Sesshoumaru had dedicated a significant amount of time to meticulous research in preparation of this evening. He had learned as much as he could about the human diet, a subject to which he had previously devoted very few thoughts. He had searched far and wide and consulted a lot of people to find out what kind of dishes were considered to be coveted delicacies, what kind of ingredients he would need to obtain. Locating and, hrmh, acquiring a prestigious chef had also required considerable effort on his part.
A pedantic purist might argue that he ought to prepare everything he intended to serve by his own hand, but Sesshoumaru was of the opinion that hiring help was a perfectly adequate way to establish his prowess of meeting the needs of his mate-to-be. He had procured the seafood and game personally, and with care. And while he hadn’t put time in gathering the vegetables and fruit and rice, they all had been cultivated and harvested on his lands. Just another way to prove he would be able to provide for that special someone he wanted to share his life with.
His fervent hope was that by the end of tonight, she would agree to do so.
The guests would start to arrive soon and Sesshoumaru would need to be on his best and most polite behaviour—even with Inuyasha. He also was not yet certain whether his mother would be in attendance or not, and was likewise undecided whether her potential absence would be more of an insult or a relief. But for now, he pushed all thoughts of his guest list aside and stalwartly ignored the persistent prickling of nerves. Instead, he focused on what he could control in this moment: the banquet itself.
Just finished rereading These Cruel Delights its so good! Would ever consider updating it again?
hey anon, this is probably a crazy late reply. I've been on a bit of an accidental haitus for the past year. I keep meaning to update and then inevitably life gets busy. My hope is to update yes. I don't want to give time frame cause knowing me and my area of work things are bound to get hectic but I do really want to update. Sorry for the delay and also for the silence.
SessKag Week 2025, Day 1 — Weather
Prompt: Rainstorm
Rated G
540 words
Read on AO3
---
The morning had been full of sunshine, such a beautiful summer’s day she couldn’t bear staying inside. Earlier, when she was leaving the village, a few scattered drops splattered her. She didn’t think much of it. The cool, soft touch of the rain was refreshing, actually, she had mused, like a right idiot.
Now the skies have opened. The world has turned grey and the heavy fall of rain all around her blurs all its edges like a filmy curtain. The rain pours down, relentless, and though she’s on a familiar path, it’s hard to make her way. Not only because of the poor visibility, but because she’s absolutely drenched. The fabric of her hakama is soaked through, hanging heavy from her hips and clinging to her legs with every step as she hurries down the road. She knows she doesn’t have far to go, but right now it feels like her home might as well be an ocean away. She’s pretty sure there is as much water between her and her destination currently, anyway.
Kagome grits her teeth and tries to pick up her pace. Cold is starting to seep in. Raindrops cling to her lashes as she tries to squint through the downpour. Her foot slips and Kagome swears under her breath. The path is becoming muddy. Worrying about turning an ankle is the last thing she needs right now. Still, she hurries on, picturing the reward awaiting for her when she reaches her destination. Dry clothes. Warm fire. A steaming cup of tea. A blanket over her shoulders and a roof over her head. Roofs are definitely underrated, Kagome decides.
Ahead, there’s a sudden flash of light. Kagome yelps and stumbles back a step. She half expects to hear the rumble of thunder, but the low, dark sound that cuts through the static rush of the rain is a growl. Her spine growing rigid, Kagome blinks water out of her eyes—and there, blocking her path stands a still, white figure.
A familiar, pissed off white figure, if the growling is anything to go by.
“Sesshoumaru!” Kagome cries out. She clutches her chest, torn between relief and alarm.
“Miko.” He snarls. “What is the meaning of this?”
She knows she’s in trouble, but irritation still sparks inside her at the implied accusation.
“The meaning of what?”
He grits his teeth, jaw tight. “Why are you out in the rain?”
“I didn’t know there was a storm coming! The rain took me by surprise.”
“And why did you not seek shelter when it began?”
“Seek shelter where, exactly?” Kagome retorts, tossing a glare at the field around them. “It didn’t feel like the rain would stop any time soon and I didn’t want to wait it out. I just want to get home.”
Before she has the time to even blink, those strong, clawed hands are wrapping around her. Cradled to his chest, his firm grip secure on her shoulder, something inside her settles. Kagome closes her eyes and presses herself closer to his chest. He’s so warm! How is he always so warm?
“Come then, mate,” he murmurs in her ear before placing a quick kiss on the rain-slicked skin of her throat. “Let’s get you home.”
SessKag Week 2025, Day 5 — Autumn
Prompt: A Hike in the Mountains
Rated T
900 words
Read on AO3.
---
Sesshoumaru grows restless in the autumn. He’s not sure what it is about the season that pulls at him. Perhaps the anticipation and retaliation to winter growing nearer is what incites an urgent yearning to run out into the wild. When he inhales the morning air on his engawa and detects that tell-tale crisp autumn coolness, it is a shock to his system. The maw of yearning gapes open, catching him in its teeth. The walls around him become a cage and on pure instinct, he leaves.
