Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
Greeting and salutations! Ok, first off I have to say I thought I already posted this chapter. Ooopsey! Anyway...This is a fluff chapter, but I'm kind of fond of it. I've been in a weird mood lately and so it may seem a little out of place, but oh well. SoI might wrap this story up in the next chapter and just start a whole new story to continue this arc. Otherwise, this thing could go on forever (if it doesn't seem that way already!). So read up and look for a possible concluding (yet open-ended) chapter in a few weeks. TTFN!
The Beginning And The End
Chapter 14
"I told her not to do the ceremony."
The young woman smiled as she watched the powerful and normally composed inu prince pace the length of the room. He'd remained calm since Kagome passed out yesterday afternoon and had only recently began to show outward signs of his concern when Kagome started to mumble in her sleep. She wasn't speaking in complete sentences, just random words.
"She's fine. She's just suffering from emotional exhaustion. But I think it would make her smile to see you pacing right now."
Sessho-maru stopped and fixed the young girl with a pointed glare which only served to widen her smile. "You two are too much alike sometimes."
"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you, my Lord."
Rin inclined her head and turned back to her patient, replacing the damp towel on her head with a fresh, cool one. When she returned her attention to Sessho-maru she was surprised to see a smile on his face.
"What has you finally smiling?"
Sessho-maru walked over and sat across from Rin so he could see both the women in his life. He reached out and tucked some hair behind Rin's ear, his eyes roaming over her face.
"Kagome was right. We are a family."
Rin chuckled. "Of course we're a family! You have been my guardian for many years and when Kagome entered our lives, she became the big sister I never had."
"Big sister? I thought you would see her as more of a mother figure."
At this Rin couldn't help herself. She doubled over laughing, holding her stomach. Sessho-maru waited for Rin's laughter to die down, but it didn't seem to be subsiding. Just as he'd reached his tolerance point of her obviously mocking behavior, he heard a small voice.
"What's so funny?"
"Kagome! You're awake! Wait 'til you hear what he said about you!"
Sessho-maru kept his frustration in place and leaned a little closer, taking Kagome's hand within his own.
"Never mind her. How do you feel, nisou?"
Kagome smiled at the scene before her. Sessho-maru, the picture of concern with the exception of a barely noticeable twitch in his right eye as he tried to ignore the laughing Rin beside him. She was so thankful for her life at that very moment. She sat up and gave Sessho-maru a kiss on his cheek and hugged him tight.
"I feel fine." She felt familiar strong arms wrap around her and she closed her eyes and sighed. "So what did I miss?"
"He thinks you're old enough to be my mother!"
Kagome's eyes shot open and her body tensed. She pushed back and looked at Sessho-maru who didn't seem to register the severity of the situation he now found himself in. Her eyes narrowed and her voice became loud and strong, the quiet voice discarded in an instant.
"What! Her mother? How old do you think I am! Or is it that I just look that old!" Kagome got up and started to stomp out of the room, Sessho-maru remaining in his spot, seemingly unfazed. "Just because a girl passes out a few times, suddenly she's old and somebody's mother! Unbelievable!"
Once Kagome's ranting could not be heard any longer, Sessho-maru turned to Rin, who had the decency to look somewhat guilty, even if she still had a small smile on her face.
"You're grounded."
"What! You can't do that!" Rin stood up and chased after Kagome. "Kagome! Tell him I'm too old to be grounded! He's being unreasonable again!"
Sessho-maru just smiled to himself, satisfied to have made his point.
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Things had quieted down after Kagome and Rin had stormed off. He'd considered going after them but decided that would just add fuel to the fire so he wandered outside and found himself at the Bone Eater's Well. There he sat and used the quiet time to contemplate his and Kagome's future until the sound of clinking metal reached his ears. He looked up to see the monk, Miroku, approaching him. The young human didn't show any emotion as he closed the distance between them.
"May I join you?"
Sessho-maru nodded and Miroku sat down beside the inu youkai, placing his staff on the ground in front of him. He looked out over the landscape he'd just traversed and addressed the waiting inu.
"I thought I'd come and give you a friendly warning."
A silver eyebrow arched in surprise and curiosity.
"Kagome and Rin came running to Sango earlier. Apparently you got them quite riled up."
Still Sessho-maru said nothing and didn't acknowledge Miroku's words.
"I wisely left them to their heated conversation and sought you out to give you a heads up of the situation you're facing."
