Please read and review!
AN: To the reviewer who asked if Sesshomaru's heir Akiyoshi could not marry the princess instead. I honestly don't think that Sesshomaru would allow that to happen. His son is still very young, a seventeen year old teenager if you counted demon-kind maturity in human years. Such an undertaking would be too much of a responsibility for him, and remember, the human emperor stated categorically in the treaty that the Western lord had to be the one to marry his sister. Knowing Sesshomaru's personality he would not evade that kind of accountability only to throw it on his son, and furthermore, the only one cunning enough to sieve through their plans is him. Hope that helps!
sksksk
"It is time!"
Kagome lifted her head at the sound of her mate's voice.
He stood at the door and regarded her carefully; he wanted to give her more time to adjust to the upheaval in their lives, he could see how unhappy she was. But what purpose would that serve now? Destiny had forced his hand and he could not dismiss it or the responsibilities that it carried, even though he would do anything in his power to see her happy again; just one smile would bring him great contentment.
She nodded and then turned her head away from him. She was exhausted from not getting enough sleep. Not that she could sleep even if she'd wanted to. The last twenty four hours since his return had devastated her with the unexpected news of his upcoming marriage to the princess, and consequently the ill-timed and abrupt end of their partnership.
She'd told him that she would stay and support him, but after a day she knew with certainty that she would not be able to keep that promise. How could she stand by and watch while he took onto himself another wife, have sex with her and hopefully foster an offspring? She needn't think on it for long. She couldn't do it; she could not make the sacrifice in spite of the great love that she harbored for him.
Last night in the depths of despair she'd told him what he'd wanted to hear. She hadn't been thinking properly then, the news had been an unforeseen shock, one that she wasn't prepared for and it had numbed her being with pain and apprehension. But in time the enormity of her mate's action that had crashed into her simply waned and she could think clearer; though the brutal pain never left her she'd made a final decision.
Seeing no other solution she'd quietly accepted the situation, just not the way her mate envisioned it. Sesshomaru was still ignorant of her choice. He did not know it yet, but she was going to leave him. She glanced at him again and suddenly a troubling thought hit her. If she didn't know any better, it wouldn't be hard for someone to convince her that he was comfortable with the way things turned out. She was incensed with doubts, and had a feeling that he was hiding something very important from her.
Her eyes brimmed with tears. It was wrong the way in which their lives unraveled so easily before their eyes and she could not do a damn thing to stop its flow. She felt an immense sorrow for herself and family, the rest of their time together would be short she thought in despair. She had no more time to think things over, Sesshomaru seemed to grow impatient, and so she got up from the bed and followed him downstairs.
Kagome did not want to tell them yet, not about the princess nor the upcoming nuptials. But they would have to know sometime. Everyone would. And they ought to be the ones to tell them. It was decided that it would best to tell them now; the princess's arrival was in four short days, and the day afterward would be the wedding ceremony.
They entered the family room and saw Tora who stood by an open window and watched as the little birds pecked on the lawn. He turned around and greeted them with a slight incline of the head, and likewise they returned the gesture.
Sesshomaru took Kagome's hand and led her to a single seat sofa and asked her to sit. She slid into it without thought and kept still, not moving around like she normally does trying to find the most comfy position, he noted uneasily
She hadn't noticed before now how beautiful the room was, it was as if she saw it plainly for the first time, or was it just her way to memorize every single detail now that her days were numbered in this house. The room was large and high-ceilinged, with a central bay window and two flanking smaller ones overlooking the lawn which gave a distant view of the koi pond.
Sesshomaru watched as Kagome's eyes turned around the room and wondered what she thought and couldn't tell; neither could he sense her true emotions. All that he felt was detachment now that she'd somehow managed to slam shut the doors of her mind into his face. Her eyes were no different from her mind he observed; once they were so expressive that they revealed her true feelings and emotions. No more was that the case, her orbs were sunken pools, vacant and unblinking.
Only he and Tora saw the changes in her. He came and stood before her now and look upon her with his deep amber gaze, and saw grief engraved so deeply into her eyes that he couldn't look away, not only because of the sadness there but the hurt and betrayal he felt seeping inside him from their bond. It made him uncomfortable and a little confused now that the crucial moments were at hand.
