InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Angel ❯ Welcome Home ( Chapter 52 )

Chapter Fifty-Two

Welcome Home

Month two of Kagome's pregnancy~

The sun was just beginning to rise. The trip back home had taken two days and half. Kagome stretched. She was glad to be home. Her bottom was starting to hurt. Ah-Un began to descend as the Western castle came into view.

Ah-Un edged closer to the main gates, intending to land right before the tall iron. Once the beasts' feet were firmly on the ground, Sesshomaru slid from its back before helping Kagome down. Kagome slid from Ah-Un's back, holding on to Sesshomaru's shoulders for balance. Sesshomaru stepped back. Reaching up to the sky, Kagome stretched her back with a sigh.

The gates opened before them and a soldier walked up to them, a stable boy right behind him.

The soldier stopped a few feet away, drawing himself up tall straight, hands down at his side.

He bowed in greeting.

"Welcome home, my Lord," he said.

Turning, he bowed to Kagome.

"Welcome home my Lady," he said.

Kagome smiled.

"Thank you very much," she replied.

The stable boy bowed as well, before walking over to Ah-Un. Familiar with the boy, Ah-Un nuzzled the small boy's cheek as he took up the reins and began to lead the beast away to the stables.

"You're very welcome my Lady," the soldier said with a smile.

Suddenly, the soldier looked up at the sky, his eyes widening in shock. Sesshomaru, knowing what the soldier was gawking at, said nothing as he walked past the stunned soldier, his clawed hand pressing Kagome forward into the castle.

Kagome made no protest as she was led through the gates. She wanted to stay behind but knew it was not best to press him at the moment.

Besides, she was a bit tired.

As soon as she entered the castle, Shusui came rushing down the stairs.

"Kagome-sama!" she said.

Kagome sighed inwardly. She was sure she would be scolded once Shusui found out what the physician had said, let alone why she had had to see the physician in the first place. She was glad to see Shusui; she really was but Lord help her she did not feel like being scolded!

"Shusui," she said with a nervous smile, as Shusui took her hands in her own.

"Welcome home. Are you feeling well, dear?"

Kagome nodded.

"Yes, I feel fine, thank you. And yourself?"

"I am just fine, thank you Kagome-sama,"

"Shusui,"

Shusui turned to Sesshomaru.

"Yes Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Kagome is to be seen by a physician immediately, and is to be put to bed soon after," he instructed, "There was an accident. Kagome was struck in the stomach. She was seen by a physician in the Southern lands. The physician has ordered her to be seen by a physician immediately upon return to the Western lands. See to it that this is done,"

Shusui looked worriedly at Kagome.

"Aye, my Lord, it shall be done right away," she said reaching out for Kagome's hand, "Come Kagome-sama,"

Kagome sighed. He just had to spill the beans.

"Yes, Shusui," Kagome said as she was lead upstairs to her bedroom.

Sesshomaru turned and walked away from the stairs. He headed towards the east wing where the soldiers were stationed.

He needed to blow off some steam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soldier stared up in wonder as the two figures descended from the sky. He recognized one of the beings, but could not believe who the second one was.

"It cannot be," he whispered.

Was he seeing a ghost? Some sort of illusion or mayhap a trick? But who would dare play such a trick? No one that's who. Which would mean this was no trick, that what he was seeing was in fact real.

The giant cloud in the sky descended before him, disappearing slowly as it touched the ground. The guard's eyes widened in complete and utter shock.

It was really him!

"InuTaisho-sama!" he exclaimed.

InuTaisho looked over at him, inclined his head in greeting, before heading into the castle. InuYasha followed after his father, grumbling about the soldier not even acknowledging him.

The soldier stood there in shock, staring as the two males disappeared into the castle. As the heavy double doors slammed closed behind him, it jarred him from his shock silence. This was huge! InuTaisho was back from the grave!

"Watch the gates!" he yelled to the soldiers that sat atop the look out above the gates, their faces a mask of shock as well.

Not waiting for a response, the soldier took off towards the east wing of the castle where the soldiers were stationed. He had to tell everyone that InuTaisho had returned!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

InuTaisho entered the castle. He looked around at the new, expensive and color coordinated interior. It was not exactly as he remembered it, but it was close enough. His heart clenched. He had missed this place more than he thought he had.

To him, this was home.

He had spent his entire life here in this magnificent castle.

So many memories this old structure stirred up.

The sound of footsteps moving down the stone staircase filled the silence. As if stepping right from his memory, Toramaru walked down the stairs.

