Chapter 15- A Scared Sesshoumaru

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story expect Tristis, Astoria, Maaya, Masako, Ikue, Mitsuki, and Tamiko. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them.

Flashback

When he was a child he remembered a time when he had skipped his lessons to go off exploring. Sesshoumaru's father was once again off patrolling their land, while his mother was running the household and preparing a feast for his upcoming birthday. The heir was supposed to be in his daily lessons but, with his mother, Jaken, and all the other servants busy, he took off.

He had never been allowed to go out by himself, despite his ability to handle himself against enemies. There was too much danger and his mother seemed to go to pieces when he left her side for too long. He just wanted to have some fun so the young lord felt the need to explore for surrounding land around his home.

The happy heir sniffed the air and soon caught the scent of a deer, a wounded one. He found the deer about 20 miles away from the castle. It was a baby and would probably die soon, but it was going to be a slow painful death because of the wounds it had to its legs. In reality, Sesshoumaru would be considered merciful for hunting the fawn. After telling himself that, he slowly crept towards it.

The kill had gone off without a hitch. The fawn hadn't felt any pain and not a single drop of blood had been spilled. All in all, Sesshoumaru was quite proud of himself. He lifted his first kill, done all by himself and not with the help of his mother or father, and took it to the closest river he could find. The puppy wasn't familiar with his surroundings but figured that being the heir of the Western Lands would guarantee that nothing would mess with him.

He was wrong, however, he forgot to factor in other variables. His father, while superior in strength to anyone, had many enemies because of his politics. The lord of the Western Lands and his mate were one of the few demons that believed humans were not meant for a demon's own amusement. Then there was the fact that Sesshoumaru forgot that despite his strength, he was still only a puppy and still had quite a few things to learn. He was still ignorant of the dangers of others and didn't seem to realize that he was a perfect target for stupid demons.

He was so ignorant that he didn't notice the dragon until it had a claw around his little ankle. Sesshoumaru was so shocked by the slimy claw, that he didn't even have a chance to gasp before he was taken under the water. He knew that screaming under water only filled your lungs with more liquid, but in fear, you tended to forget that. However, who could blame the heir for screaming and struggling with the dragon.

His eyes grew wider when he was the red eyes of the beast and desperately tried to swim back to the surface. Amber eyes wanted to cry in absolute fear but his will to live was stronger. Somehow his own claws lashed out at the arm that held him and released the poison that he has recently learned how to control. The dragon howled under the water, but did let the pup go.

He scrambled for the surface, gasping for air and then wailed on word that he was sure even his father would have heard, "MOMMY!"

Tears were already spilling down his cheeks and even though he knew the dragon was still underneath him, he couldn't force his legs to move. He was cold, wet, scared out of his mind, and just wanted his mother. The pup knew his father was much stronger than his peaceful mother but everything in his little being screamed for his mother.

An angry growl rumbled from below him and his tears stopped. He was going to die by an ugly dragon all because he wanted a break from his lessons. New tears erupted from him and he found himself whimpering for his mother even more.

The gray dragon rose from the water with a roar and snarled at Sesshoumaru. The puppy thought of his mother, Jaken, and his always absent father and closed his eyes. A louder roar was heard but ... nothing happened to Sesshoumaru, except for being pushed.

He dared to open his eyes and saw a huge dog pinning the dragon at the edge of the river. In awe, the heir watched the dog, it was a bit smaller than his dad's demon form, circle the dragon and pin it once again. It snarled at the dragon and proceeded to rip its throat out. In reality the beast hadn't stood a chance but that hadn't stopped it from clawing at the dog, leaving a deep gash on one of its legs.

Sesshoumaru sniffled and slowly swam out of the river, finally noticing Jaken's cowering form. He was so glad to see someone he knew that he got on his knees and hugged the little imp. The toad, was quite speechless, but did manage to pat the pup's silver hair as he cried.

He stayed like that for quite a while until a soft voice broke through his tears. "Sesshoumaru, are you ok?"

There next to the fallen dragon, with her right arm bleeding, was his beautiful mother. Her scent was filled with fear and relief but a soft smile played on her pale face. The pain in her arm was horrid, but she seemed to forget it when she saw her only son grin and run up to her with his arms wide open.

Ikue welcomed the thud that her son made when he threw himself in her arms. She held him close, mindful to keep her wound from his silver hair. His whimpers of how scared he was tore at her heart and urged her to bring the boy closer to her. After a moment she whispered in his ear, "Mommy was scared too."

He looked at her terribly confused. He had just seen his mother's true form for the first time in his life and she had killed the thing with no problems whatsoever. It wasn't like she was ever in danger but her scent and words made it very clear that she had been terrified, maybe even more than he had been.

A demand for an explanation tugged at his mouth but the sweet smile that his mother was known for appeared. It was the kind of smile that sent all the males servants into fits of undying love and the females into complete worship. "Why don't we take your very first kill back home and have Jaken cook it for lunch? And when your father returns, we can tell him all about your hunt and watch him glow with pride."

Sesshoumaru smiled brightly at his mother and took her hand.