He knew that things were unsettled right now, and he'd asked himself many times already. Did he make the wrong choice? And as much as he'd questioned himself and had tried to justify his own actions, something inside him, his conscience, did not agree with his decision.
He'd asked his mate to stay with him and she'd agreed. So why then did she look so lost and sorrowful? He'd thought that she had understood him and the reasons why he'd chosen such a path. But the deep seated turmoil of her blue gaze would suggest that they were not on the same page.
His heart clenched painfully as she looked away, but not quick enough so that he did not see the tears that welled up into her eyes.
"Kagome," he called her name softly.
However, she did not answer nor did she look at him, she only dabbed at her eyes with the small handkerchief that she carried.
A gentle hand came to rest on her head and caressed her scalp slowly. She sighed wearily but did not stop the action of his hand, it was comforting. He sensed the children's presence and removed his hand a few moments before they came barging noisily through the door.
"Father," they all shouted at once, happy to see that he was home.
He welcomed their embraces and returned them whole heartedly, and as usual Aiko the runt of the lot got her turn last and would not let go. She kissed his cheeks over and over while hanging onto him tightly as if her life depended on it.
The child was quite dramatic and very expressive with her emotions; that was due in part to Kagome's guidance coming from the future, where conservative methods of child-rearing were no longer viable it would seem.
"Daddy, daddy," the child gushed with all the pent up joy that she felt seeing him home after being gone for two weeks.
Tora observed the scene from his position by the window and smiled, quietly observing Sesshomaru's tender side with his children. It was a sight that only a privileged few would ever get to see.
Kagome turned away from the image not wanting to watch the happy moment; tears obscured her vision as she did so, because she knew that soon their happy lives would be interrupted. Their children had no idea that the world as they know it would soon come to an end.
The euphoria ended, and the children looked on puzzled as they regarded their mother who wasn't meeting their gazes, she had her head down and refused to look at them. Taizo drew closer and stood beside the sofa where she was seated.
"Mother," he addressed her softly. "Aren't you pleased now that father is home?"
She took long quiet breaths to stay calm and hoped it would be enough to lessen the pain and dry up the tears that threatened to overwhelm her.
Kagome tried to make her face a blank slate as she inwardly trembled. She couldn't let the children see her in such a state. Smiling back the huge lump of trepidation in her throat, she said. "Taizo your father has something to tell all of you."
Taizo shifted his weight to his right side while the other members of the family looked on curiously. A deep silence fell over everyone as they pondered on her words.
Kagome worked up the courage to look Sesshomaru squarely in the eyes. "I'm sorry but you will have to tell them yourself…I cannot do it."
Her voice broke as she relayed her thoughts to him, and even though she saw as anger flared in his orbs, she did not have the energy to care.
Displeasure drew Sesshomaru's brows down tight in a disapproving frown and his lips thinned out. He knew and of course understood his mate's actions, but regardless, he needed her support to deliver the disturbing news. Now was not the time for such failings. They had an agreement.
"Kagome," he said harshly, "such weakness in front of the children is unbecoming of your station and for being this one's mate."
Humiliation sank its fang into her, the air leaked from her lungs, she couldn't breathe, could hardly speak. She pushed back the chair and jumped to her feet. Reeling, Kagome watched her mate who looked icily at her.
With unwavering breath Kagome responded. "If I am weak it is your doing, and I will not be the one to hurt our children, you did this, so fix it your damn self."
Sesshomaru shot her an angry look and hissed. "I will not tolerate disrespect from you in this house and in front of our children."
She looked around and saw that everyone watched. Peeved with herself she glared at her mate. "Alright, have it your way. Children your father has called this meeting to tell you that he has gotten an iron clad deal from the alliance."
Her statement should have made them happy, but somehow they knew that there were much more than that going on here, as their mother was almost in tears, angry at their father, and he was pensive with his eyes frozen. The other guest kept silent but his eyes revealed that he knew much more as well.
She laughed a bitter laugh. "Ha-ha, the deal was so good that he is to be married to the princess on Sunday," she retorted sarcastically. "And he has cruelly asked me to stay with him knowing that it would kill me to do so."
