Aphiopsyduck: Hello all! I got this idea after watching A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart the other night. I haven't seen this particular take on the story before, though... Anyhoo. I hope you guys enjoy this! :o)
A Love Ballad
Chapter 3: Present Problems
Sesshoumaru bolted up from his bed, breathing heavily. "What in the seven hells…" He looked around, glad to have been dreaming. "Strange dream, too… Where have I seen him before? Maybe a visitor? A demon I killed at some point?" He shook his head to clear it.
"My my, but you are dense." Sesshoumaru turned to the voice. He found a young boy clad in black armor and wearing a facemask staring at him. "Well, come on, we don't have all night, you know."
"And who might you be?"
"Good, you're learning. Hello. Name's Kohaku. I'm the ghost of the present."
Sighing, Sesshoumaru stood. "Let's get this over with, child."
Grabbing his claw, Kohaku snapped his fingers. The bedroom vanished, replaced with the outside garden instead. The sun shone brightly, flowers bloomed, butterflies fluttered from bloom to bloom… "Rin! Come back here!"
A little girl in a flowery kimono ran past them giggling madly, her messy ponytail flopping atop her dark head. A toad demon ran after her frowning slightly. "You must have a bath! Lord Sesshoumaru is leaving tonight, and he wants you to be presentable!"
Giggling some more, the child jumped into the koi pond. Water flew in every direction—including the toad. Sputtering, the toad shook his two-headed staff at the child. "You've gotten me all wet! Bad human!"
Sesshoumaru was chuckling at the scene. Kohau smiled at the sound. There's hope for him yet…
"Jaken." The quiet voice made everyone turn towards it. The giggling stopped. Sesshoumaru turned to face himself, who was frowning at the scene.
Jaken sputtered and trembled. "I—we—um—well—the human—"
"Rin, inside now. And don't drip on the floor." With a nod, the girl skipped away, stopping beside the door to wring her kimono. Water splashed on the ground beside her. Frowning in concentration, she wrung out her clothes and stood looking downward at the water still dripping from her clothes. With a smile, she took off her kimono and dropped it next to the door, running inside naked.
Sesshoumaru laughed. Kohaku grinned at him. "What's this? The Lord of the Western Lands actually laughing?"
"She did have her bath, didn't she?" Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru came closer to where himself and Jaken stood. He was frowning down at Jaken. "You have to control her better."
"H—Hai, my Lord." Satisfied, his other self turned around and went inside, glaring at the pile of wet clothes next to the door. Sesshoumaru frowned. "Why did I get so upset?"
Kohaku shook his head. "Who knows? And yet, you didn't punish either one of them." The boy nudged him. "You love them, don't you?"
"With all my heart." At his uninhibited words, he frowned. "Yet I cannot tell them, can I? My enemies will use them against me."
Kohaku shook his head. "We were making real progress, and yet… Well, let's go. Two more stops."
*****
The boy had snapped them into a camp. A teenage girl sat with a giant boomerang on her lap. She used a rag to wipe it clean. Next to her was a young monk, his staff across his lap. He seemed to be meditating.
Until his hand slowly reached towards the girl's behind.
Sesshoumaru smiled. "Ah, young love…"
The smile vanished when the boomerang landed on the monk's head. "Pervert! Try that again and I'll chop it off!"
The monk rubbed his head, clearly glad to have survived the latest boomerang assault upon his head. "My, my, Lady Sango, you're in a real bad mood today. And all I wanted was to pat your beh—erm—back! Yes, back! Pat your back to make you feel better."
A blushing Sango ignored the monk. He then scooted further away from the girl, yet snuck glances at her every once in a while.
