Kagome was more than ready to leave the military encampment and return to the West. The last few days have been strange. Between trying to track down Inuyasha and dealing with Sesshoumaru's sudden shift in behavior, she felt as if she was balancing on the edge of chaos. The half-demon was notorious for avoiding conversations when things got emotional, and had become especially scarce since she and Sesshoumaru made up.
But Sesshoumaru… his changes were harder to grasp. He had become unusually clingy, something she never thought she'd associate with the demon lord. Whether it was because of their short separation or the fact that she had allowed him to knot her, she wasn't sure. But what she was certain of was that whenever she was in the same vicinity as Sesshoumaru, he found her.
Back at the Shiro, he had been careful—most of his affection was shown behind closed doors. But now? Now it was as if the floodgates had opened, and he no longer cared who saw. His territorial nature was on full display.
Like right now, for instance. Kagome had been following the faint traces of Inuyasha's aura, her focus split between frustration and curiosity when she passed by a group of dragon demons discussing winter supplies beneath a large canvas canopy. Sesshoumaru stood among them, listening carefully to Lord Haruto's suggestions, his tall form impossible to miss.
But the moment his golden eyes spotted her, it was as if the rest of the world ceased to exist. Before Kagome could even react, Sesshoumaru had crossed the distance between them in an effortless glide, his arm wrapping around her waist as he pulled her beneath the canopy. His lips pressed to the side of her neck as he nuzzled her, deeply inhaling her scent in a way that made her knees weak. It was far from the private displays of affection she had grown used to.
Kagome's heart fluttered, her body instinctively leaning into his warmth even as her mind told her to get ahold of herself. She glanced around quickly. Haruto, to his credit, politely averted his gaze, acting as if the exchange was entirely normal, though the slight curve of his lips suggested he found it amusing. The dragon demons, however, were another story. They looked stunned, their eyes wide and mouths slightly agape as they stared at the normally aloof demon lord openly embracing his future mate in such an unexpected manner.
"Sesshoumaru," she whispered softly, her hands pushing gently against his chest. "People are watching..." She hadn't even been properly introduced to the Eastern Lord yet for goodness sake.
His response was a low rumble, something between a growl and a purr, that vibrated against her skin. He didn't release her, instead pressing another kiss to the soft curve of her neck, clearly unbothered by the attention. His voice, when it came, was quiet, yet the tenderness in his tone was undeniable.
"Let them watch."
Heat flushed her cheeks. She managed to wiggle out of his hold, her heart pounding as she pulled back slightly to face him. Sesshoumaru's gaze was fixed on her, as if she was the only thing in the world that mattered.
"We're in public," she whispered, though her words lacked conviction. The heady mix of his scent and the intensity of his attention clouding her thoughts.
His lips quirked, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Her whole body tingled and for a moment, she almost forgot why she had been walking by in the first place. It wasn't until a familiar flicker of aura danced at the edge of her senses that she snapped back to reality.
"Inuyasha…" she murmured, slipping out of Sesshoumaru's hold with more determination this time. His arm loosened reluctantly, but he let her go. Kagome gave him a quick kiss under his jaw before darting off, eager to pick up the half-demon's trail again.
Deciding stealth was her best option if she wanted to get anywhere near her elusive old friend, Kagome called upon her powers, cloaking her scent and aura like a seasoned spy. She couldn't help but feel a little thrill as she ducked and weaved between the barracks, slipping through shadows. It was almost like she was in one of those covert spy movies Souta loved to watch—minus the cool outfit and gadgets.
Finally, a familiar pair of white-furred ears caught her attention. Inuyasha was standing just ahead, his back to her, deep in conversation with Katsu. They seemed to be arguing, gesturing wildly at something out of sight—typical Inuyasha, always with his hands in the air, like every word was life or death.
She tiptoed closer, doing her best to ignore the puzzled looks of passing soldiers, their confusion at seeing the future Lady of the West sneaking around like a thief in broad daylight. When she was only a few feet behind Inuyasha, Kagome drew in a breath, excitement bubbling up inside her.
"Sit boy!" she called out, her voice ringing through the air.
The satisfying sound of Inuyasha hitting the ground with a resounding thud echoed around the camp, and Kagome didn't waste a second. Before the dazed half-demon could scramble to his feet, she snapped her fingers, erecting a shimmering barrier around him. The look on his face as he struggled against it was priceless, but she was pleased to note that he wasn't going anywhere this time.
