The Lord of the Moon by C.Nichole

Ghosts of the past.

Didn't want to be your ghost

Didn't want to be anyone's ghost

But I don't want anybody else

I don't want anybody else

The National, Anyone's Ghost

~LotM~

500 years in the past…

A girl makes a wish, but her heart makes another.

A lord who served only his own desires is beholden to a goddess,

And a goddess conspires to change her fate.

~LotM~

She just needed some time to think—yes, that was it.

Time to think over Inuyasha's proposal.

It was everything she'd ever wanted, wasn't it? Finally, Yasha's complete attention and devotion, all for her. Or was it? With Kikyo gone, nothing stood in the way of their relationship.

But if that was the case, why did everything feel so forced? Why, instead of feeling happy at Inuyasha's public declaration, did she feel a little embarrassed and sad?

Why couldn't she get the image of his brother—eyebrow raised at Inuyasha's behaviour, eyes faintly mocking—out of her head?

What the hell did he know, anyways? It wasn't any of Sesshoumaru’s business! And just because they were allies, didn't mean he had the right to judge anything that she did.

And she hadn't even done anything. Just sat there, shocked, with a stupid smile plastered to her face.

Of course, everyone had been thrilled—Sango and Miroku gave their hearty congratulations; Shippou had grumbled something about it taking long enough—even Kaede had seemed pleased.

Everyone was excited, except Kagome.

That night, she'd wandered away from the village to think. At least, that's what she thought she was doing.

Somehow she found herself right back at the well.

Sitting at the edge of the well, he’d found her there.

It'd probably be the last time she'd see him for a long time; now that Rin was living with Kaede in the village, she didn't think Sesshoumaru would intrude much on his ward's human life.

Kagome had pretended not to notice him, though his aura always had been too big to ignore.

Sesshoumaru had always been a constant source of curiosity for her. It's a wonder he'd never noticed—she'd never been very subtle about it. He was so ancient, so majestic—so cold.

The complete opposite of Inuyasha.

Yasha loved her—told her so, but she didn't know if she loved him anymore.

Well, not really—she'd always love him, but was it romantic anymore?

She'd been finding herself wanting more, found herself looking for more, and not with Inuyasha. She'd always know that, no matter how small, some part of him would always see Kikyo when he looked at her. She didn't blame him for it, their destinies had been entwined for so long, it would be impossible for her to look at herself without seeing that residue, but did she want someone for whom she had to make excuses? Someone with whom she'd never truly just be Kagome?

Kagome sighed. Sesshoumaru had been standing there for long enough that it would have been rude for her to not acknowledge him.

"Hi, Sesshoumaru. I thought you left?" Kagome said, not bothering to look in his direction.

He stood there silent, as if saying, “Obviously not.”

As taciturn as ever—as Kagome had assumed he would be. She wasn’t even sure why she’d bothered saying anything, it’s not like he’d have a conversation with her. They'd never really been friends, and they'd spent most of their time together as enemies...and yet, he stood with her. Silent. It was almost comforting.

But Kagome had never been good with long silences and eventually it became too much for her, so she asked, “Are you leaving for good this time?”

“Hnn,” he'd softly replied, not volunteering more.

Vaguely surprised that he'd answered her, she pried for more information, “Time to say goodbye to Rin?”

"No," his deep voice rumbled; she was surprised, what else could he be here for? She turned to finally look at him. He was without his armor, though his swords hung at his side. His kimono was impeccable and almost seemed to glimmer with the light of the moon and his thick, white, pelt hung, seemingly of its own accord, over his shoulder.

She'd decided, almost from the first moment she'd seen him, that he was too pretty. It was Inuyasha's ruggedness that had initially drawn her to him—he was just so raw, and earthy; he was appealing on an almost base level.

But Sesshoumaru. He was perfection. And then they'd cut off his arm.

It had almost humanized him in her mind—almost.

He subtly shifted under her scrutiny and a flash of metal and stones caught her eye—a pendant hung around his neck. Where had he gotten that from?

