Chapter 38:

It was not long after a huge breakfast that Tamisé excused himself to go visit Zahira's island and leave a message there for the Kui. He was hoping that she was back from her travels and available to help with some of the training he was planning.

Sesshomaru had looked to spend some time with his brother, but Inuyasha had disappeared with Miroku somewhere. His questioning of their ladies revealed that they had no idea of where the men might be found or when they might be back. He could follow if he wanted – his nose was sensitive enough to track his brother anywhere he could go, but Sesshomaru stayed close to the house instead. Perhaps Inuyasha just needed some time with his closest friend… the elder demon was beginning to understand that need in ways he never had before.

His talk with Tamisé in the early morning had calmed him, even though he still felt some embarrassment at his emotional fallout. But Tamisé was of the persuasion that it was no shame for a man to cry if he had reason – and Sesshomaru had certainly had reason enough in his long life.

Mavis sensed the change in him and gave him a questioning look. Sesshomaru's only response had been to take her outside to the porch swing, where he sat with her in his arms, saying nothing as he used a foot to set the swing in motion. He could not remember the last time he had felt so peaceful.

They had been sitting in companionable silence for some minutes, when Mavis raised her head.

"Do you hear someone crying, Sess?"

Sesshomaru had been concentrating on listening to Mavis' heartbeat, but now he refocused his sensitive ears.

"It's Kagome."

"Do you think she and Yasha had a fight or something?"

Sesshomaru shook his head. "I heard no arguments between them. All seemed well at breakfast."

"Maybe I should go see…"

Sesshomaru smiled down at her. "No, wife. I will go see. If my brother has done something stupid, it falls to me to see it corrected."

Mavis shrugged. "Well… if you need me…"

Sesshomaru leaned down and kissed her tenderly. This was something he could not get enough of, and part of him groused at the necessity of leaving Mavis for even a few minutes.

Kagome was easy enough to find. She was sitting at the end of the dock with her arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried in them. Her sobs were very quiet – a mundane human would never have heard them unless they were standing right behind her. How Mavis had heard at all was a mystery to the demon lord.

"Kagome? Imoto – what is wrong? Has my idiot brother done something to make you cry?"

Kagome had not heard Sesshomaru come up behind her, and she jumped, startled. Her head whipped around. When she saw who it was, she turned back to her contemplation of the lake.

"No, Sesshomaru. Inuyasha's done nothing. I… I'm just missing my family, that's all."

Sesshomaru lowered himself to the rough planks of the dock beside Kagome. He had not gone to the airport with the group when it had come time for Mrs. Higurashi and Sota to return home, but he had understood from snippets of overheard conversations that it had been an emotional ordeal for both Kagome and Inuyasha.

Kagome's family had been able to stay for the marriages – indeed, that had been one of the reasons to get them done so quickly. But only a day later, they had had to leave for home.

"You will see them soon enough. We are almost done here."

"Sesshomaru… we'll be going through the Well at once – you know that. It may be the last time I ever see them…" Kagome sobbed. "What if the Well closes after Naraku is defeated? What if I…die?"

Kagome's misery was so profound that Sesshomaru found himself looping his arm about her shoulders. She jerked at first, surprised that he would even touch her, but then leaned against his side. He was startled at first – relations between himself and the young girl had always been guarded at best – but then he found himself enjoying the sensation of being a big brother. He had never had a sister and now regretted that lack.

"It may be some time before we are able to find and confront Naraku," Sesshomaru reminded Kagome. "There may be time for you to go home for a last visit before we do so."

He chucked her under her chin and smiled at her widened eyes. "Besides, we do not know what may happen after Naraku is dealt with and the Jewel back in our possession. Perhaps the Well will always stay open, even if the Jewel is destroyed."

