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Seven Days by Yashodoa

Chapter 1,2 and 3

Seven Days : The Pact


"Papa, how come I don't have a mother?" A young SesshoMaru, appearing about five years old, asked as he sat on his father's lap.

Inutaisho cast soft eyes upon his son, "You did have a mother, but she had to attend to her duty and she is no longer with us."

SesshoMaru frowned as he moved on his father's lap to face his father's face better, cupping his father's cheeks, "Don't lie to me. Who was my mother, why did she leave me?"

Inutaisho gave a sad smile, "SesshoMaru, she was a great Miko in these land. It was not her intention to have a child but she gave birth to you, she did love you and gave you your name, knowing who you will be in the future." He adjusted his son to sit comfortably back on his lap, "You're young but you are smart, I suppose it is time to tell you about our lineage."

SesshoMaru glanced at the desk that was in front of them, his father unrolled a scroll before them, revealing detailed picture of the Western land, the inuyoukai in their true form, images of battle and many more.

"You know we are of the Silver Inu Clan, the most unique and powerful youkai in all of the lands." Inutaisho started and felt his son's head nod and continued as he traced his finger upon the image, "A long time ago, we were aplenty, male and female, ruling the entire Japan and most of the world unknown to human. However, we were also arrogant and cruel, at the same time selfish as well. The male inu fought over the females, it wasn't until all the female were killed..." He paused at the morbid image of female inu lying, scattered across the land, torn and in blood.

SesshoMaru looked up to his father, "So, that mean, there's no way to breed?"

"That's right." Inutaisho sighed and continued on, "The Kami-Sama wasn't happy. He cursed all of the Silver Inu Clan, since we had no female to keep our lineage pure. There were ways that we can go on but it would take to mixing our lineage, sully the blood of the Silver Inus. That's why we have black, brown and red clans, but the Silver are the most powerful." SesshoMaru unrolled the rest of the scroll, allowing his father to continue. "One of our ancestors found a way, it was purely accidental, he had mated with a Miko and she gave birth to full Silver Inu. Only the pure and the strongest could mate with a powerful Miko and get a pure inu child."

"If that is true then why all of the Silver Inu born to Miko are male?" SesshoMaru asked as he studied the image on the scroll.

Inutaisho shook his head, "It's a curse by Kami-Sama, he did not want the Silver Inu to ever have any female inu. He cursed our lineage to only have male heir, he would not have his daughters to be killed and maimed like before."

"So, when I grow up, I have to find a miko?" SesshoMaru asked as the scroll came to end.

Inutaisho patted his son's head, "That's not for you to worry now, you're young, you have centuries before you can bother having an heir. But yes, to keep our lineage pure, you would have to find a powerful miko, a willing one to give you an heir."

"That's why mother was willing but she didn't stay because you and she are not mate?"

"That's right. Your mother has duties to do... but in the end, it killed her."

SesshoMaru nodded as he glanced at the painting of his mother in another scroll, she was beautiful, with long black hair and pale skin. She was donned in miko garb with armors. On her forehead was small red cross and her eyes were blue. He wondered what kind of woman she was then figured, it didn't mattered, the good thing she did was to bring him in the world and that was it, which was the only thing she was good for.


Years passed, SesshoMaru grew and by the seven hundredth turn of the century since his birth, it was time for his coming of age passage. He was to meet with the Clan's elders with his father.

They went to the mountain where the elders lived and soon, SesshoMaru met with three of them. They were the last of the true Silver Inu, the one who remembered the ancient time when the world begun. Three of them held air of age old wisdom, looking very aged and SesshoMaru found them to be very uptight old croaks.

"A strong son, you did well, Inutaisho." The first croaked as he peered at SesshoMaru.

"What is he called?" The second asked.

Inutaisho turned to his son, "SesshoMaru, the killing perfection."

"Strong name, who named him?" The third asked as he poked SesshoMaru's arm.

SesshoMaru frowned at the third elder and moved his arm away.

"His mother." Inutaisho replied.

The second hobbled toward SesshoMaru, "Fine face, not like your, must be his mother's feature. Tell us, who was his mother?"

Inutaisho replied with indifference, "She was Midoriko."

