XXVIII.
Family
In silence, Kimitsukiko and Kagome began their fight anew. There was a pant now and then or a snarl given voice, but no challenges, no cries or calls or screams. Infused with the rush of her youkai self, embedded in it, though perhaps less deeply than the first time, Kagome had a chance to dodge, and even wound her opponent. In slow motion, she felt her claws tear the fabric of one elegant sleeve and the skin beneath, a long, unbroken cut that reached down Kimitsukiko's arm from shoulder to wrist.
A new scent of blood broke the air with a sharp, metallic tang. Minutes passed that felt like hours as the two females circled each other, dodged intentions and moved with flickering footsteps around an invisible border. Neither of them seemed willing to take the last step forward, to make the commitment.
Finally, Kimitsukiko struck a glancing blow that opened a second, shallower slash across Kagome' s ribs, and Sesshomaru saw her stumble, almost fall, and then bring both hands to the wound. His mother stepped forward into the opening that Kagome's inattention had made visible, and her fingers gained the faintest edge of a green glow as she drew back for a final, lethal attack.
For a moment Sesshomaru teetered on the edge of fear, wondering, as she continued to sway in place, if Kagome had been wounded more deeply than he had thought, if this was the end -
Power, brilliant and pink, erupted outwards from Kagome's hands. It was an uncontrolled conflagration, a sheet of purifying energy that crossed the grass like a sweet-smelling wind on fire. Eyes wide, Kimitsukiko was able to take only two steps in her attempt to flee before the wave of power caught her. Her shriek was high and almost pitiful; at the sound of it, the flickering power cut off sharply and vanished, and Sesshomaru ran forward just in time to catch her as she fell.
He summoned aid immediately, looking at his mother's body as he laid her on the grass. Her breathing was harsh, ragged, and he knew just with that first glance that only her immense youki and the extreme shortness of her exposure to Kagome's power had spared her. The wounded arm was gone, turned completely to dust; so was a significant amount of flesh over her ribs and abdomen, and part of her right leg and her right foot where she had stepped forward trying to run.
The wounds smoked ominously, and he saw from the slowness of her body's sudden movement how gentle his servants were being with her; still, she drew in a hissing, gasping breath. Her eyes focused on Kagome, who was still and quiet now; the red was fading from her eyes and she raised them very slowly to meet the gaze of Sesshomaru's fallen mother. There was both surprise and anger in Kimitsukiko's stare, but her face showed only pain.
"Finish it, Hime-sama."
Sesshomaru's eyes opened wide at that; he might have expected his mother to say such a thing sarcastically, in her usual cold drawl – but not now, and not in a tone like that, not...so seriously. Kagome looked only confused, but she stepped forward anyway.
"Sesshomaru, wait..."
He held up a hand, and at the gesture the invisible movement of his mother's body stopped; Kagome came very close, holding her open wound, and dropped heavily to her knees. Once again, she pulled her hands away from the gashes and swiftly the power rose out of her blood, as if it had been waiting to overflow. For the first time, Sesshomaru almost stepped forward to stop her; he was not sure if the purple power was for healing, or for death...and if anyone was going to kill his mother, it would be him.
Bad enough that she has Inuyasha's blood on her hands!
But he need not have worried. Filaments and seeking tendrils of light rose from Kagome's bloodied hands and from the fresh red fluid that still oozed from her open wounds. The threads were coaxing the blood back into his mother's flesh, repairing muscles and tissues that had been dissolved away with almost the same quickness that they had been destroyed. In the matter of a minute or so, the great, gaping wound across her ribs was gone. Kagome shuffled slowly on her knees, down the bloodied grass, and turned her attention to the smoking ruins of his mother's right leg.
He wondered if his mother was feeling something of the sensation he had felt; the reconstruction of bone, tendon, skin – she was silent, but her eyes were fixed on Kagome and her slowly returning limb.
When it was finished, Kimitsukiko flexed the restored leg experimentally and found it the same as the old one. Beside her, Kagome turned to her missing arm – but the power suddenly flickered, and went out. Kagome was the one who looked surprised this time, before she toppled sideways, breathing heavily, and lay face-first in the grass.
