InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Taisho's Darling ❯ A Busy Night ( Chapter 23 )

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Disclaimer:  I don't own these marvelous characters; they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.  I merely torture them at will and put them in uncomfortable situations whenever possible.

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Chapter 23

A Busy Night

……

She'd locked him out of his own room, dammit.  Inu-Yasha slumped down to the floor, his back resting against the door of his bedroom.  Sango had stormed in there crying and then slammed a barrier in place to keep him from following.  Even worse, the barrier wasn't soundproof.  Every sniff, every sob, tore through the hanyou's heart with gut-wrenching pain.

Her tears were killing him, didn't she realize this?  "Sango?" he called softly.  "Sango, are you all right?"  Of course she wasn't all right, but he had to ask, didn't he?

A loud sniffle preceded her next statement.  "I'm fine," she answered stubbornly.  The rustle of her clothing told him she was sitting with her back to the other side of the door.  "Go away."

"You're in my room.  Where am I supposed to sleep?" he wanted to know.  Kami preserve him from moody, pregnant women!  "Sango, stay mad at me - hell, you can hit me if you want, but please stop crying," he begged through the door.

More sniffles, then silence.  "Hey, Sango?" he asked, hearing her shuffling movements against the door.  "Go climb in the bed if you're going to stay in there all night.  You'll get sick sleeping on the cold floor."

"It's not cold," she mumbled sleepily through the closed door.  "I wrapped myself up in this old red thing of yours.  It's warm and," she yawned, "it smells like you."

"Old red thing - you mean my fire-rat haori?" he asked, amazed.  "I haven't worn that in years, Sango!  Where'd you find it?"

"In the back of your closet."

"Do I wanna know why you were going through my closet?"

Silence.

"Sango?"  Listening intently, he could hear her breathing evenly.  She was asleep.  Chuckling at the absurdity of it all, Inu-Yasha propped his back against the door in a more comfortable position.  He cocked an ear, listening to the racket coming from the dining room.  It was going to be a long night.

……

The inuyoukai was trying to ignore the sounds of fighting, but it was difficult to do so.  Silently hoping that nobody was bleeding all over his table, Taisho focused his attention on the miko before him.  Kikyo was saying something to him about the need for a conference with Toto-sai.  Unfortunately, Taisho only caught part of her comment.  The rest of her statement was lost in the loud crashing noise echoing down the hallway.

The front door opened, and he could hear Toto-sai's voice.  Soon it was joined by Kaede's dulcet tones.  A soft laugh came from her as they departed from the mansion, causing a flare of envy to rage through Taisho.  He heartily wished he couldn't hear the two of them, wished he could pretend Kaede was sound asleep in her own bed - with him lying next to her.  Sometimes, having such sensitive hearing was nothing more than a curse.

The miko was shifting restlessly beside him.  "You may take your leave, Kikyo," Taisho said tiredly.  She had gone very quiet, her eyes wide as she listened to the disturbing noises emanating from the other end of the house.  When she gave no indication of trying to depart, Taisho narrowed his eyes at her.  "What haven't you told me?"

Her hands twisted nervously.  "I can't go back," Kikyo confessed in a rush of words.  "Naraku has discovered the truth.  If I return, he will kill me."

For the first time ever, Taisho smelled the scent of fear coursing through her.  She knelt before him, and Taisho knew the gesture was pure torture for the proud woman.  "Taisho-sama," Kikyo said through tightly clenched teeth.  "Please, I beg of you - give me sanctuary."

Taisho could only imagine what this request had cost her.  The miko was desperate indeed, if she was seeking refuge with a demon.  "Rise, woman," Taisho ordered sympathetically.  "Such a worthy ally should never bow before me, Kikyo.  My home is yours for as long as you need it.  Although the kami alone know where I'm going to keep you," he added under his breath.

……

"The alarm is set and the locks are in place, brother.  Just close the door behind you when you leave," Manten said as he gathered his belongings.  "And don't be too hard on the wench.  She's one of the good ones."