The three elders turned to each other and whispered. SesshoMaru caught on few words such as Shikon no Tama, cursed, Miko, and finally deadline.

The first turned to SesshoMaru, "You, you are young but you must comply by the request we gave your father. Give us the age, that by then, you promise to find a Miko and create an heir to pass on the lineage."

SesshoMaru glanced at his father and saw him nod. He didn't like to be forced but he knew he had to comply with the elder's wishes; it was upon his shoulder to keep the lineage going. Deciding to give him time and room to search for a Miko, "One thousand and fifty three..." He had intended to finish the sentence with 'years from now' but was interrupted.

"Good, good, by your one thousand and fifty three year, on the morning after the full moon of the month, you must have a Miko impregnated with the next heir."

Appalled and affronted, he growled softly and felt his father clap his hand on his shoulder to shut him up. He quieted and glared at the three old men.

Soon, they left the mountain and SesshoMaru let loose growl of frustration as they were out of range.

Inutaisho chuckled as he turned to his son, "SesshoMaru, I know what you had intended to do, so did they, but they will not wait another thousand years before the lineage is passed on. Here's a warning, if you do not find a Miko and a week before the full moon, they will find one and give her to you, and you will have no choice."

SesshoMaru growled, standing his ground, "A human is not worth my time, let alone a Miko." He turned and took off.

Inutaisho shook his head, watching his son retreat in a huff. "Don't worry; you will understand... having a son is worth it." He murmured and turned into opposite direction, heading toward his palace.


Upon the beach, the snow was falling and the cold was bitter. The full moon shone upon the two inuyoukai.

SesshoMaru, a century turn later stood behind his father, gazing at him with cool stares. "Are you going, father?" He had learned recently that his father had found a mate, a human woman. However, Ryukotsusei had left him battered and wounded. Now, his mate was in labor and perhaps, danger from a human male.

Inutaisho looked over the ocean, his blood dripped from his arm to his claws, staining the pristine snow below. "Are you going to stop me, SesshoMaru?"

SesshoMaru narrowed his gaze upon his father. He could smell death coming upon his father. "I am not going to stop you. However, before that, I would like the fangs, Sou'Unga, Tessaiga to be handed over to me." He deliberately left out the third one, the healing sword because he found it had no use for him.

Inutaisho turned his head to his son, pride swelled within him to see his son a strong inuyoukai, and he knew that SesshoMaru would be a great taiyoukai. However it pained him that his son was closed off, rather selfish. "If I say I won't give them to you... would you kill your own father?" He asked, waiting for his son's reaction and found none, "Do you desire power that much? Why do you seek power?" He asked.

SesshoMaru tilted his head up, in gesture of arrogant and pride, "I must travel the path of conquest... power is necessary in order to walk that path."

Inutaisho smirked, Killing Perfection, he had thought Midoriko was being humorist by naming him such but now, his son, older and before him, he was truly a killing perfection, living up to his name. "Conquest, huh? SesshoMaru, is there something you want to protect?" He had to ask, for one of the swords was created to protect with its destructive power.

SesshoMaru raised his hand, flicking his claw out, ready to attack, "Something to protect? I have no need to pursue such an endeavor." As the muscle coiled in his arm, his father transformed in his true form and took off to the sky. Lowering his arm, he would wait until his father is surely dead before he could get the two swords he desired.

Little he knew; he would not get the swords he desired but the healing one two hundred and fifty years later. The Sou'Unga disappeared from the land without trace while the Tessaiga was passed off to his half brother, the hanyou who were born that very night.


Seven Days : Day One


SesshoMaru stood on the hill, overlooking the field of flower. He had stopped there for a purpose, to allow Rin run around and play among the flower. Jaken was beside him, sitting as he held onto the staff, wheezing softly, getting old in his age.

The Sou'Unga was destroyed not too long ago. It was hell bent on creating hell upon earth. He had to admit, not to anyone but to himself, he can't have that to happen. It took Tenseiga and Tessaiga to work together to destroy Takemaru no Sestuna and Sou'Unga. Now everything was at peace.

