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Finding Kagome	By : MetsukiKaraTen Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 8806 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
DISCLAIMER::
I do not own InuYasha and company, they are the brain children of
Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own an overactive imagination. . .

Special
thanks to Sacred_Shaz, who is my inspiration and sometimes (when she
has the time) Beta. Without her support, this story would not have
happened.

I
love you forever Shaz, in all your incarnations.

Finding
Kagome

Chapter
38

Ricky
squinted at the battery of monitors on the wall, and slipped on a
pair of designer framed glasses. They did no good. In reality they
only made it worse. It was like trying to focus while underwater.
Whatever that girl had done, she didn't need them anymore. The
problem with the monitors was not due to her eyesight.

“What
the hell happened?” she demanded pulling off the spectacles
and moving in closer behind Ted . He frantically keyed in
adjustments to the data he was attempting to view on the editing room
monitors.

“Dunno,”
he muttered, casting a baffled glance back to her as they were
joined by a pair of interns. He keyed in yet another command to the
editing console, and there was a fluctuation on the screens. At
least now the chronometer had begun to work, flashing a rolling
sequence of numbers at the bottom. “It's like I have to
compensate for electro-magnetic interference of some kind. This isn't
any regular RF problem. I didn't see any security drones, anyway.
The data is here, I know it . . . see?” He pointed at shifting
frames on the screen. Not a significant enough improvement for use,
however a ghosting of images could be discerned among the digitized
scramble.

“Here,
let me try something,” suggested one of the interns, a young
looking girl with twin braids falling over her shoulders. Ricky
mused that she barely looked like she was out of high school, and
didn't hold much faith that she could remedy their dilemma. The girl
moved around the console, and as she tinkered with something in the
back, the screens fluctuated again several times.

“Bert,
be careful back there . . .” warned her counterpart, a male
with a military style buzz cut who didn't look much older. “If
the old man catches you, we're both in deep shit. . .”

“I
read about this last week . . .” came her alternately echoed
and muffled response, “this particular system has a fail safe
for that sort of thing, but you have to rig it up It's not automatic
. . . Just a sec . . .” Ricky raised a brow at Ted, who
shrugged in response.

“Oh
hell!! You're right! A counter for potential E.M. attacks . . . but
that's only for military operations, Bert,” he wiggled down
behind her, watching as she deftly rearranged cables.

“A
clause in the Congressional approval for the contract was to include
the capability in civilian broadcasting equipment . . .” she
backed up to examine her work, “just in case the military has
need to commandeer it.”

“Lovely
thought,” Ricky muttered under her breath.

“That
should do it, Teddy. You need to reboot the system for it to fully
integrate.” The girl stood up and brushed her jeans.

“Teddy?”
Ricky peered at her camera man, who was blushing
uncharacteristically.

“It
sure beats 'Tard',” he grumbled as he keyed in the reboot
sequence.

“You
really think this is going to work?” Folding her arms, Ricky
leaned back and watched the screen run through its lines of boot
data.

“Actually,
it should. . .” The voice behind them drew everyone's attention
to a mature man who was leaning on one arm against the doorway.
“That is IF it was E.M. interference.”

“Shit,”
the boy swallowed hard at their being discovered by the Senior
Editor.

“Relax
Ernest, you're not in trouble. Roberta, in the future I would
appreciate being informed prior to any modifications to the
equipment. Understood?” Head tilted down, his look of reprimand
brought a blush to the girls freckled cheeks.

“Yes
Sir. But in my defense, Mr. Dawson, I did kind of . . . um . . .
save the day . . . didn't I??” She asked hopefully.

“That
remains to be seen, young lady.” Dawson raised a brow, then
moved into the cramped room. “You two get back out in the
field. . .” He placed a hand on Ted's shoulder, then replaced
him on the stool he had been occupying. “I'll see what I can do
with this . . . any law enforcement drones or military craft around
at the time?”

“No!
That's what's so weird about it . . . nothing . . . hell, it was
practically dead out there. . .” Ted rubbed at his temple and
noted Ricky tossing her expensive pair of designer glasses into a
small trash can by the door.

“Don't
remind me,” she grumbled. “C'mon Teddy, let the
geeks fix it.” She glanced around at the odd assortment of
people who had wandered into the already tight room, and tugged on
the sleeve of his shirt.

“You'll
wanna be careful what you use from that,” he warned, “that
is if you get anything at all . . . He broke a field microphone, but
he did state in no uncertain terms that he refused the interview
before he did it.”

