#inuyasha misses his big brother

[milky-fixx]

day 9, sesshomaru: ruts

kinktobruary day 9

sesshomaru x reader // inuyasha

—sesshomaru has been acting strange lately. the last thing he needs is your oblivious questions.

tw/cws: knotting, ruts, dubcon, sesshomaru being too horny to have self-respect

It is troublesome, this burning heat. It stirs, just beneath the surface of his skin, coils between his muscles. It calls to him, urges him to find a warm body, to mount it. His claws elongate as he observes the heat diffusing from his palm. Hm. Even a demon of high caliber such as himself is powerless to nature’s calling.

Much less… his thoughts began to drift to you, his very human companion. There are things he wants to do to you, thoughts that he’s repressed in the past that come snarling towards him, breaking out of their cage. He frowns. This won’t do.

—

“Gosh, Sesshomaru really has been cranky all day, huh,” you remark, after the third time he’s evaded your presence. His silence and occasional ignoring is something you’re used to, but not him outright using his demonic speed to dash seven paces away from you.

Jaken shushes you urgently, glancing fearfully towards his master. “Lord Sesshomaru is going through a… difficult period.”

You frown. You disappeared to the modern era for a few days to sort through your college midterms, and when you came back, Sesshomaru was in this bristly mood. You can’t help but think you’re missing something.

“Is it Inuyasha?” You ask lowly, knowing all too well of his tumultuous relationship with his brother. “Does it have to do with his father?”

“No, and no, you daft human,” Jaken nags.

You’re more than used to Jaken’s insults. “Okay, so…. what’s up with him?”

The imp glances eyes you, before quickly changing the subject. Your frown deepens as you finish bending the stems to Rin’s flower crown, before calling her over and placing it on her head. While she chatters excitedly to you, you find your gaze straying to Sesshomaru’s tense form in the distance, just far enough where he can still keep an eye out for enemies, but not too close to your group. 

Whatever his problem is, you would get it out of Jaken some way.

—

You just don’t anticipate how you will. 

Sesshomaru’s been acutely avoiding any and all interactions with your group all day. It’s almost as if he’s a specter, lurking just outside of your field of vision. Except whenever he does get closer, you’re overwhelmed by a sense of—bloodlust? Malice? Something that simmers with intensity. You can’t quite pinpoint it, and whenever you ask Jaken, he seems to evade your question. Whatever it is, it sends shivers down your spine. 

When you set up camp for the night, he disappears entirely.

Your thoughts are plagued by worries for him, and you fall into a fitful sleep. What could possibly be causing him to be so on edge all day? You’re stirred into consciousness by something brushing against your nose. Your face scrunches up, and when you open your eyes, you see a flash of silver hair, curtaining your view, the same wave of bloodlust—

“Sesshomaru?” Just as his name leaves your mouth, his presence is gone in a flash, the air around you stirred. You sit up, glancing towards the direction of his after-image.

You weigh your options. Jaken did say he was going through a difficult time…. but you aren’t sure what is troubling him. Maybe it’s a demon thing? Should you really risk getting your head bitten off? 

Against your better judgement, you go searching for him. Sure, he’s a big, bad demon, but something is clearly bothering him. And as his.... friend—as loathe as he is to admit it—you can’t just leave him be. 

What you are not expecting is to see Sesshomaru hunched over by a tree as if in pain. You call out his name, running towards him, but are stopped by a feral snarl as he turns towards you, his eyes flashing red.

“Leave. Now.”

“What’s wrong? I—”

As you approach closer, you notice several things. His claws are sunk into the tree, the poison leeching from it and decaying the bark. The markings on his face are fiercer, more striking, and his fangs protrude from his lips. His eyes flash more and more red with every moment; he looks every bit a wild animal. But, and perhaps the most scandalous of all, he grips his cock in one clawed hand, erect and red, and apparently he was jerking off.

You try not to stare, you really do, but your eyes instinctively dart down there as you feel heat creep to your cheeks at the position you’ve caught him in. 

His hand has stopped moving, but his cock stands throbbing, looking painfully erect. You gulp.

“You’re just a mere human. You wouldn’t understand—”

“You’re… horny,” you state, blandly.

“Human—” His eyes flash dangerously.

“You’re...” Your mind flashes through possibilities. Sesshomaru seems unable to control his... not bloodlust, but carnal lust. He is a dog demon, which means.. he could possibly be... “In a... rut?”

He stills. A vein pops out in his jaw, his fangs seeming even more prominent.

“I… I studied this in school. Once.” Freshman biology, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Do you need—” You’re not sure what you’re asking him. What does he need? A hole? A demonness to fuck?

This is awkward. His eyes follow you like a predator, that wave of lust washing over you again. You stifle a shiver.

“Before your arrival,” he says suddenly, the piercing quality of his words startling you. “I had no such issues dealing with these… urges. But now, they are quite...” His claws dig into the bark further, and the bark snaps. “Incorrigible.”

“Oh.” You blink. “I’m… sorry?”

“This is partly your doing,” he growls.

“Uh-huh...”

“I... am tempted to ask you to fix it.”

This is where your brain grinds to a halt, your jaw dropping. His sharp gaze hones in on the way your mouth opens enticingly, and you notice, snapping it shut. “I—you want me to—”

He makes a frustrated growl in the back of his throat. “Disregard that.” And then he’s stalking away, each step seeming painful, emphasized even more by the engorged flesh sticking out of his pants.

“W-Wait, Sesshomaru—”

He’s on you in a flash, before you can even blink, and you freeze. “I suggest—” The warmth of his breath washes over you, and this close you can feel just how hot he’s running, his entire body diffusing heat. “That you don’t—call me—like that—”

“Like what?” you blurt out. “I’m just saying your name.”

His lip curls over his fangs. His eyes clench in frustration. You seem to be testing the limits of his patience.

“Sesshomaru, what—”

In a flash, he’s pressing you against another tree, and his lips are claiming yours. There’s nothing gentle about it, his fangs digging into your lip. You flinch when you feel blood trickle down your chin, and he snarls at the taste of it, before pulling away.

“For one of the less idiotic humans, you can be quite obstinate.”

“I’m...” You blink, dazed. “Sorry?”

His mouth is claiming yours again, his chestplate pressing you into the bark. You feel the heat of his cock pressed up against your thigh, and you shudder at the sensation. It’s hitting you now.

Sesshomaru, one of the most ethereally beautiful people you’ve seen, the most powerful demon in the Feudal Era, wants to... he’s this frenzied up because of... because of you. You, an average human.

Your thigh nudges against his length, and he breaks the kiss to snarl, his fangs lowering to graze your collarbone. Your breath hitches, and one, clawed finger comes up to shred your shirt. You yelp as the cold air hits you only to be devoured by the heat of his mouth on your skin. His fingers claws through the material of your bra, and you yelp again.

“Hey, that was one of my favorites!” you say, indignant. He scoffs, his mouth suctioning over the give of your flesh possessively.

You moan, arching into his touch, as you stare down at him. You don’t dare touch his silver hair, afraid of how he may lash out on you, but your hands do come up to his shoulders, tugging the fabric.

You tense when one of his fingers lowers itself to your hip, and then he’s ripping the panties and skirt off in one clawed swipe.

“We really... have to talk about you ruining all my clothing,” you say, weakly, your affront tempered by his actions.

He scoffs again. “You won’t need such flimsy things in just a moment.”

“Ah...”

His finger slides against your slit, collecting your release, as you writhe against his touch. He’s aware of the softness of your flesh in comparison to his demon claws so he doesn’t do anything much other than rub his finger back and forth along you. He growls once he’s satisfied with the amount of slick coating your area, before leaning back and aligning the his cock to your entrance.

“A-ah wait—“ Your eyes widen at his considerable length; you’re not nearly ready to take him in. But then he’s canting his hips forward, not penetrating you, but sliding his cock along your slick till he reaches your ass cheeks. He continues this rocking motion, his lips pulled back in a snarl. You moan, dropping your head back, before wincing as it hits the unyielding bark. His hand comes up to cradle your head. “Thanks,” you murmur.

His sharp gaze is fixated on the way his length slides against you, and rubs against your slick; the way your arousal gleams on his shaft under the moonlight.

His hips begin to rock faster now, a growl building up in his throat. You wince at the dig of his armor against your bare skin, gripping his shoulders as you attempt to find some grounding.

You feel his cock throbbing insistently against you, his pre-ejaculate mixing with your arousal to make for an easy slide against you.

He growls, his eyes narrowing. His grip digs into your hip as his thrusts become choppier. You get the sense he’s frustrated.

“Do you want to... put it in?”

His gaze flashes up to you, surprise in the bleeding red, as you continue. “I... that’ll help abate your rut right? I don’t mind... you using me.”

You have little else you can say, because Sesshomaru sheathes himself inside you in one thrust. You gasp, your eyes clenching at the feel of him stretching you to your limits.

“Ever heard of a... a warning?” you manage to choke out.

He shows no mercy, his hips ruthlessly pounding into yours once given the go ahead. It’s clear Sesshomaru is losing his grip on rule or reason now, his eyes maintaining their blood-red state. You wince as his elongated claws press into the meat of your waist. He fucks you like he takes down foes: with ruthless precision. Once his cock hits that spot that has you keening against him, he begins hammeringinto it, and your eyes began to water at the sheer intensity and rapidness at which your pleasure is mounting.

At the sight of your tears, however, he seems to slow down. His tongue darts out to lick them off your face, and he’s observing you, before his thrusts slow to a leisurely lull. When the palm of his hand comes down to press against your clit, the stimulation, combined with the way his cock is plunging into you in long, deep thrusts, has you writhing against him.

“S-Sesshomaru—”

You feel something bulbous forming at the base of his cock, stretching you wider, and you look down. Protruding from his cock is a thick knot, and you gulp once you realize that’s going into you.

You’re approaching your end. He snarls as you tighten around him, both his hands gripping your hips to him now, as your walls clench around him, nearly trapping his cock with their grip.

Sesshomaru thrusts once before pressing deep inside you, a throaty grunt tearing from him. You shiver as you feel copious amounts of warmth seep into you, and it remains inside you due to the knot plugging you up. The moment seems to stretch on forever, his hips jerking into yours in minute movements, and then it’s over.

The two of you are stuck together. You shift only to wince once it jerks at his knot. He grunts, keeping your hips in place.

“Sorry,” you say. And then, when a few more minutes have passed, and the two of you are still in the same position, you ask, “Ah, when can we.... detach?”

Sesshomaru grunts. “Once it deflates.”

“Ah... and when will that be?”

He shifts. “This Sesshomaru is claiming you as his. It will take awhile.”

“Ah, okay—wait, what?”

He presses you closer to him, and you rest your head against his chest. While the feel of cooling cum usually is gross, the heat of his body keeps you warm and feeling full. His clawed fingers gradually begin to trail through you hair. After several minutes that seem to stretch into eons, the bond keeping you to him diminishes, and you shiver when you feel some of his spend trickle down your thigh.

Instead of the hard flesh inside you softening, however, it stays stiff. You still, glancing up at him to see his markings still vibrant, his red eyes glowing distinctly.

“Did you really think we were done, human? The Demon Lord of the West surely does not possess such a meager drive.”

—

The next morning, you come up with some half-assed excuse to Rin about why you’re wearing a kimono from the local seamstress, and not your usual outfit. And why you can’t seem to walk anymore, and Sesshomaru has to carry you everywhere.

“(Y/N) must have fallen and hurt themselves.” She giggles.

“Yes, Rin... on a very large... stick.” Sesshomaru’s claws dig into your backside in warning. “I mean—tree branch.”

“Silly (Y/N)! It’s a good thing Lord Sesshomaru is around to take care of you.”

(Meanwhile, Jaken has yet to be seen since he encountered the two of you this morning. He’s too busy cleansing his eyes and nose out in a lake.)

[justwantedtowrite]

BSD Inuyasha AU

Chuuya as Inuyasha, keeper of the sacred jewel, who was trapped (with a poisoned knife of all things) to the jidaiju

Dazai as kagome, who has perfect aim (but wants to spend time with his chibi dog) so he missed and shattered the sacred jewel (scattered the pages of The book). Also, he uses a gun (priestess with bows are outdated or so he says) 

Hirotsu as Kaede who teaches dazai how to use a bow and "please use it dazai we're in the medieval era, we're not supposed to have guns" "but you have magic!" "... Just don't use guns all the time"

Shirase as kikyou but he wasn't a powerful miko, but everyone (the sheep) thought he was so he befriended chuuya for power, when he saw chuuya had the book, he also claimed that HE'S it's keeper because how could a demon protect it and resist the power it holds.... So his legacy is a big sham

(Dazai gets absolutely jealous whenever chuuya brings up shirase (out of hatred), so he practices all his skills because he is better than that guy and he just wants to show chuuya.... He was successful in getting chuuya's attention, it earns him brownie points)

Akutagawa as miroku (and rashomon instead of black hole), but instead of sudden fondling, he's fond of sudden dismemberment 

Atsushi as Sango, he wants to save his sister (kyouka) from naraku (mori). Also the victim of aku's dismembering tendencies all the time

Kouyou as kagura, she's become fond of the little girl (kyouka) and she gives advices on how to avoid mori's watchful eyes once in a while

Verlaine as sesshoumaru, instead of wanting chuuya's sword, he just wants to protect his brother (from dazai specifically) so he follows their journey.

Verlaine (sesshomaru) gang

Mori (naraku) gang

Soukoku (kagome & inuyasha) the sillies

Shin soukoku (sango & miroku) the big brothers

[anotherworldash]

Can I get your opinion on Inuyasha series?

it's a wonderful series! one of my earlier fav series alongside digimon, pokeani, and HxH.

beautiful love story, OST, and setting.

some things about this blog:

i love NarKik, how awesome is it that the man who wishes to kill her, and actually have killed her, held also the dearest despicable desire to protect/keep-her-alive her? (or more like his desire has protected her...)

not into inukag vs inukik topic ( i ship both )

reincarnation concept is very close to me, as physical body is just a facade . so to me inukag is a successful representation of the love inukik once had, a prove that bond between two longing souls is eternal .

there was also no competition between kikyo and kagome. the choice was very obvious.

kikyo chose to travel alone, she didn't want inuyasha's love anymore, she wanted revenge on him(when she didn't know it was naraku all along) . kikyo knew she died and she count her days on earth only for revenge (stopping naraku). remember how she killed a monk once for interfering her plan and tried to kill inuyasha? well that ended once she knew it was naraku all along.

kikyo's tale is not of love but revenge.

and inuyasha actively chose to travel with Kagome.

big sessrin lover, but also ship kagusess and koharin (go search the tag in my blog if you don't believe) i will not say anything much about this part, because it will be too long for answer to this ask.

big believer than inu-no-taisho (inuyasha and sesshomaru's dad) and sesshomaru's mother are SIBLING

i hate the conception that kikyo is this 'gloomy' man-stealer, the fact that she is a very sassy and funny woman. once joked that kaede is now scared when seeing her, often forgotten in the series...

my crackships are inuyasha x ayame, sesshoumaru x kagome, rin x kagome's brother, and SANGO X BANKOTSU, sango x koga. (pleaseeee i like sangmirok but i always feel she deserves better)

my favorite non-canon but possible ship is KAGOME X KIKYO (yay selfcest!)

i dont have much yaoi ship here, just inucest...

i haven't watched yashahime , i'm just not obsessing inuyasha series anymore and i wait for my next obsession to come before i watch it

this blog was a kikyo defend blog in 2010, yes, and it still is in 2024. Kikyo is my favorite character. god this woman is sooo FUNNY. i swear audiences are missing on how hilarious her personality is. girlie is always plotting..scheming.. with menacing expression. iconic really

[legofanguy1999]

Inuyasha detective AU

A Inuyasha detective AU for @klayr-de-gall event AU-gust 2024 day 21 detective and inspired by the Blacksad comic Arctic Nation.

