InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blood Bond ❯ Chapter 2

 

Kagome frowned as she returned to the Sengoku Jidai. Sesshomaru had shocked her when she learned that she owned him, and even more when he explained about modern youkai culture. There was a strict hierarchy, Mikos, then independent hanyous (which was most of them), next the independent youkai (one in thirty), the claimed hanyous, and finally the claimed youkai. And each class had their own internal hierarchies. For the Mikos it was a simple matter of power and the ability to use it, placing Kagome mid-level until she gained full control of her powers, when Sesshomaru claimed she'd be the highest ranking Miko in the world. For anyone who was claimed it was a combination of who owned them, how highly they stood in their master's favour, how long they'd been claimed for, and whether the claim was original (they'd always belonged to the same person), or transferred (they'd been given to someone else after they'd been claimed). A few pure humans, without Miko powers, were involved in the culture as a result, and they were ranked with independent hanyous as a rule. What had horrified her most was that he seemed to be looking forward to the time when he could move down a class, no, *two* classes, and become known as a claimed youkai. He'd happily explained to her just how much wealth he had accumulated, and how many businesses that would go into her name, or at least under her control once she felt ready to tell the world that she owned him. And she'd learned a few interesting things, including how to block her end of the link from Sesshomaru, and get through any blocks he put up, as well as use him as a focus for scrying with her powers, searching using him as the centre of the search, not her.

 

She slid the one-way shield she'd developed over her link to Sesshomaru as she came up from the Bone-Eaters Well and checked where he was. About three days' travel to the west as she estimated it, outside of her range for detecting shards, which was just one day's travel. There weren't any shards inside of that range, neither of her, nor of Sesshomaru, but she had reason to believe her range would grow if she learned how to use her powers better - which was why she wanted to get her hands on those CDs Sesshomaru had for her. Kaede had tried training her, but it never seemed to work right, Kagome's powers worked very differently to a normal Miko's. She'd come back a bit early because she didn't want Inuyasha coming through to find her, and learning that Sesshomaru belonged to her, if nothing else she didn't think he could be discrete about it.

 

She checked her link to Inuyasha, and realised that she'd always had one of the shields she'd learned to use consciously while she was back in her time over it, and located him in the village. Kagome went to him immediately, but she hung back a bit to watch the show as she found Miroku about to grope Sango. His hand slid unnoticed towards her ass, but as it connected Sango took her boomerang to him.

 

“Hentai!” Kagome laughed as she stepped forward.

 

“Will you never learn Miroku? Have you heard any rumours of shards? I can't sense any in my range.” Kagome knelt by Shippo, pulling out a chocolate bar for him and pulling him into her lap as she spoke.

 

“No, we haven't heard any rumours. At least nothing substantial.” Miroku sounded disappointed, and he seemed to feel that they'd failed somehow.

 

“In that case there's something new I want to try.” Kagome reluctantly put Shippo aside and pulled some things out of her pack, a shallow bowl, made of beaten silver, laying one of the Shikon no Tama shards in it, a laminated map of Japan, one that just showed physical features and a silver knife.

 

“What are you doing wench?” Inuyasha grabbed her wrist, demanding an answer as she used the knife to cut across her wrist, spilling the blood into the bowl, over the shard.

 

“Using my blood to scry over a greater range, hopefully once I `contaminate' my blood with the Shikon's aura I'll be able to scatter it over the map, and it should show us where all the shards are. I found a way to learn how to use my power better in my time, so I'll need to spend more of my time there - I'm sure you'll agree it will be of value.”

 

Inuyasha agreed reluctantly, but he didn't really have any other choice, and Kagome bound her wrist up again. She shut her eyes, concentrating on putting her power, and purpose into her blood and when she opened them again she saw/not-saw her aura and the Shikon no Tama's intertwined in her blood. Dipping her fingers into the blood she scattered it over the map, and each drop landed where there was a shard. She knew that the two largest concentrations represented her and Naraku, but there were other largish concentrations, but the scale was too small to make them out clearly.

 

“We'll focus on the shards to the west for now, that's the closest of the larger concentrations.” As she spoke Kagome sorted out the large scale map that focused on the area in question, and repeated her actions with this one. “Miroku, Inuyasha, those are our targets. Find out the best way to get to them - the fastest, the most efficient, whatever.” She left the two men with that map as she took the knife, bowl, shard and the other map to clean the blood off. By the time she got back they'd made their minds up, and even sketched a couple of maps of their own.

