Chapter Two – Meeting Lord Sesshomaru
Kagome woke before the sunrise, and laying in the room that Kotono had ushered her into the night before, she watched the ceiling go from black to gray as light filtered into the window behind her. As the first birds began to chirp outside, she pushed the thick covers from her body and reluctantly crawled from the warmth of the luxurious futon and into the cool air. She found a cream colored silk robe draped across the low table in the center of the room and pulled it over her shoulders, choosing to leave the belt undone as she slipped into the hall. It was dark, and the wood was cold underneath her bare feet, but she ignored the chill and made her way down the hall, through the elegant receiving room and to the door, opening and closing it as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the stillness of the shiro. The grounds were covered in a thick fog, and Kagome settled onto the steps of the building, pulling her robe a little closer as a light breeze traveled through the air. She took a deep breath and let her mind wander as dawn broke. 'I hope Lady Kotono managed to convince Lord Sesshomaru to let me have a chance,' she thought, nibbling on her bottom lip. 'I don't want all this to have been for nothing.' 'And if it is for nothing?' a vicious little voice whispered, pessimism thick. 'Then I'll…I'll go somewhere else. I'll go to another village somewhere far away from here and make a life for myself.' 'Oh, as if you could bear going back to what you had before,' the voice mocked, teasing her with memories of hard labor and an empty house. Kagome pursed her lips, pushing the voice away as it laughed at her, knowing that she was truly afraid of those memories. 'It doesn't matter,' she concluded. 'One way or another, whether Lord Sesshomaru accepts me or not, I'll be happy…right…?' Before she could think more on the subject, a blurred figure in the distance captured her attention, and she watched in awe as the regal Lady Kotono made her way across the grounds. The fog, which had lightened to a near mist, parted before her, swirling up to touch her wrists and flowing around her ankles in the wake of her voluminous black silk robe; the lady certainly made a sight. "Good morning, Kagome. I trust you slept well?" she asked as she neared, smiling softly. Kagome nodded, and the lady waved off her movement as she made to stand. "No, please, stay." Obediently, she settled again, feeling a little nervous as the dragoness sat beside her. "I spoke with Lord Sesshomaru," she said after a moment of silence, "and he has agreed to let you stay." Kagome gasped in shock, but before she could respond, Kotono held up a slender hand. "However," she continued, "you will be tested with the other candidates, who should arrive today, weather permitting." She'd glanced up at the sky as she spoke, and Kagome reflexively copied the movement, seeing storm clouds on the horizon. She opened her mouth to comment on the dark mass of cloud, but Kotono's statement settled in her mind, and she found herself stammering out a response to it. "T-tested?" "Yes." Kotono cocked her head to one side. "Surely you did not think that this would be as simple as a yes or no?" Kagome felt her face flush, and she ducked her head. "W-well, yes, sort of." The dragoness clicked her tongue, amusement shining in her eyes as Kagome looked back up. "Silly little human," she murmured. Kagome blushed harder, and Kotono chuckled before rising to her feet. "Come," she commanded, "it is time you met the others."
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Kagome had known who 'the others' were, but she was still unprepared to see so many female youkai, all in various stages of dress, in one room. Kotono had led her to the bathhouse that they all shared, which was just a short walk from the building—she learned that it was Kotono's personal building—that she'd slept in. Kagome hadn't wanted to go inside, but Kotono had simply smiled and pulled her through the door anyway, calling out that they had a visitor. Almost immediately, ten females, some wearing thin bathing yukata and others not, came into the front room from the back where the springs were located, eyes widening with shock. A slender youkai with large yellow eyes and short brown hair openly gawked, looking from Kagome to Kotono and back again. "A human?" she whispered, taking a few steps forward to make room for the ones filing in behind her. She pushed a hand through her hair, brow furrowed. "And a miko nonetheless?" Her lips pursed together, and she propped her hands on her hips, her voice taking on a dry quality. "Well, at least Rin will have adequate company." Kagome blushed hotly and averted her gaze as the youkai's motion drew attention to her state of dress, moisture from the hot water clinging to her upper lip. The youkai had only a damp yukata covering her, and it was obvious that she'd thrown it on in haste; one shoulder was slipping and the belt was loosely tied, leaving her flat stomach and most of her breasts exposed to the surrounding air. Kagome looked back up, only to have the youkai narrow her eyes at her. "Yuri, don't be so rude," another youkai murmured, black eyes, dark auburn hair, and creamy, pale skin giving her an exotic