Forsaken
Surprise!
Hitori gave Inuyasha, Zinny, Shippou, and Aiya-chan final hugs goodbye. She hated to see them go, but they were going to be in good hands as well as the two magicians and the small force of ten unmated dominates. They were traveling to the Western Palace, the headquarters for the war with Naraku, and would staying there until the troublesome hanyou was defeated. Shippou and Aiya were the only children going because their parents were going and Inuyasha was not sure he could be apart from children like that.
"Promise me you will come back, okay?" Hitori asked of the couple that was her family. Inuyasha gave a smile and looked to his alpha, who nodded, before turning back to Hitori.
"We will come back to visit, 'kaa-san. After this is over, I want to ask you something on behalf of the lord of the Western Lands." Hitori gave a watery smile and waved the group off to begin the four month trip to the Western Lands palace. The group turned out of the gates and headed off to headquarters.
The trek had been a long one, but it had been worth it. Inuyasha and Zinny were resting before the briefing later in the evening and both of the children had already went down for the night. Inuyasha looked ready to follow, having got so used to kids' schedule, but he remained awake with his mate talking about the future they wanted to have once Naraku was taken care of.
"Are you ready to meet them again, my Yasha? Are you truly ready to face the people that tortured you?" Mozinth asked of his little mate. Sesshoumaru had made it clear to them that the ningen and the wolf were important to getting rid of Naraku as they had been the ones to fight him the most and would know the most about him.
"I know that I can face them with you by my side. Miroku and Sango were more like bystanders that choose to ignore the world around them than actually being cruel to me. Kagome will try to 'sit' me into next week until she realizes that the rosary is gone and Kouga will probably try to act as if he has done nothing wrong. Together we will show them that no matter what they did to me, I became stronger because of it. It will probably be even worse for Kouga when he figures out he has a daughter because I will bet you anything you desire that the miko has not given him an heir or even a child yet." Inuyasha almost laughed at the thought.
"His loss was my gain. I might just have to thank him on that note." Zinny replied before kissing Inuyasha's forehead.
"Well, I bet it is time for us to get to the briefing room. Come on, let's go face your past." As they were walking out, Zinny noticed that Inuyasha had forgotten to put his hair back up.
"My Yasha, are you not forgetting something?" Inuyasha looked a bit confused before the bulb went off and he went back to their room to the vanity. He did not put his hair in the regular high three braided ponytail that he usually did. He instead had one thick braid that he wrapped into a bun style and pinned carefully in place with his bangs and two tendrils, one on either side of his face, loose.
"Thank you." Inuyasha showed his gratitude by taking his mate's hand as they walked to the great mess hall where the meeting was being held.
Sesshoumaru was ready to murder every person in the room because they simply would not shut up. He had told them to enjoy the refreshments as they waited for the last of the recruits to join them, but those present had insisted on starting the planning. Not only did they start the planning without everyone present, they decided that the best way to be heard was by trying to out talk one another, especially the tribe heads of the Northern Lands. It was no wonder why Naraku had targeted them first. He personally did not want the wolves there, but they still held treaties with the other lands and Sesshoumaru could not afford to loose his treaties with them. The room was finally silenced as the door opened and in stepped two unknown ryuu-hanyous that reeked of magic, ten assorted hanyous, and finally his otouto with his mate.
"What the hell?" The miko was the first to speak. Before she could crucify herself in front of multiple, high powered demons, however, Miroku silenced her by placing his hand over her mouth and whispering furitively into her ear. She nodded once and actually kept her silence. The rest of the room broke out in furitive whispers, however, about the arrival of the new group and their most prominent member, Lord Sesshoumaru's otouto. No one would have thought that one of the royal family of the Western Lands would have been a submissive.
"Have we appeared late, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Zinny asked as they had heard the heated 'debate' that had been going on in the room before they had opened the door. Sesshoumaru shook his head and invited them to enjoy the refreshments provided. Unlike the other parties present, Inuyasha's group partook of Sesshoumaru's hospitality and shared in genial conversation with themselves and the lord himself. As Inuyasha was the only submissive of the group, he served all of the dominants before himself causing several eyebrows to raise. Apparently there were quite a few lords and warriors who had not noticed the submissive wear that Inuyasha had been wearing. Even Inuyasha's previous group were surprised.
"You were never that considerate when you were with us!" Miroku put his face in his hands while Sango tried to pretend that she had never met the rude girl in her life. Inuyasha paid her no mind and continued with his duties as a submissive. When finished he sat half a step back and to the left of his mate as was proper and in the position that Kagome was supposed to be in as well but was not.
