Hours had passed, and Hanako and Sesshomaru walked back into the camp site, fully clothed. Sesshomaru held her hand, making a bold statement that caused Jaken to squawk and gasp in horror.
"Master! My Lord! Why are you holding that wench's hand?" His words were met with a smart lash to his cheek, as Sesshomaru's golden whip shone from his other hand.
He continued lashing at his servant, his eyes cold, "Never speak of her Lady like that again." He ordered, pulling Hanako to him. She blushed and looked down shyly, her cheeks growing warm once again.
"My Lady?" Jaken gasped again, squealing as his master's whip struck him again and again, "Master! You mated with her?! Why would you defile yourself in such a manner?!"
"She has agreed to be my mate, and I have marked her with my scent. My seed is embedded within her, and so, she is now Lady Hanako Yamanari." Sesshomaru growled as he glared at the imp.
Rin, in all of her childish innocence, didn't understand much of what he said. She ran up to Hanako, throwing her arms around her waist, "Does this mean you two will be nicer to each other?"
Hanako knelt, rather stiffly, and she cast Sesshomaru a reproachful look, making it clear she was still pissed about his actions. She turned to Rin and hugged her, "We will try, but there will be some tension. The way he asked was...rather unorthodox."
Sesshomaru grumbled as he looked away, "I apologized..."
The corners of Hanako's mouth quirked upwards, "And you are forgiven, but that doesn't mean I will forget."
"You are going to be the end of me, woman." Sesshomaru sighed deeply, closing his eyes and placing two fingers to his temple.
"Oh, I am a woman now?" Hanako's ears pricked as she picked Rin up, "First, I was a half-breed, then a servant, then a pet, then a guardian, and now, I am a woman?"
"You are right. You are much more a woman now that you no longer have to worry about your precious little flower being picked anymore." Sesshomaru smirked and lifted his chin, "I do believe I took care of that."
Hanako narrowed her eyes, her ears flattening just the tiniest bit, "we should not be discussing this in front of Rin." her tone was sharp, almost as sharp as her claws. "Let us keep moving. We have wasted time, and so we must be moving on." She set Rin down, patting her head gently.
Sesshomaru smiled and turned to begin walking back to the main road, "Come along Jaken." he ordered as Hanako and Rin walked on either side of him. Jaken glared and rubbed he welts on his cheeks and head, hobbling after them.
"Master has bred with a half-breed...what would the child be like if she conceives? Would it be more demon? a full demon? or would it still have the taint of mortals in it?" He pondered to himself, his staff in his tiny hands as he walked.
They arrived at the village by nightfall, and Sesshomaru led them to the center of it, knocking lightly on the door of one. It opened, and a young woman answered, "Huh?" She her dark brown eyes widened and she smiled, "Sesshomaru! How good to see you! Come on in!" She opened the door further to see the rest of his company, "Hey Rin! Jaken! And oh? who is this?" She paused as she laid eyes upon Hanako, and the woman looked at her curiously. "Is she a demon?"
"Kagome." Sesshomaru began, "This is my new mate, Lady Hanako Yamanari. She is a-"
"Half-breed." a gruff and irritated voice finished, coming from inside the hut, "I can smell it. Just because I am human, doesn't mean I lost all of my powers. She reeks of..." there was a loud sniffing, "UGH! Sesshomaru really? A cat demon? And a half-breed too? You have set your standards lower than I had thought!"
Sesshomaru growled, his eyes narrowing as he brushed past Kagome, Hanako following him hastily as she held Rin's hand. The tall demon faced down at a human, his long black hair and violet eyes looking rather contrasting to his bright red clothing. He was gazing up at Sesshomaru in irritation, and from the bulge in his groin, he had been enjoying some quality time with his wife.
"Inuyasha..." Sesshomaru's voice had returned to its monotone, "You are one to talk. Choosing a mortal girl as your own wife. Hanako is half-demon, but she is a powerful one."
"I'm powerful?" Hanako asked stupidly, her gaze one of utter confusion.
"Wow...she is a sharp one. Not even realizing she was powerful..." Inuyasha's voice became mocking, further aggravating the already angry demon.
"I am the only witness, for she had display two very powerful forms of spiritual power. One, when she was fighting me, she shoved pure, raw energy at me. And the second time, was when we were alone, and she was mourning a fallen friend. I don't know how, but she had used deep spiritual power." Sesshomaru explained calmly, gazing at Hanako in deep thought.
"I understand. I can sense something in her. Something that was similar to the Shikon Jewel. She has lots of spiritual power, and most of it is untapped. Should she unleash it all at once, she would most undoubtedly destroy herself, and anything around her." Kagome murmured, her words reaching every ear in the room.
