History Lessons by shadowcat

Prologue- Several Months Before

History Lessons

Prologue- Several Months Before

After many arguments, sits from Kagome, swearing from Inu Yasha, shouts from Sango, and gropes from Miroku (although one can't be sure where the touching fit in), they had agreed to ask Sesshoumaru to help them find and kill Naraku. Kagome promised they could leave immediately after she came back, and left for home 2 days ago to stock up on supplies and such.

Frankly, she was worried that Inu Yasha might do something stupid in her absence, such as trying to kill his half-brother the moment he laid his eyes on him despite their decision, and she was right.

Kagome threw her huge yellow bag up the well and climbed after it. When she emerged, she found Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru facing each other, swords drawn.

"I'm gonna kill you, bastard!" Inu Yasha yelled at his brother.

"Dear brother, you may try, yet again. But I doubt you will be able to even lay a finger on this Sesshoumaru"

Sesshoumaru's face showed no emotion, but Kagome noticed the blood stain on his haori and hair. 'He's hurt', she thought.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Inu Yasha spat

"That is none of your concern, half-breed"

"Don't call me half-breed!" Inu Yasha ran at Sesshoumaru, Tetsaiga at the ready.

"KAZE NO KIZ-"

"NO!" Kagome screamed and ran between them without a moment of hesitation. She stood in front of Sesshoumaru with her arms outstretched. "INU YASHA! STOP!"

"Kagome!" he managed to pull back just in time, but a tiny, weak version of his wind scar slashed at Kagome, giving her several wounds all along her body.

"ARGH!" she fell back, not realizing that she was leaning her back on Sesshoumaru. She clutched at her shoulder, wincing.

"Inu Yasha, you moron! What are you doing?"

"I should ask you the same thing. Get out of the way!" he lunged at the two, one looking bored and one pained and frustrated.

"Osuwari" Inu Yasha fell on the ground.

"What was that for?"

"Baka! We are supposed to ask him to help us, not attack him! Did you forget already?"

"Feh. We don't need him, I can kill Naraku on my own"

"You don't stand a chance all alone. We need him"

"Kagome-chan is right, Inu Yasha," said Sango. She, Miroku, and Shippo had arrived on Kirara when they heard yelling, just in time to see Kagome sit him. "So far we haven't even been able to find him without him coming after us first."

"We WOULD have, if Kagome could use her pathetic powers properly. She can't even sense him."

"Inu Yasha," said Miroku sharply. "If it weren't for Lady Kagome, we couldn't have collected any Shikon shards."

"She scattered it in the first place. It's her fault. Besides, we could get Kikyo and she'd find them much faster, without being so weak and puny that she needs to be constantly protected."

There was a long silence.

"Inu Yasha..." Kagome bowed her head so that her bangs covered her eyes. Her shoulders shook slightly, and Sesshoumaru could smell salt water, and no doubt Inu Yasha could as well.

'Strange ningen,' he thought. 'Why did she stop my filthy brother from fighting this Sesshoumaru? Was she trying to protect this Sesshoumaru? This Sesshoumaru does not need this weak ningen to protect nor stand up for him'

Before he could say anything, however, Kagome's anger exploded.

"YOU JERK! FINE! GO, THEN! GO GET YOUR PRECIOUS DEAD SOUL AND LETS SEE HOW YOU TWO CAN BEAT NARAKU OH-SO-AMAZINGLY! SHE'S THE ONE WHO STOLE THE SHIKON SHARDS FROM ME AND TRIED TO KILL ME, NOT TO MENTION GIVING THE WHOLE CHUNK TO NARAKU, BUT OH, WHY HAVEN'T WE THOUGHT OF ASKING HER TO HELP US SOONER? HOW INCREDILY STUPID OF ME TO THINK WE SHOULD ASK SESSHOUMARU INSTEAD!" she was breathing heavily from her injuries and shouting.

She took her weight off of Sesshoumaru with a grunt (for which he was relieved. She was starting to make him smell like human blood), and turned around to face him. "Lord Sesshoumaru," she began. Then, as if remembering something, turned around and looked back at Inu Yasha, who was glaring at her.

"Oh, and Inu Yasha" she said cheerfully. "Osuwari" with a glow from the beads around his neck, Inu Yasha face planted himself again.

"You bi-" however, he was never to finish his sentence

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME? OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OOOOOO-SOOOOOO-WAAAAAH-RIIIIIIII!" By the time she finished with a huff, there was a large hole in the ground, 20 feet deep with Inu Yasha in the middle, unconscious and covered in dirt.

"Humph. What was I saying...? Oh yea. Lord Sesshoumaru" she turned back at the much more mannered inuyoukai, who quickly hid his amusement from his eyes as she look at them. "I have proposal to make." He simply raised a delicate eyebrow.

Kagome took that as a sign to go on and continued, "Will you come with us and find Naraku, and kill him?"

"This Sesshoumaru knows of Naraku" he replied after a moment. "He is a threat to his lands and of those under his command. This Sesshoumaru accepts, human, on 2 conditions"

"Name them"

"That you will follow this Sesshoumaru's lead and obey every command he gives"

Miroku and Sango rolled their eyes in the background.

"Okay" Kagome said "By the way,"

He raised an eyebrow again. It was starting to get on her nerves. Didn't the guy do anything else when she talked to him?

"You won't, erm, kill any of my friends or my kit. Or hurt them intentionally" she said nervously

"This Sesshoumaru will not harm any of your weak human companions. At least," he smirked "Until Naraku is destroyed. Then you will suffer depending on how well you treat this Sesshoumaru, wench." He started to walk away.

