Sit, Boy!
Kagome smiled as she opened her eyes. She'd made it safely to her only safe haven. Light blue scales glittered in Kagome's eyes as sunlight bounced of her only confidant. Her smile softened in genuine happiness.
"Child what brings you here this time?" Aria’s soft voice naturally erases all negative feelings. Kagome sighed in relief as her feelings of anger and frustration seemed to flit away like a tiny bird. A gentle touch that matched the gentle voice brushed over her face, smoothing out all her wrinkles from frowning. Kagome couldn't help but giggle as Aria's whisker brushed her face.
"Evening Aria. Same reason as usual." Kagome wrapped her paws around Aria's neck before looking up at her. Aria was her given guardian when her mother died. Aria had been her family's guardian for first born females. A strong family line of Miko's required a strong dragon guardian to train and guide them.
Kagome mused for a moment on what she'd been taught as a child. Dragons are creatures considered the closest to the Kami's, and have been looked favorably upon by both humans and yokai alike. Dragons are often related to as an animal familiar of monks and mikos. It made sense though because the power both possessed were similar. Most didn't know it but it was the Dragon that started the Miko and Monk race.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that behind every family of spiritual power is a dragon companion or guardian. Kagome's mother, Midoriko, had been a very powerful miko in the Higurashi clan before Kagome had been born. When a daughter is born, all of the mother's power is given to the daughter. Sons are born with spiritual power, but they were a supporting figure, the strongest were the mikos. The Higurashi's usually hid this from general knowledge because it's not right for the female to have more power than the male.
"Sesshomaru then?" Aria's chuckle in amusement pulled Kagome back from her musings. Kagome had been struggling with her own feelings for the prince of the West long before Aria had been ready for such a problem to arise. As a hanyo, Kagome wasn't expected to mature the same way normal inu yokai are. So, as Sesshomaru's younger half brother was a prime example, Aria had been expecting Kagome to mature slowly. A slow maturity rate is the norm for hanyo.
It had been only a mere 63 years before Kagome started to become confused about her feelings for the young inu. Though she'd come to terms pretty quickly about what her feelings were, Kagome was having a harder time trying to get the stoic ice prince to notice what she was trying to convey.
In the past it had nearly driven Kagome insane trying her darnedest to get him to look in her direction. So Aria, in order to prevent insanity, had created this little sanctuary for them. It rested inside Kagome's necklace, a single ice blue sapphire gem that matched her eyes. The necklace had been made from some of Midoriko's powers and Kiriyo's fang for her, a gift made for her when she was born. The sanctuary hadn't been difficult to form due to the fact that the gift was meant for such a purpose.
To make it better Kagome had the ability to transport anyone she wished into the gem whenever she touched them. It was a good trick for getting people out of danger quickly, but it often left Kagome wondering what the point of running away was.
"Yes, him." Kagome sat before the light blue dragon with her ears drooping and her tail sitting limp and lifeless beside her. "He's been getting, I don't know. ... More distant." Kagome said as the scent of tears started to envelop her. She'd been in love with Sesshomaru for almost 657 human years, and almost 593 of those years she'd been aware of it. "Aria, I don't know what to do. I'm having to stoop to dying his hair colors for him to actually speak to me!"
The last words of the sentence were what loosed the tears from Kagome's eyes. They flowed down her midnight black fur to drip from her chin onto her paws. Her head hung against her chest. She had no idea of what to do. The green color hadn't been chosen just cause it was different, it had a meaning.
"Child, don't tell me you're like this because," Aria started to speak but was cut off with a whine from the small dog in front of her.
"Aria, it's passed the time of the promise. If it's not kept within the next human year I don't know what will happen." Kagome struggled to speak without letting her voice tremble in the fear and uncertainty that overtook her.
~*~
"Kagome, why do you cry?" Sesshomaru's voice startled Kagome from her thoughts. Kagome looked up as he parted the willow branches, her eyes were red and puffy, she quickly hid her face in her legs because she didn't want to appear anything less than perfect in front of Sesshomaru.
"Mama died, she left me." Kagome sobbed as another round of tears spilled from her. Her body shook as she sat there huddled up next to a small willow tree. She'd hidden behind the branches hoping no one would find her. "Next will be Papa in battle, and then I don't know who else I love that will be taken. I'll be all alone." Her voice was unsteady the entire time she spoke from between her knees.
