Matchmaker Miko by Catclass

Butterfly Kisses For A Lady

Hey, so a little heads up on the next couple chapters. I just want to give you guys a warning that a character coming up is a kidnapper and rapist. There aren't any scenes of rape but I would say a light attempt. If you have problems with that whole subject this chapter is safe and you can go ahead and skip to chapter 9 when it comes out. Thank you and enjoy! ~Catclass

Chapter 6

At the dawn of the eighth day, the dark haired priestess slipped from the grasp of two sleeping children. Kagome held her hair back as she kissed Rin and Shippo on the forehead, not wanting to disturb their slumber. She could sense the demon lord and his servant waiting for her outside.

Leaving the hut, Kagome paused as the distant world came into focus. She could see everything with perfect clarity. A bright smile lit up her features as she enjoyed the freedom from the poison. Plus, her upper arm had scabbed over nicely although it still looked blue and purple.

With a glance back at the sleeping children, the miko shouldered her bag and quiver of arrows. Sango, Miroku and Kaede waved from outside their huts as she took to the skies on the back of Ah-Un. They were headed south to meet a butterfly demoness named Chouko.

By midday, the group spotted a glistening roof towering over the tree line. Even at a distance, Kagome could see that the roof had gold leafing intricately adorning a majority of the structure. It was no surprise to see the tall tower had just as much detail along the walls and doors. The unexpected came in the form of four young boys waiting outside the entrance to greet them.

Two of the lads were demons, but the others were a human and a half-demon. They were immaculate in pastels and matching shoulder length bobs, but their heights barely reached her shoulder. Sesshomaru towered over them as they bowed and welcomed them into the tower.

“Welcome, my lord. Lady Chouko awaits your presence.” They spoke in rehearsed union. The four boys then turned to lead them into the tower. “This way, my lord.”

Jakken and Kagome shared a look of concern as Sesshomaru gracefully strode after them. The toad took his usual duty of protecting Ah-Un and Kagome’s yellow backpack, while the miko jogged to catch up with the speedy group. She almost lost sight of him as black boots disappeared up a flight of stairs.

There was a sigh of relief when she finally caught up, but the cold lord never acknowledged her. Together, they climbed up layer after layer of staircases; the young boys were completely unaffected. And, after the fifth floor, Kagome was pretty sure she was the only one feeling the burning in her thighs.

The final staircase led them down an open walkway around the outside of the room. Although the lightly colored screens adorned beautiful paintings, the normally wooden settings had been replaced with metal inlaid with strips of jade. A sweet fragrance of blossoms engulfed her as a gust of wind swirled its way through the walkway.

Two boys slid open opposing screen doors and allowed the pair to enter the top floor. “Lady Chouko, Lord Sesshomaru has arrived.” They announced before taking kneeled positions on either side of the entrance. Their eyes closed at the completed duty from their mistress; the small bodies became as still as gargoyles. The miko glanced at the forms of Ah-Un and Jakken on the ground below.

Blue eyes widened as butterflies floated into her field of vision; the colorful wings fluttered about the walkway. The miko turned back to the room and saw a beautiful garden. There was a jade path amongst healthy grass and colorful blooms. Pink cherry trees had their long branches weaving across the ceiling as blue and yellow butterflies flew around the millions of blossoms. At the end of the path, large purple wings softly flapped in contentment.

The beautiful female lounged across a mountain of pillows and petals with long, decorative sleeves. The demoness, Chouko, had two red dots in the place of her brows that matched her full, red lips. Lavender irises lazily slid over her beautiful guest and sparkled in appreciation. A cloud of butterflies burst to life as the demoness slowly lifted into a sitting position.

In a very serene voice, the woman began, “Lord Sesshomaru has finally come to Chouko, but what is it that the lord would seek?” The slender, white neck came into view as she tilted her head in question. Kagome knew instantly that this was a natural seductress as she felt herself growing warm with unwanted temptation.

“This Sesshomaru has come to judge your worth for the position at his side.” The bored demon flatly replied. Those large, stain glass wings flittered as the erotic demoness leaned forward. Her ruby lips parted in a coy smile at his self-worth, “Does the lord think he can judge Chouko?”

“Would you judge yourself worthy?” Kagome interrupted. This time, both pairs of eyes turned to the blunt young woman. “Well, would you?”

