InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ever the Lotus ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 3

Hitomi sat back and held his gaze for several long moments, her expression clearly weighing.  It looked like she was reevaluating the male settled at her table – and Sesshoumaru had a very strong feeling that she was seeing more than he might have expected.

This human woman was quite clearly very intelligent, and nobody's fool – he wondered what her thoughts on him were.  It might be interesting to see into this woman's mind, and suddenly, he realized that it almost didn't matter whether she had actually birthed Kagome or not – because she was definitely the young woman's mother.

Finally, as the silence began to drag on longer than he was comfortable with, she answered.

“Kagome is... partially my daughter, I suppose you could say,”  she said quietly, keeping her eyes pinned to him, wanting to see his reaction to her words.

He blinked.  Partially?   “And by that you mean...?”

With a rather sharp smile that he was almost surprised to see coming from a human female, she said,  “This is a shrine, and I am a shrine daughter.  Just before I became pregnant with Kagome, I was visited by Omoikane-kami-sama.  He spoke to me of my daughter, and told me many things that she would encounter in her life.  He also told me that she would not be truly human in the same sense that I and my husband were.”

The kami of wisdom and intelligence?   “How was she made... not human, yet bred by a human father, and birthed by a human mother?”

Hitomi's gaze went far away for a moment; it was clear she was remembering events from long ago.  “When I first became pregnant with Kagome, I was visited again, by many kami – though their aspects remained hidden, and to this day I do not know which kami participated, and which did not.  They laid hands upon me, and changed her while she lay curled beneath my heart.”  She focused on him once more and smiled.  “Kagome really contains aspects of kami, youkai, and humanity, within her – her immortality is the aspect of the kami she has, her power that is innate to her, as yours is to you, is the aspect of youkai she carries, and her appearance is human – as well as her soft heart.”

He considered her words for some time, his cold gaze not straying from her, while he arranged what he'd learned from her this night in his mind.  What she'd told him begged the question... “Why would the kami do such a thing?  What was the purpose of changing a human child while still in the womb into something... other?  Something not so human?”

Taking a slow sip of her tea, Hitomi nodded at that question.  It was one she had asked, herself.

“They created her to change the world.  That is all they would tell me when I asked.”

~oOo~

They created her to change the world.  I suppose I can see that – after all, she has already changed my era, my world.  If not for her, Inuyasha would still be pinned, and Naraku would still be alive.  But was that all she was created for?  It seems such a small changing, for one that they went to so much effort to create.

Sesshoumaru sat once more outside Kagome's window, watching the night sky wheel through its circle of darkness reaching once more for daylight, pondering on everything he had learned since coming here.

He could not deny that his focus was changing slightly – perhaps Kagome had been correct in avowing that what she was was not so important.  He was still curious about that, there was no denying it, but he was beginning to think that there was no answer to that question, except that she was something... new.  It could be that defining what she was could only be answered by defining her purpose – by discovering what it was that the kami had created her to change.

Looking back on her years in his era, it was obvious now with hindsight that she was a catalyst for change.  She had to do no more than exist, to change everything around her.  Even he, the supposedly immutable youkai lord that he was, had been changed, by nothing more than her presence.  But what was it, specifically, that she had been created for?  What change was she supposed to institute within this creation of the kami?

A thought crossed his mind, then, and he considered it for a time – in a way, Kagome was just as much a creation of the kami, as the world, and all of life was.  She could rightfully claim the earth as her sister.  

One thing is certain – she is unique.  No matter what she is, in the end, there is not another like her anywhere, and there never will be.  She was created to be eternal, and so the kami have no plans to create another like her, ever.  It is no surprise, he mused idly to himself, that she is so unique – after all, nothing would gain so much of my attention that was not.

And that was why, when he had taken everything out and looked at it again – all the questions he had about her, all the answers he had gained in his quest to understand what she was, and the questions he still had, it did not bother him to realize that his interest in her had deepened to obsession, and from obsession to need.  He, Sesshoumaru, who needed very little more than air, water, and occasionally food, to survive, now could add one more thing to the list – Kagome.  It was not surprising, either, to find that she was at the head of that very short list.  

Somehow, in the years he had spent pondering her, she had moved in, and taken over, rendering him as hers, irrevocably.  He shrugged to himself as that thought slid through his mind – he honestly could say he did not care.  He needed her, he wanted her, and so he would have her – he was Sesshoumaru, and what he wanted, he got.  She belonged to him, just as he belonged to her.

Bokuseno... the memory came to him, then, of the old tree, and his words.  “I am pleased that I have gotten at least a partial answer from you, Sesshoumaru.  But you should continue to ponder that question, as well, while you are thinking on the origins of the girl – because your answer was not complete.”  It was now obvious what the tree had been pointing at, and he found it somewhat annoying that the magnolia had seen so clearly into his mind.  But there was little point in worrying over it – and he certainly had much more interesting things to ponder.

He set aside, for the moment, his quest for answers into the mystery of his Lotus, and instead, turned his formidable intellect onto the problem of how to gain his newborn desire – her, as his, for the rest of this eternity she had been created to change.  

She already must have some interest in this one, beyond as a curiosity – after all, she was 'flattered' by my interest.  And she has declared her own interest in knowing more of me.

He was also quite pleased that he had scented arousal on her in his presence, yesterday.  If she were as attracted as he was, that could only be to the good.

He could do no better than use this idea of hers, this 'learning who she was' exercise, to draw her in until she wanted him as much as he wanted her...

Human appearance, or not, there was no denying that he found her beautiful, and was attracted to her, not just by her mere existence, but in carnal ways that it was easy to scent she had no experience with.  That thought pleased him, his hot blood rising at the idea of imprinting himself into her psyche and flesh as deeply as she was already imprinted into his own psyche, and would soon, if he had his way, be in his flesh, as well.  He found that her assertion that it did not matter what she was, was quite correct, in this matter, at least – his attraction to her and need of her was just as all-encompassing now, as it would be if he were to gain his answers... or conversely, was never to do so.

