InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nothing Left to Lose ❯ Bottom Line ( Chapter 18 )

A/N: Ah, a two-fer! I just couldn't stop myself tonight, so everyone is going to get a little extra tonight. Yea! Anyways, nothing has changed in the last two hours. I hold no power here.

 

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Foot steps outside of the door. Pacing, hunting. He could smell the youkai exterminator outside, could taste her agitation. She was pacing up and down the hall, probably waiting for her friend to come out. Her friend was still curled up, sound asleep in his bed. Protective urges prompted Sesshomaru to stand and dress. He would send the friend back to her room until a more reasonable hour. Rin was not up, so nobody sensible was up. Slipping out into the hall he stared at the female. The female was in her armor, a sword at her hip and her boomerang at her back. He felt his muscles tense, trying to guess her intentions.

 

“Sesshomaru-sama, I would speak with you.” Sango was glaring at him, her hand tightening it's grip on her weapon.

 

“Not here. Kagome needs to rest.”

 

“Then outside.” The exterminator turned on her heel, marching out to the courtyard and onward through the gardens. Sesshomaru followed, not liking where this was going. He knew he could not kill one of Kagome's friends, she would be most upset, but this Sango looked ready to start a battle.

 

Out in the gardens, Sango spun to face the youkai. “You need to let her go. You cannot be what she needs, and you have no right to keep her here. If she leaves now you can find an appropriate mate.”

 

`I am sick of this argument.' “She is not being kept against her will. She has chosen to stay here.”

 

“It's a mistake and you know it!” Sango was moving into a defensive stance, glaring at her opponent. “You can send her away. She will be killed, or she is going to fade away because you cannot feel the same for her as she does for you!”

 

“You know nothing about this Sesshomaru!” The roar that exploded from him caught both by surprise. Even the youkai was surprised at the force of his anger on the matter. Deep breaths helped to bring his rage under control. “Do not lecture when you do not know what you are talking about.”

 

“I will kill you before I let you destroy her and turn her into a shell of what she is now.” Sango was lifting her weapon, taking aim. “Give her up, for her own sake.”

 

“She stays. It is her choice.” Sesshomaru's hand strayed to the hilt of Tokijin. He would defend himself. The foolish ningen in front of him would not be killed, but she would not be leaving unscathed either.

 

“Damn you, youkai.” Sango snapped her arm back, then released. Sesshomaru darted to the side, drawing Tokijin. The two faced off again in the first rays of the dawn. The youkai prepared to charge.

 

A pink shimmer appeared around both of the combatants, keeping them away from each other.

 

“What the hell are you two doing?!”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Kagome woke up in the huge bed by herself. The bed next to her was still warm, so Sesshomaru must have just left. She stretched, trying to figure out why anyone would be out of bed at this insane hour. `I wonder what he's up to?'

 

Relaxing and reaching out, Kagome tracked down the youkai, finding him moving through the courtyard and into the gardens. And he was pissed at someone. Who was with him? A ningen?

 

`Oh, Kami, what are they doing?' Kagome launched into her own room, snatching a haori and hakama out of the closet, and running down the hall. The guards in the hall looked at each other as the miko streaked by in mismatched clothes and unbrushed hair, then gave chase. She was not supposed to be alone. The guards at the courtyard blocked her path, she was not supposed to go outside.

 

“Get out of my way!” Kagome lunged forward, grabbing the arm of each of the guards and giving them each a nasty burn. The guards fell back, clearing a path for the enraged miko. She ran through the courtyard, the guards chasing her. She followed her senses through the gardens to where Sesshomaru and Sango were arguing. She could hear voices up ahead.

 

“You know nothing about this Sesshomaru!”

 

`He's going to kill her. He is furious, and he is going to kill her. Sango, what are you doing?'

 

Coming around the bend she could see the two fighting. Sesshomaru had drawn Tokijin and was dodging Sango's attack. The two stopped, squaring off again. The light gleamed off of their weapons as the sun appeared over the horizon. If she did not stop them somebody was going to get hurt, or killed. She threw up a barrier around each of them, forcing them to stop this idiot behavior.

 

Kagome stormed across the grass, several guards following her and begging her to come back inside the palace. The two burned guards were in the back, trying to stay away from her but still desperate to get her back inside safely. The two combatants stared at her as she glared at them, her hands on her hips.

