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To Protect the Alpha Female	By : Sylean Category: InuYasha > General Views: 10682 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not make a profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
Chapter 20: To Extract Potential

‘She has recovered,’ Sesshomaru observed with reverence as he kept a close proximity. Kagome would not need the power of his Tenseiga after all. If she should be placed in a similar situation again though, her human nature may not protect her against such threats without proper mastery of her abilities. She was in no condition right now to work on such mastery; he would resume his hunt for Naraku instead. The scent of Kohaku led straight for the mountain, but he could not catch anything beyond the base. It would require further investigation.

Demonic Blood Emergence

Upon the crest of maturity, watch readily for increased aggression, decreased control, stronger urges to indulge in base desires, new emerging powers, and physical changes, such as markings, color changes, and appendages. These are the signs that often precede the power within forcing its way to the surface. It is the rite of passage that all demons experience when transitioning from adolescence to maturity.

When signs present, isolation is necessary to prevent injury to oneself and others. The process will run its course, with the assistance of one’s sire, until control is regained. After the awakening, one can harness the entirety of the demonic power within, but if control is not recovered, the mind will go insane; no different from a mindless beast, and there will be no choice but extermination.

.

‘How awful,’ Kagome covered a gasp with her hand. ‘If I understand correctly, a demon would have to kill their own child if they can’t get them to reverse their transformation.’ Kagome pulled out a small notebook to write out a summary of what she just learned. She had taken to keeping notes, so that when she returned the book to Sesshomaru, she could still have access to the same information. Penning in the summary, she glimpsed a question she had written down on a previous section.

“Oh, Myoga,” Kagome addressed the vassal to Sesshomaru’s late father. “Did you know Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father when Sesshomaru was still a young pup?” There was a chance he could answer the question about Ryukotsusei.

“But of course, Kagome,” the flea responded enthusiastically. He was always eager to pass on information about his prior master. “I served the master for many centuries prior to Sesshomaru’s birth.” It was the powerful demonic blood he feasted on that kept him full of life for so long.

“Then, do you know, how did their father go from having an alliance with Ryukotsusei to fighting with him again?” she asked, glancing over the summary to that chapter.

"Uhh,” Myoga stalled, “I can't say, that I remember." He would meet certain death if he gave that answer. Sesshomaru was not the forgiving type, and that event, he knew better than to talk about.

“The only term the book mentioned was a mating agreement,” Kagome continued, trying to jog his memory.

“It seems to have slipped my mind,” Myoga said hastily as he hopped away to a safer shoulder to rest on.

“What is so entertaining about that thing anyways?” Inuyasha asked, less snide than his typical. “You never put it down.”

“What else do I have to do, Inuyasha?” she rebuked, reminding him how it was really the only entertainment she had right now. “It’s not like we can go running off to fight yet; we need to recover. It’s the perfect time to read this.”

‘A sacred barrier,’ Sesshomaru acknowledged as the sting of a holy aura halted his excursion into Mount Hakurei. ‘Hmm; I can go no further. I came here following the scent of Naraku’s servant, the boy, Kohaku, but all of a sudden the scent stopped, like it was cut off.’ He turned to return to Rin, but upon arrival, he found her missing. Jaken immediately started groveling, explaining why he failed the simple task of watching over a human child, “Where is she? Inside the barrier?”

He stepped closer, causing Jaken to cling to his leg in panic, “You mustn’t go in there, Master; if you enter sacred grounds even you’ll be instantly purified!”

“Be quiet, and look behind you,” Sesshomaru reprimanded.

“Is that, Rin?” Jaken gaped.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” she cheered happily.

If she had gone inside, there had to be a reason, and Sesshomaru knew she held some concern for the boy. “Kohaku was there, wasn’t he?” he demanded to know why Kohaku’s scent was on her. She froze at his words, split as to what to say. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want her Lord Sesshomaru to kill Kohaku either.

“Now be honest, Rin,” Jaken interrupted her thoughts, “you can’t deceive Master’s keen nose.”

“The truth is,” she paused, thinking of how to convey her hopes, “Kohaku helped me escape. There were lots and lots of demons in the cave.”

“What’s that?” Sesshomaru responded. ‘Demons?’

“Kohaku protected me from the demons, so, um…” she really didn’t want Kohaku to die; she didn’t want anyone to die.

‘Demons behind the sacred barrier? Now I understand,’ Sesshomaru pieced the puzzle together, ‘Naraku’s little trick.’ If Naraku was secure behind the barrier, there was nothing he could do for now to continue his hunt. Directing his entourage back away from the barrier, he decided to resume keeping his proximity to Kagome. She should be physically able by now.

Tonight was the last night they planned to rest. Come tomorrow, their search for Naraku would begin anew. Each of them had finally regained their strength, with the “help” of Myoga’s secret potion consisting of rare fungus and snake blood. Enjoying their last night of reprieve, they were suddenly faced with a visitor.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” Kagome got up from the ground, closing the book, and sporting a pleasant smile on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“You have recovered,” was the only explanation he gave her.