He would still want her, no matter whether he ever gained his answers, or not.

Perhaps she was created for me... to change me, and to satisfy me.  And I am beginning to suspect that in the end I will not care what her true purpose, is, as long as I can have her.

He shifted a little uncomfortably as his thoughts aroused him, his need coming on him sharply, suddenly, and decided it might be best to go back to considering her purpose in the eyes of the kami, rather than the purpose he wanted her for.  As it was a desire that could not be fulfilled at this time, it was causing him unnecessary pain, and with narrowing eyes, he focused his formidable control, and fought back his need.

Forcing his mind back to his previous thoughts, he ran through his discussion with Hitomi once more, and something occurred to him as he focused on her words; Omoikane, the kami of knowledge and wisdom, had visited her, and spoken to her of Kagome.  

It occurs to this one that perhaps I should make a visit to the shrine of the kami of wisdom and knowledge.  Since he has been intimately involved with Kagome's creation, he could answer my questions, if he so chose.  It would not hurt to ask.  

Tilting his head up, he breathed deeply of the cool night air, his nose wrinkling slightly at the unpleasant odors her era carried.  Still, there was a distinct lack of a certain scent that bothered him; where were the scents of youkai?  He could detect  only one besides his own, and Inuyasha's – Tattari-Mokki, the guardian of children's souls, the flute wielder.  Where had all his kind gone?  Were his words to Kagome of the immutability of youkai perhaps wrong?

True, inuyoukai such as himself were already rare even in his era – there were less than a dozen silver inu left, and besides himself, only three others of those were males.  The rest were females, and one of those females was already taken by a black Inu.  Of course, he wasn't counting Inuyasha, as hanyou, though considering things as they were at this point, it might be necessary to carry on the blood of the silver inu, and his great father, to rethink his stance on Inuyasha.

It was possible that one of the female inu could be persuaded to mate his brother - while hanyou, he was still of the blood of the Inu no Taisho, and had gained a great deal of respect for his strength, his power, that he had proved during the quest to destroy Naraku.  His defeat of Ryokotsussai had astounded more than he, himself, proving that the blood of the Taisho was quite powerful – even halved.  

After all, it wasn't so much a hatred of hanyou, as half bloods that was the problem in youkai society – it was the lack of power.  Most of the time, a half-blood meant half power, and youkai didn't respect anything weaker than themselves.

With his brother, however, much as it annoyed him for a long time to admit, that didn't seem to be an issue.  Yes, there were things that a full youkai could do that his brother could not, such as being capable of flight.  But... it was also true that none of the female inu still left were more powerful than Inuyasha save his own mother, and he made a mental note to take his brother in hand, and introduce a few of the more eligible females to him.  They would see what they would see – if one of them gained his brother's attention, then he would certainly approve a mating.

And it was also time for him to set aside his disdain for hanyou based on their supposed weakness.  Because if he gained that which he, himself, desired so powerfully now, his own young would also be considered hanyou.  With a mother like Kagome, however, and he as sire, any offspring they created together might technically be half-youkai, but they would most certainly not be half-power.

They would be something entirely new, he mused.  There is no telling how powerful they would be.  The thought once again began to arouse him, and he directed his thoughts away from the young he would sire on Kagome firmly.  

All of that still does not say what happened to youkai, however.  I wonder...

His brow furrowed as something entered his mind, then – could it be that one of the things that Kagome might change was the seeming lack of youkai?

It was an interesting thought... if that were so, then it suggested that time was strictly linear, because in the original time-line, his kind disappeared, but after her birth, and then her journey into the past, things had been altered, and now the original timeline was no more, a new one existing in its place, instead.

He found that thought inspiring – it was quite possible that as she lived out her time in his era, and changed things, the era she was birthed in might actually turn out differently than he was now seeing it.  He shook his head, then, a slight frown creasing his brow – time was such a thorny problem, and probably too much so for any but the kami to ever fully understand it.

Another thing that he needed answers to... her apparently effortless manipulation of the Meidou.  That had been a youkai technique, developed by his father's old enemy, and then taken by the Inu no Taisho.  

And now the power lay quiescent in Tessaiga awaiting Inuyasha's will for use.  

So how had Kagome done what she had done?  It was especially interesting, since there had been absolutely no power flare when she had done it.  

His lips tightened as he pondered those questions, and with almost fatalistic resignation, realized that despite the answers he'd received since arriving here in this place, he now had more questions than when he had started.   It seemed it may not be possible to ever garner all the answers where she was concerned.

He reclined against the slope of the roof, lifting one knee to rest his arm upon as he took an appreciative sniff of Kagome's scent.  It was rolling out of the window to her room, and the closer he sat to it, the better it chased off the bitter scent of her era.

And then he growled, his eyes bleeding red at the other scent that came from the room – Inuyasha's.  He sleeps within her room?  That thought infuriated him, and he growled louder, knowing his brother could hear his displeasure.  Sure enough, within a few moments, Inuyasha stepped through the window and glared over at him.

“What the hell's your problem, asshole?”  he snapped.  “Are ya tryin' to wake everyone up?”

“Why are you in Kagome's room, hanyou?”

“Keh!  Jealous?”  he asked smugly.  “I always sleep against her wall when we're here.  Get used to it.  And besides, it ain't like she's yours, so you ain't got nothing to say about it anyway, bastard.”

Before he could even blink, Inuyasha found himself across the yard and pinned against the side of the shrine itself, a very angry Sesshoumaru staring threateningly into his eyes.

“You will find, half-breed,”  he said scathingly,  “that she is more mine than she is yours.  And if you even think to come between me and what I want, I will have no problem eliminating you.”  His voice was dark and rich with power, and in that moment, Inuyasha became highly aware for the first time just how powerful his older brother was.  Even with Tessaiga, he was no match for him.

That pissed him off.  “Listen, fucker,”  he hissed, eyes hazing a bit red,  “if you even think of doing anything like that, Kagome won't ever even look at you.  Whatever else may happen in the years to come, I love her, and she loves me.  So if I were you, I'd watch the threats.”

