InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mating Season ❯ Over the river and through the woods… ( Chapter 37 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: SplendentGoddess 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.12.2006 | Updated On: 07.26.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 13.2K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.12.2006 | Updated On: 07.26.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 13.2K | Status: Completed
Blanket Disclaimer:
Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.
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Chap ter 37 - Over the river and through the woods…
Something else Kagome had discovered she was going to miss from her time was Tylenol. It had certainly come in handy on many occasions, most of which had involved blood shed until only recently. Recently as in Sunday afternoon, when the aftereffects of their activities from that morning had started to creep up on her. Unfortunately, Tylenol has a shelf life, so she wouldn’t be able to stock up on five centuries worth of the drug. She would, in that case, need to get used to the more readily available methods the time period had to offer when it came to soothing aches and pains. Soaking in the local hot spring, being one of them. She had used the excuse of wanting to catch up with her girlfriend to stay in the pool with Sango a little longer than they usually soaked, taking advantage of the heated water as it calmed her protesting muscles. When Sango’d caught her small wince of pain upon first settling herself into the steaming pool, she’d asked her friend in genuine concern if she was all right, but Kagome merely shrugged it off, shaking her hand about aimlessly, as she stated she was fine, merely sore. Sango blushed and didn’t breech the subject further.
Thanks to her youkai metabolism, Kagome was already back to her ol’ self by the time finals came around the following day. One side effect of the bonding she found, though she wasn’t sure she should call it that, was that the youkai blood within her system also increased her memory. She was able to recall all she had studied, even though she hadn’t re-flipped through her textbooks once in the last five days. She didn’t know if she’d aced her tests or not, for she wouldn’t get the results until she went back for more finals in two weeks, however she was fairly confident that she’d get a rather high mark.
Coming back home to the feudal era Monday evening after she got out of school, the couple was accompanied through the well by Kagome’s yellow backpack. Ol’ Faithful, as she jokingly referred to it. She didn’t waste space packing extra changes of clothing, save for undergarments, nor did she weigh the thing down with unnecessary textbooks. It was stuffed to the brim with things like medicines, bandages, ramen (may as well while it was still accessible), tools and other necessities of various shapes and sizes.
Staying the night in their hut again before heading out Tuesday morning, that time, little Shippo did stay with them. Kagome insisted that one, she wanted to cuddle with her son, whom she hadn’t cuddled with in she couldn’t even remember how long (and that was saying something with her enhanced memory) and two, she also insisted that they needed to keep “focused” and not “distract” themselves Tuesday morning, and Shippo’s presence would prove the catalyst necessary to prevent such activities. Inuyasha had merely smirked at her when she’d begun speaking in the plural, reminding her “Don’t look at me, you’re the one who took matters into your own *cough* “hands” …that morning.” For the first time in a long time, Inuyasha saw the blush rise up his mate’s face with the intensity of a thermometer, and it was only thanks to his demonic hearing that he picked up her mumble of “Feh.” He laughed.
The morning they were due to depart for the Western Lands, Inuyasha discovered a small hitch in their plans. He’d been under the impression that it would just be him and Kagome, but after spending the night snuggled up with her little kitsune, she was having a mild postpartum-like depression over the idea of leaving him behind yet again.
It didn’t help matters when Shippo picked up on his adoptive mother’s inner desire that he accompany them, and asked rather point blankly if he could go with them.
“I dunno runt, this is matters of the Western Lands, you’d find it awful boring.” Inuyasha tried to discourage as they prepared to leave.
“But I haven’t see you guys in forever!” he cried, accentuating what Kagome herself was feeling.
“Oh Shippo…” she sighed. Looking up at Inuyasha she said “He does have a point, we’ve been gone an awful lot lately.”
Her eyes said what her words did not. I miss my son!
Then she whimpered the inu for please.
Turning to Shippo, as if he were the one who had whimpered and not his mate, he sighed and said “Keh, fine you can go, but you’ll have to behave.”
“I can behave!” he promised.
“No, we’re serious Shippo, you really do have to be on your best behavior.” Kagome said next. Though she wanted Shippo to travel with them, she suddenly worried that it might really not be the best of ideas, considering where they were going.
Shippo looked a little worried, sensing his mother’s sudden change in attitude.
“Better than your best…” Inuyasha added, picking up after what Kagome had said. “No running, no jumping, no talking unless spoken to first, you got that?”
His head drooped more, but softly he said “Yeah.”
“You’ve seen how that little girl acts around Sesshoumaru, haven’t you Shippo?” Kagome asked, reminding him of the human child Rin whom he’d seen on at least a few occasions.
“Yeah, she’s very quiet, and asks her Lord for permission before she does anything, even eat.”
“Try to act like her, squirt,” Inuyasha added next, “and I think you’ll do just fine.”
“I can. You’ll see, you guys will be proud of me.”
“I hope so,” Inuyasha said next, “cause you don’t want to get on Sesshoumaru’s bad side, trust me.”
Shippo gulped.
“Just stay by my side Shippo.” Kagome said softly
“I will Mama…”
That said, the three joined their friends for a quick breakfast before they were off.
“How far away is the Western Lands?” Kagome asked Inuyasha. She was sure she recalled that their group had been in the territory before, but that was while they were out wandering all over everywhere, and so she’d kind of lost her barring on an exact distance between their village and Sesshoumaru’s domain.