Detective partners Inuyasha and Miroku wait for someone wanting to hire them to aid for help. The long white hair Inuyasha is quite annoyed that no one has goes right through the door.

A black hair young woman in a white dress enter Inuyasha and Miroku's office, and Miroku quickly said to her, "Greetings, my lady. What is your name and why have you choose for the most handsome detective in the city?" which the woman answer while confused, "My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I'm looking for my brother Sota. He went missing for a few weeks on his way back from school, and the police has been unable to find him. I'm afraid that he was kidnapped."

On their way to their first suspect, Miroku said to Inuyasha, "Do remember, Inuyasha, that the folks here are not friends to half demons like you. I hear terrible stories of a group of masked criminals whose killed half demons calling themselves the Purifiers." and Inuyasha ask Miroku, "Is that post to me make worry, Miroku?"

The pair watched Reverend William Stryker talk to a woman with long black hair whose look familar to Inuyasha. As the woman left, Miroku walk to Reverend William Stryker and said to him, “Good morning, father. I’m Detective Miroku. I wish to ask you some questions.”

Miroku and Inuyasha arrived at the house where they find Kagome was getting injured by a woman whose ask the men, “Are you friends with Kagome?”

Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kagome sneak in the wastehouse where they see a group of Purifiers gathered and Inuyasha can smell that their leader was really William Stryker, which made Inuyasha whisper, "So the man of God is a demon hating killer."

Inuyasha find Sota tie up and he said while freeing the boy, "Now I'm starting to get some of the big picture. The guy setting Stryker up has send you here after he kidnap you." and the crying boy said, "My sister... he take me here after school..." and that made Inuyasha realized that he and Miroku was set up to find the fake evidence on Stryker as well. Of course, Inuyasha does figure out something else as well.

As the Purifiers are taken to jail, Inuyasha wait until she see Kikyo and jump to grab her, while saying to her, "Hold right there." and Miroku shout, "Inuyasha, what are you doing?" As Kagome and Sota's mother come running up, she stop when she see Kikyo and said, "Kikyo... my daughter..." and Inuyasha said, "That prove it. You and Kagome are twin sisters!" Kikyo stop trying to fight and she said to Inuyasha, "Yes, it is true. Kagome and I are twin sisters. Also, by the look on your face, you understand that we were the ones whose kidnapp her younger brother Sota once Kagome pick him up from school and bring him to the warehouse. It was a plan to get revenge on Stryker for killing our father."

[kirklandsheartsecrets]

When I read about your platonic headcanons, I suddenly remembered that one scene from Inuyasha where the female mc called the male mc's antagonistic older brother "big brother" since she married him.

Which made me wonder, how would the family feel if we suddenly called the older uk bros "big brother" after officially marrying into the family?

this was distracting me all day, let's do it

uk brothers II headcannons II reaction to their sister in law calling them "big brother"

England

when n.ireland wife called him "brother" he was embarrassed

you were that comfortable with him to see him as a brother figure

it couldn't be a joke from your husband, it wasn't his kind

that feels nice he will not lie

having a sister when he's been living with chaotic boys all his life ?

his own wife loves you so much

if arthur is mean to you she will not hesitate

sounds weird at first for him but ends up being comfortable with it pretty quickly

beyond happy that you accept him as your sibling

Scotland

"how's my favorite big brother ?"

oh ? he's big brother now ?

he is not "my husband's mean brother" anymore ?

haha, you must be joking

you're not

chill about it,

thumbs up and nice smile

cannot wait to play pranks on his favorite british little brother with his little sister

a lot of teasing from him but it's mostly all good feelings

Alistair's wife is tired of his antics, but

she secretly enjoys teasing arthur and you

chill big brother, really happy you're comfortable in the family

Ireland

was helping Wales wife with one of her sons, he agreed on keeping one of them ('8y old nation age')

when you came back to pick him up you said a fast "thanks big bro"

he didn't caught up the words at first, he just went with it

he really went with it easily

said to the child before they left the house "be a nice big brother just like uncle ireland right ?"

nice joke

his wife actually is the one who pointed out to him the "big bro" thing

"this child will not end up like a good big brother if he follows your steps"

he was offended by his own wife comment

he is really proud to achieve the big brother status towards his lil sis in law

Wales

Scotland's wife needed advice from him about personal issues

nothing bad, just advice

asking your husband brother's is a good thing, he knows him better

the others were busy, wales was available

his wife recommended you to ask him directly for help

she is an angel

he became that big brother you would open yourself to about your worries

"you've been that big brother figure i always missed from my own sibling, thank you so much"

he was so emotional about it

you were so grateful about being his little sister in law

not gonna lie, his wife is even more emotional about it

will tease scotland about that

N.Ireland

Surprised because of Ireland's usual distance from him

he didn't think his sister in law would bring him closer to him again

you were having a small dispute, or should i say you were scolding him for a random reason

you said "you should be more like big brother" pointing directly to him

he just ???

me ?

he won't let go of that now congrats

his wife sharply commented

"i don't know what she's talking about, you're not that great of a brother"

dramatic n.ireland + offended

it doesn't matter, his little sister in law said he was better than Ireland haha

will get special treatment as his favorite sister in law

wants the siblings rivalry, mostly with Ireland

author:

do i love the men or their wives interractions ?

[lordyouko]

My inucest-tinted shades can’t help but feel like the look of bewilderment and confusion and horror on Inuyasha’s face is because this is the first time he’s been so far away from Sesshomaru all by himself and he doesn’t know what’s what but here, he’s thinking that if his big brother had been around, he would never have allowed the strange lady to touch him like that.

Most of the times, he likes that humans don’t think of him as a monster, that they’re not afraid of him, but sometimes, he can’t help but think that it would be nice to have Sesshoumaru’s vibe of you-peasants-better-not-think-you-can-come-anywhere-near-me, whether it’s with humans, or with youkai royalty, or even a few stray gods.

[shinidamachu]

You're a fantastic writer! ✏️ I'm curious before the whole Yashahime disaster, what was your ideal post canon ideas for Inuverse?

Some examples would be how many kids did Inukag have and do they look more human or demonic? What are the next gen kids personalities like? Did the well reopen? Is Sessomaru a good uncle/brother to Inukag and kids? How are Mirsan, Shippo, and Koga doing? Do you imagine the Inugang having more slice of life adventures or going on another serious adventure like Horai Island?

Sorry, that this is a lot to ask, I really enjoy your writing, anyways keep up the wonderful work! 🌟

.Well, thank you, first of all. You're very sweet for saying that about my writting.

And honestly? In my opinion, Inuyasha had a very satisfying, very definitive ending. The main characters have all earned their happily ever after and a continuation wasn't at all needed unless you wanted to mess this up. Sometimes the healthy thing to do is just let the piece of media you love go and revisit it or explore fanfiction if you miss it.

Which doesn't mean an official Inuyasha sequel couldn't have been done right. I know that because over the years, this fandom has written absolutely mind blowing post canon fanfics.

I'm talking about stories that have engaging and interesting plots, flawless characterization and actually fit right into the world of Inuyasha, not only respecting the lore and rules of its universe but expanding on it and adding substance to it, filling in the blanks the original left instead of creating more.

There are many, many examples of that, but to me, the ideal post canon, non next generation universe is the one written in Light Me a Lantern by @inuyashasforest (and I still can't believe we got this masterpiece for free). Compare it to Yashahime and you'll see the difference between writting with passion and love for the original story and writting so you can make money. It's disconcerting.

That being said, I talked about how many kids I'd like Inuyasha and Kagome to have here. As for their personalities and what do they look like, I expressed my thoughts about it here, but was specifically talking about Moroha since she was the one thing Sunrise did right.

Any children Inuyasha and Kagome eventually bring into the world would have to be only 1/4 demon as opposite to Inuyasha's 1/2. This means less demonic features and more human characteristics. I like the idea that their children would be a perfect mix of them, just like Moroha, only with a few outstanding demonic attributes here and there. Like, Moroha has the fangs, her brother could have white hair, her other sibling could have dog ears and so on. But never all at once.

I enjoy Moroha as a big sister and I like to picture her baby brother as a mama's little boy. He would be sensitive, shy, smart and very talented in artistic ways.

As for the Mirsan kids, I love the concept of the twins being huge flirts so Miroku pays for his sins. One of them having his spiritual powers while the other takes after her mother and becomes a great demon slayer also amuses me to no end. And I adore the name Hisui for their babyboy. Only I think instead of being a demon slayer he could grow up to be the leader of the village or have an equivalent position of political power.

The Well never opened again (I've talked about this before, but couldn't find the more in dept post I made, so I'll just summarize it here): the Well reopening greatly takes emotional weight away from the narrative. it diminishes Kagome's final choice, it annihilates the "bittersweetness" of her return, it keeps the story from circling back from Inuyasha being a lonely half demon being despised by everyone to the same Inuyasha now having someone willing to sacrifice everything for him. And it also leaves no room for Inuyasha and Kagome to figure it out how this sacrifice affects their relationship and grow from it as characters and as a couple. Of course you can interpret the ending in a different way, but I'm personally very passionate about this one.

Sesshomaru treats his nieces and nephews the same way he treated Rin and Kohaku. He grows to respect Inuyasha in his cold, silent way, but he's still closer to Kagome. One, because Kagome makes him. Two, because there's just too much story between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, both of them deciding things are good the way they are, no reason to force it.

Miroku and Sango are doing great. They rebuilt Sango's village, their kids and friends are the joy of their lives. They often go on missions together when Inuasha and Kagome are free to babysit and or when their kids are old enough. And just like in Yashaime (because that part was actually interesting), Miroku feels a bit useless without the Wind Tunnel so he does his best to get stronger in different ways (ways that do not unclude basically abandoning his family) and he achieves that goal with a lot of effort and Sango's constant support.

Shippo becomes a very famous figure in the kitsune community because his tricks improve greatly and he grows up to be one of the greatest names in the story of transfiguration. Koga runs the rebuilt (and thrieving) Wolf Tribe with Ayame by his side. They're now human friendly thanks to the Inugang, with whom he regularly keeps touch.

I don't really have a preference as for if they would have more slice of life adventures or another serious quest when I'm reading fanfic. But if we're talking official content, I'd go for a new life or death mission in a heartbeat, because as much as slice of life is pure and cute and wholesome, I'd be waiting for something to happen all the time, then get frustrated and bored once it doesn't.

It's one thing to deliberately search for slice of life content, which I often do. Another one is being fed nothing but slice of life while Sunrise makes easy profit off it without any real effort to give us something that actually can be categorized as a sequel, not just another epilogue.

If we're paying for a whole show with at least two seasons, we should get slice of life and a real adventure while we're at it. Unless it's, like, a very compact list of episodes (half a season tops) made to be nothing but extra content to rise founds for charity or something of the sorts, in which case it would be acceptable.

[pumpkinfiction]

Teenagers

Finished writing! Enjoy!

——

Back during the Jewel shard hunt, Miroku was always causing mischief. It didn't surprise Inuyasha one bit when his kids did the same. But his own?!

Moroha, and Ichiki are good kids! Sure Moroha got his attitude and sometimes Ichiki talked as much as his brother,

Seriously it wouldn't kill the kid to start a conversation, but they were still good kids. His kids. The ones he thought he would never have, the ones he loved so much it made him want to burst, the ones he wanted to strangle.

Years ago when Moroha was younger she used to tell him everything, now? Nothing nada. Lately everything Inuyasha asked about his daughter's life was never given a straight answer, she would brush him off or change the topic. She wanted to be her own person , or something like that. Being her own person means doing everything by herself, her way. She wanted to do demon extermination on her own. Make, clean, and fix her own weapons. Wearing what she wants, the fire rat robe he had given her as a gift all those years ago has been modified by herself, refusing help from her mother.

Oh and Kagome doesn't mind this at all. Kagome says this is normal for a teenage girl and she should know because she was one. Moroha is growing up and they should let her be who she wants so she can find herself or some sappy shit like that, and you know what? Inuyasha was fine with that, until the letters started coming in.

Every once a month a letter would come in, sometimes it would be brought by a friend saying they were told to pass it on, other times an arrow with the letter attached would be shot at their home in the middle of the night or day. Every single time the name

Moroha

Would be written on the front and every time Moroha would grab the letter and run into the second room of the hut where she slept with her brother and close the sliding door.

Every day after the letter she would smile so big Inuyasha was worried about her facial muscles, and when he asked about the letters she would blush and say "nothing."

Inuyasha being the reasonable father that he is, knew that was bullshit. "Nothing" does not do that to a person. So he went looking for the letters.

he couldn't find them, he searched the small room for hours and nothing. No letters in sight.

Kagome still thought this was normal. His baby girl, keeping secrets from him, lying to him about "nothing." Was not normal for Inuyasha. Why would Moroha be hiding something from him?! While his growing concern for his daughter kept him up at night he almost missed seeing what was happening to his son.

Ichiki, his sweet little boy, lately has been being well-

A brat. Inuyasha had worse words in his vocabulary but they wouldn't be entirely correct for his son..

Ichiki was always a quiet boy. Not a leader, more a follower unlike most of his family. He's helpful and keeps to himself. This is all still true, but lately Inuyasha has noticed his boy has found himself an attitude. One very unlike Ichiki to develop in such a short amount of time.

Say something he didn't like he'll smile and nod, but when you look away you can always hear him muttering under his breath and if you look back in time you might even catch him rolling his eyes. He'll do what you want but he'll huff and puff if he doesn't want to do it.

Ichiki rarely looks up, preferring to stare at anything but your eyes during a conversation or even if you're just in the same room as him. When Inuyasha makes him look him in the eye it's almost like he's seeing right through you. It worried him, he worried about Ichiki ever since he was born early and sick so something like this was starting to freak him out.

So he talked to his wife again, now the third time that month Inuyasha had come to her in concern for their children.

After listening to all the facts he wrote down in his head Inuyasha finally got her to see they might have an issue.

"Okay, here's the game plan." Said the small priestess as she gently took the kettle of tea off the fire.

