One of my first attempts at seriousness, so please bear with me.
Rating: R, let's say, although the rating may not go up so far until later in the story. Pairings: Wherever my whims take me. Ultimately: Sess/Kag Summary: HA! Like I've thought that far yet! But something along the lines of Kagome being a sort of freedom fighter in a world oppressed by Youkai. You've heard it before, blah, blah, blah.
NOTE!!!: the Prologue and Chapter one are in the same chapter!
I own not InuYasha nor it's illustrious characters, you cretins.
Prologue: The Takeover and Sesshoumaru.
It was a matter of days. For all the Youkai had planned under our noses, for all our military forces, for all that we've DONE for the ungrateful beasts, Takeover was within the hour.
The Youkai Districts, which once upon a time had been carefully planned works of art, had fallen into disrepair when the invasion of the aliens from Wherever-the-Hell-They're-From started. A human that was just passing through the Districts probably would have gasped, wide-eyed, at the crumbling buildings, the graffiti, and the countless Youkai gangs that loitered as murderously as they dared on street corners. This human would look for an officer of the law, scanning the streets, parks, or hell, maybe the local donut shops. Had there been one, I'm sure she would have complained.
She would mention the sorry state of affairs at the next couple of high-end cocktail parties, and vow on her Righteousness as a Moral Human Being that she would go to any lengths necessary to put an end to this! A few friends would chime in, shoot a few glares at the person next to the punch bowl who was tentatively trying to change the subject.
Over the next few days, however, things would blow over. Because, frankly, nobody messed with the Government, especially if they were keen on seeing their beloved Fido again. This included high-bred women of the Cocktail Parties, who were, of course, absolutely suffering inside.
And the Districts became more and more unruly, the daily upsets hidden more and more frequently and with stunning intelligence. And suddenly, the Districts weren't any damn good anymore. Not when the Youkai could have the world.
At the beginning of Takeover, I encountered my first Youkai ever. I was ten years old; I've had my birthday since then. I recall the conversation with a strange clarity:
I walk down the street of our Downtown, my mind on nothing but the mother in front of me which I couldn't lose sight of, and the brand-new Barbie doll promised at the end of our expedition. Suddenly, I look up and my mom isn't there anymore. I'm frantic, I run crying up and down the street, and eventually end up on a less-trafficked side street. I see the endless flow of people just twenty feet away, walking down Main, oblivious to my plight. I was a spoiled child; having somebody not notice me was unheard of!
My seed of anger is squashed by my growing despair. I lower my head to my knees and hook my arms under my thighs and cry. I don't care that the bottom of my dress is getting dirty from the stoop I sit on, or that at some point in my mad run I had lost a shoe. My waist-length hair grazes the ground, sweeps my tears across the step below me. I close my eyes briefly, only to open them to exquisitely embroidered shoes that seemed to be made completely of...cloth?
Startled, I look up, and hastily swipe away the tear-burned trails I can feel on my cheeks. A man of about twenty or so, with long white hair and golden eyes, is standing at the bottom of the stoop, looking at me with a depressing amount of apathy. I bite my lip to keep from sniveling. He has stripes on his cheeks and a crescent moon on his forehead, tattooed obviously. There are stripes on his wrists as well, and he has grown out and filed his nails to a point.
He wears a white kimono with embroidery of a dizzying caliber. Sakura blossoms of red seem to flow from the clothing itself, and his sash is yellow and blue. I see my reflection in his eyes: a girl of a young age, with a dirty pink dress, torn white stockings, and one black shoe, the toe scuffed. In her haste to wipe away her tears, her hand left a dirt smudge on one cheek, and her blue-gray eyes are narrowed slightly in self-pity, fear, and tears. Her wavy hair is mussed, and the pink bow that held it from her eyes is barely hanging on.
Ashamed, I lower my face, both so he cannot see it and I can't either in his terrible, terrible eyes.
A clawed hand - I realized on contact that they were, indeed, claws - catches my chin just after I take in the long, fluffy tail that drags behind him. A Youkai? I had never encountered one before.
He lifts my chin so I meet his eyes, and he speaks... his voice is low, smooth, comforting as the silkiness of a rose petal.
"What is your name?" It isn't just a question, somehow, but I don't get why.
I swallow, and I can tell by the way his eyes flicker to my throat that his hand felt it.
"Ka...Kagome. What's yours?" I ask bravely.
Something like surprise in his eyes. "I am Sesshoumaru. Where is your mother?" His voice is toneless, I can't read his emotions or his motives, but he has to be kind. He's my only hope.
I break down, cry again. I grab hold of his wrist and hold it to my cheek, because I think if I don't, he will go away and leave me here. His hand stiffens for a second, again, seemingly with surprise - I can't tell because tears have sealed my eyes shut - but his claws curl against my cheek almost affectionately, and my tears fall and break apart on his wrist. "I don't know. She was there and then she wasn't!" I sobbed, and he had to ask me to repeat it. I repeated it several times before it became intelligible, and by then he was sitting and I was on his lap, my fingers digging into his kimono and my face pressed against his chest.
He doesn't mind that I'll get his kimono dirty with my dress.
When the tears subside, he strokes my hair soothingly. "I shall help you find her. Worry not."
I nod and reluctantly get of his lap, which had been warm. Goosebumps raise on my arm. He must have noticed, for he offers his tail to me, and I gratefully wrap it around me and smile at him with pure happiness. He looks at me without emotion, but I know he thinks I'm strange. I wonder why.
We walk purposefully out into main, and the people look startled to see Sesshoumaru there and even more so with a human girl in tow.
He looks straight ahead, and I can catch his low voice even with the crowds. "Where did you last see her?"
"I don't know if I can remember. I think we passed a banana vendor on the street," I offer hopefully. I hope he doesn't get angry with me for not paying attention to where I had been going. But he seems not to notice, a mask of patience.
He nods and turns decisively onto another busy street, and it's there I see them: first, the banana vendor; second, my mother waiting fretfully across the street from it; and third, an officer. My mom wails when she catches sight of me, and the officer looks at Sesshoumaru suspiciously. I cry again, hug my mom, unaware of the tail still draped casually over my shoulder. But she is not unaware, and slowly her eyes trail from the fluff on my shoulder to it's owner, and does the most surprising thing: screams.
