Chapter 10: Divergent Paths

As they entered the tent, Kagome noted that the back had been partitioned off, and caught Kanaye's eye with a questioning glance.

"Ah, my Lady - you will find that your personal possessions have been brought in, and some warm water so that you can at least freshen up," he said, as he gestured vaguely at her blood-spattered appearance. "I thought that you might like to do so before speaking to the prisoners."

Kagome beamed at him, clapping her hands together, she said, "Oh, you have no idea, Kanaye, thank you!" She moved eagerly to the partition and walked behind it, more than ready to get the blood off.

Sesshoumaru nodded approvingly at his General. "This one thanks you, Kanaye, for seeing to the comfort of his Lady. She will be much more pleasant to be around if she is at least semi-clean."

Shippo laughed. "Yeah, you have no idea how much she hates being dirty. She used to give Inuyasha kitty-fits back when we were chasing the Tama when she was always wanting to stop and bathe. He always swore that it would have only taken one year instead of three if she'd just avoided a few baths along the way."

Kagome huffed from behind the screen. "I spent less time bathing than he did sneaking off to chase Kikyou, I'll have you know. And he always stunk like dead woman when he came back... at least I smelled good when I came back from bathing."

Several chuckles were heard at that statement, and inwardly, Sesshoumaru felt a small part of himself ease at the casual way she'd mentioned her history with his brother. He admitted to himself that there was still a part of him that was afraid that this was all a dream - that she would, in the end, be unable to let the half-breed go.

Moments like that one helped to convince him that she was not missing Inuyasha.

Lowering himself to one of the cushions scattered around the tent, he motioned for the others to join him as they waited for Kagome to finish before bringing in the prisoners. When she finally came back out, she looked much refreshed, and moving over to Sesshoumaru's side, she sat down, and sighed.

"What a day. I feel much more relaxed, Kanaye, thank you for your thoughtfulness in providing me the chance to clean up." She smiled at him as he nodded to her.

"If you are ready, my Lord, my Lady? I will have the prisoners brought in," he said, gesturing for a soldier to do so as Sesshoumaru nodded.

Kagome watched as the two male youkai were escorted into the tent. They appeared to be the same age as Sesshoumaru, and held themselves professionally, even in these circumstances. Both were extremely handsome, wearing long, silky dark hair in topknots, one yellow-eyed, and one with emerald orbs, although neither carried the facial markings that her daiyoukai did, and she wondered idly if there was such a thing as an ugly youkai. She'd never seen one.

Of course, it went without saying that Sesshoumaru himself was the most handsome, even amongst a beautiful race.

Shaking her head to clear it of those thoughts, she stayed silent as Sesshoumaru considered the two sitting before him.

"Your names and ranks - you will give them to me."

She could tell they were both angry at their defeat, but both knew not to challenge the obviously alpha male - his aura was huge, and even ningens could sense his immense power - so the two knew to cooperate.

"I am General Seiichi, and this is my Second, Takai. We were told you had questions, my Lord?" he asked, with a polite, but strained, bow.

"My Lady is the one who has the questions," he said, as the two turned their gazes on her, and she shook her head with a sigh as she noted the suddenly offended looks on their faces.

"My Lord!" Seiichi protested. "Surely you do not expect us to answer the questions of a female, and a ningen at that!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red, and his aura flared, as he snapped out, "You will answer whatever she asks, neko, and you will give her the respect she is due as the Shikon no miko and Lady of the West, or I will simply eliminate you and move on to the next in line, do you understand?"

Both males shrank back, and nodded quickly. General Seiichi apologized to Kagome, saying, "I am most sorry, my Lady. I did not know you were the Shikon no Miko." He made a sour face. "Had I known such, I would have made sure that Hikari was stopped before he could take on this foolish exercise."

Kagome tilted her head in acknowledgment of his apology, then frowned. "I know he is the one that sent that assassin after me, and I think we all know why..." she trailed off as Seiichi shook his head.

"Actually, my Lady, you probably don't know all of it. I am sure you realize that a part of it was because of his humiliation at your Lord's hands, but that was only part of it." He sighed. "You see, Hikari has been allied with Hebikuro for months - and getting your Lord to mate his daughter was all part and parcel of both of their desires to destroy his house and take over the West."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "What do you mean? How would his daughter being made Lady of the West have destroyed my house?"

