InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ When the Last Tear Falls ❯ Disturbing Thoughts ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Same thing goes… I don't own it!

 

As usual, thank you to my betas Wendy and Deborah who work very hard to make sure this is not painful to read... heh.  Trust me. I noticed -after finishing this chapter... and after Deborah so kindly pointed it out *sticks tongue out at Deb*-this turned out to be...uhh... sort of a .. heh.. filler chapter... sort of.  BUT! It's still VERY IMPORTANT!! *holds up girl scout sign* Scout's honor!

Fang: *innocent look* No it's not...

Duchess: SHUT UP FANG!! It IS important! (Fang lifts a brow) Well... maybe not very important... but it's still important!  *looks at readers* Really! *wrings hands together* It's... slightly important...

Fang: Whatever. And you were only a Girl Scount for a month!  You didn't even make it to a girl scout!! You were only a Cupcake!

Duchess: SHUT IT!! *crosses arms* And for your information it's called Brownie not Cupcake! Get it straight! Hmph!  *smiles brightly at readers* Enjoy the chapter! *stomps off*

 

 

Chapter 2: Disturbing Thoughts

 

InuYasha leaned back against the tree trunk as he stretched his right leg along the branch he was lounging on. Below him, a short distance away, Shippou was playing a game with the young ningen child Rin. They looked to be playing in the dirt from what he could tell.

 

From his vantage point it looked like they were digging up something, He wondered what had caught their attention when he realized the little toad was nowhere in sight. He smirked to himself as he had a feeling they were doing more then digging.

 

His attention turned toward the entrance when he sensed someone heading in their direction.

Kagome smiled as she saw the children were still playing and nothing was wrong. She took a quick glance around as she made her way to InuYasha who was resting in the tall oak tree that sat in the middle of the garden. She frowned as she didn't see Jaken anywhere in sight and wondered where he could be. Jaken would never leave the children unattended. Sesshoumaru would kill him.

She smiled up at InuYasha when she reached him. "Hello InuYasha," she said in greeting as she turned her attention back to the children.

 

Kagome tilted her head thoughtfully as she wondered what Shippou and Rin were doing. She gave another smile a moment later as she watched Sango's brother Kohaku join Shippou and Rin by the cluster of bushes they were playing near. When he dropped to his knees beside the kitsune she frowned in concern. What are they doing and why isn't Jaken watching them?

 

“InuYasha?” She tilted her head back to look at him when he didn't respond. Her eyes met his then. “Can you see what they're doing?”

 

“Playing in the dirt,” he replied with a twist of his lips.

 

“What?” she frowned in confusedly. That didn't make any sense. Shippou never played in dirt. “Why wou-where is Jaken?”

 

This time he really smirked, “Sitting in the dirt.”

 

“Sitting…” she muttered confusedly as she looked at the children again. Why would they be playing in the dirt? And why was Jaken sitting in dirt instead of watching the children like he was supposed to? Her eyes narrowed as a sudden suspicion started whirling through her mind. She looked up at InuYasha again and, from the grin on his face, she knew she wasn't getting any help from that corner.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes as she silently moved towards the kids. Crossing her arms in front of her, she came to a stop a few paces behind them. From where she stood she could now see that her thoughts were right; they were up to no good.

 

Jaken sat buried to his neck near the bushes. All that could be seen of the little kappa demon was his head, which appeared to be changing to a sickly shade of yellow. She wondered, idly, if she should be concerned or not. One of them-she was guessing Shippou-had gagged the toad with a piece of cloth, while another had, apparently, tied him up. The Staff of Heads lay a good five feet away from Jaken, she noticed, so the little toad was sufficiently caught and powerless to do anything about it.

 

Kagome shook her head in exasperation as she tried to swallow her laughter. She fisted her hands on her hips. How Jaken got himself into these situations, she didn't know. Why Sesshoumaru continued to torture the stupid toad?? She didn't want to know. She narrowed her eyes on the backs of their bent heads.

 

“What… are you three doing?”

 

Shippou, Rin and Kohaku froze as they exchanged looks from the corners of their eyes. Rin and Kohaku aimed identical accusing looks at the kitsune; conveintly, ignoring the fact Kohaku was just as guilty. Didn't he smell her coming? Shippou's shoulders dropped slightly as he had no excuse for why he hadn't sensed Kagome coming behind them.

 

They all turned around and dropped their heads guiltily when they saw the odd frown on Kagome's face. Shippou scratched the back of his head self consciously as he peeked up at his surrogate mother.

