InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trust ❯ Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Inu Yasha, eager to have his mother meet his new mate, dragged Kagome to the west gate of the Fort. On the way, something occurred to her, and she convinced him to give her a moment. As he waited impatiently, she found gave two young pages and gave them instructions that sent the boys running towards the upper residences.

The previously empty yard was filled with soldiers, healers, and supplies. Inu Yasha's head swept back and forth over the crowd, searching for his mother's scent. Finding it, he grabbed Kagome's hand and drew her behind him into the crowd. He responded to others' greetings with a jerk of the head or grunt, but he was clearly focused on finding his mother. Finally, he stopped by a healer's wagon, where a small group of people stood.

One of the women looked up, a smile of welcome on her beautiful face. This had to be Inu Yasha's mother, for although he had his father's coloring, it was this woman who he resembled more strongly. She was taller then Kagome, and seemed slender, although it was difficult to tell due to her robes.

"Mother," he said formally, drawing Kagome to his side. "I present to you Kagome Higurashi, my mate, and my Bonded."

Her violet gaze rested on the nervous woman for a moment, but her smile never wavered. "I am Malia, of the Bright Water sept, Clan Mother of the Dog Clan. Daughter, I welcome you to the house of Masaharu, son of Tetsuo." Stepping forward, she drew her into an embrace, which Kagome happily returned. She then turned and embraced her son as well.

"Where is your brother?" She asked.

"He's with his mate." Inu Yasha winced. "He was pretty pissed off when we left."

Malia raised a dark brow in question.

"She almost got herself killed earlier today. Elder Akio had to heal her." Inu Yasha shook his head.

"She sounds like quite a woman." Malia smiled. "It's rare that your brother will allow anyone to see him angry."

Inu Yasha smiled suddenly. "It's Nzinga."

His mother looked at him in shock. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. Trying again, she said, "Inu Yasha, you mean…"

"Yeah…we found her again. And she and Sesshomaru have become mates." He could not keep the smile off his face.

His mother burst into tears, and after a moment's panic, he stepped forward to pat her shoulder awkwardly.

"Mom? She's ok. Mama, please." He begged, using his childhood name for her. "Mama, stop." His ears flickered in distress.

Malia began to laugh, wiping her face. "You'll never change." She sniffed and turned to Kagome. "Whenever he sees me crying, he uses those same words to demand that I stop." Her face brightened as she saw something over Kagome's shoulder. Kagome turned to see Masaharu on his way over to them. He took Malia in his arms as he reached them. The look on his face was similar to the one on Inu Yasha's, and his mate laughed.

"Our son just told us that Nzinga is here." Malia said. Her mate smiled reassuringly.

"I just saw her. She looks so much like Uchenna." Masaharu then winced. "You'll have to wait to see her, I'm afraid…between Akio and Sesshomaru, her ears will be burning by the time they're done."

"I would not want either one of them angry with me…much less both." Malia looked sympathetic.

Her mate nodded. "He is so like his mother…so unyielding on certain matters." His first mate had died shortly after their son's birth. He still missed her, especially when he saw her in their son.

Malia squeezed him once, then turned back to their son and his mate.

"Aunt Malia!" Miroku called, Sango in tow. He ran over and embraced her, beaming. "Hello, Uncle."

"Miroku!" Malia smiled. "And who is this?" She looked at Sango, who smiled back shyly.

Kagome spoke up. "This is Sango, my foster sister. Sango, these are Inu Yasha's parents, Malia and Masaharu."

"I'm pleased to meet you both." Sango smiled. She looked again at Miroku and his aunt. Their kinship was apparent in their coloring, and as she looked at Inu Yasha, she could now see the resemblance between the cousins as well. It was as though Malia formed a bridge between the two, allowing the resemblance to come to light.

"By now, the fighters from Kieran's Pass should have all been relieved…and none too soon, as Naraku's main forces have been spotted coming up behind his front line." Masaharu said grimly. "But we have brought healers and more supplies, which is something at least."

"Has anyone figured out what caused that chasm to form?" Sango asked. "I would have thought it was Naraku's doing, except that I can't see how it helped him at all."

She looked around, but no one had any more idea than she did.

Masaharu finally let go of his mate. "I will confer with the others, and see what we can determine. But all of you should take advantage of this reprieve and get some rest. We don't know how long it will last."

The friends nodded, and left the courtyard to take some much needed rest.

***

Having reached her room, Sesshomaru dropped his mate onto the bed none too gently. As she sputtered in outrage, he remained still, willing himself to calm down.

If Akio had not been there to heal her, there is no telling when she would have regained consciousness. It took someone of great experience to revive someone the way he did. Using spirit drawn from Kagome, Akio had revived Zi to the point where she could then use fire to replenish enough of her lost energy so that her life was no longer in danger.

As soon as he was sure he could speak without saying something he would regret, he turned back to face his mate.

Only to find her crawling on her hands and knees, attempting to escape while his back was turned. With a growl, he reached out and grabbed her by the back of her breeches, and dragged her squealing back across the bed towards him.

Then he froze. Sensing this, Zi turned her head to see what was wrong. He lightly ran a claw over her skin, tracing the crescent tattoo just above the swell of her bottom.

"What do you think?" Nzinga asked, grateful for the reprieve.

He did not immediately answer, his fury draining from him at the sight of the tattoo.