The two males looked at each other, and then Takai shrugged. "His daughter is an accomplished assassin. That is not commonly known. She might seem like a silly little bitch but she is not."

Kagome growled at that, eyes narrowed with anger, she nodded. "I see it now. She was to kill him on the night of the mating, thus leaving the Western Lands in chaos, and rendering it ripe for the picking. That's why he was hoping that by offing me, he might still be able to get Sesshoumaru with that plan." She clenched her hand. "Bastard!"

She flicked a glance at an amused Sesshoumaru. "Are you sure you can't use Tenseiga and bring him back so I can kill him?"

He placed a hand atop hers as it lay on her knee, and squeezed. "It is alright, koi. It would not have succeeded, no matter the circumstances. There is no need to be angered."

She glared at him. "Of course I'm pissed, Sesshoumaru – that was underhanded and wrong! What did you expect - that I would be happy about it?"

She turned back to the two rather surprised youkai and huffed. "So, then, once the West was in upheaval, Hebikuro and Hikari would have marched in and plundered it easily." She glanced at a quiet Shippo, then frowned. "And what about the East?"

"Lord Hikari was of the opinion that the Eastern Lands would be easily wiped out, seeing as how the ookami are more of a tribal-based society, and really have no central authority. Of course, we know they all answer to Lord Koga as Cardinal Lord, but they do not have trained warriors and a regimented army as do all the other lands. He felt that we would simply march through, taking on each tribe as we came across them and destroying them."

Sesshoumaru exchanged troubled glances with Kagome and frowned. "In that, he was correct. That probably would have worked... if Koga had not been smarter than Hikari and Hebikuro, and suspicious of the snakes actions and spied on him. This is something I will discuss with Lord Koga." He nodded at Kagome, silently telling her to continue.

She turned back to the two prisoners. "The one thing that really has me confused is this: why did your Lord have you march all the way here, only to be expecting to turn around and march all the way back? It makes no tactical sense, when he could have just met Hebikuro on a field of battle in the West."

Seiichi glanced at Takai and sighed, then looked back over at Kagome and her Lord. "The truth was, Hikari was absolutely obsessed with destroying your Lord... and he didn't want to wait the two months before meeting the Snake Lord somewhere in your lands. Instead, he decided that we would spend the time marching, rather than waiting." Shrugging, he said, "Truly, Hikari was an idiot, and it's a good thing he's gone, my Lord," he bowed his head to Sesshoumaru, "because, if he'd stayed around much longer, he would have weakened the North beyond recovery."

As the others in the tent all nodded, Takai added, "It's going to take enough to recover from this whole mess as it is, but at least we will recover someday."

"Hn." Sesshoumaru raised a brow questioningly. "I do require an answer to a question of my own. How is it that you made it here with no one the wiser? I am aware that neko pride themselves on their stealth, however, I find it difficult to believe that even neko could sneak an entire army across Nippon without being seen."

Seiichi chuckled at that. "We did not attempt to sneak at all, my Lord. We followed along the border between the East and West, keeping mostly on the Eastern side. When Lord Koga calls the tribes to war, he orders that all tribes gather in one place, so that the females and older males may guard the young. That practice leaves no one along the borders, letting anyone who chooses to have free run of the entire length of the lands from north to south."

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I think we need to have a long talk with Koga, Sesshoumaru. This kind of thing could obviously cause way too many problems. We're just lucky it didn't this time."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I agree, koi." He turned to Kanaye, Hiro, and Taro. "Where is Lord Koga?"

Taro spoke up. "I think he is out with his ookami hunting down any... strays, so to speak, my Lord," with a sly glance at the two neko, who hissed in response.

"Very well. Instruct the perimeter guards that he is to be sent here as soon as he returns - it seems we have much to discuss with him." He turned to Kagome. "Did you have any more questions for the prisoners, koi?"

She shook her head. "Not that I can think of right now. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know." She looked at her son. "What about you, Shippo? You've been awfully quiet. Can you think of anything I've missed?"

