It Blossomed in Spring by thetroll

Chapter 1

Kagome stared at Sesshomaru, unable to believe the words that had just left his lips. She was half asleep—more than half asleep, honestly; Sesshomaru had arrived just as Kagome had woken up that morning—and so there was no way, absolutely no way she'd heard what she'd thought she'd heard—

"Excuse me?" InuYasha bellowed, his hand instantly moving to flick Tessaiga free of its sheath.

"Sit boy," Kagome muttered sleepily, not willing to risk an all-out fight between InuYasha and his half-brother when they hadn't even broke camp. She yawned heavily as InuYasha thudded on the ground, face-first. "I'm sure we misheard him, InuYasha." She turned to the daiyokai standing in the clearing. "Sesshomaru, would you please repeat that so we can clear up this misunderstanding?"

She didn't even bother to do more than note the surprised looks on Sango's, Miroku's and Shippo's faces, not when she could still hear InuYasha muttering and cursing against the ground.

Sesshomaru raised a brow as he glanced at her with his customarily calm expression. "This one is not in the habit of repeating himself, priestess."

"However," he moved to stand just before her, "in this instance, this one will make an exception."

She swallowed, hot tea in her hand forgotten as he squatted down to meet her gaze. She never would have imagined that Sesshomaru of all people would lower himself for anyone—

His voice as calm as his expression, he repeated, "This one has decided to grace you with his affections."

She froze, the cup of tea falling out of her hand to splash against the ground, and she absently noted with relief that she'd somehow managed not to spill a drop on her priestess clothing. "Y-you have." She licked her dry lips and tried not to flush at the serious look on Sesshomaru's face as he stared expectantly back at her.

He clearly didn't anticipate a refusal.

"K'gome don't want your affections," InuYasha grumbled, freed up enough from the kotodama that he could lift his head to bellow the words at his half-brother. "Fuck off."

Kagome immediately felt her ire rise at InuYasha's hasty pronouncement and perhaps that was why she blurted out, "And what if I do, InuYasha? Did you ever stop to think about what I wanted before you opened your mouth?" She sniffed in outrage, not even stopping to think of how Sesshomaru or the others might interpret her words. "Sit boy. I can decide for myself what I do and don't want."

"Hnn." There was a gleam in Sesshomaru's eyes that Kagome wasn't sure she liked. "Know your place, hanyo. The priestess has chosen."

Kagome realized her error too late but she wasn't sure it would be possible to take the words back. "Sesshomaru—" she began and then abruptly stopped as Sesshomaru leaned even closer. She tried to lean back to create distance between them but Sesshomaru merely raised a brow and closed the distance yet again.

She hesitated. There had to be some way to convince Sesshomaru that he had chosen her in error, that whatever he desired from her would simply not be possible. Her latent feelings from Kikyo for InuYasha aside, Kagome wasn't even sure she would be a good partner at the moment, let alone that Sesshomaru of all people would be a good partner for her. 

He was known for his mercurial moods and while he was protective of Rin, she wasn't sure he had any clear idea what to do with a human himself. She privately suspected that Rin—and to a lesser extent, Jaken and the two-headed dragon yokai that accompanied them—saw to Rin's needs without Sesshomaru's direct interference. She didn't doubt Sesshomaru's ability to protect her, but she wasn't sure he could meet her other needs.

Like love and trust.

She blinked as Sesshomaru reached into his haori and pulled out a small wooden box that he handed to her. 

Unable to find a way to refuse it without insulting him, she took the box and noted the satisfied gleam in his eyes as she reluctantly opened it. Inside the box lay an ornate golden floral-style kanzashi that served both an ornamental purpose—and as a way to defend herself.

Leave it to Sesshomaru to find something that's both beautiful and deadly, she thought to herself in quiet amusement.

The comb that accompanied it had pearls set in the gold metal, along with bits of the purest green jade. It likely had cost a fortune yet as she touched it, she realized that the gold had been made sturdy enough to be both functional as a hairpiece and practical as a comb, if she so desired to use it. 

"It's beautiful," she said lamely, feeling that the word wasn't enough to justify the elegance of the ornaments. 

"It is suitable to demonstrate your worth to this one in terms of value," he answered, pleased at her praise. "Now that you have accepted this one, you will learn much of what this one values in due time. You will want for nothing, this one promises you that, Kagome."

She shivered at the heated promise in his voice. "Sesshomaru—" This time, it wasn't a protest but a quiet plea that she couldn't quite stifle despite the conflicting desires warring within her. Part of her yearned to see if his lips were as soft as they looked but the other part of her—the rational side—was quietly shrieking that this could not be happening.

He drew back, standing as he offered her a hand to help pull her to her feet. "Later," he promised her darkly. "For now, there are other tasks that require this one's attentions. It may be several days before this one's return, but heed this, Kagome: when he does return, you will belong to this one in every way."

With that, Sesshomaru left Kagome in the clearing and, ignoring her human companions and InuYasha, who had begun to pull free of the kotodama's spell, took to the air on his cloud and left.

And, despite herself, Kagome was filled with anticipation for his return.