“If I ran at my top speed, non-stop, I could get us there in about five hours.” he answered.
“Oh, but you don’t have to exert yourself-” He cut her off with the gentle raise of his hand.
“I’ll be running us, but we’ll stop for breaks. We really shouldn’t delay any more than necessary. He has already been kept waiting, after all, and Sesshoumaru waits for no one.”
That said, Inuyasha knelt down, and allowed Kagome to climb up onto his back. Though she was heavier than normal, what with that gargantuan monstrosity currently strapped to her back, alone with her quiver, he hardly noticed the difference. To him, she was still light as a feather. Even the added weight of Shippo meant nothing, but he was concerned for the kit’s security, so he waited until both Kagome and Shippo said aloud that they were ready and secure. Then he took off.
He ran for a good two hours before stopping for lunch at the bank of a rather large river. Unfortunately, that particular spot of river contained no fish, which they had previously been aware of, hence the ramen Kagome was now preparing. Inuyasha smirked at the amount of supplies tumbling out of her backpack as she dug for her cooking pot. Though they would be reaching the Western Lands by that night, it was true that you could never be too careful, especially out there in the middle of nowhere. Of course he believed her medical supplies would not become necessary, and she hoped so as well, but better safe than sorry, they all supposed.
Nothing ill befell them as they packed up their brief camp, put out their fire, then trudged upstream until the river reached a point thin enough that Inuyasha could leap them all across without the need for anyone getting wet. But once they touched down on the other side of the river, a small churning in the water got everyone’s attention. The “thing” that emerged proclaiming it sensed and wanted the jewel was so weak that Shippo didn’t even cower in fear as Inuyasha sliced the youkai down without bothering to draw his sword. As far as all were concerned, such an encounter didn’t even count as a real “incident” and securing themselves back upon Inuyasha’s back, they took off again, sailing across the top of the thick forest that flew past them below their feet, as Inuyasha effortlessly leapt among the highest branches.
Several hours and a few light meal and potty breaks later, the small group found themselves approaching the boarder of Sesshoumaru’s home as the evening drew to a close. While Kagome knew that she and the others had all traveled within the border of the Western Lands before, they had, in truth, never breeched Sesshoumaru’s more private property. They were now approaching his personal dwelling, and though she tried to suppress it, she was a little nervous.
Coming to a stop, Inuyasha rose upright slowly, to allow his riders time to dismount without slipping. He was experiencing rather mixed emotions at being there in that place, but glancing sideways at his mate, he found he couldn’t help it, her expression made him smile.
Kagome honestly hadn’t known what to expect, but what she saw certainly wasn’t it. For starters, the entire castle was surrounded by a giant block wall. In fact, giant wasn’t exactly the right word, more like ginormous. Gazing up at it as they approached, she couldn’t help but think that it put China’s “Great Wall” to shame, and in fact, she was fairly convinced that those architects had stolen the plans from whoever had built this one.
Walking up to the huge gate that rested itself quite splendidly between two meticulously carved inu statues, Kagome gaped in awe, unsure of exactly which sensation she was experiencing in dominance to the others. Part of her felt pride, for this was her mate’s father’s realm, and in truth, his realm as well, whether or not he chose to embrace that fact being irrelevant at the moment. She was also humbled, feeling for the first time that she, a mere human, may not measure up in the higher of youkai society, and the fact that she was a spiritually powerful human, a miko, was likely a mark against her as far as they were concerned. She didn’t want to, and she tried desperately to ignore it, but a part of her also felt fear, though an exact fear of what she couldn’t be sure. She knew they were invited here (or at least Inuyasha was) at the direct request of Lord Sesshoumaru himself, and she also knew that she was safe, or at least relatively so, with her demonic miko garb, and her quiver of sacred arrows. Even if she were helpless, she knew that Inuyasha would never let anything happen to her, but the fact of the matter was that she was not helpless, but rather, far from it, as she found herself clinching Shippo’s hand a little tighter, offering him a small sense of her own protection. Inuyasha wouldn’t let anything ever happen to her, and she, in turn, would never let anything ever happen to Shippo.
At the sight of the giant doors slowly opening, seemingly of their own accord, she wasn’t sure what to expect next. Part of her envisioned hordes upon hordes of Orcs emerging, marching slowly across the countryside, while another part of her half expected the gateway to remain empty as they passed through, with bolts of energy threatening to escape the eyes of those giant stone guardians should her heart contain even the smallest sliver of doubt.
“You okay?” she suddenly heard whispered from the man at her side, and it brought her back into reality, at least for the moment.
“Yeah…” she answered absently, while nodding, and then looking down at Shippo, asked him in turn “Ready?”
Shippo merely nodded his answer as well, sensing all of the emotions both of his parents were experiencing, as well as all of his own, which consisted mostly of general apprehension at being at such a high end estate. He was used to romping about in their village, but he’d show them, he’d make them proud. He was a prankster by nature, it was in the genes of his youkai to wreck havoc, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to behave.
Inuyasha saw how Kagome was holding Shippo’s hand and it made him smile. So far, the kit had behaved like a perfect gentleman, but they weren’t within the gates yet. Hell, if Shippo could do it, then he could do it, right? Sighing to himself, he reached across and gently took his mate’s other hand, as the three of them passed through the gates that had once again recognized him for who he was.
