InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Feudal Family ❯ Sesshomaru's New Experience ( Chapter 7 )

Sesshomaru stirred and his eyelids lifted, showing a glimpse of his amber eyes underneath. He stifled a yawn and sat up, stretching. Looking down to his side, he hoped to see Kagome lying there sound asleep, but then remembered that she had left the room before he had fallen asleep. He stood up and walked over to his door, opening it and going out into the hall. As usual, he made sure his door was closed before heading to Kagome's room.

Being polite, Sesshomaru knocked on the doorframe, waiting patiently for Kagome to open the door. After a couple of minutes when Kagome hadn't opened the door, Sesshomaru guessed that she was probably taking a nap. Taking a deep breath, he slid the door open, peeking inside. He smiled at what he saw: Kagome was sleeping peacefully on top of her bed with Korari catnapping next to her. Sesshomaru chuckled softly to himself, opening the door fully and leaning against the doorframe. The two of them seem to have taken to each other quite nicely…

He made his way over to Kagome's bed, sitting beside her and looking at her sleeping face. He was tempted to reach out and touch her cheek, but he decided against it; he thought it would be rude of him to wake her up from such a tranquil sleep. He frowned slightly when he saw that Kagome seemed to be shivering. Realizing that he couldn't pull the blanket up over her because she was lying on top of it, he stood up and went to his room, gathering up the blanket from his bed and bringing it to Kagome. Silently, he lay the blanket over her, tucking her in lightly. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead then stood and left the room, closing the door so no one would disturb her nap. Sleep well, Kagome. Then just as he was about to walk off down the hall, he heard the voice that he had been dreading to hear…

“Lord Sesshomaru, you're awake!” hollered Jaken, running up to Sesshomaru, standing in front of him and looking up at him with his big yellow eyes. “My lord, did you sleep well?” A small bead of sweat rolled down his cheek when he saw the incredibly peeved look on his master's face. “M-my lord?”

Sesshomaru snatched the Staff of Two Heads out of Jaken's hand and whacked him with it, using the end of it to keep him on the ground. Glaring at the imp, he muttered angrily, “Be quiet! Kagome is sleeping, and I want nothing to wake her up. Which means you shall keep your mouth shut or I will not hesitate to chop it off your face. Understand?” He proceeded to let Jaken get to his feet after seeing the bewildered imp nod rapidly. He gave the staff back to Jaken and said coldly, “Now go.”

“Yes m'lord!” Without protest, Jaken hurried off down the hall, rushing downstairs. Sesshomaru shook his head, sighing to himself and went into his study, which was right next to Kagome's room. Deciding to read for a little while, he took out some scrolls and began reading the contents carefully. These should keep me busy for a little while. It's something to do while I wait for Kagome to awaken at least…

About an hour or so later, Sesshomaru realized that his throat was a little dry. He then remembered that he had not had a drink of water in a couple of days and stood, heading downstairs and going out the door. When he got outside he was greeted by Rin who was lying on the grass beside Ah-Un and looking up at the clouds.

“Where are you off to, my lord?” she asked curiously.

Sesshomaru smiled. “I'm merely off to get a drink of water at the nearby lake, nothing more. Even a demon like myself will dehydrate if he doesn't partake enough water.”

“Okay. Come back soon!” said Rin, sitting up and waving as Sesshomaru walked away.

“Don't worry, I won't be long.” In a few minutes, Sesshomaru was out of sight.

Rin looked into the direction Sesshomaru went, cocking her head to the side. “I wonder what Kagome-san is doing? I think I'll go see. Wait here, Ah-Un.” The dragon bellowed in its throats and both pairs of eyes watched as Rin went into the castle.

Making her way upstairs, Rin stopped when she got in front of Kagome's room. Just as she raised her hand to knock, Jaken came running up to her, panting because he had ran all the way up the stairs to follow her when he saw her go up there.

“Rin, you mustn't wake Kagome! If you do, Sesshomaru will think I did it and he will kill me for sure! Ignore your curiosity and just let her be!” whispered Jaken desperately.

