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Inuyasha found Kagome leaning against a tree, crying her eyes out. He tried to convince her that he didn't mean it like that, but he had something important to discuss with his brother so they should return to the others. Kagome wasn't easily persuaded to come back with him. He was about to just leave her and return to Sesshoumaru when a distant growl startled her enough to reconsider. She leaped into Inuyasha's arms. He couldn't do more then wrap his arms around her. Her slowly turned up face and sweet shy smile was meant to allure him to kiss her, but he wasn't interested. He couldn't straight up ignore the gesture so he kissed her on the forehead. The disappointment was clear.
"Come let us return to the others." He wanted to avoid more attempts to get intimate.
"Inuyasha don't do this. I love you. Why can't you see that?" Kagome buried her face in his shirt and cling to him. He carefully pulled her from his chest.
"I know you believe you love me, but this is not the time nor the place to talk about this." Inuyasha pulled her towards the others.
Pouting she murmured. "Talking was not what I had in mind."
Inuyasha ignored her words and hurried back. In a glance he saw that his brother had left the place and Miroku looked kind of guilty. He let go of Kagome and rushed after the scent of his brother, but he was too late. Sesshoumaru was airborne and he didn't know where he was headed. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why should he always be so stupid. He shouldn't have run after Kagome and leave Sesshoumaru.
He walked back contemplating his next move. He didn't need the excuse for the jewel hunt anymore, but he also didn't want to let his friends down. He would help them to collect them all, he would take a break and talk things out with Sesshoumaru. First he had to find out why Sesshoumaru left so suddenly.
Miroku came to meet him halfway. He attempted to mask the guilty look on his face with a confident smirk.
"Tell me. What have you said to my brother?" Inuyasha was sure Miroku had something to do with the departure of the daiyoukai.
"Eh, keep in mind that I'm your friend and as a friend I tried to help you. I told your brother more and less that you have chosen Kagome as your future mate and want to have children with her." Miroku stopped talking when he saw the golden eyes of his friend grow wide in disbelieve and shock.
Inuyasha felt like his heart stopped beating. He grabbed Miroku by his upper arms and shook him wildly. "No, say you didn't say that. No, no, no, no, you lied. I never said I wanted to have pups with Kagome." He stopped shaking Miroku and fell on his knees. Sesshoumaru! Sesshoumaru will be devastated. I have to find him and clear things up.
Miroku also fell to his knees. He shook his head to clear it up. "I wanted to help. You were in such pain. You wanted to end your romantic relationship with him, you said so yourself. You wanted him to have pups, an heir. I tried to help." Miroku looked confused at Inuyasha. He knew that his friend would be hurt, but this was what he wanted, wasn't it? He looked at the pain streaked face of his friend and wasn't sure anymore. Did something change?
Inuyasha slowly looked up. Tears gathered in his eyes. With a fierce swipe he wiped them away. "We were going to talk things out. I had underestimated my wonderful brother. He loves me so much. He is willing to make sacrifices for me. I think we could come up with a compromise. I'm going after him." He stood up and wanted to run after his brother, when Miroku grabbed his arm and stopped him.
Miroku looked with compassion at Inuyasha. "Would that make you happy? Think about it Inuyasha. What could that compromise be, eh? No heir or adopt or maybe even stand aside and let Sesshoumaru make a pup with someone else? No heir and adoption are out of the question. The Western lands need an heir, an inu youkai heir. So remains the last option. You wouldn't be able to stand aside and watch your brother pup someone else. I even doubt it that he would allow that. So probably he would chose not to have an heir and you wouldn't be happy with that. So maybe this is the best way."
Inuyasha knew that Miroku in some way was right, but he didn't want to loose Sesshoumaru. "Maybe there are more options. I have to talk to him. Don't stop me." Miroku let go of his friend's arm.
The thundering growl nearby and the sounds of swift moving feet alerted them that they weren't alone in these woods. Inuyasha draw Tetsuseiga and Miroku readied himself for the attack of the nearing youkai. A colossal ugly opossum with too many teeth burst out the bushes. It charged at the two friends. Inuyasha jumped away and sliced with a precise move a paw off. Miroku jumped and hit the foe on the head with his staff. The opossum roared in pain and tumbled forwards, right where Miroku came down. It stampede over Miroku's leg. With a cry Miroku slammed to the ground and held his shin in agony.
