Kryptonite

By Danyealle

(fanfiction/MF/HC/Abuse)

Chapter 25

Once the Kagura issue was disposed of Sesshomaru had other issues to deal with.  There were guards and members of his army in and out of his study with progress reports on arrests and interrogations that were still going on.  He had to send dispatches off to other lords with names of Naraku operatives in their midst.  Then he sent a message to the Southern Lord with the location of Naraku’s lair.  Of all the things he had to do that was the one that tore him a bit.  He wanted to wait then show up at the spider’s lair himself and handle him personally.  But, as he knew from past experience, Naraku was a sneaky, slippery bastard that might find out ahead of time then move on.  It was best to let the Southern Lord handle it for now though he was doubtful that he would be effective against the crafty spider.  He had a feeling that all that was going to happen was the arachnid hanyou was going to do was pull up stakes and move elsewhere, making them start over looking for him.

Beyond that he had to concentrate on protecting the innocent beings in his fortress.  Rin and Shippo were confined to the children’s wing with only pack members and one or two of the most trusted members of his staff allowed in.  Guards were posted at all entrances.  The pack, all of them, had to have a guard with them wherever they went.  Those that were good friends with the little priestess at court were confined to their chambers with guards posted outside them.  Both Kagome and Kagura, still soundly sleeping, were kept in his study so he could personally keep an eye on them.  Kagura had been moved to the sofa and a cot with a soft feather mattress was put by his desk for the little priestess so that both of them were close to him at all times while he tended to what had to be done.  He wasn’t about to leave the two most vulnerable members of his pack’s safety to anyone else.  They were his responsibility and he would ensure their safety personally.  Finally, patrols were increased in the fortress and around his lands.  That was about all he could.  No, he wasn’t expecting any attacks on his lands or fortress but it had to do with something more along the lines of desperate people do desperate things from those who’s names were on the list he had and others who may well be working with Naraku.

The pack gathered in his study for supper.  Kagura was woken to join them but Kagome was left alone to sleep.  While they ate they talked about what was going on and what had happened up to that point.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

At about 10 pm the pack plus Kagura began to head off to bed.  The wind witch arched a bit of an eyebrow when she was told she would be sharing a room with the slayer but said nothing.  Sesshomaru wasn’t done with what he had to take care of so Kagome, still soundly sleeping, stayed with him in the study.

About midnight, just as he was signing his name on a long put off scroll to his great uncle he heard her soft voice say his name quietly.  Looking over at her, he saw her sitting on the edge of the cot, looking at him.  Sitting the scroll aside in the pile of ones needing to be sent off the next day he then turned sideways in his chair then reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.  “How are you feeling?”  He asked gently.

“Completely wiped out.”  She admitted in a tired voice, rubbing her eyes.

“That’s understandable,” he said with a nod.  “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“Something to drink please, I’m parched.”

“That can be easily arranged.”  He said then stepped out into the hallway to send one of the servants to get her something to drink and have it delivered to his chambers.  Then he alerted Jaken that he was off to bed.  Slipping back in, he walked over to her and offered her his elbow.  “Come… we’ll head up to my chambers so you can find your night clothes and get more comfortable.”  He told her.

Nodding, she stood on legs that felt weak and a bit shaky then looped her arm through his.  Leaning heavily against him, she let him lead the way.

Sensing her exhausted state and feeling how heavily she was leaning against him, he slipped his arm around her back to help support her, moving slowly.

Once in his chambers, he turned her over to the maid in charge of her chambers to help her get changed and take care of whatever else she may need to.  While she was being attended to, he washed up and changed into the pajamas she had brought him.  After the just and a light snack was brought in he stood over by the balcony doors.  Daoe was on her perch so he rubbed his head a bit and fed him a couple treats.  A few minutes later Kagome came into his room. 

Directing her to his bed, he brought the tray over and set it on the bedside table the poured her a glass and handed it to her.”

After a deep drink, she leaned back against the headboard with a sigh.  “That’s good!”  She said softly then looked at him.  “How’s Kagura doing?”

“From what the slayer told me before she went to bed, she’s fine, just tired.”  He told her.

Sighing, she nodded.  “Good.”

“What you did was the most amazing thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.”  He told her softly. 

Smiling, she drank the last of the juice then set the cup on the tray.  “Thanks but your arm was much harder.  There was so much more to connect and form.”

Nodding, he understood.  Reaching out, he cupped her cheek and rubbed it gently.  “You amaze me Kagome.  You’re powerful, more so than I think you realize, yet you haven’t let it change you.”

Smiling, she leaned into his hand.  “I am who I am.”  She answered simply.

