InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bishies Without Shirts ❯ Separation Anxiety ( Chapter 30 )

Chapter 30: Separation Anxiety

Seven a.m. of another day found Higurashi-san in the kitchen again. She was fortunate enough that this time there was no study group cluttering up her table as she went about the business of preparing enough eggs to feed the small army that had crashed indefinitely in her home. Inuyasha alone would single-handedly empty the larder in a matter of weeks if he remained, never mind the extra addition of Kagome and Sesshoumaru, who despite being a head taller than his brother, ate surprisingly very little. If the boys did not return home soon, she would have to go grocery shopping again. Not that she minded, really. In the simple way of mothers, she derived a certain pleasure from watching that boy eat. It did her heart good at least to know that her cooking was so well appreciated. Only moments after the eggs hit the pan, and the scent of food cooking wafted up the stairs, she heard a shuffling noise behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, and speak of the devil, a topless, bleary eyed Inuyasha had claimed his spot at the breakfast table.

"Darling, don't you ever sleep?" she asked conversationally as she flipped the enormous quantity of eggs in the pan with some difficulty.

"Never for very long." he yawned, tapping his claws on the tabletop.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe that's why you're cranky all the time?" she said as she folded the sheet of egg into the largest omelet she'd ever seen, let alone attempted.

"Keh." he huffed, looking down at the table beneath his fingertips. It was then that he noticed that there were eight long gouges in the tabletop, right where he sat. Vaguely, it occurred to him that he had been responsible for those yesterday, when Sesshoumaru had been taunting him about sleeping with Kagome. Kagome…well, if nothing else, at least he could take comfort in the fact that he now knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that she had been innocent up until the moment he'd taken her last night. But then, if hadn't taken her, and had waited like Sesshoumaru had warned, then Higurashi-san wouldn't be so mad. Speaking of which…his thoughts shifted back to the table before him. Had she noticed the claw marks yet? He hoped not. In fact, he hoped they went unnoticed until he and Kagome were far, far away from there. The last thing he needed was something else for her mother to pin on him, and there was no way he could really blame it on Sesshoumaru; there were two sets of marks. When Higurashi-san turned around to set the eggs on the table, he covered the gouges by resting his arms on the table and trying to look inconspicuous. Higurashi-san smiled to herself, but turned away and said nothing. She'd already seen the table. As she started to prepare the sweet rolls, a very loud growling sound made her turn around to face the boy again.

"What's the matter now?" she asked wearily.

"Nani?" he said, looking up at her innocently as the growl sounded again.

"Is that your stomach again?" Higurashi-san found herself unable to keep from giggling in a very unladylike fashion. Inuyasha blushed, his lips turning up in a tiny, embarrassed grin.

"Hai."

"Dear Kami…" she laughed. "What did you do, trade your ability to sleep through the night for a bottomless stomach?" An imaged flashed through her head of several puppy-eared children, all running through the house at once, cursing, knocking over furniture, and eating, eating, eating… 'That does it.' she thought to herself. 'Kagome and I will be going to see the doctor today. If he doesn't know enough to wear anything, then it'll have to be the pill.'

"Alright." she said, nodding her head determinedly at the thought. "I'm going to wake the others. Don't touch that!" she called over her shoulder as she left the room. Inuyasha drew his hand away from the plate, flabbergasted and wondering how she'd known. A few minutes after Higurashi-san left, the kitchen door opened again to reveal Kagome, fresh from the shower and dressed for school.

"Koishii!" he gasped, jumping to his feet. In a split second, his arms were around her waist and his tongue was in her mouth.

"In-umph! Hey!" she said, pushing him away and breaking the kiss, "Hello to you too! What was that all about?"

"What?" he said as if nothing were out of the ordinary. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too." she laughed, "But you've never been THAT happy to see me before."

"You've never let me sleep with you before, either." he said, picking her up and spinning her around. "So I'm happy to see my mate. Is that so terrible?" Before she could answer, he quickly stole another kiss. This time she didn't pull back, but leaned fully into him, blissfully happy that he wasn't acting strangely or avoiding her after what had happened last night. Or wasn't he? This sort of open affection WAS a little strange for Inuyasha… She shrugged the thought away. After chasing him for so long, she wasn't about to complain if he had finally decided to show her some loving in return. She reached up and tweaked his ears, because after some brief experimentation in her bedroom the night before, she now knew that he secretly loved it. In response, his hands began to wandered down her back toward the waistband of her skirt. He had just begun to fumble with the zipper, when the door opened again and they were joined by Sesshoumaru, who was looking well-rested and had changed into his own robes. The eager young couple froze, panting, their faces stunned and slightly pink. Inuyasha's hand inched away from the zipper slowly, so as not to call attention to itself.

