InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mating Season ❯ I Hate Speeches ( Chapter 39 )
[ 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: 05.21.2006 | Updated On: 07.26.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 12.4K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.21.2006 | Updated On: 07.26.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 12.4K | 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 39 - I Hate Speeches
By the time the fourth course was served, some of the fatter youkai had loosened their belts, while most others were merely sporting loose tongues, thanks to the rice wine. Kagome had politely turned down the drink, an action that was accepted by all with the canine sense of smell. That made her one of only three not drinking, the other two being too young, even by that era’s standards. Yes, that meant Inuyasha had had a few, but while she could feel through their bond that his hanyou metabolism apparently didn’t process alcohol as well as a full youkai, she could also tell that he was still able to successfully bite his tongue when he knew he should. The blatant fact of the matter was that most of the youkai present had had about double the sake he’d had, or more.
“So tell me…” one of the head liaisons suddenly spoke up, in Kagome’s direction, “How does it feel? To have a sampling of our strength flowing through your weak mortal body? Can your mind even comprehend such power?” Though he’d managed to say it without slurring, his line of questioning did not go unhindered, the female to his left repeatedly attempting to get him to sit down and shut up.
A low growl could slowly be heard emitting itself from Inuyasha’s throat, and surprisingly, a second growl also started in Sesshoumaru’s, but Kagome quickly waved them both down, silencing them with her smile, as she turned toward the black haired inu who’d so ever rudely interrupted her conversation with Rin.
“Are you addressing me?” she asked loud enough for all to hear, “I’m afraid you’ll have to speak up, my weak mortal ears don’t hear so well.”
Oblivious to her sarcasm (about the only one present who was) he laughed as he said “Figures as much. It’s a wonder you’re able to keep the jewel. I’m sure it’s only cause he protects you, otherwise you’d be a sitting duck.” Chuckling more to himself, he then asked “What would you do if faced with real power?”
Was that supposed to be a threat, or a come-on line?
“I don’t know, what would you do if you were ever faced with any?”
Kagome allowed her aura to flare ever so slightly. Not enough that it became visible to the naked eye, but just enough to perhaps remind those who forgot (or had become too drunk to sense things) that Kagome was in fact, a very powerful miko, and not some simple ningen female who was fortunate enough to bed with something demonic.
The room grew silent, except for the tiniest of whispers to her left of “Go Kagome!”
“Are you challenging me bitch?!” he snarled while attempting, and failing, to draw his hidden short sword, which decided at that precise moment to get snagged on his garment. Of course, his current state of drunkenness had nothing to do with his weapon’s shortcomings.
Kagome remained calm, her facial expression mirroring that of Sesshoumaru’s. The Taiyoukai observed this exchange in mild curiosity, and deducing that the young miko could quite obviously handle herself, he decided not to interfere. Though it would be interesting to later find out why one of his staff that was not a member of the guard had sought fit to bring a concealed weapon to dinner. Kagome, in that moment, allowed her powers to seep back into herself, as she simply stated “I wouldn’t dream of it. Now sit down before you hurt yourself.” She was ever so thankful that they had changed the incantation on the rosary.
The laughter that erupted caused that particular youkai to stomp out of the room, his female mumbling her most humble apologies towards the obviously powerful miko as she followed him out the door.
Speaking a little more freely than he ordinarily would have, thanks to the sake, Inuyasha turned towards his mate and said at a rather normal speaking level “I would have thought Kososhi would have had crap to say about me, not you.”
“He did, I’m sure…” muttered the little imp that sat across and two seats down from him. “But Lord Sesshoumaru ordered all those who would dishonor their younger Lord to not attend tonight’s function.”
“It would appear…” Sesshoumaru himself spoke then, “That I failed to make myself clear in that account.” Standing up himself, he towered over the low table, as he said loudly, “Dishonoring my brother’s mate will also not be tolerated, nor will dishonoring their adopted kitsune pup.”
With that taken care of, he sat back down upon his cushion, and resumed eating.
Shippo never felt so proud in that moment, and Inuyasha, in his brazen, reached around his mate to scruff the kid’s hair.
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Dinner, over all, went surprisingly well, all things considered. A few more comments were made at random, but were more lighthearted, wrapped in a cloak of sarcasm, and actually earned the occasional laugh from Inuyasha or Kagome themselves. They could all call Inuyasha weak for as long as they wanted, because everybody present honestly knew that nothing could be further from the truth. The scent of his true hanyou pup growing within his mate’s belly was proof of that in and of itself, but the adventures of him and his group had also become somewhat common knowledge. They knew that this pair played a direct hand in the defeat of Naraku, and everyone present could also sense the sacred jewel, and knew that Kagome was the miko in charge of protecting it. No one was stupid enough to attempt challenging her for the bobble, though; they didn’t desire to have their remains swept from the dining room floor.
The mention of the dark hanyou’s name brought about a few more whispers, and Inuyasha actually felt himself, in his loosened state, feeling a little sorry for Kagura. Sure she had been evil at first, but so had he, if he were to be honest with himself. There was a time when he had been blindly ruled by his desire for the jewel, and now the completed thing lay decoratively around his mate’s neck, and he didn’t even care. There was a time when Kagura had blindly followed Naraku’s orders, but the veil had slowly been lifted from her eyes, and they had all known towards the end that Kagura despised Naraku as much as they did, and wished for his death as well.
Somebody said something about Kagura not being a true woman, since she was brought into creation as an offshoot of Naraku, whom this neko also helpfully decided to point out, was a hanyou.
“You will leave.” was suddenly ordered from the head of the table, and the way in which Sesshoumaru had said it clearly indicated that he meant the words to silently add If you ever show your face again, I will kill you.
Kagome seemed to wonder why they were continuing to supply the large (yet dwindling) group with sake, especially considering it was making the other youkai say rather stupid, and possibly deadly, things. But then again, she wondered if that wasn’t the real reason in the first place. What better way to weed through the loyal? So far, the only person asked to leave appeared to be a guard, and since he was neko, there was likely some underlying friction already forming between the two. The inu who had shown himself out, as well as his bitch, both appeared to still be on relatively good standing with their Lord. Kagome had also noticed that while Sesshoumaru had had a few glasses of sake, he seemed just as calm and in control as always, and Kagome found herself wondering just how disciplined his mind truly was.
