I return! Thank you all for your support! Before I get started this chapter, I'd just like to reply to some stuff from last chapter.
TamashinoSuzume: Are Shippo and Kagome ever going to see each other?
Answer: Funny, that… Last chapter actually had an extensive reunion between Kagome and Shippo, but it didn't fit into the chapter as a whole so it was scrapped. This chapter, however…well, you're going to have to read and find out!
Trinabear: It wasn't really a question, but you wondered if Kagome will be meeting certain good looking gods who want her as their personal miko. While I do like that concept and it has been written before in the fandom and is an interesting plot, I don't think I will be going that route. I may play off that in later chapters, however!
Now that that's done, on with the chapter!
Summary:
Sesshoumaru finds his pack-mate Kagome in the present and decides that she will never be vulnerable again. The logical choice? Ship her off to America to be trained by a descendent of a hawk youkai and his mate in the art of assassination. Joke's on you, Sesshoumaru- you weren't expecting Gods to attack New York and enslave her trainer's mind. Now she's got to get him back- by any means possible. Because as much of a bastard as he is, he is pack. Gods damn it.
-;-
It was a week later that Natasha returned to the house. Kagome was flipping through a book that she'd found in the library- or the collection of files and two, maybe three actual novels hidden in them.
The door clicked- her gaze flicked up and over to the redhead and the bandage wrapped around her throat and shoulder.
"I'm fine." Natasha said before Kagome could comment. "The inu called as well. He'll be here tomorrow to speak with you."
"About what?" Kagome wondered, closing the book and placing it on the table next to the loveseat she was curled in. "He didn't mention anything the last time I spoke with him."
Natasha shrugged, jaw tightening in discomfort.
"You're hurt." The miko continued, brows furrowing in concern. "Come here; I'll heal you."
Rather than arguing or ignoring her- the typical Natasha response- she came closer to the raven haired woman and stripped off the leather jacket she was wearing, revealing the v-neck shirt and the bandages around her torso.
Kagome sighed, positioning her hands and summoning her healing "bubble". It was something of a new ability that had developed since beginning her training in America, forcing her to concentrate her ability in something of an accelerated heal. Of course, it was still very flawed and took too much of her energy to completely heal an injury, but she could speed up the process thanks to her miko ability.
Natasha breathed out inaudibly, some of the tension visibly leaking out of her shoulders. Obviously, the injury had been bothering her more than she had let on, because she suddenly looked much healthier than she had a moment before.
"I know you and I are still getting to know the other." Kagome began softly, the pink glow from her fingers illuminating her face, "But I would like to think that you and I have the potential to be more than just an assassin forced into taking a miko under your wing."
There was silence for a long moment before Natasha very carefully pushed Kagome's hands away from her shoulder and took a seat even more carefully next to the dark haired woman.
"I don't know how to be anything other than an assassin." The redhead stated bluntly. "I can't be anything other than that because it is all I have known. Even now, with the life I began with Clint, I can't see myself as anything but as Black Widow."
"But I think you're trying." Kagome smiled.
Natasha blinked, startled, and stared at the miko. A moment later and a small smile of her own graced her features.
-;-
"Aaaaalphaaaaa."
Sesshoumaru sighed, feeling his eye threatening to twitch. An hour of this and he could feel his carefully constructed levels of patience beginning to wane. Somehow, the pup had a way of worming his way through every defence the inu had carefully crafted. Something that irritated him to no end, considering his near perfect track record with every other associate in his rather long life.
"Hn."
Green eyes narrowed in contemplation across the space between them.
"No."
"You're no fun."
"You continue to tell this one so." He returned coolly, returning to his book.
Shippo huffed, ears pinning themselves back. He was already in something of a funk, considering that he had been told that he would need to keep his disguise in place while in public. Of course, this included the private jet that his ever powerful alpha happened to own and use consistently.
"Practice will continue to hone skill." He'd been told.
He sulked in his seat.
Sometimes being the pup was no fun.
-;-
"Sir, something's going on with the Tesseract."
Clint cocked his head to one side in interest. Sure, he couldn't say that he particularly liked the damn thing- it was something unfamiliar to his youkai and made him uneasy. Hence the reason that he rarely ventured down from the catwalk. It was just high enough that he wasn't feeling so prickly, and it was just an added bonus that few people tried to interact with him. However, it was circumstances like this that he was here for. Namely, information on the thing he was here to babysit.
"What exactly is going on."
There was Fury. How fascinating.