All eyes turned to Sesshomaru as Kagome lost the battle with herself, keeping calm and supporting her mate, those convictions flew out the door and she sobbed hopelessly.
Aiko stepped up to her father with quivering lips. "Father is this true?" The child asked through tears.
Sesshomaru heard the question, however, his gaze was fixed stonily on his mate and he did not respond immediately. In time the others joined in, and only Akiyoshi stood aside and stared at their mother's unhappy form as she cried silently and broken in the sofa.
The children stared at him accusingly and he faltered. He could not respond. Without Kagome's help, her tears and the unfavorable news he was no more than a monster in the eyes of his family. His gaze swept over their heads and on the shaking figure of his mate as she cried uncontrollably now.
His eldest child knelt by her feet, she looked down on him and then placed her hand on his white head and rubbed. He watched perturbed as the boy eased himself lower until he sat completely on the floor with his head resting on his mother's lap.
Sesshomaru sighed and closed his eyes feeling miserable. His heart clenched at the piteous site, he knew that the children loved her dearly and that they would be hurt by his decision, but seeing it was not something that he was prepared for. Everything was a mess. His youngest child's wails brought him back to the matter at hand.
"I will not live in this house if mother leaves…How could you hurt her like that," Aiko screeched at her father. "How could you?"
She spun on her heels and ran blindly from the room while the others waited on his answer. Tora left to go after Aiko, wanting to make sure that she was alright.
He looked into the eyes of his children and saw anger and betrayal reflected there, and knew with certainty that he would no longer stand for the disobedience
Taizo moved closer and stood directly in front of his father. "Is mother telling the truth father?" The boy asked, not as a child but as a mature being. "If she is, I will no longer live here." He spoke quietly but with the authority of someone twice his age.
Sesshomaru glared at his son's unwavering expression then lifted his head and said tonelessly. "I will allow no one to leave; I am head of this house and ruler over these lands. My decision is final."
The hand in Akiyoshi's hair stilled. Kagome lifted her head when she heard her mate's unconscionable words. She glanced back down briefly and met Akiyoshi's gaze. He looked at her and she nodded to him, he got up so that she could move. She strode over to her mate with a frown on her face and her lips pursed tight in anger.
The few steps that she took brought her in front of him. He towered over her with intimidation and she glared up at him. Her heart lurched against her ribcage in fear but she would not back down, he would hear what she thought of his ultimatum.
"Ruler over this house and lands you may be, but you don't own me nor can you stop me when I decide to go!"
An angry snarl tore out of his being from somewhere deep inside him; his mate had abandoned him when he'd needed her support most, and now she carelessly challenged him in front of the children. Kagome gasped and took a step back, he took two forward menacingly, the children cried out in alarm, fearful that their father was going to hurt their mother.
Heavy hands gripped her shoulders and shook her painfully hard, but she stood her ground while defiant eyes bored into him furiously. She would not relent until she told him what was really on her mind.
"I will stay until the princess's arrival to comfort our children, and then I will be leaving."
Sesshomaru stood speechless not knowing what to say, he could not retaliate because the children watched, not that he would strike her, but he should punish her for the disrespect. His baser instincts screamed at him to show her just who was in charge, reprimand her for the challenge and the insult.
His emotions were conflicting, just the thought of Kagome leaving him tore at his heart, and his children refusing to comply only made things worse. The alliance was for all their benefits, and yet he felt like a villain. How could his sacrifices and efforts turn out this way?
He was Sesshomaru lord of the west, commander of a terrible army and warrior supreme, and yet he could not control his woman and children. He had grown soft in times of peace; no more will he allow such disorder in his house. The time for change was at hand.
He was chosen by the heavens to secure demon-kind's existence and to lead them in this crusade. And it was a task that he would take seriously with or without his mate by his side. His grip on her shoulders loosened and he stood up straight.
"Kagome, do what you must," he said sternly.
Her heart pounded heavily from the unexpected change in him. His eyes were like ice and his spine rigid and straight she noted with regret, and she gulped in unease.
Sesshomaru gave his mate one last look before he moved away. At the door he turned around and addressed his children.
"Decide what you want…Stay here and help to bring about the change necessary to safeguard our survival, or leave with your mother if you so desire!"