 

“You don't have to worry mama,” said Rin with a bright smile. “Rin buried Jaken before and he always turns that shade of yellow.”

 

Shippou and Kohaku exchanged worried looks as they saw the look on Kagome's face go from odd to funny as her jaw fell open. Her mouth kept opening and closing, but nothing was coming out.

 

“You've… buried him before?” asked Kagome once her voice started to cooperate.

 

She blinked. For a moment she thought she'd heard the little girl wrong, but there was no mistaking the huge grin or the ecstatic nodding Rin was doing. There was a lot of noise coming from the bound toad demon she noticed as her eyes flickered towards him, but she couldn't understand him through the gag covering his mouth.

 

“Well,” began Kagome, getting over her surprise, “there'll be no more burying Jaken. It's not nice. Let him out.”

 

“Why do we have to be nice to Jaken?” asked Shippou with a pout.

 

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Just because someone is annoying doesn't mean you treat them bad, Shippou. Let him out.”

 

“You sit InuYasha when he's being annoying,” he stated wide-eyed.

 

InuYasaha's ears flickered in their direction at that. He'd liked to see how Kagome talked her way out of that one!

 

Kagome refused to show her guilt as she was well aware she had abused the power she had over the baka at times… She wasn't going to let Shippou get out of this, especially when she was abusing the command she'd had over InuYasha it was usually in defense of him… most of the time.

 

“Only when he deserved it and you know it Shippou,” she hurried on when she saw the young fox demon start opening his mouth to respond. She was sure it was something she didn't want to hear. “Besides,” her voice hard, “this is not about me and InuYasha it's about you three.”

 

All three of their shoulders dropped then. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the sad looks aimed at her. The muttering coming from behind the children became louder as Jaken started shaking his head frantically. She was sure the little demon was yelling hurtful things at the children and figured it was probably a good thing no one could understand him.

 

Shippou, Rin, and Kohaku exchanged identical looks before turning around to do as they were told. They knew they weren't going to hear the end of it once Jaken was free and wondered how long they had before the toad told Lord Sesshoumaru on them.

 

“I told you we should have buried him on the other side of the garden,” said Shippou with a dejected sigh. “They wouldn't have seen us over there.”

 

Rin and Kohaku nodded in agreement as the three of them knelt down to dig Jaken out.

 

Kagome shook her head ruefully as she made her way back over to InuYasha. She decided to pretend she didn't hear Shippou's comment to the other children and made a mental note to start checking the entire garden on a regular base when the kids were out there with Jaken. For all his complaining and annoyance, Jaken did care about the children, she knew, but she thought it might be a good idea to find another babysitter who could relieve him on occasion.

 

She tilted her head back slightly as she reached the base of the tree once more. Quietly she eyed the hanyou as she studied him, unnoticed by her subject. His face was angled towards the heavens so she didn't have a clear view of his eyes. There was a noticeable sag in his shoulders that worried her. Something was on the inu-hanyou's mind, something that he was having difficulty dealing with.

 

Concerned for her friend, she quickly called on the powers within her and, with the hum of the pale pink energy glowing from within her she gently rose from the ground and lifted herself to the branches above her. Gingerly she sat herself down on a branch that sat slightly above and to the left of InuYasha. From her new position she was able to look directly into the hanyou's face.

 

He continued to sit there quietly, as if looking right through her, giving no indication that he knew she was there. Kagome frowned and blinked as she watched him intently. The heavy look in his amber gaze held a sadness she'd never seen in him before. Even when he was traipsing all over the countryside in search of Kikyou or anyone who might have seen the miko he'd never looked as dejected and lonely as he did sitting in the tree at that moment.

 

Kagome pressed a hand to her chest as her heart ached for him and the sadness that was almost radiating off of him. Oh, InuYasha… What's hurting you so much?

 

Leaning forward a bit she placed a soft hand on his shoulder. She could see something flicker in his eyes, but it was gone too fast for her to identify. “What's wrong InuYasha?” she asked softly.

 

She felt his body stiffen beneath her touch and sighed at the motion, but refused to move her hand.

 

InuYasha's ears twitched at the sound of her voice and, for a moment, he gave a slight fleeting thought in wonder over seeing Kagome so close to him. Something wasn't right about her being there… for some reason he assumed he'd be looking down on her, he had expected her to be further away from him. He thought about asking her why that was, but soon lost the thought when he felt her small hand on his shoulder.