Inuyasha set both his hands down on the wooden floor and stared intensely at his wife. He nodded his head for her to continue.

"I'm going to go on an exorcism with Moroha tomorrow around lunch at the neighboring village. She's trying to get better with her spiritual powers, sometime before or after I will ask her about the letters." Kagome told him as she poured herself a cup of tea.

Inuyasha widened. "That means-"

Kagome nodded and poured her husband's cup "You get Ichi."

Inuyasha cringed a bit at that. " 'Gome, we haven't exactly been close lately. Ich might not want to talk to me." His ears dropped, Ichiki seemed to be more attached to his mother. It hurt but it might be better if they switched.

His wife seemed to read his mind. Looking down at her tea Kagome shook her head "Inuyasha. You've tried to talk to Moroha about those letters again and again and she still hasn't told you a thing, this might be a girl thing that I can help her with." She said with a coy smile as she looked up.

"Last I checked your no girl." Kagome giggled, it still and always will make Inuyasha smile. That laugh.

She continued. "Ichiki hasn't been very close to me lately either, he might just not want to talk period. It's still good for him to know that you and I will always be there for when he is ready to talk." She grabbed his hand.

Inuyasha put down his tea and adjusted his grip to hold her hand more comfortably.

"You know you're a good mother wench."

"And your amazing father husband."

—

Little did the parents know, in Inuyasha Forest, under The Sacred Tree, two young youths were having the same conversation.

—

"There you two are!" Inuyasha shouted out from the porch of the hut. Kagome and Moroha were supposed to leave already but she was late.

Looking at his two kids as they walked closer to him, Inuyasha noticed his son's short white hair all scuffed up.

Ah, so she was late because of sibling duties.

"Geez Moroha you're going to be late for your job with mom because you decided to rough up your brother?" Inuyasha laughed, his daughter's eyes widened.

Moroha gasped and put her hands on her head. "Oh crap! That's right, the exorcism!"

She jumped past him to run inside the hut.

Inuyasha could hear her cursing and rummaging throughout the two room building, trying to grab all of her stuff if he had to guess. In less than a minute the young girl crashed back outside desperately stuffing her belongings in a bag while the bow on her right shoulder slid down her arm with arrows falling out from the quiver that was on her back.

"Did mom leave already?!" She asked as she frantically began picking the fallen arrows up. Inuyasha was desperately holding his breath to keep from cracking up, oh Moroha was definitely his daughter, but right now she was all Kagome.

"Yeah she left just a few minutes ago, said if you really wanted to come you'd catch up if you wanted to." He mimicked his wife's words in the 'that's mom' voice.

"Dammit! Okay shit-" Moroha gasped as she ran down to her father and gave him a quick peck on the cheek and immediately wasted no time in messing up Ichiki's hair some more by ruffling it harshly. Then she was off following her mother's scent.

"Bye guys!" She yelled as she disappeared in the distance.

Once he was sure he was out of ear shot, he laughed. Inuyasha couldn't help it, the entire scenario brought back memories of when Kagome was late for those tests back in her world. Cursing and stuffing her backpack to it nearly popped, watching her run down the shrine yelling "goodbye!" and "see you later!" Just to fall down the stairs and for him to come rescue the clumsy wench. He laughed harder, his son seemed to find the scenario just as funny as he did because Ichiki began to laugh too.

Once the two calmed down Inuyasha looked at his son's hair again and wanted to laugh some more. His sister had done some damage to her poor brother. Ichikis hair wasn't like his, sure it was the same color but it was more similar texture to human hair which meant it got tangled and tangled badly.

Putting his hand behind Ichikis back he pushed him toward the hut,

"C'mon bud let's fix that rat nest on your head, what did she do? Put sap in or something, it's totally sticking up."

"I guess that's what I get for picking a fight with the vicious Beniyasha" Ichiki laughed and looked down at the ground.

Inuyasha sighed, still no eye contact he guessed. Once they were inside he grabbed the Kagome's comb she left on a shelf near the cooking area.

"Brush it out, I'll start lunch. Your mom left some stuff for me to cook." He said handing the comb to Ichiki.

Ichiki grabbed the comb but didn't start brushing his hair, he just kind of looked at it funny, running his fingers along the ridges. Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at that.

"You okay bud?" He asked, Ichiki looked kind of nervous, it was odd.

His son just looked up and smiled at him, opened his mouth but closed it again. Then he opened it again. "Um yeah! I was just wondering if- I don't know maybe we could uh-" Ichiki tried but just looked down again and shook his head.

"Nevermind." He mumbled and began to brush his hair. Inuyasha frowned, he couldn't force him to talk. He would just have to wait, he guessed. So he turned and was going to begin to start to cook and then he heard his son again.

"Maybe after lunch we could do a little training? Like the fighting kind?" It was mumbled under his breath but Inuyasha heard it all the same. His ears perked up, and he turned back to look at Ichiki who was looking back at him with his bright blue eyes.

"Really? Like hand to hand combat?" Inuyasha asked, trying not to sound too hopeful, since when did Ichiki want to learn stuff like that?

His son gave him an awkward smile. "If you don't mind, yeah, I thought it might be fun, you know?" His smile wavered and he looked back down. "We don't have to if you don't wan-"

Inuyasha stopped him immediately and put his hands up, "No! I want to! Yeah after lunch you can throw some punches at your old man Kay?"

Ichiki smiled again, this time a real one. Teeth and all. "Yeah okay!" He laughed.

—

Halfway to the neighboring village there was a blushing quarter demon stammering out little things written in the letters she holds dear to her heart while her mother smiled and nodded.

Teenagers, everything to them is so big no matter how little.

Fin.

I love writing Inukag family. They make me so happy 😁 



[savethelastdan]

SessKagu Week Day 5: Comedy/Fake Dating

Note: This fic is set in a demons-included version of early 1900s Japan. 

“Sorry I’m late. Were you waiting long?”

Her future client’s jaw softens in shock as Kagura marches up to the table. Giggles from the customers dotting the front of the tea shop follow; it makes sense, considering she is currently dressed in a kabuki dance costume. 

Fighting the weight of the costume’s skirts, she signals to the waiter (her usual) and sits. Then Kagura’s brain notes the features of the man across from her and she realizes how bad this looks. 

“Shit, I’m not dressed like this because of you - because you’re a dog demon!” She slams her headpiece on the table with slightly more force than is necessary, in her desperation to explain before he can take his big fancy wallet and run. “My latest target is starring in Renjishi at the downtown theater. This - it’s not - I’m supposed to be the Spirit of the Parent Lion.” 

One unbearably awkward silence later, he swallows and offers an impressively neutral expression. “Ah.” 

Assuming that now is probably a good time to regain some sort of professional pride, Kagura launches into her usual spiel. “As you probably heard on the call with my assistant, I can find my way into any aspect of someone’s life. Just like the wind - I can go anywhere, and disappear just as quickly. You need somebody to dig the skeletons out of a closet, I’m your best option.”  

He takes her in, head to toe. Claws tap on the table’s surface between them steadily. “Are you?”

As if on cue, her headdress nearly rolls right off the table. Kagura lunges for it; he remains calmly seated, the rich jerk. 

The waiter arrives with their tea to provide a truly heroic distraction. While the man studies the brew with a distrustful expression, Kagura collects a few more inferences to stash away in her mental briefcase: 

Old-fashioned but pristine clothes - he’s traditionally minded but prideful.

Long claws and visible markings means he only moves about in demon circles, and/or he doesn’t care about making humans nervous. 

Butterfly sticker on his tie…that’s 0.05% chance he has a secret sweet side, and 99.95% that he’s got kids. Wow, they’re just letting anybody procreate these days…

“Do you like green tea, Mr…?” 

“Lord Sesshomaru. And it’s fine.” 

He brings the cup to his lips. Kagura mirrors the action with a smile - experience has taught her that such things can make all the difference. Even though what she actually wants to do is roll her eyes. ‘Lord’. Puh-lease. 

“Who is it that you’re trying to find information on? A current romantic partner, or an ex?” 

The half-moon marking on Sesshomaru’s forehead wrinkles as he frowns. “Neither.” 

Kagura waits. 

He returns to tapping on the table in clear discomfort. “I have a half-brother called Inuyasha. He sent word a few days ago to inform me that he is engaged. The wedding is planned for a month from now.” 

Kagura hums. One hand folds under her chin; she remembers too late that her face and neck are painted with stage makeup that is no doubt smeared all over, now. “Gosh, that is suspicious. Why not save the money and elope right away?”

Sesshomaru sighs like she’s actually serious. Perhaps he’s never heard a joke before? 

“Due to various circumstances, our relationship as siblings has only recently become stable. I have never met his fiance.” 

“Ah.” Kagura smirks. “You’re suspicious of her motives for the marriage?” 

His head shakes back and forth slightly, as though she’s missing something obvious. Reaching under the table, he brings forth a pair of black-and-white photographs and a letter. Kagura takes the letter first. 

It is a quick scan, the only note of interest being the incredibly casual way that Inuyasha addresses his brother (‘Kagome wants the engagement party to be here in the village. Don’t bring Jaken, you asshole, or I’ll kick ya both out!’). But, because she is a professional, Kagura makes a mental note to go over it more carefully later. 

The photographs are next. Kagura selects one and pointedly ignores the buzz of electricity when their fingers touch, as she plucks it from his grasp. Better to keep things professional, especially with uptight people who literally pay to be nosy. 

“That picture came with the letter,” Sesshomaru explains. 

“Is this Kagome?”

“Yes. All I know about her is her name, and that she is a miko in training.” 

It’s a classic lover’s portrait: two people standing side-by-side with bashfully happy expressions. One has light-colored hair and dog ears atop his head, marking him as Sesshomaru’s brother. (He is also clearly a half-demon, making Kagura wonder if that is what he meant by ‘‘various circumstances’). The other is a pale-faced, dark-haired human woman with a bright smile and the absolute weirdest outfit Kagura has ever seen. 

Which is saying something, considering she herself is in full kabuki costume at four in the afternoon. 

“Okay, so she’s dressed like she’s on her way to the bathhouse and also a Shinto temple at the same time, but maybe she’s just eccentric. Humans have weird taste in -”

The excuse dies in her throat, as he hands her the other photo. 

Kagura blinks once, then twice. In this picture, Inuyasha looks a bit younger, rougher, but still recognizable. His fiance, however, stares slightly to the left of the camera with a much colder expression than in the previous photograph. Her hair (hanging heavy down past her waist), clothes (traditional miko wear) and even her aura seem to drag within the camera’s lens. 

“Were they having problems in this one?” 

Sesshomaru shakes his head. “That is not Kagome. She is my brother’s previous girlfriend, Kikyo. As far as I know, the two of them broke it off years ago, and she passed away shortly after. She was a miko as well.” 

Disturbed, Kagura holds the photos side-by-side. “Um. Why do they have the same face?” 

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrow in a full-on glare. “An excellent question. I will pay you to find out the answer.” 

Same face, same profession, same boyfriend…but different people. She can see why Sesshomaru is weirded out by the whole thing. It could be something as simple as his brother having a type, but there’s nothing wrong with making sure. ‘Peace of mind’, after all, is a luxury. 

 Nodding, Kagura folds the photographs into the letter and stashes everything in her purse. 

“I’ll accept. But a month-long timeline is going to be tight. If you don’t have any kind of existing relationship with this woman, it’ll take more effort to just find out the basics of her lifestyle. Who she hangs out with, what she’s into. Those kinds of things.”   

“I have thought of that.” The teacup returns to his lips, hovering long past the time it takes to swallow. It’s suspicious; what does he have to be nervous about? “As it states in the letter, they are hosting an engagement party this weekend. It would be no trouble to bring you along. Then you can meet Kagome directly, and her friends and family as well.” 

“You can’t talk to them yourself, and report back to me?” 

Sesshomaru leans back in his chair. His gaze travels to the ceiling as he attempts to form an answer. Finally, he says, “Things with Inuyasha are still tense. I do not wish to risk damaging what little relationship we have, by appearing as though I don’t approve. And…it would be a shame if I were to unintentionally leave out information that appears innocuous, and limit the results of your investigation.” 

Well, well, well. It never got old making people admit that she was the actual expert here. Rolling the tea cup around in her hand, Kagura pushes further. “What if they ask how I know the bride and groom? Or why I’m asking so many nosy questions? I don’t like playing the secretary.”

This, of all things, he says with direct eye contact and a completely straight face. “I will tell them that we are in a relationship. Then they will see your behavior as an attempt to join the family.” 

Kagura can’t help but to laugh. “You’re serious?” 

“Yes. It is the simplest excuse.” 

“Uh, I hate to point out the obvious. But don’t you think your entire family is going to be pretty shocked that you have an entire girlfriend you never bothered to mention?” 

Something that could be a smile crosses his face; one blink, and it’s gone. “On the contrary. It is exactly the kind of behavior they would expect from me.” 

Well, that is unsettling. And the kind of secret she wants to dig her teeth into - though maybe not right now. “You really think that’s gonna -”

He sighs, then leans forward until they are practically cheek to cheek. Notes of warm spice hit her nose. Even though Kagura isn’t the kind of woman to be flustered over a man, she admittedly shifts just a bit closer.

Just because she can. 

Sesshomaru mutters a number into her ear. To the rest of the teahouse, it probably looks like he’s whispering some kind of salacious compliment. It kind of feels like one, if the shiver running up her spine is anything to go by. 

Kagura picks up her drink, feigning unaffectedness. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“It is what I will pay you as both a deposit and a closing cost after you finish the job.” 

“Really?” In her shock, Kagura flings her teacup halfway across the room. 

The resounding crack of porcelain on wood has every other customer turning their head. Sesshomaru has the decency to sit back in his seat without comment, although it is probably just his reputation as a stuck-up grump that keeps him from laughing. 

Kagura mouths an apology in the waiter’s direction (from that dark look, she isn’t getting free refills next time). Her head can’t stop spinning. That much money - it’s more than she’s ever made on a single job. It could be enough to buy her freedom. 

“Do we have a deal, then?” The dog demon’s voice is steady, but his forehead is smooth of tension. Oh, he is definitely laughing at her internally. 

Leaning over the table, she grabs his face in between her hands. The way he freezes, pupils dilating, is positively delightful. 

“Absolutely, but you better be prepared. I don’t do these kinds of things halfway. Darling.” 

-

“So you have different mothers,” she yells over the train whistle. Sesshomaru’s hand warms the small of her back as he guides her through the bustling station; in order to stop thinking about it, Kagura has chosen to focus on the details of the engagement party’s guest list. “But you don’t know if either of them will be at this party. Inuyasha’s two best friends will be there, and they’re dating each other?” 

“Correct.” Wrinkling his nose as the train’s horn blares once more, he turns to head down a flight of steps. Kagura has to twist awkwardly to avoid smacking her purse against a clearly-very-late fish demon passenger’s head. 

“You really don’t have any idea which of Kagome’s friends or family will be there?” 

