Kryptonite

By Danyealle

(fanfiction/MF/HC/Abuse)

Chapter 17

…One Week Later…

A week after leaving the slayer’s village, Sesshomaru was seeing a few things about his new pack a bit differently.  For a long time he had known how effective the boy and his pack were but this was the first time he was seeing a living example of it.

As they passed through village after village, both large and small, they would stop, much to his irritation the first few times.  But those stops showed him the value of talking to villagers.  The humans had passed through many of the villages before so they had a decent enough relationship with those there.  That alone tended to loosen tongues and information was given freely.  No, not all of it was about the spider.  Some of it was about other things.  Information from one village allowed them to avoid a very nasty battle between two warring factions. Another village sent them on a route around an area that would have led them smack into the middle of a local warlords attempted purge of the local youkai population.

Most times they didn’t stop anywhere for too long, just a few minutes to chat then they were off.  Other times, when there was something to be done, it was no longer than an hour.  Though those stops irritated him at first he got over it quickly because the rest of the pack took that opportunity to eat or rest, allowing them to push straight on when they left.  Generally, when a service like that was performed they were given supplies such as food or herbs Kagome sued, something Sesshomaru could deal with.

Much to the taiyoukai’s surprise, there were many villages out there that were more than willing to accommodate the youkai in his pack if they wished to stay the night.  Though they declined most times, the night o a torrential downpour they did accept.  Though the accommodations weren’t luxurious like his fortress they were quite comfortable.  Even the wolves and Ah-Un seemed pleased with the barn they were housed in.  By the end of the first week he could most assuredly see the merits in what the ningens did and no longer voiced objections to it.

Another thing he had a better feel for was the limitations of the ningens in the pack.  For the most part they were in good shape and had no problems with walking long distances; he just had to worry about the pace they moved at.  It had taken a couple days to find the right one that didn’t push them too hard and wear them out quickly.  But he found out that they could move faster than Rin and Jaken could so they were able to over more ground than he was used to. 

In another area his apprehension was put to rest as well:  how he would react to some of the personalities in the pack.  He had been sure the ookami and the hentai monk would get on his nerves because of the way they were and their personalities.  But, as it turned out, that wasn’t the case.  Instead he found the two to be highly amusing.  Kouga, as it turned out, was a bit of a clown and he knew it.  He really didn’t take himself all that seriously in most areas other than his leadership and didn’t expect anyone else to either.  The monk wasn’t much different.  Though he had great spiritual powers the houshi liked the finer things in life as well as the female form.  But Sesshomaru had come to the private conclusion that the monk liked pain as well.  If he didn’t then he was a fool considering how many times a day he did something that was guaranteed to earn himself  a wallop from the slayer.  Yes, he was sure the hentai houshi did indeed have a fascination with the feminine backside but he had enough self control to keep his ‘cursed hand’ to himself when it was prudent to do so, Kagome was a perfect example of that.  But as often as he groped, fondled or patted the slayer’s backside, knowing full well what the consequences were told of another desire as well.  Though, he would admit, it was humorous to watch the slayer belt him a good one.

But in another area he had been completely surprised: Daoe.  Contrary to what he had initially thought the bird didn’t drive him crazy or even get on his nerves.  In fact the creature entertained its self or spent time ‘playing’ with the wolves.  It was also quick to sound an alarm when there was danger heading their direction.  There were also time he would get agitated and perch on Kagome’s shoulder, chirping loudly, upset.  Each time this happened Kouga would send out his wolves to scout around.  When they came back they always reported they had picked up something but weren’t sure what it was.  That was enough to tell the demon lord the bird’s warnings should be paid attention to and its warnings heeded.

Both Kagome and the slayer had worked to train the bird and had done an excellent job of it.  It now obeyed Kagome’s every command.  She had even sent it to the fortress once with a letter to her friends at court and it had returned in record time with a reply.

Though, by this point, they had only encountered hostiles in the form of low-level youkai, he was pleased to find that the pack very much acted like a cohesive unit that had been together for years.  The first time they had been by a centipede youkai.  Rather than take out the creature himself, he stepped back and let the others handle it, to see how well they worked together.  He had been pleased with what he had seen.  Kouga had distracted the creature, Sango had taken it out with her weapon then the monk had cleaned up its remains with his wind tunnel.  All of it had taken under five minutes.  The demon lord was impressed.