Inuyasha felt bad, really bad. That mangy cat had pretty much called Kagura the spawn of a hanyou, an insult which could easily be directed toward himself as well, generally speaking. The fact that she herself was pure youkai was apparently irrelevant, as he put her in the same category as any other half-breed. He had also accused her of being a false woman, suggesting she was then an unfit mate for his brother, which was a shallow insult, since even a neko’s nose should be good enough to tell that Kagura’s womanhood was not in question. Inuyasha knew now what the purpose for this meal was, to get out into the open those who would stay loyal, or those who would not. Something should be said, though, poor Kagura looked crushed, but Sesshoumaru was too collected to offer her any condolences, at least while still in public view. Wasn’t he there to either approve or disapprove of their mating? His eyes met Kagura’s briefly, but she quickly looked away, and she looked almost afraid. That stupid cat had reminded them all of what she was, and she feared that Inuyasha could not see past her connection to Naraku, as well. Looking to his left, he and Kagome had a brief moment. Inuyasha gestured with his eyes in Kagura’s direction, and he saw Kagome smile and nod her understanding in return.
He was no good at talking, his words usually coming out all wrong, but maybe the sake would work to his favor tonight, too. He hated speeches.
Everyone was silenced in mere moments when they saw Inuyasha rise himself to his feet.
“I know most of you, and I know most of you don’t like me all too much. You’re probably royally pissed that Sesshoumaru granted me my title, but you know what? Tough. One expression my mate has taught me…” He gestured towards Kagome, while smiling proudly. “…is that ‘The only constant is change.’ Or, as I’m sure Sesshoumaru would word it: One who thinks that everything shall always and forever be as it is now is surely nothing more than a fool.” That earned a raised eyebrow from the Taiyoukai. “I bet you were all shitting bricks when our father went and mated with my mother, sprouting a little half-human lord. You can’t honestly tell me then, that you want me to parent the next Inu no Taisho generation? Human blood in the ruling line…” He shook his head. “…no, I don’t think so. So you should all feel relieved to know that your Lord Elder here has chosen himself a mate to carry on the pure youkai bloodline of the West.”
He paused, merely to sip his sake, and glancing down towards Sesshoumaru, who offered him merely a quirked eyebrow of curiosity in response, he shrugged, sipped his wine again, then continued…
“You’ve chosen a strong mate, brother.” he started, quoting Sesshoumaru himself except for the ‘brother’ remark he’d thrown in for effect. “Kagura’s hella strong, I should know, I’ve fought her enough times. Was never able to kill her, and that’s sayin’ something…” He took another sip, and winked towards Kagura. She actually chuckled softly, and offered him a smile in return. His next words were directed towards Kagura herself. “If you’ll pardon the pun, I’d say the winds are changing. We were all enemies once, for one reason or another, but that’s in the past. I would rather have you for an ally than an enemy...” he stated, quoted his brother again. “…and there’s just something about ‘Lady Kagura’ that has a nice ring to it. Welcome to the pack.” And with that, he downed the last of his sake and plopped himself back on his cushion.
The silence lingered, almost to the point of taking physical shape, and Kagome was beginning to seriously contemplate erecting a barrier to protect herself from it, when it happened. Slowly but surely, one by one, everyone in attendance started clapping. Kagome was pretty sure it was Rin who had started it, but nobody dared let the little human outdo them with her appreciation towards their Lord, so they all quickly followed suit. It became pretty clear that the sake had successfully sorted out the bad apples, or rather, bad apple, as Neisho seemed to have been the only one with any real problems, at least on his own staff. Sesshoumaru was not looking forward to the words he would receive from the neighboring Lords. The other three compass lands would have a say, he was sure. He had always stated, in his arrogance, that he did not require a mate. He feared this gesture would succeed in making him look weak in the eyes of his enemies, if they believed his heart to have softened, even in the slightest. The truth was, it had, not that he would let anyone else know that. Inuyasha’s mating had been a good excuse, since he needed to insure the bloodline, needed to insure he produced an heir of his own. Some may still try to give him static for not simply breeding with a fellow inu in a contractual mating, if that was the case, but since Kagura was a wind youkai, he would at least not be contaminating the genetics with another animal. Most importantly, the bloodline would remain purely youkai, as Inuyasha had stated. Kagura possessed no human blood. It was true also that Kagura was indeed very strong, and as a result, their children would be very strong as well. Everyone would adapt, and step in line. Those who didn’t, would be disposed of.
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It wasn’t long after the speech when everyone began to depart for the evening, dinner having come to a close. Sesshoumaru usually did not host such a formal affair without neighboring Lords present, and most of the staff that had been invited were as apprehensive of the event as Inuyasha had originally been. It had taken Inuyasha a couple of hours and several glasses of sake, before he realized that they were the guests of honor that required the fancy affair be held in the first place. Everyone was relieved to get back to their posts and/or duties when it was over, just as Inuyasha was looking forward to getting out of that goddamned kimono.
As Inuyasha and his small pack all moved to exit the dining hall, he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts upon the sensation of someone tugging on said kimono. Glancing down, he saw the human girl Rin, and offered her a toothy smile.
“Hey there squirt, whatcha want?” he asked, all nervousness of formality having left him now, thanks to the sake.
“Lord Sesshoumaru said that this Rin could play with Shippo, if Shippo’s father said it was okay.” she asked, shuffling her feet.
Shippo perked up upon hearing her words, and gave Inuyasha the look. After a moment, he even threw in a soft whimper.
“You wanna go play, Shippo?” Inuyasha asked in a teasing tone of voice.
The little kit merely nodded his head slowly, and then ever so quietly said “If that would be all right with you, Otou-san.”
“I’m sure Rin knows where it’s safe to play, where you won’t be a bother to anyone.” Kagome said sweetly, while resting her hand upon Rin’s shoulder. The little girl smiled up at her, ever so happy to have another human female in the family.
“Hai Hai Kagome-sama!” she bellowed enthusiastically, “Rin has a garden where Rin is allowed to play!”
