UnBound Memories

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers nette and szaugglaughs. Last chapter was a bit of fluff, but I didn't want to ignore that Sesshomaru was a jerk to InuYasha. I'm going to glosss over the wedding. It really isn't important to the story, just really needed to happen, and because this is in yaoi, there is not a play-by-play recount of InuYasha and Kagome's mating (I've read flames from other stories that do that and have no desire to receive any.) I hope those that read will continue to enjoy the story, and hopefully, I can continue updating this at a decent pace.

Chapter 23

Very angry. At me.

The wedding had been a beautiful ceremony, with a gathering of friends and family afterwards. By the next day, though, the group had to return to the past, with the promise that whenever the opportunity presented itself, Kagome and InuYasha would return to see her family. Miroku knew Sesshomaru wanted to allow his daughter-in-law the time where they were, but that the mating ceremonies for the two new couples had to happen very shortly upon their return to the feudal era.

Standing outside of the well, Miroku, Sesshomaru, Rin and Shippo waited for Kagome and InuYasha to exit the house. Kagome’s scent was still present--Miroku’s growing senses were still new, but he’d found ways to detect his friends, and his mate. Each had their own subtle nuances, and he was learning them all, bit by bit.
Miroku looked up at Sesshomaru, putting an arm around the taiyoukai’s back. He felt protective of the demon who was more than capable of snapping him in half. Sesshomaru had been though so much, and if Miroku could prevent any further distress in the demon’s long life, he would do it.

He was still concerned over the way Sesshomaru had fallen down after transforming. Not only had the lord done so after his first shift into dog form, but had done it again after the group had decided to stop their run. Miroku didn’t like the idea that his human blood, which it had been at the time they’d performed the mating bond, had this effect on his mate.

When InuYasha exited the house, Kagome on his arm, he handed the sword to his father. “Glad I borrowed it,” he said, somewhat bitterly.

“So Tenseiga allowed you to wield it.”

“I wish. Kagome and I did mate, but we were both in such bad shape she managed to get to it first. I felt like I was being purified from the inside out.” InuYasha looked embarrassed about the way things had occurred the night before.

“When I touched the sword, I felt like I was floating through the air, like a strong force was throwing me back.” The three inus nodded. They had all experienced the sword’s new power at one point or another. “InuYasha didn’t look like he was in pain anymore, and I knew I wasn’t.”

“But we don’t know what’s happened to her,” InuYasha said.

“She has become a goddess, InuYasha,” Sesshomaru answered, “the only option for someone with spiritual powers as strong as hers. Because I mated a horrible letch, being half demon was good enough for him.” Miroku allowed his hand to wander down and pinch Sesshomaru on his behind for that little comment. Letch? Miroku looked up at the demon’s face, finding that his little grope received no reaction, though a large hand had moved to Miroku’s hair and was rubbing his right ear in the way the older inu knew sent shivers running down Miroku’s spine and elsewhere. Trying to keep his face as calm as that of Sesshomaru’s, Miroku shifted in his spot.

“How can you tell? I can’t smell or see any difference,” InuYasha said.

“Gods and goddesses do not have to change form or scent. They merely possess great amounts of power. If you did not notice, power now rolls off of your new mate in waves.” Sesshomaru looked at Kagome. “And how are you feeling today, masume?”

There was that smile, warm, honest and trusting coming from Miroku’s friend as she looked at his mate, all because the demon had called her daughter. But, considering Sesshomaru had marked her as part of the clan as well, with a tiny moon on her hand between her thumb and index finger, she was family in more than her marriage or mating to InuYasha.

“Strong and happy, Lord--” She stopped when she saw the tall inu shaking his head. “Oto-san?”

“You may address me as such if you are comfortable with it,” Sesshomaru said, “though as a member of my clan and my family, please do not use my title.”

“What do your marks look like onii-san?” Rin asked of InuYasha, the idea of her new sister being a goddess obviously boring the girl who'd learned to expect anything and everything from life with Sesshomaru.

InuYasha heaved a sigh. Miroku had noted his friend’s irritated state, apparently stemming not only from Tenseiga but from these marks. He opened his haori, turning his back to the other four. “Kagome’s keeping her shirt on since they’re identical, so you’ll get the idea without giving the hentai a show.” Miroku looked at his friend, giving him a bit of a snarl. “We’re true mates, too. Go figure.” Covering InuYasha’s entire back was the sacred tree. “I can’t escape the damn thing. Now I’m marked with it for life.”

