InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Just A Moment ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

AN: Another chapter, here for your reading pleasure. This is one of the last chapters. Depending on what my muse (who decided to rejoin me after seeing my last few attempts at a chapter, she felt bad for you guys) any way, depending on what my muse comes up with. There probably won't be more than one more chapter, not including this chapter. I hope everyone has enjoyed this story and reviews to tell me what he or she thinks of it. And please do not ask for a sequel. I simply cannot do one. I'm so sorry. But if you enjoy my writing, you're welcome to read my other stories, which are all under my penname RyuuAngel. I want to thank everyone for reviewing once again and ask that everyone who is reading this, please review. It does not matter if you have never reviewed before, or if you don't like this story but read it anyway, go ahead and tell me that! Just please review, PLEASE!

From The Last Chapter…

"Jax, is that really you?" Sango had on such a look of hope and warmth, Kagome was unsure of what was going on here. Did Sango know Lord Jax? She studied his face and found his visage was not it's usual joking and relaxed manner. He was whiter than normal, almost pale, and his eyes were wide, eyebrows high in astonishment. His gaze was locked on the youkai exterminator who now took a step forward. Kagome could only guess what was going on here, though she had an inclination of what it was. If she remembered right, Sango had fallen in love with a demon before, could Lord Jax be the one?

Chapter 12

"Sango?" Jax sounded slightly flabbergasted, and it seemed this was just as unexpected for him as it was for the rest of them. He took a few steps toward her and peered at her intently. "It is you!" He held his arms open and Sango broke into a run, pelting at him with a large smile splitting her face. She slammed against him and hugged him fiercely, so glad to see him. Finally they stepped back from each other but still did not seem to notice there were others around who were completely confused.

"How have you been, Lord Jax is it now?" Sango said with a grin. He looked highly affronted and didn't answer right off. Then he too grinned and shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't know why I did it." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know how the parents were." Sango giggled and Jax shrugged. "I see you are what you swore you would never be, either." He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Haraikotsu while her smiled disappeared.

"Well, there wasn't much point in denying it or fighting father when you left." Jax looked a little uncomfortable at that and shifted from foot to foot. Finally they both seemed to notice there were other people there and Jax gave Riasha an apologetic look, while Sango blushed.

"Um, Sango, I'd like you to meet my mate, Lady Riasha." He slipped an arm around Riasha's slender waist and brought her closer. Sango looked hurt for a moment before smiling painfully and holding out a shaking hand. "Ria, this is my old flame Sango, a demon exterminator. We fell in love many years ago, but our different cultures and our biased parents kept us apart." He smiled reassuringly at Riasha, who pursed her lips but shook Sango's hand politely and smiled tightly. They looked into each other's eyes and Kagome could see the passage of understanding and knowing pass between them. Both of their smiles eased a little and warmed considerably, a female intuition had passed between them. Sango knew that Jax was Riasha's now, and she had Miroku anyway. Riasha knew that Sango would never try to take what was hers and that Sango in fact already had someone else too. Kagome could see the foundation of a tentative friendship form between them, just in that short passing moment.

"I'm very glad to meet you, Sango. Perhaps we can talk more another time?" Riasha's words held more than the obvious though no one else noticed except for Jax, who thought it was something else. Sango smiled back at the hanyou.

"I would love to, before I leave perhaps if Lord Sesshoumaru does not mind if I stay a bit longer in his castle?" She turned to Sesshoumaru, and Kagome could feel him hesitate, so she took a chance.

"I believe it would be fine if you, Miroku and Kirara stayed the night here, Sango. I want to go and see you later too." She smiled warmly and felt Sesshoumaru's annoyance. She hoped he was not too angry with her for saying that, but she figured that in being the Lady of the Western Lands, she might have that right. Her thoughts were confirmed when Sesshoumaru did nothing to counter her invitation.

Riasha slipped out of Jax's arms and took Sango's arm in her own. "Shall she have the room across from ours?" She asked in an insinuating voice. Kagome took the hint and nodded, smiling at them both. The servant who was to show them to their rooms stepped forward and bowed, not keeping eye contact.

"I will show you to your rooms?" He asked the floor. Riasha smiled and linked arms with Sango, who looked slightly nervous.

