What Was Expected

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA AND CO. NOR DO I MAKE ANY MONEY OFF OF THIS.

Thank you to Possessed for your help and Mamasama and ktshabatie for beta-ing. All remaining errors I own and again do not make money off.

Enjoy


Chapter 7: No

Kagome stared down at her dress; there was no way to remove the stain. Her only option now was to hold her head up and walk out with as much dignity as possible. She would call a taxi and tell her mother and grandfather that she would no longer surrender to them. Whatever the hell the Satos were, they were not human. Apparently, not many in the upper level of society were. How this had gone on without anyone noticing, she really was not sure.

Steeling herself, she prepared to open the door and make as swift of an exit as possible. With any luck, Sesshoumaru would not notice her absence until she was in the safety of the taxi.

Kagome’s plans crumbled as the silver-headed sentry turned to face her. Damn. Well she could just politely tell him that there would be no marriage between them and she could find her own way home. Her mouth opened to convey her thoughts but nothing beyond a squeak left it as she heard his growl. Quicker than Kagome could regain herself, a men’s tuxedo coat was shoved into her arms.

“Come, I will take you somewhere private to discuss these new revelations,” the amber-eyed youkai spoke in a hushed but firm tone.

The events of the past twenty minutes or so still clouded the young miko’s mind. All she could offer the male was weak nod as he gestured for her to begin the trek towards the back exit. Panic set in when the obsidian-haired woman realized that the path they took left her increasingly alone with this… whatever he was.

Then they were suddenly not alone. Her panic-filled eyes widened at the vision before her. What she saw chilled her to the core. The ghost that haunted her so thoroughly stared back at her with his pale blue eyes. The world fell away from her as the tears fell down her cheeks.

“Liam…” she said in a pained whimper.

“No.” The strong baritone of the inu-youkai brought the reality of the world back to her. “This is not Liam.”

Kagome broke her gaze from the redheaded foreigner before her to look upon the male that was her “date.” He was definitely growling at the man who looked so much like her dead love.

“Kitsune, you will leave and never approach the miko again.”

Now both males were growling as Kagome finally noticed the third’s presence. It was the third that stepped forward to try to mediate what was rapidly becoming a challenge over the rights to the female.

“Sesshoumaru-sama, your claim was not made in the traditional ways until the Western dogs were aware that this young woman was previously being courted by my clan. Any lack of permanent marking claim was made in deference to the young woman’s wishes to maintain her values of her family, not by our lack of interest.” He looked surprising similar to Liam and Liam’s doppelganger, with the noticeable difference of dazzling emerald orbs.

Sesshoumaru took in the older kitsune; he knew this male. This male had been a great help to his clan and many others with his vast knowledge of magicks and illusions. There was a great debt owed this male, but the miko was worth far more than any debt incurred to him.

“Shippo-san, your presence here does not dissuade us from our chosen path. At the time of our initial meeting, this Sesshoumaru was unaware of any previous claims upon her, her scent was cleanly her own.” The heir to the West would not back down; if need be he would fight under the old codes to validate his claim.

Kagome had listened to the words that were spoken and flashes of what she had heard within the bathroom came back to her. Slowly, she no longer cared that these men were obviously not men. No, what stuck out to her the most was that she had been reduced to the one bone left over from dinner and they were fighting over the right to be the one to gnaw on her.

“No,” as all eyes turned to her as she continued, “no claim was ever made with my knowledge let alone my consent. While I had agreed to a traditional way of finding a husband, I am not and will not play the ‘little woman.’ Go find another chew toy to fight over.” With that said, she began to walk away from the stunned males.

Under his breath Floin whispered, “Liam was right, the girl has fire.” Immediately he moved towards her, capturing her hand, which caused the coat to fall from her at the same time. “Liam died protecting our secret and now you would deny his family in their time of need? Would you dishonor his esteem of you so much? Did you love him at all?”

She flared at his words, in not only her mind but also her natural powers. The kitsune quickly jerked his hand back with a pained yelp. He had not expected her to use her powers; never had Liam mentioned that she had ever done anything of the like.

“It is what you deserve, kit, for touching that which does not belong to you.” It was the unforgiving voice of Sesshoumaru as he moved to take a protective stance in front of his female.

“I do not belong to anyone! I have no idea what I did to warrant this type of interest and I don’t care. Just leave me alone,” Kagome had a hard time keeping her voice down without ending in a shrill yell.

Shippo had moved to physically restrain Floin. The younger kitsune was ready to engage the dog in an old-fashioned duel for the small woman. Sesshoumaru insulted both kitsune even further by turning his back on them to address the now hysterical female.

“Kagome, you are miko.” He told her, as if that explained it all.

“Yes, I grew up on a shrine. Technically I am a shrine maiden, so go find another one to torment.”