***Flashback***
Little six year old Inuyasha ran, he ran as fast as his little six year old legs could carry him, which, considering he was hanyou, was actually pretty fast. Tears blurred his vision, as he tried desperately to focus on the forest in front of him, and not the haunting images that refused to leave the forefront of his mind…
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His mother had been sick before, he had been sick before, but it was never anything like this. He made the liver potion just like she’d shown him, and she’d even drank it and thanked him, but it didn’t help…nothing helped. Some people tried to help her, some were obligated, as servants in the house, but others who had the option, opted to refuse their aid. Her status meant nothing to those who believed her a traitor to her species. He heard them whispering amongst themselves, that her sickness was the price she paid for birthing a hanyou child. That wasn’t true, his mother’s servants had told him. He wasn’t the cause, they had assured him. But when he’d asked, through clouded, teary vision, who it was he would now be staying with, they, too, had shown him their backs. The Lord had initially allowed his daughter’s offspring to stay in the town, despite the protests his decision had caused. Facing risk of being overthrown if a mob were formed as a result, he did expel the hanyou from the main house, boarding him in a small shack once used for servants, which was currently empty.
Empty was how he soon began to think of his life; nobody to feed him, nobody to clothe him, nobody to comfort him when he was scared or when he was human. Occasionally somebody would throw a scrap of food his way, as if he were truly a dog, but more often than not he was simply ignored, left to fend for himself, as if he did not exist, which became clear was what they all wished. The one time he made the mistake of calling the Lord “Ojii-sama” he had been beaten, and told quite bluntly that he had no family, and would not be referring to any of his mother’s family as such. Being tired of getting chased from the kitchens and after being reprimanded for attempting to steal a fowl from their livestock, he turned to hunting in the neighboring woods for his meals, and unable to make a fire, he ate his catches raw. The sight of blood on his claws and fangs ended up frightening enough of the humans to the point of throwing stones if he got too close, and for all intents and purposes, he no longer lived within the town after that. For nearly a month he spent his entire days out in the trees, only returning to his old shack and his old futon to sleep, until the day he had run into the village smelling smoke, to discover that said shack had “mysteriously” caught fire and was in the middle of burning down. That day, he showed the townspeople his back.
Out of options, he headed towards his father’s lands. He had never been there, of course, and only knew what his mother had told him. He had an older half-brother, Sesshoumaru, who was now the Western Lord since their father had passed. Surely he would take him in, right? Inuyasha knew he was hanyou, and thanks to the villagers, he knew what that meant, but still, Sesshoumaru was his brother…or so he had thought.
Approaching the giant gates, he felt an odd sense of calm come over him, as if it were in fact here that he belonged, and not with the humans, though he would always love his mother. When the gates opened, with nobody to greet him on the other side, he realized that it was in fact the gates themselves that had opened for him. Walking inside, head held high, yet senses on alert for threats, it wasn’t long before he found himself surrounded by youkai guards, most of them inu, like himself, though none of them looked like him. None of them had dog-ears on their heads, but rather, they all had pointed elfin ears right where normal human ears would go. They all had stripes and/or other markings on their faces, as well as varying unnatural hair colors, but that also didn’t seem to surprise or bother him. He was amongst youkai. He was amongst his own kind.
“I am Inuyasha.” he said, as proudly as he knew how.
“Oh we know who you are.” one of them smirked, and it was then that he began to feel apprehension.
The small group of youkai that had surrounded him parted when a new presence made its way out onto the field. This inu-youkai was not unlike the others in many ways. He had facial markings, stripes and a crescent moon, Inuyasha noted, and he had pointed ears and clawed hands. But in one way he was very different from the guards, and very much like himself. With the exception of Inuyasha, this other inu was the only one to have silver hair. He was the only kishu.
“What is the meaning of this?” he stated coldly, and Inuyasha couldn’t be sure if he was referring to his current presence, or his very existence.
Without having to ask, his nose, even as young and inexperienced as it was, told him instantly who this youkai was. Unthinkingly, be bowed, it seeming like the right thing to do at the time, then, hesitantly, he spoke.
“My Lord…” he started, and Sesshoumaru raised an elegant eyebrow, “My mother’s mortality has failed her, and I have no other human family…” He had paused merely to build his courage, preparing to ask what he was about to, however the question never left his lips, when he heard Sesshoumaru state rather bluntly…
“You have no youkai family either.” and with that, he turned, preparing to walk back into the castle.
Inuyasha ran after him in that moment, and grabbed hold of the back of his robes, in retrospect, not the best move. “Brother please!” he sobbed, but his tears ran dry the instant Sesshoumaru’s expression registered in his brain.
“You will not presume to familiarize yourself with This Sesshoumaru, hanyou filth. You are a disgrace, an abomination that never should have existed, and a stain in the Inu no Taishio bloodline.”
Inuyasha released his brother’s robes, sniffling, wanting to argue, wanting to yell out that it wasn’t his fault he was born, but he stilled his tongue when he heard Sesshoumaru continue.
“You are not worthy of the grounds you stand upon. This Sesshoumaru will not belittle his status by dirtying his hands with your filth. You are neither worth saving, nor disposing of. Be gone half-breed and let nature take its course.”
With that, he turned again, and left. The other inu, as well as other youkai species that were present, all snickered and laughed amongst themselves, before also turning their backs, heading back over toward whatever was their current duty prior to his interruption.
