Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Inuyasha show. Rumiko Takahashi is the one who owns them. I do not own Inuyasha fandom either (strange isn’t it?). This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: M/F – Sesshomaru/Kagome, Yaoi (male x male) OC/OC.
Summary: A teen searches for Kagome. Who is he? What does he want? What is he hiding? And why the hell does he look like Sesshomaru?!
A/N 1: Naoe looks like 17 year old boy.
A/N 2: Sorry for making Inuyasha a fool.... I do not know why I wanted to make him so grumpy and stupid most of the time but he is cute in his own way.
A/N 3: I will be using a few Japanese words like:
Hanyou – half-breed
Youki – demonic power
Youkai – demon
Taiyoukai – demon Lord
Shikon no Tama – Well as all of you already know it’s a sacred jewel that Kagome has broken.
A/N 4: Sorry for the mistakes. I am not a native speaker, so please bear with it.
Chapter 3 Parentage and a New Enemy
It was a late evening and the group of travelers was sitting around the fireplace. The fire was crackling happily in the air, illuminating the faces of the people sitting around it. Just a few hours ago they had been fighting some demons (unfortunately, the youkai didn’t have any jewel shards and were not related to Naraku) and the group was feeling a little exhausted. It’s been three days since Sesshomaru and Naoe joined the group. Kagome took a quick glance at the solemn figure, sitting quietly a little further from the group, and suddenly turned away when his golden eyes met brown ones.
“I still can’t get used to having him around,” Kagome muttered and shivered a little.
Naoe, who was sitting on Kagome’s right, smiled, “He is not as evil as you think,” He tried to console the girl.
“Well yeah, maybe, but still… He is so cold towards us. I just do not know how to act around him.” The girl shrugged and spread her hands to the sides as if wanting to emphasize her words. “Sometimes I even think that if I do some wrong movement or say something that doesn’t suit his tastes he will chop my head off…”
Naoe chuckled, “I don’t think he would do that.” The teen glanced at the white-clad figure and lowered his head. “He’s just… It’s his character. He is very stubborn and strict, and he’s too honorable to do something like that. He is prideful and… Well, when you get used to it, it’ll become much easier to talk to him.”
“Hmmm…” Kagome took a small branch that was lying on the ground, not far from her feet and tossed it into the fire. “Still, he should be more sociable.” She pouted. “When you are trying to speak to him, he either snarls at you or ignores you like you are some insignificant bug.” The girl wrinkled her nose in distaste.
Naoe smiled but said nothing. The others were quietly listening to their conversation, while Shippo and Kirara were soundly sleeping on the ground. Inuyasha keh’ed in his tree and turned his head away as if not interested. Two white triangular ears atop Inuyasha’s head twitched and lightly turned to the group, betraying his curiosity.
“I think we should call it a night. It’s getting late and tomorrow we’ll have to get up early.” Miroku interrupted the uncomfortable silence and yawned.
“Yes, we should.” Kagome smiled and scrambled to her feet. She stretched like a cat and turned to go to her backpack, when suddenly she eeped.
Right in front of her, just a few feet away stood Sesshomaru.
“Aaaah… You scared me…” She nervously giggled and took a step back. “Ummm, would you like some tea?” She asked and mentally slapped herself on the forehead. Yeah, as if the stoic Lord of the West was the type to sit down and sip the tea…
“Naoe,” Sesshomaru ignored the girl and turned towards the young demon.
The addressed boy lifted his eyes up from the fire and concentrated on the tall taiyoukai.
“I need to speak with you. In private,” Sesshomaru added when the teen opened his mouth to say something.
“Alright,” Naoe stood up and smiled at the worried miko. “I’ll be right back,” He told her and followed Sesshomaru, who was already walking away.
The pair entered the forest and disappeared from the sight. Kagome glanced at Sango and Miroku, who exchanged a similar, confused, look and shrugged.
“They are both demons. I doubt that Sesshomaru wants to kill him or hurt him.” Sango tried to console the miko.
“Yeah…” She brightened a little and once again turned towards her backpack.
“Must be some demon talk. Well, you know, like girls talk…” Miroku grinned, earning a glare from Sango.