“I do not.” 

“Great. Just great.” 

Of course it isn’t. Because Sesshomaru doesn’t even have a last name for the girl, Kagura’s contact at the records office hadn’t been able to compile a school and housing history. Kagura was forced to guess her age and, using the village’s borders as a location, spent her week going  through pages and pages of records. 

She came up empty on a birth certificate or graduation record. There was a notice that listed Kagome and Inuyasha as inhabiting a particular house in the village, where she and Sesshomaru were now heading towards for the engagement party; but none of the paperwork attached to the rental agreement was attributed to Kagome herself. As far as things went legally, Kagome had literally popped out of a hole somewhere, already full-grown, to win Inuyasha’s heart. 

Just to be thorough, she’d looked through the same records for anything on Kikyo. That had been much more fruitful: birth and death certificates, a local news bulletin listing her services as a priestess who could “purify demonic entities and cleanse spiritual spaces”, and a registration for membership in a local archery group. 

Sesshomaru finally stops touching her as they reach the bottom of the stairs. Kagura glares at him, wishing he didn’t look so nice in the robes she’d picked out. (“It has to complement, not match, the yukata I’m wearing. So we look cohesive, but not obvious.”) He already warned her that they would have to walk the rest of the way, and combined with the heat of the train and the frustration of having no real leads, she’s sweating like a boar demon. 

“Kagura?” 

She spins around on her heel, ‘who wants to know’ already halfway formed on her tongue, before startling as Sesshomaru clamps a hand around her shoulder. 

“What are you doi -” 

“And Sesshomaru! What a small world!”  

A pair of humans break through the crowd. The one in front is dressed in blue and purple robes which contrast greatly with his mischievous smile. Behind him, looking for all the world like she’d love to disappear, is a well-muscled woman with a demon-bone boomerang strapped to her back.

Kagura recognizes them both immediately. “Oh, shit.” 

Sesshomaru raises an eyebrow at her, but the obvious question falls to the wayside as the man runs up to him.

“Who would think that we’d arrive at the exact same time!” His voice pitches in excitement; Sesshomaru leans back with a visible grimace. “Sango and I were worried that we would be the last ones to arrive for the party; you have saved us quite a bit of social discomfort!” 

Oh, just wait, Kagura thinks privately. The woman catches her eye and blushes, so obviously that Kagura wants to kick her. “Long time no see, Miroku.” 

“Indeed! Oh, Sesshomaru, this is Sango.” Cheerfully, Miroku wraps an arm around his companion’s waist; her blush darkens even further. “Inuyasha’s best-woman, my one and only woman, and the most esteemed demon-slayer in the country.”  

“Inuyasha’s said a lot about you,” Sango murmurs politely. 

“Nothing flattering, I’m sure,” comes the dry reply. 

In spite of everything, the demon-slayer’s lip quirks. “You’d be right about that.” 

“But how do you know Kagura?” Miroku waves a hand towards her, before returning it to his side in a sharp movement. She wonders if it is a slip-up in his old habit of proposing to absolutely every woman with a pulse, or the way Sesshomaru glares at him, that causes it. 

“I could ask you the same question, although I suspect it is the usual answer?”

“No!” Both Miroku and Sango blurt at the same time. Staring up at the sky, Kagura wishes it would start raining so she’d have an excuse to disappear into the crowd. 

“Kagura was a volunteer at the shrine I used to work at,” Miroku explains, pulling Sango closer as a quartet of mean-looking kappas stomp down the stairs past them. “We chatted often, but lost touch after she quit. How fortuitous to run into you again!” 

 “Certainly is,” she says quickly, patting Sesshomaru’s arm as though to brush dust from his robes. Why does he look so sour? For Miroku, this is clearly just being friendly, not flirting. 

Which, since he is in good spirits, must mean Miroku still doesn’t know that Sango hired her to follow him in the first place, all those months ago. 

Not that Kagura judges her. What else could a woman do, when her beloved returns home at strange hours, covered in bruises that he won’t talk about? 

(Luckily, the answer had been neither an affair, nor a dangerous amount of debt: Miroku simply kept performing under-the-table exorcisms for rich noblemen. After passing the information on, Kagura never saw the results of what Sango did after that revelation…) 

“How do you two know each other?” Sango’s gaze travels between Kagura and Sesshomaru with more than a little curiosity. Is he a client, or the one being followed? 

“He’s my boyfriend,” she says, a little too loudly. Wrapping her arms around the dog demon’s waist, she beams up at him in a way that hopefully looks authentic. “We already have friends in common, doesn’t it seem fated?” 

He stares down at her in confusion. After an excruciatingly long pause, he awkwardly pats the top of her head. “Quite…” 

Sango snorts, quickly adding a fake-cough to cover it. Miroku blinks several times in rapid succession; he is not equipped to fully comprehend the situation, and seems to know it.  Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to dampen his spirits. Circling his heavily-robed arms in rapid succession, the monk herds the group towards the station’s exit. 

“Well, once we get to Inuyasha’s house, you can tell all of us how your relationship came to be!” 

“Oh, I’m sure no one will be interested in that,” Kagura says quickly. “After all, it’s not our engagement party.” 

“Indeed, we will have far more questions for them,” Sesshomaru adds. His bitter tone is entirely too obvious, and combined with what she already knows, Kagura fears that Sango will soon put the whole puzzle together. 

Which, considering she’s the groom’s best friend, will probably result in the both of them getting thrown out. Which means no money. 

Oh, gods, this whole fucking thing was probably a mistake…

[inuyashaha]

Yashahime Episode 15

I think so many of my feelings and observations have been stated by others at this point, but here go my rambling thoughts anyway.

First the negative:  It was an oddly structured episode.  The introduction threw us straight into the past, very, very briefly framed by Riku as the narrator.  Did Riku break the fourth wall or were we to assume a listener we did not see?  I’m still not sure.  So much information was thrown at the audience that it did not feel like there was enough times to savor the emotions of the moments ...  very very important moments that showed us Inuyasha and Kagome’s home and married dynamic, pregnant Kagome, RIN HAVING HER BABIES with Kaede, Sango and Kagome being there (I LOVED that), Sesshomaru taking his babies...I’m willing to wait and assume this rushed narrative is on purpose, but it was a little jarring.

Now the good:

Rin is the mommy!  I knew that.  I was convinced on August 1st during the livestream, but it was a sweet (if all too brief) moment.  Mamiko Noto’s voice as Rin was so perfect.  It was sweet, but it was subdued.  It was the voice of a someone who had just birthed twins and knows something awful is about to go down.  To hear her name the babies was a beautiful moment, and how sweet were baby Towa and Setsuna.  Towa looked a little grumpy/sleepy, but baby Setsuna was already smiling :).  I do think they will show that Setsuna, deep down, is a smiling sweet girl like her mother and that circumstances made her like she is.  It also makes me think that we have only seen one side of Towa -- we haven’t really seen what she has inherited from Sesshomaru -- yet.

I loved that all of Rin’s friends surrounded her and helped her have her babies.  The twins hurrying to get Kaede, Sango going for Kagome...it was a community event!  But seriously, to know that if only for a short while, Rin got to be surrounded by love and peace with her babies by her side makes the bitterness of Sesshomaru taking the babies so quickly afterwards a little easier to bear.  Just a little.  Sango the experienced mom.  Kaede the midwife.  Rin the new mom.  Kagome the expectant mom.  Imagine the conversations and bonding.  Their kids should have grown up together :(. 

And I am going to speculate, until the show proves me wrong, that Rin probably had her own hut and continued to live in the village after she married Sesshomaru, or at least after she got pregnant.  The fact that the twins came to get Kaede at night makes me think that she was not in Kaede’s hut.  Wouldn’t Kaede be at her own place at night? 

Like Inuyasha and Kagome, I think Rin and Sesshomaru had their own place:

This looks different from Kaede’s hut.  I don’t remember the little pathway on the left, but it’s impossible to tell if they are next to the gate here.  Again, I’m choosing to believe they had their own place.

So, this makes me consider how much Sesshomaru really did settle down for Rin.  He gave up his titles.  He did not take her to a castle in the air.  He let her stay among her friends and start a family WITH HIM but still within the village.  He gave her the best of both worlds.  He MARRIED her.  How many times was she called his wife or bride?  She’s no concubine or human piece on the side.  He MARRIED her.  Since he had not seen his mother in a while, I’m assuming he married her in her village, letting everyone know she wasn’t just some poor village girl taken advantage of by the powerful yokai. And it clearly wasn’t just a human marriage.  All the big bad demons called Rin Sesshomaru’s wife. What honor, respect and love he showed to her, a mere human peasant (though of course we all know she is so much more than that, especially to Sesshomaru).

Was he like many lords and installed her in her own home, visiting and staying with her when he did not have business to attend to?  Or did he tell Inuyasha that he better get used to having another demon hanging out in his forest by the village?  Like...for all intents and purpose, Sesshomaru may have been living in the same village as Inuyasha, both intending to raise their families together.  I love that.  Please Yashahime, don’t dissuade me of this.

Poor Sesshomaru...sigh...I know it doesn’t look great for him right now...but that will change.  The story is not going to make him the villain.  It’s just not.  But yes, poor Sesshomaru.  He got to be happy about his babies being born for all of about two seconds before Zero interrupted him.  Look at his little smile while he listens to his daughters’ first cries:

He had his worried face on, and then he smiled.  He’s a dad in the waiting room.  And the TONE of Jaken’s voice when he declared that they had been born.  The WARMTH, the LOVE.  Grandpa Jaken I love you so much.

This bitch, though, I don’t love at all:

Does she have some kind of magic yokai ultrasound that lets her know Sesshomaru had twin daughters and predicted Kagome would have a daughter?  I look forward to seeing how this all unravels, but the fact that she showed up IMMEDIATELY after the girls were born is frightening, and maybe that was why Sesshomaru was at the outskirts of the village instead of closer by?  Clearly, they were expecting some kind of attack, but dang...that happened fast.

Who is this lady anyway?  I’ve seen it speculated that it may be Riku’s mother...and yes?  I could see that.  Did she have a hanyou she was not allowed to keep,  poor Riku tossed overboard, and now she seeks revenge? Or was she rejected by Toga? Those tears of hers.  Who was she crying for?

As many others noticed, this was a little odd:

What about Sesshomaru’s mother?  He hasn’t seen her in years (such a bad son), and when they go to her castle, she’s missing.  Was she just off doing flying dog stuff in the sky?  Was she shopping for expensive jewelry and designer silks?  I’m assuming she was not at Sesshomaru’s wedding.  Or did Zero do something to her and Sesshomaru just wasn’t aware?  I’m dying to see more of Sesshomaru’s mom.  I want her to meet the twins and just throw out her arms all, “Come to Grandma!  Let me buy you things and tell you stories about your dad.”  But that remains to be seen.

Speaking of grandparents, can I say yet again that I love the honorary grandparents Kaede and Jaken, both trying to protect Rin in their own way.  Kaede doesn’t hold back and calls Sesshomaru a fool (imagine what she was like when Sesshomaru was truly courting Rin) while Jaken comforts Rin when her babies are taken away.  Again, the voice acting by Jaken’s VA is EVERYTHING in this episode.  The LOVE he conveys.  He’s perfect.  I love him.  I do.

And Rin knew the plan. She knew what was going to happen, but poor thing...I wish it could have been different for her.  Look how much she loves and trusts Sesshomaru.  That expression clearly says “Look what I made! Look what WE made!”  I wish we could have seen them react to the babies together. 

Also, look at how Sango is about THISCLOSE to putting on her slayer clothes and kicking Sesshomaru’s ass when he scooped up those babies and turned away:

The rest of the episode was such a jumble of events.  Sesshomaru AND Jaken were with Inuyasha and Kagome when the comet arrived, which was after the twins’ birth but before Moroha’s.  Even if they are hanyo, I don’t think Jaken and Sesshomaru would have left newborn babies alone.  Rin was with them.  Jaken even said he was bringing Rin to them (I assume after she recovered from birthing twins).  Further supporting this would be the dream gazing spell business --  Like others have said, I’m pretty sure Rin sacrificed herself to keep her remaining daughter safe after Towa was pulled into the future.

Miscellaneous observations:

1. What the hell is going on with the comet? Every 500 years?  So, the Higurashis might be in for a surprise pretty soon?  Comet remnants are still in the sky though...

2. Why in the hell did Inuyasha bring his pregnant wife along for the comet destruction? Why exactly was she there?  Unless he was too worried about her safety to leave her behind?

3. Riku is one shady fellow.  HE found the compact?  How did he know where to look? I know, I know.  Don’t be hasty, but c’mon.  We don’t have that many episodes left.

4.  I like how they portrayed a pregnant Kagome.  I like this little side view where you can see she’s chunky, but it’s not an exaggerated thing:

5. Sesshomaru and Rin had babies before Inuyasha and Kagome! On one level, it is very sweet.  Of anyone, Rin and Sesshomaru are very aware of the fragility of life and how fleeting time is.  Look at the names of their daughters.  It makes sense that they wanted a family quickly.  On the other hand, I cannot shake the idea that the brothers did get competitive with each other.  I can imagine Inuyasha knocking up Kagome as quickly as possible after finding out that Rin was pregnant.  Then Sesshomaru has TWO daughters to Inuyasha’s one.  I am longing for some brotherly interactions.  Let Inuyasha call him a hypocrite at least once.  Let Sesshomaru gloat that he has TWO super awesome daughters. Let the daughters watch their ridiculous fathers fist fight while their mothers pour water on them and tell them to SIT.  Please.

6. Besides emphasizing the fact that Rin is Sesshomaru’s WIFE, the episode also emphasized the fact that Rin actually birthed the girls. Rin is in labor, it will be soon, you did well, Rin, Rin resting in bed with her daugthers, her voice weak and tired, the tub used to wash the babies in the background.  There was no magic switcheroo.  The twins were not found beneath a tree.  Sesshomaru did not sprout them from a forgotten limb. They came out of Rin’s body.  She’s the mom. She made them with her husband. End of.

6. Finally, this is the best part of the episode.

You sure did, Rin. 

Now where are A-Un and Shippo?

[mrfeenysmustache]

Thanks to @cakeit0n for this bit of insanity! Bonus points to you for The Office reference, you know that’s my faveeeee

Send me an ask with a “fic you wish I would write” and I will write you a ficlet!

Banjo Music

Inuyasha watched his brother closely, the way the corners of his lips pursed tightly together and his brow twitched down in a minute frown, and tried his damndest not to laugh.

“You will go over it all one more time. And you will be thorough. I will not miss a single detail,” Sesshomaru ordered and Inuyasha heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance and disinterest.

“Fine, but this is the last time. I got shit to do.”

“You were sleeping in the tree when I approached.”

“Well that was then, this is now! Now shut up cuz I ain’t repeatin’ this again!”

Sesshomaru growled and his eyes narrowed, but Inuyasha simply smirked as he watched his brother stuff down his ire in favor of the assistance he’d sought him out for.