The silence left behind after Manten's departure was unnerving.  Hiten peeked at Nazuna from the corner of his eyes, trying to decipher the girl's expression.  The human slave had spilled everything just as soon as he had awakened.  Now she knelt before him in silence, and it was scaring the hell out of the elemental demon.  Nazuna was never one to be quiet.

"You should have told me, Nazuna," Hiten said at last.  He toyed with his long, black braid before gingerly poking a finger at his newly-formed breasts.  He would die before admitting it, but they fascinated him.  The female body had always seemed so mysterious…

Meanwhile, the female in front of him appeared ready to make a run for it if he said the wrong thing.  Hiten figured the woman had to be frightened half to death.  She'd spent all but a few of her years as someone's slave, he realized angrily.  Kind master not withstanding, she'd lived her life as someone else's property, her very existence dependent upon the whim of another.  Faced with what Nazuna had just told him, Hiten felt a new depth of admiration for her.  She must be tough indeed, to have survived so many years with her bright outlook still intact.

"I'm sorry, Hiten," Nazuna was apologizing, her head bowed before him in a humble manner.  Was she afraid to look at him?  She kept talking, her voice catching as she spoke.  "You have to understand; I've lived with this secret for a long time.  Talking about this could so easily cost not only my life, but the lives of the others.  How could I take that risk?"

"Am I that untrustworthy?" the elemental youkai asked.  He was hurt.  "Nazuna, I know I've pulled some stupid stunts, but I'm not a complete ass!  Even if I didn't love you, I'd never tell anyone your secret!"

"Like I was supposed to trust you after finding out about the agreement you made with Inu-Yasha?" she huffed, finally goaded into meeting his gaze.  "Why, I ought to - wait a minute, what did you say?"

"I said I'd never tell anyone your secret."

"No, what you said before that…you know, that part where you said you loved me?  Do you…do you really mean it?" she whispered.  "No, you can't mean that!"

She doubted his love?  This was just too much.  Hiten's temper, never the best under any circumstances, boiled over.  "Gah!" he shouted, tempted to tear his hair out.  Only the thought of looking like his follicle-challenged brother stopped him.  He fell to his knees in front of her and thrust his face close to hers.  "Woman, I just got in a fight with one of my best friends because of you!  Last week, a botched spell cost me my eyebrows for two days, and it was because of you!  Right now, I'm sporting a pair of breasts," he grabbed them for emphasis, "because of you!  Of course I love you, idiot!  Why else would I stay around someone who is so obviously bad for my health?"

"But why?" Nazuna wailed as he pressed her against him tightly.  It felt more than a little weird to hug her with his breasts getting in the way, but he shoved that thought to the side.  "Why do you love me?" she wanted to know.  "I'll probably wind up killing you with one of my spells!"

"No," Hiten answered, still holding her close.  He kissed the top of her head.  "No, you won't kill me, you silly wench, because you're never casting a spell in my presence again.  Understand?"  He nudged her, waiting for her promise.

"Ever?"  Nazuna didn't seem too happy to give in to his request.  "But Hiten, I've actually done some useful things!  And I'm in the middle of researching a spell designed to aid the digestive processes of older youkai!  It's really neat; think of how your aging grandmother will appreciate it!"

"Have you tested it yet?" Hiten raised a skeptical eyebrow.

She bit her lower lip.  "Okay, so all it does right now is make you throw up your toenails, but I'm getting closer every day to a solution!" she protested.

"I can hardly wait," Hiten shuddered.  He kissed her again before pulling away so he could dig through his shirt pocket.  "Here," he said, handing her a thin, plastic card.  "I was planning on giving this to you earlier tonight, but I kind of got distracted."  He frowned, remembering the bar-room brawl.  "Go on, take it," Hiten added when she looked at him in confusion.  "It's yours."

"What is it?" she asked, turning the card over in her slender fingers.  "It has an encoding strip on the back.  Is this a key of some sort?"

"It opens the door to a building I purchased," Hiten told her.  "I didn't like the thought of you blowing up my ancestral home, so I bought a laboratory for you.  You can arrange the inside of it however you like, though, because I don't know a thing about lab equipment."

