Supreme Conquest
By Danyealle
(MMF/FanFiction)
Chapter 4
When Kagome woke the next morning she felt more rested than she had in a very long time. After that a soothing, rhythmic sound filtered into her consciousness like a steady drumbeat. She could tell she was curled up to something warm and it felt great but she wasn’t sure what it was. But, then whatever it was moved around and she could hear breathing.
Eyes flying open, her head jerked up and she found herself gazing into the golden eyes of Togaou. With a startled cry, heart hammering in her chest, she squirmed out of his arms. Backing away quickly, she stuttered and stammered in both confusion and mortification at waking up in the arms of a youkai that was the father of her friend.
“Calm down Kagome.” Togaou soothed. He had expected a reaction similar to this. After all it had to be quite a shock to fall asleep in your own bed only to wake up in someone else’s. Even worse, it’s the bed of a male you just met for the first time the day before. Panic, to an extent, would be warranted.
“Calm down?!?” She squeaked out, voice rising in volume and pitch. “I went to sleep in my bed, alone, and then I wake up in bed with you? Sorry, that isn’t conducive to staying calm!” She ended up shouting at him.
OK, she definitely had fire and spunk; both things were something he absolutely adored. Also, from her point of view, he could understand why she was upset. The whole situation did, indeed, look very bad. Now it was up to him to explain just what had happened and why she was here. “Calm down a bit and I’ll explain why you’re here. There was nothing nefarious in the intent nor did anything happen that was compromising in any way.” He told her in what he hoped was a soothing, tranquil voice. Then he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
“Do not touch me!” She shouted, pulling away from him. Yes, she was royally p.o.-ed at waking up in the position she was but she was also a tad on the frightened side as well. Keeping a close eye on the dog demon, she scrambled back faster as she saw him reaching for her. Then, suddenly, she ran out of bed, toppling onto the floor with a loud thump, knocking the breath from her.
Startled, Togaou quickly hopped off the bed and knelt down beside her. “Are you alright my dear?” He asked, concerned.
Crab walking backwards away from him, she shouted, “Get away from me!”
Stopping, he stepped back and sat down on the edge of the bed. No, he wasn’t upset or angry with her over her reaction. In fact, it was about the opposite; he could empathize with the poor onna. “I assure you Kagome I intend you no harm nor did I do anything that compromised you in any way. You have my word of honor.”
Backed up against the wall, Kagome sat down with a wince then rubbed her bruised elbows. Glaring at the large male on the bed she said nothing for a minute. Heart hammering in her chest, her mind whirled all over the place, trying to comprehend just what was going on. Waking up in bed curled up nest to a male that he had met less than 24 hours ago was not something that set right with her. Especially when she had no knowledge or say so in the whole thing. After organizing her thoughts the best she could and calmed herself as much as she possibly could, she asked, in what she hoped was calm voice, “Alright, why did I wake up in your bed?”
Staying calm, the daiyoukai tried to formulate the best way to explain this to her without explaining some things he would discuss with her later. Finally, he came up with what he hoped was the best and simplest way to deal with it. “I felt you were in danger while you slept so I thought you would be better protected if you were in here with me.” He explained to her simply.
OK, to her that made a least a tiny bit of sense. But she was supposed to be safe here at the Fortress. Then, if that was the case, what could cause her to be in danger. “Just how was in danger and what caused it?” She asked him.
Though that question wasn’t unanticipated he had hoped it would go unasked. But, since she had, he would need to give her an answer. Once more he decided the best way was to do it simply. “Sesshomaru is upset and angry at this point about many things. Though I don’t think he would do anything to you normally, especially with me around, I wanted to ensure that was the case. Because there is a door that connects your room to his I wanted to make sure you were protected. Yes, I probably should have woken you up and explain what was going on but you were so exhausted and sleeping so well that I didn’t. I should have, I know that now, but at the time I did what I thought was for the best. I apologize for that. Once more I will assure you that nothing happened that would compromise you personally.” He finished, tone sincere.
Looking at him, still wide-eyed, she thought about what he had just said. To her, it made sense. In the tomb Sesshomaru had been angry, though he hadn’t really shown it. In fact, he had tried to kill her at that point. She was sure that after she had gone to sleep things had gone on that she didn’t know about that may well have made the whole thing even worse. They way she saw it was that she had slept so hard she could have slept through an earthquake and wouldn’t have known it so something very well could have happened and she wouldn’t have known. Gazing at him, she asked, “You promise nothing happened?”
