Chapter Twelve – Her True Training Begins
She was going to release. He could feel it in the fluttering of her sheath and hear it in the panting breaths that puffed against his shoulder, and he braced himself for the impact of his own climax as she clamped down on him, the heat of her nearly burning the delicate skin of his manhood. He snarled in her face and pulled out of her the instant before he burst, painting her belly and breasts with his seed. She laid there, chest heaving, even as he pushed himself away from her and noted with marked frustration that he still was not satisfied. 'Not satisfied,' his carnal mind whispered, 'because you have not had that which you truly desire. Look, those eyes are not the blue ones you wish to see; those legs are not the lithe ones you wish to feel; that womanhood is not the slick one you truly wish to be buried in.' He suppressed a snarl of pure frustration, turning his face away from the woman who was still trying to regulate her breathing. 'Has the human truly wormed her way so deeply into this Sesshomaru's desires?' He drew in a silent breath, cutting the concubine a look from the corner of his eye. "You are dismissed. This one requires Kotono; send her to the springs." Instantly, the female gathered her kimono, which he hadn't completely removed before making his use of her body, and clutched it across her breasts as she stood, bowing to him and leaving the room. The scent of his spent seed trailed after her, but unlike any of his others, Chiru was not bothered by his abrupt dismissal, and so the smell of him was not tinged by the sour odor of ill feelings. He forewent the simple task of gathering a yukata about his person and exited his bedchamber, leaving the screen ajar and padding through the halls of his wing with little regard to his state of undress. The balmy air of his personal springs, free from the horrid stench that regularly accompanied a natural pool, caressed his bare skin like a lover, and he waded into the heated water, the muscles of his abdomen jerking in response to the change in temperature. Once settled on a shelf beneath the water, he leaned his head back against the ledge and closed his eyes, the heavy weight of his hair draped over one shoulder. His mind was immediately occupied with musings on the miko, and he noted that his length stiffened as soon as the imagined image of her pink-tipped breasts presented itself to his mind's eye. He wanted, very suddenly, to be disgusted by the fact that he so severely desired the human, but the loathing he usually felt in regard to bedding one of her race didn't come. 'Accepting her as a concubine has made it a…desirable…prospect,' he realized, noting that he had been unable to pull that disgust to the forefront of his mind since the evening he declared her as the twelfth. 'Perhaps you've always harbored a desire for human flesh,' his traitorous mind supplied in response to the puzzlement he felt upon that realization. He immediately dismissed the notion. He had never once in his long life entertained even a flickering spark of want for a human female, and there was no true reason for his obviously addled mind to come up with such a notion. 'This Sesshomaru has developed the desire only for her, that much is certain.' The sound of the shoji screen hissing along its tracks pulled him out of his musings, and he watched as Kotono closed the door behind her and stepped carefully to the lip of the pool, kneeling and fixing him with a curious light in her green eyes. He contemplated her for a moment, taking in the delicate line of her jaw and the elegant slope of her neck. His sight wavered, replacing green eyes with blue and violet hair with black, and then he blinked and realized that he had not spoken and that his first was eyeing him as though she were questioning his sanity. "I desire her," he said at last, speaking simply only because he had neither the want nor the motivation to word the statement any other way. Understanding dawned in her gaze, and it was the same understanding she'd shown him the day before, when he'd demanded she follow him from the courtyard, leaving the two miko alone just so he could make use of her. She'd allowed him to take her as many times as he needed her, and nary had a complaint passed her lips. "My lord, I do not know when she will be ready," Kotono responded, her tone careful. "I care not for what you do not know, dragoness." The words were not harsh, and the demoness sighed lightly, the sound echoing in the large room. "She cannot be taken until her powers are tamed," she said, and Sesshomaru had the distinct feeling that she was threatening him, warning him not to attempt to defile the miko before her training was complete. Shifting in the water, he narrowed his eyes at her, pleased at the submissive drop of her youki as she recognized his rebuke. "Very well. The miko has one moon cycle with which to train her; you may consider that your allotted training period as well." "My lord, I mean no disrespect, but that is not enough time to—" "Do not defy me, Kotono." She snapped her jaw shut, eyes suddenly flaring to life with the fire he knew she possessed beneath her demure façade. He waited, wondering if she would speak out against him as she so obviously wanted. In the end, propriety overruled her frustration but did not quite stifle her need to be heard. "My lord must make an effort to endear her to him, then. I shall not attempt this on my own." "You make demands of this Sesshomaru?" "Never. I make a request." For a long moment, he considered the demoness. 'She has been mine for three centuries,' he realized, remembering only now that he had taken her as his first on the same night he had taken the miko as his twelfth. It felt like such a long time ago, the night he had used the dragoness' body for his own pleasure, but in reality, the span of years was nothing to him; what was three centuries when he could live for many millennia? 'Still…' They had both changed since then, had grown up and grown into each other in ways that he had never known a concubine and lord could grow; what had started out as revenge for him and atonement for her had developed into mutual acquaintanceship. 'Could this one not grant her one request? It is not as though she is asking something of me that I cannot provide…' He inclined his head. "Your request shall be granted." The tension that had steeled her spine slipped out of her in a breath, and her eyes softened. "Thank you, Sesshomaru." He lifted a hand and waved her away.
