A.N. I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Please review.
"Inuyasha, what's the hurry?" Kagome whispered as the hanyou dragged her through the darkened corridors hurriedly.
A soft smile played across his features as he pulled his companion along. "Well be can't have Old Stick up the rect-"
"Inuyasha!" she playfully chastised, still speaking softly however.
The inu hanyou pressed a claw to his lips as a way of telling her to be quiet, sliding a door to the private gardens open. "C'mon, we only have so much time before he finishes up."
Pale pink lips twisted into a frown as she felt him pulling her on a familiar path through the trees, coming to the waterfall. "Inuyasha? What are we doing here? We can come here anytime-Sesshomaru knows this place quite well."
Amber eyes glittered in amusement. "You guys never played hide-and-seek together, did you? Of course not, you two were serious children."
"Inu-"
"Anyway, come on!" he interrupted, scooping her up and jumping through the cascading water into a cave.
Surprise flitted over her expression as she looked around. "Does anyone know about this place?"
"Nope. Just me. If Sess knew, it would be sealed off for sure. The tunnel back leads to a small door right underneath your bed."
Kagome arched an eyebrow at him. "Why are you showing me this Inuyasha? You're risking your onii-san's wrath by even keeping this place from him, let alone the consequences of showing me a potential escape route."
He frowned at that, pulling her in for a brief hug. "I want you to be happy Kags. I see the way he looks at you and the way you flinch."
Guilt flooded her at that. "You don't need to-"
Inuyasha silenced her with a hard stare, eyes flashing with irritation. "Stop being so selfless. The martyr thing is irritating. Anyway, this will make things easier for you, and whoever you decide to be with, if you have a safe haven."
The miko flushed a dark pink. "What are you talking about?"
He smirked, exposing one of his fangs. "Please... The Kuwabara and the shrimpy Lord? Okaa-san and I have been curious as to whom you'd pick. In the end, I don't care as long as you're happy-It's not like there's a guy alive actually worthy of you anyway."
"I can't have either of them."
A frown marred his expression. "Yes you can. Sess can't stop you from finding happiness if you're determined enough."
She looked almost ill as she leaned against the wall, tears running down her cheeks. "I promised. My life is his."
"No."
Mukuro eyed her two companions with trepidation as they stared into space. "Hiei! Are you thinking about what I think you are?"
"Hn."
"I promised to assist him in attaining the miko. Will I have to consider you an enemy to the mission?"
"Hn. The miko is nothing. I am only here for the alliance."
Kuwabara sat, oblivious to his sibling-like figures' communication, staring out the window into the gardens. Kagome... When will I get to speak with you? Small brown eyes drifted down to the hand that had held hers mere hours before. Still so much comfort in your touch Kagome-chan.
The three companions tensed and glanced at the door as a soft knocking sounded.
"Hello? It's Yukiko. I brought a visitor," called the neko through the door.
Kuwabara rose and walked towards the door, sliding it open for the servant and a beautiful ningen woman.
"Lady Izayoi, we are surprised to see you here," Mukuro stated, rising to greet the woman respectfully. Especially unaccompanied by your son or Lord Sesshomaru.
Perfectly painted red lips pulled into a warm smile. "I wanted to come meet the ones who can make my daughter happy and my eldest son miserable. You see, I have forseen some interesting changes in the near future."
Shock went through Mukuro at her easy admission and forthcoming attitude. "Daughter? I was unaware you claimed any child but your own."
Violet eyes sparkled with her thoughts. "Sesshomaru and Kagome are my children just as Inuyasha is my child. Birth has little to do with it."
"Hn. What were you blabbering on about, Onna?" Hiei growled at her, tired of all the pointless talk.
A slightly amused twinkle entered the former Lady's eyes as she glanced at him. "Hm... A time will come when one or both of you will have to take Kagome away from Sesshomaru. This may lead to his death. However, it is unclear at present time. Troubles lay ahead for you all."
And the former Lady and servant left abruptly, abandoning the trio to their own internal battles.
"What did she mean by 'ones'? And the 'both of you'? Hiei?" Kuwabara questioned out loud, eying Hiei with suspicion as the hybrid walked away.
"Hn."
Sesshomaru scoured the records of slave captures around the time of Kagome's purchase, looking for a trace of the Kuwabara. He has to be in here... I know it.
"Looking for anything specific m'Lord?" a squeaky, ancient voice inquired from the top of a nearby book case.
Gold eyes snapped up to meet the bulging eyes of the old youkai. "What are you doing here, Totosai?"
"What? Can't an old man come and visit the only family he has left?" he wheezed with a innocently befuddled look.
"No."
The elderly youkai let out a sigh, combing wizened fingers through grayish wisps of hair in frustration. "That Naraku character has some gull-Chasing an old man near to his grave trying to get an evil weapon made."
One delicate eyebrow rose gracefully. "So you fear for your life?"
"Of course! That evil hanyou is a vile creature who wouldn't hesitate to brutalize an infant, let alone an old man!"
He would have rolled his eyes at the old man's dramatics if it weren't for his pride. "Find my Kagome. She'll show you to an appropriate room."
Totosai nodded and jumped down from the shelf. "I'd check out the Kuwabara-Higurashi section if I were you. The slave records are a mess."
Kagome hummed quietly as she navigated the hallways, all too aware that the other servants watched her, loathing in their eyes. They'll never see anything but a slave acting above station. So few have treated me with kindness. I wonder why they accepted Lady Izayoi so quickly?