"Oh for the love of…!" Sesshoumaru cursed, pulling his brother off the girl. "We eat in here! And you!" he hissed in a harsh whisper, turning on Kagome, "You insatiable little-" the word 'whore' died on his lips when he heard the warning growl from Inuyasha, so he continued on in a new direction, one he hoped would prove more effective, as all the insults in the world hadn't been able to keep them out of each others pants so far. "Your mother's right behind me! And for the love of the gods, Inuyasha, put some clothing on!" he said, tossing his half-brother the white inner-kimono that he'd brought with him from the bedroom, "You look shameless and indecent running around like that in the home of your intended. Now both of you sit down and try to keep your hands to yourselves, I have a feeling that things here are about to come to a head."

"What do you mean 'things'?" Kagome hissed back, taking her seat beside her lover. "What are you talking about? Inuyasha, what is he talking about?" she said, turning to glare at the hanyou. He smiled at her guiltily, a bead of sweat running down from his forehead to his chin.

"Your mother's not very happy with me." he finally admitted. "Though we were talking this morning, and she seemed-"

"Nani?" Kagome interrupted. "What do you mean, Inuyasha? Why isn't my mother happy with you? What did you-"

At that moment, Higurashi-san reentered the room, and the conversation stopped abruptly. Kagome and Inuyasha stared down at the table in front of them, and Sesshoumaru took his place down at the other end, pleasantly wishing Higurashi-san a good morning. Higurashi-san smiled back at the youkai, and went about the task of finishing breakfast as the others sat in silence. By the time Souta and Jii-chan entered the kitchen a few minutes later, Higurashi-san had just finished tying up a little square box in a large white napkin.

"Here Souta." she said, handing the neatly wrapped package to her son. "I want you and Sessho-kun to eat breakfast out at the shrine with Jii-chan today. I need to speak with your sister and Inu-niichan alone."

"Actually, Higurashi-san," Sesshoumaru spoke up, "I would prefer to remain. I am the head of our family and I feel that this concerns me as well."

"Alright, Sesshoumaru." she said, bowing her head slightly and dropping the 'kun' out of respect for his position in what was about to follow.

"Sheesh, you guys! So serious! You'd think you were planning a wedding!" Souta laughed as he followed Jii-chan out the door. Inuyasha and Kagome stole uncomfortable glances at one another, and shifted in their seats. Higurashi-san watched Souta and Jii-chan from the window, until she was certain that they would not be returning. Meanwhile, the others sat in uncomfortable silence, listening to the sound of the tea kettle tapping and hissing on the gas range as the water inside heated to boiling. Finally, Higurashi-san joined the others at the table, bringing the kettle with her. She handed it to Kagome, who stared at it uncertainly for a moment, unsure as to whether she should pour for Sesshoumaru first, because he was the older man, or Inuyasha, because he was now, for all intents and purposes, her husband. It didn't help that when she picked up the kettle, both men raised their cups expectantly at the same time. Kagome paused, steam curling up from the spout of the poised kettle, looking from one man's cup to the other. Naturally, neither one would back down and make her life any easier. Finally, shooting an apologetic look at Inuyasha, she poured for Sesshoumaru. It was the safest thing to do, and she hoped upon hope that Inuyasha would realize that. Sesshoumaru was older, after all, and pouring for Inuyasha first would have raised too many eyebrows, not to mention suspicions. Kagome, of course, was still unaware of the fact that everyone who was at the table already knew that she and Inuyasha had made love last night. Inuyasha, however, was very aware of that fact, and when the kettle's spout passed by his cup to pour the honey-colored liquid into Sesshoumaru's, he was both incensed and shamed. When the spout finally came around a second time, he turned his cup upside down and banged it down on the table.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said quietly, pleading to him with her eyes not to make a scene, and half-realizing that it was already too late.

"I hate to admit it," he said softly, shielding his eyes behind his bangs, "but your mother and Sesshoumaru were right."

"N-nani?" she asked, looking from her mother's tight-lipped face to Sesshoumaru's customary mask of boredom and disdain.

"You were not ready to be my mate." he sighed, getting up from the table.

"What are you talking about?" she laughed nervously, turning his cup over and pouring his tea. "Sit down and stop acting weird."

"You won't even admit it, Kagome!" he said, pounding his fist on the table with a resounding *bang* that sent the tea in his and Sesshoumaru's cups sloshing over the sides and onto the table. "I'm not ashamed! Are you?"

