Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

The More Things Change	By : inumom Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 2401 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

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Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine.

6. Another Path

The hanyou fled the young woman, heedless of the pain the slightest movement caused in his aching joints and the pull of her intoxicating scent. He had no choice--he had to get as far away from her as possible until his scent mark began to fade. After that, he could approach once again, and be no more of a threat than any other random monster.
After only a few hours of staggering through the forest he dropped to the leaf-covered ground, shivering with the agony of both the changes going on in his body and the separation from the woman he had grown to love--the one that his body recognized as his true mate. How, he wondered, could he ever have confused what he had felt for Kikyou with this searing pain that filled his heart?
He was so consumed with the agony in his body and heart that he never sensed the approach of the creature that had been watching from the shadows. A quick thrust of poison-filled claws into the side of his neck, and he knew nothing more.

*

Inuyasha opened his eyes to a strange room. Although he couldn�t accurately place his location, there was something vaguely familiar about his surroundings�something from long ago. Sniffing tentatively, he sprang to his feet, clutching at his aching head. This, he decided, couldn�t be good.
He already knew that there was no way he would be able to leave until the one who had placed him here came and let him out, so he curled up back in the comfortable bed to wait. His head was spinning with the aftereffects of the poison remaining in his system as well as the sudden knowledge of his whereabouts, and there was little he could do until his changing body eliminated the foreign material.
Despite the comfort of his surroundings, he could not rest. Something was missing, he decided--something he could no longer be comfortable without. In a moment of uncharacteristic honesty he admitted to himself that he missed the young miko: without her scent to soothe him, he was rapidly turning into a nervous wreck.
He grew more and more agitated by the moment, to the point that he nearly leaped out of his own skin when the door opened to admit a human child of perhaps thirteen years. Not really worried about frightening the girl, he snarled, �What the hell do you want?�
After living in this household for a number of years, there was little that the hanyou could do to scare this girl. �It�s time for dinner. I�ve been sent to bring you there.�
The large formal dining room was empty when they arrived. Sniffing delicately, he could tell from the approaching scents that the meal was going to be an unusual one: in addition to the usual foods to which he had become accustomed, there was a selection of uncooked wild game that nearly had him salivating. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since he had eaten last, and his hanyou metabolism had convinced him that he was starving.
As the foods were placed on the large table by a crew of servants, a silky voice spoke up from directly behind Inuyasha. �You should restrict yourself to the raw meats for a time--it will help with the process of changing your body into its permanent, adult form.�
Although he had known that the youkai was present in the area, he still turned and stared. �Sesshoumaru?!?�

