Chapter 44:

Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to: Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media, Shogakukan, Sunrise, Yumiuri TV and the other foreign manga rights companies that I have not dealt with. Twiknham owns intellectual rights only to the original characters including: Michael, Lucy, Logan, Armaund, Jin, Sesshoumaru's household staff (minus Jaken) and any characters in this story who reside in Texas. Twiknham makes NO monetary gain from this story, it is a completely free fanfic and Twiknham will not accept any payment. Reviews would be great, but are not required for updates. Also, as with any Twiknham fic, criticisms are welcome but please keep the language clean. Reviews do not come with ratings and are open to all viewers. Thx! –TK

--

When Sesshoumaru stepped out of the taxi, he looked over to see his wife frowning at him. "Nani desu ka?"

"What do you mean, 'what?' I can't believe that you would pay so much money just because you're too impatient to take the train." She knew he was getting ready to run up the stairs, so she grabbed his hand and started the climb. "You need to be calm and reserved about this. I would hate for you to lose your reputation as an Ice Lord over a piece of metal."

Sesshoumaru wanted to disagree with Kagome. Tessaiga was not simply a piece of metal. It was the 'sword that could kill a hundred demons.' But when he opened his mouth, he noticed that Kagome had a glint in her eye. He sighed. I forget that if anyone knows the power of Tessaiga, it would be Kagome.

When they reached the top, Kagome let go of Sesshoumaru's hands and raised hers high above her head, stretching all the bones in her spine. "Ah! It's good to be home!" Quickening her step, she headed toward the house. Suddenly she turned and looked at Sesshoumaru. "Does it look like anyone's home?" At his negative nod, she frowned. "The Shrine is open. We have never left it open if we were going to be gone." Opening the door, she smelled something extremely good coming from the kitchen. "Tadaima!" (I'm home) When she got no response, she walked towards the kitchen and saw a half-eaten casserole dish on the counter and three plates on the table. "Okaa-san?" Kagome was beginning to get worried when she heard a shoji slide open.

"Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi was tying the belt to her yukata as she walked towards them. Her hair was slightly mussed and she looked like she'd been sleeping.

"Are you sick mom?"

She gave a very forced yawn and smiled. "No, I just felt like a sudden afternoon nap dear."

"Where's Jiji-chan?"

"I believe he's working in the garden." 'If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay there all afternoon.' She suddenly straightened and smiled at her daughter. "Is there a reason for your wonderful surprise visit?"

Sesshoumaru grunted, keeping his opinion that Mrs. Higurashi wasn't all that happy about their visit to himself.

"We just came to get something out of my room."

"I'll make tea."

Sesshoumaru smiled craftily. "Please do not bother on our behalves. We are merely here to retrieve a piece of property. We will be leaving immediately." With that, he ushered his wife up the stairs and towards her room.

"Se.."

He put a finger to her lips. "Do not be so familiar with me right now."

"Oh I see how you are. Now that you are getting Tessaiga, I'm no longer worthy to talk to you!?"

"Quit being ridiculous Kagome. We will discuss this on the way home."

"And how are we getting home?"

"I called for the car while we were riding in the cab."

"Oh." She walked over to a closet and opened the door. Pushing aside some ceremonial kimono, she reached down and pulled out a battered sheathe. She handed it to Sesshoumaru and watched as he gently inspected the sword. "It didn't burn your hands."

"No." He turned and headed towards the door. "Let us leave. Your mother needs her sleep."

They were all the way outside before Kagome could gather her breath. "Is my mom okay?"

He made her wait until they were starting down the steps before he responded. "Yes, but she has company." He stopped and looked at her.

It took about seventeen seconds before she put two and two together. Her "EEEEWWW!" made him smile all the way down the stairs.

Michael was waiting patiently at the car. He raised an eyebrow at the sword in his master's right hand, but said nothing. Walking around to the front of the car, he wondered what they had been doing all day. "Where would you like to go?"

"The mansion." Sesshoumaru lightly fingered the frayed ribbon around the hilt of the sword. "This needs repair. InuYasha had no sense of honor and let it slide into disrepair."

Kagome laughed. "It looked like that when I pulled it out of the stone it was encased in."

"This Sesshoumaru had never been so angry as when you performed that innocent little act." He squinted at her.

