A/N. Hi folks! Are you enjoying the summer? :D I myself am quite satisfied - I've never written so much in so little time. Let's hope this inspiration lasts! I'm so so glad you like the way I'm dealing with Inu No Taisho, which makes me wonder what would you think when Inu No Kimi comes on stage? I look forward for that, I've already written her introducing chapter but it will take us a little while to reach it, so we have to be patient.

As usual, thank you so much for reading and reviewing so far - and remember, criticism and advices are always welcome! *hugs*

Enjoy the chapter - yours,

Niglia.

EDIT: I've been pointed out some annoying mistakes in the text and I hurried to fix them. Thank you Fitz93 for letting me know!

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{10}

A Soothing

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Sesshoumaru watched unsatisfied as the General gently cradled and comforted the human child, and not because she was enjoying his father's attentions, but rather because the demon lord was taking too many liberties with a prey that was not his. Painstakingly swallowing a growl that threatened to announce his jealousy, the pup folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes, waiting impatiently for the scene to end.

He saw his father bowing his head toward the girl's hair and inhale quietly, as if to commit her scent to memory. Sesshoumaru gasped in surprise: he himself had done that with her – her sweet scent of flowers and summer was already deeply imprinted in his senses – but if the Alpha did it, then the gesture took a very different meaning. It meant that he recognized and accepted her presence in his pack, whereby the young lord was now completely reassured about the intentions of the older demon.

Inu No Taisho kindly nuzzled the girl's brow, tearing her a muffled sound that was half sob and half chuckle, and he grunted his approval.

Then he placed a finger under her chin, and Kagome was forced to lift her face to look into the golden eyes of the Great Demon Dog. "Do not cry, child," he soothed her softly. "My son thought only of your well-being, he did not mean to hurt you. So are you not afraid of us?"

Kagome shook her head slowly, but still did not dare to speak.

The General sighed, and then curled his index finger towards his son beckoning him over. Sesshoumaru was at his side immediately, placing itself so that he could see the child's face and not her back, and looked at his father with an air of expectation.

"Why don't you tell us your name, mh? Certainly, a bonny lass like you will have a name just as beautiful", the daiyoukai teased her patiently.

Her eyes run from him to his son and vice versa, undecided, but then she sniffed and tried to be strong. "My name is Kagome," she murmured, looking down at her hands still clutching the fabric of the Lord of the West's haori.

She wondered what her mother would think if she knew that Kagome was giving all of that information about herself to strangers – she would surely be very disappointed! However, what could she do? The boy – Sesshoumaru-chan – had saved her from the well and had been kind to her, until he had revealed that she was now his. While his father, the imposing demon who fondled her and had a raspy but gentle voice, and that reminded her of her Otou-san, well, Kagome had not yet figured out if he would bring her home or not.

That was the first time she mentioned the Higurashi shrine to someone who obviously had never heard of it, and it frightened her. If they didn't know where she lived, how would she return to her family?

Her aura and the abrupt change in her scent had certainly denounced her mood currently desperate and distressed, because now Kagome felt the arms of General squeezing consolatory around her shoulders and the small hand of Sesshoumaru taking hers in a comforting grasp.

"Do not fret, child," the Lord coaxed her, tucking her head under his chin. "You will be ours until we will find your family."

The young prince slammed bewildered his eyes, not expecting to hear such a claim nor such a promise, and now they shone with anger. "But, father–"

"Hush, son," the General silenced him. He looked at him sideways, trying to convey his thoughts without actually saying a word. "Later," he added in a whisper.

Sesshoumaru bit his tongue and nodded stiffly, bringing his attention to the child – no, he amended, to Kagome. His prey, his pet, his little bird in a cage.

He would not allow his sire to take her away.

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Word count: 655 words.