He still couldn’t believe what was happening, and he wasn’t sure which part was worse, Sesshomaru asking him for help, or Sesshomaru wanting to court Kagome.

Either way, he was sure his brother had swallowed a lot of pride to get to this point, and he would be damned straight to hell before he passed up on a chance to have some fun with it.

Kagome had forbidden him from trying to start physical fights during Sesshomaru’s visits to the village, but she hadn’t said shit about this kind of thing.

“Now listen close and pay attention. Humans, and Kagome in particular, love violence. You see another man making a move, you gotta be aggressive and stake your claim. Next, you gotta make an atmosphere.”

“An… atmosphere?”

“Yeah an atmosphere. She loves that shit. Smoke, clouds, rain, whatever the fuck you can manage, she’ll eat it up. She’s always talking about atmosphere.”

“Hn….”

“And finally…. You gotta just fucking grab her. She loves to be picked up and hauled off with no warning. Just… toss her over your shoulder and run as fast as you can.”

“She… enjoys such manhandling?”

“Oh yeah. Big time.”

“That seems… unlikely. I have seen how she reacts when you-“

“Well that’s cuz I ain’t courtin’ her. But she likes you, so she’ll respond.”

“She does?”

He almost felt bad…. Almost; Sesshomaru had never seemed so close to smiling as he had just then, and his eyes shined with something he might describe hope….

But then it was pushed away as his usual mask of arrogance fell back into place and his looked down his nose at him.

“Very well. I will use your methods to declare my intent and begin a courtship. But if they do not work….” He lifted a hand and cracked his knuckles, making his claws glow green for a moment before sweeping away, and Inuyasha hopped back up into his tree to settle back into another nap.

“Yeah yeah, like I ain’t had that threat before. Stupid bastard.”

As he drifted off he smirked; he had not been lying when he’d said Kagome liked Sesshomaru. If he just asked her if he could court her, she’d say yes.

But this was going to be top notch entertainment in the meantime.

[mythicamagic]

Unorthodox: a Sesskag oneshot

Summary: Kagome is pleasantly surprised to receive a present from Sesshoumaru for White Day... until she glimpses the contents inside her gift box.

AN: Written for the Sesskag 2021 Big Bang event on tumblr! @chierafied​ 

I was paired with @milomai-art​ and here’s their lovely artwork: https://milomai-art.tumblr.com/post/648766972634513408/unorthodox-mythicamagic-inuyasha-a-feudal

Rated K+

Words: 3,000

You can read it on Ao3, Dokuga or fanfiction.net. 

Unorthodox

Valentine's day had come and gone, with a notable difference this year for Kagome compared with the last lonely three;

Her return to the Sengoku Jidai.

To celebrate reuniting with her beloved friends, she'd gone all out. Everyone received gifts, right down to Myoga and Jaken; no one had been excluded.

For all her efforts, however, she expected nothing in return. Though she'd explained the concept to the Inutachi, Sango and Miroku were much too busy looking after their children to keep track of dates, Shippo was often away at Kitsune school and Inuyasha had been absent as of late. Besides that, since their relationship had ended, the subject of Valentine's had become an awkward one. She'd had to stress the platonic intent behind her gift to him.

Therefore, Kagome had pretty much forgotten all about White Day by the time it rolled around.

Exiting Kaede's hut with a tub of water in her arms, intending to give the old miko's horse a good scrub down, she dug in her heels the second exquisite silks, armour and a fur pelt registered- having blinked into existence before her. Kagome gaped, swaying. Water sloshed, some spilling to their feet.

"Uh hi," looking up at grave, handsome features, she arched a brow. Sesshoumaru stared at her fervently. "Nice to see you, Sesshoumaru," adjusting her grip, Kagome sidestepped him and flashed a warm smile, used to his minimalistic approach to conversation by now. "Do you need something? Inuyasha isn't here. I think he's helping the next village over repair a-"

"I am not here for him."

Kagome noted his succinct tone, sounding more defensive than usual. Setting down the wooden tub carefully, she straightened, tilting her head. "Then what are you here for?"

"White Day."

"White... ah!" Kagome gasped, "that's right! How did you know about that?" she blinked, noticing he looked extra grumpy today. His jaw ticked, golden eyes narrow. Slowly, the miko brightened. "No way. Did you... get me something?" she breathed, strangely touched.

Of all people, Sesshoumaru had remembered? Was she dreaming?

A hand thrust out stiffly towards her, balancing a small box upon his palm.

Accepting it with thanks, heat touched her cheeks. Weird. She really shouldn't be indulging this- or feeling kind of happy. It didn't mean anything to be pleased, right? Was she even allowed to feel warm and fuzzy towards her ex's brother?

Opening the lid, Kagome tried to squash her excitement- peering down. Slowly, she reached in, retrieving a silky soft thing.

It appeared to be made of something long, silver and fine, the material woven into a pretty design. A bracelet of silk, if she could hazard a guess.

"Um, thank you," Kagome raised her gaze. "What's it made of, out of curiosity? It's very soft."

Sesshoumaru appeared pleased, preening a little. "Only the finest material."

"Really?" she stroked it. "I hope you didn't go to any trouble on my account."

He scoffed, midsummer gaze smiling slightly as his tone became haughty and prideful, "it was no trouble to use this one's own hair."

Kagome dropped the bracelet back into the box. "Whut?"

Lithe fingers combed indulgently into his fall of lustrous silver hair, "you need not be alarmed. The strands grew back quickly."

That isn't what's alarming me, Kagome silently screamed. Now that she was paying attention though, the pale bracelet really did resemble the demon lord's long flowing locks.

Her hand recoiled a little from the box. "W-well, um... thank you very much," Kagome said thinly. "It's a very thoughtful gift. Truly."

Sesshoumaru's keen, piercing eyes roved over her strained features, voice deepening. "If you do not wish to accept it-"

"N-no, I do! I'll wear it right now!" Kagome grabbed it madly, fiddling with the thing while repressing a shudder. She tried and failed to secure the clasp, stiffening when large hands closed over her hand.

The demon lord leaned forward- that same hair currently being secured around her wrist falling free from behind a pointed ear. Silver strands draped down like a gossamer curtain, tickling her flushed, sensitive skin.

Sesshoumaru tilted his head up, expression unreadable.

Shifting her wrist, Kagome observed the threads of hair wrapped around it. His bracelet felt odd, the concept totally foreign. However, she could feel how much the gesture meant to him. She didn't fear offending him because of his dark temper- more because she cared about his feelings and wanted to nurture any hint of a bond between them.

"Thank you," Kagome said. "No one else brought me anything today, so I'm...I'm grateful."

Even if it was the weirdest thing she'd ever received. A bracelet made of hair wasn't exactly traditional.

Straightening, Sesshoumaru's lips thinned as his eyes flickered with confusion.

Kagome blinked, wondering what else he'd envisioned her saying.

"Hn," inclining his head regally, he pivoted sharply and began stalking away quickly, giving a swift kill to the conversation.

---

Without a frame of reference for how long he desired her to wear it, Kagome tugged her sleeve down to hide the bracelet from curious eyes during the next few days. She tried to ignore the sensation of hair continually brushing her skin.

"I wonder if it means something important," Kagome examined it while sprawled out upon a grassy hill, taking a break from her miko duties Kaede had started dishing out ever since her return.

Sesshoumaru had seemed extremely serious while giving it to her. Then again, the gift could've meant nothing. Maybe his hair was just THAT valuable in the Daiyoukai's opinion. She snorted, twisting her wrist and watching silver threads catch on sunlight, making it shine white. "His ego is big enough. I'd believe it. Heh, maybe he'd also give me one of his eyelashes, or a fingernail or..."

Why was Sesshoumaru heading towards her?

Sitting up and fussing absentmindedly with her hair- removing a few stray leaves- Kagome felt heat flood her face.

Okay, no- she shook herself, putting a firm lid over the butterflies taking flight in her stomach. Too strange. Enough of that.

The Daiyoukai stopped a few feet away, expression detached. Kagome knew by now to ignore it in favour of looking into his eyes. They were intent and unblinking today, hinting at his seriousness.

"Hi," she said, patting a spot next to her. "It's rare for you to visit the village again during the same week. What's up?"

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side at her odd term. Kagome bit her lip, finding it endearing. Her attention strayed, noticing yet another box sitting innocently upon his hand.

She paled. Oh no.

Gracefully sweeping himself down onto one knee- he thrust the new box out towards her, giving Kagome a dizzying sense of Déjà vu.

I was joking about the fingernails. Please be something normal. Please.

Accepting it gingerly, blue eyes flicked up towards him. "White day is over, you know."

"This one is aware."

"So...why the new gift?"

Sesshoumaru pretended to be interested in the gentle bubbling stream not too far away. "Because it pleases me to give it to you."

He was so difficult to figure out. Not wanting to squash his newfound sense of generosity, Kagome carefully removed the lid.

The contents did not look promising.

Trying not to jump to conclusions, she reached in and removed the long necklace. A single solitary tooth hung from the chord.

"Ah," Kagome squinted. "Open your mouth a sec."

Sesshoumaru's lips parted wordlessly, mouth opening wider to reveal a gap where one of his sharp canines used to be.

"This...is yours?" she asked weakly.

Sesshoumaru closed his mouth and nodded primly. "It will serve you well, should you have need of it."

In what way would I ever have need of a tooth? a wrinkle marred her brow as she considered it, coming to a small realisation. "To make a sword from?"

"Hn."

Well, that explained a small piece of the puzzle. In a very 'Sesshoumaru' way- it almost seemed a little sweet, practical even.

However, this did not help assuage her naturally squeamish reaction while looking at the freshly plucked tooth.

"Thanks," she said lamely. "I-I'm sure it'll be very useful if I visit Totosai in the future."

Her answer didn't seem to be what he was looking for. Sesshoumaru's gaze flitted from her to the dangling fang. "Females... prefer jewels, make-up or clothing, I suppose."

Kagome scratched her cheek, "depends on the lady- but you really don't have to worry, Sesshoumaru," laying a hand over pale knuckles resting upon his knee, she gave a squeeze. "I'm touched you're being so thoughtful. There's no need to give me anything else though, I have more than enough."

His nostrils flared, jaw setting stubbornly. He drew himself up to stand, "you are too modest."

Feeling thoroughly discombobulated, Kagome could only watch as he pivoted with all the grace of a dainty dancer, stalking away with billowing sleeves.

---

For two weeks, Sesshoumaru continued visiting the village at random intervals. His flair for turning up at the most unexpected times made it difficult for Kagome to anticipate his visits. Sometimes he'd arrive bright and early, others- nearing nightfall. Occasionally he'd visit Rin, but their interactions seemed distracted. Rin would whisper fiercely to him while gesturing in Kagome's direction, but he'd ultimately leave without speaking a word to the miko.

It was odd, confusing. She'd used to think of Sesshoumaru as a fairly straightforward demon. As of late, he'd been downright unpredictable and... flakey. She kind of missed their previous easy interactions when she'd pick herbs and prattle on while he occasionally offered a word or two. His silence had felt comfortable rather than awkward.

I don't know how to get that back, Kagome thought sadly.

A chilly wind passed by, breeze rushing around her exposed neck. Adjusting her miko garb, she sneezed, shivering a little. Autumn would soon be on its way.

The heat of an intense stare sent a new chill down her spine. Kagome turned, sensing it- only to find Sesshoumaru gazing at her intently.

Was it her imagination, or did he seem absurdly pleased? As though struck by a revelation.

As was typical behaviour for him, the demon lord began walking away without a word.

---

Trudging back from training in the woods, Kagome shouldered her bow while walking around a thick tree- only to quickly stop, almost bumping straight into polished armour.

Sesshoumaru stood before her, holding another box. This time it was larger, more of a rectangular shape.

"M-more?" Kagome squeaked. Her heart thundered. It felt like so long since they'd last spoken.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head gravely, "hn."

Biting her lip and somewhat dreading what cast-off part of him could be inside this time, Kagome grasped the lid and removed it- only to slam it abruptly back down.

"What… what is that?" she asked thinly.

Sesshoumaru's lashes fell shut and slid open in an unruffled blink.

"My fur."

I thought as much.

Kagome removed the lid with trepidation once more, lifting out the lush, soft coat. Even while her hands sank into the cloud-like material, blue eyes remained wide with distress.

Sesshoumaru seemed to guess her line of thinking. "It is discarded fur that I have shed, not cleaved off. Do not worry."

"O-okay," she said thinly. It's still weird though. Too weird. Imagine if I'd made a coat of shed skin.

It was so odd that Kagome felt a line needed to be drawn, placing it back into the box and numbly accepting it from him. "Sesshoumaru… I have to put my foot down now. I appreciate your gifts but I can't accept any more."

He stiffened, the burning embers in his eyes freezing into glassy orbs.

Kagome rushed to explain, "it's very sweet of you, and I appreciate the thought. I'm just not, uh…sure they're suited for a human. Besides, you seem to be worrying about what to get me instead of talking to me. I'd rather we just spoke like old times instead of this awkwardness."

"I see," he said stiffly.

She took a step forward, eyes widening when he took one back and turned. "This one did not intend to give you things deemed inappropriate and unwelcome. Farewell."

"Wait-!"

Too late, Sesshoumaru blurred away from her outstretched hand.

Kagome grit her teeth, sighing and balancing the box on one hand. Damn it.

Slowly, Kagome lowered the box onto a tree stump and gingerly lifted the coat. It felt lush and divine, her hands disappearing within the sheer volume of fur. Sliding her arms into the sleeves and putting it on, Kagome wrapped it around herself, feeling like she were enclosed in a giant fluffy cloud. His static youki brushed her skin intimately, fanning out from the strands.

It was big. It was a little ridiculous. It was wonderful.

Kagome groaned, burying her face in her hands. Sure, the idea of him collecting his shed fur to sew into a coat was strange by human standards, but actually wearing the coat, she now understood his simplistic intent.

He'd just wanted her to be warm.

"You're such a weirdo," she grumbled, blushing and dipping her nose into the fur. It smelled like him; wild forests, with the hint of refined smoke from a pipe.

Maybe she was weird too.

---

He was absent for an entire month.

Sesshoumaru figured it would help ease the sting of rejection. The second he caught Kagome's fragrance, however, it was like an old wound had been ripped open again.

His lips thinned, firmly keeping all emotion locked tight behind a placid mask as he visited Rin.

Chatting with the girl allowed him to soothe his stung ego for a while, distracted by Rin's news about the village and her training. Occasionally she would mention the miko and his chest would tighten again. How pathetic of him.

Once his cup lay empty and Rin mentioned the need to leave in order to assist the older miko, Sesshoumaru took his leave.

Stepping foot outside Kaede's hut, however, he froze.

Kagome stiffened before him, swathed in furs- his furs- he dimly noted.

More than that, lithe fingers curled around the fang resting at her collarbone. The silver bracelet of his hair caught the light before disappearing beneath the length of her sleeve.

