Chapter 28: The Other Side of Change

Kagome continued to hold her forced smile as she considered the predicament she was in. The resigned ruler of the western province and grandfather to Sesshomaru was standing at her modest doorstep. To make it worse, she was only wearing a shirt. She didn't' even have on underwear! Regardless she tried to make the most of her position and inquired politely, "Honorable Shin'ichi-Dono what are you doing here?"

The old man's face became a scowl at her query. Growling in displeasure, he shot back a question of his own, "What do you think? I'm here because you've turned my grandson into a nut!"

"Huh?"

Shin'ichi stepped to the side revealing three people behind him. Two men dressed in all black held Sesshomaru up by forearms. The poor dog's head was hanging down, his hair hiding his face from view. Looking more closely she realized that he was unconscious, on the back of his head was a nice golf ball sized bump and his light blue shirt and black pants were in disarray. Jumping at the feeling of Socrates rubbing against her leg the old man's throat clearing reminded her she was staring. Hastily she moved aside to let the four men into her apartment, the servants laying Sesshomaru on the couch and leaving immediately after he was settled. Meanwhile, Shin'ichi took the opportunity to open up Kagome's fridge, taking out a can of Sapporo beer and cracking the top with his pointer finger. Taking a large gulp he burped slightly and gratefully proclaimed, "My first beer in eight years! I hear the hallelujah chorus!" He continued to drink not paying any attention to the stunned demoness who was still trying to figure out what was going on. Walking over to the dog on her couch she knelt beside him and gently moved the silky tresses that covered his face.

'He looks like crap' she thought, dismayed at the being the cause of his internal conflict. Kagome was rubbing a lock of his hair between her fingers when a loud burp took her from her thoughts. Standing up, she saw Shin'ichi on his third can of her beer, the other two empty containers crushed on her counter. The old man must have felt her eyes on him because he turned to her and explained, "My son doesn't feed me, I would starve if it wasn't for Izayoi giving me some real food once in a while."

"Izayoi?," Kagome questioned.

"Yes, my son's second mate. She's the one who just gave birth to my second grandson, Inuyasha."

"I knew Inu no Taisho had two mates but I've actually never heard her name."

"Yes, we have tried to keep her out of the public eye for her safety."

"Ah," looking around awkwardly the demoness remembered she was still in only a shirt. A high pitched squeak left her mouth as she quickly excused herself to change into some decent clothes. The moment her door shut she heard the sound of Shin'ichi rummaging through her fridge again, "He's going to clean me out…," she whispered under her breath.

"I heard that pup," Honorable Shin'ichi warned. Kagome blushed.


Promptly changing into earth tone bohemian pants and a long shirt, the demoness exited her room and gave a the old man a subordinate gaze to show respect for his position. Looking down, she waited for him to give her instructions but there was none. Peeking up, she saw Shin'ichi going over her body, tapping his chin in contemplation. Worried she might be wearing something that offended him she silently questioned with her eyes what she was doing wrong. The words out of his mouth were shocking to say the least, "Sexy,"

"What!," Kagome replied flabbergasted. Nobody had ever called her that before, and the first time she hears it comes from an old man?

"Yes, that bohemian style suits you. Earthy, haven't seen that lately."

"Eh...Well thanks, I think?"

"Yes, different indeed, I can see why Sesshomaru has taken you as his cohort."

"His...cohort?"

"Yes you know, his breeder, his companion, his bedmate…."

The woman's eyes widened at his words. Was he always this direct? Shaking her head, Kagome started to deny his claim when the old man held up his hand to silence her.

"There's no need to explain, whether intentional or not his has marked you as his and you ignoring his summons has turned him into an idiot."

"You know about the mark?"

"Of course, I can smell him on you even though you've hopefully bathed several times since you two last saw one another."

"Wait, I smell like him now!"

"That and you have a gaping crescent moon bite on your shoulder."

