What Was Expected

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA AND CO.

Thank you to MamaSama for beta-ing. All other mistakes are mine. I claim them, and I am good at making them.

Thank you to Jupe and kagomesirene for pointing out my gaff of moshi moshi vs mushi mushi. You are right, nobody answers the phone saying "insect insect."

AN: If anyone knows any good websites, where I could get insights into the Japanese culture and everyday living, please tell me. If I make any obvious social faux pas then tell me, I am interested in learning for my own benefit and I cannot afford a ticket to Japan. I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 2: All the Little Things

It was a tired Kagome that finally emerged from the bathroom, surrounded in a billow of steam. Bed, bed sounded so good. She had made it to her door, hand reaching for the knob, when her mother’s voice reached her ears.

The elder woman was giddy with excitement. Her daughter had received a fan, a fan! It would not be long before she would be able to spoil grandchildren.

“Mama, I am tired. Can we talk in the morning?” Kagome had made the long trip down the stairs to the kitchen, only to find her mother grinning like a fool.

“How can you be tired? Kagome, a fan! You received a fan from a very successful businessman.” Standing her mother moved to the stove. “Come, sit and we will have tea.”

Kagome did not want to, but if she didn’t it would upset her mother. “Mama, what sort of businessman has facial tattoos?”

“What? Why are we talking about tattoos when we should be discussing your future husband?”

“You didn’t notice?” Kagome could not keep the disbelief out of her voice.

“Notice what? Kagome, what do tattoos have to do with Sato Sesshoumaru?”

In a defeated voice, “Nothing Mama, I am just tired.”

Hiromi set her face into a grimace and allowed the scolding tone to overtake her voice, “Kagome, you will stop this now. I know that you loved him but this wallowing will not bring him back.” Hiromi noted the tears welling in her daughter’s eyes and immediately felt ashamed of herself. She knew what it was like to lose the man you loved, but she also knew that time, while healing, did not wait for anyone. Softer now, she spoke again, “I want you to be happy. I know that you think this omiai business is outdated, but you could at least give this Sesshoumaru a chance.”

“There is something off about him, Mama. I don’t know what it is, but he was so cold.”

“Kagome, if you look for people’s flaws you will see them. The cold you feel is the ghosts of your feelings for Liam. Kagome, you are young. Would he really want you not to live the rest of your life?”

“Mama, I was not looking for flaws. There is just something about him, about his family, that is not normal. It was odd. The coldness was the same that I felt initially around Liam and then his family.”

“So that is it, you are scared that you are looking to replace Liam in your heart. I never knew this Liam, but honey, don’t you want to be happy again?”

Kagome just stared at the woman who had always been so kind and caring. Where had her mother gone? For the first time since Liam’s death she felt something besides the ache of emptiness. The anger boiled beneath her skin. “Mama,” her voice was more shrill then she would have liked but she was too angry to care, “this has nothing to do with my love for Liam. I am telling you the Satos are hiding something, something big. Why would such a prominent family be interested in a woman like myself for their ranks?”

For a moment Hiromi sat there speechless. Her daughter had never raised her voice before, never to her family members at least. “Kagome, you will go to your room this instant. We will discuss you future in the morning, when you decide that you can be civil.” It was the harsh tone of a wronged woman.

Kagome just bowed her head and quietly left for her room. Tonight had been too long.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Sesshoumaru sat with his parents and his father’s second mate in the living room of his apartment. Inuyasha had taken Kikyou home due to the fact that she had exhausted herself during dinner. Sesshoumaru sat rigidly in his favorite chair, and waited for who would be first to break the silence.

Sesshoumaru believed it would be his father, seeing as how his mother was glaring down Izayoi. It was no secret that Sayami disliked her mate’s second female, and really, who could blame her? It was one thing to share a male in the days of old, but to be cast aside for another was more than upsetting. Then add to the situation that the “other” female was human was beyond insult to the old bitch.

The humiliation went on, her own son stood by her mate, his father, and ensured that not only the human woman survived but also the hanyou pup as well on the night of Inuyasha’s birth. Her son, the ever dutiful pup, had lost his arm that night, an arm that finally regained when he slew the vile hanyou, Naraku. Yet for all that she had endured, Sayami was forced to pose as her mate’s sister instead of first wife. There were times when Sayami wished that she had not survived the holy wars.

“So you left the fan?” It was the rich voice of his father that broke through his mother’s self-pitying moment.

“Hn.”

“Why, my dear mate, must you force our son to endure yet another bonding?” Sayami’s voice matched perfectly with her beauty; in a word, it was sensuous.

“We have been through this, Sayami. The miko’s ki will be beneficial to all of us. Besides, you never complained before we found a potential candidate.” Toga was too old to cater to his first mate’s wounded pride.

Sayami turned her head and curled her lip. “I don’t find her smell pleasing. At least the other females were not offensive in their body odor.”

Sesshoumaru had had enough of his mother’s attitude. “The woman’s scent can in no way be described as unpleasant, much less offensive.”