Sesshoumaru tightened his hand around his brother's throat at his words.  “And yet, hate is simply the opposite side of love, and turns to it very easily, Inuyasha,”  he said smoothly.  “Kagome cannot hate anyone for long... after a time, her hate would turn to love given half a reason.  And believe me, I would give her every reason.”

Inuyasha felt the rage twist inside him at his brother's words, knowing he spoke nothing but the truth.  Still... “Don't count on it, Sesshoumaru.  She might eventually forgive you, but she would never be able to give herself to you with my blood on your claws.”

“That might perhaps be true, Inuyasha, but you would not deny the miko anything her heart really desired, and you know it.  And she desires this one... so you had best prepare to accept that she is mine,”  he flashed back at his brother, satisfaction easily noticeable in his voice.  

After a moment, when his brother had taken in the truth of his words, he opened his hand and dropped him.  “You will not be sleeping in her room anymore, little brother.”   And with that, he turned and disappeared, once more stationed right outside her bedroom window as he settled back and took in her scent, now minus his brother's annoying smell.

You had best get used to the truth of this matter, Inuyasha.  The Lotus is mine.

~oOo~

Kagome woke the next morning slowly, and blinked sleepily in the cool early morning air.  After sitting up and yawning, she stretched and then looked around, surprised not to see Inuyasha propped against his usual spot beneath the window.  I wonder where he went?

Shaking her head, she slipped out of bed and went to the window, looking through it to see if Sesshoumaru was still there.  He wasn't, but then she looked down into the courtyard and noticed him, sans clothing on his upper half, doing intricate kata with his sword.  Her mouth went dry at the sight of a half naked Sesshoumaru... Wow... Well defined chords of muscle showed along his upper body; he was built, yet not overly-muscled like some of the men in her era.  She'd never been attracted to that body builder type, thinking it ugly.  And yet, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the daiyoukai was so much stronger than even the biggest of them would ever be.  

It was a huge turn on, and she blushed at the sight of him moving so elegantly around the courtyard, before forcing herself to back away from her window.  Time for a nice cold shower, she thought,  I don't need him smelling what he does to me.  That would probably gross him out or something – someone other than a youkai female lusting after him.

And Sesshoumaru, down in the courtyard, smirked as he continued with his kata – he'd scented her attraction and arousal from down here... but so had his brother, who was now glaring at him from the branches of the Goshinboku.  

“Did I not tell you that she desired me?”  he asked mildly.  “Now you know for yourself the truth of my words.”

“Feh.  Crazy wench, anyways, to want anything to do with you.  Like I told her once before, things you get interested in tend to end up dead,”  he snapped.

Sesshoumaru paused in his routine, turning his head to look at his brother in the tree with arrogant amusement.  “The only death the miko has to fear in my arms is one of pleasure, Inuyasha.  I do not think that any female would truly fear such a thing.”

“So you want to turn her into a whore for your lust, huh?  Use her 'til you're bored, and then move on again?!”  he snarled.  “I won't let you do that, bastard – I'll kill you even if it kills me, too!”

Straightening to his full height, the daiyoukai narrowed his eyes on his brother's tense form, and held up his hand, his fingers beginning to glow.  “If I ever hear such foul words in regards to what is mine again, half-breed, I will use this whip to do more than knock you out of a tree,”  he snarled back, snapping his whip and doing just that, watching as Inuyasha plummeted to the pavement.

He stared in shock at his brother, stunned at that reaction.  And then he narrowed his own eyes at Sesshoumaru; peeling himself off the ground, he asked slowly,  “What is it you really want from her, bastard?  This isn't even about your damned 'curiosity' anymore, is it?”

“Oh, do not be mistaken, Inuyasha.  I am still determined to find out all there is to know about Kagome Higurashi.  But that is not all I want from her – not any longer.  I will only tell you this – do not interfere.  I will tolerate nothing that gets in my way, so if you wish to remain alive, take heed to my words.”  With that, he slid Tenseiga back into his obi, gathered his garments and Bakusaiga from the small bench under the Goshinboku, and walked back towards the house, his pelt reappearing over his shoulder in a burst of youki.

Inuyasha followed after a few moments, thoughts rife with suspicions that were slowly becoming more and more believable.  The bastard doesn't just want answers... he wants Kagome.  And maybe for more than one of his occasional ruts.

He decided to watch his brother, and see where he was taking things.  If it looked like he was just playing with her, then he'd Meidou his ass straight to hell, and fuck the consequences.

Grimacing as he walked into the house and found Hitomi smiling at Sesshoumaru welcomingly, he turned and wandered up the stairs to knock on Kagome's door – he didn't want to get a trash can to the head again, and thought he'd be better off waiting for her invitation into the room.

“Yeah?”  she hollered through the door.

“Hey, Kagome, can I come i-”  he stopped in surprise when the door was pulled open and a smiling woman motioned him in.  

“So what's up, Inuyasha?”  she asked, moving back over to her dresser where she was putting her clothes away.

He watched her for a moment, and then went over to her bed and sat down, pulling Tessaiga to him.  “Why did you really bring the bastard to your time, Kagome?”  he asked slowly.

She stiffened a little, pausing in her folding for a moment, then continued on, and said, voice deliberately casual,  “What do you mean?  You know why he's here, you were there when we talked about it.”

“Yeah, and I also know there's more than what you're telling me, too.  Why the hell are you tempting fate by letting that asshole near you?  He's dangerous,”  he shot back.

Turning to face him, she laughed.  “Inuyasha, your brother can't kill me.  Haven't you figured that out yet?  Come on, he turned his poison on me, and it didn't do anything to me at all – well, except make me want to sneeze.  That stuff stinks!”

That gave him pause – for all of five seconds.  “So what?  You think you'll stand up so well to his damn claws, wench?  Or Bakusaiga?!”  He ignored her small joke, mind too caught up in his worries.