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Once in the forest and away from the hearing range, Sesshomaru stopped and turned around, startling the teenager. His golden eyes landed on the young demon and squinted a little. Naoe gulped.
“Who are you?”
“As I have already told you, my Lord, I am…”
“I have heard you, when you introduced yourself the first time.” Sesshomaru didn’t let him finish the sentence. “This Sesshomaru’s sense of smell is very good.” The taiyoukai said and his golden eyes bore into the young demon, demanding a truthful answer.
“I do not know what you mean by tha-…”
“Do not try my patience, pup.” The taiyoukai snarled and Naoe cringed, struggling for an answer. The boy didn’t quite get it, what the taiyoukai meant by all that ‘smelling’ thing. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the realization hit him.
“I cannot tell you. I…” Now Naoe couldn’t look him in the eye. He lowered his head and tried to somehow cover up the truth. “I can’t. If I tell you, the future will…”
Suddenly the air was knocked out of his lungs and Naoe found himself pinned to a tree, a strong clawed hand gripping him by the throat.
“You are an Inu demon. You are my kin,” Sesshomaru snarled his breath tickling Naoe’s sensitive ear, which twitched in protest. “I smell my blood in you.” The demon gripped the boy’s neck tighter. “You are my son!” The taiyoukai growled out, his eyes glinting dangerously. His face was now in front of Naoe’s. It was so close that their noses were almost touching. The teen paled.
“I…”
A low growl interrupted the younger demon and the teen’s eyes went wide. Naoe knew that growl. It was a growl that was meant to admonish a troublesome child. Before he knew it, Naoe whined in a submissive way and lowered his head. He couldn’t object. The growl was effective. It was a growl from his father and he had to act accordingly if he didn’t want to be punished. He felt how the grip on his throat loosened and the dangerous claws finally let him go entirely. Naoe was afraid to look Sesshomaru in the eye.
“I’m sorry…” It was all the younger male could muster. The teen felt how week and how ineffective his whispered answer were. He could feel anger radiating from his father-to-be in waves. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for a response. He heard a sharp intake of air and after a few seconds a soft sigh.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Eh?” The boy looked up a little startled.
On his right, Sesshomaru was leaning on a tree, looking somewhat casual. The older demon’s head was inclined to the side, his eyes fixed on something in front of him. “You have nothing to apologize for.” The taiyoukai turned away from the owl that was sitting in a tree and his golden pools concentrated on the boy. Sesshomaru’s face was emotionless but his eyes were sparkling. “Who would have thought that one day I will take a human mate?” He said with a snort. It was more like a rhetorical question and Naoe remained silent, mulling over what his father was saying.
Suddenly, Naoe started to panic. His heart started beating faster and soon it was ready to jump out of his chest any moment given. He knew… His father knew that he was his son and who his mother was… What if they… what if they won’t… No! No! No! What has he done?! He should have listened to his father back home and stayed in the future. Naoe was petrified now. If his parents didn't get together, he would not be born.
Sesshomaru’s sensitive hearing picked up Naoe’s increasing heartbeat. The teen was breathing erratically, eyes wide with fear. The taiyoukai wanted to sigh and close his eyes but he didn’t.
“I won’t tell anyone.”
Naoe looked up at Sesshomaru, fear shadowing his eyes. “Y-yeah… Thanks.” The young demon whispered. “A-are you… Well… My mother and you… I mean…”
“Stop stammering,” Sesshomaru huffed in annoyance. What was wrong with this pup? He was way too emotional. He couldn’t believe that the pup in front of him was his son. “I do not guarantee that this Sesshomaru will mate with her.” The answer struck the teen like a whip on his bare skin.
Naoe’s breath hitched.
“The future will show us what is fated to happen and what time has in store for us.” Sesshomaru pushed away from the tree he was leaning on and started walking towards the small camp. “You should calm yourself before joining the group.”
Naoe nodded in agreement and watched Sesshomaru leave, his silver hair swaying lightly to the sides.
