Disclaimer; don't own Inuyasha
One scene of loving at the end. Will be marked as usual.
Chapter 10
There and back
Kagome awoke slowly, confused as to how she could have possibly ended up on a floor and wondering how Sesshomaru could not have noticed and correct the situation. She blinked blurry, confused eyes opened and noticed Midoriko sleeping across from her on a familiar wooden floor, Kitsume curled up next to her.
"Finally awake." Came Inuyasha's voice from beside her.
She looked over to see him in his usually place in his usual pose against the wall. For a brief minute she was caught in two times. She could almost picture Midoriko and Kitsume to be Sango and Kirara. Could almost see Miroku leaning against the wall with his staff and had phantom feeling of pressure from where Shippo would be curled against her.
But the illusion was shattered and only Inuyasha and Keade remained in their proper place. The Shikon no Tama was destroyed and Sango and Miroku were still at the estate with Kirara. Keade was even older and could barely stand on her own. Kitsume was clearly a fox, not a neko, and Midoriko was far more innocent looking then Sango. The only thing complete unchanged was Inuyasha, still as boyish as ever.
"Hai." She answered.
"Good. I was starting to worry."
"Really?" She asked surprised.
"Hai. You have been asleep for three days."
"What!" She exclaimed. "Three days!"
"Sounds like Kagome-chan is awake." Midoriko commented as she sat up and stretched, Kitsume doing the same.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to wake you." She apologized.
"Nonsense, now that you are finally awake when can begin. I did promise after all."
"Promise what?" She asked confused.
"That I would train you of course. I feel a very strong need to after you nearly purified the entire estate in that little temper tantrum of yours. Pity you missed your target, the world would have been better off without the damn, stuffed chicken." Midoriko answered, already up and putting her bedding away for the day.
"What?" Kagome asked confused, memory still not quite caught up yet.
"Best you eat first, then we will start by measuring your meditation techniques, a good and easy way to start the day. Don't want to tire you out after you finally woke up and all. I believe Keade-bachan still has some of that great stew left. She filled me in on where your training, of what little you received, left off, but I am sure a lot of your skills are self-taught. I am curious to see what methods you came up with all on your own."
"Midoriko." Kagome interjected again, trying to catch the warrior-miko's attention.
"Wan-chan, see if you can't find any incense or scented candles. Those generally help with meditation. Is there a specific flavoring you like Kagome-chan. I always preferred lavender and…."
"Midoriko." Kagome shouted.
"Hai." Midoriko stopped cleaning up and looked at her confused.
"Oswari." Kagome snapped out of habit when she was frustrated with someone, than cringed as Inuyasha hit the floor face first.
"Ah, Gomen Inuyasha." She shouted in worry as she rushed up to him and help him out of the new hole in the floor.
He stood up, dusted himself off, and turned to look at Midoriko with clear fire blazing in his eyes.
"Eeep!" Midoriko shouted as she bolted out of the house, a furious Inuyasha chasing her.
"You stupid bitch, that was your fault! And you complain men don't pay attention when women are speaking, you don't even pay attention to each other! I am going to skin you alive for this!"
Kagome sighed, then clutched her sides and fell over laughing at the sight the two made. Midoriko was up a pole and shooing Inuyasha away with a foot, screaming Oswari, rollover, down, and other such demeaning words in no particular order.
"Those two are even less mature then you and Inuyasha were." Keade commented as the elderly Miko joined her.
"Hai." Kagome agreed.
Keade sighed. "He becomes more childish after each woman he associates with."
"Hai, but that is a good thing. It means he is more free with his feelings." Kagome smiled. "And he isn't the only one." Kagome thought happily. "Everyone has changed for the best since I first met them. Maybe father was right. Maybe I can change people for the better and unite them in this time of need. But first, I need to make sure my teacher is going to live." She chuckled to herself.
"Inuyasha, I still need Midoriko alive. Try not to kill her yet." She shouted to them.
"Thanks for the help." Midoriko shouted back.
"Your welcome."
Kagome returned to the house, sat down, and ate her soup, listening to the background noise of Midoriko and Inuyasha's argument.
"Those two are perfect for each other." Kagome stated to Keade.
"Indeed." Keade agreed.
(break)
She had held him at bay for a good amount of time. Grabbing a stick after retreating from the pole and throwing it, telling him to fetch, had not been a good idea. He had her now, and she was helpless with laughter. She had forgotten he knew she was ticklish and he was paying her back full bore.
