Noble House

Okay, first I want to say thank you to my first two reviewers. Youkai Tsuki, thank you ^_^ and you are right about the format... I'm going to correct the first two chapters when I'm not being forced to crank out new chapters by an overly-demanding muse. Candace, thank you also. I'm one of those writers that lives for encouragement... it helps me overcome my paranoia that I'm not writing anything anyone will enjoy.

Second, I want to say a few things about this fic. As I said before, it will be dark in places. Okay, it will probably be dark through most of it. Pairings will change as my muse dictates. There will be some lighter stuff in here in places, but it will not dominate the fic. I haven't decided how long this fic will be... I have an idea up to a certain point, but how much the readers like it will determine how far the story progresses. If it moves slowly at some points, I apologize, but I like plot and a lot of detail. Anyhoo... here's the next chapter. hope you like it!


By the time Inu Yasha reached his home, Sango had fallen into a fit full sleep in his arms. When he walked inside, Kagome ran up to them, her face etched with concern. His face was so angry, and Sango was practically radiating pain. She gently touched her friends forehead, letting her miko energy wash over her and ease some of the pain. He carried Sango into the room they had set aside for her, laying her gently on the futon and watching as his wife pulled a blanket up around the unconscious taijia. He pulled Kagome aside to their own room, where he knew he wouldn’t disturb Shippou with his voice. Kagome had known something was wrong, but when the words passed her husbands lips she was in a state of shock. all she could do was cry and bury herself in her husbands arms, her face pressed against the wet spots on his haori where Sangd crd cried not too long ago. “It’s too much... Sango had suffered too much in her life to have had this happen to her now.” Kagome spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb either of the sleepers in the house.

Inu Yasha held her close, nuzzling her neck with his nose, breathing in the soothing scent of her skin. “I know... gods i wish she had let me come and get her.” He pulled back from his wife’s embrace, caressing her cheek with a clawed finger. “ I have to go after that bastard before he gets too far away to track. Put up some ofuda to seal the house in case that asshole comes back” Before he could pull away. Kagome captured his lips with her own in a brief, but passionate kiss.

“Be careful Inu Yasha.” Kagome smiled sadly up at him as he turned to go, knowing full well that her husband would go whether she wanted him to or not. His eyes kept flashing red while he told her of what happened. The only thing that kept him from loosing himself to his anger was the battered old katana at his hip. She watched her husbands’ form disappear into the woods, knowing full well that if he found his brother, the fight that would ensue would not stop until one of them was dead. Kagome prayed that the one to live would be her husband, and went about the process up sealing the area to all youkai but her husband and child.
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“Chikuso!” yelled the hanyou as he felled another tree in anger. His claws slashed through the wood, his mind envisioning his brother in it’s place. He had tracked his brother back to where he had left the clearing, and had followed the scent trail fro as long as possible. He had tracked it to a clearing where Sessoumaru’s scent met with that of Jaken’s, Rin’s and that pack animal the girl rode on. the scent promptly vanished, meaning they had taken to the air. Inu Yasha had circled the area, trying to get some trace, some clue as to what direction they had taken, but the scent was long gone. He felled another tree, noting wryly that if he kept this up, it would be called the ‘field of Inu Yasha’ instead of ‘the forest’. He yelled again into the night sky, startling the birds from their roosts in the treetops with his cry. “CHIKUSO!!”
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Sango awoke to the feeling of warmth and comfort. She felt a delicate, warm hand enveloping her own, and before she even opened her eyes, she knew the owner of the hand was Kagome. No one else radiated that sense of peace, that aura of unlimited compassion. She opened her eyes, and turned her head towards her friend with some difficulty. Her neck was still very sore from Sessoumaru’s claws and was now covered in bandages which restricted her movement. She smiled weakly up at her friend... Kagome was smiling, but her eyes gave her away. They were puffy and red, and brimming over with new tears. She knew. She reached out to embrace her friend and cried.
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Inu Yasha returned home mid morning, he was hungry, tired, and damn frustrated. Kagome had also made the wards a little too strong around their home, making it difficult to enter. ‘Not that I blame her.’ he thought. ‘Sessoumaru’s damn strong, I’d rather she be paranoid than in danger.’ He entered the large home that he had built for his growing family, only to be pounced on by an energetic Shippou the instant he set foot in the door. This wasn’t such a big deal in the past, but recently the little kitsune had hit a major growth spurt, and now he was a little bigger than Souta was around the time he first met him. Shippou actually managed to knock the hanyou to the floor with his tackle, and now he sat on his stomach, grinning contagiously at him.

“Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat!” he said loudly, his face a perfect image of excitement. Inu Yasha sighed and sat up, picking the kitsune off his lap so he could stand. He had long ago gotten used to the nearly impossible speed with which Shippou would talk when worked up about something.

“What, runt?” Shippou continued to beam up at him as he stood, he had long ago figured ‘runt’ was a term of endearment. Shippou smiled again, and pointed to a pile of neatly skinned rabbits sitting next to the hearth.

“I caught breakfast!” he replied, again grinning bright as the sun. Inu Yasha hat been teaching the kit to hunt as of late, and the little guy was actually getting pretty damn good. He looked down at Shippou, who was looking up at him expectantly. He knew what the little guy wanted, and it had taken him several years (and a LOTyellyelling and coaxing on Kagome’s part) but he was finally comfortable with it. Inu Yasha picked him up and gave him a hug, telling him he did well. He put the kit down, still slightly embarrassed at having to give him that kind of attention, but like any kid, Shippou wanted to be loved more than anything. How many nights had he fallen asleep in the cold night all alone as a child, wishing there was someone there to care for him. He wouldn’t let Shippou go through that too.

He heard a quiet giggle off to the side, and turned to see his wife. She had an amused smile on her face, obviously she had observed the scene that occurred when he walked in the door. Inu Yasha turned away blushing, and moved towards the hearth in the middle of the room. The coals had long since burned out, and a new fire needed to be lit if anything was going to be prepared to eat. Kagome’s eyes turned sad for a moment, before answering his unspoken question. “She’s sleeping.”

The hanyou went about relighting the fire, trying to avoid conversation. Kagome could tell from the fact that he was still in one piece, he probably had not encountered his brother. She sighed and moved to assist her husband... no words were needed between them, he knew that she knew of his failure to find Sessoumaru, and she knew he was hurting because of it. She put a pot of water over the now large fire, and cut the pieces of rabbit meat into the pot, followed by an assortment of vegetables herbs from their garden. Inu Yasha watched his wife work, her long slender fingers working quickly to prepare the meal, her eyes flickering back and forth between her ingredients and the pot to make sure it didn’t boil over. Shippou sat quietly playing in a corner with one of his tops. It was quiet moments like these that the hanyou cherished most... where everything was at peace and his family was safe and near him. Kagome sat back on her knees, finished for now with the cooking. He scooted over behind her, wrapping his arms around her, and resting one of his hands on her swollen belly while the other hand gently squeezing her breast. Kagome froze and jumped, Her face turning red, and her eyes darting to where Shippou sat playing. When she saw the kitsune hadn’t noticed, she let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding.

“Inu Yasha behave!” she whispered heatedly, now was not the time or place for that kind of behavior. Said hanyou kissed the back er her head, and moved back to his room to get some rest. Shippou rolled his eyes from where he sat in the corner, he knew what had been going on the moment he smelled the change in his parent’s scents. He put away his toys, moving over to where Kagome sat stirring the stew. He put his own hand on his mother’s belly, grinning as he felt the kicks of the child within her. His smile disappeared when he rememberhy hhy he was out here instead of visiting with Sango. He had known when she came through the door carried by his father... the scent that clung to her body was that of fear, and blood, and sex. He knew what that combination meant, without having to be told. He had pretended to be asleep when his parents talked about what happened, and when Sango awoken sobbing. His mother had said nothing about what happened, but Shippou knew from the look on Kagome’s face when they first made eye contact that morning, that she knew he had overheard. She had a creepy way of doing that... she just.... knew everything. Kaede-sama said it was because she’s a powerful miko with an old soul, but Shippou wasn’t convinced.

“He didn’t find his brother, did he?” The kit looked up at his foster mother expectantly. Kagome turned to him, surprised that he asked, before retuning her attention to the bubbling pot of food.

“No, Shippou-chan, he didn’t.”

“Inu Yasha will make him pay for this, right?” Kagome frowned, and stirred the stew again.

“Yes, Shippou-chan, he will.”

tbc....