“It’s where we first met,” Kagome said, putting her hand on InuYasha’s bare shoulder. “I grew up next to it.”

“Yeah, and I was pinned to it for fifty years, but it isn’t how I define myself.” He pulled his haori back onto his shoulders. “They get to have their weapons on their back. I get the thing that was my prison for half a century. Why is it that even when things go right do they still suck?”

“You said I am a goddess,” Kagome said to Sesshomaru, ignoring her mate’s complaints. “Of what?”

“One of the elements,” Sesshomaru answered. “When we are not in the middle of a giant city, I recommend you try to command them until we discover which it is. I will help you as best I can, but I will also seek someone to train you in your new powers once we have determined what exactly they are.”

“It doesn’t mean I’ll be worshipped or something like that, does it?”

“Not at all. It often occurs that way for most goddesses because they are kind and gentle creatures. Gods on the other hand tend to be selfish, arrogant morons. It is also a reason I am grateful that Tenseiga and the jewel did not curse me to be mated to one,” Sesshomaru said, looking to Miroku as he ran his claws through the fluffy black hair.

Kagome’s family left the house, saying lengthy goodbyes and inviting the six to all come back again. Unfortunately it was now time the travelers returned to the feudal era. Miroku knew this would be difficult on Kagome, leaving behind her family, except on the occasional visit, but InuYasha reminded her that it could be worse, since she could return back with a quick trip through the well, and it didn’t require a journey that was more than an hour for any from any point in Japan for any the demons surrounding her. Also, because she would share his essentially immortal lifespan, she would undoubtedly live five hundred years, getting the opportunity to even live near them once they were again in this era.

Miroku looked at the uncertain expression on Kagome’s face, the concept of living for five hundred years seeming to be more than a bit daunting. He knew he’d had some trouble wrapping his own mind around eternal life. He was still struggling with it.

Arriving on the other side of the well, InuYasha kissed Kagome, trying to calm her nerves before telling her that he and his father were going to leave for a few hours.

“Kagome,” Sesshomaru said, placing a large hand on her shoulder, “would you do me the favor of traveling back with the kit and Rin to my palace? I believe Ah-Un should be waiting nearby to take you. InuYasha and I both have some dealings with Totosai, and Miroku--”

“I am visiting Sango,” Miroku said, cutting off his mate. “Well, I am doing it in a bit of a round-about fashion.”

********

A crowd of blushing young women surrounded the young monk. “Oh, Miroku, you are such a flirt!”

“Houshi-sama, do you really believe that I have been possessed by a great demon?”

Speaking up in a silky baritone, the black-haired man said, “Absolutely, but tonight, I believe I can exorcise that demon, but it will require that we be left alone.” He took her hands. “Then, perhaps you will do me the honor of bearing my children.” The woman giggled, but gave no answer.

The confidence of the young man wavered when he heard a loud growl seeming to sound from everywhere. “Women, I have no business with you, but this monk must die. Leave immediately!”

Cowering, the man in black and purple robes trembled while the women fled. He mumbled to himself, “Why does this keep happening to me?”

“Because you continue to take on my form,” a voice said from a tree. “I thought I asked you to cease your smirching of my good name.”

“Miroku?” the man asked.

“I must say, your transformation is nearly perfect. There’s no sign of your excess weight or tail Hatchi,” the voice in the tree said. The false monk below looked to his feet. “But you have gotten my ears entirely wrong.”

“They are a perfect match,” Hatchi-Miroku answered, defensively, searching the trees for a sign of his friend. Even though he recognized the voice, there was no sign of Miroku’s scent. A loud thud sounded behind Hatchi as he slipped back into his raccoon-dog form. Turning around to find Miroku standing many inches taller than before, with a pair of hanyou ears atop his head, Hatchi gasped in shock.

“As I said, you got the ears wrong,” Miroku said with a smirk.

“How? And your forehead. That is the mark… Are you?” Miroku nodded, watching in confusion as his demon friend dropped to the ground, bowing.

“Get up, Hatchi,” Miroku said, exasperated. “I came here wanting to have a little fun with you, not to watch you grovel.” The raccoon-dog stood. “I have to ask you again not to impersonate me, not only for my good name, but for your own sake. If my mate had seen that, Sesshomaru would have--”

“You really are mate to the Lord of the West?” Hatchi cocked his head to the side. “Did he force you to, or were you under a spell? I thought you only liked women.”

“Now, I only want Sesshomaru. It is rather difficult to explain, Hatchi.” He watched as his old friend tried to take everything in. “As for my appearance, I have a great deal to tell you, and I recommend we do it while we journey to a village not far from here. I must see Sango.”

