Masquerade

It’s over-over-over-over-OVER! Whew. Sada’s first story ever: complete. I’m so twistedly psyched I could do the monkey.




Chapter Twenty-Nine – Look to the Sun
Setting: Two months after Kagome’s final return; Tokyo




“And then he had the gall to ask me for my phone number.”

“No way!”

“What a pig!”

“Ugh, men…so did you give it to him?”

“We’re going out this Friday.”

Three sets of elated ‘Squee’s!’ sounded around Kagome and she took a long swig of her drink, twitching violently. Why did I agree to this? Next to her, Yuka prattled animatedly about his strong, manly jaw line and his firm, manly abs. Kagome accidentally snorted a bit of her drink at the abs comment, trying not to smack her in the head and say, “I’ve licked the best male abs in the world! Hah!” Pain lanced through her but she ignored it like she’d been doing for the past two months, shoving her head back into the conversation.

“Hey…Kagome-chan?” Erri said suddenly, and Kagome’s eyes shot to her calmly. “Are you wearing contacts now?” Kagome’s brows furrowed but she shook her head ‘no’. “Then why are your eye so dark and not blue?” The other two girls echoed Erri’s question.

It was a question Kagome had asked herself every time she looked in a mirror (which was quickly a dwindling amount). “I don’t know.” Her voice was quiet and much more reserved than any of the girl’s remembered, and the three shot each other looks over Kagome’s head. Kagome sensed their bewilderment and sighed, standing. “Hey guys, I have to go, I’m--”

“Are you meeting someone?!” Ayumi piped happily, her face brightening. Yuka and Erri rolled their eyes at her, having already learned their lesson about butting into Kagome’s love-life.

As predicted, Kagome’s back straightened to the point of looking painful. “No,” she muttered, her voice subdued and strained.

Stepping out of the dimly lit café into the glaring sun of downtown Tokyo Kagome didn’t even pause in her haste, her eyes focused on the ground, her steps quick and undistinguishable from the rush of a million and one Japanese citizens. Ignoring the jostles, noises, and smells Kagome blinked rapidly. I can’t believe a stupid comment like that would still bring me to tears. How pathetic. She breathed out slowly, squelching the desire she had to run back to the shrine screaming ‘Mama!’. Two times was more than enough. She sighed, coming to a stop in front of an old bookstore. This place was, apparently, Grandpa’s nirvana. After she disappeared permanently he’d scoured this store—which specialized in legends and fables of the Feudal Era—trying to find any information on the second coming of the Shikon Miko (since Kikyou was the first). He’d found only the scantest of mentions, but after realizing how deep Kagome seemed affected by whomever she’d lost in Feudal Japan he’d given her the name and address, thinking maybe it would comfort her to find a book with the tales of her friends. With just a hint of hesitation she entered the shop.

A bell chiming merrily above the door announced her arrival. The sun filtered in the small, single-room, falling on the floor and casting shadows of tall shelves. Kagome blinked at the clutter and general lack of upkeep, her nose twitching at all the dust floating around. Surprised at how many bookcases they’d managed to fit in she started forward, studying the old books lining the shelf closest to her with awe—

And promptly tripped over a box.

Ow. She rubbed her knee and pulled herself up to her haunches, but stopped when the spine of a hardback caught her eye. She blinked and pulled it off the bottom shelf, her throat drying when she realized her vision hadn’t deceived her. At the bottom of the length of the spin was a single insignia: a waning moon halfway between blue and purple. Kagome ran a finger along it, startled to realize she was shaking. She flipped the book over in her hands, reading the title through eyes that threatened to water. Again.

Fables from Far and Wide.

She sniffed at the name. Catchy. The book looked brand new, the pages not the least bit worn. Besides the emblem on the side and the heading on the front the rest of the cover was pure red, no author’s name or publishing company present. Kagome stood, skimming the first page. The book jumped straight into a table of contents—no acknowledgements, no author name, nothing. Kagome flipped to the back of the book, but after the final page of story text all the book contained were a couple blank pages. She breathed out, a little agitated, but opened to the first page and began reading.

‘500 years ago…’ it began. Convinced, she walked to the counter in the back of the room and rang the small bell sitting on the edge of the smooth wood. An old woman hobbled out from the back of the room, muttering and squinting and Kagome could’ve sworn she was Grandpa’s twin with the way her was tied back and the sutra stuck to her sleeve. Hm.

