InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Feudal Family ❯ A Wonderful Birthday Present ( Chapter 3 )

Kagome stretched her arms skyward and yawned, following Sesshomaru to a location unknown. She had only been in her era in present day Japan for three days, but she had missed Sesshomaru and Rin every moment. She had grown extremely close to the demon lord, the young human girl, the dragon, and even the little imp during the three years she had been traveling with them. She remembered Sesshomaru asking her to be Rin's surrogate mother three years ago and kept her word, protecting Rin as if she were her own. When she had first met the girl, Rin was five-years-old. But now she was eight, ten years younger than Kagome.

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru and smiled. Sesshomaru felt Kagome's gaze and turned his head slightly so he could see her.

“Why do you stare at me so, priestess?” he questioned. Kagome giggled and moved closer to Sesshomaru, resting her right hand on his back. Sesshomaru stiffened, not removing his gaze from the young woman. A sweet smile remained on Kagome's face.

“I'm just glad to see you is all,” she replied. Sesshomaru smiled at her and wrapped his left arm around Kagome, holding her close.

“Likewise. You have been gone for days and I was beginning to wonder if you were okay. I was even considering going to your era to find you,” he stated truthfully. Kagome rolled her eyes.

“You're beginning to behave like Inuyasha now, ya know…” she muttered with a hint of amusement in her voice. Inuyasha was Sesshomaru's little brother, who was a half-demon. He and Kagome used to be together but when Kagome saw Inuyasha with a dead priestess known as Kikyo, whom she was reincarnated from, she left him.

Sesshomaru chuckled. “You cannot blame me for worrying about your safety whenever you're on the other side of the well.”

“You're right. But still, Inuyasha used to come and get me all the time if I was late to return. Speaking of which, I wonder how he's doing?” Sesshomaru made a small disapproving sound and said, “He and myself crossed paths earlier… He requested that I tell you he hopes you're doing okay and made a point that if I should harm you there will be hell to pay.” Kagome let out a sigh and looked up at the sky.

“I see… So, the usual death threats, huh?” Sesshomaru nodded.

“Indeed. But I would never hurt you. Not again… I already ended up trying to kill you when I first met you in my father's tomb three years ago…” he reminded. Kagome frowned and shook her head, eyes closed.

“Sesshomaru, I've already told you again and again that that day is a thing in the past… Forget about it, okay?” she pleaded, leaning up and placing a kiss on his cheek.

Sesshomaru nodded. “Very well. Come, I have a gift for you. It's at my castle.” Kagome smiled and blushed a bit when she heard what he said.

“You have a gift? For me?” she questioned shyly. Sesshomaru chuckled and bowed his head, confirming what he had said.

“Yes. Come, I shall take you.” Sesshomaru stopped walking and looked up at the sky, his hair and clothes billowing in a small breeze. Kagome gasped when the two of them rose off the ground. They were floating through the air on a mass of dust from the earth. She grabbed onto Sesshomaru's left arm, afraid that she would fall. Sesshomaru looked down at her, smiling slightly.

“It's alright, I won't let you fall,” he assured. Kagome beamed.

Jaken looked up at his lord and master flying away and ran after him, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Lord Sesshomaru, please don't leave me behind again!” Rin giggled and climbed onto Ah-Un's back. The dragon flew after Jaken and Rin bent down and grabbed him by the back of his kimono, pulling him onto Ah-Un's back with her.

“It's okay, Jaken, he won't leave us behind. Lets go, Ah-Un!” she said, whipping the dragon's reins against its two necks. The dragon bellowed and took to the air, following Sesshomaru and Kagome.

Kagome looked out over the horizon, amazed at how beautiful the land and sky seemed when she was up so high in the air. But in reality, she knew the world was not as perfect as it looked. Demons were abundant everywhere, on the land, in bodies of water, in the air, everywhere. But Kagome pushed the facts aside and took her time looking at the breath-taking scenery. The morning sun cast its brilliant rays over the mountains, making them look like they were giving off a faint glow; the trees swayed when a breeze blew through their leaves.

“It's so beautiful up here…” sighed Kagome, leaning on Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru smiled. “It is indeed…”

As Kagome looked down, she saw several villagers tending to their crops in the fields surrounding their villages. It reminded her of the old Priestess Kaede's village and she wondered how her friends were doing. She prayed that they were all safe and that they would meet each other again very soon. But she knew that that wish wouldn't be so easily granted. Now that Sango, a talented demon-slayer had her little brother Kohaku back (three years before, an evil demon by the name of Naraku planted a fragment of the Sacred Jewel in Kohaku's back, allowing him to control the boy), she had returned to the village of the demon-slayers: her former home.

