Chapter Seven - Tea and Talk
Kagome came out of sleep slowly, awareness trickling through the layers of her gossamer threaded dreams and brushing them quietly away. 'The sun hasn't risen yet,' she thought absently, inspecting the gray ceiling above her head with bleary eyes. She found it in her to roll over, and her eyes idly followed the edge of her futon upward until numerous wrapped packages snagged her gaze and demanded her attention. 'What...?' She reached out, blinked, and then noticed that the blanket she lay under was not the brown one Tanaka-sama had given her for her eighteenth year. No, this was heavier, dyed a vibrant blue, and looked like it had cost someone quite a bit of yen. She sat up, looked around, and then stifled a gasp as the memory of what had happened the evening before came rushing back to her. "I-I made it," she whispered into the empty space around her, her voice echoing slightly. "I'm the twelfth." Though she said it, the words held an unrealistic quality, as though she were dreaming and would wake up at any moment. She pinched herself to make sure, and then soothed the sting with her fingers, looking absently around the dim confines of her room—because it was hers now—as her thoughts pulled her into a daze. 'Now what will happen?' she wondered. 'I worried so much about getting the position that I didn't really think about what came afterward...will...will Lord Sesshomaru take me to his bed now?' A shudder ran up her spine, and she shook her head. She wasn't ready for that, not yet. 'Then again, if Lord Sesshomaru wants me to come to him, what choice do I have but to obey...?' "Kagome?" Startled, Kagome's hand flew to her chest, the feel of her heart thudding beneath it doing nothing to slow the organ's quick pace. "Kotono," she breathed, watching as the demoness slipped into the room, nothing more than a thin yukata covering her figure. "Forgive me, little one. I didn't mean to frighten you." Kagome waved the words away, and the dragoness settled on the tatami beside her futon, green eyes bright even in the pre-dawn dim. "Are you alright?" She must've looked confused; Kotono smiled and explained. "Your aura felt a little distressed." Kagome nibbled her bottom lip, fingers nervously twisting the blanket between them. "I..." Emerald eyes encouraged her to go on, and she sighed lightly. "What happens now?" Kotono made a noise, as though she'd expected her to ask that very question. "Now," she responded slyly, "you learn." Kagome weighed the possibilities of learning—tried to understand its significance when paired with Kotono's secretive pitch—and found that she had no idea what the word could mean for her. Clearing her throat, she asked the question sitting at the tip of her tongue: "Learn what?" Kotono smiled. It was unlike any other smile the demoness had ever given, and Kagome knew that the secrets it held would soon be hers to keep. "Everything." Her eyes wandered over to the other side of the futon, and a playful scowl creased her features. "The first being how to open gifts," she said, leaning across to grab the packages. "You saw them, correct?" Kagome nodded. "I was—" "Worrying about something, no doubt," the dragoness interjected gently, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Kagome decided to ignore the bribe, motioning for a package as the demoness laughed. "Who brought them?" she asked, slipping twine and paper away from a collection of sapphire hair ornaments nestled on top of a deep blue kimono. "We gifted you the ornaments, and the rest comes courtesy of my lord." Kagome lifted eleven hair ornaments, marveling at the beauty of each individual piece before pulling the kimono from the paper. It was remarkably striking, with its bold crane and reed design, and as she unwrapped the rest of her gifts, she found that they all possessed the ability to steal the breath from her lungs with just a glance. Kotono was smiling at her when she looked up, and she felt her cheeks heat at the amused tilt of the lady's lips. "Well," the dragoness said as she set everything in a spot on the tatami, "what say we prepare you for morning tea?" Kagome felt her mind stutter to a halt at Kotono's words, and a remembered utterance, nearly a whisper between her ears, bounced around in her skull. "You and I shall have morning tea, little human, and you shall tell me who you are." Panic blossomed in her chest, fed like a flame by the thought that she was not—and would probably never be—ready for sharing tea with Lady Chiyoko. Wondering idly why the fates seem to enjoy making her head spin with worry, Kagome nibbled her bottom lip, thought for a moment, and then shoved the swirling, seething anxiety away. A deep, cleansing breath chased the remainder of the tight feeling from her chest, and as she nodded in determination, Kotono lightly clapped her hands and stood, smiling down at Kagome with an approving light in her emerald eyes. "Good. Let's get to work, then." Kagome nodded and stood, going through the motions of what was beginning to be a regular routine, and only the sight that met her in the mirror pulled her out of the daze she'd sunk into. Her obi, she realized, was tied in the front, elaborate and beautiful and a little bit of a shock. As though sensing the sudden need she felt for confirmation, Kotono placed her hands on her shoulders and smiled. "Your knot will always be in the front now," she said lowly, unbound hair shining dully in the morning light. Kagome blinked, lifted her hands, and touched the cool silk that sat at her waist. The fabric was smooth on her fingertips, and Kagome blinked and pulled herself out of the surreal haze she had had fallen into. Kotono remained silent after that, getting dressed in a simple crimson robe and soft-soled slippers. In the cool, early morning air, Kagome hoped fervently that she wouldn't make as much of a fool of herself as she had the night before. 