"That would be wonderful!" Kagome agreed. "I'm not sure I could stand it if I knew I'd never see my family again. I mean… you guys are family too… but…"

"I understand." Sesshomaru kissed the top of Kagome's dark head. "You know, there are times when I miss my father terribly. We had a … disagreement the last time I saw him… and then he was dead – killed trying to protect Inuyasha and his mother. I wish I had had a chance to speak to him again – to apologize for some of the things I said to him. To tell him that I loved him. For I did love him, Kagome, despite all the terrible things in my life. He wasn't responsible for most of my miseries – I always knew that – but there were times when… when we might have comforted each other more than we did.

"If my father had lived, maybe I would have loved Inuyasha as I should a brother. That stupid hanyou might still have gotten himself in trouble over that Kikyo, but I might have been able to help him." Sesshomaru shrugged. "But we can not live our lives with 'should haves' and 'might have beens'. We can only go forward and try to change things for the better."

Kagome sighed. "That's right, Sesshomaru. Things usually happen the way they were meant to." She wiped at her face. "Sorry. I just didn't want Inuyasha to catch me crying. He always thinks it's something he's done."

"Is that not usually the case?"

Kagome looked up to see an uncharacteristic grin on the elder demon's face. She grinned back.

"Well…Inuyasha can be awful dumb sometimes, y'know? But Tam and Jon have been a real good influence on him."

"Hnn. They are good men." Sesshomaru looked up. "Here comes Tamisé now."

The red-haired alien was paddling one of the canoes up to the dock. Kagome leaped to her feet before Sesshomaru could unfold himself, and helped Tamisé secure the boat.

"Well!" Tamisé said brightly. "That's done. Zahira wasn't in, but I could see signs that she's back, so I left a note for her. She'll come by whenever. Sesshomaru, I wonder if you and Mavis would stay here in case she comes while Christian and I take the rest into town? We need to lay in some supplies and there's a few items I need to take in for fixing." He slung his arm around Kagome's shoulders. "Also need to stop by the Chief's house and check on those camping grounds I reserved for your new men. They should arrive by Monday, Sesshomaru. I told them not to come any earlier, since I figured everyone would like a bit of a breather. C'mon, darlin'… as Lambert would tell you, we're burning daylight!"

OoOoOo

Mavis cuddled the little cat demon in her arms, rubbing her ears and tickling her furry stomach. Kirara made little sounds that said she was enjoying the attention. She did not often get played with in this fashion, as she was not truly a pet. The mage cooed to her and tickled her again, laughing as Kirara gave a half-hearted lurch to get away.

"Oh no, you don't."

Kirara meowed and licked the mage's cheek.

Mavis grinned and worked her fingers gently into dense white fur. "I'm gonna rub your furry little belly. Yes I am."

"Mmmm. I wish you would," said a deep rich voice.

Mavis nearly dropped Kirara, staring at the little demon as if to determine whether or not the cat had actually spoken. Kirara gave another meow, and this time wiggled herself upright, so she might jump down.

"Well? What about it? Would you rub my furry belly?"

Mavis blushed as she looked up at her new husband. Sesshomaru stood stock still, but his eyes danced with humour and a good dash of lust. He reached down a hand to help her to her feet.

"You don't have a furry belly…"

Suddenly, Mavis found herself bracing the weight of a huge white dog who stood up against her, licking her face with a great deal of enthusiasm, while a plumed tail waved wildly.

"Sess!" She tried to turn her face away from the ravaging tongue to no avail. "Get down! Bad dog!"

He obediently took his paws off her shoulders and dropped to all fours before rolling onto his side, presenting himself for a belly rub. Mavis grinned. In this form, he did indeed have a furry belly.

"What the hell." She shrugged, then got on her knees to give him a good rub.

Kirara sat nearby, cleaning an ear meticulously, as she kept an eye on the frolicking dog and human. Mavis swore the animal was grinning at them.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru shifted back to his humanoid form, eyes closed, his long hair spread around him in delicious disarray. He was flushed and gasping as he grasped one of Mavis' hands and pushed it lower.

