, it was sparkling clean.  Towels and other things needed for bathing lined the walls.  Squealing in delight, she set her soap and shampoo on the edge of the springs then all but yanked her clothes off.  Sliding into the water, she sighed happily.  Sinking into it up to her chin, she seated herself on a submerged ledge and shut her eyes with a soft sigh.  Leaning her head back, she let the hot, bubbling water sooth her.

She was roused from a light doze after a while by a soft knock on the door and a tiny, feminine voice saying her name.

Covering her chest with her arms she sat up and looked over her shoulder at the door.  Standing there was a small inu with dog ears much like Inuyasha’s.  Towels were draped over her folded arms. 

Seeing that she had the young ningens’ attention, she dropped into a bow and said in a sunny voice, “Hello Lady Kagome!  I’ve been assigned by Lord Sesshomaru to be your maid during your stay.”

“OK.”  Kagome replied, unsure what to say.

Putting the towels down, the little maid moved behind her and sat down, cross-legged.  “The lord said you have special soaps for your hair and body so if you’ll show me how to use them I’ll wash you then help you get ready for dinner.”  Her tone told Kagome not to argue even though it was light and friendly.

Though she wasn’t used to this, Kagome showed her how to use the shampoo and conditioner.  While her hair was being gently scrubbed all nervousness evaporated at the pleasurable feeling it produced.  Quickly, she decided she liked Uryu, the inu’s’ name, and they were soon talking like old friends. 

Once washed, Uryu dried her off then helped her into a beautiful black and blue kimono then she led her back into her chambers, sat her down and did her hair.  When the young maid felt she looked presentable she escorted her into a common room between her and Sesshomarus’ chambers and seated her at a table then left.

Awestruck by the finely furnished room, she was jarred back out of looking around by Sesshomaru’s entrance.

Seating himself beside her, rather than across the table from her as he usually would have, he was pleased with how she looked.  He had personally picked out the kimono for her, thinking she would look beautiful in it.  He was right, she was absolutely stunning.  “I trust you enjoyed your bath?”  He asked, a bit unsure how to start a conversation with her.

Smiling, she nodded.  “It was great!  I love having someone wash my hair.”

That was the thing that opened the door and from that point on conversation became easy.

From Kagome’s end, by the time she realized she hadn’t even thought about Inuyasha for a while it was bed time.  But that ended when she was finally alone in bed in the darkened room.  Suddenly it all came flooding back and once more the tears came.  Over and over she thought about all the hurt and betrayal that had been heaped on her and she felt her heart break all over again.  Clutching onto a pillow, she buried her face in it and cried silently until exhaustion took over and she fell asleep, salt tracks drying on her cheeks.

~~~~~@~~~~~

Lying in his bed, Sesshomaru was highly agitated and unable to sleep.  Even through the wall that separated them he could feel the sadness in her aura and smell her tears.  His instinct told him to go comfort her, to try to ease her pain, but he forced himself to remain where he was.  The logical, rational part of himself reminded him that her tears and pain were needed to help cleanse the hurt, like you would bathe a wound, so she could heal.  That yes comfort was needed here and there but she was also going to need time alone to lick her wounds.  That did work and he was able to remain where he was, until she fell asleep that was. 

Once he sensed that her exhaustion had finally won out and she had fallen into a deep sleep he slipped into her room.  Her chambers and his were both heavily warded to keep almost all out unless summoned so he knew they wouldn’t be bothered.  Jaken had been put in charge of summoning him in case of an emergency because the kappa knew what would happen to him if he was called out for something foolish.  It also had been made clear that he and his visitor, only a handful knew who he had brought, were to be left alone for the duration of her stay.

Standing at the edge of her bed, he gazed at her, unsure what he wanted to do.  His eyes were drawn to the salt tracks on her cheeks and he felt his frosty heart clench painfully.  Without any more thought he slid into bed in front of her.  Leaning down, he gently licked away the visible sign of her pain then enfolded her in his arms and pulled her to his chest.  Resting his cheek atop her head, he said softly, “I’m here Kagome and won’t allow Inuyasha to hurt you any more.”  Then he began to growl softly, an old inu trick meant to sooth and comfort.

It seemed to work because she released a soft sigh and snuggled closer to him, her aura becoming more soothed.

While laying there he wanted to wake so she knew he was there for her and cared but he knew now wasn’t the time for that.  There would also be much he would have to explain and while she was in an emotionally fragile state it wasn’t the time to do so.  She needed time to heal before another male declared his intent.  A gradual build up would be better, take it slow and easing into it would be best.  But he would give her a few more hints before she went home.  Then, when she returned, he would begin in earnest. 

It wasn’t long after crawling into bed with her that he felt himself dozing off as well.  This wasn’t like sleeping while traveling, he didn’t have to be alert for unknown dangers so he was able to relax and allow himself to sleep soundly.  With her soothing scent and presence surrounding him, he drifted away only to have her join him in his dreams once again.

When, in his slumber, he heard the first cocks’ crow, he roused himself.  It wouldn’t be wise for her to wake with him there.  Giving her a soft peck on the forehead, he eased himself away from her then out of her bed.  After covering her up, he brushed a lock of her hair off her forehead then made his way back to his own chambers, stopping at the door to take one last look at her.