As she had done the first couple days, he made sure that he and Kagome had at least an hour a day of ‘alone time’.  Usually they just took a walk together or found somewhere to sit and talk, nothing dramatic or complicated.  He felt this was essential for them if he wanted her to get used to him and to help he trust him. Actually, he found the times alone together and their talks were something he found himself looking forward to.  Yes, part of it was to get away from the noise at camp, he was still trying to get used to that, but mostly because he liked the time he spent alone with her.  Her aura seemed to be soothing to him and helped him to relax.

It also seemed the more time they spent together the more she would open up to him.  No, it wasn’t a great leap but just a little at a time, gradually revealing a bit more about things when they talked.  As she grew more comfortable around him a bit more of the playful nature he remembered from the past came back.  Until it poked its head up again he didn’t realize how much he had missed that.

Though, for the most part, most of that week had been a positive experience there was one thing that bothered him: nothing had been heard from or about Inuyasha.  Normally that would be a good thing and not something that was bothersome but, quite frankly, he didn’t like it and it made him more than a touch apprehensive.

It was his feeling, and after talking to Kouga-he found it to be his as well, that the whelp was close.  No, they couldn’t sense him in any way but they just had a feeling he was near them.  Yes, they had tried to determine that he was there but hadn’t been all that surprised when nothing turned up.  As they well knew, the half-breed was smart enough to evade detection if he truly wanted to.

Though it was just a feeling on their parts, they felt they had a bit of evidence pointing that direction.  One was Daoe.  Normally the creature was fairly calm but at least once a day it became very agitated, always after they stopped at night, and would perch on Kagome, squawking and upset.  Each time they would investigate but would find nothing.  However it was obvious that something had been close but they could never determine what it was.  That was enough to tell the taiyoukai he had a reason to be concerned.  Knowing enough about bird youkai, he was positive that the creature wasn’t acting like that for no reason.

…ks…ks…ks...ks…

The taiyoukai had a very good reason to be worried and his instincts were right; Inuyasha, indeed, was close to the pack.  In fact, most nights, he was perched in a tree, hidden by the shadows, at the very edge of the packs campsite.

Since they left the slayers village the inuhanyou had been stuck to them like glue, keeping an eye on them.  Because he was following them, not staying almost with them, he had a bit of an advantage.  If he was too far behind and passed through a village they would usually be helpful and point him the right direction.  Because they had, as a pack, been through many of these villages before the villagers knew him well and just assumed he was trying to catch up to the rest.

In one of the villages he ran into a priestess they had encountered several times in the past.  Because she had been impressed with Kagome and the miko had helped her in the past she felt she owed the pack a debt.  Because it had been about lunch time when he had stopped she had asked him to come into her hut and served him lunch.  While they ate they talked a bit.  Curious, thinking about ways to hide himself from Lord Asshole, he asked if there was a way to disguise his aura.  Much to his surprise, she told him she had something that could do the trick.  Taking a beaded necklace, much like the one Kaede ha fashioned only with ivory colored round beads and black claw-like beads, she put a spell on it then gave it to him to put it on.  This necklace hid his aura.  If it functioned the way she said it did he could be standing right next to someone and they wouldn’t be able to detect his aura. 

By that night he was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they worked just how she said they did.  Kouga had walked right by him and had been close enough to reach out and slap upside the head but the ookami had felt nothing.  Oh this was going to be great!

The only glitch seemed to be that damned bird that was with them now.  Somehow it seemed to be able to sense him in some way.  Every time he got close to the pack that fucking thing went nutso and set everyone off.  He was fairly certain that Kouga and Sesshomaru knew he was around but, as of yet, they hadn’t been able to catch him.  Though he knew it was only a matter of time before that happened, probably by some stroke of blind-ass dumb luck on their part, he would get caught.  But, hopefully, he would have enough time to learn what he needed to or be able to grab his mate.  The way he saw it he was just going to have to be careful was all and stretch out the time as long as he could before getting caught.

Lurking in the shadows, he waited until everyone was bedded down for the night.  When he was certain that everyone was in various stages of sleep, he slipped over to the tree Sesshomaru and Kagome were under.  Quietly as he could, he climbed up as high as he could and still see them then perched on a branch, settling in for the night, just watching the onna he loved with all his heart.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Kagome had fallen asleep curled up to Sesshomaru’s right side with her head resting on his muscular thigh, an arm casually draped over it.   He was sitting up, leaned back against a tree, sleeping with one hand resting on her back. 

About midnight he was awakened by Daoe landing on his shoulder, dancing around in an agitated way. Puffed up and feathers looking all ruffled, the bird youkai was obviously upset. 

