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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
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Chapter 29: To be Haunted by the Past

That face, it was unmistakable. Sure, he was significantly younger than she remembered, appearing to be a mere seventeen rather than in his thirties, but it was definitely him. He lounged on a curved branch, his massive white wings folded on his back and his eyes locked on her with both curiosity and almost the same shock as hers reflected back. The wings, that was also something she hadn’t seen on him before.

“I, I can’t believe it,” Kagome mumbled to herself, trying to come to terms with what she was seeing. “You-you’re actually here.” ‘I never thought I would see you again.’

“So my suspicion was correct,” Bokuseno’s voice reverberated. Sesshomaru watched the proceedings, careful to keep his gaze from lingering directly on the Tenshi. So long as the being thought himself invisible, Sesshomaru was at an advantage. He had never faced such a creature before, and knew not what he was capable of. If Kagome’s latent powers were any indication, the one who would sire her would not be one to trifle with, even in his younger state. Even if a fight broke out, Sesshomaru could not kill this opponent without also killing Kagome.

“Wait, you knew I was there all along?” the winged-man exclaimed towards the ever patient Bokuseno. “You’re not supposed to be able to see me. None of you are.”

“Tell me, Tenshi, why you have taken up residence in my boughs to begin with,” Bokuseno inquired. The aged tree knew he was there from the first time he landed, but kept that knowledge to himself to wait and determine the reason.

The angel scoffed, mentally scolding himself for not seeing this earlier, “Demons from all around come to you to seek council, Boku; I was merely assigned this station to gather information.” There was a dark threat mounting in the region, most likely that of a demon, and the angels needed to learn all they could to determine if further action was necessary. “And now that I have been discovered,” he grumbled to himself, “I will undoubtedly be reassigned.” He quickly scanned over the beings below him. The tree demon was harmless enough; his presence was negligible. This was why he was chosen as an information hub. The female, human, but with an indeterminate well of holy powers, he would need to address her origins, but for now she seemed too shocked to breathe, let alone speak. That left the demon, daiyoukai he believed he fancied himself. These demon creatures, they did have a tendency to differentiate and classify themselves, seeking endless power, and this one he could tell was no pushover either. Still, he was not intimidated, he was intangible; so long as his feet did not touch the ground, the earthen prison the rest of them were bound to, he could not be harmed by any means of this world.

“How long have you been present, Angel,” Sesshomaru spoke up, growing tired of the other’s scrutiny of his person.

Still reclined in an casual manner, the young angel ignored the demon’s inquiry, but faltered in his complete indifference when he saw something highly dangerous to his person, “The blade of heaven; how did such a thing come to be possessed by a demon such as you?”

“Tenshi,” Bokuseno interjected into the conversation, “do you recall the Inu no Taisho? Before you stands his eldest son, Lord Sesshomaru.” The Dog general, that name was known throughout his kind as being both formidable, and one of the few demons that acted with honor. It was why he was gifted the means to restore life and balance to a desolate land. The clever old hound combined that gift with his own fang, giving rise to the legendary blade, Tenseiga.

“I know of your father, and I also know of the imbalance to this world brought on by your actions,” the sanctified male reminded, gaining a growl in response. “You are not worthy of that blade which restores life.” Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and responded to the insult by drawing the weapon that could teach this whelp his place. “I would think twice if I were you, Demon.” Standing on the branch to meet the threat, he plucked a feather from his massive wings and stepped off his perch. Expanding his means of flight, he caught his weight with practiced ease. The windless, downward strokes caused the distance his body floated above the ground to waver, keeping him roughly eye level with, but several paces away from, the taller demon. Moving the feather to his lips, he warned, “I have far more power than would be needed to tame you.”

Sesshomaru growled in response, brandishing Tenseiga, but before either could come to blows, Kagome snapped from her stupor and ran between the two, “Knock it off! Both of you.” Her tone insisted she be heeded, and her flaring aura drew their attention.