"We…don't know, sir."
"And how does that help me, agent? I don't have time for your complicated answers."
"If I had to say something, I would say that it's misbehaving, sir? I can't accurately describe it without showing you the stats and energy readings we've been picking up off of it."
A heavy sigh. One that Clint had been on the receiving end of many a time in the past. The one that silently judged you and let you know that Fury thought that you were a complete and utter incompetent mess that was hardly worth being the bug that had been squished beneath his boot.
"I'm on my way. Expect me in one day."
Clint smirked. As much as he loved not being underneath Fury's thumb, sometimes it paid to be around when Fury was in his Director-is-annoyed-and-you're-about-to-find-out-how-much mood.
-;-
While there was a lot of things Kagome had gotten used to since coming to America, being woken up before she was up was something that had not been a common occurrence. So when there was a pressure applied to the edge of her bed, instinct took over.
She lunged, throwing her attacker back before straddling their neck with her thighs and choking, miko aura at her fingertips.
"Whoa, wait up!" the voice choked. "I haven't seen you in a couple hundred years and this is how you say hello mama?"
Her grip slackened.
"Shippo?"
"It's me. Now could you, uh, let go of my neck please? I like air." The voice replied, snapping the miko out of her half asleep daze.
She let go completely, going for the lamp next to her bed. Flicking it on, she watched the figure on her bed push himself back up into a sitting position, rubbing his neck with a rueful expression.
The years had been kind to Shippo. When Kagome had last seen her adopted son, he had been a kit. Now, however, he appeared to be well into his twenties. His hair was still long and in his eyes, his ears still pointed, and his tails…
"Your tails!" she breathed in pride before throwing herself at her son.
Shippo caught her gently in his arms and pulled her close, only partially surprised as his adopted mother's shoulders began to shake with silent sobs. And how could he blame her? The last time she had seen him had been in the feudal era, with him as a mere pup. Now he was in his prime, having grown up without her in his life. At having her so close, once again in her arms…well, it was something of an emotional experience for him, too.
"I missed you too, mama." He cooed gently, running his fingers through her hair comfortingly. Almost the same way that she had once done for him, long ago.
Kagome said nothing for a long while, instead grieving for the family that she had lost as well as the one that she was once again reunited with. When the sobs finally abated, she pulled back with a smile on her lips.
"I'm sorry." She muttered with a laugh. "It's just that it's a lot to take in."
"I know." The kitsune shrugged, making himself more comfortable as he crossed his legs in front of him. "Alpha didn't really want to talk to you- well, he did, but I'm the main reason he's here in the first place. He's got some business with another inu tribe on the other coast and he decided that you and I should catch up. Even the spider let us have some space, although I'm pretty sure she's only downstairs in the shooting range."
"Sesshoumaru-sama wanted to surprise me?" Kagome blinked.
"It's kinda hard to believe at first, but he's a good alpha, mama." Shippo grinned. "He took care of me after you left back to your time- today. And I think he missed you, too. He's not as much of an emotionless bastard as everyone thinks he is- just what most people think of him."
"I still don't know what to make of him." Kagome shook her head. "He showed up out of nowhere, years after I returned back to the future, only to offer me a place in his pack. Our pack, I guess. Then, he pays my schooling, puts his protection on my family and sends me to America for training to become his heir in the youkai and human world. Why?"
Shippo hummed, tilting his head back for a moment, before shrugging.
"Honestly mama, even I don't know what goes on in his head all the time and I grew up with him as my alpha." The redheaded male admitted sheepishly. "Alpha has his own agenda and sometimes he'll tell you what's on it, sometimes he won't. Or most times he won't- it doesn't really matter in the end, does it?"
"It's just strange." She sighed. "I'm trying to get my head around it. Did he send me here to try and integrate with the rest of our pack, or is there something else I'm missing?"
"Mama, sometimes you overthink things too much." Shippo huffed. "Sometimes it's best not to question these things because all that's going to happen is a headache. Believe me, I know this from experience."
Kagome frowned, staring intently at the kitsune.
"When did you get so cheeky." She deadpanned.
"When Alpha took me in." he beamed back in return.
-;-
The day that Shippo, Kagome and Natasha spent together was interesting, to say the least. Natasha had heard vague rumors and stories regarding Clint's pack-mate from Japan, and once introductions had officially been made she could tell the reasons why. However, there was something that was definitely charming about the male- he was sarcastic, cheeky, and overly comfortable in the space, despite it not being his own.