"I meant it to be a surprise…I'm sorry if you don't like it." She finished, becoming more uncertain with every passing moment that he remained silent.

His eventual answer surprised her. Bending over, he licked the tattoo once, then kissed it.

She stiffened in surprise, before relaxing. Still on her hands and knees, she waited patiently as he continued to look at it. He raised his head to meet her gaze.

"Why?" he asked simply.

"I…just wanted to." She responded. Slowly, she turned her body to face him.

They looked at each other, neither speaking.

Nzinga started at a knock on the door. Sesshomaru stood to answer it. Standing in the hall were two young pages holding a metal tub full of water.

"Lady Kagome asked us to bring this to you." One of them said, out of breath.

Sesshomaru inclined his head. "You have my thanks." As they prepared to carry it into the room, Sesshomaru stopped them. "That looks heavy." he said, "I will carry it."

"B-but sir…I mean pack leader. It is our duty." The boy looked very earnest.

"You have done more than enough, and I thank you." Sesshomaru ended the conversation by picking up the tub himself, and carrying it into the room. Nzinga crawled off the bed to get the door.

"Thank you, boys." Nzinga smiled. The two bowed their heads and ran off. She closed the door behind them.

"That was nice of Kagome." Nzinga said, rummaging for her bathing supplies. She pulled out a washing cloth and a bag of soaps.

Her mate looked at her curiously. "How much soap do you need?"

She shrugged. "I like different scents on different days." She walked over to him with her supplies. "Sit. I'll wash you."

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, instead simply drawing his tunic and shirt over his head and sitting on a low stool.

Lathering the washcloth with an unscented soap, she began to wash the sweat and grime of battle from her mate's body.

Starting with his arms, she moved on to his powerful chest and stomach, before going around to his back. As she rinsed the last of the soap from him, he stood and removed his breeches.

Reseating himself, he watched his mate as she continued her task. Her face showed nothing but concern as she ran the cloth down one muscled leg. Keeping her touch gentle and with no hint of seduction, she cleaned every inch of him. Taking a handful of his hair in her hand, she sniffed it, then motioned him towards the tub.

"That bad?" he asked. Her pointed look was his only answer. Kneeling, he submerged his head in the water, soaking it completely. She began to hum as she worked the soap through his hair.

The warmth of the water and soothing scalp massage relaxed him to the point of dozing off. Her strong fingers seemed to know just which spots needed more pressure, or which needed to be scratched.

It was, he mused, the most intensely sensual, non-sexual experience of his life.

"Sess," Zi murmured. "Rinse." He bent forward and allowed her to work all the soap out of his hair. Sitting back up, he dozed again as she toweled his hair and combed the tangles from it. He gave a lazy growl of approval, which smoothed out into a purr of contentment.

Given his earlier fury, it was a relief to see him relaxed enough to doze. Her willing performance of the wifely task had obviously soothed Sesshomaru's nerves.

"You've been awake and fighting for three days straight." She said softly. Looking at his hair, she quickly pulled it back into one long braid and tied the end off with a cord. "Go to sleep. This will keep your hair from tangling."

"I will wait for you." He stated.

"I'll be in bed after I bathe." She promised. He rose from the stool and climbed into bed, not bothering to dress.

Nzinga stripped quickly and lowered herself into the tub. It was lukewarm, but she didn't care. She could have channeled enough energy to warm the bath, but she didn't want to remind Sesshomaru of why he was angry with her in the first place. Luckily, she was short enough to fit in the tub, whereas her mate would not have been comfortable at all.

She stretched and purred in contentment. Reaching for her soap, she quickly washed herself. Reaching for a leather pouch, she squeezed a liquid from it and rubbed it into her scalp. Once the exposed scalp between her braids had been washed, she dunked her head under the water and rinsed. Once she had more time on her hands, she would undo all her braids and wash her hair properly. It was an all day task, and she did not enjoy it.

Looking over at the bed, she found her mate watching her curiously. "I have never seen soap in that form."

"It's a special soap for the hair. I love it, but you can't find it everywhere." She stood up and toweled herself off. "Why are you still awake?"

"I said I would wait for you." He repeated. She shrugged and hurriedly finished drying herself so that he could get his rest, knowing he would not sleep until she joined him. Besides, the short burst of energy she had received after the healing session was running low. Donning her short sleeping tunic, she climbed into bed.

"Do not think this means I will not demand an explanation for today." Sesshomaru said drowsily.

"I know. Good night." Zi yawned, tucking her head under his chin. She sleepily threw an arm over his waist. He tightened his own grip around her, then lazily rolled them both over so that he was on top. Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered he had worn nothing to bed. Her own short tunic had ridden up, leaving her bottom half bare.

"Why won't you go to sleep?" she murmured. Even through her drowsiness, she could not help but enjoy his weight on her, as well as the feel of his skin against hers. She was able to enjoy it more when he drew her tunic over her head.

Instead of answering, he placed wet, open-mouthed kisses on her chest and throat. In between kisses, he described what he wanted to do to her once she recovered. By the time his growling whispers ceased, she was moaning softly and her legs had drawn up around his hips.

Looking sleepy, sexy and satisfied, he rolled them back to their original side-by-side position.

"Good night." He told her. He really wanted to claim her fully, but the two of them were just too exhausted. Even discounting the day's events, they had both been fighting a three-day siege. He was nothing if not realistic.

He could wait…but not much longer.