"Yes, please. Thank you." The servant stood straight and headed to the door, the two women following behind him. Jax took a few large steps forward and grabbed Riasha's arm, who stopped, looking surprised.

"Riasha, don't…" He stared into her eyes and she nodded, understanding. She gently pulled her arm out of Jax's grasp.

"It's fine, Jax. Trust me." He nodded and glanced at Sango, who also nodded, but did not look so sure. They turned and continued out the door, leaving Jax there, looking stranded. Kagome also noticed that Miroku was still sitting at the table, looking very unsure and very confused. She made a quick decision and heard Sesshoumaru growl in annoyance at another delay before they finished their mating, becoming properly mated. She giggled at his annoyance, knowing it was different this time and gave a small tug on his arm, feeling him slowly comply and head toward the table Miroku sat at.

"Jax, come sit with us so we can try to understand exactly what is going on here." Sesshoumaru said in his smooth voice. Jax smiled thankfully at having something to do and sat down on Kagome's left side. Kagome had sat across from Miroku, with Sesshoumaru on her right. Miroku looked a little nervous at being in such close proximity to Sesshoumaru and Jax at the same time, but Kagome's calm presence helped him. He felt like he was alone in a way because he was sitting on the opposite side as the other three.

"Okay, I know that Sango told me a long time ago she had fallen in love a with a demon, and had almost mated him. That was how she knew all that stuff about mating, and demons and the such, was from you Jax." He nodded affirmatively. "It's the rest that I don't know." She prodded. He nodded again. Miroku's expression cleared and understanding crept into his gaze. There was a light of challenge to his eyes as they gazed upon the Demon lord of the North. Jax frowned.

"There isn't much else to tell. She came from a prestigious demon exterminator family, and I from a human discriminating Demon family. We were total opposites, and our families would hear none of it. Sango's father said she was going to be a demon exterminator, and that was that. And I was a demon, so you could see the problem there. My mother and father thought it was disgraceful and showed weakness to fall for a human. My father swore he would kill Sango and any pups we had if I mated her. Sango's family said they just plain would not allow it. So we decided the best thing was to go our separate ways and never forget each other. And that is precisely what we did." He looked saddened at the past decision, but not regretful. Miroku relaxed slightly, somehow knowing that Jax was not going to take his Sango. But did she still want Jax? Would she still be happy with him now that she had seen Lord Jax again?

Jax suddenly cleared his throat "Now that that is taken care of, don't you two have some business to attend to?" Jax said in his usual, joking voice laced with innuendo, directed at Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Kagome tried her hardest to STOP blushing and Sesshoumaru smirked.

"That we do." He said, surprising Kagome by taking her creamy hand and looking into her eyes, his face still masked, but his eyes told all. Miroku looked nervous again at the prospect of being alone with Jax, and Kagome gave an unsure look between the both of them. Sesshoumaru mentally reassured her and Jax saw her look.

"Do not worry, Lady Kagome. I shall not harm your friend, for I am an honorable and respected youkai." Sesshoumaru actually snorted at that and Kagome gave him a look. "I would like to talk to him more, if he does not mind."

Miroku looked at Kagome and saw her nod, tipping the scales in favor of the dangerous looking wolf youkai. He rose hesitantly and faced Jax, who looked nervously foolish. He grinned at Miroku's hesitance.

"I'll give you a tour, I know this castle almost as well as Sesshoumaru." He grinned and led the way, Miroku staying next to him and looking short next to the tall youkai. "I'll show you the Sparring Dome first, shall I?" Miroku seemed to catch his stride and almost stumbled, but then continued resolutely forward, only hoping that it didn't implicate what he so obviously thought. Kagome giggled at his flounder and saw Jax throw them a grin over his shoulder, knowing what the monk thought. Sesshoumaru still had no expression on his strong porcelain features. After Jax and Miroku disappeared from sight, he started toward the West Wing, toward their room. Kagome walked with him, though her thoughts were elsewhere.

"My dear, do not be alarmed or worry about them. Jax will not lay a finger on the monk, he may be a powerful demon, but he holds nothing against humans, as you can tell because he did take a hanyou mate. I believe he just wants to inquire into the relationship between the demon exterminator and the monk. I just hope your friend does not make any fatal errors in his answers." Kagome gave him a look.