Sesshoumaru cocked his head. "I know these two. They travel with—" A loud bang interrupted him, and he turned towards the sound. A young female burst through the woods, muttering. Her face was a mixture of paleness and flushing, which is not easy to achieve. She dropped onto what seemed to be her spot, a sleeping bag with a lump in the middle. Which cried in pain when she sat on it. "Sorry, Shippou-chan." Yet she didn't sound sorry at all…
From the forest, another person came through. He was busy trying to retie his clothes together. The guy from earlier! "Kagome, let me—"
"Osuwari!" The guy dropped like a stone onto the ground. He struggled against whatever force had thrown him upon the ground. "Bitch! How dare you—"
"Osuwari!" Sesshoumaru noticed that the necklace around his neck glowed slightly before he dropped to the ground again. "A submission collar?"
"Yeah… Very handy, don't you agree?"
"I suppose…" He watched as the young male tried again to speak, only to meet once more with Mr. Ground. Hard. "Why?"
Kohaku grinned. "Oh, you'll see…"
"How dare you! I've given up everything for you, and you're back with that dead bitch!"
"She's not a bitch! She's better, stronger, and prettier than you'll ever hope to be!"
"Is he insane?" Sesshoumaru walked closer to the male. He hadn't changed since the last time he'd seen him hours before—or what seemed like hours to him. He then turned to the female and froze. It was the one who'd shot this guy! But she'd dropped dead, hadn't she? "What trickery is this?"
"No tricks. This is currently happening about a hundred miles from your castle."
Sesshoumaru frowned. There was something about this female… But she wore nothing unusual, besides the fact that she wore long pants and a high-collar shirt. She also didn't seem unusual, with her dark hair in a high ponytail and her flushed cheeks and her heaving chest—
Sesshoumaru turned away from her, clearly upset. "Why show me this? It makes no sense."
"Doesn't it?" Kohaku paused.
"Osuwari! I told you once I'd leave if you went to her. You swore to me you were over everything! And tonight—" She shuddered, clearly disgusted. "That was nasty! And oh, so wrong…"
"She's caught them doing it…"
"He's even dumber than I thought…"
"I can hear you two!"
"Osuwari! That's it, Inuyasha. Since you clearly love the past more than the present, go to hell with it. I'm going home forever." She grabbed a cloth bag and swung it over her shoulder. "Finish searching with her then. When she betrays you, don't come crying to me." She turned to leave, but was stopped by a crunching noise. Everyone turned towards the sound.
"She loved him and he betrayed her? Is that it?"
"Ah, the brain finally connects…" Kohaku grinned. "And here comes the best part…"
A miko slowly emerged from the woods. Clearly confused, Sesshoumaru turned from the flustered girl to the serious one. "I don't understand. Two of them?"
The miko ignored everyone, going instead towards her mirror image. "You do not belong here. Now die." Notching an arrow, she pointed her weapon at the other girl, who was copying her movements.
"Stop!" The monk threw himself between the dueling females, holding out his arms. Sesshoumaru admired his daring, yet clearly stupid, action. "Kagome, please. Leave now with Shippou. We'll hold her back." With a nod, Kagome grabbed the frightened kitsune and ran off into the night.
"How dumb is that human, running into the forest in the dead of night with a child and no other protection?"
"Why do you care about her all of a sudden? You yourself have tried to kill them all on several occasions."
"Me? I've—" The image of a girl holding up a rusted sword came into his mind. "That was her? The girl who pulled out Tetsusaiga?"
"Glad to see the old brain's working just fine, Sesshoumaru. Now come. One more stop…"
*****
A beautiful countryside, complete with waterfalls and rocky outcrops dotted their surroundings. In the distance the mountains rose majestically as a backdrop for the calm of the land. Several wolf demons stood guard around the various caves dotting the landscape. Kohaku made his way into one of the caves, signaling Sesshoumaru to follow him.
Inside they found a meeting of sorts. The leader seemed to be a young wolf with a long ponytail and cocky grin. His blue eyes shone as they looked squarely at everyone around him. "No."
"But Kouga—"
"I said no." He stood over the rest of the wolves, frowning slightly. "We'll take care of it ourselves."
"It's his land! His borders!"
Kouga growled. We're not bothering the Lord of the Western Lands over such a petty and trivial matter. We'll take care of it ourselves." He waved his hand, sending the other wolves running. He sat down and sighed.
