…From the Ashes the Phoenix Rises
By Danyealle
(FanFiction/Angst)
Chapter 17
Perched in a tree, Inuyasha spent his time alternating between glowering at Kouga and Sesshomaru. He was really beginning to hate his asshole half-brother and that fucking wolf! They were still making his life miserable. Sitting there, his eyes locked on the sleeping Kagome. Curled up in her sleeping bag she was laying next to Lord Asshole.
His Kagome….
Sighing, he shut his eyes. All he really wanted in this world was for things to go back to the way they were. He wanted his pack back and for things to change. With Kikyo gone things would be better than they were before. Now he could fully concentrate on Kagome and give her the kind of attention she needed and wanted. Yes, he understood how much he hurt her but that was now in the past so he could prove that he wouldn’t do it again. It was time he be allowed to make up to her for that rottenness. It was all in place, his plan to make things up to her. He was trying to show her how special she was to him by doing things she liked and making sure she got things she liked the best, like food. Though he, and as far as he could tell no one else, had told her it was him doing it she had to know. Who else would make sure she got the foods she liked best? Who else would go find the flowers that were her favorite? He was also making sure that when they camped at night she was by a hot springs so she could bathe. It was him that was hunting at night and he made sure hat he caught what he knew she liked. Who else would do that?
Everything was set in motion, now it was time to move to the next step. He had to try to get her alone some how so he could negate the damage that fucking wolf and his half-brother had done. It was time to start formulating how to do that. Also, he had to start doing a bit of spying to see just what kind of shit they were feeding her. He couldn’t undo damage if he didn’t know what said damage was.
Growling, he opened his eyes and glared at both Kouga and Sesshomaru. Already these two fucks were making it hard on him. Yes, he had started small while at the slayers village with that breakfast. It had somewhat been his way of saying how sorry he was to her. The same with the fresh flowers. She had to know it was him that had done that. Even if she didn’t figure it out he was sure that someone had told her. But even if she had wanted to say something she had been flanked by the two assholes after that until she had left to go home. It was like the two fuckers were glued to her at all times. But he had anticipated that to an extent so he had made plans beyond that point, well beyond.
As he well knew when Kagome went home his baka half-brother went with her. Usually Lord Royal-Pain-In-The-Ass only stayed a little while, probably just to ensure she got there safely then to work out when to come pick her up, after that he came back and went to his fortress to do whatever the hell he did there.
After Kagome and the baka left that mangy wolf said he had something to do so he and the two dumb asses as well as the wolves all left. That left only him, Sango and Miroku at the village. After they were gone the other twos plan was to only be there a couple more days then head back to Edo. Patiently, he had waited until the next morning then announced he had something to do and would meet them in Edo then took off.
As he headed towards Edo he solidified his plans. He was sure that he had given it enough time that Sesshomaru was already back and was probably at his fortress by now. So, he was sure that he could get to the well and through it without a problem. Once he got the miko alone he was home fee. Then everything would finally be back on the road to normalcy.
Shifting around, he growled softly. Of course, as usually went on with his life, it did not work out how he had planned. Yes, he got to the well just fine and there didn’t seem to be anyone around to stop him. Just in case he lurked around for a while to make sure. After a couple hours of seeing, hearing and sensing nothing he took off for the old well at top speed. With that his thought was that if someone had been around they would have one helluva time catching him. At top speed he headed towards it then leaped into it. What he had expected was to be engulfed in the blue light of the time rift then land on the side that was Kagomes’ time. It didn’t happen. There was no time rift, no nothing. Instead he landed at the bottom, still very much in the feudal era. Jumping up and down, nothing happened. Leaping out of the well he jumped back in. Nadda. Jumping out of the well, he let out a snarl of frustration and was about to throw what could only be described as a temper tantrum when he heard a chuckle behind him. Spinning around, he had found himself looking at a grinning Kouga.
“Problem Inuyasha?” The grinning ookami asked.
“What the fuck is going on?!?”
“Well, we had expected this from you mutt-face, so we took steps to make sure you can’t get through.”
The fuckers had made sure that the miko had sealed the well temporarily from her end plus Lord Fuckhead had stayed with her. That flea-bitten excuse for a wolf had been guarding the well. GAH!
Oh yeah, he had been PISSED! For about 12 hours he had thrown the tantrum from hell, privately anyway. But, after he had calmed down, he had set about trying to come up with a new plan. It had become obvious he had going to have to be sneaker about whatever he did and work around the two fuckheads. Though he was normally about as subtle as a boulder he was going to have to learn to be in order to get around them. No, he hadn’t found a sure-fire way to do that but he was working on it. He was keeping up with doing the little things and the day she and Lord Fuckwit had come back he had started sneaking around, following her, to see if he could get some clues as to what should be his next move. But even that hadn’t been as easy as he had anticipated. Both fuckheads were making sure it was all but impossible to do. It seemed whenever he tried one or the other of them would be around to thwart him.
Honestly, he was about to start resorting to drastic measures he didn’t want to take! Being around the miko as long as he had, he was well aware of her ‘modesty issues’ and how much she guarded it. But at this point it seemed that the only time he was going to be able to catch her alone or grab her was when she was taking a bath. Yes, she usually bathed with Sango but the slayer didn’t usually stay as long as Kagome did so if he paid attention he would be able to judge how long he would have to talk to her or how much time he would have to grab her. Yes, that would be the remedy of last resorts but it was best to make plans now because it was looking like it might come to that point. But he was going to make sure he tried everything else first. Hell, even if he had to invent some of it he would do it before he resorted to that!
