Disclaimer: No own InuYasha.

7/26/2010 - I give up on trying to fix my awful POV issues. I'll still poke at it, but in some cases I wouldn't be able to fix it without overhauling scenes, and I just don't have the passion for this fic to do so. Ugh, how much 5 years changes.

His Past, Her Present, Their Future

Chapter 12 - Fang

A few days later, Kagome was deemed healthy enough for travel. With two-thirds of the Shikon Jewel complete, it was decided the children should stay at the House of the Moon because the draw of rogue youkai would be much stronger now. Kagome gave tearful goodbyes to the little ones, silently praying this would not be the last time she saw them, before heading out. Sure, she could be riding Kagura's feather boat, but Sesshoumaru saw fit for her to travel with him on his youki cloud, leaving her in very close quarters with the demon lord.

Kagura trailed a bit behind them with a sad scowl. It was fairly obvious where the youkai lord's attention laid, and though she was disappointed, she could not help but see the difference in him when he was with the little miko. The previously ice-encased lord was melting slowly; he actually spoke in conversations with the human! It was nothing short of astounding. Kagura once again shook her head in thought over the mortal girl who was obviously one of a kind.

This simple girl who, for a year, Kagura saw as nothing but the reincarnation of her master's human heart's love, had turned out to be so much more. As her spiritual power grew, meeting then exceeding Kikyou's own, so did her heart it seemed. It was feat enough that she befriended a hanyou, but then to take a youkai child and care for it as her own, have several demon suitors, and to actually forgive a former enemy… she was truly not of this world. Kagura knew the girl's origins were of some far-off place, but she had to wonder what kind of a place it was to have produced such a pure soul.

Though she had witnessed the simple conversations between Sesshoumaru and the girl, and had seen the two embracing, it seemed their relationship was purely platonic. On the surface at least. But the wind youkai was observant, and she saw the poorly veiled looks exchanged, the longing and tension between them, and wondered why they were not more. Surely the Ice Price was no chicken.

A slow grin crossed over the wind sorceress's face at the prospect of some matchmaking. If she couldn't have the gorgeous specimen, she would at least make sure he didn't go to waste. Because now that his sights were set on Kagome, she was sure that if he could not have her he wouldn't have another.

Kagome nursed a burnt finger after a run in with a youkai barrier, sucking on the offended digit with a pout. She sighed and pulled out an arrow, glancing at the amused faces of her comrades before sticking out her tongue and focusing her holy energy into the arrow tip. It flared to life and she fired it into the barrier; it immediately crumbled and faded out of existence.

"You know, I can't get over your holy energy being used to help me rather than to deal me damage…" Kagura said with a small laugh.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru agreed, his amused eyes sparkling at the miko. She glared at them again and slung her bow over her shoulder.

"Well, at least I'm doing something useful for once. You know I have only had to actually participate in one battle since I started traveling with Mr. Perfect over here?"

Kagura giggled and fell into step beside Kagome. "Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"I suppose…" Kagome trailed off, looking away to hide her slight scowl. She hated feeling useless.

"Can you still feel the Shikon Shard?" Kagura inquired.

"Mm, yes, this way."

The threesome trudged onwards, through a dense bamboo forest that was looking more and more like a maze with every turn. Kagome was trotting along, humming a little tune under her breath and totally oblivious to her surroundings when she was suddenly flattened by a silver and white streak of light. Her head smacked the ground hard, making her moan aloud as she tried to focus her eyes. Above her… well, lying on top of her… was Sesshoumaru, who was now growling silently in the direction of a newly destroyed section of the bamboo hell they were in. She could feel the vibration of his chest.

Her eyes met with his and she smiled meekly and ashamedly, realizing how badly an explosion like that could have been for her. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru."

He didn't respond as he quickly leapt upright and drew Toukijin, glaring into the settling dust. She, too, stood, readying an arrow and sending out her aura. It was a single, quite powerful youkai, and it had... two shards?

"Sesshou, it has two shards!"

"Hn," he grunted, waiting for it to show itself. The scent was familiar somehow, but not familiar enough for him to know immediately its owner.

"Ah, pup, how good to see you," a low bass chortled. Stepping from a clump of bamboo stalks, the figure was revealed. He was at least seven feet tall, and about half that wide. He lumbered forward with a sickly grin, and Kagome saw one shard in the huge youkai's neck, another at his side.

"One's in his neck, the other is in his sword."

"Give over the shards, Houran, and I will not be forced to remove them."

The massive youkai rumbled out a laugh, "You would fight me, pup? Your father would be disappointed in you. Then again, perhaps not. I had heard you were traveling with a human, but a miko to boot? You are surely not following in your father's sordid footsteps and considering taking a human as your mate, are you? I'll admit she looks tasty, though…"

Sesshoumaru's scowl deepened, and he leapt at the youkai without further adieu. Out of nowhere appeared two lesser bear youkai, both immediately going after Kagome.

"Good job, pets, go get me more of the sacred jewel!"

