InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mating Season ❯ Dawning ( Chapter 45 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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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Chapter 45 - Dawning




Some may say that dawn arrived much too quickly that morning, while others would say that its delay in coming had suggested it may never appear at all, but Sesshoumaru, in his infinite wisdom, knew that dawn had arrived precisely on schedule.

The miko named Kagome, in her exhaustion, had permitted her unconscious body to tumble backward, the head of her mate still resting somewhat pillowed upon her legs, as his body laid sprawled across the forest floor. The kitsune child slept curled in a protective ball, not far from the lingering warmth of the fading embers that were once their fire.

Sesshoumaru did not alter his position, as he sensed his half-brother slowly begin to awaken. The light of morning had succeeded in illuminating the area, though the sun itself had not yet risen. But with the light of day upon them, Inuyasha could see quite clearly, he found, when he slowly opened his eyes.

“So it wasn’t a dream…” was the first thing to whisper past his lips.

“Indeed it was not, little brother.” he suddenly heard, and it caused him to sit upright rather abruptly.

“What are you still doing here?” he asked, not in hostility, but in genuine surprise.

“I gave your mate my word that I would remain until sunrise.” he answered simply.

“Don’t you have a guest waiting for you at the castle?” he asked, sounding as though he didn’t wish to be an imposition.

“Do not trouble yourself with concerns regarding Lord Daikomaru.” Sesshoumaru answered, adding, “He is not worth it.”

“You guys really like each other, huh?” Inuyasha teased, and smiled at what appeared to be a momentary look of disgust flash across his brother’s features, disgust that for once in his life, he found, was not directed towards him.

“Lord Daikomaru is a fool.” he stated simply.

“I guess so.” Inuyasha agreed, “If he’s gonna go and get on your bad side, he must be a fool. Nobody in their right mind would deliberately try to piss you off.”

“Have you not, in the past, done just that very thing?” he asked in mild amusement.

Inuyasha shrugged, still in mild pain, but feeling much better than he had when he’d woken in the middle of the night, and looking his brother in the eyes for a moment before lowering his gaze, he answered humbly “I was a fool.”

“No more than I.” Sesshoumaru stated solemnly, as he slowly approached his brother, and in a single gesture that would likely mean more to either of them than any words that could ever be spoken over the course of five millennia, Sesshoumaru reached down and offered his brother his hand.

Shock splashed across his face, before he took the offered limb, and assisted in hoisting himself up to his unsteady feet. Glancing behind himself once he stood, he noticed his currently sleeping mate. Her posture suggested that she had fallen asleep while sitting up, and had rolled backward some time during the night. Logically, he realized that was precisely what had happened.

“When do you return to normal?” he suddenly heard his brother question, and glancing towards the east, he attempted to deduce the amount of light he could see protruding through the trees, before he finally shrugged again, and answered “As soon as the sun peaks, however many minutes away that is.”

Sesshoumaru nodded his understanding, as he glanced towards the east as well, and with his demonic vision intact, he easily scanned through the entanglement of leaves toward the horizon, and concluded that based upon the current shade of orange, which was quickly fading away into the ever lightening sky of blue, the sun itself would be visible in roughly ten minutes.

“What’s it like?” Inuyasha heard his older brother ask next, and he found himself flabbergasted by his sudden interest.

“What?” he asked for clarification, “Turning human?” He received a nod.

Shrugging once more, he went on to explain rather casually, that it was like having his very being ripped from his core. He felt both blind and deaf, his useless ears feeling as though someone had their hands clasped tightly over them, preventing him from hearing all but the most prominent of sounds. His night vision got reduced to the point where he might as well simply tie a strip of black cloth over his eyes and be done with it, and he practically had to stick something up his nose before he could smell it properly. He considered himself physically weak, despite the fact that he was still incredibly strong for a human, and grumbled over all the times his friends had to come to his aid. His mind was always a jumbled mess, he whined, because of his stupid human emotions, amplifying the fear he felt at not being able to sense his surroundings. But, he finally confessed, the thing he hated most about being mortal was feeling pain. Oh sure, youkai felt pain too, but it was completely different from how a human experienced it. A youkai more or less simply registers the fact that physical damage had occurred, and it was an inconvenience beyond anything else. Inuyasha seriously doubted that it even hurt his brother that much when he cut off his arm, and remembering how it felt to have his brother’s hand shoved through his own gut, or all the times he’d been impaled, for that matter, Inuyasha knew that those times were nothing compared to any injury he’d ever acquired while in his mortal body. There was simply no way to explain that kind of pain to someone who would never truly experience it for themselves, and he laughed weakly in that moment, telling his brother that he had no idea how lucky he was.