 

“Well? What are you two doing?”

 

“Um, well, we were . . .” Sango trailed off into silence.

 

“It was a discussion on your wishes.” Sesshomaru looked like he was discussing the weather, but Kagome knew that he was just this side of losing it. First, attacked by Sango. Now he was trapped in a barrier, and that was making him very upset.

 

`Better make this quick, before he goes ballistic.'

 

“If I drop these barriers will you two stop fighting long enough to tell me what's going on?”

 

“Hai, Kagome.” Sango was staring at the ground, looking very guilty.

 

A slight nod was Sesshomaru's answer.

 

Kagome let the two barriers dissolve. Sesshomaru was glaring at her, fury in every line. `He thinks that was a play for dominance, and in front of the guards. Think quick, girl, before he starts slaughtering people!' She eased towards him, eyes down and looking submissive. She tipped her head over, exposing her neck as she drew within reach. “Sesshomaru . . .”

 

He grabbed her, dragging her close with one arm. “That was not a good idea.” His voice was a whisper. Kagome pressed herself against his chest, looking down.

 

“Sorry, Sesshomaru.”

 

Tension eased as Sesshomaru slowed his breathing. Still whispering, he looked down at the small miko. “An understandable decision, even if it was not a good one. I was not going to kill her.”

 

Kagome looked up at him with a smile. “I know, I didn't want her to hurt you either.”

 

“Baka. Impossible.”

 

Glaring up at him, Kagome choked down a smile. “Don't call me that.” She turned away, facing Sango now. “Okay, Sango, what's going on?”

 

Sango was still staring at the ground. “I wanted to make sure that you would be allowed to leave. I did not think that he would let you leave, so I was going to . . .”

 

“You were going to rescue me.” Behind her the inu-youkai growled, but Kagome sighed. “Sango, really, it's okay. It seems that everyone is trying to `save' me from him, but I don't want to go anywhere. Really, I don't. Would you like to go inside and talk about this?”

 

A small nod, then Sango was moving back to the palace. Kagome looked to Sesshomaru, then fell in step along side him as they moved back to the palace. The very confused guard fanned out behind them, escorting them back up to the palace.

 

“You do know that your clothing does not match, and is not on correctly.” The whisper was so quiet that she almost missed it. Sesshomaru was looking down at her with a hint of a smile.

 

Kagome blushed and whispered back. “Hey, you get dressed as fast as I did in the dark and lets see how you do.”

 

“I did quite well, I believe.”

 

“You have more practice.”

 

“You did an excellent job with the guards. I believe that you will have no difficulty with this group from now on.” Sesshomaru glanced at his guards, who were eyeing both of them with equal anxiety.

 

“Idiots. I told them to get out of the way.” Kagome crossed her arms, refusing to feel bad. “Next time they'll know better.”

 

“That's the point. You have made an impression. I do not think that they will mistake you for a weak creature ever again. I could have done without being part of your demonstration, though.” A small growl rumbled through him at the last.

 

Flinching and looking down, Kagome backpedaled. “It was an instinctive thing, I didn't have time to look at what was going on, I just knew I wanted both of you to stop. I did not mean to upset you.”

 

“Kagome.”

 

The miko looked up at him, worry in her eyes.

 

“You did well. It was the correct response. I did not like it, but it was the correct response.”

 

Relief flooded through her and she was able to breathe again. “Thank you, Sesshomaru.”

 

“I think that I, as well as the guards, would do well to remember what you are. It was interesting to be stopped like that, and by a female in mismatched clothing.”

 

That earned him another glare.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Okay, Sango and Mirokou, this is the bottom line: I want to stay. I talked to him last night, we have come to an agreement, and I want to stay. It is not his idea, he actually told me to leave at one point. Jerk. But we have settled on my staying.”

 

Mirokou actually looked pretty good with the idea. He had always liked happy endings when couples get together, and he hated to see Kagome alone. Sango looked more leery of the idea.

 

“Out with it, Sango, what's your concern?”

 

Sango looked over to Sesshomaru, who did not look like he was paying the slightest bit of attention. Rin certainly was, though. Kagome was staying!

 

“Kagome, are you sure? You did just have your heart broken, isn't this a little fast?”