'It wasn't really my fault though,' she assured herself. 'I was nervous and wasn't thinking correctly.' Though the reassurances soothed her anxiety about the night before, they did nothing to alleviate her worries now, and she nibbled on her bottom lip as Kotono led her to a building behind the main one and stopped before the porch. Turning to her, the dragoness smiled, leaned forward, and brushed her lips against her temple, much as she had done Rin in the gardens. Without a word, she turned and walked away, leaving Kagome to remove her geta and slide the shoji aside on her own. The receiving room was much like the one in Kotono's building, except for the fact that the tatami was left its natural tan and the cushions were covered with a richly colored, deep gold silk that looked as though it were the highest quality available. 'It probably is,' Kagome surmised, smiling gently as a female youkai, dressed as a servant, came down the hall and offered to show her to Lady Chiyoko's tea room. She refrained from slowing to inspect the hall, and knelt carefully on the floor that the servant led her to; she knocked lightly on the frame, briefly inspected the design of the shoji, and then promptly forgot what it looked like as the stern command to 'enter' met her ears. For a moment, she floundered, helpless without Kotono's calm reassurance, and then she pulled the loose edges of herself back together, opened the door, and bowed.
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'Ah, Higurashi.' It was an idle thought, and Chiyoko waited patiently while the strong, frigid aura of the untrained miko came toward her. She heard the rustle of silk as the human settled, and then waited a moment, laced her voice with steel, and called for the girl to enter She couldn't hide her amusement as the reiki drifting through the screen rose and frayed at the ends, sour with panic and icy with fear; and then it calmed and the door slid aside, the miko lowering her forehead to the ground. Chiyoko smiled softly, but did not let the expression into her voice. "Human," she drawled in greeting, not surprised when the little miko jumped lightly at the sound of her voice. "Chiyoko-sama, it is an honor." "Rise, and enter." Nervousness tickled her nose, sour and a little skittish, and Chiyoko noted with interest that the little miko, her obi tied properly in the front, looked even smaller than she was, delicate and vulnerable and nearly hidden behind the large, luxuriant bow. The onna lowered herself carefully to the floor across from her, folding her hands gently in her lap and staring demurely at her slim fingers. Chiyoko smiled a secret smile.
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Kagome's stomach fluttered nervously and the longer the majestic youkai across from her remained silent, the harder it was for her to contain the anxious shudders that threatened to rock her frame. 'Gods why won't she say anything?' The frustrated thought flitted across her mind just as her body decided that it'd had enough of looking at her hands; her head lifted, and her eyes locked with Lady Chiyoko's bright gold ones. Almost as if she had been waiting for the eye contact, the lady inclined her head, and her voice was fiercely gentle—an odd combination, but there was no other way to describe it—when she spoke. "You must not allow intimidation," she said, averting her gaze momentarily to pour two cups of tea. Passing one to her, she continued, "You may only be a concubine, but you are a human in a demon's court now; do not forget that." Kagome took the slight bribe in stride, shoving the offended question—only a concubine?—away and figuring that the advice given negated the insult. "Thank you, my lady." The lady hummed, eyes sharp, and then settled back, tea cup cradled in her palms. "Well, little human, tell me about yourself." Kagome paused, and then, carefully, began to talk, trying to relax into a comfortable state of mind. "I used to live a half day's ride from here, in a little harvesting village," she began, pausing hesitantly and fighting back a blush as the lady cocked a brow at the silence. "My mother and father died in a fire when I was young, and the village headman raised me." "And were you well liked in your village?" "Erm…no, not really," she responded slowly. That silver brow rose once more. "Oh?" "The women tolerated me," she amended, "but the men didn't…didn't appreciate me." "All men appreciate a woman," the lady said, her voice haughty. "Perhaps you were simply unaware?" Though it had the inflection of a question, Kagome knew that the statement was just that: a statement. Biting the inside of her cheek and recalling Daisuke's shocking admission, Kagome conceded, "Perhaps." A light, airy chuckle floated across the space between them, and Kagome didn't try to keep the frown from crossing her expression. Waving a delicate hand in dismissal, Chiyoko took a sip of tea. "You are…interesting," she said by way of explanation, though her tone made Kagome nervous. "What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Chiyoko lifted her chin, eyes shining with some unnamed emotion. "I mean nothing," she responded elusively. "Only that I see why my son chose you." Kagome opened her mouth, realized that she had nothing to say, and then closed it again, observing the amusement in Chiyoko's amber eyes with slight mortification; she was making a fool of herself again, she just knew it. To hide her embarrassment, she lifted her cup to