Fear and confusion followed by comprehension and wonder…the expressions chasing across her features touched the demon's heart.  This enchanting woman had seen far too little true happiness during her long life.  "Hiten?" she asked breathlessly.  "Is this - ?"

"I guess it's my way of asking you to stick around," Hiten said.  He covered Nazuna's small hand with his own and brought her fingers to his lips.  "Last night, when you threw me out of the mansion…hell, Nazuna, I wanted to curl up somewhere and die!  The thought of never seeing you again tore me up inside!"  He buried his face into her neck.  "I was pretty sure you'd show up at the club tonight, so I planned on pulling you aside and begging you to take me back."

"But…Hiten, it's too much!" Nazuna protested.  "I love you no matter what!  You don't have to give me a building!"

"I can afford it," he assured her.  "Nazuna, I bought that building with every intention of asking you to become my mate.  You will be my mate, won't you?" Hiten asked.  When she didn't answer, a worrisome thought struck him.  Maybe Nazuna wanted a more traditional sort of companion?  "Um," he added uncertainly, "I know I don't have a job or anything useful like that, but I can get one if you want.  Manten's always saying honest work would be good for me." 

"You, with a job?" she surprised him by bursting into laughter.  "Hiten, you've never had to work a day in your life!  What on earth would you do?"

"I've held a couple of jobs in the past," the elemental demon assured her.  "But I've always been rich, so I never bothered to stay when I got bored.  And you didn't answer my question, Nazuna," Hiten scowled.

"Yes, I'll be your mate," Nazuna giggled.  "But only if you really want me.  I don't want you to feel like you have to do this just because my slave bond was removed."  She gave him a thoughtful look.  "You said you bought the building intending to ask me to be your mate?  Just when did you buy the place?"

He gave her a sheepish grin.  "Remember that first night?  The night I met you?  I went out the next day and bought the property."  He scooted her closer to him.  "Somehow, there was just something about you, Nazuna…I knew I wanted you even then."

"Oh, Hiten."  She entwined her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.  They kissed for some time before she suddenly yanked her head back.  "Oh no!  Hiten, what is your family going to say about this?  I mean, you're mating a human!  And what if they find out I've lived with Taisho-sama for six years?  They'll think I'm some kind of - "

"When I told you I loved you, was I speaking in some language you didn't understand?" Hiten interrupted her.  "Don't worry about my family; after all, Manten adores you, and he's the only one I listen to these days."  He gave a fanged grin.  "Besides, if anyone dares to say anything to me, I'll just have you cast one of your spells.  They'll think twice about messing with you after you turn them all into penguins.  I'm kidding!" he grunted as she punched him in the gut.  "Hey, cut that out!" he yipped when Nazuna smacked him in the arm.

"Make me," she taunted, giving him a hard poke in the chest and ducking from his embrace.  She scampered behind the damaged bar, just out of his reach.  "You talk really tough for someone so pretty!"

"Woman, when these boobs disappear, you are in so much trouble," Hiten promised, a gleam in his eyes as he took up the chase.

……

"Sssooo wha'd they throw y'in fer?" the fat, balding monk slurred from his cell across the room.

"These idiots think I'm some sort of perverted stalker," Koga groused.  He wrinkled his nose.  No need to ask why the old man was here.  The stench of sake came in waves from the drunken sot, along with the unpleasant smell of a human body that hadn't bathed in at least a week.  The wolf demon concentrated on breathing through his mouth as his eyes watered.  Damn!  If he could smell the stink from his place in the youkai holding cell, it must be pure agony to be locked in with the humans!

"Shut up, Mushin," said the prisoner sitting on the other side of Koga.  "Nobody wants to hear you running your mouth.  Blech!" he exclaimed, catching a whiff of the fumes wafting from the other cell.  "Ever try standing a little closer to the water when you bathe?"

"I'm not takin' critishism from you, Kaijinbo," Mushin belched.  "Ya aren't the shweetest shmelling thing yerself.  Wha'd they bust you fer this time?  More of yer fancy knives?"

