His golden eyes widened from his crouched position atop the hanyou. Claws frozen as he halted the strike he was to land on his father's son. His shock causing him to pause.
He had been alive for seven centuries. Seen humans and demons advance, seen cruelty and kindness and loss, fought in wars and for his own survival, had ruled a ruthless court since his fathers death and his mother's departure. Nothing shocked or surprised him any longer. But this... woman-child, that radiated innocence, yet dressed like the boldest of courtesans, had just pulled his sire's sword when neither of those in attendance that shared his blood could do so.
Interesting.
He flashed to her side, the hanyou's warning falling on deaf ears as he looked into her shocked eyes, her raven hair framing her face. Unusually blue for a human of the lands. Not uncommon for a demon, but she was...
Perhaps not.
Her scent, like the first summer thunderstorm, singed his senses with the simmering of electricity coiling just underneath in subtle tones. A miko then. He noted her aura, and fought to keep his features neutral. A powerful miko.
He could hear the argument between her and his half brother. Her potential was wasted on him. Especially given his comment on her being 'weak'. She could cause even one such as himself great pain should she be trained.
He inhaled her clear scent once more, slightly enjoying the cleanliness she held. Most humans did not bother to maintain themselves. The stench of death radia -
He inhaled again.
He couldn't fight the narrowing of his eyes. "What are you?"
She looked at him, really looked at him, her eyes turning contemplative while slightly confused, and opened her mouth, however, Inuyasha was scrambling to his feet.
"Leave her alone you bastard! She's just a weak, pathetic human! Nothin' you'd be interested in."
He flicked a hand through his hair as he turned his eyes to the welp.
"You would be incorrect, little brother. Can you not sense the power radiating from her? The clarity of her scent? Do you not wonder why she, 'a weak, pathetic human' as you put it, could pull the sword when we could not?"
He watched as the ears atop his head flickered. "Keh, she's Kikyo's reincarnation, so of course she's got some power. Probably something to do with that on why she could pull the sword."
He watched from the corner of his eye as the girl seemed to radiate anger while deflating at the same time. His brother was truly an imbecile.
"Perhaps, but she holds power stronger than even the priestess you dallied with."
Inuyasha growled as he took a step forward and crouched as though he would attack. "What are you taking about?! The old lady in the village said she holds Kikyo's soul. She confirmed it!"
He turned towards the girl and raised a clawed hand. He watched as she stiffened slightly, but made no move to step back or run. He nearly smiled.
Brave, foolish girl.
He touched the tip of his claw to her forehead and stretched his senses into her body. Her gasp of surprise was ignored as he searched for the information he sought.
There.
"She does indeed hold your former lovers soul."
"I already knew that!"
His eyes narrowed.
"She holds the soul. The girl is not her reincarnation, merely a vessel."
Her relief flowed through him, and he chanced a glance at her. His hand still to her forehead.
She was quite beautiful. Her eyes though, they held such an intricate wisdom that was shocking for one so young, and still maintained the innocence of a child. So consumed with studying her eyes and delving into their secrets, he nearly missed it.
A slight humming in the depths of her soul that tugged at him. Demanded his attention. He set his senses on it and narrowed in. It was like it was... welcoming him.
The center of it glowed with a warmth he had never felt before in his life. He felt like he was home.
A loud thrumming filled his skull, as he stared wide eyed at the miko in front of him. She seemed to be just as effected as he. Her breaths coming in short pants as her hands spasmed on his fathers sword. Her eyes glazed over, and he could feel one of her small hands reach out and clutch to haori as he leaned into her.
"What - what is happening to me?" Her whispered question reached his ear just as the thrumming picked up, and then every muscle in his body tensed as one word rang through him like a gong.
Mate.
This little woman-child was his mate. His soul bonded partner the kami's had created for him, and he for her.
Inuyasha's growling increased somewhere behind him and something like "get away from her" floated to his ears.
Get away? No. The girl was his.
He tilted his head toward hers and watched as she tensed and attempted to step back, but his hand darted out to grip the back of her head, holding her in place. He raked his nose along her throat, up to her jaw, to her ear, and then behind it into her silky hair.
Nuzzling into the soft depths he pulled in a breath as he relished in her scent, making sure to scent mark her thoroughly before he turned his ire on his brother to let him know exactly what had just transpired.
Kagome, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused. Here was this male that radiated violence and death like a promise, had beaten and mocked her friend, and was now holding onto her like she was life itself. All while pushing his face around hers. What was up with that?
