The Hime Tradition- Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen- The Distance

At last, the Western Castle no longer held the thick scent of perfume, the high pitched squeals of demonesses, or the barks of demons. Silence had fallen upon the empty Castle; the only members residing were the Lord of the Castle, the Western Prince and his intended mate. It was finally the month where the ceremonies for the Hime tradition would begin to decrease and be held every full moon.

The faint creak of a heavy wooden door echoed in the hallway. As the Lord of the Castle exited his study room he headed towards the West Wing. Black boots strode gracefully along the marble floors without a sound. It was as if silence was to be kept; as if silence was sacred. Halting before a certain door, the Castle silence was quickly broken by a frustrated cry from behind the door. Opening the door, golden eyes flickered with amusement at the sight.

Kagome stood in front of her full length mirror while glaring at her reflection. With a frustrated sigh, she huffed away the strand of hair that was in the way. Her kimono was drooping down one side of her shoulder as she barely managed to cover herself with the material. Emiko had left her with a simple kimono now that the Lords and Ladies had left the Castle. But with Emiko gone on an errand and Inuyasha gone to patrol, Kagome struggled to dress herself with her right shoulder still unusable. Already 30 minutes had passed by and Kagome was not even close to looking presentable.

Finally looking past her own reflection in the mirror, she yelled out excitedly, "Sesshomaru!"

But noting his amusement he found from her struggles, she said with a frown, "I know I look really silly right now, but it's impossible to dress myself with one arm! Help me….please."

Amusement immediately disappeared from his golden eyes. Sesshomaru froze in his position the moment he heard her request. He detected that her requested was said out of desperation and without knowledge of the true meaning behind her words. Though he should have relaxed after this realization, he remained tense. Deciding that it would be more inappropriate to leave her half-dressed until the maid arrived, he stiffly nodded his head. Walking to stand behind her, Sesshomaru glanced at her oblivious blue eyes from the reflection.

Kagome remained as still as she could while lifting up her left hand. Starring at the mirror, blue eyes followed his clawed hands as he fixed the position of her kimono and smoothed out the wrinkles. The brush of his hand brought subtle warmth to sink through her thin layer of kimono.

Working on her obi, she held in a gasp as she felt Sesshomaru's face close in near her left ear. His arms encircled around her waist to wrap the obi around her. The sensation of his body heat right behind her back brought a slight blush to her cheeks. Turning her head away from his, she watched him from the corner of her eye.

'It is tradition for mates to help dress each other every day'.

Blue eyes widened in shock after recalling Emiko's words. Red darkened Kagome's cheeks as the colour reached the tip of her ears. Embarrassed by her own obliviousness, she hoped Sesshomaru wouldn't think her as someone ignorant of demons customs.

Sesshomaru, who had just finished tying her obi, paused as he noticed her ears turn red. He gazed over her shoulder to look at the full length mirror. Clawed hands that were rested against her finished obi slowly fell down to his sides.

A deep red tint flushed beautifully against her milky skin.

Her black, waist length, hair tumbling down the silky material of the kimono.

Ocean blue eyes gently turned towards the mirror and gazed directly at his.

Breathtaking.

Catching an unknown emotion flash through his eyes, she broke away from his eye contact and whispered, "Thank you."

Ignoring the odd sensation his touch stirred, Kagome apologized, "And sorry, I forgot that it is tradition for only one's mate to help dress each other."

Stab.

"I kind of understand now. I mean, why mates are only allowed," Kagome said shyly. A blush tinted her cheeks once again at the intimate feeling she felt as Sesshomaru helped dress her. She noticed that his hand did not even come in contact with her skin or body but still felt a burning sensation by the close distance.

Stab.

Stoic eyes concealed the piercing pain he felt stabbing at his chest.

"By the way, did you need something from me?" Kagome asked, trying to shake away the embarrassment. Since Sesshomaru had come all the way to visit her room, she knew it was something important.

Emotions veiled by his gold eyes, he replied, "Inuyasha will take longer in his patrol compared to last time."

"Oh," Kagome looked downwards in disappointment. Without Inuyasha and the friends she made from the other ranks all gone, she didn't know what to do with herself. Just as she was about to ask Sesshomaru if he needed any assistance, he had already closed the door to her room. Blinking, Kagome wondered if Sesshomaru was in a rush to go somewhere since he left the room so quickly.

