InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Youkai and the Exterminator ❯ Chapter TwentySeven ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter TwentySeven

 

 

Inuyasha scowled, the bright sunshine hurt his eyes when he went outside. His angry expression had more to do with his current company rather than the state of illumination within the fortress itself. Sesshomaru had dismissed them, dismissed him like he was some kind of servant and that only added to the foulness of his mood.

 

The hanyou growled to himself, wished for the appropriate time and place to finally knock that superior sneer off his brother's face. It was coming; he had it coming that was for damn sure. Inuyasha thought with relish about how it would feel to really get into a knock down fight with his older brother, no damn swords involved.

 

That pleasant thought being denied to him, all he had right now was a stupid wolf that'd managed to get the snot kicked out of him by Naraku. Kouga looked around him, an impressed expression in place as he looked around the courtyard, getting a feel for the true size and scale of this fortress.

 

"Damn," the wolf said, scratching the back of his head. "Didn't know you dogs had anything like this. So this is where you're from, huh, mutt-face?"

 

"No," he muttered, darting a quick glance around in case anyone was spying on them. "This is the first time I've ever been here."

 

Kouga grinned at him. "Don't like half breeds, do they?"

 

For some reason he didn't react to Kouga's jibe, just shaking back his white hair and looking away. "Yeah, you could say that."

 

The wolf raised an eyebrow. Mutt-face doesn't like it here any more than I do, he decided. It didn't matter; he had every intention of getting out of this stone walled city as soon as he could. Stay here long enough and he'd start stinking like a dog himself and Kouga grimaced at the idea. Then his eyes fell on a slim figure that had just emerged from a darkened passage, holding her delicate hand up to shade her eyes against the brilliant sunlight. He shot the hanyou a wicked look before bounding over to her.

 

"Kagome!"

 

Kagome didn't miss the dark look that crossed Inuyasha's face when the exuberant wolf demon seized her hands and clutched them tight. "Kouga-kun," she said, smiling at him. "I'm so glad you're not badly injured."

 

"Never fear, my Kagome," he purred, reaching out to cuddle her close. "Nothing could keep me from your side, not even death itself would..." He stopped, sniffing at her hair, her scent had changed, and something was different. Ignoring a soft growl from the hanyou, Kouga buried his nose in her hair, snorting as the glossy black strands tickled his nose.

 

The mutt's smell was on her, all over her. He frowned, the taste of her smell in his nostrils as he tried to place the strangeness. Mutt-face was always close to her, she should smell of dog, but there was something he couldn't quite place about her scent. A rich, strange combination like the muskiness of woman after...

 

His eyes went wide, spinning away from Kagome to glare in fury at Inuyasha. "You son of a bitch!"

 

The wolf still clutched one of Kagome's hands in his, glaring at Inuyasha with pure hatred. "Kouga-kun?" the girl asked, pulling at his wrist. "You're hurting my hand!"

 

"Get your filthy claws off her," Inuyasha snarled, darting forward to rip Kagome away from the angry wolf. "What the fuck is your problem?"

 

Kouga was shaking he was so angry. "You bastard, you forced yourself on my Kagome!"

 

Inuyasha flushed, his face going a dark and furious red. "Nobody forced nobody," he snarled. "It ain't none of your business anyway, wolf!"

 

"It's my business that you touched my woman!"

 

Teeth bared, he shoved his face right into Kouga's. "I did a lot more than just touch her," he hissed, his eyes lighting sadistically as he ground the words into Kouga like a dagger. "You got something you wanna say about it?"

 

Kouga's eyes widened, then narrowed in fury. "I'll fucking kill you!"

 

"Just try it!" Inuyasha shouted.

 

They threw themselves at each other, kicking, hitting, punching and clawing like a pair of wild beasts. Kouga and Inuyasha rolled on the courtyard's stone paved floor, furiously tearing at each other and screaming while Kagome looked on in horror.

 

"Inuyasha!" she cried. "Stop it, Kouga is hurt, you're going to kill him!"

 

"That's the fucking idea," Inuyasha snarled, getting to his feet with one claw wrapped around Kouga's hair. The wolf wasn't giving up easy and twisted to sink his sharp fangs into Inuyasha's leg. The hanyou howled and dropped him, exactly what Kouga had intended. He struck the hanyou with a fury of hard punches, landing the last one right on Inuyasha's chin.