Sesshoumaru’s response had been that he was very much aware of how lucky he was, and that he believed his brother to be lucky as well, in the sense that he had acquired such loyal companionship as his mate, as well as his other pack members, who had all stuck by him despite of his monthly weakness. In his fleeting, yet repetitive, moments in which he was unable to offer those in his protection, precisely that, they, in turn, had always banded together, and fought to protect him instead. He went on to say that such loyalty, at least in his opinion, was rare among humans, and that the others of his pack were also considered welcomed family members in the West should there ever arise a reason in which they would be required to venture there. Finally, he stated that his secret would be thoroughly protected, and that he and Kagura would remain the only ones in the entire castle to know of it. He would be sure, in the future, to never schedule anything regarding visiting officials around that time of month, and should something arise beyond his control, such as Daikomaru’s appearance, that he would excuse him from all such encounters.

His speech was stopped in its tracks when he felt a sudden pulse emanate from his brother’s body. In an instant, the shadows of morning stretched across the sky, as the top edges of true sunlight could suddenly be seen, shimmering playfully in the ripples of the nearby stream. Sesshoumaru watched in stunned silence as Inuyasha transformed before his very eyes, an unmistakable expression of pain, mixed with relief, present on the soon-to-be hanyou’s face. Everything happened simultaneously. The most immediately noticeable change would of course have to be that his waist length locks of raven faded, paling until they were once again the iridescent silver of their heritage. At the same time, equally noticeable was the fact that his human ears morphed, shifting themselves into the shape of dog-ears, resting once more on the top of his head. This sensation appeared to be the most painful, or perhaps, was it merely painful when they transformed the other way? Despite his momentary wince, Inuyasha seemed overjoyed to have his “normal” ears back in place, despite the fact that such appendages were what so readily branded him as being hanyou. The soft, fragile human nails that had temporarily adorned his hands and feet had also reverted themselves back into the lethal weapons he possessed every other moment of the lunar cycle, and when he smiled, nobody could have missed the way the sunlight caught on his fangs. Inwardly, Sesshoumaru could also detect the abrupt change in his brother’s odor. Though it was true he could “sense” his youkai blood last night, he hadn’t truthfully been able to “smell” it. All lower youkai, and even most higher ones, for that matter, would have honestly believed Inuyasha to have been human. Now, though, the stench of hanyou could no longer be mistaken, and Sesshoumaru mentally cringed when he realized he’d just referred to the odor as a stench. In truth, Inuyasha’s odor did not, necessarily, smell repulsive. He merely smelled half youkai, and half human, which was precisely what he was. Fortunately, he had said nothing out loud. Unfortunately, it appeared that he hadn’t needed to.

“Okay, I’m normal again.” Inuyasha suddenly grumbled, rather sarcastically, their happy little “conversation” hindered now by his youkai blood, making him much less talkative and emotional. “Thanks for stickin’ around, but I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do than to hang out in a reeking corner of forest.”

Now that Inuyasha’s demonic sense of smell had returned, he could detect for himself the horrendous odors that permeated their immediate area.

“Better get back to your house guest before you get the stink of hanyou on you…” he mouthed low, not necessarily suggesting his brother truly still felt such a way, but acknowledging that he knew Daikomaru did.

Sesshoumaru realized something in that moment. Though Inuyasha was not accusing him of still thinking of hanyou as lowly, per se, he was more or less admitting that that was how he still viewed himself. If the gruffness of his statement then, were to be overlooked, one could easily recognize the genuine concern he held for his older brother, in that being in his presence would somehow prove demeaning to his status. However, it had since become public knowledge that Sesshoumaru had granted Inuyasha his title, so not only did the Taiyoukai deem such concerns unwarranted, he viewed them as being irrelevant. The fact of the matter was that his allies, as well as his enemies, were now all aware of his association with his hanyou brother.

“The time for such a concern is long past.” he stated at last, which Inuyasha decided, could be interpreted in many different ways. First and foremost though, he realized that quite literally, the entire castle likely still carried his scent, or at the very least, one bed chamber certainly did. The thought, as random as it was, managed to bring a tinting of color to his cheeks, something that caused Sesshoumaru to raise an eyebrow at his sibling.

Inuyasha shook his head in a way meant to articulate “never mind” as he then proceeded to ask, rather seriously, “Did you want us to return with you then?”