End Flashback

That event had happened several lifetimes ago, but the lord of the Western Lands remembered it was being the only time he was truly afraid of something. However, he had a mate now, a mate with his unborn pups in her womb. Now he felt that ugly emotion crawl into him and take hold of everything as he watched Astoria's claws make its way for Rin and their pups.

Rin screamed and this jolted Sesshoumaru out of his stupor. If Inuyasha and the others had been amazed at his speed before, it was nothing compared to his speed as he ran to his mate. He raised Toukijin and slashed down on the hand that threatened to harm his Rin.

The demoness howled and jumped away from the sword that amputated her right hand. While she cried in pain, but somehow managed to dodge both Kagome's arrows and Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu, Sesshoumaru quickly checked over his shaking mate. For the most part she seemed unharmed, just shaken up a bit. Then he did something that was so unlike him that everyone stopped fighting.

The lord grabbed her chin roughly and forced her into a bruising kiss. It wasn't romantic really, it almost seemed forced but his small mate seemed to enjoy it. Her scent became pleasant, it almost border on becoming aroused. Rin wrapped her arms around her mate and pressed herself closer to him. The couple's in-laws just stared at the two but said nothing. Astoria whimpered in pain, but a growl was working its way up.

Sesshoumaru moved away and glared at Ah-Un, "Get back up in the air."

It didn't need to be told twice, it flew up with Rin, Jaken, and Maaya on its back. Kagome looked at bit shocked and almost let her arrow fall out of her hand but quickly got a hold of herself when Astoria charged at Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha ran to his brother's defense and blocked the small dagger that the bitch produced. The eldest brother was grateful for his little brother but still angry that he needed him. They had fought on opposite sides for so long that Sesshoumaru almost hit him for interfering.

"Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru get out of the way!"

The half-breed felt himself being pulled up in the air as Kagome's scared arrow whipped past them and hit the bitch in her left leg. Astoria snarled and gazed up at the lord of the Western Lands, with tears gathering in her green eyes. "Creatures like you deserve to die. Our clans are dying out and the males we do have are becoming weaker because you refuse to have full blood pups. By not reproducing with our females, you and your father are making it impossible for us to survive! Did you know that a litter of pups born to one of the Northern nobles were killed because we didn't have enough warriors to defend them? The ones we did have had weak blood." She pointed up to the quiet Rin, "By mating with that human and producing half-breed spawn, you killed innocent puppies and have doomed our race!"

He landed on his feet and released his brother's arm. His amber eyes gazed at the crying bitch a few feet away from him and then looked back up at his mate. Without taking his eyes off Rin he spoke to her, "I cannot be blamed for what is happening to our race. My decision of who my mate is my own and does not affect anyone else in our clan."

She scoffed, "Do you deny that you are the strongest of us all?"

"That is a stupid question," he looked back down at her. "I have my father's and mother's strength flowing in my veins, my offspring will not be weak."

"Her blood will diminish that, if not in your offspring, then by their mates. Your brother picked a human mate, what makes you think yours won't? What demon would want them?"

"Rin has own strength, my pups will not be weak."

Astoria laughed through her tears and lightly touched her wounded leg with her remaining hand. "You're a hypocrite Lord Sesshoumaru." His growl only gave her more of a reason to laugh. "For years you have cursed your father for leaving your mother to mate with a human, for breaking their vows. You've done it to. You broke your vow to your kind by taking her as your mate. If it had been anyone else we would have overlooked it, but it was you. The one who cried out that he would never do what his father had done to us."

She began to cry more and flung herself on the ground. Her sobs grew louder by the second and Sesshoumaru suddenly remembered his mother. He shook his head, trying to forget his poor mother, but that was a mistake. Astoria chose that time to dig her claws into his shoulder and her small dagger into his belly.

The lord growled and tried to push her away, but she shoved her weapons in deeper. She brought her face close to him, almost as if she was about to kiss him. "It should be me that you defend. You didn't inherit your father's and mother's strength... From your father you got his weakness for mortal flesh and from your mother, the kindness that got her killed."

If her insults to Rin hadn't pushed him over the edge, then the insult to his mother had. His eyes became red and the markings on his face grew wider. Inuyasha started running with his fable sword up in the air but Kagome's scream of, Rin, stopped him.

In horror, Sesshoumaru watched his mate falling to the ground head first. He couldn't move and felt complete hatred for the bitch that grinned at him maliciously. Rin seemed to fall faster to him and for the fourth time in his life, he felt powerless. The first was when he couldn't stop the dragon from hurting him, the second was when his mother cried over her failed marriage, the third was actually felt each time Rin lost their pups.

Inuyasha moved to catch her and just as he was about to leap in the air, a bright light flashed and covered Rin head to toe. She stopped a foot from the ground and just hung there with the light covering her. For the second time the fighting stopped and all eyes focused on the lady of the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru forgot the pain and took in the scent his mate was suddenly giving off, a scent that did not belong to Rin at all.

His eyes turned back to his normal amber color and his mouth trembled. "I-It cannot be...."