It’s early October now. The trees are still mostly green but he’s starting to see a bit of colour popping up here and there. The day is sunny but up in the mountains the air is already cool and he breathes it in deep, eyes closed. The scent of prey tickles his nose and Sesshoumaru flexes his wrist as he opens his eyes. He slinks close to the ground and follows the track, careful to stay upwind. He walks through the mountain forest on silent feet and soon sees his quarry.
A lone serow is enjoying its afternoon meal, its bushy grey-brown fur spotted in the sun. Slow and sure, Sesshoumaru stalks closer to the goat-antelope until he’s within 20 feet of the oblivious animal. He stops, shielded from sight by a tree and plants his feet to the ground. He positions himself on instinct for that explosive sprint that’s soon to follow. He can already feel the serow’s flesh yield to his claws, smell the blood in the air.
The animal’s head snaps up. It takes one skittish step and Sesshoumaru shifts his weight, ready to move. There’s a rush in the air, a dull thwack. The scent of blood hits Sesshoumaru’s nostrils and his eyes narrow on the arrow embedded into the animal’s side. The serow lets out a snort and takes two running steps. Then Sesshoumaru is there, his hands around the animal’s neck. One quick twist and the stocky creature flops to the ground.
Sesshoumaru yanks out the arrow and holds it delicately in his claws as he studies it. Rushing footsteps approach him somewhere to his right but he ignores them for now. No longer focused on the animal he was tracking, his logic wars with what his senses are screaming at him. It is not fathomable. He should not recognise the arrow. The scent in the air should not be familiar to him.
She should not be here, over 60 ri away from her home village.
But almost as soon as the thought crosses his mind, the footsteps halt.
"Sesshoumaru!”
He turns his head and finds her standing there beside him, her blue eyes warm and her smile bright. She is dressed as a priestess, her bow slung over her shoulder.
“I didn’t expect to see you here! Thanks for your help!”
He should probably say something in response. Question what she is doing up here in the mountains and why she appears to be on her own. But words are failing him. The miko has turned her back to him and has focused on the serow on the ground.
She rolls it to its back and then there’s a knife in her hand. Sesshoumaru blinks as she makes the first deft cut through the thick fur up the sternum, parting the hide. She flips the knife and then cuts down, through the flesh, until she comes to the stomach.
She glances over her shoulder at him. “Do you want any of the organs?”
“I… what?”
Even though he’s staring at her every movement, Sesshoumaru is having a hard time making sense of what he’s seeing.
“Ok, I’ll just be careful when I scoop it all out,” the miko murmurs to herself. Then, she’s actually humming as she’s splitting the animal apart.
He tilts his head, oddly fascinated by the sight of the priestess field dressing the serow carcass.
Several minutes later she is straightening up and grinning at him, her hands bloody after scooping out the animal’s innards. It is a side of the miko Sesshoumaru’s never seen before and he doesn’t understand why he doesn’t seem able to look away.
“I saved you the heart and the liver, if you want them,” she says.
“Thank you,” Sesshoumaru replies, inclining his head. He should not read too much into the significance of the miko sharing her kill with him. He’s fairly certain she is simply being her friendly human self. But a traitorous part of him at the back of his mind has already latched onto the possibility; considering its merits.
“My camp’s not too far away,” the miko tells him as she cleans her knife. “Would you mind giving me a hand with this guy?”
Sesshoumaru picks up the animal and sets out after the miko. She flashes him a quick smile of thanks over her shoulder but even after she faces away from him, his gaze lingers. It touches her bow. It’s caught by the dark hair spilling down her back. It travels down to rest in the sway of her hips as she briskly walks up the mountain path.
A resolve swells from deep within as Sesshoumaru follows after Kagome. He flexes the wrist of his free hand. Hones in on her scent. Moves with quiet deliberation, all his senses focused on a single point.
SessKag Week 2025, Day 4 — Summer
Prompt: Fireworks
Rated M
575 words
Read on AO3.
---
The low whirr of the air conditioner is soothing. It’s cool enough in the room for her skin to actually pebble. Kagome sighs in bliss. She has spent so many summers of her life suffering and sweating in the sweltering heat. The summer she was pregnant with Shin was the worst of them all. She was pretty sure she’d threatened to knee Sesshoumaru in the balls if she ever was due in August again.
The best summers, however… There were plenty of those, too. Her favourite ones were the ones where they’d escaped the heat to their seaside cottage. She could picture herself there even now: toes sinking into warm sand, cool ocean breeze kissing her skin, the hum of waves filling her ears.
Kagome smiles at her reflection, then looks out the panoramic floor to ceiling window into the city spreading around and below them. Tomorrow, they will be down there, lost in the crowd of people. Meeting Shin and his family, going to the summer festival together as has become their tradition. She is looking forward to it.
But she’s also glad to have this evening of peace and quiet—and the glory of air conditioning—before the awaiting chaos tomorrow.
Kagome hears the shower finally cut off. A moment later, the bathroom door slides open.
There’s a dull boom in the distance and glittering colours burst on the darkening summer sky. Their top floor condo really is one of the best vantage points to watch the show, she muses, the second flash illuminating everything green for a few fleeting seconds. The view and the convenience are why they bought the place, after all.
