A/N- I do not own Inuyasha.
Chapter 10 - Can't Help It
"His tracker shows they passed the barrier. They won't be able to fight the pull for long."
The Inu No Taisho shrugged. "What of it, Hisaki? Is this not what you wanted?"
Sesshomaru's mother paced from one end of her office to the next. She had called her mate to attend her concerns. Sesshomaru and Kagome were definitely in the wilds. Her fists clenched. He had never disobeyed her in the past! For all his talk of power, Sesshomaru had always viewed his mother as the ultimate authority. She was his, after all. Therefore, to disobey her would be to dishonor his own sense of worth.
What influence had the wretched woman wrought over her son in so short a time? A few games of chess and now he would forfeit his entire inheritance for her sake? No. Hisaki refused to believe that. Sesshomaru was not so stupid. Not like his father had been. What was he plotting and planning in that thick inuyoukai cranium? Damn him for upsetting her plans!
Hisaki slammed the binder of intelligence she had gathered on the woman in question onto the desk. It exploded on impact, spilling photos and notations neatly typed in 12-pt font over the side in a waterfall of completely fucking useless information. "I want my Shikon!" she screamed.
The Inu No Taisho sighed. "I told you this was a bad idea, Hisaki. We cannot control him. We never could. He defied Rapture. He thinks it does not work on inuyoukai, but if that were true I would not have Inuyasha. Not even for his pride would he surrender his honor."
At the reminder of Inuyasha, Hisaki blew out a breath and shook off her anger. She had known, even then, that Sesshomaru would be needed but was unsure if he could be manipulated to do her bidding. Kagura, the foolish creature, was all too willing to become his mate in exchange for promising her future compliance with whatever Hisaki wanted of him. Her mate had been the first test of Rapture. It had worked beautifully. Kagura was to use it on Sesshomaru, gaining a mate, then they would know they could control Sesshomaru when it came time for his compliance in Hisaki's plan. The seduction of the Shikon Miko, Kagome Higurashi.
Seduction. Not an actual claiming! Already mated to Kagura, Sesshomaru would not be able to complete the claiming. The Inu No Tashio had been perfectly able to fuck his little actress, but he could not revoke Hisaki and claim the human. He had been horrified to wake to the reality that he had a hanyou on the way. Hisaki had been so pleased with the success of Rapture she hadn't killed the boy who was evidence of it every day. It was the perfect plan.
Hisaki took a deep breath. She smoothed the silk blouse that had bunched in her temper and patted her neatly-coiffed bun to ensure it was still perfectly in place. "Well," she began, shoulders back while she regarded her mate with a hard smile, "if we cannot control him then it is time to call in the ones we do."
"You are going to set that damn hanyou on him? Our own son? In the wilds where none will help him?"
Hisaki regarded her mate with an uplifted chin. "It is over for us if Sesshomaru does not bring us Kagome, perfectly pure. In the wilds, the barriers that we have managed to create to hold Mikos in line cannot be reinforced. Her power will slowly be released there, my perfidious mate, when her barriers are eaten away by her power. One thing he respects above all is power. He will not be able to resist. If he mates her he will gain control of the Shikon and all our plotting and planning is over. If Naraku and his filthy minions goes to her there, Sesshomaru will have no choice but to leave the wilds and seek our protection. We will retrieve the Shikon from her ripe little body and finally release the beast that will mean the end to all mankind. No more bowing or scraping or pretending to a false humility. Just a world of Youkai, with us at the top. Give Naraku the codes to Sesshomaru's tracker or give him your title. Which will it be?"
"I will call Naraku."
Jaken glared at the door to Hisaki's office. The bitch who thought herself a queen had truly done it. She would work against Sesshomaru? His mighty lord! His green face scowled so deep he felt one of his warts almost pop.
Never!
Jaken turned around and ran down the hall, his webbed feet slapping against the hard tile. It was a good thing he had been seeking Hisaki to ask when his lord would be returning. Jaken wanted to have his lord's bed ready with fresh covers and the newest crimson robe that Jaken had painstakingly commissioned to his lord's godly dimensions ready for his pleasure.
None could care for Sesshomaru like he could.
Even if he mated the horrible woman, the miko, at least it would be his lord's choice and for reasons of power. Not the foul Rapture. Jaken shuddered. He, himself, had been tagged by it in a pleasure club he frequented from time to time. He was a toad Youkai, but he was still male! Waking up to water elemental who had also been on it had been quite a shock. She was so ethereal. So beautiful. So tiny and cute. Jaken had screamed louder than her!
