Masterful Deception

Chapter 2

Sesshomaru walked into the clearing. He had sensed a great battle here and had sensed his brothers aura. His curiosity got the better of him and he decided to check it out.
He s and and looked around at the surrounding gore. He slowly began to piece together the battle in his mind.
His brother, the monk, and the demon slayer had fought here. He could smell the blood of all three and caught himself before sighing in relief that they were all alright.
‘Why should I care?’ He thought as he followed the scent of the miko.
He came to the trees ‘So she hid here and covered their backs. Interesting’ He was about to move when away when a scent caught his attention.
Terror.
He sniffed again. ‘The girl, Kagome, she had been terrified.’ Sesshomaru frowned in confusion. He had never seen the girl afraid. She had always been very brave, but here it was, she had been scared.
Lingering smells told him why. ‘Naraku.’ He growled. He didn’t like that demon at all. Concentrating on the scent he froze as a certain scent caught him. ‘No!’
‘Arousal. That damn bastard was aroused.’ He sniffed again. ‘By Kagome. He had the girl.’ Now usually the cold Sesshomaru would not have cared about some stupid girl who had nearly hurt him. But he respected her. Her devotion and caring nature reminded him of Rin and ever though he would never admit it, he like the fiery miko.
Sesshomaru growled as he walked back to Rin and Jaken. ‘That bastard must lust after her.’ He shuddered in revulsion. His stomach churned at the thought of anyone arousing him but his mind flared in anger at the thought of Kagome arousing him. ‘Hmmmm.’ He thought as he walked to where he had left Jaken and Rin.
“Sesshomaru-Sama!” Rin cried as she jumped up and hugged him around the legs. He bent down and patted her on the head.
“We’re going to visit Kagome.” Sesshomaru told his ward. “I want you two to go straight to the village. I will meet you there.”
“Yes milord.” Jaken said humbly, as Rin cheered about going to see the ‘nice lady.’
Sesshomaru watched them leave through the trees on Ah and Uhn. He then leapt into the sky and started toward the village. He would get there first and make sure all was well before Rin got there.
Flying swiftly over the trees, he watched the animals scurry around below him. The dark sky would’ve hidden most of it from all but his eye.
He looked up at the cloud-covered sky and thought back to his first conversation with Kagome. She had surprised him. Her fire and fighting spirit impressed him. She would not lie down to anyone. And he been unusually nice.

Sesshomaru sat in a clearing under the sun, enjoying the warmth when a crash in the forest alerted him to another’s presence. He considered moving but he would wake Rin who was dozing against his fur. And though he wouldn’t admit it he was comfortable and the thought of moving annoyed him.
“Stupid, annoying, jerk!” Came the muffled curse as the being moved closer to where he sat. “I can’t believe he would say that to me.”
‘It’s Inu-Yasha’s wench!’ Sesshomaru thought in slight surprise. ‘What is she doing this deep in the forest all alone.’
He could hear the girl walking through the leaves and he was surprised, she was quieter than most
humans. He could barely hear her footsteps and if the earlier crash hadn’t woken him, she would have surprised him.
Now that she was closer he could smell her, and wash surprised to find she was angry and a little sad.
He watched as her small form walked out of the forest and strode on. She was looking at the ground and he could hear her mumbling threats under her breath.
Slowly he saw her stop and her scent now held a touch of fear. She raised her head slowly and blinked at
him. He raised an elegant eyebrow while she continued to stare.
“Oh... hello.” She mumbled nervously. Sesshomaru watched as she nervously held her hands together in front of her and stared at him.
“It’s rude to stare you know.” He had no idea why he said that. Iuld uld he easier to just kill her or scare her away. But for some reason hen’t n’t want her to go. He shook his head and simply allowed events to play out as they would.
He watched in amusement as she blushed and looked away. “Sorry.” He heard her mumble.
Suddenly she walked forward gracefully and sat down beside him. He stared at her in surprise. She was the only human to have ever done that besides Rin. His respect grew for the fragile human girl. He knew that she was not stupid and yet here she was acting very recklessly for a weak human.
“Who is she?” Kagome asked softly, looking down at Rin. He brought his mind out of his daydreaming and decided to try and be civil with her. Maybe he would find an interesting story here.
Sesshomaru watched her. “This is Rin. My ward.”
Her head shot up in surprise. “She’s human.”
“Yes.” Sesshomaru said in agreement. Kagome’s eyes blinked a few times before looking away
“Why are you not with my brother, girl?” The girl’s eye flashed dangerously as she flung her head to glare straight into Sesshomaru’s eyes. He only looked at her in surprise to her fierce reaction to his words.
“Don’t call me that! My name is not girls. It’s is not wench. It is not bitch, miko, or woman. My name is Kagome and I will be addressed as such.” her stormy grey eyes bore into his and he nearly smiled at her bravery. Realizing what she had done, Kagome looked at clasped hands and blushed. “Sorry.” Sesshomaru waited for her to continue.
“I’m angry at InuYasha so I left. For the last few days he has been doing everything to make me angry and he hasn’t used me name in a week. The only people to call me Kagome are Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. I’m getting tired of everyone’s annoying nicknames for me. Especially Inu-Yasha’s,” she scowled though Sesshomaru could smell a hint of tears on her face.
“Why does it bother you?” he asked after a while.
auseause it’s never anything nice. It’s always mean and insulting. I don‘t understand why he‘t b‘t be nice to me. I do try to be his friend though I‘m starting to wonder why.” Kagome looked sad as she stared at her feet. “I only want him to be my friend.” She was quiet for a moment. “I have a question. Why aren’t you trying to kil?”
?”
“I was curious about why you were here all alone.”
“Oh!?” she looked angry at him. “I can protect myself!” she said angrily. “I am a miko and I have my bow and arrows.”
Sesshomaru bowed his head in apology “I was mistaken then,” he said quietly.
Kagome beamed at him.
“Kagome!” InuYasha’s voice could be heard throughout the dense forest.
“My master is calling me.” Kagome sighed. “I’ll see you again, I suppose. Thanks for the conversation.” Kagome smiled and got up and left.
Sesshomaru watched the forest where she had disappeared for a few minutes before looking down at Rin when she stirred.
“I’m getting soft.” He muttered as he settled back down to enjoy the sun.

