Chapter 23: Half-Brother
'I hope Kagome gets here before it starts raining,' Sesshomaru thought to himself, remembering her love for playing in water. The young inu flexed his toes against the cool ground, sighing with boredom as he waited for Kagome to get home from school. He was dozing under the Goshinboku, watching the gray sky above him for signs of an imminent downpour as he had been all day.
Not that he didn't like the rain; he understood that it was necessary, and enjoyed the clean, sweet smell it left in the air afterward.
"I just do not enjoy being wet," he said defensively to himself.
Short of shaking himself like the dog he was, it always took him forever to get dry, and it was simply an uncomfortable process since it left whatever he was wearing damp as a result. Kagome had offered to blow dry it for him, but the contraption she used on her own hair was frighteningly loud, and the heat left his hair feeling brittle. All in all, it simply wasn't worth it if he could just stay dry. Buyo, who was curled against his leg, mewled in agreement as he flicked his tail slowly.
Thunder rumbled, the air trembling with the deep sound, and Sesshomaru felt his memories stir. At home on days like this, he would go to his Okaasan's rooms to sit with her on the porch leading to her private gardens, and together they would watch the building storm. In those peaceful moments, they would both sit in the silence that was natural to their personalities, enjoying the shifting scents and cooling air.
'Mother loved the scent of lightning,' he thought with a touch of homesickness as more of it curtained the sky above him, branches of light threading together like barbed lace.
While he had always been soothed by the deep growl of thunder that reminded him of his father, his mother lived for the moments before it, when the air grew so tart with electricity that it stung the nose and made the fine hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. She had once told him that storms were caused when the Kami battled, and that lighting was actually fractures in the sky caused by the clashing energies, and thunder was their battle cry.
"And when the fight is over, the one defeated is so shamed that they cry enough tears to fill the clouds that cover the sky," she would say, her voice soft as she gently played with his bangs. "So much, in fact, that once filled, the clouds burst, drenching the world in sorrow. The greater the loss, the longer the sky's will rain the sorrow's of the Kami upon the land."
"And when the clouds finally clear, the tears of sorrow are transformed by the light of understanding, and the land prospers," he recited from memory, missing the sound of his Okaasan's voice. She was always telling him that good was born from every bad. He didn't understand it then, and Sesshomaru wasn't completely sure he understood it now. At the time, he had still been too young to go with his Otousan on patrol, and had been completely enchanted with his mother's stories.
It was with regret he realized that over the past few years, he had stopped visiting her room on cloudy days and listening to her stories of lightning and rain.
"Kagome, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, mama, I'm fine."
Sesshomaru's ear twitched at the same time as Buyo's, both of them recognizing the voice of the girl who had found them. And she most certainly did not sound like she was okay. The young lordling watched as Kagome came into view, followed by her obviously concerned mother.
Standing, the young boy slowly walked over to meet them, worry for his friend spurring him to make her feel better. Kagome's face was hidden by her bangs, but the sharp scent of tears hit him half-way to her. Uncertain as to the cause of her distress, he was about to ask when a single thought made him go rigid with fear.
'Could it have been...'
With a quick nod at the Kagome's mom, he grabbed her hand and pulled the small girl towards the well-house. Once there, he slid the door shut and looked her over, his blood like ice in his veins. Aside from the sadness pouring off her in waves, he couldn't detect the scent of fear, or of anyone other than the people she was normally around when she went to school.
'That does not mean he was not there however,' he reasoned to himself, golden eyes burning as he remembered that there hadn't been a scent the last time either. Last time, when he himself had been only a few yards away, completely ignorant to his presence.
"Sessho-chan, I really don't feel like-" Kagome started, her voice thick with sadness and tears.
"Was it that man? The one with empty eyes?" he interrupted, voice hard and clipped. "Did he do something?"
The question seemed to confuse her for a moment, and then understanding filled her wide, cerulean eyes. Wiping at the tears on her face, she shook her head and mumbled, "No, it wasn't him."
Relief instantly swept through him, and the young inu felt the tension leaving his body. While she had only seen him the one time, Sesshomaru was certain it was not the last. As such, he wanted to do whatever it took to protect her from what he considered a dangerous stranger. Thunder crashed again, closer and louder than before, and as the structure around them shuddered he turned his attention back to his friend's worrisome mood.