Every eye turned to Hanako, and she felt uncomfortable, "What? What are you looking at?"
"May I see your palms?" Kagome asked as she stepped forward.
Hanako shrugged and held out her palms, the silver moons visible on her skin.
"what are those?" Kagome asked as she looked at the closely.
"In truth, I don't know. I was born with them. They are shaped like my weapons, and my weapons form from them when I focus." She stepped back and showed her an example, her moons glowing and within seconds, her chakrams were held in her hands. She held both in her right hand, showing Kagome her left, "When I bring out my chakrams, the moons disappear. My weapons are shaped like crescent moons." she held both in each hand again, and within seconds, the glowed in a white light and dissolved, and the silver moons reappear back on her palms.
The room was silent, and Hanako flicked an ear in agitation, her tail tip flicking to and fro, "WHAT?!" she snapped, stomping her foot childishly.
Kagome was staring at Hanako with wide eyes, "I felt it...the Shikon Jewel's power...it has been reborn...in another being..."
Inuyasha leaped up and stood protectively in front of his wife, unsheathing his sword, Tessaiga. "If that's the case, then we better destroy her before it becomes a problem."
Sesshomaru stepped in front of Hanako in the same manner, unsheathing his own sword, Tensaiga, "You will not touch her..."
"Oh yeah right! After the many times you tried to kill Kagome? I haven't forgotten any of them, and the count is rather high Sesshomaru...so consider this payback!" He began to strike, Sesshomaru meeting his brother as they crossed swords.
Before it could escalate, Kagome and Hanako gave each other a swift glance, and they cried out together, "STOP IT!"
The effect was instant, and the two men stopped to look at their respective woman. Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's ear and dragged him away, as Hanako gave Sesshomaru a withering glare.
"You two will not be fighting in this house! I forbid it!" Kagome snapped.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ok Kagome! Let go of my ear! Ah!" Inuyasha rubbed his ear when she did, and he grumbled, "I won't attack him...or his..." he sniffed and recoiled, "Oh yuck! Oh that is nasty! Sesshomaru you marked her! UGH!" He held his nose and glowered at his brother.
Hanako blushed and sniffed herself, "I don't stink..do I?" she shook her head and continued her glare, "And as for you Sesshomaru! I would suggest losing the hostility! Now, if you don't mind, I want to take a bath. Rin had hers, and...wait, where is Rin?" She looked down, and she began to panic, "Where is Rin!"
"She is visiting Lady Kaede, the old priestess who resides not far from here." Jaken answered in a somewhat bored tone.
Hanako's fury was terrifying as she loomed over the imp, "and you let her go...alone?" Her voice was chillingly quiet, and the room seemed to grow colder, "You have five seconds to get your sorry scaly hide out of this house and go with her..."
Jaken yelped and rushed out of the door, not taking chances with the already pissed off female. He had seen many times what females were capable of, having felt Kagome's wrath personally on multiple occasions.
"Now then, I want a bath!" Huffing, Hanako pushed past Sesshomaru and approached Kagome, "Would you care to join me? We are, um...sisters-in-laws now."
Kagome gasped and held her cheeks, "Oh you are right! We must get acquainted! I will show you to the ladies bathroom! Men have a separate one. Inuyasha, why don't you bathe with Sesshomaru? Some brotherly bonding is just what you need!" She gave her husband a hard look, before walking away with Hanako.
Hanako turned her head to look at Sesshomaru, "I agree. We are...family now...families require strong bonds to function. I have seen how both of you act towards one another, and you are both broken. I want it fixed. NOW." and with that, she and Kagome disappeared into a different room, shutting the door behind them.
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru looked at one another coldly, and they sheathed their swords in unison.
"Our mates are right." Sesshomaru murmured, "We must stop our petty squabbling."
Inuyasha grumbled, "Yeah...and You could use a bath. Whatever you two did, it reeks. Kagome and I never smell like that."
"When you are a powerful demon, the scent is stronger, but it fades with time." Sesshomaru sighed, "Shall we take a bath, little brother?"
"Sure, but I'm not scrubbing your back, and there is no way in hell you are washing mine." Inuyasha stood up and scowled, leading the way to the men's bathroom.
Sesshomaru followed, casting his gaze at where Hanako was, and sighing softly to himself.
"So tell me," Kagome began as she removed her kimono and untied her hair, "How did you meet Sesshomaru? I never knew he was one for love."
