Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

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
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Chapter 28: To Introduce Family

After a brief hesitation, Kagome skipped to Sesshomaru’s side, Sanyumi hanging across her shoulder and knocking against her common bow. She would need to figure out what to do with the ordinary one later, now that she had something far better. Perhaps she could leave it in her time just in case a rogue demon came back to life again, but until then, she had something else to focus on, “Where are we going? My friends will-”

“They will know you are in my company,” he cut off her worries.

“But, shouldn’t I tell them I’ll be gone for… How long will I be away for?” she redirected her words into a question part way though.

“How long must you insist on this communication?” Sesshomaru countered back.

“Hmph,” Kagome sounded as her arms snapped across her chest in defiance. “It’s not something you can just do for a day or two and then stop. Continued communication is key to a successful relationship.” She gave her lecture with a finger raised in the air, as if that would make her point clear. He made a sound at her that resembled a strong exhale mixed with a grunt. “You still haven’t told me where we are going.”

“To retrieve Rin,” he answered simply.

“Oh, and then where?” Kagome pressed, keeping her steps a few paces ahead of him so she could turn around and see his face. His expressions were too easy to miss, and if she didn’t pay close attention his meaning would be completely lost to her. The downside to this was she was stumbling over branches and roots that her upturned gaze missed. It was only a matter of time until she tripped and she knew it.

“To repay a debt,” he kept his answers short and to the point.

Kagome sighed and turned her eyes back to where she was going, making sure there was nothing for her to run into for the next few paces, “Do you always have to speak esoterically?”

“Hn,” the reply was met with another heavy sigh and a few minutes of precious silence.

“I told you I wanted to get to know you,” Kagome began, trying to explain to him why she was being so insistent, “how am I going to do that if you never take the time to talk to me.” That was her reason for agreeing to let him court her; so she could figure out if she liked him or not, and he was not making it easy for her. “Okay, let’s start small then,” she decided, not ready to throw the towel in quite yet, “what’s your favorite color?” No response. “I won’t stop talking until-”

“Red,” he headed off her pathetic threat with the answer she sought.

“There, see, that wasn’t so hard,” she praised, before continuing to chatter. “My favorite is yellow, it’s so bright and cheery. Umm, favorite food?”

“You do not want to know,” he told her bluntly.

“Yes I do, why else would I ask?” she tossed back.

“What is the purpose of these mundane inquiries?” he wondered over what value she could possibly find in his favorite color. Strange girl.

“Okay, I’ll ask something more meaningful,” she diverted, seeing as he didn’t see a point in small talk. Simultaneously, Sesshomaru wondered if he shouldn’t have just answered the food question. “How did you meet Rin?” She could have asked about a few other choice topics, but he always shut down when his past was brought up. She would work her way up to those sensitive subjects.

“She found me,” she looked up at him, gaze unwavering waiting for more, “when I was recovering from Inuyasha’s Windscar.” Her head remained eschew to look up at his face as she walked beside him, hoping he would say more. He relented; she had made it clear that she would not consider the ritual complete if he didn’t. “She attempted to tend to me, offering human food even though she was malnourished herself.” Kagome’s expression flashed from sweet to disturbed, thinking on how Poor Rin must have had a hard life. “She continued to return and offer assistance despite my refusal, one time covered in bruises. The villagers’ scents clung to her.”

“They hurt her?” Kagome gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and trying not to tear up. He nodded in affirmation. “So you took her away from there? Gave her a better life?”

“She died,” his blunt words caused the tears Kagome was withholding to flow free. “She was mauled by wolves, the same ones belonging to your ally.”

“My ally? Kouga’s wolves killed her?” Kagome could hardly grasp the concept. She knew in the back of her mind that his pack had been man-eaters at one point, but after meeting her, he stopped those barbaric tendencies. Which now that she thought about it, they met Kouga right after Inuyasha learned the Windscar. That village, must have been Rin’s village. Kagome nearly growled at the thought, they had been so close to saving her, “That, that jerk. You can be sure I’ll give him a piece of my mind next time I see him.” Her anger was palpable, until one more thought crossed her awareness. “Wait, she was dead? But then, how is she… You used Tenseiga!” she answered her own question and her gaze locked onto the sword at his hip. It would only work if he felt compassion; that meant he really did care for Rin. It was even more shocking than her gruesome discovery regarding Kouga; Sesshomaru had a heart after all.

“She chose to follow me afterwards,” he filled in the last piece of information.

‘And you never turned her away,’ Kagome supplied the unspoken piece. She grinned brightly and glanced ahead again, “Thank you.”

“Hn?” he looked down at her, wondering why she was thanking him.