His thought trailed to his half brother, InuYasha, the one who carried the Tessaiga. At first, he had desired to kill his brother and take the sword, but every attempt, he had failed and it took for InuYasha to turn into a full-blooded demon for him to realize that it was not worth taking the sword anymore. He was already powerful; he had secured the land of the West and more. He was the most powerful inuyoukai of all four Lords of Japan, even surpassing his own father's strength alone.

His father was powerful with three swords, the sword of heaven, men and hell. However, SesshoMaru was much more powerful, with simply two swords, the sword of heaven and the sword of demon, the Tokijin. He had realized, it wasn't the sword, or swords that give the power but himself. Contented knowing that he was the most powerful taiyoukai, he was at peace with himself, with his father and soon, with his half-brother.

Sitting down to watch Rin romp through the flowers, he watched as his thoughts strayed once again to InuYasha. After the episode with the Sou'Unga, his group had left, smiling and joking while the Miko subdued InuYasha into the ground. The group had caught his interest, especially the Miko who wore indecent kimono. He had checked upon them, as usual, even they didn't know it. As of recently, he had seen InuYasha was fuming because the girl had gone home to the future.

He knew of her time traveling between two eras, he wasn't quiet sure how far apart the time were but he knew the well was a portal and only she and InuYasha could pass through. The girl was interesting, proving her worth with her intelligent and bravery, sometime she was rather foolish but he deducted that she would grow out of her childish way, seeing that she was well on her way to becoming the most respectful Miko in ages.

He was rather surprised that InuYasha had not claimed her to be his mate. At one point, they were pretty close, he remembered, after the incident with the fake Kaguya. He wasn't sure what happened but now they were nothing more but mutual friends. He supposed the undead Miko had gotten in the way once again. But that wasn't something he should waste his time pondering over.

He glanced up to the staff to find one of the two heads opening her mouth. Jaken gasped and stood up, holding the staff upright. The head soon announced with her shrill voice, "Lord SesshoMaru, you are requested back at the Palace." Then it went silent, closing her mouth and her eyes, returning to wood.

SesshoMaru narrowed his gaze at the head, wondering why he had to return to the palace, there had not been any troubles lately and he sensed nothing wrong in his land. Standing up, he called out to Rin, "Rin, come."

The girl turned and obeyed and ran after him, dragging trails of flower in her wake. Soon, they were off, heading far west into the snow capped mountain. The palace was hidden from sight in the valley of mountain, guarded and secure from oncoming enemies. On the other side of the Palace, through the hills and forest was a coast of raging sea that roared against the cliff that stood on the edge of the land.

The palace was grand, like a fortress laid in the depth of the valley. The pass through the mountain was crude and bitter; no one would have been able to pass through without encountering obstacles on the way. The only way to get safe passage was by air, if you knew the right path to take.

Upon reaching the Palace, he sent Rin to take a warm bath and get a meal before going to bed. He also sent Jaken away to rest as well. He went to his office and summoned his Palace retainer, Huro, an ancient õkami youkai who kept his palace for him.

"Huro, what was it that I am requested to be here?" SesshoMaru asked as he removed his armors and hung it on the stand in his office. He placed both swords on its stand at the desk.

Huro bowed and gestured to the desk, "You have letters from the other lords... I regret to inform you that the elders are here as well. They've brought someone else along with them. I had tried to remove them from the palace but they wouldn't have it."

SesshoMaru gave a single nod, "Very well, send in the elders..." He took a sniff and frowned, recognizing the scent of a woman, one with storm and sakura blossom. The scent was unique and he knew it belonged to InuYasha's wrench, he hid his surprise.

Huro had left and returned with the elders. They came in, dragging along Kagome, tied with her wrists behind her back. She was thrown to the mat before SesshoMaru and she sat up, glaring defiantly to the three elders and turned to SesshoMaru with hateful glare in her blue eyes.

Raising a single eyebrow, "What is this?" He asked, watching Kagome trash against her ropes, trying to free herself. He got up and moved around his desk, kneeling before the girl.

The first elder grinned, "It is the month of your one thousandth and fifty three years, you have one week until the full moon to conceive an heir."

Kagome's eyes went wide and she stilled, staring at the first elder. Her head whipped to SesshoMaru. Her surprise turned into accusing glare.