 

~~~***0***~~~

 

Sesshomaru looked around nervously before he slipped into the nursery. His father was with his wife - Sesshomaru refused to call the Miko his father's mate, making plans for how to replace Sesshomaru with this month old brother, Inuyasha, as the heir to the Western Lands. Sesshomaru just prayed that if he was no longer heir then his father wouldn't care that his eldest son looked so feminine.

 

The hanyou was in his crib, just beginning to complain, hopefully just because he was being ignored and there weren't people around him, making a fuss. Sesshomaru carefully scented the air around his brother, establishing that he was uninjured and had not soiled himself. When Sesshomaru lifted Inuyasha into his arms he immediately nuzzled into the youkai's chest, looking for milk.

 

Sesshomaru looked around anxiously, but when he couldn't find anything containing milk - even though he'd overheard an argument between the nurse and the Miko over her refusal to breastfeed the pup - he cut open a finger, praying that hanyous were enough like youkai pups that they could take sustenance from blood as well as milk until they were weaned. From the eager way the pup latched onto his finger Sesshomaru got the feeling that this hanyou at least not only could drink blood, but needed to.

 

The pup seemed to be fascinated by Sesshomaru's long silver hair. He'd thought about cutting it off, to minimise the feminine appearance his father despised so, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Besides his father kept his hair even longer. Sesshomaru had never seen a hanyou pup before and he found Inuyasha's flawlessly white colouring fascinating. He assumed that was a result of the human blood, as all youkai had some markings, usually facial, like his crescent and cheek stripes, but sometimes just on the body, such as the interlocking diamonds running down the arms of the castle healer, Sayaro. Inuyasha had inherited their father's ears and even beneath his puppy fat it was apparent that he had a much stronger bone structure than Sesshomaru did.

 

Sesshomaru got so lost in the joy of being able to hold and play with such a young pup, younger than he'd ever been allowed to see, that he didn't realise how much time was passing, until his father, and his wife were standing in the doorway. The Miko ran over and snatched his little brother from his hands, setting the pup to wailing in loss.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“This one just wanted to see Inuyasha. He is beautiful, and his scent is strong.” Sesshomaru knelt slowly, hoping that a show of submission would be enough to calm the Miko and his father.

 

“Michiko!” The Taiyoukai yelled for the nurse. “What were you doing leaving my son alone?”

 

“The young lord was with him. I knew he wouldn't be neglected.”

 

Inutaisho turned on Sesshomaru next. “Did he seem at all unhappy while you were here?”

 

“He was hungry when this one arrived. The milk was nowhere in sight so he drank this one's blood instead. He has a good appetite, and was eager to taste the blood.”

 

“You like him.”

 

“Yes Taiyoukai.”

 

“Then I am certain you will be willing to help Michiko care for him, as she seems to *need* the help. Oh, and Michiko, you earned yourself five lashes.” He turned to leave and his wife put the hanyou pup down to follow him, making a single suggestion as they left.

 

“Perhaps we should give Sesshomaru the wherewithal to have children of his own; it might make it easier to replace him if he is with child.”

 

~~~***0***~~~

 

Sesshomaru woke up, panicked, and pulled Rin closer to him, using her as a safety blanket. He thought he'd put that nightmare behind him a long time ago, but telling his new master how his father and his wife had altered him had brought it back up again. It had hurt when they added the womb to his body, and then when he was thirteen and had first come into heat one of the personal guards his father had got for his new wife had tried to rape him. Sesshomaru had managed to kill him, barely holding back his instincts to let the other youkai win and take him and fled to ask Sayaro what was wrong with him. She'd taught him the spell that hid the feminine scent markers and shown him herbs that made it easier to deal with the heat and others for the bleeding that came two weeks later. He felt sorry for Rin, and what her body would do to her, he'd learned that human females went into heat and bled twelve times a year, unless they were with child, not merely twice as youkai did. Slowly he calmed his racing heartbeat, and settled down into a light doze until dawn.

 

“Hello Sesshomaru. I have things I need to discuss with you.” He hadn't felt her emotions through their link! Sesshomaru was shocked, and scared by that. If he couldn't sense what Kagome was feeling how was he to know if he'd pleased or angered her?

 

“Kagome, should we not speak of them in somewhat more privacy?”

 

“Yes, I presume you feel you can trust me and mine with your human pup, but this concerns Inuyasha as well.”

