Ties to Nowhere

Her vision was watery around the edges as she walked down the corridor, shuffling slowly towards…Um…where am I going? The servant at her side seemed to be holding her elbow. The burning in her left arm flared up again, and she hissed softly through her teeth. Her tail was tense and straight and pressed firmly against the floor despite the gentle sway of her hips as she walked.

“This door, my lady” the servant whispered, and Kagome took a second to straighten her spine and blink rapidly a few times before the door was slid open for her. She kept her lids lowered to cover any expression that her eyes may have conveyed as she surveyed the room. “The Lady Kagome,” the servant announced to the other occupants of the room with a quick bow. Kagome gracefully stepped over the threshold, and the door slid quickly behind her.

She bowed her head gently and proceeded further in to the large meeting hall, quickly spotting her parents and moving to their side. She slowly lowered herself to the empty cushion behind her mother. In a movement that she hoped nobody saw, she grasped her left wrist with her right hand and placed her left hand on her lap. It would take all of her concentration to resist the burning itch of the still-healing skin there. You gimp, Kagome…it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t hurt

Under lowered eyelids Kagome’s eyes scanned the positions of the other occupants of the room, but her muddled brain didn’t feel like matching up names to faces. She noticed that the there were three empty positions directly across the hall from her family.

Sleepy…what am I here for again? Damn.

And Kagome proceeded to fall asleep with her eyes open.

@@@

A sharp elbow to her side made her eyes fly open instantly. Her mother gripped her elbow tightly and pulled her up with her as she stood. I guess we’re leaving…yay. Kagome shuffled alongside her mother and followed her out the door. Instead of heading back the way she had came, they were going in a different direction. Her stomach gurgled, but her mother didn’t look at her, thankfully. Kagome smelled fresh air and felt her senses perk up instantly. Mmm...outside.

But what greeted her outside was not what she expected. As they moved down the steps and into the moist grass of a small courtyard, Kagome was disturbed to see the General wiping blood across his pants, with Sesshomaru’s shirt clutched in his other hand, seeming to be holding his somewhat limp body upright as they stood in the middle of the courtyard.

“Kagome,” the General beckoned her in the most serious tone he had ever addressed her with. “Come forth.” Lifting her chin up a little higher, Kagome approached them, leaving her parents standing behind her. A few of the other lords proceeded to gather in a small group behind them.

“Kagome, for the dishonor that my son has dealt you, you are free to punish him as you see fit.” The General released Sesshomaru’s shirt with a sort of push, and his battered form fell forward towards her. He caught himself on his hands, and through lowered lids she looked down at him. She noticed a patch of dried blood on his silky white head, as if he had been struck very hard there. His clothing also had a few blood stains, but she hadn’t noticed any bruises on his face. Always so damn pretty… but her mind was drawing a blank as to what to do. She had not had very much time to go over in her mind what had happened, and the almost drunken state of her thoughts was keeping her from getting upset over anything more than the terrible itch under her sleeve.

Then suddenly, it hit her. The one thing that she could do that would humiliate him more than anything else she could ever do to him in front of anyone. It was so simple that she didn’t even have to think about it. You’re so smart, Kagome.

Reaching down with her good arm, she grabbed his shoulder in a deathgrip and half-lifted him up, then bent her knees so that they were almost at eye level, looking down into his eyes. The burning hatred and anger she saw there fueled her on, and a wide sadistic grin broke out across her face. A flash of surprise momentarily crossed his features and then he set his brow into an even sterner look. The grin fading from her face, Kagome lowered her lashes and closed the distance between them - her target: his hard-set, arrogant lips.

Revenge started as a light brush of tender softness, then became a more firm press of flesh, with Kagome softly sighing through her nostrils. Though it only lasted a few seconds, and though his lips remained set in a firm line, Kagome still found herself unable to keep from blushing at the contact. Breaking their “kiss”, Kagome stepped back, releasing his shirt in the same way his father had, and promptly wiped her lips with the back of her good hand. Her eyes glittered proudly as she coughed a little for effect. Yes, that would do very, very nicely.