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Kagome noticed that after his return, Naoe was acting strange. She didn’t know what had happened but she felt that something was not right. She knew that it was Sesshomaru who upset the teen. Must have been something he said, she decided, because the young demon didn’t look like he had been beaten. She huffed. As if the great demon lord was willing to dirty his hands with a kid. Naoe was pale. She noticed it when the teen came near the fireplace and dropped some dry wood into the crackling fire. He dusted his hands and headed towards his sleeping bag.
A minute later Naoe was standing near Kagome with his bedroll in his hands. “Can I settle here?” He pointed towards the spot on Kagome’s left.
“Yes, of course,” the girl answered and the teen started unpacking his ‘bed’.
Kagome was lying on her back and eying the boy from the corner of her eye. He swiftly unrolled the sleeping bag and placed it near the tree. After tucking something under the mattress he stood up and headed towards his backpack. He rummaged there for some time and came back to the laid bedroll. The teen didn’t bother undressing or changing into his sleeping robes. He simply shrugged off the outer kimono and slid into the sleeping bag. After shifting and tossing for a few minutes Naoe settled on his right side, facing Kagome.
When the rustling ceased, the silence settled in. From time to time it was interrupted by grasshoppers chirping in the high grass. Minutes tickled by and Kagome was getting restless. She wanted to know. She was curious and worried at the same time. What if Sesshomaru was threatening the boy? Threatening? The girl thought about the possibility and then shook her head ‘no’. Sesshomaru wouldn’t do it. But why did Naoe look so troubled? And Sesshomaru? What did he look like when he came back? Kagome turned to her left and glanced at the white figure sitting on the ground and leaning on the very same tree Inuyasha was perched on. She made a face. The brothers had been fighting each other at any given moment but now they were calmly sitting nearly on the same tree. She lowered her eyes and they landed on Naoe. The boy was lying on his right, facing her. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. Once again Kagome wanted to know the reason behind his uneasiness.
“Naoe, are you asleep?” Kagome whispered.
“No.” A soft reply came.
“W-what did you talk about with Sesshomaru?”
“Hn… Nothing important.”
“Oh… Then why are you so… So troubled?”
“No reason.” The boy didn’t even bother to open his eyes. The fire crackled and a tongue of fire shot up with a pop into the night sky.
“Ok… If you do not want to talk, I won’t force you.” Kagome frowned a little but otherwise didn’t show any signs of disappointment.
“I miss my mp3 player.” The young demon was trying to change the topic.
“Wha-”
“In the evenings like this one it would be a welcomed distraction.” Naoe cracked one eye open and caught a smile playing on Kagome’s lips.
“I thought demons didn’t like these ‘noise machines’ like Inuyasha called them?”
“Well, I must be an exception then.” He smiled back.
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At the same time, about 10 kilometers further from the small campsite, a dark shadow was moving swiftly between the trees. The fallen leaves rustled under the feet as they touched the ground in between the graceful jumps. Suddenly the figure came to a halt and sniffed the air. Nodding, the figure turned to the left, resuming the run. 3 minutes later it stopped in a clearing with a waterfall. The water was shimmering in the moonlight and the ripples from the fall spread throughout the little pool at the base of it.
The man stood in the calm area not moving. The moonlight did not reach him thus he was hidden in shadows. The man raised his head a little and sniffed the air as if searching for any sign of danger. A second later he lowered his head and scanned the area he was in with cautious eyes. For a short moment, when passing the small pool, his eyes caught the light reflected from water and they sparkled like two emeralds. Detecting no danger, the figure carefully moved towards the river.
“Ouch!”
The word echoed in the clearing. It was deflected by the rocky mountain and it sounded like a thunder on a silent night. The demon winced, both from the sound and from the pain that shoot through his leg.
“The fuck?” He looked down and spotted a stone that dared to bump into his foot. He glared at the insolent stone and kicked it. “Ow, ow, ow! Darn!” The man was now jumping up and down on one leg, while holding the injured one in his hands. “Damn fuckin’ rock!” He growled out, glaring daggers at the stone that didn’t even budge from its original place. “A-ah…” He finally sighed, the scowl easing a little. “This time I’ll forgive ye.” He scoffed and turned his head upwards.