"Only one thing, momma." He turned to the two neko, who were showing surprise to hear a fox youkai calling a ningen miko 'momma'. "How were the two going to split the spoils? I mean, it seems that I'm missing something here. What did Hikari get out of this alliance? It was his daughter that was supposed to take out Sesshoumaru, thereby leaving the West helpless to resist an invasion, and he had his own army, obviously - so why did he need the snake?"

Kagome's eyes widened as Sesshoumaru nodded thoughtfully.

Seiichi looked at the kitsune with a bit more respect at that. "I wondered if anyone would ask that question," he murmured. "I told you Hikari was obsessed with Sesshoumaru's destruction, did I not?" As the others all nodded, he continued.

"It unbalanced him. He made a deal with the snake that, frankly, sickened us. Most of us don't care for snakes much, but he would have had us in bed with them - literally for his own daughter. It was his plan to mate his daughter to Hebikuro once the Lands were under their control - that way, one day, it would be his descendants that would rule a united Nippon."

Softly, Takai spoke. "He wanted his blood to rule as Overlord of all the Lands. It did not matter that the child would carry snake blood as well to him, only that it have his own. Needless to say, while Hebikuro was quite pleased with the idea, Hikari's daughter, Kita, did not know her fate. She would not have agreed."

The tent was silent for a little while as everyone took in what had been said.

Finally, Sesshoumaru spoke. "You may escort the prisoners to their tent, General Kanaye, and then you all may tend to your other duties. If I have need of you again this night I will send for you."

They nodded and bowed as they filed out of the tent, guiding the neko's back to their temporary prison.

"It's lucky Hikari and Hebikuro were such fools - if this had been one of Naraku's plots, we'd have had much more trouble. This was actually easy compared to what we dealt with back then." Kagome let her shoulders slump tiredly.

Sesshoumaru and Shippo nodded silently. After all, what could they say?

It was merely the truth. Naraku had been a much more dangerous opponent, and that was something they could all agree on.

-sSs-

Sesshoumaru was pleased as his palace finally came into view. They had ended up spending two days camped on the battlefield to allow time for everyone to rest and recover from the battle itself. He had been somewhat impatient about the wait, but understood that his soldiers needed it, and indeed, deserved it.

His only real concern was that they were getting dangerously close to the two-week deadline for his mating that he'd given Kagome, and he definitely had no intention of mating her in uncivilized surroundings. He wanted comfort - and privacy, and that could only be assured in his suite of rooms at his shiro.

Of course, he hadn't taken into account the presence of his mother. He'd known she was planning to attend the mating dinner, but since that was traditionally done after the mating, he hadn't given a thought to her showing up before the mating.

Turns out, he should have.

He sighed inwardly as they arrived in the courtyard, tired, dusty, and definitely in need of a bath, only to be confronted by his perfectly clean and elegant Lady Mother. Things were bound to go downhill the minute she opened her mouth - she had always been one for baiting and angering people, and it wasn't bloody likely that Kagome would put up with that for long.

He was perfectly correct.

Satori looked down her elegant nose at the obviously tired young woman that was hanging off her son's arm, then turned to him and said, "I see that you have picked up your father's bad habits, my son. Was there no proper, acceptable youkai female available, that you had to visit the dregs and choose a helpless ningen as Lady?"

Kagome's eyebrow rose at the woman's tone, and she snickered inwardly. So she wants to play, does she? She flared her aura slightly, letting the brilliant pink shimmer softly cross her form, and glide up Sesshoumaru's arm - then allowed a small amount to leak off her form and touch his mother, giving her a slight jolt.

The woman's eyes widened as she saw that while the aura did indeed sting her, it did nothing to her son. Kagome wanted her to know just how much control she really had, and how not helpless she was.

"Helpless, my Lady? Many have made that mistake - and a few of them are actually even still alive. Don't make the mistake of misjudging me - I can, andwill, defend my mate - to the death." Her tone was polite, but firm - nothing that anyone could say was disrespectful, and Sesshoumaru's tension eased immediately. It was obvious that Kagome could handle his mother just fine.