They’d expelled him from the pack, just as the humans had.
Trying desperately not to cry, he turned, and headed through the gates that were still open, as if simply waiting for him to pass through, closing behind him once he had finally exited. He never felt so alone, and was to the point of contemplating exactly what Sesshoumaru had said, letting nature “take its course” with his death. How could he possibly survive out here on his own?
Then he heard it, the fierce piercing growl of something rather formidable, he imagined, approaching him slowly from behind. Turning, he saw what appeared to be a set of glowing red eyes, but he never allowed the time necessary to register exactly what it was those eyes were connected to, before he bolted.
He ran, running as fast as his little six year old legs could carry him. Tears blurred his vision, as he tried desperately to focus on the forest in front of him, and not the haunting images that refused to leave the forefront of his mind. He didn’t care what the humans said, he didn’t care what his brother said, he was not a monster, and he was not unworthy of life! In that moment, he decided that he very much so desired to remain living, as he ran from the lower youkai that chased him, which desired very much so to make him its dinner.
And that’s when he heard it….
“Master Inuyasha! Master Inuyasha!”
He had no time to contemplate where the small voice was coming from, or if he had in fact lost his mind, as the beast behind him was slowly gaining ground. But when the tiny flea youkai decided to land on his nose, he couldn’t help but be made at least partially aware of its existence as he continued to run.
“Master Inuyasha I have been looking all over for you!” it claimed.
“Well you found me so goodie for you…” he started to say rather sarcastically until something finally sunk in. “Master?”
“My most humble apologies my Lord. My name is Myouga, a loyal vassal of your father. It was his desire that I should look after you and teach you all you should know.”
“Well where the hell have you been?” he snapped, barely dodging the swipe of a clawed hand as the four-legged lower level tiger youkai continued to give chase.
“My apologies my Lord!” Myouga shouted, “My original orders were to wait until you were older, and arrive in the human town as your youkai tutor for the lessons the humans could not teach. It had only just been brought to my attention that Lady Izayoi has died.”
Inuyasha couldn’t remember the last time somebody, anybody, had referred to his mother with enough honor to call her “Lady Izayoi” without a sarcastic undertone, followed by ruthless whispers of distain. It was enough of a surprise to cause his footing to falter, and in that instant, he felt a searing pain run through his left side as the tiger’s claws made contact.
“Ahhh” he cried, holding his side, his own claws covered, for the first time, in his own blood.
“Master!” Myouga cried, “Throw your blood!” he yelled, even as he departed the child’s shoulder, for fear of being eaten along with the hanyou should the tiger prevail.
“Huh?” the hanyou child asked in utter confusion, preparing for death as he sensed the flea do just that, flee, as the tiger now approached slowly, licking its lips.
“Throw your blood!” Myouga’s voice ordered again, from the tree he now perched in, and out of options, little Inuyasha obeyed, flinging his blood covered hand in the tiger’s direction.
He was utterly, utterly amazed at what he saw. Blades appeared, seemingly made from his very blood, as they flew through the air towards the very surprised tiger youkai, succeeding in slicing said creature into several pieces.
“How is it…” he asked in astonishment, “…that I have this power?”
The cowardly vassal returned to the child’s shoulder now that the danger had passed.
“Hanyou or no,” he started, “You are a son of the Great Inu no Taisho, and his blood, the blood that flows through your own veins, is a very strong blood indeed.”
Inuyasha was lost in thought for a moment, before he distinctly heard the flea’s afterthought of “and also so tasty” as he began to drink from his neck. In annoyance, Inuyasha raised his hand up to slap the flea, and watched in mild amusement as the flattened youkai popped back into shape.
“Myouga was it?”
“Yes Master Inuyasha.”
“You’ll teach me all I need to know, about being inu?”
“Yes Master Inuyasha.”
“Let’s go then.” He got up, and hobbling slightly due to his injury, proceeded to head off into the unknown.
“Yes Master Inuyasha.”
***End Flashback***
“Master Inuyasha!”
He was pulled from his thoughts upon hearing his retainer greet them as they passed through onto castle lands.
“Master Inuyasha! You have arrived.” Myouga exclaimed as he proceeded to hop up onto his master’s nose and drink, before being flattened yet again.
“Keh, of course, I told you in three days, and I meant in three days.”
“Lord Sesshoumaru will be most pleased that you have arrived.”
Lord Sesshoumaru ‘most pleased’?? Shippo thought to himself with a disbelieving snicker, knowing to bite his tongue and mask his outward expression. They were not alone as he stretched his senses, but rather, he discovered that several youkai were currently staring at them. Then, one said youkai made his appearance known.
Inuyasha instantly recognized this inu, the star on his forehead, his autumn hair…this was the same shiba who had talked down to him before. The one who had stated that they knew who he was, the laughter in his eyes in that moment stating he found the whole thing quite amusing. Now, Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the man, who was rather short in stature. Not to the point of being a dwarf, but it was quite clear that someone tall, like Sesshoumaru, would easily tower over him, which if memory served, he did.
“Lord Inuyasha…” he greeted after only a moment’s hesitation, and what appeared to be mental preparation to prevent his voice from sounding disgusted by the title he’d just uttered. He then took in the presence of the human miko, who was clearly the half-breed’s mate, and the kitsune child, whose presence was a mystery, one he didn’t wish to solve, to be honest. “If you will follow me please.” he managed to mutter at a tone just above a snarl through gritted teeth.