"Gotta make a living somehow," the prisoner named Kaijinbo cackled.  He cocked a thick eyebrow at Koga.  "Interested in buying a weapon?  I can get you anything you want."

"No thanks," Koga answered shortly, wondering how soon he could get out of this place.  Trying to get upwind of the odiferous Mushin, he made the mistake of moving closer to Kaijinbo.  Mushin was right:  Kaijinbo had no room to talk when it came to personal hygiene.  Koga choked back his gag reflex.

A shouting match announced a new arrival.  This one was fighting the guards tooth and nail, protesting his arrest with kicks and punches.  With a roar, the bear youkai who had arrested Koga got in a good hit with his huge paw, sending the new prisoner tumbling into the human holding cell.  "His name's Mukotsu; book him for the manufacture of illegal weapons and environmental pollution," the bear shouted to the clerk sitting behind the computer.  "We found him making poison-gas bombs in some abandoned warehouse.  Planning on selling them to the Humanistas, no doubt," he growled.  "Like we haven't got enough trouble with that bunch."

"When am I going to be allowed to contact my lawyer?" another voice groaned from the human holding cell.  Curious, Koga tilted his head to the side in order to see a human crawling from beneath Mukotsu's fallen form.  A slope-shouldered man covered with ink-stains staggered to his feet and stared back at the wolf demon.

"You'll see the public defender when he gets here in the morning, Kotatsu," the clerk said calmly as he entered Mukotsu's information into the system.  "He says he's not getting out of bed in the middle of the night for some petty forger.  Instead of running your little counterfeit operation, why don't you try making money the old-fashioned way?"

"You mean by stealing it?" Kaijinbo sneered, listening to the conversation with interest.  The bear demon banged on the cell, ordering him to keep quiet.  "Hypocrites, the entire crew," Kaijinbo continued quietly.  "Half of them are on the take and don't even pretend otherwise.  They've got a lot of nerve, criticizing us."

"Do you really sell weapons to the Humanistas?" Koga whispered.  "Why would you want to arm a bunch of youkai-haters?  Don't you think they'd just as soon kill you as look at you?"

"I ain't confessin' to nothing, and that includes arms dealing," Kaijinbo answered, but he winked as he said it.  "I'm just saying, this lot here - " he gave the police officers a pointed look, "they ain't so different from the humans, ya know?  Not a one of them's above corruption.  Now if an enterprising businessman decides to sell his wares to both sides of the ongoing human-youkai conflict, who can blame him?"

A high-pitched screeching sound interrupted Koga's response.  "Don't handle him too roughly, now," a young human male was begging as he followed a female officer into the room.  The officer was carrying a monkey, who continued to voice his displeasure with a shrill shriek.  "Truly, my little friend here is harmless!" the young man continued.

"Who've you got there, Abi?" the bear youkai asked.

"His name is Hiyashimaru," Abi answered.  "Book him!  Not him," she scolded the guard who moved toward the young man.  "That joker's name is Nobunaga!  Him!" she thrust out her arm, where the monkey was clinging for dear life.

"Um…the monkey?" the clerk asked doubtfully.  "I don't think we can press charges on a monkey, Abi."

"He's an evil little thief, and I want him locked up now!" she screamed.  "First, I caught him inside the zoo after closing hours, harassing the birds!  Then, when I grabbed him, he stole my wallet, and after that he jumped through the open window of my squad car and pooped on the seat!  It's not funny!" she shouted at the other officers, who by this point were rolling on the floor with laughter.

"Hey!" Koga shouted, banging on the wall of the cell to gain their attention.  "I want to make my phone call!"  He stepped forward, slipping on a puddle of drool.  Following the drops of saliva, he realized the creator of said drool was a strange looking youkai with a mask over his mouth.

"I thought you said your lawyer wasn't answering his phone," the bear demon growled at Koga.  The drooling youkai flicked a glob of spittle in the bear's direction, and the demon swatted at him through the bars.  "Dammit Juromaru, cut that out!  Hey Abi, where's Kageromaru?  Your partner said you brought both of them in tonight."