“Well then,” Inuyasha said, turning to Shippo, “Just don’t get lost runt, remember you can sniff us out if need be.”
“I won’t get lost!” he protested, “Rin’s human and she doesn’t get lost.”
“She’s also lived here for three years.” he pointed out.
“Rin used to get lost, didn’t you Rin?” a new voice said. They’d wondered where Sesshoumaru had disappeared to so quickly.
“Hai, but Jaken-sama would always come and find Rin.” she admitted with a silly smile. Jaken, who was walking by at that point, turned and hmphed before quickly scurrying away, glad that the girl had someone else to annoy, for once.
“Go ahead and go with Rin, Shippo.” Kagome said, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the young kit scampered after the laughing human child.
Though Rin stood taller than Shippo, kitsune were naturally small youkai, and in reality, he was only one year younger than her. He’d been seven when they’d found him, or rather, when he’d found them, attempting to steal their jewel shards to seek revenge upon his father’s murderers. That was much to young for a whelp to be out on their own, even a pure youkai whelp. Inuyasha might have complained about it at the time, but he was always thankful that Shippo had been spared the pain of growing up alone, and he’d often wished that somebody had come along to save him. Eventually, someone had, he mused, it just took her a couple of centuries to find him. Kagome was his savior.
Inuyasha’s mind was brought back into the here and now once more upon hearing his older brother clear his throat. With the smallest of smirks present upon Sesshoumaru’s otherwise stoic face, he suggested “Perhaps you should watch your consumption of sake more thoroughly in the future.” He turned around before either Inuyasha or his mate could catch glimpse of his growing smile. “You will accompany this Sesshoumaru.” he said, his voice as steady as ever.
Rather wordlessly, they both followed, having figured there’d be some sort of official business to attend to while they were there. They entered the study in the same manner of quiet in which they’d traveled the halls, but Kagome could not help the look of wonder that was present on her face. The castle was more extravagant than she’d ever imagined. Every wall was adorned with elaborate carvings or tapestries. Every piece of furnishing looked priceless and one of a kind, and they were. She was surprised at the chairs she discovered when they entered what she presumed to be his study; they looked European. She could only assume that youkai existed in more countries than Japan, and so he likely did trade with the Taiyoukai of other lands.
Sesshoumaru noticed Kagome’s admiration of the finely carved pieces, and inwardly smirked. He imagined that outside of the trade posts at Nagasaki, not many humans would be familiar with the foreign items he had a tendency to collect. He was not surprised by his half-brother, though, when Inuyasha, in his loosened state, proceeded to plop himself down in one of the chairs, without showing the least bit of respect for the work that’d gone into creating them.
Seeing the way Kagome kept fingering the carvings, he attempted to suppress his smirk, as he finally asked “Do you like it?” while keeping his voice mostly stoic, with only the slightest hint of amusement at the girl’s childlike innocence in that moment, reminding him so much of Rin.
“They’re beautiful,” she answered while still fingering the cherub design. “Are they French?” she asked next, earning two raised eyebrows of surprise from Sesshoumaru.
Kagome, upon registering Sesshoumaru’s shock, quickly realized she’d stuck her foot in her mouth. How many humans did trade with the Europeans in this time period? Her history was a little rusty, but she was pretty sure the Tokugawa shogunate wouldn’t be formed for about another century. It was only around the turn of the 16th century, right? She knew they were in the warring states era, which meant it was before the battle of Sekigahara. Groaning, Kagome realized she needed to pay more attention in school, and to what she let slip off her tongue while in the past.
Sesshoumaru wondered how this human could know or recognize such a thing, but he decided to file his questions away for a later time. He was aware that the girl named Kagome came from a strange place, and was in truth originally a visitor to the village she now called her home. He had even heard it rumored that she came from another time, something about being the reincarnation of that other miko, but he had, until now, chosen to ignore such foolish tales.
“Indeed.” was all he decided to comment at the moment, switching gears to the matters, he considered, were more pressing for the time being. “About why I have summoned you.” he stated, earning a
“Yeah yeah, is there something you need me to sign or something?” from his tipsy half-brother.
“Actually,” the Taiyoukai stated, pulling a scroll from a shelf, “There are two things.”
Inuyasha just looked at him, eyebrow raised, so sighing, Sesshoumaru continued. “We never officialized your mating to paper, either.”
In the past, Inuyasha may have made a crack about ‘why do you care’ or something of the sort, except now he realized that he did care, or at the very least, felt honor bound to do things the ‘right’ and ‘proper’ thing regardless of his feelings.
“Better correct that, then.” he finally opted for stating, jerking his head in a curt nod of agreement.
Inuyasha and Kagome each observed with genuine curiosity and wonder as Sesshoumaru began to unroll the scroll he’d pulled, apparently pressed from demonic paper, for even as ancient as the thing appeared, it was in no danger of tattering. Inuyasha leaned over, and found it was a chronological account of the Inu no Taisho clan, a family tree if you will, going back thousands of years. He was surprised when he noted that Sesshoumaru had, in fact, logged his birth, having assumed his brother would have preferred it if Inuyasha remained off the family scroll entirely. Sesshoumaru was surprised when he caught Inuyasha leaning over to scan the document, not having truthfully been aware if his brother could even read.
“You wrote down my birth…” he finally stated, his voice full of gratitude and wonder.
“It was father’s desire.” he stated simply in return, basically admitting that their father had, before Inuyasha had even been born, planned on having him be a bonafide member of the family.
Inuyasha continued to gaze in wonder as his name was again added to the ancient family scroll, along with that of Kagome’s.
Pausing then, Sesshoumaru asked the pair “When, precisely, were you mated?”
“Exactly one year ago three days past.” Kagome answered.
The Taiyoukai quirked an eyebrow at her yet again.
“What? You said ‘precisely’.” she teased, astonished with herself for simply feeling comfortable enough around the Lord to tease him in such a manner.
“Waning half-moon of spring’s first month.” Inuyasha rephrased for Sesshoumaru’s records, though the Taiyoukai had already made the mental translation.
Sensing Kagome’s confusion though, Inuyasha turned to her with a simple smile, and translated for her. “Three weeks into spring.” he said.
“It wasn’t three weeks into spring though, it was four.” she stated, still confused.