With one last glance at the stone he resumed his walk towards the river. When the man was on the bank, he squatted down and looked at the water. It shimmered a little and the reflection of his face was blurred.
“Arara… Ye look terrible, babe,” He said to his own reflection and dropped his hand, palm down, into the river, splashing water to all four directions. “I don’t wanna see ye right now.” He scowled and plopped onto his butt, not caring if his clothes became even dirtier. Her leaned forward and straightened his legs. A minute later, his both legs were submerged in cold water and a satisfied sigh escaped his lips. The man sat there, quiet and still. The only sound that was heard in the clearing was that of water hitting water. A light shiver ran down his body and the demon pulled his legs out from the river. He bent them and pulling them closer to his body, positioning his chin on his knees. He hugged his cold legs and sighed. Suddenly, there was a rustle of leaves on his left and the demon shot up from his sitting position, a light growl escaping his lips. Green eyes darted to the place where the sound had come from. There, a few feet from the demon, was a small fox standing in the clearing. Their eyes met. The fox stiffened and after a second darted back into the dark forest.
The tense demon relaxed his muscles and smirked slapping himself on the forehead. “Yer so brave that ye almost got a heart attack…” He mocked himself concentrating his gaze back on the river. “Yep, ye need some swimmin’ in this cold water to cool yerself.” The guy undressed his battered clothes and shivered. “Darn… I’ll regret this later, I know.” He took a lungful of air and held his breath before jumping into the river and ducking under water.
A minute passed but he still hadn’t emerged from the water. Another minute passed but there was no sign of the man… At the end of the third minute the demon emerged from under the water sputtering and trembling like a leaf.
“Damn, damn, damn…” He rushed to the shore and grabbed his clothes. His eyebrows furrowed in dissatisfaction. “Damn, damn, damn…” He repeated the word and started trembling even more. His clothes were torn, dirty and smelly… Why the hell did he even bother to undress?
His eyebrows furrowed, the demon dressed and wrung his longish hair from the excess of water. He tied them up and left a long braid dangling behind his back. He was still shivering. He needed some dry wood, and fast. He turned towards the forest and stopped dead on his tracks. There, near the end of the forest, stood another man, a demon, to be exact.
“Who are ye?” The wet man growled at the intruder.
“My, my… You do not look too good, young man.” The man replied chuckling.
“I’ve asked ye a question!”
“You are being harassed by your own family, aren’t you? Poor thing… You need power, don’t you? You do not want to be a disgrace for your own kin, now do you? I can help you.”
The younger demon, still shivering from the cool air that was caressing his skin frowned even more, if that was possible, and growled out, “Who are ye?” Repeating himself for the third time.
The man in front of him moved forward. He reached out and took something from his blue kimono. When he was a few feet from the green eyed demon he stretched his hand out and revealed a twinkling shard of the pinkish jewel on his palm. “I’m called Naraku.” The man chuckled and raised his red eyes to meet the green ones.
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The morning was like any other. The small group of travelers packed their things, gathered some wood for the almost dead fire, prepared their food and chattered about the oncoming day.
Naoe was done with his bath in the nearby hot spring and entered the bustling camp. Inuyasha was still perched in the highest tree and Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight, the boy noted to himself. Kagome, Sango and Shippo were preparing breakfast, while Kirara was still soundly sleeping on Sango’s lap. He heard a twig snap and turned around to see Miroku coming from the hot spring as well.
“Oh, breakfast,” He smiled at the demon boy standing in front of him and headed to the fireplace, where the girls were happily chatting.
Naoe watched the monk go, his golden eyes becoming warm. The man was a good addition to the group. He was smart and he was helpful in a battle. Also, Inuyasha seemed to rely on him, which proved that the monk was considered a dear friend.
Naoe was about to follow the purple dressed human, when Sesshomaru emerged from the forest. The demon Lord was not alone. Behind him was a huge two-headed demon, a little green toad and a human girl. So that’s Rin…Naoe thought as he watched the girl tagging after the tall inu-youkai. Jaken was mumbling something incoherent once again and the big demon was trudging silently, as it could manage, behind the small pack.