As he went to her, Sesshomaru watched his mother's face out of the corner of his eye and saw that beneath her attempt at composure she was truly awed, and almost a little afraid.
It was fear she would never admit to or show again, but he had seen such an expression on her face only once before, when she had been looking at his father. Not at even at he himself did she gaze with such an expression; long before she had judged, and rightly, that it would take the most terrible of offenses to induce him to kill or harm her. She was the one who had given him birth, and she was a powerful ally in her own right.
And I owe her a debt...for Rin.
But that was something he knew neither of them would ever mention. In this moment, all her fear and all her focus was directed at Kagome. Slowly, wobbling, weak, she stood. Sesshomaru made no move to offer or mention help; she did not expect it of him. When she was firmly on her feet, she gestured to her right leg and foot, raised an eyebrow.
"Is that how it happened for you too, Sesshomaru?"
Slowly, he nodded, and then turned back to Kagome. She had fainted dead away; her skin was far too pale, and internally he chided himself for allowing her to expend so much energy on his mother when she was weak from neglecting herself. Being careful not to touch or jostle her wound, Sesshomaru lifted his mate and stood slowly. He brushed past his mother easily, ignoring her eyes on him, and then paused on his way up the stairs.
"Kagome will want to heal you; it is her way – or maybe she would say it is her duty. If I had my way, she would leave you as you are...but I will not hurt her in such a manner. Still, I will not allow her to restore what you have lost until after these festivities."
He could not see his mother's face, but he could imagine her fury, as well as her acceptance. She startled him with cool, calm words.
"That is...acceptable. But be careful, Sesshomaru. That power she used was not controlled; you said she once was human and I could not believe it until I had fought her, but you should be glad that I did. She is unprepared, and unwilling; her flesh may have changed, but she still does not know who she is or what she is doing. What have you been teaching her?"
He heard her sweep away, and stood still for another moment, absorbing her words.
Unprepared, and unwilling...
With slow footsteps, Sesshomaru brought Kagome up to the room where her human friends were waiting, and admonished them to silence. A look around the room told him that nothing was out of place; indeed, it looked as if they had hardly dared to move while he was absent. As he put Kagome down on the edge of the bed, he shook her gently; her eyelids fluttered, and then opened, and she let out a little moan of pained confusion.
"Kagome..."
Her eyes opened fully, and he heard her deep breaths as she steadied herself against pain that was suddenly sharply impressed upon her consciousness.
"Sesshomaru? I wasn't – I wasn't done yet -"
Against the pressure of her discomfort, Kagome attempted to stand; he restrained her with a gentle hand.
"You are done for now, Kagome. Now, you must say goodbye to your friends."
Her eyes crinkled in confusion, but then she let out a heavy sigh.
"They can't be here; I understand."
Her disappointment was obvious, and Sesshomaru took a deep breath, hoped that what he was about to say, he wouldn't one day regret.
"They can't be here now. Tomorrow this place will be full of my kin; the day after, it will be flooded with youkai. I cannot keep a watch every second; they would not survive."
He ignored the thoughtful expression on the Houshi's face, the anger blooming on the woman's. Kagome's eyes were vaguely hopeful.
"But...they can come back when this is all over?"
He hesitated for only a moment.
"Yes."
And then he turned and faced the pair of humans with a glare that dared them to disagree with his...suggestion.
"But for now, they must leave."
Kagome's goodbyes were long, but not tearful; Sango hugged her gingerly, and Miroku only winked.
"Just send word, and we'll come, Kagome – and don't forget, we still need you for our wedding."
"Don't be stupid, Miroku, of course I won't forget!"
She made as if to get up, but Sesshomaru made a halting gesture and she stayed put.
"I will bring them outside; rest, Kagome. Your flesh needs to heal, your power needs to replenish itself."
He led Sango and Miroku out; Kagome waved at them as the door shut. Swiftly now, Sesshomaru made his way down the hallway to the stair, and then out through main door; everything was quiet, and his mother was nowhere in sight. Once they were outside, the twin-tailed kitten in Sango's hands leapt to the ground and changed, became a fiery Nekomata.