SesshoMaru noticed this and realized the Miko understood the Inuyoukai Language. He reached out to the gag and stilled there, speaking in human language, "You will be quiet or you will suffer dire consequence." He saw flash of fear in her eyes, good, he thought and removed the gag from her mouth and unbound her hands. Her hands went to her face to rub away the feeling of the gag that was tied around her head. She settled glaring at the elders.

SesshoMaru turned to the elders, speaking the ancient language of inu, "And you give me this simple wrench?"

The second elder sneered, "You know the pact, if you didn't find a Miko until the last week, and it is up to us to choose one. We chose her; she's the most powerful in these lands."

SesshoMaru glanced to Kagome, she was now sitting, a defiant look on her face. He saw that she was wise to remain silent and applauded her mentally; after all, she grew up into a young woman. "She belongs to my half-brother. I do not want her."

The third elder shook his head and pointed his gnarled finger at Kagome, "She is unclaimed, unmarked. You have no other choice. The other Mikos are weak compared to her. She will benefit. Mate her, get an heir out of her, do whatever you wish afterward, toss her back to the mutt if you wish."

"You have until the morning after the full moon to conceive an heir." The first rasped and soon, the three of them turned and left from the office.

The second one paused at the doorway, turning back to SesshoMaru, "You know the consequence... We will be here then." He snorted and soon he was gone.

SesshoMaru snarled softly under his breath and returned to his desk, noticing three scrolls waiting for him. He just knew what was coming. He looked up to Kagome, who were still in the room, sitting on the other side of the desk, glaring at him. His fine silver eyebrow rose at her and to his surprise, she belted out in tirade.

"This is just peachy! First thing I knew coming out of the well, those three perverted old men come and take me away. They groped me and sniffed me then the next thing I knew; I'm being disposed on your mat... what is this?" She yelled and he winced at the volume of her voice, "A baby making machine, forget it! Not with you!"

He glared at her, "are you done?" He saw her nod and crossing her arms in defiant motion. "I do not wish this as well. But we both are stuck in this. I can't back out, neither can you. You are bound to me once you were dropped on the mat. Unfortunately, you can't leave the room without me."

She glared at him and snorted, "We'll see about that." She stood up and walked out of the room. It wasn't long before she shrieked and dropped to the floor in the hall, writhing in pain.

SesshoMaru rubbed his face and went into the hallway, noticing she finally stopped writhing in pain and was panting on the floor on all four. The position she was in stirred something in the depth of his belly. "You see, the three perverted old men put a curse on both of us, we can't be apart without you being in pain."

She glared up at him, "What about you, are you not even in pain?" She stood up, tilting her head up since he was a head and half taller than her.

He shook his head, "I felt pain but I have high tolerance. Come, I have much to do." He turned and entered the office.

She muttered under her breath, "Jerk. High tolerance, my arse." She winced as she realized they were in separate room and ran after him into his office. She glanced around, his office was spacious. He had a desk near the porch leading out to a private garden and next to the wall, his armor stood on the stand. His swords were set in its mounts at the desk. There was a wall full of scrolls, a section of the library, she assumed.

"You may sit over there and read any scrolls, if you know how to read. But return them to their proper slots." He said, his eyes not leaving the paperwork he had on his desk. He had heard her muttering insult and brushed it aside. There were other matters he had to focus on first.

Kagome sighed and went to the scrolls, she glanced around and plucked one out by random. Sitting down on the pillow near a small desk by the scrolls, she started to read. She figured, if there were nothing else she could do, the best she can do pass the time by reading, and reading the Lord's scrolls were a highly sought after privilege and she wasn't going to pass that up.

SesshoMaru returned to his paperwork, the three scrolls waiting for him was from the three other Lords, the North, South and the East. They were telling him that they would be visiting by the end of the week, to see if he has a mate, the Lady of the West. Rubbing the bridge of his nose to dispel the oncoming headache, he sighed.

He knew they would object much if they come and find that he has no mate. He could imagine his father sitting across from him, laughing his head off. He had gotten himself in the situation without realizing it when he was younger. He swears the Kami-Sama was playing a cruel trick, perhaps punishing him for whatever he had done when he was younger.

He then remembered something, "You understood InuYoukai language, why is that?"

Kagome looked up from her reading to him and frowned. "Huh? InuYoukai language?"