However, Natasha could see the obvious affection he held for Kagome, as well as the respect that he carried equally for Clint and Sesshoumaru. Because of that, she tolerated his antics while he and Kagome played catch-up. She, on the other hand, was still assessing the kitsune. Physicality had nothing to do with gauging a possible age with youkai- especially ones like Sesshoumaru and this "pup". Obviously not much of a pup as Kagome remembered him by, but still considered young in the eyes of the elder youkai and his adoptive mother.
She was still working him out when Sesshoumaru returned the next day to recollect the "insolent pup" and greet Kagome- which had been an event in its own right.
They were both still, with the inu raising a hand and placing it around the miko's throat and growling lowly in his throat. Kagome lifted her head slightly, silently accepting but challenging, before revealing what skin she could and relaxing her shoulders. This, combined with the satisfied glint in Sesshoumaru's eyes, told Natasha that this was definitely not the first time the miko had been in such a situation. But there had to be a reason why she wasn't sharing what she knew with her and Clint, and while there was a measure of respect between the trio, this encounter only served to raise more questions rather than answer those that the redhead already had formulated.
Yes, she was going to have to do some digging once the alpha left.
-;-
Sesshoumaru finished his examination of the miko with slight satisfaction. She had responded appropriately as a member of his pack, considering her station. Despite having not been told where she currently stood, she had quietly challenged him in a way that stated I am equal rather than I am submissive, and then displayed her neck to him. This was satisfactory for now.
He glanced over to the assassin. Her features were neutral, but he knew enough about his pack by now to know that she didn't realize her own station with him, despite only meeting twice since Clint had found her. It was her that he approached next- a dangerous position for the both of them. Him, for the assumption that she and the hawk were mates- her, for her innate hatred of being submissive.
He paused directly in front of her, amber eyes staring her down even as she challenged him right back. Kagome watched with some astonishment at the interaction herself. She hadn't realized that Natasha was included in Sesshoumaru's pack. Judging by the look on the redhead's face, she hadn't completely realized it either.
And then he growled.
It was quiet, it was low, and it was definitely not a suggestion that the other female submit to him.
A low hiss came from Natasha in return. A challenge.
Sesshoumaru did not take insubordination well, and especially not from this whelp- no matter who's mate she was. It was for that reason that he reacted the way he did.
In a blur of motion no one could really keep up with, he slammed the redhead up against the wall, pinning her there firmly with one clawed hand around her neck. The glamour that surrounded the male was currently gone, revealing his tattoos that marked him as a member of the House of the West. The fingers around her throat displayed what he thought about Natasha's behaviour, and it wasn't anything good.
"Submit." He stated, voice frigid.
Natasha grunted as the grip tightened around her throat. She hadn't even seen him coming. Judging by his current expression, there wasn't a lot that she could do without losing her life in this situation. She narrowed her eyes while thinking on her very limited options.
Finally, very slowly, she tilted her head to one side.
Sesshoumaru growled again before leaning forward and pressing his nose to the skin. It was clear what he was doing to Shippo, who was standing to one side with an uncharacteristically solemn look on his handsome features. The spider had learned her lesson- now Sesshoumaru was ensuring that she remembered whose pack she belonged to. Of course, he couldn't entirely envy what was going to come next, but all members of the pack went through the same.
A single claw pricked the skin, a tiny amount of the familiar poison Kagome remembered from the feudal era seeping into the open wound. Every muscle in Natasha's body tensed as it entered the bloodstream. While it was true that Sesshoumaru's poison was deadly, a single drop was only enough to cause temporary paralysis as well as mark the victim as a member of the House of the West. His poison left a mark on the target that was similar to a scent- any youkai who encountered her would know that the woman belonged to a very powerful pack. Kagome had not yet been marked for the sole reason that once she was marked, she would be in danger. Those who knew of her position to him would seek her out to use her against him, and that was something that he was not willing to risk at this point in time.
"You belong to the pack of the House of the West." Sesshoumaru stated. "Your mate has taken the mark- now you join him."
"Sesshoumaru-sama-"
"Do not interfere, miko. This one is marking her as a member of our pack. All of the House of the West endure and survive." The inu interrupted, shifting his gaze to the petite woman. "She is under this one's protection and it is time she learns it, given that her mate has not seen it time to enlighten her himself."
"Alpha, it's almost time." Shippo said softly, entering the conversation for the first time. "The Director has another mission for her, and we need to get back to Japan for the meeting with the House of the North."