Glaring down her nose at her stubbornly, stoic son, Sayami all but spat in his direction, “The offense is easily concealed with all these new perfumes on the market. Even other youkai have started to use them.”

Sesshoumaru cocked a brow at his mother’s statement and then looked to his father. In the back of his mind, something was sliding into place. While holding the elder male’s gaze, Sesshoumaru spoke aloud his new epiphany, “No, she did not. In fact, even the soaps she uses hold no odor. A rarity among humans.” Sesshoumaru’s orbs took in the form of Izayoi. “The only humans that I have ever known to do this are the ones who are in constant contact with youkai, mates.”

Toga caught the questioning glint in his son’s eyes and immediately knew what the question was. “No, the family used perfume and scented soaps, in fact, the grandfather was quite pungent.”

For the first time Izayoi spoke, “Does that mean that she has already been claimed? If so, why would she seek the services of an omiai?”

“Probably looking for more power or money. The little woman most likely understands how lucrative her position is.” Sayami had never played nice with those she believed beneath her, and all humans fell into that group.

“Sayami-sama,” Izayoi had learned that it was best to placate the female’s pride, “the younger brother spoke highly of his sister and her honor. There did not seem to be anything trite in his admiration of her.”

“Humans are full of deceit. It is no surprise to this Sayami that your humanity blinds you to this. Your inferior senses add to your inherent weakness.”

The growl that sounded through the room silenced the seething bitch. Toga did not hide the anger in his voice as he corrected his first mate. “Bitch, it is your pride that blinds you. The boy did not smell of deceit tonight. I know that you are not pleased with the role that you must play in the public eye, but such is the necessity of survival. This Toga no longer wishes to hear your barbed tongue. If you cannot offer anything constructive to this discussion, then allow it to continue with your silence. Sayami, you will not be warned again.”

Sesshoumaru was too tired to care about either parent’s wounded pride, so he chose to ignore the spat and press on with the issue at hand. “She displayed no signs of being claimed. There was no scent mark, no visible mark, or any other thing that youkai might do to state a claim. In fact, she herself commented on the oddity that she would be paired with a “man” of my social standing.”

“Then it is safe to say that she is fair game, son. However, it would still be imperative to figure out why the youkai forfeited his claim. It should not be too hard to track him seeing how there are not too many within the Tokyo area.”

“It might be not be that simple, Father. She had recently spent a year abroad.”

This could be a problem. Toga’s brows furrowed in contemplation. “Do you know where and when?”

“Not when exactly, more than likely within the last four years, however, she did say that it was in the United States. Southern California more precisely.”

“There could be a problem,” Toga sighed before continuing, “A few years ago I had heard of a clan of kitsune in California claiming to have found a priestess that would soon be joining their clan. It was where I got the idea to search for another miko. I had assumed that if a priestess could be found in a country as opulent as the United States, then surly Japan could still foster strong miko.”

Sayami opened her mouth again, “She is human.”

Toga whirled on her, ready to reprimand her for her audacity. “You were warned.”

It was Izayoi who came to the other female’s aid. Placing a hand on her mate’s arm, Izayoi calmly stated, “Mate, Sayami-sama has always followed your orders. I believe that she has a point, not an insult.”

Sayami wanted to sneer; she did not need this human’s help or defense. Nevertheless, she knew that she had pressed too far earlier and could not afford to offend right now. While completely ignoring the second mate, she clarified her meaning. “This woman, Kagome, is human. Mate, if our son stated that there was no claim on her then the laws of youkai do not apply. The kitsune may claim that they found her first, however she was never marked. Her being human would then void out any claim they may lay against her. The question now is do you believe her to be worthy, Sesshoumaru?”

“Hn.” He and his father would have to dig into her past to figure out what secrets were hidden there, but there seemed no reason to rescind his offer. “Her power level seems more than enough to suffice.”

“Then it is settled, you will call her tomorrow to arrange a second meeting. We,” looking at both females Toga said, “will be taking our leave. I suggest that we confer about our findings on her before you contact her, Sesshoumaru.”

With that, the elder inu stood and quickly left the room with his mates trailing him, first and second in proper order. Sesshoumaru waited for the final click of the front door before he allowed his mask to fall. He was going to mate again.

He wondered if he should have refused.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

The first rays of the sun filtered on Kagome’s empty bed. She sat at her desk on the other side of the room, staring at the taunting bed. It had been yet another sleepless night and she could not shake the feeling that in some way she was betraying Liam.

It was odd that this feeling would come now, instead of when her mother and grandfather first mentioned their wish to see her married. It was almost as if it was Sato that stirred these feelings within her. Why?

She refused to cry, tears would not bring him back. All the tears did now was to give her a headache; their cathartic value had been drained months before. Her hand trailed down the column of her neck finally resting at the hollow above her collarbone. It had been his favorite spot and she had always shied away. Kagome had allowed kissing, light touches above the clothing, but never anything outside of her comfort zone, and truth be told that zone was very small.