"What's the problem?"
"Land dispute with another wolf demon tribe from the West."
"Why not come to me then?"
"He can't."
"Sister's coming! Sister's coming!" Kouga jolted out of his stupor and raced outside. Kohaku and Sesshoumaru followed closely.
"Why ever not? As the others said, it is my land. My responsibility."
"There are other circumstances at work here." They reached the mouth of the cave to find Kouga grasping Kagome's hands in his. Sesshoumaru's brows shot up. "What the—"
"I knew you'd leave that dog turd and choose to mate with a real man!"
Kagome blushed. "Kouga-kun—"
He turned then signaling his followers. "Come on! Make way for your leader's future mate!"
Kohaku laughed. The demon lord stared at them. "She already had a mate? Then why is she with—"
"Inuyasha? Because she loves him. Or so she thinks…" Kohaku walked back inside, leaving Sesshoumaru confused once more.
"Kouga! Enough!" Kagome had yanked her hands from the wolf, who whimpered. She sighed, patting his shoulder slightly. "Sorry, Kouga-kun. It's not you. I have a small problem…"
Kouga brightened. "All right, Kagome. Just say the word and I'll be yours forever."
She giggled. "Oh, Kouga…" She sat down at the mouth of the cave, waving Kouga next to her. "I can't be your mate anymore. I—I've fallen for another."
"Not the puppy!"
Kagome laughed. "No, it's… Someone else. But I don't think he likes me."
"Such a man is undeserving of your love, Kagome-chan. Just like the puppy."
"I know, I know… So tell me, what's new with you?"
"Eh, nothing I can't handle—"
"Kouga! They're back!" A group of wolves led by a small female walked over to Kouga. Kagome stood next to him, frowning slightly… Then grinning like mad and trying to hide it.
Sesshoumaru stepped over to Kohaku. "I know that wolf. Name's Kurotsume, if I'm not mistaken."
"Very good. Now watch." Both turned to the scene once more.
Kagome stood behind Kouga trying not to laugh. Kouga stood defiant, glaring at the small female. The female glared at Kagome, then at Kouga. "I hereby claim this land as ours, Kouga. Leave now."
"Hell no!"
The female shrugged. "Fine. Take it to Lord Sesshoumaru if you dare."
Kouga shook with fury. "We don't need his approval! Let's battle!"
Kurotsume shook her head. "I won't sink to your level. My tribe is better educated and does not feel the need to fight battles with the likes of you."
"How can a female like you even lead a tribe?" Kagome gasped. Several of his tribe mates cheered and clapped.
Kurotsume merely smiled. "My post is temporary. I shall relinquish it when I take a worthy mate. Until then, I am responsible." She turned then, her navy hair flowing in the breeze. "You have until tomorrow at sundown to either speak with Lord Sesshoumaru or to leave." With that, her tribe turned and left Kouga and company alone.
"Heh, I knew she'd leave, cowardly wolf…" Kouga grinned at Kagome. "So, where were we?"
"Nowhere, Kouga." Laughing, she backed away from him. "I'll drop by to check on you later, okay? And you should really talk to Sesshoumaru. He's not really that bad."
Sesshoumaru frowned. She doesn't think I'm that bad?
"Kagome, wait…" Kouga sat down again, his head on his chest. "I killed her."
Confused, Kagome frowned. "Who?"
"The little human with Sesshoumaru."
The demon lord's eyes bled red. "Worthless wolf, I'm gonna—" A hand on his arm stopped him. Kohaku shook his head and motioned towards the conversation.
Kagome had paled. "You what?"
"Well, not me personally, but… Don't you see? That's why I can't go to him! He wouldn't understand!" He shook then, and Kagome placed her arms around him.
"You're going to have to tell him, otherwise your tribe will lose their home."
"Come on, time to go…"
"No. I want to know why he said he killed Rin."
Kohaku shook his head. "Does it matter? You revived her, didn't you? There wasn't any harm done."
With one last glance at the human and wolf, Sesshoumaru followed Kohaku
out of the clearing.