~~~~~@~~~~~

A he expected, Inuyasha had a very bad night.  Within five minutes of being back the monk and slayer were blasting him, demanding to know what he head done that caused Kagome to leave them yet again.  Unlike times in the past he didn’t try to deny anything or argue back, instead he just sat there and took it, face buried in his hands.  Pretty much, he just tuned them out while he beat himself up mentally then desperately attempted to come up with something, anything, which would keep him from loosing her completely.  One thing he clung to, desperately, was that he still had a chance to hold on to her, it was a slim chance but it was there. 

He was drawn out of his internal turmoil by his danger instincts.  The only way he escaped an injury when Sango, frustrated at being ignored by him, threw her weapon was his quick reflexes.  “What the fuck was that for?!?”  He bellowed after standing up and brushing himself off.

“Because we’re tired of being ignored!”  She yelled back.  “Answer us Inuyasha, why did she leave?”

“Because she found out I mated with Kikyo!”  He shouted back, his temper loosening his tongue and overriding his common sense.  The second it came out of his mouth he knew what he had done and regretted it because the pronouncement was met with dead silence.

Three sets of eyes stared at him.  “How long have you been mated with her?”  Miroku asked, finally able to find his voice though it was flat and emotionless.

Understanding the neko was out of the bag and there was no turning back, he gave a resigned sigh and looked at the ground.  “Since about a year after Urasue brought her back.”

“You bastard!  You low-life, two-timing ass!”  Sango hissed, fury blazing in her eyes and evident on her face.  “How dare you!  For all these years you’ve led Kagome on and let her think there was something between you while the whole time you were mated?!?  You are disgusting!”  She shouted.  “After everything she’s done for you and put up with you betray her like this?  All she’s ever done is love and care for you!”

Sighing, the hanyou tucked his hands in his sleeves and stared at his feet.  “It’s not like that, alright?  I do love Kagome…”

“Yeah, so much that you took someone else as a mate.”  Miroku said, cutting him off.

“Look… Kikyo…”  Inuyasha started but was cut off.

Stepping in front of him, Sango jabbed a sharp finger into his chest.  “Do NOT say that bitches name around me ever again!  I don’t care about your explanations.  It all boils down to the fact that you are a scum bag who used someone who loved you!”

“Just let me explain!”  Inuyasha shouted, stomping his foot in frustration.

“No Inuyasha, we don’t want to hear it!”  Miroku shot back, eyes cold.  “There is no explanation or excuse you can give that would be good enough reason to mitigate what you’ve done.  Nothing could do that now.”

After a final glare Sango turned away from him then began to gather her and Miroku’s things.  Once it was all packed up she had a short confab with the monk then turned back to the hanyou, so enraged her face was flaming.  “We’re leaving for Edo.  You can do what you want because right now I don’t even want to look at you.”

Even Kirara seemed to sense what was going on because she gave a mew then transformed and waited for the kit and two humans to pile on her back.  Once they were seated she was off, leaving Inuyasha standing alone in the now abandoned camp.

Swallowing thickly, he stared at the ground only to be jerked back by a voice from behind him.

“I told you this would happen Inuyasha.”  Kikyo said as she stepped into the fire lit clearing.

“Yeah, you did.”  He said softly, turning towards her.

“What are you going to do now?”  She asked.

Sighing, he shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Wait until Kagome comes back and try to talk to her I guess.”  He said in a dejected voice.