"Why don't you take that mask off of Juromaru and find out for yourself?" Abi retorted.  "Just be sure to clean up the mess when you're done.  That is, if you still have any working parts after Kageromaru's finished."

"Forget my lawyer; I'm still making my call!" Koga insisted.  The clerk handed him the phone and he punched in Inu-Yasha's cell phone number.  His boss had connections, and right now Koga needed all the help he could get.

……

"Females can be very irrational while they are breeding."

He opened a golden eye and saw his father standing above him.  "Yeah, I kind of figured that part out by myself," Inu-Yasha responded grumpily.  He stretched, trying to pop the crick out of his neck.  "It's really late, Father," the hanyou observed, noting the darkened and quiet hallways of the mansion.  "Shouldn't you be resting or something?  Kaede's gonna have something to say if you have a relapse."

Taisho's eyes darkened, but his voice remained passive.  "Kaede has not yet returned from her date," he informed his son.

If not for the ever-so-slight clenching of the elder youkai's jaw, Inu-Yasha might have been fooled into thinking his father didn't care.  This was interesting, he decided.  He'd never known the hard-headed youkai in front of him to give up on anything, so why wasn't he making some sort of effort where Kaede was concerned?

The battered hilt of Tetsusaiga was thrust in his face, interrupting Inu-Yasha's thoughts.  "I found this in the wreckage of what was once our dining area," Taisho told him.  "It was a bit surprising to come across it again, after all these years.  I haven't seen the old blade since you told me you were going to ask Kikyo to be your mate."

"I pulled it out of the storage shed this afternoon," Inu-Yasha answered, tamping down his sudden anger as he accepted the sword.  His father was recuperating; this was no time to rehash his damaged relationship with Kikyo.  "I left Tetsusaiga hanging from one of the display racks in the dining area," he continued.  "It must have been knocked down during the fight."

"Hn.  You heard the ruckus as well, I take it?"  Taisho snorted.  "Miroku was foolish indeed.  I thought the lad had more sense."

"Hardly," Inu-Yasha scoffed.  "When it comes to the ladies, Miroku doesn't think at all."  He growled again, remembering the man's earlier groping of Sango.  "If he touches her again, I'll kill him!"

"Her?" Taisho asked, nodding in the direction of the bedroom door for clarification.  "Is that why you brought out the sword?"  He smiled at Inu-Yasha, obviously pleased.

The smile broke Inu-Yasha's resolve to be patient.  "Yeah," he bit out angrily, "maybe I'll actually go as far as offering it to this woman.  Sango does meet your approval, right?"

His father's smile disappeared.  "You're still upset with me about that business."  It was a statement more than a question.  "I had hoped that was behind us."  Taisho seated himself on the floor across the hallway, facing his son with a weary look in his eyes.

"It's a little hard to put it behind me when I'm still pissed," Inu-Yasha ground out, the bitter memories washing over him.  "You told me I was making the biggest mistake of my life, and you all but threatened to disown me if I took Kikyo as my mate!  You treated me like I was a pup!"

"And was I wrong about her?" Taisho responded angrily.  "I told you she loved the man, but not the youkai - you're both, son!  And let's not even mention Kagewaki's involvement in this!  Accept the truth, Inu-Yasha; she would never have been satisfied with you!  You would have put all your time and energy into pleasing her, and in the end she still would have left you!"

"I know that!" Inu-Yasha exploded.  "And I knew it back then, Father!  See, this is what I'm talking about!"  His voice was rising steadily, and he belatedly remembered the woman sleeping on the other side of the door.  "You didn't have enough confidence in me to believe that I'd figure things out by myself!" he continued, lowering his voice.  He gave a sharp laugh, one entirely devoid of humor.  "What makes me sick is to realize that nothing's changed!  Keeping me in the dark about the slaves and sneaking Sesshomaru into position at the head of the company just proves it!  You didn't trust me then, and you don't trust me now," he accused.  He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the door, waiting for his father's response.

