Be there for me

Chapter 11



The soft pitter patter of little feet on the stone floor of the castle was the only sound in evidence during the dead of night, as Jaken patrolled the area, making sure no demons or humans trespassed on his lord's territory. He'd had a lot of time to reflect on Kagome staying there with him and Rin, and he'd come to several conclusions. His opinions were still mixed, but there were several things that came to mind.



'First of all, Lord Sesshomaru would never mate with a human, period. If he did, then that would mean his off-spring would be half demons, like that cursed Inuyasha.'



'On the other hand, if he did mate with Kagome, then that would mean that Rin would have a mother figure, and would both me and milord the odd questions that she would surely ask as she grows older.'



"oooh, so many conflicting thoughts...." muttered the toad. He stopped his pacing and settled into a sitting position, the staff resting against his shoulder.



'The human and I have hardly gotten along, fighting on several occasions.'



'But that was in the past, when Sesshomaru and Inuyasha fought all the time. Besides, she keeps Rin occupied most of the time, except for when they both come against me...'



Totally undecided, and beginning to grow confused, Jaken just came to a simple agreement. Whatever course Sesshomaru chose to go with, Jaken would accept and follow it, offering advice here and there, like a loyal retainer would.



* * *



"Hi momma, I'm home!" announced Kagome as she entered through the sliding screen door. She had just returned from the Feudal era once again, her backpack empty, and boy was she exhausted. Dumping her things down off to the side, she settled onto a dining room chair.



"Welcome home, Kagome." greeted her momma as she carried a load of laundry out from the wash room to hang out to dry. So exhausted was Kagome that she didn't see the slight bruise on her momma's arm that almost resembled the shape of a spider.



"How was your trip?" inquired grandpa, sneaking into the room, a broom in hand. Probably cleaning out the store room again if she had to guess.



"Well, It was fine, I suppose. Oh grandpa, there's a spider on your broom." said Kagome, shrinking away from the eight legged bug crawling around on the straws. The old man shook it off before squashing it on the floor. Letting out a little eck!, Kagome got up and headed towards her bedroom.



"Hi sis." said Souta, half distracted from his game of Spiderman. She just waved at him, totally sure that he didn't see her, and started up the stairs.



A meowing sound from behind her though halted her progress. Buyo was at the base of the stairs, looking up at her with an appreciative stare. Turning around, Kagome lowered herself into a kneeling position, and beckoned for the cat to come and leap up into her arms.



The cat came running up the stairs, and bounded into mid-air. But he never made it into Kagome's arms.



Before she knew what happened, Buyo was pinned against the kitchen wall, a pike pinning the now dead cat in place. Kagome looked down in confusion, to see the cat's blood coating her outstretched fingers.



It took her a moment to gain her bearings, and when she did Kagome went running. Souta was gone, his video game left unattended. She found a laundry basket out by the door, having been left there also. And grandpa was nowhere to be found either.



Kagome found a sense of unreality seeping into her brain, and backed against a wall. However, the wall soon disappeared, as did the rest of the house and the outside world, leaving her drifting in a sea of nothingness. And then she heard a cruel and sinister laugh penetrating her senses.....



* * *



Kagome awoke with a start, sitting up in the bed, with sweat pouring down her body and soaking her kimono. In the absence of her clothes, Rin had "scrounged" a replacement from Sesshomaru's personal wardrobe. Being how nice he had been to her lately, she didn't think he would take offense to the point that he would kill her for doing this.



Her gaze was drawn to the small figure laying in the bed with her, Rin breathing softly as she slept. Kagome's eyes softened with the sight of the girl sleeping peacefully, and Kagome stood up, sneaking quietly out of the room to get a drink of water.



"Halt, who goes there?" came Jaken's voice as she quietly opened the door to get out into the hallway. Kagome was almost scared straight out of her PJs, but then she remembered Sesshomaru telling them that Jaken would be their guardian while he was away.



"It's just me Jaken, Kagome."