The old woman stepped onto a footstool to reach the counter top and still she only came to Kagome’s stomach. Without even looking at her customer the old woman held her hand out, her eyes fixed on a price list as she struggled to keep a pair of large glasses on her nose. Wordlessly, Kagome placed the book in her hand, wincing when the older woman’s hand dropped under the weight. Immediately, Kagome lifted the book back up, her eyes wide. Finally the old woman’s eyes turned to her, the glasses falling off to hang by a thin chain around her neck. “Clumsy little girl. Place the book on the--” Kagome dropped the book in front of her, blinking as the old woman ran a hand along the cover. “Why do you want this book?”

Kagome twitched. “I--”

“Nevermind. I don’t care.” The old woman interrupted, “96,000¥.”

Handing her the yen, Kagome shifted from foot to foot anxiously. “Thank-you very much,” she muttered, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice when the book was thrust back at her. The old woman snorted and hobbled back into some corner of the store. Kagome all but bolted out the door, oblivious to the aged brown eyes following her.

After the young priestess was gone the shopkeeper shook her head, rifling around in her desk for the number of an old friend. I don’t know what that girl could possibly hope to gain from his book.

Kagome leaned back into the roots of the Goshinbuko, staring at the book in her lap with a tiny frown. You know something, she thought about the book, not even skimming across how insane it was that she was trying to communicate to an inanimate object through her thoughts. And I’m going to figure out what it is. She sniffed and opened to the table of contents, settling further into the cool shade of the Sacred Tree. Her eyes scanned the chapter titles, the sound of a bird distantly reaching her distracted brain.

The preface and first two chapters were relatively short, covering material Kagome already knew—demons, miko, power, time-travel, ancient jewels…

She pulled her head out of the book long enough to notice a man writing a wish on an ema. Kagome studied his back, most of her thoughts still trapped in the pages of the hardback. He was tall, thin, and had brown hair that barely brushed the collar of his black coat. Kagome sniffed and looked back at her book. You know too much to be written by a modern-day human, she mentally scolded it. In response the wind blew, losing her place. Kagome glared and shut the book, hiding from her mourning behind the mild irritation. I wonder how the author knew this… An aggravated noise left her throat and the stranger she was studying earlier turned to look at her, startled. Kagome met his eyes sheepishly. “Sorry…”

He blinked in response, looking a lot more shocked than a simple noise should’ve made him. Kagome looked back up at him, blushing faintly. “Can I help you?” She asked instead of following her first instinct which was to snap, “What?!”

The man appeared to shake himself out of whatever reverie he’d fallen into and shoved both his hands in his pockets. “No.”

Kagome shrugged, ready to go back to her book, but stopped. He’s still staring. She looked at him through her lashes, confirming that he was, indeed, still gazing at her. Rather intently. Like a stalker.

The urge to stand up and tell him, ”No unnecessary staring is prohibited on shrine grounds!” reared up but she settled for sniffing and reopening the cover, trying to locate her lost page. Several minutes passed, and still Kagome could feel the heavy presence of the stranger’s look. Finally her patience was snuffed out. “Now look here--” She began, whipping her head toward where the man was.

He’s gone.

Kagome swiveled around, but what parts of the shrine she could see were empty. Hff. Fine. He was creepy anyway. She sniffed and looked back at her lap. A few moments passed and she gave up trying to focus on her book, standing to stretch. I should take a walk; I’ve been sitting here for at least an hour. Walk around, yes. But not because she was wondering where that strange man had wandered to. Not at all. She wrapped her arms around the book and begun humming as she strolled a little deeper into the shrine grounds. She turned around the corner of a storage building and looked up, sighing. The author of this book must’ve been related to—her thoughts came to a screeching halt at the sight of the strange man from earlier with his hand on the well house door. That’s MY well house! She stomped her foot before marching over to him, her book dropping to the ground. How dare he take liberties with places that are clearly marked off-limits!

Er, disregarding the fact that it wasn’t really marked. So it wasn’t really off limits. At least not physically. But emotionally?

Hell yes.

He’d just managed to slide the door open when a rather forceful hand on his arm stopped him. His eyes turned to Kagome, a little wide. In response she threw his arm away from her well house. “Off. Limits,” She informed him, her anger uncaring to the fact that she’d never seen him before and he didn’t know better. He should’ve sensed it, Kagome twitched and stood between him and the entrance, her arms crossed.

The stranger blinked. “And why is that?”

“It’s old. And falling apart. If you go in it you’ll die. Because it will fall over.”

“The well or the well house?”

“…What?”

“Which will fall over?”

“The well house…that was a dumb question.”

The stranger took a step away from her, but kept his hazel eyes focused on her. “And how would you ask that question intelligently?”

Kagome scrambled for an answer, shutting the sliding wooden door leading to the Bone-Eater’s well. “The intelligent way would’ve been not to ask at all.”

“But your statement didn’t specify. What if the well had fallen over?”

