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To Protect the Alpha Female	By : Sylean Category: InuYasha > General Views: 10687 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not make a profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 27: To Wield SanYumi

“Does it meet your approval, Sesshomaru?” the sword smith watched as the expressionless demon lord turned the weapon over in his hand and inspected it from several angles.

“Hn,” he turned and left with the weapon in hand, not sparing a single additional word.

It wasn’t until he was out of sight that another voice called from somewhere behind Totosai, “Phew, I thought he’d never leave.”

“Myoga,” Totosai said with only mild surprise, “since when have you been here?”

“I arrived shortly before Sesshomaru had,” Myoga hopped up onto the smith’s shoulders. “I heard you were making a weapon for him.”

“Not for him,” Totosai clarified. “For her.”

“Ah, I see,” Myoga breathed a sigh of relief. “I trust you built in a measure of safety?” Sesshomaru’s fang was bound to be a hostile force to any being that touched it, just as he was; Kagome would surely need some manner of protection from the weapon lest it take over her.

“It was not needed,” Totosai corrected.

“Surely it was,” Myoga objected.

“I had expected as much myself,” Totosai admitted, “but it would seem he actually feels for her more than he lets on.” Myoga hummed in thought. “Even so, I did slip a little surprise into the weapon, we shall see if she can find it or not, in due time.”

---

Sesshomaru cut a path directly for Kagome, which just so happened to take him straight through a human village. The occupants scattered, tripping over themselves so as not to get in his way, but he paid them no mind. The scene he walked in on caused mild surprised shown as a raised eyebrow; a lizard demon had been downed by a group of fox demon children, including Kagome’s kit. The familiar youngster preened before the admiration of the other five, but the second they left he broke down in tears, blubbering about a lost love.

Sesshomaru moved to continue his pursuit of the young female, but the fox caught sight of him and boldly barred his way. “Sesshomaru,” the display of the small demon attempting to challenge him was almost amusing, “you didn’t keep your word.” Okay, amusement gone. His eyes narrowed at the disrespect and the fox began shaking in fear. “Y-you told me you would make m-mama happy. Then, why was s-she crying over you?” He pointed his little fingers at the much more formidable demon, standing his ground despite the terror cloaking him.

“I have done nothing to upset her,” Sesshomaru spoke evenly, ignoring the slight pang at the thought of causing her tears.

“She needs you to spend time with her; needs you to see her as worthy enough to have a conversation with,” the small fox admiringly kept his voice from cracking. “Your indifference is what hurts her.”

The kit gave him much to think about, but he would never yield to anyone’s will but his own, “Hn, step aside.” An alpha did not heed commands, but he would listen to his pack’s concerns, and this kit was as much his as Kagome was. The response must have been good enough for the kit, either that or his fear finally made him lose his ground, because he did as ordered without hesitation.

As if this day was just out to get poor little Shippo, the second Sesshomaru moved beyond hearing range, another “threat” emerged. “Wow, that was amazing, Master Shippo,” the five young fox demons that had been following and “harassing” Shippo all day popped out of a nearby bush.

“You stood up to that terrifying demon all by yourself.”

“You’re amazing!”

“Myeh.”

“Mew.”

“You were watching; it-it’s not like that,” Shippo tried to explain, hiding his shock at their continued presence.

“It just goes to prove how powerful you are, Master,” the foxes sounded off, from oldest to youngest.

“Only the most fearless would dare do something so audacious.”

“I wanna be just like you.”

“Myeh.”

“Mew.”

‘I thought they left already,’ Shippo sighed to himself as he worked on sending them off once again.

---

Kagome soaked and washed for nearly an hour to rid her body of that pig’s stench but some remained still, enough for Sesshomaru to detect at least. He appeared out of nowhere, just as he always did, as Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were out looking for a demon that terrorized a nearby village. “Oh, hey there, Sesshomaru,” Kagome greeted with casual warmth.

“Why is Inuyasha not here?” he addressed the first concern. ‘He should know better than to let her out of his sight,’ he caught the whiff of unpleasant scent still lingering on her, a scent that was vastly overpowered by his own scent mark, and planned out how to punish the beta.

“We are hunting down a demon for the nearby village,” Kagome explained. “Inuyasha is in the village himself, watching out for it to show.”

“You waste your time with one even the fox child could slay?” that must have been the lizard demon the young ones had fallen.

“The demon is really that weak?” Kagome questioned no one in particular. “You know, that nose of yours is quite helpful, mind pointing the way for us?”

“Your target is currently within the village,” he told her impassively. Kagome’s gaze fell in that direction before shrugging, figuring Inuyasha would have it dealt with before they even got back.

“I guess we had better head back then,” Sango remarked. There was no point in wandering around a vacant mountainside.

“Kagome, you will remain here,” Sesshomaru informed, making the other two pause in their steps.

“It’s okay guys,” she waved them off. “I’ll catch up later.” This was the perfect opportunity; the one she had been waiting for. They nodded at her, trusting her judgment and headed back. This time Kagome was prepared. She’d let him do his thing, but would not allow him to just ignore her attempts at conversation. He would talk; she would make sure of it.

The Ability to Provide section had hinted strongly towards additional physical needs, (such as some demon species needed live prey to drink blood from, the bat demons they fought before for example,) and she didn’t want to think about what else a demon may require. They were feared for a reason. But what he did not account for was how humans had far more needs than demons, needs that if not met, could result in poor health. These needs didn’t have to be obvious ones either, and could vary from one person to another. Whereas one person would thrive on solitude, another would wilt under the same conditions. All she had to do was inform him of this and explain what she needed to keep her mental health intact. His own tradition dictated that he had to provide anything to keep her healthy; she was ready.