She screams, rips me away from the warm comfort of Sesshoumaru's tail, and turns her back to him, holding me, as if to SHIELD me. I do not need shielding, I try to say, he's a nice man! My mother doesn't pay attention, but I think Sesshoumaru hears my pleas. He looks straight into my eyes, which peek out over my mom's shoulder, and for the first time I see emotions course in a strong tide through his eyes. Pain, sadness, apology that I had to learn it the hard way, that you never, ever, talk to a Youkai. They're Different. His eyes plead with me to understand, to know that his intentions for me housed no ill, and I understand. As my mom carries me away, I smile and say, softly so only my mom, who's ear is next to my mouth, and Sesshoumaru, who has refined senses, can hear.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Sesshoumaru. I love you."
And I always have. He was like the father I had lost before I could remember, and now, whenever I think of my parents, he is included. That was thirteen days ago. My birthday was the next day, and much to my mother's unease, I asked whether or not Mr. Sesshoumaru could be invited. She said no.
But burned into my mind is his expression during my last farewell. The eyes, asking a question I didn't comprehend, his mouth, which had fallen slightly open at my words, and the crescent between his brows, creased with a thoughtful frown. And his hair, cascading down like silk to the warmth and comfort of his tail, to the ornate shoes which had heralded his coming.
When the humans were overthrown by the Youkai, though, I am filled with hatred. Hatred because he KNEW and didn't tell me, hatred because I misunderstood my mother's fear, hatred because I couldn't really hate him if I wanted to. Hatred because his was the name that was associated with Japan's Takeover, along with three others that I couldn't remember. The leader. My savior.
All I ever wanted for a father.
Chapter One: Six Years Later.
Kagome paced her quarters in the Abbey, which she currently called Home, along with the Troops that had been assigned to her. She had worked them hard over the past few months, but at least now they were passable for decent soldiers.
She stretched luxuriously, and looked at herself in the cracked mirror on the opposite side of the room from her bed. Her blue-gray eyes were flat, narrowed slightly with anger at the general universe for being so disorderly. Her hair was to mid-thigh now, but when up in it's usual ponytail, it was raised almost to the bottom of her butt.
The training clothes of today's session were mostly black, with a silver attachments and such. She donned black leggings, black boots that reached mid-calf and LACED, not buckled like the other boots, because buckles came loose too easily, a black tunic with slits up the sides to her waist. The tunic was sleeveless itself, but a long-sleeved black shirt easily fixed that. She had black gloves with studs in the knuckles, and her only accessory: a small cross that hung from a chain around her neck. She had had it since she was a toddler. She had shoulder-holsters with each held a gun and a dagger, a belt that held a variety of cutting implements, a picklock, and various other things that became useful when you were sneaking into a high-tech, heavily guarded fortress, and twin swords strapped to her back.
She had heavy black and silver shoulder armor, which attached itself to forearm armor and armor that covered her upper back. There were also straps under her forearm armor in which daggers were placed. The upper-back armor was what the sheathes for the twin swords were attached to.
She took the armor off and carefully placed it on her desk. The swords glittered, forcing her to look at them. Kagome ran a finger lightly along the edge of one, then turned abruptly away and started undressing for bed. The swords held magical properties, all of which she was unsure of, and had been given to her by her grandfather. They had demonic runes etched in the blades themselves, said to have been cast from the very Hell itself. But then again, that WAS just her grandfather speaking.
Her nightclothes, in comparison, were amazingly simple. A T-shirt with "I (heart) New York!" and black sweat pants. She padded to her wash room, and the deep cold of the Abbey's stones seemed to seep into her. Ignoring it like she always did, she hammered out her nightly ritual: Brush teeth, gargle with some mint shit that was good for your enamel, take a quick, cold shower - cursing the entire length of the Abbey's lack of heated water but too tired and used to the conditions to mean it anymore - , wash her face, dry her hair, and pad back to bed while studiously ignoring the unsettling temperature.
She turned off the light, flung back her covers, and literally FELL backwards onto her bed. Arms caught about her waist and a face nuzzled deep into her hair before she noticed the bed was already occupied. She groaned. The man had too much goddamned stamina.
"Not tonight. I'm tired," she turned to glare crossly at her assailant.
You could hear, tangibly, the pout in his voice. "You're ALWAYS too tired."
"So go bed with one of the other women!"
He chuckled and he nuzzled her cheek. "You know I only have eyes for you." His hands were on her bare stomach, now taut with muscles after six years of intensive training, and slowly trailed upwards to the sweet spot.
Kagome grabbed his hands and held them there effortlessly, rolling her eyes. "Let's see how long THAT lasts. Out of my bed, Miroku. Maybe tomorrow."
Instead, Miroku, a man with a nice chest, eyes in a constant state of lust, and shoulder-length hair caught in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, a man of MANY talents, got out from under Kagome. He lay on top of her, cradled his chin in his hands, and settled his elbows on either side of Kagome's beautiful face. His arousal pushed into her leg, and with a mental groan, she noticed he was completely naked.
He tugged on the collar of her shirt playfully. "You never want to play much anymore."
"What can I say? The upcoming War is making me a bit touchy."
He ignored her and kissed her ear gently, persistently.
Sesshoumaru hadn't aged at all in the past seven years. After a demon reaches the age of twenty or so, they stop aging almost completely, until they got old. Then they aged like a human again, until death claimed them. Sesshoumaru had been twenty for two hundred years.
He was sitting at his desk, writing something down. His pen scratched along the paper with a graceful speed only a man of his age could accomplish. He sighed, looked up, his eyes wandering to the pictures on the wall of his study. Him at fifteen with five-year old InuYasha.
He hadn't seen that particular hanyou for quite a while now, ever since the Youkai ran him out of their District. He hadn't cared much for the little runt, with his rude remarks and obscene gestures.
A family photograph of his father, him, InuYasha, and InuYasha's mother donned the next space over. Sesshoumaru "tsked" at the memory. Since InuYasha's mother had not had Miko blood, she could not bond with InuTaisho and therefor could not live past her mortal years. She had died at seventy- two. If only she had been a Miko, she could have had a demon's life span. InuTaisho sure had some taste.