Chouko leaned back as she considered the miko, her head rested in a white hand with long, decorated nails. The demoness released a small sigh, “Chouko is worthy.” She did not look proud or pleased by her words, so Kagome grew curious.

“Why do you think yourself worthy?” The miko asked in a light tone as so not to insult the butterfly lady.

“Chouko is fertile, untouched, and beautiful. Everyone loves Chouko.” She finally slid from her cushions onto long, slender legs. There was no sound as she tip-toed to the tall lord and peered into his eyes. “Everyone loves Chouko too much. The child of Chouko would be the same, so could Lord Sesshomaru off all of those who would love us?”

Kagome shifted uneasily as the increasing arousal and pity clashed within her body. She watched as the other woman ran her hand over the air above Sesshomaru’s magenta striped cheek. The cold lord didn’t seem to mind.

“I could.”

Blue eyes drastically widened as his clawed hand slipped over the white neck and into black tresses. She couldn’t move. Kagome wanted to look away; she wanted to run. A small ruby smile appeared as the proud demon lord started to lean down. It was like watching Inuyasha and Kikyo all over again, and the poor girl panicked with flashes from the past. There was no air to breath. She couldn’t look away as their lips moved closer together. Kikyo’s words about dragging Inuyasha to Hell with her echoed through her mind. It was the same.

“STOP!” Kagome latched her arms around the lowered shoulders of the demon lord. Chouko slammed to the floor from being rejected by the miko’s holy barrier. With the silver head tucked beneath her chin, the young woman glared over her shoulder at the surprised hostess sprawled on the jade floor.

“You… Do you want him to kill people?” She wheezed. Kagome had not escaped the infectious love for Chouko, so her tears poured in heartbreak.

 An ugly snarl marred the beautiful face as the demoness hissed, “It’s because of those people that Chouko is trapped here. If they all died then Chouko could be free.” Lavender eyes turned red as a wicked smile stretched across her face. “Yes! If you love me then you’ll free Chouko. Kill them all and free Chouko!”

The miko closed her eyes and sobbed into Sesshomaru’s hair. She didn’t want to hear anymore; it hurt too much. Then, a large hand wrapped around her waist, causing Kagome to hiccup in surprise.

“Free Chouk-…” The mad demoness screeched until her head rolled to the floor. Sesshomaru stood to his full glory, leaving the miko’s small hands to fall to his chest. The lord’s right hand glowed from the poison whip until the remains dissolved into thousands of butterflies.

“Miko, look.” The demon softly commanded. Kagome opened her eyes in time to watch as the swirling cloud of purple wings excitedly flew past them and out the open doors. One last tear fell for Chouko. They gazed out at the hundreds of purple butterflies scattering in different directions as they fluttered away under the afternoon sun.

In contrast of such a moving moment, the very generous demon lord decided that he would just jump down while he still had a hold on her. Kagome screamed at the sudden trip and fell to her butt when he released her. Perhaps next time Lord Sesshomaru would not do things that led to the damage of his enhanced demon hearing and an exchange of heated glares.

Jakken couldn’t help but run over and retort, “Oh, my lord is the image of grace.” His green head turned to the girl with swollen, bloodshot eyes as she gawked at him from the dirt. With a pointed look of disappointment from the toad, Kagome shot up after him.

“Get back here you stupid toad!” The miko screamed as Jakken squawked in alarm. The young woman near caught him before he ducked around Ah-Un.

“My lord!” The servant shouted, “The miko has gone mad!” Said lord lightly sighed as raven hair ducked around the beast’s rump to attack her prey.

“I’ll show you mad!” The miko yelled before effectively pouncing and locking the small toad in an inescapable embrace. Poor Jakken dramatically called out, “Help me, my lord!” as Kagome carried him away.

That night, they set up camp a couple hours away from the next destination. Warm fire illuminated a peaceful demon lord, a sleepy miko, and a humiliated imp. His punishment had been pure, agonizing, drawn out torture.

“Aw, pretty little girls aren’t so pretty if they frown all the time.” Kagome cooed as she munched away at her dinner. Yellow eyes twitched as the frown grew in comical proportion.