“By your calendar.” he clarified.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow yet again, but otherwise ignored their exchange, as he logged their mating.
Kagome felt like bopping herself on the head then. How could she have forgotten that the dating system worked differently here? In her time, everyone had adapted to the modern, “Western” style calendar, in which the cycles of the moon shift around sporadically, as different months had different quantities of days. It was a strange calendar. New Year’s ten days after the start of winter? She shook her head. Somehow, she relished in the simplicity of following the lunar cycle, which was the only calendar the youkai seemed to use. It just went to show how much closer to nature they were than humans. She wouldn’t be able to keep track of the exact date in her head, even if she tried, after leaving her era for the final time. Let’s see, that would mean that her birthday would be around spring’s first waxing half moon…she could remember that. Glancing briefly at the scroll while Sesshoumaru inked his brush and filled in the appropriate information, Kagome silently thanked Miroku for having taught her the ancient scripts. She could read the scroll, and discovered that Inuyasha’s birthday was the first full moon of summer. Well, she smirked, she’d have to get him a present.
“Write your name here.” Sesshoumaru stated, pulling Kagome from her thoughts as she saw her mate take the brush, and re-inking it, put his name to paper in a few effortless strokes. He was bearing witness to Sesshoumaru’s mating now, which Kagome couldn’t help but notice the Taiyouka wrote as having taken place that night. She tried desperately not to blush.
“It is official.” he stated then, and turning, he faced a shoji that apparently lead to a small side chamber, as he stated next “You can come out now.”
The shoji slid to reveal Kagura, now dressed in her familiar robes, as apposed to the more formal yukata she had been wearing at dinner.
“Keh, not like I couldn’t smell her in there.”
“Inuyasha!”
“What?” he asked, the sake not having fully worn off yet. “Ain’t like I said she stank or nothing, just that I smelled her presence, was all.”
Kagura chuckled, and even Sesshoumaru quirked the edge of his lips in a half-smile, as his mate calmed the sober miko. “It’s all right Kagome,” she stated simply, adding “Things have gone much better than I’d feared, trust me.”
“You were afraid we wouldn’t approve, weren’t you?” Kagome addressed them both understandingly.
“The thought had crossed my mind.” Kagura confessed.
“But I assured her otherwise.” Sesshoumaru added.
“Hey, I really don’t care who you mate.” Inuyasha blurted, adding “I meant everything I said back there, she’s strong, and Kami knows your mate would have to be strong to put up with your ass.”
Kagome slapped her hand upon her forehead, mumbling curses so low even the full-blooded inu-youkai couldn’t be sure he’d heard her properly.
“Thank you,” she started once she rose her eyes up once again, affectively changing the subject, “For getting the youkai silk.”
Nodding his deeper understanding, he offered the miko the smallest of smiles, something that would take her a while to get used to seeing, and understandably so. “I trust the garment was to your liking.”
“Oh yes!” she answered honestly, bowing her head in gratitude. “He really surprised me, that was a wonderful present.”
Visibly and audibly sniffing in her direction, he smirked and mumbled “Indeed.”
Kagome blushed horribly, earning a chuckle from Kagura, which in turn caused Kagome to blush even more.
“Actually,” Inuyasha spoke up, and Kagome was sure whatever he was about to say would only make her embarrassment worse. “The pup was Kagome’s gift to me. We’d been waiting until after the fall of Naraku. On her last heat cycle, she said it was okay.”
Kagome was right, she was more embarrassed, but she was at least grateful that Inuyasha had had the forethought to not mention her birth control.
“Congratulations to you both.” Kagura smiled, offering Kagome a hug, which she felt uncomfortable with at first, but returned nonetheless, and fully embraced by the time both women pulled apart.
“Thank you.” she said simply and sincerely.
In that moment, Inuyasha pulled the fake yawn/stretch move he’d seen Souta do with Hitomi, wrapping his arm tenderly around Kagome’s shoulder in the follow-through. “Are we done here?” he asked, feigning another yawn, “I’m tired.” he added, “Ran all day to get here.”
“Indeed.” Sesshoumaru noted, not blind to the change in his brother’s scent, or the scent of his brother’s mate.
Kagome was quickly beginning to wonder if “indeed” was his favorite word, but he spoke more when he added “It is time to retire.”
In that moment, Sesshoumaru noted the spike in his mate’s scent, as well, as did Kagome, and unable to help herself, having already teased the Taiyoukai once and gotten away with it, passed a knowing glance between himself and Kagura, before quietly mumbling “Indeed.”
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Kagome never felt so relieved to be back in their bedchamber, never having figured in a million years that she’d feel comfortable in this room, but compared to what just happened in the dining hall, and then the study…
“What’s wrong?” Inuyasha asked as he came up behind her, nuzzling her neck.
“Nothing…” she answered honestly, adding “I suppose this is just going to take some getting used to.” She sighed, then added “You know, the whole ‘rulling partner’ thing.”
Nodding his understanding, he moved in closer, draping his tongue across her mating mark, relishing in the shivers he felt travel down her spine as a result.
“Where’s Shippo?” she asked, noting that her kit’s scent in the room was stale, indicating he hadn’t returned yet.
Shrugging, Inuyasha replied “He’s fine, he’s with Rin. Nothing’ll happen to him.”
Nodding her agreement, Kagome permitted her yukata to loosen, draping the fabric down her shoulders, exposing the top half of her back. The sensation of a small tug against her back caused her to glance down, in time to see her obi fall to the floor, as she realized Inuyasha had pulled it loose. Lowering her arms then, she permitted her yukata to join it.
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Sniffing his way down the numerous and twisting corridors, Shippo was determined to not get lost, as they had teased that he would. But upon reaching the door he knew lead to the chamber assigned to them in their stay, he quickly thought better of entering. He knew they trusted him to know better, and he smiled as he scampered back down the hall in the direction from whence he came. Looked like he’d be staying the night with that cute human girl, after all. She hadn’t wanted him to leave her company so soon, anyway.
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Sesshoumaru rarely needed sleep, and on many a night he would remain in his study, overlooking matters pertaining to the West. Signing treaties, trade agreements, that sort of thing. Tonight, however, he finished his immediate responsibilities in what many would consider record time, and when he retired to his private bedchamber, he found the wind sorceress waiting for him, void of clothing.