*

Although the youkai�s advice helped somewhat, no amount of food, cooked or otherwise, could ease the hunger that had Inuyasha pacing like a caged animal within a matter of minutes after finishing the meal. Finally, Sesshoumaru could stand it no longer. �Sit down.� The normally expressionless voice was as close to irritated as he had permitted in a very long time.
The hanyou threw himself into a nearby chair, flecks of crimson showing in his amber eyes. �What the hell am I doing here, Sesshoumaru?�
The youkai paced across the large room, desperately wishing that he could be anywhere but there. �You are here,� he said, his voice regaining its usual frigid tone, �So that I might fulfill a commitment to our father.�
�What the hell is that supposed to mean?�
The youkai would really have rather done anything but have this conversation, but he had given his word, and in that the two half-brothers were very much alike. Sighing softly, he sank into a nearby seat, enormously glad that he had sent his personal servant to one of the smaller houses to prepare it for their arrival. �On the day you were born, Chichi-ue already knew that he was mortally wounded by Ryuukotsusei. Although he believed that his human mate should be allowed to raise you he feared for her safety and yours. You were already in trouble. Do you remember that resurrected human lord who was controlled by Chichi-ue�s third sword for a time? He had killed your mother just before our father arrived. He revived her with Tenseiga before giving you your name and giving her the fire rat robes to protect you both and facing him. Unfortunately, he had already been badly wounded, and the battle pulled the burning palace down on both of them. Before he left me to retrieve the pair of you he made me swear that I would help you to reach adulthood.�
The hanyou snorted with something that would have resembled amusement under any other circumstances. �Well, you�ve done a hell of a job so far. How many times have you tried to kill me?�
Sesshoumaru shook his head slowly. �Yes, I tried to kill you--just like you tried to kill that human girl who released you from your seal. Did you really think that you escaped with your life all those times due to your own efforts? Yes, I fought with you. Yes, I showed no mercy. Yes, I always stopped short of giving you a fatal wound. I did this because of the pledge I made to our father. Now,� he said, observing the expressions chasing each other across the face of his wild younger sibling, �You have entered seijuku, and it is time for me to fulfill the obligation I have assumed for your survival.�
Inuyasha shook his head slowly, not wanting to believe that his life-long enemy had actually been trying to help him all this time. �That doesn�t make any sense. You don�t give a rat�s ass about me because Oyaji polluted his youkai heritage by mating with a human. Why the hell would you bother trying to make me stronger?�
The elder inuyoukai rubbed at the marking on his forehead with long, elegant fingers. He hadn�t thought it possible, but this conversation was making his head pound. �I already told you: I made a commitment to Chichi-ue, and a youkai lord is nothing if he does not honor his word. Now,� he said, standing once again and looking for all the world like a teacher lecturing to a class, �Virtually nothing is known about hanyous in seijuku, but my studies have given me some clues about what we can expect. First of all, the process should be somewhat shorter than it is in true youkai--no more than a year, I would say. I can see that you are already experiencing some of the changes: your appearance has changed three times since we began this conversation. Were you not aware of this?�
The hanyou looked down at the exquisite carpet under his feet. �No,� he mumbled, looking up at the other with a kind of hope starting to grow in his eyes. �Can you make it stop?�
The youkai shook his head in something like mild regret. �No. Perhaps with some training you will learn to control the changes. Has anything else�unusual been happening?�
�Yeah. Sometimes I can her other people�s thoughts, and they can hear mine.�
Sesshoumaru paused in his almost endless circuits of the room. �Does this happen often?�
The hanyou shook his head. �No. It�s only happened a couple of times. At first we weren�t even sure if it was even really happening or not.�
That caught the youkai�s attention. �We? It doesn�t happen with everybody?�
�No! Just with Kagome.�
The taiyoukai was momentarily confused. �Kagome? You mean your mate?�
The wiry, lean form that had been perched on the edge of the chair seemed to sink in upon himself. �No. We never mated.�
Although he had no real interest in the hanyou�s sexual exploits (or lack of same), it seemed to Sesshoumaru that his sibling�s relationship with the young miko was a significant part of the misery he seemed to be experiencing. �Why not?�
The hanyou�s voice was a harsh growl. �Why the hell do you think? Look at me, baka!�
Sesshoumaru allowed the faintest trace of a smile to pass across his elegant features. �It is true that you aren�t exactly a vision of masculine beauty. Also, your personal grooming habits are not entirely appropriate to your station. As for your wardrobe, the less said about that, the better.�
�That�s not what I mean, asshole, and you know it!� In his agitation he leaped up from the chair, only to be pushed back into place by the youkai.
�We will address these deficiencies while you are with me. By the time we are finished, you will be a fit mate for your little miko.� Although the youkai lord seldom exhibited any strong emotions, he certainly experienced them. Perhaps the one he was most familiar with was regret. He was painfully aware that he had caused his younger sibling a great deal of pain over the course of his life in the name of ensuring his survival, but he knew of no other way to accomplish the task that had been set for him: as a hanyou, Inuyasha would always be a target of youkai and humans alike. The only chance for him to survive would be to make him stronger than he could have thought possible in as brief a time as he could.
�That�s not the problem, and you know it!�
�Then answer this. That woman that you entangled yourself with before--the one who sealed you--why did you not mate her? You were obviously quite close.�
The hanyou snorted. �A lot of reasons. I was way too young, for one thing. I thought I loved her, but I didn�t trust her completely--just like she didn�t trust me. She wanted to live with me, but only if I chose to become human permanently.� He shook his head, looking down at the richly woven carpet at his feet once more.
The taiyoukai was shocked. �You mean that she would only accept you if you became something that you weren�t? Perhaps it is just as well that things worked out as they did--she would not have made a suitable mate for you. Now,� he said, pacing across the floor once again, �What does your little miko think of your hanyou self?�
�She doesn�t give a damn one way or the other. As far as she�s concerned, I can be human, youkai, or hanyou, and as long as I�m myself, she doesn�t care. She likes me hanyou best.� The shrug didn�t begin to show the confusion the woman�s attitude toward his various forms caused in him.
Sesshoumaru turned to the door. �And what does this tell you about the two of them?�

*

It had been a long, sleepless night for the distressed hanyou. The constantly fluctuating hormone balance in his body combined with Sesshoumaru�s pointed questions to keep him awake and on edge, turning the information he had been given over and over in his mind. Despite the youkai�s suggestion that adequate sleep might make this transitional stage in his life go a bit easier, he gave up after only an hour or two. Although the room was spacious, with large windows that opened onto a wide balcony, it was claustrophobic to someone who had spent most of his life sleeping in the open air, often in the branches of a large tree. The luxurious bedding was much too soft and comfortable for his tastes.
Despite the unease created by his surroundings, it was his brother�s words that kept him awake and thinking about the tumultuous relationship he had developed with the young miko over the four years since they had met. Although his own feelings in the matter had become painfully clear in the past few weeks, he was not entirely sure whether or not he should approach the woman. What if she rejected him? What if she had only been staying with him because he could fight and she was safe in his presence? What if she had lied, like Kikyou?
He stopped his restless pacing around the room, dropping to the futon with his aching head in his hands. His concerns about the young woman were raising a whole new set of questions in his vivid imagination. What was she doing right now? She had almost certainly returned to her own world, to the friends and family she had been forced to leave behind so many times for the sake of their mission. A growl erupted deep in his chest as he recalled the stories she had told him about that friend of hers--what was his name? Hobo, Homo, something like that--who would never leave her alone. Was he with her now? Sesshoumaru had said that it could take several months before he regained enough control of his changing body to be able to avoid hurting any of his friends by accident--would she wait for him? Or, he thought miserably, would she move on with the kind of life women in her world took for granted, beginning a career and taking a mate chosen from the human males who would surely be flocking around her.
Finally, as the sun began to creep above the horizon, the youkai lord returned to the room that had obviously not been slept in. �Now,� he said, somehow managing to sound concerned and condescending at the same time, �It is time to begin your education in earnest.�
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The More Things Change