Satori stared at the woman her son had chosen, then turned again to him. "Well, my son? Would you allow this ningen to speak to me in this manner? I had thought that you intended to follow a different path than your father - was I mistaken?"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow at his mother, giving her a cold look. "Learn your place, mother. You will no longer be known as Lady of the West, and you will give Kagome the respect she has earned. Understand this, for your own safety - she is the most powerful female in this land, and could destroy even you if she chose."

He tightened his grip on her hand. "I have chosen my path... and if it diverges from the path you had wanted me to take, then that is your problem. If you cannot accept my mate, then you can leave."

Satori held his gaze for a long moment, then smiled. Offering a surprised Kagome her arm, she pulled the young woman away from her son, saying, "Go bathe, Sesshoumaru. You need it. I will escort your intended to her own bath."

He glanced at Kagome,and she nodded, smiling up at him. "I'll be fine, Sesshoumaru. See you at dinner?"

He tilted his head in the affirmative. "Yes, koi. Enjoy your bath. I will come for you when dinner is ready." He turned a warning look on his mother. "And you, mother. No mischief."

She waved him off, grinning. "Don't be so stuffy, Sesshoumaru. I approve. You were right - she is far from powerless. I just wanted to see for myself. Now go."

Kagome's brow raised. "I see where Sesshoumaru gets his fascination with power, my Lady. You sound very much like him right at this moment."

Satori chuckled. "Indeed. I always enjoyed power, it is intoxicating, is it not? I had never considered that my son would mate a ningen female - mostly because ningens do not usually carry power, and even those that do, have nowhere near the levels of it that my son wields. And the lifespan issue, as well... he could never be happy with one who was not his equal in every way - which is why I acted the way I did. I had to be sure he would not regret this."

Kagome nodded, understanding where she was coming from. It was simple maternal instinct to protect your children, and that included protecting their happiness.

"I understand, my Lady. There are no hard feelings." Her eyes brightened as they entered the hot springs, and she was overjoyed to find her clothes already laid out, along with bathing supplies. Undressing quickly, she waded into the hot water and lay back, sighing deeply.

"So... Kagome. I have heard many tales of the Shikon Miko, one of which states that you are not from this time. Is that true?"

She smiled ruefully. It looked like she'd be spending the next hour helping to alleviate her soon to be mother-in-law's curiosity.

Surprisingly enough, she was still smiling an hour later when Sesshoumaru knocked at her door, ready to escort her to dinner.

With a raised brow, he asked, "Tell me, koi, where is my Lady Mother? I had thought to find her here with you."

Kagome took his arm and allowed him to lead her from her room. "She retired to her own rooms to refresh herself before dinner." She gave him an arch look. "Don't worry, she left peacefully. We got along fine after you left."

He cast a doubtful glance down at her, then shrugged slightly. "I am pleased to hear that, koi. I must admit, I had wondered how you two would do together." Slowing his pace just a bit, he looked down at her, a measuring look in his eye.

"It has been almost two weeks since I promised that we would be mated within that time frame. Will you allow me to mate you this night, beloved?" he asked softly.

Kagome lost herself in the gold heat of his eyes, the husky timbre of his voice sending a shiver through her, and she could do no more than nod her head, unable to even look away, as she flushed a deep rose in response. Oh, kami... just his voice has me so aroused I can't stand it!

Sesshoumaru's legs almost buckled as the scent of her arousal hit the air around them, and his eyes flashed red as he fought his beast for control. This meal was going to be the hardest he had ever had to sit through - and he had the feeling that everyone would know it as soon as they set eyes on him, because he simply could not completely control his response to her.

Mother will never let me live this down, he thought sourly, seriously considering his beast's suggestion to turn around and take her to his chambers now. Reluctantly, he decided against it - his mother would never allow them to sneak off like that. He'd just have to sit through the torture for a little while.

He smiled predatorialy down at his miko, who was still staring at him, caught in his hot gaze. She was mesmerized, and he felt a surge of triumph go through him as he led her through the doors into the dining hall - it was obvious that it was him that had so completely turned her on - not his damnable half-brother, nor the ookami, and finally, for the first time, he fully realized that she was truly his, and no one elses.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear as he led her to their spot at the head of the table, "I suggest you eat quickly, miko, or I will not be held responsible for my actions."