Rin blinked confusedly but nodded nonetheless. “Okay, Master Jaken, I won't wake her up.” With that, she disappeared down the stairs to go back outside and watch the clouds go by. Jaken sighed with relief and followed the little girl down the stairs.

Meanwhile, in Kagome's room, Korari was licking Kagome's cheek and mewing softly, trying to wake her up. Her efforts paid off when Kagome finally opened her eyes and sat up, letting out a soft yawn and stretching.

“Ah, that was a nice nap. I was nice and warm too, considering I didn't get under the-“ her sentence was cut off when she realized that she did have a blanket on her after all. When she guessed how it had got there, she grinned.

“Sesshomaru must've put this on me so I wouldn't get cold. He's so kind, don't you think so, Korari?” She laughed when Korari replied with an adorable meow. Getting out of bed, Kagome made her way over to the door and stepped out into the hallway, going to Sesshomaru's room to check on him. Korari just sat in the doorway of Kagome's room, licking her right forepaw and washing her face with it.

Kagome was a little surprised to see that Sesshomaru wasn't in his bed. Wow, he actually woke up before me this time? That's new. Maybe he's in his study. Upon checking his study, Kagome learned that he wasn't in there either. Placing her hands on her hips she went downstairs, deciding to look around down there. Korari bounded down the stairs after her.

“Where on earth could that demon have gotten to?” She nearly jumped when she heard someone cry out from the hallway to her left. Looking into the direction of the voice, she saw Jaken running toward her, tears streaming down his cheeks. Kneeling down, Kagome looked at him, puzzled.

“Jaken, what's wrong?” she questioned.

“Please forgive me, I did not mean to wake you! Oh, please forgive me! Please don't tell Sesshomaru I woke you up; if you do, he'll have my head! I implore you, have mercy!” cried Jaken, bowing low to Kagome and sobbing.

Korari cocked her head, blinking, her two tails wagging. She seemed just as bewildered as her master was at Jaken's strange behavior.

Kagome was extremely confused now. “Jaken, what the heck are you talking about? Korari woke me up, not you. Besides, you don't have to worry about me telling Sesshomaru even if you did wake me up.”

Jaken stopped sobbing almost immediately and stood upright, a gratified look on his face. “Thank you for your mercy!” After thanking the young priestess, Jaken took off back down the hallway he had come from.

Kagome and Korari blinked then looked at each other, both equally bewildered. But after witnessing Jaken bow to her rather than Sesshomaru for once was very rare and Kagome couldn't help but laugh.

“Such a strange little demon Jaken is, don't you think, Korari?” The little cat demon meowed in reply which probably meant she agreed to what Kagome was saying.

“Come on. Let's go find Sesshomaru.” With that, Kagome and Korari went outside to resume their search for the demon lord.

Rin looked up when she heard Kagome calling out Sesshomaru's name and sat up, turning to see Kagome and Korari. She smiled and called, “Kagome, Sesshomaru went to go get a drink of water at the nearby lake if you want to know where he is!”

Kagome smiled and waved to Rin, saying, “Thank you, Rin. I'll be back in a little bit!” Saying nothing more, Kagome ran off into the direction of the lake where she frequently went swimming. She had a little something in store for Sesshomaru and hoped the flowers that grew around the lake from spring to winter were still in bloom. She looked down at Korari, smiling.

“Korari, I need your help on this… Do you think you can do it?” She got a small meow in reply.

Sesshomaru knelt beside the lake, dipping his hands into the ice-cold water and drinking it thirstily. He almost shivered when he felt the icy liquid slide down his throat and into his stomach. He took many more sips after that until he was satisfied then simply sat there on the sand, looking out at the sparkling water. There was a balmy breeze blowing in from the east and it made Sesshomaru's hair fan out slightly. He enjoyed the light caress of the wind and closed his eyes, completely relaxing to the strong scent of flowers and water.

Kagome spotted Sesshomaru by the water and smirked, walking toward him from behind very slowly. She was relieved to see that he was still turned toward the lake and wondered if the scent of the flowers was strong enough to dull his sense of smell for at least a little while. Time to take action… She looked at Korari, who was sitting on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Okay Korari, you're up. Just do everything I told ya and you'll do fine, alright?”