"Houshi, I will make clear to you now my...welcome. You may visit this place; I will not keep my Kagome from her companions. Yet I will say this one time, and one time only. Never again come here without explicit invitation, unless in dire emergency. It is not safe for humans here."
Before Miroku could stop her, Sango spoke challengingly, as Sesshomaru was turning away and the Gate was closing.
"What about the little girl? She is human, and she's alright."
Sesshomaru peered at her with a strange expression, and then shook his head.
"It is not the same. Rin is mine; no one who values their life would Challenge me over her now. But you two...you are grown, and dangerous, and you belong only to Kagome. She is not strong enough to protect you, yet – didn't you see?"
He turned his back to them fully then, and began to walk back towards the door. The Gate closed behind him, and Miroku and Sango exchanged glances outside the high wall.
"He's...um..."
"He'll take care of Kagome, Sango, and he won't forbid her from seeing us. That's all that matters, right?"
The woman made no response as they mounted Kirara and flew away towards the village. Five minutes later, she swore and reached back to poke Miroku's shoulder.
"We forgot to invite him to the wedding!"
As the evening sky was darkening, just as the twilight purples were at their most beautiful in the late autumn sky, Kagome sat back from her now-emptied tray and stretched carefully. Food was a wonderful thing, though she could still feel a tired edge in her muscles; the wounded flesh across her ribs had already healed over, but she could still feel heat beneath the raw, new skin. As she stretched, she felt a twinge of pain, but only that - a twinge. She could hardly believe it; it was the first time she had experienced the regenerative power of her new flesh in a real way. Only a few hours before, her body had been broken and bleeding, her ribs cracked.
"Incredible..."
But even as she whispered the word, she yawned again. Sesshomaru had said she should not sleep, after he had seen to it that she was fed; he had said that she should come for him if she grew tired again, but she found herself reluctant.
It is too early to sleep, I'm sure he won't want to come with me...
She was surprised at how forlorn she felt suddenly, thinking that, and her surprise immediately made her angry - although she wasn't quite sure how that made sense.
Tomorrow, things would begin to happen. She hadn't the slightest idea of what those things were, but she almost wished she had demanded that he say something. Going over it in her head, everything she had learned seemed vague and useless. She couldn't tell if it had been deliberate, or if he had just forgotten that this was one more thing she didn't – couldn't – know.
Probably that. He acts like I should just magically know all this stuff. Ha!
Purposefully, fully intending to get some answers, she strode out of the room and out into the corridors - and bounced off of Rin, who wasn't quick enough to scamper out of her way. Shippou was, and he made his way up to her shoulder with a leap that kept him out of the way of her shins.
"'Kaa-san!"
Shippou's voice was almost scolding. He had joined Sesshomaru's crusade to teach her what it meant to be youkai with a will; today's events had proven beyond a doubt that she had no idea of the limits on her strength or speed, or how sensitive her senses were. This was just another example; it made her grit her teeth.
"Oh - Rin - I'm so sorry!"
Swiftly, Kagome bent and helped her up; Rin was smiling happily as if nothing had happened.
"Do not worry, okaa-san! I got in the way; Sesshomaru-sama has done that before."
With an internal wince, careful not to show the pain of her tender ribs, Kagome let the girl clamber up, and Shippou leapt down to stand beside her.
"'Kaa-san, Rin and I made something for you, a present!"
"Yes, a present!"
Rin's echo was softer but no less pleased; Shippou turned big, green eyes toward Kagome and she winced again; the plea in his expression was obvious and she immediately felt horrible.
I've been ignoring them, that isn't fair. It isn't like Sesshomaru is going to take time out to play with them, I should've done at least that much...
She nodded once, sharply.
"Right! So...what are we still doing here?"
A pair of excited cheers erupted briefly, and then each child grabbed a hand and pulled her through the hallways towards Shippou's rooms. It was not far; it had made her smile, the first time she noticed how close Rin's – and therefore Shippou's - rooms were to Sesshomaru's. Her eyes slid down to the little girl pulling on her hand; she had tried, but she could not understand what it was that bound the two of them together.
I suppose it's the same for Sesshomaru, trying to understand why I have Shippou.
