To Love A Sakura: Losing A Sakura
W-wait!" Kagome gasped, making him pause in his pursuit.
"Are you afraid?" Sesshomaru whispered as he traced over her exposed shoulder tenderly. "I promise to be gentle."
"It's not that... it's just…" Kagome blushed as she looked down in shame.
"What is it my Love?" Sesshomaru asked gently.
"Have you… have you spoken with your mother yet?" Kagome asked, making him frown.
"What does my mother have to do with us having sex?" Sesshomaru asked in confusion as she pulled her kimono back into place.
"I'll take that as a no…" Kagome sighed as she made him lower her legs to the ground. "Since Izayoi passed away your mother has overtaken the court."
"You told this one so in your last letter. Why would this matter now?" Sesshomaru asked as she laid her head on his chest. Loving the feeling of her safely in his arms he tightened his hold around her waist and rest his chin on the top of her head.
"It matters because she has publicly denounced your claim over me." Kagome said, making him stiffen.
"She… what?" Sesshomaru asked as he pulled back to look at her in disbelief.
"She had the court vote Sess…" Kagome sniffled with a wobbly chin. "The numbers were against us, 8 to 2."
"You lie!" Sesshomaru hissed as he cupped her cheeks desperately.
"I wish I was…" Kagome sobbed making his growl darken further.
"Why didn't you write to me?!" Sesshomaru growled as his eyes rimmed red with anger. "What didn't you let me know so I could stop this from happening?"
"I tried to write but your mother had me watched. Every time I snuck one out of the castle her spies would intercept it! Even the servants and Inuyasha tried to send letters out! She convinced the elders that I'm not fit to be first lady and that she'd find a proper bitch to carry your pups." Kagome cried, only angering him more.
"Is that why I've been called home?" Sesshomaru growled. "Is the urgent political business I've been called away from battle so I will rut with that inu slut that greeted me at the door?"
"Yes." Kagome sobbed as she looked up into his eyes with deep sorrow. "The court demands for an heir. Neither you nor your brother are mated with pups on the way. Inuyasha comes of age in three days. When Princess Abi is pregnant he will join you on the front lines."
"Damn it!" Sesshomaru snarled as he punched the brick wall behind them causing chunks of rock to scatter. "And I'm supposed to just accept this?"
"You must." Kagome wept. Seeing how tired and heartbroken she looked he sat down against the wall and gently pulled her down to sit in his lap.
"I'm sorry." Sesshomaru apologized as Kagome continued to sob against his neck. "You did not deserve that. I was just angry and…"
"Disappointed?" Kagome croaked out making him tighten his hold around her.
"Very." Sesshomaru sighed as he rocked her gently from side to side. "I should have foreseen her doing something like this."
"Kastuki would have figured out a way to keep us apart." Kagome sniffled as she clung tightly to his chest. "She always gets her way in the end."
"Not this time." Sesshomaru scoffed. "I refuse to submit to her any longer. I won't mate with that poor excuse of an inu bitch."
"But you must!" Kagome exclaimed. "No matter what you say in my defense the court won't let you make me yours!"
"But I love you." Sesshomaru exclaimed as he traced her teary cheek.
"And I love you." Kagome sniffled as she leaned into his palm. "But that doesn't change the fact that I can't give you pups."
"Then I renounce my bloodline over to Inuyasha." Sesshomaru said, making her eyes widen in disbelief.
"No…" Kagome whimpered as she cupped his cheeks. "You can't give that up. Inuyasha would make a terrible ruler and everything you've accomplished these past three years would be for nothing."
"It already means nothing if I have to give you up." Sesshomaru said. "Don't you understand? I did everything for you! If I mate with that inu bitch and give you away to someone else these last three years will have been pointless!"
"That's not true." Kagome soothed as she traced his crescent moon on his brow. "You made your dreams of power come true and protected our kingdom from invasion. Plus, if you had not gone to battle with your father when you did we all would have perished long ago."
"So what now?" Sesshomaru asked as he nuzzled into her palm and placed a kiss on her wrist. "If you become my personal servant and join me on the front lines your life is at risk and if you stay here my mother's puppet will make you her scratching post."
"I know... that's why Inuyasha has taken me under his care." Kagome said, making Sesshomaru stiffen. "Upon Izayoi's death bed she made him swear I'd be his should I be in danger."
"Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru frowned as his jaw tightened with anger. "You mean to tell me that you are my brother's whore?"
