InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Windows on the West ❯ Machinations ( Chapter 34 )

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

Disclaimer:  I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

~oOo~

Koga rested against the cliff that he had sheltered under for the night, and let his thoughts wander to what he had discovered.

He had been more than ecstatic to find out that Kagome had reappeared here in his era – when she had disappeared, he hadn't realized she was gone, and when he'd found out, he'd been dismayed.

It had been several years, now, and he could look on his actions back during the hunt for Naraku with a bit of embarrassment.  

He'd been an idiot – and a pain in the rear, he could now admit.  He'd made a fool of himself over the little miko he'd chased so hard.  But the truth was that even though he was a young, hard-headed and oblivious fool, he had truly come to love the girl called Kagome.  

That had not changed in the years since, and even though he knew that she hadn't returned the feelings back then, he wanted to try now.  After all, she was no longer hung up on Inuyasha, so perhaps he stood a chance.  He had to try, at least.  If she still couldn't see him that way, then he would not push it, but...

The only concern he had was that she was traveling with Sesshoumaru.  He'd been shocked when he'd been confronted by a regal female inu, and informed of Kagome's return, and her new companions.  There was no way he could miss who the female was – her son looked a great deal like her, and carried the same crescent moon across his brow.  

It was also easy to see where he'd gotten his cool demeanor.

While he was excited to hear of Kagome's return, he couldn't help but wonder – what was the Inu female's agenda in coming to him and telling him what she had?  It was clear that she had one, and after pondering on the matter for the days he'd been tracking the daiyoukai's pack, he thought he'd come to the correct answer.

It was well known that Sesshoumaru didn't care too much for humans as a race.  Sure, he seemed to have lightened up a tiny bit, taking care of that little human girl, and then Kagome, as well.  But it was more than likely that his mother, who was probably who had given him his dislike of humans, wanted to get rid of the adult human female from within her son's pack.  She most likely feared he would fall to the same fate as his father, and so she was scheming, hoping to remove the threat.

He would be most happy to take Kagome away from Sesshoumaru, but he would never force her, and if she chose to stay with the aloof  Western Lord, then he would leave her there.

And if she did, he would be sure to warn the daiyoukai of his mother's actions – he didn't want to see Kagome get hurt because of the former Western Lady's plans.

~oOo~

Satori watched the wolf, and smirked knowingly.  She could almost see his thoughts, and she found him a rather short-sighted being for his status as prince of his people.  He would need to grow much smarter if he wanted to rule well.

People, meaning youkai and ningen, could be so foolish sometimes, assuming things that were not true with very little evidence.  While his interpretation of her actions could, indeed, be correct, that didn't mean that they were.  There were other possibilities – ones he'd not taken into account.

Nonetheless, she was pleased with his actions – they were exactly what she'd wanted, and so it didn't really matter what the wolf thought in these particular circumstances.  It only mattered that he do just what he was doing... which was chasing her son's pack down to attempt to court the miko away from Sesshoumaru.

Not that he would be successful...

But it was the attempt that mattered.

She sat back on her throne and smiled slyly as she watched through her mirror.

Oh, yes, we will see what we will see when the wolf prince reaches you, won't we, Sesshoumaru?  

“Did you really think that taking her into the wilderness would keep her away from other males, my son?”  she murmured, even as her mirror filled with smoke, and then shifted to show the daiyoukai, and his pack.  

She chuckled to herself.  She was very much looking forward to the drama about to play itself out.

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru shifted, his nose quivering as he lifted it to the breeze filtering through the early morning air.  Sniffing deeply, he growled in the story that it told, and stood, shaking himself and enjoying the cool air moving through his fur for several moments.

He looked back over his shoulder at his pack, still sleeping comfortably in the small clearing they'd set up camp in the previous evening, and rumbled to himself, displeased – Kagome was awakening, which meant that the company they were about to receive could not be intercepted by him somewhere far away from her.

With an aggravated snarl curling his lip to show gleaming, deadly fangs, he pulled in his youki, and transformed back into his humanoid form, still just as pristine and untouched as though he'd not just spent the entire night wearing fur rather than clothing.

He turned at Kagome's voice.

“Sesshoumaru-sama?  Is... something wrong?”  she asked.  When he met her gaze, he could clearly see her concern, and that calmed his irritation – slightly.  It was a given, however, that it would shortly be back, and probably worse than it was now.

“We are about to receive company, miko,”  he said coolly, his distaste obvious, and Kagome frowned.  The only one she could think of causing such a reaction in him was his brother.

She hoped nothing was wrong as something inside tightened with worry.

“Inuyasha?”  she asked, just to be sure.

She was completely caught off-guard when he denied it.

“No.  It is the wolf prince, Koga,”  he said curtly, and watched as Kagome's eyes widened with surprise.

“Oh,”  she breathed.  “I wonder what he wants?”

He shot her a look.  “Why else would he approach my pack, miko, other than to attempt to take you from it?”  he asked, something dangerous flashing in his eyes.

Kagome blinked, startled.  “But surely... there's got to be some mistake, Sesshoumaru-sama.  That can't be true – Inuyasha told me that Koga had married Ayame.”

“And that would negate him taking you why?  Do you not realize that many males take more than one wife?”

She looked stunned, staring at him with dismay, even as her hands pressed to her flushing cheeks.  “B-but... that's just wrong!  I thought that wolves mated for life!”

He cocked a brow.  “Mortal wolves might – wolf youkai do not.  After all, the more wives one has, the more young are produced.”

Something seemed to occur to Kagome at that point, and she looked at him with something in her eyes that he did not like at all.  “Uhm... are Inuyoukai also that way?”  She looked down at her hands twisting her blankets restlessly, and tried to calm them.  “It must be so... after all, look at you... and Inuyasha,”  she murmured, more to herself than anything.  There was something in her voice that warned him what her next question would be.

He decided to nip it in the bud.  “This one has no intentions of taking multiple wives.  I have no desire for any others to join this pack,”  he said sternly, willing her to accept his words.

Her eyes jerked back up to meet his.  “Oh,”  she said, then hesitated, before blurting out,  “But am I in the way, Sesshoumaru-sama?”  He could see the tears forming in her eyes, and frowned.  “If you wished to have a wife, I could always... leave, you know,”  she finished in a whisper, her eyes falling away from his again.

He was perfectly aware that Jaken was now also awake, though Kagome did not seem to be, but chose to ignore that.   “This one is content with his pack as it is now, miko.  I have no desire to change things,”  he said coolly, and then moved to assist her to stand.  “It would be best if you readied yourself for the day.  I would not have the wolf see you in disarray.”

She nodded jerkily, grabbing her pack and moving to go behind the small thicket of trees on the edge of the camp to get dressed and brush her teeth and hair.

All she could think was that she hoped like hell that Sesshoumaru was wrong, and Koga was just stumbling over them by accident, or something.

That, however, did not seem to be her luck, and she knew it the moment she stepped back into camp, to confront none other than Koga, being eyed dangerously by her alpha.

~oOo~

A/N:  Cliffie!  One of the few in this particular fic.  But don't worry, the second part will be up shortly.  

Amber


Converting /tmp/phpoGDHJ4 to /dev/stdout