Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.
Metamorphosis of a Miko
Phase Three: Traveling with a Daiyoukai
After witnessing Inuyasha trying to get through the well, and throwing a tantrum in front of Sesshomaru, Kagome had taken to placing a barrier around the area she and Keade used when she was training to keep him away from her. She made sure to make it so that no one, human, demon or half, could see or hear inside the barrier, and so that the red Tetsaiga wouldn't work on it.
She didn't care if he knew it was there just as long as he was unable to interrupt her training. She knew he hadn't tried it, but she was still confident that her barrier would hold up against it.
She had also taken to using her concealing barrier during the times Sesshomaru wasn't around to walk with her, and during her walks coming back from training. That way she was assured of not having a confrontation with Inuyasha, or Sango and Miroku for that matter. She hadn't seen them and didn't know if they were back yet, but she had no wish to see or speak to them either.
Aside from that development Kagome had gotten to know Sesshomaru a little better during the time she spent training her powers with him and Keade. They had silently decided to begin learning about each other since discovering they were attracted to each other. There was no discussion at all. Sesshomaru just began speaking one day, and she went along with it.
He told her about what it was like to be a lord. He described in his quiet yet deep voice the duties involved in maintaining and protecting the western lands, all the politics involved with the other demon lords, the irritations that plagued him, the unwanted female advances, and the mating offers from nearly every quarter.
She told him about her travels with her old pack since she knew that he wanted to know, but wouldn't ask. As far as she was concerned he needed to know if there was going to be anything between them. She refused to be put through what Inuyasha put her through again. She described the experience of being pulled down the well for the first time, meeting Inuyasha, Keade, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango, Kikyou's revival and the subsequent meetings and dealings with her, and the constant insults and demeaning names she endured from Inuyasha.
After hearing about the half-breed's behavior toward the miko Sesshomaru decided to tell her what he knew of Inuyasha's childhood, so she could decide for herself if she wished to continue to believe what the half-breed had told her.
He revealed to her that his hatred of his half-brother had nothing to do with the circumstances of his birth. He had been old enough to understand why his father had gone to Inuyasha's mother. His own mother was cold and careless, and the princess had been a kind warm female.
What Sesshomaru hadn't liked was that his father had betrayed his mate. He was of the opinion that his father should have never mated his mother if he couldn't live with her personality. It went against Inu instincts, as well as plain honor, to disrespect your mate in such a way.
His problem with Inuyasha was that he was deceitful and unnecessarily violent.
Contrary to what the whelp had said, after his mother, Izayoi, had died he had taken him in because he was of his father's blood. That had been a mistake. Inuyasha had been angry, and hurt everyone Sesshomaru put in charge of looking after him. He wasn't just talking about minor scratches either; the boy had been ripping open skin and breaking bones.
Sesshomaru said he hadn't seen him be violent in that way since before he met the dirt priestess, but after watching him and interacting with him after Kagome had come into his life, and his pack began to form, he came to the conclusion that the whelp was actually hiding those violent tendencies by fighting his enemies and those who picked fights with him.
He had even tested that theory during his many fights with the half-breed, and saw that he was more intense, more violent in his actions then he had been in previous years. One could say the excessive violence was just for Sesshomaru, but he had fought him before and he hadn't been that violent despite his hatred for him.
He had even witnessed the times the half-breed had struck the kit, and saw it for what it was. It was the half-breed's way of releasing his violent urges without suspicion. Although, in that case he thought there might be more to it than that. Something he was feeling specifically toward the kit.
Sesshomaru explained that once he realized those violent instances toward his staff were becoming frequent he tried to figure out why it was happening. It hadn't taken him long to recall what he had learned of the half-breed's time with his mother. When Izayoi had taken Inuyasha and gone to live with her family he had some spies keep watch occasionally and report back to him.
As Inuyasha grew Izayoi let him get away with violent behavior by saying the other person was at fault for taunting him and making fun of him, so he wasn't taught to curb his behavior. The whelp had been surrounded by humans at the time so a lot of children were seriously hurt because of him, but he was a prince and since his mother was a princess nothing could be done about it. The only thing the humans could do was treat him even more badly then they had before. He was scorned and children began to avoid him, and copy their parents and other adult's behavior toward him.