Behind her, there’s a fall of footsteps and a faint rustle. Then, he is there, his bare chest brushing her back as he nuzzles her neck. Kagome tilts her head with a soft sigh. Strands of his wet hair slide over her shoulder and down her arm as he drags the points of his fangs down the side of her throat. Goose-flesh blooms over her skin and her breath hitches in her throat. She feels him smile just before his teeth sink into the juncture of her neck.
Heat doesn’t pool low in her belly; it flares bright and rushes over her whole body like a tidal wave. Her back arches and her eyes fall shut. Afterimages of the bright colours splatter on the insides of her lids. Sparks go off in other parts of her body, especially when his deft fingers find her tightened nipples. He’s passed on the towel: she feels the delicious press of his hardness against her lower back.
“Admiring the fireworks?” Sesshoumaru murmurs into her ear, teeth grazing the lobe.
“I was,” Kagome replies. “And waiting for you.” She rolls her hips against him with slow deliberation, earning a growl in response.
The flex of his arm, tightly banded around her waist, is her only warning before she’s literally swept off her feet. Kagome shrieks in surprise.
“Well then,” Sesshoumaru purrs, his hooded golden eyes burning into hers, “must not keep my mate waiting.”
She bursts into laughter as he strides across the room.
As they tumble into bed, as she hooks her leg around his hips and pulls him close, as he sinks into her, his hands roaming to worship every curve, Kagome marvels her luck. How wondrous it is, that even after all these years, these decades, these centuries… there are fireworks.
SessKag Week 2025, Day 3 — Spring
Prompt: Hanami picnic
Rated G
740 words
Read on AO3.
---
Kagome closes her eyes for a moment and tilts her face towards the blue sky. For a few long silent seconds, she basks in the cheery brightness of the spring sun. There’s always something so refreshing and hopeful in sitting in a spot of sunlight on a beautiful spring day. She doesn’t do it often enough, these days.
A visceral wave of longing crashes in her chest, breaking into bubbles of wistfulness. The long-gone days of her adventurous youth had been wrought with ever-present threat of mortal peril…But in many ways life had been much simpler back then, travelling with her friends all over Japan, with a single goal to focus on. There are a lot of things about those days she’s glad to leave in the past, but others—oh, the others she sometimes yearns for so much that her whole body aches.
Her mother’s soft laugh brings Kagome back to the present. She grabs a handful of grapes from one of the many containers spread out on the picnic blanket, and smiles at her family. It’s been too long since they last had an outing like this, all four of them. The demands of her job keep her busy. Souta is studying at the university. Grandpa doesn’t leave the house that much, anymore. Age has started to exact its toll on his health and energy.
Kagome’s lips curl into a humourless smile. Time has always been her greatest enemy.
But here and now, they’re all gathered to admire the gorgeous pink clouds of sakura blossoms, sitting under the delicate canopy of stretching cherry tree branches. So Kagome teases Souta and pours her grandpa another cup of tea. She hugs her mother and eats the onigiri she made and soaks up every precious moment she has with her family. She learned early not to take her loved ones for granted; that the time she got to spend with them had its limit.
All too soon, comes the time for goodbyes. She helps her mother pack up the leftovers as Souta helps grandpa up. She hugs her family goodbye and watches them leave the park, grandpa flanked by mother and Souta both. Then, she sighs and starts to roll up the picnic blanket.
The wind stirs, rattling the branches overhead and soft pink petals fall around her like gentle raindrops. A spark, buried deep in a now-forgotten corner of her body bursts aflame and a shiver skitters down Kagome’s spine. Her hands fall, the picnic blanket slipping through her numb fingers. Her head snaps up, the fine hairs at the back of her neck stirring in an instinctual warning.
Her heartbeat is too fast and erratic, thumping in her ears as her startled gaze sweeps the park and the many groups of people who have come out to view the cherry blossoms. She can’t see anything out of her ordinary. Could she have imagined it? Conjured up the sensation she hasn’t felt wash over her in years? Her stomach feels heavy, teetering between dread and the fragile wings of a foolish hope.
A hand clamps on her shoulder. Kagome jumps and whirls around.
Time slows and narrows the moment she meets the golden gaze. She stares at his face, uncomprehending, for one brief eternity. How is he here? Is this happening for real? He looks completely different from the regal warrior of her memories, but the eyes staying steady on hers are achingly familiar.
Kagome would recognise them anywhere.
Her fingers find and latch onto the lapels of his suit jacket. The world blurs, as the sob wracks its way up her throat and the tears start to fall. His name is a soft, muffled mantra mindlessly falling from her lips.
“Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru! Sesshoumaru…”
He wraps an arm securely around her shoulder, cradles her cheek with his hand. His thumb brushes one of her tears away. The gesture takes Kagome by surprise. She would never had guessed he was capable of such tenderness.
His low voice is warmer than she’s ever heard it before, when he finally speaks right into her ear.
“Well met, Miko.”
With that simple greeting, Kagome’s tears turn to laughter. Her heart is too full for her chest, bright and overflowing.
“Hi,” she whispers, smiling luminously as he leans in.
The kiss he presses to her forehead is softer than a cherry blossom petal and more precious than all the blooming trees around them combined.