Sesshoumaru released the redheaded woman from his grip, supporting her as she very nearly collapsed into his arms. Despite his cool tone, he ensured she made it to the couch before replying to Shippo's remark.
"She will not leave until tomorrow." He stated. "And the meeting with the House of the North is not for several days. This one sees no point in leaving while she takes the mark."
"Yes, alpha." Shippo nodded, bowing slightly before grabbing Kagome and beginning to lead her from the room. Kagome didn't put up much of a fight until the door closed behind them, and then she turned on her son.
"What was that?" she demanded, pulling her arm away from the male.
"Alpha marked the spider as one of his own. As a member of the pack, Barton should have explained that all members of the pack of the House of the West eventually take Sesshoumaru's mark. Apparently, he didn't and now this happened." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And he didn't want to trouble you with anything right now, either. You aren't meant to take his mark until after he announces that you're his heir- after you've been trained and can take care of yourself. We were going to tell you after all of this, but now…"
"She'll be alright, won't she?" Kagome asked quietly, absorbing the information Shippo was supplying.
"Yes, mama. The mark only leaves a small mark on the neck. I have one too."
He pulled aside his jacket, revealing a tiny dot on the side of the neck that looked more like a mole or a birthmark than a scar.
"It only causes discomfort, for the most part. The paralysis is what isn't so pleasant, but it wears off after a couple of hours. Sesshoumaru wants to smooth over what just happened, which is why he's putting off leaving immediately. An alpha looks after his pack, after all."
Kagome didn't really like the circumstances around this whole thing, but she did recognize that she didn't have anything to do with what had happened, so she let it go for now. Sighing, she nodded and allowed herself to relax. Worry would do nothing now when what was done was done.
"Let's go make dinner then. I'm sure by the time it's done they'll be hungry."
"I like that idea- what's for dinner?"
She swatted him as his face lit up.
"Cheeky pup." She muttered.
-;-
A long, surprisingly civil night later and Natasha got the call from the Director to make sure that she was on route to her new mission. Sesshoumaru and Shippo both shared something of an amused glance to one another while the redhead shot silent daggers at their heads with her eyes alone. Kagome chose to ignore the events, instead making sure that Natasha was alright after her episode with Sesshoumaru earlier. Fortunately, the other woman was willing enough to nod curtly and touch the back of the miko's hand in reassurance before continuing on like nothing had happened in the first place.
While Kagome nodded off sometime around ten, the other three members of the pack stayed up and worked out some of the issues that had been caused earlier- mostly by sparring downstairs in the large training room. Shippo thought it was hilarious, and dodged around all of the redhead's attacks as if it were a game. Sesshoumaru, likewise, sparred, but didn't fully commit to the events. It was true that he was the alpha, but there was nothing wrong with putting some teaching into a lesson. Let the woman think what she liked when it was all over, but Sesshoumaru was the only one who would be able to hide her from the world should her supposed "Director" find her usefulness to his organization null and void.
They had just finished showering when Kagome woke, and once she joined them Shippo was well on his way to making breakfast and a healthy amount of tea.
"I wish you didn't have to leave." She mumbled, accepting a mug of steaming tea from her son.
"It's not forever, mama. You'll see us again soon enough." Shippo smiled, pecking his adoptive mother on the forehead before skillfully juggling the other mug of tea and depositing it into Sesshoumaru's waiting hands. "Besides, I think you'll keep yourself busy until Spider comes back."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it." She sulked.
"You'll be fine." Natasha said from the table as she took a seat, alert as ever. "My mission will be complete by tomorrow morning and I will be home by midnight."
"Just like Cinderella, aren't you?" Shippo sighed dramatically, barking out a laugh as something that looked like a knife nearly embedded itself into his skull. His reflexes had been more than enough to get him to dodge the projectile.
"Enough." Sesshoumaru warned.
Shippo stuck his tongue out the moment the white haired man turned his back.
Kagome managed to not burst into tears as all the people in the small space readied themselves to leave, though it wasn't easy with all of the coddling the Shippo was lavishing upon her.
When silence finally fell upon the home and Kagome was left to her own thoughts, she quietly fell into something of a stupor for several hours until she got a call from Natasha on the phone that the redhead and Sesshoumaru had left behind for her.
"Hello?"
There was a long pause, though there was noise in the background. A train, maybe? Static- maybe somewhere with a poor connection or a purposeful sabotage in case the line was hacked.
"Barton's been compromised."
The phone hit the floor.