 

"That's it," the half-breed snapped, spitting blood. "You are going to die, you fucker!"

 

"Come and get me, dog-shit," Kouga panted, readying his claws for the next assault. He didn't want to admit it, but he was hurting now. Maybe challenging mutt-face wasn't smart idea at the moment, but what else could a proud wolf do? His woman had been violated by that half-blood excuse for a dog and Kouga intended there to be hell to pay for that.

 

"Kouga!" Kagome shouted. "Inuyasha! Please stop!" They ignored her, tearing at each other again, blood hitting the smooth gray stones. There were people coming out of the fortress now, Sango and Miroku were running towards her.

 

"What happened?" Sango wanted to know.

 

"What always happens?" Kagome answered, covering her eyes in despair. They just couldn't get along, never could, now that Kouga knew that she and Inuyasha were more than just friends, it would only make the conflict worse.

 

Miroku watched the fistfight for a moment before answering. "Inuyasha will stop soon and Kouga is too hurt to really defend himself much longer. He won't kill him, Kagome."

 

Inuyasha seemed to have come to the same conclusion, pulling back and wiping the sweat out of his eyes. "You had enough, wolf-turd?"

 

Kouga glared at him. "Not even started, mangy mutt," he said, leaning his hands on his knees while he got his breath. Does he think I'll back down, the wolf wondered. "I will avenge Kagome's honor," he shouted.

 

"Kagome's honor," Miroku echoed, a grin breaking over his face. Kagome blushed and wouldn't look at him, confirming what he'd been suspecting. Actually, he'd half listened to the girl's conversation with Sango while drifting in and out of a much-needed rest and guessed about the content.

 

About time, the monk thought in satisfaction.

 

Of course, that was the problem right now. Miroku watched as Inuyasha and Kouga continued to pummel each other, much to the amusement of several watching inuyoukai. "I hate to be the one to suggest it, Kagome," he said, his voice as mild and light as ever. "Why don't you just put the sit on Inuyasha and end this?"

 

Her face just had to be flaming, Kagome decided. She took a deep breath and looked at Sango before meeting Miroku's eyes. "I destroyed the rosary."

 

Sango's jaw dropped. "You did what? Kagome, why on earth..."

 

Kagome stamped her foot. "Sango!" she exclaimed, looking at her pleadingly.

 

She jumped when Miroku patted her shoulder. "I understand," he said softly, nodding at Sango. The exterminator's face softened, as she too comprehended the depth of what had transpired between her friend and their irascible hanyou companion.

 

"It's about trust," she murmured, seeing the gratitude in Kagome's eyes at her words. "I understand."

 

"Then help me," Kagome begged. "Help me stop this before it goes too far. Kouga's an idiot, he doesn't understand. And Inuyasha, well, you know how he is!"

 

"Right," Sango said grimly, glad suddenly that she was wearing her exterminator uniform. It was time to knock some heads together and she actually felt a strange eagerness to be the one to do it.

 

"I'll take Inuyasha," she said, looking at Kagome's puzzled expression. "He's stronger and you have better chance than me of holding back Kouga. We just have to pry them apart so they can cool down."

 

Kagome nodded curtly and ran into the melee, grabbing hold of one of Kouga's arms. "Stop it, Kouga!"

 

He tried to push her away but she clung to him anyway. "Don't worry, Kagome. I'll protect you from him," the wolf snarled, trying to fight his way past the girl.

 

"Get out of the way, Kagome!" Inuyasha looked pissed, holding off on his blows because of her nearness. "He's got it fucking coming, you know it!"

 

The hanyou staggered suddenly, finding a demon exterminator on his back. Sango had jumped him from behind, locking her forearms across his neck. "Damn it, Inuyasha! Don't be such a stubborn ass, just stop it already!"

 

"Get off my back!" he howled, trying to shake her off without hurting her. Sango clamped down on him with her legs, only to have Kouga dart forward to sink a hard fist into the hanyou's stomach.

 

"Kagome," she yelled, her mouth full of flying white hair. "Control that stupid wolf!"

