Property - Chapter Sixteen

The golden summer sunset heralded the darkness of the night. Naraku was a sharp, clear shadow against the last warm rays. Fitting, Kikyou thought, and poetic. There was a sense of finality, which wasn't so strange when she considered the bodies lying around her—the body lying in front of her. But there was also a strange sense of a fitting ending.

After all, if only Kikyou hadn't distrusted Inuyasha. If only she had kept faith. If only she had loved him enough...

But it was, of course, too late for all of that now. And not only did she pay for her mistakes, Inuyasha paid, and Kagome paid, and Sesshoumaru, and it seemed that if Naraku made his wish, the whole world would have to pay for her mistakes.

She was never meant to be a priestess.

Kikyou stared at the scene before her, red like the last, dying rose. And she waited for Naraku's wish to manifest.

But the sun only set further beneath the mountains, a bare shimmer of pink and purple against the black of the mountains.

A crow squawked in the distance.

And then Kikyou saw that Kagome was rushing Naraku with nothing but her own body. Naraku was probably as shocked as Kikyou because he simply stood there and let Kagome approach him.

Kagome was glowing, pink like the Tama used to glow, and there was a firework of pink sparks and glowing ashes when she finally collided with Naraku’s fur-covered figure.

The next Kikyou saw, there were hundreds of spiders crawling from where Naraku. They scattered across the grass and skittered over Kagome's body. Kagome's fallen, unmoving body.

---

Sesshoumaru prepared for the spiders to reach him and then... coalesce into Naraku, perhaps. Or simply bite him piece by piece. Whichever it was, though, it couldn't hurt more than seeing Kagome collapse before his eyes as he lay there, helpless. He wouldn't give up without a fight, Sesshoumaru knew, and Naraku was going to hurt before he finished Sesshoumaru.

Naraku was going to hurt because he had hurt Kagome.

But then the spiders just scattered away from him, barely grazing the edges of his clothes. They blended in with the night and he was left with only the awful silence.

It wasn't silent, though, because he could hear sobbing and pained breathing from those around him who were fortunate enough to still live.

From Kagome, he could hear nothing at all. He could still make out her form on the grass, but there were no sounds from her.

From Inuyasha, he could hear nothing at all either, but only smell the blood draining out of his brother's body.

That was far worse to him than what he knew of the other casualties, because he couldn't tell if Kagome was still alive or not. He couldn't know if he should keep hoping or not.

And because it was Kagome.

He had finally, finally found her again and everything had been perfect for a single moment before it had all gone wrong. He was meant to pay penance, perhaps, for doubting Inuyasha, or for thinking of hurting Kagome. He had made his mistakes.

But Kagome shouldn't have to pay for them.

Slowly, he forced himself up, supported by Tenseiga, and limped to where Kagome lay in the grass. Carefully, he knelt next to her and brushed a stray lock of blood-crusted hair from her pale cheek. Her cheek was warm, Sesshoumaru found.

But she wasn't breathing.

There was that great anger welling up in him, the same kind of anger he had found when Kagome had repudiated him. Again, Kagome had been wrenched away from him. Only this time...

No, Sesshoumaru thought fiercely, desperately clutching the Tenseiga by his side, it was not going to end like this. Naraku was defeated. They had won. They had won against his father's enemy and it would be a happy ending, not one with so many deaths and so much sorrow.

But then, just like last time, the anger seeped out of him. The Tenseiga stole it away, and left him nothing but an empty shell. A bit of disappointment, perhaps, but certainly nothing more.

Then, Kagome coughed.

---

Kagome hurt.

She hurt worse than that time Naraku attacked her in the woods. It felt like she had died and then come back to life. Which, she thought when she saw Sesshoumaru's stricken expression, could be closer to the truth than she cared for it to be.

"Sesshoumaru...?" Kagome croaked as she tried to make out her surroundings, but it was all dark and she couldn't really see anything. "What happened?"

Sesshoumaru seemed startled by her question and he knelt close by her, not quite daring to touch her, afraid that she would disappear or break into little pieces. "You killed Naraku," he told Kagome.

"Is... everyone okay?" Kagome asked.

No. But then, Sesshoumaru saw Miroku struggling to sit up, and pulled back down by his volumous monk robe. And Inuyasha's youki flared back to life, even as Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha's unmoving body. "Yes, everybody's still alive."

"That's good." Kagome smiled and then fainted.

---

Kagome managed to sleep for a week before she could sit up and eat real food.

Sesshoumaru had brought said food, which was apple sauce, of all things. But she supposed that she should be grateful that he decided to bring her something easy to eat. Now, he sat attentively by her bed as if he didn't have anywhere else to be.

And she knew that she was in her old room at her father's palace. She could see out into the garden.

"Marry me," Sesshoumaru said suddenly as she ate the apple sauce.

Kagome was so surprised that she could only look at him blankly.

"I want us to be together for the rest of our lives, and I want everybody to know that we belong to each other. I thought I had lost you when we fought Naraku, and I don't want to ever feel that way again. Ever."

Kagome looked at him, startled.

It was Sesshoumaru who looked away first. "I... I love you, Kagome."

"Oh, I love you, too," Kagome replied. "Of course I love you. But how are you going to be the Lord of Western Lands if you marry me? Inuyasha is a hanyou, and you know how they react to hanyou heirs."

"I don't care," Sesshoumaru said fiercely. "I don't need them."

Kagome looked down at her blanket. "But they need you."

Sesshoumaru stood up and looked at her, and she thought she felt her heart break with his cold look. "Fine, then. If that is your answer."

She stayed silent and watched him walk out of her room, a straight back, an elegant turn of his yukata.

---

Inuyasha and Kikyou married each other soon after Kagome woke up. They held hands and were always seen together. It was as if they were making up for all their lost time when Kikyou had misunderstood what had happened.

Everywhere Kagome went, she could Kikyou's tinkling laughter or Inuyasha's petulant "keh" as they lazed around and did nothing. Inuyasha never had had any duties except to wait on Kikyou and as the Tama was lost again and Kagome was proven to be its keeper anyways, Kikyou had no duties as part of the Higurashi house other than to be a part of it.

Kikyou didn't seem to mind.

When Kagome saw the couple, she was happy for them. She told herself that she was honestly happy for them, but always, she would feel the need to retreat back to her own rooms, because the sun was too bright or the air too still.

One day, Kikyou confronted her. "Why are you still here? Why aren't you with Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome hadn't thought that Kikyou had seen her at all. "His people need him."

"But you need him, too." Kikyou made a little frustrated frown. "Why do you want to force yourselves to be apart from each other when you know and he knows and we all know that you should be together?"

Kagome sighed and turned away from Kikyou. "His people need him more."

Kikyou took a deep breath, as if needing extra patience to speak with Kagome. Kagome wished that she would just leave. "How do you think his people need him?" Kikyou asked Kagome. "Touga is still alive and well. Sesshoumaru is only the heir. And besides, if his people need him, and he needs you, then his people need you, too."

Kagome sighed again and shook her head. "It doesn't work like that."

"Of course it does," Kikyou rebutted sharply and then stalked back to Inuyasha, as if that was as long as her patience lasted.

---

Sango didn't care about bad luck or anything of the sort. She made sure that she knew where Miroku was every minute of every day between the end of the battle and her wedding to Miroku a month after their victory. Even so, she threatened all sorts of nasty things if Miroku ran away again, which he promised quite earnestly that he had no intention of doing.

Kagome broke down crying when they finally promised themselves to each other, because it was so beautiful. She offered her congratulations and after the banquet, went back to her room and couldn't stop crying.

---

It was just like that, that Kagome's resolve broke. She supposed that maybe she was never very strong-willed in the first place, but her heart ached too much for Sesshoumaru.

It was perhaps not good for his relationship between him and his people if she sought him out, but if he loved her—and he had told her that he did—then he must hurt as least half as much as she does. And she would not inflict that on him.

Kikyou was right, Kagome rationalized. If they needed him and he needed her, then they would have to accept her, no matter what.

So, with that in mind, she set out to find Sesshoumaru.

---

Kagome never quite reached the Western Lands. She stopped at Kouga's cave and he solicited her help for healing his wolves. Most of those who had not died in the battle against Naraku were well already, but there were the few who still suffered from a broken knee or a shattered bone that was not set back right in time. So Kagome used her priestess powers and healed these wolves.

Though she was anxious to find Sesshoumaru, the thought that she was going to meet him eased her heart. And besides, Kouga was an ally and she considered him a friend. So, she did this and stayed there for three days.

On the third day, she woke up to noises that signified the flurry of activity going on outside. Blearily, she woke up and stepped out of her chamber and froze.

Sesshoumaru was there.

Then, she found herself hugging him desperately. It felt as if they had stayed apart for a lifetime instead of a mere month and a half.

"Sesshoumaru," she cried.

His arms tightened around her. "Kagome," he murmured to her hair. "Oh, Kagome, say that you will marry me. I know you came this way to find me, because you are not at your father's palace, so you cannot mean to deny me again."

How Kagome wanted to say yes. Maybe she even meant to say yes when she traveled in search of Sesshoumaru, but now that the reality was upon them, she could find nothing to say.

"I would," Kagome finally replied. "But when we are both old and weary of purposeless lives, you will be blaming me for having had to give up your place and your land for me. And you may say that you will have no regrets, but you will, because that is the way of it."

"No, I won't," Sesshoumaru declared just as Kagome had expected. "First of all, you should let me choose what I am willing to give up. Secondly, I would rather that I regret it later than to not have you at all. And besides, I don't have to give up anything anyways."

---

In the end, Sesshoumaru and Kagome married. Sesshoumaru completed the mating vows. Touga admitted to his well-meant mistakes and decided to step down and made Sesshoumaru the Lord of the Western Lands.

It turned out, that the reason that there were so few hanyous was not because youkai and humans do not like each other or that they are separated. Rather, if the mating vows were completed, all the children from the couple are either entirely youkai or entirely human.

Sesshoumaru forced his subjects to respect Kagome, partly by ordaining so and partly by telling them of how Kagome defeated Naraku. Eventually, they admired Kagome, too, because she was willing and able to heal youkai that all other healers have already given up on, and to deliver youkai babies, which were especially difficult since youkai babies seemed to be born twice as large as human babies.

Souta ended up as the Higurashi heir anyways. He told Shippou quite ambitiously that he would get rid of all the blood-bonds humans imposed on youkai. Shippou cried, and threw a tantrum that Souta hated him and he wanted Kagome back.

Kikyou remained the High Priestess. But in no way did her life remain the same, because she and Inuyasha were together and happy now, truly. And anywhere they went in the garden, the plants seemed to flourish and the flowers bloomed wider answering Kikyou's good mood.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru's first child was a boy youkai, with straight black hair and pretty gold eyes. He was named the Taiyoukai heir.

~FIN~

---

Author’s Notes: Well, I think this is my first finished long story. For those of you who have waited (some of you up to a year, I think) for me to go through the edits, I apologize. But I went through it—it was weird reading my own story and not remembering much of what happened—and now it’s officially done. It’s going on the shelf. :) It’s a good feeling.

The first story was both harder and easier than I imagined. I had thought that the whole story would flow right through, but I encountered several very bad writer's blocks in the middle. But it was easier because I thought I always thought that decent authors were few and far between. I found, though, that when you could see it in your head, it's only natural to write it out on paper.

I appreciate all the readers, especially those who have reviewed. Without you, I would not have finished writing the story.

Some things might not be clear. So, I wanted to clear it up.

1.) The Tama did not work for Naraku because Kagome had already made a wish on it. She wished that she would have the strength to leave Sesshoumaru, and it’s considered a selfless wish, because she did not wish for it to be easy or painless, just that she would.

2.) Kagome’s dreams—a completely useless subplot, except as another way that Sesshoumaru could protect her—foretold of the cycle that the Higurashi’s and the Taiyoukai's were doomed to repeat over and over again unless the Shikon no Tama was destroyed. But... it was never quite necessary to explain it in the story.

