Somewhere To Belong: Revelation

This time when Suko awoke, it was morning. She could hear birds chattering happily outside. She turned her face towards the small window to bask in the warm glow of the sunlight that filled the entire room. She got up and was about to walk outside, but paused when she overheard her name in a conversation. She quietly placed her ear to the door flap and listened.

"So, what do you make of all this?" Miroku asked Kaede.

"I'm not quite sure, but I'm beginning to believe that that pendant that she's wearing has some sort of link to Sesshomaru. Did you see the way he looked at it?"

"Yes. There obviously is some sort of connection there. I just wonder what it is," answered Miroku.

Suko slipped outdoors and was greeted with a nervous smile from Miroku.

"Good morning, Suko. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks. Have you seen Kagome?"

"She and Sango went to bathe in the spring down the hill. If you like, I can come with you," said a very hopeful Monk.

"That's all right. I think I can find it," said Suko, suspiciously. And she trailed off in the direction that Miroku had pointed in.

"Where is that spring?" Suko asked herself. "I should have run into it by now."

"You seem lost," came a voice from... where was it coming from? Suko looked all around... in the treetops, in the bushes, behind rocks... but she couldn't find where the voice was coming from.

"Are you looking for me?" came a familiar voice from behind her. She slowly turned around to come face to face with the beautiful stranger who had just tried to kill her only the night before.

"P-please, sir, I don't know what I've done to offend you, but I am truly sorry for whatever it was," she told him, her voice shaking with fear.

"Oh, stop your foolish quivering," he growled, "if I intended to kill you, I assure you, you would already be dead by now. What I want is my answers. Judging by the looks of your garments, you come from the same time period as Inuyasha's human wench, don't you?"

"Yes," Suko replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"And how did you get that necklace?" Sesshomaru asked.

"My Uncle gave it to me, sir. Right before I came here."

"You don't have the slightest idea what it truly is or where it came from, do you?" he asked.

Suko looked at him quizzically. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't know what you're talking about," she said, apologetically.

Sesshomaru looked off into the distance. Then, in a hushed voice, he said, "it's called a blood-stone..."

"Oh, I get it. It's called a blood-stone because it's the color of blood, right?" she interrupted.

Sesshomaru turned and looked at her with rage flashing in his golden eyes. "If you interrupt me again, I will cut out your tongue and laugh as I watch you eat it," he said, matter-of-factly. Suko gulped and decided she should keep her mouth shut.

"It's called a blood-stone because it contains actual blood. Demons who fall in love bind themselves to their mate by bleeding into the stone. It is said that as long as the stone exists, so will their bond. And it seems only proper that you should have it since you seem to be the reincarnate of Koharu."

"My Lord, please forgive me, but who's Koharu?" Suko asked, wondering if it was really such a good idea.

Again, he shifted his gaze off into the distance. Then he replied, " She was my mate."

Suko was completely confused. Again, she tempted fate by asking, " my Lord, if what you say is true then, why did you want to kill me?"

An infuriated Sesshomaru turned quickly and brought himself nose to nose with her. Suko couldn't help but notice his beauty. She had such an overwhelming desire to be near him, that, she didn't care if he could kill her.

"Know this, wench," he hissed as he backed her into a tree, "you may have her face and her scent, but you will never have her soul!"

Suko closed her eyes and turned her head away, not wanting to see the hateful rage in his eyes any longer. After a moment, she opened them again, only to find that he was gone again.





"Suko! Suko!" she heard Inuyasha calling her.

"I'm over here!" she called back. Suddenly, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and even Kaede appeared in the clearing before her.

"We got worried when Kagome and Sango came back without you," stated Miroku, " then, when they said you never even showed up at the spring, we decided to come and look for you. But, what's the matter? You look pale."

"I'm all right but there's something I need to tell all of you." And she sat herself down on the forest floor and told them all about her newest encounter with Sesshomaru.

"I see," said Kaede.

"So, do you think he's telling the truth?" Inuyasha asked the old woman.

"Hai. I don't think your brother would lie about something like that. Especially considering his actions last night," she replied.

"I don't get it. I thought Sesshomaru hated humans. Why then would he have taken one as his mate?" Inuyasha asked.

"I think there's more to Sesshomaru than what he let's on," Kaede answered.