"Surrender." He ordered.
"Never." She cried back.
This went on for several minutes until she finally managed to get him to stop by getting a hand behind his ear and started to scratch vigorously. His head leaned into her hand and he began to growl contently until he caught himself, got off of her, and retreated, blushing a light pink that had her giggling.
"I haven't had that much fun in ages." She laughed.
"Really?" He asked.
"Hai." She answered as she recovered, stood up, and brushed herself off.
"Truce?" She held out her hand.
"Truce." He agreed, shaking her hand.
They returned to Keade's hut together. She went in while Inuyasha leaped up onto the roof. To her surprise, Kagome was sitting cross-legged and clearly in a deep trance. A very impressive deep trance that had restored a fair chunk of her power.
"How did she learn to do that?" Midoriko asked Keade softly.
Not even she was able to pull such a deep trance easily.
"Sesshomaru showed me." Kagome answered as she slowly pulled out of her trance, a hint of a smile on her face. "I use to have a hard time sleeping and clearing my mind of my duties when we were run down with rapid reports and I was suffering pregnancy pains and paranoia."
Midoriko blinked, shocked that Kagome would be able to stay in such a deep trance and still know what was going on around her.
"The white wonder of impatiens showed you that?" Midoriko asked in disbelief.
"Hai. Said it helped him deal with all the troubles that plagued him when he became Lord of the Western Lands." Kagome answered.
Midoriko nodded her head in understanding. From what little she had picked up from listening to Inuyasha and the household servants, Sesshomaru had ascended to Lord at a very young age. No doubt many had tried to take his lands from him, seeing an arrogant young pup that was sure to be weak and easily killed or manipulated.
"I wonder how many he had to kill to retain his title and his lands." She briefly wondered before turning her attention back to Kagome. "And no doubt having to deal with Inuyasha on a daily biases helped her need those trances and meditation's. Clearly she needs no help from me in that field. It is her control that seems to be poor. She puts too much power, emotional power, behind her spells resulting in an early drain out. Her stamina must be astonishing after pushing herself so hard for four or five years. Her pool must be huge, perhaps as large, or larger, then my own.
"Control is going to be the key here. Spells she knows, meditation is clearly mastered. It is her control that needs work, her ability to tap into and draw out her power without over doing it. This is going to be interesting." Midoriko thought, slightly happy to have such a challenge presented to her.
"Well, Reimei-sama, time to see if I am truly the teacher you thought me to be. Sesshomaru clearly remembered some of the lessons I hammered, literally, into that thick skull of his. I hate teaching. It's like trying to describe color to a blind person."
Kagome stood up and stretched before returning to her sitting position and taking the cup of tea Keade offered her. With a plan of attack set, Midoriko dove in the moment Kagome finished her tea. The next month or so was going to be very interesting. Perhaps she had better send Kitsume to Sesshomaru with a letter letting him know where and what his mate was doing.
(break)
He caught wind of the foxyoukai's scent on the wind as he watched Rin run around the garden. He still had a few minutes before he would have to meet with the representatives sent to him from his allies. He did not detect Inuyasha's, Midoriko's, or Kagome's scents. This had him briefly worried, but he could not scent blood, so he assumed nothing was wrong.
In moments Kitsume had landed before him to the squealing delight of Rin, who all but strangled the foxyoukai while Shippo untied the string from Kitsume's neck, read who it was addressed to, then walked up to him and help it out.
"It's for you Sesshomaru-sama." Shippo stated.
Sesshomaru took the note and opened it, instantly recognizing Midoriko's scrawling hand.
Package unable to be delivered. Remaining here to train a little with the locals before returning.
A cryptic letter to anyone who might have intercepted it and he was pleased with Midoriko's precaution. He didn't like the idea of Kagome, his mate, being so far from his protection, but she was probably safer there then here. It would also give him a good excuse to get the two humans she called friends out of his house.
(break)
"Scary. Very scary." Midoriko thought in wonder.
Kagome was horrible at almost every spell Midoriko tried to teach her until Midoriko was finally able to see and understand the weaves Kagome had been using. She had expected a wild Miko to have interesting ways of weaving her power, but this was almost completely opposite to what she had been expecting and what Miko's had used for years.
Not only was the weaves Kagome used far simpler then the ones normal Miko's used, but it demanded less power. At least for the spells Kagome already knew well. New spells took almost triple the power as Kagome had yet to discover short cuts to the weave.