Quickly, peering behind as if someone might intercept them, Shippou herded Kagome into his room; Rin led her in, holding her hand.
"Wait here, 'kaa-san, and shut your eyes!"
Smiling, tempted to peek, Kagome settled onto the indicated cushion and closed her eyes. She heard shuffling, whispers so low that her ears couldn't distinguish words, and then pattering footsteps approaching her slowly.
"Okaa-san, open your eyes now!"
She obeyed, and beheld two smiling, nervous faces. Together, Rin and Shippou held out a long, finely shaped piece of wood. It was obviously meant to keep a scroll in, and she took the end-binder and pulled it carefully, revealing fine paper; the first thing she saw was bright writing at the very edge of the scroll. She recognized Shippou's childish scrawl and the care he had taken forming his characters; the words said "Shippou Monogatari". Smiling now, Kagome pulled out the scroll a little further, and Shippou came close to her, climbed across her lap and began to point out details on the paper.
"It's a story scroll, 'kaa-san! Look, see – that's me, and that's you. "
The little figures were small, but recognizable; Shippou with a brilliant orange splash of hair and tail, herself astride the old pink bicycle. After a moment, the kit reached out and tugged on the scroll, unrolling it across the floor. Kagome's eyes followed his finger to the next picture in the sequence.
"And this one is -"
Kagome's smile twitched; she held back a giggle.
"This one is you trying to steal my jewel shards! As if I'd miss that."
Shippou grinned toothily and showed no remorse whatsoever.
"But, 'kaa-san, if I hadn't taken them then I'd never have ended up with you! Look – see, the next one!"
With care, Kagome examined the brightly colored pictures. They were childish details of a story she knew well, each scene different and poignant with memory. He had drawn the battle with the thunder brothers, even her capture and escape; near the end, she paused for a moment on one scene that was especially moving. With loving care, Shippou had outlined their own unconscious, half-dead shapes, suspended in blue foxfire. Off to one side, in memory of a moment she almost could not believe in, a single shape stood alone. The familiar haori and hakama, the drooping puppy ears and tear-stained eyes half-hidden behind a bright red sleeve stood out in the picture, in her memory.
She could not prevent a sigh from escaping, and Shippou, noticing, hurriedly reached across to point to the next image, purposefully obscuring the one she had been looking at.
"Look, 'kaa-san – Miroku and Sango, see? We found them, too..."
He traced a line between the two of them with his finger, and wrinkled his nose.
"And then they fell in looove."
Beside him, Rin giggled at his tone, and Kagome smiled. He had drawn Miroku and Sango sitting together, holding hands; her smile turned to outright laughter when she noticed that picture-Miroku's hand was positioned for a stealthy grab.
The next image in sequence was not so amusing. There was a village – one she knew well, one she had seen many times in her own memories – though there it was haunted by terrible laughter.
Naraku! That last fight -
Shippou had drawn a cloud, dark and ominous, thick with purple lightening, over the village. Before she could study it too closely, his little hands reached out and tugged on the scroll again, revealing the last foot. The next picture was a scene from her worst nightmare, but from a perspective she had never considered. Shippou had put himself in the picture, in the protective hollow created by the looping of a tree root. Across the page were scattered bodies, friend and foe – Sango and Miroku, both bloody, and also the last incarnations of Naraku. Kagome saw herself, bow in hand, and Inuyasha, wielding his sword so that a burst of golden power obscured a large part of the page.
Quickly, Kagome's eyes moved to the next frame. Sango and Miroku were sitting, each one bandaged, and Shippou sat between them. Picture-Shippou wore a sad expression, and Kagome looked up at the kit in front of her suddenly.
"I didn't...I didn't want to leave you behind, Shippou, but I had to run. I had...I had to get away. From Inuyasha."
"I know."
Shippou hopped forward and perched on her knee, hugged her gently.
"'Kaa-san, I was mad at Inuyasha, not at you! Not – not – cause he hurt me, you know, but because he made you leave. I saw you running away -"
"Shippou! You were unconscious!"
The kit grinned cheekily as he returned to the floor.