 

Surprisingly, Kagome giggled. “You know, I thought of that. I don't think this is a rebound relationship. I didn't really have a relationship with Inuyasha anyways, so I don't know if I can rebound from that.”

 

There was a quiet growl from the bored looking youkai, but Kagome ignored it.

 

“Sango, I really want you to understand. You are my closest friend, as close as a sister. Can you believe that this is actually what I want?”

 

The youkai exterminator gazed at her, then looked to Sesshomaru. “Yes, I can believe that you would want this. You know I'm going to worry about you, no matter what. You are going to be in danger, with enemies everywhere. Of course I'm going to worry about you. But, I'm going to trust you. Only you can tell me what you want, and you seem to know him.” That got another low growl from the head of the table. “If this is your wish, then I am happy for you.”

 

Kagome and Sango grabbed each other in a hug, giggling, much to the embarrassment of the males in the room. Mirokou was scrambling for a conversation topic with Sesshomaru. “So, Sesshomaru-sama, how have things been on your lands?”

 

“Considerably more peaceful than things in this house.”

 

“Ah, aha.” Mirokou decided that was enough small talk and concentrated on his breakfast.

 

“Kagome-chan, you are staying?” Rin's eyes were shining with excitement, almost afraid to ask for fear that she had misunderstood.

 

“Hai, jo-chan, I'm staying here. Somebody has to finish teaching you how to write.”

 

Sesshomaru sipped his tea, a small voice wishing for some of the peace he had enjoyed in the past, before all of these ningen had invaded his home. But it was a small price to pay for the one ningen that was smiling at him with her perfect eyes.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Captain, a word while your students practice.”

 

“Hai, my lord. You two, practice together. Take it easy on the miko, Rin.”

 

The Captain followed his lord to the hallway, listening to his students as they sparred together. He did not even have to turn around to know that the miko had been thinking too much again and had not moved quickly enough. Without turning around he boomed, “Damn it, miko, quit debating and fight already!”

 

In the hallway Sesshomaru watched the two fight for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

 

“You are loyal to me, and the miko.”

 

“Hai, Sesshomaru-sama, to the death.”

 

“She is in danger. Already some are planning to remove her. Even with guards all about her. . . “

 

“The miko must defend herself. I understand, my lord.” The Captain paused, watching the two. “She tries hard, and has some talent, but it is never going to be as natural for her as it is for the girl. That one, she will be a fighter to be reckoned with some day.” Obvious pride showed on the Captain's face as he watched his new protégé.

 

“Captain.”

 

“Apologies, my lord. The miko can learn more to defend herself, but she will be better served by her powers as a miko. She will be good enough with a sword to stop one or two attackers, but if she is in a dire situation, she will need more than some skill with a sword. I will work with her, help her to learn self defense. The powers, that she must do on her own unless we can find a teacher for her.”

 

“Another miko is a risk, since the loyalties may lie elsewhere.” Sesshomaru was watching the fighters. His Rin was pushing the miko back again. “We will see what she can do on her own. If the situation looks to be dire, then perhaps a teacher will be arranged.”

 

“A loyal miko does make a powerful ally. I would certainly hesitate before annoying her. I saw the burns on those guards that did not get out of her way.”

 

“Hai.” Sesshomaru continued down the hall, leaving the Captain to deal with his students.

 

“Hold!”

 

The students froze, eyes turning to their instructor. “Rin, quit picking on the miko. I'll work with you in a moment. Miko, you are going to be changing tactics a bit. A little self defense work seems to be in order.”

 

Kagome sighed. “Hai. I seem to have gotten myself into trouble.”

 

“Don't start that female melodrama on me now. You are in a fight for dominance, to say nothing about your life. Quit your moping and do something about it!”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Now, we are going to replace that sword with something a little bit more appropriate for what I have in mind.” The Captain handed her a dagger. “Easier to conceal, easier to use in a closed place, and just as good for killing things. I don't want you to practice drills and good form, I want you to be tricky, nasty, and dirty. I'm going to assume that if you have made it to the point where you are fighting hand to hand that things are in bad shape. If you get a shot to purify them, do it! Otherwise, you are going to use some very dirty tricks to make them wish they had never been born.”

 

“Yes, sir.”