InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trust ❯ Chapter 25

Hi everyone! Writing's been coming a little more difficult for me lately, so I thank you all for your encouragement. It definitely helps to go back and read the reviews when I get frustrated.

Just to clarify something: Kagome did not agree to help Inu Yasha go to Kikyou.

No, no, no, no, no.

I tried to make it very clear that Inu Yasha has no intention of letting Kagome go. She only offered to help him help Kikyou. Inu Yasha has this guilt about having failed her before, and does not want to do it again. And y'all are right…sometimes I wish Kagome weren't always so sweet.

Chapter 25

Nzinga woke up ravenous in her darkened chamber. Making her way to the fireplace, she decided to light it with her powers in order to check her recovery. In a matter of seconds, a fire blazed merrily, and she felt fine. Starting that fire hadn't taken any more energy than it should have, so she figured she was more or less back to full strength.

By the scent, she could tell her mate had been gone for some time, but that he had left her something to eat. Looking over at the table in her room, she saw it piled high with food.

"Good boy." She murmured as she rose and walked over. "What did you bring me, love?"

There were two flagons on the table. She sniffed one; water. There were also fruits, bread, cheese and a pie.

"That better be a meat pie." She growled as she poked and broke the crust. Warm gravy oozed through and she licked it off her finger.

After eating the pie, and about half of the fruit and cheese, she decided to go hunting. The pie contained the only meat in the whole meal, and that was not nearly enough for her. She got dressed and strapped on her weapons. She would have to go through the land that the Domain armies were camped on before she could find land to hunt in.

She thought about contacting Sesshomaru, but decided against it. Whatever kept him from her had to be important, so she didn't want to disturb him. She brightened. This would also give her a chance to pay her respects to the Panther Clan, and also to visit her birth clan. She was sure Panther Clan would be camped on the outskirts, true to their nature as loners.

Opening her door, she looked down the hall to see her brother carrying Kagome into their chamber. She started to call out to them, but the look on his face stopped her. She had never seen him in such awful pain, and it worried her. She shrugged, and decided to let it go until later.

Zi easily made her way out of the fort, and left through the west gate. She began running through the army's camp at an easy lope. Not wanting to waste time wandering, she stopped and asked where the tribes of her homeland were camped. Thanking the soldier, she set off in that direction. As she got closer, she began to smell familiar scents; plantains fried in oil, the starchy-sweet smell of coconut rice and the sharpness of dried fish.

She slowed as she approached the guards. It was almost dusk, and she did not want to startle anyone.

The guards were both men, both tall and muscular. Their dark skin shone dully in the setting sun, as well as from the steel that tipped their spears.

"Ezigbo mgbede." She greeted in her native language.

"Ezigbo mgbede." They returned in unison, regarding her curiously. It was not often that a woman of the black kingdoms was seen in tunic and leggings, bearing both sword and morningstar.

"I am Nzinga, daughter of Uchenna. Also of the Storm Water sept of the Panther Clan. I wish to pay my respects to the tribal chief."

The two men crossed one arm over their chest in salute, and the elder of them responded, "His tent is in the center, Ascended one. You are most welcome."

She flashed them a smile. "My thanks." As she walked past them, she let out an appreciative sigh. In all her travels, there was really not much that could compare with a well-built man of the black kingdoms. She chuckled to herself; no need to share that opinion with her mate.

She had to weave her way through the camp. There was plenty of activity during the dusk hour, as people ate or performed chores. She could tell that she neared the chief, as the tents became larger and of better quality.

She stopped at the guards, and introduced herself once again, then waited as she was announced. Upon their signal, she entered the tent.

The chief was a man in his middle years, around the age of Masaharu. He was of middle height, but powerfully built, with legs like tree trunks. He wore the headdress of his station with dignity and regarded her curiously with intense brown eyes.

Nzinga crossed both arms over her chest and bowed her head in greeting. "Sire." At his grunt, she raised her head and sat at his feet on a straw mat.

"Daughter of Uchenna." His voice boomed. "I would know you anywhere. You have the look of your mother."

"So I have been told, sire." Nzinga smiled slightly.

"Where have your travels taken you? You did not arrive with us."

Nzinga began her tale, pausing only once to accept a cup of mango nectar from a servant.

When she finished, he looked thoughtful. "You have indeed led an interesting life. But the women of your line have ever followed their own paths." He then smiled. "Will you be marrying your mate in our tradition?"

Zi looked rueful. "I would like to, but only if he agrees. I have yet to ask him, being in the middle of a siege as we are."

The chief boomed out his laughter. "Yes! It is certainly not the ideal time. Daughter of Uchenna, I am pleased to see your mixed blood runs strongly enough to bring you home from time to time."

Zi managed to keep from looking offended, having grown up hearing remarks of a similar nature. However, most of those were made out of spite or malice. She knew the chief meant no harm. Her grandmother had traveled in her youth, as did her daughter and granddaughter after her.