Then, the final picture. This one was not a photograph, but a charcoal sketch that Sesshoumaru himself had drawn, seven years before. It was of a small girl, she was smiling while wrapped up in a long, fluffy tail. He closed his eyes as he remembered her. He had sensed her initially because she had almost full Miko blood in her veins, although her family probably didn't notice. How she sat on his lap as she cried into his kimono, how she grinned at him when he offered his tail to keep her warm, how she treated him. As if he were special, as if she didn't hate him. Now he wondered if she had even known what a Youkai was back then. How she fingered her cross when she was sad or nervous.
Her promise of love as her mother ran off with her. Sesshoumaru had never been a father before, and the experience was strange to say the least. She would be in her late teens now.
Sesshoumaru sighed again and prepared to go the Auction tomorrow. Naraku, Kouga, and Shippou, the former lords of the Eastern, Northern, and Southern lands but now joint rulers for all of Japan, would undoubtedly be there. It was one of the major ones, auctioning off human slaves, which had become the latest craze since a year ago, and he didn't think the hype would die down soon. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose with distaste. Those auctions were teeming with humans. Humans who were part of the new government and their families had special papers which gave them equal rights with the Youkai, and they were always at the auctions, protesting.
Brushing his hair past his ear, Sesshoumaru decided to retire for bed.
Miroku woke up to Kagome out of bed and getting dressed. He glared at her back. "Can't I just wake up next to you for once?" he asked, annoyed.
Kagome started and turned. "Oh, hello. Didn't mean to wake you."
Miroku propped himself up on one elbow. "Why can't you just stay in the goddamned bed until I wake up? That's what normal lovers do, you know."
Kagome tapped his nose lightly and gave him a swift kiss. "We aren't 'normal lovers,' and I doubt we ever will be. Besides, I have to go. There's a major Auction going off in Old Tokyo and I'm gonna scout it out, see if any of our disappeared men had fallen into their clutches."
"Fine. I'll sleep in, in the empty bed... again."
Kagome finished putting on her armor and leaned across the bed to him. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him more deeply this time. "I'm sorry, love. I've got to go."
Miroku sighed. "I know." He waved her away. "Go on, I'll be waiting." His carefree smile had returned, calming Kagome's guilt.
"Thank you so much for understanding. I'll be back tonight!" With that, she was gone.
And with her departure left Miroku's smile. He lay down on the bed again, staring at the ceiling. He didn't understand at all, but he could only hope it would get better at the end of this mess.
He thought forlornly, I think I'm falling in love.
Kagome checked for her weapons. Luckily for her, seeing a human carry an arsenal around with them wasn't an uncommon sight in Old Tokyo because of the crime rate, and she had fraud papers to give the authorities if one happened to nab her.
Her pace was quick, and her boots made no sound as they went along the dirt path of the forest that separated the Abbey in the hills and the cities.
But, lounging on a tree branch above the dirt path, InuYasha heard. She was still about a mile off, but the delicate ears picked up the steady pace.
So, another soldier-boy, ne? Feh! He thought with scorn. After seeing so many disappear into the city, you'd think they'd wizen up.
Suddenly, from the Abbey where they dwelled, a fire rocket burst up, and the letters arranged themselves in smoke: Safe Trip Commander Kagome!
Kagome looked with disbelief at the rocket-spellings, and shook her head in aggravation.
InuYasha perked up. Commander? So this guy, Kagome, was the Commander of the entire army up there? That made more sense. Possibly this man, Kagome, was retrieving his Troops. Whatever the case, he must have money. InuYasha would be sure to make sure he paid his toll when this guy passed under his tree. For maximum effect, InuYasha shut his eyes, waiting for the footsteps to stop beneath his branch before snapping them open.
Kagome looked with amusement at the sleeping...hanyou, was it? It had white hair much like... "him," but no stripes or crescent. And this hanyou's facial features were more rugged and cute while "his" was manly and beautiful. When the eyes opened, however, Kagome very nearly staggered back as the memory cut through her subconscious.
"I am Sesshoumaru. Where is your mother? I will help you find her. Worry not."
"Thank you, Mr. Sesshoumaru. I love you."
Kagome regained her wits in time to see the hanyou smirk and jump down from his perch. Kagome kept her face expressionless, her cool blue eyes scanning his own, taking in his notable surprise as he got a good look at her.
InuYasha had thought... he was under the impression that... This Commander Kagome guy... it was a WOMAN? He tore his eyes away from her chest to scan her face. His eyes widened, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. InuYasha stepped back hurriedly, swallowed.
Kagome's expression didn't flicker.
InuYasha hesitantly stepped forward, causing Kagome to tense and ready her body for intensive combat. InuYasha slowly put a clawed hand to her cheek –
"What is your name?"
And cupped her cheek. Then, tears in his eyes, he fell forward in a clumsy embrace. When Kagome, shocked, made to move away, he tightened his hold and Kagome felt the warm tears soak through the front of her tunic. His hair draped over her shoulder. He began kissing her neck and collarbone in a frenzy, stroked her hair –
"I shall help you find her. Worry not."
And sobbed, "My love, my love, why did you leave me?"
Kagome gaped at his ears. What the hell was he talking about? Maybe he spent too much time in trees. Altitude was supposed to be bad for the mind.
He whispered, "My Kikyo."
A misunderstanding. Gently, she pushed him away.
InuYasha looked up to her eyes, a question written in his own.
Gently, firmly, "I am not who you seek. I do not know this Kikyo. I do not know who you are either. I am sorry. Please unhand me."
Dazed, InuYasha's arms dropped to his sides. No... no. Kikyo's eyes were a warm, rich brown. Full of love. This... Kagome's eyes were layers of ice. But...but he could smell her Miko blood! It couldn't be any other than –
Kagome was definitely starting to feel creeped out when he began to sniff her. After about a minute of him smelling her, he took a good five steps back and stared blankly at her. "You aren't her."
"I believe I have just told you that. Now, if you'll excuse me...." InuYasha moved quickly,
seeming to materialize from where he was previously to the path she was going to take around him. He glared at her, and Kagome felt the first inklings of annoyance sparking inside of her. "What is it?" She ground out, fists clenching and unclenching underneath her studded gloves. The twin swords on her back shimmered, they seemed to wink at him.
InuYasha didn't know. For once in his life, he was completely at odds with what was happening to him. Blinking back tears, he said simply, "I'm... I'm InuYasha."
"Well done."
InuYasha, struggling valiantly to piece together the shreds of his dignity, crossed his arms and said casually, "You look pretty weak. Maybe I should escort you through the city."
