InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Just to Be With You ❯ The Western Lord ( Chapter 7 )

Just settling things: Neither I, nor my kitten sisters own any of the characters used in this work. We just needed something to pass the time.

Oneesan Neko (Mrou)

 

Just to Be With You

 

Chapter 7: The Lord of the West

 

As Inu-Yasha had predicted, they travelled first for a day and a night before coming to the next town on their path. It was the early hours of dawn when they arrived, but still the demon headman greeted them at the gate and saw them to a suite of rooms within his own home. Once there, Inu-Yasha turned to them.

 

“Keh, I shouldn't need to say this, but same rules as the last town, kay? I need to make an inspection, no need to make Sesshomaru madder by `Neglecting my duties'. We'll be here for the rest of today, leave tomorrow early. If you need something, talk to a servant, if you choose to go into town take Kagome or Shippo with you. See you this evening” Inu-Yasha was surprisingly verbose, particularly given his terse tone.

 

Kagome smiled pacifistically “We'll stay out of trouble. I know this is hard enough on you, we will try not to make it harder.” Her understanding did not improve Inu-Yasha's temper.

 

“Keh, I don't need your sympathy.” A snort and he walked out of the room to begin his inspection.

 

Once Inu-Yasha had left, the remaining adults looked at each other. With a series of gestures Sango had taught the whole team for communicating in potentially hostile territory, they indicated the need to work and sleep in shifts over the course of the day. They were all tired, having been driven to march through the night by Inu-Yasha's stubborn temper, but none of them were comfortable sleeping unguarded in a house occupied by unknown demons. With a sideways nod and a flick of her hand, Kagome indicated that she would take first shift, a logical shift as she, with her half-demon physiology was currently the most awake of the three. Nodding their assent, Sango and Miroku walked over to the bare pallets that had been laid out for them (not as nice as Inu-Yasha and Kagome's fluffy futons, but a vast improvement over a bedroll laid on the ground), and quickly fell asleep.

 

Once Sango and Miroku were asleep, Kagome began the slightly more complicated task of putting Shippo to sleep. By this point he was overtired, despite having napped in Sango's arms for a good portion of the trip, and horribly cranky. With a sigh, Kagome called the young kit to her, “Shippo.”

 

“'Gome?” He yawned.

 

“Come on Shippo, time to sleep,” She coaxed.

 

“Not tired,” He insisted.

 

“Look Shippo, even Sango and Miroku are sleeping. We walked all night; it is okay to sleep now. Besides, you want to get some sleep now, while there is a bed, because after this town it will be several days before you have a bed again.” With a sigh, she added “If you're good you can even sleep in my lap.”

 

Yawning fiercely now, Shippo stumbled over to her and curled up in her lap, “Just because you asked Kagome. I'm a big demon now; I could stay up all day like you or Inu-Yasha.”

 

Kagome laughed, stroking his back and tail as he fell asleep, “Of course you are Shippo, of course you are.”

 

With the other inhabitants of the small room asleep, Kagome began a memory game to keep herself awake. The basic game was one she had learned during her training under Kaede, an exercise designed to help young miko remember the uses of various healing herbs. Later she had learned other variations, to help remember the meridian points on the body for more complex healings, and even one to identify the various classes of demons, though the last was rather redundant with the vast increase in scent detection available to her thanks to her now half-demon body. Now she ran through all the variations she knew, and a few similar ones she had learned from Inu-Yasha, that he had learned in childhood to identify the scents and other trail markers of various woodland creatures. In addition to refreshing her memory, these games served another purpose, segueing neatly into the more complex chants designed to channel and focus spiritual energy. Such chants were used primarily in battle, when there was no time to prepare the proper ofuda. As with the knowledge spiritually infused arrows and other such tools of her trade, these chants were passed down from teacher to apprentice, a chain of knowledge that she too would one day pass on.

 

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Hours later, the sun came to its height and Kagome stood, carefully setting Shippo down on her futon and walked over to wake Sango. By mutual agreement, Miroku stood last watch, when they would be rested enough to keep an eye on him.

