Chapter Nine
Time moved on, with it lives of members of Sesshomaru's pack who felt slightly neglected since his visits became more apart than usual. The reason was that his visits to Naruki and Hitomi's household grew from two to six times a year in following eight years. The fact was obviously noticed by the people, who started to make certain assumptions and spread rumors.
Since Hitomi was a hanoyu, it took her much less than eight years to suspect something was going on, but hearing awful gossip slandering Kagura's name gave her courage to confront Sesshomaru on one of his visits.
"Sesshomaru-sama, I would like to talk to you."
"Something the matter?" Sesshomaru asked absent-mindedly.
Hitomi's eyebrows rose at such dismissive attitude, but she continued nevertheless, "It is better for Kagura and Rin to move out."
"Do you consider them a nuisance?"
Hitomi gasped, taken aback by the amount of anger in such a short sentence. "No, of course not, my Lord. But it would be better for them to live somewhere more secluded… So you and Kagura-chan could meet with more privacy?.." Hitomi squeezed out, thinking that her idea was definitely a bad one, seeing the deepening frown on Sesshomaru's forehead.
"What can you possibly be implying, woman?" the taiyoukai growled through clenched teeth.
"Rin will be soon of age to be courted. Kagura's reputation of being single and frequently visited by an unmated youkai will scare off any potential suitors. Decent ones for sure."
Sesshomaru turned on his heels and stormed out of the house, leaving gaping Hitomi behind. "What was that about? What was he so angry about? Will he consider following my advice?"
Suddenly Kagura appeared from behind the corner. "Hey, Hitomi, wasn't Sesshomaru here?"
"He left."
Kagura's face fell. "I am going to the market, do you need anything?"
"No, thanks."
"Okay," Kagura mumbled and dragged herself out to the busy streets of the village to be followed by the accusative glares and gossiping whispers.
That night thoughts swirling in her head didn't let Kagura fall asleep. She couldn't understand why Sesshomaru had left without even seeing her, and Rin of course. At times he even stayed for a whole week. Kagura was especially fond of listening to his conversations with Rin. Kagura was awed every time at Rin's intelligence. The talks touched such topics as power, righteousness, governing styles and, of course, relationships between men and women. Kagura mostly kept to herself and only listened to their discussions, every time discovering something new about Sesshomaru. He indeed had a lot of knowledge to give having such a long life. At times she wondered if the first Rin had the same conversations with her guardian and then passed the received knowledge to her children.
The moon was full and shone invitingly into her window. She looked out at the peaceful picture of the pond to find it not as peaceful as every other night. Kagura grabbed the closest yukata and jumped out of the window. Fastening the belt on the way, she ran towards the pond and the lonely figure in white on its bank.
"Why did you leave without saying a word?" she demanded in a hushed whisper.
"This Sesshomaru had to think about something important," Sesshomaru answered, staring into the pond.
"And what could that be?"
"Didn't you hear? You were standing right behind the corner."
Kagura blushed in embarrassment. She wasn't planning to eavesdrop. She just felt Sesshomaru's presence in the house and headed to meet him. "Something about me being single influencing Rin badly, at least in the minds of others? Rin is the sweetest girl and it is not like I admit men in my chambers. Who in their right mind will think that she isn't pure or indecent or even anything close?"
"I will be not visiting till Rin is married."
"But why? You mean so much to her, you are like her father! She needs your guidance. We can move somewhere so you will be able to visit her. There nothing impossible about it," Kagura insured heatedly.
"Kagura, the problem is not about Rin."
"If you are referring to my screwed reputation, then I don't bloody care. Those gossiping hags are just jealous."
"Of what?"
"I am young, beautiful, free and have a wonderful daughter without stressing over pregnancy. Of course, they are jealous."
"You gave up on the wish to have your own children?"
"Well, no… But I am planning to wait until Rin is married. Maybe we can be pregnant at the same time. That can be interesting, don't you think?"
"It's your choice."