"Right there!" he moaned to her. "Ahhhh! Maeve! My Mavis." He opened his eyes momentarily to meet the amused gaze of the cat. "What the hell are you still doing here? Scat!"

Kirara completed her wash, flicked her tails in the air and walked off at a leisurely pace with her nose in the air.

Mavis stifled a giggle. "Don't you think we should move this indoors?"

"Why? No one is here, except for that cat." He was fumbling at his belt, fingers made clumsy with his haste to remove any obstacles to his wife's caresses.

"They could come back any time now."

"Don't care. Gods! Help me with this, woman."

Mavis instead got to her feet and began moving towards the front door to the house.

"Where are you going!" he cried.

"Inside."

The mage let out a surprised shriek as the demon got to his feet quicker than she had thought possible and began to pursue her. She made it through the door, but got no further than three steps across the livingroom before his weight hit her, bearing her to the floor. Kneeling above her, it took only seconds to tear his t-shirt off over his head and to finish divesting himself of his pants. Red-tinged eyes met hers as he dropped to all fours over her, his hair falling over his shoulders and spilling on the ground around her.

"Well, my Maeve, my sweet, we're inside now. Hmmm. What shall I do with you? Any suggestions?" He grinned, and let his tongue swipe at a dangerous-looking fang.

There was a sudden banging at the door and a frantic meowing. Mavis could not help but start to laugh, especially since Sesshomaru had reared up to investigate the noise, snarling at having his love-play interrupted. He turned back to Mavis, but the determined banging would not cease.

"She won't stop until you let her in," Mavis said.

Sesshomaru hissed in annoyance, but got up and opened the door for Kirara, who strolled in, her nose in the air. She gave a startled meow and made a prodigious jump to avoid the claws Sesshomaru slashed at her. The little cat vaulted up the stairs as if the hounds of hell were snapping at her tails.

Mavis laughed. "Poor kitty! But Sess, you should remember – the cat is always on the wrong side of the door!"

"As long as she bothers us no longer."

He stalked back to Mavis, but before he could do anything at all, there was banging at the door once more. Sesshomaru's eyes flared red as he turned.

"If that twice-damned cat has jumped out a window and circled around just to annoy me…"

Sesshomaru, totally heedless of his nudity and aroused state, flung open the door again, ready to give Kirara a tongue-lashing. But in place of a small cat, his startled eyes saw two bare green feet. He let his gaze travel upwards, past shapely ankles, a very attractive pair of legs, a woman's well-proportioned torso encased in what appeared to be a bathing suit of some type, up to a beautiful visage surrounded by emerald green hair as long as his own. Amused green eyes met disconcerted gold eyes. The green-skinned woman gave him a very leisurely once-over, her gaze lingering on a rather exposed part of the demon lord's anatomy.

She smiled broadly and raised an elegant eyebrow. "Oooo! Is that for me? Now I do feel welcome. Whoever you are."

"You are not the cat." Sesshomaru felt rather foolish for stating the obvious.

"No, indeed."

Mavis by this time had gotten to her feet and now held out Sesshomaru's discarded pants, which he snatched and held in front to shield himself from the strange woman's gaze. Mavis opened the door wider.

"You must be Zahira. Hi! I'm Mavis, a colleague of Tam's."

"I am indeed Zahira. Hello, Mavis. It seems I was interrupting… something. I can come back later."

"No, no. You weren't interrupting. Come in! Tam and the rest aren't here right now, but I'm expecting them back within the hour. Uh… this is Sesshomaru, my… my husband."

"Really?" Zahira's eyes flicked up and down his lean form as she grinned. "Too bad."

"Sess – go upstairs and get dressed," Mavis hissed at him, giving his bare backside a gentle swat.

Sesshomaru backed away quickly and made the top of the stairs in a single leap, trusting to his long hair to cover him from those laughing green eyes.