“I think it’s too late for talking Inuyasha.”  She scolded.

“I can’t just let her go!”  He yelled, panic evident in his voice.  “I love her with all my heart, I can’t just let her slip through my fingers without a fight!”

“This is what happens when you aren’t honest.”  She told him, voice a bit frosty.  Then she turned and vanished into the trees.

Fingers buried in his hair, he dropped to the ground, eyes shut.  Over and over, he thought ‘what am I going to do?’  His gut told him there was no fixing it anymore but he couldn’t allow himself to believe that.  He thought that if he believed that he would go insane.  There had to be a way and he would find it.

Dousing the fire and cleaning the site, he then took off, planning to head towards Edo.  He figured the run would do him good and allow him to clear his mind so he could think.

~~~~~@~~~~~

When Kagome finally woke she felt marginally better.  Yes, the hurt was still there but sleep was like a cleansing thing, it allowed you to put a bit of distance from what was bothering you so you could deal with it better.  Unlike what she did almost every mooring, even when home, she allowed herself the luxury of lying in bed.  To her that was a real treat.  Usually she had to get up and help prepare breakfast or, at home, get ready for school so lounging in bed was a rare indulgence.  Rolling over, she sighed contentedly but then caught a whiff of a familiar smell.  Looking at the sheets beside her it appeared, from their rumpled condition, that someone had laid there.  From the smell that seemed to cling to them it indicated it was Sesshomaru.

Brow furrowed, she reached out and ran her hand over the creased bedding, mind whirling. She couldn’t figure out a reason why he would be in bed with her.  No, she didn’t think he would do anything for nefarious purposes but why he would be there escaped her.  She was drawn away from that puzzlement by a soft knock on the door then Uryu poked her head in, pleasant smile on her face. 

“Good morning!”  She chirped happily.  “Since you’re awake would you like to get up?  Lord Sesshomaru asked if you would like to join him for breakfast.  He usually dines on his balcony.  It has a wonderful view of the gardens.”

“That sounds nice, I would like that.”  Kagome said, smiling then she sat up and stretched.

After a quick clean up and sliding into a beautiful robe, Uryu escorted her into Sesshomaru’s chambers.  He was already sitting on the balcony, sipping on a cup of tea.  Dismissing the maid, he then gestured for her to sit across from him.  He poured her a cup as well then handed it to her.  After taking a sip of the steaming drink she gave a contented sigh.

“I trust you slept well?”  He asked, looking at her.  To his eyes she did appear to look better and not so forlorn.

“Wonderfully.”  She said.  While sipping her drink she contemplated asking him if he had been in bed with her but was thrown off track when a servant delivered their meal.

While they ate he gave her a bit of a visual tour of the gardens below them, something she loved.  In fact they sat there for a very long time, just talking.

After a servant came in and took their dishes and left another pot of tea Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair and looked at her, “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Sighing, she looked down into her cup.  “Better.  It still hurts but not as much as it did yesterday.  I think somewhere in me I realized on some level that he could never give up on Kikyo and get over her.  As long as she still walks the earth he will always run to her if she’s around.  It just hurt to be proven right is all I think.  A long time ago, not long after she came back, I think I knew he had made a choice and it wasn’t me.  For a long time I tried to convince myself that wasn’t the case.  Then things improved between us and evolved.”  Sighing, she looked up then out over the gardens.  “I’m sure that in his own way Inuyasha loves me but not in the way he needs to.  I became everything he wanted and cared for and took care of him yet he still had her.  For him it was win/win.  I can’t be that anymore, I don’t want to.  He made his choice and it wasn’t me.  I just wish he would have had the guts to tell me so I could move on.”  She said, a touch of bitterness in her voice.

Sitting there, looking at her, he was a bit surprised.  She didn’t seem to be nearly as upset as he thought she would be.  Yes, she was upset and hurting but not nearly as much as someone in her position would normally be.  “You’re right, he should have.  You have every right to be angry with him and sad.  But don’t let what he’s done make you think all males are like that or would do that to you.”

Looking back at him, the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile.  “I know.  I just picked a bad one this time.  I guess, for most of us, our first one is a leaning experience, to see the good and bad, but it’s not meant to last.”

“I can see the wisdom in that statement, yes.”  He agreed, nodding.

Looking into his eyes, she smiled then reached across the table and put her hand on his a bit cautiously.  She was well aware how he felt about close contact and being touched.  “Thanks Sesshomaru, for everything.  I don’t know what I did to get this kind of special treatment from you but I appreciate it.  You’ve helped more than you will ever know.”  She told him softly.  Then she was surprised.  Rather than pull his hand away or shoot her one of his patented glares, he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

When she touched him he felt a delicious warmth engulf his body, as though he had been dropped into a warm spring, and his skin tingled.  Taking her hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze.  “You’re welcome Kagome.  I’m glad I was able to help.”

Unsure what to do, she gave his hand a squeeze back, but didn’t pull her hand from his.  Quite frankly she liked how it felt. 

He too was unwilling to release her hand but in the end did so after giving it another squeeze.  Settling back in his char he looked at her.  “What would you like to do today?  We won’t be disturbed so it’s your choice.”

Thinking for a minute, she then grinned.  “How about we play some cards?  I can teach you a couple new games so when we start traveling again you can kick some serious butt.”  Not long after he started traveling with them she noticed that he did seem to enjoy some of the card games they played, especially the ones that depended on strategy and skill.  But he wouldn’t join in until he had learned enough to be a fairly decent player with a chance of winning.  This offer gave her not only the opportunity to have some fun but somewhat appeal to his ego as well.

Smirking, he nodded, “That’s acceptable.”

