InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Yours and Mine ❯ Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all the rest aren't mine. To bad, cause then I'd be rich.

*blah*= thoughts

"blah"=talking

{blah}= writing

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Kagome made sure Renmaru was very clean and that her kimono was just right. Sesshomaru had a least a dozen boxes sent up, each full of clothes for the two females to choose from. After that morning's incident however, the child wasn't exactly thrilled about getting even more dressed up that afternoon. Renmaru tried to raise her arms and was surprised at how heavy they were.

"Okasan, why do I have to wear this?"

"Because Sesshomaru-sama asked us to." She frowned at the kimono.

"The ones we wear for the festivals aren't like this." Ren sounded like she was pouting.

"I know chibi. This is how girls dressed when Sesshomaru-sama was a child. It was a very long time ago.

"I don't like it."

"I know. Hold still." Kagome brushed the child's silvery hair down, parted it in the middle, and carefully applied powder and rouge. She looked like a miniature Heian style doll when her mother was done. Kagome steered Ren towards the full length mirror. Renmaru studied her reflection then laughed.

"Okasan, why did you put my eyebrows so high up on my forehead? I look like

um . . .one of those . . .things. You know."

"A Noh mask?" Kagome supplied, straightening out the obi scarf on her own, more modern kimono.

"Yeah, one of those."

"That was the idea. I'm not blacking out your teeth, however." There was a knock and Shippo, wearing a suite, poked his head in.

"The king demands your presence."

Kagome took her daughter's and the two of them carefully descended the stairs.

***

Sesshomaru was pleased by Renmaru's appearance. She looked just like the court girls he had so admired as a toddler. Renmaru didn't really look thrilled to be wrapped in 6 layers of silk, a white cotton under kimono and red hakama. She and her mother sat down carefully on the pillows provided at the low table. Once they were seated, Sesshomaru introduced them to the gathered lords and ladies.

Renmaru studied the faces of the nobles before her, looking for anything that would give even a small clue to their true forms.

*Of course, Sessho-sama, who I've seen in his dog form looks nothing like the animal itself.*

She stared at Sesshomaru and shook her head slightly. *I still can't believe he's supposed to be my daddy. Ame told me when her mommy and daddy didn't live together anymore, it was awful. But I think it's awful with them together. At home, I don't have to wear these stupid looking clothes.*

Renmaru looked down at the table, then up slightly at the food on it. *Oh, look cookies.* She looked at her sleeves, the table and her sleeves again. *How can I get a cookie with these huge sleeves? I'll knock everything onto the floor and on to me and Okasan will be disappointed.*

She sighed deeply and took out her fan. * I really want a cookie, though.*

***

Kagome watched Renmaru's inner battle and tried not to laugh. Ren had been eyeballing the cookie dish for a while, but had yet to make a move towards it. She reached over and took a cookie off the serving dish and placed it before the child, then turned back to continue talking with Yumi. Happily, Ren reached for the treat and was mortified in the sudden silence that had fallen when her kimonos rustled as they rubbed together. She froze, then lowered her eyes, blushing furiously.

The lords studied the child with varying degrees of interest, then Lady Tsubame asked:

"Renmaru-sama, how do you like your lessons?"

The child blinked then looked at her mother. "Okasan-?"

"She's asking if you like school."

"Oh. Yeah, I love school. Ame is my best friend and so is Bouyo. We play together on the weekends."

Lady Tsubame smiled a little uncertainly. "I meant your lessons here, with your father."

Renmaru winced at the word. "I don't hate it." They waited, but she didn't go on. Lady Tsubame looked at Sesshomaru.

"Does she not yet grasp the importance of her position?" She sounded vaguely scandalized.

"She's just a child." Yumi protested. Tsubame frowned.

"And you're just a human." Yumi gasped, coloured, and raised her fan to hide her face. Lord Hiroshi half stood, but for Sesshomaru's hand on his arm.

"Now see here!" Sesshomaru pulled the shorter man back down and turned to the lady of the south.