“For talking to me; for telling me something about yourself,” she answered his questing eyes. ‘Thank you for opening up to me, even if it was only a little bit,’ Kagome smiled to herself, wiping the errant tears from her cheeks. The rest of the walk was quiet, and Sesshomaru learned that a few minutes of indulging her in conversation would keep her aura peaceful for many times the duration in which he granted communication. Perhaps she wasn’t as difficult as he thought.

---

“Rin, you stubborn child, stop putting those foolish frivolities on my person this instant!” a high, screeching voice carried through the forest along with the happy laughter of a young girl.

“But flowers make Master Jaken look so pretty,” she ran after him, arm strung with flower wreaths she was trying to drape over the little demon. They circled Ah-Un, who laid both heads on the soft grass and tried to rest. Jaken’s flight was halted when the dragon flicked his tail out and caused the irritatingly loud imp to stumble and fall to the ground. Laying the large tail over Jaken kept him in place, face silenced into the ground, as Rin gleefully decorated the flailing vassal.

Kagome could not help but crack up in laughter at the site when she emerged into their clearing beside Sesshomaru. Luckily for Jaken, their arrival diverted Rin’s attention and caused Ah-Un to rise to his feet, thus removing the massive tail from the flower-laden toad. Her glee at seeing both her beloved Lord Sesshomaru and the friendly Lady Kagome only rose in pitch when she was informed that Kagome would be travelling with them for a while. Jaken paid little attention to Rin’s delight or it’s cause, too busy with straightening out his appearance again; shedding the mass of flowers, brushing off the dirt, and regaining his composure before he addressed his lord, to the point that he barely heard the news himself. He assumed the priestess’s presence was for Rin’s benefit, and he couldn’t complain seeing as it would give him a break from her. Now he could spend more time at his lord’s side rather than tending to the hyperactive child.

“Jaken,” Sesshomaru’s baritone snapped the imp out of his thoughts and he rushed to bow at his feet.

“Yes, milord?” Jaken groveled.

“Take this to Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru held out a small, odd piece of folded parchment. It was white with thin blue lines and had a ridiculous pair of pink, cat-like depictions in the bottom corner. He had never seen anything like it.

Snapping out of his perusal, Jaken recited faithfully, “Yes, Milord, but what is it?” A single stern glance was enough to shut him up and send him scurrying away. Kagome and Rin giggled at the sight.

“We leave,” Sesshomaru ordered and headed off in a different direction, with Kagome and Rin chattering a few paces behind him, and Ah-Un lumbering behind them.

---

“I wonder what Sesshomaru intends for Kagome this time?” Miroku thought aloud, the metal rings of his staff clanking with each step.

“I don’t want to know,” Sango clipped, turning her gaze to the village coming into sight before them.

“Come Sango, are you not even a little curious?” Miroku prodded.

“Drop it, Monk,” her voice came out tinged with even more irritation. She did not want to think about it; it would only make her mind cycle around all the worst-case scenarios.

“I doubt there is cause for worry,” Miroku attempted to calm her, “it would not be the first time they have been alon-”

Smack! Apparently his hand had also been wandering.

“Pervert,” she yelled and stomped off. She hadn’t realized that Miroku very effectively got her mind off of Kagome and Sesshomaru. “Do you think Inuyasha has destroyed the demon yet?”

“I’m sure he has,” they stepped out of a meadow with tall grasses, just on the edge of the village, only to come face to face with a lizard demon, “…or perhaps not.” Casually pulling out a sutra from his robes, Miroku attached it to the demon’s head and caused it to shrivel anti-climactically.

“That was easy,” Sango snorted. That couldn’t have been the demon that had been “terrorizing” the village, could it?

“Namu amido butso,” Miroku told a short prayer. The sky was already tinged with purples, reds, and yellows as the sun dipped below the trees. “Come Sango. Let us return to the inn. Perhaps we can turn in early and-”

Smack!

---

“Have you been sleeping all day, Inuyasha?” Shippo poked at the lounging half-demon.

“Get lost, Pest,” he murmured, not even opening his eyes. Last time he woke for the Runt, earlier in the day, it only resulted in trouble for himself in the form of damaging the inn they were staying at. “I’m not going to try to teach you the Windscar agai-” He opened his eyes and sat up abruptly when a scent drifted to him, but it didn’t make sense, why would Sesshomaru be in a human village?

“I told you, Miroku,” Sango sounded cross as they walked into the courtyard, “stop talking about it already.”

“Sango?” Inuyasha lazily stood up and folded his hands in his sleeves. He scanned over their two forms and felt a shiver of unease. “Where’s Kagome? She went with you guys, didn’t she?”

“May I say it one more time, Dear Sango?” Miroku teased. Sango just growled at him and stomped off. “You see, Inuyasha, while we were searching for the demon, we came across Sesshomaru.” This caused his silver ears to twitch and his attention to direct completely toward the conversation. “She stayed with him and Sango and I have been wondering to what end.”