SesshoMaru switched language, "This language, you understood it when the elders were talking to me, it was the only language they speak."

Kagome blinked and realized he was using barking sequences and she understood it completely. Surprised, she shrugged, "I have no idea. I guess, it just happened."

He frowned. "It just doesn't happen. You just spoke it in the language." He saw her blink in surprise and rose to his feet. He went over to the scrolls and searched for a short while before finding the one. He read the scroll and turned to her, "Interesting. The curse had bonded you to me, making us unable to separate until we complete the mating. It had given you the ability to understand the inuyoukai language."

She stood up and glanced at the scroll in his hands, "Will it go away after we... uhh?" She blushed and moved away.

He glanced at her, amused by her embarrassment. "The curse will be lifted; we will be able to part without pain but as for the language part. I am not quiet sure."

Kagome nodded. "So, I got the language from you, what did you get from me?" She turned back to him, curious and her eyes widen in surprise as she saw his indifference mask slipped off to reveal shock.

He stared at her and realized he had indeed gotten something from her and cursed inwardly. He shoved the scroll back in place and went back to his seat and ignored Kagome in huff.

She stared at him, wondering what had really shaken the stoic lord and shrugged her shoulders, deciding to leave it alone for now. She would try to pry it from him later, apparently, he had indeed gotten something from her and it was embarrassing for him to reveal it. She groaned and rolled her head, trying to get the knick out of her neck and sat back down to continue reading the scroll. She was in a bind and she has no idea how to get out of it. It looked like SesshoMaru would be her first and from how the things were going to happen, she would be giving him a heir. Shaking her head, it was too much to think, she decided to focus on the matter on hand and worry about losing her virginity later.

The silence, as much he enjoyed it was unnerving. He glanced up to find Kagome asleep on the desk, her head plopped on the scroll she was reading. He sighed and rose from his desk and picked her up. There was nothing else to do but get some rest for the night.

He found her to be light. She had curled up in his arm and burrowed farther into his chest, clutching onto his haori. He wondered if she was so naïve asleep and sighed. Entering his bedroom, he deposited her upon his bed and watched her curl up and hug a pillow, she sighed in her sleep.

Eyeing her indecent kimono, he knew she was from the future and wondered for a moment there, was the women in the future indecent as well? What was modesty limit then? He shrugged out of his haori and took his boots off, setting them beside his bed. Only in his hakama, he sat beside her and started to take her shoes and stocks off.

He got up and went to the wardrobe on the far side of the room and rummaged through it, finding one of his haori and returned to the bed. He shook her awake, not wanting her to wear such things to bed, he was sure it was uncomfortable. She mumbled and turned over. He figured he would had to do it himself, he cracked his knuckles and started to shred her shirt and green skirt away from her body, leaving her in white odd nagajugan, assumed the future had better designs. Figuring it would not be best to venture into that territory; he picked her up and quickly wrapped her up in the haori and laid her back down on the bed. The entire time, she did not wake or complain and he figured she was tired and had a long day.

He laid his head down on the pillow next to her, he found her scent of storm and sakura blossom soothing and calming. She was human; her scents were not like any others, very decent and tolerable. Upon touch of her skin, there was crackle between her Miko and his youki but it was not enough to harm him. He knew she had enough power to purify him but with trust he plan to gain from her, she will not have any need to purify him and he hoped so.

Caressing her cheek, her face turned to him. He studied her profile, complementing if she was suitable to bear him an heir. She was outspoken, defiant and strong willed, however, she had a nurturing and caring nature he had seen her with Rin. Her face was simple but pretty, not ugly or gorgeous like most noble female were. The moment there, he realized, she bore a similarity to Midoriko, one of the greatest Miko, his own mother.

He supposed; the only good thing the three elders did was to drop this woman in his lap, however he would not admit that. He had admired this particular woman since the moment she came out of melted bone of his father with the Tessaiga. He recalled, she was young back then, few years ago, he assumed she was about fifteen or sixteen, now, she had grown into her body, a young woman. Sighing, he turned over and promptly fell asleep; he would deal with her the next day.