He whispered something but despite Inuyasha and Kagome's superior hearing, they couldn't hear what Sesshoumaru muttered. Whatever it was, it surprised Astoria greatly. She stared down at him and actually snorted. "You're insane."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, Rin was gently lowered to the ground and the light attacked Astoria. This strange purple light took a human shaped form and a hand plunged itself into Astoria's back. The female demon screamed in utter agony, and found herself being lifted off Sesshoumaru, with the hand continuing to slide up her body, only stopping at the base of her neck.

Sesshoumaru stared at the light, completely ignoring the screaming and dying bitch lying next to him. The light thrust its hand into Astoria chest and crushed the slow beating heart. The bitch gasped and her head rolled over to the male next to her, her green eyes staring at him.

Kagome had Rin in her arms while her mate stood protectively in front of them. He wasn't sure what this strange light was and had his sword ready, just in case. However, it wasn't interested in the half-breeds at all. It walked towards Sesshoumaru and placed its left hand on his wounded right shoulder and the other on his bleeding stomach. He felt a comforting warmth go through him and he felt a peace he hadn't known for years, except when he was alone with Rin.

The light's hands left him after a moment and for some odd reason he wasn't surprised that he was healed. A hand touched his face for a brief second and then moved away from him. It seemed that it was going to go inside Rin, something Kagome didn't think she wanted, but instead it floated up to the flying dragon that remained in the sky.

Jaken felt cold, he was sure he wasn't going to make. It didn't bother him too much. He had been struck in a battle defending his lady and he knew his lord would revive him. The toad squawked when he felt a warm hand touch his wound. He struggled for a second but stopped when the pain subsided and he felt better than he had in years.

Once Jaken was fine the light dove back into Rin. It happened so fast that Inuyasha couldn't even think to swing his sword. Of course Inuyasha, being Inuyasha, couldn't help but comment. "What the fuck was that?!"

Sesshoumaru stood and picked up his now awakening mate. Her long eyelashes fluttered open and gave him a sleepy smile. "You won."

He nodded and pulled her closer to him, holding her like a bride. The tall demon called for his dragon and for some reason instructed Jaken to keep silent. The others weren't sure why he said it but they weren't complaining either.

"Um... I know we won and all but ... what happened?"

When Kagome wasn't given an answer Inuyasha yelled at his retreating brother. "Hey! Hey Sesshoumaru! Where are we going?"

"Andromeda."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter just seemed to flow out of me. Well, since I got this chapter out sooner than I expected, and reveled more than I thought I was going to, the story should end in the next two chapters. I know just about everyone hated Astoria but she had her reasons for what she did. I wanted people to know that but considering this story, and the fact that I believe that Sesshoumaru belongs with Rin period, I could only make her a complete bitch, no pun intended, in the end. That brings me to another subject. Since I posted chapter 14 I was reading what I wrote for Sesshoumaru's memories concerning his mother and, I just loved the character. So, I have been thinking about writing a prequel to this story, starting when Ikue either meets Inutaisho (I heard his name is Toga or something), or at the marriage ceremony. The story will mostly focus on Ikue because like I said, I loved the character that she ended up turning into. This is my summary for it:

Betrayal in the Blood

Genre: R

Rating: Angst

Parings: Ikue/Inutaisho, Inutaisho/Izayoi, Sess/Astoria, Sess/Rin

Summary: This is a prequel to Family Obligations. Ikue has loved Inutaisho since she first met him, but his heart lies elsewhere. Ikue must live through a loveless marriage, taking care of the heir to the Western Lands, and watch another woman carry her husband's child. This is the story of a father's sins, and the consequences it had on his sons.
I have other ideas for more stories that will be posted on my profile and if my very lovely readers will please look at them and tell me which one you would like to read first, in either a review hint or an email then I would be so grateful. Betrayal in the Blood will be started after Family Obligations but I would also like to start another one along with it. I'm leaning towards the one I'm calling Whispered Vows at the moment but I'll decided once I get feedback. Thank you so much.

Loki TheGrimScreamer: Thank you so much for you kind words again. I think it's perfectly naturally that Rin would eventually find some kind of respect for Kagome because after all, Kagome does know what it's like for her child to be persecuted (even if it's not shown in this story) and Rin is going to have to deal with this because Sesshoumaru will not be able to protect them from all insults. Anyway I hope this update was fast enough for you.

Dragon Man 180: Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed Astoria's death. I'm glad you like the transition Rin has went through, I hoped people didn't think it was far-fetched, even though I see it was a natural transition considering how Sesshoumaru is. There is respect from Rin to Sango but it's not shown as clearly and not acknowledged. I think Rin would have more respect for Kagome because only she knows what Rin is going to go through once she has her children. Sango would probably one of the first to protect Rin and her kids right along with Sess, Inu, and Kagome but still, she will never know the pain Rin is going to go through when someone insults on of her kids. Kagome is the only other person she knows that has felt that so the respect his more evident.

sikaria: I didn't think this cliffhanger was that bad, well not compared to the one I gave in chapter 7. I was going to end the chapter when Rin fell from Ah-Un or when the light appeared, but I thought that was kind of mean and I couldn't stop writing anyway.

Also thank you so much to my other reviewers, your reviews mean a lot to me too: DraGonMistress704, Arafel2, tessie-fanfic, and New Fan.