"Oh, Kagome. I'm sorry, I didn't recognize your scent." replied the little toad as he walked up to her. She did smell different than earlier, more sweaty, and was a touch of fear he smelled as well?



Her earlier thoughts of getting a glass of water abandoned, Kagome walked over to where Jaken stood and settled down on the floor, sitting cross legged.



"So, tell me Jaken, what is it like following Sesshomaru-sama around all the time?" asked Kagome. This would be the first time that she really talked to the imp, and she was curious about him.



At first Jaken couldn't say anything, suprised that this human would want to talk to him, and naturally he was also suspicious.



"What do you mean by that?" he countered.



"Well, I mean, why do you follow him? It occurs to me that he doesn't really care about you all that much, or he at least mis-treats you fairly often." answered Kagome. She had to put her index finger to her lip as she came up with this reason, based on her previous encounters with the demon lord and his entourage.



"Gah! Silly girl. I am his retainer, and as such it is my duty to follow milord wherever he goes, to take care of him, no matter what he may think of me. Just as my father was a retainer to the great lord's father, Inutashio before him." said Jaken, his chest puffing out in pride.



"Tell me, what happened to your father?" questioned Kagome. She didn't know really where she was headed with this line of questioning, but she was curious as ever.



"He died in battle, defending his lord during the mongol invasion some two hundred years prior." said Jaken, his head lowering somewhat as he recalled the memory. Using the staff of two heads, he had set several mongol ships ablaze, before he had been struck and killed by several arrows. It wasn't too long after that Jaken realized that Sesshomaru's father had comissioned the Tensiega. He wondered if the two events were related?



"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, your not alone in losing your father before his time. Mine died in an accident several years ago. And we know that Rin's father was eaten by wolves. Actually when you think about it, it seems like a lot of our friends don't lose their fathers to natural causes." said Kagome. She smiled lightly as she leaned her head against the wall.



Jaken came down next to her and took a seat himself in a similar position, placing his staff against the wall.



"I see that you are awake." came the voice from down the hallway. Jaken jumped up in a start, grabbing onto the staff before he recognized the voice. Kagome looked over to see Sesshomaru coming seemingly out of nowhere into the hallway, walking towards them. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw her attire, before he smiled slightly.



"Those clothes suite you well, even if they are too big." observed Sesshomaru. He had the satisfaction of seeing Kagome blush slightly at his comment.



"Lord Sesshomaru, you have returned I see. No new problems?" inquired Jaken as he ran to his lord's feet and bowed slightly. Sesshomaru looked down at his loyal retainer and smiled to him as well, before answering.



"None. And Jaken, you may have the night off." he replied. Jaken looked up at him in suprise, before bowing once again and retiring to his personal studies.



That left Kagome sitting against the wall and Sesshomaru standing there in the hallway.



"Uhh, sorry about the clothes. I didn't bring my pack with me, so I didn't have anything else to change into, and Rin's clothes..." Kagome started flubbering about looking to excuse what she was wearing.



"It's fine. No need to worry. I also heard what you and Jaken were discussing." added Sesshomaru as his eyes took on a softer yet somehow colder glint. Kagome felt a slight shiver run up her spine at his words.



"Oh, sorry about that. I was just curious about Jaken's history. I didn't know that much about him." she said. Sesshomaru looked in the direction that the imp had gone before he replied.



"No, nor did I. Come, let's get you back to bed. Tomorrow, we will leave to go hunting for Naraku." said Sesshomaru, the expression of buisness written all over his face. Kagome's expression turned serious again.



"You bet." she said, then raised a hand as she stifled a yawn. She started to stand, but was suprised when she suddenly found herself cradled in Sesshomaru's arms. She looked up into his face, somewhat suprised, but he seemed to be ignoring her. She was slightly embarrassed, but then settled in comfortably to his arms and fell asleep.



Looking down at her sleeping form, Sesshomaru smiled as he laid her into bed. Then, setting his swords and armour aside, he sat down next to their bed and he too, fell asleep.