 

It's been a long time since she has done that. He flicked his eyes towards the hand on his shoulder before looking at her. Bright, large deep sapphire eyes stared back at him. Her eyes always reminded him of the sea. He remembered seeing the great waters when he was younger. He'd been following behind Sesshoumaru, again, and had caught a fleeting glimpse of the deep waters. He remembered thinking how he'd never seen anything so blue before. The deep, rich hues of the blue water could rival any jewel in his opinion. He'd never seen the sea again after that day, but he'd never forgotten the look of it either. He'd also never expected to see such a color again in his life… and, at the time, he knew he was going to have a very long life. Then he'd met Kagome.

 

It struck him as such an unusual color for someone with her golden skin tone and dark hair to have.

 

Silently, he studied her face as he returned her gaze. Aside from the amazing color of her almond shaped eyes, Kagome had a flawless complexion that sported a light golden tint to it. Dark eyebrows swept upwards in a perfect arch above her eyes. The slope of her nose had a soft bend to it as it angled down her face to a gentle point. Her lower lip was fuller then the top, giving her mouth a natural pout. Long, thick and wavy dark hair with fuchsia highlights, parted in the middle, fell over her shoulders and down her back to her waist.

 

Once he'd thought she looked a lot like his Kikyou, and maybe she had back then, but now, except for a vague resemblance in the stubborn point of her chin, there was no similarity he could see. Kagome was a beautiful girl that was all the more beautiful because of her open heart and caring nature. She had a beguiling innocence about her that displayed the fact she was completely unaware of her own appeal… which only made her appear even more beautiful. It was endearing and maddening at the same time. It was amazing how she could remain so innocent yet at the same time not innocent at all.

 

“Hn. Hello Kagome,” not having heard her question he nodded in greeting, completely forgetting he'd done that once already.

 

“Are you alright InuYasha?” she asked in concern.

 

“I'm fine,” he shrugged as he looked away from her. “Why do you ask?”

 

“Because…” she began then trailed off as she realized she didn't know what to say. If she told him she'd been noticing how quiet and pensive he's been he would accuse her of spying on him and she didn't want to deal with that. “You seem… I don't know. I'm worried about you, InuYasha.”

 

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, taking in the worried frown creasing her lips, before averting his eyes once more then shutting them altogether. “Hn. Don't bother. I can take care of myself.”

 

Was he angry at her? Kagome sighed as she lowered her head to stare at her hands as they rested in her lap.

 

“I know that InuYasha. I never said you couldn't,” she stated quietly. Because her head was bowed she missed seeing his ears flicker in her direction before he turned his head slightly towards her so he could once again see her from the corner of his eyes. “That doesn't stop me from worrying about you. You're one of the dearest people in my life InuYasha and I can't help but worry when I can see you're unhappy. Both you and Miroku…”

 

He blinked then. What was she talking about? What about the monk? “Huh? What's Miroku got to do with anything?”

 

Kagome looked up at him then. Tilting her head, she gave him a searching look as she tried to figure out if he was serious or not. From the curious and slightly annoyed look in his amber eyes she figured he was serious.

 

“Haven't you noticed?” She shook her head at his curiosity took on a confused nature. “Something's not right with the houshi. It hasn't been for a while…” she gave a thoughtful shrug. “I'm not sure what it is… I just can't quite figure out what's off about him, but I will. Sango's worried about him too.”

 

InuYasha thought about that for a moment as he tried to think if he'd noticed anything out of the ordinary with the monk, but besides the fact he hadn't actually seen Miroku all that much lately-which he would probably find strange if he thought about it longer-there wasn't anything that was coming to mind. He gave a mental shrug and decided to think about it later… and maybe keep a closer eye on the monk. If both Sango and Kagome were noticing something then there was probably something there.

 

“It's not important right now,” she waved it off with a toss of her hand. “What I'm concerned about right now is you.”

 

“Don't. I'm fine. I've just had other things on my mind,” he stated in a voice that clearly said he didn't feel like answering questions so don't bother asking. Then, to further discourage her, he changed the subject. “I hear the High Lord will be coming soon.”

 

“Tomorrow,” she nodded solemnly, allowing the subject change. She still wasn't sure how she felt about that anyway and wouldn't mind having someone to talk too. “He's bringing his children with him.”

 

InuYasha didn't comment. From what he'd heard the High Lord never went anywhere without his children. It was said that Lord Damascus thought his children were the best warriors in his entire army and that he kept them and one other with him at all times. He wasn't sure how accurate the stories were; it had been a long time since the last time he saw the High Lord and he didn't remember much of the encounter though for some reason he found the idea of the High Lord needing bodyguards hilarious. For some reason he had the strange feeling that bodyguards was the last thing the High Lord needed, yet he didn't know why he felt that way.