"Enough. There will be no insults at my table. Now, the child has answered the question, however vaguely."

Tsubame sniffed and looked at her daughter who was looking at Shippo and had missed the entire exchange. Renmaru watched the back and forth between the adults and shook her head.

*Grown-ups are weird.*

"Renmaru," Lord Ryu caught the child's attention. "You said you have other children to play with, but there aren't any humans around here for miles."

"Oh, we don't live here. Okasan and me, and Shippo-ni live in Tokyo. Sessho-sama forced Okasan, Shippo-ni and I to come here." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "He made threats."

Kagome felt her face changing colour, but not from embarrassment. The look on Sesshomaru's face was pure gold and she and Shippo were carefully filing it away for later.

Lord Hiroshi looked over at Sesshomaru with a frown. "Threats? Can you not reign in your mate any other way?"

Kagome handed her daughter another cookie to muffle her and poured herself some more tea. Sesshomaru's face didn't change expression, but the look he gave Remaru could have frozen lava. The child chose to ignore him and brushed the crumbs off of her lap.

"Okasan isn't married to Sessho-sama."

Shippo groaned quietly and Kagome decided it was time to leave. She stood, bowed to the gather nobles, and holding Renmaru's arm close to her shoulder; she half dragged, half carried the child, weighing an extra 20 pounds because of the kimono, out of the room.

*Sesshomaru is going to kill me.*

***

{DAY 5

Last night, my daughter made a comment over tea that

made my hair stand on end. First, she the gathered lords

that I had made threats, then she told them I wasn't mated

with Kago-the miko.

I know that those things happened, but how else was

I going to get the miko to give my child?!

Later, Lord Hiroshi, who I have trusted over the years

As a friend, pulled me aside and asked if I intended to claim the miko-}

Sesshomaru growled at Lord Hiroshi. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Lady Kagome deserves to be treated with respect."

"I am respecting her."

"By making threats? Sesshomaru-"

"I respect her by keeping her alive! I will discuss this no more. Tomorrow, you and the other lords will test my daughter, then get the hell out of my home."

Lord Hiroshi bowed. "Of course." Sesshomaru walked away, his body stiff with rage. Lord Hiroshi smiled and returned to his wife.

*The miko isn't even in heat and she making him testy.*

***

*I'm going to kill that kid.* Sesshomaru gave himself 24 hours to cool off, but he was still furious the following afternoon. He marched around to Kagome's rooms where Ren was playing and burst into the sitting room without knocking. Kagome looked up from the letter she was writing, Shippo from his book.

"Where is she?"

Kagome pointed into the other room as she turned back to her letter. Sesshomaru went to the other room, where his daughter was making dinosaur noises with several stuffed animals. The dolls that he had given her were scatter over the floor, most of them sporting numerous red stickers. He bent and picked up the doll closest to his foot. It was a boy doll, with magenta stripes peeking out of the three stickers covering it's face.

"Don't touch them, they're s'possed to be dead."

"Dead?"

"Hai! Eaten by the T-Rex. ROWWER!" Sesshomaru pulled off the stickers. The doll had black hair, but the blue crescent moon on its forehead made it obvious who it was supposed to be. For some reason, this annoyed him.

"Renmaru, it's time to train now."

"Don't wanna." She shook her head and marched the T-Rex over the rest of the prone dolls.

"Now!!" Renmaru peered at him under her lashes, then, seeing that he was serious, she tossed the dinosaur down and stood, pulling out her hair ties.

"Fine. Let's go."

Sesshomaru headed down to the garden, the child dragging behind, grumbling under her breath.

The other two lords and Lady Tsubame were waiting in the garden when Sesshomaru arrived. Renmaru arrived a full minute behind him, and Kagome a half a minute behind her. Sesshomaru immediately shifted into his true form, then turned his head to look down at the child. She shifted and plodded after him, sending her mother one last pleading look. Kagome zipped up her jacket and watched Lord Hiroshi shift into a brown cat nearly the same size as Sesshomaru.

*Just 2 more days, Chibi.*

***