“Nothing happened,” he assured her firmly.
With a sigh, she nodded and relaxed a bit. “Just don’t do something like that again OK? I can’t handle something like this first thing in the morning.” She told him, standing up, brushing off the seat of her pajamas.
“Understood,” he told her with a nod. Then he slid out of bed and stretched. Oh, he felt great! Looking at her, she smiled. “Why don’t you go clean up and I’ll arrange for breakfast.” Stepping over closer to her, he smiled down at her. “I would like it if you would take the meal with me, alone. I would appreciate the opportunity to get to know you a bit more and talk with you about a few things.”
“Sure,” Kagome told him with a nod.
…kst…kst…kst…kst…
After she left he sent the servants off to get them both a meal. While they tended to that he slipped off to get cleaned up and tend to other personal things.
When he came back there was tea waiting on him. Seating himself, he poured him a cup. When he had a satisfying drink he sent one of the servants off to let his sons know he and Kagome wouldn’t be joining them for breakfast but he was planning on all of them meeting up for lunch. After attending to that he settled back to think and do a bit of planning out what he was intending to talk to her about.
First ting was he was going to break it to her about he was planning. His plan was to spill it all but he was going to have to take it slow and spoon feed it to her a bit at a time. But, first thing first, he needed to know what her knowledge of youkais was. Once he knew that he would work from there.
…kst…kst…kst…kst…
When Kagome once more joined him breakfast was on the table, all ready of her.
When she sat down, Togaou dismissed the servants then served her himself.
Setting in, Kagome sipped at her tea while she ate. Until the food was in front of her she hadn’t realized just how hungry she was.
While she ate he asked, tone casual, “Kagome, how much do you know about youkai and their society?”
“Not much really, just what Inuyasha has told me. That hasn’t been much either.” She conceded. When she saw a bit of a incredulous look on his face she hastily explained. “Where I’m from youkai, hanyous and mikos with the kind of power I have are thought to be nothing but myths. Even the Shikon No Tama is thought to be nothing but a mere legend.”
“Alright…” he said slowly with a bit of a nod. This was going to be harder than what he had thought. With basically no knowledge at all he was pretty much going to have to explain everything to her. Not only that, but the odds of her not understanding or being able to accept it were high.
But he still had to press on and deal with it the best way he could. Ordering his thoughts, he found what he hoped was the best starting point. “Do you realize that by letting me use your powers to come back has left me in your debt according to youkai law?”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’m just glad I could help.” She replied with a dismissive wave of her hand and a smile.
“Oh, but I do my dear. Nor will I allow such a debt go without repayment.” He told her firmly, using a tone that made it crystal clear he would brook no argument.
When he saw her nod he pressed onwards, switching tracks a bit. There was a question he really needed answered before he finalized his plans. Conversationally, he asked, “Has your family already picked out a mate for you or have they started negotiations for you?” If she had no intended that would be for the best but he could deal with it if there was someone in the picture he was sure he could deal with it as well. But, on a side note, he thought her family had been a bit remiss when it came to her unwed state. Though he wasn’t sure of her exact age it was clear that she was past the age most onnas were married. In fact, he was sure that by now she should have at least one pup in tow and probably another on the way if he judged her age correctly.
Giggling, she looked him. “Where I’m from that isn’t done any more, for the most part. We pick the person we’re going to marry. Then it’s not usually done until after we turn 18.”
“What? Why so old?” He queried, both eyebrows arched into his hair. Never had he heard anything like this before. It sounded completely absurd to him.
“Well, things are a bit different. We live a lot longer. It’s common to live into your 70’s and 80’s. Then there are the advances in medicine. They know that your brain doesn’t quit growing and developing until you’re in your late teens or early twenties so they mark that as when you become an adult rather than when you body becomes capable of producing kids.” She explained to him.
Looking at her, he tried to digest what she had just told him but was having a hard time doing so. Most of it made exactly no form of sense to him at all. Other parts of it did make some form of sense. But now wasn’t the time to delve into that, he would revisit it at a later date. Instead, he pressed forward. “Is there a male of any kind in your life then?”
Shaking her head, she told him, “No, there isn’t. I haven’t even been on a date of any kind. Though there is a guy at school, Hojo, that likes me. He keeps asking me out but we haven’t done it so far.”
