InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Where the Sun Rises ❯ Compromise ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

AN: Okay now. Here I am, presenting you with Chapter Six. I hope you enjoy what's coming up in the following text. Review if you can.

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"Are we almost there?" Mizuki asked, feeling restless as he followed Inuyasha through the thickening trees. "I hope we get there soon, because I'm hungry."

"Don't worry, we're almost there. Just a little bit further."

"Good."

Inuyasha was becoming excited himself as they were nearing their destination. He was constantly and desperately searching for familiar scents, and decided that once he caught them, he would grab Mizuki and sprint toward them as fast as his legs would carry him. It was only a matter of time before he would get to see them again. See her again. A tiny shiver of anticipation traveled down his spine as he thought of his mate. Soon he'd be holding her in his arms again, kissing her sweetly and taking in her delightful scent of spicy vanilla and lavender. He couldn't wait.

"My Lord," Mizuki started, aware that his master was consumed in his thoughts, "I smell people near. Are they the ones you want to see?"

"Mmmhmm," he nodded, lifting his nose upward to confirm what his lead official said. He was right. "That's them."

The reasoning behind coming back to see his friends were twofold. One, he did miss them. It had been almost four months since he last saw them, and being accompanied only by a ferret all the time made him want to talk to someone else for a change. The second reason was that he planned on asking his faithful friends to help him in his plight. It had been two days since his meeting with the Captains, and he had every intention of winning the arranged confrontation. And he figured the easiest way to do so would be to ask his experienced friends to lend him a hand. It made sense to him, and he knew that they wouldn't turn him down.

"C'mon Mizuki, let's go," Inuyasha said, clearing his throat. "I'm ready to see them now."

Mizuki gave his Master a look of understanding and walked beside him in silence until they stepped out of the thick trees and onto a dirt road. Following the road with his eyes, he could see a wide cluster of huts, and he assumed this was the town his Master mentioned a day or two ago when they set out on their trip. Raising his eyes to his Lord, he could see a soft smile placed on his lips. Clearly his Lord was at ease around this place, a heavy sense of familiarity emanated from him, in turn calming Mizuki to lower his guard. "Is your mate here?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, she's here," the hanyou answered, his smile slowly spreading wider. "She's in that hut over there."

Mizuki followed his Master's pointed, clawed finger over to a hut off to the right, the blanket hanging in front of the doorway flapping slightly in the lazy breeze. "I can't wait to see her. I want to see what she looks like."

Inuyasha didn't answer, but placed a finger over his lips to silence Mizuki. He motioned for the ferret to follow him as he crept toward the hut's opening. Taking a deep breath, he threw the blanket aside and stepped inside. Mizuki didn't immediately follow, but jumped in surprise when he heard his Master's name squealed and sounds of joyous recognition rang out. He went inside.

A beautiful woman with long, dark brown hair had her arms wrapped around his Lord's neck and she was hugging him fiercely. He was hugging her back just as hard, his nose buried into her hair, taking in her scent. Obviously, this was his mate. "I missed you so much, Inuyasha," she said, a single tear tumbling down the perfect skin of her cheek. "I'm so glad you came back to see me."

"I couldn't bear to be away from you too much longer," he told her, keeping her in his strong embrace.

"I was about to go crazy!" she said, finally pulling away from him. Her smile was dazzling; Mizuki could only stare.

"Me too."

"So how long are you going to stay?"

"A few days or so... there's something waiting for me to finish when I go back."

"Well, come on, let me make you something to eat," she said to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the center of the room, where another girl in weird clothes and a monk sat. Off to the side, he could see a neko and kitsune asleep on the floor. All in all, the ferret had some questions to ask his Master about his friends.

Mizuki slowly ventured inside the hut until Inuyasha looked over and remembered he was there. He motioned for him to come over, and then got the attention of his mate, who was now sitting next to him on the floor. "Sango, I want you to meet Mizuki," he said, gesturing toward his lead official. "He's helping me in the East, y'know, securing the land and everything like that."

"Very nice to meet you Mizuki," Sango said sweetly, giving him a soft scratch behind his left ear. When his leg twitched in utter enjoyment, she smiled and scratched in the same spot again. In response, Mizuki snuggled up against her leg and gave her access to his ear.

"Wow. It seems you found a way to shut him up," Inuyasha grinned, leaning in closer to the ferret who was in complete heaven due to the sensation behind his ear. "Sango, you are truly amazing."

"I've been told," she giggled, giving him a smile. Whispering, she added, "you know, if you aren't too tired, maybe later I can scratch you behind your ears..." as her voice trailed off, it left room for Inuyasha to catch on to her intent. He did, and he grinned even wider. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said, and gave him a wink.

"So, Inuyasha, tell us about what you've been up to in the East," Miroku asked, smoothing out his robes over his cross-legged knees. "I hope you are close to being in control of those lands."

"Much closer than you would think. The lesser demons didn't give me any trouble, thanks to Mizuki here, but the stronger ones..."

"What about them?" Kagome inquired, voice laced with concern.

"They aren't too fond of Lord Inuyasha gaining lands in the East," Mizuki answered. "They challenged Lord Inuyasha to a fight. It will take place in about five days."

"Oh really, Lord Inuyasha?" Sango repeated, chuckling softly. "I had no idea we were in the prescence of a Lord."

"I wasn't aware of that either," Miroku agreed, amusement playing on his face. "So my Lord, will you explain the specifics of this fight you will be having in a few days?"