3.) Yes, Shippou is still blood-bound at the end of the story. He likes the security that somebody cares for him. Since he hasn’t reached puberty, he isn’t bound quite by the same rules. Kagome “gave” him to Souta, since she was leaving. Hmm... wonder if anything would happen to Shippou and Souta... Hmm...

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Property - Chapter Fifteen

Sesshoumaru was rubbing soothing circles on her back and trailing his soft, sweet kisses from her eyes to her nose to her neck. Kagome had missed this, she just realized, as she twisted to meet his mouth with hers. She had dreamt about this and forgotten, she thought, as she felt his tongue dance with hers.

It was a balmy spring day, full of sunshine. A zephyr entwined their hair as Sesshoumaru pulled Kagome down onto the dewy grass. He landed gracefully, carrying both of their impact.

When Kagome opened her eyes again, though, it was to see his gold eyes staring intently at her and his silver hair drifting lazily in the clear, blue sky. She smiled tentatively at him.

His lowered his forehead against hers and gave her another deep kiss. She found herself grabbing onto him quite tightly when he started pulling away.

"Kagome," his whispered, his voice sounding strangely hoarse. "I..." He stopped as he stared at Kagome's guileless smile and into her sparkling honey eyes. Suddenly, he felt inarticulate with his words and leaned down for another kiss. A kiss would tell her what he felt... what he wanted... what he needed.

Kagome leaned up against him, awkwardly, hoping that he wouldn't stop this time. His hands were warm contrasts against the summer breeze as he slowly, carefully traced her soft body from her bosom to her soft hips.

There was no frenzy this time. No uncertainty of what would happen. To Kagome, it felt as if Sesshoumaru was giving her time to pull away, but she didn't want to pull away. She wanted this. Even if it would be slightly uncomfortable in the end, she wanted the feeling of being one with him, of cocooning and protecting him. She wanted him. She wasn't quite sure how to express herself, though, and instead allowed herself to enjoy his kiss and his hands and his warm weight on herself.

To Kagome's disappointment, he pulled away again. "I shouldn't," he told her, breathing more heavily than usual. He explained, "I shouldn't do this here. Or now."

Kagome knew it was for her own good, but she felt reckless right now. She didn't care. Besides, he might not know about it, but her reputation had already been ruined. But even if she was still the heir, she doubted that she would have stopped them. So, she kissed him, as he had kissed her and her hands found their way to the smooth skin of his broad shoulders.

Vaguely, she noticed that the wind whistled louder and strange tap tap sounds were approaching. It wasn't until Sesshoumaru had stopped moving for several long moments that Kagome noticed the hard tension in his shoulders and arms.

She looked up at him questioningly, but his passionless gaze was fixed elsewhere, where she couldn't see.

She turned to see what had him so entranced, only to have his hold on her tighten. Apparently, she was supposed to stay still.

"What is it?" she asked, assuming that there was a reason that he had stopped. There had better be a good reason.

For several moments, he didn't answer. Then his eyes narrowed and he spat, "Naraku."

---

Miroku knew that he had bungled things up. He knew that he had hurt Sango. But at least now any of her children would be safe, though it pained him that he would not be the father. At least, he wouldn't hurt her more by staying in her life.

It was better this way. It must be better this way.

The thought of Sango being happy was a double-edged sword, but at least it dulled the sharp agony of their separation. The gaping hole in his hand was nothing compared to gaping hole in his chest.

The gaping hole in his hand would devour the world, though. He would pass down the gaping hole to his son, and his son's son, and so on until the end of his line and thus the end of the world, or the end of Naraku.

He had been so determined to preserve the world that he had sought to sire a son on any woman he met, which he now realized would not be practical, since he most likely wouldn't stay long enough to teach his son about the curse. And he wouldn't want to stay long enough to see the woman hate him, as she inevitably would when she learned how he had hurt their son.

As Sango would, with her protective nature that he loved so much. She would be especially protective of her own son. And he would be the one who hurt him.

But he had just seen some poisonous bees buzzing around the forest—those strange servants of Naraku's—and he could feel the vague pulsations of power. He remembered Naraku... that if he killed Naraku, the curse could be ended as well.

Of course, Naraku had existed for hundreds of years and had yet to be defeated despite the countless who wanted him dead.

Still, Miroku reasoned, Naraku was evil and he should at least try to get rid of Naraku. Who knew, maybe he would even succeed.

And then he could confess to Sango. Surely, she would forgive him. And maybe they could still get married and live together and have baby boys and giggling girls to spoil.

And if he died in the battle against Naraku... Well, he would just be sure to bring the hanyou down with him.

Either way, the curse would end with him and Sango would live happily in a world without impending doom from a gaping hole in somebody's palm, Miroku decided as he followed the strange bees.

---

Bandits? What bandits? Sango almost felt disappointed as she watched the boomerang slice through the last squealing demon.

She wiped her bloody hands on her pants. The low-level boar demons had already spattered all over her outfit and she would have to burn it anyways. Better the acrid smell on her clothes than on her skin.

She strapped Hiraikotsu onto her back and made ready to return to the taijiya village when Kirara growled low in her throat.

"What is it?" Sango asked.

Kirara was smart enough to understand Sango—at least the tone of her voice, but she could not respond with words. Instead, she growled some more.

Sango waved her hands a bit. "Is it the blood?" she asked and wrinkled her nose sympathetically.

Kirara shook her fur impatiently and continued growling toward the other side of the forest, where Sango had not planned on going.

"More youkai?" Sango guessed.

The produced a little bounce from Kirara.

Sango sighed. "They're on the other side of the forest. We don't even know if they're pests or just some benevolent youki-producer."

Still, Kirara refused to budge.

"Okay," Sango accepted. "So, they're probably not some pretty and harmless youkai if they produce youki this strong. But still, this is none of our business."

So saying, Sango tried to tug Kirara's attention forcibly away from the other side of the forest. Still, Kirara was bigger, heavier, and stronger than Sango and a youkai to boot and Sango accomplished absolutely nothing other than getting some futile exercise.

Finally, Sango gave up. "Fine. You take me to that place with the youkai. If any humans are in immediate danger, I'll do something about it. Otherwise, we're heading straight back home."

Kirara gave a yip of assent, all the while growling, as Sango climbed onto Kirara's back.

---

"Kukuku," a voice chuckled from where Kagome could not see.

Hastily, she arranged her clothes less revealingly and twisted precariously to see the being called Naraku. From her view on the grass, he seemed to loom above her. Her eyes followed him up, starting with his thick white fur cloak—in this warm weather?—to his ringlets of black hair, which she could barely make out from under his hood.

When Sesshoumaru stood and pulled her up beside him, Naraku took a step forward and his hood fell to unveil his face.

Which, surprisingly, was not very alarming at all. Rather, Kagome thought, Naraku could be considered handsome, in a very slimy sort of way.

But when she looked at Naraku closer, she saw that his features matched those of the man from her nightmares.

A feather swooped down from the sky, and a woman and a girl stepped down from it. One was a willowy woman with red eyes and an elegant fan. The other was a pale specter of white, holding a mirror with the most sincere gravity.

Kagome no longer doubted that these were the three figures in her nightmares, if she had had any before.

Prophetic nightmares, after all.

But she shouldn't be surprised, since she had found out that she was a priestess.

"Give me the Shikon no Tama," Naraku demanded.

Shouldn't there be some sort of preamble? Kagome thought wildly and inanely in her panic. There was always the speech about threatened horrors and potential evils. But there wasn't. So perhaps Naraku wasn't very strong after all.

Or maybe he just didn't need to bluff.

Kagome sat up and pressed against Sesshoumaru's solidity. "You can't have it."

Naraku smiled blandly. "It's of no use to you. You'd only become tainted if you wish on it."

She pointed out defiantly, "The same would happen to you."

This time, Naraku chuckled. "I rather suspect that it can't taint me anymore. See Kagura?" He gestured to the woman with the fan who stood silent and still behind him. "I have her heart. And see Kanna?" He pointed to the other girl, with the mirror. "I have her soul."

Here, Naraku paused and tilted his head a bit to reconsider. "Actually, her soul is my soul... and I don't really have a soul worth mentioning. Either case, you're better off giving the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome found that she was clenching the jewel at her neck. "No."

Naraku took a step toward Kagome. "That's not the right answer," he warned.

Then, before Kagome really realized what was happening, Sesshoumaru pulled her away from Naraku and somehow she had to look past his broad shoulders and long, white hair to see Naraku. A moment later, Naraku and Sesshoumaru were trading blows, but Kagome couldn't follow their motions, they were so fast, and then she couldn't even follow their blurs because Kagura and Kanna were on her.

Just as quickly, though, Kagura and Kanna were gone. Kagura and Inuyasha, who had joined the scene with a series of loud and crude expletives, fought together against Kagura. Kikyou shot arrows into Kanna's mirror, which had started glowing white instead of the usual flat surface of a mirror.

Then, out of nowhere, Miroku joined the fray. The Hiraikotsu preceded Sango, and she caught it smartly when it returned after wiping the air clean of a swarm of poisonous bees.

---

"Thanks," Miroku breathed when he maneuvered himself next to Sango.

She hadn't known that her Hiraikotsu just saved Miroku's ass, or she probably would have simply left him to his own devices. He still owed her. He'd probably owe her until eternity.

Before she could reply, he approached Naraku again from behind. He thought that he could defeat the hanyou while its attention was focused on Sesshoumaru, but a strange root-like tentacle shot out from under his cape and stabbed through his torso and jettisoned him out into Sango's arms.

He looked up at her irate face and smiled, a bit weakly. "It seems I'm destined to be with you."

Sango grimaced. She did not find his comment at all entertaining. "Good time to make your vows."

His face turned serious. "I want you to know... that I love you."

This made Sango angry. "You're not dying," she declared. "And you can't say that after all that you've done to me."

He smiled and he looked wistful. "I love you. And I am dying. And even if I don't die right now, Naraku's curse will be the end of the world."

"Curse?" Sango asked and felt his head. Usually delirium was from a fever, but it was too soon for a fever to have set in.

"A hole in my hand," he answered. "No, I'm not telling you this so that you will forgive me. I'm telling you because I might die—"

"You won't!"

"I might." Miroku continued serenely, "The hole sucks things up, which is why I'm always wearing this guard over it. But I have no son, and if I die before Naraku dies, the curse cannot be passed on and it will split open my hand and it will suck everything into it until Naraku dies and if Naraku is sucked into the hole, then the world is doomed."

"You're not dying," Sango asserted vehemently.

Miroku tried to grasp Sango's hand, but his strength was leaving him quickly.

---

Kikyou was shooting soul-ful arrows into Kanna's strange mirror, but it only absorbed her arrows. Still, she thought she was making progress because the girl's face looked more and more strained as she shot more and more arrows into the mirror.

Vaguely, she noticed Inuyasha fighting with Kagura out of her peripheral vision.

She concentrated on shooting arrows into the mirror, though, and it was taxing. She could feel her soul being drained.

She took a second to regroup and gather up more miko power when she found a strange blade coming toward her. From Kagura. Normally, she would defend herself, but she was already staggering under the energy she had had to expand for her arrows.

Kikyou watched it come toward her with a strange dispassion.

Until Inuyasha took the hit for her, his blood making bright splatters on her white shirt.

"You idiot!" She tried to shout at him, but her throat seemed to close up strangely. "What do you think you're doing?"

He grimaced a bit. "Guess I just can't do anything right."

"Why did you do that?"

Inuyasha managed a faint shrug and his customary sheepish look.

"You didn't have to. You shouldn't have." Kikyou found herself strangely agitated. "I didn't ask this of you."

"Not... because of blood-bond," Inuyasha whispered, his breaths coming shorter.

"Why, then?" Kikyou demanded. Her nose felt sore all of a sudden, and runny.

Inuyasha stared at her with those strange gold eyes that had always fascinated her. He took a breath to answer her question, but something caught in his lungs and he started chocking and coughing up blood.