Shaking her head, Kagome walked over to sit next to him on her bed, and lean her head against his shoulder contentedly.  She sighed.  “Oh, Inuyasha... you need to stop worrying so much.  I mean what I'm saying.  Sesshoumaru cannot kill me.  And that's not what he wants, anyway.  If he did, it'd be straight back to boredom immediately – and I think that's about the only thing that actually scares your brother.  Let's face it – nothing else in the world can offer him the relief from that boredom that I can, so he's not likely to want to get rid of the only thing keeping him sane.”

Inuyasha sighed heavily, knowing she was right, but still not liking it.  “Keh.  Just be careful, okay?  I don't want anything to happen to you.  I'd go crazy if it did.”  He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her to his side, just enjoying holding her.  He'd missed the comfort only she could give him for three long years, and it would take a while for him to calm down a bit in his need to be around her.

After a few minutes he exhaled deeply and began to pull away, but Kagome held on.  “What's wrong, Inuyasha?”

“It's the uptight prick.  He's about to walk in here,”  he said sourly as the door swung open, and a narrow-eyed Sesshoumaru stood staring at the two sitting on the edge of the bed.

Kagome rolled her eyes.  “Oh, hey, Sesshoumaru.  Come on in,”  she said, voice heavy with irony as she looked at him reprovingly.  “Don't worry about knocking or anything polite like that.”

The daioukai was not amused, and it showed in his cold gaze.  Inuyasha returned the look just as coldly, and Kagome rolled her eyes again at the two and sighed.  “Okay, you know what?  If you two want to act like that, you can both go back through the well.  I'm in a good mood, and don't want it ruined by you guys and your petty fighting,”  she reprimanded the males.

After a few moments of continuing the staredown, Inuyasha hugged Kagome harder and then let go and stood up.  “Keh.  I think the rabid fluffball over there wants to pump you for more information, so I'm gonna go hang out with your grandfather in the storage sheds.”  He cast his brother a sarcastic glare as he pushed past him.  “He's loads more fun than this icy bastard, anyway.”

“Inuyasha!”  Kagome snapped, exasperated.

“Feh!”  came drifting back up the stairs, and Kagome couldn't help it, she laughed.

“Oh, Inuyasha,”  she said fondly.  Shaking her head, she looked back over at a very icy daiyoukai, and cocked her head in curiosity.  “So... what's with you and the Ice Age look?”  she asked.

One regal brow tilted into his bangs, and he stared at her with a reproving expression at her flippancy.  “Would you prefer that this one leave, woman?  This Sesshoumaru would not want to interrupt your time with the hanyou,”  he bit out, the aforementioned ice freezing the air around him.

Kagome just looked confused.  “Hey, what's with your attitude?  You're acting like your all jealous or something.”

“Answer, Kagome.  Would you rather I leave?”

“Well, if you're going to act like that, then go ahead.  I'll just do what I originally came here to do, and that's go shopping with my mother,”  she huffed.  He's really acting jealous.  I wonder why?

“Hn.”  He eyed her coldly for a moment more, then unbent slightly, and moved into the room, sitting down on the chair to her desk and considering her thoughtfully.  “Tell me, woman... how did you open that meidou yesterday?”

She blinked, staring at him blankly.  “Eh?”  she asked, not sure she'd heard him right.

“The meidou.  You opened one yesterday, and you did it with no power spike whatsoever.  How did you do so?”  he asked again, and Kagome could hear his impatience in his voice.

“Oh,”  she blushed.  “The meidou.”  She looked down at her feet, then canted a quick look back at him.  “Well... when you used to use Tenseiga to open the meidou, of course, it used a certain kind of power to do it, but there's more than one way to do things, you know.  Physical power isn't even always the best way to do things.”

He frowned as he stared at her, his eyes narrowing.  “Explain.”

“There's many different types of power, ne, Sesshoumaru?  Power like you wield, youki, and then there's reiki.  Knowledge is also power, correct?”  He inclined his head agreeingly.  “And then there's authority.  That's also a form of power, and in a lot of ways, it's more direct.  Some people would use spells to open a portal to hell, like Kikyou did.  And some use a sword, like you or Inuyasha.  Sou'unga used his innate power as a spirit of hell to do the same.  I used authority.  I commanded a portal to open, and it did, because I have that sort of power over some things.”

Authority?  Such a thing only belongs to the kami themselves... and then he remembered her mother's words... “When I first became pregnant with Kagome, I was visited again, by many kami – though their aspects remained hidden, and to this day I do not know which kami participated, and which did not.  They laid hands upon me, and changed her while she lay curled beneath my heart.”

“Tell me,”  he said slowly,  “how much do you know of the circumstances of your birth?”

“Oh, you mean the kami-sama, and what they told my mom and what they did?  Pretty much everything.  Mama told me all about it during the three years I was back here,”  she replied.

“One wonders what the kami could have needed you to change so badly that they went to such lengths to create you,”  he murmured, as though to himself.

“Probably lots of things,”  she said casually, shrugging, not sounding concerned or even interested at all.  “I don't think it was one thing in particular that they took such effort for.”

“Perhaps,”   he said quietly, staring at her, a certain concentration in his eyes.  Kagome could easily see that he was thinking about things.

She stood up, and clapped her hands together firmly.  “Okay, there's things I need to do today, like going shopping, and I'm obviously not going to get that done sitting here.”  She was about to leave the room when Sesshoumaru stopped her.

“Will this one be able to go with you?”  he asked.

She paused, turning her head to look at him with a small smile.  “Sure... but same things apply today.  Markings, fangs and claws have to be hidden, no pelt, armor or swords, either.”

He quirked a brow at her at that last qualification.  “Perhaps you could explain why I am not able to carry my swords.”

“Because it's not legal to carry weapons here in this era.  Well, unless you have a permit, like if you have a gun or something.  But most people don't carry swords around, and if they do, they are carried in a case, say if the person has a competition or something.” She blinked at him.  “Is that going to be a problem today for some reason?”

