Chapter Forty

Helping Grandpa up from the floor and brushing some debris off her shoulders, Kagome faced her family with a wince.

"Um… Mom, everyone… this is Lord Sesshoumaru. He's Inuyasha's brother-"

"Half brother."

"-and he's the guy I've been travelling with since… it happened. Sesshoumaru, this is my family," she said, offering a hand up to him like a gentleman would to an esteemed lady. He arched a brow, but gripped it, daintily stepping down from his 'carriage.'

The Higurashi family gawked.

"D-demon!" Grandpa stuttered, searching for any salt packets on his person.

"That is one fluffy boa," Souta whistled, walking up to Sesshoumaru and casually touching it. The fur immediately bristled, puffing up as golden eyes narrowed.

Kagome quickly inserted herself between them, steering her brother away, "ahaha- let's not go casually touching the Killing Perfection without permission, guys. Besides, I'm sure he was just leaving."

An amused huff fanned over the back of her head. "Nonsense," he brushed by, walking past Mrs Higurashi and right out into the open courtyard.

Kagome panicked, hurrying after him with a thin noise. Sesshoumaru had luckily stopped at the top of the stairs overlooking a large part of Tokyo.

Golden eyes stared, fixated on the tall, towering structures in the distance. He inhaled, nose wrinkling.

"Sesshoumaru," Kagome hissed, catching up. "Don't go wandering off, you just got here, and this isn't your time period. How the hell are you here, anyway?! Inuyasha was the only one who could get through."

"Mn? It was not especially difficult. A mere jump brought me here and then a cover above prevented my ascension, so Tokijin took care of it," Sesshoumaru uttered distractedly, staring at Tokyo Tower. He stiffened when a peculiar noise caught his attention, directing his gaze upwards.

"This era has… large metal birds."

"That's a plane," Kagome muttered, taking hold of his sleeve. "And that city is Tokyo. Come inside, you're trying to run before you can walk by being out here. This has gotta be confusing."

Sesshoumaru's gaze slid down to her, "you are nervous," he rumbled, eyes smiling.

Well yeah. Inuyasha had never taken an interest in the future. He largely didn't ask more than surface questions about it.

Sesshoumaru gazed at the city with keen, assessing intellect, as though looking for something. If he took an interest in Tokyo and wanted to see it, Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.

And a Daiyoukai fully capable of casual murder in the modern age didn't feel like an encouraging concept.

"I kind of need your help convincing Mama to let me go back. So be on your best behaviour, please," she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "And no destroying stuff while in this era or killing anyone, promise?"

Sesshoumaru arched a brow, and it seemed she'd won his attention.

"She is what has prevented your return?" he asked instead.

"Kinda, but it was also me oversleeping," Kagome flashed a sheepish smile. "Woops."

"Hn."

Claws lifted, curling to tuck against his palm, gliding the backs of his fingers over a purplish-red bruised cheek near the bandage covering her nose. "The injury?" he inquired.

"Will heal in a couple of weeks," Kagome gentled, feeling warmth coax to life in her chest from such a simple action. It made her remember the brief flare of his youki that she'd felt in Wacdonalds, and how comforting it had been.

Someone cleared their throat.

Flushing red, Kagome squeaked as she noticed her family. Staring at them.

Mama Higurashi smiled amiably, gesturing to the house.

"Would you like to come in for some tea, Mr Sesshoumaru?"

The demon lord dropped his hand, glancing at Tokyo. An unreadable look crossed his features, and Kagome searched his face, stiffening. She wondered if he were trying to locate a demon like him- unable to find any.

Before she could worry about it further, he turned and accepted Mama's offer, walking inside their cosy little home.

Power hummed inside the walls. Noises- so many noises- reached his hearing from the distant city, sounds becoming muddied. Sesshoumaru focused on everything inside, as the miko had suggested. He could recognise things with universal functions, such as the kettle, their table, windows and chairs. In that way, not much had changed in five hundred years. Other things were not so simple.

All their furniture seemed to be pointed towards a square box that blared with colourful, moving pictures. Lights could be summoned with a mere flick of the switch. They stored food inside a cool thing called a 'fridge' decorated with magnets.

After drinking tea, Kagome had been nudged away by her Grandfather. The boy, Souta, also vacated the room.

Sesshoumaru turned, facing her waiting mother at the kitchen table.

Ah, she wished to have a 'talk.'

Thin lips twitched, wondering if she'd now issue him with a warning to stay away. To leave Kagome and never see her again. Something amused flickered inside him. How quaint.

Mrs Higurashi gripped a shogi board, pulling it in front of her. "Shall we have a game? I do like shogi," she chirped. "Do they have this in your era?"

Sesshoumaru blinked, but gracefully swept himself down into the seat opposite her. He knew an act of misdirection when he saw one. "Hn," he picked up a piece, content to play without speaking.

She held out longer during the heavy silence than expected, to the point that Sesshoumaru was forced to focus on the game board. He commended her skills and aggressive play style.

"I want Kagome to stay here."

Golden eyes dragged up, finding the woman's expression had grown sad. "But I know that will not happen. She's going to drop out of school and focus completely on your time. Even if I tried to stop her- move away from our family home, she wouldn't listen."

"The miko is stubborn," he agreed, taking one of her pieces.

Mrs Higurashi sighed and deliberated her next move carefully, sliding one forward. "So I just need to know, Mr Sesshoumaru, are you going to look after my daughter?"

Sharp teeth flashed as a rich, smokey chuckle escaped him, lashes sliding shut. "What will you do if this one does not reassure you as you wish? You are just as powerless to my whims as you are to hers."

Mama directed a very cool stare at him. The type of disapproving, heavy look only a disappointed mother could master.

Sesshoumaru's smile dropped away, muscles stiffening. He forced himself to keep eye contact.

Damn you. Mothers were such an annoyance.

Glancing away, his lips thinned while moving a piece. "...I cannot guarantee her safety, as you have already seen. However, she will live. She will thrive while left in my company and grow to new heights in power. This I know."

"That's nice, but I really don't care too much about her being powerful," she murmured, moving one of hers. "Just so long as she's happy and cared for."

Brown eyes pinned him in place. "Do you care about my daughter?"

Claws curled into a loose fist, resting out in the open on the table. Sesshoumaru grew tense despite his best efforts to stay unaffected, eyes narrowing. "She will be content. Rin, Ah Un, and even Jaken if I am not mistaken have taken a shine to her."

"Mn, but what about you?"

"That is none of your concern."

"I disagree," she said with a light smile that echoed her daughters. "Is it such a hard question to answer?"

Yes.

"No," he said cooly. Sesshoumaru drew himself up in his chair, raising his chin proudly. He was a lord. A damn Daiyoukai, equal to none in strength, for he dominated all- rising leagues above. Such a being of power could weather anything- and feared nothing.

Why should he cower before a mere mother?

A dark memory sweetly whispered in his ear- and sharp claws bit into the meat of his calloused palm. Sesshoumaru set his jaw. "I am not emotionally attached to her," the words were spoken with poise and conviction.

Mama arched a brow, searching his face. "Oh...well, that's reassuring," she mused, meeting his gaze levelly, "to know that Kagome will be travelling with a man who is a terrible liar."

Mrs Higurashi moved a piece, glancing at him with a polite smile. "I think that's my win," she said cheerily, bowing her head briefly in respect.

Sesshoumaru stared at the game board, inwardly growling even while he remained outwardly composed. He inclined his head stiffly in return.