Kagome figured that her friend Miroku, a lecherous monk, went back to the temple where he grew up.

Then there was Shippo, the young fox demon. Three years before, his father was slain by two evil demons called Hiten and Manten, formally known as the Thunder Brothers. With the help of Inuyasha and Kagome, he avenged his father. Kagome knew that Shippo was an orphan and knew he had nowhere to go. So she hoped that Inuyasha was taking care of him in her absence.

Sesshomaru noticed Kagome's silence and shook her slightly with the arm he had wrapped around her waist.

Kagome snapped out of the little daze she was in and looked up at Sesshomaru. “What?”

“You were too quiet. What's on your mind?” questioned Sesshomaru. Kagome smiled and said, “Oh, nothing much. I just wonder if everyone's okay? You saw Inuyasha earlier, so I know he's okay, but I don't know about the others… I can't help but worry about them, because I traveled with them long before I began traveling with you…”

Sesshomaru nodded, understanding. “I see. If it makes you feel any better, I asked Inuyasha if he knew how everyone was getting along. He said Shippo was staying with him and that he saw Miroku and Sango yesterday. I assure you, they're all fine.”

Kagome smiled happily, crying, “Oh, that's great! We'll have to visit them sometime, Sesshomaru.” She looked at the demon lord, a hopeful look on her face. “Can we?”

“Of course.” Kagome beamed and pointed to a large castle in the distance.

“There's your castle,” she noted. Sesshomaru flew into the direction of his castle, anxious about whether Kagome would like the gift he had for her or not. But he had a strong feeling that she would.

Rin watched the couple from behind, riding on Ah-Un's back with Jaken sitting behind her. She sighed dreamily, a distant expression on her face.

“Don't they look adorable together, Master Jaken?” she asked the imp. Jaken grumbled and said, “I just don't understand what Lord Sesshomaru sees in that mortal woman…”

Rin looked over her shoulder at Jaken, an angry expression on her usually sweet face. “That wasn't nice! I'll tell you why Sesshomaru likes Kagome so much; she's sweet, generous, and really kind to him and me. She's even kind to you, Master Jaken, and you don't even thank her for all she's done for us!”

Jaken's eyes were wide with shock but he regained his composure and scolded Rin for talking to him so harshly. “You miserable child, how dare you speak to me that way!”

Rin rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Kagome and Sesshomaru, completely ignoring the annoying imp behind her. Jaken is so rude…

Ten minutes later, the group arrived at Sesshomaru's castle. It was a large manor with several rooms. It was so vast that it took Kagome ten days to get used to the layout and be able to wander its halls without getting lost.

Sesshomaru brought the cloud of dust that he and Kagome were riding on down to the ground and it vanished back into the earth. A few feet away, Rin landed Ah-Un, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Kagome looked at the castle and smiled, walking towards it and doing a small twirl on the ground, the skirt of her summer-dress fanning out as she spun.

“Ah, home sweet home…” she sighed happily. Technically, Kagome had two homes: the one in present-day Japan and Sesshomaru's castle in the Feudal era.

Sesshomaru watched Kagome twirling freely in front of his home and smiled. She's so carefree… She may be a fully-grown woman today, but she is exactly the same as she was when I first met her: a caring, selfless, beautiful young girl. He walked up to Kagome and placed his hand on her shoulder, saying, “Come inside. Your gift is waiting for you in your sleeping quarters.” Kagome smiled and nodded her head, following Sesshomaru into the castle.

Rin slid off of Ah-Un's back and ran towards the castle entrance, wanting to get inside so she could see how Kagome would react when she saw what her present was. She looked over her shoulder at Jaken, who was getting off of Ah-Un's back, as she ran, calling to him, “Come on, Jaken, get those little legs of yours moving or you'll miss it!”

Jaken sighed and dawdled after Rin, still confused about why Sesshomaru even bothered getting a gift for a human. Ever since Lord Sesshomaru met Rin, he has been different… He no longer despises humans as he used to. He doesn't treat all of them as equals, but he doesn't treat them as inferior either. He's changed…

Sesshomaru led Kagome to her room and stood in front of the closed door, holding it closed. He smiled slightly. “Are you ready?”

Kagome nodded, her hands folded in front of her lips. There was a gleam of excitement in her eyes as she confirmed, “Yes, I'm ready.”

Sesshomaru slid the door open and stepped aside, bowing his head politely as Kagome walked into her room. He went in after her, leaving the door open behind him.