Following the servant, the trio made their way into the castle.
Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.
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Chap ter 37 - Over the river and through the woods…
Something else Kagome had discovered she was going to miss from her time was Tylenol. It had certainly come in handy on many occasions, most of which had involved blood shed until only recently. Recently as in Sunday afternoon, when the aftereffects of their activities from that morning had started to creep up on her. Unfortunately, Tylenol has a shelf life, so she wouldn’t be able to stock up on five centuries worth of the drug. She would, in that case, need to get used to the more readily available methods the time period had to offer when it came to soothing aches and pains. Soaking in the local hot spring, being one of them. She had used the excuse of wanting to catch up with her girlfriend to stay in the pool with Sango a little longer than they usually soaked, taking advantage of the heated water as it calmed her protesting muscles. When Sango’d caught her small wince of pain upon first settling herself into the steaming pool, she’d asked her friend in genuine concern if she was all right, but Kagome merely shrugged it off, shaking her hand about aimlessly, as she stated she was fine, merely sore. Sango blushed and didn’t breech the subject further.
Thanks to her youkai metabolism, Kagome was already back to her ol’ self by the time finals came around the following day. One side effect of the bonding she found, though she wasn’t sure she should call it that, was that the youkai blood within her system also increased her memory. She was able to recall all she had studied, even though she hadn’t re-flipped through her textbooks once in the last five days. She didn’t know if she’d aced her tests or not, for she wouldn’t get the results until she went back for more finals in two weeks, however she was fairly confident that she’d get a rather high mark.
Coming back home to the feudal era Monday evening after she got out of school, the couple was accompanied through the well by Kagome’s yellow backpack. Ol’ Faithful, as she jokingly referred to it. She didn’t waste space packing extra changes of clothing, save for undergarments, nor did she weigh the thing down with unnecessary textbooks. It was stuffed to the brim with things like medicines, bandages, ramen (may as well while it was still accessible), tools and other necessities of various shapes and sizes.
Staying the night in their hut again before heading out Tuesday morning, that time, little Shippo did stay with them. Kagome insisted that one, she wanted to cuddle with her son, whom she hadn’t cuddled with in she couldn’t even remember how long (and that was saying something with her enhanced memory) and two, she also insisted that they needed to keep “focused” and not “distract” themselves Tuesday morning, and Shippo’s presence would prove the catalyst necessary to prevent such activities. Inuyasha had merely smirked at her when she’d begun speaking in the plural, reminding her “Don’t look at me, you’re the one who took matters into your own *cough* “hands” …that morning.” For the first time in a long time, Inuyasha saw the blush rise up his mate’s face with the intensity of a thermometer, and it was only thanks to his demonic hearing that he picked up her mumble of “Feh.” He laughed.
The morning they were due to depart for the Western Lands, Inuyasha discovered a small hitch in their plans. He’d been under the impression that it would just be him and Kagome, but after spending the night snuggled up with her little kitsune, she was having a mild postpartum-like depression over the idea of leaving him behind yet again.
It didn’t help matters when Shippo picked up on his adoptive mother’s inner desire that he accompany them, and asked rather point blankly if he could go with them.
“I dunno runt, this is matters of the Western Lands, you’d find it awful boring.” Inuyasha tried to discourage as they prepared to leave.
“But I haven’t see you guys in forever!” he cried, accentuating what Kagome herself was feeling.
“Oh Shippo…” she sighed. Looking up at Inuyasha she said “He does have a point, we’ve been gone an awful lot lately.”
Her eyes said what her words did not. I miss my son!
Then she whimpered the inu for please.
Turning to Shippo, as if he were the one who had whimpered and not his mate, he sighed and said “Keh, fine you can go, but you’ll have to behave.”
“I can behave!” he promised.
“No, we’re serious Shippo, you really do have to be on your best behavior.” Kagome said next. Though she wanted Shippo to travel with them, she suddenly worried that it might really not be the best of ideas, considering where they were going.
Shippo looked a little worried, sensing his mother’s sudden change in attitude.
“Better than your best…” Inuyasha added, picking up after what Kagome had said. “No running, no jumping, no talking unless spoken to first, you got that?”
His head drooped more, but softly he said “Yeah.”
“You’ve seen how that little girl acts around Sesshoumaru, haven’t you Shippo?” Kagome asked, reminding him of the human child Rin whom he’d seen on at least a few occasions.
“Yeah, she’s very quiet, and asks her Lord for permission before she does anything, even eat.”
“Try to act like her, squirt,” Inuyasha added next, “and I think you’ll do just fine.”
“I can. You’ll see, you guys will be proud of me.”
“I hope so,” Inuyasha said next, “cause you don’t want to get on Sesshoumaru’s bad side, trust me.”
Shippo gulped.
“Just stay by my side Shippo.” Kagome said softly
“I will Mama…”
That said, the three joined their friends for a quick breakfast before they were off.
“How far away is the Western Lands?” Kagome asked Inuyasha. She was sure she recalled that their group had been in the territory before, but that was while they were out wandering all over everywhere, and so she’d kind of lost her barring on an exact distance between their village and Sesshoumaru’s domain.
“If I ran at my top speed, non-stop, I could get us there in about five hours.” he answered.
“Oh, but you don’t have to exert yourself-” He cut her off with the gentle raise of his hand.