When his coughing finally stopped and he was still again, his eyes were still open and blood was on the corners of his vague smile. But there was no more breath in him.

Inuyasha was hers, Kikyou thought wildly, fiercely. Inuyasha was hers and they just unraveled the puzzle of the past and everything was working out. They had just learned some things about themselves and each other. They were just...

And the bitch took him.

Kikyou felt a strange emotion power her—it must be hate, she thought. Not the pale imitation she had used as a mask for her hurt, but a real, deep-seated, powerful hatred that fueled her as much as love ever did. And then, the wind started listening to her commands and the trees bent to her will. She unleashed something, but it didn't hurt the bitch. It only splintered her fan.

Good enough, Kikyou thought, she had disabled her. Now, she could treat the bitch to a slow, torturous death as she deserved for taking Inuyasha away.

After all, what use did she have for love without Inuyasha?

---

The battle didn't take long at all. The next moment, Kagome saw that Sesshoumaru was kneeling on one leg, supporting himself with his sword. Sango was leaning against Kirara and held tight to Miroku, who seemed to be murmuring to her. Kikyou stood still and quiet and expressionless, and a few feet in front of her lay Inuyasha, with the ground staining steadily more crimson.

Kanna seemed shocked, the first expression that Kagome had seen on the girl. The mirror still stood in her hands, but cracked and useless. Kagura's fan lay in splinters on the ground, its owner's face stoic. Naraku stood, though he, too, was heaving.

He didn't attack, though. It was all rather useless anyways. "Give me the Tama, or I will take it myself."

Instinctively, Kagome held the Tama closer and clenched it tighter.

The Tama would grant a wish, she thought suddenly. I could wish that Naraku's dead. Or that my friends are alive. Or that we won this encounter with Naraku dead and no other casualties.

So, she grabbed the jewel so tightly that her knuckles turned white and her fingers became numb. She took a deep breath and said, "I wish that we had won—"

Naraku had caught on quickly, and ripped the jewel from her hands.

Her wish was not granted.

For a moment, he caressed the jewel and marveled at it under the pretty summer sun. Then, he smiled maliciously and his eyes glinted as he clenched it tightly in his hands to make his wish.

No, Kagome thought desperately. She had no idea what Naraku would wish for, but she knew that it would be nothing better than the worst. She would blast him, she thought, she still had her miko powers. Or she could simply tackle him, so long as she stopped him from making that wish.

While Kagome was still making up her mind, though, Naraku had already made his wish.

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Property - Chapter Fourteen

Sesshoumaru touched the swords at his hip. One was the Tenseiga, already familiar in shared grief and anger and pain. The other, the Tessaiga, was still a stranger and not even his own. His father had informed him that he should bring the sword to Inuyasha, who apparently resided at the Higurashi House. A spark flew between his finger tips and the sword, a show of rejection, and he was getting tired of being rejected. At least, he wouldn't have to handle the sword. Let his half-brother try to master it.

Behind him, Rin hummed a happy tune befitting the sunny skies as she walked besides Ah-un. She always seemed to be humming. Perhaps it stemmed from her lonely childhood.

Jaken was busy, leading the disgruntled Ah-un and verbally sparring the staff with two talking heads who were giving contradictory information about youkai in the area.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru decided to stop. Ah-un stopped obediently. Rin stopped beside Ah-un. Only Jaken slashed air with his staff and tugged at Ah-un's reins. He tugged once too hard and was sent tumbling into Sesshoumaru's back.

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken apologized profusely. "I apologize. I'm so sorry. If there is anything I can do for Sesshoumaru-sama, anything at all—"

"It's Kouga," Sesshoumaru announced suddenly, cutting Jaken off.

"Kouga?" Jaken repeated in confusion.

"Ah!" Rin stopped humming long enough to exclaim. "The Wolf Prince."

Jaken glared at the human. "What do you—"

"Yes, the Wolf Prince," Sesshoumaru confirmed, leaving Jaken flabbergasted. Imagine, to be outsmarted by a human!

"What's he doing here?" Jaken demanded.

Rin turned to look between Jaken and Sesshoumaru. "Why shouldn't he be here?"

"Why? Why? You're asking me why?" Jaken shouted from his diminutive height, outraged. "Because—I'll have you know—because... well, the answer should be obvious. Because—"

"Enough, Jaken," Sesshoumaru ordered. "This is Kouga's territory. He has every right to be here. Especially if there are foreign youkai."

"Foreign youkai?" Jaken scanned their surroundings. "Where?"

"Silly Jaken," Rin chided and smacked him on the head. "We're the foreign youkai."

Jaken glared at Rin, but realized that she was right. "You're not a youkai."

Rin shrugged. "I smell like Sesshoumaru-sama."

"That's disgusting!" Jaken exclaimed. "You do not smell like Sesshoumaru-sama!"

"Look," Rin said in a much too happy voice and pointing straight ahead. "There's the youkai."

Jaken looked to where Rin had pointed. There was somebody there, certainly, but he stood on two legs and his hair was bundled into a ponytail. Surely, any youkai would have more... class than to wear those scraps of fur...?

"Wolf Prince," Sesshoumaru acknowledged formally.

"Taiyoukai heir," Kouga returned. "I was not expecting you."

"Of course not."

Quickly, Kouga added, "But you are, of course, welcomed to stay awhile."

Sesshoumaru nodded regally. Gesturing to the others, he introduced, "Jaken, my retainer. Rin. And Ah-un."

Kouga nodded to them in turn, even Ah-un. Then, he remarked, "I see that you never lack female human companionship."

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed and his hand tightened on the sword at the insinuation. "Do not presume to know what I do with them."

"Of course not," Kouga agreed airily. "I'm quite sure that it is quite beyond my imagination, whatever you do with them."

Sesshoumaru growled and Kouga took a step back involuntarily. Still not wanting to lose face, Kouga said, "Well, you've given up your claim on Kagome."

Sesshoumaru straightened up at this comment. "What do you know of that?" he asked calmly.

Kouga shrugged. "She came by a couple months back. She and her friends helped heal some of our wolves. We chatted. She left. I plan to travel to the Higurashi House soon, see if her old man wants to help eliminate Naraku."

"Naraku?"

Kouga nodded, oblivious to Sesshoumaru's sudden alertness. "He goddamned attacked us. I'm not going to let that slide. I know you probably don't care about us, but Hiroshi's been asking for an alliance and I might as well take his offer. Their territory is next to ours. The daughter's a looker—and has power, too. You're not claiming her anymore."

"Don't," Sesshoumaru warned ominously.

"Don't what?"

Sesshoumaru thought about that. He had reacted instinctually and something had churned at the thought of Kagome marrying Kouga, being by his side, sleeping with him. The thought made Sesshoumaru want to tear something—or someone—up. Maybe, he thought, it was just that he didn't want Kagome to find happiness. At least not with the little wimpy Wolf Prince. "Don't marry her."

Kouga looked at Sesshoumaru strangely. "Why do you care? And why should I listen to you?"

Sesshoumaru thought about that. For all the power of the Western Lands, Kouga was still outside of his jurisdiction. After all, the wolf clan had been exiled when the Wolf Prince way back when had refused to send out his men to help Touga. "We'll help you eliminate Naraku."

"What?"

"You heard me the first time."

Kouga was startled. Then, he shook his head a little as if to clear it. "You don't have a say in who your daddy allies with."

"Sure, I do," Sesshoumaru answered lazily. Kouga was right, but since Naraku was the one who had almost killed both Izayoi and Touga so many years ago, Sesshoumaru had little doubt that his father would gladly kill the hanyou.

"What guarantee do I have?" Kouga asked.

"None," Sesshoumaru answered. "The question is if you also want to chance the possibility of my father’s wrath."

Kouga thought about it. It didn't take long. "Fine, but I can still have an alliance with Hiroshi."

"Of course," Sesshoumaru allowed magnanimously. "But not through marriage to his daughter."

---

Sesshoumaru, Rin, Jaken, and Ah-un were leaving the caves the next morning when they heard a distant voice shout, "Stop! Stop! Wait for me!"

They were startled into stopping and several seconds later, Kouga caught up with them. He had been running quickly and his sudden stop kicked up a cloud of dust, causing Rin, the only human, to start coughing.

"Oh, my lady," Kouga said, fully aware that Rin was under Sesshoumaru's protection and that if he upset her for some reason, it could lead to undesirable consequences. "I must apologize for kicking up dust."

Rin giggled at Kouga's address. It was a change from yesterday's coarse words. "It's okay," she managed between coughs. "But do try to not do that again."

"Of course," Kouga answered seriously.

Sesshoumaru threw an assessing look at them both. Satisfied that neither was going to attack the other, he started walking again. The rest of them followed.

After about ten minutes of silence, Kouga just about couldn't stand it anymore. He started sneaking glances at Rin. A glance at first. Then another. And another.

And finally, she noticed. "What?" she asked, a little defensively.

"Oh, well..." Kouga plunged ahead and asked, "What's your relationship with Sesshoumaru?"

"Oh." Rin answered, "He's like a brother. A little bit like a father. He's kind of protective about me."

"Oh." So, a totally platonic relationship, Kouga thought. What was with the Taiyoukai heir and leaving beautiful human women alone? So, Sesshoumaru had probably touched Kagome, and she had fairly reeked of the inuyoukai, but Kouga had never smelled sex between them, either.

Maybe the Taiyoukai heir only liked other men?

Kouga scrunched his nose up at that thought. He certainly wasn't interested in men and it was too disturbing to think of Sesshoumaru, well, hot and passionate with, well, Kouga. In fact, it was so disturbing that Kouga decided to banish that thought altogether.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked suddenly, breaking up Kouga's spiraling thought process.

"Oh, nothing."

Rin frowned a bit. "You were staring at Sesshoumaru-sama really strangely. I mean, I know his fairly good looking..."

"Yes," Kouga agreed automatically before frantically backtracking. "I mean, no. I don't notice things like that. I like women. Strictly females only kind of guy. That's me. I like their softness and their breasts and their rounded butt and—" He shut up quickly, realizing that he was only digging himself a deeper hole.

Thankfully, Rin only giggled. "Don't worry about Sesshoumaru-sama," she said. "You're pretty good looking, too."

"Really?" Kouga asked, then corrected himself, "I mean, I know that."

Rin only giggled again.

Kouga didn't know if he should be relieved or frustrated at her giggles.

---

It was with a touch of haste that Hiroshi Higurashi welcomed Sesshoumaru Taiyoukai to the Higurashi House.

"Is everything all right?" Hiroshi asked. Again. "Do feel free to ask the servants if anything is amiss."

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"We're very sorry about our daughter," Ayako, Kagome's mother, added. "We apologize for any discomfort she might have caused when you were in... your unfortunate circumstance."

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"But she did free you, right?" Hiroshi asked anxiously.

Again, Sesshoumaru nodded.

Hiroshi breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Our daughter, she can be a little air-headed sometimes but she really doesn't mean badly. But it would be just like her to forget to free you from the blood-bound."

No, Sesshoumaru thought, she certainly had not forgotten.

Hiroshi was still talking, "I had assumed that you are free since Touga Taiyoukai graciously let me return, but I am glad to hear it from your own lips."

Sesshoumaru nodded. It was beginning to feel like a reflex.

Suddenly, Hiroshi seemed to realize the awkwardness of the conversation and laughed self-consciously. "You must be glad to finally be free, huh?"

Mechanically, Sesshoumaru jerked his head once.

And he should be glad to be free. To not be bound to some human or be plagued by their emotions. But the absence of the bond had only made him feel as if he were missing something. And he should be glad to be rid of reminders of his "unfortunate circumstance," but for one last time, he wanted to see Kagome Higurashi.

Like his father said, he needed some kind of closure.

"I'd like to talk with your daughter," he requested.

"Well, you are not bound to her anymore, right?" Hiroshi asked. Anxiety had returned to his voice.

"No," Sesshoumaru answered. "But I'd still like to talk to her. Talk some things through. I'm sure you understand."