She smiled, for the first time that InuYasha had seen. As if she were simply reproaching a small boy that had asked for the eleventh time if he could have a piece of candy, she said, "I don't believe that is necessary," in the same fashion as a mother would say, "Wait till after dinner."
When she moved past him, her high ponytail swaying gently with the timing of her pace, he called, desperately, "I know where the Troops are. I can save you a great deal of searching."
She paused mid-step.
For one second InuYasha allowed himself a mental victory cry.
Then she turned, anger glimmering in her stance, her eyes, her mouth. InuYasha glared back, narrowing his eyes in a challenging fashion.
"If you wish to accompany me simply because I remind you of an old girlfriend, then you may forget it. I can find my way around the city just fine, I'm pretty sure I know where my Troops are, and I do not need protection of any sort. And thus far, you have been more of a hindrance than a help." With those final words, she turned on her heel and resumed her pace, her limbs slightly stiffened with rage. The muscles in her legs stretched and contracted beneath her leggings, and InuYasha bit his lip and forced himself to look away.
Feh! As if I have to listen to the wishes of a mortal wench, InuYasha growled to himself. I can do whatever I please, and right now... I feel like paying a visit to the city. So there.
With this in mind, he ran to catch up and fell in step with Kagome.
Kagome sent him a flicker of a glance but otherwise ignored him. Annoying, yes. Stupid, yes. But what can you do? Just let the moron finish out his life span in peace, she'd lose him in the city.
Kagome ground her teeth together as she ducked into an alleyway only to be joined moments later by a calm InuYasha. Throughout all the buildings, lights, crowds, she hadn't been able to shake him. Now, he was standing, crossing his arms, and looking out at the passing mainstream with a bored expression.
He turned his gaze on Kagome. She was breathing somewhat harder, but he was sure it was more from anger than fatigue. Feeling rather triumphant in spite of the fact that the girl seemed to hate him now, he asked smugly, "Are you going to continue walking in circles?"
He wasn't feeling quite so smug as he found himself against the cold brick, with an annoyed and obviously strong human hand threatening to cut off circulation to his windpipe.
"Stop. Following. Me." Kagome dropped him and stalked from the alleyway. She merged among bustling people, mostly Youkai, and shouldered her way to where she knew the auction to be.
The Youkai awaiting the auction stared eagerly at the empty stage, and some part of Kagome expected the stage to break out into song and do a little number right then and there. A group of Youkai males to the immediate left of her were counting their money, sweat gleaming from their swelled faces, fat and with a pallor from a new wonder drug they were currently taking. Shakily, they counted the paper folds over and over, somehow always messing up when they neared the end and having to start over.
Kagome hid the disgust from her face and turned her gaze to the stage. It was a mockery, how they decided to hold human slave auctions in the once- prized open theaters the humans had loved so much. The sun glinted off her silver cross...
...And immediately assaulted Sesshoumaru. He blinked hurriedly and shifted his position from his chair to protect himself from the glare. The heat making him slightly unreasonable, he searched the crowds for the idiot who DARED damage his eyesight, no matter how temporary or whether or not it was purposeful. His golden eyes fell on the perpetuator, a teenaged human girl with a silver cross about her neck, black armor and clothing, and weapons, though not a suspicious amount.
Unwittingly, he straightened in his chair to get a better look at her. If she was human, and not being sold, then why was she not with the protest groups outside? Her eyes were fastened to the stage, her blue eyes....
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru sat bolt upright. This sudden movement earned a few stares from the audience below, but the girl didn't seem to notice. All he needed was proof, proof that this was really....
"Kagome!" At the male's cry, Sesshoumaru saw the annoyance and rage pass over the girl's face, and she ripped her gaze from the stage and looked over her shoulder.
And InuYasha came into view. Sesshoumaru rubbed his chin. Things just seemed to get more and more interesting. Straining his ears, he managed to hone in on their conversation.
"Will you stop disappearing like that? You had me worried for a second."
A low growl. "Leave me alone."
"If I was in your position, I wouldn't be so quick to renounce an offer of friendship."
"What a coincidence that you are NOT in my position. I do not wish for friendship. Go away or I will kill you. I did not kill you in the alley because I pitied you, now GET OUT OF MY SIGHT."
"...Kikyo...."
There was a pole behind the two. Kagome whirled around and pinned InuYasha against it. The Youkai ignored them. Sesshoumaru watched in a trance-like fascination.
"I am not Kikyo." Her voice was low, dangerous. "I have no idea who she is. I have no idea who YOU are, and if you continue this I'll be sending your soul to Hell in goddamned pieces. Do not speak to me. Do not touch me. Do not call me by anything other than my rightful name. And for your own sake, DO NOT let me see your sorry hide again."
Kagome threw InuYasha a short distance and let herself melt into the crowds. Sesshoumaru felt her Miko blood, sensed it.
"It appears she's not as innocent as she once was," Sesshoumaru murmured to himself.
To his right, the red-haired kitsune cub bounced up and down and tugged on Sesshoumaru's hair. "Who, Sesshie-sama? Who?" Shippou asked, and repeated this antic until Naraku threatened to dispose of him in ways unimagined by the worst of souls. Kouga had fallen asleep in his chair. And Kagome had faded into the crowds, taking the glimmer of her cross with her.
Sesshoumaru had never been a father. But he was one now. And he had a duty to do.
With only the notice of little Shippou, Sesshoumaru rose and disappeared behind the curtain that was behind the chairs. Shippou's brow creased with concern and curiosity but he dared not follow.
And Sesshoumaru soon found himself among the messy, filthy, drunken crowd, searching for a piece of memory, one forgotten dream.
Author's Note! O.o Kagome sure is popular with the guys. Sesshoumaru has just convinced himself that he is Kagome's new father and therefore must perform his fatherly duty and protect her, Miroku seems to be falling in love with her (he is soon rescued from heartbreak by a beautiful demon huntress: guess who?), InuYasha following around the walking image of somebody he still holds feelings for, and next time Kouga and Hojo join the fireworks! Lordy lord lord. Happy reading, folks. Review if you want to, I'll post more chapters up regardless...! Suggestions for what happens later in the story are MOST welcome! I need all the ideas I can get! I'll try to post a new chapter, at the very least, once a week. I'll probably post more like once every two days at first, though. And please, PLEASE give me ideas for the story! I'll give you credit for any ideas I accept in the next chapter!