Miroku and Sango got big sweat drops on their heads.

"Hey!" she limped over and turned him around with her hand on his shoulder. "What's your problem? They have as much reason to fight against Naraku as you do, and you can't keep treating them this way, just because they're humans! And my name is KA-GO-ME. Their names are SAN-GO and MI-RO-KU. Okay?"

Sesshoumaru looked like he couldn't care less. He didn't know what 'okay' was supposed to mean either. He walked away, talking with his back to her.

"Wench, tell your friends and my idiot brother that we leave on the morrow. Meet here, at sunrise. And this Sesshoumaru suggests" his eyes flickered down Kagome's body, who wearing her usual school uniform "that you discard these rags you call clothes"

"Why you..." But she knew he was right. She should probably change into her miko clothing. "Fine. Whatever. Ja Ne, Sesshoumaru"

Sesshoumaru grabbed her arm and forced her around as she started heading back to the village.

In a blink of and eye Kagome found herself lifted a good couple of feet in the air by a claw around her neck.

"Kagome!" Sango and Miroku hurried over.

"If you value your pathetic life, you will address this Sesshoumaru as Lord Sesshoumaru or Sessshoumaru-sama, wench, for he is a taiyoukai above any of you filthy humans and deserves respect even from the likes of you"

'Jee, I never knew this guy was so stuck up,' Kagome thought, gasping for breath.

"My name is not wench, bitch, human, weakling, or whatever you like to call Inu Trasha" –she thought she saw his lips twitch a little- "If you want respect, you have to earn it. I'm not addressing you properly if you won't even use my name"

He smirked and dropped her before Sango or Miroku could reach her, and crumpled to the ground with a cry of pain. Sesshoumaru looked sharply over at the miko. He knew she got the full blow of Kaze no Kizu, although it had been a very weak, incomplete one.

She was a confusing girl. She didn't seem to fear him at all. Somehow, it amused him to see someone stand up to him so confidently.

He knelt down by her side as Kagome lay in a small puddle of her own blood that had dripped from her deep, wide cuts on her body, limbs, and several nasty gashes on her face and head.

"Miko-"

"Kagome!" she snapped, annoyed. She looked at him, trying to blink out the blood from her eyes coming from a cut on her forehead.

He ignored her outburst. "Why did you jump in front of this Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome looked confused for a moment. "Oh" she said remembering "Because I wanted you to work with us, and you're hurt, aren't you?"

He got up as Sango and Miroku reached her and stood up. "Next time do not do such a foolish thing. This Sesshoumaru does not need your help" He summoned his youkai cloud below his feet and was gone in a flash

"Mou! What got stuck up his butt?"

"Kagome-chan, are you alright?" Sango got on her knees and helped her friend stand up

"What happened?" Miroku asked "Did Sesshoumaru attack you? You're these wounds seem pretty bad"

"Oh no, he didn't- I mean, Inu Yasha..." she trailed off. Should she tell them what happened? It was her fault she got hurt, after all "I saw him attacking Sesshoumaru with his Wind Scar, so I sort of jumped in between them..."

"YOU WHAT?"

"Kagome, are you insane? You could have died!"

"It's alright, Inu Yasha pulled back just in time" Kagome tried walking, but her legs gave out. "Ouch..." Sango summoned Kirara and helped Kagome on to her back

"Mama, does it hurt?" Shippo asked with teary eyes as they flew away, leaving Inu Yasha behind.

"I'm fine, Shippo. I'll get Kaede to take a look at these when we get back. She might be able to heal me before tomorrow"

"What's tomorrow?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. Well, Sesshoumaru accepted our offer, and he wants us to meet back there tomorrow morning" she snorted "Did you guys hear what he was saying? "I am lord almighty, you will do whatever I say, bow down to me!'"

They all laughed

"But I'm surprised that he agreed so willingly and quickly" said Miroku

"I'm not complaining" said Kagome "we had absolutely no luck so far in this stupid battle against Naraku. The only times wemanage tofind him is if he wants us to.Sesshoumaru should speed up the process... a lot"

Sango nodded. "He's a strong youkai. I think we stand a good chance against Naraku, and saving Kohaku too..."

"Don't worry, Sango. We'll get your brother back"

They landed in front of Kaede's hut, just as Inu Yasha reappeared. He looked abashed as he looked at Kagome.

"Kagome, I..." she looked at him. There was hurt and worry in his eyes and his ears were drooping like a sick puppy's. Kagome smiled at him.

"It's alright, Inu Yasha. I'm fine" Inu Yasha bowed his head. It hurt Kagome to see him so down. "Ne, can you help me? I don't feel like moving"

"Sure, Kagome" Inu Yasha helped her down, and picked her up, walking in to the hut to find Kaede.

Miroku and Sango exchanged significant glances.

"What?" Shippo asked, confused at the look on their faces.

"Nothing, Shippo" Sango said. "We'd better get ready for tomorrow"

That is how Sesshoumaru joined them. However, unknowingly, a pair of golden eyes have been witnessing the entire incident. 'Strange ningen' he thought. 'She forgives him so easily after he almost slaughtered her to piece. This Sesshoumaru must study their behaviors more carefully...' With that he flew off once again. He looked down at his haori, as it became stiff with dry blood. Already the wound was beginning to heal itself. Although he would never admit it, he had come seeking out the alliance of the priestess. Sesshoumaru only took on the load of four others because he knew she would never leave them, nor they her, but in truth, he was certain that the priestess was the only thing he needed to rid the world of Naraku once and for all.