As for her power reserves, that was what frightened her the most. Kagome wasn't just stronger then her, her pool was the size of ocean compared to her own sea, which compared to a normal Miko's small lake. One could almost compare her to a Kami.
"She just may have the power to beat Ankokukiki when we are done here. Now that she can access her powers normally and without wasting power drawing it out."
That had been the problem. Kagome had to use power to draw power. She feared her own power to a point that she was using it to tamper her own power down when she should have just been drawing less power.
Her swordsmanship was getting better to. Midoriko trained with her for the most part, impressed with how much Kagome had learned from Sesshomaru. Miroku, having returned with Sango and Kirira a few days later, helped out some days, with Inuyasha helping out others.
Sango would watch and critique from the sidelines, adding in the odd curse about her pregnancy.
The training was almost done and soon it would be time to return to the palace. For safety reasons, other then Midoriko's first two messages; one to let Sesshomaru know the well had failed and the first to tell him where they were, no other communications had been sent least the enemy intercept it.
As a result, Midoriko and Inuyasha had decided to head North to meet up with Kouga and to see what was going on up there while sending Kagome home with Kitsume. Sango and Miroku were going to remain behind and help fortify the village and warn neighboring villages about the impeding war.
Of course, impeding to youkai tended to be in the far future for humans. Still, no time was too early to build up a village's defenses. And having Inuyasha as a near permanent resident, and the Shikon no Tama before that, Keade's village was fairly use to Youkai attacks.
Midoriko couldn't resist a smile from crossing her face. Already they were off to a better start to countering Ankokukiki's armies then they had been the first time. They had stronger, firmer allies. And they had Kagome.
"And she will be the strongest weapon. Not just in her pure power, but in her ability to get anyone to work together. With her acting as the heart of our army, Ankokukiki will not stand a chance.
"Once we get the children from the enslaved tribes free, the tables will truly start to turn on our foolish foe. Ankokukiki, one would have thought that you would have learned from your last mistake in trying to capture the West. I guess death doesn't cure stupidity after all."
Her grin widened as she watched Kagome come out of the kata she had been practicing. It was almost time to send her home. What training she could afford to give Kagome had been giving.
The West was strong. Its allies were strong. Hopefully, Ankokukiki no Kurokami would not be able to match their strength. If he could, then this war would change the face of Japan in a way no one would be able to prevent or predict.
(brake)
He caught their scents on the wind long before they arrived. It had been over a month since he had last seen her. He was surprised by how the mere slight hint of her scent on the wind was enough to elicit a slight emotional rise out of him, which he quickly squashed back down. He turned his attention away from the scent of his incoming mate and back to the representatives sent by Alerea, Terea, and Akio.
The lords of the Northern, eastern, and southwestern lands had agreed to help him fight Ankokukiki no Kurokami. He judged it would take Kagome about another ten minutes to arrive so he had a few minutes left before he would need to worry about meeting up with her. Just enough time to politely excuse himself from his allies representatives.
He finished up with them before calling a break and walking down to the courtyard were Kitsume was just landing, Rin and Shippo already jumping all over Kagome, who looked a hell of a lot better then when he last saw her. Clearly Midoriko had been training her daily as promised.
"We missed you Kagome-sama." Rin was saying as she had the woman in a crushing bear hug.
"How was Keade doing?" Shippo asked.
"She was doing fine Shippo-chan. Rin-chan, I can't breath." Kagome smiled down at both children.
Rin quickly apologized as she loosened her grip and Kagome set her back down on the ground before turning her attention to him. "I have some catching up to do, but I promise we will play latter, I will even read you a book tonight." She promised the children.
"Promise?" Rin demanded.
"Have I ever lied before?"
"No."
"Then I will see you tonight. Now go play."
"Hai, Kagome-sama."
She smiled as she watched Rin and Shippo skip away, than turned her attention back to him.
"What did I miss Sesshomaru-sama?" She asked as she walked up to him, remembering to add a small bow as they were in public with representatives from other clans possibly watching.
" A lot." He answered with a slight smile as he led her to their study. " I trust your training went well."
"Very well. Inuyasha and Midoriko-chan said they would catch up after running up north to meet up with Kouga-kun to get an update from him. Kitsume was going to rest a bit before heading up to join them. How much did the children miss me?" She asked worriedly.
"A lot." He admitted with a small smirk. Rin had not once stopped demanding to know when her Kagome-sama was going to come back. Shippo had been far more patient and had kept Rin occupied when not training himself.