Assured that it had not been the unsettling man to cause Kagome's current state of being, the young lord found himself curious to know what had made her so upset. Sitting down with his back against the door, he motioned for her to do the same. With a dejected sigh she obliged, allowing herself to plop roughly on the top step of the stairs leading down to the well. Though she had stopped crying, the waves of sadness still buffeted his senses, amplified within the enclosed space.
Worried, but mostly curious, he asked, "So, what happened?"
She didn't respond immediately, picking at her nails halfheartedly before looking up at him once more with a sheepish expression.
"It's nothing, Sessho-chan," she finally said, her voice muted with emotion. "You'll think I'm being stupid."
He cocked an eyebrow at her, responding imperiously, "Then stop being stupid and tell this Sesshomaru what is wrong."
His teasing had the desired effect of relaxing her a bit, and he felt pride in the tiny smile that softened the gloominess in her face. When she patted the empty space next to her, he moved over there quickly, eager to hear what had happened to cause her melancholy. But what she said next made absolutely no sense to the young inuyoukai.
"Mama found out today that she is 4 months pregnant," Kagome admitted, her voice catching slightly as she continued. "She had been feeling sick to her stomach lately, and so she went to the doctor and that's where she found out that she is carrying a baby boy."
Sesshomaru waited for her to continue, and when she didn't he tilted his head in confusion.
"What does that have to do with whatever is bothering you?" he asked, not understanding how news of a baby brother could upset her.
"That is what's bothering me, Sessho-chan!" she wailed before burying her face in her hands. "Now that she's pregnant, she's going to get married and forget all about Papa and me! Mama won't want me anymore, because I'll just remind her that Papa is gone."
Tears were once again pouring freely down her face, the scent of them making him sneeze lightly. Rubbing at his twitching nose, he frowned at her logic. Sliding closer, he placed a hand gently on the crown of her head and smoother her hair the way he'd seen her mother do on numerous occasions when she was upset.
"Kagome," he called, waiting for her to lift her watery gaze before continuing. "I do not think your Okaasan would ever try to do something like that."
"Buh—But she..."
"She loves you, Kagome. This Sesshomaru sees it every time she looks at you," he interrupted, voice firm and sincere. "She does not have eyes haunted by memories of things that have been lost..."
"...She looks at you and sees only the happiness of the past, present and future."
His statement brought on another round of tears, and Sesshomaru continued to stroke her hair while she got it all out of her system. Some time later, only her sniffles and the odd hiccup filled the silence between them, but he could tell she was still worried about something. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long to find out what it was.
"It's going to be so strange, having to share mom with someone else," she admitted, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. This time, he immediately figured out what it was bothering her, and set about reassuring her the best way he knew how.
"You were right," he saw her eyes turn in his direction. "This Sesshomaru does think you are being stupid now."
"Hey!" she cried indignantly, shoving his hand away. "I am not!"
"Oh? Did you forget that you already have practice sharing your mom with both your Otousan and Jii-san?"
"That's not the same," she argued hotly, glaring daggers at him still. "They're family!"
"The baby will be your brother."
"Half-brother!"
"Family!"
Sesshomaru felt his patience wearing thin when he noticed the stubborn set of her jaw. Realizing that she wasn't going to simply bow to his logic, he tried a different line of reasoning.
"What about me, then?"
Eyeing him suspiciously, she asked sharply, "What about you?"
"You share your Okaasan with me, and I'm not part of your family," he pointed out, gratified to her face turning cherry red.
"Well, no, but it's different," she admitted reluctantly. "You're special."
He was caught off guard by the admission, and asked curiously, "Special?"
Until that moment, Sesshomaru hadn't realized that a human could turn a brighter shade of red than Kagome had already been, but her now glowing face was evidence that it was, indeed, possible. Eyes wide, she had turned to him with her hands frantically waving as she sputtered in embarrassment.
"We-well, I don't mean th-th... what I was tr-trying to... to, uh," the young girl stammered, seemingly unable to complete a full thought. "I-I don't know... how to puh-put it, exactly."
He waited while she stammered a bit more before finally taking a calming breath. Once she had taken a few steadying gulps of air, she tried again, looking everywhere but at him.
"I don't know, Sessho-chan, you just... you belong here. I know you aren't family...but," she paused, before meeting his eyes once more. "You're more than family. Does that make sense?"