 

“I think he's coming because of me,” she sighed heavily as she thought about the conversation she had with Sesshoumaru earlier.

 

“Did Sesshoumaru tell you that?”

 

“Not really,” she shrugged, “it's more what he didn't say then what he said.” She looked towards the gardens. “Whatever the reason, Sesshoumaru wants everyone here to greet him, so you're not to leave the castle today if you won't be back by morning.”

 

“Hn.,” like he gave a shit what Sesshoumaru ordered. “Doesn't matter. I have no where I need to be.”

 

She gave him a contemplative look as he tilted his head back to see the clouds once more. What he saw or was looking for she didn't know but she'd stared at the heavens enough times in the past to know he wouldn't get any answers there. Some answers you had to look inside to find.

 

Her thoughts were cut off as a familiar awareness tickled the edges of her senses. Twisting around slightly, she searched the area behind her for the figure in white she knew was there. Cerulean locked onto intense gold as she found who she was looking for near the garden's entrance where he stood silently watching her. She gave him a small smile as he began to move closer to the large tree. Sesshoumaru.

 

“Were you looking for me?” she asked softly as she stared down on him.

 

Tilting his chin upwards to maintain eye contact, he stood motionless as he watched her from the base of the tree. The blue of her eyes seemed to soften as she looked at him. He'd never imagined it was possible for a ningen to be so appealing… or that he would be mated to one. Was it any wonder that the Council was finding it difficult to accept? His eyes moved to focus on the hanyou in the tree with her then. Though InuYasha hadn't so much as moved to acknowledge his presence he knew the half-breed knew he was there watching. Something had been bothering the pup for a while now, he'd noticed, though he wasn't all that interested in what it was. He may have stopped focusing on killing InuYasha, but that didn't mean he was concerned about his life. Truthfully, he didn't know how he felt about the hanyou… if anything at all.

 

Kagome watched her mate carefully as she wondered at the look in his eyes. His face was still and held no expression, almost like the Noh mask, but instead of being frozen in some sort of frown or smile, there was nothing there at all. If it weren't for the life in his eyes Kagome would wonder if the beautiful youkai ever thought about anything at all. Glancing between the two brothers as she caught the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes she tried to figure out just what was going through her mate's head.

 

“Sesshoumaru?” she waited for his eyes to come back to her, “were you looking for me?”

 

He raised a brow. “Yes.”

 

She gazed silently at him in question for a moment before turning her attention back to her friend. He hadn't moved at all since Sesshoumaru came into the garden, yet she didn't miss the stiffness in his shoulders that hadn't been there before. What is going on? Biting her lower lip, she debated whether she should say anything to him or just keep quiet.

 

“InuYasha,” me keep quiet; yeah right! “I know something's bothering you and I just want you to know that I'm always here for you if you ever want to talk, all right?” She waited to see if he would answer her though she didn't hold much hope in it. Frowning, she sighed heavily when he didn't answer her like she knew he wouldn't. “Alright. I'm going to go see what Sesshoumaru wants. I'll talk to you later.”

 

She watched him for a moment longer before sighing and turning to throw her legs over the other side of the thick branch she was sitting on. Muttering under her breath she dropped lightly towards the ground and landed with a soft “umph” in her mate's arms.

 

Sesshoumaru held her tightly to his chest as he closed his arms around her. Looking down into her face he vowed, once again, to himself that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She belonged to him and he protected what was his. He looked up at the hanyou then as an uncomfortable thought came to him. Like it or not, InuYasha and he shared the same father and that made the hanyou family. He'd always considered, because of that very fact, that the half-breed was his to kill. No one else's. Did that also make him Sesshoumaru's to protect? Was that what father meant when he made me promise?

 

He looked to the sky almost in hope of getting a sign, even a small one, in guidance from the father he'd been angry at for so long… and missed more than anything else. When nothing came he continued to stare for a moment longer before lowering his vision to the world around him again.

 

Abruptly he turned away, giving his back to the world above and the brother who had not even bothered to acknowledge his presence. Kagome gave a concerned look at the stoic face above her before lifting up and turning to look to the branches of the tree behind him. Once more her eyes found another familiar pair of golden orbs. She caught sight of the small grin as the corner of his mouth turned up briefly and impulsively grinned back.

 

He gave her a short nod, which she returned happily, before closing his eyes and resting his chin on his chest.