He deigned to shake his head.  “No, I was simply curious.  How do people defend themselves here, if they do not carry a sword?  You mentioned guns, but I cannot see how that would be a very good form of protection – they are large and unwieldy, and take too much time to prepare for one shot that is not even that accurate.”

Kagome laughed.  “Oh, not nowadays they aren't.  Guns come in all sizes and types.  Some are small enough to fit in my purse, and some are huge machine guns that shoot hundreds of bullets a minute.  And they are only as inaccurate as the person wielding them.  But anyway, we don't wander around with weapons, because that's what the police do here in this era – they are basically enforcers of the laws, and they protect the public from those who are dangerous.”

He was completely intrigued by the idea of guns that were small, or ones that were large and shot hundreds of bullets in a minute.  It seemed that humans had become quite dangerous in Kagome's era.  “Such deadly weapons, hmm, Kagome?”  he asked as he followed her down the stairs.

“And that's not even the worst of them.  We've cultivated deadly illnesses and turned them into weapons of mass destruction, made bombs that, if ignited, could destroy the entire earth and pretty much everything in it until all that was left would be a dead world.  You could say that Sou'unga was the first hint of a weapon of mass destruction – but humans had to go and outdo anything your era or any youkai could come up with.  Sometimes it frustrates me so much.”

“A... bomb?”  he asked, tasting the word as it rolled of his tongue.

“Hmm, yeah... hard to explain, but basically, mostly shaped sorta like bullets only a hell of a lot bigger, and they explode, causing major destruction.”

“What of the bomb you were speaking of – that could destroy the whole earth.  Obviously, it must not have ever been used, as the world is still here,”  he said slowly.

“Well, that's not quite true,”  she sighed as they entered the kitchen.  “One bomb isn't enough to do that.  Even two, or three.  They're called nuclear weapons, and are pretty much the most powerful weapons ever created.   But the thing is, the country with the most of these weapons, has quite a bit more than anyone else, and so, all of the lands that have some, all sit and stare at each other, knowing if they use them, the others are going to also fire theirs.  It's kind of a doomsday scenario and a stalemate all at once.”  

“Hn.”   It was clear that he was rather skeptical about her words, but she didn't care.

Kagome shook her head, snagging some of the leftovers off a platter as she moved past the table.  “Are you going to come with Sesshoumaru and I shopping, mama?”  she asked as she munched on the rice balls.

Hitomi, who'd listened to the tail end of the discussion, found herself rather amused at the daiyoukai's expression, but nodded.

“Where are you planning to go, Kagome?”  she asked, a bit concerned about the 'aristocratic assassin' and his ability to handle large crowds of humans without slaughtering people.

Kagome eyed the inuyoukai weighingly, then asked,  “What can you handle, Sesshoumaru?  If we take you someplace that's crowded and noisy, are you going to flip out and start killing people and destroying things?”

He looked at her, a suddenly glacial expression on his face at her question.  “This Sesshoumaru can handle anything you can imagine, woman, and probably more”  he said coldly.

Meeting her mother's amused gaze, Kagome shrugged and accepted his word.  “Then I want to stop at the mall – there's some things I'd like to pick up from certain stores there, and then... hm.  Perhaps the grocery store, since I need to pick up ramen and pocky, and a few other things, as well.”  She paused, brow furrowed.  “There was something else I wanted to do... oh, yeah!  I need to stop at the pharmacy, too.  I'd like to get some more stuff for arthritis for Kaede.”

Her mother nodded, then put the last of the dishes away and dried her hands.  “Okay, then, I'll go and get ready.  Are we going to drive or take the train?”

“Honestly?  This time, I think we'll drive.  Maybe next time we can take the train – after I've explained it to his majesty, here,”  she said flippantly as she glanced at Sesshoumaru.  She grinned.  “Well, come on, my Lord, let's get ready to go. You can keep your swords in my room, and your pelt as well.”  She walked back out of the kitchen and up the stairs again.

Following the sometimes annoying woman up the stairs, he eyed her backside, seriously considering using his whip in it's most benign state to smack her ass a few times for her presumption.  As if this one could not handle the presence of mere humans.  How could she even think to question my control over myself?

When they reached her room, he bowed his head at her with a certain sarcastic bent to his actions, then set Bakusaiga and Tenseiga gently upon her bed.  Straightening, he focused his youki, and his claws, fangs, markings, and pelt disappeared in a burst of energy, leaving Kagome staring at him, startled.  He looked back at her, smugly satisfied.

“Hey, I didn't know you could make your pelt disappear like that.  Why didn't you do that yesterday?”  she asked.

“I chose not to.  My pelt is a part of me, though, as much as my markings are, and thus can be made to fade and disappear just as they can.”  He refused to tell her the real reason he'd left his pelt in her room yesterday – he wanted his scent to start to permeate her space.  It showed that she belonged to him, that places that had once been just hers, were now becoming theirs.  That was why his brother's scent mucking things up last night had so angered him.

She just stared at him for a moment, then turned away to gather her belongings.  “Huh,”  she huffed out slowly.  “Never thought of it like that.  The pelt... it turns into that ruff around your neck in your true form, right?”  she asked, thinking back to the one time she'd seen him in his true form.

“It does,”  he said simply, watching as she turned and, carrying several items, moved to leave her room.  He preceded her out the door, and she closed it on her way out, then traipsed lightly down the stairs, heading for the entryway to the house.  Once there, she slipped on her shoes, and then stepped out the door, not waiting for him to follow.  

“Are we not waiting for your mother?”  he asked, and she looked over at him and nodded.  

“Yeah, but I'm going to tell grandfather and Inuyasha that we're leaving.”

“Hn.  And where is your younger brother?”  

“Oh, Sota's at school.  He'll be home later in the afternoon.”

“School?”  he questioned, wondering at the meaning of such a strange word.