Inuyasha said not a word before walking away, backtracking the scent trail that Sango and Miroku left upon returning to the inn.

“Where is he going? You don’t think he’s going to find her, is he?” Shippo asked as he jumped up onto Miroku’s shoulder.

“It’s hard to say;” Miroku admitted, “he has not been particularly forthcoming with his opinion on the matter of his brother pursuing our innocent friend.”

Inuyasha hadn’t even made it to the edge of the village before a small green figure came barreling into him, “Jaken? What are you doing here?”

“I am here on Lord Sesshomaru’s orders, of course,” Jaken squawked authoritively. “Why else would I lower myself to be in the company of one such as you?” A growl informed the small demon of the dangerous ground he was treading. “I was instructed to give this parchment to you.” He handed over the folded piece of paper and Kagome’s scent wafted from it.

Inuyasha opened it up, but wasn’t able to read all of it, “What is it?” He looked up only to see Jaken running back in the other direction. ‘Fine, I know someone who can read it,’ he mentally scoffed. ‘Miroku is educated enough, right?’ A few effective leaps had him back at the inn. “Hey Miroku, read this for me. It smells like Kagome and Sesshomaru’s little servant delivered it.”

“Alright, let’s see,” he opened it up and scanned over the stylized symbols. Kagome always has had a strange way of writing, but he could roughly translate the meaning. “She says she will return by tomorrow evening and not to worry.”

“Not to worry?” Inuyasha exclaimed. “She’s staying out with him all night!”

“It goes on to say that Sesshomaru is with her and she is safe,” Miroku continued. “She is trying to get him to talk more.” Miroku paused to think about that. “Now that is an interesting visual.”

“He’s the one I’m most worried about her being alone with,” Inuyasha growled. “She has no idea what he’s trying to do.”

“From what I’ve gathered,” Miroku countered, “she knows full well that he wants to breed her and is not as ignorant as you think.”

“Just shut it, Miroku,” Inuyasha snapped, “I don’t want to think about it!”

‘Hmm, that’s the same thing that Sango said,’ Miroku recalled as Inuyasha stormed off.

---

The steep angles of late evening sunlight streamed through the dense canopy of trees, highlighting the dust and bugs that crossed its path. It was a peaceful, calming scene, but it was too quiet. “So…” Kagome broached to Sesshomaru after Rin had fallen asleep on Ah-Un’s back, “what kind of debt is this? I didn’t think you would ever be obligated to anyone.”

“Equivalent exchange,” he responded succinctly.

Calculating how long he said they’d be gone, and dividing in half, Kagome surmised, “We should get there, where ever there is, tonight, right?”

“Hn,” Sesshomaru hummed an answer that Kagome guessed meant yes.

“You know, I should make a rule that you need to respond in no less than ten words to each question I ask,” she teased playfully, referring to how he used as little effort as possible. “Maybe we could actually have a conversation that way.”

“Sesshomaru,” an impossibly deep rumble echoed through the forest, “you have returned sooner than I expected.”

“What is that?” Kagome shivered, moving a step or two closer to her towering companion. She was just shy of touching him; close enough to feel the moved air from his silken kimono disturbing the fine hairs on her arms.

“Are you complaining, Bokuseno?” Sesshomaru responded to the voice, just as his tree came into sight.

“He he he,” the wooden laugh resounded, “not at all.”

Kagome’s gaze was darting all over, until the materialized face in a tree trunk caught her sight, “Ahh, it’s a talking tree!” Trees were not supposed to talk; it was so not natural.

“She is certainly an amusing one,” Bokuseno commented.

“As requested, my debt is repaid,” Sesshomaru spoke formally.

“What is your rush?” Bokuseno countered. “It is late, why not let her rest in my grove. She is not built to travel in darkness as you do.”

“You don’t need to talk about me like I’m not here,” Kagome drew their attention after regaining her composure. “Your name is Bokuseno?”

“That is correct,” the resounded, “and you are Kagome. I requested this introduction for a reason, young one. Look up into my boughs, what do you see?” She looked at him questioningly, before turning her eyes up, scanning the massive branches for the answer.

A startled gasp escaped Kagome’s throat in disbelief. Her gaze was glued to the sprawling boughs above their heads, her legs shaking out from underneath her, and her breath coming in sporadic vibrations. Sesshomaru looked to the place that had her suddenly acting strange, and saw nothing, but Tenseiga pulsed at him in request to be drawn. She saw something, something he could not see without the sword’s assistance. He reached for the hilt resting at his waist, he wanted to know what was lurking in their midst that terrified her so completely. Whatever it was could very well be a threat he needed to deal with. The nearly inaudible whisper that escaped her lips, one that only Sesshomaru could hear, was the last thing he ever expected her to say; it made even his eyes grow wide with shock, “Fa-father?”
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To Protect the Alpha Female