Miko Memories by OhBrother

Honor and Palms

Chapter 1: Honor and Palms

The silent youkai lord walked through the dense forest. He had no companions, not for this mission.

Jaken had been left in charge of Rin who had begged to tag along. The old demon was certainly annoying but he was loyal and a demon nonetheless. He could be trusted to protect Rin.

He was unsure of how to go about his business, and being unsure was not good enough for this taiyoukai.

He would not fail this time. He would win his father's sword back from his filthy half-brother. He could have no distractions.

Sesshomaru's face showed no emotion. When did it ever, really?

Would his brother's friends intervene? He didn't know about the monk, demon slayer, and fox youkai, he assumed, would have the good sense to stay out of it. However, his brother's bitch would bother to break it up. Or try.

She was getting to be a nuisance. You'd have thought she would have learned by now. He was beginning to wonder if he should just get on with it and kill the wench. She was a brave little miko; he had to admit that much. The way she pointed her purification arrows at him, not a trace of fear in her eyes, he knew, he had searched. He supposed the only reason she was even still alive was because she was so foreign to him. She dressed and spoke differently and on the occasions he had taken it upon himself to spy on his brother, Sesshomaru had noticed some intriguing artifacts in her possession.

Which led him to why he was walking through the woods so late at night. He had caught the girl's sent not long ago. Strangely enough it was solitary. None of her companions had been with her.

Sesshomaru had briefly thought of this as a trap. The thought flitted though his mind before he dismissed it as impossibility. Even his half-brother wasn't so stupid to seek him out.

The miko's sent changed rapidly, and the youkai lord paused to identify the change in her sent. Fear was dominant as well as helplessness and resignation. The wench had given in early to whatever had attacked her. The smell of her blood was overpowering and Sesshomaru's nose twitched with a combination of disgust and the blood he smelt.

He only had to walk a little ways before he found her. The corpse of a weak youkai lay on top f her body. He could smell the burning stench of where her purification arrows must have hit the dead creature.

Sesshomaru strode silently over to where she lay. Looking down he noted, with slight surprise, that she was still alive.

Inwardly he smirked. He had assumed that the resignation he had smelled was her giving into the youkai, when in reality it was her giving into not being able to lift the cadaver off herself. How ironic.

He could smell her blood all over the forest floor. The wrench had passed out and from the looks of it had lost a lot of blood.

Sesshomaru grimaced inwardly. It was now a matter of honor that he save the girl. He had, after all, followed the girl's sent intentionally. The least he could do was return his brother's bitch to him. Now he would have to soil his hands and touch a human.

He lifted the dead youkai off her frail body and threw it aside. Slowly he approached the girl. She was bleeding from her side, a wound that would not have bothered a youkai. Humans were disgustingly weak creatures.

Sesshomaru picked up her limp form and cradled her with his one arm. There was irony yet again. This wench was the one who had helped play a part in separating his other arm from his body.

There would be no battling his half-brother tonight.

The girl stirred in his arms. She was deathly cold and her blood began to soak into his clothes.

He picked up his hanyou brother's sent and followed it. He mentally cursed his half-brother as he came across a village and followed the sent inside.

Silently he slipped into a small hut. A warm fire crackled in the middle of the room. Sesshomaru took in his surroundings with a critical eye. "Hn." It was not his castle, but it was an acceptable place to leave the girl.

"KAGOME!!" his half-brother yelled.

InuYasha took in the horrifying sight. Kagome lay bleeding in his bastard brother's arm.

"Sesshomaru! What the hell did you do to her!" he said angrily. What he wouldn't do to strangle Sesshomaru right now. Unfortunately for this hanyou, Sesshomaru still had Kagome.

Sesshomaru suppressed a sigh. He was still honor bound to stay with the girl until she awoke.

Sesshomaru lay Kagome down on the floor where her friends rushed forward to tend her wounds.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, bastard! What did you do to Kagome!" InuYasha growled deep in his throat.

Sesshomaru ignored him and sat down by the fire. InuYasha blinked and stared at the youkai lord.

"InuYasha, calm down. By the looks of it he won't be leaving anytime soon." The monk advised.

"Why the hell not, Miroku?" the irritable hanyou muttered darkly.