He had nearly scrubbed his skin raw by the time he made it back to the rooms he had been given by his lord. Toad Youkai do not fuck cute. They want hard skin and a meaty ass to pound into over and over. Sometimes he offered, other times he took. The last thing he wanted was a hundred spawn all crawling over him to claim his time and the horde of gold he had amassed since serving Sesshomaru. He had enough to buy a small country for all the years he had also taken his lord's financial advice.
Sesshomaru was a hard task master, but he was all Daiyoukai. None could compare to his greatness. He would head to the wilds. He would warn his master of all that had been heard. Then his lord would finally see that he was the perfect servant and elevate him to advisor!
"You're about to topple over the side," Sango called out. She smiled then moved his guideline to the right, one fist wrapped around her own line.
Miroku scowled up at her. "It's been a while. I am only required to pass the yearly physical, not scale a mountain on a daily basis."
"Save it for someone else," Sango shot back, laughing when his hand slid on a bad handhold and he had to frantically scramble to grab another. "Still think I am too weak to be a Slayer?"
Miroku huffed once they made it to the top. He flopped over the edge, laying on the ground while his legs still dangled over it. Dirt blew up from around his mouth while his shoulders ached. "There is more to being a Slayer than climbing," he gasped out. "You have no holy power. Hunters and Slayers work together for that reason. You really going to trust another with your life, Sango?" he asked. "Because it will come down to that many times. Not even the strongest human can stand against a Youkai who turns their powers against them."
"I don't see you doing that," she snapped, angrily removing her gear to stuff it into her climbing bag. "Where's your partner?"
"Dead," he bit out. He sat up, eyes on his hands while he removed his gear also. "Slayers do not live long, Sango. No matter how good their Hunter was. Remember that."
She sucked in a breath, but then stopped herself from the immediate reply that wanted to burst out. "Where is he?" she asked instead. She did not want to feel sorry for him. Did not want to feel as if, maybe, his attitude was earned even if it was not right. Damn the man.
Miroku pulled out his phone. He pulled up the mapping app he had designed a year ago to track a serial murderer. He had retrofit it with Shippo's bio-readings when he was to be his guard. He smiled. "Shippo is in the left wing of the retreat. How kind of Hisaki to allow him to make use of their vacation home until Shippo's guardian Youkai could make it here."
They both stood and began the long journey around the brick mansion that loomed over the face of the cliff. The only way in or out was the helipad for visitors. Or, Miroku thought while hugging the side of the mansion while refusing to look behind his shoulder at the sheer drop a foot away, a few crazy people with climbing gear.
Miroku sighed in relief once they made the other side and turned to a huge bank of windows. Shippo blinked at them through the glass. Miroku held a finger up over his lips, signaling for silence. Sango stepped into view and waved at the kit. Shippo's eyes narrowed. He looked over his shoulder then back at them. He disappeared.
Sango grimaced. "Not too stealthy of us."
"It cannot be helped. He did not sound the alarm. At least-"
"What are you doing here?" Shippo's voice cut off Miroku.
Sango looked up. Shippo was sitting on the window sill fifteen feet up from the ground that signaled the second floor. "We need to talk to you," she called up. "It's about Kagome. Do you remember me?"
The kit nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Did you know Souta has a picture of you in a towel in his room?" he grinned down on her.
"That little shit!" Sango burst out. She knew he had been up to something that time she stayed over a few weeks ago. He had volunteered to bring her a towel when all the ones in the guest bathroom had mysteriously disappeared.
"Not to interrupt your righteous ire, but we have more to worry about than the hormones of an adolescent boy." Miroku met Shippo's eyes. "We know there is more than what Hisaki is telling everyone. We think Kagome is in danger. We need to know what happened while you were with them."
Shippo shrugged. "I promised not to say. Sorry."
Sango's eyes narrowed. "What would it take for you to forget your promise?"
Shippo cocked his head to the side, red hair falling into his eyes. "I have a real good memory."
Miroku's lips pursed. "How good?"
"How fast can you run, Monk? I have been training my Kitsune Bi. I'd be real grateful for a live target. So grateful, in fact, that I might be too tired to forget to put up the journal I used to write down everything that happened, even the name of the guy after Kagome, in my lock box." He snapped his fingers. "Nothing in a Kitsune lockbox gets out. Ever."
Sango slapped Miroku on the back. "Might I suggest lumbar stretches? A few lunges?"
Miroku groaned.
"So how is it?" Kagome asked, leaning back on bent elbows to soak in the bit of sun that peaked through the tall trees. Sesshomaru had complained about her taking the blanket outside the tent, but she had done it anyway. After waking up and noticing it was not as chilly as the day before, she had been so grateful she could cry. No way was she going to stay stuck inside a leather tent except for potty breaks at a creek.
"Human alcohol is as horrendous as your taste in food."