“Oh no! You won’t!” Inuyasha jumped down from his tree and angrily marched towards his half-brother. “They are not staying with us!” He pointed at the beings behind Sesshomaru’s back.
Rin hearing such an angry tone hid behind Jaken’s small figure and peeked from under his shoulder. The little toad feeling uncomfortable, started mussing, “Rin, step back from me! Get lost, you human child!” Now he was trying to push the girl away with his green talons, the two-headed staff still in one of his hands.
“No! Jaken-sama, I’m scared. Inuyasha-sama is scary!”
“Rin, Jaken, stop it this instant,” Sesshomaru’s calm voice reached the two and the pair quieted down. “Inuyasha, you will not tell me what to do. Rin and Jaken will…”
“Keh! I won’t tolerate those two in my group!” He glared at the two small creatures totally ignoring the big dragon youkai.
“Useless hanyou,” Sesshomaru hissed at his younger half-brother, his eyes narrowing. “You are making me repeat myself. Rin and Jaken will not stay. They will leave on short notice.” He finished and resumed his walking towards the tree he was sitting by in the early morning.
Inuyasha humpf’ed satisfied with the answer and sniffed the air. Something smelled nice and he turned to the chatting girls and a monk. He took a few steps towards the fireplace but then turned to Naoe.
“What are you doing there? Aren’t you joining us?” He motioned with his head towards the small group and resumed his walking.
“Ah, yeah…” Naoe cast one last glance at his father, who was now talking with his retainer, and stepped towards the fireplace.
The group ate breakfast and about an hour later set off. After half an hour of traveling, the pack parted ways with Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un. For three hours they were walking/running without any disturbances. Kagome and Shippo were riding Inuyasha, Sango – Kirara, while Miroku, Naoe and Sesshomaru were walking or running on their own. All this monotony lasted until Kagome’s voice broke it.
“I sense a jewel shard!”
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It was about two in the afternoon, when the small group showed up. The pack consisted of four men (one human, one half-breed and two demons), two women, a fire cat and a kit. The observing man looked askance at the group as they neared the place, he was hiding in. One girl was riding a fire cat, while the other one was riding on the half-breed’s back. The monk was jogging near the fire cat and the young demon was keeping near the red clad figure that was carrying the girl on his back. The white dressed demon, however, looked like he didn't belong to this group. The man was too silent and… hostile? Was that the word? From time to time the demon even sent some glares and small annoyed huffs towards the other members of the pack.
Finally, deciding that it was the group he needed, the lurking demon gave a sign to attack. The lowly demons started pouring out from everywhere – sky, forest and even ground.
The hanyou stopped and let the girl go. Growling, he drew his sword and the small rustled blade formed into a large fang. The half-breed swung the sword once and half of the demons vanished from the sight. At the same time, the young demon flung himself forward and moving swiftly between the pawns he had sent, sliced them apart without the slightest effort. The stoic youkai, however, stood there with an indifferent expression on his face not even lifting a finger to help. The human monk was fighting demons with his staff, only once in a while throwing a few sutras to kill the demons and the demon slayer, flying on her fire cat, was successfully exterminating the lowly youkai without anyone’s help.
The group wasn’t weak. On the contrary – it was strong. It was way stronger than he had anticipated them to be. Every one of them knew what they needed to do. If one member of the pack was in danger, the other one rushed to his or her aid.
The figure in the hiding smiled a sinister smile. There… His green eyes focused on a girl with a weird kimono. She was the weakest one in the group. The evil glint in emerald eyes disappeared for a split second but then it came back full force. The demon raised his hand and gave yet another sign for the second group of demons to attack. He chuckled. It was getting interesting. He looked down at his arm and grinned. The shard was there, inside his right arm, pulsing with power and promising victory.
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Inuyasha scowled when the attack of lowly demons didn’t cease. A new wave of stronger and more intelligent youkai emerged from the forest. The half-demon cursed. He whirled around and his honey eyes sought out his half-brother, who was lazily slicing demons that dared to came near him, with his poisonous whip. The hanyou growled.
