InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ This Mess We're In ❯ And You Must Leave Now ( Chapter 4 )

This Mess We're In

Chapter 4: And You Must Leave Now

Disclaimers: I own nothing.

Rating: I will try to cut a PG13 version for ff.net. NC17 material will be reserved for MediaMiner.org posts, as well as the address in my profile once I get around to creating the site.

Summary: Kagome has gone back where she belongs, but so has someone else. What exactly happened? Sesshou and Kagome don't know yet, but the past is about to collide with the present. Kag/Sess.

Chapter Summary: We rejoin our protagonists in the Sengoku Jidai. Kagome is sowing seeds of unrest in Sesshoumaru's household (or maybe just in Sesshoumaru; the household seems to be doing fine).

*****

---Sengoku Jidai---

Sesshoumaru stood in the gardens of his home to greet the morning, enjoying a moment of peace. He had a bit of time before he would be obligated to deal with the inevitable problems that arose in his territory. Today, however, was different from most. His thoughts were centered on the new addition to the household.

In the past few days, Jaken had complained less about Rin. The little girl had begun to spend more time with Kagome. Sesshoumaru had previously wondered how Rin would fare in the total absence of her own species; he supposed that having another human around to answer Rin's questions would be beneficial.

When Rin and her reluctant green nanny had caught up to them in the forest five nights ago, the child had immediately taken to Kagome. Unperturbed by the young woman's bloody bandages or haggard appearance, Rin had approached her, obviously fascinated. His young ward had not given Sesshoumaru any peace until he had finally agreed to take Kagome in.

Inuyasha's former companion had proved to be incredibly stubborn. She had actually refused his help, stating that she would prefer to be alone than with someone who would surely kill her at the first opportunity. Annoyed, he had calmly pointed out that his first opportunity had already come and gone, but there would be plenty more in future if she continued to tempt him into reconsidering his decision.

The argument that had eventually swayed her to common sense was that, wounded and vulnerable, she would be easy prey for any other youkai that happened upon her.

If Rin hadn't been so insistent, he wouldn't even have tried to persuade her. Sesshoumaru was unaccustomed to having his edicts challenged, yet this pathetically weak creature had the temerity to argue with him. On one hand, it had been refreshing. On the other hand, it had irritated him to no end.

What need had he of another human to look after? He intended to send her away as soon as the wound on her leg healed.

Despite her contrariness, he had to admit that the girl temporarily staying in his home had not been as disruptive as he had anticipated. Kagome was patient with the little girl, and always greeted her cheerfully, though he knew that she must be exhausted. The injury on her thigh had turned out to be far more severe than she had let on, and humans suffered pain and slow healing. However, despite any discomfort she may have experienced, she bore Rin's many questions and endless chatter without once losing her temper.

In passing, Kagome had also mentioned that she intended to continue in her quest without the help of her former allies. Her separation from her companions obviously saddened her. She had continued to be rather withdrawn and quiet, which was quite a contrast from what he had seen of her in the past. Previously, she had been almost impossible to silence when he had had the misfortune to encounter their motley crew.

All in all, he had assessed the group as bumbling and inept. He could not imagine how she would collect one shard, let alone all of the Shikon no Tama, without help. Her resolve was admirable, but stupid. Sesshoumaru was certain that she would perish in the effort.

There was something else that intrigued him about the girl, besides her seemingly suicidal determination to reassemble the Shikon no Tama. Sesshoumaru had noticed in the past that, though she had considerable abilities as a miko, they were in no way under her conscious control. He guessed that she was completely untrained in the use of her powers. That alone was anomalous, since most mikos were trained from childhood.

Sesshoumaru had been caught off-guard by her candor. Her attitude was defiant in a way that suggested she had no concern for her own safety. The way she argued with him, as though she were his equal, was bizarre. In an age when humans were cowed by the stronger creatures that threatened them, it was rare to find one - particularly a girl with no fighting ability - who was willing to risk a youkai's wrath. On the occasions when he spoke to her, he had also found her words and the rhythm of her speech strange.

These observations, along with her indecently abbreviated clothing, were enough to convince him that she was a foreigner.

Where exactly had she come from?