"Why are you doing this?" she pleaded, tugging on the sleeve of his kimono and trying to get him to sit back down while she shot her mother nervous glances from across the table.

"Kagome, they already know!" he hollered, tugging his arm away. "Sesshoumaru knew the moment he saw you last night, and I told your mother a few minutes later!"

"YOU WHAT?!" she screamed, leaping to her feet. "Why did you do that? She's MY mother, if anyone was going to tell her, it should have been ME! And only when I was ready to!"

"She was asking me to keep my hands off you! What was I supposed to do, lie?"

"No, but you could have included me in the conversation! Or at least warned me when you saw me this morning, instead of cramming you tongue…" Kagome trailed off, the steam running out of her argument as she remembered that she and Inuyasha were not the only ones in the room. "Ah, ha ha…" she laughed, thoroughly embarrassed as she dropped back to her seat on the floor.

"Kagome," her mother said softly, reaching across the table to pat the girl's hand reassuringly, "That's why we're all here now, to talk about it together."

"Mama…" Kagome whined miserably, "I don't think I want to discuss this in front of…everybody." she muttered the last word under her breath, jerking her head pointedly in the direction of Sesshoumaru.

"Trust, wegome, that I have no real interest in this, other than to see that the arrangements go smoothly and to my liking, and to make sure that the whelp doesn't make an ass out of himself and shame both families any further than he already has." Inuyasha bristled at this, but Kagome was merely confused.

"Arrangements?" she said, looking from Sesshoumaru to her mother, like a lost little girl. "What arrangements?" Sesshoumaru raised one mildly surprised eyebrow at her questioning.

"You went willingly to my brother's bed, did you not?" Kagome looked down at her hands.

"Well, actually, it was more like he came to mine…"

"Have it your way." Sesshoumaru sighed. "The point is, you have mated to a youkai, and by our tradition, that makes you his wife."

"I know that!" she exclaimed impatiently.

"Do you?" he said, raising the other eyebrow. "Then why did you fill my cup first?"

"I…"

"Why did you mate with my brother if you have no intention of honoring him as your husband? Are you so easily taken? Have you no maidenly virtue?"

"Sesshoumaru…" Higurashi-san said, her voice hinting at a mild warning.

"Forgive me." Sesshoumaru said, bowing slightly to Kagome's mother. "I only mean to prove a point."

"My daughter is young, and if there's any fault to be placed, it's with me, for perhaps I have been too permissive with her. But what's done is done, and now we must see to the present. Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, I know that in your world, Kagome is now considered to be a married woman, but in ours…in our world, children often… make mistakes."

"Oi! What do you mean a mistake?!" Inuyasha demanded hotly, before Sesshoumaru cuffed him upside the head with his fist.

"Quiet, whelp, the adults are negotiating."

"I thought you didn't want to help?" Inuyasha grumbled, rubbing his head.

"I have to maintain what little honor there is left to our family name. If I left it up to you…" Sesshoumaru shuddered involuntarily, unable to finish the thought. When he was able to regain his composure, he addressed the woman again. "Higurashi-san, I believe what you are saying is that the wegome is far too young for the responsibilities of a wife, and from what I've seen, I couldn't agree more."

"Why you-!" Kagome began before Higurashi-san silenced her with a look.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru, that's exactly what I'm saying. Kagome needs to finish her schooling, and she still has responsibilities to this family and this…village. I cannot allow her to run off with your brother at this point in time, although I would not be adverse to it in the future. He's a lovely boy." Sesshoumaru chuckled at her words.

"No he isn't, I fear, he's a little shit. I may be arguing on his behalf, but rest assured that you don't have to defend him in order to appease me, for I know exactly what he is." Higurashi-san smiled at the youkai sadly.

"You don't, Sessho-kun, not really or you wouldn't say that. I would be happy to have Inuyasha as a son-in-law…someday. But as you said, I don't think that either one of them is ready for the responsibility of marriage."

"Then we're in agreement." Sesshoumaru said, nodding approvingly. "Only one problem remains. As far as my people are concerned, it's too late." He fell silent for a moment, considering. "That is, unless…"

"Unless?" Higurashi-san said, hopefully.

"Unless we agree to look upon their mating as a commitment to a long term engagement, during which time, things will continue on as they always have. The wegome will continue to live under your roof, only going off with the hanyou when you have given permission for her to do so. In return, the wegome will be forbidden from consorting with other men, as she will be my useless brother's intended." Higurashi-san nodded, listening and considering carefully. When she finally spoke, she said,

"What about their physical relationship?" If Kagome and Inuyasha's heads could have dropped any lower, they would have been resting their chins in their laps.