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Suzume tried not to laugh, she really did. Kagome could tell, however, that the deep breaths and forceful swallows weren't helping; a very unladylike snorting sound left the elder miko's lips every now and then, harshly reminding Kagome that she was doing a very horrible job of trying to meditate. "This isn't working," Suzume observed after a few more moments, the thick amusement in her voice only serving to heighten the rapidly ascending level of Kagome's mortification. Sighing as she opened her eyes and stopped attempting to imagine a peaceful place, Kagome unfolded her legs and leaned back on her hands, wincing lightly as the uncomfortably rough fabric of the miko's garb chaffed against her skin. 'I've actually gotten used to silk,' she thought dryly, having previously believed that she would never become accustomed to the fine cloth. Sitting across from her, feet tucked neatly beneath her body, Suzume was watching her with a look of complete and utter humor shining in her gray eyes. Kagome scowled. "You're supposed to be teaching me," she grumped, "not making fun of me." Suzume shrugged. "Maybe you shouldn't be so easily made fun of," she responded. Kagome rolled her eyes. "The kami should have made you a jester instead." "I doubt I would have had the pleasure of meeting you if that were the case." "You're a horrible flatterer." "I wasn't trying to—" "—and a horrible liar—" "—flatter you, I was simply being—" "—polite, I know." "Yes, polite. And didn't your mother ever teach you not to interrupt your betters when they're speaking?" "Of course she did." "Tch. A shame you're disregarding her lesson." "A shame you think I'm disregarding it rather than choosing who's better than me." "Are you saying I'm not your elder, whom you should respect?" "No; I think everyone knows you're an elder, obaa-san." "Such a sharp tongue." "I was told to speak freely, was I not?" "Oh, and now we're being haughty, are we?" "I am of higher status than you." "Only because of whom you belong to." "Jealousy doesn't befit you, miko-san." "I feel no such emotion, my lady." "Like I said, you're a horrible liar." "And your observational skills are severely lacking; I make no attempt to lie." "You just did." "I beg to differ." "Of course you do. Are you being difficult on purpose?" "Difficult, no. Honest, yes." "You haven't an honest bone in your body." "Haughty again, my lady? I thought we were past that." "It's called stationary appropriate, not haughty." "Well, you most certainly have a way with words, don't you? 'Stationary appropriate'? Did you pick that up from Kotono?" "I'm quite capable of coming up with things on my own, you know." "Oh? Forgive me for assuming you were just another concubine." "'Just another concubine'? Is that to say that you believe my peers unintelligent?" "I made no such accusation." "Good, because you haven't met all of them and can make no such judgment." "And you can make such a judgment?" "That isn't any of your business, now is it?" "Apologies, my lady, but I was only—" "Being polite, I know." A silence fell over them, and Kagome sighed lightly, feeling the tension and embarrassment she'd had earlier loosen and fly away on the breeze. The quick, snarky conversation was already forgotten, just like the many that she'd already had with the chirpy, straight-forward miko over the course of her three hour morning lesson. Their first bantering session had left her feeling oddly relaxed, and each one since had had the same effect. Kagome focused her attention back on the elder miko, and a lazy smile spread across the woman's lips. "Feel better now?" "How do you do that?" Suzume shrugged. "It is a gift." Her eyes sparkled. "And you make it so easy." Kagome sighed. "It seems like that's the only thing I make easy…Are you sure you want to try and teach me?" Suzume made a face, but remained silent for so long that Kagome felt a little stupid for asking. 'What kind of person asks that sort of question? You've been wanting a teacher for kami knows how long, and now that you've got one, you're going to make her rethink her decision in coming? Gods, Kagome!' And then Suzume spoke, and the self-depreciation she felt creeping up her spine turned and went back the way it came, shooting out of her toes and up into the arms of the kami. "Why else would I be here?" the miko asked. Kagome let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, shaking her head. "I don't know. Maybe because this is a favor for Kotono?" Suzume cocked her head to one side. "She asked, and I agreed, but I do want to do this. It is in my vows, after all, to help everyone who needs it." Kagome nodded, and then inspected the woman in the silence that followed. They hadn't known each other for long—not even a full day had passed since Suzume's arrival—but Kagome already liked the smaller miko. She was straightforward and almost carefree, and the difference between her disposition and the attitude of the village miko Kagome had known was like night and day. 'Maybe…maybe I can actually learn something from her.' The thought sent excitement coursing through her veins.