“I’ll be running us, but we’ll stop for breaks. We really shouldn’t delay any more than necessary. He has already been kept waiting, after all, and Sesshoumaru waits for no one.”
That said, Inuyasha knelt down, and allowed Kagome to climb up onto his back. Though she was heavier than normal, what with that gargantuan monstrosity currently strapped to her back, alone with her quiver, he hardly noticed the difference. To him, she was still light as a feather. Even the added weight of Shippo meant nothing, but he was concerned for the kit’s security, so he waited until both Kagome and Shippo said aloud that they were ready and secure. Then he took off.
He ran for a good two hours before stopping for lunch at the bank of a rather large river. Unfortunately, that particular spot of river contained no fish, which they had previously been aware of, hence the ramen Kagome was now preparing. Inuyasha smirked at the amount of supplies tumbling out of her backpack as she dug for her cooking pot. Though they would be reaching the Western Lands by that night, it was true that you could never be too careful, especially out there in the middle of nowhere. Of course he believed her medical supplies would not become necessary, and she hoped so as well, but better safe than sorry, they all supposed.
Nothing ill befell them as they packed up their brief camp, put out their fire, then trudged upstream until the river reached a point thin enough that Inuyasha could leap them all across without the need for anyone getting wet. But once they touched down on the other side of the river, a small churning in the water got everyone’s attention. The “thing” that emerged proclaiming it sensed and wanted the jewel was so weak that Shippo didn’t even cower in fear as Inuyasha sliced the youkai down without bothering to draw his sword. As far as all were concerned, such an encounter didn’t even count as a real “incident” and securing themselves back upon Inuyasha’s back, they took off again, sailing across the top of the thick forest that flew past them below their feet, as Inuyasha effortlessly leapt among the highest branches.
Several hours and a few light meal and potty breaks later, the small group found themselves approaching the boarder of Sesshoumaru’s home as the evening drew to a close. While Kagome knew that she and the others had all traveled within the border of the Western Lands before, they had, in truth, never breeched Sesshoumaru’s more private property. They were now approaching his personal dwelling, and though she tried to suppress it, she was a little nervous.
Coming to a stop, Inuyasha rose upright slowly, to allow his riders time to dismount without slipping. He was experiencing rather mixed emotions at being there in that place, but glancing sideways at his mate, he found he couldn’t help it, her expression made him smile.
Kagome honestly hadn’t known what to expect, but what she saw certainly wasn’t it. For starters, the entire castle was surrounded by a giant block wall. In fact, giant wasn’t exactly the right word, more like ginormous. Gazing up at it as they approached, she couldn’t help but think that it put China’s “Great Wall” to shame, and in fact, she was fairly convinced that those architects had stolen the plans from whoever had built this one.
Walking up to the huge gate that rested itself quite splendidly between two meticulously carved inu statues, Kagome gaped in awe, unsure of exactly which sensation she was experiencing in dominance to the others. Part of her felt pride, for this was her mate’s father’s realm, and in truth, his realm as well, whether or not he chose to embrace that fact being irrelevant at the moment. She was also humbled, feeling for the first time that she, a mere human, may not measure up in the higher of youkai society, and the fact that she was a spiritually powerful human, a miko, was likely a mark against her as far as they were concerned. She didn’t want to, and she tried desperately to ignore it, but a part of her also felt fear, though an exact fear of what she couldn’t be sure. She knew they were invited here (or at least Inuyasha was) at the direct request of Lord Sesshoumaru himself, and she also knew that she was safe, or at least relatively so, with her demonic miko garb, and her quiver of sacred arrows. Even if she were helpless, she knew that Inuyasha would never let anything happen to her, but the fact of the matter was that she was not helpless, but rather, far from it, as she found herself clinching Shippo’s hand a little tighter, offering him a small sense of her own protection. Inuyasha wouldn’t let anything ever happen to her, and she, in turn, would never let anything ever happen to Shippo.
At the sight of the giant doors slowly opening, seemingly of their own accord, she wasn’t sure what to expect next. Part of her envisioned hordes upon hordes of Orcs emerging, marching slowly across the countryside, while another part of her half expected the gateway to remain empty as they passed through, with bolts of energy threatening to escape the eyes of those giant stone guardians should her heart contain even the smallest sliver of doubt.
“You okay?” she suddenly heard whispered from the man at her side, and it brought her back into reality, at least for the moment.
“Yeah…” she answered absently, while nodding, and then looking down at Shippo, asked him in turn “Ready?”
Shippo merely nodded his answer as well, sensing all of the emotions both of his parents were experiencing, as well as all of his own, which consisted mostly of general apprehension at being at such a high end estate. He was used to romping about in their village, but he’d show them, he’d make them proud. He was a prankster by nature, it was in the genes of his youkai to wreck havoc, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to behave.
Inuyasha saw how Kagome was holding Shippo’s hand and it made him smile. So far, the kit had behaved like a perfect gentleman, but they weren’t within the gates yet. Hell, if Shippo could do it, then he could do it, right? Sighing to himself, he reached across and gently took his mate’s other hand, as the three of them passed through the gates that had once again recognized him for who he was.