Startled and worried Inuyasha looked to were Miroku crawled out of the way of the raging with pain youkai. He activated the 'WINDSCAR' and the youkai was shredded to pieces. Sango on the back of Kirara swished by Inuyasha and before the cat youkai landed, Sango jumped of it and hurried over to her husband. Kagome came running with Shippo along side.
"What happened? Did your brother attack you?" Kagome looked around trying to analyze what happened.
"A opossum youkai attacked us and Miroku got severely injured." Inuyasha also hurried over to his friend. Sango carefully examined the injured leg. She looked up at Inuyasha and shook her head. His leg was broken. She stood up to help him up, but he cringed when his weight rest on his injured leg. Inuyasha picked him up and put him on the back of Kirara. Miroku held on to Inuyasha's hand.
"You are staying?" Miroku was worried Inuyasha would go after his brother. Now he was injured they more then ever needed Inuyasha to stay with them.
"Don't be stupid. Of course I'm staying. You human are too fragile." Inuyasha couldn't leave them now. Maybe Sango would be able to defend them, but he didn't want to place the load of everyone's safety on her shoulders. The opossum youkai lived in a pack and there was a big possibility that other pack members roamed the vicinity. He would go after his brother as soon as Miroku would be able to fight again.
Sango walked next to Kirara and held Miroku's hand. Kagome saw a jewel shard that had been imbedded in the youkai's head. She put the pieces together and examined the almost complete jewel with a content smile. She looked up when she saw him approach.
"Is your brother not coming back?" She looked hopeful at Inuyasha. He didn't answer.
In the campsite she began to scorn his brother. "Good riddance! He is so unpredictable and acts so high and mighty. He may be a lord, but let me tell you Inuyasha, you are not any less then him. Now all of the sudden after so many years of neglect he acts like your big brother, like he owns you. I can't believe you don't see he is using you. He will never love someone like you."
Inuyasha decided not to comment on her harping. It didn't matter what she thought of his wonderful brother. He knew no one could love him more then his big brother. He helped Miroku from Kirara and helped to keep Miroku steady when the girls put his leg in splints. Sango sat next to Miroku with his head in her lap. He looked up to her with a loving smile. Inuyasha stood up and walked away. They needed their privacy.
Kagome conveniently mistook Inuyasha's silence as an approval of her saying and continued to hassle him. "You brother may be beautiful, strong and sexy, but a self-respecting girl like me doesn't like the type. We want our guy to listen to us, do what is best for the both and equality in the relationship. If that means to make sacrifices and compromising then both has to do so. Your brother will never be able to make a sacrifice. He would dominate the relationship. Only a docile fool will be happy with him. He is a selfish bastard."
Inuyasha couldn't take anymore of her stupidity and gross insults towards his beloved brother. Faster then a blink of an eye Inuyasha grabbed Kagome by her throat and squeezed enough to make her panic.
"You have no right to judge my brother. He is perfect. You hear me! He is perfect! Nobody is more noble then he is and you, you are not even worth the dirt he walks on." Inuyasha spat the words in her face and shook her like a rag doll.
Kagome grabbed his hand and dug her nails into his flesh. Inuyasha squeezed more. "What did you mean he will never love someone like me? Guess what? He loves me. He loves me more then you can ever imagine and he loves me just the way I am." His voice was dangerous low.
Kagome choked and tried to say the dreaded word 'SIT', but she couldn't get anything out her throat.
"This is how much it feels when you 'SIT' me. How do you like to be treated equal. It hurts, doesn't it?" Inuyasha looked in the mortified big brown eyes of the girl and smirked devilish.
His grip around her throat relaxed a little, giving her the opportunity to draw some much needed air. Shippo saw what was happenng and shook the wounded leg of Miroku to alert him. Miroku yelped and kicked Shippo away with his healthy leg. Shippo sailed through the air and crashed in a bush. But Shippo had succeeded Miroku looked back at them and saw what he was going on. He gestured to Sango and the taiji rushed over to them. She tried to persuade Inuyasha to let Kagome go, but he didn't listen to her.
"Today you have gone too far. I accepted a lot from you, but you never know when to quit. You try to alienate me from my brother, but you will never succeed. I love him more then life itself. You, I considered a dear friend, but I'm not sure anymore." Inuyasha's voice dropped to a whisper.