Rating: R, let's say, although the rating may not go up so far until later in the story. Pairings: Wherever my whims take me. Ultimately: Sess/Kag Summary: HA! Like I've thought that far yet! But something along the lines of Kagome being a sort of freedom fighter in a world oppressed by Youkai. You've heard it before, blah, blah, blah.
NOTE!!!: the Prologue and Chapter one are in the same chapter!
I own not InuYasha nor it's illustrious characters, you cretins.
Prologue: The Takeover and Sesshoumaru.
It was a matter of days. For all the Youkai had planned under our noses, for all our military forces, for all that we've DONE for the ungrateful beasts, Takeover was within the hour.
The Youkai Districts, which once upon a time had been carefully planned works of art, had fallen into disrepair when the invasion of the aliens from Wherever-the-Hell-They're-From started. A human that was just passing through the Districts probably would have gasped, wide-eyed, at the crumbling buildings, the graffiti, and the countless Youkai gangs that loitered as murderously as they dared on street corners. This human would look for an officer of the law, scanning the streets, parks, or hell, maybe the local donut shops. Had there been one, I'm sure she would have complained.
She would mention the sorry state of affairs at the next couple of high-end cocktail parties, and vow on her Righteousness as a Moral Human Being that she would go to any lengths necessary to put an end to this! A few friends would chime in, shoot a few glares at the person next to the punch bowl who was tentatively trying to change the subject.
Over the next few days, however, things would blow over. Because, frankly, nobody messed with the Government, especially if they were keen on seeing their beloved Fido again. This included high-bred women of the Cocktail Parties, who were, of course, absolutely suffering inside.
And the Districts became more and more unruly, the daily upsets hidden more and more frequently and with stunning intelligence. And suddenly, the Districts weren't any damn good anymore. Not when the Youkai could have the world.
At the beginning of Takeover, I encountered my first Youkai ever. I was ten years old; I've had my birthday since then. I recall the conversation with a strange clarity:
I walk down the street of our Downtown, my mind on nothing but the mother in front of me which I couldn't lose sight of, and the brand-new Barbie doll promised at the end of our expedition. Suddenly, I look up and my mom isn't there anymore. I'm frantic, I run crying up and down the street, and eventually end up on a less-trafficked side street. I see the endless flow of people just twenty feet away, walking down Main, oblivious to my plight. I was a spoiled child; having somebody not notice me was unheard of!
My seed of anger is squashed by my growing despair. I lower my head to my knees and hook my arms under my thighs and cry. I don't care that the bottom of my dress is getting dirty from the stoop I sit on, or that at some point in my mad run I had lost a shoe. My waist-length hair grazes the ground, sweeps my tears across the step below me. I close my eyes briefly, only to open them to exquisitely embroidered shoes that seemed to be made completely of...cloth?
Startled, I look up, and hastily swipe away the tear-burned trails I can feel on my cheeks. A man of about twenty or so, with long white hair and golden eyes, is standing at the bottom of the stoop, looking at me with a depressing amount of apathy. I bite my lip to keep from sniveling. He has stripes on his cheeks and a crescent moon on his forehead, tattooed obviously. There are stripes on his wrists as well, and he has grown out and filed his nails to a point.
He wears a white kimono with embroidery of a dizzying caliber. Sakura blossoms of red seem to flow from the clothing itself, and his sash is yellow and blue. I see my reflection in his eyes: a girl of a young age, with a dirty pink dress, torn white stockings, and one black shoe, the toe scuffed. In her haste to wipe away her tears, her hand left a dirt smudge on one cheek, and her blue-gray eyes are narrowed slightly in self-pity, fear, and tears. Her wavy hair is mussed, and the pink bow that held it from her eyes is barely hanging on.
Ashamed, I lower my face, both so he cannot see it and I can't either in his terrible, terrible eyes.
A clawed hand - I realized on contact that they were, indeed, claws - catches my chin just after I take in the long, fluffy tail that drags behind him. A Youkai? I had never encountered one before.
He lifts my chin so I meet his eyes, and he speaks... his voice is low, smooth, comforting as the silkiness of a rose petal.
"What is your name?" It isn't just a question, somehow, but I don't get why.
I swallow, and I can tell by the way his eyes flicker to my throat that his hand felt it.
"Ka...Kagome. What's yours?" I ask bravely.
Something like surprise in his eyes. "I am Sesshoumaru. Where is your mother?" His voice is toneless, I can't read his emotions or his motives, but he has to be kind. He's my only hope.
I break down, cry again. I grab hold of his wrist and hold it to my cheek, because I think if I don't, he will go away and leave me here. His hand stiffens for a second, again, seemingly with surprise - I can't tell because tears have sealed my eyes shut - but his claws curl against my cheek almost affectionately, and my tears fall and break apart on his wrist. "I don't know. She was there and then she wasn't!" I sobbed, and he had to ask me to repeat it. I repeated it several times before it became intelligible, and by then he was sitting and I was on his lap, my fingers digging into his kimono and my face pressed against his chest.
He doesn't mind that I'll get his kimono dirty with my dress.
When the tears subside, he strokes my hair soothingly. "I shall help you find her. Worry not."
I nod and reluctantly get of his lap, which had been warm. Goosebumps raise on my arm. He must have noticed, for he offers his tail to me, and I gratefully wrap it around me and smile at him with pure happiness. He looks at me without emotion, but I know he thinks I'm strange. I wonder why.
We walk purposefully out into main, and the people look startled to see Sesshoumaru there and even more so with a human girl in tow.
He looks straight ahead, and I can catch his low voice even with the crowds. "Where did you last see her?"
"I don't know if I can remember. I think we passed a banana vendor on the street," I offer hopefully. I hope he doesn't get angry with me for not paying attention to where I had been going. But he seems not to notice, a mask of patience.
He nods and turns decisively onto another busy street, and it's there I see them: first, the banana vendor; second, my mother waiting fretfully across the street from it; and third, an officer. My mom wails when she catches sight of me, and the officer looks at Sesshoumaru suspiciously. I cry again, hug my mom, unaware of the tail still draped casually over my shoulder. But she is not unaware, and slowly her eyes trail from the fluff on my shoulder to it's owner, and does the most surprising thing: screams.