Sesshoumaru started to walk back towards the fortress. It was pointless to wonder about Kagome's origins, he reasoned. After all, she would soon be gone, and he had other matters to attend to. Earlier in the morning, Jaken had relayed news of trouble in the South. Something was causing a disturbance among the youkai there. Though he had no ties to those lands, he had an interest in discovering all he could about the situation.

Despite his efforts to put Kagome from his mind, however, his curiosity remained.

**********

Kagome opened her eyes, stretched, and smiled when she saw Rin sitting expectantly at the foot of her futon.

Since she had arrived at this massive house, Rin had gradually spent more time with her until they were virtually inseparable. Meeting the young girl had been interesting, to say the least. Rin was always filled with indomitable cheer, and it contrasted sharply with the austerity of her caretaker.

In the clearing, when Rin had tugged at Sesshoumaru's clothing and started wheedling him to let Kagome stay with them, Kagome had been surprised. The taiyoukai's apparent reluctance to disappoint the child had been fascinating to Kagome; she had always believed him to be utterly emotionless and unrelenting. It had been almost surreal for her to witness his capitulation to a little girl's wishes.

It seemed to Kagome that the last few days had been one surprise after another. First of all, she had fully expected to die that night in the forest when she had run her mouth off at Sesshoumaru. When he had laughed at her admittedly ridiculous behavior, she had been taken aback. Kagome would never have thought that the cold, pompous youkai had a sense of humor. She would also never have believed the indulgent way he treated Rin, or the child's obvious affection for him, if she hadn't seen them with her own eyes.

But then, Kagome reasoned, she had never seen him in circumstances one could describe as normal. It was hard to develop a balanced opinion of someone who materialized only to steal family heirlooms and give death-threats.

Kagome's curiosity had prompted her to gain a bit of insight into his character during her stay. It seemed that he mostly kept to himself. Rin was just a child, and Jaken, though loyal to him, was nothing but a sycophantic lackey. From what information Kagome could glean, Sesshoumaru didn't have a relationship with anyone who could be described as a confidant.

He was just as isolated as Inuyasha had been, Kagome had realized, and she couldn't blame him. Everything she had overheard had convinced her that being a youkai lord was a million times more dangerous than participating in human politics. There was just as much scheming, backstabbing and double-crossing as there was in her era. The main difference was that, in youkai power struggles, the veneer of smiles and civility did not exist.

Youkai tended towards the more direct approach: crushing one's enemies in fights to the death, and then parading their remains around on spikes to ensure that others would think twice before rising against them.

It was an awful way to live. No wonder she couldn't exactly picture Sesshoumaru kicking back and having a beer with his buddies. Though perhaps, she thought, he needed that more than most.

He was just so damned stuffy.

Rin's bright voice interrupted her musings.

"Kagome! Do you want to see the picture Rin made?" Rin stopped bouncing for the duration of her question, and resumed once it had been asked. Kagome noticed that Rin was holding something behind her back.

Kagome nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What did you draw?" she yawned, stretching again luxuriously. Kagome had become accustomed to bunking down under trees during her travels, so it was a rare treat for her to have such comfortable accommodations.

Rin pulled the scroll from behind her back and carefully unrolled it, before presenting it to the young woman. Kagome looked blankly for a moment at the rather haphazard ink stains decorating the scroll, before the lines seemed to come together to form an image.

Kagome squinted and stared. Rin's artistic achievement appeared to be an impressionistic rendition of a bulbous tree.

No, that couldn't be it.

Kagome tilted her head slightly, and corrected her initial assessment. Why had the child painted a picture of a woman with cat whiskers and a painful looking, monstrous growth on her shoulder? She started to notice more details.

Rin's subject was cockeyed. She also appeared to have three arms, and her mouth was drawn into a sour frown. Rin was smiling expectantly, bouncing on the futon once more.

"Hmmm," Kagome said. "It's a very nice drawing, Rin." Perhaps, Kagome mused, she would have to ask Rin to be more sensitive about others' deformities.

"It's Sesshoumaru-sama! And there's Jaken!" Rin replied happily, oblivious to Kagome's confusion.

Sesshoumaru and Jaken? Kagome looked again. Sure enough, there was a blob that she had mistakenly identified as stray smear of ink. In actuality, it had bulging eyes and carried a small stick with two round shapes on the end of it.

Kagome chuckled, unable to restrain herself after the tension and loss of the past few days. It was a relief to laugh again.

