As Death Gives Life

Chapter 12 – Post Battle Pondering

A/N: This chapter was going to have the lemon, but it was too big, so I split the chapters. So all you hentai’s out there need not fret. The lemon is in the next chapter.
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The dragonic beast grunted as its master came to a stop. Ahead was a huge wooden fence surrounding a dark palace. Ah-Un followed Sesshomaru through the huge hole in the wall. Rin was perched on his back and Jaken scurried along beside of the lumbering beast.

Sesshomaru stepped over the scattered debris of the fence. He could smell the Tetsusaiga all over it. Inuyasha had done this, but what had him staring in confusion was the state of the palace itself. There appeared to be no damage at all. He could not even smell the Windscar or the Bakuryuuha (backlash wave).

He continued on toward the main house, looking for signs of the battle that took place here. There had to have been a battle, for he could smell Naraku’s death clearly here. The situation had the demon lord completely perplexed at the moment, because he failed to see any damage at all the grounds. If there had been a battle, there should be an exuberant amount of structural damage. Especially if Inuyasha had anything to do with it.

There would also be blood, and the only blood he could scent was old, too old to have been from the battle that took place here.

He soon determined that Inuyasha was no longer here. His brother’s entourage had taken their leave several hours ago. No matter. He had no wish to speak to the ingrate at the moment. He would figure this out easily enough without him.

The taiyoukai dropped Ah-Un’s reigns, and immediately Jaken began squawking out his endless barrage of questions. ‘Was this Naraku’s Castle, Sesshomaru-sama?’ ‘Was Inuyasha here, my Lord?’ ‘Where have they gone, master?’ Sesshomaru never looked at his toadlike retainer, he simply said, “Quiet Jaken.”

The smooth baritone voice held no anger, but Jaken immediately ceased his chatter. His Lord would not tolerate insubordination. Jaken watched as Sesshomaru-sama walked up to the castle steps. He scurried up beside him, in order to see what it was that his lord found so interesting.

Sesshomaru was most certainly intrigued. There in front of him were numerous piles of dust, reeking of Naraku and several of his minions. ‘What new weapon does Inuyasha carry that holds the power to accomplish this?’ Sesshomaru pondered. There appeared to be no struggle involved at all. What was left of the dusty residue was surrounded by the very clothing that each had worn. Very strange indeed.

It would be interesting to discover this new arsenal that his baka half-brother held at his disposal. A brazen half-wit like him should not be trusted with such power. It could lead to no good.

Sesshomaru stood back to his full height, and tilted his head to the South and then to the West. Should he follow Inuyasha, or head back to the House of the Moon?

“Jaken,” Sesshomaru called.

“Y-Yes, my Lord?” Jaken replied.

“Gather Rin. We are leaving,” The taiyoukai ordered curtly.

Ah-Un fell in behind Sesshomaru as the stepped back through the hole in the huge wall, and Jaken kept up his pace beside the dragon. He was so curious about the deserted palace that he could hardly contain his curiosity.

Suddenly from beside of Jaken, Rin spoke up. “Lord Sesshomaru, what happened back at that old palace?”

“Inuyasha has slain Naraku and his minions,” replied Sesshomaru patiently.

Jaken was heartbroken that his master revealed this to Rin when she asked. Sesshomaru-sama had told him to be quiet. It was simply unfair. He was his lords trusted vassal of many decades, yet this human girl was treated much better than he ever had been. Silly human child.

He put aside his sulking thoughts after hearing the answer to the girls’ question. “Naraku is dead?! What strength Inuyasha has! He is much more powerful than you ever thought..... ACK!.... Urgh....”

‘Confound it!’ Jaken screamed silently. He was forever sticking his foot in his mouth. ‘Oh the pain!’

After peeling himself up off of the road, where Sesshomaru–sama had crushed him underfoot, Jaken decided to try again. He tentatively asked, “L-Lord Sesshomaru? Ah... where are we going now?”

Sesshomaru did not immediately reply to his retainers’ question. He ignored him for a short time. He knew his silence would leave Jaken squirming. After he felt like his vassal had feared long enough, the taiyoukai answered the question asked of him. “We return to the House of the Moon.”