"I was going to try Youkai gin once. I had already used the bat make-up, mind you, so I was suspicious. I was just going to try a small bit. It ate through my spoon." Kagome turned to look up at the austere features of her protector where he crouched next to her, eyes scanning the trees. "A spoon, Sesshomaru. You don't get to judge my wine based on the battery acid you consume."
"Something is wrong," he stated, standing.
Kagome blinked up at the sudden light that spilled into her eyes from her shade moving. "Where shall I begin?" she replied, almost waspish. She really should not have drunk all the wine after his single sip that had been accompanied by a moue of distaste so, so Sesshomaru she had not been able to stop laughing and spilled half the bottle down her shirt. There was not much left after that, but it had been her favorite Spanish vintner's wine. Over fifteen percent alcohol. And so smooth!
She groaned. She really, really should not have drunk all that.
He looked down on her with an arched brow accompanied by a small smile. She knew he loved her misery! "You should not imbibe what you cannot handle, human. This Sesshomaru could have drunk a cask of that weak piss you call wine and not been lessened." He looked up. "This one is referring to the warmth you are so fond of. Only opening the barrier for an extended period can do that."
She shrugged. "Okay, first, how would you know what pee tastes like? And second, so the barrier was opened. Maybe a delivery or something? I am assuming not all Youkai who make their homes here live off pinecones and rainwater."
"Lifting the barrier is a lengthy matter. It will only be done at the Council's behest." His eyes narrowed. "The majority of votes required would have necessitated this one's mother or father to agree."
Kagome sat up. She felt a chill up her spine but then tried to reason, "We already know your parents would be hunting us down. The whole selection to mating and all that."
Sesshomaru was silent, staring at the trees as if he expected someone to emerge from the shadows between their trunks.
"Sesshomaru, is there something else you haven't told me?"
He finally looked away from the trees to meet her eyes. "It is possible they are working with the hanyou. Too many questions are begging for answers." Kagura at the Council Hall. The same who had betrayed him. Betrayed his clan. She had been allowed through security? The same niggling doubt that had once bothered him returned. How had she gained access to his clan's vacation home to work her ill deed? Their security was subpar while not in residence, but while there Hisaki demanded excellence.
Kagome's heart stopped. "You would think that of your family? But what about mine? They were in on the whole mating thing. My mother would have never betrayed me!"
He shook his head. "It is a simple matter to manipulate humans, Higurashi."
She bit her bottom lip. "Is my family in danger?"
"They are all in danger if Naraku gets his hands on you. There is no doubt that you are the key to all of this. Naraku is an evil hanyou. What purpose would it serve this one's clan to bring him back to power?"
Kagome thought for a moment then blurted out, "What does Naraku want? Your parents may be highbrow, but if they want the same thing it would make sense that they would work together."
From the mouth of an ill-tempered but clever Miko, Sesshomaru thought. His father was a simple male. He wanted power and privilege by any means. He trained and bartered for what his strength could not manage. But his mother? Hisaki was deeper. How could Naraku have anything she could want?
"Sesshomaru, I think I have to use the bathroom again. I'll be back." Kagome got up, walking away into the darkness that lingered in the early dawn. Sesshomaru sent his senses out and could not detect anyone other than his own essence and hers.
He frowned. Her Miko power had always been impressive compared to others. But this? When had her power grown? Rather than the torch of her holy essence that had outshone the mere candlelight of other holy humans he had known, it was now a bonfire. Crackling with both power and purity. Bright. Burning.
He cursed himself for a fool.
Kagome screamed when Sesshomaru burst into the clearing. She quickly pulled her pants up, glad he had caught her after she had done her business and cleaned up.
"What the hell?" she shouted when he ducked down to slam his shoulder against her stomach and lifted her to begin running through the trees. "Sesshomaru?" she called to him, softer knowing he could hear her and now afraid rather than angry. She wrapped her arms around his middle, clinging to his back to prevent her head from smacking into his spine with every jump he made.
"Naraku is here," drifted down to her. "And you shine too bright, now. We need to seek the caverns. It will be the only way to hide your power until it can be dealt with."
Dealt with? Kagome asked herself, hanging on for dear life to his hard body. Her mouth went dry when she felt the muscles bunching beneath her cheek where it was pressed to him after he took to the trees, swinging from branch to branch like he was a Youkai Tarzan.
Oh, Kami. She did not think he was hot. She did NOT just get a teensy bit turned on. Not by him!
*** So sorry it took so long! I was being driven reallly hard by a deadline I had for my original book. BUT good news! Emersyn is out on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents (free on KU), Dalaric releases tomorrow and Aegwin releases Wednesday! NOT for kiddos - but then neither is this story. LOL If you want reverse harem with a bite (including plenty of hot m/m not just f/m action) check it out! Loving my characters - but Sesshomaru is the original Bish in my heart.