"Fiancé... actually." Kagome corrected him, making his eyes darken with hate. "We are to be married the eve after his ceremony."
"What's the difference? Once he's had his fill of your body he'll toss you aside like used goods!" Sesshomaru snarled just as Inuyasha ran into the back gardens.
"Like hell I would!" Inuyasha barked as he drew his sword from his waist. "Besides my mother, Kagome is the most important person in my life! I would never treat her like a whore!"
"Then why not mate with her you selfish ingrate?" Sesshomaru growled. "You are leaving the option open to later abandon her! You might as well not even be married if you're going to run off and screw somebody else!
"Stop it!" Kagome shouted as she stood between them. "Just stop it!"
"Why?" Sesshomaru demanded as he pointed to his brother. "Why would you throw yourself away for him and not me?"
"Because your mother was about to sell her virginity to the highest bidder you idiot! If I hadn't bought her two weeks ago Kagome would be sleeping with whomever your mother wants her to!" Inuyasha snapped. "By marrying me, your mother and whoever else she's scheming around with cannot touch her!"
"So what happens down the road when you find your mate hm? Will you divorce her? Leave her hanging out to dry like old laundry?" Sesshomaru demanded. "What protection can you offer her then when she's lost both of us?"
"I won't divorce her." Inuyasha shrugged, making Sesshomaru frown. "If you die I have to take Princess Abi as my mistress and produce an heir. I'll have to keep them both."
"You bastard!" Sesshomaru snarled as he picked up his discarded weapon.
"What else do you want me to do?" Inuyasha exclaimed as he readied his sword for defense. "We both know if Kagome hadn't come under my protection Kastuki would have killed her or pawned her body off for profit! Kagome is safe with me!"
"Safe?! I beg to differ half-breed!" Sesshomaru growled. "My mother wouldn't be in charge of the court right now had you risen to the challenge in protecting our home in my absence."
"I'm not an adult yet dumb ass! You know I had no power to sway the elders!" Inuyasha snarled. "My ceremony isn't for another three days! You're lucky the court agreed for Kagome to be mine at all!"
"That still doesn't explain why she was shoved into the back of the garden!" Sesshomaru yelled, making Inuyasha's ears pin back in shame. "I saw the scars on Kagome's bark! I saw her cracked limb and her withered yellowed leaves. You've neglected her for long enough!"
"I was blinded by my grief." Inuyasha admitted as he looked at Kagome with regret. "Not a day goes by that I don't wish her scars were mine to bare."
"That can be arranged." Sesshomaru clipped as he flexed his claws.
"Please just stop! I hate this!" Kagome screamed as she fell to her knees. "This fight wouldn't even be happening if I could just have children damn it!"
"Shhh…" Sesshomaru soothed as he knelt down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "This is not your fault."
"I know, but I still feel like I've failed you. It's my duty as the female to bless you with children." Kagome cried as Inuyasha came to sit with them on the grass. "Even though I did everything Kaede and Jinengi told me to do I still feel like I didn't do enough. Was there a window of opportunity I missed? Is there a vitamin or drug I didn't take to make my ovulation better? Did I not do my exercises right to make my body ready?"
"Exercises?" Sesshomaru frowned.
"Don't ask." Inuyasha blushed, making Kagome chuckle through her tears.
"Anyways, it sounds like you've got some things to talk over with your mother." Kagome sniffled as she wiped her tears from her eyes.
"Unfortunately." Sesshomaru sighed as he helped Kagome to stand on her feet. His frown darkened when he noticed Kagome's limp. "This should not have happened."
"I know. Let's just hope there's still light at the end of this forsaken tunnel." Kagome sighed as Inuyasha came to stand at her side.
"I will do my best to reverse what has been done." Sesshomaru promised as he stared his brother down. "In the meantime pup, keep your hands to yourself. She might be your property at the moment but the wedding has not occurred."
"Fuck off bastard!" Inuyasha growled as he put away his sword. "I ain't that desperate to get laid!"
"Gods… were you two always this bad or is my memory slipping in my old age?" Kagome rolled her eyes as she began walking towards the castle to get something to eat.
"Keh! We were always this bad wench." Inuyasha scoffed as he quickly caught up with her and offered his arm for support.
"Indeed." Sesshomaru agreed as he walked on her other side.