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 39 - I Hate Speeches
By the time the fourth course was served, some of the fatter youkai had loosened their belts, while most others were merely sporting loose tongues, thanks to the rice wine. Kagome had politely turned down the drink, an action that was accepted by all with the canine sense of smell. That made her one of only three not drinking, the other two being too young, even by that era’s standards. Yes, that meant Inuyasha had had a few, but while she could feel through their bond that his hanyou metabolism apparently didn’t process alcohol as well as a full youkai, she could also tell that he was still able to successfully bite his tongue when he knew he should. The blatant fact of the matter was that most of the youkai present had had about double the sake he’d had, or more.
“So tell me…” one of the head liaisons suddenly spoke up, in Kagome’s direction, “How does it feel? To have a sampling of our strength flowing through your weak mortal body? Can your mind even comprehend such power?” Though he’d managed to say it without slurring, his line of questioning did not go unhindered, the female to his left repeatedly attempting to get him to sit down and shut up.
A low growl could slowly be heard emitting itself from Inuyasha’s throat, and surprisingly, a second growl also started in Sesshoumaru’s, but Kagome quickly waved them both down, silencing them with her smile, as she turned toward the black haired inu who’d so ever rudely interrupted her conversation with Rin.
“Are you addressing me?” she asked loud enough for all to hear, “I’m afraid you’ll have to speak up, my weak mortal ears don’t hear so well.”
Oblivious to her sarcasm (about the only one present who was) he laughed as he said “Figures as much. It’s a wonder you’re able to keep the jewel. I’m sure it’s only cause he protects you, otherwise you’d be a sitting duck.” Chuckling more to himself, he then asked “What would you do if faced with real power?”
Was that supposed to be a threat, or a come-on line?
“I don’t know, what would you do if you were ever faced with any?”
Kagome allowed her aura to flare ever so slightly. Not enough that it became visible to the naked eye, but just enough to perhaps remind those who forgot (or had become too drunk to sense things) that Kagome was in fact, a very powerful miko, and not some simple ningen female who was fortunate enough to bed with something demonic.
The room grew silent, except for the tiniest of whispers to her left of “Go Kagome!”
“Are you challenging me bitch?!” he snarled while attempting, and failing, to draw his hidden short sword, which decided at that precise moment to get snagged on his garment. Of course, his current state of drunkenness had nothing to do with his weapon’s shortcomings.
Kagome remained calm, her facial expression mirroring that of Sesshoumaru’s. The Taiyoukai observed this exchange in mild curiosity, and deducing that the young miko could quite obviously handle herself, he decided not to interfere. Though it would be interesting to later find out why one of his staff that was not a member of the guard had sought fit to bring a concealed weapon to dinner. Kagome, in that moment, allowed her powers to seep back into herself, as she simply stated “I wouldn’t dream of it. Now sit down before you hurt yourself.” She was ever so thankful that they had changed the incantation on the rosary.
The laughter that erupted caused that particular youkai to stomp out of the room, his female mumbling her most humble apologies towards the obviously powerful miko as she followed him out the door.
Speaking a little more freely than he ordinarily would have, thanks to the sake, Inuyasha turned towards his mate and said at a rather normal speaking level “I would have thought Kososhi would have had crap to say about me, not you.”
“He did, I’m sure…” muttered the little imp that sat across and two seats down from him. “But Lord Sesshoumaru ordered all those who would dishonor their younger Lord to not attend tonight’s function.”
“It would appear…” Sesshoumaru himself spoke then, “That I failed to make myself clear in that account.” Standing up himself, he towered over the low table, as he said loudly, “Dishonoring my brother’s mate will also not be tolerated, nor will dishonoring their adopted kitsune pup.”
With that taken care of, he sat back down upon his cushion, and resumed eating.
Shippo never felt so proud in that moment, and Inuyasha, in his brazen, reached around his mate to scruff the kid’s hair.
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Dinner, over all, went surprisingly well, all things considered. A few more comments were made at random, but were more lighthearted, wrapped in a cloak of sarcasm, and actually earned the occasional laugh from Inuyasha or Kagome themselves. They could all call Inuyasha weak for as long as they wanted, because everybody present honestly knew that nothing could be further from the truth. The scent of his true hanyou pup growing within his mate’s belly was proof of that in and of itself, but the adventures of him and his group had also become somewhat common knowledge. They knew that this pair played a direct hand in the defeat of Naraku, and everyone present could also sense the sacred jewel, and knew that Kagome was the miko in charge of protecting it. No one was stupid enough to attempt challenging her for the bobble, though; they didn’t desire to have their remains swept from the dining room floor.
The mention of the dark hanyou’s name brought about a few more whispers, and Inuyasha actually felt himself, in his loosened state, feeling a little sorry for Kagura. Sure she had been evil at first, but so had he, if he were to be honest with himself. There was a time when he had been blindly ruled by his desire for the jewel, and now the completed thing lay decoratively around his mate’s neck, and he didn’t even care. There was a time when Kagura had blindly followed Naraku’s orders, but the veil had slowly been lifted from her eyes, and they had all known towards the end that Kagura despised Naraku as much as they did, and wished for his death as well.
Somebody said something about Kagura not being a true woman, since she was brought into creation as an offshoot of Naraku, whom this neko also helpfully decided to point out, was a hanyou.
“You will leave.” was suddenly ordered from the head of the table, and the way in which Sesshoumaru had said it clearly indicated that he meant the words to silently add If you ever show your face again, I will kill you.
Kagome seemed to wonder why they were continuing to supply the large (yet dwindling) group with sake, especially considering it was making the other youkai say rather stupid, and possibly deadly, things. But then again, she wondered if that wasn’t the real reason in the first place. What better way to weed through the loyal? So far, the only person asked to leave appeared to be a guard, and since he was neko, there was likely some underlying friction already forming between the two. The inu who had shown himself out, as well as his bitch, both appeared to still be on relatively good standing with their Lord. Kagome had also noticed that while Sesshoumaru had had a few glasses of sake, he seemed just as calm and in control as always, and Kagome found herself wondering just how disciplined his mind truly was.