 

“Sango, Sango,” Kagome reached out and gently touched Sango's shoulder.

 

With the speed befitting her training, Sango came instantly alert, but stayed relaxed, recognizing Kagome's voice, “Kagome. Change of the guard?”

 

“Yeah. It is around noon now, I requested some lunch, and I left some for you on the table. Shippo is asleep now; hopefully he'll sleep till nightfall. Wake me when Inu-Yasha comes back, please.”

 

“Of course, Kagome. I'll see you in a bit. Sleep well.”

 

Once she had seen her friend off to sleep, Sango began her own watch keeping routine. Sitting in the middle of the room, she spread her weapons around her, and began carefully inspecting each one, performing maintenance on those that needed it. At the same time, Hiraikotsu rested always near at hand, and her senses, honed from a lifetime of demon slaying, tracked her companions even breathing, and the footsteps of the household as the traveled on their way. Once her weapons had been attended too, she rose and walked to the small table centered between Kagome and Inu-Yasha's futons. Kneeling with the ease of long practice, she looked over the food Kagome had left for her. Selecting a bowl of rice and several pieces of smoked fish, Sango quickly ate her fill, leaving enough for the monk or Inu-Yasha, should they be hungry before dinner was served. Once that was done, she gathered her weaponry and restored it to its proper places on her person, before taking a seat beside Kagome's futon to wait until the next changing of the guard.

 

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Shortly after night had fallen, Inu-Yasha returned to the room, accompanied by a young servant bearing food. When he entered, Sango looked up, and as per her supposed role with the group, nodded her respect. Inu-Yasha smirked, even as he directed to boy to leave the food on the table.

 

Once the boy walked out of hearing range, he turned back to her, “Keh, if I hear another milord, I am going to skewer someone. With Tetsusaiga.”

 

Sango smiled, “Inu-Yasha. Good to have you back.”

 

He nodded, “Wake the others. You've been standing guard?”

 

“Kagome and I have, yes.”

 

“Hmm, good. Don't bother tonight, they wouldn't dare anything with me here, and I want to leave at dawn. If we push it we should be at the palace in four days, the other town between here and there will just be a short stop, it is close enough to be under fairly tight control still.”

 

Sango nodded absently as she walked around the room, waking the other members of their party. Once everyone was roused and seated at the table, Inu-Yasha explained the rest of their trip to them.

 

“Kay, this is how it is going to go. We leave at dawn for the next town on our way through Sesshomaru's territory. We should reach there at nightfall on the second day, you can sleep while I take care of the inspection there, should only take a couple of hours, they are under much tighter supervision there. At dawn on the third day we leave for the castle, should reach it midday on the fourth day if we get an early start. Once we get there . . . pretty much playing by ear, Sesshomaru's never exactly happy to see me, but it is seldom as bad as our encounter's during the beginning of our journey were.”

 

“So we at least probably won't be killed on sight. Great.” Kagome hated to sound so pessimistic, but their encounters with Sesshomaru, while sometimes non violent, were seldom pleasant.

 

Seeing that the other's were finished eating, Inu-Yasha placed his empty rice bowl back on the table. “Get some sleep. I'll wake you when it is time to leave.”

 

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As Inu-Yasha had predicted, their journeys over the next several days were, while not exactly pleasant given his tendency to wake them at dawn and keep them on the road till after sunset, at least uneventful. At dawn on the fourth day, he pointed to a spot on the horizon and spoke, “There it is. Sesshomaru's palace, such as it is. We should reach it midday, or a little after. Hopefully he is in, otherwise I am going to be pissed.”

 

The other members of the group snorted, and shook their collective heads, before following him along what was quickly developing into a reasonably well maintained road.

 

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Thanks to the quality of the road, they actually reached the palace shortly before midday. Slightly unsure as to what would happen, Kagome and the other members of the group hung back, staying several paces behind Inu-Yasha as he approached the grand doors to the home of his ancestors. Showing none of the nervousness he felt given the bad blood that had arisen between him and Sesshomaru since he had last walked these halls despite their even more recent reconciliation, he reached out and placed his hand against the keystone for the wards.