“Ted
. . . dammit!” Ricky hissed furiously.

“Hell
no . . . he told you 'no' and all you did is switch to the girl!”
he accused. He glared down at her expression which reflected his
own. “And she was none to pleased about being recorded, once
she realized I had a camera.”

Ricky
stiffened. She had received a gift from that girl, and knew she
should probably be grateful and leave it at that. And by the
disapproval in Ted's expression, that was how he was seeing things as
well. But she smelled a bigger story, one that could very well make
her career, and she couldn't let it go. She had to know that
Kagome's story. How Inudono fit into it was another mystery, and one
thing Ricky could not resist was a good mystery.

“Who
are we talking about?” Dawson had swiveled the stool around to
watch the pair telepathically joust. Had to be, since they seemed to
have stopped talking.

“Caleb
Inudono . . . he was out with his girlfriend on the pier and Ricky
pushed him,” Ted's condemning eyes never left her.

“Oh,
no . . . He has a girlfriend?” Roberta's disappointment was
evident, and when all those present turned to look at her she blushed
again.

“So
. . . neither of them consented to the interview, I take it.”
Dawson eyed the reporter, and scratched the side of his chin. Ted
shook his head. “Last thing we need is a law suit.”

“There
was no interview, Daws . . . Just a lot of swearing out of
Caleb and a broken mike. The girl tried to be nice about it, but in
the end she asked me not to 'show it'.” Ted reached for his
bag, and tapped the back of his hand on Ricky's upper arm.

“So
. . . before you go,” Dawson tapped in the sequence to search
through the clip, “Mind telling me why we went to all this
trouble? For something we can't use?”

“Oh
nice! What kind of bike is that, Ernie?” Piped Roberta, drawing
everyone's attention back to the screens. The image had improved
remarkably, and Dawson had set the clip to rewind from the end.

“Ducati
I think, Bert . . . Holy COW! He crushed that mike with just one
hand?? Just like a beer can!” smirked the boy.

Running backwards it looked as if the guy had drawn up the pieces
into his hand and then handed Ricky a pristine microphone, which was
followed shortly by a bright flash of light. The pair walked
backwards at high speed some distance to a bench then sat and wrapped
one another up into a passionate embrace and the camera pulled out
and panned left to a family walking backward up the sidewalk.

“What
the . . .” muttered the editor, playing the sequence forward at
standard speed. “Where's the damn audio??”

“There's
no more than 30 – 40 seconds of audio in the whole clip. If
that much. Like I said, a lot of swearing,” Ted responded.
“There's a couple of things I want to look at more closely
later, though. Bert?” He nodded toward the bank of monitors
and Roberta understood. It was his signal that he wanted his own
copy of the data. She nodded lightly in acknowledgment.

“There's
more to that girl than meets the eye,” Ricky ventured. “Give
Yolanda a clip of them walking together, let her break some hearts.
It's pretty obvious he's involved with her. Archive the rest . . .
there's a bigger story here, I know it.”

“Ok,
R.T., it's your gig,” Dawson waved at their retreating forms
without looking as he deftly maneuvered through the footage, looking
for the best frames to offer the About Town anchor. Glancing up, he
observed the oddly dreamy look on Roberta's face as she stared at a
stilled closeup of Inudono. She sighed.

Ernest
turned to see what the boss was looking at and rolled his eyes the
girl.

“What
the Hell is it that chicks see in that guy??” He asked. Dawson
only offered him a shrug and shake of his head in response.

~ooO0Ooo~

Selene
sat back on her bed, thumbing through the case files she had
surreptitiously 'borrowed', hoping that InuYasha and Kagome would
return soon. She had a few questions for him about some of the
stranger evidence that had been collected and photographed. Perhaps
his intimate knowledge of demon abilities and motivation would help
her to solve some of these mysteries.

Not
that anyone would ever believe that it was anything other than random
acts of human violence. Even she still had moments when she would
question the sanity of suspecting anything else.

This
had become personal, however. She needed to know . . . to
understand. . . for her own reasons. Her concern for Miranda's
safety had been growing with each new file. Just how did Kouga fit
in to all of this? InuYasha hated him and it seemed as though he
blamed Kouga for the whole of it, and more. That would imply that
Kouga was the one issuing the orders. Perhaps Kouga had experienced
a change of heart, since the activity had so significantly decreased.
Then again, maybe he had a more clear target than before . . . now
that he knew Kagome.

The
thought made her shudder.

