Troubled Waters

A/N I hope you all dig this. To htose that have read my first story, Dangerously In Love, you already know who Zimorah is:)

A year has past since Zimorah and Sesshomaru committed themselves to one another. It took her a while to get used to living amongst the Inuyoukai . When she first arrived, her presence was clearly an unwanted one. It was not so much the men that treated her so cold. Just like the human females in her village, the Inuyoukai females were distant with her. She always wondered, what was it about her that made women in this time hate her so much, especially the Inuyoukai females. Their beauty is just as enchanting as Zimorah’s was, still they tossed her nasty looks as she walked by with Sesshomaru. To spite the cool treatment accompanied by unpleasant glares, noone in their right mind dared an attempt on her life....they knew better then that. At least she was not mistreated because of the color of her skin like she was in her old village. Sesshomaru never did understand why humans behaved that way. The thought of disliking one based on something like skin color, he found that strange, like many other youkai. Zimorah only brought up being hated by the other females of his kind once. He studied the look on her face.
“Tell me, why do you care so much about them wanting you here?”

“It is not that I care....I just wish they weren’t so-so damn cold”. She pouted, tossing her dreads out of her face.

“Cold, like me?” He pushed while looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“NO!......I have some news, everything is not about you!” She snapped at him, still pouting.

He laughed quietly to himself. ‘Still spoiled, still fiery’. He walked towards her, his eyes met hers. “Do you not understand, they are jealous of you?” His tone was soft.

“I thought you said your women aren’t like that, you said jealousy is a human emotion.” She smiled a little as he caressed her face.

“I said, humans are known for displaying their jealousy”. He corrected her before planting a kiss on her full lips. She sighed happily at the feel of his embrace. Zimorah loved him more then she could ever express. They stood in the middle of his bedroom, embracing one another for a few minutes, surrounded by cool colors of blue.

She closed her eyes, suddenly she jumped back. It was something she saw....she almost fainted. Sesshomaru looked at her with concern. When he asked her what happened, she could not explain it. Whatever it was that flashed before her eyes, bothered her. She was unable to put it all together. Zimorah had been “seeing” things quite often, it started to happen when her grandmother past away. She has not told anyone of her visions, her mother had them, so did her grandmother. She hoped she wouldn’t ever have them. What was worse, she had noone to talk to about it. She decided to find Sango, maybe she could help her figure things out. She really wanted to go alone but Sesshomaru insisted that Rin go with her. She just knew he did that shit just to be difficult. She knew how annoyed he was when she went off by herself.

‘Thats the only thing only those damn Inuyoukai men....so possessive!’ Zimorah thought to herself as she grabbed Rin’s hand. She was always so independent, that was the main thing she and him argued about.

Rin loved going places with her. She was instantly attached to Zimorah. The minute the child saw her, she knew Zimorah was the one for Sesshomaru. Rin immediately ran towards Sango, when she saw her. It was nice to be around groups of humans every once and while. Sango greeted the child with a hug. She gently pulled at her braids.

“I take it you did this.” She smiled at her friend.

“You like?...I had to do something, that little ponytail wasn’t really working for her.” Zimorah answered with a smile and hugged Sango.

“Cute. So, what window did you two slip out of to get away from good old Sessy?”

“Ha-ha, I told him I wanted to see you and that is exactly what I did!” She had that ‘no-nonsense’ attitude in her voice.

“Really?” Sango teased, handing her friend some tea.

“You know, he is so possessive.......I am not used to that.”

“Hello?.....He’s a dog-demon....I could’ve told you that, no, wait I DID tell you that!”

The two young women looked at Rin as she giggled at their conversation. Zimorah gave her a look, she knew she had to go find one of the younger kids in Sango’s village to play with.

“Aww, Zimorah you’re being mean.” Sango felt bad for the child.

“No, you do not understand, that child, I do care for her, she is a sweet child but she repeats things.” She paused to sip her tea. “Girl, do you know one of the first real arguments Sesshomaru and I had was because she told him something I said?”

“Uh-oh” Sango laughed at her. “What did you say?”

“I was a little annoyed because of him wanting to know where I was every time I walked out of a room. I was just venting when I said that my father passed away when I was four, that I didn’t need another one!”

