InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Mark ❯ Decisions and Truths ( Chapter 8 )

The next morning, Inuyasha saw the position they were sleeping in and growled softly. He watched as Sesshomaru lightly stroked her leg. Why was he doing this? Last night he had reacted as if he truly intended to mate her. Could he really have feelings for her? Inuyasha tried to remember his brother from the time before he had left. He'd always been thrown by his father's refusal to speak about his first son. Sesshomaru had been the one who taught him his first fighting lessons. He's been the one who had shown him how to control his rages. He'd been there the first time he was old enough to understand what happened when the moon vanished from the night sky.

Inuyasha shook his head slowly. Why did Sesshomaru hate him so much? Was it something he did, or something he represented? Suddenly it hit him. Inuyasha stiffened slightly. Sesshomaru hated him because their father had loved him. That couldn't be it, could it? Sesshomaru and his mother had left them. Inutaisho would not have lied to him. His mother would not have lied to him. They had abandoned the Western Lands of their own free will. He growled again and jumped down, ready to wake Kagome until Sesshomaru's gaze caught his.

"You will let her sleep." His voice was hardly more than a whisper, but he heard it well enough. "Get back to your tree, Inuyasha, and stop harassing your sister."

Inuyasha blinked. His sister? Kagome wasn't his…she was his sister. He turned and jumped back into his tree. He sat. If Kagome mated Sesshomaru, she would become his sister. He loved her, he knew that, but not romantic love. His love for her was like a brother's or even a protective son's. He wanted what was best for her. He looked down at the two of them. They clung to each other as though terrified something would try to pry them apart. Was she so wounded and he had never seen? Sesshomaru could love, he knew that, he remembered the way he had shown affection through tiny gestures. There were never smiles or hugs, but rather a soft look or a kind word. He was a hard man to read, but Inuyasha remembered loving him and knowing, deep down, that his older brother loved him back.

The others began to stir and Sango and Kouga began to prepare breakfast. The children rose next and Rin wasted no time shaking Kagome to life. She laughingly chased them to the stream to clean up as Sesshomaru rose. He accepted breakfast from Sango and ate in silence. Kagome sat down next to him with her own breakfast and both children.

-If I come with you to your palace…-

-You would still be able to go after the jewel shards. I know spells that can help pinpoint them then we can go directly to them. No wandering around aimlessly.-

-No fruitless battles or cold nights. I will miss sleeping under the stars.-

-My gardens are guarded and open to the night sky.-

She nodded slowly and looked at the others. "I would like to talk to all of you, about the jewel shards and our hunt and, well the future in general." Gin started to move to rise. "No, Gin. Stay. This concerns all of us. I want to go to Sesshomaru's palace. Now before you argue, Inuyasha, listen to my reasons. First of all, and most important, Shippou and Rin will be safe there. Sesshomaru, my mate-to-be is there and has agreed not to harm any of you. Finally, he and I can use spells to pinpoint the jewel shards before we even step foot outside the walls. It may take a while to work out the spell, but it will save us a lot of time in the end. Not to mention that Naraku cannot hide the presence of the jewel from me, which means we will be able to find him."

Kouga stood slowly. "With Sesshomaru-sama's permission, I would like to move my pack into the mountains near his palace. That way we will be closer at hand when the time to fight Naraku comes. There may be other packs that will follow me into this battle."

"You have my permission to enter my lands, Kouga-san."

He bowed. "I must return to my pack then and prepare them to travel."

Inuyasha jumped up. "Hold it! You're acting like we've already decided to do this."

Miroku looked up at the hanyou. "It is the smartest move at this point. There are so few jewel shards out there the likelihood of just stumbling across one the way we've been hoping to is next to nothing."

Inuyasha looked away, but shrugged even as he did it. "Fine. Just…"

"Inuyasha," he looked around as Kagome spoke, "in my world there are many types of dangers. The police are there to enforce the law, but really they are as afraid as the rest of us. The people form gangs, groups of armed people that wag wars on each other within the city."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"I'm getting there. I was a member of a gang. My red scarf marks me as a Scarlet Witch. I was a…future pleasure giver."

They all gaped at her. Miroku was the first to find his tongue. "What!"

"I needed protection, for myself and my family. I was forced to promise my body to men I do not even know. Now ten years ago the city was ruled by one man. He was not a kind man, but he was fair. There were no Scarlet Witches, no professional prostitutes contracted before they are even adults. He was killed by a rival leader and the city fell into chaos. Now what do you think will happen to this land if Naraku overthrows your brother? The Western Lands, then the rest of Japan, will fall into chaos, and people like me, people who want nothing more than to live and be safe, will suffer for it. Do you really want to be responsible for that? I was lucky. Another gang leader gained control before I turned sixteen, but for a lot of my friends it was already too late. They think themselves ruined and you know what? They're right."

He sat in silence for a long time. His ears had drooped during her story. He had no idea her life back home was anything like that. Slowly he shook his head.

"No, I do care about these lands. I will help you protect them, even if I must work with Sesshomaru to do that."

"Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Keh. Just don't go…back and…well…you want me to rip them apart for you?"

She laughed at his sudden concern. "No, I want to learn to do that myself."

He gave her a feral grin. "Yeah, that can be a lot more satisfying."