On top of it all, just a moment ago she had felt inexplicably drawn to him. She had guessed he felt something similar based on the look in his eyes when he had touched her, but she didn't understand. She felt like he was essential. Like she needed him to be able to even just breathe.
The deep rumble coming from his chest broke her out of her internal musings and she looked up into his face that had pulled away. He was glaring and baring his teeth at something Inuyasha had said.
Looking to her friend to get answers, she was left with more questions. Inuyasha looked like he had seen a ghost. His face pale, mouth slightly open in surprise, and his eyes were darting frantically between his brother, that still held her in his grasp, and her.
She tugged gently at the haori still in her grip to get Sesshoumaru's attention. His eyes that had been a molten gold earlier, were now tinged slightly red, his markings taking on a jagged edge.
"I - I don't mean to sound rude, but... what is going on? What was that earlier?"
The red receded a bit, and she watched as he looked at her curiously.
"You are mine."
What?!
Apparently the feminine outrage showed easily in her expression because he opened his mouth to elaborate.
"You are mine, just as I am yours. What do you know, miko, of demons?"
She tensed slightly at the question. Should she tell him?
"Well... nothing."
His brow rose in question.
"I didn't know demons existed until very recently."
Now he was confused. To anyone else, the way he looked at her hadn't changed except for those first few moments earlier, but she could feel it. It was like she was tuned into everything that made him who he was.
"How?"
She studied him carefully. From what she had seen, he was brutal, vicious. Nothing to indicate he was trustworthy of the information she held. But... that feeling inside of her kept prodding her. She could trust him. Rely on him. Inuyasha seemed to know what she was going to do because he chose that moment to speak up.
"Don't tell him, Kagome! The bastard will take you somewhere and lock you up to get what he wants!"
Sesshoumaru's snarl shook the bones of the tomb they resided in. "You would dare insinuate that this one would treat his mate in such a way?"
"Mate?"
He turned back to face the girl - Kagome. "The Kami match souls together that would be the most... beneficial to those involved."
Inuyasha let out a humorless laugh. "You're telling me that you believe in that bullshit?"
"This one did not, but the girls soul called to mine. And mine responded. Had I not felt them resonate, I would still be disinclined to believe."
Kagome jerked and looked up with shocked angry eyes.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
He tilted his head down to look at his soul bonded. "At first glance, you appear utterly human."
Her brows scrunched together. "So because I'm human, you wouldn't have had anything to do with me?"
"Precisely. A Lord cannot mate a human, they are weak." Slanted eyes cut to the hanyou in their company, "and the results of their company creates stains in the bloodline. It is unacceptable."
Kagome dropped her head as she studied their feet, effectively hiding her eyes from his own. "So... since I'm human why are you doing all of this? Why say that I'm your mate if you don't plan to actually be my mate?"
She was so confused. It was easy to see he didn't care for humans. The repulsion that radiated from somewhere inside of her that linked them together told her that much. But the hate when he spoke of hanyou's, and that look he gave Inuyasha... why would he talk about all of the stuff earlier if he didn't want to get to know her? To figure out this bonded stuff together?
A clawed finger settled on her chin and gently tilted her head up. His eyes swirled, and captivated her almost immediately.
Dangerous. This was so very dangerous.
"Miko, you are not human."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"But - of course I'm human!"
He shook his head slowly. Almost as if he was being careful of startling her.
"You are not."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Inuyasha take a step closer.
"Have you gone insane? Is that what the hell this is? The wench is as human as they come!"
Sesshoumaru fought the urge to roll his eyes. He could see the halfbreed misunderstanding the situation regarding his lovers soul. But to disregard his own senses?
"Has your nose suffered some sort of injury, Inuyasha?"
Sputtering while looking mildly contrite, Inuyasha spouted out an offended, "no!"
"This one is inclined to disagree. That or the stench of your own odor has simply weakened the appendage."
"Why you!" Red firerat robes bunched in preparation to tackle the full demon in front of him.
"Wait! I still don't understand! Why do you think I'm not human?"
He tilted his head to the side in a seemingly lupine way.
"You do not smell of death and decay. Humans, from the time they are born, carry it. It's imbedded into their very being because they are, in fact, dying from the moment they are conceived."
He leaned forward until his nose brushed the top of her hair and inhaled.
"You do not carry it. Your scent is pure and undiluted with the effects of time."