Sango laughed agin. “Yeah, that sounds like you.”

“So, while we were eating dinner, with other Inuyoukai at the table now....”

“Oh, I don’t like where this is going.” Sango teased Zimorah.

“Sessh advised me to do something, I forgot what it was.” She paused to sip her tea once more. “Nothing mean or anything but Rin threw her chopsticks down, trying to defend me I guess. She told him...’Zimorah’s father passed away when she was four years old and she doesn’t need another one’ “

Sango’s eyes widened. “Oh no,...what did you do?” She was snickering.

“ I just stared down into my plate. I could feel his eyes on me, right along with everyone else, staring a hole into me and Rin.” Zimorah couldn’t help but laugh. “Sango, there is nothing worse then having a whole tribe of demons staring you down like you killed their pet or something.”

“I know the feeling, I’m an exterminator, remember? So, was Sessy pissed?”

“Was he ever. Everyone ate in silence after that. I had to calm Rin down, she was about to cry and could you stop calling him that?” Zimorah knew she did that to get under her skin.

Sango chuckled little. She missed not seeing her best friend as often. It felt good to laugh, she had been so stressed out, having to take care of Miroku. Zimorah looked at her, she noticed how tired Sango was and knew something was going on. She let out a long sigh.

“Sango, give me your hand.”

“Ah....why, what are you going to-“

Zimorah cut her sentence off by grabbing her hand. She closed her eyes. It was true, the gift her mother and grandmother had, finally reached her. Through her visions, she learned Miroku almost lost his life to save Sango. Although he was free of the wind tunnel, Naraku was still alive, he damn near killed the monk. He has been unconscious for a week now. At least Kohaku was there to help his sister.

“Is there anything I can do?” Zimorah slowly let Sango’s hand go.

“How did you- You have your grandmother’s gift, don’t you?”

“Yeah”. Zimorah answered with a little regret. She just learned to get a hold of the other powers she was born with, now this. No wonder demons admired her, they sense the power she carried. Her grandmother always worried about her, she was so much like her mother.

“Well, Zimorah, it is a good thing right?” Sango asked her with a concerned look.

“I...I don’t know. It depends on how one looks at it. Its not good when you see something that scares you while embracing the love of your life.” Her head was down when she answered the question.

“Zimorah, what did you see?....What did he do?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I saw him, he was a small child. Then I saw him as a he is now, he was sitting in a dark corner. “

“Oh, well I’m sure it was just a random vision.”

“No, he seemed to be in such sorrow, so much pain. I almost passed out I felt whatever it was he was going through.” Zimorah was twisting one of her locks. She was still upset about that vision.

“You should talk to him about it. Is there something you don’t know about him?”

“Well...no. We talk all the time. Besides, at the time I couldn’t even explain what I saw.” Zimorah paused. “It was like.... like the vision I had of InuYasha and Kagome, they were holding on to one another as if their lives depended on it.”

“Oh, yeah, you spoke to me about that, they were both crying.”

“Right and now.....look at what they are going through.....I feel so bad for them.”

“I do as well, I’ve never seen InuYasha so broken before.”

“That is the same feeling I got when I saw Sesshomaru sitting in that dark corner. Something happened to him, I must find out!”

“Zimorah, maybe you shouldn’t.” Her friend told her, lightly tapping her hand.

“If I do not, the visions will only become stronger, I won’t be able to touch him without seeing something.”

“It is that powerful?”

“Yeah.....that is how it was with my mother. The only thing is, while I can see visions for others, I cannot see what my fate will be.”

That sent in chill through Sango’s body. She feared that perhaps those sightings had something to do with her friend.

“Well, what if.....what if he was hurting because of something having to do with you?”

Zimoarh saw the look of worry on Sango’s face. “No....this vision is from his past.”


“SANGO!” Kohaku ran outside.

“Yes, yes....whats up?” She turned to face her brother. Rin soon ran behind Kohaku.

“Its Miroku....he is waking up!”

The two women looked at each other, Sango jumped up, she was so happy. After all they went through together, she should have known he wasn’t going anywhere. Zimorah smiled , she told Sango to go on and care for him. She told her that she would be fine, not to worry about things so much. Rin said her goodbyes to Kohaku, Zimoarh laughed, it was obvious the child had a little crush on him.