"It is quite disconcerting to speak to someone looking at his hair. Especially to discover in the process that your hair-band had been completely worn out. Don't you like this face anymore?"
"Your habits of dressing haven't improved much from the day I resurrected you."
Kagura looked down to inspect her outfit. She was completely covered, except for her legs, because the yukata reached only to her knees. "Well excuse me," she mocked, "I couldn't put a proper kimono in the middle of the night. I am not even talking about makeup."
"I wonder what your future husband will say about such attitude towards your appearance."
"Well, I doubt he will drag me outside at night," she snapped, but then rounded him to face him since he was stubbornly reluctant to do it. "Have you just made a joke?" she asked with an unbelieving frown.
"How could you possibly come to that conclusion?" Sesshomaru asked impassively, but the corner of his lips twitched in attempt to hide a smirk.
"You bastard!" Kagura hissed, pushing him in the chest, which obviously had no effect even if she put quite an effort into it. Sesshomaru lightly pushed Kagura in return, and she found herself in the pond wet from head to toe. "You… you… you perv! Now you are looking at me! Turn around this instant!"
Sesshomaru did turn around, since it was the only way for Kagura not to catch him smiling.
…
A crush echoed through the house and Kagura sighed once again. She abandoned her unfinished laundry and headed towards the kitchen where Rin was helping that day.
"Another plate, Rin?" she asked, looking down at the young woman on her knees with yet another broken piece of cutlery at her feet.
"Gomen na sai (sorry), Oka-san (mother), I'll clear everything up right away," Rin muttered helplessly.
"Daydreaming again? About the person we encountered during the last fair?"
Rin's cute face turned into a tomato. "Of course, I wasn't!"
"What was his name? Yuki? Yoko?"
"Yukito."
"But of course, Yukito, how could I forget," Kagura teased further. "This young, handsome, dashing boy who walked us all around his home town, showing the best sights, but I doubt you saw anything, your shining eyes didn't leave him for a second."
"Oka-san! This is too harsh!" Rin weaned, hiding her face that got even redder.
"So first love, eh?"
"Is it? Was it like that when you first fell in love, Oka-san?"
"Oh well… I am not exactly an expert on love," Kagura replied slightly bitter. "Start getting ready, we seemed to miss some sights in that town. Prepare your best kimono!"
"Hai!"
"Where is that bastard Sesshomaru when you need him?" Kagura mused, watching the overenthusiastic Rin getting through her wardrobe.
Sesshomaru kept to his word. He didn't appear near Naruki's household since the day he and Kagura talked last. It has been two years since then. Rin indeed missed him at first, but she was rapidly growing up, turning into a beautiful young woman who was showered with attention from the men around her. Kagura, on the other hand, felt unexplainably lost. Her only relief - making a new hand-band, this time with an elaborate decoration of crystals she purchased in one of the mountain villages.
…
He is here.
That was Kagura's first thought when she left the inn they were staying in. She and Rin had been 'sightsing' with Yukito as guide the whole day, so by the evening both women were exhausted. Kagura decided to clear her head in the evening air, but all her plans were wiped clean when the air shifted in the way that was almost forgotten. Her feet took her to a small meadow in the nearby forest, hidden from villages' eyes, but still close enough not to leave the village.
"Yo, Sesshomaru," Kagura greeted the taiyoukai, who settled under an enormous tree, which made him completely invisible from the sky. Kagura wondered what the precausions were about. "Surprised seeing you here."
"You could've remained in your room instead of coming all the way here."
"Our paths cross the first time in two years," Kagura stated, leaving the interpretation to Sesshomaru. It was for him to decide her reasoning of coming uninvited – if it was personal or it was just a regular check-up on Rin's affairs.
"How is Rin?"
So he chose the second option. "Fairly well. Got her first suitor, that's why we are here actually. Even if they both completely deny the attraction. Do you want me to continue or are you having a nap?" Kagura asked with slight irritation, seeing Sesshomaru accomodating a relaxed posture, his eyelids closed. She was no servant, she had the right to demand attention on elementary level of eye contact.