Michael
had returned some time ago, and she could hear him tinkering off in
the kitchen. He had tried to call Ouna, and she had heard him leave
a message on her voice mail to return the call as soon as possible.
He was at least making an effort to make amends for his maliciousness
earlier. She had to give him credit for that much.

It
wasn't like him to show interest in cooking though, and the thought
still unsettled her. She had thought about overseeing his efforts,
just to make certain that her house wasn't inadvertently burned to
the ground in the process, but he had shooed her away citing that she
made him nervous.

'Tit
for tat, Monk,' she thought.
His little experiment in her kitchen was making her very nervous.

Opening
another case file, she noted the sound of Michael going into the
bathroom, then coming out and lingering in the hallway. This case
was a messier one than most, involving a find of dismembered limbs in
an alleyway near the docks. She steeled her nerves for the photos
she knew were included, and turned the page. The remains were noted
as being from a young female, and the D.N.A. signature was being
researched against the list of missing persons that had been
reported.

“My
dear Selene . . . I am going to get you a cat!” The abrupt
announcement came from just beyond her doorway, interrupting her
thoughts.

“What?
Why would I want a cat?” She muttered, examining the
rather gruesome scene photos. “I do have you, after all
. . .” she raised her brow and glanced at him standing in the
doorway, “that's enough 'cattiness' to deal with, don't you
think?”

She observed his jaw work for a moment, noting she had
scored a coup with the comment.

“Ok
. . . I had that coming,” he admitted. “However, my love
. . . I do not hunt mice as effectively as a true feline
would.”

“Tell
me you didn't just say . . . mice . . . as in rodent . . .”
He had her full attention now and she watched him nod sagely. The
idea was simply too foreign for her to consider seriously. “A
mouse would starve to death in this house!”

“Well, apparently not . . .” he seemed to
be watching down the hallway which was odd, and she closed the file
she had been reading. “Maybe Kagome has a stash of junk food in
her room,” he looked back at her. “She did have a bunch
of ramen in her bag at Ouna's . . .” He nodded toward
Kagome's door, “I can hear the thing rattling around in
there.”

“Oh good grief,” she mumbled, rising. “Did
you bother to look? Kagome's not the type to squirrel food away . .
.”

“The door's locked . . . go listen for
yourself,” he suggested, backing up as she brushed past him to
do just that.

Putting her ear to the door, she could hear an
asynchronous tapping just beyond. Trying the knob, she found it was
indeed locked, just as he had said.

“Hey, 'Gome! You in there?” She called
through the door, rapping loudly with her knuckles.

“The
bike is gone, Sally . . . The screen to that window is sitting
against the house,” Michael sighed with a hint of exasperation.
“They're not in there.”

“So what the hell is making that sound??”
She demanded.

“I already told you! A mouse!” He insisted,
shrugging with his hands out for emphasis.

“No
way . . .” she glared at him, fists on her hips. There
couldn't be a mouse in her house.

Shaking her head in denial, she darted to the kitchen
to search the junk drawer for the emergency key. It was more like an
Allen wrench and never having used the thing before, it took several
minutes of her dragging her fingers through useless odds and ends
before finally finding it.

Rejoining him at the door, she held the key up in
triumph.

“What ever you do, don't let it out of there,”
Michael warned her. “We'll catch it and let it go outside.”

“I'll buy a damn trap, to hell with catching it!”
She growled. He was really starting to sound like a Buddhist.

“Poor little, defenseless mouse . . .” he
mumbled with a smirk, which drew a warning glare up from her as she
worked the lock.

Opening the door just a crack, Selene chanced a quick
scan around the room for any signs of movement. The tapping had
stopped, and it was difficult to discern exactly where it had been
coming from. Slipping into the room, she was immediately followed by
Michael, who then shut the door behind them to prevent escape of the
culprit.

All was quiet in the sparsely furnished room, and
Selene immediately went to the nearly empty closet and pulled the
doors open, carefully checking the dark corners.

Michael gingerly pulled at the edges of the bedspread
and on not seeing any movement he lowered himself to look under the
bed. The lack of available light brought him to push himself deeper
under to check the dark shadows of the corners.

“Nothing here . . . I know that it wasn't my
imagination,” she muttered as she closed the closet doors and
proceeded to check the floorboards for possible sites of entry.

“No, we both heard it,” his voice muffled
from under the bed. “It's in here . . . somewhere . . .”

“Any of your little scraps of rice paper ward off
unwanted pests?” Selene asked, only half joking as she started
opening dresser drawers to check inside.