The kit had changed after the attack. Each day Shippo showed up at the dojo and practiced with the small sword he had used when training as a child. Rin would show up later and the two would practice for a bit before heading out for their other lessons, taught by Sekira.
Kagome listened to him catch her up silently, a look on contemplation on her face. They were already seated at the table in their office and done two cups of tea by the time they had caught each other up on what the other had missed, most of it was just preparation for the upcoming war.
"I feel so peaceful for some strange reason." Kagome thought to herself as she finished her third cup of tea, conversation halted as each absorbed the news the other had shared.
The feeling didn't last long. Reimei was still in the paws of Ankokukiki and there was no telling what the bastard could have done to their daughter in one month.
"We know where the base is, but we lack the power to act upon that knowledge. Hopefully Inuyasha and Midoriko-chan will return soon with a good update from Kouga-kun." She thought hopefully.
Dinner came and passed quickly. As promised, she read a story to Rin and Shippo before retiring to the room she shared with her mate. For a change, he was there first and looked up at her as she entered.
"The children are asleep." She reported as she climbed into bed with him, nestling up against the warmth he emanated.
If it was one thing she had missed during her training with Midoriko at Keade's village, it was the comfort of this bed and the warmth radiating off of her mate.
He brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and she turned her gaze up to look at him. He caught her mouth in a gently, yet demanding kiss.
" I missed your scent." He stated.
She smiled up at him. A year ago she would have been affronted at such a statement. Now she knew it was his way of saying he had missed her. The thought warmed her as she turned to face him fully.
She idly played with his hair, enjoying the silky feeling of the strands as she stroked it with her fingers. From the first time she had met him she had thought him a beautiful creature. Like untouched snow on a clear winter's day.
Unfortunately, his attitude had been all but pleasant. She chuckled at that thought.
"What?" He asked.
"How many children can claim that the first time their parents met, their father tried to kill their mother?" She asked.
He raised an eyebrow. She chuckled and captured his lips in hers. He didn't resist, and when the kiss broke, his mouth moved down her throat to nibble on his mark. She sighed in pleasure as his warm, moist tongue tickled her neck.
(Here it is folks. Skip to the divider line if you like.)
He moved aside and shifted until she was trapped under him, continuing to enjoy the taste of her flesh and the pleasure of her scent as arousal laced it. Her hands ran through his hair as it fell like a fountain around her.
"Was there a time when I feared this?" She wondered as she spread her legs and he settled between them. "Was it just over a year ago that the mere thought of his name brought anger, fear, confusion, and other such emotions to me?"
She could feel his arousal resting against her, as his kisses grew hungrier. She returned them, nibbling on the side of his neck. He was warmth. His youki rose and her miko powers responded as they started the contest of wills she had been beginning to grow accustom to every time strong emotions ran through either one of them.
Both powers finally admitted an equal truce as he thrust into her, unable to hold his desire back any longer. His eyes were tinted pink in pleasure as she rose to meet him, her entire body aflame with delight at the joining of their bodies.
Her hands clawed at his back as she rode the storm of pleasure he was giving her. The crested together, he roared as he came as she shouted his name.
They rested for a moment before he moved, slowly getting off of her and pulling her into his embrace, nuzzling the mark on her neck as he rained in his youki and the bestial urges that always rose with it.
She drifted of to sleep, feeling safe and warm in the arm of her mate, who would sooner die then see harm befall her.
"When did I stop thinking of him as a partner? Was it after Reimei was born? Or after I took it into my own hands to reward him for trying to hold back his desires during Midsummer's Eve? Or could it be that I started to love him the moment he accepted me for me. That day when we fought Naraku that he turned to me with pride in his eyes and declared he had never been prouder of another? When did I start to love him? And how could I not have noticed it sooner."
Her question would go unanswered as sleep claimed her fully, sending her into a blessed dark oblivion. Sesshomaru smiled down at his mate before following her example.
First I would like to thank everyone for waiting for this chapter. Funny story. My new laptop doesn't have a disk drive while me old one can't write cd's. Go figure. I had to save up and by a USP disk drive to get the story off of my old laptop, which does not have internet connection, onto this one, which does. Since I had this chapter on my old one it took some time to move it. That and I am obsessed with Naruto at the moment. Damn the English version makes me shudder in repulsion.
I don't know when I will update again. The next chapter isn't written where as this one was.
Once again, big thanks to everyone for your encouragement and positive responses. It really means a lot to me.