"I thought I heard voices down here," he was saying as he descended, "You've returned Sesshomaru-"

He stopped short as InuTaisho and InuYasha came into view near the double doors. The door soldiers looking as shocked as Toramaru himself looked.

InuTaisho smiled at his younger brother. He looked the same as the last time he had saw him, except for his eyes. They seemed older, wiser than he remembered them ever being.

Toramaru said nothing as he stared, not sure if he was dreaming again or if this was the real thing.

"Will you not greet your elder brother, Tora?" InuTaisho asked.

Toramaru stood grounded to the floor for a few moments longer before taking a cautious step towards his brother, afraid that this was naught but a dream; that his brother would disappear before his very eyes if he made the wrong move.

Standing eye to eye, Toramaru finally spoke.

"Is it really you, InuTaisho?"

"Aye, little brother, it is me,"

Toramaru engulfed his big brother in a fierce embrace, his heart clenching in his chest so tightly he feared it would burst. Seeing the two needed a moment alone, InuYasha headed up the stairs. InuTaisho and Toramaru barely notice him leaving.

InuYasha grumbled about that as well. At least Yamiko had notice him, the bastard.

As InuYasha disappeared upstairs, Toramaru released his brother, stepping back to look at him. He was not transparent like in his dreams. This was real. His brother was here, he had returned….alive.

"How is this possible? I thought you were dead,"

"Nay, merely imprisoned,"

"Come, tell me how this occurred. We will sit out side on the veranda,"

InuTaisho nodded as he followed his brother outside. As they walked down the hall, a servant approached them, clean clothing in his hands. He took one look at Toramaru's guest and dropped the clothing to the floor.

"InuTaisho-sama!" he exclaimed, bowing his head.

"Bring tea and rice balls to the eastern veranda," Toramaru said to the servant.

"Hai! Right away!" the servant exclaimed as he plucked the clothing from the floor and hurried off the way he came.

"Word shall spread through the land like a wildfire," Toramaru said to his brother as they continued down the hall.

"Aye, that it will. It cannot be helped however; it was bound to come out sooner than later,"

The two walked to the glass door leading outside. Once outside the two sat down at one of the many gray tables.

"Have you thought about what this will mean for Sesshomaru and his position as Territory Lord of the Western lands?"Toramaru asked.

InuTaisho sighed.

"I do not even wish to think of that,"

InuTaisho knew the law of the land as well as Toramaru. The title of Territory Lord could not be passed on to a son unless the father of the son was dead, which meant Sesshomaru was no longer the Territory Lord of the Western lands.

"Yet you must. Word of your return will eventually reach the ears of the Elders and higher ups, if it has not already. They will not bend when it comes to the law, you know this brother,"

"Aye, I know this well," InuTaisho admitted with a sigh.

He had been avoiding thinking about that since he had been freed from his prison. He simply could not take over the Western lands again, as much as he wished he could, as much as he wanted to. He missed his lands. He missed being the lord of his lands. Even though a century had passed, to him, it felt as though he had only been gone a few days.

"I wish not to speak of this any longer. We shall speak of it when the times comes,"

Toramaru nodded, switching to another topic.

"Where have you been all this time?"

Toramaru listened intently as InuTaisho recounted the last days he remembered before being captured and then rescued by Kagome. During the long tale, the servant from before brought their tea and rice balls, setting it down on the table as he stared in awe of InuTaisho.

The servant poured tea into their cups before scurrying away.

"That is quite a tale," Toramaru said sipping the last of his tea.

"Aye,"

"So the rumors are true, you have indeed returned from the grave," said a voice.

The two turned to see Elder Kiji standing a few feet away.

"Elder Kiji," Toramaru greeted inclining his head to the elder.

"Greetings, Elder Kiji," InuTaisho said.

"Lord InuTaisho," he said, "Welcome back,"

"It is good to be back,"

"In two days time, at noon, there is to be a meeting. Please be sure to attend the meeting,"

InuTaisho and Toramaru shared a look. They knew well what the meeting was most likely about.

"May I ask what this meeting will be about?" InuTaisho asked.

"I have a feeling you already know, my Lord,"

InuTaisho sighed.

"Elder Kiji-"

"Nay, save your protests for the meeting, as surely it will be needed there," Kiji said.

He bowed.

"Good day to you both. Once more, welcome home, my Lord,"

Turning, he walked back into the castle. InuTaisho sighed.