Realizing what he had said he let go of her throat and Kagome fell on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Sango kneeled next to the girl and tried to help her. Kagome pushed Sango away and grabbed Inuyasha's pants so he couldn't walk away. She looked up with pained eyes and tried to say something, but her voice failed her. She shook her head. Tears kept flowing out her eyes.
Inuyasha smirked sadly and kneeled in front of the girl. He gently pushed Sango away. "Go tend to your husband. I won't do anything stupid."
Sango wasn't sure what to do, but a moan from Miroku made her hurry to him.
"S…s…s." Kagome couldn't get the words out her bruised throat. Inuyasha braced himself.
"S…sor…ry." She shook her head and lowered her gaze. Inuyasha stood up and walked away from her. Her eyes shot up to him. She had expected him to comfort her like he always did. Her pained and pitiful posture didn't trouble him. She had lost him and the only one to blame was his arrogant bastard of a brother. She felt a surge of hatred flow through her body. She felt the pain been replaced by anger.
No! sounded a forceful voice in her head. I'm not like that, I'm not like Kikyo. I don't want to own the one I love. I can't force him to love me and if I continue to act like this he will hate me. I don't want that. The surge of hate left her body and the pain returned. Her eyes searched and found Inuyasha sitting on a branch in a tree.
Kagome got a water bottle from her backpack and moistened a cloth. She held the damp cloth to her bruised throat and walked over to the tree. She knew what she had to do. She sat under the tree and said nothing. After a while the silence began to become very heavy.
"Inuyasha I'm really sorry." Kagome looked up and tried to look into Inuyasha's eyes.
He stood up and jumped away from the tree. "I'm going to look for something to eat." Avoiding to look into Kagome's eyes he walked away. Kagome looked with sad eyes at his disappearing back. She felt a hot pain flash through her chest. Was this pain or regret? She wasn't sure.
She called for Shippo and together they went to gather firewood. Shippo walked quietly next to her.
"You probably think I'm horrible, don't you?" Kagome glanced at the little fox youkai. Shippo looked surprised up at Kagome.
"No, I don't think you are horrible. You are a very sweet person. You are always there for everyone." Shippo didn't know what to say.
"Yes, I try to do the best for everyone, but it seems I'm not doing a good job. I want Inuyasha to come with me to my time. I think he will have a better live there. I would always love him. My family has accepted him. But I didn't think of the consequences. We would have to leave you behind. It's just so that when I think of the future in my time I always picture you with us, but I know you can't come with us. I'm sorry I hurt you that other day." Kagome kneeled in front of Shippo and pulled him in a tight hug.
Shippo couldn't hold back his tears and returned the hug. "I love you Kagome." He whispered sincere.
Kagome gently pulled him from the ground and with his little arms still around her neck she stood up. "We are quite a pitiful sight. Now let's gather the firewood and cook us the best meal we ever had." With a smile she looked sideways at Shippo. He smiled back from his place on her shoulder.
"That is if Inuyasha could for once catch a nice rabbit or two. Hmm, maybe even three. We could all get a half." Shippo almost salivated at the thought.
Kagome laughed and warned the little fox youkai not to get his hope up, but in case he did catch some they had to be prepared and find some herbs and spices.
It turned out Inuyasha did caught two rabbits. They were big enough to fill everyone's belly. Miroku was at first not very hungry and didn't want some, but with a little persuasion from Sango and a downright threat from Inuyasha that he would force the meat in his mouth, because he had to get well soon, he also enjoyed a healthy meal. Inuyasha accepted his serving but couldn't finish it and almost the half of it was shared by Shippo and Kirara.
Kagome tried to talk with Inuyasha, but he avoided her. With a deep sigh she gave up to try and talk with him in private.
"Eh, Inuyasha I'm really sorry. I didn't want to put your brother down." Kagome looked unhappy at him. Inuyasha was poking in the fire to get it burn steady and looked up to meet the girls eyes. The glow of the fire highlighted the silver of his hair and his eyes were just like golden pools of honey. He wasn't aware of the alluring picture he presented. Kagome swallowed a few times to get the non existing lump in her throat away.
"Just forget it. I'm sorry I hurt you." He said kindly and turned away from her.
