A/N: Thank you to little25victor for another wonderful review; along with a thank you to those that put this or it author on their lists. I have some big news. "One Hanyou Too Many" has been nominated Best Humor/Parody Fanfiction for the 2022 4th Quarterly Inuyasha Fandom Awards run by FeudalConnection. It was nominated by a fan and I'm grateful that you believe my story is worthy of this. Voting begins October 29th and runs through November 12th. They informed me by leaving a review, so you can message them to find out where to go to vote if you would like. I'd greatly appreciate the opportunity to have this story win. I'll do my best to finish it before voting opens.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
One Hanyou Too Many
Lady of the Moon
The female half of the inutachi, plus Rin, were awakened before dawn the next morning by an army of maids that had thus far gone out of their way to leave them alone. Five invaded the chambers Kagome, Sango, Rin, and Kirara had been using, eliciting an angry hiss from the nekomata for being woke so early when there was no danger. Ruby eyes narrowed, their owner contemplating who to attack first.
"Let it go, Kirara," Sango mumbled and threw back the bedding that she'd been huddled under. Rising slowly, the demon slayer glared at the maids. "This had better be good," she warned the newcomers. Kagome and Rin were still asleep.
"Her ladyship commanded us to help you prepare for her guests."
"Lovely," Sango spat, blurry eyes finally focusing. The kimono racks that had sat unused until then were quickly filled with elaborate silks. The maids hadn't even bothered to use them when they'd first worn formal wear for dinner with the Lady Mother. "Please, no."
"We apologize for the inconvenience, Lady Sango, but her ladyship insists. The next few days will be very formal."
"No room for my armor, is there?"
"You should not need any until the guest of honor arrives." The maid who had been speaking knelt to wake the other two humans. Kagome, sensing unfamiliar youki, snapped awake, one hand covering the shards around her neck protectively. "I beg your pardon, my lady. You need to rise," the maid bowed before getting to her feet.
Another maid was attempting to rouse Rin, the little girl sound asleep and spread eagle under her covers. "Lady Rin, you must wake up. Lord Sesshoumaru is expecting you at breakfast soon." Rin didn't move, her busy day making sure she kept up with Yukari no doubt having exhausted her completely.
"Rin-chan, time to rise and shine," Kagome tried. Reaching out, she shook the child's arm.
"Tired," Rin whispered and rolled over. She seemed to settle back to sleep, but a slight movement under the blanket caught everyone's eye. Including Kirara's.
The nekomata watched Rin's twitching foot, her tails beginning to swish in time with the appendage. Crouching, the two-tailed cat wiggled as her mortal feline cousins often did when something interesting appeared to hunt. With the grace she was known for, Kirara pounced, landing with all her weight squarely on Rin's foot. Claws out, of course.
"I'm up!" Rin shouted, earning giggles from the other females in the room.
"Good job, Kirara," Sango praised.
"Mew," the nekomata replied, licking first one paw, then the other. She got off Rin's covers, moving to the side to allow the other demons and humans to move freely. Keeping one eye on the proceedings, Kirara preened, making sure her fur was clean and smooth. She might not be one to wear silks and hair ribbons, but she liked to look her best when meeting daiyoukai. It let them know that she was not a stray to be discounted.
Sango glanced at her companion, smiling softly when she saw what the nekomata was doing. "Kagome, did you bring that cat brush with you?"
"Of course; Kirara liked it so much that I made it a permanent addition to my bag. Would you like a good brushing, Kirara?" the miko asked, just as a maid yanked a comb through her snarled hair. "Ow! Careful, my hair gets a lot of knots at night."
"I had not noticed," the maid in charge muttered, changing how she combed the priestess' hair. Her lord's brother would not be pleased if his companion came to breakfast bald.
Kirara had glanced up at Kagome's protest, eyes once more in slits. She padded over to her friend, putting a paw on her knee. "Mew?"
"I'm all right, Kirara. I was just startled. Maybe it's best if we use my brush," she suggested to the maid. "I have one that's made to get snarls out." She scooted away from the maid, digging into her bag without waiting for a reply. She found Kirara's first and passed it to Sango before continuing the search for hers. When she finally found it, she held it up so the other woman could see. "The bristles work much better than a comb," she explained.