"Because, and I'm guessing here, that he was trying to find you. He found Kagome's sent and followed it. He fond her like this," Miroku paused and gestured to Kagome, "and since he intentionally sought her out his honor prevents his from leaving her when he has the ability to help her. Now he must stay until she awakens." The lecherous monk paused yet again. " Is that about right, Sesshomaru?" he asked pointedly.

Sesshomaru inclined his head slightly in a nod, confirming the monk's suspicions.

The hanyou glared at Sesshomaru as he inched towards Kagome. Muttering incoherently, well for human ears, he sat down next to his friends. Sesshomaru fought back a smirk at what he heard. "...kill ... bastard.... next time ... get him..."

The kitsune's face was creased with worry.

"Is Kagome going to be alright?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Shippo. I believe she will." The demon slayer answered.

The kitsune reminded Sesshomaru of Rin. With a pang Sesshomaru remembered he had promised Rin he would be back by morning. By the looks of things he would fail to keep that promise to his young ward. His honor was at stake at the moment and Sesshomaru knew the selfless girl would not be cross with him.

"Are you sure, Sango? Are you sure she won't have to go back to her own time for medicine?" Shippo asked worriedly. "Ep!" he said and covered his mouth. In his worry for Kagome he'd forgotten that Sesshomaru was in the room.

"Shippo, you idiot!" InuYasha growled.

Sesshomaru never looked up from the fire.

I always thought your bitch was strange, brother. But from a different time... how intriguing. What time?" Sesshomaru asked.

InuYasha blinked, confused. He had never heard Sesshomaru talk so much before about anything not having to do with killing InuYasha or retrieving his father's sword.

"None of your business you bastard! And she isn't my bitch!"

Sesshomaru continued as if InuYasha hadn't spoken.

"Hmm... perhaps the wench should tell me herself, when she awakens."

He settled into a more comfortable position on the floor, pointedly ignoring the discontented mumblings of his hanyou half-brother.

The miko slept through the night and did not stir until the sun had crawled high in the sky the next day.

Kagome's fingers twitched and her eyes opened slightly. Gasping she sat up fast only to fall back with a small yelp.

"What the fuck!" Kagome groaned.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Shippo asked in a tiny voice.

The girl turned her head in order to catch sight of the kitsune. She smiled at him feebly.

"Yeah, Shippo. I'll be fine." She laughed weakly. "I've been through worse and gotten through." An amused look flitted across her face. "At least this time I'm not delusional." She turned her head and caught sight of Sesshomaru. "Opps! Spoke too soon!" she laughed heartily.

There was an uncomfortable stir in the hut as the youkai lord lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Hey," she giggled, turning to speak to InuYasha, "Let's see if my delusions make sense this time!" she turned her head back to Sesshomaru with a grin and asked "So whatcha doing here Sess-oh-maru?"

The youkai lord was taken aback, although he would never show it. This girl thought him to be in her mind. Was it really that unlikely that he should be in this hut?

"Yes," he answered himself silently.

Maybe he could use this to his advantage.

"Tell me, miko. Are you really from a future time." Sesshomaru's face held no expression.

"Oh, so my delusion knows about my time travel." She chortled.

Sesshomaru glanced at her companions. Surly they would at least tell her that she was not seeing things.

He sighed, looks as if none of them were willing to tell her. In fact the monk seemed to be enjoying the show. The job was left to him.

"Miko, this is no trick of the mind. I am really sitting here before you." His eyebrow rose slightly, "and since you have just confirmed to me that you are indeed from another time I suggest you answer my question."

Kagome blinked. "Is this really not just in my head?" she thought, "only one way to tell."

And with that thought Kagome reached out and grabbed that lord of the western land's remaining hand.

"It's there alright." Kagome thought. "Wow, it's strong and surprisingly soft."

Sesshomaru eyed her warily. What was the wench doing? He narrowed his eyes. She needed proof that he wasn't just a figment of her imagination. He hated touching humans, with the exception of Rin.

"But this one is different..." the thought startled him and he stiffened.

Kagome glanced up swiftly and caught the gaze of the youkai lord. For a moment she could've sworn she saw a flicker of uncertainty flash through his eyes. Then it was gone and in its place was his usual cool, cynical detachment.

A thought entered her head as the looked back down at a very real Sesshomaru's hand.