Inuyasha felt bad, really bad. That mangy cat had pretty much called Kagura the spawn of a hanyou, an insult which could easily be directed toward himself as well, generally speaking. The fact that she herself was pure youkai was apparently irrelevant, as he put her in the same category as any other half-breed. He had also accused her of being a false woman, suggesting she was then an unfit mate for his brother, which was a shallow insult, since even a neko’s nose should be good enough to tell that Kagura’s womanhood was not in question. Inuyasha knew now what the purpose for this meal was, to get out into the open those who would stay loyal, or those who would not. Something should be said, though, poor Kagura looked crushed, but Sesshoumaru was too collected to offer her any condolences, at least while still in public view. Wasn’t he there to either approve or disapprove of their mating? His eyes met Kagura’s briefly, but she quickly looked away, and she looked almost afraid. That stupid cat had reminded them all of what she was, and she feared that Inuyasha could not see past her connection to Naraku, as well. Looking to his left, he and Kagome had a brief moment. Inuyasha gestured with his eyes in Kagura’s direction, and he saw Kagome smile and nod her understanding in return.
He was no good at talking, his words usually coming out all wrong, but maybe the sake would work to his favor tonight, too. He hated speeches.
Everyone was silenced in mere moments when they saw Inuyasha rise himself to his feet.
“I know most of you, and I know most of you don’t like me all too much. You’re probably royally pissed that Sesshoumaru granted me my title, but you know what? Tough. One expression my mate has taught me…” He gestured towards Kagome, while smiling proudly. “…is that ‘The only constant is change.’ Or, as I’m sure Sesshoumaru would word it: One who thinks that everything shall always and forever be as it is now is surely nothing more than a fool.” That earned a raised eyebrow from the Taiyoukai. “I bet you were all shitting bricks when our father went and mated with my mother, sprouting a little half-human lord. You can’t honestly tell me then, that you want me to parent the next Inu no Taisho generation? Human blood in the ruling line…” He shook his head. “…no, I don’t think so. So you should all feel relieved to know that your Lord Elder here has chosen himself a mate to carry on the pure youkai bloodline of the West.”
He paused, merely to sip his sake, and glancing down towards Sesshoumaru, who offered him merely a quirked eyebrow of curiosity in response, he shrugged, sipped his wine again, then continued…
“You’ve chosen a strong mate, brother.” he started, quoting Sesshoumaru himself except for the ‘brother’ remark he’d thrown in for effect. “Kagura’s hella strong, I should know, I’ve fought her enough times. Was never able to kill her, and that’s sayin’ something…” He took another sip, and winked towards Kagura. She actually chuckled softly, and offered him a smile in return. His next words were directed towards Kagura herself. “If you’ll pardon the pun, I’d say the winds are changing. We were all enemies once, for one reason or another, but that’s in the past. I would rather have you for an ally than an enemy...” he stated, quoted his brother again. “…and there’s just something about ‘Lady Kagura’ that has a nice ring to it. Welcome to the pack.” And with that, he downed the last of his sake and plopped himself back on his cushion.
The silence lingered, almost to the point of taking physical shape, and Kagome was beginning to seriously contemplate erecting a barrier to protect herself from it, when it happened. Slowly but surely, one by one, everyone in attendance started clapping. Kagome was pretty sure it was Rin who had started it, but nobody dared let the little human outdo them with her appreciation towards their Lord, so they all quickly followed suit. It became pretty clear that the sake had successfully sorted out the bad apples, or rather, bad apple, as Neisho seemed to have been the only one with any real problems, at least on his own staff. Sesshoumaru was not looking forward to the words he would receive from the neighboring Lords. The other three compass lands would have a say, he was sure. He had always stated, in his arrogance, that he did not require a mate. He feared this gesture would succeed in making him look weak in the eyes of his enemies, if they believed his heart to have softened, even in the slightest. The truth was, it had, not that he would let anyone else know that. Inuyasha’s mating had been a good excuse, since he needed to insure the bloodline, needed to insure he produced an heir of his own. Some may still try to give him static for not simply breeding with a fellow inu in a contractual mating, if that was the case, but since Kagura was a wind youkai, he would at least not be contaminating the genetics with another animal. Most importantly, the bloodline would remain purely youkai, as Inuyasha had stated. Kagura possessed no human blood. It was true also that Kagura was indeed very strong, and as a result, their children would be very strong as well. Everyone would adapt, and step in line. Those who didn’t, would be disposed of.
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It wasn’t long after the speech when everyone began to depart for the evening, dinner having come to a close. Sesshoumaru usually did not host such a formal affair without neighboring Lords present, and most of the staff that had been invited were as apprehensive of the event as Inuyasha had originally been. It had taken Inuyasha a couple of hours and several glasses of sake, before he realized that they were the guests of honor that required the fancy affair be held in the first place. Everyone was relieved to get back to their posts and/or duties when it was over, just as Inuyasha was looking forward to getting out of that goddamned kimono.
As Inuyasha and his small pack all moved to exit the dining hall, he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts upon the sensation of someone tugging on said kimono. Glancing down, he saw the human girl Rin, and offered her a toothy smile.
“Hey there squirt, whatcha want?” he asked, all nervousness of formality having left him now, thanks to the sake.
“Lord Sesshoumaru said that this Rin could play with Shippo, if Shippo’s father said it was okay.” she asked, shuffling her feet.
Shippo perked up upon hearing her words, and gave Inuyasha the look. After a moment, he even threw in a soft whimper.
“You wanna go play, Shippo?” Inuyasha asked in a teasing tone of voice.
The little kit merely nodded his head slowly, and then ever so quietly said “If that would be all right with you, Otou-san.”
“I’m sure Rin knows where it’s safe to play, where you won’t be a bother to anyone.” Kagome said sweetly, while resting her hand upon Rin’s shoulder. The little girl smiled up at her, ever so happy to have another human female in the family.
“Hai Hai Kagome-sama!” she bellowed enthusiastically, “Rin has a garden where Rin is allowed to play!”
“Well then,” Inuyasha said, turning to Shippo, “Just don’t get lost runt, remember you can sniff us out if need be.”