There had been only one person at his mother's home that wanted him there, and that was Izayoi herself. Even her family wanted nothing to do with him, and resented his presence among them.
Sesshomaru explained that part of that was because they hated and feared youkai and hanyou's, and the other part was because Izayoi had been arranged to marry another when she had met and began to have the affair with his father. The breach of that arrangement had caused a lot of problems for them, and seeing Inuyasha around was a constant reminder. His presence had fueled their hatred and anger.
He went on to explain that youkai and hanyou's were violent by nature, but they learned control, whether by a parent, mentor or on their own. Inuyasha didn't learn it, and didn't want to learn it.
It could be argued that the half-breed was just acting on his nature, but Sesshomaru had come across gentle peaceful hanyou's. They could be violent if they wanted to be, but they learned control since they knew being violent all the time would only cause them trouble.
After he took Inuyasha in, and people refused to look after him, Sesshomaru had to do it himself which had been difficult with him still dealing with the mess his father left when he died. Inuyasha had found out rather quickly that he couldn't hurt Sesshomaru and that it was in fact dangerous to try, so he started to run away and every time he was brought back he would leave again.
The last time the whelp left he didn't have him brought back. Instead Sesshomaru had someone keep an eye on him, when he couldn't do it himself, and help him without the whelp knowing it.
Once on his own his behavior didn't change and people didn't want him around, running him out of their villages once he started to show his violent behavior. Something similar happened when he was among youkai and hanyou's. Those who accepted him and didn't run him away quickly picked up on his violent tendencies and retaliated. He found out that those on Sesshomaru's staff that he hurt hadn't retaliated because they had control, and knew they couldn't hurt someone of his father's blood without angering their lord.
Kagome listened to all of this quietly and intently. She herself had wondered at Inuyasha always picking fights. If there wasn't an enemy around it was with Kouga, if it wasn't him then it was someone who said something he didn't like, if it wasn't that then he was picking fights with Shippo, and when she stopped that he started arguing with her.
She didn't even bother to include Sesshomaru in that list, because she knew Inuyasha considered him an enemy, and he only picked fights with his enemies because he wanted to kill them.
What she wondered was why Inuyasha was always hitting Shippo and yelling at him. Hearing Sesshomaru describe his childhood made her wonder if he was jealous of Shippo. He hadn't been left all alone after his mother died like he had told her, at least if Sesshomaru was to be believed and she had no reason to disbelieve him, but he apparently hadn't been loved and accepted by anyone but his mother.
By the sounds of it she did him no favors by not disciplining him when he did wrong. Instead it seems she covered up for his lies or didn't believe anyone who said he was lying, and ignored his violent behavior or blamed others for it. She was sure that if his attitude was the same as it was now then the people around him would have had a more difficult time being around him.
Shippo on the other hand was accepted, welcomed, and loved by her. The Edo village accepted him and he had no trouble making friends with the children there or anywhere they went. But he also had a warm personality and wasn't violent. She had no doubt that when he was bigger and trained he could be violent if he wanted, but she also knew that he would have self-control and be able to be around humans and demons without trying to hurt them.
He had already learned not to be violent unless necessary from his parents, and she had done her best since he had been in her care what with the seemingly constant attacks. Being around Inuyasha's constant violence hadn't helped though, and it was another reason why she was glad to get Shippo away from him.
Kagome wondered if Inuyasha's issues with Shippo were all about him being accepted, especially at his age. It was turning out that Inuyasha hadn't been accepted when he was a child, and as far as she knew he hadn't been accepted when he got older. From what she understood even Kikyou hadn't openly accepted him; keeping her affair with him a secret from the village.
Whatever the reason Shippo was now safe from Inuyasha's anger and jealousy, and she was grateful to her alpha for making that possible.
From there Kagome began to tell Sesshomaru about growing up in her time. She told him about the different levels of school she went through as she grew older, and described the different subjects that she was required to study.
She went on to tell him the little she knew about the higher education that took place after her current level when students studied for what they wanted to do in their careers.
She even offered to show him around her time, but Sesshomaru declined, stating that he preferred to experience it for himself as time passed.
**MoaM**
Inuyasha reluctantly parted ways from Kikyou and began to head back to Edo. She had business she wanted to take care of, and his pack would soon be heading out to search for jewel shards and hunting Naraku again.
