Evolution of a Taiyoukai
By Danyealle
(FanFiction/MF/angst)
Chapter 7
Like the others both Kaede and Shippo were stunned by Sesshomaru’s actions towards Kagome but said nothing. The four of them were in the old miko’s little hut with all the supplies Kagome had bought spread around them. The little priestess was sitting on the big demon lord’s lap with his mokomoko wrapped around her, while she sorted through things. Though she sorted things at home into basic categories they had to be organized before they left. There were things that were to be left with Kaede, others to be stored or because they were brought for Kaede. By this point each of the pack members had their own bag for personal things so there were piles for each member’s stuff. It took a bit but she chatted happily with those while she sorted.
As would be expected, Kaede had been filled in about the destruction of the miko/hanyou relationship, and expected fallout from it at Kagome’s return, but both her and Shippo were stunned by what they were seeing between her and Sesshomaru. The pairing was odd on its face because the two were so different but the way they were acting, especially Sesshomaru, was even odder. But neither said anything. It was obvious both of them were happy and content so they kept any questions or comments to themselves.
By the time the miko was down to the last bag the members inside the hut could hear the rest of the pack approaching. When those sounds first came to her ears he could feel her tense up a bit and felt a tiny bit of anxiety start to twist in her aura. Assuming it was because of Inuyasha and a worry that he may start again he began to rub her back softly, trying to sooth her. When Kaede and Shippo were distracted, she snagged the last bag and quickly rummaged through it then pulled out a flat, brown paper bag. Making sure she wasn’t being watched, she turned sideways in his lap then stuffed it down his kimono between it and his inner shirt.
“What are you doing?” he asked, genuinely bewildered.
“I bought that for you because of something we talked about but I don’t want anyone to see it. Inuyasha’s seen them before so I don’t want to hear about it from him. If Miroku saw it no female around him would be safe,” she whispered.
Nodding, he said nothing but was now quite curious about whatever it was.
“I’ll show you when we can get some time alone later,” she assured him quietly as everyone else entered the hut.
The last bag was full of personal items for the pack members, things such as personal hygiene items, snacks, foods, things like that. Once they were sorted out and passed to those they went to they were ready to move out. Like Kagome, the others were thrilled with the addition of Ah-Un because that meant they didn’t have to lug around their supplies anymore. Once the dragon was laden down with everything. Remaining true to her form Kagome was concerned about the creature. “Are you sure this isn’t too much for him to carry?” she asked the taiyoukai as he lifted her onto the creature’s back.
“He’s fine. This is nothing to him. He’s carried much heavier loads in the past,” he assured her, thinking how like Kagome it was for her to worry about him.
After a quick consultation of her map and bit of discussion of where they were going they were off.
~~~~~@~~~~~
A couple hours after the pack left Kikyo stepped into Edo. She ignored the looks she got and how people avoided her then made her way to Kaede’s hut. Though she could tell her sister wasn’t exactly thrilled to see her she was able to persuade the elderly miko to sit down and talk with her.
Once inside she pumped her for all the information she had about the miko/taiyoukai pairing. Because she had just found out herself there wasn’t much but she was a fountain of information about their history and friendship. Once she had all the information she could get on that topic she began to ask about what she observed and any changed in them she had seen. That track was a bit more successful.
Knowing she wasn’t welcome in Edo or really more than tolerated by her younger sister she didn’t linger when she was done talking and left, mind sorting through all she had been told. Normally, she was generally traveling the same direction as Inuyasha but this time she didn’t. There was a small monastery she wanted to visit. It had a library that she wanted to make use of. Maybe it would have some of the answers she was looking for.
Lost in thought, she headed south, trying to make sense of some things that seemed very odd to her.
~~~~~@~~~~~
Things were usually quiet and the atmosphere a bit awkward and tense when they started out, no one really sure what to say for fear of starting a problem. There were very bad vibes between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru and everyone was a bit worried that it would deteriorate into something physical with just the slightest provocation. Though, thankfully, both parties seemed to sense that as well and made it a point to stay away from each other. Inuyasha stayed at his normal place at the front of the pack and seemed to be doing his damnedest to ignore his half-brother but couldn’t seem to help himself and did keep glancing back at the couple from time to time, face unreadable.
From Sesshomaru’s end, he seemed to be content to stay at the end of the pack with Kagome. In fact, he didn’t even spare the hanyou so much as a glance. Instead he spent his time talking with the miko. The way he acted it was almost as though no one else seemed to exist, only Kagome.
For Sango, Miroku and Shippo things were closer to being stressful. They weren’t sure what to do. Yes, they were used to what Kagome termed Inuyasha’s ‘moods’. They had traveled with the sometimes surly hanyou enough that they could deal with him. But they didn’t know how to handle what they were seeing from the taiyoukai. It was so strange that they didn’t know what to make of it. The tenderness and gentleness they had seen earlier wasn’t a one time thing, it continued on. It seemed that he was touching her in some way at all times. Either his mokomoko was around her or one of his hands was on her at all times. For a while he rode on the dragon with her, the miko sitting in his lap with one of his arms around her.