Adama was known because she came home with a child of mixed blood, having met and married a man on her travels. This child was Uchenna, Nzinga's mother.

"No matter what other blood runs in my veins, I will always be a daughter of Kush, sire."

The chief smiled again. "I have no doubt. I thank you for your tale, and I look forward to meeting your mate."

Zi stood, setting her cup aside. "I thank you for seeing me, sire. It was good to be among my birth clan once again." Bowing her head again, she took her leave.

Once outside, she paused to let her eyes adjust to the difference in light. She set off at a lope again, attempting to reach the edge of the camp, and not sure that she ever would.

"How many people did you bring, Uncle?" she said to herself.

She was still within the camps of the black kingdoms, but another scent came to her nose. It surprised her so much, that she decided to add an extra stop to her trip out.

The camp of the southern tribes was right next to the Lion Clan camp. This was surprising, as no other humans had camped right next to shifters that she had seen. Before she could call out to the guards, a low growl to her right stopped her in her tracks.

She yowled in response, in a non-threatening, but also non-submissive manner. Lion Clan members had notoriously high opinions of themselves, but that didn't mean she had to grovel.

The lioness huffed in response, allowing her to pass. She was met almost immediately by armed guards. As she looked on in surprise, they simply stated that their chief wanted to meet any who came through here alone. She supposed it made sense, since they were just about at the edge of the camp.

She was showed into another tent, this one even more sumptuously appointed than the other chief's. This chief had obviously been influenced by the desert dwellers to the north, as his tent had tasseled pillows and small rugs.

Nzinga was wary of entering, and began to wish she had just interrupted her mate so he would at least know where she was.

"Panther Clan is camped on the southern edge. What business do you have on Lion Clan lands?" A strong alto rang out. A female shifter lounged on one of the pillows, and her green gaze was challenging.

"I stopped to pay my respects to my birth tribe. I then left to hunt." If this bitch was going to be rude, then she saw no need to volunteer information.

"You have Ascended, then-like my mate." She sat up, still challenging.

"I have." Zi was curt, and felt her hackles rising. She did not like this situation at all. The lioness was much too prickly, and Nzinga too unwilling to back down for this situation to end well.

"Alanna." The woman's brown hair flew as she turned towards the sound. "Enough."

Zi looked up to see a slender man enter with the look of the southern tribes, followed by three women. He wore the ceremonial stole of the Lion Clan, as well as the headdress signifying his rank as high chief of the black kingdoms.

Nzinga was stunned. Since when did a shifter rule both Lion Clan and the black kingdoms? Such a thing had never before happened, at least to her knowledge.

She had been gone for only two years, but she couldn't imagine missing something this important. She then snorted. Yes, she could. It was probably not important to anyone outside Lion Clan or the black kingdoms, and neither people was known for traveling far outside their own lands.

"I am Senzangakona. How have we rated such a lovely guest?" His smooth tenor interrupted her musings. She looked up to see that he had taken his place next to Alanna, and the other women surrounded him. Two were shifters and two were humans of the black kingdoms. Politically expedient matches, it seemed.

"I am afraid it is a misunderstanding, nkosi." She addressed him with the southern tribes' word meaning "Lord." "I am simply passing through in search of hunting after paying respects to my birth tribe."

He eyed her more closely than she felt comfortable with. "You have the look of the west."

She nodded. "Yes, nkosi. I was born into the western tribes. My name is Nzinga, daughter of Uchenna, of the Storm Water sept of the Panther Clan." After a barely noticeable pause, she continued smoothly, "And Dog Clan pack mother."

"And who is your mate?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow.

She drew herself up, not challengingly, but with quiet knowledge and pride in her standing. "Sesshomaru, son of Masaharu."

He blinked slowly. "A pity. You would have been a mighty addition to my pride."

Nzinga controlled her disgust with a great effort. Share her mate? The day she shared her fucking mate was the day she woke up as Rabbit Clan. "Forgive me, nkosi. But I do not have the strength necessary to be part of a pride."

One of the black women smiled. She had large, tilted eyes and short-cropped hair. Her rounded form was draped in bold patterns so beautiful Zi's hands itched to have them. "It is not for everyone."

Zi smiled back. "You all have my utmost respect." She then turned back to the chief. "Nkosi, I must beg to take my leave. I have been gone longer than I anticipated."

He nodded his assent, and she crossed both arms over her chest and prepared to leave. A commotion outside gave her pause. The tent flap was drawn back and Sesshomaru entered. Looking neither right nor left, he strode straight towards both Nzinga and the high chief.

"Pack leader." The chief inclined his head. Sesshomaru outranked him as the son of the Dog Clan Leader, and he pushed the bounds of propriety by simply referring to him as such. It was technically correct, but by only acknowledging the lower of his ranks, bordered on insulting.

"Senzangakona." Sesshomaru responded, not even bothering to address the other man by either of his titles.

"I was on my way out." Zi told him. His amber gaze moving to rest on her was his only response.