“Yeah,” she nodded politely, but she knew he could have easily identified that from afar; there was something more. “And I wanted to thank you, for saving us.” He had earned her respect, and gratitude. She gave a small bow, if she were to get his cooperation it would pay to be respectful when it was so deserved.

“I cannot take credit for an act I did not do,” he refused. Scent told him much, and the lingering poison coming from the flea, Myoga, gave him an idea as to what had occurred. Myoga saved them, not he. The pest was not worth much, but he had his moments.

He killed Mukotsu; wasn’t that saving them? Shrugging off her confusion as another one of his peculiarities, Kagome asked, “Uhh, well… If you don’t mind, I have a few questions about the stories in here.” She still held the book in her hand.

“Hn,” he nodded to her, but turned around to walk away.

Confusion gripped her, ‘Does he want me to follow?’ She saw no other possibility, “I’ll be right back, Inuyasha.” She heard him holler after her, but paid it no mind, she wanted, no needed, to know, and Sesshomaru was the only one who could answer her questions.

“What are your questions?” he asked as they were still walking further and further away.

“Oh, I was wondering how your father went from having an alliance with Ryukotsusei to fighting with him again?” Kagome watched him intently and did not miss the slight narrowing of his eyes at her question. He had not expected her to zero in on this event.

“The terms for the alliance were broken,” he conveyed stiffly.

“The only term the book mentioned was a political mating,” she recalled, trying for more details.

“Hn,” was all he gave her; it was not a memory he favored.

She sighed aloud, ‘Was that supposed to be a yes or no?’ Either way, she could detect the evasion; he was not going to answer. ‘Next question.’ “Well, are all these stories true?” she again motioned to the book.

“Most of them are,” he appreciated that she ceased prying.

“But which ones?” she groaned in frustration at how little he spoke. “For all I know, I could be getting my knowledge base from demon fairy tales.”

“Demons do not have fairy tails,” he missed the meaning of her futuristic turn of phrase.

“It’s a expression that means fictional stories. Which ones are real?” she explained what she wanted to know, and deigning it beneficial to differentiate between the two, he obliged.

Stopping their trek, he took the book from her and thumbed through the pages. He pointed to the ones that were fictional, with the intent of conveying a lesson, rather than a fact. All of which turned out to be inconsequential stories in her mind. But then again, he didn’t indicate the angel one to be false. “What about this one?” she turned to the page. “This can’t possibly be real.”

“I thought the same, until I met one,” he spoke. ‘Quite recently,’ he added in his mind.

“Really?” she beamed, thinking she might actually be able to meet a real angel’s child, “Who?”

“You,” she couldn’t believe what he just said.

“What? You’ve got to be joking,” he just raised an eyebrow at her outburst, conveying how she must realize by now that he does not joke. “Both my parents are human. I may have been little, but I remember my dad when he was still alive, and he was definitely human.” A melancholy expression came over her; a sadness as she thought about how if her father had any powers, he wouldn’t have died like that… Shaking it off, she continued, “And no two ways about it, my mom is human too. I’m not some…” glancing at the page to get the wording right, “Tenshi No Ko.”

‘Curious,’ Sesshomaru was not convinced by her declaration, he had felt her power, seen it; it was far more than any priestess. ‘She does not know the potential she holds.’ It was possible her sire had left prior to her becoming old enough to remember, being replaced in her mind by a human man. The angelic parent of Tenshi No Ko’s were never found, after all, and no one knew why.

“Either way,” she relented, not willing to argue with him over what she knew she wasn’t, “Its not like I’m powerful or anything. I may have survived your poison claws, but it was only because Tessaiga protected me.”

“You are unaware of your powers,” his statement sounding the slightest bit like a question.

“I know I have some, sacred arrows and sensing jewel shards, for example,” Kagome summarized with a shrug.

“Have you received any training to harness your full potential?” he inquired, already figuring he knew the answer.

“No, we never stay in one place long enough for anyone to train me,” by the time evening fell, she was always too exhausted anyways, what with Inuyasha pushing them to their limits in search of the shards.

‘Figures, Inuyasha expects her to fight without giving her time to learn,’ Sesshomaru picked up on yet another failing trait of his impetuous sibling. “Come,” he turned and continued walking.

“Um, where are we going?” Kagome asked a few moments later, after Sesshomaru fell quiet again.

“Your weapon of choice is a bow, correct?” it was the only weapon he’d ever seen her use.

“Uhh, yeah,” she agreed, realizing she forgot hers back at camp with her friends. “Do I need to go get it?”

“No,” he effortlessly snapped a curved branch off a tree as they emerged from the woods into a small clearing. ‘This will be sufficient.’ “It is a weak weapon, easily broken by an opponent.”

“It’s all I know how to use,” she admitted.

“You must learn to protect your weapon,” he intoned knowledgably.