A couple hours into the journey Sango was actually beginning to consider what Miroku had said about alien abduction because the whole thing was just too weird! But the slayer had to admit that if this wasn’t an act or show of some kind, and she was sure it wasn’t, it was probably just what her friend needed.
The other odd thing she could see was that the demon lord was out and out ignoring Inuyasha. Usually he and the hanyou couldn’t go a half an hour without taking some kind of jab at each other or, at the very least, making a snide comment of some kind. That wasn’t happening at all. Sesshomaru was plainly taking no notice of the hanyou and Inuyasha was keeping his yap shut but glancing at the couple from time to time. Although the peace and quiet was a nice change, the atmosphere was uncomfortable.
After they stopped for a brief lunch the stiffness started to lift. Miroku had started telling a few stories about some of his ‘adventured’ before he had hooked up with Inuyasha and Kagome. Those humorous tales seemed to lighten the mood. Soon there was once more conversation like there usually was, though it was a bit stiffer than normal when it involved Inuyasha and Kagome. By the time they stopped for the night things were pretty much back to normal, the atmosphere resembling what thing were like after one of Inuyasha and Kagome’s rows.
Supper was odd only because of the fact that Sesshomaru, not Inuyasha, went hunting. Kagome had mentioned before they stopped that rabbit stew would taste pretty good since Kaede had sent along a bag of fresh vegetables so, in a matter of ten minutes, Sesshomaru had returned with a couple plump, cleaned rabbits ready for the pot. Of course Inuyasha scowled but said nothing.
Because it was going to take some time for it to cook, Sesshomaru grabbed the miko and a blanket then led her away from camp so they could have some alone time.
Finding a small clearing a ways from camp, Sesshomaru spread out the blanket. Once he shed his armor and put his swords close by he scooped her into his arms then sat down with her. For a while he just held and kissed her, almost as though he were an addict getting his fix.
Snuggled up to his chest, she had a smile on her face. She felt absolutely wonderful. While at home she had wondered if his closeness and wanting to touch her would continue while they were with everyone and was delighted with the fact that it had. It seemed that his touch and attention made her forget all about Inuyasha and that hurt. Plus, it seemed to have enabled her to put a distance between herself and it. She had wondered if that hurt would make her apprehensive or leery about getting closer to him but any of that seemed to fly away when he touched or paid attention to her. Nor did she worry about him hurting her in any way.
Eyes shut, he rested his cheek against the top of her head, completely relaxed and contented. It was fine to be close to and touch her all day but this was so much better.
When he felt he was relaxed totally he decided to bring up the topic that had him very curious. Sitting her up a little, he pulled out the brown sack she had stuffed in his shirt before they had left Edo. Handing it to her, she said, “Care to explain this to me now?”
With a wicked grin, she tried to fight off the giggles. “Remember when you were talking about how the pictures in by biology and health books were almost obscene?”
“Yes,” he said with an eyebrow arched. When he had seen some of the pictures in her text books he had been stunned. Yes, he could understand they were meant to be educational but they bordered on being lewd.
Grin widening, she giggled a bit more. “Do you remember me telling you that we can buy magazines that had worse pictures in them?”
“Of course,” he replied, tone a bit skeptical. Over his life he had seen many erotic prints but what she had told him about he couldn’t quite fathom.
Giggling madly, eyes sparkling, she pulled a slick-covered magazine out of the bag then handed it to him. “That’s one of those magazines.”
Wide-eyed, he stared down at the book-like thing in his hands. There was an obviously nude ningen onna on the cover but she was artfully posed in such a way that you couldn’t really see any of her sexual parts. Slowly, he opened the cover and began to flip through the pages. A couple pages into it he stopped cold and stared at the picture of a completely nude onna with her legs spread, revealing everything that had been gifted to her by the Kami’s by the nature of her gender. Stunned, he stared, wide-eyed, at the picture.
Peeking at what had him mesmerized, she giggled more. “Keep going, the pictures get more explicit.” She said in a lilting voice.
Giving her an unbelieving look, he continued flipping through the pages, eyes growing wider with each picture.
All she could do was lean against him and giggle at the look on his face.
By the time he finished looking and sat the magazine aside his mind was reeling and he was sporting some serious wood. “Never again will I complain about pictures in your school books,” he told her, voice toneless.
That was all she could take. She collapsed across his legs giggling so hard tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t believe I shocked you!” she managed to spit out.
“Stunned and in awe would be more apt terms,” he admitted. “You can easily purchase such materials in your time?” he asked, still a bit unbelieving.
“Oh yea. You can buy those and others that are worse, everywhere.”
“Worse? The mind boggles!” he said slowly, eyebrows arched.