"Let us not think of it. Come, let us go and meet your son's mate,"

Ah yes, Lady Kagome. Sesshomaru had successfully kept her from him since he had returned, it would be nice to figure out what sort of female she was. She was the mother of his soon to be born grandchild; of course he wanted to meet her.

"Aye, let us meet her,"

The two stood and headed to Kagome's room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome was relived when the physician finished his examination, and took his cold hands from her body, though she was glad he didn't have four arms and four ice cold palms. She would take two cold hands over four any day, but she could not help but wonder why the hell all physicians' hands were so damn cold.

Shusui stood near by, hovering nervously over them both.

"Will the pup be alright, doctor Yang?" Shusui asked.

"Aye, the pup will be fine, however, no more strenuous activities," he said shaking a finger at Kagome, "She is to take things really, really slow and easy. No stress, no strain, and no more adventures," he said, this time speaking to Shusui.

Shusui nodded.

"Understood,"

"The medication given to her by the Southern physician is to be taken once a day for one month. The best way to see to this is to add a teaspoon of it to her meal, preferably to her breakfast,"

"Understood," she repeated.

Doctor Yang closed his bag and turned to both Shusui and Kagome.

"If there are any problems, any at all, please summon me immediately,"

"We will doctor," Shusui said bowing, "Thank you for coming,"

"Thank you doctor," Kagome echoed.

The doctor bowed, before turning and leaving. Shusui turned to Kagome as soon as the door closed.

"Honestly Kagome-sama, you could have hurt the pup going out into danger that way," she scolded.

"Yes, I know," Kagome said.

"There will be no more of this non-sense," she said.

"Yes, I know Shusui,"

"Pregnant females going into battle, what has this generation come to? I remember back in my day when a female stayed inside away from danger instead of galloping around the country side looking for peril,"

"And she's off on another rant," Kagome said softly, giggling to herself as Shusui went into a tirade about everything that was wrong with the world now days.

It lasted no more than a half hour, for that Kagome was glad.

"No respect for their elders, none what so ever," Shusui ended.

"An injury was not the only thing I brought back from the journey," Kagome said.

"You were able to locate the last amulet and sword?"

"Yes, and not only the sword," she said, "InuTaisho-sama has returned,"

Shusui's eyes widened in shock.

"InuTaisho-sama? That's impossible! InuTaisho-sama's been dead a century!"

Kagome shook her head.

"He never died in the first place; he was imprisoned under ground by the Evil Six. He's been there all this time,"

"Where is he? Is he here?" Shusui asked excitedly.

Kagome nodded.

"Yes, he was just beginning to land when Sesshomaru and I headed up to the castle entrance,"

Shusui gasped.

"Sesshomaru-sama. How is he taking this?"

"Not very well. I've never seen anyone hate their parent so much. His hatred runs so deep it is amazing to witness."

Shusui sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Oh dear. Nothing has changed then," she said sadly, "Sesshomaru's extreme hatred has not dimmed at all in the last century. But what can one expect from him. Despite his outward emotionless facade; his emotions are intense and deep. He is a very, very intense person. He's always been that way since he was a young child,"

"I've decided to try and get Sesshomaru to forgive his father. I think it would be in both their best interest to get along with each other. I do not think InuTaisho-sama did what he did back then with the intent to hurt his son,"

"He did not, trust me, the last thing InuTaisho-sama wanted to do was hurt his sons. He loved those boys to distraction,"

"I can see that he did just from the brief contact he has had with both of them,"

"Well I shall do my best to assist you,"

"Thank you Shusui,"

"It is no problem, I would like to see those two behaving as father and son again if possible,"

Kagome nodded.

"I agree,"

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Shusui stood from the bed and walked over to the door. To their surprise, Toramaru and InuTaisho stood at the door.

"Toramaru-sama, InuTaisho-sama!" she exclaimed in surprise.

InuTaisho inclined his head.

"Shusui, it is good to see you again," he said.

"Good morning Shusui, we've come to see Lady Kagome if she is well enough for company," Toramaru said.

"Of course my Lords, she is well," Shusui said letting the males into the room.

Kagome sat up taller in the bed as they entered.

"It is wonderful to see you again, Lord InuTaisho. It is truly a miracle," Shusui said with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Shusui," he said, "And thank you for releasing me, Lady Kagome,"

Kagome smiled.

"It was not trouble my Lord. I am glad that you are alive,"

The four sat conversing for the better part of the day, speaking of this and that, mostly about how Sesshomaru and Kagome had met, and Kagome's time as a Territory Lady. The longer they talked, the more InuTaisho liked his new daughter-in-law. To him, she was exactly what Sesshomaru needed.

