A/N- Ah...here we are again...
Anyway, this chapter took a while to get moving in the right direction and I just hope I didn't make Sesshy too Ooc. But think about it first, he's human now and won't be able to act or behave the exact same way anymore...
Disclaimer- Heck, If I owned InuYasha then Kouga would be my personal slave, Bankotsu my bodyguard, and Sesshoumaru...sigh...the man...err...demon, of my dreams! So don't complain, I don't own them either!
T.T
'Thoughts'
Hope yah likey!
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Chapter 2
Lesson Number One
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As Rin's small arms wrapped about his waist, Sesshoumaru expected to hear Jaken's screechy voice as he demanded to know where his lord was and why Rin was hugging a human, but that isn't what happened.
Jaken merely bowed his head in reverence as he came to a stop a few feet away from where Sesshoumaru and Kagome were sitting, his eyes focused upon Kagome as disgust filled them. "Wench! Why are you sitting so close to my lord?! Move girl, before you can dirty Sesshoumaru-sama any further."
Sesshoumaru was confused, 'this doesn't make any sense, I am a human now...but Jaken doesn't realize this? How?' It took but a few seconds before the truth dawned on him and once it did, his eyes flashed to the female sitting not two feet away.
"Jaken, this female is under this Sesshoumaru's protection. Any attack upon her is an attack upon this Sesshoumaru, understood?" Immediately Kagome's head snapped up as she turned her head, her eyes met his own.
Sesshoumaru didn't need to turn towards Jaken to know that the imp was trembling, heck, all he had to do was shift just so and Jaken would nearly loose control of his bladder. But he was more concerned about what he thought that this miko had just done, 'she must have placed an illusion spell upon me to make me look the same, but when did she do this?'
"Y...yes milord..." Jaken's voice broke Sesshoumaru out of his thoughts as he decided to ask her about it later, after all, she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.
"Milord, who is this pretty lady? May Rin go and gather some flowers for her?" Looking down at his ward, Sesshoumaru crushed his sudden desire to smile and gave a stiff nod of his head in response. Rin seemed to accept this and leapt out of his lap, giggling happily as she dashed the few feet to where the nearest wildflowers were currently blooming.
As she set about picking every single one, Sesshoumaru's curiosity got the better of him and he spared a side glance at his half-brother's pack. All the while silently wondering if they would play along with Kagome's charade, or not.
He wasn't surprised by the look of utter shock on his half-brother's face, but when he saw those of the other's, he became confused.
Each one of them was trying not to laugh.
Narrowing his eyes as he distinctly heard the broken giggles of that slayer woman who had threatened him earlier, he finally turned to the woman at his side, determined to get his answers. People’s reactions be damned.
"Miko, what have you done to this Sesshoumaru?" His voice was low, low enough that Jaken's poor sense of hearing wouldn't be able to pick up on it, but he knew that his brother and the kitsune were another matter. At the moment though, he couldn't care less.
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Licking her lips, Kagome didn't speak, she only reached out and lifted the edge of Sesshoumaru's sleeve, revealing a subjugation necklace. Growling low, Sesshoumaru dug his fingers into Kagome's wrist as he tugged her closer to him, "you dare place a subjugation necklace upon this Sesshoumaru Miko? You shall explain yourself or I shall kill you."
Sighing, Kagome nodded her head, trying her hardest not to cry at the pain that was flaring up from where Sesshoumaru's nails were digging into her skin. He may have human nails, but it still hurt.
"I am sorry Milord, it was the only way I could think of to stop others from looking down on you now, I haven't placed a word upon it or an action. You can choose what it is Milord if you so wish...I am at your mercy..." Kagome bowed her head, trying her hardest to sound meek and obedient, she wouldn't break her promise, even if it killed her.
Sesshoumaru loosened his grip slightly as he pondered the woman's words, 'she placed the necklace to hide my human form so that I won't come to dishonor for her actions...hmmm...I suppose that she is smarter than I thought.'
Letting his finger's slide free from Kagome's wrist, Sesshoumaru slowly got to his feet and started to stride from the clearing only to stop and spare a glance behind him, "miko, come."
Tilting her head in slight confusion for a moment, Kagome got to her feet and bowed deeply, "yes Milord." As soon as those words were uttered, Sesshoumaru started walking again and Kagome was following close behind when out of nowhere she was flying.
Blinking stupidly for several moments, Kagome looked down to find a pair of arms wrapped about her waist, groaning Kagome shook her head in exasperation. "Kouga, put me down." A deep chuckle met her ears before said wolf finally released her, feeling her feet come into contact with the ground, Kagome immediately stepped back her eyes glancing about to find Sesshoumaru.