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Kotono surveyed the scene before her with a great deal of amusement. Naturally, she made no effort to hide it, and the blue gaze that darted in her direction lit with annoyance. "This isn't funny, Kotono," the petite human groused, ignoring the sound of disapproval that her teacher made at her obvious lack of attention. "On the contrary, little one," Kotono called lightly in response. "Now, straighten your back and stop talking." As expected, the statement only irritated the human further, and the glare leveled on her person multiplied tenfold, bringing with it a frigid gust of reiki. Ignoring the bumps that rippled along her flesh, Kotono smiled genially and tilted her head to the side, purposefully acting as though the malice Kagome was currently showing her did nothing but amuse her. 'Such a feisty little thing, she is.' She inwardly smirked, and then snapped open her fan and waved it lazily, sending light gusts of heat-scented air against her cheeks. "How much longer do I have to stand here?" Kagome asked, turning the force of her glare from demoness to miko. "I don't think this is helping me control my reiki." Waving a hand, Suzume didn't even deign to look up from the scroll spread in her lap. "You'll stand there until I say that you can stand elsewhere," she responded, sounding as though she only committed part of her attention to the answer. Kagome made an annoyed sound in her throat. "And when will that be?" Realizing what Suzume was doing, Kotono frowned lightly. 'I knew she would resort to…alternative measures, but why this?' She narrowed her eyes at the elder miko, who only spared her a short glance before turning her gaze to Kagome. "Right now," she said, smiling. "Take five steps backward and one step to your left." She waited. "Very good. Stay there." For a very long, very pregnant moment, there was silence. Kotono looked at Kagome and was nearly shocked at the expression of severe malice that fell over her features. "Little one," she cautioned, "calm yourself." Her words went unheeded, and the thick, hot scent of anger rushed into her nose in the same instant that the diminutive miko narrowed her eyes, ready, no doubt, to go into a tirade that would have the entire youkai population of the West cowering in fear. "Kagome…You are becoming unnecessarily hostile," Kotono tried again, keeping her voice pitched at a soothing tone although she wanted nothing more than to stand and back away from the threat of the miko's anger. 'This is dangerous…this is not acceptable. She cannot control her energies when she is like this…Suzume must stop her now before she—' Her thought never finished, because Suzume gave a dry chuckle, murmured something that sounded dangerously close to 'oh, so the lady has a temper', and then there was a barrier around her and she was watching in awe as the white tendrils of Kagome's reiki slithered along its surface. 'Dear gods…' She had never seen anything like it. Kagome's reiki was, like the woman who possessed it, unique in unimaginable ways. Shot through with vibrant streaks of blues and pinks, the holy energies gifted to her by the kami were a beautiful sight, though there was a danger in them that Kotono could clearly feel; even through Suzume's shimmering barrier, the murderous intent of Kagome's reiki battered against her senses, and she was positive that she would perish were she to try and place even a hair in its path. And then, just as quickly as it began, it ended. Kotono turned her gaze to Kagome, and could clearly see the shock that she felt reflected back at her; Suzume was murmuring lowly into the younger miko's ear, and Kotono felt her pulse begin to race as latent adrenaline shot through her, replacing the awe she'd felt. The trembling fingers that held her fan clenched tightly around the delicate structure in an attempt to cease the shaking, and only when every ounce of the warrior's drug drained out of her did she stand and make her way to the middle of the courtyard. "…could kill a youkai in an instant," Suzume was saying quietly, one hand on the miko's shoulder and the other clenching sporadically at her side. Kotono recognized the reflexive movement and made a mental note to inquire about the staff