InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Decisions ❯ Let's go to the festival ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10: Let's go to the Festival

Kagome smiled as she watched Ranmaru run through the shrine gardens were the stalls were being set up for the night's festivals. He was playing with Inuyasha who had been dragged along to help set up the festival by Kikyo and her iron fist. Kyo was currently inside the shrine in the kitchen with Mrs Higurashi as she cooked for the festival.

“He's going to break something” Kikyo murmured watching her mate closely as she stood next to Kagome sweeping the shrine steps with her.

“It'll be fine” Kagome shrugged, because they were working their grandpa had somehow convinced them to wear traditional Miko garbs to tend to the shrine in. She couldn't help but feel stupid dressed in the red and white robe.

“You don't have to pay for it when he breaks something” Kikyo pointed out

“Yeah I guess” Kagome shrugged and then glanced at the silver watch on her slim wrist “Where the hell is Souta; he said he'd be here to help us set up”

“He does run a bar you know” Kikyo rolled her eyes in an accurate imitation of Kagome

“Yeah well he said he'd be here by now” Kagome was well aware of the fact that she sounded like a whiny child but she ignored it.

“Punctuality does not run in our bloodline” Kikyo shrugged and tactfully changed the subject “looks like a lot of people will be turning up for the festival tonight”

Kagome grinned “Yeah I handed out flyers to the kids in my school, their parents will hopefully be tempted to bring them”

“That was very devious young Kagome” Kikyo mock scolded but in such a voice that anyone who didn't know her would have presumed her statement to be serious.

“Devious is my middle name” Kagome shrugged and giggled

“Your middle name is Midoriko” Kikyo pointed out

“Yeah but that's not as much fun” Kagome giggled again as they finished sweeping the steps and went to return their brooms to the small shed like cupboard in one corner of the shrine yard.

“Will the Inu Yokai be coming?” Kikyo dug for information. She was pretty close to her younger cousin considering that they had spent most of their adolescence together and Sango and Ayame had pushed her to ask for information on the strange budding relationship between Kagome and the Yokai Lord.

“Hmm?” Kagome asked emerging from the depths of the shed where she had placed their brooms

“Will Sesshoumaru-san be coming?” Kikyo asked inquisitively

“Did Inuyasha invite him?” Kagome was confused

“No...” Kikyo hedged

“Well then he's probably not coming unless Rin-chan gave him the flyer” she shrugged

“Ah” Kikyo said walking away from her cousin her tone suggesting she had reached a conclusion “so that was the reason you handed flyers out at your school”

Kagome gasped in indignant shock “It was not! Kikyo!” she yelled at her cousins retreating back as she ran to catch up with her

“Don't lie” Kikyo said coolly

“Baka” Kagome muttered sullenly as she followed her cousin inside

Rin had been insistent that Higurashi-sensei wanted her to go to a festival of some sort held at the shrine in the town.

Sesshoumaru was not looking forward to this for a number of reasons. It had not been hard to convince Sesshoumaru, he was becoming increasingly weak to her puppy dog eyes. What was difficult was reassuring Sesshoumaru that he wasn't going to catch some disease from prolonged contact with humans.

He was led by Rin wearing her favourite orange and yellow chequered kimono and he was wearing a traditional family heirloom kimono that made him look more foreboding than he already did.

She was happy and he was feeling ill from the barrage of disgusting human scents that his poor sensitive nose was being subjected to.

“Are you okay Sesshoumaru-san?” a familiar voice asked him as Rin ran off to get something to eat. Sesshoumaru turned to see Ranmaru wearing a black kimono with a silver obi standing behind him and smiling sympathetically.

“The stench of too many human's is getting to this Sesshoumaru” he told the younger Yokai

“I suppose it's worse for you than it is for me” Ranmaru shrugged “what with you being an Inu Yokai and all”

“Indeed” he nodded to the younger Yokai

“Ne, Sesshoumaru-san” Ranmaru said

“Nani?”

“Do you like my Okasan?” he asked innocently

Sesshoumaru glared at the young Yokai who didn't bat an eyelid and just stared back at him “This Sesshoumaru has no affection for filthy humans” he said

“Right” Ranmaru said in a voice that suggested that he wasn't buying it as he rolled his eyes like his Okasan. “But she smells nice” he pointed out

“Indeed” the elder Yokai allowed

“Why thank you Sesshoumaru” Kagome's voice sounded from over his shoulder “that's probably the closest thing to a compliment I'm ever going to wring from you”

He turned to glower at her but couldn't quite pull it off as her appearance momentarily flummoxed him. She was wearing a light grey blue kimono that matched her eyes perfectly and a silver obi around her waist. Her hair was tied into an elegant twist atop her head which was adorned with intricate hair ornaments. She was capturing as much male attention as he was capturing female attention and that made Sesshoumaru angry for reasons that were not fathomable to the Yokai.