Her shyness had nothing to do with lack of desire; in fact, that was the problem. She desired him too much and trusted herself too little. The fire that stroked within her was enough to engulf the whole of the earth and burn brighter than the sun. There had never been anything in her life like this, like him.

Towards the end, Kagome was becoming more aware that she would allow her family the privilege of the opportunity to approve of Liam, for that was what was expected of her. However, in her heart she knew that if they denied him, she would deny them. His death silenced her betrayal, and now she sat here playing dutiful daughter again.

A tired body that ached moved towards the bed. Petite hands fumbled under the frame until the sought prize was within their grasp. An old shoebox, plain and simple, held Kagome’s heart. She sat back on her heels and trembling hands lifted off the lid. There were pictures of her precious Liam, some handwritten notes, movie stubs, and a small velvet box. She would not open the jewelry box this time. No, there would be no answer for a question never asked. The pictures… they were what had drawn her to the box this time.

A sad smile graced her face as gazed on his stilled image. It was funny, but she swore that he always looked different in photos than he did in person. The photo lost the brilliance of his eyes and hair. But wait, this one photo showed him how she remembered him in her mind’s eye. She remembered when she took it. They were down at the cove watching the seals.

What was going on? Why were his ears pointed in the photo she took but none of the others? Searching through all of the other photos, she desperately tried to find another where he looked liked she remembered him in real life. At the bottom of the stack, she found one that had Sango and herself standing in front of the Hard Rock Café and Liam was standing behind them doing something that had been dubbed “bunny ears.” Who had taken the picture? Who? Yes, it was Miroku.

Kagome was now thoroughly confused. Why did it matter who took the photo? Something Sesshoumaru had said last night surfaced in her questing thoughts. “…it would surprise you to learn that many do not even notice them.” Did most people see what was in the majority of the pictures? Kagome decided that it was time to get answers.

The photos were placed back in the shoebox and the capsule was placed back under her bed. She needed to go to the library anyway to gather research for a paper; she would search for photos of the Satos on the computer there. It was not that the Higurashis did not own a computer; the problem was she did not want to have to explain to her mother why she was looking of photos of the family she might be joining. Her mother was already mad about her outburst last night.

Forty-five minutes later found Kagome stepping into the kitchen, which was oddly bare. Usually her mother was up by now preparing breakfast for the house. Kagome just shrugged and set about making the rice and miso soup, her family never fell into the practice of eating a Western style breakfast, in fact the only thing she had adopted eating in the morning while in the States was poached eggs.

About the time she had finished everything, her mother entered followed by her grandfather and brother. Kagome quickly served her grandfather, brother, mother, and lastly herself. She poured the tea for everyone else and quietly sat while her cup remained empty.

“Kagome,” she looked up at her mother while the older woman filled her cup, “I trust that you feel better this morning.”

Kagome ducked her head and softly answered, “Yes, mama.”

Beginning the meal, her grandfather did not understand the tension between mother and daughter, but then he did not really care. It was his scratchy voice that interrupted the silence of the table next. “Kagome, there are many chores to be finished before next weekend’s activities, I trust that your day it is free.”

Kagome wanted to groan, she had forgotten that the shrine would be hosting a party of sorts next Saturday. Her grandfather had arranged to have a couple of representatives from some local museums come and look at the items in their storage shed. The shrine had not fallen on hard times, but some major repairs were looming on the horizon and new sources of income needed to be found. This meant the all items in the storage shed needed to be cleaned and inventoried.

“Hai, grandfather. If there is time later today I would like to go the library to research a paper that is due in a few weeks.”

“That is fine, but I do not want mistakes due to rushing.”

“Hai,” there was no resentment in her voice. Kagome understood why she was picked over Souta to perform this task; Souta was to focus on his studies so that he could make it into a prestigious college. It would be Souta who would shoulder the financial responsibility of the shrine later in life, not her. Kagome’s responsibility to the shrine was now while she was still part of this family.

The meal finished quickly, and Kagome went to face her fate in the dank and dusty prison of the storage shed.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Sesshoumaru sat behind his desk. It was quiet. Most were not in the office on a Saturday that was the reason that he used this as time to research his meeting for the up-coming week. However, this was not his focus this morning, he and his father had spent the last several hours digging into the Higurashi woman’s past. As it turned out she was the one that the kitsune clan had claimed, but it seemed that even they were aware that there was no real claim.

No communication had been made since she had returned to Japan. The only actions the kitsune had taken so far was sending the twin brother of the male she had been involved with to Japan. This other youkai had yet to make contact, but Sesshoumaru would not assume that the male was not watching her from a distance.

Sesshoumaru sighed; he was going to have to move faster than he intended in order to ensure that his clan’s claim would not be usurped by another. His elegant hand reached for the phone.

Calmly he dialed and listened to the ringing on the other end.

“Moshi moshi, Shrine of the Rising Sun.”

It was obviously the younger brother who picked up. “This is Sato Sesshoumaru. May I speak to Kagome?”

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AN: I know crappy place to stop, but I am anyway. I hope that you enjoyed reading, if you get a chance please review.

emmaren