“Hell no . . . or I would have used one of them
on Inudono . . .” he grumbled, edging his way out from under
the bed. He swallowed, and hesitated a moment from pulling himself
completely out, uncertain as to what awaited him in her response to
his offhanded comment.

“What's this?? I've never seen these before,”
Selene fingered the scarlet fabric she found folded in the drawer.
“This isn't Kagome's . . .”

Sighing in relief, Michael drew further out.
“If
it's red, it's Caleb's pajamas,” he offered, just as the
tapping began again, accompanied by a low vibration right above him.
Startled, he jumped and slammed the back of his head against the bed
frame. “OW!”

“Serves you right,” she deadpanned as she
closed the drawer then stepped over his legs to investigate. “Here's
your 'mouse', Monk . . .” She held down a palm sized electronic
device which she had discovered vibrating on the bed stand.

“What the hell is that thing?” He demanded,
sitting on the floor at her feet, rubbing the back of his head with a
scowl.

“Not sure, kinda looks like a phone,” she
pressed a rather large button on the front and the vibration stopped.
“No . . . a palm pilot maybe? It's different though . . .”

“Oh, yeah. Kagome was looking at it last night
and he grabbed it back from her,” he commented, watching her
turn the thing around in her hand.

Flipping a hinged back panel, she discovered a
miniature keypad and screen, which immediately on being fully opened,
flickered to life. Projected on the screen was a live video feed of
none other than Seth Inudono in all his arrogant splendor.

Selene swallowed audibly, then dropped onto the bed and
forced a smile, unsure if it was a two way connection or not. She
considered closing the thing and putting it back. Just pretend it
never happened.

She watched him as he slowly blinked, his eyes rolling
slightly up under his lids as he did so. She glanced around the
unit, wondering where the speakers and microphone were hidden. . .
or a camera for that matter.

“Officer . . .” She heard him say, so there
were speakers somewhere, “You are in possession of my brother's
phone . . .”

“mmhmm,” she hummed in nervous response,
finding herself slightly tongue tied and still trying to figure the
thing out.

“And, may I ask . . . just where is my brother?”
Even though those eyes were on a tiny screen, she could feel them
piercing through her.

“Oh hell,” Michael moaned. “Gods,
Sally . . . Don't piss him off,” he hissed from the floor as
he rose to his knees beside her.

“Too late for that . . .” The eyes flashed
on hearing the comment. “Where is he??”

“Uh . . .” Selene answered stupidly then
glanced at the window and back at the screen. “He went out . .
. With Kagome!” She offered him another smile and a brisk nod,
to see him do another eye rolled blink in response. It was pretty
obvious to her he was not pleased.

“Do you have an estimated time of return for them
. . . Sally, is it?” He inquired, and at her nod there was
very slight warming of his expression. “My brother has spoken
of you most kindly.”

“I think soon, it's been several hours since they
left . . .” She glanced at Michael, who had moved down to the
floor again and was now examining InuYasha's sword which had been
propped against the wall. She waggled her hand, and frowned shaking
her head at him. “Can I give InuYasha a message for you?”

She could feel the Demon's scrutiny again, and it made
her skin crawl.

“You use that name . . .” He paused a
moment, “Why?”

“That's his name, isn't it?” She raised her
chin. True, he had never told anyone specifically that his name was
anything other than Caleb. “I know his I.D. says Caleb, but I
. . . I knew who he really was even before Kagome figured it out, at
least consciously.”

“Ask him how he does that trick with the sword .
. .” prompted Michael, who was busy examining the hilt for the
hidden buttons he knew must be there. He shook the sheathed weapon,
then pulled the rusted blade out and swung it around in the air with
a perplexed look on his face.

“If that is Mr. Andrews. . .” at Selene's
nod he continued, “you would be well advised to not handle
Tetsusaiga. It is not a . . . toy. Only InuYasha can command that
sword.”

With that said, Selene gave Michael one of her patented
'you will surely die a thousand painful deaths' looks, and he
froze, still holding the katana out and away from him. Blushing, he
hunched his shoulders and responded with his pleading 'surely my
dear, I meant no harm' expressions as he sheathed it again. Post
haste, he put the sword back where he found it and rubbed his hands
nervously on his shirt.

“I will make sure he gets your message, Mr.
Inudono. . .” she prompted.

There was yet another moment of silence, and she
watched the miniature Demon on the screen. He was so still that she
wondered if the connection had been broken, or if there was a problem
with delay in the signal.