 

Kagome lowered herself back into her husband's arms and rested the side of her head on his shoulder. She wasn't sure what that exchange-or lack there of-between InuYasha and Sesshoumaru was all about, but she figured it would be alright to let them handle it themselves for now. If, after a couple of days, it seemed like nothing was changing then maybe she'd interfere. After all, they were her family.

 

****

 

InuYasha watched his brother and the mate he held leave from beneath his lashes. He'd heard Kagome muttering about how-in her own words-`at times like these she wished she hadn't taken the rosary off the baka's neck' as she jumped down from the tree. That had almost made him laugh causing a grin to split his face for a moment as he'd thought about it. He imagined his refusal to talk had made her want to `sit' him a couple of times while she was sitting in the tree with him.

 

And that was what was strange.

 

How did Kagome get up in the tree in the first place? Unfortunately he hadn't been paying attention at the time to answer that question himself. He figured it might have something to do with the new powers InuYasha had sensed when Kagome came back after she'd… died or the powers she'd displayed when fighting the Obake… but he couldn't be sure since he hadn't witnessed the display for himself. He'd meant to ask her when she'd first showed up looking different and wearing those strange garments, but they'd been busy at the time and he'd forgotten in all the commotion that had followed. And since he hadn't seen her use the powers-until now- since then he hadn't really thought anything of it; having other things on his mind.

 

He wondered if, perhaps, Sesshoumaru might know, but doubted the asshole would tell him even if he did, so the question was mote anyway. His best bet was to ask Kagome about it himself the next time he had a chance to, he decided. Silently he wondered just how powerful the miko had become. Her scent was also a bit different, he'd noticed, but it was only when she used the new powers. An earthy scent seemed to wrap itself around her, weaving itself into her usual scent of water lilies and vanilla. A small piece of the other scent seemed to stick around though, even after she was no longer using any power. It was almost as if it was becoming apart of her a piece at a time.

 

It was very puzzling, but he didn't sense any danger or threat in the earthy smell. Yet, InuYasha would still like to know what it was.

 

He sucked in a deep breath and released it as he rested against the tree's thick trunk. His ears twitched involuntarily as he recognized the sound of Jaken yelling at the children not too far away and guessed they must have finished digging the little toad up. Sometimes Kagome had too nice a heart; he scoffed to himself with an audible grunt. He'd found the children's treatment of their frog-like guardian quite funny. The fact they were able to separate the toad from his beloved staff was something to admire at the very least.

 

He blinked in surprise as Jaken came crashing through the bushes below, screaming at the top of his lungs.

 

InuYasha's ears flattened themselves to his head as he sat up straight. He yelled down at the small kappa demon in irritation, “HEY! CUT THAT OUT YOU LITTLE RUNT!!”

 

Jaken didn't even spare the stupid hanyou yelling in the tree a look as he continued to run for his life. Why his lord continued to torture him so, he'd never understand. He'd tried countless times to tell his Lord Sesshoumaru that children, both ningen and youkai, were evil, but did his master listen to him? No. He just continued to take in more. If he could only get a moment to activate the Staff of Heads… but then his lord's mate would most likely kill Jaken before he could explain what happened. Not to mention Lord Sesshoumaru seemed almost fond of the little ningen girl, Rin. And there was no way he was messing with the other ningen child. The demon slayer would definitely kill me if I harmed that boy. Suddenly he paused as a frightening thought popped into his mind. What if his master Sesshoumaru and his new mate had children-and they would!! His lord needed an heir… Would Lord Sesshoumaru insist Jaken watch them too? His heart nearly stopped at the horrifying thought.

 

Jaken sighed, inwardly, to himself as he remembered to scream for help as continued to run away. There was nothing else he could do. “HELP, LORD SESSHOUMARU!! PLEASE!!!”

 

InuYasha shook his head in disgust as the yelling toad continued to scream and run pass him into the castle. The children, with Shippou in the lead, were right behind the demon as they yelled threats at Jaken's back. He watched them until they were out of sight before resting his head back against the trunk as he settled himself back into his previous position against the tree. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes as his mind returned to the subject that had been bothering him for so long.

 

Things had changed since his best friend had married his brother. He was still trying to come to terms with it even though one whole season and the beginning of another had already passed since the day of the ceremony. How was he to keep the only person who'd ever meant something to him when they were mated to his brother; the one person who could care less whether InuYasha lived or died? And… would Kagome, one day, come to feel that way too? He'd heard the promise she made before going back inside with Sesshoumaru and the only thought that had run through his head was; for how long?

 

He knew he'd screwed things up where Kagome and he being together were concerned, but he didn't want to lose her friendship too. However it may seem to others, the miko was important to him. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her and he'd rather have her in his life-if only as a friend-then not have her at all.

