It Is What It Is
By Danyealle
(MF/angst/fanfiction)
Chapter 10
When Inuyasha and Kouga finished fighting the food was served up. While they ate plans were laid out for moving the camp.
Once everyone had eaten their fill and rested a bit to let the food settle they began packing up. First thing on the agenda was to get Kagome’s bag packed up. As she was deflating the bed Sango gave Sesshomaru detailed instructions on how to inflate it. Once her bag was fully packed the demon lord and the miko were ready to go. After giving detailed directions to the cave Sesshomaru and the sleeping miko were off. The taiyoukai had been loathe to travel at the slow pace the pack would be with her being vulnerable like she was. Even though it would only take the pack a couple hours to get there it would only take him a few minutes. Because the cave was well protected a few hours alone with her wasn’t a problem.
As he had anticipated it didn’t take long for him to get there. Once in the cave he put Kagome on a sleeping mat in the chamber he always used as his then went out and started a fire in the main chamber. After checking to make sure his barrier was in place and everything was properly warded he returned to the sleeping miko then got to work trying to inflate the mattress the way Sango had explained. Right off the bat he found it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Unfortunately, he found out that his claws were the problem and he had to be careful. Both the pipe and the bed were made of some kind of material that his claws could easily puncture. But, after some snarling, cursing and growling he was finally able to get everything attached right and it began to inflate the way it should. Once he got beyond that stage everything else when smoothly and quickly. Within minutes the bed was ready. Picking up the sleeping onna he put her on it then laid down with her. Pulling her close to him, he sighed and shut his eyes.
After he went through a mental check list to ensure he had everything done that was needed he began to relax. Sighing, he began to go over what was going to need to be done now that he had a mate. There were quite a few things that would need to be dealt with. Yes, his life was now much more complex than it had been just 24 hours ago. Realistically, the hunt for Naraku and joining up with the whelps pack was going to be the easiest part of the equation. He was sure that once the ‘honeymoon’ period was over there would be problems between himself and Inuyasha but he was sure they wouldn’t be anything major or that he couldn’t handle. In fact it was a pretty even bet that Kagome would be the one to handle most of them. He would gladly let her do so.
The pack wasn’t much of a problem but the fortress was a whole other story. Rin, of course, would be deliriously happy. She adored Kagome and when she found out the miko was now essentially her mother it would send her into an almost delirious rapture.
Then there was Jaken. Yes, he was sure the kappa would have a few things to say about the match but a good whack from him and a couple threats of purification from Kagome would end that. If Kagome becomes a full youkai he doubted the little toad would have much to say about it other than about who she was. That could be easily dealt with and fairly quickly as well.
It was with the other lords and their mates along with the court that the real problems were going to come from. If she did become youkai the problems would be minimal even with her being a miko. Well, until it was discovered that she had started out as a ningen. Though, hopefully, there would be plenty of time for her to win everyone over before that bit of news was found out. If not then there would be some issues here and there but he was certain it wouldn’t be anything he couldn’t easily deal with.
However, he was well aware that there were a few females in the court that probably would try to make her life miserable no matter what. They were vindictive, conniving wenches that enjoyed making other beings lives miserable. It could even be worse in Kagome’s case because they had their sights set on him as a potential mate. From his perspective he felt it was time to clean house at court and rid it of those that were the cause of the biggest problems. He wasn’t about to subject his mate, who was going to have problems adjusting to youkai society as it was, subjected to petty viciousness by females that nothing better to do with their time than make others miserable
Smirking, he contemplated the ‘house cleaning’. Oh yes, he was certain he would find that to be very enjoyable. Those that caused the most problems were usually the ones that he loathed to begin with. They had been there so long that they were entrenched and seemed to be of the opinion that they had a right to be there and no one could force them out. They were about to find out otherwise. Usually there was a ‘court cleaning’ when a new lord or lady took over but he hadn’t bothered when he came into power. Because he had never been one to care about such things he had let the status quo continue and ignored all the dramatics and intrigue. He was sure that the looks on their faces when they got their marching orders was going to be priceless! If banishment from court after so many years of being there wasn’t bad enough he knew it was also going to affect their social status, taking them down a peg or two. That was something he felt most, if not all of them, needed.
Yes, he was well aware all those at the fortress knew how vicious and deadly he was but they were going to find out that what they knew was understated if they messed with or tried their usual stupidity with the little priestess! He was well aware that Kagome was more than capable of taking care of herself and wouldn’t hesitate to unleash her fiery temper on those that would try to mess with her but he wasn’t about to allow anyone to treat her with any kind of disrespect. If anyone thought they would get away with a haughty, holier-than-thou attitude or backstabbing gossip with her they would be finding another place to live very quickly. He doubted it would take more than a month for everyone at the fortress to get the hint and adjust their behavior accordingly.
