The wind blew through the barren branches of the trees, howling in the blackness of the night. This night was the night of the new moon, so even with the ground being covered in snow, it was near impossible to see where she was going. Kagome shivered violently as she made her way through the shin deep snow towards a glen of pine trees just over the crest of the hill. She had been walking for hours and resembled a zombie in her jagged movements and sagging bags under her eyes. Her pack weighed her down to the point of looking like a hunchback.
It seemed hard to believe that just that morning she had been lying in her warm sleeping bag in a hut with her friends. A nice toasty fire had been going. There was enough food to last them the coldest months of the year. Everything was perfect. Except…
Except for the uncomfortable truth that she, Kagome, was not okay with staying in a hut with them alone, cramped, all winter. True, she loved her friends like family, but, if she were honest with herself, living with two married/mated couples with pregnant spouses left something to be desired.
True, Miroku and Sango were brilliant and loving non-blood-related siblings. And also, the love of Inuyasha and Kikyo was infectious. But, despite loving and caring for Shippo, Kagome was left with an empty sleeping bag and a very empty heart.
When Naraku had been defeated, Kagome had wished to stay with her friends in the past. She had really felt a strong connection and pull telling her to stay. But as time went on, she began to doubt her choice. Often, she was the fifth wheel. The one asked to run errands while the couples desired private time. The one that was just kind of always in the way without meaning to be. The odd one out when it came to games, activities, or chores. The one who always needed to go to sleep wearing earplugs to avoid hearing her friends having sex.
That morning, Kagome had awoken to the quieted sounds of subdued lovemaking and she realized she needed to get out. Once it was prudent to appear to have awakened, Kagome gathered her things and said she was going to collect some supplies. Sango had protested that they were at least a week away from needing anything, but Kagome had just smiled, turned and left.
She started walking in a random direction and just kept on going. Sometime around mid-day, Kagome realized she would have to go back. However, although she moved to follow her footprints back, as soon as the clouds rolled in and the wind sprang up, she became hopelessly lost.
Her only hope right now was to make it to a spot where she could find shelter and start a fire before she froze to death. She crested the hill and stopped, huffing, shivering uncontrollably, the weight of her pack and the wood she had gathered weighing her down. There, flicking in the shadows of the trees was light from a fire. Kagome blinked in surprise.
She started forward with renewed vigor. She glanced around the thick glen of pine trees, the wind significantly subdued within their protective branches. The snow was also not as deep, and her legs were quivering as she stepped onto the soft bed of needles. She made her way towards the flickering light to find a small cave made from some rocks that had been moved by a glacier long ago.
“Hello?” she called out tentatively as she moved around to look into the cavern. There was no one there; just a fire, burning and cracking merrily. She looked around the forest. “Hello?” she called. Shivering violently, she dropped to the ground beside the fire and yanked her soaked gloves off. She put her freezing hands over the fire and started to thaw herself out.
“Is it a common occurrence for you to be so far from your pack, Miko?” a deep baritone rumbled from the darkness just outside the firelight. Kagome jumped, shivering still so violently that her teeth were chattering.
“S-sess-houmaru,” she chattered. He stalked into view with two dead and skinned rabbits dangling from his hand. “N-no. It-it’s not.” As she spoke, he moved forward and joined her under the low roof of the cavern. He set himself on the ground and set to skewering the rabbits.
“This Sesshoumaru is surprised the mutt let you out in this weather,” he murmured.
“H-he didn’t,” Kagome replied, the warmth of irritation pooling in her chest. “I left.”
“Hn,” his response drifted over to her through the wood smoke.
“I’m sorry, I should have asked,” Kagome murmured a moment later as she huddled by the fire. “Do you mind if I warm up? I have supplies I can give you…” she offered, knowing full well he wouldn’t take them.
“Hn,” he replied again and set the two rabbits over the fire. In a minute or two, Kagome felt warm enough to struggle taking her pack off. It slid easily enough onto the ground and, after a few moments, Kagome had successfully unhitched the pile of dry wood she had scavenged earlier in the day. She added them to the small pile he had already gathered. Then, she opened her bag and dug out two blankets. She wrapped one around her and held out the other to Sesshoumaru.
“I don’t know if youkai get cold, but here.”
“That is unnecessary.” He replied coldly. Kagome shrugged and placed it, folded, on the ground and sat on it.
“Where is Rin?” She asked. Sesshoumaru was silent for some time before granting her a response.
“The Western Palace. This Sesshoumaru would not bring her into this weather.” Kagome quieted down and stared at the fire as it roasted the rabbits. She wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t sensed him. She had been so cold that she was sure her powers weren’t working anyway. The simple fact that he let her into his camp was something else entirely. Sure, they fought as allies against Naraku. Sure, their groups had traveled together for some time; but honestly, Kagome didn’t think he would tolerate any of them of his own choosing.
“Thank you…” Kagome murmured sincerely. Sesshoumaru ignored her, his eyes on the roasting rabbit meat. Kagome reached into her pack and pulled out two bottles of clean drinking water.
“Here,” Kagome said and tossed the bottle at him. He caught it effortlessly.
“Miko…” his tone held warning.
“Sorry, but if I offered it, you wouldn’t take it from my hands,” Kagome said with a shrug as she uncapped her bottle and drank from it. The water was cold, but refreshing. She went back to staring at the fire, feeling the warmth spread through her. They sat for a while in silence.
“Did you know Inuyasha and Kikyo are expecting their first child?” Kagome asked, trying to sound cheerful.