It had been a good few days that he been able to spend with Kikyou. It was rare that he could spend so many uninterrupted days with her. There were no worries of hunting shards, no worries of getting back to his camp before he was missed, and more importantly, no worries about Kagome coming across them.
She was spending their down time at home in the future, but he never knew when she would come back early looking for him. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him with Kikyou. That would just cause a fight and send her running back to her time until she got over it, and came back so they could continue their hunt. Then again there was always the chance that she might not come back, too tired of putting up with him not making a choice between her and Kikyou.
If only she knew the truth. He was sure she would leave, and not look back if she knew. He wasn't sure even her forgiving nature would allow her to look pass it.
As Inuyasha arrived in the village and neared Keade's hut he noticed that Miroku, Sango, and Shippo's scent were all faded, which meant they hadn't been there in days. Kagome's scent wasn't there at all but he hadn't expected it to be. She had gone through the well as soon as they returned to the village. As far as he knew she had only come through once, and hadn't gone to the village.
"Where's Sango, Miroku, and the runt?" He asked Keade after he entered the hut and found her there.
"Sango and Miroku went to her village to do some maintenance on her Hiraikotsu, and I have not seen young Shippo in days." Keade answered from her seat near her low fire.
Inuyasha nodded, not surprised that they had gone to Sango's village. He knew how seriously she took care of her weapon, and if she thought it needed some special care that could only happen at her old village then she would go. That was one of the things he liked about her; that she was a serious fighter.
He remembered seeing Shippo playing with the little girl that followed his bastard brother around in the well clearing, but he didn't think he was staying there with them. In fact, he didn't know if they were still there or not, so he decided to go check and see if he could get through the well this time.
He raced toward the well and when he arrived in the clearing he saw that Sesshomaru's pack was still camped out there, but the bastard wasn't there at the moment. He saw that Shippo was there running around playing with the little girl.
His eyes took it all in, but he didn't stop. He jumped into the well hoping for the blue light, and wanting to see what Kagome was doing, but he once again hit the bottom of the well. There was no light, no slowing down and being gently put down in the future.
Inuyasha growled lightly as he jumped out and looked around, angry, not understanding why the well wasn't working and needing a distraction. His eyes spotted Shippo, and he went toward him. He snatched him up from behind as he was about to run after the little girl, and held him in his hand by his tail.
"What're you doin' hangin' around the Bastard?" He asked gruffly as he lifted him level with his face.
"I'm staying with his group to play with Rin." Shippo said, remembering what Kagome had told him to say if asked. "He didn't seem to mind, so I thought it was okay."
"That bastard would never let you stay around his group." Inuyasha said, not liking the runt's answer. He brought up his free hand to hit him on the head, but was stopped by a green acid whip wrapping painfully around his wrist.
**MoaM**
While Kagome was being trained by the elder priestess Sesshomaru decided it was time he began teaching the children about youkai court, and being part of a pack after telling the miko about the half-breed's childhood. He didn't want them to have any experience similar to the half-breed.
They would learn by doing things and living pack life, but he knew that hearing explanations helped so he would give them. He would make sure to teach Kagome the same but he would wait until they were traveling. At this point he just wanted her focused on learning all she could from the elder priestess.
He had just finished giving the children the same explanation on being part of a pack that he had given the miko. They had sat and listened quietly and asked questions for clarification, and since they had done well with that he was going to give them a short break before teaching them how to hunt.
The kit needed to learn to hunt so he could have a healthy diet. Eating cooked meat was fine, but he still needed the nutrients from the raw meat and blood. And Rin needed to learn to catch things other than fish since she too needed the nutrients from the cooked meat. He made sure she ate meat but she still needed to learn how to hunt for herself. He wanted her to have that skill.
Sesshomaru had just come back from taking a walk since he had scented the half-breed, and wanted to be close to his pack in case he decided to try the well again. As he stood in the shadow of the trees watching Rin and the kit play he scented the half-breed coming closer, and knew he had been right in returning to his pack.
He watched Inuyasha from the moment he arrived in the clearing from where he was standing back in the tree line, not visible to others. As soon as he brought his hand up to strike the kit he stepped in. The kit was a part of his pack now and under his protection, which he intended to do. He would no longer have to worry about being beaten by the half-breed.