By the third hour of conversation Kagome's stomach began to rumble.

A blush bloomed on her cheeks. The two males laughed, while Shusui giggled softly.

"No worries, my Lady, we should be on our way now," Toramaru said bowing.

"Thank you for stopping by. It was very nice to meet you InuTaisho-sama," Kagome said.

"It was nice to meet you as well, my Lady," he said bowing.

As the two males vacated the room, Shusui stood at the open door after them.

"I will see to your dinner, Kagome-sama," she said at the door.

Kagome nodded as Shusui walked out the door. Kagome sighed and sat back in bed. She was convinced now. InuTaisho had not hurt his son purposely and because of that, Kagome would try her best to get Sesshomaru to understand that as well.

Kagome spent the rest of her day in bed, speaking with Shusui and eating when hungry. Though she enjoyed conversing with her, Kagome could not help but be bored. She could not, and would not sit in bed all day for seven months. She refused to.

Shusui left some time after Kagome had fallen asleep.

Kagome awoke a few hours later to Sesshomaru climbing into bed, wrapping his arms around her.

Kagome snuggled into his embrace as she drifted back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A knock at the door brought her from her pool of misery. Opening her eyes, she sat up. Who was it? She had been enclosed in her room for the last few days. After several attempts by Shusui to bring her from her room had failed, she had told the older woman that she wanted to be left alone for a while. She had left her alone for the last two days, but she knew Shusui was nothing if not tenacious.

It was probably Shusui attempting to once again bring her from the darkness of her room.

Kagura sighed, setting down the stuffed wolf.

She walked sluggishly slow to the door, trying to figure out what she would say to repeal Shusui. She opened the door. Her eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't Shusui at the door, but InuYasha.

"InuYasha? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked rudely.

She looked like hell. Her eyes had large dark bags beneath them, as though she had not slept in days, her hair was undone and mussed, her cloths wrinkled. She looked plain awful. Kagura was in no mood to hear him state the obvious, however.

"What do you want?" she demanded irritably.

Deciding not to make further inquiries into her appearance, InuYasha fished into the sleeve of his kimono and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"This is from General Ensei," he said holding out to her, "he said to give it to you as soon as I could,"

Kagura's eyes widened as she took the letter.

"Ensei," she said softly.

She looked up at InuYasha as she held the paper to her chest.

"Yeah, so…..there ya go," he said turning, "Later,"

"Thank you," she said.

"Yeah, yeah don't worry about it," he said as he disappeared down the hallway.

Kagura closed the door, walking over to the window. Pulling one side of the curtain , she tied it back. Sunlight streamed through the room. Kagura sat on the window seat and opened the letter. His neat hand writing leapt out at her.

Dear Kagura,

For the time being, I will be away from you. I have duties and responsibilities that will keep me here in the Eastern lands for some time to come. I will work hard to complete those duties and visit as often as possible.

I will write to you often and hope to hear from you as well.

Please be well and safe until I can once more hold you in my arms.

With Love,

Ensei.

Kagura closed her eye.

Even though things were rough, just one letter from that male was enough to make her burden lighter, and her heart beat with some strange emotion that she could not even begin to describe.

Kagura crushed the paper to her chest. This letter had only strengthened her resolve. She would protect Ensei no matter what she had to do. She stood from the window seat and opened the other windows, trying back the curtains and letting sunlight brighten the once darkened room. Turning, she grabbed some clothing and took a short bath.

After her bath, she put on a kimono and went out for a walk. If she was to do this, she needed the right mind set. She loved Kagome, she really did, but there were just no way she could disobey orders this time.

Not when Ensei's life was on the line.

This was what needed to be done.

Wasn't it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ehvil sat next to Vishious, sword in hand. The two males sat in a dark secluded room beneath the mansion. Another large hole had been dug into the ground and filled with dark, slimy water.

Vishious sat holding the ShinkuTsuki.

Ehvil wondered at the strange effect the sword seemed to have on him. At times, Vishious would sit in his room, rubbing the sword, whispering softly to the blade as though it lived.

He had never before done such a thing before.

"Have you gathered all the materials?" Vishious asked, his eyes glued to the gleaming metal.

Ehvil pulled the pouch from behind him and lifted it up for Vishious to see. Vishious did not even acknowledge him, too focused on the sword. His crimson eyes gleamed with a sort of hunger that Ehvil could not name.