A glare from him made her think better of asking.

“Well, why are you here?” She shifted her weight on the side of the well and flipped her legs around— almost ready to hop back onto the ground.

But she never gotten the chance.

In a blur of movement, too fast for her human eyes to follow, Sesshoumaru caged her against the side of the well. His tall body looming over hers menacingly, the wood of the well digging into her back. He threaded a hand into her hair—tight, pulling her backwards, forcing her to lean precariously over the edge.

“Sesshoumaru!” she gasped in surprise. “What are you doing? Let me go!” Kagome tried to struggle, but he was far too strong for her. She considered harnessing her holy powers, but that would only propel her into the well.

Down and through and into her own time.

She’d been debating what to do—where to go before, but now it seemed like the decision had been taken from her—but why? Why would he want her back in her own time? Why could she possibly matter to him?

Sesshoumaru leaned into her, her head forced against his chest, and breathed deeply.

What is going on? Kagome thought, puzzled, frightened. She forced her head up, her hair pulling sharply where he’d gripped her, and looked at him.

His eyes seemed confused—not an emotion she was used to seeing on his face. She’d try reasoning with him. She couldn’t let her life be decided by the whims of another, not again. “Please, Sesshoumaru. Just let me go.”

He seemed to shake his head slightly, almost as if he realized what he’d been about to do, the hand in her hair relaxing.

Kagome tried to wiggle to safety, but instead he moved his head down to grip her neck and hold her body close. He caged her in and pulled her tight. Kagome could feel his breath against her neck, feel his lips against her skin with the rumble of his words, “I can't,” he said, almost to himself.

Kagome had to force herself not to shiver with fear and yet…

“What?” Kagome said, confused. “Can't what? Just let me go, Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha never has to know about this.”

It was the wrong thing to say. His body tensed against hers, the words seeming to galvanize him, golden eyes fierce—otherworldly.

The tips of his claws scraped against her scalp, he growled out, “In the name of my goddess, I remit you from this place.”

What does he mean? Sesshoumaru….why?

“You won't…You can't take this from me,” she said harshly, the tears flowing freely down her face as she tried desperately to hold it together.

Sesshoumaru took one long look at her—seeming to take all of her in: the fear, the human frailty.

Weak…he thought to himself. Not worthy. But not worthy of what? Inuyasha? Why should it matter?

His decision made: It didn't

Her decision made: He wouldn’t take this place, its people from her, without a fight.

And Sesshoumaru pushed, finally within the grasp of the power he deserved…

And Kagome harnessed her power and wished…

And a goddess saw her past, present and future rolled into one moment and cackled with glee over how easily mortals and immortals alike could be bent to her will.

~LotM~

A/N- So, I have a huge obsession with Kagome/Sesshoumaru, which can be directly attributed to a lot of the great fiction over at Dokuga and on FFnet. Basically, if it's well written (and damn, are there some awesome IY writers out there) I'll read it—and so, the obsession.

Though, to be honest, it might be that I have a thing for stoic dudes with long, white hair... That's possibly it, but man! Do I love this pairing. So, this is something that I started a long, long, long...time ago. It's kind of at the bottom of my list of priorities, but I write as inspiration strikes, so... It's just here, because it's mine, and I might as well post it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

2015 edit. Holy shit. Seriously. Get posting, CNichole! Like, the world might end before you finish this one, okay. So I’m working my way through this again to get my bearings and edit out some of the mistakes (ya’ll are so kind to read it the way it was). Content wise, no changes. Grammar wise, oh yeah. I like to think I’m a better writer than when I first started this, so let’s go round two, fight!

XOXO Thanks for reading, as always.

And just in case it isn't clear—the lyrics at the beginning are from a song called: Anyone's Ghost, by the National—which is obviously not mine—just as Sesshoumaru, Kagome, and anyone else from Inuyasha are absolutely not my creations—just having fun with fanfiction and absolutely not making any money off of this. Big thanks to Rumiko Takahashi for making such obsession worthy characters.