Giggling still, she ran her fingers through his hair. “I won’t even mention the movies like that you can see on some TV channels.”
~~~~~@~~~~~
Back at camp the atmosphere was subdued. Usually, with Inuyasha and Shippo together, there was a bit of noise and sniping at each other but the hanyou was quiet and even resisted the kits attempts to bait him.
White dog ears flattened against his head, leg bouncing up and down, Inuyasha started into the fire, trying to organize his jumbled thoughts and figure out what to do or think.
Watching him, both Sango and Miroku said nothing. By now they knew the whole story of the mating with Kikyo and why it was done as well as just how much he loved Kagome. But as they both had told him when he explained it, it didn’t matter. Kagome, as she herself had said, wouldn’t go for it and be there still while he was mated to another. Being a ‘mistress’, as she had called it, went against her values and ethics. No matter how much he loved her when she found out he was mated his chance with her was gone. They doubted, knowing him the way they did, he could accept that idea and would still try to get her back until it was made clear in no uncertain terms that it was over. Even then he might not get the hint.
Lowering her eyes, Sango’s thoughts skipped to his half-brother. She had to admit Sesshomaru stunned her. The way he was acting was almost the polar opposite of what they knew of him. That brought on the question as to whether or not the whole thing was an act. As she had said earlier she didn’t think it was. She doubted he could, or would, fake something like this, even if his life depended on it. Plus, from what she knew of him, she could see no reason he would do something like that. He had enough honor that he wouldn’t do something like this just to amuse himself. Though some might not agree, she had personally decided he was doing it because he cared for Kagome, as something more than a friend.
From the perspective of a female she had to admit she was a bit jealous of her friend! Though this was out of character for the taiyoukai, Sesshomaru knew how to treat a woman right! The affection and gentleness he showed Kagome was wonderful, especially after what happed with Inuyasha. How could you focus on the hurt when someone was there treating you so wonderfully? It was the perfect thing to do and was probably just what Kagome had needed.
~~~~~@~~~~~
About an hour or so later, the couple rejoined the rest. Both seemed to be in a good mood and calm. In fact, despite what had happened the previous week, Kagome seemed to be very happy. Sitting by the fire with the rest, Sesshomaru held the little miko in his lap, an arm wrapped around her waist, his mokomoko draped over her knees. Relaxed against his chest, she stroked the runner of fur, something that elicited a soft rumble in his chest that she really liked.
Because supper wouldn’t be ready for a while yet Inuyasha decided to try to clear the air about his relationship with Kikyo. They others already pretty much knew it all so he decided to do it there rather than try to get her alone. He also thought if he did it in the open there might not be a nasty argument over it.
When he asked to talk to her about she glanced up at Sesshomaru, who gave her the barest of nods. Snuggling deeper into the taiyoukai’s lap, she told Inuyasha to go ahead. Sitting down, Inuyasha stared at the beginning and went through it all, doing nothing to sugar coat or play down what had happened or the wrongs that he had done. He also went out of his way to point out that Kikyo had repeatedly told him to tell Kagome. But in the end none of it helped him.
She had listened to the whole thing quietly, without an outburst, only stopping him to ask questions when she didn’t understand something. But none of it changed her mind. She just reiterated what she had told him earlier in the day, adding that she felt used and humiliated by what he had done. Also, that she felt he had betrayed her.
Ears lowered, all the hanyou did was nod while he looked at the ground. When she was done he was quiet for several minutes before looking up at his half-brother. “Is there a relationship between you two? Or is all this something else?”
“What an idiot!” Shippo said from where he was sitting by Miroku.
Glaring at the whelp, Sesshomaru snarled, “Of course there is! I do and will treat her better than you ever did!”
Though the question of how long it had been going on popped in his head, like he was sure it would most people, Inuyasha didn’t ask it. He knew Kagome well enough to know she would never have cheated on him. Sighing, the hanyou nodded and moved away. No, he wasn’t going to give up on Kagome but now wasn’t the time to work on that.
~~~~~@~~~~~
After supper Sango and Kagome retired to a nearby hot springs for a bath. Showing his protective streak, Sesshomaru escorted the women there then waited a ways away for them to finish, making sure they were safe while they bathed.
Since his talk with Kagome Inuyasha was quiet and withdrawn, obviously still upset. Trying to inject a bit of levity and cheer up his friend, Miroku said, “Look at the bright side of this Inuyasha.”
Scowling, the hanyou glared at the monk. “What bright side? I sure don’t see that there is one you pervert.”
“Ah, that’s because you aren’t looking at it the right way my thick-headed friend! Consider this: what do you think Sesshomaru’s reaction is going to be when Kouga shows up to see ‘his woman’?”
A blank look on his face, Inuyasha stared at the monk for a full minute. Then a happy, serene look, like the one you see on the faces of people who have had a deeply moving, religious experience, crossed his face. “Oh, I can’t wait to see that! Someone is finally going to put that mangy fucking wolf in his place!”