Sesshomaru appeared in front of Inuyasha and carefully grabbed Shippo from him before stepping back.
"Why are you here half-breed?" He asked, knowing full well that he had tried to go through the well and failed, so he was taking his frustrations out on the kit.
"Keh. I was goin' to see the wench, but I can't get through the well." Inuyasha answered gruffly as he crossed his arms.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, not liking that the half-breed wasn't using the miko's name. At least he called her by her title, and he only did that because he felt that calling her by her name was too familiar.
"That has nothing to do with the kit and attempting to strike him." He stated blandly as he lifted a dark eyebrow.
"That's just the way our relationship is. It wouldn't have hurt him anyway." Inuyasha said with a careless shrug.
"As long as the kit is staying with me he will not be struck in any way." Sesshomaru stated, knowing that the kit would understand that he meant a lifetime protection since he was now pack.
Inuyasha growled and stalked off, unhappy that he still couldn't get through the well and angry at how the bastard had interfered between him and the runt.
**MoaM**
A few more days passed before Miroku and Sango arrived back in the village, and Inuyasha informed them, along with Keade, that he could no longer get through the well.
"Is Kagome alright?" Sango asked with a frown.
"Yeah as far as I know. I haven't seen her, but I've caught her scent." Inuyasha said as he sat leaning against the side wall of the hut. They didn't need to know that it had only been the one time.
"Kagome is indeed fine. I have been training her to better control her power, and learn other abilities of a priestess." Keade informed them.
"Really? How long?" Miroku asked in surprise, knowing it was the same thing Sango and Inuyasha were wondering.
"Only a few days." Keade answered. Beyond that she decided that they didn't need to know what Kagome's progress was, when she came for her training, or that she wasn't doing any traveling until she finished. They could try and follow her to her training, but she knew if Kagome didn't want to be seen then she wouldn't be seen.
Miroku went and inspected the well but couldn't find anything that would stop Inuyasha from getting through. He returned to his companions and stated that they would just have to wait until they saw Kagome to find out if she knew why that was happening.
As the days passed they didn't see Kagome despite her training, and she didn't show up on the day when they were supposed to leave to continue shard hunting. Confused and worried Sango and Miroku braved Sesshomaru's presence to ask Shippo about her.
"Have you see or spoken to Kagome?" Miroku asked after they had greeted him.
"Yeah. She can't come or leave here without me seeing her." Shippo answered. "I always say hi and ask her how her training is going, but then I go back to playing with Rin."
"Thanks Shippo." Miroku said and watched him nod and run off. He exchanged a glance with Sango before moving toward the silent demon lord.
"Excuse me, but do you happen to know when Kagome is coming back here?" He asked politely.
"The miko is already here, training, as far as I am aware." Sesshomaru said as he glanced at the pair from his seat in the grass, leaning against the well.
Miroku thanked him before he and Sango returned to the village. They went looking for the place Kagome and Keade went to do her training, but they couldn't find it or them. Sighing in defeat they went back to the hut, only to find Keade there with Inuyasha.
"Keade, where is Kagome?" Sango asked her after she got pass the brief surprise of seeing her there.
"She went home once we were finished." Keade answered, so they left the hut and went back to the well clearing.
"Sorry to disturb you, but did Kagome come here?" Miroku asked just as politely as he had before, not wanting to provoke the dangerous lord in any way.
"Yes. She went through the well." Sesshomaru said before he opened his eyes and looked to the pair. "Why do you ask?"
"We are supposed to continue traveling today, and we are waiting on her." Miroku answered.
"You should go on without the miko." He suggested. "She did not appear to have any plans to travel any time soon." He added and Sango and Miroku looked at each other with a sigh.
"Thank you for your time." Miroku said to the demon lord before they turned and headed back to the village.
"Lord Sesshomaru saw her go through the well, and he said she didn't look like she planned on doing any traveling." Miroku said when he and Sango arrived back at the hut.
"Should we go without her? Can we go without her?" Sango wondered with a frown as she remembered Sesshomaru's suggestion. She didn't even wonder why she was thinking of following his advice.
"Will ye be able to find the jewel shards without her?" Keade asked as she looked at the three of them. She knew Kagome wouldn't be traveling with them again, and because of that they wouldn't get much of anything done in their quest. Still, she felt she should ask.