Turning it palm up she studied his hand.

"What are you doing, Kagome?" asked a slightly panicked Shippo.

The miko looked up at him grinning.

"Doing a palm reading." She looked back down at Sesshomaru's palm.

"And what, miko, is a palm reading?" Sesshomaru inquired.

"A palm reading is a basic telling of a person's life. It relies on the lines in a person's hand," she answered without looking up. "Like this," she pointed to one of the many lines that were strewn across Sesshomaru's palm. "This is the travel line. It indicates travel, be it when you are young, old, or in between. Your travel line is crossed with many small lines, some in the past some in the future. This foreshadows danger or problems during your travel."

Kagome paused and looked up at the youkai lord. His fa�ade was of cool indifference, yet somehow when she looked into his eyes she saw barely suppressed curiosity. A smile graced her face. Looking down she continued.

"This one is your head line. Yours is how I would have expected it to be: for one the opposite of InuYasha's. His wavers indicating recklessness. Yours, however, is very straight which tells me you have a very logical and direct way of thinking as well as realistic. Your line is also deep which tells me you have and excellent memory."

This miko confounded him. She sat in front of him and told him about himself. She was also holding his large, clawed hand in her delicate one. Did she not realize he could crush her easily if he so desired? She should be afraid of him, if not only because he was a youkai and a lord at that, but because he had also nearly killed her on several occasions.

"Kagome! Kagome! Do me now!" the kitsune shouted.

The miko smiled playfully at the kit. "I will, Shippo, I will, but I haven't finished with Sesshomaru." She turned back to his palm.

"Your life line is unusually long which is to be expected sense you are a youkai." She flashed him a wicked grin. "The next important line is the marriage line..." she trailed off.

InuYasha snorted from the corner. "Him? I can't believe he even has one." The hanyou declared.

Kagome looked up at InuYasha sharply, successfully securing his silence with a shut-the-hell-up-right-now-or-I'll-sit-you-till-you-can't-feel-your-face stare.

"Now lets see. You only have one marriage line indicating only one marriage in your life. There are no separate lines around your marriage line indicating no affairs." Sesshomaru glared down at his palm. That the miko would even entertain such a preposterous notion was deeply insulting. To have an affair while your mate was alive was shameful.

"Now for the more interesting part of the marriage line: the number of children. Hmmm...." She looked intently at the lines in Sesshomaru's palm. How she could make sense of it he did not know.

"It indicates four blood children over time and there is one very faint line that I assume is Rin. Since she is not blood related she does not show up very distinctly here." Kagome pointed at the lines, Sesshomaru stared down at his hand, mentally memorizing the lines and their meanings as she pointed them out.

She stopped talking a moment and stared hard at his hand.

He looked at her warily. "Something had made you uneasy miko. What is it." Sesshomaru did not ask, he demanded. Knowing this to be a fact Kagome did not appreciate his commanding tone. She glared up at him a moment. Sesshomaru waited, somewhat impatiently. She wanted to tell him but her pride was hurt by his command. Would she even answer? He did not have much faith that she would... without persuasion. Humans were such prideful beings and it took a very selfless human to swallow their pride. Kagome was about to surprise him. Her gaze turned thoughtful and she turned the attention of the cerulean eyes back to his palm. Then she spoke so soft even he, sitting so close to her, had to strain to hear. None of the others in the hut could hear. This fact seemed to irk InuYasha to no end.

"Well this," she pointed "is the heart line." She paused to glance up at his face. He eased is face to include the fleeting emotion of confusion. This seemed to put her at ease.

"The heart line deals with emotions and events connected with love. Your ability to love and be loved, which varies from person to person. It's said that only your perfect match has the same heart line as an individual. (a/n: just so everybody knows I made up that last bit about the perfect match. The rest I looked up online.) The stronger and deeper the line the stronger and warmer your devotion. Your line is long and curved upwards. This tells me you have a warm, pleasant, romantic nature, and you tend to give all of yourself to love no matter the cost."

After saying this, she slowly raised her eyes once again to meet his. He found himself unable to keep the bewildered, wild, and apprehensive look from his eyes.

"Your line is deep and strong. I have only ever seen one like it before. Though it seems impossible to me, the woman's heart line was an exact replica of yours." He regarded her coolly before speaking up.

