Kryptonite

By Danyealle

(fanfiction/MF/HC/Abuse)

Chapter 26

Pacing in his chamber deep within his luxurious stolen palace, Naraku was more furious than he could ever remember being in years.  Worst part of it was he wasn’t really sure what had happened or how it had come about.  All he knew was that the taiyoukai had managed to find out the names of every operative he had in his lands plus in other areas.  He had also been able to arrest all but a couple of them.  Luckily those couple had managed to find their way to him with the warning that the Southern Lord had been contacted and had sent his army to engage him.  That wasn’t something he could allow to happen.  He had been able to vacate and get everyone else out an hour before the troops had arrived.

Looking around at his new palatial quarters he scowled. Sure these were much nicer than his last ones but it wasn’t as strategically well placed as the other one was nor was it close to being able to serve his purposes like the other either.  Now he had to see if he could not only find a better lair but figure out just how in the name of all that was holy did Sesshomaru find out what he did.  Then he was going to have to find a better way to keep an eye on what the pack was up to.

Scowling, he once more thought about how much hard work had been undone in the last 24 hours.  He doubted he would be able to get another operative in the fortress easily.  It was almost a sure fire bet that Sesshomaru rained down a Kami-like wrath on those he caught that was terrifying enough to scare anyone.

Sitting down at a window, he willed himself to calm down.  As he well knew getting angry would get him no where.  He would need a cool head to plan out his next move.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

After sleeping for a couple more hours Kagome got dressed then headed down to the common room where everyone was gathered trying to find ways to stave off boredom from their forced confinement.  Producing a deck of cards she quickly organized a game.  Not wanting Kagura to feel left out she had the wind witch sit by her so she would teach her how to play allowing her to join in once she was comfortable with the rules and how to do things. 

Honestly, sitting there playing and listening to the banter that went around the table during the game was the most fun Kagura had ever had.  It was hilarious to listen everyone joke around and take playful jabs at each other.  Kagome was sitting next to her, sitting out the game so she could help her, giggling and laughing the whole time.  They even included her in some of it, making her feel as though she were part of the pack.

Mostly it was Miroku and Kouga on the receiving end of jokes about their love of the ladies but Sango and Kagome weren’t immune either.

At this point, the only real regret she had about leaving Naraku was that she had to leave Kanna behind.  Though they weren’t traditional sisters they were still siblings and she felt bad about leaving the void child behind in that evil bastard’s clutches.  Maybe she could find a way, with the pack’s help, to get her away from him and free her as well.

Though she, at first, had been apprehensive about sharing quarters with the slayer she wasn’t any more.  This morning they had a long talk after they had eaten breakfast.  Yes, in her usual blunt manner, Sango had made it clear that her trust would have to be earned and to do that would be an uphill battle because of past history between them but at least she was honest and forthright about it.  Then she had brought up the subject of her brother, Kohaku, and had wanted to hear everything she had known about him.  She, of course, told her all she knew, most of which wasn’t nice to hear but the fact that he wasn’t suffering brought Sango some measure of comfort.  Plus he was really the only one of Naraku’s minion’s that the spider didn’t overtly abuse.  That seemed to help ease her mind a bit.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

As the taiyoukai had expected, from the time his butt hit the chair behind his desk he was swamped.

On one hand he was relieved that the last of the arrests had been made and most of the interrogations were done.  He was, however, less pleased to find out the kumo hanyou had slipped through the Southern Lord’s fingers though it wasn’t unexpected.

Looking at his desk, and all that was piled on it, he gave a resigned sigh then went to work wading through all of it.

It wasn’t until noon, when he was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, that he finally took a break.  “Enter!”  He barked out as he signed his name to the scroll he had been working on.

The second the door opened Daoe swooped in and landed on his desk, chirping happily.  Smirking, Sesshomaru sat everything he had been working on aside and rubbed the creatures head.  Looking up, he watched as Kagome made her way towards him holding a tray of food.  When she got close, he stood and took it from her and her pull a chair over next to him.  Once she put the tray on his desk and sat down, she poured them both a cup of tea then seated herself.

Leaning back in his chair, he sipped the tea then looked at her.  “I didn’t realize it was noon already.”  He said. 

“That’s because you were working to hard and needed to take a break.”  She told him with a smile.

“Indeed.” he told her with a smirk then began to eat.  “So, how have you occupied yourself so far today?”

“We’ve been playing cards and goofing around.  But I think everyone’s getting a bit stir crazy being confined to the family wing.”