Sango and Miroku had their doubts, but Inuyasha thought they should give it a try.
"I don't wanna to wait for her to finally decide she's ready." Inuyasha said. "She should definitely be ready by the time we come back. Plus, we won't have to worry about protecting the runt since he won't wanna to come without her."
Miroku and Sango were still unsure. After all, Kagome was the only one who could find the jewel shards, but eventually they agreed and the three of them headed out with Keade seeing them off.
Keade was sure at the rate Kagome was learning she wouldn't be around when they got back.
**MoaM**
~One Month Later~
Kagome walked a little behind Sesshomaru splitting her attention between watching his hair sway and making sure Rin and Shippo didn't stray from the pack as they traveled through a dense forest. Glancing to the children she saw that they were still close with Jaken and Ah-Un, so she looked back to her alpha's swaying hair as she thought of the pass few weeks.
She had finished learning all she could from Keade a week after Inuyasha and the rest left to continue hunting Naraku. Sesshomaru and Keade told her how Sango and Miroku looked for her on the day they were to leave. She had walked around in her concealing barrier after leaving training with Keade, and she must have missed them on her way to the well. She was honestly happy she had missed them, and was happy they left without her having to see or speak to them.
Once they began to travel Sesshomaru began teaching her how to use a sword. He taught her how to hold it properly, how to swing it without hurting herself, and different stances to memorize that would become the foundation of whatever style she developed.
Kagome found that she actually liked using a sword and was surprisingly good at it. Sesshomaru had even told her she had a natural talent for it. She glanced down at the practice sword on her hip as she remembered what happened a few days ago.
~Flashback~
Sesshomaru had been gone for a few hours, meeting with a fellow demon lord since they were close to his border and he needed to settle some business with him. Kagome was looking after the pack as was her duty as alpha female, and helping Rin and Shippo as they worked on their reading lessons. As she was helping Rin sound out a word she sensed the presence of a number of humans approaching them.
"Quickly. Put your things away and stay near Ah-Un." She told them quietly and as calmly as she could. "We're about to have company." She added seriously before she stood and faced the direction she sensed the approaching humans.
I wish I could tell if they're men or women. She thought with a frown. Although she guessed they were men since that many women wouldn't be traveling alone. She quickly glanced back to check on the children, and happily saw that Jaken was standing in front of them with the staff of two heads ready.
Out of the trees they saw men approaching, and they easily identified them as human bandits. The men stopped, grinning and looking curiously at what they had found.
"Why don't you two females make things easier for us and just come along quietly." One of them, who looked like he might be the leader, said as he gestured toward Kagome and Rin.
"Why?" Kagome asked, already knowing it was nothing good.
"For our pleasure of course." He said with a leering grin. "We've been without female company for quite some time. Now come on before I lose my patience." He finished gruffly and she heard Rin whimper.
"No thanks." She refused firmly.
"Kill the demons, and capture those females." He ordered and Kagome tensed before she remembered her lessons with Sesshomaru, and forced herself to relax.
She drew her practice sword, a sword that her alpha had assured her could still kill; it just had no powers and wasn't made specifically for her. She would have used her bow but they were too close for her to get off more than one or two shots before they were on her, and it was no good in close quarters.
She took a calming breath and swung her sword at the first man to approach her, taking advantage of his amusement and seemingly lack of concern at her standing there with a sword. It sliced into his shoulder and down across his chest, causing him to cry out in shock and pain.
Kagome flinched as blood sprayed on her face, but held her ground, remembering her lessons. She could not show weakness and could not hesitate, as horrible and distasteful as her actions were, she had to protect herself and her pack. Rin and Shippo could not defend themselves.
So she continued, swinging her sword the way Sesshomaru had taught her and using some of the stances she thought would work. She cut into chests, arms, legs, sides, and even faces. Sometimes she took an arm off, and when the opportunity presented itself she went for what she hoped was the kill, since Sesshomaru hadn't gotten around to teaching her where those spots were yet. She just knew that she had to kill them or there would be no stopping them.
As she moved around the bandits, ducking and dodging hands and blades, she saw out of the corner of her eye Jaken shooting flames at any man that got close to the children. The screams of those hit were horrific, and she was sure that it would give the children nightmares. She knew this whole episode would give her nightmares.