“You okay Sesshoumaru?” she asked prodding him in the forehead. He snapped from his trance and grabbed her wrist causing her to stop her ministrations

“Stop prodding this Sesshoumaru” he told her

Her response was to stick her tongue out at him which caused Sesshoumaru to glower and Ranmaru to giggle.

“Ran-chan, go play with Rin-chan she going to get lost if she wanders around her on her own” Kagome pointed at the distant skipping figure of Rin as she rounded a corner and disappeared

“Sure” he shrugged and ran off after her, he ran a little too fast for a human seven year old, but that was expected from the child Yokai.

“She is very hyper” Kagome noted

“She is a handful, even for this Sesshoumaru” Sesshoumaru intoned sounding bored

“Did you just admit to her being your weak spot?” she teased the Inu Yokai and he growled softly.

“Oh!” she exclaimed suddenly “I just remembered” she grabbed his wrist and dragged the stunned Yokai through the crowd towards the shrine.

She dropped his wrist as she reached the secluded area outside the shrine and took great pleasure in saying “Stay” to the Yokai before disappearing inside and returning with a plastic bag which she handed to him. He took it from her and looked inside; it was his jacket he had leant her last time he had met her. A though occurred to him.

“Has the human bothered you since?” he asked her

She raised a brow “I'm human too” she pointed out

He just looked at her

“No” she sighed as she realised she wasn't going to get any apologies from the Inu Yokai

He grinned kind of sinisterly at Kagome and she shivered slightly. “What did you say to him?” she demanded

“Nothing” he tried to appear innocent but failed to pull it off, surprisingly.

“Sesshoumaru you might just be evil” she said titling her head to one side

He scoffed “You just know noticed?” he asked and then growled when the unmistakeable scent of neko Yokai littered the breeze. She frowned as she wondered what he was growling about before with a lithe jump a slim teenage boy with waist length deep purple hair landed in front of Kagome with his back to the Inu Yokai. He appeared to have dropped from the tree above her. He looked exactly like any other human you could happen across except his grey eyes were not human but cat and his ears were pointed.

“Sasuke!” she exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the neko

“Kagome-neesan, it's been a while” the neko grinned and jumped out of the way as Sesshoumaru took a swipe for the neko. He landed gracefully next to the stunned Kagome.

“Why'd you do that?” she demanded glaring at Sesshoumaru

“The neko knows why” Sesshoumaru growled menacingly

The neko in question grinned slyly “It's okay neesan, I know why he did it. In fact I was hoping he would”

“Huh?” Kagome was lost

Sasuke bonked her on the back of her head “You need to remember what I tell you” he scolded her slipping an arm around her shoulders and causing Sesshoumaru to let out a low warning growl from between his teeth. Kagome didn't hear it, but Sasuke did and tightened his grip on her shoulders in response.

“What did you tell me?” she asked Sasuke

“In Yokai terms turning your back on another Yokai is considered the utmost of bad manners” Sasuke explained

“So why'd you do it?” Kagome asked in confusion

“Because like you my favourite past time is winding people up” he shrugged “like right now he wants' to rip my head off for touching you so casually”

“Baka Neko” Sesshoumaru growled

“I guess this dog is smarter than the rest” Sasuke rolled his eyes “where's Ran-chan?”

“Playing somewhere” she shrugged “if anyone tries to hurt him they'll get more than they bargained for, besides, Kikyo and Okasan and mina-san are around”

“Yeah” Sasuke let go of her shoulders and continued to watch the Inu Yokai curiously. His behaviour was confusing the neko, Sesshoumaru was acting like Kagome was his mate but she did not smell of him and his mark was not on her neck. Interesting.

“Where's Hana-chan?” Kagome asked

“She saw Kikyo-neesan and ran away before I could stop her” he rolled his eyes

“I thought you could control her” Kagome snickered

“Have you tried controlling her?” he sighed and pretended to be hard done by “the only small amount of control I have over her stems from the fact she's my mate, there really isn't much I can do beyond that”

He has a mate? Sesshoumaru asked himself in surprise and Sasuke grinned at the Yokai as he and Kagome walked past him.

***

It irked Sesshoumaru somewhat that Inuyasha already knew and was on good terms with the annoying neko who took great pleasure in winding everyone up, even if he seemed to be paying special attention to Sesshoumaru.

His mate Hana was immune to him it seemed, she was a neko Hanyou with small cat ears and the cat's eyes that Sasuke had in his possession.

It would have been a heart warming sight, if he had been one to employ such notions, looking at the scene of Inuyasha his wife and their pup along with Hana nestled in Sasuke's embrace and Ran and surprisingly Rin snuggled into the warmth of Kagome's sides whilst playing a game of `thumb wars' across her lap. She looked completely relaxed as she held them to her sides with her arms around them carefully the picture of maternal care. She would make a fine mother.