"Tell me where to find this woman, miko. If she is my match, I must find her."

"What would you do once you found her?" Her gaze never left his, never wavered.

"I would take her as my mate. If she is the one woman worthy of me she must not escape." Sesshomaru answered.

"And if she were to refuse?" Kagome questioned.

Sesshomaru looked the miko over, sizing her up. She was too interested in his answer. This was none of her business. Unless... she said she knew this girl. Was she just an acquaintance or was she a close friend of the miko's?

"She wouldn't." was his answer.

She narrowed her eyes, obviously not pleased by his answer. This made him even more curious, but he schooled his features into his signature emotionless mask.

Finally she asked the final question. One that would surprise him but even more surprising, would not anger him.

"What if she was a human?" she whispered, her eyes bore into his.

This was an unexpected development.

"So, is she really a human? Or is this miko trying to irritate me?" Sesshomaru thought.

Kagome sat, waiting quite impatiently for his answer.

"It would not matter." His answer surprised both her and him. However, he found it was true. Besides, Sesshomaru was not in the practice of lying.

"If she were my match, it would not matter." He said, holding her gaze.

"Hn." She grunted, sounding amazingly a lot like Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru tried to wait patiently, truly he did, but the wrench was withholding information about his future mate.

Sesshomaru stood up and in one fluid motion had Kagome pinned to the hut's earthen floor. Her friends cried out and rushed towards her only to stop short. If they came any closer, they reasoned, Sesshomaru might hurt Kagome. They had no idea what the miko and taiyoukai had been discussing.

Kagome smirked, a self-satisfied look on her face.

"Almost as if she knows something I don't," Sesshomaru thought. He scoffed at himself silently. "Of course she does, she knows the identity and whereabouts of my match. No," he paused for a moment "there's something else." This made him wary.

The miko's smug look stayed, plastered on her face.

"You're not going to kill me Sesshomaru." It was not a question, merely a statement of fact. And Kagome was one hundred percent correct.

Sesshomaru grunted and narrowed his eyes at her for a fraction of a second before, once again, standing "or," Kagome thought, "more like towering," over her.

"You will not tell me?" Sesshomaru asked.

Kagome tilted her head and gave him a good once over before answering thoughtfully, "No, at least not for now."

"Very well," Sesshomaru started towards the hut's entrance. He stopped and looked back at her. "But you shall tell me." He turned around and left without another word.

"Humph." Kagome pouted, she'd hoped to get more of a reaction from the demon lord.

"Kagome, Kagome! Are you okay" Shippo lunged at Kagome and clung to her legs.

All her friends crowed around, making sure she was okay... all except InuYasha.

He stood there watching her, a strange look in his eyes.

"InuYasha" she questioned. Kagome's eyes met his and suddenly he was standing in front of her and his arms had come around her. She was pulled into his chest and he hugged her to him.

"Bitch," he murmured half-heartedly, "What did you think you were doing provoking him like that?" his grip tightened. "We could've lost you today."

Kagome grinned knowingly up at him.

"He won't be killing me anytime soon." Was her answer.

InuYasha narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Let's just say I know something very important to him and leave it at that. " her grin now seemed a permanent fixture on her face.

It was then that InuYasha realized that Kagome was still in his arms. He flushed suddenly and quickly withdrew his arms, stuffing them into his hoari. He looked back at her uneasily.

"What is it, InuYasha?" she asked sweetly.

"Feh, wrench." Was his only reply, well.... that and a face that burned redder than before.

Kagome giggled, then winced. Immediately her friends were at her side. In all the excitement she had completely forgotten her wounds from the youkai in the forest.

"And to think I was on my way home." She thought wryly to herself.

Her thoughts drifted to the cold youkai lord that had just left and the information she held. She sobered at the thought.

"Do I really WANT to know what I know?" she thought wearily. "Well, there's no taking I back now, is there?" and with that Kagome fell into a tired, dreamless sleep.

a/n: My fingers are sore! I don't think I've ever typed so much at one time in my entire life! Also just so ya know that was the longest chapter I've ever written and every other chapter will probably be a fraction of what I have written here. Don't get me wrong though. They will be a very good length. So... REVIEW!!