“I won’t get lost!” he protested, “Rin’s human and she doesn’t get lost.”
“She’s also lived here for three years.” he pointed out.
“Rin used to get lost, didn’t you Rin?” a new voice said. They’d wondered where Sesshoumaru had disappeared to so quickly.
“Hai, but Jaken-sama would always come and find Rin.” she admitted with a silly smile. Jaken, who was walking by at that point, turned and hmphed before quickly scurrying away, glad that the girl had someone else to annoy, for once.
“Go ahead and go with Rin, Shippo.” Kagome said, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the young kit scampered after the laughing human child.
Though Rin stood taller than Shippo, kitsune were naturally small youkai, and in reality, he was only one year younger than her. He’d been seven when they’d found him, or rather, when he’d found them, attempting to steal their jewel shards to seek revenge upon his father’s murderers. That was much to young for a whelp to be out on their own, even a pure youkai whelp. Inuyasha might have complained about it at the time, but he was always thankful that Shippo had been spared the pain of growing up alone, and he’d often wished that somebody had come along to save him. Eventually, someone had, he mused, it just took her a couple of centuries to find him. Kagome was his savior.
Inuyasha’s mind was brought back into the here and now once more upon hearing his older brother clear his throat. With the smallest of smirks present upon Sesshoumaru’s otherwise stoic face, he suggested “Perhaps you should watch your consumption of sake more thoroughly in the future.” He turned around before either Inuyasha or his mate could catch glimpse of his growing smile. “You will accompany this Sesshoumaru.” he said, his voice as steady as ever.
Rather wordlessly, they both followed, having figured there’d be some sort of official business to attend to while they were there. They entered the study in the same manner of quiet in which they’d traveled the halls, but Kagome could not help the look of wonder that was present on her face. The castle was more extravagant than she’d ever imagined. Every wall was adorned with elaborate carvings or tapestries. Every piece of furnishing looked priceless and one of a kind, and they were. She was surprised at the chairs she discovered when they entered what she presumed to be his study; they looked European. She could only assume that youkai existed in more countries than Japan, and so he likely did trade with the Taiyoukai of other lands.
Sesshoumaru noticed Kagome’s admiration of the finely carved pieces, and inwardly smirked. He imagined that outside of the trade posts at Nagasaki, not many humans would be familiar with the foreign items he had a tendency to collect. He was not surprised by his half-brother, though, when Inuyasha, in his loosened state, proceeded to plop himself down in one of the chairs, without showing the least bit of respect for the work that’d gone into creating them.
Seeing the way Kagome kept fingering the carvings, he attempted to suppress his smirk, as he finally asked “Do you like it?” while keeping his voice mostly stoic, with only the slightest hint of amusement at the girl’s childlike innocence in that moment, reminding him so much of Rin.
“They’re beautiful,” she answered while still fingering the cherub design. “Are they French?” she asked next, earning two raised eyebrows of surprise from Sesshoumaru.
Kagome, upon registering Sesshoumaru’s shock, quickly realized she’d stuck her foot in her mouth. How many humans did trade with the Europeans in this time period? Her history was a little rusty, but she was pretty sure the Tokugawa shogunate wouldn’t be formed for about another century. It was only around the turn of the 16th century, right? She knew they were in the warring states era, which meant it was before the battle of Sekigahara. Groaning, Kagome realized she needed to pay more attention in school, and to what she let slip off her tongue while in the past.
Sesshoumaru wondered how this human could know or recognize such a thing, but he decided to file his questions away for a later time. He was aware that the girl named Kagome came from a strange place, and was in truth originally a visitor to the village she now called her home. He had even heard it rumored that she came from another time, something about being the reincarnation of that other miko, but he had, until now, chosen to ignore such foolish tales.
“Indeed.” was all he decided to comment at the moment, switching gears to the matters, he considered, were more pressing for the time being. “About why I have summoned you.” he stated, earning a
“Yeah yeah, is there something you need me to sign or something?” from his tipsy half-brother.
“Actually,” the Taiyoukai stated, pulling a scroll from a shelf, “There are two things.”
Inuyasha just looked at him, eyebrow raised, so sighing, Sesshoumaru continued. “We never officialized your mating to paper, either.”
In the past, Inuyasha may have made a crack about ‘why do you care’ or something of the sort, except now he realized that he did care, or at the very least, felt honor bound to do things the ‘right’ and ‘proper’ thing regardless of his feelings.
“Better correct that, then.” he finally opted for stating, jerking his head in a curt nod of agreement.
Inuyasha and Kagome each observed with genuine curiosity and wonder as Sesshoumaru began to unroll the scroll he’d pulled, apparently pressed from demonic paper, for even as ancient as the thing appeared, it was in no danger of tattering. Inuyasha leaned over, and found it was a chronological account of the Inu no Taisho clan, a family tree if you will, going back thousands of years. He was surprised when he noted that Sesshoumaru had, in fact, logged his birth, having assumed his brother would have preferred it if Inuyasha remained off the family scroll entirely. Sesshoumaru was surprised when he caught Inuyasha leaning over to scan the document, not having truthfully been aware if his brother could even read.
“You wrote down my birth…” he finally stated, his voice full of gratitude and wonder.
“It was father’s desire.” he stated simply in return, basically admitting that their father had, before Inuyasha had even been born, planned on having him be a bonafide member of the family.
Inuyasha continued to gaze in wonder as his name was again added to the ancient family scroll, along with that of Kagome’s.
Pausing then, Sesshoumaru asked the pair “When, precisely, were you mated?”
“Exactly one year ago three days past.” Kagome answered.
The Taiyoukai quirked an eyebrow at her yet again.
“What? You said ‘precisely’.” she teased, astonished with herself for simply feeling comfortable enough around the Lord to tease him in such a manner.
“Waning half-moon of spring’s first month.” Inuyasha rephrased for Sesshoumaru’s records, though the Taiyoukai had already made the mental translation.
Sensing Kagome’s confusion though, Inuyasha turned to her with a simple smile, and translated for her. “Three weeks into spring.” he said.
“It wasn’t three weeks into spring though, it was four.” she stated, still confused.
“By your calendar.” he clarified.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow yet again, but otherwise ignored their exchange, as he logged their mating.