Nodding, he agreed, saying, "Indeed. In youkai terms, your family and close friends are your pack. You and your family have accepted me, allowing me to become part of your pack, which, in a sense, makes me family."
Waiting for her to signal that she understood what he was saying, Sesshomaru continued, hoping that this time she would understand what he was telling her.
"Pack is pack, always. It is up to the stronger pack members to protect the weaker one's, to love and care for them," he explained. "Your brother, half or not, will be pack.
"And he will need you to protect and care for him."
Silence fell between them, and the young inu waited her out, knowing that he had finally won the argument. Already he could see her face relaxing, her scent loosing the edge of sorrow that had been clinging to her throughout the discussion. A few minutes later and she sighed in acceptance.
He wrapped his arm around her thin shoulders when she leaned against him, understanding that right now she just wanted the comfort of a familiar touch. Laying his cheek on her head, they sat there in a comfortable silence until Kagome was ready to go inside. Thankfully, the rain had held off, and hand in hand they walked around the shrine to her house.
"Sessho-chan?"
The lordling glanced over at the curious tone to her voice.
"What would you do if you had a baby brother?"
He turned her question over in his mind for a moment before answering. Honestly, he hadn't thought about it before now, and the idea of having a sibling filled him with unexpected longing.
Giving her one of his rare smiles, he answered with confidence.
"This Sesshomaru would take care of him."
~o~o~o~
"I thought you said you would take care of your brother, Sesshomaru," Kagome goaded the stoic youkai walking beside her, reveling in the memories that were ever so slowly coming back to her.
The double meaning of the words weren't lost on either of them, nor the irony. A snort of derision had her glancing over to see the annoyed pinch to the taiyoukai's otherwise flawless features.
"Believe me, Miko, this Sesshomaru has tried repeatedly to fulfill that promise," he glanced at her, a playful light in his normally impassive gaze. "InuYasha has proven to be amazingly resilient however, thus making the task quite impossible."
She stifled a bark of laughter at his response, drawing unwanted attention from the others walking ahead of them. Doing her best to school her features, the young woman felt her shoulder's still twitching with laughter when the members of their small pack finally turned back to the road ahead.
Taking care to lower her voice, she admonished the tall inu, "That's no excuse! He's still your brother..."
"Half-brother," he interjected softly.
"Family," she teased, throwing his own words back in his face, knowing he couldn't argue with his own logic.
"Hn," he agreed. "And now, pack."
Smiling, Kagome felt some of her uncertainty about this older, deadlier Sesshomaru leave her, and in a move that surprised them both, she took his hand in hers. Weaving her fingers between his, the young woman tugged him gently forward, closer to the rest of the group. As they drew nearer, she whispered so that only he could hear.
"And pack is pack, Sesshomaru."
"Always," he breathed, tightening his hold on her hand, with no intent to let go.
... in which Kagome and Sesshomaru both have a list, and it's being check twice, but it's got nothing to do with naughty or nice XD This time, it's all about caring!
Why yes, I did make Souta her half-brother! Whose the daddy, you ask? Unfortunately, he will remain a great unknown in this story, although I may do an Omake to explain that little detail at a later date. All that's important for right now is he won't be in the picture for dear lil' Souta, making Kagome that much more protective of her baby bro!
Also, no worries that she hasn't looked at her list~ she'll be doing that in the next chapter, and there will be a visit from a surprise character! Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun! Poll will be up in a minute for everyone to make predictions of who it'll be! I'm going to play the devil's advocate for now and move Thursday's upload to Friday- It will probably actually be uploaded Thursday, but just in case I wanted to prep everyone. This chapter was delayed by school work and my mom bugging me to read a book lol Please forgive the lateness!
Also, next chapter we revisit the Truth or Dare Arc for: The Dare! There will be a poll up regarding that as well I can't wait to see what you all pick! Hope I can keep you guessing!
So this Chapter, along with the next 2 and the previous 3 chapters are part of see03's Superior Sense of Smell Challenge. Because that's how I roll. No worries, it didn't change the plot at all... just rearranged a few bits and got you some fluff moments MUCH sooner XD
This rest of this story will not be beta'd until after it is all finished and posted, because double uploads per week mean no time for turn around.
As always, feedback and comments are VERY appreciated
ENJOY!
All Characters Belong to Rumiko Takehashi
Plot Bunnies Belong to Me