That was more power than her young sire had sensed originally, making her a far more pressing matter than some arrogant demon. “What is an earth-bound child doing in this land?” her father-to-be changed the subject, seemingly forgetting about his near confrontation just as quick as it escalated. “It has been many centuries since one of ours has fallen,” he circled her, brazenly turning his back to Sesshomaru in the process, “there should not be any, especially so young.”

“Me, you’re talking to me?” Kagome stuttered at being the sudden subject of his interest. “Umm, well, I’m not from here, I’m from, a different… well, a different… time.”

“I see,” he accepted her explanation easily, rubbing a finger along his chin as he pieced her together. “None of our mixed children have ever succeeded in bending time before, how have you?”

“I can’t do it without using…” something about his questioning felt wrong to her, like she should not tell him who she was, or how she came to be here, “using something.”

“When is this time you originate from, and whom do claim to be a descendant of?” He continued pressing for information. With proper knowledge, he could prevent the fall of one of his own, ‘Who among us will cave to such appalling irresponsibility and martyrdom as to love a human?’

“I… I can’t tell you that,” she withheld her potentially dangerous secret. He obviously had a distasteful opinion of his kind “falling;” what would he do, what would he change about himself or their future, if he knew it was he who fell in love with her mother? She couldn’t risk it.

‘Hmm, clever girl,’ he acknowledged her avoidance. Advancing closer, she leaned away as he inspected her a little too close. “What an existence you have, young one, chained to this plain of existence, cursed to tread dirt with demons snapping at your heels.” He directed his gaze to the being she took company with. Why a pure one such as her would befriend this vicious creature he could not fathom. “I pity you; you will never know the freedom denied you by your human blood.”

Tears pricked at her eyes from his callous condescension. How badly she wanted to defend her human half; how dare her very own father speak ill of her mother, his future wife. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, he was supposed to be the kindest, most open-minded and loving person she knew, just as she remembered him. Still, her determination to keep his future a secret prevented her from lashing out. She was prone to saying more than she intended, and she couldn’t risk her tongue spewing something that could hurt her family. A pained glare was the only response she gave him before turning and walking away. It was all she could afford.

Sesshomaru watched the Tenshi shrug and ascend into the sky, before he, himself, turned to follow after Kagome. Ah-Un lumbered after him obediently, with Rin still asleep on his back, unawares of the drama she just slept through.

Kagome left Bokuseno’s grove with silent tears, pointedly ignoring the supposed “angel” she left behind. Her father, that was not the same caring man that her mother one day would fall for. He must change a great deal in the next 500 years. They walked in silence for a long while, and still, she had yet to cease her anguish. Her sorrow, it was difficult for Sesshomaru to dismiss; it caused him unease even though she remained silent. It was not normal for her to be so withdrawn, “Why didn’t you inform him who you were to him?”

“The butterfly effect;” she told him with deflated voice, “the theory that something as small as the flap of a butterfly’s wings, can trigger a massive storm elsewhere. Who knows what would have happened if I told him; I couldn’t afford to change the timeline. It’s best for everyone if he doesn’t know.”

He understood her inner turmoil better than she knew. Her own father was more concerned with his own kind’s fate than his daughter’s emotional wellbeing. (Not that the Tenshi knew that he was her father, but his words had obviously cut her deep.) It was a situation he found all too much familiarity in.

The longer she stewed, the louder she mumbled to herself. He only caught parts of her incoherent rant, but was able to piece it together enough. She was struggling with the image of her father her mind cemented in her youth, opposed to how he behaved earlier this night. A line of thought so deep she had little sense left over. This was likely the reason she had not requested to stop and rest, even though it was dark enough that she was stumbling frequently.