With a sigh, he nodded.  “I imagine they are.  Hopefully tomorrow everyone will once more be allowed to move about the fortress a bit more freely.  But I want to make sure that it’s safe before I allow that.  I’m sure you all understand why that is.”

“We do but understanding doesn’t make you less bored.”  She said with a giggle.  “I think Kouga’s handling it the worst though.”

“Oh?  Why do you say that?”  He asked, figuring the answer was probably going to amuse him.

“He can’t get out to go flirt with all the girlfriends he has here.”  She said, giggling, eyes twinkling.

Snorting, he smirked.  He was right, it amused him.  “I’m sure he’ll survive the ordeal no worse for wear.”

“Me too.  He’s jut getting twitchy is all.”  A serious look crossed her face and she asked, quietly, “Are you OK?  You look tired and stressed out.”

“Yes, I admit that I’m a bit of both.”  He told her.  “But I’m fine, no need to worry.”

Standing up, she slipped behind him then began to rub his shoulders.

Unable to stop himself, he groaned softly.  “That feels great.”  He admitted.

“I thought you might like it.”  She told him with a smile, continuing to rub his shoulders until she felt some of the tension loosen up a bit.  Then she flipped his hair over his shoulder and began to rub the back of his neck.

Eyes sliding shut, he let his head drop forward with an audible moan.  What she was doing felt magnificent!

When she was done she leaned forward against the back of his chair, arms around his neck, chin resting on his shoulder.  After giving him a soft kiss on the temple, she asked, “Feel a bit better?”

“Much better.  Thank you Kagome.”  He told her putting a hand over hers and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ll make a deal with you.”  She whispered in his ear, a bit of a giggle in her voice.

“And what kind of deal would you be proposing?”  He asked with an amused smirk.

“If you take me for a walk in the gardens after supper I’ll give you a back rub before bed.”  She whispered in his ear as though she was proposing something sexually deviant though there was a bit of a giggle in her voice while she did it.

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her around and sat her on his lap.  Slipping an arm around her waist, he held her to his chest.  “I believe that’s a deal that I can accept and work with.”  He told her in a stoic voice then kissed her on the forehead.

Taking one of her hands, he held it gently like she had done with him in the past.  Leaning his head against hers, he said, “You always make me feel better and less stressed Kagome.”  He told her quietly.

“This is a good thing.”  She said, giving his hand a light squeeze.

“Indeed, it is.”  He said.

Though he wanted to relax and spend the rest of the day with her he knew he couldn’t.  It had been a struggle to manage the hour that they had.  So, reluctantly, when that time was gone he alerted the guards that were going to escort her back to be ready, then he walked her and Daoe to the door of his study.  Stopping just before the door, he slipped an arm around her back then kissed her softly.  “I’ll be a few more hours at least but will try to hurry things along.  Then we’ll have dinner with everyone before taking our walk.  Is that acceptable to you?”

“Works for me.” she said with a nod.  Then, standing on her tip toes, she put her hand on the back of his head and had him incline it slightly then put her mouth next to his ear and said, voice a barely audible whisper, “Sesshomaru…”

“Yes?”  He asked as an encouragement for her to go on.

“I love you.”  She whispered then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and vanished out the door with Daoe, leaving a stunned taiyoukai in her wake.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Staring at his study door, head still inclined a bit, mouth hanging open, all Sesshomaru could do was keep replaying those three words over and over in his head.  His beast was howling loudly and doing a victory dance that very much resembled the can-can with it’s tongue hanging out.  ‘She loves us!’ it kept howling at random times then would dance around in happy circles.

It took several minutes for the demon lord to be able to force his body to move.  Stiff-legged, he made his way back to his desk and flopped down in his chair as though his legs and given out.  After thousands of repeats of her voice saying it over and over he was drawn out of it by a knock on the door.  It was time for his next meeting.  Though he was fairly certain that he was going to be fairly useless for the rest of the day he bid them to enter and tried to focus on the task at hand.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Hurrying to the family wing, Kagome shut the doors to it behind her and leaned back against them when the guards got her there, panting heavily, heart hammering madly in her chest.  Already she was second guessing what she had done and imaging his possible reactions to it.

Agitated and nervous, she didn’t want to be alone right now; sure she would drive herself nuts if she was, so she decided it was time for some serious girl talk.  Heading for Sango’s room, she rapped on the door.  When her friend opened it she said, “Grab your bath stuff-girl talk time!”