It was a look he had never seen in his eyes before. Such a look gave him more than a moment of pause.

"Yes, everything is ready," Ehvil said.

His words fell on deaf ears. He could feel the evil radiating from the blade from where he sat, and from the feel of it, it contained more evil than he and Vishious combined.

After long moments of staring, Vishious finally placed the sword down in front of him as Ehvil picked up the pouch. Reaching inside he pulled out a handful of the white powder from the bag and blew it over the water, letting the powder drift onto the top of the blackened water.

Hisses whispered from the water, the surface to rippling. Hushed voices filled the room, tortured screams echoing after them. This was but one of many portals into hell. With the sword, opening the sinister gateways was as easy as opening a front door.

Liquid hands reached out from the dark water. Reaching for the meal that was sure to come. Picking up another pouch, Ehvil pulled out a ponytail of golden hair and tossed it into the water.

It was hair from Tourcher's head.

This was the last ponytail, the others had already been absorbed into the ShinkuTsuki.

With this last absorption, the ritual would be complete.

A liquid face rose to the surface. With an animalistic screech it reached out and grabbed the golden lock of hair, pulling it down to the depths of the water.

The sword began to glow.

Standing, Ehvil left the room, returning with a young male. The male was much in the same condition as the others before him had been; dazed, his body bloodied and bruised. Ehvil tossed him into the liquid. The beings of the black water rose, screeching and clawing at the body.

The sword's glow intensified, rising up from its place on the ground. It drifted above the murky depths, tip down. As the last of the body was torn apart below the water, the sword struck, stabbing down into the water. Screams erupted from the water as the sword began to absorb everything contained in the dark liquid.

A bright light blinded them, Ehvil covered his eyes,

Vishious did not.

Instead he stared into the light, a sinister gleam in his eyes.

As sudden as the light appeared, it disappeared. Opening his eyes, Ehvil looked at the sword. Floating above the now empty water, it glowed with malice and evil.

Reaching out, Vishious wrapped his hand around the hilt. His eyes glowed briefly, before settling back to their original color. He smiled, a dark and twisted smirk on his face. The final phase of the process had been completed.

Standing, Vishious left the room, Ehvil trailing after him. The two walked back up stairs.

"This is it," Vishious murmured almost to himself.

Ehvil said nothing as he followed. There was definitely something more to that sword than Tonsai had told them. Once outside in the gleaming sunlight, the sword began to react, pulsing wildly.

Clutching the sword, Vishious held it up to eye level.

"This will be the beginning of this land's suffering," Vishious said softly, "Pain shall spread throughout this land, killing and destroying, leaving nothing but waste and hopelessness in its wake,"

Vishious' eyes flashed a darker crimson as he lifted his arm and brought it down, striking the earth. A bright crimson light erupted from the blade, splitting the earth in half. The ground began to shake, the sky darkening above.

An unnatural silence blanketed the clearing. The shaking of the earth ceased. A chill crawled up Ehvil's spine. Light exploded from the hole, blinding him. Ehvil turned away as the light disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Heat radiated from the hole, so intense that both males broke out into an immediate sweat.

Moans erupted from the deep hole, unnatural, unholy moans. A blackened hand reached up through the hole, clawing at the grass, pulling its self from the hole. The thing that crawled from the hole radiated heat as intense as the heat the hole continued to produced.

Its body was as black as tar; its face looked like that of a monster. Its skin was rotting and decaying, hanging from its body, pieces of it falling to the ground, scorching the earth.

The being hissed seemingly in pain, saliva running down its jaw.

Ehvil's eyes widened as the beast looked up at him with empty eye sockets as it snarled up at him, its sharp teeth gleaming a pearl white.

The beast began to convulse, its skin moving as though insects crawled beneath the hideous flesh. The beast roared and roared again another being rose from the hole. From the first beast's clawed feet, skin began to form. The two toes on its feet became five. Its blackened skin knitting together.

Its two fingers broke into five, skin covering the appendages. The beast's bones crackled and bent, shaping. From its skull, golden locks erupted, familiar golden locks. The beast looked up, revealing deep blue eyes that had replaced the empty sockets.

His eyes widened as he looked into the face of Tourcher.

Tourcher stood, his skin still moving, adjusting and crawling.

"Tourcher?" Evil called surprised.

The blue eyes leveled on him.

Nay, that was not Tourcher. He knew not what that thing was. Whatever it was, it was neither youkai nor human. It had no aura, it had no scent. Another chill ran down his spine.