Zimorah and Rin reached Sesshomaru’s village only to find him standing in the doorway. ‘Aww just like a pet that missed it’s owner’ Zimorah laughed to herself. He saw her smiling at him as the gate opened. He tried so hard not to smile in front of the guards, his hair covered his face. Rin ran up to him without even thinking. He was not really one from public affection but he gave Rin a friendly pat on the head, noticing her new hair style.

“You did this?” He ran his finger down one of Rin’s braids.

“Yes....I cannot believe let her run around with a ponytail on the side of her head.” Zimorah gave him a “smart ass” answer. He smirked, knowing she was joking with him.

Sesshomaru was slightly annoyed at the fact she missed dinner, he was stuck eating with Jaken. He hated having to hear Jaken, continue to kiss his ass while he ate. His cousin Yoshirah was with him as well, implying that he needs to put a tighter hold on Zimorah. Yoshirah and Zimorah got off on the wrong foot when they met. He refused to let go of that statement Rin made at the table in Zimorah’s defense. He felt like Zimorah was way too outspoken, especially for a woman, a mortal woman at that. She flat out told the man to mind his business.

After settling Rin down for bed, Zimorah strolled down the hallway, on her way back to Sesshomaru’s room. Her long, violet robe floated behind her. She let her dreads down, and eased out a sigh of relief as they fell passed her shoulders. Her happy stroll ended when she saw an unfamiliar figure in the darkness, leaning against the wall. She stiffened up, her feet were planted firmly on the floor.

“Show yourself.” Her tone was serious. She lightly sucked her teeth when the man stepped from the shadow. His amber eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He was quite tall, had a thick, solid build. His jade kimono played off his olive skin tone.

“Hello, Zimorah” He flashed her a false grin as he moved his raven hair from his face.

“Hello, Yoshirah”. She rolled her eyes at him. Who the hell did he think he was, trying to scare her like that?

“You looked like you were going to attempt to fight me” He teased her, knowing it got under her skin.

“And I would have, if you had not shown yourself.” She replied with a harsh tone. She noticed him looking at her, his eyes followed the curves of her figure. It was like he was staring through her robe. This was the third time Zimorah caught him looking at her in such a manner. Her full lips curled as her eyes narrowed. “Will you stop looking at me like that!!....I’ll turn those golden eyes black!” She growled out.

A smiled formed across his face. “My, my....You are a beauty, that is, until you open that big mouth of yours.” He walked towards her, she stepped back..

“Keep your distance dog!” She warned him.

“Ooh, a fiery little human aren’t you? I told Sessh he needs to keep you on a short leash.”

“And I told you to mind your damn business.....that is why you don’t have anybody, you are all wrapped up in what Sessh and I are doing.” Yoshirah was in her face, she did not back down. Zimorah glared at him, straight into his eyes.

He threw her an evil grin and laughed. “Well Zimorah, I can’t help but know what you and Sesshomaru are doing.....I KNOW exactly what you two are doing.....so do the servants and everyone else with ears!”

“You bastard!” Zimorah felt her face getting hot, she was angry and embarrassed.

“Don’t feel bad, its been fifty long years for Sessh.” He laughed again. Zimorah drew back her fist. She intended to strike him in the mouth with one swift blow, she felt someone grip her hand.

“Enough of this.” Sesshomaru’s voice was cold. “Zimorah, I need you to come inside, now.” He guided her to his room, his eyes never left Yoshirah. He waited to hear the door shut. Sesshomaru threw his cousin a nasty look.

“What?” He asked, knowing full well of what he did.

Sesshomaru walked up to him, his teeth clinched, it took everything he had to keep his eyes from turning. “Do not ever, ever insult her like that again!”

“Did you not see, that human almost struck me?”

“And you were asking for it. She would have been well within her rights to strike you.”

“I just wanted her to-“

“I do not give a damn what you wanted, you will NOT disrespect again”. He turned away from the man. Sesshomaru was still angry but he chose not to hit his cousin. Yoshirah broke out into laughter. The thought of his cousin taking up for this human woman amused him. Sesshoamru stopped in his tracks, slowly he turned to face the young man.

