Tether by Yukari Youkai

What I Feared

The night is darkening round me,

The wild winds coldly blow;

But a tyrant spell has bound me,

And I cannot, cannot go.

--The Night Is Darkening Around Me, Emily Jane Brontë -

Her smile wrenched into a twisted smirk.

"What have you done?" There was no reply. He grunted and pushed off the chair. Her smirk, if feasible, widened. He glared and walked in direction of the door, then collapsed.

Calmly, happily, she walked to his side. "Are you in pain?" she whispered, not trying to hide her glee. He stared up at her, scoffing then grimacing.

"I...can..." he muttered, pulling himself to the door, "...overcome...this..."

"No, you can't." she called to him, her voice losing all malice, "You will die first."

Sesshoumaru halted, turning his amber eyes on the somber woman behind him. "What spell have you cast wench?"

Her eyes glittered again, her lips pulling upward. "It is called a tether. Do you like it?"

"A tether." Sesshoumaru echoed.

"Yes my lovely Taiyoukai, a tether."

"You will release me."

"I will do no such thing."

The Taiyoukai growled.

The Miko smiled.

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"Eat."

"..."

"Please?"

"...Lowered to begging Miko?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to eat, then fine."

The Taiyoukai growled. "Don't condescend to me."

The Miko sighed, rubbing at her temples in a frustrated manner. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru...sama."

This proved to be enough for the demon and he set into his meal with poorly hidden glee.

The Miko sighed again.

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"Are you hungry?"

"Ravenous."

"For what?"

A pause. "...Freedom."

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"Where are you taking me?"

"I'm out of food. We have to go to the market." She turned to smile.

He frowned. "Do you mean to show the world your dominance?"

Her smile faltered. "Show...my dominance?"

He stalked up to her, grasping her chin in his hand. "You cannot fool me Miko, I know your lies. You have a spell on me, do you not?"

Her eyes fluttered shut, her breathing became forced. Sesshoumaru tilted her chin upward, his voice a deadly whisper. "Do you not?"

"It is...It has...no power any longer."

Sesshoumaru's breath caught in his throat.

"It never really had any power..."

He backed away. "But what about...?"

Her eyes opened slowly, and Sesshoumaru saw his reflection.

"I just made you heavier."

"And your words?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Worked to their purpose; you really believed there was a spell."

Sesshoumaru, former Taiyoukai, collapsed.

Kagome fell as well, her fists grabbing at the grass as if the world was tilting.

"When you hurt, I hurt. What you feel, I feel. I wanted you to stay with me, if only for a time. Don't you see, Sesshoumaru? I-"

Sesshoumaru rose and had Kagome's throat in his hands in an instant. Yes, he still had his speed. He was still a demon, no matter what 'spell' he was under.

"This was all an illusion Miko? This spell... this tether was all a lie?"

Kagome blinked, looking down at the Taiyoukai. The gleam in his eye reminded her what he really was, never mind the peasant's apparel, nor the slightly broken look he wore when she told him the truth, he was still a demon. Always a demon.

"All the time I have spent under you, all the time that you have been my superior... It was all a lie." He spat, grasping her throat tighter.

"..." Kagome wanted to fade into the wind.

"Was it?" he rasped, squeezing tighter.

Did she fear him now? Yes. She could think it without regret. She had tried to capture the wind. What a fool she was.

"Yes..."

She could feel something break in the moment between them.

"Nng..."

He dropped her as if she was the fire that burned him. And she was.

Kagome tumbled, watching him glare at her. The sound he made... he was in pain. Worse, she had created it. It was all her fault.

She deserved the pain.

Not even bothering to rub at her throat, she continued what she tried to tell him before.

"If I could take it back, I wouldn't."

He looked down at her coldly, gathering his regal façade. When she looked up at him, she smiled crookedly, letting herself cry a little. "I've been horribly selfish, haven't I?"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as a breeze blew, gently combing his hair. There was a long silence. Kagome held to the grass as if it was the only tie that kept her from falling. And maybe it was.

Sesshoumaru took several decisive steps toward her, until he was close enough to count the tears that fell from her eyes. When he spoke, his words were soft.

"...For the first time, I don't know whether or not to kill you."

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The End?