"I would appreciate it if you would keep your mate from addressing mine in such a crass manner, Lord Kouga." Mozinth reprimanded the girl while giving a firm warning to the lord of the Northern Lands himself. The demon really needed to control his mate as such behavior was unacceptable. The demon in question nodded with an embarrassed flush upon his face.
"Now, this Sesshoumaru believes that it is time for proper introductions. If you would start Mozinth-san?" Zinny stood and made introductions of his group and their status before retaking his seat. The lord to the left of Mozinth began his own introductions.
"I am Nihai, lord of the Eastern Lands...."
"I am Ichigin, lord of the Southern Lands...."
"I am Kouga, lord of the Northern Lands...."
"I am Sesshoumaru, lord of the Western Lands...."With the introductions made, the groups got to work on developing an attack plan for defeating Naraku. While Kagome attempted to voice her opinions directly to the group of dominants, the other mates present quietly gave the suggestions to their alphas and had them voice them. After half an hour of the meeting had passed, Kagome had to be dismissed due to her behavior and all of the mates present felt pity for her for the punishment they knew was coming to her, all except Inuyasha. He had warned her against getting into something she did not understand, but she had done it anyway and they were both paying the price for it. Inuyasha would have laughed if it would not have been inappropriate behavior.
Two hours of getting absolutely nowhere, Sesshoumaru called the meeting to a close. They would reconvene tomorrow after the evening meal and try again. Hopefully once every had some rest and cooled off, they could actually get something done. Zinny and Inuyasha was the first to leave as Inuyasha would have to be up with the sun and their children, so Zinny was going to get his little Yasha to bed as soon as possible. They did not quite make it to their accommodations before they were called down by the group that Inuyasha had left a decade ago.
"Please wait, Inuyasha," a female voice called out. Zinny and Inuyasha both stopped and turned to face the owner of the voice, Sango. They waited for the group to catch up and remained silent to see what they wanted. When they did not seem to want to say anything, Zinny spoke up.
"Is there a reason you haulted us or may we adjourn to our rooms?" Without further prompting, Miroku spoke up.
"I'm sorry! I was an ignorant fool and please forgive me for not noticing it sooner." Inuyasha was stunned by the out of character admission of the monk. He just nodded in acknowledgement. He was too tired to really try and drag the reunion out. Sango gave her apology next and again he acknowledged, but did not speak. When it came to Kouga and Kagome, neither of them looked like they wanted to say anything to Inuyasha. He and his mate started to turn when Kagome spoke out.
"How can you act like nothing happened? You just up and left! You even kidnapped Shippou." Inuyasha stared at her with a raised brow before shaking his head and preparing to tell them all 'Goodnight' but Kagome beat him to it.
"Argh. You're still such a jerk. Sit boy! Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, si-" Kouga had taken the initiative and had yet again used force to get the girl to close her trap. Inuyasha could only shake his head. The girl still had not learned what it meant to be mated to a demon and a dominant one at that.
"Goodnight." Inuyasha spoke for the first time to the group. Zinny looked at his little mate and could see that the hanyou was about to fall asleep on his feet.
"If you want to talk, do so tomorrow. It has been a long day and it is time for bed. Come Yasha!" Inuyasha followed without complaint. Sango and Miroku watched in disbelief. They knew that Inuyasha was submissive by what he wore, but they had not thought him to be the 'obedient' type. They really did not know the half-demon that they had once called friend.
Sango and Miroku were waiting anxiously at breakfast for the appearance of their once missing group member. They got an unexpected surprise when the hanyou entered. They had expected Mozinth to be by Inuyasha's side, but they had not guessed that they would see Shippou walking in front of them, having grown significantly since the last time they saw, chatting happily and a dark haired toddler on his hip that had the same puppy ears on her head as Inuyasha had.
"Shippou!" Kagome called out. She hadn't seen the little kit in forever and he had grown to be so big. In her own way, she had missed the little bundle of terror so much. No one else ate the candy she brought from home except herself. At least she had a bit on her still, so she could give him some later. Shippou started a bit when he heard his name called and looked over to see Kagome looking the same as always except her outfit had changed to that of a mated female. He smiled at her and gave a way but did not go over to her as she was motioning for him to do, at least he wouldn't go without his Momma's or Papa's permission and they did not seem to be on good terms with the miko.
Inuyasha saw Shippou wanting to go over and talk to the miko. He nudged his mate gently and stared pointedly at Shippou who was trying to restrain himself. Shippou was still unaware of the problems between the group and Inuyasha and they would like to keep him out of it. They would not allow their anger to take away someone important from Shippou's life even in that person was not the best of influences.
"You can go and sit with them if you want to Shippou." Zinny encouraged the kit. Before Shippou could get far he heard his mother's voice.