She screams, rips me away from the warm comfort of Sesshoumaru's tail, and turns her back to him, holding me, as if to SHIELD me. I do not need shielding, I try to say, he's a nice man! My mother doesn't pay attention, but I think Sesshoumaru hears my pleas. He looks straight into my eyes, which peek out over my mom's shoulder, and for the first time I see emotions course in a strong tide through his eyes. Pain, sadness, apology that I had to learn it the hard way, that you never, ever, talk to a Youkai. They're Different. His eyes plead with me to understand, to know that his intentions for me housed no ill, and I understand. As my mom carries me away, I smile and say, softly so only my mom, who's ear is next to my mouth, and Sesshoumaru, who has refined senses, can hear.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Sesshoumaru. I love you."
And I always have. He was like the father I had lost before I could remember, and now, whenever I think of my parents, he is included. That was thirteen days ago. My birthday was the next day, and much to my mother's unease, I asked whether or not Mr. Sesshoumaru could be invited. She said no.
But burned into my mind is his expression during my last farewell. The eyes, asking a question I didn't comprehend, his mouth, which had fallen slightly open at my words, and the crescent between his brows, creased with a thoughtful frown. And his hair, cascading down like silk to the warmth and comfort of his tail, to the ornate shoes which had heralded his coming.
When the humans were overthrown by the Youkai, though, I am filled with hatred. Hatred because he KNEW and didn't tell me, hatred because I misunderstood my mother's fear, hatred because I couldn't really hate him if I wanted to. Hatred because his was the name that was associated with Japan's Takeover, along with three others that I couldn't remember. The leader. My savior.
All I ever wanted for a father.
Chapter One: Six Years Later.
Kagome paced her quarters in the Abbey, which she currently called Home, along with the Troops that had been assigned to her. She had worked them hard over the past few months, but at least now they were passable for decent soldiers.
She stretched luxuriously, and looked at herself in the cracked mirror on the opposite side of the room from her bed. Her blue-gray eyes were flat, narrowed slightly with anger at the general universe for being so disorderly. Her hair was to mid-thigh now, but when up in it's usual ponytail, it was raised almost to the bottom of her butt.
The training clothes of today's session were mostly black, with a silver attachments and such. She donned black leggings, black boots that reached mid-calf and LACED, not buckled like the other boots, because buckles came loose too easily, a black tunic with slits up the sides to her waist. The tunic was sleeveless itself, but a long-sleeved black shirt easily fixed that. She had black gloves with studs in the knuckles, and her only accessory: a small cross that hung from a chain around her neck. She had had it since she was a toddler. She had shoulder-holsters with each held a gun and a dagger, a belt that held a variety of cutting implements, a picklock, and various other things that became useful when you were sneaking into a high-tech, heavily guarded fortress, and twin swords strapped to her back.
She had heavy black and silver shoulder armor, which attached itself to forearm armor and armor that covered her upper back. There were also straps under her forearm armor in which daggers were placed. The upper-back armor was what the sheathes for the twin swords were attached to.
She took the armor off and carefully placed it on her desk. The swords glittered, forcing her to look at them. Kagome ran a finger lightly along the edge of one, then turned abruptly away and started undressing for bed. The swords held magical properties, all of which she was unsure of, and had been given to her by her grandfather. They had demonic runes etched in the blades themselves, said to have been cast from the very Hell itself. But then again, that WAS just her grandfather speaking.
Her nightclothes, in comparison, were amazingly simple. A T-shirt with "I (heart) New York!" and black sweat pants. She padded to her wash room, and the deep cold of the Abbey's stones seemed to seep into her. Ignoring it like she always did, she hammered out her nightly ritual: Brush teeth, gargle with some mint shit that was good for your enamel, take a quick, cold shower - cursing the entire length of the Abbey's lack of heated water but too tired and used to the conditions to mean it anymore - , wash her face, dry her hair, and pad back to bed while studiously ignoring the unsettling temperature.
She turned off the light, flung back her covers, and literally FELL backwards onto her bed. Arms caught about her waist and a face nuzzled deep into her hair before she noticed the bed was already occupied. She groaned. The man had too much goddamned stamina.
"Not tonight. I'm tired," she turned to glare crossly at her assailant.
You could hear, tangibly, the pout in his voice. "You're ALWAYS too tired."
"So go bed with one of the other women!"
He chuckled and he nuzzled her cheek. "You know I only have eyes for you." His hands were on her bare stomach, now taut with muscles after six years of intensive training, and slowly trailed upwards to the sweet spot.
Kagome grabbed his hands and held them there effortlessly, rolling her eyes. "Let's see how long THAT lasts. Out of my bed, Miroku. Maybe tomorrow."
Instead, Miroku, a man with a nice chest, eyes in a constant state of lust, and shoulder-length hair caught in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, a man of MANY talents, got out from under Kagome. He lay on top of her, cradled his chin in his hands, and settled his elbows on either side of Kagome's beautiful face. His arousal pushed into her leg, and with a mental groan, she noticed he was completely naked.
He tugged on the collar of her shirt playfully. "You never want to play much anymore."
"What can I say? The upcoming War is making me a bit touchy."
He ignored her and kissed her ear gently, persistently.
Sesshoumaru hadn't aged at all in the past seven years. After a demon reaches the age of twenty or so, they stop aging almost completely, until they got old. Then they aged like a human again, until death claimed them. Sesshoumaru had been twenty for two hundred years.
He was sitting at his desk, writing something down. His pen scratched along the paper with a graceful speed only a man of his age could accomplish. He sighed, looked up, his eyes wandering to the pictures on the wall of his study. Him at fifteen with five-year old InuYasha.
He hadn't seen that particular hanyou for quite a while now, ever since the Youkai ran him out of their District. He hadn't cared much for the little runt, with his rude remarks and obscene gestures.
A family photograph of his father, him, InuYasha, and InuYasha's mother donned the next space over. Sesshoumaru "tsked" at the memory. Since InuYasha's mother had not had Miko blood, she could not bond with InuTaisho and therefor could not live past her mortal years. She had died at seventy- two. If only she had been a Miko, she could have had a demon's life span. InuTaisho sure had some taste.