 

“If I did not think you were trustworthy I would not have sent her to you.” Sesshomaru answered his master's question as he followed her into the forest. They walked until he couldn't hear Rin, or any of his master's friends, then she stopped him by grabbing onto his hair and pulling him down to kiss him. Sesshomaru froze, too scared to do anything else, and remained passive under her demanding mouth and tongue. `What is she doing? She's never shown any interest in me before. Or in my brother…unless…she wants someone she can hurt, who'll submit to her, and Inuyasha won't?'

 

“Bitch! You didn't ask us to come here so I could watch you kiss my brother!” Sesshomaru dropped to his knees as his master released him at Inuyasha's shout. He kept his head bowed, and stayed still, trying not to draw his master's attention.

 

“No, that was a test of sorts, to find out if something I heard was true. Sesshomaru, I promise I won't hurt you. You can get up.” Sesshomaru obeyed, standing slowly, and keeping his head bowed. “You belong to me don't you?”

 

“Yes Kagome-sama. This one is your property to do with as you will. Just…please, do not hurt Rin, protect her…please?” Sesshomaru was trembling at the knowledge of how presumptuous and insolent he was being, but he couldn't bear it if his master hurt his human pup, or abandoned her again, to suffer and die.

 

“I won't hurt Rin, and I will protect her if she needs it. For the moment I want you to explain to Inuyasha why you belong to me - and could you both sit down while you do it, I'm getting a crick in my neck from staring up at you.” Sesshomaru obeyed immediately, and looked to his brother, waiting for him to do as Kagome had said. “That wasn't a suggestion Inuyasha. Osuwari!” Sesshomaru almost cringed as Inuyasha crashed face down into the ground. “Now, Sesshomaru, explain it to us.”

 

“The reason hanyous are killed when they are young is that if they feed their blood to a youkai, with the correct spells that youkai becomes the hanyou's slave. A hanyou with a Miko as the human parent doesn't need the spell.” Sesshomaru fell silent, trying his best to calm his fear. Kagome had just hurt his brother because he hadn't obeyed fast enough, and Inuyasha was her protector, at least physically - she hadn't learned to use her magic in combat yet for some reason.

 

“Then why are you Kagome's slave, not mine?”

 

“Because you already belong to her. Mikos can enslave hanyous and youkai using their magic. I don't know a lot about that, about how they do it, but I do know they can. I used to wonder if…” He trailed off, too frightened to mention that he'd thought Inuyasha's mother might have done that to their father after she'd married him for alliance purposes.

 

“I do not belong to that bitch!” Inuyasha yelled at his brother, and at their master, indiscriminately.

 

“The only other option would be that you enslaved me as a gift for her, and you don't know how to do that.” Sesshomaru shivered, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground; hopefully, if he stayed quiet, he wouldn't get caught by the fallout from his brother's defiance.

 

“Shut up Inuyasha. Yes, you do belong to me technically, but I won't take advantage of it - I never have before, have I?”

 

“Feh! You keep on sitting me for no reason. And how long has this been going on?” Inuyasha actually sounded sulky, and suddenly Sesshomaru realised he could feel his master's amusement. At least she wasn't angry, that eased his apprehension a little.

 

“I sit you when you attack someone without any real reason, when you try to use force to keep me here or do what you want, and occasionally to get your attention or when you make me angry. That is actually an external restraint from Kaede's magic - my link to you is made partly out of your own magic and is now intrinsic to you. If I use it to give you an order you would not be able to disobey, but I don't do it that often. Remember what it felt like when I told you to shut up just now?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That's what it feels like when I give you an order that way. How often have you felt that?”

 

“Five, six times, but it wasn't always important!”

 

“No, I didn't understand it at first. This link developed after we learned why you need the Tetsusaiga, and once I realise you had no choice but to obey me if I forced you I mostly stopped doing it. I only realised it made you my slave when I learned that your brother belongs to me, and I realised my power marks you both in the same way. Of course it won't be formal until I mark you both physically, will it Sesshomaru?”

 

“No Kagome-sama it won't be.”

 

“Why are you so scared Sesshomaru?”

 

“You are a Miko, and I've never seen a Miko who wasn't cruel.” Sesshomaru curled in on himself, just waiting to be punished for his insolence, he knew that he'd insulted his master and she would be angry at him for that. But all he felt through the bond was shock, and…compassion for him?

 

“My mother was not cruel!” Inuyasha sounded furious; perhaps his master would just let her brother beat him up?

 

“Was she the one who changed you and Inuyasha?” He felt Kagome doing something, but he didn't know what it was. “I think I've removed the gaes, so you should be able to talk about it.”