"Well..." Hiroshi hedged. He supposed that he should be glad that he didn't know where his daughter was. He doubted that the youkai had anything favorable to discuss with Kagome. On the other hand, he could not afford to upset Sesshoumaru... "Actually... I'm not quite sure where Kagome is."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"It's been upsetting for all of us," Hiroshi explained.

"What do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked again, this time with each syllable carefully enunciated.

Hiroshi sighed. "I'm sure that you've heard the rumors... It's hard on all of us who believed in her. Tomorrow, or the day after, we're officially instating Souta as the heir."

No, Sesshoumaru wanted to say, I did not hear about the rumors. But he could not appear as anything less than in control. Especially since he thought that if he started saying everything he thought, he wouldn't stop until sunset... and maybe not even then. And he didn't want Hiroshi or Jaken to hear about those things. He wanted to rant at Kagome, the cause of it all.

Instead, he said, "What about Kagome?"

Hiroshi looked down at the table. "She will be dead to us."

Sesshoumaru fell silent at that. Disinheritance... a severe punishment for a shameful transgression. He wondered what Kagome had done since their parting, since he remembered the legal documents that Hiroshi had given Kagome to prepare her for being the head of the Higurashi House.

Maybe he wouldn't find the closure he needed.

After a while, he requested, "Can I walk around the gardens, then?"

Hiroshi gestured towards the doors. "Feel free."

Sesshoumaru nodded.

---

Ayako tugged on Hiroshi's sleeve when Sesshoumaru left and it was just the two of them. "Why were you being such a simpering idiot?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" Hiroshi turned and asked her.

She glared at him. "Something else. You acted like putty in his hands. You were practically asking him if you could rub his feet for him."

He covered his face with his hands and leaned heavily on the table. "What was I supposed to do? He was upset. Even you could see that."

"Oh, so you sell out our daughter? You know she would never have done those kinds of things."

"I know, I know," he said tiredly. "But what else was I supposed to do? I'm going to disinherit her because she couldn't keep herself chaste until her marriage. I'm going to have to make Souta the heir. Aya, do you know that Souta is only twelve years old? He's going to have to deal with the pressure of people's expectations. Good and bad. And they would wonder if he would turn out like his sister."

"But Kagome is still your daughter."

"I couldn't have done anything else." He pulled his hair back in a ragged motion and let out a long sigh. "I couldn't have done anything else," he repeated, though it seemed more for his own benefit than for Ayako's. "Do you know what will happen if Taiyoukai decides to attack us?"

Ayako's lips thinned. "We were prepared for it before."

Hiroshi shook his head. "Not anymore. Souta's not ready as the Higurashi heir. But even that's not such a big deal. It's what Kikyou told me."

"Kikyou?"

He nodded. "Naraku. He attacked us while I was gone."

Ayako's eyes narrowed. "She's making it up. Don't forget, I was here, too."

"I know. I considered that." Hiroshi shook his head and leaned back. "But Inuyasha confirmed her story. And according to Kikyou, she was looking for the Shikon no Tama, which he has been since hundreds of years ago."

"Just like any other youkai," Ayako interjected.

"And he mentioned Kikyou's resemblance to Izayoi."

Ayako's eyes widened. "No. Nobody knows that Izayoi was a Higurashi priestess."

"Of course not," Hiroshi soothed. "If they did, the Higurashi House would have long been destroyed by those who would have thought that humans sent Izayoi to weaken the Taiyoukai Lord. So, our ancestors kept the fact that she was a Higurashi priestess secret." He paused, then added significantly, "But Naraku knows."

"We can't fight the Taiyoukai Lord and Naraku at the same time. Even if Kouga does ally with us."

"That's what I was afraid of."

---

The bright sunlight woke Kagome up early in the morning. She had just gotten two loaves of fresh bread yesterday and they lay on the table. She had washed her clothes yesterday, too, and they were dry today. The gardeners had told her that it would soon turn into the shower half of the summer season and she needed not to worry anymore about the plants.

She should leave today.

Soon, her father would be announcing her disinheritance, and she was quite sure that she didn't want to be present for that. Even if she was prepared to reveal the fact that she had had an indiscretion, as her parents had put it, she thought that she would not enjoy people looking askance at her. She was not a masochist.

She wished she had the strength to leave.

But she realized now that a little part of her was still waiting for Sesshoumaru to come back. Maybe, her heart whispered, he loved her—or had loved her—despite the blood-bond. Maybe, it told her insidiously, some of his affection was—or had been—genuine. Maybe... maybe... maybe...

And Kagome answered back: maybe.

And if you leave, her heart whispered... If you leave, he can never find you again.

Maybe that was so. But maybe he would never look for her. Maybe he thought she was good riddance when the blood-bond had broken and he finally understood what kind of a burden she had been.

Maybe...

Today, she should leave.

She bundled up a change of clothing and some food in a large piece of cloth. She had even picked out a direction—south—and yet she couldn't seem to set one foot outside. The watering cans needed to be put away. Maybe she should stay to wash the sheets—the next inhabitant wouldn't want dirty sheets. The door needed to be locked, and she had no lock.

But somewhere in her mind, she knew that she was only fussing and finding excuses.

And she wished that she had the fortitude to leave.

She was determined.

There was no reason to remain as a burden to everyone around her.

And the world outside was vast. There were adventurers outside the life in the Higurashi House sheltered by the gardens and stone walls. And surely, surely, her mother was right. Surely, one day, Sesshoumaru would be a true love of the past, and she would find some human, a farmer maybe, or a physician, and they would have seven children and grow old together.

Maybe she could have more than one true love.

But she needed to leave. Today.

She stepped out of the hut and slung the pack on her back. She walked the familiar path down the garden. It would take her around the house and bring her to the south entrance.

She stopped suddenly when she saw a flash of familiar white hair—must be Inuyasha—but forced herself to turn sharply toward where she needed to go to leave the Higurashi House. She needed to leave today or she would never leave at all.

"Kagome," she heard a familiar voice call out. Sesshoumaru... and her heart seemed to trip before beating again. But it couldn't be. It must be a figure from her overwrought imagination.

And even if it was, she would have to leave.

She quickened her pace. She would need to leave before she saw him, because then she would not want to leave at all and the hard won strength would slip through her fingers.

And she did not want to see him looking at her with hate and disgust in his eyes. Or worse, with nothing in his eyes. She had seen him look at others with that blank, gold gaze, and she did not want it directed at her.

She wanted to remember how well he had treated her and comforted her. How he had taken the time to teach her and tease her.

And yet, he was suddenly in front of her, larger than a mere figure of imagination had any right to be. He was almost just as the last she had seen him, with armor and pelt. Two swords hung at his waist instead of one. His hair was still long and white, flowing freely with the summer zephyr. And his eyes still gold, with something she didn't understand in them. At least they were not blank.

"Sesshoumaru," she breathed.

"Kagome," he answered and turned so that his back faced her. "I want to know why."

That was not what she had expected him to say at all. "Why what?"

"Why you repudiated me."

"Because..." Kagome twisted the question in her head and tried to answer it. "Why not? Aren't you happier now?"

"That's not a reason."

"You've always wanted to be free."

Sesshoumaru turned suddenly, fastening his fascinating eyes on her. "I wanted to be free... from the enslaving blood-bond. But I never asked you to repudiate me. I protected you. I... might have even cared for you. I never wanted to be free from you."

"You..." Kagome saw her vision blur with tears. This was what she had dreamed of hearing. Only, Sesshoumaru didn't know. "That was all from the blood-bond."

This time, Sesshoumaru put his hands on Kagome's arms and shook her a little. Kagome thought she might have even protested but for the shock of feeling Sesshoumaru's touch again. She should have protested for being manhandled. But this was Sesshoumaru. And Sesshoumaru... well, he had a right to be angry. She heard him ask, "Is that what you think? That the blood-bond can force me to feel things? Kagome, a normal blood-bond like the one we had can only tell me of your emotions, and nothing more."

"But..." Kagome protested.

"If I don't protect you, it hurts me. But do you think I would have let a little pain stop me from doing what I wanted to do? Do you think me so weak?"

Kagome looked away. "You know I don't. But it must have been easier for you to help me get to the Western Lands."

Sesshoumaru looked down at Kagome.

Silly Kagome who had hurt him and tried to explain to him that it was for his own good. Stupid Kagome who thought he would accept such an excuse. It wasn't good for him, and he couldn’t imagine why she had thought so in the first place. So, really he ought to just tell her to go to hell—at least he was not actually hurting her in retaliation as he would have done if he had followed his first inclination after the repudiation—and walk away and live the long overdue life as the Taiyoukai heir leave all human filth behind.

Except... this line of thinking was also so typical of Kagome. His Kagome. Innocent and trusting, believing whichever fool had misled her in an effort to separate them. Still wanting the best for him, even at her own expense. And still thinking that she knew better than him. He had lived for over five hundred years. He had more life experience. Shouldn't he know the world better? And besides, he had been with many women. And it irked him that she thought he wouldn't know if he liked someone.

Frustrated, he bent down and kissed her, and yet all the frustration melted away once he tasted her lips. Gently, his lips touched hers and explored the texture. Softly, as he had wanted to ever since he found out that they had mated while he was in heat and he couldn't remember what had happened. Carefully, because he wanted her, and not just for now, but for a long time... he wasn't quite sure yet if he was ready for forever.

"Sesshoumaru," Kagome said as soon as she could, several dazed moments after he had broken the kiss. "You're just reacting... to the repudiation."

"No, I'm not," Sesshoumaru refted. He looked at the sky behind her, wondering if Kagome was still Kagome... and how to convince her that he was still Sesshoumaru. The one she had known. "I've... killed my owners before, and that hurts like repudiation. And I don't love them after their deaths."

"Oh." Kagome didn't know how to react.

He went on, "But you're different. I want to protect you, to make sure you're safe. I want to know if you're in danger. When you were attacked by Naraku, I made a vow that I would stop anybody else from hurting you. And I will."

Before Kagome could say anything, a strange feeling encompassed her. She looked at Sesshoumaru questioningly and he smiled a little smile. "Now, I'm blood-bound to you again."

"What?"

"I did it of my own free will this time, and you really shouldn't repudiate me again, because that really hurt."

"I don't know—"

"Sh," Sesshoumaru soothed as he held Kagome tight against his chest. He let her confusion and anxiety and uncertainty fill the emptiness in him that had been waiting for her. But more, he felt her bewildered happiness and it danced through his own heart.

Hesitantly, Kagome put her arms around Sesshoumaru's waist. She could feel him solidly under her arms, not fading like a mirage as she had feared. She could hear his heart beating.

After a few silent moments, Kagome admitted, "I missed you."

Sesshoumaru thought that it had taken a lot for her to admit that, but he was not sorry that she did. He stood there and enjoyed the feel of her warmth against him. But he could feel Kagome's growing anxiety and before Kagome could pull out of his arms, he thought he should say something. What came out was, "I missed you, too."

It was true.

Read More...

Property - Chapter Thirteen

Summer soon overshadowed spring, and yet, Kagome still found herself in the little gardener's hut. The grass had grown tall and trees fairly glittered in the sunlight. Kagome supposed that she should admire the plethora of flowers. Just several months ago, they had been hidden entirely under the snow.

Like on that night with Sesshoumaru.

The gardeners were quite industrious, and Kagome found herself learning from them. How to plant. How to water. How to transplant. How to weed. Kagome liked watering the plants. It was easy and straightforward. And some plant always needed to be watered.

It kept her mind off of Sesshoumaru.

The rumors had died down from the raging fire it had been, but people still looked at her askance. Her father had not formally disinherited her, but she rather suspected that it was only a matter of time. Some very important person would pressure father and she would be declared dead to the family. In the meantime, she remained at the gardener's hut. Souta had been instated as the Higurashi heir. Kagome rarely saw her family, never talked to them, and certainly never joined them for dinner anymore.

It would feel odd anyways, since the last dinner she had enjoyed with them was with Sesshoumaru by her side.