Korari nodded her head, blinking her big green eyes and seeming to understand what she was supposed to do.

Kagome smiled. “Good girl. Go for it, Korari.” Moments after being dismissed, Korari jumped off of her owner's shoulder, running back a few feet and transforming into her larger form. Taking to the air, she flew away for a short distance before turning around and heading toward the lake: right in Sesshomaru's sight range.

Sesshomaru blinked when he saw Korari flying above the lake and doing little stunts in midair. He did nothing but just sat there and watched. He couldn't help but wonder why Korari wasn't with Kagome who was supposedly at his castle What on earth is Korari doing all the way out here? He smiled slightly. She's just like Kagome… She's a free spirit…

Kagome was now within touching range of Sesshomaru and smirked, kneeling down behind him as quietly as possible. She held both hands up in front of her, trying her hardest not to giggle and blow her cover.

She obviously wasn't quiet enough because Sesshomaru heard the grass rustle when she had knelt down behind him but, thinking it was nothing, he didn't pay any heed to it.

Wasting no time, Kagome thrust her hands forward toward Sesshomaru's back and pushed him as hard as she could.

Sesshomaru had only enough time to let out a surprised gasp before he plunged headfirst into the water, causing a big splash. Immediately, his body became numbed from the cold water surrounding him. Blinking, he swam upward, breaking the surface of the water and taking in several deep breaths. His hair was sopping wet and he used one hand to move his bangs away from his eyes so he could see who had pushed him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Kagome kneeling beside the lake and laughing at him.

“Oh my god that was hilarious!” she cried, falling onto her back with tears in her eyes because she was laughing so hard.

Sesshomaru glared at her, keeping himself above the water by moving his arms and legs slowly. His hair fanned out all around him in the water, drifting on the surface like a blanket. He was shivering slightly from how cold he was, but Kagome was too busy laughing to even notice.

“Was that really necessary, Kagome…?” he growled.

Kagome sat up and got onto all fours beside the lake, stopping a new wave of giggles from coming out. “Sorry Sesshomaru, but I did say I would get you back for what you did when we were training.”

“Oh, right… the whip incident… Listen, I did apologize for that earlier… You mean to say you're still bitter towards me for doing that to you?” questioned Sesshomaru, an eyebrow raised.

Kagome shook her head and the smile never left her face.

“No, I'm not mad at you. Let's just say this is a little payback. Now we're even,” she said finally, looking at the wet demon lord. I rarely see him when he's wet… He looks good with water on him.

Sesshomaru inclined his head, showing that he knew Kagome was right. Still, something inside him was telling him that they were not even yet. He diverted his attention to the sparkling water, mulling this insignificant dilemma over and over in his head. Finally, he came up with a reason. Turning his eyes back to Kagome, his lips curved into a smirk. And it was a very, very mischievous smirk indeed.

Kagome's eyes widened when she saw the `evil' smile and she immediately began wondering what Sesshomaru was scheming.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” she asked.

Sesshomaru chuckled. “You are wrong, Kagome… We are not yet even…”

“We aren't? How so?”

“Because…” As quick as lightning, Sesshomaru's right hand found Kagome's left wrist and he held on firmly.

Kagome was surprised by this sudden action and let out a small gasp. “Because what?”

“Because…” Sesshomaru pulled Kagome forward and into the water with him, letting go of her wrist, “…you're not wet.”

Kagome screamed as she fell into the frigid water and she swam to the surface hastily, grabbing onto Sesshomaru and wrapping her arms around his neck, huddling nearer to him to try to get warm. “C-cold, so cold! S-Sesshomaru, you s-sneak!”

Sesshomaru couldn't stop himself from laughing and wrapped his left arm around Kagome's waist, holding her close and swimming over to shallower water with her until their feet could touch the bottom of the lake. He smiled at her, rubbing her back with his hand.

“You are the sly one, Kagome, not I. Are you not the one who used Korari to distract me while you pushed me into the water?” he inquired matter-of-factly.

Kagome pouted, unwrapping her arms from around Sesshomaru's neck and hugging herself instead, rubbing her arms to attempt getting the feeling back into them.