The others followed the interaction between the two with great interest, although they tried to look un-interested. With pain in her heart Kagome saw him standing up and sitting down on a boulder on the other side of the fire. She stood up to go to him, but a icy cold blow of youki interrupted her intention.
Sango jumped in front of Miroku with Hiraikotsu drawn. Kirara just mewled and stayed curled up in Miroku's lap. Inuyasha stood up and bowed deep for the ethereal youkai materializing in front of him.
"Young hanyou, aren't you going to offer me a seat?" With an elegant hand she grabbed his arm, pulled him up and let go of him. Inuyasha looked with burning with respect eyes at her. She was a full blooded daiyoukai and she had touched him willingly. He almost fling himself at her feet again, but restrained the urge and quickly wiped the boulder clean with the sleeve of his kimono. Regal she sat down and gestured him to sit next to her, but he sat down at her feet.
She cupped his chin and scrutinized his face. Inuyasha wasn't sure what to do, but with his face turned up to her he got the chance to see the serene beautiful face and relished on the resemblances of mother and son.
"I've missed the sight of emotions in golden eyes. Your father was a passionate man and he didn't fear to let it show in his eyes. He was a great daiyoukai. I loved him very much. You, young hanyou, you have the same passion flowing in you. Both sons have inherit this trait." She let his face go.
"Your late father is blessed with two beautiful sons." She looked at him and gently stroked the silver hair out his face.
Inuyasha looked with admiration up to her. He had all forgotten about the others. Kagome scraped her throat to be acknowledged. Sango had taken her place next to Miroku. Hiraikotsu was close to her side. She didn't expect an attack but just in case. When Inuyasha and the lady of the West didn't react on her, Kagome walked to Inuyasha, kneeled next to him and nudged his clothes. Inuyasha looked bothered at her.
"Lady Taisho." He began to say, but she interrupted him.
"You are the son of my mate and the brother of my son. You can call me mother if you wish." Her voice was even, but with an unexpected warmth in it.
Inuyasha felt his heart cringe. He heard the others gasp in surprise, but he didn't pay them any attention.
Mother! He felt his heart overload with emotion. Tears began to gather in his eyes. Mother! How could he call her that? He wasn't worthy to call her by that title. That title was sacred. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. Mother! Tears overflowed his eyes.
The icy blue eyes of the lady of the West changed blue-grey. "It was not my intention to offend you. I know your mother was, unlike me, a kind and soft person. I'll understand if I don't fit the image you have of a mother. I'm sorry I caused you any hurt."
Inuyasha shook his head in denial and bowed deep with his head on the ground. "No, no you haven't offended me. Calling you 'mother' would be the greatest honor I could get. I'm not worthy of that. I'm a worthless hanyou, I don't deserve it."
Lady Taisho looked at the hanyou at her feet. With a graceful move she pulled him up to his knees. "You, little hanyou are worthy to be my son. Not because both your bloodlines are highly ranked, but because you are pure of heart. I'll be honored if you deem me worthy to call me mother."
Inuyasha looked with big tearful eyes at her. His heart felt painful in a good way. He had loved and still loved his own mother, but she died of old age when he was still a little boy. He was devastated when she died. And now this powerful, beautiful daiyoukai offered him something he though was as unreachable as the sun.
"Come, son." She spread her arms and Inuyasha softly lay his head down on the offered chest. She closed her arms around his shoulders. Her embrace felt not like the embrace of his mother. His own mother embrace was soft and gentle, like she would take all the hurt and promised a tomorrow. This embrace was strong and definite. It felt like she would not allow hurt to reach him and tomorrow was something she owned. The tears in his eyes spilled and he relaxed in her arms. She pulled him closer and held him tight.
"Mother." He whispered in her lush breasts.
She pulled him a little from her chest and scrutinized him with her icy blue eyes. "Come with me. Come and stay in your father's castle. Your brother will welcome you with open arms." She stood up and ascended from the ground. Her twin boa's curled around Inuyasha and pulled him up.
Inuyasha wanted to go with her, but the tug on his kimono from Kagome pulled his attention back to his friends who were counting on him.
