Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor make profit from it.
AN: Written for a drabble request meme for royalbk on Livejournal. This is a one-shot and will not be continued.
Sesshoumaru's Ghost
After a routine rest stop at the village, Kagome noticed Inuyasha's brother making an unexpected appearance. With his usual group in tow, Kagome was surprised when the Taiyoukai approached her, outwardly ignoring the others in her group.
"Miko," he said, and to this day, Kagome wasn't sure if he even knew her name. "I am in need of your assistance."
Kagome nodded, immediately realizing his dilemma. The others of her group were flabbergasted, and Inuyasha became highly suspicious. Kagome wasn't sure if they'd notice the real problem until Miroku said something.
"Ah," he said, noticing the faint aura hovering around Sesshoumaru's head.
"You're being haunted by a ghost," Kagome said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"So it would appear," Sesshoumaru said with aggravation. "I request that either you or the monk take care of this problem." Kagome saw him furrow his brow in slight helplessness. (She had to admit, it was kind of cute, in a strange way.)
Kagome stepped up, and Miroku fell behind her and let her solve it first. She approached the female ghost, who steadfastly hugged Sesshoumaru's shoulder and gave her a mournful expression.
"Hey, um... what is your name?" Kagome asked cautiously. Upon seeing someone take notice of her, the ghost began to spill her story. Kagome remained compassionate, and she learned that the woman had died not long ago - maybe within the last week, and Sesshoumaru was the cause of it.
Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru, and with a blank face (more out of wonder) she said, "Her name was Hama, and you drove her to kill herself." The ghost wailed, and Sesshoumaru visibly grimaced before recovering his usual stoic demeanor.
"Silly human." Sesshoumaru tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "It was her own doing. This Sesshoumaru is not to blame."
Kagome frowned, and she turned back to the woman to learn more. She sighed and turned to Sesshoumaru with exasperation. "She was in love with you, and she killed herself to prove it. Now she'll haunt you forever until you find someone else."
In the background, Kagome heard Inuyasha laugh loudly. "Oh, man, that will never happen." Sesshoumaru sent his brother an affronted glare before turning to Kagome again.
"You cannot exorcise her?" He shot a pleading glance to the monk.
"Sesshoumaru! She's an innocent spirit. She's not evil or a demon; she was once a human being. She's staying on this earth out of love, not hate. And I doubt any other monk or miko will agree to help you, considering you're a demon. Even if you threaten people to exorcise her, I'm not sure the ghost will leave. Not even money could help you, so you're probably stuck with her." Kagome heard the ghost say something else, and she smiled. "She said she'll even help accompany you on all your journeys." With a wicked grin Kagome added, "Looks like you got another member of your pack."
Sesshoumaru's eyes lit with fury, and he stepped toward Kagome with a commanding stance. "Get rid of her," he ordered bitingly. (What part of her 'don't threaten people' part did he not get?) Kagome stood her ground, holding out a hand to Inuyasha to stave him off from fighting. Kagome wasn't afraid of Sesshoumaru ...well, not much, but Sesshoumaru was just being a jerk.
"I won't," she snapped with a glare. "You know the only way to get rid of her; it's your problem. You shouldn't have let her kill herself in the first place."
Sesshoumaru showed his teeth but backed down when the miko refused to help. He looked to his side, catching his brother's glare, and Kagome guessed that he was formulating a plan.
"All this Sesshoumaru has to do is find a mate for her to leave?" Kagome nodded, seeing the ghost nod with her. Kagome wondered. For Sesshoumaru that would be easy, right? He wasn't bad to look at, and he owned a lot of territory. The lucky woman would just have to put up with his bad attitude all the time, which might be harder than it sounded.
Suddenly, she realized that Sesshoumaru was staring at her - probably more than she was comfortable with. She backed up slowly, really hoping his mind wasn't where she thought it was. No, couldn't be...
"Very well," he said, and he reached out and grabbed her arm. "I choose you," he said, and Inuyasha was already on his way over. Sesshoumaru spun her around, and leaned down and put a strong, forceful kiss on her lips. Kagome's eyes never closed, and behind them she could see Sesshoumaru throw a back punch to his brother as he leapt toward him. Inuyasha went flying backward against a tree during the entirety of the kiss.
The ghost wailed, and Kagome strangely pondered at why she wasn't pulling away. One: she was in shock, and two: it wasn't a half bad kiss. In fact, it felt fantastic. Her eyes widened when she realized it was her first kiss and not with the person she had originally intended.
She made a fighting noise against his lips, and soon the Taiyoukai pulled away. He glanced over his shoulder, and Kagome followed his line of sight. The female ghost was gone.
Sesshoumaru looked visibly relieved. He turned to Kagome, and in a formal, yet bizarre turn of events, he said, "I rescind my claim on you as a mate; do you agree?"
Kagome wondered if her jaw was still attached to her head. She nodded lightly. "Sure, no problem." Sesshoumaru gave her an agreeable nod.
"Good. Thank you for your assistance, miko Kagome." He turned around, and as usual his goodbye was null, and Rin and Jaken bustled at his side as they left. Jaken seemed dreadfully upset, and Rin kept asking if she was going to get a new mommy.
Suddenly, Inuyasha was at her side, rubbing his sore noggin and glaring as his brother stalked off. "Bastard! What was he thinking?"
Kagome didn't say anything. The warmth of his lips still pulsated on her mouth. She realized that Sesshoumaru wasn't as cold as she perceived. The errant thought made her blush.
"What the hell, woman? Don't tell me you liked that crap?" Inuyasha seethed at her. Kagome's temper immediately spiked. It was just like him to blame her for something she didn't do.
"What business is it of yours? It's not like you give me anything to compare it to!" Kagome promptly stormed off, leaving the hanyou to grumble at himself. Miroku chuckled and added a few insults, and Sango shook her head, seemingly annoyed with the usual nonsense that happened to them.
Kagome's temper subsided as she stomped deeper into the forest. She turned around, and after realizing that Inuyasha hadn't follow her, she sighed heavily and brought her fingers up to her lips.
"Wow," she said aloud to herself. She almost hated herself for liking the kiss. Even stranger, she even wondered what would have happened if he hadn't rescinded his claim on her. The thoughts made her dizzy, and she dared not let her imagination fly like that.
With one kiss, she was scared to where her mind might go. Or that she might really like it.
END