“Yeah, yeah, alright… We're b-both wet so n-now we're even… Happy now?” she mumbled.

“More than you could ever know…”

The tone in Sesshomaru's voice caught Kagome's attention as easily as a cat could catch a mouse. It was playful, a tone that Sesshomaru rarely had around Kagome. And it confused Kagome greatly.

“Sesshomaru… are you feeling okay? Your voice just sounded a bit impish for a minute there…”

“Meaning…?”

“Meaning it sounded more playful than usual…”

Sesshomaru chuckled and brushed Kagome's wet bangs away from her face, placing a light kiss on her forehead. Gazing into her eyes, he caressed her cheek with his hand, smiling at her. She's so beautiful… Even more so when her hair is wet…

Kagome was thinking something similar, only she used different words. She couldn't believe that anyone could have such beautiful hair. Without paying attention to what she was doing, Kagome took hold of a little bit of Sesshomaru's hair, twirling the shining white strands around her fingers.

Sesshomaru made a small sound when he felt the slight tug and couldn't help but smile. He didn't care if Kagome was entwining his hair around her fingers a little too tight; it just felt too good. Returning the favor, he slid his right hand up her back and to the back of her head, running his fingers through her long, wet, black tresses.

Kagome had to smile after he started doing this and placed a light kiss on his cheek, whispering warmly to him, “Your hair is so beautiful… and so soft…”

Sesshomaru leaned in close to Kagome's ear and cooed, “So is yours…”

“Yours is nicer…” insisted Kagome in a sing-song voice. She heard Sesshomaru chuckle.

“Thank you… I appreciate the compliment.” Sesshomaru unwrapped his arms from around Kagome and turned, as if he was going toward shore to get out of the water.

“Hey, where are you going?” asked Kagome, starting to follow him.

Perfect.

As soon as Kagome was about three feet behind Sesshomaru, the demon lord whipped around and swept his hand quickly over the surface of the water, sending a splash of water at her.

Kagome screamed when the water hit her and she began feeling even colder than before. It felt as though someone had dumped an entire bucket of ice over her head and most of it went down her dress. Glaring at Sesshomaru, she screamed, “Man, Sesshomaru, can't you see I'm already freezing as it is?!” No matter how fierce she tried to sound, there was a trace of amusement in her voice.

Sesshomaru laughed. He explained, “I couldn't help myself. I just think you look good when you're wet.”

Kagome smirked. “Is that so? Well…” Then, without warning, she returned the favor to Sesshomaru and splashed him with water using both hands, laughing at him. “You look good when you're wet too!”

Sesshomaru tensed and clenched his teeth when he felt the frigid water soak right through his clothes and touch his skin. He couldn't believe how freezing cold it was; in the middle of summer nonetheless! When he had recovered somewhat, he glanced at Kagome from the corner of his left eye, a frown on his face.

“Well, Kagome… you're going to regret that,” he pointedly said, turning around fully so he was facing her.

Kagome clasped her hands behind her back and innocently stated, “Aw, but I'm only playin'.”

“I know… so am I.”

This caught Kagome's attention but before she had time to reply, Sesshomaru had jumped on her, knocking her down and going underwater with her. Kagome blinked in surprise, holding her breath and gazing into his eyes.

Sesshomaru simply smiled at her and wrapped his left arm around her waist, standing up and bringing her to the surface with him (they were still in shallow water so the water was only about four feet deep).

“Sesshomaru, I don't get it. You were never one for having fun, so why are you doing this?” asked Kagome, a little confused and surprised. She hadn't expected such a playful reaction from Sesshomaru after he told her she would regret splashing him. Obviously, she knew he was kidding by saying that, but still.

“It is your birthday, is it not?” questioned Sesshomaru, still smiling at Kagome.

“Well, yeah, but I still don't…”

“I'm doing all this for you, Kagome… Whatever makes you happy, I will gladly oblige on this day.”

Kagome was flattered. Smiling, she splashed Sesshomaru again, moving away from him and waiting for him to follow her.

The next few hours were spent in the lake, sloshing around and having a good time. And fun was not something Sesshomaru had very often.