Chapter 5: Ball
Kagome had been at the fortress for about two months and was in the garden doing her daily meditation when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked behind her. Her eyes got big as she saw Akko and Ryoku in humanoid form. She smiled at them. “Does your father know yet?”
Akko frowned. “No. He is in a meeting with Lord Kouga.”
Kagome smiled. “Kouga? As in the ookami?” They shook their heads yes. They were afraid of Kouga. He was very aggressive. She could sense their fear. “There is nothing to be afraid of. Kouga is just a big softy. Come on I’ll show you.” Kagome, Akko, and Ryoku all went up, but told them to mask their auras. She went up to the door and knocked. “Sesshomaru? It’s Akko and Ryoku—” She didn’t have to say anymore as Sesshomaru came out and nearly ran her over. She started laughing and both pups looked up at him with wide eyes and then a big smile ran across their faces.
“Father!” They tackled him. “We recruited Kagome. We think Kouga’s scary but Kagome says otherwise. She says he’s just a big softy!”
Sesshomaru gave Kagome a look. Kouga was very aggressive and anything but soft. Sesshomaru looked at Kouga as he came out.
Kouga laughed when he saw Kagome. “Well if it isn’t Kagome! Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you! I even asked Inuyasha where you were and he said he hadn’t seen you since his mating ceremony. I stopped by Sango and Miroku’s and they said the same thing! I feared the worst and here you are in the last place I would ever think to look!” He swept her into a big hug. “So how about you finally accept—”
“Don’t you dare ask! My answer is and always will be the same! Ayame has been waiting for you! I am not going to be the one who destroys that for her! She nearly killed me when she thought you were courting me and it took me forever to get her to see that it was just your wishful thinking! Not again! No more! You are my friend Kouga. Nothing more.” Kagome walked away grumbling about thickheaded males and how they couldn’t get anything through their thick skulls.
Sesshomaru, Kouga, Akko, and Ryoku watched her go. Sesshomaru had never seen her so furious with just one question. “Exactly how many times has this occurred?”
Kouga looked at him with a defeated look. “I never counted but it has been going on since I met her four years ago.”
Sesshomaru knew that any other female would have caved and accepted. Then he laughed. They all felt Kagome come back and she had something. It was a bracelet made out of fine rope. She grabbed Kouga’s wrist and tied it on. She smiled and both Sesshomaru and Kouga cringed from the malice hidden behind it. Akko and Ryoku watched in fascination.
Kagome was going to get through to him one way or another. “Dance.” Kouga started dancing like a ballerina. He stopped after a few minutes. “That bracelet acts like Inuyasha’s subjugation beads. The only one that can remove the bracelet is me. Be careful what you say, Kouga. It might just be the end of your reputation.”
***
Kagome was getting ready for a ball a week later to celebrate Kouga and Ayame’s mating. She was going as Sesshomaru’s date and the pups were going at her pleading. She just had to watch them and she explained that to them. They understood and promised to stay by her. Now she had made her own dress and she had even made one for Akko once she got her measurements. Akko was wearing a dress like Belle’s and Kagome was wearing a midnight blue strapless dress that fitted to her body and had a waterfall effect when it got her hips. It pooled on the floor around her. There was enough, but not enough to where she would trip over it. Her hair was done so it looked wavy and some curl at the end of it and she had outlined her eyes with kohl. Kagome was doing Akko’s hair. She had braided the sides and brought them together and when she tied them in the middle at the back of the little girl’s head she made sure that when they combined they were unbraided and looked like the rest of the girl’s silver hair. Sesshomaru had told her he didn’t care what she did as long as she put in the crescent moon clip. Kagome had left some of Akko’s long bangs frame the front of her face. She took the clip and slipped it through the band that joined the braids. Kagome looked Akko over and was pleased with her work. They left to go and join Sesshomaru and Ryoku at the gate so they could leave. What Kagome forgot about the dress is that it revealed her birthmark on her right shoulder blade. It was a red four-point star. She remembered that when they got down there and figured nothing of it. It was a birthmark. So what? Sesshomaru stared at them in awe when they made their way over to them.
Sesshomaru was stunned when he saw Kagome. She looked ethereal. He looked at his daughter and saw that she too was beautiful, but her beauty rang with youth and innocence. The miko had done a wonderful job. The attire was definitely different from what he was used to though. “Are you two ready?” They nodded and he formed his cloud and they all took off towards Kouga’s fortress. The wolf didn’t spend all his time in caves.
Kagome looked around when they settled down. She had put a barrier around them so that their appearances were not destroyed from the speed they were going. Ginta and Hakkaku were the ones deciding if they could go in or not. When they saw her they smiled and blocked their way. “Come on you two! I am not here to play games.”
“Okay. We will let you through on one condition.”
Kagome shared a look with Sesshomaru. “What would that be?”
They responded at the same time. “You have to give us a hug!”
Kagome laughed but obliged. “You two never change!”
They laughed. “We missed you, Sis.” They stepped aside and let them through.
Sesshomaru looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Sis?”
Kagome chuckled nervously. “Haven’t you noticed? Even though I turned Kouga down repeatedly, he still treated me like family. I am like his little sister and those two believe it more so than anyone else.”