"You did an excellent job. It looks exactly like them!"

**********

At that precise moment, Sesshoumaru was walking through the hallway outside the door. Hearing Rin's and Kagome's laughter, he paused. It was strange to hear voices in these halls, he realized. He had become accustomed to silence.

He started to walk again, when he heard his name mentioned. He stopped and looked through the half-open door.

"Oh, Rin," Kagome choked out between giggles, "I love it. It's so lifelike." For a moment, Sesshoumaru couldn't see Rin. Then, he spotted her huge grin from where it peeked out of the older girl's bear hug.

Kagome, in her amusement, failed notice that the subject of the little girl's masterpiece had entered the room and was now standing behind her. He examined the portrait from over her shoulder.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried happily. "I made a picture of you. Kagome likes it. See?" The little girl was practically beaming with pride. Kagome started.

Sesshoumaru did, indeed, see. He nodded slightly to Rin, and then frowned as he turned back to the drawing, unwittingly reflecting the expression she had painted on the scroll. He glanced at Kagome, then back at the scroll.

So, she thought he looked like that, did she? His pride smarted. Did she really think that he was so deformed?

Offended, he turned from the scroll and fixed Kagome with an icy glare.

Her mirth had passed, giving way to annoyance. Why was he just standing there silently like a rock? Couldn't he see that Rin was desperately awaiting his approval?

"Have you always been this stuffy?" Kagome's tone was pointed.

Rin had quieted, not understanding the tension in the room.

Something unfamiliar stirred inside Sesshoumaru in response to her defiance. His glowering became thirty degrees colder. Other recipients of that look had either ended up dead, or frozen solid in fear.

Kagome, however, remained oblivious.

He probably had always been like this, she thought, oblivious to his anger. In her mind's eye, she saw a tiny Sesshoumaru rise from his bassinette, pluck a soother from his mouth, and coolly state, `This plaything bores me. Remove it from my presence.'

At the sound of a throat clearing in irritation, Kagome returned to reality and matched Sesshoumaru glare for glare.

"You are ungrateful," he said in a low voice. "I have spared your life and allowed you to stay in my home until you are healed. Do not press me to withdraw my mercy."

Kagome started to seethe. Ooh, she thought, fists clenched. He was the one who had convinced her to stay here, and now he was going to lord it over her!

Rin sat silently, watching the standoff with wide eyes. Sesshoumaru noticed the young girl's alarm and grabbed Kagome by the elbow, pulling her behind him as he exited the sleeping chamber.

"Don't worry, Rin. Just stay here. I'll be right back," Kagome called out as she stumbled after the royally pissed-off youkai. She was spitting mad, and fully intended to give him a piece of her mind.

When the two combatants reached the end of the hallway, he pushed her towards the wall and then rounded on her. "Have you no instinct for self-preservation?" Sesshoumaru snarled, on the precipice of his control. He didn't understand why he was so angered over something as insignificant as a human's mockery, but he couldn't seem to curb his childish reaction.

Sesshoumaru had opened his mouth to continue, when Kagome had the gall to cut him off.

"And have you no sensitivity at all?" Her face was flushed with anger on Rin's behalf. He was really ticking her off. What was it about this guy that just rubbed her the wrong way?

Sparks seemed to ignite in her gaze as she continued in a tight, hushed tone.

"That girl adores you, for reasons I cannot comprehend. All she wants is for you to say that you like the drawing. That's all." Kagome's words were clipped, as though she was trying to keep herself from raising her voice.

Utterly incensed, Sesshoumaru could barely withhold a growl.

She dared to challenge him. She was actually lecturing him. Was she completely insane?

He chose not to examine the sudden thought that arguing with her was extremely exciting, on some level he did not want to identify.

His usually still demeanor seemed to crack under Kagome's stare, and in his eyes, something dangerous and previously dormant was blazing into life.

Sesshoumaru stepped closer to Kagome, fully intending to make her cower against the wall. "Rin is my concern," he ground out between clenched teeth. "It would benefit you to remain silent on matters that do not involve you, bitch." He bit out that last word, knowing it would further anger her.

When he caught what he'd just done, Sesshoumaru was taken aback. He was not only losing control of the situation, but also deliberately setting out to provoke her. Something inside him seemed to prevent him from ceasing this juvenile posturing and leaving while he still had some dignity intact.