“Hn,” he replied. Kagome wiggled her nose back and forth for a moment, thinking of something to talk about.
“Why are you out in weather like this?” she tried a direct question, open-ended question.
“Patrol,” was his one-word response. Kagome sighed. Sure, she was amazed he was even responding, but still it was nothing like the pleasant chatter in the hut. Maybe being with them wasn’t so bad.
“Why did you leave?” Sesshoumaru asked, surprising her. Kagome bit her bottom lip and looked away from him.
“It’s silly, really. But I was tired of being the only one without,” Kagome replied softly, rubbing her hands together. She put her soaked gloves on two sticks and stuck it into the ground by the fire to dry. They smoked as the water evaporated.
“Without?” Sesshoumaru pried. Kagome nodded.
“It is difficult living with two mated couples both expecting their first born children. It’s even more difficult since all five of us share the same room, and that’s not even counting Shippo or Kirara. I love them dearly, but there are some things married couples do that I just don’t want to hear.” The look Sesshoumaru gave her was odd. She had never seen the look cross his face before. “What?”
“You left because you did not want to hear them rutting?” There was a slight twitch around his lips.
“Wouldn’t you?” Kagome countered. He raised an eyebrow.
“The only rutting This Sesshoumaru would want to listen to is my own.” Kagome bit the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing or grinning at that comment.
“Not saying I have much experience in that sector, but I would have to agree.”
“You would listen to This Sesshoumaru rutting?” he asked. Kagome saw that slight twitch of the lips again. ‘Is he teasing me?’ Kagome thought as she blushed.
“That’s not what I meant,” she replied. “I meant I would only want to listen to…myself…” she turned even redder and cleared her throat. She drank from her water bottle again, thoroughly embarrassed. They were silent for some time. Soon, the smell of the cooking rabbit had Kagome practically in need of a dribble cup. She dug into her bag and found some old jerky from…well, honestly, she wasn’t sure when it was from. She sniffed it tentatively.
“Miko,” Sesshoumaru sounded irate. “Do not seek to insult This Sesshoumaru by assuming that he will not provide.”
“Eh?” Kagome asked, rather confused. “I wasn’t meaning to insult… I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”
“You are pack,” he replied simply and handed one of the two rabbits over to her. She took the rabbit gratefully, looking at him.
“Because of Inuyasha or because of the final battle?” She asked, blowing on the charred skin.
“Does it matter?” He countered. She cocked her head thoughtfully to the side.
“No, I suppose it doesn’t. Thank you for the meat,” she dropped her head back and to the left, eyes locked on the ground, baring her neck in a form of submission that Inuyasha had taught her. There was a slight rustle and then, she couldn’t stop the jerking of her muscles as a cold nose pressed to the flesh. The rough smell of pine and soil met her nose as Sesshoumaru traced her neck with his nose. Kagome swallowed roughly, her mouth suddenly dry. Sesshoumaru’s nostrils flared slightly and there was the smallest pressure of wet, and then he was gone, back on his side of the fire, as if nothing ever happened. Kagome couldn’t stop her hand from pressing to her neck, feeling the cold wet spot he had left.
She didn’t say anything about it though, and went about her meal as if he did nothing. They said nothing as the night progressed and the wind strengthened outside the cave.
Over time, the snow had increased its strength ten-fold so that it was now tearing through the pines. Kagome pulled the blanket around her shoulders as the wind bristled into the cave. The remnants of dinner had been wrapped and set into the snow for freezing. Kagome was slowly nodding off, the heat of the fire lulling her to sleep. The gusts of cold wind, though, kept her hunched under her blanket and buried into her coat.
“Come,” the deep baritone ordered from across the fire. Kagome jumped and looked over at Sesshoumaru. He was staring at her, as if she was the one who spoke.
“What?”
“This Sesshoumaru does not repeat himself,” he said. Kagome stood and picked up the blanket she had been sitting on. She moved gracefully around the fire to sit beside him. She had barely settled when his mokomoko wrapped around her like a furry snake. She felt the chill of the air cut off immediately and a gentle heat surrounded her.
“Oh,” she whispered, unable to help herself as she nuzzled into the fluff. She leaned against his side and was asleep before she realized what was happening.
Sesshoumaru fed more wood to the fire and kept his eyes locked on the cave entry. This blizzard was not natural. There was one that was responsible for it, and it was Sesshoumaru’s task of finding and putting an end to his attempts to cover Japan in ice and snow and cold. Yet, when he sensed Kagome wandering lost in the snow, he realized he had a choice: duty or pack?
It barely took a second before he had made up his mind to follow his instinct and start a fire for his pack. He did not even pause to consider the pack-bond with his half-brother’s group. Even before the fight with Naraku, he had seen the bonds forming. Being inu, he was not one to fight the pack bonds. Pack means more to inu than anything. Pack is the tangible existence of loyalty, trust, and protection. As the eldest of the remaining inu no taisho, he was automatically deemed alpha male of the pack.
Inuyasha, as the beta, was entitled to his own following so long as that following had recognized the alpha’s position. Considering strength, prowess, and ability, Sesshoumaru saw the miko as the beta bitch; however, with Inuyasha choosing another as beta female, the miko was bumped UP instead of down in status. No longer held as a lower rank, the miko was now recognized as alpha.
In Sesshoumaru’s mind, this meant that, in terms of pack, he had the inherent right to claim her as his, should he chose. Right now, however, he was contented to assume duties of an alpha male. He would protect and provide for the miko for so long as she needs. Whether or not she expressed the want of being provided for.