Crimson and Gold

Cute and Fluffy


Standard Disclaimer:

I do not own Inu Yasha or any of the characters contained therein. This story is not for profit. The plot and any original characters I may create, however, are my own.

This story is rated T for violence and language. The rating may be increased as the story progresses.


As Seasons Change...

2 years later…

As she began hanging up the wash to dry Kagome heard a melodious song coming from the other side of the house and knew that Kagura was once again hard at work tending her flowers. She smiled, who would have guessed that Naraku's child would have taken such a liking to something as simple as growing flowers. It was her opinion that Kagura cared less about the flowers themselves than the simple act of nurturing something instead of destroying it. Perhaps it was also a subtle way of spitting on Naraku's memory. Either way Kagome was glad that the wind youkai had found something that she enjoyed.

Another habit that Kagura had taken up as of late was singing. The woman had one of the most beautiful singing voices that Kagome had ever heard. Shippou especially had fallen in love with it. Every single time Kagura returned from one of her trips the fox kit somehow managed to show up before her feet had even touched the ground and refused to rest until she had sang for him. Kagome smiled fondly at the thought of her adopted child; it seemed like he had developed a bit of a crush for the elder youkai.

Regardless, Kagome was most grateful that the wind youkai had decided to stay with them two years ago; she had quickly become an integral part of their little family. She had even managed to find a soft spot in Inu Yasha's heart, despite his fierce denials otherwise. But every time Kagura left the village, Kagome could feel an unmistakable tension in her mate that wouldn't disappear until the wind youkai had returned. And with the way he tended to glare at any male who looked at her, Kagome had come to the opinion that her hanyou had adopted Kagura as the little sister he never had.

It had taken awhile for him to finally warm up to her though. Kagome could remember the two of them getting into the fiercest spats until one day shortly after Miroku and Sango's wedding, which had been a beautiful affair in itself. However, once the two humans had left to start their new home in Sango's old village, Inu Yasha slipped into a terrible mood for days. Finally Kagome had gotten tired of putting up with him and after their third spat in as many hours, had decided to take a long walk. Unfortunately for her, a small group of panther youkai had decided to attack the village that same day.

Luckily, Inu Yasha had gotten a whiff of their scent on the wind and had managed to reach her before they did. The youkai had been no match for him, but he hadn't realized that one was still alive and simply hiding among the dead. As soon as he turned his back, it pounced.

Kagome had never quite been able to get over the memory. Even now, she could see it as vividly as she had then. The sight of those claws inches from her face, the feeling of it's hot, rancid washing over her skin, and the sound of Inu Yasha's despairing scream, and the hot, sticky feeling of blood were featured frequently in her worst nightmares. She could also remember her shocked surprise as she realized that it wasn't her own.

Kagura had caught the sounds of the fight on her return and had flown over just in time to eviscerate the panther with a flick of her wrist and then collapse laughing at the look on Inu Yasha's face. Removed from the memory as she was now, Kagome had to admit that he had indeed looked like he had just "pissed himself"; however at the time, standing there covered in panther guts, she had been quite furious with the both of them, Kagura for laughing and Inu Yasha for getting her in the situation to begin with.

But the fact that Kagura had managed to find something to laugh about even in that terrifying situation was another thing that Kagome loved about her. Over the past two years, she had somehow developed the remarkable ability to simply take in each moment as it happened, refusing to let foolish worries about the past or future bother her. But even with the wind youkai's devil-may-care nature Kagome could tell that she had never been able to set aside her guilt at the lives she had taken under Naraku's command. One of Kagome's greatest regrets was her inability to say or do anything to help ease the burden that her dear friend carried constantly. Especially when she owed her so much, not the least of which was her mate.

Kagome smiled warmly as she gently fingered the bite mark at the base of her neck. Inu Yasha had finally accepted her as his mate just over four months ago. And while she didn't know exactly how Kagura had done it (Inu Yasha refused to say a word on the subject) Kagome knew that the wind youkai had somehow played a significant role in getting the hanyou off his ass; if only because he had avoided her like the plague for weeks afterwards. And while Kagome was dying to know how she had accomplished in days what Kagome had been trying to do for years, she was more than happy to simply reap the benefits.

However, their relationship seemed to be just another burden on Kagura's shoulders. There had been a number of times that the wind youkai had watched her and Inu Yasha with such undisguised longing in her eyes that it nearly broke Kagome's heart. Not that there was any real lack of men for Kagura to pick from, but it seemed that even the few that Inu Yasha failed to scare away were never quite good enough for her. At times Kagome had to wonder just what standard she was comparing them against that made them so unworthy.