 

"Who you calling stupid?" Kouga was delighted by the assistance and came forward again, kicking Inuyasha in the ribs. Kagome launched herself onto his back, mirroring Sango's move in trying to hold back the angry wolf demon.

 

"Kouga, please," she wailed. "Can't we talk this out?"

 

"There's nothing to talk about," Kouga snapped, avoiding a quick and vicious strike from Inuyasha's claws. The exterminator on his back was slowing him down, keeping him off balance. Kouga instinctively spun around to avoid the sharp claws and Kagome squealed in fright.

 

"That was my skirt, Inuyasha!"

 

"Sorry," he yelled back. "That fucking wolf keeps moving! Just stand still and die like a demon, you shit. Don't hide behind a girl like the coward you are."

 

"I ain't no coward and you're going to pay for what you did to my Kagome!" the wolf howled, jumping into the air to kick Inuyasha again. This time the hanyou just barely moved out of the way, deflecting the full force of the blow with his arm, but Kouga's foot went over his shoulder and hit Sango hard in the mouth.

 

"Watch it!" she shouted, clenching her fists in Inuyasha's tangled white locks.

 

"Stop pulling my hair, bitch," he snapped, going into a crouch with her still attached to his back. A small form darted in front of him, squalling like a baby dragon.

 

"You hit Sango!" Rin shouted, clamping onto Kouga's leg. She buried her small teeth in his flesh and snarled angrily. Kouga went to swat her away but Kagome grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back.

 

"Kouga, she's just a little girl!"

 

"She's biting me," he cried, trying to shake her off since Kagome wouldn't let him hit the kid. Inuyasha took advantage of the distraction to move in close and hammer the wolf's torso with a series of quick hard punches.

 

"Pay attention when I'm beating your ass," the hanyou shouted joyfully.

 

"Inuyasha, stop it," Kagome begged. "Don't hurt Kouga, he doesn't understand!"

 

"Like I give a fuck," he snarled, moving in for the kill. Even with Sango plastered to his back, he knew he was more than a match for a beaten up wolf that didn't know when to keep his yap shut. A ball of fur suddenly attacked his head, blinding him with tiny sharp claws in his face. "Shippou, damn you, what are you doing?"

 

"Kagome said stop, you're going to stop," the kitsune growled, wrapping his arms around Inuyasha's neck to hold on.

 

"I'm going to kill you for this, you damn runt!"

 

"Inuyasha! You will not hurt Shippou!"

 

"Out of the way, fox! I want to see his face before I cave it in with my fists!"

 

"Damn it, Kagome! Can't you hold that wolf back?"

 

"You hit Sango, I'll kill you!"

 

"Stop biting my leg, you human brat!"

 

Miroku was leaning against the wall, watching the strange confrontation with an air of amused glee. There was no way in hell he was going in there, a monk had to be circumspect. A puzzled looking guard came up beside him, his jaw hanging open in shock.

 

"What are they doing to each other?" Shiou asked, frowning as he watched the chaos unfolding in the courtyard.

 

"Oh, nothing to worry about," the monk assured him. "It's personal, hardly your duty to interfere."

 

"I dunno about that," Shiou answered doubtfully. Jano's orders said no one was to harm the humans, but he wasn't quite sure if that applied if they were hurting each other. Or if the hanyou-sama and the strange wolf demon should be held back too. He didn't like the idea of getting involved either, the lord's mate was in the middle of that and Shiou felt queasy at the very idea of being the one involved when Sesshomaru-sama found out.

 

"I should probably go get Jano-san," he muttered, scratching at his head.

 

"You do that," Miroku murmured, contently watching as Kouga managed to punch Inuyasha right in the nose, having momentarily dislodged the kitsune. "I'm very sure that Jano-san would regret missing this."

 

Shiou turned to go, but found it unnecessary as Jano himself had shown up in the courtyard, leading a pair of intimidated looking wolf demons. "Kouga!" one of the shouted happily.

 

"What the hell?" Jano was staring at the wild contorted mess in the middle of the courtyard. "Hey, you fucking idiots," he growled, throwing himself into the middle of it.