Kagome's cheeks heated, and she thrust out a box, letting it rest on her palm.

"I asked around," she muttered. "Inuyasha was clueless, and Shippo kept laughing whenever I tried to ask him what was going on. Luckily Myoga happened to stop by," blue eyes pinned him in place. "You could've told me what all the gifts meant instead of leaving me in the dark."

Sesshoumaru did not accept the box just yet. "I thought my intentions were achingly clear."

Embarrassingly so, for a proud demon.

"Not for humans!" she huffed, lowering her hands a little. "I was confused the whole time! How was I supposed to know that you were giving me a betrothal bracelet, or that the fang was for any half-demon children I might have when they need a sword? I kind of figured out the coat, but I didn't know it represented your intentions to provide for me."

Sesshoumaru stared. Oh. Perhaps he should've listened to Rin about courting the miko after all.

Cheeks scarlet, Kagome sighed, lifting the lid of her box off and removing something from inside.

"May I?"

Sesshoumaru nodded dazedly, golden eyes widening. His entire being thrummed, heart picking up speed.

Shifting closer, Kagome pushed some dark locks behind her ear, the length slightly shorter than usual. Sliding a black bracket around his striped wrist, Kagome swallowed. Her hair had been woven into a band much like his, though nowhere near as intricate.

The demon stared at it, fixated. Baser instincts purred.

Molten gold eyes slowly raised to pin her with a disarmingly reverent look. He spoke no words of poetry, no love or longing, but it was there, he hoped. Abundantly clear. Kagome seemed to recognise it for what it was now.

She smiled a little, hugging her arms and scuffing her foot. "Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not saying I'll jump into marriage with you, but it turns out I'm kind of interested in dating you. Really... interested," Kagome forced out, obviously embarrassed but soldiering on. "If it's okay, we could...do that," she finished lamely.

Sesshoumaru took a step forward, invading her personal space. She blushed exactly the way he'd hoped she would, babbling. "So the uh- think of the bracelet as a dating bracelet! Maybe down the line it could...it could become an engagement thing," she murmured, voice dimming in the wake of his proximity.

"Hn," honeyed eyes smiled, careful claws unfurling to find her chin. "That would be pleasing," he uttered in a faint rumble, tipping his head down. "I accept."

Satisfaction rolled through him fiercely as she tilted her head just so- lips meeting and brushing feather-light against his. Emboldened, Kagome's hands found the collar of his hankimono just as he took her by the waist as though entering a dance, tightening.

Sesshoumaru let his eyes flutter shut, inhaling sharply through his nose. He could smell her so bright and clear—the sweetness of tangerines, faint, exotic soaps—and her mouth so warm. Kagome kissed him, firmer, hand finding his hair- fingers curling. His breath began to roughen the longer their kisses went on. His heart chanted the truth of it all- 'yours.'

If the foolish woman wanted him, he'd already given himself to her. The ticklish brush of her hair claiming his wrist made him smirk against her mouth, glimpsing his own band of white around hers and revelling in a plume of possessive pride.

Perhaps it was unorthodox by her standards, but they were not exactly normal themselves. And so, Sesshoumaru drowned himself in the curious, raw newness of the strange miko, surrendering to all the oddities that would likely follow during their strange courtship.

End

[dog-forest-spirit]

Did they really make kagome boast about not aging…I just saw a gif of it on here and I’m shocked. Because that is her first time seeing a pic of her family in 14 + years. First time even seeing her brother and his new family and the first thing she does is brag about how young she looks???? I know this isn’t her but yashamine kagome but it still left me angry. Also her taking sesshomaru side and saying that “he had his reasons” for sealing them is very out of character of her. Sunrise either hates kagome or they never took the time to actually learn about her character in inuyasha.

They completely destroyed Kagome’s character (just like the others) and yeah she did :/ it’s almost if sunrise has no idea how to write a female character she could have went on abt how her and souta have their own families or that her grandpa is still alive—smth other than her skin looks good she hugged Moroha once then was kind of over it :( it’s sad to see one of my favorite characters go out like this OG Kagome was charismatic, bubbly, brave, and supported her loved ones considering Sesshomaru trapped them in the black pearl for over 14 years and they have no idea why—them missing out on Moroha’s childhood she was oddly tolerant

I think sunrise doesn’t care about Kagome since she doesn’t play a big part in sesshomaru’s family other than being the sister in law (but maybe they hate her 🤷🏾‍♀️ they wrote her terribly in the OG anime as well)

[cancelingthenoise]

Unworthy

Soooo, after a 13 year hiatus, I’m trying to get back into writing and where better to start than fan fiction and with my fave OTP.  But buckle up, it’s a heavy one.  Hopefully I’ve tagged all the appropriate trigger warnings; apologies if I’ve missed any - please let me know if I have!!

Summary: Addict.  Junkie.  Worthless.  He has been gone for three years and is ready to come home, but his biggest enemy is still the one inside.  

Rated: Mature (Addiction, Recovery, Implied Drug Use, Drug References, Mild Sexual Content)

Cross-posted to FFN and AO3

He inserts the coins and dials a number he knows by heart.  The only one that is permanently branded into the recesses of his mind. As it rings, he hopes – let it be the right number, let it still be her number, let her pick up …

Hello?

“Kagome.”

Inu … Inuyasha?

“I … want to come home.”

Where are you?

He tells her the city, the intersection, the name on the warehouse nearby.  Everything that can pinpoint exactly where he is so she can find him.

I’m on my way.  Stay put.

There’s a tone in her voice he can’t identify and it sends pangs straight to his heart, but she’s coming. She’s coming.  

And so, he waits.

Two hours later a familiar red sedan pulls up in front of him and its driver approaches.  She’s older now, tired, he notices as he stands to greet her.  He watches as she looks him over.  He’s dirty, he knows, and even his demon-blood cannot mask how battered and bruised he is.  He’s shocked but admittedly pleased when she wraps her arms around his waist and squeezes him in an embrace.  Her scent is altogether lovely and calming, like coming home.

It takes every fiber of his being not to whine when she pulls away and looks him square in the eyes. Her grey eyes are intense and full of contrasting emotions.  All for him. “Let’s go.” She finally speaks, her tone decisive and unyielding.

He has nothing but the clothes on his back, but instead of a pitying glance, she nods.  It’s almost cathartic that she’s here and he has no physical baggage to take.  She tosses her purse from the passenger seat into the back so he can settle in.

He notices the ring when she places her hands on the steering wheel.  Ten-and-two, ever predictable.

“You’re engaged.” He cannot hide the shock, the disdain that he feels.

“Yes.”

Her response is sharp and leaves no invitation for a response, but he can’t help it as the jealousy bubbles up through his core.

“Had enough waiting on the addict to clean up his act?” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he feels instant regret.  He’s always been a hothead who runs his mouth before thinking, but he can tell these words sting deep.  They pain him too.

She flinches and releases a haggard breath.

“That’s not fair.  You left.  You stopped calling.  You stopped picking up.  You couldn’t even text.  And then your number went out.  Now you’ve called me from a payphone.  It’s been three years.” Her eyes remain firmly on the road, hands clenching the wheel, but he can see her body tremble and hear the strain in her voice. She’s angry.  Furious.

He slumps, “I’m sorry.” His whisper is meek as he understands a mere apology is not nearly enough to make amends for the past.  It doesn’t explain why he had to disappear, why he went away for so long.  It can’t make her understand his reasons.

She nods almost imperceptibly and seems to consider a game plan.  “I’ll take you to Sesshomaru’s.”

“No.” He’s vehement. There’s no chance in hell he will turn to his half-brother.  Especially now.

“Sango and Miroku’s then.”

“And?” He balks at the conjunction.

“They’re married now. Have been for a year.  You would’ve been his Best Man, but …”

She trails off, but he understands.  They couldn’t find him, reach him.  The hole he left in their lives appears to be much greater than he imagined.  

They drive in silence for nearly an hour.  He wants to speak, wants to tell her everything, but he can’t find the words; and based on the furtive glances she keeps sending him, she can’t either.

“I was so scared you were dead.” She finally whimpers.

“Some days I wished I was.” He admits forlornly.

She looks at him for a few moments before staring back at the road, brows furrowed, mouth turned down.

“I’m glad you’re not.”

Those are the last words spoken before silence consumes them again.

After they hit the city limits, she drives to a house in the suburbs.  It looks like a dream with its double-attached garage and neatly manicured lawn.  A chokecherry tree sits among a bed of flowers in the middle of the green; simple yet attractive and he knows whose home he stands in front of.  She leads him from the driveway to the royal blue front door and it opens almost immediately, revealing two faces he has longed to see almost as much as Kagome’s. Their expressions are a combination of disbelief and relief.  Miroku does not hesitate to embrace him with a sigh as Sango looks on with tears in her eyes.  He reaches a tentative hand out to her which she grasps tightly with a closed smile.

They usher him into the house and guide him to their kitchen.  Miroku settles him into a spot at the breakfast bar as Sango pours him a glass of water.  They do not speak, though the questions in their eyes are obvious.  Miroku nods at him as he and Sango walk back to the door, to Kagome.  She hasn’t come in.  Her face has been drawn since they stopped speaking during the drive.  

He waits inside the kitchen as they speak outside.  He could train his ears to listen to their conversation, and briefly considers it, but he chooses not to.  His absence has prohibited him from those intimacies.  They are different people now, just as he is.  They are probably discussing how to get him on his feet again as quickly as possible so they can get back to their lives.  Why would they want him to stay? Why would they want him around for longer than necessary?

Miroku and Sango return to him.  He hears the telltale roar of an engine and knows Kagome has gone.  He feels sadness, but knows why she’s left without a word. After all, who can jump right into caring for your former partner who has all but risen from the grave?

Sango looks him over, assessing him thoroughly.  He avoids her eyes, unsure of what emotions she’s wearing and afraid to meet them.  Shame fills his bones.  Maybe he should have stayed away.  Maybe he should have stayed dead in their minds.  He is a spot on their pristine lives.

Miroku refills his glass of water and replaces it on the counter before sitting on the stool beside him.

“You’re alive,” he finally breathes.

Inuyasha meets Miroku’s gaze and is warmed to see compassion and joy in his deep blue eyes.  The shame that was eating him just moments ago fades ever so slightly.

“You’re home.” Miroku states, “It’s a miracle.  Where have you been? What have you been doing?”

The dam is officially broken and all the questions that he knew were coming are finally bare, and despite everything, he feels entirely unprepared to answer.  So he starts slow, begins with the day they last saw him.  He tells them of his travels, the hitchhiking, the homelessness, but skimps out on the details of things he has done, the sins he has committed.  Those are secrets he will take to the grave.  He is unwilling to mar the consciences of those he loves.

“Have you…” Sango shakes her head, unable to finish her question, but he fully comprehends what she means to ask.

“No.  I’ve been clean since the day I left.”

“Then why?”

“Loose ends.” He murmurs. “I had to settle my debts.  They … they would’ve come for her if I didn’t comply.”

“For so long?”

Three years is nothing, he wants to tell them.  He’s lucky he only had to serve that long.  Naraku is a malevolent bastard and exploits the last breath out of most.  Frankly, his death would have been an easier price to pay.

“I had to earn my freedom.” He admits this ashamedly and hopes they don’t press for more.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It wasn’t so simple.”

“So you disappeared.” Sango states brusquely, her tone is harsh and unforgiving.  “You broke her heart, you know.  You broke all of our hearts when you left.”

That admission freezes him from the inside.  He knew his absence would be difficult for them all, but hearing it spoken aloud affects him more than he thought it would.  He imagines Kagome sobbing into her pillow.  It’s a scene that is all too familiar, he’s caused her many tears – too many.

“I know.  I’m sorry.” He repeats his submissive apology from earlier and slumps, his forehead almost touching the counter.

“You’re here now,” Miroku responds comfortingly and places a hand on his shoulder, “You’re here.  You’re alive.  You’re safe.  That’s what matters.  We can help you now, if you want it.”

He lifts his head and looks directly at Sango whose cinnamon eyes convey grief and yet hold a glimmer of hope.  He turns to Miroku who is awaiting his response.

“Yes.” He declares, confidence daring to materialize, “Please.”

Later that evening he is settling into the spare bedroom they’ve given him.  Before him is a suitcase of his belongings that Kagome has dropped off on the front step.  He takes a breath and opens it.  He is quickly overcome with her sweet scent which is deeply embedded in each item. The clothes are slightly too big for him now.  Three years of constantly moving, being on the run, and meager meals have diminished his former stature.

Amongst his clothes is a red leather-bound book.  A journal. It smells more intimately of Kagome than everything else.  She has wept openly on these pages, he can tell.  He opens it and thumbs quickly through the pages.  Each entry is a letter addressed to him.  As he flips through the journal certain phrases jump out at him amidst the lines of her loopy hand.

I want to hate you.

Where are you?

I wish I had never met you.

Are you alive?

I wish I could hold you.

Please come home.

I love you.

He shudders as he realizes that these pages hold missives from the last three years.  These are Kagome’s thoughts, her feelings.  This is an intimacy he thought was nearly impossible now.  She has to have put this with his things on purpose.  She’s thorough like that.  Every action is purposeful, thoughtful.  He finds the last entry in the journal, it’s dated today.

Inuyasha,

This is a collection of letters that I began writing when I realized you weren’t coming home anytime soon.  Eventually I thought you weren’t coming home at all.  I used these to talk to you as if you were still by my side.  I don’t know what you’ve been through and maybe giving you this journal is selfish of me, but I needed you to see.

I hope they help you understand why I can’t be the one to help you right now.  I need time. It’s ironic saying that after you’ve been gone for three years.  It feels like there’s been nothing but time between us.  I thought you were dead when I received your call today.  I thought I was hearing a ghost.  I’m so grateful you’re alive, but things are different now.  We are not the same people we were before.

I need to figure this out.

Please understand.

Kagome

It isn’t until tears splatter on the page that he realizes he is crying.  Of course she needs time.  He knew this was a possibility when he made the phone call this afternoon. He’d hoped against hope that she would come for him and take him back fully.  But that was wishful thinking.  He knew there was a chance she would turn him away.  She could have hung up as soon as she heard his voice.  But she came for him, made arrangements for him.  But she is engaged to another man.  She needs to figure out if there is still room in her life for him.

For her, he’d wait a lifetime.  Even to just be her friend.

It is another three months before he sees Kagome again.  He’s read that journal more times than he cares to admit.  All her sleepless nights are immortalized in those grid-lined pages, that he’s now dog-eared and bookmarked.  Her worries, fears, even her dreams laid bare.  He knows how often she cried when he was in the depths of his addictions, but it has taken this journal to make him truly appreciate how deeply he hurt her, even after he was gone.  And to his astonishment, it wasn’t the behaviour that hurt her the most, it was his poor viewpoint of himself.

I wish you could see you how I do.

I should have told you more what you meant to me.

I regret every moment I didn’t say “I love you.”