"Ah, good morning, Lady Kagome." Katsu's smooth voice cut through the moment as he gave her a charming smile, clearly unfazed by the chaos she had just caused. His eyes flicked briefly to the newly formed barrier and then back to her. "I'm surprised his lordship hasn't already dragged you back to your den. You're quite the escape artist."
Kagome flushed, suddenly aware of the fresh scent mark Sesshoumaru had just left on her. It lingered like an invisible tether between them, a constant reminder of how possessive the demon lord could be. "You and me both," she sighed, glancing back at the small crater where Inuyasha was still trying to break free. His growls of protest were muffled by the barrier, but the way his ears laid flat on his head said it all.
She turned to Katsu, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "Do you mind if I borrow him for a bit?"
Katsu chuckled, folding his arms behind his head. "By all means. I was just about to head off anyway. But I must say, Lady Kagome, you've become quite the strategist. Between keeping Lord Sesshoumaru at bay and wrangling Inuyasha like this, you'll put the rest of us soldiers to shame."
Kagome laughed softly. "I don't think I'll ever tame Sesshoumaru," she admitted, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "But I've had plenty of practice dealing with this one."
Katsu offered her a slight bow before heading off, leaving her alone with a very grumpy, very immobilized half-demon. Kagome turned back to Inuyasha, placing her hands on her hips. "Alright, you," she said with mock sternness. "It's time to talk. You can't keep avoiding me forever."
Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms as he sat up inside the barrier. "Damn it, Kagome. You can't just drop me like that in front of everyone! It's embarrassing!"
Kagome knelt down, her gaze softening despite his protests. "Maybe if you stopped running off every time I got close, I wouldn't have to." She tilted her head, her expression turning serious. "What's going on, Inuyasha?"
His ears twitched, and for a moment, the fire in his eyes dimmed. He looked away, the tension in his body easing just slightly. "It's not… it's not you, Kagome," he muttered, his voice lower now, almost hesitant. "It's just…"
Seeing the growing discomfort in his eyes, Kagome released the barrier with a soft smile as she extended her hand. "Why don't we go for a walk?" she suggested in a gentle voice.
Inuyasha stared at her hand for a moment, feeling an ache he couldn't quite name. That smile she gave him—it was the kind that used to be just for him. For a moment, it took him back to simpler times, to when it was just the two of them facing the world together. His heart twisted in his chest, a bittersweet nostalgia settling over him like a storm cloud. He reached up and took her hand, letting her help him to his feet.
They walked in companionable silence towards a narrow trail running alongside a nearby stream. The late summer sun filtered through the trees, casting golden light over the path, though the air was still thick with unseasonable warmth. The scent of water, earth, and the faintest hint of blooming flowers clung to the breeze.
Inuyasha broke the quiet first, his eyes scanning the shimmering stream beside them. "The drought down here almost wiped out everything," he muttered, his voice carrying a note of weariness. "The late Southern Lord's madness… it dried up most of the waterways. But now, it's like life is finally comin' back."
Kagome followed his gaze and gasped softly as she saw the silver flicker of trout gliding through the crystal-clear water. "The fish are returning…"
"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded, his hand gesturing toward the stream. "Hard to believe that just a few months ago, you couldn't find any food or fresh water around here."
Kagome's brow furrowed as she tried to picture it—this land, once parched and lifeless, now slowly recovering from the horrors of war. She hadn't realized the full extent of the devastation the South had endured, and seeing it heal felt both magical and deeply unsettling.
"How did everyone survive?" she asked quietly, her heart heavy at the thought of how many had suffered.
Inuyasha shrugged, though his eyes darkened at the memory. "The older demons don't need food as much. But the younger soldiers? Me? We were constantly hungry from the nonstop moving. It was brutal."
He hesitated, his gaze shifting to the flowing water as if reluctant to admit what came next. "Sesshoumaru… he's a good leader. Made sure no one starved if he could help it. He even poached from his own lands just to feed the army. There were months where he didn't eat at all, just so there was enough for everyone else."