 

She was the first person to ever keep a promise to him. The only person to ever stick around despite all his faults and all the things he'd done to push her away and get her to do just that; leave. Kikyou had left him, his mother had left him, and even… Sesshoumaru… had left and all of them had promised they wouldn't leave him. He'd learned to respect Kagome for her courage in taking responsibility for her own actions even when those actions were a simple mistake anyone could have made. Slowly, he'd come to think of her as a friend as she continually risked her life to save his. And… he'd grown to love her as she always stuck by his side, even when it was dangerous for her to do so. Kagome had never turned her back on him, always believing he could do whatever it was he set out to do. Of course, there were times when she had to leave, for whatever reason, but she always came back. She always came back…

 

Now, after all that they'd been through, was he going to lose her anyway? It wouldn't hurt as bad if it was because of something out of the miko's control. Like death… like his mother… but death had nothing to do with it.

 

Could Sesshoumaru and he both keep her? Neither one of them had ever been really good at sharing. No one had ever wanted to share with him.

 

How many times during his childhood was he kicked out of games or told he couldn't play with some other kid's toys? How many times had someone destroyed or stolen his toys just because they belonged to him? Even the servant's children hadn't wanted to play with him. His mother had always tried to make him feel better by telling him it wasn't his fault, but every time a reason came that she had to say it, it became harder and harder to believe until it reached the point that he'd stopped believing it all together.

 

…InuYasha hid himself behind his mother's skirt as he buried his face between the folds of thick cloth.

 

Once again the village children were being mean and refusing to play with him. This time that had stolen the new ball his mother had given him and when he'd asked for it back Masachi and his brother had taken a needle and punctured it, making the ball loose all its air. InuYasha's heart had broken as he watched his new toy being destroyed.

 

He'd fought valiantly not to cry in front of the mean boys, but when they'd thrown the deflated cloth on the ground at InuYasha's feet then ran off he couldn't fight back the tears any longer.

 

Eyes brimming and tears streaming down his face, he'd run all the way home to his mother.

 

Some of the other children had chased him home, taunting him, and that's when his mother had stepped outside to confront the nasty little children. That's when InuYasha had moved to hide behind his mother and away from the evil looks the other kids were directing at him. Why did they hate him so much? He didn't want to be different!

 

“Go home all of you! Leave my son alone. He has done nothing to any of you!” spoke his mother harshly. “Would it really be so bad to allow him to play with you?”

 

InuYasha peeked out at the children, but looked away when he didn't see any changes in there expression. If anything, they seemed to be even angrier then they were before.

 

“He's a filthy half-breed!” yelled one child with his nose scrunched up. “Why would we ever want to play with him!?”

 

“Yeah!” the others shouted in agreement.

 

“He probably has bugs! EWW!!” screamed a little girl as her pigtails bounced around as she shook her head in disgust.

 

InuYasha looked up at his mother's face and wondered at the sadness in her eyes. He felt the tale-tale burning sensation grow behind his eyes again as he realized he was making his mother sad again.

 

“Why indeed?”

 

InuYasha had frozen as the familiar, quiet voice edged in ice reached his ears. He hadn't even heard him walk up or smelled his scent on the air. All he could smell was his own tears and the familiar scent of his mother with a slight touch of something salty in it. He turned to look in the newcomer's direction and noticed that he wasn't the only one who hadn't heard his big brother's approach. From the frozen looks of fear on the other children's faces he figured none of them had seen him either

 

The children stared at the beautiful youkai with a mixture of awe and fear. They all knew who that demon was-who didn't?-and they each prayed silently that the taiyoukai wasn't there for them.

 

“You-you're l-lo-lord Seshou…” one kid tried to stutter out, but completely lost his nerve and trailed off when the Taiyoukai focused his full attention on him. Then, with a sudden stroke of courage, the boy sucked in his breath and ran passed the inu-youkai as fast as his legs would carry him.

 

InuYasha's eyes widened as he watched the little boy who'd called him filthy trip and roll down the hill trying to get away from his brother. Mirth lit his eyes as in a matter of moments the rest of the children, who'd been frozen with fear, suddenly followed the first boy down the hill.

 

He grinned up at his brother as he skipped out from behind his mother and shot over to wrap his small body around Sesshoumaru's right leg. His eyes were shining in gratitude as he tilted his head back to stare at the taller demon. Sesshoumaru hadn't even bothered to look down at him, instead he kept his eyes on Lady Izayou, but that hadn't stopped InuYasha from hearing what his brother said next.