It was inevitable; the darkness combined with her increasing distraction, it gave that upturned root all the opportunity it needed to catch her foot and send her tumbling to the ground. Kagome braced herself, arms covering her face in defeat of the pain to come and hoping the ground wasn’t too hard, when the harsh impact she was expecting never came. What did she just land on, it was soft, and tickled her bare arms, similar to- ‘Fur?’ she squinted in the darkness. ‘Did I land on an animal?’ There had been no cry of alarm, and the furry thing was, was coiling around her like a snake and lifting her back to her feet. There was only one furry, snake-like thing she had ever seen, and that was-

“You can allow this experience to break you,” Sesshomaru pushed through her confusion on multiple levels as his moko-moko smoothly lifted her to her feet, “or you can overcome your impediments and increase in strength.” Kagome looked into his glowing yellow eyes, really the only thing she could see clearly in this gloom, as she tried to analyze his words. It appeared to be his way of saying that there was no reason to dwell on what is, in regards to her father not being as kind as she remembered, when she already knew what would become of him. “Everyone has a past,” he continued once he had her attention, ‘Some more turbulent than others.’ “But it will only shape who you are, if allowed to.” He was right, she had been acting like this changed everything, but really it had little impact, unless she let it. “Will you allow this to change you?”

It was rhetorical, she knew that, but responded still, “No. I know who he is, even if he has yet to become that person.”

Sesshomaru’s light reflecting eyes caught her smile easily, “We will rest here for the night.”

---

“Do you really have to leave, Lady Kagome?” Rin pouted as they stopped just outside the village where Kagome’s pack waited.

“I will see you again, Rin,” Kagome reassured, kneeling down to her height. She had been pouring her attention onto the girl since she awoke, knowing Rin wanted her to stay and trying to distract herself. She felt a little uneasy after last night. Kagome could hardly believe Sesshomaru had willingly talked her out of her emotional torment last night. But that wasn’t the awkward part, not even close. For after giving his order to rest for the night, the furry thing, well, it didn’t let go of her. When she tried to tug her way out of it, Sesshomaru just looked at her questioningly, as if he couldn’t fathom why she wanted free. The awkwardness persisted until she realized he was just using it to keep her warm, but by then, her mind had run away with her thoughts and she had embarrassed herself thinking his intentions were less than honorable.

Shaking those thoughts away, she reluctantly slid her attention over to Sesshomaru after having said her good-byes with Rin, “Um, good-bye, Sesshomaru. I’ll, uh, I’ll be seeing you soon, I’m guessing?”

“That is what you require,” he recalled her additional, human needs. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy about the way he said that or not. Yes, she would see him again, but it seemed only because he had to, not because he wanted to… Yet the thought of not seeing him again, made her chest hurt. He had become a constant in her life, long before she even knew why. She would take his response with a grain of salt, for now. This had potential; she just needed to bring it out of him.

---

Inuyasha sniffed at the air. Kagome’s scent, and Sesshomaru’s, but not Sesshomaru himself; power, what felt much like, but not exactly the same as Sesshomaru’s was approaching along with the scents. These confounding details had Inuyasha darting back towards the village to figure out what was going on. He made it to the inn just before Kagome walked in with a cheery, “I’m back!”

He saw it immediately; its looming aura was impossible to miss, “What is that?”

Kagome looked over her shoulder to where Sanyumi rested. “Sesshomaru gave it to me,” she pulled it free to show off. “It’s called SanYumi.” By now, the rest of her companions had gathered as well.

“He gave you his fang?!” Inuyasha exclaimed. That was why it held the same scent and power as his brother.

“His fang?” Kagome repeated and looked back at the bow with a newfound appreciation. “That explains it.” She had been wondering how she suddenly knew how to use the weapon, and had attributed it to her training with Sango, but knew it was more than that. It was his knowledge, his instincts, his skilled expertise, all connected to her through the weapon made out of a part of him. That was how she knew what to do with it; it “talked” to her. “Wow,” she uttered out at the awe she felt. This weapon was far more than just a combination bow and sword; it was all the training she needed to use it too.

“So, Lady Kagome,” Miroku’s voice interrupted the silence. “Anything new with you and Sesshomaru?”

“Nothing happened!” she said a little too quickly, even if it was the truth. “He just, I mean, we, uh, there was, and well…” Kagome had no intention of telling them about her father, or last night’s awkwardness, that left one thing, “I talked to a tree.”
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To Protect the Alpha Female