Sesshomaru nearly smiled at the memory. That was when he had actually started to like the fiery girl. His like for her continued to grow until now he felt quite protective of her. She was the younger sister he never had and she would make an excellent mate for his younger brother. This time Sesshomaru did smile in smug amusement.
Memories and thoughts continued to swirl in his mind, so much so that he nearly missed the strong scent of Kagome below. He looked down in surprise and saw her shaking form on the ground. He strained his ears and caught a whispered question on the wind.
“InuYasha. You told Kikyo, you wouldn’t let Naraku have her. He nearly killed her. What if it wasn’t Kikyo, Naraku wanted?”
Sesshomaru’s heart froze in his chest and red clouded his vision. ‘That better not mean what I think that means.’ He thought as he swooped down into the clearing.
He watched as her tear-stained face shot up to look at him. His eyes met hers and he saw the deep hurt and fear that filled her. She quickly looked away and wiped the tears from her face. That’s when he saw them.
Sesshomaru kneeled before her and gently turned her towards him. He trailed his fingers down her
bruised cheek and frowned when he saw her flinch. He looked down and found horrible bruises on her neck and wrists. His self-control was tested to it’s limits at this moment. He wanted badly to growl but he thought that she would be frightened by it and she was already terrified.
“What happened Kagome?” Sesshomaru demanded of her gently. His amusement and good humor had left him in a flash as he realized this precious little girl had been hurt.
Kagome looked away and Sesshomaru scowled. He leaned towards her and grabbed her arms. “Look at me!” She slowly raised her frightened eyes to his. “I smelled your scent in a clearing that was covered in dead demons.” Kagome flinched. “And I could smell Naraku.” She shivered and tried to look away but Sesshomaru had her chin in his hand and he forced her eyes to meet his. “I could smell his lust. Now what did he do?”
The small girl stared at him with wide, frightened eyes before launching herself at his chest. “Oh god, Sesshomaru!” She sobbed and trembled in uncontrollable fear. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.” He watched as she lost control and began to weep uncontrollably.
Sesshomaru quickly got over his shock and he took Kagome in his arms and took to the sky. His heart nearly broke at the small cries she made.
The village soon came into view and he lowered himself to the hut of Keade. He would find out what happened and do something to make it right.
He saw the old miko bringing water to the hut and he stepped up to her. “Where are InuYasha and his companions?” The shocked Keade looked at the trembling girl in his arms and gestured towards the hut.
‘No one hurts my brothers future mate!’ Sesshomaru thought fiercely as he stepped into the hut. He didn’t have time to mull over that unusual thought.

Wow. That took me longer than I thought it would. Sorry for taking so long but I've been having one of those weeks where everythin seems to go wrong. And as I sit here writing I feel like shit cause I have a horrible cold. I'm surprised I'm not out of it for all the medicine I've been taking. God. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll update again soon.
Dagan