Kagome gripped the scar he mentioned. He must have seen it when she was still in her pajamas. She hadn't realized his scent was imprinted on her, in such a short period of time she had gotten used to the earthy smell that was him.

Shin'ichi's voice took on a serious tone, "Now then this leads to the point of my visit,"

"Uh, what?"

"Sesshomaru as you already know has claimed you as his own. You two are connected. No youkai has been able to attach themselves to another in centuries. Unfortunately, that means the fact that you two have managed to do so without knowledge of how to control your bond, you two are a yearning induced accident waiting to happen.

"Too late for that," Kagome muttered bitterly. She was already a ticking time bomb, his whole family had witnessed the unstable power she possessed. While they paid for her to keep her life, no amount of money could convince a high priestess to take her under their wing. Their temples housed multiple Mikos in training, and one burst of youkai energy from her could cause a subconscious release of their purification powers and fry her to a crisp. No shrine wanted to risk turning their Miko's into killers that would have to answer to the council for retribution.

Murder was the one crime in the world for which no excuse existed. It was so serious that the high council held trials that were made public in their courtroom in Croatia where some form of punishment was a definite. One could only hope to escape the sword that beheaded its victims and instead takes a lesser pain of torture or removal of body parts.

"No, it is never too late girl. I already read your ministry profile. You are under the least restrictive circumstances of any nationality hazard in this province. As long as you take your prescribed medications and do as you're supposed to you are spared from imprisonment or worse execution."

"Wait, there're more people like me?," Kagome hugged herself as tears began to leak down her cheeks, was it possible she wasn't alone?

"Yes and no," Shin'ichi answered, "There are people in this world that are categorized as a threat to society. Whether it be a demon with uncontrolled powers, a human whose family raised up against us in the past or even a child molester that is allowed to live because they did not break the No Kill law, there are some who are surveillance and monitored to prevent their selfish desires from interfering with our lives. I grew up in a world where murder and other sick crimes were left unpunished, and where lands clashed with one another for the most stupid of reasons, it is the fear of returning to that which almost destroyed us that I am worried about."

"Wow," she had never known any of that. Sure she had studied the history of the provinces in school, it was required curriculum, but she hadn't lived it. Honorable Shin'ichi did. She wasn't exactly sure how old he was but her generation was seeing the deaths of some of the older demons as time passed. The current average lifespan of any newborn youkai was well past two hundred, yet some of the ancients like this old man boasted to living well past five.

"My dear, I had to think on this very hard, as much as it pains me to admit, I honestly considered agreeing with my son and refusing you access to Sesshomaru."

"Because of his behavior?"

"Precisely, I hoped with time he would essentially lose his connection with his instincts that you brought to the surface, but sadly that is not the case. He isn't getting any better, he's getting worse. You, on the other hand, seem to be going in the opposite direction."

Kagome went back to Sesshomaru's side and gripped one of his hands in her own. Taking his clawed appendage she rubbed it against her cheek and growled low, he was so cold.

Shin'ichi watched the affectionate action with soft eyes. Seeing her concern he alerted her to what was currently wrong with the young boy, "I had no choice but to knock his ass out, I was gonna wait til later to bring him back but I might as well do so now." Taking his cane in one hand, he charged it with another spell and motioned for Kagome to move, the moment she backed up he swung the staff hard, whacking Sesshomaru on the side of his head. The boy went falling off the couch head first, ending up on his stomach. He groaned in pain slowly opening and blinking his eyes. Lifting himself up the first thing he saw in front of him was Kagome who was holding her hands tightly over her mouth. Blinding pain hit him and he was forced to grip his skull where he felt a knot the size of a tennis ball.

Lowering her arms, the demoness inquired, "Did you have to hit him over the head?"

"You bet your ass I did,"

"But he looks so...slow…"

"I assure you he's fine, walk it off, boy."

"Hn."

A/N: There we go. Shin'ichi fears Sesshomaru actually coming into those powers, and with good reason. Remember in history we learn certain things in hopes that certain aspects of the past doesn't repeat itself. -Theores