The Twelfth Concubine

By: AubreySimone

folder InuYasha › Het - Male/Female › Sesshōmaru/Kagome

Rating: Adult +

Chapters: 39

Views: 20,382

Reviews: 54

Recommended: 3

Currently Reading: 9

Category: InuYasha › Het - Male/Female › Sesshōmaru/Kagome

Rating: Adult +

Chapters: 39

Views: 20,382

Reviews: 54

Recommended: 3

Currently Reading: 9

Disclaimer: The anime/manga Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The author, Aubrey Simone, makes no money from the writing or posting of this fic.

Second Impressions: Part One

Chapter Twenty-Four—Second Impressions [Part One]

Miroku had always dreamt of finding a naked woman in the forest, but as he gave the one lying amidst a cluster of fallen leaves a cursory once over, he decided that this was not the way his fantasy had played out.

Shaking thoughts of undulating hips and clenching wetness from his horrifically inappropriate mind, he set his staff to the side, carefully balancing it and his collection of recently chopped firewood against a sturdy tree. Senses alert, the monk carefully approached the woman's sprawled figure, only touching her after he was certain that she was unconscious; he gently rolled her onto her back, and then scowled at the scars and fresh wounds that marred her flesh.

She was caked with dirt and debris, leaves and small twigs sticking to random sections of bloodied skin. Her hair, which he suspected was brown by the patches of light color, was nearly black with blood, and her high cheekbones were dotted with bruises. Miroku began to check for broken bones, pressing his fingers into her limbs and probing at her ribs. As his fingers drifted down toward her hips, his world tilted, and he suddenly found himself on his back, a hand clamped around his throat and one wrist held tightly above his head. He blinked.

And then he realized that the woman had reacted on reflex; although her eyes were open, they were still blank with unconsciousness, her face only halfheartedly twisted into an expression of anger. He licked his lips.

"I don't know if you can hear me," he began quietly, "but my name is Yamazaki Miroku. I am a monk, and I was on my way home when I found you…I only want to help."

After what felt like an eternity—and just as Miroku was about to repeat himself—the expression on the woman's face slackened, and then her body slumped forward, her head falling into the crook of Miroku's neck. Idly, he wondered at the irony of the situation—his first time seeing a naked woman since he'd taken his vows five years before, and even with her body sprawled out atop him, he could do nothing but think about how much she smelled.

With a sigh, the monk carefully rolled her limp, lithely muscled figure from him, and then, after quickly checking her legs and feet, removed his robes and fashioned a sling, which he used to hoist the woman onto his back. She was heavier than she looked, especially dead weighted as she was, and Miroku resigned himself to a long walk.

Inuyasha would have to collect the firewood.

:..:..:..:..:

He had never been so amused in his life, and watching the Lady Kagome deflect every barbed insult the plump Lady Momoko threw at her felt like being audience to the best of plays. Naraku would've enjoyed himself far more, however, if his half-sister hadn't been so intent on reminding him of the dragon's foresight.

"Kagura, you are wearing my patience," he sighed, casting a glance toward his younger sister's profile. She waved him off.

"You may be older, onii-sama, but that doesn't mean that I don't have my own wisdom."

She was correct, as she usually was, but, as he usually did, Naraku gave a casual shrug. "Be that as it may," he responded after a while, wanting very much to clap as Momoko turned and stalked away from the smiling human miko, "I am my own, and thus I make my own decisions." He slanted a look in her direction. "Do I not?"

Kagura's lips pursed. "Indeed you do." With that, she stepped away and swept into a bow that was much too deep to be considered serious, and spoke in a tone thick with sarcasm. "Then if my honored sibling would excuse me…?"

He hummed, and with a gust of wind that snapped at his cheeks, she was gone. Naraku closed his eyes in the wake of his sister's absence, wishing for the first time in a long time that what he'd told her were true.

For if he truly were his own, free to make his own decisions, he would turn and walk away from the miko who had found a moment's solace in the gardens.

'But alas,' he thought wryly, expanding his aura so as to alert her guard of his approach, 'this plane of existence is naught but a stage, and we are all the players.'

:..:..:..:..:

She knew he was coming before Jiao-Long gave her the warning, but Kagome's stomach still gave a strange little twist when Naraku came into her line of sight, handsome face lighting in a smile. "Lady Kagome, it is a pleasure to be in your presence once more."