Sighing, he shifted around to a more comfortable position. He wasn’t going to accomplish anything if he got no sleep and was exhausted. He needed to be on his toes if he expected to get anything accomplished. Shutting his eyes, he slouched down and tried to relax so that sleep would finally come.
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When he felt calm start to entwine in the baka half-breeds aura Sesshomaru opened his eyes and trained them on where the whelp was perched. It seemed that Inuyasha had never really learned to mask his aura the way he should have. But he wasn’t about to complain because it gave him an edge. Even if the baka looked asleep he could tell he wasn’t.
Sitting there, he waited and watched Inuyasha so he could tell when the half-breed was asleep. Despite what the baka may have thought he was no fool, he was well aware of what the half-breed was thinking about; Kagome. No, he didn’t know exactly what the baka was plotting or thinking but every time he concentrated on Kagome a very light shades of pink would entwine in his aura. Although he couldn’t tell exactly what the whelp was thinking he could usually take an educated guess what it was. He was well aware that the whelps train of thought was focused on how to get to Kagome so he could try to weasel his way back into Kagomes’ good graces and get his life the way he used to be back.
If Inuyasha had opened his eyes and looked at Sesshomaru his blood would have froze and hackles rose because the stoic Western Lord was actually grinning! Both the taiyoukai and his beast were smug and had every right to be that way. While with Kagome in her time for a week a lot of things had changed and only Kouga knew about it at this point though he was sure the slayer would probably know fairly soon.
Yes, he had liked the idea of spending time with her and not having to hide it or sneak around. After the first day there he began to realize just how much things could be changing.
The first night there was when he realized that the batch of tests she was about to take were very different than the others in the past. Once she was done with those tests those subjects were done forever. After that she only had two classes and one semester left then she would be finished with school forever. Her mother had arranged for her to be able to be homeschooled for those classes, meaning she wouldn’t have to come home as much and she would have all the materials she needed to finish them as quickly as she wanted, not having to wait to keep even with what her ‘class’ was doing. Because he had ensured she had time to study each night and made it back when she needed to she had done very well and her ‘grades’ were good so she was no longer struggling so she would be allowed more time in the feudal era.
That was only the beginning. Yes, Kagome had told him she had planned to stay in the feudal era after Naraku was gone and the jewel was completed. Her reasoning was that it was more her ‘home’ than her time was anymore. She said she no longer fit in her time and felt she belonged in the in the past. When she had told him that he hadn’t been aware that she and her mother had discussed it as well. That discussion became tied in with something else; their relationship.
Since they had become ‘serious’, as Kagome phrased it, he was aware that her mother knew there was something building between them and had voiced her approval to him so that it could continue. Like most mothers when it came to their daughters she had a sense that it had become more than just exploring what they felt. Eventually, at some point on one of her trips home, Kagome had confessed that they were going to become mates. Of course he had no problem or issue with that. He also found out her family didn’t either, something that pleased him.
The second day he was there her mother didn’t have to work and sat him down at the kitchen table for what she had called ‘serious discussion time’. What had come of it had stunned and shocked him but pleased him to no end. Nor had he any clue that it was coming.
Because he really hadn’t had much experience with mother/daughter relationships he didn’t realize how in depth they talked but he quickly found out. Kagome had told her everything. What came out of that discussion was a compromise. Her mother would give her blessing to their mating if he would promise that he would bring her home for three days a moth. Then, once she finished school, for a weekend every couple months. Because she was no longer taking any of her medicines there were no more doctors appointments so she didn’t need to come back as often. Once school was done and Kagome would be for longer periods of time she asked him if he could try to find a way to get messages to her so she would know her daughter was fine.
None of those things were anything he had a problem with. In fact they were fairly easy other than the message bit. But all that hinged on one condition.
Like most beings in a position of power, when he heard something like that he was instantly on his guard. But he wasn’t as leery as he would have been with most people. He was well aware that he probably wouldn’t have too much of a problem with whatever the condition was.
In fact, it was one that was even easier than he anticipated. It was that by the time they went back to the feudal era they were mated. Yes, there was one small hitch: she requested that her father perform the traditional wedding ceremony first. No, it wouldn’t be a legal one but as far as her family was concerned it would be the real deal. He was well aware that ningen and youkai versions or ‘marriage’ were very different though the end result was basically the same. From his end he had no problem with the old priest performing the ceremony. That ceremony had a great deal of meaning for her family, something he could appreciate. Mating was something that was done privately with no witnesses. Her mother explained her reasoning; that if Kagome went back to the feudal era as his mate she knew her daughter would have the best protection she could ever get. He had, of course, readily agreed.
The day after the last of her tests, standing under the Gods’ Tree at twilight, Kagome had become his ‘wife’ in a ceremony even he found to be very beautiful and touching. That night, when they were alone, she had become his mate. Kagome, a miko, was now mated to a taiyoukai and the title holding Lady of the Western Lands. Although it came about much faster than he intended the end result wasn’t something he would change.
Glancing down at the onna curled up next to him, his eyes softened. His mate, his Kagome. Though they couldn’t tell all those that were close to them yet he was pleased. As he expected her ‘big brother’, who did know, had been thrilled. Already the ookami was making plans for the biggest celebration his tribe had ever seen to ‘officially’ make her his sister and celebrate their mating. He too was making plans for something similar. He had taken a mate and he was proud of it so he wanted the world to know.