"I ran into him in the forest." Hanako replied calmly, removing her own dress and sinking down into the steaming water, "I was running from something that had distressed me greatly. I thought he was going to kill me." She pulled the red ribbon in her hair off and set it aside.
"Well, I am surprised he didn't. Even when you attacked him." Kagome stated as she herself slid down into the water, "But it could be possible that old grump has found he can show that he has emotions."
"He always has emotions. I can see them when I look in his eyes. I sense them when he speaks, and moves. He tries to hide them, and to most he is successful, but I can see that he is a wounded soul. he just doesn't want anyone to know." Hanako gazed down into the water, the tops of her breasts showing as she gazed down.
"You believe he is distant due to some past experience?" Kagome inquired curiously.
"I do. whether it was a former lover, or some family issue that caused it, he was broken by it, and he never fully healed. Why do you think I ordered him to make amends with your husband? They are broken, both of them, and they need to fix it without trying to kill one another. And we both know that Sesshomaru would win." Hanako spoke softly, her voice never rising from its low, yet gentle tone.
"And Sesshomaru calls you his 'mate' not his 'wife'...yet it holds basically the same meaning seeing as how he got so defensive of you."
Hanako blushed and looked to the side, "For demons, lovers who intend on staying together, are called mates. Mates become Husband and wife, but that is uncommon. In human perspective, we are simply lovers, but in demon perspective, we are mates. Demon mates, especially males, they are incredibly possessive over their mate. They hardly ever let them out of their sight, and they mope and become quite irritable when they are. I should know. I had a demon friend who always got that way with his mate. He is dead now, killed when he mistook his mate attempting to flirt with another male."
Kagome listened with fascination, "Oh do tell me more! It's hardly ever that I hear of different kinds of demon behavior! Considering most would try to kill me." She added with a light chuckle.
"Well," Hanako began, "I am Sesshomaru's mate, yes. In his eyes, I am a wife already, but I do not know if he would make such a commitment. Sesshomaru, he is beginning to wind down from his previous antics, most of which were self-serving, and extremely violent." She paused as Kagome nodded her head, "So, he may want to...settle down I think. He loves Rin, and he treats her like a daughter yes? He spoils her and listens to her."
"Wait, you think Sesshomaru wants to start his own family?" Kagome asked, her eyes wide with wonder.
"He does. He has confessed. We were um...tangled up...and he spoke such sweet words to me. He told me how he saw us together, with Rin, and I was pregnant with his child." her voice had risen to a squeak as she reached the end of her sentence, her cheeks blazing red.
"You made love to Sesshomaru?" Kagome gasped, her brow furrowing as she tried to process this."
"well...he kind of...forced me..." Hanako admitted shyly.
"He raped you?" Kagome blinked, and there was a fire beginning to burn in her eyes.
"Please don't be upset. Such is often the way of powerful demons. When they see a female, and she shows some interest, they usually take the female by force, and then soothe her with words. If she forgives him, they become a mated pair, but many males are vulnerable in this stage, and so, many females kill them. I could have killed Sesshomaru, but I chose to forgive him." Hanako explained gently.
Kagome leaned back, pursing her lips, "Well, that is what some would call, 'breaking the ice.' but we humans do that by going up and talking to the guy or girl. Not...raping them."
"Well, he will not force me again, until I approach him. The initial objective for males, is to mate the female, secrete their unique scent glands into the female, called 'marking them', and then soon after they release seed. For even if they die, a part of the male might live on in the female." Hanako sighed, "why do I know so much about this? I never expected having to explain to a human about demon sex habits..."
"I never knew demons had sex habits...I mean...I know some were capable of love in some form...but I never really thought about their reproduction methods." Kagome blushed and looked down.
"The stupider demons, and the weaker ones, are generally mindless beasts that breed like rabbits." Hanako said with a bit of spite to her voice, "Larger, more powerful, and more human-like demons, are the ones capable of thought and emotion."
"How interesting. Maybe I should go and study wild demon behavior. Inuyasha has been itching to get out, since he and Miroku haven't had any contracts in a while."
"Who is this Miroku?" Hanako asked quietly.
"Miroku is a friend of ours, and he is married to Sango, a renowned demon slayer. Ever since the birth of his son, he hasn't been doing any exorcisms. Oh, and he is a monk!" Kagome added cheerfully.
"A monk, a demon slayer, a reincarnated priestess, and a former half-breed..." Hanako blinked several times, "You must have been quite the traveling band."
"Don't forget Shippo! He is a fox-demon kid, but he lives with Miroku as a sort of baby-sitter." Kagome giggled.