Growling now at her disrespect, the son of the West barely curtailed his need to strike out physically. “If it was that simple the kitsune would not be here professing a previous claim. You possess reiki.”

“So that is my only value? Well if you are all just these great and powerful youkai, why the pretense? What is stopping you from taking it by force?” She was fighting back the tears that threatened. Had Liam never loved her? His sweet words, gentle touches, all of it: had it all been a lie?

“Your compliance is needed in order to be able to reap the benefits of your reiki.” The inu-youkai had no wish to discuss this here with her, but she was forcing his hand. He had noticed that in her outburst against the kit, she had purged all scent claims from her body. There were too many youkai clans searching for their own miko to let her be alone. Sesshoumaru actually needed the human to trust him. The thought caused a spike in his youki, to which the miko’s reiki answered with its own flare.

“You, none of you,” she looked from the amber orbs to the blue then green ones, “have my compliance. I am going home and I do not wish to see any of you ever again.” She turned to make her exit, dropping the coat she had reclaimed in the process.

“No.”

“Excuse me?” She whirled back around on Sesshoumaru. “And why not?”

Before Sesshoumaru could respond, Floin rushed forward to seize his chance. “The dog has done a poor job of protecting you. Allow me to ensure that you arrive at your house safely.”

The smile the male wore was the same as the one she had seen on Liam’s face so many times after winning an argument with her. No, she would not let herself crack and break in front of these things. “You are not him, and I do not take kindly to being thought of as a fool or worse yet a whore. Whatever Liam felt for me, I loved him. I was willing to go against my family, give up everything to be with him. So, do not dare to think that just because you look like him I would be willing to be with you. Liam was far more than just a face, and I am no whore.”

In the time of Kagome’s tirade against the kitsune, Sesshoumaru had placed himself so that he blocked her pathway to the exit. Kagome spun again ready to storm out, when she ran into a living wall. Her fall probably would have been bad had it not been for the wall’s arms reaching out to steady her.

“Kagome, you cannot go alone tonight,” stated the wall in a low rumbling baritone.

“Stop telling me what to do, Sato-san. I am a grown woman and can take care of myself,” she spoke while trying to free herself from his grip.

He quickly assented to her need not to be touched, but continued to deny her passage. He deemed it necessary to enlighten her to some of the dangers while they persisted in their bizarre dance. “While your compliance is necessary, not all here that you have piqued the interest of will remember that. Denying this Sesshoumaru’s protection could turn into a fatal mistake for your family or simply your virtue.”

When the words settled into her mind, Kagome stilled all movements, except for her haunted sapphire oceans searching his amber orbs for the validity of what he had said. “Come, we will go someplace where this can be discussed with few listening ears.” She nodded shakily at him. “You will stay here while I retrieve my coat.” He did not wait for her response. Sesshoumaru lifted his upper lip in a silent snarl at the kitsune before him while picking up the coat.

In tones too low for a human to hear, he issued his final warning to the kitsune, “Your suit has been rebuked, do not think that this Sesshoumaru has grown so soft in these times that he will no longer kill to protect that whom is his.”

Shippo and Floin were left to only to be able to watch their departure. Shippo shook his head in a heavy resignation, his nephew was brash like so many Americans, and it was probably that brashness that cost their clan the priestess. His course now was reminding Toga-sama of the West’s debt to him. He doubted that it would be enough.

Shippo got the distinct impression that Sesshoumaru might finally challenge his father if he was ordered to back down from this female. A warm smile spread across his face, there was definitely something special about this human.

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

If the ride to the event had been awkwardly quiet, then the ride away was suffocating in its silence. Kagome began to feel the urge to speak when she noticed that there was no way that Sesshoumaru was driving back towards the shrine. She only held her tongue by continuing the mantra in her head, ‘He said I cannot be forced.’

“Where are we going?” It was the most timid that Sesshoumaru had ever heard her voice.

There was something distinctly wrong with her cowering. It was for this reason that the taciturn male decided to respond. “To my mother’s apartment.”

“Doesn’t your mother live with your father?”

“No.”

Kagome chewed on the newest information she had been given. Izayoi was not his mother. So did that mean that Sayami was this man’s, no not a man, mother?

There was too much to think about and all Kagome wanted to do was go home, take a hot bath, and crawl into her bed. That apparently would not be happening if she did not think of something to convince Sesshoumaru to take her home.

Suddenly the light bulb flickered on. “Sesshoumaru, I cannot dishonor my family by staying the night with a man that I have known for barely a week. I need to go home.”

“Hn.”

His lack of true response brought the angry fire back into the young woman’s exhausted form. “It might mean nothing to you, but I will not shame my family. I have failed too many of their expectations already, I will not add being marked as a loose woman to the list.”