***Flashback***
Little six year old Inuyasha ran, he ran as fast as his little six year old legs could carry him, which, considering he was hanyou, was actually pretty fast. Tears blurred his vision, as he tried desperately to focus on the forest in front of him, and not the haunting images that refused to leave the forefront of his mind…
``````````
His mother had been sick before, he had been sick before, but it was never anything like this. He made the liver potion just like she’d shown him, and she’d even drank it and thanked him, but it didn’t help…nothing helped. Some people tried to help her, some were obligated, as servants in the house, but others who had the option, opted to refuse their aid. Her status meant nothing to those who believed her a traitor to her species. He heard them whispering amongst themselves, that her sickness was the price she paid for birthing a hanyou child. That wasn’t true, his mother’s servants had told him. He wasn’t the cause, they had assured him. But when he’d asked, through clouded, teary vision, who it was he would now be staying with, they, too, had shown him their backs. The Lord had initially allowed his daughter’s offspring to stay in the town, despite the protests his decision had caused. Facing risk of being overthrown if a mob were formed as a result, he did expel the hanyou from the main house, boarding him in a small shack once used for servants, which was currently empty.
Empty was how he soon began to think of his life; nobody to feed him, nobody to clothe him, nobody to comfort him when he was scared or when he was human. Occasionally somebody would throw a scrap of food his way, as if he were truly a dog, but more often than not he was simply ignored, left to fend for himself, as if he did not exist, which became clear was what they all wished. The one time he made the mistake of calling the Lord “Ojii-sama” he had been beaten, and told quite bluntly that he had no family, and would not be referring to any of his mother’s family as such. Being tired of getting chased from the kitchens and after being reprimanded for attempting to steal a fowl from their livestock, he turned to hunting in the neighboring woods for his meals, and unable to make a fire, he ate his catches raw. The sight of blood on his claws and fangs ended up frightening enough of the humans to the point of throwing stones if he got too close, and for all intents and purposes, he no longer lived within the town after that. For nearly a month he spent his entire days out in the trees, only returning to his old shack and his old futon to sleep, until the day he had run into the village smelling smoke, to discover that said shack had “mysteriously” caught fire and was in the middle of burning down. That day, he showed the townspeople his back.
Out of options, he headed towards his father’s lands. He had never been there, of course, and only knew what his mother had told him. He had an older half-brother, Sesshoumaru, who was now the Western Lord since their father had passed. Surely he would take him in, right? Inuyasha knew he was hanyou, and thanks to the villagers, he knew what that meant, but still, Sesshoumaru was his brother…or so he had thought.
Approaching the giant gates, he felt an odd sense of calm come over him, as if it were in fact here that he belonged, and not with the humans, though he would always love his mother. When the gates opened, with nobody to greet him on the other side, he realized that it was in fact the gates themselves that had opened for him. Walking inside, head held high, yet senses on alert for threats, it wasn’t long before he found himself surrounded by youkai guards, most of them inu, like himself, though none of them looked like him. None of them had dog-ears on their heads, but rather, they all had pointed elfin ears right where normal human ears would go. They all had stripes and/or other markings on their faces, as well as varying unnatural hair colors, but that also didn’t seem to surprise or bother him. He was amongst youkai. He was amongst his own kind.
“I am Inuyasha.” he said, as proudly as he knew how.
“Oh we know who you are.” one of them smirked, and it was then that he began to feel apprehension.
The small group of youkai that had surrounded him parted when a new presence made its way out onto the field. This inu-youkai was not unlike the others in many ways. He had facial markings, stripes and a crescent moon, Inuyasha noted, and he had pointed ears and clawed hands. But in one way he was very different from the guards, and very much like himself. With the exception of Inuyasha, this other inu was the only one to have silver hair. He was the only kishu.
“What is the meaning of this?” he stated coldly, and Inuyasha couldn’t be sure if he was referring to his current presence, or his very existence.
Without having to ask, his nose, even as young and inexperienced as it was, told him instantly who this youkai was. Unthinkingly, be bowed, it seeming like the right thing to do at the time, then, hesitantly, he spoke.
“My Lord…” he started, and Sesshoumaru raised an elegant eyebrow, “My mother’s mortality has failed her, and I have no other human family…” He had paused merely to build his courage, preparing to ask what he was about to, however the question never left his lips, when he heard Sesshoumaru state rather bluntly…
“You have no youkai family either.” and with that, he turned, preparing to walk back into the castle.
Inuyasha ran after him in that moment, and grabbed hold of the back of his robes, in retrospect, not the best move. “Brother please!” he sobbed, but his tears ran dry the instant Sesshoumaru’s expression registered in his brain.
“You will not presume to familiarize yourself with This Sesshoumaru, hanyou filth. You are a disgrace, an abomination that never should have existed, and a stain in the Inu no Taishio bloodline.”
Inuyasha released his brother’s robes, sniffling, wanting to argue, wanting to yell out that it wasn’t his fault he was born, but he stilled his tongue when he heard Sesshoumaru continue.
“You are not worthy of the grounds you stand upon. This Sesshoumaru will not belittle his status by dirtying his hands with your filth. You are neither worth saving, nor disposing of. Be gone half-breed and let nature take its course.”
With that, he turned again, and left. The other inu, as well as other youkai species that were present, all snickered and laughed amongst themselves, before also turning their backs, heading back over toward whatever was their current duty prior to his interruption.
They’d expelled him from the pack, just as the humans had.