Kagome kept on telling herself that she should pack up and leave. The gardeners did their job better than she, and her family would certainly rather see her gone. There were places to be, a world to see. And she kept on telling herself that she needed more bread—the kitchen had run out tonight. Or that it was raining—and she might as well start on a day of good weather. Or that a certain flower wasn't looking healthy, and maybe she'd stay just a week or two more to make it better. It wasn't as if she was in any hurry. She had been absolved of all responsibilities but herself.

Sometimes, Kagome would see a flutter of white hair in the distance, and her heart would flutter unexplainably. She would tell herself that she was being stupid. Then, the figure would come close enough for her to identify him as Inuyasha. It wasn't like she actually expected anybody else, but she'd still feel a sudden bout of lethargy and go in and lie on her cot for the rest of the day.

It was a nice cot. It was plain and narrow, but it was clean and sturdy. She wasn't the heir anymore, not even part of the royal family, practically speaking, and she should be satisfied with the cot. And she was. After a few days, she no longer felt the scratchiness of the blanket or the rigidity of the cot.

Some nights, though, she'd wake up in the middle of the night, wondering why nobody was beside her.

It was silly... very silly, she told herself as she refilled the watering can. She accidentally spilled some water on her kimono and slippers, but it was sunny outside and they would dry. She should leave, Kagome knew. It was sunny, and the kitchen had bread, and the flowers were fine. Today was the perfect day to pack and leave.

But she had to finish watering the flowers. The gardeners expected her to. It was already afternoon, and by the time she was done, it would be almost evening, with a scant four or five hours left of the summer day. If she were to travel, she might as well start early in the morning.

So she lugged her watering can and watered all the flowers. She even weeded a little part of the garden before she became too confused between the flowers and the weeds. After that, there was a quick dinner of bread and water and she found herself lying on her bed as the last of the sunlight lit the dusty hut.

She couldn't leave tomorrow, either, Kagome thought as she was falling asleep. She needed to bathe tomorrow and wash the dirty clothes. The clothes would need time to dry. Besides, she had to tell the gardeners that she was, in fact, leaving.

So, no, she couldn't leave tomorrow, either.

---

"Where's Miroku?" Sango's father, Nobu, asked Sango with reservation. His daughter had returned to the taijiya village, dressed in her exterminator clothes and with blood on her weapon, Hiraikotsu. He wondered if her reticent unhappiness was due to the marriage, but so far, he had seen neither hide nor hair of his son-in-law.

"Oh, he got busy," Sango answered airily. "I want to know what assignments you have."

"There's a neighboring village to the east needing a caterpillar youkai exterminated. A spider youkai in a village to the south. There's a band of youkai about a day's travel from here. I was thinking about sending the five best of ours to handle them... they can always signal for reinforcements..." Nobu trailed off as he realized that there were only three requests for youkai termination, less than half of the usual number.

He should be happy that youkai are harassing humans less and less, but instead he worried that the youkai were banding up or biding their time to plan something more destructive. He worried a little about what they would do if youkai simply stopped attacking humans. Would the village starve? Mostly, though, he worried over the two contradicting rumors he had heard. One was that there was a youkai—or was it hanyou?—who claimed he would share the Shikon no Tama's power with all his followers. The youkai was gathering followers. The other rumor, though, said that the Western Lands were in firm hands again and that several new codes have been passed, including safety of the humans. Strange, that, coming from a youkai territory.

"I'll go exterminate the youkai bandits," Sango announced suddenly, startling her father out of his thoughts.

Nobu looked at his daughter carefully. "You can't go alone."

"I won't. I'll have Kirara and Hiraikotsu with me."

Nobu sighed. "I should at least send some men with you."

"I'll signal for them if I need them." Sango patted Hiraikotsu by her side. "Men are not as reliable as Kirara and my boomerang, anyways.'

She was strong, Nobu knew. He had trained her himself. She might even be the second strongest warrior in the village, second only to himself. But she was his daughter, and he worried for her. Still, he knew that he could no longer dictate to her. He would send men to camp near the village, though, so they would be able to respond instantly if she signaled for aid.

Changing topics, he asked, "Where's Miroku?"

Sango sighed. She should not have expected her father to have forgotten about his absentee son-in-law. They were sitting on the edge of the porch, and she swung her legs a little as she answered, "I'd like to know that, too."

"How did you get separated after the wedding?"

"What wedding?" Sango heard herself laughing, but after a look at his father's face, she stopped. "He never showed up." She hiccupped. "He stopped at the village next to the Higurashi house and never showed up to the wedding."

Another hiccup.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm so angry," Sango found herself saying. Her mouth didn't seem to want to stop. "I'm so angry!" Hiccup. Her knuckles were white from her tight fists. "How dare he not show up? And when I asked him"—hiccup—"he won't even give a reason! No reason!" Her hands were trembling by her sides. Must be from the anger.

"I'm sorry, Sango," Nobu said as he searched for something adequate the console his daughter.

"I'm going to find him," she said and hiccupped. "I'm going to castrate him and skin him and jab his eyes out with burning tongs to make him tell me why—why..."—hiccup—"why!—he just didn't show up to our wedding."

Nobu remained silent. He didn't know how to help his daughter. But he certainly intended to find Miroku and demand retribution.

"He didn't even bother to make up an excuse, dad," Sango continued. "I thought he loved me, and he didn't even try to tell me what was wrong with me." Hiccup.

Nobu interjected, "There's nothing wrong—"

"Well, it's not like I care. I'm better off without him. I just wanted to know, why!"

Nobu looked at his daughter. Suddenly, he understood something. "You loved him."

Sango shook her head as she hiccupped. "He's not worthy of being loved."

A weird plop landed on her leg. It must be raining, she thought. She looked up to see vague impressions of blue. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision, but it didn't help very much, and then something was running down her cheeks.

I'm crying, she thought. She never cried. But she was crying for a stupid man who had left her. He was unworthy of being cried over. And yet, she was crying over him.

She chuckled and hiccupped through her tears. "I guess I did love him."

Nobu put an arm over his daughter, who had always been so strong, for him, for Kohaku, and for the whole village. He patted her as she leaned against him. "Sometimes, some things happen."

"But why?" Sango could barely understand the words out of her own mouth. She was a blubbering mess.

"Because."

"I don't want to be philosophical."

"Some things just are and some things just aren't meant to be," Nobu answered. "But you can always go and torture him for the reason."

Sango smiled. "I think I will."

"Are you still going to exterminate a band of youkai by yourself?"

Sango punched her father lightly on the shoulder. "Of course I am. I would never back down from a taijiya mission and stain my honor."

Nobu laughed, content that his daughter, even if still suffering from her loss, was already on her road to recovery.

---

Kikyou and Inuyasha were happy.

She had started enjoying the little things in life. She liked walking down the hall, because sometimes she'd see Inuyasha. She liked taking walks in the gardens, because sometimes she's meet and talk with Inuyasha. At dinner, Inuyasha would send messages to her through his eyes. And at night, he snuck into her room and she giggled like a little girl.

And yet... there was something very... pastel about the whole arrangement.

Inuyasha was careful not to bring up any topics that could bring bad memories or cause disagreements. He held and touched her carefully, never going further than she asked, and it made her wonder to where his passion gone.

For her part, she was ever vigilant of how she worded things, careful not to give commands. She kept her emotions in check, fearful that he would feel any negativity through the bond and their cautiously reconstructed relationship would fall to ruins.

They were happy together.

They were always with each other and smiling at each other. They walked with each other, and she held onto his arm. They talked about everything under the sun.

And about none of the past that was stashed away in the dark recesses of their memories.

But they were happy. And together.

Except for some reason, everything seemed washed out and pale to Kikyou. Their time together seemed rehearsed. She already knew which flowers would be pointed at next they walked down the garden. She already how he would react to her comments. She already knew where and when they would meet in the halls and every word they would say.

The spontaneity was gone.

But Kikyou could accept that. After all, they were both changed. They weren't rash and immature anymore. The rose-colored glasses had shattered with misunderstanding.

But he was Inuyasha and they were together. And happy.

Kikyou clung to that knowledge.

All would be well, because... well, Inuyasha was still dashing and gallant and just a little bit shy. Kikyou was quiet and taciturn, but her eyes would always lit up when she saw him. They would be fine together because... well, Kikyou wouldn't give any commands and Inuyasha would not do anything rash and both of them would stay far away from the quicksand of bad memories.

---

Izayoi's favorite flowers had withered under the summer sun. Now, Sesshoumaru could only see the bright blues and reds and yellows through the window. They had sprung up in time for the summer sun, but come autumn, they would betray the gardeners and desert the gardens.

He wouldn't mourn their loss. Another wave of them would simply take over the gardens again next summer. And next summer. And the summer after. Until the end of time.

Or until somebody decided to destroy the gardens.

Sesshoumaru turned away from the garden. He loathed wasting time. Every waking moment since his return had been spent on some political thing or another. A rebellion averted here. A dispute settled there. One minor lord requests that perhaps...? No.

And yet, there didn't seem to be enough to do. Freedom felt strange, he thought, after five hundred years or service. It felt hollow as he stared out the window.

Every free moment seemed like a moment to think and to reflect.

He saw the gardens and reflected on how the last time he had noticed a garden was when the snow still covered the garden at the Higurashi house.

When he was working or arbitrating or sleeping, he could pretend that freedom was sweet and that he didn't feel so... empty inside.

He sat at dinner with his father, and felt the shadow of a ghost of a memory. He would feel agitated, and his father would tell him sternly to clamp it down. Or did he want to start a war in the Taiyoukai house?

Maybe he did.

Sesshoumaru had stopped trying to analyze himself because he had stopped making sense. There had been anger and hurt and betrayal when Kagome had repudiated him, but his father had long since convinced him that it was to his own advantage anyways, and he had placed the priestess in the back of his mind, where memories were left to drift away.

A human aura skittered past his door, and he suddenly stood alert, before he realized that it was just Rin, and there was none of that... priestess fire in the aura.

He turned back to work, but there was not very much to be done, and he would finish too soon, with too much time left to remember.

---

"You love her, don't you?" Touga asked Sesshoumaru suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled into the room.

"No," Sesshoumaru answered clearly as he looked studiously out the window. There was no need to define "her." Outside, the flowers were mere shades of gray under the clouded night sky.

After a pause, he confessed, "I might have loved someone. A figure of my imagination. But that wasn't her."

"Can you ever know somebody completely?" His father asked. A strange question, that.

Sesshoumaru considered. "No." He wished for some of the startlingly white winter blossom. But maybe even that would have appeared gray under the clouded sky. "But I know that I didn't love her."

"Maybe she is not so different from what you imagined—"

"Maybe. But she never told me her reasons and I suppose I'll never know."

It started raining outside. A short, summer shower, no doubt. A passing one.

"I know you blame Inuyasha for Izayoi's death," Touga said suddenly.

"Not entirely."

Touga sighed and found a chair to sit in. "You know, I loved her."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "You mated her even though she was human."

Touga turned over baubles of fond memories in his head and smiled. "But I was scared, too. I wondered if I truly loved her. I wondered if she was what she seemed. I wondered if she would be a weakness or change or try to change me."

"But you still mated her."

"I made a blood-bound between us, so I could know her emotions and if she was in trouble and protect her." Touga shifted and leaned deeper into the seat. He could see Sesshoumaru out of the corner of his eyes. "I married her and slept with her. I made vows and completed the first part of the mating bond. But I never finished it."

Startled, Sesshoumaru turned to look at his father, but Touga was looking away, far into the shadows of the room.

"I was scared," Touga started again. "A completed mating bond bound two souls together. I thought if I only completed the first half, I could always finish the second half later. And if I didn't like Izayoi so much or if she or I changed, we could still live with each other until her human death, and it wouldn't be such a long time.

"You know about the mating bond, Sesshoumaru. The blood-bond gives you access to her feelings and where she is so that you can protect her. The first half of the mating bond binds your auras together. The last part weaves them together so that the life forces can feed into each other."