Once more he didn’t understand most of what he had just said but he did get that there was another male sniffing around her. He had to do something and make his intent clear before that progressed any further. Ignoring what he had just heard, he pressed on. “Back to what I said about owing you a debt…. Apparently things are far different were you are from and they appear to be done much differently as well.” Stopping, he tried to figure out how best to proceed with this to cause the minimal amount of panic as he could from her. Bracing himself, he continued on. “Because of the magnitude of what you did for me there are very few things in this world that I can do to fully repay you for it. In fact, I can really think of only one that would do it: taking you as my mate.” He was about to keep going and explain things from there when he was interrupted by her.
“What?!?” She shouted, voice rising to the level just below shouting level, a shrill, almost incredulous tone to it. “Take me as a mate?” She squeaked out, eyes getting a bit of a buggy appearance to them. At the mere mention of that, her heart began to jackhammer in her chest and it became hard to breath. Thoughts circling at supersonic speed around what was said a panic began to overtake her. Fingers clenched so tightly on her chop sticks that they snapped, all she could o was stare at him, mouth hanging open.
Reaching over, he pulled the broken pieces of wood from between her fingers before she injured herself with them then soothed, “Just calm down Kagome. Hear me out before you start to panic.”
“Sorry, from my point of view, what you just said warrants this reaction!” She all but shouted. “I met you less than a day ago and you talking about becoming mates? No way!”
OK, this was not going how he planned it. Normally, because of his power and title, any onna, no matter the species, would have jumped on what he had said with both feel and would have readily agreed. Things must be very different where she was from. Now he had to rethink this and figure out a way around her reluctance. First thing he thought about was appealing to what almost all beings had, a bit of lust for power. Even all the mikos he had met also had that. “Yes, I can understand that this may be sudden and a bit of a shock to you.” He soothed then continued on, “But there is an upside to it… In becoming my mate you’ll become Lady of the Western Lands, thus assuming all the power and respect that comes with that title.”
“Stuff like that doesn’t matter to me.” He told him firmly with a shake of her head. “I’m not going to become a partner to anyone just because of a debt they owe me or anything like that. That’s only going to happen if I have feelings for them and them for me.” She imparted to him, voice from as granite, fixing him with a level gaze.
Though what she had just said complicated things it also gave him an inkling as to what he had to work with when it came to her. Quiet for a couple minutes, he mulled it all over, trying to figure out what to do next and how to work with this. If he proceeded the way he was he wasn’t going tog et anywhere with her and all she was probably going to do was back away from him, thus making it all the harder.
After a couple minutes he came up with something he thought he could work with. Even among youkai there was a courtship period to give the parties time to make arrangements and get to know one another. It would be possible to set that up with her then use the time to woo her. Even if the period was a year he was certain that he could manage that without a problem. With an internal, self-satisfied smirk, he was certain that it wouldn’t’ take that long for him to manage it. But, though he was certain he would have no problem managing such a thing Sesshomaru would probably need the whole time. His oldest pup had a rough road ahead of him, that’s for sure.
Turning his attention back to the miko, he schooled his voice into something that he hoped was calming and said, “I can understand where you’re coming from. I didn’t realize how differently things were done among your people. Among youkai this is the way it’s been and no one thinks anything of it. I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t wish to do so I’ve come up with something that I hope will be acceptable to you. Though I will make it clear to all and sundry that I intend to take you as a mate I will start courting you like anyone else would. We’ll spend time getting to know each other and work from there. After a year, or before if you’re comfortable with that, we’ll discuss it again then go from there. If, in the end, you don’t feel you could deal with having me as a mate then we’ll discuss other options from there.
“Also, I will, in that period of time, get to you’re your family and get your fathers permission like anyone else would do.”
“I don’t have a father.” She told him automatically. “He died when I was very young.”
Nodding, he asked, “Do you have older brother?”
Shaking her head, she said, “NO. Only a younger one. He’s 8.”
“Any close male relatives?” Now this was a complication. Usually there had to be permission given from a close male relative for this to happen.
“My grandpa but he’s not exactly all there. Mom makes all the decisions in our house.” She explained.
“Then I will get her permission,” he told her with a nod. Though it wasn’t ideal it was something eh could work with. Once he obtained the matriarchs permission he was certain that he could find someone at court to become a surrogate father for her to make sure her intrests were looked out for and to satisfy societal norms.
Looking back at her, he asked, “Would this plan be something that is acceptable to you?”