She just nodded dumbly, still unable to dredge up her voice from the pit it had fallen into. Her attention was jerked back to her surroundings when Satori sniffed pointedly and sent a disapproving glance at her son.

"Could you not wait to begin such activities until after the meal, my son? I had thought you had more control than that." She smiled slightly when Kagome caught what she was hinting at and flushed even deeper, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow at his mother. "I am sitting here, am I not?" At his mother's nod, he asked silkily, "Then how can you question my control?"

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome hissed, totally disconcerted. "Did you have to say that for everyone to hear?"

Glancing disinterestedly at the grinning faces around the table, he sniffed. "I have no need to hide my desire for my soon-to-be-mate from anyone. If they do not like it, they may leave."

Kagome's eyes widened, and she shot a look around the table, noting the smiles and snickers. Even her son seemed to find the situation amusing, and she narrowed her eyes on him.

"Tell me Shippo, my love, how long before I receive notice that my son has chosen a mate of his own?"

Shippo flushed and looked down at his plate. "Not for a while, momma... why?"

"Because when I do, you will remind me of this dinner, and I will endeavor to turn you as red as I am right now before your own mate-to-be."

Satori frowned, and spoke before Shippo could say anything in his defense. "Your son?"

Sesshoumaru nodded at his mother. "This is the new Lord of the South, Lord Shippo. He is Kagome's adopted son."

Her brow raised in surprise. "I am sure there is quite the tale for the telling in that. I would like to hear it. Not many, especially a miko, would adopt an orphaned youkai child."

"I believe I have stated before, mother, that Kagome is not like anyone else."

She nodded agreeably. "You have - and you were right." She sighed. "I was wrong, my son, when I said that you were following in your father's footsteps. You have found your own path - and a fine woman to share it with you. I give my blessings to this union, and may your divergent path prove joyous for you."

Kagome smiled sweetly, and Sesshoumaru's eyes softened slightly as he looked at his mother. "Thank you. I would be honored if you would oversee the Formal Dinner to announce our mating - would two days time be enough, since the other Cardinal Lords are already here?" He looked around with a frown as she nodded. "Speaking of that, where is Lord Koga?"

Shippo caught Sesshoumaru's eye. "I believe he left just after you both came in." He lowered his voice. "He is still having difficulty accepting that Kagome is out of his reach, you know. He's been in love with her for years - even though she never returned those feelings..." he trailed off.

Kagome looked saddened for a minute. "I wonder what ever happened to Ayame?"

Sesshoumaru frowned down at her. "Who is this Ayame?"

"She was the princess of the Northern Ookami Tribe - Koga was supposed to mate her, or at least, that's what she claimed. She was completely in love with him, but her grandfather saw the mating merely as a way to strengthen the tribes."

Shippo smirked. "Oh, she's still around, and still waiting for Koga to come to his senses. When she finds out that Sesshoumaru's mated you, she'll start hounding him again... it'll be good for him, and I'll bet ya anything that she'll one day get him to mate her. Just give it time."

"Hn. As long as the ookami does not continue to moon after my mate. I do not have the patience for that."

Satori shook her head at him. "Do you feel so very threatened by the feelings of the ookami Lord, then, my son?"

Sesshoumaru sent her a disdainful look, as Kagome frowned at him. "This Sesshoumaru has no need to be threatened by any male. The miko is mine. Do not speak of such ridiculous things." He held her gaze haughtily for a moment, and Kagome laughed behind her hand - until he turned that gaze on her, and it went from haughty to just plain hot.

"This Sesshoumaru has decided that you are finished with your meal, miko. We will now retire," he said, a wicked look in his eye as she once again blushed and began to splutter nervously. Standing, he held out his arm for her imperiously, and wide-eyed, she scrambled up to take it.

Ignoring the grins and smirks around the room completely, he kept his gaze on Kagome for several long seconds, rendering her once again speechless. Glancing over his shoulder at his mother and Shippo, he said, "Do not expect to see us tomorrow - I will send the servants for our meals. I also will not tolerate any disturbances unless the world is ending. Goodnight."

Satori watched her son sweep out the door, and smiled. It had taken over half a millennium, but her son had finally found happiness.

It was way past time.