 

He planted one hand on Inuyasha's chest and the other on Kouga's, bracing his legs to hold them apart. Luckily for him, they were both getting tired with the extra work of fighting so encumbered. "Any of you morons want to tell me what the fuck is going on?" he growled.

 

"Get out of the way, Jano," Inuyasha snarled, still reaching for the wolf's throat. "It will be over in a minute."

 

"Yeah," Kouga hissed back, trying to swat the bodyguard's arm away. "Over for you, mutt-face!"

 

Whatever Jano thought he might say to put an end to the hostilities died in his throat when a bucket of ice-cold water hit him right in the face. It was promptly followed by three more, one after the other, until everyone involved was soaked and no one was throwing punches anymore.

 

He glared at Makiko's defiantly pleased expression. "Was that absolutely necessary?"

 

"I cannot permit such uncivilized behavior in the courtyard," she said primly, handing her empty bucket to a maid.

 

Jano snorted water out of his nose and flipped his wet hair out of his eyes. "I was trying to stop them, you could have waited another minute. I would have taken care of it."

 

She raised an eyebrow and gestured to one of her people to take the empty buckets back to the kitchen. Sango let go of Inuyasha to drop back on her feet, wiping her face. That water was unbelievably cold, she thought with a shiver. But she couldn't deny Makiko's tactics; it had brought the fistfight to a standstill.

 

Kagome released Kouga to circle around him, neatly placing her body between Kouga and Inuyasha. "Kouga," she said in her gentlest voice. "You're still injured, please sit down. We can talk about this and everything will be fine."

 

To her surprise he wrapped a possessive arm around her. "You say the word and I'll take you out of here, Kagome," he said, growling at Inuyasha. "You don't ever have to see that dog again."

 

Moron, she thought, gently removing his arm from her shoulders. She glanced back at Inuyasha, who was also growling and clenching his fists. She winced at the dark look in his eyes.

 

"Please," she said, begging him. "Just stop already, Inuyasha. I'm sick of being fought over like this."

 

He glowered at her, Kagome felt a chill run up her back when she realized how angry he really was. Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and turned away. "It's your own fucking fault, Kagome," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "If you didn't keep encouraging that stupid wolf, he would have given up by now."

 

"That's not true," she protested. Kagome went over to him to put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away like she was diseased. His eyes were glittering with anger, a suffused expression fury still marring his face.

 

"It is true," he hissed. "And I'm sick of him sniffing around you like you're a bitch in heat. You think he's your friend or some garbage like that, but Kouga's a wolf demon. Ask him if he's just after your friendship or if he's just hoping you'll give in and let him nail you like one of his wolf bitches."

 

Now she was angry too. "Do you have to be so crude? I already told you how I feel about you. Kouga has nothing to do with it. I'm not going to just sit here and watch you two beat each other up. It makes me sick."

 

"It makes me sick the way you defend him all the time," Inuyasha muttered. "He'd have been dead a long time ago if you didn't keep interfering."

 

"The hell I would have," Kouga snapped, annoyed. "I love Kagome, I'd do anything for her. And I'd never call her a stupid bitch, she deserves better than you, you mangy dog!"

 

"Out of the way, Kagome," Inuyasha hissed. "This is between me and him, nobody else."

 

Jano was completely fed up with the whole bunch of them. "If you two have to prove something to each other, that's fine by me. But you aren't doing it here. Take it out of the fortress, if I have to listen to any more of you two I'm going to lock you both up until you can calm down."

 

"Fine by me," Kouga snapped.

 

"Me too," Inuyasha snarled. "I hate this fucking place anyway."

 

"Then you are free to leave," a cold voice said, making the air itself quiver with suppressed anger. Sesshomaru was striding across the courtyard, his long pale hair fluttering behind him. "I never wanted you here in the first place, Inuyasha. Nor did I want a lowly wolf demon, I suggest you heed Jano's advice and take your dispute out of this fortress. Go back to the wilderness where you belong, it's appropriate for an animal like yourself."

 

"Sounds good to me," his half brother snapped. "I'd rather be out in the wilds than have to suffer through another day around you."

 

"You have one hour to get out of here. One minute longer and I won't spare your life again."