********

InuYasha stood outside of Totosai’s home, rapping on the stone. “Yo, old man, you in there?”

The bug-eyed pyromancer stepped where InuYasha could see him. “Did you do something to the Tessaiga again?” He looked up behind the younger inu to the taller figure standing behind him. “InuYasha, your brother is here!” He looked at the older inu in fear. “I thought after the modifications to Tenseiga, you would have been satisfied. You can’t still be after Tessaiga.”

“Do you mean this sword?” Sesshomaru said, pulling the Tessaiga from InuYasha’s waist. It still shocked the younger inu every time that his father was capable of removing the sword without being injured. If it was possible for the bulging-eyed man’s eyes to bug out any further, InuYasha would have said Totosai’s eyes threatened to fall completely out of his head.

“The-the spell broke. How did it break?” the old man stuttered as he looked between the inus.

“It didn’t break. It’s working just fine,” InuYasha said, watching as Sesshomaru took a few practice swings with the blade before returning it to its owner.

“You willingly gave it back?“ Then, the old man’s eyes centered on InuYasha’s forehead. “You mated your own brother? Is that why the spell broke?”

At those words, InuYasha grabbed his stomach, feeling like he might retch.

“Totosai,” Sesshomaru said, coldly, “he is my heir, not my mate. It is my mate that I have come for, as has InuYasha. We wish to commission weapons as my father did before us.”

“Your heir?”

“He is my son, not my brother Totosai. I had no idea, and my father and Izayoi raised him as their own. Now that I am aware of that fact, I can wield Tessaiga as well as InuYasha.”

Totosai blinked a few times, then asked the two inus, “Well, what weapons do you need and who will be using them?”

********

Standing outside of the village were Sango, Kohaku, and Hitomi were now settling to call home, Miroku looked to the mirror image of himself. “You know what to say, Hatchi?”

“Yes, Miroku.”

The former monk was dressed in a brown hooded cloak, pulling the cloak over his head so that he couldn’t be seen, hoping that he could control the still-new ears to keep them from perking up and tenting the material that covered them. He looked to Hatchi, the improvement on the raccoon-dog’s impression of him was so good that it was almost a shame the demon would never be allowed to use it after this day.

“Are you sure about this? I mean, Sango’s turning this village into a bunch of demon-slayers. We could both be in danger.”

“Which is exactly why we need to do it this way,” Miroku said, assuring his friend as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, hiding his hands in his sleeves. He watched as Hatchi, using his own face looked at him with uncertainty before the two approached the gates of the village.

Two rather large guards at the front gate stopped the two demons. “Who are you?” one asked.

With a gulp, Hatchi answered, “I am Miroku, a transient monk.”

“There is a demonic presence here,” the same guard said.

“My friend is a hanyou. You sense him. He means you no harm.”

It was then that the figure of Hitomi, sickeningly identical to Naraku, stepped toward the guards. “What is the problem?” He looked to see the shorter of the two men standing across from the guards. “Miroku.” There was apprehension in his voice, and that pleased the hanyou looking down at Lord Kagewaki.

“You know him?”

“I do. They may enter.” Miroku and the false version of himself followed Hitomi. They had only stepped in a few feet when a menacing voice yelled out.

“Hitomi, move. That is not Miroku.”

“I told you,” Hatchi hissed up at his companion.

Sango stepped into the courtyard as Lord Kagewaki moved aside. “You both possess demonic auras,” she said. “Who are you?” Hatchi almost immediately transformed back to his original shape. Miroku knew that when his friend was afraid, he nearly lost all ability to hold a different form. “Hatchi, why were you impersonating Miroku again?”

“Because I asked him to,” Miroku said, pulling the hood down.

“M-Miroku, what happened to you?” Sango said, craning her neck up to look at his face.

“Tenseiga and the jewel happened.”

“But the mark. InuYasha said it only goes to the heir or the--” Those large brown eyes went wide. “You and Lord Sesshomaru?”

Miroku nodded. “You and I were never meant to be together. I suppose that is why the jewel brought Lord Kagewaki back from the dead.” Miroku took Sango’s hand in his own, while she looked down in awe at the claws that so gently wrapped her hand.

“So you accept being beta to a demon, after all the fighting we have done against them?” She slipped her hand away.

“I am no beta. Sango, we are true mates, bound together even when we did not know it. The mark on my back is identical to his. I honestly feel content with him around, and believe it or not, he seems genuinely happy. I have seen him smile more in the last few days than I ever would have thought possible.”

