The Races

Chapter 22

Once more Sesshoumaru awoke in bed, but he had this unfamiliar warmth beside him in it. He looked down to find Kagome looking up at him studying his facial features and she was still in bed with him. “Hi.” She said as she finally looked up.

“Morning.” He replied in a raspy still sleep drenched voice, raspy from a long nights sleep. “Um… why are you still in bed?” He asked curiously.

She shrugged, “Do you know how peaceful you look when you sleep or how comfortable your arms are?”

Sesshoumaru laughed lightly, “No I have never had the opportunity to sleep in my own arms, but if I ever get the chance I will be sure to take it.”

“Don’t make fun of me Sesshoumaru. I can always get up and leave in the mornings like usual.” Kagome said.

“Speaking of which, why are you still in bed? Was it a random decision to stay?” He asked. Neither had moved from the bed, both comfortable staying in bed with one another.

“It is safe to do so.” Was all Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru was confused, “What do you mean?”

“Souta arrived over the night.” Was all Kagome said as it was not an explanation but she looked at him like it was.

“So you can only sleep in when he is around?” Sesshoumaru asked confused still.

“Sort of like that. With you Kouga, Souta and Inuyasha here there is no need to be up and about early like usual. I am usually up first to keep watch, but Kouga and Souta are awake and up so there is a need for me to be up. It doesn’t change the fact that I can not sleep any more than I usually do; it’s more just the fact that I have no need to be up immediately. So I decided to stay in bed where it was comfy and warm.” Kagome finally explained.

Sesshoumaru nodded his head that made sense, “Come on we should get up and get dressed.” They both entered the shower and helped the other wash, and soon they were down stairs.

Inuyasha was grumbling about them being late and he was hungry, “Alright Inuyasha I will make you something as soon as I greet my brother.” She said as she was swept up into strong arms from behind.

“I have missed you, Kagome.” The make said. He was taller than her almost as tall as Sesshoumaru, and he had short black hair and green eyes that sparkled.

When she was released she turned around and lunged at him. “I have missed you little brother. I am glad that you are no longer made at me.” Though they were twins Kagome was still older by a few minutes.

“I could not stay mad at you for long, I couldn’t when we were little and I still can not now.” Souta supplied.

They were still hugging when a brief grunted growl was released from behind them. Kagome parted from Souta and turned to Sesshoumaru with an apologetic smile. “Souta this is my mate-to-be Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru my little brother Souta.” The males eyed each other for a few moments.

Until Souta found what he was looking for and looked back at Kagome. “It would appear that you and I have a lot of talking to do, don’t we?” He smiled at pulled her into his embrace again, “But as long as you are happy and he takes care of you, I will stand beside you one hundred percent.” Souta reassured.

The two males sat at the table while Kagome joined Kouga in the kitchen. After a few minutes the two came out with a huge plate of French toast, eggs and sausage. To drink they offered coffee, milk, and orange juice.

Once more Kagome had a cup of tea and sat quietly beside Sesshoumaru until Souta spoke up. “So, while we eat, why don’t you tell me what I need to know.”

Kagome nodded and told of when she came to Japan, all the way through his arrival, Sesshoumaru could feel her distress when she started to tell about Tasukie’s misdeeds as of recently. Sesshoumaru pulled her to his lap and growled reassuringly and nuzzled her neck with his nose. The only things she skipped were about the things her and Sesshoumaru did in their spare alone time. She did not want to embarrass herself by reveling that to her little brother.

“Hm… So it would seem that Tasukie is after it as well.” Souta concluded. “Well, we’ll just have to stop him.” He was pissed that he dared to touch his sister at all, it was different for Sesshoumaru because they were meant to be together, you could see from the way that their aura’s caressed one another that they were meant to be.