"Don't think me ungrateful, Miroku, but you have yet to say anything that convinces me I've warranted your warning, well-intentioned or not."
Miroku chuckled and looked over at the nonplussed inu youkai.
"You will, my friend. Although if you keep that calm façade, you just might stand a chance against them."
"You make it sound like I should be preparing for battle."
"You should."
Sessho-maru studied the lavender eyes of the young monk sitting next to him and he concluded that he was not mocking him and was actually being very sincere. How very odd. I wonder if all human males are as fearful of females as this one. Sessho-maru merely nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to his original thoughts.
The pair sat in silence for many long minutes until Miroku spoke up once again, the true purpose for his visit finally coming out.
"Has Kagome mentioned what she plans to do next?"
"No." So, he finally gets to his real purpose.
"I am curious what you think it should be."
Sessho-maru contemplated how much he wanted to discuss with the monk. He realized that Miroku's future was entwined with Kagome's, but he still hadn't discussed anything with Kagome yet. But perhaps this will be a good opportunity to gauge how their mission is going from a different perspective.
"I understand and respect that Kagome has a mission she needs to fulfill. That doesn't mean I will just let her go off and place herself in danger."
Miroku waited, hoping Sessho-maru had more to say. Otherwise, our mission is in more danger than I thought.
"I was foolish to entrust her safety to anyone other than myself."
"So you would join us?"
"I would defeat that parasitic demon wanna-be and be done with this whole debacle."
Miroku had considered that Sessho-maru would want to keep Kagome safe and join their mission, but he hadn't considered that the inu youkai would take it upon himself to destroy their enemy single-handedly.
"What about the jewel shards? The Shikon jewel must be reassembled and purified."
"That task will be much easier to complete without Naraku, agreed?"
Miroku nodded and looked down at his staff. Is it as easy as he makes it sound? Could he defeat Naraku without anyone's help?
Miroku sighed and stood up, staff in hand, and started to descend the slope back towards the village. He called out a parting shot to Sessho-maru as he walked away.
"I'm really looking forward to dinner, so try not to be late!"
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Sessho-maru found himself in unfamiliar territory. All were gathered for dinner and the conversation seemed amicable enough, but the steely cold looks he was receiving from the three young women in the room left him feeling slightly unsettled. He couldn't recall Rin ever looking so….stern. But her looks were nothing compared to those of Kagome and Sango. Their life experiences had given them dirty looks the younger Rin had yet to obtain.
Normally, he wouldn't tolerate such insolence from anyone. His mate included. But he found the monk's warning rang true. These women were angry and had no qualms about declaring war on him. Is this what Inu-yasha faced? I should have had the foresight to ask the monk how to diffuse this situation.
The conversation during dinner was mostly between the young women with Kaede and Shippo interjecting every now and again. But for their part, Miroku and Sessho-maru remained quiet. Lavender eyes scanned the room and when he was satisfied that dinner was almost done, he decided to speak up, bringing the tension within their group to the foreground. He had waited to see if Sessho-maru would broach the subject, seeing as he was known to have a very direct personality. However, it seemed he was inexperienced with this type of situation and would need some help.
"So, Kagome, how do you feel about letting Sessho-maru go off to defeat Naraku?"
Gasps were heard around the room and every set of eyes were focused on the stoic inu youkai. Rin's face immediately lost its scowl as her concern for her guardian came through. Kagome's eyes were wide and her cheeks were flushed. She'd opened and closed her mouth a few times before finding her voice.
"You…..you can't. I won't let you."
"M-my Lord, that's too dangerous. Please…."
"I merely stated it as a possibility." Golden eyes glared at the calm, innocent looking monk sitting next to him. What is he up to?
"We'll defeat Naraku together. If anything were to happen to you----"
"Nothing will happen. He is not as powerful as he presents himself to be. He is a charlatan."
"Kagome's right. You shouldn't go alone. We'll work as a team to defeat Naraku."
Sessho-maru saw the determination in the demon slayer's eyes and he saw Rin's young face creased with worry and then he looked to Kagome and saw her strength and love and he suddenly realized what the monk had done. Well played, monk. I believe I might be indebted to you.
"We will discuss this further tomorrow. If you will excuse me, I am finished and would like to get some fresh air."
Sessho-maru rose in one graceful motion, nodding his head ever so slightly to Miroku as he did so, and then made his way out of Kaede's dwelling, a little smirk making its way across his lips.
To be continued….