"Hn. Because she was brought into the household for the late taiyoukai's heart. You were the brain child of Lady Haruko's schemes."
A look of shock passed over her features as the miko whirled around to see Lord Hiei. "K-konnichiwa Lord Hiei-sama. Enjoying your stay here?"
One sword-calloused hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, closing in upon the petite bones. "No. Now stop pretending to be the sweet little bound slave-It's irritating to say the least. You are practically the Lady of this House. Act it."
Anger blazed in sapphire orbs at that. "Well maybe I don't want to be the Lady of the House!"
Hiei's lips pulled into a smirk at that. Now there's the blazing fire that sets her apart from the rest. "And what will you do to avoid it, hm? Keep playing the good submissive slave, and hope he won't bind your body to his bed the way he has bound your soul to him?"
She struggled in his grasp, aware that this hallway was abandoned. "You have no idea what you're talking about! You don't know what it's like!"
Crimson pools flashed dangerously, boring into sapphire orbs as he slammed her body into the wall. " 'I have no idea what it's like'? You know nothing of suffering, Little Miko. Have you watched the only family you've ever had get killed in front of you? Been struck for no reason whatsoever? No! Because, from the start, you were the prize that everyone sought and cherished."
Her eyes widened slightly as he drew closer to her, a tear streaking down her cheek. "You don't have a clue what my life has been. A gilded cage is still a cage, no matter how glorified it is to those on the outside."
The hybrid drew his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tear away. "Hn. Then show me." He crushed his lips to hers, using the jagan to probe at her mind.
Small hands clutched at the hybrid's shoulders, pulling herself closer to him. What's this feeling...? Desire coursed through her veins, heat flushing her skin as she unconsciously pressed closer, her mind opening further to his inquiries.
Memories flooded his mind, earlier than even she remembered consciously. Her okaa-san's lullabies, her nee-chan's lessons, her imouto's birth... All the way to this exact moment.
"L-lord Hiei-sama..." she gasped as she broke the kiss breathlessly, her heart beat erratic.
Hiei's eyes were slightly wider than usual, his mind in chaos. She is all that he said... She is one of a kind... How does and onna like this exist? And how does one part with her for even a moment, let alone centuries?
"Well there you are my dear girl! Care to show an old man to his quarters?" Totosai called from down the hall as he approached the two.
"O-oh, Totosai-sama! How are you?" Kagome replied, bowing deeply to the older male. Hiei?
Guilt ran through his mind as he watched her. I touched his onna... The one he's waited for for centuries. "Hn."
Hurt flitted over her visage as the hybrid disappeared. "So, how long will you be staying then, Totosai-sama?"
"As long as I wish."
"Alright, well, let's get you set up in your usual bedroom. How have you been since your last visit?" the miko inquired, trying to fill the silence as they walked to the abandoned Southern Wing-Totosai's favorite residence in the palace.
Twin bulging irises stayed trained ahead. "Alright I suppose. Though I think I'm getting too old for my craft."
Kagome slid the door to his room open, revealing the well maintained bedroom and armory. "Why say that?"
"Too many people trying to force me to craft them blades."
She nodded a bit, getting things straightened a bit and setting his things on the workbench in the corner. "I imagine it's quite frustrating. Is there anything you need? Dinner shall be ready within the hour-Will you be joining us, or shall I say for one of the servants to bring you your meal?"
"Hm... I suppose I'll dine below, with the rest of you. And Kagome?" Totosai called after her as she walked towards the door.
"Yes Totosai-sama?"
"You smell of Lord Hiei so I'd suggest bathing. Also, after dinner, I have a present for you."
"You're meddling in things you should not, Izayoi."
A look of serenity remained on the gentle Lady's face as she poured a cup of tea for herself and the other female. "Why Lady Haruko, I have no idea what you are speaking of. But, please, sit and have some tea with me."
Haruko glared at her hatefully before seating herself across from her. "You are trying to undo all that I have strived to accomplish."
"And you are attempting to force love. You should know better than that Haruko."
Jade irises bore into the ningen woman's violet, animosity within them. "If you loved my son, even a little, you would help me bring them together! I have worked hard for centuries, pushing them together, showing them how beneficial their love could be, how beautiful their lives could be! And you want my son to surrender the woman he loves-For what?"
"You see nothing, do you, Haruko? You only see what you want!" Izayoi ground out angrily, slamming her cup down on the table. "This is why! This is why he left you! Because you manipulate the world, trying to force everything into the reality you hope is the most accurate."
The female taiyoukai jumped to her feet, rage rolling off her in waves. "I manipulate? You're the one who is helping them reach her! Don't think I haven't seen it!"
"I'm undoing some of the damage you have done! If not for your manipulation, Kagome would have died centuries ago, the bride of the one she loved and the interest of the other whom she could never be in love with for his age at the time. Instead, you have tangled the fates of all with this skewed version of potential events!"
"And where would that have left my son, damn it?"
"With the seeds of compassion planted in his chest and a strong yet open heart, striving to improve himself to be worthy of finding love! Don't you see? You screwed it all up! Seers are meant to observe, and warn if need be! You have created so many of the problems facing us now! Wars face us now-Can you imagine the possibilities? The things that could happen if the coming confrontation interfered with the Great War that comes?"
Anger blazed in the inu taiyoukai's jade orbs. "You know nothing Izayoi."
"And you know nothing but greed. I'd forgive you if all you had were your son's interests at heart-But what you really saw was the glory. Now get out of my sight Haruko."