An Unimpressive Ending

Chapter 8

The pair left the slayer village the following morning after a quick breakfast with Miroku and Sango. Kagome assured them she would be back to visit again and hugged them both tightly before leaving them on their doorstep. Sango watched her friend walk away with her hand resting lightly in the crook of the daiyoukai’s arm. She looked to her husband who was also watching the pair, a slight smile on his lips.

“This pleases you?”

Miroku turned toward her, “Kagome-sama could never hope to be more well taken care of.”

Sango frowned, “He is awfully… affectionate with her.”

Miroku slid his arm around his wife’s waist, his hand trailing low before grabbing a bit of her warm flesh and squeezing, “I am not the sort of man to fault him for that.”

Sango rolled her eyes and pulled his hand back up to rest at the top of her hip, “How is it that the two of you managed to avoid Inuyasha?”

“We did not.”

Sango’s eyes widened, “And what did he have to say about it?”

“Oh, he’s mad as hell. Sesshomaru-sama was much worse though.”

Sango was completely confused, “What? Why?”

Miroku shrugged, “Inuyasha’s upset came with the implication that he held a claim to Kagome. Let’s just say, Sesshomaru found that to be extremely inappropriate.”

Once out of the village Sesshomaru had lifted Kagome to ride on A-Un. He took the reigns and walked beside the animal, leading them away from her friends. Kagome watched him and felt her heart swell. He’d made the effort to allow her time with her friends, he had stayed in a tiny hut in a human village and put up with Miroku’s questioning.

She was gazing at him so intently that he could sense her. He turned and slowed his pace at the look of utter admiration on her face.

“What is it?”

Kagome smiled, “Thank you.”

“For?” His eyebrow raised with his question.

She shrugged, “You brought me to see my friends. You put up with them. You didn’t have to do that.”

He turned back to the path and reset his pace, “This one thought you might be in need of their company. I was surprised that you didn’t wish to stay longer.”

Kagome let out a short laugh, “I hadn’t expected them to be so… intense. Sango seems to think you are using me and will let me down the moment you become bored. I found it a bit insulting.”

Sesshomaru’s grip on the reigns tightened but he made no comment.

“I know this all seems very strange, I know this is likely the last thing anyone would have expected to happen. But… I was just sure that they were aware that you are honorable, that you wouldn’t go to all the trouble of taking me in, of expressing interest in me, simply to hurt me.”

At that Sesshomaru stopped and turned toward her, “This one would never hurt you. The monk expressed similar concerns and I felt similar insult. I am not merely toying with you, Kagome. If we, if you, choose to see this,” here he gestured between the two of them, “through, then it is highly unlikely that it ends with my becoming bored.”

Kagome gasped at his intensity and reached toward him. He stepped closer and allowed her to cup his cheek in her hand, he turned into her touch and nuzzled her palm. “I know you are not playing, Sesshomaru-sama. Neither am I.”

Sesshomaru pressed a kiss to the inside of her hand before turning around and continuing to lead A-Un back into the forest.

They stopped later than usual that night. The sun had almost completely vanished and twilight was settling in. Sesshomaru had been especially quiet and Kagome could feel the anger coming off him in waves. When he reached to pull Kagome off the saddle she wrapped her arms around his neck. Instead of leaving her after he set her down he pulled her flush against him and buried his head in her shoulder.

“I apologize,” his voice was muffled in the silk of her yukata.

Kagome tightened her grip on him, “Why?”

Sesshoumaru pulled back in order to look her in the eye, “I am unaccustomed to being questioned. I didn’t react with the amount of decorum associated with my position.”

Kagome snorted, “That isn’t something to apologize for.”

He shook his head, “I have been agitated since our visit. It isn’t solely because of your friends’ distrust, that was annoying but expected. However,” his brow drew down into a slight scowl, “I am realizing that their skepticism is the least of what we will face.”

Kagome tilted her head, “What do you mean?”

“When we return, when I announce you to the other lords…”

Kagome pulled away from him, breaking their contact, “Because I am human? Because they will think you have become your father?” She was breathing hard and her hands were clenched into tight fists.

Sesshomaru reached for her and looked hurt when she pulled away, “Because you are a miko, because they will see you as a threat. This one is not his father. I would never betray my mate.”

Kagome felt her eyes welling up and shook her head, “No, no. I should have known. I can’t believe I allowed myself to forget. Maybe I thought Rin had changed you, maybe I thought you saw me as an equal despite my species.” She felt the first tear slip down her cheek.

Sesshomaru growled and lunged, he pulled her roughly against him, his claws digging into the skin of her upper arms. “Woman, I am not shunning your humanity. My father was a disgrace for leaving my mother. Inuyasha earned my hatred simply by being a living symbol of that betrayal. You, will be feared because you could purify my enemies.”

Kagome was still stiff but made no move to pull away, “Why will you be announcing me to the lords anyway?”

He placed a hard kiss to the top of her head and smoothed his hands down her arms to grasp both her hands in his own, “It is customary to present your intended to the court. It will be expected that all the cardinal lords will be invited.”

Kagome gasped, “Intended? You mean?”

Sesshoumaru sighed, “I really do think I have made my intentions quite clear. Yes, I mean intended. Yes, I mean to mate you. And, yes, it is going to cause a scandal that the most powerful of the daiyoukai plans to claim the most powerful miko. So, again, I apologize that I have been especially tense today.”

Kagome squeezed his hands, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk so much.”

He scoffed, “Don’t get used to it.”

Her responding laugh was caught in his mouth as he kissed her.