“And that being is an amazing individual.”  He stated.  Leaning forward, he kissed her softly.  When he broke it off he leaned back and looked at her.  “Now, get some rest miko.”  He told her gently.

Nodding, she laid down and curled up under the covers.  After getting comfortable she rested her head on the pillow and shut her eyes.  Within minutes she was once more asleep, breathing deeply.

For a couple minutes he just sat there and watched her, quietly.  Like she had so many times in the past, she had once more amazed him with her show of power.  At this point he couldn’t understand why he had ever thought she was weak.  Reaching out, he ran his fingers through her hair a couple times.

After a couple minutes he pulled himself away and stood.  Calling her maid, he handed her the tray then dismissed her for the night.  Taking his robe off, he then hung it up.  Looking at the bird, he said, “Keep an eye on things for me Daoe.”  When he heard a determined chirp, he extinguished the lights and slid into bed beside her.

Lying next to her, he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her to his chest.  Running his hand up and down her back, he rested his head against hers and shut his eyes.  Though he was tired it took a while for sleep to finally come.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

The taiyoukai wasn’t the only one that was still awake.  Laying in the dark, listening to Sangos’ deep, even breathing, Kagura was very much awake.  With her hand on her chest over her new heart, she lay there feeling it’s steady beat while she listened to the distant noises from the other side of the fortress, mind racing and spinning. 

She was free!  After so long that evil son of a bitch had no hold on her!  Once more she felt a couple tears of pure happiness trickle down her cheeks.

On the heels of that her thoughts moved to Kagome.  Oh boy did she have a debt to pay to her.  But it was that she would gladly do. Even with all Naraku knew about her and all she had seen she had no idea of just how powerful she was until her hand was in her chest.  It was staggering.  Now she vowed to protect and defend the little ningen with all she had.  There was no way she could allow Naraku or anyone else to hurt the being that had given her such a gift.

Glancing over at the slayer she thought about her and the rest of the pack.  From all she had observed of them she knew they were more than just a group tossed together hunting Naraku.  They were friends and, in many ways, a family.  She hoped to be included in that.  It would be nice to have something of that nature after so many years of having nothing but a cruel, heartless, bastard of a master.  Sighing, she realized before that could happen she would have to earn their trust and it would take time to do so.  But she would!  She would! She would succeed!  They had given her freedom and she would repay them for it.  No way in hell would she ever do anything to betray them in any way, shape or form.  No, it probably wouldn’t be easy but nothing that was worth it ever was.  She just hoped that they would give her the chance is all.  After all there was a long, bad history between all of them, especially Kouga.  It was going to be hard to overcome that.  She just hoped that everyone would give her the chance to prove it to them.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

The next morning Kagome woke up alone in bed. She thought that was a bit odd because Sesshomaru usually waited for her to wake before he got up.  Just as she was starting to think about climbing out and seeing if there was a problem he came in the door.  Dressed in that robe and slippers she had given him told her it probably wasn’t an emergency of any kind, that he had just gone to take care of something in the family wing or with the children.

Giggling, she grinned.  “There you are… I was beginning to think you abandoned me or something.”

Knowing one of her jokes when he heard one he just smirked.  “I assure you that wasn’t the case.  I was just making arrangements for breakfast is all because of yesterday’s events I thought the pack should all eat together so they could all be filled in on the totality of what went on.  So I arranged for everyone to meet in the common room for a meal.  I also arranged for the pups to be there as well since they’ve been confined to the children’s wing since yesterday.”

“Works for me!” she said with a nod.

Sitting down beside her, he slipped an arm around her and gave her a bit of a squeeze then a kiss.  When he broke it off he told her, “Go get your robe on,” and that, “…you don’t need to get fully dressed, then we’ll go down and meet everyone.  I’m sure they’re assembled and hungry by now.”

“Alright.”  She said then gave him a quick peck on the cheek before hopping out of bed.

Within a few minutes they had joined the rest of the pack in the common room down at the end of the hall.  After saying hello to everyone and giving the kids their usual hug and kiss she sat down at the table beside the demon lord with Daoe perched on her shoulder.

Grinning wickedly, Kouga peeked under the table then sat back up, grinning bigger.  “Nice feet there Sesshomaru!  I heard rumors about those big, fluffy feet of yours but thought they were lying. 

“They are slippers.”  Sesshomaru told him with a smirk, knowing he was joking.

“Well damn!  I thought those boots of yours were concealing them!”  He chuckled, eyes dancing.

Giggling, Kagome sipped at her tea.  Noticing Kagura sitting off by herself in a corner, she said, “Come join us Kagura.  You can sit by me.”  She said patting the cushion by her.  As far as she was concerned the wind witch was now part of the pack and should be treated as such.  No, she wasn’t going to fully trust her yet but she felt she should be included.

