SessKag stuff. One of my non canon OTPs. He keeps rescuing her.

Chapter One:

Of Misfortune and Circumstance

Higurashi Kagome was 22 years old. She had graduated high school, but had decided to stay in the Feudal Era. She stayed mostly with Sango and Miroku, and their 7 young children, but occasionally would just disappear. With the Shikon no Tama gone and Naraku defeated, she had time. Inuyasha was rarely ever around, usually sulking if he was ever seen.

To fill the time, Kagome had taken up learning to fight, especially since, as she was considered a rare jewel to behold and a fairly powerful one at that, youkai and human jackasses alike had come to take her away.

None had been successful. Two of the youkai had died (they were quite rude, after all) and the rest left with a grand number of bruises, to say the least.

So why was she stuck in a simple rabbits' snare? She huffed angrily at her stupidity. "Way to go, dumbass," she grumbled to herself. Thankfully, since the Feudal Era's dyes were incredibly expensive and/or difficult to make, her clothing was fairly neutral in color. Her corset was leather and brown, with black strings to tie it. She wore a long skirt (she'd found them more comfortable and, thanks to a few fashion classes, was able to alter them so that she'd be able to run in the skirts she wore) that was an olive green cloth that flowed. It was pure luck that her skirt had caught on her sandal and kept her from being indecent. She reached into her corset and withdrew a thin, beautiful dagger, using it to gently slice the snare's rope. She fell with a thud, but stood quickly and brushed herself off, thinking she had sensed someone. She shook her head. Nah. No one there. Thanks to Kaede, she was able to learn to become a proper miko, to be able to purify impurities at will and sense things.

She replaced the dagger and gathered the rest of the rope snare, sighing. She swore. "It took me a week to make this as good as it is." She sensed a presence and began to take a step away.

"Perhaps you should take lessons on making traps, seeing as you are caught in yet another one," a voice said. Kagome swore again, noticing the second snare a second too late and was flipped once again, her skirt merciless this time. She fought to keep it up and maintain her dignity. She fixed it as best she could and looked to glare. She gasped. "So surprised to see me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, milord," she said. The figure frowned.

"I require something," he said.

"I require to get the hell down from here." Kagome reached for her bodice dagger and sliced through once more. She stood and faced the Lord of the Lands. "I have permission to hunt here, milord," she said, curtseying. He nodded.

"Yes, I know. I would like to ask a favor."

"A favor? Lord Yuko, I am required to do what you ask of me."

"You see, we have some very important people to visit soon, youkai and human Lords alike. I would ask that you dress in your finest and attend."

"May I ask why?"

"There must be at least one miko present, in case of...complications," Lord Yuko said. Kagome nodded in understanding. "I also need someone to announce each person as they arrive. The gathering is in a week."

"Well then. I should prepare." He nodded.

"I appreciate this more than you realize, Higurashi-san." She curtseyed again, gathering her things (and making sure there were no more traps to trip into) and left for the village to tell Sango and Kaede of this.

"You know what this means, right?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded, knowing what would come next. The (once again) pregnant Sango shrieked. "It means we must get you the finest silk and dyes!" They bought the cloth and a new corset with a hidden area for a dagger. Kagome never went anywhere without the blade. "Well, if I can't get you to marry anyone, then at least there's this!" Sango said excitedly as Kagome sewed a new skirt and shirt from the blue silks. "Don't forget to embroider something!"

"I won't, Sango-chan, calm down! You'll upset the baby or something," Kagome stated. Sango sighed and calmed down.

Three days later, it was finished. The corset was underbust, making the dagger a little easier to hide, as the hilt came up to the point of the corset between her breasts and fit perfectly hidden. The shirt and skirt were a dark blue that shimmered in the light, with a gold colored thread. The embroidery was fairly simple, yet still looked complicated. The shirt came up to right under her collarbone and was three quarter sleeve. The gold thread was in a swirled pattern on the long skirt, and she had blue dyed leather shoes (to run quickly. Can't very well run in silk slippers, can we?).

Now to wait.

The day had arrived. The corset was cinched and the shoes slipped on. Kagome's waist long hair was put up elegantly, with flowers gracing her hair like a crown. She arrived well before the guests, and received numerous compliments from the residents of Lord Yuko's castle. She curtseyed politely with her head down. Lord Yuko smiled kindly. "Here is a list, in the order they shall be arriving." Kagome nodded and accepted the scroll.

"You look lovely!" Lady Yuko, his wife, exclaimed. "Where did you find that dress?"

"I made it myself, milady."

Lady Yuko was in shock. Such a beautiful dress, she thought the most skilled seamstress had made it. "It is absolutely gorgeous, my dear." She smiled at the younger girl, then frowned a little. "The guests will be arriving at any time! I must make sure to be ready!" She dashed away, leaving her husband to shake his head amusedly and Kagome to stare in wonder. A lady of Lady Yuko's position would've been thought to have more self control and properness.

Kagome scanned through the list of names that Lord Yuko had given her, wondering just who would appear. Her eyes widened half way down the list. The guard in front of the castle shouted in, "The guests are arriving!" Kagome straightened herself and cleared her throat, making sure everything was in order and forgetting her confusion as the guests walked in regally.

"The Lord Sato and his wife, Lady Sato, accompanied by their governors," Kagome called. A man walked in, a woman on his arm. He had black hair and a gleam in his eyes that Kagome did not like. A group of nervous looking men were right behind him, all dressed in their finest. Kagome continued calling out names of youkai and human alike, until she came to the middle of the list. "The Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands," she said, a her eyes showing a little trepidation before it disappeared again. "He is accompanied by none." His dark gold eyes showed little surprise at seeing her here. She shook it off mentally and continued to call out names.