Touga stared resolutely ahead. "So, you see, I killed Izayoi."

Sesshoumaru tried to make sense of that, but couldn't. "I don't see."

Touga sighed heavily. "The first half of the mating bond usually kills humans. You know this. Youki is a naturally aggressive force whereas human auras are naturally inert. Youki tend to overpower human auras when bound to them. In priestesses, it's different, because their auras are so big that they manage to keep the youki in check instead of being overwhelmed by the youki."

Sesshoumaru nodded. He still didn't see how this had led to his mother's death, though.

"Do you know what auras are?"

"The expressions of our spirits."

"That's what I told you," Touga said. "But I have since learned that they are our spirits. When you suffocate someone's aura, you force the connection between body and soul to break. Youki is reparable when hurt physically, because they are not physical entities, but battered enough, they can cause death.

"Do you know what spirits are?"

"They are reflections of our emotions."

"Something else I told you. But actually, they are our emotions. A youki of love swells. A youki of hopelessness shrivels."

Sesshoumaru took in this new information. He wondered what had changed Touga's perceptions on such basic concepts.

"I only bound our auras together," Touga continued with his story. "And then Naraku attacked us and fatally wounded both of us. Inuyasha sought to save us—yes, he was trying to help us—and the Wolf Prince offered his lair as our sanctuary, and looked to find humans to aid us.

"But we were both fatally wounded. I had insisted that Izayoi be brought to safety first, since the Wolf Prince refused to endanger his men. He was the only one there. So Izayoi was carried away to safety, thinking that I had fatal wounds and was probably left to die.

"She despaired. She loved me and she despaired when she thought that she would have to live on without me. The Wolf Prince could not console her. She would not believe him when he said that I was still alive. And her soul—and her aura—shriveled as she thought herself into a depression.

"And I had only completed the first part of the mating bond, thinking that if all worked out, I could finish it later. But I never got a chance to, because her aura had shriveled and had stopped resisting mine. My youki overwhelmed her aura and her soul fled."

For a long moment, father and son remained silent. The clouds had moved and moonlight lit the flowers again, bringing a faint glow to their petals.

"So," Touga concluded. "You shouldn't blame Inuyasha for Izayoi's death."

Sesshoumaru looked at his father. "Are you saying that I should blame you?"

"I was young and uncertain," Touga explained. He told himself that he was not trying to find excuses. "I tried to calculate everything, make sure that every option was left open, every possibility accounted for. But sometimes, I would be better off letting things develop as they should...

"I still make that mistake sometimes," Touga confessed. He would have gone further, about how maybe Kagome had loved Sesshoumaru. Maybe Sesshoumaru should blame Touga instead of Kagome. But he had confessed one mistake tonight and he did not feel up to more. Maybe tomorrow, or next week, he would tell Sesshoumaru about what had transpired during the negotiation with Kagome, because he didn't want Sesshoumaru to feel betrayed.

But if Sesshoumaru loved Kagome... if she returned his love... if they married... The Western Lands would still fall apart in an heirless marriage. Or, worse, a hanyou heir would be seen as a weakness to be eliminated. It would have worked if Sesshoumaru already had a legitimate heir, but it was too late for that now.

So, he didn't tell Sesshoumaru what had happened.

"Did it hurt?" Sesshoumaru asked suddenly.

Touga smiled in the memory. "Like repudiation," he answered. Izayoi's death had proven him to be an unfit protector. The half-formed mating bond had snapped and debilitated him completely for weeks. He wondered at his son's strength that Sesshoumaru was already being productive and acting as the Taiyoukai heir.

He worried, too, that Sesshoumaru was keeping it all in and that one day, he would simply break.

"You should go see Kagome," Touga suggested gently.

Sesshoumaru turned sharply to his father. See Kagome? His heart started stumbling in his chest and for some reason, he felt strangely panicked.

"For some closure," Touga added. "You can always bring Rin and Jaken if you would like some company."

It was a good suggestion, Sesshoumaru admitted. And the shadowed room came into sharp focus again as he thought of seeing Kagome. The pain of her repudiation was still there, but he thought that he should ask her for her reasons. Maybe she had his best interests at heart. Maybe her father forbade her to entangle herself with him. Maybe his father laid it down as a condition for peace. It would be just like the Kagome he knew to repudiate him for such stupid reasons.

His mind was already calculating on how much they would need to pack. Ah-un would have to come along, since Rin didn't like walking. They could stop by at the wolf's caves on the way, ask him what he knew about Kagome.

Oh, gods, Kagome had better not be married to Kouga, Sesshoumaru thought suddenly. They should travel fast. Leave tomorrow. Even if the Kouga and Kagome were engaged, they couldn't possibly be married already. It had been only what... a month? Two? Surely, Kagome's father would not have forced Kagome to marry Kouga already.

He must inform Rin now. Rin seemed to like Kagome, and he could say... he was bringing Rin to let her get more in touch with humans. Surely, Hiroshi Higurashi would not turn down Rin, even if he thought Sesshoumaru might be hostile.

Read More...

Property - Chapter Twelve

When they arrived at Kouga's cave, they found that it stunk with gore and was shadowed by death. Barely recognizable body parts from both men and wolves lay around. The bright blood provided sharp contrast against the dull brown dust and the pale green plants. Kouga stood high up on the mountain, looking murderous and had not noticed Kagome and her traveling companions yet.

After some hesitation, Kagome decided that it was best to alert him instead of taking him unawares. "Kouga," she shouted upwind. "Wolf Prince Kouga!"

Slowly, his pale blue eyes focused on Kagome, before his face morphed into a gentler veneer. "Lady Kagome."

When he came down the path to meet them, Kagome asked, "What happened?"

"Naraku," Kouga snarled with his lips curled. "I'm going right now to kill him right now."

Kagome placed a hand on his arm to slow him down. "You might want to heal and regroup first."

"What is there to regroup?" Kouga asked, all of a sudden sounding resigned. "This is our territory. And we have well over five hundred wolves throughout these caves. Naraku comes in here with his two lackeys and wipes out half of us and injures the rest of us."

"Then why are you going against him by yourself?" Kagome asked reasonably.

"I have to avenge them."

"Maybe he has some weakness."

Kouga laughed at that. "Maybe I have more."

Kagome looked down at the valley. There were only trees down in the valley and no carnage. "Maybe you can find some allies. He attacked us when we were traveling west, too."

Surprisingly, Kouga's eyes lit up at Kagome's newest suggestion. "Sesshoumaru was upset, too, wasn't he? He'll probably want to kill that bastard, too." Then, he looked around and remarked, "Where is he?"

Kagome's hand closed convulsively around the Shikon no Tama and the necklace that was made from Sesshoumaru's hair.

Fortunately, her father stepped up. "Sesshoumaru-sama decided to stay at the Taiyoukai house and take on his duties as the Taiyoukai heir."

"So you're not under his claim anymore?" Kouga asked speculatively, looking at her necklace.

Kagome ignored her father's sharp glance. "No." But I wish I was, she added silently. But it had never been Sesshoumaru's choice in the first place, so she supposed that none of the feelings on his part had been genuine. At least she knew how it felt to be cared for by someone like him. She thought how lucky Rin was, to be chosen by him.

Uncomfortable with where the conversation was going, even if he was the one who had proposed the alliance in the first place, Higurashi cut in, "We are traveling back to the Higurashi house."

"Oh," Kouga flustered, realizing that he had been ignoring the elder Higurashi. "Congratulations on your... successful negotiations." He had had to think fast for a non-offensive term for Higurashi's release. "And you are welcomed to stay at my lair. I can prepare some rooms for you."

Higurashi accepted graciously. "That would be much appreciated."

---

Higurashi spent the next day going over the terms of their alliance with Kouga. Sango and Miroku both had professional training and helped with bandaging and healing the injured wolves. Kagome learned from them, too, and even managed to insert a little dose of healing energy with every wound she bandaged.

The day after, Kagome and company left Kouga's caves to go back to the Higurashi House.

---

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked, confused, when they entered the third room this afternoon.

"I'm airing out the rooms," Kikyou answered without taking a moment off of dusting the table tops and the chairs. She fluffed the blankets on the bed a couple of times.

"I mean, why are you doing this?"

"Because Kagome and her father are returning," Kikyou answered. She had just received the missive this morning and realized that she had not done much while Kagome was gone. The least she could do was to air out their rooms, even if she couldn’t defend against Naraku's attack. "And I have barely done anything as the leader of the Higurashi House."

Inuyasha trailed behind Kikyou. "I don't remember Mr. Higurashi airing out rooms."

"Of course you don't." She decided that she would have one of the maids dust the carpets. Meanwhile, she could use the rag she had to dust the drawers. Industriously, she pulled them out one by one to wipe their edges. "Mr. Higurashi is a man. I am a woman."

"Oh." Inuyasha didn't really understand. Maybe it was because he was a man.

Kikyou was on the last drawer, but it wouldn't open. She tugged and tugged and tugged. Finally she gave up and asked, "Will you help me get their drawer open?"

"Sure." With on pull, the drawer was flying out of the dresser and landed on the floor.

Kikyou tugged suspiciously on the green cloth that was stuffed into the drawer. She didn't know what it was, but it looked like it could be washed. With Inuyasha's help, she spread the cloth on the floor and found that it was a sheet.

With blood on the middle of it.

Even that would not have been so condemning if not for the parch-y, circle-shaped areas right next to it. She had a fair idea of what her cousin had been up to.

"She should have married him," Kikyou muttered. She supposed she could burn or wash the sheet without anybody knowing anything, but Kagome would still have to do something else to cover for the fact that she wasn't a virgin. At least Kagome wasn't a priestess, she thought, or she would either already be crippled for life, or unable to marry anybody else because this man was her true love.

She had forgotten about Inuyasha's sensitive hearing. He asked, "Sesshoumaru?"

"Sesshoumaru?" Kikyou repeated dumbly. The name sounded familiar and it took a moment for her to remember the slave that she had bought on a hunch that he might be somebody important. She had meant to tell Kagome that, but somehow never got around to it before her cousin had left with the blood-bound. She hoped that her cousin didn't do anything stupid with the blood-bound. "You mean, she did that with her blood-bound?"

At Inuyasha's pointed look, Kikyou flustered, "Well, you and I are different. We've known each other longer. And we... are different..."

Inuyasha shrugged. He didn't want to force Kikyou into any confessions. "Sesshoumaru was a pleasure slave."

"Oh." Kikyou found herself jumping away from the sheet. "She can't marry him."

"Of course not," Inuyasha agreed.

She turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "He's the Taiyoukai heir. He can't have hanyou children as an heir."

"He's the Taiyoukai heir?"

Inuyasha frowned at Kikyou's surprise. "I thought you bought him because he's my half-brother."

"And you're his brother?"

"Half-brother," Inuyasha corrected. "Didn't you know?"

Kikyou shook her head. "He had a strong youki. I thought he would be powerful as a blood-bound or maybe even from one of the important families. But, gods, he was the Taiyoukai heir!"

For wont of something to do, she paced around the sheet again. "But, then, you're a Taiyoukai, too."

Inuyasha shrugged.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

He shrugged again. "It wasn't important."

"Men and communication," Kikyou muttered her breath. She had always thought that she communicated fairly well with Inuyasha, especially before she had wrongfully accused him of murdering her sister. She had thought he would have told her something like this. She supposed that old adages remained for a reason.

She asked him, "So, what do we do with the sheet?"

"I don't know," he answered uncomfortably.

"We should—"

Kikyou was cut off by a servant's entrance. The servant explained, "I was sent to help out in any way I can when the housekeeper found out that you are cleaning out the rooms." The servant stood up from her bow and her gaze landed on the sheet spread out in the middle of the room, with suspicious stains all over it.

"Oh, Lady Higurashi," the servant gushed in a scandalized whisper.

Before Kikyou could threaten the servant not to tell anybody about it or else, the servant scampered off, no doubt to share the gossip.