~~~~~@~~~~~

By late afternoon both of them were sprawled out in the middle of his oversized bed with her school books scattered around them, opened to various pages. She was sprawled out on her stomach, with her legs kicked up behind her, ankles crossed and he was stretched out on his side next to her, head propped on his hand.  Open before her was her science book but neither of them were looking at it.  Instead they were talking.  They had started on the topic of clouds and what they looked like from an airplane but now they were on the topic of Inuyasha once more.  They were talking about how she was going to deal with him when she returned after her trip home.

Sighing, she folded her arms across her text book and rested her head on it.  “This is going to suck.”  She groaned.

“Indeed.”  He seconded.  That phrase always amused him and conjured up the most interesting mental images.

“I swear if he says anything about how I’m not Kikyo I’m going to find a way to make the hair of his ears fall out!”  She groaned.

“He’s right though, you aren’t her.”  He told her quietly.  When she shot him a look that could easily have passed as one of his glares he continued on.  “Kikyo is Kikyo; she is the only one of her there is.  You are not her.  You are Kagome and a far better being than she ever was.  Especially the way she is now.  I don’t think you are capable of the hate and darkness she is.  If Inuyasha prefers her then he is settling for second best.”  He told her firmly.

Looking at him, her eyes sparkled and she smiled, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome and it is the truth.”  He told her, eyes locked with hers.

“You know, for being Lord Totally Terrifying you’re a pretty good guy Sesshomaru.”

Smirking at her, he replied, “Thanks.  And for being a loud mouthed ningen you’re not bad yourself.”

Grinning, she giggled, “Thanks.”

~~~~~@~~~~~

Long after night fall they were still in his room.  They had just finished a before bed snack and were both getting sleepy.

Sighing, Kagome leaned her head on his shoulder.  “I’m tired but I don’t want to move.  You’re bed is way too comfortable.”  She groaned.

“Then don’t.  Stay here.”  He said automatically without thinking.  His brain then screeched to a halt when he realized just what he had said.  Working furiously, he tried to make it sound better than it came out.  “We sleep close to each other all the time when we’re traveling.  It doesn’t bother us then.”  He added hastily.  Though it sounded lame to him he hoped it sounded good to her.

She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him, face unreadable.  “True.  But isn’t that a bit different than sleeping in bed together?”

Rolling on his side, he looked down at her.  “Yes, it is but unless you plan on ravishing me in my sleep I think we’re safe.”  He said with a smirk.

She grinned and poked him playfully in the ribs.  “I think hell just froze over!  You made a joke!”

“Indeed.”  He said, a twinkle in his eyes.  “Besides, you’ve been having bad dreams.  I laid down with you last night for a while because your aura was disturbed.  It seemed to help.”

That explained that mystery to her and she nodded.  “Alright, you talked me into it!  But be warned’ if you hog the covers I’m kicking you out of bed.”  She told him crawling under the sheets.

“Hn…  You think!”  He growled.