Sesshoumaru’s eyebrow remained raised, as he inquired “You have no other obligations?”

“Keh, the reason why we left is pretty damn obvious.”

“To myself, but I informed Lord Daikomaru that you and your family had previously departed, prior to my receiving word of his arrival.”

“That was good thinking,” Inuyasha began, adding “Except, now…” He wasn’t sure how to word it, so he decided to just come out and say it. “It’ll be obvious when you return that you were in my company, and he’ll wonder what the hell is going on. If I go back with you, though, it’ll explain your absence this morning, ‘cause you could simply say you went to fetch us.” He paused, taking a deep breath, then continued with “Like you said, as ruling partner, this shit is my responsibility too, and besides,” He chuckled in mild embarrassment, “I owe you, bastard, and I wanna get squared away as soon as fucking possible.”

Sesshoumaru permitted the smallest of chuckles to escape his lips, as he stated “Very well, rouse your mate and pup, and clean yourselves.” all the while thinking that he couldn’t wait to see Daikomaru’s face. No scent of what had transpired with Inuyasha remained in his blood, and a quick rinse in the stream would be all it would take to rid his outer body of the lingering odors. Daikomaru would neither be able to detect Inuyasha’s recent transformation, nor his near death experience. His bite marks had also all nearly finished healing.

Inuyasha leaned slowly over Kagome’s still sleeping face, nudging her gently while mumbling “Hey…” in a soothing tone. It amazed Sesshoumaru that someone as wild and gruff as his hanyou brother could also be so tender, and so loving.

Kagome slowly allowed her eyes to drift open, but when she did, and the visual of seeing her mate, in hanyou form, leaning down over her registered within her brain, she bolted into a sitting position, much the same as Inuyasha himself had done, all the while screaming “Inuyasha!” in unbridled delight. The pitch of her voice was enough to flatten his ears to his head, as well as rouse their kitsune pup from his seemingly endless slumber. Shippo cried “Otou-san!” at the top of his own little lungs, while flying himself into his father’s embrace. It was the impact of Shippo’s little clawed hands and feet upon his bare chest that first made Inuyasha realize that he was still topless. That, and the suddenly rather reddened hue of his mate’s face as she curiously examined a blade of grass.

Chuckling, Inuyasha let Shippo down rather gently, this time actually aiming the kid’s feet towards the ground before releasing his grip of him, and then brushing off some imaginary dirt from his stomach, he mumbled “We’re heading back to the castle.”

Their reactions had been somewhat different. While Shippo merrily belted out a “Yay!” and proceeded to scurry about picking up camp (the sooner they were packed, the sooner they could depart), Kagome sat rather still, with a mild look of contemplation on her otherwise peaceful face. She was discreet, but an inu could recognize that she was scenting the area.

“We’d better get cleaned up first.” she finally opted for stating aloud, before Inuyasha had even had a chance to mention that very same fact. “Go ahead and go first, I’ll wait here and help Shippo ‘pack’.” she half-chuckled, as she glanced over towards her kitsune, shaking her head with an amused expression of parenthood, as she observed the youngster aimlessly shove anything and everything into her backpack, without first bothering to see how it would most logically fit. As a result, her bag now appeared to be quite overfilled, and nearly half of their belongings still rested outside of it. “On second thought…” she chuckled again, while proceeding to dump everything out of her pack again, making Shippo furrow his brow and pout his lower lip, “Why don’t you go with Otou-san and get cleaned up as well?” she asked Shippo directly.

Shippo was about to protest, asking why they didn’t all just bathe then and get it over with even faster, before he quickly thought better of it. Sure, under more normal conditions, the three of them likely would have all gotten into the stream at the same time, but under the circumstances…he shook his head. Even though he was little, he could still detect the spike in his mother’s scent, whenever she glanced up over at his half-naked father. Though they obviously wouldn’t do anything with him present, Kagome likely didn’t even want to think such things while Sesshoumaru was in the area, and she was trying desperately to not spike her arousal to the point of embarrassment by concentrating on repairing his botched packing job. Nodding to himself after a moment then, he realized all too logically why Kagome wouldn’t be bathing with Inuyasha. But why did he have to take a bath at all? He wasn’t that dirty. Sniffing himself, at least he didn’t think so. He looked over towards his father for guidance. Was he really okay with just leaving Okaa-san by herself?