Suzume usually carried with her before turning her attention to Kagome, whose wide-eyed, frightful expression stirred something protective deep inside of her. "K-Kotono, I-I didn't know," the miko stammered, hands winding around and around each other in a nervous manner. Reaching up and grasping the wringing appendages, Kotono tucked her fan into her obi and shook her head, crooning in her throat. She reached up with her free hand to brush a tendril of stray hair back away from the miko's face, and then smiled as she held the trembling fingers in her own. "It matters not, little one." "But I could have killed you!" the young woman exclaimed, her scent tainting with the first nuances of distress. "Yes, you could have," Kotono responded slowly, belly jerking at the instant tears that welled up in the miko's eyes. "But that is why Suzume is here; to teach you how to control your reiki." Kagome took in a great gulp of air, and the minute tremors in her hands slowed and then ceased, but she didn't release the grip she had on Kotono's hands, and Kotono made no move to end the contact, sensing that the miko needed it more than she needed sensation in the tips of her fingers, which were numbing more and more as the moments passed. "A-am I really going to be able to control it?" Kagome ventured timidly, turning her eyes to the other woman standing beside her. With a single nod, Suzume smiled. "I will help you. I swear it."
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He couldn't say that he was shocked to see her, because he had purposefully followed her scent to this very spot, but he could say that he was shocked to see her in such a despondent state. 'Sadness does not become her,' he thought, watching as the water cast reflected beams of moonlight against her features. He waited for her to notice him, and when it became obvious that she was too lost in her thoughts to be aware of her surroundings, he deliberately scuffed his foot against the stone beneath him. She spun around instantly, brilliant blue eyes wide with surprise. "M-my lord!" He inclined his head. "Miko." He could see that she fought to find the correct thing to say, and he was impressed when she made the right decision. "Would my lord like to sit?" Giving her no answer, Sesshomaru strode to the bench and settled a comfortable distance away from her; although the seat was meant to be small enough so that an intimate couple might enjoy their surroundings, he would not want the miko to be unnecessarily unnerved by his proximity. 'That would be detrimental to my purpose,' he assured himself, despite the fact that the notion of sitting close to her gave him a thrill that he decided to ignore. She began to fidget, and from the corner of his eye, he could see that she was chewing nervously on her bottom lip, as she did when she began to fret. She cleared her throat. "I hope that my lord's day was pleasant?" He watched as a breeze caused the water before them to ripple and distort. "There are no pleasant days for one such as I," he responded. "You are a lord; can't you make your days enjoyable?" He glanced at her, wondering why she thought it that simple. "There are duties I must tend to in my every waking moment; I have not the time for frivolous plans." She shifted, turning toward him, and he looked at her more fully also, though he didn't quite remember deciding that he would do so. "What do you do for leisure, then?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious. The thought that he should tell her what he would like to do—preferably to her and numerous times at that—crossed his mind, but he shoved the desire away and formulated a proper response. "There are a great many reading scrolls at my disposal, and I did not fashion these gardens because it benefitted my health to do so." As he'd expected, her sweet scent spiked with ire at the second part of his statement, but then it faded and she blinked at him with innocent curiosity written all over her face. "What kind of reading scrolls?" He cocked a brow; her tone of voice indicated that she might be interested in seeing aforementioned scrolls. "You are learned?" She ducked her head, suddenly shy. "I…umm…can read and write and work numbers." Her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment, and he found himself intrigued by her mortification. "Why do you act as though those skills are frowned upon?" Swallowing audibly, she began to twirl her fingers in her lap, her skin wonderfully pale against the dark green fabric of her kimono. "I was not…desired because of them," she whispered, a sliver of remorse slicing through her tone. 