“Oh yes, I meant to tell you that I have gotten us five tickets to the museum Monday. Serra employees are going to cooperate the whole time, even to the point of giving us extra guards should we need it.” Kouga said to the room. He had been meaning to tell them but continued to forget. “Well leave early around 9:15 so that we can be there at 9:30 when they open, it will not be crowded so we should have no problems at all. I have also found that some one is interested in one of the artifacts, I was thinking it was Tasukie so I told them to hold the item until tomorrow when we could check it out.” He stood from the table, “I have to go to work and finish what needs to be done for me to take tomorrow off.”

“Good thinking, I wish to find this blasted thing so that I can move on with my life.” Inuyasha grumbled as Kouga went to leave the room but paused as Kagome spoke.

Kagome noticed that he was more irritable as of late, “Inuyasha, are you ok? Did you and Kikyo have another fight?” She remembered the fight that they were having as her and Sesshoumaru were leaving, it was over him cheating and her first, she refused to tell just as he did so they were at a stalemate and neither of them liked it.

“Another? It’s more like still, she won’t give in and neither am I. Damn it. She wants me to take her as my mate after graduation and yet she doesn’t trust me. And I haven’t gotten laid since you two left, my balls are turning blue.” He grumbled still,

Three set of growls were let loose at him and Kagome just threw her head back and laughed. “Really, Inuyasha I have missed your rather vulgar mouth. You are so open and honest it’s refreshing, to bad every one else in the room doesn’t think so.”

“Yeah, too bad.” He mumbled and bowed his head realizing that if he continued he would be dead.

Kouga left then and the foursome mover to the living room after he left for work. The spent the day watching T.V. Kagome and Souta caught up with one any other and He started to get to know Sesshoumaru.

“It seems that in my silence I have missed a lot, huh?” Souta asked after a while.

“Yeah, you have missed quite a bit, you even missed fathers funeral.” Kagome said in a saddened voice, she was once more pulled into Sesshoumaru’s lap. “Say how about a spar when Kouga gets home?” Kagome asked.

Sesshoumaru was confused so he asked, “Why does it have to wait until Kouga returns?”

“It’s more than likely one or both of us will lose control, it will take all three of you to hold us back.” Kagome explained, she shivered when she remembered the last time that they had fought, “Last time we spared seriously, Souta had lost control. It had taken Father and Kouga to hold him back until he had calmed down. It had taken most of the night, I did not lose control of they would have been in serious trouble, but now both of us are stronger and we are going to be more fierce. I can not guarantee that I will not lose control.”

Inuyasha nodded, he knew that both were very strong and while they fought every one would have to be out of the way, ‘But where do they fight at?’ “Um… that’s all great and all but I doubt you all fight in side and tear up the house.”

Kagome laughed while Souta and Sesshoumaru glared at him, “of course not you idiot,” Kouga said as he came home. “When I was younger I had father build a dojo out back, I have the sensei’s train me there so that I didn’t have to travel far. The only good Senei’s were foreign so we had to bring them all in to train us.” Kouga explained.

“Well the two of you want to fight? Come on well go out back, but…” He paused. “Any damage you make you will fix yourselves.” Both looked down at the thought of having to fix it by hand.

They all took off out side where Kagome showed Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha where the dojo was. Inside Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were lead to a balcony while Kagome and Souta took up their positions on opposite sides of the polished dojo floor. Both went through a series of stretches, until Kouga came to the floor, “The rules are, not cheating, keep it as clean as possible and no killing, the killing blow, push the opponent away roughly, no killing.” He looked at
one then the other.

Kouga then jumped to the balcony and shouted “Begin!”

Kagome dropped into defensive stance as Souta fan at her. She blocked then flipped backward away from him. The two siblings swirled around each other.

Kagome seeme to dance in graceful circles round him, she dodged his blows like she was moving fluidly around the floor with and invisible partner. Obviously Souta hade noticed, “Damn it Kagome would you stop dancing around me and fight me, I am not so weak as to not be able to take a blow. Do you still think so little of me?”

