Kagome stared at the daiyoukai. He seemed serious. Running a hand through her dark tresses, she contemplated, "Are these the only two options I have?"
"I could take the pup away from you, however he may protest." His voice was flat, despite the frightened look his past-self sent his way.
Kagome squelched the spasm of panic that ran through her and pondered over the best solution. They still needed to find the shards and Inuyasha, as unwelcoming he may be of Seshoumaru, would refuse to let the miko travel alone with his half0brother. Kagome bit her tongue thoughtfully and then let loose a heavy sigh.
"Guess I have no choice. You'll be travelling with us, it seems. But." She wagged a finger in the daiyoukai's face, "No fighting, or name-calling, or any such thing. Please. We have enough to worry about as it is, without you pissing Inuyasha off, and him waving that sword of his around like a baboon."
Kagome was taken aback when Seshoumaru's lips twitched for a second and she blinked. His face was as blank as ever. Maybe she was seeing things. Seshoumaru didn't smile. He couldn't smile. But what had that been? Before she could ponder over this strange development, a deep baritone voice spoke up, "This Seshoumaru will not provoke the half breed, however, any insults will not be tolerated."
Kagome gritted her teeth, "Fine."
She then bent down, and gathered the child in her arms. It seemed that the pup was unable to stop staring at his older self. Fascination and awe was written all over his face.
"Pup, you will stop staring at this one."
The child immediately lowered his eyes, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Kagome scowled at the inuyoukai, whose face was impassive, "You don't have to be so mean to him, you know. He's just a kid. Stop acting like Inuyasha and Shippou!"
With that, she turned her back to him and spoke in a low monotone to Kilala, one hand patting the pup, comfortingly. Seshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her slender back. The miko had the gall to dismiss him like he was nothing. He smothered the growl that rumbled in his throat. He couldn't be so hasty. There was something about the way the pup interacted with the miko. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was there. He planned on studying this new development. He wasn't sure what was going on right now. All he knew was this pup was him from the past, and the miko had taken him under her wing. Somehow, the miko had changed as well since the last time he had met her. She was more protective of the pup, more possessive, and if he did attempt to separate the two, there was no doubt that massive battle would take place, as her powers had grown and tripled immensely.
Kagome turned to look at him, "If you're going to travel with us, we had best be on our way. Inuyasha and the others will be getting worried, and we'll have to set up camp so that we can sit and discuss all this peacefully."
She made a face at her last statement. The discussion was going to be anything but peaceful. She wondered how she was going to calm Inuyasha down. She seated Seshoumaru on Kilala, and rubbed her neck, wincing. This was going to be long day.
Seshoumaru looked at her, his innocent eyes wide and worried, "Are you unwell?"
She gave him a strained smile, "I'm fine. Just a little tired." And scared, she added mentally.
The child studied her form for a few seconds before asking, hesitantly, "Do you regret taking me with you?"
Kagome stared at him, the shock evident on her face. "W-What?" she managed, and before he could say anything, she closed her eyes and smacked him lightly on the head, "Don't be stupid."
She then rested her forehead against his and smiled softly, "I took you along with me because you were a scared child, and all alone, and I couldn't stand it, but now." She paused for a second and pulled away from him, running her fingers through his hair, and rested them on his soft cheek, "Now, I think that when you finally go home, I'll miss you a lot."
He blushed a little and gave a small smile. As Kagome climbed onto Kilala, asked her to take them, back, Seshoumaru followed on his own cloud of youki, contemplating what he had just witnessed. He felt a little strange and suddenly he winced. His beast was trying to emerge. Growling under his breath, he yanked it back, burying it under his guise of civility. A little shaken by what had just happened, his eyes fell on the miko, riding on the fire cat. It had been years since his beast had tried to emerge.
He wondered why.
Kagome winced at the rush of air as Kilala lifted off. Seshoumaru burrowed deeper into her and she held onto him, instinctively. The wind was cold and she shivered, gritting her teeth. Her eyes fell on the calm and stoic demon lord and her forehead puckered up in a frown. His reaction had been extremely mild to the situation, and she couldn't help but suspect something was wrong.
Sighing she closed her eyes waiting for the journey to be over. There was still Inuyasha to deal with. He was not going to be happy. Not that she cared. Having Seshoumaru travelling with them was for everyone's benefit as well. The fight with Naraku was drawing nearer, and all the allies should now be banding together.
Kilala let out a rumble indicating that they were landing and Kagome opened her eyes. A weary sigh escaped her as Inuyasha caught sight of the adult Seshoumaru and let loose a growl of rage, unsheathing his sword.
Here we go.
A.N: All updates will be short for a few weeks. My send ups are coming, and I need to study….Failing is out of the question. I promised my mom I wouldn't so there. Wish me luck, people. And do review :D