'Not desired? Her knowledge of those things should have been prized above all else.' "Human men have always been ignorant of the more important aspects of a woman's worth," he murmured, feeling the usual disgust for the ningens flare to life in his stomach. Instantly, the little miko beside him looked at him with narrowed eyes. "All men aren't like that," she snapped, indignant ire making her eyes glitter like sapphires. "You shouldn't pass judgment so quickly." "The human man has never put any true thought into the way your women are treated," he responded coolly, though his skin was nearly shivering with the delight of feeling her anger. "And youkai males do?" "Our women are given the respect they deserve," he confirmed, "treasured for their intelligence as well as for their bodies." He spared her a sharp, superior glance. "There can be no desire for one and not the other." She opened her mouth, but what he said must have caught up with her in the instant she began to speak, and she sat there, staring at him with realization coming to life in her eyes and her perfect, pink lips parted slightly in shock. He allowed a smirk to cross his features, and the blush that immediately colored her cheeks made him wonder what it would be like to see the same color on her entire body. "I…" She visibly searched for words, and then looked away, cheeks still flushed. "Thank you, my lord." He inclined his head and allowed silence to fall over them. It was the miko who broke the serenity just moments later, and he instantly knew what had plagued her thoughts when he'd first joined her. "I…I almost killed Kotono today," she murmured hesitantly. He nodded when she looked up. "I am aware of your…lesson." "I'm sorry." "The blame is not yours." "Yes it is," she said as firmly as her fluctuating emotions would allow. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry." "And the miko should not have goaded you." Her lips pursed and her brows drew down into a scowl as she stubbornly shook her head. Her mood settled into a mixture of shame and determination, and when she raised her eyes from her lap, the former was swallowed by the latter. "I won't do it again." He admired her resolve.
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"Kagome, are you alright?" Kagome looked up, blinked, and then nodded and smiled. "I'm fine." She could tell that the dragoness didn't believe her. "You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?" Kotono asked slowly, suspicion coating her tone. Cheeks heating in embarrassment, Kagome shook her head, twirling her thumbs around each other. "No, I'm sorry." Kotono gave her an exasperated glance, sighing lightly before shifting on the step and turning the full brunt of her gaze onto the tiny miko. "How am I to teach you anything if you allow your mind to wander, hmm?" "I didn't do it on purpose," she responded defensively, trying not to wince. "I'm sorry." Kotono sighed again, and then waved a hand. "No matter." She remained silent for a moment, and Kagome watched her as she tilted her head to the sky, eyes sliding languidly over the stars. "Kagome," she murmured after a while, gaze still scanning the heavens, "do you think that you are beautiful?" Not expecting that, Kagome opened her mouth, and then closed it and frowned. 'Do I think I'm…beautiful?' She pictured her face and shrugged. "I don't know." Kotono made a noise in her throat. For a while longer, they sat on the front stoop as they were wont to do, and then, abruptly, the dragoness stood and pulled the human to her feet. Grasping her hand, Kotono led her into the building and to her quarters, sliding the fire and dragon scale shoji closed after them and fixing her with a determined gaze. "Remove your yukata," she demanded, eyes a serious, bright green. "Wh-what? Why?" Rolling her eyes in an uncharacteristic gesture, Kotono crossed the space between them and removed the garment for her, ignoring her protests and guiding her by the shoulders to the mirror against one wall. "What do you see?" she asked, and Kagome looked up. 'What do I see…?' She saw herself, naked and flushed with embarrassment. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, and she could feel it tickling the skin of her lower back as Kotono smoothed it away from her face. She also saw Kotono, standing behind her with her clawed hands on her bare shoulders. The difference in their skin tones was narrowing—the benefit of not having to work the fields was a paler complexion—but she still couldn't say that her skin would ever be as clear or as perfect as the demoness'. "I see myself, and you," she responded at last, unsure of the demoness' motives. Kotono inclined her head. "And are you beautiful?" Kagome blinked. "I…I don't know," she whispered, meeting Kotono's gaze in the mirror. "Are there things about your body that you do not like, Kagome?" Kotono asked, her voice dropping to a nearly apologetic tone, as though she were sorry for having to inquire about such a thing. "I…" Kagome blinked back a sudden flood of emotion, and nodded when her throat tightened. "Show me." For a long moment, Kagome couldn't bring herself to move. Pointing out her imperfections was something she often tried not to do, and being specifically asked to show them to a being such as Kotono—perfect, regal, beautiful Kotono—froze her limbs. And then clawed fingers began to soothe small circles into her shoulders, and the soft, reassuring croon that left the dragoness' throat slowly thawed the muscles of her arms. She reached up. "Right here," she whispered, fingers trailing along the side of her left collarbone, "there's a lump, because I broke it when I was sixteen summers, and it never healed correctly." "And yet it makes you unique," Kotono responded softly, reaching around her to touch the spot. Kagome drew in a deep breath, and ran her nail along the silvery line of a scar on her right ribcage. "I got into a fight with one of the village boys, and he threw me into an old hut; I cut myself on a stray piece of wood." "A battle scar," Kotono said, running her finger over it, "you should be proud." Another deep breath, and Kagome covered the slight bulge of her belly with her hand. "I've never carried my weight well." Kotono shook her head, and placed her hand over Kagome's, lacing their fingers. "It shows that you are healthy." Slipping her hand free, Kagome rested it just below her breasts. "They're…not the same size," she confessed. A shrug was her response. "None but the kami are perfect." She couldn't find it in her to scoff at the statement—wasn't Kotono herself the epitome of perfection?—and she trailed her hand down past the nest of curls at the apex of her thighs and pointed down her leg. "They're ugly," she said, referring to the feet she stood on. Kotono leaned over slightly, the soft fabric of her yukata brushing against Kagome's shoulder blades. When she looked back up, meeting Kagome's eyes in the mirror, there was a gentle light in her gaze. "They are small and delicate and pretty, just like the rest of you." Kagome let out a shaky breath and shook her head. "You're only saying these things to make me feel better," she whispered, letting her hands hang limp at her sides. "Yes, I am," Kotono answered immediately, holding up a hand as Kagome opened her mouth. "I am saying them to make you see yourself in a brighter light, to make you see that you are beautiful." "But I'm not!" Kagome blurted, wrapping her arms around her middle. Suddenly uncomfortable, she wished that she hadn't allowed the dragoness to remove her yukata so easily, and she hunched her shoulders to hide her nakedness, her throat tight with emotion. Gently, Kotono forced her to straighten, and she grasped her wrists and pulled until Kagome's arms once more hung at her sides. "There are things," Kotono murmured softly, "that you do not like about yourself, this I know. However, you must understand that those things are the very ones that make you different from every other female alive." She lightly touched the thin, silvery line on her ribcage. "Would you be Kagome if not for this scar?" She smoothed the back of her claw along the raised skin. "No, you would be some other woman, some other human with different experiences, different scars." She paused for a moment, and then reached up to wipe the salty trails from the human's cheeks. "You see, Kagome, you must look past the physical imperfections, for true beauty depends not only on an outward appearance, but on an inward one as well. Yes, you are beautiful because your jawline is so delicate; yes, you are beautiful because your lips are sensual; yes, you are beautiful because your eyes are such an enchanting color…But you are also beautiful because your soul is brilliant, because you are selfless and kind, because you care not for race or creed or station. You are beautiful because you are you." And then, Kagome blinked, and it was as if she were looking at herself with new eyes, eyes that didn't linger on that lump in her collarbone or the unequal weight of her breasts. Eyes that saw past her own skin; that looked at the slate of her soul and understood the perfect imperfection of the minor smudges that tainted it. She blinked again, and the tears that slipped down her cheeks were ones of realization and joy. She was beautiful.
Author's Note: For those of you who don't know and may be interested in reading it, there is a threesome edition of this story over on Dokuga (dokuga.com)
More chapters coming soon!
~Aubrey
