A New Path

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of the anime Inuyasha. I do not own characters, locations or the storyline. i only own the original plot of this story.

Chapter 9
Litara ran quickly toward Kaede’s village, and arrived early the next morning. Kagome was walking toward the river to get water for breakfast when the young dog demon came running up. The two looked at each other warily, and Kagome pulled her sweater down off her shoulder, exposing Sesshomaru’s mark. When Litara saw the mark, she curtsied deeply.

“Lady Kagome, my name is Litara; I will be your servant for the time being. Lord Sesshomaru sent me to see to your needs and protection.” She said.

“Um…thank you. May I ask what type of demon you are?” Kagome replied.

“I am a dog demon; I was a member of the Lord Sesshomaru’s pack. The war with Lord Hyoga, a demon from the continent, destroyed our pack. We are not of the same blood, but we were pack mates. We are the last of our pack, since Lord InuTai perished.” Litara replied.

“It may be better if you don’t reveal that to the others right away. Inuyasha is very proud of his role as protector, and he won’t like that Sesshomaru has sent a replacement.” Kagome said.

“As you wish, Lady Kagome, I can hide my physical features quite easily, and I will do my best to mask my scent.” With that, Litara’s ears receded to a normal size, and her markings disappeared. Her claws became human nails and her golden eyes became green. She bowed low to Kagome again, and took the water bucket from her.

“Allow me to get the water for you my lady.” Litara said. Kagome quickly grabbed the bucket back.

“No, I have to continue to do my chores, as part of the group. I can’t expect special treatment just because of Sesshomaru. You may accompany me when I must go away from camp for my chores, and when they are unduly difficult. That way everyone is equal still.” Kagome said. Litara was not happy about this arrangement at all.

“But as Lord Sesshomaru’s intended, you are not equal with the others. You should not be participating in manual labor at all. It is my job to do these tasks for you.” She said.

“I don’t care about that. So what if Sesshomaru doesn’t think that I should be doing these chores? I’ve been doing things this way ever since I started with Inuyasha, and I won’t stop now. If I can complete a task on my own, then I will. If I need help, I’ll ask for it, and be grateful. That is how this mistress/maid relationship is going to work. It is going to be strange enough having a maid.” Kagome said. She turned, and dipped her bucket into the river, filling it to the top. She turned from the river and began to stumble back to the camp, the weight of the bucket too much for her.
“My lady, I couldn’t help but notice that you are having difficulty carrying that bucket, perhaps it is a bit too heavy for you? May I carry it until we are closer to camp? Then I can return it to you so that you can carry it into camp, and save pride.” Litara said.

“Yes, I think that will be fine. Thank you Litara.” Kagome replied. She handed the heavy bucket to Litara and she carried it to the edge of the woods around the camp. Kagome took it back and carried it in. Miroku jumped up and took it from her as soon as he saw her carrying it.

“Kagome, you shouldn’t fill it up so that it is too heavy for you. If this lovely young woman is the girl that Sesshomaru sent, you should let her help you, if you need help don’t be too prideful to ask.” Miroku said, “Miss, would you do me the honor of bearing my children?” He failed to notice that Sango followed him to greet Kagome. A loud SMACK echoed through the tress as her Hiraikotsu connected with Miroku’s head. Luckily, he didn’t drop the bucket, though his eyes swirled from the impact.

“I’m not going to slack off from my duties just because Sesshomaru sent me a maid. I’ll do my chores just like I always did.” Kagome replied.

“Kagome, we don’t look at it as slacking off. You will just do different things. I can see that your maid is a warrior, so she can do your chores that require muscle, and you can do the ones that don’t. It isn’t slacking off; it is wisely delegating the work so that it is done more efficiently.” Sango said as they approached the fire.

“How did you know that I am a warrior?” Litara asked.

“By the way you walk and by the muscles in your arms. I can easily see the outline of them through the sleeves of your kimono. In addition, you are walking next to Kagome in a defensive stance, ready to protect her from attack. It is the same way that Inuyasha walks around her.” Sango replied.

“Oh. Well you are correct. I am a warrior, and one of Lord Sesshomaru’s most trusted servants.” She slightly inclined her body at Sango.

They began cooking breakfast, and Litara took control of the cooking. She was an amazing cook, since her mother taught her all the things she would need to know to be the mate of the pack leader, not to mention the mate to a Great Demon Lord. Her father taught her the arts of fighting, and she was skilled in both. Kagome could cook, but both Sango and Miroku were glad to have a break from her cooking. Inuyasha walked in just as Litara was finishing the meal, and they were preparing to eat. Inuyasha looked at Litara strangely, and then turned to Miroku, figuring that if anyone knew who this girl was, the monk would.

“Who is this? And what is she doing here?” He asked.
“This is Litara. She is the servant that Sesshomaru sent to Kagome. She will be accompanying us on our journey, and she is currently cooking breakfast.” Miroku answered, “She unfortunately has refused to bear my children. A pity, she is a fine specimen for it.” THWAP!

“Look Monk, one more remark like that and this will go through your head do you understand me?” Miroku looked up to see not Sango, but Litara standing over him. She had the ladle in her hand, and looked ready to kill. She hit Miroku so hard that tears were running down his face, and his eyes were swirling even faster than with Sango’s hits. He fell over in a dead faint from the pain. Inuyasha looked at the girl, and made a mental note never to make her angry, she was more violent than Kagome and Sango put together.

Sango and Kagome looked on, eyes wide and mouths open. Sango glared at Litara for a moment, and then smiled widely.

“It is about time someone else put him in his place! Maybe he will think twice next time he sees a pretty girl.” Sango said.

“Lady Sango, perhaps you and I could converse later about the issue with the Monk?” Litara said.

“Well, sure, but please just call me Sango, I’m no lady.” Sango replied.

They sat to eat. Everyone, except Miroku as he was still out cold, thoroughly enjoyed Litara’s cooking. Inuyasha was especially vocal about it.

“Wow Litara! This is wonderful, you are a great cook!” He said happily.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha in amazement. Then she realized that he never complimented her cooking because he didn’t like it. She gripped her bowl angrily, and spat out, “Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha took one look at Kagome and knew what was coming. His eyes grew wide and he quickly handed the bowl to Litara, who looked confused. He jumped up and tried to run from the inevitable.

“SIT BOY!” Kagome ground out. “If you didn’t like my cooking why didn’t you say something!? I would have preferred to be told the truth, than to just think that you were ungrateful you pig! You make me so mad sometimes!” With that, Kagome stood up, told Litara that the food was delicious and thanked her, then turned on her heel and stormed into Kaede’s hut, Shippo running after her.

“Inuyasha sat rubbing his bottom. He looked confused. ‘If I’d told her that I didn’t like her food, she would have sat me…that girl is impossible to please!’ For the first time, he was glad that she chose Sesshomaru. The thought of his brother dealing with Kagome’s temper made Inuyasha smile maliciously.


Hey guys! Sorry it took so long, thanks for the reviews! Chp 10 is typed, so next time I can get on I will put it up...depending on the #of reviews that is! I really want your input on where you think the story should go and stuff like that. later guys! Luv yas!