Kagome panted tiredly as she looked at the remaining men. She wasn't sure how many there had been, but there were still around six or seven left. Some were dead and some had run, but there was still more than enough, including the leader, to get at them if she was careless.
She leant down quickly, her eyes flickering between the dead man at her feet and the live ones standing around, and pulled his sword from his waist with her free hand. She didn't know how to use two swords at once, but two was better than one at this point.
This time the men were cautious, staying away from Jaken and the children and coming at her one at a time.
She swung with her practice sword and followed up with her stolen one, but her current attacker seemed to have some skill and blocked both and tried to kick her back. She quickly sidestepped and stopped thinking. She didn't have time for that. She just moved and swung the sword as Sesshomaru had taught her, and used what had worked against the ones she had already defeated.
Kagome managed to injure and then kill the man, but had barely took a breath before the next one came rushing at her in a rage. She lifted her swords and watched the man come, looking closely at his movements, hoping to anticipate what he would do first. Just before he reached her she watched as a green flash appeared briefly, and the man's head slid and fell from his neck.
She gasped and moved to the side, out of the way of the still running body, and watched it collapse. She quickly turned her attention back to the men, and saw her alpha standing behind them and off to the side. She wondered how long he had been standing there. She hadn't expected to sense him, but she guessed she had been too distracted to see him arrive.
She watched as Sesshomaru quickly killed the rest of the bandits before stepping over the bodies until he reached her. He looked her over, taking in her blood splattered form and the swords she held, and brought his eyes up to hers as he lifted an eyebrow questioningly.
"I'm okay. Rin and Shippo are okay. Me and Jaken kept the men away." Kagome assured him. "They wanted me and Rin, and attacked when I refused." She explained.
"Well done." Sesshomaru said with a nod. "We are leaving. Come." He said to his pack before turning and walking away.
They were already packed so it was no trouble to get moving. Kagome dropped the stolen sword and continued to carry hers since she would need to clean it. When they reached a safe distance Sesshomaru announced that they were stopping there, and gestured for her to follow him. Once they had reached a small clearing close to their camp he pulled Tenseiga and handed it to her.
"Defend yourself." Sesshomaru said as he drew Bakusaiga. He had seen her fighting the man she killed before he stepped in to stop the one that rushed at her, but he wanted to test her himself and see how she fared using two swords at once.
When he was satisfied he told her he had decided to get her twin katana's made, and that her training would continue with two swords from then on.
~End flashback~
They were now on their way to see Totosai so Kagome could have swords made for her. They took time every day so she could practice first with one sword and then with two so she could continue to learn and get used to wielding two at a time.
She looked back to Sesshomaru and thought about how it had been traveling with him so far. Nothing had really changed from how it was when the pack was camped in the well clearing. They were just moving now.
She liked that things were stable with him. They weren't rushing all the time. He didn't yell at any of them, he didn't insult any of them, he never compared her to anyone else, and he didn't hit Shippo. Everything was quiet and calm while traveling with him. Fights with demons were quick and clean, which meant she didn't get dirty. She didn't have to worry about fighting herself since Sesshomaru said he wanted her to learn more before she took on any demons.
Kagome of course agreed since he had made it clear that she would be fighting alone unless she got into unless she got into a mess that was too much for her; only then would he step in and help.
She also very much appreciated that he had kept his word about teaching her. She knew he would since he was an honor bound youki, but being around him and seeing him make good on his word was another thing.
Along with the sword training he had continued to help her hone her powers, and he had begun to teach her how to fight physically which had helped when the bandits had attacked. He was surprisingly supportive and encouraging when he was teaching her, and she always felt like she had gotten better then she was the last time they trained.
With the time she had spent with him so far she was realizing that it was turning out to be very easy to like him.
Kagome frowned suddenly, distracted from her thoughts about Sesshomaru, as she sensed two jewel shards moving fast in their vicinity and realized it was Kouga. She looked at Sesshomaru but didn't say anything since she didn't expect Kouga to come their way. Thanks to her barriers he couldn't sense or smell her, and he had no reason to seek out Sesshomaru.
"Kagome-sama!" Rin suddenly shouted, obviously trying to get her attention about something.
"Shit!" She cursed under her breath as she sensed Kouga change direction, and head toward them.