Trying desperately not to cry, he turned, and headed through the gates that were still open, as if simply waiting for him to pass through, closing behind him once he had finally exited. He never felt so alone, and was to the point of contemplating exactly what Sesshoumaru had said, letting nature “take its course” with his death. How could he possibly survive out here on his own?
Then he heard it, the fierce piercing growl of something rather formidable, he imagined, approaching him slowly from behind. Turning, he saw what appeared to be a set of glowing red eyes, but he never allowed the time necessary to register exactly what it was those eyes were connected to, before he bolted.
He ran, running as fast as his little six year old legs could carry him. Tears blurred his vision, as he tried desperately to focus on the forest in front of him, and not the haunting images that refused to leave the forefront of his mind. He didn’t care what the humans said, he didn’t care what his brother said, he was not a monster, and he was not unworthy of life! In that moment, he decided that he very much so desired to remain living, as he ran from the lower youkai that chased him, which desired very much so to make him its dinner.
And that’s when he heard it….
“Master Inuyasha! Master Inuyasha!”
He had no time to contemplate where the small voice was coming from, or if he had in fact lost his mind, as the beast behind him was slowly gaining ground. But when the tiny flea youkai decided to land on his nose, he couldn’t help but be made at least partially aware of its existence as he continued to run.
“Master Inuyasha I have been looking all over for you!” it claimed.
“Well you found me so goodie for you…” he started to say rather sarcastically until something finally sunk in. “Master?”
“My most humble apologies my Lord. My name is Myouga, a loyal vassal of your father. It was his desire that I should look after you and teach you all you should know.”
“Well where the hell have you been?” he snapped, barely dodging the swipe of a clawed hand as the four-legged lower level tiger youkai continued to give chase.
“My apologies my Lord!” Myouga shouted, “My original orders were to wait until you were older, and arrive in the human town as your youkai tutor for the lessons the humans could not teach. It had only just been brought to my attention that Lady Izayoi has died.”
Inuyasha couldn’t remember the last time somebody, anybody, had referred to his mother with enough honor to call her “Lady Izayoi” without a sarcastic undertone, followed by ruthless whispers of distain. It was enough of a surprise to cause his footing to falter, and in that instant, he felt a searing pain run through his left side as the tiger’s claws made contact.
“Ahhh” he cried, holding his side, his own claws covered, for the first time, in his own blood.
“Master!” Myouga cried, “Throw your blood!” he yelled, even as he departed the child’s shoulder, for fear of being eaten along with the hanyou should the tiger prevail.
“Huh?” the hanyou child asked in utter confusion, preparing for death as he sensed the flea do just that, flee, as the tiger now approached slowly, licking its lips.
“Throw your blood!” Myouga’s voice ordered again, from the tree he now perched in, and out of options, little Inuyasha obeyed, flinging his blood covered hand in the tiger’s direction.
He was utterly, utterly amazed at what he saw. Blades appeared, seemingly made from his very blood, as they flew through the air towards the very surprised tiger youkai, succeeding in slicing said creature into several pieces.
“How is it…” he asked in astonishment, “…that I have this power?”
The cowardly vassal returned to the child’s shoulder now that the danger had passed.
“Hanyou or no,” he started, “You are a son of the Great Inu no Taisho, and his blood, the blood that flows through your own veins, is a very strong blood indeed.”
Inuyasha was lost in thought for a moment, before he distinctly heard the flea’s afterthought of “and also so tasty” as he began to drink from his neck. In annoyance, Inuyasha raised his hand up to slap the flea, and watched in mild amusement as the flattened youkai popped back into shape.
“Myouga was it?”
“Yes Master Inuyasha.”
“You’ll teach me all I need to know, about being inu?”
“Yes Master Inuyasha.”
“Let’s go then.” He got up, and hobbling slightly due to his injury, proceeded to head off into the unknown.
“Yes Master Inuyasha.”
***End Flashback***
“Master Inuyasha!”
He was pulled from his thoughts upon hearing his retainer greet them as they passed through onto castle lands.
“Master Inuyasha! You have arrived.” Myouga exclaimed as he proceeded to hop up onto his master’s nose and drink, before being flattened yet again.
“Keh, of course, I told you in three days, and I meant in three days.”
“Lord Sesshoumaru will be most pleased that you have arrived.”
Lord Sesshoumaru ‘most pleased’?? Shippo thought to himself with a disbelieving snicker, knowing to bite his tongue and mask his outward expression. They were not alone as he stretched his senses, but rather, he discovered that several youkai were currently staring at them. Then, one said youkai made his appearance known.
Inuyasha instantly recognized this inu, the star on his forehead, his autumn hair…this was the same shiba who had talked down to him before. The one who had stated that they knew who he was, the laughter in his eyes in that moment stating he found the whole thing quite amusing. Now, Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the man, who was rather short in stature. Not to the point of being a dwarf, but it was quite clear that someone tall, like Sesshoumaru, would easily tower over him, which if memory served, he did.
“Lord Inuyasha…” he greeted after only a moment’s hesitation, and what appeared to be mental preparation to prevent his voice from sounding disgusted by the title he’d just uttered. He then took in the presence of the human miko, who was clearly the half-breed’s mate, and the kitsune child, whose presence was a mystery, one he didn’t wish to solve, to be honest. “If you will follow me please.” he managed to mutter at a tone just above a snarl through gritted teeth.
Following the servant, the trio made their way into the castle.