look. Though she scolded Yuri, Kagome could see frank curiosity in her sharp gaze, and as she forced herself to look around, she could see the same expressions on every face. "This is Higurashi Kagome," Kotono said, "and as I've told you, she will be vying for position of the twelfth." Not giving any of them time to react, Kotono went on, smiling down at her. "Kagome, I present Aoi, Haruna, Yuri, Fuka, Nao, Leiko, Makoto, Saru, Chiru, and Takemi." Kagome mentally repeated the names in her head as Kotono pointed them out, observing each face as she did so. Aoi, the exotic one, was tall and curvy, whereas Haruna, in contrast, was fair and slender. Yuri, also slender, looked a little like Fuka in that their hair was the same chocolate brown, but Fuka was a few inches shorter. Nao, Leiko, and Makoto were all of the same medium height and build, with white blonde, black and deep brown hair, respectively. The final three, shockingly, were deceptively plain in appearance, with brown hair and eyes, though still much more beautiful than any human Kagome had ever seen. "It's nice to meet you," she mumbled, bowing to the group. They returned the gesture, murmuring the same. Aoi tightened her yukata, eyes roving over Kagome's form before meeting Kotono's. "My lord has agreed to test her, Kotono-sama?" The dragoness nodded. "He has. I came to introduce her before taking her to him." This having been the first time that Kagome had heard that she was to be seeing the inu lord, she felt her eyes widen, and looked up at Kotono, who smiled. "Do not worry yourself, little one," she said, laying a hand between her shoulders and pushing her toward the springs. "Bathe, and I will help you dress." Kagome nodded, slipped through the horde of women, and closed the screen that separated the preparation room from the springs, shutting herself off from the eleven sets of eyes that had followed her.
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"Are you sure about this, Kotono-sama?" Aoi asked as the sounds of sloshing water filtered through the paper screen. Running a clawed hand through the thick waves of her hair, the exotic panther—one of only five cats on the grounds—stared for a moment at the waterfall decorated shoji, turning her gaze to Kotono only after the human settled. Fully aware that everyone was listening, the dragoness nodded. "Yes. She is the one." Her statement was met with a silence that held until everyone but Aoi had filed out of the building, and as Kotono stared at the panther, she could see trepidation beneath the onyx blankness of her gaze. "I hope you're right," the cat murmured, pulling a deep burgundy robe over her yukata. "And if I am not?" A light sigh met her ears, and Aoi laid a gentle hand on her shoulder as she passed, pausing at the shoji. "Then we will keep looking, like we always have." She was gone before Kotono could respond. Pursing her lips and fighting back the urge to completely rethink her plan, Kotono sat on a bench and listened as the miko bathed, water sloshing gently in the tub. To say that she had been shocked when the little human had confessed her desire to be the twelfth was an understatement; she'd been downright flabbergasted. A human, as the twelfth? She had been positive that the untrained priestess had been dropped on her head as a child, or perhaps the kami had neglected to give her common sense—at least that's what she'd thought until her inner beast reared up in the young woman's defense. The keen intuition of her ancestors and the unerring certainty of her instincts had never led her wrong before—her own pride usually did that—so she had decided to question the miko in private, away from the prying eyes of the public. Of course, she had been unprepared for the human's determination, but found it refreshing nonetheless; most wouldn't have thought to take on such a task, but Kagome did it and was as sure of her decision as she was of her own name. 'But she will have to be trained…Lord Sesshomaru will not have an untrained miko on the grounds.' He had said as much earlier that morning, long before he'd finally released her for the day. "This Sesshomaru shall see about this human of yours," he'd rumbled in her ear, his chest vibrating against her back. "But she shall be tested, and if this one finds her worthy, she shall be trained in the way of miko. There shall be no casualties on these grounds." Naturally, his word was his bond, even though the task of finding someone to teach the miko fell in her shoulders—the young woman was, after all, her guest and therefore her responsibility. However, the thought gave her a little anxiety. She knew of no miko who would train a woman of Kagome's maturity—at one and twenty, she was well past the age that most spiritually gifted women would begin their training and it was a well-known fact that learning came harder for the older ones. A splash pulled her away from her thoughts, though they returned when the miko settled once more. 