"You knew she would leave eventually, you've said so yourself." Sesshomaru was confused, just as he was most of the time when dealing with Kagome. Throughout the years she'd been living on the palace grounds with her father they'd talked about her mother. Kagome's mother was a human, and with Kagome born, she'd lost her miko powers. She would die, maybe around when Kagome was 50 or so. But no more than 70 years would pass before her mother would die.
"But she promised she'd never leave me! Mama said she'd never leave!" Kagome wailed as sorrow washed across her anew. She was struggling not to get too upset as the emotions continued to overwhelm her. Suddenly her mind went blank and before she understood what happened she was suddenly having to look quite a ways further up to see Sesshomaru's face. Her confusion led to her looking towards the ground and letting out a startled yelp. She had black paws, how could she have black paws? She was hanyo, and only 45 years of age.
"You have a second form." Sesshomaru whispered in awe as he studied the small black hanyo inu in front of him. Even he, at 53, still had difficulty maintaining control in his second form. His senses told him that she really was in shock, that was the only emotion he could smell. It didn't stay for very long. Sorrow replaced awe just as quickly in the small pup before him.
He couldn't stop himself from sighing even though his father had scolded him several times not to do so. "Kagome." Sesshomaru said softly as he knelt down next to the quivering pup. Upon hearing her name Kagome looked up and her soul wrenching ice blue eyes tore at Sesshomaru as he continued. "I vow to become strong enough to protect you and never leave your side. I will reach this strength by your 720's birthday. You'll never be alone, even if that means taking you as my mate."
~*~
"It was a childish promise, but I'd been so consumed by grief that I had taken the comfort he offered. I soul bound myself to that promise, at the time I didn't realize it. And as I found my love for him, my beast now expects to be protected by him. And though he didn't say he'd mate me no matter what, she expects to be mated as well. I fear that if this isn't fulfilled then.." Kagome drifted off as she shuddered at what would happen. And it didn't help that Sesshomaru probably didn't even remember the promise, or what the meaning of it held for her.
"I know well what will happen. You'd fly into blood lust, it'd be no different than if your soul mate had discarded and rejected you." Aria soothed the frantic inu before her. "You must calm yourself." She stated as Kagome started to pace in agitation. "Have you spoken to any other of this?" Aria didn't want to be the only one to know of this. Kagome's father Kiriyo would have an idea of how to solve the problem.
"No."
"Do you plan to tell anyone? Like Kiriyo?" Aria asked gently. The fact that there was such a close deadline to what could possibly be the biggest threat of existence to yokai and humans alike, Aria was unnerved at the secrecy of it.
"No, and No." Kagome huffed as Aria gave her a reproachful look. "I haven't told anyone. And if I did, it wouldn't be Father. He'd try to force Sesshomaru into a mating of political and power convenience with me. I'd die sooner than let Sesshomaru hate me because he was forced to mate me and he didn't love me."
"Kagome. You need to talk to Kiriyo. He might know a way to avoid a disaster." Aria made a sound point and it was irritating Kagome.
"Fine, but sometimes I just wish males would just listen to us females they way they expect us to listen to them." Kagome muttered under her breath before she giggled. "Maybe even when they are being annoying or over demanding we could just say 'Sit, boy!' and they'd have to just sit and calm down." Aria laughed with Kagome at the image of a female inu being able to force a male inu to 'sit'. That power only existed between mates with mutual respect and love, there weren't many couples like this.
"You should go home now child." Aria said before resting her nose on Kagome's forehead. "You have my blessings and love child. Please be wise and careful in what you do."
Kagome nodded at the usual departing speech that Aria made. But she wasn't ungrateful for it, knowing that someone wanted only the best for you wasn't something Kagome could take for granted. She sighed as she stood and lifted a paw to touch the sapphire gem in her necklace. Closing her eyes she focused on the jewel and a blue light shimmered in the clearing before it faded to the dark room she occupied in the Western Palace.
Spying that there were no servants in the room, and that her bed was made she decided to take a nap. With a sound plop her face hit the pillow, Kagome's eyes had been shut before she even reached it.