In the past, probably the last thing Inuyasha would have ever done would have been to leave Kagome alone in the presence of Sesshoumaru. He’d no sooner trusted his bastard brother than he’d trusted Naraku, and he’d likely have believed Kagome safer in the company of Kouga than with the western Taiyoukai. However, times had most certainly changed. Not only was Sesshoumaru no longer a potential threat, but he was likely the best person in which to entrust Kagome’s care. One thing Inuyasha knew was that the western Lord was certainly capable of protecting Kagome, and he also knew that Sesshoumaru knew that to entrust the safety of one’s mate to another, was among the highest forms of honor and recognition one could give. He never was one for many words, choosing to allow his actions to speak for him, instead. But that he knew Sesshoumaru understood, as well.

“Well, come on already, runt.” he teased, laughing at the way Shippo whined about not wanting a bath.

“You want to look your best when we return to the castle, don’t you?” he teased next, and Shippo suddenly changed his mind about the whole thing, rushing towards the river right passed where Inuyasha stood, calling out over his young shoulder “Hurry up!”

Kagome laughed as well, as she caught her mate’s chuckling eyes, and the two passed a look of pure love and understanding, as Inuyasha, very directly and seriously stated “Stay with Sesshoumaru” and then the smallest of nods were passed between the two brothers, before Inuyasha grabbed his robes, and disappeared behind the bushes.

Kagome had nodded her agreement and understanding as well, and had proceeded to repack her backpack when she suddenly heard her mate’s brother speak.

“You had lost your inu blood as well.”

“Yes,” she answered, as she folded a towel, “My blood is his blood, so we share the same cycle.”

Sesshoumaru’s nose had been so badly clouded with the scent of his poison’s destruction when he’d first arrived, that he hadn’t truthfully taken the time to realize that he should have still detected the inu in his brother’s mate. The thought had only occurred to him as he’d observed the three in their sleep, the scent of his poison having finally, for the most part, cleared the area, once his antidote had been fully distributed. It was then, in that tranquility, that he realized the only scent of youkai he could detect, besides himself, was that of the kitsune, both of the fox’s adoptive parents appearing purely human, in that moment. Deciding then not to use his nose, he reached out with his youki, instead. He could detect enough of his brother’s demonic aura to know that his youkai hadn’t been purified, but the amount of inu in Kagome was so faint to begin with, that she had appeared to have been completely ridden of it, and he hadn’t truthfully known if such an exertion of power as she had emitted had successfully managed to purify herself. Upon closer examination, though, he realized he could still detect the demonic aura of her newly developing pup, so it obviously hadn’t been purified. That likely meant that the miko’s inu blood would return to her in the morning, as well. It amazed him that she could exude such an amount of purifying energy, without harming the youkai being that dwelled within her very flesh, but after a moment, he summed it up to maternal instinct. She’d likely erected a tiny barrier around her womb, purely on a subconscious level, for he honestly believed that she hadn’t even thought of her unborn pup in that moment, with as frantic as she had been over her mate. Sensing the strength of her miko aura then, even as she slept, he found he was truly in awe of the natural powers she possessed. She did not draw her strength from the jewel, either, which he could sense as well, faintly, as it rested around her neck, its aura partially blocked by a sealing ward she’d apparently applied to its surface. Something that showed her intelligence, as well. She was certainly one of a kind. He had faced his fair share of spiritual humans throughout his rather long life, but none had come close to possessing the necessary abilities in which to defeat him. This girl, however, this girl called Kagome, she could, in all likely hood, destroy him. He had been aware of that fact even as he’d stated otherwise, immediately following the fall of Naraku. He had been fascinated by her then, but he found himself even more so now. There was just something about her, something he felt in his gut. She was a gift to them all, by the fates, of that he was sure.

“You are strong.” he complimented, and it was enough to make Kagome drop the cap of the empty medicine bottle she had prepared to screw back on.

“Thank you.” she decided upon, quickly adding “As is your mate.”

Sesshoumaru nodded, then after a moment, said “It would appear, both sons of the Inu no Taisho have made wise decisions.”

“It would appear.” she echoed, still finding herself feeling a little weird with simply having a conversation with him. Apparently, Sesshoumaru could sense her unrest.

“Do I make you nervous?” he asked, showing as much concern as little Rin could usually detect in his otherwise stoic voice and appearance. Somehow, Kagome could read it in him as well, though he truthfully hid his emotions rather successfully, at least most of the time. Then something popped into her head, something as a means of lightening the mood, even if only for herself, for she didn’t truthfully know if Sesshoumaru even had a mood.