Sesshomaru would have liked nothing more than to track Inuyasha down and demand the answers to his questions, but there were a few governing issues that needed his attention back at the castle. Maybe after he completed his business he would pursue his half-brother.

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They were heading back to Kaede’s village. It had been three weeks since they had been home. The search for jewel shards had begun to take them further and further away. Everyone was excited about taking a much needed rest, including Kagome.

She had not seen her family in three weeks. Her mother was probably furious with her, and she dreaded the upcoming lecture that she would receive, but she knew it was only because her mom worried about her safety. She had always been so supportive and lenient concerning her duty here in the Sengoku Jidai (feudal era). It really wasn’t fair to make her worry for so long.

It had been one week since they had destroyed Naraku. Correction, since ANUBIS destroyed Naraku. Kagome rolled her eyes in thought. Inuyasha was still prone to go ballistic at the mention of it, so they had all kept quiet about it in fear of inciting his anger again. The second day was really the worst.

They were passing through a small village and Miroku had somehow met three young women. After Sango pulled him away, Anubis made an observation that the husbands of the young women were none to pleased with the behavior of their wives. Miroku had no idea what his answering comment would incite. The Houshi turned to Anubis with a cheeky smile, and said, “I wonder, Lord Anubis, if you could ‘whisk’ the husbands away for a night?”

Before Sango could even attack the monk for his hentai thoughts, Inuyasha had found a reason to go berserk again. The hanyou leapt back to Miroku and started the most childish display of temper she had witnessed since falling through the well four years ago. He was screaming about ‘the almighty Anubis whisking everything away’, and other such nonsense. It went on for almost an hour before Sango and Miroku finally begged for her to ‘sit’ him. Kagome had to agree that it was time to shut him up.

It worked... for awhile.

Overall the trip was turning out to be refreshing. She and Sango were enjoying having another female in the group. It was always good to have another women around. It proved to keep the male opinions to a minimal. Interesting enough, she had noticed that Kat and Inuyasha had become less tense around each other. For awhile, her hanyou friend wouldn’t let Kat even remotely near him, for fear she would ‘take over his mind’, as he so delicately put it.

Besides Miroku’s inherit ability to attract the attention of every woman that he passed by, he and Sango were finally letting their guard down around each other. With the threat of Naraku aside they could get on with their lives. Sango had buried her brother, Kohaku, the day after the ‘anti-battle’, as Kagome had dubbed it, so Miroku was trying to be a little less lecherous during her time of mourning.

Then there was Anubis.

Kagome glanced shyly over at her inuGod, and felt the tell-tell blush pour over her features when he caught her looking. He gave her a wink, and Kagome’s smile grew before she looked quickly away.

Anubis was turning out to be the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. He was ever attentive, always polite and gentle. He made her laugh, and he was the epitome of the term ‘hottie’. What more could she ask for? Just looking at him made her feel all warm and achy inside, and his touch was the ultimate bliss.

During the journey the two of them had spent every available minute together. Sometimes just sitting and gazing at the stars glistening in the black velvet sky, but often they would talk about things. They talked about her life at home, which had made Kagome a little nervous. She still had not decided whether or not to tell him that she came from the future. Inuyasha warned her against it. They had always kept it a well guarded secret, but she felt a little guilty for not telling Anubis the whole truth.

They had spent one afternoon talking about their likes and dislikes. She remembered laughing when he told her that he disliked sand in his pants. Since he came from Egypt he must be uncomfortable quite often.

Today Anubis had asked to speak with her after they had taken a break for lunch. He told her that he wanted to take her somewhere special after they made camp for the night. She had happily agreed.

“We’ll camp here tonight.” Inuyasha announced. The hanyou retired to a nice thick tree branch while everyone deposited their things and joined him for a quick rest.

“I wonder what Kaede is going to say about Nara... oops,” Shippo squeaked as he made to sit next to Kagome.

Everyone, except Anubis, quickly turned to Shippo with a warning glare. He crouched down as if physically attacked, before glancing around to see if Inuyasha had heard. It seemed the hanyou had either missed the slip, or had finally relaxed a little concerning Naraku’s demise.