Though court was the biggest ‘problem’ and adjustment that would need to be made it sure wasn’t the only one. There were many more things to consider; some big, some small. One of the first things to come to mind was her family and the well. No, he didn’t have a problem with the close relationship she had with her family or her going home once in a while. He could handle that without a problem. What he had a ‘problem’ with was something he would freely admit to; a bit of jealousy. He was well aware that the only one that could get through the well besides Kagome was Inuyasha. It was that part that he had a problem with. He didn’t like the fact that the whelp could do something when it concerned her that he couldn’t. Yes, he was aware that it was something he really couldn’t do anything about but he wanted to try. Once Kagome was done with her change then he would sit down with her to see if there was a way he could pass as well.
Inuyasha wasn’t the only problem he had with the time-traveling well. From talks with her in the past he knew her time could be dangerous, no not as dangerous as this time from the sounds of it, but violence hadn’t been eliminated either. That raised questions about her protection. As her mate it was his duty and responsibility to ensure her safety to the best of his ability. That would apply to her time as will as his. His sense of honor and responsibility wouldn’t allow him to ignore her safety in her time. Because the other side of the well was an unknown factor to him he didn’t know how to deal with it or what to do to ensure she was as safe as she could be. He couldn’t do that if he didn’t know the danger factors involved. Nor could he begin to ensure that without at least having an assessment of the situation. This was something he and the miko were going to have to discuss at length.
There was one more thing about the time traveling well that bothered him and it had more to do with something all but unheard of when it came to him: insecurity. From the time he had admitted there were feelings for her he had been concerned that something would happen to the well and she would end up trapped in her time, unable to return. Now that feeling had intensified. The way he saw it now was that if he was with her when/if that happened then they would at least still be together. If he was stuck in the future then so be it, he could and would learn to deal with it as long as they were together.
Stopping that train of thought, he opened his eyes and looked down at the onna sleeping in his arms so peacefully. Leaning down, he kissed her softly on the forehead where the faint crescent moon was. Though they had been mated for less than 24 hours he was already planning their future. Yes, there were things that needed planned out but what he was doing went well beyond that. Nor could he chalk all of it up to his meticulous nature. It went well beyond that too. Never before, except for things dealing with battles or fighting, had he been so thorough in his planning. Most times he just let the fates guide and determine his course. Now he felt differently about things that he was able to make plans for.
Filing that oddity away for now he moved on to something else: the near future and what was going to happen when Kagome was awake and done changing. There were a couple things that he wanted and he felt needed to be done. On the need end of the perspective there were several variables depending on how much she changed and if there were any fluctuation in her powers. Once all that was finally in play he would know how to work with it and what would need to be done.
On the other end of things there was what he wanted. That was simple enough, at least a week alone together. From the way he saw things that should be easy enough to arrange. He had a small, isolated place that was on western lands where they could go and not be disturbed. Once she was awake he could send the pack to the fortress or Edo so they could have a rest.
As he well knew, for the foreseeable future the two of them were unlikely to get much time alone. Also, he was sure she would come up with some things that he hadn’t that would need to be dealt with as well. Even though he was trying to plan for everything he was well aware that there were always things he wouldn’t think of. That week alone would give them time to work through some of them. Honestly though, he just wanted to spend some time alone with her. Up to this point the most they had been able to squeeze out were just a few hours here and there, not nearly as much as he would have liked. So he didn’t feel a week alone was too much to ask.
Because he knew there was no one around to see he let a small smile curve up the corners of his mouth and his eyes softened a bit. Never in his life had he felt this good. When it came to love and relationships he had been jaded for as long as he could remember. Growing up as a member of the aristocracy he had seen more matings done for an alliance of some kind or political reasons than he had for love, including his own parents. In fact, he had only seen a handful of matings done for love in his whole life. Most couples never really had feelings for their partners and probably only had relations to produce children. That is what he had anticipated for himself in the future but the fates had decided otherwise and for that he was grateful. He now couldn’t imagine or fathom a mating for any other reason and felt lucky that wasn’t in his future any more.
Gazing down at her peaceful, sleeping face her felt a surge of warmth throughout his body and his heart swell.
Sighing, he gave her another kiss on the forehead then nuzzled her softly before shutting his eyes to take a big of a nap while he waited for the rest of the pack to arrive.