"If that was supposed to make me worry less, you need to work on that. No, I don't think Jax will harm Miroku, and I know Riasha and Sango understand each other, but I'm more worried about how this will affect their relationships. I sure hope nothing bad comes of this, is all." She sighed and hugged his arm to her as they proceeded down the hall. They arrived at the door that lead to their chambers and entered them, Sesshoumaru gently unhooking his arm from hers. Sesshoumaru went to the far end of the room and opened the picture-closet, coming out with robes that looked to be made of a fluffy, absorbent material. He motioned for her to come over with him and slid open the clear window to the outside, pulling it back all the way so that wall of the room was half gone, the outside air wafting into the room.

She followed him outside and jogged until she was next to him, having to take her high-heeled shoes off in order to keep up with him. They strolled through a dense grove of trees with sakura blossoms on them. They turned a corner and Kagome stopped short, slowly taking in the beautiful hot spring. The cherry trees leaned over the edge of the sparkling water and left beautiful blossoms to dance in the water. A large rock formation hid them from the rest of the world in the back, a small waterfall coming off of it, perfect for standing under. The rest was invisible to inquisitive eyes because of the trees that grew along the edge. It was impossible to see in, or out. It made the spring feel very private and special, and very romantic.

"I had wanted to show you this earlier, but you and Erin had to prepare for dinner, and I did not want any of the servants knowing about this spot. You and I are the only ones who know, this area is off limits to any others. I wanted to save it, for your eyes." Kagome turned to look at him, tearing her eyes from the beauty of the spring, noticing that Sesshoumaru had hung up the two robes on a tree branch. She smiled in delight, and deep love for the Demon Lord.

"It's perfect, Sesshoumaru! I love it!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed with all the feeling in her being. And he knew.

~**~

Sango sat on the futon and watched as Riasha settled herself next to her. She smiled tightly when Riasha looked at her but said nothing, not sure what to say.

"Okay, well. I guess I know how you feel right now. But somehow I get the feeling that you have someone else, perhaps the monk…?" Riasha said with little preamble. Sango started, how in the world had she known that?

"Wha… how could you tell?" She said astonished. Riasha laughed.

"It was obvious! I could see in your eyes that you were struck to see Jax with someone else, but not terribly sad. And the way that monk kept looking at you… Why do I want to think that he's a little bit of a lecher?" Riasha asked. Sango smirked now.

"I guess that is just the kind of guy, or youkai I'm attracted to. I mean, Jax certainly is not a Sesshoumaru. And if you look at it like that, they are a bit alike." Riasha nodded.

"You know, your right. He's a charmer, Jax is. It's his gift to women, or so he says." She looked exasperated. Sango opened her mouth in shock.

"He STILL says that?" Riasha lifted an eyebrow.

"Yep, all the time. He's so hopeless. But you gotta love him." She smiled softly and Sango agreed. Riasha decided it was time for a change of subject.

"So, this Miroku, have you told him?" Riasha inquired. Sango looked confused.

"Told him what?"

"That you love him, of course!" Sango's jaw dropped. She didn't lo… Well, any way, how did she KNOW? Sango gulped and shook her head. Riasha laughed again and put a hand on Sango's arm. "If he's anything like Jax, he does love you too. I'll guarantee it." She said with a twinkle in her eyes. One of Riasha's favorite things was toying with people to get them together when they were too afraid to admit their emotions. It amused her greatly, but she did not try to put people together for her own benefit, only theirs. It felt like a great deed when they finally did because of her and made her feel good. She enjoyed helping couples.

"Are you sure that he… does?" Sango asked anxiously. Riasha nodded and smiled gently.

"As sure that I am that you, too, love him." Sango's smile was much freer now, and she felt much lighter. But there was a question she wanted to ask.

"How in the world did you figure that out?" Sango asked. Riasha thought a moment, and then decided it would not hurt to answer.

"I am telepathic. I can't hear words exactly, but I can feel what people are thinking. Besides Jax, I can't actually talk to anyone, but I can feel what they feel and think." Sango cocked her head a little in question.