 

“Let go koru.”…

 

Inuyasha blinked as the memory faded. Strange; the last time he'd thought of that incident he hadn't remembered that last part… All he'd remembered was crying into his mother's skirts. It was the last time he'd ever cried… until she died. After that he'd never cried again.

 

He sat forward suddenly as he sensed someone near, watching him. Searching the gardens he looked towards the ground and blinked as he encountered another familiar gaze but this time a deep violet and not blue.

 

“Monk.”

 

“Hello InuYasha,” responded Miroku politely.

 

InuYasha tilted his head in thought as he heard the friendly reply but noticed the warmth didn't quite reach the houshi's eyes. He sniffed the air lightly and frowned. Since when could Miroku hide his scent? Something was definitely wrong with the monk he thought as he remembered Kagome's comments from earlier.

 

“You're hiding something houshi,” spoke InuYasha out-right. Never one to beat around the bush on many things, he jumped down from the tree and approached his friend. He noticed the slight widening of Miroku's eyes as he neared the large bolder he was perched on.

 

Miroku watched the hanyou cross his arms as he came to a stop in front of him. He toyed with the thought of telling him for a moment before discarding it altogether. While he had no doubt InuYasha would be the one to understand more then any of the others the hanyou wasn't known for having an understanding side and he wasn't sure how InuYasha would react to finding out he'd been lied to… and for so long.

 

Would any of them forgive me? Would Sango? He hadn't really ever thought about it before having kept the secret for so long, but he would have to tell them soon. He wasn't sure for how much longer he'd be able to hide the truth now. Out of all his friends, including the Taiyoukai, he felt Lady Kagome would probably be the one to forgive him first. It was in her nature to do so. But as for InuYasha and Sango… he didn't know. They were more alike then either cared to admit. Both had hot tempers and difficulty trusting others. He had a feeling they would be the hardest to tell. As for Sesshoumaru… he wasn't sure. The inuyoukai was an enigma and very hard to predict. While everything you knew about the young taiyoukai pointed to him not caring one bit over what Miroku was hiding, for some reason Miroku had the feeling that the youkai wasn't going to be happy with him.

 

It was going to be even harder hiding it when the High Lord arrived tomorrow. He'd heard many things about the Council Leader and one of those things was that nothing got passed the demon. Apparently the High Lord was of the Ancient Race… if that was possible… and his powers were unrivaled.

 

Miroku sighed as he looked away from his friends piercing gaze.

 

“I'm not hiding anything InuYasha. What makes you think I am?”

 

“Bull shit, Miroku,” stated InuYasha evenly. “I know you're hiding something. I don't know what it is, and frankly, as long as you're not in any danger I don't give a damn.”

 

Miroku turned back to him then and narrowed his eyes as he studied the hanyou to see if he really meant what he'd just said. When he didn't detect any harshness in InuYasha's face or demeanor he relaxed a bit and gave the hanyou a genuine smile in gratitude.

 

“Thank you InuYasha. I appre-“

 

“I wasn't finished,” spoke InuYasha, cutting him off as he stared at his ningen friend. “I don't like being lied to, so don't do it. If you're hiding something; fine. I'd be the last person to accuse someone of keeping secrets, but don't lie to my face and tell me you're not because I know you are. You're cloaking your scent and you've never done that before. Whether it's a new ability or not, doesn't matter. The fact you're doing it is proof enough.”

 

Miroku watched him quietly as he took in what he'd said. After a moment he nodded slowly. Whether in agreement or admission, he didn't clarify. Letting InuYasha interpret the action in what ever way he chose.

 

“Hn,” grunted InuYasha taking the nod as and admission. “You'd better decide what you're going to do about that. And if I were you I'd do it soon.”

 

“Why?” he inquired, more or less admitting he was hiding something.

 

“Because now you have the women concerned. And if Kagome's concerned long enough you're going to have to deal with Sesshoumaru's concern… if he isn't already. You don't want that.”

 

Miroku blinked. InuYasha was right; he didn't want that.

 

InuYasha grunted satisfactorily when he saw he'd gotten through to the monk. He turned and began to walk away as he spoke over his shoulder. “Just figured you'd like to know what you're dealing with here. I had a feeling you had forgotten who's home we're a guest in.”

 

Miroku remained quiet as InuYasha disappeared into the castle. He hadn't thought of the situation that way. He figured he had even less time to decide on a course of action now. He sighed inwardly as he shut his eyes to think.

 

It also hadn't escaped his notice that InuYasha had said “we're” and not “him”.