Their was really no way for Kagome to tell for certain, but she definitely had her suspicions. Kagura had had an obvious crush on the taiyoukai for weeks after the battle, but it had seemed that as time passed she had gotten over it. Lately though, Kagome was beginning to wonder if the elemental ever had. It was the little things that she did; like the way she tended to stare off into the west when she thought no on was looking or the little looks of irritation that she would throw at Inu Yasha anytime he started ridiculing his half-brother. It seemed that she was the only one who noticed these things; anytime Kagome brought up her suspicions with Inu Yasha he stubbornly insisted that she didn't know what she was talking about. Then again, what would he know about love?

Kagome sighed and returned to hanging up the clothes. Kagura was her own woman, and a strong one at that. She was more than capable of making her own decisions. Suddenly a wide grin split Kagome's face. Just because Kagura was capable of doing it, didn't mean Kagome couldn't give her a little help...


Sesshoumaru stood alone at the top of a hill, his retinue of guards standing at the base behind him. Forgoing the panoramic image of his lands spread out for miles in front of him, he closed his eyes and sniffed the air. He knew that there was something out of place on the wind, but neither he nor his men had been able to place it.

But after one of the longest patrols he had been on in quite some time, the desire to go home had vastly overpowered any inclination to investigate. And there was no doubt in his mind that if he was ready to quit, then his men wanted to be home yesterday.

Turning around and giving his captain a curt nod, he took off, his men falling into rank behind him. While he could get back much faster if he were to call on his cloud, not all of the youkai with him were capable of similar feats. He was, however, going to make them go as fast as they possibly could. When they realized that their best couldn't even make him break a sweat, it would serve as yet another reminder of his strength and therefore his authority as leader. Which was the whole point of a taiyoukai doing patrols to begin with; to remind his subjects that he was still, in a manner of speaking, "top dog".

Plus he'd get back to Rin faster.

The girl had become a constant worry on his mind. It was rapidly becoming impossible to pass her off as simply a "pet" for his amusement; assuming it hadn't already. Sooner or later, some noble was going to get it into his head to use her as a pawn in yet another irritating plot. And trips like this that took him away from her always had him on edge.

Not only that, but she was growing up. And Sesshoumaru had no idea how to deal with that.

His sisters had been several decades older than him when he had been born and even had that not been the case, he would have still been raised separately. While youkai only accepted the strongest as leaders, in noble families the first-born males were still raised and groomed as heirs. More often than not, they ended up proving themselves worthy of the title in the end. So why wait until then to start training them in what they needed to know?

Unfortunately, how to raise a pubescent teenage girl, much less a human one, was not one of the things that his father had thought he had needed to know. And now Sesshoumaru had no idea how in the hells he was supposed to deal with his adopted daughter growing up.

As nobody else was close enough behind him to see, he allowed himself the smallest of smiles. He had finally come to terms with the fact that he loved Rin like his own child. Even he couldn't help his amusement at the irony of that; the one youkai who had spent years hunting down his own kin because of his impure heritage now found himself raising one of the full-blooded humans he had professed over and over again to hate. The gods simply had to be laughing at him.

As heart-warming as the situation may be, it didn't change the fact that he had no idea how to properly raise her. He was stumbling on blind and hoping that he didn't screw her up too bad. He needed help.

Unfortunately, any help he could get was either human, which would be suicide for both him and Rin, or demon, which would practically gift wrap Rin for his enemies. He snorted mentally, perhaps he should see if Inu Yasha needed a job.

He hadn't seen his half-brother in two years. Not since that debacle between Kouga and Kagura. Fortunately, his mistake there hadn't cost him a thing. As it turned out, while he had been out of the loop, the vast majority of Kouga's tribe had already been annexed into one of the larger wolf tribes. Apparently, they had become resentful of Kouga for abandoning them when they needed his leadership the most and one of Kouga's more opportunistic enemies had taken the chance to snatch them up. All that was left to the wolf youkai was a small band of his most loyal followers.

He hoped Kagura had fared better than Kouga had.

It was strange how she seemed to pop into his head at the oddest times. For instance, while contemplating the nuances of wolf youkai politics. It wasn't particularly intrusive; the odd moment wondering what she might be doing or imagining her in court dissecting the especially long-winded noble in front of him with her acerbic wit. He barely even noticed it anymore.

