Chapter 17: Jihi

Shippo sat in the dark, looking at his father's pelt. Tears fell from his eyes as he sat. "I'm sorry papa." He dropped the pelt in a pile of straw, and turned towards the castle, determined to make things right.

XXX

Sesshomaru took the guards outside of the Princess' bedchamber by surprise, the Kitsune's magic still dulling their senses. Sesshomaru let his anger run through him, granting its strength and kept a tight leash on the fear churning in his gut. He opened the door, and sniffed the air. It smelled of his mate, but he could sense the faint odor of fox. He let out a low growl and stalked over to the bed, pulling the covers aside. The bed was empty, and he was a little relieved that there was no blood or scent of sex on the sheets.

He stalked out of the room and grabbed one of the guards roughly. "Where is she?" he snarled. He smelled the man's fear.

"M-m-m'lord, I d-d-don't know who you are r-r-referring to," the guard whimpered. Sesshomaru tossed him to the side in annoyance and turned to the second guard. "Go tell my mother that the Princess is missing." The guard hesitated. "MOVE!" Sesshomaru snarled, his eyes glowing red, and his teeth and claws appearing as his control over his beast slipped.

The door down the hall opened, and Rin and Sango poked their head out of it.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin said quietly, her large eyes large with concern.

"What's going on?" asked Sango. Sesshomaru noted that she carried her weapon, and looked ready to fight, even in her bed clothes.

"Kagome is missing," he said and moved down the hall, letting his supernatural speed carry him to the main gate. He heard Sango's curse, and Rin asked who Kagome was, but he didn't have time to stop right now.

The night was chill and dark, but not so cold that a human couldn't survive a night in it unprotected. He followed Kagome's scent, denied the link that their mating had created between them. He rounded a corner, and found himself in the red lantern district. His eyes narrowed, and it took all of his willpower to ignore his desire to punch a hole in the nearest wall.

'The only way for the bond to break was for her to die,' his Beast informed him. 'She probably left to meet a lover and was killed by your enemies.'

Sesshomaru told his beast to quit talking, and it laughed.

'She's gone. Now its time to get a proper inu bitch who will give you youkai pups,' his Beast commented lazily.

"I don't want some inu bitch, I want Kagome!" he snarled at his beast, before realizing what he'd finally admitted. His Beast chuckled darkly. He was pulled from his thoughts by a soft voice.

"Sesshomaru-sama..."

The scent of the kitsune was sharp, and Sesshomaru turned and lunged out, grabbing the child by the scruff of the neck.

"Where is she?," his claws were long and sharp and his eyes glinted red in the light. Shippo briefly reconsidered his plan.

"I'm sorry, but he promised they wouldn't hurt Kikyou-sama, but when I brought her here, he said she wasn't Kikyou."

"Who is 'he'?"

"Naraku, and he's working with the Thunder Brothers. Please, I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt," Shippo's eyes filled with tears.

"Her name is Kagome, not Kikyou, and she had better be alive, or This Sesshomaru will hunt you down and make you pay for your crimes. Now, leave," he said, then dropped the kit.

"But, I can take you to the place where they're keeping her! It's hidden by illusions, so its almost impossible to find if you don't know the way."

He stared at the kitsune with those expressionless gold eyes for a moment before turning to walk away. "Very well. You may accompany This Sesshomaru until your usefulness has run its course."

Author's Notes: Jihi means mercy.

~Edit~

I switched 17 and 18 to have Shippo and Sesshomaru meet before Kagome's moment in the sun.