---

Kagome thought that she should be happy when she returned to the Higurashi House. She should be like Kouga, exclaiming, "Home, sweet home." Even if she was upset over losing Sesshoumaru, she should rejoice in the peace between the Western Lands and the human territory. Even if she would never see Sesshoumaru again, except perhaps in formal settings with polite words, she still had many other friends.

Thus, she consoled herself, when she entered the Higurashi House. Although they had only left for several weeks, she was sure that rumors had abounded as to their business and their whereabouts. It was long enough for trees to burst with fresh, green leaves and flowers to pop up from the ground; it was more than long enough for servants to gossip, even blood-bound ones. Besides, they had human servants, too.

Surprisingly, Kikyou was out to greet them as well as Kagome's mother and brother. After the initial hello's and how do you do's, Kikyou pulled Kagome aside.

"I'm sorry," Kikyou apologized.

"What?" Kagome asked, bewildered. "What happened?"

"I..." Kikyou looked around and lowered her voice to be sure that it couldn't be heard over the chatter. Not that she needed to have bothered, since the gossip mill ran quickly. "I was cleaning out your room for you."

"Oh, thanks." That was an unusually thoughtful gesture from Kikyou. Kagome if anything triggered this change of heart.

"No, listen," Kikyou interjected. "I was cleaning the dust off the drawers, so I was opening them."

"Okay..." Kagome had no idea what this was going.

Kikyou sighed. "On the bottom drawer of you dresser, there was a green thing stuffed on top."

Green thing, green thing, green thing... Kagome scrunched up her brows in an effort to remember what she had stuffed in there so long ago. She shouldn't be expected to remember, she thought sullenly, what was with everything else that was happening to her.

"The sheet," Kikyou said, finally frustrated from Kagome's lack of remembrance. "With blood... and other bodily fluids on it."

Suddenly, Kagome's face paled. It was several seconds before she asked, "You didn't tell anybody, did you?"

Kikyou looked away from Kagome. "Look, I'm really sorry, but a maid walked in on us."

"You..." Kagome took a deep breath. "Who said you could go in my room?"

Kikyou glared at Kagome. "It's not my fault that you decided to sleep with someone. Or that you can't hide the evidence well enough."

---

Kagome had a good idea of what her parents wanted to talk to her about as she entered her parents' room. They'd sent a very vague but nicely worded message to tell her that this was a private meeting, mandatory, and that even Souta needed not to attend.

"Father, mother," she greeted formally as she sat herself on the floor across the coffee table from her parents. The grave situation seemed to call for it. Light streamed through the windows, but a sheer white curtain dulled the brightest rays into a soft, diffused glow.

"Kagome," her mother, Ayako, replied. "We wanted to talk to you about something... unsettling."

Kagome nodded. Normally, she would have explained that she knew the rumors and that they were true—true enough, anyways, for the scandal to be justified. For some reason, though, she had not been her normal, energetic self these days. Her sleep had seemed fitful, despite that she remained free of nightmares. In her waking hours, she stewed in boredom, and nothing brought out her excitement anymore, not even playing with Shippou. So, she kept silent and let her parents work for the conversation.

"As you know, servants like to talk," Hiroshi Higurashi continued valiantly. "And if they have nothing to talk about sometimes they will make up things to talk about."

Again, Kagome nodded.

Mother sighed and leaned forward to look into Kagome's listless, brown eyes. "Honey, we're worried about you."

Kagome managed to drag up a smile. "I'm fine."

Father sighed, too. "I wanted you to know that there are... unsavory rumors about you."

Kagome nodded.

"They say..." Hiroshi forged on. Distantly, Kagome found that she had to admire his tenacity. "It's difficult for me to say this about my own daughter."

Mother held father's hand under the table. She continued for him. "Daughter... they say that you have been with a man... the way a wife is with a husband."

Kagome smiled at this analogy. Perhaps, she thought. But she very much doubted that the whirlwind passion and the frantic urgency could be found in many married couple's beds. And surely, husbands and wives stood by each other for longer than a night. They would talk to each other and share their troubles. They would lie leisurely by each other's sides just admire the stars. They would choose to stay with each other and hold each other's hands when facing their own unruly child.

Ayako frowned worriedly at her daughter. "Please tell us how we can disprove this rumor."

Kagome didn't want the rumor disproved. It hadn't felt wrong, that night they shared, and if she could do it all over again, she would have done the exact same thing. At least, she had had one night with him. Quietly, she told her parents, "I don't want to keep it a dirty little secret."

Her parents were surprised, but Hiroshi controlled himself soon enough. "Look, Kagome, even if you loved him—or even if you still love him—he's not here. It's not worth it for you to bear the shame for such an irresponsible man."

"I was the irresponsible one."

"You were, too." He was not going to let Kagome off the hook so easily, but he wanted to salvage the situation. "But ultimately, he was the one—"

Kagome looked at the sheer, white curtains. "He couldn't have done anything different."

Ayako took Hiroshi's sigh as a signal to try another approach. "Kagome, even if it is not his fault, unless he can marry you..." She continued at Kagome's headshake. "Or if there's a baby..." Another headshake. Mother's audible sigh of relief. "Then, nothing's going to happen anymore between you and him. You should do the best to preserve your future."

Quietly, Kagome repeated, "I don't want to keep him a dirty little secret."

"Do you know how much you are giving up by doing this?" Father demanded, his voice less gentle.

Mother put a steadying hand on father before he could say any further. "I know this sounds impossible right now, but you can find another man to love," mother soothed. "You are still young and attractive. Losing your first love is difficult, but don't give up everything else in life because of it."

Kagome kept her eyes on the blue curtains and refused to answer.

Father shifted in his seat, trying to work out the tension in his muscles from worrying for his daughter. "Just announce that that the rumors are false and we'll stand by you. The whole thing will be forgotten in less than a month."

This time, Kagome turned to look at her parents in the voice. She steadied her voice before saying firmly, "I won't keep him a dirty little secret."

At this, father narrowed his eyes ominously. "Who is it anyways?"

"It's not his responsibility."

"But who is it?" Hiroshi demanded.

Kagome gritted her teeth. "I'm not telling you. You're just going to debase him. Or insult me. Or force us to marry each other, which will not happen."

He slapped his hands on the table in a loud crack and lifted himself out of his seated position. "Is this how you don't keep him a dirty little secret? Is he why you are going to give up the position of a Higurashi heir and any chance of an advantageous marriage? Is he why you are going to fight with your own parents?"

Sullenly, Kagome pointed out, "We are the ones choosing to have the fight. Don't blame it on him."

"Dear," Ayako tried to soothe her husband and pull him back down by the sleeve. "I don't think—"

"Kagome, you're our daughter," Hiroshi ignored Ayako's words. "And we love you dearly. But we still guide all of the humans. We can't let little things in the family slide—not things like this. People will lose faith in our ability to protect them, if we can't even look out for your interests."

"I understand that," Kagome answered quietly.

"Do you?" Hiroshi's words held a sharp edge. "Then, choose. Either you announce that the rumors are unfounded, or you take leave of the Higurashi house because I do have another child to be the heir."

Ayako tugged harder on his sleeve. "You shouldn't..."

"The girl has to learn something," he told her. "She's the Higurashi heir. She's already sixteen and she barely started learning about the family and political affairs. And she's already made a mistake that she's unwilling to rectify."

Before Ayako could say anything else, he stormed out of the room.

"Really, Kagome," Ayako chided quietly when father was definitely out of earshot.

"It's okay, mother." Kagome felt strangely acquiescent about all of it. So, she would have to make a living on her own, but it couldn't be that bad. "Souta would make a better leader anyways."

"Kagome, don't say that." Mother struggled visibly to find something to say to change her daughter's mind, but Kagome had her mind made up already.

"It's true." Kagome pushed herself up, ready to leave the room. Her parents had told her what they wanted to tell her and she had informed them of her decision. "I think I'll take one of the empty gardener sheds before I explore the world. You know, I've always wanted to just wander around, but I've only ever been at the Higurashi House. And traveled to the Western Lands."

"Kagome, don't be rash," Ayako called out behind Kagome and then lowered her voice. "You can still fall in love again, even if the man is your true love."

Kagome found herself grinning painfully at that. "No, he was just an infatuation."

Mother persisted, "But you don't know. It's not like you're a priestess or anything—"

"But I am," Kagome confessed. "I slept with him and I still have my powers. So, what does that mean?"

For a moment, Ayako couldn't think of a suitable reply, and then her daughter was gone, probably packing her suitcase. Even if Kagome hadn't seen very much of the world—or because of it—she was persistent in her decisions. Hopefully, they could settle the situation before Kagome actually started to wander the country, but she didn't know what could be done now that the rumors would be proven true. What could Hiroshi do but disinherit Kagome to prove that he had the fairness and firmness to punish those who break his rules, even his own daughter?

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Property - Chapter Eleven

"Father," Sesshoumaru called just as his father was about to enter the room where Kagome waited to discuss the terms of Higurashi's release.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru?" Touga answered. Perhaps he had lost his son for five hundred years, but he still knew how people thought, and he knew--he hoped--that his son's psyche was not so warped and deviated from five hundred years or forced blood-bond. "Is there any particular condition you'd like to ask for?"

Sesshoumaru looked away and then back at his father's gold eyes. Both he and Inuyasha had inherited their eyes from their father. "Don't... make it too hard on her."

Touga's eyes widened in surprise, but it was already too late for Sesshoumaru to phrase his request differently. He wondered if he had helped or hurt Kagome.

After a reassessing gaze, Touga asked, "You're not a blood-bound anymore, are you?"

Sesshoumaru fixed his stare on the wall behind his father. "I'm blood-bound."

At this, a frown crossed his father's brows. "But you are no longer a blood-bound. I wonder..." Much to Sesshoumaru's irritation, his father didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he said, "I can try to honor your request, but the whole of the Western Lands is at stake."

After a slight hesitation, Sesshoumaru nodded. It was the best his father could do, and Sesshoumaru was already being selfish by asking even this much leniency to be shown to a mere human. Still... "She never did anything wrong."

Touga nodded. "But her father still lied."

"Her father didn't know."

His father put a consoling hand on Sesshoumaru's arm. "Let me handle this. I have experience."

Reluctantly, Sesshoumaru nodded. He understood why he couldn't join the negotiation. He was biased, if not for his father, then against him. He would upset the balance between Kagome and his father by making the negotiation two against one. He would...

But damn it, he thought, Kagome would be worried. He knew he would be able to feel her anxiety through the bond and he wouldn't be there to comfort her. He wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He wouldn't even be able to lie by her side platonically, because it would cause a scandal.

His hands fisted in frustration, but he walked away. If he couldn’t do anything about it, he would rather be somewhere far away. Preferable with wooden blocks or trees he could blow apart.

"Don't worry," his father soothed in vain. "But I want to talk to you afterwards."

Again, Sesshoumaru nodded. He wanted to talk to his father too, if only to know exactly what would transpire during the negotiation. But for now, he forced himself to leave the corridor.

---

Kagome had no idea of how to begin the negotiation. Touga Taiyoukai was an imposing figure, tall with broad shoulders and a commanding air like Sesshoumaru. However, unlike Sesshoumaru, she didn't know if she could trust him. Certainly, he would have the Western Lands' best interests and if she wanted something against that...

The question, then, she supposed, was if having her father released and maintaining peace conflicted with Touga's agenda.

"I suppose you knew that your father traveled to the Western Lands." Touga knew he had startled her, but he didn't intend to wait forever for her to speak. He almost wished that he had simply dealt with the elder Higurashi instead of this completely inexperienced girl. Still, he had to negotiate with her. "I did not ask for his presence; I asked for my son's."

Kagome nodded dumbly.

After a slight pause in which Touga determined that Kagome didn't have anything to add, he continued, "And now my son is here."

Again, she nodded.

"Which was what I asked had asked for originally." After a significant pause, Touga leaned forward. He was glad that Kagome seemed compliant, but he wondered at how intimidated she felt. He wanted to impress on her that he was letting her off easy, which he was. "But why did your father lie about my son's presence in your house? What did he hope to gain? And how can I let somebody lie to me so blatantly? If I do not punish him, my people will lose trust in me."