Just what the hell had Vishious summoned?

The plan had been to bring back the bodies of their fallen comrades as the living dead, by combining their hair and the living sacrifices they had thrown into the water. This was not what was supposed to happen.

At least that's what Ehvil thought.

Three more beasts pulled themselves from the ground, their screeches and moans deafening. Ehvil watched as the beasts went through the same changes. Their rotting bodies growing skin, their horrible face resembling those of the long dead Evil Six members.

The earth closed slowly as the beasts began to stand, one by one. The earth sealed shut, the Evil Six stood whole once again.

The beasts looked around at their surroundings, a rumbling growl coming from the chests of a few of them. The being resembling Tourcher turned to Vishious, his intense blue eyes glued to the sword. Vishious watched as the beast walked awkwardly towards him, its bones cracking loudly, obviously it was not yet used to its new limbs.

Standing a few feet away it opened its mouth.

"We are….hungry," it said in a distorted voice.

Vishious smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Kagome awoke to find Sesshomaru gone. His side of the bed was cold, so she assumed he had been gone for a few hours. Getting up from the bed, Kagome took a quick bath and dressed before Shusui arrived with her breakfast. She had just finished tying her obi when Shusui entered the room, carrying a silver try with a covered plate and a cup atop.

"Kagome-sama," she said in surprise, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I will not lie about in bed all day doing nothing. I would like to go out to the garden for a while,"

"Oh no, no, no, no," Shusui said placing the tray on the night stand next to the bed, "Kagome-sama, you need to rest, relax and-"

"Plllllease Shusui," Kagome said pouting a bit, looking up at her with imploring honey eyes.

"Kagome-sama, you need rest and-"

"I need to get out of bed; if I have to spend one more day in bed I think I'm going to go insane!"

Shusui held her hands up.

"Now, now, Kagome-sama, calm down. Let's negotiate," Shusui said sitting down on the bed and patting the spot next to her for Kagome to sit.

Kagome sat down with a huff.

"How often do you want to go out and garden?"

"Everyday,"

"No deal,"

Kagome huffed again.

"Okay, at least three times a week," she added as Shusui opened her mouth to protest, "Blue roses are very, very delicate,"

"Alright, three times a week, however, you can only go out until it is time for supper. From noon to supper,"

Kagome sighed.

"So I'll have to be abed for the rest of the time?"

"Nay, I've come to learn a few things about you, Kagome-sama, and I know that you cannot sit still for long periods of time without having something to do. I've found something that you can do while seated and exciting enough to keep your attention," she said proudly, "Stay right here, I'll be right back,"

If it was knitting or chess, Shusui was definitely barking up the wrong tree. Kagome groaned. She hated needle work. It was boring and tedious.

"Here it is!" Shusui said entering the room holding up an instrument.

Kagome blinked in surprise.

"An erhu?" she asked.

"Aye," she said walking back over to Kagome and handing the instrument to the surprised woman, "The erhu is a very elegant and complex instrument. Mastering it will be both fun and challenging,"

Kagome looked at the instrument. She smiled. Shusui had incredible insight. Kagome took the bow and brought it across the strings. A horrible sound emitted from the instrument. Both women winced.

"I'll definitely need practice," she said with an apologetic smile.

Shusui nodded.

"I will teach you all you need to know about the erhu and you'll be playing like a professional before you know it,"

Kagome nodded in agreement, eager to start her lessons. She had never played an instrument before, however she had always wanted to learn. She was excited to say the least.

"But first," Shusui said taking the instrument from her hands, "you must eat,"

As if hearing the words, her stomach growled. Kagome giggled as Shusui brought over the tray from the night stand.

Kagome ate quickly, and then picked up the erhu. Shusui laughed as Kagome looked up at her expectantly.

"Alright, alright," Shusui said, "Come, we will practice out on the veranda,"

Kagome nodded.

As the two headed down to the veranda, Kagome tinkered with the bow and string, Shusui giggled at the terrible sounds she made with the instrument. She could tell this was going to be the most entertaining erhu lesion she would ever give.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the end of the day, word of InuTaisho's return had spread throughout the Western lands. Many were excited and happy to have their Lord returned. Others however, were not so happy, but whether the person was happy or not about the return, there was one question on everyone's mind. One question that everyone wanted to know the answer to.

With InuTaisho alive and well, who was the real Territory Lord of the Western lands?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for all your reviews!

Laters!

~Sessakag