Curiosity Caught the Miko by Stella Mira

Pack Comes Before Pride

A fortnight had passed since Kagome had taken Daiki under her protection and started her journey towards the Eastern Lands. The pup had been shy at the beginning but no less clinging. Kagome had coaxed him with soft words and warm touches until he had shared his past. His mother had mated an ōkami male of another pack and had gone to live with him, but his father had perished a few months prior during a hunt. His mother had decided then to return to her own pack, but they had been attacked on the way, and she had bidden him to hide. The pup had relatives, but he didn't know where his mother's pack resided or how to reach them.

Kagome hoped Kōga could identify the pup's pack and point them to the right direction, but she had taken her leisure in reaching his den. Hence, a journey that should have taken no more than a week was now stretched to two weeks – and they still hadn't entered Kōga's territory. There had been a few attacks, mostly from hungry yōkai, but nothing Kagome couldn't handle. Her hunting experience had grown and she could at least catch small animals like hares or fish whenever they passed by a river. At nights when she could sense no noteworthy yōki in the near vicinity, Kagome indulged in a campfire for warmth and cooking – and tonight was such a night.

Daiki lay beside her thigh, curled into himself as he slept, while Kagome kept vigilance. The flames flickered with soft sibilant sounds, licks of heat and light. A slow pulsation overlaid the heart of night, alive with sinuous danger, familiar, almost nostalgic. Kagome laughed softly, welcomed the yōki of the creature intruding in her camp.

"Konbanwa, Sesshōmaru."

Her voice echoed mid stillness and smoke, but the pup did not stir, only burrowed closer into her. The Western Lord walked towards her, sure-footed, strips of silver-white and leashed power.

"Miko." Sesshōmaru tilted his neck in greeting, but remained standing. "Rin has sent a missive for you."

Kagome accepted the letter, a half-smile on her lips, an apology in the blue of her eyes.

"I'm sorry for troubling you."

"It is of no consequence."

His voice glided over her skin, flowed like water, cool and sharp. It evoked a flux of sensations, aroused a cluster of feelings – and then she realized what it was. She had missed him, wished to speak with him for a while longer.

"Won't you come sit by the fire? I don't have much to offer, but you're welcome to share my stew."

His eyes flashed for a moment, like melted gold, his sole reaction.

"I do not require nourishment, miko."

"But…" Kagome paused, knew he was declining, but tried again, her voice softer, inviting. "You'll keep me some company?"

She didn't know what he saw reflected in her eyes, perhaps ruefulness, perhaps longing, but his lips drew into a tight line – he gave a curt nod, took a swift seat across from her.

"You should have reached the Eastern Lands by now."

Neither his remark nor the question in his words was unexpected. Kagome exhaled a long sigh.

"You're right. I've delayed because of…personal reasons."

"Inuyasha."

It wasn't a statement but another question. Sesshōmaru could discern lie from truth, so Kagome opted for elaboration. He was gracing her with his presence after her request. The least she could do was offer honesty in exchange.

"Partly. I miss him and I want to see him, but I don't want to intrude on his new life. And then there's Kōga-kun…"

Her brows knitted in a frown, features marred with vexation at the mention of the wolf yōkai, and she sighed again. When she raised her gaze, Sesshōmaru wore an inscrutable expression.

"The ōkami prince."

"He's been adamant on mating me for quite some time now…years, actually. Last we spoke he told me he'd relent on his pursuit until I come to him with an answer. I'm afraid he'll take it the wrong way if I appear in his den now."

The miko couldn't tell why she was sharing such intimate thoughts with the daiyōkai, but he was there and he listened and he brought calmness with him – a calmness she hadn't felt for two weeks as she ruminated upon this matter.

"Would you wish for me to decline his suit on your accord?"

Her neck snapped, bones cracking in her surprise. Kagome wasn't sure if she had heard him right, but Sesshōmaru understood her silent query, answered before she could voice her shock.

"As the alpha of your pack, it is within my rights to settle such issues."

He cast down a stare, conviction embedded in wintry amber. His voice washed over her, deep and unyielding, made her lips curl into a genuine smile even as she refused his offer. The fact that he had made it was enough for Kagome.

"No, I couldn't possibly ask you to do that. It's my problem…"

Sesshōmaru didn't comment on her refusal, but he didn't drop the matter either.

"You mentioned many instances of his persistence. The ōkami has not taken heed of your words."

Teeth sank into her lower lip, grazed the reddened flesh, but Kagome held his eyes as she shared the truth she didn't want to acknowledge - and her worries.

"That's just how Kōga-kun is… I don't think he'll ever stop hoping no matter what I say."

Sesshōmaru stayed quiet for a long moment, and Kagome thought he wouldn't speak again – or possibly leave – but he did.

"You are well past the age of maturity, yet you remain unmated, miko. Is it the thought of mating the ōkami that displeases you or the thought of mating a yōkai?"

Caught unaware, she studied his features, black-slit eyes and thin lips and carved beauty. Kagome searched for the origins, the reasons behind his curiosity, but the daiyōkai gave her nothing besides silence and rapt attention. He truly wished to know, she surmised, and she found no harm in telling him. Lips slanted, her smile wasn't joyful, but it was warm, hope-ridden.

"It is the thought of mating without love." Then she cleared her throat, laughter spilled past her lips, awkward, husky. "What a strange discussion… Forgive me for wasting your time with such asinine blather."

If Sesshōmaru sensed her uneasiness, her reluctance to speak more of this matter, he didn't show it, but his stare hardened, adopted cusp-like qualities. When he spoke, his voice was sharp-edged, didn't permit defiance.

"I shall accompany you to the Eastern Lands, miko. I will have words with the ōkami."

"You really don't have to d-"

"It will be done."

A huff made its way past her lips, but she wasn't angry at him, far from it. Stubborn, arrogant male that he was, but Kagome was glad for it. Sesshōmaru might not have been Inuyasha, but he cared for her in his own way. Even if he would never say it, never claim he'd protect her like his brother had done over and over in the past, Kagome still heard it, felt it in the strokes of his yōki, the heat of his eyes. Gratitude suffused her body, laved her skin, and she bowed to him.

"Thank you, Sesshōmaru-sama."

When she met his eyes again, his brow was arced. Sesshōmaru appeared bemused, if a bit displeased.

"Why the formalities, miko? I recall a time when you taunted such courtesies."

Kagome flushed at the reminder then laughed, the sound seeping into the night, merging with the fire.

"I was young and bold and foolish. I understand now that you meant no offense by addressing me as you do. It is a sign of acknowledgement, is it not?"

She stared at him under the thickness of her lashes, playful yet serious. His brow didn't rise higher, but there was a faint spasm in his jaw, a twinkle in the gold of his irises.

"You are still all those things, miko."

Laughter undulated in her lungs, buzzed in her throat, but she held it back, careful not to wake the pup with her antics.

"Now you merely tease me."

"Hn."

He neither denied nor confirmed it, but there was no such need either way.

"Do not act formal with me."