He knows Sango sees her regularly, he can always scent her when Sango arrives home.  It’s not as if they’re keeping their meetings a secret, but he’s respecting her space even though it kills him.  It bothers him when he can smell the sadness of her tears and the tinge of fatigue.  He wonders what causes her tears these days, why she’s so often tired, why sometimes there’s a trace of illness in her scent that lingers on Sango.  From Miroku he learns that she’s busy with her residency at the hospital.  Ever the studious achiever.  Ever wanting to help others.  To heal.

This is the reason he knows she’d never give up on him.  It’s why she was the one he called.  She’s a walking bleeding heart, always has been.  She sees the best in people, even when their best is a mere speck amidst obscurity.  When he was at his worst, she stood by him.  When everyone else had lost hope and he’d been slipping deeper into his addictions, his darkness, she stayed.  She brought him back from the brink of death’s door one too many times.  Back then, she truly loved him.  And he’s holding onto hope with every fiber of his being that she still does.

He hopes she’s proud of him and the progress he’s making.  Since he’s been back, he’s found work thanks to Miroku’s contacts in construction.  He’s proven himself to be a hard worker and has met a journeyman to mentor him as an apprentice in iron work.  It’s also helped boost his confidence with reintegrating into society.  At work, no one cares what his past is, what skeletons he hides in the closet, as long as he gets the job done.  At work, they’re all sinners just trying to get by.

He stays away from the parties and the after-work bar stops.  He recognizes the patterns in some of his colleagues all too well.  One drink leads to two leads to three leads to smack or blow or both which leads to miserable mornings because you’ve spent all night chasing that first-time spark.  No matter how hard you try, you can never attain that feeling again and still you chase. It’s the vicious cycle.  He’s done with that life.  It’s taken too much away from him, cost him too much.

Miroku and Sango have let him know that Kagome will be coming for dinner, so he’s had ample time to prepare.  But when she arrives in the doorway and her scent hits him like a freight train, he panics. Has she had enough time? Has she made a decision? Will she want him to stay away?  He runs to his room and leans back against the closed door.  He’s stared down the barrels of guns with less fear than what he’s experiencing in this moment.  

He smells her before he hears her footsteps arriving at his door.  Trepidation grips him as he hears her voice call to him for the first time in three months.  This is so much harder than that very first phone call that has brought him home.

“Inuyasha?”

She’s there, he can tell her face is pressed to the wood.  Her voice is soft, hesitant.  Perhaps she is just as nervous as him.

“Can I come in?”

He quakes as he reaches for the handle and turns it painfully slow.  He inches the panel open.  Finally, finally, he opens it all the way and turns to face her.

Her face is a portrait of concern and tenderness.  Her grey eyes are intense as they’ve always been and are already filling with tears. Her arms are wrapped around herself as if she’s blocking a gale.

He steps aside to let her in and shuts the door behind her.

She stares at the floor and he focuses on a spot on the wall above her head for a few moments.  He is completely stunned when she launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and clutching as hard as she can. As he wraps his arms around her shoulders, she sobs fiercely and he feels tears prick the back of his own eyes.

He cups the back of her head, gently stroking her hair, and whispers repeatedly, “I’m sorry.”

It feels as if hours have passed when Kagome’s tears finally subside.  His body protests when she begins to pull away, but she clasps his hand and pulls him to sit on his bed.  She pulls a tissue out of her jeans pocket and wipes her face.

“Sango tells me you’ve been working,” her voice is pinched from crying, but he admires her attempts at normal conversation.

“Yeah, it’s going well.”

“Good,”

She smiles then and he thinks it’s the best thing he’s seen in years.  Her eyes are red and swollen, and her cheeks are ruddy, but her smile can still light up a room and he’s glad that it’s his.

“I … really am glad that you’re home.”

“Me too,”

“I’ve missed you a lot,

“Me too,” He feels like a goddamn broken record, but he may combust if he attempts more words.

“And … I’d like it if we could start hanging out again.”

He gapes at her, slack-jawed and eyes wide.  While he has been hoping for this, it is still a surprise to hear it straight from her lips.  His mind races with all the things he wants to say and his heart is lodged in his throat.

“That is … if you’d want to,”

He realizes that he’s taken too long to respond and she’s beginning to backtrack.  In a lot of ways, they are still the same people they were; confident in so many circumstances and yet, with each other, eternally hesitant and nervous.

“Of course I want to,”

The words rush out of his mouth in an effort to reassure her.  

“I would love to spend time with you.  I just wasn’t sure … if you’d …” he’s stumbling and feels like a fool, but he needs her to know.  He needs her to understand just how much he wants to be back in her life.

She smiles again and his world warms once more.

“I guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer.”

It takes him a moment to remember that their friends are downstairs with dinner and they stand together. He realizes as they descend the stairs that she has not let go of his hand at all.  Her diamond ring is notably absent from her finger, but he leaves that question for another time.

Dinner is a simple affair and it’s the lightest he’s felt in years.

- - - - -

If there’s anything his life has taught him, it’s that happiness is temporary.  Six months of being home, six months of stability, and three months of having Kagome back in his life on a regular basis have made him happy.  It’s a feeling he didn’t think was possible, didn’t think he was worthy of.  After all, when life has ceaselessly handed him cruel lessons, why would happiness even be an option? So when it all comes crashing down as he’s out running errands with Miroku, it doesn’t surprise him, but it still hurts like a motherfucker.

“It’s you.”

The words are scathing and resentful.  He dreadfully lifts his gaze to meet the eyes of the person who seems to offended by his mere existence.  She’s a petite woman with short black hair, but the animosity in her eyes belies her diminutive stature.

“How dare you?” Her tone is soft but punitive.  “How dare you insert your filthy little hands back into Kagome’s life.  She was finally moving on.  She was happy.  She was going to marry Akitoki, he would have taken care of her.  He was good for her.  But you couldn’t stay away.  She broke off her engagement because of you.  You’re taking advantage of her heart.  She’s let go of her chance at happiness, and for what? To take care of you? A worthless little nobody who can’t wait for his next fix?”

The woman is viciously relentless.  Her diatribe is unforgiving, slicing him to the very bone.

He is completely frozen. He wants to yell back at her, tell her that he’s quite aware of how he is undeserving of Kagome’s compassion and forgiveness.  He knows that he’s been the cause of her pain and tears.  He knows he’s gotten more second chances than he deserves.  He knows her life was easier without him.  He knows Kagome is better than him.  He knows.  Oh, he knows.

He vaguely registers that Miroku has taken a step between them and is reprimanding the woman.  Eri, he remembers.  She’d been a friend of Kagome’s through school and had been more than vocal of her disapproval of him even then.

Eri quickly turns her malice toward Miroku.

“You’re no friend of Kagome, letting this fuck-up back into her life.”

“That’s enough.  I won’t allow you to continue vilifying Inuyasha.  And Kagome is fully capable of deciding for herself who she associates with.”

Miroku’s tone is level, but Inuyasha can tell he is running out of patience.  Miroku grips his elbow and guides him away from the venomous witch, but not before she can get a final word in.

“You should have stayed dead.”

He flinches then, her phrase echoing endlessly through his mind, settling into his gut and clawing at him from the inside.

Somehow Miroku gets them home, everything is a blur with that bitch’s voice reverberating in his skull. He hears Miroku’s voice, but he cannot focus on the words.  All he understands is hatred and disgust.  Everything he has worked for is worthless.  Is this the way it’s always going to be?

She finds him on the back porch, sitting on the stairs, staring blankly toward the sunset.  She sits beside him on the step and sighs. Her voice is weary.

“Miroku told me everything. I’m sorry that happened.”

“She wasn’t wrong.”

“What?” Her shock is more than evident.  She clutches his forearm with both hands and he can sense her tears beginning to form, “How can you say that?”

He doesn’t dare look at her, he knows it’ll ruin his resolve.  As low as he feels, he feels a ripple of anger brewing in his gut.  Eri’s words have been festering in his brain, allowing an old and familiar voice to break through.  He’s a half-breed, accepted but unlovable.  He’s stupid and useless, completely unworthy of happiness. He’s committed too many wrongs to ever deserve redemption.  It’s been a long time, but the feeling inside is one he’ll never forget.  He’s craving a high to numb this pain, this goddamn fucking anger.

“If you want that perfect life, you should take it.  I don’t want your fucking pity party.  I know you look down on me.  Poor Inuyasha and his asshole attitude.  The only time he’s bearable is when he’s high as a damn kite and that’s only because he doesn’t know up from fucking down.  Of course, the downside is that he might stop breathing.” He scoffs harshly, “Or, is that the upside?”

He knows his voice is bitter and that he’s gotten louder.  It’s echoing the one Eri used earlier.  He’s shaking from the anger, or is it something else?  This scene feels all too familiar, almost like déjà vu; but somehow, it’s different now.

“Inuyasha.  Stop.”

She’s pleading with him, her grip on his arm has gotten tighter.  He knows she’s weeping openly; he can scent her tears and hear the stutter in her breath.  It’s all too familiar.  After all, this is what he’s good at: making her cry.

“Doesn’t fucking matter I’ve been clean three years.  That’s all anyone will see, a fucking deadbeat addict.  You’d be better off with that doctor.  He can take care of you, pamper you.  He’ll be enough.  He’ll deserve you.  That’s not me.  That’ll never be me.  All I’ll ever be is a fuck-up.”

“Don’t.”

She whimpers and lets her grip loosen.  He’s sure she’s going to walk away, get back in her car and leave.  He keeps his stare steady on the sun that has almost completely slipped beyond the horizon.  There’s a war waging inside of him – his angels and demons come out to play.  Not for the first time, he bitterly wonders if this continued sobriety is worth it. ��She’s going to leave, just as she should.

When her hand comes up and gently cups his cheek, he is completely undone.  She tenderly moves his face, but he keeps his gaze downcast.  Her hand is soft and warm to the touch as her thumb swipes away his tears.  Of course she’s staying.  Her bleeding heart won’t let her leave.  He cries for her, her lost opportunities, her damn sympathetic selflessness.  But she surprises him again in what she utters; and in her words, he finds hope.

“You have always been enough for me.  I have always seen you.  The you who loves me and would do anything to protect me.  The you who acts tough because you’re scared of rejection.  The you who wishes you could change the past. The you who is more determined and smarter than you realize.  The you who has worked hard to conquer those shitty demons inside.  That’s who I see.”

She sighs and he feels her whole body tremble.

“Every time you used, I was terrified.  I was so scared that you wouldn’t wake up one day, that you’d stop breathing, that your heart would fail.  That I would lose you.  It made me angry, it’s why I pushed you so hard.  I wanted you to get sober for me.”

He meets her eyes then, their pretty grey glimmers in what’s left of the sunlight through the sheen of her tears.  In them he finds no pity, only benevolence.  Everything she has said, he has heard her say before.  He’s read it before.  But this is why it isn’t a complete déjà vu, it’s different.  It’s different because they are different.  They have grown and she confirms it with her next statement.

“It was selfish.  I wanted you to get sober, but you needed to do it for yourself.”

He reaches up to grasp her wrist, lightly squeezing in lieu of all the words he wants to say.

She lets the corners of her mouth turn upwards ever so slightly.

“And you did.  You succeeded.  I don’t know what you’ve been through these last few years, and maybe I’ll never know, but what I do know is that you came home.  You did what you had to and came back to me, and I am prouder of you than you can ever imagine.”

She presses her lips to his forehead and gathers him in her arms.  He allows himself to take comfort in her embrace because comfort is not happiness and is not so easily taken away.

He goes back to her apartment with her that night.  Their apartment.  It looks the same as the day he left.  He is simultaneously comforted and haunted by the familiarity.  This place that they made home together.  Where they laughed and fought.  Where he wasted his nights and she cared for him.  This is where he had joy and lost it.  This is where he left her.

She putters around the kitchen, putting the kettle on for tea.  As she pulls two mugs from the cabinet, he realizes that they’re the matching set they painted for each other on a date some lifetime ago.  She sees the recognition in his stare and begins to speak.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed I kept everything the same.” She smiles timidly and her eyes are filled with earnest, “Everyone thought it was unhealthy, but it kept me sane.  They tried to convince me to move out of here, and I was adamant that I wouldn’t – couldn’t.  Because if you came home and found I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself.”

She busies herself again, pulling out a tin of teabags and a sleeve of arrowroot cookies.

“And then as time went on and I started fearing the worst, I needed to hang onto my memories of you, of us.  So, everything stayed the same.  Even though I was moving forward with school and … eventually, Akitoki,” She glances downward, sheepish.  “Home was my constant.  It was me. It was you.  It was us.  It is us.”

He steps toward her. He has so many questions and a spark of hope is igniting in his veins.

“Why?”

The word hangs between them and he tries in vain to push that hope down, down, down.  It is such a simple word, and yet holds so much impact.

She lifts her eyes to meet his, grey colliding with amber, understanding pouring through.

“We met when I started my residency. He was a third-year.  At first, I didn’t pay him any mind, but he kept persisting.  Eventually I figured meeting for coffee wouldn’t hurt.” She pauses, reaching for his hand.  “You have to understand that you’d been gone for almost two years.  I was lonely.  And … and he was safe.”

She scoffs, grips his hand tighter, and leans fully on the counter.  

“He was a proper gentleman. Waited a month before he kissed me the first time, even asked permission before he did.  It was another month after that before we officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.  It was a bit of a surprise when he proposed on our anniversary.  Obviously, I said yes – you saw the ring.  Except, it felt wrong.  It was all wrong.  We hadn’t even talked about the future or even moving in together, hadn’t done more than kiss.  But I guess that’s part of propriety.  And yet, I said yes because it was safe, that stupid word.”

His mind is racing.  Safe is not a word he has ever been associated with. What does it even mean? He searches her face for a clue, and anxiously waits for her to continue.  This is a conversation they have not deigned to have yet in the three months since they’ve been friends again.  The kettle is boiling rapidly now, but he knows that it’ll automatically shut off.

“Then five months later, you called me and this feeling I hadn’t felt in so long came rushing back. You were alive.  It was like the clouds were finally parting after a heavy rain.  I didn’t know what to expect when I came to pick you up, and this tiny part of me told me not to go, but it was right.  I felt right again, but I was scared.  So I stayed away.  Then I heard from Sango and Miroku that you were working and doing well and I was missing out on that.  I broke off the engagement.  As much as he was sweet and safe … he wasn’t you.”

Tears are welling in her eyes and he feels his are getting misty as well.  He steps and pulls all in one motion, wrapping his arms around her tightly. His heart is pounding out of his chest and that spark of hope is now a flame.  

She draws in a haggard breath and mumbles against his chest.

He tilts his head down to look at her, silently pleading for her to repeat what she’s just said.  His ears picked up her message, but he needs to know for sure.

She tips her chin upwards and shyly brushes her lips against his and repeats herself a little more loudly, “I love you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Her eyes darken and she presses a kiss to his jaw.

