"Are you unhappy with our mating?"
"What? No, of course not! It's just... What will Mom think? Or Gramps? Or even Souta? Wait, no, he'd think it's awesome. But still. Do you think that maybe we rushed into this too fast?"
"Hn. What does it matter what your mother's opinion is? As long as you are happy then that is all that is important." Kagome stared at him. He really didn't get it? Oh, yea, he didn't really have much of a family when he was growing up. Poor Sesshy. "Well, I love them. I want them to be happy too." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, as if this confused him. Then his face straightened out, and he smiled. "Just don't let anyone stand in your way Kagome. My little Miko." Kagome smiled at him. She looked up to see the first stars twinkling into existence. "We should be getting back. My mother will be worried." Sesshomaru sighed. "Do we have to?" The smile Kagome gave him was enough encouragement to pull her back down onto the earthern floor, and that's exactly what he did.
*Kagomes house*
"Hey Mom! We're home!" Kagome called as she threw her coat into the closet. She was the only one who really used the closet, so it wasn't like she had to be neat or anything. She could hear the television on in the living room and Souta exclaiming "That's right, Pikachu! Thunderbolt him into next Tuesday!" Kagome smiled to herself and went upstairs to her bedroom. Sesshomaru followed her, so quiet that he might have not been there. Kagome stopped when she was outside of her bedroom door. Something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what. Her eyes landed on her door, and she saw that it was partially open. She always left her door closed when she wasn't in the room. She hesitantly put her hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open.
Kagome's mom was sitting on her was someone else on her bed too. He had his back to her, but she could almost recognize him. He had short dark hair, and for a second Kagome had a flash of panic that maybe it was Naraku, and they hadn't really defeated him, and he was holding her mother captive. But then he turned around and she saw with relief that it was Hojo. That relief was short lived, however, when she caught the looks on their faces. Her mother looked like she'd been caught in the act of taking a cookie from the jar, but more than that she looked smug. And Hojo, well, he looked delighted. He jumped up from the bed and crossed to her, grabbing her hands in his.
"Oh, thank you ever so much Kagome, for choosing me as a husband! I promise I will be the best husband anyone could ask for. I'll be kind and loving and doting, and you wont have to lift so much as a finger! I'll do all the work, and all the cooking and cleaning too. All you have to do is take care of the children we will have together."
Sesshomaru had been growling softly this whole time, but by the end of Hojo's statement, his growling had gotten loud. He yanked Kagome out of Hojo's grasp and pulled him against himself tightly. "The Miko is already spoken for." he snapped out. Kagome put her hand on his, which covered her stomach. "Sesshomaru, he couldn't possibly have known that. Don't be cross with him, it's not his fault." Then Kagome turned to her mother. "How could you do this? You knew Sesshomaru and I were going to become mates, and yet you tricked poor Hojo into believing I wanted to marry him? Do you know how unfair that is to him?" Kagome's mom rose from her position on the bed. "I simply assumed that when you found out the truth of your father's murder, you would have the decency to discontinue seeing his murderer. I took steps to ensure that you would be well off in the future. Hojo is a very nice and respecable young man, you know."
Kagome was so mad that she lost her control over her appearance, just slightly, and her eyes turned red. "You. Have. No. Idea." she managed to grind out between her teeth. "You don't know what happened. You don't know that my father was tormenting him, being cruel to him. My father is not the saint you make him out to be. I admit that Sesshomaru has done bad things in his life, and I admit that when he killed my father he took a whole lot away from us. How long are you going to harbor this hatred? For the next one-hundred years of your life? The next thousand? Well, you will have to learn to live with him, because we ARE mates now, and I cannot be taken away from him. And yes, Hojo is a wonderful man. And-" she directed this to Hojo- "he deserves a wonderful wife. But I'm not her. I can't be. Im sorry Hojo." Hojo looked heartbroken, and it made Kagome feel bad. He'd been trying so hard to win her for so long, and had finally thought he'd gotten his wish...
"Get out of my house." The break in the silence startled her, and the words her mother spoke startled her more. "Get out, and don't ever come back. I don't ever want to see you again." Kagome stared at her as the words sank in, and then she turned and left, giving her mom one more regretful glance over her shoulder. She went into the kitchen and saw Souta grabbing a Big Mac that he must have stashed in the fridge for later. "Hey sis." His easy smile and welcome of her almost brought her to tears. "Hey Souta. Listen, I'm not gona be around much anymore, but I'd still like to be able to see you. How about we meet once a month at..." she looked around, trying to think of a place for them to meet. Her eyes fell on the burger. "At McDonalds. 'Kay? Say, the last Saturday in the month, around noon?" Souta smiled up at her. "Sure sis, I'd like that. Why are you leaving?" Kagome shook her head. "Mom and I had an argument." She motioned to Sesshomaru. "This is my... well, pretty much my husband. He's a demon." Souta grinned. "Like Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru snorted. "No, better than Inuyasha. Sesshomaru's a full demon." As Souta thought about it, Kagome watched the wheels in his head turn. She saw the understanding come across his face, and watched his face light up. "So, my brother-in-law is a demon? Awesome!" Kagome laughed. "See, I told you he'd say that." she said to Sesshomaru. Her sharp demon ears picked up the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Listen, Souta. We've gota go. Sorry we couldn't stay longer. I'll see you at the end of the month!" Kagome hugged her little brother, then she and Sesshomaru hightailed it out the door. Kagome grabbed her coat on the way and they were out the door just as her mother stepped off the bottom step.
DISCLAIMER! NOT MINE! JUST MY PLOT. EVRYTHING ELSE BELONGS TO THE AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS OF INUYASHA. SPECIAL THANKS TO cressant moon FOR SOME HELP