Although he was irritated at being woken up, seeing the state the creature was in, he instinctively began to scan around for any signs of danger.  As he expected, he found nothing.  But, from the creature’s reaction, there indeed was something around to be concerned about.  “What is it Daoe?”  He asked quietly though rhetorically.

Immediately, the bird began chirping as though it was trying to tell him what the problem was, dancing from foot to foot.
Its chirping finally woke Kagome, who flopped onto her back with a groan.  Rubbing her eyes, she asked, voice still a bit slurred from sleep, “What’s going on?”

“Something’s bothering Daoe.”  He told her shortly.

Opeing her eyes, she was going to sit up when her eyes locked with another set peering down at her from the tree.  Letting out a frightened cry, she sat up, pressing up against him, eyes wide, shaking with her hand clamped over her mouth.

Head jerking up, he didn’t see anything but distinctly heard the sounds of something moving quickly through the foliage.  “Follow it Daoe!”  He hissed as he wrapped an arm around Kagome’s waist and pulled her between his spread legs.

Immediately, the bird let out a determined squawk then took off after whatever it was at top speed.

Holding the shaking miko to his chest, she said the ookami’s name quietly.

Immediately, the wolf demon was awake and on his feet. “What?”  He asked, looking around.

“Follow Daoe!”  Sesshomaru ordered, pointing up the tree.

Without asking any questions, Kouga was up in the tree and hot on the trail of the bird.

Though he wanted to be the one to take up the pursuit he knew Kouga was faster and better able to navigate through the trees.  Plus there was his promise to protect Kagome.  The way he saw it, that was paramount and came first.

Holding the trembling onna to his chest, he rubbed her head gently.  “Calm down Kagome.  I’m here and won’t let anything happen to you.”  He soothed.

Nodding to let him know she head heard, she clung to him.

“Can you tell me what you saw?”  He asked gently.

“Eyes.”  She whispered, shuddering.

Stroking her back, he asked, “Could they have been from an animal?”  He wanted to rule out other things before he let himself focus on the whelp.

“Yeah, it was an animal alright.  One that has the same color eyes and hair that you do and bears a striking resemblance to you.”  She whispered, shuddering.

Holding her closer, he gave a deep internal sight.  That’s what he had been afraid of.  Damn Inuyasha, he seethed internally.  But he forced himself to focus on the current situation.  It appeared the boy had found a way to disguise his aura and smell completely.  Because, even as finely tuned as his senses were, he had not been able to detect him in any way even though the whelp had been on top of them, almost literally.  Of course the close proximity of the boy pissed him off but he shunted that aside for now.

Now, as he saw it, he had two things to do.  First he had to get Kagome to calm down.  Then he had to find a way to prevent this episode from happening again.

Unhooking his armor, he let it dangle off one shoulder then pulled her close to his chest, letting his mokomoko drape over her.  Shifting her around until she was sideways, he held her close, one arm around her back. The other on her head.  He could smell and sense her anxiety as well as hear her heart hammering in her chest.  He began to thrum a soothing rumble in his chest in an attempt to help calm her down.  “Relax Kagome.  Nothing or no one will be able to get you.”  He soothed to her softly.

“Sorry, I can’t help it.”  She told him quietly, voice quivering.  “Seeing that scared the crap out of me.”  She admitted.

“Quite understandable.”  He conceded with a nod.  “But you’re safe now and nothing will harm you.”

Nodding, she said nothing but wrapped her arms around him and held tight, eyes shut.

Knowing he needed to get her mind off it he tried to get her to focus on something else.  “Have you been able to sense the boy at all through the mating bond since we started traveling?”  He asked.

Brow furrowed, she thought about it for a minute or so then shook her head.  “No, I haven’t felt anything from it.  Well, that I can remember anyway.  Even now I can’t feel anything even though I know he’s close.”

“Alright.”  He said.  It appeared the whelp had also found a way to block it as well.  That made things much more complicated.  No doubt about it.  The boy was now a blond spot for them, at least that’s how it looked.  That wasn’t good.  Measures were going to have to be put into place to deal with it.  But now wasn’t going to be the time to deal with that.  Now was the time to focus on the onna in his arms.  Abandoning that topic, he changed to something else.  “Do you have some of those dried meats in your pack?”  He asked.

Giving him a bewildered look, she nodded.  “Ye-eah…  There are a couple packages of beef jerky in there.  Why?”

“I want to give Daoe a couple pieces of it as a reward when he gets back.”  He explained.

Saying nothing, she just smiled.