“You know, I can see InuYasha falling for a mortal but you?.....I mean yes, she is a beauty, I wouldn’t mind fucking her myself but-“

Sesshomaru pounced on him, he gripped Yoshirah’s neck “What did I just say to you?” His grip grew tighter. Zimorah ran to find someone to pull them apart, she was not about to attempt to break up two demons fighting. It took three guards to break Sesshomaru’s hold on the young man’s neck. One guard was holding Yoshirah back while two were held Sesshomaru.
Rin poked her head out of her door, wanting to know what was going on. She had never seen her lord so upset, so emotional. The older guard pulled the young man down the hall.
“Close your mouth, do you not understand he will kill you right here?”

Yoshirah yelled out. “You have yet to even kill that half-breed brother of yours...I heard you were getting soft on humans!”

“Well fuck what you heard!” Sesshomaru hissed out. The guards paused, they never once heard him use such harsh words. Zimorah gently pulled at his arm, she noticed a crowd gathering. He jerked away from her. In his anger, he didn’t realize she was trying to calm him.

“Sessh....let us go inside now” She whispered. By now Zimorah knew what tone to use to put him at ease. As they slowly walked away, she heard something said by one of the servants.

“Yosihira has a point, after everything that happened....why would he bring a mortal here?”

“Lord Sesshomaru must truly love this woman. I have never seen him lose his composure, not like this.” Another servant answered her.

“Yes, did you hear that? he was cursing like a common youkai. He must love her but.....a human?....After what happened to little InuTaisho, I didn’t think this would ever happen.” The woman caught on to Zimorah’s stare. Instantly, she stopped while lightly pushing the other female towards to servants’ quarters.

Zimorah graciously thanked the guards and assured the others that everything would be just fine, like humans, youkai had their family disputes. She let out an exhausted sigh as she looked at Sesshomaru stretched out on the large futon. A thick blue fabric covered his half dressed body. She noticed the deep scratches on his perfect face. Even though Sesshomaru calmed himself after a while, Zimorah felt so bad, like the quarrel was all her fault. She walked over to the futon and waited for him to invite her in. During times like this, she was very submissive to him. He looked deep into her eyes, he felt her sadness. She gently took his hand. Pulling her close to him, he whispered to her.

“This is no fault of yours.....Yoshi and I will work it out.” He kissed her, he wanted her not to worry. “I’m sorry you had to witness my vulgar display of anger.”

“I’ve seen worse...remember?” She joked, her bright smile soothed him. He laughed as he held her closer to him, she felt his heart beating. His scent was so intoxicating to her. She closed her eyes....there it was again, that vision. She kept herself together this time however. ‘ The small child, was that Sesshomaru as a child? Who was little InuTaisho...I know that his father’s name.’
She thought to her self.

“Zimorah, are you still here with me?” Sesshomaru’s deep voice snapped her out of it. Her vision faded. She smiled at him. “So tell me, where were you a few moments ago?”

“I’m sorry, I must have blacked out.....I’m fine.” She assured him. Her hand caressed his face, she let out a low whimper as her fingers ran across the scratches on his face. “Are you okay?” She asked in a whisper.

“Hmm, those marks will be gone in the morning...nothing to concern yourself with.” There was the cocky Sesshomaru she knew and loved. He leaned in to kiss her, slowly his kisses trailed down to her neck. While her body wanted more, she couldn’t help but think about what Yoshirah told her. The thought of everyone hearing her cries of passion greatly embarrassed her.

“Sessh.” She lightly called his name.

“What is it?” He rested his head on her chest.

“I....Well, is it true that people can hear us?”

He could not help but laugh, noone has ever cared to ask him that before. His laughter ceased when he observed the look on his mate’s face. Once he sat up, he realized she was blushing.

“Zimorah, why does this concern you?”

“Yoshirah told me that everyone knows what we do at night....EVERYONE with ears!”

Sesshomaru let out yet another laugh. Realizing how silly she sounded, she laughed as well. Why should she care? She pulled him back on top of her while kissing him. His hands began to explore her body. With each touch, he wanted her more. He had Zimorah right where he wanted and made sure Yoshirah heard every sound she made. ‘Maybe that arrogant pup will learn a thing or two’. Sesshomaru thought to himself with a wicked grin on his face.