“Oi, Sesshomaru! Get your ass over here and…” Inuyasha sliced a bunch of demons that charged his way and readied his sword for another attack. “…and fight!” He finished the sentence already chopping an ugly head off of a lowly scum.
“Are you implying that you need help from this Sesshomaru?” A monotonous voice of the demon Lord reached the triangular ears, making them twitch.
“Keh! I don’t need anyone’s help! I’ll kill them all by myself,” the hanyou ran to Kagome’s side and sliced a snake youkai that was about to bite the unsuspecting girl. “I just thought that you might loose your form if you slack off for too long!” Inuyasha shouted to his half-brother.
“Thanks,” Kagome breathed out and squeezed out a little smile at her friend.
Not saying a word Inuyasha leaped to the side and used Wind Scar to defeat a group of demons that were coming their way. At the same time, a demon with a sword sneaked up on Inuyasha and managed to scratch his left arm. The half-demon turned around and was about to strike a fatal blow, when right in front of his eyes the demon was split in two.
Sesshomaru’s whip returned to his glowing fingertips and a smirk appeared on his face. “Inuyasha, you are pathetic,” He moved with his demonic speed and in a blink of an eye was standing in front of his half-brother. Being taller than the half-demon, Sesshomaru glared down at his younger sibling for about ten seconds and finally snorted with disgust. “A half-breed is still a half-breed,” Without turning away from Inuyasha the taiyoukai stretched his arm to the side and let his poison drip. There was a sickening scream and a corpse of a demon slumped to the ground. “You cannot even protect yourself,” Sesshomaru roughly grabbed Inuyasha’s injured arm, his claws sinking in the soft flesh, and tugged him closer. “You are in my way,” The demon Lord hissed and flung the irritable hanyou to the side and out of his way.
Inuyasha was angry beyond himself. The pathetic excuse of his half-brother was treating him like a trash. Not that it was something new to the hanyou, no. And still, it pissed him off. Angry and huffing Inuyasha resumed his fighting stance.
Kagome watched the exchange between the two brothers and sighed. She shook her head. They were always like that. Ever since Sesshomaru joined the group Inuyasha was waiting for an opportunity to nag at his brother. Of course, each and every time it was Inuyasha and his big mouth's fault. She cast a glance at Inuyasha, who had already readied himself for another round of attacks and concentrated on the battle herself. She drew an arrow from the arrow holder on her back and readied her bow. She calmed herself and shoot a purifying arrow at the demon that was charging towards Sango. The arrow hit its mark and the poor lowly demon crumpled to ashes. A satisfied smile graced her lips. She was about to draw another arrow, when she finally noticed that the taiyoukai was standing by her side. Kagome glanced his way and saw him glaring at her. Hahaha, right… What do I do now? She nervously laughed in her head and readied her bow. She needed to concentrate and ignore the overwhelming presence on her right.
“Where is the shard?” The cold voice of the demon Lord reached her ears.
“Huh?” She was startled by the question and looked up at Sesshomaru. His eyebrow rose in question. “Oh, the shard, right…” The girl looked around the battlefield. “There!” She pointed towards the forest. “Eh? What’s that? I sense two jewel shards but they are not in one place, which means that there are two demons with shards. One is over there, while the other one is…”
Kagome was about to show the location where the second enemy lurked, when she noticed that the demon Lord was no longer by her side. She scanned the field in search of a white-clad figure and spotted him heading towards the edge of the forest. Kagome sighed. They both, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were way too headstrong in their decisions…
“No! Kagome!” Inuyasha screamed while blocking a sword attack.
Sesshomaru swirled around to see the human girl standing in the clearing totally unguarded. Foolish woman. He thought and resumed his run towards the forest line.
“KAGOME!!!!!!!!” Inuyasha’s voice ripped through the battle cries and this time reached the girl.
The miko heard Inuyasha’s scream and turned to the side his voice was coming from. Exactly at that time she heard a growl and saw a blood thirsty youkai attacking her. She instinctively closed her eyes and waited for the blow that never came. When she cracked one eye open she saw a blur of white. Inuyasha! … was the thought that came to her mind first.
TBC...