"I know." She suddenly chuckled. "You know the irony…"

"Hnn…"

"If you really believe that the sword belonged to the one who removed it, I would be the true owner of the sword." She reached over and touched the black sheathe.

"Indeed." He turned and presented it back to her.

She smiled again. "No, I have given it to you. I did so just a few minutes ago when you rudely wouldn't let me use your…" She frowned. "I get it. I couldn't use your name because Mom's boyfriend was there." At his nod, she shuddered. "Oh, that's just something I don't want to think about. My mother is having sex!" 'and I'm not.' To get her mind off of those thoughts, she suddenly turned to Sesshoumaru. "You tried to melt me!"

He chuckled lightly. "You took something that did not belong to you."

"But you covered me in acid!" She poked him in the chest and he grunted. "If it hadn't been for your very wise father, I would have died!"

"Hnn…"

"And you would not be married to me now."

"True."

"Would you have missed me?"

He looked at her intently for a moment, a very long silent moment. "No, I would have not missed you. I did not know you at that time."

"Who would have saved Rin?"

"There would not have been a need, ningen. If you had died, I would have killed InuYasha. He would not have cut my arm off, and I would not have been in the forest for Rin to find."

"She found you?" Kagome frowned. "But she was just a little girl."

"Yes. She nursed me back to health after I had given up."

"The great Sesshoumaru-sama gave up?"

"My father trusted his most prized possession to his half-breed son. To his heir, he left nothing but a crumbling castle, a land at war, and the ridicule of the demon community because of his love for a human woman. He tainted everything he gave to me."

Kagome looked down into her lap. "Oh." Suddenly she grinned evilly. "But I don't regret giving InuYasha the sword. We defeated Naraku and you had the opportunity to learn to understand humans."

They spent the rest of the trip home arguing about whether humans or demons were better. When they arrived at the mansion, Sesshoumaru quickly headed towards his study. When Kagome did not follow, he stopped to look at her. "Well?"

"Oh, you want me there for the momentous occasion of fixing the sword?"

"Unless you feel you will be bored."

She laughed and grabbed his free hand. "Even if I fall asleep, at least I will have gotten the honor of seeing the Great Eastern Lord get his hands dirty in manual labor."

"Foolish ningen. Returning honor to a mighty sword is not considered labor, it is a privilege." He led her down the hall and into a room she had not yet explored.

"I thought we were headed to your study." She looked around and saw the cases of swords. She looked closely. "Where is Tenseiga? I have yet to see it."

He headed to a cabinet and removed a small box. "I will show you when I have finished restoring Tessaiga."

Sesshoumaru worked on the sword, marveling at how his foolish half-brother could have given up such a powerful weapon. Deciding that his younger sibling had shown himself unworthy by discarding everything that had value in his life, both the blade and the woman, he suddenly felt nothing but pity for the boy.

"After Tessaiga took on Tenseiga's powers, did Tenseiga cease to be anything more than a blade?"

"When Tessaiga became one with Tenseiga. It took all of Tenseiga's power and the blade was broken. Rin brought the physical sword back with her, something I did not realize until much later. I have retained the blade, for personal reasons."

"Didn't you feel further betrayed by your father?" She fiddled with a cushion on the chair she was sitting in.

"At first. Then I realized that he had provided a way for this Sesshoumaru to become his own demon. It was a very painful lesson to learn, but I became stronger by turning my back on this inheritance and forging my own way in the world." He finished the hilt and put the spare ribbon back in the box. He let out a small growl and Jaken immediately appeared at the door. "Were you listening in, toad?"

"Of course not, Sesshoumaru-sama." The toad's shifty eyes betrayed him, but Sesshoumaru let it go, as he had for over a thousand years. Jaken had proven himself to be trustworthy. Silly at times, but trustworthy.

"Hnn. I would like to have hot tea brought up. I am thirsty."

"What about…" He turned to look at the new mistress of the house.

Kagome blinked. "Jaken, if you will bring the supplies, I will serve tea." She smiled at him as he turned to leave.

"This Sesshoumaru would like you to flirt less with my retainers." He had steepled his fingers together and was staring at his wife.

"Oh! I was not flirting with him. Why do you always question me?" Suddenly she sat up and leaned forward. "You're trying to distract me. But it won't work." She smiled. "After Tenseiga's powers became Tessaiga's powers, what weapon were you left with?"