Nodding, the slayer rounded up her things excitedly, knowing this had to be big from the reaction of her friend.  Kagura gathered up the cards they had been playing with and watched the two, eyes alight, wondering what was going on.

Giggling, Kagome said, “You’re coming with us Kagura!  You’re female aren’t you?  So you’re included in girl talk!”

Grinning the kazi gathered a couple towels and other things then followed the two ningens to the miko’s room.  After telling her personal maid they were just going to soak for a bit they disappeared into Kagome’s personal, private hot springs.  Once they stripped down and got into the water Kagome tossed Daoe a couple of his toys then relaxed and settled back to get comfortable.

Once she was relaxed, Sango looked at her best friend and grinned excitedly.  “OK Kagome, spill it!  What’s going on?”

Grinning, but blushing a bit, she said quietly, “I told Sesshomaru I loved him.”

“Oh!”  Sango squealed, eyes bright.  “What was his reaction?”  She asked excitedly.

“I don’t know, I didn’t stick around to find out!”  Kagome admitted, blushing a bit harder then gave a rundown of what had happened.

When she had finished both Kagura and Sango were grinning.  “He is probably sitting down in his study right now looking as though someone’s smacked him upside the head with a good sized tree!”  Kagura said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Probably!”  Sango said nodding with a chuckle.

Blushing, Kagome grinned a bit then sobered up.  “Do you think I did the right thing telling him like that or should I have waited for a while.  Was it too soon?  Should I have waited for a better time and place?   Should I have stuck around?”

“You did just fine!”  Sango soothed.  “I think telling him was the right thing to do. From what I’ve seen he cares about you a great deal and has gone out of his way to promote those feelings between the two of you.  Telling him just lets him know where he stands with it.”

“I agree.”  Kagura said with a nod.  “Though I don’t have any practical experience in the area from all I’ve seen I think you did the right thing.  Plus, you did it in such a way that it’s bound to leave a lasting impression!”  She said with a grin, fangs gleaming.

“Very true!”  Sango said with a chuckle.  “I doubt he will ever forget that moment!”

Grinning sheepishly, Kagome blushed more but sobered up quickly and let out a melancholy sigh.

“What’s wrong Kagome?”  Sango asked.

“I know it’s silly but there’s something that’s been bothering me about the whole relationship between me and Sesshomaru.”  She said with a bit of a sigh.

“What’s that?”  Sango asked.  “You know we’re bound by the sacred girl talk hot springs rule-what’s said here, stays here.  Right Kagura?”  She asked, looking at the wind witch.

“Exactly!” Kagura said with a nod.  “It stays between us only.”

“Alright…  I know it sounds really weird but since he and I’ve gotten close I feel like I’m cheating on Inuyasha.  I mean we’re still mated and all that…”  Kagome trailed off, staring down into the bubbling water.

“No, you’re not mated.”  Kagura said.

Puzzled, Kagome looked at her.  “What do you mean?  His mark’s still there and all that.”

“Sesshomaru took you away from him, didn’t he?  Because he was abusing you?”  Kagura asked gently, not sure how touchy the miko still was about that topic.

“Yeah, he did.”  Kagome answered with a nod.

“According to youkai law when you were taken away it was the human equivalent of a divorce.  The mark remaining means nothing; it’s just a physical left over thing that needs time to fade is all.”  The kazi told her.

“Really?”  The miko asked hopefully, eyes alight.

“She’s right.” Sango told her with a nod.  “You and Inuyasha are no longer mates.”

Relaxing back against the edge of the springs, Kagome let out a sigh of relief.  “OK, that makes me feel a lot better!”

“I thought you knew that Kagome, or I would have told you long ago.”  Sango said a bit sheepishly.

“I didn’t but it doesn’t matter now.”  Kagome replied with a smile and a dismissive wave of her hand.

“You’re good to be shut of the hanyou.  He was the world’s biggest jackass anyway.  Sesshomaru is a much better choice!”  Kagura said with a nod, eyes sparkling a bit.

“I agree totally!” Sango added nodding.  Then she grinned a bit, “Has he said anything about how he feels about you?”

Grinning, Kagome said, “He’s told me he cares about me a great deal, a lot more than as a friend.  I mean with the way he treats me and how gentle he is it really shows that.”

“Yeah, it does.”  Sango nodded.  “It’s still strange to see the way he holds you but it does show he cares.  But he’s always had a bit of a soft spot for you and Rin.”