Kagome blinked up at him in surprise. Sesshoumaru? Not eating? He'd never mentioned any of this to her, never given her the slightest indication of the lengths he'd gone to for his soldiers. It made her heart ache with guilt that she hadn't even thought to ask. Here she had been, safe and comfortable in her home, never once worrying about where her next meal came from because he always made sure she and Rin were well off.
Inuyasha's tone suddenly changed to irritation. "And don't get me started on that useless mangy bear… dragging around a dozen concubines and maids. Sesshoumaru had to make sure they were fed too. Such a waste. The lower-ranked soldiers could've handled the work, but no, the spoiled brat had to be surrounded by his luxury."
Kagome stayed silent, her thoughts a swirling mess. Sesshoumaru had always been so composed, so in control, that she never considered how much he sacrificed to protect those under his care. It wasn't the image she'd once had of him—cold, unfeeling. It was something deeper, something that made her love him even more.
"I had no idea…" she whispered.
Still watching the stream, Inuyasha suddenly noticed the change in her scent. He glanced over at her and froze, seeing the shine of tears in her eyes, her shoulders trembling slightly.
"Hey…" He frowned, his tone softening. "You okay?"
Kagome wiped her face with the back of her hand, forcing a small, wavering laugh. "Yeah… yeah, I'm just feeling a little emotional." She blinked away the tears, offering him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thank you for telling me all this. I didn't know how much he'd done."
Desperate to change the subject, he cleared his throat and looked away. "So, uh… what did you wanna talk about?"
Kagome brushed off her hands before giving Inuyasha a pointed look. "Don't play dumb. Just when we were finally starting to get along again, you disappeared on me."
Inuyasha's ears twitched as he frowned, glancing around before jerking his head toward a large oak tree nearby. He clearly wasn't keen on having this conversation out in the open. Once they were both seated beneath its wide branches, he sighed, his posture stiff with discomfort.
"No offense, Kagome, but it's kinda hard to be around you when you… stink of that bast—Sesshoumaru." He caught himself, his lips pressing together in a tight line as if swallowing the insult.
Kagome raised an eyebrow, finding it both strange and slightly endearing that he was trying so hard to avoid calling his half-brother a bad name. She might've teased him for it, but now wasn't the time. "Do I smell bad?" she asked. To her, she smelled fine, but then again, demons had far more sensitive noses. She sniffed at herself, lifting her arms and even going so far as to shove her nose under one, trying to catch whatever scent made the half-demon so uncomfortable.
Inuyasha's expression wavered as he watched her, fighting to keep a straight face. Folding his arms into his sleeves he cleared his throat. "It's not the smell itself, Kagome... It's the meaning behind it."
She blinked, lowering her arms as confusion furrowed her brow. "The meaning?" she repeated, her mind turning over the possibilities. How could a scent have any deeper meaning than simply smelling good or bad?
Inuyasha groaned inwardly, rubbing his temple as if preparing himself for a headache. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but he knew Kagome. She wasn't the type to let things go. "Yeah, the meaning," he muttered, his eyes flicking away from her. "Let's just say... from the way his scent and aura are inside you, and I mean deep inside you, it's obvious what he did to get it there."
Kagome's face turned bright red as the implication sank in, heat rising from her neck all the way to her cheeks. It wasn't just that she carried Sesshoumaru's scent—it was where she carried it. The sheer potency of his aura was something even she could pick up on now. And if it was that obvious to her, it must've been overwhelming to Inuyasha.
"Oh…" she mumbled, her voice a little too high-pitched as she processed it. "I didn't realize it was… that noticeable."
Inuyasha gave a noncommittal grunt, his hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, well, demons are pretty territorial. And when one of 'em marks you like that, it's like shouting from the rooftops that you're theirs. Sesshoumaru's scent isn't just strong—it's deliberate."
Kagome swallowed hard, her blush deepening. The idea of Sesshoumaru's possessiveness had always been something she found both thrilling and unnerving, but now that she knew others—especially Inuyasha—could sense it so easily, it added a whole new layer of embarrassment. She was never letting that dog knot her again. "Sorry," she whispered.
He waved a hand dismissively, though his eyes still wouldn't quite meet hers. "It's not your fault. I just… I can't help how it feels. It's like you're… off-limits now. Like a big 'keep out' sign, ya know?"
Kagome frowned. Things had shifted, and not just because of her and Sesshoumaru's relationship. It was a reminder of how far they'd come, and how far apart she and Inuyasha now stood.