Sesshomaru looked back at the miko and raised an eyebrow questioningly since he knew she didn't usually curse. That was something he liked about her. He wasn't much of a talker, but he too believed you didn't need to curse to get your point across.
"Kouga's coming." She said with a sigh. "I didn't say anything because he had no reason to come near you, and he couldn't sense me in anyway, but then Rin shouted my name." She trailed off with a slight shrug.
Sesshomaru understood. She had told him all about the wolfling having jewel shards and his fixation and claims on her. He didn't like that. She was pack now and he would not let her be harassed as she had been before. Not to mention he didn't want the wolf interfering in what was developing between them.
As far as the jewel shards were concerned, he knew she let the wolf keep them because that was two Naraku didn't have. Although, he was sure that if the spider really wanted them he could easily take them.
He stopped walking, deciding that they would wait for the wolf since he didn't want him running after his pack. He would see how things went, depending on what happened the miko may need to take the jewel shards back.
And I may need to advise the wolf to stay away from my pack if he values his life. He thought darkly, his beast rumbling its agreement.
The wind picked up in one direction and suddenly dirt and debris was flying everywhere. Kagome turned her head away and closed her eyes to avoid getting anything in them when she suddenly felt her hands being grasped roughly.
"How's my woman?" A familiar voice asked and she sighed wearily.
"I'm not your woman," Kagome said firmly as she opened her eyes and looked at him. "but I'm fine." She added.
"Where's dog-breath?" Kouga asked, ignoring her rejection of his claim.
"I don't know. I'm not traveling with him and the others anymore." She answered as she tried to free her hands.
"That's great! Now you can travel with me, which is only right with you being my woman." Kouga said.
He was very serious about that. He knew about the situation between Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku because he could smell the scent all over them. He had just never said anything because he didn't care. As long as Kagome's scent never added to the mix he wouldn't say anything, but now was his chance to make sure his woman was never in danger of becoming mixed up in their drama.
Kagome raised her eyebrows at his statement, and finally managed to free her hands as she took a step back.
"I don't think my alpha will approve of his alpha female traveling with you." She informed him.
"Alpha?! Alpha female?!" Kouga exclaimed in shock. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked with a frown.
Kagome decided it was time for some room and stepped back and moved next to her alpha. She casually gestured toward Sesshomaru who had watched on in silence.
"Kouga, this is Sesshomaru-sama, Lord of the Western Lands and my alpha." She introduced her lord properly just in case Kouga didn't know of him.
Both she and Sesshomaru watched his eyes narrow as he looked from her to Sesshomaru and back again. Neither of them missed the brief flash of red in his eyes.
"It doesn't matter." He finally said with a frown. "You're still my woman and I want you with me." He said and emphasized that by stepping toward Kagome, intent on taking his woman with him.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and lazily flicked his wrist, his acid whip flinging from his fingertips and smacking Kouga in the chest, sending him flying back. It was beyond clear that the wolf was a threat to the miko and would need to be dealt with.
"The miko is not going anywhere. Leave." He stated coldly.
Kagome shook her head as she listened to Kouga growl and get to his feet, and continued to shake her head when he looked at her. He growled louder, his eyes flickering between her and Sesshomaru again, before taking off at high speed. She knew she would be seeing him again, if only for the jewel shards in his legs, and it wouldn't be friendly.
She was surprised yet not at Kouga's persistence. She had thought a lot about him after she had told Sesshomaru about him. She thought about what she had been blind to in regard to him, why he wouldn't stop claiming her, why he wanted her, and how she felt about him and his behavior.
She could see the situation with him clearly now. She had only ever thought of him as a friend but it was clear after seeing him again, and his reaction, that he would never be satisfied with that. Somewhere inside she must have known that, because she had always been uncomfortable around him despite considering him a friend. Something inside her, most likely her reiki, had known that he could become dangerous to her if he didn't get what he wanted.
He definitely wasn't getting her, so she knew she had to be careful the next time she saw him.
**MoaM**
Sesshomaru moved swiftly through the air on his youki cloud on his way back to his pack. He had, unfortunately for his senses, come across two scenes on his way to and back from his palace.