"No, mother I'm sorry, but I can't come with you right now. My friends depend on me. I've promised to help them to gather the sacred jewel shards." He couldn't go with her. This could complicate things. She had insisted on an heir from Sesshoumaru. She probably would be disappointed if not furious when she find out that Sesshoumaru and he were lovers and that they wouldn't be able to produce an heir. He felt confused. In his heart was a turmoil of emotions.
"My son, you don't have to carry the weight of the world all alone, but I understand. You are honor bound. I'll respect your promise. For now I'll take my leave." She bowed a little and pressed a kiss on his forehead.
In the meanwhile, far away Sesshoumaru had slain the umpteenth giant eel youkai in the lake nearby a village. They had been terrorizing the villagers for quite some time. The humans had pleaded to their human lord to get rid of them, but the lord had cowered and left the vicinity. Now this ethereal lord stepped in out of nowhere and easily killed the foe. Grateful they approached the heroic youkai, but Sesshoumaru aimed his cold deadly glare at them and they hesitated to come near their beautiful but scary savior. Sesshoumaru wasn't interested in their gratitude and walked away.
The pain inside hadn't dissipate a bit. He needed stronger opponents. His companions fateful followed their lord on Ah-Un. Days turned into weeks. Sesshoumaru never evaded the chance to fight. Every foe he met was merciless slain. Human and youkai villagers always tried to thank their savior, but he seemed offended by their gratitude and praise.
"Master Jaken why is lord Sesshoumaru so angry at all those youkai?" Rin looked concerned at her guardian. She didn't understand the killing streak of her lord.
"You are so ignorant little Rin. Lord Sesshoumaru is getting rid of those worthless youkai, terrorizing others. The Western lands is being freed from those kind of vermin. A task he should have performed a long time ago. He had lounged about his lands long enough. I'm glad lord Sesshoumaru is finally doing his job." When he realized what he had said Jaken looked scared at his lord. He was for sure a goner if he had heard him. Not even a sideways glare was send by Sesshoumaru. Jaken breathed out relieved, lord Sesshoumaru hadn't heard him. The pebble that hit him next was therefore totally unexpected. It threw him right off the comfortable saddle of the two headed dragon.
"Jaken this is not the time to play around."Sesshoumaru didn't look back. "Take Rin and stay back."
Jaken immediately grasped the rein of Ah-Un and pulled the dragon in the bushes. A group of horseman galloped towards them. There was enough span on the road to avoid the regal daiyoukai, but the bandits on the horses were interested in the lone figure standing unfazed by their appearance.
"Hey pretty boy are you lost? Come sit, I can give you a ride." The leader of the scruffy bandits patted on the saddle in front of him and laughed meaningful.
The wicked laugh of the other bandits followed. "Yes and when he is done. I want to be next. I'll bet you are as smooth inside as you look from the outside." The scrawny bandit licked his lips and brushed over his crotch.
One of the other more massive bandits leaned down and made a kissing sound. "I would love to claim those soft looking lips and pump that elegant throat raw."
They circled around and looked excited at the beautiful being, but then it occurred to them that he didn't react like they had expected. He looked cold and confident at them. The golden glare began to make them uncomfortable.
One of the more stupid bandits jumped from his horse and made a move towards Sesshoumaru. In a flash the energy whip swirled through the group of bandits and sliced almost half of them up. The horses panicked and bucked their riders off. The still living bandits fell on the ground and grabbed theirs swords.
The leader launched forwards. "I will kill you and then take your pretty body."
"So you are going to fight me. Foolish human." A faint sadistic, but content smile graced the daiyoukai lips.
For a moment the blood chilling smile stopped the attack on him, but the foolish bandits didn't know when to stop and advanced in spite of the warning signs. The impassive figure in the centre of them looked an easy target now.
With a fierce growl the leader initiated the attack and his fellowman followed. They jumped from all directions with drawn swords. Sesshoumaru looked almost bored at them and began to turn around on the tip of one shoe. Once again the whip swirled around and the bandits didn't get the chance to pull back. Sliced up bodies littered the road. Sesshoumaru stood in the centre of the corpses. He felt empty. With a last swipe he let the whip slash the already butchered remains.
Jaken looked scrutinizing through the bushes at his lord. He fought controlled as always and the power radiated from his was a dangerous warning sign, but something was not right. Lord Sesshoumaru was usual not this ruthless. Not that the bandits didn't deserve their demise, but the force that was put into each stroke was more then needed. He wasn't using his power as efficient as he was used to and sometimes it looked like he dared the foe to attack. And it even looked like he wanted to get hit.