"I am here to escort my mate back. I thank you for showing her welcome." Sesshomaru inclined his head, and gently steered his mate out of the tent with a hand to her back.

"Do I even want to know what you are doing so far from the fort?" he asked once they were out of earshot.

"I came out to go hunting."

"You did not finish what I brought you."

"I wanted more meat." She said simply. "Where were you?"

He smiled; a real, full smile that lit up his face and made her light headed. "Hunting. I thought you would want more meat."

She stopped and looked at him incredulously, as a smile spread across her own face. She ruthlessly squashed down the idiotic giggle that wanted to burst forth. She was amazed that something as simple as a smile from her mate could make the breath catch in her throat.

Reaching out, she took his hand and they continued walking in silence.

After a while, she spoke again. "So what did you get me?" She asked.

"Beef."

She scoffed. "You did not!"

He looked at her curiously, wondering if she would ever stop surprising him. "Why do you say that?"

"You did not kill a whole cow by yourself."

"No, I did not. Father and some others went with me and we split the kill." He let go of her hand and wrapped his long fingers around the nape of her neck. His thumb rubbed absently over her soft skin.

The fort was coming into view. "Where is our share?"

"In the kitchens."

They picked up their share of the kill, along with a frying pan and some spices that she begged from an indulgent cook. Zi had every intention of cooking it over the fireplace in their room.

As she spread her finds on the table, Sesshomaru sprawled on the bed. He even managed to look elegant doing that, Zi thought. She hummed as she prepared the steaks, rubbing the spice mix into the meat.

"You never thanked me. You are a lot of work." Her mate said with a straight face. They both knew he was teasing, even as they both knew he would do whatever it took to ensure her recovery.

"Yeah, well, wait till I get pregnant." She said carelessly. "I plan on being a lot more trouble than this." She continued to season the meat, missing the look that came over Sesshomaru's features. Placing the steaks in a pan, she set them in the fireplace, washed her hands in a basin, then plopped on the bed next to her mate.

He toyed with one of her braids before saying, "I can hardly wait to see you carry my child."

She turned to him, surprised at his serious tone. "Can you wait until the battle is over?" she asked.

He nodded. "But I do not know how." He let go of her braid and sat up abruptly. "Your recent injuries have sent you into an early heat. I give it two days at the most."

"You smell it already? I can't even tell." She said, astonished.

"Trust me." He said with quiet sarcasm. Mates were already attuned to each others' physical states, but the fact that they had yet to physically join made him hypersensitive when it came to her reproductive cycle.

"Hmm…" she thought out loud. "I'll just have to find some herbs for that then."

"For what?" He looked alarmed.

"What do you think? To keep me from getting pregnant when we rut." She sat up to turn the steaks, then got back into bed.

Sesshomaru looked at her as though she had begun to speak another language. "Why are you looking at me like that? How do you think your father dealt with Malia all these years? They only had the one child, even though she went into heat every month like I do."

He looked away, but she could still see the slight blush on his cheeks.

Sighing, Zi shook her head. "I'll get them tomorrow."

Her mate moved the braids on her neck to one side and bit on the delicate skin underneath. "Get them tonight."

She shivered. "Well, I'm not in heat yet, am I?"

He paused. "No. No, you are not."

She pulled away and pulled the steaks off the fire before they burned. She was about to plate them when he took the pan from her and placed it near the fireplace.

"Leave them." He growled. "You are not hurt, you are not in heat, and if you think I will wait a moment longer, you are insane."

He all but ripped the shirt over her head and placed a kiss between her breasts, before going back up to her neck and throat. Zi slid her hands underneath his shirt, and tugged.

He pulled back just long enough to let her take it off, then got rid of the rest of his clothing as well. Zi stepped out of her leggings just as his arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her back to him.

"You will finally be mine."

"I'm already yours, dammit." She rubbed her nose against his and shivered when he bared his fangs at her.

Sesshomaru worked one hand between their bodies to test her, and growled his pleasure at finding her ready so quickly.

"I have barely touched you, yet you are ready for me." His voice dripped with satisfaction.

Zi turned her head, slightly embarrassed. "Hmph."

He gave a low chuckle, knowing she was his for the taking. He roughly drew her legs up and apart, bringing himself to her entrance. Her folds barely parted as he teased her, his broad head just lightly touching.

She raised wild, disbelieving eyes to him, unable to voice her outrage and need as she panted.

*You have kept me waiting for weeks.* He taunted. *You can stand another few minutes.*

She hissed in reply, straining her hips upward to reach his. They looked deep into each other's eyes as Sesshomaru prepared to claim his mate.

A/N: In case anyone is wondering, Nzinga and the guards tell each other "Good evening." The language is Igbo. The Igbo are from Nigeria, and I only picked the language because that's the language my first name is from. I don't speak it, so if I used it incorrectly, I apologize to anyone who knows better.

Also, I know this chapter focused on Zi, but she hasn't been around for a while and insisted she get the spotlight this time around.