Kagome stood before him, doing her best to hide her smug smile, and clasping her hands behind her back while she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. When he pulled the newly forged weapon from where it had been resting behind his spiked shoulder, her pretense crumbled and her jaw dropped at the sight. ‘Where had he been hiding that? How come I didn’t notice it before?’ she asked herself as her eyes traced the elegant, but formidable lines. The aura it emanated was very similar to Tokijin, but without the malice, and much, much stronger. She should have felt this right away, so why didn’t she? Had he been repressing it?

He extended it to her stating, “The means to protect oneself.” Cautiously, wary of the powerful aura it exuded, she let her fingers slide across the carved wood before taking hold of the intricately detailed bow. No, not just a bow, more like a bow-blade. The wooden shaft had what looked like foot-long blades that overlapped like scales on either end. This would provide a short-range weapon that would not interfere with the flexible nature of a bow. It was a magnificent two-in-one design, and one that wouldn’t entail drawing a sword from a sheath.

So lost in the beauty of the bow, she almost forgot her line. Snapping out of her daze she partially recited, partially made it up as she went along, “It’s beautiful!” Bowing formally she continued, “I am honored to accept such an exquisite weapon, Lord Sesshomaru.”

Her smile bright, he informed her of the bow’s name, “Sanyumi (acid bow) must be anointed with your blood before your commands will be heeded.” Her smile faltered.

“Anointed? With blood?” she gulped loudly. Why did everything about demons have to involve blood? It was no fair, Inuyasha didn’t need to bleed for Tessaiga, but then again, he already carried his father’s blood in his system. Was that why she had to, so the bow would recognize her? Or so she guessed.

He reached for her hand and she hissed through her teeth as one of his claws shallowly cut her palm before she could react, “Coat the string.” She ran her closed fist down the bowstring and watched as the silver cord turned red. Wait, silver? She glanced back and forth quickly, identifying it to be the same shade as Sesshomaru’s long hair. Could this be…? The silver threads drank in the crimson liquid soon after she had coated the entire length; bubbling and drawing her blood inside the bow and making it resume its previous silver color. It was still a perfect match.

“Help me try it out?” Kagome suggested with a huge grin. She turned and stepped away from him before he even answered, feeling Sanyumi’s weight in her hands. It wasn’t like a sword that felt uneven to her. Holding firm, but not white-knuckle tight, around the center grip, she felt the even weight distribution on both sides and swung it around. This felt far more natural to her, even though she had never even seen a weapon remotely like this. She let the shaft spin in her hand and switched to her other hand, amazing even herself how the action had executed so smoothly; it was like she knew what to do with it just having it in her hand. Perhaps this was the equivalent to Tessaiga pulsing in her grip.

She continued letting the bow guide her, widening her stance, and turned sharply only to have the blade clash with Tenseiga. ‘Well, looks like he agreed to spar with me,’ she acknowledged, only mildly shocked at the sudden clash. He kept his blade locked with hers, not moving to overpower her, break her stance, or move away; waiting to see if she would figure it out for herself. The thought of twisting out of his path occurred to her and she followed through with it, freeing her bow and swinging it around to strike at him. He was gone before the blow could land and she felt the urge to pivot around. Heeding the unfamiliar call, she again was met with a swinging blade coming towards her, but this time, instead of blocking it she ducked and tried to get under his attack. His blade moved faster than she could follow until he blocked her path, locking weapons and forcing her back. He could overpower her easily, the limit to her abilities exceptionally clear to him, but chose to let her remain on her feet. She was much more entertaining that way.

“You have improved,” he spoke over their locked blades. A slight bit of smugness leaked through her smile and she focused on her next move.

“Sango’s been working with me,” he grunted lightly at her explanation; he knew her sudden expertise was not due to the slayer. He caught sight of her miniscule movements, her body getting in position to strike at him again.

“We shall see how much you have learned,” he challenged before they continued their lethal dance. She picked up on the bow’s commands quickly; he was impressed.

---

She was panting and thoroughly out of breath by the time he put Tenseiga away. The pounding of her heartbeat in her ears along with the gasping for breath made her nearly miss his impassive words, “Ability to Provide is now complete.”

She looked up from her hunched over position, hands on her knees before the meaning sunk in. “Wait, no, it’s not,” she had gotten so distracted with Sanyumi and their little battle that she had all but forgotten her goal for this meeting. “There is still one thing I can’t live without.” She straightened up, not about to deliver this in a submissive posture.

“Sustenance, protection,” he listed off the physiological and safety based needs, “and shelter is not necessary at this time of year.” He had seen her sleep in the woods on many occasions, but during the winter that would no longer be possible.

“And love; which encompasses companionship, communication, and affection. Humans can fall into depression and waste away, even falling to physical illness, if these things are deprived,” Kagome crossed her arms over her chest. “So you see, the ritual is not complete.” She was using his traditions against him. “Affection can wait till later, but for now, how about communication and companionship?” It was already a compromise in her mind, but she had to start somewhere.

“A lack of speech will not cause you harm,” he declared and again turned to depart.

“I can prove it to you if you want. This is common knowledge where I am from,” she goaded slyly. “And simply speaking with me won’t hurt you either. However,” she turned around and shrugged her shoulders in a bluff, “if you don’t want to complete your own ritual, than I guess I’ll have to-”

“Come,” Sesshomaru relented without specifically saying so. Perhaps giving her that book was not such a wise decision on his part.
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To Protect the Alpha Female