Still, she didn't want this to create more distance between them. "Inuyasha…" she began softly, leaning closer. "What happened to us back in Edo? Why did you leave?"
Inuyasha's body stiffened. He tried not to make it obvious, but he inched away from her, putting distance between them. It was subtle, but Kagome noticed. This was the conversation he'd been avoiding for years, the one that gnawed at him in the quiet moments when he allowed himself to think of her. The only reason he'd even admitted his cowardice to Sesshoumaru was because his brother had forced his hand—literally, by tearing his arm off and backing him into a corner.
"Do we have to do this now?" he grumbled, looking down at the dirt, his ears twitching in irritation. He knew Kagome wouldn't drop it, though. She never did.
She leaned in further, her eyes searching his face for answers. "Yes, Inuyasha. We do. You can't just keep running away every time things get difficult." There was no anger in her voice, only an aching, quiet sadness. She deserved better than that, better than the half-truths and excuses he'd been feeding her for so long.
Inuyasha let out a long, frustrated sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. His golden eyes flicked to hers for a brief moment before darting away again. "It wasn't that I didn't want to be around you, Kagome. It's just... I was scared."
"Scared of what? We were happy, or at least I thought we were."
He scoffed, more at himself than at her, the bitterness clear in his voice. "I wasn't afraid of you, Kagome. I was afraid of myself."
The words hung between them, and Kagome tried to make sense of his confession. "What do you mean?"
Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head, his eyes narrowing as if he were bracing himself for the worst. "My demon side," his voice barely more than a growl. "It started fighting me. Hard. I... I could feel it clawing at me, trying to take over, and every time I was around you, it got worse."
Sapphire eyes widened, her heart lurching in her chest. "Your demon side?" she echoed, her voice a whisper of concern. She'd seen his demon take control before, but why was this different?
He nodded, a haunted look passing over his face. "Yeah. It wasn't like before. It wasn't just about protecting you or fighting off enemies. It was... it was trying to mate you. To claim you as mine. And I couldn't control it. Every time I got close to you, it got stronger, and I was scared, Kagome. Scared I'd hurt you."
The insecurity in his voice caught her off guard, and Kagome felt her heart break for him. She'd never known the extent of his internal struggle, how deeply it had tormented him. All she'd seen was the distance he'd put between them, the way he'd disappeared without explanation, leaving her to wonder if she'd done something wrong.
"I could feel it, you know? Your growing power." Inuyasha continued, his voice rough with emotion. "Every time you were near me, it was like this... this primal urge to take what wasn't mine to take. I didn't want to hurt you, but I knew if I stayed, I wouldn't be able to stop it."
"So you pushed me away... because you were afraid of what your demon side would do?"
He nodded again, looking miserable. "Yeah. I thought if I stayed away long enough, it would go away. That I could figure it out on my own. But it didn't. It only got worse. And by the time I realized I couldn't handle it alone, it was too late. I'd already screwed everything up between us."
"Inuyasha..." she whispered, her voice trembling. She reached out, her hand gently resting on his, offering him comfort where words failed. "Why didn't you tell me? We could've worked through it together."
He let out a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with regret. "Together? I didn't even know what I was dealing with, Kagome. How was I supposed to tell you? How could I explain that the same side of me that wanted to protect you was the side that could also rip you apart if I lost control?"
Tears stung at her eyes again, not from anger but from the pain of knowing how deeply he'd suffered in silence. "But you didn't have to face it alone. I never wanted you to face it alone, Inuyasha."
"Yeah, well, I thought I was doing the right thing. Staying away, keeping you safe. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you, Kagome. So I thought it was better to stay away than to risk it."
She gently cupped his face, forcing him to meet her gaze. "You never had to be afraid of hurting me, Inuyasha. I trusted you, then and now."
For a moment, the strong, stubborn half-demon looked as if he might crumble. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. "I'm sorry, Kagome. For everything."
She shook her head, her thumb brushing softly against his cheek. "It's okay. We both made mistakes. But that doesn't mean it's too late to fix things."
Inuyasha opened his eyes, a flicker of hope dancing in the depths of his golden gaze. "You think we can?"
Kagome smiled softly, her hand falling to rest over his. "We've been through too much to let something like this break us. We'll figure it out, just like we always do."