They sat around chatting for a short time before Sango, Kagome and Kat began preparing to make something to eat. Inuyasha had agreed to go hunting for some rabbits to make a stew. After a few wild vegetables and herbs were added to the boiling pot, Inuyasha returned with three plump, and nicely cleaned rabbits. In no time at all they were enjoying the meal.

After eating, the ladies gathered the dirty pot and dishes, as well as their bathing supplies, and headed for the creek running through the rocky terrain nearby.

Sango smiled as she settled down into the brackish water. They had been walking non-stop and she was covered in a layer of road dust. She could feel it washing away as she lowered herself into the gently moving water. Kagome was next to join her and then Kat.

The demoness was a beauty, Sango had to admit. She had a beautiful body, as well as angelic features. It was enough to make a girl jealous. There was no way she could ever look that good, even in her wildest dreams. Her body was scarred from battle, and her hips were wider than her bust. It was just an unfair fact of life.

She certainly held no animosity toward Kat for her perfect shape, but she could certainly see how women would scorn her. If they never had the opportunity to get to know her, their female instincts would spawn a jealous distrust. It must have been hard on her through the years, never having any female friends.

Sango couldn’t imagine life without Kagome. She was as close to a real sister as Sango had ever had. Her father told her when she was small that she once had an older sister, but she had passed away from illness at a very young age. Kagome was more than a mere friend. Other women shunned her because of her profession. She just didn’t have much in common with anyone who had never sliced a demon in two. Kagome didn’t care what she did for a living, and Kat herself was just as lonely for a friend as she had once been.

Sango thought they made a great trio.

“Kagome, are you going to go for a walk with Anubis again tonight?” Sango asked teasingly.

Kagome blushed and acted a little stuffy, before replying playfully, “Actually Sango, Anubis wants to take me somewhere special tonight.”

“Is that right?” Sango further teased.

Kat giggled at them both and joined in, “I think Lord Anubis is quite fetched with Lady Kagome, don’t you Sango?”

Sango giggled and replied, “Why... I believe I would have to agree.”

Kagome sent a humorous glare to her friends, before bursting into her own fit of giggles.

The young women enjoyed their bathing routine, and soon were dressed and heading back to camp. Kagome had made sure to wash her best skirt and sleeveless shirt the night before so that she would look nice for tonight. She had washed her hair in her jasmine shampoo, it was always Inuyasha’s favorite, and she figured the scent must not be too bad on the inu nose.

Anubis looked up as the girls returned. In mere moments Kagome stepped through the thick green bushes. She was smiling, which gave her such a lovely glow in the light of the setting sun. Her aura radiated peace and happiness and her soul was so healthy and alive. He could hardly wait to taste her purity.

The inuGod stood and held out his arm to her. Kagome smiled shyly and took his muscular arm, holding it with her own. She turned to wave sayonara to her friends, when Inuyasha shouted, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Kagome glared at the hanyou and placed her free hand on her hip before snapping, “I am going to spend some time with Anubis.”

Before the hanyou could say another word they began to disappear before his eyes. He would have stood there in awe, but Anubis’ last words sent him into a rage. The fast fading inuGod whispered with a smirk, “Don’t wait up, Inuyasha.”

He growled and lunged for the fading image of Kagome, but his clawed hand swiped through thin air. Kagome was gone, and something made him feel really uneasy about this little ‘outing’ with that bastard, Anubis.

“Calm down, Inuyasha. Kagome will be fine. Anubis will let no harm come to her,” Miroku said soothingly to his longtime hanyou friend.

Inuyasha turned on Miroku with a snarl, “HE is the one I’m worried about! You people have just let him come in here like he’s just joining the fun! Use your brains! Why is a GOD so interested in Kagome!?!”

Sango turned on Inuyasha with angry eyes, “Is it so hard for you to believe that someone could actually value Kagome for something other that a shard detector?!”

Inuyasha glared at Sango. “You know she means more to me than that! I tell you... something isn’t right about that guy!”

“Sounds like green eyed jealousy to me, doesn’t it to you Kirara?” Shippo said with disgusted half closed eyes. Kirara mewed before jumping into Sango’s lap.