“That is why this Sesshoumaru is taking you to his mother’s home rather than his own. My mother will be arriving shortly after we do to uphold your virtue.” The woman was forcing him to talk more than he ever did in most days, which included the ones with board meetings. “There is also the matter of discussing your importance to my clan. My father will contact your grandfather tonight to set up the Yuinou.”

“Excuse me, but I believe I told you that I declined to be any part of your false marriage.”

“It will be discussed.”

The ride continued in silence again as Kagome fumed at Sesshoumaru’s refusal to treat her any better than a sullen child. As her agitation grew, she failed to notice that she was acting more and more like a child.

The walk up to the apartment was filled with awkward stares.

When they entered the apartment, Sesshoumaru immediately left Kagome’s side to procure her something else to wear. He returned with a silk yukata and express instructions on bathing. Kagome snatched the piece of clothing and stomped off to the bathroom.

The hot shower did little to cool off her temper; in fact, she was able to work herself into more of frenzy than before. When she reentered the living room, damp hair piled loosely on top of her head, she had tallied the many things that she should be mad at Sesshoumaru about. The first thing and the one that was on the top of the list was Sesshoumaru’s kidnapping of herself. Yes, he had brought her here against her will and the only way to interpret that would be to call it kidnapping.

Kagome stood in the entryway of the common living space; she had no intention of joining the youkai on the sofa.

“Come, sit and we will discuss the things that have been previously left unsaid.”

“No, I want to go home. I am sure that kidnapping a woman against her will would not be good for your reputation,” Kagome was way past being civil.

Sesshoumaru stiffened at her accusation. He was doing everything in his power to ensure her safety and that of her family and she thanked him by tarnishing his honor? She would learn and she would learn now that he was not a male to be trifled with.

“You will sit now and cease any further accusations against this Sesshoumaru,” his tone belied his waning patience. However, the young miko was in no state of mind to pay attention to the signs of danger around her.

“I am not property, and I will not be ordered around. There is nothing to discuss, I will have no further contact with you or your family from this night forward!” She crossed the room intent on finding her purse and calling for help. In the back of her mind she realized that she had not paid close attention to where they were going and now she did not really know where they were.

The ebony-haired female had made it no more than three steps before she felt a sharp pain in her upper left arm and her course was forcibly altered. The inu-youkai forced the unruly bitch to sit, as he had ordered, and then silenced her protests with a hair-raising snarl.

“This Sesshoumaru will no longer suffer your disrespect. The patience you have been afforded has stemmed from this Sesshoumaru’s understanding that your view of the world has been drastically altered this evening. However, said patience has come to its end. You will sit and listen. Do you understand?” He pressed more of his aura down onto the petite woman.

When she did nothing more than give him the deer-in-the-headlights look, the dai-youkai was forced to do something he rarely ever did in his life, repeat himself. “Do you understand?” More youki was forced onto the human. This time she managed to nod.

Her mind had been reeling at how easily he forced her to physically comply. How strong was he? When the snarl had reached her ears a morbid thought ran through her mind; how many had he killed? Kagome finally registered the fact that she was alone in the presence of someone who could easily kill her. Panic began to choke any rational thought that tried to make its way to her mind.

The cold was back and the male in front of her was the angry source. Kagome just wanted to hide within herself, but apparently, the other with her would allow no such thing.

“This Sesshoumaru will begin by confirming to you that youkai do exist. Our numbers are far fewer than they once had been, and because of humanity’s need to dominate the natural world, we were forced into hiding. If our existence is discovered now, it could very well spell the end of youkai.

“There are those among the humans who can see through a youkai’s natural illusion. Those with holy powers can still view the world as it is rather than how we would prefer. My father discovered that a miko’s power could be harnessed to lengthen her life to match that of her mate. However, it was not until Inuyasha mated with Kikyou that it was learned that the holy power could also be used to make our illusionary spells unnoticeable to those of holy powers.”

Kagome’s mind was going a mile a minute, but he started speaking of illusionary spells she wondered what had possessed him to choose his current look. Her mouth opened to voice this thought before she could stop it. “Why would you choose facial tattoos and claws?” It had completely slipped her mind that she had seen photos of him devoid of these attributes.

At least she was trying to be rational. That was the thought that stilled Sesshoumaru’s ire. “What you see, Kagome, is my true face, not what the world sees.”

“I thought you said that Kikyou’s power could stop others from seeing your real face,” she cradled her head in her hands while shaking it from side to side. “I am so confused.”

“There are two possibilities that could account for you seeing through the glamour: one is that the half breed is not very effective at harnessing her power, and two, that you contain stronger reiki than Kikyou.” His voice remained calm as if he were talking about the weather.

“Half breed?” Really, he was going to have to start talking to her like a kindergartener because she was not understanding half of what he was saying.

Sesshoumaru actually allowed the sigh to escape before he answered. “Inuyasha is a hanyou, half youkai and half human. We share the same sire.”