He reached for her hand but was met with the empty sleeve of her kimono. Being deprived of her touch filled his heart with longing. He was frustrated, angry and filled with regret. It burdened him so much that he clenched his hand into a tight fist drawing blood from his claws. He hated that he hadn't been home to protect her from the winter's cold and that Inuyasha was taking her away from him. Kagome was the only female he'd ever wanted to have for himself. The only female he wanted to have as his wife, his mate, the mother of his pups. He wanted her to be his! Seeing how Inuyasha was her fiancé now it would be improper for him to hold Kagome's hand like they used too.
Knowing this fact however didn't stop his inner beast from snarling. He wanted to slaughter those who'd voted against Kagome and to make his mother and that pathetic inu bitch inside suffer for their interference. Kagome had been his chosen female damn it! It was none of their business to come between them. Now Kagome would be subject to his younger brother's folly at being unable to stay loyal to a single female. Inuyasha was sure to sleep around behind Kagome's back; especially when he joined him on the front lines. He was certain the bastard would take advantage of the little whores that snuck into their camps. If they didn't get to him, one of the field nurses or trained female warriors would do the job.
He was already doomed to fail in his marriage vow. No matter if Kagome slept with Inuyasha as his personal servant or as Inuyasha's "wife" she'd be doomed for heartache. Kagome did not deserve to be used like that and treated with such disrespect. Knowing this only fueled the burning fire raging in his veins. All of this could have been avoided had his mother stayed out of his fucking life. He didn't have proof but he was certain she'd poisoned Kagome all those years ago. Her actions back then have all led up to this one point. He knew his mother was a smart woman but even he was impressed by her cunning plan.
She'd not only managed to take out his prized bitch from the picture but also got herself back onto the throne. She also found him a mate that the elders would love and later manipulate to do her bidding from the sidelines. The bitch was a master mind and he was enraged that he hadn't seen this coming. He already knew the court was going to deny him his rights to Kagome. The west needed an heir and Kagome could not give that to him. Seeing how Princess Abi was already a resident of the castle he knew money had already been exchanged and papers had been signed. In other words his mother had stretched him over her knee and spanked him into submission.
He was beyond pissed. He was seething mad because he knew there wasn't anyway to get out of what's been done. He'd be forced to take his new inu bitch into his bed and pup her. He wanted to scream at the injustice of it all! The last three years he'd been slaving away protecting the castle court and all of its inhabitants and how do they repay him? By destroying the one thing that brought him happiness. Couldn't they give him this one pass? Couldn't the love of his life be his prize for keeping them from the gates of hell? Couldn't he mate with Kagome and allow Inuyasha's pups later on in life be his heirs? Unfortunately that's not how things worked and he'd be forced to once again do his duty.
Very rarely did he hate being royalty but in this moment he did. He wished he could just run away with Kagome and leave this world behind them. It was so tempting but Kagome was right. If he turned his back on the west, everything his father and previous ancestors worked so hard to protect would be destroyed. He had to stay, he had to pup Princess Abi and he would have to go back to war because it was his duty as Lord. His honor had to remain intact. Even if the elders permitted him to have Kagome at his side for all eternity he'd still have to cheat on her. There wasn't a guarantee that she'd ever be able to have pups. By law he'd have to pup someone. Who better to do the job than Princess Abi?
The only difference between him and his brother using Kagome's body was that his mother and new mate would have access to her. If she married Inuyasha she was technically out of their jurisdiction. Any harm they did to her would be an assault on Inuyasha. In defense of Kagome Inuyasha could take action. He on the other hand could not offer her such protection seeing how both Kastuki and Abi were also under his house. For Kagome to be safe while he was away at war she would have to marry Inuyasha. It would kill him having to let her go, but the keepers of the western law had spoken and even as a Lord he could not go back on their word. No matter which way he looked he and Kagome would be suffering.
He'd never felt so angry in his life. He wanted to transform into his true beast and destroy everything and everyone in his path. He knew once he returned to the frontlines that there would be nothing left in his wake. He would have never thought the day would come that he'd look forward to the taste of bloodshed. Guess he had his mother to thank for that too. When he'd received the news that Kagome was having fertility issues he'd gone mad and killed thousands in his path without remorse. Now he had an entirely different fire burning through his veins and he knew as soon as he stepped on the battlefield all hell was about to cut loose. Naraku wouldn't know what hit him when they were reunited. He was a sexually frustrated, heartbroken, bitter, angry inu demon eager for revenge. The fight was sure to be one hell of a show.
[End of chapter 19]