He was mildly surprised to see his half-brother's...friend? (Woman? Wench? In truth, he had no idea what she was to Inuyasha) until he recalled that a miko must be present at all youkai/human gatherings to prevent any potential incidences. In all reality what surprised him was how she looked. The last he had seen her, she was weak looking, hiding behind his brother, indecently dressed, and a spirited woman as he had ever recalled seeing, other than his mother, of course. He smiled inwardly remembering his mother and the arguments she and his father would get into. The number of plates smashed when thrown at his father's head...he looked up from his thoughts. "Lord Sesshoumaru, I am so delighted that you came!" an excited Lord Yuko said, smiling hugely. Sesshoumaru nodded.

"I am...most intrigued about the woman calling out the names."

"That would be Kagome, a skilled miko and huntress of Kaede's village."

'Huntress? Now that's interesting. Along with her name.'

"She also happens to be fairly skilled in the art of clothes-making as well. She is truly a beauty; her blue eyes are brought out by the dress she made and wears now. She will make someone a lovely wife one day."

"I am sure," Sesshoumaru stated. He looked to the miko, who was smiling at a young youkai child that had just given her a flower to add to her crown of flowers. Even for a human, she could be considered beautiful; Sesshoumaru had an artists' eye for beauty and colors. Lord Yuko said his goodbyes and left to converse with another lord of some other place. Unlike Sesshoumaru, most lords had governors and the like to take care of individual pieces of land within territories. So far, Sesshoumaru had the largest, best taken care of, and least attacked lands...without anyone else's help. The other lords simply did not want to get their hands dirty.

He pondered asking her to dance, wondering just what she would say to him. He decided he would. He tapped her on the shoulder. "If my lady miko would join me in this dance?" he asked as the orchestra began another lively tune. Kagome was shocked to say the least; he could see it in her eyes, but could not smell it off her. He wondered if something was wrong with his nose.

She gathered herself together and curtseyed, speaking quietly, "If my lord wishes it."

"I do," he replied curtly.

This was nothing short of a shock. There was no maliciousness in his eyes, yet neither was there kindness. He seemed almost amused, however. Kagome kept her eyes down as they danced. She hoped it would be over soon; no matter how skilled she was, she could not possibly be a match for Sesshoumaru in a fight, and was therefore scared of him a little. She kept her scent masked, knowing full well that any youkai who caught her scent would more than likely go nuts; they usually did and when asked why they always answered that there was something about the vanilla and fresh rain scent that they wanted. 'Rain and vanilla, huh?' she thought. 'I guess that that is my natural scent; I wonder if it's from being in the forests so much...' The dance ended, and none too quickly. She curtseyed once more as Sesshoumaru bowed, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. He really shouldn't be bowing to her. Lord Yuko stood as the crowd applauded and began a speech about good human/youkai relations. She tuned it out until she heard him say that everyone was dismissed and have a safe trip home. She said her goodbyes and was out the door as quick as she could. She headed to the forests, the place that she was the most comfortable. She paused in the middle of a small clearing. "Excuse me, but are you following me?" she asked.

"No, this is merely the same way I must travel to go to my home in the West," Sesshoumaru said. "Though I do wonder why you mask your scent, miko."

"That is my business, milord," she said rather brusquely. "If you don't mind." She continued walking, feeling his presence behind her, and relaxing inwardly when he turned a different direction. However, she soon became lost in her thoughts and ended up tripping into a hole she didn't see. "Shit," she said, looking up. The night sky was beautiful, but this was not a good place to enjoy it. "Help!" she shouted, hoping that maybe, just maybe, that someone would be passing by. There was a rustling and she prepared herself, just in case. A small face looked over; it was the same child that had given her the flower earlier. He grinned a little.

"Miko-sama! Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, Renshi-kun. I would just like to get out of here."

"My mama and papa aren't nearby. I'll go look for help!" he shouted, running off. Kagome sighed and brushed herself off.

She must've dozed off or something because next thing she knew, she heard, "Miko-sama, Miko-sama! I've brought help! Lord Sesshoumaru said he would help!"

'Oh great,' she groaned inwardly. "Thank you Renshi-kun." He waved goodbye and left. She saw Sesshoumaru's face peer down at her.

"I had heard that you were a skilled huntress, miko," he said. It wasn't cruel, it wasn't nice, the way he said it. It was almost (almost) teasing, but his exterior showed nothing. She huffed and put her hands on her hips, reverting to her old ways and glared.

"That I may be, however I-" She couldn't think of a good reason. She saw a fair hand with claws.

"I do not have all night, woman." She huffed again but grabbed the hand and he lifted her with ease. "Should I accompany you to your home so that this does not happen again?" She couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. She shook her head. "I will be on my way then."

Then he was gone.

The rest of the trip to her village was uneventful, thankfully...until her arrival.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered. The hanyou was tearing up a tree ferociously. Kagome used to have feelings for him, but now...now there was a man who had nothing and had scorned all her previous advances. She had begun to treat him more like a brother and had even removed the rosary. She went through a mental list of spells she could use, settling on one that would have the same effect on him as chamomile tea, except more it was a more instant effect. Inuyasha turned and looked at her, tears in his eyes. "Inuyasha, what happened to you?"