"Go on."
Kagura stomped towards the tree and sat down onto the grass right beside him. No reaction from Sesshomaru. "No wonder, you don't have a mate. You don't know how to treat women right."
"Do you really want me to respond to that?"
"Please, enlighten me, what is it on your mind," she mocked, every syllable full of sarcasm.
"No wonder nobody wants to take you as his wife, you have no sense of obedince and modesty. If you don't teach Rin these values either, she will no longer be with you."
Kagura didn't know whereever to be hurt or to be threatened. She felt both, so raising her arm for a slap was an atomatic and obviously thoughtless response, which was effortlessly stopped by Sesshomaru who grabbed her wrist, his claws piercing the pale skin.
"Is this enough to prove my point?" he drawled indifferently, but looking her fully in the eyes this time.
"You will prove mine if you break my arm right now."
"You attacked me," Sesshomaru defended his choice of action, releasing the arm.
"I am not someone to just bow and do your bidding, as you very well know," Kagura mumbled, watching as the cuts slowly closed themselves. Youkai blood did have its advantages. "It is pointless to threaten to take Rin away from me. Even if you follow through with it, you will have to kill me for us to separate. You once asked what my destiny was; my destiny is to bring Rin up, to be beside her till my last heart beat. My life belongs to her, don't you remember?"
"This still doesn't give you a free rein to do whatever you want."
"Well, you have no right to set rules either, Sesshomaru. She has a living father. Not to mention, you haven't seen the girl in two years, and she is in the most sensitive age," Kagura said, proud of her quick thinking to find the loop hole in Sesshomaru's statements.
"I will see her tomorrow. And assess the suitor you told me nothing about, because it was more important for you to argue about worthless things."
"Have anybody told you that you are a pompous ass?"
"Ask my step-brother for reference. I am sure he will be able to provide it. Now go back, it will be dark soon."
"The Hell?" Kagura asked under her breath, seeing that Sesshomaru closed his eyes once again. She brought her face closer to his to berate him for ignoring her. But what she saw made her change her mind. The moonlight usually accented Sesshomaru's pale skin, but now it was unhealthy grey. "Must be tired to fall asleep like that," she said to herself in a low whisper. "Ten years and the hair hasn't grown back yet. The absence of power didn't diminish your pride in the least. Still treat everybody as they are beneath you. Ah!" she cried out, as another set of cuts was added to her wounded forearm.
"Did miko tell you about the hair?" Sesshomaru growled, his fangs lengthening.
"I am no fool, I put it together myself," she spat, trying to overcome the pain. A bit more and the arm will be surely broken. Fortunately that didn't happen since Sesshomaru pushed her away to have enough room to stand up. "You must've crashed the bone! If your blood doesn't heal this, then you'll pay for this! It hurts, dammit!" Kagura weaned, rubbing the bloody forearm while rolling in the high grass. It was surely an undignified behavior for a lady, but the pain was beyond caring for such trivial things.
"It will heal by tomorrow."
"So I must be in agony the whole night? And I plodded away at the new hair band for you! Why did you even grab me again?"
"This fact is not to be known to anyone. I have the right to kill to keep you silent."
"The greatest Sesshomaru can't have weaknesses and blah, blah, blah. Braid it then, Yasha finds it quite effective. That I also deducted myself if you are wondering," Kagura said, sitting up since the pain was not that intense already.
"Why does Yasha wish to hide his hair?"
"His braid is almost as long as Inuyasha's hair. So the free hair must be longer than his father's. I doubt Inuyasha will be thrilled to know his son has surpassed him already."
"The strength isn't measured only by length."
"And what are other characteristics? Shining to blindness?" Kagura grunted, standing up. Her legs were unsteady, but she didn't embarrass herself by falling over.
"Why don't you find for yourself? If you are so good at deducting," Sesshomaru suggested, taking place in the middle of the meadow, thus presenting the silver waterfall bathed in the moonlight for Kagura's inspection.