“Thanks Kagome.”  Kagura said the moved over and sat by the little miko, taking a cup of tea from her.

Daoe hopped over onto Kagome’s other shoulder to check out the new ‘person’.  Stroking the bird’s feathers with a couple fingers, Kagome said, “You want to meet her Daoe?”  She asked him, looking at Kagura.  When she saw her nod that it was OK she leaned over so the bird could hop onto her shoulder.

Moving to the wind witch’s shoulder, Daoe checked her out a bit then leaned close to her cheek and pressed his tongue against it, his form of a kiss, then settled on her shoulder, leaning against her head a bit, a sign that he approved and accepted her.

Sesshomaru watched the bird’s reaction very carefully.  As he well knew the bird had excellent instincts about beings as well as seeming to know who you could/couldn’t trust.  His positive reaction went a long way towards telling that the wind witch could be trusted and wasn’t being deceptive. 

“He likes you,” Kagome said with a grin, handing her a couple pieces of meat to feed to him.

Smiling, Kagura fed him then petted his head.  “So you’re Daoe.  Naraku really hates you, know that?”

That simple statement got everyone’s attention.  Eyebrow arched, Sesshomaru looked at her.  “Explain.” he told her bluntly.

“You know he can detect beings near you even when they rest of you can’t.  I’ve heard you talk about it when that bastard made me keep an eye on what you were doing.  That was enough to drive him nuts.  So he decided to just use Kanna and her mirror to keep an eye on you.  As it turns out Daoe can detect that as well some how.”

Smirking, Sesshomaru looked at the bird youkai.  “Daoe, I’m liking you more and more every day!”  He told him, handing him a couple more pieces of meat.

Chirping happily, the bird took them and quickly devoured them. 

After that everyone began to dig into their food, the usual banter and joking around going on as they ate.

For Kagura, that meal was a whole new experience for her.  Never before had she experienced something so simple and pleasant.  It was funny to listen to the joking around.  Kagome had also made sure that she was included in it as well so she didn’t feel left out. 

Once the meal was over Sesshomaru settled down to the serious discussion he wanted to have with them about what had happened the day before and what would be going on that day. 

First, he filled them in on everything that had gone on the day before and just how many arrests were made.  Then he moved on to what would be happening that day-mostly interrogations and intelligence gathering.  Some of which he would be taking care of personally.  He made it clear that he wanted everyone to stay in the family wing for the day.  Most of the fortress would remain on ‘lockdown’ as Kagome had phrased it so there wouldn’t be much to do anyway.  He most certainly didn’t want them outside, even on the balconies.  If there was something he felt they should know or hear he would send for them.  He also made sure they knew they would be there for an extra week at least so that he could deal with the fallout and ensure he had all the traitors and spies out.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

After breakfast, they all retired back to their separate rooms to get ready for the day.  Kagome planned to go back to sleep for a while then she was going to organize a couple card games to keep everyone busy. 

Flopped on his bed on her stomach, she was talking to Sesshomaru through the door to his changing room while he dressed.

When he came out he was mostly ready.  He began putting on the rest of his clothes and she rested her chin on her folded wrists, watching him.  “You going to have a busy day?”  She asked quietly.

With a sigh, he nodded.  “Yes.  I have to deal with interrogations, some of which I have to attend personally, and what comes from them.  I’m sure there are a desk full of scrolls waiting for me from other lords that I sent information about traitors to.  Not to mention the chaos and fallout from the arrests.  There will also have to be investigations of others involved to make sure there are no others working for Naraku.”  He didn’t mention that he also had executions to plan and schedule.

Sliding off the bed, she went over to him and helped him slide into his shirts and do them up.  Though this was something she hadn’t done before it seemed like the most normal and natural thing in the world to her.  “Sounds like a day from hell in the making.”  She said quietly as she worked with the buttons.

“Indeed, it probably will be.”  He told her quietly, watching, a bit stunned, as she helped him dress.  No, he didn’t mind, not in the least, it was just unexpected is all.

“Would you mind if Daoe and I brought you lunch about noon?  By then I’m sure you’ll probably need a break and to see a friendly face.”

“I believe I would like that.”  He told her.  “I’ll make sure that someone comes to escort you at that time.  Don’t leave on your own and make sure that you stay in the family wing and off the balcony.”  He reiterated gently.  Yes, part of it was that he was concerned for her safety but he didn’t want her outside because he fully intended for the executions to start today.  Though she would see nothing from the area of the gardens she used or where the balcony was, she would probably hear enough to know what was going on.  That wasn’t something he wanted.