Kagome sat on her bed trying to think of what to do. Thinking out loud, Kagome muttered, "I wonder what demonesses do in their spare time."

She remembered that Chika and the other girls always talked about the art of dancing, painting, or music. Making a disapproving expression, she couldn't see herself enjoying any of their interests. Kagome began to pace around her room. She really wanted to ask Sesshomaru if she could assist him with something, anything. But, the memory of Sesshomaru's closeness replayed in her head making her blush again. Confused by the burning sensation that coursed through her body, she guessed it was because she was rarely that close to a male.

'Just think it was Inuyasha,' Kagome thought to herself. She hoped that the odd sensation would disappear if she thought it was Inuyasha instead of Sesshomaru. She never felt this way when Inuyasha touched her or neared her.

"Strange," she whispered as confusion deepened across her face. Forcing the odd sensation away, Kagome headed towards Sesshomaru's study room.

Knock knock.

Kagome winced at the weak sound of her knock. She had been more hesitant than she thought.

"Come in,"

Popping her head between the doors, she noticed Sesshomaru signing through several scrolls. Kagome hesitated before entering the room and closing the door behind her. Nearing his desk, Kagome asked, "I was wondering if you needed any assistance."

Noticing his shoulders tense, Sesshomaru's eyes briefly glanced at her as if burdened by her presence. Kagome second guessed her decision to come here after catching Sesshomaru's stare.

His stoic mask hardened unwaveringly.

Golden eyes blankly read through the scrolls.

A clawed hand massaged the side of his temple.

Kagome wasn't that oblivious to understand her presence was unwanted.

A searing pain consumed her.

Blue eyes unveiled both confusion and hurt by his distant actions. Forcing a smile on her face, she said with fake cheerfulness, "Ah, I almost forgot that I promised to help Emiko out with something. I'll come back tomorrow, Sesshomaru."

Quickly exiting the study, Kagome dropped her cheerful act.

Her smile faltered as her lips slightly quivered.

She headed straight for the flower field hoping that the place would calm her.

On her way to the flower field she began patting her chest near her heart.

Pat.

He was just really busy.

Pat.

She had just misunderstood his stare.

Pat.

She cared because he was just another important friend.

Standing before a ground covered with white lilies, Kagome inhaled deeply to capture the scent. She struggled to gently lie down on the green grass without straining her right shoulder. Soon facing the light blue sky, Kagome released a heavy sigh. Her uninjured hand reached up towards the clear blue sky. The sky didn't look so far by the way it looked now, yet Kagome knew how far the sky truly was.

'Sort of like Sesshomaru,' Kagome thought. He seemed so close one minute and then the next seemed so far.

He truly confused her sometimes.

But then a small smile tugged on her lips as she knew the difference Sesshomaru had with the sky.

The clouds cleared from the sun causing a beam of sunlight to warm her body from the cold ground. Gently closing her eyes, she continued to raise her hand towards the sky. An image of Sesshomaru lingered in her mind as she whispered softly, "I can reach him."

Though the sky could never be reached, Sesshomaru could be.

Feeling her raised arm numb from the lack of blood, her left arm fell to her side. Warm sunlight, the calming scent of flowers and the cool breeze of wind surrounded her senses. Soon enough, Kagome dozed off into a deep slumber as nature watched their Miko sleep with a warm smile.

It wasn't long until the wind that swirled around the slumbering Miko moved to swirl around an inuyoukai who had just entered the clearing.

The silky white material of the inuyoukai's haori rustled in the wind.

Black boots stood next to the slumbering Miko.

The white lilies swayed in the wind as if to wake their Miko to see who had come for her.

Instead, the inuyoukai tenderly gathered the unawaken Miko into his arms and picked her up from the ground.

Long bangs casted a dark shadow upon the inuyoukai's face for his head was lowered to look at the Miko in his arms.

The wind swirled past the two figures.

Suddenly, all of nature witnessed the inuyoukai's bangs float away to see regret portrayed behind his golden eyes.

Silently, the inuyoukai carried the Miko and headed towards her room.

A silent apology with his silent actions.

While the Miko dreamed of one day reaching the cold inuyoukai, she didn't realize that the distance had indeed slightly closed.

Author's Note: Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this chapter! A significant moment for the two and I hoped I portrayed its beauty deservingly.

Thank you for reading,

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