Then, the final picture. This one was not a photograph, but a charcoal sketch that Sesshoumaru himself had drawn, seven years before. It was of a small girl, she was smiling while wrapped up in a long, fluffy tail. He closed his eyes as he remembered her. He had sensed her initially because she had almost full Miko blood in her veins, although her family probably didn't notice. How she sat on his lap as she cried into his kimono, how she grinned at him when he offered his tail to keep her warm, how she treated him. As if he were special, as if she didn't hate him. Now he wondered if she had even known what a Youkai was back then. How she fingered her cross when she was sad or nervous.
Her promise of love as her mother ran off with her. Sesshoumaru had never been a father before, and the experience was strange to say the least. She would be in her late teens now.
Sesshoumaru sighed again and prepared to go the Auction tomorrow. Naraku, Kouga, and Shippou, the former lords of the Eastern, Northern, and Southern lands but now joint rulers for all of Japan, would undoubtedly be there. It was one of the major ones, auctioning off human slaves, which had become the latest craze since a year ago, and he didn't think the hype would die down soon. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose with distaste. Those auctions were teeming with humans. Humans who were part of the new government and their families had special papers which gave them equal rights with the Youkai, and they were always at the auctions, protesting.
Brushing his hair past his ear, Sesshoumaru decided to retire for bed.
Miroku woke up to Kagome out of bed and getting dressed. He glared at her back. "Can't I just wake up next to you for once?" he asked, annoyed.
Kagome started and turned. "Oh, hello. Didn't mean to wake you."
Miroku propped himself up on one elbow. "Why can't you just stay in the goddamned bed until I wake up? That's what normal lovers do, you know."
Kagome tapped his nose lightly and gave him a swift kiss. "We aren't 'normal lovers,' and I doubt we ever will be. Besides, I have to go. There's a major Auction going off in Old Tokyo and I'm gonna scout it out, see if any of our disappeared men had fallen into their clutches."
"Fine. I'll sleep in, in the empty bed... again."
Kagome finished putting on her armor and leaned across the bed to him. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him more deeply this time. "I'm sorry, love. I've got to go."
Miroku sighed. "I know." He waved her away. "Go on, I'll be waiting." His carefree smile had returned, calming Kagome's guilt.
"Thank you so much for understanding. I'll be back tonight!" With that, she was gone.
And with her departure left Miroku's smile. He lay down on the bed again, staring at the ceiling. He didn't understand at all, but he could only hope it would get better at the end of this mess.
He thought forlornly, I think I'm falling in love.
Kagome checked for her weapons. Luckily for her, seeing a human carry an arsenal around with them wasn't an uncommon sight in Old Tokyo because of the crime rate, and she had fraud papers to give the authorities if one happened to nab her.
Her pace was quick, and her boots made no sound as they went along the dirt path of the forest that separated the Abbey in the hills and the cities.
But, lounging on a tree branch above the dirt path, InuYasha heard. She was still about a mile off, but the delicate ears picked up the steady pace.
So, another soldier-boy, ne? Feh! He thought with scorn. After seeing so many disappear into the city, you'd think they'd wizen up.
Suddenly, from the Abbey where they dwelled, a fire rocket burst up, and the letters arranged themselves in smoke: Safe Trip Commander Kagome!
Kagome looked with disbelief at the rocket-spellings, and shook her head in aggravation.
InuYasha perked up. Commander? So this guy, Kagome, was the Commander of the entire army up there? That made more sense. Possibly this man, Kagome, was retrieving his Troops. Whatever the case, he must have money. InuYasha would be sure to make sure he paid his toll when this guy passed under his tree. For maximum effect, InuYasha shut his eyes, waiting for the footsteps to stop beneath his branch before snapping them open.
Kagome looked with amusement at the sleeping...hanyou, was it? It had white hair much like... "him," but no stripes or crescent. And this hanyou's facial features were more rugged and cute while "his" was manly and beautiful. When the eyes opened, however, Kagome very nearly staggered back as the memory cut through her subconscious.
"I am Sesshoumaru. Where is your mother? I will help you find her. Worry not."
"Thank you, Mr. Sesshoumaru. I love you."
Kagome regained her wits in time to see the hanyou smirk and jump down from his perch. Kagome kept her face expressionless, her cool blue eyes scanning his own, taking in his notable surprise as he got a good look at her.
InuYasha had thought... he was under the impression that... This Commander Kagome guy... it was a WOMAN? He tore his eyes away from her chest to scan her face. His eyes widened, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. InuYasha stepped back hurriedly, swallowed.
Kagome's expression didn't flicker.
InuYasha hesitantly stepped forward, causing Kagome to tense and ready her body for intensive combat. InuYasha slowly put a clawed hand to her cheek –
"What is your name?"
And cupped her cheek. Then, tears in his eyes, he fell forward in a clumsy embrace. When Kagome, shocked, made to move away, he tightened his hold and Kagome felt the warm tears soak through the front of her tunic. His hair draped over her shoulder. He began kissing her neck and collarbone in a frenzy, stroked her hair –
"I shall help you find her. Worry not."
And sobbed, "My love, my love, why did you leave me?"
Kagome gaped at his ears. What the hell was he talking about? Maybe he spent too much time in trees. Altitude was supposed to be bad for the mind.
He whispered, "My Kikyo."
A misunderstanding. Gently, she pushed him away.
InuYasha looked up to her eyes, a question written in his own.
Gently, firmly, "I am not who you seek. I do not know this Kikyo. I do not know who you are either. I am sorry. Please unhand me."
Dazed, InuYasha's arms dropped to his sides. No... no. Kikyo's eyes were a warm, rich brown. Full of love. This... Kagome's eyes were layers of ice. But...but he could smell her Miko blood! It couldn't be any other than –
Kagome was definitely starting to feel creeped out when he began to sniff her. After about a minute of him smelling her, he took a good five steps back and stared blankly at her. "You aren't her."
"I believe I have just told you that. Now, if you'll excuse me...." InuYasha moved quickly,
seeming to materialize from where he was previously to the path she was going to take around him. He glared at her, and Kagome felt the first inklings of annoyance sparking inside of her. "What is it?" She ground out, fists clenching and unclenching underneath her studded gloves. The twin swords on her back shimmered, they seemed to wink at him.
InuYasha didn't know. For once in his life, he was completely at odds with what was happening to him. Blinking back tears, he said simply, "I'm... I'm InuYasha."
"Well done."
InuYasha, struggling valiantly to piece together the shreds of his dignity, crossed his arms and said casually, "You look pretty weak. Maybe I should escort you through the city."