'Still, she will need to be trained,' the dragoness finalized, carefully observing the crisp caress of the miko's power. It was calm at the moment, undulating with all the gentleness of falling snow. However, when the onna became irritated—which she had for a brief moment the day before—her aura rose and whipped about her body with the force of a winter storm, bitingly cold and as wild as a rampaging stallion. Kotono sighed lightly, and then was pulled out of her thoughts once more as another splash met her ears. Sensing the movement, and seeing the onna's silhouette through the screen as she pulled herself out of the spring, Kotono stood and gathered a drying cloth, going to the door just as the human began to slide it open. Smiling at the flush on her cheeks, Kotono inserted the cloth through the small crack, respectfully allowing the young woman to don an inner kimono before coming out of the room. "Did you enjoy your bath?" Kotono asked, taking the drying cloth and dropping it into the pile the women had left behind. "Yes it was very nice. It doesn't smell, though." Kotono smiled, motioning for the shy woman to come closer as she stood in the center of the room. Obediently, the human came, and Kotono gently pulled her hands away from where she had placed them over her belly, carefully re-wrapping the inner kimono and catching a glimpse of firm breasts and pale pink nipples as she did so. Kagome flushed, and Kotono spoke to draw her mind away from her embarrassment. "It is not a natural spring," she said in response to Kagome's earlier statement. "My lord dislikes the stench of them, so he has fresh water pumped into the building." She tied off and straightened the inner kimono and shook out the deep orange outer one she'd brought to the springs during her own bath much earlier in the morning, holding it up for the miko to see. "Is this to your liking?" For a moment, she thought that the woman would decline, and then she nodded, awe present on her face. "It's beautiful," she whispered, reaching out to finger the fabric and tracing the bold designs embroidered onto its surface. "I thought that the color might go wonderfully with your eyes," Kotono said lightly, knowing that her initial thoughts were correct; as she wrapped the miko carefully in the silk, the orange color gave her skin a healthy glow and made the brilliant sapphire of her eyes stand out amidst her thick black lashes and delicate facial features. Tying the red obi around her waist, Kotono knotted it in the back, patting the miko's small waist as she finished. The onna turned, smiling brightly, and Kotono fingered a lock of the damp ebony hair that fell over her shoulder. She thought for a moment, and then sat the young woman down and, using a few of her own hair accessories, began to pin the strands into a simple style that would emphasize the shape of her eyes and the elegant slope of her neck. "Lady Kotono?" The timid pronunciation of her name made her smile—the shyness was almost cute—and Kotono hummed to show that she'd heard, gently pulling a thick black lock of hair into place. "Who is Rin?" When the dragoness didn't answer in a timely fashion, the human rushed on, the heat of her embarrassment filtering up through her skin. "I mean, that one demoness mentioned her, and I was just wondering who she was." "Rin is…a special case." Curiosity filtered to her nose, and she resisted the urge to chuckle. "She is the only human on the grounds, besides yourself, and she is Lord Sesshomaru's pup; his child." "What? B-but does that mean that—" "No, little one, no," Kotono laughed quietly. "My lord has never bedded a human, much less impregnated one, and even if he did, the child would be hanyou." She paused to secure a few strands of wayward hair, and then continued conversationally. "My lord took Rin under his wing when she was just a child, and although she is nearly a full-grown woman now, she remains amongst demonkind because she cannot bear to leave my lord's side, and my lord cannot bear to force her away." The dragoness could tell that the information had both shocked and intrigued the tiny miko. Finishing her hair, she patted Kagome's shoulder, and the young woman stood. "But do not tell him that I told you of his weakness—he may very well have my hide and sell my scales." The miko smiled, but Kotono didn't reveal that she was only partially joking. She pushed the thought away and decided to go without an elaborate kimono; she remained in her robe, though she tied it more modestly before leading Kagome out of the bathhouse. As the human walked beside her, sandals making small noises against the wooden walkway, Kotono decided to fill her in and give her what pointers she could about the lord of the house. "You must remember to be very polite; if my lord asks a question, you respond to it immediately and as thoroughly as possible. He can be silent at times, and may seem as though he is bored, but rest assured that he is paying rapt attention to everything you do." They neared the building in which Lord Sesshomaru's morning tea would be served, and Kotono turned to the miko. "He asked to see you, and it is an immense honor that he is seeing you first instead of waiting until the others arrive." Placing her hands on Kagome's slender shoulders, she very carefully tucked a stray strand of hair back into place. "This is your chance to impress him," she murmured lowly, searching the young woman's face. Kagome nodded, and the determination Kotono was beginning to identify her with seeped into her large eyes. "I understand. I'll do my best."