"You should have mentioned this before," the demon grumbled, snatching the foreign object out of her hand.
'I was not aware that you were going to try to pull ever last strand of hair out of my head," Kagome shot back. "Is there a reason we needed to be woke this early? Breakfast is not for another hour at least. I can't imagine the Honorable Mother needs us in formal wear this soon."
"That is where you are wrong, priestess," an older voice joined in from the bedchamber doorway. Everyone looked over to see a black dog demoness who was clearly several centuries older than Sesshoumaru's mother. "The other daiyoukai will begin arriving shortly after you are done eating. There will be no time for you to change if you wear what you normally do first."
"I see."
"Indeed. Ladies, I expect you to have these humans presentable in short order," the stranger declared and left before anyone could ask who she was.
"I think we just met Sesshoumaru's governess," Kagome mused.
"What's a governess?" Rin asked.
"Usually a woman who is hired to teach rich people's children. I've read about them in some of Mama's romance novels. Sesshoumaru would have been one of those children. His parents couldn't have dedicated all of their time to his studies."
"That makes sense," Rin said. "That woman is Yukari-sama's teacher and she said she used to teach Lord Sesshoumaru too. We were with her for part of yesterday and she told me that although I was a lowly human, she would try to instill some knowledge into my empty head. What does instill mean?"
"She meant that she would try to teach you. I don't think Sesshoumaru would be pleased to learn you'd been insulted like that. Humans can learn just as well as demons." Kagome frowned, wondering if she should tell the demon lord what the older woman had done. She was clearly the one who had taught him to be disdainful of humans.
"Oh, I ignored her for the most part. I'm not here for learning. My lord says I don't need to learn all the stuff you are, Lady Kagome. I'm to be a wife someday and only need to know how to tend the home."
"You can be anything you want, Rin-chan," Kagome assured the little girl. "If you want to be a priestess, I'm sure Lady Kaede would teach you. Sango here would be more than happy to teach you to slay the nasty demons. There's any number of things you could do in addition to being a wife. You shouldn't limit yourself based on what a man thinks. Sesshoumaru's mother is a lady in her own right and has a large number of responsibilities. Look how she's organized all of this so that we can defeat Naraku sooner. That takes more knowledge than just the basics."
Sango and the other women in the room bit their tongues, tempted to remind the girl from the future that women didn't have the same rights here as they did where she came from. "Kagome, my upbringing was quite unconventional," the slayer finally said.
"True, but there should be more people like you in this world, Sango. Rin-chan is growing up in a world far different than she would have if her family were still alive. I'm sure that Sesshoumaru knows this, but why he would say she doesn't need an education is beyond me."
"I heard him mumble something about not needing a ward that would give him a headache," Rin admitted.
"Ah, he must have been thinking of his mother when he said that," one of the maids put in, tying the young girl's obi. "I have a feeling he'd rather not have two strong willed females in his life."
"Considering what she's put the rest of us through to date, can't really blame him," Sango sighed.
"No, no, we can't."
Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippou were staring at their clothes with a mixture of awe and hate. Sesshoumaru's mother had somehow procured outfits that matched their usual clothing almost exactly, but in youkai silk. There were bits of armor to go with the kimonos and Inuyasha at least was glad because he wasn't sure exactly how durable the silk would be.
"This is something," Miroku murmured, going to the bowl of hot water that had been delivered along with the clothes to freshen up before changing.
"Yeah, not sure her reasoning but I'll go with it for now." The maids that had brought their clothing had asked if he needed any help with his hair and he had glared at them until they'd left. He knew exactly what they'd wanted to do, and he wasn't allowing anyone near his ears. Especially not if they had a daggerlike comb just waiting to dig into the sensitive flesh.
"These are fancy, Inuyasha. Do you think the girls are going to be in pretty things too?" Shippou asked.
"Probably. Not sure they're going to like it. No room for armor and the fabric will be secured too tight for running."