She chuckled, trying to think of a term he would understand that might explain what school was.  “Umm, it's basically tutoring.  Only you're in a huge building, and every child has to attend.  It's mandatory.  Five days a week, you attend from morning to afternoon.”

He cocked a brow, thinking over the things he'd seen already in her world, and had to say he was not surprised that every child was ordered to receive this 'tutoring'.  Her world was highly complicated, and the ignorant and untutored state of humans in his era would not work here.

“And what do you learn in these schools, Kagome?”  he asked, intrigued.

“Anything you could imagine,”  she said wryly, “and lot's of it is stuff you never even use.”  She paused to step into one of the storage sheds that dotted the shrine grounds, and he listened to her tell the two males within it that they were leaving.  He heard Inuyasha start to put up a bit of a fuss, but Kagome put a stop to it immediately, her tone of voice letting him know he was exasperating her and heading for a sitting if he didn't stop nagging.

He wanted to snicker at the suddenly horrified voice of the elder male telling her to take the hanyou outside before doing that, since he didn't want to lose anymore of his precious 'artifacts' to such a thing again.  His brother's sour “Keh!”  amused him greatly – he enjoyed anything that made the whelp uncomfortable or angry.

Still, not wanting to have Kagome get angry at him and start ignoring his questions, which would only make him angry in turn, he controlled his amusement, and maintained his normal cool demeanor.  He was joined by Hitomi just as Kagome stepped out of the shed, and he watched as the older woman handed her a set of what looked rather like strange keys.

“Oh, you're going to let me drive?”  she asked excitedly.

“Well, I don't see why not.  This way, I can just sit back and relax.  And too-”  she cast a sly look at the daiyoukai,  “-if Lord Sesshoumaru gets irritated with the ride, it won't be at me.”

Both brows shot into his bangs at that, even as Kagome tossed her mother a sarcastic look.  “Gee, thanks, mom.  Throwing your only daughter to the dogs,”  she giggled.  “Pun intended.”  Her mother laughed as well, and Sesshoumaru chose to ignore both of them.  It was too bad he had promised to behave, he reflected, or he would have immediately put her in her place... which was below him.  After an uncomfortable twinge in places it was better not to think about at this time at that thought, he decided it might be best to concentrate on something else.

As they approached one of the odd contraptions he'd seen so many of on the roads yesterday, he decided to concentrate on the 'ride' the women had spoken of.

It was definitely going to be a very odd experience, he thought, as a door was opened and he was told to climb in.

Humans are so strange...

~oOo~

Kagome eyed Sesshoumaru as she parked the car at the mall closest to the shrine, not wanting to drive any further than she had to on his first real foray into her birth world.  He had been quiet the entire trip, seemingly taking in everything around him with an avid curiosity that only made her more aware of his inu heritage.  It was rather funny – dogs were quite curious, and Sesshoumaru took that trait to extremes.

“You know,”  she said, her amusement clear,  “you've changed a bit since I left Sengoku Jidai.  The teasing from before would have occasioned an attempt on my life.”

He turned to look at her, his eyes thoughtful.  Kagome sobered at his seriousness.  “This Sesshoumaru is daiyoukai.  Youkai do not change often, but when we do, the change is absolute - and irreversible.  It occurs to this one that the thing that kami created you to change must have been youkai – because in all his centuries, never has he come across anything that causes such changes in every youkai you come in contact with.”

She stared at him, mouth slightly open as she thought about his words, but she was shaken from her reverie by her mother, who opened her door and got out, her amusement at her daughter's surprise obvious.

“Come, let's get going, you two.  There is much to get done, and I'd like to get home in time to start dinner.”

Kagome was quiet, thinking about his words.  Was he trying to say that she was what had changed him?  I never thought I'd ever hear something like that, she thought disjointedly.  But no... what about Rin?

“I would have thought that Rin was the one responsible for so much change in you, Sesshoumaru,”  she said softly, knowing he would hear.

“Rin...”  he trailed off as he thought about the child that had first tempted his curiosity.  “Rin woke my mind to the fact that not all humans were the same,”  he admitted.  “And she gave me something to protect.  But the changes you see within me, never would have come about if it were not for you.”

That particular confession rendered her silent, her mind whirling as she took in his words, and tried to figure out how to take them.  There had been something in his voice... Does he...?  No... it can't be.  I'm not youkai, and he wouldn't feel that way for anyone but a youkai female, since he's so concerned with bloodline purity and all.

Shaking her head, she set aside her thoughts, dubbing them as useless, and turned her attention to what she had come to the mall to get.  

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru was interested to note that the first 'store', as Kagome called them, she visited, was one which featured traditional clothing.  It seemed she wanted to make sure she had plenty of different things available for wear when in his world.  

He was fascinated, he couldn't deny it.  How different from his era!  There, when one wanted clothing made, a trip to a cloth merchant was first, then a seamstress was employed to actually create the clothing, which took time.  Not here – one simply went to a 'store', where there were many different styles, sizes, and colors to choose from - and they were available immediately.

Convenient...

He was pleased to note that, especially compared to most other females in her world, she had a much more modest way of dressing.  It made him wonder about that short green shirt she'd wandered around in back during the hunt for Naraku.

“Tell me, Kagome... your way of dressing has changed.  When you first came to my world, you wore such indecent clothing, and yet now, you seem so much more circumspect.  Why is this?”

Kagome blinked, a bit surprised.  “Well, that wasn't my choice in clothes – that was our school uniform.  All female students were required to wear it-”  her expression turned sour for a moment, then, “-though I always wondered at which old pervert on the school board chose such a revealing skirt.  I grew to hate that thing really fast, let me tell you.”

Their discussion was interrupted by her mother's laughter, and she winked at Kagome before asking,  “Did you know that I had petitioned the school board to get the uniform changed?”  

Eyes wide, Kagome shook her head, while Sesshoumaru listened avidly, curious as to her reasoning.  After all, it was most apparent that there was a very lax attitude in this era towards clothing.

