Hope on the Horizon

Chapter Three

"I'm wondering - why do all the monsters come out at night?" - 'Monsters' ~ All Time Low

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"The shit's already done, nothing to be prideful about. Your future self is still you; I can't see you agreeing if you didn't want to even if the fucking world was at stake."

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything in response.

Because he too had come to that conclusion.

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Kagome shook her body as though to physically rid herself of the memories from the past.

She patted her cheeks and made her way to where she had heard running water to a little babbling brook. She missed her senses already. Her human hearing was weak and so was her nose. She wished she could have smelled Inuyasha better when they had kissed. She felt his surprise but there had been nothing better than scenting the air and knowing he was just as pleased to be kissing her.

When she came to the creek, she tentatively took a seat at the edge before she forced herself to look.

And there she was, in all her teenage glory.

Her cheeks were rounder now, her body soft.

She felt uncomfortable in her old skin.

Quickly, she jerked back, blinking as she sniffled.

She had cried with Sango but it was different crying by herself.

For a moment, she allowed herself to mourn what was. Even though her life had been shit toward the end – she had still had Sesshoumaru with her. She mourned the mates she had left behind in a dystopic future before she promised herself, she wouldn't cry again. That future had been terrible no matter how sweet and beautiful the moments in between the pain were.

In that future, Inuyasha had died and so had that Sesshoumaru.

She would trade the world to save them and this was her opportunity but that didn't mean she couldn't mourn the people that they had been.

She rinsed her face with the creek water and then she was standing, before murmuring to herself, "Be strong – you are not weak. Go win back your mates and remember – " she paused as she looked into the sky, taking in the clear blue of the afternoon, and fresh air as birds flew in the sky, " – you've done this before… you just can't make the same mistakes."

Kagome recognized that she had much to do now. Things were different.

She knew what the future held, and she could prepare for it. She had knowledge.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had both taught her not to be weak – in their own ways.

Inuyasha had taught her survival and instinct.

Sesshoumaru taught her tactics and war.

Shaking off the stray and wayward thoughts, Kagome headed back to camp where she was greeted with smiles and exclamations. She could almost pretend that nothing had changed.

Almost.

Sango was serving her some dried meat and chips and Shippo held her water bottle for her.

He was eager to pounce the moment she sat down; his eyes bright with affection. She patted his head when he leapt on her shoulder and handed her water to her.

"You must be thirsty, Kagome!" he lowered his voice, "I could tell just by looking at you! It's so hot today!"

She smiled back and took the bottle, "Thank you, Shippo!" she drank from the water and by the time she had finished her gulps and started in on the chips, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha strolled into the camp. Sesshoumaru had given her wide berth, not once glancing at her. She rolled her eyes and she realized it was going to take some time with him. She smiled to herself because it would take time but not that much. She knew the only reason he had balked initially was because Inuyasha had already been her mate, Inuyasha hadn't been keen on sharing, and she herself was concerned over other opinions.

She had won him in time of her own accord, had made him wonder and regret before. Inuyasha's jealousy was still a factor of course, but the deed was done this time around.

She knew what buttons she needed press, knew how to make him pause.

She was startled from her thoughts when Inuyasha dropped beside her instead of taking perch nearby. She arched a brow in his direction and though his cheeks were crimson, his eyes narrowed at her, "You look like the jackass when you do that."

With a snort she looked across the camp, "It's because he did it so often at me."

He sniffed at her bag of chips and she plucked one and offered it to him. It had been years since she had been home and the saltiness of chips was addicting but she was happy to feed him, a left over from time before. Mates took care of one another – that was how it was done. They had been a family unit. Bathing, eating, sleeping. One happy pack. Glancing over to Rin and Sesshoumaru at the edge of the camp her eyes narrowed.

She was alpha bitch and she would enforce that tonight.

Dogs didn't fight instinct.

Kagome would remind Sesshoumaru why that was – after all, she knew what he really was deep down.

Inuyasha took the proffered chip, his own youkai preening inside.

Shippo was on her shoulder, opposite of Inuyasha and his voice tentative broke out, "If you and Inuyasha were mates b-before – uh before I…" he trailed off unable to say 'before I died', "…who did I stay with? Where did I go?"

Before Kagome could answer, Inuyasha spoke, gruff but firm, "I'm sure you stayed with us."