"Ka-go-me." She enunciated each syllable slowly, as if he were a particularly simple child, and glared daggers at golden irises that now seemed dangerously pale.

When had he gotten so close to her? His breath felt hot on her face.

Kagome bristled, narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and lifted her chin in defiance of his intimidation tactics. After days of depression over being alone and helpless, worrying about Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and Shippou, this verbal showdown actually felt kind of good.

"My name is Kagome," she continued in a frigid voice. "Maybe it's a good thing that I am involving myself in your business. It is obvious that you desperately need help, if you can't even do one small thing that would mean nothing to you, but everything to Rin!" The volume of Kagome's voice escalated slightly.

Her eyes remained locked on his. She couldn't seem to stop talking, even though her survival instinct was belatedly kicking in and screaming `Abort! Abort!' complete with bells, sirens, and little red twirling lights.

Her voice grew louder. "Why can't you just say you like the goddamn-"

Sesshoumaru couldn't take any more of her rebellion. He felt something snap inside him. His hand flashed forward and clamped over her mouth, silencing her.

They stood silently for a moment, and then two.

Glaring down at her, he saw that her hair was still tousled from sleep.

Her lips felt hot and unbearably soft against his sensitive palm.

The flush of her anger was causing her eyes to crackle with indignation, and her sweet, spicy scent seemed to roll off her skin in waves.

A shudder ran through him.

Kagome's eyes widened as she saw something ripple through the youkai before her. She felt an answering tingle rise in her own body, flooding her with a heat she'd never known.

This is all wrong, they thought simultaneously.

She could almost taste the warmth of his palm. Some new kind of knowledge arose in her, and she trembled as she felt the light scrape of his claws against her cheek. Her eyes opened even further. She had never seen that particular expression on his face before. Come to think of it, she had rarely seen an expression of any kind, let alone that one with the soft mouth and confused amber eyes.

She was suddenly acutely aware of how helpless she was in this position. She wore only the sleeping robe that had been given to her when she had arrived, and Kagome fervently prayed that it hadn't started to gape open.

Sesshoumaru blinked down at the girl before him. Slowly, he removed his hand from her face, and was amazed to feel the imprint of her lips still burning in his palm. Kagome's breath was issuing forth in soft pants. Her eyes were round and so dark that they were almost black, but he could see no fear in them.

Sesshoumaru placed his hands on the wall, effectively trapping her. It was unnecessary. She remained completely immobile except for her breathing and the rapid pulse that fluttered in her neck.

"Kagome," he muttered under his breath. He'd finally learned her name. She felt a brief burst of triumph.

Then, he put a stop to all her thought processes by leaning down and covering her mouth with his.

Kagome's lips parted slightly in shock. Sesshoumaru drew her lower lip into his mouth before delicately taking its plump softness between his teeth. Kagome made a soft sound in her throat, her eyes fluttering closed in surprise and pleasure. Her moan seemed to galvanize him. His mouth slanted firmly over her trembling lips, his tongue entering to stroke against hers in a slow, liquid rhythm.

Her scent seemed to surround him, though no other part of their bodies touched.

Her ability to think had completely left the premises. Kagome desperately tried to recover her powers of logic, but the taste of his mouth was driving them from her head. She gave up the attempt, reached up, and buried her hands in his hair, fingers curling helplessly against his scalp. Feeling the urge to experiment, she sucked on the tip of his tongue as her thumbs stroked behind his ears. He groaned, and then moved to press hot, licking kisses on the side of her neck.

Pressing closer to her, Sesshoumaru removed one hand from the wall and lightly gripped the side of her thigh, dragging the soft cotton of the sleeping robe up over her warm skin. . .

And stopped when Kagome winced in pain.

Their eyes snapped open, and the world returned. They looked at one another with identical expressions of horror as they simultaneously scrambled to put as much distance between themselves as possible.

More accurately, Kagome scrambled. Sesshoumaru simply disappeared and rematerialized five feet away.

Being the expert, he collected his composure in seconds. He looked at Kagome's bandage, which remained unstained with blood.

"How is your wound?" he asked coolly, as if they had been discussing what lovely weather they'd been having. Kagome was still dumbly staring at his mouth, her hand clasped to her throat where the heat of his lips still lingered on her skin.