"I don't see that I have any control over that, Higurashi-san." Sesshoumaru said flatly. "No more than you will, I imagine. If I were you, and I found myself in this no win situation, I would content myself with the fact that if my daughter did come to bear pups prematurely, she would already have a man who is sworn to take responsibility for her and for them, regardless of the fact that he's a complete idiot." When Inuyasha lifted his head up to protest, Sesshoumaru cuffed him soundly again. "Besides that," he added, cracking this knuckles, "I'm sure that there are some…precautions? that you could teach the wegome. Even in our world, there are such things. In yours, I would imagine that there are much more effective ones, ne?"

"Hai, that is correct Sesshoumaru." Higurashi-san nodded, before falling silent for a few more minutes. When she finally spoke again, she seemed almost relieved.

"All right, I've decided. Children, you have my consent."

"Hey, isn't anyone going to ask my opinion of this?!" Inuyasha demanded. Both Sesshoumaru and Higurashi-san eyed him levelly.

"No." they chorused.

"Runt, just be happy that you've somehow managed to come out on top in this." Sesshoumaru said, shaking his head.

"Before you all head back," Higurashi-san interrupted, "Kagome and I have…a little errand that we have to run together." Kagome glanced up at her mother nervously.

"What about school, Mama?"

"School can wait for today, Kagome. This is more…immediately pressing." Kagome nodded her head solemnly, beginning to understand.

"Hai, Mama."

"We'll be back in a couple of hours." Higurashi-san said, speaking to Sesshoumaru.

"I want to go, too." Inuyasha said firmly, standing up.

"No, Inuyasha!" Kagome said, starting to blush. "You stay here. We'll be right back!" If she and Mama were going where she thought they might be going…well, having Inuyasha there would just add to the embarrassment. Inuyasha, on the other hand, seemed adamant about accompanying them.

"I want to go with you. I'll wear the hat!" he protested.

"No, dear." Higurashi-san said, shaking her head as she searched through her pocketbook for her keys. "You'll stay here with Sesshoumaru. We won't be gone too long." Then she looked back at Sesshoumaru. "Promise me that you won't fight." she gave him a deep, piercing look. "Swear it."

"Hai. I promise you that we will not." Sesshoumaru said confidently, matching her gaze.

"I'm counting on you." she said pointedly, through with trying to reason with the hanyou. "No fighting. Understand me?"

"I understand."

"Alright, Kagome, let's go!" she said as she finally pulled her keys from out her pocketbook. Together, the women headed for the door.

"Wait! I'm going too!" Inuyasha said, scrambling after them. Sesshoumaru caught him by the wrist and pulled him to a halt.

"Stay, pup." he said coolly, twisting Inuyasha's wrist.

"Let me go, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha said, struggling against the youkai's iron grip. "I'm going with them."

"No you're not!" Kagome roared back at him.

"But-"

"NO! You stay here! What part of that are you not understanding?"

"Higurashi-san, perhaps it would be wise to allow the whelp to follow." Sesshoumaru called suddenly as he realized what the problem might be. The hanyou was most likely suffering from the instinctual implications of having bedded the wegome. Inuyasha was experiencing anxiety at the thought of being separated from his newly claimed mate. No doubt his previous outbursts were a testament to that. After all, the wegome had left the house several times the day before, and the whelp hadn't uttered so much as a sound of protest. Now he was acting like a desperate fool.

"I'm sorry, boys, but the answer is no. This is a private matter between my daughter and I. You'll just have to manage for a few hours, Inuyasha." And just like that, the door closed, cutting him off from Kagome. Unable to control himself, Inuyasha ran to the window and gazed out at their retreating forms, looking very much like a puppy who had been left behind at the pound. As the car pulled out of the driveway, Sesshoumaru swore that he could hear a barely audible whimper escape his brother's throat. Once the car was out of sight, Inuyasha began pace around the kitchen in much the same manner that he had the night before, with the same cagey expression on his face. Sesshoumaru watched the entire ritual silently from his corner of the room, while his brother struggled with himself to keep from flying out the door after the women.