Jakken or “Jaki-poo” had thick, gaudy eyeshadow smudging over his eyelids and onto his forehead. Thick, black eyebrows were painted to arch above them as pink circles of blush sat bellow. His proud, pointed, beak of a mouth had been graced with large, red lips. While Kagome wouldn’t have felt right to strip him of his clothes, she did finish the look with her winter scarf as an obi. The horrifying imp grumbled as the giant bow joyously peaked around his small form.

Sweet revenge ran its course when the pacified woman took Jakken to a nearby stream. Kagome soaked her feet to rid them of any odors while holding a makeshift torch for the toad. Little hands scrubbed without thought or reason and turned the green face into a Valentine’s Day disaster. Kagome had to step in and help him.

 The clean servant returned to camp with the scarf-obi still in place. It wasn’t that he couldn’t undo the obi; Jakken simply hadn’t tried to remove it. Even golden eyes watched in mild amusement as the toad tucked his body underneath the oversized bow and drifted to sleep.

The owner of blue eyes, however, tossed and turned for hours. Her arm was healing better than most would in this era, but it still hurt. There was also an unnatural sadness that plagued her from being heartbroken by Chouko. It made no sense, but Kagome loved her in moments just as Chouko said. Even Sesshomaru couldn’t escape that curse of passion.

A pang of pain struck through her chest causing the miko to lightly gasp for air. This was different than the dull ache for the unfortunate butterfly demon. Without meaning to, Kagome let her eyes drift to the resting lord. He had said, “I could” when under the romantic suggestion and it was bothering her so much more than it should. For the proud lord to drop his third person speech pattern made Sesshomaru’s vow private, romantic, and personal. Kagome blinked away tears as she remembered how it felt like she had stumbled across an intimate scene to be shared by a pair of lovers. The miko fell into restless sleep as she berated herself on using Sesshomaru to replace Inuyasha in her lonely heart.

“Miko” His deep voice echoed through the darkness before Kagome awoke to a sunny morning sky. She felt like crap.

Sesshomaru stood next to Ah-Un with an impatient message hidden in his flat look, so the grumbling miko hurried to pack. Jakken had neatly folded the blue scarf and returned it to her bag. Raven hair remained free as the half-conscious girl mounted the cheerful two-headed dragon. She was already dozing when they reached traveling altitude. Concerned about his ally falling off the steed, the stoic lord frequently glanced back at her slumbering form.

The short trip passed in the blink of an eye for Kagome, who got jostled awake in their landing. In a moment of panic, the miko recklessly tore through bag to find her reports. She was still rubbing her eye as she read about this contender. The scroll reminded her that this was the home of a raccoon demoness named Satomi. It had been her general father that had suggested her to Sesshomaru’s people.

Although the manor was quite large and had many open walkways between buildings, it was the most simplistic layout they had come across so far. The colors and screens were basic and neutral. The miko vaguely thought that it lacked a woman’s touch, before moving to stand beside Sesshomaru.

Two average looking, middle aged women stepped out on to the patio and bowed. “Welcome to Tanuki Estate.” They flatly greeted. It took a moment to notice the pointed ears and short tail that hinted at their raccoon dog heritage. The older woman stepped forward before continuing, “General Takahashi sends his regards that he could not be here to personally introduce his only daughter to you, my lord, but please follow me to your guest rooms. My master welcomes you to stay here for any length of time that you should see fit.”

This place felt like the exact opposite of the butterfly tower and it was driving Kagome insane. There weren’t even flowers or manicured trees in between the plain and boring buildings, just unturned dirt. She almost wanted to let Sesshomaru meet the girl and return to Jakken and Ah-Un. The miko sighed in defeat while mulling over the dangerous talents of the last few girls. She couldn’t risk leaving him, but this bleak, helpless, lonely feeling made her weariness bone deep.

“Here is your room, my lord.” The older servant said before turning to the solemn girl. “I shall show you to the servant quarters, human.”

Kagome’s drooping head shot up, indignation sparking life into her pale features. “Excuse me?” She demanded.

The demoness looked unamused and quite serious as she retorted, “You are either a servant or a mistress, human. The general would be most displeased if your form of entertainment distracted from the lord’s assessment of our lady.”

Before Kagome could explode at this woman, a masculine voice interrupted, “She stays.” Both females turned to stare at the relaxed demon lord before the raccoon bowed, “As you wish, my lord.” She gave Kagome one more disapproving look as she scurried away.