Kagome just smirked and disappeared from sight. She reappeared to his left and whispered in his ear, “Obviously that time with the monks did not curb you foul language.” That’s when she back-flipped back across the room.

Souta was starting to lose his patients with her, she he charged across the room and locked her in an all out fist fight were he did not let her run from. He slowly backed her into a wall, where she soon noticed that was his plan and fought back with a greater intensity. Her leg arm and right leg swung out as she pushed him back enough to get away from the wall.

Kagome then went on the offensive, she continued to swing at him and he could only dodge and stay in defense. She was relentless. Souta had hoped that her time out of training had weakened her so he could win for once.

He was distracted by hi thought and Kagome took one of the many openings in his form and struck out at him, she caught him in his leg and he toppled over on to his face. He didn’t stay down long; she soon was on his feet and had in his possession a long silver staff with a black strip of color twirling around it giving it a black and silver swirled look.

Kagome continued to defend with just her hands, he would strike out with the staff and she would black with nothing more than her hands. She was doing good avoiding being backed into any walls.

In the balcony Inuyasha was getting restless, he needed food, who wanted to watch good entertainment with out food? He got up and made his way to the door silently until he opened the door.

Kagome noticed movement then Inuyasha opened the door and she looked away at him.

In that split second Souta noticed her distraction and took to chance. He swung out with his staff and nailed her in her side.

Kagome back away quickly, once she was done she was across the room behind a barrier, she gathered her strength to her, and Souta felt that she was only using a percentage to fight him. She healed her rips that were cracked with the hard blow he delivered to her side.

Her head was bowed and he could not see her face but when she lifted it she said “You know you’re not the only one that mastered the ‘Weapon Materialization’ Spell.” Suddenly she pulled two sai’s out of the air and dropped the barrier.

When Sesshoumaru watched Kagome be distracted by Inuyasha he did not know who he wanted to slap more, Inuyasha for distracting her or her for allowing herself to be distracted. When he noticed her having a power serge and the barrier healed her he calmed down again. He sat straight up when he noticed that she too pulled a pair of sai out of no where. ‘The weapon materialization was mastered by both siblings? What are the chances of that?’ Sesshoumaru thought as he watched the siblings exchange words.

Kagome swung at him with a vengeance; she wasted no time in trying to cause as much pain as possible. She took every opening she saw; soon Souta was panting and starting to sweat. She went to deliver a blow from up above when Souta raise his staff to block.

The force of the blow should have split the staff in two instead in was morphed into twin swords. Kagome back away when souta swung out with one. “I also mastered the ‘Weapon Transfiguration’ spell, sis. You thought you were the only one with skills in magic didn’t you?” Souta taunted her as he advanced.

Kagome once more was on the defensive, but she was still holding a good portion of herself back. While Souta was busy fighting hard she was devising a plan.

“Oh, no.” Kouga said to th two men beside him in the balcony.

“Oh no, What?” Inuyasha the ever impatient one asked.

“That’s the look she gets when she’s thinking up something and when she is done Souta is in big trouble.” Kouga explained. He in hailed sharply as Kagome once more focused all her attention on the battle.

Kagome side stepped Souta’s advance and then spun and caught him with her sai by the throat. “Do you submit?” she asked smoothly, in the whole fight she didn’t look her cool at all. She got frustrated but always kept her had about her and in the end it got her the win if he submitted.

Souta was panting he in all seriousness would not have lasted much longer so he nodded his head. In all his extra years if training her still ould not best his sister.

They then heard clapping from the balcony and saw all three males raised up clapping. Souta blushed along side Kagome. “Bravo, as always.” Kouga commented.

“Yes I would not mind fighting you myself, Kagome.” Sesshoumaru said, causing her blush to deepen.

Inuyasha snorted, “Yeah right, she would kick your ass Sesshoumaru.”

“Yes Inuyasha, where as you could not take either, I mean Rin still kicks your ass.” While Inuyasha blushed at Sesshoumaru’s comment every one else laughed at it, because it was true.