The bow he gave her was graceful, and though she felt as though the one she gave in return paled in comparison, she smiled nonetheless and stepped aside in order to give him room to join her on the small bridge. "The pleasure is mine, my lord."

He smiled, and then turned his gaze briefly out to the pond they stood over before looking at her once more. "Would you like a tour?"

The question was a simple one, yet Kagome found that she didn't quite know the answer. 'Should I be walking with him alone?' She shifted on her feet, blinked, and then shook off her indecision and nodded. "I would like that very much, my lord." 'After all,' she reminded herself as she slipped her hand into the crook of Naraku's proffered elbow, 'I'm not alone, and I can't refuse my hosts' own son.'

Her thoughts faded away as Naraku led her across the bridge and into the kaiyu-shiki, pointing out plants and different elements of the garden as he walked. His voice was smooth and deep, and she soon lost herself in his surprisingly pleasant company, finding his humor to be playful.

He was playful, she realized, much like Jiao-Long; the difference being that while Jiao-Long was openly wild whereas Naraku was much more elegant with his delivery. 'He's just elegant,' Kagome corrected, extending the description to the hanyou himself as she peeked at him from beneath her lashes. 'Elegant and mysterious.'

He steered her toward a bench and settled beside her, waving off her murmur of gratitude for the rest. For a moment, they sat in silence, staring out at the koi pond at their feet, and then, turning slightly toward her, Naraku asked the question she had been waiting to answer. "My lady, how did you come to be with Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome folded her hands into her lap, looking down at them and trying not to fidget. "I was…unable to marry, and I could not be trained in the way of the miko."

Naraku hummed. "And so you went to one who could provide for you?"

She nodded, though she had never thought of it that way, and looked back up to see that Naraku's scarlet eyes held a measure of respect for her in their claret depths. "I am humbled, my lady, to witness such courage."

Unexpected, the praise—because it was praise, no matter how gracefully it was spoken—warmed Kagome's cheeks, and she looked away, blinking sudden, irrational tears from her eyes. She felt wholly undeserving of Naraku's regard, but in the scant seconds it took her to regain her composure and look back up, he had begun to speak of other things.

"My father was originally a human advisor of the Inu no Taisho," he was saying, the fondness of a son surprisingly absent from his tone.

Though she wondered at the lack of affection, Kagome promptly reminded herself that it was none of her business, and focused on the information that she had been offered. "Your father knew Sesshomaru-sama's father?"

He hummed and inclined his head. "So it is said."

"But Sesshomaru-sama's father was youkai; didn't he hate humans?"

Naraku shook his head. "The Inu no Taisho may not have loved humanity, but he had the wherewithal to tolerate those who were worthy of his respect…Some say that my father was his best advisor, and was highly respected for his talents." Kagome nodded in understanding, and briefly questioned the reasons the Inu no Taisho would allow his best advisor to leave his side. Sensing her train of thought, it seemed, Lord Naraku continued.

"The Inu no Taisho was a firm but fair ruler. Those who were present when my mother and father announced their intentions to be mated often say that the Lord of the West simply sent them on their way."

"Did your father ever return to the West?"

Naraku made a sound in the back of his throat. "Yes, his loyalty drew him back when the Northern lord invaded." He had turned his face toward the sky, but even with his eyes roaming the heavens, Kagome was distinctly aware of the ache in them.

"You never knew him," she murmured, not having meant to utter the statement aloud but unable to take it back.

Slowly, deliberately, Naraku took a deep breath and just as consciously released it. "No," he responded, allowing his gaze to meet hers, "but I have the gift he has passed to me, and that must be enough."

Unable to help herself, Kagome reached across the space between them and laid a hand on his wrist in a silent gesture of comfort; a gesture that sparked such a profound gratitude in the scarlet gaze she held that she flushed and looked away.

With a chuckle, Lord Naraku gained his feet and held out a hand. "Certainly my lady has had enough rest?" Aware of the mischievous glint that took over his eyes, Kagome nodded. "Then if it would please her delicate sensibilities, perhaps she might allow this one to continue the tour?"

Kagome smiled.

And, as they followed the amicable pair, a set of twins identical in everything but personality shared a knowing glance. Lord Sesshomaru would not be pleased to know that another male had made a friend out of his concubine, but perhaps, in the end, it would be for the best.

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