When she finished with all the buttons, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.  “Sesshomaru, I…” she started to say but cut herself off.

Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close.  “Yes?”  He asked quietly.

“I worry about you so be careful, OK?”  She said looking up at him.  No, that wasn’t what she had intended to say but it was the truth.  She did worry about him.

“You need not worry about me Kagome, I’ll be fine.”  He assured her.

“Sorry, I can’t help it.  It comes with the package when you care about someone.”  She told him.

“I believe I understand.”  He replied quietly, nodding.  Kissing her on top of the head, he pulled away reluctantly then finished dressing.  When he was done, he pulled her into another hug then kissed her tenderly.  “I have to go now.  But I’ll be looking forward to lunch.”  He said, looking down at her.

“Me too.”  She said with a smile.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Once Sesshomaru had left she plopped on the bed with a deep sigh.  Looking out the balcony door she wanted to take a walk in the gardens to think but that wasn’t an option today.

With another deep sigh, she shut her eyes and began to swing her feet back and forth.  Then, when Daoe landed on her shoulder, she decided what to do.  Standing, she went into her room and gathered her bath things.  Her personal maid asked if she needed help.  Knowing that was part of her job, Kagome asked her to wait a half an hour before she came in so she could have a relaxing soak.

Once the in the hot springs, she stripped down then slipped into the water.  Daoe was at the other end of the pool, flapping around, playing.  Smiling, she watched him for a few minutes.  Then she propped her feet flat on the rock she was sitting on, knees bent, wrapped her arms around her shins then rested her chin on her knees, eyes shut.  With a deep sigh she thought back to what she had almost said to him. 

She had almost told him she loved him but had stopped herself.  Now she wanted to figure out if she really did love him and just what kind of love it was.

Sighing, she focused on the question of did she love him.  On some level, as a friend, she had for some time, that she knew but did it now go beyond that?   Without hesitation the answer that came to her was a firm and definite yes.  She was sure it was well beyond that at this point.  But she was also fairly certain that he felt the same way about her.  After all he had admitted that to her.  She also doubted he would treat her the way he did if he didn’t care about her.  That thought made her smile.  How deep it went on his end she didn’t know but it was there and that was enough for her.

Okay, with the self admission out of the way came the second part of the question: should she tell him?  Since she had no fear of rejection of any kind she felt she could and should do just that.  After all they were building towards being mated.  An admission of her feelings could only help things between them.  No, she didn’t expect the great pronouncement from him in return, though it would be nice, but it was still something that could only help things between them.

That decided it for her.  That night, when they were alone, she would tell him.  Even without the fear of rejection it wasn’t going to be an easy thing to do.  Revealing something like that was hard, even for someone like her that was fairly free and open with their feelings and emotions.

Drawn out of her inner talk by a happy, frenzied chirping by Daoe, she looked over at him and giggled.  He was flapping around in the water like he was drowning, feathers all akimbo, playing with a small red ball she had brought him.  Calling him over, she took it from him and began to play a version of catch, making him dive under the water to get it.

…ks…ks…ks…ks…

Perched in a thick, dense leafy tree as far up as he could get, Inuyasha was at the front of the fortress watching the flurry of activity with avid interest.  It was obvious that something huge had gone down from the sheer number of guards and military personnel he had seen roaming around.  Not to mention the fact that there had been an execution of an inu onna.  Because the chopping block had been left on the platform, that told him there were more to come more than likely.

He had tried to keep his ears open to see if he could figure out what had happened but all he had heard had been bits and pieces here and there, not enough to piece together or tell him just what had gone on.  Considering the increase in guards and patrols around, that told him whatever it was had been big. 

Usually, he would have gone sneaking around to see if he could figure it out, not to mention the ego stroke it gave him knowing that he could move about his bastard brothers most protected area without being detected, but considering how many more patrols and guards were around he didn’t.  Then there was the fact that they all seemed to be on edge so he decided that wasn’t a good idea right now.  Instead he chose to stay close and see if he couldn’t figure out what the fuck was going on.  Then, when it got dark, he would try sneaking around in the courtyard a bit to see if he couldn’t overhear something that way.  Deep down, he was fairly certain that this all had something, somehow, to do with Naraku so he felt he had to know what it was. 

On the heels of that came the thought that it had been a few days since he had caught a glimpse of Kagome and seeing her once more was becoming almost a physical need at this point.  He had to at least catch a glimpse of her soon or he was sure that he would end up doing something foolish that he would regret.  Tomorrow he would start trying to figure out a way around all the extra security and to sneak around so he could watch her for a while.  Once he saw her he would be OK and feel better.