“Indeed.” she chuckled.

He raised an eyebrow at her then, and slowly but surely, the edges of his lips ever so slightly raised upward as well. He was not smiling because he enjoyed the knowledge that he made her nervous. He was smiling because after her joke, which he had of course recognized for what it was, he knew that she no longer was… nervous, that is.

“This Sesshoumaru means you no harm.” he stated regardless, though for someone like him, such a statement seemed rather redundant, considering their current situation, and it surprised Kagome that he would even bother saying such a thing.

“I know that!” she insisted, ceasing in her packing once more. “I know you are a man of your word, your honor is great…” she babbled, nervous for a different reason now, hoping he truly didn’t believe her afraid of him. Honestly, that wasn’t it, she’d never feared him. “It’s just…”

“You can sense the power of my aura, and it unsettles your natural instinct.”

Was that it? Kagome knew, she knew he’d never hurt her, but he could, he could kill her from where he stood, quite literally with a single finger, and her baser instinct knew that.

“Yeah…” she finally mumbled, glad he appeared to understand. Of course he did…

“You are not alone. I too can sense the force of your own aura, and find it…”

“Unsettling?” she offered

“Unfathomable.” he stated instead, adding “Never before have I encountered a being, human or otherwise, that possessed power enough to destroy me.”

Kagome’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, as she dropped her jaw to match, raising a hand and pointing at herself with her finger resting against her chest, a very childlike “who, me?” expression on her unbelieving face.

Sesshoumaru nodded.

A few moments of silence passed between them then, when their hearing enabled them to both detect the splashing of the kitsune child upstream, hidden by the trees and a river bend. Inuyasha could be heard next, grumbling at Shippo to hurry up and stop playing around. Inuyasha had been trying to soak the stench out of his silk kosode, which unlike his fire-rat robes, possessed no demonic properties, and therefore, was not self-restoring. Now that the garment was relatively clean, he was trying to get Shippo to stop splashing him long enough to use his fox-fire to dry the damn thing off. But Shippo had a right to be overly happy at the moment, he’d feared losing a second father. They both heard Shippo proclaim that had Inuyasha died, he would have sought his revenge. That statement made Kagome recall how they had met the kit in the first place, as he’d attempted to steal their jewel shards, in order to make himself strong enough to avenge his real father’s death. Sesshoumaru was unaware of the kit’s history, however it was truthfully irrelevant, as he commented then

“Your pup is truly loyal. Not many youkai would accept foster parents as thoroughly as he does.”

It was strange, Kagome thought, hearing Sesshoumaru compliment her son, when he’d just basically stated that he would have challenged him over Inuyasha’s death. Of course, they all knew that Shippo wouldn’t have stood a chance against such a challenge, but Sesshoumaru would never have accepted one, either.

“Especially…” Sesshoumaru continued, seemingly permitting his own mind to wander as well, “It is odd for a youkai child to accept a miko as its mother, when his instinct should tell him that you are a possible threat.”

Kagome was not offended by Sesshoumaru’s statement. The fact that most youkai hated and feared all miko was rather widely known. Instead, she logically answered “I was not as powerful as I am now when I first took him in.” She paused, seeing the Taiyoukai’s nod in understanding, and gesture that she could continue. “Inuyasha and Shippo don’t fear me now, Shippo completely ignores it I think, and Inuyasha…” She stopped herself, when she realized she was rambling, but the Taiyoukai nodded for her to continue once more, so after a moment, she did. “Inuyasha had always feared he could possibly hurt me, not on purpose, but if he transformed…” Sesshoumaru knew all to well of what she spoke, “…and he’s said that he now feels more comfortable, knowing that I am strong enough to protect myself.”

Sesshoumaru thought for a moment, recalling quite clearly his early encounters with this miko, before she had unleashed the powers she now possessed. She never had feared him, he mentally chuckled, recalling how she’d quite bravely, and quite foolishly, sought to protect Inuyasha on past occasions, daring to stand up to himself, a being that could have cut her down before she would have even had the time to realize what had happened. Now, though, what she spoke of was true, she could protect herself, but not only that…

“Not just yourself, but him, as well.” he answered aloud.

Kagome nodded her own understanding to his statement.

“Yeah, Inuyasha isn’t himself when he’s transformed, but now I know I could always bring him back, without really hurting him.”

“Your control is tangible, but not flawless” Sesshoumaru commented next, “Even as you attempted to purify his body of my poison, your subconscious mind refused to permit you to apply your full potential.”