“So you two are half… brothers? Wait, I think I understand. Izayoi is Inuyasha’s mother and Sayami is your mother. So… no, I don’t know what I was going to say.” The sapphire orbs closed. Kagome knew that she was getting side tracked, but there was something strange about Sesshoumaru’s mother posing as his aunt.

Sesshoumaru nodded his head in ascent, “Izayoi is my father’s second mate, wife, while my mother, Sayami, is his first mate.”

Kagome’s brows crinkled in confusion. “You said ‘is’ for both. Are you saying that your father is still married to both women at once?” The thought of polygamy was completely insulting to her very sense of what it meant to be a woman in modern times. No, Kagome did not view herself as an active feminist, in fact, she probably played too well into the docile female role to ever be called a feminist, but she was taught to honor the bonds of marriage. In order to properly honor those bonds, fidelity was a key factor.

The ever-astute inu watched the disgust and horror cross the hypnotic blue-black eyes, and her display of emotions told him that he might not want to truly answer that question. “Hn.”

“What does that mean? Is this how women are viewed in your family? Are they simply assets to be acquired?”

Why did she have to be a hysterical female? Kami-sama help him, he needed to find something to shred. “Izayoi has been my father’s second mate for over 400 years, would you not concede that the morals and values of the world have changed in that time?”

“Yes, but-“

“There is no but in this. You have neither the experience nor the understanding to judge my sire on this. The mating between my sire and mother was done for political reasons, when he found happiness with a hime in his bed my mother conceded that it was within his rights to take her as second.” However, it was not known that Izayoi would be able to stand by his side through time. Apparently, she was more than a beautiful hime, but an unrecognized miko of meager power.

Nothing he was saying was calming her. In fact, she was becoming more frantic to get out of this now supposed engagement. “I cannot marry you. I will not marry a ‘man’ that expects me to bow humbly as he takes another to his bed. You are right; I do not know the morals of old. I know that it is not too much for me to expect fidelity going into a marriage. How do I even know that you do not already have mates waiting in the corners?”

He growled at the underhanded tactics she was again accusing him of employing. “This Sesshoumaru has been mated three times, but has no surviving mates. Nor does this Sesshoumaru have any desire in trying to please more than one female at time.”

“Oh, so I will just be tossed aside when my presence is no longer wanted?” her voice had a hint of shrill tones denoting that she was no longer functioning in the realm of reason.

“What of your precious kitsune?” He was hitting low, he knew, but he was tired of being the only one under attack. “Do you truly believe that he loved you? After all that his brother claimed. After the way you were deceived into wearing their clan’s scent mark. To all youkai, you are an answer to prayers that had long since been thought to be falling on deaf ears. Do not think that you can walk away from this and no others will ever attempt to force your hand.”

Liam. He had to love her, didn’t he? “I loved him, nothing can change that. If what you say is true, then I can understand his family’s fear. What I don’t understand was his brother’s claim that Liam died protecting all youkai.”

Sesshoumaru reigned in his anger; he was not going to gain anything by attacking her fragile emotional state. “Liam was youkai. There was no way that he died when the bluffs collapsed down on him, let alone be injured to the point that he could not remove himself from underneath that flimsy earth. No, he had a choice to make. Free himself defying all physical rules that humans know or wait for someone to free him. He chose to protect the youkai secret; unfortunately for him rescue did not come before the tides came in. While youkai are stronger than any human, breathing water is not a trait that many of us possess.”

Kagome knew that what he had done was noble, but her heart sank further into the void of her shattered soul. “He had a choice,” a haunted whisper left her quivering lips, “and I was not it.”

Sesshoumaru did not know how to respond to that. The kitsune had chosen his kind’s secret above his life, but he was starting to understand, by the look in her haunted eyes that she would have sacrificed the entire world to be with him. Her love had grown to depths that few ever reached. He was snapped out of his epiphany when she spoke again.

“I understand yours and your family’s need, but I will not be someone’s tool.” She stood to leave, she would go to sleep and then in the morning go home.

Sesshoumaru realized that he was losing and that was something that he would not accept. “You would want for nothing. There is nothing that this Sesshoumaru cannot provide.”

“No, there is something that is beyond your ability to provide.” At his uncharacteristically confused look, she offered one clue before disappearing down the hall. “If you truly cannot figure it out, ask your mother.”

Sesshoumaru was left alone, to await his mother’s return. He might not be the kind to show his emotions, and truly, he had not known her long enough to form any sort of attachment, but it did not mean that it was impossible.

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Yuinou: It is the formal engagement party for the couple. Gifts are given to the bride or the bride’s father depending on local customs. Yuinou can be translated to “betrothal presents” or “betrothal promise.”

AN: I hope that you all are still enjoying this story. Please if you have a moment review. Nori will be coming back and you will discover who she is exactly then, thank you to all who guessed who she might be.

emmaren