The day passed by without any further incidents. The next day they past by a few villagers, who were working on their fields. They spoke about a troop of hyena youkai terrorizing the area. When they noticed the strange group of youkai and a little girl they scurried away and hid behind their ox. Jaken found it amusing to scare the villagers some more and swayed menacing with the staff of two heads. A pebble to his head knocked him out. Rin laughed and waved to the villagers. Still fearful the villagers waved back.
Sesshoumaru smelled the air. The foul stench of the hyena youkai reached his nose. Without a second thought he turned towards their scent.
"Jaken you stay with Rin." That tone of voice was mostly enough for Jaken to obey, but he didn't want to leave his lord alone. The hyena youkai hunted in a pack and depending on the numbers of pack members they could be a certain threat.
"But lord Sesshoumaru you can't expect me to baby sit this human child all the time. You need your faithful assistant. You need someone to have your back." Jaken flapped with his arms.
Sesshoumaru turned and glared at Jaken. The imp hesitated to say that he didn't mean it like that. Lord Sesshoumaru could expect anything from him.
"No, that is not right. Not anything I would never go against you milord." Jaken crashed his forehead on the ground.
"Both of you will stay here out harms way." Sesshoumaru walked away after that.
Jaken looked with big bulgy loving eyes at the departing back. Lord Sesshoumaru was concerned about them both. He was surely the greatest and most kind daiyoukai ever.
Not long after the cries of a female raccoon youkai hit his ears. He burst through the bushes and on the other side of the clearing the female was desperately defending her cub. The hyena hunting pack consisted out twelve pack members. They had surrounded the raccoons. The little one was crying and his mother held him close to her chest. They were playing with them. The hyena youkai grabbed the clothes of the female and tore piece by piece off her. She tried to keep her clothes intact and still held her cub protective in her arms. One of the hyena youkai grabbed her cub and tried to pull him out his mother's arms. With a growl she sink her teeth in his arm. Yelping in pain he hit her forceful in her face. She crashed backwards against another hyena youkai and together the hyena youkai separated mother and son. The mother tried to reach her son, but one of the hyena youkai picked him up and held him out of reach of her hands.
Sesshoumaru growled low, everyone turned their head towards him and all of the sudden everything went quiet and nobody moved. Even the little raccoon stopped squirming and crying.
"Lord Sesshoumaru." The female raccoon looked with hopeful eyes at the daiyoukai. The hope died almost instantly. Although she had lived a long time in his lands, she had only seen him once from a far distance. He was a fair ruler and very powerful, but maybe the stories about him were exaggerated. He looked so fragile. The hyena's would kill him.
"Run lord Sesshoumaru. I will hold them back. Don't mind us. Run please." The female turned around and clawed the faces of the two youkai holding her. The youkai growled in pain and threw her towards the daiyoukai. She would collide against the spikes of his armor, but he caught her with one arm and lowered her careful to the ground.
"So you are the illustrious lord Sesshoumaru. The stories don't do your beauty right. You are even more beautiful." And after a deliberate pause, "a girly kind of beauty." The other youkai began to snigger.
Sesshoumaru didn't feel offended. He never let an insult influence him. He was checking his opponents and knew the leader would without hesitant snap the little raccoon youkai's neck. The mother was getting ready to attack the leader. She would damage the odds for getting the boy unharmed. The hyena youkai began to circle them. The mother became more agitated by the second.
"Calm yourself and stay down." His deep voice was a demand, not a request and the mother looked hopeful up. Maybe the stories about him weren't exaggerated.
The hyena were now in a full circle around them. The leader threw the boy to another pack member standing a little on the back. At the same time Sesshoumaru pulled Bakuseiga and directed it's deadly strike towards the leader. In a chain reaction the destructive force of the sword and it's master jumped from youkai to youkai in a killing streak.
The hyena in the back looked with horrified eyes at the scene, but still his hand closed around the little boys neck and squeezed. The cry of the boy echoed through the wood, followed by a mortal gurgling sound.
Sesshoumaru held the neck of the villain in a tight grip and broke it in a snap. The boy jumped out the lifeless arms of the villain and ran into the open arms of his mother.