Seven Days : Day 2


Kagome sighed, having the best night sleep ever. She figured she was back home, and the whole thing of going down the well and being kidnapped by three perverted old youkai and bounded to SesshoMaru because they wanted a baby between her and the lord of iceberg was a horrible dream.

Sitting up, she stretched and rubbed her eyes, her bed was the most comfortable, soft and silky, and her pajama was silky as well. Blinking her eyes open, she took in the room, expecting to be back in her bedroom, but she was wrong. She glanced around the grand room; it was large, but not overly done. There were few beautiful scrolls hanging on the wall along with some painting. There was dresser with mirror on the far end of the room with a large wardrobe next to it. The bed was in the center, almost a king sized, to her surprise, it was western styled, not like typical Japanese futon.

Searching her mind how she had gotten there, she realized her nightmare was true and the last thing she remembered was falling asleep at the desk in SesshoMaru's office. She gasped and turned to find him lying in bed beside her, looking up at her. Shrieking, she toppled out of the bed and fell smack onto the floor.

Amused, he moved to her side and looked at her on the floor, "Comfortable on the floor, ne?" His silver hair fell liquidly over his shoulder, brushing the floor beside her feet.

She gaped at him. Realizing he had made a joke and saw amusement dance in his eyes. She was speechless and saw few white and green shreds on the floor and picked it up, she inspected the piece of cloth and recognized it was once her school uniform.

It all pieced in her mind and she went red, "How... how dare you!" She yelled at him, "You, you shredded my last piece of clothes! You pervert!"

SesshoMaru inwardly sighed, glaring at her, "The indecent kimono you wore was dirty, shorn, and I wouldn't have my mate wear it or sleep in it. She is to wear proper attire, even to bed." He gestured to the haori she was wearing, "Today, you will be fitted for proper kimono and other clothing."

Kagome gaped as she watched him slip out of bed and walk over to the wardrobe and pulled out some articles of clothes. His words churned in her mind and suddenly, red flag went up once again, forgetting the shredded school uniform, she stood up and gaped at him, "Mate? Whoa, where did this come from? I thought I was supposed to be here to give you a baby... now, what is this?"

SesshoMaru turned back to her, tossing her one of his haori, which was long enough to become a makeshift kimono. "Hai, mate. You weren't my first choice but unfortunately for me, you're my only choice. The three cardinal lords had demanded me to find a mate before the end of this week as well. You have a lot to learn this week before we become official."

Kagome was now steaming, "This is not fair! I'm being forced into marriage, with you!" She shouted, stomping her feet, "There's no love between us, you hate me, you tried to kill me, I'm sure after this week and after once you have your baby, you're going to kill me!"

SesshoMaru glared at her, tired of her tirade, he grabbed her by the arm and brought her flush to his hard body, glaring down, he softly told her, "I will not have that. Love or no love, you will be my mate, the Lady of the Western Land; you will give me heir and perhaps, more." He threw her to the bed and disappeared behind folding wall to change his clothes.

Kagome gasped as she stared after him, unsure what she had saw in his eyes, there were fleeting hint of frustration, anger, irritation, but she was sure she saw hurt as well. It was all new to her, having SesshoMaru showing emotions, even if it were only through his eyes.

She could grasp the concept that he was frustrated with the whole situation as well. Why would a human-hating youkai Lord want a human for a mate? Everything she had knew before yesterday was pretty much thrown out of the window. The elders, obviously from SesshoMaru's inu youkai clan wanted SesshoMaru to have an heir pretty soon. How bad was it is for him to have a child? So many questions to find answer for and she figured, she will get the answer sooner or later.

Making a resolve, glancing over her shoulder to the stoic lord across the room who had his back to her, she decided to take one day at a time and see how it goes, after all, her mother had told her countless time over, worse situations were merely a illusion of the best situation. She knew it to be true, after all, how would she come to befriend a inu-hanyou, a perverted monk, a taijiya and a kitsune?

Fate must had a weird sense of humor, throwing her five hundreds of years in the past with a bauble that's bound to attract attention, now throwing her at the feet of the most stoic, but rather very handsome, Lord and binding them together, perhaps, forever. She cursed the fate silently and went on to getting dressed. After all, she has nothing to lose but the shards that hung around her neck and her life.