Where'd that thought come from? The Inu Yokai asked himself whilst shaking his head.

“Hey!” Sasuke left Hana and Kagome to talk and walked up to the Inu Yokai who was still glowering at him, but not as fiercely as before.

“What?” Sesshoumaru snapped

“If you are going to treat her like your mate and growl at any male who approaches her then I suggest you bite the bullet and ask her out already” Sasuke said and then jumped out of the way to avoid Sesshoumaru's poison whip with lithe ease. “Touchy” he taunted as he went to sit with the group of ignorant beings again.

Sesshoumaru seethed silently at the sheer audacity of the neko. That particular breed of Yokai was of course known for being cheeky. But this went beyond cheek.

“Ano” Ranmaru had moved from underneath his mothers left arm and looked up at the elder Yokai who looked down at him with an eyebrow raised in askance “You're poison is flowing”

Sesshoumaru looked down at his claws that had started to bleed his toxic poisons without his consent and quickly stopped his poison with a sheepish expression on his face he glanced around at the rest of the humans, Hanyou and Yokai in the vicinity to see if they had noticed. No one had noticed. Except the damn neko who was currently laughing his head off whilst Hana asked him what was wrong.

Sesshoumaru had grown to the limits of his patience with the neko and stood and left the group. He hated to have to leave the calming scent of Kagome to venture forth into the disgusting smells of humans but the neko was too damn irritating to allow him to stay any longer.

He found that he had retraced his steps to the steps of the shrine where Kagome had led him earlier. He sat in the grassy area underneath the huge tree that leant on the shrine.

“What's wrong?” asked Kagome as she approached him quietly

“Nothing” he said

“Sure” her tone was laced with disbelief “That's why you're sulking under a tree like Inuyasha always used to do when something was bothering him.”

“Don't compare me to the half breed” he was cocky

She started to laugh “It can't be that bad if you can still insult Inuyasha” she sat next to him on the grass underneath the tree.

“Hn” he rolled his eyes and then he thought of a way to direct the conversation away from himself “do you know the people who own the shrine?” after all he had seen her disappear inside to retrieve his suit jacket

“You could say that” she giggled “my Ojiisan owns the shrine and lives here with my Okasan”

“So you are descended from shrine folk” he said raising an eyebrow at the bizarre information

“Yep, try not to meet my Ojiisan though, he'll throw some sutra's that don't work on you and yell at you” she sniggered at the mental image of Sesshoumaru with a ward stuck to his forehead

“Sounds like he should be related to you” Sesshoumaru replied dryly

She elbowed him in the ribs, but the action inflicted more pain on her than on him and she grumbled while he bit back a laugh.

They sat in silence for a few moments as they listened to the sounds of the festival from behind the shrine. It wasn't an awkward silence per say, it was the silence you get when Kagome fumes whilst Sesshoumaru is there.

“Ne, Sesshoumaru”

“Hn?”

“Can I touch your markings?” she asked curiously leaning towards him expectantly

He raised an aristocratic eyebrow “Why?”

“Because I haven't touched them before” she pointed out

“This Sesshoumaru will not allow a lowly ningen to touch his person” he replied frigidly

She pouted and pounced on him straddling his lap as she attempted to touch his markings. He growled playfully and caught both her wrists effectively blocking her movements. She was secretly elated that the cumbersome and tetchy Inu Yokai was currently being playful with her.

“Aw, come on!” she protested thumping her forehead onto his he felt himself get lightheaded over the infiltration of her scent into his senses. His eyes closed in contentment and she smiled softly before becoming confused, after all it was him who had only a minute ago said he didn't want a ningen to touch him and now here she was sitting on his lap with her wrists in his hands and her forehead on his while he closed his eyes and sniffed her? It was kind of weird.

Then something occurred to her and she took advantage of his scent induced sedation to touch his nose with the index finger of her right hand.

His eyes snapped open and he surveyed the onna with his golden eyes.

“Your nose isn't wet” she noted and he rolled his eyes

“I am an Inu Yokai, not an Inu” he told her haughtily

“So?” she asked “You growl like one” she traced her finger over the crescent on his forehead and smiled at the texture it reminded her of her Obaasan's velvet lined jewellery box, soft smooth and a different texture to his actual skin. His eyes rolled back into his head without his conscious permission for them to do so.

“They went this way I'm sure of it” came Hana's voice as she pulled Sasuke into the clearing where Kagome and Sesshoumaru sat

“Come on let's leave them some privacy” he protested and then they laid eyes on Kagome and Sesshoumaru.

Hana blushed seventeen different hues of red at their compromising if misunderstood position and Kagome followed suit and stuttered slightly when she said.