Kagome looked at her fisted hands in her lap, doing her best to keep away the frustrated tears. "He didn't know," she told Taiyoukai. "He never met Sesshoumaru before he left for here."

"'Met,' huh? I am quite aware that blood-bounds are often dirty little secrets kept out of sight." He saw Kagome's face flush in embarrassment, maybe because he had hit the truth or because she was completely innocent. "However, even if you speak the truth, your father should have searched the household more thoroughly."

He was right, Kagome realized. But... "Can we settle this peacefully?"

"Of course, I don't want a war either," Touga spread his hands in a magnanimous gesture. "And I do not find satisfaction in debasing others. So, my conditions are quite simple."

Kagome felt hope lifting in her chest. Maybe she could do it.

"These are the conditions," Touga continued. "As you know, Sesshoumaru is the Taiyoukai heir. I want him fit to be the Lord of the Western Lands, which means without burdens. I want you to release him from his blood-bound."

"But he says he's not a blood-bound anymore."

"He's not," he agreed easily. "But he is still blood-bound."

Sesshoumaru had mentioned that before. "Then, how do I release him from his blood-bound?"

Touga looked at the girl in front of assessingly again. "Tell him, 'You are unworthy to protect me and I severe all ties with you.' It's not so much the words but the sentiments behind it that would release the bond."

During Touga's explanation, Kagome's eyes had widened steadily. "But," she barely managed to choke out. "That's repudiation."

He answered gravely, "It's the only way to free him from you."

Free him from her. She was a burden, she knew. She couldn't travel fast enough. She didn't know how things worked. She was ignorant and oblivious a lot of the times. But to be told that she was a burden...

Except all of it was true. All Kagome could object was, "I heard it hurts."

Touga grinned with a self-deprecating edge. "Like hell," he answered. "Still, this pain lasts only a while. If the blood-bond is not severed, he will always be tied to you. The blood-bond forces him to protect you, if not obey your every whim. It forces him to want to be near you so that he can protect you. And he cannot be the Lord of the Western Lands like that."

There, Kagome thought vaguely. There, Touga Taiyoukai explained it all: why Sesshoumaru was nice to her, why he had rushed her to the village, why he protected her and comforted her. None of it was of his own free will, but an inclination resulted from a blood-bond forced upon him.

At least, Touga didn't ask for war. But she felt her ribs constricting around her heart as she agreed to his proposition.

"I'm glad you can see it my way," Touga said. "And I hope you won't alienate him from his own father by telling him that I asked this of you."

Kagome shook her head blindly. "Of course not," she managed to whisper.

Sesshoumaru wasn't hers, Kagome told herself. One person can't own another. And it's not like she was in love with him or anything. It was just a silly little infatuation. And even if it wasn't, nothing could come of it, because neither youkai nor humans would want hanyou heirs. Kouga was exception because he led only a tribe, but for Sesshoumaru... youkai would think that it was their own self-interest to rebel. And even if all that wasn't true, Sesshoumaru didn't love her. He already had Rin.

"I'll have someone show you to your rooms, then," Touga's announcement drew Kagome back to the bleached reality.

---

"Rin," Sesshoumaru greeted as he entered the private dining room, which was always filled with hors d'oevres, even if it was not meal time. Guests showed up all the time and even the residents of the house enjoyed always having snack available.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin looked up from the table. Her newest hobby was ikebana and she was fiddling with the centerpiece on the long table. "I really did miss you."

He smiled at that sentiment. They had not seen each other for ten years, since she was eight years old and the bastard child of a servant in a house he had served. Once, when he had been punished for an imagined transgression, his mistress had told him not to ask for food. The servants had not served him unless he had asked and he had almost starved to death despite his demon heritage because of his profusely bleeding wounds caused by his mistress in the first place. It had been Rin who had seen him and brought him kitchen leftovers. Not gourmet, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Later, her mother had died. Her mother's protection had been flimsy at best, but after her mother's death, nothing shielded her from the sick attentions of some of the residents and guests at his mistress's mansion.

Sesshoumaru had managed to find a loophole in one of his mistress's orders and had pointed Rin to the direction of the Western Lands with a lock of his hair as token for safe passage. He had wanted her out—he had owed her a debt and came to see her as his daughter or little sister—before he went in heat and crumbled the castle with his bloodlust. He had not seen her since, but he was glad to know that she had made it.

"And I am glad to see that you are safe." He paused trying to gauge her mood. "I do object to the insinuations..."

Rin blushed at that and for one crazy moment, Sesshoumaru thought she was going to admit to a crush on him. "Oh, that, well, I know how you don't really like... having woman demand things of you and she... well... looked like one of them. So, I just thought... maybe I could... you know... help you keep her away."

"Oh." Sesshoumaru ran a hand through his hair. "I appreciate it..." He wondered how he should explain that he was not a blood-bound anymore. And more importantly, how if Kagome did have some... demands... they would not be unwelcomed.

Thankfully, Rin figured it out without his explanation. "You like her!" She turned back to her ikebana arrangement. Quietly, she apologized, "I'm sorry. I thought..."

"It's all right." It wasn't like Kagome had had "demands" anyways.

At that moment, a servant entered the room. He coughed politely and announced, "Your father would like to see you in his study, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru nodded. Then, he said to Rin, "I will see you later."

---

"Yes, father?" Sesshoumaru stood in the study with his father. His shoulders felt tense.

His father walked over to a cabinet with a strong ward over it. He grabbed a sword from within the cabinet. "I wanted to give you your sword."

"My sword?" Sesshoumaru was unaware that his father had kept his sword. It was a wooden one, after all, just for practicing, since he had not yet finished his martial arts training when he became a blood-bound.

"The Tenseiga," Touga elaborated, holding out a simply but elegant sword. It was not Sesshoumaru's wooden sword. "I had two swords made from two of my fangs after both you and Inuyasha left. I knew that I could no longer protect you, but my fangs are powerful, and they would be able to aid you."

Touga handed Tenseiga to Sesshoumaru with both hands. Carefully, Sesshoumaru drew the shining, unblemished blade from its scabbard. A strong sword with a sharp edge, which meant it was a superb sword, but Sesshoumaru did not see any special qualities at which his father had hinted.

"It's made especially for you." Touga moved to sit behind his desk. "Just as Tessaiga is made for Inuyasha. The Tenseiga can channel your destructive rage so that you can think rationally in a fight."

With this new information, Sesshoumaru examined the sword again. He still couldn't feel any special wards, but he supposed that it might be inherent in a sword made from a piece of a youkai. Besides, even if it had no magical qualities, it was a good sword, and Sesshoumaru was in need of a good sword, among other weapons.

"Thank you," he accepted graciously. "And what does the Tessaiga do?"

Touga sighed and looked at the other sword still in the cabinet. "It's difficult to be a hanyou, because they are not truly half and half. Instead, they are both youkai and human, with two separate auras, and the two parts are always warring for supremacy. So, like your sword, his lets out his youki, but his does so completely, so that only the human remains in him."

Sesshoumaru pondered over that for a moment. Then, he asked, "So, it would be like the new moon of the month."

Touga nodded. "Go practice with your sword. You probably need to get used to it."

Obediently, Sesshoumaru left the room to go to the courtyard. The moon lit up pale flowers that blossomed so early in the year. He couldn't remember what the flower was called, but he remembered how his mother, Izayoi, had loved them. She used to say that they were the most beautiful because they blossomed in the harshest conditions. He supposed he understood her sentiment now, although it had always confused her when he was a child. Women were supposed to like roses. Izayoi had been one of the winter blossoms, too.

It wasn't until he was halfway through the first basic set that he remembered he had forgotten to ask his father about the negotiations. He wasn't too worried, though, since Kagome would probably tell him in the morning.

---

"You're leaving already?" Rin sounded aghast as Kagome, her father, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara prepared to leave the next morning.

"We have to," Kagome replied. She couldn't understand why Rin sounded upset. They had barely spoken two words and if she was in Rin's position, she wouldn't want Sesshoumaru's former mistress around. "Besides, I'm sure you can take good care of Sesshoumaru."

"I—" Rin was about to explain when Sesshoumaru cut in.

"I'll escort you until Kouga's territory."

"Thank you, but there's no need, as long as you send word out to not attack us," Kagome's father declined the offer. He didn’t seem very much the worse for wear. The only obvious effect of his stay at the Taiyoukai house was his fatigue.

"Nevertheless, I will escort you," Sesshoumaru announced.

This time, Higurashi didn't object. Kagome had to agree that if Sesshoumaru had been intimidating before, he was doubly so now. He was dressed in what she supposed was his full regalia, complete with armor and a white pelt. A sword hung from his waist.

Another part of Kagome was not too concerned about Sesshoumaru's appearance. This part of her considered his insistence to accompany her. His worry for her had made her flutter strangely before she realized that it was forced upon him by the blood-bond, and it fell like an anvil, leaving her feeling strangely empty.

"Sesshoumaru," she said. She should do it now. Get it over with. Save him several days of pointless travel. "I would like to say something to you." She glanced around a little. "In private."

Nodding, Sesshoumaru led them to a meadow on the estate. He wondered what Kagome wanted to say. Did she hope to dissuade him? She should know his obstinacy and persistence by now. Or did she want to say good-bye? Tell him that it had been fun traveling with him? Or did she... He didn't want to think about the possibility because he wanted so much... but did she want to make promises? Tell him that she would return? He hoped she would. After all, the Higurashis and the Taiyoukais were not enemies.

"I..." Kagome started when they reached the meadow. The grass barely reached their ankles and tickled her softly.

Sesshoumaru found his heart hanging strangely in his chest. It must be beating... but everything seemed so still as he waited for her to finish her sentence.

Kagome took a deep breath to steady her thoughts. It was not the words but the sentiment. She had to think about what she was going to say, and it was difficult, because she didn't think that he was unworthy. And because after this... he would not want to be near her anymore or comfort her or protect her. Even if the blood-bond forced it on him, she had liked being able to depend on him to fight off the evil youkai and to be there when a nightmare frightened her awake.

Still, she was being unfair to him. And to his father, if she reneged on the agreement. But mostly, she was being unfair to him, tying him to her, even if he didn't think so.

She let out her breath and spoke quickly and quietly, "You are unworthy to protect me and I severe all ties with you." At the last moment, she looked away from him, not wanting to see the pain his gold eyes. Before he could react—she didn't want to know how he would react—she walked back to join her father and her friends.

It was unnecessary, though, since Sesshoumaru did not react visibly. All he could feel was the bond snapping like an old rubber band and hitting him in the chest, the agony forcing him to his knees. The pain was shattering, like a glass ball exploding from his stomach. Still, he could think and understand her words and wonder why she had repudiated him. How had he been inadequate and unworthy? It felt like betrayal... and worse...

And it was Kagome who had done this to him. He would have expected this from anyone but her. He supposed, though, that one can never know another person completely. Kagome, apparently, hadn't been what she seemed either.

And anger. How dare she accuse him of being unworthy when he had done everything—everything!—he could have done and ask for nothing in return? How dare she cut him off as if she were so much better than he when he was the Taiyoukai heir, and she nothing but a human woman? How dare she give him so much pain when he had only offered her comfort and protection?

A red haze started to rim his vision and he pulled blindly on a sword to do something—anything. And yet, the bloodlust was strangely empty as he let the tip of his sword sink deep into the frozen ground.

The Tenseiga, he thought bitterly. He couldn't not think, because the Tenseiga would take away his bloodlust.

For a long moment, he knelt there, his sword in the ground. His vision was red, but he didn't know what to do. He knew, though, that nothing would alleviate the pain except for time.

When he finally stood up, the sun had already set. He brushed the grass away from his knees, but they only sprang back up. He felt different, but it was not so bad, he decided. After all, he had survived five hundred years with this kind of hate and loathing simmering in his chest.

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