“Right,” she remembered how Sesshomaru tried to break Tessaiga once, with that dragon’s claw, and Inuyasha put himself in the way of the attack to protect it. “How do I do that? Ouch, what was that for?” she rubbed her head where he had just plucked a hair. He gave no response as he strung the black hair onto the stick in imitation of a bowstring. This “weapon” was merely a stand-in for training purposes; it would never withstand being drawn and used for a real fight.

“Channel your powers through this hair to strengthen it; your task is to prevent my claws from destroying your weapon,” Sesshomaru explained as he handed over the improvised bow.

“How am I possibly supposed to make a hair stronger than your claws?” she asked dubiously.

“You withstood me before, you will do so again,” he had no doubt that she could resist a simple attack, one not infused with his massive aura; he just had to bring it out of her. Inuyasha only seemed to respond to threats on his life; it was the only way the pup ever improved. He hoped he would not need to use the same methods on her.

“That’s only because Tessaiga can put up a barrier,” she belittled herself.

“Yes, it can, but only if its wielder has the power to fuel such an ability,” the sword was simply a conduit, she was the power source. “Raise your weapon.” He flexed his claws and she held the bow up in defense, closing her eyes as she waited for his strike. She didn’t even feel anything, but at his disappointed grunt, she opened her eyes to see the hair, hanging limp; he had snapped it far too easily.

Kagome mumbled to herself, “I knew I couldn’t do it.”

“If you doubt your abilities, we will be here far into the night. Again,” he ordered.

“But, it’s broken,” she held it up for him to see, not like he didn’t already know that; he was the one who sliced the hair in half.

“Repair it, you will not leave until you succeed,” his declaration had her grimacing.

She cringed at his command but did as told and plucked a hair from her head, tying it up. He was taking the time to train her, she would be grateful for that, even if it was unpleasant. “There,” she exclaimed proudly, showing him she fixed it. His knuckles cracked, warning her of the incoming attack, and she raised it again, but didn’t hold him off. The hair was sliced effortlessly again. Several attempts later, and she still hadn’t made any progress.

“Ugh,” she bemoaned, “I can’t do it!” ‘That makes Sesshomaru: 21, me: 0.’ “I’m going to go bald from this.”

She was right about one thing, this wasn’t working, “Did you trust in your abilities the first time you fired a bow?”

Thinking back to the crow demon that stole the jewel, “N-not really.”

“And did you strike your target?” he investigated.

“No,” her shoulders sagged, “I wasn’t even close.”

“Do you have confidence in your aim now?”

“Yeah,” she brightened, “I’ve gotten much better since that first time!”

“Do you see the correlation?” simply giving her the answer would mean nothing if she couldn’t see it for herself.

“I need to train harder?” she guessed. That was what Inuyasha always told her, to try harder.

“You need to trust in yourself,” he clarified. “Have you ever observed your arrow flying a curved, unnatural path?”

She gasped at the observation, “Yes! Why does it do that?”

“Because your powers guide it to the intended target when you have confidence in yourself,” his words prompted her to recall how she had managed on several occasions to hit the pin-point mark of a jewel shard, when she still could barely hit a large target most of the time. This explained it.

Thinking it through, she made her decision. “Let’s try again,” she prompted resolutely, raising her hair-strung stick. This was not just about preventing Sesshomaru from cutting a hair; this was a way to train her powers so she could protect herself and her friends. He was giving her the necessary skills to help Inuyasha fight Naraku, to help Sango get Kohaku back, to help Miroku rid himself of his death-sentence of a curse, and to protect Shippo, her adopted son. That was the last thought before he leapt at her, only giving her a split second between seeing him standing across from her to being right in her face, his claws were halted by a glowing pink light. Following its path, she watched as her aura clashed with his, warding off his attack and standing her ground.

What looked like lightning snapped between them as they remained locked in the stand-off; Sesshomaru couldn’t be more impressed with her sudden mastery. Not only had she done as instructed, but she also seemed to have used her powers to strengthen her body, allowing her the strength to remain on her feet and not be knocked back. He let his approval show as a genuine grin inched its way across his lips before pulling back and resuming his stoic appearance.

Kagome just stood there in total bewilderment, not because she was able to hold him off, but because of his reaction, “You- you smiled. You just smiled.” She was more amazed that he smiled than at having succeeded.

“Return to your companions and continue training,” he brushed off her astonishment. He let his gaze show her the direction. She nodded numbly and turned to go back. He waited until he knew she had made it back safely before departing back to his group.

“Kagome, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Sango drew everyone’s attention as the girl literally stumbled into camp.

“Sesshomaru… can’t believe… I didn’t think he knew how…” Kagome mumbled, trying to explain what had her so dazed.

“How to what?” Inuyasha jumped down in front of her, instantly worried his ass-hole Alpha might have done something to hurt her.

The vision flashed back across her mind and she let her lips twitch up with her words, “Smile…”
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To Protect the Alpha Female