The spies he had watching Inu Yasha reported that she was staying with the hanyou and that she seemed to be doing well and Sesshoumaru was content leaving it at that. As interesting as her imagined commentary might be in his head, he had no doubt that if she was actually there he'd be itching to throttle her within hours. He remembered her blatant disregard for his authority, other than that one moment with Kouga, and from all reports she'd only grown far more independent and disrespectful over the following years.

His musings were interrupted as the mountains the column had been racing towards for hours began to come clearly into view, allowing him to see the small pathway leading to the manor that he had chosen to stay at for the next few months. It was his favorite; his father had brought in the most skilled architects and craftsmen, both human and demon, to design and build it. The materials had all been imported from the finest forests and quarries Japan had to offer. The construction went painstakingly slow; his father demanding nothing less than perfection.

And the result had been breathtaking.

His father had chosen a small plateau jutting out from the side of the largest mountain in the West to build the house and the craftsman had carved out a large section of the mountainside in order to widen the plateau to a decent size. They had somehow managed to maintain the natural look of the mountainside despite the magnitude of rock they carved away on top of building a house that harmonized perfectly with the surrounding scenery. The architects had captured all the majesty of the mountains and the natural beauty of the surrounding forests, all while maintaining the traditional Japanese style that his father had favored.

The location had been masterfully selected as well. The view was incredible; one could see the land stretched out in front of them for miles. The nighttime view was just as good; the elevation and thin air causing the starry sky to shine more clearly than anywhere else in Japan. But it was at it's best during dusk when the sun was setting, the manor's westward facing giving it a front row seat to the most marvelous display of colors that Sesshoumaru had ever seen.

Not only was the house a work of art, but it was also incredibly practical. The house was nestled away from the edge of the cliff against the side of the mountain making it impossible to see from the ground. The cliff face was nearly impossible to scale making the only route up to the manor a narrow, winding path that was constantly watched. If necessary, a small force could defend against a veritable army in any one of the bottle-necked passages along the way. When combined with the extreme array of protective wards surrounding the building, it was nigh invincible.

Which was precisely what the Inu no Taishou had wanted for the house of his human paramour.

Sesshoumaru winced at the irony of using it as a haven for his own human companion.

That wasn't the only reason he had decided to spend the next several months here however. The manor was small and only had a few guest rooms designated visiting nobles. The out of the way location would do even more to limit the stream of incessant visitors that he had had as of late. He almost always operated out of here during the latter parts of the year. There were always far fewer conflicts to mediate once the summer heat started to wane, for some strange reason most youkai refrained from going to war in the winter. And with the need for the extra space gone, there wasn't any reason for him to stay at the primary manor. Anybody who needed to reach him here could and his spies could contact him just as easily here as they could there.

The moment the column reached the path it was as if all weariness fell away. They raced upwards, managing the twists and turns with practiced ease. Sesshoumaru had to suppress a small grin; he was eager to see Rin and his mens' excitement was surprisingly infectious. They finally slowed as they emerged onto the plateau before coming to a halt in front of the sprawling grounds. His momentary elation at being home disappeared as he saw an obviously panicked Jaken running towards him from the grounds.

Dismissing his men, Sesshoumaru barely managed to avoid unseemly haste as he moved to intercept the small youkai. As soon as Jaken was within earshot, he started babbling incoherently between gasping breaths causing Sesshoumaru to stifle an irritated growl, "Slow down."

Jaken paused just long enough to slow his breathing. "My lord, Rin's been kidnapped."


Quick notes for this chapter:

1. I apologize for having this up later than I had hoped, but the last two weeks have been something straight out of hell. The less said about them, the better.

2. Because of the above, I'm afraid that I haven't put as much effort into this chapter as I normally would have either. So while it's been cut it's still unpolished. So if you see any bad grammar or spelling errors I may have missed, any incongruities or inconsistencies in the story, etc. please let me know and I'll correct them. I'll probably go back through it again once things have taken a turn for the better, but I have no idea when that will be. I'll likely have some real comments on the chapter at that time as well.

3. I'd like to thank the anonymous reviewer from last chapter for your commentary on original characters. They were surprisingly well-thought out and I have no doubts that I will put them to good use in the future. Something also gave me the sense that Mary Sue's might be a particular pet peeve of yours; not entirely sure what. Regardless, they were appreciated.

If any of ya'll have any other thoughts on the story, please let me know. This story is as much for your entertainment as it is my edification. Your input is greatly appreciated and will be given the consideration it deserves.


Published on: 10.31.08 (5:55 pm)

Updated on: -

Date of Original Posting: -


Jak