He was positive that Kagome could look after the pack and handle whatever came while he was gone, so he decided to take a break from their travels to Totosai to go retrieve a second practice sword for her. On his way he had come across the half-breed and the dead priestess. It wasn't entirely surprising since it was the middle of the night, and it hadn't been the first time he had come across them on his way somewhere else.
The difference was this time he had been at an angle to see a mating mark on the undead priestess' neck. Seeing that mark was shocking and yet not. That the half-breed would mate with one who was dead was somewhat expected considering how he seemed to do whatever she said, but he would have thought the half-breed would care that she could not give him pups. Although, judging by what he had overheard the two speaking of it would seem that they had been mated for a while, so the half-breed most likely didn't care or was too stupid to realize it.
If that wasn't enough he learned that Inuyasha was also secretly sleeping with the taijiya as well, but what really surprised him was the fact that he seemed to be having a secret relationship with the houshi behind the taijiya's back. He knew that the houshi and taijiya were romantically involved, so both ningen were keeping it from each other.
The discovery explained and confirmed his suspicions of why he had scented the half-breed on both ningen.
On his way back from his palace he had actually seen the half-breed and houshi in the act. He had come upon them late at night when the taijiya was asleep. Such things didn't surprise him. He knew male youkai that preferred the company of males, they only rutted with females to get themselves heirs. The same went for female youkai who preferred the company of other females. It was just surprising that his hated half-brother seemed to prefer the company of both males and females, just like the houshi apparently did.
It seemed they were all full of secrets. It was obvious that the taijiya didn't know that the half-breed was rutting with the houshi, and the houshi didn't know that the half-breed was rutting with the taijiya, and neither ningen knew that he was mated to and rutting with the undead priestess.
Inuyasha, it seemed, was the only one who knew who was rutting with who because he was rutting with all of them.
Sesshomaru knew this was definitely something all three of them would keep from the miko since they all thought they knew how she felt about Inuyasha. If she knew she wouldn't want to be around them, wouldn't look for the jewel shards for them, wouldn't be there to take care of all their needs besides the carnal ones they were using each other for.
His beast snarled in disgust. The scents were heavy on them and it noted that they must have been rutting with each other for a long time for the scents to be imprinted in such a way.
Sesshomaru agreed with his beast and was happy the miko had had her revelations when she did. She did not deserve to be in such an environment. Her supposed friends all rutting with each other, even knowing how she supposedly felt for Inuyasha, and lying to her- using her. The fact that each were keeping it from her only emphasized that they knew she would not approve and be hurt over it.
He thought it was shameful that all three of them had lied to her. She wouldn't have approved of their activities, certainly wouldn't have wanted it for herself, but she wouldn't have judged them for it. He supposed none of them could tell her because they were all hiding their involvement from each other.
He figured even if they had all told her, even in confidence, she would have felt uncomfortable being around them knowing what they were doing every time two of them disappeared together. She definitely wouldn't have wanted the kit in such an environment. He certainly wouldn't want Rin around any of that.
If he had to guess he thought at this point, with her current feelings, the miko would be mostly shocked and surprised by the taijiya doing such a thing. Even he was a bit surprised since he knew she had been pure when she first began traveling with the group. She had gone from being pure to rutting with two males, and lying to the houshi about it.
Sesshomaru wondered how he was going to prove to the miko what he knew, because he did intend to tell her when he got back. Secrets weren't a part of their developing relationship, a relationship he thought was developing well.
So well he wondered if he should start courting her. He thought she was appealing on a visual level, especially in the clothing he had supplied her with, and he appreciated her intelligence and her unique way of thinking. She was powerful, nearly as powerful as him, and every day she became better at using that power. She was also beginning to be a fairly good fighter, so he knew she could protect herself and his pack. She was willing to learn and ask for help.
Aside from that she was humble, honest, caring, nurturing, hygienic, and most importantly, she seemed to accept his quiet taciturn personality. She had been around him long enough to see that his quiet personality wasn't reserved for those he considered enemies or not a part of his pack.
He was attracted to her, and he knew she returned that attraction, and the time they had spent together had given him time to determine that she would be a good mate for him. It had only been a month and half since he had accepted her and the kit into his pack, so it was too soon for him to feel love for her, as he knew she would want, but he felt affection for her and it was building every day.
Yes. It is time to start courting the miko. He thought decisively. He would speak to her about that as well when he returned to her and the rest of his pack.