She picked up the haori she had threw down in frustration and decided to don it, it fell decently to her ankle, just shy shorter than the necessary length. She searched the wardrobes for obi and found none, she realized, he was right, she had to be fitted for new kimono and such. She found sash that SesshoMaru always wore around his hip, it was yellow and blue. At least it complimented the makeshift kimono which was blue with black curves across the shoulder and the hem of the sleeves.

While tying the belt around her waist, decently making a simple obi, she thought about what had happened and recalled that the elders had told SesshoMaru that he had until the morning after the full moon to impregnate her. She gasped and realized it was five days away after today. Blushing horribly, she figured the only way to do that was to do the act. Despite her being seventeen, she had never had time to think about it, her life always been busy with time hopping, school and the search for Shikon no Tama. Sex, usually on the mind of teenage from her time wasn't on her mind until now and the mere thought made her go red easily.

SesshoMaru returned, fully attired in his black hakama and dark green haori. He stared at Kagome, finding she looked quiet good in his haori, it fell a bit past her knees and the sleeves were rather long, she had to fold it up, yet the way she had dressed herself was far decent and flattered her body. The blue had brought out her eyes more. Nodding in approval, he turned to the doors.

"Come, we will get you some breakfast, I have a lot to work in the office. You will be fitted for your kimono there then." He announced his voice held indifference tone.

Kagome glared at him, "And?" As she felt there was something else he wanted to tell her.

He turned, "You will have lessons as well in obedience and manners."

She huffed, "I'm not the dog here..." She muttered under her breath, following the distant lord. He had heard her and nearly snorted but refrained, chuckling inwardly.

After getting breakfast for Kagome, they both returned to his office and he had sat himself down at the desk once again, reading and writing on the scrolls. Kagome went to the wall of library and started to search for something to read, she figured she'd pick up on about Inu, read up about their history so she'd get to know SesshoMaru and InuYasha better.

After a quiet while, Kagome looked up from her reading, watching SesshoMaru write in several scrolls, back and forth. He also had small abacus as well. Surprised to see him use ancient mean of calculator, she asked, "What are you working on?"

Without breaking away from his work, he replied, "Inventory."

Curious, Kagome moved to his desk and sat, watching him work, "For what?"

He looked up at her, "You're curious than a neko."

Kagome huffed, "Well, excuse me, if I'm going to be around, I'm bound to be curious to know what's going on."

He gave a nod, approving of her desire to learn, "Inventory for the land, I am given annual reports from villages in my kingdom. It is my duty to see it through."

"Oh." Kagome simply said and watched him count on the abacus and write on different scrolls.

He felt strange, not annoyed that Kagome was watching him but comforted. He decided to fill her in a bit more, after all, perhaps, someday; she would do this work for him. "The way I do it in my land, everything comes together and is divided, by the amount of people." He explained as he kept on working. "I patrol most of the year, to keep my kingdom at peace, and over see what the villages needed. I almost rarely come home but once a year for a month or two to do this." He stopped and looks up.

Kagome frowned, "Why can't you send out others to do this for you? So you'd be home more often."

He rested his chin on his interlaced hands, "I prefer to be out there, it is rather dull here."

She gave a shy smile, "Oh. Is that all you do?"

He looked back down at his paperwork, "No. That is not all I do, being a Lord is a hard work, heavy burden as well." He suddenly realized, his father was right at the moment, remembering his father told him that he had wished for a mate, a Lady to help him to rule the land. Ruling alone was hard but with a companion, a mate who has enough head on her shoulders ease the burdens. He glanced up at her, studying her profile as she took one of his scrolls to read. She was a rarity among many women, she knew how to read, write and from what he could understand, she knew math and history as well. She was educated while many women in this time weren't. He supposed, he got the best of all Miko. The only thing about her that he disliked was her rash attitude, which had to change.

Despite his reputation of 'human-hater', he had respect for humans who were worthy in his eyes and sadly, only a very few he had respected. It's not like he would admit to anyone, but he did deeply respected Kagome for who she is and her sense of duty and honor.

Two women came in; they had odds and ends in their arms, bolts of silks, box of sewing supplies and tapes. Kagome blinked as SesshoMaru gestured for her to go to the women. She stood up and walked over to the library side of the office. Soon, she was ambushed by the two women, cloths of silk draped over her, swaddled, poked by the pins, snipped and nearly gagged as the material wrapped around her.