Zahira now laughed outright. "Goodness! Been a long time since I've been greeted in such a manner."

Mavis could not help but snicker. She immediately liked the Kui woman. Zahira stepped into the livingroom, flicking some of her long hair back over her shoulder and looking around.

"Tea?" Mavis asked.

"Yes, thank you. Did Kirsten come up with you?"

"No. She and Spider were trying to finish off one of their projects. And she wanted to spend some time with her little boy."

Zahira followed Mavis into the kitchen to continue chatting while the kettle was put on.

"Ah! I remember when Ryan was a babe in arms. He must be getting tall now – he and Colin both. Did Tamisé bring up his own children?"

"No. We're up here to work for the week, so they've been left with Kirsty and the nanny."

Zahira nodded. She got mugs down from a cupboard for Mavis. Obviously, the Kui was a frequent visitor here, since she knew the kitchen layout. The two women spoke of other mundane things while the kettle came to a boil. Mavis felt entirely comfortable with the alien woman. Although this was the first time they had met, Kirsten had mentioned Zahira from time to time and had told Mavis the amusing story of how Jonathan had met the Kui woman.

Finally, tea was ready and they took the filled mugs back into the livingroom. Sesshomaru was back, dressed and with every hair in place. He lifted his chin at a haughty angle as Zahira grinned at him. He took his mug from Mavis with a silent nod.

Zahira settled herself into a chair and sipped at the hot tea. "Well… I understand that Tam brought up a good lot of you to do some training."

"Yes."

Mavis began to tell the story of Naraku with an interjection along the way now and then from Sesshomaru. Zahira listened with a great deal of interest and a few pointed questions. At the end of the tale, she shuddered delicately.

"Well… sounds like you have your work cut out for you," Zahira said. "Perhaps I will go with you. It sounds … intriguing."

"You may want to re-think that," Mavis said. "There's no guarantee that the Well will stay open, so all of us who go may get stuck in the past."

"Naraku is not a foe to be taken lightly," Sesshomaru said. "My brother and I have gone up against him any number of times without success."

Zahira gave the demon lord a deadly smile that seemed to contain far too many teeth.

"That's because you haven't had me with you, darling. I'm an expert at dealing with assholes of his calibre."

Sesshomaru shrank back in his seat. He was not one to be frightened by any female, but gods! – this green-hued Amazon looked like she could take on a demon horde by herself and still have energy left over to trounce half an army of humans.

He was saved at that moment by the sounds of two cars crunching up the gravel road.

"Well – sounds like they are back," Zahira said, standing. "I'll just go out and greet my favourite redhead."

Sesshomaru and Mavis followed the Kui woman outside. Zahira grabbed up a wicked-looking trident that she had left leaning against the wall of the house. Sesshomaru was impressed – the staff had to be at least seven feet long, and Zahira wielded it as if it weighed no more than a broom.

Zahira slipped around the side of the house and hefted the trident. She waited patiently in the house's shadow until she saw Tamisé get out of one of the cars. Drawing her arm back, she let the trident fly, where it thunked into the trunk of a tree, narrowly missing the red-haired alien.

Kagome and Sango both shrieked, but Tamisé merely grinned and pulled the weapon from the tree. He spun and sent the trident winging back, to ram itself forcefully into the ground six inches from Zahira's bare toes.

"Hello, darlin'!" Tamisé shouted. "You know better than to send any of those missiles at me. Please tell me you haven't skewered any tall white-haired demon lords."

Zahira stepped around her trident, grinning broadly. "Not at all, my dear. Although he came close to skewering me."

Tamisé folded his arms and observed Mavis with both hands covering her mouth, trying hard not to laugh, and a very disgruntled unarmed demon lord who was pinching the bridge of his nose and groaning in mortification. The alien raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Should I ask…?"

"Oh – please don't," Sesshomaru moaned. "Allow me to keep some dignity."