"Not really. But my ribs hurt really bad, and I couldn't talk - "
Kagome's arms reached out and swept him close, knocking the book aside. She hugged him very, very tightly, and then put him down on the floor rather quickly as he wriggled in her grasp.
"Shippou, I -"
"'Kaa-san, you have to look at the rest!"
Kagome blinked.
"Well – okay."
"Here, okaa-san."
They were the first words Rin had spoken since they had begun examining the pictures, and Kagome looked at her for a moment before accepting the end of the scroll back. She made her mind up quickly.
"Rin, why don't you come sit next to me, on this side - "
She gestured to her left.
"And Shippou, you come and sit still for once on this side."
Quickly, he scampered into the appropriate spot on her right.
"There, now. Shall we continue with your monogatari, Shippou?"
Her careful emphasis was just right; both children beamed at her, and Shippou pointed at the second-to-last picture.
"Here!"
Kagome was pleased to see an image that once again made her smile; picture-Shippou was wrapped in bandages, and she was sitting beside him, larger than life. Sango and Miroku had been relegated to the side of the page. Finally, she turned her eyes to the last drawing, and smiled a little; he had drawn the white-walled fortress, or at least he had tried – he had little familiarity with it, and it was really too big to be well represented on such a little piece of paper. Dwarfed by the immensity, four little figures stood in front of the wall, Shippou's new family: herself, Sesshomaru, Rin, and picture-Shippou, no longer bandaged.
"Well, thank you - "
"'Kaa-san, you have to see Rin's part now. Come on, Rin, let's roll it up!"
Carefully, the two of them turned a small protrusion at the end of the wood around the scroll; slowly, it rewound itself into its holder. When they were through, Shippou hand it back to Kagome and grinned.
"Now pull out the other side, 'kaa-san!"
Surprised, Kagome turned the polished length of wood over in her hands, and realized that there was indeed another binder for the end of another scroll on the opposite side. Slowly, she pulled it out and draped it across her lap; she saw a a duplicate of the other title frame, only this one said "Rin Monogatari".
"You drew this one, Rin?"
The girl nodded, and when she made no move to pull out the paper further, Kagome did it herself.
The first picture was completely surprising; Rin, very small, tinier than she was now, sitting outside a little hut with two people behind her. It was obvious to Kagome that the people were human, though their features were vague, and she realized suddenly that they must have been Rin's parents. The next page confirmed her guess; tiny Rin sat next to two small covered mounds, with little blue tears moving down her face as a line of villagers and priests retreated into the distance.
The next several images Kagome found shockingly disturbing; she might have found them more so and not less if she had known how common the depicted actions were in the era she had come to. Rin had drawn her own orphaned descent into homeless thieving with precise and unexceptionable detail; tiny Rin grew into slightly smaller Rin, and that picture showed a ragged girl dressed in bits of grey, black-eyed and bruised and hiding in the shadows of the image.
But it was the next scene that was the most stunning, far more so than the first. The little girl had real talent; she had drawn Sesshomaru, bloody, battered, his features still arrogant, haughty and radiating that untouchable aura even in crayon. The shocking part had been drawn almost as an afterthought; at the bottom right corner of the page was Rin, holding out a chipped plate that held a miserable looking fish – Kagome could see the thoughts the real girl must have been having in the hungry, determined stare on picture-Rin's face. She was starving; Kagome knew, from the previous pictures, that the girl had to have stolen to get that fish, as sad and thin-looking as it was, and the thought that she was giving up this precious food to a stranger seemed almost inconceivable. And yet...the stranger was bleeding, badly wounded, obviously weak even though he seemed not to want her help. He needed the fish more than her.
Tears welled in Kagome's eyes, and she blinked rapidly to dispel them.
The next picture was almost the same; Sesshomaru in all his bloody glory – but the girl was no longer in the picture, and the plate of fish remained. Kagome could imagine her slipping away, peering for a moment through the bushes to see if her offering had been taken, and turning away again in hopeful disappointment.
What followed was almost unbelievable, yet far too realistic to be the imagining of a child. Picture-Rin was at the edge of a village, and then she was at the edge of trees, with small things flying at her; her already ragged yukata was torn, and her other eye was black. Angry human faces loomed at the borders of the page, the mouths open to form harsh words.