“Yes.  I put it to them that forcing a shrine daughter to wear such a revealing outfit was disrespectful to the kami, but you are right, Kagome – those old men on the school board are perverts.  Obviously, I did not win my petition.”

A disgusted look settled on the young woman's face as she gathered her choices up and went to the front counter to pay.  “It figures,”  she said.  “It really creeps me out when I think of all the times those men would come to the school to 'discuss important matters' – it doesn't take a genius to figure out what they were really doing.  Ugh.”

“It is a good thing that cameras aren't allowed on the school campus, then, yes?”  Hitomi asked with a chuckle.  “Well, except for in photography class.”

Kagome's eyes slid closed as she shuddered.  “Oh, that's horrible, mother!  I never even thought of that, but I'm so glad you're right!”

“Hn.” Sesshoumaru looked around at their surroundings as they left the one small shop, watching with a discerning eye as men stared at females and even made plays for them right in the middle of the building, not caring who was watching.  He noted that human men hadn't changed one bit since his time, in this matter at least.

“The males of your kind do not appear to be any more intelligent in this time, than they were in mine.  All they are interested in is in how a female appears.”

Startled, Kagome blinked at him, a confused expression appearing on her delicate features.  “What do you mean?”

“Beauty is merely one facet of a female.  Too often, those with the prettiest faces, have little else to recommend them.  There are much more important factors to consider when choosing a mate,”  he said, voice almost stiff.  

Fascinated at this insight into the normally much more close-mouthed daiyoukai, Kagome said,  “Oh?  What would those factors be?”  in an encouraging manner.

It worked.  “Intelligence, obviously,”  he said dryly.  “I cannot abide stupidity.  And personality, as well.  If you cannot stand to be around the female, what is the point in mating her?”

Hitomi laughed, as Kagome shrugged.  “I guess so.  Never thought about it.  But that doesn't really mean a whole lot, Sesshoumaru – I've never yet met an ugly higher youkai, male or female.”

“That means less than nothing, woman – why do you think I have never taken a mate?  They may be beautiful, but they are insipid, and would be nothing more than a waste of my time.  I would have none, before I would have one that was worthless, and so far beneath me,”  he said coolly.

Kagome snorted.  “Well, since your standards are probably impossibly high, looks like you're going to be alone forever, then.  You'll never find anyone to live up to your own impressive stature,”  she said, slight sarcasm in her voice.

He cast her an enigmatic glance.  “Do not be too sure of that, Kagome.  There is one that I believe just might – or at least, will come closer than any other female ever would.”

Glumly, Kagome decided to drop that subject right then – she didn't want to hear him start talking about whatever female demon he'd finally found that could possibly measure up in his eyes.

“Well, anyway, that's neither here nor there.  And just for the record,”  she said,  “not all men are that way.  I'll agree that most are, but some actually are worth something.”  She looked over at her mother.  “Remember Hojo, mama?  He certainly wasn't all that worried about beauty.  After all, he chased me for years before finally giving up.  I almost wish I could have been interested in him - he was smart, ambitious, kind and caring, and he was pretty handsome, too.  But I just couldn't seem to see him as anything more than a friend,”  she sighed, not noticing the narrow look Sesshoumaru shot her.

Her mother did, though, and smiled inwardly, somehow not surprised to realize the degree of interest he held in her daughter.  Oh, my dear girl, you are in for a surprise sometime soon, if I'm not mistaken.  Yes... I think he will do well as a son-in-law,”  she decided, rather pleased.

Sesshoumaru eyed Kagome, displeased with several of her comments, but not willing to bring it up at that point, he simply stayed silent, watching her, and how she interacted with her environment.

She is completely confident in herself here, she knows this world and how to get around in it – yet, she seems to remain almost aloof from it, as though she does not really wish to be a part of it.  Odd, that.  She spent most of her life here... and yet, she is more comfortable in my world.

He tuned back in to here her mother ask her where they were stopping next.

“Oh, I wanted to stop at that outdoor sports store that's just ahead.  I think I'm going to pick up a few airbeds – sleeping on tatami mats is just killer.  That's the one thing I miss when I'm over there – my fluffy, soft bed.  And one for Kaede, too – it's getting too hard for her to sleep on the floor, and even harder for her to get up.  If I pick up one that sits higher off the floor, it would be really good for her, and they can be taken down and folded away during the day, too, so they don't take up too much room,”  she said, happy to move on from the previous topic.

“Air... mattress?”  Sesshoumaru asked.

“Oh, well... kind of like a futon, but they're filled with air.   Makes them much softer than any futon even the wealthy people in your era have.  The only downside is in the winter, because they're filled with air, they tend to get kind of cold.  But you can always throw more blankets on them, and they do okay,”  Kagome replied.

He blinked lazily as his eyes fixed on the store display in the window of the shop she was leading them towards, and his interest sharpened.  Running idle fingers through his silver locks, which had every woman nearby staring with awe and lust, he said,  “This 'store' looks interesting.  I am quite curious about some of these objects.”

Kagome groaned inwardly.  I have the feeling my brain's going to overload with all of his darn questions before we ever get back to the past.  With a deep sigh, she fortified herself, and asked,  “What do you want to know?”

Hitomi almost choked on her laughter as the daiyoukai began pointing out things and firing questions at her daughter.  

Oh, dear... Kagome, maybe you shouldn't have asked that.  Now we're never going to get out of here!

~oOo~

By the time they managed to get out of the mall, Kagome was about ready to either push him off a building, or, since that wouldn't really work because he could fly, jump off one herself.  Never mind the fact that wouldn't accomplish much, either, since she wouldn't die, anyway.  Still, the sentiment was the same, and they hadn't even gotten to the grocery store, or the pharmacy yet.

And that wasn't even including all the women that had followed them around, trying to get his attention.  He had ignored them all with a sort of grand indifference, but it had been a real pain trying to wade through the throngs of females at times, and her temper was beginning to get a little short.