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He had expected timidity; he'd gotten that, at first. Nervousness, too, was delivered in full, and there was even a small amount of fear, though not enough to fill the air with the tangy scent of it. What he hadn't expected, however, was the defiance, nor the boldness, nor the passion she displayed as she argued with him over whether or not she was intelligent. He could admit to himself that he had goaded her into it, having been intrigued at her sparks of annoyance when, upon her entrance, he brushed off her respectful greeting and proceeded to ignore her, speaking only to Kotono of trivial matters. The dragoness, fully aware of what he was doing, seemed a bit irritated herself, but played along, her warm, silky youki carefully held in check so as to not exasperate him. "And what do you think of it, Kagome?" Kotono had asked lightly at his subtle insistence. Obviously having not been paying attention to the mundane topic of their conversation, the onna started, her creamy cheeks turning an interesting shade of red, and her sapphire eyes going wide. "I-I think that-that…um, I—" "She seems incapable of coherent speech, Kotono. This one assumed you brought him an…educated female." And that was what started their current squabble. Quicker than he'd thought possible, the onna had gone from flustered to completely offended, her reiki rising with the force of her emotions. "I'll have you know, Lord Sesshomaru, that I am very adequately educated," she spat, eyes sparking with the anger he could smell radiating from her person. "That has yet to be determined, miko," he responded, keeping his face and voice devoid of emotion. "You have only managed to display a boorish amount of anger." He paused, and his silence drove her to snort and look away, though his next question snapped her head back so quickly that it was a wonder she didn't snap her fragile human neck. "Such an unladylike utterance, onna. Have you no dignity?" She reared up on her cushion, hands planted firmly on the table between them. She was obviously fighting the urge to lean over the wooden surface and yell in his face, which he found amusing to no ends. "I have plenty of dignity!" she responded hotly. "Unfortunately, Lady Kotono seems to be the only one in this room who shares that trait!" "What do you insinuate, onna?" "I insinuate nothing," she responded, nearly hissing through her teeth. "I do, however, insist that my lord has not a shred of decency anywhere in his body!" He resisted the urge to smirk, and idly wondered whether the servants had prepared themselves to clean the woman's gore from the walls—they probably thought he would kill her soon—and he couldn't deny the satisfaction at the feel of expectancy and fear coming from the servants he had stationed about the room. Turning his attention back to the irate onna, he raised one brow, strategically flaring his aura only to have hers buffet against it in defiance, causing his hackles to rise. "There are many things about this Sesshomaru's…body that you do not know, woman," he murmured lowly, taking a sip of rapidly cooling tea and looking at her over the rim of his cup. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant red, and he found himself entertained by the color. "You should not presume in subject matters upon which you are ignorant." "I'm not ignorant," she responded, finally slipping from the more formal speech patterns she had immediately resorted to upon the beginning of their argument—proof that she was indeed educated, if not exceedingly foolish for arguing with him to begin with. "Simply untried," Sesshomaru finished, loud enough for her to hear. "And of slightly higher intelligence than I had originally assumed as well." Though he'd complimented her, or at least complimented her in the sense that he'd toned down his original insult, her mouth fell open and her eyes shone with indignation. The zest of her anger, carried on the frigid waves of her reiki, was a new sensation for him, especially when coming from a female. Most of the time, the more delicate race was timid and submissive, bowing to him constantly and keeping their tempers in check—not even males openly showed their anger for fear of death. 'But this woman,' he thought, watching her as she spluttered and finally crossed her arms over her chest, full lips pursed in a straight line. 'This woman defies me, disrespects me…intrigues me.' After a moment, the onna uncrossed her arms, took a deep breath, and changed her demeanor so thoroughly that he was a little impressed. "Forgive me, my lord," she murmured demurely. "I was out of line." Now immensely interested, Sesshomaru nodded once, motioning for a servant to take away the cold cups of tea that sat forgotten in front of them. As the table was cleared, Sesshomaru turned to Kotono, satisfied with the impulsive decision she had made to bring the human to his home. The dragoness, seeing the rare approval in his gaze, inclined her head, but said nothing. "Hn." Pausing, he waited until the human looked at him. "But disrespect this Sesshomaru again and you shall not live to regret it." For a moment, fear rose up in her aura, tainting it with a sour flavor, and then she nodded, averting her gaze, and the emotion rapidly faded away, replaced by a careful submissiveness that did nothing to hide the spice of her annoyance. The fact that she switched her emotions so quickly baffled him; how was it possible that a human could go through so many changes in the space of a few moments? Kotono lured the still irritated human into conversation, and as she relaxed into mindless chatter, Sesshomaru observed her, finding that he was indeed correct to place his trust in the dragoness's assurance that the human female was different from the rest of her race. It seemed she also had an exceptional inkling of what he truly regarded in a female; true courage, a little fire, a bit of beauty, and an incredible amount of intelligence. Of course, the only thing he wasn't sure about was the human's abilities in bed. He could smell that she was untouched, not having the stench of any human male imbued into her being, and he supposed that it was only a matter of time before he found himself cognizant of exactly how innocent she was. If he chose her, of course. Growing weary of the prattle and inane giggles—he could only endure so much—Sesshomaru interrupted the conversation between the dragoness and the miko, dismissing them coldly. Kotono bowed gracefully and thanked him for allowing them to share in his morning tea. The miko, though she too bowed and murmured her thanks, tried and failed to mask the ire she felt at his dismissal. The spice of her anger and the frigid brush of her aura remained with him long after she'd closed the door behind them and left him to his thoughts. 'An interesting human indeed.'
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
~Aubrey