The miko turned on the sitting white form, steam still coming from her ears, “Why didn’t you tell her that I wasn’t a slut? She thinks I’m a whore, Sesshomaru!”

“Are you a whore?” He didn’t bother opening his eyes as the girl glared down at him.

“No, of course not.” With such an unexpected question, her knuckles regained some color as she released the grip on her bag.

White lashes slowly slid open and demon eyes captured her full attention on the next spoken words, “This Sesshomaru knows and that is enough.”

Kagome unceremoniously crumbled into a mound of miko while the lord closed his eyes again. Her stubborn smile crept back as she accepted his truth. This was Kagome Higurashi, Shikon Miko and defeater of the great menace Naraku. Right now she had a job to do as Sesshomaru’s Matchmaker and she planned to do it right.

“Okay!” The miko huffed in determination. She spent the next hour reading her notes on the final girls and planning further elimination methods, should they be needed. So far, only Haruka, the fox demon, seemed to have passed. There were twelve more women to meet before she was free.

Kagome glanced up at the silver hair and magenta stripes, wondering if he had always been so beautiful. And, that was why she had to hurry and escape. Sesshomaru wanted everything in a mate that she could not give him, so certain “L” words couldn’t even be lightly considered in her thoughts. The miko wore a smile as she continued her work.

“Excuse me, Lord Sesshomaru?” The same servant called from the other side of the door before entering. “The Lady Satomi is ready to meet with you.”

Kagome avoided looking directly at him as they both started after the raccoon demoness. She led her guest and his human down the empty hallways and across planked walkways. When they arrived at the main room, just as bleak as the others, they found Satomi. She sat in the middle of the empty room with perfect posture and poise.

“Your human can wait out here; it might contaminate my lady with wrongful ideas.” The older woman sneered. Sesshomaru ignored her and presented himself to the hostess. Kagome, on the other hand, had had enough.

“Would you stop acting like I belong to him like some pet?” The steamed miko began, “We are here on official business, so unless you want us to take our business elsewhere I would put a stop to this horribly rude behavior.” The servant gawked before scurrying away.

“That was amazing!” A light, feminine voice chimed in a fit of laughter. Satomi sat in a formal kimono that was nothing but shades of pink. Her brown hair had been painfully pulled pack in an ornate bun on top of her head. The ornaments decorating her hair dangled down to shoulders and jingled as she laughed.

As the miko kneeled beside Sesshomaru, the nice looking raccoon demoness commended, “My father would disapprove, but I’m glad someone stood up to her.”

“Why would your father disapprove?” Kagome questioned out loud.

“Oh! Please pardon my manners.” Brown eyes widened before disappearing under bangs as the demoness bowed towards the miko. “I am Satomi, daughter of General Takahashi. My father believes that such aggressive actions would be unladylike.”

“Hello, I’m Kagome.” After a moment, she uneasily asked, “Why are there no extra furnishings or decorations around the estate? My records show your family is exceedingly wealthy, but you seem to be the only thing covered in color besides brown and grey.” One of the major conditions that the demonesses had to pass was lack of familial debt.

Again, their hostess laughed behind an ornate maroon sleeve. “That’s a silly question Lady Kagome.” Her brown eyes were still warm with amusement as she explained, “I have everything that I need, and father promised that every coin not spent on me can go to my future husband and sons. A woman lives for her children after all.”

She knew that she was not going to like the answer, but the miko had to ask anyway, “Would any of the money go to your child if it turned out to be a girl?” It was slightly horrifying to see the decorated hostess blink in confusion. “Of course not, it is up to her father to supply a comfortable wellbeing and dowry. I’m sure Lord Sesshomaru has many suitors waiting for him to have a daughter; her husband and sons would be very well off.”

“Alright, thank you for your time.” Kagome politely bowed before standing. “Have a nice day Lady Satomi.”

The raccoon demoness smiled daintily before bowing in return, “And you, Lady Kagome.” The bored demon followed the dark haired girl out.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” Satomi quietly called out, causing him to pause. His back was still to her, but his attention was had. “What kind of woman would you want as the Lady of the West?”

Ember eyes purposefully turned to meet brown ones before shifting to gaze at the back of a certain miko. A small smirk pulled at his lips, “One who does as she pleases.”