“Because you’re you. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been away.”

He whimpers, “Kagome,”

She kisses him fully then, grasping his face to ensure he can’t pull away, not that he wants to.  His heart is exploding.  She has always been able to read him, know what he’s thinking. And she has always known what he needs most.  This kiss is full of promises, assurances.  This is real.

“You are important. You are loved.  You are worthy of it all.”

She guides him to her bedroom.  Their bedroom.  He sits on the edge of the bed in disbelief that he is back in this room.  He can hardly believe that this woman is standing before him with love in her eyes.  This amazing, beautiful, strong, resilient woman who is holding the door to happiness wide open.  He only has to cross the threshold.  He falters. Happiness is dangerous.  Happiness is temporary.  But she is here and he trusts her implicitly.  With her, happiness is feasible.

With one look into her deep stormy eyes, he makes a choice.

“Kagome.”

Her name.  The only word he seems capable of uttering.  In her name he promises to try.  Promises to treat her well, make up for the pain he has caused her.  Promises to try and see himself through her eyes.  Promises to be kinder to himself.  Promises to help build their life together back up.  He knows with her, they will succeed.

She caresses his face and drops her lips to meet his once again, resting her knees on either side of him. He clutches her waist and revels in the familiarity of her body pressed against his.  Their motions are slow, meticulous, not dictated by hormones and lust.  And they fall into a routine, a dance that hasn’t been done in years and yet they fall back into with practiced ease.

With every kiss she presses hotly into his skin, she whispers continuous affirmation.  

You are enough.

You are worthy.

You are mine.

I love you.

He finds words still impossible to formulate and voice, so he allows his actions to speak for him. Each caress, each kiss, each touch is full of reverence and adoration.  When he finally sinks into her and they become one, he truly feels like he is home.  And all of his feelings of unworthiness and self-loathing begin to ebb, for it is the love of this woman and her unwavering belief in him that he can begin to heal.

As they settle into each other, heavy with the lure of sleep, he whispers in her ear, “I love you.”

She nestles into him closer and kisses his wrist.

For the first time, in a very long time, he feels worthy.  

FINAL NOTES:

I wanted to mention some things as a bit of a debrief to this story, if you will. This is a story that is very personal for me and is quite heavy. Hopefully the ending was enough of a pleasant one to offset the weight a bit.

The way I designed this story, Inuyasha and Kagome are separated during the toughest part of his recovery. The decision to stay with or leave a partner with addiction is a difficult one and can be different for everyone, especially because addiction is so highly stigmatized. A lot of the time the person struggling already carries guilt. Addiction so very often stems from trauma, depression, and/or other forms of mental illness and these need to be addressed first.

Regardless of whether you stay or go, it is important to set boundaries for yourself. Addiction is often labeled as a third-party to relationships because it attempts to wear down the people involved and whittle them down to their weakest and worst. If you are supporting someone through addiction and an active part of their recovery, it is vital to remember self-care and recognize when you need to say no and that it is okay to do so. It is NOT your responsibility to "cure" them.

If you are somebody who cares for someone struggling with addiction, I am happy to share resources that I have found helpful if you would like to reach out.

On another note, I do have ideas about where and what Inuyasha was up to during his three-year absence. It would probably contain heavier content than this piece, but also be a bit more fantastical. If the inspiration hits or if there’s interest, I’ll probably try and write it. Anyway, comments and likes are love. Thank you so much for reading my return to fan fiction!

[sagemcmae]

20 Questions - Writer’s Edition

Thank you for tagging me @chierafied​ 💕💕💕

How many works do you have on AO3? 79

What’s your total AO3 word count? 1,820,522

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Technically, 2 (Star Wars and Inuyasha), though it looks like (5) because of the cross-overs

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Reylo) He angled his head away just enough for her attempt to miss before he brought both her arms down in front of her, so he could wrap his hand around both of her wrists. With his free hand, he cupped her face, forcing her to look at him.  “It’s done.” He had a warning tone in his voice. “Yield.” MMA fighter, Kylo Ren is suspended from the league and sentenced to community service at his uncle’s martial arts academy. There he meets Rey Niima, a recent graduate with a natural ability and incredible potential. Two Truths & a Lie (Reylo) “My favorite color is black.” “I prefer pizza over cake.” “I think I'm falling in love with you.” Or in others words, Kylo Ren, Editor-in-Chief, should not drink alone with his beguiling staff writer, Rey Andor after hours. Silver & Gold (SessKag) Kagome finds a wounded stray in the park and takes him in. Seemingly indifferent to her, the dog serves as a quiet companion who eases her loneliness. He becomes a constant in her routine until one night changes everything. Kagome wakes up to an arm draped around her waist — a pale arm with purple markings. Lessons in Parenting (SessKag) Sesshomaru finds Rin not as a child but as an infant. Unsure how to care for a baby, he seeks help from the only trustworthy human he knows: his brother's miko. *2nd Place Winner - 'Best Characterization' for Feudal Connection's 2021 3rd Quarterly Inuyasha Fandom Awards!* If Found, Please Return (Reylo) Rey knows what it's like to be abandoned, so when she returns a lost dog to his posh Manhattan address, she gives his owner an earful. The only problem is, the dog's owner isn't the arrogant redhead she screamed at. It's Ben Solo, the world-renowned actor. And he's just offered her a job.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Yes (or at least I try to). If someone takes the time to read my story and leave me a note, I want to thank them. Each time I see a new note in my Inbox, I’m like 😍😍😍 And I understand how busy RL can be so I appreciate anyone who takes the time to let me know their thoughts.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? If you’ve read my work, you know I’m not big on sad endings. I prefer happy ones, mostly because life is draining enough as it is. But in terms of fic endings, if I had to pick one, I’d say: Before the Dawn.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? This is a tough one. I guess it depends on how you define ‘happiest’. If you categorize it by the fluffiest (it’s all about the feel-good vibes 🥰 ), then I’d have to go with Melt or First Words for the SessKag fandom and Sight Unseen for the Reylo fandom.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written? Yes. I’m not sure if it’s the craziest one, but the one I’m most proud of is Happenstance which is my Inuyasha/Harry Potter crossover, featuring SessKag. I put a lot of research into it to meld the worlds together without compromising what makes each fandom so special to me. It’s definitely the fic that I’m most proud of writing.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yep, a lot of people think Reylo is a toxic relationship. And there are those who have strong feelings about SessKag too. Some have commented to me about the fact that Yashahime is canon and SessKag is dead....which makes me laugh but whatever helps you sleep at night.

Do you write smut? If so what kind? I have but lately it’s been a struggle. I focus more on intimacy (in whatever form that takes depending on the pace of the story).

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I’m aware of...

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, a few have been translated into Spanish and Russian.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Waaaaaaay back in the FFnet days, a friend and I co-wrote a fic together but between our RL schedules we never finished. I actually don’t even know if it’s still posted since it was under her account.

What’s your all time favorite ship? That’s another tough one. TRoS really burned me and my love of Star Wars has suffered for it.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Of Scales & Sky. I was so excited about this fic but my motivation has died from all the discourse in the fandom and the on-going saga of bad decisions Disney makes in regards to the SW franchise.

What are your writing strengths? Characterization is very important to me. Even if I’m putting the characters is a very non-canon premise, I want them to remain as in-character as possible.

What are your writing weaknesses? Finding the time to write. 🥲 This year has been particularly chaotic for me for several reasons.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I did write some Japanese when I re-entered the SessKag fandom with Silver & Gold. I had one very adamant reviewer who kept DM-ing me that I sounded stupid and should stop. It was very discouraging. After asking around in the fandom, other writers suggested doing what I wanted but if I’m writing in English, the primary language should remain English.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Labyrinth. When I was 13, my friend and I used to go to her house after school, sit on separate couches across from each other on our separate laptops, and write fanfiction. (*smiles* those were great times!) I often wrote in my notebooks (instead of taking notes in class) and was constantly posting on FFnet. But I also never finished anything because I was constantly distracted by other things.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? That’s like asking which child is my most favorite. 😂🤣😂 Happenstance is the fic that I’m most proud of. I feel like as a writer, it was the most challenging for me because of the continuity of the story line with the element of mystery. Shadow Song was written on a whim and quickly became one of my favorites and then there is Sanguis Sanguinem Meum which flowed so naturally that I wrote the entire thing in a couple of months.

Tagging: @sereia1313 @harlecorn @tmwillson3 @reysexualkylo

[savethelastdan]

Sesskagu Week Day 2: Green (Apart)

Idea came from @dearestpartnerofgreatness​

"I was wonderin' when you'd get here." Sliding both hands behind his head, Inuyasha looked his half-brother up and down with more than a little smugness. "Took a week to finally admit to yourself that you were wrong, stupid?"

"I was not wrong," Sesshomaru growled, despite the tinge of relief that the hanyou's statement proved that he'd successfully hunted Kagura down. That he'd spotted his brother sleeping on a curved branch of a tree outside heart of the village was both a detriment (in that he had to listen to him talk) and a blessing (he had no interest in walking around the village looking like a fool while she danced around avoiding him). "She overreacted."

A single dog ear twitched in amusement. "Great apology. Should go over well."

"I would think," Sesshomaru retorted, voice lowering as a group of villagers reached the top of the hill and promptly about-faced upon seeing him, "you would welcome the opportunity to remove her from your home, so that you may have peace once again."

Inuyasha's mouth opened comically wide before snapping shut. "Humph. Fine."

Stretching until several bones in his back cracked, he leapt down from the tree and bounded off. Sesshomaru turned his back to the tree, trying to appear unflappable as possible.

He hadn't been wrong, no matter how much the wind sorceress fussed. If anything, she had taken advantage of his generosity. Had he not lost months of sleep, seeking a way to stuff her soul back in an unmastered body, with an unmastered heart at her disposal? Had he not then allowed her to join his party on their travels despite the constant arguing between herself and Jaken and how his mood suffered because of it?

She had repaid him by deciding, for no reason at all, to start collecting. Nothing of importance; naturally, the bits and bobbles that drew Kagura's interest were as useless as they were commonplace. Withering leaves, sharp stones in muddied colors, feathers and scales and scraps of cloth or petrified wood, all constantly underfoot.

It was childish. It was pointless. And so, after the hundredth time something small and irksome found itself under his foot, Sesshomaru had tossed the whole pile away.

Which was how he'd been left with a blow to his chest that took a full day to heal, while Kagura ran off to invade Inuyasha's stupid little house in the stupid little village. The fact she'd rather be surrounded by humans than be around him was taken with the full force of insult she'd meant it to be. By now she'd probably convinced Kohaku and Rin to take her side…

At least he had Jaken's understanding.

He should not even be rewarding such a tantrum, by marching here to collect her. But…despite the headaches that her presence occasionally brought, her absence had endeared him to certain feelings. Those that, perhaps, could be analogized to how Kagura herself might have felt, back in the days where her much-wanted heart had been miles away.

Not that he could ever bring himself to say something like that out loud. Even to her, who had managed to wring quite a few utterances out of him that even Rin would have had trouble believing had come from Sesshomaru's own tongue.

There had to be a line somewhere.

(Perhaps time would wear it down, eventually, but unless she came home, the situation was moot.)

Annoyance stung the space behind his teeth as Inuyasha returned, no wind witch in tow. From the grumpy expression on the hanyou's face, he wasn't too thrilled about it either.

"She says she ain't interested in talkin' to ya." Folding both arms over his chest, Inuyasha glared in Sesshomaru's direction. "But you're right, she's overstayed her welcome. So start thinkin' how you're going to convince her to leave."

Sesshomaru bristled; demonic energy flooded his veins. "I do not take orders from- "

"Cut it out, you stopped being scary when you let Kagome start callin' ya Big Brother." The last few words were said in a high-pitched mimicry of the priestess, though it was quickly followed by the classically-ridiculous smile that Inuyasha always got when he mentioned his wife. "If it helps, I think she's just being difficult. She stopped thinkin' up creative ways to kill you a few days ago; the rest of the time, she's just been moping around. One gritted-teeth apology'll probably work."

That most certainly did not help, because as soon as they were in the same room again Sesshomaru was sure the reason for her ire would no doubt return in full force.

Inuyasha's brow dropped. "You seriously not gonna do it?"

"Would you?" Sesshomaru retorted icily, before he could stop himself.

"I," Inuyasha said, with the slow relish of someone who had been waiting for this exact question, "would've never thrown out her stuff in the first place."

Tenseiga and Bakusaiga's commentary was, while amusing, not particularly useful. Beating his brother to a pulp for being a know-it-all would do nothing but earn the ire of his sister-in-law. Which Sesshomaru did not need today.

"What's the problem with having stuff, anyway," Inuyasha continued, scratching behind one ear as though this was a casual family visit. "Other than the fan and feathers, it's not like she got to keep any shit around before. From what Kohaku said, Naraku didn't like for any of 'em to go exploring much, either. She's got the time and you've got the space, so it's a stupid thing to fight about."  

As much as he did not want to admit it (and one could imagine just how much that was), that was a fair point. As was his belief that she could have chosen a more interesting and less obnoxious form of self-expression.

"You know, she mentioned somethin' a few times when she was cursing you…" Trying to keep his tone even was difficult, but the thought of Kagura going home helped. Even though this particular statement felt kinda unfair, even against someone like Sesshomaru. "How you didn't lift a finger to save her life, and now you won't even let her enjoy it, or…?"

Sitting with his feet propped on the windowsill, Jaken hummed a happy tune. It had been over a week without the annoying witch around, and he felt in much better spirits with her gone! No more sudden bursts of wind to knock him over in the corridors, or piles of random garbage from who-knew-where cluttering up the place. And there was still at least two weeks before Rin and Kohaku came for their annual summer visit and disturbed his peace.

Granted, Lord Sesshomaru's mood had been…sour since she'd gone, to the point that he'd left the castle in a huff the day before. But that was not a problem for Jaken; if anything, it hopefully meant that soon they'd be back to the old days of 24/7-wandering, offering challenges to whatever foolish yokai crossed their path! Not that having time to rest in the castle wasn't nice, but he certainly missed the days before Lord Sesshomaru had settled down, so-to-speak, and regulated his travels to the fall and spring seasons.  

Suddenly, a powerful aura electrified the air, sending a chill zipping up through his legs. Leaning towards the window, he scanned the landscape with excitement. That must be Lord Sesshomaru! Perhaps he had returned with a task, a quest, just like the days before his Lord's heart had turned -

Oh no. Oh no.

Because yes, indeed, there was his esteemed Lord touching down in the front courtyard. But unfortunately, right at his side, with a smile he could see from here, was that annoying sorceress. As he watched, Sesshomaru brushed a hand against her arm with such uncharacteristic softness that it made the kappa feel ill.

Kagura said something (probably wicked, from the way her scarlet eyes glinted in the sunlight) and then twisted to unload something off her back. To Jaken's horror, she was carrying a knapsack. The same one she used to collect her stupid little trinkets all the time.

And it looked heavy.