And then there were wolves. Wolves filled the next picture, all of them snarling, showing vicious mouths full of slavering teeth. Kagome shuddered; the image was disturbing, frightening...and then she looked at the next one. Picture-Rin was running and the wolves from the previous frame had wrapped around the paper to chase her, teeth nipping at her heels.
Horror stared out at her from the next scene – picture-Rin was on the ground, and her eyes were dull; blood stains had washed out most of the other colors in the image, but at the edge of the picture stood Sesshomaru, dressed in white and pale yellow, sword outstretched. Kagome recognized the sword, and the truth, the real, full depth of it, finally sank in.
Rin had died, and now she was alive; Sesshomaru had saved her. In her grief, her anguish, Kagome had screamed those words at Sesshomaru, as if that could somehow undo the terrible thing she had done, give back the once-beloved life she had taken...but even then she had not understood what the girl had told her, not really. She had not believed. Now, she had no choice. The pictures were worth more than a thousand words, were worth more than all the words in the world.
Kagome took a deep breath, and then reached out and pulled out the last several inches of the paper.
The last two pictures were similar to those that Shippou had drawn; first, Rin and Sesshomaru in an open meadow, the girl a little behind, stooped over gathering flowers – and then the four of them together in front of a much more detailed rendition of their fortress home.
As she had done to Shippou, Kagome swept up Rin into a hug, and was surprised when the girl froze, trying neither to escape nor to return the gesture of affection. It took nearly a minute for her to relax into the embrace, and another for her little arms to snake themselves around Kagome's waist.
It had been a long, long time since Rin had been hugged by anybody.
The three of them sat together in comfort for quite a while. Kagome found that her drowsiness was appeased by laying in idleness with the two children, even if she was not really sleeping. Perhaps forty-five minutes passed, and then Kagome noticed a presence outside the door. Expecting that it was Sesshomaru or one of his servants, she didn't move – and then there was a knock, which was more than unusual; it was absolutely odd.
The door opened to show the last person Kagome expected. Rin and Shippou scooted away from her as fast as they could, and Kagome rose swiftly, bowed shortly.
"Kimitsukiko-sama."
The gaze of those cold, golden eyes, so much like her son's, looked at Kagome with surprise and muted discomfort. It was obvious that she had not expected Kagome to be here, and Kagome found herself completely confused.
These are Shippou's rooms. Why would she come here, if she was not looking for me? She can't want anything to do with him -
But her eyes, in that moment, focused on Rin. There was strangeness in the girl's manner; her face had taken on a blank and utterly impassive mask. After a moment, Kagome looked up and saw the reason for this; Kimitsukiko's stare was directed, not at herself, but at Rin, and there was something in that stare she did not like.
Still, for a moment she too remained frozen, looking at the girl. That expression – where had she seen that expression? As she thought it, the answer hit her like cold water.
Sesshomaru! Kami-sama...she is his daughter in all but blood.
Kimitsukiko took a step forward, and the movement shocked Kagome from her thoughts – that step screamed danger! at her.
"Rin, come here."
The girl did not move.
"Rin!"
Kagome said it sharply, the way Sesshomaru called her to follow, and she saw Rin blink twice, and then turn slowly and take the four necessary steps towards her. Her face did not change as she moved; her feet stepped unnaturally, without human rhythm.
Shippou also noticed the blankness on his new sister's face, and was thoroughly unimpressed with the person who had caused this. Carefully, trying to garner as little notice as possible, he crept behind Kagome and up to Rin's side, but -
An amused voice penetrated his stealth.
"You can stop slinking, kit. I can see you perfectly well; you are not my concern. I have come for the girl."
Kimitsukiko turned to Kagome then, and she spoke deftly, using Sesshomaru's name to get around any defiance that might have been offered.
"Sesshomaru has given me leave to take her; he has need of certain permissions only I can give him."
Her eyes remained fixed on Rin and Kagome found that oddly disturbing. She had expected that the female had come to have her arm restored; she had been preparing for the sensation of the healing energy, for the feeling of sick weakness that came from having her blood flow so freely from her body-and for the scolding Sesshomaru would give her afterward. And instead...Rin? That stare – she did not like that stare!