She looked to her friend to confirm the words his brother was saying. His brows were furrowed as he gazed at her. All of a sudden he leapt forward to stand right next to them, and Sesshoumaru growled loudly, wrapping both arms around her and hugging her close.
"Shut the hell up. I'm just trying to get a wiff."
He got up beside her and started smelling around her temple.
This was starting to get weird. She was starting to feel like one of those perfume samples in the mall.
"Okay, okay! Can we stop smelling me now?" Her cheeks started turning red, and she subtly buried her face in Sesshoumaru's haori.
"I hate to say it, but... he's right. You don't have the same stench the others carry. What the hell are you, Kagome?"
She turned to face him. "How am I supposed to know?!"
Sesshoumaru let out a rumbling purr. His mates aura and emotions were fluctuating with frustration, confusion, and a slight tinge of fear. Her fear set him on edge. More so with the halfbreed in attendance.
"Leave her be, hanyou. She would have stated the reason already if she knew. You will not upset her further."
"Are you fucking kidding me? Just a second ago you were the one asking, but when I do it you get all pissy?"
"She did not know earlier the reason this one was asking. Now, you are causing her undo stress. If you will not be silent, this one will find a way to muzzle you permanently."
He looked down into her eyes and saw the unspoken thanks at his words. "We will find the answers you seek. That we both seek." She nodded her confirmation. The link that connected them seemed to grow taunt. Almost as if it was pulling them into one another.
"Keh, and how do you plan to do that exactly? It's not like her mom is going to know. She's human too."
He answered without taking his eyes from his mate. "We will consult Bokuseno."
"Bokuseno?"
"Hn. His knowledge is vast."
Inuyasha stepped forward, "wait just a minute! We have stuff we have to do! You can't just take her and go across the countryside to talk to a tree. We have shards to find!"
He watched as his mate glanced away and bit into her full bottom lip. She seemed to turn inwards, contemplating her current predicament.
After a few moments, she turned hesitant eyes back to him. Releasing the bruised appendage, he could make out the indentions from her blunt human teeth and contemplated for a moment what it would look like with impressions from his fangs.
"I would like to speak to this Bokuseno as well, but he's right. I have to gather the shards of the jewel and put it back together."
"I fail to see why a jewel is something of greater importance."
Inuyasha scoffed. "She talking about the Shikon Jewel. The idiot shot it with an arrow, and it shattered. We gotta find all the shards and fix it."
He could feel her embarrassment and anger flow down the bond.
"I didn't know it would hit it and shatter! I was just trying to kill that freaky crow thing that was trying to make off with that boy!"
"Yeah, well, maybe if you were actually a decent shot like Kikyo was you could have done it!"
"I'm not Kikyo! I told you when we were going after it that I hadn't ever shot a bow in my life! You were the one saying 'Your have Kikyo's soul! Your a miko! You can shoot a bow!'"
"Obviously you aren't her. She wouldn't have made such a screwed up mistake!"
Sesshoumaru's brows shot up when the miko in his arms growled.
"Sit, boy!"
He watched stone faced as the rosary around the hanyou's neck glowed, and then pulled him face first into the piles of bones beneath their feet. If he were one to laugh, he would have been howling at the sight of his little mate bringing the welp to heel.
Kagome could feel his amusement through the link, and turned slitted eyes his way.
"Not. A. Word."
His brow rose, but he remained silent. He would gladly allow his half brother to be the focus of her ire.
She suddenly sagged forward and leaned into him. Her head resting on his chest plate.
"Can we get out of here? I'm kinda tired of being surrounded by bones, and it's just weird knowing I'm inside your father."
He hummed and lifted her, her grip on the sword still steady, and leapt into the air.
Indignant muffling could be heard below them as the spell started to loosen its hold. The half breed would catch up to them eventually.
His gaze lowered and briefly swept over the reason for his appearance. The Tessaiga. He found himself wondering what his mate planned to do with it. If she would gift it to him or to the half breed. He followed the hand holding his fathers fang up until it rested on the head leaning against his shoulder.
He was not sure if he cared to have the sword, so much as the woman in his arms. He knew she was hesitant. His earlier words on human's and Lord's being unacceptable mating partners had caused her unease. He could sympathize in a way. Had she said something similar about miko's and youkai being unacceptable mating partners he would feel dissatisfied at the answer. However, she was no simple miko, nor was she entirely human. She was something... other. And he was determined to figure out just what his newfound mate was.