“True, but I think that’s a good thing.” she offered.

“In this instance.” he agreed

“Can I ask you something?” she asked next.

“You just did.” he pointed out, but got the strangest sensation of déjà vu when her quip reply of “Can I ask you something specific?” sunk in.

“Yes.” he replied

“How is it that Inuyasha doesn’t possess poison claws like you do? Is it because he’s half human?”

“No.” he answered, but after a moment, and the look of dissatisfaction at his answer, he reluctantly elaborated. “Our father was not a poison youkai.”

Realization slowly settled itself within her gaze, and he nodded at her presumed discovery, voicing aloud “I inherited my poisonous attributes from my mother.”

Kagome was surprised to hear him actually say it out loud, feeling quite positive that the youkai Lord likely never spoke of his mother. She had obviously had to have passed away, at some point, in order for their father to ever have mated with Inuyasha’s mother in the first place, and she believed that that was likely at least part of the reasoning behind why he had never, at least until recently, approved of Inuyasha’s existence. She recalled a fairly recent conversation she had with her mate during one of their human nights, usually the only time when he would be willing to speak of such things. It was after the defeat of Naraku, but before her birthday, and the brothers’ alliance. Inuyasha had said that he didn’t feel it was right that he should have hated him so much for inheriting Tetsusaiga, when it was the only thing that he had of their father, when he had their father’s entire estate! He confessed he didn’t know how old Sesshoumaru had been when his mother had died, or how she had, but that he had been only around six years old when he’d been abandoned, and that Sesshoumaru got to grow up with at least a father. At least he got to know their father’s face.

Shaking her head free from such thoughts, because it often lead her to remember her own father’s death, and she figured everyone had had enough death to go around, for one day, she then voiced softly, but obviously loud enough that she knew the Taiyoukai would hear her, “Thank kami you also inherited the anti-toxin.”

Sesshoumaru nodded, but then noticed that Kagome’s eyes were averted downward, and so she therefore hadn’t seen his nod. Choosing to speak aloud then, he answered “All poison youkai possess the antidote to their own poison.”

“I suppose that makes sense…” she mumbled, still more to herself, “If you could accidentally injure someone you cared about, you’d need to be able to help them in return.”

He nodded again, and that time she saw it as she’d looked back up to greet his eyes. She wasn’t even just thinking about that particular incident, but she had also recalled the nights in which she and Inuyasha had mated with him in his full-youkai form, and the wounds she’d received as a result.

“However…”

Kagome was suddenly pulled from her thoughts, perhaps a good thing, considering where her thoughts were slowly taking her…she blushed.

“Inuyasha was extremely fortunate to have only been exposed to the residue of my poison which resides upon my claws at most times. Were I to have deliberately injected him, he would not have survived passed sundown.”

Kagome gasped, but Sesshoumaru noticed that her scent had not spiked with fear. After a moment, though, he found he was surprised to see the young miko stand, and walk towards him.

“Can…can I…” She was suddenly nervous again, but at his raised eyebrow, she bit her lip and spit it out. “Can I see your claws?”

He neither nodded nor moved away, but when Kagome reached down and delicately grabbed his hand, she thought she heard him whisper “Be careful.”

Turning his hand over in both of hers, she was amazed by the length of his claws, nearly twice as long as Inuyasha’s, and appearing nearly twice as sharp. She could smell the toxin when she brought her nose closer, and thanks to her enhanced vision, she could see along the underside of his claws, what appeared to be tiny glands.

“So you can control the amount of poison?” she asked, though even she deemed it a stupid question herself, choosing to elaborate with “It’s not simply an ‘on or off’ type of thing?” She didn’t know if an expression referring to an electrical switch was truly the best analogy, but he seemed to have comprehended her meaning

“That is correct.” he answered, and after a moment, asked curiously “Would you care for a demonstration?”

Kagome’s eyes widened, but after a moment, so did her smile, and gently releasing her grip of his hand, she nodded. Sesshoumaru smirked his lips in a half-smile, and proceeded to permit his toxin to bubble to the surface, extremely cautious so as to not get a single drop anywhere near the miko, who had knowingly stood back a few paces. Sesshoumaru then proceeded to bring his hand over towards a rather large rock, and rather effortlessly plunged his claws within the stone. Kagome observed in silent fascination as the small bolder slowly began to melt.

“You’re right…” he heard her whisper in awe, “Were he exposed to that much poison, he wouldn’t have survived.” She stared at what remained of the rock, and mumbled “It’s like acid.”