She looked up with tears in her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you." She lovingly stroked her son's dark hair.
Sesshoumaru looked at the scene. The female was bleeding out several wounds and was just as thin as her son. They looked underfed.
The bushes broke open and Ah-Un with Jaken and Rin on his back walked into the clearing. Rin gasped and jumped off the two headed dragon. She hurried to the female raccoon and helped her to get up. Once the female stood straight, she walked over to her lord and bowed deep. She stepped backwards away and walked away with her son securely in her arms. After a few steps she collided to the ground. The ordeal was too much for her. Rin hurried over to her unconscious form, helped the boy out her arms and together with Jaken laid her in a more comfortable position.
"Lord Sesshoumaru what shall we do with these raccoons? We can't leave them like this. It's getting dark." Jaken looked with his bulgy eyes up to his lord. The corpses of the hyena youkai had disintegrated to dust by now, but it was clear that the fight had been fierce.
For a moment Sesshoumaru looked up to the crescent moon.
"We will stay here for the night." Sesshoumaru dashed away into the bushes.
Jaken began complaining about the extra work he got and began to start a fire. The boy yawned and his belly growled, but he didn't cry. He sat next to his mother and held her hand. He looked like a year or four in human years. Rin searched in the saddle bags and found a cloth she sometimes used as a blanket. She draped it over the females body. He clothes were ruined and too much of her bare body could be seen.
Jaken gathered some wood and build a fire. Suddenly three dead rabbits crashed on Jaken's head. Scared out his wits Jaken almost burned them with his staff, but when he saw what they were, a happy smile formed on his face. Working fast and constantly praising Sesshoumaru, he and Rin made them ready to cook. The mother woke up when the delicious scent of food hit her nose. She tried to help, but since they already were done cooking the rabbits, there was nothing to do. She looked with hungry eyes at the meat, but stood up to walk away with her child.
"Thank you very much. We have already taken up too much of your time. We will be forever grateful to lord Sesshoumaru." She folded the cloth neatly and put it next to Rin on the ground.
"No you mustn't go away. There is enough food for everyone. I don't think lord Sesshoumaru would like it if you went away." Rin looked with confused eyes at her. She shouldn't go away. The rabbits were meant for them all. "Master Jaken, please say something. They have to stay."
Jaken looked for a moment at them and then turned away his eyes. "Lord Sesshoumaru has gracefully offered you his protection and provided food. It would be for the best if you accepted."
The female raccoon looked at them for a moment and them crunched down next to the fire. Her eyes filled with tears. Rin got the cloth and spread it over her back.
"Please don't cry. You are safe now. My name is Rin, that grumpy kappa is Jaken and they are Ah and Un." Rin put some cooked rabbit meat on a leaf and handed them over to the female raccoon.
With a unsteady hand she grateful accepted the food and gave a piece to her son to eat. The boy devoured it quickly and looked mouth watering to the other pieces. His mother smiled and gave him another piece.
"My name is Jade and my sons name is Mijasu." She told them and took a bite of the meat.
Rin took the little boy from her so she could eat more freely. "Hi Mijasu, you are so cute." A big yawn and a shy smile was her answer.
Jade was done eating and the boy crawled into her lap and instantly felt asleep. Jade told them more about her life. Her mate was killed a long time ago and she worked hard to provide for her and her son. She was a crafty tailor. They had succeeded to make a good living until the hyena youkai invaded their village and butchered almost every inhabitant. She had hid in the woods for more then a week. When she had thought they had left she returned to her village, but they hadn't left. They chased and caught her.
"If it wasn't for lord Sesshoumaru we would be dead or worse. Well that is now in the past. We just have to start over again. I'm sure we will be able to rebuild the village now the hyena pack has substantially reduced." With a sad, but hopeful smile Jade looked confident at the little human girl. It was strange that the little girl traveled alone with the youkai and especially lord Sesshoumaru, but it didn't matter. It wasn't any of her business.
At that moment they heard howls tearing through the dark woods. They looked scared in the direction of the howls, but there was no rush of feet towards them and they relaxed. They weren't under attack.
Not long after that Sesshoumaru walked soundless into the clearing. Rin ran towards him and stopped right in front of him. Her smile was heartwarming. Jade looked a little uneasy at the impressive figure. She had to be terrified when she thought he wasn't able to handle the hyena earlier. She felt a little stupid that she tried to safe the powerful daiyoukai. The power swirling around him was so much that it illuminated the area. He looked down at the girl and the power in the air calmed down.