 

Inuyasha laughed harshly. "I'm gone and I don't need you to spare me anything. Naraku's out there and he's plotting something. Just because you don't give a damn if he's slaughtering whole villages of defenseless people doesn't mean I'm going to sit around here like some lapdog and let him get away with it."

 

"Villages?" Kagome asked in horror. "When did this happen?"

 

"Ask Kouga," he sneered, his eyes glinting in the brilliant sunlight. "Not that he gives a damn either, but Naraku has some new damn monster to play with that likes killing humans for sport."

 

Her eyes flicked back to the wolf demon, who shrugged nonchalantly. "It's true, we found at least one village that had been torn apart. Whatever did it took their time in doing it too." He noticed the stricken, angry look on Kagome's face and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

 

"Don't worry," he murmured in her ear. "I'll always protect you, don't even think about it."

 

She shoved the wolf away, making Inuyasha's ears prick up in surprise. "I have to think about it," the girl said angrily. "I care that he's murdering people, we have to stop him no matter what the cost."

 

Miroku nodded firmly. "Absolutely. As much as I have appreciated the hospitality of Sesshomaru-sama's people," he paused when Inuyasha gave an amused snort, "we have our own agenda and a duty to protect innocents from Naraku."

 

Sesshomaru smiled faintly. "Let me not keep you from that duty, monk. By all means, leave this place."

 

Sango nodded sharply, agreeing with his words. "We have to go, I can't stand by and let Naraku kill people. He's almost completed the sacred jewel which means he's more powerful than ever." She turned to go back to her room and retrieve Hiraikotsu, pleased to be able to get back to their goal of destroying the evil monster, but Sesshomaru's voice stopped her cold.

 

"You will not be going with them."

 

"Excuse me?"

 

He didn't look her way, instead studying the stone walls as if they had become endlessly fascinating. "You will stay here, I have made my decision. I will not have my mate wandering the countryside looking for that abomination."

 

Sango felt like all the air had been sucked out of her chest, she couldn't breathe. "Sesshomaru," she whispered, going to him and touching his arm. "I have to go. I am a demon exterminator, and it's my duty."

 

"It was your duty," he said in an icy, inflectionless voice. "It is no longer your duty to be concerned with lowly villages or Naraku's plans. Your place is here."

 

Silence reigned over the courtyard, even Kouga and Inuyasha were frozen in place, watching as Sango absorbed the knowledge that Sesshomaru had no intention of letting her leave. The girl's face was pale, a muscle in her cheek jumped as she swallowed hard. It had never occured to her that he wouldn't let her leave.

 

After everything they had been to each other, everything they had experienced, it was difficult for her to accept that he would treat her as a possession with no will or volition of her own.

 

"I have to go," she repeated.

 

Sesshomaru looked down at his mate. "I would also like for you to refrain from wearing that garment," he said coolly, looking at her tight black leggings and polished armor. "It is unseemly for you to dress this way, far below your current station in my household. Makiko will provide you with more appropriate clothing, but I never want to see you dressed as such again."

 

The girl's eyes were wide. He does think of me as a possession, she thought dismally. She had been so sure she'd touched that cold heart, woke him from the icy detachment that was his mask. "I'm sorry," she murmured, not wanting to confront him so in such a public place. "I took a vow to avenge my family."

 

Sesshomaru stared at her, fixing her with his molten gaze. "No longer. I have chosen to take you as my mate; your only obligation is to do as I will. I will slay Naraku, then your family will be avenged."

 

The demon lord turned and started to walk away, confident that the issue had been resolved. He could certainly understand his mate's desire for revenge, her bravery and willingness to fight for what she believed in. Her fiery spirit was what attracted him to her, in spite of her human heritage. However, his decision was final, he would not have her wandering after his brother like a common foot soldier that had no place and no home. He had given her those and Sesshomaru wasn't about to let her risk her person or his unborn offspring by engaging in battle with the filthy likes of Naraku.

 

Sango had gone pale at his words, now she felt an incandescent fury building. I'm not his plaything, she thought stubbornly. I'm not something he can order around like a servant and expect obedience. As much as she wanted to be with him, Sango's knees went weak when she thought of trying to live without him, she couldn't let her family's murderer continue to work his evil unopposed.