Gazing out the balcony door, Kagome thought about what he had said. Honestly, what he was proposing wasn’t all that different from what went on in her time with dating and getting to know each other. That was something she could deal with. Him being a youkai didn’t bother her a bit, stuff like that didn’t matter to her even though she understood it did to people in this era. The only thing she really had any ‘issues’ with was the fact that he was Inuyasha’s father and was hundreds of years older than she was. It was also a pretty good bet that her mother was going to have problems with that end of things as well. But, on the other hand, plenty of women in her time went with older men. The way she saw it this really wasn’t all that different from a situation such as that.
But, there were other problems as well, ones that had to do more with her end of things than from his. How she going to go about explaining to him the fact that she was from the future and how she traveled though the well to get here? That alone was going to complicate things. Plus, from what he said, he wanted to talk to her family. She was going to have to take him through the well to do that because there was no way she was going to bring her family here.
But, on the other hand, if he had come back from the dead maybe it wouldn’t be so hard for him to believe and accept. But merely explaining it was going to be really rough. Let alone preparing him for how different her time was. But that was something that could be worked out along the way as well.
Looking back t him, she asked, “There’s going to be no attempt to pressure me into this? It’s going to be all my choice?”
Nodding, he replied, “It will be your choice and yours alone. I, or anyone else, will not put pressure on you to make a decision one way or another.” Though she was giving no indication of which way she was leaning, his gut was telling him the outcome would be favorable to him.
Nodding, she told him, “Alright, I accept your proposal. We’ll give it a shot. But I’ll tell you ahead of time that mom’s going to be a bit harder than I am to convince.”
“I believe I’m up to such a challenge,” he assured her chuckling. Internally, he heaved a bit of a sigh of relief. He had been able to hurdle one of the obstacles with relative ease. But the harder of the two was yet to come.
After taking another bracing drink of tea then refilling both of their cups, he settled back and tried to decide how to go about launching into the situation with Sesshomaru.
After several minutes of serious contemplation he decided there was going to be no really easy way to go about this. If he went about it fairly straight forward and gave the same assurances he did when the topic of himself was dealt with then he thought he might be able to deal with whatever came after that. But, he admitted to himself, this was going to be far harder to convince her to even give the proposal a chance.
Clearing his throat, he waited until she looked at him then launched in. “There is another part of the proposal I have to discuss with you.” When he saw her nod, he continued on. “You do know that having more than one mate in this society isn’t unheard of, am I correct?”
Brow furrowed, she stared at him. Yes, she knew that it wasn’t unheard of to have more than one spouse in the feudal era. After that had come out of his mouth her mind skipped to several conclusions as to where he could be going with this. But she kept her mouth shut and decided to wait to see where he was headed before she began to voice anything about it. Saying nothing, she just nodded but she couldn’t help it, her face hardened and her eyes flashed a bit.
No, he didn’t miss the look on her face or in those big eyes of hers. Knowing the female of the species the way he did he was sure where her mind was skipping to. So, before she went any further down that path of thought, he launched in and pressed on. “My coming back after so many years of being gone is going to throw everything on the lands controlled by the Western Lord into chaos. It’s also going to affect relations with the other lords.
“Since my demise Sesshomaru ahs assumed the title, rightfully so as due his birthright. But with me back it will be expected for me to step back in and once more become Western Lord. Not only would that not be fair to Sesshomaru, he has rightfully assumed it and done as she should, but I really don’t want to resume those duties. However, there is no real way to accomplish that without causing a myriad of problems. The only way to really work with things is for us to share the title. That isn’t something that’s as easy as it sounds either. We can’t just announce that’s what we’re doing and set about it, there would be too many problems.”
“But why? I mean both of you are very powerful from what Inuyasha told him. Can’t you just say ‘we’re doing this’ and then do it?” Kagome asked, confused.
Sighing, Togaou shook his head. “It won’t work that way because I’m more powerful than Sesshomaru is. So, in order for us to share the title we would have to come up with a way to elevate Sesshomaru to the same level of power that I am.”
At that statement, Kagome felt her stomach knot up a bit and the first stirrings of trepidation dance down her spine. It was just a feeling but she was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to like the solution they had come up with. “What did you come up with?” She asked, trying to keep her voice calm and neutral.
Sensing her rising anxiety, he gave an internal sigh. This wasn’t what he wanted but he pressed on anyway. “The only thing that would elevate his status enough would be to share a mate. He would have to…” and that was as far as he got when Kagome interrupted him.
“Share a mate?” She asked in an oddly calm and emotionless voice. Though her voice was calm the rest of her wasn’t. Internally, her heart was hammering rapidly and she could feel the rising heat of her anger as her temper began to spike. Clenching her fits, she leveled her gaze with the big inyoukai and asked, voice still mild and calm, “Do you mean that as in share me?”