Peacefully sleeping, the two laid wrapped around one another, like cloth around a newborn. The moonlight glowing on them enhanced the beautiful contrast of their skin tones. Zimorah was suddenly awakened by Sesshomaru’s whisper. It was obvious he was dreaming. She gently slid out his grasp and studied him. His expression was one of pain, sadness. ‘Is he having a nightmare?’ She thought to herself. There was only one way to find out. Zimorah softly placed her hand on his forehead. She closed her eyes. It was the same child, he looked just like him, his kimono was a rich, golden color. Zimorah smiled at the sight of the man she loved as a child. Even as a young one, he carried that same cocky look in his eyes. She was confused, why was this dream causing Sesshomaru such distress? Zimorah almost lost her balance once she saw the next vision. She was so shaken, her eyes were filled with tears.
The young woman grabbed her robe and left the room. Zimorah was crying as she paced back and fourth in front of his bedroom door.

‘Who was that child?” She stopped, it all clicked for her. ‘Could it be that Sessh has a son?...no, he would have told me, right?’ All these questions, Zimorah didn’t know what to do. She wondered if InuYasha knew of this.

“No, his brother knows nothing”.

Zimorah all up jumped out of her skin at the unfamiliar voice. She slowly turned around. She saw an older man with a red, silk kimono. His hair was long and black with one silver streak in the front . His voice was deep, almost like Sesshomaru’s. By the way he was quinting, she knew he lost his sight in his right eye. To spite the fact that they don’t really age, she could tell he was an elder amongst the Inuyoukai. His eyes were grey with a hint of amber.
“You should not be out here wandering about.”

“I......I-m sorry”. Zimorah was frightened.

“You must be the one they call Zimorah.” He knew he startled her.

“Why yes, that is me.” Her brown eyes were still watery.

“I am Toshio .” The man introduced himself. “Ah, I heard you were a beautiful one. It would take a special female to make my nephew fall so hard”.

“Oh, thank you...I’ve heard so much about you.” Zimorah began to breath a little easier. She was able to give the man a smile. “You mean, you do not mind that I’m...I’m human?” She wanted to kick herself for asking him that.

His laughed filled the hallway. “Child, why would I care? My brother fell for a mortal.” He paused. “However, with Sesshomaru, I must say, I am quite surprised.”


“Yeah, I keep hearing that.” Her head dropped slightly.

“So, your visions keeping you awake tonight huh?” The man asked while leaning against the wall.

Zimorah’s eyes widened. “But how did-“

“I have them myself.” He answered her. It was rare that Inuyoukai had such gifts but he had this power at a young age.

“The young one, was that.....was that his son?”

Toshio studied Zimorah. He knew the minute he met her, she had a sincere heart. He just wasn’t sure she was ready to learn of what happened. She was already shedding tears for the distress of the man who held her heart. She the man knew something.
“Please, tell me why Sesshomaru is hurting so.” She pleaded with him.

“Yes, that was his son.”

“But, where is he....what happened to him?....In my visions he was so small, so young.”

“InuTaisho, he is no longer among us. The young one has joined my brother. ” Toshio turned away from her slightly. He did not want the girl to see how deep this still cut.

“Oh..... gods...my poor Sesshomaru.” Zimorah wanted to cry once again. She lightly tapped Toshio on his shoulder. “What happened? how?”

“He passed away about fifty years ago, soon after InuYasha was put under a deep sleep by that wench Kikyo.”

“But how?”

He would not say. He knew she would not be ready to handle all this in one night. She grabbed his hand, she was upset to find he was blocking her, denying her access to his thoughts.

“You are blocking me. Why?”

“Do not rush things child, you will find out when the time is right.” He easily slipped from her grasp. Before she could say anything else, the man was down the hallway. “Patience, Zimorah.”

He left Zimorah standing in the doorway. She took several deep breaths as she ran her fingers through her dreads. She wiped her face before she entered the bedroom. Zimorah stood over the futon, watching Sesshomaru sleep for a few minutes. Her heart went out to him, even though there was a part of her that was hurt because he never told her about his child. Zimorah thought it best that she not mention any of this to him. She had a haunting feeling that she did not even know the half of all that happened. As she slid back into the covers, she felt him pull her close to him. The sound of his heart beating, lulled her to sleep.