Hanako smiled softly, "he sounds adorable. I would trade him for Jaken any day." she scowled as she rubbed her head gingerly.
"Little snot bonk ya?" Kagome asked with a knowing expression.
"Well, how do I put this...he is very protective of his master's dignity." She huffed.
"Did you hit him back?" Kagome asked in amusement.
"Not yet, but that little shit has it coming." She snorted and leaned back. The room was quiet as the two women gazed at each other.
"Wonder what the boys are up to..." Kagome sighed.
"Well the house isn't falling apart, so you can say they are being civil." Hanako snorted in amusement, and Kagome giggled. They looked at each other before bursting out into riotous laughter, and Hanako felt relieved. She hadn't laughed like this in a very long time...
The two men sat across from one another, the water washing over their chests as they gave each other cold looks. Their swords were nearby, and their clothes folded neatly next to them.
"So..." Inuyasha began, scratching his nose, "You did the old uh...demon mating trick on her?" he raised a brow, his dark eyes probing.
Sesshomaru gave him a long look, "It isn't a trick. And she is the only one I have mated with. Besides, she didn't kill me, so we are mates now. End of story."
"Yeah well, you could just ask a woman before trying to lay with her. Despite his old antics, at least Miroku asked before trying to get in some beautiful woman's robes." Inuyasha pointed out.
"And in my opinion, Hanako is the most beautiful woman I have seen, just as Kagome is the same in your opinion." Sesshomaru countered.
"Are you even gonna marry her? I really don't see you as the loving husband type." Inuyasha sneered.
"I do have plans, but they will have to wait. I am more concerned now, for her happiness, and I promised I would make it up to her for what I did." Sesshomaru sighed, "Please can we not fight brother? I don't wish to make her any angrier."
"Yeah. I can understand that. Kagome can get really angry sometimes, and she will yell 'Sit boy!' and forget that it doesn't work anymore. But that doesn't make the fear grow any less. Being forced to slam into the ground face-first isn't something one forgets too easily." Inuyasha grimaced and looked around, "She would be so mad if I fight in the house."
"I must say, your home is quite lavish. I assume she was the one who came up with the design layout?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Well, yeah. Hey! How did you guess that?" Inuyasha snapped.
"Let's just say, you lack the intelligence and refinement one would need to make a home such as this. You have the strength and skill, but you lack the brains and planning." Sesshomaru said in a matter-of-fact voice.
Inuyasha grumbled and crossed his arms, "Yeah? so what? Kagome brought some ideas from her era, and I built the house for her. has lots of room, two separate baths, several smaller bathrooms with something she calls 'toilets' in them. But you get the idea of what those are for. A kitchen, dining room, living room, and a few other rooms I cant name off of the top of my head." He scratched his head, thinking hard.
"I must say, I think it is a splendid home. I would perhaps like her assistance when I build mine. Hanako isn't the adventuring type, and Rin needs a steady home. I cant always have to worry over her. She is happy with Hanako, and Hanako likes Rin as well. A large and spacious home would make them both happy, and I would be able to say I could come home to them." Sesshomaru had taken a dream-like tone, his eyes growing distant.
Inuyasha was taken aback by his older brother's concern for his mate and human child-friend. "Uh...ok now I am beginning to be convinced that you want to be a family man."
"I am surprised you haven't impregnated Kagome yet. As much as you two roll around and make noise, it shocks me that she isn't already plump with a child."
Inuyasha blushed and leaned away, "Ah! How do you know about that?!"
Sesshomaru raised a brow, "The last few times I have visited, I was kept awake by your grunts and her half-screams. And you wonder why I never come around... Hanako is a quiet one, thankfully."
Inuyasha looked downright murderous, and utterly embarrassed, "is that why Miroku and Sango never come by anymore?" He asked, mostly to himself.
"I care not for those two...I am inquiring about Kagome and why she is not already pregnant." Sesshomaru growled.
"Because Kagome brought some weird rubber things that cover my dick and prevents me from finishing inside. She doesn't want to get pregnant. So she brought loads and loads of these things she calls 'condoms' and I hate them..." he glowered, "She makes me wear them every time."
Sesshomaru blinked in surprise, "what sort of wicked and foul trick is that? A man should always finish inside of his woman. It's only natural."
"well, now you know why we do it so much. I want to burn through them as fast as possible, so I can finally finish inside of Kagome, and she won't be able to do anything about it!" Inuyasha announced smugly.
"For once brother, you show intelligence, and you and I both agree on something." he smiled darkly, "Condoms sound like they are evil things."
Inuyasha burst out laughing, and Sesshomaru, for the first time in his life, joined him.