Sango looked up at Miroku, the stubbornness still written across her face. Getting her to accept this would not be easy.

********

Back at Totosai’s, Sesshomaru was waiting outside of the cave for InuYasha.

“Son of a bitch!” his son shouted. Shaking his head, Sesshomaru thought how much he needed to improve upon his child’s vocabulary. However, as he rubbed over the missing fangs in his own mouth, he could at least sympathize, though he hadn’t allowed any vocalizations of his pain, crude or otherwise, escape his lips.

Leaning back against the stone face of the mountain, he reached into his mouth, rubbing at the sore gums where his two upper canines had been, hoping to induce growth sooner. As if the pain of losing both teeth hadn’t been enough, he felt the sudden sensation of something biting him. With a quick swat to his neck, Sesshomaru once again held Myoga between his fingertips.

“I would have thought you would have had the sense not to appear again, you little pest,” he said to the flea.

“Lord Sesshomaru,” he said, smacking whatever lips he might have had, “I was merely checking to see if you had mated as I heard rumors you had.”

“You went to see my mother.”

“Yes. She was quite upset that she had lost her mark without meeting the person you had passed it on to,” the gravelly voice of the flea said.

“You could have merely asked.”

“But your blood is tastier than your father’s, and…” the flea drifted off in thought as InuYasha stepped out of the cave.

“Damn it, that hurts.”

“You only lost one.”

“Not my fault that a bow only requires one fang and a shakujo that protects and changes into a naginata takes two fangs. You are the one who had to make it difficult.” (A/N shakujo is what Miroku carries. Naginata is a staff with a curved blade at the end)

“I want to ensure my mate will be protected.”

“And I don’t?”

“I said nothing of the sort. If you gave Kagome a sword I doubt she would really know how to handle it at her current skill level. She is much better off with the bow.”

InuYasha’s eyes went downward to Sesshomaru’s hand and the creature clasped in it. “Myoga, you’ve got some nerve showing up here, you know that.”

“Master InuYasha, I was merely confirming that Lord Sesshomaru had mated, as have you apparently to Kagome. From the sounds of it, he has mated himself to Miroku.”

“Yeah, I did and he did,” InuYasha answered. “How did you know?”

“Your grandmother was concerned about the loss of her mark as lady of the western lands.”

“I-I have a grandmother?”

“Do not get excited, InuYasha. Even at her most amiable she will treat you as little more than a pleasant acquaintance.” Sesshomaru looked down at the flea. “Now, continue what you were saying before InuYasha joined us.”

“Uh…” Myoga paused. “I don’t remember.”

Sesshomaru tightened his grip on the pest. “Does this aid your memory?”

“It seems we have a problem, Lord Sesshomaru.” He looked over at InuYasha. “One we have been through before.”

********

At Sango’s village, Miroku was receiving a tour, with the demon slayer and the new village lord treating him as somewhat less the friend he was accustomed to and more as the second Lord of the western lands, and technically their liege. As both liege and friend, he was trying to convince them to attend the mating ceremony scheduled in ten days, though he didn’t want them attending out of obligation. As Sango showed her reluctance, he reminded her it was also the mating ceremony of two of her best friends, to which she nodded and told him she would be present.

As he was walking beside her to view the development of new weapons from demon bones and scales, he stopped cold in his tracks.

“Miroku?” Sango asked. “Are you okay?”

“It is Sesshomaru. He is angry. Very angry,” Miroku said, his own body trembling from the force of his mate’s fury. “At me.”

“Sesshomaru, can you hear me? What is it? What have I done?” He got no response. It was true that the intense link of the initial bond was fading, but still, Miroku had expected something, anything. Just a single image of why Sesshomaru was so angry.

Running off, leaping to the rooftop of one of the huts, he heard Sango shout, “Is it because you came here?”

“That was his suggestion,” Miroku answered, looking for signs of his mate and spotting a white dog running in the distance. “He is angry about something else. I must go to him.”

Hitting the ground, he ran at a speed he had never dreamed of achieving as a human, reaching his mate in the midst of the woods. The white dog jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground, snarling and growling at him, though never actually attacking.

“I do not understand dog, not in this form,” Miroku said. “What have I done, Sesshomaru? What did I do to you?”

The dog returned back to the shape of the demon lord much too fast, but this time, Miroku was off the ground and behind Sesshomaru in time to catch him.

“Pregnant.” the taiyoukai said before passing out in Miroku’s arms.