“If he hadn’t acted the way he did we wouldn’t have known the half-breed was close then who knows what would have happened.  Plus, he listened to me and followed instructions.  That’s something I want him to continue.”  He explained.  “I as concerned about allowing him to come along but he is proving to be a great asset.  As a rule the species aren’t that intelligent but Daoe is.”  He told her.

For another hour or so, they talked quietly until she once more fell back to sleep.  Rather than slide her back into her sleeping bag, he left her where she was.  No, he doubted the boy would show up she had a bad scare and was bound to have a rough night.  He felt that, perhaps, if he held her she might sleep a bit better.

Yes, that was the majority of the reason for doing it but there was another one as well.  He felt better holding her.  Part of it was his protection instincts but another part was it just plain made him feel better.  Shutting his eyes, he tried to remain calm while he waited for the ookami to return.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

About a half an hour after the little miko fell asleep once more Kouga, with Daoe perched on his shoulder, stepped back into camp.  After having him grab Kagome’s pack, he had him join him.

Retrieving a couple pieces of the beef jerky, he called Daoe over, patting his shoulder.  When the bird lit on it, he gave the creature the dried meats.  “You did very well Daoe.”  He told him, patting the birds head.

With a happy chirp, the bird settled down to eat its treat.

Once that was dealt with he turned his attention to the ookami.  “I take it you weren’t able to catch the half-breed.”

Sighing, Kouga shook his head.  “No, I wasn’t.  But I got close enough to catch a glimpse of him to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Inutrasha.”  Stopping, he grinned from ear to ear.  “Daoe caught up to him though.  Got in a couple good licks with his beak, drawing blood.”

Smirking, the demon lord glanced at the bird.  “Good job Daoe.”  Then he turned back to Kouga.  “I take it he finally lost you?”

Sighing, the wolf demon nodded.  “The river…”

That was all the taiyoukai needed to hear to understand.  Once the boy went into the water and moved in that there was no way for the ookami to be able to track him.  “Understood.”  Sesshomaru said with a nod.

“We’ve spent the last hour or so trying to find him but no luck.”  Kouga said with a shrug.

“Don’t worry about it.”  Sesshomaru told him.  “At least the whelp now knows we have a way to detect him.  Changing tracks, he asked, “Were you able to detect his scent or any of his aura?”

“It’s strange, but even when I was almost on top of him I couldn’t sense shit.  I could see him but felt nothing.

“It appears the half-breed has found a way to block that.  Kagome said she’s getting no input at all from the mating bond either.”  The taiyoukai told him.

“Well, that ain’t good.”  Kouga said, rubbing his eyes.  “If that’s the case he could be right on top of us and we would never know it.  We’re going to have to do something more than just rely on our instincts and senses at night to protect the camp.  We’re going to have to set up watches and probably more patrols than we have now.”

“Indeed.”  Sesshomaru agreed with a nod.  “Daoe does seem to be able to detect something we aren’t so we need to be more alert to when he becomes agitated.  I feel we should send him out and follow to see what is setting him off.

“That part of it I will leave to you.  Though I’ll keep watch I won’t leave Kagome alone to go chasing shadows.”  Sesshomaru told him.

Understanding, Kouga nodded.  “That’s not a problem.  The humans are out as watches as well.  They don’t have sharp enough senses to be much help.  Tomorrow night I’ll set up a schedule for us to keep watch all night.  Do you think you can get Daoe to do what he did tonight again?”

“I’m sure of it.”  Sesshomaru stated confidently.  “Once the chase is on I’ll keep and eye on Kagome and the rest of the pack.”

“Works for me.”  Kouga said with a nod.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Soaking wet and panting heavily, Inuyasha was perched in a tree several kilometers from the pack’s camp.

Scowling, he decided that he hated that fucking bird that was traveling with them.  It had taken every trick he knew to get away from that flying bloodhound.  Even then he had only been able to lose him for a short time and he was right back on his ass.  Then that mangy fucking wolf had joined the hunt.  Rather than tracking him, Kouga followed that feathered nightmare, giving him an edge.  It had taken a long swim in the river and an extended period of staying under water to shake the duo. 

Now he realized he needed to focus on the bird and learn what he could about it, like the limit of its senses.  He was going to have to be cautious until he learned what he needed or found a way to off the feathery pest.

Scowling again, he thought about what he had seen before the chase had started.  HIS Kagome all snuggled up to his bastard brother.  That wasn’t right!  Nor was he going to allow them to get any closer.  He would be putting a stop to this ASAP!  The miko was his and his fuckhead half-brother would be learning this real soon.

Settling down, he decided it was time to rest.  He could once more catch up with the pack in the morning.