Sesshoumaru nodded at his wife's wisdom. "I had learned how to make my own Meidou. It is not as large as Tessaiga's, but I was not restricted by the lack of my left arm."

"Can you still use it?" The look he gave her answered her question. "Sorry, I should have known better than to ask such a silly question." Jaken entered at that point and placed the tray on the floor. Kagome stood up and walked over to it, kneeling and observing the setup. "You're not secretly hoping for a geisha wife, are you?"

Sesshoumaru stood and walked over to join her. "I would have made a foolish choice if that had been my aim. You are not geisha. You are only Kagome." His knee cracked as he knelt and Kagome looked up at him suddenly. His right lip curled in a snarl. "This Sesshoumaru is over a thousand years old. Do not look askance at me for such a small sign of age."

Kagome shrugged her shoulders, she had just been surprised that he would reveal such a 'weakness' to her. He could have stayed at his desk and she wouldn't have known. "So we're having a Sadoh?"

He looked at the instruments on the tray and nodded.

"I can't promise to be as glamorous as a Geisha, but I will do my best to honor you with such an important task." She set about performing the ceremony. First she opened a small canister and dipped a tiny spoon into it, scooping out a precise amount of the bright green matcha powder.

Sesshoumaru watched in well-hidden surprise, she had added almost exactly the right amount. In the thousand years of watching this ceremony performed, he had grown very familiar with the amount required for his preferred tastes. Clearing his throat lightly, he caused her to look up. "One more, I prefer it slightly stronger."

"Of course. Do you want light foam or heavy foam?" She used the spoon to add one more scoop. After adding the hot water from the pot, she sat back on her heels and waited for his answer.

"Medium." He sat completely still as she used the bamboo whisk, called a chasen, to stir the powder into the water. He watched as she carefully made sure all of the powder was off the sides of the bowl and then whipped it until a small layer of bubbles lay on top.

Putting the chasen back into its special holder, she turned the cup one hundred and eighty degrees and lifted it, handing it to him.

He bowed his head slightly in response and took the cup from her. Sipping it lightly, he enjoyed the bitter flavor as it tickled his tongue. When he put the cup down, he looked over and watched as she reached for the cup, ready to turn it back and wipe the spot from which he had drunk. He gently laid his hands on hers. "No. We are sharing tea. I did not want the full ceremony. Thank you for allowing me to watch you make tea. I have not had such an honor in a very long time." He waited until she made her own cup, than lifted his again. At her bitter grimace, he grinned. "What seems to be the problem, wife?"

She laughed lightly. "I'm not used to drinking matcha without the wagashi cake. It is a nice offset to the bitterness."

"I will have some made for the next time. What type do you prefer?"

She blushed, but replied "Daifuku."

Sesshoumaru was surprised that she preferred the ugliest and least sweet of the wagashi. It was famous in the geisha houses of Kyoto, but most people preferred the sweeter sponge varieties. "That is my preference as well."

Secretly thrilled that she had apparently passed the test, she silently drank her tea and thought about how this was such a traditionally domestic scene. Wondering if they really had a chance at making their marriage work, she was surprised when he suddenly stood.

"Thank you Kagome." He walked back around to the desk and watched as she closed the matcha canister and cleaned up any spills and powders.

She looked up at him. "Are you ready to work on the blade now?" At his nod, she stood and picked up the tray. Just as she turned, he slid the blade out of its sheath and the ensuing explosion knocked her and her supplies across the room.

A/N: Alright peeps. I have a complaint for a very few select group of you. If you're going to ask me to email you and explain something to you, YOU NEED TO LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS. Asking for an explanation is fine, I'm okay with that. The "email me and explain" on an anonymous review…NOT FINE. If you left me one of these reviews and you didn't get an answer back, please pm me or something and give me your email address so that I can answer your question(s).

Well, enuf of that… I did enjoy all the reviews (even the flames, I probably enjoyed them the most). Thank you for reviewing. Again, thanks to all of you for reading. Thank you so very much for sticking it out so far. And I'm sorry for leaving you with a cliffy (actually, I get a little sadistic pleasure out of doing it), but in just a week, you can be caught up, unless it's another cliffy. Take care and I hope each of you have a great week! -TK