"Lord Sesshoumaru I'm so glad you are back. The little boy is called Mijasu. Isn't he cute? His mother's name is Jade." Sesshoumaru looked impassive at them and sat down on a boulder.
Rin jumped next to him on the boulder. "She is a tailor and she lives in a village. They hadn't eaten for days. They are going back to their village to rebuild it." In a few sentences she had summarized all.
"Your village is destroyed. Nobody but you and your son has survived the massacre." Sesshoumaru could smell the tears of the raccoon. She had bowed her head and tried to conceal her despair.
"You will travel with us to the Western castle." He looked at her and then turned away. The foolish female had tried to safe him.
The next day Jade wanted to go back to her village to gather some of her belongings. She didn't know what her lord had planned for them, but even in the castle she would have to work to earn a living. Rin was at first not happy with her going alone, but a simple glance towards her from her lord she understood that there was no danger anymore. They agreed they would meet each other at the riverbank on the other side of the village.
"Rin we are leaving." Sesshoumaru helped the girl up on the two headed dragon.
Rin was glad they were going back to the castle. Maybe now her lord would take some rest and eat something. It was not very noticeable, but he had lost some weight. His cheeks had fallen in a little. The shadows in his cheeks gave him a more mature look. They were already halfway towards the meeting point when Sesshoumaru disappeared again.
"Master Jaken do you think that this change in lord Sesshoumaru has something to do with lord Inuyasha?"
Jaken looked surprised at the girl. She was little but she noticed a lot.
"No of course not. Nothing can influence lord Sesshoumaru." Jaken tried to convince the girl, but he was not convinced himself. Something was going on between those two. Lord Sesshoumaru was lately always in a good mood when he had seen lord Inuyasha. Only this last time he was more angry then ever before. Maybe they had fought again and lord Inuyasha managed to hurt lord Sesshoumaru. That hanyou was getting more powerful by the day. A fight between the brothers was a common occurrence, but it had never influenced lord Sesshoumaru to this extent. He never was this angry. Maybe it wasn't anger, but if it wasn't anger then what could it be?
"Master Jaken I'll make a necklace for lord Sesshoumaru so he won't be sad anymore." Rin looked around and saw some red fire lilies.
"I'm going to make a necklace from those pretty red flowers. I think he will feel better. Come Ah-un lets pick some flowers." Rin guided the dragon towards the lilies.
Jaken contemplated Rin's words. She was right. Lord Sesshoumaru wasn't angry, he was sad. Now he had to figure it out what it had to do with his half-breed brother. Jaken didn't dislike Inuyasha. He kind of got used to the cocky ways of the hanyou.
Rin picked some of the flowers and very handy made a necklace of them. After a while when Sesshoumaru returned, she held the necklace behind her back.
"Lord Sesshoumaru?" She looked up to him with a sweet shy smile.
"Yes Rin." He glanced at her and almost smiled. She had made another of her famous necklaces for him, he could smell the flowers. He stopped walking and looked impassive at her.
With a big happy smile she pulled her gift from behind her back. "For you. They remind me of lord Inuyasha." She handed the flower chain over to him.
His heart cringed painfully. They did look like his little brother. Beautiful, fiery and perfect. With a regal nod he accepted the gift. He pulled a handkerchief out his sleeve and careful wrapped the flower chain into it. He put the package in his haori next to his heart.
Rin was overjoyed. She knew he liked her gift. Jaken looked with open mouth at them. All kind of images flashed through his head. Things finally clicked in place. The inu siblings were romantically involved with each other. Jaken hit himself on the forehead. How did he miss that? Eh, that was probably obvious. Better question were. What now? What had happened? What had happened between the siblings? Was that last time meeting a definite last time. Did lord Inuyasha reject lord Sesshoumaru? Did he chose that annoying indecent miko over his lord?
Jaken was getting angry. How could that half-breed act like this towards his wonderful, beautiful, magnificent brother? Lord Inuyasha wasn't aware what treasure he carelessly was throwing away. Lord Sesshoumaru was an incomparable catch. He was the dream of every youkai.
This chapter was a little different. Please review.