“You are so lucky!”  Kagura said with a bit of a sigh and a wistful look on her face.

“Why do you say that Kagura?” Kagome asked looking at her.

“Because he has to be the most gorgeous looking male I’ve ever laid eyes on!”  She said with a grin, eyes twinkling a bit.

Chuckling, Sango grinned.  “Yeah, I agree, he’s most definitely good looking!”

“Oh yeah.”  Kagome giggled.

“Tell me Kagome… Does the body match the looks?  I’ve been dying to know!”  Kagura asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah!  Tell us!”  Sango added with a giggle.

Blushing a bit, Kagome giggled as well.  “Oh yes!  He’s perfect, or what I’ve seen of him is anyway.  All nicely muscled and toned.”

Sango just giggled, Kagura leaned back against the edge of the springs and groaned.  “You are SO lucky!”

Sobering up a bit, Sango sighed.  “Now we just need to get Inuyasha to leave you alone.  Once he’s out of the way the two of you will have it made.”

“I know.”  Kagome answered, a touch of gloom in her voice. “But that won’t be happening any time soon.  You know what he’s like when he gets his teeth into something.  There’s no way he’s going to let me go without a knockdown, drag out fight first.” 

“Yeah.  It’s going to be even worse because it’s Sesshomaru that took you away.  He won’t be able to stand that.  It’ll drive him nuts.”  Sango sighed.

“Yeah, I know.”  Kagome said with a nod.  “I’ll admit that he’s really scaring me.”  She told them quietly. 

“I don’t blame you!”  Sango told her.  “He’s scaring me too.  He’s so obsessed that you can’t tell what he’s going to do next.  Then I’m worried about what’s going to happen when he finally figures out that you don’t want to go back to him and nothing he’s going to do is going to convince you otherwise.”

“I don’t even want to think about that!”  Kagome moaned, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and shuddering.

Not wanting her friend to worry too much about that topic right now, Sango changed the subject.  “We really need to find a way to counteract whatever he’s using to conceal himself.”

“Yeah.  Hopefully there’s something in the scrolls Gramps and I found or the ones Kaede gave ups that will help.”  Kagome said with a sigh. 

“Just find a way to get those beads he’s using off of him and you won’t need anything else.”  Kagura said, as she leaned back against the edge of the spring.

Immediately, both the other women stared at her.  “What beads Kagura?”  Kagome asked quietly, eyes a bit wider than normal.

“Those things he got from some priestess.  They conceal his aura and smell.  Drives Naraku nuts!  Even Kanna’s mirror couldn’t detect him after he put them on.“  Opening her eyes, she looked at the two onna’s wide-eyed looks.  “I thought you knew about them.  If I had known you didn’t I would have said something sooner!”  She added, looking a bit stricken. 

“Don’t worry about it!”  An excited Kagome said.  “If we weren’t naked I’d give you a big hug!”  She babbled excitedly.  Scrambling out of the water, she dried off then began to quickly yank her clothes on.  “You two get the guys and go to the common room.  I’ll get Sesshomaru!”  She said then headed to her room with Daoe hot on her heels.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Sitting in his study, a still slightly shell-shocked Sesshomaru was looking at the scroll he was holding but not really seeing it.  Instead his mind was playing a continuous loop of what Kagome had said before she left and he was trying to sort out his own feelings on the matter.

Oh yes, he most assuredly liked what she had said and wanted to hear it many more times over his lifetime.  What was troubling him was what he felt for her.  Yes, he knew that he cared for her a great deal more than he ever had any being ever but was what he felt for her love?  That was something he didn’t know honestly.  That troubled him.  Even worse was that he wasn’t really sure how to go about figuring out if that’s what it was.  But he felt it was something that he needed to do, for both himself and her.

Finally, he was drawn out of his musings by a tapping on the window behind him.  Turning around, he smirked when he saw Daoe sitting on the sill with a note in his beak.  Opening the window, he said, “What have you got there Daoe?”  The bird immediately flew in and landed on his shoulder. 

Taking the note, he patted the bird on the head then opened it.

Sesshomaru;

            We’ve figured out what Inuyasha’s using to conceal himself.  Which means we can find a sure-fire way to break it!  We’re all in the common room to start working out what to do!

Kagome

Fishing around on his desk for a couple treats for the bird he then summoned Jaken, a big smirk on his face.  Once he put the kappa in charge he took off towards the family wing at top speed.