“Well, that wouldn’t have mattered. Why would the well falling over kill you? I mean, unless you were inside it.” Kagome scrunched her nose up, still facing the door.

The man shifted, his hands falling once more into his pockets. “Then let’s assume I was inside the well--”

“Why would you be inside the well?” I’m the only one who has--had any business there. Kagome stepped back and reached up to the low roof of the well-house, adjusting a charm that had twisted around in the wind and was threatening to fall off it’s string.

“Perhaps I was looking for a portal.”

She froze, mouth dry. “Wh-what?”

The stranger turned to the side, observing her through a lock of golden-brown hair. “Maybe I was attempting to go somewhere else…Another place, time--”

Kagome whipped around so fast his eyes hurt. “That’s ridiculous! And, and-where would you get such an idea?”

He shrugged calmly. “It is an interesting notion, isn’t it Miko?”

Kagome staggered. “What did you call me?” Her voice was weak, her eyes twice their normal size and surprisingly blue.

The stranger smirked. Not a smile or a leer or any from of anything Kagome could compare to what a human would do and her breath left her in a whoosh, brain shutting down, heart stuttering to a stop. It’s—It’s a coincidence. Because there was no way—no way—that this man’s smirk mirrored that of—

“Miko. You are the daughter of a shrine-keeper, aren’t you? It’s only a guess, but I would assume--”

“I’m not dressed as a miko, though. And I’m not a vir--” She snapped her mouth shut, blush erupting. I can’t believe I was going to say that to a stranger. So what if he has that smirk. He’s just a man. I don’t even know his name.

His smirk widened just a little. “Vir-what?”

Kagome’s eyes widened again, but she crossed her arms and huffed, “Vir-nothing. Nosey person.”

He tilted his head. “Ah! I’ve yet to introduce myself. Allow me to give my name so that you may (attempt to) insult me properly—Endo Saniiro.”

Kagome’s face fell and her heart withered a little more. Why am I disappointed? It isn’t like I could’ve actually expected him to have the same name as Sesshomaru… Her heart blackened a little more at the name and her eyes screwed shut. Some day I’m going to have to move on.

“Do you truly find my name so unpleasant?” Saniiro questioned, shifting the tiniest of amounts towards her. “Why do you look as if I just killed your family dog?”

Something in Kagome’s soul erupted at his odd analogy and the way he was looking at her, and she fell back against the hard wood of the well-house. Why? Why is he so familiar? Her eyes teared up but she continued to glare at him. “No. I’m just sad because you seemed so smart before you opened your mouth.” Her open hostility for a stranger would reflect badly on her respected family, she knew. For shame, Kagome-chan.

But instead of becoming angry or defensive the man smirked. Again. And Kagome’s breath caught in her dry throat. Again. “That can’t be the reason.” Saniiro turned his back to her thoughtfully. “I don’t remember you looking this put-out since the last time I died.” He mused thoughtfully.

Kagome’s world came crashing down. What? Her knees started to shake, and she noted abstractedly that if not for the wall behind her she would’ve collapsed. I couldn’t have heard that right. “What?” Her voice was even weaker than before.

Saniiro turned back to face her directly, his brows furrowed. “I know you heard me. I do not repeat myself.” His face dropped and Kagome saw—it was him. He was human and dark-haired and fang-less and not as deadly and human, but in his calm hazel eyes lurked a demon, clawing and scratching at the surface, leaning against the restraints. Kagome, finally sliding down the rough wood to sit, staring up at him, let a trickle of her priestess powers out to brush against his aura. Firmly, it grabbed her, and Kagome gasped. Because, as much as she could’ve denied it, it was true.

His aura was so vast and too old to be human at all. He had energy leaking from his pours, though she doubted he had any form of power. He was 100% grade A human male with a pure demon—pure Sesshomaru—soul. “H-how…?”

Saniiro--Sesshomaru smirked, seeing she comprehended his situation. “I was reincarnated,” he stated dismissively, “apparently I had some unfinished business.” He leaned down so he was looking at her closely. “I know you believe in reincarnation.”

Denial tried to wrap around her once more, but his eyes—in the shadows that rimmed his face from the sun behind him—were almost golden, and denial snapped as she lunged forward, arms locking around his neck as he reeled back. Kagome shoved her face in his neck, breathing deeply and crying and bewildered and he’s back. He’s back. He has to be. The scent was the same, though she could pick up laundry soap tangled in, and her eyes shut tighter. “How—How can I be sure? And why do you remember?”