Who was the whuh? She tried to interpret what he said, but her brain was in neutral. It took a moment before it ground back into gear.

"Um, i-it's - that is, I think it's almost healed," she replied shakily, leaning heavily against the wall.

His eyes still glittered pale yellow, but his voice was as expressionless as ever.

"You will leave here in two days," he stated.

Then, he turned from her and continued down the path he should not have strayed from only fifteen minutes earlier.

Kagome remained there for a moment, leaning against the wall. Eventually, her legs started to move, mechanically returning her to her room.

Rin would be worried. Before entering, Kagome pasted a smile on her face. The little girl's cheerful expression returned when Kagome reassured her that everything was okay.

She just wished she could convince herself of the same thing.

**********

Sesshoumaru stood, looking out the window of the room he used as a study. Jaken was rattling on endlessly, elated to have the opportunity to supply his master with information.

Finally, Jaken arrived at the subject at hand: news from the South.

"There is a woman there, Sesshoumaru-sama. She is very unusual. It is said that she has unique skill as a fighter. The youkai there fear her, including the Lord of the Southern Lands. Bah! To fear a mere human! What pathetic excuses for youkai! Not at all like Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Listening with half an ear as Jaken continued his spiel about the general uselessness of the human species, Sesshoumaru paused thoughtfully. He had heard rumors of unrest among the youkai in the South, but would not have suspected that a human was the cause. Few of them were powerful enough to be a significant threat to his kind.

He suspected that the woman had started to fight the youkai because they sought her out, wanting to brag about her defeat. Such foolish glory-seekers were not his concern.

This woman, however, sounded interesting.

"Tell me all that you know about her, Jaken."

Sesshoumaru forcefully turned his thoughts away from an entirely different female who was currently tying his brain in knots. Never before had a woman challenged him so, and his reaction to her spirit had overwhelmed and stunned him.

Kagome was trouble. The sooner he was rid of her, the better.

Jaken scowled. Sesshoumaru-sama was wasting too much of his precious time involving himself with humans, in his lowly opinion. Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama was one of the greatest youkai who ever lived, and Jaken was sure that he had reasons for this unseemly behavior. Ah, the great and wonderful Sesshoumaru-sama! How Jaken lived to bask in his mighty glow!

Jaken had gone silent during his protracted Sesshoumaru-appreciation session. His bulging eyes took on a disturbing, glassy look. After a few moments, the subject of his adulation casually clouted him over the head, much like someone might hit a gadget that had inexplicably ceased to function.

"Jaken. This woman from the South," he demanded.

"Ah yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! She is unconventional. She is a miko, but was not trained as a child. They say that it may be part of her power. Few who have faced her have lived to tell of it. Those that have say she fights in a way they have never seen before," Jaken supplied eagerly.

Sesshoumaru motioned silently for Jaken to continue.

"She does not fight in the traditional fashion, Lord Sesshoumaru. There are few details, but it is said that she somehow uses her powers to assist her in close combat styles. This is all I know," Jaken concluded.

The taiyoukai's thoughts returned again to Kagome. He had to get her away from his household as soon as she was well. If she remained, he knew there would be trouble.

This strange attraction he felt would certainly leave with her.

He knew also that Kagome would not rest in her renewed search for the Shikon shards. She would surely die if she started on her hunt now. If she was killed, Rin would be upset, and he would never hear the end of it.

This mysterious miko, however, might be able to help Kagome, whose skills needed drastic improvement. Sesshoumaru shook his head in disgust as he remembered how easily defeated she had been in the woods. That would not do.

For Rin's sake, he would ensure Kagome's survival.

With a lightened heart, Sesshoumaru went to find his young charge, intending to compliment her on her horrible ink painting.

In two days, he would leave Kagome with this miko.

He hoped to high heaven that he would never see her again.

**********

Author's Note: This chapter is huge (at least for me). I'm stunned. Edited Feb. 24 to show a little more of where Sesshoumaru is coming from.

In other news, the loose ends of the plot are tying themselves off in my head, so I have a pretty good idea of what I'll be doing now.

Thanks, reviewers. I was suffering a block, read your reviews, and then it went away. I'm so happy that people aside from myself are enjoying this.

For those who like to know these things, the title of this story and the chapter titles are from "This Mess We're In" by PJ Harvey.