Out of cheer curiosity, Kagura neared the taiyoukai and placed her delicate hand on the mass of hair that shone with hundred shades of white and silver. The hand instantly disappeared in the tresses, but she couldn't feel the neck. She tried to move the hand lower, but the movement demanded surprisingly much effort. "So thick and heavy," she murmured, impressed by the texture. No wonder the fans were heavy. The whole mane must've weighted a ton; how was it possible to carry something like that on one's head? A true power indeed.
"Will you manage to braid it?"
"Okay," Kagura agreed, kneeling behind him.
"But your arm is hurt."
"Just sit still for now." Kagura shushed already busy with straightening the thick tresses.
"How did you manage to measure Yasha's hair so accurately?" Sesshomaru asked after a long silence.
"He and Ryou stayed at Naruki's during their human night several months ago. Heard them brag about you finally agreeing to give them your fangs when Yasha is mated. How do youkai mate? Besides… doing it? They don't have ceremonies, right?"
"The male leaves a special mark on female's body in a form of a scar. That scar never heals because it is a wanted wound."
"Come to think of it, I've seen an odd scar on Hitomi. At times I completely forget that she is a hanoyu, she never uses super strength or speed. An ordinary human with unordinary appearance. I wanted to ask you something actually." Kagura took a short break – moving such heavy hair was indeed quite tiring. "Will Rin have the same problem with giving birth as her mother did?"
"It is possible. Every case is unique."
"But she doesn't have a youkai side like Hitomi to help her, so Rin or her baby will be killed to save either of them?"
"It is possible."
"But that's not right!" Kagura exclaimed, pulling on the hair in anger. "That's not fair!"
"Some species just shouldn't be mixed with humans. But it is not yet known which ones. Actually there are species that can't be mixed together too."
"Like what?"
"Inuyasha will soon find himself in quite a mess, if he doesn't look after his younger son more closely."
"What do you mean?"
"It is not unusual for Yasha and Ryou to be absent from home for a long periods of time. The slayers may travel for years before returning home if they have one. They are covered in all possible youkai scents, so it's hard to determine anything out of ordinary. And Ryou has developed an abnormal interest in the Northern border lately. In the mountains of the Northern lands live a wolf youkai pack. One of the alpha-males of that tribe is Kouga, who has three daughters."
"Don't tell me! Ryou fell for the youngest?"
"Kouga's daughters are pure youkai; the eldest, Kaoru (smell sweet), is slightly younger than Ryou according to youkai aging. The youkai packs have fixed hierarchy, so the daughters could be promised already to other alpha-males. The dispute for a female is resolved in only one way."
"They will fight?"
"Ryou is only quarter youkai and hot-headed as my idiot of a step-brother. He will fight and he will die."
"Even with your fang?"
"It takes time to fully master a new and moreover powerful weapon. But even if by some miracle Ryou defeats his opponent, Kouga will never agree to give his daughter to Inuyasha's son."
"Why? Not to spoil youkai blood with human's?"
"Kouga and Inuyasha fought over the miko."
"Fought over Kagome?"
"That was a long time ago. I doubt they've talked since Inuyasha mated her."
"That's really a mess. But how do you know this even if Inuyasha doesn't? You didn't walk on the poor kids, did you?"
"Our paths crossed."
"Still, what are you planning to do? If we don't tell, a lot of people can get hurt."
"This is a natural course of youkai life. It is forbidden to intervene."
"This is ridiculous," Kagura uttered, unwrapping the band from her belt where she always kept it in case of coming across Sesshomaru. "There, all done. Looks good if I say so myself," she complemented her work, standing up and brushing grass from her kimono. "So many lives wasted because of the law of survival. It is just as Kagome says, 'Everyone has the right to have a family.' If Ryou likes this Kaoru girl, then so be it."
"Youkai survived because they follow their laws."
"Surviving isn't living."
"There is a particular law of inuyoukai you'll never be told, Kagura. Inuyoukai allows handle his hair only to two females – his mother and his mate, because they are the only women he can trust not to chop it off."