Kagome raised her bow and focused on the nearest youkai, firing off a brightly flaring arrow into its chest, dissolving the beast on contact. The other had gotten to close though, and Kagome wasn't able to get out another arrow before it had toppled her over, raising a massive paw to strike her.

"Dance of Blades!" Kagura yelled, and the bear was lifted off of her by a disgusted looking Kagura. "I hate bear youkai. They smell disgusting. Worse than wolves, even."

Kagome let out a weak laugh and jumped to her feet, watching Sesshoumaru duel one-on-one with the larger greater demon. He obviously couldn't risk any flashy moves in such close quarters, or he would have finished the fight already. Sesshoumaru hated fighting like this, where he had to keep Kagome's welfare in mind with every strike. It was too covered for Kagura to be able to fly them out, and too dense to allow proper use of his whip. It was down to just Toukijin and Houran's blade, which was empowered with a Shikon shard.

"Is this the best you can do, pup? You are nothing compared to the Great Inu no Taisho!"

"I do not need to explain my actions to you, bear."

His adversary growled and brought down his blade with all his force onto Sesshoumaru, who barely had time to bring up Toukijin. His eyes widened just a fraction as he was pushed back minutely, and he felt his blade cracking under the pressure. 'Still just a demon's fang…' he thought ruefully.

"I don't think so!" he heard Kagome shout, and the bear hardly had time to react when her arrow struck him in the neck, instantly purifying him out of existence. Kagome heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness!"

Sesshoumaru scowled at her, but couldn't bring himself to be upset over her interference. She usually stayed out of encounters, so he would allow once to pass unnoticed. He looked down at the smoking Toukijin and glowered at it. The crack wasn't much, but it would be a hindrance. Kagome arrived as he was scrutinizing his blade. "That's not good… you should take it to Toutosai!"

He frowned at her. "The old man will do nothing for this Sesshoumaru. He is afraid."

"Well, he likes me, so maybe if I ask nicely he'll fix it!"

"Hn." He couldn't deny the wisdom in seeking the senile old man out, and raised his shoulders in a barely noticeable shrug. "Then let us depart. We are less than a day from his cave."

The three of them trekked out of the bamboo forest after Kagome had retrieved the shards and Sesshoumaru's arm snaked around her waist once more. They traveled in relative silence, only occasional moans of discomfort from Kagome because of her headache. She had hit the ground rather hard twice, it was no wonder. Kagura went to a nearby village to ask about Shikon Shard rumors, leaving the two to continue in silence.

When they arrived at Toutosai's mountain, Sesshoumaru concealed his aura so the geezer wouldn't run off before they even got there. Kagome's headache was lessening, which she was thankful for since Toutosai tended to give her one anyway.

As they landed in front of the cave, the old swordsmith was standing in front of them doing a good impression of a fish as he gaped at the Lord of the Western Lands. MouMou, his three eyed bull, stood with his head cocked at Kagome and 'moo'ed in greeting, which she returned with a smile.

"Hi there Toutosai!" she said cheerily, tearing the youkai's attention off Sesshoumaru.

"Ah! Kagome! What are you doing here? Didja trade in brothers?"

She scowled but her look went sad immediately. "InuYasha is dead."

With a confused look, the sword smith stuck a finger in his ear. "What? What did you say? I thought you said he was dead!"

"He is," Sesshoumaru said simply, making Toutosai jump.

"Oh… where's Tessaiga then?"

"He took it with him to hell," she said quietly, before looking up with resolve. "That isn't why we're here, though. We need you to fix Toukijin for Sesshoumaru, it was cracked in a battle this morning."

"Eh?"

Kagome clenched her fists at her sides and smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at him. "Please, Toutosai, I would appreciate it a lot. Sesshoumaru is helping me to collect the Shikon Shards, and he is my friend."

The old youkai looked at her incredulously and back at the stone face of her companion with a gulp. "Well, lemme look at it."

Sesshoumaru, with promises to refrain from abusing the old man, entered the cave while Kagome waited outside, looking out at the sky. It was times like this she missed InuYasha the most. Being somewhere she hadn't been since his death, around someone who she had only ever seen with him by her side. She moaned sadly until she was ripped from her thoughts by a prick on her neck.

She slapped hard, flattening Myouga, who squeaked sadly. "M'lady Kagome, it is so good to taste you again!"

"Hello, Myouga, what brings you here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Lady Kagome!"

"I am here trying to convince Toutosai to fix Toukijin for Sesshou."

"Se-Se-Sesshou?" Myouga squawked. "As in Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes, he is now traveling with me so I can collect the shards. He is my friend."

"Ah. My condolences about Lord InuYasha. He is missed."

"Thank you, Myouga. So, why are you up here?"

"I was just coming to check on Toutosai, since he cannot seem to keep himself out of trouble."

Kagome snickered. "You mean he cant remember what he's doing long enough to not get in trouble?"

"That too."

"Well, I'll escort you in. I should make sure Sesshoumaru isn't being too cruel to Toutosai anyway."

"You seem rather… familiar with Lord Sesshoumaru, if I may say so?"

"It's not a problem. We're friends, we have been for a year now. Since InuYasha's… passing, he offered to help me in my duty."