His answer both surprised and warmed her because he had. Shippo had been theirs. Inuyasha who had been orphaned himself had taken it upon himself to take care of him, train him, and do what it took to keep him safe. She stopped herself from seeing Shippo as he had been found in her future and remembered the good times before.

With a smile she responded then, "He's right. You split your time between us and the kitsune school. Inuyasha would travel with you to the school and between exams you would come back on your own to visit. Each time you visited you always stayed with us."

Shippo's cheeks were crimson and he made a soft sound that sounded like a 'keh' before he bounced away to Rin. Both her and Inuyasha saw the warmth and happiness in his eyes before he jumped off.

Inuyasha stood then, "So where we headed?"

He held his hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her up into a standing position. She dusted off her skirt and she gave him a wry smile, "Well… I can't fight in this outfit." She glanced at Sesshoumaru and his camp and she sighed, "When we moved into the West after the village fell… Sesshoumaru took it upon himself to ensure that we were always battle ready, never complacent. We both trained hard with him and during that time he took me to The Valley of Dragons to slay one for my armor."

She watched as Sesshoumaru stiffened, the words carrying to him. He turned to them and his eyes were narrowed, "I took you to slay your first dragon?"

Kagome could only smile brightly, "You did. It's a tradition for the House of the Moon royal family." Her cerulean eyes sparkled, and her smile tempered into a slight smirk, "You trained me up and took me to make my armor."

"And me?" Inuyasha asked quietly, "Where was I?"

She turned to him and gripped his bicep meaningfully, "You chose not to partake the first time. You only went several years later – after the West fell. It was necessity at that point. Dragon scale armor is a sign of status and power but it also served us both well." Her voice dropped, eyes soft, "You should consider slaying a dragon as well, Inuyasha – it saved both our necks later on."

He grunted and narrowed his amber orbs on his brother who was still starring at them. He crossed his arms and turned away from their intensity. It was a tradition of their house, a house that while ruled by his brother had snubbed him. They had been working on their relationship but there was still a lot of hurt built between them. Inuyasha had been scaling the mountain with Kagome's help but there was still water flowing over the bridge. Partaking in something so close to family tradition ached and right now, he definitely wouldn't consider it.

This time Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru.

His gaze was hard, and it was because he knew that she knew there was much more than that involved.

You'll see. She thought, her voice smug in her own head. You'll see what you make me, see that I know secrets of your house and know what it means to stand at your side. She stood tall and turned away from the older inu-youkai, knowing it rankle him to be snubbed by her.

Then she began walking to where she knew the Valley of Dragons lay. It would take a few days, but they would get there while she grew used to this new/old body.

She had forgotten the dynamic of the packs when they had first merged together, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Neither Inuyasha nor Sesshoumaru had wanted to concede alpha status of their own packs. Not in the beginning – later when Naraku was killed was when Inuyasha had decided to follow his brother. But for now, they both led at the front, side by side, refusing to let the other get too far ahead of them.

Originally, she had fallen back with Sango but now?

When they started walking and Kagome made sure she had her backpack, she stepped up between them.

Inuyasha had seemed surprised whereas Sesshoumaru had looked down at her with an almost pained expression – his eyes tightening slightly at the corners.

"Will you push yourself into all aspects of our lives, miko?" he finally questioned as they began walking.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders delicately, "I'm right where I need to be."

And she was.

Her heart fluttered and her stomach turned in little knots because she didn't think she would get used to seeing them together, feeling them right at her side anytime soon. Inuyasha – the mate lost to her for several years and Sesshoumaru – the mate left behind. It took everything she had not to reach out and grasp their hands, not to force her aura through theirs and release the breath her soul had been holding.

But she did and she quietly walked with them.

No matter how her heart ached.

The day passed uneventfully, Kagome just relearning herself at this age. Remembering things with helpful information from Sango and Miroku. As night fell, they found a spot away from the road to make camp.

Sesshoumaru had already started to steer his little pack away from the main part of the group but Kagome was there standing in front of him. He paused but she saw his eyes glittering in the fading sunlight. Inuyasha stood a little way away, his body stiff and prepared to come to her aid and sweep her from trouble if need be.

Not that he wasn't confident in her – he was slowly understanding that she could take care of herself but he would always be there to have her back, especially with his unpredictable elder half-brother.

There was a growl in his voice when he stepped up to her, "What now?"

She only looked up at him, her cerulean hues wide and guileless, "We sleep together going forward. Rin stays with Shippo and Ah-Un and you stay with me and Inuyasha." She heard a choking sound and knew it was Inuyasha. The rest of the camp sounds started to quiet, trying to go about as if they weren't listening.