“Indeed.” he answered, elaborating with “And the whip you have seen that I can produce is a product of this toxin as well, controlled and maintained by my youki.”

She nodded her understanding, and decided to boast as well when she stated “I can now expel blasts of purifying energy straight from my hands, though it requires more concentration. I still prefer them, but I no longer require a sacred arrow in which to channel my power, and am no longer helpless once my arrows run out.”

She was surprised when she heard him state rather confidently “You can do much more.”

She nodded, admitting “I can erect barriers, and deflect dark magic as well as youki.” She thought back to the time when she’d deflected Tsubaki’s curse. She’d swung at the serpent youkai with her bow, not even knowing what she was doing. Back then, her own powers were very much on an on/off basis, practically out of her control altogether, triggered by instinct alone, with the only exception being her sacred arrows, which weren’t nearly as strong as they had since become. Kaede had always told her that she possessed great powers within herself that merely needed to be awakened, and she was ever so grateful that they finally had been.

Stepping over towards the melted remains of rock then, which reeked of acid and evil demonic presence, she rather effortlessly lowered her hand towards the surface, keeping it an inch above making physical contact, as her own aura purified the remains of youki present, until the rock was once again, nothing more than a rock, albeit a misshapen rock, now.

Sesshoumaru found himself stepping back a few paces himself as he observed the miko in her own demonstration. Though he was a powerful youkai, and one strong enough to resist nearly all purifying barriers, he still could not deny the faint tingling sensation his youki detected as a result of his close proximity to her aura. It reminded him of the sensation of being on Mt. Hakurei. He approached her then, and standing not two feet behind her, as she remained crouched on the ground, he spoke softly “I may not be the strongest youkai who has ever lived, however, I can state with confidence, that to this Sesshoumaru’s knowledge, your powers rival that of Midoriko herself.”

Kagome gasped and stood quickly, spinning around to face him, a tremendous blush rushing her cheeks at the humbling she felt at the compliment. Midoriko was by far the strongest miko to have ever lived. How could little ol’ Kagome come close to competing with that?

“Should I be jealous?” was suddenly heard by both of them, and Kagome blushed even more when she realized the rather close proximity of his brother to herself.

“Inuyasha…” she mumbled, as Sesshoumaru stepped away, unaffected by the playful taunting in his brother’s voice.

“I was…we were just…”

“Demonstrating our powers.” Sesshoumaru finished for her, and as Inuyasha’s eyes drifted over towards the melted blob that appeared to have once been the bolder he believed he recalled had rested in that very spot, he chuckled, and told Kagome “Go get yourself rinsed off, I’ll finish packing.”

Kagome’s blush darkened more when she realized she’d neglected to finish that simple task upon her distraction, but she simply nodded her head, and grabbing her bow and arrows, she ran off towards the same spot of river that he had just emerged from.

“She certainly suffers from human emotions.” Sesshoumaru stated, somewhat unsettled by her sudden wave of embarrassment.

“Well I’d certainly hope so…” Inuyasha laughed as he zipped her bag closed, commenting “She is human, after all, and I wouldn’t have her any other way.” He stood, flinging the bag over his shoulder.

“It does not trouble your youkai, sensing how powerful a miko she is?” he asked in all seriousness.

“Honestly…” he set the bag back down, and looked thoughtful for a moment, “No, it doesn’t. It used to, but…I love her, and besides…”

“She has stated you still fear your own transformations.”

He lowered his ears, and mumbled “Yeah, well…I don’t wanna ever hurt her.”

“Your youkai would not harm your own mate.”

“That’s what she says, but…I don’t know, I don’t trust myself. If I transformed-”

He was interrupted by a rather rude “Do you think this Sesshoumaru’s nose to be blind?”

Inuyasha realized what he was getting at, but tried to mumble “That’s different.”

“You permitted your transformation while mating. This is quite apparent by the fact that she now carries your true hanyou pup.”

“But that transformation wasn’t brought on during battle.” he insisted.

Sesshoumaru considered his concerns for a moment, before offering a slight nod. He had witnessed his brother’s transformations before, at least the ones induced during battle, that is, and if he was insistent that what he permitted to transpire in the bedroom was not the same thing, he certainly had no means of disputing his claim. However, one thing he believed he knew, that Inuyasha was simply refusing to accept, was that regardless of how the transformation came about, once his youkai side had recognized and claimed his mate, she was forever safe from harm. His youkai side would always recognize Kagome for who she was, no matter how it came about rising to the surface.