"But, that's not any kind of Demon trait, the only being I've ever heard that could do that were some very special Mikos. Only the very powerful ones, of course." Riasha took a deep breath, and smiled.

"Well, actually, it is quite common in royal blooded dragon-demons." She bit her lip. "But I'm not a full dragon-demon either. Didn't you notice?" She asked. Sango hadn't thought to try, but now that she looked at her, and felt her aura, she realized what it was. Riasha was not a full-blooded dragon demon, but also half miko! She was a hanyou! So that was why she knew what Sango had been thinking, sort of anyway. Another question popped up in her mind.

"How in the world did you get Jax's parents to allow you two to mate? They hated humans, and even though your half is Miko, they still would not allow it, never in a hundred years!" Sango remembered the hard time she and Jax were given, and Riasha contemplated for a moment.

"Lets just say they still don't know…" Riasha said with a smile. Sango frowned, but then smiled, and finally let the chuckle that was struggling to escape to slip from her lips.

They continued to talk about anything and everything, Sango wanted to know about the things Riasha could do with her Miko/Dragon demon powers, and Riasha wanted to know how she had become so good at fighting with something like a boomerang and a sword. They talked about everything, their friendship growing out of curiosity and having one thing that was similar. Neither knew just how similar they really were.

~**~

Miroku proceeded into the Dome with an eye kept carefully on the youkai. He did not trust him, for all his words about honor and respectability, even if Kagome did trust him, he did not. His grasp on his staff was relaxed but ready for whatever would happen. The door shut with a loud crack and Miroku turned to face Jax. He was thrown by the youkai's nervous face. Jax ran his hand through his ebony and light blue streaked tresses and seemed to be thinking. Finally he grinned and Miroku's guard returned quickly.

"Ah, that would be Riasha." Miroku looked thoroughly confused and Jax realized the randomness of that statement. He chuckled.

"Sorry, I was speaking with my mate, Riasha, through our bond." Miroku's face cleared in understanding but his eyes remained guarded in distrust and his movements also showed his mistrust. Jax sighed and tried to smile congenially, trying to be very amiable. He wasn't going to hurt the guy, but he could see why the monk thought he would. There were not many youkai that were not prejudiced against humans, and most found pleasure in killing them. Jax found it disgusting, and it had been a ravine between him and Sesshoumaru for a while, something they just could not agree on.

"What did she tell you?" Miroku asked, curiosity finally making him ask. Jax grinned and ran his hand through his hair again. He avoided the question.

"Do you love Sango?" Jax finally said seriously. Miroku looked taken aback but nodded hesitantly. "Well, if I wasn't mated, I certainly would take her, but it seems she has moved on." Miroku tried to understand what he meant by that. Moved on, meaning she had gotten over Jax, was what he was saying?

"It seems she has fallen for you. Or at least, that's what Riasha says." Jax waited to see the monk's reaction, which was wide-eyed surprise. He didn't often play Riasha's little matchmaker game, though it was always fun when he did.

"How do I know you aren't lying?" Miroku finally asked. Jax shrugged and gave him a grin.

"You don't. I guess you'll either just have to trust me, or you'll have to ask Sango yourself." Jax easily leaped across the dome and landed on the other side in an eye flick. Miroku turned in surprise and waited to see what Jax would do next.

"Let's have a little spar, shall we? I promise I'll go easy on you." He grinned evilly and flew toward Miroku, his intent nothing more than to test the monk's ability, because he sure as hell didn't want Sango with some weakling who would run away from a fight. He may not love her like he used to, but he still cared about her deeply, and wanted the best for her. He came at the monk, drawing his lightening sword without activating the power of the lightening, leaving it as a normal sword. After all, he didn't want to fry the poor guy. Sango would have his hide if he did…

~**~

AN: I'm so sorry, my muse disappointed me. She was sure there would be lemons, but I guess she lied. Next chapter, I guarantee there will be lemons, at least one. *grin* I hope everyone is okay with that…

Like I said before, please review, and that means everyone. Yes, you too! But hey, there may be more than just one chapter, maybe two. Depends on how many people review. I could write a bit more… If you ask real nice. *Evil grin* Mwa ha ha!

RyuuAngel