An hour later, Kagome had enough; she batted away the woman with the pins, "Ouch, stop poking me! That's just enough!"

SesshoMaru looked up and noticed Kagome in ridiculous state, she was covered with silk that he had no idea where one begin and another end. "That will not do." He stood up and walked over to her, inspecting the silk, "This is a cheap silk."

Kagome gasped, she took one end and glanced at it, "Cheap? This is like the finest I've ever seen... I like the color!"

SesshoMaru hid his smirk, "No, no. It clashes with your complexion." He picked up the book with samples and leafed through it, "This, this, and that. Oh, never mind. Make kimono out of all colors in this book... Nothing seems right."

Kagome gaped at him. "But, but, I don't need that many..." She stilled as she saw the gleam in his eyes and she wondered if she should fear him.

"What are you thinking?"

The two women giggled as SesshoMaru returned to his desk. The first one rose, "My Lady," She whispered into Kagome's ear, "Many kimono are required to be made for the Lady... after all, you will only might wear them once... you may get lucky to wear them twice."

Kagome's eyes widened and she went beet red. She glanced at SesshoMaru and saw amusement dancing in his eyes and growled softly, "Oh, no... no way." She stomped her foot, "I'm not even going there." She turned her back and held her arms out, singling for the women to resume fitting her. She became ten shades redder as she heard his low chuckle and shivered at the sound. She wondered if she kept blushing, the color would become permanent on her skin.

As soon Kagome was finished fitted, she was told by the women that she would have her first batch of kimonos ready by morning. Rin had come bounding in begging to play with Kagome. SesshoMaru gave a nod, telling her that she could play with Kagome as long she was in close range. The instructor happened to be away from the palace and the lessons were postponed until the next day. Then, Kagome and Rin stepped out into the private garden outside the office and played there.

SesshoMaru felt the tug of the bond between him and her, he assumed that she had tripped close to out of range but came back. It happened every once in a while. It became unbearable to ignore, he stopped his work and went to the porch, sitting there, watching Kagome and Rin play.

Watching the two human girls play, he felt content seeing their face lit up in smile and laughers. His mind wandered far back to when his father had asked him if there was something he wanted to protect. Suddenly, like an answer beamed from above, Kagome and Rin shone for a brief moment in the sunshine. He realized they were the two he wished to protect with his life; to protect such innocent, keeping them safe from the world's malice and pain. Every smile upon their face was worth more ryu he had ever owned, and that was saying a lot.

"Hai, father... I do want to protect those two... and more..." He rose from his sitting and returned to his desk, glancing over his paper work, the villages, the land and many others in his kingdom of the Western Land. It was a burden but he knew he was the only one able to maintain it. His patrol of his land for years had seen to prosper of his land. His land was the wealthiest of all four kingdoms, thanks to him and the wealth wasn't only in money but in vegetation and prosperity.

He took a scroll he had not touched yet and unrolled it. It was list of criminals that his guards had caught, their crimes and where they are being held, or when they had been killed for their crimes. The list started out with minor crimes, all of them had been properly handled by either the village headmen or the guards. He read on and soon, the crimes got worse and horrible, many were put in the village's jail. Some of the crimes were worse and brought to his palace's dungeon, awaiting justice from him.

Sighing, he decided to deal with the criminals his dungeon had been gathering in past year later, when the time is right. His priority of now is Kagome. Rubbing his face to ward off the oncoming headache, he knew he had to get her to trust him and see that he wasn't the person that his reputation had earned him. Her trust mattered the most to him, he didn't want a mate who didn't trust him nor had any bad thought about him.

The day had passed by in mild peace, they had supper together, Kagome's attention was focused on the little girl while SesshoMaru's attention was focused on her. Little they knew their feelings were changing for one another. Kagome had joined him to bed without complaint, having a new yakuta to sleep in, she fell asleep promptly on her side of the bed, not knowing SesshoMaru had stayed up longer besides her, studying her in her sleep and soon slept after, soundly, content with his decision about the Miko.

INUYASHA © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000
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