'What a waste of a morning…' Sesshoumaru thought to himself, 'This relationship is doomed to failure. That ningen wench will never be able to understand how a simple separation such as this can so grievously effect the whelp…' As he was thinking that, however, it suddenly occurred to Sesshoumaru that maybe the whelp wasn't understanding how he was being effected, either. It was entirely possible…he was a hanyou after all, and compound that with the fact that he hadn't been raised among other youkai…Inuyasha probably had no idea why he was acting as he was. It was almost amusing, in a way… After all, the whelp's body was exacting a far worse punishment on him for going behind his older brother's back and bedding the wegome than Sesshoumaru could ever hope to. Not that the bastard didn't deserve it…If he had listened to Sesshoumaru in the first place, he wouldn't be suffering now. Yet, try as he might, Sesshoumaru could feel neither anger, nor humor as he watched Inuyasha run about the house frantically. Sadly, he almost felt responsible for the brat. This pitiful display was just another painful reminder of how poorly he'd fared as a surrogate parent. This, of course, lead his thoughts back to Rin. He wasn't doing very well by her right now, either. At the rate they were going, she would be of marrying age by the time he returned home, and this entire fiasco would start all over again, only with himself in Higurashi-san's place. He pondered this while he watched Inuyasha start to jump from the kitchen table, to the counter, and back to the floor again where he crouched down and sniffed the ground nervously.

Perhaps there was a way to solve both of his problems, and Inuyasha's as well…If he helped the runt with his problem, then he would get home faster and maybe also alleviate some of the guilt he was trying not to feel for having abandoned him as a pup.

Of course, that was all contingent on whether or not he could get the asshole to stay still for a moment.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, had gone into hiding under the kitchen table, feeling helpless to defend himself against the waves of panic and confusion that assaulted his senses for reasons that he couldn't even fathom.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked himself out loud in a small voice. Sesshoumaru bent down and peeked beneath the table at the feral animal that was his younger brother.

"It's normal to feel this way, oto-chan." he said quietly, keeping his tone steady and reassuring. "It's just your instincts telling you to find your mate."

"I know where she is!" he said angrily, glaring up at Sesshoumaru, "She's with her mother!" Lowering his gaze from the youkai, he began to sniff the floor again. A moment later, his nose caught on to something, and he followed it into the living room on all fours. "Look," he called back to Sesshoumaru as he left the kitchen, nose to the ground as he tracked his quarry. "I know I get a bit edgy whenever Kagome leaves, but this is different! I…I can't breathe right!" Sesshoumaru followed his brother into the living room, where Inuyasha had started searching under the couch cushions.

"You had never mated with the wench before last night." the older youkai said simply. Then he added, a little regretfully, "Maybe I should have explained this to you before…"

"YOU THINK SO?!" Inuyasha snarled, throwing the cushion at Sesshoumaru who neatly sidestepped it. "You could've mentioned it at least! I might have thought twice about going through with it!"

"No you wouldn't have, you're a baka kusotare. But I'll ignore that because you're not really angry at me." he said calmly. "It's your blood boiling."

"Don't tell me!" Inuyasha yelled back. "I know what I'm feeling! What the hell do you know?!" Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to hold his temper and reminding himself that, at least in this instance, Inuyasha couldn't be held accountable for his words or actions. For in truth, he knew all too well what his brother was going through.

"Try to calm yourself for a moment. I have an idea."

"I'm listening!" Inuyasha growled, back on all fours, now inspecting beneath the sofa. Sesshoumaru had to bite his tongue in order to resist the urge to tell the whelp that the wegome wouldn't fit under there. He had given his word to Higurashi-san that there would be no fighting. Besides that, he knew that Inuyasha really couldn't help himself, and using his actions against him, in this case, would be highly unfair, especially since he had been guilty of doing basically the same thing long ago.

"Go upstairs to Souta's room." Sesshoumaru instructed. "If I'm not mistaken, the wegome left the shirt that she was wearing last night after you claimed her on Souta's bed."

"Why were you snooping around?" Inuyasha demanded as he began to sniff underneath an end table.

"I was looking for my clothing. You shied them at me while I was trying to nap yesterday, remember? But that's not important, so just listen to me. Go get that shirt and put it on. Her scent, not to mention the scent of your mating, most likely still clings to it. This will calm your blood, and it will reduce your urge to jump out of your skin. It's a trick I learned a long time ago, to help a ease the absence of a mate."

"Really?" Inuyasha said, looking suspicious, but also a little relieved. "Are you sure it'll work? I feel…awful, like my skin is crawling…"

"Yes, I'm sure." Sesshoumaru said unquestionably.

"How do you know?" Inuyasha asked, still not quite used to taking Sesshoumaru's word on things. When Sesshoumaru didn't respond right away, Inuyasha brushed it off, as he was no longer able to contain himself anyway, and tore up the stairs to Souta's room. Sesshoumaru watched him go.

"…I know because I still wear her Obi…" he whispered softly to himself, his eyes going far away.