"My Sango will find a place for a dagger or two," Miroku assured. "Wouldn't be surprised if she made a weapon out of whatever kanzashi is forced into her scalp."
"Maybe some kanoko domes. The prongs would make excellent weapons if they were sharp enough."
"True, true," Miroku agreed. "They have the stature to pull them off, too. What beautiful women we have at our sides," the monk turned half demon mused.
"Given the time of day, I would keep that opinion to yourself for the moment," Inuyasha warned. Sango would gladly get up at anytime to slay a demon, but she did prefer to greet the day with the sun rather than before it. This entire ordeal had been exhausting so neither girl was likely to be in a good mood from having been awaken so early.
"I wonder if Kagome purified anyone," Shippou opined, making the others chuckle.
"A distinct possibility, my friend," Miroku returned, still laughing.
"An amusing thought, but we didn't hear any screams, so probably not. Well, you guys done primping?" Inuyasha asked, pulling his hair back in a topknot.
"We are," Miroku said, lifting Shippou to sit on his shoulder.
"Yeah, let's go, Inuyasha, I'm starved."
"After you," Inuyasha gestured, tucking Tetsusaiga into his sash. Ready or not, it was time to face the Honorable Mother. After yesterday, he wasn't sure he wanted to be in the same room with her again. Her shenanigans had already tested his sanity the first time around.
He was uncertain about a second.
Sesshoumaru and Yukari met them at the entrance to the dining hall, their outfits just as formal as the inutachi's. Sesshoumaru had changed his armor to more resemble what their father used to wear while also having his hair styled much as Inuyasha's was. The elder brother gazed at his younger sibling wordlessly, gold eyes solemn. Yukari stood silently, tempted to make a comment on the humans' outfits but something about how her brother and his were staring at each other kept her from speaking.
Jaken, his usual cutting remarks, and grating voice missing. The green nuisance was probably still shellshocked from yesterday. "My lady, your family is here," he announced gravely.
The woman who turned to greet them was a stark contrast to the demoness that they had dealt with up until that point. Wearing an outfit clearly designed for war, the Honorable Mother smiled grimly at the assembled company. "Come, eat, for then we go to war." Her hair, usually trailing down her back was secured tightly in buns and braids so that not a strand would get in her way if she needed to do battle. Her pelt was wrapped in a similar manner to Sesshoumaru's, clearly secured so as to keep her arms free to wield the sword at her hip. The Meidou Seki seemed to be intertwined with her armor, the large pearls making a soft clink against the demon bones.
"The Lady of the Moon has appeared," they heard Myouga declare as he hid in some dark corner of the room.
"You look stunning, my lady," Kagome complimented. They sat down around the table, weapons near at hand. Servants quickly served them, the meal simple, but filling.
"Thank you," the elder woman said, taking it as her due.
"I did not think your war persona would appear so soon, Mother."
"It has been several centuries since I have had to show the world my true power. It was time."
Sesshoumaru, sensing the questions that were hanging unspoken in the air, decided to put his brother and his friends out of their collective misery. "Mother is the only warrior to ever successfully defeat Father in battle." He didn't count Takemaru. That human had had help by the wound his sire had acquired in a previous battle.
"Really, how?" Kagome couldn't help but ask.
"I smiled. Sweetly."
"I can't imagine how that would have worked on the old man."
"Mother does not smile sweetly," Sesshoumaru informed them. "She smiles for amusement, for plotting, and for slight of hand, but not because she is sweet."
"Ah," uttered the collected company. The Inutaisho would have been too stunned to react properly after seeing that expression.
"It's a nice memory," the demoness told them.
"For you," Inuyasha commented. "For Oyaji it was probably the most humiliating moment of his life."
"Quite the opposite, my lord," Myouga corrected. "It was what made your esteemed sire marry her ladyship that very evening."
Inuyasha exchanged a glance with his brother who nodded in confirmation. Grinning, the half demon shook his head and dug into his breakfast. It was no wonder the older demons had no complaints about the Lady Mother's strength. If his old man fell at her feet…
Naraku didn't stand a chance.