“Tell him . . .” he arched a brow at her,
and his tone was stern, “that I have need to speak with him
immediately on his return. It is . . . important.”

The screen suddenly went black, before a list of
options appeared. Michael leaned over and noted that the call had
been ended.

“Not much for formalities, is he? Not even a
good-bye, or thank you,” he observed glumly.

“Wow,
this thing is amazing!” she exclaimed as she ran over the list.
“Sat. Radio, T.V., G.P.S., Voice or Video Communications . . .
DAMN!”

“You
just got through talking to one of the wealthiest people in the
country, and a Demon no less, and you're all aflutter over the
damn phone??” Michael stared at her with disbelief. Both of
them raised their heads to the sound of an approaching motorcycle.

“Tell me you took the ward off the door, Monk. .
.” she lowered her head and eyed him, as she closed the hinged
back of the unit.

“Uh . . .” He rose from the floor, “Ok
. . . I took the ward off the door . . .” he offered her his
best boyishly sweet smile, then darted out of the room to dismantle
the ward, agilely dodging the tossed pillow that followed him.

Setting the device back on the end table where she had
found it, Selene sniffed lightly at a disturbingly familiar aroma
emanating from the direction of her kitchen.

Something was burning . . . and it sure as hell better
not be her house!

~oo0O0oo~

After abruptly disconnecting the call, Sesshoumaru
silently chastised himself for being rude to the nice police officer.
However, it had taken an extraordinary amount of focus and
concentration to remain placid during their short conversation, and
he truly did not wish to inadvertently vent his fury on the innocent
woman.

It was not her fault that InuYasha tended to be a
bonehead.

What the Hell was InuYasha thinking, to leave
Tetsusaiga in the care of that fatuous clod, Andrews?

'Ask
him how he does that trick with the sword,' echoed
in his mind.

The very idea!! He imagined the fool had been looking
for hidden buttons or triggers. The list of reprimands he had been
keeping mentally for his brother was growing longer by the minute.

It had been nearly 24 hours since his last contact
with his wayward sibling. Inwardly he fought with the old cliché
'No news is good news', but knowing InuYasha it was a certainty
that would not be the case.

Damn him.

“Another delivery for the young lord,
Sesshoumaru-sama,” announced Timothy from the door way to his
study.

“Does it never stop?” Sesshoumaru eyed the
clock on his desk. So late on a Sunday evening and still the
deliveries came.

He mentally kicked himself for ever even considering
taking InuYasha to the opera. Between that, and the hint of his
recovery from an illness in the newspaper article, every posturing,
conniving, husband seeking, ass kissing member of local society
seemed to have a need to send greetings or gifts. At first the
arrival of the gifts and messages had been a trickle, no more. Now
the library had become a mail room of sorts, with literal stacks of
packages and envelopes.

It was a marvel that the summons from the
Intercontinental Council hadn't been lost in the fray. They would
need to leave in two days to arrive at the session in time, and he
had yet to tell Kagura of his impending departure, let alone InuYasha
who was expected to attend as well.

“It seems your brother has many well-wishers, my
Lord,” came Timothy's funereal response. “I believe you
will want to see this one for yourself, Sir.”

“Hn,” the Demon grunted inappreciatively.
“Just place it with the other things in library, Timothy.”
He waved to dismiss him, but the man remained steadfast, eliciting a
raised eyebrow from Sesshoumaru.

“I do not recommend placement of this gift in the
library, my Lord. The results could prove disastrous.”
Without further ado, Timothy retrieved a rather large looking crate
from the hallway and set it inside the study.

Sesshoumaru rose from his desk, eyes never leaving the
resin case, which looked suspiciously like a traveling kennel.
Someone sent livestock? Who would be so stupid?

“Where is the card?” He asked his
attendant.

“There was no card, my Lord. However, there are
a number of other items.” Timothy motioned toward the hallway,
where upon investigation Sesshoumaru found a rather daunting stack of
assorted boxes.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Kagura from down the
hall as she approached the study. “Someone's birthday?”

“Hardly.” The Demon responded drolly.
Turning to Timothy, he issued his edict, “Have these removed to
the library, leave the crate where it is.”

“Crate?” Kagura breezed past him into the
study. “OH!! He's adorable!”

Following her in, he found her cuddling a squirming
white puff of fur. The tail was going wildly, as he watched his mate
coo and snuggle the little beast.

“It's . . . a dog,” he observed belatedly.

“He's precious! Is he for me??” she asked
hopefully, lifting the puppy up and touching noses with it. “You
really shouldn't have!”