Kagome stopped in her tracks in surprise when she saw what her gift was. “Oh my god…”

There on Kagome's bed was a two-tailed cat. It had bright green eyes and its fur was pale-yellow except for its paws, the tips of its tails and the scruff of long fur around its neck. It looked almost exactly like Sango the demon-slayer's companion Kirara, a female cat demon.

The little cat demon mewed softly, scratching itself behind the ears with one of its paws, its two tails waving back and forth. Kagome smiled and ran up to her bed, sitting beside her present and lifting it up gently, holding it in her arms and stroking it lightly.

“Oh Sesshomaru, she's adorable! Thank you so much!” she cried, an ecstatic expression on her face.

It was at that moment that Rin ran into the room and knelt in front of Kagome, a big smile across her lips. “Do you really like it, Kagome-san?”

Kagome nodded and placed a hand on the girl's head, stroking Rin's hair. “Yes, I love it!”

Sesshomaru smiled a little and sat beside Kagome on the bed, reaching over with his left hand and putting it on her knee.

“This gift isn't only from me; it's from Rin as well,” he said.

Kagome inclined her head, understanding. “I see. Well it's a wonderful gift, you two. I will take good care of her. But where did you find her?”

“We found her in the southern lands while we were traveling. She was badly hurt and couldn't really move on her own. If I hadn't heard her meowing, she might've died because of her injuries,” replied Rin.

“But it just so happens that my servant, Myra has healing powers that have been passed on through her family and she was able to heal this cat demon's wounds. I remembered you telling me that you are fond of cats and got the idea of giving her to you as a birthday present when you returned,” finished Sesshomaru.

Kagome giggled and placed the cat demon on her lap, smiling as it began purring.

“I see. That was very generous of you, Sesshomaru. And you too, Rin,” she complimented.

“Thank you, Kagome,” said Rin. “I'm glad you like her. And I guess she likes you too, because I can hear her purring even from here.” Kagome and Rin laughed.

After a few minutes pause, Sesshomaru broke the silence with his deep, attractive and uniquely masculine voice. “Kagome, surely you wish to name your new companion?”

Kagome looked at him. “Yeah, I do. But what would be a good name for her?” She thought and thought and thought but could not think of a name for the cat demon. Just as she was about to ask Rin and Sesshomaru for help, it came to her. Lifting the little cat demon off of her lap and holding her in front of her face, she said, “I'll name her Korari.”

Sesshomaru nodded his approval. “A suiting name for a cat demon.” Kagome smiled.

The cat demon, liking her new name, closed her eyes and meowed happily, her tails twitching to and fro. Kagome giggled and rubbed noses with Korari, liking the feel of the feline's fur.

When she was finished, she put Korari down on the bed, watching what she would do. Korari sat down on her haunches and looked around at everyone. When she spotted Rin, she made a small mew, walked over to her, hopped onto her lap, and looked up at the girl with those big green eyes of hers.

Rin giggled, tickled pink by Korari's behavior. She placed her hand on the demon cat's back, stroking the long, soft fur. “What a sweet little kitty you are.”

After Korari was finished being stroked by Rin, she jumped off of her lap and made her way over to Sesshomaru, standing on her hind legs and resting her two front paws on his knee.

Sesshomaru looked down at Korari, surprised. “What is it?”

Korari meowed and pawed at Sesshomaru's leg expectantly.

Realizing what Korari must've wanted, Sesshomaru moved his hand across her fur, petting her as gently as he could.

Korari purred and climbed onto Sesshomaru's left leg, pulling at the silk of the demon lord's pants lightly with her claws.

Sesshomaru chuckled. “I don't know why she's acting so fond of me; I didn't really do anything to help her when she was injured. I merely told Rin to take her with us and instructed Myra to heal her.”

“Sesshomaru, you did help her by letting Rin take her with you and telling Myra to heal her wounds. She respects you for that,” said Kagome.

Sesshomaru nodded and agreed, “I suppose you're right, Kagome.” He looked down at the little cat demon on his leg and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Sesshomaru picked up Korari and held her with one arm, standing up.

“Come, we should allow Korari to get some exercise. She has not been out of the castle since Rin brought her home with us,” he remembered, walking towards the door. Kagome and Rin agreed and followed Sesshomaru out the door.

Jaken, who was standing outside of Kagome's room, stepped out of the way as not to get trampled for the second time that day. He walked behind the group. He may have thought Sesshomaru's behavior was a little strange but he still admired the demon lord's strength and cunning. I will serve Lord Sesshomaru until I die, no matter who he pledges allegiance with…