Both inu brothers were pulled from their mutual thoughts upon registering the sudden sensation of an incredible increase in power, and it was Sesshoumaru who stated then “She must have removed the ward.”

“What ward?” he asked, confused. It wasn’t until now, as he realized just how strongly he could sense the presence of the jewel, that it dawned on him that he hadn’t previously been able to sense it all too much.

“Your mate had sealed the jewel in a sutra, wrapping it around the jewel as it remained around her neck. It was a wise decision, in that it masked the jewel’s presence from lower youkai, while she focused her energy on healing you.” he commented, then added, “However, the ward had also likely blocked the demonic properties of her chihaya, so its removal was unquestionably necessary.”

Inuyasha had started to kick himself, thinking Why didn’t I think of that? in regard to sealing the jewel, but when his brother’s second statement sunk in, that the youkai silk, also being in direct physical contact with the sealing ward, would therefore be sealed as well, he realized then that yes, removing the ward was necessary.

Not more than five minutes had passed when all three men at camp suddenly heard Kagome shriek, and Inuyasha along with little Shippo, and even Sesshoumaru, all rushed to see what had happened. Rounding the corner, their youkai noses already told them at least partially what had happened, even before the scene came into view. Kagome’s blood! Inuyasha panicked. Once the clearing came into view, however, he relaxed somewhat. There stood Kagome in the shallow stream, quite naked, though nobody, including herself, truthfully cared at the moment. She had her bow drawn taut, her entire body glowing purple, the jewel around her neck shimmering brightly, a strong contrast to the dismal trail of blood that flowed from her collar bone. Before her stood a rather menacing owl youkai. Its ability at silent flight had permitted it to enter the clearing without anyone detecting its approach. Along with the natural stealth of the creature, its youkai properties apparently allowed for the ability to also mask its scent and youki, for even as they stood before it, nobody could truthfully smell, or otherwise sense its presence. Kagome’s wound stopped bleeding, her body’s enhanced healing properties kicking in. The scratch was short and deep, where the owl had apparently grabbed her with its talons, in a failed attempt at snatching the jewel.

Inuyasha growled, and prepared to draw his sword, but his hand was stilled when he felt his brother place his atop it, gently preventing him from drawing his weapon. Kagome turned in their direction momentarily, and smiled a simple smile, before refocusing her attention on the giant-yet-lower youkai bird, who stood across from her still, its red eyes glowing with thoughts of how to kill her and acquire the jewel, without putting itself at risk. If it ever reached such a conclusion, however, nobody would ever know, for before it had attempted to move from its perch, Kagome let her arrow fly. The owl’s eyes widened, quite a sight for something whose eyes were already quite large to begin with, and in an instant it was gone, an explosion of nothing but purple dust settling in the place where the owl once stood. Kagome turned back to face the men then, a light dusting of rouge across her cheeks, though she made no effort to hide herself from view. She smiled when she saw the loving stares both Inuyasha and Shippo were giving her, in their relief that she was all right, in addition to the way Sesshoumaru very honorably looked the other way, standing with his side facing her, his face turned the other way, so as to not even catch her image in his side vision. She was still pretty sure he had seen everything, though.

“I knew the minute I removed the ward, youkai would be drawn to the jewel again.” she mumbled, as she lowered herself into the stream once more, in order to wash away the dried blood from her already healing wound. It would be gone in a matter of hours.

“Maybe we should put the ward back on…” Inuyasha suggested as he approached, “At least while we travel.” She nodded her understanding and agreement, remembering their run-in with the horde of lower youkai that had nearly done them in the previous day. “We could hide it in your bag, so it won’t hurt your chihaya.” he offered, and Kagome nodded that that was a good idea as well.

Finished with her bath then, she noticed Sesshoumaru’s continued presence, though he also continued to cast his eyes elsewhere, and she smiled when she realized he was offering them his protection. Most likely, no more youkai would dare think to approach, with as powerful as his aura was. Kagome dressed, and everyone proceeded to return to camp. Water was applied to the few embers that had continued to glow, and after Kagome replaced the ward around the jewel, she carefully placed it within an inner zippered pouch of her backpack. Slinging said monstrosity upon her back, along with her nearly empty quiver, she clutched her bow, as well as Shippo, and together, atop Inuyasha’s back, they took off at a rather quickened pace, following behind Sesshoumaru who lead the way, flying silently overhead upon his cloud of youki.