"Ah, I see."

They entered the cave to find the swordsmith brandishing his favorite tool - the pliers he used for tooth extraction. His face was set in a rather amused smirk as he approached a glaring Sesshoumaru, whose fingertips were glowing green.

Kagome ran to his side immediately, grabbing his poison tipped hand to make him calm down. "Hey, Sesshou! Isn't it nice that old man Toutosai will help?"

Sesshoumaru turned and scowled down at her. "Hn."

"Come on, take it like a man. You aren't afraid you get your fang taken out, are you?"

The scowl deepened. "It will be back by nightfall."

"Then see? Tough it out."

He knew she was goading him to keep his wrath off Toutosai and found it amusing, though irritating. He opened his mouth for the now-jolly old youkai and didn't even flinch as the fang was removed.

"Just come back in the morning and it'll be done." Toutosai groaned sadly, obviously disappointed that he got no reaction from the Taiyoukai.

As Sesshoumaru exited silently, Kagome bowed to the old man. "Thank you very much, Toutosai. I'll bring him back in the morning."

As she ran out to catch her friend, two very perplexed youkai were left behind. "She's softened him already," Myouga commented.

"Yeah, we might get him back to normal before we know it."

"She'll be leaving soon, though."

"How do you know that?"

"Intuition. Now, why did you need Sesshoumaru's fang? You could have repaired it without it."

"I have plans for most of the fang, I'll just use a bit to repair Toukijin at the same time."

"Plans?"

"Huh? Plans? Did I say that?"

When dawn broke, Sesshoumaru was eager, in his own way, to check on his new weapon. Now it would not be a simple demon's fang, just as Tessaiga ceased simply being his father's fang when Inuyasha's was added to it. Goshinki had been powerful, but now his own power would be added as well. He awoke Kagome rather abruptly, knowing he could not deal with the swordsmith on his own.

Kagome was awoken as she was set on her feet. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "What the heck?"

"It is morning."

"Really, genius?" she snapped, shaking her head. "Well, I'm up now, so let's hurry and go."

They trekked the short distance between where they had camped and Toutosai's cave in silence, Kagome still seething from her rude awakening. The old man was devouring a large amount of crispy food as the entered, whole, making Kagome's face turn slightly green.

"My sword, old man."

Toutosai looked over and yelped, backing against the wall. "Eh? Sesshoumaru?"

"You said my sword would be done this morning."

"Did I say that?" Sesshoumaru's fist made contact with the old demon's head, making tears run down his face. "So disrespectful to your elders!"

"Tou-to-sai!" Kagome said in a slow, growling rage, her eyes filled with fire and her aura snapping around her rather painfully for the two youkai.

"Ahh! Alright! Jeez, I think she's scarier than you are when she's mad, Sesshoumaru."

"Hn," Sesshoumaru said in agreement, eyeing Kagome a little warily.

Toutosai pulled out Toukijin, grimacing. "I hate this sword. This is the only time I'll fix it, I had to argue with it half the night."

"…Argue?" Kagome asked, her brows raised.

"Uh-huh."

She shrugged and watched Sesshoumaru examine the newly repaired blade. "It is acceptable. It does not appear much stronger, though. Why is this?"

"Aa!" Toutosai chirped, pulling out a smaller sheath and presenting it to Kagome. She took it with wonder and extracted the long dagger. The handle was made purely of jade; it was beautiful! The blade was curved in a nasty way, and it was perfectly balanced.

"What's this for?"

"I thought you could use a weapon. After all, a bow and arrows will only get you so far."

Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow. "So you used my fang for this instead, did you?"

Toutosai, for the first time met his gaze. Kagome did not understand the silent conversation they had, but apparently Toutosai's reasoning was acceptable.

"All right. Come, Kagome."

"Um, okay? Thank you, Toutosai. I hope to see you soon!"

She dashed out after Sesshoumaru, still fascinated by her new toy. She giggled and ran her fingers over the sheath with wonder. It was hers! A little fang all her own. Well, Sesshoumaru's, but still! She smiled brightly at it; she would have a piece of him even when she had to go home. She liked that thought more than she was willing to admit.

"You didn't mind, Sesshou?"

"No."

"Wow, I'm glad, This is gorgeous!"

His only reaction was a tiny quirk of his lips. "You should strap it somewhere you can get to it easily, but still hidden. It will be your last defense if something gets closer than your arrows can assist you. You should also consider training with withdrawing it quickly. You do not need finesse, only instant reaction."

"Hmm…" she said, and settled for attaching it to her belt loop for the time being.

The day went on uneventfully, and now camp was sent and Kagome was staring at the nearly completed Shikon Jewel with a sad look. She would be leaving so soon… perhaps as soon as a week or two. Then she would lose everything. She bit her lip in sadness and regret, looking over the fire at a meditating Sesshoumaru. Every day she was near him since that night she had felt her heart flutter every time she looked his way. The kiss, then his devoted care while she was ill… it made her ache to know it could never be even given a chance. She looked back into the fire. Midoriko had been wrong: fate was crueler than she had ever expected.