Kagome felt like bopping herself on the head then. How could she have forgotten that the dating system worked differently here? In her time, everyone had adapted to the modern, “Western” style calendar, in which the cycles of the moon shift around sporadically, as different months had different quantities of days. It was a strange calendar. New Year’s ten days after the start of winter? She shook her head. Somehow, she relished in the simplicity of following the lunar cycle, which was the only calendar the youkai seemed to use. It just went to show how much closer to nature they were than humans. She wouldn’t be able to keep track of the exact date in her head, even if she tried, after leaving her era for the final time. Let’s see, that would mean that her birthday would be around spring’s first waxing half moon…she could remember that. Glancing briefly at the scroll while Sesshoumaru inked his brush and filled in the appropriate information, Kagome silently thanked Miroku for having taught her the ancient scripts. She could read the scroll, and discovered that Inuyasha’s birthday was the first full moon of summer. Well, she smirked, she’d have to get him a present.
“Write your name here.” Sesshoumaru stated, pulling Kagome from her thoughts as she saw her mate take the brush, and re-inking it, put his name to paper in a few effortless strokes. He was bearing witness to Sesshoumaru’s mating now, which Kagome couldn’t help but notice the Taiyouka wrote as having taken place that night. She tried desperately not to blush.
“It is official.” he stated then, and turning, he faced a shoji that apparently lead to a small side chamber, as he stated next “You can come out now.”
The shoji slid to reveal Kagura, now dressed in her familiar robes, as apposed to the more formal yukata she had been wearing at dinner.
“Keh, not like I couldn’t smell her in there.”
“Inuyasha!”
“What?” he asked, the sake not having fully worn off yet. “Ain’t like I said she stank or nothing, just that I smelled her presence, was all.”
Kagura chuckled, and even Sesshoumaru quirked the edge of his lips in a half-smile, as his mate calmed the sober miko. “It’s all right Kagome,” she stated simply, adding “Things have gone much better than I’d feared, trust me.”
“You were afraid we wouldn’t approve, weren’t you?” Kagome addressed them both understandingly.
“The thought had crossed my mind.” Kagura confessed.
“But I assured her otherwise.” Sesshoumaru added.
“Hey, I really don’t care who you mate.” Inuyasha blurted, adding “I meant everything I said back there, she’s strong, and Kami knows your mate would have to be strong to put up with your ass.”
Kagome slapped her hand upon her forehead, mumbling curses so low even the full-blooded inu-youkai couldn’t be sure he’d heard her properly.
“Thank you,” she started once she rose her eyes up once again, affectively changing the subject, “For getting the youkai silk.”
Nodding his deeper understanding, he offered the miko the smallest of smiles, something that would take her a while to get used to seeing, and understandably so. “I trust the garment was to your liking.”
“Oh yes!” she answered honestly, bowing her head in gratitude. “He really surprised me, that was a wonderful present.”
Visibly and audibly sniffing in her direction, he smirked and mumbled “Indeed.”
Kagome blushed horribly, earning a chuckle from Kagura, which in turn caused Kagome to blush even more.
“Actually,” Inuyasha spoke up, and Kagome was sure whatever he was about to say would only make her embarrassment worse. “The pup was Kagome’s gift to me. We’d been waiting until after the fall of Naraku. On her last heat cycle, she said it was okay.”
Kagome was right, she was more embarrassed, but she was at least grateful that Inuyasha had had the forethought to not mention her birth control.
“Congratulations to you both.” Kagura smiled, offering Kagome a hug, which she felt uncomfortable with at first, but returned nonetheless, and fully embraced by the time both women pulled apart.
“Thank you.” she said simply and sincerely.
In that moment, Inuyasha pulled the fake yawn/stretch move he’d seen Souta do with Hitomi, wrapping his arm tenderly around Kagome’s shoulder in the follow-through. “Are we done here?” he asked, feigning another yawn, “I’m tired.” he added, “Ran all day to get here.”
“Indeed.” Sesshoumaru noted, not blind to the change in his brother’s scent, or the scent of his brother’s mate.
Kagome was quickly beginning to wonder if “indeed” was his favorite word, but he spoke more when he added “It is time to retire.”
In that moment, Sesshoumaru noted the spike in his mate’s scent, as well, as did Kagome, and unable to help herself, having already teased the Taiyoukai once and gotten away with it, passed a knowing glance between himself and Kagura, before quietly mumbling “Indeed.”
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Kagome never felt so relieved to be back in their bedchamber, never having figured in a million years that she’d feel comfortable in this room, but compared to what just happened in the dining hall, and then the study…
“What’s wrong?” Inuyasha asked as he came up behind her, nuzzling her neck.
“Nothing…” she answered honestly, adding “I suppose this is just going to take some getting used to.” She sighed, then added “You know, the whole ‘rulling partner’ thing.”
Nodding his understanding, he moved in closer, draping his tongue across her mating mark, relishing in the shivers he felt travel down her spine as a result.
“Where’s Shippo?” she asked, noting that her kit’s scent in the room was stale, indicating he hadn’t returned yet.
Shrugging, Inuyasha replied “He’s fine, he’s with Rin. Nothing’ll happen to him.”
Nodding her agreement, Kagome permitted her yukata to loosen, draping the fabric down her shoulders, exposing the top half of her back. The sensation of a small tug against her back caused her to glance down, in time to see her obi fall to the floor, as she realized Inuyasha had pulled it loose. Lowering her arms then, she permitted her yukata to join it.
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Sniffing his way down the numerous and twisting corridors, Shippo was determined to not get lost, as they had teased that he would. But upon reaching the door he knew lead to the chamber assigned to them in their stay, he quickly thought better of entering. He knew they trusted him to know better, and he smiled as he scampered back down the hall in the direction from whence he came. Looked like he’d be staying the night with that cute human girl, after all. She hadn’t wanted him to leave her company so soon, anyway.
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Sesshoumaru rarely needed sleep, and on many a night he would remain in his study, overlooking matters pertaining to the West. Signing treaties, trade agreements, that sort of thing. Tonight, however, he finished his immediate responsibilities in what many would consider record time, and when he retired to his private bedchamber, he found the wind sorceress waiting for him, void of clothing.