What his father would have said to him, Inu-Yasha didn't get the chance to discover.  His cell phone rang, the strident tones interrupting the moment.  After listening to Koga's urgent message, Inu-Yasha finished the call and rose to his feet.

Looking down at the exhausted youkai sitting in the hallway, Inu-Yasha decided the interruption was probably a blessing.  After all, he'd already said more than he should have.  His father, his boisterous, loud, brash father, was staring at the floor, suddenly seeming - Inu-Yasha hated to admit it - pitiful.  He frowned in concern.  When had the all-powerful figure from his childhood gotten to be so…so…old and tired?

"Father," he began, but Taisho held his large hand up, indicating he wanted Inu-Yasha to be silent.

"Later, son," Taisho sighed.  "We will discuss this later."  The demon laid his head back against the wall and his eyes drooped shut.

"Taisho-sama?"  It was Jakotsu, searching for his employer.  "We have placed our visitor in Kagome's room, as you requested.  Bankotsu and I are concerned, however, that you are now left with no place to rest," the guard added as he assisted Taisho to his feet.

"What visitor?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking from his father to Jakotsu.

The inuyoukai ignored the question and leaned into the supporting arm of Jakotsu.  "Throw a futon in Nazuna's room and I'll sleep in there," Taisho ordered the guard.  "From what Inu-Yasha has told us, I don't think we'll be seeing our budding scientist tonight."

As he watched his parent shuffle down the hallway, relying more on Jakotsu's strength for every step, Inu-Yasha felt the beginnings of panic settle into his stomach.  His once-invincible father was, in reality, vulnerable.  This was not an easy revelation for him to accept, considering he had spent his entire life convinced that nothing short of hell could conquer the hardheaded youkai.

A very faint pulse came from the sword in his hand, so minuscule that Inu-Yasha almost missed it entirely.  Apparently Tetsusaiga still had some amount of ki left within its blade.  As he traced a finger along the worn hilt, Inu-Yasha remembered something his father had said while presenting the sword.

"You'll master this when you learn to rely on your own strength, and not Tetsusaiga's," his father had told him.  At the time, that statement had confused the hell out of him.  How could he master a sword without relying on its strength?

Now, he understood.  It wasn't just Tetsusaiga's strength he'd relied upon in the past; he'd also depended on his father's magnificent powers.  But his injured father could no longer protect him, nor could the sword made from Taisho's fang.  With the decline of magic in the world, Tetsusaiga was virtually useless as a weapon.

It was time to rely on his own strength.  His jaw tightened by determination, Inu-Yasha thrust the weapon into the thick wood of his bedroom door.  As expected, the sword remained in its untransformed state, a dormant, sleeping fang.  That didn't bother the hanyou in the slightest, for he knew the intentions behind the blade were at full strength.

……

"Miroku?"

The former monk cursed as he stumbled around his darkened room in search of his first aid kit.  Kagura had awakened, much to his dismay.  He'd been trying to move quietly, not wanting to disturb her.  He knew that once she was awake she'd want to go home, and Miroku found he wasn't quite ready to see her go.  His bed would seem so empty…

Unfortunately, his hand wasn't cooperating with any ideas he might have had concerning staying tucked in bed with the wind sorceress.  He fumbled through the desk drawer, searching for something to kill the pain.  During the first few hours after Sesshomaru had inflicted the wound, Miroku's hand really hadn't hurt that much.  At the time, it was little more than an annoying ache, and Kagura had done a marvelous job of distracting him.  Right now, though, no amount of hot, delicious sex was going to take his mind off the fact that his hand felt like it was on fire.  Miroku was in a serious amount of pain, and he actually began to contemplate the drastic step of seeking medical attention.

A soft cloth brushed against his arm, and he looked up to see Kagura.  The wind youkai looked concerned.  "I know a spell that will remove the pain," Kagura told him quietly, "but you have to bind the spell to your hand.  Can you do this?"

He nodded and wrapped the cloth around his hand as soon as Kagura finished her incantation.  Securing the cloth into place with a rosary to bind the spell, Miroku felt himself relax as the pain ebbed away.  "Thanks," he breathed in relief.  "I've never been any good at spell-casting.  My skills are limited to barriers and fighting, I'm afraid."