His own arms wrapped around Kagome’s back, he almost groaned into her hair. “I, Sesshomaru,” her breath hitched again, “am relatively certain that I’m the only one besides your family who knows where the well leads. You may ask a question if you wan--”

“How many swords did the Inu no Taisho make?”

“Three.”

“What color were Masao’s eyes?”

“Purple.”

“What kind of demon was Hatsuho?”

“That’s a trick question.”

Kagome’s eyes watered anew and she crashed into him again, her lips finding his. Sesshomaru turned and sat on the edge of the platform of the well house, still trying to devour Kagome through her mouth. Kagome pulled back for a couple seconds, panting. “How—When did you remember?”

Sesshomaru pulled her head forward again, rubbing his nose against her ear before running his tongue around the rim before nipping at that spot directly under the lobe. “About two months ago.”

“Why?” She mumbled, running her hands through his dark hair.

“Near-death experience,” he mumbled into her shoulder, disliking all the talking that was going on.

She gasped. “What almost killed you?!” Kagome grabbed his face between her two small hands, yanking him back so she could look him in the eyes.

“The stock market.” He responded seriously.

Kagome’s face fell at his sarcasm but her eye rolling turned into a low mewl as he began biting at her again. “What took you so long?”

“I had to find you, first. It isn’t as if we spent all that much time alone together talking.” His hand rose slowly under her shirt, fingers spreading wide over her stomach. “Which is where that book you bought earlier comes in. I was the one to write it, after all. After you’d bought it the old woman called--”

Kagome tried not to blush, her own hands fingering the buttons at the collar of his white shirt. “We traveled together alone for, like, two weeks! I’m pretty sure I told you where I was from.”

Sesshomaru snorted. “Perhaps. But I never really listened to what you were saying.”

She tried to be angry, but only sighed when his fingers brushed the edge of her bra. “We are out in the open, you know.” Sesshomaru snorted, completely uncaring. “Someone could find us.” His fingers inched under the material covering her left breast. “We could get in trouble. I could shame my family (er, more). Then no one would come to the shrine anymore and we’d all starve and--” her sentence died off as he firmly planted his lips on hers, much more gentle than last time, but still just as passionate and demanding.

“Hey Kagome, mom says—AH! OH MY GOD!” Souta crushed his hands to his eyes and Kagome tumbled out of Sesshomaru’s lap, trying to tug her shirt down while landing on the ground awkwardly. Sesshomaru stood, too, pulling clothes down, buttoning up his shirt and yanking his coat down in front of his happy area. Souta still had his hands over his eyes when Kagome finally righted herself and ran over to him, calling his name and tugging at his arms. “NO! KAGOME! STOP TOUCHING ME! I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOUR HANDS HAVE BEEN!”

Sesshomaru snorted and Kagome shot him a glare over her shoulder. “Souta! Calm down! You don’t understand--”

“Oh no! I understand! You were about to defile sacred grounds! The shame! MOMMA! JII-CHAN!”

Kagome groaned and smacked her forehead as Souta ran off towards the house, yelling about the birds and the bees and their invasion on the shrine. Sesshomaru sidled up next to her, trying to not look smug or horny. Kagome glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and, seeing his amused grin, whimpered once more. “You’re very, very bad for me. You’ve been here two minutes and already I’m going to get yelled at! If I didn’t like you so much I’d kill you!” She punched his arm and stomped her foot, her nose twitching with the glare on her face.

Sesshomaru grabbed a shoulder. “Love.”

“What?”

“You said, ‘if I didn’t like you so much’. You meant to say love.” He informed her, eyes trained towards where Souta had scurried.

Kagome blinked. “Hff! I knew what I meant!” And even though you’re right, so?

He grabbed her chin lightly. “It’s good to know you reciprocate my feelings, then.” Kagome’s eyes grew again and Sesshomaru couldn’t resist another kiss.

“SEE! THEY’RE AT IT AGAIN!” Came Souta’s distraught voice as he dragged his mother and grandfather towards the two. “LOOK! They’re freaking animals! Literally!”



Once upon a time there was a foolish girl from the future, masquerading as a Feudal hero. She stumbled into a demon lord who wore a mask of stone, but that didn’t cause her steps to falter, as she herself was half-way between madness and fear, and the two were surprised—and rather appalled—to learn that this was what they’d been waiting for all along. When the demon lord was taken from the miko, she returned to her home, attempting to live life normally and failing. When finally she met again with her lord, he wore a mask of mortal flesh, but she grasped his hands, hands that felt the way they had 500 years past, and swore to never let go.



THE END





Kagome: You’re bad for me. And I quit.

Author: Quit? No. See, at this point, he’s human. And since this is the case, you’re having his babies.

Kagome: O.O

Sesshomaru: Is 10 a good number for you?