There was a haughtiness in his tone when he responded, "This Sesshoumaru will do no such thing." He was resolved and made a point to move passed her, but Kagome stopped him, standing in front of him again. His anger was growing, swift and unchecked. It had been a long day, filled with unpleasant surprises, and concerning thoughts. He understood her words, felt the incomplete bond between them, but his mind would not wrap around a three-way mating with his brother and Miko of all people.

It was going against everything he stood for.

Granted, she had been a pleasant human to be around, and he was beginning to begrudgingly respect her, but begrudging respect was not the grounds for mating the Miko. And she had been there, all day, at the forefront of the pack with he and his brother. He was not in the mood for whatever game she was playing.

His voice was ice and she felt a shiver trace her spine at the danger she heard there, the promise of violence riding the air in his aura, but she stood her ground. "Move."

Kagome shook her head and stood her ground, "No – this is what we do going forward. We are a single pack unit, not two separate ones." She took a step forward, and he growled warningly. Very carefully she tilted her head to the side and swept the hair from her neck. Her heart was beating quickly, her pulse fluttering like a captured bird under the delicate flesh of her neck. She didn't meet his gaze, abasing herself before him. "Afterall, you're my alpha and the alpha should stay with his pack."

"Now just wait a goddamn min – "

Her voice was steel, quiet but hard, "Sit."

Inuyasha hit the ground.

Had she been able to meet the gaze of the Western Lord before her, she would have stiffened. There was a crimson teasing the edges of his eyes, a slight elongation of fangs at his mouth. As it was, she could only feel the pulsation of his power as it grew in front of her. There was an incomplete bond between them – he could feel it plain as a day and to see the person the bond linked him to give their neck to him so easily appealed to that baser instinct.

His will was iron but even it bent in face of instinct.

He leaned forward and wished he could stop himself but there was a deeper part of him, the part that was inu and did not understand his unwillingness to lay with humans or accept his brother, that howled in happiness. It was unnatural for an inu to be alone like he was – despite his small pack he still kept himself separated. The occasional moments when Rin would curl beside him settled that raging beast inside him. And the beast did rage. In many ways, his brother was more inclined to follow his natural instincts, scent marking pack members, hunting, fighting, keeping the miko he cared for close – but he, Sesshoumaru, did not follow them as keenly.

He was Western Lord.

He needed no one.

But the beast was an animal and instinct and it did need.

Needed a pack, an alpha bitch, a beta.

And the miko from the future held all that, presented in one package with a nicely made bow.

His lips were at her pulse – he could taste the sweetness on her skin.

She was such a clean human.

Her natural scent perfumed the air and he breathed it in, his olfactory senses on fire as he took in the subtle change in her scent. His tongue came out and licked over her pulse and his tongue exploded with her taste. The beast rumbled its pleasure, rumbled contentment at pack presenting themself before him and taking submissive stance.

When he spoke, it was a rasp, a growl that was part Western Lord, part beast that laid in wait inside, "Do as you will."

He pulled his lips from her neck and forced himself to step away – the validity of her story becoming strong hour to hour, minute to minute.

The miko before would not have known how starved his beast was.

No one did.

But suddenly, now she had that knowledge.

With his beast so close to the surface, aching to break through his skin, he walked past his brother who was dusting the dirt from his clothing, "I will hunt tonight."

He didn't wait for a response – instead he walked to the tree line and once he broke through, he disappeared with all the speed he was capable of. His ears were taking in the animals running from the death in the air, sensing the fearsome creature in their midst.

He would satisfy his instincts with the hunt and death of a boar for now.

When he was done, he pushed that creature that was so purely him at the core back into its cage and regained his control.

He expected anger. Expected it to be all consuming hatred but the words his brother spoke earlier in the day came back and haunted him with the truth in the words.

I can't see you agreeing if you didn't want to even if the fucking world was at stake.

Because he was the Western Lord… he did nothing unless he wanted to.

The taiyoukai looked into the sunset, the wind caressing is long hair, the crimson on his hands black in the fading light.

Somewhere, his father was laughing at him. He was sure of it.

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Thank you for everyone that has reviewed! I really love this chapter and the plot overall. I feel like having foreknowledge is one of the main ways Kagome is going to win this Sesshoumaru x Kagome x Inuyasha triangle. Appealing to instinct and all. Letme know what you think, yes?