 

And she couldn't let her friends go off to fight him without her. What if they were hurt or killed, she'd never be able to live with the thought that if only she had been there, they might have been saved. The past two years had forged an incredible bond between them; it wasn't something she could throw aside lightly.

 

"Sesshomaru-sama?" He turned to look at his mate, noticing the flush to her cheeks and the snap in her eyes. It only made her lovelier. Sango bowed her head, looking at her hands. "I apologize, but I am going with my friends."

 

She dared to defy him like this. Sesshomaru looked at her coldly. "No."

 

Ignoring her friends' stares and the curiosity of the inuyoukai surrounding them, Sango shook her head. "I'm leaving, with or without your permission. I don't want to, but I have to do this."

 

"You will not," he hissed, his expression flickering from icy indifference to anger. "It is my will you stay here."

 

Her eyes blazed at him. "I thought you of all people would understand why I have do to this. I am an exterminator and I can take care of myself. Why shouldn't I leave?"

 

"You are carrying my child," he said coldly, watching her face.

 

Sango just stood there, his words echoing in her mind. Your child, she thought, feeling the air turn to sludge in her lungs, her knees turning to jelly. She wanted to sit down, she wanted to fall to her knees from the surprise of it, but all she did was press the palm of her hand over her belly.

 

"I'm pregnant," she whispered, her nerves starting to tingle from the thrill of knowledge his words gave her. Her eyes lifted to his. "You're sure?"

 

Sesshomaru didn't like being questioned or defied and now she had done both and done so in front of his people and even his brother. "Of course," he said, biting the words off like mouthfuls of ice. "I intended it to be so. As a daiyoukai, I can choose when I impregnate a female. You are carrying my child because I chose that you do so."

 

Something about his tone made her back go rigid, again he was acting as if he owned her and she was his possession. And while Sango had reveled in the idea of belonging somewhere, of belonging to someone who cherished her as Sesshomaru had, she couldn't help but resist the overwhelming desire to bend to his will.

 

"You intended for me to have your child?" she asked, not missing the slight annoyance in his eyes. "You didn't ask me how I felt about it."

 

He stared at her, how could her feelings matter? Could it be that she didn't want to bear his child, could it be that she somehow rejected him, Sesshomaru, and the life he had given her? "I saw no need to ask your opinion," he said harshly.

 

The coldness of his words shocked her, Sango's lips parted and her breath coming in short pants of distress. "How can you say that?" she murmured, her eyes starting to burn. "You don't care at all how I feel?"

 

Sesshomaru turned away. "I have taken you as mate, I have given you my child," he said, letting the frozen mask drop over his face. He would not think for a moment of her rejecting him or his child. It was insufferable, she was human and he had allowed her to conceive his child.

 

"I will not tolerate your defiance in this matter. Go and change your garments and bid your friends goodbye. That is my will."

 

She shook her head, more out of surprise than really denying anything. He saw the movement and scowled, turning swiftly to stand over her, his eyes glittering with threats. "You dare to reject me, your mate?"

 

"I...I didn't..." she stammered backing away from him. "I just think you should have told me, given me a choice. Naraku is still out there, I can't stay here and have babies. I'm a demon exterminator; it's what I was born to do. I have to stop him, I have to protect innocent people from him."

 

"And these nameless innocents are more important to you than your mate and child?" he asked incredulously. "I would give you a home and a place at my side, you would throw that away? You would dare reject what I've offered to protect miserable peasants from an abomination?"

 

He thought he had never been so angry in his life; it took all of his considerable will to stop himself from lashing out at her. Reject him, he seethed. How did she dare?

 

"Please," she murmured, reaching out to touch him. "Understand. I need to do this or I won't be able to live with myself. Or you."

 

His head came up, a dangerous look in his eyes. "I see." She had never loved him. "You must go."

 

How could he have believed her, a mere human? She knew about the true depth of youkai feelings, didn't understand that by declaring her his mate, he had turned his back on all of his previously held beliefs. There would be ramifications, consequences that would ripple the balance of power within his territories. It was not done lightly nor done on a whim.

 

It was nothing less than his open declaration of his feelings for her and she would reject that? For the chance to protect mere worthless villagers, to slay a filthy abomination like Naraku?

 

"I understand."