Sesshomaru nodded. He could understand that. From what he knew, she had no family. Then that brought another thing to mind. If she had no family, then how did she know so much about them? He sure didn’t know much and he had observed several families. He supposed he would have to ask at a later time. He looked at her. She was standing in front of him talking to Ayame. A breeze flew in and blew her hair to the left and he saw the red star. His eyes got wide. There was a legend about a being with the same marking in the same exact spot. She too had been human. Her name had been Ayumi. She had been a warrior priestess that nearly wiped out all the youkai. She had a severe hatred for youkai. It was said that the demon that had killed her had been his great, great grand sire. He walked up to her and made her face him, a look of anger on his face. He felt betrayed. “Did you really think you could make a fool of me?”
Kagome was frightened of him for the first time since she had met him. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t trying to do anything to you.”
“I saw your mark, Kagome.”
Her eyes dawned in understanding. “Oh! Is that what your upset about? It’s my birthmark. Kouga had the same reaction as you when he saw it once when he had to dress my wounds. He was angry too at first, but no one would tell me why. Now can I please finish my conversation with Ayame?” He let go of her and she turned around to find that Ayame had left and then saw her pulling Kouga towards them. Ayame pointed to Kagome and told him about her birthmark. She sighed.
Sesshomaru was confused. She didn’t know the origin of her own mark? He looked at Kagome and could sense her annoyance, frustration, and confusion. It was true. She hadn’t deceived any of them. He decided to tell her. “Kagome.” She turned and looked at him. “Your mark is the same as a being that lived thousands of years ago that killed youkai because she hated them. That mark is a bad sign for us.” Kagome looked horrified before she fainted. He caught her. Kouga had reached them.
“That is why I didn’t tell her. She is way to nice to be that person from the legend.”
Sesshomaru agreed with him. Kagome was nowhere near the type of person Ayumi had been. Then he saw Kouga smile.
“I know the quickest way to wake her up, but the consequences are going to hurt.” Kouga then leaned over and kissed Kagome. She immediately woke up with her eyes glowing a soft pink and she smacked him. Ayame fell down laughing.
“I hate that! Bad Kouga! You have Ayame for that!”
Kouga held up his hands in surrender. “You fainted. I had no choice.”
Kagome growled. “That is no excuse! You could have simply put me somewhere until I woke. I would have followed the many auras until I found everyone. Sesshomaru put me down!”
Sesshomaru had been amused and shocked by her growl. It said that she was going to murder someone if some thing didn’t let up. He quickly put her down. She looked around until she spotted the children hiding behind Sesshomaru. Her anger completely forgotten she crooked her finger at them and they came to her and hugged her tightly. “I am sorry if I frightened you.”
Akko was sporting tears. She had seen how her father had grabbed her and sensed his anger. She saw her brother let go and she followed his example. She didn’t really want to let go of Kagome. She was afraid something would happen to her and she would vanish.
Kagome saw the tears. “Akko. Come here.” Akko threw herself into Kagome’s arms. “Look at me.” Akko pulled back and looked at her. Kagome kissed her tears away. “As long as I have a say in it, I am not going anywhere. Okay?” Akko nodded. Kagome was about to put her down but Akko decided otherwise and buried her face into Kagome’s neck. “Akko, I love you, but we are at a ball and this behavior is not acceptable of a young lady. We can cuddle later.” Akko nodded and gave Kagome a kiss on the cheek before she was set down. Kagome saw Ryoku’s look. “I love you as well, Ryoku. I think you two grew on me.” Kagome turned around and saw Inuyasha. She laughed and walked up behind him. She was going to sit him for the fun of it. She leaned over his right shoulder and winked at Shiori. “Sit,” she whispered. He face planted. She laughed as she watched him pull himself off the floor.
“Kagome! That hurt!” Inuyasha was furious, and then it occurred to him what had just happened. “Kagome!” He smiled and hugged her. She hugged back.
Kagome let go of her best friend and hugged Shiori. She would have stayed and talked but she felt two hands grab each of hers. She looked down and saw Akko and Ryoku. “Does Sesshomaru need to talk to me?” They nodded. “Bye.” She followed them over to Sesshomaru and he told them to go play with the other pups and they obeyed.
Sesshomaru looked down at Kagome. He had grown quite fond of her. “Kagome, I have been thinking and I have a few questions to ask you.”
“You mean we are going to play twenty questions.”
Sesshomaru chuckled. She knew just how to put him at ease. “Yes. What happened to your family?”
Kagome froze. She had hoped that question would never come up. “They are far away from here.” She might as well tell him.
“How far is far?”
Kagome sighed. “Try five hundred years away.”
Sesshomaru was confused. She was not a demon and she did not have immortality. “How?”
“I traveled through time. I am from five hundred years in the future. My portal closed and I got stuck here in the past.”
He nodded. That actually did make sense. “Have you ever thought of having a family since you were ‘stuck’ here?”
“Several times.”
“So why have you not pursued this?”
“I am a miko. My duty is to help those in need. Right now my duty is my top priority. If I were to throw that out the window, so to speak, my family would become my first and only priority.”
That made up Sesshomaru’s mind right there. “Kagome. I have one final question.” She nodded for him to proceed. “Will you be mine? I have become rather fond of you and so have the pups. They need a mother and I need a mate.”
Akko and Ryoku had heard what their father told Kagome and they ran over to her and latched on to her. “Say yes!”
Kagome laughed. “I was going to if you would have given me the chance. It would be an honor, Sesshomaru.” Akko and Ryoku cheered and yelled mama.
Akko looked at her father. “Took you long enough!”
Sesshomaru looked down at his daughter. “Hn.”