"Do not eat any sweets. I mean it. You will not be bouncing off the walls."
"Yes, Momma!" Shippou hopped off to Kagome's side to talk and catch up with the miko while declining the sweets that she was trying to give to him.
"Come on, Shippou. You used to love it when I brought you pocky." Kagome smiled disarmingly at the kit, but Shippou wasn't biting. He would get in big trouble if he disobeyed his mother. He had a proper family and that meant he was given proper discipline, which was not something he wanted to live through often.
"Momma said that I can't have any sweets, so I can't have any sweets. Sorry Kagome." Shippou replied. He was surprised to see pure hatred cross the girls face at the mention of his mother. Was there something going on that he was not aware of? He would ask his Momma about it later. He shrugged it off as the food came and breakfast came. He laughed and talked with Kagome and Kouga, enjoying the stories they had of their adventures. Though he would have liked to have been there, he would not change the past ten years in Sanctuary for anyone or anything. He had finally got to be a kid and not try to understand all those adult things that everyone talked about when he was around while trying to involve him, except Inuyasha. Just because he had been almost twenty years old did not mean that he had understood things that a twenty year old human would have. He still did not understand a lot of adult things.
Inuyasha was playing with little Aiya in the front room of their suites when Zinny came in along with several others. When the inu moved to get up, Zinny dismissed him with a wave of his hand. They would not being staying that long, he had just stopped to get his bag of 'things.' Inuyasha did not know what was in the bag, but he really did not want to know either. If it had been important for him to know, then Mozinth would have told him.
"After the noon meal, sparring matches begin. I will see you then." Zinny left after placing a kiss upon his mate's forehead. Inuyasha replied in the affirmative to the subtle command and went back to entertaining the toddler. He was distracted yet again from his task as Miroku, Sango, and Kagome had been about to knock when Zinny opened the door to leave the rooms. He sighed as he really did not want to deal with them at the moment, but he knew that the would have to sooner or later and he would rather get it over with. Inuyasha looked at Zinny to see what his decision on the matter was and received a verbal reply.
"They may visit as long as you are comfortable." Inuyasha nodded and beckoned the three into the room while shaking Aiya's rattle just out of her reach. She giggled at launched after it only to have it move away when she was so close to getting it. Her baby face turned serious as she ready herself to pounce on it again, gold eyes watching as the rattle moved from side to side. Inuyasha, though he was tempting his daughter with the rattle, was watching the group watch Aiya as she played.
"Was there something you needed to talk to me about?" Inuyasha was just full of surprises it seemed. His voice was soft and cultured unlike the gruff, gutteral tones that they had come to associate with the half demon. The voice also brought them out of the stupor they had been in watching Inuyasha interact so...naturally with toddler on the floor.
"We were wondering if you would tell us why you left all these years ago? One day you were there and the next both you and Shippou were gone." Sango spoke first. Inuyasha seemed to consider their question before he began to speak.
"I was no longer needed. You had Kouga to deal with the demons and collect the shards for you. I just wanted to live as I had always lived, but since Shippou had joined our group he had not been receiving the type of care he needed. You all cared for him, I am not saying that you did not, but demon children and human children have different needs. Shippou still needed to nap three to four times a day but could not due to Kagome's insistance that she knew all about child care and that Shippou should not have been sleeping that much. Shippou also needed more raw meat in his diet and to eat nine to ten time daily, but again Kagome professed to know all. Hiding his naps and sneaking him extra food was becoming harder to do with Kouga around. Kami knows the wolf would rat me out just to watch me get sat into the ground like a disobedient dog. I was not going to put up with that much longer, nor was I going to allow Shippou to have his growth stunted by a child trying to act like an adult or and outsider trying to join insiders without any real knowledge of what they were joining. That was just the start of the many reasons why I left. The last straw, however, was my last disagreement with Kouga. If you want to know about it, ask him about the Scroll Thirty-Six of the Demon Law Room. Was there anything else you needed to know?" Inuyasha asked as he tugged playfully on the rattle that Aiya had somehow managed to catch sometime during Inuyasha's answer.
"Is it too much to ask for your forgiveness, Inuyasha? We were not the friends that we claimed we were and it took you leaving for us to figure it out, but I want to try to be a better friend to you this time. How about it?" Miroku spoke while Sango nodded in agreement. Inuyasha gave a lighthearted smile to the hopeful monk and taijiya.
"I do not see why I should not give both of you the chance since you did acknowledge your wrongdoings." Both gave a sigh of relief and felt some of the tension that they had carried for the past ten years ease. It also took noticeable years off of their bodies, souls, and minds. Kagome did not seem pleased with the outcome of the conversation and finally decided to include her own input.