It was an unnecessary move though, because the next thing Kagome knew, she was being shoved behind someone. Groaning, Kagome opened her mouth to yell at InuYasha when the person before her spoke.
"This Sesshoumaru will warn you only once, this miko belongs to this Sesshoumaru and you are not to touch her again, is this understood wolf?" Her eyes wide, Kagome lifted her head to stare at Sesshoumaru's back, her mouth falling open in shock and surprise.
Kouga's expression wasn't that much off from her own, but he recovered within moments, narrowing his eyes at Sesshoumaru while growling threateningly. "She is my woman, I can touch her anytime I want dog breath, now get out of my way before I have to do something you might regret."
His threat fell on deaf ears though, because instead of so much as reacting to Kouga's 'declaration', Sesshoumaru had turned to Kagome and after giving her a quick once over, began to lead her from the clearing.
When Sesshoumaru had gripped her wrist and tugged, Kagome didn't even think twice. She just simply allowed Sesshoumaru to drag her along behind him, she briefly spared a glance back at the thoroughly stunned wolf demon behind her before turning away, without so much as a smile or a goodbye. 'Just don't let him follow us, I don't know how much longer I can hold my spell...I should have listened to Kaede, I really need to train more...'
It seemed that her thoughts were more than correct, because the moment that they both were concealed within the forest, the spell flickered and faded. Kagome felt drained, her body going limp as she fell soundlessly to the ground, her wrist easily slipping from Sesshoumaru's grip.
She had used up all of her energy and power, causing her to fall unconscious.
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Feeling Kagome slip free, Sesshoumaru immediately stopped and glanced behind him, ready to confront her when he saw what had happened. He was at her side almost instantly, picking up her limp form easily.
As he lifted her though, he noticed that his form had changed once again to that of a human, meaning that Kagome's spell had fallen which could only mean one thing. 'She must have depleted all of her strength by casting that spell and maintaining it...stupid ningen onna.'
He couldn't understand why she had risked her own health on something as trivial as keeping up the pretence that he was still a demon. Though the truth was closer to the fact that he didn't want to take responsibility for what had happened to Kagome, because what had just happened was technically his fault, whether he admitted to it or not.
Shaking off such troubling thoughts, Sesshoumaru decided that the best thing to do at the moment was to seek the help of Kagome's companions, to see just why she had fainted as she had.
And with that thought, he returned slowly to the clearing, taking a calming breath before entering said clearing. Ready to face them all.
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Rin was covering her ears when she saw someone come out of the trees, someone dressed in black who was carrying the lady that had been sitting with her lord. Curious, she got to her feet and slowly approached the man in black, as she got closer though, her eyes grew wide in recognition.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, you look different, can Rin look different too?" It was her rather loud voice that caught the attention of everyone in the clearing, causing them all to turn towards the now still former demon lord and the unconscious young human miko in his arms.
"What did you do to Kagome you bastard!!" Screaming his head off, InuYasha tightened his grip upon the Tetsusiaga as he stormed right over, coming to a snarling halt before Sesshoumaru.
Narrowing his eyes at his little brother, Sesshoumaru bared his very human teeth in a menacing manner, warning InuYasha that he was stepping onto dangerous ground. It pleased him to no end when InuYasha flinched, but it was a mere moment only.
"This Sesshoumaru has done nothing to the miko, she is merely exhausted and collapsed." Turning from InuYasha, Sesshoumaru found the slayer with his eyes and motioned for her to come over, which the woman did immediately.
Once she had reached his side, Sesshoumaru lifted and turned Kagome's body towards the slayer, his expression hard. "Can you assist this Sesshoumaru in finding a place for her to lay down until she awakens?"
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Sango's head snapped up, giving Sesshoumaru a confused but awed look, 'he...he really does care about her, I can see it...but...' Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Sango gave a nod of her head, "follow me," turning around she walked over to where Kagome usually kept her backpack and proceeded to dig out her sleeping bag.
Rolling it out on the closest flat spot that she could find, Sango moved back to watch as Sesshoumaru knelt to place Kagome upon the sleeping bag. Once Kagome was level, Sesshoumaru shifted into a sitting position right next to her.
With the wolf and his brother still about, Sesshoumaru wasn't sure that they would leave Kagome alone and so he would make sure that they did. After all, the miko needed to rest so that when she awoke he could find out just what she had been thinking.
But it seemed the quiet that he wanted wouldn't stay very long, because next thing he knew he was surrounded by every single person in the clearing and each one of them was spouting off questions. Closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru growled deeply in his throat.
If someone didn't back off soon, they would be dead meat.