That was a recipe for disaster, as far as Hitomi was concerned – a bad-tempered Kagome hashing it out with a bad-tempered youkai lord.  She was seriously considering postponing the rest of the shopping trip for tomorrow, but when she suggested it, Kagome shook her head.  

“No, mama, I had planned to go back tomorrow morning, so we need to get done today.”  She sighed, putting a hand to her head and massaging her temples, where a headache was beginning to form.  “I promise, I'll keep my temper under control until we get home.”

Sesshoumaru merely ignored her seeming ill-temper, still examining the things around him with every evidence of interest, though a great deal of the time, with disapproval.  The more he saw of her world, the more he disapproved – sure, there were a great many improvements in lifestyle, such as the 'plumbing' in houses, and the cooking apparatus, as well as the cooling box for food.  And it was clear that the advancements made by healers were great, but other than that, the rest seemed more a waste of time and money, not really worth the effort it took to have them.

As interesting as things were here, he was able to say he preferred his own time, and he actually dreaded the thought that in five hundred years, this was what his world would look like.  Unless his hopes about Kagome changing things was valid – perhaps, if he spoke to the kami himself, and asked that they avert this particular future, they would agree?

To have to forever breathe this caustic air, and have no freedom to roam in this form, or my true form?  He shuddered inwardly.  No... I will be pleased to return home.

But it has, at the least, provided me much insight into what makes her Kagome.  Though it is odd... some parts of her personality seem to be almost the antithesis of what she should be coming from a place such as this.  One wonders where those parts of her came from – what formed them.  The more I learn of her, the more the mystery of her deepens...

He eyed her from the side as they walked, having arrived at the 'grocery store' that she wished to visit, though he was unclear what such a store sold.  The mystery there, however, was solved as they entered, and his nose was bombarded by the smells of human food – though many of the scents were of things he'd never encountered before.

It occurred to him, in that moment, why she had seemed so woefully incompetent when she had first appeared in his world – she had been, but through no fault of her own.  It was simply that in her world, the knowledge that one needed in his, was obsolete.  If you needed food, you simply went to a store for it, rather than needing to know how to grow it, or hunt for it.  She didn't need to know which plants could be used for food, because here, those that were good for food were offered in the market, the merchants themselves knowing what could be used for food, and what could not be.

Back when he had first become aware of her, and had been exposed to her a few times, he'd scoffed at her seeming ignorance to even the most simple of skills needed for survival, thinking her perhaps the offspring of some mortal daimyo that had been pampered and made useless for anything more than marriage to another fat old daimyo for breeding purposes.  And her odd belongings had only fortified that idea – none of the things she had carried were anything any peasant could ever possibly have had access to.  Her clothing, while brief, seemed to be made mostly of cotton, which in his time, was a luxury such as even silk was not.

But now, all of that made sense.  And she had shown her intelligence, as well, through all of that time, learning the skills needed for survival in his world quite rapidly.  He could respect that... intelligence, after all, was never to be scoffed at - there was far too little of it in the world.

It was their visit to the next store, though that had him really thoughtful.  The 'pharmacy', as she called it.

When they entered the place, his nose was just about overwhelmed by the scents, and confused by what his senses were telling him, he just had to ask just what was sold in this store.

He was surprised at the answer.

“Hmm.  It's like an apothecary, I guess,”  Kagome said, not looking at him as she browsed through different bottles on long shelves.  “This is the future of the healing herbs in your world, Sesshoumaru.  In this world, we've learned to identify just what it is in certain herbs that make it effective against certain things, and we isolate that part, using only that, making them into pills,”  she held up the bottle she was currently looking at,  “such as this, or tinctures or ointments, even syrups.”

“That bottle,”  he indicated the one she was holding,  “what is it for?”

“It's a painkiller.  I bring it especially for Kaede, for her arthritis.  It also brings down swelling.”  She placed the bottle in her basket, then moved down and picked up another one.  “This one here is also a painkiller, but works very well to bring down fevers, too.  I always buy a lot of that one,”  she chuckled, as she added several more bottles to the one already in the cart.

“Hn.  Interesting.”  He looked around avidly, intrigued with the thought that all these things could make potential illnesses in his era a great deal less problematic.  He watched as Kagome turned onto another aisle, followed by her mother.  

With her access to these things, she would be considered a miracle worker in my era, a legendary healer, blessed of the kami – which, technically,  he allowed to himself,  she is.  

“Mama, what do you think?  I've been considering getting Kaede a good cane.  I mean, she has one, but it's not really the right height for her, and ends up causing more back pain for her, since she has to lean more just to use it.”

Hitomi nodded.  “It's probably a good idea, then, dear.  A good, adjustable cane would be a great help for supporting her as she goes about her day.”

Sesshoumaru watched quietly as they looked over the assorted canes carefully, finally choosing one that looked to be made of wood, but was not.  He noticed rather odd looking objects next to the canes that they were looking at, and couldn't help but to ask.

“These things... what are their purpose?”

Hitomi answered that time.  “Those are for sprains and strains in your joints.  They give support and help keep the joint from moving too much while it's healing.”

I am interested to see what she buys from this store... what she considers useful for my era, he thought, as he followed along behind the two women.  

Needless to say, by the time they left that store, they were carrying quite a few bags, and Sesshoumaru was quite curious about pretty much everything in them.

But those were questions that would keep for another day, for the items themselves did not answer to his curiosity about Kagome herself.

And that was what he was most interested in, despite the many, many odd, curiosity inducing things her world contained.

He watched her unobtrusively as she loaded those bags into the 'car', and then drove them back to her home, considering all that he had taken in so far about her.  

There are still so many questions about her, things that do not seem to make sense... I think, once we return to my era tomorrow, the first thing I will do is visit the shrine of Omoikane-kami-sama, to see if he will grant this one an audience, and perhaps answer some of my questions.

It is, after all, always best to go to the source for answers, and he would be considered the source, in this particular case...

… since he is the one that seems the most involved in Kagome's creation.

~oOo~

A/N:  Not a lot happens in this particular chapter, but it lays important groundwork for later chapters.



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