 

Her face showed relief, a relief that didn't touch him or lessen the ice in his gaze. "I'm so glad you understand," she breathed, her spine relaxing.

 

How could she miss the way he was withdrawing from her, he wondered. Was she truly so oblivious? He had made a grave mistake, he decided, when he'd guessed that her human feelings in some way meshed with his demon instincts.

 

A strange sensation was filling his heart. Pain, true emotional pain, something he'd held himself above throughout his lifetime. Anger chased the pain, fury that he had allowed her so close as to hurt him, a youkai lord of power. It was humiliating, devastating, and he felt the rock of his ego tremble under his feet. He had let her make him weak.

 

Of course a demon exterminator would reject a child of youkai blood. It made logical sense, every bit as much sense as his hatred for humans. They were too different and now Sesshomaru found himself facing a failed experiment and hated himself for being so weak as to have desired her. Why had he ever allowed her to become important to him? He didn't need her, he didn't need anyone.

 

None of his turmoil touched his face and he stepped away from her, withdrawing into the ice lord again, forcing his heart to quiet and shoving the memories of her passion from his mind. She was a detested human; an inferior breed and he had been tricked into combining his seed with her base mortality. It was wrong, every bit as wrong as what his father had done when he sacrificed his life for a human woman and a hanyou child who would never even know his face.

 

"You have my permission to leave this fortress, exterminator," he said at last, not looking at her. Looking anywhere but at her because if he studied her face, he wasn't sure he was going to let her live after what she'd done to him. Made him want her, made him weak with desire for human flesh, and now made him a fool in front of his own people.

 

He would not lower himself to strike the woman he had called mate, nor the woman who carried his child within her weak human flesh. He had that much dignity left, pride and daiyoukai will were all he needed. She didn't love him and he sure as hell didn't love her, it was over and that was all he needed to know.

 

"Sesshomaru?" her voice was soft, still compelling him, damn her to hell. She would not manipulate him further, he resolved that.

 

"You have my permission to leave," he said again, his voice as empty as the void in his soul. The place where he'd wanted her to stay. "And do not bother to return, our ill-advised liaison is at an end. You are nothing to me now."

 

Sango stared at him in shock, his words crumbling inside her, her heart screaming in sheer agony. "No," she whispered, tears sliding over her cheeks. "You can't mean that."

 

"I can and I will," he snarled, his eyes going suddenly crimson. "I regret any hint of kindness I may have shown you, I regret ever lowering myself to touch you, human. You have been an amusement, nothing more. I am no longer amused with you now."

 

Her shoulders were shaking, silent sobs tearing her apart inside. Sango's tears were falling freely, splashing onto the stony floor of the courtyard; she could feel hundreds of eyes upon her. Rejection. Humiliation. Anger. She had no way of knowing that her feelings were being mirrored on the inside of the cold inhuman lord before her.

 

"I don't believe you!" She ran forward, desperate to catch him, find a way to make him understand that her duty didn't mean her rejection of him, how he had become everything to her and that didn't change because of what she had sworn to do. She would come back to him, gladly bear his children; she needed to make him understand.

 

Sesshomaru wouldn't strike her, but he knew if he let her touch him now he wouldn't be able to resist his darker instincts. He raised his palm as she flung herself at him, crying his name. A bright flash, the sound of her human body being flung back and to the ground by his youki.

 

"You have one hour," he ground out, controlling himself with an effort. "One hour to leave this valley or I will not be merciful to you, human. Do not think that you can toy with this Sesshomaru. Do not force me to end your life today."

 

Sango didn't move when he left, leaving her lying on the ground with half the fortress' population staring at her. It was too much, she couldn't stand it. He might as well have killed her, it wouldn't have hurt this bad. She had never meant anything to him, she was nothing more than a whim that had now displeased him, something used and ready to be thrown away.

 

Her body had curled into a tight ball, sobs wracking her frame as she twisted under the knowledge that she'd given her heart to something heartless, something evil and cold. She heard Kagome calling her name, felt the girl's hands on her body, trying to make her snap out of it. Sango pushed herself up and looked into Kagome's grieving face for a long moment before she buried her head in the other girl's lap, muffling her devastated cries of loss in Kagome's soft green skirt.