 

Immediately, he felt himself washed in the power and strength of his ancestors, as they recognized him as one of their own. He knew that this act also rang a serious of bells in the quarters of the chief seneschal, alerting the staff that one of their master's had arrive home.

 

Behind him, the rest of the group watched as seemingly without cause, the great doors of the palace slid aside. Into the gap stepped a tall, stately demon, red hair silvered with age, brilliant gold eyes sharp, “Lord Inu-Yasha. Welcome home.”

 

Eyes still narrowed, Inu-Yasha inclined his head, “Greetings, Kitsu. Is my brother in residence?”

 

Kitsu looked at him nervously, “He is my lord. Is there some specific reason you need to see him?”

 

“A matter concerning the fate of a certain jewel that led to our last several encounters, I promise not to attack him Kitsu.”

 

Kitsu smiled at that, “Come in my lord and your entourage as well. Sakura and Mai will lead you to your suite, and I will inform your brother you wish to speak with him.”

 

“Thank you Kitsu.”

 

As Kitsu stepped aside, two more demons, young looking females with those same golden eyes, one with hair the color of white gold, the other with hair as black as ebony stepped forward. The black haired one spoke, “Milord, your brother instructed that were you to come to him of your own accord you and your entourage were to be placed in the heir's suite. Is this acceptable?”

 

Inu-Yasha started, “The bast-I mean, my brother actually said that?”

 

“Indeed he did, milord.”

 

“Very well then, lead on.”

 

When they arrived at their destination, Kagome looked around in awe. The rooms, while impersonal in the fact that they had no personal articles in them, were still obviously prepared for their group. Sango and Miroku were placed in a pair of chambers that Inu-Yasha said were originally designed for the bodyguards and personal servants of the heir (in demon society, it was expected that those selected for such a duty would serve both roles), but in Sango's chamber were a number of racks designed to hold the equipment of a demon slayer, including a rack designed to hold a Hiraikotsu. And in Miroku's chamber sat a small altar, virtually identical to the one Kagome knew he kept beside his bed at Kaede's village, as well as supplies for making ofuda and the other spiritual charms of a monk's craft. Her own quarters (Inu-Yasha had blushed when she asked their original purpose, Sango had been forced to explain that they were intended for the heir's mate), included a rack for a bow and quiver, as well as a simple stand for a sword, and a chest containing the herbs, bandages and needles of her craft.

 

They were given just enough time to settle in, before the pair from earlier `Sakura and Mai', Kagome thought, arrived to escort them to the bathhouse. “Lord Sesshomaru,” one of them commented, “Says he will see you after you have had time to bathe and change.” The other one spoke then, “Do you have other clothes? We can clean the ones you are wearing, but for the immediate future I'm sure we could find something for you.”

 

Walking into the bathhouse, Inu-Yasha said, “Lady Kagome and I are fine. Sango, Miroku, do you need something?”

 

Miroku replied in the negative, Sango allowed as she could use a change of clothes if possible. Sakura and Mai, nodded quickly, one of them leaving to make arrangements, while the other remained long enough to show them where the towels and spare yukata were kept.

 

It took perhaps three-quarters of an hour before they were back at their quarters. Once there, they found that someone had apparently gone through their bags, as Inu-Yasha's formal outfit and Kagome's travel gear were laid out, along with Miroku's spare robes and a fresh yukata for yukata for Sango. Sakura and Mai were also waiting for them, Sakura (apparently, the platinum blonde), taking charge of getting Inu-Yasha properly attired, while Mai took care of Kagome. Sango was heard to comment, “Glad I don't have to be court formal.”

 

Within the hour, they found themselves led before the doors to Sesshomaru's personal office. It seemed an eternity after they arrived when his cultured voice called for them to come in. Walking through the door, they knelt gently on the cushions before his desk before looking up.

 

Amused golden eyes met their gaze. Silver hair falling neatly behind him, perfectly poised, looking as impressive here arrayed in court robes as he ever had in armor when they met him on a battlefield. And as if for the first time, they beheld the man they had seen so many times on the quest for the jewel.

 

They beheld the Western Lord.