“Um... whatever you're thinking is wrong” she bit out

Sasuke looked at them and started to howl with laughter regardless of the fact he was a neko and Sesshoumaru's reply was to growl at him low in his throat and Kagome in her current position felt rather than heard it.

“Demon be gone!” an old man appeared from seemingly thin air and slapped a sutra onto Sesshoumaru's surprised forehead causing Kagome to topple off his lap backwards in shock. A small part of Sesshoumaru's head told him he should have been able to detect the old man before he had been ineffectively warded but the other part of his brain was angry at the non reiyouku possessor who sought to subdue him; Sesshoumaru.

“Ojiisan, don't!” Kagome yanked him away from Sesshoumaru

“You can't kill him” Inuyasha who had appeared with Kikyo, Rin and Ranmaru in tow reminded his brother cockily earning him a growl

“This Sesshoumaru would perhaps need a different punching bag” Sesshoumaru cracked his knuckles menacingly in the direction of his half brother

“Now, now no fighting on shrine grounds” apparently Sasuke had recovered enough to mock him again, he was really beginning to dislike that neko.

“Hey, he's right you can't fight!” Kagome exclaimed laying a placating hand on the Inu Yokai's arm, this seemed to calm the annoyed Yokai which made the neko sniggered yet again.

This time it was Kagome that growled in Sasuke's direction, he was really not helping matters.

“Demon be gone!” the old man who had temporarily been forgotten tried yet again to ward Sesshoumaru.

“Otosan!” a new voice exclaimed and a petite, calm woman appeared from the shrine holding Kyo in her arms

The old man's sutra didn't quite make it to Sesshoumaru's forehead this time as he faltered upon hearing his daughter scolding him, he turned towards her sheepishly.

“Not again” she murmured

***

“You think he'd learn, after having so many demons in the family” Kagome remarked. She was sat in the family kitchen with Kikyo Inuyasha, Ranmaru and Kyo with her mother stood next to the kitchen window looking out at the old priest who was currently sulking in the garden. Sesshoumaru had departed instantly after the incident with Rin due to the fact that he could just tell that Sasuke was waiting to taunt him about the position he and Kagome had been found in. Sasuke had then left with Hana commenting on how there was no longer any one else to torment.

“You can't teach an old dog new tricks” Ranmaru shrugged

Inuyasha growled “Hey, that's an insult to actual dogs!”

“Save it” Kikyo intoned hitting him with Kyo's bottle

He gave her a reproachful stare but she ignored him and Kyo gurgled happily in his mothers arms, he was used to his parents having mild rows and loved it when his father was hit comically by his mother.

“Even the kid isn't on my side” Inuyasha grouched and Kyo grabbed hold of his nose and tugged

“I do hope Sesshoumaru-san isn't too upset about everything” Mrs Higurashi sighed

“Trust me, he's probably cursed us all by now, I'm surprised we're still alive” Inuyasha grouched

“He's not that bad!” Kagome protested

“Why are you defending him?” Inuyasha raised his eyebrows suggestively at her and she glared at him.

“Because he's my...” she trailed off, she wasn't sure what exactly Sesshoumaru was to her.

Ranmaru could sense his mothers discomfort and piped up “He's really nice!”

Inuyasha gave the young Yokai a look “Keh”

“Well maybe nice isn't right, but when he looks after Rin, he's nice to me and he likes Okasan”

Kagome went bright read at the last and Mrs Higurashi chuckled, it seemed like Kagome was following after her cousin and going for an Inu rather than a man. Not that she was complaining Kikyo and Inuyasha were blissfully happy and she wanted the same thing for her own daughter.

The door burst open and the old priest catapulted into the room with a new sutra and an expression of glee causing the Kelpie to wince and the Inu Hanyou to flatten his ears to his head, Kyo on the other hand buried his head in his mother's chest.

“I've perfected my sutras!” he yelled happily “and I need a Yokai to practise on” he turned to look at Ranmaru expectantly who wondered why his mother's Ojiisan had to be quiet so batty.

“You are not using sutra's on my son, no matter if they work or not” Kagome threatened

The old man gave a sigh and turned to Inuyasha “Guess you'll have to do instead” he said

“Aw, hell no” Inuyasha moaned; chaos ensued as one crazy old priest chased one annoyed Inu Hanyou around the small kitchen whilst trying to a voice the people currently occupying the small space.

“I wish those beads of subjugation from legends were real” Kikyo muttered under her breath.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha and make no profit from this. Anyway review onegai and thanks for reading. Thanks to the reviewers on fanfiction dot net of the last chapter; Kouga'sGirl4eva, ruby red 1989, SilentQuil23, llebreknit, mmmyeah4 and Lina03. And thanks to Animegirl1 who reviewed on MediaMiner.