Kimitsukiko asked a question when Kagome said nothing and made no move to offer the girl.
"Tell me, mate of my son – why would you call this girl-child by that name?"
"Rin?"
Kagome did not hide her confusion. The situation was becoming stranger by the second.
"It...as far as I know, it's her name. Right, Rin?"
Rin nodded.
"Yes, okaa-san. That has been my name since before Sesshomaru-sama found me."
There was a very strange expression growing on Kimitsukiko's face.
"My son did not give you that name himself, girl?"
Rin shook her head emphatically.
"No, Lady Mother of Sesshomaru-sama. The okaa-san that made me get born named me Rin."
Delicately, the Lady Mother of Sesshomaru-sama lifted one eyebrow.
"And with which character do you write your name, Rin?"
Rin flushed pink and lost her reserved and cautious expression, but Shippou leapt forward in her defense before she could get out a word.
"Rin can't write; leave her alone!"
It was a sharp, vehement reaction that startled all the females in the room; even Rin was confused, but Shippou, like all Kitsune, was an opportunist. He loved his new sister and he had sworn certain things to her during their recent secretive sibling-talks...but he was not above using a little trickery to get out of the promises he didn't like.
Bad promises don't count. 'Kaa-san taught me that!
Kagome looked only confused, which he had counted on – the other female, though, had a strange, obscure expression of disapproval on her face, and he suddenly found himself hoping that his little plan didn't backfire. Since Rin had first mentioned to him that she could not read or write, he had been plotting to adjust the situation; he didn't think it was fair that she hadn't been allowed to learn just because she was human.
Still, despite Shippou's...ferocity, Kimitsukiko seemed undaunted.
"Girl, I will not have you -"
"Uh, Lady-Mother of Sesshomaru-sama?"
Shippou used the address hopefully, and held up the very end of the picture scroll so that she could see the title of 'Rin Monogatari'.
"If...if you only need the character for her name, you can look at this! When I wrote Rin's name for her pictures, I used the character for park - like...trees and flowers and stuff, right, 'kaa-san?"
He turned to Kagome as he said the last half of his sentence, and was pleased by her approving nod.
"Yes, Shippou, very good. I think park is an appropriate character for Rin's Rin."
For whatever reason, Shippou's explanation seemed to soothe Kimitsukiko; the fact that he was, and always had been youkai probably helped. Her eyes exchanged their fixed stare on Rin for a searching look at the room, and there was a calculating gleam in her gaze. She focused on Kagome, her protective stance and the way her body was angled to shield the girl and the kit both – her eyes slid to the kit, himself ready to do whatever he could for the human he now claimed as family...but of course that would, apparently, be nothing new to this little one.
And the girl herself; this...Rin, written as park. Once, a long, long time before, before he had ever been her mate, the Inu no Taisho had teased her in letters and at Council with that name, Rin, saying that hers was too long. When he had written it, he had used the character that means severity - coldness. She had never denied it, but at the same time she had not liked the eagerness with which he made fun of her stoic poise. It had become...like a love-name to her, a sacred memory of lost days. To find that this girl-child bore that name – why hadn't she ever noticed before?
The kami are mocking me. He is mocking me – he is dead, but it is his fault, I know it!
"Girl – Rin - my son has asked for my approval, because he seeks to add your name to this House; he seeks to claim you as his daughter, to make for you a place here that none may Challenge without cause. I..."
Kimitsukiko stood tall, and looked straight down at the girl. Her gaze pierced Rin like needles; in the few moments that she had to look into Rin's eyes she saw a medley of confusing thoughts and sensations, a desire that would never be fulfilled and a loyalty and courage that had been tempered in hell. She was...surprised. More than surprised – astonished. But the girl noticed none of this; she was floating on the demon Lady's words, and all she heard was their simple conclusion.
"I will allow it. But - "
The others in the room, even Kagome, drew in a collective breath.
"I must be assured that you intend to put forth the effort necessary of any daughter of this house. You must be instructed in the art of words as well as many other things. I intend to make this quite clear to my son."