"Yes, my Lord, please tell us about that," Kagome chimed in, bowing her head low.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms. "Do you want to hear about it or not?"

"Go ahead," Sango said with a wave of her hand. "After all this time, you still can't take a joke."

He gave her a glare of annoyance and then proceeded to recount his story of visiting The Captains in their massive mansion, and the challenge issued to him. "So I was hoping that maybe you guys can go back with me and help me defeat them," he concluded, scanning his friends' faces for a response.

A moment passed before an answer came. "Well, if that's what you want, then I'll be happy to help," Miroku shrugged.

Kagome only smiled. Finally she said, "I will go back with you. You really didn't even have to ask."

When it came to Sango's turn, she was silent. Wordlessly, she scooped some rice into a few bowls and handed them out. As Kagome took her bowl, she gave her friend a quizzical look. "What about you, Sango? Aren't you going to help Inuyasha?"

Looking up at her, Sango said simply, "He asked you two. It would be foolish for him to ask me; he already knows my answer." Handing the last bowl to Inuyasha, she continued, "I would never say 'no' to him."

Inuyasha could only stare at Sango as she spoke. She never ceased to amaze him. Sometimes it seemed like he's looking at her for the first time in his life, and still she captivated him with some unknown force. He realized a long time ago that he would never understand the hold she had on him; but the contentment in his heart told him it didn't matter. He accomplished the feat of becoming her mate, and that was most important. But what he had to tell her in response to her answer almost tore him apart inside. "Sango... I don't want you to go."

She froze in mid-chew and settled her eyes on him. Taking a quick swallow, she said, "What? You don't want me to go?"

Something on the floor held his gaze as he continued. "Yeah."

"Umm... I think that we should give them a second alone," Kagome suggested, standing and leading Miroku and Mizuki outside. On the floor still sat Sango and Inuyasha, an uncomfortable silence between them.

"Why don't you want me to go with you?"

"I... just don't think it's a good idea, that's all."

"Why not?"

"Well, if those guys found out that you are my mate, don't you think that they'd go after you instead of me?"

"How would they know?" Sango snapped, her glare becoming more intense on the top of his lowered head. "Obviously, there is some other reason why you don't want me to go back with you."

He shrugged. "There isn't. I just want you to be safe. Actually, I've been thinking..."

"Y'know, you've been doing a lot of thinking, Inuyasha," she said, climbing to her feet, voice raising. "I noticed that whenever you start 'thinking', I have to deal with it!"

"Listen to me," he cut in, standing up too. Now he was looking her in the eye. "What is wrong with me wanting to protect you? You don't have to get so mad at me about this. All I was going to suggest was that while we're gone, maybe you can stay with Sesshomaru for a bit..."

"WHAT?" Sango shrieked, dropping her bowl to the floor. "Are you serious? Instead of letting come along with everyone else, you want to dump me on Sesshomaru?"

"I'm not dumping you on anybody," he answered her, trying to keep his anger in check. He knew that if he didn't, he would say something harsh, and then she would be mad at him. And he didn't want her mad at him when he left off again. 'Finally, my foresight is kicking in,' he thought to himself. But that was all he had time to think before Sango's angry voice brought him back to their argument.

"Then what do you call asking me to stay with Sesshomaru?"

A long blink and a sigh. This was getting harder for him. He really was trying to be patient with her... "I thought it would be a good idea. You didn't even give it a chance."

"I'm not going, so you might as well not even ask me," she declared, crossing her arms across her chest. She turned away from him, and found something interesting on the wall to stare at.

This was too much for the hanyou. "What do you want from me?!" he yelled, his long-suppressed anger bursting through its fragile barriers. "I don't see why you can't just do what I ask you to! Would you rather get killed? Is that what you want? Didn't you get enough when we were fighting Naraku? You are just as stubborn as when that bastard was alive!"

"So, you think that I'll do whatever you tell me to?" she yelled back, whirling around to face him. "I don't answer to you or anybody else! I'm not Kagome; I won't just stand aside and follow your orders just because I have feelings for you!"

His eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe his ears. How could she say something like that?

"Oh, are you shocked that I said what everyone else was thinking?" she said, in a much lower voice coupled with a nonchalant shrug. "Well, either way, your 'plan' isn't going to work."

"Look, I won't be able to concentrate on the fight if I know that you might be in danger," he told her, slowly venturing closer. She still had her arms crossed over her chest, and she didn't look very approachable. He decided to take a chance. "If you are with Sesshomaru, then I know you'll be fine until I come back."

"I still don't like it."

"Please, just roll with it," he pressed, becoming bold enough to wrap an arm around her and pull her into his chest. Almost immediately, she dropped her guard and rested her soft hands on his chest. "This is the last thing standing between us and being the rulers of the East. I'm begging you... just stay with him for a while. We'll be back soon, and the next time you see me, I will be taking you to a new castle in the East. It will have everything you've ever wanted in it. It'll be great. But I need you to trust me."

Raising her eyes to meet his, she nodded softly. "I'm fine with the fact that you aren't taking me with you... but there's no way I'm staying with Sesshomaru. If I'm staying with anybody, then it's going to be Kaede. Got it?"

Inuyasha chuckled a bit at her compromise; he should have known that he wasn't going to get exactly what he asked her for. "That's okay with me. Now how about some rice?"


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AN: And there you have it. I am planning something special for Chapter Seven, so be ready. Well, that's all I have for you this time! Review if you can.