her lips and drained it, allowing the warm liquid to slither slowly down her throat and soothe her nervous belly. Chiyoko finished her tea as well, reached forward and took Kagome's cup, and then set both of the small dishes on the tea tray and motioned for it to be removed. When her eyes slipped back to Kagome, the amusement was gone, but the blank stare made the human all the more nervous. "Tell me, Higurashi Kagome, what will you do when men look at you?" The question—and the abrupt change of subject—caught her off guard, and the steel hardness of Chiyoko's eyes made her frown. "When…men look at me…?" A slow nod. "You will leave these grounds at some point, and the men outside of these walls—not to mention the ones inside of them—may not always be polite enough to hold their manners. What will you do when they look at you in the way that a man looks at a woman?" Kagome found that she didn't know the answer, and as she shook her head, she realized that she didn't even know what the lady was talking about. Men had looked at her before, had even stared at her, but she had a feeling that those weren't the type of looks the lady alluded to. As though disappointed at her lack of knowledge, Chiyoko sighed lightly, and then tilted her head to the side and inspected her with a strange light in her eyes. "You are to come to me every morning," the lady said after a while, the command in her voice sending shivers down Kagome's spine. "M-my lady?" "I want you in this room an hour after the sun rises, and you will not leave it until an hour after midday." Kagome's mind seethed in confusion, her stomach twisting and turning with nerves. "B-but why?" As soon as the question left her mouth, Kagome berated herself, the sour expression that passed over the lady's face alerting her to the fact that she did not like to be questioned. "N-never mind," she spluttered quickly, lowering her gaze. "An hour after sun rise, my lady." "Good." Kagome looked up, and the hard light, though not diminished completely, had faded. "You may go now." Dismissed and not sure of what she had just been forced to agree to, Kagome nodded, bowed deeply, and then left the room. The walk back to Kotono's building was short, and when she entered, she was only slightly surprised to see the dragoness sitting in the receiving room, lounging in the crimson robe she had donned earlier that morning. Emerald eyes swept over her once, and a small smile flitted over her lips as Kagome joined her. "Well?" Kagome realized, with a start and a jolt of amusement, that the word Kotono had uttered was the very one that would describe her morning tea. "Well," she responded wryly, and knew that Kotono caught her meaning by the amusement that instantly spread across her face. "She wants me to come to her every morning, an hour after sunrise, and stay until an hour after midday," she added. "But she didn't tell me why." Kotono shrugged. "She has her own way of doing things," she answered, shifting into a more comfortable position. "My lord is much like her in that aspect." Kagome hummed, and then frowned. "She asked me…what I would do when men looked at me in the way that a man looks at a woman, and I…I don't know what she meant." The emerald of Kotono's eyes softened. "That's alright," she said quietly. "I don't suppose she expected you to know." Kagome looked down and fiddled with the edges of her sleeves. "What did she mean?" The dragoness was quiet for so long that Kagome began to wonder if she would answer, but when she looked up, the lady simply looked thoughtful, so she waited patiently for her response, chewing on her bottom lip. 'I feel so naïve,' she thought, feeling her face flush. Before she could think any more on the matter, Kotono answered, her voice slow and her words obviously very carefully chosen. "When a man…appreciates a woman, there is a certain light in his eyes; a specific way he looks at her that ignites a…feeling in her that can only be soothed by a touch." Kagome frowned, and through the embarrassment of her naïveté, forced herself to speak. "A touch?" A slow, soft smile spread over Kotono's lips, and she nodded. "A touch." She reached up and pressed her hand against the slope of her neck, tilting her head and spanning the space between throat and chin with long, delicate fingers. "It may begin here," she explained in a breathy, hushed voice, "and depending on the man, may do this," she dragged her fingers gently over her bottom lip, "or this," and then pulled her hand back and traced the curve of her shoulder, the outside swell of her breast, and then down her belly, "but either way, it mostly ends in the same thing; gratification." "Gratification," Kagome repeated. Kotono nodded, and then she looked away, and Kagome realized that she had been staring. The flush of her cheeks was, gratefully, ignored in favor of a friendly smile, a nonchalant shrug, and the return of the regular tone of her voice. "But no one expects you to know that, at least not right now." Kagome cleared her throat. "Is that one of the things you'll be teaching me?" "Yes, that and a few others." Kagome hummed and settled back on her heels, thoughts occupied with musings of fierce lady mothers, strange lessons, and, in the midst of it all, gratification.
Author's Note: I'll probably be updating a lot tonight...Also, I'm working on setting up a Forum (not on this site, though), so I'll let everybody know when that happens.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
~Aubrey
p.s. - A note about Kagome's knot. Traditionally, there was a knot for a concubine, but it wasn't tied in front - I've taken liberties with that part. As far as I know, there was no knot that was tied in front.