She was searching for her clothing, retrieving it from the various corners into which it had been flung.  "Here," Miroku picked up her blouse.  Kagura reached to take it, and he pulled her against him.  "It's going to cost you," he smiled, holding it out of her reach.

"It's already cost me, Miroku."

He winced.  She sounded so serious…he hoped she wasn't regretting her impulsive actions.  Did she think he would try to stake some sort of claim upon her?  He'd never do that - Kagura was meant to be free, delightfully unfettered by complicated relationships and emotions.  Miroku didn't want her to see him as a burden of any type.

"I intended to ask for nothing more than a kiss," he said lightly, trying to put her at ease.  "Surely that is not too much to ask?"  He ran the beads covering his now pain-free hand across the smooth expanse of her back.  She was so soft, her skin like satin beneath the uncovered part of his fingers.  "May I escort you home?" he murmured against her hair.

"It would probably be better if you didn't," Kagura sighed.  Reluctantly, he allowed her to free herself from his embrace.  "A human in my neighborhood at this hour of the night would definitely attract the wrong kind of attention."

"You will be careful?" Miroku asked.  "Especially where your mother is concerned?"  In the course of their discussion last night, Kagura had been apprised of her mother's treachery.  To everyone's surprise, the wind youkai had not been overly startled by the news.  Apparently, this wasn't the first time such accusations had been thrown in Sakura's direction, and Kagura was nobody's fool.  Her own father, Kagura had announced, had met his early death under a very suspicious set of circumstances.

"I doubt she'll go after her own flesh and blood," Kagura told the worried Miroku.  "After all, if she was going to kill anyone, she would have killed my sister.  You should have seen her face when Kanna told her about Kohaku."

"That couldn't have been a pleasant scene," Miroku sympathized.  He followed Kagura to the front entryway of the mansion, walking slightly behind her in order to observe the swaying movement of her lusciously rounded hips.  The memory of just how those hips had moved against him made his head spin.  "Kagura," he said in a gentle tone as he bade her farewell, "thank you.  I had a wonderful time."

Once again, she did the unexpected.  "So did I, Miroku," Kagura smiled.  "So did I."  She stood on tiptoe and kissed him thoroughly, catching him completely off-guard.

……

Sesshomaru slowly turned to lie on his side, not wanting to awaken his sleeping mate.  Kagome sighed as he moved, but she remained deep in her slumber.  Wrapping his free arm around her petite form, Sesshomaru dipped his head to place a gentle kiss upon the mark on her neck.  His mark.  He had placed it there, binding her to him for the span of his life.  They were now a part of each other, two rough pieces forming something beautifully complete.  A powerful emotion surged through him, something difficult to explain.  

Sesshomaru's thoughts had always been directed toward the physical side of having a mate, and this was one of the reasons he'd shunned the idea for so many years.  Why take a life-mate, he had reasoned, when physical needs could be gratified so easily?  There'd certainly been no shortage of willing, beautiful females over the years.

But this was different somehow.  Kagome stirred so many emotions within him, feelings of pride and love.  He wanted to cherish her, to care for her, to protect her.  What he felt for Kagome encompassed so much more than the physical joining of two bodies.

Although - he smiled at the memory - the physical part was certainly enjoyable.  He smoothed his hand lightly across the bare skin of her stomach, his previous vow to allow Kagome her sleep rapidly dissolving.  His mate promptly sealed the bargain by arching back against him and mumbling something delightfully endearing.  She could catch up on her sleep tomorrow, Sesshomaru decided as he moved her beneath him and covered her mouth with his own.

……

A/N:  Inspiration for the 'Jail-House' scene came from watching far too many episodes of 'Barney Miller.'  And if you're too young to have ever watched 'Barney Miller'…sigh…check out this link.  (Remove the spaces) http:// timstvshowcase . com / bmiller . html

And yes, this is another double update.  Why?  Because I can - and because my beta is willing to work twice as hard!  Thanks, TitianWren!