“That's good . . .” he nodded his head with
undisguised amusement at the way she was making over the little ball
of fur. “Because I didn't.”

“Oh.” He watched her exuberance decline for
a moment. “Well, he's still adorable . . . Who does he belong
to?” She cradled the puppy, then dropped to sit in a chair,
stroking it.

“It
would be my assumption that it belongs to InuYasha,” he
replied. “But from whom I do not know. The question is, what
to do with the little beast until my brother deems a call home worthy
of his time.”

“He's not a beast, Sesshoumaru!! He's a baby, and
obviously very hungry for attention . . .” she raised the puppy
to eye level and cooed, “aren't you, sweetie?” She looked
over at her vexed mate, then grinned wickedly. “He's made the
news again, or so I heard . . . something about breaking hearts,”
She chuckled. “Bonnie in the kitchen said they had footage of
him walking hand in hand on the wharf with a girl.”

“Kagome, no doubt.” Sesshoumaru allowed
himself a sigh. “I really do need to get it through his thick
skull how important it is to not put himself in that position.”

“Oh, Sesshoumaru, what harm has he done? He's
simply courting his intended mate, ne? It doesn't matter what the
masses think . . .” She hugged the puppy.

“Too much scrutiny by the press always leads to
complications, that is an inevitability that can be counted
on . . .” He moved to the window, and watched toward the gates
in hopes of seeing the red motorcycle.

“Well,
just who was it that started the presses?? You were the one
who dragged him out into the public eye in the first place!!”
She watched his back stiffen, her amusement at his reaction
unchecked.

“Remember your place, woman . . .” he
growled, immediately regretting it.

“Oh, excuse me!” she chortled. “Would
that be underneath your bejeweled foot, my Lord??”

“I fail to find the humor in this,” he
turned and fixed her with a warning glare.

“Of course you do, dear . . . humor has never
been your forte,” she acknowledged helpfully, dropping the
puppy to the floor. “Oh, good grief! Would you just relax?”

“Your irreverent attitude is making that
impossible!” He hissed at her uncharacteristically. “This
Sesshoumaru has to answer for any and all indiscretions.”

“Oh, get over yourself.” She joined him at
the window and deftly began massaging his shoulders. “You'd
think the weight of the world rested on these.”

He couldn't help the low moan that escaped with her
unexpected attentions. The woman knew exactly how to push his
buttons, both pleasant and not so pleasant. Turning, he pulled her
into an embrace. He had to tell her about the summons, but was
unsure how to do so.

“I like this spot much better than under your
bejeweled foot,” she grinned into his chest. “Just
because I let you mark me, doesn't mean you get to wipe your feet on
me, you know.”

“You 'let' me mark you, huh?” There was
just something wrong about that. He would have to think on a proper
response when his mind wasn't so preoccupied. He nuzzled her neck
and tried to let go of his apprehensions regarding his brother, and
the impending inquisition by the Council.

“What is it?” she asked simply, pulling
away to meet his golden gaze. “What aren't you telling me?”

He should have known better. Now that they were
finally bonded as mates, he would not be able to hide behind his mask
of indifference. Not that he had had much success at doing so prior
to that. Even before, she had learned to read his moods better than
anyone else, which had been both a blessing and a curse.

He searched her scarlet eyes for several moments,
noting the concern as it grew in them.

“There is an emergency session of the Council
convening in three days. Both I and InuYasha have been summoned.”
There, it was out. He braced himself for the impending windstorm.

Kagura studied his eyes for several moments, then her
eyes narrowed on him.

“If what you suspect is true . . . Surely you
aren't expecting InuYasha to leave that poor girl unprotected?”
Her tone approached accusatory.

This was not the response he had expected. What he had
expected was outrage that he, her mate, was being abducted by the
Councilors for an undisclosed period of time. Or a plea to be
allowed to, at the very least, travel with him. Frustrated stomping
of feet that her new mate would have to be gone, away from her.
Tears and pleading that he try to get out of the obligation. No.
None of that. Definitely not what he had expected at all. Instead
it appeared that she was blaming the summons having come at all on
him.

As he considered an appropriate response, movement
pulled his eyes past his mate, and to his utter dismay he witnessed
the thus far unnamed beast that she had been coddling, squat and
produce a dark stain spreading on his antique Persian rug.

All in all, it had not been a good day. Sesshoumaru
could only wonder what more could go wrong.

~oo0O0oo~
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Finding Kagome