"We were in the wrong?! Are kidding me? You're still such a jerk. You tried to lead all of us like you were a king or something! You just expected us to follow your word even though it could have gotten us killed. Why should any of us have to apologize to you and you were always starting fights with Kouga. He may be overbearing but you could never and still can not compare with Kouga." She near screamed at him causing Aiya to become upset and cry. The little one never did like when voices became raised, for any reason. Inuyasha pulled the distraught toddler into his lap before addressing the enraged miko.
"I am a prince if you must know and I did expect you to follow my word because I was trying to keep you out of harms way. If you would remember, it was only when you got your way by sitting me into the ground that we ended up in situations that nearly got us all killed. I also have not made you apologize to me for anything. People only apologize if they, in their own mind, feel as though they have wronged another. As for not comparing with Kouga, I am glad that I do not. I would not want to imitate the lord of the Northern Lands under any circumstances. Now would you please refrain from raising your voice? You are upsetting Aiya and that is something that I will not put up with." Inuyasha warned with a soft growling undertone. Kagome had to admit that the inu hanyou actually scared her a bit.
"When...How did you get rid of the rosary, Inuyasha?" Sango asked as she remember Kaede saying that the rosary could not be taken off unless Kagome herself removed the beads. Inuyasha subconsciously put his hand to his throat as Kagome watched with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah, how did you get rid of them." She echoed. Inuyasha wanted to glare, but he kept his manners about him. He did not relish in getting punished as Kagome seemed to.
"My Youkai and I merged when it became clear that I was pregnant with Aiya. We both considered the rosary a threat to her life and should you try to summon and sit me, it would be fatal for her and myself. Since my spirit was no longer in conflict, my spiritual energy overcame yours and I was able to take the beads off myself. That rosary was never meant to subjugate Youkai, it was used for the purpose of keeping criminals in line for their masters. When I aligned myself with my Youkai, your power over me became void as my human side was no longer in dominant control. I am balanced." Inuyasha finished softly.
"How could you have gotten pregnant? You're a guy!" Kagome questioned vehemently.
"Ask your mate and all males can reproduce, but only the submissives in a pair bear the children. However, if there was problem with the submissive's ability to bear, the alpha will take up the responsibility and then allow the submissive to become the mother after birth. That is a rare cirmcumstance, though." Inuyasha explained patiently before going on to say more.
"You should know this already. You are Lord Kouga's mate." Inuyasha intoned. Kagome looked taken aback then angry as she spoke again.
"He told to go some person to learn that stuff, but he can't tell me what to do! I am my own person and he does not own me. I am entitled to my opinion as well as the right to voice it to whomever I choose. I will not become like those subservient, weak, and degraded she-demons. I will not become like you." Kagome ranted while Inuyasha took it with practiced calm. On the inside, however, he wanted to strangle the little bitch. How dare she think him weak. It took a lot of work to give birth and take care of children as well as a household, not to mention that he was going to be fighting alongside her with some of the other mates that were fighting with their alphas. She had absolutely no concept of what it meant to be a submissive, of how much they were respected and cherished by their alphas because they chose to submit. He may have been forced to submit, but he was able to found someone that made him happy to submit to him.
"You know nothing of the importance of your position because you were more worried about losing something that has no consequence. Kagome if you had attended just one of those lessons, you would know that every submissive is protected not only by their mates, but by law. Alphas naturally respect their submissives because we choose to submit and that takes more trust and love to do than anything else in this world. We are trusting them to be able to know what is best for us when we can't always see what is best for ourselves. Alphas cherish their submissives because we provide the next generation of their line. They would give us anything our hearts desire if we ask. For an alphas love, protection, and guidance, submissives give up their control, their bodies, and their hearts. If you want your voice heard, your alpha will hear you and speak for you within reason. Submissives receive punishment because our alphas love us enough to show us that we were in the wrong and that being assertive is not our role. Just because we are called submissives does not mean we are weak nor are we degraded. We do not do anything we do not want to do. I am here to fight against Naraku by my mates side and there are others here that are doing the same. We are not weak willed either. We have our opinions and we voice them. We tell our alphas what we want and they will get it for us as long as it is within reason. You still have much to learn if you think that being a submissive is a way for a male to win out over you." With that Inuyasha bid them good-day and went for the afternoon meal with Aiya and Shippou before joining his mate in the dojo for sparring practice. While he had practiced with his mate often, Inuyasha was eager to see what other talents he could go up against and test his skill.
A/N: I am ON FIRE, BABY!!! Hope you enjoy. I made sure that this was a longer chapter, but I needed to break it off before I gave too much away too soon. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE!