Thoughtfully, as if something had just occurred to her, she turned her gaze on Kagome and smiled slyly.
"Mate of my son, since I cannot get rid of you, it seems in my best interest to have you as an ally. Would you like to accompany me? I have no desire to spend longer about this business than I must; the next few days are sure to be...exhausting.
It took a moment, but slowly, Kagome's mouth curved upward into an expression that matched Kimitsukiko's.
"Mother of my mate, I would be delighted to accept such an invitation. Perhaps we could explain these things to him...together."
Kagome patted Shippou on the head and smiled reassuringly at Rin as she went out the door behind her mother-in-law. Shippou bounced excitedly; his little ruse had gone much, much better than he had hoped! He contemplated for a moment, and then grinned widely and rushed toward the door.
"Rin, do you want to come with me? I'm going to watch!"
Rin was still dazed by her bewildering good fortune.
"...Watch?"
"Sesshomaru is going to get yelled by his okaa-san and by our okaa-san! It'll be the funniest thing ever!"
"Shippou should not laugh at Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama is going to be Rin's new otou-sama!"
Rin hugged herself tightly and smiled a brilliant smile; Shippou tilted his head to one side and looked at her strangely.
"You mean...but wasn't he already? Anyway, I'm going! You can stay if you don't want to watch - I'll tell you what happens!"
He was off running after that, chasing Kagome's scent through the corridors. Rin waited only half a moment before she called after him, her footsteps eagerly following after his.
"Shippou! Wait, Shippou!"
A/N:So...there was a scene. It was four paragraphs long, like three hundred words...nothing scary. AND THEN IT BECAME THIS CHAPTER. AHHHHHH! What was originally going to be this chapter is now...the next chapter. But obviously I couldn't post that until this was done...and for that I apologize. Profusely. Because it took FOREVER, and me having four classes this summer didn't help. Last final: saturday. Results: Aced it! Woot! So...other results? CHAPTERS FOR EVERYONE! Ahem. Anyway, at least I got to finish the revisions; all the chapters prior to this one are now in their final, edited, and most tasty forms! :D
Coming soon: Sesshomaru Does Indeed Get Yelled At By His Mother, and Kagome Finally Gets Some...Information, people, Information. Heh. And Now...Reviews!
Kouga's Older Woman: As long as your mother-in-law didn't actually try to murder you! Kagome only has to suffer that because she's fictional. And under my control! (poor Kagome!)
BlueTwilite: Much Thanks! It took forever, but...I'm back!
lunarcat12: Ah yes, Kagome kicking ass! Always fun – but seriously, the window bit? It came to me in a dream, really really. I was falling asleep while writing, and Kagome fell out the window. But really, it's my favorite part of the chapter too! Soon though...well...soon is...relative, right? :P I shall endeavor to be – not slow!
anime-90210: continue? Of course! I am occasionally slow, but I always return! Much thanks for your review!
Anime Lady PIMP: Of course she is! Look at what she does through the whole series – shoot lots of youkai with arrows and make them into dust! Killer Kagome, hear her...well, Inu don't really roar, I suppose :D More sooner than the last time took! (does that make sense?)
SammyKoru: Much thanks for your review – sorry to make you wait so long, but real life...eh, its annoying. More...coming soon!
Inuyasha's God sis: Ooo, compliment! Much thanks; more chapters much sooner!
Angel of Blood: Presenting...one update! Took a while, but my world is on fire...annoying, that. :D Much thanks!
The-Devil'z-Angel: Thanks very much for your wonderful comment and critique! I hate missing those repetitions – it drives me nuts! I have, however, just finished posting the revised versions of all the chapters prior to this one, so hopefully I cleared some of that out!
AMUTOLOVER09: Don't feel bad – it takes you two months to read it, and me two months to write it, so we're perfectly in sync! :P Actually, I'm just really, really slow – but it sounds like your world was on fire just as much as mine was! And...old hags? KILL THEM ALL! I was visited by old hags that tried to convert me – really scary!
Sharae: Ah, you are lucky! Other reviewers waited forever, but you, magically, are rewarded...almost at once! Heh! Much thanks for your review; more soon!