 

Apparently, the hanyou thought of himself as a guest there too. He didn't like that, he thought with a frown. No one should feel like a guest in there father's home.

 

 

****

 

“We'll make camp here tonight.”

 

“Why?” asked Sorin as he turned to eye his father. “We aren't very far from the western border now. We can reach the Western Lands in less than six hours.” He narrowed dark blue almost black eyes on his father then. “Sesshoumaru is expecting us isn't he?”

 

“Of course he knows we are coming,” answered Damascus with shrug of his shoulders. Long, jet black hair hung to the middle of his back waving gently with the breeze as he returned his son's gaze.

 

Sorin studied his father's face for a moment as he saw something in his silver eyes that he couldn't quite identify. “Then why are we making camp?”

 

“Because,” he replied as he clasped his hands behind his back, “there is something that I have not told you and your sister about the reason for this visit.”

 

Sachiko had been standing not to far away listening to there conversation with half an ear. While she was happy she'd be going to see her friend who she hadn't seen in years she didn't really care whether they arrived there that night or the following day, so she hadn't really given the conversation her entire attention, but hearing what her father had just said, she turned around to face them.

 

“What is it Father?” she asked with a touch of concern. “Is there a problem? And if so, why did you not tell us earlier? We would have moved faster.”

 

Damascus looked between his two children with pride. They were twins sporting the same pale blue hair. The only difference in them were the color of there eyes and their gender with Sorin being male and Sachiko a female. True, they weren't his by blood but he loved them more then he ever imagined he'd love anyone and he knew they were not going to like what he was about to tell them. They cared for family a lot and despite how much InuTaisho's son disliked the idea, they considered Sesshoumaru family.

 

“You remember how I told you we were heading to the Western Lands because of the Council? “ He waited for there nods before continuing. “Well it seems the Council is not happy with our Sesshoumaru.”

 

“What has he done now?” asked Sachiko with a slight grin.

 

“He has taken a mate.”

 

The smile fell from Sachiko's face as Sorin blinked. They hadn't expected that. They hadn't thought Sesshoumaru would ever take a mate… or at least not for many more years. It was a fact the inuyoukai didn't think very highly of many of the female youkai he'd come across and he never hesitated to let them know.

 

“Sesshoumaru has taken a mate?” spoke Sachiko with a look of disbelief. She was trying to think of any youkai who could have possibly caught the Ice Kings attention.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well…” began Sorin slowly. “Isn't that a good thing?”

 

“It would be under other circumstances. I have not decided yet, since I have never met the female in question,” he shrugged. “It seems the Council is not happy with his choice and wish to put her through the Rite.”

 

“She hasn't gone through it yet?” asked Sorin with a note of wonder in his voice.

 

“No. She hasn't.”

 

“So, what you're telling us is that a few… okay a lot” she corrected herself when her brother lifted an eyebrow at her, “of women have decided that they're better for the position then her and want to challenge her.”

 

“To put it simply; yes,” he grinned at his daughter as a spark lit his silver eyes.

 

“Then deny them they're claim and get it over with,” she shrugged, identical to his own. “Besides, if Sesshoumaru has chosen her I doubt we'll be able to change his mind. He doesn't do anything lightly.”

 

“My thoughts exactly,” he nodded. “The only problem with that is who he has mated.”

 

“Who did Sesshoumaru mate?” asked Sorin after a moment of silence. Deciding someone had to ask the question.

 

He looked between his father and his advisor, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, when his father did not offer up an immediate answer.

 

“A ningen.”

 

Sorin blinked. He must have heard him wrong, because he could have sworn it sounded like his father just told them Sesshoumaru was mated to a ningen.

 

“What?”

 

“And not just any ningen either,” he continued in a grave voice. “No. Sesshoumaru has gone and mated the Shikon Guardian, Lady Kagome.”

 

“WHAT!?” screamed Sachiko. She stared at her father as her voice rung through the forest of trees around them. She'd remained quiet as she'd heard her father say the word ningen and figured she'd heard him wrong and he was going to correct it soon, but now… He couldn't be serious! Could he?

 

Sorin's ears twitched from his sister's scream. He grinned inwardly as a sudden thought popped into his mind. You are your Father's son after all Sesshoumaru… He had a feeling that the next few weeks were going to prove to be very interesting as he tried to picture the female ningen who was able to catch the attention of the Ice King himself. He'd heard many things about her beauty, but he figured she had to be more then beautiful to hold Sesshoumaru's interest.

 

He couldn't wait until morning….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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