Feeling the hair stand up on the back of his neck, he gazed at her. Oh yes, he could feel her anxiety and temper rising easily. On one hand, it did put him on edge but on the other hand, he loved it! For as long as he could remember he had adored onnas with passion and fire. The little miko sitting next to him seemed to have both, in abundance. Oh, ye was going to enjoy being with her! But, rather than allow himself the indulgence of exploring that, he forced himself to focus on the topic at hand. Preparing himself for the probably firestorm that was coming; he gazed at her calmly and nodded. “Yes. That’s the plan.” Seeing the rising flush infuse her face, he decided not to go any further and wait to see what she had to say before he went into more details about the whole thing.
“ WHAT ?!?” She screeched, the pitch of her voice soaring close to the point that it would, if it rose much higher, only be able to be heard by bats and anything canine based. “What do you think I am? A slut? No way would I agree to anything like this!” She snarled out through clenched teeth, snorting like an enraged bull. “I will NOT be the mate of two males! If that alone wasn’t bad enough you want me to become the mate of a being that not only hates humans but tried to kill both me and Inuyasha! How can you even think about asking me to become his mate as well? How dare you!” Then she launched into a shouting tirade that really made no sense and the words ran together so it was all but unintelligible.
Understanding just how upset and angry she was, Togaou let her go to get it out of her system. Once she ran out of steam an calmed down a bit he would talk to her about it. While she was venting his mind wandered to something else. Never, for as long as he could recall, could he remember anyone yelling at him like she was except maybe in battle. It was refreshing! To have a partner that wasn’t afraid to speak her mind was going to be a refreshing change.
When she finally seemed to be running out of steam, he poured a fresh cup of tea and handed it to her. “Do you feel a bit better?” He asked in a calm voice, hoping to let her know that he wasn’t mad at her in any way.
Taking the cup, she took a sip of the dark liquid and nodded. Yes, she was still plenty upset at all the plans he had made concerning her without consulting her first but she felt a bit better since she had released a bit of the anger.
“Would you be willing to listen to what I have to say or would your rather have some time before we do?” He inquired gently, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s hash it through now and get it over with.” She told him firmly. Though her first instinct, because she was still angry, was to shove his hand off her shoulder, she didn’t. It felt good there and did seem to be comforting.
“Alright. To be clear” the same thing that I told you about giving it time with me will apply to Sesshomaru as well. If, at the end of that time period, you don’t want to go through with it then it won’t happen. It’s that simple. It will all be up to you and no one will pressure you into anything you don’t want to do. Is that acceptable to you?” He asked gently.
Turning it over in her mind, she looked at it from all angles. Finally, she nodded. “Alright, I can work with that as long as I have your promise there won’t be a problem if I say no in the end.”
“You have my word of honor,” he assured her with a nod.
“Aright then.” After taking another sip of the she sighed then mumbled, “My mother is going to completely freak out when she hears about this.”
Though the term ‘freak out’ wasn’t familiar to him, he understood what she was intending to mean by it. Giving her shoulder a reassuming squeeze, he said, “I’ll be the one to tell your mother about it and take the brunt of her ire, never fear.”
“Good,” she said with a nod, breathing an internal sigh of relief. Better him than her was her thought on that score. But after that other questions began to crowd into her mind. “What about Sesshomaru? I mean he’s already tried to kill me. You even moved me into her last night because of him. How can he be expected to try courting me if he hates humans so much?”
“Sesshomaru is already aware of what’s going on. He will do it and won’t hurt you. I’ll make sure of that personally. Until you feel safe around him I’ll be close or chaperone the two of you when you’re together. He’s also aware that nothings going to come about until you’re ready for it.” He explained.
“Alright,” she said with a nod. Then she exhaled deeply. “This is all so much!” She admitted quietly.
Sliding over a bit closer to her, he slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I understand,” the big inu soothed, giving her a bit of a gentle squeeze. “Let’s stop there for now. We can talk more later on today about it if you like.”
“Yeah, good idea,” she conceded. Mind whirring over everything, she felt she needed to talk to someone else about what had been dumped on her. “I would like to talk to Inuyasha alone for a while if you don’t mind.”
Understanding, he nodded. “I have no problem with that,” he told her. “Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll tell him you want to see him.
“Thanks,” she said then stood and headed to her room.
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