She smiled, for the first time that InuYasha had seen. As if she were simply reproaching a small boy that had asked for the eleventh time if he could have a piece of candy, she said, "I don't believe that is necessary," in the same fashion as a mother would say, "Wait till after dinner."
When she moved past him, her high ponytail swaying gently with the timing of her pace, he called, desperately, "I know where the Troops are. I can save you a great deal of searching."
She paused mid-step.
For one second InuYasha allowed himself a mental victory cry.
Then she turned, anger glimmering in her stance, her eyes, her mouth. InuYasha glared back, narrowing his eyes in a challenging fashion.
"If you wish to accompany me simply because I remind you of an old girlfriend, then you may forget it. I can find my way around the city just fine, I'm pretty sure I know where my Troops are, and I do not need protection of any sort. And thus far, you have been more of a hindrance than a help." With those final words, she turned on her heel and resumed her pace, her limbs slightly stiffened with rage. The muscles in her legs stretched and contracted beneath her leggings, and InuYasha bit his lip and forced himself to look away.
Feh! As if I have to listen to the wishes of a mortal wench, InuYasha growled to himself. I can do whatever I please, and right now... I feel like paying a visit to the city. So there.
With this in mind, he ran to catch up and fell in step with Kagome.
Kagome sent him a flicker of a glance but otherwise ignored him. Annoying, yes. Stupid, yes. But what can you do? Just let the moron finish out his life span in peace, she'd lose him in the city.
Kagome ground her teeth together as she ducked into an alleyway only to be joined moments later by a calm InuYasha. Throughout all the buildings, lights, crowds, she hadn't been able to shake him. Now, he was standing, crossing his arms, and looking out at the passing mainstream with a bored expression.
He turned his gaze on Kagome. She was breathing somewhat harder, but he was sure it was more from anger than fatigue. Feeling rather triumphant in spite of the fact that the girl seemed to hate him now, he asked smugly, "Are you going to continue walking in circles?"
He wasn't feeling quite so smug as he found himself against the cold brick, with an annoyed and obviously strong human hand threatening to cut off circulation to his windpipe.
"Stop. Following. Me." Kagome dropped him and stalked from the alleyway. She merged among bustling people, mostly Youkai, and shouldered her way to where she knew the auction to be.
The Youkai awaiting the auction stared eagerly at the empty stage, and some part of Kagome expected the stage to break out into song and do a little number right then and there. A group of Youkai males to the immediate left of her were counting their money, sweat gleaming from their swelled faces, fat and with a pallor from a new wonder drug they were currently taking. Shakily, they counted the paper folds over and over, somehow always messing up when they neared the end and having to start over.
Kagome hid the disgust from her face and turned her gaze to the stage. It was a mockery, how they decided to hold human slave auctions in the once- prized open theaters the humans had loved so much. The sun glinted off her silver cross...
...And immediately assaulted Sesshoumaru. He blinked hurriedly and shifted his position from his chair to protect himself from the glare. The heat making him slightly unreasonable, he searched the crowds for the idiot who DARED damage his eyesight, no matter how temporary or whether or not it was purposeful. His golden eyes fell on the perpetuator, a teenaged human girl with a silver cross about her neck, black armor and clothing, and weapons, though not a suspicious amount.
Unwittingly, he straightened in his chair to get a better look at her. If she was human, and not being sold, then why was she not with the protest groups outside? Her eyes were fastened to the stage, her blue eyes....
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru sat bolt upright. This sudden movement earned a few stares from the audience below, but the girl didn't seem to notice. All he needed was proof, proof that this was really....
"Kagome!" At the male's cry, Sesshoumaru saw the annoyance and rage pass over the girl's face, and she ripped her gaze from the stage and looked over her shoulder.
And InuYasha came into view. Sesshoumaru rubbed his chin. Things just seemed to get more and more interesting. Straining his ears, he managed to hone in on their conversation.
"Will you stop disappearing like that? You had me worried for a second."
A low growl. "Leave me alone."
"If I was in your position, I wouldn't be so quick to renounce an offer of friendship."
"What a coincidence that you are NOT in my position. I do not wish for friendship. Go away or I will kill you. I did not kill you in the alley because I pitied you, now GET OUT OF MY SIGHT."
"...Kikyo...."
There was a pole behind the two. Kagome whirled around and pinned InuYasha against it. The Youkai ignored them. Sesshoumaru watched in a trance-like fascination.
"I am not Kikyo." Her voice was low, dangerous. "I have no idea who she is. I have no idea who YOU are, and if you continue this I'll be sending your soul to Hell in goddamned pieces. Do not speak to me. Do not touch me. Do not call me by anything other than my rightful name. And for your own sake, DO NOT let me see your sorry hide again."
Kagome threw InuYasha a short distance and let herself melt into the crowds. Sesshoumaru felt her Miko blood, sensed it.
"It appears she's not as innocent as she once was," Sesshoumaru murmured to himself.
To his right, the red-haired kitsune cub bounced up and down and tugged on Sesshoumaru's hair. "Who, Sesshie-sama? Who?" Shippou asked, and repeated this antic until Naraku threatened to dispose of him in ways unimagined by the worst of souls. Kouga had fallen asleep in his chair. And Kagome had faded into the crowds, taking the glimmer of her cross with her.
Sesshoumaru had never been a father. But he was one now. And he had a duty to do.
With only the notice of little Shippou, Sesshoumaru rose and disappeared behind the curtain that was behind the chairs. Shippou's brow creased with concern and curiosity but he dared not follow.
And Sesshoumaru soon found himself among the messy, filthy, drunken crowd, searching for a piece of memory, one forgotten dream.
Author's Note! O.o Kagome sure is popular with the guys. Sesshoumaru has just convinced himself that he is Kagome's new father and therefore must perform his fatherly duty and protect her, Miroku seems to be falling in love with her (he is soon rescued from heartbreak by a beautiful demon huntress: guess who?), InuYasha following around the walking image of somebody he still holds feelings for, and next time Kouga and Hojo join the fireworks! Lordy lord lord. Happy reading, folks. Review if you want to, I'll post more chapters up regardless...! Suggestions for what happens later in the story are MOST welcome! I need all the ideas I can get! I'll try to post a new chapter, at the very least, once a week. I'll probably post more like once every two days at first, though. And please, PLEASE give me ideas for the story! I'll give you credit for any ideas I accept in the next chapter!