 

“Y-yes. I can't remember how often he came to me for comfort after she'd done something to `improve' him.”

 

“Feh! As if I'd be stupid enough to come to you for comfort. You've always been colder than a block of ice.”

 

“No!” Sesshomaru raised his voice and his eyes for a second, and then let them both drop again. “I only started trying to imitate Father's behaviour after he died, I couldn't think of any other way to avoid being killed for weakness, or to keep you alive. I wasn't old enough to rule without a regent, and he wanted to kill you, it was only when I pointed out my duty to keep you alive that he agreed to let you and your mother leave.”

 

“My father wasn't cold and uncaring, he always made time for me, I remember him teaching me to hunt, when I made my first kill he let me eat it raw and said-”

 

“No, I taught you how to hunt,” Sesshomaru interrupted, just hoping that Kagome wouldn't be angry, although it seemed to amuse her, “and after you killed that rabbit I said I'd teach you how to cook your next kill. Then I asked you not to mention this to your mother, or she'd shout at me about teaching her son to act like a savage. And I taught you how to cleanse the family linkage from your blood so you could use it to heal demons not of your family. I inherited my venom from my mother, and you once asked me why I scratched humans then stitched them up if they were wounded, and just fed my blood to youkai.”

 

“You said youkai blood could only heal youkai, but venom that could kill people, could also, in small enough amounts kill pain. Why did I always think that was my father then?”

 

“Because youkai infants need blood as well as their mother's milk, and usually it is their father who feeds them that blood. Father refused to feed his blood to me because I looked too feminine, and he got my mother pregnant at every heat, but she miscarried every time, by the fourth month without fail. That's what eventually killed her. She got her guards to feed me their blood, and fed me her own, but no one guard gave me blood often enough to constitute an adoption. I thought he fed you his blood, so it didn't matter that I gave you my blood three to four times a week after you were a month old.”

 

Sesshomaru shrugged trying to hide how much what he was about to tell his brother had hurt him. “No servants would go to their Taiyoukai for healing, and they stopped coming to me as soon as Father died. I ended up talking to Sayaro, and figuring out a way to store my blood, and put just enough venom to help into a cream to use on wounds before she stitched the humans up. I always used to love healing people, and that's why I was given this.” He touched the Tensaiga to illustrate his words. “But he said he was leaving a decent blade to you, because you were a real fighter, and obviously better fitted for a warrior's blade than I was.”

 

“And that's why you wanted Tetsusaiga. Once I formally claim you you'll have to give up your position as Taiyoukai, won't you?”

 

“Yes Kagome.”

 

“Who is your heir?”

 

“Inuyasha, but no one would accept a hanyou. After him there is my father's brother, who was my regent. He tried to have me killed once or twice during his regency, but I managed to survive. I modelled my attitude towards humans on him, and that helped stop the attempts on my life.”

 

“And how old were you when you could rule in your own right?”

 

“Twenty.”

 

“When will you next go into heat?”

 

“Five months time. I was in heat when Naraku…” it was too painful for Sesshomaru to willingly talk about it, and Kagome seemed to understand that.

 

“In that case you have two years to conceive an heir. If you don't have an heir by then I will formally claim you, but if you do then I'll wait until the pup is ten years old. You didn't do too badly with Inuyasha, and you only had him for half that time.”

 

“Yes Kagome-sama. But why do I have to carry my heir myself?”

 

“Because that way his father can be his regent, otherwise your uncle will be his regent, and he might not survive. Your pup's father won't have any motivation to kill him, your uncle might.”

 

“Oh! I'm sorry to be so stupid Kagome-sama. I have a cousin, the son of my father's father's sister's son. He is a strong fighter, and from a good lineage. He doesn't know too much about politics, but I can teach him, and he does desire me. Do you think he will do?”

 

“I'll trust your judgement on the matter.”

 

“You will? Thank you Kagome-sama.” Sesshomaru knew better than to move when Kagome reached out and began petting him.

 

“You are very submissive Sesshomaru. Inuyasha always fights me, even when I'm right, even though he knows I can hurt him. I haven't done a thing to you, but you've obeyed without question.”

 

“Inuyasha wouldn't know how to be submissive if his life depended on it.” Sesshomaru felt a strange mix of envy, pride and shame as he answered his master's implied question. “I learned how to submit when I was still a pup, because my father thought I wasn't good enough to be his heir. He liked to hurt me, and he let his wife do the same.”

 

 

~~~***0***~~~

--> [Author:J R]

 

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